Dec. 15, 1906.] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
941 
mere instinct, but his reasoning faculties are 
better developed than any of the other dumb 
animals. 
“The dog has been longer and more constantly 
at the side of man than any other animal—hav¬ 
ing been, in fact, man’s closest companion for 
many centuries, and this attachment and affinity 
will be greater as the centuries roll on. A fine 
looking horse appears ‘intelligent,’ and thus the 
word has stuck to him, but. as a matter of 
scientific fact the horse takes on the character¬ 
istics of all hoof animals, and, aside from his 
faculty of memory:—and even that is not es¬ 
pecially developed—he may be said to be dull. 
He is taught a few things in life by man and 
he remembers them. However, the horse is an¬ 
other story; it is the dog now. 
“To the average person the bark of a dog is 
simply ‘its bark’ and nothing more. The dog’s 
first instinct is the preservation of hi's master 
and the latter’s household, and in the fulfil¬ 
ment of this fine devotional trait he is willing 
and at times appears by design to be anxious 
to surrender his life. Injuries and wounds, 
even though he later expires therefrom, do not 
diminish this splendid characteristic. And to 
other people a dog’s growl is simply his ‘growl,’ 
but there is a difference, as in his bark. 
“Dogs have an interrogatory growl, a warning 
growl, a menacing growl, and a fighting growl, 
•which are just as dissimilar to the discriminat¬ 
ing student of dogs’" habits as are the tones of 
a human being in their various pitches, indi¬ 
cating the state of the temper. Their bark 
possesses the same variations, indicating very 
clearly to the observant student the exact con¬ 
dition of the dog mind, while their bark of 
happiness is individual and distinct. 
“The emotions of a dog may be appealed to 
in precisely the same manner as those of the 
human being. In fact, your own dog is more 
sensitive to the change in your own emotions 
and feelings very often than the members of 
your own family, and will often sympathize 
with you by a peculiar sympathetic light in his 
eyes, by coming very close to you, placing his 
head against your hand or licking it, long be¬ 
fore any other member of the human kind in 
the family has caught on that there is something 
wrong with you. 
“The dog manifests and clearly delineates the 
emotions of joy, indifference, sorrow, grief, in¬ 
jury and sight, and for each of these emotions 
he has a different attitude and expression. When 
he stands between his master and a possible ad¬ 
versary or enemy his attitude of alertness and 
willingness to fight for the former upon the 
word of command is as clear to the dog student 
as is the opposite one of grief, or self-conscious 
shame, when he has been reproved, by the hand, 
voice or even the eye of the one whom he is 
anxious to defend so readily when asked. 
“Their faculty of reasoning might be shown 
in many ways did space afford, but a single illus¬ 
tration will suffice, and I will take the setter, 
whose intelligence has been shown to be very 
marked. His master will send him into a field 
to flush the game. The dog every few minutes 
looks back at him. If his master waves his 
hand to the right the dog never goes to the left, 
and vice versa. If he throws the palm of his 
hand forward outwardly the dog again changes 
his position, and never makes a mistake by re¬ 
sponding to the backward call. But sometimes 
the master is mistaken as to the whereabouts 
of the birds, but the dog knows, so he has been 
known to run back to his master and by dog 
talk in barking tell his master this. The master 
at once understands this talk, and allows the 
dog to proceed without further direction. 
Some specimens of this fine breed are too in¬ 
telligent to hunt with a man who cannot hunt, 
so they tell him of their disgust by making 
scornfully for home by the nearest route. The 
hunter’s intelligent horse would remain until he 
starved if he were not driven home.” 
[While the foregoing is true in the main, it 
denies too much and claims too much on several 
points presented.] 
The Forest and Stream may be obtained from 
any newsdealer on order. Ask your dealer to 
supply you regularly. 
Nest'Building Fishes. 
Joliet, Ill., Dec. 10.— Editor Forest and Stream: 
Some time ago I read an interesting paper on 
fishes wherein the writer aptly compares them to 
the birds, metaphorically calling them the “birds 
of the sea,” and truly when their curious nest 
building methods and the brilliancy of their color¬ 
ing are considered the comparison is very appli¬ 
cable. 
It occurred to me—as few people know how 
easily these pecularities can be watched and 
studied—to describe for the benefit of those in¬ 
terested a very pretty and simple experiment 
which it is possible for any-one to try. All that 
is necessary to have for the experiment is a glass 
jar or fish globe that will hold a gallon of water, 
a bunch of aquatic weeds, and a pair of those 
interesting little fish the two or four spine stickle¬ 
backs; these can be bought at any of the dealers 
in gold fish, aquariums, etc.; or the sticklebacks 
can be found anywhere near the sea coast in 
either fresh or brackisjr water and are easily 
caught with a small ring net. These fishes are 
very small, seldom exceeding three inches in 
length. They should be obtained and placed in the 
aquarium early in the spring and should be male 
and female, the sex being easily determined, as the 
male, especially near the breeding time, is much 
more brilliant in color than the female. These fishes 
are nest builders anc] the manner in which they 
construct their curious little nest is very interest¬ 
ing to watch. They gather together small pieces 
of broken plants, etc., and first form a kind of 
platform with them among the weeds. This they 
continue to build upon until it is as large and 
about the shape of a pigeon’s egg, fastening it 
together with a fine silken thread formed from a 
mucous secretion exuding from the pore in the 
body; this they pass in and out all through the 
material. The fish then forces his way into the 
mass, turning himself round and round until a 
hole is bored through. Into this he drives the 
female, and the eggs, which are about the size 
of a small pin’s head, are deposited in the nest. 
The male always builds the nest and takes 
entire charge of the eggs, watching them with 
the greatest care and evident anxiety until the 
little fishes appear, this watchful care being very 
necessary as the eggs are a dainty morsel for 
any other stickleback or other fish that can get 
at them. The little fellow is extremely pugna¬ 
cious at this time and will fight any living thing 
that attempts to approach the nest; even his mate 
is chased away if she comes near it. Should 
another male be introduced about this time, the 
actions of the owner of the nest become ex¬ 
ceedingly interesting. The rapidity with which 
he darts at, and strikes his enemy is truly won¬ 
derful, as is also the remarkable manner in which 
he changes to every conceivable color. During 
this excitement the metallic lustre of his body 
is very beautiful. 
Being the most voracious of cannibals they 
must be removed from the vessel as soon as the 
eggs are hatched, if you wish to preserve the 
young fishes, or their parents will soon begin to 
devour them. 
Although some of the observers of the habits 
of this little fish claim that the young ones are 
guarded by the parents until they are large 
enough to care for themselves, in every case 
where I have left them together, the young fish 
have always been eaten by the parents. 
S. C. Shepherd. 
A Question for Naturalists. 
Toledo, O., Nov. 30. —Editor Forest and 
Stream: My family of Virginia quail are natives 
of Massachusetts, emigrating some months since 
to Ohio. Nearly every morning during the 
fall, about the time when the chronically tired 
man is figuring the number of minutes that he 
can still venture to remain in bed, the call of 
the male could have been heard through the 
open window—not the familiar “Bob White” of 
the summer, but the long-drawn rallying cry of 
the autumn and winter, with a mellow minor 
cadence that tells of the brown leaves and the 
stubble. These unfamiliar voices in the heart of 
the busy city have been a source of pleasure to 
many a former resident of the rural districts, 
and have awakened many mixed associations of 
other days. One man who ran away from the 
farm when he was seventeen because his father 
insisted that he should husk corn in December 
for his Christmas money was even moved to 
tears by the sound. 
But ever since the morning of Nov. 14, this 
bird has been strangely and persistently mute. 
He even looks at me suspiciously when I go 
out with the usual breakfast, and while he says 
nothing, he evidently keeps up a lot of thinking. 
Now, what puzzles me, and puzzles every 
other scientist to whom the question has been 
submitted, is this: How did-this Virginia bird 
reared in Massachusetts, find out that the quail 
season in Ohio opened on Nov. 15? 
Perhaps some reader of Forest and Stream 
can te.ll me;. Jay Beebe. 
Sullivan County Wild Pigeons. 
West Park, N. Y., Nov. 23.— Editor Forest 
and Stream: I have received word from Willo- 
wemoc, Sullivan county, that a large flock of wild 
pigeons was seen to pass over that place Oct. 
10. This word comes from Matt Decker, one of 
the best known men in that section of the coun¬ 
try. Mr. Decker saw the pigeons, and in his 
letter to me speaks as if others saw them. They 
were flying northeast. Mr. Decker says it looked 
like old times to see the pigeons, and added that 
they fly differently from any other bird and are 
so beautiful. 
Those who know Mr. Decker cannot doubt his 
word, but why these pigeons are not reported 
from other parts of the country is a mystery. 
John Burroughs. 
Whistling Swans in Massachusetts. 
Bridgewater, Mass., Dec. 8.— Editor Forest 
and Stream: We did shoot three whistling 
swans at Sesachacha Pond on Nantucket on the 
morning of Thanksgiving day. In the party were 
James Ashley, J. E. Flynn, of Bridgewater, 
Mass.; L. A. Howard, of Taunton, Mass.; 
Chas. Chadtvick, of Nantucket, and my¬ 
self. Two we killed outright and the other one 
was found ashore on the side of the pond next 
morning at daybreak by Mr. Ashley, so badly 
wounded it could not get away. 
One has been taken by A. C. Bent, of Taunton, 
to set up, and one has been sent to Boston by 
J. E. Flynn to be set up, and the other is in 
the hands of Wm. Jennings of this town who is 
to set same up. H. K. Perkins. 
The Chautauqua Mascalonge. 
New York City, Nov. 29.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: The papers by Mr. Louis Rhead and 
Dr. Barton W. Evermann in Forest and 
Stream of Nov. 3 and Nov. 24 move me to say 
that I am convinced of the accuracy of Mr. 
Rhead’s statement about the existence of the 
Chatauqua mascalonge in Wisconsin. I know 
the species of mascalonge fairly well and es¬ 
pecially the one which New York is propagating 
at Chautauqua Lake. I have seen several 
natural skins of this fish in Chicago. One very 
fine specimen was displayed in the ticket office 
of a railroad company in that city about a year 
ago and other skins have been examined by me. 
I have.great respect for the opinions of Dr. 
Evermann and for the clearness of his descrip¬ 
tions. The key to three species in your paper 
of Nov. 24, page 828, leaves no shadow of doubt 
as to the identification of the mounted skins 
seen by me in Chicago. The brassy color of the 
Chautaqua mascalonge is far more pronounced 
in the male, which also has clearer and broader 
cross bands. 
In the seventh report of the Forest, Fish and 
Game Commission of New York, page 360, I 
ventured to state that the northern mascalonge 
(immaculatus ) is probably not distinct from the 
Chautauqua Lake form. It is not my intention 
now to claim the identity of the two nominal 
species, but I wish to call attention to the 
presence in Wisconsin waters of tire Chautauqua 
mascalonge (Eso.v ohiensis). 
Tarleton H. Bean. 
