266 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



fact is known I think it cannot have been very -widely pub 

 lished. Respectfully yours, Charles Stephenson. 



[The bare fact that the common house fly is infested with 

 parasitic insects has long been known, but we believe that the 

 subject has not been very fully investigated. The commonest 

 of the parasites is a red mite known as Astoma parum'ticum, 

 (fof figure see Riley's Seventh Annual Report of Noxious and 

 Beneficial Insects of the State of Missouri, p. 177). Another 

 species infests the locust (Oahptenus) and destroys great 

 quantities of them. House flies also suffer from a fungoid 

 parasitic growth which often causes death. We hope that 

 our correspondent will continue his investigations in this mat- 

 ter, and that others of our readers will contribute any infor- 

 mation which they may have bearing on the subject. "We 

 cannot tell from the description what our correspondent's 

 species is. — Ed.] 



» ■» ■ . . 



HORNED DOE ANTELOPES. 



3Sew York Cut, Oct. 17-, 1STT. 

 Suitor Forest and Stream : 



I have recently had brought to my notice the head of a female ante- 

 lope which had a small pair of horns. The animal was killed in Ne- 

 braska, and my informant— a perfectly trustworthy person— assured 

 me that she Had not bred the spring before "she was killed, and that, 

 although quite old, as shown by her teeth, Bhe had apparently never 

 produced young. The horns In this specimen are small, a little over an 

 Inch in length, sharp and straight, inclining backward very slightly. 



Will you tell me whether these horned does are common, and whether 

 the noma ever grow to a large size— that is, as large as those of the 

 bucks? Do the horns of the doe ever bear prongs, and are they shed 

 as are the buck's? When does the net take place la this species? 



An answer to all these queries will oblige, yours respectfully, 



Blake. 



Ilorncd does of this species are not very uncommon, and 

 are, we believe, always barren. During the past autumn we 

 killed or were present at the death of several, none of which 

 gave evidence of ever having given birth to, or suckled, young. 

 We believe that the proportion of barren does among ante- 

 lope is greater than among deer, elk or buffalo. The horns 

 on these barren does are generally quite small, though, in one 

 instance which came to our notice they were about three 

 inches long. They sometimes have prongs, but these are usu- 

 ally so small that they can scarcely be seen. One killed in 

 Nebraska less ' than a month ago has on each of .the horns, 

 which are less than two inches long, a little knob where the 

 prong should be. We would refer our corrrespondent further, 

 to a Report of a Reconnaisance from Carroll, Montana, to the 

 Yellowstone Park and Return, by Col. Wni. Ludlow, TJ. S. 

 Engineers. In the Zoological Report, p. 70, the following 

 statement is made : 



It is well known that the female antelope sometimes has horns and 

 is sometimes without them. Observations exteuded over several years, 

 together with the testimony of several plainsmen, among them Charles 

 .Reynolds, a hunter of seventeen years' experience and a man of close 

 observation, led me to conclude that the horned does are always bar- 

 ren. I have myself examined a great number of doe antelopes, with 

 and without horns, and have never seen one of the former class that 

 gave evidence of having produced, or being about to have, young. 

 M or have I ever seen a hornless doe that was barren. The horns on 

 the does vary from one to three inches in length, and are soft and easi- 

 ly bent. Their length no doubt depends in a measure upon the age of 

 the animal. Those that I have seen lack the hard, bony core which is 

 found in the horns of the perfect males. 



We should be glad to receive turther information on this 

 point from any of our readers. The rutting season is in Octo- 

 ber.— Ed. 



»— » «. — . 



Too Many Monkeys.— That influential British merchant 

 did not write a clerical hand. What was worse, his spelling 

 was not first class. There was a ship of his trading with the 

 Indies. He wrote for two monkeys, and spelt it too, and for- 

 got to cross his "t," so when the intelligent Bombay corres- 

 pondent read the letter it was just 100 monkeys. As the order 

 did not designate any peculiar kind of monkey, and the com- 

 missions were assured, just one hundred assorted monkeys 

 were collected and duly forwarded. It was a mixed cargo 

 which raised high-jinks at sea. As the monkeys could not 

 all be caged the sailors had a time of it. You couldn't leave a 

 thin^ loose on that ship, not even the anchor, that half a dozen 

 ruohkeyadid not have it, all at the same time. They stole the 

 telescope, broke the quadrant, smashed the compass, ruined 

 the chronometer, dropped the ship's log overboard, and all got 

 drunk on the sailors' grog. They reefed the bob-stay, catted 

 the shrouds, back-stayed the niariin-spikes, close-hauled the 

 capstan, jury-rigged the calaboose and keel-hauled the jib-boom. 

 That ship, according to last accounts, has arrived at Liverpool 

 flying a signal of distress. Anyhow this is about the gist of an 

 ainusing story in the Hartford Times. 



, » ■«' ' 



— Giles Collins was his name, and Giles is a martyr. A poor 

 laborer was he with a turn to bugs. Five lively Colorado 

 beetles did he imprison in an empty beer bottle. The English 

 magistrates fined him five shillings. Moral : It ain't good in 

 England to hanker after the Colorado beetle. 

 .«■ ■ » 



Singing Mice Again.— A valued correspondent sends us 

 the following notes on singing mice, which are certainly very 

 interesting : 



From time to time I have seen in Eoeest and Stream ac- 

 counts of singing mice, and have noted that in your editorial 

 comments you invite further information on the subject. 



A few years since I lived with my family in the immediate 

 neighborhood of New York City. The library, or family 

 room, opened with folding doors into a conservatory, where, 

 suspended from the ceiling, hung several cages of Canaries. 

 These cages were raised or lowered by cords passing through 

 pulleys in the ceiliDg, and were secured near one of the shelves 

 holding the plants, One evening, while sitting alone in the li- 



brary, I heard from the conservatory a low warbling, like, that 

 of a young canary. I was surprised, for 1 knew that there 

 was no young canary there, and, watching, I presently saw 

 that the notes proceeded from a mouse which was running 

 about in the bottom of the cage, eating the bird seed. The 

 bird was sitting quietly on his perch, perhaps asleep. 



On subsequent occasions I saw two or three of these little 

 warblers at a time, sometimes in the cages, sometimes on the 

 flower shelves. 1 have frequently seen them run up the cord 

 and down into the cage. Once 1 crept under the cage, and, 

 showing myself, put my hand on the cord where mousey 

 would have to pass if "he attempted to escape. He was 

 puzzled ; stopped, warbled, and then retreated into the cage 

 again. They were wonderfully fearless for mice, though 

 they wouldn't quite consent to be caught. 



1 presume they were common mice that from constant asso- 

 ciation with canaries had learned to sing. None of them ac- 

 quired the sknll notes of the canary, only a low, sweet warble. 



— Additional remains of the huge fossil bird, Tethornis em- 

 uinus, have recently been found at Shoppey, England. These 

 fossils make it apparent that the bird in question had enor- 

 mous wings, and was closely allied to, though much larger 

 than, the albatross. Prof. Owen is engaged in the prepara- 

 tion of a paper on the subject, in which he proposes to sub- 

 stitute a more appropriate name for the one given by Bower- 

 bank. The bones were found by Mr. W. H. Shrubsole, of 

 Shurness-on-the-Sea. 



• _, > - v _ 



TnE Capercailzie in Northumberland: — It is well known 

 that this fine bird, originally indigenous in the British 

 Islands, became extinct, and was re-introduced into the Scot- 

 tish Highlands some forty years ago by the late Marquis of 

 Breadalbane. Earl Ravensworth has recently been endeav- 

 oring to naturalize the capercailzie in large tracts of pine 

 woods in Northumberland, on the edge of moors and wild crags, 

 furnishing various berries which form its favorite food. In 1872 

 a cock and two hens were reared, but the male got destroyed. 

 In 1873 two settings of eggs were hatched, but, owing to a 

 w r et summer, all the young birds perished after nearly arriving 

 at maturity. In 1874 four fine birds were reared to their full 

 growth, one of which, a male, still survives. In 1876' "fifteen 

 chicks were hatched out of twenty eggs, and three cocks and 

 four hens grew to maturity. But the'stock has become re- 

 duced to five individuals, three males and two females, all in 

 good health. It appears that a difficulty arises from some de- 

 ficiency in diet or conditions, which is at present unknown. 

 Although extremely wild and shy by nature, and flying long 

 distances, capercailzies are yet most indolent and unwilling to 

 move from places to which they are familiarized. Their color 

 assimilated very closely with the Scotch fir, so that it is ex- 

 ceedingly difficult to discover the male bird whea seated on a 

 branch. —Nature. 



Zoological Garden at Calcutta. — It seems very un- 

 fortunate .that the attention once paid to the collecting of 

 animals and their maintenance in Calcutta should no longer 

 be considered possible. The genial character of the climate 

 and the wonderful variety of animals we should have sup- 

 posed would have made the Calcutta collection the first in the 

 world. The former Viceroy of India, Lord Northbrook, took 

 the Zoological Garden of Calcutta under his particular pro- 

 tection, but it seems that his successor, in view of the deple- 

 tion of the Indian Treasury, has notified the Calcutta mana- 

 gers that they must' no longer look to government help. It is 

 a pity that the best position in the world for keeping and 

 studying tropical animals shoidd be abandoned for lack of a 

 small support. 



The Red-Headed Woodfeoker as an Egg-Sdokeri — 

 Editor Forest and Stream.— The statement of your corres- 

 pondent in regard to the common red-headed woodpecker 

 killing young ducks reminds me of an incident that occurred 

 last May at my gardener's place near the city. A hen turkey's 

 eggs were pierced and emptied by some means unknown to my 

 German. Six eggs had been "tapped" and the contents ex- 

 tracted. When the turkey went to her nest the seventh time 

 she was watched. While upon her nest a red headed wood- 

 pecker was seen to fly to the apple tree immediately over the 

 turkey. The red-head chattered and dodged back and forth 

 upon the tree until the hen moved off her nest, whenimmedi- 

 ately the thief hopped down from his hiding place and perfor- 

 ated the smooth egg. He extracted about two-thirds of the 

 yolk, and then flew away. He certainly displayed modern 

 taste for egg-nog.. Arrow. 



Indianapolis, Oct. 29, 1877. 



What Red Head Dt-ctcs Eat. — A week or two ago Dr. 

 William H. Keener, of Baltimore, sent us the contents of 

 the craw of a red head duck which he examined. They 

 were composed of seeds and minute shells of .species that 

 we could not determine. Professor Eaton, of New Haven, 

 however, to whom a part of the specimens were sent, says "that 

 the seeds are undoubtedly those of liuppia mwritima, a slender 

 salt water weed found in shallow bays along the coast from 

 New England to Florida, in the Onondaga salt springs, and 

 along the Northwest American coast. He has seen it plenti- 

 ful at Watch Hill, R. I., aniat the mouth of the Connecticut 

 River." We are now endeavoring to determine ihe Jorminbpera 

 and other shells in it, and will endeavor to give a more exact 

 locality where the ducks were likely to be feeding when they 

 ate them. The questions raised by Dr. Keener have initiated 

 investigations which are likely to lead to important discoveries 

 corcerning the habitat arid habits of the redhead duck. We 

 wish other correspondents would bring like discoveries to 

 our notice. ._. ^ 



Arrivals at Philadelphia Zoological Gardens for Week End- 

 inu Oct. 81, Isn.-One sparrow hawk, Fah-o sparverius, presented; 

 one golden e&g\s, Aquila awlax, presented; one little black headed 

 duck,-Fwft?(rfu afinia, presented; one great horned owl, Bubo innjini- 

 anus, pieseuted. Akthbr E. Brown, Gen'l Sup't. 



—Thetis, the mother of Achilles, plunged the future hero Into the 

 Styx to make him Invulnerable to wounds. This typifies the import- 

 ance of bathing to children a3 a safeguard agaiust ailment. But not 

 only bathiog, but the accessories of bathing are of importance. To 

 use a pure soap Is most important. The new article, B. T. Babbitt's 

 Toilet Soap, therefore, fills a most Important purpose, for it la perfectly 

 pure and delicate. No artificial perfume is needed to add to its fr*- 

 granoe, or to hide impure materials.— [A dc. 



S$( $«%f 



Arrival of Mr. Mather in England.— Our special cor 

 respondent at Southampton, England, writes, under date of 

 Oct. 24, 1877, as follows : 



Learning of the shipment of a large lot of salmon eggs 

 in the Mosel, forwarded bv Professor Spencer F. Baird, U. 

 S. Fish Commissioner, for distribution in Prussia, Holland 

 and Germany, 1 ran down to Southampton this morning to 

 see Mr. Mather, and was fortunate enough to be on the dock 

 as the fins steamer arrived. I soonfouud Mr. Mather, whowaa 

 in the best of spirits, and none the worse for' the trip. Of course 

 Mr. Mather's great anxiety was in regard to Ins charge. 1 wa» 

 shown the eleven unpacked crates, and the refrigerating box 

 of his own invention, in which I could distinctly see the eggs. 

 Mr. Mather is quite sure that the eggs are in good condition. 



Mr. Frank Buckland will soon be here, and will wit- 

 ness the opening of the two crates intended for him. Two 

 crates are to be left in Southampton for France, and the 

 others are for foreign distribution. Everything seems to be 

 going on well, and it looks as if the first great step of intro- 

 ducing our American salmon in the Old World is fairly ac- 

 complished. E. 

 .—». — . 



White Bait.— The old discussion is going on in England, 

 " What are white bait ?" Mr. Francis Francis, of the Field, 

 says: " They have kept something which has grown into a 

 herring, but that something was not a Thames whitebait." 

 Mr. Francis, we think, insists that the small fry caught aud 

 allowed to grow in the Brighton aquarium, was not a true 

 Thames whitebait. This leading authority thinks that there ' 

 may be some Small herrings mixed up with the whitebait, not 

 that the white bait per se is something else. Another cones- • 

 pondent " is quite certain that white bait are not young her- 

 rings," because "herrings never spawn in any water but pure 

 sea water, and are never caught in brackish or sewage water ; 

 and white bait are only found in brackish water, often mixed . 

 with sewage." White bait are interesting to us, as we have 

 heard more than once, on the best authority, that these little 

 fish could be caught in the vicinity of New York. We may . 

 state at the same time that our leading icthyologists are quite 

 positive that white bait are youug herring. We trust soon to ; 

 obtain some reliable English white bait, and if we canuot feed 

 with Prime Ministers on thesa daimy fish at Greenwich we 

 shall indulge in the drier amusement of doing our best to dis- 

 cover what these puzzling little fish really are. 

 _- ^._ 



When Young Salmon Should be Transported,— A very I 

 important question has been asked of us, which is as follows s 

 " Quite a large number of the eggs of the California salmon j 

 have been received here. These eggs weie to have been sent 

 direct to Vermont to be hatched out there, in order to stock a 

 piece of water in that State. From some cause the eggs are 

 mature, and the fish are now ready to leave the ova. The ne- 

 cessity arises then of hatching them, out here. The question 

 iB, when the fish appear and arc strong enough, ought they to 

 be transported to Vermont at once, or must they be allowed <' 

 to acquire a certain size here before moving ? Of course, if 

 allowed to grow, the trouble and expense of moving the fish 

 to Vermont would be very much increased." 



The answer to this question, is, that just as soon as thtfJ 

 young fish have absorbed the yolk sac— say in about four i 

 weeks (the time being longer or shorter according to circum- 

 stances)— the fish should be sent to their home. Notwithstand- 

 ing the risks of the ice and change of temperature, the young 

 fish would be found capable of braviug the rigors of the sea- 

 son in the Vermont waters. The reason explained by Mr. F. 

 Buckland is quite a curious one. When the young fish 

 emerge from the egg they are endowed with a certain instinct, , 

 the one perhaps implanted in all creatures— that of self-pre- 

 servation. Almost immediately they begin to understand in- 

 tuitively who are their foes. If young fish are hand fed 

 and cared for, this instinct in a short time becomes, as it were, 

 blunted. Of course, with such tiny things as young salmon, 

 which have hardly passed their embryotic state, their lives aro | 

 mostly due, exposed as they must be to predatory fish, to j 

 their ability to escape. It has been shown that, young salmon, 

 which have been cared for and fed, when put into water 

 where there were even minnows, were immediately eaten up 

 by the minnows. The little fish seemed to have forgotten 

 their instincts, and were sacrificed in their innocence. Young ' 

 fish, then, when it is intended that they should shift for them? 

 selves, must as speedily as possible be placed in such elements 

 as may be natural to them. 



Having consulted on this interesting subject what is certain- 

 ly the highest authority in the country, we believe we are en- 

 abled to answer satisfactorily a question in fish culture in re- 

 gard to which there has been some uncertainty. 



An Acre of Water. — Speaking about the value of an 

 acre of water devoted to the propagation of fish, the Ohio 

 Farmer says : 



We write from knowledge in this matter, having in earlier 

 days cauEht many a "nice string" of fish in a pond that was 

 formerly a swamp. During one dry August the owner, with 

 two of his boys, went in it »vith a plough, scraper and shovels, 

 and in a short, time had a pond of nearly an acre in extent. 

 This he stocked with fish common to the sluggish streams of 

 the neighborhood, and procured some at a distance, and tor 

 years thereafter it proved to be the best acre on the farm. 



Fish Culture in New England.— We are pleased to copy 

 from the Maine Farmer the following words of encourage- 

 ment: 



The efforts made to restock the rivers of New England with, 

 salmon and other migratory food fishes are new meeting with 



