FOBEST^ AND < STREAM. 



125 



WOLVES IN RUSSIA. 



I") ITSSIA is still a good deal behind the rest of Europe in 

 >> dealing with vermin. Wolves, whose heads were 

 formerly a source of income to the borderers of Wales, and 

 of which the last were slain in Scotland by Cameron of 

 iel, make no small figure in the agricultural returns of 

 the Russian Empire. According to a pamphlet edited by M. 

 rev sky, the depredations of the wolves in 1875 alone 

 i in damage an old fashioned Tartar invasion. They 

 killed 179,000 cattle, and were the death of 502,000 smaller 

 domestic animals in the forty-five provinces of European 

 alone. Of these, 1,000 head of horned cattle were 

 lost .to the Baltic provinces, and to Polish Russia, 2,700 oxen 

 and 8,000 sheep, pigs and goats. If a cow be reckoned at the 

 ige price for these animals, thirty roubles, and a sheep at 

 four roubles, the gross sum of the tribute levied by the wolves 

 m European Russia reaches 7,700,000 roubles, or $5,990,600. 

 This is a sum which would seem worth while looking after, 

 even in so vast an empire a3 the Muscovite, and must repre- 

 sent quite a number of wolves, which must be dangerous even 

 man life. In the forests of the Pyrenees and Southern 

 France these animals not unfrequently attack the shepherds, 

 and oftimes venture within the walls of lonely chateaus and 

 h : arses, yet their numbers are not to be compared with 

 the enormous hosts of savage beasts of Russia, of which we 

 may have some faint idea when we think of the number re- 

 to carry off a single able-bodied ox. Those authors of 

 Sunday school works, of the Jacob Bliven's and kindred 

 tripes, who invariably illustrate the virtue of self-sacrifice by 

 i story of Eric, the faithful serf who rescued his master's 

 nily by throwing himself as food to the fierce and hungry 

 olves, will be pleased to know that opportunities of practi- 

 5 devotion in the best style will long continue to be found 

 l Russia. 



_iOKt-TAitKD Cats. — In Forest and Stream of the 6th 

 St., I notice an article as to the supposed hybrids, in which 

 you slate that it is physiologically impossible for them to be a 

 cross between the cat and rabbit. In this you are undoubtedly 

 feoircct, and the cat sent you may have had its tail cutoff. 

 But if it is not a fact familiar to you, I desire to communicate 

 the information that there is a breed of house cats that by na- 

 ture have short-tails, no longer than rabbits (indeed many of 

 them have no tails at all). Of this breed I suppose fifty illus- 

 as might be found in the town of Huntingdon, Tenn. 

 Huntingdon, Tenn., Sept. 11, 1877. H. 



I Manx cats (from the Isle of Man), are always short-tailed. 

 whe one mentioned, however, had been injured. 



I The Old Jersey Mosquito.— Hadrosaurus Foulkii is the 

 euphonious name of the great lizard whose skeleton stands on 

 its hind legs in one of the aisles, looking as iE about to take a 

 kangaroo-leap of about half a mile. Sidney Smith once said 

 It was so hot that, to promote breezy circulation, he would 

 like to strip off his flesh and sit in his bones ; andso this lizard 



in always looked most provokingly cool and breezy in. 



' test of the dog-days. It was dug from a inarl-bed in 

 New Jersey, if New Jersey antediluvian lizards were of 



normous size, what must the old New Jersey mosquitoes 

 have been? One of them would have spitted a fat man through 

 with bis stiletto-bill as easily as a modern cook would a lark, 

 flown with him to the top of some umbrageous tree, and after 

 stripping him of his flesh, would have picked his teeth with 

 the poor— or rather the fat — man's bones. They saj r the Sonth 



landers always have a choice tid-bit of cold missionary 

 lying on their sideboards; but think of one's body being kept 

 elish for a New Jersey mosquito as big as an ostrich, and 

 as inevitable and relentless as the undertaker or the tax-col- 

 lector.— Ex. 



Pearls Breeding. — "Traveller," in the London Field says: 

 "Once on board a Peninsular and Oriental Company's boat 

 a lady asked me if I had ever seen 'breeding pearls.' Of 

 course i laughed at the idea, but she produced a two-ounce 

 vial, in which were a number of globular bodies of various 

 Sizes, apparently pearls, and some grains of rice. She informed 

 me that the large pearls had been given to her by some Malayan 

 potentate, who told her if she kept them well supplied with 

 'it they would breed ,- she assured me that they had done 

 ■ md that' the ' seed ' pearls in the bottle were the produce 

 of the larger ones. She would not let me handle them, so I 

 eannol; say what they really were, but I have every suspicion 

 that they were grains of Vice which constant attrition one 

 against the other had rounded, as barley is made into 'pearl 

 barley.' My friend was fully persuaded that her pearls pro- 

 duced young ones, and consumed the rice, and nothing could 

 convince her to the contrary." 



Hen and Partridge Nesting in Common. — Some time 

 ago a farmer near Beaumaris in the Island of Anglesea, North 

 Wales, told me that one of his hens always would lay out in 

 Ids, and that on one occasion he found her nest with ten 

 Of her own and six partridge eggs in. He carried all off and 

 1 out the partridges under another hen. No doubt had 

 the nest been allowed to remain undisturbed, both mother birds 

 would have shared the duties of sitting between them. — H. W. 

 in, London Field. 



faadhtndr S mn $tid %m&m. 



The Egyptian Gum Arabic TjreB (Amta rent _£.)— This 

 semi-tropical tree, or, more properly, shrub, rarely exceeds 

 fifteen feet in height, and is remarkable for its peculiar crook- 

 ed-shaped trunk. Its foliage is of a pale green color, and 

 may be said to be the most beautiful of the acacia family. It 

 puts forth its flowers in March, and its seeds, which grow in a 

 hard coriaceous pod, somewhat resembling the acacia jambo- 

 sia, and its seed those of the lupine, which yields a reddish 

 dye, used by tanners in the preparation of leather. This tree, 

 which affords the finest gum arable of commerce, is a native 

 of the sandy deserts of Arabia, Egypt, and the western parts 

 of Asia; it also grows abundantly in Barbary and other parts 

 of Africa, particularly on the Atlas Mountains. In Cairo and 

 Alexandria, in Egypt, many streets are adorned with this tree, 

 which are set on either side. In Morocco, where Ibis tree is 

 called "Attelep," large quantities of this gum are cc 

 for export. The trunk of this tree is covered with a smooth, 

 gray bark, while that of the branches is of a yellowish green 

 or purple tinge. At the base of the leaves there are two op- 

 posite awl-shaped spines, growing nearly erect, and having a 

 slight glandular swelling below. The wood is hard, and 

 takes a good polish. The gum exudes spontaneously from 

 the bark of the trunk and branches of the. tree, in a soft or 

 nearly fluid state, and hardens by exposure to the air or to the 

 heat of the sun. The more sickly the tree the more gum it 

 yields, and the hotter the weather the more prolific it is. A 

 wet winter and a cool or mild summer are unfavorable to the 

 crop. The gum begins to flow in Egypt in December, in Flor- 

 ida in March, immediately after or near the time of the 

 flowering of the tree. Afterward, as the weather becomes 

 hotter, incisions are generally made through the bark to assist 

 the exudation of the gum. The gum, when new, emits a 

 faint smell, and when stowed in the warehouse it may be 

 heard to crack Spontaneously for several weeks, and this 

 cracking is the surest criterion of new gum, as it never does 

 so when old. Several kinds of gum, yielded by different 

 trees, arc occasion s\\y to be met with, but that which is com- 

 monly substituted for it is brought from the Island of Senegal 

 on the coast of Africa, and is called "Gum Senegal." This 

 tree is remarkably sensitive to sudden changes of weather, 

 and its leaflets are open only to the rays of the sun. There 

 are several trees growing successfully on Indian River, and 

 appear to be adapted to this soil and climate. This tree is 

 possessed of much merit, and is worthy of culture, both for 

 ornament and profit. — B. Hall, East Indian River, Fla. 



Geeminative Force of Seed.— Some very interesting ex- 

 periments were made during the course of this past year by 

 the Erench scientist Mons. Haberlandt to define the lowest 

 temperature in which seeds would sprout. The seeds of most 

 of the agricultural plants, such as wheat, oats, barley, lucerne, 

 etc., were placed in an ice chest whose temperature is 33 de- 

 grees, or slightly above it. The seeds were periodically exam- 

 ined in a temperature that was even below 32 degrees. In 

 forty-five days there were signs of sprouting in eight species, 

 whilst fourteen did not show any signs at all. But here the 

 great fact of life, the want of warmth, was powerfully exhibit- 

 ed, for only a majority of the sprouts showed progress in four 

 months ; germination beyond mere ineipiency had ceased in 

 the others. Another fact was illustrated, viz : that long con- 

 tinued exposure to a temperature no lower than 32 degrees 

 will kill vitality altogether in most species of seeds, for all 

 those which had remained in the ice-box for the four months 

 of the experiments only a few were found capable of germi- 

 nating in a temperature of CO degrees. From this fact it may 

 be reasonably deduced that farmers should guard their seed 

 grain from too low a temperature during our long winters. 



BJsaaquarters New York sstat.e Association for the Protection of 



Pte : 'i.i Game, Syracuse, N. Y., June 23, 1 SIT. To Colwell Lead Co., 



i si eet, New York. Gents : We have carefully examined 



Hot here on exhibition, and have also received the unanimous 



ram all the clubs on the grounds of the Stale shoot in favor of 



--I allot. We cheerfully pronounce it a very perfect article, and rc- 



i it to the sportsmen generally throughout the country. 



Greene Smi-n, Prea. 

 John A. Nichols, Vice-Prea. 

 Chas. R. Wright, Seo'y. 



MO duller, the eloquent preacher, says: "If thou wolildat please 



leavor to make them pleased with themselves." You can 



■ by recommending them to use that superb toilet article, 



Toilet Soap. Nothing can equal its excellencies, for 



and scientifically treated, so that, adelicate 



in; result, without the use of artificial scenting.— Utffl. 



Tue Educational Value of Flower Snows. — On this 

 subject the Gardener's Magazine, England, remarks : "The 

 value of the poor man's flower show is to himself great, but to 

 his children greater. The educational system that prevails is 

 altogether too subjective, and there is but little attempted in 

 the way of teaching the young to observe and reason on their 

 observations. The three IPs are of primary importance, but 

 they require to be supplemented by systematic teaching in the 

 open air on open air subjects, and we look forward hopefully 

 to a recognition of the necessity by school boards, not only in 

 towns where the field of observation is contracted, but in the 

 county where it is practically unlimited. We are advised by 

 the powers that be to prepare the children everywhere for 

 catching and killing the Colorado beetle, but their imperfect 

 training in the faculty of observing compels us to fear that in 

 their zeal to exterminate the doryphora they may war with 

 cocinella, that is to say, the potato beetle being much talked 

 of, but as yet unseen, the lads of the village may find conso- 

 lation in the wholesale destruction of lady bugs, which are 

 among the very best friends of man in the kingdom of insects. 

 The window flower show may be made immensely useful as 

 an aid in the education of the young, and we once more re- 

 mind the guardians of the youthful poor that a habit for ob- 

 serving, and a taste for a knowledge of nature's ways and 

 mean &, are of immense importance in the developmenl of 

 manliness, and independence, and intelligence, and morality, 

 and usefulness. The book of nature is worthier to be 'read 

 than a majority of the books in common use, and it is one of 

 pur duties to encourage the young, whether of rich or poor, in 

 learning to read it with a view To the acquisition of useful 

 knowledge, and the cherishing of sentiments of reverence and 

 love for the beneficence that warms the world, and renders 

 capable of happiness every creature. 



Weeds. — Weeds are usually considered some of the worst 

 enemies with wiiich the farmer has to contend. And there is 

 no doubt that the general opinion of them is correct. Still they 

 are, in one sense, very useful. They offer a strong induce- 

 ment for the thorough cultivation of the soil. In many 

 cases, if it w-ere not for the weeds no such culture as the crop 

 requires would be given. Many a farmer would not enter his 

 corn field from planting time until harvest if they would keep 

 clean without his help. But such neglect of culture woidd 

 prevent the growth of productive crops, and consequently 

 the weeds which compel cultivation, where but for them it 

 would not be given, may be said to be of some benefit to the 

 farmer. This, however, is on the supposition that he fights 

 them resolutely during the whole growing season. If he yields 

 to them and allows them to come in and possess the land they 

 will prove the worst of foes. Not only will they injure, and 

 perhaps destroy his crops the present" season, but they will 

 also fill his land with their foul seeds, and thus propagate the 

 evil year after year. To the farmer who would be too lazy to 

 cultivate his crops, if it were not for their presence, they arc 

 friends and helpers. But to the thorough, energetic farmer 

 they are constant enemies. He would cultivate his crops if 

 I .here were- no weeds, and their presence only makes his work 

 much more difficult than it otherwise w T ould be. To him 

 they arc evils with which he must contend. They are in the 

 land, and he must either fight them out or allow his crops to 

 he despoiled. The latter, a truly good farmer, never does. 

 He resolutely undertakes to say what shall and what shall not 

 grow upon his land. And the wise farmer will not only at- 

 tempt to drive out the weeds, but he will begin early in the 

 season. He knows that it is not half as hard to kill out weeds 

 when they first get through the ground as it is after they have 

 grown two or three weeks and got firmly rooted. He has his 

 cultivators or horse-hoes going as soon as his crops are large 

 enough to make the rows distinctly visible, and he keeps them 

 in the fields so constantly that the weeds never have a chance 

 to grow. This is the easiest and best method of keeping the 

 land clean. Neglect in the early part of the season cannot be 

 fully atoned for by any amount of careful application after 

 the first few weeks are gone. This suggestion is of special 

 importance to those who grow onions for the market or any 

 kind of root crops. Weeding should be done early and often. 

 It is less w r ork, and takes less time to weed a patch of onions 

 four times, if it is done when it should be, than it is to go 

 over it three times after the weed have got a fair start. And 

 the same principle applies ju3t as fully to other crops. — 

 Working Farmer, W. T. 



Texan Herders.— A Texan herder's outfit consists of two 

 donkeys for carrying supplies, a tent, cooking untensils, blank- 

 ets, a canteen made of tin and holding five gallons of water, a 

 small Mexican pony, two or three dogs, and tobacco. Shep- 

 herds receive from $10 to $15 per month and board, and over- 

 seers from $25 to $30. Two men and three dogs can readily 

 take care of 5,000 sheep. Thousands of sheep roam at will 

 over the vast plains, feeding as they go, never sleeping two 

 nights in the same place, except at the home stations. At 

 night these immense herds gather closely around the camp of 

 the shepherd and sleep peacefully, guarded by well-trained 

 Scotch dogs, who exhibit wonderful sagacity and prowess in 

 their midnight vigils, holding at bay the fiercest wolf until by 

 their furious barking they awaken their masters. An area of 

 from ten to tw r enty miles will be grazed by an ordinary herd 

 in a single day.— Ex. 



Save Your Tea-leaves. — Tea-leaves steeped, not boiled, 

 for half-an-hour in a tin pan, and strained through a sieve, 

 will give a liquid useful to wash all varnished paint. It removes 

 spots, and gives a fresher, newer appearance then when soap 

 and water are used. F5r white paint, take up a small quantity 

 of whiting on a damp piece of old white flannel, and rub over 

 the surface lightly, and it will leave the paint remarkably 

 bright and new. 



Stings and Their Remedy. — I am quite certain, from 

 personal experience, that the juice of an on ion will give relief 

 in some of the instances quoted from the Cultivateur de la. 

 Region Lyonnaiw. Therefore I can easily believe that the 

 leek is of equal use, since both vegetables belong to the same 

 genus, are of like antiquity, and were in former days highly 

 valued for their various properties, though I believe modern 

 times only have brought their sting antidote virtues to fight. 

 There is but one objection to the application of an onion — the 

 odor is absolutely dreadful, not so much so when first put on, 

 as it is the following day. I was stung by a wasp on the head 

 and did not get the smell of the onion out. of my hair for a 

 week, but it was a perfect cure. — H. Hekleut. 



GAME PROTECTION. 



Massachusetts— JTorfhtmpton, Sept. 12, 1877.— The Non- 

 otuck Game Club have elected the following officers for ensu- 

 ing year: President, A. Perry Peck; Secretary, Dr. G. W. 

 Crittenden; Treasurer, John Metcalf ; Vice-Pres'ts, C. N. 

 Grabb, Luther Warren. M. 



I PehnstlvahiA— Shakapee Farm, Mitford.— Pike County, 



Pennsylvania, is to have an association for the preservation of 

 fish and name, and this time it is believed that the right sort 

 of men— such as Cant. John C. and Moses Wsstbrook, Hon. 

 D. A. Wells, C. P. Mott, W. K. Ridgway, John Williamson, 

 John Biddis and other true sportsmen — will have control of 

 the organization and make the " wire cartridge" pot-hunter 

 and market shooters take a back seat. This section should be 

 a hunter's paradise, but it will not be that until the shooting of 

 game and catching of fish in close seasons are prohibited, or 

 until those who snare pheasants and net fish have been taught 

 a wholesome lesson. Perhaps the man who supplies Milford 

 with strychnine to poison sporting dogs will take a hint. 



Amatbdb. 



y The Connecticut Fish Law— Jfeio York, Sept. 12, 1877. 

 —Commenting on "Scales'" correspondence in last week's 

 number, you state the law in Connecticut as against taking 

 "any bass, etc." A week's abortive effort (off and on) place's 

 me in a position to add my sad endorsement about the poor 

 bass fishing, and, if the law reads as you state, I think I know 

 those who would join a crusade against the pond fishers in 

 —Twenty -five thousand watermelons arrived in Boston on Niantic Hay. Some such attempt, I believe, was made over a 

 Comment is not so necessary as a little tluQtiire of J year ago, but failed through lack of the sinews of war 

 rhubarb, .1 g, oaksm. 



Large Pumpkins. — A pumpkin that measures over six feet 

 in circumference, and weighs above 200 pounds, is still grow- 

 ing on a farm in California. 



We know this to be a fact, for we have seen the same state- 

 ment every season for twelve years. 



ScjOTEEBtS as Gardeners. — A gentlemen writes to Ldndand 

 Water : "The strawberries in my garden, although covered with 

 nets, were vanishing very fast. I therefore set a gin at each cor- 

 ner of the bed. The first morning after this was done the ser- 

 vant reported that a squirrel had been caught, which I thought 

 must have been a, mere accident. The next morning, however, 

 a second squirrel was all but captured under the net. The 

 was therefore proven, but this last thief is still at large." 



