nest-seeking bee or the sharp bark of young hounds 
on a warm trail. Birds pass beyond leafless trees, 
heading toward southern areas, dropping plaintive 
calls. Occasionally comes the sound of ducks 
hurtling toward some sheltered salt bay, and often 
the far-flung note of wild geese painting a living 
V against blue and gray skies. Not far in the 
rear of the flying squadrons is coming the first 
snow fall. 
DEER TO BE GIVEN AWAY BY THE 
FOREST SERVICE 
HE United States Department of Agriculture, 
through the Forest Service, has some thou- 
sands of deer to give away, according to an 
announcement made today. These animals are 
part of the large herd of mule deer, estimated at 
over 30,000 head, found on the Kaibab National 
Forest in northern Arizona on the northern side 
of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. This area 
was set aside as a national game preserve by Presi- 
dent Roosevelt in 1906 in order to preserve the deer 
herd which at that time was threatened with total 
extinction because of illegal hunting. 
Under the protection of forest rangers, however, 
the deer have increased in numbers to a point where 
the entire herd is threatened with starvation and 
prompt efforts must be made to reduce it to a num- 
ber that can be supported by the vegetation on the 
Kaibab Plateau. 
To accomplish this the Forest Service desires 
first to give away as many deer as possible. The 
expense to the applicant will be crating and trans- 
portation charges, a sum estimated to be about $35 
per animal. Young animals only will be shipped. 
‘The estimated weight of one animal crated is 250 
pounds. These figures are only approximate. 
Final figures must be secured from the Forest 
Service. ; 
Shipments will be confined to east of the Sierra 
Nevada and Cascade Mountains as the introduction 
of mule deer into regions already inhabited by a 
subspecies would result in a herd very inferior to 
native stock. 
The Kaibab Plateau is in a sparsely settled 
region cut off from the rest of Arizona on the 
south by the almost impassable Grand Canyon of 
the Colorado River. On the other sides it is sur- 
rounded by semi-desert areas across which but few 
deer attempt to pass. Consequently the deer herd 
on the Kaibab Forest is limited in its food supply 
to the vegetation found only on the plateau. 
This limited food supply has been reduced to 
the starvation point for the large number of deer 
now on the Kaibab Forest and officials of the Forest 
Service fear that winter will take a heavy toll if 
the herd is not reduced immediately. 
NATURE’S BAROMETERS 
AINBOWS, the position of the moon, red 
skies at night and morning, and half a hun- 
dred other indications are all believed by 
one and another to be infallible signs of the ad- 
vent of good or bad weather. The behavior of 
animals, however, is among the best of the portents, 
and it is generally recognized that the domestic 
Page 665 
cat washing perisistently over its ears is a signal 
of coming rain. So also is the tendency of swallows 
to fly low before rain. Ants become greatly excited 
when rain is imminent, flies are more active than 
usual, and midges are more given to biting. Asses 
foretell coming rain by braying with unusual en- 
thusiasm, and cattle get very playful. Mice chase 
one another along their runs, and moles throw up 
fresh mould from their burrows. Peacocks call 
more frequently and often seek the topmost limbs 
of tall trees, upon the approach of a storm. Cocks 
crow more or less all day, and swans, if they fly 
at all, do so against the wind. On the other hand, 
dogs become sleepy when rain is impending, and 
also seem to suffer from indigestion. 
Mariners feel when a storm is brewing because 
dolphins and porpoises gambol on the surface of 
the water, while Mother Carey’s chickens appear 
mysteriously out of space, and follow in the wakes 
of ships till wind and waves are still. It must also 
be remembered that among fair-weather prophets 
there are the swifts, which ascend to great heights, 
while the lark also rises high and sings loudly 
and long when bright sunny days may be expected. 
Wind is said to be foretold by pigs, which run 
squealing about hours before it rises, and throw 
up their heads from time to time with a peculiar 
jerk. Some will recollect the old saying to the ef- 
fect that “pigs can see the wind.” 
Gnats, which are really excellent all-round baro- 
meters, foretell heat by parting company with one 
another and dancing in the open singly, or at most 
in twos and threes. 
WEATHER REPORTS SERVE AS FIRE 
ALARMS FOR FOREST SERVICE 
N the forest as in the city, the quicker a fire is 
reached the less it costs in time and men to 
put it out. Since distances to be covered on our 
national forests are vast, to be forewarned of par- 
ticularly dangerous fire conditions in certain areas 
enables the forest supervisors to place men and 
supplies in advance of fire outbreak, ready to re- 
spond to the first ““smoke” sighted. For this reason 
a close cooperation between the Weather Bureau 
and the. United States Forest Service is being 
worked out, by which weather predictions as far in 
advance as possible are furnished direct to Forest 
Supervisors on the national forests. For Montana, 
Wyoming and Idaho, forecasts are sent out daily 
from Chicago to Spokane, Helena and Boise, where 
they are relayed to the nearest group of Forest 
Supervisors. In Oregon and Washington the re- 
ports are received direct from the Weather Bureau 
at Portland. In California predictions are sent 
out to the whole State from the San Francisco 
office. 
The same policy is being followed in the East. 
In cooperation with the Northeastern Experiment 
Station of the Forest Service, the Weather Bureaus 
at Boston and New Haven are supplying fire 
weather warning to all State Foresters. In New 
York this work is a part of the activities of the 
Ithaca station of the Weather Bureau. In the 
South similar predictions are being sent out from 
New Orleans to timberland owners in Louisiana, 
Texas and Arkansas, 
