FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Feb. n. 1899, 
Some Florida Birds. 
Barn Owls of "White Owls," 
Early in April of last year the captain of the steamer 
Roseada, plj'ing on the Kissimmee River, reported the 
discovery of a white owl's nest, which was in a hole of 
a leaning dead cabbage palm, overhanging the river. 
Twice a week on his trip up and down he watched the 
growth of the birds, until he considered them old 
enough to move. He then transferred them from the 
nest to a box, under serious protests from the parent 
birds. The birds proved to be specimens of the barn 
owl, and great was the surprise to see the three owls 
of three different sizes and evidently considerable dif- 
ference in their ages. From inquiry it is learned that 
these birds, after hatching the first egg, lay another, 
whose _ hatching is left to be done by the young bird 
while it feathers, thus explaining why tlie birds in the 
different stages of development w^ere found in the same 
nest, and explaining too the responsibility that the oldest 
bird seemed to have over the younger ones — much as 
an older child watches over the younger ones of a family. 
The oldest owl was almost matured— in full feather — 
its large black eyes, almost human in ejcprcssion, being 
well set off by the snow white face. The plumage on 
the back was a golden brown, the rest of the body 
streaked with white. The second bird in size was an 
ashy dull white; he was covered with down — the down 
on his face giving him a vicious expression — entirely 
different from the oldest bird. The baby of the nest was 
scarcely half the size of the oldest bird, had a sharp, nar- 
row and long face, with a weazened, monkey-like ex- 
pression, but he was snow white, looking like a ball of 
wool. He cuddled under the larger birds, and at feeding 
time was the most ravenous eater of the crowd. All day 
long these three wise little owls quietly sat, making 
no sound except when approached, when a sharp snap- 
ping of their beaks announced that they wished no in- 
truders. To turn them out of their box in daytime 
rneant a quick return to it. They were turned out one 
day for a visitor to admire, and the box removed, when 
they quietlj' sought refuge under the folds of her dress 
skirt. At night they were in their element when turned 
loose; they walked around, flopped their wings, would 
come up and take food from the hand, and drink water 
from a spoon placed between their beaks with as much 
ease as a person possibly could. After eating to their 
' satisfaction, they would return to the box, and there 
sit for an hour, peering out, swaying their bodies back- 
ward and forward, as if rocking themselves to sleep. 
The pleasure and the study derived from observing 
these young owls scarcely compensated for the sorrow 
caused around the old palm tree. For several trips, as 
the Roseada passed up and down the river, the old owls 
followed the boat, darting at it and crying for the loss 
of their young, their mournful toQcs coming to tbe 
crew on the still nights like some haunting spirit. 
Minnie Moore- Wlllsox', 
Florida, 
More about Skunks. 
I READ with much interest the article on the skunk. I 
have had just a bit of experience with skunks m3-seif. be- 
ginning at the time when I was a very small youth, and 
mistook one of the pWful little beasts for my pet kitten 
in the dusk of a summer evening, until at the present 
writing, when the aroma hangs thickly abotit the house 
owing to the efforts of an unsophisticated hired man to 
kijl a skunk in the woodshed. 
A shoi't time since I had the good fortune to visit a 
skunk farm in this State, that promises to bring a good 
.sum of tnoney to the owner. No odor did I detect, and 
the little animals ran about the proprietor's feet like so 
many cats. Without any hesitation he would reach into 
an old box or barrel full of leaves or straw and drag 
forth some choice specimen to exhibit to me. while T 
stood near experiencing the sensations of a man smoking 
a cigar in a powder mill. He told me that skunks were 
a very easy crop to raise ; only needed plenty of food, offal 
from nearbj"^ slatighter houses, and a few hollow logs, old 
barrels or boxes with plenty of straw for nests. Then 
his flock consisted of skunks of all the sorts of markings 
known to the tribe, but he was confident that he could, hy 
careful breeding, produce only pure black animals, 
Tn this locality the bite of the skunk is considered as 
poisonous as the bite of a snake. I know of only one in- 
stance that resulted seriottsty, and that was the case of a 
trapper in one of the nearby towns, who was bitten on 
one hand by a skunk he had captured in a trap, Although 
several remedies were tried, the injured member began to 
swell and caused him great pain, which continued for 
some weeks, and finally ceasing, and the wound healed. 
His hand is, hoAvever, badly crippled, as he has lost the use 
of two fingers. Local doctors called the trouble blood 
poisoning pure and simple, caused by a deposit of foul 
matter on the teeth of the animal and which was left in 
the wound when it was inflicted. As the skunk is fond of 
carrion and other decayed animal matter, the deposit that 
would naturally accumulate on the teeth would poison 
the wound that otherwise would be free from dangerous 
consequences. 
Do skunks have any cry? Old trappers with whom I 
have talked aver that they have a peculiar whistle. But 
in my long acquaintance with the skunk I have always 
found him as dumb as an oyster and a creature to he 
smelled, not heard. Kenewah. 
Vermont. ■ 
The Seaboafd Air Line. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Those who can be shareholders and receive the good 
dividends are to be congratulated, and it is of interest 
to outsiders to know there is such a line, heavily traveled 
and affording safe passage from "down East." Are there 
many that leave the line? On a steamer to Liverpool in 
September last, the second day^at sea I saw a vireo, high- 
hole and sparrowhawk seeking rest about the ship and 
yigging; they were very tired; and I was told others had 
been seen. In their condition, life seemed Ukely to be 
very short. There was no storm to drive them from 
tiie line, J- Quay. 
City-Bred Woods Birds. 
CoMME^TTiNG on Mr. Chas. Hallock's notes on this topic 
in our issue of Jan. 31, Mr. L. H. Smith, of Strathroy, 
Ont., writes to Mr. Hallock: 
'T was very much interested reading your paper. This 
feature of our birds changing their habits according to 
surrounding circumstances is a very interesting study, and 
one which perhaps we- wlio arc lovers of birds and na- 
ture do not follow up as closely as we should. 
"Do not some of our naturalists in their extreme de- 
nunciations of my little feathered brother countryman 
the English sparro-w make a mistake when they accuse 
him of depopulating our towns and suburbs of our native 
birds? Poor Jack! I know he has sins; but he was the 
feathered companion of my childhood in the old country. 
What a triumph of Nimrodian ambition it was to outwit 
a cock .sparrow ! I am, so far as I know, about the only 
true friend he has on this continent. And my report to 
the Department of Agriculture, Washington, some years 
ago was the only favorable one out of hundreds that "were 
sent in. 
"My practical study for many jcears of our birds lias 
led me to believe that they change their habits if the 
surrounding circumstances are such that it is well for 
them to do so. The purple martin was not a city bird 
before there were any cities; it is now. The graclde is 
common on my lawn ; forty years ago he Avas never seen 
there. The oriole swings his pendent nest in an elm at my 
front door, and chippy is in partnership with the English 
sparrow as scavengers at my back doorstep. 
"That noisy rascal the bluejay in that 'baseball suit' 
of his screams defiance at all the vocal powers of the 
otiier inhabitants of my orchard. A saucy yet lovable ras- - 
cal. 
"All our native birds are about my town in summer as 
they always used to be, and the Baltimore oriole is more 
so. The grackle has taken up tOAvn life during the last five 
A'cars. The little bluebird is scarcer than in years gone 
by. Not driven aAvay though by the 'pestiferous' Eng- 
lish sparrow, but by the decimation he suffered a feAV 
years ago from scA'^ere Aveather. He is gaining steadily, 
and I hope to live to see him as plentiful as he ever Avas. 
He is such a gentle little fellow. I can no more im- 
agine spring in our northern country Avithout the blue- 
bird than I can summer Avithout the swallow. 
"I am always pleased to see anything from your pen." 
.Crow Roosts. 
Kansas, Jan. 28. — Editor ForejJ and Stream : I notice 
a request from Mr. W. Stone in one of your late papers 
for information about croAv roosts. From Pennsylvania 
to Kansas is a long way, but the Kansas ctoav must be 
represented. 
There is an enormolls cro\*-- roost oh the farm of 
Leonard King on North Bis Creek in Liberty tOAvnship, 
near Burlington. Kansas. Tavo or three thousand hang 
around the roost from about 2 o'clock in the afternoon 
till dark; and at about sundoAvn the main bodA' comes in 
in countless numbers and fills the trees for acrej?. Earlj' 
in the morning they scatter in all directions very quietly, 
and T am satisfied that sonie of them go'1:went\^ miles or 
more to feed, although mam^ remain in the vicinity all 
day. Mr. King says that the roost has been one of the 
features of his farm for a good many i'earp. 
W. J. DixoN". 
Editor Forest and' Stream : 
Mr. Witmar Stone Avished for information regarding 
crow roosts. FiA'e years ago last autumn I noticed a 
large gathering of croAvs in a grove of hemlock and 
pine on a mountain in an adjoining toAvn a fcAV miles 
from Avhere I reside. Every afternoon at about ,3 o'clock 
members of the band could be seen Avinging their Avay 
to the grove from CA'ery direction, and the place Avas a 
perfect bedlam until the last straggler arriA'ed. Early in 
the morning the band. Avithout a sound, would leave for 
their feeding grounds, to return agfu'n as tiight approached. 
Every year the "croAV camp meeting," as the neighbors 
call the gathering, goes in session about Sept. i and con- 
tinues until cold Aveather forces the croAvs to .start on 
their southward flight. On the day of their departure the 
noise of the company is kept up unceasingly until early 
in the afternoon, Avhen in scattered bands of a dozen or 
more individuals they set forth on their journey, and by 
evening the last croAV has left the .grove. I .should say 
that somewhere from 50a to 800 croAvs gather in the grove 
each fall. S. O. Brush. 
6 Milton, A'ermout. 
Monkey, Man and Hog. 
St. LotTis, Mo., Feb. 3. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
An old hunter once told me that there are only two large 
mammals whose eyes will not shine by reflected light, 
namely, man and hog. 
NoAV, is this true? And if it be true, what are Ave to 
infer? The naturalists tell us that we are descended from 
monkeys, because we have rudimentary tails, Avhich show 
that, ages past. Ave had bona fide tails and used them. 
This evidence is considered sufiiciently conclusive Avith- 
out even a fossil connecting link. 
But the non-shining quality of the human eye is not 
a mere surviA^al of some function long since played out. 
We have it still in prime working order, if a negative 
quality can be said to Avork. And we share this attri- 
bute, they say, Avith only one mammal in all creation— 
the hog! 
I have often suspected a certain kin.ship in nature as 
regarded certain individuals, and this kinship crops out 
most noticeably in camp life. Doubtless you have ob- 
served similar relationships and have thought thoughts 
about them more or less audibly; for instance, on a very 
cold morning, when it was the other felloAv's turn to 
'crawl out and rustle for a breakfast, and you couldn't 
rouse him Avith a pair of boots. 
But the annoying thing about this non-shining busi- 
ness is that it seems to be a universal attribute of pigs and 
humanity, and of nothing else. Cannot some of your read- 
ers discover another mammal whose eyes won't shine 
from a jack-light— no trifling mole, but some fairly de- 
cent animalj to which we could cousin-up without total 
loss of self-rfeSpect? it is comforting, sotnetimes, to be- 
lieve in the Darwinian theory as applied to other people. 
You can say that So-and-So is reverting back to the 
monkey type, while you, of course, have been cleansed 
from such relationship by a;ons of respectability. But 
to confess that you and your own bunkie are still first 
cousins, if not own brothers, to so repulsive a creature 
as — don't mention it=— can Ave not rid ourselves of this 
embarrassment before the naturalists get Avind of the 
item? They would simply revel in it. 
Horace Kephart. 
Caribou Heads. 
Scranton, Pa.. Feb. 3. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Your illustration of Mr. Chas. P. Riardon's thirty-nine 
point Caribou is excellent and the head Undoub.tedly a 
good one. In referring to my diary, as it was kept while 
huntin.g on the White Hills of Newfoundland during the 
fall of 1897, I find the record of a fifty-four point cari- 
bou brought into camp by Mr. E. G. Asmus on Sept. 19 
of that year. This great head, in company Avith nine 
others ranging as to points from 25 to 54. are now occu- 
pying places in private houses, and the largest may be 
seen in the hotne of Mr. E. G. Asmus, of West Hoboken. 
N. J. I consider this to be the finest head in the United 
States. Can any one report anything better? 
A. B. Blair, 
Stray Carrier Pigeon. 
Mr. Leonard' Hulit writes that a chocolate and white 
homing pigeon is held by Mr. PI. A. Sieghertner, of 
Asbury Park, N. J., aAvaiting OAvner's claim. When first 
seen the bird Avas being pursued by a pigeon hawk, and 
darted behind a AvindoAV screen to evade its enemy. It 
lias a gold leg band bearing No. 246. date 1896, 
kt^i^ §Hq md §nn. 
Proprietors of fishing and hunting resorts will find it profitable 
to advertise them in Forest and Stream. 
M^irch 2-15. — National Sportsmen's Association Exposition, New 
York. 
The Megantic Dinner, 
The annual dinner of the Megantic Fish and Game 
Corporation is an event which receives a wealth of an- 
ticipation from scores of New England sportsmen. The 
experience of years gone by has taught them the real 
merit of these occasions in the line of genial compan- 
ionship, and the extension of plans for that which every 
sportsman holds close to his heart, namely, the success- 
ful propagation and better protection of game and fish. 
A.S the years have rolled away these events have come 
to 'be looked upon as a time of general reconciliation 
among those who hold different opinions as to the best 
])olicy to pursue for the cause, and it has become quite 
the fashion to clear aAA'ay all misunderstandings as to 
what .should be the open and close time on game and 
fish, and to close the ranks for united effort. The Bruns- 
wick Hotel, in Boston, was the place, and Saturday 
evening, Feb. 4. the time selected for the Megantic's 
twelfth annual. I have had the good fortune to attend 
these dinners Avithout a break for the last nine years, 
but have never met so many notable sportsmen or wit- 
nessed so much enthusiasm as at this event. The mag- 
nificent banquet hall AA^as handsomely decorated with 
moose, deer and caribou heads, bear and fox skins, and 
birds. Daggett's orchestra and Bob Hyde's colored 
troubadours kept the room ringing with good music, and 
the members and guests found time to join in with all 
the popular songs and negro ballads. The chief speakers 
of the CA-ening Avere Caspar Whitney, of New York; 
La Fayette G. Blair, of Boston, and the Hon. L. T. 
Carleton. chairman of the Maine Fish and Game Com- 
mission, and Mr. Myron Whitney sang the parody on 
the "Three Fishers." 
Mr. W. A. McLeod, president, reported that the club 
membership of 300 was complete, and spoke enthusi- 
astically of the fine condition of the club house, camps, 
boats and trails. Robert Phillips, as superintendent, and 
Mr, Durell, as steward, have been re-engaged, and the 
supplies for the coming season are all ready in place. 
Owing to the advance in price on lumber a large timber 
tract owned by the club had become very A^aluable, and 
financially speaking the club is in a position to pay its 
entire indebtedness, including bonds, and will then have 
a few hundred dollars to spare. Members occasionally 
Avander away to other parts of Maine, but ahvays return' 
to better appreciate the comforts and good qualities of 
the club preserve. Mr. McLeod spoke of the antagon- 
ism the club had met with years ago, and how it had 
happily all passed away, and closed his remarks with 
an elociuent tribute to the management of thejate war. 
which Avas sufficient to bring the company to its feet in 
a frantic burst of cheers for the Nation's President. 
Mr. Caspar Whitney held the close attention of all 
present by his interesting story of musk-ox and caribou 
hunting in the great NorthAvest barren grounds. 
An air of expectancy pervaded the hall regarding the 
presence of Chairman Carleton, of the Maine Commis- 
sion. There has been a lot of ncAvspaper talk about the 
radical changes AA^hich the Commission proposed to rec- 
ommend to the Maine Legislature regarding game and 
fish laws, and all present were anxious to learn the facts. 
Mr. Carleton spoke as folloAvs: "I am pleased to see 
the zeal exhibited by Megantic Club members to pro- 
tect their game. The people of my State are no longer 
suspicious of you, and are glad to welcome you at all 
times. You have set a good example for the rest of the 
State. The Maine Fish and Game Commission are not 
responsible for all petitions and bills introduced about 
fish and game. The Commission has not yet introduced 
a single bill. Next week, however, Ave will introduce a 
bill Avhich will become a law. This bill has the approval 
of the Maine State Fish and Game Association. It is 
proposed to give the courts discretion regarding the 
viojation of the moose law, makijig penalty a fine or im- 
