BLA 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
a _ 
[Nov. 20, 4884, 
same as the dingy, long-legeed brown nose? To my eye 
they are more different than the long-legged, allday- 
running hare and the common gray rabbit. 
But, admitting that the classification is correct as regards 
the prizzly andthe common black bear, what about the 
“marsh bear” or ‘‘cranberry bear?” (1 have heard him 
called “ted grizzly,” and the nanie scems appropriate,) He 
may be described as bearing, at 100 yards distance, a close 
tesemblance toa light red calf with a thick sprinkling of 
coarse, curly white hairs, giving him something the appear- 
ance of alight red roan. High up on legs, like a fawn. 
Always slab-sided and Jean, weighing, so far as I have seen, 
from 100 to 150 pounds as he stands (or falls), unfit to eat, 
Jaws, teeth and claws, very powerful for his weight. Ex- 
ceedingly rare. Only found in remote and extensive marshy 
grounds. Lives largely on cranberries, when he can get 
them, That is about how I should describe him from the 
scant knowledge I have of him and his habits; for I have 
seen him seldom. 
The last specimen I saw was in the village of New Lisbon, 
Wisconsin, on the Lemonweir River, in the autumn of 1866, 
He was shot in the dreary marshes, twelve miles north of the 
village, and brought in on a cranberry wagon. I suppose he 
was seen and examined by more than one hundred men 
during the day, only one of whom—besides myself—claimed 
any knowledge of such an animal. Years afterward I sent 
a brief description of this bear to ForEsr AND S'rReAM, and 
asked for information. I was referred to the leading 
authorities on natural history, but got no sort of satisfaction 
therefrom. Two points on this subject are certain. First, 
he does exist and is not a wsus naturae, He is less like a 
black bear than a red squirrel is like a black one. Second, 
he is a distinct species—making a third, anyhow. There 
are certainly many people in New Lisbon, Wis., who re- 
member the incident as mentioned above. Some of them 
may haye seen other specimens. Let the hunters of Northern 
Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, tell us what they know 
of the red grizzly, or cranberrv bear. Perhaps, in my 
ignorance of scientific natural history, I am ‘“‘giving myself 
away,” to use a little slang. 
But, if these rough notes should happen to draw a discus- 
sion regarding Ursis amertcunus, L will try and get in line 
time enough for the benediction. NESSMUK, 
[The red bear mentioned by “‘Nessmuk” is alluded to by 
authors, but usually in a manner so vague as to be very 
unsatisfactory. It seems probable that it is only an unusu- 
ally pale or faded individual of the cinnamon, of which we 
have occasionally seen specimens which were almost yellow. 
The long-legged and short-legged, brown and black-nosed, 
dingy and lustrous black-coated black bears all belong to 
the same species. As already stated, naturalists know but 
two bears in the United States, Weshould be glad to hear 
more about these animals from our correspondents, | 
NOTES OF THE WOODS AND WATERS. 
IL. 
THE CAT-TAILS. 
T an early age I began taking Jong tramps in the woods 
and trips ou the waters, becoming in this way fairly 
familiar with the ever-changing, evergrowing world of 
nature within my reach, The more I learned of nature’s 
wondrous ways and mysteries the more passionately I wor- 
shipped at her shrine. In trouble I went to her for conso- 
lation, in sickness for health, when weary of business life for 
rest. To her I am indebted for much knowledge, some wis- 
dom, and unlimited good example. With such a love for 
nature one need not dread srowing old, for he can mount 
when he will one of his favorite hobbies, be tt of fish, beast, 
bird or flowers, and ride pleasantly down the hill of life. 
The first strange and startling object, the first bunch of 
‘wild Howers” that my ‘big brother” brought to me from 
that mysterious and unknown world the woods, was a piece 
of “touch wood” (decaying wood showing phosphorescent 
light), and a bunch of ‘‘cat-tails’” within which was built a 
marsh wren’s nest. Jalso remember that | slept with my 
smaller brother on what I was told was a flock or cat-tail 
bed, and that father and brother gathered the cat-tails some 
where outside of the city near the woods (in and about where 
now stands the Tombs). As I grew older my brother tanght 
me how to sun-dry the young cat-tail to be used as lighters 
for firecrackers when the 4ih of July came. Is it to be 
wondered at that a deep and lasting impression was mace on 
my childish mind, and that there and then botany was the 
first hobby I mounted? So far through life what a pleasant 
ride it has been, for wherever I roam, either on land or 
water, I am sure of meeting old and loved floral friends or 
becoming acquainted with new ones, whose life-history and 
habits are to be studied, This being the case, [ look upon 
the cat-tail as the oldest and dearest friend I have. Let us see 
how he hehayes, what he does and has done for us and others 
in this world. 
We have two varicties of cat-tail flags, the largest, or the 
one having the largest cat-tail and leaves, is known as Typha 
latifolia, or broad-leaved, and the other as Typha angustifolia 
or narrow-leaved cat-tail. The eat-tail fags are to be found 
srowing on the margins of rivers, lakes, ponds and creeks 
of brackish water near the coast. They have perennial 
creeping root stocks, with flat, nerved, and linear sessile 
leaves, The male and female flowers are borne on a single 
spike or stalk, and are usually separated by an interval; in 
height they vary from six to ten feet, according to locality, 
and in range they extend over the world, In England they 
are called bullrughes (though they are not at all related to 
the rush family) and reed-mace. Large quantities are im- 
ported every year from Holland and Belgium, more than 
500 tons being used yearly. They are used for weaving 
mats and for chair bottoms; and are also employed by 
coopers, who place sections of the dried Jeaves between the 
staves of casks that are to hold liquids. The pithy structure 
of the flag-leaves swell when moistened, thereby closing any 
openings between the staves of the casks. 
Some three weeks ago, when botanizing along the North- 
ern New Jersey Railroad, | came across a number of Jrish- 
men who were stripping the cat-tails of their flock and care- 
fully placing it in bags. Upon my asking one of them what 
he was going to do with that stuff, he answered me: 
“Begorra, to make a beautiful Yankee feather bed for meself 
and the ould womau and the childer sure.” They had evi- 
dently learned the trick from an old German, who has hiyed 
on the Hackensack meadows, and has gathered this material 
for a number of years, thereby gaining a competency to 
support him in his old and malaria-shaken age. When fill- 
ing ticking with flock, unless it is very heavy and the seams 
closely sewn together, 
ticking is Waxed on the inside, Beds composed of this ma- 
terial are still called “flock beds” by very old-fashioned 
people, though they are no longer sold by upholsterers, ex- 
cept a few in Hoboken and inhabitants along the banks of 
the Hackensack River. From the cat-tail flock is now 
manufactured a non-conducting covering for steam pipes 
and boilers, Under fayorable conditions the quantity of 
foliage produced by the cat-tail flag is immense, and several 
attempts have been made to utilize the fiber of the leaves for 
paper stock, but so far without any positive success. Along 
the Hackensack meadows for seyeral weeks before the 4th 
of July hundreds of boys may be seen gathering young cat- 
tails; these they dry and sell to the dealers in fireworks, who 
sell them for lighters, they taking the place of the Chinese 
imported punk. ‘Taxidermists also use the cat-tails when 
mounting aquatic birds. There are yery few plants that 
have beenso generally employed in modern art and orna- 
mentation as this common cat-tail of our ponds and ditches. 
The Greeks used it as a symbol of endurance under adversity. 
The cat-tail is also the home of the marsh wren, Telmato- 
dyles palustris, which, according to Wilson, ‘‘arrives in Penn- 
sylvania about the middle of May, or as soonas the reede (cat- 
fails) and a species of nymphea, usually called splatter docks, 
which grow in great luxuriance along the tide-waters of our 
rivers, are sufficiently high to shelter it. To such places it 
almost wholly limits its excursions, seldom venturing far 
from the river. Jits food consists of flying insects and their 
es and a species of green grasshoppers that inhabit the 
reeds, 
‘As to its notes, it would be mere burlesque to call them 
by the name of song, Standing on the reedy borders of the 
Schuylkill or Delaware, in the month of June, you hear a low 
crackling sound, something similar to that produced by air 
bubbles forcing their way through mud or boggy ground 
when trod upon; this is the song of the marsh wren, But as 
among the human race it is not given to one man to excel in 
everything, and yet each perhaps has something peculiarly his 
own, so among birds we find alike distribution of talents 
and peculiarities, The little bird now before us, if deficient 
and contemptible in singing, excels in the art of design, and 
constructs a nest, which in durability, warmth and conyen- 
ience, is scarcely inferior to one and far superior to many of 
its more musical brethren. This is formed outwardly of 
wet rushes mixed with mud, well intertwisted and fashioned 
into the form of a cocoanut. A small hole is left two-thirds 
up for the entrance, the upper edge of which projects like 
a pent-house over the lower to prevent the admission of rain. 
The inside is lined with fine soft grass and sometimes feath- 
ers; and the outside when hardened by the sun resists every 
kind of weather. This nest is generally suspended among 
the reeds, above the reach of the highest tides, and tied so 
fast in every part to the surrounding reeds, as to bid defiance 
to the winds and waves. The eggs are usually six, of a dark 
fawn color and yery small, The young leave the nest about 
the 20th of June, and generally have a second brood in the 
same season.” 
The root of the cat-tail flag possesses no medicinal qual- 
ties, though it contains considerable starchy material, which 
fact is taken advantage of by the muskrats when hard pressed 
for food during very severe winters. Were it not for the 
large quantities of foliage that this plant produces every 
year, the muskrats would have a hard time of it to collect 
sufficient material with which to construct their houses. 
A WATER BEBTIU. 
Just think of avery common small black beetle having 
such names as whirl-a-gig and merry-go-round in England, 
and in this country apple-smeller and mellow bug, and with 
scientists Gyrinus, belonging to the order Gyrinide, yet 
there never was a man or boy that cast a line for trout with 
out seeing hundreds, yes, even thousands of them; for ‘tis 
hard to find a lake, river, pond or brook that is without its 
band, be it iarge or small, of merry-go-round mellow bugs. 
The Gyrinus natata is, without doubt, one of the most in- 
teresting of all our fresh-water beetles; when full grown, it 
is about half an inch in length—there is also a small variety 
somewhat over an eighth of aninch. In outline the Gyrinus 
is boat-shaped, the head and wing cases are hard, and of a 
lustrous metallic color, suggestive of being polished with 
plumbago. Having to spend their time on the surface of the 
water, nature has been kind to them by providing them with 
eyes with which they can see both into the water and up- 
ward into the air at the same time, thus enabling them to 
see their prey and avoid their enemies. To simplify this 
double sight, their compound eyes are divided horizontally 
along the water line when they swim, so that they have, as 
it were, four eyes out of which they can see at one time. 
I came to the conclusion years ugo that they were, with- 
out a doubt, the happiest and most contented of beetles, 
One has only to watch a band of them on a quiet sunny day 
as they gyrate about in concentric circles on the surface of 
the water to come to this same conclusion. They never 
seem to lose their tempers, no matter how often they are 
bumped against by their relations; but let a bird approach 
them, then how they will scatter or disappear beneath the 
surface, only to appear again in some other part of the 
ond, 
: The American varieties are ahead of the English, from the 
fact of their giving off when handled a very pleasant per- 
fume which is strongly suggestive of the odor of a mellow 
apple, hence the name apple-smeller and mellow bug, though 
itis not a bug at all, but a true beetle, haying wings with 
hard wing cases, The source of this perfume arises from a 
milky fiuid which is exuded by the Gyrinus when in danger. 
When running fresh-water aquaria at home, I always have 
one tank devoted to these and other aquatic beetles, for the 
purpose of studying their habits and also for the entertain- 
ment they provide when watching their methods of captur- 
ing their prey. ‘ ' 
To test the effect of the odorous fluid which they exude 
when attacked by a hungry fish, I have often placed a fish 
that had been deprived of food for some time in a tank con- 
taining some thirty or forty of these beetles, At first he 
would rush at them and seizing one in his mouth would 
instantly reject it, nor would he again attempt to seize 
another; which fact goes to clearly prove that either the 
odor of the fluid exuded, or its pungent taste, or more likely 
both, is a sure protection from attacks hy all kinds of fish. 
Some years ago I had several fresh-water aquaria on Lhe top 
floor of No, 245 Broadway. arly one morning when cross- 
ing the City Hall Park, I noticed an unusual crowd of men 
and boys gathered about the then new marble fountain, m- 
tently watching some objects in the water. Upon drawing 
near, I was much surprised to see a large band of apple- 
gmellers moving about rapidly on the surface of the water, 
or at times diving beneath. I was greatly puzzled as to why 
the flock will work through and | these merry creatures had go suddenly put in their appear- 
greatly annoy the occupant of the bed, To avoid this the! ance in the park, and had selected the waters of the beauti- 
ful new fountain situated in the noisiest and hottest part of 
the city for an abiding place. On reaching my aquaria the 
mystery was solved, for, during the night some thirsty rat 
had cut a hole through the netting coyers for the purpose of 
obtaining a drink, or perhaps a bath, in the limpid waters 
contained in the aquaria, and out of this hole my cherished 
and ever amusing apple-smellers had taken their departure, 
passed through the open window, and had settled down for 
life, as they Imagined, in the placid waters of the fountain, 
But most unhappy beetles; what a time they had of it the 
first day, with the street arabs, newsboys and newsgirls con- 
stantly pelting them with cigar stumps, stones and tomato 
cans, till at last when night came, they were only too glad 
to seek a new and quieter abiding place, And weren’t the 
park policemen glad to find that they had taken their flight. 
Had they remained a few days longer I believe the fountain 
would have been filled with rubbish.. 
BOG MOSS. 
Sphagnum is a semi-aquatic moss, found growing on the 
shores of ponds and in swamps, and in dried up ponds, 
which it covers with a dense and spongy carpeting of a very 
singularly light green color, often bordering on red or dirty 
white. ‘This interesting and valuable moss absorbs moisture 
both from the atmosphere and from rains. In habit it is 
rootless, and floats in an upright position in the water when 
unattached. Jts branches grow in bundles or bunches, and 
are disposed around the stem in spirals. The seed vessel 
is half concealed among the leuves, and bursts in the center, 
the lid flying off when the seed is ripe with a slight report. 
Often when gathering Sphagnum it is found loaded with 
water, but by pressing or drying it can be freed, to any ex- 
tent, of its moisture. Being of a spongy and elastic nature, 
it is the only material used by florists for packing about the 
roots of living plants that are to travel a distance, and also 
when making up floral pieces this moss is used as a wet 
packing into which the stems of the cut flowers ure inserted, 
and from which they obtain moisture. When srowin 
orchids and other plants that are natives of swamps an 
bogs, this moss is used as a bedding material. There are a 
few yarieties that, retain their elastieity after being dried. 
These are used for stuffing bedding, The end of the stem 
of the Sphagnum constantly decays, and the debris of this 
and other decaying plants becoming carbonized in course of 
time, forms peat. The peat bogs of Ireland and Scotland 
occupy a tenth part of the whole surface, and furnish the 
Irish and the Scotch Highlanders with almost all of their 
fuel. A, W. Ropers. 
An ALBINO Raccoon.—Among the captures of L, 8, Mel- 
yin and Henry Armitage, two Constantine, Mich., hunters, 
was 4 pure white raccoon, which they brought home alive. 
The animal is about the size and same shape as the ord- 
inary raccoon, and the fur and hairare of the same texture, 
but entirely white. The eyes are pink. It was caught in 
the township of Constantine, on the farm of Henry Linn, 
Game Bag and Gun. 
GROUSE SHOOTING ON THE UPPER 
MISSISSIPPI.—I 
BY T. & VAN DYKE. 
U‘OR hundreds of miles below St. Paul the Mississippi 
flows between bluffs nearly five hundred feet hith and 
from three to five miles apart. The top of these bluffs was 
once the general level of the country, smd on the Minnesota 
side still is so. And itis plain, from the projecting, strati- 
fied rocks upon each side, that the Mississippi has in long 
gone days cut this great opening through what was once an 
almost leyel prairie. In summer these bluffs are deeply clad 
with grass, ferns and flowers, until they look as if robed in 
sreen velyet. In places they are timbered along the sides 
and thinly covered with timber upon their tops. Near the 
river they are broken by covlées, large yalleys and small 
ravines. But, except where thus broken, they are upon the 
Minnesota side comparatively level upon top, with ail the 
general characteristics of the open prairie a few miles further 
west. 
There are other places where pinnated grouse have been 
as abundant as here; perhaps more abundant than here, But 
the world can show no place that, for abundance of game, 
combined with ail the comforts of breeze and shade and. 
delightful air, with ease of travel and a constant change of 
soft and beautiful scenery, can equal these bluffs on the Min- 
nesota side as they were twenty yearsago. Ihad hunted 
pinnated grouse before, and supposed 1 knew about all the 
pleasure there was in hunting them. But my introduction 
to those grqunds was an event in my field life which reversed 
all the judgments that I had previously passed upon “chicken 
shooting.” And during’ many years of residence there 
I never had occasion to reconsider the judgment thus 
amended. 
I drove out from Wabasha, just below the foot of Lake 
Pepin, with a party of ladies and gentlemen, and after wind- 
ing nearly a mile up a cowlée, whose sides were bright with 
every shade of green, we entered a broad park of scattered 
black oak timber containing hundreds of acres of the deep, 
rich prairie soil, heavily covered with ferns and prairie 
grass. It was one of those bright, cool days, such as Minne- 
sota alone can show in August, and a charming breeze 
played through the timber. Against, this breeze we drove 
with the wagons spread out some thirty yards apart, with 
two dogs cantering gaily across a hundred yards or more in 
front. One was Old Prince, the veteran chicken dog of the 
country, belonging to Squire C., the prominent lawyer of 
Wabasha, Prince was a dog of marvelous nose and perfect 
steadiness until a bird fell. Then he sometimes betrayed a 
weakness or two. The other dog, an Hnglish setter named 
Frank, had lately come from New York, but had been 
thoroughly broken upon quail and woodcock, and worked 
perfectly upon chickens at the first trial. ; 
On we went through groves that formed almost continu- 
ous shade; then over little openings, where the bright leaves 
of the birch were trembling on its white shaft; now into 
some little hollow, where we could see little but the yellow 
flower of the tall rosin weed, the purple of the lupine, or the 
golden bloom of some lady slipper yet lingering in some 
shudy place; then up a slope where the grass and ferns were 
spangled with the pink, white and sky blue ot a dozen 
autumn flowers. Then we were upon some long swell from 
which we could see the bluffs of Wisconsin miles away, lying 
softly green in the clear air, with harvest fields creeping up 
their sides from the bottom lands, or shining in golden strips 
among the green timbers that fringed theim tops, Then 
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