)aN. 28, I^QQ.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
Advancement of Science, at Portland, Me., August, 
1873, which ought to have settled the questiofl. 
The fii-st time thi.s came under my notice wa.? in J11I.V, 
1830. I was roaming over the fields, when I saw a 
good-sized garter snake {Eutania sirlalis) very near me, 
with numerous young ones around het. As I approaclic(l 
her, she placed her head flat on the ground, opening her 
mouth, and making a peculiar noise, the little ones evi- 
d-ently understood, for they all ran into her oesophagus. 
I picked her up by the neck and put her in a bag and 
took her home. On examination, I found I had about 
twenty snakes, including the mother. They were kept 
together in a box, and when I told the story to my 
friends they ridiculed me. It Avas not long, however, 
before every person in the house was convinced of the 
truth of my assertions, from witnessing the fact them- 
selves. 
I met with a curious incident some years ago while 
hunting snakes in the swamps at Melrose. I came across 
a male and female striped snake, wjth numerous young 
ones. The parents Avere near each other, the family 
crawling over and around them. I was going for them, 
when, on second thought, I concluded to watch them. 
They did jiot appear frightened, but went on gamboling 
about for some time, I went a little nearer, when both 
snakes turned toward niB, making a faint noise, placed 
their heads flat on the ground and received the young 
as stated before. It was a curious sight to see' these 
young snakes, not long born, some of them a foot or 
two away, turn at the noise, and instantly seek refuge. 
I am certahi it was a note of warning of danger. I 
caught both snakes and put them in separate bags. The 
female had ten j^oung and the male had swallowed five. 
This is the first instance of any notice of a male snake 
performing this affectionate duty for its young, I placed 
the whole family in a box, where they ItYed peaceably a 
long time. 
Mr. Julian Hooper and myself encountered a large 
water snake (G. sipcdon) on the banks of a small pond 
in Durham Swamp. I was about to capture her, when 
we saw a number of young entering her mouth, and be- 
fore I could strike her she entered the pond. I im- 
mediately swept the pond with my net, and in two or 
three minutes captured her, but on examination could 
rind no young. She had evidently in that short space 
of time deposited them under some tussock in the bank 
out of harm's way. What instinct for the preservation 
of her young! 
I have also seen the Eutcenia saurita, Heterodon flaty- 
rhinos, and the Crotalus horrida perform this act for their 
young. Some rattlesnakes kept in confinement fre- 
quently did the same with their progeny when frightened. 
The beating of a drum near the case seemed to terrify 
the old on€s. so that at the first tap they would secrete 
the young in the oesophagus, and vibrate their tails 
furiously, and they would not release the little ones till 
the noise ceased. I could relate numerous instances 
I have seen when different species of snakes have thus 
protected their young. 
Certainly those who do not beHeve the fact must be 
closet naturalists and not students of nature. The fact 
is known to every farmer's boy of an inquiring mind. 
It is only a few years ago I satisfied a disbeliever by 
showing him a family of young snakes in confinement, 
bred by me. When he had witnessed the act he left me 
a firm believer. I was assured by a Portuguese natural- 
ist in Rio that he had seen a number of the water snakes 
swallow their young, also a boa constrictor. 
Nicolas Pike. 
A Raccoon^s Strategy, 
Raccoons are animals possessed of a great deal of cun- 
ning, but the trick played on Thursday night last by a 
coon in the possession of Major . Sturm, of the Bellevue 
Hotel, beats the record. There are two show windows in 
the Market street end of the hotel; in one Mr. Coon 
has been holding forth for some time; in the other there 
is an aquarium v.ath an assortment of fishes and aquatic 
flora. Both windows are screened from the inside, a 
small door in the screen about half-way up from the floor 
affording access to the windows. In some way or other 
Mr. Coon succeeded in unfastening- the catch of his 
prison door, and thus he gained access to the cafe. His 
footprints indicated that he had taken an inventory of all 
to be found there. He had opened the catch of the 
door leading to the aquarium and had sampled the fish. 
He showed a preference for the double-tailed Japanese 
goldfish and the silverfish, for he had disposed of a num- 
ber of these. He. had sampled the Japanese water lilies, 
but these were evidently not to his liking. He had also 
taken a bite out of a tree toad, which had been in a state 
of semi-torpidity for some time, but apparently did not 
like the flavor of the meat. Then he had retired, carefully 
closmg the door after him; he went back to his own 
apartment and actually closed the door there after him. 
In the morning he was found wet as a drowned rat but 
quietly sleeping in the top of the small tree which is 
his usual place during the day.— Paterson (N. T ) 
Chronicle. 
The Service Berry. 
In the Forest and Stream for Jan. 21 Mr. Mather 
asks about the berry called service berry. It is what "is 
known in different parts of the country as amelancier 
June berry, shad berry, wild pear, sugar pear, mountain 
whortleberry and other names. It is the fruit of the 
Amelanchier canadensis. Torry and Gray reduce it to a 
single poh-morphous species, but there are at least half a 
dozen varieties. One dwarf form found on high lands 1S 
only 3 to 4ft. in height, with quite small berries; 
-another variety, botryapium, reaches 30ft. or more, with 
larger berries. The largest fruit I have ever seen grew 
on an island in a salt marsh on bushes about 6ft. high, 
and the berries were a deep ptirple when ripe and fully\s 
large as the end of one's little finger. It is said to grow 
• 'li some form all over the United States, and as far north 
as Hudson Bay. It is called shad berry, from its being in 
bloom when the shad ascend the rivers. It is called June 
berry frcm the time its fruit ripens in some sections. It 
is called sugar pear and wiM- pear from the shape of the 
'ruit, ar.d amelancier frcm the name given the Amelan- 
chier in Savoy; but why called service berry is beyond 
my ken. ^ 
Col. Mather's wintcrgrecn berry, commonly known 
here as checker berry, partridge berry and ivory plum or 
i vory-leaf plum, is the Gaultberia procmnbens of the 'botan- 
ists, and a .larger species, G. shallon, growing in Oregon, 
is the salal berry of the. Indians. His berry, with 
the two eyes, called here twin plum berry and two-eyed 
berry, also called partridge berry, is the Milchella repens 
of the botanists, and belongs to the madder family. Its 
sweetly scented flowers; born in pairs, are known here 
as the twin flowers. His bunch berry is here known by 
only this name, and is the Corims ranadcusis, or dwarf 
cornel. The commonly called pigeon berries are the fruit 
of the poke or garget (P. decandra). H. 
[The Century Dictionary gives ".service-berry" as fruit 
of^ the Amelanchier canadensis; "service-tree," the Pyrus 
(Sorbus) domesHca of Continental Europe; "service" as 
an extended form of "serve," the fruit of the service-tree; 
still back of this is "sorb," the fruit of the sorb tree of 
Europe, mentioned by Dante, in whose Inferno the 
trail abruptly ends. The summing up is that the Ameri- 
can service berry received its name because of its resem- 
blandfe to the serve, or sorb, of Europe.] 
The Skunk's Defense. 
To my mind there is not a more interesting animal in 
America than the skunk, certainly none more distinctive. 
The article by Prof, Rhoads, "Cross-Fires from a Skunk's 
Battery," reminded me of a case so much in point that I 
could not refrain from writing it up for the Forest and 
Stream. It will be remembered that it was the woods- 
man's contention that the skunk was powerless when his 
flag was lowered, and that it could be killed with impunity 
by holding the tail down and striking it with a club. The 
experiments did not turn out well, and the naturalist suf- 
fered for his wanting to see the wheels go round. 
In 1897, in September, at a farmhouse in the Levels, a 
polecat was discovered in the dairy, or, as we say, spring- 
house. This spring-house was full of milk, butter and all 
kinds of the mo.st precious supplies for the winter. "The 
polecat was acting like a gentleman, and the 'lady of the 
manor who found him there treated him as such. Like 
Poe's raven, his presence was the one disturbing feature, 
tor if he should break loose the damage would be irre- 
parable. The animal was left in undisturbed possession 
until the head of the houshold appeared. He was a good 
woodsman, and knew of the habits of the skunk. By a 
very gradual approach, he grasped the tail upflung and 
gently led it forth by the tail, holding it down, and brained 
the animal with a club when it was a sufficient distance 
away, and the spring-house was safe. There was a slight 
discharge of the secretion. This certainly is a practical 
application of the principles of science. 
I was a long time learning tliat the common skunk is 
the Alaska sable of commerce. A few years ago a bill 
was introduced into the West Virginia Legislature pro- 
tecting this animal on account of its insectivorous quali- 
ties, but it was defeated by the suggestion that if the bill 
became a law the session would be remembered as the 
"Polecat Legislature," and the measure died a natural 
death. Andrew Price. 
M.VRLINTON, W. V'a. 
Crow Roosts. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
In your issue of Jan. 21, Mr. Witmar Stone, of the 
Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science, in speaking of 
crow roosts, mentions several, and asks for information 
with regard to others. 
For many years I have noticed a large evening flight 
of crows toward the woods to the south of Stockport, 
Columbia county. New York, They spend the day in an 
open and rolHng moorland country about two miles to 
the east of their roost, and back from the river. 
I was in the neighborhood during the holidays, and they 
seemed to be in greater numbers than ever. 
Wm. Coffin Dornin, Jr. 
Winter Robin in New York, 
Albany, N. Y., Jan. 22,.— Editor Forest and Stream: 
I hope to claim the honor of seeing the first robin of '99 
in this vicinity. On Western avenue, yesterday (Sunday) 
afternoon, the writer heard the querulous "squeals" of a 
robin, and soon located the bird among the leafless 
branches of an elm on the south side of School No. 12. 
Robbie stood up confidently, but he wasn't singing a 
carol in the waning light of the sun, which was' fast disap- 
pearing in a bank of graj^, ominous-looking clouds in the 
southwest. Horace Z. Derby. 
\Hrr{e md 
Proprietors of fishing and hunting resorts will find it profitable 
to advertise them in Forest and Strsam. 
Congress and the Game. 
Philadelphia, Pa., Jan. 20. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
The proposition now before Congress to enlarge the scope 
of the Fish Commission, so that it shall include game 
bird propagation and distribution, deserves a fuller and 
more careful consideration than the members of either 
House appear to be disposed to give to it. I beg opportu- 
nity in Forest and Stream to call attention to some of the 
features of the measure. 
Let us examine into the purposes of the bill in detail 
merely as it appears on its face, and subject it to a super- 
ficial analysis. An exhaustive analysis, with an exposition 
of the fallacies embodied in it, would fill a volume. 
First, the duties and powers of the commission are to 
be enlarged so as to include "the propagation, distribu- 
tion, transportation, introduction and restoration of game 
birds and other wild birds useful to man." 
Let us begin with the propagation. How are the game 
birds to be propagated? Some game birds will not breed 
at all in confinement. Fish can be grown by the million 
in a small hatchery. In the same amount of space, it is 
doubtful if a half-dozen wild birds could be raised. There 
is talk about aviaries, as if that were the sole expense, and 
the sole step necessary to success. Granted that there was 
an aviary in every township, how many quail or ruffed 
grouse, or woodcock, or snipe, could be raised in them? 
The ruffed grouse is, from a practical standpoint, in- 
capable of domestication. So with the quail, the snipe, the 
woodcock. If there was an aviary as large as the city of 
New York, it is doubtful if enough birds could be bred in 
it to be of any substantial use. The larger the aviary, the 
less are the chances of success. 
The prairie chicken cannot be introduced in places it has 
already abandoned. Too much agriculture is as fatal to it 
as too much trapping and shooting. The breeding of 
game has already been tried, and proved to be a failure so 
far as it concerns American game birds. 
Fishculture, where millions can be raised in a small 
area, and game culture, which is an impossiblity, are quite 
different matters. 
The Mongolian pheasant can be grown in captivity, but 
the failures even here far exceed the successes, and the 
care of one person is necessary to insure the growth of a 
few birds. The cost of growing any important number 
would be so great to the Government that it would neces- 
sarily force an abandonment of their cultivation. 
How about growing wild ducks and geese? They are 
migratory birds, and therefore they could not be intro- 
duced anywhere with permanency. 
How about the distribution of the birds? The answer 
is. How can they be distributed if there are none to dis- 
tribute. Also, as each State has supreme control of it* 
own game interests, as per the ruling of the Supreme 
Court in the Connecticut case some years ago, if there 
were really the game to distribute, it could not be distri- 
buted without the permission of the States interested. 
Transportation of game? What game? If it cannot be 
bred it cannot be transported. 
Introduction? Introduced where, and why? There is 
not a State in the Union but what has sufficient game stock 
to serve for breeding purposes if it were properly pre- 
served. In such States as all shooting, trapping, selling, 
etc., were prohibited for a term of years, the game multi- 
plied astonishingly. If the people of a State will not pre- 
serve its own game, how much the less will it preserve 
game sent into its borders, if it really were sent in, which 
is a matter of serious debate at an old lady's tea party. 
Introduction? Introduce what, and jvhere? It would 
be impossible, as Mr. Lacey proposes, to introduce prairie 
chickens into Kentucky, where it once swarmed in count- 
less thousands. It would be impossible to introduce the 
ruffed grouse on the Kansas prairie. The prairie chicken 
could not live in New England. It might be an easy 
matter to raise woodcock, though the wise legislators 
should see that they are introduced into a sandy country, 
and make a liountiful appropriation for feeding them 
well on wheat and oats, so as to have the whole bill in 
keeping with its parts. 
But, let us entertain the wild supposition for a moment 
that there was a big aviary in every township in Amer- 
ica, and that the good legislators engaged only competent 
managers and assistants to superintend and care for each 
aviary. There may be a dozen persons more or less in 
the United States who have the practical knowledge as to 
how to breed woodcock, snipe, ruft'ed grouse, quail, etc., 
but we will assuriie that there are thousands. A suffi- 
cient number of birds are turned loose in every section 
to stock it. What protection have the birds so raised from 
the destruction of the poacher? You will pass a law 
prohibiting their destruction. To enforce that law would 
require an active number of game wardens in every town- 
sliip. 
The people of Texas, moreover,_would not care to be 
taxed for the maintenance of game wardens in New Eng- 
land, and the people of New England would not care to be 
taxed for the introduction of Mongolian pheasants into 
Texas. It would Jse a class matter throughout, 
Fish in a general way can be introduced into the waters 
of the LTnited States alike North and South, East and 
West. Not so with the birds. If the fish are exterminated 
in some waters, it is impossible for outside fish to get in 
and again restock them. The fish commission then is a 
necessity. Not so with the birds. A section may be com- 
pletely stripped of its game birds, yet birds ffom outlying 
districts can come in and restock the exhausted section. 
No commission is needed. 
There is no analogy whatever between the work of fish- 
culturists who really exist, and the work of game cultur- 
rists who do not and cannot e.xist so far as practical re- 
sults are worthy of consideration. 
It would be impossible for the United States to establish 
a game warden system in any State. According to the de- 
cision of the Supreme Court, the State owns the game 
within its boundaries. The proposition that the State 
would tolerate any usurpation of its powers is not to be 
accepted for a moment. The history of the Government 
proves that the States are most jealous of their State 
rights. Any game turned out within the boundaries -of a ' 
State would forthwith become the propertj' of such State. 
■^It then would have only the same protection which was 
exercised in protecting the State's other game. If the 
people of a State would not take any interest or but a 
lukewarm interest in protecting its own game, it is not to 
be assumed that it would take more in protecting game 
turned loose within its limits. An order for 100,000 fish fry 
is easily filled. An order for 10,000 quail fry would be more 
than the Government aviaries could fill in a decade, if it 
relied on its own raising. If of ruffed grouse, then more 
than it could fill in a century. If a bird culturist received 
a salary of $2,000 or more a year, and he succeeded in 
raising six ruffed grouse and a dozen quail, he would 
have done well ; but with the expenses of the plant,, and 
the current expenses from week to week, they would be 
worth about $200 apiece at cost. L. A. Childress. 
The Joke is Forgiveo because of the Dollar that came 
.with it. 
Forest and Stream Pub. Co.: 
Kindly send me "Hitting vs. Missing," that I may cease thie 
latter. By the way, why doesn't the author win the Gratid Amer- 
ican Handicap? You needn't answer if it is a trade secret. 
• J. W. Hamer. 
