July i6, 1904.] 
4§ 
disturbed by the presence of men, but not showing them- 
selves at the surface of the water.' 
"Another traveler, Le Mesle, describes a concert of 
singing fishes in his 'Journey to Cambodia.' 'Each one of 
the executants,' he says, 'emits, as in Russian music, only 
a single note — full, long, and grave — a sound like that of 
an ophicleide. These make up a most extraordinary en- 
semble; each executant plays a unique air in a different 
key. The tones arise everywhere — before, behind, in the 
boat, and the water in which they are produced gives them 
a peculiar quality of tone. The author of this melan- 
choly melody is a fish with a large, flat head * * * 
reaching sometimes- 1 to 1^ meters in length. The natives 
call it Machovian. It is greenish, spotted, with silvery 
belly, and has short antennae on the snout.' 
"We also have a talking-fish — the grondin [red gurnet], 
well known to naturalists as having a sort of feet, and to 
cooks as excellent eating. When it is taken from the 
water, it makes a noise more or less loud,; which has given 
it is name [from the French wonder, to growl or snarl] . 
This sound is certainly produced by the passage of the gas 
from the swimming-bladder, which the fish can compress 
at will. 'A learned Marseilles naturalist,' says H. E. 
Sauvage, 'conceived the idea of profiting by this aptitude 
of singing-fish, and he placed at the bottom of the water, 
in captivity in nets, male gurnets for the purpose of at- 
tracting fishes of the opposite sex. * * * The attempt 
was reasonably successful, but it requires much patience, 
and this kind of fishing would probably suit only a small 
number of amateurs.' 
"Several other kinds of fish are able to sing, but their 
identity is not certain in many cases. The doree [John 
Dory], or fish of St. Peter, manifests its presence at low 
tide by a sort of clucking that has given it the name of 
'water-chicken.' A batiste [trigger-fish] gives out 
plaintive and melancholy sounds, like the creaking of a 
wagon wheel. A pristipome imitates exactly the quack of 
a duck. Even the tunny can thrust its head out of water 
and sing in a voice that recalls a crying infant." 
The Frog's Ptovender. 
New York, July 11. — Editor Forest and Stream: I am 
glad to follow Dr. Piatt's injunction to rise up and testify 
in the matter of the food devoured by frogs,, My remarks 
will not be long, but I trust they will be to the point. 
Many years ago when collecting birds in southern New 
England, I shot on the salt marshes a swallow, which fell 
in a shallow pool in the marsh. My brother, who hap- 
pened to be standing near the pool, saw the bird fall, and 
saw a huge bullfrog make two or three sprawling leaps 
over the mud and through the water, and swallow the 
bird. When I came up, the head of the bullfrog still re- 
mained above water with the wings of the swallow stick- 
ing out of the corners of his mouth. 
Recently a story was told me by a friend who resides at 
Flushing L. I., of certain happenings on a neighbor's 
place. 
This neighbor has some water inclosed, in which he 
keeps some domesticated wildfowl, and not long ago the 
opportunity occurring to purchase five gigantic bullfrogs, 
he introduced them into the water. 
This spring, as it seemed a possibility that some of his 
wild duck could breed, an effort was made to get rid of the 
frogs, for fear they might injure the ducklings, and three 
cf them were killed, but the other two could not be found. 
Some time in May a female pintail duck came off with 
three young ones, which after two or three days disap- 
peared, and were not seen again. A day or two after 
their disappearance, the missing bullfrogs were seen and 
killed and in their stomachs were found the remains of 
the little pintails. I fancy that there is nothing living that 
a bullfrog will not eat. G. B. G. 
The Zoological Society's New Mammals. 
It may not be generally known that at the New York 
Zoological Park there are a pair of European bison pur- 
chased from the Prince of Plees, having been bred in his 
forest in Silesia. 
These animals are about five years old, and are doing 
well. They are believed to be the first of the kind ever 
received in America. 
The Aquarium has recently received a pair of manatees 
from Lake Worth, Fla. The larger of the two is 3^ feet 
long. ' This is larger than the one which died at the 
Aquarium a few months ago. 
The fine lioness Cleopatra recently gave birth to a litter 
of cubs, the number of which is not as yet known. It is 
thought that there are at. least three, and perhaps more. 
Cleopatra is the mother of another fine litter of young 
lions now almost half grown. Lion breeding promises to 
be an industry of some importance at the New York 
Zoological Park, where, if we recollect aright, there are 
now eight young lions, all strong and healthy, and about 
the size of a good big St. Bernard dog. 
Frog's Food, Suspended Animation. 
Buffalo, N. Y., July 10. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
J he two articles, "The Frog's Provender," by Dr. Piatt, 
and Suspended Animation," by Charles Cristadoro, re- 
mind me of two incidents coming under these head lines. 
Ihe first happened when I was a boy, on the Indian 
River, this State. I was making a collection of birds, and 
one day my brother shot a spotted sandpiper from the 
boat ; it fell into the water and before we could get to it 
a large bullfrog had swallowed all but part of one wing, 
and was making frantic efforts to get under water with 
it, but was easily captured, and the frog's legs were eaten. 
Mr. Cristadoro is not the only one who has been 
laughed at for telling frozen fish stories, but I keep on 
telling mine, and here it goes again: Two years ago last 
winter I walked down to the lake shore one noon and 
bought a string of blue pike from one of the many fisher- 
men coming in from out on the ice, where they make their 
living during the time the lake is frozen over. I took 
these fish, which were frozen hard, to my office, and put 
them out on the window sill. At night when I went home 
they were put in water to thaw out, and in a few minutes 
showed unmistakable signs of life. I think they would 
have lived had they had sufficient quantity of water. 
Wil fred P. Davison. 
Bird Notes from the Zoological Park. 
Ornithologists will be interested in the contributions 
to _ the last Zoological Bulletin — July, 1904 — by Mr. C. 
William Beebe, Curator of Birds in the Society's park. 
Mr. Beebe has this year found breeding in the park Law- 
rence's warbler (Helminthophila lazvrencei, Herrick), of 
which only twelve specimens have been recorded. This is 
the first instance known of the breeding of this species. 
. Mr. Beebe also gives a very interesting illustrated arti- 
cle on the hatching and rearing of certain sea birds. Hav- 
ing brought back from the Virginia coast some eggs to be 
used in the study of embryology, Mr. Beebe finding on his 
arrival that the eggs were still alive, put them in an incu- 
bator, where they hatched. These birds were common 
tern, black skimmer, laughing gull and green heron. The 
detail of Mr. Beebe's observation is well worth reading. 
All communications for Forest and Stream must be 
directed to Forest and Stream Pub. Co., New York, to 
receive attention. We have 110 other office. 
American Big Game in its Haunts.* 
The Boone and Crockett Club is an organization well 
known to most sportsmen, and this book is the fourth of 
its important publications. The three others — "American 
Big-Game Hunting," "Hunting in Many Lands," and 
"Trail and Camp-Fire" — have all appeared within tbe last 
ten or twelve years, and. have had a wide currency, not 
only among big-game hunters, but also among foresters, 
and generally among those persons who are interested in 
making the wisest use of the natural products that our 
country affords. 
The Boone and Crockett Club has had a creditable 
share in many worthy operations that have taken place 
since its founding. Largely through the influence of its 
members an efficient law was passed governing the Yel- 
lowstone Park. It has had not a little to do with the 
growth of a wholesome public sentiment in the United 
States with regard to the forest preservation and planting, 
and one of its members has long been United States 
Forester. It had much to do with bringing into existence 
the New York Zoological Society, and practically every- 
thing to do with the growth and influence of that Society, 
which now operates what is probably the finest zoological 
park in the world, as well as the New York Aquarium. 
The Boone and Crockett Club was founded in Decem- 
ber, 1887, Mr. Theodore Roosevelt having suggested the 
idea of a club of big-game hunters at a dinner given to 
a few friends in his New York home in December of that 
year. Since the club began the publication of its. books', 
he has been on the editorial committee, and it is only 
from this volume that "his name has been omitted as one 
of the editors. It is fitting, then, that this fourth volume 
of the Club's publications should open with a sketch of the 
President — so brief that it is little more than a catalogue 
of the things that he has done, without any comment on 
them. The frontispiece of the volume is the best photo- 
graph of the President that we have seen. 
The opening sketch is followed by a splendid account 
from the President's own pen of his trip in the spring of 
1903 to certain "Wilderness Reserves," of which he writes. 
Of these, the Yellowstone National Park is by far the 
most important, because of its great size, and because for 
a number of years it has been efficiently protected against 
poachers by the United States troops. "The Park is an ob- 
ject lesson showing very clearly what complete game pro- 
*American Big Game in its Haunts, The Book of the Boone 
and Crockett Club. Editor, George Bird Grinnell. New York: 
Forest and Stream Publishing Co. Cloth, illustrated, pp. 497* 
Price, $2.50. 
tection will do to perpetuate species, and Mr. Roosevelt's 
account of what he has seen there is so convincing that all 
who read it and appreciate the importance of preserving our 
large mammals must become advocates of the forest re- 
serve game refuge system." Mr. Roosevelt's article is full 
of spirit and feeling, and he throws himself into the 
scenes which surround him in these reserves with the 
same earnestness and energy that mark all his actions. 
His chapters are very fully illustrated with photographs 
of bears and sheep and elk and antelope and deers and 
bison and small birds- — pictures which might well make 
Mr. Wallihan sigh with envy. The closing paragraph of 
the article is an earnest plea for game protection — as good 
a one as perhaps was ever written : "Surely our people do 
not understand even yet the rich heritage that is theirs. 
There can be nothing more beautiful than the Yosemite, 
its groves of giant sequoias and redwoods, the canon of 
the Colorado, the canon of the Yellowstone, the three 
Tetons ; and the representatives of the people should see 
to> it that they are preserved for the people forever, with 
their majestic beauty all unmarred." 
In a very entertaining chapter on the "Zoology of North 
American Big Game," Mr. Arthur Erwin Brown, eminent 
as a zoologist, and well known as the secretary of the Phila- 
delphia Zoological Society, : answers the question, "What 
is the difference between the bison and the buffalo, and 
which is the American animal ?" and in doing so gives us 
a very full, and at the same time simple, statement as to 
the relationships of most species of North American big 
game. The paper is full of information which to most of 
us is absolutely new, but its perusal will give the reader 
a clear view of the salient characteristics of these North 
American species, with many suggestions as to where they 
came from. 
Under the general head, "Big-Game Shooting in 
Alaska," Mr. James H. Kidder has written five very inter- 
esting chapters, many of them abounding in thrilling ad- 
venture, which will delight the heart of the big-game hun- 
ter. Pie tells of "Bear Hunting on Kadiak Island," "Bear 
Hunting on the Alaska Peninsula," "My Big Bear of 
Shuyak," "The White Sheep of Kenai Peninsula," and 
"Hunting the Giant Moose." Nor does Mr. Kidder tell 
us merely of hunting, for in reading his fascinating pages 
we learn much of the life in the far north, its hardships, 
and its pleasures. This is one of the things that came 
under Mr. Kidder's observation: 
"The bear had fed well out into the meadow, not far 
from a small clump of trees. In order to reach this 
clump of trees, Blake and Ivan were obliged to wade quite 
a deep stream and had removed their clothes. Unfortun- 
ately, my friend carelessly left his coat, in the pocket of 
which was all the extra cartridges of his and Ivan's rifles. 
"I saw them reach the clump of trees and then turned the 
glasses on the bear. At the first shot he sprang back in 
surprise, while Blake's bullet went high. The bear now 
located the shot, and began a quick retreat to the woods, 
when one of my friend's bullets struck him, rolling him 
over. Pie instantly regained his feet, and continued mak- 
ing for cover, walking slowly and looking back over his 
shoulder all the while. Blake now fired _ another shot, 
and again the bear was apparently badly hit. He moved 
at such a slow pace that I thought he had surely received 
a mortal wound. 
"Entirely against orders, Ivan now shot three times in 
quick succession, hitting the bear with one shot in the 
hind leg, his other shots being misses. Blake now rushed 
after the bear with his hunter following some fifty yards 
behind, and apnroached to within ten steps, when he fired 
his last cartridge, hitting the bear hard. The beast fell 
upon its head, but once more regaining its feet, continued 
toward the woods. At this point Ivan fired his last car- 
tridge, but missed. The bear continued for several steps, 
while, the two hunters stood with empty rifles Watching. 
Suddenly, quick as a flash, he swung around upon his 
hind legs and gave one spring after Blake, who, not 
understanding his Aleut's shouts not to run, started across 
the marsh with the bear in close pursuit. _ At every step 
the bear was gaining, and Ivan, appreciating that unless 
the bear's attention was distracted, my friend would soon 
be pulled down, began waving his arms and shouting at 
the top of his voice, in order to attract the bear's attention 
from Blake. The latter saw that his hunter was standing 
firm, and taking in the situation, suddenly stopped. The 
bear charged to within a few feet of the two men, but 
when he saw their determined stand, paused, and swing- 
ing his head from side to side, watched them for some 
seconds, apparently undecided whether to charge home or 
leave them. Then he turned, and looking back over his 
shoulder, made slowly for the woods. 
"This bear while charging had his head stretched for- 
ward, ears flat, and teeth clinched, with his lips drawn 
well back and his eyes glaring. I am convinced that it 
was only Ivan's great presence of mind which prevented 
a most serious accident." 
Dr. W. Lord Smith's contribution to this book treats 
also of Alaska, for he writes of "The Kadiak Bear and 
its Home." 
Mr. George Bird Grinnell contributes a generous chap- 
ter on the "Mountain Sheep and Its Range ;" Mr. Henry 
Fairfield Osborn one on the "Preservation of Our Wild 
Animals," recently published in the Forest and Stream ; 
while Mr. Madison Grant, secretary alike of the Zoologi- 
