378 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Nov. 8, 1892. 



but just knocking loose a little flap of skin, from which 

 scratch a few drops of blood had flowed. This would, 

 of course, entitle Jack to the skin, for by old-time hun- 

 ters' law, established and sanctified by long custom, the 

 first shot that draws blood is entitled to the hide and half 

 the meat. They carried the carcass back to camp and 

 skinned it." 



THE PANTHER'S SCREAM. 



THEZooi.oorcAL Society OF PurLADELPHiA, Fairmount 

 Park, Oct. 28. — Editor Forest and Stream: The discus- 

 sion as to whether the so-called American panther does 

 or does not scream, would be shorn of much of its length 

 by reducing the negative statements to all that they, in 

 the nature of evidence, can be — simple statements of the 

 Jact that the particular observer making them never 

 heard a panther scream. 



To all such I offer the assurance that if they will take 

 up their quarters in any zoological collection containing 

 living specimens of the species for such a length of time 

 as the convenience of the animal may require, they will 

 become sufficiently familiar with the sound to distinguish 

 it from the voice of other beasts and birds, even when 

 lying rolled up in their blankets in the frosty night air of 

 the glorious Rockies. 



The only question then remaining might be as to what 

 is and what is not a *'sci-eam," and while the dividing 

 line between discord and harmony may be somewhat 

 loosely drawn, I venture the individual opinion that the 

 term is peculiarly apt, when applied to the rather ex- 

 plosive, high-pitched and harsh voice of the puma. 



Athtje Erwin Bkown. 



More About the Thread-Fin. 



By request Mr. R. V. R. Schuyler has furnished to the 

 U. S. National Museum the following additional facts 

 about the curious little fish mentioned in Foeest and 

 Stkeam Oct. 27: 



"The fish in question is unknown in this section, as the 

 drawing in question was made from one of the first that 

 was caught here (Biloxi, Miss.) The fishermen evidently 

 surrounded a small shoal of these fish, as they had about 

 two bushels of them. 



"They were caught in a seine drawn over a very hard 

 bottom, the water being about 5ft. deep. The fish were 

 all of a size and all exactly alike. The weather was very 

 warm when they were taken. I showed a couple of 

 them to a number of gentlemen, but no one could tell 

 anything about the fish. Small as they were, they were 

 put on strings and shipped to New Orleans." 



When Hornaday was in Borneo he collected a species 

 of thread-fin in fresh waters which had the lower rays of 

 the breast fin remarkably prolonged, their length being 

 several times the length of the body. These separate 

 threads are organs of touch, and can be moved independ- 

 ently of the pectoral fins. Many species of thread-fiin are 

 known. 



The Falll iMigrations. 



The Cedars, Oakdale, L. I., Oct. 29,— Sunday, Oct. 23, 

 opened bright and beautiful, and was ushered in by an 

 avalanche from the north of all varieties of warbles. 

 Never in my residence of over twenty-five years on Long 

 Island, have I witnessed such a migration of songsters, 

 as have blessed us with their happy presence, and sweet 

 voices to the date of my writing, I think I have seen 

 millions of robins, bluebirds, yellow birds, and many 

 other varieties whose names are not familiar to me. It 

 is delightful to see and hear how happy the vast multi- 

 tude of little innocents are, as they wing their cheery 

 way to their homes in the Sunny South, and bid us a long 

 farewell, ere they return again, when spring's warm 

 hand has unlocked the streams and the trees put forth 

 their buds and blossoms. Now that they have left us, 

 how much we shall miss their sweet notes and innocent 

 glee. We must content ourselves by living on the mem- 

 ory of the pleasure the little fellows afforded us. 



They have about all sung us their last farewell now, 

 and naught is left but big strong Bob White (Long Island 

 Bob White), Alfred A. Eraser. 



"Game Laws in Brief," JJnited States and Canada, 

 'illustrated, 25 cents. "Book of the Game Laws" {fuU 

 text), 50 ceyits. 



TRANSPORTATION AND CARE OF LIVE 

 GAME. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



So far as I am aware, nothing has heretofore been writ- 

 ten which might be of assistance to sportsmen desirous 

 of restocking with game their favorite covers. 



With this apology, and fully aware of the incomplete- 

 ness of this article, I will state some experience gained 

 thus far in connection with work of the Massachusetts 

 Fish and Game Protective Association's Committee on 

 Acclimatization, hoping it may be of use to others; the 

 game handled consisting of about 3,500 head, including 

 pinnated grouse, sharptail grouse, English partridges, 

 Oregon mountain quail, Gambel's partridge, Virginia 

 quail and Northern hares. 



To sportsmen wishing to procure live game the sugges- 

 tion is made, first of all, that if they can procure what 

 they wish through reliable dealers in game they will save 

 money, time and vexation: the prices charged may seem 

 excessive, but as a rule will not prove so in the end. 



Game birds should be packed in low cases with a fair 

 amount of side room, but low, so that birds cannot crowd 

 one on top of another — since this is the greatest cause of 

 loss in transportation. 



The following are good shipping rules, and if one can 

 have them observed, with ordinary care, birds should 

 arrive in good order: 



DIRECTIONS FOn SHIPPING LIVJS OAME. 



Birds should be put in light crates or boxes, with slats in front 

 and back, Avith cloth top, and tins or dishes for food and water 

 fastened on outside of crate so the birds may feed without spilling 

 or fouling food and water. 



Prairie chickens and pheasants must not be sent more than 5 in 

 each compartment of crate, which should be 15in. high and about 

 24in. long and broad. 



Quail must n^t be sent more than 15 in each compartment of 

 crate which should be 6in. high and about 20in. broad and long. 



Corn, either loose or on the ear. should be put in feeding troughs 

 of crates in which chickens or pheasants are sent, and wheat or 

 rye when quail are sent; also a small quantity of gravel should be 

 put in with the grain. A card should oe fastened on the coop, ask- 

 ing the express lo fill the water dishes when needed. 



Particular Oa-Mtion.— Crates in which birds are shipped may be 

 longer or wider than above stated, but nof ?(ig/ier. The heads of 

 birds when in the crates should ji<8t fowc/t the top covering, and 

 that covering must be of cloth or bagging and not slats or boards. 



It is necessary that these instructions should be exactly followed, 

 or the birds will arrive here dead. 



THE BEST WAV OF MAKING A CKATE FOR SHIPPING I-.IVE BIRDS. 



Clotli Top, 



I 



1 ^ 



Side view of a Crate for 

 shipping Birds. 



A Fly Given to Ink. 



Editor Forest ami Stream: 



While marking some of my shells the other day, I hap- 

 pened to be using a stub pen, and, as I put the figure 

 nine (9) on them, a small amount of ink was left on the 

 loop and on the back of the figure, and also on the line 

 which I drew under the figure to distinguish it from a 

 SIX. As I marked I pushed away the marked shells a little 

 to one side. Looking up, by some chance from my work, 

 I observed that a fly was on top of one of the freshly 

 marked shells, with his proboscis in the ink. I watched 

 him carefully and saw that after he had drained the first 

 small "pool" in the loop, he went to the back and also to 

 the Ime underneath the figure, completely drying the 

 places as if recently blotted. After rubbing his head 

 with his forefeet and crawling around, he went down the 

 shell and up another, but as the ink had almost dried up 

 by this time, he only had one drink. He then flew away 

 apparently in the best of spirits. Philohela Minor. 

 MiT/rON, Mass., Oct. 28. 



• Panthers and the Hair. 



;I&DG}EWOOD, N. J., Oct, 28.— Editor Forest and Strea^n: 

 Hair does not "raise" or stand on end, even at the sight 

 of a panther. What does Eudyard Kipling say? Here it 

 is: "It IS a mistake to say that hair stands up. The skin 

 of the head tightens and you can feel a faint prickly bristl- 

 ing all over the scalp. That is the hair sitting up." This 

 was precisely what happened to me on the occasion of my 

 first encounter with a tiger from a howdah in India in 

 1873. It describes my symptoms exactly. Hair iust sits 

 ^P! A. J . Kenealy. 



World's Fair on Steel. 



TiF® o^.i^'^i^l^^'^'^® {° ?• ^- l^ord,PhenisBuildiDe,Ohicago. 

 lrA'nnfl^oS^'^K"^i f- sfeel plate picture of the World's Fair 

 grounds and bmldmgs. suitable for framing.—^di). 



Election Day. 



Every sportsman who goes into the woods Election Day should 

 wear one of the Fairfield Rubber Company's ''self-feedtag'' sho^^^^^ 

 mg vests. They are the best on the market, ami a nevef eSg 

 source of Batisf action to shotgun shooters,-U(to euamg 



This can easily be made by taking an ordinary box of proper 

 height, sawing off half of one end, putting slats on the new end 

 and lacking on a cloth or bagging top. 



As a rule, however, inexperienced shippers think they 

 know better how to pack and give too much head room, 

 but with disastrous results. On one occasion two ship- 

 ments arrived the same day from almost the same 

 locality. One lot, packed according to directions, eigh- 

 teen dozen quail in number, lost a total of two birds dead. 

 The other, only thirty-five quail in all, came packed in a 

 box 4ft. long by 20in. square, divided in two compart- 

 ments, and on arrival had remaining four birds alive, all 

 of which died within three days. The reason for this was 

 that at every disturbance the birds would start to fly — as 

 game birds do when startled— -bruising themselves and 

 those beneath. When properly packed they cannot leave 

 their feet nor trample other birds. 



Grouse and other large birds should also have burlap 

 around the sides of their crates as well as on top, other- 

 wise they are quite liable to break legs and wings by 

 thrusting them through the openings. 



Pinnated and sharptail grouse are usually good travel- 

 ers if used well, not being very restless and needing little 

 care. 



Virginia quail should have careful attention on f their 

 journey, especially needing plenty of fresh water. They 

 oftentimes arrive in extremely poor order on accoimt of 

 a rough journey. It is a common occurrence to take 

 from the crates birds which have died of starvation 

 although provided with water and food in abundance, 

 the reason being that they do not feed well when con- 

 stantly disturbed; and after an unusually rough experi- 

 ence many may die for two or three days after arrival at 

 their journey's end, apparently from exhaustion. When 

 practicable it is better to transport them by water rather 

 than by rail, as being more quiet they feed much better 

 and are less disturbed. 



The Gambel's partridge seems to endure transporta- 

 tion the best of any variety of small game tried 

 thus far, and in fact this bird appears to show unex- 

 pectedly good qualities as game. They are prolific, and 

 seem to be very hardy both as regards heat and cold, and 

 although running badly in open, bare country, as does 

 also the Virginia quail under like conditions, still, when 

 found in good cover they seem to lie as well to a dog and 

 to show as fine game qualities as the latter. They are 

 also very handsome birds and are said to have good table 

 qualities. It may well repay sportsmen to investigate 

 regarding this bird. 



My experience with animals has been limited to the 

 Northern hare, although having received offers enough 

 to stock a fair menagerie. Very tender as regards trans- 

 porting, the hares requii-e special care. There must be 

 entire isolation one from another, else they will fight to 

 the death. They also requii-e quick handling even in 

 cold weather. 



English partridges, when weU packed seem to be very 

 hardy travelers, but every attempt to introduce this bird 

 in the Eastern States has thus far been without marked 

 success; in most cases entire failure. 



When desirable to keep birds more than a short time 

 in confinement a number of essentials should be observed. 



A coop large enough for considerable freedom should 

 be used, or, very much better, a light, well ventilated 

 room with plenty of sunlight. 



The sides and top mtist be of some soft, yielding ma- 

 terial or the birds will die from concussion of brain or 

 broken necks. 



Wire poultry nets will not do, being too harsh and 

 unyielding, and will take the skin and flesh as well as 

 feathers off their heads, besides often crippling the birds 

 badly in other ways. Something better may be found, 

 but ordinary unbleached cotton cloth tacked loosely from 

 supports will do well and probably is as cheap as any- 

 thing for the purpose. 



Pieces of fish net (of proper mesh so as not to entangle 

 the birds) if stretched in front of windows will serve to 

 let in a good supply of sunlight, but should not be less 

 than a foot from the window frames, as when startled 

 the birds will usually fly toward the light, and when on 

 the wing have considerable momentum. 



For quail in particular some kind of perch should be 

 arranged where the sunlight falls, as they seem to love to 

 bask in the warmth, crowding together like a swarm of 

 bees, sometimes two or three deep and crushing those 

 beneath, the whole bunch moving with the sunlight. 



If readily procurable it is well to have some evergreens 

 or other small trees or brush in the corners or at the sides, 

 as they become less frightened if some refuge or place of 

 "concealment is near when they are disturbed. 



Ample supply of clean, fresh water is needed, and 

 water jars such as are used in poultry yard=i are very 

 good for the purpose and cheap. Virginia q\wl need 

 considerable water, fully two quarts daily for 100 birds; 

 other varieties much less, and prairie chickens very little, 

 although they do drink some. 



Grain of different kinds should be given, but (although 

 I may be in error) the use of much corn or buckwheat 

 should be avoided on accotmt of their heating qualities. 

 All grain fed should be well soaked in water before feed- 

 ing, and plenty of sand or fine gravel provided for diges- 

 tion; one hundred quail will make away with fully a pint 

 of sand per day, and other birds in like proportion. Green 

 food, such as cabbage and apples (if cut open), birds are 

 fond of, and they produce good efteot. 



Rats and mice probably do little harm save eating grain 

 left for the birds; but it is possible that they may at times 

 attack the birds themselves, though it has never happened 

 in my own experience. The vermin most to be ftared 

 are bird Jice, which can best be kept in check by leaving 

 heaps of dust or fine coal ashes for the birds to burrow in. 

 If kept in conefinement long they are apt to be badly 

 affected unless good provision is made for dusting. 



Coops should be cleaned when foul. Allow plenty of 

 fresh air. Wounded or sickly birds must be removed at 

 once and kept in separate quarters. If not removed, 

 wounded birds have no chance of living; the well ones 

 kill them to a certainty. Also, except for the purpose of 

 caring for the birds, the less they are visited, and conse- 

 quently disturbed, the better it is for them. 



Finally, if one is contemplating procuring game, orders 

 should be placed early in the season, certainly before 

 Jan. 1, and much better for all concerned if early in the 

 fall. ^ 



Game cannot be shipped after the breeding season 

 commences by the breaking up of the coveys, and very 

 few birds are trapped after March 15, or even earlier in 

 forward seasons. 



It is an open question whether loosing game in the 

 autumn and feeding through the winter is better than 

 liberating in the spring. Henry J. Thayer. 



ADIRONDACK NOTES. 



NORTHWOOD, N. Y., Oct. 26.— While on a little tramp 

 in October I saw what appeared to be a charred stump; I 

 watched it a moment, and it moved. I then saw it waa 

 a partridge. Its back was black with streaks of brown 

 running up and down its feathers. Its breast was of a 

 mottled brown. I could not distinguish its sex. 



A party of four recently returned from Moose River. 

 Three of them had a pair of antlers each. The reason 

 the fourth didn't makes the boys smile. Fred was out 

 for a still-hunt on Thursday and saw several does, but 

 not a deer that he wanted until late in the afternoon ; 

 then he saw an antler above a brush heap. He waited 

 and watched, seeing the brush move and hearing the 

 deer eating. After an hour's waiting he saw the deer's 

 neck between two trees. He shot and had the satisfac- 

 tion of seeing the deer fall. As he walked toward it he 

 saw a nice buck running away from him, but as he had 

 a head that would bear mounting he didn't shoot. When 

 he got to the deer he found he had killed a nice big doe. 



Bears were never more numerous. Seven have been 

 shot or trapped within three miles of Northwood's post- 

 office. A very exciting bear chase was had around Flae 

 Brook last week. Guy Richardson shot a bear back of 

 his house and killed it. With the bear were two cubs. 

 The next day a party was organized to hunt the cubs. 

 With the aid of several dogs a cub was started opposite 

 Jule Aliens. The bear ran a mile or more, thenjhe took 

 to a tree. The men came up to where the dogs were 

 jumping around and pawing the air. After fifteen 

 minutes of craning necks one of the men saw a tuft of 

 hair and he shot it. The hair landed in the midst of the 

 dogs, while the men danced around and shouted "Sick 

 'em," "take 'im," and other exhortations. They finally 

 concluded the vicious cub must be dead. He was very 

 dead. Then one of the party saw something where the 

 fight had been. He picked it up and then the party 

 looked sheepish. It was the detatched tail of a big coon. 

 The members of that party tried to keep still about their 

 bear hunt, but two of 'Northwood's hunters found a dead 

 coon almost chewed to pieces where the fight had been. 



The Ohio City boys say no more about the fox that 

 Northwood boys run on the first day of the deer-hounding 

 season. Raymond S. Spears. 



In the Old Dominion. 



Surry Court House, Va., Oct 19.— Game is plentiful 

 here this season and consists of deeer (there has never 

 been known a better season for them than this), turkeys, 

 squirrels and partridges. There is now some very good 

 fishing in the creeks around here; large numbers of chub 

 are being caught. The chub is what is known in most 

 sections of the country as black bass. A. B. G. 



I No notice ta]i:en of anonymous coiunmaications. 



