LESE-^CIRKEL 
VOL. IV. 
KANSAS cn T. MJSSUUKI. FEBEUAKY, 18S9. 
NO 2. 
"Not a Tree, 
AliliUU, a iiMf, ii blossom, but con! ui ns 
A folio volnine. Wa may read, and read, 
And read again, and still find sonietliing 
new. 
Somofliing lo lilease, and sometliing- 
to inslrner." 
The Shore Lurk. 
To the bird lovors oil out bleak prair- 
ie.?, the advent of the Shore I^ark is eyer 
vvelcoiiie. Close upon the flocks of 
Snow Biintinj^s, retreating with the re- 
luctant forces of winter, conies this har- 
binger of spring; and long before tlie 
sun has pierced tlie blanket of snow that 
enwraps the landscape, it is seen in little 
flocks, patieiitl}' waiting to possess its 
promised land. 
Although not decke;! with tropical 
C dors, still its combination of delicate 
brown, black and wliire, \vith its eres- 
cc:;t;'('. tliro;it, in:i(iii"l v b.orned h^ad and 
graceful step it is a thing of beautj' ; and 
as tlie flock sweeps in graceful, though 
erratic flight over the praii-ie or plowed 
field, there is in their curious metallic 
notes a sound singularly suggestive of 
the resumption of the farmer's toil, re- 
minding one of the clinking of chains 
and creaking of axles, as he drives his 
team afield. 
As might be inferred from the fore- 
going, the Lark is an early breedei- and 
even before the snow has all disappear- 
ed its nest is sometin'ies completed. It 
is not an ambitions architect, and even 
prefers the smooth sward of the prairie 
to the shelter of a tii.«.sock or bush, and 
for that reason the nest is veiy hard to 
find. 
Two only have fallen under my in- 
spection, and of these I will write brief- 
ly- 
Late in April, 1885, while at work, 1 
noticed a male Lark busily foraging on 
a spot of ground about iiO ft. square, from 
whicli the sod had been removed, paus- 
ing occasionally to indulge in a brief 
song. Surmising that near at hand bis 
mate was at her maternal task, when the 
noon hour arrived I took my lunch and 
reclined on the grass, near at liand. hop- 
ing, while I was dining, he would be- 
tray his secret, but he was very discreet. 
Although he did not gratify my hopes, 
he still afforded much amusement. Not- 
withstanding he was so very small, no 
Turkey-cock could surpass our little gal- 
lant, as he strutted along with bristling 
feathers and trailing wings and tail; not 
however at any time oblivious to anv 
delicate morsel that might come within 
reach. 
liut life is not al I sunshine even to a 
bird, and this one had its hete noir in the 
person of a Striped Gopher, whose bnr- 
riMv was close at hand, and many were 
the skirmishes between them, till at last, 
the animal Inn ing \ eiiliin-d too far from 
home, a ))itcli battle ensued and Sir 
Gopher lieat a hasty retreat, the Lark 
snapping at, and seizing hold of the 
(roplier's tail, until he reached bis Ijur- 
row. Donblless the kiimvledge of a 
weakness on tbi' part of the Goiiher for 
eggs or young birds as and article of diet 
was tlie casus belli in this instance. 
Concluding that if any nest was found 
I must fl:.d it iin^self, 1 commenced iny 
search, and soon startled the female from 
her retreat, disclosing a set of fresh 
eggs. The nest v\ as on a slightly sloping 
bank, deep, cup sltaped, and with thirk 
walls of mud and grass, which were c(>n- 
tinued a little distance above the ground 
so that all water woubltf^, lurned away. 
Tiie bird was very undtmoustrative, antl 
when the eggs w'ere secured, and I turn- 
ed to leave, she returned to the nest and 
began to scratch up the bottom in seandi 
of her trea-ures. 
Nest number two was discovered by 
jiccident early in Ai)ril, 18^7. While 
driving across a level grass meadow, near 
a little pool of water, the bird darted ott' 
as the wlieel passetl within six incites of 
the nest, which, this time, was merely a 
scanty lining of dried grass in a hole 
scraiched in the gro'uid, thus being a 
strong contrast to the other. Ttiree fresh 
eggs made up this set. 
Visiting the place a week later the 
male was .'Ceii con^t.antly in the vicinity, 
uttering bis si)asmodic song from the 
top of a certain post in a vineyard near 
at In-iiid, wh'ch was his continual resort; 
but the old nest was deserted, and no 
amount of searching could discover ihe 
new one. for. iierliaps grown \\-ise by ex- 
jierience. the biril would not leave her 
One other set in my cabinet from the 
vicinity of Winni|iegcoinpletes my suite 
of specimens of this species. Dark grey, 
thickly covered with darker spots, and 
averaging .88 by .t;i. they seem to poss- 
ess an individuality easily recognized by 
the practiced eye. 
Frank IL Nuttkr, 
Cyiiocitta crisfala. 
The rabbit pest is again making head- 
way. in Australia. The means taken to 
ei-adicat(^ itiiroved insntflcient. 
Why not subsci-ilje for TiiK, Natural- 
is'ty Send us thii-ty (30) cents at once. 
This member of the C<,)Rvid.ic family 
faniiliary known as the Bine Jay, and 
sometimes owing to h's carniverous hab- 
its known as the meat eatei', richly mer- 
its the dislike entertained of him by Or- 
nithologists. In .■iddiiion to his known 
and of ten observed habit of robliing the 
nests of other birds, a new and biiberto 
unpublisiied charge must be laid at bis 
door. A chicken fancier, noticed occa- 
sional loss of the newly-hatched chicks 
and being of a rare kind of Bantam, in- 
stitued a watch, resultingin tlie detection 
of the offender, which wa.s no more or 
less than the Jay — who, jifrcbed on tlie 
limb of a tree, m atching with thepjatieiice 
of a terrier, the moinetit the mother hen 
allow ed a chick tostray, pounced upon it. 
and rarried it away todevoiir at his leas- 
uie. 
Clippings. 
A Nebraska man has settled the-ques- 
tioii of how prairie dogs obtain water. 
Irle claims tliey dig tlieir own v»eils, eacn 
village having one with a concealed 
opening, fie knows of such a M'ell 200 
feet deep, having a circular staircase 
leading down to the water. — Plain Talk. 
Dr. Kkusk, a chemist of Munich, has 
succeeded in decomposing cobalt and 
iiick(d, both of which have hitherto been 
supiiosed to be elementary substances. 
—Ex. 
The Paris Academy of Science is just 
now excited over a plant called Coloca- 
sia. This plant often exhibits a trem- 
bling or a vibrating motion without any 
aiiparent cause, and" as many as 100 or 120 
vibi-ations have been observed in a single 
minute. — Ej\ 
E2scs:..ZL.iNrG;- Es. 
Wanted to cxclutnge ; Con(>s' ■■Birds of tin 
North-we.st" for Cones' "Birds of tlie Colora- 
do Valley." Wni. Stepliensoii, Ft. Vei di, A. T. 
V(m Sale oh Kxchangk: Steam engine* 
boiler. Cost owner $la(); will pnt iiTboard 
cars for $40, casli, or will trade. f<n' bieyele, 
lirinting material or Arcliaeological speci- 
mens. Address A., tins ofliee. 
For Exchangk. Fine s])eciniens of polish- 
ed Am. Bison lioins. Want Indian ridics. 
I'cst offer accepted. Address B., tins oftice. 
Will collect local specimensof .any kind in 
exchange for egi;s in sets, with data' ; also ex- 
change I 
Block, Minneapolis, Minn. 
F.N, Nutter, Room 14 Richards 
We have in stock a supiil v of the following 
eu'imeratcd Fossil Fish from the GRia-N 
river shales; Dli'l.oMiSTUS analis, D. ncjl- 
iLius, IJ. ALTUS, D. Pusii.i.us, on slabs fi-om 
4 to B inches in length. For terms, address 
Naturalists' Exciiang k, box 69, Kans\s 
City, Mo. 
Eiigs Almost Given Away. 
Till May 15, to hasten the sale of ourlai'ge 
stock of eggs, we will discount our old pric't s 
already cheap, 50 per CENT. If vou haven't 
our catalogne, send lor it AT ONC E. 
Trouslot & Co., Kansas City, Mo. 
