Feb. II, 1899,] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
107 
those times, artd in those •places, one had the appetite 
which goes with youth, hard work and an outdoor life. 
For nearly a hundred years service berries have been a 
pretty important item in, the food of the Hndson's Bay 
employees in the far Northwest, and when Captains Lewis 
and Clarke crossed the Rocky Mountains in 1803-1806 they 
were able on the waters of the upper Missouri to piece out 
their slender fare with the sarvis berries, which grew in 
great profusion along their route. The fruit is sweet 
Ttnd delicious, and many travelers throughout northwest- 
ern America have told of its usefulness. More than one 
party of explorers and prospectors have lived on service 
berries when all else failed them. 
If the Indians eat plenty of sarvis berries, the bears eat 
a great many more, and all through the berry season they 
lounge about the patches of sarvis trees gorging them- 
selves with the delicious fruit, and becoming fat and 
lazy. Sometimes a party of Indian women will find them- 
selves gathering berries where a bear has been or still 
is, and when such a discovery is made there is a swift 
retreat bv the women to safer quarters. The hears, of 
course, pull down the branches of the trees which they 
can reach to get at the berries, and the smaller black and 
brown bears climb the stouter trees. The larger bears, 
however, ride down the trees by their weight, resting the 
breast on the stem with one foreleg on either side, and m 
a grove of trees where berries have been abundant one 
may find many trees that have been bent down in thjs 
wav. , 1 ■ 
Many of the smaller mammals also eat these berries; 
among them to some extent the coyote, and of course all 
the various rats, mice and squirrels — tree or ground 
dwellino;— which are so abundant in the country where the 
sarvis berry grows. The birds feast on them too, robins, 
gray jays, Clark's crow, magpies, and a hundred others. 
On the whole, there is scarcely a plant that I can think of 
growing along the flanks of the mountain which furnishes 
food for so large "and so varied a mammalian population 
as the sarvis berry. ^'O- 
The Service on Cape Ann. 
Editor Forest and Stream: ' ' , 
Your correspondent H., in his article on the service 
berry, or Amclanchier. mentions a dwarf variety. He 
writes: "One dwarf form found on high lands is onl)- 
3 to 4ft. in height, with quite small berries." 
I do not know where H. gets his knowledge of a dwarf 
variety. I have before me the "Flora of Essex County, 
Massachusetts," bv John Robinson. While treating the 
Avielanchicr he remarks: "Tracy speaks of a curious 
variety at Norman's Woe, Gloucester, which fruits when 
only 3ft. high." , , r ■ 
This is the only hook knowledge I am able to find in 
regard to a dwarf form. I have found on the hills 
around Gloucester a dwarf form which fruits when the 
plants are not over Bin. in height. The fact is, the plants 
are all heights, from the tree down to the very lowest 
bushes. It seems to be the evolution of a dwarf from a 
standard variety. A few years ago I sent samples of the 
dwarf variety to Mr. John Robinson, who has charge of 
the Pcabody Academv of Science, Salem, Mass Mr. 
Robinson sent some of the plants to Cambridge for the 
Arboretum. Professor Sargent saw them, and wrote me 
for particulars. I understand that he expected to rear- 
range dmelanchier for the botanical works. H he did so 
it is unknow.n to me. • r-v 
The fruit of the dwarf varieties is not materially differ- 
ent from that of the standard. Both the dwarf and 
standard varieties bear large and small berries. 
The Amelancliier grows in great abundance m the 
swamps and on the hills of Cape Ann. The fruit on the 
hills is usually wormy or blighted, while -in the swamps 
it is excellent. 
I wrote up this shrub and sent the manuscript with a 
photograph of the plants in bloom to Garden and Forest 
several 3'ears ago. I enclosed postage, but the manuscript 
never returned, nor did I hear from it at the time or 
since. The publication has suspended I believe. 
I will quote a few lines from my lost manuscript to ex- 
plain the peculiar growth of the dv:arf variety. 
"It did not take me Jong to discover that I had several 
interesting problems to solve. Instead of two varieties, a 
dwarf and a standard, I found varieties all heights be- 
tween the two. It was the evolution of a dwarf variety 
from a standard with no missing links. Another curious 
phase, the shrub in the process of evolution spread over 
a greater area. A standard variety consisted of several 
stems from one crown, while a variety a little below the 
standard sprung from a number of crowns and conse- 
quently occupied more ground. The extreme dwarf 
variety sprung from numerous -crowns, which spread over 
not le'ss than one square rod. The shrub showed one 
other peculiarity. The evolution of a dwarf variety had 
produced a marked change in the blooming season. The 
extreme dwarf variety was fully ten days later than the 
standard in flowering." Hermit. 
Replies to Mr. Mathers sarvice berry question have 
heen sent by Von W., of New Hampshire ; E. H. A., of 
Connecticut; Nemo, of Pennsylvania, and others; and 
one correspondent writes that the berry is cultivated. 
About Trees. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Friend Coahoma requp^ts me to explain the growth of 
trees. I do not think thoi-e is much left for me to say after 
-his excellent description of the growth of a tree. 
There is no growth upward of the trunk of a tree for 
a very good reason, namely, the cells of the old wood do 
not redivide, therefore must stand where first formed. 
There is an upward and outward growth to all trees, but 
it takes place at the extreme ends of branches by the 
division of cells. Cells divide when the material of 
which they are formed is mucilaginous. As growth pro- 
gresses the lower cells become hard and woody and do not 
divide. The trunk of a tree can increase in growth in 
diametei'j but not in height. It is a disputed question 
whether the roots of trees are able to raise the whole 
fabric. The cavities at the base of many trees are sup- 
posed to show that the roots have forced the trunk out 
of the ground. I do not think this is the fact. I believe 
the roots grow upward on the trunk just as l;he limbs do. 
If we beai" in mind that all growth _is by di\:ision of ceUs 
we cannot go -wrong in our conclusions. _ Hermit. 
Podgers* Commentaries. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
In reading over your number of Jan. I4, I was very 
much interested in the article by your valued correspond- 
ent, S. N. Rhoades, on the subject of skunks. It is not 
often we see any defense of that odoriferous animal; in 
fact, he has few friends, and after reading the article in 
question, in which the character of his skunkship ap- 
pears in rather a better light, I am encouraged to say a 
few words in his favor myself, malodorous as the sub- 
ject may be, and as surprising as it would probably be 
to him to find that he had at least two friends willing to 
give him credit for what virtues he may possess. 
We will pass over a few little delinquencies that truth 
compels us to admit are not creditable to him, sucii 
as his epicurean taste for chickens; but the fox, the coon 
and the weasel have the same failing, so we will not lay 
that as an exclusive sin at his doors. 
In my boyhood days we used to set slip-noose traps, 
a bent-down sapling supplying the elevating power, and 
when the villain was so suspended his odoriferous protests 
were telegraphed to the nearest neighbors "on tlie wings 
of the wind," and called forth sundry indignant remarks 
from old ladies whose sense of smell was still keen, such 
as "them ere pesky boys have got another skunk up in 
the orchard, drat 'ein." " No boy had the courage to bury 
the enemy with the honors of war, and the result was 
that the nearest neighbors had in self-defense to hire old 
Nigger Ned to do the job at the not extravagant fee of 
10 cents and a drink of old whiskey three days from the 
still. 
In subsequent clays I have met casually with this dealer 
in "perfumes," but not on social terms; in fact, there has 
always been a distant coolness and a mutual agreement 
that no intimacy was desired, this resulting in each of us 
giving his undivided attention to his own business. 
As to the question of his omitting the opportunity to 
express his parting compliments if bereft of vitality 
suddenly, my experience, though limited, does not bear 
out the statement. A friend and myself on one occa- 
sion were encamped at the outlet of Lake Edwards, Can- 
ada. We had given a whole day to the erection of a very 
swell affair, as we were intending a prolonged stay, and 
at great labor had cut and "toted" about a cord of wood; 
and after a trout supper and the ever-present pipe, we 
were glad to seek our cots. 
About midnight I was awakened by a pat pat of light 
footsteps around the tent and an occasional scratching 
on the canvas. My friend was a sound sleeper and was 
snoring away oblivious to all such small noises until 1 
awoke him, saying, "John, \V;hat the deuce is that scratch- 
ing?" He yawned and finally pulled aside the curtain 
of the tent and looked out. It was bright moonlight; but 
seeing nothing, he turned in again. As soon as all was 
still the scratching was renewed. John sprang out 01 
bed again, saying: "Dash my buttons if I don't stop that 
little game, whatever it is." And picking up the double- 
barrel he stepped outside. A few moments later, bang went 
one barrel of the gun. "Hello! what is it?" I asked. Be- 
fore he could answer the atmosphere saved him the trou- 
ble. Great Scott! It came in chunks; you could cut it 
with a knife. It was simply overpowering — suffocating. 
No mortal man conld stand it. Hastily donning our 
clothes, we broke for a position to windward, and wore 
the time out until morning sitting on a fallen log. 
When daylight came we discussed the question of what 
was to be done. Should we make a united effort and 
bury the skunk? By stuffing our noses we succeeded in 
doing it. W^ forgot that the ground was saturated. No 
relief was had. It was as bad as ever, and the result 
was that we had to break camp and move over across 
the lake; and even then days elapsed before, with all 
our airing of the clothes and tent, we succeeded in get- 
ting rid of that most diabolical and lasting quality of 
the vile odor. Any perfume manufacturer that could give 
such staying qualities to his perfumery would make his 
fortune. It is said that a grain of mnsk will give forth 
its odor for a thousand years. I don't believe the author 
of the statement could make it from personal experience, 
but I will bet him that alongside of that little animal's 
manufacture inusk would be nowhere. 
A subsequent experience down in Texas was more 
favorable to the character of the amateur Lubin. Several 
of us were living in a cabin quite a distance from any 
other dwelling, when one evening, after dinner, as we sat 
smoking on the steps, one of these aroma dispensers 
made his appearance quite near us. One of the boys 
ran into the house for his gun. I intercepted him, say- 
ing; "Don't shoot the little cuss, or we can't live in 
the house." We went indoors and watched him. He 
snuffed around for a time, and I threw him a piece ot 
bread, which he immediately ate; and then he retired 
under the house, where he seemed to have taken up his 
abode. How to get rid of him without his leaving his 
compliments was the question. We finally decided that 
the least of the two evils was not to molest him. The 
result was that he grew very tame and came up on the 
steps for his bread, and finally was so tame that he would 
take bread from the hand. He seemed to know the 
hour of meal time as well as we, and was always on hand. 
We were particularly careful not to make any offensive 
demonstration calculated to irritate his sensitive nature, 
and our friendly relations continued for several^ months 
and until we left. The moral of it all is that it is policy 
for man to restrain his proclivities for the , immediate de- 
struction of that against which he has natural prejudices, 
until he has ascertained what good there may be in it. 
Any hasty action may result in waking up the wrong 
passenger. 
As a general thing, I do not recommend this little ani- 
mal as a household pet, despite my last experience of 
his amiability; for his tail might get accidentally trod on, 
when he would be likely to express his views in a very 
unpleasant manner; but I would advise that in case of 
accidental meeting a strictly armed neutrality should 
be preferp^; for I do not think the dealer in perfumery 
would be the aggressor. We often meet with the coun- 
terpart of this specimen of natural history in beings with 
two legs. They are not infrequent, and we give them a 
wide berth. As the result of my experience, I give my 
preference as an associate to the species with four legs. 
They are the least ofTensive of the Uvo ^'arieties. 
PODGEES. 
Birds that Hunt and are Hunted. 
Among the flood of bird books that have made their 
appearance within recent years, one of the most .striking 
is that entitled "Birds that Hunt and are Hunted," pub- 
lished by the Doubleday and McClure Company. Under 
this broad title are included descriptions with brief life 
histories of about 170 birds of prey, game birds, wild- 
fowl and other water birds, the whole illustrated by many 
plates in colors, which first appeared in a Western 
magazine. There are nearly fifty of these plates 
of varying degrees of excellence, hut many of them capi- 
tal representations of the bi-rds, and all are sufficiently 
close to nature in their colors to enable the reader with- 
out diflficulty to identify the species. These are evidently 
photographs of stuffed bird.?,- and in many cases they arc 
poorly stuffed. But there arc others which are so excel- 
lent that it would be hard to find a point at which they 
could be criticised. 
"Birds that Hunt and are Hunted" is by Neltje Blanch- 
an, the author of "Bird Neighbors," to which it is a com- 
panion volume. Beginning with tlie grebes and loons, it 
follows through the gulls, petrels, cormorants and ducks, 
the herons, ibises, storks, cranes, rails and their allies, the 
shore birds, gallinaceous game birds and pigeons, to and 
through the birds of prey, the whole book including more 
than 350 large pages. Each order of birds is characterized 
in general terms, the different species under it are named 
and described, and from one to half a dozen pages given 
to its life history. 
The book is written from the same view point as its 
predecessor, "that of a bird lover who believes that per- 
sonal friendly acquaintance with the live birds as dis- 
tinguished from the technical study of the anatomy of 
dead ones mu.st be general before the people will care 
enough about them to reinforce the law with unrestrained 
mercy. To really know the birds in their home life, how 
marvellously clever they are, and how positively depen- 
dent agriculture is upon their ministrations, cannot but in- 
crease our respect for them to such a point that willful in- 
jury becomes impossible." 
This is surely a good point of view to have, and it 
must be said that the author succeeded in making in- 
teresting the birds written about. The style is pleasing 
and the facts on the whole accurate and taken from .the 
best sources. Much space is given to the game birds, and of 
these the portraits are among the best in the book, though 
the frontispiece — the passenger pigeon — and the herons 
are also especially good. The figure of the prairie .sharp- 
tailed grouse is rather notable for its excellence. 
Of the bittern the author writes, "Come upon the her- 
mit suddenly and it seems paralyzed by fright. When 
danger actually threatens, up go the long head feathers, 
leaving the neck bare and malcing the bird look formid- 
able indeed. The plumage is ruflled, the wings are ex- 
tended, and if the adversary comes too near a violent 
slap from the strong witig and a thrust from a very sharp 
beak makes him -wish his zeal for bird lore had been tem- 
pered with -discretion. A little water spaniel was actually 
stabbed to death as a result of its master's inquisitive- 
ness. 
"During the day the- bittern, being extremely timid, 
keeps well hidden in the marshes, but it is not a nocturnal 
bird by any means, however it likes to migrate by night. 
To some it appears sluggish and indolent as it stands 
motionless for hours, but it is simply intelligently waiting 
for frogs, lizards, snakes, large winged insects, meadow 
mice, etc., to come within striking distance, when, quick 
as thought, the prey is transfixed. A slow meditative 
step also gives an impression of indolence, but the bittern 
is often only treading moUusks out of the mud with his 
toes. 
"In the air the* bittern still moves slowdy and with a 
tropical langour laps its large broad wings, and trails 
its legs behind, to act as a rudder as it flies close above the 
tops of the sedges. When a longer journey than from one 
part of the marsh to another must be made, the solitary 
traveler mounts high by describing circles, and secure 
under the cover of darkness, makes bold and long excur- 
sions. It is only in the nesting season that we find these 
birds in couples. Then neither one is either far away 
from the rude grassy nest that holds from three to five 
pale olive buff eggs hidden among the sedges on the 
ground in a marsh. There are those who assert that 
young bitterns are good food." 
We fancy that all who have ever'eateii young bitterns, 
or old ones either, aver that they are good food, and in 
old times was not the bittern regarded as a game bird ? 
A few of the statements in the volume — such as the 
intimation that the black skimmer uses its bill to open 
mollusks— are hardly borne out by any obsevations known 
to us, and one curious reference to a bird standing on a 
"distended branch" is not very clear, but the book de- 
serves high praise and should do good. 
The ''Osprey.^ 
The Osprey, well known to our ornithological readers, 
has changed hands, and moved from New York to Wash- 
ington. It is now published by the Osprey Publishing 
Company, of that city, and is edited by Drs. Elliot Cones 
and Theo. Gill, with Mr. Walter Adams Johnson, the 
former editor, as associate editor, and Mr. L. A. Fuertes 
as art editor. An editorial in the October number — the 
first printed after its change of locality — says : "The 
Osprey being a migratory bird has flown southward from 
New York to Washington this autumn, and taken up its 
winter quarters in a new locality, of which it proposes t6 
become a permanent resident. The moulting process has 
proven somewhat severe and protracted this season, and 
the appearance of the bird in its new plumes has conse- 
quently been delayed. We beg indulgence for any traces 
of pin feathering which may be discovered in this issue, 
feeling confident that the renewal of plumage will be per-' 
fected next month." 
. While this apology was required for the number in 
which it appeared, the succeeding issues — for November 
and Decemlser — are a great improvement, and indicate 
that only a little time is needed for the magazine to re- 
gain its old high standing of excellence as to typography 
and presswork. That the quality of the matter con- 
tained in it is good is guaranteed bv Hie na"">es an its 
editorial board. 
