86 



FOREST AND STEEAM 



feats and the "unerring hand" of the Emperor Commodus. 

 who exhibited his skill on the wild beasts in the amphitheatre! 

 It is a disputed point as to the time of the long-bow's* in- 

 troduction into England. Some writers assert that it was 

 thearbalist, or cross-bow, only which was used at the time of 

 the Norman Conquest until that of Edward II. Prior to the 

 battle of Hastings, when Harold and his two brothers were 

 killed by arrows shot from the cross-bows of the Norman 

 soldiers (A. D. 1066), there is no authentic record of archery 

 being practiced in Britain, although some writers claim to be 

 able to prove that it was in existence there previous to 440. 

 The controversy was never settled as to whether it was an 

 arrow or a bolt which slew William Rufus and which caused 

 the death of Richard Coeur de Lion ; and that the long-bow 

 and not the cross-bow was the weapon of war in the contests 

 between Matilda and Stephen, and with which Richard made 

 such havoc among the Saracens. Certain it is that that fa- 

 mous old hero of ballad romance, Robin Hood, who could 

 JJ' Hit a fharlc at a Hundred rods 

 And cause a hart to die," 

 would be divested of half the glamour of his name if we 

 took from him the graceful long-bow and the ' 'f eathery arrow. " 

 Therefore, if not from stronger convictions, we side with the 

 last mentioned opinions, that, although the arbalist may pos- 

 sibly have been the most common weapon of war, yet in the 

 " merrie green wood " at least the other was expertly handled. 

 Ritson, in the " Old Garland," a quaint collection of ballads 

 of Robin Hood (now scarcely to be found), gives the follow- 

 ing characteristic anecdote of nearly the last words and ac- 

 tions of this famous outlaw. When he felt his end approach- 

 ing he said: 



'• But give me ray bent tow in my hand, 

 Auc! a broad arrow I'll lei flee ; 

 And where this arrow is taken up 

 There shall my grave digged be." 

 At the battles of Cressy and Agincourt the long-bow was 

 evidently used. In the reign of Edward III. again we find 

 express mention of our archers, to whom, indeed, the victory 

 seems generally to have been chiefly owing in most battles 

 wherein they were engaged. Sir John Smith attributes this 

 not only to the skill of the archers, but to the "dazzling, 

 be-mazing effect which a volley of arrows flying thick as 

 hail through the air must have on the enemy's soldiers, and 

 also to their horses." 



In the reign of Edward IV. we find sundry curious laws 

 relative to archery, to the importance of bow-staves, etc., in 

 one of which "uulawful games, as dice, quoits, tennis," etc., 

 are prohibited, but "every person strong and able of body" 

 is required to use his bow. Henry VIII. was a great patron 

 of archery ; and a law made in his reign enacted that "all 

 men not having auy lawful impediment— except religious and 

 judges — under sixty years of age, shall exercise shooting in 

 long-bows, and teach their children, servants, etc., having a 

 bow with two arrows for each under seventeen years of age, 

 and with four arrows for those above seventeen. Penally, 

 6s. Sd. per month." 



Queen Elizabeth, too, was a patroneBs of archery, and did 

 not disdain herself to " wing the feathered shaft." By some 

 Btatutes made in her reign we find that the use of the bow 

 formed part of the education of youth. At some of the 

 public schools, and especially at Harrow, every parent was 

 lcaled upon to allow " to each boy a bow, three shafts, a bow- 

 string and a bracer, to exercise shooting;" and prizes were 

 given to be shot for by twelve competitors. Shakespeare, who, 

 in his works introduces numberless allusions relative to this 

 science, was, if we may credit any of the accounts of his mid- 

 night onslaughts on the deer, an archer of no mean skill. 



Charles I. was a practical lover of archery, as was his 

 father, James I.; and by these two sovereigns commissions 

 were issued for the purpose of preventing inroads on and re- 

 moving obstructions from the public grounds and fields de- 

 voted to the practice of archery, for it'would seem that brick 

 and mortar were even then beginning assiduously to encroach 

 on the "pleasant green fields." 



Archery was neglected by James II. in the troubles of his 

 reign ; and after his abdication and the accession of a new 

 family, bringing with them other predilections, the practice of 

 it declined, and gradually fell into almost total disuse, being 

 kept up only by a few companies or societies, among which 

 the oldest and the one which survived the longest was the 

 "Society of Finsbury Archers," who had records dating back 

 as fat as 167G. In Clerkenwell church is a monument to Sir 

 Wiliiam Wood, one of their old marshals, who died at the age 

 of 82. It has been restored by the Toxopholite Society. Part 

 of the inscription runs thus : 



" Long did he live, the honor ol the bow, 

 And his (.rent age Co that alone did owe ; 

 But how can art secure ? or what can save 

 Extreme old age from the appointed grave ? 

 Sutvivmg archers much his loss lament, 

 And in respect Otstow this m juument," 

 A splendid silver badge, presented to the Finsbury Archers 

 by Catherine, queen of Charles II., was by Mr. ConBtable — 

 one of the oldest and few remaining members of that body — 

 transferred to the Toxopholites, when he joined them soon 

 after their formation in 1780, under the auspices of Sir Asliton 

 Levers and Mr. W r ariug. That society was the parent of most 

 of those which have since sprung up, and of late multiplied 

 bo rapidly. 



George IV., when Prince of Wales, was a munificent patron 

 of archery, and by his influence mainly contributed to make it 

 fashionable, and thus reanimate it. Before leaving archery as 

 a masculine accomplishment we must not omit that celebrated 

 archer, Tell, who, whenGessler asked him why he took the 

 second arrow, boldly replied— But Tell has taken his place 

 among the mythological heroes, so it is of no importance 

 what he said. 



It htiB already been mentioned that archery is peculiarly 

 adapted to females, nor are we in the present day singular in 

 that opinion. If we go as far back as the ancient mythology 

 we find Diana with her bow ; if we seek in the writings of the 

 poets, we find lasso's beautiful diBcription of Clevinda : 

 " Her rattling quiver at her shoulder hung, 

 Therein a fluj=li ol arrows feathered welt; 

 In tier right hand a bow was nemled strung, 

 Thc-ruin a shatt headed with mortal steel. 

 Ho lit 10 ahuot sue singled out among 



lh n toaa who Ural hei quarrel's strength should feol ; 

 So at I-, snoot Lfttona'n daughter stood, 

 When Niobe she killed and a.l her brood.' 1 

 If we take a flight to Asia we shall find in some of the 

 harems the fair slaves practicing archery in the gardens of the 

 seraglio. A traveler in Persia, we forget who, eloquently de- 

 scribes the bow of buffalo horn, black as jet and highly 

 polished, with its richly gilded and enameled back, and string 



of pure white silk, decorated at the ends with loops of scarlet 

 and gold ; the delicate and costly arrows, the sleeve of rich 

 satin embroidered in gold, worn to protect (he arm ; and the 

 jeweled thumb-ring (an article peculiar to the East) used by 

 these, beautiful captives, as well as the curious target composed 

 of softened clay, at which they shoot. But we need not seek 

 in the realms of the East, in the dream-land of poets or the 

 superstitions of aucient idolators, in order to demonstrate that 

 archery has been practiced by females. Eroissart mentions 

 that it was one of the recreations of the stately dames of his 

 day. Black Douglas, wife of one of the warlike and rebellious 

 race of Douglas, was an expert archcreas, and more than once, 

 when beseiged, tried her prowess on her own sovereign. 

 Margaret, the daughter of Henry VII., is stated to have killed 

 a buck in Alnwick Park with the bow and arrow. In the 

 privy purse expenses of Henry VIII. we find entered so much 

 for bows, arrows, belts, braces, etc., for Anne Boleyn. 

 Queen Elizabeth, as was alreudy mentioned, must have been a 

 quite a skillful archeress, for we find it recorded that at one 

 hunting party she, " with her own hand, did shoot three deer." 



Coming down to the reign of Victoria, we see that she was, 

 when some yeara younger than now, disposed to encourage 

 this elegant science, having at the Highland Pete, at Holland 

 Park, in 1850, added as a prize, expressly to be competed for 

 by ladies in archery, a handsome and valuable bracelet. And 

 so the progress of this elegant pastime has been through all 

 ages aud more or less popular in all countries. We come 

 now to that part most interesting to Americans— reducing 

 theory to practice — and this is rapidly being accomplished. 

 The whole science or pastime is so very new in this country, 

 and experienced archers so comparatively rare, that any well- 

 grounded American authority is scarcely yet to be set up. 

 The art cannot be taught by words ; the theory and regula- 

 tions may be given and certain directions laid down, the rest 

 must be the work of practice by the archers themselves. Our 

 old friend Roger Ascham, in his tmaint language, ventures a 

 very reasonable conjecture as to the reason why more has not 

 been written ; " The faulte was not to be layed on the thinge 

 which was worthie to be written upon, but of the menne 

 Which were negligent in doynge it ; anil this Is the cause there- 

 of, as I suppose. Menne that used sliootynge. most, and 

 knewe it best, were not learned— men Unit were learned used 

 sliootynge little, and were ignorant of the nature of the thynge." 



There are few, very few works on archery, and of these 

 Hansard's Book of Archery, Hastings' British Archer, and 

 Robert's Bowman, are perhaps the best. The Pent hut and 

 Stkeam has taken the initiative among the weekly journals in 

 giving prominence and encouragement to what must in the 

 near future lead all the outdoor' sports of the more refined 

 sort. 



" The loug-bow was six feot long and the arrow three leet; the 

 usual range was from 3M to 600 yarns. Eobln Hood is said to have 

 shot from uOO to BOO yards. A Persian hero, Arish, is stated to nave shot 

 a much longer distance. The cross-bow was fixed to a stock and dis- 

 charged with a trigger. 



A VISIT TO THE FISH COMMISSION. 



Glotjoestur, Mass., August 27. 

 Editob Fokest and Steeaji : 



One of the most gratifying things connected with the work 

 of the Commission this season is the interest that its work has 

 awakened among the fishermen, as shown by their care in 

 preserving specimens taken at sea and bringing them In for 

 identification by the corps of scientists. Hardly a day passes 

 without some rare form, never before known on our coast, or 

 at least to this locality, being presented to them, and occa- 

 sionally they bring something that is entirely new. This, in 

 addition to the daily dredgiugs on board the Speedwell, will 

 make the collection of 1878 as full of important results as any 

 of the previous ones when the field was comparatively new. 



The department of invertebrates, perhaps, exceeds that of 

 the fishes in the number of new species, many of which may 

 be of practical importance as furnishing food for the fishes 

 and in determining relationships ; still, science takes all 

 forms into account,' never questioning the practical value at 

 the time. Professor Baird, however, is known OS a scientific 

 man with a practical turn, and while the specialists are each 

 at work in their own divisions he is planning to increase valu- 

 able species, or, by taking the charts and Bounding?, the 

 depths at which certain species feed and the nature of that 

 food, etc., to devise means whereby the fishermen may in- 

 crease their catch. 



There have been seasons here when the cod were unusually 

 plenty, but the fishermen were unable to take many on ac- 

 count of the scarcity of bait, which they are obliged to get 

 from Nova Scotia or Newfoundland. Mackerel are the beat 

 bait for cod, but arc too valuable, and the herring comes next; 

 but after being ten days on ice this fish becomes valueless and 

 the cod refuse it ; hence they must put back at the end of 

 ll. is tiros whether they have u full fare or not, and to try and 

 remedy this Professor Buird has brought a new style of ir,ill- 

 net, such as is in use by the Norweigah fishermen for taking 

 cod, from which, if successful on our coast, a change may be 

 wrought in this matter. He also has had a trawl-line rigged, 

 with wire arms or spreaders every three feel, with a snood 

 and hook on each end to determine at what depths the differ 

 cut fishes f'eed. , , ,. 



Since the announcement in FoiresT and Stkkam of the dis- 

 covery of the chimera there have been three more brought in, 

 two of them to-day fresh and sound, and the fishermen gather 

 around them in wonder at this sudden apparition of monsters 

 caught here where they have fished all their lives and never 

 seen one. This singular looking flsh has a shark-like form, 

 but is largest at the head, which has, when seta in profile, a 

 square, projecting nose overhanging a formidable mouth, 

 which, instead of teeth, has the bones of the jaw projected 

 into a cutting bill not unlike that of a tortoise, and which is 

 undoubtedly capable of taking a mouthful with a clean cut 

 from almost any flsh or other animal. Unfortunately these 

 fish have all been eviscerated by the fishermen in order to pre- 

 serve them, aud it is therefore impossible to determine the 

 exact nature of their food from their internal organization or 

 the contents of their stomachs. 



Another of the valuable " finds " is the AltpuUvuirus ftam, 

 a flsh with a long, scaleless, serpent-shaped body about five 

 feet long, and perhaps four feet in diameter when alive, but 

 having been ten days on ice in a fishing boat and in alcohol 

 ever since, is now shrunken to about three, surmounted by a 

 dorsal fin running nearly its full length and nearly a foot high, 

 , with a large forked tail and a narrow, formidable-looking 

 head, whoso sharp, scissor-like jaws are armed with keen, 

 lancet-shaped teeth, which vary in length from half an inch 

 to an inch and a quarter, giving an expression not unlike those 



old fossil bat-formed reptiles of pre-historic times called 

 pterodactyls. Two of these fishes have been obtained, tho 

 first which have gladdened the eyes of a naturalist on this 

 side of the water, although several have been taken in the 

 waters near Madeira. Mr. Goode had proposed the name of 

 scissors-mouth for the use of the fishermen, but waived this 

 in favor of that by Professor Baird, who suggested lancet- 

 mouth as more descriptive. The generic name is from the 

 Greek, and is formed from a, not ; kpis, a scale; and saurus, a 

 lizard, or a lizard without scales, while the specific one, ferox^ 

 refers to its ferocity. 



The chimera resembles nothing more than the fabled mon- 

 ster, whose existence has long been considered chimerical, 

 and reminds one of thoschideous dreams of the old sculptors, 

 which they reproduced in the gargoyles on ancient cathedrals, 

 but the alepidosaurus is like the sea-serpent I It looks like 

 some of the pictures of it ; and now that two of five or six 

 feet have been found, why not one of forty? It is becoming 

 every day more evident that there are not only more things in 

 heaven and earth, but also under the sea, than are dreamed of 

 in our philosophy— and who can put a limit to them? What 

 a man does not know about, as a matter of course, he has no 

 idea of ; and what do we know of the sea ? Nothing, com- 

 paiatively. The. coast has been pretty well dredged around 

 parts of Europe and iu a few spots in America, and ships go 

 across and see wdiat is on the surface, and sailors are believed 

 if they do not see anything that otbers have not beheld, but 

 are treated as imbeciles orimposters if they do. 



Please remember I hat I do not say that the alepidosaurus is 

 the sea-serpent, but if it were a few times longer than it is it 

 would be no discredit to some of the descriptions, and these 

 specimens may be young ones. A case in point : A small 

 scrpentiform fish, popularly known as a " ribbon-fish," and 

 growing to perhaps three feet in length or so, has been long 

 known ; but a specimen was stranded in Bermuda that was 

 over eighteen feet in length, and which was fortunately 

 found by the naturalist, Mr. J Matthew Jones, and its bones 

 sent to the British Museum, for its flesh was almost gone, 

 anil no specimens approaching its length have been seen be- 

 fore nor since. Taking these things into consideration, I am 

 willing to believe that the half has not been told US, and 

 therefore will not be to greatly astonished it some day the 

 commission really docs pull Leviathan out with a hook, or his 

 tongue with a cord which tbey shall let down. 



1 have described these catches more particularly on account 

 of their being the most striking in appearance, aud, iu conse- 

 quence, more attractive to the casual reader or visitor j but 

 they are far from being the most important things that relate to 

 the propagation of tho food fishes. All things relating to this 

 branch will be found in the report of the work, and one fact 

 is so linked with another that to attempt to give a just idea of 

 it as a whole would be impossible within the limits of this 

 letter. Your readers are already familiar with the personnel 

 of the commission and the manner of dredging, sounding and 

 taking deep-sea temperatures ; therefore, 1 will say tbatrhav- 

 ing worked within tho distance that the Speedwell could cover 

 in a trip by daylight, the steamer is now essaying longer ones, 

 ami Corninandar Beardslee left last night at midnight, in order 

 to get on untried ground by morniDg, with the expectation of 

 being back to-night. 



In weather when it is not advisable to go to sea, the experts 

 are busy iu determining the characters of specimens pwivwuo- 

 ly caught and Tccoid'iug them. Messrs. Goode and Bean, 

 assisted by Mr. Earll, are up to their elbows in the alcohol 

 tanks a good part of the time, fishing out the undetermined, 

 counting fin-rays, measuring and comparing with recorded 

 species, or examiuing the stomachs to find upon what other 

 species they live. There are tenfold more useless, destructive 

 fishes iu the sea than in fresh water, and if means could be 

 devised to destroy i hern without killing tha useful ones it 

 would be of vast benefit. Fox instance, see the bull-heads 

 or sculpins, Coitus; no vajuablo fish feeds upon them, and 

 they being all head and stomach, are worthless as food for 

 man ; but I saw a full grown herring taken from the stomach 

 of one who would not weigh three times as much as his prey, 

 aud who, if dressed, with his head off, did not contain as 

 much clean meat as the herring. 



I only mention the sculpin because it has just come under 

 my notice ; but there are dozens of other forms that perhaps 

 served a purpose iu checking the increase of the cod, terriug, 

 mackerel, etc., in time past, before the advent of man, but 

 whose day of usefulness, me judke, has passed since man has 

 appeared as a balancing power, that in some cases— notably 

 certain fresh water species— has been an overbalancing power. 



The fishermen often throw these very destructive fishes 

 back into the sea alive, but in order to maintain a more equi- 

 table balance they should be killed, and woidd then be des- 

 troyed iu some proportion to the better sorts. 



The absence of visitors on the steamer's expeditions this 

 year gives the experts more room and freedom from interrup- 

 tion by curious questioners ; and, judging from the character 

 of the work thus far, it is safe to prophecy a series of re- 

 sults from the year's work that will be not only of great 

 credit to the commission, but will ultimately tend to the bene- 

 fit of the fisheries, and through them to the whole people. 

 Fbkd Matueu. 



TiniLM and Eels.— Uolyake, Mass., Aug. Z0.— Editor 

 Forest and Stream: With Mr. Roosevelt, we think that the 

 mud turtle, the common spotted fellow, has been a sad dis- 

 turber of our peace and destroyer of young fish. Por several 

 years, commencing in 1801, we were in the habit of setting 

 boa traps for snapping turtles, baiting with a fresh shot rab- 

 bit cut open, or the inside of a sheep or chicken, and placing 

 trap in the shoals at head of pond. The water flowing 

 through the box carries the smell of blood down into the 

 pond. On going to the box in the morning we were fre- 

 quently disgusted by finding the box full of mud turtles, 

 leaving the snapping turtle out in the cold. Wc have fre- 

 quently caught them on hook with a piece of fresh beef or 

 pork, or worms aud dead minnows, when fishing for snap- 

 ping turtles. We don't swear, but. the mud tunic haB often 

 brought up some very hard thoughts about brimstone, etc. 

 We should like, if in our power, to assist Mr. Boosevelt to 

 tin; sight he so earnestly desires— mature eels going down 

 stream. In the first place we would ask ; Are there no eels 

 in any of the Long Island waters? It there arc Mr, Boose- 

 veil need not go farther, for, true to their nature, they are 

 going of all sizes. Any small stream noted for eels will 

 answer the purpose. A large stream would be too expensive 

 to cover with netting, Mr. Koosevolt would have to provide 

 himself with a waterproof suit, a good stout net to span 

 stream, and a lantern. At the first heavy rain and wind 

 storm of a dark night, on or after the fall of the leaves, and 

 every storm after until frost sets in, he wonld find eels 

 moving. The harder the storm and darker the night, the 

 greater the fisherman's harvest. After the storm clears off, 



