422 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Nov. 16, 1895, 



THE BLUEBIRDS. 



St. Augustine, Fla.— Editor Forest and Stream: The 

 bluebirds seem to be creating a good deal of interest just 

 now, and I've very little doubt that they are either becom- 

 ing scarce or for some reason are not so often seen as 

 f ormerly around our Northern homes. Isn't it possible 

 that the universally hated little cuss, the English sparrow, 

 has something to do with it? During the early part of 

 my life at the North it was a rare thing to find a house in 

 the country without its bluebird boxes, and the cheery 

 and delightful notes of their tenants were among the 

 principal charms of spring. But with the advent of the 

 sparrow these delightful sounds became a thing of the 

 past, for it was useless to fight against the army of little 

 pests that assailed them on every side and occupied every 

 box and every place where a nest could possibly be built. 

 If the bluebirds were forced to the woods to find deserted 

 woodpeckers' holes in which to build, they would be likely 

 to find themselves ousted by a stronger bird, for the 

 supply of these holes does not, by any means, equal the 

 demand. 



That they have been driven away from their old haunts 

 I have very little doubt, but where have they gone? The 

 sparrow has not reached Florida yet, and all through the 

 winter the bluebird is found in numbers through the pine 

 woods; but whether they remain here during summer I 

 cannot say, as I seldom have the occasion to tramp through 

 the woods except in winter, when quail are ripe. 



Dedymtjs. 



[A. friend in South Florida tells us that contrary to the 

 customary order of things the bluebirds remained there 

 during the summer this year, nesting in great numbers. 

 It will be remembered that Texas correspondence in these 

 columns has recorded the appearance in that State of 

 unaccustomed hosts of small birds. May not these obser- 

 vations point to an abandonment of Northern haunts for 

 those in the South?] 



Bloomington, 111., Nov. 2.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 In your number of Oct. 12 I see a short article on our dear 

 little messenger of spring, the bluebird, by Mr. W. R. 

 Gorman, of Paschal, Ga. ; and I will report in regard to 

 this locality. When spring came everybody began to look 

 and speak of the little fellow, but he came not. We live 

 just on or in the edge of this little city; we have quite a 

 good deal of ground and many trees, and for years three 

 to five bluebirds have always built and raised their young 

 here, and the same nests are always used— mostly holes in 

 dead limbs of trees. If I mistake not, two broods have 

 been raised, but I am not certain, nor do I know if the 

 same old birds return and build in their old nests. But as 

 I say, this spring they came not; nor did we see any for a 

 long time, though some persons said they had heard 

 them, also I believe seen them; though neither my 

 brother nor myself had seen any until a few weeks ago, 

 when we took a little .22-cal. Stevens and went into the 

 woods to look for squirrels and to see how the nuts were. 

 On the way, sure enough there were our bluebirds — the 

 first I have seen this summer — and there were several of 

 them too. 



We missed them more in the spring, for though many 

 birds build here in our trees, the bluebird and the chatter- 

 box wren are our favorites — they become so tame. 



My brother mounts a great many birds during the year 

 and we enjoy very much our trips after specimens. We 

 have one very fine case of them in our parlor, and many 

 skins ready for setting up. 



I often sit here in our little workshop dreaming of the 

 past, from hunting buffalo in '71 on the plains down to 

 little Bob White and doves. We came to Bloomington in 

 1854, when I was four years old. From my memory as a 

 boy, I think I never saw nor heard of such a country for 

 game as this, with deer, turkeys, geese and ducks and 

 chickens by the thousands. The first shot I ever made 

 with a gun at game I killed three prairie chickens sitting 

 on a fence. On one trip I took when a boy we were gone 

 three days and two nights, got five deer and 160 geese and 

 brant. S. E. Bell. 



OREGON NOTES. 



Weather. 



Not a drop of rain or a cloud since the middle of Sep- 

 tember! How is that for the "Webfoot" State? If it 

 doesn't rain within the next three days (and there is no 

 prospect for rain), the records will show an October in 

 Oregon without rain. Selaht 



Ducks. 



The inference that would naturally be drawn from such 

 weather conditions would be: no ducks; non sequitur, in 

 this instance. Ducks of all the trash varieties are quite 

 plentiful. Fair shooting has bsen had all along the 

 Columbia. Monteith, Bills, Williams and others on Deer 

 Island report good shooting; the boys over on Columbia 

 slough are well satisfied, while Mead, Swift, Garrett and 

 Hall at Jewett's Lake on Sauvie's Island have averaged 

 more than twenty-five ducks to each gun every shooting 

 day since the season opened. Canvas, swan, geese and 

 cranes are beginning to come in, and the full moon storms 

 near at hand will doubtless bring fine sporfc. 



Bluebirds. 



Every sportsman must have read with feelings of sor- 

 row W. R, Gorman's note on the "Extinction of the Blue- 

 bird" in Forest and Stream of Oct. 12. Can it be that 

 the great storm of last February in the Southern States so 

 thoroughly demoralized bird life in general and so nearly 

 annihilated the dear little bluebird as that letter would 

 indicate? 



Let us hope that the destruction has not been so com- 

 plete as he suggests. Bird life this side of the Cascade 

 Range was not affected by that storm of course, and, an- 

 swering his query so far aa this part of the North is con- 

 cerned, I am glad to state that the bluebird is with us 

 just as of yore. 



"Uncle Lisha's Outing." 



The first chapter of Mr. Robinson's story has filled me 

 with anxiety. I'd like to bet that Jozeff 's anticipations 

 anent the tick full of feathers will not be realized, and 

 that M'ri will be heard from in no uncertain terms when 

 the boys return, We've all been there, Jozeff, and sad 

 experience has taught most of us that such dreams don^t 

 materialize, S. H. Gkeene. 



Portlanp, Oregon, Opt. 28. 



A MAINE SKUNK FARM, 



The Rumf ord Falls, Me. , Times gives an account of a 

 skunk farm as it is farmed in Mexico, a town not far 

 from Rumf ord Falls. Henry Ladd is the farmer: 



"When we arrived at the height of land we saw the 

 skunks gamboling in their pasture. As we drew near the 

 house we heard the proprietor talking to his stock in lan- 

 guage more forcible than polite. 



"As we neared the premises the odor was wafted toward 

 us which left no doubt that there were skunks in any 

 quantity in the near vicinity. We found Mr. Ladd in the 

 shed busily engaged with a pelt which he had recently 

 taken from a carcass. Hanging on the timbers above his 

 head there were numerous pelts, while hanging on the 

 walls were several peltless carcasses which showed that 

 they had recently been relieved of their covering. Mr. 

 Ladd turned one skin which he had removed from the 

 stretcher. It was a prime pelt, with two small 

 stripes of white running back to the shoulders, the re- 

 mainder of the body was a pretty black. The skin was 

 as pretty a specimen of 'foreign sable' as ever a lady's 

 cloak was trimmed with. After examining the pelts he 

 had taken off, some thirty-five in number, we were con- 

 ducted to the skunk pasture, where fifty of those animals 

 were either at play, fighting or eating. They were in an 

 inclosure 100 X 220 ft. The fence was made of poultry net- 

 ting with a board at the bottom resting on the ground, 

 while another some 2ft. from the ground kept the animals 

 from crawling up the wire. In making this pasture a 

 trench was dug around it about 2ft. deep, which was filled 

 with stones and the posts set in them. The grounds are 

 supplied with a number of kennels, and only one burrow 

 has been made, which is under a rock where several live, 

 but they are not a happy family. The whole colony are 

 quarrelsome and occasionally they kill one of their num- 

 ber in a family 'jamboree.' To cover up their cussedness 

 they all fall in, cannibal fashion, and make a meal of their 

 slain comrade. 



"Mr. Ladd and his son Willis started their enterprise in 

 September, since when they have caught eighty-five 

 skunks. The ones caught were placed in the pasture, 

 where they have been fed on scrap meat and fish offal 

 which has been procured for them at the markets. Some 

 of those that have been fed are very fat. One was killed 

 last week that yielded about two quarts of oil. His pelt 

 was prime and very large. In the pasture are two per- 

 fectly black, excepting a small V of white on the head. 



"In catching these animals they use small steel traps 

 and a dip net, both of which are on poles about 10ft. long. 

 When one is found in a trap, one of the men attracts his 

 attention from the pole, which is fastened to the trap, 

 while the other takes hold of the pole and lifts the animal 

 from the ground. When in this position they cannot 

 scent. The man who has the dip net, which is made of a 

 bran sack, then walks up and holds it under the victim, 

 loosens the spring of the trap and lets him drop into the 

 bag. He is then taken to the wagon, which holds a big 

 box with a trap door in the top, which opens into a com- 

 partment, partitioned from the rest of the box, with a 

 doorway connecting the rooms. The trap door is opened 

 and the net turned over it. The skunk drops into the box 

 and at once passes into the main part, where he is followed 

 by others. Several have been caught in the nets. Mr. 

 Ladd, to illustrate how they caught them, took a net and 

 went into the pasture and scooped up one, which was 'a 

 big cuss, fit to kill.' After he was caught he was carried 

 to a brook, where he was drowned. In killing them in 

 this way they are never scented. 



"Mr. Ladd said that he was always afraid of a skunk 

 and would not go near one until last year. His son, who 

 was doing considerable trapping last fall, caught several 

 of these animals, and he got used to tbem. This summer 

 when they caught the first one they got him into the pas- 

 ture without his scenting. They then went back to the 

 hill above the house, where they found another. Mr. 

 Ladd, senior, went at him very boldly, to show how he 

 could handle him; but, well — the old gentleman dodged to 

 escape getting it in the face, while the young Ladd was 

 convulsed with laughter. 



"In addition to the above game they have caught sev- 

 eral foxes. 



"A neighbor of Mr. Ladd's, Thomas Weeks, and Frank 

 Bailey, who is stopping with him, have caught four foxes, 

 eight minks and twenty -three skunks. These gentlemen 

 wintered either seven or nine skunks last winter. The 

 two females each gave birth to six little ones last spring." 



Rattlesnakes' Fangs. 



St. Augustine, Fla., Oct. 29,— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: If your correspondent Mr. J. W. Schooley, in 

 your issue of Oct. 26 th, would examine any other rattler 

 he would find several, usually five, small fangs on each 

 side, which lie flat behind the main fang and only come 

 into use if the large fang is lost, when the next one grows 

 and takes its place. Some large rattlers have more than 

 others, perhaps from having lost more in being unable to 

 withdraw them after striking, as a bee leaves its sting 

 behind in the wound. One of the supernumerary fangs 

 is often at the side of and nearly aB large as the main 

 fang, but is not connected with the poison sac. 



DeWitt Webb, 



A House Full of Coons. 



Up the creek from Linlithgo Station, N, Y., about three 

 miles, there stands an old, deserted house. Three or four 

 of our hunters had discovered numerous signs of coons, 

 which they could not locate. One day, while we were 

 taking a walk along the creek, we happened to enter the 

 old house, which stands near the creek, perhaps 40ft. from 

 it, and, seeing paths leading to the house from the creek, 

 we knew we had found their home. Near the creek in 

 the bank there were several holes. Two days afterward 

 we were there by daylight with two hounds, old, large 

 dogs. 



As soon as we entered the house the dogs began to give 

 tongue, and they ran through the rooms. We stove holes 

 in the ceiling, and soon the fun was fast and exciting. 

 The dogs soon had one out, and then it was a fight in 

 earnest, two to one, but the game was even. 



We killed this one. The dogs caught one old one in a 

 room. We shut the doors and let them fight; four men, 

 two dogs, one coon, in a room 14x14 — coon, men and 

 dogs in one grand reel. We got six young and four old 

 ones, about 1701bs. of coons. W. M. 



*mt\e §ng mid §un. 



THE SEASON'S GAME. 



Washington. D. C, Nov. 4.— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: I have just returned from the watei-s of the 

 Upper Potomac, where I had great sport after the small- 

 mouth black bass. In a few days I shall start for Knox 

 county, Indiana, where I shall greet my brothers, John 

 and Sam, and shall put in all the time till January after 

 the game little bird. As to the scarcity of birds, I am of 

 the opinion that the severe winters in the Northern States 

 and lack of vegetation for food and shelter have done the 

 work. For instance, at our place in Knox county, Indi- 

 ana, I have just been informed that we have more birds 

 this year than last. In fact, the winter never affects the 

 birds there, as the ground is so rich that there is always a 

 good crop of vegetation, which furnishes ample food and 

 shelter. 



If birds are scarce in the South it must be on account of 

 the States failing to enact proper game laws and seeing 

 that the same are enforced. I have seen birds that had 

 been trapped brought in by hundreds in towns in North 

 Carolina, for sale and shipment. While at Lexington, N. 

 C, , last year, I was informed that one dealer had shipped 

 thousands of birds. And as there are dealers in almost 

 every town in the State, it is plain what becomes of the 

 birds. Another great evil, that destroys numbers of birds 

 annually, is the carelessness of the owners of dogs in per- 

 mitting them to roam at large over the fields during 

 mating and breeding seasons. I believe that this agency 

 alone in many localities destroys more birds than the gun. 



Joseph H. Hunter. 



Meadvtlle, Pa., Nov. 6.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 Concerning the number of game birds raised, it has been 

 my observation that the weather very materially effects 

 the supply. In the first place if we have long continued 

 and cold rains when the birds are nesting and hatching, 

 these cold rains wet and chill the eggs and destroy part 

 if not all of them. If the cold rains come later, after the 

 young birds are hatched, and last several days or more, 

 the young birds become chilled and die from the effects. 

 Consequently a warm and dry spring has a tendency to 

 secure a greater number of young birds than a cold and 

 wet spring. A drought or heavy rains after the young 

 birds are able to fly has less effect upon them than in the 

 earlier stage of their existence. 



You may safely judge the supply of young game birds 

 by the supply of domesticated turkeys, for they are 

 affected similarly. If young turkeys have flourished, 

 game birds are likely to have flourished accordingly. 

 Although the last winter was a very severe one in west- 

 ern Pennsylvania, a fair supply of game birds wintered 

 well and the conditions of early spring were favorable to 

 a good supply of young birds. Edgar Hutdekoper. 



Tangipahoa, La., Nov. 4. — Editor Forest and Stream: 

 This is a particularly good season for partridges, with 

 more birds than for a number of years. There was a 

 large number of birds left at close of last season (Feb. 28). 

 The summer, although wet, was in continuous showers, 

 without floods, and no birds were destroyed from this. 

 The coveys are very large. No rain fell here in September 

 and October, which either made some birds nest again, 

 or the eggs in first nests had been destroyed. I came on 

 two coveys a few days ago with birds so small that they 

 pipe among grass and could only fly 20 or 30yds. ; both 

 coveys within 200yds. of kennel yard. 



There was a few hours' rain on last day of month, but 

 ground yet much too dry to get good work from dogs. 

 The season opened on 1st inst., and I have not yet been in 

 open piney woods, so I don't yet know if there are many 

 of those very young coveys there. R. S. Nicholson. 



Detroit, Mich., Nov. 5.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 I do not think the drought has affected our game birds on 

 land in the least. The hard winters are what affects our 

 quail crop the most. But the drought has certainly 

 affected our crop of marsh ducks — mallard, wood duck 

 and blue-winged teal. The waters of our Great Lakes 

 and rivers have lowered so in the last few years that the 

 wild rice marshes where even last year you could punt a 

 boat you can now walk all over with a pair of ordinary 

 walking shoes. In fact, most of our marshes have be- 

 come snipe grounds, and the above condition of our 

 marshes will drive the ducks to other breeding grounds. 

 The quantity of open water ducks — canvasback, redhead, 

 bluebill, butterball and whistler— does not seem to diminish 

 any. Large bags of the last-named species are being 

 made every day. 



There have been lots of snipe with us this season, but 

 no large bags have been made, as the low water allowed 

 the birds to work all over the rice beds, where a little 

 water gave them plenty of chance to feed, and made al- 

 most inaccessible walking. John Parker. 



Waverly, Miss., Oct. 2?.— We have, I rejoice to say, 

 had this evening a most refreshing rain, and heavy clouds 

 still hang in the west, which promise a repetition of the 

 most needful before morning. 



Mr. George Richards had Little Ned and another dog 

 out, exercising them this morning by the flat in front of 

 the well, when Little Ned came tearing down the opposite 

 side from toward Capt. Billy Young's place, and he 

 wheeled very snappily into a very stylish point. George 

 called my attention to it, and then he walked in and 

 flushed a very large bevy of full grown quail which flew 

 across the road into the sedge among the pines. 



Maj. Val Young has returned from the Rowland Fox 

 Meet and reports that it was so dry over there that no 

 awards were made at all. Maj. Val was one of the judges. 



W. W. Titus. 



Flagstaff, Me., Oct. 31.— From Oct. 1 until the present 

 day there have been killed here fourteen deer, seven of 

 which were fine bucks. The largest antlers were of ten 

 prongs, and spread 29in. A white deer was shot by Mr. 

 J. Atwood, of Philadelphia. Moose signs are plenty, but 

 as yet we have had no snow, so we have delayed moose 

 and caribou hunting until the snow shall fall. We still 

 have vacant cabins and can accommodate a goodly num- 

 ber of sportsmen. Not a single sportsman who has visited 



