New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-06-20
A NATURALISTS CALENDAR.


NATURALISTS CALENDAR
THE EPISODES OF A NEw.JERsEY CREEK.
UPLAND AND MEADOW PoaetqIiossnss ohr aa1
Gle. BY CHARLES c. ABBOTT. NJ. D. IL no. pp'o'
Harper& Bros. .
> Poaetouissipgs is a w-Jersey creek navigaDie
for chtdraft canoes for certain rods OF its course
where il winds through the river bottom before
flowing into the Delaware not many miles below
the ancient city of Trenton. In the Upland anu
Meadow about its sources in the hills and along us
banks below, DR.. Abbott has rambled ana res'eu
and made companions of the birds ara peaSus anu
creeping things which there abound, ana th's doom
tells the story of his observations as na'urans'
for q year one who opens it at any rage Will he
lnred onward by the simple grace Oh the style as
the panorama of varied life unfolds without effort
or atlectaton. He sees tho water scorpion at his
leisurely walk on the ditch bottom tie spider IN
her den on the fence rail-. the white-footed mouse
with her Young in their silk.lined nest that
" featbered uncertainty the cared diver as he
yapishes and reappears upon the surface OF the
stream between winks, and the 'possum with hef
pouch toll Of young in the ton OF the persimmon
tree after the first frostsweetened fruit All the
wary creatures that shrink from dayll and hidc
in the woods or burrow in the ground or swim in
deep water are brought into view and made TO
reveal their family secrets. That strange feeling OF
kinshp with every living thing. feeling when
haunts us ALL gives a zest of its Cwn to any account
of our lOwly relatives; and these studies are so
pleasantly put together shat the reader is dispose
at first TO pronounce the book a fascinating one
But presently his interest wanes because of a dis
ouieting suspicion that Dr. Abbott fails to exercise
proper restraint upon his imagination lie sees
too much.
Glancing through the October diary we learn
that Oh the 4th he finds rare treetosd on his hat
where it was making music Or the 9Th he sped
Young coon with his jaws smeared with grape juice
80 red that it passed for gore and on the same day
a star nosed mole appeared conveniently before
him on the meadow sod. The coot which diverted
him on the 9TH behaved dscreety; but Ieninded
him of the other which dlved after MS Ilghted
lantern in the night and was captured In the wire
netting about it. On the eth crow poised la inc
air like a hun ming bird to take morsel from
tree trunk that he could not otherwise reach. On
The 18th robin flew INTO his face 10 be caught ana
so on through the almanac. Now none oil THESE III
cidens of which DR.. Abbott was part are I'M
probable but they seem to huddlc up rather thick
after such experiences as that OF the weasel
nbbing his ankles while be lay on the ice watch,
ing fish of seeing the grakle fly against limb and
break his neck in fit of somnambullsm; OF eaten
| ing the grosbcak in his hat. and many more. VI
| course the Doctor does not mean to be taken
literally when he tells of his effort 10 shake the
Wildcat flom a limb under the impression that IL
was an opossum. and of the flight Of his comrade
who believed the thorn of smilax IN the back OF ms
| neck vas the claws of the enraged beast. Never
| tbeess this episode is a blcmsh on the book
| because more exciting wildcat stories told by
newspaper experts in that line every week And vet
| if no fact in natural history is distorted II indeed
the habits of ANIMALS best illustrated IN thlsway
is ii not q wise method to pursue Tor readers " no
take TO science more kindly when 1T is speed Win
| little adventure and dramatic incident! Perhaps
So But what is 10 be SAID OF passage IKE this
from the diary again and dated July 81: Inc
J cinnamon fern IS now seen at its best Inc fruIt
panicle. a vigorous growth, with a curiously
cured end, dotted with sporangia and clothed with
| hrIp cIn On-cOlO
| full for the setting of dark green around IL Now:
| Poaetuuissngs thus fertile frond conld only lie
found III shrivelled bits on the ground on the hrst
of June. 1t is at its best" in early May ana
then it dies away at once, and on July II IL mas
vanished rs completely as the apple blossoms.
After this the Doctors observations are accepted
with some caution, especially when they seem 10
conflict with those OF other authorities. For eX-
ample: late number of Tie saturday leridc
contains a paper cells by some one who writes as
# he Knew something of theni. Ees are very
clean feeders !" he declares " ii possible they take
their food alive and IN all cases II Is most essential
that IT shoud he fresh" Bnt Dr. Abbott saw eeIs on
dry land eating decayed fsh-heads which were
eXhaling a powerful stencil. Now the brltlsn
eel must differ widely from his American cousin, or
the English naturalist must he III error, OF lr.
Abhotts imagination is triile keener tnan MS
eyesight. We regret that the last suppostion is
not the most improbable of the tn ee. l)r Abbott
! has made many ingenious experiments - test the
reasoning faculties of animals, and II properly
| reported they would have genuine value. Here
ia a traon ent OF one: nearly lie-sIze chrome of
| a eat was placed where the birds could see II aud
created great excitement catblrd, however
| coming up from behind aghted on top of the
picture in spite of warnings from the other BIRDS
ChaLcng TO look down it saw the cat ana with
scream gave a double backward somerSault and
left" Oh Doctor, Doctor! We accept the double
somersaut, for you it, But was Il the cat
Could the bird looking down at that angle have
! imagined il was the eat Was II not somnam bu-
lisn for catbiris, you say, often execute SOM
| nanbulistic dances on a tight twig'
IL is unfortunate that good book should have
| its title to confidence clouded by occasional
deviatons from that guarded accuracy which
should characterize all scientific statement.