44 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Jan. 19, 1895. 
at a cost of over $30,000, a stone could almost, if not 
quite, he thrown by hand into the beaver colony; yet 
in speaking of the subject to the station master I found 
he was entirely ignorant of the subject. 
In conversation with Colonel Stanton, an old and 
prominent citizen of the town and of Colorado, the 
owner of the land where the colony is located, and who 
is quite interested in this family of squatters who have 
taken possession of 'a portion of his land, he estimated 
that there were fully a dozen, and perhaps more, of 
beaver in the settlement, and that he had in a few 
instances warned off parties whom he had feared might 
intrude upon the beaver. He informed me that he had 
not known of any disturbance of them, and he should 
exert himself to see that they were -nt molested. 
Although he frequently visited the spot he never caught 
sight of the residents but once, and that only a few 
days before my interview, when, will a friend, 
approaching the marsh, they both saw a large beaver on 
the bank, which, disturbed by an incautious step, 
plunged into the water and disappeared beneath the 
shore. J. Paekee Whitney. 
MONGOLIAN PHEASANTS. 
Holland, Mich., Jan. 8.— For the benefit of those who 
may desire to rear the mongolian pheasant, to stock our 
woods and fields, I will give the result of my first vear's 
experience with them. In the fall of 1893 I purchased 
four hens and two cocks from Mr. V. DeGuise, Mahwah, 
N. J. These I kept one winter without losing a bird. 
They slept out of doors in the snow all winter. And 
they did so from choice, as they could go into a warm 
barn if they desired. They do not roost together in a 
bunch as do quail, but scatter all over the pen. The 
hens began to lay April 15, and laid 175 eggs, the last 
one August 26. 
I was compelled to use Plymouth rocks or other large 
hens for setting, as no bantams could be obtained. 
These hens killed a great many chicks by stepping on 
them, and I believe a large number were smothered in 
the nest. In each setting there were from two to six 
dead chicks in the nest. They had got out of the shell 
all right, but I think the great weight of the hens killed 
them. 
The chicks will run soon after hatching. Here is 
something to guard against. I lost fifty per cent of my 
first hatch, as I did not think of their leaving the nest 
so quickly. It was cold and they were chilled. Several 
I found apparently dead, but upon being placed near a 
warm stove thev soon revived and were all right in a 
day. The nest box must not be made so small that the 
young birds will be compelled to stay in the nest, 
because if it were the hen would be very liable to break 
the eggs by jumping upon them when returning from 
her feed. I make the nest box as small as practicable 
and take the chicks from the nest as soon as they are 
hatched and place them in a warm room until the eggs 
are hatched. Then I give all the chicks to the hen. 
"Before setting'the hen sift her feathers full of 'Persian 
insect powder and put some in the nest. 
I usually make the nests right on the ground. Cut a 
sod, hollow it out in the center, on the bottom, place 
it in the nest'box with r some 'straw upon it. I put the 
sod moist, so r the eggs will r not get drv, which would 
prevent theirHiatching. At r any rate this is my theory, 
although it was somewhat shattered when a friend set 
twentv-three pheasant eggs under two hens, in a box 
four feet from the ground, where there was no moisture, 
and hatched seventeen live chicks. 
An amusing incident occurred in connection with this 
hatch. Both hens were set in the same box at the same 
time, and of course both'settings hatched at the same 
time. One of the hens was apparently puzzled at the 
peculiar looks, actions and noises of her brood. Jump- 
ing upon the edge of the box, she eyed them curiously 
for awhile, then gave a loud cackle and left the nes : t 
and could not be induced to return. The other hen 
readily took the addition to her brood and cared for the 
entire seventeen. 
The chicks should be well protected from the cold and 
wet for the first few weeks of their lives. I kept my 
hens and chicks in a barn for the first week, then thev 
were taken out into a run 4x8 feet in size, of inch 
mesh, wire wetting. It is best to cover the runs with 
fish net or something of that description, as the young 
birds'are very wild and liable to injure themselves by 
flying against the top of the run when disturbed. r i*he 
runs should be placed on grass, or better, in growing 
clover— which will supply insect food— and a small spot 
should be spaded so that they may roll in the sand, 
something they enjoy. Every night amTon rainy daye 
I cover'the runs with old"matting, or oil" cloth, to keep 
out the dampness. I tried placing a box in the run for 
them to roost in at night, but frequently thev did not 
all get in, and if the night was cold I would find one or 
two outside dead in the morning. Before placing the 
chicks out m the runs I dust them and the hens well 
with insect-powder, and have had no trouble with lice, 
not losing a bird from this cause. 
I feed for the first week eggs boiled twelve minutes, 
chopped fine shells and all, and rolled in ground barley 
—barley-meal. Use enousrh o; the barley so that the 
feed'will not be sticky. Feed /our times a day for the 
first^ week, first giving the hen all the grain she will 
eat.^or the young pheasants will not get much of the 
f-xS After the firsfc week or fcwo gradually give them a 
little gram each day, changing entirely to grain after two 
months Chopped meat should be given occasionally, 
also cabbage, lettuce, clover, etc. 
Having read that it was absolutely necessary to feed 
the larva* of flies to the youug pheasants, I experimented 
a little. I placed two broods in the same situation and 
treated them exactly alike, except that I fed the larva; 
to one brood only. The birds which had none did 
exactly as well as the others. The~eggs" partly supply 
the insect, or animal, food. : 
. \ se * . a ? out T 100 of fche e SS s laid'and batched about 
sixty chicks. It does not seem, to pay to set the eo-gs 
after the warm weather comes on, as I got but one°or 
two chicks out of each setting hatched during Julv and 
August. It 'would Jpay better to feed the eggs to the 
young chicks. 
I now 'have seventeen younst pheasants alive, ei^ht 
hens and nina cooks ; the rest have been killed bv the 
hens stepping on them or by fighting among themselves, 
and several have escaped. 
In the early spring I shall set five pairs at liberty, 
the rest of the hens I shall keep for breeding purposes. 
The surplus males I shall dispose of in some way. The 
birds raised this coming season will be turned out in 
September. A few days ago one of the old males, in an 
endeavor to get into an adjoining run, got its head fas- 
tened in the netting and was dead when I found it. 
I have it mounted and in my collection of game birds. 
I am very much indebted to Mr. F. L. Rogers, with 
the Wyandanch Club, for many valuable hints and 
would probably have been more successful bad I followed 
his suggestions more closely. Aethtte J. Bapmgaetel. 
THE ZOO IN WINTER. 
Paris has two great collections of living animals in 
its Jardin des Plantes and Jardin d'Acclimatation. A 
French journalist has recently visited the former and 
has published his impressions of recent improvements 
in one of the daily newspapers. It appears that the 
Jardin des Plantes has introduced a style of descriptive 
label which is to be found in its perfection in the 
Zoological Garden of Antwerp and elsewhere on the 
Continent. It is a card giving the class to which the 
animal belongs, its common and scientific names, the 
name of the describer of the species and the habitat. 
Along with these dates is a small map of the world 
on which is marked in red the area over which the 
animal is distributed. This method of condensing a 
great deal of useful information within a small space 
has added much to the pleasure of visitors and is, there- 
fore, very popular. 
The difficulties to be overcome in imitating the 
natural surroundings of certain animals and the effects 
incident to change of season are set forth by the cor- 
respondent in the following quaint style: "The air is 
keen, intensely cold ; a sheet of ice covers the winding 
streams. The easy carriage and satisfied countenance 
of the polar bear are explained by the descriptive label, 
which states that he is a native of boreal regions, and 
it is pleasant to feel a temperature which recalls his 
birthplace. On the other hand, what cruel irony pursues 
these poor sheep frisking about awkwardly "in their 
furs ! They are from the Atlas Mountains, and now, 
for Mount Atlas, they are reduced to an enclosure of a 
few metres in the middle of which rises a ridiculously 
little rock heap. 
' ' These goats are from Morocco ; they have a sorrowful 
look which excites our pity. They shiver and murmur 
through their small teeth' to whoever approaches : can 
you tell me the country wherein the orange flourishes? 
They are not consoled by the thoughtless reply of the 
Parisian : It is the Oarden of the Tuileries. " 
It is. gratifying after all to observe the progress shown 
in providing for the wants of animals kept in captivity 
— progress which is not limited to the older establish- 
ments of Europe, but is equally manifest in our own 
country. Nature has surrounded many of her wild 
creatures with conditions which are almost impossible 
of reproduction, but humanity has labored faithfully 
to render captivity as little painful and as favorable to 
longevity as circumstances will permit. T. H. "B. 
Frozen Fish and Greedy Ducks. 
Titusville, Fla., Jan. 6.— The following may interest 
your readers, showing one of the results of the cold snap 
on the Banana creek and Mosquito Lagoon in Florida. 
The water is very shallow, and it became so cold (ice 
making along the edge on the banks) that myriads of 
fish died, of all kinds and sizes, so that they lay in a 
continuous string along the shore. I found an alligator 
apparently dead at the water's edge, and slipped a noose 
over his snout, when he opened a fishy eye and backed 
off. He was finally shot, and measured ten feet two 
inches. A man at the foot of Mosquito Lagoon gathered 
in forty green" turtles in'one* day, most of which died 
shortly after. 
The most curious result" of the fish being killed was 
that the hroadbill ducks, " of which there are many 
here, took to feeding on the small dead sea trout, 
which they dove for and picked off the bottom before 
they had decomposed enough to float. In the small cove 
by the side of the Canaveral Club house seven ducks 
were found floating, and stranded on the shore dead, 
each choked with a fish half out of its mouth, too large 
to be swallowed. Another still warm and apparently 
just dead was picked up while I was out shooting. No 
doubt very many met their death in a similar manner. 
W. 
Early Generic Names Restored.. 
In the first number of the new series of Science, a 
publication which for some little time has been sus- 
pended, Dr. C. Hart Merriam announces as a result of 
his investigations that the generic name Mazama, which 
for years 'has been employed for the mountain goat of 
the West, must be supplanted by the name Oreamnos, 
which Rafinesque also proposes for this genus. The 
goat's name, therefore, according to the most recent 
authority, would be Oreamnos Montanus. 
In the same article the name Anisonyx Raf. is given 
as the earliest generic name for that group of ground 
squirrels which we have known under the name 
Spermophilus. 
Wild Pigeons in New Jersey. 
Princeton, N. J. —I see in the last issues of The For- 
est and Stream various notes on the occurrences of the 
wild pigeon in New York State. I thought that it 
might interest a few to know that New Jersey was also 
favored. About the third week of last August I saw a 
flock of 28. These did not look as if they were going to 
stay with us very long, as they were flying south, but 
they were quite near and low, so there was absolutely 
no mistake as to their identity. These are the only 
individuals I 'have seen in years. In September, 1881, 
I shot a single bird, and in August, 1891, while in the 
Adirondacks, on the Moose River, two separate indi- 
viduals. It is to be hoped that the few that remain will 
be permitted to'make the attempt at least to keep thei 
race from dying out entirely. It was with great dis- 
gust that I read' that hunters were trying to shoot T o 
catch .with nets those that were seen in New York. ' \ 
A.;H. Phxllips. 
mitfe §<ig m\d 
IN MASSACHUSETTS COVERS. 
One Sunday in last August, while picking my way 
along a muddy wood road some thirteen miles from 
Boston, my attention was attracted by'innumerable holes 
that might have been made by thrusting a lead pencil 
into the soil. I had, however, heard of these often 
enough to feel no surprise when my dog came to a point, 
and on walking up I flushed a woodcock, which rose 
silently and slowly made its way to a patch of alders. 
Though an inexperienced shot myself, I could not help 
wondering how sportsmen could have found pleasure in 
shooting these birds when the season opened in July 
and August, finding them almost f eatherless and lifeless. 
During my walk I located three other woodcock, two 
of which were near stone heaps on a scrubby hillside, 
and a covey of eight grouse. These few encouragements 
made me spend much of my spare time before Septem- 
ber 15 in like manner, and I noticed that, although a 
careful examination was made, there were no footprints 
of the birds around the borings. 
September 15 came at last, after what seemed to me 
several months of waiting, and was a perfect day for 
shooting. Determining to get a good start, I retired 
early the night before, giving strict orders to be called 
at 5 a. m. I was theiefore somewhat annoyed, on 
waking myself, to find that my "day off" was to begin 
at 6. 30 instead. In half an hour I was on my way to 
the woods with twelve shells of No. 9 and ten of No. 6 
shot (T am cranky on loads, for, after experimenting, I 
find that 8% dms of powder under 1J| oz. of shot suits 
my 12 bore as well as any load. ) The high spirits of my 
dog soon improved my temper, and by the time we came 
to my first location I felt that if I got only two or three 
birds my day's vacation would more than pay me. 
For some time I had seen little of the dog, his bell 
telling me that he was well within the regulation dis- 
tance, but soon he trotted carelessly towards me through 
a bunch of alders and had come within thirty feet^of 
me when his head suddenly jerked to one side and it 
seemed as if he had seen the head of Medusa. Although 
taken while completely off his guard not a muscle 
stirred after catching the scent ; ' how awkward he 
seemed compared to the graceful poise taken when stop- 
ping on a bird after trailing it. 
However, I knew that of the two this was the better 
way of showing his nerve, so getting in the best posi- 
tion possible, I watched him a full minute before giving 
the signal to flush. He did not stir, and only after being 
ordered the third time did he give that well known leap 
and land, with forepaws stretched well in front, almost 
on top of the hiding bird. A shrill twitter of wings (or 
throat, as some say), and " Philohela minor" was at the 
top of the trees, to pause an infinitesimal period, then 
dart like an arrow out of sight. It was my first shot of 
the season, and I was so much occupied by the actions 
of my dog (it is not all in shooting to shoot) that the 
gun did not speak out until the bird had disappeared. 
However, as the dog had not budged after flushing and 
seemed anxious, I sent him in, and was soon agreeably 
surprised to see him reappear with the bird in his 
mouth It was only winged, and its head and neck, 
stretched from the dog's mouth, kept perfect time to his 
motions as it looked in all directions for some way of 
escape. I admit, I felt badly. 
The next location was at the edge of a marsh some 
half a mile further on, but before reaching it we flushed 
three more, of which only one came to bag. This was 
scarcely surprising, as the cover was so thick as to make 
it almost impossible to see the birds when they rose. 
On coming to the edge of the meadow the borings were 
all there, but the bird was missing. After considerable 
search I came^upon two empty shells, which explained 
both the absence of the bird and some shots I heard the 
clay before. 
Moralizing on how some men stretch the game laws, 
I wended my' way to the stone heap above mentioned, 
where Polly struck a trail and soon came to a point 
under a scrubby oak. Being on the wrong side I was 
walking around when Philohela decided that he had been 
there long enough, and went out on the opposite side 
from me, I caught just a glimpse and let drive through 
the thick of it, when, after the smoke had cleared, I saw 
the token of success shown by a dozen downy feathers 
which floated aimlessly above the trees. 
This soon convinced me, as it has done often before, 
that a good sized charge of powder will send shot 
through a branch with better results than a small one. 
I had gone scarcely ten steps farther on when a bur-r-r 
to my right made me whip up and take a snap shot at a 
reddish grey streak a* it appeared for an instant in the 
scrub I listened anxiously until a dull thump, accom- 
panied by a hurried rustling in the leaves, told me that 
a ruffled grouse was shortly to be added to my bag. I 
was now feeling friendly with* everything, even with 
the twigs that occasionally snapped back into my face, 
for I was convinced that my previous poor opinion of 
my .skill was entirely erroneous. In fact, when, a 
mile or so further on, another woodcock leaped from 
under my feet and flew through an opening toward a 
thick swamp, I felt sorry for him as, taking cool and 
perfect aim, I pressed first one trigger and then the 
other But my previous sorrow for the cock was not a 
circumstance to what I felt for myself as the bird, with 
never a feather missing, winged his way to what I 
knew was safety. 
Just then a series of whistles warned me that it was 
noon and high time for lunch, so I started homeward 
by a circuitous route that lead me through a grove of 
young pines standing at the foot of an oak ridge. Here, 
as I expected, six grouse rose and hurried up the ridge, 
despite my two pressing invitations to stop. Thinking 
that was all, I started after them, when another rose 
and immediately put a pine between him and myself. 
This was a good idea, but it failed, as the pine was too 
small to completely hide him. 
Now, "enough is as good as a feast," sol left the- 
others, thinking I had enough for one time, and con- 
tinued homeward. I had almost arrived there when a 
twitter came from my left ( the dog was tired and must 
have r stumbled on it accidentally) and standing perfectly 
still, *I was rewarded by seeing a woodcock appear ovei 
my head to drop not ten feet from me. It repeated the 
