May 22, 1909.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
8ti 
bore in the open ground for earth worms. They 
paid but scant attention to the other birds, walk¬ 
ing about among them as a king might, driving 
their long bills into the ground clean up to their 
eyes. Neither did the robins care for seeds, 
though they pecked gingerly at the lumps of 
bread; they, too, were watching for worms. One 
fortunate redbreast succeeded in getting hold 
of a worm which was more than two-thirds of 
its length under ground. The worm had no 
notion of loosing its hold upon the earth and 
the bird no notion of losing its breakfast. As 
the worm stretched, the robin would take a new 
hold. Suddenly, as though realizing the futility 
of resistance, the worm let go and the robin 
turned a somersault, landing flat upon its back. 
That bird was a philosopher; it arose, shook it¬ 
self and proceeded to eat its breakfast. 
Of all the birds the hermit thrushes stirred 
my sympathy most. Seeds and bread they did 
not seem to relish. When the other birds were 
feeding, they hopped about among them, peck¬ 
ing at the ground now and then in a tentative 
sort of way, but apparently securing no food. 
I think they were looking for earthworms, but 
with the stout flickers and robins upon the 
ground, the smaller fellows had no show. Now 
that the snow is disappearing I find the bodies 
of hermit thrushes where the drifts have been. 
In every case their stomachs are empty. It is 
my opinion that they starved to death rather 
than perished from the exposure. If the 
thrushes found conditions so serious, what of 
the sun-loving warblers, for they were with us 
in numbers before the storm? I counted no less 
than nine myrtle warblers in one tree one day, 
but since the snow I have not discovered a single 
bird. 
The assertion of the poet, “Irks care the crop 
full bird” was proven under my window, for 
no sooner was hunger satisfied than the birds 
began to sing. That first serenade was worth 
the price of the food. The whitethroat alone 
refused to sing, and I could not much blame 
him. I have been unable to sing myself. 
Two birds came to my banquet that I was 
unable to name. The first looked like a cross 
between a junco and a chickadee. Buff breast, 
slaty back and cowl, with a necklace of irregular 
white spots extending clear around the body. 
The second was about the size, shape and color 
of a fox sparrow, only the brown was every¬ 
where flecked with white. One might have been 
pardoned for calling „it an albino fox sparrow. 
Instantly I imagined that by feeding the birds 
they would continue to come to my window for 
food, but all save the juncos and common spar¬ 
rows have deserted us. The handsome fox spar¬ 
rows are as rare as they were before the storm. 
To-day the sun is shining brightly, though great 
drifts of snow still lie in the fence corners, but 
from over the way comes the call of a chewink, 
perhaps one of those I succored, “Chink-er-chee, 
chink-er-chee.” Think I can go fishing soon. 
I O. W. Smith. 
REDUCE THE CARES 
of housekeeping. One decidedly practical way 
is to use Borden’s Peerless Brand Evaporated 
Milk in all cooking where milk or cream is 
required. Results will be more satisfactory 
than with most “fresh” milk. The conven¬ 
ience and economy will please you. Dilute 
Peerless Milk with water to any desired rich¬ 
ness.— Adv. 
Notes on the Muskrat. 
Brewer, Me., May 10 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: Recently while taking some muskrats, 
I captured one which had showed such a 
tenacity of life and ability to withstand so much 
abuse from his neighbors in general and the 
world at large, that he deserves to be put on 
record. In the spring of the year it is very 
common to find muskrats that have been more 
or less bitten during the fights and general 
commotions attendant upon their setting up 
housekeeping for the season, and often fully a 
fifth part of a catch of fifty will show the marks 
of night-time squabbles and bog land brawls— 
even if only those upon which there is a dis¬ 
count in the trade are taken into account. 
The trader commonly pays little attention to 
any bites except those showing on the back of 
the stretched skin, so that the real count of 
injuries received in quarreling is much larger 
than that mentioned. I have taken them with 
a single bite inches in length, and often so 
cut up as to be practically worthless for sale; 
but I remember none which showed such in¬ 
juries as this one taken this year which I refer 
to. In lifting him from the water, I noticed 
that he was in bad condition, but it was not 
until I turned him over that I saw how per¬ 
sistent he had been in fighting. Beside having 
his head laid wide open on both sides—a great 
gash on the neck—others on the shoulders and 
two very deep cuts on the hips, he was so 
bitten on the under parts that I could and did 
look directly into one of the wounds and see 
his liver lying bare and exposed. Below that 
and from another wound in the abdomen there 
trailed a loop of the intestine some three or 
four inches in length. From another wound 
corresponding to this one the green and chewed 
contents of the intestine was issuing so as to 
stain the fur at that point. 
Later, when I skinned the beast, I found that 
these last mentioned wounds showed evident 
signs of healing, while more recent cuts in 
other places proved that the owner of the skin 
had kept on fighting right up to the day when 
he got into the trap. As he fell into deep 
water at once upon being caught, there is little 
likelihood of these later bites being inflicted 
by any of his friends after he was drowned, as is 
sometimes the case. 
When it came to stretching the skin, I found 
fully forty (40) holes of one size and another 
in the skin. Many of these were, of course, 
quite small. I have seen many rats that pre¬ 
sented a worse looking skin, owing to a num¬ 
ber of long but shallow bites, but I do not re¬ 
call another that managed to keep about his 
affairs after being so seriously set upon. 
In speaking of the muskrat, I am tempted 
to make mention of a rather curious statement 
in regard to them given by Mr. W. T. Horna- 
day in his fairly recent book, “The American 
Natural Flistory.” It is only just to say that 
Mr. Hornaday in his preface begs the public’s 
pardon for any possible discrepancies in the 
text, and the statement in question is perhaps 
merely an oversight; still since it is in a stand¬ 
ard work it is a fair mark for criticism. On 
page 88 he says of the muskrat: 
“The tail furnishes the motive power for 
swimming. The feet are small and very slightly 
webbed.” Now as to the use of the tail as the 
motive power in swimming, I have known two 
different muskrats to be shot while swimming 
well and rapidly, neither of which was blessed 
with more than one-third of a tail! Their tails 
ma}’’ have been three (3) inches long, but were 
certainly of no use whatever in swimming. Per¬ 
haps the best proof, however, that Mr. Horna- 
day’s statement comes far from covering the 
full facts of the case is this; that in the spring 
of the year when the rats are mating, if you call 
one and he. answers, he will often come swim¬ 
ming toward or circling around you at a very 
rapid rate, but with the tail raised, and entirely, 
or almost entirely, free from the water! It will 
be held rigid and slightly arched—with possibly 
just the tip trailing, but the owner will swim at 
such a time very much faster than most people 
ever saw a rat swim, so fast in fact that where 
there are intervening objects, it is very difficult 
at times for an experienced hand to shoot suc¬ 
cessfully. They swim as if possessed, and yet, 
according to the statement quoted, one might 
readily suppose that their feet were of about as 
much use to them in swimming as the feet of 
a swallow are to him in flying. 
Mr. H. may say that these examples are ex¬ 
ceptional, and do not represent the ordinary con¬ 
ditions. This may be true, but there is a still 
more exceptional condition to be instanced. 
While in ordinary every-day life the muskrat 
swims like any other four-footed mammal, ex¬ 
cept that his fore feet are of little if any use to 
him, and his tail may help to make up that 
deficiency. In a calm puddle and when entirely 
at ease or lazy, however, they sometimes scull 
about in a most leisurely way, using their tail 
largely in the process of getting forward. This 
is, however, again the exception rather than 
the rule. The muskrat’s fore feet are small, it 
is true, but the hind pair always seemed to me 
to be about as ample a set of trotters as an ani¬ 
mal of its size had any business to carry around 
with him. Moreover, the stiff hairs along the 
edge of the foot, of which no mention is made, 
help to give a larger bearing surface in the 
water than their feet would seem to have. 
This is not an attempt in any measure to dis¬ 
credit Mr. Hornaday or his valuable book, but 
is to call attention to what seems an unfortunate 
statement in it. W. M. H. 
A Martin Home. 
White Heath, Ill., May 10.—Editor Forest 
and Stream: N. F. W. asks if martins can be 
induced to nest in villages. At Astoria, Fulton 
county, Illinois, I have seen martins nesting and 
rearing their young not only 100 feet from a 
house, but within twenty feet of a dwelling. The 
owner of the dwelling had as many as twenty 
bird houses with many apartments in each, and 
they were crowded with martins. In this vil¬ 
lage in the fall myriads of martins congregate 
and roost in the city park, flying and circling 
about sundown every evening, making a very 
pretty sight. All of a sudden, at the time for 
them to fly in the evening, they are missed. 
It is asked, where did they go? When did 
they go? By day or night? I never see any 
martins here in Piatt county. 
Anyone seeking further information should 
address John Mummert, Astoria, Ill. 
T. A. B. 
