Aug. 20, 1891.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



exhaust the air from, so that it will remain under water? 

 Can he talre a piece of poplar, 2in. in diameter and 3ft. 

 long, and not alone with Ms mouth hut with tlie most 

 powerful air pump, exhaust the air, and replace it with 

 water to such an extent that it will remain submerged 

 when at rest in the water? He cannot do it. And 1 have 

 peeu pieces of twice that size submerged by the heaver. 

 The air cannot be exhausted from the wood no matter 

 what size it may be unless the whole circumference of the 

 stick at the end to which the lips are applied be inclosed 

 during the act. Now 1 would again ask, can a beaver 

 take the end of a 2 to 4in. stick into his mouth and grasp 

 it firmly with his lips? The form of his mouth renders 

 this impossible. 



A beaver's incisors protrude so that they cannot be 

 covered entirely from sight by the animal. The lips are 

 not flexible enough to accomplish this, much less to 

 tightly inclose a piece of wood when wedged between the 

 teeth. 



So that aside from the philosophical improbability of 

 being able to exhaust the air in the manner mentioned 

 by "Berlin," by any means, it is clear that the beaver 

 cannot do it. 



It was the opinion of my old teacher in wood lore— and 

 it became mine also— that the beaver anchored his wood 

 by pressing it sufficiently deep into the mud to overcome 

 its buoyancy by the adhesive qualities of the latter. The 

 bottom of a beaver's pond is always covered with a heavy 

 slimy ooze, where he anchors his provisions; and if the 

 wood be held in contact with this for a short time it be- 

 comes tightly adherent. This I believe to be the secret, 

 but would not assert it positively. 



This article is written in all kindness, and only with a 

 desire to set myself right with "Berlin" and others in- 

 terested in the subject. It is already far too long, but I 

 do not propose to reopen the subject or trespass further 

 upon the columns of dear old Fokkst and Stream in re- 

 gard to it, and so have been thus diffuse. Arefar. 



Catjcfobnta. 



REARING QUAIL IN CONFINEMENT. 



"IkT^OXJ remember I mentioned several weeks since that 

 X Mr. Dyer had hatched in his incubator sixteen little 

 Virginia ortyxes, and that two half -grown bantams had 

 been pressed into service as assistants to the brooder in 

 mothering the orphans. It gTieves me to say that this 

 experiment, like that of the grouse, was a failui-e. The 

 quail lived about a month and were as chipper as could 

 be, running all over the large yard and garden, busily 

 searching for insects and other food with the bantams, 

 and made a very pretty picture. Then without any ap- 

 parent cause they began dropping off one by one or twos, 

 and in a week or two had gone to join the big bevy on 

 the other side. But the bantams and the brooder are all 

 right, the latter now having eleven more quail eggs in it 

 nearly ready to bloom. 



The failure cannot be laid to neglect in care, for Jlr. D. 

 is at home all the time, and thoroughly enjoys such ex- 

 periments. The birdies had a varied food of finely- 

 cracked wheat, corn, oatmeal, millet seed, ample run in 

 the grass and garden, were carefully kept in the brooder 

 and wire run when the weather was wet or chilly, and 

 watched with loving care, and if the bantams had taken 

 half as much interest in the matter as Mr. D. the result 

 might have been different. But it was hardly to be ex- 

 pected. It was their first experience and they were but 

 callow themselves, yet they did nobly, submitting to the 

 nestling as far as their capacity would allow with great 

 l>atience, but otherwise evincing little interest in their 

 adoptions, neither calling them nor attending them faith- 

 fully in their foraging, though generally seen with them. 

 It was a perfunctory performance and was quite an 

 interesting study. The little mites were as fearless of 

 humanity as so many ordinary chicks, and often evoked 

 from the passers by the exclamation "Oh! aren't they 

 cute." I don't know what course Mr. D. will pursue with 

 the ensuing editions, but let us hope he may witness an 

 abundant fruition of his patient labors, O. O. S. 



VXNET^AND, N. J., Aug. 18. 



MARINE BIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION. 



A USEFUL work is being undertaken by the Univer- 

 sity Marine Biological Association, which has been 

 founded "for the purpose of establishing and maintaining 

 laboratories and aquaria on the coast of the United States, 

 where accm-ate researches may be carried on, leading to 

 the improvement of the biological sciences and especially 

 to an increase of our knowledge of the food, life condi- 

 tions and habits of American food fishes and molluscs, 

 and for stimulating public interest in these matters. 



The importance of possessing seaside laboratories at 

 which the working naturalists of the country, the teach- 

 ers in schools and colleges, the patient investigators in 

 pure science, the G-overnment experts and others could 

 secure a practical acquaintance with the structure and 

 habits of marine animals, has long been appreciated in 

 Europe, where many such laboratories exist. A begin- 

 ning has been made in this country, but more such sta- 

 tions, well equipped and provided with competent instruc- 

 tors, are needed. To establish these laboratories money 

 is required, but no one doubts that the sums expended 

 will be returned many fold by the actual increase in food 

 fish— to mention only one example— which will result 

 from the study of marine life. 



The laboratory estabhshed by this Association is located 

 at Sea Isle City, on Ludlam Island, New Jersey, a situ- 

 ation which seems very well chosen. A tract of land of 

 five acres has been secured on Ludlam Bay, within three 

 or four minutes' walk of the ocean beach. Two railroad 

 stations are almost within a stone's throw and a steam 

 tramway affords facilities for reaching any point on the 

 beach within six miles at any time of day. 



The laboratory consists at present of a two-story build- 

 ing 24xT3ft., thoroughly equipped for practical and 

 scientific investigation. A suitable pumping plant fur- 

 nishes a constant supply of salt water for tiie aquaria and 

 working tables, and a number of boats of various kinds, 

 dredges, trawls, tow-nets, pound-nets, etc., under the 

 management of experienced collectors and fishermen, 

 will keep up the supply of specimens and enable the in- 

 vestigators and students to search all points of interest in 

 the neighboring waters. ^' 



The establishment of this laboratory is authorized by 

 act of Legislature of the State of New Jersey, which pro- 

 Tides that its property shall be ejcempt from taxation, 

 and that the authorities in charge of the station shall 



have the right to fish unmolested in any of the waters of 

 the State for the purpose of obtaining material needed in 

 their investigations. 



It is expected that publications, to consist of mono- 

 graphs on various forms of life, will be issued from time 

 time. Further information may be had by addressing 

 the Rev. Jesse Y. Burk, University of Pennsylvania, 

 PhiladelpMa, Pa. 



PENNSYLVANIA NOTES. 



KANE, Pa., July 25.— CoL Thos. L. Kane founded and 

 laid out the town of Kane, McKean county, where 

 he raised, in the spring of 1861, a regiment of hunters, 

 trappers and loggers, known as the "Bucktails," which 

 became famous for their great bravery, skill as marksmen, 

 and unusual powers of endurance. Kane, ninety-five 

 miles from the city of Erie, is situated at an elevation of 

 2,001ft. above the level of the sea. It is the highest point 

 reached by the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad, a division 

 of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company's system, and 

 one which traverses some of the best regions in our State 

 for hunting and fishing. The town is located on an 

 elevated tableland known as "Big Level," which consti- 

 tutes the boundary from south to north of the Pennsyl- 

 vania oil and coal field. In this region the ornithological 

 student will find several species of birds as summer resi- 

 dents which are found in but few localities of the State 

 as natives. During the past summer the following-named 

 species have been observed breeding, or seen during the 

 months of May, June and July: 



Winter wren, tolerably common; olive-backed thrush, 

 common, five nests found; red-bellied nuthatch, rather 

 rare; mourning warbler, one nest taken; magnolia warb- 

 ler, frequent; chestnut-sided warbler, very abundant; 

 hooded warbler, several birds seen; Blackburnian warb- 

 ler, frequent; black-throated green warbler, common; 

 large-billed water thrush, rather rare; Canadian fly- 

 catcher, frequent; yeUow-bellied fly-catcher, tolerably 

 common; rose-breasted grosbeak, common about three 

 miles east of Kane; wild pigeon, few single individuals 

 or pairs seen; red-shouldered hawk, common; snow bird 

 {Junco hyemalis), very abundant. W. 



DEATH VALLEY. 



SOME time since we published a review of a Bulletin of 

 the Department of Agrictdture, which contained a 

 preliminary report by Dr. C. Hart Merriam of the inves- 

 tigations which he has been carrying on for several years 

 in Death Valley. The present season's work in this 

 region closed some little time since, and Dr. Merriam — 

 who, as already stated in Forest and Stream, has been 

 appointed one af the American commissioners to investi- 

 gate the present status of seal life in Bering Sea — has 

 started for the north. A reporter of the San Francisco 

 Chronicle interviewed Dr. Merriam while he was in that 

 city, and quotes him as making the following statements 

 with repard to Death Valley: 



"The valley and its lowering black walls of barren rock," be 

 said, "are weird and strangely sublime in their desolation. For 

 miles a,nd miles the curious mountains may be seen outlined 

 against the clear sky. From the top of Telescope Peak, the high- 

 est of the Panamint or western range which shuts the valley m, 

 one may look down a dizzy black precipice 13,000ft. to the level of 

 the valley, as dazzling white as snow. Stretching from the moun- 

 tain's foot are the glistening fields of salt. Here and there are 

 rutming streams of salt and mineral waters. To drink of them is 

 to die. The view is closed in by the gloomy cliffs of the Funeral 

 Mountains, which form an impenetrable barrier at the east of the 

 canon. The scene is one of violent contrasts of glaring whites and 

 dead blacks. 



"The valley is the most barren and the lowest of a series in east- 

 ern California and southwestern Nevada. At a rough estimate it 

 is about 150ft. below the level of the sea. It rims generally north 

 and south, although its worst regions turn to the northwest. This 

 ponion has been named Mesquite Valley. It is a region far worse 

 than Death Valley proper. The valley may be compared to the 

 Grand Gaiion of the Colorado. It is rather an immense chasm 

 than a valley. It is about 140 miles long and at its broadest part 

 is only 18 miles wide. In some parts it is not more than 15 miles 

 in width. 



"On either side of the valley, stretching almost its entire length 

 is a range of mountains, absolutely barren of animal and veget- 

 able life. The western range is the Panamint, averaging in hicrht 

 about 9,080tt. The eastern range is the Funeral, a suggestive and 

 not unfit name. The Funeral Mountains rise fully 7,000ft. above 

 the level of the sea. These mountains are black, with the excep- 

 tion of curious patches of red rock. Away to the north is Mount 

 Magruder. Beyond in the distance rise the hights of the Sierras 

 Almost at the southern limit of the valley is Mount Ivanwarch' 

 Behind it is the 'Devil's Playground,' a region of absolute barren- 

 ness. 



"Down the valley a hot, suffocating wind blows with terrific 

 velocity. In its course through the stricken region it gathers a 

 black cloud of hot, shifting sand that has blinded many an un- 

 wary horse and rider. Under the glistening beds of crystallized 

 salt in places are running streams of salt water. Beneath these 

 is still another bed of salt. In other parts of the valley are wastes 

 of hot sand drawn in some places into high mounds by the whirl- 

 ing blasts that sweep down the caiion. There, too, is the most 

 curious earth I have seen— self-rising earth it has been called As 

 far as the eye can see it appears in curving outline, up and down 

 as if puffed by a natural yeast. The unfortunate animal that 

 steps upon the little hills will crash through, for they are not 

 much more than fragile crusts. 



"Still stranger is that section of the valley which for want of 

 a better namejis called Salt Earth. Innumerable pinnacles taper- 

 ing to points as fine as needles and a foot long, rise in close array 

 from the ground. They are ae hard as stone and as dangerous as 

 sharpened steel. Beneath and hidden by them are pitfalls a 

 tumble into which means a broken leg or arm. Then, too, are the 

 rich fields of borax, which have lured many a man to death 

 Dreadful as is Death Valley, its northwestern arm, Mesquite Val- 

 ley, is worse. All of the water upon Its surface is poison. The 

 wind has thrown the sand into immense mounds, one of which is 

 three miles long and 500ft. high. It was in this valley that the 

 immigrants lost their lives. Water may be obtained only by dig- 

 ging deep wells, and then it is none too pure. 



"Our party, the Biological Survey of the United States Govern- 

 ment, has been in the valley for months. It left there only a few 

 days ago, having finished investigation. The general purpose of 

 the Department of Agriculture, under which we work, is to col- 

 lect facts relating to the distribution of species with variations of 

 humidity and temperature througnout the United States, and 

 particularly in the western part. The results obtained will be of 

 the utmost value to agriculture, for they will save millions of dol- 

 lars spent in experiment by farmers who wish to test the capacity 

 and character of their land. 



-We found that in certain zones certain flora and fauna flour- 

 ish. Each zone has its peculiar species, which wiU not flourish in 

 others. These zones are both horizontal and vertical. The party 

 chose the desolate region of Death Valley for its labors, for from 

 it, and not far distant, can be traced the seven zones we have es- 

 tablished. The valley, notwithstanding its barren elements, has 

 many phases of life. It has thirty or forty species of animals 

 and fully as many of vegetable growth. Nothing, of course, will 

 live on the sale or borax bottoms, but on the edges of these dis- 

 tricts various hardy plants thrive. In the sand wastes are gopher, 

 mice, rats, bats and many other animals, and not a few reptiles." 



Washington, D. C, Aug. 6.— Another specimen of the 

 rare Argentine was recently caught in the harbor at Bel- 

 fast, Me., and forwarded by Mr. H. P. Thompson to the 

 U. S. Fish Commission, This &sh is a relative of the 

 fimelt, but grows larger. A few days since I noted a fine 



tarpon in the market at Golden's; also a nice example of 

 the flasher (Lohotes). The tarpon was taken at Virginia 

 Beach. It would measure 50in. in length and probably 

 weighed 70 or 80lbs.— Bonakt. 



^^me ^dg md 



The pull texts of the game laws of all the States, Terri- 

 tories and British Provinces are given in the Book of the 

 Oame Lcms. 



A MISSISSIPPI KIVER ADVENTURE. 



ONE cold morning in January early in the sixties five 

 resolute fellows hurriedly stepped into a skiff at a 

 little town in Illinois on the east bank of the Mississippi, 

 and with two sets of oars pushed out into the current in 

 pursuit of game — a fugitive from justice— intending to 

 intercept or get track of him at a railroad town sixteen 

 miles below. 



The river was full of running ice, stretching from 

 shore to shore, with here and there small streaks and 

 patches of open water, which the men worked the skiff 

 into when they coidd gain time by doing so. They would 

 frequently get into a pack of mush ice and have to fight 

 their way through it with tedious and exasperating 

 delay. At other times they were hemmed in with ice 

 fields as large as a good-sized farm, and would drift with 

 the current until an opening showed itself through which 

 they could get into open water; but by hard work and 

 good management they reached their destination after a 

 four hours' run, when the crowd separated. 



Two of our number went to the railroad depot, two 

 others to police headquarters and the other to the tele- 

 graph offices, but all to no purpose, as the party we were 

 so anxious to interview had evidently kept away from 

 railroad and telegraph lines. 



It was well along in the afternoon when we got to- 

 gether again ready to make the return trip. 



The ice was not running as heavily as in the morning 

 and there was more open water, hut we had the current 

 to contend with, which had been in our favor on the 

 down trip, but by hugging the Illinois shore and taking 

 advantage of the openings we were making satisfactory 

 progress under the circumstances. 



"VVe had pulled leisurely over about six miles of our 

 course, comparing notes and discussing the incidents of 

 the day, when we heard the baying of hounds nearly two 

 miles above us on the Missouri side, followed soon after 

 by the report of a gun, when the music suddenly came to 

 an end. As there were "right smart deer"' in the river 

 bottoms at that time, such occurrences were so common 

 as to scarcely excite comment, except among hunting 

 cu'cles and lovers of the chase. 



We had probably rowed about a half a mile further 

 when the keen eyes of the steersman saw what appeared 

 to be a piece of driftwood coming down the river in the 

 ice and drawing toward the Illinois shore, but there were 

 so many cross currents during the winter when the water 

 was low that there was nothing strange about that. A 

 few moments later, however, he sang out, "Boys, there's 

 a doe, End it is making for the Illinois shore." How our 

 pulses leaped, all was excitement on that little craft, and 

 every man was on the alert. The blades fairly bent under 

 the strong steady sweep of the oarsmen, the pilot stood 

 up in the stern the better to overlook the field and keep 

 the skiff clear of the ice. 



The doe saw that a new danger threatened it and in- 

 creased its speed, rapidly nearing the bank. Now it was 

 at the head of a stretch of comparatively open water, 

 while we were at the lower end of it. 



And now the boat jumps at every stroke of the oars, 

 and seems to fly over the water; the doe redoubles its 

 efforts and in a few minutes will reach the bank, It is 

 now or never with us, and the oarsmen by a sudden spurt 

 aided by a skillful maneuver of the pilot ran the boat 

 between it and the shore, which was not more than 50yds. 

 distant, and at that place opened out into a heavily-tim- 

 bered creek bottom. The boat was under such headway 

 that we shot several lengths past the doe, and as luck 

 would have it got fast on a small cake of sunken ice. 

 Had the doe kept its course it could easily have passed 

 below the skiff and reached the bank in safety, so far as 

 we were concerned, for we had no firearms with us, not 

 even a revolver. In its fright it started back toward the 

 Missouri shore, beating the water into foam in its effort 

 to escape; but it soon settled down to a steady swim when 

 it reached the heavy ice. 



It was some minutes before we got rounded to and 

 headed for it, and it now was over two hundred yards out 

 in the river, fast leaving the shore behind. Then the 

 chase began. The skiff was heavily loaded and the under- 

 taking was not without a spice of danger, but fortunately 

 we had on board three cool-headed fellows and two of 

 them had the oars when we first sighted the doe; the 

 other, who had lived on the banks of the Mississippi until 

 he was well nigh amphibious, stood in the stern with a 

 steering oar and directed the chase. And now look out 

 for music. 



We soon overhauled the doe, when the man in the bow 

 caught it by the ears and tried to cut its throat; but he 

 might as well have tried to hold the tail end of a cyclone. 

 It fought desperately and got in several savage blows 

 with its hoofs; but the fellow was good grit and took the 

 pounding until he was glad to release it. In the skirmish 

 it got both its forelegs over the gunwale of the skiff as if 

 it wanted to come on board and finish him; but as we 

 had aU the passengers we could accommodate at that 

 time, and as we had no guarantee that it would behave 

 itself if it came on board, he let it go again and we headed 

 it toward the Illinois shore. When it got too near the 

 shore for safety he made the second attack with the same 

 result, and in both cases it came near swamping us, so 

 near, in fact, that we began to think of the wives and 

 babies at home. Oh, for a gun; any kind of a gun- 

 flint-lock, percussion or pepper-box, anything that would 

 shoot. 



We drove it back and forth to and from the shore sev- 

 eral times to tire it out, to take the edge oft" the animosity, 

 so to speak. In the meantime both boat and doe were 

 rapidly drifting down stream, when the bow oarsman in 

 sheer desperation struck it across the neck with the edge 

 of an oar blade and stunned it, when it was hauled 

 alongside the skiff and knocked in the head with an old 

 hatchet that happe^ned to be on board, Then we towed it 



