1U 



FOREST AND STREAM, 



the two hours in which I chased it round I could not get it to 

 move in any other manner. There were half a dozen more 

 ordinary grouse, male and female, in the flock, all of which 

 had retired to a safe distance on my approach, leaving their 

 "king" alone. He was very loth to take wing, but by run- 

 ning up and actually kicking so near as to nearly touch him, I 

 forced him to take flight several times. He would fly about 

 ten rods, and on alighting immediately assume the same po- 

 sition. After following him till I was tired I shot him, and 

 submitted him to a careful examination. His plumage was 

 remarkably profuse and perfect, the ruff very large and glossy, 

 showing beautifully green in the sunlight ; the tail one-fourth 

 longer than in ordinary birds, and showing reddish bars across 

 it instead of the lighter colors usually seen ; but I have fre- 

 quently shot them, having the same pecidiarity. 



I have seen two more since then ; one only two years ago, 

 which, after following it around for nearly three hours, with 

 exactly the same results as I have already described, I left in 

 peace," not having the heart to kill it. I have only to add that 

 I have given a perfectly faithful description without the slight- 

 exaggeration, having in fact an utter contempt for any per- 

 son who wilfully attempts to mislead in matters pertaining to 

 natural history. Penobscot. 



JBan. Framisco, Sept. 7. 



BATS AND BAT CAVES IN TEXAS. 



NUMEROUS bat caves are in Texas, in the limestones of 

 the silurean, carboniferous and creataceous formations 

 being mostly west, northwest and north of Austin. In these 

 caves the bats stay during the day, coming forth about sunset 

 and returning a little before or about daybreak in the morning. 

 In the northwest part of Burnet county, about one mile from 

 the Colorado River, at an elevation of about 1,500 feet above 

 the sea, there is a very large bat cave in a hard, dark limestone, 

 destitute of fossil, but probably of lower carboniferous age. 

 During the late war the bat deposits of this cave were largely 

 used for the manaf aclure of saltpeter to make powder for the 

 Confederate army. 



A Mr. Allen, living in the river bottom about two miles 

 below the cave, told me about it and its millions of bats, say- 

 ing that it probably was very extensive, but that it only had 

 been explored for a short distance. I proposed that we should 

 explore and measure its extent, and arrangements were soon 

 made for that purpose. Our party of six men and boys, with 

 candles and pine for torches, descended about 20 feet on an 

 old ladder fastened to one of the perpendicular sides of the 

 entrance, which ladder had been used by those making salt- 

 petre. The opening to the cave has a diameter of about 20 

 feet one way and from 10 to 15 feet the other. At the bottom 

 of the ladder the entrance to the cave is about 10 feet high 

 and 20 wide, going nearly horizontally, and enlarging at a 

 short distance from the entrance. We did not go very far 

 before the strong odor peculiar to the dwellings of bats be- 

 came very unpleasant. At the distance of 50 or 60 feet from 

 the entrance we began to see large numbers of bats hanging 

 in clusters from the rocks above and on the sides of the cave. 

 Our lights caused some few of these to fly, but we kept on- 

 ward, measuring the distance with a tape line. Entering a 

 large right-hand opening, the top soon became lower, and our 

 way was up and down over large deposits of bat manure, the 

 smell of which waa very unpleasant. At the distance of 

 about 300 feet from the main entrance the highest part of the 

 cave was not more than 8 to 10 feet ; all along were bushels of 

 hats above and on the sides of the rocky walls. Our lights 

 and talk aroused them, and we soon had swarms of them fly- 

 ing around us, extinguishing most of our lights, compelling us 

 to make a hasty retreat and putting a stop to farther explora- 

 tions. This cave is probably very extensive. "We saw several 

 openings from the main hall, and these may lead into large 

 rooms. 



Next day, toward sunset, I rode with Mr. Allen on horse- 

 back to witness the egress of the bats from the cave. The sun 

 •was about an hour high when we arrived at the cave. 

 There we had glorious views of the mountains and plains of 

 Burnet and Llano counties and the valley of the Colorado 

 river. Half an hour before sunset a few bats flew to the en- 

 trance of the cave, and after circling around a moment or two 

 they returned to give notice that it was time to prepare to 

 come out and begin work. About fifteen minutes later they 

 began to come forth in large crowds, circling around and 

 around until they were about 25 or 30 feet above the surface 

 of the ground, when they darted away in every direction in a 

 galloping flight. So thick did the circling up column of from 

 15 to 20 feet in diameter become as to form a dense mass of 

 life. The rush and flapping of wings made a noise like a 

 mighty wind. Never before had I seen such a grand exhibi- 

 tion of life— active life. They chatted gayly, and seemed as 

 happy as school children at intermission, or when school is 

 dismissed. We watched the rush of bats until nearly dark, 

 and when wo left they were coming forth as thick and fast as 

 ever. The scene to me was more wonderful than anything I 

 had ever before seen, for there must have been many millions 

 of bats during the day in that cave. I was told that some- 

 times they did not all return home again until sunrise. The 

 inhabitants of that region are not troubled with mosquitoes, 

 and have but few nocturnal insects. 



Soma years ago I occupied a room in the old land office at 

 Austin, which was then used lor the geological collection. 

 The ceiling above was of sheet iron ■ having a little attic above 

 next the roof. To me the attic was inaccessible. It was the 

 home of thousands of bats, whom I could sometimes hear 

 chattering during the day. I slept in the room below, and 

 just before and at daybreak I often heard the bats coining 

 home jabbering in a lively way as they jumped along on the 

 eeiliug above, apparently talking of their adventures during 



the night. A jolly set they were. Bats are not such sombre, 

 dismal things as they have been represented. Like the birds 

 they destroy our insect enemies, catching those of nocturnal 

 habits which these birds cannot do; therefore bats are friends 

 of the farmer and gardener, and should receive his protection. 

 The bat caves of Texas will furnish a large amount of fertiliz- 

 ing material of great value to the agriculturist. At present 

 the cheap rich lands in the vicinity of these caves seem to re- 

 quire little aid from fertilizers. S. B. Buckley. 

 Austin, Texas, Sept. 6, 1877. 



THE YINAGRONE. 



1747 F Street, N. W., Washington, D. C.I 

 August 31, 1877. j 

 Editoe Forest and Stream : 



In your issue of Aug. 30, I noticed an interesting paper by 

 Dr. Pope, U. S. A., in which he refers to a curious arachni- 

 dian called " Vinagrone" by the Mexicans. I wish to say that 

 the species is quite well known to entomologists under the 

 name Thelyplumus giganteus of Lucas, and is quite common in 

 New Mexico and Arizona. In 1875 the writer received a fine 

 specimen from the late Dr. J. F. Boughter, of Fort Craig, 

 New Mexico, and in the accompanying letter he stated his be- 

 lief that the insect was poisonous and that it was so regarded 

 by the Mexicans, who were quite familiar with it. As cor- 

 roborative of this assertion he forwarded a letter from Dr. 

 Lewis O. Kennan, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, which reads as 

 follows : 



"In regard to the Telephonus giganteus, I have no doubt of 

 its venomousness. While stationed at Fort Buchanan, on the 

 border of Sonora, in 1875, 1 demonstrated that its sting was 

 poisonous. 1 knew an Indian boy bitten in the temple who 

 never recovered. Several horses were bitten in the lip, champ- 

 ing the insect in their hay, and the tumefaction and general dis- 

 tress were as great as from the bite of a rattlesnake. The in- 

 sect is so extremely sluggish that great violence is necessary 

 to make them bite. I had a French servant who frequently 

 brought them to me in his hands and pocket, and I even sus- 

 pected the omnivorous Gaul of cooking and eating them as a 

 sort of land lobster, but they never troubled him in any way. 

 The belief in their venomousness is universal in Mexico. To 

 my mind the fact is beyond question. If not, what is the 

 teleology of the fangs ?" 



So far as the opinions of Mexicans go ; their testimony is of 

 little value, as they have the most exaggerated notions re- 

 garding the poisonous properties of different animals, notably 

 the gila monster {Keloderma mspecbum) of Cope, which is ab- 

 solutely harmless. But the opinions of Drs. Boughter and 

 Kennan are entitled to every respect, as they have long been 

 residents of the Southwest and close observers of facts in 

 natural history. I would suggest that a series of experiments 

 with this insect in regard to its venomous properties would 

 be extremely valuable and interesting, and I know of no one 

 better able to inaugurate them than Dr. Pope, who will con- 

 fer a great favor on the scientific community if he can be in- 

 duced to do so. 



Very truly yours, H. C. Yarrow. 



The Vinagrone in Florida.— A correspondent writes: 

 The insect called Vinagrone, described by Dr. Benjamin F. 

 Pope, in your issue of Aug. 80, is frequently met within 

 Florida, it is known among the natives as the mule killer, but 

 it is black in color. X. 



Domesticated Caribou — Editor- Forest and Stream: I 

 have long been anxious to add to the collection in my minia- 

 ture park a specimen of the woodland caribou, but have not 

 succeeded till this summer, when I heard through a Canadian 

 acquaintance of a two-year old cow having been caught in the 

 snow last March by a native over on the north shore of the 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence, and that in May or first of June she 

 dropped a male fawn, which, strange to say, lived. As the 

 result of my exertions the mother and fawn are now in my 

 enclosure, having come through from Murray Bay by boats 

 and cars without a scratch, and finer specimens never were 

 seen even in their native wilds. The cow's horns are now in 

 the velvet. The fawn is as large as one of my year old deer, 

 and so fat that he can hardly travel. The mother produces 

 a very large flow of milk, and although caught wild last 

 March; she is tamer than any sheep. To-day my man put a 

 halter on her and led her all about the enclosure. Next year 

 I am in hopes to report my success in breeding them in oap- 

 tivity. M. W. Clark. 



Danville Junction, Sept. 20, 1877. 



—A stuffed pig, with one eye square in the forehead, con- 

 stitutes the Harri8onville (Missouri) "Museum of Natural 

 History and Fine Arts." But do not despise the day of small 

 things. That one-eyed porcine may yet prove the inspiration 

 of some mute, inglorious Agassiz. 



The Wii.i.et.— In the Forest and Stream of Sept. 13, 

 your correspondent from Washington, in his interesting 

 account of Chincoteague Island, speaks of the willet [Bynl- 

 phemia setnipalrnata, Hartland), as breeding all along the coast 

 from the. mouth of the Mississippi to New York. He does 

 not appear to be aware that it is also found along our entire 

 Atlantic coast, as far, at least, as Halifax, Nova Scotia. I 

 have fouud it breeding on the coast of Massachusetts, near 

 Nantucket, and in the vicinity of Halifax, and obtained the eggs 

 in both cases. The same writer says also : " The propensity 

 of the bird to remain in the immediate vicinity of the coast is 

 such that it is seldom met with inland, even'along the shores 

 of large rivers." This, though perhaps true, so far as relates 

 to the' more Eastern States, is not correct as applied to the 

 whole country. Mr. E. W. Nelson in his admirable paper on 

 the birds of North Eastern Illinois, speaks of it as resident in 



us and on the West prairies. And Capt. 

 t h-'L-s i:eiKlir:_. a reliable and enterprising investigator m 

 ornithology, in his equally admirable paper on the birds of 

 Eastern Oregon, just published in the proceedings of the 

 Boston Society of Natural History, speaks of this bird as "An 

 abundant summer resident, I have taken several sots of their 

 eggs. They are equally abundant in the higher mountain 

 valleys at an attitude of 6,000 feet auel more. In fact they are 

 found everywhere where there are marshes." 

 Yours. Thomas M. Brewek. 

 ^_^o-._ 



Eating the Squid. — Some two years asro quite an interest- 

 ing correspondence took place in the Fobest and Stream in 

 regard to eating the squid. I find in reading Rabelais that in 

 the Third book, chap. XIII, of this famous author, he writes-. 

 "Vous mangerez a wupr.r nonfebves, ne lievres, ne o.ultre chair: 

 mm poulprc quon nomme polype." Translated, this is: "Y r ou 

 shall neither eat for supper peas nor hare, nor any kind of 

 meat: not even squid, commonly called polype." This little 

 reference to Rabelais may be interesting to Mr. Tegetmeyer, 

 of the London Field. Rut I am not sure whether such a 

 learned authority as the Parson of Mendon will induce our 

 people to cat the cephala pod, Constant Reader. 



JSew York, Sept. 20, 1877. 



Atlanta Rats. — An Atlanta paper says: 



Atlanta has become so thoroughly infested with rats that their 

 destruction has become a matter of very serious importance* 

 The ruthless invader of our store-rooms, granaries and coops 

 is the regular wharf rat — or Norway rat, as it is called. It is 

 an importation, and not a native production. It is said that 

 it came, with Sherman's army to Atlanta, beintr brought hither 

 in the forage for the horses that was shipped out from New 

 Y'ork. The Sherman rat, as we propose to call him during 

 the crusade against him that is hereby-inaugurated, is a perfect 

 monster. He is as large as a Small kitten, has huge thighs 

 and foreshoulders, possesses enormous strength, is combative 

 and plucky, and his cruel, rapacious face is ornamented with 

 a pair of flowing moustaches. He has bred with incredible 

 rapidity since his introduction here, and has literally devoured 

 or driven out the modest, inoffensive, old-fashioned little gray 

 rat, that innocent, easily-satisfied vegetarian that may be 

 termed " the rat of our fathers." A more harmless little rodent 

 than our little rat of anti-bellum times can hardly be imagined. 

 He was accepted without a niurrour, and really taken as a sort 

 of pleasant joke. He figures in history as a decent, gentle- 

 manly rat that cracked an occasional grain of corn, or licked 

 syrup once in a while from his tail, that he had dropped into 

 some sweet jug. He figures in history in such pleasant epi- 

 sodes as the famous visit of the country rat to the city, and in 

 poetry as the rat that eat the malt, that lay in the house that 

 Jack built. He did no harm, and was liked and tolerated on 

 all hands. But this new rat, born in the throes of revolution, 

 and growing amid the fierce turbulence of this latter day, is a 

 bloodthirsty and abnormal scoundrel. He despises the mild 

 and musty corn, or the tranquil jam upon which the rat of our 

 fathers fed, and whenever he wants a lunch he rushes out, 

 into your yard, seizes a half-grown chicken, and clipping its 

 throat-latch with his sharp teeth, throws the palpitating corpse 

 over his shoulders and gallops back to his den to wallow in 

 warrn gore. These huge rats can be Been in great numbers 

 galloping about the stores, along the street at night. It is al- 

 most impossible to raise poultry anywhere in the city. The 

 rats kill young chickens and ducks with the greatest ease, and 

 during last winter entered on one occasion a chicken coop 

 and pulled from its roost and destroyed a full-grown heu. 

 They kill grown pigeons frequently! They do not confine 

 themselves to the city, bu* are spreading into the country. We 

 have seen them six miles from town. 



"Bird Culture." — Mr. Elizur Wright read an admirable 

 paper on this subject before the Social Science Association 

 the other day. Of the cat bird, one of our feathered friends 

 not in very general favor, he has this to say : 



The mimit, or Orjtfieus carolinen.iU, as Audubou calls him, is 

 the very pink of propriety in dress, and most; graceful in his 

 motions. But his crowning excellence ishis domestic morality. 

 The industry of both husband and wife in building their nest, 

 and their solicitude to have it in the best place, 'are something 

 wonderful. If molested after they have begun and nearly com* 

 pleted a nest, they will select a new spot and build another, 

 and the mutual discussions they will have on the subject is 

 very amusing. As an illustration of their industry in building 

 I once foimd a nest, the top of which was securely fixed in 

 the horizontal fork of a cornel bush, aud the bottom rested on 

 the bent stalk of a blackberry brier fourteen inches below. 

 The birds had evidently begun to pile sticks on the brier when 

 it was two or three inches below the fork, and as it bent low 

 with the weight, kept piling on the sticks til! the unstable 

 foundation lodging in a bush that arrested its descent, the 

 pile finally rose above the fork and was made steady by it. If 

 Stevenson reasoned aud persevered when he. carried bis rail- 

 road over Chat Moss, why not Mr. and Mrs. Mimit when they 

 built this nest? 



Wilson tested the perceptive faculties of this bird by taking 

 away its eggs and substituting those of the brown thrush. In 

 a minute or two the male came to the nest and examined the 

 size of the eggs, then flew off to bis mate and seemed to con- 

 verse with her. Then he returned, took out the eggs tenderly, 

 one by one, and dropped them in the bushes, thirty yards 

 away. He says, also, " From the nest of another cat-bird I 

 took two half-fledged young, and placed them in that of 

 another, which was sitting on five others. She soon turned 

 them both out. The place where the nest was not being far 

 from the ground, they were little injured, and the male observ- 

 ing their helpless situation, began to feed them with great 

 assiduity andtenderm 



The habits of the beautiful bird I have been describing, 

 and a score of others that incline to keep it company aim 

 nestle about the cottage, are the best possible text-book for 

 the infant mind. A child may be as easily taught to respect 

 and love the little birds as to say its prayers ; and it cannot 

 fail to have a most salutary and elevating effect, both morally 

 and intellectually. The lit! occurring 



when the cottage eaves and shrubberies are tenanted by little 

 birds are sure to interest chil them deep instruc- 



tion. For example, I cite- a fact of the" present summer: A 

 pair of chip sparrow e ■ ;<diaj had built a nest on a 



grape vine trellis over my door, so insecurely that when 

 the five young ones were grown nearly large enough to fly, one 

 of them fell out on the gravel and was killed. A day after 

 another toppled out, but. was not much hurt. Th. 

 was settled away on one side, had not room for him to b 

 back, but he was put back, aud the old ones presently pu 

 him out, obviously to save the lives of the rest. Bo 



