Spring Notes. 
Milhurst, N. J., March 22. — Editor Forest 
and Stream: Well, spring is here for sure. All 
the signs point that way now. The first plants 
of springtime, skunk cabbage, are well grown 
and the grasses by the brookside are showing up 
quite green. I got fairly green spathes of skunk 
cabbage on Sunday, the first day of March. It 
was in this way: Being at home at Asbury Park 
I told some of the good people there on Satur¬ 
day evening that I was going to get some spring 
flowers the next morning. “The idea of you 
going off hunting after wild flowers this time of 
the year with weather cold enough to freeze a 
bear and ground frozen as hard as a board," 
said they. But next morning when those good 
people were having their morning’s snooze, 
I told my daughter Mollie to put on 
her thick wraps and we would go off and 
get some skunk cabbage. So we tramped 
some two miles to the head of Deal Lake, 
and there sure enough we found the spathes 
fairly well above ground; also some leaves 
of the flowering elder of quite good size. 
And those were not all we saw, for we even saw 
and heard robins, bluebirds, song sparrows, and 
a big flock of red-wing blackbirds. Since then I 
have seen flocks of purple grackles (crow black¬ 
birds) of thousands. While I am writing this, 
seated on a fallen tree in the woods this Sunday 
morning, there is an immense flock of them on 
the trees and in the field not 300 yards away. 
Have also seen dozens of robins and a few blue¬ 
birds this 'morning. By the way, while coming 
here I started up a big rabbit that struck for the 
bushes at his best gait. 
And now about game prospects for the com¬ 
ing season, although it is quite early yet. I have 
never seen so few quail as this spring. Although 
I have taken many tramps during the past win¬ 
ter and up to this time, I have come across but 
one little flock of seven birds, and local gunners 
and farmers also speak of the scarcity of those 
birds. Later on they may show up. Squirrels 
seem to be fairly plentiful, and rabbits quite so. 
There seem to be a good many of the latter left 
over. Have not seen any ruffed grouse, as this 
is not much of a country for them anyway. 
Within the last few days I have seen in sev¬ 
eral papers an account of four small children 
being poisoned by eating the root of the skunk 
cabbage, three of whom died from the effect. 
There must be a big mistake somewhere for that 
plant is one of the most harmless that grows. 
There are at the least two reasons why that re¬ 
port is not true. 
First, the root is seldom less than 8 inches 
helow the surface of the ground, and small chil¬ 
dren, as those were said to be, would not have 
dug that distance into the frozen ground for it; 
and secondly, the root is not by any means palat¬ 
able, having quite a peppery taste. No child 
would ever take more than one taste of it. I 
have chewed it many a time. It was used by the 
Indians as a basis for a medicine for the cure of 
lung complaints, and I have known of a number 
of cases where a syrup of the root was used 
with good results. It is also often used by bo¬ 
tanical physicians in disorders of the respiratory 
organs. One will see it spoken of in the Materia 
Medica. 
Without doubt the roots that those children 
ate were those of the white hellebore ( Veratrum 
viride), a plant that is rank poison. It always 
grows in swamps and often among skunk cab¬ 
bage, and by many would often be taken for that 
plant, as it pushes itself above the ground at 
about the same time. A. L. L. 
A Purple Martins’ House. 
Lawrenceville, N. J., March 26. — Editor 
Forest and Stream: I have not been able to 
satisfy the purple martins that the houses I have 
built for them are wholly such as their require¬ 
ments and tastes demand. After coming for a 
week or ten days, and most thoroughly inspect¬ 
ing the house in all its apartments, inside and 
outside, they have incontinently left the premises 
not to return until the next year, then to go 
through the same performance and with the 
same results. 
It is amusing, and at the same time provok¬ 
ing, to see the female standing with her body 
inside and her head extending out of the door 
with her feathers all a-ruffle, scolding and pro¬ 
testing, and telling her mate in her loudest voice 
and in most emphatic terms why the apartments 
were not tenantable, and why she could not con¬ 
sent to occupy them. 
Now, I would like to please the dear little 
beauties, and build just to suit their tastes and 
requirements and have the pleasure of their early 
morning thanksgiving notes. There are few 
birds that utter louder or more thankful notes 
of praise to the rising glories of the day. 
Now, gentlemen, who can assist me.in retain¬ 
ing these beauties when they return this year. 
Can you tell me what the inside measurements 
of the apartments should be, in height, width 
and depth? Whether the floor of the apartments 
should be higher, lower or on a level with the 
alighting board, and whether the entrance should 
all be on the south, or sunside? Also the size 
of the door and whether placed to one side of 
apartment? I shall be very much obliged to any¬ 
one of you who can give me the desired infor¬ 
mation, or refer me to anyone who can. 
Edmund DeWitt, M.D. 
Boarders and Roomers. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
For boarders I had chickadees, nuthatches and 
downy woodpeckers. Their dining room was the 
veranda, their tables, spread with meat, crumbs, 
nuts and cake, the window sills. I had sleeping 
rooms to let, but only one roomer, a downy 
woodpecker. These rooms, originally fashioned 
by woodpeckers in partly decayed trees, adorned 
my veranda columns and arbor posts. Downy 
made his bed in one in the grape arbor. My 
sleeping accommodations were excellent; I won¬ 
dered why the chickadees did not spend the win 
ter nights with me. 
To assure myself that downy was the onl; 
roomer, I rapped at one of the bird houses earl, 
one January morning. Straightway a chickade 
rushed out, chirping excitedly and disappears 
around the corner. Again about 4 o’clock on 
afternoon I rapped on a nest by my window an 
out flew a frightened bird. He lit in the nearer 
tree and voiced his displeasure in a subdue 
way. “Dee, dee, dee,” he repeated, over an 
over again. Such a querulous, fault-findin 
tone! I had never heard the chickadee expre^ 
this emotion. Finally he flew to the grape arbo 
but the nests there did not suit him; then h 
peeped into one on the veranda and that seeme 
no better. The last I saw of him he was movin 
from tree to tree through the orchard, still corr 
plaining over my deceptive hospitality. 
One moonlight night my curiosity agai 
tempted me to pry into the chickadees’ privac; 
I selected a nest and rapped and scratched an 
shook it roughly, then reaching up I was aboi 
to thrust my hand in the opening, when the bit 
rushed out, his little wings brushing my han 
He was too terror-stricken to expostulate; not 
remonstrant note escaped him. He disappears 
among the evergreens where I hope no prow 
ing owl molested him. 
Continuing my observations, a few mornin; 
later I saw one peeping out of his cavernoi 
window, adjoining my own. I learned that se' 
eral of my rooms were occupied nightly, but 
spite of my watchfulness I never knew just whs 
my roomers retired. 
Will W. Christman. 
Birds from Guatemala. 
In the Ornithological series of the publicatio 
of the Field Museum of Natural History, N 
3, Vol. I., appears a catalogue of a collection 
birds from Guatemala by Ned Dearborn. T! 
collection was made by Messrs. Edmund Hell 
and Charles M. Barber in 1904-05. and continU' 
by the author in 1906. It represents 11,887 spe< 
mens, comprising 305 species and subspecies. 
The party landed at Puerto Barrios in t 
winter and by early stages proceeded across t 
isthmus to San Jose, stopping at different poir 
for collecting. They thus saw all varieties 
country from tropical desert to mountains 10,0 
feet or more in height. 
Of the 305 species included in the collections a 
a very large number of tropical birds, but on t 
other hand a considerable number are wint 
visitors—birds that are extremely common wi 
us during the migration. Mr. Dearborn (3 
scribes a new species of kinglet taken at an al 
tude of 9,500 feet, near Tecpam. The notes whi 
accompany each species in this list are oft 
very full, and of much interest. We see tl 
the scarlet tanager and the Louisiana tanager a 
both found wintering in the same region 
March. Mr. Dearborn’s notes are very intere 
ing. 
