A Monster Aviary

California may well boast of its big trees, its waterf alia of the Yosemite and its mammoth frnit and vegetable products, but it has added another laurel to its crown in the posseesion of the largest aviary in the world. An hour's journey from San Francisco by water and rail brings one to the quiet little town of San Pablo, in Contra Costa county, and a short drive from there is the oíd and well known Alvarado Rancho, nowowned by Henry F. Emeric. Over an área of 2,500 acres of f ertile ground are scattered orchards and wheat fields that yield wonderf ui crops, and near the center of this domain is the old home of Mr. Emeric's father, now deceased. It is a quaint structure, with shaded verandas, and its roof is robed with a mantle of pure white Castilian roses. Fronting the honse are parterres of choice flowers of innumerable kinds, bright with color and as fragrant as the breeze wafted odors of Ceylon. There are, in fact, 310 varietdes of roses alone to be seen, and in the conservatory there are rare orchids and other valuable jlants. Through the vista of weeping wülows and peach and apple trees, heavily laden with Bellflowers and Winter Nellies, the aviary is seen. This feature of the place is an airy structnre of closely netted wire, sustained at intervals of fifteen feet by wooden uprights, formina a perfect cage. It is 175 feet long and 60 feet wide. Within its confines is a miniature forest of quince trees, the tops of which emerge through the netting. This, in additiou to a covert of thick brush, affords admirable shelter for the birds in summer, while in the winter they have the use of a large house that is in the cage for their protection aeainst the elemente. With cominendable foresipfht Mr. Emeric has stocked this aviary wifch English pheasants and Chinese golden pheasants, and there are also htmdreds of quail there, merely as a side issue. Mr. Emeric estimates that he has over 400 pheasants, and he proposes to set loóse 100 or more of thein each year to run wild through the country, and wül give many away to those who desire to propágate them. This wül, of course, be of great benefit to all lovers of bird shooting, and besides wül assist materially in increasing the number of what are now a rare species of fowl in this state. The pheasants are f ed with wheat, and occasionally chopped liver is given to them. They are crossed with bantam hens, the result being game cocks that are as pugnacious as their imported sires; and the pheasant is notably a fighting bird. The golden pheasants are only fitted for an aviary, and occupy the position that a Sevres vase does in a drawing room. Mr. Emeric has completed negotiations to have a large invoice of bobwhites sent to him from the east, and then he wül increase the proportions of his aviary to three times its present size. This bird is similar to our California quail, only a little larger, and is better flavored. It is a great favorite with eastern hunters, and wül be gladly welcomed by local sportsmen. The same course wül be pursued with these birds as with the pheasants. The propagation of these valuable and interesting birds is a hobby with Mr. Emeric, an erpensive one naturally, but one that he eau afford, and his efforts should receive the earnest support of all those who are interested in the introduction of new birds on this coast. - San Francisco Chronicle. Fighting the McKinley Bill. St. Louis, Jan. 21.- Messrs. Rowel & Ferris, attorneys for Charles H. Wyman & Co., have filed au application in the United States circuit court to order the board of general appraisers at New York to produce their records for review. The action is in reality an attack upon the constitutionality of the McKinley bill, and is brought in the nature of an appeal from the decisión of the general board of appraisers. The basis of the attack is the same as of those heretofore made- that the law is unconstitutional owing to the oinission of the clause in the tobáceo schedule.