Nor. s, mi4 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



B07 



tation? The best of us will yield when the tempter 

 comes. A villainous coyote crossed the road directly in 

 front of us and looked at us saucily. It was so like a 

 *^'dare." Of course, he didn't stay there long, but moved 

 out of the road to let us pass and stopped on our right 

 about 150yds. off. I grabbed my gun and a buckshot 

 . cartridge, and jumping out of the bacJi on the opposite 

 bide told the otners to drive on, which they did without 

 halting, and the wolf's gaze was attracted to the hack 

 and its occupants. I fixed my gun and ran in a stooping 

 position toward him until I was within 100yds., then rose 

 and fired, turning him over. It was a splendid shot. Is 

 it any harm to kill a coyote on Sunday? 



We reached home that night, having killed twelve tur- 

 keys and one wolf, not counting small game, bringing 

 with us the recollection of a delightful hunt. We said 

 good-bye to our friend and host at Beeville regretfully, 

 and trust some time to join in another liunt as pleasant. 

 Galveston, Texas. S. D, Calder. 



iN NEW YORK CITY WILDWOODS. 



VAN CORTLANDT, New York City, Oct. 25.— In 

 these last autumn days, those who like myself are 

 fortunate enough to enjoy them up here must feel as I 

 do — a great longing that many more of the inhabitants 

 of the great city might be privdeged to inhale the pure 

 air of tbeee hills and revel in the glad sunshine of depart- 

 ing summer. A glimpse only of this fair country would 

 be necessary to induce a long ramble, such as we had to- 

 day, across fields and deep into the woods — the woods of 

 New York city — for on this northern boundary, away 

 from the limits of noisy, paved streets, there are generous, 

 wood-covered hills, with many grand old trees, running 

 brooks and little lakes. The birds have been very sOent 

 of late, and scarcely visible, so it is almost startling to 

 find that every coppice and all the woods are filled with 

 the songsters of bygone days. They are here gathering 

 their clans for a journey to the south and tarry by the 

 way to feast on the abundance of bright berries that 

 adorn almost every shrub. The silver birches have al- 

 ready shed some of their foliage, but are scarcely less beau- 

 tiful, while the light let in from above permits them to 

 see their graceful lines reflected in the mirroring pools. 

 Thrifty squirrels are busy everywhere laying in winter 

 supplies, and in a shady valley is the moss-grown rocky 

 home of a chipmunk's family. First acquaintance with 

 him recalled the days of boyhood when the discovery was 

 made that chipmunks liked whistling and in that way 

 could be coaxed from their holes in the stone wall. This 

 chipmunk has the same tastes. He was brought out to- 

 day and sat contentedly listening to the melody from 

 puckered lips, until his eyes began to close, and the other 

 fellow suggested that the whistle had made him tired, 

 thus demonstrating the human qualities of the chipmunk! 

 The sun has sunk low as we return, tinging the sky with 

 rich color that indicates another day of radiant warmth. 

 This may be followed by a bleak gray day or two, but 

 even these melancholy days have a beauty and great 

 poetic charm all their own.' Chem Esor. 



THE PORCUPINE. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Since I sent in some notes on fhe porcupine last winter, 

 hinting strongly that it was a nuisance, there has been 

 published a good deal of correspondence concerning this 

 prickly animal, 



Mr. Jack thinks the porcupine is not especially noted 

 as a trespasser on man's domain. Here his observations 

 differ from mine most widely. Leaving out my experi- 

 ence in the State of Maine, which was mostly in the deep 

 woods, I have seen ten porcupines within inclosed fields 

 for every one I ever saw in the woods. The injury to 

 the horse, the raid on the hen house, and the mingling 

 with the turkeys, mentioned in my former letter, all 

 occurred not less than a half-mile from any woods. Dr. 

 W. L. Macdonald, of Boston, who lives two or three 

 months each summer on his farm near here, has killed 

 one or two around hi^ house every season for the last six 

 years. In J une, 1877, I saw one enter the open front 

 door of the house of E. P. Colpitts, of Elgin, about 9 

 P, M. one evening — the house was in the center of a good- 

 sized milling village. A young man (Mr. Henderson) of 

 Forest, Me., t-old me that he had killed two in the act of 

 gnawing their way into his house. Every year I see 

 evidences of their ravages in the buckwheat fields around 

 here, and the crops of two men, Messrs. McAlary and 

 Bel yea, whose farms abound in rocky ledges, are 

 materially injured by them. 



Mr. Jack does not think that they girdle and kill trees. 

 Though I had seen trees barked, gouged and partially 

 trimmed by them, previous to 1887 I never had seen more 

 than a half dozen small trees that they had girdled. But 

 ill the bouldery country adjoining the Chiputueticook 

 lake (that is the place for porcupines) there ai-e hundreds 

 of large trees bearing such unmistakable signs of having 

 been killed by porcupines that "he who runs may read." 

 I have seen where they had gnawed the bark off a space 

 of 4ft. extending clear around a hemlock tree that would 

 "top" 13in. at a distance of SOPt. from the ground. The 

 gnawing would be above the first branches, but the tree 

 would be as dead as J uhus Cajsar. I saw yellow birches, 

 spruces, beeches and elms that had been similarly treated, 

 and one big malformed beech, about ISin. in diameter at 

 the butt and 30ft. high, had evidently been used by them 

 as a boarding house, it was completely denuded of bark 

 "'from the lowermost root to the toppermost bough," as 

 the darky said. This was at the head of Spruce Moun- 

 tain Cove, Speduic Lake; and any one who visits that 

 place can easily see all I have described in the way of 

 tree mangling. " It was there that I made up my mind that 

 tVie porcupine was a nuisance and did much damage to 

 i n e timber. 



"The Drummer" says that the flesh of the porcupine is 

 good for food, and that alive he is an interesting pet. As 

 to the latter, I think it is a case that would justify the 

 use of the much overworked De gustibus proverb: but it 

 if a question of taste with which I am not disposed to 

 quarrel. I don't think I would have to overtax myself 

 much to find nine hundred and ninety-nine animals' that 

 would seem more desirable to me in that capacity. 



I never tasted the flesh of the porcupine, but almost any 



one around here can tell you "that it tastes just like mut 

 ton," though you will search long and diligently before 

 you find a man that will plead guilty to having eaten it 

 in any quantity or even to tasting it at all. Week before 

 last Dr. Macdonald, mentioned earlier in this letter, killed 

 a large, fat porcupine. His nephew has a "squaw-man" 

 living on his farm, who assists him in the farm work, and 

 the man begged the Doctor to give him the carcass. "He 

 had often eaten porcupine," he said, "and it was good- 

 it tasted like lamb." The Doctor told him to take it home 

 and dress it, but to save him a small piece. Next morn- 

 ing the Doctor asked him how the "lamb" went. "The 

 devil," he said, "could not eat that ])articular porcupine, 

 it was 80 strong, but taken in small quantities it might be 

 blanked good medicine for cholera. His wife couldn't go 

 it either," he added, "and they gave it to the cat and dog 

 and they didn't appear to care about it." Now, there is a 

 saying that "anything is chuck to an Indian," and a diet 

 at which a squaw and her dog and cat turn up their noses 

 does not seem to me extra desirable for white people, 

 "Jacobstaff," in his recent letter to Forkst asii) Stream, 

 sums up the porcupine about right in my opinion. Though 

 I am sorry to be obliged to differ in my views from Mr. 

 Jack, a man who is mtich my senior in years and wood- 

 craft, and whose writings have given me so much genuine 

 pleasure, I have tried to show that my opinions are not 

 loosely or hastily formed, and that the conclusion to 

 whicli I have come is not without some show of reason. 

 McDonald's Corner, N. B. L. I. Flower. 



THE FEEDING HABITS OF SHARKS. 



DURING the summer of 1887 there w^ere in one of the 

 aquaria of the U. S. Fish Commission at Woods 

 Hoi], Mass,, three sand sharks, each about three feet 

 long. They became very tame, taking chunks of fish, 

 or whole fish of convenient size, either ahve or dead, 

 from the hand, just as a dog will; but one had to be care- 

 ful of one's fingers, as it mattered not to the sharks 

 whether they took fish or flesh. There was never, to the 

 writer's knowledge, a tendency on the part of these fish 

 to turn on the back to take food, nor could one imagine 

 a necessity for so doing under the circumstances. 



In a lai-ge walled tidal pool outside, however, there 

 were several large sharks, about six feet in length. These 

 were fed with fish taken from a pound-net close by. 

 When the fish were thrown in the sharks quickly gorged 

 themselves with the dead and with the injured ones 

 which could not swim well; but they did not seem ex- 

 pert at catching the active ones, with which the pool was 

 well stocked. They would dart after them, sometimes 

 rolling completely over, but the fish were generally able 

 to escape by darting close to the wall and into some 

 woodwork supporting steps arranged around the pool. 

 It is probable that the sharks would have had better suc- 

 cess in the open water, as they were unable to move very 

 swiftly for fear of striking a wall. As they were not fed 

 regularly, they sometimes became very hungry. 



The writer took much interest in watching them and 

 found that, at times at least, they took quite as much in- 

 terest in him. At all events when at high tide the water 

 was on a level with the step on which his feet rested, the 

 sharks would come up so close, turning on one side and 

 smiling so benevolently, with a "come-in-out-of-the-wet" 

 expression, that he was fain to get up a step higher, as a 

 matter of precaution at least. Whether they were but 

 asking in their way, as other fishes do, to have some fish 

 thrown them or whether they were thirsting for human 

 blood can only be conjectured. They were not of the so- 

 called "man-eating'" kind. It was inferred, however, 

 from those observations that their actions in taking food 

 were, and would likely be. controlled by the character or 

 the position of the prey. There is nothing more probable 

 to the writer than that in attacking a larger fish, a school 

 of fish, or a man, they would come up beneath to prevent 

 escape, and considering the position of the mouth noth- 

 ing seems more probable than that they would at times 

 turn on Iheir backs. It is a mere question of expediency, 

 however, and not necessarily a fixed habit. For an ob- 

 ject of small size it would not be necessary, 



William P. Seal. 



"FATE OF THE FUR SEAL." 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In the editorial column (p. 385) of your issue of Oct. 29, 

 under the caption "Fate of the Ftir Seal," commenting 

 on Mr. Palmer's interesting paper, several statements 

 which I never made are mistakenly attributed to me. As 

 I have been accessible here at any' time since the paper 

 of Mr. Palmer was presented to the Biological Saciety, it 

 would have been better for the gentleman who undertook 

 to report my remarks on a subject of so muchim()ortance, 

 to have submitted his version to me before sending it 

 away for publication. The misunderstanding of a word 

 or phrase so easy in hasty notes of an off-hand discussion 

 may, and in the present case does, entirely change the 

 statements so modified. 



For instance I said that "iVIr. Elliott's estimate" (not 

 "the estimates") of the number of seals "on the rookeries" 

 (not "on the islands") was "a gross exaggeration,'" a fact 

 which cannot be controverted, since his estimate, one 

 seal to every two square feet, depends upon a physical 

 impossibility. 



I said also that in my opinion "there never were three 

 million seals (not "a million'") on the rookeries: three 

 million being Mr. Elliott's estimate, taken in round num- 

 bers. I said that "in 1866" (not "in the early days of the 

 industry") I purchased first-class fur seal skins at 12* ots. 

 apiece, that being the price at which they were sold by 

 the Euasians. The point of this observation lies in its 

 appHcation to the oft repeated statement that as Mr. Pal- 

 mer says "little stress was laid upon the fact that fur 

 seals were found in abundance" at the time of the pur- 

 chase of the Territory by the United States. No stress 

 could reasonably have been laid upon it, since 100,000 

 seals would at that time have been worth only some 

 112,500, which would have hardly paid for the trouble of 

 taking them. Of course, almost immediately afterward, 

 this was no longer true. 



I did not say that "the diminution now apparent to 

 every one is due chiefly to the number of young males 

 legally killed," nor did I attribute "the present decline 

 chiefly to the excessive killing of young males."' Such 

 has never been my opinion. What'l did say was to inti- 

 mate that after the killing in the open sea (the most im- 

 portant factor in the diminution), the second factor was 



the killing of too many young males rather than injuries 

 caused by driving; the latter bting a view much insisted 

 on by Mr. Palmer. 



Again, I did not credit Raymond with the invention of 

 the machine for removing the coaj-se hair, which machine 

 IS of English origin. What Raymond of Albany did was 

 to invent a method of dyeing the underfur. 



But I have said enoiig'h to show how incorrectly I have 

 been reported. This is not the time, nor your excellent 

 paper the present place for me to discuss the details of a 

 question now under a quasi-judicial investigation. The 

 matter is too complicated and the factors concerned are 

 too numerous to be handled hastily or in ex cathedra 

 fashion. The testimony which will l^e brought before 

 the commission which is inquiring into the subject will 

 doubtless throw much needed light on all the many sides 

 of the question, which can then be discussed with proper 

 knowledge and due consideration. Wm. H. Dall. 

 .Smithsonian Institution, Washington, Oct. 31. 



THE ANTICS OF A TAME JAY. 



AMONGr the birds which my children raised this year 

 is one which gives us more pleasure than I ever ex- 

 pected. It is a bluejay, and he is the most cunning 

 plumed fellow you can think of. I had to clip his wings 

 because he woidd not stay in a cage, but Ukes to hop and 

 flutter around the house. He is not afraid of the dogs, 

 will hop around and about them, sit on the head of a big 

 bloodhound and yell at the top of his voice just for mis- 

 chief. He defies all the chickens if they try to take some 

 food away from him. I suspect his terrible war cry 

 scares them. He will sit on our shoulders and hands and 

 beg for food, but as soon as his appetite i.s satisfied he 

 takes what more are offer him and hides it away in some 

 nook. Sometimes he will put it down in my vest pocket 

 or under the collar of my outing shirt. Water he likes 

 exceedingly well, and shows signs of disgust if without 

 his regular bath; and lo! how he will jump in when the 

 dishpan is filled with the fresh, cool liquid— drink, dive, 

 splatter and yell for joy. Then out he goes to the sunny 

 lawn and lies down on one side first, spreading the oppo- 

 site wing, then he turns over to spread and dry the other 

 one. He will also take dry sun baths in the same manner. 



If nobody is around he will perch on a chair on fhe 

 porch and sing: and he can sing right well in a losv voice, 

 imitating other birds. His efforts to talk are also re- 

 markable. Everybody in the house loves him, but we 

 have to keep out of his reach everything that glitters and 

 is not too heavy for his strength. This, of course, is the 

 inherited vice of the corvine tribe, and the only complaint 

 I can raise against him. The ladies don't like him to 

 enter the house, as he will leave marks of his existence. 

 But taking it all around, I can highly recommend to 

 lovers of pet birds to raise and tame a young bluejay, as 

 it will certainly be a source of great pleasure to them. 



OiNCrNNATI, O. D. W. D. 



A Black Chipmunk.— Some ten years ago three speci- 

 mens of black squirrels, or what I considered common 

 "chipmunks" di-essed in black, were brought me during 

 the months of October and November for mounting. 

 Save in color I could distinguish no particular wherein 

 they differed from the "chippies," which are so abundant 

 in Maine; in fact the lateral stripes were almost discern- 

 ible through their black coats. From that time till the 

 present month I have not encountered another, but 

 within a week I have caught one, which I now have 

 caged. Its coat is as black and glossy as possible, and I 

 can distinguish no indication of the side stripes, as I am 

 quite certain I could in the previous specimens. la it 

 probably a case of melanism or may it be a separat« 

 species or variety, or are there two types of "chippies," 

 the normal and the black, as there are the red and gTay. 

 types of mottled owls? Will some one kindly post me 

 through the columns of Forest and Stream?— j. G. 

 Mead. [This is clearly a case of melanism, and a very 

 interesting one. Dr. Allen, in his monograph of the 

 rodents, states that melanistic examples of the striped 

 squirrel or common chipmunk are rare. He mentions a 

 skin of the collection in the Cambridge Museum of Com- 

 parative Zoology from Norway, Me,, which is intensely 

 alack throughout excepting a narrow white streak on the 

 breast. He notes also that Dr. Adams has met with sev- 

 eral instances of melanism in this animal in New Bruns- 

 wick,] 



English Pheasants at Tuxedo Fark.— Editor Forest 

 and St7-ea7n: Last Thursday, Aug. 29, the Tuxedo Cub 

 held their experimental battue of English pheasants. It 

 was in every way completely successful. Six guns came 

 to enjoy the morning's sport in magnificent weather, and 

 by mid-day 100 out of the 120 birds turned out had been 

 accounted for. The members of the club are so pleased 

 with the result that it is proposed to hold battues every 

 week next season. Their stock this year was supplied by 

 the pheasantry at Mountain Side Farm, Mahwah. N. J., 

 but it is their intention (as they have a most capable 

 rearer in J. Ainsworth) to have a small pheasantry of 

 their own for the future, to supply a portion of their re- 

 quirements, and for that purpose have kept back a small 

 head of birds. The cocks flew splendidly, and it spe.aks 

 columns for the accuracy of the six well known sports- 

 men who enjoyed the fun that so many birds were bagged. 

 It only remains to congratulate the club sincerely on the 

 success of their spirited endeavors to permanently intro- 

 duce this game bird on a large scale, and to offer them 

 every good wish in their efforts in this direction in the 

 future — G. 



An Unfortunate Nest Builder.— Cincinnati, O.— 

 Two years ago we had in a bush in our garden the neat 

 of a little yellow warbler {Dendroeea cestiva). The bush 

 was so near the porch that we all enjoyed watching the 

 little things while building. One day my son remarked 

 that he had not seen the birds for a day or two, and by 

 peeping into the bush he found the male bird dead at the 

 entrance to his nest, hanging by the neck, entangled in a 

 long human hair, which he bad woven in with his other 

 building material. You can imagine how sorry we were 

 for the sad fate of our lovely little neighbor.— D. W. D. 



Forest and Stream, Bos 2,832, N. Y. citv, ha« descriptive illus- 

 tratPd circulars of W. B. Lefling-weirs book, "Wild Fowl Stioot- 

 ing," which will be mailed free on request. The book is pro- 

 nounced by "Nanlt," "Gloan" "Dick Swiveller," "Sj-billene" and 

 other competent authorities to be the best treatise on the subjeei 

 extant. 



