THE BROOKSIDE,

Stream from Shawnee Cave, 100 yards below mouth of Cave. See the poem
"A Rest by the Brookside ;" also page 121.

GLEANINGS FROM NATURE

BY

W. S. BLATCHLEY

"I make it my business to extract from Nature whatever nutriment
she r;in furnish IMC. though at the riRk of endlesg iteration. I milk the
earth and the sky . . . : . I sift the sunbeams for the public Rood."

Thoreau.

\

\

INDIANAPOLIS

THE NATURE PUBLISHING COMPANY
1899 .

Copyright, MM,

By W. S. BLATCHLEY.

All rights reserved.

PRESS or

AM. B. BURFORD
INDIANAPOLIS

"Nature never did betray
The heart that loved her; 'tis her privilege,
Through all the years of this our life, to lead
From joy to joy; for she can so inform
The mind that is within us, so impress
With quietness and beauty, and so feed
With iofty thoughts, that neither evil tongues,
Rash judgments, nor the sneers of selfish men,
X'T irr'-'etings where no kindness is, nor all
The dreary intercourse of daily life
Shall e'er prevail against us, or disturb
Our cheerful faith that all which we behold
Is full of blessing."

Wordsworth.

"Whether it be the crested tit defying the chilliest blast of January:
violets mantling the meadow banks in April; thrushes singing their
farewell summer songs, or dull and dreary, dim December days it matters
not they never repent themselves, or else I am daily a new creature.
Xor sisrht nor sound but has the freshness of novelty, and one rambler,
at least, in his maturer years is still a boy at heart." C. C. Abbott.

To the 800,000 boys and girls on the farms of Indiana this
little volume is inscribed, with the hope that it may create in
some of them an interest in the many objects of Nature which
surround them and so cause them to be less

"Blind to her beauties everywhere revealed,"
less prone to

"Tread the May-flower with regardless feet."

PREFACE.

Tliis volume deals with a few of the many natural
objects which are found in all parts of Indiana. It is
based upon studies made in the fields and woods of
the Hoosier State during the past ten years. The aim
has been to present, in language which all can under-
stand, facts concerning some of the more common
plants and animals which are our friends, our helpers
and our neighbors and which, like ourselves, are but
a part and parcel of the Universe The only technical
terms used are the scientific names of some of the ob-
jects mentioned. These are printed in Italics and can
be readily passed over by all to whom they are unin-
telligible.

The contents have, for the most part, appeared else-
where as isolated articles, notably in the Terre Haute
Gazette, the Indianapolis Sunday Journal, The Indi-
ana Farmer and the Popular Science Monthly. For
the present occasion they have, for the first time, been
brought together, and have been carefully revised and
enlarged.

The volume is sent forth with the hope that among
the farmers of the future and the teachers of country
schools it will, at least, have a welcome ; for the author
knows by experience, both on the farm and in the
school room, that the possession of a better knowledge
of nature by country youths is one of the crying needs

(5)

6

of the liour. With such a knowledge generally dif-
fused 1 lii-re would IK- less dissat isfartioii with country
life and fewer farmers' sons and daughters would flock
to the cities, ln-caiise, as a recent writer expresses it,
"they wish to get rid of the prosy, stunting, isolated
life on the farm." With a knowledge of 'some of
nature's objects and a desire to ferret out for them-
selves some of her secrets, they would have some-
thing of which to talk and think he-sides crops, stock,
work, neighborhood gossip and local politics, and the
attractions of the city would seldom excel those to he
found on the old homestead.

CONTENTS.

PAGE.

A REST BY THE BROOKSIDE 8

HARBINGERS OF SPRING , . . . 9

Two FOPS AMONG THE FISHES 19

SNAKES 27

A FEATHERED MIDGET AND ITS NEST 75

MID-SUMMER ALONG THE OLD CANAL 82

THE IRON-WEED 91

TEN INDIANA CAVES AND THE ANIMALS WHICH INHABIT

THEM 99

A DAY IN A TAMARACK SWAMP 179

MID-AUTUMN ALONG THE OLD CANAL 189

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN 197

WEEDS IN GENERAL AND OUR WORST WEEDS IN PARTICULAR. 245

TWELVE-WINTER BIRDS 253

I low PLANTS AND ANIMALS SPEND THE WINTER 313

A SEEKER AFTER GOLD. . 335

(7)

A REST BY THE BROOKSIDE.

Dreaming dreams of other days,
Thinking thoughts of long ago,

Listening to the robin's lays
And the cawing of the crow.

Ivy flowers beside me peep

Upward through the ether blue,

Seeing stars which ever keep
Hidden-close from human view.

Bumble-bees around me drone,

Butterflies beside me flit;
From the woods in cheery tone

Comes the call of crested tit.

Swallows swiftly cleave the air
Chasing insects on the wing ;

Scolding chats with saucy dare
Make the copse and welkin ring.

Gurgling waters at my feet
Quickly 0,'er their pebbly bed

Leap and plunge; and onward meet
Other streams by spring-lets fed.

Odors sweet on every breeze

Come to me from wild-wood flowers,
"While the blossoms from the trees

Fall around in fragrant showers.

Happy moments thus I gaze *
Heavenward ; and younger grow,

Dreaming dreams of other days,
Thinking thoughts of long ago.

(8)

HARBINGERS OF SPRING.

SYMBOLS OF THE SEASON WHICH MAY BE SEEN IN
WOODS AND FIELDS.

When the month hand on the dial plate of the year
points to March who, in the latitude of Indiana, is not
daily expecting spring? What human being is not
made glad when it finally arrives ? Four months of
biting winds and hoar frosts; months in which the
skies are almost daily overcast with dull dreary clouds ;
months of alternate rains and sleets and snows, are
enough to cause an intense longing for change in the
human mind and to bring to it a glow of happiness
when the first warm breezes blow up from the gulf
and man can say with reason " Spring has come
again." Then the dormant energies within us spring
into new life. The doors and windows of our houses
are thrown open wide. Smiles are seen on faces to
which for the most part they are strangers. Wee tots
of children run unattended up and dtown the streets
and laugh and shout with joy. Matrons forget or
cast aside set social rules and stop and chat in one
another's dooryards. Fancied class distinctions, based
on wealth or " blue blood," are forgotten and, for the
time being, the members of the human family are
more akin than at any other season of the year. All
are enjoying a common blessing, for spring comes

(9)

1 GLEANINGS FROM .\. 1 77 'EE.

alike to rich and poor, to high and lo\v, and all can
rcvd in its presence.

To one accustomed to visit the woods and fields
during March there appear many unerring signs of
the coming spring-time which, to persons living in
towns and cities, are often unnoticed and unknown*
The growth and flowering of certain wild plants. ; the
awakening from their winter's sleep of reptiles, frogs
and insects; the arrival of the first migrating birds,
are to the careful observer sure harbingers of the close
approach of the vernal season. If in March there
occurs, as often happens, several successive days of
warm weather more than a dozen kinds of wild plants
will come into bloom. They are the fore-runners or
vanguard of the eight to nine hundred species of flow-
ering plants which, in any county of Indiana, open
their petals in successive rotation between March the
first and mid-October.

Perhaps the earliest flowers of spring are those of
the red or swamp maple, Acer rubrum Linn., a medium-
si/ed tree which grows in abundance in damp lowland
soil. This maple is often brought into the cities and
palmed oft' on unsuspecting buyers of shade trees as
the soft or white maple, Acer saccharin um Linn. Both
of these trees clift'er in their habits of flowering from
the rc"k or sugar maple, Acer saccharum Marsh, in
that their blossoms appear before their leaves. The
flowers of the red maple are a handsome deep red in
color and arc arranged on very short stems in little
clusters near the ends of the branches. They some-
times open in February, as they are formed in autumn,
and, protected only by the enveloping bud scales, are

II.

SNOW TRILLIUM.

Trillium nivale RuHell.

HARBINGERS OF SPRING. 11

ready to unfold as soon as the dormant sap of the
parent tree is awakened by a genial south wind. The
blossoms of the soft maple usually open a fortnight
later than those of the red maple. They are yellowish-
green in color and are borne on longer stems.

Of the herbs which bloom in March there are two
which, in central Indiana, vie with the red maple in
producing the first wild flowers of spring. They are
the little snow trillium, Trillium nicale Riddell, and a
species of Draba, or whitlow-grass, both inconspicuous
plants and known for the most part only to botanists
and close observers of nature. The snow trillium be-
longs to the Lily family and grows only at the base
of rocky cliffs or in crevices along the sides of ravines
which have a sunny southern exposure. It seldom
exceeds four inches in height, and, as its name,
"trillium," indicates, has its parts in threes or multi-
ples of three. Three dark green, ovate leaves grow
in a whorl at the summit of the slender stem, and
from their midst springs the stalk of the solitary
flower. This is composed of three narrow green
sepals, three oblong pure white petals, each about an
inch in length, six yellow stamens, three styles and an
ovary or seed pod containing three cells, each with a
number of minute seeds. The plant springs from the
ground and blooms in less than forty-eight hours, and
where one day all is brown and sere, on the second
day thereafter may be found an abundance of these
little trilliums true earth-born harbingers of the
approaching springtime.

They may be found in blossom as early as March
2d, and are often in their prime by the tenth of

12 OLSANINO8 /-'//o.i/

the month. Hovering above tin-in on Loth dates
have lu'on seen specimens of Vanessa fniti<>/><i Linn.,
that handsome velvety-brown hnttertly, called the
mourning; cloak, or Camberwell heanty. This is the
most common of the five species of butterflies which
in Indiana pass the cold season in the perfect or winged
stage. For four long months they remain securely
hidden in crevices of rocks or logs. When called

Fig. 1 Camberwell Beauty. (After Harris.)
(The under cult- of wing is shown on the riyht. >

forth by the warm spring breezes they find ready and
waiting for them the snow trilliums with their store
of honey, and, after their prolonged fast, they no doubt
feast bountifully thereon. Thus is seen an example
of that mutual interdependence existing everywhere
among the various objects of nature, for never does an
insect come forth until its food plant is ready: and.
on the other hand, the plant seldom blooms but an
insect appears ready to aid in its fertilization.

HARBINGERS OF SPRJM. 13

Springing as it does from crevices and crannies in
rocky cliffs, reaching maturity and flowering as it does
when all nature is destitute of bloom, the first snow
trillium of spring carries ever with it a reminder of
those lines of Tennyson :

"Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies;
Hold you here, root and all, in my hand, .
Little flower, but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all,
I should know what God and man is."

Two species of Draba, or whitlow-grass, grow in
central Indiana, viz., D.carolinidna -Walt, and J). r< rn
Linn. They are the smallest members of the Cruciferve,
or Mustard family, and have their minute and hairy
oblong leaves clustered in a rosette close to the ground.
From the center of this rosette the leafless flower-
stalk springs. The flowers are white, ten to fifteen in
number, and have the parts in fours, except the
stamens, which are six. The plants are found on
dry, sandy hillsides in open fields, liising less than
three inches above the ground, they bloom on the first
warm days of March, and their seeds are ripened by
mid-April. Their work is, therefore, over before that
of many plants is begun. They succeed in the struggle
for existence by being first upon the scene of action.
Drinking long and deep of the bright spring sunshine,
they soon give way to their competitors, but not before
their life's duty the perpetuation of their kind has
been fulfilled.

On soft, springy banks one also finds in earliest
spring the curiously formed flower of the skunk c;il>-

14 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

l>uuv, tiymplocarpus foctidus Nutt. It is, as it were,
:i leatless Mower, barely rising out of the ground. At
first the only semblance of a leaf is the enveloping
spathe (like that of a calla lily), which is variously
striped and spotted with purple and yellowish green,
and has its top incurved or hent over like a bird's
beak to protect the enclosed flowers from any wintry
blast which may arise. The true flowers are numer-
ous, small and inconspicuous, and are borne on a
thick, fleshy spadix or central axis within the spathe.
The plant, after flowering, sends up a thick cluster
of large ovate leaves, eighteen inches or more long,
which surround the spathe. These leaves, when
bruised, give off an odor resembling somewhat both
that of a skunk and a mess of strong onions, or a
kind of potpourri of the two, hence the common name
of "skunk cabbage" by which the plant is known.
Rich in pollen, the flowers of this plant furnish the
first meal of spring to many a honey-bee ; for the first
warm day of March tempts these busy insects forth
in numbers, and they find their way unerringly to
the few flowers then in bloom.

Other plants there are, more striking and more
beautiful than those mentioned, which soon open wide
their petals to the sunshine of spring. Among the
more common of them is the hepatica, or liverwort,
Hepatica triloba Chaix. ; the turkey pea, or " pepper
and salt," Erigcenia bulbosa Michx. ; the spring beauty,
Cftnjtonia virginica Linn., and the cowslip, or marsh
marigold, Caltha palustris Linn., but they are followers,
not leaders in the floral army. "When they blossom
spring is here. But the flowers of the red maple,

III.

SKUNK CABBAGE.

Symplocarpiisfietidits Nutt.

HARBINGERS OF SPRING. 15

snow trillium, whitlow-grass and skunk cabbage are
the pioneers, the true harbingers, which herald its
approach.

A great awakening also takes place among the
varied forms of animal life on the first warm days of
March. Among insects the wherrymen, those long-
legged water bugs which go skipping so easily and
rapidly over the surface of quiet pools, and the whirling-
beetles which in vast colonies go circling round and
round on the water, are the first ones out. Fuzzy gnats,

"Old back-bent fellows,
lu frugal frieze coat drest,"

come forth from their snug retreats beneath the bark
of the beech and other logs, and, swarming in the air,
carry on a sort of rhythmical courtship, flitting up
and down in the same vertical plane in a dreamy,
dancing sort of .motion.

Hectics, of which, in any county in Indiana, fully
three hundred kinds survive the cold season in the
winged stage, crawl out from their winter hiding
places and a-wooing go, buzzing and humming with
extra energy to attract the notice of others of their
kind. With the hibernating butterflies mentioned
above, and numerous kinds of wild bees and flies,
they frequent the freshly cut stumps of the sugar
maple, where they sip eagerly the sweet exuding sap.

Higher in the scale of animal life omens of ap-
proaching spring may be seen in the movements of
fishes. Thrilled with the impulse of migration, many
of the smaller species begin in February and March
to ascend small streams and brooks, where, beneath

16 GLEA.\L\(;s FHOM NATUBE.

the shelving banks and in the still waters of the
deeper pools, they make their summer homes.

Frogs are among the best of weather prophets.
They seem to know intuitively when the spring is
full on its way. Long before the frost is wholly out
of the ground the sluggish blood within their vi-ins
begins to tingle, and they greet the first dawn of
spring with a mighty chorus a blare of welcoming
trumpets, as it were in which the bull-frog furnishes
the bass and the little cricket frog or " peeper," Acris
f/rt/f!tis crepitans Baird, the shrill whistling tenor. !N~o
sound of nature so loudly or so surely proclaims the
advent of spring as this full symphony of frog music
heard from some woodland pond.

The arrival of the first migrant birde is also a sure
symbol of the coming spring. About 180 species pass
northward through Indiana between February 15 and
the 10th of May. In addition to these .t least seven-
ty-five kinds stop in the State and nest and rear their
young. "Wild geese and ducks are the first ones t<>
be seen northward bound. Impelled by the pairing
instincts, thousands of squads of these water birds
start in February from the sunny lakes and lagoons
of the South for the still cold and cheerless breeding
grounds that extend from the Northern States through
British America to the Arctic seas. The wild geese
fly, as is well known, in a V-shaped line, with the
apex forward. Their leader is a strong-winged gan-
der, who keeps his place at the point of the V, and
the clarion-toned "honk" with which he gives his
orders is the first note of that coming bird chorus,
which, starting from the gulf, will, with the south

HARBINGERS OF SPRING.

17

winds, soon sweep northward through field and forest
in an unbroken wave to the very pole itself.

In the close wake of the larger water fowl come
the snipe and the woodcock, Philohda minor (Gmel.)
the latter arriving so early that a full set of its eggs
was once found by the writer on the 28th of March.

3272

Fig. 2 The Flicker or Yellow-hammer. ( After Heal.)

Among the land birds two of the first to arrive are
the tlirkiT, or yellow-hammer, Colaptes auratus (Linn.),
and the. ivd-shouldeivd blackbird, Ac/daius phce.nn-i'tix
(Linn.); and the prolonged " wick-a-wick-a-wick" of
the former and the clear, ringing "puck-e-e-eet" of
2

18 GLXAXIXt;* FHOM * ATI' RE.

the latter are familiar greetings given tin- rambler in
open woods in early March. These birds are soon
followed by the handsome but little-knqwn fox spar-
row, Passerdla iliaca (Merr.), whose rich strains.
heard from the underbrush along the streams, form
the first real song of spring.

Some years winter lingers unusually long in the lap
of spring, and two-thirds of March may come and go
and but few of the harbingers above mentioned be
seen. But that day of great awakening, which in the
temperate zone comes each year to all animate things.
in time arrives. We should expect it, should rejoice
to see it, should give it hearty greeting. In the words
of Thoreau: "Measure your health by your sym-
pathy w r ith morning and spring. If there is no re-
sponse in you to the awakening of nature; if the
prospect of an early morning walk does not banish
sleep; if the warble of the first bluebird does not
thrill you, know" that the morning and spring of your
life are past. Thus may you feel your pulse."

TWO FOPS AMONG THE FISHES.

I. THE KAINBOW DARTER.

"Little fishy in the brook."

Xot the one "daddy caught with a hook," but an-
other, too small for the hook, too small for the frying-
pan, too small for aught else but beauty, and grace-
fulness of form; and yet not the young of a larger
fish, but full grown of himself. In every brook in
the State he may be found, yea, even in the rill, no
.more than a foot in width, which leads away from the
old spring-house on the hillside. You will not find
him swimming about like the minnows in the still
deep water of the stream, but where the clear eold
water is rushing rapidly over the stones of a ripple
he makes his home. There he rests quietly on the
bottom, waiting patiently for his food, the larva 1 or
young of gnats, mosquitoes and other such insects, to
float by.

If you attempt to catch him, or your shadow sud-
denly frightens him, with a sweep of his broad pec-
toral or breast fins, he moves quicker than a flash a few
feet farther up the stream and then as suddenly comes
to a slop, and resumes his quiet u thoughtful" atti-
tude. If you persist in your attempt to capture him
he will dart under a small stone or submerged leaf,
where, like the foolish ostrich which when pursued

(19)

20 GLEANINGS 1-'11<>M ^ ATI' RE.

hides her head under her wing, no longer seeing you,
IK- thinks himself secure.

On account of the shape of his body as well as on
account of his rapid movements he has received the
surname "darter." Belonging to the group which
bear this surname, there are, in the eastern half of the
United States, about 47 species or kinds, the largest
of which, when full grown, measures only about six
inches in length, while the smallest species never
reaches a length of more than an inch and a half.
They all have the same habits, and at least 20 kinds
of them are found in Indiana; but the one of which I
am writing, Ethcostoma cocrulexm Storer, is much the

Fig. 3 Rainbow Darter.

more common. He is from two to two and a half
inches in length, and, like the other members of his
family, has two fins on his back ; "dorsal " tins they are
called by naturalists, the front one of which contains
10 short spines. During eight months of the year,
the males and females dress alike in a suit of brown-
ish olive which is striped on the sides with 10 or 12
narrow, black cross-bars, and more or less blotched
on the back with darker spots. lint on the first warm
days of spring when the breezes blow up from the
gulf, awakening the iryp^v in our blood, the little
male fish feels, too, their influence, and in him there

TWO FOPS AMONG THE FISHES. 21

arises an irresistible desire to "a courting go." Like
most other beings of his sex he thinks his every-day
suit too plain for the important business before him.
It will, in his opinion, ne'er catch the eye of his lady
love. So he dons one of gaudy colors and from it
takes his name the rainbow darter for in it he is
best known, as it not only attracts the attention of his
chosen one, but often also tljat of the wandering natu-
ralist who happens along the stream.

The blackish bars of other seasons are changed to
indigo blue, while the space between them assumes a
hue of the brightest orange. The fins are broadly
edged with blue and have the bases orange, or orange
and scarlet, while the cheeks assume the blue and the
breast becomes an orange. Clad in this suit he ven-
tures forth on his mission, and if successful, as he
almost always is, the two construct a nest of tiny
stones in which the eggs of the mother fish are laid
and watched over with jealous care by both parents
until in time there issue forth sons destined some day
to wear a coat of many colors, and "darters" to be
attracted by those coats, as was their mother by the
one their father wore.

Although so abundant and so brilliant in the spring-
time, the rainbow darter is known to few but natural-
ists. The fishes in which the average country boy is
interested, are the larger ones such as the goggle-
eye, the sucker, chub and sunfish those which, when
caught, will fill up the string and tickle the palate.

But there are, let us hope, among our farmers' sons
and daughters, some who are learning to take an
interest in the objects of nature which are beautiful,

22 (;LKAM.\<;S I-IIOM x-m /;/-.

as well as in those which are useful. To them I will
say, if you wish to see something really pretty, make
a seine Irom an old coffee sack or a piece of mosquito
netting, and any day in spring drag two or three rip-
ples of the branch which flows through the wood's
pasture, and ten chances to one you will get some
" rainbows.'' By placing them in a fruit jar three-
fourths full of clear, cold water, and renewing the
water every few hours, they can be kept for several
days; but they can not bear the confinement long,
accustomed as they are to the free running stream
from which they were taken.

By taking the rainbow as the type of the darter
and studying closely its habits, both in captivity and
in the streams, much can be learned about a group
which, in the words of Dr. S. A. Forbes, "are the
mountaineers among fishes. Forced from the popu-
lous and fertile valleys of the river beds and lake bot-
t <>n is, they have taken refuge from their enemies in
the rocky highlands where the free waters play in
ceaseless torrents, and there they have wrested from
stubborn nature a meager living. Although dimin-
ished in size by their continual struggle with the
elements, they have developed an activity and hardi-
hood, a vigor of life and a glow of high color almost
unknown among the easier livers of the lower lands."

II. THE LONG-EARED SUNFISH.

Among the most brightly colored of all the frer-h
"ater members of the tinny tribe is the long-eared
suntish, Lepo/tn'x /n<</<i/<,f<'* (Uaf.). When full grown

TWO FOPS AMONG THE FISHES.

23

its length is about eight inches and the breadth one-
half as much. The color is then a brilliant blue and
orange, the former predominating above ; the orange
on the sides in spots, the blue in wavy, vertical streaks.
The cheeks are orange with bright blue stripes; the
tins with the membranes orange and the rays blue.
Extending back from the hind margin of each cheek
is a conspicuous blackish membrane termed an "ear-
flap," which in this species is longer than in any ether

Fig. 4 Long-eared Sunfish.
(.One-hut natural size.)

of the sunfish family, whence the specific name,
mcgalotis, from two Greek words meaning "great"
and "ear".

Within the placid pools of the brooks and larger
streams of the State this sunfish has its favorite haunts.
Mid-summer is the time when its habits can be best
observed. On a recent August morn I sat for an hour
or longer on the banks of a stream, which flows

24 ( L KA M.\(iS FROM NA TV HE

through a wooded blue-grass pasture, and watched
the denizens of its waters. A peaceful calm existed,
the water being without a ripple and with scarce the
semblance of a flow the air without the shadow of a
breeze. Dragon flies lazily winged their way across
the pool, now resting daintily upon a blade of sedge
or swamp grass, now dipping the tips of their abdo-
mens beneath the surface of the water while deposit-
ing their eggs. The only sounds of nature were the
buzz of a bumble-bee feeding among the flowers of
the Brunella at my side, and an occasional drawl of a
dog-day locust from the branches of the sycamore
which threw a grateful shade about me.

The sunfish "hung motionless" in the water, their
heads towards me, holding their position only by a
slow flapping of their dorsal and pectoral fins. Their
nesting time over, their season's labor ended, it was
with them, as with many other beings, a time of
languor.

These long-eared fishes are the lords and ladies of
the respective pools wherein they abide. When they
move other smaller fry clear the way. If a worm or
gnat, falling upon the surface, tempts them, it is theirs.
A leaf falls near them and is seemingly unnoticed a
Hy. and how quickly their dormant energy is put into
motion. With a dart and a gulp the insect is swal-
lowed and a new stage of waiting expectancy is
ushered in.

How admirably fitted their form for cleaving tin-
water! They often seem to glide rather than propel
themselves through its depths. Again, how swiftly
the caudal fin moves when with straight unerring

TWO FOPS AMONG THE FISHES. 25

motion they dart upon their prey. At times one turn's
his body sideways and, with a slow, upward-gliding
motion, moves toward some object on the surface
which is doubtfully "good to eat." He even takes it
into his mouth and then, not having faith in*his power
to properly digest it, ejects it with force, and turning
quickly darts back to the friendly shadow of a bowlder
beneath whose sides he has, in time of threatened
danger, a safe retreat.

I throw a grasshopper into the pool. Like a flash
six of the sunfish are after it. One reaches it a tenth
of a second in advance of the others, and with a light-
ning-like gulp, which disturbs the serenity of the
surface of the pool, swallows the kicking prey. The
energy of the sun's heat and light, stored in grass,
transmitted to move muscles in gigantic leaps, will, in
a short time, wag a caudal'fin and propel the owner
through these watery depths.

Years are thus doubtless spent by these long-eared
sunfish in a dreamy sort of existence, their energies
quickened by the vernal .season and growing duller on
the approach of winter. Kxcepting the times when
they are tempted by a wriggling worm on some boy's
hook, theirs is a life exempt from danger. A king-
tisher glancing down from his perch on the bent syc-
amore limb may, at times, discern them and lessen
their ranks; but, methinks, ihe chub minnows, with
fewer spines in their dorsal tins, are more agreeable
to the kingfisher's palate. With all the tints of the
rainbow gleaming from their sides they move to and
fro, the brilliant rulers of these quiet pools.

The king or monarch of those noted was most

26 GLEAXIXGS FROM NATURE.

gorgeously arrayed. In addition to the hues above
described, a streak of emerald bordered his dorsal and
caudal tins and was bent around the edge of his upper
lip a green mustache, as it were. By tolling them
with occasional bits of food I drew him and his reti-
nue close into shore. There, for some time they rested,
watching eagerly for additional morsels. As I was
leaving I plucked from my sleeve an ant and threw it
towards them. A dart, a gurgle, a gulp the leader
had leaped half his length fvom the water, and the ant
was forever gone. The ripples receded and finally
disappeared, and the last scene in' this tragedy of
nature was at an end.

SNAKES.

I. SNAKES IN (JKXERAL.

Snake season will soon be here once more. Even
now* the editors of the country newspapers are poring
over the musty pages of some ancient natural history
or seeking amidst those still more musty convolutions
of their brains in which their natural history facts are
stored, to find a basis for one of the annual snake lies,
which, like the -dandelions, are sure to appear when
spring approacheth. For next to " fish stories," news-
paper "snake lies" are sure to be appreciated and
believed in by a certain class of readers. True it is
that the editor or reporter does not always clothe the
he in all its after habiliments, but each reader on
repeating it to his neighbor adds a garment, until out
of "whole cloth," as it were, the lie becomes a finished'
product and is repeated so often that it is finally
believed as gospel truth.

Examples of such snake lies are the " hoop snake "
which, taking its tail in its mouth, rolls rapidly on-
ward until it strikes a tree into which
Some Common ., -i -, , -i , T

Snake Lies darts its tail, poisoning the sap and

causing the death of the tree; the
"glass snake " which, when approached, breaks into a
score of pieces, and when unobserved quickly joins

'Torre Haute Gazette, April I'd, 1892.

(27)

28 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

them again in the proper order and moves rapidly
away ; the hlack snake " eight feet long and as thick
as yi Hi r wrist " ; the spreading viper " the most poison-
ous of all snakes," and of which one writer has said :
" When approached it becomes flat, appears of differ-
ent colors, and opens its mouth hissing. Great care
must he taken not to enter the atmosphere which sur-
rounds it. It decomposes the air, which, imprudently
inhaled, produces languor, the person wastes away,
the lungs are affected and in the course of four months
he dies of consumption." That this last story, or
something akin to it, is commonly believed, is proven
by the fact that a prominent citizen once told the
writer that the breath of the spreading viper had
caused him a two weeks' spell of sickness.

Many other "snake lies" the writer has heard, and,
to tell the truth, believed in, until he came to get his
knowledge first hand by studying the creatures in
their chosen haunts, when he saw how unworthy of
belief many of these stories are.' For example, taking
the four above noted, and tracing each back to its
source, we find that the common house or milk snake,
Ophibolus doliatus triangulus (Boie), while crawling,
occasionally raises the middle of its body above the
ground, as does the measuring or loop worm, and this
fact gave rise to the story of the "hoop snake."

The "glass snake" is a lizard, Ophisaurus ventralis
(L.), which, like other reptiles of that class, chooses at
times when captured by the tail, to drop that portion
of the body rather than remain a captive; but, as to
coupling it on again, no person with any regard for
the truth will swear he ever saw it done.

SNAKES. 29

No black snake over six feet and a few inches long
has as yet been recorded in any scientific work.
Twice within the past five years black snakes, kept in
captivity by the writer, have escaped, and were killed
shortly afterwards near the center of the city. On
both occasions the daily papers noted the killing but
in each instance, if we take the newspaper measure-
ment as correct, the snake had increased in length
nearly a foot and a half during the twenty-four hours
intervening between its escape and death.

As for the spreading viper, although it is true that
it flattens its body and hisses when approached, yet
its bite is perfectly harmless as it is destitute of poison
fangs ; and its colors are as unchangeable and its breath
as unproductive of disease as are those of the leading
gander of the barnyard flock which hisses when we
approach his domain.

The best way to show the falsity of many of the
beliefs concerning the harmfulness of snakes is to re-
i-ord a few facts concerning the life history and habits
of some of the more common species inhabiting In-
diana. To begin, we will say that the usual belief
that all" snakes are hatched from eggs is an erroneous
one. Many species, examples of which are the cop-
perhead, rattle-snake and three or four kinds of gar-
ter-snakes, bring forth their young alive. The young
of snakes, except in size and sometimes in color, re-
semble their parents and do not undergo a change or
metamorphosis, as do the tadpoles, or young of frogs
and salamanders. Those snakes which lay eggs de-
posit them in the earth, sand, or the humus of rot-
ten logs, where they are left to be hatched by the

30 GLEAXiyfJ* FKOM \ ATI' RE.

moist heat of their surroundings. These eggs arc yel-
lowish white in color, and vary in size from \x : ; inches

up to that of a pigeon's egg. They
J 18 are usually elliptical in form and have

a tough leathery skin. The number
varies with the different species, some laying as many
as twenty at a time. The mother snake sometimes
remains in the vicinity of the eggs until they are
hatched. The young then accompany the mother for
a time, and of certain species, it has been affirmed.
that in time of danger the young escape down the
throat of the mother. Of most snakes, however, the
young, when hatched or horn, are left to shift for them-
selves, and ppssihly not more than one in a hundred
lives to be a year old, as they have many enemies
among the other animals even among their own kin.
If a snake be carefully examined many interesting
facts concerning the structure of its body may be noted.
Their long, slender, limbless forms are, on the upper
side, covered with scales which overlap one another
like the shingles on a roof. On the under side these
scales are much larger and form a series of broad, over-
lapping [dates which extend the full length of tU- body.
These are technically known as ventral [dates or scutes.
Many a person has, perhaps, wondered how an
animal without limbs, wings or fins can move so rap-

idly and graceful Iv as does a snake.
The Structure -r> ' '/ n

, Jb>v examining carefully a snake 8 skel-

of a Snake.

"ton and noting its relation to ti
ventral plates one can easily understand how the
movement is made. The skeleton consists merely of
the skull, spinal column and ribs.

SNAKES.

31

A pair of ribs extend downward from each vertebra
of the spinal column, and to the lower ends of these
ribs a ventral plate is
attached by muscles.
The snake then moves
its ribs much as a mil-
lipede or " thousand-
legged worm " moves
its legs. The edges of
a few of the ventral
plates catch against
any roughness on the
surface over which the
snake is crawling, and
hold that part of the
body while another
par* advances. Put a
snake onto a smooth
surface as ice or a pol-
ished floor and it will
move with much diffi-
culty, if at all. Hence,
\vc sec, that a snake in
reality walks with its
ribs.

The skin of a snake,
scales, plates and every-
thing, is shed several
times a year. The first
moult of the season usu-
ally takes place in the K. ..-Skeleton of a Snake.

early spring, soon after the snake regains activity ;

32 GLEAX1XGS FROM XATl'ltE.

a second occurs in June or -July, and often a thinl
in late summer or early autumn. One can always
tell when the moulting is about to take place l>y the
color of the snake becoming very dull and an ap-
parent whitish film appearing over the eyes In fact
the snake seems to be going blind. The skin is shed
as a whole, a rent appearing on the back, and first
one end of the body and then the other being pulled
out of the old garment. Even the cornea, or outer
surface of the eye, and the skin of the lips are shed.
The new skin is very bright and showy and the snake
is evidently proud of it, appearing much more lively
after moulting than before. Xew skins are con-
stantly being formed beneath old ones and the reptile
must keep one or two on hands' for an emergency, as
the writer has by dissection found three skins on one
snake.

Many persons are needlessly frightened when a snake
darts out. its tongue at them. The tongue is nothing
but a thread-like muscle forked or divided for about
one-third of its length. It lies on the middle of the
lower jaw and when at rest is covered with a sheath-
like membrane. Soft and elastic in structure, it is
capable of being darted back and forth very rapidly.
Although the tongue is perfectly harmless the snake,
during past generations, seems to have learned that
man and some other animals are afraid of it, and s<>,
when irritated or molested, darts it in and on* as a
means of defense.

Snakes have no outer ears and no eyelids. To the
latter fact is due the "cold, stony glare of the serpent."
Their jaw bones or mandibles are held together only

NAMA'A'.S. 33

by ligaments. This enables them to open the mouth
very widely and to swallow animals much larger in
diameter than themselves. They swallow all food
whole Avithout mast ieat ion. In this they are aided
by a copious tiow of saliva Avhich lubricates their
prey, and causes it to pass into the stomach more
readily. Whenever they catch a frog or other animal
with limbs they manipulate it in such a manner as to
enable them to swallow it head first. The limbs of
the victim are thus pressed close to its body and the
act of swallowing is but little hindered by their
presence.

Snakes are "coldblooded" animals; i. e., their
bodily temperature is not constant like that of man,
but varies \vith the temperature of the air Avhich they
breathe. On that account they become sluggish in
late autumn, and, seeking a crevice in a rock or hole
in the ground, they crawl into it and remain through-
out the winter, eating nothing and moving not. Large
numbers sometimes find their way to the same place

and are often found coiled and twisted
Hibernation . .

f S kes together, thus giving rise to the many

stories of so-called "snake dens." If
the winter be an open one this hibernation, as it is
called, is often interrupted and the animal comes forth
from its retreat on some warm sunny day, thinking,
no doubt, that spring has come again. During an
excessive thaw the high water often h'nds its way into
the snake's resting place and many are doubtless
droAvued while still torpid. Others escape and make
their way to a higher and drier spot. Thus on .Jan-
uary 11, 1890, the writer found two species of garter

34 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

snakes beneath some line driftwood, near the margin
of the overflowed bottoms, north of Terre Haiiti-.
They had been driven forth from their winter retreat
by the high waters and had taken temporary refuge
beneath the drift.

On the first warm days of spring the sluggish blood
in the veins of the hibernating snakes begins to flow
more rapidly. Their bodily temperature gradually
rises. Demand for food and an irresistible desire to
mingle with others of their kind soon cause them to
move out and stretch their bodies in the warm sun-
shine and in a few weeks their summer haunts know
them as of yore.

The food of snakes is often the subject of much
conjecture among those persons who know the reptiles
only from an occasional chance meeting
g k with them. For example, some peo-

ple accept literally the biblical state-
ment that they live upon dust, as the following inquiry
received by the writer will attest: "Is it necessary
that snakes have plenty of earth (or dust) to eat to
keep them alive? A friend of mine thinks that
snakes live largely on dust (or earth) but I do not
think so. Which is right? The dispute came up in
our young men's bible class on the reading of the fol-
lowing verse : 'And the Lord God said unto the ser-
pent, because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above
all cattle, and above every beast of the field. Upon
thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the
days of thy life :' Genesis, iii. 14."

Like other cold blooded animals snakes can fast for
a long time. In fact, in captivity, they have

SXAKES. 35

known to cat nothing for over a year although food
was frequently offered them. They need water, how-
ever, especially as their moulting time draws near.
What they eat depends to a great extent upon the
species, some preferring one kind of food, some
another. Like most men they are not fond of "cold
victuals" but prefer to capture their prey alive. Frogs,
tadpoles, small fish, young birds, field mice, rats and
especially insects and their larvse, are their favorite
foods. When they take a notion to eat they believe
in "gittin' a plenty while they're gittin,' " provided
they have a chance. Thus, no less than seven large
leopard frogs, besides a mass of other material, were
once found in the stomach of a common water snake,
Tropidonotis sipedon (L.), which was dissected by the
waiter on account of its aldermanic appearance.

Many snakes have also cannibalistic tendencies, so
that the accompanying illustrated "snake lie" has that
much for a basis.

Two instances of a snake's cannibalism have come
to the personal notice of the w r riter. Once, while
engaged in tracing a geological outcrop in the wilds
of Arkansas, he saw the top of a small bush shaking
gently to and fro. Investigating the cause of the
movement he found a half grown black snake with a
specimen of the summer green snake, Cyvlophis
(estivus (L.), partially swallowed. The green snake
had been caught by the head and while endeavoring
to escape had wrapped its tail in a double coil about
the bush. The black snake had to suspend operations
when he had swallowed up to the bush, and was evi-
dently awaiting the digestion of the part within his

36

GLEANINGS FROM N ATI' UK.

body when discovered.
one of the "snake lies

This, no doubt, sounds like
referred to above, but the-
green snake, with the
mark of the black one's
teeth upon its body, was
[reserved in alcohol.
and is yet in the writer's
collection.

In the second in-
stance a pupil brought
in a king snake, Oj>/>>-
bolus getulus sayi (Hoi-
brook), 12 inches in
length, which had pro-
truding from its month
four inches of the tail
of a common garter
snake, Eutainia $?'//"//>
(L.). The latter was 13
inches in length and
the front nine inches of
its body was within
that of its captor. "\Vhen
taken the king snake
tried to disgorge its
prey but his gartership
was too deeply lodged.
The two were quickly
consigned to a bottle
of alcohol there to serve
as a forcible illustration of the fact that the king snake
is in reality both a king and a cannibal among its kind.

Fig. 6 An Illustrated " Snake Lie."

SNAKES. 37

On account of their liking for field mice, insects
and other vermin, each black snake on a farm is worth
at least five dollars, and each garter snake one dollar,
every year of its existence. In other words the dam-
age which the mice, insects, etc., eaten by the snakes,
would do, would amount to more than the sums men-
tioned. Both black and garter snakes are perfectly
harmless, and yet as soon as one is seen eight farm
boys out of ten, and almost as large a proportion of
the farmers themselves, will procure a long club or a
stone and mash the poor, defenseless snake's head to
a jelly. Then if the snake be a large one, the exploit
is bragged of all over the neighborhood. In the
writer's opinion such an act is a cold blooded murder
and the deed of a coward. As well might a giant
brag of killing a dwarf as a man of killing a harmless
and defenseless snake.

But few of the harmless snakes use their teeth as
their chief means of defense. It is only when irritated
or suddenly attacked that they will strike at a person,
and the pain caused by their bite is no more severe
than that produced by the bite of a mouse or the prick
of a pin ; the most serious result of the bite being
usually the fright which timid persons sustain. Once
in a great while, however, the bite of a harmless suako
may cause a swelling of the organ bitten, and, one
time in a thousand, may even cause death. This is
due, however, not to any venom injected into the
wound, but to a kind of blood poisoning brought
about by some substance adhering to the teeth of the
reptile, the victim being in a weakened physical con-
dition and therefore very susceptible to such a result.

38 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

The bite of a mosquito has been known to prove fatal
under similar conditions.

Their other means of defense and protection against

their enemies are, however, numerous and interesting

to note. Almost all of them dart out

Methods of ^ tongue when approached, seeking
Defense Used

by Snakes. thus to terrify into retreat the aggres-
sor. In this they are often successful,
especially with mankind. Most other animals seem to
know that the tongue is harmless and pay no attention
to it. Some snakes, when molested, enlarge the body
and so render themselves as formidable in appearance
as possible. They do this, either by inflating with air
to their fullest capacity, the long slender lungs, as does
the spreading viper, whence the name "puffing adder"
sometimes applied to it ; or by flattening the body, l>y
spreading out the ribs and then raising the scales, as
does the common garter snake and the spreading
viper. Certain species, when disturbed, force the air
from their lungs with a hissing sound. This noise,
no doubt, serves to frighten some of their enemies,
but the expelled air is, in itself, wholly harmless.

A number of the larger snakes, among them the
black snake, pilot snake, house snake and spreading
viper, when alarmed, often try to imitate the peculiar
rattle of the rattle-snake by vibrating the tail with
great rapidity. If the vibrating tail happens to strike
against some dead leaves the sound is very similar to
that produced by the rattle-snake, and the writer, on
hearing it, has frequently leaped back from a harm-
less snake thinking that he had been deceived as to
the reptile before him.

9 SNAKES. 39

No snake can, like the tree frog and the chameleon,
change its colors to suit its surroundings; but many,
during the summer time, frequent such places as
accord most closely with their own hues. In this
manner they not only lessen the chances of discovery
by their enemies, but also increase their opportunities
of obtaining food, as other animals, not perceiving
them, will approach within striking distance. Thus,
green snakes climb bushes and recline for hours on
the slender branches among the leaves, waiting for
insects and small birds to approach ; and several of
the smaller brown snakes remain for the most time
among the dead leaves and grass, about logs and the
roots of trees.

A few species, as the common garter snake and the
spotted water snake, excrete a disgusting odor when
handled and this no doubt serves to protect them from
many enemies. Still others, when disturbed in their
dreams on a bright spring morning, feign death or
"play possum" as it is popularly put, remaining rigid
and motionless as long as one stays in their vicinity,
but seeking safety in flight as soon as they think
themselves unnoticed. The above are a few of the
many ways in which these reptiles seek to exercise
their natural right of defending themselves. No one
of the methods noticed is in the least degree harmful
to man, and even if so, it must be remembered that
whatever a non-venomous snake does is in self defense,
as it is never the attacking party.

40 GLEANINGS FEOM NATURE.

II. THE SNAKES OF INDIANA IN PARTICULAR.

About sixty species of snakes inhabit that portion
of the United States east of the Mississippi liivci.
Of these the bite of but six is poisonous. Twenty-
nine species and ten varieties are known to occur
within the State of Indiana. Of these, four are
poisonous, all the rest being perfectly harmless as far
as the bite is concerned.

POISONOUS SNAKES.

With one exception the poisonous snakes of the
State may be known from the harmless ones by the
following characters. The head is broader than the
body, flat and triangular, and has a deep pit on each
side between the eye and the nostril, whence the name
"Pit Vipers" which is sometimes given to the group.
There are no solid teeth in the upper jaw, but on each
side in front is a hollow poison fang "which can be
depressed against the roof of the mouth or erected at
will. The canal in this fang connects with a duct or
tube which leads to a poison gland on the upper side
of the head. The poisonous liquid is separated from
the blood by this gland and, when the serpent strikes,
from four to six drops of it are injected through the
duct and fang into the wound.

The liquid itself is tasteless, green to orange in color,
and about ten times as heavy as water. Freezing,
boiling, drying or treatment with alcohol does not
affect its virulence. In man, as in most other animals,
the poison causes great nervous prostration, lessens
the number of heart beats per minute, and produces

H \AKES. 41

something akin to blood poisoning. The best anti-
dote, as well known, is alcohol taken inwardly in the
form of whisky or brandy. This acts as a stimulant,
bracing up the system and enabling it to withstand
the depressing effects of the poison. When properly
attended to not more than twenty per cent, of the
bites of our poisonous snakes result fatally.

Fig. 7 Head of Rattle-snake, showing Venom Gland and Muscles.

o, venoin gland; a', venom duct; /, shonth of fang; !>,<-, <1, g and h, muscles;

i and./, salivary glands.

Hogs are seldom poisoned when bitten by a rattle-
snake or copper-head, us their fatty tissue absorbs the
poison and prevents it from entering the circulation.
Other animals usually die from the effects of the bite,
even the snake itself succumbing to its own venom
when it accidentally wounds itself. In other words,
the poison is a liquid secreted from the blood, which
becomes fatal on being introduced back into the very
same source.

Of the three "pit-vipers" occurring in Indiana, the
copper-head, Agkistrodon contortrix (L.), is readily dis-

42 (1 LEANINGS FROM NATURE.

tinguished from the other two by having its tail
devoid of a rattle and ending in a horny point. ISev-
eral species of harmless snakes arc,
however, in many localities known as
Fig. s Tail end of " copper-heads" and are, therefore,
Copper-head. shunned as venomous. The most
common of these is the spreading viper or hog-nose
snake, which has a flat, triangular head, but which
lacks the "pit" between the eye and the nostril and
also the hollow poison fangs. Another

marked difference is seen on the under
Copper=nead.

side of the tail where the plates or
scutes are, in the copper-head, mostly undivided,
whereas in the spreading viper they are divided on
the middle line. In color the copper-head is a chest-

Fig. 9 Under side of tail of Southern Water-moccasin, a poisonous snake."
(After Stejneger.)

nut or hazel-brown, with numerous darker V-shaped
blotches along the back. Its head is a coppery-red,
whence the common name. It seldom, if ever, ex-
ceeds three feet in length, and its poison is less virulent
than that of either of the rattle-snakes. On the other
hand it is more justly feared than they, since it gives
no warning of an attack but strikes viciously and
repeatedly at whatever disturbs its repose.

'''The Copper-head has similar undivided plates.

IV.

SNAKES. 43

The copper-head frequents for the most part rocky
hillsides, especially those covered with timber and
in the vicinity
of water. Its
young are born
alive, and are
few, seven to

nine in HUm- Fig. 10 Head of Copper-head, shown from top and

side. (After Baird.)

her. In the

early settlement of Indiana it was common in the
southern half of the State, but at present one hears
only of an occasional specimen ; the most of those
which are reputed as copper-heads, being found, upon
examination, to be examples of some harmless species.

The banded or timber rattle-snake, Crotalus horrid us

L., reaches a length of six feet,* and a diameter of

several inches. From the prairie rattle-snake it may

be readily known by its having the top

The Banded of the hea( j covere( j w j t h numerous

Rattle-snake sca ^ e8 instead of bony plates. In color

it is yellowish brown with three rows

of dark blotches, about twenty-one in each row, along

the back between the head and, the tail, the latter, in

full grown specimens, being entirely black.

The rattle of this and allied species is composed of
a series of flattened, horny rings joined rather loosely
together, the terminal one, called "the button," being
narrower than the others. The common belief that
the age of the snake can be told by the number of

*A specimen in the State Museum from Arkansas measures six feet four
inches, and its rattle is composed of thirteen rings and a button. Another
from Clay County, Indiana, is five feet four inches in length and possesses
eighteen rings and a button.

44

<;LKA .\L\GS FROM jv. i n '///;

joints in the rattle is entirely erroneous, as many as
tour of the rings having been known to develop in a
single year. Concerning this point Dr. L. Stejneger,

the leading American
authority on poisonous
snakes, after mention-
ing the difficulty in
overcoming the fallacy
that " each ring on a
rattle-snake represents
a year of its life," says :
" It ought not to be dif-
ficult to make people
understand that the
rattle is a delicate in-
strument which easily
breaks; that old and huge rattlers are often found
with but one or a few rings; that a variable number
of joints are added each year, and that the production
of a ring can be accomplished in the course of every
two or three months."

In what manner has so unique an organ as the rat-
tle developed ? For. what purpose is it used by the

Fig. 11 Head of Banded Rattle-snake,
shown from top and side. (After Baird.)

h g f e d c b a

Fig. 12 Separate joints of rattle of Banded Rattle-snake,
a, button; h, basal joint.

snake ? These are questions which have been much
discussed but are, as yet, unsolved. Some have likened
the sound produced by the rattle to that made by the

45

harvest-fly, Cinidn til>i<-cn L., or by certain species of
grasshoppers, and have thought that the noise was
made to "decoy insect eating birds into the range of
the serpent's spring." Others have claimed that it
was a love call used in bringing the sexes together.
Still others have looked upon it as a "providential
arrangement to prevent injury to innocent animals

Fig. 13 Rattle of Banded Rattle-snake, (After Garman.)

and man." The most commonly accepted theory at
present is that it is used by the snake as a "means of
self-protection, serving the same purpose as the growl
of a tiger when threatened with danger. The snake
seldom sounds its rattle until it considers itself discov-
ered, and not then unless it apprehends danger. It
throws itself in position to strike and says in unmis-
takable language : 'Look out for yourself, I am ready
for you. Your life, if you injure me.' If pushed
upon it makes its leap at its antagonist, and again
throws itself in position to renew the conflict, once
again sounding the note of defiance."* In making
its warning note the snake doubtless frightens away
many enemies which by experience have learned to
shun its presence. In this way it saves its venom, foi
the use for which it is most evidently secreted- -tha'
of quickly destroying or rendering helpless those
forms of life which the reptile needs for food,

* Henderson, J. G., American Naturalist, VI., 1*7--', Jiil.

46 GLEA.\L\(;s FIldM .\ATl'IiE.

The young of the timber rattle-snake are born alive.
are seldom, if ever, more than nine in number.
and average at birth about eight inches in length. Its
food, in a state of nature, consists of rabbits, squirrels.
mice, "and frogs, with an occasional bird, or harmless
snake to vary the menu. It usually lies in wait for
its prey, and when the latter comes in reach it strikes
at it with such rapidity that the motion can scarcely
be followed. Unless disturbed it ignores the presence
of man or of such animals as it does not wish for food,
and never follows such intruders with the intention of
attacking them.

Like the copper-head, the timber rattle-snake was
once rather common in southern Indiana, and doubt-
less occurred in small numbers in the northern half
of the State. At present it is known to occur only in
the broken, wooded portions of such counties as
Brown, Monroe, and Greene, where there are many
ledges of stone, on which, in summer, it can bask for
hours in the sunlight, and in whose crevices it can
find in winter a suitable abiding place. But here,
even, its numbers have become so few that the killing
of one is thought to be of sufficient importance for a
notice in the local newspaper, usually with a foot or
two of length added to the specimen.'

The prairie rattle-snake or massasauga, Si-strums

catenates (Rafinesque), is, in general, smaller than the

timber rattle-snake, seldom exceeding

Rattle- sn k three feet in length. The top of the

head is partially covered with horn-

like shields or plates, similar to those of the harmless

snakes. Its color is brown or blackish with seven rows

SNAXEti.

47

of darker blotches, 34 in each row, between the head
and tail. Those specimens living in swamps and
marshy places are often a uniform black in color.

In the wet prairies and marshes of northern Indiana
the massasauga is yet found in small numbers, but is
nowhere so abundant as it was
a score of years ago. No
record of specimens taken in
the State south of the National
Road has come to the writer's
notice.

Aside from its poisonous
qualities, its habits are bene-
ficial, as it feeds upon field
mice and insects, and thus aids Fig .

ill keeping in check those pestS. snake, shown from top and
T , i ., . i -i 11 side. (After Stejneger.)

Its bite is considered much less

venomous than that of the timber rattle-snake, one
observer having asserted that it is scarcely more to
be dreaded than the sting of a hornet. This might
be true if the person bitten were so situated that im-
mediate medical assistance could be obtained, but for
persons living on a farm at some distance from a
physician, the bite is always to be regarded as
serious. The degree of danger from the bite of
any of the poisonous snakes depends chiefly upon
the size of the reptile, the amount of venom injected
and the location of the wounded part. The larger
the snake, the more venom it exudes and the deeper
the fangs are driven into the body of the victim.
If the wound is in such a part of the body that the
poison is injected directly into the circulation the

4H GLEANINGS ritn.M .\ATUItK

chances tor recovery are small, no matter it' the
promptest of medical attention is obtained. Happily,
such a l)ite does not often occur.

The fourth and last species of poisonous reptiles
occurring in Indiana is the coral or bead snake, J<Jnj>x
fulvius (L.). Unlike the "pit vipers," its head is but
slightly distinct from the body. It lacks the pit be-

tween tin- eve and nostril, and the
The Coral or f % ,,

Bead Snake. P O1SOU fan g of the upper jaw 33 per-
manently erect instead of movable at
will. It is one of the most handsome of American
snakes, being possessed of a slender body which is
encircled by alternate bands of jet
black and bright red, the latter
color merging into yellow near the
edges of the bands. The front por-
tion of the head is black, while the
hind portion is encircled by a band
Fig. is-Head of Coral o f bright yellow. The total length

Snake, shown from '

t.,p and side. (After IS less tliail 2f feet.

BainU 111 the southern States the bead

snake is rather common and the extreme northern
limit of its ran^e is probably the southern half of In-

O J *

diana and Ohio. In this State, but a single specimen,
taken near Milan, Ripley County, has been recorded.
Of its food habits but little is known, but that little
goes to show that it is a cannibal, eating harmless
snakes with evident gusto, since Dr. Stejneger records
one as having swallowed a black snake as long as
itself, before it had fully digested a garter snake taken
at a previous meal. Much discussion has taken place
concerning the ability of the coral snake to inflict dan-

SNAKES. 49

gerous bites There is little doubt, however, but that
it injects a true poison which sometimes causes fatal
results, but on account of the smallness of the serpent's
mouth and the shortness of its poison fangs, the wound
must be inflicted on the more exposed portions of the
body, as the fingers or toes. It is hoped that persons
in the southern half of Indiana will, in the future, be
on the lookout for this snake, that a more definite
account of its range in the State may be put on
record.

HARMLESS SNAKES.

For convenience the twenty-five species of harm-
less snakes known to occur in Indiana may be classed
according to color, habits, etc., into seven groups.
Three of the reptiles are seldom found far from ponds
or streams, and hence may form

Group I. The Water Snakes.

Two of these are quite similar in habits and ap-
pearance, the ground color varying from ashy to
brown, with a row of thirty or more darker spots on
the back between the "head and tail, and a row of
smaller, similar spots on each side. Scientists distin-
guish them, however, l>y the difference in the number
of rows of scales on the back, giving to the rarer one,
which has 27 rows, the name of ''diamond water
snake."

The other one, which has but 23, rarely 25, rows, is
'/'/n/iii/ottofits xijxilon (L.). one of our most common
snakes and popularly known as the ''water snake,"
4

50 GLEAXlMi* I-' HUM ^^T^RE.

"spotted water sn nkc" and "water moccasin." About
the larger ponds and streams, especially those of
southern Indiana, it grows to a large size, ivaching a
diameter ot three inches and a length of five feet;
but in the central and northern parts of the State
specimens more than four feet long are seldom seen.
It is usually given a wide berth, as seven people out
of ten believe that its bite will cause certain death.
This belief is no doubt caused by the fact that the

"water moccasin" or "cotton mouth"
The Spotted ,, ,
Water Snake southern States is a poisonous

snake, and the common names of the
two have become confounded. Our water moccasin

Fig. 16 Under side of tail of Spotted Water Snake, showing divided plates
or scutes. (After Stejneger.)

has no fangs whatever, and its bite is never more seri-
ous than that of a mouse. It is partial to still waters
of considerable depth, and seldom frequents streams
that have not a bottom of deep, soft mud, in which
to take refuge when pursued, and in which it buries

SNAKES. 51

itself deeply during the winter. It delights in the
piles of driftwood which collect about such pools, and
on a midsummer day three or four may be seen
stretched out on the same log, evidently enjoying the
sunshine and awaiting the near approach of their
favorite prey, the leopard and bull frogs. Sometimes
another snake, swimming too near, pays with its life
the penalty of its rashness. Minnows also, doubtless,
form a large proportion of their food, and an instance
is on record where an individual of this species was
surprised with a pickerel a foot long in its mouth.

The young of the water snake and its near allies
are hatched from eggs either within the body of the
mother, or very soon after the eggs are laid, and as
many as 33 have been recorded as belonging to a sin-
gle brood. Several color varieties of this water snake
occur in Indiana, one of which, a uniform blue-black
above and reddish beneath, is known as the "black
water moccasin," Tropidonotua */'/>/<> erythrogoster
(Shaw).

The diamond water snake, Tropidonotus rhombifera
( Hallow.), is, as above mentioned, a distinct species,
known by its 27 rows of strongly keeled scales; i.e.,

scales with a ridge extending length-
The Diamond ,. , , ,. , *~i -, *" ,

wise oi the center ot each, and by the
Water Snake. J

squarish Id-own spots on the back alter-
nating with those on the sides and connecting with
them at the angles. Several specimens of this snake
from southern Indiana are in the State Museum, one
of which, from Morgan County, was labeled "Copper-
head Trigonocephalus cnnfortrix A poisonous Amer-
ican Serpent, called also copperbell and red viper."

52 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

The diamond water snake reaches a larger size than
the common water snake, and the two are often con-
founded by observers. Its habits are essentially the
same as in that species. Both strike viciously when
disturbed, and exhale a very disagreeable odor when
handled, this being, probably, their most efficient
means of defense.

The third species of water snake found in the State
is the queen or leather snake, Rcgina leberis (L.), a
much smaller and more slender reptile than either of
the last two, seldom exceeding two feet in length.

Its scales are keeled and occupy 19
The Leather

s . rows, while its color is olive brown

with three narrow black stripes on the
back and a yellowish band along the side. Beneath,
it is yellowish with two brown bands which lie close
together and reach from the head to the tail.

Along the rapid flowing streams of central Indiana
this is a very common snake, and it probably occurs
throughout the State. It frequents, for the most part,
shallow running water, gliding gracefully among the
stems of the water willow, Dianthera americana L.,
and other aquatic plants; and, when pursued, taking
refuge beneath some flat stone, or the piles of drift-
wood along the shore. It is never, as far as my
observation goes, found at any distance from water,
and its food consists mainly of small "peeper" frogs,
young toads and minnows.

Gmup II. Black Snakes.

To this group belong four species of our largest
snakes. The ground color of each of them is black.

SNAKES. 53

and the common name of "black snake" is indiscrim-
inately applied to them. However, a little practice
soon enables one to distinguish them apart. The most
common of the four and the only one to which the
name rightfully belongs, is Bascanion constrictor (L.),
a snake which is a uniform deep black above, paler
beneath, and has the scales on the back perfectly
smooth and in 17 rows. The young, up to the third
moult, are very different in color from the adult, being
olive brown with numerous large,

TPf- A

darker colored spots along the sides.
Black Snake or
Blue Racer When they are about two-thirds

grown, the hue is of a bluish shade,
and they are then commonly known as " blue racers" ;
most people believing them to be an entirely different
snake.

More "lies" have been told about this snake than
any other one in existence. It " charms birds," u sucks
cows," " steals eggs," "drinks the milk in the milk
houses," "kills a rattle-snake by pulling it in two,"
and does fifty other deeds that no snake on earth ever
did or ever will do. One thing, however, it can do,
and do well, and that is to turn tail and run when
approached, seeking a shelter with "that celerity of
movement no other creeping creature can obtain."

The black snake feeds prin-
cipally upon rats, mice, crick-
ets, grasshoppers and beetles,
and may occasionally swallow
another snake or a small bird Fig. rr-Head of Black Snake,
for dessert. However, the good (After Bair<L)

that they do far outweighs the bad, and yet every

54 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

year their numbers are becoming less, for "death to
the black snake whenever and wherever found " seems
to be the watchword of all boys and most men.
Another cause for their lessening numbers is undoubt-
edly the rapid disappearance of the old Virginia rail
fences, beneath the bottom rail of which they were
formerly sure of a safe retreat from all attacks.

At certain seasons of the year, as in spring when
mating, and in late autumn, when seeking a hiding
place for the winter, the black snake is vicious, hiss-
ing and striking at a person who is several yards away.
At such a time it will occasionally pursue a person
whom it recognizes as more cowardly than itself, and
in this way has probably gained the name of the "blue
racer." When seized by the neck it quickly throws a
double coil about a person's arm and gives a grip with
its powerful muscles which the captor has no little
difficulty in breaking. The stories which one often
hears of its attacking persons and squeezing them to
death are w T holly without foundation. The young
are hatched from eggs which are usually deposited in
soft earth or the humus of decayed w r ood. These eggs
are an inch and a half long by an inch in diameter,
and covered with a tough, thick skin. According to
Dr. Hay, as many as nineteen eggs are laid at a time,
and from one ready to hatch lie took a young racer
ten and one-half inches long.

As to the many stories concerning the size to which
the black snake gfows, mention has been made on a
previous page. A little over six feet is doubtless their
maximum length, yet they are often said to have been
seen eight and even ten feet long. In regard to the

SNAKES. 55

length of snakes generally, Dr. C. C. Abbott in one of
his charming books has well said: "that with "timid
people, a great deal depends upon the direction in
which the snake was moving at the time it was seen.
As an old, observing friend once said to me, ' When
snakes come towards folks, every foot looks a yard
long.' "

One of the largest snakes found in Indiana is the
"pilot snake" or "black racer." It is often con-
founded with the true black snake

or " blue racer," but has the scales in
Snake.

25 to 29 rows instead of 17, those along
the middle of the back being obscurely keeled. In the
place of being uniformly black above, it usually has
some of .the scales white-edged, thus causing some fine
white mottlings on the upper side.

The pilot snake at times grows to be six and one-
half feet long and the body is always much thicker
than that of a black snake of the same length. It
frequents dry, open woods and thickets, and more
often than any other of our snakes is seen in bushes,
and even in the tops of tall trees where it has climbed
by following the depressions in the rough bark.
Although its bite is harmless, yet it is, probably, our
most injurious snake on account of its liking for small
birds, which form one of its principal foods, and for
which it undoubtedly lies in wait in the bushes and
trees. Field mice and insects form also a large por-
tion of the food, so that it makes up in part for its
depredations among the birds.

The young of the pilot snake are hatched from eggs
which are deposited by the mother in such places as

") J GLEANINGS FROM XA 77 'HE.

hollow stumps and close alongside old logs. The
young, for the first year or more of their lives, are
ashy gray with about 45 square, chocolate blotches on
the back, and a row of alternating smaller blotches
along each side. There is also a dark band between
the eyes, and the foremost spot on the back is forked.
each division extending a short distance onto the
head. One of these young, 16 inches in length, which
contained a large shrew, partially digested, was taken
June 11, 1894.

A pilot snake over five feet in length was once
kept by the writer in a vacant room with a great
horned owl, some turtles and salamanders. It was
supposed that the size of the owl, which is one of our
largest birds of prey, and has a very strong beak and
talons, would prevent a conflict, and that a "happy
family," equal in interest and peaceful inclinations to
any seen in a menagerie, would result, but events
proved otherwise. One night a strange noise was
heard in the room, and on investigating its cause it
was. found that a "struggle for existence" had taken
place between the two leading members of the fam-
ily. Whether the snake attacked the owl or the owl
the snake was never known, but the snake proved
itself the "fitter in the struggle," and quickly squee/ed
the life out of the owl by wrapping two coils tightly
about it. Perhaps the snake would, if let alone, have
attempted to swallow the owl, but a desire to secure
the latter in as good a condition as possible for a per-
manent specimen led to its immediate removal from ;.
literal embrace of death.

SNAKES. 57

A third snake, which reaches a length of four feet

or more, and which in the country usually goes also

hy the name of "black snake," is the king snake,

Ophibolus getulus sayi (Holbrook). It is less common

than either of the last two mentioned.

Tf- rt

Kins Snake From them it may he known hy the
scales being smooth and in 21 rows.
Many of the scales have a small yellowish spot in the
center, and in young specimens these spots often unite
to form cross lines on the back. These lines some-
times fork on the sides and divide the black of the
back into large blotches. It will thus be noted that
the young of many black or dark colored snakes are
always spotted, and that as they -grow older and shed
their skins a number of times they gradually grow
darker, until finally they become almost wholly black.
This has, in the past, been the cause of much confu-
sion in the naming of the reptiles, many of the young
having been thought to be distinct species.

The king snake frequents open woodlands and the
borders of moist thickets, feeding upon mice, moles,
toads, salamanders, and, as noted near the beginning
of this paper, upon such other snakes as it can con-
veniently swallow. It is a very active reptile, but in
general mild and inoffensive in its habits. When
cornered, it will strike rapidly and viciously, causing
the timid person who has suddenly come upon it to
beat a hasty retreat.

In some of the southern States, where it is more
common than in Indiana, it is. reputed to wage a
successful warfare upon the rattle-snake, and hence
received its common name. A prominent writer and

58 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

generally accepted authority on snakes, evidently try-
ing to excel some newspaper reporter in the produc-
tion of a snake story, avers that: "By suddenly
springing upon and encircling the rattle-snake with
its coils, the king snake soon squeezes the venomous
reptile to death. Then, commencing at the head, the
victor swallows the rattler whole."

The last species which belongs to the group of black
snakes is the horn 8nake,Farancia abacura (Holbrook).
It is said to be rather common in the southwestern
States, but in Indiana has been taken only near
Wheatland,Knox County. It is a handsome species,
as handsome goes among snakes, being blue-black
above with about sixty squarish red

e orn S p O t8 on the sides. These, in some
Snake.

specimens, extend nearly to the middle

of the back.. Beneath, it is red, blotched with black.
The scales are smooth and in nineteen rows.

Having never met with this species alive, I can say
but little of its habits. According to its first describes
it is shy and lives in swampy ground and damp thick-
ets. It reaches a length of four feet or more. People
in the southern half of the State should be on the
lookout for it, and if a specimen is secured it should
be sent to the State Museum or presented to some
school which will preserve it for future reference.

Group III. Spotted Snakes.

Among the harmless snakes occurring in Indiana,
which are usually found at some distance from water.
are four species of medium or large size which are

SNAKES. 59

distinctly spotted throughout their entire lives. One
of the most handsome of these, and one quite fre-
quently met with in dry, upland woods, and about
country houses arid barns, is the " spotted adder,"
Ophibolus doliatus triangulus (Boie.), "house snake,"
"milk snake," "thunder and lightning snake," or
almost anything else one may wish to

r

M,O call it; > as ^ is a creature of many

Milk Snake. J

names, ot which the above are the

most common. It varies much in color, but is
usually grayish with three rows of brick-red, black-
bordered blotches on the back and sides ; the larger
ones saddle-shaped and alternating with the smaller,
the latter being often wholly black. There is usually
a light colored arrow-shaped spot back of the head,
while beneath, the body is checkered with black and
creamy white. The scales are smooth and in 21 rows.
The young are hatched from eggs which are about
two inches long and a little more than an inch in
diameter. During the first year of their lives they
are often found beneath the loose bark of logs and
stumps, where they are doubtless seeking the crickets,
cockroaches and other insects which have there their
abiding places.

The house snake sometimes reaches a length of
four feet, and when disturbed resents only by darting
out its forked tongue and giving an occasional vibra-
tion of its tail. Its usual food consists of mice, rats,
and such unfortunate toads as happen in its way,
except in grasshopper season, when it feasts to its
stomach's content upon those festive insects. It is
often found about spring houses where milk is kept,

60 <. LEANINGS FROM NATURE.

presumably in search of frogs and salamanders which
frequent such damp localities; but the owner of the
milk usually asserts that it drinks that lacteous fluid
and hence gives it the name of" milk snake."

In rare instances double-headed specimens of this
snake have been taken. The writer has seen one in
which the" two heads were each about three inches
long and then united into one body.

According to scientists, the house snake is only a
color variety of the red snake, Ophiboliis doliatus (L.).
The latter is red or scarlet and has 20 or more pairs
of black rings, each pair enclosing a yellow spot. Its
habits are essentially the same as those of the house
snake, but it is much less common and seldom grows
above two feet in length. It has been taken in a num-
ber of localities in southern Indiana, but in the north
only the more spotted variety has, as yet, fceen found.

Another spotted reptile closely allied to the house

snake is the chain snake, Ophibolus calligasier (Say).

Its smooth scales are in 25 rows, and it has about 60

squarish chestnut-colored blotches along the back

which alternate with smaller rounded

spots along each side, the ground color

being olive gray.

The range of the chain snake is western, and but a
single specimen is so far known from Indiana. It
was taken by the writer from open woods just east of
Terre Haute in Vigo County, and is about three feet
in length. Nothing distinctive is known of its habits,
though in Illinois it is said to frequent prairies, where
it doubtless lives mainly upon small mammals and
insects.

SNAKES. 61

The fox snake, Coluber mdpinus (B. & G.), is a third
distinctly spotted snake which is found occasionally
in Indiana. -The ground color is light hrown or
grayish-yellow, and there are about 60 chocolate-
colored spots across the hack, which

alternate with smaller ones on each
Snake.

side. It may be known from the chain
snake by its having nine or more of the 25 rows of
scales keeled. The under surface is yellowish, with
large squarish blotches of black.

The fox snake feeds upon the smaller mammals, as
half-grown rabbits, mice and ground squirrels. Like
most snakes it is irritable and vicious when surprised
immediately after swallowing its prey, evidently fear-
ing that the intruder will cause it to disgorge the
latter and so deprive it of its dinner.

The fourth species of spotted snakes occurring in
the State is the corn snake, Coluber yuttatus L., a rep-
tile of southern range, which has been taken at a few
localities in southern Indiana. It is thought by some
to be only a variety of the fox snake,

but the scales are in 27 rows and the
Snake.

ground color is brick-red instead of
gray. The dark blotches are also fewer, being seldom
more than 45.

Not having seen the corn snake alive I can say
nothing of its habits. Holbrook says that in North
Carolina "it is found about the roadsides early in the
morning or at the dusk of evening, unlike most snakes
concealing itself during the day. It is very gentle and
familiar ... at times entering houses, and is, accord-
ing to Catesby, a great robber of lien-roosts/'

62 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

Group IV. Striped or Garter Snakes.

Four slender bodied reptiles, whose general color
consists of three light stripes on a darker ground, with
sometimes intervening darker spots, and with the
lower side unspotted, belong to this group of harmless
snakes. The scales of all are keeled and in 19, rarely
21, rows.

Of these the ribbon snake, Eutainia saurita (L.), is
much more slender and graceful, and withal a hand-
somer species than any other, its color

The Ribbon , .
S ke being a dark, glossy, chocolate-brown,

with the three stripes of a bright green-
ish yellow. It reaches a length of three feet or more,
and its favorite haunts are damp thickets and the bor-
ders of streams and ponds, where, on the first bright
sunny days of spring, several may sometimes be found
in close proximity. It often takes to water to escape
its enemies, swimming with graceful curves of its long
slender tail, but it is by no means aquatic in its habits.
The food of the ribbon snake is chiefly insects and the
small cricket frogs, its body being too slender to
encompass many of those larger forms of life in which
other snakes delight. A stouter bodied, darker col-
ored variety of this species is sometimes called Fairey's
garter snake.

The common garter snake, Eutainia s'irtnH* (L.),
is the most common reptile in the United States,
and at the same time one of the most variable.
Four varieties are known to occur in Indiana as
follows :

SNAKES. 63

(V/) Grass snake, E. s.graminea Cope ; color, green,
lacking both stripes and spots, except a small black
spot near the end of each ventral plate.

(6) Spotted garter snake, E. s. ordinata (L.) ; lacks
the stripes, but has three distinct rows of square dark
spots, on each side between the head and tail ; and
also a small black spot at the end of each ventral plate.

(c) Red-sided garter snake, E. s. parietalis (Say) ;
has the stripes present, yellow or greenish, and a row
of brick-red spots alternating with a row of darker
colored spots along the sides.

(d) Common garter snake, E. s. sirtalis (L.) ; has
the stripes present but faint and narrow, with three
rows of indistinct dark spots on each side.

These varieties are named in the order of their rel-

ative abundance in Indiana, the grass snake being

scarce, while in the course of the summer more of the

red-sided and common garter snakes

are probably seen than of the individ-

Qarter Snake lia ^ 8 ^ a ^ other species combined.
They are to be found anywhere, but
prefer the vicinity of water, where frogs and other
smike food is most abundant. When teased, they
flatten the body, elevate the scales, hiss and exude a
disgusting odor. Sometimes they strike viciously and
may even draw blood with their needle-like teeth, but
their bite is less harmful than that of a mosquito, as
it causes no swelling or after pain. The young of the
garter snake are born alive in late summer or early
autumn, and their number is legion. Dr. J. Schneck,
of Mt. Carmel, Illinois, has recorded* the taking of

'-American Naturalist, XVI, 1882, 1008.

64 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

78 from three to seven inches in length from the body
of a single female 35 inches long. Other observers
have noted from 35 to 80.

This snake has many enemies, among which may
be mentioned owls, hawks, hogs, skunks, ducks, tur-
keys, other snakes, and last but not least, the small
boy with a big club. Feeding as it does mainly upon
insects and the smaller injurious mammals, the good
that it does far outweighs the bad. In the future,
therefore, let its presence in the dooryard be looked
upon with favor, and let the hand be stayed that in
the past has ever been raised against it.

The Racine garter snake, Eutainia radix (B. & G.),
has been taken in a few localities in Western Indiana,
Prof. E. D. Cope says that it is the prevailing garter
snake of the western plains, ranging from the ba^e ot
the Rocky Mountains on the west to the eastern
limit of the prairies in Indiana on

The the east. Its scales are usually in 21

Racine ,

Garter Snake. rows an " are prominently keeled so
that the reptile is very rough in
appearance. In color it is dark olive brown with the
lateral stripe on the third and fourth rows of scales
instead of on the second and third, as in the common
garter snake. The stripe on the back is bordered
with black and there are two rows of dark spots on
each side between the stripes. Below the lateral stripe
there is also an additional row of small spots. The
average length is about two feet.

The habits of the Racine garter snake are essen-
tially the same as those of the more common sjtecies.
Living as it does mainly in prairie regions it is largely

SNAKES. 65

preyed upon by hawks and in turn preys upon the
smaller mammals. These live upon the insects, which
gain their sustenance from the grass and grain. Thus,
by tracing back the food of each, we realize the force
of the old saying: "All flesh is grass," and know
that the plant must have existed before the insect,
reptile, bird or mammal made its appearance upon
earth.

Butler's garter snake, Eutainia butleri Cope, was de-
scribed from a specimen taken near Richmond, Indi-
ana. But two additional specimens have since been
secured, one at Waterloo, Dekalb County, and the

other near Turkey Lake, Kosciusko
r s County. It is distinguished by the

yellow, black-bordered lateral stripe
covering three instead of two rows of scales, and by
its head being much smaller and more conical than in
the typical garter snakes. The eye is also propor-
tionally smaller than in any other of the more
common species. Nothing distinctive of its habits
is known, and additional specimens are greatly to be
desired.

Group V. Green Snakes.

Of all our reptiles not one can exceed in beauty
and gracefulness the "green" or "summer snake,"
Cyclophis cestivus (L.) It possesses 17 rows of keeled
scales and in color is a uniform bright gree.n above
and light yellow beneath. With a body remarkably
slender for its length, which at times reaches thirty or
more inches, it is an object which delights the eye of
5

66 (;LEAM.\<;s 1-'11<>M \ATl' HE.

the nature-loving rambler whenever he is so fortu-

nate as to meet with it. The favorite haunts of the

summer snake are rocky hillsides,

especially those in the vicinity of
Summer Snake.

running water. Oftentimes, too, the

seeker after wild berries is needlessly frightened by
seeing one reposing on the bushes within a few inches
of his out-stretched hands. One of these snakes,
kept in captivity by the writer, often rested on the
posterior half of its body, and, raising the front half
almost vertically, it would remain rigid and motion-
less for half an hour at a time. In its wild state such
a habit, if practiced, would render it, for the time
being, very secure against such enemies as were
guided only by the sense of sight, and would allow
the near approach of such small animals as the snake
subsisted upon.

The habits of this species were excellently por-
trayed by Dr. Holbrook, who wrote of it as follows :
" The summer snake is perfectly harmless and gentle,
easily domesticated, and takes readily its food from
the hand. I have seen it carried in the pocket or
twisted around the arm or neck as a plaything, with-
out ever evincing any disposition to mischief. In its
wild state it lives among the branches of trees and
shrubs, shooting with great velocity from bough to
bough, in pursuit of the insects which serve as its
nourishment. Its green color, similar to the leaves
among which it lives, affords it protection against
those birds which prey upon it."

Another green snake, as handsome as the one last
mentioned, and distinguished from it only by its scales

SNAKES. 67

being smooth and in 15 rows, is" the smooth green

snake, Liopeltis vernalis (DeKay). It is much less

common in Indiana than the summer

snake, and is found usually in the tall
Green Snake. J

rank grasses which grow about the
margins of marshes and swamps. There it lies in wait
for the green grasshoppers and katydids which are so
abundant in such a place. Except in these grasses it
is seldom seen higher than the surface of the ground.
Its eggs, an inch and a half long, were found by one
observer beneath the bark of an old stump, and one
young snake, just hatched, was five inches in length.

Group VI. Small Brown Snakes.

The snakes heretofore mentioned comprise the
giants of the family as found in Indiana. We shall
now deal for a time with the dwarfs. Six of the 29
species occurring in the State, when full grown, sel-
dom, if ever, exceed 16 inches in length.

The most common of the six is known as DeKay's
brown snake, Storeria dekayi (Holbrook). It is grayish-
brown in color, paler beneath, has a narrow pale band
along the back and a dark spot behind

B & s> *k eacn eve - The scales are keeled and
in 17 rows, and the average length is
about one foot. This is one of the first snakes seen
in the spring, a specimen having been taken by the
writer as early as April 2nd. Like many other species
it is then usually found close to water, and doubtless
breaks its long fast upon one of the small "cricket"
or "peeper" frogs, whoso shrill and countless voices

68 GLEAN1NU* l-'lUt.V NATURE.

make the welkin ring on just such days ;is tempt the
snake forth from its winters retreat. As these frogs,
small as they are, are fully twice the diameter of the
snake, it is doubtless with much effort that this. first
spring meal reaches its final resting place in the lat-
ter's stomach. Later on in the season young and ten-
der grasshoppers and crickets furnish them a bountiful
repast, and it is even affirmed of them by Abbott that
"they are excellent fishers, and gliding through the
water with marvelous celerity, they catch minnows
and young pike in large numbers." The young of
this species, as well as those of the next, are hatched
from eggs within the body of the mother, and num-
ber from eight to fifteen.

Another snake which, from above, closely resem-
bles the last mentioned in color and size is Storer's
brown snake, Storeria occipitomaculata (Storer). Its
scales, however, are in 15 rows, and on
B S k turning it over, a difference can be
readily seen as it is a deep salmon-red
beneath, whence it is often called the "red-bellied
brown snake." Its usual home is beneath logs and
stones where it feeds upon crickets, myriapods, slugs,
earth worms and other crawling creatures.

On one occasion while driving in Vigo County the
writer saw a chicken running along the roadside with
a wriggling snake in its bill. After a sharp chase of
the fowl through a rail fence and a blackberry patch,
its prey was dropped and proved to be a fine speci-
men of Storer's snake. As soon as it found itself
free it wrapped its tail about a small bush and when
approached flattened itself very much after the man-

SNAKES. 69

ner of a spreading viper. The row of brown dots
bordering the pale band along the back
then became much more prominent than
they were when the body resumed its
normal shape.

Most snakes have a head larger than,
and distinct from, the body, but there
are two occurring in Indiana which have
the head indistinct, it being at the base
of the same width as the body whence
it tapers gradually to a dull point. The
more common of the two is the ground
snake, Carphophiops amoenus. (Say).

Twelve inches is its max-
The Ground or imum length and on - ac .
Worm Snake.

count of the small size

and the tapering head it is often called
the "worm snake." In color it is a
glossy chestnut-brown above
and red or pinkish below,
while the scales are smooth
and in 13 rows. It lives, for
the most part, coiled up beside
or beneath rotten logs, among
dead leaves, and about the
roots of trees. In such places
it readily makes its way, forc-
ing its sharp muzzle into nar-
row crevices with much mus-
cular strength. Such surround-
ings also harmonize with its

i . , Fig. 18 Ground or Worm

colors, and crickets and other snake.

70 GLEANINGS FROM NA 77 /,' /:

snake delicacies are there plentiful two conditions
of life, which, if a snake possess, fully satisfy it hero
below. It is perfectly harmless, not being able- to
open its small mouth sufficiently wide to bite a person
if it would; although by twisting about one's wrisr
or finger it may cause an involuntary snaky shudder
to creep up his back.

The second species with the conic head indistinct
from the body is Virginia's snake, Virginia eh-ymi*
Kennicott. It is light olive brown above and yellow-
ish beneath, while scattered over the
upper surface are numerous small black
dots, resembling points made by a fine
pen. The scales are in 17 rows, very narrow and
faintly keeled. In Indiana Virginia's snake has been
recorded only from Brown County. Its habits are
unknown, but presumably the same as those of the
worm snake, since it frequents similar localities.

Two other small snakes remain to be mentioned,
and although neither is strictly brown yet they will
be treated of in this connection. One is the "ring-
necked snake," Diadophis punctatus (L.), a handsome
little reptile, blue-black above, pale
orange below, and with a conspicuous
Snake yellowish ring about the neck. The
, smooth scales are in 15 rows, and on

the outer end of each of the ventral plates there is
usually a small black spot, while a median row of
similar spots is sometimes present on the under side
between the head and tail.

Growing to a length of a foot or more, the ring-
necked snake is usually found beneath the loose bark

VI.

I. RING NECKED SNAKE.

DEKAY'S BROWN SNAKE.,

III. KIRTLAND'S SNAKE.

SHAKES. 71

of a fallen tree or under a chunk on some dry hillside.
In such a place it feeds upon those insects which come
readily to hand and, when disturbed, seeks to defend
itself only by exuding a disagreeable odor.

More common than the above, especially in central

Indiana, is Kirtland's snake, Tropidoclonium kirtlandi

(Ivennicott). It also is very prettily marked, being

light reddish brown with two rows of large round

dark spots on each side, while beneath

it is a bright salmon red, with a row

of black spots along the margin of the

ventral plates. The scales are keeled and in 19 rows.

This snake evidently feeds at night, for of 20 or

more taken by the writer, all were found coiled up

beneath logs or stones, seemingly half asleep, as they

were very sluggish in their actions even after their

chosen shelter had been rolled from above them. Its

only show of self defense is a habit of flattening itself

so that it becomes very broad and thin. It then

strikes viciously for several times, when, seemingly

satisfied with its show of resistance, it coils itself up

and quietly eyes the intruder. Toads, frogs and

insects comprise its food, and the young are born

alive.

Group VII. The Vipers.

And now we come to the last, the ugliest and the
clumsiest of them all, the "hog-nosed snake" or
"spreading viper," Heterodon platyrhinus Latreille.
Much has been said of it on the previous pages but it
deserves more than a passing mention, as none other
of our snakes can hiss more loudly, spread more flatly,

72 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

or snap more fiercely ; and none other, as commonly

met with, is as much feared as this. And yet, in

spite of all these threatening actions,

ie prea g .^ ^.^ . g p er f ec t]y harmless, as the

writer knows by experience. It has
no sign of a poison fang and no duct connecting with
a poison gland. Aside from its actions the spreading
viper may be known from other Indiana snakes by
having the snout brought to an edge along the sidi-s
and to a point in front, and then turned up so as to
resemble a pointed dirt shovel. In
color this snake is either uniform
black, or a yellowish brown with
about 28 darker blotches on the

-back and
sides. The
spotted

^==C2-ii-x>--vo form is the
\ / - : ^XJ_ one most

Fig. 19 Head of Spreading Viper, shown from top and side. U S U a 1 1 V

seen but the other in this vicinity is not rare. The
scales are keeled and disposed in 23 or 25 rows. It
sometimes reaches a length of three and a half feet
and is then possessed of a thick and heavy body.

A closely allied form, both in structure and habits, is
the "sand viper," Heterodon simus (L.), which inhabits
the southern States and has been taken in Indiana at
New Harmony and Brookville. It is distinguished
from the spreading viper by having the central plate
of the head surrounded by five to ten small plates. It
seldom exceeds two feet in length and the scales are
sometimes in 27 rows.

SNAKES. 73

The young of the spreading viper are hatched from
eggs which are buried in loose soil, sand or the humus
of decayed logs. The eggs are about 1? x | inches in
size and covered with a tough, yellowish membrane.
As many as 27 are known to belong to the same batch.
When just hatched the young are about 8 inches in
length and are ready to hiss, flatten the body and
strike viciously whenever teased.

A singular habit possessed by the spreading viper
is that of sometimes feigning death when disturbed.
This is more often indulged in in early spring soon
after they have left their winter retreats and while
they are seeking their first spring meal or choosing
their future mates. On March 23, 1893, a black speci-
men was found coiled up in some dead leaves in an
open place in the woods. On being teased it went
into a "fit," turning on its back with its mouth wide
open and its tongue protruded at full length. When-
ever it was turned right side up it would immediately
turn on its back again. If held right side up with a
stick it would squirm vigorously and endeavor to turn
over. It was left lying bottom up, but on my return-
ing to the spot a half hour afterward had disappeared.

On another occasion a black and a spotted one were
found in company and when disturbed they opened
wide their mouths, turned on their backs and coiled
and twisted about in a very rapid and curious manner
for about five minutes, when they became quiet and
apparently lifeless. During all these contortions they
had remained on their backs, and when they became
quiet and were turned over they would immediately
turn on their backs again, but otherwise gave no signs

74 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

of life, even at the end of an hour's time. According
to Dr. Hay, the newly hatched young, when teased,
will undergo the same contortions, and will lie per-
fectly still on the back until they think they are unob-
served when they will turn over and slyly creep away.
The favorite resort of the " spreading viper" is a
sandy hillside with a southern exposure, or the bor-
ders of an open or cultivated field. In such a locality
their principal food consists chiefly of noxious insects,
and hence they, as well as all other harmless snakes,
should merit the protection of man instead of being
forever ah especial target of his insane desire to kill
all objects beneath him in the scale of life.

TO A GAKTER SNAKE.

Thou art humble
And content to crawl
Upon the lap of earth :
To seek thy food without the brawl
And strife, which others,
Far above thee in the scale of life,
Do use.

Thou art harmless,
And yet upon thy head
Has ever been a curse unmerited ;
Making of thee a shunned, polluted thing,
Although thou art possessed
Of neither fang nor sting.

And even now,
In this enlightened age,
Man sees thee but to spurn
And strike at thy poor form ;
And on the printed page
Thy name is seldom uttered
Save with words of scorn.

i ' ' . .

P3 c
-2

A FEATHERED MIDGET AND ITS NEST.

Next to the humming-bird, the blue-gray gnat-
catcher, Polioptila ccerulea (L.), is the smallest bird nest-
ing in Indiana. It is a summer resident, arriving
from the south about the tenth of April ; the date of
its arrival in Vigo County for five successive years
having been April 10th, llth, llth, 1'Oth and 10th,
respectively, showing that it can judge the day of the
year almost as well as some beings higher in the scale
of animal life.

The total length of the bird is but 4^ inches, and of
this, 2^ inches is tail. The color is an ashy blue,
brightest on the head; the male with the forehead
and a line over the eye, black.

By the time the gnat-catcher arrives, insects of vari-
ous kinds are plentiful and its season's work of lessen-
ing their ranks at once begins. On April 18, 1897, I
watched for an hour four of these birds in their cease-
less insect-seeking movements. They were in a thorn
tree and I in the angle of an old rail fence, less than
a dozen feet away. Flitting from twig to twig ; turn-
ing their heads now this way, now that ; peering first
on one side of a branch and then on the other, they
kept up their eager quest. Every few moments one
would dart out to one side of the tree and catch an
insect on the wing. - Once, while endeavoring to catch
a rapidly flying beetle, one of the feathered sprites

(75)

76 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

turned a complete somersault in the air. Again,
another flew close to the ground within a foot of my
reclining form, caught a small moth hovering above
the grass, and then darting back to its perch gave the
insect two or three whacks against a branch, either to
kill it or to straighten it so that it could be easily
swallowed, and then gulped it down.

One caught a moth as large as a cabbage butterfly,
and struck it on a limb for several seconds. Four
times the luckless insect got away but was each time
recaptured in short order, and was finally, after
repeated shakings and beatings, swallowed, wings and
all the bird stretching and gaping for some little
time thereafter, much as does a hen which has swal-
lowed a tight fit for her oasophagus. It seems, there-
fore, that if the insect be small it is swallowed as soon
as caught, often before the bird reaches its perch. If
large, the beating on the limb or other resting place
of the bird takes place.

When insect life, in and close about the thorn tree
became, for a time, scarce, one or two of the birds
would fly to the near-by fence and flitting along its
angles would sometimes be rewarded by starting up
an .unlucky insect which would be instantly nabbed.
Again returning to the thorn they would fly to a
papaw, on whose large, velvety, expanding buds
small bees and flies were plentiful; but the thorn
seemed their favorite base of operations, and to it
they invariably returned.

The long tail of the gnat-catcher serves it admira-
bly as a rudder, and in the stiff breeze which was
blowing, was bent now this way, now that, to preserve

A FEATHERED MIDGET AND ITS NEST. 77

the balance of .the owner. The tail of the male bird
is darker than that of the other sex. When in flight
the feathers are spread out, the lateral ones showing
pure white from beneath the blue-gray of the others.

Many other birds were seeking food in the shrubs
and trees close by, but I doubt if any succeeded in
finding as much as did the tiny gnat-catchers. They
were content with small fry, seemingly believing that
u many a mickle makes a muckle." No insect of any
size escaped their gaze. Gnats, mosquitoes, moths and
flies were spied out a dozen, yes fifty, feet away, and
with one straight dive and a click of the bill, the days
of the insect were ended forever. The birds seldom
missed their aim although in one instance one flew
full seventy feet and caught a flying form too small
for me to see at that distance. The insects preyed
upon must have been poor in nutrition or else the
gnat-catchers are veritable gourmands, for while I
watched them each one caught, on an average, three
to the minute, which would be 1,800 for a day of ten
hours. .

The usual alarm note, similar to that of the cat-bird
but much softer, was not heard during the hour that
the birds were observed. At intervals one would
utter a faint chirp or chuckle, as if talking to another.
A low pit-ut-ut-e sound was also occasionally made.
According to Coues, the gnat-catcher spends days in
such incessant activity as that which I noted, "till
other impulses are stimulated with the warmth of the
advancing season, and the sharp accents of the voice
are modulated into sweet and tender song, so low as
to be inaudible at any considerable distance, yet so

78 GLEANINGS FEOM NATURE.

faultlessly executed and so well sustained that the tiny
musician may claim no mean rank in the feathered
choir."

Each pair, after mating, seek some tree with a gray-
ish bark, usually an oak, maple or apple, and finding
a horizontal limb or convenient fork, they begin their
nest, building it principally from hair and the fine
fibres of various plants which they weave very closely
and compactly together. Finally they cover the whole
with a coat of lichens, fastening them on with the
finest of wool or the silk of spiders' webs. This
lichen covering serves the useful purpose of a mask,
rendering the color of the nest almost exactly that of
the bark of the tree on which it is built ; thus hiding
it from the keen eye of the young oologist walking
beneath, or the keener eye of the crow or hawk flying
above. But there is one eye sharp enough to detect
it. For no matter how deep and dark the ravine in
which a nest is hidden away ; no matter what aid of
nature has been called into use in rendering it incon-
spicuous to the view of other animals, necessity seems
to lend a preternatural sharpness to the vision of the
female cow-bird, enabling her to discover, whenever
needed, a safe place of deposit for an" egg, destined to
become at no distant day an orphan which will be a
heavy burden to its foster parents.

The nest of the blue-gray gnat-catcher when com-
pleted, is usually very small, and is cylindrical in form,
not hemispherical, like that of most other birds. One
which contained five eggs, taken on the 2nd of last
May, was but 5| inches in circumference by 2f inches
in length, and weighed only 3.7 grams. But the cow-

A FEATHERED MIDGET AND ITS NEST.

79

uird cares nothing for the size or form of the chosen
asylum for her young. If it is only large enough for
one egg, it is sufficient for her wants, and she forth-
with appropriates it to her use without even a " by
your leave" to the rightful owners. And so, very
often, among four or five delicate little gnat-catchers,
there is found a large chufty youngster, whose demand
for food is incessant, and if supplied in sufficient
quantity, he will in a day or two fill the entire nest,

Fig. 20 Cow -bird.

and smother beneath his greater bulk the lives of the
rightful occupants. It is one of those numerous cases
of a struggle for existence in which the most over-
bearing, ugliest and strongest survives, instead of the
fittest.

However, I suppose that the modern evolutionist
would say, that in this case ugliness and brute strength
are necessary qualities of the " fittest," and that nature
has ordained that the cow -birds shall increase in num-

80 GLEANINGS FliOM NATURE.

bers as the millionaires of to-day grow in wealth, only
at the expense of their weaker brethren.

But one or rather two cow-birds' eggs laid last
season did not hatch, and it was of them that I started
to write. On the 22nd of April, while out for a walk,
I discovered a pair of gnat-catchers building about
thirty feet from the ground, in a maple tree. A week
later, on passing near the spot, I saw that the nest
had assumed massive proportions for one of that
species, and on climbing up to investigate, found that
it contained a single cow-bird's egg. The owners,
however, had not deserted it, for they soon appeared,
circling rapidly around, and uttering their shrill cries
of distress. I left them immediately, merely suppos-
ing that they were young birds, not fully up to the
times in nest building, and therefore had formed a
large, loosely-constructed nest, instead of a small com-
pact one, as is usually the case.

On the 5th of May I again visited the tree, and
found that the birds had abandoned the nest without
laying in it, and were building a new one in the top
of a tall oak a short distance away. Removing the
old nest carefully, I carried it home in order to com-
pare more closely its size with the one taken a few
days before. On measuring it carefully I found its
circumference to be 9^ inches; its length, 4| inches;
and its weight 12 grams, or about 3J times that of the
one first taken. Judge of my surprise when, on ex-
amining it thoroughly, I found that it was a double
nest, or rather a "two story" one. The lower part,
or first floor, was neatly and closely built, and in it
was found a second cow-bird's egg. It had evidently

A FEATHERED MIDGET AND ITS NEST. 81

been laid shortly before the nest had reached the
usual size of such structures, and the builders, on dis-
covering it, had immediately set to work and covered
it entirely over, and then built up the sides of their
house about 2| inches higher. This upper -portion
was very loosely constructed, and had evidently been
built in a hurry to meet the exigencies of the case.
But, alas, for the expectations of our feathered friends !
No sooner had the second floor neared completion
than Mrs. Cow-bird paid them another visit, and left
behind her a reminder in the shape of a new egg.
This was too much for bird endurance. The gnat-
catchers deserted in disgust the home over which they
had spent so many anxious moments, and set to work
to build a new one, in which, let us hope, they reared
their little family unmolested by unwelcome guests.

MID-SUMMER ALONG THE OLD CANAL.

Shady groves, green grass, wild flowers, and the
sweet songs of our native birds in their chosen haunts
who in the hot and dusty days of mid-summer does
not dream of such delights ? True, parks there are,
Collett's and Forest, easy of access both, and each
with its own peculiar charms, but for him who likes a
degree of privacy the crowds which gather there with
their bustle and noise savor too much of those to be
seen daily on the streets of the city.

To many persons, and especially to any one inter-
ested in the objects and doings of nature, there comes
at times an irresistible desire to leave, as far as pos-
sible, all signs of civilization ; to plunge, as it were,
into a wilderness and spend an hour, a day, or a week
in solitude. To a resident of Terre Haute, one of the
best and most accessible places for such a day's out-
ing is along the old W abash and Erie Canal between
Touover's and the Five Mile Pond. True, it is not a
wilderness, but there is many a shady nook and quiet,
secluded spot where one may rest free from interrup-
tion and enjoy the pleasing odors of wild flowers
and the songs of sweet singing birds. On a recent
date, a day hot, sultry, and disagreeable in the im-
pure air of the city, I sought this favorite resort of
mine, and it is of the birds I saw and heard, the flow-
ers I met with, and a few of the thoughts which

(82)

MID-SUMMER ALONG THE OLD CANAL. 83

welled up and were snatched from oblivion by a ready
pencil, that the present article has to do.

By street railway to Collett's Park, and then west-
ward by the gravel pit road, one reaches the canal at
one of its loveliest points near the southern edge of
Conover's Pond. At the gravel- pit I stopped awhile
and saw the puny power of a single man gradually
undoing what the mighty glaciers of the " Great Ice
Age " had done long centuries ago. Pebbles of man-
ifold kinds and sizes were being exposed once more
to the sunlight after being hidden from it for how
many thousand years? The iron pick wielded by the
workman pulled each from among its fellows and dis-
turbed the quiet which had reigned with them since
that former day when, after years of rolling, crush-
ing, onward movement, they had been dropped, by
the melting of a mighty bulk of ice, on the spot
where they had since lain. And now they must be
carried out to do duty for man ; to receive the crush-
ing effects of his wheels of iron, and, perhaps, by
them be crumbled into dust after having successfully
resisted the giant powers of the glaciers of long ago.

Ah, the grandeur of the work which has been done
by nature's forces in the past for the benefit of the
races of the present! The sunlight of the old Car-
boniferous age did a work which now turns the wheels
of industry throughout the world and the glaciers
brought from afar the materials for our roadways and
deposited them where they would be needed, yea, at
the thresholds of our very doors.

Beyond the gravel pit, where in June glistened the
waters of a broad, spreading pond, now gleamed in

84 GLEANINGS FliOM NATURE.

the August sunshine the golden yellow rays of the
bur-marigold. Acre upon acre of them nodded to
me from afar, while at my feet, on the roadside, their
western cousin, the fetid marigold, made known its
presence, not so much by its rays, which are few and
small, as by its disagreeable odor which is its most
significant sign.

Down into the field of marigolds I took my way,
desiring to meet them face to face and learn what they
had to say of the summer's haps and mishaps. As
seen from the brow of the hill all appeared to be mari-
golds, but when among them much of the yellow was
found to be due to another handsome Composite with
a homely name, the sneeze- weed. The land on which
they grow was formerly cultivated but of late years
has been overflowed in spring, the water standing on
the ground each season until June. The owner,
therefore, has turned the land over to these wild
plants, and how they revel in their freedom! What
a struggle among them for existence now that man's
hand is not among their enemies ! Two species of
marigolds, one devoid of ray flowers, the other with
the showy golden-yellow rays; two of smartweed,
one cocklebur, the sneeze-weed, and the fog- fruit, the
last a handsome creeping member of the Verbena
family all growing in this damp rich soil in such
luxuriance as to literally hide the surface of the earth
from view. Which will be successful at the close of
the struggle ? Which, in five, ten, or fifty years, will
be master of the soil ? Perchance a stranger from
some western plain or from one of Europe's vales will
then have come and by its properties of prolific-ness

MID-SVMMER ALONG THE OLD CANAL. 85

and endurance have driven out these native plants
and in the end become the victor of them all.

Much has been said and written about the beauty
of the cardinal flower but not too much, for among
all our wild plants which bloom from August to Oc-
tober it ranks without a peer for brilliancy of color
and gracefulness of form. And so, when amidst the
tall rank grasses near the margin of the pond I came
suddenly upon several of them, their bright red pen-
nons contrasted so vividly with the omnipresent yel-
low of the sneeze-weed and the marigold their purity
and beauty seemed so enhanced by their surroundings
that I could but fall upon my knees and do them iv\ -
erent homage.

Reaching at last the old tow-path of the canal I
threw myself down in a shady bower and gave way to
revery. The time was when the tandem mules by
scores passed daily over the very spot where I now sat.
Then, busy commerce reigned supreme and man, bow-
ing to her imperious demands, carried by the produce
of the world. Woolens and silks, lumber and iron,
coffee and teas, drugs and spices, indeed all the varied
articles needed by a young and growing common-
wealth, went up and down this artificial road of water.

Now, how changed! Commerce no longer, but
nature reigns supreme. The tow-path is covered with
the saplings of elm, ash, red-bud, and sycamore of
fifteen to twenty year's growth. Wild birds of many
species surrounded me on every side. From the top-
most twig of a stately elm a southern mocking-bird
sang for me a delightful medley of mimicry. It
seemed as though a dozen different birds joined in the

86

GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

song; the notes of the cat-bird, jay and thrasher,
chewink, pewee and robin, being each easily recog-
nized as components of the medley.

As the clouds banked up in the west and north a
turtle dove cooed softly above my head. A rain crow
in a neighboring oak uttered his harsh retrain about
the rain that was sure to come. Bob-white, in a stub-
ble field on the hill above, whistled at intervals his

Fig. 21 Southern Mocking-bird. (After Judd.)

summer note. A yellow-breasted chat in a near-by
thorn tree scolded incessantly, as only a chat can scold,
at my intrusion on his domain ; while, blithest of all,
was the song of the indigo-bunting and the merry
warble of the vireos which were heard on every side.
Such sounds as these were uncommon here forty
years ago. The silence of the treeless tow-path was
then seldom broken except by the mule boy's
ga-lang there," or "git up. gol-dern ye."

MID-SUMMER ALONG THE OLD CANAL.

87

But the canal became too slow for our advancing
civilization. The iron horse took the place of the
mule. The engineer in bluejacket and overalls with
smoke begrimed face and oily hands, that of the mule
boy. The ungainly canal boat with its snail-like pace
has been succeeded by the "limited express," which
follows not the winding course of a water pathway,

Fig. 22 Rain Crow or Yellow-billed Cuckoo. (After Beal.)

but dashes onward over hill and mountain, through
valley and plain, on a smooth and even steel track;
while the "gee, whoa-haw" of the canal boy has given
place to the shrill toot of the locomotive.

Many seeds of many weeds and old-fashioned
flowers were scattered along the tow-path in those old
days. !N"ow their descendants are seen in many places,

88 G ' LEANING* rito.M .V.I 7 T /,'/;.

flourishing and blooming more- luxuriantly than it'
cultivated by the hand of man.

Ah, those "old fashioned" flowers, as we call them,
how they bring up the memories of long ago ! Of a
country garden and door-yard where the "bouncing
bets," "butter and eggs," "holly-hocks" and "lark-
spurs" gave forth their beauty and their odors to
entrance our childish mind, and, in the innocence of
childhood, were thought to be the handsomest flowers
that grew. To-day they are still attractive. Not l>y
comparison with other and newer friends among the
flowers which are far more beautiful than they:
but because they ever recall the memories of yore
when the struggle for our existence was borne by
other hands and each day brought its round of
pleasures unshadowed by any thought of the mor-
row.

Other plants there are in abundance along the old
canal which man, in his ignorance, calls "homely
weeds," ne'er seeing their smaller points of uset'uliic-s
or beauty. Among these is the mullein with its long
spikes of yellow flowers and thick velvety leaves.
Those near its base, now withered and dry, last win-
ter formed a beautiful rosette close to the ground and
gave shelter and protection to many an insect both
beneficial and injurious. Along waysides and the
borders of barren fields the mullein has its favorite
home. Ever an evidence of the presence of man, to-
day it finds a congenial lurking place along the path-
way of his former road of water.

Milkweeds; too, flourish therein great profusion and
often reach a height of six feet or more. Their hand-

MID-SUMMER ALONG THE OLD CANAL. 89

some umbels of purple flowers are very attractive but
prove a veritable death trap to many a bee and
unwary insect which visits them in search of honey.
For the pollen of each flower, instead of being in
numerous small grains, as is usual in other plants, is
massed into a few waxy and adhesive bunches ;
and is so arranged that when an insect touches a
certain point the pollen mass moves suddenly up-
ward and clings by a slender stalk to the leg of the
visitor.

If, as sometimes happens, a mass adheres to each of
three or four of its legs the unhappy insect is so
encumbered that it cannot move and so remains a pris-
oner until death. Almost every insect which leaves a
bunch of milkweed flowers carries away one or more
of the waxen masses, and as it goes immediately to
an adjacent bunch, cross fertilization is thus more
readily and surely accomplished than by ordinary
methods of pollen distribution.

Queen of all our creeping or trailing shrubs is the
trumpet creeper with its large pinnate leaves rivaling
the emerald in their shade of green, and its giant
trumpet-like flowers so attractive to humming bird
and humble-bee. Mid-summer is the time, and the
banks of the old canal the place, .to see this creeper in
ail its primitive beauty. There the soil is congenial
and bush and shrub furnish a ready support to which
its aerial rootlets freely cling, thus forming many a
snug retreat. in which the nest of woodland songster
is securely hidden.

Numerous other wild flowers, many of which are
as deserving of praise as those above mentioned, are

90 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

now blooming along the old canal ; for at this season
its banks

" Are gay with golden rod,

There blooming grasses nod,
And sunflowers small and yellow turn ever to the sun;

Quaint darky-heads are there,

And daisies wild and fair,
In everybody's garden each flower's the loveliest one."

Space forbids the detailed mention of others. Go,
my reader, and see them for yourself. The flowers
and birds and bugs are there, and one has but to open
eye and ear to see and hear them. One warning,
however, before you go. The only way to thoroughly
enjoy and be benefited by any outing is to leave all
business cares and responsibilities behind. Think
not for a single moment of the time lost, the dollars
slipping away during the absence from the store, the
office or the shop. For the time being let " by-gones
be by-gones" and" to-comes be to-comes." Yield
only to the pleasures of the present. Dream only of
the duties of the day. Strive to gain rest, knowledge
and inspiration from the objects met with, and enjoy-
ment and benefits, not to be measured by dimes or
dollars, will be yours.

THE IRON-WEED.

Belonging to the great Compositce family of plants
are many of our worst weeds, such as the rag-weed,
horse-weed, white-top, thistle, hurdoek, and last but
not least, that scourge of our blue-grass pastures
the iron-weed. The name, Com-jiositce., is given to the
family from the fact that its members have their
small, yet perfect flowers densely crowded together
into a head, which is enclosed by an involucre or cup
formed of several circles of modified leaves called
"bracts"; this involucre performing the same pro-
tective function for the compound mass that the calyx
or outer green envelope does for the ordinary sepa-
rate flowers of other families. The object of this
massing together of a great number of small flowers
into a large head is that they may more easily and
certainly attract the attention of insects and thus
secure their fertilization. Taken singly, the flowers
are too small and in'conspicuous to attract separate
attention, but by huddling themselves together into a
showy mass they have proven themselves very suc-
cessful plants ; so much so, indeed, that the family is
now the largest known in the vegetable world.

Many of the Compo*it<t\ as the sunflowers and asters,
have the outer flowers of the head enlarged into the
so-called " rays," thus increasing their showiness, whale

(91)

92 <,'/,A',LV/AV,',s FROM NATURE.

tin iso which have no rays, but which have all tho
flowers of the head alike, are said to be " discoid."

Pre-eminent among the latter group, on account of
their size, abundance and hardiness, are the plants
known as iron-weeds two species of which Verno-
Mich., and Vcntunia noveboracensis (L.),

i,,i

Fig. 23 Iron-weed. (After Britton.)

are found in Indiana. However, the two are so nearly
alike that none but the practical botanist can dis-
tinguish them, and hence they will be spoken of in this
connection as one.

In the latter part of August, 1887, I spent a day in
a large woodland pasture in central Indiana. The

THE IRON-WEED. 93

effects of the noted drought of that season were then
visible in all directions. Vegetation every-where was
dying or dead. All nature had put on an unwonted
garb whose prevailing color was brown. The grass
of the meadow had been cured into hay before it was
cut. The leaves of the maple and beech were shriv-
eled and dying. Ko blue lobelias greeted, as in
Augusts gone by, my wandering footsteps. No cardi-
nal flowers waved their red pennons above the sedges
of the swamp, for both swamp and sedges were things
of the past. Only the coarse iron-weed with its cyme
of purple flowers seemed to be flourishing in the
parched, dry soil; holding its own where all else was
perishing: thus proving itself well worthy its name
tou^h and indestructible as iron.

O

In the great contest for supremacy forever going on
among all plants as well as among all animals, the
rag-weed, fox-tail, white-top, etc., go down before the
creeping, smothering power of the Kentucky bluc-
ufi'ass ; but this rough, ungainly weed ne'er gives up
the struggle, and in many places grows as rankly in the
farmer's best lowland pastures as does its cousin, the
greater rag-weed or horse-weed, along the margins of
his cultivated bottom fields. It is seemingly becoming-
more abundant each year, and at present is undoubt-
edly the worst weed with which the stock farmers of
Indiana have to contend. Let us note briefly some of
the characters which render it so tenacious of life and
so diflic'ult of extermination.

Its perennial roots are stout and fibrous, and each
autumn are filled with a sufficient supply of nourish-
ment to give the stalk of the ensuing year a good

94 GLEANINGS FROM NATUliE.

start in life. They radiate in all directions from the
base of the stem, spreading over an area of several
square yards and penetrating the soil in search 1 of
moisture to such a depth as to render abortive any
attempt of man to pull the plant up bodily, roots and
all. In rich soil the stem grows to a height of six to
eight feet and is leafy to the top. The leaves are
linear to lanceolate-oblong in shape, sbarply toothed,
and so innutritions that none of the higher animals,
not even the sheep, will feed upon them.

The only insect enemies of the plant, so far as noticed,
are the black blister beetle which attacks the leaves
when other food is scarce, and a small gall fly whose
larvae feed upon the juices of the flowering branches.

Many species of bumble-bees and butterflies visit its
blossoms in search of nectar and pollen, and thus aid
materially in their fertilization. The flowers in each
head number, on an average, twenty -five, each of
which produces a single seed. On one specimen of
medium size were counted 743 heads, so that 18,575
seeds, each capable of becoming a fully developed
iron-weed, were borne by that plant alone, and the
majority produce as many, or more. To secure a
broad dissemination each of these seeds bears at matu-
rity a tuft of light brown bristles known as the pap-
pus, and by its aid the seed may be wafted .by the wind
miles away from the parent plant. Again, an the
iron-weed grows in greatest luxuriance in the lowland
pastures near small streams, many of the seeds fall
upon the water and are borne onward till they lodge
against some bank or are buried in the sediment
deposited by an overflow; places well suited tor their

THE IRON-WEED. 95

future growth. In these ways the weed is continually
spreading into pastures which heretofore have been
entirely free from it. Taking into consideration that
it is a native plant, and therefore well suited to our
soil ; the character of its roots ; the immense number
of seeds produced ; the modes of their dissemination,
and its almost total exemption from the attacks of
injurious insects, it is no wonder that it is so well
able, not only to hold its own in the struggle for
existence, but also to increase in numbers from year
to year.

As to the methods of extermination, many have
been tried, but. too often, in vain. One which can be
relied upon, but which in many cases is impracticable,
and moreover is fatal to the pasture as well as to the
iron-weed, is cultivation of the soil. Continued stir-
ring among its roots the plant cannot withstand and
so soon succumbs before the onslaught of the plow
and the hoe. Many persons believe that cutting the
weed during the flowering season will destroy it, but
they have their labor for their pains, its roots being
perennial, and the plant being, therefore, not dependent
upon the seed to carry it over the winter. One farmer
assured me that he had mowed the iron- weeds from
his pasture every August for 17 years, and that they
were still as abundant as ever. Another, after mowing
for years, went to work and grubbed them out, but
failed, of course, to remove all the pieces of roots from
the ground and the crop of the next season was not
appreciably diminished. A third has very nearly
solved the problem of their extermination, and it is to
his experience that I wish to call especial attention.

96 GLEANINGS FROM XATUItE.

He has a pasture of 80 acres, and at present it takes
but two hours' mowing, twicS or three times a year,
to rid it of the weed; whereas, just across the way is
a pasture where it holds undisputed sway from May
to August.

This third farmer had studied botany and knew
that all plants have their food assimilated, that is,
fitted for- their use, in their leaves. The crude food
materials, carbon-dioxide, water, and various nitrates
and other salts in a soluble form, are gathered from
the air and the earth by the leaves and roots ; but in
the leaves alone these materials undergo certain chem-
ical changes and are transformed into starch and other
foods which can be used directly by the plant in its
growth. Any excess, not needed for growth, is stored
up in the seeds, buds, under-ground stems and roots,
for the purpose of furnishing the young plant or the
growing shoot sufficient nourishment to live upon
while it is developing leaves which in time will gather
and assimilate a new supply of food.

This farmer, knowing all these facts, reasoned that
if he cut his iron-weeds in May, again in June, and
still a third time in July, the perennial roots would
not be filled with nourishment at the end of the season,
as their extra supply would be needed to start ne\v
shoots each time the old ones were destroyed. More-
over, the leaves would not have time sufficient to pro-
duce much excess of food to be stored up in the roots,
as all their powers would be taxed to furnish food for
the rapid growth necessary for the new shoot to arrive
at maturity before the season was over. He pro-
ceeded to act upon his conclusions with the above

THE IRON-WEED. 97

mentioned result. The perennial roots of the old
weeds weakened and in time died, and the only ones
which he now has to keep down are those which each
year spring from seed grown in other places. The
work of mowing the weeds three or four times a year,
at first a difficult one, gradually became less and his
pasture was in time almost redeemed from the scourge
which had rendered it comparatively worthless. On
the other hand his neighbor, who lets the weeds grow
until August and store up a good supply of nourish-
ment in the roots, not only loses the summer's pasture
but retains the weeds from year to year.

It has been said that all things in nature have their
use that nothing exists but for a purpose. It is the
work of science to discover and make known the use
of nature's objects ; and day by day her secrets are
gradually being exposed, thereby advancing man in
civilization, by enabling him to better control the
ravages of those existing forms which are injurious' to
his interests. If, however, the iron-weed has a use,
other than that shown in the beauty of its flowers, no
one has yet discovered it. But there is time; for of
the thousands of plant forms which exist, we know
the uses of only a few, as corn and hemp, ginseng and
blood-root. Let us hope that some valuable medicinal
or other property will soon be discovered in the iron-
weed and a reason for its existence thereby pointed
out to the doubting humanity of the present.

Meanwhile the naturalist will go on admiring the

beauty of its bloom ; for however coarse and repulsive

the stem and leaves may appear, yet each head, with

its 25 or 30 dainty florets so prettily grouped within

7

98 GLAM.\(,X FIHJM X AIT RE.

their protective cup, reveals a striking beauty to the
true lover of nature. And when in the glamour of an
August morn he stands upon a hillside and views
acre upon acre of the broad purple cymes waving in
the valley beneath, all memories of the plant as a prr-
nicious weed are blotted from his mind by the attrac-
tiveness of the scene before him.

VIII.

WASHINGTON'S MONUMENT, MARENGO CAVE.
(See page 133.)

TEN INDIANA CAVES AND THE ANIMALS
WHICH INHABIT THEM.

Caves are uncanny places. So thinks the average
person, when, for the first time, he stands in the en-
trance of one of these under-ground cavities and
glances along its walls of stone until his gaze reaches
the point where the shadowy rays grow dim and
eternal darkness begins. The chilly current of air
which conies rushing forth, and the solemn silence
of the depths beyond, beget a sensation of awe which
it is difficult to suppress. Only a long experience in
traversing subterranean passages will accustom a per-
son to their surroundings and enable him to enter a
cavern with anything like that degree of indifference
with wliich he passes from daylight into the darkened
rooms of a dwelling.

In the mind of the naturalist who is a tyro in cave
exploration, there is mingled with this feeling of awe
one of great expectancy. He hopes to add some new
and wonderful facts to his store of knowledge. An-
other Avorld is to be opened up before him. He is to
travel through passageways worn in solid stone by
the slow eroding power of water. He is to see in
actual process of formation those pendent stalactites
of creamy, crystalline calcite of which he has often
read. He is to meet for the first time whole races of

(99)

100 ULEAMM;* i-'nov .\ArntE.

animals bereft of the sense of sight. To him, there-
fore, the under-ground journey promises much more
than to the ordinary observer who makes it mainly for
the novelty and the scenery which it affords.

The Sub-carboniferous Limestone area of southern
Indiana contains many sink-holes and caves within
its bounds. This area is, for the most part, embraced
in the counties of Owen, Monroe, Lawrence, Wash-
ington, Orange, Harrison and Crawford. . Going
southward from the center of the State, the sink-
holes first become a prominent feature of the surface
in eastern Owen and western Morgan counties, and
are found in numbers thereafter, in the area mentioned,
until the Ohio River is reached, beyond which, in
Kentucky, they are said to be stilt more numerous, in

many portions of that State averaging
Sink=holes. _,

100 to the square mile. Ihese sink-

holes vary much in size, sometimes being but a rod or
two across, and again embracing several acres in
extent. They are, for the most part, inverted cones
or funnel-shaped cavities, and, where small, usually
have the sides covered with a matted growth of vines
and shrubs. Where larger, trees of varying size are
often found growing from the scanty soil on the sides
or from the bottom of the sink. If one will examine
closely the lowest point of a sink-hole, he will usually
find a crevice or fissure through the limestone, or
sometimes a large opening which, if it be possible to
enter, will be found to lead to an under-ground cavity
a cave.

Both sink-holes and caves not only owe their origin,
but usually their entire formation, to the slow, unceas-

TUN INDIANA CAVES. 101

ing action of rain or carbonated water upon the lime-
stone strata in which they occur.

Carbon dioxide is present everywhere in the atmos-
phere, constituting about three parts in 10,000 of the
volume thereof. The condensed vapors, falling as
rain, unite with a portion of this carbon dioxide, and
form a weak carbonic acid or rain-water. Wherever
this comes in contact with limestone,

Formation ^ ^^^ about a chemical change.
of Sink-holes . &

and Caves. **J this change the limestone is dis-
solved and carried onward with the
seeping or flowing waters.

In the beginning of a sink-hole, the rain-water
seeps through a crevice or joint of the limestone to a
lower stratum, along the surface of which it finds a
passage. By gradually dissolving the stone, this
passage-way becomes increased, until finally a large
cavity is formed immediately below the surface. The
unsupported weight of the latter causes it to grad-
ually sink downward and assume the inverted cone
shape above mentioned. The opening at the bottom
becomes larger, allows more water to enter, and a
more rapid dissolving takes place between the layers.
As soon as the under-ground passage has become large
enough to allow a good-sized stream to enter, the
process of erosion or abrasion is added to that of the
solvent action of the water and the enlargement of the
passage goes on much more rapidly. This gradual
enlargement continues for hundreds, perhaps thou-
sands, of years and results in a cave, varying in size
according to its age, the amount of water flowing
through it and the softness of the rock dissolved or

102 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

eroded. The larger caves possess great vaulted rooms,
deep pits, high water-falls and streams of water ; some
of the streams being large enough to allow the ready
passage of a good-sized boat.

From the above it will be seen that sink-holes and
caves are closely related, the latter, in fact, being
largely dependent upon the funnel shape of the for-
mer to collect the surface waters and direct the flow
thereof. A number of sink-holes often connect by
narrow and tortuous channels with the same under-
ground passage, the latter increasing in size with the
addition of each new branch, until finally it attains
majestic dimensions.

The rooms and passages of limestone caverns are
often, after their formation, partially filled by those
handsome forms of crystalline limestone, called sta-
lactites and stalagmites. These are seldom, if ever,
formed in great numbers, except where the passages
or rooms are close to the surface. The water, charged
with carbonic acid, filters slowly through the soil,
and, entering the narrow crevices and joints between
the layers of stone, seeps downward until it pierces
the roof of an under-ground cavity. Here the slowly

dripping water comes in contact with
Formation of ^ air f th caye The R id .
Stalactites and
Stalagmites, evaporated and the solid particles or

carbonate of lime, dissolved from the
rocks with which it had come in contact, are left be-
hind. Each successive drop thus deposits or leaves a
solid particle, until finally a pendent cylindrical mass,
called a stalactite, and resembling in general form an
icicle, remains suspended from the roof.

TEN INDIANA CAVES.

103

Where the water, thus oozing through the roof of
a cavern, is greater in quantity than can evaporate
before it falls, it drops from the stalactite to the floor
below. There it splashes outward and in time evap-
orates, leaving the solid particles brought down.
These accumulate one on top of another until finally
a cylindrical or cone-shaped mass protrudes upward,
slowly growing in size, each successive layer being
distinct from the preceding. This upward rising
mass is a stalagmite. It is almost always greater in
diameter than the stalactite above it. Often the two,
in time, meet and a column, or stalacto-stalagmite, of
crystalline limestone results. Down the sides of this

Fig. 24 Showing the formation of caverns in limestone.

, Sink-hole ; a, c, d,f, g, rooms in cavern ; 6, natural bridge, formed by the sinking
of the roof of a former very large room ; e, passages, showing numerous stalactites.
(After Shaler.)

the incoming waters slowly flow instead of drop,
evaporating and leaving their solid particles as they
move, thus increasing in size the diameter of the col-
umn. If this action continues long enough, the whole
passage or room may be filled by these deposits and
all semblance of a cave obliterated.

It will thus be seen that water, where it flows freely
and rapidly through massive beds of limestone, dis-
solves and erodes great cavities therein; where it
seeps and oozes through such beds it tends to fill up

104 a LEANINGS FROM NATURE.

the cavities already formed. Where the slowly flow-
ing water has passed through large masses of pure
crystalline limestone, the resulting stalactites and sta-
lagmites are often very clear, almost translucent.
Where sediment and mud is carried down with the
carbonate of lime the resulting formations assume a
dirty brown and unattractive appearance.

Many small caves, and doubtless some large ones,
exist in southern Indiana whose presence is, as yet,
unknown. In searching for them the bottom of a
sink-hole will be the best starting point, the only
thing necessary being to blast or dig out the cavity
commonly found there, until it becomes large enough
to allow a person to enter.

PORTER'S CAVE.

The mouth of Porter's Cave is in the north-eastern
corner of Owen County, very close to the line between
Owen and Morgan counties, and the source of the
stream which flows therefrom is distant about one-
half mile to the north-eastward. The cave is little
more than a narrow, water- worn passage-way through
t],ie rocks, which at this point consist of St. Louis and
Keokuk limestones, the former comprising the roof
and the latter the floor.

The mouth of this cave is the most beautiful of any
visited in the State. It is in the side of a hill at the
head of a narrow canyon or gulch, which has been
eroded by the stream which flows from the cavern.
From the floor of the cave to the bottom of this gulch
the distance is 33 feet, down which the stream flows

TEN INDIANA CA VES. 105

in a perpendicular water-fall. The mouth of the cave
is fifty feet wide and 14| feet high, the roof extending
out in a broadly arched front several feet beyond the
the face of the water-fall below. The rock down which
the water flows is covered with moss, and in the early
morn, when the sunbeams light up the interior of the
cave for a distance of 75 or more feet, and glisten and
sparkle from the mossy background of the falling
water, the scene is a most entrancing one.

The cave can be entered only by a narrow footpath
on the northern side of the mouth. Twenty feet back
from the entrance the roof becomes flat, and for almost
100 feet is comparatively smooth, being composed,
apparently of one immense slab of limestone. In this
distance the width gradually narrows to 30 feet. The
floor is wholly of rock, in some places covered to a
depth of several inches with sediment and loose stones
brought down by the running stream. The latter,
for the first 270 feet, is from four to eight feet wide
and two to five inches deep. It meanders from side
to side of the floor, making the frequent crossing of it
a necessity. Beyond 270 feet it covers the entire
floor to a depth of from six to twenty inches, and far-
ther exploration must be made while wading.

The cave salamander, Spelerpes maculicaudus
(Cope), inhabits this cave, several specimens being
found within 200 feet of the entrance. They were
clinging to the damp walls and showed little fear
when approached. The raccoon, Procyon lotor (L.),
visits the cave in numbers and evidently passes en-
tirely through it, as was evinced by the tracks,
which were very plentiful along the margins of the

106 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

stream. To their visitation is probably due the ab-
sence of crayfish and other crustaceans, no specimens
of which were noted. Four kinds of cave flies were
found on the walls from seventy-five feet on back as
far as exploration was made. A few cave myriapods
dwelt beneath stones within 150 feet of the entrance,
and three kinds of spiders were taken from the floor
or ceiling. One of these, Theridium porteri Banks,
had not before been described. It was found on the
walls or roof of the room at the source of the cave,
and near each specimen was often two and always one
small globular cocoon, suspended by a single thread
from the roof or a projection of the wall. Scattered
threads of webs were also noted, but ran in no definite
direction.

But few stalactites occur in Porter's Cave and they
are dirty brown in color. At a point 250 feet from
the entrance a very large one partially shuts off the
passage-way ; and 645 feet in, a similar one which has
had its lower portion broken off, is found. At 750
feet the roof becomes so low that one has to stoop,
and the width is reduced to 18 feet. From this point
onward both height and width gradually diminish
until at 852 feet it became necessary to crawl through
water, and further exploration was abandoned. It is
claimed that in a dry season persons have passed en-
tirely through the passage, crawling for several hun-
dred feet and then emerging into a low room near the
source. A visit to the latter showed that it was not
a true sink-hole, but a passage-way worn through the
rocks in the side of a low hill. The opening was ten
feet wide and about four feet high and a short distance

TEN INDIANA CAVES. 107

back expanded to twenty-five feet in width, but soon
narrowed again to eight feet, and 150 feet from the
entrance the roof came down close to the water and
stopped farther progress. Except to the naturalist
there is little attraction about Porter's Cave other
than its mouth ; but that alone is well worthy a visit
by all who enjoy the picturesque and beautiful in
nature.

COON CAVE.

This cave is located in the south-western part of
Monroe County, about eight miles from Bloomington,
the county seat. The entrance is a perpendicular pit
or well, forty-six feet deep and about -six feet in diam-
eter. The top of this pit is at the bottom of a rather
shallow sink-hole and the descent into the cave was
made by a rude ladder which had been constructed
of poles by some previous explorer. At the bottom
of the pit one finds himself on the edge of a passage-
way, about ten feet high and nine feet wide, which
extends both to the right and the left. The right hand
passage is but about ninety feet long, the roof and
floor gradually converging and being but a foot or so
apart at that distance. Thirty-five feet from the
entrance is a hole in the floor of this right hand pass-
age, through which one can be lowered by a rope
fifteen feet to the floor of a lower passage, twenty-five
feet long, ten feet high and six feet wide, which ex-
tends nearly parallel to the passage above. By the
side of a smaller opening is a stalactite, seven feet six
inches long and five feet five inches in circumference,

1 08 GLEANINGS FROM NA TV HE.

suspended from the bottom of the upper floor into the
p:iss;igr-way beneath.

The left hand passage comprises the greater portion
of the cave. It varies in height from four to twenty
feet, averaging about eight. But little stooping or
crawling is necessary, but much climbing over rough
stones and up and down steep, rugged slopes has to be
done, the floor in most places being covered with great
masses of fallen rock. Two hundred and forty feet
from the entrance a crevice leads oft' through the
walls on .the right. By crawling along a ledge of
projecting stone for about 100 feet, we reached the
edge of an opening large enough to admit the body
of a man, and by the aid of a sapling, bearing numer-
ous short prongs or remains of limbs, which we found
in place, we descended twenty-eight feet into a lower
passage, about sixty feet long and ten feet wide. Here
we found some shallow pools of water, but no living
forms, and nothing in the way of scenery to reward us
for the labor of getting down and up.

In numerous places the floor of the main passage
has a deep cleft near its center or on one side, varying
in depth from eight to twenty feet, and in width from
a few inches to three feet and more. In several other
places, notably 340 feet from the entrance, are open-
ings or deep pit-holes, similar to those already men-
tioned, leading down into lower passages, the latter,
however, of small extent. The main passage begins
to narrow about 575 feet from the entrance, and 100
feet farther on is but three feet wide. At this point
a branch turns to the left and leads downward into a
lower room of small size. A short distance beyond

TEN INDIANA CAVES.

109

this branch the main cave ends in a small crescent-
shaped room, in the farther end of which, 750 feet
from the entrance, is a deep crevice in the floor, filled
with water of exceeding clearness. This pool of
water was four feet wide and appeared but three or
four feet deep, but actual
measurement showed it to
be nine feet, three inches
in depth. The length of
the pool could not be de-
termined, but it extended
down a branch passage to
the right, covering all the
floor thereof as far as one
could see.
For two or
three feet
ab o ve the
water-line
the walls of
this room are
covered with
s m a 1 1 but.
most beauti-
ful crystals
of c al cite,

which reflected the light of our candles in a most
brilliant manner. Numerous small stalactites of the
clearest crystal stud the walls and project from the
crevices of the roof, while the floor is largely com-
posed of calcite, derived from the overflow and subse-
quent evaporation of the water from the pool. This

1. Right-hand passage.

2. Left-hand passage.

3. Cleft in floor.

4. Lower passage.

5. Blue pool.

orCoon CAVE.

Monroe County, Ind.

Fig. 25.

110 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

room is, in truth, a fairy grotto, decked with jewels
resplendent, and a view of it will well repay for all
the time and toil necessary to step within its bounds.

Animal life was represented by but few forms in
Coon Cave. Several bats were found hanging, head
downward, from the roof, but all were of the single
common species, the little brown bat, Vespertilio subu-
latus Say. In winter they are found in the cave by
thousands, suspended from the roof and projections
of the walls, their bodies remaining in a state of com-
parative torpor for months in succession.

Several specimens of a cave-inhabiting beetle,
Quedius spelceus Horn, were found beneath stones
within 300 feet of the entrance. This is a twilight
form, the adults of which are not wholly blind, and
usually lives in the dim light near the entrances of
caves, feeding upon the excrement or decaying re-
mains of such animals as frequent the place. A few
flies were found on the walls and near them two kinds
of spiders were taken showing that here, as else-
where, the fly is followed by the spider, with the ever
ready invitation "to walk into his parlor."

By far the most common form of life in this, as in

many other of the caves visited, was a small whitish

insect, Degeeria cavernarum Pack., about one-eighth

of an inch in length and belonging

to the order Tkusanura. Like most
Spring-tail.

other cave-inhabiting insects, it occurs

only in comparatively moist places, often swarming
by thousands beneath or on the surface of damp
rocks, especially where organic matter, such as the
remains of lunches, drippings of candles, decaying

TEN INDIANA CA VES. Ill

wood, etc., is scattered. It has the power of leaping
several inches by means of a long, spring-like ap-
pendage bent under the hind body, which on being
released throws the owner high in the air. The motion
thus produced may be likened to that effected by a
spring-board. These little acrobats, however, carry
their spring-boards with them wherever they go and
hence have come to be- known by the common name
of " spring-tails." The one under consideration doubt-
less forms much of the food of the small spiders, har-
vestmen an$ beetles which frequent the floors of the
caves.

ELLEK'S CAVE.

The entrance of this cave is at the bottom of a sink-
hole, 100 feet in diameter, which is located in a woods
about five miles south-west of Bloornington, Monroe
County. The cave itself is a double floored one, the
upper and older floor being dry, and the more recent
and lower floor having a stream of water flowing
through the greater part of its length.

The entrance, about six feet wide and six and a
half high, descends gradually for about fifty feet, and
there expands into a room twenty feet wide, thirty
feet long and twenty-five feet high, which serves as a
vestibule or starting point for both floors, the entrance
to the upper one being in the wall, about eight feet
above the floor of the common entrance.

Two passages lead from this vestibule to the lower
floor, one to the right through a narrow winding cleft
in the rock, and then down to the bed of a stream,
along which, by crawling, one can advance until he

112

(iLEAM.\<;s FROM N ATI' UK.

comes out into the second passage, fifty feet from its
starting point. From here onward for 210 feet the
lower passage leads through a water-worn crevice
from two to four feet wide and three to fifteen feet
high, the stream sometimes covering
its bottom, and again running in a
channel cut beneath one or the other
of the sides.

In this stream were found two spe-
cies of small crustaceans. One was a

or Cum CAYE.

Monroe County, Inc.

Fig. 26.

shrimp, Crangonyx gracilis Smith, three-fourths of an
inch or less in length, which is often found in wells
and springs in central Indiana, and had probably been

TEN INDIANA CAVES.

113

A Cave
Crustacean.

washed into this and other caves in which it was.found
by the heavy rains of the season. The other and
smaller species, Ccecidotcea stygia Packard, is a true
subterranean form and was the most common crusta-
cean noted in Indiana caves. It was usually found
singly, swimming or crawling slowly through the
water of small cave streams, and was
easily picked up with a pair of forceps.
Its body is flattish like that of a sow-
bug, but is oblong and more slender,
reaching a length of one-third of an
inch. These crustaceans probably fur-
nish much of the food for the blind fish
and crayfish which often inhabit the
same streams with them.

Three hundred feet from the cave en-
trance the lower passage ends abruptly
in a room fifty feet high arid ten feet
wide, the sides converging in an angle to
form the roof. On the left, about twelve Fig. 27 deddo-
feet from the floor, is an arched opening, <<2w i -
and through it comes a roaring sound of falling
water. With difficulty one climbs a slippery bank
and, passing through this opening, finds a most mag-
nificent scene for so small a cave a great cylindrical
pit or shaft, twenty feet in diameter and sixty feet
high, down which, on the farther side, falls a stream of
water. A large bowl-shaped cavity, twelve feet deep,
has been worn by the falling water in the limestone
below the level at which the pit is entered. Descend-
ing into this, it was found that the stream flows out
through a passage to the left too low for exploration.

114 a LEA NINGS FROM NA TUBE.

Returning to the vestibule we climbed to the en-
trance of the upper floor, and, passing a short distance
within it, found two passages diverging. One to the
left, but forty feet in length, ends blindly against a
bank of hard clay. Here had been, in days of yore,
a bear-wallow and the marks of bruin's claws were
numerous and plainly visible in the clayey walls. The
right hand passage proved a long and tortuous one
and had a number of short branches leading from it,
one of which showed plainly the evidence of former
inhabitancy by bears. This main upper passage is in
most places seven to ten feet high, with a width of
five to seven feet. Two hundred feet from the vesti-
bule it became necessary to crawl for about thirty
feet through a space one foot high by two feet wide,
when we emerged into a circular room thirty feet in
diameter by three and a half high, the floor of which
contains a vast amount of bat guano. Beyond this
the passage forks into three branches, each of which
was explored as far as possible, the longer one reach-
ing 400 feet from the vestibule before its small si/c
barred further progress. The floor of this upper cave
was covered in many places with a yellow ochery
clay. In this, in several places, were found some
handsome acicular crystals of selenite. Xo water
was found on the upper floor, except at the farther
end of the galleries, where it stood in shallow pools.
These were evidently quite near the outer surface, as
the shells of several land snails were found near by
the water.

TEN INDIANA CAVES. 115

SHILOH CAVE.

The entrance to this cave is at the bottom of a sink-
hole a few rods north of Shiloh Church and about
seven miles north-west of Bedford, Lawrence County.
Except after a heavy rain, no water flows through the
entrance, but a stream runs the entire length of the
main cave, entering it from beneath a great mass of
fallen rock which has partially closed the entrance,
and meandering from side to side on the floor in its
onward course. On entering, one descends rapidly
for about twenty feet, and then reaches the general
level of the main passage. This passage is from fif-
teen to twenty -five feet high and about the same
width for 2,000 feet, which was as far as it was
explored, the water becoming too deep to wade
beyond that point. It far exceeded a.ny of the previ-
ous caves visited in the number and size of its stalac-
tites and stalagmites, many of which were of exceed-
ing clearness. In the words of Prof. John Collett,
who visited the cave in 1873: "The lofty sides are
draped and festooned with stalactites, sometimes, hang-
ing in graceful folds, or ribbed with giant corruga-
tions. Above, the roof and overhanging sides bristle
with quill-like tubes, fragile as glass, each tipped with
a drop of water which sparkles in the lamplight like
a crystal jewel."

Three hundred feet from the entrance three jets of
water pour down from the right wall of the cave and
add to the size of the stream along its floor. These
falls vary in height from seven to ten feet, and to-

116 QLEAKlXdH riiOM NATURE.

gether they produce a roaring sound which is echoed
i'ar along the main passage-way.

From this point onward the walls are dripping
more or less and are fringed with small stalactites.
About 900 feet from the entrance are two large sta-
lagmites, one of which, named by Collett "The Image
of the Manitou," has been broken. Originally it
must have been six feet in height and eighteen inches
in diameter.

In a pool of the stream in the main passage were
secured two of the small aquatic insects known as
"water boatmen." They belong to the order Hemip-
tera, and to the genus Corisa, and were the only "true
bugs" taken in Indiana caves. They were probably
accidental visitors, since their compound eyes were
fairly well developed.

In the same pool were numerous specimens of the
blind crayfish, Gambaruspellncidus (Tellkampf). This
curious crustacean was found in a number of other In-
diana caves, and probably inhabits every one in which
there is a permanent water supply. Careful exami-
nation of cave bed streams ought,

also, to show its occasional occurrence
Crayfish.

outside ot its subterranean homes.
During heavy rain-falls the Water rushes with great
violence through the caves and doubtless often car-
ries the crayfish out to the rivers. Here its light
color, soft shell and defenseless condition would prove
such a heavy handicap that in the struggle for exist-
ence its life would be of very short duration. It is
usually found in shallow pools with muddy bottom
rather than in rapidly flowing water. It moves

TEN INDIANA CAVES.

117

slowly with its antenna spread out before it, and
gently waving to and fro, feeling, as it were, every
inch of its way. It is
wholly non-sensitive to
light, and seemingly so
to sound, but when dis-
turbed by any move-
ment in the water it is
extremely active ; much
more so than ordinary
terrestrial forms, leap-
ing upward and back-
ward with quick, pow-
erful, downward blows
of its abdomen.

Several branches
leave the main passage
of Shiloh Cave, but all
but one are short in
length. The one ex-
ception turns to the
right about 1,500 feet
from the entrance and
extends in a south-
westerly direction. At
first it is a high, narrow fissure with the jutting
walls bearing many stalactites. A stream of water
covers 'the entire floor and from fa~r in the distance
comes a murmuring sound caused by a succession of
water-falls, four in number and in size small, which
occur at short intervals along the passage. Wading
through pools, clinging to corners of jutting ledges,

Fig. 28 Blind Crayfish.
(Three-fourths natural size.)

118 OLE A NIXGS FROM XATl 'HE.

climbing over slippery, perpendicular banks we made
our way until finally the passage began to rise, and
the limestone gave way to a dark shale and this in
time to a light colored clay. We were 900 feet from
the fork and thought we were nearing the surface and
would soon find our way above ground, when all at
once our lights went out and we staggered backward
through utter darkness, escaping, as if by a miracle,
the clutches of the deadly choke-damp which lurks for
unwary explorers amidst the deepest recesses of this
cave.

Beyond the point where the right branch leaves it,
the main passage continues in a southerly direction
and was explored until the back water from the dam
at the mouth of the cave became too deep to wade.
While preparing to leave the cave a heavy thunder
shower came up and the w r ater soon poured in torrents
through the sink-hole and adding its volume to that
of the enlarged stream within the cave, quickly cov-
ered the entire floor to a depth of nearly two feet.

DONNEHUE'S CAVE.

The mouth of this cave is located near the foot of
one of the bluffs of White River, 500 yards distant
from that stream and two and one-half miles south-
west of Bedford, Lawrence County. From the mouth
of the cave a small stream finds its way, the source of
which is in a sink-hole three-fourths of a mile distant
in a north-easterly direction. The stream is greatly
enlarged after a heavy rain and by its erosive action
the cave is constantly but slowly increasing in size.

TK\ INDIANA CAVES. 119

Entering the cave, one finds himself in a commodious
room, 10 feet high and 48 feet in width, the floor of
rock, covered in places to a depth of two or three feet
with alluvial drift. Fifty feet back this narrows to
12 feet in width and a short side passage puts off to
the left, in which a number of the cave salamanders,
Spelerpes maculicaudas (Cope), were found. This
handsome batrachian was taken in a number of the
caves visited and doubtless occurs in all Indiana
caverns which contain streams of water or damp
rooms near the entrance. In life it is a

bright orange-yellow with very numer-
Salamander. J

ous black spots, which, on the back
and sides, vary much in size and shape. The body is
quite slender and reaches a total length of 6 inches.

It is usually found clinging to the walls w r ithin 150
feet of the entrance of the caves, especially in crevices
and crannies just above. flowing streams or pools, but
never in the water. While its eyes appear as large
and normal as those of allied -terrestrial species, its
sense of sight seems to be limited. It remains quiet
when discovered and shows little fear until touched,
when it scrambles deeper into a crevice or beneath
some fallen rock on the floor. Even when a candle
is put within a few inches of its head it does not move
until it feels the heat. Its food probably consists of
such insects and small crustaceans as are found along
the margins of the streams.

Back 180 feet from the mouth, the main passage of
the cave is 6| feet high by 6 feet broad, the stream on
the floor being about three feet in width and three
inches deep. Farther on this stream deepens and

120 <;LEAMM;X FKOM NATURE.

several pools were found in which the water was two
or more feet in depth. At a distance of 325 feet the
passage forks, and from the right-hand branch came
so strong a current of air that it was impossible to use

candles and lanterns
had to be substi-
tuted. The change
in lights made, the
right hand passage
was found to be a
narrow, winding one,
about 150 feet in
length, and to lead
back into the main
passage about 100
feet farther from the
mouth t h a n t h e
point from which it
started. All these
branches are through
the solid rock and
are only wa-
ter channels

AAfOF DOMHUttC/iyE. three or four
!- feot hi^ aild

a bout as
wide.

Beyond 425 feet, several side branches were found
to contain water too deep to wade, or to soon become
too low for further progress ; in fact, the rock is more
honeycombed with small passages than in any cave
visited. The main passage, however, at about 500

IX.

MOUTH OF SHAWNKE CAVE.

TE N INDIA NA CA 1 ",s. 121

feet from the mouth, enlarges to a height of -40 feet
and a width of eight to ten. This portion was, for
the most part, dry, the stream having disappeared in
one of the low channels already mentioned. In some
places two floors are found ; in others the greater part
of the upper floor has fallen in, leaving a portion in
the form of a natural bridge spanning the passage
from side to side. At a point 950 feet from the mouth
the upper passage ends against a perpendicular wall
of rock, from near the top of which is a passage on-
ward, but too high from where we stood to admit of
entrance. The lower passage was followed to about
the same point, where it became two feet high and
three feet wide and almost filled with water, thus bar-
ring further progress. But few stalactites were found
in the cave, and they were mostly of small size and
unattractive appearance.

SHAWNEE CAVE.

A motig Indiana caverns the mouth of Shawnee Cave
ranks next to that of Porter's in picturesque beauty.
Indeed, by some it is classed as more attractive. The
mouth of the cave is found at the head of a deep
gorge worn through the limestone by a good sized
si ream which flows from the cave and down the gorge
to the broader valley beyond. Many centuries ago
the cave extended the full length of the gorge, and
the waters of the stream flowed directly from its
mouth into the valley. The roof of the under-ground
chnnnel finally became so thin that it collapsed, the
gorge was then started and, as the centuries went by,

\-l-l (iLEAMMi* I-'HOM NATURE

<iTe\v in length, the cave ever becoming shorter by the
continued falling of the roof. Both gorge and cave
are located about three miles south-east of Mitchell,
Lawrence county, in a region noted for the beauty of
its scenery.

Three passages open directly into the mouth of the
cave. The right hand passage has the level of its
floor about five feet above that of the entrance, while
the opening on the left is 12 feet above the bed of the
stream and very difficult to enter without a ladder.
The middle passage extends straight back from the
common vestibule or main entry. The latter is
twenty-five feet long, twenty-one feet high and
eighteen feet wide, but at its farther end is reduced
to the narrow middle passage between great masses
of limestone. The water in this passage is waist deep
and explorations must be made by wading or in a
light canoe. One hundred feet within is a magnifi-
cent cascade, where the stream rushes and leaps down
a narrow passage with such violence that the noise is
plainly heard at the entrance.

The right hand passage, for the first 100 feet, is
about ten feet high by fifteen wide, with a clay bot-
tom and a roof on a level with that of the vestibule.
It then expands into a large room, 230 feet long and
forty feet wide, which lies east and west at right
angles to the entering passage. This narrows at the
west end to twenty feet and at one point the outer air
flows in through a small opening in the roof. From
near the smaller end of the room a narrow passage
starts oft' to the southward and can be traveled for
200 feet, when it becomes too narrow for further

TEN INDIANA CAVES. 123

advance. Along this passage a small stream flows,
disappearing through a hole in the floor near the
entrance to the larger room. Other than this, both
right and left passages leaving the main entry are dry.

The passage at the left of the main entrance to the
cave is about 150 feet long by twenty broad, and con-
tains no points of especial interest. No stalactites
worthy of notice are found in this cave. The name
"Shawnee" has been given it from its being near the
center of the former hunting grounds of the Shawnee
Indians. It was doubtless used by them as a place of
shelter since many relics have, from time to time,
been found about its mouth. In the early settlement
of this region the nitrous earth on the floor of the
two dry passages was used in the making of saltpetre ;
and the stream flowing from the main cave was after-
wards dammed and utilized for a number of years in
driving a woolen, grist and saw mill.

This stream is one of the largest issuing from an
Indiana cave. It flows for a long distance under-
ground and in several places south of Shawnee Cave
the roof of its subterranean passage has caved in,
causing deep ravines at the bottom of which the
stream meanders, until it reaches a point where the
roof of stone remains intact, and the entrance of a
iu'\v cave begins, into which the waters disappear, as

" Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man,
Down to a sunless sea."

In this stream the blind fish, Amblyopsis spelceus De-
Kay, occurs in numbers, though never more than two

The Blind Fish.

1^4 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

and seldom but one are seen at a time. When full
grown this fish reaches a length of four and a half
inches. The body is colorless, the
scales very small and the young are
born alive. No external traces of eyes are to be found
in adult specimens, but the loss of sight is in part
compensated by numerous touch papillae, arranged
in ridges on the sides and front of the head.

These eyeless fishes move very slowly through the
water, usually near the surface and close to the edges
of the deeper pools which they inhabit. They are
wholly non-sensitive to light, but extremely sensitive

Fig. 30 Blind Fish.
(Three-fourths natural size.)

to touch or any jar or motion of the water. They
were readily caught by putting a dip-net very gently
into the water a foot or two from them and then
making a quick forward and upward scoop. If in
still, deep water, they seem to glide, or rather float,
on and on, propelled by a scarcely perceptible motion
of the caudal fin. One must think of them as ever
surrounded by an intense darkness, the prey of every
fish-loving animal, as mink or coon, that can swim
and see in the darkness, the white skin of the fish
readily revealing its presence if the least gleam of
light reflects from its sides.

TEN INDIANA CAVES. . 125

Concerning the sense of hearing as developed in
this species Prof. E. D. Cope has written as follows:
" If these Amblyopses be not alarmed they come to
the surface to feed and swim in full sight, like white,
aquatic ghosts. They are then easily taken by the
hand or net, if perfect silence is preserved, for they are
unconscious of the presence of an enemy except
through the medium of hearing. This sense is, how-
ever, evidently very acute, for at any noise they turn
suddenly downward and hide beneath stowes, etc., on
the bottom."

My observations do not bear out the above state-
ment. I talked and even hallooed close to the iish
without causing them to take alarm, but the least
movement of the water frightened them, and they
darted rapidly away, usually at right angles to the
course they were pursuing. The sense of touch, rather
than that of hearing, is, in my opinion, the one which
has been intensified by long residence in the dark and
silent recesses of the caves. In a number of instances,
as the dip-net was raised quickly upward, the fish
leaped several inches above the surface of the water
in a vain endeavor to escape.

In one place where a stream flows out of a cave and
through a deep ravine for about 2<>() yards, and then
enters another cave, the blind fish were captured in
both caverns within 100 feet of the openings, and
there is little doubt but that they make their way
through the open stream from one to the other. The
caves and under-ground streams of southern Indiana
doubtless form a more or less complete system of sub-
terranean drainage', and through this the blind. fish

126 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

finds its way wherever the water is deep enougli to
allow it passage.

In captivity this fish eats very little. Dr. Sloan, of
New Albany, who kept specimens in an aquarium for
20 months, Rays : "They have taken no food, except
what has grown up in the water and on the sand in
their tank. . . . Some of them would strike
eagerly at any small body thrown in the water near
them, rarely missed it, and in a very short time ejected
it from thtfir mouths with considerable force. I often
tried to feed them with bits of meat and fresh worms,
but they retained nothing. On one occasion I missed
a small one and found his tail projecting from the
mouth of a larger one; I captured and released him/'

In nature they doubtless feed upon one another and
upon the blind crayfish and smaller crustaceans which
inhabit with them the streams of caves. A number
of those captured were " nosing," as they slowly swam,
the rocks along the sides of the pools, and it is possi-
ble that they gather some organic matter from the
slime on these rocks.

CIJFTY CAVKS.

The mouths of the two Clifty caves are about 200
yards apart, and are located at the head of a deep and
narrow valley about three miles north of Campbells-
burg, Washington County. Clifty Creek has its
source in the streams which emerge from the caves,
and flows in a north-westerly direction about four
miles to White River, into which it empties. Its val-
ley,, especially the upper half, is noted for the wild

TEN INDIANA CA VES. 127

and rugged scenery and the vicinity of the caves is a
noted resort for pleasure seekers.

The caves are designated, respectively, by the terms
"wet" and "dry," the former being the smaller of the
two. Across the mouth of the Wet Cave a dam has
been built, and the water emerges from it with suffi-
cient force to turn the machinery of a distillery and
grist mill ; both abandoned, however, since their owner
died, a few years ago. The mouth of the cave is a
perfect archway in the solid limestone, fourteen feet
wideband eleven feet from roof to bottom. The water
behind the dam was two and a half feet in depth, and
deepened rapidly as one went back, and the cave was
explorable only by means of a boat, which was not at
my command.

Dr. John Sloan of. New Albany, Indiana, at one
time went up the stream in the Wet Cave for about
200 yards on a raft of timber, at which point rapids
were encountered, over which it was impossible to
lift the raft, and the water above being too deep to
wade, he was obliged to return.

The Dry Cave was explored for a distance of 2,650
feet, beyond which it was impossible to proceed. The
entrance is larger than that of the Wet Cave, being
eighteen feet high and twenty feet wide. Back 100
feet it narrows to thirteen feet in width, and, tifty feet
farther, to about eight feet, the water at this point cov-
ering the entire floor to a depth of six inches. For
the first 500 feet the main passage is very crooked,
but beyond that point it is comparatively straight and
extends in a general south-westerly direction. Like
Porter's Cave, \\, is a mere water-worn passage, with

128 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

no large rooms, few stalactites, and, in general, may
be said to be monotonous. The stream on the floor
winds from side to side of the eave, thus making the
frequent crossing of it necessary.

In a shallow pool of water, 1,200 feet from the en-
trance of the cave, a fine specimen of the blind cray-
fish was secured, and about fifty feet distant, in a
deeper pool of the main stream, numbers of a com-
mon species of an above-ground crayfish, Cambarus
bartonii (Fab.), were found. Whether these seeing
forms pass their entire lives in the total darkness of
the cave or whether they make an occasional visit to
the outside is a question as yet unsolved. The same
species was found in several other caves and seems to
have a liking for clear, cold water and underground
resorts. If these habits be continued a " new species"
of blind crayfish will, in time, result; for there is lit-
tle doubt but that the ordinary eyeless form has
evolved from a seeing one which, ages ago, found its
way, voluntarily or otherwise, into the under-ground
streams. Finding there the struggle for existence less
deadly than among its numerous kin of the surface
waters it slowly adapted itself to its surroundings.
Having no need for its eyes they, in time, became
aborted, for nature always rids her objects of every
organ which, from a change of environment or habit,
becomes to them useless.

Several specimens of above-ground beetles were
taken from the margin of the stream in this cave, but
they had probably been washed in by the heavy rains
of the week before. The most interesting insect
secured was a cave harvestman, Scotolemon flavescens

TEN INDIANA CAVES. 129

(Cope), which is closely allied to the common "daddy
long-legs." It is, however, much smaller, and pale
yellow or reddish in color. It fre-
quents the surface of damp rocks
and probably feeds upon the little
cave "spring-tail" which was every-
where abundant.

Several short side branches di-
verge from the main one, and at a
distance of 1,300 feet from the
mouth a large branch turns off to
the right, which was explored for
about 400 feet, but not to the end.
The main passage continues to the v\g. 31 Cave Harvest-
left, and at 1,800 feet a large rock man - (Much enlarged.)
30x15 feet was found which had fallen from the roof
and partially blocked the way. Two thousand feet
from the entrance the passage widens into a room
100 feet across and four feet in height, which contains
much fallen rock, but nothing else of especial interest.
Beyond this the cave narrows again and varies from
twenty to thirty feet in width as far as explored.

MAKENGO CAVE.

This cave, which next to Wyandotte is the most
noted in Indiana, is located a short distance north-east
of Marengo, Crawford County. It has been known
only since 1883, and the owners of the land on which
the entrance is located were wise enough to prevent
the ruthless destruction of the stalagmites and stalac-
tites which form the main beauty of the cavern. Some
9

130 GLEAX/.\<;s r HUM NATURE.

children playing about a sink-hole in September of
that year, noted an opening which had been formed
near its bottom by a recent falling of earth and rock,
and venturing in, found the room now known as
"Grand Entrance Hall." Afraid to go farther, they
made known their discovery to other persons, and in
a few weeks the entire cave had been explored. A
building was soon afterward erected above the mouth,
and stairways built, so that entrance into the cavern
could be easily and safely made.

Thousands of visitors have since passed through
this cave, and no one who is at all in sympathy \vith
nature can come forth from its corridors and passages
without feeling fully repaid for his peep into one of
her under-ground chemical workshops. There, the
only materials necessary are water and limestone.
Given these, and time unlimited, the varied character
and wonderful beauty of the products possible can
only be realized by those who have spent a few hours
in a cavern like Marengo.

Descending the stairways, after having been pro-
vided with a lantern and guide, the visitor finds himself
fifty feet below the surface in the large vestibule known
as the Grand Entrance Hall. This is a room fifty
feet wide and twenty to thirty feet in height, the fioor
of dry earth, and with two passages diverging, one
ascending to the right and leading through the Short
Route and Crystal Palace,- the other descending to the
left and leading through the Long Route.

Taking first the latter, we found the main passage
to be 12 feet high and about 20 feet wide. Scattered
at intervals along its walls and roof were many stalac-

TEN INDIANA CAVES. 131

tites, some in groups, others singly, and all possessed
of fanciful names given them by former visitors or by
the proprietors and guides of the cave. One hundred
feet from the foot of the entrance is a slab of lime-
stone, fallen from the roof, whose dimensions are
18x8x4 feet. This is known as " Fallen Rock," and
beyond it a short distance is, on the right, a passage-
way known as the "Cut Oft','' which leads to the
Crystal Palace. Continuing, the main passage widens
to 30 or more feet, and for a distance of 80 feet is
known as "Statue Hall." In this are some note-
worthy formations, the prettiest of which is "Mt.
Vesuvius," a large, rounded stalagmite. Above it is
a group of slender stalactites, down which a stream
of water trickles and gives a muddy character to the
floor for a distance of several hundred feet.

Crawling over the damp rocks were several speci-
mens of a small, light yellow spider, Nesticus carteri
Em., which were quickly consigned to a vial of alco-
hol. It belongs to the group of "wandering spiders"
whose members spin no webs, and its food is doubtless
the little cave "spring-tail" which occurred by thou-
sands in the same damp area. Here, also, were taken
the first specimens of a blind myriapod, afterwards
found in great numbers in Wyandotte Cave.

Congress Hall succeeds Statue Hall and contains
along the edge of the ceiling some handsome forma-
tions, known as the "Giant's Mitten," "Mammoth
Fen," etc. From this hall the bed of an old stream
leads to the right beneath the massive limestone walls.
"Mammoth Hall," with a width of sixty-five feet and
a length of about 300, comes next in order, and con-

132

f . L /; A KINGS FROM XA TV RE.

1. Grand Entrance

Hall.

2. Cut Off.
Congress Hull.
Mammoth Hall.
Elk*' Hall.
Music Hall.

Cave Hill Cemetery.
Creeping Av<-.
.1 unction Room.
Fairy Palace.
Prison Cell.
Prison Bare.
Washington Ave.
Lovers' Retreat.

tains the " Elephant's Head,'' "Folded Lambrequin,"
"Bridal Curtains" and other fantastic formations of

carbonate of lime,
wrought in dark-
ness in the ages
past.

Beyond Mam-
moth Hall the
passage divides
and passes around
a mass of unerod-
ed limestone. The
branch on the
right rises ten or
fifteen feet above
the level of the
main floor and en-
larges into " Elks'
Hall," a room 190
feet long and
twenty feet high.
Beyond this hall
the two branches
soon unite and at
a distance of 1,000
feet from the en-
trance enlarge in-
to "Music Hall,"
a large room con-
taining a raised platform of rock, known as the
" Band Stand." A short distance farther on, a branch
goes oft' to the left which has been explored only by

15. Nameless Pass.

16. Crystal Palace.

17. Crystal Palace Gal-

lery.

18. Pillared Palace.

19. Western Ave.

Entrance

AJBDW CAYZ.

Crawford County, Ind.

1. CORNER OF CAVE HILL CEMETERY, MARENGO CAVE.

2. TOWER OF BABEL, MARENGO CAVE.

TEN INDIANA CAVES. 133

guides, the ceiling being low and the scenery pos-
sessing no especial interest.

Fourteen hundred feet from the entrance the main
passage again forks, the right branch containing " Cave
Hill Cemetery/' Herein are found some beautiful
stalagmites and pillars, one of which, called " Wash-
ington's Monument," is among the most striking
objects of the cave. Its height is four feet, eleven
inches, and a foot above the base it is two feet in cir-
cumference. Composed of the clearest of crystalline
limestone, it stands with its white surface gleaming
in the dim lantern light, inspiring the visitor with a
feeling of wonder as to how an object of such beauty
and purity could have been formed in these depths of
Cimmerian darkness. Another monument of greater
size, but less imposing on account of its yellowish-
brown color, is the "Tower of Babel" ten feet high
and six feet, eight inches in circumference. It stands
among numerous smaller stalagmites, a short distance
beyond Washington's Monument.

Beyond the tower of Babel the roof of the rigrht

" O

branch lowers, and it is necessary to crawl through a
narrow opening and then creep or stoop for quite a
distance through "Creeping Avenue," passing mean-
while among many pillars, stalagmites and stalactites,
varied in form and beautiful to look upon. Emerging
from this avenue we stood erect in the "Junction
Room" 2,000 feet from the cave entrance, and at the
point where the branch which turned to the left at
the entrance to the Cave Hill Cemetery meets the
right branch through which we have traveled. Beyond
this point the cave narrows and the roof comes down

134 f;LKA\i\<;x FUOM

within a foot of the floor. By creeping, crawling and
twisting from side to side we managed to get up a
slippery hill and through a small opening into the
" Fairy Palace," a place visited hy few on account of
the difficulty of the way. Here we found the farthest
explored part of the cave, and in the small room, per-
haps ten feet wide and five feet high, were thousands
of formations, which reflected the light in a most bril-
liant manner.

Retracing the way to the Junction Room, we turned
to the right into the " Prison Cell," a large room which
contains some of the principal features of the cave.
Here is the "Leaning Tower of Pisa," a stalagmite six
feet high, with the top inclined several inches beyond
the base; "Solomon's Temple," a group of slender
pillars six and a half feet in height and arranged in a
circle; "Administration Building," a pillar made up
of a series of circular layers of crystalline limestone,
piled one on top of another so as to cause the whole
to resemble a Japanese pagoda; "Bunker Hill Monu-
ment," formed on a fallen slab, story on story as the
preceding, besides many others as handsome, yet too
numerous to mention. We passed from the Prison
Cell, between the "Prison Bars" a series of slender
columns six feet long and six to eight inches in cir-
cumference into "Washington Avenue," the left
branch of the main passage at the fork near Cave Hill
Cemetery. This avenue is 450 feet in length, from
twenty -five to forty in width, and for about one-third
of its length the ceiling is so low as to require a stoop-
ing position in passing through. On the way are
many small stalagmites grouped in a straggling

TEN INDIANA CAVES. 135

fashion, " Grant's Army" and " Coxey's Army" being
the names given to two of the largest assemblages.
The floor of Washington Avenue is dry and for the
most part* composed of earth, with here and there a
slab of fallen rock. Near the fork it descends for
about fifteen feet and we enter once more the main
passage, already described, and make our way along
it to the "Cut Oft'" leading to Crystal Palace, passing
on our left the "Lover's Retreat," a winding cleft
which extends about seventy-five feet back into the
solid limestone.

The Crystal Palace is the crowning glory of Ma-
rengo Cave. It is a small alcove or side room, ninety
feet long, fifteen feet wide and about twenty-five feet
in height. At the south end is a perpendicular wall
along which is a drapery or vast sheet of stalactites,
and from a projecting shelf are many slender stalag-
mites, the whole so grouped as to resemble a giant
pipe-organ. The side walls are studded with hun-
dreds of small and large formations, while from the
roof hang, pendent, myriads of slender stalactites of
the clearest crystal, which reflect with sparkling bril-
liancy the rays of the calcium or magnesium flash
lights. By ascending a stairway fifteen feet, one finds
himself on a balcony in the very midst of these form-
ations and can pass back into "Crystal Palace Gal-
lery," a low passage, about 150 feet in length, the
floor of which resembles a relief map, being thrown
up in many places in narrow corrugations and ridges,
with here and there a pool of limpid water occupy-
ing the irregular and shallow depressions.

Descending the stairway and passing to the left,

136 fi LEANINGS F1>M VATURE.

we .Miter the "Western Avenue or Short Route, tlie
principal feature of which is the "Pillared Palace."
where giant pillars, stalactites and stalagmites are so
numerous that it is with difficulty the visitor winds
his way between and around them. This portion of
the cave extends but about 150 feet in a westerly di-
rection, and into it has been dug an artificial opening
from the surface, forty feet above. Retracing our
steps for the last time, we turn to the left at^ the
mouth of the Pillared Palace and pass through
another bower of beauty, the " Queen's Palace," a
small room whose walls are composed wholly of pil-
lars and stalagmites. Beyond this we pass the " Dia-
mond Dome," the largest stalagmite of the cave, thir-
ty-one feet in diameter and reaching from ceiling to
floor, and emerge into Grand Entrance Hall, which
was our starting point.

In the crevices of the walls of this hall the cave
salamander has its abiding places and among the de-
bris which has fallen from the roof a number of white-
footed mice, Calomys americanus (Kerr), have taken
up their home. They have been noted

A Cave eyer 8 j nce he cave wag discovered, but
Inhabiting

Mouse. seem to keep close to the entrance,

through which, however, no light
passes. In the winter season they are very destructive
to sweet potatoes and pumpkins stored in the cave, and
at other seasons evidently subsist upon the tallow drip-
pings and other refuse matter left by the visitors.
They differ much in, appearance from above-ground
examples of the same species, having larger external
ears, longer whiskers and more protruding eyes.

TEN INDIANA CAVES. 137

Such changes have been brought about by their life
in the darkness, and are but the beginning of a series
of adaptations to their changed surroundings which
will eventually result in a "new species of blind
mice," provided such a life be continued for any
length of time.

Careful measurements showed the total length of
Marengo Cave, including the side branches, to be
3,850 feet. Within this distance of less than three-
fourths of a mile are probably crowded more
beautiful formations of crystalline limestone than in
any other known cave of similar size in the United
States.

Lacking the length, the lofty vaulted rooms and the
grand scenery of Wyandotte, Marengo far excels that
cave in the abundance and beauty of its stalactites,
stalagmites and other like formations. To those who
wish but a glimpse of under-ground life, we most
heartily commend it, believing that a visit of a few
hours will repay all who take an interest in the mys-
terious and beautiful in nature.

WYANDOTTE CAVE.

Next to Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, Wyandotte is
tin. 1 largest cavern in the United States. Its enormous
under-ground halls and vaulted domes, its gigantic
fluted columns and vast piles of fallen rock, are unex-
celled in any other American cavern. Its situation
among the rugged hills which form the breaks of the
Ohio River, in a country as yet primitive in character,
where game is plentiful, and fishing in the clear waters

138 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

of Blue River exceptionally good, make it a most
inviting spot for a summer's outing.

Around the hotel, situated close to the cave on a
commanding eminence in a natural wooded grove,
grow numerous forms of plant life which are stran-
gers to central and northern Indiana, while in the cave
dwell many sightless animals whose habits of life are
yet unknown ; so that the botanist and zoologist may
add to the study of the cavern itself the pursuit of
their favorite subjects.

The first published account of Wyandotte Cave was
probably in 1833, in "Flint's Geography of the Mis-
sissippi Valley," as follows: "Like Alabama and
Tennessee, Indiana abounds with subterranean won-
ders in the form of caves. Many have been explored
and some of them have been described. One of them
is extensively known in the western country by the
name of ' the Epsom Salts Cave.'

"It is not very far from Jeftersonville. When first
discovered the salts were represented as being some
inches deep on the floor. The interior of this cave
possesses the usual domes and chambers of extensive
caverns, through which the visitant gropes a distance
of a mile and a quarter to the 'pillar,' which is a splen-
did column, fifteen feet in diameter and twenty -five
feet high, regularly reeded from top to bottom. Near
it are smaller pillars of the same appearance.

" The salt in question is sometimes found in lumps
varying from one to ten pounds. The floors and
walls are covered with it in the form of a frost, which,
when removed, is speedily reproduced. The earth
yields from four to twenty pounds to the bushel, and

TEN INDIANA CAVES. 139

the product is said to be of the best quality. Nitre is
also found in the cave in great abundance, and sul-
phate of lime or plaster of paris."

The mouth, of Wyandotte Cave is located in Jen-
nings Township, Crawford County. The nearest rail-
way, the "Air Line," passes through Milltown, which
is nine miles distant from the cave, over an exceed-
ingly rough road. From Corydon, the county seat
of Harrison County, the distance is about twelve miles,
and the road a fair one for southern Indiana. This
route is a most pleasant drive in the summer or autumn,
and leads one down the romantic valley of Blue River.
For several miles the road follows along the limestone
bluff on the right side of that stream, in many places
having been excavated in the side of the bluff" forty or
more feet from the water below. From Leavenworth
on the Ohio River, the nearest point for steamers, the
distance is five miles.

According to measurements made by Prof. Collett,
the Cave Hotel is 220 feet above Blue River, across
whose narrow valley "Greenbrier Mountain, with
sharp, conical peak and steep faces, belted with
massive rings of rock and variegated with evergreen
cedars, affords a scene of quiet, stately beauty." From
the hotel a pathway leads down a gradual slope to the
mouth of the cave 100 yards away.

That portion of Wyandotte known previous to 1850
is at present called the "Old Cave," and will be first
described, since one must traverse a portion of it in
order to reach the entry of the "New Cave," discov-
ered in the year mentioned.

7.

s.

9.
10.
II.
12.
13.
14.
16,
If..
17.

is.
19.

211.
L'l.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
"27.
28.
29.

30.
31.
32.
33.

34.
35.

36.
37.
3S.
39.

4(1.
41.
42.

43.
44.

45.
4C>.

Salti'i'tre Hoppers.

Arrhcil Entrance.

l'';meiiil Hall.

Columbian 'Arch.

Falling Rork

Wyandotte Chief.

Entrance to New
Cave and Fat
Man's Misery.

Banditti Hall.

.lac 'oil's Ladder.

Pigmy Dome.

Debris Dome.

Continued Arch.

The Canopy.

Lucifer's Gorge.

Natural Bridge.

The Stoop.

Temple of Honor

Secret Entrance to
Rothrock's Straits.
Odd Fellows' Hall.
Phantom Ship,

"Millie."

Pharaoh 's Stair way.
Conrad's Hall.
The Cliffs.
The Pit.

Falls of Minnehaha.
Dead Fall.
Cyclops' Chasm.
Dead Sea.
Screw Hole.
Polished Bowlders-
Indian.

Senate Chamber.
Chair of State.
Pluto Ravine.
Stallasso Monu-
ment.

Stillo Mountain.
Pillar of the Consti-
tution.

Heman'e Bower.
Hine Cliffs.
Lonigan's Pass.
Diamond Laby-
rinth.

Eiumonecy Arcade.
Rode Rock No. 1.
Queen Mab's Re-
treat.

Snow Banks.
Zoe Grotto.
Ice House.
Frosted Rock.

; v.

Qultr Poor

Fig. 33 Map of Wyandotte Cave.

TEN INDIANA CAVES.

141

17. Siiiiwy Cliffs. %.

4S. Indian Footprints. !I7.

I'.i. Beauty's Bower. '>.

fXl. Queen Mab's Marble Garden. W.

.Vi. Fiiiry Palace. loo.

52. Wyandotte Potatoes Pebbles. 101.

53. The Arm Chair. 102.

54. Lovers' Retreat. 118.

55. Ewing Hall. 104.

56. Frost King's Palace. Hf>.

57. Bowlder Flints. 106.

58. Milroy's Temple. 1"7.

59. Penelope Grotto. IOH.
fill. Tlysses' Straits. 1O9.

61. Rothrock's Cathedral. H".

62. Coons' Council Chamber. 111.

63. The Rotunda. 112.

64. Rugged Mountain. 113.

65. Cut Off. 114.
6fi. Counterfeiters' Trench. 115.
67. Starry Hall. llfi.
6s. Wyandotte Grand Council Chamber. 117.
69. The Card Table. 118.
7. Hall of Representatives, ll'.i.

71. Hill of Science. llli.

72. The Alligator. 121.

73. The Mound. 122.

74. The Throne. 123.

75. General Scott's Reception Room. 124.

76. Ante-room. li").

77. Hovey Point. 126.

78. The Pit and Sieve. 127.

79. The Amphitheater. !-'>.

80. Rocky Hill. 12!.

81. Muddy Fork. 130.

82. Lost Rivulet. 131.

83. Frozen Cascade* or Curtains. 132.

84. The Hippopotamus. 133.
ff>. Fairy Grotto. 134.

86. Neptune's Retreat. 135.

87. Hermit Cell. 136.

88. The Sepulchre. 137.

89. Purgatory. 138.

90. Calliope Bower. 139.

91. Palace of the Genii. 140.

92. Pillared Palace. 141.
1C. Creeping Avenue. 142.
94. .Junction Room. 143.
'>. Drawing Room. 144.

Dining Room.

Delta Island.

Sandy Plain, :H) feet long.

Hill of Difficulty.

Monument Mountain.

Sulphur Spring.

The Anger Hole.

Lilliputian Hall.

Spade's Grotto.

Slippery Hill.

Hall of Ruins.

White Cloud Room.

Sentinel Office.

JMshop's Rostrum or Pulpit.

Journal Office.

Calypso's, or Island No. 2.

Crerulean Vault.

Rugged Pass.

Chapel.

Vestry.

Josephine's Arcade.

The Parsonage.

The Junction.

The Lone Chamber or Ball Room.

Dry Branch.

Island of Confusion, or No. 3.

Grand View Island, or No. 4.

Sandy Branch and Air Torrent.

Newhall's Forum.

Grosvenor's Avenue.

Gothic Chapel.

The Gallery.

Indian Footprints.

The Deu.

Ship in the Stocks.

Crawfish Spring.

Maggie's Grotto.

Joseph's Pit.

Lama's Bower.

Marble Rivulet.

Marble Hall.

Miller's Reach.

Andrew's Retreat.

Rode Rock No. 2.

The Devil's Elbow.

The Pit.

Lanirsdale's ISasin.

\Vash. liothrock's Island.

Bourbonoi.

142 GLtiAM\(M FROM NATURE.

THE OLD CAVE.

The entrance of Wyandotte is twenty feet wide and
six teet high ; the roof arched, the floor of earth, with
here and there a fallen slab of rock. For perhaps 100
feet we descended gradually and entered a spacious
corridor known as " Faneuil Hall," forty feet wide,
eighteen feet high, and probably 180 feet in length.
Across the farther end of this hall a stone wall has
been built and a doorway constructed, and through
this one passes into " Twilight Hall,'' where the last
rays of daylight disappear and the King of Darkness
begins his reign. Here we stopped a few moments to
accustom our eyesight to the changed conditions.
Passing onward we soon entered the "Columbian
Arch," an almost perfect semi-cylindrical tunnel,
seventy-five feet in length. From this we emerged
into "Washington Avenue," a grand passage-way, 275
feet long, thirty feet wide and forty feet high. Near
the farther end is "Falling Hock," a huge mass of
limestone, resting partly on edge, 33xl6xl4J feet in
dimensions, and weighing, therefore, about 535 tons.
Ages ago it fell from the roof and assumed its present
position ; one which earthquakes have failed to
change, but which appears dangerous to the average
visitor who passes beneath its towering form.

Within Washington Avenue a peculiar pungent
odor became noticeable, and inquiry as to its source
brought information from the guide that in 1884 cer-
tain gentlemen from Evansville attempted to corner
the onion industry of southern Indiana by buying up
all the onion sets produced that season. Wishing a

MOUTH OF WYANDOTTE CAVE.

TEN INDIANA CA VES. 148

suitable storehouse they rented room in the cave and
deposited therein several hundred barrels of the sets.
But, however suitable the pure cave air is for the
preservation of sweet potatoes and other mild edibles,
it failed to act in like manner on the onions, and they
Soon began to sprout and grow. All were lost and
were allowed to remain in the cave, their shriveled
skins and pungent odor still reminding the visitor
thereto of an attempted financial "corner," which
failed to materialize. Another odor, more strong and
disagreeable, especially in autumn and winter, was
noted at this point or before. It was that of the
exhalations of thousands of bats which make the cave
a winter abiding place. Their faint squealing notes
and flutter of wings were the only sounds that greeted
us from the depths of darkness beyond.

Passing under the falling rock and up a short decliv-
ity, we found ourselves in "Banditti Hall," fifty feet
wide, forty to fifty high, and partially filled with rug-
ged fallen stone, grouped in great masses on either
side of the pathway. Stepping from slab to slab, we
picked our way, until finally the guide called a halt,
and lighting some "red fire," directed our attention to
two outline figures formed on the ceiling above, by
the scaling of the dark exterior from the whiter lime-
stone. To one the name " Wyandotte Chief" was
given many years ago by a correspondent of the Cin-
cinnati Times, who wrote of it as follows : " We look
up and see above the Falling Hock a mass of white
limestone resembling the front of an Indian chief,
with crown shorn to the scalp lock and fanciful ear-
rings dangling from the ears. There he hangs, seem-

144 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

ingly suspended, like Mahomet's coffin, keeping his
dark and weary vigils, waiting to gloat over the death
of some daring pale-face, crushed by the Falling K< >rk
below." Upon the other tigure, which resembles the
facial characters sometimes seen in Punch and Judy
shows, the fanciful name of "Betsy and I are Out"
has been bestowed.

Banditti Hall is the closing portion of the common
entry to both the Old and New caves. At its farther
end the opening leading to the Old Cave is seen on
the left, some twenty feet above the level of the floor,
while about the same distance below, on our right,
opens the doorway into "Fat Man's Misery," and the
New Cave beyond.

Climbing a steep ascent into the Old Cave, we found
ourselves at first in a passage-way ten feet wide and
seven feet high, with the floor of ochery clay a num-
ber of feet thick, the walls of oolitic limestone, and
the roof with here and there the more soluble portions
dissolved until it resembles a coarse-celled honeycomb
in appearance. Passing onward beneath " Pigmy
Dome," we entered the "Continued Arch," a long
passage-way, eight feet in height, ten feet wide, and
with an occasional crystal of selenite glistening on the
dry and dusty floor. From this we passed into the
"Canopy," a circular room, twenty feet in diameter
and ten feet high, with a smooth white roof. This is
succeeded by another long, low passage, where stoop-
ing is necessary for some distance, and then we passed
down through a narrow passage into "Lucifer's
Gorge," forty feet deep, with precipitous, jagged rocks
overhanging the sides. Up we climbed once more.

TEN INDIANA CAVES. 145

from rock to rock, and, reaching another opening,
crawled over a natural bridge, and on hands and knees
crept for seventy-five feet through the "Grecian
Bend." Finally we emerged into "Odd Fellows'
Hall," one of the grand under-ground rooms for which
W vaudotte is noted This we measured carefully and
found to be ninety feet wide, 210 feet long and sixty-
five feet or more in height. The massive ledges of
limestone forming the walls project toAvard the top,
each layer a few inches farther than the one below, so
that the ceiling is oval in shape, much narrower than
the fioor and appears to be hollowed out by succes-
sive fallings of rock. Great masses of fallen rock
partially fill the room, and tens of thousands of the
little brown bat, Vespertilio subulatxs feay, hung head
downward from the ceiling. We extinguished the
lights, and their low squealing notes became instantly
hushed ; the only sound which broke the death-like
stillness being a continuous faint and lisping noise,
like the ripple of water over a distant water-fall, due
probably to the rustle of the wings of such as were
flying through the Plutonian darkness.

The bats choose as a resting place that part of the
roof where small portions have begun to flake, giving
a certain degree of roughness, or small crevices, to
which they can cling. They cannot attach their claws

to a smooth surface, hence from large
Cave Bats. '

portions ot the root of a room they

may be entirely absent. In places where they find a
suitable foothold they congregate so closely together
that it is difficult to pull one from the midst of a
group. On a low ceiling in Salt Petre Cave, near
10

GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

Wyandotte, an area one foot wide by one and seven-
tenths feet long was measured, and the bats thereon
were pulled off, one by one, and counted. Their
number was 401 on the one and seven-tenths square
feet. When pulled or knocked loose from the roof
they fell to the floor, where they lay motionless for
some time, and then began to flutter and crawl about,
finally becoming lively enough to fly and find a new
resting place.

Fig. 34 -Little Brown Bat.

Their squealing note was uttered only as we passed
along, the light from the candles evidently disturbing
those which had not yet entered their winter torpid
state. Two other sounds they seem capable of making,
one, the cry of a single bat in rapid, broken notes,
resembling the song of a robin in a minor key; the
other, a noise somewhat similar to the short, quick
alarm note made by the common ground squirrel,
Tamias striatus (L.), when it espies some intruder on
its domain.

They show a remarkable sense of direction in their
flight, passing, in a darkness so profound that man

TEN INDIANA CAVE*. 147

can see absolutely nothing, swiftly and unerringly
through openings but a foot or two in diameter,
without hitting the walls. The direction of flight
seems to be, however, one of instinct or training
rather than of reason, since when a door w;is first put
'in an opening in the cave through which they laid
been w r ont to pass in numbers, they Hew blindly
against it and were killed by thousands.

At Wyandotte, as elsewhere, the hats pass in num-
bers into the deepest recesses, being found abundantly
in the "Senate Chamber" and sparingly near "Craw-
fish Spring," two miles or more from the entrance.

As is well known, bats are crepuscular in habit.
They spend the day in darkness and the night in
search of food. Such habits have, in the course of
ages, rendered their eyes exceedingly small, tljeir ex-
ternal ears large, their flight, like that of the owls and
whip-poor-wills, noiseless. Several questions of inter-
est, which to my mind are unanswered, arise regarding
the cave life of these animals:

First. In a cave where the temperature is 54 F.
the year round, how do they determine when warm
weather has begun out of doors?

Kcrmul. How do those which spend the days of
the summer season in the cave determine the approach
of dusk ?

Tl'inl. How do they distinguish, in the intense
darkness, those portions of the roof which are smooth
from those which are rough enough to furnish a foot-
hold?

On the right side and about fifty feet from the
entrance to Odd Fellows' Hall is a pit-hole or per-

148 GLEANINGS F HO M * ATI' RE.

pendicular cleft in the floor, through which an a
sixed man can just squeeze himself. This.is the open-
ing into "Rothrock's Straits," a deep and narrow
passage-way which connects with "Rothrock's Ca-
thedral," a room of the New Cave.

From Odd Fellows' Hall we climbed by a rugged
stairway and passed onward through narrow passages,
and beside pits and chasms the way ever seeming to
grow rougher the hills and valleys following each
other in rapid succession. In one place we descended
fully fifty feet and from the bottom noted on our right
the perpendicular walls of rock known as the " Cliffs."
Over these in ages past a drapery of stalactites has
been thrown in graceful folds, resembling a cascade
which in mid-air has been congealed into' stone, and
is most worthy of its name "The Falls of Minne-
haha." Below these overhanging cliff's is the gaping
mouth of the "Pit" a deep cavity leading by one
drop fifty feet into space as yet unexplored. From
the foot of the Cliffs we made our way with difficulty
up "Uncle Sam's Stairway" and then under the "Dead
Fall," a large flat rock which lies at an incline across
the passage, the upper edge supported by less than
three inches of a thin rock projecting from the wall.
From this point onward, for a distance of perhaps
1,000 feet, the way is a succession of steep climbs and
steeper descents, varied by an occasional crawl on
hands and knees and a final twisting of the body
into shapes innumerable in order to effect the pass-
age of the " Screw Hole," which forms the portal
to the "Senate Chamber," the final room of the Old
Cave.

1. TOBACCO SHEDS, MARENGO CAVE.

2. PILLAR OF THE CONSTITUTION, WYANDOTTE CAVE.
The opening at base of Pillar is a part of the Ancient Quarry.

TEN INDIANA CA VES. 149

- Collett described the Senate Chamber "as a vast
elliptical amphitheater, estimated at six hundred feet
long and one hundred and fifty feet wide. The sides
are built up with massive ledges of limestone, thin-
ning and converging upward into a monster dome,
with a flat elliptical crown fifty by twenty feet in
diameter. The center of this vast room is piled up
with a great mass of rocky debris fallen from the
immense cavity above."

Other than the dimensions, this was an excellent
description. Exact measurements show the room to
be 144 feet long and 56 feet in width. The mass of
fallen rock in the center, known as "Capitol Hill," is
about thirty-two feet in height and is crowned to a
depth of several feet with an immense mass of stalag-
mitic material. From the center of this mass rises
from the top of the hill the grandest natural wonder
in Wyandotte Cave the great fluted column of crys-
talline carbonate of lime, known as the "Pillar of
the Constitution." Perfectly cylindrical, seventy-one
feet in circumference, and extending from the crest
of the hill to the ceiling above, this enormous column
exceeds in magnitude any similar formation in any
known cave on earth. From the point where it first
became visible in the dim light of our candles it
appeared "like an immense spectral iceberg looming
up before us, looking as if it had just arisen from the
foaming waves of the ocean on a dark and foggy
night." The entire column is composed of "satin-
spar" a rather soft, white, striated mineral, the
purest form of carbonate of lime. From one side,
near the base of the column, has been removed by the

150 G LEADINGS FROM NATURE.

Indians, or some prehistoric race in ages past, hun-
dreds of cubic feet of this material.

Up to 1877 it was generally supposed that the
whites had made this excavation. In 1864 J. P. Stelle
wrote of it as follows : "For fifty years the people of
a civilized aye, a Christian nation, have visited the
Senate Chamber, not as admirers of the great God
who has reared for himself such a magnificent temple,
but as vandals. All the most interesting formations
within their reach have been broken up or carried
away; and even the great pillar itself has not been
exempt from their attack, for an excavation has been
made in its side which must have required days of
hard labor, and from which large quantities of the
purest white stone have been taken and scattered
over the floor of the cave."

Prof. Collett, in 1877, found three glacial bowlders
in the Senate Chamber, which, "from indications,
such as wear and bruises, had been used as hammers
or grinding pestles, and proved conclusively that that
part of the Old Cave had been visited, if not occupied,
by men of the Stone Age."

Rev. H. C. Hovey, in 1882, first claimed that the
excavation had been made by Indians "more than
1,000 years ago," and that the "round or oblong bowl-
ders" of granite rock were the implements with
which the ancient quarrymen wrought, being used
" in breaking from this alabaster quarry blocks of a
portable size and convenient shape."

H. C. Mercer, in 1894, visited the quarry and men-
tions the finding, by Mr. TJothrock, of a pick made of
stag's antlers and states that "the proof of Indian

TEN INDIANA CAVES. 151

work at the spot was satisfactory and of a character
never noticed and studied before the discovery of the
site."

These constituted the recorded observations of the

quarry up to the time of my first visit in July, 1896.

It was then noted that the quantity of spalls arid

flakes of the material thrown over the side of the

hill was very great, and^that no digging had been

done to discover the nature or thickness of the debris

on top of the hill, nor to more fully

An Ancient if th statement that the work

Cave Quarry. { , UTJ - *

had been done by Indians. My time

being limited, no excavations were made at this
visit, but on a subsequent one, in November, 1896, I
secured, the services of a workman and shovels and
again visited the place. Careful measurements
showed that above the debris a space eight feet long,
six feet high and five feet wide, or 240 cubic feet, had
been quarried from the column. The top of the hill
on which the column rests was found to be covered
with an area 14 feet square of the debris, and through
this, close alongside the base of the column, a trench
was dug, eight feet long, three feet wide, and to the
solid stalagmite beneath. It averaged four feet three
inches in depth i. e., at that point the debris or
pieces of quarried material and other matter was
that, thick. A perpendicular section through this
trench disclosed the following layers:

1. Ashes in a compressed, damp bed, with occasional

flakes of stalagmite intermingled 14.0 inches.

2. Charcoal 1.0 inch.

3. Ashes, with f'akes of rock , . , 3.5 inches.

!">.! (;LKA\I.\<;S nioM x ATI 'in-:.

4. Rectangular flakes of stalagmite or satin-spar,

varying in size from an inch or two square to
pieces 8x3x1 inches, or even larger, with occa-
sional traces of charcoal intermingled .......... 28.0 inches.

5. Charcoal ...... ................................. 0.5 inch.

6. Flakes of stalagmite ............................. 4.0 inches.

Six quartzose bowlders, weighing from three to six
pounds, were found scattered through the mass which
we threw aside, two of them within a few inches of
the bottom. They were worn with use, and on the sur-
face of two or three of them were depressions which
appeared to be finger marks due to excessive use.
At any rate, they must have enabled the workman to
retain the rock hammer more firmly in his grasp.

The remains of horns of five different deer, which
mostly crumbled when disinterred, and numerous
small bones, also too much decayed to identify to
what animals they formerly belonged, were found at
intervals in the trench.

By digging in a few other spots it was found that
an area 14x14 feet, on top of this hill and at the base
of the column, was covered to an average depth of
three and one-half feet with the particles of stone
quarried. In addition to this, no less than twenty
tons of the material had been pitched over the hill.
Much, if not all, of this additional space was formerly
occupied by stalagmitic material, the base of the col-
umn flaring outward on this side, and when the space
already mentioned as having been quarried above the
debris is taken into consideration, there is little doubt
but that more than 1,000 cubic feet of the stalagmite
has been broken loose.

TEN INDIANA CAVES. 158

In October, 1898, I visited the quarry for the third
time, and dug in the debris for several hours. Eight
additional bowlders of quartzose and many pieces of
horn, crumbling bone and baked clay, were brought
to light. Five wedge-shaped pieces of rock, one of
flint, the others of limestone, were also found among
the flakes of stalagmite. These had irregular notches
in their edges showing that they, together with the
horns found in the debris, were most probably used as
wedges to pry loose the pieces of satin-spar after the
latter had been cracked by the stone hammers. Such
horns and wedges of stone have been found in a
number of caves in Europe, where, ages ago, they
were put to similar use.

A large quantity of wood must have been necessary
to have produced such a bed of ashes as was found.
The carrying this in over the seventeen rough hills
and through narrow passes, through which one has
to crawl and where more than a candle is a burden to
the ordinary visitor, must have entailed a vast amount
of labor and leads one to suppose that the material
sought was used for a purpose deemed especially val-
uable. What that purpose was I have not yet been
able to ascertain, there being few objects made of
stalagmite among the "Indian relics" in any collec-
tion or museum in the United States.

Down the sides of the Pillar of the Constitution
tiny streams of water are constantly trickling, and,
spreading out upon the top of the hill, quickly evap-
orate, leaving behind their solid particles to make
thicker the crust of so-called " alabaster" which covers
the rough edges of the mass of rocks. This action

U>4 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

will continue for thousands of years, until ultimately,
by continued accretions, this hill will reach the ceiling
and enclose entirely the wondrous pillar with its
liutings and carvings, wrought in ages past by that
magic graver water.

Over the damp stalagmite forming the crest of
Capitol Hill numerous specimens of the cave myriapod,
Pseudotremia eavernarum Cope, were rapidly crawling.
Here also the little red harvestman, first noted in
Clifty Cave, was found in numbers, and is probably
utilized by the myriapod as one of its articles of food.

Back of the Pillar of the Constitution is the ' Chair
of State" another handsome mass of stalactites and
stalagmites that extends from the top of the hill to
the ceiling. Behind this on the right is the entrance
to "Pluto's Ravine," the roof of which is studded with
representations of sprigs, twining tendrils and branch-
ing corals, all wrought from calcite and "alabaster"
in most exquisite fashion by the hand of nature.
Many are broken, being the remains of those removed
before 1850, when the cave and its contents were es-
teemed but lightly by the owner, and no care was
taken to prevent its despoliation by visiting vandals.
Beyond this point one can penetrate but a few yards
in the Old Cave, the roof and floor coming close to-
gether, and barring further progress.

Much diversity of opinion prevails as to the distance
between the Pillar of the Constitution and the mouth
of the cave. Stelle, in his work published in 1864,
says it is "just three miles." Both Collett and Hovey
place it at two miles. Flint, in 1833, before it was
thought necessary to exaggerate the distance, gives it

TEN INDIANA CAVES. lof>

as one and a quarter miles, and this is probably not
far from correct. The rough character of the passage,
the many steep ascents and corresponding declivities,
added to the oppressive silence, cause persons unac-
customed to subterranean travels to think the distance
much greater than it really is.

THE NEW CAVE.

In 1850 a party from Fredonia, Indiana, observed
that a current of air was passing from beneath a large,
loosely placed, flat rock at the inner end of Banditti
Hall, about 1,000 feet from the entrance of the cave.
They succeeded in prying the rock loose and found a
narrow descending passage, since known as the " Scut-
tle" or "Fat Man's Misery." This they entered and
passed through, and for the first time white men stood
in the "New Cave." The ceiling of the first room
entered, which is called "Bat's Lodge," was then black
with smoke.- Fragments of charred hickory bark
strewed the floor, while moccasin tracks, now entirely
obliterated, were plentiful. Hundreds of poles of
sassafras, papaw, lin, and other soft woods were
found both in this room and in that
portion of Rothrock's Straits nearest
the New Cave. None of these poles
had been cut with a sharp instrument, but all had
been twisted from the parent stem or hacked there-
from with dull stone axes. On the left side of the
room was found a sloping bank of earth and sand in
which bark, sticks, leaves and bunches of twisted
grass were plentiful. Digging into this bank in

150 GLE. \ M.\(;S FROM NATURE.

November, 1896, numerous pieces of bunch grass, the
inside hark of I'm and poplar fives and short steins of
weeds were found. These were, probably, remnants
of a store of fuel resorted to when the torches waned
or a relight was needed.

Bat's Lodge is a low room 70 feet long, 21 feet wide
and five to six feet high, the walls and roof begrimed
with the smoke of ancient fires, and the floor a mix-
ture of dry, dusty earth, with here and there a piece
of fallen limestone. From the mouth of the cave to
this point is a gradual descension, and barometer
measurements showed the floor to be 150 feet lower
than the Cave Hotel. Beyond this room the roof so
closely approaches the floor that, in 1856, "Counter-
feiter's Trench" was dug through the earthy deposit
which had silted up the way. Through this trench
we easily passed and found, ourselves at the foot of
"Rugged Mountain/' a mass of broken pieces of lime-
stone, thirty feet or more in height, which fills the
greater part of a large room. Climbing this moun-
tain we reached the "Rotunda" or upper portion of
the room, 52 feet one way by 90 feet the other, with
the roof 16 feet above the top of the mass of rock.
Around the edges of* the room are numerous deposits
of fine, white, needle-shaped crystals of epsom salts
(magnesium sulphate) encrusting the rocks and spar-
kling like frostwork in the light of our candles. They
seem to exude from a porous matrix of magnesian
limestone, and if not disturbed often attain a length
of three to five inches. Passing down Rugged Moun-
tain on the farther side we entered " Hanover Chapel,"
where numerous artificial piles of heavy stones, dedi-

TEN INDIANA CA VUS. 1 o 7

catod to some Greek fraternity or college class, stand
as monuments to the muscular ability of visiting
students in days gone by.

A short distance beyond this point we climbed
again and entered the "Coon's Council Chamber," a
circular room 35 feet in diameter. Here two bands
of blackish flint or jasper about four inches in thick-
ness, first noted in descending Fat Man's Misery, are
very prominent around the walls. A few yards far-
ther on we came to "Delta Island," an uneroded mass
of limestone, 50 feet long by 20 feet wide, on either
side of which one may enter that part of the cave
called the "South Branch," which forms the greater
portion of the Short Route.

Between Banditti Hall and Delta Island a small
Tineid moth, ' Blabophani'S fcrrugindla Hbn., closely
related to the common clothes moth, occurs in num-
bers. Its presence in such a place is worthy of espe-
cial notice since no other instance is on record of a
member of the order Lepidopterci,to which belong the
moths and butterflies, being iin inhabitant of caves.
This moth was found in May, July and November,
close to the floor and always in the

. . TT^ e vicinity of the decaying remains of
Inhabiting J ,

Moth. ' )a ^ 8 an< ^ other refuse matter upon

which its larvae feed.

It is one-fourth of an inch or more in length, and
its wings expand about two-thirds of an inch. On the
head is a tuft of rust-red hairs. The fore-wings are
grayish-brown, with a violet tinge iii fresh specimens,
and a broad buff margin along the inner edge, which, in
repose, forms a conspicuous buff stripe along the back.

158 . GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

The pupal cases are dark gray, densely felted, and
one-fourth of an inch or more in length. They were
found attached to small projections of the wall, close
to the floor, or on the under side of stones which rested
loosely on the floor.

The moth seldom flies, but crawls very rapidly or
leaps short distances, when disturbed. It was first
described in Europe, where it occurs among pelts and
furs. Its presence in Wyandotte Cave can only be
accounted for by its accidental introduction on the
clothing of guides or visitors. As yet it shows no dif-
ference in color or structure from open-air types of
the same species, but it is not unreasonable to suppose
that in years to come there may be perceptible modi-
fication in these respects, as has been observed in
other cave inhabiting forms.

The introduction of this European moth into a cave
like Wyandotte, and its rapid adaptation to the peculiar
environment there found, is an excellent proof of the
now commonly accepted theory that all cave animals are
but the descendants of seeing forms, which in the past,
have thus accidentally found their way into caverns.

In the same region in which the moth occurred
were numerous specimens of a small dark-brown gnat
or fly about one-twelfth of an inch in length. It was
found to be new to science, and has since been de-
scribed as Limosina tenebrarum Aldrich. It occurs
beneath stones, in the vicinity of the remains of bats
which are killed in numbers by the cats which fre-
quent the cave. This insect has the power of leaping
several inches when disturbed and seldom uses the
wings in endeavoring to escape.

TEN INDIANA CAVES. 159

Passing to the right of Delta Island we entered the
" Dining Room," forty feet wide, ten feet high and
seventy feet in length, the monotony of the limestone
walls being relieved by several bands of jet black
flint, about three feet apart. One of these bands has
the flint in quadrangular blocks, while in the others
it is in nodules, many of which are several inches in
diameter. Sometimes these nodules resemble in form
a geode, and when broken show a crystalline center,
the siliceous particles having collected arid crystallized
about a common nucleus.

Leaving the Dining Room we proceeded through a
short pass to the "Drawing Room," whose dimensions
are about 25x10x60 feet, and .from this into the
" Junction Room." From here three passages diverge,
one to the left through " Creeping Avenue," one
straight ahead to the right of the "Continent," the
latter being a vast mass of uneroded limestone,
around which the two branches of the old subterra-
nean river formerly flowed ; while the third passage,
known as the "Cut Oft'," turns abruptly to the right
and merging into a .short, tortuous, descending pass-
age-way, leads out into the main cave between Coun-
terfeiter's Trench and Rugged Mountain.

Taking the passage past the right of the Continent
we entered the "Council Chamber," a spacious room,
15x50x100 feet, which, like Hanover Hall, contains
many artificial monuments, erected in the past by
enthusiastic visitors who knew no better way of pro-
claiming to the world the fact of their existence.
Narrowing again, the main passage continues for per-
haps 200 feet, when once more it expands into another

160 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

of those grand subterranean rooms which characterize
Wyandotte Cave. This has been dubbed the "Hall
of Representatives," accurate measurements showing
it to be 100x160 feet, with the ceiling 35 feet above
those masses of fallen rock which in the past filled
the space of the broad overhanging dome. Where
these large rooms occur, the old river-winch formed
the cave must have flowed over a softer portion of
rock and eroded or dissolved a great basin in the bed
or floor of the channel, perhaps escaping by an outlet
now hidden. In time the roof, no longer self-support-
ing, came tumbling down and partially tilled the basin.
From most of the rooms, as from the Hall of Repre-
sentatives, one must climb twenty or more feet to the
mouth of the passage leading onward.

Beyond this hall we descended the " Hill of Science''
into a lower portion of the cave, from which a low,
wet side passage turns to the right. Here for the first
time we encountered mud, and the floor of the " No.
10" passage, as it is called, is for the greater portion
of the year covered to a depth of several inches with
standing water. We next arrived at the junction
room, called "Jordan's Wait," where that noted
scientist, Dr. I). S. Jordan, once had several hours for
cool reflection, having been left in total darkness liy
the accidental extinguishing of a candle which he had
no means of relighting. This junction room is located
at the foot of the Continent, where the passage which
turned to the left around that body, meets the one
through which we had traveled.

Proceeding onward, we entered the most southern
arm of the cave, and, passing through a damp-floored

TE^ INDIANA CAVES. 161

passage, 150 feet long by thirty feet wide, we found
ourselves at the foot of a slippery hill on top of which
is one of the most handsome formations in the cave-
the " Throne and Canopy." The former is composed
of a circle of rounded stalagmites cemented together
and having the general appearance of a throne of
state, while at a distance of six feet above is a curtain
of broad, leaf-like stalactites draped in a graceful
semi-circle and attached to a projecting mass of crys-
talline limestone. From a crevice or seam between
the massive layers forming the walls the water has,
for ages, seeped ; then evaporating, has produced these
charming natural wonders and given a slippery coat'
of stalagmite to the surface of the hill below.

In the "Spring of Deception," close by the throne,
were noted in July numerous specimens of a small
shrimp-like crustacean, ^Crangonyx packardii Smith.
It swims very rapidly, jerking itself hither and thither
through the water in a zigzag course, and is extremely
difficult to capture. In November the water in this
spring had disappeared and the bottom was covered
with very soft, sticky mud. In this a number of small
holes, resembling the burrows or pits of angle-worms,
were noted. Each had numerous particles' of dry,
sand-like grains of mud about the mouth. The pits
were probed and cut out with a knife, but no living
form could be found. They were probably formed
by the small Crangonyx, of which no trace remained.
The same crustacean occurs in numbers in Crayfish
Spring near the end of the Long Route.

Beyond the Throne is a long stretch of partly ex-
plored avenues and side branclu-s through which
11

162 ULEAyiXUX FROM NATURE.

visitors are not often taken, there being therein but
one scene of more than .passing interest. This is
"Helen's Dome," so named by that Xestcr of cave
explorers, the Rev. II. C. Hovey, in honor of his wife.
To reach it one must pass through " General Scott's
Reception Room," 75 by 100 feet in dimensions, and
then by stooping and crawling through a narrow
passage into " Diamond Avenue," where nature
asserts her power to work miracles of beauty from
cheap materials, transforming gypsum and epsom
salts into lustrous crystals which sparkle on the walls
and glisten from the floor. Leaving a branch to the
right, we turned to the left, and passing cautiously
beneath a poised mass of fallen rock, which seemed
ready to fall at the slightest touch, we entered a large
opening midway between roof and floor, and a few feet
farther on found ourselves at^he foot of a great circu-
lar pit some twenty feet in diameter and extending up-
ward through the solid limestone for eighty feet or more.

This was Helen's Dome, and when the guide kindled
his " red fire," and the light therefrom revealed the
rugged, water-worn carvings of the sides, and the
pendent stalactites, which far above gleamed and
glistened from their inaccessible heights, we with one
accord voted it the wildest and most romantic bit of
scenery which the cave possessed.

Retracing our steps to Jordan's "Wait, we took the
right branch around the Continent. This led us on
through a low passage known as "Purgatory," 140
feet in length, its floor of yellow ochre, with here and
there a handsome crystal of selenite; its roof of white
limestone, with many fantastic grooves and carvings

TEX INDIANA CAVES. 163

wrought in days of yore by the slow hut powerful
energy of flowing water.

Emerging from Purgatory we assumed once more a
standing posture, and found ourselves in "Calliope's
Bower,' 7 where many stalactites grace the walls and
ceiling. From thence we passed into " Whispering
Gallery," where the floor resounded to our tread and
the low tones of our .voices were echoed hack and
forth from the arched sides in a manner similar to that
noted at the bottom of a deep and empty cistern.
Then came the ."Palace of the Genii," where these
gods of fable dwell beneath a roof spangled with glit-
tering crystals of calcite and gypsum. The "Pillared
Palace" follows, and therein is found a wealth and
profusion of cave formations such as no words of man
can properly picture. Pillars, stalagmites and stalac-
tites abound of every conceivable form which the fancy
can suggest. Many of the stalactites are no larger in
diameter than a lead pencil and are curved and twisted
in a unique and grotesque manner seen elsewhere in
no Indiana cave. This bent and twisted condition is
doubtless due to the varying currents of air which pass
through portions of the cave and force the tiny drops
of water on the end of the stalactite first to one side
and then to the other of the tip. The air of Wyan-
dotte flows outward, or toward the mouth, in summer,
and inward, or toward the depths of the cave, in
winter. This difference in direction of flow can but
have its influence on the formation of such slender
structures as those above mentioned.

Emerging from the Pillared Palace by an ampir
doorway, flanked by handsome pillars of calcite, we

1>4 GLEANINGS Fltn.M XATl'RE.

tbund on our left a room where strata of jasper nod-
ules abound in the walls and where numerous ehips
and splinters of jasper are abundant on the floor.
Rev. H. C. Hovey first called attention to the fact that
the supposed "bear wallows" of this room are depres-
sions where, in the treacherous light of bark torches,
ancient workmen had reclined while they worked
down to partial finish the desired blocks of jasper.
Numerous fragments of charcoal and large heaps of
chips of jasper were about each depression, but, though
careful search was made, no partially finished article
of jasper was found. The fragments were mostly
oblong, with the faces parallel, their dimensions being,
on an average, about 4 x 2 x | inches. Several quartz-
ite bowlders have been found in the room, where they
were doubtless carried to be used as implements in
splitting the blocks of jasper or in loosening them
from the walls.

This ancient quarry-room is succeeded by " Creep-
ing Avenue," where the roof, for a distance of 172
feet comes down to within .two and one-half feet of
the floor, and progress is possible only upon the hands
and knees. According to the guide, the dry ness of
this portion of the cave is slowly increasing and, as a
consequence, epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) is
becoming more abundant. Where the cave is damp
with dripping water, stalactites and other forms of
calcium carbonate are abundant; where the dripping
has ceased but the walls still give oft* more or less
dampness, calcium sulphate or gypsum is the prevail-
ing formation, and where perfectly dry the epsom
salts alone are being produced.

TEN INDIANA CAVE '8. 165

The tiresome crawl through Creeping Avenue fin-
ished, we stood erect once more in the Junction Room
at the head of the Continent and the exploration of
the Short Route was at an end. The length of the
portions passed through was estimated to be about as
follows :

Fat Man's Misery to Delta Island 1,200 feet.

Delta Island via Creeping Avenue to Ilovey's Point 2,400 feet.

Jordan's Waifrvia House of Representatives to the end of

the Cut Off 2,000 feet.

Total 5,600 feet or 1.06 miles.

In going through what is known as the "Long
Route" in Wyandotte, we passed from the mouth of
the cave to Delta Island over the same way as described
above under the " Short Route." At Delta Island we
turned to the left and traversed the "Sandy Plain,"
a passage about 350 feet long, twenty-five feet wide
and six to ten feet high ; the floor of which is covered
in places to a depth of several feet with sand deposited
by the ancient cave river. At the end
e ong o ^^ Plain we found ourselves at the
foot of the "Hill of Difficulty," which
is but a mass of fallen rock, forming, as it were, a
foot-hill to the grander " Monument Mountain " which
lies beyond. On the left, in climbing this hill, the
guide pointed out the exit of Rothrock's Straits, that
narrow and deeper passage connecting the Old and
New caves.

Reaching the top of the Hill of Difficulty, we were
within the confines of the largest under-ground room
yet known to man " Rothrock's Grand Cathedral."

1 66 d LEA NINGS FIH > M \A 77 'If K.

Before us in the dim candle light was a towering
mass of fallen rock, thrown together in most glorious
confusion and piercing the gloom above us for 135
feet. Following the guide and clambering from rock
to rock, we made the ascent by easy zigzags, and
reached a point near the summit with but little fa-
tigue. The crest of Monument Mountain, like that
of Capitol Hill in the Senate. Chamber of the Old
Cave, is covered to a depth of several feet with an
encrustation of stalagmitic material. This is slowly
increasing in thickness by the accretion of solid par-
ticles of limestone left by the evaporation of the
water which is constantly trickling in a small stream
from the roof above. The uppermost ten or twelve
feet of the mountain is very smooth and slippery, and
one has much difficulty to keep his footing while
climbing to the very pinnacle, from which projects a
brownish-yellow stalagmite 6.5 feet in height and 3.7
feet in circumference. Below this a short distance,
and on the opposite side of the mountain from the en-
trance, is another stalagmite, 6.8 feet in height by 5.2
feet in circumference, while but a short distance away
is a third and shorter one. The last two are com-
posed of spotless white, almost translucent limestone,
and are known as "Lot's Wife and Daughter."

Crawling over the damp surface at the foot of these
stalagmites, as well as on their sides, were numerous
specimens of cave myriapods and harvestmen. A
few examples of a small, semi-blind pseudo-scorpion,
or chelifer, Chtonius packardii Hagen, were also ob-
tained from the surface of the damp rocks at this
place. It moves slowly along with its front legs or

xiir.

1. A PILLAR IN PILLARED PALACE, WYANDOTTE CAVE.

2. ROTHROCK'S CATHEDRAL, WYANDOTTE CAVE.

TEN INDIANA CAVES.

167

Fig. 35 Cave Pseudo-scorpion.

( After Hubbard).

(Enlarged 7/ times.)

chelae held in the air and, being less than one-tenth

of an inch in length, is very likely to be overlooked

unless especial search is made for it. It has been

taken in Mammoth and

other Kentucky caves, and

varies much in regard to the

development of the eyes;

some, living without the

caves, having two eyes with

the cornea as usual ; others,

within the caves, having no

cornea, but retaining the

silvery dot indicating the

retina, and still others being

totally blind.

Forty or more feet above the crest of Monument
Mountain expands ''Wallace's Grand Dome." The
center piece of this is, "a smooth, elliptical slab of
oolitic marble, 60 feet long by 30 wide, finely con-
trasting with the darker limestone, from which it is
divided by a deep rim, fringed with long stalactites,
curling like leaves of the acanthus."

Leaving three candles burning a few feet below the
summit, w r e descended the opposite side, and, extin-
guishing our lights, as soon as the eye accustomed
itself to the surroundings, beheld a scene as grand as
human mind can fancy "an indescribable vision, as
if an opening had been made into the realms of super-
nal splendor." The scene is known as the " Cathedral
by Moonlight," the faint candle light reflected from
the white, oval dome appearing like a halo of moon-
light over the dark crest of the mountain, while the

1 68 (i L E. \ \I\dS FROM NA TUBE.

three stalagmites stood like spectral visions surmount-
ing the dark and rugged ledges which rose between
us and the source of the faint light above.

Relighting our candles, we found a few feet farther
on, the "Sulphur Spring," the trickling waters being
caught in a shallow cavity of a round stalagmite.
This is one of the dining places of visitors, and from
the near-by moldy remains of food were taken numer-
ous specimens of a small black fly, Phora nigrin'i>*
Loew, as well as several mites, and the common cave
"springtail."

To the left of Sulphur Spring, in the smooth and
slippery stalagmite, is an opening thirty inches wide
by fifteen inches high. This is the famous "Auger
Hole," which, when discovered and enlarged in 1850,
admitted the explorers to an extensive area of un-
known passages and rooms yet none so grand as
those already noted.

Through this opening we made our way, some head
first, others the reverse, all finally landing safely about
ten feet below in a damp room known as "Lilliputian
Hall," along which, by stooping, we found our way
into " Spade's Grotto," once evidently connected with
Rothrock's Cathedral by a passage now hidden by
fallen rock. From thence, in divers manners, we
descended "Slippery Hill" and found ourselves in the
"Hall of Ruins," a passage 150 by 30 feet, with an
average height of perhaps eighteen feet. This leads
into the "White Cloud Room," probably 350 feet in
length, where the roof and walls are encrusted with
an efflorescence of gypsum, resembling, after a fashion
"billows of fleecy clouds." Beyond this room we

TEN INDIANA CAVES. 169

passed through the "Journal Office," near the farther
end of which is the "Bishop's Rostrum," a high plat-
form of rock, 8x10 feet in dimensions, from which por-
tions of many a sophomoric oration, as well as several
divine dissertations, have, in the past, heen delivered.

"Calypso's Island" is a large mass of unerodcd
limestone, on both sides of which the. old cave stream
has forced a passage. The floor of the passage to the
left of the "Island" resounded our footsteps in a pecu-
liar echoing fashion, suggesting the presence of a
low r er passage beneath our feet. The two wings of
the main passage converge at the farther end of
Calypso's Island and expand into the " Cserulean
Vault," a room 40 feet wide by 20 feet high. This
narrows into "Rugged Pass," from the side of which
a narrow cleft in the rock leads by an ascending, very
low and tortuous passage, know r n as " Worm Alley,"
into "Milroy's Temple."

This is a room 100 x 150 feet in dimensions, around
the upper edge of which are found some of the most
handsome formations in the cave. One of them is a
row of musical stalactites, broad and thin, on which
a melody can be played by a skillful hand. There
are also creamy stalactites, vermicular tubes strangely
intertwined, convoluted roots, mural gardens and
galleries, gay and grotesque. A deep pit, the bottom
of which is sixty feet or more below the entrance, is
found in one side of the room, and the sound of a
stream of water falling from a cleft in the ceiling and
splashing on the rocks at the bottom of the pit was a
pleasing break to the monotonous silence of the vast
rooms through \\hich we had come.

170 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

Once more bowing our heads to the inevitable, \ve
'rnwled, squirmed, rolled and pulled ourselves through
Worm Alley back into the main cave. Following our
guide, we passed on through "Josephine's Arcade."
where a silhouette of the " Cave Queen," formed by
the falling away of the white gypsum from the
darker limestone, greets us from the wall. "Indiana
University Chapel" and the "Ball Room" succeeded
and brought us to the "Junction Room" of the Long
Route. Here the cave forks, one branch leading to
the south-west and the other continuing northward to
"Crawfish Spring" and " Wabash Avenue." Taking
the latter, we found it to be made up of a succession
of halls, galleries and avenues, each with its own fan-
ciful name and pleasing peculiarities, yet no place
worthy of more than passing- notice when taken in
contrast with the grand scenes already described.

In several places between the Junction Room and
Crawfish Spring the first explorers of the Long Route
found tracks of a small party of Indians who had
wandered to and fro in that region. They had evi-
dently entered by some opening as yet unknown;
since the Auger Hole, now the only means of entrance,
was, when first discovered, entirely too small for the
passage of a man. It is better, in my opinion, to con-
sider that their means of entrance and exit has since
been covered by fallen rock or, like that through Fat
Man's Misery, was hidden purposely by those ancient
explorers, than to take the ground, as has been done,
that the tracks were made 1,800 or 2,000 years ago,
before the opening of the Auger Hole was so nearly
closed as to prevent the passage of a man. These

TEN INDIANA CAVES. 171

moccasin tracks were seen and noted by many of the
early explorers, and low stone walls were put around
them for protection, but the tracks have since been
almost entirely obliterated by persons who, unmindful
of the warnings of the guides, stepped over and upon
them.

Crawfish Spring is formed from a small stream
which flows through a cleft in the rock, and from it a
trickling rill meanders on beneath the edges of the
jutting walls to be soon lost to view beneath the roof
which a few rods farther on comes down to meet the
floor. Above the spring is the passage known as
Wabash Avenue, which extends for several hundred
yards in a north-westerly direction where it forks into
a number of low and muddy branches.

Within the waters of the rill were several specimens
of the blind crawfish and numerous examples of two
other smaller crustaceans, already mentioned. About
the margins of the spring and stream and on the mud
flats lying beyond, were secured a number of the true
cave beetles, Anophthalmus tennis Horn. Single speci-
mens of this insect had previously
A Blind ~ \

been taken in several of the caves

Cave Beetle.

visited, and in Wyandotte it had been
found about the Throne and on top of Monument
Mountain. It is found only in remote parts of
the caves in which it occurs, and is always crawl-
ing rapidly over mud, sand or rocks in damp locali-
ties. It is a small, light-brown species, with no ves-
tige of eyes, and appears wholly unaffected by the
light of a candle when the latter is held within a few
inches of it.

172 a I. /;. 1 \f\as A7,'O.V XA 77 -RE.

/ Like other Carabids, these small blind beetles are
supposed to be carnivorous. In AVyandotte specimens
of mites, spiders, spring-tails and har-
vestmen were taken in the same lo-
cality as the beetles, and probably
furnish the latter a scanty supply of
food.

Retracing our steps to the Junction
Room, we took the south-west passage,
the first room entered being the "Frost
King's Palace," eight feet hierh and

Fig.36-Blind Beetle. . ,

(After Packard.) twenty wide, where every object, great

(Enlarged 3* times.) ^ Bm& \^ \ s encrusted with spark-
ling crystals of gypsum. To one side is the "Bridal
Chamber," and therein are found some of the finest of
the gypsum rosettes for which the cave is noted. Sev-
eral of these are four and a half inches in diameter,
the slender crystals forming them having protruded
from the pores in the magnesian. limestone, and then,
uniting into fibrous masses, have curved inward to
form the oulopholites, or curl-leaved stones, each of
which bears a close resemblance to a true rosette.

The "Ice House" is a rough-floored room where
dripping water from the roof has covered the surface
of the rocks with a film or coating of the thinnest and
most translucent of calcite, resembling ice. Leaving
the opening to the "Unexplored Regions" on our
left, we descended from the Ice Room into "Morton's
Marble Hall," 1,100 feet in length, the sides and walls
of which "are completely dressed in snowy whiteness,
equaling the brightest marble halls .of dreamland,
song or story." Occasional nodules of jet-like flint

TEN INDIANA CAVES. 173

are seen exposed along the walls' and ceiling, and
here and there are examples of the gypsum rosettes
already mentioned. Beyond the Marble Hall is
"Queen Mal/s Marble Garden" and the "Fairy Pal-
ace," both of which have their walls covered with a
gypsum efflorescence which has assumed the shapes
of liowers, leaves, sprigs and fanciful forms of many
kinds. From the end of Fairy Palace, 1,750 feet
from the Ice House, diverge several low passages
which visitors seldom enter, and from here we started
on our return to the entrance of the cave.

The distance from Delta Island to Crawfish Spring,
including Milroy's Temple, was estimated to be about
one and four-tenths miles, and from the Junction
Room to the end of Fairy Palace, about one-half
mile. The total length of Wyandotte Cave as tra-
versed by the visitor who takes all three routes is,
therefore, about as follows :

Old Cave ". 1.25 miles.

Short Route from Fat Man's Misery onward 1.06 miles.

Long Route from Delta Island onward 1.90 miles.

Total 4.21 miles.

These distances are for one way only, and if the
routes are passed over on different days, the distance
from the entrance to where each begins must be added
to that above given.

With two of the guides I passed through Roth-
rock's Straits in Xovember, 1896. Dropping our-
selves through the narrow cleft in Odd Fellows' Hall,
we crawled down an angling passage over a mass of
rough rocks and into a low room almost filled with

174 (; LEANINGS FROM NA TURE.

fallen rocks. From this we crawled still farther
down, climbing over great blocks of limestone and
making our way beneath others partly loosened from
the roof, until finally we reached the
very bottom, probably seventy -five feet
below our starting point. Here we
found another low room, with an earthen floor, which
had great cracks running through it in every direc-
tion, but with no signs that water had been present
for centuries. From this a very low passage makes
its way to near the Coon's Council Chamber, but
there is no exit into that room. Retracing our way
we took another route, and after much creeping,
wriggling our way through dust, bumping our heads
on the low ceiling, and with nothing in the way of in-
terest to repay us for our trouble, we finally emerged
on the side of the Hill of Difficulty, and knew by
personal experience that the Old Cave and the New
are connected, and that the passage-way between
them is a very rocky road to travel.

The entrance to the so-called " Unexplored Regions "

of Wyandotte opens from the Ice House, beyond the

Junction Room of the Long Route. These regions

have been partly explored by guides,

but visitors seldom pass within their
plored Regions.

portals. Washington Rothrock, the
oldest and best known guide of the cave, has been
through them several times as far as Rothrock's
Island. The formations therein are said to be won-
drously beautiful and more numerous than in many
of the more thoroughly explored regions of the cave.
A large series of specimens were obtained from some

TEN INDIANA CAVES. 175

of these passages in 1893 for the World's Fair. A
number of the larger passages of the Unexplored Re-
gions have not been penetrated as far as man can go,
and some future explorer may, perhaps, find forma-
tions more beautiful and scenes more grand than those
occurring in the better known portions of the cave.

LITTLE WYANDOTTE CAVE.

The entrance to this cave is situated at the bottom
of a sink-hole distant about 300 yards from the front
of Wyandotte Cave Hotel. The floor of the cave is
about 20 feet below the bottom of the sink, and de-
scent is made by a ladder placed in a well-shaped
opening about three feet in diameter.

In the crevices on the sides of this opening were
several cave salamanders, and also a number of the
large hump-backed cave crickets, Ceuthophilus stygius
(Scudd.). This insect reaches a length of one and a
fourth inches, and has antennae, or feelers, more than
four inches long. It is not a cricket, but belongs to

the same family as the katydid,
c ' iTT though in general appearance it diifers

widely from that common insect. It
AVUS found in the entrance of Wyandotte Cave, and
in several other of the smaller caverns of the vicinity,
but in no instance farther back than 250 feet from the
mouth. The adults seem to be more or less gregarious,
and, in one instance, more than 20 were found in a
small cranny in the wall. They were grouped in a
circle, in a space about six inches square, with their
long antenna' pointing toward the center of the circle,

176

GLEANINGS FROM .VJ 77 /,'/;

and appeared to be holding a conference or cricket
convention.

They were never seen on the floors of the caves
unless they leaped there when disturbed, but were
found resting on the sides of small projections and in
cavities of the walls or roof. If a lighted candle were
held close to them they paid no attention to it, but
were very sensitive to its heat and to touch. When
disturbed they leap with agility, sometimes to a dis-
tance of six feet, but with a little care
can usually be readily picked up with the
fingers before they become frightened.
Being wingless they make no noise, and

like most other
silent creatures,
are supposed to
be deaf, as no trace
of an ear-drum is
visible.

At the bottom
of the opening in-
to Little \Vyan-
dotte one finds
himself in an entry
which leads both
to the right and
the left. The right
hand passage can be followed only about seventy-five
feet, when it becomes too small for farther progress. It
contains no features of interest except a few stalactites.
The left hand passage was found by actual meas-
urement to be 340 feet in length. Passing " Pompey's

Fig

TEX INDIANA CAVES. 177

Pillar," a large stalagmite, the first room entered was
"Cleopatra's Palace," where there are hundreds of
fine stalactites, which show grandly in the glare of the
magnesium light.

Beyond this room two pits, said to be 60 feet in
depth, shut off the farther side of the cave. A narrow
partition of slippery stone separates the two and serves
as a bridge to cross the chasm. On leaving this natural
bridge, we made our way along the side of a steep
ledge that skirts the left hand pit, and then passed
around a gigantic fallen stalactite, which has been
kept from rolling into the pit only by a friendly sta-
lagmite against which it rests. Climbing a steep slope
in which notches have been cut to serve as footholds,
we entered a gallery, one side of the expanding mouth
of which serves as a balcony above and partially
around the deepest pit. On and above this balcony
is a collection of cave formations of exceeding beauty
and grandeur. A stately, fluted pillar, with its base
expanding in broad-leaved masses of dripstone, thus
forming a heavy folded curtain along the edge of the
pit, is the giant of the group ; while most unique of
all is the "Corinthian Column," ten feet high and less
than three inches in diameter a slender shaft of
translucent, snow-white satin-spar reaching from floor
to ceiling. A number of fragile tubular sterns were
clustered about the head of this pillar, each with a
terminal drop of water, which glistened like a well
cut diamond in the light of our candles. Entering
the gallery we wandered on, "beneath a ceiling fretted
with glistening pendants, amid pillars and pilasters,
flying buttresses and interlacing arches, with here a
12

178 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

cascade in mid-air transmuted into stone, and there a
sculptured cell amid clustered columns." The cave
finally ends in "Peri's Prison," where a narrow side
gallery is separated from the main passage by a row
of slender pillars, each but a few inches from its
neighbor. All in all, Little Wyandotte is well worthy
of visitation, and he who wishes to see the beau\:''ul
and at the same time experience a sense of the perils
attending cave exploration, should enter its bounds,
cross the narrow bridge between the yawning chasms,
and climb the slippery hill to the lovely gallery be-
yond.

# *
*

Other caves there are in southern Indiana which \ve
would gladly have explored and described had our
time permitted. No two in the State are alike. Kadi
is noted for some peculiar formation, room or passage
which it possesses. In each and all can one see the
results of the action of water that greatest of nature's
solvents and abraders, soft to the touch, gentle to look
upon, its work of a day, a year, a century upon the
solid limestone not appreciable to the eye yet by
slow, unceasing action through the eons which have
elapsed since that work began, it has carved every
room and passage, constructed every pillar and sta-
lagmite existing beneath the surface of southern
Indiana.

A DAY IN A TAMARACK SWAMP.

A half-day rather, for the other half was occupied
in. reaching the swamp, and half of the night in
returning therefrom, so that part of the story must be
of some of nature's objects noted on the way and the
thoughts that they engendered.

The 6: 20 train on the "Logan" road was almost
ready to pull out on a recent Saturday, when, after a
brisk walk of half a mile through the cool enlivening
air of early morn, I reached the Union Station. The
platform was thronged with prospective passengers,
bound for the four corners of the globe and starting
with the coming of the sun. All was bustle and noise
but we were soon off to the quiet prairie region north-
east of Terre Haute.

No frost as yet had seared the vegetation and the
late planted corn was ripening rapidly; its partially
green, partially yellow leaves glistening with the dew
of the night. The many wild plants growing along
the railway are to me, when traveling, objects of
exceeding interest, but on this day but few were at
first seen, the ruthless hand of the section boss having
caused their early downfall. Occasionally a sunflower
or stalk of golden-rod, which in some unknown \vav
had escaped destruction, waved its flowers in defiance
as we were whirled past; or the bright blue of the
wild morning-glory and brighter blue of the lobelia

(179)

ISO GLEANINGS FROM NA TV It K.

seemed trying to excel the hue of the sky a hove
them.

Just over the boundary fence, however, beyond the
jurisdiction of the devastating wayside mower, grew
in many places wild asters in profusion. Our native
asters are distinctively flowers of autumn. They do
not begin blooming until mid-September, and, as late
as December 1st, can often be found in some protected
nook, the last wild flowers of the dying year. The
wild a-sters vary in color from a pure white to a deep
blue. One or two possess a pinkish tinge but none
are red or yellow. Our sunflowers and golden-rods
furnish sufficient of the latter color; while the scarlet
leaves of the maple, black-gum and dogwood, together
with many of our wild fruits, paint amply red the
autumn landscape.

The asters, sunflowers and golden-rods comprise
nearly one-half of the Indiana members of the great
Compositfe family in number of species the giant
family of the flowering plants. In the arts the use of
these plants is unknown. But the lover of nature,
whose eye is ever on the search for the pleasing and
the beautiful, blesses their existence; for, their hues
absent, our autumn scenery would lose much of the
charm due to its variety of color.

Beyond the prairie came the uplands of Parke and
Montgomery counties where the Kentucky blue-grass
and the sugar-maple, two of the most attractive ami
valuable wild plants known to man, reach the acme
of their perfection. The.limestone soil of this "blue-
grass region of Indiana" furnishes exactly the food
needed to make the sugar-maple, Acer sacchamin

A DAY IN A TAMARACK SWAMP. 181

Marsh, a perfect tree. Great 'groves of them, each
tree so isolated from its fellows as not to shade too
densely the grass beneath; each with its branches
stopping short at a uniform height, ten to twelve feet
from the ground, form vast forest sheds which all
summer long furnish plentiful shade to those herds
of fat cattle which are the pride and wealth of the
owners of the land.

Farther north the " Logan" runs through a flat, up-
land country where the bitter-nut or swamp hickory,
the beech with its smooth lichen-covered bole, and
immense numbers of gigantic bur-oaks, abound. At
intervals clumps of that handsome shrub, the black
alder or winter-berry were seen, its bright-red fruit
giving an exceeding vividness to the dense green of
the surrounding forest, which was as yet untouched
by that prince of painters, Jack Frost.

Then the prairie with its characteristic flora once
more appeared; and finally, the tamarack swamps
about Kewanna, Fulton County, came into view and
my journey'by rail was at an end.

The tamarack or black larch, Larix americana
Michx., is a tree, fifty to one hundred feet high, with
a straight trunk and slender horizontal branches. It
belongs to the great Pine family or Coniferce, so called
because the seeds of its members are borne without
other covering than the large flat

scales which overlap one another to
Tamarack Tree.

form that familiar object called a
cone. The large majority of the members of the
family, as the pines, cedars, etc., are evergreens; but
the leaves of the tamarack, which are thread-like, one

182 GLEANINGS FROM

or two inches in length, and arranged along the
branches in small bunches, wither and fall each au-
tumn. 'The cones of the tamarack are about one-
half inch long, ovoid or egg-shaped, and purple or
brownish when they ripen. The wood is hard,
strong, and very durable, and is used for ship build-
ing, fence posts, telegraph poles and railway ties. The
slender roots are composed of tough fibres of great
length. The Canadians and Indians were accustomed
to use these fibres for sewing their bark canoes, hence
Hiawatha is said to have made the following request :

"Give me of your roots, O Tamarack!

Of your fibrous roots, O Larch-Tree !
My canoe to bind together,

So to bind the ends together,
That the water may not enter,

That the river may not wet me."

The tamarack is a lover of cooler climes than is
furnished by our latitude, and hence flourishes in
greatest abundance in the far north, its southern
range in this State being on a line drawn east and
west through Ft. "Wayne and Kewanna. Like its
cousin, the bald cypress, its chosen home is low,
swampy land where it often thickly covers large areas
and furnishes that dense shade so characteristic of
any member of the pine family where growing closely
together in great numbers.

After entering a few yards within the swamp a
sense of solitude and loneliness, such as I have never-
felt, even in the most dense of our ordinary forests,
began to oppress me a sense which increased with
every onward step and did not wholly disappear until

A DAY IN A TAMARACK SWAMP. 183

I had come forth again into the full light of the sun
and had left far behind me the swamp with all its
characteristic surroundings. Much of this feeling
was doubtless due to a lack of those animal sounds
usually present in a forest. This lack may not be so
noticeable at other seasons of the year, but on this
September day it was especially striking. I listened
in vain for the chirp of bird or the hum of insect.
The silence was broken only at long intervals by
the trill of a striped tree frog, or the low soughing of
the wind in a weird and mournful cadence through
the thick branches of the trees about me. The lower
limbs of the tamaracks, which hung downwards as
if weeping, were, for the most part, lifeless and cov-
ered with gray lichens. Many of these lichens grow
in long and slender tufts like the "Spanish moss" of
the Southern States ; this sombre drapery but adding
a deeper tinge of desolation to the scene.

But, however lonely such a swamp may appear to
one who traverses it, to the botanist it is ever a place
of interest on account of* the many rare plants which
lurk within its bounds. No grass or sedge can exist
in the profound shade of the trees, but three or four
kinds of sphagnum mosses grow everywhere in deep,
dense masses which gave way like windrows of new
mown hay beneath my tread. When dry these beds
of moss furnish delightful cushions, on which when
tired, one can throw himself down and rest at ease. I
dug deep into one" of them but could find nothing but
layers of moss, the older stems slowly decaying, the
younger finding a foothold and sustenance among the
ruins of the old.

184

GLEANINGS FROM N ATI' UK.

Scattered through and over these mossy beds were
many trailing sterns of a slender shrub, bearing ob-
long, evergreen leaves about one-third of an inch in
length. Very handsome these shrubs were, and
interesting too, for on them grows that delicious and

familiar fruit, the Ameri-
can Cranberry, Vaccin't am
macrocarpon Ait. Tlielter-
rics had been carefully
gleaned from the swamp,
but here and there the
bright cheek of one glist-
ened from its bed of green,
furnishing a natural con-
trast of color which would
entrance an artist's eye.
At intervals of a few
feet among the
thickest of the
tamaracks were
clumps of that
curious carniv-
orous growth, the
side-saddle flow-
er or pitcher-
plant, Sarracenia

Fig. 38 Common Pitcher Plant. (After Bessey.) purpurea j. The
(One leaf cut across to show the cavity. One-third margin of its

thick root loaves

are united in such a way as to form hollow tubes
or "pitchers" with a rounded lid or lip at the top.
On the inner surface of this lip are numerous stiff'

A DAY IN A TAMAEACK SWAMP. 185

hairs pointing downwards. A watery fluid is secreted
by the leaves, and collecting in the pitchers, attracts
many insects. These are soon drowned, being una-
ble to escape from the fatal pitchers on account of
the deflexed hairs, and their bodies, decomposing,
yield a plentiful supply of nitrogen for the crafty
plant.

In May and June the strikingly handsome flower
of the pitcher plant, deep purple in color and two
inches or more in diameter, may be seen by the vis-
itor to these swamps. It is borne on the summit of a
leafless flower stalk or scape which springs from the
midst of the clump of pitcher-shaped leaves.

In one part of the swamp grew in abundance wild
huckleberries, own cousin to the cranberries, and in
their season, in high favor for pies and cobblers ; yet
for a sauce, a failure, on account of a lack of sufficient
juice and acidity. Orchids, too, were there, noted for'
their curiously formed flowers, which, like those of
the milk-weed, can only be fertilized by the aid of
insects. Though past their blooming season, three
or four species were noted, among them the yellow
lady's slipper, once common throughout the State but
now almost extinct on account of the ruthless, devas-
tating hand of man.

Two slender shrubs, each four to six feet high, grew
in such open places as occurred. One, the choke-berry,
Pyrus arbutifolia L., is a close relation to the apple,
but bears its fruit in clusters like those of the black
haw of our woods. The fruit is in shape like a min-
iature apple, dark red or blackish in hue, and edible,
but with a puckering taste like that of a green per-

186 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

simmon. The other is the dwarf birch, Betula pumila
L., a northern plant which, like the tamarack, reaches
in this swamp its southern limit in our State.

One other plant which I fain would omit from the
list of those noted must now be mentioned. All those
preceding are either useful or harmless in their ways,
but this one is the most poisonous species known to
the flora of Indiana. It is the poison sumach or swa 1 1 1 \
elder, own brother to our common ivy but much more
venomous as its scientific name, .RA//x

venenata DC., denotes. It is a shrub
Sumach. '

growing to the height of twelve or
more feet. Its large compound leaves are often
two feet in length and composed of nine to thirteen
slender leaflets; while from their axils the white,
grape-like fruit hangs in loose bunches. It grows
only in the northern swamps and its juice, or even the
exhalation from its leaves, causes small white blisters
to appear anywhere on the surface of the exposed
skin. In this swamp it was abundant, growing in
every open space, and although I tried to avoid it as
much as possible yet the blistered, itching skin which
I endured for days after my return proved to me too
well its poisoning powers.

The scarcity of f animal life within the swamp has
already been mentioned. It is said to be a famous
place for owls, and is in every way well fitted for
those ominous birds of prey which delight in all that
is dark and dismal. In the words of Thoreau :
"Their 'hoo-koo-hoo, hooer-hoo', is a sound admirably
suited to swamps and twilight woods which no day
illustrates, suggesting a vast undeveloped nature which

A DAY IN A TAMARACK SWAMP. 187

men have not recognized. They represent the stark
twilight and unsatisfied thoughts which all have." I
saw no owls, but the harsh caws of a distant flock of
crows which at times were wafted to my ear told,
where one was treed and pestered ; for the crow hates
an owl as badly as a terrier hates that other " bird of
night," the prowling cat.

The mottled grasshopper, Melanoplus punctulatus
(Uhler), frequents the depths of the swamp in small
numbers, resting either upon the trunks of the tama-
rack trees or the clumps of sphagnum mosses at their
base. It is not active in its movements, usually, after
one or two short leaps, squatting close to the earth
and, seemingly, depending upon the close similarity
of its hues to the grayish lichens about it to avoid
detection.

In one of the drier parts of the swamp a prairie
rattle-snake gave its shrill warning almost beneath
my feet, and mosquitoes of the large striped variety,
regular "gallinippers," as the boys call them, occa-
sionally had a tendency to taste my flesh ; but these
were only minor drawbacks which every wooer of
nature must at times endure, if he would see her odd
corners as well as her more commonplace ones.

* *
*

I wrote the gist of the above while sitting deeply
in a bed of sphagnum moss, so deep indeed that I
could scarcely move my arm while writing. And O,
how tired I was ! For 140 miles of railway travel and
a five hours' tramp over bog and tussock will tire the
average human.

188 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

How I longed to lean backwards and sleep! But
the rays of the sun, slanting and struggling beneath
the lower branches of the tamaracks, warned me that
my train would soon be due, and that if I wished to
sleep at home, safe, except in dreams, from the attack
of rattle-snake and mosquito, I must be up and away
for the mile's trudge to the station. And so my day
in a tamarack swamp became to me a thing of the past.

MID-AUTUMN ALONG THE OLD CANAL.

Old Mother Earth once more had made the circuit
of the sun and October, the fairest month of all the
year, had come again and brought with it one of its
perfect days. The chilling winds and hoar frosts of
the week before had warned the Red Man in the far
west of the approach of winter and, for the first time
this season, he had kindled his signal fires, and from
them the smoke,

"Soft and illusive as a fairy's dream,
Lapped all the landscape in a silvery fold."

On such a day the gypsy in my blood that desire
to roam and wander which I inherit from the barba-
rians of old asserts full strong its presence. The
city with its crowds and turmoil, its noisome smells
and impure atmosphere, becomes for a time unbear-
able. Only a tramp through field and forest and a
communion with some of the many spirits of the
woods will serve to curb this gypsy element and give
me peace of mind once more. And so on this, the
sixteenth day of the month, and hence the very mid-
dle of the autumn, I started northward, I knew not
whither; I cared not whither; but the old canal
proved a cynosure and the spirits with which I com-
muned are in part noted below.

Birds, birds, always to be seen as soon as the city
limits are reached, always interesting always full of

(189)

190 ({LEANINGS FROM NATURE.

life and sprightliness. A bluebird first. Then a
flock of juncoes or snowbirds, fresh from their sum-
mer home in the far north, perhaps tarrying for food
before they go farther south, perhaps come to stay
with us, to cheer us up with their chirp and twitter
when King Boreas with his attendant train of ice and
snow, of bare trees and almost voiceless nature, will
rule over us. Then the familiar song sparrow dodg-
ing from fence crack to brush pile and back again,
his streaked breast ever a sign of his identity. Then
a company of grass finches showing the pure white of
their tail feathers only as they fly ; preparing for their
southward journey by thus flocking together from
their various nesting places. Then a sound "ha-ha-
ha-ha" and a trio of crows, uttering their weird
laugh, went sailing southward, seeking, no doubt,
their morning meal on the commons near the city.
Xext, a bevy of meadow larks were flushed, and flying
across the road they glided, as it were, down an in-
clined plane until they reached the ground, much as a
flying-squirrel travels from tree top to the earth below.
By this time I had reached the canal and within
the confines of its banks, where the killing efifects.of
the recent frosts were not so visible, bird^ were plenti-
ful. A pair of white-bellied nuthatches ran industri-
ously to and fro on the branches of an elm beneath
which I rested. They peered into every cranny and
looked beneath every piece of loose bark in their care-
ful search for the luckless insects which were destined
to serve them for dinner. At short intervals they
talked to one another in two brief words, "/v/A
kah;" when frightened, repeating them very rapidly,

MID-AUTUMN ALONG THE OLD CANAL. 191

"kah-kak kah-kah" At times, also, a kind of low
chuckle or "pit " like sound was heard as though the
bird had suddenly thought of something pleasing and
was laughing to itself.

The "pe-a-body, pe-a-body, a-body, a-body" long
drawn out, of the white throated sparrow, mingled
with the much louder and harsher "che-win k" of the

Fig. 39 Meadow Lark. (After Beal.)

marsh robin or tow-hee came from the many brush
piles along the sides of the canal ; while the rapid
"rat-tat-tap" of .a downy woodpecker upon a dead
snag furnished the bass for this medley of bird sounds.
Do the members of the different families of birds
understand and converse with one another ? It would
scc'iu so, for whenever a cry of distress comes from a
wounded or frightened bird, species of widely different

1 ! 'I (iLKAM \< i N FROM NA Tl UtE.

families Hock about and, with varied notes of alarm,
evince an interest in and a sympathy for the w<
their unfortunate companion of the woods.
From mid-August to October

The ceaseless hum of insect life goes ever on,
No pause for night or morn or noon-day sun.

After the first frosts, however, these insect sounds
grow gradually less until November, when they almost
wholly disappear. On this day the chirp of a wayside
cricket, the crackling note of a clouded grasshopper,
made by the male while on the wing, the drawling
call of a harvest-fly which had long out-lived its day,
and the feeble shrill of two or three small species of
katydids were the only insect notes which were heard.

Even they were only
occasional weak wails
woe begotten sounds
of frost-bitten individ-
uals and not the loud
shrill notes of the

Fig. 40-A small Katydid. (After Lugger.) Same Species of a fort-
Scudderia furcata Brunner. night b e f or6) w } le n love

demanded tribute in the form of ceaseless song and
all went merry as a marriage bell.

Where a barbed-wire fence stretched across the bed

of the canal a novel sight came into view. Hundreds,

yes thousands, of strands of spider

webs were floating from the sides of
Balloonists.

the posts and wires. The wind Avas
from the south and they Avere bloAvn northward, the
free ends floating horizontally and parallel in the air.

MID- A I 'Tl 'MX A LOXG THE OLD CANAL. 1 i >:J

A close examination revealed the presence of a great
many spiders of minute size on the surface of the posts
and wires. Their abdomens were slightly raised and
from the spinnerets of each -were issuing threads of
web material which soon hardened when exposed to
air. These, in time, formed a strand sufficiently long
to support the weight of the little spinners. Then, if
the strand did not become entangled with some others,
the spiderkin, letting go its hold upon the fence, took
a ride to the northward with the wind as a motor.
Wonderful balloonists they whose ancestors per-
formed like feats of aerial navigation ages before the
days of the first human aeronaut!

Numerous wild fruits and nuts, both edible and
unedible, are in autumn found along/the banks of the
canal. The former satisfy the sense of taste and are
usually dull in color but interesting in structure and
habit. Among them are two species of wild grapes,
one, the frost or chicken grape, Vitis cordi/olia Michx.,
with small black and shining berries which arc very
sour; the other, the summer or fox grape, V. /rx///v///.<
Michx. , having the berries larger, with a sweet and
pleasant flavor and with their black skins covered
with a whitish bloom. The chief charm of the wild
grape lies, however, in the spreading, straggling habits
of the vine which covers many thorn and other homely
bushes, and forms in the angles of the old Virginia
rail fences those dense, leafy coverts which in summer
delight the brown thrush and make glad the heart of
the handsome chewink.

The ha/elnut, Corylus americaiui. "Wnlt., also flour-
ishes in this sandy soil and on this day many 'dumps
13

194 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

of them were noted. Their oval leaves painted a
dainty brown by the frost, were withering and drop-
ping, thus disclosing more plainly the bunches of
brown nuts each clad in its protective armor of invo-
lucre. An interesting fact about tho hazelnut is that
its catkins, earnest of next season's flowers, are formed
in late summer and pass the winter in patient waiting,
ready to take advantage of the first warm days of
spring to open their cups of pollen and fertilize the
flowers for the future crop of nuts.
- Our unedible wild fruits usually cater to the sense
of sight, being bright in color or peculiar in structure.
Among them all, that of the wahoo or burning bush
seems to me most beautiful. Hanging on slender
pedicels, four or more in a cluster from the same
peduncle, its deep scarlet color and odd shape render
it a most striking object. Add to this the orange
aril of its seeds, peeping so daintily through the half
open suture of the pod after the latter has been
touched by one or two keen frosts, and we have a
combination and a contrast most pleasing to the eye.
Of the fifty or more species of birds which pass the
cold season in Indiana, the little winter wren, in his
russet coat, is the smallest and, in

rp

habits, one of the most peculiar.
Winter Wren.

wherever you see him, be it on the
ground, in a fence corner, or in a pile of brush or
rails, he is continually on the go, flitting hither and
thither, in and out of the cracks of the fence and from
top to bottom of the brush pile; so that if you are a
collector and want his skin you have to take him on the
wing or not at all. It was, therefore, with a feeling of

MID-AUTUMN ALONG THE OLD CANAL. 195

delight that I heard, as I strolled along on this bright
October day, his merry "che-che che-che-che" and saw
him as he ran up and down the side of a stump in
search of insects. He saw me also and seemed to
know that it was Sunday, and, therefore, he need
have no fear; for, instead of flitting away as is his
usual custom, he came nearer and nearer, seeking, as
it were, to gain my friendship, until at last I could
have touched him with my hand and even did reach
it forth, thinking that, like Thoreau's sparrow, he might
light thereon. But some spirit must have whispered
to him of his three dead kinsmen whose skins form
part of my collection ; for no sooner did I stretch
forth my hand than he was up and away like a flash.
Ah, my little feathered friend, thou needst not thus
so suddenly have left my presence, for I had no
thoughts of murder in my heart, but simply wished
to bid thee welcome to thy winter's home !

' I rested for a time beneath a tall white oak and
watched the falling leaves as, obedient to tin- great
force of gravitation, they drifted slowly towards the
center of the'earth. Whocan tell when a leaf breaks
its hold upon the parent tree where its resting place
will be? It comes fluttering down on account of the

broad expanse which its lia'ht weight
A Falling Leaf.

presents to the resistance ot the atmos-
phere. It is borne, now in this direction, now in
that, by the eddying gusts until at last it rests upon
a pile of a hundred others, perhaps fifty, perhaps
five hundred feet from a perpendicular from where
it started. l>v the action of water and oxygen, it
and its companions are soon changed into inorganic

196 QLEAXI.\(iX FIIO.M NATURE.

substances and become a part of the earth's mold.
1'ossibly they have been a part of it hundreds,, aye,
thousands of times before; for who knows what
varied forms the carbon, hydrogen and oxygen,
now locked up in the cells of the leaf, have in
the past helped to produce? Of what plant, what
animal, what man have they formed a part? But
however varied the object, which in by-gone ages
they have helped to form, it has in time fallen again
to the earth, been disintegrated, and again, by the
action of the energy of sunlight, the elements com-
posing it have been rebuilt into a new organic body
which has aided the onward march of our common
mother and fitted her better for the abode of man.

Thus we see in a falling leaf, as it were, a simili-
tude of our own lives, as we, tearing ourselves loose
from parents and home after having been nourished
to the ripeness of manhood, are borne hither and
thither by the blasts and eddyings of fate and of the
great society in which we mingle, until at last we,
too, find a resting place in the earth and yield back
to her the elements which are her own.

While musing thus over the falling leaf, the Indian
summer day. perfect as it was, came to a close. It
was, let us hope, the first of many yet to be this au-
tumn. For on such days we enjoy the smile of nature
tender and beautiful her last before she dons her
seeming shroud for winter wear.

"So we shall find our summer being past,
And hoar frost with us for a little breath
So fair a country, .such a genial air,
And shall forget our woes, and unaware
Step over the borderland of death."

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN, OR THE
ORTHOPTERA OF INDIANA.

The word " Orthoptera" means "straight-winged."
It is a name given to an order or group of insects,
which comprises the katydids, grasshoppers, crickets,
cockroaches, walking-sticks, etc. The members of
the 'order may be known by their biting mouth parts,
and their indirect metamorphosis; the young when
hatched being wingless, but of the same form as the
parent; the wings developing gradually and appear-
ing of full size after the skin has been shed for the
fifth time, when they are membranous and, in the
typical forms, laid straight along the back. In num-
ber of species the order Orthoptera is a small one, but
about 850 having been described from the United
States. Of these I have taken, personally, 127 in
Indiana, divided among six families, as follows:
Blattidce or cockroaches, nine ; Phasmidfe or walking-
sticks, one ; Mantidcc or rear-horses, two ; Ijootxfitltv.
or katydids and green grasshoppers, 39; Gryllidd'. or
crickets, 25; Arrididw or short-horned grasshoppers,
51. Taking up briefly, each of these families, let us
note the characters which distinguish its members, and
give a few facts concerning the habits and life histories
of the more common and familiar examples of each
which are found in Indiana.

(197)

IDS GLEANINQ8 l-'lto.M

BLATTID.E.

From the other families of Orthoptera the Blattidce,
commonly known as cockroaches, may he known by
their depressed oval form; their nearly horizontal
head, which is bent downward and almost concealed
by the broad chest or pro-thorax ; their slender legs of
equal length and size; their five-jointed tarsi or feet,
and by the absence of either ovipositor or forceps-like
appendages at the end of the abdomen,

The rings of the abdomen overlap each other and
are capable of great extension and depression, so that
these insects seem to be pre-eminently fitted for living
in the narrow crevices and cracks which they inhabit.
The legs are of peculiar structure, in that they are
long and more or less flattened, thus enabling the
cockroaches to run with surprising swiftness; so that
the family has been placed by some writers in a sep-
arate sub-order, the Cursoria or runners. The wing
covers or outer wings are leathery, translucent, and,
when developed, overlap when at rest; while the
wings never exceed the wing covers in length, and in
some cases are rudimentary or even wanting,

From the other Orthoptera the cockroaches differ
widely in their habits of oviposition, as the eggs are
not laid one at a time, but all at once, in a peculiar
capsule or egg-case, called an ootheca.* Tliese cap-
sules vary in the different species, as regards the si/.e,
shape, and number of eggs they contain, but they are
all similar in structure. Each one is divided length-
wise by a membranous partition into two cells. Within

*See Fig. 44 for illustration of ootheca of Croton bug.

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN. 199

each of these cells is a single row of cylindrical
pouches, somewhat similar in appearance to those of
a cartridge belt, and within each pouch is an egg.
The female cockroach often runs about for several
davs with an egg case protruding from the abdomen,
but finally drops it in a suitable place, and from it the
young in time emerge. While this method of ovipo-
sition is the one practiced by all the species of com-
mon occurrence in the United States, there seem to
be exceptions to it, as Dr. C. V. Riley a few years ago
recorded the fact of an introduced tropical cockroach
which produced the young alive.

All young cockroaches resemble the parents in
form, but are wholly wingless, the wings not appear-
ing until after the fifth or last moult/ The young are
often mistaken for mature individuals by persons who
have not made a careful study of the life history of
the insects; and those of one or two well known and
common forms have, in the past, even been described
or figured as distinct, wingless species by some of the
leading entomologists of the country.

Although abundantly represented in individuals,
the number of species of cockroaches inhabiting the
Eastern United States is comparatively few, but about
twenty having been recorded. Of these, nine, repre-
senting five different genera, are known to occur in
Indiana. Of the nine, seven are indigenous or native
species, the other two having been introduced from
the Old World.

1 M this connection I shall consider the habits of four
of these insects, the first of which is the Oriental or
black roach, Periplaneta orientalis (L.). This species is

200

GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

dark mahogany-brown in color, and full grown speci-
mens are about an inch in length. The outer wings of
the female are only about one-fifth of an inch long,
while those of the male are more than half an inch and
cover three-fourths or more of the
abdomen. As its name indicates, it is
a native of Asia, but has been carried
from one country to another by ship-
ping. It delights in filth and darkness, and hence in
the holds of vessels, the cellars and basements of tene-

The Oriental

or
Black Roach.

Fig. 41 Oriental or Black Roach.

(a, female; 6, main; <, Mile vii-\v of female; d, half -grown
specimen. After Howard.)

ment houses, and in all damp, dirty places it swarms
by thousands, undoubtedly doing much good as a
scavenger, but infinitely more harm on account of its
omnivorous and insatiable appetite. Like most other

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN. 201

members of the family, it feeds mainly at night, ap-
pearing to detest and avoid the light, as one can
readily prove by taking a lighted lamp suddenly into
its haunts, when a hurried scrambling will take place
towards its daylight retreats, and but a few moments
will elapse before the last of the busy marauders will
have disappeared.

This is probably the most carnivorous of all our
cockroaches, though, like most others, it is fond of
starchy food. It is known to feed upon meat, cheese,
woolen clothes, and even old leather, and is said to be
especially fond of the festive bed-bug, Acanthia lectu-
laria L., which soon disappears from a house infested
with the Oriental roach.

Its eggs are sixteen in number, an'd the large horny
capsule or ob'theca in which they are packed is carried
about by the mother for a week or longer when she
drops it in a warm and sheltered place. Along one
side of the capsule, which resembles in form and color a
diminutive seed of the papaw, Asimina triloba Dunal,
is a seam where the two edges are cemented closely
together. When the young are hatched they excrete a
liquid which dissolves the cement and enables them
to escape without assistance, leaving their infantile
receptacle as entire as it was before they quitted it.

In Indiana the Oriental roach is found in all the
larger towns and cities, and is one of the most noisome
and disagreeable insects with which certain classes of
their inhabitants have to contend. It seldom occurs in
houses in thinly settled localities, and never, as far as
my observation goes, beneath the bark of logs and
stumps.

202

GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

The American cockroach, Periplancta annrn-iii><i

(L.), is, as its name
implies, a native of
'this country, but,
like the Oriental
roach, it has spread
to the four corners
of the earth. It is
by far the largest
species found in tin-
State, the male
measuring 14 indies
from head to tip of
wings, the latter in
both sexes reaching
beyond the end of
the abdomen. The
general color is red-
dish-brown, the top
of the thorax being
margined rather broadly with yellow. In Indiana
it seems to be of rather limited dis-
tribution, as I know of its occurrence
Cockroach * n but * wo coun ties, Putnam and
Marion. It occurs in numbers in
some of the leading hotels of Indianapolis, but usually
confines itself to the basement and first floor, and
appears to be much more cleanly in its choice of an
abiding place than does the closely allied Oriental
roach.

The Pennsylvania cockroach, Ischnoptera pennsyl-
vanica (DeGeer), is also a native species, and is the

Fig. 42 American Cockroach.
(Enlarged one-third. After Howard.)

KATYDIDS AM) THEIR KIN.

203

most common roach in the State, being found every-
where beneath the loose bark of logs and old stumps.
It is usually seen in the wingless

e stages, the mature individuals being-

Pennsylvania
Cockroach. common only from May to October.

The half grown young are of a shining,
dark brown color, the dorsal surface of the thoracic
segments often lighter. The wings of adult specimens
are long and narrow, extending in both sexes much
beyond the tip of the abdo-
men. The total length is more
than an inch and the color is
reddish-brown with a whitish
stripe on the margins of wings
and thorax.

As mature specimens are at-
tracted by light, country houses
are often badly infested with
them ; and where food is scarce
the wall paper is sometimes
much injured for the sake of
the paste beneath. What the hordes of young which
(lwi-11 under the bark of logs live upon is a question
as yet unsettled, but the larvae of other insects un-
doubtedly form a portion of their food, as in two
instances I have found them feeding upon the dead
grubs of a Tenebrio beetle ; while living, as well
as decaying, vegetable matter probably forms the
other portion. The mating of the adults mostly
occurs in late summer and early autumn, the newly
hatched young being most abundant from mid-
S.'jitember until December. The young in various

Fig. 43 Pennsylvania Cock-
roach. (After Lugger.)

204 f;/,/;,l.V/.Y<;.s r ROM NATURE.

stages of growtli survive the winter in the places
mentioned, they being the most common insects noted
in the woods at that season. Cold has seemingly but
little effect on them, as they scramble away almost as
hurriedly when their protective shelter of bark is
removed on a day in mid-January with the mercury
at zero, as they do in June, when it registers a hun-
dred in the shade.

The empty egg cases of the Pennsylvania roach are
very common obJQcts beneath the loose bark of logs
and especially beneath the long flakes of the shell-
bark hickory. They are chestnut brown in color,
about x inches in size, and are much less flattened
than those of the Croton bug, described below. The
dorsal or entire edge is slightly curved or bent
inwards, after the fashion of a small bean. The
young, after hatching, evidently escape in the same
manner as do those of the Oriental cockroach, as no
break is visible in the empty capsule.

The last of the four cockroaches to be considered is
the "Croton bug," Phyllod romia germanica (L.), so
called because it made its appearance in ^ew York
City in numbers about the time the Croton aqueduct
was completed. It is a native of Central Europe, but
like the Oriental roach has become cosmopolitan.

This is one of the smallest of the nine cockroaches

known to occur in the State; the total length being

^ inch or less. The ge'neral color is a

B ' light brownish-yellow, tjie females

often darker. The thorax has two

dark brown bands, enclosing a yellowish stripe.

The egg case of the Croton bug is very light brown,

KATYDIDS AND THElll KIN.

205

a little over twice as long as broad, with the sides
somewhat flattened and the edges parallel. Within
it the eggs, thirty r six in number, are arranged in the
usual two rows. It is carried about by the mother
roach for several days with from half to three-fourths
of its length protruding from the abdomen, and when
dropped in a favorable place the young evidently
very soon emerge from it ; for in a bottle in which a
female with protruding ootheca was placed at eleven
o'clock P. M. the young were found to have emerged
on the following morning at eight.

Fig. 44 Croton Bug.

(a, first stage; 6, second stage ; c, third stage; </, fourth stage ; e, adult;/, adult
female with egg case; g, egg case enlarged; h, adult with wings spread. After
Howard.)

The Croton bug seldom, if ever, occurs in numbers
in the country, but is one of the worst insect pests
with which the inhabitants of the larger cities of In-
diana have to deal. It is the most fecund of all the
roaches, and the seasons of mating and hatching of
the young are, perhaps, more irregular than in any
other species. Adult forms are evidently to be found
at all seasons of the year, as I have taken them in

206 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

iK'cember, April and October. It is not so much a
lover of filthy surroundings as is the Oriental roach,
and hence frequents much more often than that species
the dwellings of the better class of people. It delights
in warm, moist places, and is especially abundant and
destructive in buildings which are heated by steam.
Where it once obtains a foothold and the surroundings
of temperature and food supply are favorable, it is
almost impossible to eradicate, as its small, flattened
form enables it to hide and breed in cracks and crev-
ices, which none of the larger roaches can enter.

Like many other omnivorous animals, Croton bugs
lind in wheaten flour a food substance which is rich
in nutrition and easily digested, and so prefer wheat
breads and starchy materials to all other foods. On
account of this liking they often do much harm to
cloth-bound books by gnawing their covers in search
of the paste beneath. They also seem to have a
peculiar liking for paints of various kinds, and in the
office of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey at Wash-
ington, have done much damage by eating off the red
and blue paints from the drawings of important maps.
On one occasion they made a raid on a box of water
colors, where they devoured the cakes of paint, ver-
milion, cobalt ami umber, alike; and the only vestiges
left were the excrements in the form of small pellets
of various colors in the bottom of the box.

In giving a remedy for this and other species of
cockroaches which frequent houses, I can not do bet-
ter than quote from Dr. Riley's excellent article in
"Insect Life.'' He says: "Without condemning
other useful measures or remedies like borax, I would

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN. 207

repeat that in the free and persistent use of California
Buhach, or some other fresh and reliable brand of
Pyrethrum or Persian Insect Powder, we have the
most satisfactory means of dealing with these roaches.

"Just before nightfall go into the infested rooms
and puff into all crevices, under base-boards, into
drawers and cracks of old furniture in fact, wherever
there is a crack and in the morning the floor will be
covered with dead and dying or demoralized and
paralyzed roaches, which may easily be swept up or
otherwise collected and burned.

"With cleanliness and persistency in these methods
the pest may be substantially driven out of a house,
and should never be allowed to get full possession by
immigrants from without.

"For no other insects have so many quack remedies
been urged and are so many newspaper remedies pub-
lished. Many of them have their good points, but
the majority are worthless. In fact, rather than put
faith in half of those which have been published, it
would be better to rely on the recipe which is current
among the Mexicans:

" ' To Get Rid of Cockroaches. Catch three and
put them in a bottle, and so carry them to where two
roads cross. Here hold the bottle upside down, and
as they fall out repeat aloud three credos. Then all
the cockroaches in the house from which these three
came will go away.' "

208

GLEAKlX(li> FROM X ATI' UK.

\

PHASMIDjE.

Belonging to the family PAosim'rf<5, there occtira in

Indiana, as tar as known, but one species, the walking-
stick, Diapheromerafemorata
(Say). This insect furnishes

a niQst ex-
The Walking-
stick, cellent ex-
ample of

adaptation for the purpose
of protection. It is wing-
less and possesses a long,
cylindrical body, resembling
a slender stick with the bark
on it. It moves very slowly,
and has a habit of remain-
ing motionless and appar-
ently dead for a considera-
ble length of time. On such
occasions it usually stretches
itself out from a twig, with
its front legs and antennse
extended, and then can
scarcely be distinguished
from a prolongation or
branch of the twig. Many
people who see them thus
for the first time and afte*r-
wards watch them moving
slowly away, can scarcely
be persuaded that they are
not real twigs, gifted in some
mysterious manner with life and motion.

\

Fig. 45 Walking-stick.
(After Lugger.)

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN. 209

The walking-stick feeds, during its entire life, upon
the foliage of various trees, being especially fond of
the leaves of the wild cherry. The eggs are dropped
upon the ground by the mother insect, who takes no
farther notice of them. The young, when hatched,
trust to chance and their peculiar shape to escape
those higher forms which are ever ready to prey upon
every living thing which promises them a bit of sus-
tenance.

MANTIDjE.

Two species of the family Mantidce are found spar-
ingly in southern Indiana. Of these the best known
is the Carolina mantis, or rear-horse, one of the two
or three species of Orthoptera, which
-. are in the slightest degree beneficial.

It is a rather large insect, of a green-
ish or gray color. When disturbed it elevates or
rears the fore part of its body almost perpendicularly,
fixes its large, staring eyes upon the intruder and
turns its head sideways in a very ludicrous manner,
so as to follow, if possible, every movement of its sup-
posed enemy. If a small object, as a blade of grass,
be then thrust towards it, it will strike out vigorously
with its saber-like fore feet, or else retreat to what it
considers a safe distance.

Being a rapacious insect, its fore limbs have, in
time, become peculiarly adapted for grasping organs.
The tibipe are robust and armed with a double row
of spines ; the tarsi or feet are short, spiny and curved
so as to fit into the under side of the tibiae like the
blade of a clasp knife when closed. When in pursuit
14

1' H I < i LEANINGS FllOM NA 77 7,'/v

of its prey the mantis moves almost imperceptibly
along, stealing towards its victim like a cat approach-
ing a mouse. When sufficiently near, the fore leg is
suddenly extended to its full length and the unlucky
insect is immediately caught and impaled by the
spines between the tibise and tarsi, carried to the
mouth and deliberately eaten piecemeal while yet
alive and struggling to escape.

The Carolina mantis is occasionally found as far
north as Indianapolis, where it reaches maturity
about September 1st. When the two sexes are cap-

Fig. 46 Carolina Mantis.

tured and placed together the female soon begins to
feed upon her liege lord, and finally devours all por-
tions of him which are in the least degree digestible.
The eggs are grouped together in agglutinated masses
of 40 or more and covered with a coarse web of silk,
the top of the mass then appearing as if its compo-
nent parts were braided together. In this manner
the species survives the winter and in May, when in-
sect life begins to abound, the young emerge and use
their prominent staring eyes to good advantage in
seeking plant lice and other minute forms which fur-
nish them their first of many meals.

KATYDIDS AND THEIR K1X \\

LOCUSTIDjE.

The family of Orthoptera known as the Locustidw
comprises those insects commonly called katydids,
u'lven grasshoppers, and stone or camel crickets. The
distinguishing characters of the members of this fam-
ily are the long, slender, tapering, many-jointed
antennae ; the almost universal absence of simple
eyes; the four-jointed tarsi or feet; and the sword-
shaped ovipositor of the females. The outer wings,
when present, slope obliquely downwards, instead of
being bent abruptly, as in the cricket family ; and in
most cases the wings are longer than the wing covers.

The stridulating or musical organ of the males is
quite similar in structure to that of the male cricket,
being found at the base of the overlapping dorsal
surface of the wing covers and usually consisting of
a transparent membrane, of a more or less rounded
form, which is crossed by a prominent curved vein
bearing on the under side a single row of minute file-
like teeth. In stridulating, the wing covers are moved
apart and then shuffled together again, when these
teeth are rubbed over a vein on the upper surface
of the other wing cover, producing the familiar, so-
called "katydid" sound. Each of the different spe-
cies makes a distinct call or note of its own, and
many of them have two calls, one which they use by
night and the other by day. Any one who will pay
close attention to these different calls can soon learn
to distinguish each species by its note as readily as
the ornithologist can recognize different species of.
birds in the same manner. The ear of these insects,

212 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

when present, is also similar in structure and position
to that of the cricket's, being an oblong or oval cav-
ity covered with a transparent or whitish membrane,
and situated on the front leg near the basal end of
the tibia.

The young of the Locustidce, like those of the other
families of the order, when hatched from the egg
resemble the adults in form but are wholly wingless.
As they increase in size they moult or shed the skin
five times, the wings each time becoming more appar-
ent, until after the fifth moult, when they appear fully
developed, and the insect is mature or full grown,
never increasing in size thereafter. Throughout their
entire lives they are active, greedy feeders, mostly
herbivorous in habit ; and, where present in numbers,
necessarily do much harm to growing vegetation.
Thirty-nine species of the family are known to occur
in Indiana.

Popularly speaking, we may divide the members
of the family into three groups, the katydids, green
grasshoppers and stone or camel crickets. Taking
these up in the order mentioned, we find that the
"katydids," nine species of which have, up to the
present, been recorded from the State, are the most
arboreal of all the Locustidce. The great majority of
them pass their entire lives on shrubs and trees,
where thev feed upon the leaves and

rp v

. tender twigs, and, when present in

numbers, often do excessive injury.

The color and form of their wings serve admirably to

protect them against their worst foes, the birds; and

as they live a solitary life, i. e., do not flock together

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN.

213

in numbers as do the green grasshoppers, they are but
seldom noticed by man. Their love calls or songs,
however, make the welkin ring at night from mid-
August until after heavy frost, and though but one
of the nine species found in the State makes a note
in any way resembling the syllables " katy-did, she-
did," yet all are accredited with this sound by the
casual observer, and hence the common, name usually
given to the members of this sub-family. Their call
is seldom made by day for the obvious reason that it
might attract the attention of the birds and so lead
to the destruction of the insect. As twilight
approaches, however, the male of each species begins
his peculiar note, \vhich is kept up,
with little or no intermission, until
the approach of day warns him that
his feathered enemies will soon be on
the alert, and that silence will be, for
a time, the best policy to pursue.

From the other Locustidce the katy-
dids differ widely in their habits of
oviposition, the eggs not being depos-
ited on the earth or in twigs, but are
usually glued fast in double row r s to
the outer surface of slender twigs or
on the edges of leaves. The eggs of
the most common species appear like
flattened hemp seeds, and usually over-
lap one another in the row in which
they are placed. On account of this
method of oviposition, the ovipositors
of the katydids are broader, more curved and more

Fig. 47 Eggs of

Angular-winged

Katydid,

214

GLEANINGS FROM NA'l 77,' K.

winged
Katydid.

obtuse at the end than in the other sub-families, whose
members oviposit in the earth or in the stems of grass.
The broad-winged or "true katydid," Cyrtophyllus
concavus (Harris), is found in considerable numbers
throughout the State, but is much
The Broad- more commonly heard than seen, as it
dwells singly or in pairs in the densest
foliage which it can find, such as the
tops of shade trees and the entwining vines of the

grape arbor. In central
Indiana it reaches matur-
ity as early as July 20;
and is more domestic in
its habits than any other
species of the "katydid"
group, frequenting, for
the most part, the shrub-
bery of yards, orchards
and the trees along fence
rows, being seldom heard
in extensive wooded
tracts. Its note is the
loudest made by any mem-
ber of the family, the male
having the musical organ
larger and better devel-
oped than in any other.
The call is almost always
begun soon after dusk
with a single note uttered

Fig. 48-Broad-winged Katydid. at intervals of about five
(Male. After Harris.) seconds for a half dozen

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN. 215

or more times. This preliminary note gives the
listener the impression that the musician is tuning
his instrument preparatory to the well known double
call which is soon begun and kept up almost contin-
uously from dark till dawn.

Of this call, Mr. S. H. Scudder has written : " The
note of the true katydid, which sounds like Jfr, has a
shocking lack of melody; the poets who have sung
its praises, must have heard it at the distance that
lends enchantment. In close proximity, the sound is
excessively rasping and grating louder and coarser
than I have ever heard from any of the Locustarians
in America or in Europe, and the Locustarians are
the noisiest of all Orthoptera. Since these creatures
are abundant wherever they occur, the noise produced
by them, on an evening especially favorable to their
song, is most discordant. Usually, the notes are two
in number, rapidly repeated at short intervals. Per-
haps nine out often will ordinarily give this number,
but occasionally a stubborn insect persists in sound-
ing the triple note 'katy-she-did' and as katydids
appear desirous of defiantly answering their neigh-
bors in the same measure, the proximity of a treble-
voiced songster demoralizes a whole neighborhood,
and a curious medley results. Notes from some indi-
viduals may then be heard all the while, scarcely a
moment's time intervening between their stridula-
tions some nearer, others at a greater distance so
that the air is filled by these noisy troubadours with
an indescribably confused and grating clatter."

The " angular- winged katydid," Microcentrum lauri-
folium (L.), is another species which in the country is

216

GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

commonly called "the katydid," and the note of

Cyrtophyllus concavus is usually attributed to it but its

true note may be represented "'by the

syllable 'tic* repeated from eierht to
Angular-winged J ,

Katydid twenty times at the rate 01 about four

to the second." It is evidently at-
tracted by light, being often found in the gutters
beneath the electric lights in the
larger cities and towns. It oc-
curs, probably, throughout the
State, but is more common south-
ward and is nowhere found in
sufficient numbers to be injuri-
ous. The eggs are laid on twigs
which have been previously
roughened with the jaws and
otherwise prepared for a place of
deposit. The two rows are con-
tiguous and the eggs of one alter-
nate with those of the other.
Those of the same row overlap
about one-fourth of their length.
They are of a grayish brown
color, long oval in shape, very flat,
and measure 5.5x3 mm. They
are usually deposited in Septem-
ber, hatch the following May, and
the young, in central Indiana,
reach maturity during the first
half of August.
The green grasshoppers are those slender-bodied
Locustidce, with long, tapering antennae, which arc so

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN. 217

common in summer and early autumn in damp mead-
ows and prairies, and along the mar-
gins of streams, ditches and ponds.
Grasshoppers. *L

They are mostly terrestrial in their
habits, but one or two of the larger ones ever being
found in trees.

Of this group 21 species have been found in Indi-
ana, four of which, called " cone-headed grasshoppers,"
are more than twice as large as the others and have
the vertex or top of the head prolonged forwards and
upwards into a prominent cone. The outer wings are
long and slender, and the ovipositor is oftentimes of
excessive length. The total length of the females is
between one and a half and two inches, that of the
males averaging about a third less. '

These insects seem to " possess more intelligence than
is usual among the Orthoptera, and they are about
the most difficult of the order to approach. In escap-
ing they usually slip or fall into the grass instead of
jumping or flying; but they seem to fully understand
that they are very well protected by their color and
form. If approached very cautiously they often re-
main quite still upon the stem of grass upon which
you have surprised them, with the usually well
founded expectation that you will not be able to dis-
tinguish them from the green herbage around. If
they think it worth while to make some active move-
ment to escape they will frequently slip around on
the other side of the stem and walk down it to
the ground or off upon another plant. Unlike most
Orthoptera they do not use their front legs in hold-
ing to the mouth the thing upon which they feed.

218 GLEANINGS FEOM NATURE.

Instead of biting they seem to wrench or tear away
pieces from the stems or leaves."

The females of the cone-heads deposit their eggs
between the stems and root leaves of coarse grassy
and sedges. The young are hatched in May and
reach maturity about the 5th of August. The notes
of the male vary much according to species, that of
the more common "sword-bearer," Conocephalus en-
siger Harris, being similar to the syllables " ik-ik-H;."
as if sharpening a saw, this sound enlivening low

Fig. 50 Sword-bearer.
(Female. After Lugger.)

bushes, and particularly the corn patch, as it seems
to especially delight in perching near the top of a
cornstalk and there giving forth its rather impulsive
song.

The other members of the green-grasshopper group,
17 in number known to occur in the State, seldom
exceed three-fourths of an inch in length. The color
of their bodies corresponds closely to that of the
stems and leaves of the sedges and grasses among
which they dwell, and so protects them from the sight

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN. 219

of the few birds which frequent a like locality. Their
songs, produced in the same manner as those of their
larger cousins, the katydids, are as frequent by day
as by night, but are usually soft and low in compar-
ison with those of the former. Their day song dif-
fers from that of the night, and, "it is curious to
observe these little creatures suddenly changing from
the day to the night song at the mere passing of a
cloud, and' returning to the old note when the sky is
clear. By imitating the two songs in the daytime,
the grasshopper can be made to represent either at
will ; at night they have but one note."

Fig. 51 Lance-tailed Grasshopper.
Xiphidium attenuatum Seudder.

The eggs of these smaller green grasshoppers are
deposited within the stems or root leaves of grass, the
pith of twigs, or sometimes in the turnip-shaped galls
so common on certain species of willow. The ovi-
positor being thus used as a piercer, has in time de-
veloped into a slender and sharp-pointed instrument
which is but little curved and is frequently of exces-
sive length, in some species being over twice as long
as the remainder of the body.

Eight of the seventeen belong to the genus Xiphi-
dium, meaning " sword-bearer," which includes the

220 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

smallest and most slender-bodied of the winged
Locustidce.

A very common member of this genus in western
Indiana is Xiphidium nemorale Scudder. It reaches
maturity about August 15th and from then until after
heavy frosts may be found in numbers along the bor-
ders of dry, upland woods, fence rows and roadsides,
where it delights to rest on the low shrubs, blackberry
bushes, or coarse weeds usually growing in "such local-
ities. On the sunny afternoons of mid-autumn it is
especially abundant on the lower parts of the rail and
board fences, the male uttering his faint and monot-
onous love call a sort of ch-e-e-e-e ch-e-e-e-e, contin-
uously repeated -the female but a short distance
away, a motionless, patient, and apparently attentive
listener.

The remaining nine members of the group belong
to the genus Orchelimum,the literal meaning of which
is, "I dance in the meadows." The name is a most
appropriate one, for low, moist meadows everywhere
swarm with these insects from July to November;
and though waltzes and quadrilles are probably not
indulged in, yet the music and song, the wooing and
love making, which are the natural accompaniments
of those amusements, are ever present, and make the
short season of mature life of the participants a seem-
ingly happy one.

Among these the " common meadow grasshopper,"
Orchelimum vulgare Harris, is probably the most
abundant member of the family Locustidcc found in
Indiana. It begins to reach maturity in the central
part of the State about July 20th, and more frequently

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN. 221

than any other of our species of Orchelimum is found
in upland localities, along fence rows, and in clover
and timothy mead-
ows. In early au-
tumn it is very fond
of resting on the
leaves and stems of
the iron-weed so

COmmOll in many Fig. 52 Common Meadow Grasshopper.

blue-grass pastures. c Male - After Lugger.)

This green grasshopper seems to be somewhat carniv-
orous in habit, as on two occasions I have discovered it
feeding upon the bodies of small moths which in some
way it had managed to capture. The note of the male
is the familiar zip-zip-zip-zip ze-e-e-e the first part
being repeated about four times, usually about twice
a second; the ze-e-e-e continuing from two or three to
twenty or more seconds.

"The poetry of earth is never dead:

When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run

From hedge to hedge about the new mown mead;

That is the grasshopper's he takes the lead
In summer luxury, he has never done
With his delights; for when tired out with fun

He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed."

The "stone or camel crickets," nine species of

which occur in Indiana, are wingless Locustidw of

medium or large size with a thick

Camel Crickets. bodv and arched back. They are sel-
dom seen except by the professional
collector, as they are nocturnal in their habits, and
during the day hide beneath stones along the margins

2-2'2 ','/.AM.\7.\v,.s i-'iiuM \ ATI' UK

of small woodland streams, or beneath logs and
chunks in damp woods, in which places seldom less
than two, nor more than three or four, are found
associated together.

That they are well nigh omnivorous in their choice
of food, I have determined by keeping them in con-

finement, when they
fed upon meat as
well as upon pieces
of fruit and vegeta-
bles, seemingly pre-
ferring the latter.

Fig. 53 Stone or Camel Cricket. -

Ceuthophiiu* macuiatus (Say). The majority of the

(Female. After Lugger.) SpCClCS evidently

reach maturity and deposit their eggs in the late sum-
mer or early autumn, as the full grown insects are
more common then, but have been taken as late as
December 1st. The eggs, which are supposed to be
laid in the earth, usually hatch in April ; but some are
hatched in autumn and the young live over winter
(an anomaly among the Locustidse), as I have taken
them in January and February from the localities
which the adults frequent in summer. Several of the
species inhabit caves and are usually of much larger
size, with longer antennae and smaller compound eyes
than those found above ground.

GRYLLID^!.

The GryllidcB or^ crickets are, in the main, distin-
guished from other Orthopterous insects, by having
the wing covers flat above and bent abruptly down-

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN.

223

ward at the sides ; the antennae long, slender, and
many jointed ; the tarsi, or feet, three jointed, without
pads between the claws; the ear situated on the tibia
of the fore leg, and the abdomen bearing a pair of
jointed cerci or stylets at the end.

The ovipositor of the female, when present, is long,
usually spear-shaped, and consists, apparently, of two
pieces. Each of these halves, however, when closely
examined, is seen to be made up of two pieces so
united as to form a groove on the inner side ; so that
when the two halves are fitted together, a tube is pro-
duced, down which the eggs pass to the repository in
the earth or twig fitted to receive them.

Representatives of 25 species of these interesting
insects have been taken in Indiana', several of which
are exceedingly abundant through-
out the State. Among these are
two species of burrowing or " mole'
crickets" which rank first in size
and singularity of structure. When
full grown they measure from one
inch to an inch and a half in length ;
are light brown in color and have

the body covered

with very short hairs,

giving it a soft vel-
vety appearance. The females have
no visible ovipositor, and, exter-
nally, may be separated from the
males only by the difference in the
veining of the uppermost of the
wing covers. By their habit of bur-

The Mole
Crickets.

Fig. 54 Mole Cricket.

'2-24 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

r-'winu- beneath the soil in search of such food as tin-
tender roots of plants, earth-worms and the larvae of
various insects, the anterior tibiae of these crickets
have, in the course of ages, become so modified in
structure as to closely resemble the front feet of the
common mole, whence the generic name, Gryllotalpa,
from "gryllus," a cricket, and "talpa," a mole. More-
over, the compound eyes have become very much
aborted, being not more than one-eighth the size of
those of the common field cricket, Gryllus abbreviates
Serv. ; and, as the insect crawls rather than leaps, the
hind femora are but little enlarged.

The mole crickets are found in all parts of Indiana,
though nowhere in great abundance. Their eggs are
laid in under-ground chambers in masses of from forty
to sixty, and the young are about three years in reach-
ing maturity. On this account, where they exist in
numbers, they are very destructive, feeding, as they
do during that time, mainly upon the tender roots of
various plants. It is therefore fortunate that with us
these crickets are not more common than they are.
In the moist mud and sand along the margins of the
smaller streams and ponds their runs or burrows,
exactly like those of a mole, though much smaller, can
in late summer and early autumn be seen by those
interested enough to search for them. These runs
usually end beneath a stone or small stick, but the
insects are very seldom seen, as they are nocturnal,
forming their burrows by night, and scarcely ever
emerging from beneath the ground.

The note of the male is a sharp di-syllabic chirp,
continuously repeated and loud enough to be heard

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN. 225

several rods away. It is usually attributed, by those
who have given little attention to insect sounds, to
the field crickets or to some of the smaller frogs.
They are very difficult to locate by this note, and I
have on several occasions approached cautiously on
hands and knoes, a certain spot and have remained
silent for some minutes while the chirping went on,
apparently beneath my very eyes ; yet when the sup-
posed exact position of the chirper was, determined
and a quick movement was made to unearth him he
could not be found. Indeed, it is only by chance, as
by the sudden turning over of a log in a soft, mucky
place that a person can happen upon one of them
unawares. Even then quick movement is necessary
to capture him before he scrambles into the open
mouth of one of the deep burrows which he has ever
in readiness.

Probably the best known crickets in the State arc
the "field crickets" those dark-colored, thick-bodied
species, mature specimens of which are so abundant
from late summer until after heavy frosts, beneath
logs, boards, stones, and especially beneath rails in the
rorners of the old-fashioned and rapidly disappearing

rail fences. The eggs of some of the

The Field ^ i i i j ^.i, j

c . . . held crickets are laid in the ground in

late autumn and hatch the following
May. Those of at least two species are, however, laid
in late summer or early autumn, and hatch before
frost, the half grown young being found in numbers
throughout the winter beneath logs and chunks. On
cold days they are usually found in a dormant con-
dition, each one at the bottom of a cone-shaped cavity
15

226 GLEANINGS FROM \ATURE.

\\ hick it has formed for itself, and which is very sim-
ilar to the pit made in loose sand hy the larva of the
ant lion, Myrmeleon obsoletus Say.

The most common of the five species occurring with
us is the .short-winged field cricket, Gryllus abbn riti-
tus Serv., which is nocturnal, omnivorous, and a can-
nibal. Avoiding the light of day he venfures forth, as

soon as darkness has
fallen, in search of food.
and all appears to bo fish
which comes to his net.
Of fruit, vegetables, grass
Fig. 55-Fieid Cricket. ' and carrion he seems

equally fond, and does not

hesitate to prey upon a weaker brother when oppor-
tunity offers. I have often surprised them feasting
upon the bodies of their companions, and of about
forty imprisoned together in a box, at the end of a
week but six were living. The heads, wings and
legs of their dead companions were all that remained
to show that the weaker had succumbed to the
stronger; that the fittest, and in this case the fattest.
had survived in the deadly struggle for existence.

Of all the GryllidcB which occur in the 'Northern

States, the little brown "ground crickets" are the most

numerous and the most social. Unlike their larger

cousins, the field crickets, they do not

- . wait for darkness before seeking their

CT1CK61S.

food ; but wherever the grass has been
cropped short, whether on shaded hillside or in the
full glare of the noonday sun along the beaten road-
way, mature specimens may be seen by hundreds

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN. 227

during the days of early autumn. They are all of
small size, being seldom more than half an inch in
length. The color is a dark brown, and the bodies
and legs are sparsely clothed with brown hairs.

These crickets are omnivorous, feeding upon all
kinds of decaying animal matter as
well as upon living vegetation.
When disturbed they are very diffi-
cult to capture, making enormous -
leaps with their stout hind legs, no
sooner striking the ground than
they are up and away again, even
if not pursued, until they find a
leaf or other shelter beneath which
to take refuge. Six species occur,
in Indiana and from their enormous
numbers, as well as from the fact
that they are constant, greedy feed-
ers from the time the ee^s hatch in

OO

the spring until laid low by the Fig .^L GroundC riTkeL
hoar frost of autumn, it follows that NemoUus fasdatus vit-

tatus Harris.

they must be classed among our (Femal( , twice natiiral
most injurious Orthoptera, but as Bize - After Lugger.)
yet no effectire means for their destruction has been
discovered.

Among the crickets occurring in Indiana is a short,
thick-bodied brown form, Apith.es agitator Uhler. It
has been taken in several of the south-western coun-
tiqs, notably in Vigo, where the first ones discovered
were on the slender twigs of some prickly-ash shrub's
which grew in a damp upland woods. The place AVUS
visited a number of times and the crickets were always

228 OLE AXING S FliOM NATURE.

found, perfectly motionless, and immediately above or
below one of the thorns or prickles jutting forth from
the twigs. The tips of the hind femora were raised
so as to project above the body, thus causing them to
resemble the thorns; and the color of the insects,
corresponding closely with that of the bark, made
them very difficult to discover even when in especial
search of them. On every clump of prickly-ash in
the woods mentioned a number of specimens were
secured but they could be found nowhere else there-
abouts. On another occasion they were discovered
about the roots of a scarlet oak, Quercus coccinea
Wang, which grew on a sandy hillside. Here they
were plentiful, and resting motionless in the depres-
sions of the bark or beneath the leaves in the cavities
formed by the roots of the tree.

Of all the males taken in both places, over thirty in
number, there was not one with perfect wing covers,
and, in almost every instance, the wing covers as well
as the rudimentary wings were wholly absent; while
every female had both pairs unharmed. I at first
ascribed this wing mutilation to the males fighting
among themselves, but finally discovered a female in
the act of devouring the w r ings of a male. Why this
curious habit on the part of 5 the one sex ? Possibly
the females require a wing diet to requite them for
their bestowed affections, or, perchance, they are a
jealous set, and, having once gained the affections of
a male, devour his wing covers to keep him from call-
ing other females about him.

The tree crickets may be known from others of
their kin by their slender hind legs, their narrow,

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN.

229

The Tree
Crickets.

elongated chest or pro-thorax, and their whitish or
greenish-white color. The wing covers of the females
are wrapped closely about the body,
while those of the male are much
firmer in texture, broadly spread out,
and very transparent; causing such a difference of
appearance between the two sexes that tyro collec-
tors often take them for widely
different insects. Of the six
species known to occur in In-
diana the snowy tree cricket,
(Ecanthm niveus DeGeer, is the
most common and the best
known. Both sexes of this
species are in color ivory white,

more Or leSS tinged With a del- Fig. 57-Snowy Tree Crickets.

icate green, especially in the (MaIe and female - }

female. The top of the head and basal joint of an-
tennae are usually suffused with ochre yellow, while
on the lower face of each of the two basal joints of
the antennae is a small black spot. The ovipositor
of the female is short, perfectly straight and usually
tipped with black.

The snowy tree cricket is very common throughout
the State, and mature specimens are to be found in
numbers about grape vines, shrubbery, etc., from
August 1st until November. The females appear
more plentiful than the males, the latter being more
often heard "than seen. During the day they keep
themselves hidden among the foliage and flowers of
various plants, but as night approaches they come
forth and the male begins his incessant, shrill, chirp-

230

GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

ing note the well known t-r-r r-e-e; t-r-r r-e-e,
repeated without pause or variation about seventy
times a minute.

The females of the snowy cricket do much harm
by ovipositing in the tender canes or shoots of various
plants, as the raspberry, grape, plum, peach, etc. ; no
less than 321 eggs, by actual count, having been found
in a raspberry cane 22 inches in length. The eggs
are laid in autumn and at first the injury is shown
only by a slight roughness of the
bark, but afterwards the cane or
branch frequently dies above
the puncture, or is so much in-
jured as to be broken off by the
first high wind. If the injured
and broken canes containing the
eggs be collected and burned in
early spring the number of in-
sects for that season will be ma-
terially lessened.

This injurious habit is partly,
if not wholly, offset by the car-
nivorous habits of the crickets,
as the young, which are hatched
in June, feed for some time
upon the various species of
aphides or plant lice which in-
fest the shrubbery they frequent.

in raspberry cane. MisS Mary E. Murtfeldt, of

has given an

interesting account of some ex-
periments and observations concerning this habit,

Fig. 5&-Eggs of Tree Cricket

a. Cane, showing puncture; fc, Tri,,L- wnr \f r

cane split to show eggs; c, egg ^ U >U ' '

enlarged.

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN. 231

from which the following extract is taken : " Some
leaves of plum infested with a delicate species of yel-
low aphis were put into a jar with the young of
(Ecanthus nivem, but attracted no immediate atten-
tion. As twilight deepened, however, the crickets
awakened to greater activity o By holding the jar
against the light of the window, or bringing it
suddenly into the lamp light, the little nocturnal
hunters might be seen hurrying with a furtive,
darting movement over the leaves and stems, the
head bent down, the antennae stretched forward,
and every sense apparently on the alert. Then the
aphides provided for their food would be caught up
one after another with eagerness and devoured with
violent action of the mouth parts, the antennae mean-
while playing up and down in evident expression of
satisfaction. Unless I had provided very liberally not
an aphis would be found in the jar the next morning,
and the sluggish crickets would have every appear-
ance of plethora."

ACRIDID^E.

The common things about us, those which we meet
in our every-day life, are usually those of which we
know the least. Everybody knows a grasshopper by
sight. How many can describe the salient points in
its life history, can tell of the many devices which it
uses to avoid its enemies, or of the many ways in
which its organs have become adapted to or fitted for
the life it leads ? Yet any one interested in the objects
of nature can soon learn these and other similar facts

232 GLEANINOS FROM NATURE.

for himself by a little patient, personal investiga-
tion.

To the people of ancient times the "grasshopper"
of to-day Avas the " locust," one of the seven plagues
of Egypt. The scientific men of this country have
long endeavored to have them called " locusts" in the
United States, but the majority of people persist in
calling them "grasshoppers," and give the name
"locust" to those noisy insects which once every sev-
enteen years invade our fields and forests in such
countless numbers. To my mind "grasshopper" is
the better and more expressive name for the insect
with which we have to deal, and, though " locust" has
the priority, as the wise men say, yet we shall relegate
it to the shades of the past and know our subject by
its most common title.

To the average observer a grasshopper is a grass-
hopper, nothing more like

" The primrose on the river's brim "

was to Peter Bell. But to the naturalist, or to any
person who will keep his eyes and ears open as he
walks about, there are grasshoppers and grasshop-
pers not individuals, but different kinds, each with
interesting facts to be learned concerning it. Over
520 species inhabit the United States, 51 of which have
been taken by myself within the limits of Indiana.

Most of these pass the winter in the egg stage, the
eggs, in early autumn, being deposited in the earth
by the mother insect in compact masses of forty to
sixty each in the manner shown in the accompanying
cut. About mid- April these eggs begin to hatch and

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN.

233

the sprightly little insects, devoid of wings but other-
wise like their parents, are soon seen on every hand.
Born with one earthly desire a voracious appetite
and with one valuable possession a pair of strong,

Fig. 59 Grasshopper in the act of laying eggs. (After RilejO

broad jaws, which move in and out like the blades of

a pair of scissors the little hopper soon begins to use

the latter to appease the former, and

for twenty-four hours a day and seven
Grasshoppers. J J

days in a week, he gnaws away at
the soft, green, succulent grass which surrounds him
on every side. Such a procedure can have but one
result. His body soon becomes too big for its sur-
roundings. Something must give way and that some-
thing-is bis skin. lie casts it aside with but little
reluctance, however, for a new one is ready to take its
place, and immediately begins to satiate his appetite
once more. Five successive times his skin gets too
small for his body and is cast aside. Between each

234

OLE A KINGS FROM NA 777,' /<;.

of those moults the wings are growing and when the
fifth skin is shed he emerges a mature and fully fledged
insect.

While passing through
a field on one September
day, I observed, clinging
to the stems of weeds, sev-
eral specimens of what
appeared to be the bodies
of grasshoppers with the
wings of the common sul-
phur-yellow butterfly at-
tached to them. Such a
combination aroused my
curiosity, but a close ex-
amination proved them to
be specimens of the com-
mon black-winged grass-
hopper which had just
moulted for the last time
and spread out their soft
wings to dry. The inner
wings, instead of being
black, were light yellow,
but in three or four hours
thereafter had changed to
their usual color. The
cast oft' skins were close

(a. Young ready to change; 6 and c, the by and WCl'C lllUcll Smaller
Kkin splits along the back and the adult ? ,, -p .-,

emerges; d, adult drying out; e, perfect in- ttiail tll6 lllSOCt. LilKO

crayfish they had shed the
entire outer skin in one piece, pulling out the legs

Fig. (50 Grasshopper shedding its skin.

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN. 235

and antennae much as a person pulls a foot out of a
boot.

However, all grasshoppers do not pass the winter

in the egg state. Three or four species hatch in early

autumn and the young in various stages can, in suitable

localities, be seen jumping vigorously

about on any warm sunny day in
Grasshoppers. . J

mid-winter. If their presence at such
a season comes to the attention of a newspaper
reporter, the press of the entire State is apt to teem
with warnings of a coming grasshopper plague, of
which the youngsters are thought to be the advance
guard. These hibernating young are the first to reach
maturity the next spring, usually becoming full grown
about the 20th of April.

Fig. 61 Coral-winged Grasshopper, Hippiscus tubercvlatus (Pal. de B.).
(Survives the winter in young stage and reaches maturity in April. After Lugger.)

Again, nine species out of our fifty-one pass the
winter as mature insects. They are our smallest
<;T;isshoppers, all being, when full grown, less than
half an inch in length ; gray or blackish in color; and
with the hard upper crust of the
. thorax ^tending the full length of
the body and covering the wings.
They are called "grouse grasshoppers," and during
cold weather they hide beneath the loose bark of logs

236

GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

or beneath the bottom rails of old fences. On the first
warm days of spring they can be collected by hundreds
from any grass-covered hillside having a sunny south-
ern exposure.

A grasshopper has five eyes,- three small simple
ones, and two large compound ones. Each of the
latter is composed of many thousand six-sided facets
or parts, in each of which a single filament of the
optic nerve "ends; yet it is claimed that with all these

Teltix arnatus (Say). Paralettix cucitllatns (Burin). Tettigideti lateralis (Say).
Fig. 62. Grouse Grasshoppers. (After Lugger.)

eyes the insect sees but poorly, being guided rather
by the sense of smell than by that of sight. There is
no nose, the sense of smell being located in the feelers
or antennae; while the ears, instead of being in the
head, are on the basal ring of the abdomen. Ten
small openings on each side of the body lead into
tubes which branch and ramify through all its
portions. Through these the air passes and comes in
contact with the blood vessels which lie alongside of
the air tubes in many parts of the body.

KATYDIDS AND THE IE KIN. 237

As is well known, the male of each species of grass-
hopper has the power of making a peculiar noise, or
"stridulation," as it is called. In most species it is
made while on the ground and is produced by rubbing
the inner surface of the hind leg

GrfsTh^ppers*. a ^ uill8t thc outer 8urfa< ; c of the front
wing. In those species which fly

much it is made while on the wing, or just when
rising from the ground, by rubbing together the
upper surface of the front edge of the hind wings and
the under surface of the front wings. By paying
close attention the observer can soon learn to distin-
guish each species by its peculiar note. Only the
males have musical organs, which is quite the reverse
among some animals higher in the Scale of life where
the females make most of the music and oftentimes
much of the noise. The female grasshoppers, how-
ever, make up for their lack of musical abilities by
their greater bulk, as they are always much larger
than their better (?) halves.

Nineteen out of our fifty-one species seldom use the
wings in moving from place to place, but leap vigor-
ously when disturbed. Among them are seven species
of "short winged" grasshoppers whose wings have
become rudimentary in the past through long disuse,
so that in the perfect insect of to-day they are less
than half the length of the abdomen.

Fifteen kinds, the most common of which is the
black-winged or "Carolina grasshopper," use the
wings almost wholly in their journeyings and often
fly long distances when flushed. Their hind legs are
used only in giving themselves an upward impetus

238 <; L E. 1 A'/AY/s FROM NATURE.

from the ground and hence are much smaller propor-
tionally than are those of the group of "hoppers"
which leap rather than fly, while their wings arc
much longer and stronger. To this group of "flyers"
belongs our largest and most handsome species,
the "American grasshopper," Schistocerca americana
(Drury).

In the season of 1893 this species was unusually
common in Vigo County, from the fact that a large
number of adults were blown in by a high wind which
prevailed on the night of April 11. No mature speci-
mens had ever before been noted in that vicinity

Fig. 63 American Grasshopper.
(Male. After Lugger.^

earlier than the middle of June, but on the morning
after the storm mentioned hundreds were seen on the
streets of Terre Haute. They had come sailing in on
the wings of the wind from some distant point in the
south-west where they had passed the winter in the
mature state or as an advanced form of the young.

In Indiana there are two species which far outrank
all others in numbers and in the injury which they do
to grass and growing vegetation in general. The
larger of these is the "lubberly grasshopper/ 9 Delano-
plus ilift'criiitialis (Uhler), a clumsy, thick-set fellow,
which is found by thousands along fence rows and

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN. 239

the borders of cultivated fields, especially those of the
river bottoms, where they feed upon the greater rag-
weed or h*orse-weed. On October 2d, 1894, vast
numbers were seen along the edge of a field of low-

Fig. 64 Lubberly Grasshopper.
(Male. After Lugger.)

land corn, the leaves of the marginal rows of which
they had almost wholly destroyed. When a stalk
was approached they did not desert it but dodged
quickly around to the opposite side, much as a squir-
rel does around the trunk of a tree when pursued.
If, however, one took alarm and jumped, all the others
in the immediate vicinity did likewise.

The most common and most injurious species found
in the State is much smaller and is known as the
iv<l-legged grasshopper," Mdanoplus femur-rubrum
(DeGeer), on account of its hind shanks or tibia?
being blood-red. It often destroys the second crop
of clover in many parts of the State, besides doing-
much injury to young corn
and other growing crops.

The Kansas or Kocky
Mountain grasshopper does
not occur in Indiana. Con- v .

j* ig . to Hed-Iegged Grasshopper.

trary to the general belief (Male.)

240 a LK A \i.\as FROM

it is not a large, robust spec'ies, being but about the
same size as our red-legged grasshop-

per, and bearing: to the latter a close
Grasshopper.

general resemblance ; so close in fact
that only specialists can readily tell them apart.

Millions of dollars of damage was done in the
Western States by these small insects in the summers
of 1873 and 1875. Migrating in vast clouds from one
part of the country to another they would fall upon a

cornfield and convert, in a
few hours, the green and
___ -><^> promising acres into a de-
solate stretch of bare, spin-

Fig. (56 Kansas Grasshopper. ... . 1 _

dlin stalks and stubs. In

<Maie.-> the words of the prophet

Joel: "The land was as the garden of Eden bei'or<
them, and behind them a desolate wilderness ; yea,
and nothing did escape them."

The sound caused by their approach or flight was
almost deafening, and has been graphically described
as follows :

"Onward they came, a dark continuous cloud

Of congregated myriads numberless,
The rustling of whose wings was as the sound

Of a broad river headlong in its course
Plunged from a mountain summit, or the roar

Of a wild ocean in the autumn storm,
Shattering its billows on a shore of rock."

Each kind of grasshopper has its favorite resort
where it is to be found in greatest abundance, although
some of them are common enough anywhere. For
example, there are three or four species of pea-green

KATYDIDS AND THEIR KIN. 241

grasshoppers which are found only among the dense
green grasses and sedges along the margins of ponds
and lowland streams. There, as long
as motionless, they are invisible, and
there they flourish in peace and
countless numbers.

The .Kentucky blue-grass and the
different kinds of meadow grasses
are a darker green, and, where rank,
turn brown early in the autumn.
The different species of "short-
winged " grasshoppers, and many
others whose hues are olive green or
brown, find in the fallen clumps of
these grasses places of hiding well
suiting their color as well as an
abundance of food well suiting their
taste.

At the Goose Pond, nine miles be- Fig. 67 A Pea-green
low Terre Haute, occurs a species of ... Grassh PP er -

Dicromorpha viridis

grasshopper, Leptysma marginicollis (Seudder).
(Serv.), which has never been re- (After Lugser ' )
corded elsewhere north of Florida. Its occurrence in
Indiana can only be accounted for by the presence of
the broad and 'sheltering valley of the Wabash within
the confines of which it finds a climate and a vegetation
congenial to its wants. If its habits be the same else-
where as in Indiana, the name " grasshopper " is for it
a misnomer, for here it is never seen on the grass or
ground, and never hops when disturbed, but moves
with a quick and noiseless flight for twenty or more
feet to a cylindrical stein of sedge or rush on which
16

24-2 < ; L K. 1 M\as ntOX NATVUK

it alights. The instant it grasps the stem it
quickly around to the side opposite the intruder.
Tlu-n, holding the stem firmly with its short front and
middle legs, it draws its slender hind legs close up
against the body and hugging its support as closely
as possible, remains perfectly motionless. Its body is
almost cylindrical, and being of the same general

color as the stalk of
the plant on which
it rests, it is almost
impossible to detect

Fig. 68-Florida Grauhopper. ^ U]llesg Qne geeg ex _

aetly where it alights. Eight times out of ten a per-
son, by approaching quietly, can reach his hand about
the plant stem and grasp the insect. Its habits excel-
lently illustrate the so-called " protective mimicry "
of form and coloring, as it always seems to choose a
cylindrical object, and one similar to its own color,
before alighting.

Let us now briefly notice the habits of our ash-
brown, black-winged friend, the "Carolina grasshop-
per." To the casual observer he appears to be our
most common species but there are a dozen which
are more abundant. His numbers appear multiplied
because he frequents the highways and byways of
man rather than the pastures and meadows where
other grasshoppers are wont to congregate. More-
over, when disturbed, he more often betakes himself
to the bare earth than to the green grass. " Why this
absurd taste?" asks the person uninitiated in the
doings of nature's objects. For the simple reason
that the dust of the roadside and the gravel ballast of.

KATYDIDS AND THEIE KIN.

243

the railway correspond so closely with the color of
his back that his best friends and worst enemies will
overlook him if he will only remain quiet. Yea, even
that sharp-eyed
connoisseur of
grasshopper tid-
bits, the turkey
gobbler, often-
times walks right
over him mistak-
ing him for a way-
side pebble.

Thus, by choos-
ing their resorts
to suit their col-
ors, or rather, in
the course of ages,
changing their
colors to suit their,
environments,
grasshoppers have
been enabled each
year to wax, grow fat, and replenish the earth with
their progeny, at the same time deplenishing it by
reason of their enormous numbers and their insatia-
l)lc appetites.

In the latitude of central Indiana, the heyday of
the mature grasshopper's life lies between the dates
of mid- August and mid-October. Then it is that their
love calls are the most numerous ; that their ambitions
in life are satisfied, and that the eggs, destined to
carry the race through the rigors of an approaching

Fig. 69 Carolina Grasshopper.

Dissosteira Carolina (L.).

(After Lugger.)

244

GLEANINGS FROM N ATI' I IK.

winter, are deposited in the earth. As the cooler
days of November draw nigh their ranks grow rapidly
less, and yet, with the exception of one place, their
dead bodies are seldom met with. That exception is
the top of tall weeds, where, oftentimes even so early

as September, the bodies of
the more common species
are seen, their limbs tightly
clasping the branches or
leaves of the plant on which
they rest. Why this position
is taken by them before
death I can not say. Of
course it is nonsense, but I
have often asked myself the
question: Is it assuming
too much of them to sup-
pose that, having lived their
allotted time, or being preyed
upon by some invisible but
insidious animal or plant
parasite, and feeling their
death throes coming on, they
choose to fly or climb to the
most elevated position available, there to take a fare-
well view of their summer's home?

Fig. 70 Two-striped Grasshopper.
Mclanoplus bivittatue (Say) .

(Killed by a fungus. After
Lugger.)

WEEDS IN GENERAL AND OUR WORST
WEEDS IN PARTICULAR.

What is a weed ? How does it differ from a wild
flower? These questions are often asked by persons
who are beginning the study of botany ; and pupils
have been known to put aside a specimen with a look
of disgust, saying at the same time that they "did
not want to study that nasty weed."

There is, of course, no difference, botanically speak-
ing, between a weed and a wild flower, save that of
comparative abundance. Some of our most common
weeds are among the most handsome of our wild
flowers ; for example, the iron-weed, thistle and ox-
eye daisy. They well illustrate the truth of that old
saying that "familiarity breeds contempt," for we
have become so familiar with their appearance that
we daily pass them by unnoticed. AVere they as rare
as the showy orchis and wild columbine they would
no longer be called "weeds," but "wild flowers," and
would, perhaps, be cultivated for ornament; just as
among half the collections of house plants in Indiana
are found species of cacti which are by no means
rarities to the natives of Texas and New Mexico.

A weed has been defined as "merely a plant in the
wrong place," but Grant Allen, a noted English bot-
anist, in speaking of this definition says that.it is*far

(245}

246 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

more than that, and that the term "weed"
something further than mere abstract hostility to the
agricultural interest; it "implies a certain ingrained
coarseness, scrubbiness, squalor and sordidness, ln-sidi-s
connoting, in nine times out of ten, some stringiness
of fibre, hairiness of surface, or prickly defensive
character as well." Of most weeds this is true, but it
is the possession of just such characters that has
enabled them to succeed so well in crowding out and
displacing other wild and cultivated plants which,
perhaps, were in the right place, and in taking, if
unmolested, entire possession of the soil.

Weeds are, of course, among the worst enemies
with which the farmers and market gardeners have
to deal, and the questions of eradication, quarantine,
and the like are becoming each year of greater state
and national importance.

Each locality, and each farm for that matter, has
its worst weed, the species depending upon climate,
soil, method of cultivation, etc. Indeed there is no
spot on earth, unless it be a desert, where they do not
abound. A few years ago Mr. Byron D. HalsU-ad
asked, through the Botanical Gazette and other peri-
odicals, that a list of the 20 worst weeds, in the order
of their injuriousness, in any locality or territory in
the United States, be sent to him. He tabulated the
reports which he received from all parts of the coun-
try and found that 34 species had been mentioned at
least five times in the lists. Of these 34, no less than
32 are known to occur in Indiana, though some of
them only in a few localities of the State. Taking
from the list of 34 the 20 species which were consid-

WEEDS. 247

ered the most injurious, all of them are represented
in Indiana; although the order of injuriousness here,
is, in my opinion, not the same as that given in Mr.
Halstead's list.

The Canada thistle and couch or quick grass, which
are ranked first and second in his list, are, as yet,
found only in restricted areas in northern Indiana.
The common names of the remaining 18 species of
the list in the order given are as follows : Cocklebur,
bur-grass, crab or finger grass, rag-weed, field sorrel,
pig-weed, horse-weed or great rag-weed, fox-tail,
lamb's-quarters, ox-eye daisy, purslane, curled dock,
barn-yard grass, bind-weed, shepherd's purse, com-
mon thistle, burdock and jimson.

Each of these weeds has its favorite locality of
growth; for instance, the great rag-weed, cocklebur
and bind-weed are found almost exclusively in the
rich aUuvial soil of the bottoms; burdock and jim-
son-weed in waste grounds about stables and old
dwellings ; rag-weed and foxtail in cultivated upland
soil ; bur-grass along the sandy banks of streams, and
so on through the list.

To the botanist, one of the most interesting points
in connection with these 20 weeds is the fact that 15
of them are introduced or foreign plants which have
become naturalized from Europe or Asia; the two
rag-weeds, bind-weed, bur-grass and couch-grass com-
prising the five American or native. species. Indeed,
America seems to be not only tbe " home for the
oppressed of all nations," but her soil seems to suit
exactly those weeds which are the off-scourings and
refuse of civilization in all countries. Grant Allen

248 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

expresses it well when he says that in " civilized, cul-
tivated, and inhabited New England, and as far inland
at least as the Mississippi, the prevailing vegetation
is the vegetation of central Europe, and that at its
weediest. The daisy, the primrose, the cowslip and
the daffodil have stayed at home ; the weeds have
gone to colonize the New World. For thistles and
burdock, dog-fennel and dead-nettle, hound's-tongue
and stick-seed, catnip and dandelion, ox-eye daisy
and cocklebur, America easily licks all creation. All
the dusty, noisome, and malodorous pests of all the
world seem there to revel in one grand, congenial,
democratic orgy."

Of the plants described in Gray's " Manual of Bot-
any," as growing east of the Mississippi and north of
North Carolina and Tennessee, 293 are introduced
species, 27 of which are natives of tropical America,
the remaining 266 having found their way here from
Europe ; while 342 other species are common to the
north-eastern United States and Europe. Thus an
American botanist crossing the Atlantic could find,
growing indigenously in Europe, no less than 608
species of plants which he was accustomed to see at
home and they among the most common ones found
here.

An interesting history of the numerous ways in
which the Old World weeds have been introduced into
this country could, no doubt, be written if one had all
the facts. One instance of how a single species found
its way from Germany to this State will serve as a
type of the method of introduction. While a student
at Indiana University, I w r as engaged for a time in

WEEDS. 249

working up the flora of Monroe County, and one day
happened upon a strange species of _the Composites, or
sunflower family of plants, growing in the new college
campus. It proved a puzzler, and after spending the
better part of my spare time for two days in endeavor-
ing to find its name, a specimen was sent to Professor
Dudley, the botanist at Cornell University, for identifi-
cation, lie, having traveled in Europe, immediately
recognized it as a pernicious weed common on the
continent, but not before reported from any part of
the United States. The next question was, how had
it found its way into that remote corner of Indiana ?
It was easily answered. A new supply of glassware
for the chemical department of the University had,
the fall before, been purchased in Germany, and the
straw in which it had been packed was thrown on the
ground and left for a day or two on the very spot
where the plant had afterwards appeared. The three
specimens which sprang up were destroyed before
maturing their seeds and the spread of the weed
throughout the country was thereby prevented.

But all the weeds introduced into this State in
recent years are not foreigners or descendants of for-
eigners. The supply of new species from Europe is
iilxmt exhausted, and the great plains of the west and
southwest, admirably adapted by nature for the evo-
lution of weeds of cultivation, are rapidly sending
eastward their own rich contingent to compete with
the trans- Atlantic types for the mastery of our soil.
Twenty years ago there started eastward from the
base of the Rocky Mountains, the bristly cone-flower
and the fetid marigold, two members of the great

250 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

Composite order. To-day they have a foothold east
of the Mississippi, along every roadside and in every
meadow suitable to their growth. Two specimens
of Texan nettle (Solarium rostratum Dunal) were
recently found in a field north of the city of Terre
Haute. This plant is given in Prof. Halstead's list as
one of the 34 worst weeds in the United States. Its
habitat, or usual range, is given in the botanies as
"Plains of Nebraska to Texas," but it is rapidly mov-
ing northward and eastward, and unless checked in
its course will soon bring dismay to thousands of
farmers who know nothing of its pernicious habits.

These plants in their eastward migration are well
up to the spirit of the times. They travel by railway.
The seeds are carried either in the coats of cattle or
sheep or in the food which supports them on their
journey. Our great railways run east and west and
the bared soil alongside the tracks furnishes excellent
seed beds, where, if dropped, the seed may sprout and
the plant grow unmolested, until it gets a chance to
take another step in advance. The botanist has
learned their ways of migration and knows that if he
wishes to find strange species his best pathway will
be alongside the railways.

Taking the term "weed" in the sense of useless
plants growing wild in cultivated grounds, pastures
and meadows, of sufficient size to be easily noticeable,
and of sufficient abundance to be injurious to the
farmer, 91 species were found by myself in Vigo
County and as many may be found in almost any
county in the State. Of these, according to Gray, 33
are of European origin; eight are from tropical

WEEDS. 251

America ; two from Asia ; the remaining 48, natives
of the United States.

In my opinion the following list comprises the 20
worst species of weeds growing in Indiana, and named
in the order of their injuriousness. Both common
and scientific names are given, together with the
original home of each species :

1. Rag- weed, Ambrosia artemisiefolia L. United States.

2. Foxtail, Setaria glaucu Beauv. Europe.

3. Iron-weed, Vemonia fasciculata Michx. United States.

4. Great Rag-weed, Ambrosia trifida L. United States.

5. Pig-weed, Amarantm retroflexus L. Tropical America.

6. Horse- weed, Erigeron canadense L. United States.

7. Cocklebur, Xanthium canadense Mill. United States.

8. White-top, Erigeron annuus L. United States.

9. Lamb's-quarters, Chenopodium album L. Europe.

10. Common Thistle, Cnieus lanceolatus Hoffm. Europe.

11. Field Sorrel, Rumex acetosella L. Europe.

12. Purslane, Poi-tulaca oteracea L. Europe.

13. Bur-grass, Cenchrus tribuloides L. United States.

14. Beggar's Ticks, Bidens frondosa L. United States.

15. Prickly Lettuce, Lactuca seariola L. Europe.

16. Crab-grass, Panicum sanguinale L. Europe.

17. Jimson-weed, Datura stramonium L. Asia.

18. Smart-weed, Polygonum persicaria L. Europe.

19. Bracted Bindweed, Convolvulus sepium L. United States.

20. Corn Cockle, Lychnis githago L. Europe.

Of these it will be seen that nine are native ; nine
are from Europe; one from tropical America, and
one from Asia. The first, third and fourth are native,
so that all in all the American weeds have held their
own quite successfully in the Hoosier State.

And now, we suppose, the question naturally arises :
"What is the best method of ridding ourselves of
these weeds now that they are here ? " In my opinion

252 GLEANINGS FROM NAT I 'RE.

there is no method. They are here and here to stay.
The farmers of the future must wage an eternal war-
fare against them, for they have secured a foothold
which can not be entirely overcome. True, a new
species possessing advantages which will enable it to
crowd them out, may, in time, appear,- but such a
change would very likely be for the worst.

There was a time when but one, two, or a dozen
plants of each of the foreign weeds existed in the
State. Then was the time to have successfully quar-
antined that species by destroying those pioneers.
The few persons on whose lands they appeared neg-
lected them, and every gardener, every farmer, yea,
every land owner in the State, must henceforth, now
and forever, pay the penalty of that neglect by con-
tinued hoeing, plowing and mowing to keep these
alien weeds in subjugation.

As long as the rudiments of botany are not taught
in the common schools the average farmer will be
unable to tell whether a new plant which has made
its appearance upon his land should be allowed to
grow or not ; in fact, in many instances, he will not
know that a new plant is there until it becomes too
abundant to be easily overcome. Put a high school
into each township in the State; teach the elements
of botany therein and then, and not till then, may we
hope that the farmers of the future will be on the
lookout for all new plants ; will be able at once to
judge their relative injuriousness; and will destroy,
before they have time to ripen their seeds, those
species which, if allowed to spread, would become a
curse to the State.

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS.*

I.

The woodland fields in winter are not the silent,
deserted places which most people believe them to be.
Any person who will look with both eyes and listen
with both ears can detect in them many forms of life
occupying many strange and wonderful positions
and gaining a livelihood in many quaint and curious
ways.

With the wind blowing at the rate of thirty miles
an hour, the air thick with falling flakes of snow, and
the temperature 15 degrees Fahr., or less, one is, per-
haps naturally, disposed to stay indoors and take it
for granted that all the birds have long since departed
for the sunny south. But herein mankind sadly errs,
for even during such days, both in the woods and
fields, there are birds and birds. The ornithologist,
strolling for a mile or two beyond the city limits can
on such a day, devoted solely to the observation of
his feathered friends, usually detect 30 or more species,
while fully 28 additional kinds are found in the State
during the winter season. These may be classified
among three groups :

First. PERMANENT RESIDENTS, or those which rear
their young here ; they or other individuals of their

* First published in Terre Haute Gazette ; December, 1893-March, 1894.
(253)

254 (i LEANINGS FROM NATURE.

species remaining with us throughout the year
the quail, crow and jay-bird being familiar examples.
Of the 321 birds known to occur in Indiana, 33 belong
to this class.

Second. WINTER RESIDENTS. These nest in the
northern. regions and come down each season in late
autumn to spend the winter months with us and cheer
us up with their merry chirps, but disappear north-
ward again at the approach of spring. The slate
colored snow-bird and the tree sparrow are the most
familiar and abundant of the eleven species of this
group which occur in Indiana.

Third. WINTER VISITORS. These are birds either
from the north or north-west which often drop in
upon us to spend a week or two when King Boreas
reigns supreme, and the mercury marks daily the zero
point or below. The great snowy owl, the red cross-
bill and the golden eagle are examples of the 14
species of this class which have been noted in the
State.

In the wooded portions of Indiana the woodpeckers
are among the most noticeable and interesting mem-
bers of our winter bird fauna. Few are the days
from November to April when their peculiar calls

and rapid tapping in search of food
The Wood-

ecker F mil ma ^' n heard. About 2oO kinds

of woodpeckers arc known, only eleven
of which are found in the United States east of the
Mississippi river. Of these, seven occur in Indiana,
live of the seven being permanent residents ; one, a
migrant, is seen here only in spring and fall ; while the
other one is a summer resident, but often remains in

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 255

small numbers throughout the winter, especially in
the southern half of the State.

All belong to the family Picidce, a .word derived
from the Latin picus, a " woodpecker." The charac-
ters by which each member of this family may be
easily known are the stout, straight bill, fitted for
hammering or boring into wood ; the long, barbed
tongue which, like that of the snake or toad, can be
darted from the mouth for the purpose of catching
insects ; the toes in pairs, two in front and two behind,
and armed with strong, compressed claws, thus enabling

Fig. 71 Zygodactyle or " yoke-toed " foot of woodpecker.

the bird to get a firm hold upon the trunk or limb of
tree; while the tail feathers are not soft and rounded
like those of other birds, but are very stiff and pointed
at the end, thus enabling the owner to use the tail as
a brace and so keep from toppling over backwards
while delivering its rapid and powerful blows. The
flight, too, of these birds is peculiar, being a sort of
wave-like or undulatory progression, instead of a
movement directly forward on one level.

One of the most interesting of the five species of
woodpeckers found in the State throughout the year
is the subject of the present sketch. It has a number

256 GLEANINGS FROM HATUltE.

of common names, the most familiar of which is the
"red-bellied woodpecker." Others are "zebra bird,"

" woodehuck," or "chuck," "Carolina
TheRed=bellied -, , -, ,

woodpecker and "checkered wood-
Woodpecker.

pecker; while its scientific name is
Melanerpes carolinus (L.). The first part of this name,
Melanerpes, is the name of the genus and corresponds
to our surnames of Jones, Brown, etc. It is derived
from two Greek words and means "black creeper."
The second part, carolinus, corresponds to our given
names of John, Mary, etc., although it is always writ-
ten after the sur or generic name. It is derived from
" Carolina," from which region the first specimens were
described by Linnaeus, the noted Swedish naturalist
of the last century.

Thus, each kind of bird, as well as each kind of
organic object which has been noted and studied by
man, has a double Latin name by which it is known
to naturalists in every country on earth ; while it may
have a dozen common names in the restricted locality
where it is found. There are thousands of birds of
this name in Indiana, but they are all very nearly
alike that is of one species and hence have the
same Latin name; while those woodpeckers which
differ materially in size, color, etc., have different Latin
names, as we shall see on the following pages.

The red-bellied woodpecker is about ten inches in
length from tip of bill to end of tail. The back and
wings are very prettily barred with narrow black and
white bands, whence the less used but more suitable
name of "zebra bird." In the male the entire upper
surface of the head and neck is a bright scarlet-red,

TWELVE WINTER BIEDS. 257

while in the female the crown is ash colored, with the
forehead and nape of the neck scarlet. The whole
under part of the body is a grayish ash with a tinge
of red on the belly.

The /ebra bird is the hermit among our woodpeck-
ers. He scorns the companionship of other members

m '

Fig. 72 Red-bellied Woodpecker.

of his family and delights to be alone or in the com-
pany of his mate only. During the winter and early
spring he may be found along the borders of wood-
lands, where in the tops of the tallest trees he indus-
triously seeks his food. At intervals he pauses in his
work, raises his head and looking around, utters a
17

258 GLEANINGS FROM NA 77 'HE.

loud "char-char" or "chuck, chuck, chuck,'' and then
immediately resumes his pecking with increased vigor.
Rarely in winter, when insect food is scarce, does
he visit the- farmer's corn crib and, gaining ingress
between the logs or rails, helps himself to a bountiful
supply of food.

As the nesting season approaches he, with his chosen
mate, seeks the privacy of the deepest, woods, where
high above the ground in some decaying limb or trunk'
of tree a place for a nest is excavated. The eggs are
four to six in number, pure white in color, and about
lx.87 inches in size.

To the farmer who owns timber land this wood-
pecker is one of the most beneficial of birds. The
number of kinds of insects which prey upon our native
forest trees is surprisingly large. The oak harbors
between 500 and 600 species; the hickory, 140; the
walnut, 70; the elm, 25 to 30, and the maple at least
15. To the presence of these insects, more than to
anything else, is the stunted growth and early decay
of our timber due. Thousands of wood-boring beetles,
caterpillars, plant lice and young saw-flies are annu-
ally destroyed by the zebra bird. On this account the
farmers who have not already made his acquaintance,
should at least seek to know him by sight, and always
protect him and his young from their now most dan-
gerous enemies, the small boy with his musket and
the city sportsman with his shotgun.

In autumn, especially, the woods and fields through-
out the State are full of these self-styled "hunters."
ready at a moment's notice to bring down any bird
larger than a sparrow, any animal above a field mouse

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 259

or a chipmunk. No feeling of sorrow ever enters
their minds as they gaze into the eyes of some cruelly
wounded bird or animal and see the life force, which
they can never recall, slowly ebbing away. The
woodpeckers, in particular, suffer from their heedless
shooting. Hundreds of them are daily shot down
and left where they fall, for the sole purpose of show-
ing the hunter's skill in marksmanship, or to satisfy
that craving desire to kill objects below him in the
scale of life which blinds him to every feeling of pity,
every sense of remorse.

To those who have been accustomed to pass the
cold season in the city, exempt for months from the
pure, bracing, country air, I would say : Go forth and
study nature on some sunny day in mid-winter. You
will not find the woods full of thrushes, warblers and
other songsters ready on every hand to greet you.
They are effeminate birds, joyous only in the presence
of plenty of blue sky and sunshine, and Jack Frost
has long since driven them to seek a sunny, southern
clime where food is more plentiful than here. But
you will find their rugged cousin, the zebra bird,
clinging to the side of a dead stub and deriving pure
inspiration therefrom. You will see him fluff his
feathers about his bare toes to keep them warm while
he makes the woods reverberate with his cheery
call and from him, if you are wise, you may learn a
lesson of happiness and contentment.

260

GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

II.

He, who would become acquainted with our com-
mon birds, must seek them in their chosen haunts;
for in the ages of the past each kind has become fitted
or adapted to live a certain life to seek its food in a
certain place. In the spring, keen-eyed, sharp-eared
robins hop leisurely over the surface of our lawns and
gardens and drag earth-worms and cut-worms galore

Fig. 73-llobin. (After Deal.)

from their hiding-places.; long-legged snipe wade the
shallow water along the margins of ponds and
streams and probe with their long, soft bills the muck
and mud in search of worms and leeches; web-footed
wild ducks swim and dive in ponds and rivers, silting
through their broad lamellate bills the mud and ooze
for small fish, shrimps, and other water-loving forms ;

TWEL VE WINTER BIRDS. 261

wide-mouthed swallows cleave the air in varied cir-
cles, snapping up on the wing the myriads of unlucky
insects which they meet; hut most wonderfully, most
strikingly adapted for the life they lead are the mem-
bers of the woodpecker tribe. One seeks them not
on the smooth lawn, nor along the margin of pond
and stream, nor in the blue vault of heaven above:
for, as their name indicates, they are peckers of wood,
and on trees, fences or wooden objects only, are they
found. Darwin, in his epoch making book, "The
Origin of Species," calls attention, time and again,
to their marvelous adaptation of beak and tongue, of
toes and tail. Couple with these a keen eye, a sharp
ear and a long, strong wing,- and we have the hardy
denizen of the woods, who braves unflinchingly every
clime and finds a plentiful living where other birds
would quickly starve.

Of the five species of woodpeckers which spend the
winter months with us there are two which are often
confounded by the person who is beginning the study
of birds. At a distance they appear to be colored
exactly alike, both being -black above with a white
stripe running lengthwise down the back and numer-
ous white spots arranged in crossbars on the qnills of
the wings. There is a narrow white stripe above the
eye, and belo\v it a broader and longer one extending
beyond the eye, almost to the white stripe on the
back. In the full grown male there is a crescent
shaped scarlet band across the back of the head which
is always lacking in the female. The under surface
of the body is a uniform grayish-white.

In size alone are the two species readily separated ;

262 <;LKAM\(;S ntoM ^^TunE.

the larger or "hairy" being more than two inches
longer than the "downy;" the average length of the
former being nine inches from tip of bill to end of
tail, while that of the latter is but six and a half
inches. Only when we have them in hand do we de-
tect any other difference than that of size. Then, by
spreading out the tail, we find its outer feathers to be
pure white in the "hairy," while in the " downy" they
are cross-barred with black near the tip.

These birds were both first described by Linnreus,
who gave to the larger one the name of Picus riilosus
and to the smaller one that of Picus pubescens. The
word "Picus" means "woodpecker," while villosus and
pubescens both mean "downy" or "covered with very
fine soft hairs." Later writers have divided np the
genus Picus and have assigned certain of its members
to other genera. Among these are the two species
now in hand which, with a few others not occurring
in Indiana, are placed in the genus Dryobates, which
means "oak walker." The common names "hairy"
and "downy," have evidently been derived from the
specific names, and signify no difference whatever in
the character of the plumage of the two birds.

The hairy woodpecker, Dryobates villosus (L.), has

many local names in different parts of the country,

chief among which are the "Virginia

Woodpiker. woodpecker," "big sapsucker," "big-

spotted woodpecker," and "big guinea

woodpecker," the adjective "big" being prefixed 'to

distinguish him from his smaller cousin which in color

he so closely resembles.

He is less sociable than the "downy," frequenting

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS.

263

more often than that species the depths of the woods;
though hunger often drives him in mid-winter to the
outskirts of the city, where, in the tops of the many
decaying shade trees, he finds the struggle for existence
between himself and his kin less deadly than in his
native wood. A careful examination of 82 stomachs

Fig. 74 Hairy Woodpecker. (After Beal.)

of this species made by the Bureau of Ornithology at
Washington, showed that 68 percent, of the food WHS
animal matter, largely the remains of injurious insects;
while ->1 pe*- cent, was of vegetable origin, consisting
mainly of wild cherries, grapes and the berries of the
dogwood and Virginia creeper.

264 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

On one bright December morning, I watched, for a
half hour or longer, ;i hairy woodpecker which had
alighted near the middle of an upright limb of an oak.
Instead of moving upwards, as is his usual wont, he
hopped backwards an inch or two at a time for twenty
or more feet, peering intently, on both sides as he
descended, into every crevice and cranny in the bark.
Xot a sound did he make meanwhile, though a saucy
toro-tit was uttering its " dec-dee-tlce" within a few
feet of his head and a zebra bird on an upper limb
gave forth at intervals its loud alarm note of "char-
char"

Reaching the base of the limb the "hairy" flew a
foot or two to another and began to hop up this at
the same rate of speed as he had descended the first.
At short intervals he sounded the wood with his bill,
listening intently the while, and at last, I suppose, the
percussion was satisfactory; for, fixing more firmly
his stiff tail feathers against the tree as a prop, he
rose to the full length of his short powerful legs, and
drawing back his body, head and neck to the farthest
extent, he dashed hi* wedge-shaped bill home with
all the force of his entire bodily weight and muscle.
How the bits of lichen, bark and fragments of half
rotten wood came tumbling down and how han'dsome
he looked with the scarlet cap on the back of his
head, and the white central stripe contrasting so
vividly with the glossy black of his back!

At last the reward came in the shape of a good fat
grub which was quickly drawn from its hiding place
by the long barbed tongue of the bird. After swal-
lowing this prize he was evidently well pleased with

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 265

its taste for he uttered for the first time his usual call,
"plick-pliek" and then began once more his active
search, pecking, pecking, hammering on his upward
course.

In this way his daily life is spent from November
to March, often enduring ice, frost, snow, sleet, rain
and hail, but cheerfully meeting them all undaunted.
When the warm April sunshine enlivens the woods,
and insect food can be had for the asking, he seeks
for himself a mate, and together they excavate a nest
in the terminal limb of a lofty beech or in the top of
some tall oak snag. Here the eggs, five or six in
number, are deposited. They are pure crystal white
with an ivory texture and are .85x.65 of an inch in
size.

III.

The " downy woodpecker," Dryobates pubescens (L.),

appears to be much more plentiful than the "hairy,"

but this is doubtless due to his sociable qualities as

he seems to seek, rather than shun, the society of

num. One does not so commonly find

him in deep woodlands as in the
Woodpecker.

orchards and the borders of woods
near farm houses. Often, especially in the spring-
time, they are seen along roadsides, clinging to the
upright stakes of the old worm fences, watching the
plodding ploughman at his toil and scolding mildly
if he comes too near. When the blasts blow cold,
and the soggy limb of the forest tree is frozen hard,
one may sometimes see a downy on the dead limb of a

266 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

shade tree in the very heart of the city, where, though

surrounded by a bedlam of noises, he pecks away as
industriously and contentedly as he does when in the
depths of the forest. But they frequent the city much
more seldom now than when that despised alien, the
ubiquitous and aggressive English sparrow, was a
stranger to our land.

The downy is known by several other common
names; chief among which are the "little spotted

woodpecker,*' and the
" little sapsucker." The
latter name is, how-
ever^ a misnomer, as
neither he nor the hairy
ever bore into trees for
the purpose of gather-
ing sap as does their

Fig. 75 Head of Downy Woodpecker. cOUsill, the yellow-bel-

lied woodpecker, Sphyrapicus varius (L.). The last
named bird is a migrant, seen here only in spring and
fall, and the holes he bores are small, shallow and
close together, in regular circles about the- tree ; while
those made by the downy and hairy in search of
insect food are scattered irregularly over the surface
of the limb or trunk.

On a recent October morn I watched a " downy "
carving with his strong, chisel-shaped bill a cavity in
a dead snag, probably one which he intended using
as a winter shelter. Clinging to the edge of the hole,
he would reach in until only his tail was visible, give
three or four vigorous pecks, then draw forth his body
and head and " spit out," or rather cast aside the frag-

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 267

ments of decayed wood he had broken loose. Glanc-
ing hurriedly about on all sides, he would again dodge
in for a new series of blows. His feet remained in
one place, but when at work his body was all motion ;
his tail, as he pecked, bobbing up and down against
the wood, two or three inches below the opening of
the hole. Thus he worked for twenty-eight minutes,
when a slight movement of mine frightened him and
he was up and away. The bottom of the cavity was
five inches below the opening. Small feathers were
found in it on several occasions during the following
winter, showing that it was used as a resting place,
probably at night.

To the farmer and fruit raiser -the downy wood-
pecker is very valuable as an enemy of caterpillars.
It preys upon these insects in all stages. It drags the
butterflies and moths from their hiding places; licks
up by the score their deposited eggs ; feasts for days
in early summer upon the caterpillars themselves, and
in autumn and winter bores neat round holes into the
sides of the leathery cocoons and extracts the contents
thereof. It is only when insect food becomes very
scarce that it deigns to feed upon such dry forms of
nutriment as grain, seeds of grasses and the softer
nuts. From air examination of 140 of the stomachs
of this bird it was found that 74 per cent, of the food
was of animal origin.

' The "downy" is sociable, not only with mankind,
but also with his feathered kin in general. Especially
in winter, does one often find him the leader or guide
of a little coterie of chickadees, kinglets, nuthatches,
and titmice ramblers all, who go roaming in coin-

268 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

puny the livelong day. Their whistles and chirps,
twit UTS and trills, uttered in unison, make a jubilee
in .January equal to any heard in June when the birds
a iv supposed to be most numerous. I have listened
manifold times to such a chorus and so have many
other persons, particularly Dr. C. C. Abbott, who
described as follows one he heard on a mid-winter
morn with the mercury at zero : " The clear call of
the crested tit opened the concert. The abundant
chickadees twittered ; kinglets trilled a merry rounde-
lay ; snow birds chirped ; a cardinal performed an inim-
itable solo; and to all the downy woodpecker was
alike attentive and drummed a tuneful accompani-
ment on the most resonant tree in all the woods."

IV.

In books we find portrayed the thoughts of man
in nature, those of God. Tired of poring over the
former I sought the woods and fields on the afternoon
of a recent dim December day to study the latter,
and, if possible, solve some problem, ever present,
ever interesting, concerning the life history of beast
or bird, of bug or bramble.

The blue sky of the forenoon had given way to a
sombre gray which far and wide came down to meet
the earth. No insect life was abroad on such a day.
But if the insects were lacking, what of the birds?
Had the leaden sky and north wind caused them, too,
to seek a place of shelter and remain silent and invis-
ible? As I asked the question the rrr-rrli-rrh of a
woodpecker in a neighboring beech denied the allega-

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 269

tion ; while the distant hut rapidly nearing caw-caw of
a flying crow lent strength to the denial. Wood-
peckers and crows ! Xo winter day too dull and
dreary no sky too leaden and cheerless no north
wind too harsh and biting, for them to he on the
lookout for food !

To my surprise and delight I found the bird in the
beech to be that handsome, tri-colored fellow known
as the "red-headed woodpecker." This species which,
it is said, first excited the latent enthusiasm of that

eminent naturalist, Alexander "Wilson,
The Red=headed -, -, . -, -, .
w . . and determined him to be an orni-

thologist, ranges over the whole of the
eastern United States from the Atlantic to the Rocky
Mountains. Its long scientific .name is Melanerpes
erythrocephalus (L.) ; melanerpes meaning "bjack
creeper," and erythrocephalus, "red-headed."

The "red-head" is so different in color from all
other woodpeckers that that one character alone will
be sufficient to describe him for easy recognition. In
adults, or full grown specimens of both sexes, the
whole head and neck are a brilliant crimson ; the
under parts of the body, the shorter wing feathers or
secondaries, and the rump are white; while the
remainder of the body is a glossy blue-black. In the
young the head and neck are grayish, or slightly
tinged with red. The length from tip of bill, along
the back, to end of longest tail feather is 8| to 9|
inches.

The nest of the red-head is usually placed in a
cavity which it excavates in a limb or trunk of tree
at some distance from the ground ; but often, for want

270

GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

of a better locality, it chips a hole in a fence stake,
telegraph polo, church steeple, or cornice about the
roofs of dwellings. The c^u's are four to six in number,

Fig. 76 Red-hoaded Woodpecker. (After Beal.)

elliptical in form, pure translucent white, and measure
1 x .8 inches.

In northern and central Indiana the red-head is
usually a summer resident, arriving from the south

TWELVE WINTER BISDS. 271

about the middle of April and remaining until mid-
October. During that time he is the most common
species of the. family, holding his own with perfect
ease and ceaseless familiarity. In traveling through
the country, during the spring and summer, one hears
them screaming in the adjoining woods, rattling on
the dead limbs of trees, or on the fences, along which
they are perpetually seen flitting from stake to stake
on the roadside ahead.

In southern Indiana, and especially within the shel-
tered confines of the YVabash valley as far north as
Terre Hante, the red-head usually remains through-
out the winter in small numbers. But in those sea-
sons when beechnuts are plentiful he hoards or stores
up a supply of them for winter food and then remains
in large numbers, even to the northern boundaries of
the State. As soon as the nuts begin to ripen in
autumn, the birds appear to be almost constantly on
the wing, to and fro, from the beech trees to some
place of deposit. They hide away the nuts in almost
every conceivable situation. Many are placed in cav-
ities in partially decayed trees; and the felling of any
old tree near a beech grove is certain to disc-lose a
pint or more of their chosen* winter food. Another
favorite storing place is beneath the loose bark of the
hickory, or behind some long sliver of fence post or
rail. Sometimes the nuts are driven into the cracks
at the end of railroad ties. Again they may be found
in the crevices between the shingles on the roofs of
barns or even houses. A friend, who is a close
observer, also relates that the holes which are bored
into the beams and logs of old cribs and sheds for the

272 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

insertion of wooden pins, are often utilized as store-
houses by the birds, being filled with beechnuts as far
as the red-head can reach. They oftentimes stuff the
opening full of moss and cedar bark to hide the con-
tents. Whether the bird remembers where each nut
is placed, or whether it trusts to hick in finding it
again is, as yet, an open question. That the red-head
lives to a large extent in winter upon this stored food
has been proven by the examination of the stomachs
of a number of specimens at that season.

The belief, so common among many persons, that
these birds are weather prophets, and, foreseeing a
long hard winter, depart early in autumn for a warmer
clime, is, in my opinion, unfounded. Irregularity of
migration, residence, and so forth, among birds, is, I
believe, due almost wholly to irregularity of a suita-
ble food supply.

But our red-head, as he has advanced in civilization,
has developed a taste for other articles of food besides
nuts and insects, and has become, in the words of
Maurice Thompson, "a cider taster, a judge of good
fruits, a connoisseur of corn, wheat and melons, and
an expert fly catcher as well." He is excessively fond
of ripe mulberries and wild cherries, and in their
season spends much time in winging his way to and
from these trees. I have often seen him dart from
the top of a mulberry or other tree, and with unerr-
ing flight catch upon the wing some unlucky insect,
and then immediately return to his diet of fruit once
more.

During the summer months he chooses the finest
cherries, grapes and apples for his dessert and thus

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 273

oftentimes brings upon himself the unqualified rage
of the farmer or fruit grower.. When Indian corn is
in its rich, succulent, milky state he attacks it with
great eagerness, opening a passage through the numer-
ous folds of the husk, and feeding on it with voracity.
But for every cherry, apple or ear of corn thus de-
stroyed, a thousand injurious insects are annually
eaten; and so the farmer when he tells his boys "to
show no mercy to the red-heads in the orchard" is
only "saving at the spigot to lose later on at the
bung."

Professor Forbes of the Illinois University exam-
ined the stomachs of a number of these birds during
the month of May and found that their food at that
season consisted of: canker-worms, 15 per cent.;
beetles and other injurious insects, 65 per cent.; seeds
and grain, 20 per cent. ; thus proving their value as
insect destroyers. In 101 stomachs examined at
Washington, 50 per cent, of the food was of animal,
47 per cent, of vegetable, and the remainder of min-
eral origin. Beetles and grasshoppers formed 86 per
cent, of all the food, while the vegetable portion was
mainly wild fruits, though 17 of the stomachs con-
tained corn.

The red-head is ever ready to pick a quarrel, not
only among members of his own species, but fre-
quently with other birds, and their noisy chatter when
thus engaged too often makes a bedlam of our fairest
woodlands and drowns out the pleasing notes of the
more favored songsters.

18

274 HLKANISUK I-'HU.M \ATUltK

V.

"T was the day before Christmas bright and beauti-
ful a .winter day in nameonly. Asltramprd towards
the boundaries of one of nature's domains, far beyond
the city limits,

A balmy thermal breeze

To me,
From sunny, southern seas

Came joyously.

Ah, rare the day

At Christmas tide,
When on such breeze

One's thoughts can ride.

Reaching the border of a thicket enclosed by an old
worm fence, I seated myself on the topmost rail of
one of its panels and waited for sound or sight of ani-
mal life. I had not long to wait ; for soon the chatter
of a noisy jay came from the top of a near-by oak,
while a crow in the midst of the thicket began to
challenge me with his limited vocabulary of " hah-hah,
hah-hah" His call was immediately answered by one
of his brethren .in a neighboring woods this one by
still another farther away, and thus a series of signals
traveled across the township a wave of crow laugh-
ter, as it were of which I, perhaps, was the involun-
tary cause.

. Suddenly another sound broke upon my ear, a clear,
ringing, highly musical note " willy-way, willy-tr/n/.
willy-way" repeated at short intervals. It resembled
somewhat the whistle of the cardinal grosbeak, or
"red bird," but was a far louder and more pleasing

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS.

275

call. I was thrilled with delight, for I recognized

instantly the spring note of an old acquaintance, the

great Carolina wren. Few, indeed,

are the 'winter days when this, the
Carolina Wren. * '

characteristic, vernal love call is ut-
tered; but the "sunny, southern" breeze had brought
joy also to the wren's heart, and forgetful of season
forgetful of the many cold, dreary days which must
intervene before the call could be rightfully issued
conscious only of the warm and soothing sunshine,
the singer made the welkin ring for rods around.

The wren was not visible, and was much farther
away than I
thought, when
I started to-
ward the seem-
ing source of
the song. The
resonant quali-
ty of its note
caused, as it
were, the whole
copse t'o ring
with the sound,
thus deaden-
ing, to a certain "^
extent, the di-
rection from
whence it

Fig. 77 Great Carolina Wren. (After Coues.)
Ctiiiie.

After some ten minutes' search, .during which the
notes were stopped a number of times and then re-

27(j

sinned, 1 espied tlio songster sitting atilt of a splinter
which extended upward from the renter of the stump
of u freshly cut tree. His tail was bent downward,
his head raised heavenward, while the rich rolling
notes were issuing forth with a force and energy
seemingly wholly at variance with the size of the
hird.

Unfortunately he saw me too, and instantly the call
was hushed, and with a headlong dive he went into
the depths of an adjacent brush heap. I stepped
behind a tree and waited, for the Carolina WITH shares
the restlessness and prying curiosity of all his tribe,
being continually on the go fidgety all starts and
jerks like some people we know in whom the nerv-
ous tissue largely predominates.

Sure enough he soon appeared on the side of the
brush pile nearest me, peering from among the dead
leaves with an inquisitive air, jumping from twig to
twig of the brush all the time teetering his body in
a peculiar wrennish fashion, and performing other
odd, nervous antics as if possessed with the very spirit
of unrest. Finally he reached the topmost twig of
the pile of brush from which commanding situation
he resented my intrusion upon his domain Avith a
series of scolds prr prr prr for twenty or more
times, emphasizing each utterance with a quivering
shake of his whole body and especially of his tail.
Then another dive into the brush a flitter and a
flutter close to the earth and he was hopping beneath
a fallen beech which, a few rods away, was supported
on its branches some feet above the ground. There
let us leave him for a short time while we make known

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 277

some of the more important facts concerning his life
history.

The great Carolina wren is "great" only in com-
parison with other wrens, being the largest of six
species which occur in Indiana, and the only one
which spends the entire year with us. Another, the
little winter wren, nests in northern regions and
spends the cold season from the latitude of central
Indiana, southward. The other four are "summer
residents," nesting in the State and going south in
autumn. All are plainly colored, being chiefly brown ;
and all, in the words of that eminent ornithologist,
Elliot Coues, are : " Sprightly, fearless, and impudent
little creatures, apt to show bad temper when they
fancy themselves aggrieved by cats or people, or any-
thing else that is big or unpleasant to them. They quar-
rel a good deal and are particularly spiteful towards
martins and swallows whose homes" they often invade
and occupy. Their song is bright and hearty and they-
are fond of their own music, but when disturbed at
it they make a great ado with noisy scolding."

The bill of the Carolina wren is stouter than that
of the other species, and its front, half is somewhat
decurved or bent downwards. The total length of
the bird is 5| to 6 inches, the tail being a little shorter
than the wings. In color it is clear reddish-brown
above, brightest on the rump, and with the feathers
of the wings and tail finely and prettily barred with
blackish. Below it is a tawny yellow. The throat
and cheeks are gray, while a narrow whitish line
curves backward over the eye, and a bar of small
white spots crosses the wings near their base.

278 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

Other common names by which it is known are
"mocking wren" and "large wood wren," while its
long Latin name is Thryothorus ludovicianus (Gmelin),
the first part of which is derived from two Greek
words meaning "reed" and "leaping," while the last
or specific name is the Latin for " of Louisiana," from
which region the bird was first described.

Its chosen haunts are the wooded or rocky banks of
streams, piles of logs and brush heaps in clearings, or
the zigzag lines of the old rail fences with their cor-
ners full of bushy shrubs and fallen weeds; indeed,
wherever nature, accident, or design has provided a
place where it can make itself conspicuous one instant
and be entirely concealed the next. There, too, hidden
beneath lichens, in the depths of fungi, or in the cracks
and crannies of rail or log, its favorite food, spiders,
ants and gnats abound. Its thick-set, bulk}' body,
short wings and 'tail, and slender, slightly curved bill,
are especially adapted to an insectivorous life close to
the ground. The wren, therefore, is seldom if ever
seen in the tops of tall trees, but sometimes ascends
their trunks for quite a distance, peering beneath
every piece of loose bark and entering every knot-
hole through which it can squeeze its body, in search
of its esteemed spider diet.

The nest of this bird is a bulky structure, composed
of strips of bark and corn stalks, grasses, leaves and
fibrous roots, and usually lined with feathers, corn
silk, or horse hairs. It is placed in any odd nook or
cranny that its owner fancies, such as the cavity of a
log or stump, the angle of a fence between the lower
rails, in a pile of logs or brush anywhere, in fact, that

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 279

offers a snug retreat. Often it is arched over at the
top, the entrance being at one side and only large
enough to admit the builder. The eggs are five to
seven in number, reddish-white, thickly spotted with
varjovis shades of brown, and measure .73x.60 of an
inch. There are two, sometimes three, broods each
season, but many of the young fall a prey to carnivo-
rous snakes, weasels and small owls.

In winter the sexes separate ; each pre-empts for
itself a certain territory as a forage field, and woe
betide any feathered form of moderate size w r hich
ventures upon its chosen domain. As Dr. Abbott has
well said : " The tenants of the wild woods know the
wrens full well and usually give them a wide berth.
They realize that they are petty tyrants, suffering no
intrusion and excusing no blunders; particularly so
when something has gone wrong with them ; then it
is a word and a blow, and the blow first. Even the
hornets stand back when there is a riot in wrendom."

Thus the winter days of our wren are spent in
spider hunting, fighting and singing; for besides the
spring call and scolding chirps mentioned above, he
has many other notes, some of which are as varied
and pleasing as those of the brown thrush. The
nights are passed in hollow rail or limb of tree, and
when the face of earth is clad in snow and ice prob-
ably the major part of many a day is spent there too,
in fasting and musing if a bird can muse o'er the
victories won in the past and the battles to be fought

in the future.

# #
*

Wishing to reward the one I had seen with a

280 f 1 LEANINGS FROM NA mi /;.

Christmas repast, I turned over a large l>g, ,,,, t la-
under side of which were a colony of ants ami a num-
ber of fine fat grubs; then, slipping around the fallen
beech under whose limbs he had dodged, I started
him towards the uncovered feast. After some maneu-
vering he reached the log, espied the menu and then,
how he fed ! Turkey, mince pie, cranberry sauce, and
all, those grubs and ants were to him, and thus, in
part, I paid him back for his morning song.

VI.

The subject of the present sketch, the winter wren,
is one of the smallest, and to my mind one of the
most interesting of the fifty or more species which
pass the cold season in this latitude. The diminutive
size of the bird, its quick motions, and especially its
brown color, resembling so closely that of the dead
leaves and grass among which it flits, cause it to
remain unseen, unsuspected, and often

quite unknown to the ordinary rambler
Winter Wren.

in the woods. Even the naturalist,
with trained eye and ear ever open to listen to nature's
sounds, counts that day a fortunate onv when he
catches a glimpse of the little creature as it hops or
flits close to the ground, in and out of a fence corner.
or from side to side of a brush pile or log heap. For
it possesses the wrennish peculiarity of being ever on
the go, and although it rarely uses its wings except
for a short flutter from one bush or angle of fence to
another, yet it hops slyly and rapidly about, appearing
perhaps for an instant, then suddenly lost to view.

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 281

When thus engaged in active search for insect life,
and I never saw one of them otherwise, its bit of a tail
is somewhat spread out and raised almost perpendicu-
larly over the hack ; the neck is bent forward and the
straight bill stuck out ahead; thus giving the little
bird a most determined and inquisitive air.

The length of the winter wren is not over four
inches from point of bill to tip of tail. The bill is
very straight, slender and conical. The tail is shorter
than the wings, which reach to its middle. In color
the body is deep reddish-brown above ; the brown
being everywhere, except on head and middle of back,
transversely barred with dusky. Below it is pale
reddish brown, sharply barred on the posterior half
with dusky. A line over the eye, some obscure
streaks on the sides of head and neck, and some bars
on the outer wing feathers are whitish.

Other common names, besides "winter wren," are
"bunty wren"'
and "little log
wren," while
the long Latin
name is Troglo-
dytes hi emalis
V ieillot, the
first part of
which means

"cave dweller" Fig. 78 Winter Wren. (After Coues.)

and the last "wintry."

Within the past five years I have seen twenty or
more specimens of this little wren between the months
of October and April, yet I have never heard one of

282 (,'LK.\M.\(;s FROM .v. 177 -/,/;

them utter other sound than an occasional chuckle
like the syllables "puiq-quap" or a low wren-like
chirr, when startled or frightened. They are most
common in Indiana during the spring and fall migra-
tions, as large numbers of them spend the winter
farther southward, and must, therefore, pass through
this region on the way to and from their summer
homes. They nest in the pine forests of Wisconsin.
Michigan and British America, especially in damp,
swampy regions, where the ground is covered with
fallen trees and logs, piled upon one another and
covered with rich moss.

In such a place the male is said to sing most exqui-
sitely, one author describing its song as : "Very lively
and hurried, the notes seeming to tumble over one
another in the energy with which they are poured out.
They are full of power, though many are shrill, and
are garnished with many a gay trill ; in some passages
reminding one of the Canary bird's song, though
infinitely finer." Audubon, that prince of American
ornithologists, appears also to have been enchanted
with the song as the following words will testify :
" The song of the little winter wren excels that of any
bird of its size with which I am acquainted. It' is
truly musical, full of cadence, energetic and melodious ;
its very continuance is surprising, and dull indeed
must be the ear that thrills not on hearing it."

The nest is placed in cavities about the roots of
stumps or in the tangled piles of fallen trees and
branches. It is composed of small twigs interwoven
with moss and lichens and lined with the feathers of
other birds or with rabbit hair which the bird has

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 283

picked up in the vicinity of its .home. The eggs are
live or six in number, pure crystal white, spotted
with bright reddish-brown, and measure .67 x .48 of
an inch.

During the winter, while the woodpeckers, nut-
hatches, titmice and chickadees are fast lessening the
hordes of insects which inhabit the trunks and limbs
of trees, the wrens are doing the same good work
among the logs and stumps close to the ground.
There they have less competition, and so find the
struggle for existence less deadly than they would
higher up among their larger arboreal kin. Thus, in
the course of time, each form of bird has found for
itself that place in the realm of nature best suited to
its existence ; and there, most often, do we find it, ever
on the search for its favorite food and ever on the
alert to prevent itself being eaten by some animal
higher in the scale of life.

VII.

The avian or bird fauna of Indiana has been modi-
fied in many respects by the presence of the white man
and his progressive civilization. The Carolina paro-
quet and ivory-billed woodpecker, once frequent in
our forests, have receded before his advance, and, like
the Indian, buftalo, bear, elk and deer, are gone for-
ever. Only in the densely wooded districts of the
southern and south-western States do these two noble
birds still exist. Even there their numbers are con-
stantly lessening, and, in the opinion of the best judges,
a quarter of a century hence they will be known only

284 t ; I. /:. 1 \INOS FROM NA TUBE.

in museums and in literature. The plicated \y<>..d-
pecker or loir-cock, once abundant and second only
to the ivory-bill in size and beauty, is also nearly ex-
tinct in this State, occurring in small numbers only
in the densely wooded portions of the southern conn-
ties. >Vikl pigeons, formerly so numerous that flocks
of them were visible in the air for hours at a time, are
no longer seen ; while wild turkeys, once the source
of many a day's exciting sport, have almost wholly
disappeared. Many species of hawks and owls are
becoming scarce on account of the unmitigated and
senseless warfare waged against them by persons
wholly ignorant of the good these birds do in preying
upon the hordes of smaller mammals and larger in-
jurious insects.

On the other hand, that well known bird, the-quail
or bob-white, was probably absent or confined to but
few localities in the State at the time of its first settle-
ment, and has steadily increased in numbers as the
forest has been cleared away. The lark-finch, a hand-
some member of the sparrow tribe, has made its way
in from the plains and prairies of the west and has
spread eastward as far as the Alleghanies. Its con-
gener, the dick-cissei or black-throated bunting once
rare now rolls forth at June time its characteristic
warble from the borders of every clover or grain field
in the State; while that pestiferous alien, the English
sparrow, an enforced immigrant from good (-Jreat
Britain, has multiplied by countless thousands within
the past decade.

Many other instances of decrease or increase in the
number of birds, caused either directly or indirectly

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS.

285

by the settlement of the country, could be given, but
let us now note a few of the changes in habits which our
native birds have adopted since the white man came
and so lead up to one discovery in particular which
the shrikes or butcher birds have made and put to use.

f

Fig. 79 Dick-cissel or Black-throated Bunting. (After Judd.)

The chimney swifts, before the advent of civilized
man, nested and roosted in hollow trees, but these
trees becoming scarce and chimneys frequent, and
possibly more to their liking, they in time forsook,
almost wholly, the former for the latter.

286 OLE A NINGS FROM NATl 'RE.

Woodpeckers, before the settlement of the prairie.-.
were confined to forest areas on account of a lack of
suitable nesting places; but they have discovered that
the cornices of buildings, church steeples, telegraph
poles and even rotten fence posts, will, with a little
labor, furnish a lodging place for eggs, and so they
have spread far and wide over the treeless regions of
the western States. Bank swallows have utilized for
nesting places the artificial roadbeds of railways in
some of the flatter counties of the State, and hence
their presence in such regions does not antedate that
of the "iron horse."

Many rapacious birds, as the smaller hawks, owls
and kingfishers, since the clearing away of the forests,
use the top of telegraph poles as resting places from
whence they can swoop down upon such unfortunate
prey as may come within their vision; while blue
birds and swallows, in lieu of a better resting place,
often line themselves along the wire and twitter and
chirp to one another, wholly unconscious of that elec-
tric force which is propelling the thoughts of man at
lightning speed along the slender thread beneath their
feet.

But the shrikes or butcher birds have put to use
another device of man, and in a peculiar manner:
namely, the barbs upon the barbed wire fences as spikes
upon which to impale their prey. For the shrikes are
the bushwhackers among birds. No others are so
notorious for cruelty and rapacity. Not only for food,
but apparently for the gratification of a blood-thirsty
instinct, they kill forms of life beneath them merely
as a means of killing time. They alone of all birds

TWELVE WINTER BIIWS. 287

impale their victims upon sharp pointed projections.
Their food consists of mice, small birds, snakes, beetles
and grasshoppers. Formerly these birds visited only
low-ground thickets where crab-apple, haw-thorn and
honey-locust or "thorn-trees" abounded, upon whose
sharp twigs and thorns they hung their victims. But
since the advent of the barbed wire fences the shrikes
have appeared everywhere along upland fields, finding
in the sharp, stiff barbs just the kind of an impaling
spike they wish. Why the prey is thus hung on
thorn or barb has not, as yet, been satisfactorily
explained, for it seems that objects so impaled are
afterwards seldom touched by the bird.

Two species of shrikes inhabit Indiana. One, the
logger-head shrike, Lan iushidovicianus~L., is a summer
resident, arriving from the south about April 1st and
departing thither about mid-October. This is the
species which impales so many grasshoppers and
beetles along the wire fences during the summer and
autumn. On one October day I gathered fully a pint
of such impaled insects from a fence row half a mile
long, and found that they represented sixteen species;
eight of grasshoppers, two of katydids, and six of
beetles, all injurious, so that this bird, although sav-
age and bloodthirsty, is of great benefit to the farmer
and fruit grower.

No sooner has the logger-head departed for the
south, than its cousin, the great northern slirike,

arrives from the north to spend the
The Great

Northern Shrike. Wlllter Wlth us - Ll general appear-
ance this latter species closely resem-
bles that exquisite singer, the southern mocking bird;

288 <;LKANIN(IH FROM .\.\rritE.

but the shrike is readily distinguished by its more
bulky form and its much stronger hooked and notched
bill. In size it is about the same as- the common
robin, measuring 9 inches from tip of bill to end of
tail. Above, the general color is a clear bluish ash,
somewhat paler on the rump. Below, it is a dirty
white, everywhere crossed with fine, wavy blackish
lines. The quills of wing and tail and a broad bar
along the side of head are black; while a white spot
is situated upon the lower half of each wing.

The northern
shrike nests
only in British
America, but in
i winter ranges
southward to
about latitude

Fig. 80 Great Northern Shrike. (After Coues.)

scientific name

is Lanius borealis Vieillot, from two Latin words
meaning "butcher" and "of the north." During
severe winters these birds often appear about the
suburbs of cities and prey upon the English sparrows,
and sometimes become so bold as to fly into open
windows and attack a canary, even in the presence of
human beings. By the Germans they are often called
neuntodter or "nine killers," from the belief that they
catch and hang up nine mice or nine sparrows each
day.

They are treacherous birds and use many devices to
get within striking distance of their prey. Dr. Abbott
has well described their actions as follows : " I remeni-

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 289

ber one, demure as a scheming crow, with eyes half
shut and with not a trace of treachery or cunning in
his face. His blue and white plumage, tastefully
trimmed with black, made him conspicuous, but he
lessened the ill effects of this by the manner he assumed.
No bird, however timid, would step aside for such as
he. Indeed, they perched upon the same branch of
the tree he was on, almost upon the same twig, and
where was he ?

" Like a flash the shrike had disappeared, and now,
fifty paces distant, he is perched upon another tree,
plucking feathers from a kinglet's head and regaling
himself with his victim's brains."

Shrikes seldom sing. On a sunny December day,
I was, however, favored by the song of a butcher
bird. I was on the lookout for him for I had found
a sharp-nosed shrew-mouse hanging on a barbed wire
fence, and knew that a shrike had its winter quarters
in the immediate vicinity. Suddenly a bull-headed
bird, with chops muffled in black, sprang from a fallen
thorn tree to a wild cherry in a near-by corner of the
rail fence, and I knew that the butcher was in my
presence. Eyeing me furtively for some time he
jumped from branch to branch towards the top until
finally he reached the uppermost twig when suddenly
he uttered four sharp notes. They were much like
the warning cry of a cock when he discovers a hawk
or large bird in the air "err err err err." Then,
after an interval of a few seconds, he began a song
which was continued for at least five minutes. It was
uttered in a joyful manner but at the most was a
monotonous ditty, a " puit-tuit-toot-e-ree, putt," etc.
19

290 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

During the singing he gazed attentively at me as if
seeking to note the eft'ect of his music, taking no
notice of the wrens and sparrows which were flittinir
about in the fallen thorn. As I stepped towards the
tree on which he was perched he uttered a harsh note,
a shriek of protest, as it were, at my intrusion ; then
giving two or three vigorous strokes with the wings,
he folded these organs close against liis. body, and,
with a peculiar gliding motion, passed swiftly into a
bushy oak shrub a hundred yards away.

VIII.

The student of nature soon learns to notice the
interdependence existing among all forms of living
objects. All animals are wholly dependent upon
plants for their existence, for plants alone can change
inorganic matter earth, air and water into starch,
sugar and other organic food-stuffs for animals.
Plants alone can collect and store up in these foods
the radiant energy of the sun's heat and light, and so
transmit it to the animals within whose bodies it is
changed into animal force and used as nervous, mus-
cular and gland power to perform the duties of ani-
mal life.

On the other hand plants receive many benefits
from animals. Insects carry the pollen from flower
to flower and so aid in the fertilization and cross fer-
tilization of the plants. To bring about the visitation
of insects to the reproductive parts or anthers on
which the pollen is produced, the plants have developed
honey secreting glands about the base of the anthers

. TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 291

and then surrounded them by showy petals so that
the insects may readily find their way to the honey
and in their search for it unconsciously scatter the
pollen. In this way all the showy parts of flowers
have originated.

Again, birds and plants are mutually dependent,
the birds feeding upon the fruits of the plants and in
turn scattering or distributing the indigestible seeds
far and wide over the face of the earth. Indeed, all
the fleshy parts of fruits have in time been developed
around the seeds for the sole purpose of bringing
about the distribution of the latter. Man gathers
apples, oranges, or apricots from the tree for the
sake of the flesh or pulp, not for the seeds ; but in
getting the pulp he carries the seed far away from
the parent tree. Cherries, raspberries, strawberries
and many of the fruits of wild plants are very attrac-
tive to the palate of birds, and the latter are there-
fore the chief agents in the distribution of these fruit
producing plants.

Among our frugivorous birds the cedar bird or
cherry bird ranks pre-eminent for the great variety
of wild fruits which it -eats. This bird is a perma-
nent resident in Indiana, but is most abundant during
the spring and fall migrations as many of them spend
the winter farther southward. It is almost always
seen in flocks, usually from forty to a hundred together.
It has no song and no gaudy colors, yet from the
delicacy and softness of its plumage it

r . is one of our most beautiful birds; and

Cedar Bird.

during the craze for feather ornamen-
tation, which was so prevalent a few years ago, and

292

GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

which still exists among certain stages of society, the
cedar bird was one of the most common species seen
on women's hats.

In length it measures about seven inches from point
of bill to tip of tail. Above, the general color is a
cinnamon-brown, paling to slaty ash on the wings and

Fig. 81 -Cedar Bird. (After Beal.)

tail, the feathers of the latter being tipped with a band
of yellow. A broad stripe of black passes from the
nostrils back along the side of the head, and the chin
and forehead are also black. The tips of some of the
wing feathers, and sometimes also of the tail feathers,
bear little oval, flat, leaf-like appendages which re-
semble red sealing wax ; while the head is ornamented

TWELVE WINTER E1BDS. 293

with a conspicuous crest which can be raised or low-
ered at pleasure.

The wax-like tips on the wing feathers are only
prolongations of the shafts with Curiously formed pig-
. ment cells containing an abundance of red and yellow
coloring matter. Their presence gives rise to two
common names, other than those given above, by
which the bird is known, namely : cedar wax-wing
and Carolina wax-wing. The scientific name is
Ampelis cedrorum (Vieillot), meaning "fruit eater,"
and " of the cedars ;" as one of the favorite foods of
the bird is the cedar or juniper berries so common in
some localities.

The cedar bird, like many human beings, lives to
eat. Although an abundant species throughout the
State it is so capricious in its movements that its
presence or absence in a certain locality appears to
bear no relation to season or weather, the question
of food supply alone being probably the controlling
influence in its wanderings. It feeds on cherries,
both wild and cultivated whence its name, " cherry
bird" on the berries of the sour gum, dogwood,
bitter-sweet and poke weed, and 'will often BO gorge
itself with these as to be almost unable to fly. When-
ever a flock alights in a tree bearing their chosen food
they sit for a time motionless and erect like parrots ;
then, by a movement of the head, each one takes a
survey of his immediate surroundings, after which, one
by one, they proceed to the chief business of their lives.

In spring and summer, before the ripening of the
fruit and berries, this bird is of great benefit to the
farmer, as it then devotes itself almost entirely to

294 GLKAM.\(;x nioM XATl'HE.

catching insects. It is an expert fly catcher, and may
often lie seen perched upon a dead twig near the top
of some tall tree from which it makes its graceful and
successful flights after the different insects passing
near. In this way it repays more than twenty fold
for the cherries it later on devours.

The cedar birds are noted for their extreme socia-
bility and even fondness for their kind. They are
among the few birds which appear to be permanently
gregarious, i. e., always found in flocks. They build
their nests very late in the season, sometimes not till
the middle of July, and are seen in flocks up to that
time. Several nests are often constructed in the same
tree and usually all those of the same flock are built
within the compass of a few rods. The nest is a
bulky structure composed of many materials, such as
bark, roots, twigs, paper, rags and twine, and lined
with the finer grasses, hair and wool. The eggs are
three to six in number and are slate brown marked
with many purple or dark brown blotches.

The sociability of these birds is kept up during the
five or six weeks that they are held in one locality by
the care of their young and when the latter are ready
to leave the nest they remain with their parents.

On a recent January morn my attention was
attracted to a flock of birds which was continually
flying from some trees to the margin of a small pond
and back again. I moved slowly towards them and
found them to be cedar birds which were feeding upon
the fruit of the hackberry, Celtis occidentalis L. They
were working rapidly and tearing at the berries so
eagerly that as many fell to the ground as "were eaten.

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 295

About every five minutes a dozen or more members
of the flock would sweep in an easy and undulating
but swift flight to the margin of the pond and after
drinking would fly again to their feast. They made
no sound except an occasional lisping tsip in a low
tone. Occasionally one would be overcome with
curiosity and would fly to the branch of the neigh-
boring tree under which I stood and peer down at
me, moving his head from side to side while his eyes
seemed to sparkle with excitement ; then back he would
go again, showing as he flew the waxen tips on his pri-
maries and the bright yellow border on his tail feathers.

I envied them their food, plucked from the tree on
which it grew, and therefore free from adulteration
of any kind; sweet, resembling a black haw in taste;
the only drawback being that the pulp or nutritious
part is very small in proportion to the bulk of the
seed. But the former is sufficient in quality and quan-
tity to attract the birds and therefore serve the pur-
pose of the hackberry ; and perhaps many a Celtis
will owe its future existence to the visitation of the
flock of cedar birds seen by me ; the seed being dropped
in some distant place where its chances for life and
growth will be a thousand fold greater than if it had
fallen to the earth beneath the parent tree.

IX.

Many of the natural haunts of our winter birds,
which formerly existed within easy reach of the city,
have disappeared. As a consequence the birds them-
selves are yearly becoming less frequent in number.

296

GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

I have in mind a wooded tract, of probably 100
acres, which a few years ago was thickly grown up to
under-brush and contained many fallen trees. There,
on any day in winter, one could tind twenty or more
species of birds, on the trees, in the brush piles, or on
the ground, each one seeking its food according to its
adaptations. Not only birds but many other forms

Fig. 82 Brown Thrush. (After Judd.)

of living things, such as snails, reptiles, batrachians,
and insects of varied size and shape, found a congenial
home within the borders of those woods. But,
although they belong to a wealthy family who could
well afford to have spared them, to-day all is changed.
Every brush pile where in summer nested the brown
thrush and Carolina wren ; every log beneath which
the plodding snail, spotted salamander or white-

TWELVE WINTEE BIRDS. 297

footed mouse found shelter; every shrub and weed
on whose leaves and flowers beetles and butterflies of
brilliant hue had been wont to feed, are cleared away.
The broad arid level sward with its unbroken carpet
of Kentucky blue-grass no doubt presents an attrac-
tive appearance to the eyes of the rich owner; but
the tenants of yore, which to him were unknown or
despised, though some of them for many years had
been his helpful friends what of them ?

To my mind they were the rightful owners of the
land. Back in preglacial times, before the overflow
from a giant, melting, bulk of ice had carved out the
broad valley to the westward back then, and even
before the first insects, birds and mammals " entered "
this tract of land and began on it a struggle for exist-
ence. There, for year on year and century on century,
has this struggle continued, and though the home and
happiness of many of the contestants were destroyed
by the clearing up of the under-brush, yet it still con-
tinues. Nor will it wholly end until the advancing
city will have encroached upon the bounds of this
domain of nature, and then man, proud, artificial, un*
natural, will forever drive out the rightful denizens
and prove himself the fittest in the struggle.

The above is but one example of a thousand going
on everywhere about us. To produce that which will
bring him wealth although his coffers may be full to
overflowing man willingly and thoughtlessly causes
the death or disappearance of manifold forms of liv-
ing things and creates sad havoc with the true beauty
of nature's own. Like Thoreau, I exclaim : "Thank
God, he can not cut down the clouds."

298 ( ; LEA A / M . N / ' !!(> \l NA TV RE.

Among our winter l>ir<ls none was formerly nmiv
familiar than the so-called "snow-bird" or shite col-
ored junco. It arrives from the north about October
the 15th and its coming is always a precursor of the
winter that is to be. During the pleasant weather,
when the earth is bare, it seeks the shelter of such wild-
wood tangles as the one above mentioned. There,

scattered among the leaves and on the
The Snow-bird. , , f ,

dead stems 01 low grasses and weeds,

it finds its favorite food, the seeds of wild plants,
which it occasionally varies with such small beetles
or grubs as it may happen upon. But when such
food is hidden beneath a coating of ice and snow the
junco has to retreat from its thicket stronghold and
then it comes trooping about the dooryards and burn-
yards of man, ever ready to pick up those "'crumbs
of comfort" which are dropped intentionally or other-
wise in such places.

The snow-bird belongs to the great family of Frin-
(jillidce which comprises the sparrows and finches, 38
of which are known to occur in Indiana, 17 of them
being found here in winter. The chief character
which distinguishes this family is a thick cone-shaped
bill which is shorter than the head and abruptly
angulated or drawn down at the corners of the month.
With this they can crush the hard outer shell of most
of the smaller seeds and feed upon the rich, nutritious
kernels within. The English sparrow and Canary
bird are two familiar members of the family.

Although seeds form the main diet of all these birds,
yet, in early spring and summer wdien seeds are scarce,
they turn to insect life to furnish them sustenance;

TWELVE WINTER BIBDS.

299

and Prof. S. A. Forbes found that 91 per cent, of the
food of 47 sparrows which he killed in an orchard in
May, was composed of insects ; four per cent, being
canker worms, which are so injurious to the foliage
of the apple tree. Moreover, the young of the 17
species which nest in the State are fed wholly upon
insect food, so that, all in all, the family is a most
beneficial one
to our husband-
men.

In size the
snow-bird is
below the me-
dium, measur-
ing but 6^ inch-
es in length. In
color it is a uni-
form ashy or
blackish gray
above, some-
what darker on
the head. Be-
low, all back of
the breast is
pure white, as
are also the two or three outer feathers of the tail.
These feathers are ever a sign of its identity, for as it
flies it spreads its tail enough to show their edges. X<>
other bird of similar size possesses them except the
grass-finch or vesper sparrow, which is everywhere
streaked, both above and below, with reddish-brown
and dusky.

Fig. 83 Snow-bird. (After Coues.)

300 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

From the above description it will be seen that the
name "snow-bird," by which this sparrow is so com-
monly known, is a misnomer as far as color is con-
cerned, and was probably given to it on account of its
habit of flocking about houses and barns after every
snow storm.

Its scientific name is Jiinco hiemalis (L.), from two
Latin words meaning "a rush" and "wintry."- The
common name, "slate-colored junco," which, among
naturalists, is coming into general use, is sufficient to
properly distinguish it from other members of the
same genus.

While the snow-bird is known to every one in the
country as a common and familiar winter resident,
there are few people but to whom its coming and
going is a mystery, and the question is often asked :
"What becomes of the snow-birds in summer, and
where do they nest?" Many are the answers given
to this question by persons who know little or nothing
of the habits of birds. A common belief, and one
which was upheld by an article which appeared less
than a dozen years ago in one of the leading news-
papers of this State, is, that our common sparrows,
such as the field sparrow and grass-finch, change color
in fall, becoming snow-birds, which they remain until
spring, when they don their other dress and again
become sparrows.

The question is easily answered by any one who
will give the matter a little thought. The snow-bird
nests from Michigan and Wisconsin northward, and
in autumn many of them stop with us to spend the
winter instead of all going farther south as is the

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 301

case with so many birds. This makes it a true " winter
resident," of which, among the sparrows, but five
occur in Indiana.

While here the snow-bird is always seen in small
bevies or family groups, never singly. A true
brotherly and sisterly love seems to animate these
groups. Their members are never seen quarreling
among themselves as is so common an occurrence
with their pesky cousins, the English sparrows; but
when one is crippled or ailing all the others vie with
each other in carrying food to it and giving it every
needed attention. 'Their ordinary note is a short,
sharp, emphatic "chip", rapidly repeated as the bird
is flushed; but in the spring, as .the days become
warmer, they delight to sit in the low branches of
trees and sing a very sweet, suppressed song, as if
tuning up in anticipation of the coming mating in
that far northern country for which they will soon
depart. All in all, though dull in color and lacking
in brilliant song, these little snow-birds have many
charming habits, well worthy the study of any one
interested in our feathered friends. Were they for-
ever taken from our miclst we would sadly miss them
on those days when murky clouds o'erspread the sky
arid, snow and ice enshroud the lap of earth.

"Better far, ah yes! than no bird
Is the ever-present snow-bird ;
Gayly tripping, dainty creature,
Where the snow hides every feature;
Covers fences, field and tree, .
Clothes in white all things but thee;
Restless, twittering, trusty snow-bird,
Lighter heart than thine has no bird."

302 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

X.

While tramping through woodland, field and
meadow in search of "first hand" knowledge, I often
think of the many riches possessed by the farmer's
son which he wots not of. His father's fields have
thousands of tenants which he never sees. In their
proper season wild flowers of brilliant hue and delight-
ful odor bloom all about him yet are passed unnoticed.
Every corner of the old Virginia rail fences holds
countless treasures of brilliantly colored insects, yet
he knows only the six or eight species of homely ones
which are especially injurious to his father's crops.
In the proper season the orchards and woodlands on
the old homestead are full of sweet singing warblers
and vireos whose notes and plumage may be, for the
time being, all his own ; yet he sees and hears them
not. The rainbow darter and its cousin, the green-
sided darter, swim up and down the ripples of the
brook which flows through the wood's pasture of his
country home, yet the sunlight which they reflect from
their gilded sides ne'er strikes the eyes of the farmer's
boy. If I possess treasures I wish to know it and not
pass my life surrounded by them and yet in continual
ignorance of their presence.

Ifow many of my readers, for example, whether
reared in country or city, have ever seen a cross-bill
alive ? I lived upon a farm until I was of age and did
not know that such a bird existed although it was
probably found every winter within a mile of my
home.

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 303

Like the snow-bird, the cross-bill belongs to the
great family of Fringillidce, whose members are com-
monly known as finches and sparrows all having a
thick cone-shaped beak for cracking

seeds. But the beak of the cross-bill
Cross=bill.

has, in time, undergone a wonderful
change, or, in other words, has become adapted to the
habits of the bird. For, instead of the two mandibles

Fig. 84 American Cross-bills. (After Coues.)

meeting on a level as in other finches, the upper
curves down to the right of the lower, which at the
same time curves upward. In this way they partly
cross one another, thus giving rise to the common
name of the bird.

The bill is thus fashioned to extract the seeds of
pines arid other similar trees from the cones, and the
cross-bills, by the great strength of the muscles of the

304 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

jaw and these strong, oppositely curved mandibles,
are able to pry open the tightly appressed scales of
the cones and extract at pleasure the nutritious oily
seeds. Other birds are equally fond of these seeds,
but have to wait for the alternate thawing and freez-
ing of spring to loosen the scales.

In size the cross-bill is somewhat larger than the
English sparrow, measuring about (U inches in length.
The wings are very long and pointed, reaching beyond
the middle of the narrow, forked tail. The color of
the bird varies greatly according to sex and age. The
old males are brick-red, darkest across the back, and
have the wings and tail a uniform blackish-brown.
The females of all ages are dull greenish-olive with a
yellowish tinge on the crown and rump; while the
young males are a curious mixture of brick-red,
greenish -olive, and yellowish.

There are two species of cross-bills occurring in
Indiana, and the above description applies to the
most common one which is known by the name of
the American or red cross-bill. The other species is
the white-winged cross-bill and may be readily dis-
tinguished by the presence of two conspicuous white
bars across each wing. It has the same habits as the
one above described, but has been noted in the State
only on a few occasions.

The scientific name of the American cross-bill is
Loxia curvirostra L., from two Latin words meaning
" crooked" and " curve-bill " ; while that of the white-
winged species is Loxia lencoptera Gmelin, the word
" leucoptera" meaning "white-wing." Thus the scien-
tific name of each kind of plant or animal is often

TWELVE WINTER mitDti. 305

based upon some important and noticeable character
possessed by the species.

Perhaps no birds are more erratic in their move-
ments than the cross-bills. They appear and disappear
from a given locality in the most unexpected manner.
In Indiana they are most likely to be found during
severe weather in January and February. They go
in flocks of from six to forty individuals, usually flying
high in air and for great distances at a time. While
on the wing they keep up, almost continually, a loud
clear call note, which is quite similar to that made by
a yo.ung chicken in distress. Always alighting in the
tops of pines or other evergreen trees, each individual
chooses a cone and immediately begins to extract the
seeds.

While thus feeding they are extremely gentle and
social, easily approached, and may even be knocked
down with sticks. In the old barbarous collecting
days I have shot as many as five or six from a single
tree without causing the remainder of the flock to take
flight. The two species are alike in all their habits,
climbing from cone to cone like parrots, head down or
head up at will; twittering as they feed like many
other sparrows ; and finally, having eaten their fill,
with one impulse they hurry out of sight, to be gone,
it may be, until another year rolls by.

They nest throughout the coniferous forests of the
northern United States and Canada and in the moun-
tains of the southern States, notably in North Caro-
lina and Tennessee. A few of the young of the
previous season either remain in Indiana throughout
the summer, or visit here at that season, for I have
20

306 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

taken them in Putnam County in July, but no well
authenticated record of their nesting in the State lias,
as yet, been made.

Ahiong the superstitious many curious legends exist
accounting for the origin of certain well known char-
acters of our common hirds. For example, the red
breast of the robin is said to have resulted from a
habit that these birds had, in the misty past, of filling
their bills with water which they carried to the l)rink
of Hades and dropped down to the thirsty unfortunates
below, their breasts meanwhile becoming scorched by
the flames from the infernal regions. In like manner
the curved mandibles of the cross-bills are accounted
for by saying that these merciful birds tried to pull
the nails from the cross, and in so doing twisted their
bills in such a way that they will always bear the
symbol of their good deed.

XI.

When, after a few weeks of imprisonment within
the city, the naturalist goes forth to make new friends
among the denizens of the woods and fields, the pure
country air has, at times, a curious effect upon his
mind, causing strange thoughts to well up therein
concerning the relations of man to ithe animals and
plants about him, and especially to the earth itself.
Thus, on one of the pleasant afternoons of late Feb-
ruary, as I tramped over a wooded knoll east of the
city, I found myself likening the earth to a great
round animal, moving on an eternal journey through
space, and of mankind as mites, preying upon its

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 307

back, scratching its thick rough hide with their tiny
implements of toil and so causing it to yield them sus-
tenance as does the mite or tick the animal it lives
upon.

The sight of the smooth lichen-covered bole of a
beech caused this re very to vanish and I began to
ponder over the power of sunlight, which, after trav-
eling ninety and more millions of miles, had built up
the carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, which the roots and
leaves had gathered, into thousands of pounds of solid
wood for the use of man. Even the green slime or
protococcus found on the north side of the tree has its
part to bear in the economy of nature. For it is com-
posed of myriads of little cells, each a complete plant
in itself and one of nature's disinfecting organs;
which, by the aid of the all powerful light of the sun,
takes up the impure carbon-dioxide and sets free
oxygen, pure and invigorating, for man and beast.

J>ut in the beech were birds, forms of life of which
I was primarily in search. Two species there were
which in winter are almost inseparable; namely, the
tufted titmouse and the black-capped chickadee. Both
are permanent residents, that is they are found here at
all seasons of the year but appear most abundant in
winter; probably because the trees are then bare and
the birds can be more readily seen.

Both belong to the same family, the Paridc?, of

which we have but five species in Indiana; namely,

one titmouse, two chickadees, and two

nuthatches. Of these the tufted tit-
I itmouse.

mouse is the largest and yet it is be-
low the average bird in size, measuring but 6| inches

308

<n.K. i. \7.\v ,-> /-'/,'o.j/ AM 7v// A;

in length. In color it is a uniform lradcn-gray above,
rxi-rjit a narrow shvak of black across the forehead.
Below, it is a whitish ash, with the sides tinged with
dull reddish-brown. The feathers of the head are
long, and, when the bird is excited or angry, can be
raised into a conspicuous crest, whence the common
name of "tufted titmouse."

From the black bar across the forehead it is some-
times called the black-front-
ed titmouse, while its Latin
name is Parus bicolor L., the
former word meaning "tit-
mouse" and the latter "of
two colors."

In winter perhaps no
bird is more abundant in
the wooded portions of the
southern half of Indiana,
than this species. Roving
in restless, noisy troops
through the woods, scolding
at every intruder and calling to one another in harsh
tones, it soon renders itself conspicuous to every one
who is beginning to take an interest in our feathered
fauna. Its ordinary note is a rather monotonous
"dee-dee-dee" often repeated as if from habit. Its
song is a loud .clear whistle resembling the syllables
" l 'fo-peto-peto " uttered in a defiant tone, as if chal-
lenging all other birds within the compass of its
voice. When angry it raises its crest and utters a
series of chirps which appear to be imitations of
the notes of other birds, those of the blue jay being

Fig. 85 Head of Tufted
Titmouse.

TWELVE WINTER BIRDS.

309

recognized. While searching for insect food it moves
by short sudden leaps and flights from branch to
branch, suspending itself readily in all attitudes.

When forest food is scarce it often approaches gar-
dens and orchards, and then only do we see it on en-
close to the ground, ready to pick or-tear at any veg-
etable or animal food which may be to its liking. In
summer these winter bevies separate ; and each pair
seeks some natural cavity such as a hollow in the fork
of a tree or a deserted hole bored by a woodpecker.
This is lined with bits of moss, leaves and grass, and
in it the eggs, four to six in number, are deposited.
In color they are white, sprinkled with reddish-brown
and lilac, and measure .75x. 56 of an inch.

XII.

The black-capped chickadee is a better known bird
than the tufted titmouse, its colors being more strik-
ing and its habits more sociable than that species.

It is also much smaller, measuring but five inches
from point of beak to tip of tail. The crown, nape,
chin and throat are a rich glossy
black, and contrast strongly with
the grayish ash of the remainder
of the body.

As stated above, both these
birds belong to

the same family
Black=capped

Chickadee. an( ^ oven to the same genus, so that

the first part of the Latin name, Pura*

atricapillus L., is the same for both. Atricapilhis

Fig. 80 Head of Black-
capped Chickadee.

310 ULKAM\fi$ FROM XATJ'KE. '

means "black haired/' and a common name, perhaps
as much used as the one mentioned, is "black-capped
titmouse." It was of this fluffy little bird in its
modest dress of black and gray that Emerson wrote
as follows :

"This poet, though he live apart,
Moved by his hospitable heart,
Sped, when I passed his sylvan fort,
To do the honors of his court,
As fits a feathered lord of land ;
Flew near, with .soft wing grazed my hand,
Hopped on the bough, then darting low,
Prints his small impress on the snow,
Shows feats of his gymnastic play,
Head downward, clinging to the sprny.

Here was this atom in full breath,
Hurling defiance at vast death ;
This scrap of valor just for play
Fronts the north-wind in waistcoat gray."

He is indeed a joyful little creature, flitting ever
about, hither and thither, clinging to the side of a tree
one minute and picking at the moss on a branch the
next. His ordinary food consists of the insects which
hide in the crevices of bark, spiders' eggs, and, per-
haps, the tender buds of trees.

His winter note of "tche-de-de de-de" is the one
most commonly known, but in spring it gives way To
a pleasing "phe-be" which is, perhaps, his vernal love
call.

The nest is built in a dead stump or tree in a hole
excavated by the bird itself. The eggs are white,
sprinkled with reddish brown and measure .f>8.\.47
of an inch in size.

TWEL VE WINTER BIRDS.

311

All the members of the family Paridce delight to
wander in company and time and again have I found
all five of them within an area of a few square rods.
On the beech tree above mentioned, there were, how-
ever, but the two of which I have written, " the lordly
tomtit, with his jaunty crest; the merry chickadee
the former making the woods ring with his earnest

Fig. 87 Bluebird. (After Beal.)

invitation to ramble therein: here here here! the
latter ever winsome as it chirped, in more subdued
tones, chick-a-dee-dee dee-dee; winter no terror has for
me -for me."

On the same afternoon the notes of many other
birds were heard; notably the ringing quaver of the
bluebird again and again the first symbol of the
approaching springtime which all plants, all animals

312 <1 LEAN INGS FROM NATURE.

welcome with marks and notes of joy. It was the
beginning of a great awakening which once each year
comes to all animate life. A few of the insects, plants,
etc., began that day to rub their eyes and endeavor to
peep forth to see if a new morning was really begin-
ning to dawn. A few days of such weather and they
will begin to call to one another the "good morning"
of spring. The matin-song or call was that of the
bluebird. The hum of insect, the croak of frog and
the clear whistle of the red-shouldered blackbird will
soon follow in regular and long accustomed order.

HOW PLANTS AND ANIMALS SPEND
THE WINTER.*

One of the greatest problems which each of the liv-
ing forms about us has had to solve, during the years
of its existence on earth, is how best to perpetuate its
kind during that cold season which once each year, in
our temperate zone, is bound to come. Many are the
solutions to this problem. Each form of life has, as
it were, solved it best to suit its own peculiar case, and
to the earnest student of Nature there is nothing more
interesting than to pry into these solutions and note
how varied, strange, and wonderful they are.

To fully appreciate some of the facts mentioned
below it must be borne in mind that there is no such
thing as "spontaneous generation" of life. Every
cell is the offspring of a pre-existing cell. Nothing
but a living thing can produce a living thing. Hence
every weed that next season will spring up and pro-
voke the farmer's ire, and every insect which will
then make life almost intolerable for man or beast,
exists throughout the winter in some form.

If we begin with some of the lowly plants, such as
the fresh-water algre, or so-called "frog-spittle" of the
ponds, and many of the rusts and fungi which are so
injurious to crops, we find that they form in autumn
"resting spores." These are very small and globular,

''Popular Science Monthly, February, 1897.
(313)

314 <; LEANINGS FEON NA TURE.

one-celled bodies, having a much thicker coat and
denser, protoplasm or contents than are found in the
spores often produced in summer by the same plants,
and which are destined for immediate growth. The
power of life within these winter resting spores is
proof against the severest attacks of frost, and they
lie snugly ensconced in the mud at the bottom of pond
or stream, or buried beneath the leaves in some shel-
tered nook, until the south winds of
Rusts and Fungi A/r -, A ., ~ . , ,1 i

i Wi t March or April furnish the key to

unlock the castle of the ice kin<jf.
Then the spirit of growth within each spore begins to
assert itself once more, and, bursting the walls, the
contents soon produce the parent or summer form of
the plant with which we are most familiar. Thus the
spores which the next season will produce the grape
mildew and the red rust of wheat exist throughout
the winter the former within the substance of the
fallen grape leaf, the latter within the stubble or about
the roots of the last season's wheat plants.

If the grape leaves should be carefully gathered
and burned, and the stubble destroyed in like manner,
not only would the next season's crop of these two
parasitic plant pests be wonderfully lessened, but
many injurious insects would at the same time be
destroyed.

Higher in the scale of plant life we find the flower-
ing annuals bending all their energies during the
summer to produce that peculiar form, the "seed."
which is only a little plant boxed up to successfully
withstand the rigors of winter. The great sunflower,
that grows into a giant in a single season and defies

XIV.

WINTER BUDS.

1. Papaw.

2. Buckeye.

PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN WINTER. 315

the summer sun and storm, Falls an easy victim to the
frosts of autumn. It, however, prepares the way for
many successors in the ripened seeds, each one of
which, under favorable conditions, will germinate,
grow, reproduce its kind, and thus complete another
cycle in the realm of vegetable life. The prospective
life and activity of a whole field of next summer's
waving corn may be considered as stored up in a few
pecks of comparatively lifeless seed corn safely housed
in the granary. Within its two protecting coats and
surrounded by a large store of food, in the form of
seed leaf or nucleus, to be used when growth begins
again, each little plantlet lives and survives the cold-
est blasts of King Boreas and his cohorts.

Note, too, the buds and under-ground stems which
will furnish the beginning of next season's growth of
our biennial and perennial plants. See how they are
protected by heavy overcoats in the
form of bud scales. Oftentimes, too, as
in the hickory and "balm, of Gilead"
trees, these scales have a coat of resin or gum on the
outside to render them waterproof; and some, as those
of the papaw, are even fur-lined, or rather fur-cov-
ered, with a coating of soft black hairs. Were these
protective scales not present, the tender shoots within
them, which will furnish the nucleus for next season's
foliage, would be seared and withered by the first frost
as quickly as though touched with a red-hot iron.

The above are some of the many ways in which our
plants, in the course of ages and many changes of
environment, have solved the problem of surviving
the cold of winter. Moreover, they always prepare

316 (iLEA.\i.\<;s viioM ^'AT^ltE.

for tliis cold in time, the resting spores and seeds
being ripened and the bud scales formed over the ten-
der tips of the branches long before the first severe
frost appears.

Let us now take up those higher forms of life-called
animals "higher," because they are absolutely de-
pendent upon plants for their food and see how they
pass their time while their food producers, the plants,
are resting.

Beginning with the earth-worms and their kindred,
we find that at the approach of winter they burrow
deep down where the icy breath of the frost never

reaches, and there they live, during
Earth-worms ,, -,-, rf f ,.

Wi t season, a lite ot comparative

quiet. That they are exceedingly sen-
sitive to warmth, however, may be proven by the fact
that when a, warm rain comes some night in February
or March, thawing out the crust of the earth, the next
morning reveals in our dooryards the mouths of hun-
dreds of the pits or burrows of these primitive tillers
of the soil, each surrounded by a little pile of pellets,
the castings of the active artisans of the pits during
the night before.

If we will get up before dawn on such r. morning
we can find the worms crawling actively about over
the surface of the ground, but when the first signs of
day appear they seek once more their protective bur-
rows, and only an occasional belated individual serves
as a breakfast for the early birds.

The eyes of these lowly creatures are not visible,
and consist of single special cells scattered among the
epidermal cells of the skin, and connected by means

PLANTS AM) * 1 MM. \ LS IN WINTER. 317

of a sensory nerve fiber with a little bunch of nervous
matter in the body. Such a simple visual apparatus
serves them only in distinguishing light from dark-
ness, but this to them is most important knowledge,
as it enables them to avoid the surface of the earth by
day, when their worst enemies, the birds, are in active
search for them.

The fresh-water mussels and snails and the crayfish

burrow deep into the mud and silt at the bottom of

ponds and streams where they lie motionless during

the winter. The land snails, in late

Mussels and autumn, crawl beneath logs, and, bur-
Snails in Winter. ' . . *

rowing deep into the sott mold, they

withdraw far into their shells. Then each one forms
with a mucous secretion two thin transparent mem-
branes, one across the opening of the shell and one
a little farther within, thus making the interior of
the shell perfectly air-tight. There for five or six
months he sleeps, free from the pangs of hunger and
the blasts of winter, and when the balmy breezes of
spring blow up from the south he breaks down and
devours the protecting membrane and goes forth with
his home on his back to seek fresh leaves for food
and to find for himself a mate.

Next in the scale come the insects, which comprise
four-fifths of all existing animals, and each one of the
mighty horde seen in summer has passed the winter
in some form. One must look for them in strange
places and under many disguises; for they can not
migrate, as do the majority of the birds, nor can they
live an active life while the source of their food sup-
ply, the plants, are inactive.

318 (I L K. 1 \l \fiS FROM NATURE.

The majority of those insects which in May or
June will be found feeding on the buds or leaves of
our trees, or crawling worm-like over
Eggs of Insects tl)e g of our j awns or burrow-

in Winter. '

ing beneath the roots or our garden

plants, are represented in the winter by the eggs
alone. These eggs are deposited in autumn by the
mother insect, on or near the object destined to fur-
nish the young, or larva 1 , their food. Each egg cor-
responds to a seed of one of our annual plants; being,
like it, but a form of life so fashioned and fitted as to
withstand for a long period intense cold ; the mother
insect, like the summer form of the plant, succumb-
ing to the first severe frost.

Thus myriads of the eggs of grasshoppers are
in the early autumn deposited in the ground, in
compact masses of forty to sixty each. About mid-
April they begin to hatch, and the sprightly
little insects, devoid of wings, but otherwise like
their parents, begin their life-work of changing grass
into flesh.

A comparatively small number of insects pass the

winter in the larval or active stage of the young. Of

these, perhaps the best known is the brown " woolly

worm" or '-hedgehog caterpillar," as

Larvae of Insects it ig f. imiliar i y callede It is thickly

in Winter. , ... '.,,,

covered with still hlack hairs on each

end, and with reddish hairs on the middle of the
body. These hairs appear to be evenly and closely
shorn, so as to give the animal a velvety look : and as
they have a certain degree of elasticity, and the cater-
pillar curls up at the slightest touch, it generally man-

PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN WINTER. 319

ages to slip uway when taken into the hand. Beneath
loose bark, boards, rails and stones, tins caterpillar
may be found in mid-
winter, coiled up and
apparently lifeless. On
the lirst bright, sunny

(blVS of Spring it may Fig. 88-Hedgehog Caterpillar.

be seen crawling rapidly over the ground, seek-
ing the earliest vegetation which will furnish it a
literal "breakfast." In April or May the chrysalis,
surrounded by a loose cocoon formed of the hairs of
the body interwoven with coarse silk, may be found
in situations similar to those in which the larva passed
the winter. From this, the perfect insect, the Isabella
tiger moth, Pyrrharctia Isabella Smith, emerges about
the last of June. It is a medium sized moth, dull
orange in color, with three rows-of small black spots
on the body, and some scattered spots of the same
color on the wings.

By breaking open rotten logs one can find in mid-
winter the grubs or larvse of many of the wood-boring
beetles, and, beneath logs and stones near the margins
of ponds and brooks, hordes of the maggots or larva 1
of certain kinds of flies may often be found huddled
together in great masses. The larvae of a few butter-
flies also live over winter beneath chips or bunches of
leaves near the roots of their food plant, or in webs
of their own construction, which are woven on the
steins close to the buds, whose expanding leaves will
furnish them their first meal in spring.

Many insects pass the winter in the quiescent or
pupal stage; a state exceedingly well fitted for hiber-

320

GLEAM \GK VltOM NATl'ltE.

Mating, requiring, as it does, no food, and

plenty of time for the marvelous

P T\J: lnSeCtS change* which are then nnde.-one.
in Winter.

Some or these pupse are enclosed in

dense silken cocoons, which are hound to the twigs of
the plants upon which the lar-
vae feed, and thus they swing
securely in their silken ham-
mocks through all the storms
of winter. Perhaps the most
common of these is that of the
brown Cecropianmoth, Attacus
cecropia L., the large oval co-
coon of which is a conspicu-
ous object in the winter on the
twigs of our common shade
and fruit trees. Many other
pupre may be found beneath
logs or on the under side of
bark, and usually have the
chrysalis surrounded by a thin
covering of hairs, which are
rather loosely arranged. A
number pass the cold season
in the earth with no protective
covering whatever. Among
these is a large brown chrysalis
with a long tongue case bent
over so as to resemble the
handle of a jug. Every farm
boy has plowed or spaded it

Fig. 89 Cocoon of Cecropian .- -> . i

Motb- up in the spring, and it is but

PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN WINTER. 321

the pupa of a large sphinx moth, Protoparce celeus

Hub., the larva

of which is the

great green

worm, with a

" horn on its

tail," SO com- Fig. 90-Chrysalis of Tomato Worm.

mon on tomato plants in the late summer.

Kach of the winter forms of insects above mentioned
can withstand long and severe cold weather in fact,
may be frozen solid for weeks and retain life and
vigor, both of which are shown when warm weather
and food appear again. Indeed, it is not an unusually
cold winter, but one of successive thawings and freez-
ings, which is most destructive to insect life. A mild
winter encourages the growth of mold which attacks
the hibernating larva 1 and pupse as soon as, from
excess of rain or humidity, they become sickly; and
it also permits the continued activity of insectivorous
mammals and birds. Thus, moles, shrews, and iield
mice, instead of burying themselves deeply in the
ground, run about freely during an open winter and
destroy enormous numbers of pupa? ; while such birds
as the woodpeckers, titmice, and chickadees are con-
stantly on the alert, and searching in every crevice
and cranny of fence and bark of tree for the hiber-
nating larvse.

Of the creeping, wingless creatures, which can ever
be found beneath rocks, rails, chunks, and especially
beneath those old decaying logs which are half buried
in the rich vegetable mold, the myriapods, or "thou-
sand-legc," deserve more than a passing notice. They
21

322 GLEANINGS FROM NA 77 'UK.

are typical examples of that great branch of the
animal kingdom known as <r/-f/,rt>jKx/s, which com-
prises all insects and crustaceans. Kach arthropod
has the body composed of rings placed end to end and
bearing jointed appendages, and in the myriapods
each ring and its appendages can be plainly seen :
whereas in the higher forms of the branch many of
the rings are so combined as to be very difficult to
distinguish.

Full forty kinds of myriapods occur in any area
comprising one hundred square miles in the eastern
United States. About twenty-five of them go by the
general name of "thousand-legs" or
millipedes, as each has from forty to
fifty-five cylindrical rings in the body,
and two pairs of legs to each ring. The other tit-
teen belong to the "centipede" group, the body con-
sisting of about six-
teen flattened se<^-

'"'^ Wmi^ ^"'""T * men ts, or rings, each
Fig.91 Millipede or "Thousand Legs." bearin^a single iair
of legs. When disturbed, the "thousand-legs" gen-
erally coils up and remains motionless, shamming
death, or "playing possum," as it is popularly put,
as a means of defense; while the centipede scampers
hurriedly away and endeavors to hide beneath leaf,
chip, or other protecting object.

All those found in the Northern States are perfectly
harmless, the true centipede, whose bite is reputed
much more venomous than it really is, being found
only in the South. True, some of the centipede group
can pinch rather sharply with their beetle-like jaws ;

PLANTS A.\J> A \IMAL8 IN WINTER.

and one, our largest and most common species, a
brownish red fellow about three inches long and
without eyes, can even draw blood if
its jaws happen to strike a tender
place. When handled, it always tries
to bite, perhaps out of revenge for the
abominably long Latin name given
it by its describe!*. In fact the name
is longer than the animal itself Sco-
lo-po-cryp-tops sex-spi-no-sus (Say) be-
ing its cognomen

\ Cii^r^/ in full. With such

X/lP a handle attached

blame it for at-
tempting to bite? Fig. 92-Centipede.
Yet, to the scientist up on his
Latin, each part of the above
name bears a definite and tangi-
ble meaning. All the myriapods
found in the woods and fields
feed upon decaying vegetation,
such as leaves, stems of weeds,
and rotten wood, and in winter
three or four species can usually
be found within or beneath every
decaying log or stump. One spe-
cies, with very long legs, Scutigcm forceps (Raf.), is
often found in damp houses or in cellars. It is some-
times . called -the " wall-sweeper," on account of its
rapid ungainly gait,- and is even reputed to prey upon
cockroaches and other household pests.

Fig. 93 Wall-sweeper.

(.Two-thirds natural si/e:
iilsn \tf'H<\ much enlarged.
After Lintner.)

324

GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

Spiders in
Winter.

Spiders, which do not undergo such changes as do
most of the common, six-footed insects, winter either
as eggs or in the mature form. The
members of the "sedentary" or web-
spinning group, as a rule, form nests in
late autumn, in each of which are deposited from fifty
to eighty eggs, which survive the winter and hatch in
the spring, as soon as the food supply of gnats, flies
and mosquitoes appear. The differ-
ent forms of spiders' nests are very
interesting objects of study. Some
are those close-spun, flat, button-
shaped objects, about half an inch
in diameter, which are so common
in winter on the under side of bark,
chunks and flat rocks. Others are
balloon-shapetl^and attached to
weeds. Within the latter the young
spiders often hatch in early winter,
make their first meal oft* their empty

Fig. 94 Balloon-shaped r J

Nest of Spider. egg cases, and then begin a struggle
(After comstock.) ff)r ex i 8t ence, . the

stronger preying upon the weaker
until the south winds blow again,
when they emerge and scatter far
and wide in search of more nutri-
tious sustenance.

The "wandering" spiders never F i. ^-Spider's Nest,
spin webs, but run actively about (After Comstock.)
and pounce upon their prey with a tiger-like spring.
Six or eight of the larger species of this group win-
ter in the mature form beneath logs and chunks,

PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN WINTER. 325

being often frozen solid during cold weather, but
thawing out as healthy as ever when the temperature
rises. Retiring beneath the loose-fitting bark of
hickory or maple trees, a number of the smaller
tube-weaving spiders construct about themselves a
protecting web of many layers of the finest silk.
Within this snug retreat they lie from November
until April a handsome, small, black fellow, with
green jaws and two orange spots on his abdomen,
being the most common species found motionless
within this seeming shroud of silk on a day in mid-
winter.

In any Northern State as many as four hundred*
different kinds of the six-footed or true insects, in the
winged or adult stage, may be taken in winter by any
one who is so disposed, and knows where to search
for them. Among the Orthoptera, the "grouse grass-
hoppers" live during the cold season beneath the
loose bark of logs, or beneath the -bottom rails of the
old Virginia worm fences. From these retreats every
warm, sunny day tempts them forth in numbers. On
such occasions the -earth seems to swarm with them,
as they leap before the intruder, their hard bodies
striking the dead leaves with a sound similar to that
produced by falling hail. The common field cricket
belongs also to the Orthoptera, and the young of vari-
ous sizes winter under rails and logs, bidding defiance
to Jack Frost from within a little burrow or pit
beneath the protecting shelter.

*See Psyche, 1895 and 1896, for notes on 286 species of Coleoptera , 64 of
Hemiptera and 18 of Orthoptera taken by the writer in Vigo county, Indiana,
during the winter months.

326

GLEA.\I.\';* I-' ROM X ATI 'UK.

Beetles
in Winter.

Fig. 96 Chinch Bug.
(Enlarged five limrs.

The true bugs, or Jfemrptera, hibernate in similar
places; squash bugs, chinch bugs, "stink" bugs, and
others being easily found in nuni-
bers beneath loose bark or hidden
between the root leaves of mullein
and other plants.

Nearly three hundred species of
( 'til<nf)tci'<i, or beetles, occupy nmilar
positions. Almost any rotten log
or stump when broken open dis-
closes a half dozen or more "horn''
or " bess beetles,"
Passalus cornutus L.,
great, shining, clumsy, black fellows
with a curved horn on the head. They are often
utilized as horses by country chil-
dren, the horn furnishing an invit-
ing projection to which may be
fastened, by a thread or cord, chips
and pieces of bark to be dragged
about by the strong and never lag-
ging beast of burden. When tired
of "playing horse" they can make
of the insect an instrument of mu-
sic; for, when held by the body, it
emits a creaking, hissing noise, pro-
duced by rubbing the abdomen up and down against
the inside of the hard, horny wing covers. This
beetle passes its entire life in cavities in the rotten
wood on which it feeds, and when it wishes a larger
or more commodious home it has only to eat the
more.

Fig. i>7 Horn or Bess
Beetle.

PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN WINTER. 327

The handsome and beneficial lady beetles winter
beneath fallen leaves or between and beneath the root
leaves of the mullein and the thistle. Our most com-
mon species, the thirteen-spotted lady beetle, Megilla
maculata DeG., is gregarious, col-
lecting together by thousands on
the approach of cold weather, and
lying huddled up like sheep until
a breath of spring gives them the Fig.98-Thirteen-spot-

, . , ted Lady Beetle.

signal to disperse. Snout beetles
galore can be found beneath piles of weeds near
streams and the borders of ponds or beneath chunks
and logs in sandy places. All are injurious, and the
farmer by burning their hibernating places in winter
can cause their destruction in numbers. Rove beetles,
ground beetles, and many others live deep down in
the vegetable mold beneath old logs, where they are,
no doubt, as secure from the breath of'the ice king as
if they had followed the swallow to the tropics.

Of the JMptera, or Hies, but few forms winter in the
perfect state, yet the myriads of house flies and their
kin, which next summer will distract the busy house-
wife, are represented in winter bv a
Flies and Gnats ,. . , , , . v . , , , . .

, .... . lew isolated individuals which creep

in Winter.

forth occasionally from crevice or
cranny and greet us with a friendly buzz.

In mid-winter one may also see in the air swarms
of small, gnat-like insects. They belong to this order
and live beneath the bark of freshly fallen beech and
other logs. On warm, sunny days they go forth in
numbers for a sort of rhythmical courtship; their
movements while in the air being peculiar in that

328 ( i L KA M.\(,'8 FROM XA TV RE.

they usually rise and fall in the same vertical line
performing a curious aerial dance which is long con-
tinued.

Among the dozen or more butterflies and moths
which winter in the perfect state, the most common
and the most handsome is the "Camberwell beauty"
or '-mourning cloak," Vanessa antiopa L., a large
butterfly whose wings are a rich purplish brown
above, duller beneath and broadly margined with a
yellowish band. It is often found in winter beneath
chunks which are raised a short distance above the
ground, or in the crevices of old snags and fence rails.
It is then apparently lifeless, with the antennae rest-
ing close along the back, above which the wings are
folded. But one or two warm days are necessary to
restore it to activity, and I have seen it on the w r ing
as early as the 2d of March, hovering over the open
flowers of the little snow trillium.

All the species of ants survive the winter as mature

forms, either in their
nests in the ground or
in huddled groups in
half rotten logs and
stumps; while here
and there beneath logs
a solitary queen bum-
ble-bee, bald hornet, or
yellow jacket is found

i.9*-A Queen Bumble-bee. the sole representa-

tives of their races.

Thus insects survive the winter in many ways and
in many places, some as eggs, others as larvae, still

PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN WINTER. 329

Others as puppe, and a large number as adults all
being able to withstand severe cold and yet retain
vitality sufficient to recover, live, grow, and replenish
the earth with their progeny when the halcyon days
of spring appear once more.

In the scale of animal life the vertebrates or back-
boned animals succeed the insects. Beginning with
the fishes, we find that in late autumn they mostly
seek some deep pool in pond or stream at the bottom
of which the water does not freeze.

Here the herbivorous forms eke out a
Winter. .

precarious existence by feeding upon

the innumerable diatoms and other small plants \vhich
are always to be found in water, while the carnivo-
rous prey upon the .herbivorous, and so maintain the
struggle for existence. The moving to these deeper
channels and pools in autumn and the scattering in
the spring of the assembly which has gathered there
constitute the so-called "migration of fishes," which
is far from being so extensive and methodical as that
practiced by the migratory birds.

Many of the smaller species of fishes, upon leaving
these winter resorts, ascend small, clear brooks in
large numbers for the purpose of depositing their
eggs ; as, when hatched in such a place, the young will
be comparatively free from the attacks of the larger
carnivorous forms. Among the lowest vertebrates
often found in numbers in early spring in these
meadow rills and brooks is the lamprey, Ammocu t
branchialis (L.), or "lamper eel," as it is sometimes
called. It has a slender, eel-like body, of a uniform
leaden or blackish color, and with seven purse-shaped

330 (;LEAM.\<;S

gill openings on each side. The month is lilted lor
sucking rather than biting, and with it they attach
themselves to the bodies of fishes and feed on their
fiesh, which they scrape off with their rasp-like teeth.
Later in the season they disappear from these smaller
streams, probably returning in mid-summer to deeper
water. Thoreau, who studied their habits closely,
says of them: "They are rarely seen on their way
down stream, and it is thought by fishermen that they
never return, but waste away and die, clinging to
rocks and stumps of trees for an indefinite period : a
tragic feature to the scenery of the river bottoms
worthy to be remembered with Shakespeare's descrip-
tion of the sea floor."

A few of the fishes, as the mud minnow and smaller
catfishes, together with most frogs, turtles, and sala-

manders, on the
a p p r o a c h o f
winter, burrow
into the mud at
the bottom of

Tioo Mud Minnow. the streams and

K6rKi(Kirtiand). p o ii d s, or be-

neath logs near their margins. There they live with-
out moving about and with all the vital jinx-esses in a
partially dormant condition, thus needing little if any
food.

The box tortoise or "dry land terrapin/' the com-
mon toad, and some salamanders burrow into the
dry earth, usually going deep enough to escape frost ;
while snakes seek some crevice in the rocks or hole
in the ground where they coil themselves together,

PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN WINTER. 8ol

oftentimes in vast numbers, and prepare for their
winter's sleep. In an open winter this hibernation is
often interrupted, the animal emerging from its
retreat and seeking its usual summer haunts as though
spring had come again. Thus I have, on one occa-
sion, seen a soft-shelled turtle moving gracefully over
the bottom of a stream on a day in late December,
and have in mid-January captured snakes and sala-
manders from beneath a pile of driftwood, where they
had taken temporary refuge.

With frogs, especially, this hibernation is not a per-
fect one, and there is a doubt if in a mild winter some
species hibernate at all. For example, the little cricket
frog or "peeper" has been seen many times in mid-
winter alongside the banks of flowing streams, and
during the open winter of 1888 89 numerous specimens
of leopard and green frogs were seen on different occa-
sions in December and January, while on February
18th they, together with the " peepers," were in full
chorus.

Of our mammals, a few of the rodents or gnawers,
as the ground-hogs, gophers and chipmunks, hibernate
in burrows deep en'ough to escape the cold, and either
feed on a stored supply of food, or, like the snakes
and crayfish, do not feed at all.

Others, as the rabbits, field mice, and squirrels, are
more or less active and forage freely on whatever they
can find, eating many things which in summer they

would spurn with scorn. To this class
The Muskrat -. , ,, , . , ,,. , , , . .

' Wi t belongs that intelligent but injurious

animal the musquash or muskrat.
Those which inhabit the rivers and larger streams live

GLEANINGS FROM \A 77 'HE.

in burrows dug deep beneath the banks, but those in-
habiting sluggish streams and ponds usually construct
a conical winter house about three feet in diameter and
from two to three feet in height. These houses are
made of coarse grasses, rushes, brandies of shrubs,
and small pieces of driftwood, closely cemented to-
gether with stiff, clayey mud. The top of the house
usually projects two feet or more above the water,
and when sun-dried is so strong as to easily sustain
the weight of a man. The walls are generally about
six inches in thickness and are very difficult to pull
to pieces. Within is a single circular chamber with a
shelf or floor of mud, sticks, leaves and grass, ingen-
iously supported on coarse sticks stuck endwise into
the mud after the manner of piles. In the center of
this floor is an opening, from which six or eight di-
verging paths lead to the open water without, so that
the little artisan has many avenues of escape in case
of danger. These houses are often repaired and used
for several winters in succession, but are vacated on
the approach of spring. During the summer the
muskrat is, in the main, a herbivorous animal, but in
winter necessity develops its carnivorous propensities
and it feeds then mainly upon the mussels and cray-
fish which it can dig from the bottom of the pond or
stream in which its house is built.

The bats pass the winter in caves, the attics of
houses and barns, or in hollow trees, hanging down-
ward by their hind claws. Motionless for months
they thus remain, and those in the more exposed situ-
ations are, doubtless, frozen solid. Yet, in time, their
blood flows freely once again and they become as

XV.

WINTER HOUSE OF MUSKRAT.

PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN WINTER. - 333

expert on the wing as though the year were one con-
tinual jubilee of insect chasing, and frost and snow
were to them unknown.

All the carnivora, or flesh-eaters, as the mink,
skunk, opossum, fox and wolf, are in winter active
and voracious, needing much food to supply the neces-
sary animal heat of the body. Hence they are then
much more bold than in summer, and the hen yard or
sheep pen of the farmer is too frequently called upon
to supply this extra demand.

But of all our animals it seems to me the birds
have solved the winter problem best. Possessing an
enduring power of flight and a knowledge of a south-
ern sunny sky, beneath which food is plentiful, they
alone of all the living forms about us have little fear
of the coming of the frost. True, fifty or more species
remain in each of the Northern States during the cold
season, but they are hardy birds which feed mainly
upon seeds, as the snow-bird and song sparrow; on
flesh, as the hawks and crows ; or on burrowing
insects, as the nuthatches and woodpeckers.

Such are some of the solutions to the problem of
life in winter which the plants and animals about us
have worked out; such some of the forms which they
undergo; the places which they inhabit.

To the thinking mind a knowledge of these solu-
tions but begets other and greater problems, such as
how can a living thing be frozen solid for weeks and
yet retain vitality enough to fully recover? How can
a warm-blooded animal sleep for months without par-
taking of food or drink? And, greater than either,
what is that which we call life?

334 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

I hold in my hand two objects, similar in size, color,
organs, everything twins from the same mother in
all outward respects. One pulsates and throbs with
that which we call "life." It possesses heat, bodily
motion, animal power. The other is cold, motionless,
pulseless, throbless a thing of clay. What is that
"life" which the one possesses and the other lacks: 1
Ah, there's the rub ! With the wisest of men we can
only answer, "Quien sabe?" (Who knows?)

A SEEKER AFTER GOLD.

A few months ago I spent a day in the wildest part
of Brown county, looking for traces of that precious
metal which Dame Rumor says exists in quantity in
the line sand and silt along the streams and in the val-
leys thereabouts. My eyes, unaccustomed to such
work, saw no traces of yellow amidst the gray and
the black, and I was beginning to doubt its existence
except in the mind of some enthusiastic seeker, when,
on turning a sharp bend in a stream,! came suddenly
upon an old man, weather-beaten, roughly clad, gaunt
of iigure and haggard of face, who was bending over
a pan of moist sand and silt which he was shaking
with a rocking motion to and fro. So busily engaged
in his work was he that he did not notice my ap-
proach, and I stood beside him and heard his ejacula-
tion of delight as he reached down and picked from
the bottom of the pan a piece of gold about double the
size of a grain of wheat. "Ah, my little beauty, I have
found you at last," said he; then for the first time no-
ticing my presence, he sprang to his feet with an excla-
mation of surprise, letting fall his pan in his excite-
ment. His locks were unkempt, his face begrimed, but
his eyes sparkled with more than ordinary brilliancy
and through them was revealed the soul'of a man who
was an enthusiast in his chosen work the search for
gold.

(335)

336 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

I engaged him in conversation and found that he
hud been washing the sands for three weeks and longer,
but with very poor success less than an ounce being
the total result of his labor all in small grains, the
one just found being the largest. "I am doing this
work more for pleasure than for profit," said he. " I
do not have to work, for I spent many years pros-
pecting in the west and finally found a paying lead,
sold out and came home, not rich, but with enough
to keep me from want for .the remainder of my days.
The bright Indian summer weather of the past few
weeks has tempted me forth and again have I been
seeking the yellow grains in the sands and gravel of
these streams."

Talking farther with him, I found him to be a man
of fine education a graduate of an eastern college,
but a life long rover who, like thousands of others,
had given his years, more than thirty of them, to the
search for gold forsaking friends, society, all, in a
vain seeking for great wealth.

He invited me to his tent, pitched on a near-lty
sunny slope, and there for an hour or longer enter-
tained me with anecdotes of his prospecting life
among the hills and mountains of the distant west.
Noticing a number of books in the tent, I led him to
talk of them, and found his knowledge of poetry to
be extensive, Bryant and Wordsworth being his ac-
knowledged favorites. As I was leaving he took from
between the covers of one of the volumes a folded
piece of paper and handing it to me said : "At times I
indulge a little in poetry myself. Here is a copy of
my latest verse. When you get home, read it, and if

A SEEKER AFTER GOLD. 387

we ever meet again tell me what you think of it." I
took it, and, having heard nothing from him since, I
venture to reproduce it here, as it shows that he real-
ized something of what he had lost in the years gone
by, and also that in poetry as in life his favorite theme
was gold. It was inscribed " To Some Nuggets of
Brown County Gold," and ran as follows :

TO SOME NUGGETS OF BKOWN COUNTY GOLD.

Gold, gold,

Tiny nuggets of yellow gold,
Brought from the north by a glacier cold,
Borne with the sands and the pebbles old
To the vales of Brown, and there out-doled
To remain alway.

Gold, gold,

Ever a curse to man the bold,
Luring him forth from his father's fold
To lands far away, where hills uprolled
Forever will be ; and bells untolled
Till the judgment day.

Gold, gold,

How many faces are pinched and old,
How many hearts once warm and bold
To-day are timid, and sere and cold,
How many bodies beneath the mold,
For search of thee?

Gold, gold,

To mortal ear the half's not told
Of men's souls lost and women's sold
For sake of such baubles as these I hold.
Then, curses upon thee, yellow gold,
Forever be.

22

INDEX.

PAGE.

Abbott, C. C., Quoted 3, 55, 68, 268, 279, 289, 311

Acrididce '. 231

Algsw in Winter 313

Allen, Grant, Quoted 245, 248

American Cockroach 202

Animals in Winter 313

Banded Rattlesnake 43

Bat, Little Brown 110, 145

Bats in Winter 332

Beetle, Blind 171

Bess 326

Horn 326

Beetles, Cave 110

, Hibernating 15

In Winter 326

Lady 327

Rove 327

Snout . 327

Whirling 15

Birch, Dwarf 186

Birds, Destruction of Haunts of 296

In Winter 253, 333

Permanent Residents 253

Twelve Winter ; 253

Winter Residents 254

Winter Visitors 254

Blackbird, Red-shouldered 17

nitttidas, 198

Blind Cray-fish 116 .

Blind Fish 123

Blue-grass, Kentucky. 93, 180

Bluebird 190, 311

(339)

340 <;LKAM.\<;X FIIUM .\ATUUE.

PAGE.

Brook Lamprey ....................................... 329

Bugs in Winter ........................................ 326

Bull-frog ............................................. 16

Bumble-bees in Winter ................................. 328

Bunting, Black-throated ................................ 284

Indigo ........................................ 86

Butcher Bird ........................................... 286

Butterfly, Velvety-brown ................................ 12, 328

Butterflies, Hibernating ............................... 12, 15, 328

Camberwell Beauty ..................................... 12, 328

Canal, Mid-summer along the Old ....................... 82

Mid-autumn along the Old ....................... 189

Tow-path of ........................ . ............ 85

Cardinal Flower ....................................... 85, 93

Caterpillar, Hedgehog .................................. 318

Cave, Coon .......................................... 107

Donnehue's ...................................... 118

filler's .......................................... Ill

Little Wyandotte ................................. 175

Marengo .................................. ....... 129

Porter's ................................. . ........ 104

Shawnee ......................................... 121

Shiloh ........................................... 115

Wyandotte ...................................... 137

Cave Bats ........................ ...................... 143, 145

Beetle ............................................ 110, 171

Cricket ........ ...... , ............................ 175

Crustacean ........................................ 113, 161

Flies ..................................... 106, 110, 158, 168

Harvestman ...................................... 128, 154

Moth ............................................. 157

Mouse ............................................ 136

Myriapod ......................................... 154

Pseudo-scorpion ...................... , ............ 166

Quarry ........................................... 150, 164

Salamanders ...................................... 105, 119

Shrimp ............................................ 112

Spiders .......................................... 106, 131

1M)EX. 341

PAGE.

Caves, Clifty 126

Formation of 101

Ten Indiana 99

Cecropian Moth 320

Cedar Bird. . ." 291

Centipedes in Winter 322

Chat, Yellow-breasted 86

Chelifer, Blind 166

Cherry Bird 291

Chickadee, Black-capped 309

Chinch Bug 326

Choke-berry 185

Cockroaches 198

American 202

Oriental 199

Pennsylvania 202

Remedy for 207

Composite 84, 91, 180, 249

Coon Cave 107

Copper-head Snake 42

Coues, Elliot, Quoted 77, 277

Cow-bird 78

Cranberry 184

Cray-fish, Blind 116

Crickets, Field 225

Ground 226

Mole 223

Stone or Camel 221

Tree 229

Cricket Frog 16

Cross-bill, American 303

"White-winged 304

Croton Bug 204

Crows 187, 190, 269, 274

Crustaceans, Cave 113

Darter, Rainbow 19, 22, 302

Donnehue's Cave 118

Draba . . 13

342 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

PACK.

Dragon-flies 24

Earth-worms in Winter 316

Eller's Cave Ill

P^nergy, Transmutation of 25, 290

Environment, Effect of 22, 125, 128, 137, 158, 283

Fishes, Migration of 15, 329

In Winter 329

Two Fops among the 19

Flies, Cave 106, 110

In W T inter 327

Flicker 17

Flowers, Old Fashioned 88

Fog-fruit 84

Food of Plants 96

Forbes, Dr. S. A., Quoted 22, 273, 299

Fox Sparrow 18

FrinffUlida; 298, 303

Frog, Cricket 16

Frogs in Winter 331

Fungi in Winter 314

Geese, Wild, Flight of 16

Gnat-catcher, Blue-gray 75

Nest of 78

Gnats in Winter 327

Gold, a Seeker after 335

Brown County 335, 337

Grape, Wild 193

Grass-finch 190, 299

Grasshopper, American , 238

Carolina 242

Common Meadow , 220

Cone-headed 217

Florida 241

Green ! 216

Kansas 239

Lance-tailed . 219

INDEX. 343

PAGE.

Grasshopper, Lubberly 238

Mottled 187

Red-legged 239

Grasshoppers, Grouse 235, 325

Molting of 234

Pea-green 240

Songs of 237

Winter 235, 325

Young of 233

Gravel Pit 83

GryUidce 222

Hackberry 294

Harbingers of Spring 9

Harvestman, Cave 128, 154

Hazlenut 193

Hedge-hog Caterpillar 318

Hepatica 14

Hornets in Winter 328

Ice Age, the Great 83

Insects, Eggs of, in Winter 317

Forest, Number of 258

Larva} of, in Winter 318

Pupa; of, in Winter 320

Interdependence of Plants and Animals 12, 290

Iron-weed 91

Isabella Tiger Moth 319

Junco, Slate-colored ; . 190, 298

Katydid, Angular-winged 215

Broad-winged 214

Katydids 197, 212

Lamper Eel 329

Lamprey 329

Larch, Black 181

LocustidcK 211

344 <;LKAM.\(;s FIIOM \ A 'IT HE.

PAGE.

Mammals in Winter 331

Moccasin, Water 50

Mud Minnow 330

Muskrat in Winter 331

Mussels in Winter 317

Myriapods in Winter 322

Nuthatches, White-bellied 190

Oriental Roach 199

Orthoptera, Number of in Indiana 197

Owl, Great Horned 56

ParidtK : 307

Paroquet, Carolina 283

Pepper and Salt 14

PhasmidtK 208

Pigeons, Wild 284

Pillar of the Constitution 149

Pitcher Plant .* 184

Plants in Winter 313

Plant Food 96

Porter's Cave 104

Pseudo-scorpion, Blind 166

Quarry, a Cave 150, 164

Raccoon 105

Rainbow Darter 19, 22, 302

Rain-crow 86

Rattle-snake 41

Banded 43

Prairie 46

Rattle of 43, 44

Timber 43

Resting Spores 314

Robin 260

Rusts in Winter . . 314

INDEX. ;ur>

PAGE.

Salamander, Cave 105, 119

Sapsucker 266

Scudder, S. H., Quoted 215

Seeds, Definition of 314

Dissemination of 94, 249, 291

Shawnee Cave 121

Shiloh Cave 115

Shrike, Great Northern 287

Loggerhead 287

Shrimp, Cave 112

Sink-holes 100

Formation of 101

Skunk Cabbage 13

Smartweed 84

Snails in Winter 317

Snakes in General 27

Snake, Bead 48

Black : 28, 35, 37, 38, 53

Butler's Garter 65

Chain 60

Copper-head 42

Coral . .. 48

Corn 61

DeKay's Brown 67

Diamond Water 51

Fox 61

Garter 33, 36, 37, 63

"Glass " 27, 28

Grass 63

Green 39, 65, 67

Ground 69

Hog-nosed '. 71

<l Hoop " 27, 28

Horn , 58

House 38, 59

King 36, 57

Kirtland's 71

Leather 52

Milk.. 59

346 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

PAGE.

Snake, Pilot 38, 55

Queen 52

Racine Garter ' ' 64

Red 60

Ribbon 62

Ring-necked 70

Spotted Water 50

Storer's Brown 68

Summer 35, 66

Virginia's 70

Water 35, 49

Worm 69

Snake Lies 27

Snakes, Bite of Harmless 37

Cannibalism of 35

Eggs of 29, 30

Food of 34

Harmless 49

Hibernation of 33, 330

Methods of Defense of 38

, Number of in Indiana 40

Poisonous 40

Skeleton of 31

Skin of 31

Structure of 30

Tongue of 32

Young of 29, 30

Sneeze-weed 84

Snow-bird 190, 298

Snow Trillium 11

Sparrow Family 298, 303

Fox t . . . . 18

Song 190

Vesper 299

Sphinx Moth 321

Spiders, as Balloonists 193

Cave 106, 131

In Winter 324

Nests.. 324

INDEX. 347

PAGE.

Spring Beauty 14

Spring, Harbingers of 9

Springtails, Cave 110

Stalactites 102

Stalagmites . 102

Struggle for Existence . . .13, 22, 56, 79, 84, 88, 93, 116, 246, 283

Sun-fish, Long-eared 22

Sumach, Poison 186

Swamp Elder 186

Sword-bearer 218

Tamarack Swamp, A Day in 179

Tree 181

Texan Nettle ' 250

Thoreau, Quoted ' 1,18, 186, 330

Thrush, Brown 296

Titmouse, Tufted 307

Trillium, Snow 11-13

Trumpet Creeper 89

Turkey Pea 14

Turtles in Winter 330

Viper, Spreading 28, 29, 71

Sand 72

Vipers, Pit 40

Wahoo 194

Walking-stick 208

Wall Sweeper 323

Wax-wing, Carolina 293

Cedar 293

Weed, Definition of 245, 250

Weeds 245

Twenty Worst in Indiana 251

Twenty Worst in United States 246

Introduction of into United States 248

Wherrymen 15

Whirling Beetles '. 15

Whitlow Grass . . 13

348 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE.

PAGE.

Winter Birds 263

Woodcock 17

Woodpeckers, Adaptations of 261

Benefits of 258, 263, 267, 273

Characters of ' .-. . 254

Woodpecker, Carolina 256

Downy 262, 265

Hairy 1 .' 262

Ivory-billed 283

Pileated 284

Eed-bellied 256

Ked-headed 269

Yellow-bellied 266

Wren, Great Carolina 275

Mocking 278

Winter 194, 280

Wyandotte Cave 137

Length of 173

Little 175

Map of 140

Yellow-hammer 17

Zebra Bird.. 256

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