friends) of soven different vaxieties was 
burrowed as recklessly ns any other section. 
We have repeatedly traced mole courses 
to Arbor Vita 1 , Hemlocks, Balsams, as well 
as to ornamental deciduous and fruit trees. 
A weeping Cut-leaved Birch has for two 
summers been deprived of its foliage by their 
excavations—in spite, too, of laths driven 
into the ground olosely together, making an 
oblong circle about the trunk three or four 
feet in diameter. Indeed, the roots of culti¬ 
vated trees, hardly less than those of annual 
plants, are favorite resorts of the mole for 
the same reasons in part, and for the extra 
reason that the former are usually mulched 
and protected in the fall—a consideration 
that often induces them, under such comfort¬ 
able shelter, to locate their winter homes. 
We cannot say that we have thrown any 
new light upon our benighted subject, though 
wo have striven to do so ; but, dear, good 
reader, if yon are as generous as you must 
be patient to have read thus far, and you do 
know of any real mole exterminator, have 
pity on us and communicate it straightway, 
and we will thank yon evermore. 
River Edge, Bergen Co., N. J. 
upset them outright, or channel beneath, so 
as to deprive the roots of moisture, necessi¬ 
tating in any ease their re-arrangement. 
Though from previous melancholy experi¬ 
ences we harbored slender hopes of either 
exterminating or driving them away, we 
were invigorated by forlorn hopes to watch 
fui and persistent endeavors. Salt, aloes, 
sulphur, tobacco, potash, lirtie and coal ashes 
were separately placed in their runs without 
appreciable effect. Arsenic upon bread, 
cooked meat, raw meat induced them merely 
to change their route a little, which generally 
involved upsetting additional plants. We 
his own fault if the weight of his bag is not 
greatly increased, 
He must be constantly alert, as birds will 
rise from unexpected places. I have several 
times started them from thick tangles of 
grape vines ten feet above the water, it 
will save the sportsman much time and 
trouble if he is accompanied by a well 
broken retriever, but it is not so necessary 
as in the shooting next to he described. 
If the stream is bordered by wide marshes 
the shooting must he done from a light boat, 
propelled by a skillful paddler, the shooter 
sitting near the bow and shooting the birds 
THE WOOD OR SUMMER DUCK 
This duck {Anas sponsa) tabes its first 
name and that by which it is most generally 
known from its singular habit of building its 
nest in hollow trees, taking possession for 
this purpose of the deserted holes of the 
large woodpecker ; the name of Summer 
Duck, from its abiding with us throughout 
the summer, it being almost the only one 
which does so to any great extent. 
The species ranges over the whole of the 
United States, and occurs sparingly as far 
north as Nova Scotia. In winter it accumu¬ 
lates in large number in t he Southern States. 
It makes its appearance here, in the Chain- 
plain Vailey, in April, and migrates south¬ 
ward in October. The specimen from which 
the accompanying drawing was made —a 
male in full plumage—was shot on the ‘,'9th 
of October, but, if my memory serves me 
right, they are seldom seen here so late. 
The Wood Duck is the most beautiful bird 
wo have, combining beauty of form and 
color. It has nothing of the awkwardness 
in its appearance which almost all other 
ducks have in a greater or less degree. Its 
length is about 20 inches. Its bill is broader 
than high at base, with upper mandible con¬ 
vex curved and with a slender nail at tip. 
It is bright red at base, yellowish on the 
sides, ridge and tip black, as is also the lower 
mandible. Iris and edges of eyelids bright 
red. Feet central, weak ; web, entire, dull 
orange ; claws black. Plumage is dense, 
soft, blended and glossed ; the feathers of 
the back bead are narrow and elongated, 
forming a fine crest on the male. 
Top of the head, crest and about the eyes, 
different shades of green. Crest and side of 
head marked by two white lines ; a black 
patch on side of neck, chili, back part of 
cheek, and a process half round the throat 
pure white ; lower part of the neck and 
breast bright chestnut-brown, spotted with 
white ; back scapulars, wings and tail ex¬ 
hibiting a play of green, purple, blue, gray 
and velvet biaek 
NEWS AND NOTES FOR PATRONS 
A bill to incorporate the Grange has been 
introduced in the Indiana Legislature, and 
will unqu stionably be passed. 
A Grange implement and machinery 
store is about to be opened at Vincennes, 
Ind., by the Patrons of Knox Co. 
The Patrons of Goodhue Co., Minn., have 
organized a manufacturing association with 
a capital or *100,000, in *50 shares. 
The bill to incorporate Granges and simi¬ 
lar associations has passed the Arkansas 
Legislature with but one vote against it. 
It is held that a Grange cannot surrender 
its charter so long as nine men and four 
women, members thereof, vote against so 
doing, 
A movement is on foot among the Patrons 
adjacent to Kasson, Minn., to build a grain 
elevator for the handling of their own 
wheat. 
RUSTIC Grange, Black Hawk Co., Iowa, 
has given a lecture course this winter that is 
'L’PILC WOOD O It STTMdVIKXt DUCK. 
then tried soaking corn in strychnine, depos¬ 
iting half a dozen kernels in every hole—a 
dangerous proceeding, which, had it proved 
serviceable, would present but a choice of 
evils. A lull in hostilities seemed to follow 
for two or three days, and wo were already 
wavering between delight over our great- 
victory and a benevolent consideration of 
the relentless slaughter that had been 
wrought, when — as if at a signal — they 
rushed back upon us in full force, a trilie 
festively playful than ever after their 
rest or visit to neighboring grounds—while, 
in due course, we noticed in little clumps 
among our other seedlings that 
" The corn was springing frosh and green.” 
As strychnine cannot harm by contact, it 
may reasonably be inferred that, on account 
of its insufferably bitter taste, moles would 
not oat food impregnated with it. 
From our own observations, we have no 
idea that moles ever cat bulbs, roots or other 
vegetable matter. To ascertain their choice 
as they rise from the rushes and wild oats, 
which in most cases hide them till they do 
rise. If the ducks have been little disturbed 
in their haunts, the boat must not bo pad¬ 
dled too silently lest they be passed un¬ 
flushed and unseen ; but if they have been 
much shot at, then the boat cannot move too 
cautiously. The birds rise on cither side by 
ones and twos, sometimes dozens, and afford 
great sport. Or the shooter may lie con¬ 
cealed among the rushes in his boat from 
sundown till dark, or in the early morning, more 
in the line of the ducks’ flight as they pass to 
and shoot 
a hair-like, shining, red¬ 
dish-purple tuft on each side of the rump ; 
belly whitish ; flanks yellowish gray, beauti¬ 
fully waved with black, the tips of the long 
feathers and also those on the shoulder 
broadly barred with white and black, and 
on most of the plumage is a play of colors 
with a metallic luster. 
The female is without the tufts on the 
rump, the fine lines on the flanks, has a 
shorter crest and lass vivid plumage, it being 
mostly of a brownish hue. 
Audubon says :—“ The flight of this species j 
is remarkable for its speed, and for the ease 
and elegance with which it is performed. 
The Wood Duck passes through the woods, 
and even among the branches of trees, with 
as much facility as the Passenger Pigeou, 
and while removing from some secluded 
haunt to Its breeding grounds, at the ap¬ 
proach of night, it shoots over the trees like 
a meteor, scarcely emitting any sound from 
its wings.” 
The eggs, which number from six to fif¬ 
teen, according to the age of the bird, are 
placed cm dry plants, feathers and a scanty 
portion of down. They are smooth, nearly 
elliptical, of a light color, between buff and 
pale green, two inches in length by one and 
a half in diameter. 
If the nest overhangs the water, the 
young, as soon as they are hatched, drop 
into it, but if at some distauce, the mother 
carries them to it one by one, carefully held 
in her bill. Their food is principally wild 
oats, acorns, beechnuts and various berries, 
“insects, worms and 
and from their feeding gr 
them as they fly past. 
The inexperienced shooter must remember I 
that the flight of the duck is more rapid than 
it seems, and that if he aim not well ahead 
of his bird he will miss it by shooting be¬ 
hind. A wounded duck will skulk and hide 
so cunningly in the marsh, and one killed 
outright is so hard to mark down closely 
from a moving boat and where the cover 
has so few noticeable marks, that without a 
good dog one will not recover half the birds 
he brings down. 
In those places where Wood Duck breed 
in great numbars and are not frequently dis¬ 
turbed they congregate in large flocks, some¬ 
times of a hundred or more ; but where few 
breed and are eften shot at and otherwise 
molested, one seldom secs more than a dozen 
together, oftener not more than two or three. 
It is strange that this beautiful bird has not 
been domesticated, as it is a fine duck for 
the table, and certainly no more showy or 
attractive addition could be made to the 
poultry-yard. R. E. R. 
Ferrlsburgh, V t. 
ing across paths too ham tor tiiem to plow 
through. In the first we found only ground- 
worms, freshly devoured and bitten in regu¬ 
lar pieces half an inch in length. In the 
others, the contents of their digestive vis¬ 
cera, though it seemed t-o be animal matter, 
was so far decomposed that we could not de¬ 
termine by the aid of a glass, definitely, 
whether it was or was not. 
The impression that they live upon roots, 
etc., is derived chiefly, we think, from the 
fact that their runs or burrows take in the 
roots of tOO many plants to be indiscrimi¬ 
nate, as we would at first suppose them to be 
if the moles were In search of animal food 
exclusively. The plants droop in conse¬ 
quence, and the inference is natural that- the 
roots have been injured or destroyed. But 
it should be considered that manure and the 
richest soil are generally selected for flowers 
and vegetables, and that they are frequently 
watered in dry weather—two circumstances 
which certainly attract worms, thus render¬ 
ing the vicinity of roots the mole’s richest 
feeding-ground. The drooping of the plants 
is duo to the removal of earth from under¬ 
neath or about the roots and the quick clry- 
They injure 
MOLES, 
BY ELBERT S. CARMAN, 
Who that has ever written about horticul¬ 
tural matters has not had his say about 
moles ? Not to depart from a precedent so 
well established, we beg to submit our state¬ 
ment, not, however, with the view of offer¬ 
ing any exterminatory measures, but rather 
to prove the ineilicacy Of those al ready rec¬ 
ommended. 
We began to construct our home in the 
country about two years ago. It was neces¬ 
sary to grade the grounds in every part so 
as to insure proper drainage. The loose, 
mellow earth in this way accumulated 
seemed to invite the moles of the whole 
country around about—an invitation that, 
so far as we can judge, was very generally 
and cordially accepted. 
Our beds were no sooner completed and 
our seedlings carefully planted therein than 
their skylarkiugs (if this word can be used 
to designate subterranean maneuvers) be¬ 
gan. Sometimes they honored one bed, some¬ 
times another. Then, not to be exclusive, 
they would make a raid upon the lawn, fur¬ 
rowing it here and there til patches, as if 
they sought the derangement or destruction 
of every living fiber. Revisiting the beds, 
they would either raise the young plants, 
tributed *7,074.87 for the destitute in tne 
West. There are over 1,100 Granges in 
Ohio. 
The Kansas Farmer recommends that the 
meeting of the State Grange be deferred one 
year on account of the hard times in that 
State, believing the Executive Committee 
can transact all business necessary to be 
done. 
The growth of the Patrons throughout 
the South is remarkable. In Alabama there 
are now reported to be 041 Granges, with 
32,(XX) members ; in Florida, 108 Granges, 
with 5,500 members; in Arkansas, 521 
Granges, with 21,000 members; while in 
other States there are also numerous lodges 
with large membership. 
TnE Sovereigns of Industry are rapidly 
increasing in this region, as well as elsewhere. 
Last week, among others, Paterson, (N. J.) 
Council was organized, with A, C. Crosby 
as President, and Robt. MoNab, See’y.— 
Oreeupoiut, (N. Y.) Council with A. P. 
Howard as President, and F. Gardner, 
See’y. A Council was also organized at 
Greensburg, N. Y.,—Dobb’s Ferry. 
and Thompson adds, 
tadpoles.” 
The young birds are well-grown and strong 
on the wing by the 15th of August, and 
Wood Duck shooting properly begins then. 
The methods of pursuing this sport vary 
with the character of the streams where it 
is sought. If the stream has wooded banks 
with little or no marsh, the sportsman will 
do best to go on foot, following cautiously 
the bank and keeping constaut and keen- 
eyed watch, which must be increased as he 
approaches the likeliest places, such as acorn¬ 
laden oaks overhanging the water, where 
the ducks resort to feed upon the fallen 
mast, or thick tufts of sedge and rushes, 
among which a log or fallen tree lies, on 
which these fowl delight to sit and sleep in 
the sun. 
If he is fortunate enough to find a dozen 
or so of ducks sitting in a row in such a 
place, and (tan creep up without disturbing 
them, within short range, so that lie can 
rake the log with his first barrel and put in 
his second as those unhurt arise, it will be 
ing out of what remains, 
plants or bulbs, therefore, not by eating 
their roots, but by displacing or upsetting 
them, as they obstruct the channels in which 
they seek their food. 
The RLcinus—so often alluded to in this 
connection, is uot, we are confident, distaste¬ 
ful to moles, and guarantees no protection 
whatever against their ravages. This we 
know, specific ally, from the fact that three 
Riciuii planted in my father’s grounds were 
specially honored as the headquarters of a 
mole fraternity, though we refilled the holes 
made underneath the plauts more than once 
and obliterated their approaches; as far 
as we could trace them, and generic,ally 
from the fact that in our own grounds a 
little Ricinus grove (a plantation which, by 
the way, we highly commend to our Rural 
