500 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Marcu 31, 1906. 



mens occur in which there are distinct teeth on 
the upper half of the leaf and an acutely pointed 
apex, 
i have recently received from Mr. Charles 
Hallock of Norfolk, Va., a specimen of an inter- 
esting tree, a photograph of the specimen being 
shown herewith, in which these curious teeth are 
unusually well developed. The tree was found 
near Fayetteville, N. C., and transplanted to an 
estate of Charles W. Broadfoot, of that city. The 
specimen has kindly been determined as that of 
the laurel oak, by Mr. J. G. Jack, of the Arnold 
Arboretum. The species is sometimes called the 
water oak, and its technical name is Quercus 
laurifolia Michaux. In Chapman’s ‘Flora of the 
Southern United States” it is listed as Q. phellos 
variety laurifolia, In his letter Mr. Jack says: 
“While the usual foliage of both the willow oak 
and the laurel oak is like that of the conventional 
willow leaf, they are liable to vary into lobed or 
denticulate forms. Both are well known to be 
natives of North Carolina and both sometimes 
have the habit of holding leaves throughout the 
winter.” CLARENCE M. WEED. 
Effect of a Mild Winter on Animals. 
THE animals that escaped the rigors of last 
winter have had an exceptionally easy life so far 
this year, which they certainly are entitled to. 
Many coveys of quail perished from cold and 
hunger last year. Rabbits that were unable to 
find food in sufficient quantities resorted to or- 
chards and vineyards, and did great damage by 
gnawing the trees and vines. Apple trees six 
inches in diameter were completely girdled by 
meadow mice, and they also ruined many fine 
beds of raspberry and blackberry bushes. 
Thus far the winter has been so mild that even 
woodchucks and chipmunks have appeared from 
time to time. Gray squirrels could be found in 
the woods on any warm day in December, Janu- 
ary and February. Although they seldom wan- 
der far from their holes in the trees at this sea- 
son, the tracks of one were seen in the mud by 
the roadside fully half a mile from the woods. 
Skunks have not “denned up,” which last win- 
ter they were known to do early in December, 
and there was a period of six weeks when they 
did not leave their holes. Nowadays they are 
out in the fields nearly every night hunting for 
mice, and it is not at all improbable that by turn- 
ing over stones and boards they catch a cricket 
or so, their favorite food. 
Jan. 21, 22 and 23 were exceptionally warm 
days and many animals were moving about. 
“Wooly bears,’ those ‘black and yellow bristle- 
covered caterpillars, the larve of the Isabella 
moth, were particularly active. The warm 
weather enticed them from their hiding places 
under logs, stumps, boards and stone piles, and 
they were seen hurrying along the railroad tracks 
and country highways in considerable numbers. 
Spiders spun their streamer-like webs from the 
ends of grass stalks and weeds. In some fields 
these streamer-webs were as abundant as on au- 
tumn days. 
A solitary turtle crawled out of the mud in the 
bottom of a pond or a stream, and wandered 
down the road where it was found by a much- 
astonished countryman. 
“Night-walkers,’ those large earthworms that 
in summer come out of the ground after an 
evening rainstorm and are captured by the fisher- 
men, were also seen. The few fowls that were 
fortunate enough to catch one, seemed to appre- 
ciate the unexpected treat and were jealously 
pursued by their companions. 
Wasps were reported from Troy, N. Y., and 
butterflies from Rutland, Vt. The butterflies 
doubtless were mourning-cloak butterflies. All of 
them do not die as winter approaches; some hi- 
bernate under stones or board piles, in buildings 
or other places where they can find cover. The 
butterflies seen probably were some that had been 
deceived by the mild weather and had taken ad- 
vantage of it to have an outing. 
One would not think that the fishes would be 
influenced by a warm winter, nevertheless several 
good strings of suckers were caught in the Owego 
Creek in early February, although they usually 

refuse to bite until after the ice goes out in March 
or April, 
More song sparrows have wintered over than 
of usual, and red-wing blackbirds, bluebirds, rob- 
ins, goldfinches, belted kingfishers and meadow- 
larks have also been seen, still their presence is 
nothing unusual, as they have all been known to 
remain all winter when the weather was very 
severe. 
The unexpected appearance of most of these 
animals is a good illustration of the effect of a 
mild winter on animals. Nature’s creatures seem 
to have been sleeping with one eye open and the 
first few warm days brought many of them back 
to active life. 
Sportsmen report that numbers of ruffed 
grouse have escaped the hunters, so if the pres- 
ent weather continues, all game will get through 
the winter in good condition. Already the lack 
of snow has saved the lives of many rabbits and 
such fur-bearing animals as skunks, mink, musk- 
rats and foxes, for without snow the hunters 
cannot track them so easily. J. ALDEN LorINc, 
OweEco, N. Y. 
Pennsylvania Notes. 
Sayre, Pa. March 22—March 21, the first cal- 
endar spring day, found northeastern Pennsyl- 
vania blanketed under the heaviest fall of snow 
of the season, with the early bird arrivals hust- 
ling in all sorts of ways to meet the unexpected 
conditions. Fortunately, the weather was not 
extremely cold, so aside from the struggle for 
food the birds were not greatly handicapped. 
Under the hedges, and within the comparatively 
sheltered recesses of the woods, robins, bluebirds, 
song sparrows and even a sprinkling of black- 
birds were to be seen, mingling as “hail fellows 
well met.’ On my way to work this morning I 
heard the plaintive ditty of a song sparrow fall- 
ing softly upon the air, but although the sun rose 
up over the eastern hills and flooded the wide, 
white picture with a shimmer of light, not a red- 
breast ventured a song. 
It was a storm similar to this, with much 
colder weather immediately following, that some 
years ago caught the bluebirds unawares, and a 
great host perished. Recovery from the effects 
of that storm has only within the past two or 
three years become apparent, through the in- 
creased numbers of these delightful blue-coated 
migrants. 
The recent observations concerning the weasel 
which have appeared in Forest AND STREAM re- 
call some boyhood experiences with this elusive 
carnivore. 
Often a weasel would visit my grandfather’s 
poultry house, killing in a single night anywhere 
from ene to a half dozen fowls. We sometimes 
tried to trap the animals, but always without suc- 
cess. It was a saying current at that time in 
the country, at least, that a weasel could dodge 
shot. This belief had probably been handed 
down from the days of the flint-lock. At any 
rate, I recall that usually my uncle was able with 
a double-barrel, muzzle-loading shotgun to make 
the weasel harmless at the first shot. 
Skunks were likewise a source of trouble in 
and about the poultry quarters. I distinctly re- 
member a great commotion that occurred among 
the poultry one winter’s day, and how the indus- 
trious grand parent bustled to the barn, adjoin- 
ing which was the hen house and the feeding 
quarters, to find a skunk dodging unconcernedly 
among the fowls. With characteristic impudence 
the beast rubbed against grandfather’s trousers, 
and nosed about the chattering hens, offering 
them no harm, until an exit was discovered 
through which he decorously disappeared. 
I think that at that time the skunk was re- 
garded as an egg eater rather than as a hen eater. 
Red squirrels also frequented the barn build- 
ings on the hill farm. A big black walnut tree 
that annually yielded a generous crop of nuts 
stood within reach of a high board fence that led 
directly up to one end of the cow. barn, which 
connected with the hay and grain barn. From 
this tree each autumn a red squirrel or two ex- 
acted toll for the winter’s store, and not infre- 
quently the marauding farm boy was able to 
unearth the precious wealth of nuts, and reddy’s 
storehouse was often badly depleted as a result of 
the discovery. CHILL, 

Big Bullfrogs. 
NEARLY fifty years ago the writer was what 
might be called a “river rat’ and never happier 
than when fishing, swimming or boating on_the 
Mississippi or tributaries around Hannibal, Mo. 
My first investment in that city was $2 for a 
“John” boat, which I should explain is a wide, 
flat-bottomed craft with a square bow and stern 
containing Jarge platforms at each end and mid- 
dle seats for the rowers. 
At this time the north bank of Bear Creek 
sloped very slightly from the river to Main street, 
and was a favorite resort of large green bull- 
frogs, some of which measured fourteen inches 
from tip to tip, with hind legs nearly as big as 
a rabbit’s, and white meat more tender and en- 
joyable than spring chickens. In my opinion 
there is no other meat of equal delicacy. 
But, alas, these great bulls are gone, and we 
are now reduced to eating the little frogs’ backs 
and forelegs, which we used to discard. 
It was extremely simple and easy to catch these 
big frogs, und quite exciting. Only two boys 
were required, one of whom stood on the stern 
seat of the boat and poled it along close to the 
north shore of Bear Creck, while the other stood 
on the bow platform and held a long wooden 
spear with a barbed steel point. As we slowly 
moved along a fool frog would leave the smart 
weed, which perfectly hid him, and take a hop, 
skip, jump and dive into the creek. This was 
his doom. We simply waited for the shallow 
water to clear showing a lump where he had 
buried himself in the soft mud, into which the 
spear is thrust, pulling out the amphibious rep- 
tile notwithstanding his energetic struggles to 
escape. In an hour we usually captured from ten 
to fifteen frogs, which was all we wanted for 
both of our families, and went home proud and 
happy. S. E, WorreL. 
A Woodcock in the Snow. 
On March 21 Mr. Walter Brown, of the New 
York Telephone Company, while passing along 
in a railroad train between Essex Fells and Cald- 
well, N. J., saw resting on the surface of the 
snow in a field a brown spot which looked like 
a bird. The following day he went to the place 
and there found a woodcock squatted down on 
the snow dead and frozen. The bird, which was 
kindly submitted to us .for inspection, had been 
dead for several days. Evidently it had not died 
of starvation, for its condition was good, it be- 
ing unusually heavy. On the breast was found 
a spot of blood which suggests some other cause 
than cold, possibly a shot or possibly a bruise 
caused by collision with some object while the 
bird was in flight. There is nothing surprising 
in finding a woodcock in this latitude in March. 
They often get here in February. Spring birds 
are often killed by flying against telegraph or 
telephone wires or other objects. 
Mr. Brown sent the bird to a taxidermist to 
be mounted, and when it was skinned it was 
found to have been injured by flying against 
something—perhaps a twig. The breast was 
punctured and badly bruised. 
Migrating Hawks. 
TAPACHULA, CHIAPAS, Mexico.—Editor Forest 
and Stream: Every year during the month of 
April can be seen enormous flocks of hawks mi- 
grating along this coast in a northwesterly direc- 
tion, and in the month of October they again pass 
south. The rainy seasons commence here in 
April and stop in October. Where do these 
hawks go to for nesting? The natives here call 
them ‘azaguanes,’ and say that they feed on 
leaves of certain trees, which must be a mistake. 
How do you suppose an enormous flock of hawks 
feed on their journeys north and south? Some 
twenty-five years ago we had a pest of grasshop- 
pers here, and the hawks then stopped for days 
in their flight and fed on the grasshoppers, 
which they caught in the air. GUATEMALA. 
