196 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[July 31, 1909. 
EVERY EASTERN HANDICAP 
Has Been Won With 
nsm > 
Smokeless Sporting Powders 
The Fourth Eastern Handicap, Buffalo, N. Y„ July 20-22, 1909, 
was won by 
Mr. H. E. SMITH, Columbus, Ohio, with 98 out of 100, from 
18 yards. 
Mr. F. D. PELTIER, Mt. Clemens, Mich., was second with 
96 out of 100, from 18 yards. 
High Averages for the three days on all 16-yard targets: 
W. R. Crosby (Professional) - - 323 out of 330 
A. B. Richardson (Amateur) ) . r 
L. S. German (Professional) ] ’ 319 out of 330 
J. E. Jennings (Amateur) - 318 out of 330 
Woolfolk Henderson (Amateur) - 317 out of 330 
High Average for the Entire Tournament: 
W. R. Crosby - 532 out of 550 
George L. Lyon 
George Burns - 
John Noel 
Some Long Runs. 
130 straight 
122 straight 
114 straight 
The above gentlemen all used 
#pnE> 
Smokeless Sporting Powders 
THE POWDERS USED BY THE CHAMPIONS. 
HUNTSM 
Keep, 
conditi 
52-P 
JOSE! 
:ED DIXON’S graphite 
idjock mechanism in perfect 
Booklet 
JERSEY CITY. M J. 
BAKER and BATAVIA 
Safe JIW Q Time-Tested 
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A Copy of the “Baker Gunner ” on Request 
BAKER GUN AND FORGING CO 
BATAVIA. N. Y.. V. S. A. 
When writing say you saw the ad. in 
“Forest and Stream.” 
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cocks direct from toe of hammer; coil main spring works direct 
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ITHACA GUN CO., Dept. No. 25, - Ithaca, N. Y. 
NEW ZEALAND’S NIGHT PARROT. 
Concluded from page 172. 
and forethought it opens up! But should it be 
the density of population, and consequently the 
supply of food during the previous winter, that 
influences their conduct, it is a very beautiful 
arrangement to save a waste of life and labor. 
This would also be the most acceptable theory 
if it were not for the fact that every valley on 
the wet and dry sides of tlje mountains could 
not be in the same position as to food, so that 
we have to come back again to “social law”— 
even to the idea of a captain or a queen to 
adjudge population and order their conduct ac¬ 
cordingly. The simple fact that all breed to¬ 
gether and none independently proves that they 
are under discipline of some sort, and, as law 
implies law-giver, why not a captain ? 
There are considerable areas in the bottoms 
of valleys and around landslips where berries 
are produced in great plenty, and such places 
are called kakapo gardens. Then there may be 
miles of beech forest which apparently produce 
very little food; yet the birds wander away any¬ 
where after the breeding season, even out on 
the grass on the mountain-tops. When the breed¬ 
ing season comes round again the males take 
up their places in the gardens, and about the 
26 th of November commence their booming 
love-songs. These notes do not sound loud when 
close by, but can be heard many miles away, 
and may be useful in calling in the females to 
suitable places for nesting and feeding their 
. young. Under favorable circumstances I have 
heard it at a distance of six miles, and some¬ 
how the humming, murmuring sound made the 
season appear more lonely and peaceful, giving 
a faint idea of how it might sound to their half- 
lost fellows away in the bush. In the virgin 
forest, where nothing heavier than themselves 
has ever trodden the yielding moss, they have 
very distinct pathways, especially going up some 
small hill, where in the driest place on top a 
gleam of sunshine may enter among the trees. 
Here will be several dusting-holes and signs of 
traffic, as if many birds go up there occasionally, 
either singly or in companies. But this habit of 
only coming out at night enables them to keep 
nearly all their social affairs to themselves. 
When newly hatched the young are covered 
with snow-white down, and they remain in the 
nest until nearly full-grown. During this period 
the mother’s feathers are all draggled and worn, 
and I often wondered how she could tramp 
away and carry home sufficient food to keep two 
or three young ones like balls of fat. The males 
are also very fat, while the mother is like skin- 
and-bone, and once I thought that, Phoenix-like, 
she might die when she reared a brood; but I 
soon found that idea untenable, though it would 
in a sort of way account for the intermittent 
breeding season. 
When we are hunting for kakapos our fox- 
terrier is often at fault, running here and there 
in an excited manner, and finishing up by finding 
nothing. It is a long time since we found one 
up a tree. In fact, we only got two up trees 
altogether, and f could not imagine kakapos 
running away from anything, for I always 
thought that they knew nothing of enemies. 
However, I have often got them with one eye 
out, and with deformed nostrils, as if bitten or 
bruised. Recently we caught one with part of 
the skin scraped off the top of the head, and 
both eyes so severely injured that it was nearly 
blind. It could not have been a ferret that 
caused the injuries, because wekas* were plenti¬ 
ful, so it must have been another kakapo. 
One of the last days we were out our dog 
tracked one up a tall sloping stump, and hunted 
a light young kakapo off the very top. We saw 
it flutter down, but it was so artful in hiding 
that it was some time before we found it. Now, 
this was a plain case of a light, active young 
bird trying to avoid a well-known enemy; and 
now I am quite satisfied that the old ones—prob¬ 
ably the old males—persecute the young ones, 
and perhaps kill them. We found one just 
dying, with hardly life enough left to attract 
the dog. I thought it was starved, and did not 
look for marks or injuries. This may be only 
•The weka is a small rail, also called woodhen. 
