already provided in our natural forests, by 
carefully cutting and removing all the largest 
and most valuable timber, being careful not 
to destroy any more of the small trees than 
is necessary in removing the large ones, being 
also careful not to allow any fire to be started 
in any portion of the forest. After removing 
all the valuable timber, fence the amount of 
ground you wish to try the experiment upon, 
keeping out all kinds of farm stock until the 
natural growth of the young timber shall 
have attained sufficient eozo to protect them¬ 
selves from the ravages of the stock. 
forming a loop, which will catch on all ob¬ 
structions and retard the progressed the ani¬ 
mal entrapped. Any fresh meat, entrails of 
deer or sheep, or the. remains of animals the 
bear has killed, may be used for bait; but the 
very best is honey-comb. In places where it 
is practicable, it is weli to set. the trap under 
water or very soft mud. He is also taken in 
“ dead-falls,'' made something like those 
used for smaller animals, only stronger. 
Spring guns are also used, but they are too 
dangerous to human life to warrant their use 
except in sparsely settled regions. 
®hc Naturalist 
FUR-BEARING ANIMALS—XI. 
AMERICAN BLACK BEAB. 
AUDUBON. 
W. J. Ford, Humbcretone, Leicestershire, 
Eng., upon this subject, based upon what he 
has seen of the best specimens of these fowls 
at the diflierent English shows. He says he is 
induced to think that breeders are commit¬ 
ting great mistakes in breeding too much 
from what are called fashionable strains and 
adds I find a loss in weight, size, and color, 
poor legs, and very light hackles. They 
ought to throw a dash of strange blood in 
from a pure bird with much darker feathers 
and stouter make. If this first crossing be 
not suiTciently effective, and if the markings 
or the size and health of the produce.required 
more improvement., another cross similar to 
the first must be again resorted to, and again 
brought back to the original type. 
I have no confidence in the permanence of 
a cross iu the light-marked breed. 1 mean 
to assert, however, that by rational selection 
of larger and darker marked cocks with light 
hens, and by chance in breeding from the 
birds which show the best qualities and pre¬ 
sent the greatest likeness to one another, ono 
could in course of time establish a strain re¬ 
producing itself with something like fixity. 
Thus having created what wo call the breed, 
and though t heir acquired properties have in 
course of time gained something like fixity, 
yet there is always a tendency for them to 
lose in strength and dwindle away. Tt is this 
tendency which it is the task of breeders to 
counterbalance and to correct. 
Inexperienced persons are apt very often to 
overlook the general qualifications of a bird 
in their ardor for cultivating a single quality, 
or developing a single point of form ; but one 
must always have in mind that it is a com¬ 
mon law of nature tliatrthe superior and ex¬ 
traordinary development of some particular 
part of an organism cannot be obtained ex¬ 
cept at the expense of the rest, thus commit¬ 
ting great errors which it takes years to erad- 
Ursus Amerlcanus. 
The Black Bear lias been found in every 
wooded district throughout North America, 
from the North through all the States to 
Mexico, excepting California, but it is rarely 
Been in the older States, excepting in wild, 
mountainous regions. The size of the full- 
grown boar varies, but the length, of the bou\ 
may be given as something over blx feet ; the 
tail, two inches. The head is short and 
broad where it joins the neck ; eyes small, 
close together; care high, rounded; body 
and legs thick and clumsy ; claws short, flat, 
incurved, calculated for climbing and bur¬ 
rowing ; tail very short ; fur long, straight, 
and rather soft; nose fawn-colored, which 
color extends to the eyes; eyes and nails 
black; hairs on the whole body of most 
specimens glossy black. 
The Bear changes its haunts with the sea¬ 
son, owing to Rs desire of obtaining suitable 
food or of retiring to more inaccessible re¬ 
gions, where it can pass its time in security. 
Durinar the Spring mouths it searches foi 
hot months it passes much of its time wal¬ 
lowing like a hog in swamps, where it eats 
■•rayfish and roots and is glad to get hold of 
any quadruped, sometimes attacking even a 
full-grown cow. When berries begin to 
ripen on the mountains It betakes itself to 
the high grounds, followed by the cubs. In 
newly-settled countries and in retired situa¬ 
tions' it is a great destroyer of pigs, calves 
and sheep, and ravages corn fields when the 
corn is “in the milk,” eating the ears with 
great greediness. It is fond of fish, which it 
catches with skill and dexterity. In its pur¬ 
suit of nuts it will sometimes almost strip 
oak and beech trees of their branches, “lop¬ 
ping” them off with ease. As it is a capital 
climber and very fond of honey, it never 
fails to rob every “bee tree" it finds in its 
rambles. 
Some authorities say the male bear can be 
seen abroad at all times of the year ; but in 
very cold regions it invariably hibernates. It 
generally selects a spot for its den under a 
fallen tree, and, having scratched away a 
portion of the soil, at the beginning of a 
snow storm retires to it, when the snow soon 
furnishes a close, warm covering. Its breath 
makes a Bmall opening, by which its retreat, 
is often discovered. The female, before very 
cold weather comes on, always goes into 
Winter quarters, in some hollow tree or well- 
coucealed den. Here, iu January, the cubs 
arc brought forth, usually two in numbei. 
At first they are about the size of kittens, 
but they grow rapidly, thougli the mother 
eats nothing till some weeks later, when, 
they being large enough to follow her and 
able to climb trees, she ventures out of her 
Winter home. The love of the female bear 
for her young, and her skill, activity and 
fearlessness in defending them from danger 
AMERICAN III. A Civ 
The flesh of the bear is finest in the late fall “But.” 
or early winter, when it is very lat, and the will be 01 
meat of those whose food consists principally Very v 
of nuts, berries a nd sweet roots, is excellent, Anothc 
with a peculiarly wild and perfumed flavor, will take 
The fat is in high repute for promoting the —equal i 
growth of hair, and will bring nt least a del- But ono 
lar a pound. Some years ago Black Bear trouble 3 
skins were greatly in vogue for carriage just let tl 
hammer cloths, and in 1SC3, it is said, 25,000 thcmselv 
skins were exported, bringing twenty to fort y the large 
guineas apiece. They are now quoted from it on a t 
twelve to eighteen dollars. or if you 
The Indian tribes have many superstitions forestall 
concerning the Bear, and many of them go go, if yo 
through various ceremonies before going out blown d 
to hunt the animal. H. tion unt 
___ started ; 
VOBACITY OF DIFEEBENT BIRDS 
SAND-HILL CRANE 
An Illinoisan writes as follows about this 
bird:—A few words about the sand-liili crane 
(or what might be properly called the ostrich 
of North America). The full-grown sand-h ill 
crane stands about four feet high, weighs fif¬ 
teen to twenty-five pounds; feeds on vegetable 
matin , same as 'wild geest. Its flesh is excel¬ 
lent eating, considered by many to be supe¬ 
rior to wild turkey. The blue and white 
crane are fish birds, and are not good to cat. 
About the same similarity between them and 
sand-hill crane as there is between the turkey 
buzzard aud the wild turkey. 
CARBOLIC ACID FOB GAPES, 
no difficulty iu curing gapes by the use of 
carbolic acid. Ho says “ 80 potent are the 
fumes of this powerful remedy, and so de¬ 
structive are they to parasitic life, that their 
inhalation for even a few moments seem per¬ 
fectly effectual in destroying the life of the 
worm. It is not even necessary to employ 
any special apparatus ; a few drops of car¬ 
bolic acid may ue placed in a spoon aud held 
over the flame of a candle until the vapor is 
seen to rise, when the head of the young 
chicken or pheasant (held in the other hand) 
may be placed in the vapor, which the ani¬ 
mal is forced to inhale. Care must be taken 
not to carry on the process until the fowl as 
well as thep worms are killed. I find after 
exposure to the fumes for a few seconds the 
bird may be regarded as cured, and may be 
seen running about quite well on the follow¬ 
ing day ; if not, the treatment should be re¬ 
peated. The medicinal carbolic acid is pref¬ 
erable to the tarry liquid used for disinfect¬ 
ing sewers and drains.” 
Arborimltural 
PROPAGATION OF FOREST TREES, 
I NOTICE by the reports of the proceedings 
of the National Agricultural Convention that 
the following resolution was offered : 
Resolved, Tliut we earnestly advise and entreat 
the farmers of our whole country, who are 
favorably located for the purpose, to plant 
fore*I trees, not merely for shade and ornament, 
but by the acre and hundreds of twins, in order 
to reproduce our forests, to take the place of 
those that are being so rapidly and fearfully 
demolished in every direction, therefore not 
only providing for the actual necessities of 
those who ore to come after us, but also to avert 
calamities that can neither be imagined nor 
described, that, must eventually ensue whenever 
our broad land shall be stripped of its forests, 
ami consequently deprived of the numerous 
beneficent influences they are known to impart. 
Allow me here to suggest that instead of 
incurring the enormous expense of setting 
out forest, trees, not only as a matter of 
economy but to secure a more rapid growth, 
that we reap the harvest of timber that is 
DESTROYING “AMERICAN BLIGHT 
An English horticultural journal, answer¬ 
ing a question, gives this method of “ destroy 
ing American blight” : — “Dress the trees 
with paraffin oil, applying it with a paint 
brush, rubbing, or rather brushing, it into 
every hole and crevice. The thick roots 
should be pared and dressed with the paraffin. 
The soil removed should be taken away, the 
roots covered with rich soil, and the latter 
mulched with manure. The paraffin should 
not be put 011 carelessly and spilled on the 
ground over the roots, but be used with care, 
applying it, however, effectually to the stems 
and thick roots.” 
SMARTWEED AND LICE 
