FOREST AND STREAM. 
735 
BLUE JAY. 
Length, 11-12 inches. 
Copyright, 1907, by the Macmillan Company. 
May ii. 1907-] 
W" ” 
I e ids they find weevils flying in the open and 
"age active war against them. As many as 
; )rty-seven boll weevils have been found in the 
omach of a single cliff swallow. 
' The idea is to increase the number of swallows 
jrjth at the north and the south. The colonies 
jesting in the south will destroy a greater or 
\ ss number of weevils during the summer; 
hile in the fall, after the local birds have 
i dgrated, northern bred birds, as they pass 
trough the southern States on their way to 
ie tropics, will keep up the war. 
Swallows are not as numerous in the north 
-, they used to be. The tree swallow, for in- 
ance, formerly abounded, but of late years its 
umbers have greatly diminished, owing to per- 
tcution by the English sparrow. This unscru- 
ulous foreigner turns the swallow out of its 
est in order to have a place for its own eggs. 
jVhen swallow nests contain ep^s or young the 
lurderous sparrow kills the helpless nestlings 
r throws out the eggs. 
The barn swallow also is diminishing in num- 
ers, owing partly to enmity of the sparrow, 
ut more, perhaps, to the fact that the modern 
ghtly built barn denies it friendly shelter, and 
~ finds no substitute places in which to nest, 
'he cliff swallow, whose curious pouch-shaped 
aid nest used to be a common sight under the 
ivcs of barns and outbuildings throughout the 
•’orthem States, has now been entirely banished 
om many localities under the mistaken impres- 
on that they are undesirable neighbors because 
‘f certain parasites which infest their nests. These 
ave been supposed to be bedbugs, and hence 
ie nests have been destroyed and the birds 
' riven away. This is an error, for, although 
dated to the above objectionable insect, these 
wallow parasites are peculiar to birds and are 
ot to be feared by man. 
Of all the swallows the martin is considered 
ie most important to the farmer, and sugges- 
ons are given for increasing its numbers by 
ie erection of additional boxes and of increas- 
lg its range by the transportation to new local- 
ies of boxes containing old birds and half- 
rown young, in the belief that the old birds 
I ill be induced by the presence of their young 
:) remain and feed them. If they do not, the 
nly alternative is bringing the young up by 
and, which has been successfully done by feed- 
ig them meal worms, grasshoppers and the 
ke. 
Circulars of the Survey treating of this sub- 
bet (No. 56, “Value of Swallows as Insect De- 
:royers”) will be furnished free upon applica- 
j on to the United States Department of Agri- 
! ulture. 
_ 
Destruction of Deer by Wolves. 
1 Washington, May 4 .—Editor Forest and 
tream: Timber wolves have become so numer- 
11 s and destructive to game in the Upper Penin- 
| lla of Michigan and in extreme northern Wis- 
1 an sin and Minnesota as to threaten to exter-. 
I linate the deer. By request of the sportsmen 
■ ad some of the leading clubs of that region for 
1 ssistance from the Biological Survey, I have 
j .tely visited several localities from which the 
amplaints came to study actual conditions with 
i view to the discovery of means of protecting 
eer from the attacks of wolves, 
j Deer were found in considerable numbers in 
! ie swamps and dense timber, where, during the 
me of deep snow, they had gathered into well • 
beaten yards, often a hundred or more in a yard, 
/ithin the yards and along the trails 1 food was 
aundant, and the deer would have wintered in 
aod condition if unmolested, but while the snow 
as soft they were entirely at the mercy of the 
olves. 
Wolves were numerous, and deer were found 
.1 almost every yard visited, some partly eaten, 
thers only torn and mangled, many more than 
1 auld be eaten at the time. Only those killed 
nee the last heavy fall of snow were visible, 
ut in previous seasons hundreds of deer car- 
isses have been reported in the yards after the 
lelting of the snow. When the snow becomes 
eavily crusted in spring the deer leave the yards 
id scatter over the country and are not easily 
night. The wolves then return to the old car¬ 
casses, which probably furnish much of * their 
food during the breeding season. 
Up to the middle of April the wolves were 
not occupying their breeding dens. In this north¬ 
ern timbered region of cold weather and deep 
snow the breeding season appears to be a month 
later than in the milder valleys of Wyoming 
and the Rocky Mountains. The indications are 
that the pups in the dens should be looked for 
during May and the' earl part of June. 
Many parts of this country are rough and 
rocky, with cut banks, steep slopes, and low 
cliffs, which furnish ideal breeding places for 
wolves. Washed-out cavities in the sides of 
gulches, small caves in the sandstone cliffs bor¬ 
dering many of the stream valleys, and cavities 
among bowlders and broken rocks on the south 
slopes of high rocky ridges are common. Even 
during the early part of April the wolves, many 
of them in pairs, were paying frequent visits to 
such places, as shown hy fresh tracks in many 
of the caves; and from the well known breeding 
habits of wolves in other sections of the country 
it seems safe to assume that later these cavities 
are occupied as breeding dens. Many are located 
within easy reach of the deer yards, where a 
good supply of meat can be had during the 
spring. So much of the country is low or 
swampy that comparatively little effort would be 
necessary to a thorough search for dens over the 
warm slopes of all suitable breeding grounds. 
Every den should be located and the pups de¬ 
stroyed. By concerted effort on the part of resi¬ 
dents and those interested in the nrotection of 
game the increase of wolves may thus be effect¬ 
ually checked. Once located the dens should be 
visited each year in the breeding season, as wolves 
are known to use the same den successive years. 
The fact is now well established that wolves 
do not breed until they are two years old, which 
accounts in part for the considerable number 
each spring that are not breeding. By the use 
of scents these usually can be trapped during 
spring and summer, though the best time for 
trapping is in fall and early winter. 
For detailed instructions for trapping, poison¬ 
ing and locating dens, see Biological Survey Cir¬ 
cular No. 55 . Vernon Bailey. 
Black Ducks in Central Park. 
In April a pair of wild black ducks pitched 
down into the Pool, near Eighth avenue, in 
Central Park, one day, and remained there. In 
the latter part of the month the female made a 
nest among the dead leaves between two stones 
on a little point, deposited a number of eggs 
in it, and since then has been seen there daily, 
while the drake hovers about on the water and 
scurries away when visitors approach too close 
for his comfort. The female, however, will not 
leave the nest until one walks within two or 
three feet of her retreat, and even then does not 
move away, but stands near her treasures, hiss¬ 
ing her displeasure. The nest is within thirty 
yards of one of the most frequented walks in 
the park, and the lake itself is only about 200 
yards in length and quite narrow, but well pro¬ 
tected by trees and bushes. 
This is one of the many illustrations of the 
advantages of a closed season during the breed¬ 
ing season of the wildfowl, and an eloquent argu¬ 
ment against spring shooting. 
An Albino Woodchuck. 
Rupert, Vt., May 4 . —Editor Forest and 
Stream: It may be of interest to your readers 
to know that M. Guild Roberts recently killed an 
albino woodchuck. The skin has been sent to 
a taxidermist for mounting. W. 
