20 



THE CANADIAN SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST. 



the bottom of the lake from Kingston nearly 

 to Toronto, is full of such brines. Two borings 

 at Kingston gave ine waters holding in 1000 

 parts 52.25 and 13.83 of solid matters. At 

 Hallowell, on the Bay of Quinte, two wells 

 for salt-making exist, which give 68.64 and 

 36.08 of saline matters. At Whitby is a copi- 

 ous saline spring, which gave 46.30 parts. At 

 Ancaster, near Hamilton, another old salt 

 well, probably getting its brine from the 

 underlying Trenton, gave me 36.69 of salts, 

 while another locality at St. Catherines, where 

 salt-wells were once bored down into the 

 Hudson River or Lorraine shales which overlie 

 the Trenton, gave three brines with 30.15, 

 36.81 and 50.60 parts of salts. So you see 

 the whole north and north-west side of the 

 lake is bordered and underlaid by soils charged 

 with the salts of an ancient ocean, and doubt- 

 less there are many points where fish could 

 find the saline matter which they may need. 

 The ocean waters do not contain more than 

 about 35 parts in 1,000 of salts, and are there- 

 fore less strong than some of those which we 

 found on the shores of Lake Ontario. I shall 

 be glad if these notes throw any light on the 

 problem of the land-locked Salmon. 

 Very truly yours, 



T. Sterry Hltnt. 



P.S. — The brine-springs which I have men- 

 tioned are no longer worked for salt, as they 

 contain a larger proportion of bitter salts than 

 Goderich or Syracuse brine, and are not very 

 good for salt-making. 



T. S. H. 



* In the " Geology of Canada," 1863. 



SWIVEL GUNS. 



Sir, — I happened to read lately in a number 

 of your sporting paper, an article signed 

 " Wallace," referring to the use of swivel guns 

 in duck shooting, by Americans in our waters. 

 I am personally interested in any measure 

 which will preserve, for fair sportsmen, a little 

 of that sport which is rapidly becoming a thing 

 of the past, owing to the indiscriminate 

 slaughter of our birds for the New York mar- 

 ket, and it occurred to me that you or some of 

 the readers of your paper might lie able to give 

 me some reliable details on the subject. I have 

 had a good deal of conversation about it with 

 Mr. J. Kerr, the member for Stormont, in the 

 Ontario Parliament, and he is anxious to be 

 furnished with information as to the size of the 

 guns; their charges; the number of'birds killed 

 atone shot; the manner of approaching the 



birds, and the way in which Americans in 

 their steam-yachts reach the grounds. It ap- 

 pears to me that it is in Lake St. Francis that 

 the principal destruction takes place. 1 have 

 often heard the heavy firing, but have had no 

 opportunity of seeing the methods adopted. 

 There is no doubt that, the birds, soon after 

 their appearance, become so wild that fair sport 

 is hardly possible. I believe that if we can 

 procure the necessary information, something 

 can be done to stop the nuisance; 



I am, yours truly, 



H. B. HOLLINSHEAO. 



Toronto, 21st Feb., 1881. 



The use of swivel or punt gnus for the pur- 

 pose of killing wild fowl is prohibited by law 

 in Ontario. The American yachts, re I erred lo 

 in our correspondent's letter, come down the 

 St. Lawrence, but from what point we have 

 not been able to ascertain. It is an easy mat- 

 ter to secure a conviction against the offenders, 

 and now that the attention of our sportsmen 

 has been directed to their operations, we have 

 no doubt these pot-hunters will not be per- 

 mitted to prosecute their illegal traffic during 

 the coming season. — Ed. 



PIGEON SHOOTING. 



Dear Sir, — Can you give your readers an}' 

 information as to why we are never visited 

 now by the immense flocks of wild pigeons 

 which were so numerous in this neighborhood 

 about fifteen or twenty years ago? For many 

 years pigeons in large numbers have been al- 

 most unknown in this part of the country, 

 which formerly used to be one of their favorite 

 lines of flight. About twenty-two years ago, 

 with a double muzzle-loader, within a mile of 

 the City of Ottawa, between the tenth of April 

 and the fifteenth of July, I killed 3,500 pigeons 

 on the bank of the Ottawa, in their flight from 

 south to north. Of course, I did not miss one 

 day, except Sundays, and 1 was always out at 

 daylight and home about nine o'clock a.m. 

 During the same year there was a wonderful 

 migration of red squirrels northward. I have 

 seen twenty of these little animals in the Otta- 

 wa River, within sight at one time, making 

 their way towards the North Shore, which they 

 were so determined to reach that nothing could 

 induce them to turn back when ten feet on 

 their journey. About the time mentioned, a 



