Arizona weekly citizen., 1893-11-25
AT HOME.
Dr. Mearns of the Boundary Sur
 vey and His Work.
Features of Arizona Life Little Known-Result of Continual Sun
 shine on Plumage of Birds.

A peep into a small tent below town shows 1t filled almost to its limit-an interesting feature of the boundary survey. It is where D.. Mearns, with the survey in the interest of the Smith sonian institute and National museum at Washington, has variety of posses sions such as make glad the heart of the naturalist.
 pr. Mearns kills rare birds and mammals, collects shells and bones when they are curious enough, and of ten makes valuable additions to the worlds specimens. The extent of his work IS instanced in the fact that he has prepared the skins of nearly 10000 birds.
 The scientific world is much better acquainted; with the rare things in nature than it is given credit for. Once in while a rare bird or animal is brought to light, but often new things (from the layman's point of view) have been captured, classified ,Inumbered and NTIlttu Ou ycol5 OclOIc. bIs 4uCoi Ao says that ID Arizona he has found more rare mammals on his present trip than birds. Heretofore facilities for the cap- ture of mammals have not been so good as birds. In consequence he has in the wonderful contents of that tent trays and trays of rare mice. Little fellows with blunt tails, some with pouches in their cheeks that would hold thimble- ful of food, some with coats as fine as sof est silk, and mice with no hair at all. They are laId out according to coloring when of the same variety. the coats often varying considerably.
 The traps need close watching as the captives rapidly cock in the hot sun. If found two hours after capture in sum- mer they fall 10 pieces where picked up. Mammals in Arizona are more numer- ous than one would think.
 The doctor and others have brought to light many good features of the mammals 6 f the world. They are not all enemies of man by a great deal. Now the skunk is supposed to be a foul rascal, good only to depredate on hen roasts. Yet the skunk, Dr. Mearns says, is a useful animal. It IS great insect eater, thus doing untold good. The pest of grasshoppers is greatly alleviated by skunks. It may be noticed that when plague of grasshoppers come a migration of skunks follow. Then, too, to most people skunk isa skunk. pr. Mearns, however speaks of numerous varieties, of their features of size and markings. An interesting animal, this, though he will probably be left to pr. Me8rns and his associates to bring forth his good qualities.
 Good features too are ascribed to birds with hard eputations-hawks and owls. Certain of these species destroy the enemies of the farmer, living on the insects and small animal and bird destroyers of crops. In his ignorance the farmer shoots them all. Dr. Mearns says large edition of work describing the birds which should be killed by the farmer and those which should be spared, with colored plates for their easy recognition, has been issued by the government and distribut- ed.
 ARIZONA BIRDS.
 The doctor is evidently a dead shot. The result of yesterday afternoons work showed about score of birds of differ ent sizes and colors and varieties, most of them rare. These will be prepared and sent to the Smithsonian and placed in cases, carefully inscribed with number, variety, date of killing, etc. When on the hunt he will often pursue some rare birds for day or more, generally in the end succeeding in the capture.
 One curIous feature of the birds of the southwest is the effects of the sum- shine on them. The birds of this sec- tien are distinctly less brilliant in mark ings then those of more cloudy sections. The sunshine has the effect of fading out the plumage. This continuing through many generations results in markings of the young being of duller hue. The final result is a distinct class of birds, much less gaudy than their far-away cousins.