The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
85! 
Nature  Notes 
An  Experience  with  Pheasants 
On  page  767,  Mrs.  E.’s  story  of  the 
pugnacious  pheasant  stirred  unpleasant 
memories.  Some  years  ago  we  hatched 
eight  little  pheasants  from  eggs  obtained 
from  the  State  Conservation  Commission. 
Five  grew  to  maturity,  three  hens  and 
two  vainglorious  cocks.  The  first  Win¬ 
ter  they  stayed  in  the  henhouse  with  the 
flock  of  poultry  and  were  so  tame  they 
were  easily  handled,  but  early  in  Spring 
left  us.  The  little  hens  never  came  back 
to  the  haunts  of  men.  but  the  cocks  sel¬ 
dom  missed  a  day  at  feeding  time,  and  all 
Summer  were  quarrelsome.  The  next 
Spring  I  purchased  a  pedigreed  rooster 
for  .$25,  and  immediately  he  caught  the 
eye  of  the  jealous  creatures,  and  the 
ugliest  one  killed  him.  I  was  at  church 
when  the  battle  started,  and  the  children 
couldn't  separate  them.  When  I  returned 
the  deed  was  done.  They  frequently 
killed  small  chickens,  annoyed  the  hens 
and  killed  one  other  cock  during  the 
early  part  of  the  Summer.  At  last. 
These  “shrimps”  may  be  the  larvae  of 
the  stone  fly,  which  lays  its  eggs  in  open 
ponds  and  streams,  as  described  by  Glenn 
W.  Herrick  in  an  article  on  page'  4S0  of 
this  paper.  I  see  no  reason  why  a  filter 
should  not  remove  them  without  trouble, 
whether  made  of  charcoal  or  sand  and 
gravel,  or  all  three  combined.  Such  a 
filter  is  described  and  illustrated  on 
page  739.  If  these  wrigglers  find  their 
way  into  the  well  from  some  pond 
or  stream  by  an  underground  way, 
you  should  be  sure  that  this  source  of 
your  domestic  water  supply  is  not  being 
contaminated  by  surface,  or  subsurface, 
drainage  from  small  pools  near  by.  If  so, 
something  much  more  dangerous  than 
wigglers  may  find  its  way  into  it.  A  pro¬ 
tection  against  surface  pollution  may  be 
found  in  cemented  curbing  of  the  well, 
extending  for  several  feet  from  the  top 
and  carried  a  short  distance  above  the 
natural  level  of  the  ground.  The  ground 
about  should  then  be  graded  up  to  the  well 
platform,  so  as  to  carry  all  surface  water 
away  from  the  well.  In  addition,  a 
The  Tiro  Pheasants  Hatched  with  the  Hens 
driven  to  desperation,  we,  in  direct  viola¬ 
tion  of  the  law,  and  with  malice  afore 
thought,  I  do  assure  you,  caught  those 
two  scamps,  put  them  in  a  box  and 
drove  10  miles  where  they  were  released. 
They  never  returned,  and  no  others  have 
ever  bothered  us,  though  there  are  pheas¬ 
ants  in  the  woods  nearby.  We  lost  sev¬ 
eral  big  hens  that  same  Summer,  but  we 
saw  the  killing  in  the  other  instances  and 
could  only  guess  he  killed  the  hens.  At 
the  time  we  were  not  aware  that  such 
damages  were  payable  by  the  State,  and 
of  course,  now  it  is  too  late.  But  surely 
that  was  biting  the  hand  that  fed  him. 
MRS.  ROBERT  H.  WOOD. 
Herkimer  Co.,  N.  Y. 
Another  Pugnacious  Pheasant 
On  page  767  E.  E.  tells  of  a  ring¬ 
necked  male  pheasant  that,  worked  havoc 
on  her  hens.  I  formerly  bred  these  game 
birds  for  many  years  and  found  an  oc¬ 
casional  male  that  would  single  out  some 
female  of  his  own  flock  and  would  kill 
her  if  not  prevented.  This  attack  was 
confined  to  some  particular  female  and 
no  other  seemed  to  rouse  his  displeasure. 
For  some  years  I  tried  to  get  a  cross  by 
using  a  male  ring-neck  and  bantam  hens 
and  succeeded  in  getting  one  nonde¬ 
script.  In  many  instances,  during  this 
time,  I  was  forced  to  remove  the  hens 
from  the  pens  to  save  their  lives.  As  a 
rule  the  males  are  not  inclined  to  do 
this,  but  occasionally  one  is  a  “bad 
actor.”  It  is  a  safe  bet  that  a  pheas- 
and  cock  will  whip  almost  anything  in  the 
“rooster”  line.  They  do  not  fight  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  rules,  but  get  results.  The 
clipping  below  is  from  a  recent  issue  of 
our  local  paper.  s.  b. 
Milton,  Vt. 
Pheasant  Whips  Rooster 
After  being  robbed  of  sleep  for  sev¬ 
eral  mornings  I  decided  to  find  out  the 
author  of  the  peculiar  crowing  which 
we  had  heard  just  outside  our  bedroom 
window. 
Rising  quietly,  I  tiptoed  out  to  the 
door  and  saw  a  cock  pheasant  perched 
<>n  our  veranda  rail.  He.  crowed  several 
times  then  flew  down  to  where  our  hens 
were  busily  picking  at  the  grass. 
The  “lord  of  the  barnyard”  engaged 
him  in  a  swift  and  fierce  battle  but  was 
vanquished  and  I  returned  to  bed. — Mrs. 
C.-  L.  S.,  Jeffersonville. 
“Wrigglers”  in  Well  Water 
When  the  well  pump  brings  up  lively 
small  fry,  like  quarter-inch  (white) 
shrimps  or  other  wrigglers,  what  can  be 
done  to  overcome  the  unpleasantness? 
The  water  is  clear  and  cold  and  natur¬ 
ally  of  pleasant  taste.  Tenants  will  com¬ 
plain.  as  they  do  not  wish  to  be  bothered 
with  boiling  the  water.  The  well  cover 
is  tight.  Would  air  holes  make  a  differ¬ 
ence?  Is  any  filter  fine  enough  to  exclude 
the  smaller  wigglers?  Would  a  charcoal- 
filled  filter  answer  the  purpose?  c. 
New  York. 
watertight  well  platform  should  be  con¬ 
structed.  Such  precautions  are  inexpen¬ 
sive  and  effective  in  preventing  much 
dangerous  pollution.  M.  b.  d. 
Preparing  Butterflies  for  Shipment 
Would  you  give  me  information  on  pre¬ 
paring  and  packing  butterflies  for  ship¬ 
ment?  J.  E. 
Keffer,  Pa. 
Butterflies  and  moths  are  very  easily 
prepared  for  shipment.  The  wings  of 
each  specimen,  while  it  is  fresh,  are 
folded  or  brought  together  over  the  back 
so  that  the  insect  will  lie  flat.  Each  in¬ 
sect  is  then  put  inside  of  a  piece  of  paper 
folded  as  shown  in  the  accompanying 
diagram.  Oblong  pieces  of  paper  (cheap 
quality  of  writing  paper)  should  be  cut 
of  different  sizes  to  suit  the  varying  sizes 
of  butterflies.  The  specimens,  after  each 
Folder  for  Packing  Butterflies 
one  is  put  in  its  folder,  may  be  packed  in 
a  tin  or  wooden  box  and  shipped  any¬ 
where  throuih  the  mails. 
The  piece  of  paper  shown  in  the  Fig¬ 
ure  A  should  be  folded  through  the  middle 
along  dotted  line  1  and  then  along  dotted 
lines  2  and  3.  Following  this  the  corners 
4  and  5  should  be  turned  down,  when  an 
envelope,  B,  will  be  formed  in  which  the 
specimen  may  be  enclosed.  c.  w.  ir. 
Better  Music,  Quickly  Mastered, 
on  the  Gulbransen 
Listen  to  the  playing  of  a  Gulbransen  by  anyone  who  under¬ 
stands  the  correct  interpretation  of  the  music  being  played. 
Compare  it  with  the  hand-playing  that  you  ordi¬ 
narily  hear. 
It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  Gulbransen  playing 
is  infinitely  superior,  more  expressive,  more  artistic. 
Compare  the  best  Gulbransen  playing  with  the  best 
hand-playing.  They  are  indistinguishable. 
These  are  broad  statements,  but  facts.  They  are  im¬ 
portant  because  they  point  the  way  for  you  to  play 
good  music,  with  your  own  individuality  and  expres¬ 
sion,  but  without  long  study  and  tedious  finger- work. 
Remember  these  points:  First,  the  Gulbransen  is 
easy  to  play;  second,  you  do  the  playing,  you  are  in  as 
close  contact  with  the  music  being  produced  as  is  the 
musician  who  plays  any  instrument; 
third,  it  is  the  only  player -piano  with 
Instruction  Rolls. 
Every  piano  and  player-piano  needs  tuning  at 
least  twice  a  year.  Don’t  neglect  yourGulbransen. 
GULBRANSEN-DICKINSON 
COMPANY,  Chicago 
Canadian  Distributors: 
Mutual  Sales  Service,  Ltd. 
79  Wellington  St.  W.,  Toronto 
C Nationally  Priced 
Branded  in  the  Bach 
)  1923  G-D  Co 
Baby 
tn  Hjaving 
Jn  yoyr  feano. 
^5*TfVtjjlrgin. 
^Dickinson  Co.. 
Chicago  Avenue,  Chicago,  Ill.' 
-M'S 
V '  » ■>  j*  —  JC  v^-  A-JL  1  ■  im/  Jk. 
/  N  S'  |  “  "V  -<  [Pronounced  GuI-BRAN-son]  |"  • 
GJ/ie  Player^Piano 
PARAGON  Sprayers 
CANNOT  CLOG 
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Organized  Co-operation 
A  NEW  BOOK 
By  JOHN  J,  DILLON 
This  book  is  written  in  three 
parts. 
PART  ONE.— The  Develop¬ 
ment  of  the  Agricultural  Indus¬ 
try.  In  five  chapters. 
PART  T  W  O.  —  Fundamental 
Principles  and  Adaptable  Forms 
of  Co-operative  Organization.  In 
ten  chapters. 
PART  THREE.  —  Application 
of  Co-operation  to  Efficient  and 
Economic  Distribution  of  Farm 
Products.  In  seven  chapters. 
This  is  a  new  treatment  of  the 
co-operative  subject.  Heretofore 
writers  of  books  have  contented 
themselves  with  accounts  of  co¬ 
operative  work  where  established. 
It  has  been  mostly  propaganda 
and  exhortation.  This  was  all 
good  in  its  time.  But  we  have 
grown  beyond  it.  Farmers  are 
now  committed  to  co-operation. 
Once  shy  of  it,  they  are  at  last  a 
unit  for  it.  What  they  want  now 
is  principles  and  definite  policies 
that  have  pn  ved  successful.  This 
book  is  the  first  real  attempt  to 
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present  there  is  no  other  book 
seriously  treating  the  subject  of 
organized  co-operation. 
Bound  in  Cloth  Price  $1.00 
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