The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1859-07-29

able to recover from, and in vain do Fourth of
July orators endeavor to elevate him an6
themselves by patriotic aliusions to the "bir
II .Toee.'' The auditor invariably translates
s'bigd Of yenes.'' Poor Eagle! So it Is will
man. When q fellow is down in the world
split In purse and person, everybody has
word to say against him. Nobody is disposed
to give him lift from his PROSTATE condition
Our poor Eagle has suffered as much at the
hands of politicians as he has ut those of Mr.
Jones, until he has reached 50 low q state thaE
| am afraid there are none so poor as do him
reverence. The fact. is. TO help ont the general
propensity, now that he is down, it is proper
TO say that the ornithologists long ago charged
him with being not very select III choosing his
Diet and he has been detected in robbing the
buzZard of his offensive meal, even forcing
him TO odisgorgeit and devouring il afterwards :
What wonder then, that he should have fall
and be damaged in both his upper and neither
works
Our vultures in the level tidal regions retir,
to the swamps to roost; but in the mountain
ranges they seek The most elevated places; and
| have observed them regularly going to roost
abont sundown, on the dead trees, on the top
OF the mountain in view of this place. Be-
fore lighting they soar high and gracefully
around, over the loftiest peaks, and narrowing
their circles finally to the roost, they settle
DOWN. each one creating some commotion. anG
no iiitie Missing among those already on the
ifee, by attempting to get 4 choice position
w hen the tree is 1ull, it has the appearance oil
black cone, tipped OF by the presiding geni-
Us OF the Vultnrine congregation. Thus they
ing, before they take their flight in search OF
food.
While on the subject, allow me to allude to
some mistakes that are common concerning
the yulture. We hear it said that this same
Tuitnre OF ours, whois rather shy here runs
about picking up food in the streets of Charles
ton, and other Southern cities, and his bold
ness and familiarity there are accounted for
on the ground that he is there protected by
law. The vulture seen in the streets of those
cities, is Il different bird from the buzzard
y
and he is not protected by law, and never was
any more than is the bird here. lie is the
black yulture or carrion crow, differs in form
somewhat, and i'll color, from the bnzZard
kGown here; being more OF blue black. lie
is devoted to warm attitudes and is seldom
seen north of South Carolina. His move
ments are somewhat different from the ruhns
aura. lie is cunning-wiil rob the butchers OF
their meat-enter yards and take whatever Is
III his reach--not lIesitatlng when hungry to
take up Il live chicken, or other young fowl
and has been known 10 take off very young
pigs and lanbs-which by the way, our yul-
lure is said to do when hard pinehed by hum
ger and 4 chance occurs: fer he is q coward,
and Will not do it boldly.
1t Is not au uncommon idea that the yulture
discovers his food by his power of smelling
This has been proved, incontestibiy, an error.
| His Night ouiy leads hlm 10 the object of his
search, and his prominent and powerful eyes
are favorable to searching and far-seeing OBJ
Servatlon. Experiments made by Audubon
and by Dr. l}achman, of Charleston on both
the buZzard and the carrion crow, are concln-
sive this point. a stuffed skin OF a deer
was laid cHt in u field, and the birds ap-
preached and ende;tYored TO tear II, pecking IN
vain at the clay painted balls 10 represent
eyes, and finally getting out some of the straw
with which it was stuffed; but they Were for
a long time dissatisfied, and renewed the at
tack several times before they gave it up A
putrid body was hidden by q screen OF foliage
and though Tie VGltures flew very near it,
they did not discover it: but pig being stuck,
scattered along towards where the body was
hidden, they soon got upon the track, and fol-
lowed it up to the prey and deyoured it,
Another experiment, which settled not only
tins question, but another relative to the abil
Ity OF the bird TO restore its own slightly
putting his head under his wing-was made
ii Nulture had his eyes put cut. and being left
without food for sometime, tlesh-tainted and
untain teG-Was held within an inch of his
nose, and he showed no signs of recognizing it,
but when it touched his beak he seized it and
deVcuTed II rayenously Ills eye-sight was
net restored, and after 4 time he died. Paintings
OF animals lett in the field have been attacked by
them, while they We're unable to discover
putrid flesh hid by Il canvas covering; vet
being uncovered, they attacked and devoured
II promptly. These Well-attested facts settle
these uesIions. 1t would seem 10 be q wise as
we'll as mercitul provision of Nature that
this bird should not have the sense OF smell, for
his diet is certainly one that cannot commend
itself to the olfactories. His own flesh is SO
i'm hued with The od0rs of its food, that old
Commodore Kennedy, who had eaten every
living thing that he could entrap, declared. al
ter 4 trial. that the Vulture was the only ami
nal whose flesh it was utterly impossible for
him to make q meal Of!
The black yul:ures, while useful scavengers
in the Southern towns, here their services are
most valuable, are, nevertheless, in some re-
spectS. pests They often obtrude themselves
very impudently and Extensively. They are
fond of summing themselves on the roofs, and,
not liking cold, they cluster around the CHM
Ecy tops i'll cool weather to warm themselves
MANY houses are protected against their visits
by armlng the chimneys and ridges with
spikes and broken glass, for the purpose OF
preventing contamination by their ordure of
the rain water, which is collected in Southern
cities IL cisterns for domestic use. This is Ger
tainly u disagreeahle view to take of the SUBJ
lcCt. Old Father Grimes was exceedingly an
noyed by his feline neighbors but the tres
passes he complained of were nothing TO the
troubles occasioned.by the black vulture. And
so We'll let him goa bird about as useful and
abominable as bird can be. TRAVELLER.
Correspondence of the Richmond Dispatch
Old Point -Theatricals-Trias of Cannon, &C.
OLD POINT, July 27th
The great pressure at this place has subsi-
ded, and persons III and around Richmond
who have held back for fear they could not
large numbers have left for the Virginia
Springs. There is, however, q goodIy number
presen t-probably three hundred-Who are
Just beginning TO realize the comforts of Old
| Point Comfort
The Parker family are having a hall fixed
/ uIhln Fortress Monroe. where they Will diyitie
| their time With Portsmouth until the Norfolk
! "a 1,,.I.s s..u.l