FOREST AND STREAM 
m 
134 
and would as soon think of shooting a man as to shoot one 
of these birds. Dire misfortune is said to follow the 
destruction of one of these birds, and as the writer met 
with an accident in falling into the hatchway of the “Blue 
Light,” the sailors said it was because he had killed one of 
them. 
The petrel, especially referred to, is the Mother Carey’s 
Chicken, (Procellaria pelagica,) although the others are con¬ 
tinually confounded with it and called by the same name. 
A word to collectors in regard to the petrels. When one is 
taken from the nest it ejects an oily secretion, and when 
killed, this will ooze out and soil the plumage very badly. 
The only remedy I have found was to stuff the mouth, 
throat and nostrils full of cotton, renewing frequently, and 
to be very careful to keep them with the heads up. When 
once stained the oil may be removed by carefully washing 
in benzine and afterwards with water and soap. 
Franklin Benner. 
For Forest and Stream. 
THE WESTERN LARK —Strunella Kegleeta. 
T HIS species of lark so nearly resembles the eastern 
meadow lark, ( S. magna ,) that it is almost impossible 
to tell them apart. Baird says: “the same description as t© 
size, pattern, colors, &c., 'will apply almost equally well to 
both. It may be -stated that the real difference lies 
in the greater tendency to narrow transverse bands on the 
upper surfaces, especially of the middle tail feathers.” 
But its notes are so very different that even those that 
seldom notice such things, can tell the difference St once. 
Its notes are clear and somewhat like a blackbird’s whistle; 
and when sitting on a tree or weed, it will “chirp” almost 
exactly like one. Sometimes it “chirps” while flying. Its 
song, proper, varies somewhat in each individual, being a 
succession of a half a dozen or so clear whisttle-like notes. 
Then it lias another song not so often heard. This is some¬ 
thing like the syllables: “Which-it-ty,” rapidly uttered; 
the bird at the time generally sitting on a weed. Its habits 
appear to be nearly the same as those of the meadow lark. 
It is very abundant here, and the prairies are now, (the last 
of March,) musical with their songs. Habitat, Western 
Apierica from _tlie Plains to the Pacific. P. S. B. 
Russell County, Kansas. 
-- 
—The Germantown Telegraph says:—They are still dis¬ 
cussing the question in some places whether or not the 
European sparrow will protect city trees from the worms, 
<fcc. These people seem to learn nothing. The sparrow is 
no more insectivorous than some of our own sparrows,- 
the catbird, robin, &c., and nothing to compare to the nut¬ 
hatches. They pi'efer seeds even in summer to all other 
food. We have a colony of them on our premises and 
know something about them. 
POW DER-DO WN. 
Washington, D, C., March 27,1874. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
I note, in your paper and elsewliero, various surmises and, inquiries 
respecting the so-called “Heron’s Torch” or “luminous spot” on the 
breast of birds of that tribe. Your correspondent “Homo” has the facts 
in the case most nearly. It is perfectly clear to what the appearance is 
due, and I had supposed it was pretty well known. All herons (and a 
few other birds) have a particular kind of feathers called “powder-down” 
which occasion the phenomenon. These down feathers are a matted 
patch of yellowish or whitish color, concealed beneath the ordinary plu¬ 
mage. They are weak, imperfect feathers, without strength to stand 
straight, which grow continually and as constantly break down, with a 
scurfy exfoliation, and pervaded with a greasy exudation. In most 
herons there is not only one such patch of powder-down on the breast, 
but four others, in pairs; one pair on the lower back over the hips and 
auother pair on the lower belly under the hips. The bitterns lack the 
belly patches; but the whole set will be found in the “poke” and other 
typical herons. A tropical American species—the boat-billed heron—has 
still another pair over the shoulder blades. I never observed the degree 
of luminosity these feathers possess; but according to accounts it is 
very decided—more than can be accounted for od the supposition that it 
is merely a sheen or reflection of light from a greasy surface. ‘‘Homo’s” 
experiments in a darkened room would seem to prove this, but I am not 
prepared to say that there is a true “phosphorescent” quality in the 
feathers, like that possessed by a fire-fly, theugh this may be quite true. 
The physiological function of the powder down is uncertain; but it is 
not likely that it is of service to the bird in catching fish, for the reason 
that most herons feed by day, and do not go a-iishiug at night with or 
without a “lantern.” Yours truty, Elliott Copes. 
*—--- 
THE QUAIL QUESTION. 
New Haven, March 26,1874. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
In your paper of this date you publish a letter from “Pioneer,” in 
which he states that, in his opinion, a setting quail emits no scent. With 
all due respect to his opinion, I would say that in my judgment he is in 
error. Last fall, while hunting in a dead swamp, my pointer came fo a 
stand near the trunk of a tree. On approaching the spot I could distinct¬ 
ly see a quail crouched down in the smallest space possible, under the 
shadow of the log. The quail may have been moving about previously, 
as they—the covey—were scattered about when I came upon them, but 
that the dog was pointing a setting quail, and that, too, by the scent, is 
undisputable. “Shootist.” 
■-«- 
Zoological Society of Philadelphia.— We are in re¬ 
ceipt of the following interesting letter from Dr. John L. 
Le Conte, the Secretary of the Philadelphia Zoological So¬ 
ciety. We have not the least doubt of the success of this 
enterprise, and believe that in a few years Philadelphia will 
boast of the finest collection of animals in America:— 
Zoological Society op Philadelphia, ) 
35 South Third Street, March 30, 1874. f 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
We are progressing rapidly in our arrangements at the Zoo. The 
monkey house is nearly completed, and the bear pit in an advanced stage 
of construction. Other buildings are under discussion, or in more or less 
forward condition. The prairie dog village is happy under the same 
municipal regulations which prevail on the western plains, with the ad - 
vantage that the inhabitants are free from the assaults of their “danger¬ 
ous classes,” the owls and rattlesnakes, A large increase to the popula¬ 
tion of this thriving colony may therefore soon be expected. 
A large consignment of Australian marsupials and birds is now on its 
way and will arrive at San Francisco in a few weeks. The collection is 
in charge of a competent keeper, and will be brought to this city by rail¬ 
way without delay. An additional part of our ground will soon be added 
to our present enclosure, and work will he pushed on as rapidly as pos¬ 
sible. We hope to have the garden opened by the beginning of June 
with a very interesting series of animals, many species of which will be 
for the first time exhibited alive on this continent. 
I -null send your note to the ofiice in order that more minute details 
may he given you concerning the animals now inthe garden, and to ar¬ 
rive, with such other information as will intere t your readers. 
Financially, we are in a very fair condition, and I think as soon as we 
can open the garden and show to the community what we have actually 
accomplished by the prudent and economical .expenditure of the money 
confided to us, that the interest felt in our enterprise will he greatly in¬ 
creased. 
I thank you greatly, in the name of the Society, for the friendly sym¬ 
pathy which you give us in our endeavor to introduce into the United 
States the European system of Zoological Gardens, which have proved so 
valuable for both scientific and social progress. 
Yery truly yours, John L. Le Conte, 
Cor. Sec., L. S. 
---- 
CENTRAL PARK MENAGERIE-. 
Department op Public Parks, 
New York. April 4, 1874. 
fact, there is no dog of any class to be comm™! • 
beauty, elegance, formation, scent or action inth . fi ln 
or moors with the Irish blood red aud white setter° ^ 
— Wlio carries 
in Dakotah to 
country, and when 
work. Who does it? 
s me man mrougii irom Two Woods I i 
the Minnesota line? It is over a ro i 
the snows are deep it is terrible w! 
. Why “Curly,” a fair sized span ? 
The mail is put up m a tight package, bound in an oil s’l - 
wrap, and tied around Curly’s neck, and off he sets onl - 
journey full tilt. Some office seekers, in tbe Territory ^ 
already intriguing for the position. What salary'“iT 
Cress well pays Curly is not known. All we know U th 
for the present Curley is satisfied with a good dinner i 
will never start on the return trip until he has had it ' ^ 
Animals received at Central Park Menagerie for the week ending 
April 3, 1874: 
One red-backed Pelican, Pelecanus rtffescens. Hab. West Africa. 
One small Alligator. Presented by Master Theodore Roosevelt. 
One Gray Squirrel. Presented by Miss Mary Yalentine. 
W. A. Conklin. 
—As so many of our subscribers and correspondents have 
written to us asking for a portrait of “Belle” “in action,” 
or in other words, “standing on a point,” we wrote to her 
owner, Mr. Price, of England, requesting him to send us a 
large photograph of Belle in position Last week he kindly 
forwarded to us a beautiful illustration of this wonderful 
pointer, which we have reproduced in our journal to-day. 
It will not he necessary to enter into any elaborate descrip¬ 
tion of this remarkable animal, as most of our field sports¬ 
men are familiar with the performances of Belle at field 
trials in England, so that we simply give her pedigree and 
some of her triumphs. 
*--—-- 
THE IRISH SETTER. 
T HE red Irish setter and his descendants have been a 
favorite breed with our field sportsmen for the past 
twenty years. It will not he uninteresting to those who 
have adopted this blood, and those who are seeking for 
purity in this animal to give the following article, written 
by an Irish gentleman in Bells' Life. This sportsman and 
breeder has been engaged for many years in noticing the 
different strains of this dog, and speaks in high praise of 
the red setter proper, hut gives the palm to the blood red 
and white setter of Ireland:— 
Sir —I divide the second species into two classes, viz., 
the dark red and the tan red, first-class or dark red being 
the purer in blood and color; but both of these classes being 
inferior in breeding, blood, size, lineage, beauty, feathers, 
depth of chest, endurance, shining skin, blood red coat, 
and enormous spring power. Color of dark red (no white), 
class 1, second species:—The dark red is produced in the 
following manner:—About a century ago the dark red was 
crossed by the black setter, Lord Ossulton’s breed (now the 
Earl of Tankerville : ) and a good breed it was, of medium 
size, and imported into Ireland for the above purpose. The 
cross did not suit, as often seen in the offspring, frequently 
in the present day, for you often see two clifferent breeds of 
setters far removed and a bad progeny produced by cross¬ 
ing, even with good blood on both sides. The writer has 
tested this by long experience in breeding. The red in the 
above species is not blood red; it is darker, and has at times 
peculiar tinges of black, especially at tip of the ears, and 
mingled about the head and back, sometimes the same at 
muzzle, also the dorsal and lumbar region, tip of tail, and 
isolated hair of dark color mingled through the entire red 
hair. The hair is stronger, coarser, and shorter, with little 
gloss; curls are often seen about the tail, posterior part of 
ear, and about the gluteal and scapular muscles, which 
show great impurity of blood; the color of the eyes is dark, 
lips likewise, and also the tip and cartilaginous portion of 
nose; mouth black, not barred; the hair is not feathered in 
the same degree as you see in the blood-red and white Irish 
setter; the hair on the posterior portion of forelegs is often 
tinged with black; very little hair between toes or covering 
the anterior plilanges of the feet. The formation of the 
red Irish setter without white is peculiar. The entire dog:, 
taken collectively, is more squarely built than the blood red 
and white Irish setters, marked less with curved lines. The 
pure reds are leggy; taken collectively, the loins are round, 
strong in the extremities, but not so angular as in the blood 
red and white Irish setter. The hack is longer also in 
many, and why? On account of the want of obliquity in 
shoulder blades and pelvic portion of the hind quarters. 
This has been produced by bad crossing. This dog is, not¬ 
withstanding, of a hardy nature. The chest, or thorax, is 
barrel-shaped, but not deep anteriorly or below, 
and wider between the forelegs. "This impedes 
freedom of action, want of pace, and engen¬ 
ders foundering when they are trained for some time for 
sporting purposes on the tammocks, in mountains or un¬ 
even grounds, after the pursuit of game, etc., as you 
often see this disease exhibited in the large size pointer 
class with heavy heads and necks, wide chests, heavy 
bodies, their legs not being able to carry their weight. 
The elbow is essential, impeding pace, etc., and the want 
of endurance, as far as the extremities are concerned. 
The perceptive faculties in this dog are not so strong, 
the ears are set higher, and not so placed posteriorly as 
in the blood red and white, and therefore there is not 
the rotundity of head; the curve line from the posterior 
portion of the head is not so convex towards the first 
dorsal vertebra as you see in that superb animal of the 
first species, the blood red and white. There is more 
lip, and the angle of the lips to the nose is more blunt, 
and less acute. The difference of temper is much at va¬ 
riance. The pure red is uncertain, more irascible, easily 
provoked, less under control, and impetuous. On the 
contrary, the blood red and whites have courage without 
ferocity, amiability of temper, great love* of their mas¬ 
ter, docile, more under control; the senses are better de¬ 
veloped, the intellectual, moral,.sensitive, perceptive or¬ 
gans are very highly organized, and the faithfulness of 
the blood red and white is wonderful in the extreme; in 
POINTER A ND SET TER MATCH 
Hew York, April 8 1874 
Editor Forest and Stream:— ’ 
I have taken a great deal of interest in the subject of ti 
international pointer and setter match, which was ori • 
ated in the Forest and Stream. As you have frequent?' 
done me the honor of allowing me to present myself t 
your readers as one who has a strong likiim an ‘d J* 10 
little knowledge of these subjects, and have published n . 
letters, I trust you will permit me to give you some fli. 
of mine in regard to this international match. I agree wit? 
you perfectly when you state that it would be uselm 
for any of us, even with the best of dogs, to take our w- 
mals to England to engage in a match there. English <w" 
and I speak knowingly, having shot three seasons them’ 
are better trained than ours, are handled so dexterously 
and are under such perfect control, that unless 'our 0 \vn 
pointers and setters had some particular redeeming traits 
which would entitle them to marks of merit, the English 
dogs would claim all the points. Therefore, as you have 
I think, suggested, if our dogs went there their wonderful 
retrieving qualities should he noticed. Perhaps it mav he 
worth while right here to give you some account, or rather 
let our English friends know how far this retrieving quality 
is carried by some of our own dogs. 1 know of a dog and 
I fancy you are acquainted with his perfoiTnances°\vho 
poiuted, killed, and retrieved sixteen single English or IVil- 
son snipe in two hours. His hearing in the field is -wonder¬ 
ful, and he requires scarcely a single word of command 
With the dog, gun, and man ready, at tbe word “Hie on ” 
the dog ranges and points. The gunner walks up, flushes 
the snipe, kills, the dog drops instantly, and* at the word 
“fetch” the dog retrieves the snipe without injuring a 
feather, and absolutely hands it to his master, and then 
without another word spoken returns to heel, and so on 
over and over again. This was accompanied sixteen times 
hand running, without any signals or any other words than 
the two commands of “hie on” and “fetch.” It is neces¬ 
sary that the ground should he described. It was marshy 
meadows, covered here and there with brush and grass, the 
shooting open, and a good scenting clay. It is not to be 
supposed, how 7 ever, that a dog of this character can be 
found every day—he is rather an exception; but wliat I do 
wish to convey is this'idea, that the performance of the 
animal I have endeavored to describe is, in my opinion, 
fully entitled to quite as many points as Mr. Price’s “Belle," 
although the style of the American dog may not be as fault¬ 
less. We would now like to ask of our English sportsmen 
what they think .of a single setter, combining all these 
marks of excellence, who can in addition retrieve. Believ¬ 
ing that our English friends are thoroughly in earnest, with 
a love for fair play, and that a match of the character they 
propose is suggested solely by their desire to enhance true 
sport, I would suggest their bringing some of their dogs to 
this country. If you could induce some of them, Mr. Editor, 
to bring over a brace or so of their 97^ point dogs I could 
easily make a match, and guarantee to find ten gentlemen 
who would each enter their dogs to work over quail or pin¬ 
nated grouse (prairie chickens), the first to be hunted in 
October and the latter in September. I would suggest a 
sweepstakes, with an entrance fee of not more than $100 
each. I would leave the appointment of one of the judges 
and the locality to the editor of your very reliable paper. 
Yery truly, ‘ C. B. 
■ - —-■ 
DOG SHOWS AND FIELD TR IALS. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
Nothing would greater tend to improve our breeds of American setter? 
and pointers than a series of exhibitions of sporting dogs, under the di¬ 
rect supervision of the leading sporting clubs of. the United States, when 
prizes should be awarded for the best bred animals of different ages and 
sex in both classes, to be followed by regular field trials, arranged to a 
code of rules agreed upon, and premiums given likewise for the best 
broken setters and pointers. Such shows and field trials, if controlled 
by gentlemen sportsmen and judges of undoubted integrity, would not 
fall to be a success and self-supporting. 
Too little attention has been paid to the breeding and pedigrees of 
sporting dogs by Americans. Why should it be that all our fine setters 
and pointers must be imported? Simply because the best blood is ob¬ 
tainable m Great Britain, and there is no denying it. And why is a 
that the sportsman who upholds the American setter as better than the 
English one when asked the pedigree of his animal (although he has an 
imperfect knowledge of his dog’s descent) will, nine times out of ten, re¬ 
ply “His grandfather came from England or Ireland.” 
A dog show alone is not calculated to have the benefit desired; it should 
be followed by a field exhibition, for there are many setters and pointers 
that would take first and second premiums in doors, but when in the 
open would be at the bottom of the list. 
The London. Field says, in an article on dog show's: “Granting that 
exhibitions of this kind are not at all times pure, any more than 'the 
turf’ is pure; granting that the judging is often faulty, and that in some 
bribery and corruption undermine merit, still, with all their failings, 
it-must be admitted that these exhibitions have gone far towards attain¬ 
ing the objects for which they were originally started, viz.: improve¬ 
ment in the breed of the dogs of the British Islands, and the diffusion 
among the people generally of the Knowledge of good dogs. ” 
Gould not you, Mr. Editor, devise some plan and make it known throng 
the columns of your admirable and fast-growing journal, so as to bring 
tliis subject before our American sportsmens’ clnbs? We are sadly w 
want of a system in breeding and breaking of sporting dogs, and I fee 
confident dog shows, coupled with field trials, would greatly improve our 
stock. “Homo. 
—For tbe last two years, tbe chimpanzee in the London 
Zoological Gardens, lias been an endless source of instruc¬ 
tion and amusement. He died in tbe early part of Ls 
month, of acute tuberculosis of the peritoneum, though tlie 
lungs were found to be perfectly healthy. 
