forest and stream. 
359 
or no chance of Ya. getting any more this season ; but about a 
week ago Professor Baird telegraphed our commissioner tkut 
we could have more from Havre De Grace, and we are now 
continuing the distribution and have sent 200,000 to Shenan- 
doah, at Front Royal, and 175,000 to Skndwell, just below 
Charlottesville, on the Rivanna River. We hope to get a few 
hundred thousand more. \y. q. W. 
Natural g/istorg. 
A NEW SPAROID FISH. 
[Sargus fiolbrookii — Bean.] 
On the 28th of March, 1878, Mr. G. Brown Goode, assistant 
curator of the U. S. National Museum, bought in Charleston, 
Bouth Carolina, a fish known in that market as the ‘‘bream." 
It was brought to Charleston from the Savannah Banks in 
great abundance and sold in readily. 
An examination of the specimens proved them to represent 
a species of Sargus not known to be described, for which I 
propose the name given above. 
1'he description is based upon six specimens, catalogue 
No. 20,97,9, varying in length from 260 to 800 millimetres 
(10 l-12th to 11 1816th inches) to end of middle caudal rays. 
Diagnosis: Body ovate, resembling in shape Sargus vulgaris, 
(Geoffr ), rather than S. candimacula (Poey), compressed, a 
very slight protuberance above the upper anterior margin of 
the orbit, and a very marked one in the supraoccipiial region. 
The height at ventrals is contained slightly less than 2* times in 
length of body, and in four of the six specimens it e*quals the 
distance of dorsal from end of upper jaw. The least heightot 
tail is about equal to upper jaw, and is contained from 10 to 
10£ times in total length. Head 3J times in total. Inter- 
oruital area slightly less than 1£ times diameter of eye. 
Snout, measuring from end of upper jaw to perpendicular 
through anterior margin of orbit, about equals mandible, 
which is contained 10 times in total. Eye times in head, 
and nearly 16 times in total length. The first dorsal spine is 
contained from 1$ to 2 times in the second, and is shorter 
than the first anal. The longest dorsal spine is contained 
from 8£ to 10 times in length of body. The dorsal rays 
gradually decrease in length from the first to the last but one, 
which is shorter than the lust. The distance of the anal from 
snout is contained If times in total length. The first anal 
spine is usually half as long as the second, which is somewhat 
longer, and stronger thau the third. The secondspine is l-12lh 
of lotal length of body. The anal rays diminish in length to 
the one before the last. The middle caudal rays are about 
3-12ths as long as the external rays, and l-10th of total length. 
Tne distance of pectoral from snout is contained 3£ times, 
and its length about three times in total. The disiunce of 
the ventral I rom snout is slightly more than the length of 
pectoral, aud its length is contained from 4 7-11 to Oj times 
in length of body. . 
Radial Formula : BV. D.XII, 13-14. A.III, 13-14 
P. 16-16. V.I, 5 
Scales : 8, 00-62, 16. 
Teeth : Eight incisors in each jaw, their greatest width equal 
to half their length. Many small, granular teeth behind the 
incisors. Three rows of molars in the upper jaw, two in the 
lower. Two of the specimens examined show a slight tendency 
to increase the number of rows of molars. 
Color: Dorsal, caudal anal ventrals, axil of pectoral, 
posterior border of operculum, upper part of head, blackish. 
A black spot on the caudal peduncle extending almost as fur 
below us above tbe lateral line, and involving about eight 
longitudinal rows of scales. Checns and greater part of body 
dull silvery. No cross bands. 
This Sargus is the one referred to in Forest and Stream, 
May 30, 1878, as resembling a Cuban form. I dedicate the 
species to Dr. John Edwards Holbrook, to whom ichthyolo- 
gists are so greatly indebted lor their knowledge of the fishes 
of South Carolin . Tarleton H. Bean. 
U. S. National Musium, June 3, 1878. 
THE “BUCK FLY.” 
Willis, Texas, May 1, 1878. 
Editor Forest and Stream : 
When the trouble is over about tbe “deer shedding their 
horns," I want you to bring forward a subject that 1 have not 
yet seen discussed, but one, I think, of no meau importance, 
and one, too, that will puzzle the knowing ones not a little, 
and that is an insect or grub found in the deer in the Southern 
States at certain seasons of the year, say from January to 
April, aud peculiar to the deer alone, and known to all Hun- 
ters as the “ buck fly." 
What this animal is, or its purpose in the deer, or its des- 
tiny, bus ever been a mystery to me, and, I presume, to all 
others who know anything of it. They are found in tbe 
chrysalis form in the deer’s head, sometimes around near tho 
brain, in the cells of the skull (don’t know the techuicals) near 
that organ, at other times in tne upper part of the throat in 
the epiglottic region, and in the upper nasal region : some- 
times in large quantities, at other times only few individuals, 
but they never seem to be of any inconvenience to the deer, 
aud when about to change from the chrysalis to the full 
fledged fly, they approach the nasal apparatus and are blown 
out by the deer or make their way out by their own efforts ; 
but tradition says the deer blows them out. They then either 
fly away or drop upon the ground uDtil they gain sufficient 
strength and development, then fly. The chrysalis at first is 
flattinh and of a whitish color, but just before changing into 
the fly becomes a brownish gray color and wrinkly and rough, 
and an inch in length. By the time the deer have shed their 
winter hair and turned red, these worms have all disappeared 
from the animal and he begins to look sleek and grow fat. 
After leaving the deer and becoming fully fledged, the 
“ buck fly ” is of a dark, brownish or gray color, with the 
under or second wiDgs a bright scarlet. And further thun this 
I could not describe it, as 1 have never been able to capture or 
kill one or known any one else to do so, for they are as timid 
as the deer, and the only time you ever see one is in the early 
spring. As you ride through the brush you may rouse one up 
like an old buck, when off he goes with the like gracelul 
bounds and zig-zag gait of the deer in whose head he has been 
a recent tenant. Will some of your correspondents, who are 
better posted on this subject, give us their views through the 
Forest and Stream? Respectfully, O. L. J. 
[We have no definite information to offer on this subject, 
although we have often observed the larva; of this or a similar 
parasite in the throat of the deer. We presume that, the insect 
j 8 » near relative of (Estrus ovis, vyhich sometimes proves so 
roublesome to sheep— Ed.] 
BIRD NOTES FROM ILLINOIS. 
Lebanon, Illinois, April 29, 1878. 
Editor Forest and Stream : 
The weather has for the past winter been almost unprece- 
dentedly mild in this locality. But little snow fell, aud the 
ground was not frozen exceeding two inches at any tiino. As 
a consequence of the open weuther we were not favored with 
our usual amount of duck shooting this season. The ducks 
were less plentiful than last year, and made their migrations 
at very irregular periods. We were recompensed for ihis pri- 
vation, howeVer, by very fair snipe shooting this spring. The 
first Wilson’s snipe of the year was seen January 20. This 
bird was but a straggler,' ns no others put in their appearance 
until March 6. The weather belug mild and pleasant during 
the early part of the latter month, the snipe arrived in con- 
siderable abundance, and at any time from the 15th of March 
to the 10th of April a bag of twenty-five or thirty plump Wil- 
son’s snipe might easily have been made in an afternoon’s 
shoot. The last snipe of the season waskilled by your corres- 
pondent, April 20. We anticipate elegant quail shooting here 
uext fall, as they are very plenty. They are all now paired, 
and have begun to construct nests. I will now give you date 
of the arrival of the migratory songsters, etc., up to the pres- 
ent date : 
February 8, '78, wild pigeons; 18, cow birds; 19, killdeer 
plover; 26, red-winged blackbirds; March 6, Carolina rad, 
Wilson’s snipe ; 8, king fisher ; 9, peewee (Say arm's fuscus); 
15, .crow blackbirds, first butterfly of year seen today; 20, 
jack-snipe ( Tringa mncul/ila), anti field plover, or Bartram’s 
plover; 25, while bellied swallows; 29, yellow-legs (G. 
Jlacipes ) stone birds O melanoleuca) ; 30, purple martius; 
April 5, solitary sandpipers, blue warbler. A Carolina dove's 
nest was found to-day on the ground containing one egg— a 
very unusual occurrence. 
April 6, brown thrush ; 12. chimney swallows, and noticed 
for the first time this year gold finches in summer plumage; 
13, bank swallows ; 16, house wren ; 18, king birds, Balti- 
more oriole and whip-poor-will ; 20, wood thrush, olive- 
backed thrusb, blue-gray gnat catcher and prothonotary 
warbler; 21, orchard oriole; 23, cat-bird, night-hawk, scarlet 
tanugre and great crested fly-catcher. 
The arrivals as noted above are iu nearly 811 cases several 
days ahead of the arrivals in former years. Our summer visit- 
ors have almost all arrived. Some few, however, are needed 
to complete the list. Ptarmigan. 
ALBINO. 
Tiirke ItivEns, P. Q., May 1, 1878. 
Editor Forest and Stream : 
Some four years since Mr. S , who takes pride in his 
“black Spanish" fowl, aDd has a fine flock of the same, evi- 
dently well-bred gentlemen aud ludies, lialcbcd out a brooa of 
chicks under a toster mother. They were all jet bluck in 
plumage, and perfect specimens of the' breed. He has never 
known any of his Spanish hens to sit since he has owned 
them (several years), save oue of this “clutch," who when 
about three years old raised a brood of chicks. When she 
moulted shortly after she put on white, and has since so re- 
mained. There are a few bluck feathers left, but she is 
nearly all white ; is well aud hearty, a good layer, and appar- 
ently has suffered no change of condition, save in the color of 
her “ outer garments." My friend mentioned the incident to 
me a few days since, aud I was a little incredulous ; asked 
him if the eyes were pink, and he did not know. To-day I 
went to see the hen; found her among her sisters (and 
brothers), and found also that her eyes are pink. 
Some time ago there was a discussion in F. and 8 . as to 
whether “Albinoism ” was congenital or not, nud I believe 
that there is a difference of opinion among naturalists upon 
the question. This case will settle one poiot, however— that 
albinoism is not always congenital, at least among birds. 
The proof is positive ; this bird has been bred and reared, 
and always owned by my friend, who has seen the change go 
on under his own eye, and I think never heard of the term 
“ albino," or knew of the existence thereof until after he had 
told me of this strange thing. 
It seems to me thar, some of the zoological gardens or scien- 
tific institutions ought to secure this specimen ; and if any of 
them agree to take it and care for it, aud rnuke good use of it 
for increasing the knowledge of the world concernlug this 
curious disease or condiiion, or whatever one chooses to call 
it beside Albinoism, I think I can obtain the bird ; and, if so, 
will present it to any proper association applying for it 
through you, and can procure affidavits as to ihe facts, al- 
though the hen herself shows every point of a well-bred 
black Spanish fowl (save color), and it is a breed that is 
noted for “ throwing true." 
Yours, hastily, Mao. 
Breeding of the Pine Finob in Winter.— The interest- 
ing information that the pine finch ( Uhrysomitris pinus) 
breeds in the Northern States in winter will be news to many 
of our readers. We are promised some valuable notes on 
this topic by Mr. C. H. Merriam, the President of the Lin- 
uean Society of New York, which we hope to be able to luy 
before our readers in a short time. 
Proceedings of tde U. S. National Museum.— We notice 
in tbe advance sheets of the proceedings for 1878, a part of 
which have just reached us, several papers of considerable im- 
portance to zoologists Mr. W. H. Dali describes a number 
of new forms of mollusks (recent) from Alaska, and hIso a 
number of fossil form? from ike later tertiaries of California. 
Professor G. Brown Goode identities the Clupca tyrannies of 
Latrobe with the mossbunker or menhaden, and tuat species 
will henceforth be known by the name Brevoortia tyrannus 
(Latrobe), Gill. Prof. Goode also announces the capture, in 
Buzzard's Bay, Mass., of Belone lalimanus, a fish hitherto 
known only t rom Cuban waters. The same writer's article, 
on the “Voices of Crustaceans.'' is noticed in another column 
A paper of interest to ornithologists is Mr. Ridgway's descrip 
tiou of “A New HammiDg-Bird from Guuiemala." This 
species, which has apparently been coufounded with Atthis 
heloisce, Mr. Ridgway describes under the name of A. ellioti. 
Why Carcasses Float.— Mr. Editor: I read with great 
interest the different reasons given for deer sinking in the red 
and not in the blue coat. While hunliug a year ago last Oc- 
tober with an old friend who had seen and taken part in many 
a chase across the lake alter deer, and had shot them in both 
the red and blue coat, I found be held the same view as does 
“ Mowich," which I believe the true one. W. A. T. 
[The theory of our correspondent Jim been corroborated in 
the moat substantial manner by the fact that there are firms 
in this city which manufacture mattresses, cushions and life 
preservers, filled with deer hair, which is more buoyant than 
cork, and sustains a weight of ten pounds of iron to oue 
pound of hair. Both blue and redbairare used, the red having 
least buoyancy. A microscopicexamination will readily reveal 
why the deer’s hair is so buoyant.— Ed. F. & S.] 
.. . ...... nenry towards, oi Pan 
f raucisco, bus the largest and moat valuable collection of 
America. They number over 200,000 anil represent 
60,000 species. It will probably be purchased by the citizens 
city S,m * rancisco Jor lbe P ubbc scientific institutions of that 
,rn We bavo received from Captain Wild, 
of Fort Mckavitt, I exas, a specimen of ilie Messina quail, 
which has been beautifully mounted by Chas. 11. Raymond, 
Ao^x T au l c ? n D0W bo r 8een tbc Bt ' ,rc of Abbey & Imbrie 
408 Maiden Lane. We understand that the Messuiu quail 
are not numerous in Texas. 1 
Arrival* at tub Philadelphia Zoological Oaiidbn for Wmk 
Ending Tuesday, Jun* ».-Two wild boar*, Bus scro/a, presented ; 
two great horned owls, B. Virginian us, presented ; oae purplo gslllnalo; 
one raccoon, P. lotor, presented ; three hog-nosed snakes, Ihterooon 
platyrhinus, presented ; one hog-Dosed suake, //. 5imu«, presented ; 
two chain makes, Ophibolus doltatus-triangulus, presented ; two 
snakes, Coluber obsoletiu, presented; two water snakes, Tropidonotus 
tripedon, preseuled; threo garter snakes, Bulan, a sir ta l is, presented; 
iwo black snakes, Baseanfon constrictor, presented ; one enpperheud, 
Ancistrodun contortrix, presented ; one snake, Coluber obsoletuseonflnis 
presented ; oue pine anabo, P, meianoleucus, prosontod; fourteen pralnci 
dogB, Cynomys ludovidanus, born in tho garden. 
Arrivals at tub Cincinnati Zoological Qardkn dp to Jure 1, 18TS 
—Four ponies, Eguus eaballus, deposited by Mr. .1, Kohlnsou ; ono 
woodchuck, Arclomys monax, presented by Mr. J. O. Folger ; ono mock- 
lug bird, Minus poiyglotlus, pre.cmod by Mr. C. Decamp ; oae fox 
squirrel, Sei'uruA vulpinus, presented by Mr. 8. Q Hirbaug i ; two stx- 
baoded armadillos, Dasypw, sexcinclus, preaonted by Mr J J. Bantiln ; 
two American buffaloes, Bison americanus, born In garden; ono fox 
squirrel, .Sciurus vulpinus, presented by M. C. Colehrant ; two blaok 
snakes. Bascanion constrictor, two ohloken snakes. Ophibolus ex, mint, 
ouo water sn»ke, Tripidonntus siptdon, throa hog-nosod nddors, lletcr- 
cdon plalyrhtnus, two hog-uoacd black, UcUrcdon nigrts, two garter 
snikes, Tripldonotus sir tali*;, preseuled by Messrs. Tlirnll A Muinfo d; 
one while crane, Qrus amerteana, purohaaud ; ono alligator, A. mis • 
sisnippitnsix, presented; one pony, Bguus eaballus, boru In g.rdon ; uuo 
white-headed goose, Anscr ocsruslescsi is, purchased ; two prairie owls, 
Brachyotus palustris, presented ; ono black an ike, Bascanion .viutric/or 
presented ; ono night heron, Xyctiardea gardtni, presented by A. 
Ooffleld ; six undulated gra-s porrokoeta, Mcloiistltaeus unilulatus, 
hatched la gardon ; one yak, Buan grunniene, boru lu garden ; 
two raccoons, Procyon lotor, born In gnrdon ; fifteen English 
pheaiants, Phasianus eolekicus, hatched In ganlon ; seventeen 
sliver pheasants, Bnplocamus nyclhenvsrus, hutohed In garden ; nine 
gold phoasauts, Thaumalea picta, hatched In garden ; twenty-three 
pratrlo dogs, Cynomys ludovManus, born In garden ; one Virginia deer, 
Cerous Virginian, is, born In garden ; two passongcr pigeons, Eotopistes 
tntyratorttM,. hatched In garden. H. P. Ingalls, 8upt, 
oodhnd , $<irm md (§nrdcn> 
TUIS DEPARTMENT IS EDITED BY W. j. DAVIDSON, 8EO. N. Y. 
HORTIOULTIRAL SOCIETY. 
Meetino of tiib New York Horticultural Sooiety. — 
The regular June meeting of this society, though there 
were not so many plants and flowers exhibited, was one 
of the most interesting that it has yet held. Not only were 
the plants and flowers shown of extra merit, but some of them 
were very rare and shown in bloom for the flr*t time in this 
country. Messrs. Beach, Son & Co., 7 Barclay si., led the 
way with a fine display of Hardy Azaleas aud Rhododen- 
drons, including some fine new sorts. Irises, Pieonias, the 
beautiful yellow bulbous plant from California ; Cyclobothra 
iutea, that had stood the winter without protection ; a very 
fine spike of the curious Hyaciuthus pluraosus; immense 
blooms of Clematis lanuginosa and C. Azurea gntndiflora, 
etc. Mr. Jas. Tapliu, manager to George Such, Esq., 
showed the rare and beautiful light-pink Lilium Knuucri and 
u fine spike of L. Aurutura; C. L. Allen, blooms of the scarce 
Beaumontia grandifiora and Magnolia Macrophylla ; John 
Henderson, immense heads of the new Hydrangeu Otaksa, 
very like the old variety in color but a much freer bloomer 
and superior to it in every way. The gems among the 
plants, however, were the Orchids, brought by Mr. A. Mayne, 
Gardener to Mrs. Mary June Morgan, 26tb 8f. These consisted 
of Odontoglossum, Roezlii and O. vcxillarium, both very rare 
varieties, and on exhibition for the first time ; a very fine variety 
of Cypripedium Stonei, and a good plant of the lovely Dendro- 
blum Pierardi latifolia well bloomed. Mr. C. D. Dickey, of 
Hunt's Point, N. Y., sent two plates of President Lincoln 
Strawberry, which received a certificate of merit from tho 
society last season, one of the berries weighing considerably 
over two ounces. Messrs. Peter Henderson, E. P. Roe, J. 
Riddle and others also sent very fine strawberries, and a 
variety called Beauty, sent by Mr. BendersoD, received special 
notice. Although early for Roses, Mr. Wm. Burgess, Glen- 
cove, L. L, put up a beautiful group, principal among which 
were Souvenir de William Wood, Murechul Neil, Mail A. 
Leroy, Blancbefleur, Marechal Vaillant, William Griffith, a 
number of varieties of Moss Roses, including tbe best of them 
all, the old English Moss, and a new 6eedliDg Rose of bis own 
which he has named George Washington, of exquisite shape, 
color und fragrance. A most interesting and thoroughly 
practical address was delivered by P. T. Quin, Esq., Newark, 
N. J., on “Tbe Summer Management of Fruit Trees.’’ Mr. 
Quin took the opportunity to warn all against tbe unprin- 
cipled tree peddler, who had done more to bring discredit of 
Horticulture and Horticulturists than all other causes put IQ 
