FOREST AND STREAM. 



403 



MR. DAVIDSON VINDICATED. 



Tollpo, Ohio, Dei 

 -Editor Forkst ako Stream ! 



Wo are glail to see yonr fairness and good Judgment lu regari to the 

 troubles at the Minnesota Plflld Trials. Wc, iu Toledo, who have 

 Known Mr, Daviilsou lor the past tifi.eeu ycara, have never kttown nny- 

 tlilng but good of him, John litis always had the name of being square 

 and honest la Ms transactions ; even too muoh so for his own good. 

 It will be hard worS for all the Chicago papers combined to mate 

 .Tohn Davidson's friends In Toledo think otherwise than that he dl i all 

 iiis Judging at the Jlfnnesota Field Trials In an honest manner, and ac- 

 cording to his beBt Judgment. You can Had, I think, twenty parties 

 here who have purchased dogs of Davidson, and I will voucli that you 

 can't hod one that will Bay that John ever sold them a dog and misrep- 

 resented him. This letter is simply written you to offset some I have 

 seen in another paper- These parties don't live within twenty miles of 

 him. They don't know the "Old Boy" S3 well as we do. Now, I 

 don't believe lu mating wagers, bnt Just for this onoe 1 will give $100 

 for every gentlemen sportsman living la Toledo, oulo, that Dr. Eowe 

 or any ono else will find, who will any that they do not believe John 

 Davidson Is a square, straightforward, honest man, providing they will 

 give me $10 for every one I will fetch that will stand by .] aim. 



It. W. M. 



—Mr. Ohas. E. Whitehead, Esq., Pres. of the New York 

 Association fbr the Protection of Fish and Game, has 

 just received from Mr. E, C. Waller, of Chicago, a pup out 

 Of Patsy. Patsy was brought over by Mr. Scott to the last 

 St. Louis bench show, -where Mr. Waller bought her. The 

 sire of the pup, we believe, is Mr. Waller's Jack, who took 

 the prizes at St. Louis, Baltimore and St. Paul as the best 

 native setter. 



. — *#* — . 



— T. T. Sawyer, Jr., of Boston, has purchased Royal Ben, 

 a handsome orange and white setter, by Carlowitz out of 

 Lucy. He is litter brother to Tirnberlake's Grattd Duke and 

 Lady Cyprus, who won first prize at St. Paul for the best 

 brace. Royal Ben will be at the Detroit Show. 



— Mr. D. M. Sharpnack's (Rogers, W. Va.) liver and white 

 cocker Gypsy whelped six puppies December 8, sired by Doin. 

 Gypsy and Dom are from McKoon's choicest strains. 

 1 — >•- — . 



—Mr. A. Pope, Jr., of Boston, claims the name of Hector 

 for his red Irish setter puppy, by Champion Elcho out of 

 Hose, whelped Oct. 11, 1878. 



—Dr. H. B. Wygant, of Peekskill, 2sT. Y., clnimsthe name of 

 Fly for his liver and white cocker spaniel bitch, out of Flora 

 by Sam; whelped, July 8, 1878; purchased from M. P. 

 McCoon, Fraukliu, Del. Co., N. Y. 



gachfmg and gaating. 



ANOTPIER STEP AHEAD. 



SAVED from the terrible imputation of waving the red flag 

 of Great Britain and sailing aboard a foreign craft under 

 alien colors ! Saved through the kindness of Messrs. Black & 

 Co., 383 Washington street, Boston, who have sunt us a set of 

 i .holographs of American yachts as anjoffset to the British cut- 

 ters aud yawls which have hitherto reigned supreme upon the 

 walls of our sanctum. They are perfect specimens of the 

 art, and we question whether finer, more finished photos ever 

 left the gallery of any artist. Among the yachts we note the 

 schooner Hermes, Messrs. Goodwin & Robins. She is 37ft, 

 1 .lin. long, 13ft. Gin. beam, a very pretty and able-looking ship, 

 with waist boats at her davids, single jib and plumb stem, 

 with just enough of the ntz retrousse to give her a jaunty ap- 

 pearance forward. Her easy-looking model, with ample room 

 on deck and below, and a fair representative of a numerous 

 class of Corinthian craft just now very popular among onr 

 Eastern friends. Then we have the sloop Fairy, Mr. C. A. 

 Perkins et al, though only 2Gft. Gin. long and 9ft. Gin. beam, 

 with as jolly a lot of amateurs aboard as ever trod decks ; 

 meerschaums and sea togs predominating among the crew of 

 five, who are evidently bound to have a good time while they 

 have the chance. The Mist, Mr. F. W. Weston, about 42 ft. 

 long, with lots of stowage room below and a wonderfully clear 

 run and handsome stern, a main boom, half of which is over- 

 board, a narrow fore-sail and rather too much gore to the leech 

 of the mainsail. She flies the burgee of the Boston V. C. 

 A peculiar feature to her rig is the jack yard at the head of 

 the main topmast staysail, adding somewhat to the size of the 

 sail, though we should think it would interfere with carrying 

 the sail as near the wind as sometimes desirable. The Wyvern , 

 also of the Boston Y. C. ; the Brenda, Mr. Little, now having 

 her spars cut down, aDd a number of others, form a collection 

 which, wc are happy to say, will serve to keep us in the good 

 graces of many true Americans who abhor anything that does 

 not smack of Uncle Sam all over, be it good, bad or indiffer- 

 ent. As photographs the specimens before us are perfect, 

 every detail of 'the' yachts' fillings being brought out in the 

 strongest relief, and even the pebbles on the beach may be 

 counted. As Black & Co. are the first in this country to fol- 

 low the example long ago set by our British cousins, and ka"ve 

 undertaken the promiscuous photographing of yachts for cir- 

 culation among the general public, we trust that their efforts 

 to supply a want long felt will meet, with a liberal response 

 from all parties interested. In this respect Boston scares 

 another point in advance of New York, and Eastern yachts- 

 men may be cotmxattllfited upon the rapid diffusion in their 

 latitudes of the "love for the sport they follow and the con- 

 stantly increasing sympathy manifested for it by the public of 

 Oustonand suburbs. 



Fall River, May 30, 187G, the sweepstakes ; at the Warwick 

 Y, C. Regatta, July 11, 1876, first prize ■ same Aug. 1, and 

 first prizes again at Providence, Aug.15 and Sept. 28. In 1877 

 she captured first prize/May 30,at the Fall River sweepstakes, 

 Htul July 16 and Aug, 3, at the Warwick T. C. Regattas. She 

 next won second prizes at Providence, and again Sept. 1. At 

 Newport the first prize once more went to her owner, July 

 8Sj 1&78, and likewise Sept. 20, at the Providence Y. Ci Re- 

 gatta. This ia a record that Mr. Davis may well be proud of, 

 and-as his boat sailed against many fast local craft, she will 

 probably make a good showihg with anything of her size in 

 foreign waters. She is to be raced next season against all 

 comers, with her owner at the helm as heretofore. 



Canvas C'anoks. — We are in receipt of many inquiries con- 

 cerning canvas canoes, their qualities and cost. Our corres- 

 pondents are directed to Mr. J. F. West, of East Orange, N, 

 J\, who originated the qui vise type of canvas canoes,and who. 

 in consequence of their increasing popularity, has made ar- 

 rangements for building them to order at his shops in East 

 Orange, lie will be pleased to give all information desired, 

 and is prepared to furnish estimates. Wc believe the canvas 

 canoe cau be turned out complete, fully figged — paddle, etc., 

 included— for something like §05, unless extra finish is re- 

 quired in some of the details. Those who have used them 

 speak in the highest terms of their lightness and durability. 



Ah Aid to Pkosrbss. — Wc learn with pleasure that 

 Messrs. A. Williams & Co, 23S Washington street, Boston, 

 have iu stock Kemp's standard works on yacht designing, 

 price $25, and his excellent manual of yacht aud boat sailme, 

 |8.60, Wo bespeak for them a liberal patronage, for all ef- 

 forts tending toward the introduction of a more scientific con- 

 dition of yacht building have our warm approval. Boston 

 can score another point ahead of the metropolis in this re- 

 spect. 



Soxtthebn CrstnsKS.— Owners of large schooners bound 

 south will find the following special soundings across the bar 

 at the mouth of the St. Johns River, Florida, of great, value, 

 as the coast survey charts cannot be relied upon, owing to the 

 shifting nature of these sands. The soundings were taken 

 by Cupt. Hines on the recent trip of the Mallory steamer 

 Western Texas from this city direct to Jacksonville, Fla., and 

 may therefore be relied upon. It may be added that while 

 the steamer went over the bar without waiting, the schooner 

 Ambassadress, Mr. Astor, was compelled to come-to outside 

 and await an easterly wind for higher water. The difference 

 between the soundings upon arrival and departure is due to 

 the fact that strong westerly winds had prevailed and driven 

 the water out, but by the time the Western, Texas crossed on 

 the run home, the shift of wind had given more depth by a 

 couple of feet. Going in, drawing 8Mt.. the following sound- 

 ings were taken: Al outside buoy, Of ins.; then 4A-, 44, 4, 8L 

 3, 2'i, SJrfma.; J 3ft, 12, 10, 9J, 0, 01, !H, U, 91, 10, 10, 10£, 

 11 and lift. Going out. drawing 9ft, the soundings were: 

 Safins., ISJft, 14, lor 13, 12. 18, Hi 1H, Hi, 11, 11, H, it, 

 11, 10ft. Dim, 10ft. Oin., 10ft. 9in., lOi, 101, 10, 10, 10 scant, 

 10J-, 10A. 13ft.; and then 2|fms. With a blow from the east- 

 ward, the depth on the bir will be greater. The first set of 

 soundings may be accepted as the minimum likely to be 

 found, unless during exceptionally long blows from the W. 

 andS.W. 



Fanlu- vs Psyohk. — From our contemporary, the Boston 

 Htraid, always replete with Eastern yachting affairs, we ex- 

 tract the following list of races between the two well-known 

 cat rig clippers, Fancy, Mr. P. Grant, Jr., and Psyc/ie, Messrs. 

 King & Clark. A summary of all the races in which the 

 Fancy aud Psyclia have sailed over the samo courses in 1878. 

 In somo of these races the two yachts have been in different 

 Classes, but have sailed over the same courses, starting to- 

 gether or within five minutes of each other : 

 .Tune l.SBi'O Race, Psyche defeats Taney. 

 July 1, N Y C Race, Psyche defeats i'anoy . 

 July 4, Oity of Boston Race, Fancy defeats Psyche. 

 duly 6, Beverly Y C Race, Psyche defeats Fancy. 

 July 20, Nahaaset Y C Usee, Fancy defeat.? Psyche. 

 .Till v 27, Beverly TE C Race, Fancy defeats Psyche. 

 4.1 .,;: - . - Eaoe, Fancy defeats Psyche. 

 ♦Sept 16, Nahaaset Y Iiace, Fancy defeats PsyohB. 

 Sept 1", Dorchester Si 6 R ice, Psycho defeats Fancy. 

 Sept 13, 8 B Y O Baofl, Psyche defeats Fancy. 

 Sept — , Dorcnester Y C ltaee, Psyche defeats Fancy. 



at the 1\ sign's Point regatta, beating the 

 Qenang, Annie, Lulu, Damson and Josie. She had a dash 

 with the Dawson, and won 850, and also beat the Holland for 

 $30. In the first race she was handled by Captain Jack May- 

 berrv; in the Kaign'a Point regatta, Captain Charley Humes 

 sailed her, aud in her dash with the Holland (when it blew a 

 sale) she was sailed by that gritty little , yachtsman, Harry 

 Clay Funk, one of the most skillful sailors on our river. 



Next season she wili undergo a thorough overhauling, and 

 it is expected that she will sustain her brilbant record of the 

 past season. C. O. 



Philadelphia, Her,. 9. 



"nothing like a happy mean. 



Thb Wandebeb'S Recobp.— The Wanderer, of Providence, 

 R, I., has an excellent record as a racing craft among our 

 cat-rigs of the East, and if a match between her and Fancy 

 or Stamp, of Boston, could be brought about next season, it 

 would create interest among the many ardent racing members 

 of Boston's numerous fleets of similar rig. She is the prop- 

 erly of Mr. Ben. Davis, of Providence, and was also built by 

 him in 1873. Her extreme length on deck is 25ft. 10.; beam, 

 1 1ft. 4m.; depth, 3ft. Sin. ; and her winnings are as follows : 

 In 1873 she pocketed the Cedar Groves Sweepstakes ; April 

 23, 1874. she took first prize at the Rocky Point match, and 

 April 17, 1875, the sweepstakes over the same course. At 



* 5 seconds difference in time. 



These two yachts stand at the head of everything in Amer- 

 ican and Canadian waters in the number of prizes taken, 

 the Fancy being credited with 11 and the Psyche 12, all taken 

 iu regular club regattas. 



Voick of a CoMNTHiAsr — Montreal, Dec. 11. — Next spring 

 I will spin you a yarn anent yachting prospects for 1879, and, 

 if possible, a description of the various craft in this vicinity. 

 Your record of races in the last two numbers of Fobbst and 

 Stream is just what's wanted, and of immense service to the 

 yachting fraternity. Iu connection with the past season I 

 may say the good old sport has gained many admirers here, 

 ami rill that is wanted to make for 1870 a good record is in- 

 creased financial prosperity. Regarding Corinthian principles, 

 a recent cruise I hud iu July aud August on the Bay of Fun- 

 day aud Bay de Chaleurs has more firmly convinced me, if 

 such were possible, of the inutility of the " skimming-dish " 

 for rough waters. Theory is all very well, but, to my mind, 

 " the proof of the pudding is the eating." 1 have sailed all 

 sorts of craft, and, though for inland shallow waters the 

 "dish" may pass, they stand, in my opinion, very poor for 

 comfort and seaworthiness when tough work is before them ; 

 and one must not forget that "calm seas never yet made a 

 sailor." Anti-Connthians can make a few points in theory — 

 how few they can easily find out by practice. Let them put 

 their dish alongside an English cutter for a week's cruise in 

 all weathers, aud see which will come out at the right side of 

 the horn. When shelter can be had in a few seconds, they are 

 safe ; but let them face the music that an English cutter is 

 daily accustomed to, and their theory will up thi flue. 



Hi UTiTATJGItT. 



Thb Cobill, — Editor Forest «nd Stream : Under head of 

 " List of Winning Yachts, 1878," I notice the name of C'ahiil 

 aa having won a race. Certainly you have gone to a great 

 deal of trouble and expense to make your list complete, and 

 eyou a little information in regard to the above 

 yacht. The boat was built aud is owned by "aplain R. G, 

 Wilkins, of Cooper's Point, N. J., and is nam&i the Charles 

 (Joldll (not CaltiU), after the commodore of the Cooper's Point 

 Yacht Olub. She is cat-rigged, and is 17 feet long on deck, 

 and 17 feet 11 inches on the keel, is 8£ feet beam, her mast ia 

 32 feet long, boom 27 feet, aud gaff 17 feet ; she carries 05 

 Bipiarc yards of canvas. She has been successful in four 

 regattas, and carries three champion flags. She won the first 

 flag at the Cooper's Point regatta ou the Fourth of July, beat- 

 ing the Jotsk, Damon, Kramer ami Holland-, She won the I 



Lton, Masa., Nov. 27, 1878. 

 EorroB Forest axd Stbeajk : 



I have been vbt.v much interested in "Podgera'," "Corinthian's 'I 

 and other letters to yonr paper, but am inclined to think that they 

 are both wrong. I think thoy go to extremes in their ideas of 

 models more especially than in the matter of rig. 1 beiieve that 

 a medium model, as regards depth and beam, will give bettor sat- 

 isfaction than an extreme either way. I don't believe in that soow 

 of " Podgers" that lays to ao well in a breeze, simply becauae ods, 

 sea knooks her to leeward, and she lies there and waits to be hit 

 again. How would she work if she had a lee shore handy, and 

 had to claw off against a nasty sea ? Wouldn't he like something 

 that had some hold on the water, ao that Bho would not slide off 

 like a crab, two feet to leeward for one ahead ? The members of 

 our yaeht clab have demonstrated to their own satisfaction that 

 centreboard alone will not hold a boat with " low bilges and very 

 little deadrise" from going to leeward, and the rougher the water 

 the more will she play erab. Several of our shoal yachts have had 

 their boards enlarged to make them hold on better, but the only 

 result, in every instance, was to lessen their stability and make 

 them cranky. At the same time onr experience ahowa that a boat 

 whose body — not keel— ia deeply immeraed, will, without any 

 centreboard down, or false keel, hold a better wind than a ahoal 

 boat with ah the centreboard you cordd pnt into her. And on the 

 other hand, the very narrow and deep boat has its faults, some 

 very grave. Take, for instance, a certain cutter that waa import^ 

 ed from " Old England" into these waters. She ia about 28ft. 

 keel, 38ft. on deck, about 8ft. beam, and a draught of 8ft. or more, 

 with a eternpoat standing out at an angle of about ■lodeg.l Now, 

 if she ia the typical English cutter, I don't want any m mine. I 

 have seen her in a race with the bunt of her balloon jib dragging 

 in the water; and that running off the wind, almost before it, in a 

 moderate breeze, not over Cvo or six knots. X have aeen a whole 

 Heel of 18 or 20ft. cat-boats beat two or throe miles dead to wind- 

 ward while she was going two-thirda the distance, almost on her 

 beam onds a good share of the time, with her crew sitting on the 

 outBido, and their feet hanging over the deck. How much comfort 

 could a man take iu such a craft, say beating across Nantucket 

 Shoala, or up Vineyard Sound, or any other rongh place ? She 

 wouldn't sink — neither would a bottle well corked; but one would 

 be about aa pleasant as the other to sail on. No, air ! Give mo 

 a yacht of fair beam, neither very narrow nor very wide ; build 

 her as deep as you would a keel boat of moderate depth, and 

 leave the keel off, and put in a centreboard ; give her a fair 

 amount of canvas in a cutter rig, and I will show your diver or 

 soap box a clean pan of heels to a windward port, or anywhere 

 else, in a breeze of wind, and ehe will have aomo comfort under 

 her dock besides. Don't you think that there is such a thing as 

 getting ballast too low down, and that an iron or lead shoe hurts 

 a boat more than it helps her in a seaway in a great many instan- 

 ces, making her "loggy," and causing her to dive like a loon ? 1 

 don't mean a boat that won't stand up in a dead calm without 

 one, for eho is only an apology for a yacht, anyway. GbampcS. 



The cutter our friend "Grampus" refers to has many a 

 time, and oft, given the sloops the go-by in just the water in 

 which he fears for her safety and comfort. Having been 

 lengthened, she lacks valuable freeboard, and this is the cause 

 why she may heel more than is customary. But the heeling 

 and diving propensities of the cutter are greatly overdone by 

 most of our correspondents, who draw too often upon imagi- 

 nary terrors in picturing in too vivid colors the predicaments 

 of their crews iu heavy weather. To all open to this charge 

 we beg to offer this suggestion : Is it rational to suppose that 

 the 2,000 cruising yachts of Great Britain, which never enter 

 a race, and have not been built to cheat any time allowance 

 rule, and which, one and all, make the open sea their cruising 

 ground from one end of the year to the other, which know 

 nothing but heavy weather and steep seas, and aboard of 

 which whole families may be found enjoying a life at sea,— is 

 it reasonable to suppose that nothing but pig-headedness pre- 

 vents all their owners from adopting more beam, if the pre- 

 sumed advantages resulting are of such a paramount character 

 as many of our correspondents imply ? Hardly. English- 

 men can claim among their amateurs many able designers, 

 who know full well what is going on in America, and who 

 have in their possession the lines of our best sloops, and 

 they see no cause for a change, though their eyes are open 

 wide enough. Some of their racing cutters may be built too 

 narrow, at a sacrifice of sea-going qualities, inconsequence 

 of the R. Y. A. rule levying upon beam. But it is stretching 

 common sense to suppose that the cruisers, who outnumber 

 the racers ten to one, and who are not in the least affected by 

 any rule of tonnage, would allow custom among the handful 

 of racing yachts to dictate dimensions and model to them at a 

 sacrifice of that quality which they more highly prize than 

 speed. Our readers may as well set this one thing down as 

 an indisputable fact — the English cruising cutter, with 4 to 41 

 beams for length, is an excellent, able, comfortable, safe 

 speedy and handy cruiser, and the advocates of the sloop 

 have a great deal to do yet in the way of improving the cus- 

 tomary model before it can begin to compare iu seaworthiness 

 and " all-round " qualities with the cutter. And by the time 

 they have so improved the sloop they will find themselves 

 aboard something that does not radically differ from the ver. 



