SaPT. 34, 1891.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



IBS 



was amended at the last sessioa of the State Legislature 

 as follows t 



"1st— That the birds commonly known as reed birds 

 are not included in the list oE insectivorous birds which 

 can be taken legally in Pennsylvania only by persons 

 who have permits for collecting birds, their nests and 

 eggs for strictly scientiiic purposes. 2d— The various 

 species of hawks, owls and crows are not included among 

 the birds protected by this act. 8d— In all actions for 

 recovery of penalties under the sec one-half of the fine 

 ($10 to $50 for illegally killing birds specified or destroy- 

 ing their nests or eggs) shall be paid to the informer. The 

 act of 1889 made all the fine payable to the county treas- 

 urer of the county where the offense was committed." 



Eeed bird shooting is a popular pastime with large num- 

 bers of sportsmen who visit the shores and marshes of 

 the Delaware River. The change in the act previously 

 mentioned was made in deference especially to demands 

 from residents of Philadelphia and Delaware counties. 

 Tn northwestern Pennsylvania, particularly about Presque 

 Isle Bay and Conneaut Lake, farmers and many sports- 

 men know the red- winged blackbird {Agelaius phceni- 

 ceus) in the fall as "reed bird." Doubtless the reed bird 

 amendment will enable persons so disposed to shoot the 

 red-wings without fear of legal hindrance. 



Observing farmers and poultrymen vei-y generally 

 throughout Pennsylvania regard crows with disfavor 

 because of the fondness they manifest for both the eggs 

 and yoimgof domestic fowls, and as naturalists concurred 

 in condemning the thieving crow, and made his chai*acter 

 as black as his sable garb, the change already indicated 

 was deemed advisable by our lawmakers. 



Until within a very few years past every member of 

 the hawk and owl tribe was regarded with disfavor by 

 the average farmer and poultryman, as well as by nearly 

 all sportsmen, on account of the popular idea that all 

 these raptores — large and small — subsisted almost ex- 

 clusively on poultry and game. The careful and system- 

 atic investigation conducted under the direction of the 

 Pennsylvania State Board of Agriculture proved the real 

 value of these much-abused birds, and to-day hawks and 

 owls, collectively considered, are protected by many far- 

 mers and others who but a few years ago were earnest in 

 advocating their destruction. 



Although a large majority of farmers and horticultur- 

 ists favor the protection of most of our hawks and owls, 

 it was not considered wise to have in force a law (as it 

 was believed was the case with the act of 1889) which made 

 it a misdemeanor, punishable by fine or imprisonment, 

 or both, at the discretion of the court, to shoot or trap 

 predatory birds, such as the goshawk, Cooper's, sharp- 

 shinned and duck hawks, all of which are known to be 

 destructive of poultry and game. W. 



REARING GAME BIRDS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In FOKEST AND Stream of Sept. 3, 1 see several articles 

 on rearing game birds. My grandfather, Wappert de 

 Melis, an old officer of Napolean I., was an ardent sports- 

 man and took great delight in rearing- in confinement 

 English and Chinese pheasants, and partridges (the red 

 partridge of the British Islands and the continent of 

 western Europe). The pheasant eggs were obtained from 

 other estates or from the zoological gardens. When 

 mowing green food for the stock on the estate, the men 

 sometimes discovered a nest of partridge eggs, and when 

 too late to leave some grass around the nest and leave it 

 undisturbed (as were his orders), the eggs were taken 

 home. They were all hatched under common barn fowl. 

 The coops were about 20xl0ft., facing the south and vrith 

 wire netting: front and covered by a roof, the whole being 

 called a voUere. There was sandy, gravely and dry bot- 

 tom with a little plot of grass and a few small pines for 

 shelter. 



How well I remember, when a boy, I accompanied one 

 of our old servants, who had been over thirty years in 

 the family— Jantze the Stocker — to the pine forests, in 

 search of ant eggs. We have in Flanders, in the sandy 

 portion, a species of big black ant, which build large 

 nests of dry pine needles, dead grass, little sticks, etc. 

 After finding one of these nests, Jantze would shovel 

 ants, eggs, nest and all into a large grain bag (and how 

 he did get bitten by the infuriated ants, but he did not 

 seem to mind it), and carried the whole thing home. 

 There the bag was emptied into an old flour barrel, 

 covered with a coarse woven bag well tied over the open- 

 ing to keep the ants inside. The ants would then collect 

 their eggs into the center of the barrel, where we could 

 find them whenever needed. This was excellent food for 

 the young pheasant and partridge chicks, but somewhat 

 heating and must be intermixed with a diet of chopped 

 hard boiled eggs and lettuce leaveg, clover seed and seeds 

 collected when winnowing rye or wheat. The ant eggs 

 supplied the natural animal food of the birds, and the 

 seeds what they would about find on the fields. After 

 they became larger we would feed them table crumbs, 

 grain and almost anything. 



The young chicks are very sensitive to wet, and a piece 

 of matting should be set against the inner wall for shel- 

 ter. They liked to run in the little grass plot and to eat 

 some of the leaves ; and the little pine trees provided shade 

 and comparative shelter. 



Grandfather had quite a success in rearing both pheas- 

 ants and partridges. The partridges would be wild in the 

 beginning, but became gradually tame, and I remember 

 two old birds who fed with the chickens in the yard and 

 ran around, never attempting to escape. We fed the old 

 bu'ds also meal worms from the old windmill on the 

 estate. This food they were very fond of, but it is very 

 strong and heating diet and should be given in modera- 

 tion. This we fed also to two nightingales we had in 

 captivity. 



I never found these big ant nests in the woods of cen- 

 tral and western Pennsylvania or New York, but think 

 they exist in the sandy portions of the New .Jersey coast 

 and the sand dunes along the Atlantic coast, or other 

 sandy portions of the continent, where they must be easy 

 to procure. 



Young game birds in their wild state feed mostly on 

 grubs, ants and ant's eggs, small insects, seeds, etc., and 

 the nearer you come to their natural food and surround- 

 ings in conlinement the better will be yom* success in 

 rearing them. Care should be taken to keep the coop 

 well supplied with clear drinking water, keep the grass 

 plot green by sprinMing or put fresh grass flakes in. from 

 time to time, and keep everything dean and tidy, for 



they will otherwise be bothered with lice. Eats, cats and 

 weasels are their great enemies, and should be carefully 

 kept out by close wire netting at least 3ft. from the 

 ground above the larger netting. 



This all reminds me of the halcyon days of my youth, 

 and if this may be of any use to my brother sportsmen, 

 it will be ample reward of old 



Julius the Foxhuhter. 



LATE BIRDS' NESTS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



On the 26th of August I found a quail nest with eleven 

 eggs in it. It was located in the corner of a rail fence, 

 and the old bird flew away when I jumped over. The 

 eggs showed a decided reddish hue, and, therefore, I ex- 

 pect that the young ones came out a few days afterward. 

 On the same day I also found the nest of a redbird with 

 young ones not over four or five days old. All birds have 

 been late this year, and I am not much sui-jirised about 

 the redbirds, as they always hatch two or three broods; 

 but quail eggs I never found so late before. No doubt it 

 was a second brood, and it shows that our law, which 

 allows quail shooting only after the 10th of November, is 

 not too late at all. The birds are pretty scarce in our 

 neighborhood this year. D. W. D. 



Cincinnati, O., Sept. 3. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



While out partridge hunting Sept. 8 I found a quail's 

 nest with 11 eggs in it. The mother was on the nest, 

 which was in a hollow between two roots of a stump. 

 Some one had placed a screen in front of the nest so the 

 quail could not get out. He had fed the quail but had 

 given her no water, 1 did not break any of the eggs, 

 but they were dark colored and looked as though they 

 were about half incubated. I removed the screen and 

 posted a notice informing him of the penalty for having 

 quail in possession before Nov. 1. I suppose he intended 

 to try and rear the young ones. 



Going through a dry marsh on the 3d inst., I came upon 

 a quail and young about three days old. Calling my 

 spaniel to me, I showed him where they had been, and 

 he trailed them uj) and brought me one uninjured, which 

 I let go. A. G, B. 



HotjLAnd, Mich. 



THE CAROLINA PAROQUET IN FLORIDA. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I noticed some inquiry made in your columns as to the 

 Florida paroquets. I have been collecting animals, rep- 

 tiles and birds for a museum in St. Augustine for four 

 spring seasons. I find each season that the paroquet is 

 decreasing in number. Last spring I saw about half a 

 dozen small flocks, six to eight in number, in a mulberry 

 grove in the eastern part of Hernando county. Two 

 seasons ago I found large numbers of them there. It is a 

 habit of the paroquet to visit orange groves for the oranges 

 in .January and February; and more of them have been 

 killed for this than for any other reason in Florida. I 

 knew one man who killed over 200 two years ago in one 

 week in his grove. When one is wing- broken and begins 

 to cry, the drove will go to its rescue and easily be taken 

 in. They nest in hollow trees similar to the woodpecker 

 holes, and have two young. JoHK M. McCraey. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In the Aug. 6 issue of Forest and Stream, Mr. Frank 

 Chairman made a request concerning our only repre- 

 sentative of the ia-milj Psittacidce, the Carolina paroquet. 

 In writing this I think perhaps it may be acceptable, to 

 add my little mite for general information and possibly 

 help to encourage correspondence of others. 



In several successive years, when hunting about the 

 cypress swamps of West Florida in April, I put up with 

 an old resident planter who lived within a few miles of 

 the bank of the Apalachicola River, and who appeared 

 to be well informed about all bird life in the vicinity and 

 through the river swamps. My inquiry about paroquets 

 he answered, "Very soon the nasty things will destroy all 

 the fruit of my mulberry tree?, which fruit is just about 

 getting ripe." How I wished the birds would soon start 

 in on their work of destruction, but I was not destined 

 to get the few desirable specimens I wanted, on the mul- 

 berry trees. 



One day, however, when I was after a gobbler ui the 

 river swamps, in company of the planter's son, we were 

 suddenly startled by a grating and metallic sound, at 

 which the boy hurriedly said "Parrots!" Standing still 

 for a time, we noticed several birds suspended by their 

 feet, head downward, feeding on the red blossoms of a 

 species of maple. After carefully changing my cartridges 

 I shot one bird with each barrel; when about fifteen to 

 twenty more birds darted from the opposite side of the 

 maple tree with the motion and appearance of wild 

 pigeons. 



The next morning we visited the same place and again 

 were so fortunate as to hear the note of the parrots. 

 Standing tn hiding beneath some foliage, we waited at 

 least ten minutes to hear that note again, to make it pos- 

 sible better to locate the birds, but ail in vain. By care- 

 fully examining the leaves of all the' trees near by, I 

 came to notice large yellow flowers with orange centers, 

 which appeared to be distributed over one of the trees. 

 Soon after I distinguished the green bodies of birds, which 

 were attached to the seeming flowers, and once more the 

 parrots lost a pair of their company. Several times on 

 succeeding days their call was noticed, though now the 

 birds mistrusted us and further approach was useless. 



On the third and last occasion, April 6, 1889, when 

 crossing a piece of piny woods near the plantation, I 

 noticed a small flock of rapidly flying birds, alighting on 

 one of the more distant pines, with the fluttering motion 

 of our mourning dove. In another instant some of the 

 birds were suspended from corresponding limbs and three 

 parrots were secured while a fourth , shot on the "^i^ng, 

 dropped in a near field, whence one of the boys at Work 

 there brought the bird for me, to be added to the other 

 valued specimens. As Dr. Allen rightly says: 



"Extermination of this interesting and beautiful bird is 

 not only due to wantonly shooting them for then- meat 

 and feathers and by sportsmen — not to mention the few 

 specimens for natm-al history specimens, but by cruel 

 and most destructive netting by calling them down 

 through caged companionB." Like our wild pigeons. 



these poor birds have been netted until further supply 

 gave out. 



One individual in particular, visited the above mentioned 

 locality, yeai- after year, always in July, when the young 

 birds were collected in flocks; and netted the paroquets 

 as well for om- Northern as for the European markets. 

 Thus I was informed by residents. 



We regret to say that this beautiful and interesting 

 bird is certainly and rapily disappearing from our fauna. 

 There is very little hope of just a few of them to survive 

 many years. The most remote swamps only protect them 

 at ti mes; they are bound to leave the woods, to feed in 

 river bottoms on the much coveted cockle-spur, arid as 

 stated above, will also visit such fruit as mulberry and 

 banana. The banana appears to melt away when the 

 paroquets go to work with their heavy bills, and have 

 taken it into their heads to visit a plantation regularly, 

 to appease their very exorbitant appetites. 



August Eoch. 



Pennsylvania. 



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

 tories and British Provinces are given in the Book of the 

 Game Laws. 



NOTES FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



VERY discouraging chicken reports come in from all 

 parts of Kansas. It seems that the birds are shot 

 by farmer boys and market-hunters as soon as hatched. 

 What Kansas needs is absolute protection to game birds 

 for a period of years. 



Last week it was the writer's pleasure to enjoy a hunt 

 in the northwest corner of Iowa, near the Sioux River, as 

 the guest of the Porter Bros., who have a large model 

 grain and "cattle ranch in that part of the State, just a 

 few miles distant from the South Dakota and Minnesota 

 lines. 



We found the chickens scarce as compared with former 

 y ears . The Porters have an elegant English s e tter , Buffer , 

 who could scent a covey a mile off. As soon as flushed 

 the birds would go to the cornfields, making the shooting 

 quite difficult. We hunted mornings and evenings, 

 and three of us generally succeeded in bagging a total of 

 20 or 30 birds each trip. The coveys were all small. 

 This is explained by the fact that English hunters had 

 been shooting a month before the law was up. Upon one 

 occasion we found a remarkably tame pair of birds. We 

 walked to within ten feet of them in stubble. The hand- 

 some birds seemed as tame as barnyard fowl, and were 

 flushed with diflaculty. It seemed a pity to slaughter 

 such elegant and fearless birds; but the relentles 10-bores 

 showed no mercy. A. 

 Leavenworth, Kan., Sept. 12. 



By observation and by what can be learned from land 

 owners and local sportsmen in and around this section of 

 southern New Jersey quail are moje numerous now than 

 at any time before during the past ten years. Owing to 

 the dry weather during last spring and the early part of 

 summer in the time of their nesting and the rank growth 

 of vegetation later on affording an admirable cover for 

 the bu'ds, they have increased wonderfully. An observ- 

 ing gentleman residing near here, Mr. Nicholas Wain, 

 tells me that he "never saw more and larger coveys of 

 quail and of a better size at this season of the year than 

 at the present time." And what has been said in regard 

 to the number of quail will also apply to rabbits; the dry 

 weather earlier and the rank vegetation during the 

 greater part of the summer having been conditions suit- 

 ing their increase and protection. Squirrels also seem 

 to be numerous. Perhaps they show themselves more on 

 account of nuts being so plenty this fall. In regard to 

 partridges, from what I have seen and heard their num- 

 ber is about up to the average. 



Taking it altogether, the quanity of game this season 

 around here is far above the average, and the sportsmen 

 are looking forward with high hopes to splendid shoot- 

 ing, especially in the line of quail, when the season comes 

 in. A. L. L. 



Monmouth County, N. J. 



We have large numbers of quail here this fall and ex- 

 pect great sport. Ducks, mostly woodducks, were plen- 

 tiful opening day, and a few good bags were made. A 

 party of three bagged 23 woodducks a few miles aouthof 

 here. A. G. B. 



Holland, Mich., Sept. 9. 



Every one reports grouse very plenty this year in thia 

 section. Although I have not been after them yet I hope 

 to go as soon as the weather gets a little cooler. I saw a 

 number of them ui the spring when trout fishing, which 

 shows that they wintered well. E. W. R. 



Post Mills, Vermont; 



Ducks are very scarce so far this fall. Hares are very 

 plentiful, also foxes. Snipe are nearly all gone. Of 

 plover there are few, and we expect some good flights of 

 ducks next month. Good bags of game can be got some 

 twenty miles east of us at any time. Deer have been 

 seen around this past summer. Hot, 



Bedford, Que bec. 



Woods Holl, Mass, Sept. 14.— A bunch of white wing 

 scoters has lived in Buzzard's Bay, near here, aU sum- 

 mer; these are not cripples, it is said, for they fly readily 

 when approached. The first flying scoters "seen by me 

 were eleven going to the eastward across Vineyard 

 Sound Sept. 10. Five sheldrakes were seen in the Sound 

 on the 11th. A wild pigeon has remained in this locality 

 during the summer and has been seen occasionally by 

 Mr. V. N. Edwards and others.— T. H. B. 



Those Wildfowl Pictures.— A Pennsylvania reader 

 writes: "I wish to express my personal obligation to you 

 for illustrating your paper with woodcuts of wildfowl. 

 They are very natm-al. Personally I would rather see a 

 picture like the one in the last issue than res d the most 

 exciting gunning story." 



The Forest and Stream's Book Catalogue has been 

 exhausted. A new edition will be ready about Oct. 1. 



