186 



FOEEST AND STREAM. 



meant by this ungentlemanly and very impolite intrusion into 

 a lady's bed-chamber, and insisting that she was no such kind 

 Of a woman. The cock-sparrow was eviden'ly puzzled. Un- 

 able, after a minute search, to find the lost feather, he at 

 length apparently gave it up, charged it to profit and loss, and 

 flew away in search of another. 'I he thief demurely 

 waited till he had got well off, and then flew to the tree, se- 

 cured the stolen feather, and took it in triumph to her own 



This story we are assured is a true one. It certainly shows 

 the power of reasoning by a bird, just as conclusively as any 

 logical process that was ever employed by DavicLHuuie or Jay 

 Gould. Whether it also furnishes another argument to sustain 

 the modern theory of the innate superiority of the female sex 

 depends somewhat upon the point of view from which such 

 smart but reprehensible conduct is regarded. 

 .— ♦. — .— — 



How Birds Fly.— Kites and buzzards glide round in cir 

 cles with expanded, and apparently motionless, wings ; hawks 

 or harriers fly low over meadows and stubble field, beating 

 the ground regularly ; crows and jays labor along as if hard 

 at work, and herons are still more clumsy, having their long 

 necks and longer legs to encumber them. The woodpecker's 

 progress is a series of long undulations, opening and closing 

 the wings at every stroke. Finches and sparrows have a short, 

 jerky flight,' accompanied with mauy bobbings and flirtings. 

 Warblers and fly-catchers fly high up, smoothly and swiftly. 

 Swallows and night-hawks seem to be mowing the air with 

 scimetar wings, and move witli surprising energy. On the 

 ground most small birds are hoppers, only a few truly and 

 gracefully walking. 



—ft— 



The Vinagbohb.— Of this curious insect, described and fig- 

 ured in F. and S., of Aug. 30, by Dr. Pope, I have a speci- 

 men taken at Halifax Inlet, East Florida, where it is common 

 and is known as the mule killer or grampus. Another 

 writer in F. and S. says that this insect is well known as The- 

 lyphonm gig mtms-Luc&s. The only work in which I have 

 been able to find this species is the new edition of the " En- 

 cyclopedia Brittamca," where a cut and description of The- 

 lyplwnus gig. is given, but this wants the peculiar and re- 

 markable antennas springing from behind the last pair of legs, 

 which are found in my specimen and Dr. Pope's drawing. 

 My specimen measures 2\ inches without the tail. It also 

 differs from the cut in the Encyclopedia in having little or no 

 hair on the legs and tail. May not this be a new species ? In 

 Florida it is considered poisonous. S. C. C. 



* A Good Plan to Banish Insects.— At a conference of ag- 

 riculturists lately held in London, in which many noblemen 

 and other large proprietors took part, it was resolved to urge 

 upon the British Government the necessity of legislating tor 

 the protection of cultivation against the injury dune by m 

 sects It was urged in the first place that in order to effectu- 

 ally rid a district or a country of an injurious insect any at- 

 tempt to do so must be simultaneous, and combined, tor to 

 what purpose would it be if one man cleared his farm if his 

 neighbor did not clear his ; or if the one cleared his one year 

 and the other cleared his another? A central authority, 

 therefore, is needed to secure united action. Proceeding on 

 the basis then of united action, it was clearly shown that an 

 easy remedy for the evil lies in the rotation of crops. Most 

 vegetable feeding insects, e. g., wheat insects, can only live 

 onone kind of plant, and most of them are annual, there- 

 fore by entirely desisting for a year from the cultivation ot a 

 certain plant in a certain chs net, the insect infecting that 

 plant would be banished entirely, or until re-introduced. 

 This plan of course can onlv be effectual by means ot simul- 

 taneous action over considerable districts, hence the determi- 

 nation of the Conference to endeavor to obtain government 

 aid rather than rely on the efforts ot agricultural societies. 



—A strange collection of sea gulls was lately witnessed on 

 the Clyde at Glasgow. Between the Union Railway V ladnct 

 and the Albert Bridge scores of so-called laughing gulls were 

 seen fluttering above the water, and paddling about id nocks. 

 Along the shore were seen little groups of starlings, and three 

 species of wagtail running nimbly,picking their steps. The spar- 

 row and rook were also represented, while a small company 

 of the large gray gull were seated on rafts of pine logs. The 

 most curious feature observable as regards the gulls was that 

 among the whole congregation of them not a single one had 

 attained its full plumage. All were young birds of this sea- 

 son's hatching, mottled with gray on the back, the white tail 

 tipped with black— the beautiful black head and dark crim- 

 son bill and legs of the mature bird being in no instance visi- 

 ble. The old birds are now gathering by themselves in the 

 lochs and bays of the Western Highlands. 



. , » — ■>. 



Simplicity.— A Scotchman once took bis wife to see the 

 wonders of the microscope. The various curiosities seemed 

 to please the woman very well, till the animalcule professed 

 to be" contained in a drop of water were shown off. This 

 seemed to poor Janet not so very pleasant a sight as the 

 others. She sat patiently, however, till the " water tigers, 

 magnified to the size of twelve feet, appeared on the sheet, fight- 

 ing with their usual ferocity. Janet now rose in great trepi- 

 dation, and cried to her husband. "Come awa', John !" " Sit 

 still, woman, and see the show," said John. "See the show ! 

 Gude keep us a', man, what wad come o' us if the awfu'-like 

 brutes wad brak' out 0' the water ?" 



Sibebian Natural History.— Dr. O. Finscb, lately re- 

 turned from a scientific expedition to Siberia has opened at 

 Bremen an exhibition of the ethnographic and natural history 

 collations made by him during bis travels. 1 he specimens 

 have been duly classifled by Or Finscb miraelf, and, accord- 

 in^ 10 Die Natur, whose accoupt of these valuable collections 

 w? follow, give a good general idea of the kind of lite led by 

 the inhabitants of Western Siberia. In thisrespect they sur- 

 pass even the Imperial Museums of St. Petersburg and Mos- 

 cow The inhabitants of the whole region of the Obi. lying 

 north of the confluence of the Irtish with that stream, live ex- 

 clusively by fishing, hunting "Jul reindeer breeding, the 

 reindeer is the principal source of their wealth, but the herds 

 have been ravaged during the last, forty or hlty years by Sple- 

 nitis and thus ihe people have been reduced to gre;d straits. 

 For instance, we a K e informed that Ivan raisin; Prince of 

 Oddorsk, who, twenty years ago, owned 7,000 reindeer, now 

 has only 700. 



i » 't— — 



King Bibds and Beks.-W. H. White, in the Country 

 Gmtkmun, asserts that careful observation has determined 

 that the bine lards are most insatiable devourers of bees. In 

 examining a nest which contained three well feathered birds 

 and bv watching the parents he estimated that each was led 

 from thirty to fifty bees per day. A neighbor who was so far 

 a disbeliever in the taking of bees by this bird as to offer a re- 

 ward lor every bee found within it, was convinced ot his 

 error by dissection. 



. ■ — .♦*-— • ' 



The Indian Braves at Central Park.— Spotted .Tail 

 Bed Cloud, Little Big Man, Man Afraid ot His Horses Touch 

 the Clouus, and the rest of the twtuty-three chiefs who have 

 been on a visit 10 the Great Father at W ashmgton, were con- 

 ducted last Thui-day through Central Park, New \ork. They 

 •were stolidly indifferent to the various works of art there dis- 

 mayed but, when they came to the menagerie their admiration 

 knew no bounds, Little Big Man remarking that there were 

 more annuals than he had names for. They were particularly 

 pleased with the brilliant tines of the tropical birds, the baby 

 elephants and the lions. But the greatest source of amuse- 

 ment was foumi in the antics of tie monkeys. The chiefs 

 laughed 1h ai lily, and Lieut. Clark explained that part of their 

 enio\ merit arose from 1 heir pointing out to each other the re- 

 semblance they found in the monkey s' faces to those of various 

 friends on the reservation. 



ABigDeytl-Fish.— New York has just received a huge 

 devilfish or cuttle-fish, recently captured on the coast of 

 Newfoundland. This is the largest specimen ever captured ; 

 the total length front the termination of the outstretched arm 

 to the tip of the tail is more than forty feet. A full descrip- 

 tion of this marine curiosity and the account of its capture we 

 shall give hereafter. 



. . g .^. ■ — 



Arrivals at Philadelphia Zoological Gardens for Week Ending, 

 Tuesday, Oct. 2, 1S77.— One robio, Turtm migratorms, pre ented ; 

 one garter snake, Eutania sirtalis, presented ; two white rabbits, Lepus 

 cuniculus, presented; one common red squirr 1, Sciurushudsonius, pre- 

 sented ; two oppossums, IHdetjjhys virijiniana, presented ; three barn 

 owis, Strex Uammeavar americana, purchased; one yellow billed cuckoo 

 Coccyzus amwricantt; presented. Very truly, Arthur E. Brown, 



Gen't Supt. 



"His life was gentle ; and the elements 

 So mixed in him, that nature might stand up 

 And say to all the world— This in a man," 

 writes Shakespeare in "Julius Csesar." So are the elements mixed in B. 

 T. Babbitt's Toilet Soa;j, that ne can say to all the world— "This is the 

 soap." Frankly we are compelled to admit the supreme excellence of 

 this new luxury of the toilet on account of its delicious purity and 

 agreeableness to the touch. 



— AMERICAN STANDARD SHOT— of superior finish; also, lead 

 pipe and sheet lead, Colwell Lead Company, No. 63 Centre street, New 

 York— lAdv. 



^oodhnd, <g<mn md §wdm. 



PRESERVATION OF AUTUMN LEAVES 

 AND FERNS. 



Skeleton Leaves.— "Mollie," in the New York Ti 

 gives these directions for the preparation of skeleton leaves. • 

 The leaves and grasses thus preserved, arranged in tasteful de- 

 signs and framed with a black back ground, are among the 

 most beautiful of home decorations: 



Handle very carefully, and have patience. July and August 

 are the best months to gather leaves for this purpose, though 

 later will sometimes do. Get perfect ones ; place them in 

 glass jars ; fill with water ; add 10 or 12 drops of muriatic 

 acid for every pint of water. Keep the jar covered and in the • 

 sun. If the water evaporates, add more, with acid ; it must 

 be kept full. It will do no harm if the leaves are crowded a 

 little. Look after them often, and when the fibre seems loosen- • 

 eel take out the leaf, place it on a piece of glass. If the leaf 

 is a frail, thin one, use a tiny soft brush to remove the pulp ; 

 if the leaf is thick and strong rub the pulp off between the 

 thumb and fiager ; work carefully. Delicate thin leaves re- 

 quire much lesfctrme than thick ones in the acid water. Four 

 montbs is the usual time, often longer. After removing the 

 pulp place the skeleton in cold water; add about one dram of 

 chlroide of lime and five drops of acetic acid for every pint 

 of water. Let them remain in this until they are a flue white, 

 then press them in a large book; keep heavy weights on top. 



THE autumn of the year, the most lovely and enjoyable of 

 all the seasons, is now advancing with firm and rapid 

 steps, and soon will verge into drear and icy winter. That in 

 our northern climate means all disappearance of the beautiful 

 ferns, vines and brilliant-colored leaves, that at this time greet 

 one's eyesight upon every wooded hill and in every valley, 

 especially where the swamp maple, sugar maple and sumach 

 abound— the bright scarlet of the former, the clear, yellow and 

 rich deep crimson of the latter, intermingled with the fresh- 

 looking green foliage upon every side, and the vivid colors of 

 the American ivy, glowing in the sunshine, and twining 

 about the gray rocks, or hanging in graceful festoons from 

 the dark green cedars, form a picture upon which one can 

 never tire of looking. This brings the wish that we might, 

 for a time at least, retain some of the lovely leaves for home 

 decoration during the chill winter months, when flowers,hereto- 

 f ore used for that purpose.are both scarce and expensive. It has 

 been an oft-tried experiment bow to keep the natural look as 

 well as the color of the leaves, and in many cases has proved a 

 failure, and all because a little care and attention were required 

 in preserving them. How many times do we sec the bright 

 autumn leaves robbed of their beauty and naturalness by a coat- 

 ing of varnish, or their lustrous colors dimmed by covering them 

 withoJL? If,' instead of so doing, those wishing to preserve 

 leaves that shall appear as beautiful as when just gathered, 

 will try the following plan, they will be agreeably surprised, 

 both at the easy method and the result : First, procure from 

 any stationer some sheets of blotting paper, and place the 

 leaves to be preserved between— taking care that they do not 

 touch each other; then at intervals of about a half dozen of 

 the papers lay either a folded newspaper or a piece of card 

 board. When all the leaves are arranged, place the papers 

 containing them upon a smooth board, with another board on 

 top, and upon that a heavy weight: let them remain in a warm 

 room for a day, then replace them in dry fresh papers. Do 

 this for a few times with autumn leaves, but oltener with 

 ferns etc., as there is more moisture in the latter, and you 

 will have fresh-looking ferns and leaves as natural as if just 

 ■mthered. :!ujiS - W. J - Davidson. 



The Leaf of Lot, oe Life Plant, of which there is a no- 

 tice in the last Forest and Stream, as a native ot Jamaica, 

 o-rows also in Florida, where it stands the winier. Goss de- 

 scribes it as follows: Thick, succulent 1. aves, with rounded 

 segments ; a spike of greenish flowers, three feet high. Ke- 

 mai liable for the tenacity of its living principle. A leal hung 

 up in the air or thrown into a drawer, will develop into a 

 plant. He calk£it Vena orenata, and puts it in the order 

 Crassulacw. '■'» 



Queens CoJ Faih. — The thirty-sixth annual exhibition of 

 the Queens County Agricultural Society was held on the So- 

 ciety's ground at Mineola last week. Thedisplays in the dif| 

 ferenl d -partments were unusually fine, and reflected great 

 credit on the exhibitors. William A. Burgess of Glencove, 

 made a splendid display of Roses, Dahlias and Phloxes. A. 

 Waytu ot Queens had a beautiful lot of ornamental and varie-j 

 Foliage plants and Gladioli. B. K. Bliss & Sims, 34 Bar- 

 elay.8t.,N. Y.,made a wonderful exliibt of Potatoes in endless 

 variety, several of their new varieties looking very templing, 

 the t;,L. Allen Co. of Queens, had a collection of exotics and 

 two immense floral designs. Grapes Cfoteign) were shown by 

 Thos. Messenger, Great Neck, and very fine they were, as 

 were also the fine collection of native grapes fn 111 Messrs. Geo. 

 R. TJndeahill & C. J. Copley. Peaches from Geo. Lucas, and 

 figs frem V. Frost, Glencove. A together it was a nr isl cr» ti- 

 llable exhibition, and we are glad to add, one of the most suc- 

 cessful ever held by the Society. 



The Colorado Beetle in Europe. — The English jou 

 are full of the Colorado Beetle, which they seem to think is 

 about to depopulate their little island. The potato bug lias 

 never had the opportunities for making a sensation that he 

 has at present, and if he is a sensible bug he will surely make 

 the most of it. He is lithographed, photographed, panto- 

 graphed and paragraphed on every hand, while all the so- ■ 

 cieiies entomological are running riot over his body. Old 

 England is fairly howling over the probabilities, wrant 

 over his scientific status, and "blawsting" the Yanl 

 whom they seem to think have invented the "beast" ex- 

 pressly for their annoyance. New England coolly awa 

 the onslaught of the pest with shingles, old cans and Paris 

 green, making no complaints, and in consequence is harvest- 

 ing au unusually large crop of potatoes, so much so as to 

 have materially reduced the market price— to 30 cents per 

 bushel. It strikes ua that this is flic most philosophical way,, 

 for we have never heard of the beetle being frightened by 

 scientific titles or long-winded discourses, though perhaps 

 when be becomes cooped up in the narrow quarters of the 

 United Kingdom too much learning may make him mad. . 

 Seriously, it is highly improbable that the potato bug will 

 flourish in England sufficiently to become the pest th- 

 is here, for it is rare that a continental scourge succeeds when 

 transferred to an island; and even if it should, labor is cheap, 

 and band-tic ing and Paris green are efficacious if practiced 

 thoroughly, and the care bestowed, which otherwise would 

 not have been given, affords most excellent return when thy 



crop is harvested. 



■■.«,- 



The Pot/Ltky World.— This excellent little journal lias 

 issued a series of chromo-lithographs, twelve in n 

 trating n>" iscsfc celebrated breeds of fowls which are fur- 

 nished subscribers at the nominal price of 75 r 

 Poultry breeders will find this monthly a useful adjunct to- 

 their efforts. H. H. Stoddard, Publisher, Hartford, Conn. 



The Age of Trees. — The longevity of various trees has 

 been stated to be, in round numbers, as follows; Deciduous 

 cypress, 0,000 years; boabub nee of Senegal, 5,000; dragon's 

 blood tree, 4,000: yew, 3,000; cedar of Lebanon, 3,000; 

 olive, 2,f)00; oak, 1,600; orange, 1,500; Oriental plane, 1,300; 

 cabbage palm, 700 ; lime, 000; ivv, 000; ash, 400; cocuanut 

 palm, 300; date palm, 300; larch,* 300; pear, 300; apple, 200. 

 The Brazil vine palm arrives at the age of 150 years ; the 

 Scotch tit gets its growth in about 100 years, and the bal 

 Gilead in about fifty years. 



The FlBST Food foe Chickens.—, Just before the chick 

 breaks from its narrow cell, the last of the yolk is taken into 

 which gives it the strength 10 make its own 

 grand effort for freedom This food will ceriaiul} 

 twelve, if not twenty-tour hours after it is free. During 

 time no other food is needed; only rest is required for the 

 little stranger after its exhausting labor.— Poultry World. 



Weather Wisdom. — Many persons are predicting an early, 

 long and severe winter. The indications are: the unusual 

 abundance of pine cones, the big piles of dirt the 

 making about their holes, the unusual thickness of the co 

 shucks, the industry of the woodpeckers in laying up sto 

 of acorns, the early rising of the springs in the mountains 

 the mildness of the weather last winter. 



— The discovery of au immense cave in Josephine co 

 Oregon, is announced. The exploration is by no meaos 

 plete, yet o er five miles of galleries have been s en. 



