May, 1918 
FOREST ANI) S T II E A M 
287 
fairly easy quarry to take has attracted quite an array of 
falcons and hawks, which in like manner have become 
very tame. The falcons seem to have partitioned the 
areas, and during morning rides one is likely to find 
the same peregrine sitting on its accustomed perch—a 
milestone or wirepost. In fact, the peregrines became 
either so lazy or so clever that they would wait until the 
accustomed horseman arrived to flush the coveys. Then 
there would be a short impromptu chase without fear of 
the Provost Marshal. 
It was remarkable how the birds clung to their locali¬ 
ties even though all natural and artificial landmarks had 
been obliterated by shell fire. A correspondent of the 
London Field was in that desolation of desolations known 
as the Somme battlefields during the nesting season. Al¬ 
though all vestige of their former homes had gone, each 
magpie colony was back again in its beat. Trees there 
were none for them. All that remained were a few low, 
blackened stumps. The birds apparently were not dis¬ 
turbed at this. They erected their great domed struc¬ 
tures on any post or stump that gave sufficient purchase. 
Now the magpie in the nesting season is not gregarious, 
but the force of circumstances so cramped their instinct 
that in many localities where one solitary tree or bush 
had survived the blasting effects of high explosives, three 
or even four pairs of magpies had each constructed a 
nest. Circumstances alter cases, and had forced upon 
these solitary nest-builders the gregarity of rooks. The 
fledglings were easily obtained, and every unit in the 
vicinity suffered from a plethora of rakish magpie pets. 
It was pathetic when the swallows and martins re¬ 
turned in the spring to see their distress when they found 
the buildings they remembered as their traditional man¬ 
sions razed or metamorphosed out of all recognition. 
They circled and circled and twittered in their anxiety, 
judging, no doubt, in their small brains that their homing 
instinct had played them false. They did not, however, 
desert the locality, but set about pegging out new claims. 
Then a dire misfortune overtook them. The lazy and 
truculent sparrows had also been evicted by the violence 
of war. There were no eaves and thatched roofs for 
them to inhabit. They, therefore, sat around and waited 
until the martins had three-parts constructed their nests 
and then the sparrows dispossessed them, and installed 
themselves. The sparrow is a truculent bully, and the 
inoffensive little martins had no chance against him, when 
he entered into occupation. Ultimately the martins sought 
refuge in the lately vacated Boche dug-outs where the 
impudent sparrows were never seen to follow them. 
CANINE DISSIMULATION 
HAT the dog can dissimulate to some purpose is well 
known, and examples of this canine trait have fre¬ 
quently come within the experience of most people, ob¬ 
serves the Shooting Times. We are, however, tempted 
to recount an interesting little story which is vouched for 
by a medical friend of ours. It would almost lead one to 
conclude that dogs “were deceivers ever.” In a family 
which the doctor often visits a favorite and very intelli¬ 
gent dog is kept and petted. Its master is a particularly 
good-natured, kind-hearted man, and the good wife is 
often obliged to adopt stringent measures to prevent him 
from being imposed upon. My friend went often to dine 
with him, and was always much amused at the curious 
behavior of the dog. So long as the mistress of the house 
was present in the dining-room, the creature lay still in 
its corner and never attempted to move. As soon, how¬ 
ever, as she went out on some domestic errand—after the 
meal was finished—it would instantly jump up, run to 
the table, and make a very successful appeal for viands. 
No sooner did he hear the returning footsteps of its ob¬ 
durate mistress than he hurried back to his place. These 
tactics were engaged in so regularly and frequently that 
they must have been the result of close reasoning and not 
of mere accident or coincidence. And still some people 
will persist in saying that animals are never guided by 
any higher faculty than instinct. 
INDIAN NAMES ARE BEST 
OME Blackfeet Indians, with a taste and a respect for 
Nature that shames the paleface, have protested to 
the Secretary of the Interior, says the Magazine of Amer¬ 
ican History, against the barbarous custom of tacking 
silly, meaningless, vulgar names to noble natural objects. 
A melodious word, with poetic significance and very likely 
commemorating some charming native legend, is calmly 
ignored in favor of Jones’ Gulch, or Smith’s Falls. 
It is even worse in the matter of towns. Nearly all the 
good names in North America are those bestowed by the 
Indians or the early French and Spanish explorers. L T n- 
less there is some excellent reason to the contrary, au¬ 
thority ought to insist always upon the Indian names. 
It is a matter on which we may congratulate ourselves 
that the more important mountain peaks on the eastern 
flanks of the Rockies within the Glacier National Park 
have for the most part received the names of old Indian 
chiefs and warriors, who in their time were famous in 
the land now occupied by their descendants. 
CARP AND SQUID AS FOOD FISHES 
p AT the Carp” is the caption on an attractive poster 
which has been issued by the Bureau of Fisheries. 
It is used in a carp campaign which is now being con¬ 
ducted by the bureau independently and also in coopera¬ 
tion with the States’ relation service' of the Department 
of Agriculture. Prospective eaters of carp are invited 
to write for information and recipes. This campaign 
is intended to promote the fuller utilization of carp in 
regions in which it occurs as an abundant food fish. 
In several ways the inhabitants of America are coming 
to a realization of the history-making times in which we 
are living. There is a story current of an English nurse 
who, when some badly wounded soldiers complained of 
the hospital food, silenced their objections by the indig¬ 
nant remark, “Well, you men don’t seem to know 
there is a war on.” The fact that the Bureau of Fish¬ 
eries is also experimenting with squid as a food fish 
might to some persons suggest a dire extremity in the 
matter of food. This, however, is far from the case. 
It is said that the Japanese have eaten squid for many 
years. According to the experiments of the Government 
squid meat contains 87 per cent, protein. It digests more 
slowly than some other meats, which indicates that it 
would probably be a part of the heavy meal of the day. 
AN AGED DISCIPLE OF NIMROD 
D ETER C. ARCHER, of Croton-on-Hudson, dean of 
1 hunters, although in his ninety-second year, traveled 
eight miles recently and took out a hunting license in 
Peekskill. Archer is said to be one of the oldest hunting 
enthusiasts in the State. His specialty is shooting ducks 
along the Hudson and Croton Rivers, and before New 
York City took over the entire Croton River for its water 
supply several years ago, he reaped a good harvest. 
“I expect to live to take out several more annual 
licenses,” Archer is said to have remarked. “I don’t 
think I’m too old for this sport. I have the qualifications 
of good huntsmanship—a steady hand and clear vision, 
and I can bring them down at every shot." 
