Oct. is, 1904-1 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
819 
some of them as much as six feet deep. At the bottom 
of the hole in a nest, constructed of a little dry grass 
and a few old feathers, the puffin lays its single in- 
significant looking egg, grayish-white in color. It is 
about as big as a hen's, although the bird itself is little 
larger than a pigeon. The guillemots and auks, too, 
both of which lay on the bare rock without making any at- 
tempt at a nest, have comparatively large eggs, about 
the size of a goose's. The puffin is an interesting bird 
to watch, with its disproportionately large, black and 
red striped bill, in which it can, according to the crags- 
men, stow away as many as sixty of the small herring 
on which it feeds its young. These it arranges with 
the heads inside its bill and the rest hanging out, so 
that when they come flying home with the thin bodies 
of the herring fluttering in the wind, they look from 
a distance as if they wore beards. They can walk with 
difficulty only. In their gait they resemble a drunken 
man, or a child that cannot get along without its 
mother's .dress to hold on to; but in this respect they 
are better than the guillemots, which are even more 
helpless. 
Then there come the shearwaters, which build in the 
same way as the other puffins, and whose eggs are so 
like those of the latter that the cragsmen only can dis- 
tinguish between them. The young ones are very fat 
and are considered a great delicacy. 
How near to death the Faroese cragsmen knows 
himself to be when engaged in his dangerous employ- 
ment, appears from the fact that it used to be the cus- 
tom — and in some places remains so still — for him, be- 
fore starting on an expedition, to bid farewell to all 
his friends. 
When preparations are being made for such an ex- 
cursion, which may entail a stay among the cliffs of 
some fourteen days, it is interesting to observe with 
what keenness the boys who are going for the first 
time enter into all the details, seeing carefully to their 
poles, nets, etc. Where the bird rock is on the same 
island and not at any very great distance from the 
village, a boat is not usually employed, but as a rule 
it is necessary. Among the methods for capturing the 
sea-fowl, there are three more particularly which may 
be described; namely, Drottur, Flyging and Fygling. The 
first of these is employed only in regard to the puffins, 
and consists simply in taking the birds as they sit on 
their nests in the deep holes they dig with their sharp 
claws. Sometimes they are so far in that they cannot 
be reached, in which case a stick with a hook attached 
used to be had recourse to; now, however, this cruel 
method has been given up, and the fowler instead 
widens the mouth of the hole until he can lay hands 
on the occupant. When captured the puffins are very 
savage, and bite and scratch with a will; and the un- 
practiced hand can generally show a good many scars 
got in this way. 
Flyging is more interesting and distinctly more sport- 
ing, the birds being taken when on the wing; and in 
this connection there are some curious features. While 
the laying birds are on the nests, the younger guille- 
mots and puffins not thus occupied spend time at sea; 
but when the eggs have been hatched, they return to 
the cliff in huge flocks. But this land-coming, as it is 
called, proceeds in a particular manner as if in ac- 
cordance with a pre-arranged plan, the birds remaining 
away and returning upon certain days. While on one 
day the rock will appear comparatively deserted, only 
resident birds coming with food for their young and 
going again, the next it will be swarming with life. It 
is marvelous to observe what order prevails in this 
seeming chaos. When a brood strikes the cliff, then 
flying begins at once; all the thousand upon thousands 
of birds must out for exercise. No irregularity, how- 
ever, is permitted; all goes with military precision. If, 
for instance, the wind came from the east the flighting 
commences toward the west close along the face of 
the rock, after which, when the water end has been 
reached, the birds fly outward, then to the east, in again, 
and so along the face of the rock once more. The com- 
plete circle always progresses in the same direction^ If 
this order were not maintained, incessant collisions 
would be the result. Occasionally a giddy youngster 
tries flying in the opposite direction to his fellows, but 
hardly has he started when he comes into violent con- 
tact with one of these, and both fall into the sea. The 
fulmars are a great nuisance to the circling birds; they 
seem incapable of discipline. Each rushes about in ac- 
cordance with its own good will and pleasure; disorder 
prevails wherever they go, and collisions are frequent 
in consequence. 
As already remarked, the guillemots have their habi- 
tations on the rocky cliff itself, while the puffins live 
upon the other slopes of greensward above that oc- 
cur here and there upon its face. It is interesting to 
observe the circle when it comes to the line of de- 
markation between these two kinds of birds. Looking 
up to and toward the advancing puffins, it appears as 
it a sea of snowballs were coming on, and the rapid 
wing strokes only dispel the illusion; but seen from be- 
hind there is no trace of white and a black cloud only 
is visible. Looking down on the gyrating guillemots, 
nothing but dark forms are to be seen, the black backs 
only being apparent. 
Throughout the performance single birds may be ob- 
served leaving the main body in order to rest on the 
rock, rejoining the circle after a brief space. It is when 
the birds thus flight that the method of capture, known 
as flyging, yields good results and becomes interesting. 
With the assistance of a net attached to two arms at 
the end of a twelve-foot pole the fowler takes the birds 
as, in the course of their circular journey, they pass 
close to the cliff; and in this manner it is no difficult 
matter for a single cragsman to capture from 500 to 600 
birds in a day, while as many as a thousand have been 
thus taken. 
The third method of capture, called fyglingar, is em- 
ployed only for guillemots and auks. The instrument 
used resembles the one above referred to, but the pole 
is shorter and thicker, and the net is bigger and has 
larger meshes. To> fygla is to capture the guillemot 
either while sitting upon its ledge, or when it flies from 
1 thence, by holding the net at the outer edge. The 
Faroese bird cliffs average from 800 to 1,000 feet, and 
in some cases they attain a height of 2,000 feet. In con- 
nection with the method last referred to the "bjerg line" 
is invariably used, and to swing by this in mid-air on 
the face of a precipice swarming with the birds, and 
with a thundering surf underneath, is the ambition of 
even/ plucky Faroese boy. To see an accomplished 
cragsman swing himself in on to one of the terraces 
beneath some huge overhanging mass, when the line 
has been paid out some 120 fathoms or more, is a won- 
derful sight. With the mighty precipice overhead, and 
the roar of the turbulent waters beneath, surrounded by 
thousands of birds all uttering their wild cries, he swings 
in toward the rock and out again, without once revolv- 
ing, until he can reach and throw himself on to the 
ledge. When he has obtained foothold, he gives his 
companions on the edge of the cliff above notice to ease 
off by jerking at the thin cord which connects him with 
them; then he detaches the rope from his body, hauls 
in a lot of slack, and makes the end fast. After that he 
sets to work upon the ledge, which is often very narrow 
and contracted. Time after time the rut is filled with 
birds, and both hands not being always available to ap- 
ply the fatal squeeze, his teeth sometimes come in handy. 
If the weather permit, a boat lies beneath ready to pick 
up the victims as they are thrown over, or the crags- 
man attaches them to his person, and takes them with 
him when he leaves. When ready to ascend he gives 
another jerk or two to the thin cord; a few pulls from 
above and the rope is drawn tight; another, and the 
cragsman is again swinging out in mid-air on his way 
to the brink of the precipice above. 
As an example of the foolhardiness which is some- 
times shown by the bird catchers, the following may be 
told : A cragsman had swung off, had landed upon a 
ledge, and was busily employed with his net, when, to 
his horror, he saw the rope, his only means of escape, 
hanging out beyond the reach of his pole; by some mis- 
chance his end had become detached. After a moment's 
thought he concluded to chance it, bounded off the 
ledge, and was fortunate enough to regain hold of the 
rope; up this he swarmed until he reached the face of 
the cliff, by thrusting his feet against which he obtained 
the impetus necessary for swinging; then he descended 
again, and finally succeeded in re-landing on the ledge! 
To ascend the high isolated rocks, both daring and 
dexterity are needful. Two men, attached to one an- 
other by a rope, share the labor and danger. The first 
who goes up is assisted by his companion, who thrusts 
the end of his pole into his belt; when he has attained 
foothold, he helps up the second man with the line. 
In a similar manner the next ledge is attained, and so, 
climbing higher and higher, they take the birds on 
either side. This method, however, is a dangerous one, 
and it has happened several times that both men have 
fallen over, being- fastened together. 
As the population of the islands increases and ex- 
tends, the inhabitants of the cliffs diminish in numbers; 
and although the use of fire-arms within a couple of 
miles of one of the latter is forbidden by law, the birds 
have become more shy and difficult to take. Although 
slowly, the guillemots are steadily decreasing; but the 
shearwaters, which for a long time were falling off, are 
again on the increase, as the result of a more careful 
method of capture. 
It is said that in some places the puffins are not so 
numerous as they used to be; but as a matter of fact, by 
making holes in places formerly inhabited by them, they 
have been induced to come in large numbers. The kitti- 
wakes, of which quantities used to be shot from the 
fishing boats for bait, will no doubt recover, as, thanks 
to the ice houses, there is always plenty of herring now 
to be had for that purpose. The fulmars, as already 
stated, are increasing rapidly in numbers, at the ex- 
pense, unfortunately, of more valuable fowl. 
Bird catching, however, is not of the same conse- 
quence to the inhabitants of Faroe as it used to be — 
not so much on account of the falling off of the stock 
of fowl, as in the improvement in other means of live- 
lihood. Thus the fishing, which has of late years made 
great strides, employs nearly all the men and yields ex- 
cellent results; the fleet consists now of about 100 
cutters, with crews amounting to 1,200 men, and 1,500 
open boats with crews of 2,000 men. Nevertheless, a 
very large number of birds are still captured annually, 
and, as before remarked, they constitute on some of 
tht islands a highly important article of food. L. 
-During the day several tried their skill at both rifle and 
trapshooting, as I have a 100-yard range near the oak for 
rifle practice ; also bluerock traps for the use of my sports- 
men friends, as well as for my own., 
Speaking of shooting, there is plenty of game on the 
tract — partridges, quail, rabbits, and gray squirrels; also 
last fall two fawns were seen near the "Bresh" by differ- 
ent persons at several different times. A. L. L. 
A Veteran Oak. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
A gigantic white oak stands on Oakledge Tract, some 
sixty yards north of the "Bresh Hut," the cabin of which 
a description has been given in Forest and Stream. The 
tree is one of the largest in northeastern Connecticut. 
It is 15 feet around the trunk, with branches extending 
nearly a hundred feet, and the whole tree is "as sound as 
a nut." As it has a very heavy leafage every year, thus 
giving a ' perfect shade, and many of the branches 
spreading very low, it makes a capital place for ham- 
mocks, which can be easily suspended, and also for swings 
on one side where the branches are higher. 
The tree must be several hundred years old, as I have not 
seen any perceptible difference in its growth since my boy- 
hood ; and I remember then hearing some very aged 
people say that when they were children, the tree seem- 
ingly was but a little smaller. S0 1 in the whole time 
covering considerably more than a century, there has not 
been apparently any great difference in its size. Truly it is 
a magnificent tree ; and at this time, when about all of the 
old forest growth and nearly every large scattering tree 
in the well settled parts of the Eastern States have been 
cut off, with nothing left but a few ill-shaped and inferior 
looking ones, or a growth of sprouts and bushes, a well 
formed tree of the huge dimensions of this one is a pleas- 
ing sight to everyone, and especially to a true lover of 
nature. 
Many of the neighboring people have picnics beneath 
its branches. Last Fourth of July about a dozen fellow 
sportsmen, with their families — in all forty or more per- 
sons, including myself and daughter— had a "big eat" 
there. Most of the food was prepared in the big roughly 
built oven near the old oak. Then the whole party sat 
down to the feast under the widespreading branches. 
Denuding the Mountains* 
Editor Potest and Stream: 
Indignation has been burning within me these many 
years, and the flame has been fanned to increasing heat 
by the article in October 1 issue on "Denuding the Moun- 
tains," by A. D .McCandless. Having been for some 
years a resident of the mountain regions of Colorado and 
Wyoming, I have tried to study the situation as it has 
been, and now is, in regard to the destruction of timber 
on Government lands. 
Like Mr. McCandless, I am not familiar with the laws 
governing such operations, but I am sure that one of 
three things is a fact— either the makers of the laws con- 
trolling Government timber lands are ignorant of the re- 
sults which must follow the removal of the timber which 
has been and is being removed, or they have caused such 
laws to exist because of some personal advantage, and 
regardless of the general public good, or else this timber 
is being removed contrary to existing laws. 
The public press is supposed to voice the sentiment of 
the people, and to it we look to cry out against a public 
wrong, and yet in some of the very districts where this 
devastation is going on the papers are loud in their ap- 
proval of that which they choose to call industries which 
bring money and prosperity into their districts. 
They speak of the business sagacity of the men who 
conceived the idea of despoiling the mountains of their 
timber, of the increased demand for hay to' feed the horses 
used in hauling out the timber, and the employment, given 
to men in cutting and floating the timber out of the 
country, but not one word do we see in these same papers 
about the probable conditioji of the country a few years 
hence. 
It might well be likened to a man who- takes into his 
system strong and injurious stimulants for the purpose 
of creating an abnormal activity of mind or body in order 
that he may do work beyond his capacity, without con- 
sidering the reduced condition of his forces which must 
follow such a course. The section of country to which 
I refer particularly is northen Colorado and southern 
Wyoming, and the papers of the towns of Saratoga and 
Encampment, Wyo., and Pearl, Colo., are the organs 
which should be, and are not, sounding the warning note. 
The agriculture of these sections is entirely dependent 
upon irrigation, and in the past a great abundance of 
water has come down from these grand old wooded 
mountains during all the irrigating season. 
Until a few years ago all the timber was standing un- 
touched on the great slopes which furnish the water to 
the Platte River and its tributaries, but now the tie chop- 
pers are at work by the hundreds, and timber is being cut 
even down to mining props; then after that, the fire; 
and last, unless I may fortunately be wrong in my predic- 
tion, will come the desolation which a lack of water 
would inevitably bring. 
No spot on this great earth is so clear to me as that 
mountain .country referred to, and it may be because of 
an undue' love for the woods themselves, rather than the 
good purposes they serve in conserving the water sup- 
ply, that I am jealous of their destruction; but surely the 
few paltry dollars which our great Government gets from 
the sale of such timber cannot justify the converting of 
these beautiful wooded mountains, the sight of which is 
a joy, into barren wastes, the sight of which would make 
any lover of nature want to get out of the country. 
Of couse there are saw mills in these mountains also, 
but the lumber obtained is used in the building up and 
improvement of the immediate neighborhood from which 
it is taken, and should not be condemned; but the great 
destruction, to which it is hard to become reconciled, is 
that of taking off the timber and floating it out to the 
railroad for shipment. When I think of the great silent 
wooded mountains where I pitched my tent in years gone 
by, where not a sight nor sound indicated the presence 
of civilized man, and then read of the throng of men lay- 
ing waste the silent places, which seemed almost too 
sacred to mar by even chopping wood for the camp-fire, 
I think, "What will not man do for gain in dollars?" 
With Mr. McCandless, I would raise my voice against 
this destruction, and hope that the citizens and ranch 
owners of the localities named especially may realize the 
importance of the woods to their future welfare, and 
work as one man for the suppression of their destruction, 
while there may yet remain enough to hold their water 
supply. Emerson Carney. 
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. 
Flying: Squirrels in Mexico. 
In 1651 Hernandez recorded the presence of flying 
squirrels in Mexico. The next record south of the United 
States was in 1861, when Tomes included it in his list of 
mammals taken by Salvin at Duehas, Guatemala (P. Z. 
S., 1861, p. 281). In 1892 I saw a pair of mounted speci- 
mens in the museum of the State College at the city of 
San Luis Potosi. These were recorded as having been 
taken near Jilitla, in San Luis Potosi. During all of our 
subsequent work in Mexico, until the present season, 
whenever in suitable country, both Goldman and I have 
kept a constant but unsuccessful lookout for these ani- 
mals. During April, 1904, while in the high lands of 
Chiapas, near the Guatemala border, Goldman was for- 
tunate enough to secure a good pair of adult flying squir- 
rels with skulls. In view of the striking differences be- 
tween the Mexican and United States species of Sciurus 
it was a great surprise to find this isolated representative 
of Sciuropterus very closely related to forms found in the 
United States. — E. W. Nelson in Proceedings Biological 
Society of Washington. 
All the game laws and fish laws of the United States 
and Canada are given in the "Game Laws in Brief" 
