95 
NATURAL HISTORY NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Canadian Natural History. —W. S. Wilkinson, of Woodstock, Ontario, 
after writing about Canadian .■Xrchieology, says : — 
“ However, I don’t trouble myself much with these things. I get more satis- 
faction and enjoyment out of snakes, ‘ bugs ’ and birds, and it is a source of great 
pleasure in my tramps to watch and note them. This is a poor season of the 
year for natural history. The country is almost dead so far as animal life is con- 
cerned, and in this respect is much more so than it used to be forty years ago, 
when there was a larger area of timber lands. Then there were many northern 
or resident woodland species, such as woodpeckers, jays, and titmice, crossbills, 
I'tc., but now you scarcely see a bird of any kind. The shelter of the woods is 
getting less every year, and consequently the food of these birds is scarce, so they 
live the winter through further north, in newer and more woody districts. I 
often take a tramp to Maple llank, and during some trips this winter I have 
seen absolutely nothing in the way of birds. But perhaps the cause of loss in 
winter gives a gain in summer, as I am sure there are many more birds at that 
season than formerly. A good many new species, that live out here in the open 
in preference to the thick woods, have come in since I first knew the country. 
Some of our birds are grand songsters : perhaps the sweetest is the wood thrush. 
Others are more noted for their beautiful plumage than for their singing. Maybe 
you remember seeing some of them — the yellow-bird, or goldfinch, the blue-bird, 
and brightest and gayest of all, the scarlet tanager, with his bright, scarlet body, 
and black wings and tail. This morning I heard a crow ‘cawing,’ and being the 
first and only one I have noticed all winter it struck me as a very pleasant sound. 
Some seasons quite a flock stay here all winter. The ‘ English ’ sparrow, how- 
ever, we have always with us. Storm and cold seem to have no effect whatever 
on him ; and he is really an unmitigated nui.sance in the summer-time, fighting 
with, and driving off birds that we would much rather have, pulling their nests to 
pieces and otherwise making himself disagreeable. There is a heavy ‘trumpet- 
vine ’ over our front door porch, and Maggie has great trouble in keeping the 
steps clean because of the little rascals. A robin, or rather a pair of them, build 
their nest in the vine every summer, and make as much mess as the sparrows, 
but they are privileged characters, and we just clean up and say nothing about 
them. The sparrows have found their way a long distance out West. A year 
ago last fall, I noticed a small flock in Deloraine, about one of the grain elevators. 
Last year they seemed to be all over the country (Manitoba). They took pos- 
session of G. P.’s new barn long before it was finished, and started housekeeping. 
Pulling down their nests and destroying their eggs had no effect on them at all, 
they would start rebuilding at once, and in the same place, and with the old 
material, if it was laying around. They stand the blizzards, and 40° below zero 
weather, and thrive on it, in fact I thought they looked larger and plumper than 
the Eastern birds. Well, that is surely enough about sparrows. A little about 
the weather and I must stop. Our winter has been a strange one so far, with 
alternate changes of cold and mildness, which is not at all pleasant. We had a 
heavy snowfall early in the season, which disappeared shortly after Christmas. 
Since then we have had no sleighing, but at times, bitter cold weather. This 
weather report is only for this section. In some places they always have from 
two to five feet of snow and steady cold the winter through. ” 
February 2, 1899. 
Cannibalism of Dormice. — I would ask Mr. Dighton if he supplied his 
dormice with plenty of water to drink ? If not, the apparent act of cannibalism 
he mentions is easily accounted for, one of the dormice having killed the other 
for the small amount of moisture to be obtained to slake its parching thirst. I 
know that dealers in pet dormice state to their customers that these animals do 
not require water, but a more cruel statement could not be made. All animals 
must have water or obtain moisture from food to be able to exist. One often 
hears of pet rabbits devouring their young, and this is frequently caused from 
want of water. I know of no greater cruelty than to keep any pet animal of any 
