S&2 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[May 9, 1896. 
open class at the Boston show, both in 1895 and 1896, and 
have added him to the string of good ones that we have 
at the Wanoosnac Kennels." 
Dr. and Mrs. E, J. Withers recently celebrated the 
twenty-fifth anniversary of their wedded life at Los An- 
geles, Oal. A silver sociable was given therewith; the 
gift contributed by each guest was donated to the church 
fund of the Plymouth Church. Flowers decorated their 
home profusely and there were pretty costumes in be- 
wildering variety. 
It is rumored that Messrs. J. H. Dew, A. M. Young and 
W. S. Bell have been invited to judge the IT. S. F. T. 
C.'s trials at Newton this fall. 
It is indisputable that in England, as in Belgium, some 
litters of schipperkes have had their tails carved out 
from their bodies. We know how this is done with 
surgeons' scissors. The operation is cruel and barbarous. 
Those who like their dogs so dare not practice it. From 
the first the Chasse et Peclie has frankly declared that the 
schipperkes were born with tails, and that one born with- 
out was the exception. But the judges have never trou- 
bled themselves to try and discover whether a schipperke 
on exhibition was born without a tail or had had it 
cropped. Such are details quite neglected. It is quite 
useless to seek to cut the tail of the schipperke either a 
little more or a little less short when, as has just been 
said, the judges take no notice. 
This is how the operation is performed. Ordinarily 
when the dog is two or three days old, one of the oper- 
ators takes it by the tail and holds the dog suspended, 
while the assistant is ready to catch the puppy the mo- 
ment it falls. He first takes the scissors and cuts the tail 
as cloBe as possible. Occasionally the little thing howls, 
and occasionally it makes no noise. The mother licks 
the place and that is all. — British Fancier. 
Hog-herding Dogs. 
It is claimed that the wild hog of Catahoula is second 
only in the matter of pugnacity and ferocity to the roar- 
ing tiger of the Bengal jungle. In order to get a drove of 
these hogs into a pen, the hog-dog of Catahoula, as Mr. 
Wiggins informs us, operates as follows: 
Keeping always in mind the direction of the pen or 
corral, the dog goes into the woods and flushes a drove of 
hogs. Then keeping himself invariably in front of the 
hogs barks forth a challenge; the hogs accept the gage of 
battle and make a dash tor the emeniy, and the dog, 
tucking his tail, if fortunate enough to have one, which 
is seldom the cas<% skedaddles toward the pen, regulating 
his speed so as to save at all times a distance of about 
30yds. 
Should the hogs halt in their pursuit, the dog returns 
and renews his dare, and again he is charged, and again 
he slopes. In this way he lures the hogs on until in their 
mad chase they follow him through the open gate into 
the pen, when he immediately proceeds to jump the fence 
on the opposite side, while his master, who has been 
seated on the fence during the pursuit, hurriedly climbs 
down and closes the gate on the entrapped porcines. The 
faithful and intelligent dog, which is found nowhere 
else but in th« languorous shades of the Catahoulan wilds, 
is rewarded with a pone of cornbread, and the next day 
there is a great hog-billing time, followed by feasting and 
revelry. — New Orleans States. 
Information Wanted. 
Columbia, Pa. — Some five or six years ago I purchased 
through an advertisement in Forest and Stream a black 
English setter dog. I have lost his pedigree. The seller 
was a man named Robinson, whose kennels were located 
in some Massachusetts town, but where I Have forgotten. 
Can you supply the deficiency? W. H. Fendrich. 
(Perhaps some of our readers can furnish the desired 
information.) 
KENNEL NOTES. 
Kennel Notes are inserted without charge; and blanks 
(furnished free) will be sent to any address. Prepared 
Blanks sent free on application. 
BRED. 
Mr. G. G. Williamson's Belle of Piedmont, Jr., English setter bitch, 
March 19, to champion Antonio. 
Mr. 8. Penfleld's 
Bayonne Nellie, Boston terrier bitch, April 17, to MontS. 
Jemie, Boston terrier bitch, March 13, to Buster. 
WHELPS. 
Mr. E. W. Tynan's Ruby Glenmore II., Irish setter bitch, whelped, 
April.6, tea (four dogs.), by champion Finglas. 
Mr. R. L. Soper's Duchess, Gordon setter bitch, whelped, Oct. 20, six 
(four dogs), by Grouse. 
Mr. Fred. C. Marsh's Duchess, Gordon setter bitch, whelped, Oct 
20, six (four dogs), by Grouse. 
SALES. 
Mr. Joseph McMurry has sold Norah, Boston terrier bitch, to Mr 
Smith Penfleld. 
Bayonne Kennels have sold Bayonne Nellie, Boston terrier bitch 
to Mr. Smith Penfleld. ' 
One day recently Henderson Mathews, a well-to-do 
negro farmer near Minden, La., went over in Black Lake 
Swamp to look for a little bunch of cattle that had not 
been up to pen for some weeks. After considerable 
search he found some of the cattle stranded on a little 
island in the swamp, formed by the sudden uprising of 
the lake since the recent rains. Henderson, with the as- 
sistance of some friends, constructed a rough bridge of 
brush, puncheons, etc., filling up a passageway whereby 
the cattle might cross over to dry land. This they lost 
no time in doing, bringing with them, to Henderson's in- 
tense amazement, a young fawn. Deer are getting to be 
quite scarce in this region, and this little one coming in 
so strange a manner created no small sensation. No 
trace of dam or buck was to be found, the fawn having 
evidently strayed from its parents weeks ago. The little 
fellow seemed perfectly at home with the cattle, tugging 
away at the bag of one of the cows in the most cheerful 
and trustful manner when found. In return, the old cow 
seemed quite as fond of her adopted child, and still takes 
the best possible care of the little deer, which may be 
seen comfortably penned in Mathews's cow lot. — Corre- 
spondence Philadelphia Times. 
THE CUCKOOS. 
In the early autumn day, 
When the hoar frost holds its sway. 
And the emerald of the sod 
Is gilded by the golden-rod, 
Then I wander through the glade 
'Neath the overhanging shade, 
Listening, lingering, listening long, 
For the cuckoo's plaintive song: 
Cuckoo I cuckoo! 
Though I linger, 'tis in vain, 
Once to hear that song again. 
Why should I this loss repine, 
Wandering through the groves of pine? 
I remember, I have heard, 
Tears long dead, that forest bird: 
Cuckoo! cuckoo! 
Probably there are few birds in the Northern States so 
common and yet so little known as the cuckoo. Of the 
six species comprising the family Cuculidos found in 
North America, two occur in western New York, the 
yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) and the black- 
billed cuckoo {Coccyzus erythropthalmus), which seem to 
be about equally divided m Niagara county, while the 
yellow-billed is reported as rare in the central part of the 
State, where the black-billed is common. They generally 
arrive here from the South about May 1 and remain until 
October. I have seen them as late as Oct. 7. 
There is but little difference in the size and color of the 
two species. The upper parts are of a metallic greenish 
olive, tinged with ashy toward the bill; under parte white, 
with the pxception of a brownish tinge on the throat 
of the black-billed. Tail feathers of the yellow- 
billed (except the two middle, which are like the back) 
black, tipped with white for about lin. on the outer 
feathers, the external one with the outside edge almost 
entirely white. The tail feathers of the black-billed on 
the upper part are all of the same color of the back, on 
the under surface, of an ashy gray, all tipped with white 
(except the two central) for about £in. The black-billed 
has a naked red skin around the eye, which is lacking on 
the yellow- billed. The two species measure from 11.50 to 
12in., black-billed longest: wings 5.50 to 6in., yellow-billed 
longest; tail 5.75 to 6.50in., black-billed longest. 
Both sppcies commence breeding between the middle of 
May and June 1. The nest is a very loose affair composed 
of twigs and rootlets nearly flat, indeed so flat that I have 
often wondered how the eggs remained on. It is gener- 
ally placed in the forks of a horizontal limb well out from 
the trunk of the tree; I have found them in small bushes, 
and one I found in a burdock within 6in. of the ground. 
The eggs of the yellow-billed measure from 1.15 to 1.25in. 
in length, and from .90 to lin. in breadth, their color a 
light bluish green; from two to four are found in a set. 
The eggs of the black-billed are more spherical and of a 
darker green than those of the other species. They meas- 
ure 1,5 to 1 15in. in length by .80 to .90in. in breadth. 
Althougn the black-billed sometimes deposits its eggs 
in the nest of other birds, I do not think it deserts them 
(as does the European species, to be incubated and the 
young reared by the foster parents). I have found nests 
containing the eggs of both species with the black-billed 
on the nest, and in one instance I am quite certain that I 
saw both species feeding four young in one nest. This I 
reported to Forest and Stream at the time, and after the 
following observation I am more than ever convinced 
that it was so. 
On June 17, 1882, I saw a black-billed cuckoo and a 
mourning dove sitting on a robin's nest together. I secured 
ihe nest and found that it contained two eggs of the 
mourning dove, two of the cuckoo, and one robin's egg. 
The robin had not finished the nest when the cuckoo took: 
possession and filled it nearly full of rootlets, but the rob- 
in got in and laid one egg. Incubation was well ad- 
vanced in the robin's and cuckoo's eggs, but the mourn- 
ing dove's eggs were fresh, showing that it was the last 
to take possession, and also that it lays its eggs in other 
birds' nests. I have never found them in other than old 
nests of the robin except in this instance. I have this 
nest and the eggs of this trio of birds in my collection 
still in good order. Another peculiarity of the black- 
billed cuckoo is the long continuance of the laying sea- 
son. Young of different ages will sometimes be found in 
the same nest with partly incubated and fresh eggs. 
Audubon mentions an instance where he saw a nest 
containing two young cuckoos nearly able to fly that 
scrambled off their tenement among the branches of the 
tree and were caught. The nest still contained three 
young cuckoos, all of different sizes; the smallest appar- 
ently just hatched, the next in size probably several days 
old, while the largest, covered with pin feathers, would 
have been able to have left the nest in about a week. 
There was also m the nest two eggs, one containing a chick, 
the other fresh or lately laid. And another instance 
where eleven young cuckoos had been successively 
hatched and reared in the one nest by the same pair of 
birds in one season, and that young birds and eggs were 
to be seen in it at the same time for many weeks in suc- 
cession. 
I have observed the cuckoo more than any other species 
we have. During incubation the birds are loath to leave 
the nest; I have stood for minutes with my face within 
3ft. of a nest of the black-billed when the bird was on it, 
and there was not a perceptible movement, but as soon 
as I raised my hand the bird was gone in an instant. On 
Sept. 10, 18»3, I found the nest of a black-billed cuckoo 
containing two young birds not more than one day out 
of the shell; the two previous nights we had had severe 
frosts that destroyed vegetables. This is the latest date 
that I have ever found young birds of any kind, and 
Oct. 7 mentioned above is the latest date that I have ob- 
served the cuckoo, I was hunting grouse when I saw a 
bird fly into a small oak tree; I walked up within lOffc. of 
the tree, where I stood and watched it through my field 
glass for some moments. I then walked entirely around 
the tree and stopped directly under the bird and again 
looked at it through the glass, and although my eyes 
were within 7ft. of the cuckoo for some minutes I could 
not detect the least motion. I then backed away without 
removing the glass from my eyes, and not until I was at 
l^ast 50ft. away was there the least motion, and then the 
bird was gone like a flash; it seemed as if it thought that 
its only safety was in remaining quiet. 
I can say very little about the song of the cuckoo, not 
having heard it for at least twenty-five years, when I did 
not know that there was more than one species here, and 
had never heard but one call or song; but I remembpr it 
well, and always when I see ajcuckoo I seem to hear it as 
distinctly as ever. I suppose that both species have a sor g 
or call and have often wondered if they were the same. 
j. L. Davison. 
f achtittg. 
Thhs Marine Journal, quoting some of our remarks on the Payne bill, 
comments as follows: 
Rather a severe arraignment, this, of American yacht designers and 
builders, but they are not facts. There are many as capable steam 
yacht designers in the United States as there are in any part of the 
world, and the Marine Journal believes them more capable. Any one 
of these can be employbd to design just such a yacht as an owner de- 
sires, and can furnish him with ideas for comfort and elegance wherein 
he may be lacking, and any one of our prominent yacht builders will 
gladly contract to build from these designs in as abort a time as can be 
done abroad. 
Our main contention in this matter is that there are, practically, no 
American designers of steam yachts, for the reason that, as was the 
case in sailing yachts prior to 1880, both owners and builders have 
failed to recognize the necessity for a trained and educated specialist— 
the yacht designer— but are content to delegate the work that he alone 
can do to some one who, whatever his special qualifications may be, is 
not familiar with this class of vessel. It is from this lack of encou .. 
agement that there are no American designers of steam yachts, ano 
that American steam yachts float far below their designed lines, fail 
in appearance, accommodation and performance, and require expen- 
sive rebuilding immediately after launching. If we are so far astray 
in our contention, then the Marine Journal will And it an easy task to 
prove this to be the ease by publishing a list of American designers 
and the steam yachts which they have designed, and also of American 
steam yachts and the names and nationalities of their designers. It 
must be remembered that the discussion relates to the class of yachts 
affected by the Payne bill, Pea-going craft, and especially of the larger 
size. We do not deny that there are several firms that turn out a ver 
serviceable type of river steam yacht of moderate size. By d 
signer we mean the individual who has ac f ual control of the dra 
ing of the lines and the making of the calculations, it any a 
made, and not ihs firm which takes the contract and builds th 
yacht. 
The practical result of the Payne bill, if passed, will be to create a 
monopoly for builders who have not shown a creditable amount of 
enterprise in encouraging the designer and improving the steam yacht, 
but have contented themselves with turning out anything that the 
owner or his captain will accept. The field for the improvement of 
the steam yacht in the direction of the development of a national type 
specially fitted for American conditions is q Ute as wide as that for- 
merly existing in sailing yachts, and which has been Ailed, not by the 
builder, but by the American designer, in the construction of Volun- 
teer, Lasca, Gloriana, Emerald, Ariel, Niagara and Defender. That 
the average British steam yacht of to-day is far ahead of the Ameri- 
can is due solely to the fact that British owners have had a better 
appreciation of what was both desirable and possible, and have gone 
to the yacht designer, rather than to the builder of steamers and war- 
ships, t o get it As is the case in sailing yachts, the British craft is by 
no means as well suited for this side of the ocean and for American 
yachtsmen as for the other side and the different uses of British 
yachtsmen. When American owners have learned just what a steam 
yacht should and may be in appearance, accommodation, speed and 
economy of running, and when they and the builder are willing to pay 
to the professional designer a reasonable fee for the skill which enables 
him to give them what they want, we shall see a fleet of American 
steam yachts that will surpass anything that the other side can pro- 
duce. That this day will be hastened by the passage of the Payne bill 
we very much doubt. 
Assuming the right and justice of protection to American industry, 
th« Payne bill deals solely with the builder and leaves the designer en- 
tirely out of the count. The efforts of the Forest and Stebam for 
many years have been for the full and complete recognition of the de- 
signer in all classes of marine work, and though this has come about 
in the case of the sailing yacht, but little has been done In steam 
yachts or in commercial work. Apart from the good work done by 
the United States Government within a dozen years in the encourage- 
ment of thorough technical education and systematic designing, for 
its own special benefit, this great country is still woefully astern, and 
the very ones who should do the most, the builders, are doing nothing 
at all. No encouragement or opportunity is o ff ered ' to the ambitious 
young workman or draftsman in the yards, or to the scientist who 
devotes his time to investigation and the advancement of naval archi- 
tecture, and the work of designing is intrusted largely to men whose 
first attention is necessarily given to the mechanical details of shop 
and yard management. 
So much is this the case that the construction of two large passen - 
ger steamers from the designs of a professional designer entirely un - 
connected with building s'ands alone In the history of American ship- 
building. The remarkable success of these two boats has already pro- 
duced a good effect, which is bound to increase with their further 
competition with other craft produced in the yards. 
If the Payne bill is to become a law, at least a certain amount of 
good might be derived from it by a provision that all moneys collected 
under its operation shall be devoted to the establishment and main- 
tenance of a national college of naval architecture. 
Apropos of the protection of the American workman, naturalized 
or otherwise, there is something instructive in the present condition 
of the boat-building industry. We hear from many quarters an 
urgent demand for skillful, intelligent and sober boat-builders to work 
on the smaller classes of sailing boats, such as the 15-footers, good 
workmen of this sort being difficult to obtain. The demand for thiB 
claas of craft, which is something unprecedented this year, is due to 
the fact that these boats are now the fashion, which, like canoeing 
twenty years ago, was introduced from England, where the type orig- 
inated. A year ago the half-rater and the one-rater were almost un- 
heard of in America, and now they are all the rage, possibly only for 
a time ; but we believe that the general type, handsome in appearance, 
shipshape in model and construction, moderately rigged, easily 
handled and withal fast, will largely displace the old types of catboats 
and sloops with short ends, big rigs and large crews. That they are 
known and appreciated here now is due to the importation of one 
English boat. As the type has been developed to a high degree of 
perfection on the other side, and as many fast boats are this year for 
sale there at a low price through the extinction of the class by the 
recent change of rule, it might be expected that many would be im- 
ported in spite of the duty ; but thus far we have been able to learn of bu 
