' A 
Studies in The Marsh 
V ERY few of us realize how much of nat¬ 
ural interest may be found—if we look at 
them with seeing eyes—in the common 
things which lie all about us. It is not so many 
years ago that some man took up the study of 
perhaps three square feet of soil in a wood 
and went 'over it to see how many ani¬ 
mal inhabitants it sheltered. The detail is 
forgotten but the number of living creatures 
found in this forest floor and the soil be¬ 
neath it was astonishingly large. Few things are 
more interesting than the study of the life of a 
limited area of land. Every hill, every stretch 
of brook, every little marsh, almost every open¬ 
ing in the woods, has its permanent summer in¬ 
habitants, and one who goes there day after day 
will see the same birds, the same mammals, even 
the same reptiles, and will gradually come to 
recognize individuals he sees. 
A marsh—a combination of land and water— 
of course contains many forms of life, and a 
man might spend a long time studying it with¬ 
out learning its complete story. On the other 
hand, the most casual observer will see there 
many things that interest him, even though he 
does not understand them. A report of his study 
of the birds of a cat-tail marsh was recently made 
by Prof. Arthur A. Allen, of Cornell University, 
at a meeting of the Biological Society of Wash¬ 
ington, and is well worth noting. 
Not less than seven different associations of 
birds and plants were found in the marsh stud¬ 
ied, represented by zones of vegetation, or asso¬ 
ciations of plants, which followed each other in 
regular succession. If the birds of the marsh 
be grouped according to their nesting places, they 
will be seen to confine themselves for the most 
part to certain plant associations. Prof. Allen 
concludes that the birds most highly specialized 
have the highest development of instincts but 
apparently a less degree of intelligence, and very 
little adaptability to surroundings. On the other 
hand, the more generalized birds have great 
adaptability and greater intelligence, but appar¬ 
ently less development of instinct. 
The seven associations mentioned by Prof. Al¬ 
len are, the open water association; the shore 
line association—where is found the pied-billed 
grebe, a specialized non-adaptable bird; the cat¬ 
tail association—where are seen the bittern, coot, 
Florida gallinule and other rails, and the red¬ 
winged black bird. Then comes the sedge as¬ 
sociation, with the bittern, marsh hawk, swamp 
sparrow, and the marsh wrens; the grass associa¬ 
tion—where are found the song sparrow and the 
Maryland yellow throat; the alder-willow asso¬ 
ciation, with the green heron and the small fly¬ 
catcher, and the maple-elm association, with the 
larger herons and various woodland species. Of 
these species the red-winged black bird is the 
most generalized in habit and structure It is 
also the most adaptable and is the dominant 
species in the marsh. 
A DEVILFISH FOR THE AMERICAN 
MUSEUM 
Among the books on American sport long out 
of print is one, very charming and desirable, 
which has to do with the old-time South. This 
is “Carolina Sports by Land and Water,” by 
Wm. Elliott, of South Carolina. 
The first half of the book is devoted to vari¬ 
ous forms of fishing, and the second to “Sports 
of the Field”—the hunting of deer, bear, wild 
cats, and birds. The first hundred pages of the 
book deal with devil fishing, the capture with the 
harpoon of the great ray found on the Atlantic 
coast of some southern states, and variously 
called devil-fish, sea-devil, and Oceanic vampire. 
This great ray is from 15 to 20 feet long, includ¬ 
ing the tail, while its width from wing to wing 
is from 16 to 18 feet. Elliott’s description of 
harpooning these monsters and of the long strug¬ 
gles to kill them are fascinating and well worth 
the reading. 
Many years ago, in the early ’80s, a reader of 
Forest and Stream on the coast of Georgia and 
South Carolina devoted some time to the cap¬ 
ture of this great ray, which he described as be¬ 
ing quite as exciting as Mr. Elliott painted it. 
He had devised a special form of harpoon, which 
he used with much success, and wrote one or two 
articles describing the sport. Since that time we 
have heard very little of the practice of killing 
these fish. 
A year ago Mr. Russell J. Coles procured for 
the American Museum of Natural History two 
specimens of Manta respectively 11 and 7% feet 
across, but last April he succeeded in catching 
in the Gulf of Mexico, about 100 miles south of 
Tampa, a specimen which measures 18 feet 
across. This is a female, and is believed to be 
the record specimen for the Atlantic Coast. Mr. 
Elliott speaks of specimens 17 feet across, and 
the books, sometimes speak of it as measuring 
20 feet from tip to tip, but at all events, the 
American Museum is to be congratulated as hav¬ 
ing secured a veritable giant of this form. 
AMATEUR CASTING TOURNAMENT 
The Third Annual Bait and Fly Casting 
Tournament of the National Amateur Casting 
Association will be held at Anglers Pool in Gar¬ 
field Park, Chicago, Ill, on Sept. 4, 5 and 6. 
The Garfield Park Anglers Pool is, with its im¬ 
provements, an ideal place for the National 
Tournament. Weather conditions will be pro¬ 
vided for. The list of awards is alluring. The 
special trophies for new members only, affords 
a fine chance for the less experienced members. 
The goodfellowship is unrivaled and charming. 
The fun fast and furious. Reserve the dates 
surely and get into the finest National Tourna¬ 
ment for Amateur Angler Sportsmen ever held 
Dr. Chas. F. Brown, 
Secretary. 
NEW DUCK SPECIES BREEDING IN 
LOUISIANA 
Since the establishment of the vast game and 
waterfowl preserves in Louisiana, along the Gulf 
of Mexico, particularly the State Game Preserve 
and Marsh Island, it has been observed that 
there has been a marked increase in the species 
of waterfowl and shore birds that seek these 
marshes for breeding purposes. 
According to a late report made by Stanley 
Clisby Arthur, ornithologist of the Conservation 
Commission of Louisiana, to his superior, Pres¬ 
ident M. L. Alexander, four species of wild duck 
that go to the northern tier of states for the 
rearing of their young have remained on the 
protected areas of the southern state to perform 
that function. 
The wood duck Aix sponsa\ the Florida duck 
Anas fulvigula and in few numbers the blue¬ 
winged teal Qucrqucdula discors, have, until the 
spring of IQ15, constituted the Louisiana list of 
anseres breeding within that state’s borders. Ob¬ 
servation and investigation by Mr. Arthur of the 
breeding birds this spring, which has only par¬ 
tially been completed, show that the mallard 
Anas platyrhynches ; the cadwall Chaulelasmus 
streperus, and the baldpate Mareca americana, 
nested in few numbers on Marsh Island. The 
conservation agent there noted that the height 
of the breeding season was from April 1st to 
May 15th. Nesting was observed as early as 
March 20th, however. 
On June 17th, the commander of the Conserv¬ 
ation Commission’s patrol boat “Louisiana” ob- 
ser\ ed a flock of twenty-eight lesser scaup 
Marilax affiinis ducklings swimming in the wa¬ 
ters of Lake Borgne. The little water birds 
were with the adult parents and a castnet was 
used in an endeavor to capture some of them to 
make sure of identification. According to Cap¬ 
tain Sandras’ report the ducklings were but two 
weeks old, establishing beyond all doubt that they 
were bred in the Louisiana marshes. 
The conservation agent on Marsh Island also 
discovered the Long-billed_ curlew numenius 
americanus breeding on the marshland of the 
preserve under his patrol. During the visit of 
former President Theodore Roosevelt to the 
bird reservations along the Louisiana coast east 
of the Mississippi River during the early part of 
June nests and eggs of the Man-o’-war bird 
Fregata aquila were found, thereby settling the 
question whether this bird is a Louisiana breeder 
or not. 
You are reading “Forest and Stream ” and en¬ 
joying it. Why not furnish some of your 
friends who may not be acquainted with the 
good things in this issue, an hour or two of 
similar enjoyment? If you will take the trouble 
to shid us the names of any of vour circle of 
acquaintances, we will see that they arc sup¬ 
plied wnth a sample copy with your compliments. 
if. 
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