484 
that cries "qua, qua," and it is a sign that she is with 
young, and she is always alone when she cries. The 
black squirrel will live in perfect harmony with the 
gray or fox squirrels, but will not tolerate the presence 
of rats or mice near their nest. 
Where there are no destructive boys, and your premises 
are well protected from gitnners. you can repeat my ex- 
perience by placing the squirrels in boxes and setting 
the boxes firmly in trees, being sure that you give 
them an abundant supply of food, for they must store 
up a certain supply of nuts before they will breed, though 
they will mate readily without any great store. As 
long as squirrels are fed they will not attempt to leave 
their nest; in fact, the least noise or excitement sends 
them scurrying off to their nest. They like their nest 
to have as small an entrance as possible. Manila bag- 
ging; leaves or paper should be given them to make 
their nests of, but on no account give cotton or wool. 
Wool harbors flees, and cotton, dampness. Many in- 
teresting stories could I relate of the black squirrel as a 
pet, but I will reserve these, as Forest and Stream is 
not a pet stock journal. 
Economic Ornithology in the 
United States. 
In the "'Year Book of the Department of Agriculture 
for iSgg'' Dr. T. S. Palmer, assistant chief of the Biolog- 
ical Survey, prints an exceedingly interesting paper on 
this subject. The review is comprehensive, covering a 
wide range in time and subject. 
Economic ornithology is defined as the study of birds 
from the standpoint of dollars and cents. It deals with 
birds in their relations to man, especially as to agricul- 
ture, trade and sport. Thus the farmer, the fruit grower, 
game dealer, milliner and sportsman all have an inter- 
est of one sort or another in birds. Some of the relations 
of birds to man are very simple, others exceedingly in- 
tricate. It is only within a few years that the relation of 
birds to agriculture has been at all understood, although, 
as Dr. Palmer points out — in theory — this should have 
. been one of the first branches of ornithology to receive 
attention. The history of American ornithology be- 
gan in the middle of the sixteenth century, but now, the 
chief interest of most of these notes lies in their oddity. 
It was only about 1850 that the usefulness of birds to 
man began to be appreciated, and until after 1870 the 
work done to determine what this is was spasmodic 
and sporadic. 
In 1880 Prof. S. A. Forbes drew attention to the 
proper methods of learning Avhat effect on man, if any, 
the different species of birds had. Since that time there 
has been done a vast deal of work in this direction, in 
which, within the last fourteen or fifteen years, the bio- 
logical Survey under Dr. C. Hart Merriam— but not al- 
ways under that name — has taken the chief part. It has 
conducted systematic and continuous investigations, ac- 
cumulating an extraordinary amount of material, of 
v/hich only a part has yet been examined. Besides study- 
ing this material from a scientific standpoint, this divi- 
sion of the Department of Agriculture has done a great 
deal to popularize the knowledge of our birds, and has in 
every way lent its aid toward increasing the common 
knowledge about them, well understanding that the more 
that is known about the birds the better they will be pro- 
tected. 
Wheii We coine to consider the commercial uses 
of birds it is obvious that the products which they 
furnish are to be consumed and that therefore traffic in 
wild birds u.sually means their destruction. The eggs of 
birds are gathered for sale, their skins or feathers are col- 
lected or their flesh is used for food. The millinery trade 
has practically exterminated several native species, and as 
plume birds become scarce, insectivorous birds are used 
in millinery. ■ 
The destruction of game is considered in some detail. 
Dr. Palmer instances the case of the prairie hen, formerly 
found from the Atlantic to beyond the Missouri River, 
and of course that of the wild pigeon. The question of 
egging is discussed, and attention is called to the good 
work of the lighthouse board in 1897, by which egging 
for market on the Farallones Islands was put an end to. 
The matter of egging and of the destruction of wildfowl 
by lighthouse keepers and life-saving crews is one that is 
likely to receive more and more attention as the interest 
in birds increases. These are abuses which the Forest 
AND Stream has been pointing out for something like 
twenty years. 
The destruction of plume and other birds for millinery 
■ purposes is a familiar story; much less so, of course, is 
that about the guano industry, concerning which many 
interesting facts are given. 
The latter half of Dr. Palmer's paper treats of measures 
for the destruction, preservation and introduction of 
birds. Of these subjects the first is the bounty law which 
has been enacted at different times in many States against 
hawks, owls, crows, blackbirds and certain fish-eating 
birds. All these bounty laws are not only very harmful in 
themselves, but put such a premium on fraud and dis- 
honesty that most of them have soon been repealed. Ten 
pages of Dr. Palmer's report are occupied in a discussion 
of game laws and the introduction of foreign birds, and the 
material is all well worth reading. He discusses the oft 
repeated fallacies with regard to many species of birds 
and calls attention to the fact that the lack of protection 
of the migratory birds is at last beginning to be felt. He 
also quotes from a discussion of the Ohio law of 1861 
concerning the passenger pigeon the following remarks, 
curiously interesting for their disregard of fact and of 
syntax: 
"The passenger pigeon needs no protection. Wonder- 
fully prolific, having the vast forests of the_ North as its 
breeding grounds, traveling hundreds of miles in search 
of food, it is here to-day and elsewhere to-morrow, and 
no ordinary destruction can lessen them or be missed 
from the myriads that are yearly produced.- * * * The 
snipe, too, like the pigeon, will take care of itself, and its 
yearly numbers cannot be materially lessened by the gun. 
The wild goose does not perhaps need general protection, 
thoup-h if any linger here till near breeding time they 
should be spared." ... 
The importance of the uniform game laws is again in- 
sisted on, but the difificulty of securing these is well rec- 
ognized. Dr. Palmer calls attention to the Forest and 
Stream's suggestion that the sale of game should be for- 
bidden, notes that such a provision has been inserted in 
the game laws of several States, and that a number of in- 
dividuals and associations have recently taken up the 
project and are trying to secure its general adoption. 
On the whole the paper from which we have quoted is 
one of great interest. 
Pinnated Grouse in Martha's 
Vineyard, 
Boston, Mass. — Editor Forest and Stream: I have 
been trying for years, as you know, to run to earth the 
story that some one at some time let loose some Western 
prairie chickens upon Martha's Vineyard. I have never 
been able to find any source for this report, whether it be 
myth or history. Writing to Mr. Brewster about it the 
other day, I gQt a letter from Walter Dean, saying that 
Mr. Brewster credits the story and fears that the inter- 
grading between the two species, such as are left, will soon 
destroy the purity of the original stock. Mr. Dean says 
there was an article in Forest and Sti{Eam a few years 
ago telling of this introduction of Western birds to the 
island. Now can you tell me if this is true, and if so in 
what number it appeared? I hope you have an index 
of all your issues. 1 think the story would be sufficient' y 
interesting for republication, and if it can be found 1 
hereby make request for it. C. H. Ame.s. 
But Mr. Brewster, after investigating the story of 
pinnated grouse importation, discredited it. He wrote in 
Forest and Stijeam of Sept. 25, 1890, in the course of an 
account of the heath hen : "There is a belief, current 
on the Vineyard as well as elsewhere in Massachusetts, 
that at one time many years ago the primitive stock of 
heath hens ran so low that W^estern grouse were imported 
and liberated to bring it up again. At both Cottage City 
and West Tisbury 1 was assured of the truth of this 
report, and some of my informants went so far as to de- 
clare that the native birds were utterly destroyed by the 
severe winter of 1858-59, and that the present stock is 
wholly of Western origin. One Dr. Ezra Fisher, of 
Edgartown, was generally credited with having obtained 
the fresh birds — from Illinois, it was said. Upon visiting 
Edgartown I found that Dr. Fisher was no longer living; 
but one of his sons, Mr. David Fisher, assured me that 
the only foundation for the stor}' Avas the fact that his 
father, in the spring of 1859, imported and liberated a 
number of quail and ruffed grouse. The native quail had 
been practically exterminated by the rigor of the preceding- 
winter. The ruffed, grouse, so far as he knew, had never 
before existed on the island. The heath hens had always 
been there — as far hack as memory or tradition went — ^and 
to the best of his knowledge and belief the native stock 
had never received any infusion whatever of foreign 
blood." 
Philadelphia Zoological Society. 
The annual report of the board of directors of the 
Zoological Society of Philadelphia has just been pub- 
lished, and is, as usual, interesting. From it we learn that 
the membership of the society, exclusive of the loan 
holders, is 1,916; that the paying attendance for the year 
w-as nearly 200,000 persons; that the total receipts from 
admissions were $27,882.16, an increase over the previous 
year of more than $7,000. In April last Dr. Camac, the 
foimder and first president of the society, died. It was 
through his efforts that the society was granted a charter 
in 1859, and on its first organization he became its presi- 
dent. The permanent establishment of the societ3\ how- 
ever, was delayed until 1872, when Dr. Camac was re- 
elected president, and continued to hold the oflice until 
April, 1878, when, feeling that the preliminary work had 
been done, he resigned. A portrait of Dr. Camac faces 
the title page in this year's report. 
At the close of the society's year, Feb. 28, 1900, its col- 
lections consisted of 1,134 living specimens, of which 386 
were mammals, 506 birds, 224 reptiles and 18 batrachians. 
Among the birds, mammals and reptiles are a number 
that have never before been exhibited in the garden. 
Mr. Brown has bepn remarkably .successful in breeding 
animals in confinement. His record for the year shows 
7 monkeys of different sorts. 10 gray wolves. 9 prairie 
wolves and a considerable number of deer and antelope, 
with a less number of birds and reptiles. Among the 
births were five bison. Among the deaths was a cinna- 
mon bear from Utah, which had lived in the garden for 
more than twenty-six years. 
The closing paragraphs of the secretary's report, under 
the heading "Preservation of Game," ought to carry 
very great weight with the society and with the State of 
Pennsylvania, which might well grant to the society a 
large tract of its wild land and an appropriation for the 
care of this land, for the purposes suggested by Mr. 
Brown. It is the custom of the Keystone State to stand 
well to the front in all good works, and it is very fitting 
that the Philadelphia Zoological Society should take the 
lead in a matter of this importance and public interest. 
Mr. Brown says: ' "The increasing difficulty of procuring 
specimens of some of the more important animals be- 
longing to North America should direct the attention of 
the society to one of its most proper functions — that of 
encouraging and promoting the preservation of game. 
"It would appear probable that among the large tracts 
of land which are being acquired by the State of Penn- 
syh^ania as a forest preserve there should be some 
which will offer opportunity whereby some of our native 
animals which are still resident but in decreasing num- 
bers, such as thfe common deer, the wild turkey and the 
ruffed grouse, may be indefinitely preserved, and ner- 
haps others, such as the elk, be re-established. This 
noble animal was formerly abundant in mountainous 
regions, and it is not yet fifty years siiice the killing of the 
last one known within the State. It is certain that with 
suitable forest tracts of sufficient extent, and with ade- 
quate protection, this species could, at small X.o$t, bs 
again established as a resident. 
"The buffalo is not mentioned in this connection, al- 
though up to the close of the last century it was still 
found about the Allegheny River, for the reason that it is 
now probably too late to do more than retard its extinc- 
tion for a few generations. Experience which has been 
had with the European bison gives ground for the belief 
that enough of these animals do not now remain to avert 
the potent cause of degeneration — inbreeding. Although, 
if a general and determined effort to preserve the species 
were to be made, the most hopeful results would be 
reached by establishing a number of herds in widely 
separated localities in the United States, where exposure 
to different conditions of soil, food and climate, in- 
fluencing in some degree the development of the animals 
subjected to them, would produce strains slightly unlike 
in constitution. Much benefit might be expected from 
the exchange of breeding animals from these separated 
localities." 
Extinct Animals* 
In the Jesuit Relations, the good father Hierosme 
Lalement, writing from Quebec, Oct. 28, 1646, says: 
"There is found here a species of deer different from 
the common ones of France. Our French call them 
'wild cows,' but they are really deer; their branching 
horns have no likeness to the horns of our oxen, and 
their bodies are very dissimilar and of much greater 
height. These animals go in troops, but to assist one 
another during the winter they follow one after another, 
the first ones breaking the way for those that come after; 
and when the one which breaks and opens up the path 
is tired it places itself last in the beaten path. The deer 
in France do the same in crossing a river when they 
happen to be in a herd. According to report, these ani- 
mals hardly stop in one place, continually traveling with- 
in these great forests. The Elks do the contrary. 
Though they walk together, they observe no order, 
browsing here and there, without straying far from the 
same shelter. This is what prompted some days ago a 
Savage, Avho wished to become sedentary, to say that 
the Elks were French, and that other sort of roving 
deer Algonquins, because the latter go to seek their living 
hither and thither within these great forests, and the 
French are stationary, tilling the earth at the place where 
the}"- make their abode. Besides these deer, there are two 
other species — one of which is similar or which has much 
likeness to our deer of France, the other of which is be- 
lieved to be the Onager or wild ass of the Scripture, It 
would be using repetitions to attempt to speak of them 
in this place." 
"The Last Adirondack Moose/' 
C.'^nton, N. Y., June 11. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
In your article, "The Last Adirondack Moose," of June 
9, you say : "A moose was killed at or near Mud Lake in 
the lower Saranac region in 1856. This may be the one 
recently referred to in Forest and Stream." If the writer 
had in mind my statement in issue of May 26, no. The 
Mud Lake I referred to isn't in the Saranac region at 
all; it is all or nearly all in St. Lawrence county. My 
people moved into the township of Finen Pond, a distant 
part of the county, in 1857. It was after that date, and 
other circumstances that I remember make me place the 
date in '58 or '59. Again, I did not say the moose was 
killed near Mud Lake, but, as I had understood, not far 
from Bog Lake. J. H. R. 
'nnie md ^m. 
Moose Hunting in Maine. 
BY JOS. W. SHURTER. 
If the student in geography will take a map of Maine 
and a pair of dividers and set them with one point at the 
city of Augusta and the other point at Bangor, and will 
then describe a circle on the map, having Augusta for its 
center, he will find that while he has inclosed but one-fifth 
of the area of the State within the circle, this fifth con- 
tains nine-tenths of the population of the State. The other 
four-fifths, about 25,000 square miles, is mostly a vast 
unbroken wilderness, traversed only by the tote road of 
the lumberman, brawling brooks and rushing rivers, and 
thickly dotted with lakes and ponds. The latter literally 
swarm with countless myriads of trout and other valuable 
food fishes, while the forests are the abiding place of 
game — birds and animals — the varieties and numbers of 
which are simply astonishing. In the sections most re- 
rhote from the settlements these denizens of the woods 
have not yet learned to fear man. The doughty Nimrod 
whose skill in the use of the modern breechloader is taxed 
to its utmost to stop the lightning-like flight of our edu- 
cated grouse can here knock its unsophisticated cousin 
on the head with his walking stick. The would-be deer 
stalker, whose initial lessons with deer that have been 
much hunted have been productive of nothing but failure 
and disgust, can here find fields suited to his capacity. 
Stalking deer in Maine is something like stalking cows 
in a pasture lot. The novice will probably kill several 
before he comes to his senses and asks himself why he 
does it. He cannot take them out of the woods, and he 
will have a far better opinion of himself if he limits hi.s 
killing to what is required by his necessities. As to the 
others which he might kill, let him study them, and ad- 
mire theni while their curiosity impels them to linger- 
within range of the deadly rifle, and then bid thern go on 
their way unharmed. There is more sport in this than 
there is in converting such beautiful creatures into re- 
pulsive heaps of carrion simply to gratify the desire to 
kill. 
There are different ways of visiting this paradise of 
the sportsman which are suited to all the conditions of 
life. Let the wealthy, the overworked man of business 
and the physically incompetent nlace themselves in the 
hands of a reliable guide, who will take them "on flowery 
beds of ease" into the very heart of the wilderness. They 
can lull luxuriou!5ly on the cushions of the canoe while 
„they revel amid the beauties of nature unadorned, each 
bend of the sinuous stream unfolding fresh vistas to their 
admiring gaze as the silent paddle and rushing tide bear 
them onward, each forest girt lake adding to their wonder 
at the extent of this sylvan domain and the prodigality 
