Birds and Nature, Vol. 12 No. 2 [July 1902]

The usual wild flowers of the season were abundant and the surrounding country at large was admirably suited for exploration and research; hence our sojourn at the “Cottage” was one of great pleasure and instruction.

Berton Mercer.

A NEW ARGYNNIS

The butterfly to which I want to introduce you is a rare beauty! It is called Argynnis nitocris nigrocaerulea by scientists, but the young people of our school call it the blue-black silver spot or the Sapello Fritillary. They wanted very much to name it after the Territory, but unfortunately there is a butterfly of this genus that bears the name of New Mexico Silver-spot.

Every member of the genus Argynnis is beautiful and it is a great treat to see the glint of the silver dotted wings of these butterflies as they hover about the gaily colored flowers in some mountain canyon or alpine meadow. But no member of the genus will compare in beauty with the female of the nigrocaerulea, and I should find difficulty in forgetting the pleasure I felt in seeing two of these lovely creatures sucking the nectar from a large bright colored Rudbeckia.

The nigrocaerulea is very much like a silver-spot that is found in the mountains of Arizona; both belong to the species nitocris and there is still a third form found in the mountains of Mexico. It is very likely that these forms were the same years ago, but the mountains in this arid region are like islands, and are separated by dry expanses upon which an Argynnis could not live. It follows, therefore, that in the isolated mountain regions many forms of the same species may be found, and when the country has been more carefully explored we shall very probably find other varieties of nitocris.

The nigrocaerulea was discovered in August, 1900, in the Sapello Canyon, a beautiful canyon in the Rocky Mountains near Las Vegas, New Mexico. The male is reddish-fulvous on the upper surface, with well defined markings consisting of waved transverse lines and crescent shaped spots. On the under side the design of the fore wings is somewhat indistinctly repeated, and the base is colored with a most exquisite reddish pink. The under surface of the hind wings is a rich brown with a wide yellow border, and is profusely marked with spots of glistening silver. The female on the upper side is bluish black, well marked near the margin by large spots of yellow suffused with blue. The under surface is very like that of the male, though the colors are more pronounced, the brown in the hind wing merging into black. The Sapello Fritillary flies during the month of August. Though the caterpillar is not known, it is supposed to feed upon the leaves of violets, which grow very abundantly in the Sapello Canyon. Diligent search will be made for it, and I am sure all will be interested if at some future time I can give the history and picture of the chrysalis of this beautiful Silver-spot.

Wilmatte Porter Cockerell.Lo, the bright train their radiant wings unfold!With silver fringed, and freckled o’er with gold:On the gay bosom of some fragrant flowerThey, idly fluttering, live their little hour;Their life all pleasure, and their task all play,All spring their age, and sunshine all their day.– Mrs. Barbauld.

BUTTERFLY

Butterfly, on golden wings,Tell us of your wanderings!Tell us of aerial spaces,Where, in pleasant sunshine places,You go sailing high and low,Wheresoever you would go!Leisure, freedom, grace, is yours;Earth and air to you ensuresFindings for your utmost need,Be it blossom, dewdrop, seed;And you roam the fields of air,Happy, and without a care.When the sudden storm comes down,And the sun flees at its frown,You with folded wings will hide’Neath a leaf, and safely bideTill the tempest flashes through,And the sky is blue for you.Thus on rested wings you sailIn the wake of every gale,Sailing high, or sailing low,Wheresoever you would go;Pilgriming the great, blue sky;Bravo, little butterfly!– M. D. Tolman.

A PROLIFIC PEACH TREE STUMP

One day early in the spring, while taking bird notes I discovered a pair of chickadees busily engaged in constructing a home. They had chosen an old peach tree that stood just back of the yard and were rapidly excavating a beautifully rounded circle in the decayed stump.

Perching in the mouth of the cavity the chickadee’s body would almost disappear within and then he would withdraw himself and fly away with a tiny chip of rotten wood in his beak. After the cavity was satisfactorily completed they began lining the interior, which formed the nest proper. These fastidious little feathered architects consider nothing less than soft clean fur suitable material for a bed for their delicate speckled eggs. In this instance rabbit’s fur was used, which was identified by the fringe of loose hair that clung to the entrance, for the hollow was too deep to look down into the nest.

Some time after the discovery of the chickadees’ habitation, when the peaches and plums were in blossom and the air soft and balmy the wrens arrived from their winter home.

These inquisitive little creatures peer out very knowingly from their retreat amidst the verdure, at anyone who comes near, and they win the heart of all by their pert manners and love of human companionship. These modestly attired little warblers are extremely lively and nimbly search among the foliage for food, destroying many harmful insects.

In scanning every possible and impossible place about the premises for a suitable nesting site, one of these dapper little fellows spied the snuggery in the stump which captivated his fancy, and he forthwith proceeded to try to take possession. But such outrageous trespassing was not to be allowed for a moment by the chickadees and whenever the little brown rogue crept up to the entrance to peep in, out would pop the proprietor, in his jaunty black cap, and put him to flight. The intruder would then perch on a branch near by, stretch himself to his full height, with tail erect, as though to appear of as much consequence as possible, and alternately scold and pour forth defiant song at his opponent. This antagonism was kept up for several days, till finally the wrens gave up the contest and began furnishing a neat little bird house in a maple tree close by.

When they had nearly completed their labor the young chickadees left the nest to follow their sprightly parents about the orchard, whereupon the whimsical but industrious wrens immediately abandoned their pretty summer cottage to occupy the now vacant cavity in the stump. These two little birds (chickadee and wren), much alike in some respects, show a very decided difference in the choice of nesting material. The hollow was soon filled to overflowing with sticks, the main substance of every wren’s nest.

In due season a brood issued forth, followed by another later, to swell the young bird population, then at its height. Only think of the amount of extravagant activity and drollery that was reared in that cavity nursery!

As the Creator did not implant the migratory instinct, except in the very slightest measure in the chickadee’s nature, his travels are mostly local and his spruce little form may be seen in all seasons. During the fall and winter, after the fidgety wrens have departed for the sunny southland, is the most favorable time to study the habits of the chickadee. His actions may then be observed most readily, as he flits among the bare branches in search of prey, occasionally taking time to utter his cheerful chick-adee-dee.

He is a great aid to the fruit grower. Let anyone that doubts this repair to an orchard and observe a company of them taking their meals. And it is an interesting sight to watch a merry party of these little creatures, as with never-ceasing activity they dexterously explore the trees for food. With the greatest nicety they poise in every conceivable attitude; from the trunk they dart to the topmost spray, now to the center of the tree and then instantly to the outside branches. While searching the trunk or a perpendicular branch, the head may be upward or the reverse; or if a horizontal branch is undergoing examination his feet are as likely to point heavenward as not; or he may hang suspended from a swaying twig. Ever in motion, flitting, hopping, swinging to and fro, they investigate every nook and cranny and draw numberless injurious insects, their eggs and larvae from their lurking places. The chickadee’s tongue, a fork-shaped instrument, is admirably adapted to prying its prey out of crevices of bark.

They by no means confine their work to the orchard, but all kinds of trees and shrubs are alike visited. In thus performing the duty assigned them by Nature they are of inestimable service to man.

Addie L. Booker.

THE COWRIES AND SHELL MONEY

Among marine mollusks none stand so favorably in the eyes of collectors or are so beautiful as the Cypraeas, or Cowry shells. With their glossy coats and varied colors they are indeed gems of the ocean, and it is little wonder that the conchologist has placed them first among the many families of marine shells.

The name Cypraea comes from Cypris, one of the names of the goddess Venus. About two hundred recent species have been described and they are found in nearly all parts of the world, though more numerous in the tropics and sub-tropics, where they live on coral reefs and under rocks. As in many other genera of shells the Cowries living in the tropics are more brilliantly colored than those from more temperate climes, a condition due to the large amount of sunshine and high temperature, both of these factors being essential to the secretion of color in the pigment cells of the animal.

The animal which inhabits a Cowry shell is a curiosity. The foot is large and spreads out in a wide mass, enabling the animal to glide along quite rapidly. The mantle lobes are folded over the back of the shell and are beset with many little tuft-like organs which stick out like young shoots on a plant. The mouth is placed at the end of a rather long snout or rostrum and the eyes are upon the outside of two long, tapering tentacles, about one-third the distance from the body. When the shell is young it is covered with a thin epidermis and has a thin, sharp outer lip, like some snails, but when it is full grown the outer lip rolls inward, becomes toothed or ridged, as does also the inner lip, and the aperture becomes a long and narrow slit reaching from the apex to the base of the shell. The mantle lobes, which are inconspicuous in the young shell, becomes larger and are reflected over the back, depositing coat after coat of shelly enamel until the first pattern of the shell, as well as the epidermis, is covered with a secondary, shining coat. On most Cypraeas there is a line of paler color, showing where the two lobes of the mantle meet on the back.

Like many other mollusks the Cypraea is able to dissolve the internal whorls and thus enlarge the capacity of its shell. This is also true of Conus, and Murex, and some other marine snails dissolve the spines which may be in the way when increasing the size of the whorls. The older naturalists, Lamarck and Bruguiere, believed that the Cypraea was able to dissolve its outer lip after it had been rolled over and toothed, but this theory has been proved to be incorrect. They founded their belief on the fact that some individuals of the same species were larger than others. This, however, is due simply to individual variation.

The beautiful colors so much admired are deposited by the reflected mantle and their variety is almost endless. Some are perfectly plain, white, brownish, yellowish or orange, others are spotted with red, white, brown, drab or black, and still others are variously banded. The eyed-cowry (Cypraea argus) has large, dark brown spots on a lighter background.

In form and sculpture the Cowries present a rather wide range of variation. The typical form is more or less cylindrical, or pyriform, while others are flat, oval or egg-shaped. The surface varies from smooth to spirally lined and pustulose. In size they vary from the little Trivia exigua, scarcely one-fourth of an inch long, to the huge Cypraea testudinaria, nearly five inches in length.

Many of the larger species, like the tiger cowry (Cypraea tigris) and the black cowry (Cypraea mauritiana) have been household ornaments for centuries and have also served as playthings for young children, who have held them to their ears to “hear the sound of the roaring sea.”

In habits the Cowries are shy and they are slow in movement, sliding over the coral reefs and marine vegetation with a sluggish, steady motion. They present a beautiful sight when viewed through the water, their brilliant colors vying with those of corals, sea anemones and sea weeds. They are said to feed principally upon the coral animals.

From very ancient times the smaller Cowries have been used for adornment or barter. The Cypraea annulus, or ringed cowrie, which was found by Dr. Layard in the ruins of Nimroud, is said to be the same species which is now used by the islanders of the Indian and Pacific Oceans to weight their fish nets and to adorn their persons. In western Africa the money cowry (Cypraea moneta) has been and is now used as a medium of exchange in place of gold. Many tons were yearly shipped to England from the Indian and Pacific Oceans, to be again carried to Africa to barter with the natives for ivory and other articles.

The number of Cowries which have been given for various articles, with their value in American currency, is interesting. Thus it is recorded by the Conchologist Reeve that a gentleman residing at Cuttack in India paid for the building of his bungalow entirely in Cowries, giving over sixteen million specimens. The value of these Cowries was four thousand rupees sicca in Indian money, or about two thousand dollars in American money. In another place it is recorded that a young wife cost from sixty thousand to one million Cowries, or from about nineteen dollars to thirty-seven dollars, while an ordinary wife cost but twenty thousand shells or about six dollars.

The value of Cowries varies in different countries. In India five or six thousand may be purchased for one rupee, while in parts of Africa two hundred Cowries are worth sixteen cents. In Sudan, two thousand Cowries, which weigh about seven pounds, are worth one dollar. On the west coast of Africa, where trading in Cowries is largely carried on, the following gradation of value is recorded by Dr. Stearns:

4 °Cowries = 1 string.

2½ strings = 1 pence.

10 °Cowries = 1 pence.

50 strings = 1 head of Cowries.

10 heads = 1 bag.

2,00 °Cowries = 1 head.

3 heads = 1 dollar.

20,00 °Cowries = 1 bag.

In other places the value is about 1s. 3d. for 1,000 shells.

The money cowry is also used as ornaments on the trappings of horses and elephants, as well as on the persons of men and women. The rich yellow variety is much sought after by the chiefs of several island tribes, who permit no one but themselves or their sub-chiefs to wear them.

We may truly say that of all the mollusks, large or small, handsome or ugly, the modest little money cowry surpasses any in point of economical importance.

In the Friendly Islands the orange cowry (Cypraea aurantia) is used as a badge of chieftainship and for a long time specimens were almost priceless because no one but the chief was allowed to wear this ornament. Specimens of this species are frequently seen in collections, with a hole in the back by means of which it was suspended about the neck of the native chief.

Those who have described the Cowries have given them many fanciful names, some of which, however, are quite appropriate. Thus we have the caput serpentis or serpent’s head; the arabica or Arab shell, so named from the peculiar, hieroglyphic-like characters on its back; the lynx, pantherina and tigris, each shell resembling the coat of the lynx, panther and tiger; mus, the rat shell; rhinoceros, the rhinoceros shell; turdus the thrush, and cervus the deer. Many of the other names are equally well chosen, as moppa the mop cowry, and pustulata the pustulose cowry.

It is interesting to note the prices that have been paid for rare specimens of this family. At an auction held in London many years ago a specimen of Cypraea guttata brought two hundred dollars, and Cypraea princeps, another very rare shell, brought the same price. Cypraea umbilicata once sold for one hundred and fifty dollars, but may now be had for five dollars. Aurantia, the orange cowry, was once almost priceless, but is now sold at from twenty to forty dollars. Some of the lesser rarities are Cypraea scoltii, worth from five to eight dollars, and Cypraea decipiens, worth from fifteen to twenty dollars. These extravagant prices need not be paid by any one desiring a collection of these pretty shells, for the price of a single rarity will suffice to purchase the majority of the common species. Several private collections in the United States contain from one hundred fifty to one hundred seventy species, including a number of the rarities spoken of above.

In connection with the Cypraeas it is interesting to notice other species of shell money which have been used as money. The North American Indians used fragments of shells for money, which they called wampum. In New England wampum was in the form of beads, the manufacture of which required considerable skill. These beads were cylindrical in form, about one-fourth of an inch long and half as wide. They were of two colors and were drilled and strung on long cords.

The quahog (Venus mercenaria) was much used in the manufacture of shell money because of its two decided colors, pure white and deep purple. The white beads were called wampum or wompom and the black beads suckauhock, or black money. In addition to the quahog the whelk Buccinum and the “periwinkle” or “winkle” were used, the long, white columella being cut from the shell and made into beads.

We learn from some of the older records that in Massachusetts the wampum was valued at three beads to a penny or five shillings for a fathom. The fathom varied in size according to the number of beads allowed by law as an equivalent to a penny. If this was six, then the fathom contained three hundred and sixty beads, but if the number was four, then the fathom was composed of two hundred forty beads. Owing to the counterfeiting of wampum by the whites, who could make it much quicker with their tools than could the Indians, the value rapidly fell in later years and its use was finally discontinued.

On the coast of California the tooth or tusk shells, Dentalium, were used as money, being strung together as were the beads of the New England Indians. Those of the better quality were called Phai-Kwa or hi-qua and represented the highest standard of money. One hi-qua would purchase one male or two female slaves. The damaged or defective shells were called kop-kops, forty of which equalled one hi-qua in value. At one time a single hi-qua was equal in value to about two hundred fifty dollars. Other shells were also used on the Pacific coast, some of which were simply strung in the form of beads while others were cut from large shells. One of the latter was from the large clam, Pachydesma crassatelloides, and the pieces were called hawock or ha-wok, their value ranging from four to twenty-five cents. Another clam used was the Saxidomus aratus.

The little Olivella biplicata was used for beads and was called hol-kol. They were made by grinding off the apex, which left a hole through the top of the shell. The Haliotis or abalone was also used and was called uhl-lo. Pieces of the shell one or two inches in length were cut from the flat part of the abalone, a hole was drilled in one end and they were strung like beads. Their value was one dollar each, or ten dollars for a string of ten pieces. Like the shell money of New England that of the Pacific coast was counterfeited by the whites and for this reason the value of the native currency soon declined.

Frank Collins Baker.

THE BIRD OF SUPERSTITION

There are several possible reasons why the owl has always been regarded as an ominous bird. Something uncanny seems to inhere in its noiseless flight, something unearthly to look out from its large, strange eyes. Even its voice arouses an eerie feeling, which is increased by the knowledge of its nocturnal habits. The poets are fond of alluding to its auguries of evil, Shakespeare alone finding a merry note in its “Tu-whit, tu-whoo,” and even he added an “owlet’s ring” to the noisome ingredients of the witches’ cauldron in Macbeth. He also speaks of

The fatal bellmanThat givest the stern’st good night.

Chaucer speaks of the screech owl as

The prophet of woe and of mischance,

while Spencer alludes to —

The whistler shrill, that whoso hears doth die.

Roman soothsayers were accustomed to use owls’ feathers in their incantations. In many places its note is still considered a sure sign of impending death. In Borneo, it is said, that if a person on entering a forest hears the voice of an owl, he will at once return. The Mexicans, Indians and Basque shepherds regard the monkey-faced owl as an omen of ill-luck.

There is a story that Agrippa was so superstitious that when he beheld an owl perched over him on the occasion when the people shouted, “It is not the voice of a man, but of a God!” that he felt assured of the speedy death which followed.

But, on the other hand, instead of a prophet of evil, legend has it that the owl is the “bird of wisdom.” It was certainly consecrated to the service of Pallas Athene by the wise Greeks, whether on account of a certain air of intelligence, or because the goddess was herself the moon and therefore a nocturnal bird would be especially appropriate, we may never know.

There is a story to the effect that on one occasion, when an emblem of wisdom was to be chosen, all the contestants for the honor were finally eliminated except the Philosopher and the Owl. When the arguments in favor of the Philosopher had been duly considered, the Owl lifted up his voice and hooted: “I do not profess to embody all knowledge, but I have that which is better. I possess the art of concealing my ignorance.” Whereupon the judges, delighted with the idea, unanimously elected him as the better emblem of wisdom!

Many ancient customs had their origin in Egypt. The Egyptian wise men told the most learned of the Greeks that in knowledge they were but children compared with themselves. The superstitions regarding the owl may have arisen on the banks of the Nile, from a custom of the king of the country, who, whenever the death of a person was decided upon, sent to such individual the image of an owl, whereupon the unfortunate one was expected to kill himself at once. Small wonder the owl became in time a bird of ill-omen.

Belle Paxon Drury.

THE WISCONSIN DELLS

Half-veiled by a purple haze,The cliffs and crags, their turrets raise,The fragrant forests, umber, green,Scintillate in the sunlight’s sheen,And whispering low, through clinging vines,A berceuse comes from singing pines.– Illyria Turner.

MY SUMMER NIGHT

The dear voice of the summer nightSings in my listening earA melody of joyous flight,In sweetest cadence here.I love the cricket’s monotone;It almost seems to meThat star-notes, through the ether blown,Have lodged in grass and tree.A beetle, swinging down the field,Booms on the lighted pane;And, as it strikes, a thought revealedTaps at my quivering brain.The “peas and pork” bird in the air —The solemn whip-poor-will —Both thoughts of quaintest mystery bearFrom off yon shadowed hill.A silk-worm moth, with purple “eyes”Upon its nether wings,Around the lighted window flies,Or to the casement clings.So, all the eve, the gathering gloomSpeaks with its voices low;Hearts unto hearts, in bits of bloom,On summer evenings flow.– Willis Edwin Hurd.

THE CHERRY

(Prunus cerasus L.)

Sauerkirsche, Weichsalkirsche, G. Ceriesier, Griottier, FrSweet is the air with the budding haws, and the valley stretching for miles belowIs white with blossoming cherry-trees, as if just covered with lightest snow.– Longfellow: “Christus. The Golden Legend.”

The cherry-trees belong to the Rose family (Rosaceae) and are thus botanically related to the apple, rose, pear and strawberry. The numerous cultivated varieties are doubtless derived from the cherry whose original home was Asia Minor, from which country it spread to Europe and other countries many centuries ago. The plants are trees, mostly not large but handsome because of the green, simple, glossy serrated leaves and the beautiful numerous white flowers and the attractive red fruit. Pliny described the plant and designated Asia as its original home. About 63 B. C. the plant was brought to Rome. From Italy the cherry rapidly spread through Europe, for it was cultivated along the Rhine countries, in Belgium and in England, even during the time of Pliny. Alexander Trallianus recommended the fruit very highly in the treatment of consumption and in diseases of the liver.