May 13, 1905.] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
873 
had gone, but when Professor Hodge complained this 
spring that he could not induce the males to drum I sug- 
gested that he separate them from the hens. The de- 
sired result followed in a very few minutes after such 
separation ; and now, he says, the process can be induced 
at any time by the same method. I have now m my 
possession two very fine photos which Professor Hodge 
recently sent me, showing the male grouse in the very 
act of drumming. In these pictures the outlines of the 
head and body are clear and distinct, while the wmgs, 
owing to their rapid vibration, are only a misty blur. (I 
sincerely hope that Professor Hodge will not think I am 
trying to steal his thunder.) 
The ruffed grouse is a wary, but not a timid bird, and 
soon makes friends with his keeper when he realizes 
that no harm is intended him. The hens are faithful 
sitters and devoted mothers, and there would seem to be 
no valid reason why such experiments as those of Pro- 
fessor Hodge, in such intelligent and capable hands as 
his, should not bie pushed to complete success. 
In speaking of "Artificial Breeding of Wild Birds," and 
alluding to the efforts of the Massachusetts Commission, 
the editor states that its "attempts to rear quail have not 
yet been successful." Why not? It seemed to me after 
rearing one brood of quail from the parent birds in 
confinement just before taking up the grouse, that it was 
too easy to afford a problem of any difficulty. It would 
be interesting to know why the Massachusetts attempts 
failed. Possibly, like so many enterprises which have 
to do with the breeding of feathered fowl of all kinds, 
it was quite feasible on a small scale and quite imprac- 
ticable on a large one. Jay Beebe. 
Scent Glands of the Deer 
Editor F orest and Stream: 
Thirty years ago in a hunter's camp on the western 
plains one of the boys in "drawing it long" told the rest 
of us that antelope had ears in their feet the better to 
hear the approach of an enemy. This was greeted with 
a "hoot" by the rest of us, and the bold declaimer of 
truth retired in some confusion. Antelope feet there 
were in plenty about camp, yet we never thought of ex- 
amining one to decide the question, but decided it out 
of hand, as it were. Many times since then the oppor- 
tunity to examine deer and antelope feet has offered, but 
I thought the idea so wild and dreamy that I never 
charged my mind with it and never made any examina- 
tion. Last autumn we brought a deer into this ranch 
whole and while it was being dressed the argument of 
thirty years ago came to my mind. An examination 
showed a hole in the skin just above the hoof and be- 
tween the bones at the front. This hole was the end of a 
hollow tube which passed through the ankle between the 
bones and then up, ending in a cord running up the leg; 
the leg having been severed at the knee it could not be 
traced further. Was this the origin of the telephoney' 
[It has long been well known that many, if not all, our 
American deer have what our correspondent calls "a hole 
in the skin just above the hoof and between the bones at 
the front." These are commonly called by hunters "scent 
bags" or "scent glands," and in most species contain a 
substance which emits a strong musky or other disagree- 
able odor. The Virginia deer always has the gland on all 
four feet as does the Columbian blacktail deer and the 
mule deer. The caribou possesses the gland. Caton de- 
scribed these glands quite fully about thirty years ago, 
and they have been long known. On the Virginia deer the 
glands may be fully one inch and a half in depth, "hairs, 
though to a limited number, are found in it. On this deer 
I found this gland more active than on any of the others. 
It always contains a considerable amount of the secreted 
matter which is about the consistency of cerumen and a 
portion of it frequently assumes the form of pellets about 
the size of a small pea, which, however, are so soft as to 
be more or less flattened. The substance is of a grayish 
color and emits an odor which is strong and offensive to 
most nostrils." We have examined the feet of deer fre- 
quently for this gland, and have found the glands com- 
monly to contain a whitish moist powder, strongly odor- 
ous. Deer hunters believe that the odor from_ these 
glands yields the scent which the hounds follo^y in pur- 
suing the deer, but on the other hand many animals not 
known to possess these glands are followed by the dog 
with equal success.] 
A Loon in the City. 
LocKPORT, N. Y., May 6. — Last Friday morning as Mr. 
James Cochrane was on his way to his place of business, 
which is near the Erie Canal, he saw a bird lying on the 
Prospect street bridge. Mr. Cochrane supposed the bird 
was dead, but on picking it up found it alive, although 
unable to move, on examining the bird he found blood 
on the breast. 
Mr. Cochrane took the bird into the factory and placed 
it in a tank of water where it soon commenced to paddle 
about, and finally managed to climb out of the tank and 
drop to the floor, although the water was about eight 
inches below the top of the tank. The bird was badly 
hurt, as it could not walk. It propelled itself about the 
room with its wings. 
Mr. Cochrane telephoned me on Monday that he had 
a duck of some kind that he wished me to see. It proved 
to be a male loon weighing between eight and ten 
pounds. 
The bird was probably flying down the canal during 
the night, attracted by the electric light, and on nearing 
the bridge tried to pass over it, failed to get high enough 
and struck one of the iron rods and fell to the bridge, 
where Mr. Cochrane found it. 
I noticed a dish of cornmeal near the bird and was 
told that it had had nothing else for four days. I offered 
the infomaation that it would not live long on that food, 
and advised him to drop the bird into the canal and see 
how quick he would disappear. T also gave him the ad- 
dress of a taxidermist at Niagara Falls that would put 
it up for $5 or $6. Mr. Cochrane offered the bird to me, 
but as I have two fine specimens in my collection, I did 
not care for it. My best specimen weighed twelve pounds 
when taken and is the largest loon I have seen. I have 
heard of their weighing eighteen pounds. My other 
specimen weighed only 8^ pounds, and was about the 
size of the bird Mr. Cochrane has. 
A Collection of Wishbones. 
When my collection of birds were being mounted I 
saved the wishbones of many species and have a collec- 
tion of nearly 200 wishbones, from that of a humming 
bird to> a whistling swan taken in this county (Niagara) 
and a white pelican taken in Niagara River ; the wishbone 
from my large loon had been broken and grown together 
and is a good job of surgery. 
Professor L<ucas, of the Smithsonian Institution, came 
to see my collection about fifteen years ago, and when 
he saw tlae wishbones said, "it was the finest collection 
of them he had ever seen, and that the wishbone was a 
very important bone." I picked up the whistling swan 
bone and asked him of what species it was. He said "that 
he would give it up." Professor Lucas also advised me 
to present my collection of wishbones to the Smithsonian 
when I wanted to dispose of them. I know of no better 
place for them, and ultimately they may go there. 
J. L. Davison. 
P. S. — The wishbone of the whistling swan is unlike 
any other that I have ever seen, although I suppose that 
this bone is similar in shape in all swans. J. L. D. 
Attdtjbon Commemoration. 
The services in commemoration of the one hundred 
and twenty-fifth birthday of John James Audubon, the 
naturalist, were held on the evening of Thursday, May 4, 
at the Church of the Intercession, 157th street and 
Broadway, New York. The service was conducted by 
Rev. M. H. Gates, the rector of the church, and the large 
building was crowded with an interested and attentive 
audience. The principal address, delivered by Hon. Alton 
B. Parker, former Chief Justice of the New York Su- 
preme Court, told in charmingly simple fashion the story 
of the naturalist's arduous life, and gave full credit to 
that great woman, Lucy Bakewell, his wife, to whom, as 
much as to himself, Audubon's success was due. The 
address was simple and without the slightest attempt at 
oratory, and for that very reason was moving. Of the 
child Audubon's artistic bent, the speaker said : 
"No lesson that we learn from Audubon's life is of 
more interest than that every child should have oppor- 
tunity to develop that talent which God has given him, A 
father is tempted to plan what work his child shall carry 
out ; and if the child happens to develop artistic talent 
the father tries tO' throttle it. Audubon's father hoped 
to make his son a follower of Napoleon, but the boy 
would have none of it. He came to America and hunted 
birds." 
Mr. Edward Doyle contributed an appreciation in verse 
of Audubon's character and life work. 
Mr. Ernest Thompson Seton and Mr. Richard Watson 
Gilder, who were to have delivered addresses, were not 
present, the former having been detained by a railroad 
accident, while Mr. Gilder was confined to his room 
through illness contracted at the funeral services of 
Joseph Jefferson. Mr. Frank M. Chapman, by way of 
expressing the indefatigable energy of the naturalist, gave 
an Audubon chronology extending over more than thirty 
years, which showed how constantly he was working and 
moving about in pursuing the great work finally so well 
accomplished. Mr. Chapman's address was very effec- 
tive. 
The Hon. George F. Parker spoke more formally of 
Audubon as a man, and pointed out the various qualities 
which he possessed which should be possessed by every 
American ; his perseverance, his democracy, his indepen- 
dence and yet his humble mindedness. Rev. Dr. D. H. 
Green, the Bishop of the Diocese, made the closing ad- 
dress. 
The occasion was one of no little interest. Among 
those present were a number of the grandchildren and 
great grandchildren of the naturalist, together with many 
people who had long lived about his old home. 
The Dttck's Smell. 
Los Angeles, Cal., April 27.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: Without wishing to revive the threshed-out 
question, "Can ducks smell?" I take the liberty of quot- 
ing a paragraph from Mr. William Dinwiddie's very in- 
teresting article on "Duck-hunting in Japan," which ap- 
pears in Harper's Weekly of the 22d instant. The para- 
graph reads as follows : 
"The best weather for this game is when the stiff cold 
winds of winter blow and the birds are restless and con- 
stantly hungry, and a really successful hunting day can 
only be had when the wind blows toward one off the 
lake ; otherwise the sensitive birds wind you, as they 
enter the ditch, and beat a hasty retreat." 
The article from which the above paragraph is clipped 
describes the curious and elaborate methgd of netting 
wiH ducks, as the sport is pursued in Japan. If is illus- 
trated by photographs, and will prove of interest to duck 
shooters. Robert Erskine Ross. 
[See also reference to the scent of ducks in a decoy 
paper which will be printed in our next issue.] 
National Park Game. 
And the Montana License Law. 
Yellowstone National, Park, April 30— Editor 
Forest and Stream: I returned from the Pacific slope 
almost a month ago, leaving there green grass, 
flowers and blossoms of all kinds. I reach here and 
find almost everywhere dry ground and dust. There 
is very little snow in the Park or On the mountains 
around, but since my return there has been consider- 
able snow and rain in the valleys. A short time be- 
fore I came home, a buggy was taken through the 
Park, so little snow was then along the roads. 
The game, as a rule, is back almost to the summer 
range. Even the antelope are as far as Yancey's and 
Specimen Ridge. Until very lately there were a few 
feeding on the alfalfa in front of Gardiner. The alfalfa 
has just begun to start, and it is just as well the ante- 
lope are not all aware of it. For several evenings I 
saw seven mule deer there. They like young alfalfa, 
too, and, I suppose, will hang around for some time. 
The ground had been so dry all winter that it was 
expected that, to make the grass grow, irrigation 
would have to be resorted to, but the late snow brought 
it out. Still hardly a shade of green can be seen on 
the hills. In many sheltered spots wild currants have 
green leaves, but not the quaking asp or cottonwood, 
and very little grass shows. I found the whole country 
west of here on this side of the cascades very dry and 
with very little snow. I heard of more snow south of 
the Park, and every one knows that more snow falls 
there any season than in the northern part of the Park. 
Jackson's Hole has very much more snow than the 
same altitude up here. Still Wyoming has made a 
State game park south of the Yellowstone Park and 
claiming it for a winter range. The elk are not from 
Missouria, but you will have to show them where the 
winter range comes in north of any part of Buffalo 
Fork of Snake River. During some winters a very few 
elk have managed to make a living there, but those 
that are left in this winter range park are usually un- 
fortunate enough to die early in the spring. It's like 
elk wintering in Hayden Valley, now and then quite 
a few winter there, one season over 2,000 tried it, and 
during the late spring Capt. G. S. Anderson saw them 
dead by the hundreds in a place. It is the same over 
on Pelican Creek. Since tlaen very few elk have at- 
tempted to winter in those sections, and it's the same 
south of the Park, until you get south of Buffalo Fork. 
Few elk would attempt to winter in Jackson's Hole,' 
or even in the northern part of Yellowstone Park, were 
it not for the settlers on their old winter ranges. 
Wyoming Winter Range Park would prove a death 
trap if any number of elk were compelled to camp there. 
Their winter range commences just south of Buffalo 
Fork, on \yhat some call Horse Thief Buttes, and from 
there on down to the lower end of the Hole more or 
less elk are found and usually in large bands. If 
Vvyoming wanted to make a game park where elk could 
winter they would have to take in about all of Jackson's 
Hole, or, better still, make a new park, either in the Big 
Horn Mountains or on Green River, making it large 
enough for a winter range. 
The best of all the winter ranges are taken up by 
ranches, and the country is supporting families and 
cattle, and many comfortable homes are found there. 
I think Wyoming would find it difficult to get their 
people to give up their locations in order that the elk 
or any other wild animal might have a winter home. 
Wyoming and Montana, and for that matter many 
Other States, could do more for th*- preservation of 
game if they would encourage its domestication, and 
that of fur-bearing animals, too. At present these 
States do every thing they can to discourage it. 
Montana has passed about as obnoxious a game and 
fish law as it is possible to imagine. I have not seen 
a copy as passed, but, judging from the papers and the 
feeling expressed by the people, there is, as a rule, 
strong objection to it everywhere. There is no use 
itemizing the faults, the whole law is wrong, except 
that part limiting the number of animals to be killed 
and protecting antelope. I advise hunting parties of 
eastern gentlemen to keep away from both Montana 
and Wyoming until they pass laws that are not rob- 
beries. I am in the business, too, of guiding these 
parties and have been for years, but I don't believe in 
robbing them or seeing a State do it. There are other 
countries in which they can hunt, and I advise them 
to go there unless they have more money to throw 
away than usual for licenses for themselves, guides, 
cooks and packers, and $10 for fishing in Montana! 
These parties have to pay all these licenses, besides 
wages for the men and transportation. Montana has 
gone license mad! Wyoming is getting over the fever 
and recovering, but has cut off the best of the hunting 
country, and still requires a non-resident to take out a 
license for killing game that they are not letting the 
parties hunt. It is like the item in the license permit- 
ting the killing of the Rocky Mountain goat, supposed 
to mean white goat. It would improve the license and 
make the non-resident think he was getting some- 
thing for his money by adding one eland, one spring 
bock, one elephant, one musk-ox, two caribou. They 
will be as likely to get these animals as the white 
Rocky Mountain goat in Wyoming. 
If the Yellowstone National Park could have taken 
from it 1,000 elk every year to stock other game parks 
