144 



FOREST AND STREAM, 



[Sept. 12, 1889. 



and pretty. I noticed it several times, and have often 

 wished I had added it to my collection of natural history 

 specimens. Jasper Blines. 



Alexandria, Mo. 



A Rare Deep-Sea Fish. — On Aug. 2, the schooner 

 Pathfinder, of Gloucester, captured a halibut on the east- 

 ern part of George's Bank in 175 fathoms of water, in the 

 stomach of which was found a specimen of Malacosteus 

 niger (?), a rare deep-sea fish. This species was first de- 

 scribed by Ayres, in the Boston Journal of Natural 

 History in 1849, page 53, from a specimen 8|in. long. 

 The specimen here noticed is about of the same length. 

 This fish is strictly a deep-sea form and shows that hali- 

 but have the habit of going down many fathoms. This 

 specimen was presented to the TJ. S. Fish Commission at 

 Washington by Mr. John Davis, through Capt. S. J. 

 Martin. It is bne of the few donations made by New 

 England fishermen to the National Museum and Fish 

 Commission. Many rare and curious fishes as well as 

 other objects of zoology have been brought to light and 

 preserved by the fishermen of the New England coast. 



Vdmc 



A Two-Headed Snake. — Aukland, Md., Sept. 6. — A 

 boy in coming to town on last Saturday, Aug. 31, found 

 a small snake, supposed to be a garter snake, having two 

 perfectly developed heads. The snake is about Gin. long, 

 and the heads are joined to the body about three-quarters 

 of an inch back on its neck. Each head is perfectly de- 

 veloped. Upon teasing it with a pencil or stick it will 

 strike viciously, sometimes with both heads and some- 

 times with only one. It seems to have perfect control of 

 both heads and moves them independently of each other. 

 It has been in captivity now about a week, and is appar- 

 ently as lively as when captured. Is it a common thing 

 for snakes to have two heads? This is the first one I 

 have ever seen or heard of. — S. L. fit is a rare freak of 

 nature.] 



Woodcock and Worm. — Until the recent discussion I 

 supposed every one who when a boy dug earth worms for 

 bait-fishing was familiar with the fact that they will 

 come to the surface if the ground is thumped. Whether 

 they do so thinking it is rain or because, as I think more 

 probable, they find the vibration uncomforable, I do not 

 know. Nor do I know anything of the habits of wood- 

 cock. But I have often seen results similar to these pro- 

 duced by the "woman stick" of the Hupa Indians. — 

 Aztec (San Luis Potosi, Mexico). 



Mr. Crowley. — A plaster cast of the bust of the cele- 

 brated chimpanzee, "Mr. Crowley," late of Central Park, 

 New York, was made by Mr. Richardson, and now occu- 

 pies a prominent position in the mammal hall of the 

 U. S. National Museum at Washington. 



Recent Arrivals at the Philadelphia Zoological Gar- 

 den.— Purchased— Two kusimanse (Crossctrchm ohscurus), one lynx 

 (Lynx canadensis), one sooty mangabey (Gere.occhm tnliginomx), 

 two Tamarin marmosets (Midas ursidus), four Abyssinian guinea- 

 fowl (Numida ptilorhynclia), one darter (Plotus anhinga), two blue- 

 beamed jays (Cyanocorax cyanopogon), nineteen banded rattle- 

 snakes (Crotalus horridus), nine copperheads (Ancistrodon contor- 

 trix), one blacksnake (Bascanion constrictor), one copper-bellied 

 snake (Tropidonotus sipedon erytJirogaster), three ring-necked 

 snakes (Diadopliis punctatus), one banded watersnake (T.fasciutus), 

 two West Airican pythons (Python sehce), three hog-nosed snakes 

 (Heterodon platyrliinus),one hog-nosed snake (H. plalyrhinus nigcr), 

 one hog-nosed snake (H. platyrh inus atmodea), four Valeria's 

 snakes (Virginia voter ice), four fence lizards (Evmeces fascial us >, 

 nine slimy salamanders (Piethodon ghttinoms), two cham'eJeonlike- 

 lizards (Cliammleolis clntnuclcontidcs), five equestrian lizards (Ano- 

 lis cquestris), one ribbon snake (Eutcenia saurita), three common 

 watersnakes (Tropidonotus sipedon), two corn snakes (Coluber 

 guttatus), one garter snake (Eutcenia sirtalis), and one green snake 

 (Oyciophis cBStivuif). Presen ted— Two gray foxes ( Can Is virgin ion us). 

 one Cuban iguana (CycVura nuMla), one bonnet macaque (Macacus 

 radiatus), one red fox (Canis vulpcs fulvus), six opossums (Didel- 

 phys virginiana), two barn owls (Strix flammed amerieana), one 

 bald eagle (HaUa'etusicucoccphalus), one red-tailed buzzard (Buteo 

 borealis), one sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter fuscus), two screech 

 owls (Mcgascops asio), one black duek^Anas obscwa), one redstart 

 (Setopliaga ruticilla), one great blue heron (Ardca lie rod ins), thirty 

 newts (Desmognathus rniniatus). two pine snakes (Pityophis melano- 

 leucus). one painted terrapin (Clirysemys picla), four musk terra- 

 pins (Aromochelys odoratus), one green turtle (Chelonia mydas). 

 one alligator (Alligator mi&si>&iifi>ieit«M, oik- Marev's carter wiake 

 (Eutcenia miu ciana), two striated turtles (Chelopus insculpius), one 

 red-bellied terrapin (Psrudcmys rugosa), one box tortoise (CL-tinia 

 Carolina), and one Leconte's snake (Rltinocliilis lecontei). Born- 

 One Indian antelope (Antilope cervicapra), one beaver (Castor 

 fiber canadensis), and one zebu (Bos indiciis). 



"That reminds me." 

 880. 



SPEAKING of fishing reminds me of an amusing little 

 incident that occurred in my family last spring. 

 My wife shares with me a passion for fishing, and during 

 the season we frequently take a boat and row out to the 

 mouth of the river to fish for pike and white bass with 

 minnows. Some unscrupulous person has told my wife 

 that male fish will not bite a hook held by a man, and 

 vice versa; so that one lovely evening toward the latter 

 part of June, when we had dropped our anchor on our 

 accustomed fishing ground, I said, "Now, my darling, we 

 will soon see whether there is more he or she fish in the 

 creek. " We had hardly assumed the easiest possible posi- 

 tion to await the bites, when my wife, in her accustomed 

 energetic manner, succeeded in landing a 2-pound white 

 bass. She did not say ' 'First blood," women are so funny, 

 you know, but I am sure she thought it. A weary half 

 hour dragged away. No bite. I began to think my min- 

 now must be off, and pulled up to see. While adjusting 

 the bait a mean but brilliant idea presented itself to me, 

 why not catch her fish over again? As her back was 

 partly turned, and she was intent on fishing, the plan 

 seemed feasible. I put her poor little he bass on my hook 

 and slid him gently in. I had hardly got my line out 

 before I pulled it in again. I said, "We are even." This 

 scheme worked like a charm; so that, by the exercise of 

 considerable tact and by working hard, I succeeded in 

 hauling that fish in seven times before dark. I dragged 

 him (or her; all over the river. "Mostly she fish to night," 

 I said. She said, "Let's go home." As I had been hav- 

 ing quite a good time I did not object. Well, when we 

 came to string those fish there was but one in the boat. 

 Only the sound of the oars broke the stillness in that 

 boat as we rowed home. • C. W. R. 



Oshkosh, Wisconsin. 



TEXAS GAME LAW. 



VICTORIA, Texas, Aug. 30.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 I notice in a recent number of Forest and Stream 

 what purports to be an abstract of the game laws of this 

 State, and find therein so many errors that I venture to cor- 

 rect them in order that readers of this journal may not be 

 unwittingly led into violating the laws. Article 426 of the 

 penal code reads as follows: "It shall hereafter be unlawful 

 for any person to kill, ensnare or trap, or in any way destroy 

 any wild deer in, the period of time embraced between the 

 20th day of January and the 1st day of August of each year. " 

 After providing penalties for violation of the foregoing 

 clause, the article further provides that any "butcher, huck- 

 ster, marketer, carrier or express agent, or any person found 

 in possession of fresh-killed venison one day before the above 

 specified open season begins, or ten days after the open sea- 

 son has closed, shall be deemed guilty of the violation of 

 the provisions of this article, and liable to the same proceed- 

 ings and penalties herein provided." The open season for 

 prairie chickens is from the first day of August to the first 

 day of February. Quail from Oct. 1 to May 1. Wild tur- 

 keys Sept. 1 to May 1. Guadalupe. 



PATTERN AND PENETRATION. 



GREENER, 10-GAUGE. 



WHEN Mr. J. N. Such, of South Amboy, read the re- 

 port of our Greener gun test in his Forest and 

 Stream, he felt that his favorite arm had not done itself 

 credit. A gunner for years, he had gone through a deal 

 of testing himself. He had purchased this, that and the 

 other make of arm, had found some better, others worse, 

 and had finally settled upon a Greener 10-gauge of the 

 last model as being the best ducking gun he had come 

 across, and one in every way meeting his intelligent de- 

 mand of what such a gun should 'be. "I would like to 

 shoot my Greener, which I feel confident will hold its 



GREENER 10-GAUGE, 40YDS., RIGHT BARREL, 373 PELLETS, NO. 8 SHOT 



own with any arm you can bring to your testing screen," 

 said Mr. Such. "Load some cartridges and come along," 

 was the reply of Forest and Stream, and early on the 

 morning of Aug. 8 the range was visited. It was a per- 

 fect morning for a gun test, and well did Mr. Such re- 

 mark, "If the gun don't do good to-day, it certainly is 

 not the fault of the weather conditions." The atmos- 

 phere was laden with moisture almost to the point of 

 saturation. The wind came quartering down from the 

 rear right hand in a lazy fashion, and once or twice dur- 

 ing the shooting it started in to rain. 



Mr. Such had loaded three sets of cartridges; one was 

 No. 8 chilled shot and the other No. 7, and a third with 

 No. 1 soft. The last is his favorite charge when out on 

 Barnegat and Raritan Bays after the heavier fowl there. 

 The loading of the charges had been most carefully per- 

 formed, and the analyses show how evenly the powder 



GREENER 10-GAUGE, 40YDS., LEFT BARREL, 362 PELLETS, NO. 8 SHOT. 



and shot figures- run. In crimping down the 7s and 8s 

 shot cartridges, Mr. Such had not used the usual com- 

 plete turn over of the upper and free end of the shell; 

 instead he had followed the rule of having the card over 

 the shot as light as consistent with good holding, so as to 

 allow the shot charge free run from the barrel. After 

 having put the card over the shot, he pressed down 

 two opposite sides of the shell top with his penknife back, 

 and left the shell with two projecting points. The charge 

 was well held in, sufficiently so, at least, for carrying in 



the pocket, and for use by a careful gunner. The charge 

 of the No. 1 shot, as it filled the shell close up to the 

 mouth, was crimped down in the ordinary way. 



The gun acted in the best manner throughout, and no 

 special incident marked the firing of the sixty shots of 

 the entire triple test. How close the gun held and how 

 well the aimed circle corresponded with the struck circle 

 is shown in the following tally sheet of each shots pattern 

 for both circles. 



GREENER 10-GAUGE, 40 YDS., RIGHT BARREL, 264 PELLETS, NO. 7 SHOT 



No. 8 Shot.— 40yds. 



Right Barrel. 





Left Barrel. 





Aimed 



Struck 





Aimed 



Struck 





Circle. 



Circle. 





Circle. 



Circle. 



In. 



301 



351 





344 



360 



7 



313 



324 



4 



281 



354 





345 



373 



4 



295 



298 



¥ 



276 



281 



4 



346 



362 





347 



352 



m 



312 



357 



7 



'...316 



336 



4 



316 



346 



$5 







No. 8 Shot.— 60yds, 





127 



166 



ry s 



140 



160 





115 



138 





141 



163 



8lt 



63 



106 



8 



159 



162 



4 



167 



172 





128 



150 



7 



173 



166 



4 



129 



156 



6 



'...129 



148 



6 



139 



158 









No. 7 Shot.- 



-40yds. 







251 



264 





171 



180 





236 



246 



4 



271 



275 





245 



243 



3 



218 



224 



4 



255 



264 



•M 



248 



248 





242 



229 





240 



248 



4 



...246 



249 



4 



229 



235 



4 







No. 7 Shot.- 



-30yds. 







113 



120 



6 



114 



122 





124 



127 





107 



104 



ft 



104 



93 





115 



124 





98 



113 





lot 



110 





97 



101 





103 



123 



4 



...107 



111 



§5 



109 



117 













Sv V 





GREENER 10-GAUGE, 40YDS., LEFT BARREL, 275 PELLETS, NO. 7 SHOT. 



At the 60yds. distance an interesting trial was made. 

 A few of the black powder cartridges used in the Scott 

 gun test of the day previous were brought out, and two 

 shots from each barrel were fired through the Greener 

 gun. How they behaved is shown in the following tabu- 

 lar comparison between the doings of these two shots and 

 the average at this distance by the Scott gun as given in 

 the Forest and Stream of last week. 





Scott Gun, 60yds. 



Average. 





Right Barrel. 



Left Barrel. 





Aimed 

 Circle. 



43 



Struck Pene- 

 Circle. tration. 

 55 16 



Aimel Struck 

 Circle. Circle. 



50 63 



Pene- 

 tration. 

 17 





Greener Gun, 60yds., Two Shots. 





68 

 78 



79 27 

 100 20 



87 81 

 96 88 



15 

 18 



AV...73 



89 23 



92 84 



17 



In a recent number of the Forest and Stream, it will 

 be remembered, our statistical correspondent "Nick" took 

 up the gun test tables to date and drew some general 

 averages. This showed an average of 60 per cent, for ten 

 tests at 40yds., with the maximum test reaching 73 per 

 cent. ; while at 60yds. the general average was 25 per 

 cent, and the best trial 35 per cent. In the Greener gun 

 under discussion it will be seen that in the No. 8 shot the 

 figures for the entire gun were 69 per cent, and 31 pet- 

 cent, for the 40 and 60yds. distances respectively, and 68 



