Sept. 10, 1885,1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



123 



, ably long, narrow and liorny forms at various points along 

 the drives and walks. 



in many places the Belicfonum siboldu or Japanese aspara- 

 gus is flowering profusely] but, thriving best with abundance 

 of moisture. It is a shrub witli taascl-likc yellowish flowers, 

 growing largely in the borders in neighborhoods within the 

 upper section of tlie Park grounds. 



In all different quarters the althea or rose of Sharon is of 

 almost universal presence, and of quality suflioicnt for an 

 everyday pleasure. The exquisitely sweet Lonkcra ccm-nds 

 continues to flower and to distil its honey fragrauce. The 

 rank richly flowered trumpet vine swings from the trees 

 about the lakes and near the Casino. At the latter locality 

 are brought forward some admired tea roses, while the vari- 

 eties of herbaceous plants there cultivated are in most excel- 

 lent condition. In the Ramble beyond and near the Pool 

 may be seen a fine specimen of the marsh 'mallow {Eibistvus 

 iiidscMentm) with its large purplish (lowers. 



It is one of the objects of the .superintendent gardener to 

 label each species of plants growing in the Park, as rapidly 

 as circumstances may permit, a commencement having been 

 already made in the Mall. His predecessor, as may be re- 

 raembered, made some ellort in the same dii'ection, which 

 was unsuccessful. The system introduced was not such as 

 to prevent the very labels being absolutely stolen and carried 

 off. Evidently the cultivation of the moral sense is more 

 diflicult in this section than any sort of gardening. 



Another improvement is accomplished with tiie cutting 

 away of many trees. As is now believed, this change is one 

 which has been needed for 3'ears. The trees have been much 

 crowded together, rendering their finest development im- 

 possible. Mr. Fisher disliked to sacrifice anything so long 

 as it retained life. Mr. "Woolson considers that "a park 

 should be made a park, not a swamp nor thicket." From 

 material of trees removed a rustic fence has been built along 

 the bridle path below the dairy and near the split rock. 



UNEXPECTED MISHAPS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



• Tliebcst laid sclietnes," etc. Some three weeks ago I 

 placed undi^r a bantam hen a sitting of egas, half of the 

 Arizona quail and iialf of the native kind. Last Monday 

 evening completed the twenty first day, and the next morn- 

 ing on going into the yard I found the hen dead, lier throat 

 having beecn gnawed open by some miserable vermin, and 

 the unhatched eggs cold in the deserted nest. An examina- 

 tion .«howed that nearly all of them contained birds (of both 

 kinds) which a few hours more woidd liave brought out. 

 Possibly, if 1 had had another hen, I might have saved some 

 of them", but as I had not, all died in tne shell. 



To say that I am bitterly disappointed, particularly over 

 the loss of the young Ai'izona quail, is making a very mild 

 statement. My hen quail this season have laid very freely, 

 but showed no disposition to sit, the Arizona quail having 

 laid ' twenty-eight eggs, and a Yirginia quail hatched and 

 reared in the coop, having laid thulj'-two. Some three 

 weeks ago I succeeded in hatching in an ordinary poultry 

 incubator thirteen young Virginia quail from seventeen 

 eggs. They came, however, in the midst of a cold, wet 

 storm which lasted several days, and were not able to en- 

 dure the extreme change from the heat of the incubator to 

 the outer air, a change of some forty degrees, and I lost 

 them all in from three to five days. A setting of Arizona 

 eggs placed under a common hen", were broken one by one, 

 the hen being too heavy for them, and none of them ever 

 hatched. So you see 1 have been especially uidortunate 

 this year. 



By a note from the superintendent of the Philadelphia 

 Zoological Gardens, received last week, I was sorry to learn 

 that the pair of Arizona quail sent him last spring from 

 Toledo— being part of the birds sent me last fall by "Adios" — 

 had both died, the female a month ago, and the male quite 

 recently. The hen showed no disposition to lay. My own 

 pair of these birds are apparently in as good health as ever. 



It is true that the ruffed grouse are propagated like the 

 aphides, and that one generation of males is good for several 

 succeeding generations of females. I can hardly believe it, 

 3"et I have been trying since last February to obtain a live 

 male ruffed grouse, and I cannot succeed in my attempt. 

 Perhaps some reader of the FoiiBST AND Stebam can tell 

 how it can be done, or better stdl, can do it. J. B. B. 



Toledo, Oliio, Auk. 29. 



WATER BIRDS OF NOVA SCOTIA-(II. 



by j. matthew jones. 

 Fam. Gracdlid^. 

 Gen. Graculus, Linn. 

 1= Cormorant {G. carbo). — Very common. Breeds on the 

 coast. 



2. Double-crested Cormorant (G-. dilop7ms}.—J{are. 

 Fam. Tachypetid^.. 

 Gen. Tachypeies, Viele. 

 1. Frigate Bird {T. aquilus). — Accidental. Only one speci- 

 men has been obtained; taken after a violent northerly gale 

 some few years ago. 



Fam. PHAETHONTIDiE. 



Gen. Pliaeihon, Linn, 

 1. Tropic Bird (P. fl<mrmtris).—A.cciA.&nt?i\. One exam- 

 ple only has occurred. It was taken at Shubenacadia after 

 the heavy gale of Sept. 6, 1870, and is now in the Halifax 

 Museum. 



Fam. LAKID.S:. 

 Gen. St^ercorarim, Briss. 

 1. Pomarine Jaeger (5. pomatorMnus). — Very rare. . One 

 was shot at Digby, on the Bay of Fundy shore, after the 

 heavy gale of Oct, 4, 1869, by M. W. Gilpin. 



Gen. Lcirus, Linn. 



1. Glaucous Gull (Z. glaums). — Kot uncommon. 



2. White-winged Gull {L. leueopterm). — Not common. 



3. Great Black-backed Gull (L. marinm).—Gommon. It 

 breeds on some of the islands near shore on our Atlantic 

 coast, generally choosing trees to make its nest in, but when 

 they are absent it will take to the cliffs. It also breeds on 

 islands in fresh-water lakes near the sea. 



4. Heri-ing Gull [L. ei.rgeiitatus).—Om common gull. This 

 appears to be the only species of sea gull that follows the 

 course of the St. Lawrence through the great lakes to Lake 

 Superior, where it also breeds. It has been obseiwed as far 

 north as Fort Churchill, Hudson's Bay. 



5. Ring-billed Gull {L. delmcavensis). — Not common. 



6. Ivory Gull {L. eburneus). — Extremely rare. A speci- 



men was observed in Halifax harbor about 1849, by the en- 

 thusiastic ornithologist, Lieut. I. W. Wedderburn, of the 

 42d Royal Highlanders, and is, we believe, the only instance 

 on record of its having been seen in the Province. 



7. Eittiwake (7.. tridm-tj/ly.^) —Very common. Breeds on 

 almost all the little islands which dot' the surface of our bays 

 and harbors, as well as those which skirt our coast line. 



8. Bonaparte's Gull (L. iMta.delphia). — Common. It is 

 known on the coast as the "mackerel gull." Although so 

 abundant, especially' on their southerly migration in October, 

 it has rarely been observed in full plumage. 



Gen. Sterna, Linn, 



1. Caspian Tern {S. casim). — Rare. A few specimens oc- 

 cur occasionally, One was shot at Cole Harbor in the spring 

 of 1883, and another in November, 1884, at the same place, 

 which is now in Mr. Down's collection, a remarkably fine 

 specimen. 



2. Common Teru {IS, Mrundo\ — Very common. Breeds 

 on most of the islands in our bays and harbors, and on the 

 banks of the mainland facing the sea, also at Sable Island in 

 great numbers. 



3. Arctic Tern (*S'. macroura). — Very common. It is known 

 on the coast as the "steering gull." Breeds on the grassy 

 islets in bays and harbors in company with the preceding 

 species, laying its eggs in a shallow depression of the soil on 

 the slope of a bank, the nest, if it f;an l)e called such, con- 

 sisting merely of a few bits of dead grass. 



4. Least Tern {S. sapereiliHris). — Rare. Mr. Downs pro- 

 cured a specimen in September, t8?9. 



5. Roseate Tern {S. pariidi.Hiva).—YGxy rare. Only one 

 specimen obtained about 1868, and was some time ago in the 

 collection of Mr. John Roue, of Halifax. 



Faji, Prooei-lakid^. 



Gen. Procellaria, Linn. 



1. Stormy Petrel (P. pelagica) — Rare. 



Gen. Oceanites, Keys and Bias. 



1. Wilson's Petrel (0. ocmnica).—Y ery common. The 

 following graphic account of the haunts and habits of this 

 bird eunanated from the pen of our esteemed fnend, the Rev. 

 John Ambrose, M. A., rector of St. Margaret's Bay, a parish 

 lying on our Atlantic seaboard; 



"Having heard that petrels were in the habit of breeding 

 on Green Island, I visited that place on the 28th day of June, 

 1860. The island is situated at a di.><tance of about ten miles 

 out to sea, off l,he mouth of Chester Bay, and having no har- 

 bor or inlet of any kind, can be approached only in calm 

 weather and when tlie sea is smooth. The best landing 

 place is in a sort of nook in the rocks on the northeast side 

 of the island. 1 had been informed that the puffin was also 

 in the habit of breeding there, but when I landed not a bird 

 was to be seen but some terns and mackerel gulls flying over- 

 head, while the whole island under foot was perforated and 

 undermined by the petrels. I first took a tour ail aroimd the 

 grassy edge of the cliffs to look for gull's eggs. I found two 

 dozen of the tern's eggs, and the men who rowed my boat 

 found eight dozen. Then commenced the search for petrel's 

 e^gs. Tearing up the turf with my hands and following the 

 little galleries with my fingers, I soon secured four and a 

 half dozen of the eggs, and two of the parent birds as speci- 

 mens. I could have obtained almost any number of the eggs 

 and every parent bird therewith, as the poor litile things 

 cower back into their holes, making not the slightest noise 

 or resistance while they behold the robbery of their property 

 and the destruction of their dwellings. In no instance ex- 

 cept one did I find more than one egg in a nest, and in that 

 there were but two; and yet some of the birds were hatching, 

 as some of the eggs contained the embryo, with its head and 

 body so far developed as to clearly identify the species. 



' 'The smell of the bird is at first very offensive, and so strong 

 that we easily perceived it at a distance of two miles from 

 the island to windward. A gentle air from the northeast 

 often carries this odor to Peggy's Cove, a distance of about 

 fifteen miles. This smell, which can also be perceived on 

 the gull species, and which is something akin to the odor of 

 the ram and goat among quadrupeds, belongs in a peculiar 

 manner to the petrel and its egg, and is particularly percepti- 

 ble in the dark brown oily fluid which, seemingly in self- 

 defense, these birds squirt from their bills. 



"These petrels are nocturnal in their habits— at least during 

 their residence on our shores; as, like the owl, they are never 

 seen abroad in daylight, except in dull, foggy weather. It 

 was just sunrise when we landed on Green Island, and al- 

 though we had seen several petrels flying about the boat 

 during the night, and at dawn of day on our passage, yet 

 on the island not one was to be seen; all were undergi-ound, 

 where at first you could hear their twitterings like the squeak- 

 ing of mice, while seemingly arranging about nests and ac- 

 commodations; but soon after sunrise they became entirely 

 silent, at least so far as the screaming of the gulls, which 

 was always about the same, woidd allow you to judge. 



"On taking a petrel out of its nest, it would not at first, on 

 being set down, attempt to flj^, but would endeavor to 'dig 

 and shuffle its way down into one of the broken holes. 

 Most of the nests seemed to be old ones newly fitted up, and 

 I found several such where the birds had brought quite a 

 sprinkling of fresh dirt out to the surface. The galleries run 

 in zigzags parallel with the surface and at an a verage depth 

 of about six inches. In making their nests in the angles of 

 their galleries, the birds take care to have at least two ways 

 of access to the surface, perhaps lest one should be trampled 

 in by heavier animals than themselves, as instinct is always 

 equal to chronic necessity. Each nest is merely a little re- 

 cess oir the ride of the galleries, so that the incomer or fugi- 

 tive need not disturb her neighbors. The nest itself is com- 

 posed of a very little firm dry grass and is always scrupulously 

 clean. 



"In digging their holes these birds use the bill for a pick- 

 axe and throw the loose dirt behind them very rapidly with 

 their webbed and shovel-like feet, kicking with each foot 

 alternately, and wallowing and pressing along, as I could 

 see by setting one, just taken out into the light, at the edge 

 of one of the broken holes before she had " sufficiently re- 

 covered her sight and scattered faculties to fly away. 



"Sometimes in spring and autumn a very heavy gale drives 

 these petrels inland, where they are occasionally found lying 

 in the fields, unable to fly. JVL-. Richard Daubin, of Peggy's 

 Cove, informs me that his family, one morning in the month 

 of June, found a petrel on the mantelpiece in the kitchen, 

 which they thought could not have entered the house other- 

 wise than by the chimney during the night. Mr. Daubin 

 laughingly adds that on the previous day he had brought 

 a lai'ge number of petrel's eggs from Green Island, and sup- 

 poses the bird had ai-rogated to herself the 'right of search.' 

 If, however, the sense of smell is more keen in the lower ani- 

 mals than in man, and if the odor of the birds can be per- 



ceived by the people of Peggy's Cove when the wind is fair 

 from Green Island, is it not within the bounds of possibility 

 that a smaller quantity of this scent could be traced by the 

 bird, perhaps flyiug in the neighborhood of the house in 

 which the eggs were deposited? 



Alitor the foregoing visit to Green Island, having found 

 the opinion very widely prevalent among our fishermen that 

 the petrel hibernates on that lonely spot, I made a second 

 visit to the place, in a schooner owned by Mr. William 

 Crooks, of Peggy's Cove, on the fii-st day of March, 1861. 

 The sea being smooth, we landed on the island at sunrise, 

 provided with a crowbar and an old axe, with which we soon 

 broke up several holes, but found no biids, and only one 

 addled egg, a sad memento of love's labor lost in the previous 

 summer. This widely-spread opinion concerning the hiber- 

 nation of the petrel may, therefore, be safely classed with 

 the ancient and kindred myth regarding the winter quarters 

 of the swallow. It is remarkable that so many respectable 

 persons bad assured me that the birds remain in their holes 

 in a torpid state all winter, and that they themselves had dug 

 them out in veiy cold weather. But as the petrol does re- 

 main until Novetnber, and the flocks commence to return 

 about the beginning of April, I conclude that some stragglers 

 or early birds may for a short space remain behind or pre- 

 cede the main body, and that such were the individuals 

 secured by my informants. Indeed, a. man from Great Tan- 

 cook Island, who saw me digging, assured me that he had 

 dug petrels out of the ground on 'Ironbound Maud,' near 

 Tancook, in the month of February.* 



"1 am convinced that thehabit of our petrels is tospend the 

 months of December, January and February somewhere 

 south of our coast, and the greater part of that time at sea, 

 near the edge of the Gulf Stream. Our Peggy's Cove bank- 

 ers fee them about thirty miles beyond off to the southward, 

 about the end of March, on their first trip for codfish. Sev- 

 eral of our fishermen who have sailed to and from the West 

 Indies in the winter, inform me that they never fail to see 

 myriads of those birds during winter in and about the Gulf 

 Stream. They are to be found again in their buiTOws on 

 Green Island about the middle or latter part of April." 



Gen. Puffiims, Briss. 

 1. Cinereous Shearwater (7^. — Rarely observed in 



shore but not uncommon some miles out at sea. It is known 

 to tlie tishermen on the banks as the "hagdown." 



Fam. Coi-TiviBrDJE, 

 Gen. Golj/mbns, Linn. 



1. Great Northern I>iver {C. turquntiis) "Loon." — ^^Very 

 common. Breeds on islands in the inland lakes; nearly all 

 of which are tenanted I)y a pair of these birds during 

 summer. 



2. Red-throated Diver (C. septentrionalis),—Qomvcion. 



Fam. PoDiciPiDiB. 

 Gen. Podiceps, Lalh. 



1. Crested Grebe* (P. o}'istaius).—Yery rare. Mr. Egan 

 has a specimen of the young in his collection. 



2. Red-necked Grebe (P. griseigena). — Inserted on the 

 authority of Lieut. Wedderburn, who stated it to be "very 

 rare. " 



3. Horned Grebe (P. eornulus). — Veiy rare. Male and fe- 

 male specimens have passed through Mr. Egan's hands. 



Gen. Podilyrnbus, Less. 

 1. Dabchick (P. podieeps). —^ot uncommon. Frequents 

 the lakes in the vicinity of the coast in summer. 



Fam. Alcid^. 

 Gen. ZTtmnania, Leach. 

 1. Razor-billed Auk [JI. torda). — Common. Known on 

 the coast as the "tinker." 



Gen. Fratereula, Briss. 

 1. P\x?&xi{F. arcticus). — Common. Known on the coast 

 as the "parrot." 



*It would be interesting to have this specimen submitted to Mr. 

 Ridgway tor examination. 



Gen. Mergitlus, Coues. 

 1. Dovekie (M. Very common off the coast. It is 



known to the fishermen as tile "bull bird." Capt. McClin- 

 tock states that this was the only species of bird that staved 

 at their winter quarters at Melville Bay, lat. 75^ N. , during 

 the dreary Arctic night when the sun made no appearance 

 above the horizon from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31. 



Gen. Uria, Briss. 

 1. Black Guillemot { U. grylle).— Common. Known to the 

 fishermen as the "sea pigeon." 



Ge7i. Lom'cia, Brandt, 

 1. Common Guillemot {L. iroile). — Very common. Known 

 as the "murre." 



♦Dead birds of the past .fear, no doubt. — J. M. J. 



Recent Arrivals at the Philadelphia Zoological Garden.— Two 

 beavers (Castor fiber canadensis), one punctated agonti (Dasyprocta 

 punctata), one prairie dog (Cynomes ludovicianus), one red fox 

 (Vulpes fulvus), one robin {Turdus migratorius), one Whifuey'.s owl 

 (Micrathene whitneyi), one great horned owl {Biobo virginianus), o -le 

 turkey vulture (C'athartes aura), three box tortoises {Cistudo clausa), 

 Ave alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) and one copperhead snalje 

 (Ancistrodoii contortrix). 



IT IS APPRECIATED. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



1 want to indorse most heartily what was said editorially in your 

 last week's issue about the cleanliness of the Forest and Stream. 

 Those old-time "sporting" papers !— 1 suppose they still exist— as full 

 of dam(n)s as Mill River, and redolent of whisky and running over 

 with "cussedness" generally. To get at somethini? pleasant or in- 

 structive in either gunning or fishing, or travel and adventure by land 

 or sea, one had to wade through columns of chaff— perhaps the Eng- 

 lish word "rot" would be better. Well, that style of paper never 

 crossed my threshold, and if they still exist you can't prove it b3' me. 

 But week in and week out, almost with the regularity of clockwork, 

 on Saturday comes the Forest and Stream, and in the evening when 

 the lamps are lit the paper is opened and the articles judged to be of 

 interest to the "best of her sex" and the other members of the house- 

 hold are read aloud, and other articles more adapted to interest the 

 male animal are perused in silence by the head of the house; and so 

 the hours pass pleasantly away, and at last the paper is finished, 

 with no bad aftertaste or regret, unless it be that it was not twice as 

 long. After it has been read through It is loaned to a neighbor's boy, 

 and subsequently finds its way to the plams of Dakota into a family 

 of boys who can shoot and fish and yet be young gentlemen. 



Highland Park, III., Sept. ]. Harry HtrNTKE. 



