420 



FOREST AND STREAM, 



[Jtwi: ih } 1889. 



The traveler on the railway which carried me into Lex- 

 ington is told that he has not yet seen much of the real 

 beauties of the Blue Grass country. This will astonish 

 him, for he has certainly passed through a landscape 

 whose alternating vistas of field and foliage have an un- 

 speakable charm. The Country) different as I found it 

 from my vague schoolboy notions, was a great delight to 

 me, and I could not get enough of the ceaseless rolling 

 hills, the wooded banks and the strangely blooming trees. 

 Perhaps I grew needlessly enthusiastic about these, for 

 my host — Mr. Roger D. Williams: I presume everybody 

 knows him who was at the Great Bend meet last fail, and 

 everybody else who doesn't know him ought to — laughed 

 at me, and said I had not yet made a beginning. We 

 got into a buggy behind a good square trotter and made 

 our beginning that afternoon. 



"This." said Mr. Williams, as we passed a large brick 

 building on one of the most important business streets of 

 the town, "is the spot where Daniel Booue built his first 

 stockade. There used to be a strong spring of water tfigbt 

 there, but that has long ago been choked up." Then we 

 fell to talking about Daniel Boone. It appears that Daniel 

 also founded Bryan's Station, Harrodsburg, Boonville, 

 and almost all the other towns in Kentucky. He was an 

 industrious old gentleman, and must have been quite 

 busy founding towns with one hand, while he killed 

 Indians with the other. 



We passed the place where Henry Clay was married, 

 and visited the world-famous Ashland, his home. From 

 the lawn of Ashland— said to .be the best kept and most 

 beautiful lawn iu the world — the magnificent Clay me- 

 morial statue is visible, two miles distant, rising up above 

 the graves of Breckinridge, of handsome and gallant if 

 misguided Morgan, of the hundreds of Union and Con- 

 federate soldiers who have lain down to sleep peacefully 

 together. Lexington cemetery is the most beautiful 

 natural spot I ever saw, unless that were the headwaters 

 of the Rio Bonito, in New Mexico. The terraces and 

 trees are those of nature, and but little change has been 

 made in the natural appearance of the spot in any regard. 

 It is very quiet and impressive. Squirrels and birds were 

 playing all through it when we were there. 



This is one singular feature of Lexington and the coun- 

 try lying about i t ; there is nothing artificial about it. 

 The country seems scarcely to have been touched, 

 although this is miJIy tin-' oldest-settled point west of the 

 Alleghanies. Real estate has not risen to any fanci- 

 ful value; in spite of the modern growth of the city, 

 and in spite of the fact that Northern men have 

 lately bought numbers of the larger farms. These 

 old. families have .ureat wide grounds, some of them 

 nearly little farms, right in the middle of the city. The 

 forest trees among which Daniel Boone hunted deer are 

 still standing on the unbroken turf, so thickly that in 

 many cases the great, old-fashioned houses can hardly 

 be seen from the road, except as some tall white pillar of 

 the olden days may peep out through the waving walls 

 of green. These old houses are simply delightful. They 

 are precious, and I hope no Queen Anne, ginger-bread, 

 sky-rocket architectural craze will ever invade this land 

 of good old beautiful homes. Commend me to Mr. D. D. 

 Bell, whose magnificent home we passed. A short time 

 ago his house, one of the old regime, was destroyed by 

 fire. Being a man of wealth, it was thought he would 

 rebuild in "modern style." Not so; he was also a man 

 of taste, and he rebuilt the old house in perfect duplicate, 

 stone for stone, cornice for cornice, pillar for pillar, and 

 it stands there now, big and quaint and beautiful, a 

 house doubly of the past, and a good monument to a 

 commendable Kentucky pride. 



We headed out of town on what is known as the old 

 military pike. This is an heirloom from General Jack- 

 son's days. It is the longest turnpike in America, and 

 extends from Zanesville. Ohio, to Florence, Alabama. 

 Before we struck the pike we passed an ancient-looking 

 cottage, which was the stopping place of the Scotch 

 traveler and historian Mellish, whose quaint old volume 

 on America is to be found in the quaint old library at 

 Lexington — the first library west of the Alleghanies, and 

 full of old, old books. Mellish speaks of Lexingtou as a 

 place of coming importance. He also speaks of Cincin- 

 nati as a place of a few houses, but with fair prospects to 

 become a good settlement. Lexington, it seems, was in 

 those days the supply point for the great and unknown 

 Northwest, especially for the fur trade. Evidences of 

 this are still met occasionally in the wilds of British 

 Columbia. 



All these things we discussed as the pike whitened out 

 behind us, and until the beauty of the scene about us for- 

 bade discussion of anything else. As far as one could 

 see on either hand the country rolled on and on in a 

 wide sea of green waves, always about to break but never 

 breaking. Near at hand the prevalent tone of color was 

 green, but in the distance, even so early in the spring as 

 it was, the grass seemed to darken, to become bluish and 

 almost purple to the eye. It was impossible to say where 

 one color ceased and the other began, it is this peculiar- 

 ity which got for the country the name of the "Blue 

 Grass Region." Until the grass is very tall — and it grows 

 knee-high, though still fresh and juicy — it looks dark 

 green near at hand. One con Id not help realizing the 

 aptness of Campbell's figure: 



" 'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view, 

 And clothes yon mountain in its purple hue." 



The blue gmss is said to have been brought to Ken- 

 tucky from England late in the last century. I do not 

 know as to that, but it is certain that it seems more at 

 home here than anywhere else in the world. It grows so 

 thickly that not a weed shows its head among its dense 

 stems. The turf is as soft and springy as rare velvet. It 

 grows so right under the great oaks and elms which are 

 seen all over that country, and nothing can be more 

 beautiful than one of the many great Blue Grass parks, 

 where, as I am told, the sod has never at any time been 

 touched with a plow. There are no signs up there of 

 "Keep off the grass." The grass can take care of itself. 

 It is grass, grass everywhere, as far as you can see. I did 

 not see a single plowed field, although we rode out sev- 

 eral miles. I am told, however, that the natural soil, in 

 such parts of this section as are farmed, is so strong that 

 even constant crops of hemp do not impoverish it; and 

 the cob of the corn raised there is much heavier and 

 stronger than that of com grown in adjacent counties. 

 Mr. Williams was positive about this, as the Lexington 

 factory, which makes most of the cob pipes in the mar- 

 ket, finds it best to purchase its cobs only on Blue Grass 

 soil. 



We rode on and on, and the country simply got more 

 beautiful all the time. It is a much-fenced country, 

 divided into a constant succession of pastures and pad- 

 docks. The fencing is often a neat and strong stone wall; 

 sometimes the "stake and rider" fence is used, and there 

 are miles and miles of curious* crooked, narrow old coun- 

 try lanes, leading nowhere in particular, and bordered on 

 either hand by whitewashed "post and rail* or board 

 fences. The division fences are nearly all whitewashed, 

 and these white fences, showing up against the strong 

 green or dark purple of the turf, give the country a very 

 clean and tidy look. It would take good riding to go 

 across this country after the hounds, yet there are plenty 

 of gentlemen and ladies there who do it, as presently we 

 may note. 



On both sides of the road we saw horses in every field, 

 and little else. These were nearly all thoroughbreds (or 

 running horses; a "thoroughbred trotter" would be a 

 contradiction of terms), and it seemed to me that we 

 must have seen thousands of them. Mr. Williams said 

 we could ride on out for a good many miles, and it would 

 be the same way. We visited Elmendorf , Mr. Swigert's 

 great breeding farm, and saw Glenelg, whose progeny 

 have won nearly $1,000,000 for their owners, and Tre- 

 mont, whose owner sold him for a few hundred dollars, 

 and bought him back later for $25,000. Then we drove 

 to Dixiana Farm, where King Ban and Himyah grew, 

 and where hospitable Major Thomas -wanted us to stop 

 and live forever. I do not know how many beautiful 

 horses we saw, but I know the type of the Blue Grass 

 runner is no more like a city horse or a Western pony 

 than a deer or antelope would be. I have dreamed of 

 those grand creatures ever since. They really do look 

 like the fiery steeds of the picture books. I do not see 

 how anybody can admire a trotting horse, compared to a 

 thoroughbred. Still, there are as many trotters as run- 

 ners bred in the Blue Grass country. 



In all the country we rode over there was scarcely level 

 ground enough for a mile track. Indeed, Lexington race 

 course — established in 1820, and the oldest track in the 

 United States — is not level by any means, but has a pro- 

 nounced hill at the three-quarters stretch. This is not a 

 detriment, but a benefit, and this track is known to be 

 the fastest of any hi the circuit. 



I could only say, as we rode back into town, that not 

 the half had ever been said or ever could be said about 

 the beauty of this strange region. You can not catch the 

 charm of it unless you are there in the Blue Grass atmos- 

 phere. It is not a wild country, or a new country, but it 

 is a most infatuating country to see and to write about; 

 and if something is not done to stop me. 1 am sure I shall 

 be writing about it for two or three years, 



That night, when the moon came up, I was irresistibly 

 reminded of the old town of Chihuahua, iu Mexico. 

 There were the same narrow, indeterminate little streets, 

 almost silent, away from the business part of the town; 

 there were the same little parks, bursts of air and moon- 

 light edged with flowering banks of shadow; there were 

 the old walls, the quiet houses: and here, down the silent 

 street, came the tinkle of the silver harness of a stately 

 pair of horses drawing a stately carriage, wherefrom 

 stepped a stately lady. A low strain of music was com- 

 ing from some serenade party: across the street was the 

 sound of some low negro melody; a boy walked down 

 the street picking a guitar. Everywhere broke out the 

 faint pvdse of a quiet, easy, happy, semi-tropic life. I 

 thought I was iu Mexico, till the moon rose over the city 

 and peered from behind a dark church tower — just as it 

 does in the poem and in pictures — and showed the wall 

 draped in heavy ivy. Then I thought I was in England. 

 And by and by I didn't know where I was, for I was fast 

 asleep in Blue Grass land. E. Hough. 



FROGS AND THEIR PREY. 



Editor- Forest and Stream: 



I note in your issue of May 9, a communication from E. 

 T. J., of Bethel, Conn., stating that he had found pickerel 

 frogs in the stomachs of bullfrogs which he had killed, 

 and expressing some surprise at the find. My experience 

 is t hat bullfrogs will eat anything except fish which they 

 can take alive, if it is one size smaller than themselves. 

 Last fall, in a slough of the Mississippi River, opposite 

 Alton, 111., I shot an extremely large bullfrog. Noting 

 that the stomach was peculiarly distended, I opened it, 

 and found therein a mud turtle fully as large in circum- 

 ference as a silver dollar. The head was turned around 

 to the side and closely pressed up under the edge of the 

 shell, and was stiff and rigid in that position. There 

 were no signs of digestion having commenced on any 

 portion of the turtle, and I have often wondered if the 

 gastric juice would ever have proved equal to dissolving 

 and digesting the turtle Bhell. Ten days ago, while fish- 

 ing with live minnows for croppy, among some drift- 

 wood in this same slough, I saw a large bullfrog sitting 

 on a piece of light driftwood some feet to the left of my 

 line. Out of curiosity I drew my minnow up and dangled 

 it within an inch of his nose, but beyond lazily blinking 

 his big yellow eyes, he paid no attention to it. But when 

 I held my float, the top of which was a bright red, down 

 to the surface of the water near him, he made a vicious 

 lunge and snap at it. Acting on the hint, I cut a small 

 piece of red leather from the inside of my boot-top, and 

 putting it on my hook held it near his nose. He made 

 the same hungry grab at it, and in a minute I landed him 

 high and dry on the bank. From this and other experi- 

 ences, I judge that a large bullfrog will eat anything that 

 comes within reach, if it has a bright color and seems to 

 be alive, excepting fish, which appear to have no at- 

 traction for them. Bert. 

 St. Louis, Mo. 



[Red flannel is a common lure for frogs; "Nessmuk" 

 describes this method of "fishing" for them in his "Wood- 

 craft. "] 



Editor Forest and Stream : 



Last summer a friend and myself were frog hunting on 

 the Milwaukee River a few miles from this city. My 

 friend, a school teacher, was engaged in instructing a 

 class in anatomy, proceeded to enlighten me on the sub- 

 ject by becoming demonstrator of anatomy on the body 

 of a large bullfrog I had just shot. Imagine our surprise 

 upon opening the stomach to discover— head, legs, feathers 



and all— the partially digested body of a small snipe'] 

 commonly known here as tip-up. 



Mr. K., of this city, relates that while out gunning witijjl 

 a friend in New Jersey two or three years since he shot a - 

 bluebird, which fell at the edge of a pond. The birdfi 

 couldn't be found and his companion insisted that it hadjj 

 not been hit. Passing the place a short time after hM 

 killed at the edge of the pond a large bullfrog. Picking! 

 the animal up he discovered protruding from its moutBI 

 a pair of bird's feet, which proved to be attached to the 

 bluebird he had recently shot, as proved by a .22cal. bnl3 

 let hole in its body. W. M. F. 1 



MlT/WAt'KBTC, Wis., May ;.'o. 



NESTING HABITS OF HAWKS. I 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In a recent article on the great horned owl the writejJ 

 says that a friend of his took two eggs of this owl, andil 

 upon visiting the nest again some time later found it I 

 occupied by the red-tailed hawk, which greatly surprised! 

 him, as he never heard of the redtail laying in old nestsjl 

 In this locality the redtail never breeds, being only a I 

 spring and fall straggler; but a friend who has spent thffl 

 last five collecting seasons in southern New York, whertJ 

 this species is very abundant, says that, like the eagle, it I 

 occupies the same nest year after year; and he record™ 

 two instances where a nest was first occupied by i?itom 

 virginianus, and afterward, when the young had flownll 

 by this hawk. He states also that when the nest ia 

 robbed, the bird will very often lay another clutch. This! 

 corresponds almost exactly with my observations of itf i 

 cousin Bnteo Uneatvs, Avhich is the only common large! 

 hawk we have here. It arrives in February and departgl 

 in December. 



Approach any woods of large trees around this cityjl 

 and you are greeted by his well-known cry as he sails iu| 

 majestic circles over the trees. Soon after his arrival 

 he selects a mate and commences constructing his nest or! 

 repairing an old one, as the case may be. The site ^eneia 

 ally chosen is the main fork of some tall monarch of ton 

 forest, in deep, swampy woods. The nest is large ana 

 bulky, b«ing composed of sticks and twigs, slightly hofc 

 lowed, and lined with cornhusks, cut blades of "grass) 

 moss, leaves and down. In this slight depression the twe 

 to five, and sometimes six, eggs are laid. They are abott 

 lfin. broad by 2^in. long, and of a grayish white color, 

 spotted and blotched with brown and umber of varying 



shades. The following are a few notes on their nestin 

 habits: 



On March 19, 1880, I found a nest of this species whicli 

 I robbed of its contents, and while passing through th 

 same woods, a month later, I struck my climbing-ironf 

 into the tree, when to my surprise a red-shouldered hawk 

 left the nest. Scarcely expecting another set, I climbed the 

 tree and had the pleasure of gazing upon as handsome i 

 set of two eggs as ever graced the cabinet of any col} 

 lector, and never since, out of the 175 eggs I have taken) 

 have I found one that could rival them in richness d 

 color. They were profusely spotted and blotched witl 

 red and brown on a ground of light buff, and one had i 

 blood red blotch that completely covered the large endi 

 I again visited this nest in 1887. and found it to contanj 

 two eggs, one of which I took, leaving the other for s 

 nest egg. It so happenened that I did not go that wa 

 for several weeks, but when I at last climbed the tre< 

 three plump, downy little hawks met my gaze. 



During the last two seasons 1 have taken two 

 sets of eggs from this nest, The nesting habits of i 

 other pair of hawks, whose first nest I found the san 

 year, are just the reverse of what has been described! 

 This pair built a nest in an ash in a strip of low swampjf 

 woods. The tree was very easily climbed, and I had ntL 

 trouble in securing the eggs. The following year thejl 

 built auother on a piece of hilly ground, covered witjli 

 beech, about 100yds. from the first; this I also robbed! 

 March 26, 1888, 1 found their third nest about ijOydSjf 

 from the second, and this year they went back to thtl 

 first. Walter C. Wood^II 



Drthoit, Michigan. 



SPRING NOTES ON MIGRATORY BIRDS! 



1THE following observations were made at Laurels 

 . Md.: 



The most abundant warblers were the yellow-rumpedil 

 black-throated blue, black- throated green and ehestnufcf 

 sided, though the bay- breasted was fairly numerous 

 Cape Mays were few, blackbumian more common. Onljl 

 one each of Nashville and hooded, and none of tht i 

 golden-winged, Kentucky or yellow-throated were seen! 

 Blue-winged yellow common in srutable localities. One 

 and perhaps two, prothonotaries were seen, but not obi 

 taiued. Worm-eating scarce. 



Of the smaller thrushes, first the hermit, then oliveJ 

 backed and tawny were common. Up to May 14 ntl 

 Bicknells and only one gray-cheeked were seen. (Lasl 

 year the former was common, two being collected Mam 

 14 and. 17 respectively.) Two Traill's flycatchers wer« 

 obtained, also two of the Western form of the redpoll 

 warbler (Den drwca palmar um), the Eastern form (D. pal} 

 marwn hypoehri/sea) having been gone for a week oil 

 more. 



Of sparrows. • Henslow's was rare, but yellow- winger* 

 common. 



Rose-breasted grosbeaks not common: blue grosbeal^ 

 not seen at all. 



Snipe were phenomenally scarce throughout the sea 

 son on grounds where ordinarily abundant. Solitarj 

 sandpiper very common, however. Woodcock veri 

 scarce; hardly any quail, and only one ruffed grouse 

 heard. Robert Ridgway. 



Smtthsoni A n Institution. 



Chimney Swallows.— Knoxville, Tenn., May 31. — M 

 the spring and fall -migration of the chimney swallows 

 vast numbers of them, several thousand, linger for a fefl 

 days about the University buildings in the large, old) 

 fashioned chimneys of which they find convenient roosfo 

 ing quarters. They passed north about a month ago, ik 

 maining here about a week. This morning they are hert 

 again in vast numbers, being driven south by the unusu, 

 ally cold storm now prevailing in the north. The cole 

 there probably deprived them of their food. It is unusu. 

 ally cold here. — J. 8, C. 



