Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-09-12

chirp south Of Central Park. Very few
OF the insects thai "nlIYen lite IN tue
cuunfrv appear IN NV York. thirty
years ago katydids gave concerts at the
Ba terry . but OF la wears their songs nave
reen hushed, and they are now never
heard down town. Indeed 1t was at tne
Battery that the great Julien first listened
to them. 1t WAS when ne accompanied
Jenny Lind on her famous American
tour. He was so delighted That he COM
posed the well. known "Katyd!d Polka"
in their honor. Twenty years ago ii was
thumped on nearly every pIanoforte IN
the country.
Thousands OF boys in the city have
never seen a locust nor heard its song.
Bumblebees and dragon flies are rare
visitors, but the mosquito is frequently
waited hithe? by breezes from the jersey
marshes. Fireflies and the common yell
low btterfiy are also frequenters OF city
parks and gardens. June bugs and po-
tato ougs never appear. In their places,
however, we have insects not often iound
In the country. Among these are I'M
mense moths and milleTs, attracted oy
the glare of the electric lights. Some are
as large as swallows. These gather
around the lofty lights that ilume Madl-
son and Union squares. They cast con
dar-like shadows on the asphalt pave
ment, which frequently startle nervous
women. The brilliancy OF the lights fore
Ing these shadows from the great insects
that buzz around the carbon may be
gagged by the remark credited to new
ly-arrived immigrant. He WAS walking
up Broadway after dark. On making the
turn at Grace church he got the full force
OF the electric light perched aloft on Union
square. "Ho~ly Moses" he said, "luk
at the moon on a shtick -
We have great cocKrOaches, nearly two
inches long, that resemble amin a ted chips
of mahogany. These frequent printing
offices and editorial rooms. They are
winged like humming- birds, and when
cornered or thrown on a steam chest
sometimes emit A most plaintive sound.
Grasshoppers are not often seen IN the
downtown parks. Not long ago an
urchin returned from a trip to Iona Is
land with one OF the big dun fellows so
common in the country. He exhibited it
to crowd OF wild-eved gamins. near the
City Hall, all OF whom declared it a cock
roach with yellow wings. A tumble-b bug,
lady-bug, or an old-tashioned swapping
bug would be as great curiosity to a city
boy as hippopotamus TO rustic youths.
One pest ia found here that is not found
in rural towns. IL seems to be bred in
the allanthus trees, so common in New
York. 1t appears in the shape OF count
less tiny caterpIllars blown over the
yards in August. Thew strip wysteria
vines and all creepers of their leaves, and
make a grape vine look like a skeleton.
With the beginning of September they
take wings and disappear, after which
the vines renew their leaves and look as
fresh as they did in May. In comparison
with the scarcity OF rural insects the city
has a remarkable variety of bird life. The
English sparrows here do not have every
thing their own way. Years ago the
great forest fires drove brown thrashers,
robins, cat-birds, orioles, and similar
birds to the metropolis. They have re-
turned each year, and it is by no means a
strange sight to see them dancing over
the green sward OF the City Hall Park
and Washington square. Rsrer birds
than these are seen. The cry of the uD.
land plover and the shrill call of the jack
snipe have been heard in Central Park.
Last fall flock of quail alighted In Bry-
ant Park, and ran around under the
benches like tiny chickens. One morn in
early spring l was awakened by a colored
servant, who called my attention to
strange bird in the back yard, l looked
out of the window. There stood a wood
cock balanced on one leg gazing into the
basement and apparently interested in
the kitchen range, The cook said that
the bird had not stirred from it's position
for half an hour. 1t was cloudy morn
Ing. Not dreaming that the bird was
wild, l seized a cloak to throw over il, but
as the door was opened it mounted the
air, and with shrill note disappeared in
the direction OF Long Island. IL had EVIL
IDENTIFY been attracted to the yard by the
muck with which the soil had been en-
riched. Owls frequent the parks at night.
Five years ago two were killed near the
City Hall, and last year police officers
slaughtered them right and left In Central
Park. One owl grew so bold that he
dashed through a bow window after dark
in quest of IA canary dancing on his perch
IN the gaslight. King birds, COW birds,
swamp robins, wrens and cherry birds
dart over our roofs, and give a country
fever to business men Overladen in the
ruts OF life. Two weeks ago | saw bald
eagle circling 60 feet in the air above the
City Hall, either taking IN the panorama
below him or waiting for the shake-up in
the Department of Public Works. The
English sparrow Is, of course, the most
numerous OF city birds, and attracts the
most attention. l have seen a thousand
persons gathered around a grass plot in
the park watching a fight between cock
sparrows. Numerous bets were offered,
and one sportsman was so wild that he
cursed his luck because he couldn't open
a French pool.
No wild city flyer, however, shows the
intelligence OF a domestic bird. At 10
O'Clock on the night of Aug. 81 l was
seated near famous parrot. Its cage
was covered. / was reading news
paper. Suddenly the bird dropped from
its perch In great excitement. Sand and
gravel flew in all directions, and the
water was sprinkled against the wall. |
snatched the covering from the cage.
The bird hudg by its feet from the top
bars. Its eyes were wild, and it seemed
dazed. Under the superstition that an
ant had bitten 1t, L tried to soothe it, and
searched the cage without result. The
parrot answered no questions, and be-
yond contraction of the pupils OF its
eyes made no motion. At last, after ten
minutes had passed, in clear and startling
accents it asked, "What il itr From
that on it was DUMB until daylight. The
cause of its terror was learned on the
next morning, when the newspapers
were filed with accounts OF the great
earthquake. The parrot had felt the
shock, which had been uunoticed by those
near it. AMOS j. CUMMINGS.