214 

weight—of priceless value. It is important for many men 
to know that the monthly increase of temperature is most 
rapid in May, and is nearly as great in April, and it is least 
ip June and July. Ata lower depth in the earth than that 
of one foot, we find the temperature to be greater in June 
and July than it isin the upper stratum. ‘There is loss of 
temperature, the most rapid in the months of October and 
November, and least in the very coldest months of J anuary 
and February. : 
In all our forest covered lands we find the lowest temper- 
ature to be in February. From February to June we have 
often an interval in which the common, or unscientific ob- 
server notices, if he notices anything at all about the 
weather, that the ground is cooler than the air, and in July 
and August the ground is warmer than the air. Conse- 
quently the greatest difference between the temperature of 
tree and forest lands occur in May, and least in June, these 
fluctuations always being less in the forest than in the open 
glade. 
The great influence of our dense forests in preventing the 
cooling of the ground by the radiation of its heat, is al- 
ways a noticeable fact, most observable in October and No- 
vember, and least in January and February. 
Should we further discuss this question of ‘*Woodman, 
spare that tree,” we may present other reasons why our 
prayer for the forest should be heard. 
OLLIPoD QuILL. 

oe c 
Tar Bots p’ARC FoR LuMBER.—In a recent visit fo 
Northern Texas we saw large numbers of the Bois d’Arc 
or Osage Orange trees in the river valleys, and heard mar- 
vellous stories of the endurance of the wood in situations 
where it was much exposed to alternate moisture and 
drouth. It was much used by the Indians for bows, and the 
early French coyageurs gave it the name of Bois d@’ Are, or 
bow wood, aname often corrupted into ‘‘Bodock.” The 
tree grows sometimes toa diameter of two or thre: teet, 
and is sawed into lumber for wagons. It is close grained, 
and the tire once set upon the wheels never becomes loose 
until it is worn out. This is a great advantage in any cli- 
mate, and would be invaluable in the almost rainless re- 
gion of theplains. They tell of wagons in Texas that came 
in with the first emigration, and after thirty years are still 
serviceable and in good condition. The wood is also much 
used for fence posts, and resists decay longer than any 
other wood in that region. If these claims are well found- 
ed there must be an immense demand for the lumber west 
of the Missouri, where wood is so scarce, and where there 
is no hard wood at all. The forests of this wood in Texas 
should have protection by law, and it should be extensively 
planted in the more northern States as a timber tree.— 
American Agriculturist. 
Che Kennel. 
HE Terrier, although not used to any great extent in 
the field as a sporting dog, is death on vermin, and 
being very intelligent, apt at learning, delicate of nose, and 
quick of eye and scent, will be found the best dog for rac- 
coon hunting. There are several varieties of the Terrier— 
the English, the Bull, the Fox, the Scotch, the Skye, and 
the Dandie Diamont, so called, in honor of the character 
ofthat name in Walter Scott’s ‘Guy Mannering.” The 
English Terrier possesses a smooth coat, & tapering muzzle, 
eye small and bright, and has an habitual custom of dig- 
ging thé ground with his fore feet and dragging away the 
stones and other substances in his mouth. The Scotch Ter- 
rier is a quaint-looking animal, broken or wire-haired, al- 
ways ready for work or play, good to hunt rats, and in fact 
will dig a fox out of his hole when he fancies himself in 
safety. The color of the Scotch Terrier is generally the 
same asthat of the English dog, he has so long been kept 
as a pet that unless a pure breed is obtained from his native 
country, he will be found valueless as a sporting dog. All 
these dogs would be of the greatest value for successful 
raccoon hunting. In the London Field a gentleman writes 
the following about Terriers, and if raccoon is substituted 
for badger, it will be found serviceable: 
“I have witnessed the digging out of a great many bad- 
gers, both old and young, and have frequently found as 
many as three cubs; and on three occasions that I can re- 
member, four ina litter. Badgers are a great nuisance: 
they take possession of the best earths, and as far as m 
experience goes, drive foxes away from them, although I 
know it is generally supposed to be quite the reverse. 
This spring, while in Devonshire, I dug out nine badgers 
in two days, including a litter of four cubs. There is a con- 
siderable amount of ‘excitement in unearthing an old bad- 
ger from a deep sandy earth, and it is one of the best tests 
of the capabilities of a Terrier that can be obtained. Some 
of the Devonshire earths are very extensive, covering near- 
ly or perhaps quite half an acre of Estep and unless you 
have two or three really good Terriers’ well up to their 
work, it is quite useless attempting to dig—unless, of 
course, you are lucky enough to find a badger in a very 
small earth, which is not often the case. I ave tried at 
different times Terriers of all sorts, shapes and breeds, and 
I certainly think that for going to ground there is nothing 
to beat the Fox Terrier proper, and his cousin the wire- 
haired variety. I have seen many capital wire-haired dogs, 
one of the best being a little dog weighing about fifteen 
pounds, and sent to me not long ago to try; not many dogs 
that would beat him for sheer gameness, yet for going to 
ground, I have never seen a better. He has'a most wonder- 
ful knack of keeping a badger from shifting his quarters 
ina deep earth, and of preventing him digging. Bull- 
Terriers are, as a rule, of little use to £0 to ground; it does 
not seem natural to them, and they would vastly prefer a 
few rounds with the badger in the open air to seeking for 
him in an earth, perhaps some ten or fifteen feet below the 
surface.” 

g 


FOREST AND STREAM. _ os ; 
Se 
Slatural Distary. DO SNAKES SWALLOW THEIR YOUNG? 
saat Bee 
HIS is what naturalists have been 
—A correspondent writes from Lawrence, Kansas, that 
for more than a century. 
while shooting quail the other day he bagged an albino books, ‘‘The Natural History of 
which was pure white with the exception of three delicate cma ava ieee eta bat ok i roar Aa 
brown feathers on the breast and three quill feathers on one ar ates aed a Speiaeaiee of the Univers ear Henahe, 
wing—a bird of the most beautiful description, Its legs who traveled in the United States early in the present cen- 
and bill were also pure white, which is the strangest part 
of this freak cf nature; for although albinoes are not un- 
tury, claimed to have seen five young rattlesnakes, ‘each 
about as thick as a goose quill,’run down their mother’s 
common throughout the animal creation, the bills of albino 
birds and their legs when not feathered, are usually of a 
throat, run out, and then down a second time. John D, 
Hunter, in his celebrated ‘“Memoirs of a Captivity among 
: c ‘ the Indians of North America,” gives similar testimony. 
delicate pink shade. In the case of ptarmigan, all members Sir William Jardine, an eminent English naturalist, wrote 
of that species assume a winter garb of pure white, except- } jn 1853: ‘We have always looked upon this a- a popular 
ing a few feathers on the teil and wings, but these birds ‘delusion, and the supposed habit is so much at variance 
are in no sense albinoes, as their dress changes with the re- | with what we know of the general manners and ee 
currence of the seasons, and in autumn is as dark a clined RA a MO Co ke 
brown as that of the ruffed grouse. Were the bill of this Off) Balonte Gossip, strongly advocated the affirmative. 
quail (ortyr) not pure white, we should be ready to believe citing many instances observed by his friends. In 1869 Mr. 
that in this particular instance these characteristics of the | F. W. Putnam, of the American Naturalist, considered the 
ptarmigan were developed in this bird. We trust that our eeenp ered: ee fae ee ene pple Silage oa 
ae Ay igen ; TotRT Gera ooke. During st sly discuss as bee 
correspondent has had the for ethought to get this bird carried Onin Taga and Water. “Mr. Frank Buckland, one 
me unted. ‘ ; of the keenest of English naturalists, strenuously opposing 
—Some interesting information relating to the Tavages of | the idea. Sostood the question, the authorities bemg about 
insects was given by Mr. C. O. Groom Napier to the equally divided. To the American Agriculturist is due the 
House of Commons Committee of last Session on the pro- honor, it seems, of finally deciding it. Last February the 
tection of wild birds. In 1782 the caterpillars of the brown- editors kindly inserted a paragraph asking for information, 
tail moth were so numerous as to defoliate the trees of a and in a few weeks about eighty letters had been received 
very, large part of the south of England. The alarm was so from subscribers in twenty-four different States and prov- 
great that public. prayers were offered in the churches that | inces. Some of these were not to the point, but most of 
the calamity might be stayed. The poor were paid 1s, per | them contained the statements of those who had personally 
bushel for collecting caterpillars’ webs, to be burnt under observed this very curious habit. Many were, very natu- 
the inspection of the overseers of the parish; and fourscoure rally, indignant that a fact so well known should be called 
bushels were collected daily in some parishes. The brown- into question. These statements, together with many oth? 
tail moth is a beautiful little white insect, about an inch in ers collected by diligent personal inquiry, were embodied 
expanse of wings. Mr. Napier noticed that in 1853 it de- by the writer in a paper read at the late meeting of the 
foliated about 20ft. of hedge near Parkstone, Poole; and in American Association for the Advancement of Science. 
1855 the caterpillars riddled and deprived of their leaves The paper elicited some discussion but no opposition. Prof, 
two plum trees in his garden at Lewes, one ef which died. Gill, of Washington, one of the most skeptical, as well as 
The caterpillar of the gamma moth is’ one of the most in- | one of the ablest of ‘American scientists, expressed himselt 
jurious to garden plants; it principally feeds at night, and as convinced by the testimonies of so many witnesses, and 
concealing itself by day, is unperceived. The gamma moth | go did many others. Many of the letters received deserve 
overran France about a century ago and devoured a very to be printed in full; but since want of space forbids, only 
large portion of the crops, bui, fortunately, the corn was figures can be given. Our witnesses are 104 in number; 58 
not attacked. The antler moth is sometimes extremely | saw the young enter their mother’s mouth; 19 heard the moti- 
destructive to grass crops. Mr. Napier once saw millions er warn them by a sharp wihstle or hiss or click: 8 were con. 
of these on the Wrekin, and in the following summer the siderate enough to wait and see the young reappear when 
grass of that mountain was in a miserable State. The danger seemed to be passed; 18 saw the young shaken out 
lackey moth is very destructive to filbert plantations, cherry by dogs or running from the mouth of thé dead mother; 32 
orchards, and other tree plantations. The buft tip, the cab- | who saw the young enter killed the mother and found them 
bage moth, and the small ermines are very destructive to living within her: while only 14 of the 58 allowed the poor 
the leaves of fruit trees and garden shrubs. But, on the affectionate parent to escape; 29 found the young in the 
other hand, the benefits derived from the labor of some in- body of the parent, but as they did not see them enter the 
sects should not be overlooked; some species feed only on mouth, this testimony is rather dubious, Among the wit- 
noxious weeds, and others prey on still more noxiousinsects. | nesses are four naturalists of reputation, whose word is as 
One of the greatest friends of the agriculturist is the family | oood as gold in other departments of Natural History. Em- 
of ichneumon flies, which lay their eggs in the bodies of liy- ane physiologists admit that there is nothine impossible in 
ing caterpillars, in which they are hatched, thus destroying | the habit for living tissves are not easily affected by the 
them, although the caterpillar, after being ycchneumoned,” | sastrie juice, and reptiles could not easily be smothered 
has still a voracious appetite. The fotespibars. which ided il ovens wthe muses stomach. The habit’is known to be 
on the cabbage eat twice their weight in a day; the larve | shared bythe English scaly lizzard. The males of certain. 
of some of the fieck flies eat a much larger Proportion | species of South American fishes related to the ‘“‘cat-fish” 
than this. The productive powers of insects The whim, | and “bull-head” carry their eges in their mouths and gill 
much. Some lay only two eggs; others, such as the white openings, depositing them in places of safety and removing 
ant, forty millions, laying them at the rate of IXtY 2 | them at the approach of danger. Equally singular though 
minute. The queen of the hive bee is capable of laying | not similar havits of protecting the young are found in the 
50,000 in a season; the female wasp, 30,000. The majority | well known Surinam toad, in the kangaroo and opossum, 
of insects, however, lay but about 100, in Seneral, the | and in the pine fish and his cousins. There is room for 
larger the insect the fewer eggs it lays. Most insects have | many interesting observations, especially to determine what 
two generations in the year; some have 20; others take species afford their young this protection. About the gar- 
seven years trom the time the egg Is laid until their natural ter-snake and the ribbon-snake, the water-adder, the Bandel 
death in a perfect state. But pr obably not above five per rattlesnake, the copperhead, the moccasin, and the Massas- 
cent. of the eggs laid become perfect. insects, Among the agua there can be little doubt, and the habit probably ex- 
flies the daddylonglegs is one of the most destructive, es- | tends throughout the genera whieh these species represent, 
pecially in France; it feeds on the roots of grass, and Mr. The case of the hog-nosed snake, sometimes called the 
Napier in 1859 noticed meadows in La Manche devastated blowing or puffing adder, needs farther investigation. and 
by it. The starling is a bird most useful in destroying : net , 
these larve, and those of the horse and cattle flies. “The 
orthopteris insects, of which the locust, grasshopper, and 
cockchafer are examples, are very destructive. The 
numerous species of grasshoppers lessen the amount of our 
so also that of the black snakes. It seems more than likely 
grass crops. Locusts are seldom found in England now in 
that the racer or mountain black snake, which is distin- 
guished by a little ridge or carination in the middle of each 
sufficient numbers to do any damage, but they have done 
considerable damage here in former generations. Their 
scale, does thus protect its young, but it has not been shown 
grewtest enemies are the starling and rose-colored pastor, 
that this is the case with the common smooth-sealed black 
which follow them in flocks and decapitate them by hun- 
snake. {tis very desirable to learn whether, as has been 
supposed, the habit is peculiar to those snakes which are 
dreds. The beetles are immensely numerous, as regards 
species. In 1574 the cockchafers gathered in such numbers 
ovoviviparous—that is those in which the young are 
hatched from the egg while still in the body of the pa- 
rent. As was remarked, there is no proof that the black 
on the banks of the Severn as to prevent the working of 
the watermills. On another occasion, in Galway, they 
formed a black cloud that darkened the sky,for the distance 
snake swallows its young, and this is the case with all the 
egg-laying genera, as the milk-snakes, grass-snakes, brown- 
of a league, and destroyed the vegetation so completely that 
summer seemed turned into winter. They made a noise 
snakes, ringnecked-snakes, and bull-snakes, although they 
resembling the sawing of wood. The people, threatened 
are Common and easy to observe. If any reader of the Ag- 
riculturist should observe a snake with young running down 
with famine, were obliged to devour them. In 1804 they 
were alarmingly numerous in Switzerland. The female 
its throat, or should have reason to believe that she had 
lays about 30 eggs; in six weeks they are hatched. They 
them in her stomach, it would be a capital plan to tie a 
cord tightly about her neck to prevent their escape, and 
live from three to four years in the larve state. The first 
year they do not do a great amount of damage; but in the 
then carry her to some naturalist or some physician and 
have a careful dissection made. This would forever settle 
the question, and might be done without the least difficulty, 
second year they attack the roots of al] plants within their 
reach. They often ruin the crops of corn, lucerne, straw- 
berries and various plants on which man depends for food. 
for all our snakes except the rattlesnakes, moccasins, cop- 
In a field of twenty-nine acres in France, above 43,000 larvee 
perheads, and massasaugas are perfectly harmless. 
were found—quite sufficient to destruy the entire crop dur- 
Accurate statements are much needed of cases of snakes 
charming men, quadrupeds, and birds. It would be inter- 
ing the season. Our insectivorous birds are diligent in des. 
troying the larve of insects, but they will not do all that is 
esting to know whether the cast-off skin of a snake is al- 
required; hand labor is also needed. Mr. Napier is of 
ways left as the snake wore it, or whether it is sometimes 
turned inside out.—Prof. G. B. Goode, in American Agricul- 
turist. 
opinion that the extensive diffusion of information on the 
habits and means of destroying our more noxious insects 
would be the means ot saving millions of pounds worth of 
valuable food every year. He says that in the United 
States the importance of this subject is felt, and almost 
every State has a government entomologist, whose 
business it is to make inspections and reports of the ravages 
of insects, and show the remedy. In France government 
returns were published, from which it appeared that the 
damage done in Normandy by the cockchater alone amount- 
ed to twenty-five million trancs, A law was passed in 
France a few years since for the protection of birds. Not, 
however, that alt birds are to be welcomed; the sparrow 
does more harm than good, by feeding so much on green 
crops, and the wood pigeon does much mischief. But on 
the whole Mr. Napier is certain our birds do a great deal 
} 










































































asking each other 
In that most fascinating of 
Selborne,” Gilbert White 
A Great HERpsman.—The greatest 
world is the title claimed for Samuel W. Allen, of Texas, 
who owns 225,000 cattle. He has one ranch eighty miles 
long and forty wide, between the N evada and Colorado 
Rivers, the largest on the continent, which pastures 120,000. 
Two others accommodate respectively 70,000 and 35.000. 
These cattle all subsist on native grasses of a part of Texas, 
His herds require the attention of at least 400 herders and 
branders and the use of 3,000 horses. THe brands 60,000 
calves every year to keep up the supply. The value of his 
stock, exclusive of the land, exceeds $5,500,000. He is the 
chief meat purveyor for New Orleans and the neighboring 
counties of the Gulf coast. ; 
herdsman in the 
RTS cies 2. eet 
There is every indication of an unusually gay winter in 
Washington. The financial troubles do not, as a rule, 
affect the class of persons who make Washington their 
winter residence. — : 

