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Weasels. 
Harrispurc, Pa., Feb. 24.—Editor Forest and 
Stream: I notice in your issue of Feb.: Io an 
article entitled “Weasels.’ It seems to me 
strange that anyone should attempt to make state- 
ments so easily refuted or to say, “This is my 
opinion after a study of the weasel for a great 
many years.” Where the writer of this article 
studied weasels or how thoroughly he studied 
their habits I am at a loss to understand. He 
says: “While weasels are said sometimes to kill 
poultry, I have never known of an authentic 1n- 
stance’; also, “as to the weasel killing game 
birds or birds of any kind I think the cases must 
be extremely rare.” Surely the writer of this 
article did not study the habits of the animal I 
know as the weasel, or he studied it in a country 
where there were no poultry or game or birds. I 
have never made a particular study of the weasel, 
yet, I know of at least three instances where 
chickens were killed by weasels, for they were 
my own chickens and I killed the weasel in each 
instance. I know a weasel from a mink and have 
killed no less than thirty of these animals in my 
lifetime. 
Some five or six years ago several gentlemen of 
this city secured quail for propagating purposes 
from Kansas. I was present when the cloth 
cover was cut for the purpose of releasing said 
quail. The gentlemen there present, four in 
number, stepped back perhaps twenty feet from 
the box that had been placed in a clump of brush 
and briers, when all-at once without a moment’s 
warning the entire bunch left the box. Every 
bird was gone, leaving perhaps a handful of 
feathers. While we stood discussing the strange 
actions of the birds, which we could not under- 
stand, one of the gentlemen, pointing with his 
finger, said, “Look there.’ We looked and saw 
standing within ten feet of the box a weasel with 
one of the hen quails in his mouth. This animal 
was shot as it stood with the quail in its mouth, 
and I know it was a weasel. 
C. K. Sober, one of the game commissioners 
of this State, has a mounted specimen of a ruffed 
grouse with a weasel hanging to its throat, or 
rather to its shoulder. Mr. Sober killed the bird 
and weasel at one shot, in the position in which 
they are mounted. 
J. W. Worden, also a game commissioner, 
has told me of numerous instances of where 
poultry were killed by weasels. One instance I 
will cite. A relative of Mr. Worden’s built a 
chicken coop, boring one and a quarter-inch holes 
through the side, into which he proposed to in- 
troduce the end of sticks intended for perches. 
One of these holes was out of line, so another 
hole was bored and the first named hole left open. 
Some weeks after the building of the coop the 
owner thereof and Mr. Worden went out in the 
morning to feed the chickens. The snow was 
scraped away in front of the coop, the door 
opened and the chickens called. Not one ap- 
peared. Investigation showed that every chicken, 
something more than a dozen in number, was 
dead upon the floor. Some animal had gone 
through the auger holes and killed every fowl by 
biting them either in the side of the neck just 
back of the ear or under the wing. Tracks from 
this auger hole led to a tree some yards away. 
The tree was cut down and the weasel killed. 
Dr. Warren, ex-Zoologist of this State, in his 
werk on the diseases and enemies of poultry 
among other things published a table containing 
a condensed report of 100 observers in Pennsyl- 
vania relative to the food of weascls. Each re- 
port is authentic, each report cited the killing of 
poultry, many of them game or birds, by weasels, 
and each report contained the statement that 
weasels were very destructive to poultry. They 
killed such a number of chickens for me in one 
night. They killed all kinds of poultry and much 
game, Common and very destructive to young 
chickens. Destroyed brooding hens. They were 
common and great destroyers, especially of rab- 
bits and pheasants. Have known many cases of 
their depredations. They destroyed many small 
birds. They were great enemies of poultry, game 
and small birds, or some other expression of this 
kind, will be found in each report. Dr. Warren 
says we have two species of weasel in this State. 
One of which he terms ermine or common weasel 
[MarcH 3, 1906. 


and the other least weasel. In one place he says, 
in 1885 and 1886 thirty-seven weasels on which 
bounty had been paid in Chester county were 
examined. All were found to be the ermine or 
common weasel. I cite this simply to show that 
we know what the weasel is in Pennsylvania and 
that we are not mistaking him for anything else. 
Dr. Warren cites the experience of A. W. 
Rhoads, of Wilkesbarre, Pa., as follows: “The 
weasel, I am sure, after years of personal experi- 
ence and observation and careful study is the 
worst enemy that the quail and pheasant have. 
I have repeatedly tracked a weasel that had fol- 
lowed the track of a quail and pheasant in the 
snow and at last come upon the dead birds. I 
on One occasion came upon a nest of thirteen 
pheasant’s eggs about to be hatched and on re- 
turning in an hour found that eleven of them had 
been destroyed by a weasel which I saw and 
killed. He also cited a report of C. P. Mott, of 
Milford, Pa., who after giving his positive ex- 
perience says: “I consider that the weasel has 
no equal as an enemy of game.” Arthur Martin, 
ot Shady Lake, Pa., says: “We have the weasel. 
They destroy poultry to a great extent. Some- 
times have killed for us whole broods, but at the 
same time are great hunters of mice, rabbits and 
small game.” : 
Hugh Malloy, of Freeland, Pa., is also cited at 
length by Dr. Warren in Mr, Rhoads’ book. Mr. 
Malloy during the last ‘twenty-five years has per- 
sonally killed more than 1,700 weasels. He is an 
authority on the subject and in addition to his 
statement in the book of Dr. Warren has written 
me under date of Feb. 21, 1906, as follows: “I 
will give you facts on this little terrible destroyer 
of life and sucker of blood. I cannot understand 
why anyone who has even attempted to investi- 
gate the life work of a weasel should attempt 
his defense. I know that nothing can be.said in 
favor of the weasel. I collected at one time more 
than 100 affidavits from farmers in this part of the 
country. Each one of them-cited the kitling of 
poultry by weasels. The number ranged from 1 
to 100 killed in one night. In 1903 one weasel 
killed for Mathias Schwobe, 3d, Freeland, Pa., in 
one night nineteen full-grown Leghorn chickens. I 
took the chickens home and cooked them, the 
weasel having drawn every particle of blood from 
each body. Some were sucked in the neck and 
others under the wing. Thomas Roberts, of 
Freeland, made affidavit that one weasel killed 
thirteen chickens and one duck for him and nine 
chickens for his next door neighbor in one night. 
The weasel was killed in the act of killing the 
last one of these chickens. Bernard McGlaugh- 
lin, of Freeland, some time ago lived on a farm. 
He says a weasel entered his barn one evening 
and he ran to get his gun. His wife insisted that 
he should let the weasel alone, as she had read 
something about weasels killing rats, and a rat 
was in the barn. Next morning Mr. McGlaugh- 
lin and his wife saw the rat from their bedroom 
window. When they went to the stable they 
found the weasel had killed nine large chickens 
and touched nothing else. I can get you twenty 
or more cases of this kind from this immediate 
neighborhood. Surely no man will defend the 
weasel that knows anything about him. 
“Now, I will give you some facts on game birds, 
and small birds, as you have not asked me to say 
anything about game animals. One day, while 
fishing in the Nescopec I heard a robin making 
considerable noise and apparently in trouble. I 
went to where she was, saw a weasel in the nest 
where it had already killed the four young 
robins. I tracked a covey of quail into a wind- 
fall. I saw where a weasel had also entered the 
windfall during the night. I took a stick, reached 
under and pulled out eight dead quail, apparently 
uninjured so far as mutilation was concerned, but 
each one a little behind the eye and along the 
neck bearing the mark of the weasel’s teeth. I 
once found thirteen young pheasants out of a 
brood of fourteen killed by a weasel. I had been 
watching the nest. The birds were one day old 
when killed. I killed the weasel. If you wish any 
more upon this subject let me know.” 
I think, with Mr. Malloy, that the statements 
herein made prove conclusively that the weasel is 
very destructive to poultry and wild birds of all 
kinds. I would not attempt to deny that the 
weasel kills rats and mice, when he has the op- 
portunity, but can hardly see a reason in this for 
defending this animal or to give him protection 
when we know of the great damage he does in 
other directions. I could furnish you with hun- 
dreds of affidavits upon this subject, if necessary. 
Affidavits made by people who know what a 
weasel is, that had their chickens or other poul- 
try killed by weasels and that killed the weasel 
in the act or immediately afterward. So there 
can be no question about the responsibility. 
I think, therefore, it would be well for the gen- 
tleman writing the article in your issue of Feb. 
Io to investigate a little more thoroughly before 
attempting to defend the weasel. I would sug- 
gest that he make his investigation in a country 
where the weasel will have a chance to kill game 
or poultry, and I would like to hear from him 
after such investigation is ended. 
JOSEPH KALBFUS, 
Secretary of the Game Commission. 

Adirondack Winter Notes. 
SCHENEcTADY, N. Y., Feb. 21.—Editor Forest 
and Stream: A friend at Tupper Lake writes me 
that two young men shot a wild boar at Axbow, 
on Raquette River, last week. The animal is one 
of several that escaped from Litchfield Park. 
They were brought here by Mr. Litchfield from 
Germany. The one shot weighs about 225 pounds 
and the others seen with it were much larger. 
When cornered a wild boar is very savage, and 
this one, when killed, was charging on the boys 
when a lucky shot in the head brought him down 
only a few feet from them. This is the first wild 
boar ever shot in the Adirondacks. It was 
brought to Malone and the people have been 
paying fifteen cents per head to see the animal’s 
carcass. 
I saw three robins last Sunday, the first this 
year. The poor things looked as if they were 
half frozen. There are about 150 shelldrakes and 
whistler ducks at a place called the Aqueduct, 
about three miles below the city, and they make 
a pretty sight on the river and are very tame. 
This is the third year they have spent the winter 
at this place. It is a shallow place on the river 
and they find lots of feed. 
Last week’s Forest AND STREAM was the best 
yet. Those fine pictures of 29 and 50-pound fish 
make one wish he was down there to enjoy the 
sport. The season will soon open for trout. They 
may not be so much for size, but when you come 
to the eating part, oh my. Dorp. 
Early Spring in New England. 
New Lonpon, Conn., Feb. 21.—Editor Forest 
and Stream: Yesterday in this vicinity were 
seen five meadowlarks. Is this a sure sign of an 
early spring or were the birds deceived by the 
- weather ? R. M 
[The appearance of meadowlarks at this sea- 
son in Connecticut does not necessarily portend 
an early spring. The records show that this 
species is found in that State every month in the 
year, though it is certainly not very often seen 
in winter. Nevertheless, we venture to believe 
that the spring will be early.] 

WHITNEYSVILLE, Conn., Feb. 23.—Editor Forest 
and Stream: I inclose a few buds of trailing ar- 
butus, picked by my daughter on Connecticut 
hillsides yesterday—Washington’s Birthday. This 
is phenomenal, as the Mayflower of the Pilgrims 
is rarely found in this State before April. But if 
it is extraordinary to find trailing arbutus in 
Connecticut in the month of February, what are 
we to think when we hear young frogs peeping 
lustily in January? My family and I listened to 
quite a concert in the pond back of our barn on 
the evening of Jan. 24. It really sounded un- 
canny. Wo. H. Avis. 
Flight of Wild Geese. 
PorTLanp, Ind., Feb. 23.—Editor Forest and 
Stream: An unusual sight was a large flock of 
geese which passed over our little city this after- 
noon going southeast. There were more than 
fifty of them strung out in V-shape. Where did 
they come from and why going southeast at this 
season of the year? G. W. CUNNINGHAM. 
