The American Box-tortoise

194 FOREST AND ^{STREAM. |Makch}

^{7, 1M>6}

AT THE WASHINGTON ZOO.

Within

the past

few

years therehas

come

into opera- tion at

Washington,

D. C.,

an

institution of

which moat

of us

have

heard, but

which few

ofus

have

seen. This is

the National Zoological Park, established

by

act of

Con-

gress,

and

^{supportedin part}

by Government

funds

and

in part

by

thoseof the District of Columbia. Itshistory^is interesting, but

more

tothe purpose just

now

is tosketch hastily

what was

seen thereduring abriefvisit

made

early thiB

month, and

to

remark upon

the

extreme

interest of this collection of animals

and

its extraordinary health- fulness.

The

billspassed

by

Congress in appropriating

money

for the

maintenance

ofthe

park

forbid theexpenditureof

any sums

for the purchaseof animals,

though

transportation charges

on

specimens presentedto the park

may

bepaid.

The

only

way,

therefore, in

which

additions can

be made

to thecollectionsis

by

gift, or,temporarily,

by

specimens loanedtothe park. Itcanthusbe understood that,sofar as species ofexotic animalsareconcerned, the collections are poor, while

some

of the native

forms

are fairly well represented.

Many

very desirable animals, however, offered to the park at

low

prices, cannot be secured because of the law,

and

thecollections

grow

butslowly.

However,

there is

enough

tobeseen there to please

and

interest

an American, and

to please

him

doubly if heisa hunter or a lover of nature

and

of nature's wild crea- tures.

Down

at the southeast corner of the park, at the

bend

of

Rock

Creek, are the bear pits, in one of

which

is a small

brown

or

cinnamon

bear

and

in another

two

black bears.

The

cages arebuilt againstthe perpendicular face of acliff, in

which

caves arehollowed out,

which

givethe animals shelter

from

the weather.

The

floors are of asphalt,

and

in each thereisawater tankfordrinking

and

bathing.

The

^cliffagainst

which

these cages arebuilt is really perpendicular so far as the eye

can

judge, yet

when

the first bear

was

introduced there

he promptly

clambered

up

the faceof the rock, escaped into the

open

fields above,

and was

only captured after a sharp chase.

A

repetition of this performance

was

prevented

by

the erection of astrong ironfence.

Passing across the bridge

which

spans the creek,

and up

the gentleascent, one

comes

to the large,

low

stone building

where

thetropical animals are kept.

Here

are

two male

lions, a superb tiger, a leopard, a rhinoceros, a hippopotamus, various

monkeys,

a capybara,

European

porcupines, a cougar or

two and some

other animals.

Most

interesting of all

was

a superb lioness with

two

little cubs. Theseare about2

months

old

and

are as large as full-grown cats, butof course

much

heavier

and

clumsier.

They were

asleepin theinner room,

and

the lioness

was

lying

down

in the outer cage

when

keeper Blackburn, shutting theslidingdoor

which

separated the

twocompart-

ments, opened the inner one

and

took out one of the cubs so that- it

might

be

more

closely inspected.

The mother

at once

became

anxious

and began

tospring un- easilyaboutthe cage,

and when

the littleone

had

been returned to itsbed

and

the door opened, sheran intosee

whether

her

young had

been

harmed.

Finding

them

safe she

came

out again

and

thecubs

waddled

alongafterher

and

then lay

down, and

looking frightfully bored,

yawned two

or three timesinour faces

and

then

went

to sleep.

The hippopotamus

is a fine one, 12 years old,

and

has

been

in .the garden for a year ormore.

He was

very friendly,

and on

request opened his

huge

jaws,

showing

hisshapeless tongue

and

great teeth.

He was

recently sold

by

his

owner

for $1,500, being

worth

perhaps $4,000,

and

^if thepark could lawfully purchase animals

would have

been agreat bargain

and

a

most

valuable acquisi- tion.

Chances

as

good

as this are constantly slipping

through

thefingers of the

Washington

Zoo,

and

for the

same

reason. It isa greatpity.

In alittle

room

ofthis house

we were shown

the

arma-

dillos

—

^{three of}

^them — ^from

^{the Southwest.}

They

are nocturnalanimals,

and when we

entered the

room

they

were

buried inapile of

hay

in apit

made

in thefloor of the

room.

Mr.

Blackburn

felt

round

in this pit

and

soon hauled one

and

then another out

by

the tail until the three

were

exposed toview.

They were

quickerin their motionsthan I

had

expected,but

seemed

confused

by

the stronglight, in

which

they blinked painfully.

Each

of the principal cages of this house has a door leadingto

an

^outside cagefor

summer

use.

Each

outside cage is separated

from

the adjoining ones

by

closely

woven

gratingsof finesteel strips,which, while admitting light

and

air, do not permit next-doorneighborstogetat eachother. In each one oftheseoutdoorcagesis alarge treetrunk plantedin theground, over

which

theanimals

may

climb

and

play, or

on which

they

may

rest.

Not

^far

from

this houseisalarge tree, standing alone

and

surrounded a.taconsiderable distance

from

its trunk

by

a fence of strong wire netting. In the branches of this tree

and

inthe hollowlog

which

liesatitsfoot are a dozen or

twenty

raccoons, sleeping, climbing

and

play- ing.

They

are thus out of doors

and have abundant room

for exercise, yet cannot get

away. Beyond

this treeare a

number

of open-air cages,

one

of

which

holds a pairof

young mountain

lions

which had

only

been

in the

garden two

weeks.

They were

captured in

New

Mexico and

aresupposedto be not

more

than a year old.

Their appearancejustifiesthisbelief, for

on

the legs

and

flanks of oneof

them

faint spotscanstill beseen.

The

lionsare insuperb coat

and

generallyin the very pink of condition,

and

arestill quite shy, dodging at

any

unex- pected motion,

and

beingvery restless

and

uneasy,

One

of them, however,

would

often stopitshurried pacingto

and

fro to watch,

with

erectedears

and

every appearance of

keen

interest,alittle child that

was

playing about near thiscage.

One

of the

most

interesting animals hereis a

huge

grizzlybearin superbcondition

and

splendidcoat,

which was

captured

two

or three years ago in theYellowstone NationalPark. It

was

takenin a trap cagesent out

from Washington, and when

captured

weighed

7301bs. Mr.

Blackburn estimatesits presentweightat 8501bs.,

and no

doubt the average hunter,

who might

see such a bear wild,

would

say

and

believethatit

weighed

l,5001bs. It is very dark in color, with white claws, is

enormously

broad

between

the ears

and

veryshort coupled,

with a tremendous

body. It conveys

an

impression of grepfc

massiveness.

The

other bears

do

notrequirespeoial

men-

tion.

Not

far

from

these cages is the inclosure in

which

are confined

most

ofthe beaversbroughtlastyear

by

Mr.

Hof

er

from

the YellowstonePark.

None

of these

were

visible,

but theirdams, theirhouses

and

thetrees thatthey

have

cut

down

arevery

much

in evidence.

The

questionas to

whether

theywillbreedthis springisoneof greatinterest

and

should bedecided

now

beforeverylong.

The

beavers are very difficult to confine,

and

this inclosure is sur-

rounded

by

two

fences, theinner one being so arranged thatitcannot be climbedover.

Elephants, Old

World

antelopes

and

cattle,

a

pair of ostriches

—

^{California bred}

— some

llamas

and some

kan- garoos

were

seen in theirvarious houses;

and we

then passed

on

to

two

large

paddocks on

a steep sidehill, in

which

are confinedanimalsdistinctively

American —

^elk

and

bison. Thereare perhaps

a dozen

elk,

one

large, old

and

viciousbull, one large old cow,

one

or

two younger cows and

a

number

of

young

bulls. These are all in excellent condition, in

good

coat, fat enough, but not tooround,

and

with eyes

and

hair

showing good

health.

On

account of his

temper

the old bull

was

confined in a

pen by

himself

and

the others

were

all together in the inclosure,

which

^istoo largeto be called a paddock, yet hardly extensive

enough

to be apasture.

The

^situations

of this

and

of the adjoining buffalo

pen

are admirably chosen.

They

are

on

a^{steep side hill,} with a little level land above

and

below.

The

animals are fed at the foot ofthe hill

and

wateredatthetop,

and

so

must

necessarily climb

up and down

the hill

two

or three times aday.

Thus

theyget exercise—

something

thatwild animals in confinement seldom

have much

of, but

which

they

need

above almost anything else.

When we were

there the

young

bulls

were

fencing

and

fightingalong the hillside,

two

or three couples being

sometimes engaged

at the

same

time, pushing

and

straining, and constantly giving ventto the

low

bird likewhistleof angerso characteristic

ofthe elk.

The

buffalo

were

in as

good

condition asthe elk, but I

was

sorry to see

among

the sixor seven specimens only a single cow.

She

is apparently

heavy with

calf. There

was

recently a contest for the

supremacy

^of this small herd,

and

after

many

battles the

young

bull

overcame him who

tillthen.had been themaster of the herd.

The

last fight took place near the top of the hill already spoken of,

and

at its close the

young

bull

knocked

^his senior

down and

then butted

him

allthe

way down

the

hill, rolling

him

over

and

overuntil

he

reached the foot.

Not

far

from

the large animal housearesmall outdoor cages, in

which

are confined

some

admirable specimens of

Esquimau and

other dogs, three gray wolves,

two

coyotes,

one

of them^-if it is acoyote

—

^{red, like a red}

wolf,

and

half a dozen beautiful kit foxes.

Here

too ^is agreat cage, built about a

growing

pine tree, in

which

half adozenClarke'scrows

have

their

home.

Below

these animals

— ^under

^{the hill}

—

^{are the deer,}

which, likeall the otheranimals here,

seem

to be inper- fect condition. Mr.

Blackburn showed

us acrippled doe,

whose

left hindleg

had

been

broken

in

two

places,about

New

Year's,

by

aviciousbuck. Mr.

Blackburn had

putthe leg in plaster

and

there

seemed

everyprospect that the

bone would make

a good union

and

that the doe

would

getwell.

No

one thing impressed

me

so

much

during

my

visitto thepark as the admirablecondition of all the animals

on

exhibitionthere.

The

site iswonderfullybeautiful,

much

taste, skill

and judgment

hasbeen displayed in layingout the grounds,

and

thereis

ample room;

butinazoological gardenall these things count fornothing if the animals,

on

accountof

which

the

garden

exists, arethin,

mangy and

unhealthy. I

have

seen

many

collectionsofanimals, but never

one where

the specimens

were

so universally healthyas at

Washington.

This

may

be accountedfor in part

by

ths season of the year at

which

the visit

was made, and

ⁱⁿ part

by

the unusual

amount

ofrange

which many

of the herbivorous animals have, butthere

can

be

no

doubt thatthe excellent healthof the specimens here

shown

is

due

chiefly to the constant supervision

and

intel- ligent care

which

is given

them by

Mr. Blackburn, the

head

keeper. I talked a

good

deal with

him and

soon learnedthat

he knows

the secret ofpreserving the health of the creatures

committed

to his care.

Such knowledge

mav

fairly becalled unusual

among men

occupying his position,

who, however

interested they

may

be in their specimens, too often lack theexperience

and

the

common

senseto treat

them

as they

ought

tobetreated.

The

sun

had

setwhile

we were

standing looking at the buffalo,

and

I suppose _that I

had

fallen into a reverie,

when

suddenly the air

was

full of

an

old

sound

heard often

enough

inabuffalo country, the yelps

and

barks of thecoyotes swelledafteralittle

by

thedeeperbowlingsof the big wolves.

For a moment

^I forgot

where

I

was and

looked across the flat to the bluffs

beyond

the stream, balfexpectingtoseestringing

down

thehillalineof

men

and women and pack

horses laden with

meat

returning

from

the buffalo hunt.

Then

one of

my companions

spoke

— ^and

^{I realized} that it is

twenty

years later

and

that the buffalo isextinct.

THE _AMERICAN BOX-TORTOISE.

BY

K.

W.

SHUFELDT, M. D., C. M. Z. S.

From Maine

to Florida our

common

box-tortoise {Gis-

tttilo Carolina) is so well

known

to those living in the country ^districts that

any

description of this CJielonian

would seem

to be quite unnecessary.

They

are very

abundant

in the fields

and woodlands

lying about

Wash-

ington, D,

C, and

the writer has

had ample

opportunities to study

them upon many

occasions. I

have

never been lucky

enough

to find oneof their

egg

deposits here, but I did

many

years

ago

in Stamford, Conn.,

when

I caught thefemalelaying her eggsin the

mire

near a marsh, she

having

thehinderhalf ofher

body

in the water

and mud

whileshe didso. These eggs

were

not

numerous,

over

an

inch long each

and

purewhite. In

form

they

were

ellip-

j

soidal. Old box-tortoisesvary greatlyin both

form and

j

color; occasionally the vault of the carapace is quite]

hemisphericalin contour,while againit is

much

flattened!!

behind.

The

shield beneath, or plastron, isusually quite;]

flat,

with

the transversehinge

forward

of the middle ofj the body. This tortoisealso varies

much

in its coloration,I

sometimes

the plastron is black, often lightclaycolor, or various shades of

brown and

mottled.

Some

of

them

have

theblacks, orange

and browns

of the carapaceor!

dome,

often upperpart of theshell,verybright

and

variel gated, while in othersthey aredingy

and

poorlymarked,!

Last

summer

^I photographed

some

of thesebox-tortoises!

and found

it

by no means an

easything to do.

One

oil these pictures of

mine

is

shown

in the

accompanying

en-j graving. It

was

a beautifully

'marked

^specimen, about]

two-thirds

grown,

yet theyellow

and

black of the shell couldnot be

made

to

show

in thephotograph.

He

would!

move

his

head

asquick as a flash,

and draw

in his fee*!

and

tail

on

theslightest provocation.

On

the trial here!

shown,

however,I got thesealloutinnice shape.

About

the

end

of April or the beginning of

May we!

sometimes beginto

meet with

the

young

of thisspeciesj

They

^occurinthe

wood

paths,

under

the leaves

by

the]

fences, orinthe

damp

hollowsin thetimberlands.

They!

are

cunning

little fellows, verygentle

and

vary greatly!

insize

and

color. Like their parents they will readily!

feed

upon any

of the garden berries, angling

worms,

bit*

of meat, insectsor

mushrooms. On warm

days theyenjoy!

a dip in cool water

and

doubtlesstakethe opportunity!

to drink alittle,

though

turtles

and

tortoisescan go alon§!

time both without food orwater.

A

^{very foolish} notion!

is stillwidely prevelantin the country about this tortoist!

and

it isto the effectthat

one

of

them

will drive out the rats if kept in the cellar of a house infested

by

them,

Even

so well

known

a naturalist as Dr.

DeKay musn have had

alurking notion that there

might

be

some

truth inthis

myth and he

triedthe experiment, with theresult that ina

few

days

he found

the poor box-tortoise in hia cellar partlydevoured

by

the mercilessrats.

One

ofthese!

Chelonianscan be

drowned by

^{being kept}

under

water foj*

half

an hour

orso, butthereis

no

truth in the story that they avoid

water

altogether. Indeed, ^I

have found

therd

wading

in shallowstreams,

and

Ioncetriedone

by

^placing

him on a

smallisland ina pond.

As

soon as

he

found!

outhispredicament, thereptile took boldlyto the

water

I

which was

^severalfeetdeep,

and

withgreat dispatch,bull

by

^very

awkward swimming

withal, soon

swam

the diB-l

tance of several feet to reachthe mainland.

The

full account oftheseexperimentswillbe

found

inabrief con

j

tributionto

Nature

(Oct. 31, 1889), thatIpublisheda fewl yearsago.

As

a rulethe box-tortoiseis agentleanimal,!

out then again specimens willbe

met

withthat are

am

cross

and

as vicious as tbey can possibly be; likewise,!

some

of

them make good

subjectsforthephotographeroil living animals, whileothers completely

wear

hispatienctl out

by

their perversity.

All thelandspecies ofthese reptilesarecalled tortoises I

while those that inhabit either fresh or salt

water

artjl

known

as turtles.

Some

ofthe former are called terra-1 pine.

The word

tortoise evidently arose

from

the old,I

French, tortis

}

meaning

twisted, referringtothe

form

^oj-

THE AMERICAN

BOX-TORTOISE.

Prom a photo by Dr. Smifeldt.

March

t, 1896...

FOREST AND STREAM.

the frontlegs. I do not

know

the origin ofeither turtlesor terrapin,

though

the former

may have

been derived

from

tortoise.

As

a

whole

they

compose

a very

compact group

lof the Reptilia,

termed

the order Chelonia, about 250 species of

them

being

known.

Dr. Giinther has very [truly said that "Ghelonianspossess great tenacityof life,

survivinginjuries to

which

other reptiles

would succumb

tinashort time.

The

heartofa decapitated tortoise con-

tinues

to beatfor

many

hours afterevery drop of blood

•has been drained

from

the body,

and

the muscles of the trunk

and head show

signs of reflex action twenty-four

Ihoursafter the severanceof the spinal cord.

The

lon- Igevity of tortoisesislikewisea

well-known

fact." Several

years

ago Ipersonally

made some

of these experiments ton a

few

box-tortoises,

and am

prepared to fully confirm

I

what

Dr.

Gunther

hassaidabove.

He

^is alsorightabout tortoises tiving toa greatage,

some

of the species Over a

century, and

I should notbe surprised that our box-tor- Itoise might,

under

proper conditions, be kept ^{alive in}

Iconfinementfor

more

than halfthat time.

The

breeding habits of these reptiles are truly extraordinary; every

Iimaginable phase

and

fancy of

them

beingcharacterized

I

by

great deliberation

and

^utter disregard for the length

(oftime it

consumes

in their

accomplishment —

^{quite in}

[keeping, indeed,

with

their slow

growth

of

body and

Itheremarkable agesto

which

theyattain.

RHODE ISLAND BIRD NOTES.

Providence,

R. I,,Feb. 21.

—

EditorForest

and

Stream;

In looking over

my

note

book

for1895I find that I

have

arecord of seventy-sixspecies of birds observed, all but seventeenof

which were found

withinthe citylimits.

In January we found

the black-crowned night herons sitting likegray sentinels in the tall pines of the

park swamp, where

they

have

passed several winters safe

from harm. They

probablyfindsubsistencein the

open

spring holes

and

the outlet ofthepark lakes.

This

same swamp

is a great place for birds; here in winterthelittle

brown wren

can be

found

playing hide

and

seek

among

theroots

and

dirtof the upturnedtrees,

with unruffled

plumage and

tail always at the

same

angle. Flocksof tree sparrows winter here with their friends, theblack-cap titmice

and

golden-crowned king-

lets. Theselatterbirdsare very

tame

while

with

us. I

have

stood in a

clump

^ofpines in

a

driving snowstorm,

and had them

flyso close to

my

facethatI could feel the

wind from

their wings.

They

are cheerful little birds, always hunting for grubs, apparently

happy

in the roughest weather.

The brown

creeper is another

busy

; little bird, but a

hard one

to find, its

markings

are so nearly likethebark of thetrees

which

itfrequents. This birdstartsatthe

ground and

runs

up

the tree trunksto the lowerbranches,

and

then

with

a rollingnote

he

is off forfreshhuntinggrounds.

In February

^I

found

all of the above birds with the addition of crows, bluejays

and

flickers. I

watched

a bluejayhold

an

acorn

under

one foot

and hammer

it

until

he

succeeded ⁱⁿ getting out the meat,

when he

droppedthe shell

and

wiping his bill

on

a small twig

he

flewto hisstone housefor more.

On March

18 I heardthefirstsong ofthesong sparrow,

and

recorded thearrivalof

my

first purple grackle,

and

counted five flickers,

and

a

number

of juncos

and

white- bellied nuthatches

were

also seen.

The

firstpairof blue- birds

were found on March

24, withinthe city limits; the next

were

seen inApril in the country while

on

atrout- ing^trip;they

were

scarce lastyear,

and we

shall

watch

for

them more

carefully thisspring.

On May

5I

found

ascreech owl'snest in

an

oak.

The

old bird

was

looking out of her

doorway

orI should not

have

noticed it, but I did not disturb her

and hope

she raised her brood in peace. In the spring

and summer

robins, orioles

and

^vireos

were

very

common,

nesting in thetrees of the resident portion ofthecity.

Scarlet tanagers

and

iose-breasted grosbeaks are be-

coming more common

withus,

and

I

saw more

last year than everbefore, but the grosbeaks are rather shy

and have

to be

hunted

for. In

August

thenight herons

were

stillin the

park swamp, and

I think they breed there in thetallpines, asa

number

of bulkynests can be seenin thosetrees.

We had

a rubythroat that stayed

around

the flower bedsall

summer and

^into the fall, Sept. 22 being the last

day we saw him on

his favorite perch

on

the telephone wire.

On

Nov. 3 while

walking through a

cedar

and

pitch pinegrove I

was

startled

by

awhir, whir! a

few

feet in frontof

me, and

looked

up

just in time to see

a

pair of

Bob Whites

disappear over the treetops,

About

20ft. to theleft I

heard

a rustle

and

carefully looking behind a smallcedar

saw Bob

No. 3.

He walked

out in the open, lookedat

me

for

an

instant

and

then

went up

inthe air like

a

rocket.

A

^littlefurther

on

the fourth

and

lastone

went up and away.

I

was

almost

home when

honk! honk!

came down

to

me from

the sky,

and

looking

up

I

saw

astringof geese flying

due

south.

There were

aboutfiftyofthem,asnear asI could count.

Why

is it that the honk! of the wild goosestirsthe bloodin ourveins?

Does

itarouse thesav- age thatstilllies

dormant

in

most

of us?

John Burroughs

says: "I

hurry

outdoors

when

I hearthe clarion of the wild gander; his

comrade

in

my

heart sends

back

the call."

In December we tramped down

to

where

Gaspeel Point runsits long yellowfingerout into the blue waters of Narragansett Bay.

Here we found

shore larks

running

alongthesandssearching forfood; white gulls

were

fly-

ing

low

overthe water,

and

farout in the

bay

a flock of ducks

were

resting,keeping a sharp eye

open

for gunners.

In a hollow

back

of the point

we found

a

downy wood-

pecker, black-capped titmice, tree sparrows

and

gold- finches inwinterplumage.

Nuthatch.

Grizzly

Bears

in

Labrador.

Dr. Robt. Bell, ofthe

Dominion

Survey, says that

a paradox

to zoologistsis the presenceofthegrizzlybearin the forested area of Central Labrador, as he does not

occupy

theinterveningcountry

which

lies

between

that peninsula

and

his

Western home

in the Rockies.

Two

hundred and

ninespecies of birds

have

been noted, but

with

the exceptionofthe

two

species ofptarmigan,

game

birdsarenotplentiful. Forty-fivespecies

have

been dis-

coveredsinceDr.

Coues

prepared his listthirty-six years ago.

Bird Notes.

Springfield, 111., Feb.

24.—

^{Sunday,Feb. 16, 1 observed} the first robin.

A few

days of zero

weather

followed,

and

afterthat

and up

to date mild

and

springy. This

morning,

while taking athree-mile drive in the country, I

saw and

heard a

number

of bluebirds, also

meadow

larks. I

was informed

afterward that the latter

had

been

around

fora

number

of days. Last year I noticed the firstrobin Feb. 27

and

bluebirds

March

8. T.

M.

S.

Belleville, Ont., Feb. 25.

—Mr. A. Dulmage,

fur buyer, recentlypurchased the skin of a small silver fox,

which was

shot within

twenty

miles of this city, also three cross fox skins. Pine grosbeaks,

which

are rare visitors, are here in large

numbers.

This is the, third time within fifteenyea.rsthat they have

wandered

hither

from

their Northern

home. The

birds are

remarkably

tame.

A

high-holder

was

seen here yesterday. This is

the earliest visit of this

migrant

that has

come

to the

knowledge

ofthescribe. R. S. Bell.

AsburyPark,

N.J.,Feb.

28.—

EditorForest

and

Stream:

I

saw

to-daynear

Woodbridge,

N.J.,alargeflockof black- birds

and

robins, thefirst I

have

noticed this season. It istobe

hoped

that these harbingersofspring

have

not

made

their debut prematurely. Strange, isn't it?

how

those familiarsights stir

up

the blood

and

intensify one's long- ingsforthefields, thestreams

and woodland

^delights.

Leonard

Hulit.

Springfield,

Mass.— On

Feb. 15 I

was

riding in Chico- pee Falls

when

a big red-breasted robin alighted

on

a treerightoverthestreet. Istopped

my

^horse,

and my

companion and

Ifeasted oureyes

on

the rare sight.

We

were

within20ft. of him. A. B.

U.

Dr.

Elliott's

African Expedition.

Dr. D. G. Elliott, Curator of the Field

Columbian Museum

inChicago, sailed

on Wednesday, March

4,

from

New ^York, on

hiscontemplated tripto Africa.

As

stated

some weeks

ago in

Forest and Stream,

Dr. Elliott ex- pectstovisit

Mashonaland

for thepurposeoftherecollect-

ing specimens of large African

mammals

for the Field

Museum, He

^is

accompanied

bythe chieftaxidermist of the

museum, and

there

can

be

no

doubtthat, withreason- able

good

fortune, the results of this expedition will be important. Dr. Elliottgoes

from

^hereto England,

where he

willlearnallthe latest

news

about the little-known country

which he

proposestovisit.

He

hasrecentlybeen in consultationwith Dr. A.

Donaldson

Smith, the well-

known

Africanexplorer

who

recently returned

from

the

Dark

Continent.

Dr. Elliott's

armament

willconsistof both English

and American

weapons.

He

expects to take at least

two

.50-100 Winchester rifles,

and

will probably purchase in

London two

12-bore

Paradox

guns.

He may

also take

some

Mannlicher rifles, of the effective

work

of

which

we ^have

recentlyheardso

much.

The news which

Mr. Elliott receives in

London

about the

abundance

of largeanimalsin the different districts ofEastern Africawilldeterminehis course

from

thereon.

^

He may

go to Mashonaland, or perhaps to Somaliland,

*

and

possiblyeven intothe countryof the warlike Masai.

He can

hardlyreach East Africabefore

May

or

June

next,

and

after

he

leaves the coast nothingwillbe heardof

him

until

he

returns to it again. It is likely that

he

will spendsix

months

intheinterior,

and may

^{return to this}

country

some

time nextwinter.

The Linnrean

Society.

The

annual

meeting

ofthe Society will be held in the

American Museum

of Natural History

on Tuesday

even- ing,

March

24, at8 o'clock,

and

a public lecture will be deliveredinthe lecture hallof the

American Museum

of Natural History, Seventy-seventh street

and

Eighth avenue,

on Tuesday

evening,

March

3.

March

3, publiclecture,

William

Libbey,

"Two Months

inGreenland," illustrated

by

lanternslides.

March

24, L. S. Foster,

"Remarks on Twenty

Species of Birds frequently observed in

New York

|City

and

Vicinity."

Walter W.

Granger,

"Mammals

of the Bitter Creek Desert,

Wyoming,"

postponed

from meeting

of Feb. 25.

Walter W. Granger,

Secy.

American Museumof Nat. History.

%n[£ _Jf?## %nd %wu

FIXTURES.

March16to31,1896.

—

Second annual Sportsmen'sExposition,under the auspices of the Sportsmen's Association, at Madison Square Garden,

New

Yorkcity. FrankW.^{Sanger,Manager.}

REARING PHEASANTS.

Holland,

Mich., Feb. 20.

—

Editor Forest

and

Stream:

Our game and

fishprotective association has lately

com-

pleted

an

addition toourpheasantry,

and

as I

have had

the rearing ofthe pheasantsin charge for the past

two

yearsI will, forthebenefit of clubs or individuals desir- ingto rearthese birds

with which

tostockour

woods and

fields, give a description of our yards

and

breeding coops

and

our

method

of rearing

and

feeding the young.

For

a breeding

pen

offive birds our yards are 8

X

^16ft.

and

^5|ft. high, covered with 2in.

mesh

wire poultry net- ting. Perhaps 2ft. higher

would

be better, althoughI

do

not

know

asit would, for

we have

not

had

a bird killed

by

^flying against the top

when

frightened.

We had

a supplyof4ft. netting

on

hand, so used that.

The

yards are boarded

up

l^ft. atthebottom; use1ft.

wide

stuff

sunk

6in. intheground. In each

run we have two

perches, 1^-

and

3ft.

from

theground;

upon

thesethe pheasantslike to sit

and

preenthemselves.

At

one

end

of each yard,

and

connected withit,isa coopor

box

_4J

X

³

X

^{lift.,with aslop-}

ingrooftoshedtherain. One-half of thisroof serves as

a

door,

and

to

make

things safer a sliding door is

arranged inside.

Owing

to the

abundance

of English sparrows, allgrain fedisplacedinsidethe

box

in a trough

made by

nailinga

narrow

pieceof board at

an

angle

on one

side ofthe box.

A

^smallshelf

upon which

toplace the drinking fountain

may

be putup.

A

door

with

a sort of entry to

keep

out rain or

snow

is

made

in the frontofthe

box; also

a window,

8Xl0in., covered

with

glass

and

pro- tected

on

the inside

by

wire netting.

The

birds often resort to this

box

during

heavy

rains, or to scratch in the sand

when

there is

snow on

the ground.

Always

build

your

yards

on

high,

dry

ground,

and

arrange

them

so thatthe boxes will face the south.

The

different yards shouldbe connected

by

gates,so that

one may

pass

from

one to the other, as it is

sometimes

necessary to

do

in gatheringthe eggs.

Our

nesting orhatching boxes are 15

X

¹⁵

X

^{15in., with}

a sloping roof servingas adoor.

No bottom

is

made

for these boxes; simplyfasten a piece of lin.

mesh

wire net- tingon, so cats or otheranimals cannotdig

under and

get theeggs orthesittinghen. attach to this

box

a

run

4ft.

square

and

18in. high,

sunk

6in. in the ground,

and

cov- ered

with

lin.

mesh

netting.

On

top, at the

end

nextthe box,

make

a door 1ft.

wide and

the full

width

of the run; really,

you make two

doors

by

cutting this door in

two

about ^1ft.

from

one end.

You

can use thesmalldoor for watering

and

feeding,

and

the largerone forconveni- ence ⁱⁿ catching the

young

pheasants

when you

wish to

remove them

toa larger run.

When

the birdsare 4 to 6

weeks

old

you

will

need

to give

them more

room.

Our

runs for birds after this age are 4

X

^8ft.

^and

^{2ft. high, boarded}

^up

^{1ft. at the}

^bottom

and

covered with ^lin.

mesh

netting.

The

coops attached tothis are24

X

²⁴

X

^24in.

Now,

as to sitting hens.

Get bantams

if

you

possibly can. I

have

used largerhens with success, but they are so

clumsy and heavy

that

many

eggsaresure to bebroken

and young

birdsstepped

upon and

killed.

We have a

fine flock of buff

Pekin bantams which we

willuse thisyear.

They

arejust theright size,

have an abundance

of fluff feathers

and make good mothers and

sitters.

Should any

one desire eggsor

young

stock next fall,

we can

supply them.

Before settingthe

hen

dust herfeathers fullof Persian insect

powder and

place

some

in the nest,

which

is best

made

of a freshsod hollowed out in the center beneath

and

covered with a little straw or chaff. Occasionally before the eggs hatch pour

a

littlewater

around

theedges of the sod so that theywill not get toodry.

Eggs

^will nothatchwell withoutmoisture.

Allthe eggsinasitting

do

not

hatch

inthe

same

length of time, thereforeit is well to

remove

the

young

chicks soonafterthey arehatchedto a

warm

placeuntil

you

are sure

no more

eggswill hatch. If

you

do not do this

your hen may

leave hernest assoon asa

few

birdsareout of the shell, for

you know

that pheasants

run

about soon afterhatching,

and

the

hen

^isapt to follow them.

For

the first

few

days keep

hen and

chicks in a small coop or box,

where

the

hen

cannot

move around much.

In three orfour days the chicks will bequite strong

and

will

have

learnedthe callof thehen.

You can

then put

them back

inthenesting

box and

run,

and

leave

them

there for about a

month,

after

which remove

to the largerruns.

Do

not

crowd young

pheasants too

much;

when

3

months

oldthey require nearly as

much room

as the old birds.

Do

not allow the

young

chicksto get

wet

orthey will die. I cover the smaller runs every night

and

duringrains with old matting, oil cloth, etc.

Keep

plenty of straw ⁱⁿ the boxes, so that they

may have

a dry

and warm

place in

which

toroost.

Food

for the

newly

hatched birdsshould consist of eggs boiled hard,

chopped

fine, shells

and

^all,

and mixed with

about

an

equal quantityof

ground

barley;

add

to this a

little

animal

meal,

and

once a

day some

bone meal.

For

thefirst

week

feed four orfive times per day. Afterthat threetimes will be sufficient

and

then

you can

begin to

add

alittle grainto their diet.

At

'four

weeks

grain

can compose

halfthefood, after

which you may

give less

and

lessbarley

and

eggseach week. Afterten ortwelve

weeks

they will

need no more

of the egg.

Wheat and

cracked corn, with alittlebarley, isaboutall

you need

in theline of grain.

From

the first giveplenty of green food, such as clover, grass, lettuce, etc., each day; also a little

chopped meat

^every

day

or two.

Keep

plenty of pure, fresh water

where

they

can

get it. It is best touse the patent drinkingfountains, for if

you

use

an open

vessel

many young

birds will be

drowned.

We

^{are stockingwith the English} ring-neck. I

have had no

success with the Chinese pheasants imported

from

Oregon.

Out

of thirty hatched

none

lived over a

month.

Last year

we

sold a

number

of sittings of eggs

from

our Englishring-necks todifferentclubs

and

individuals

who

wished

to stock with pheasants. This year

we have

a largerbreedingstock

and

can furnish

a few

sittings at$5 persitting.

The

birds

we

liberated last spring

have

done' exceed- ingly well,

and we

feel very

much

encouraged,

One

pair rearednine young,

and

all

were

alive a short time ago. Reportsof flocks of five, eight, twelve

and

seven- teen are frequently

made.

Pheasantsareour

coming game

bird,

and

those inter- ested in

game

protection

and

propagation should investi- gatethe matter. In

my

opinion

money

spent

on

import- ing Southern quailiswasted, fora

hard

winterkills

them

off.

Arthur

G.

Baumgartel,

Sec'y-Treas.

Rod and Gun

Club.

Hard Times and Game Laws.

I

happened

to be in Peekskill last

Saturday

evening,

and

while I

was walking up from

thestation

two young

fellows passed

me, and

^I heard the following dialogue:

"I say, Jim,

how

^'re

^you

^gettingon?"

"Oh,

verywell."

"How

the deuce

can you

say

you

are gettin' along very well

when you

haven't

done

a strokeof

work

in three

months?

Thesearethe hardest times I

have

ever seen.

The

timesareso

hard

that

you

can't go shootin' nor

you

can't

go

fiehin'.

Take

theselawsjust asthey are at the present time;

now

^look at it; if a

duck comes up

the riverI can't shootit; ifI dotherewill be one ofthose

game

detectors after

me

^;

and

^I read inthe paper alittle

while agothat

Grover went duck

shooting

and

shot

them by

the

back

load.

Then

look atthe fishin' laws.

Why, a

poor devil like

me

^can't go

down

here

and

catch a bass that weighs Jib. or less; if

you do

another one of these detectors is around. I tell

you

these times

have

got to change. Mills ain't a-runnin', can't get

any work,

can't

go

a-shootin' ornothin';

what

the deuce are

we

goin' to

do?"

H.

The Forest and Stream ^is put to press each week on Tuesday Correspondency intended for publication should reach us at the

atestby

Men

lay and asmuchearlieraspracticable,