FOREST AND STREAM. 
405 
the snow is hard and crusty, and the noise made in approaching them 
alarms them. They are shot at all times by our population in the more 
distant districts, but a close time is now fixed by law, which will have a 
good effect where the law can be enforced. 
There is another species found in Newfoundland, but it is compara¬ 
tively rare—the Rock Ptarmigan, L. rupestrls (Gmelin). It is a truly al¬ 
pine species, and is seldom found below the line of stunted black spruce 
except in the depths of winter, when they descend to the low lands and 
feed on the buds of dwarf trees, sometimes in company with the willow 
grouse. Our settlers call this the “mountain partridge.” M. H. 
--- 
THE SCENT QUESTION. 
Nicasio, Marin co.,Cal., July, 1874. 
EDITOR FOREST AND STREAM:— 
In an article m a back number relating to quail withholding their 
scent, I expressed the opinion that sitting birds gave off no scent. In 
making this statement I had reference to the California quail, which is 
about the size of our eastern quail, but differs from it in plumage and 
somewhat in habits. The California quails, both male and female, have 
a plume on the top of the head which can be raised or depressed at will. 
Their plumage is of a slate color, and unlike our eastern quail, they 
roost in trees at night. They are very prolific, laying about nineteen 
eggs, often more. I have seen twenty-seven. The nestis made in the 
ground and lined with fine grass. The bird, when sitting, is about level 
with the surface. The eggs are placed around the sides of the nest. 
During incubation the birds lay very close, sometimes being killed by 
cattle stepping on them. A bevy, on being flushed, alight together, but 
are easily flushed a second time, when they scatter and lay well if the 
cover is good. I never had trouble in finding them as soon as I could 
get to them, if there was any dampness in the air; but in our dry, north 
wind the scent from some cause is so soon obliterated that I have often 
seen dogs flush quail by walking over them, and even stand with their 
foot on a dead bird, at a loss to know what had become of it. But the 
same dog, on a damp day, would work out and retrieve five hundred and 
fifty quails. Having kept good dogs during many years, and never hav- 
ng seen one make a point on a sitting bud, I formed the opinion that 
there was no scent given off that a dog could detect. 
I trust my brother sportsmen will receive this in the true spirit of a 
sportsman, remembering that the best dogs can be at fault and the finest 
shots miss their birds, and that in all matters of opinion such as this, no 
one can be positive. Yours truly, Pioneer. 
THE “RARA AVIS.” 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
A Western friend writes me as follows regarding the “Kara Avis” of 
“Pioneer,” in Forest and Stream of July 23d:— 
“This story is rather a hard one to digest, but I think I can solve the 
mystery. What he found was either the nest of Pordiceps Californicus 
(Heerman) or of P. occidentals (Lawrence), which species always breed 
in close proximity to water. These nests were probably floated off dur¬ 
ing high water, became partially submerged, yet retained sufficient 
buoyancy to prevent being sunk entirely. These birds, upon leaving 
their nests, generally cover them up, as he says he found them. The 
eggs of all grebes, so far as my observation extends, are of a dirty white 
color, but entirely different in shape from quail’s eggs. While the latter 
are pyriform, those of the former are of an elongated oval, considerably 
and equally pointed at both end-.” 
As my friend has collected and studied the oology of North America 
(especially of the little known Western region) for years, and has the 
best private collection in the Union, I attach full credence to bis state¬ 
ment. Fred. Beverly. 
A Minnesota correspondent, Mr. Franklin Benner, agrees 
with the views of Fred. Beverly given above. He says: 
“The nest discovered by your correspondent “Pioneer” is no cioubt 
that of one of the species of grebe, probably that of the red-billed grebe. 
It is not built under water but on the edge of the pond, where, after a 
while, it may have become detached and water-logged, which would ac¬ 
count fur the position in which it was found. 
-- 
CENTRAL PARK MENAGERIE. 
Department op Public Parks, i 
New York, Aug. 2, 1874. f 
Animals received at Central Park Menagerie for the week ending 
August 1,1874. 
One red-throated Amazon, CTvrysotis collaria. Hab. Jamaica. Re¬ 
ceived in exchange. 
One Grevet Monkey, Chlorocebus engythithea. Hab. Abyssinia. 
One Marsh Hawk, Circus Hudsonius. Presented by James S. Bailey, 
M. D. 
One Night Heron, Nyctiardea gardeni. Received in exchange. 
One Killdeer, Aegialitis vociferus. Received in exchange. 
One Woodchuck, Arctornys monax. Presented by Mr. Charles M. 
Schieffelin. 
One Red Fox, V'ulpes fulvm. Presented by Mr. Spencer G. McN ary. 
Three Monkeys. W. A, Conklin. 
r oodlmd, Emvn md Mnrdeti. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
The Elm Flea. —A correspondent in Harlem asks, 
“What are the little hopping fleas, or bugs of a golden and 
green color, that cover my elm trees?” We have seen noth¬ 
ing of the kind of insect of wdiich our correspondent 
speaks, but we think he confounds his unknown “skipping 
insect” with one equally familiar to us, and known as the 
“elm flea.” The elm,"however, is subject to many and 
some very curious diseases, as every patient observer and 
student of trees knows, and to some of these diseases these 
true enemies come as to a feast of fat things. Sometimes 
an unusual deposit of combrium takes place, and instead 
of forming—as it should were it to follow a great law of 
nature—the new wood, it becomes unhealthy, and oozes 
out through the bark. You will know it from its black 
appearance after a few days; first a thin, white, sweet sub¬ 
stance is formed, and then swarms of insects come as to a 
feast to eat this sweet substance. And here we always find 
the insect you seek information concerning. He is a per¬ 
fect glutton at the sap, and covers the green leaves of the 
elm in thousands. It is a beautiful little insect to look 
upon, exceedingly lively, and from its habits of leaping has 
had the name of “elm flea” conferred upon it. I have seen 
whole branches covered with these little gold and green 
fellows, and presto! in an instant there was not one to be 
found. They devour the leaves of the elm, but are of no 
serious injury to the tree. In the first stages of their ex¬ 
istence we find them, under the lense of a good microscope, 
to be a small, slender grub, deriving their food from the 
leaves upon which they are hatched. These grubs are 
hearty eaters, and are in manner not unlike the hopping 
gold bugs. 
There is also a species of Cynips which punctures the 
elm leaf, and feeds upon a liquid oozing from such punc¬ 
ture; then there is the caterpillar and a beetle, resulting 
from a very undesirable grub, who, when he has grown to 
mature beetleship, is truly named “destructor,” on account 
of the havoc he sometimes commits on some species of the 
elm. But as we have answered our inquirer as to the na¬ 
ture and character of the insect of which he speaks, we 
offer no more at this time upon this curious depredator, 
simply saying to our friend, let him go, there is no kill to 
him. Ollipod Quill. 
F. C. Morse, Ohio.—You can eradicate moss from your 
lawn. In the first place your lawn must be well sheared— 
rake lengthwise and crossways. This will detach the moss. 
Roll with as heavy a roller as you can obtain, in wet weather. 
In the spring sow of nitrate of soda 200 weight per acre, or 
you can use finely sifted coal ashes in about the same pro¬ 
portion, and you will not be at all troubled with moss. 
O. Q. 
Ella, Rome, H. Y.—Almost any well drained soil will 
grow the fig tree. If your ground is too rich it will not 
perfect the fruit. But little difficulty attends the growing 
of fine figs if you are only careful. The three sorts of figs 
best for our cultivation are the Brown Turkey, Brunswick, 
and Black Ischia. Place any of these plants near a wall, 
in a good sunny situation; train perpendicularly, and keep 
them well tliinred. Stop the growing of the shoots the 
1st of September to throw the sap into the fruit. O.Q. 
Alfred Phillips, Penn Yan.—The pest from whose 
ravages you seek a remedy is not new to experienced agricul¬ 
turists—it is the old gooseberry caterpillar, and often all the 
leaves of the bushes are destroyed by them. Do not be 
discouraged. Up and at them. These caterpillars come 
from a “saw fly,” so-called, which lays its eggs in rows 
along the under sides of the leaves, and after having eaten 
their fill fall to the ground, where they live in the pupa stale 
until the next spring. The bushes should be very carefully 
examined once in each week to watch the hatching of the 
eggs, when you can easily pick off the infected leaves. 
How you are to dust all over leaves powdered hellebore, or 
make a strong decoction of the digitalis, or fox glove. I 
have “used them up” with both these remedies. When 
the caterpillar works rampant you will stop him short in 
his career if you will give your ground a good sprinkling 
with new lime. 0. Q. 
Agriculturist, Newbern, H. J.—Your enquiry as to the 
discovery of an insect as the cause of the disease in the 
potato, causing it to rot, is correct. After a series of some 
sixteen years of very careful study and observation with 
the microscope, I have solved the mystery of the disease in 
the potato. To answer half your enquiries as you request, 
through the Forest and Stream, would occupy too much 
space, and we can only do so by persenal letter, which we 
w r ill do if you desire O. Q. 
JP<! fennel. 
A Visit to Fox Farm. —Motto: “ JS r ot caught yet .” — We 
paid a visit last week to Fox Farm, Morris Plains, Hew 
Jersey, the property of Mr. Raymond, in order to inspect 
the two Laverack dogs recently imported by him. Fairy had 
bom to her about three weeks ago eight puppies, five blue 
and white Beltons and three lemon and white. These pretty 
little beauties are now receiving the care of their well-bred 
and really handsome mother, but as she was in no condi¬ 
tion for a critical inspection, we will defer it until a later 
period. Mr. Laverack wishes Mr. Raymond to send back 
to England one of the lemon and white pups as soon as it 
is able to bear the long sea voyage, for which he will pay 
him a good round sum. Pride of the Border looked in fine 
condition; his color is liver and white, not a large sized 
dog, head handsome and intelligent, chest fairly deep, his 
coat and feathers delicately fine, his quarters and stern set 
on right, and his loins by no means narrow. His ranging- 
powers are excellent; he carries his head well up, and has 
got that extraordinary curve on the inside of the hind legs 
which gives him an easy, light way of moving, and ap¬ 
parently without fatigue. This is all very proper for the 
slio-w bench. If he is as good over game in the field as he 
looks, (and we have no reason to doubt it,) then we say he 
is a fine specimen of his race. In a week or two we shall 
give the portraits of these dogs from life, sketched by 
a distinguished animal painter, when the public can 
form their own opinion. We take this opportunity of 
thanking Mr. Raymond for his courtesy and hospitality; 
also that genial gentleman and sportsman, Mr. Mather, 
who is the uncle of the practical fish culturist, Mr. Fred. 
Mather. 
—The sale of the late Francis Butler’s kennel, (who, it 
will be remembered, died recently of hydrophobia,) of 
sporting and non-sporting dogs, took place last week in 
Brooklyn. The animals were only a fair average lot, and 
fetched poor prices. There were some 150 lots in all, in¬ 
cluding several coops of poultry. The following 
are some of the principal lots:—White bull $9, brindle 
and white slut $9.50, orange and white Springer $11, 
black Hewfoundland $10.50, black Siberian slut $7.50, 
black and white Bloodhound $8, black Hewfoundland 
$14, Scotch shepherd $16, dark blue Scotch terrier $20.50, 
silver and blue Skye $20, silver Skye $19, black 
and tan Gordon $18, silver and blue truffle Skye $19, Eng¬ 
lish fox terrier $19.50, Irish wolf $17.50, liver Cocker 
spaniel $17.50, blue Scotch terrier slut $15; a case of 
stuffed dogs sold for $16, and a case of English hedgehogs 
for $6.50; one live two-legged tortoise shell cat brought $2; 
two great stuffed Siberian bloodhounds, “The Princes,’’sold 
for $50 each; a brood of English golden pheasants sold for 
$9, and two coops of golden pheasants for $9.75 and $10 
respectively. The entire proceeds of the sale amounted to 
$1,250. 
—Messrs. Tattersall, of London, England, sold the entire 
kennel of dogs belonging to Mr. R. Garti\, Q. C., on the 
14th of July. Of the twenty-seven lots only one was absent, 
and the remainder realised the large sum of $8,500 in gold, 
or an average of $135 each. The celebrated pointer Drake, 
one of the best in England, was knocked down to Mr 
Price, of Bala, for $750 in gold. This gentleman also pur¬ 
chased eight other pointers and setters, and may congratu¬ 
late himself of having in his kennel by far the best brace 
of pointers (Belle and Drake) that ever appeared in a public 
field trial. 
—The Tennessee State Sportsmen’s Association are to 
give an exhibition on the bench,of pointers and setters, also 
a field trial. This show of dogs will take place at Memphis 
in October, and we trust that the committee are convinced 
of the importance that certain points, laws, rules, and reg¬ 
ulations which all exhibitions endorse, will be strictly 
adhered to, and that there will arise no complaints or per¬ 
sonalities afterwards. We are sorry to add that these un¬ 
fortunate criticisms of the judges and. owners of dogs in 
field trials and on the show bench have become so fashion¬ 
able in England of late that several journals have refused 
to publish anything that does not hear directly in the in¬ 
terests of the public. 
—In La Ghasse IUustree we find the following interesting 
facts as to dogs in France: There are about 200,000 dogs 
iu the wlole country, and in Paris about 70,000, which 
pay a tax of 635,000 francs. For 1874 the duty on game 
in Paris alone will furnish 4,000,000 of francs to the budget. 
It seems then that Paris will receive this year from taxation 
on dogs,from the right to carry arms for meeting purposes 
and for duties on game, as much as a million of dollars. 
JUDGING ON THE SHOW BENCH.—No. 3. 
THE DALMATIAN. 
H EAD long aud in appearance between the pointer and 
bull-terrier head, with a long jaw; ears fine and 
pendulous, hut not long; eye prominent; neck long; 
shoulder a little wide; deep chest; back long, but not so 
deep m ribs as a sporting dog; good straight legs; stern 
fine, carried off to a point; body color white, with at equal 
distances a round black spot about the size of a shilling or 
a little larger all over the body; head and tail fine and 
evenly spotted, the two colors not running into each other; 
liver-colored spots are just as. admissible as black, but 
colors running into each other, or mixed, are a great fault. 
Head. 
Back. 
Loins 
Legs . 
POINTS IN JUDGING. 
15 
15 
15 
10 
Feet. 
Color. 
For marks on head and tail 
5 each. 
10 
25 
10-100 
THE SHEEP DOG OR COLLEY. 
The bead has a great resemblance to a wolf’s—being 
rather conical, and going off gradually sharp to the nose, 
with a long jaw—only longer, and with a more foxy and 
intelligent look, and wider and longer ears, which are a 
little feathered and pendent; eyes have a sort of flashing 
and “miss-nothing” look, always on the alert; jaw long; 
nose sharp; neck long, and well furnished with apron and 
ruffle; shoulders fine and deep; chest well let down; legs 
straight and full of muscle, with cat-like feet. A good 
broad back and thick over the loins, with well-bent hocks; 
stifles well developed; tail feathered, not carried over the 
hack; coat long and straight, wiry to the touch, with a pily 
coat underneath the “over-coat.” Color various; but that 
most in vogue, black-and-tan, the tan to he pale, not rich. 
This is the present fashionable show-dog. 
POINTS IN JUDGING. 
.to 
.5 Coat. 
. 15 
Shoulder. 
Client 
.10 1 Legs. 
.101 Feet. .... 
Back. 
.10 1 Stem. 
. -100 
THE BLOODHOUND. 
Head large,slightly conical; forehead long, inclined to be 
narrow; eyes brown and sunk in the head, but expressive, 
showing haw very plainly, which causes it to have an ap¬ 
pearance of redness; the ears very long, well spread out, 
and nicely turned, and not puckered, fine in texture, in ex¬ 
citement they ought not to be carried up, hut to hang tol¬ 
erably near to the face; upper jaw and face inclined to be 
narrow; flews thin and pendulous, almost so that they 
could meet under the chin. The neck proportionately 
long; the skin on the throat loose, slightly wrinkly; shoul¬ 
ders powerful, not upright, but blades slightly slanting; 
what we mean is, not straight from the foot to front of 
shoulder; deep chest; fore-legs muscular and straight; feet 
round and cat-like; back not too long, thick, powerful, and 
well ribbed up, short in loin; hind-quarters well set on, 
well furnished with good muscle; stifles not too long, but 
plenty of substance; stern set in level with the hack-bone, 
pliant and tapering to the point, feathering or coarseness a 
great fault. Color reddish tan, darkening into black as it 
reaches the back. Some breeds show the body white 
flecked, which many old breeders very much admire. The 
coat should be short, glossy, and lie as close as a thorough¬ 
bred race-horse’s; patches of white on chest or feet are ob¬ 
jectionable; height in bitches 27 inches, dogs 29 inches, 
but two inches over those heights, if proportionate, would 
rather be an advantage. Judging is not tied only to these 
points, as there is a something in sight you cannot define, 
but can act on; but, as a whole, this we consider a pretty 
fair description of the main items of a good animal. 
POINTS IN JUDGING. 
Ho&ct 
.25 
Back.. 
Neck 
. 5 
Loins. 
Shoulders. 
...15 
Hind-quarters 
1 ,AO*S . 
.10 
Stern. 
- LiC 0 0 * .. 
Feet. 
. 5 
10 
15 
10 
5-100 
— Fancier's Gazette. 
— --- -T- 
WESTERN CHALLENGES TO ENGLISH 
SPORTSMEN. 
Philadelphia, July, 1874. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
Perhaps our Western friends who have come forward so boldly in 
their challenge to English sportsmen for a trial of the respective merits 
of the dogs of both countries, may not know that the simple first finding 
of a pack of grouse is not all that is required of a setter in order to give 
him the foremost position and prize In a field trial. Ah such matches 
