lht  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1043 
Nature  Notes 
The  familiar  mark  of  the  New  York  Central  Lines  is  to  be 
seen  on  264,000  freight  cars  carrying  the  products  of  Ameri¬ 
can  industry. 
Thousands  of  new  cars,  fresh  from  the  builders,  go  into  serv¬ 
ice  each  year  bearing  this  mark.  In  the  past  three  years 
New  York  Central  orders  for  new  freight  cars  have  totalled 
$93,600,000.  For  new  locomotives  $34,000,000  has  been 
expended. 
Two  years  ago,  when  hundreds  of  thousands  of  freight  cars 
on  American  railroads  were  standing  idle  for  lack  of  business, 
New  York  Central,  with  confidence  in  the  future,  placed  one 
of  the  largest  orders  for  cars  in  railroad  history. 
When  the  tide  of  business  turned,  and  a  car  surplus  was 
transformed  into  a  car  shortage,  New  York  Central  had  the 
equipment  to  move  the  crops,  the  coal  and  the  products  of  in¬ 
dustry  along  its  12,000  miles  of  lines. 
The  mark  of  the  New  York  Central  Lines  on  a  new  freight 
car  is  not  only  a  mark  of  good  transportation  service — it  is 
evidence  of  the  fact  that  back  of  it  is  a  railroad  organization 
that  is  building  today  for  the  needs  of  the  country  tomorrow. 
NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  LINES 
BOSTON  &  ALBANY-  MICHIGAN  CENTRAL-BIG  FOUR  -  PITTSBURGH  &LAKE  ERIE, 
AND  THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  AND  SUBSIDIARY  LINES 
Qeneral  Offices — 466  Lexington  Ave.,  New  York 
Organized  Co-operation 
A  NEW  BOOK 
By  JOHN  J.  DILLON 
Catching  Turtles 
How  can  I  catch  turtles ;  that  is,  the 
land  turtle  as  found  all  over  here,  and 
the  snap  turtle  that  inhabits  our  lakes? 
I  have  large  fish-hooks  baited  with  fish 
heads,  mice,  etc.,  but  never  caught  one, 
and  the  lake  is  full  of  them  ;  have  seen 
specimens  over  one  foot  in  diameter. 
What  is  the  proper  procedure?  Are  they 
destructive  to  fish,  or  useful  as  scaven¬ 
gers?  Are  the  land  turtles  useful  or 
rather  destructive?  Is  there  a  way  to 
lure  or  bait  land  turtles?  IIow  is  the 
killing,  dressing  and  cooking  to  be  han¬ 
dled?  B.  A.  M. 
Stockholm,  N.  J. 
The  proper  way  to  catch  land  turtles 
is  to  pick  them  up  when  seen.  Snapping 
turtles  can  be  caught  the  same  way  when 
they  come  on  land  in  early  Summer  to  lay 
their  eggs.  I  have  reports  of  very  good 
success  in  catching  turtles  with  such 
hooks  as  are  described,  baited  with  pieces 
of  very  tough  meat.  The  important  part 
is  to  have  the  meat  tough  enough  so  that 
the  turtle  will  swallow  it  hook  and  all. 
Snapping  turtles  are  scavengers,  but 
will  also  catch  fish,  birds,  frogs,  etc.,  if 
they  have  a  chance.  Many  duck  raisers 
report  trouble  where  the  young  ducks 
have  a  chance  to  get  into  ponds  or  lakes. 
Where  the  turtles  will  not  take  baited 
hooks  it  is  often  possible  to  catch  them 
in  traps  arranged  like  the  pots  used  in 
catching  lobsters  or  eels. 
The  land  turtles  are  harmless;  and 
hardly  large  enough  to  have  much  value 
as  food.  There  are  laws  protecting  them 
in  many  States,  and  there  is  no  special 
reason  for  hunting  them  vigorously  while 
some  of  the  water  turtles  are  so  much 
better  for  food. 
The  killing,  dressing  and  cooking  of 
turtles  is  more  fully  discussed  in  another 
article.  The  best  way  of  killing  them 
is  put  them  in  boiling  water,  as  is  done 
with  lobsters.  After  they  are  dead,  the 
bridge  between  the  upper  and  lower  shells 
is  cut  through  and  the  lower  shell  re¬ 
moved.  Then  the  meat  can  be  taken  out. 
The  horny  outer  skin  can  be  rubbed  off 
and  the  bony  shell  stewed  for  soup  stock. 
Where  the  turtles  are  killed  in  other 
ways  the  shell  is  generally  thrown  away. 
The  meat  can  be  used  in  soups,  or  it  can 
be  fried.  Some  snapping  turtles  need  to 
be  parboiled  to  remove  an  offensive  odor. 
ALFRED  C.  WEED. 
An  Unusual  Bird 
Will  you  tell  me  the  name  of  a  bird 
which  is  new  to  me?  It  is  about  the 
size  and  shape  of  a  cuckoo,  has  brown 
back  or  upper  parts,  with  a  small  top- 
knot,  is  gray  under  chin,  with  a  yellow 
breast,  and  there  appears  to  be  some  yel¬ 
low  under  wings  when  flying.  It  has  a 
very  peculiar  note.  It  generally  starts 
with  a  shrill  cry,  like.  “Wheat-wheat,” 
then  other  times  in  rapid  succession  like 
“Wheat-tete-tete-tete-tete-tete.”  It  also 
builds  in  a  house  which  I  put  up  on  a 
pine  a  little  way  from  the  house,  two 
years  ago,  and  now  has  young  ones  in  it. 
Although  there  is  no  music  to  its  noise,  I 
enjoy  seeing  them  fly  back  and  forth,  and 
often  sit  and  watch  them  carrying  food 
for  their  young,  and  hope  I  shall  see 
them  when  they  come  out.  MRS.  M.  E.  o. 
The  bird  described  is  probably  the 
crested  flycatcher,  sometimes  called  great 
crested  flycatcher  or  snake  bird.  This 
bird  is  closely  related  to  the  phoebe  which 
builds  its  nest  of  moss  about  buildings, 
under  bridges,  etc.  The  crested  fly¬ 
catcher  builds  its  nest  in  holes  in  trees, 
and  will  oftea  go  into  suitable  birdhouses. 
It  is  called  snake  bird  because  it  almost 
always  uses  a  piece  of  snake  skin  some¬ 
where  in  its  nest.  Even  where  it  is 
fairly  common  it  is  not  so  often  seen  as 
its  more  noisy  cousins,  the  kingbird  and 
phoebe.  Alfred  c.  weed. 
An  Essay  on  Cats 
I  would  like  to  ask  you  what  I  think  is 
a  funny  question.  If  a  cat  inhales  your 
breath  while  you  are  sleeping  is  it  pos¬ 
sible  that  he  can  kill  you?  w.  r. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Perhaps  so,  but  I  don’t  know  just  how. 
This  question  seems  to  me  to  belong  in 
the  same  category  with  the  one  as  to 
whether  a  cow  will  die  if  she  loses  her 
cud.  There  is  a  mystic  element  in  it 
that  defies  ordinary  scientific  analysis. 
What  has  science  to  do  with  eats,  any¬ 
way?  They  are  mysterious  creatures  who 
keep  their  own  counsel  and  defy  anyone 
to  probe  their  thoughts  or  intentions.  A 
dog  wears  its  heart  upon  its  sleeve ;  you 
know,  when  looking  into  the  eyes  of  a 
dog,  just  what  it  is  thinking  about  and 
what  its  probable  action  will  be.  but  the 
mind  of  the  cat  is  inscrutable.  No  one 
has  ever  won  the  complete  confidence  of 
a  eat,  and  no  one  ever  can.  Just  as  you 
think  that  you  have  established  the  most 
intimate  understanding  with  your  pet, 
its  eyes  blink  with  some  secret  thought, 
and  off  it  goes  upon  some  mysterious  er¬ 
rand  in  which  you  have  no  part.  Its 
habit  of  making  the  night  the  chief  time 
of  its  activities  adds  also  to  the  uncer¬ 
tainty  which  surrounds  the  life  of  the 
cat,  and  has  probably  had  much  to  do 
with  the  association  of  cats  and  witches 
in  human  thought.  Men,  and  some  wom¬ 
en,  have  always  been  ready  to  believe 
anything  about  that  which  they  do  not 
understand.  It  is  a  human  frailty,  and, 
if  men  have  believed  that  a  cat  might 
kill  you  by  inhaling  your  breath  while 
you  were  asleep,  they  have  also  believed 
that  the  moon  shining  upon  you  at  that 
time  would  make  a  lunatic  of  you.  You 
see  that  I  am  trying  to  avoid  making  a 
direct  reply  to  your  question,  but,  if  you 
want  my  opinion,  it  is  that  it  would  be 
impossible  for  a  cat  to  kill  a  person  by 
inhaling  his  breath.  M.  R.  d. 
Destroying  Woodchucks 
I  have  had  excellent  success  in  destroy¬ 
ing  woodchucks,  skunks,  etc.,  with  dyna¬ 
mite.  I  take  a  stick  of  dynamite  for  each 
hole,  cut  off  2  ft.  of  fuse,  insert  fuse  in 
cap,  and  crimp  the  cap  on  the  fuse  to 
prevent  coming  off.  Cut  a  slit  in  the 
side  of  stick  of  dynamite  with  a  sharp 
knife,  insert  cap,  with  fuse  attached,  and 
tie  firmly  in  place  with  a  string ;  then 
fasten  the  dynamite  to  a  stick  5  or  G  ft. 
long.  Slit  ‘the  end  of  fuse,  light  and,  as 
soon  as  fuse  “spits,”  push  stick  down  the 
hole  as  far  as  possible.  The  result  you 
can  view  from  a  distance. 
J.  F.  UPSON. 
Trying  to  Sell  Butterflies 
Every  day  brings  us  letters  from  people 
who  want  to  know  where  they  can  sell 
moths  and  butterflies.  Some  of  these 
folks  appear  to  think  that  certain  insects 
will  bring  very  large  sums  of  money  if 
they  can  only  find  the  particular  people 
■who  want  them.  Probably  that  is  true, 
but  it  is  also  true  that  there  are  very  few 
of  these  people.  There  has  been  some 
sort  of  propaganda  afloat  giving  people 
this  large  idea  of  the  insect  business,  but 
we  have  been  unable  to  find  any  outlet  for 
common  butterflies  and  moths.  The  edi¬ 
tor  of  the  Entomological  News  states  the 
matter  as  follows,  and  we  think  he  has 
it  about  right: 
There  has  lately  been  injected  into  the 
study  of  entomology  a  wave  of  commer¬ 
cialism  that  has  done  harm  in  a  number 
of  ways.  The  idea  has  been  spread  broad¬ 
cast  through  the  country  that  it  is  an 
easy  matter  to  collect  insects  and  sell 
them,  particularly  butterflies  and  moths. 
The  statement  is  made  that  _  there  are 
millionaire  collectors  who  are  just  thirst¬ 
ing  for  material,  and  that  many  institu¬ 
tions  buy  specimens  of  insects.  The  net 
result  of  this  is  keen  disappointment  to 
many  persons  and  annoyance  and  bother 
to  others.  The  .aspirant  for  wealth  by 
the  sale  of  insects  collects  some  I’ieris 
rapae,  Colias  philodice,  Vanessa  antiopa, 
and  raises  a  few  cecropias  from  the  co¬ 
coon,  and  then  writes  to  some  entomolo¬ 
gist  or  institution  asking  how  and  where 
he  can  find  a  market  for  such  things. 
Generally  the  aspirant  for  wealth  wishes 
a  list  of  those  who  buy,  and  those  who 
buy  have  been  collecting  all  their  lives, 
and  of  course  will  buy  desiderata,  but 
can’t  be  charmed  by  a  luna  moth  or  a 
cabbage  butterly.  It  is  quite  true  that  a 
good  collector  in  a  favored  locality  can 
sell  material  properly  caught,  but  it  is 
equally  true  that  one  can’t  sell  insects 
to  good  collectors  when  the  insects  are  the 
same  species  that  the  collector  can  readily 
get  himself.  There  are  certain  phases  of 
the  business  advocated  and  advertised 
that  are  not  only  misleading,  but  abso¬ 
lutely  dishonest.  Many  persons  are  wast¬ 
ing  their  money  for  collecting  apparatus, 
literature,  postage,  etc.,  who  will  never 
be  able  to  derive  a  cent  of  profit. 
“Eliza,”  said  a  friend  of  the  family  to 
the  old  colored  washerwoman,  “have  you 
seen  Miss  Edith’s  fiance?”  Eliza  pon¬ 
dered  for  a  moment,  then  bent  over  the 
laundry  tubs  once  more.  “No,  ma’am,” 
she  said,  “it  ain’t  been  in  the  wash  yet.” 
— The  Christian-Evangelist. 
This  book  is  written  in  three 
parts. 
PART  ONE. — The  Develop¬ 
ment  of  the  Agricultural  Indus¬ 
try.  In  five  chapters. 
PART  TWO.  —  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  pr.  ved  successful.  This 
book  is  the  first  real  attempt  to 
supply  this  want.  Other,  and  it 
is  to  be  hoped  better,  books  will 
follow  on  this  line;  but  for  the 
present  there  is  no  other  book 
seriously  treating  the  subject  of 
organized  co-operation. 
Bound  in  Cloth  Price  $1.00 
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