430 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



3aved some seed until the next spring and then sowed it as 

 soon as the ice was gone. My idea was correct, for the spring- 

 sown seed appealed shortly after the other, and all came to 

 maturity together. My neighbor's ponds were also covered 

 and we had some fine, shooting, the ducks flying from one 

 pond to the other. We confined ourselves, however to shoot- 

 ing in the evening, when the birds were in motion, not dis- 

 turbing their feeding. Now, ray water is pretty well covered 

 with the wild rice, which is driving out the other useless 

 grasses arid weeds. This fall a great many ducks have visit- 

 ed me, and, as I .strictly preserve the pond, I have great fun. 

 In conclusion, then. I can say that I have been amply re- 

 paid for all my trouble and expense, and I believe I was first 

 to discover that it is unnecessary to sow the seed in the fall 

 — a fact of considerable importance in a cold climate where 

 i I and streams freeze over early. 1 believe if my example 

 was followed by sportsmen generally they would meet with 

 as good success. 



SPORT ON THE SUSQUEHANNA FLATS. 



New Yobk, Dec. H, 1878. 

 Editor Foiiest and Stream : 



Upon reading your issue o( Nov. 21, 1 was fairly made wild by " Bine 

 Wing's " (.'lowing account of tie duck snooting ou tlie Susquehanna 

 Flats, aud I at onc». said to myself, " That's the place for me to go on 

 Thanksgiving Day." Accordingly I at once wrote to J. Torbert for 

 full particulars, aud anxiously awaited his reply. No answer came, 

 andou Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving), having received no 

 letter, I telegraphed, but by 3 p. m. 1 was still without news from 

 Torbert, i had almost determiner! to try the shooting on the Slimne- 

 cock Bay, h. f., and. In (act, 1 was J oat about stepping in the carriage 

 to oe driven to the Long Island Railroad depot, when I suddenly turned 

 round to my friend, who was accompanying me, and said : " Look here! 

 'Die shooting at Good Ground has never turned out very good for me_ 

 what do you say to our going to Elkton, Md , just on the chance of 

 finding some one to take us out shooting?" I myself felt sore that If 

 as "Blue Wing" said, there were over forty licensed batteries and 

 half that number of sneak boats, I would be able to hire one for a 

 coople of days. My friend was quite ready to take all chances, so in- 

 stead ol taking the 3:30 p. H. train for Good Ground we took the 4 p. M 

 train for Philadelphia. We arrived at lire latter place at about seven 

 o'clock, in the midst of a violent rain storm, and were driven at ones, 

 With our luggage (six times more than we required), to the West End 

 Hotel, where, after having eaten a good dinner, we again bundled our- 

 selves and luggage into a cab and drove to the depot of the Philadel- 

 phia, Wilmington and Baltimore Kallroad, Here we discovered that 

 no tram left for Elkton until 11:80 that night. The ticket office, un- 

 fortunately, was closed, so, as our trunks could not be checked with- 

 out our having purchased tickets, we were obliged to mount guard 

 over our baggage for three weary hours. In the meantime I again 

 telegraphed to Torbert. saying that I was on my way to BlktoD, and 

 asking 1dm to make what arrangements he could for the accommoda- 

 tion of myself and friend. At last 11:30 came, and a ride of about two 

 hours brought us to the place for oar proposed duck slaughter, con- 

 trary to my expectation, Torbert was at the station awaiting our 

 arrival, and now that we had found him I felt confident that our sue- 

 . rue morrow was secured. Toroert's first words, however, were, 

 "I am very sarry, gentlemeu, that you came here." My spirits at 

 once began to fall. "What is the matter?" said I. "Cau'tyougo 

 with us tomorrow r" " Most certainly not to-morrow," he replied, 

 "as the 3 ' batteries to be used on Mondays, Wednes- 



days and 1'rldays ; end although I could furnish you with my point to- 

 morrow, and my battery on Friday, the shooting yon would get would 

 really not amount to anything." Ho then told us that he had been out 

 shooting every day for a week, first in the battery ond then on a point, 

 and he had not averaged five birds a day. We asked him if he could 

 not hud some other man whose point for shooting was perhaps In a 

 more favorable position than his, but he said that the shooting at other 

 points had been no better than at Iris, and, besides that, seemed to 

 Uihu, that nobody wonld look at anything so small as a twenty dollar 

 or line day's rise ot a baitery. our spirits were now very fast 

 .. , . away, butaa "Blue Wing" had said that quail shooting was 

 gouii in that neighborhood, we ventured to question him on that sub- 

 ject, but on this point, too, he offered us no encouragement. Die- 

 , thoroughly with everything, and— well, not blessing "Blue 

 Wmg," we concluded to got out of Elkton as soon as we could. Ac- 

 cordingly, Thursday at s a. m. (just Bis hours after our arrival at Elkton) 

 found us seated in the cars on our way back to New York, where we 

 arrived at 2:30 p. at., aud thus ended our wild goose chase. That we 

 were foolish in going after sport to any place concerning which we had 

 so little knowledge, I will not attempt to deny; but from "Blue 

 » letter 1 ilnuk it was natural for us to suppose that the shoot- 

 ing at Elkton would at least be fair. Ills letter ends thus : " If any of 

 the Forest and stream's readers would like to try a day in a box, let 

 them address J. Torbert, Elkton, Cecil County, Md., and their wants 

 win be supplied without charge, save actual expense." Now, this 

 sentence seems rather ambiguous, but any reader would, I think, 

 understand by it that the prices at Elkton were low ; but from our con 

 venation with Torbert we did not understand this to be the case. 



W. E. 



HOW PIGEONS ARE TRAPPED. 



Bapids City, 111., Nov. 16, 18T8. 

 Edwob 1'okest and Stbeam : 



It was in Jefferson Conuty, Wis., la 1ST2-3, at a time when wild 



pigeons were so numerous as to excite the cupidity and money desire 



ot*ihe hunter. MjseU and three companions decided to enter the 



work, aud be three moie of the army of men already engaged in the 



upon We located ou I he farm of a well-to-do Norwegian, and. In 



Bl laratlon of paying oar board, we were accorded permission to place 



e the best places his term afforded. We chose two places just 



of some prairie openings, and on ground used for pastur 



a: 300 yards from the woods, and made 



bed similar to au onion (or any garden) bed, 12 by 20 feet, banking It up 



ii i turning the sod under. Next we drove, about twenty feet beyond 



, i, e.it, second growth bush, about 



IS to 9 i .ell into the ground. At the other end of 



., , ,,, [ w e drove I a state cl anlng them off smooth, 



and leaving ■ inches above the surface. Nest, one in 



I the bed, and with a groove cut in it for 



our rope to work iu. This n 



long, lying lengthwise h 



iady for our uet, which 



ed along the sides with lead t 



i i -k across the other i 

 ii, and [he rope long enough 

 rhen.pol the spring pole, 



it, and Is tied to a stick about four 



rgei than the bed, and weight- 

 ed it down. Onr net is now staked 



i a rope is attached toi 



el the net, the net being made fust h 

 each from tire other end of tire bed t< 

 e It is standing, Our rope in the short 

 ■uus back three or four hundred yards to the "house," made by 

 cutting young second growth while oakB, which retain their leaves 

 until long into the winter; and driving them around a square about 10 

 by la feet, capable of holding the trapper, his assistant, three or four 



barrels, a keg or two, and a cage for the birds, we now drive a hooked 

 stake into the csntre of the bed, tie a wild captured pigeon to one end 

 of a small fish line, ran It under the hooked stick, 



" house j" plant the surface of the bed well with wiie 1 1 

 etc., and spring our net, which it takes two of us to do: taking hold 

 of the stick across the loose end of the let, drawing it back and the 

 spring pole down at the same time, and fasten it by pushing it down 

 behind the two upright, before mentioned, stakes. We are now ready 

 for business, and none to soon, for " Nels," our "butty," sees a cloud 

 coming, and knows that when It is near enough to see it will prove to 

 be pigeons, which we want. We hastily get Into our house for posi- 

 tion, take up the slack of our spring rope, and when the pigeons get 



re can distinguish them, loosen onr "stool" pigeon by a lew jerks, 

 and up It goes so far as we will let it ; and then, gradually drawing It 

 down, it will exactly imitate a pigeon settling to light. The ruse is 

 successful, and, seeing the grain, etc., on the bed, the cloud, with one 

 swoop, settle down on the bed until a foot deep, when, presto 1 we pull 

 the trap. The net flies through the air, and In a second we are the 

 possessors ot a dozen dozen fat, plnmp, wild beauties. And so it goes 

 day after day, making cages, shipping and trapping every day, for we 

 shipped ihem alive direct to Chicago, Some days we would have all 



could do, and others nothing would be flying— weather damp and 

 disagreeable— and we would stay at home aud hear Peter tell some of 

 his old, wierd Norse stories. Thus we passed a merry month, when, 

 the season drawing to a close, and havldg made onr little pile, we 

 pulled stakes and started for home with many a well wish from Peter 

 and his pretty wife, whom we had made fast friends. 



r CONYNOUAM. 



PIGEON MATCHES. 



New Yoke— Franklin, Dec. 20.— Match of Onleont Sportsman's Club; 

 Bogardns traps and rules; shooters had never shot from a true before: 



MHutherford l 1 1 1 ] 1 1 1— s 



D Harris o i o o l o o l l-o— i 



J Rutherford 1 u u i o o u l — j. 



HR Scott 0— O— 18 



MPilcKoon l llllllio 1— S 



-"'ii 1 o II 1 1 U 1-4 



Ira Wilcox 1 1 1 0—3 



"MHine o uiviioiu 0—1—20 



We are about getting a suitable gold badge to be shot for bi 



e members «ii ■ ... ■■■ . ■ . . 



mouth, commencing with the first of January, 1879, and the 

 retainingit one year will be entitled to its ownership, so a ;ei we 

 expect a high time among the boys aud ball naxt season. 



y.. p.m. 



BOGATtDUS Tournament.— Crack pigeon shots will test their skill at 

 the Brooklyn Covin,' ) ark 1 >-;.-, 'j-murrow, and Hie day following. 

 There are very liberal prizes in Ciotaiii Bogurdus' tournament— both 

 medals and cash. 



Fountain Guv Club— Parkvillc, L, I , Dec. 13— Monthly handicap 

 contest for Weaver f hot-gun ; handicap distince : 80 yard's boundary; 

 IU oz.of snot; from ave ground traps, and (be dun rules to govern : 



Slane 25.... 1 1 1 1 1 1 1— T Watts 25....' 10 11 1-j 



James. >,b 11 1110 1— C White !S,. .0 1 n i i n i_ .i 



Madison... .27... .1 1 1 1 I 1—8 Miller afi... I D011 1— i 



Carlln 21 — 1 1 1 l l 0— r, Carn-y 25.. ..1 Hum o— 4 



Conover 2T....1 1 01 1 1 o— 5 Bavies 2n. . . _.; 



MoMahon. ..25 ...1 l'oll 1—5 W Hunter. .. 21. ...1 Q n o 0—1 



Durfee .27. ...0 1 1 1 I) 1 1-5 Bvrne 21....0 00 0—0 



Polhamus ...23....1 1 1 1 1-5 



OHIO— Waynesuttle, Dec. 17.— Yesterday, C, B. Ar.ilerson, of this place, 

 gave an exhibition match of rapid shooting, lie succeeded in break- 

 ing one buntred glass balls in nlue minutes and fourteen seconds, and 

 missed thirteen, using one gun and one set of barrels ; Bogardus rules 

 governing. j. w. 



— See Bogardus' advertisement. 



Jf ## md ffliveq 



FISH IN SEASOrT^OR DECEMBER 



Black Bass, Micropterm mlmoide* ; Pike or Pickerel, Esox luciun. 



M. pallidas. Yeiiow PeroU, Perca toe»«ms. 



Sea Bass, Hcuenaps oceUatxm. White Perch, i.e. 



PROPER LENGTH FOR SNOODS. 



Manchester, Bee. 18, IS78. 

 Editob Forest and Stkkam : 



Inclosed please iind two Bleu. 1 hive uu idea that this length of snel 

 is much better than any greater length. You notice how ul 

 In a By book, aud I don't seo auy objection to them. There will be no 

 trouble about the " droppers" getting tangled with the leader. 1 ask 

 youropinion. I think It impossible to keep snells straighi (long Ones 

 in a fly book. The snells must be just of a lengtt 



O. F. Orvis. 



Remarks. 



The snells sent us measure ''} incites from betid of Look 

 to biglit of loop. As to length of droppers, or rather, of the 

 snoods attached to droppers, it 13 certainly an advantage to 

 have them as short as possible, for the reasons specified by 

 our correspondent. As to actual length required for use 

 while casting, that can be mathematically demonstrated. 

 The angler's rig when the cast is made forms a spherical 

 triangle, the stream, or water lino forming the base, the rod 

 the leg, or perpendicular, aud the line the hypothenuse. 

 The shorter the line, the longer should be the snells of the 

 droppers, because the snells form an angle to> the line of 

 drafi more or less acute. Iu fly-fishing in still clear water. 

 we generally use, say, forty-five feet of line. Our object is 

 to keep all the flies if we Can ou the surface of the water. If 

 tlie line is permitted to sag sullicieutly to submerge the flies, 

 there treed be no pains taken to adjust the snoods to any def- 

 inite length. The object iu being precise is lost. The louger 

 the snoods are the more likely they are to twist around aud 

 cling to the leaders, when of course they lose their atractive 

 imitation of a natural fly, swimming or struggling on the 

 surface. Given a liue forty-five feet long, if the middle 

 dropper be 8£ inches long and 2 feet from the stir. 

 top or baud sjtood should be i inches long if bent on two 

 feet above the middle dropper. A diagram drawn to scale 

 will show this. Now reduce the length of line to twenty- 

 five feet (from stretcher to butt of rod;, and each dropper 

 should be lengthened two-firths, or in proportion as the angle 

 to the line of draft becomes more obtuse. We an 

 not mathematically accurate, but sufficiently so to a solution 

 of the problem. The advantage of a short snood in a fly- 

 book is obvious to any one. 



An Eel Fisheby is Make. — At South Deer Isle there are 

 two large ponds, three miles inland, which are connected with 



a creek by small running streams. In the autumn the fish run 

 up through these streams into the ponds, where they pass the 

 winter imbvdded in Ihe mud. The run begins the first of 

 Sep i and ends the last of October. In order to capture 

 them traps are made and placed in the streams through which 



ese traps are woodi 

 four feet wide and two feet deep, with ends mnde of wire net- 

 ting. The end in which the fish enter is constructed after the 

 style of a lobster pot, SO that when a fish enters it cannot 

 easily get out. To make the fish enter the trap a dam is built 

 across the stream, the only opening being the mouth of the 

 trap. Some will not enter, but will bore a hole under- 

 neath the dam. This is the fisherman's irreatest annoy- 

 ance, having more or less of these holes to close every day. 

 The fish only travel in the night lime: not one is to be seen 

 after daylight. They prefer dark, storm j 



as high us ten battels are taken from the traps. 

 At high water the fisherman visits ii v and dips 



out the catch, which is taken to floating cars m the creek, 

 where the fish are kept alive until 



Movements of the Fishing Fleet.— The number of fish- 

 ing arrivals reported at this port the. past week has been I 

 from the.Banks with 35,000 lbs. halibut, ail 

 with 25,000 lbs. codfish. The latter ate in very light stock 

 for the seasou, and dealers who c : ■ ■-• ■. locks of 



Bank fish last year have at. in i • closed he catch. Other 



fishing ports report a similar . ml the tone 



of the market is firm. The slock of small mackerel Oil the 

 market is quite large. The bulkof the British catch has been 

 disposed of, and the stock in nshina towns outside of Glou-* 

 caster is inconaideral n iu trade will be to our 



dvantage. — Uape Ann A&vi 



foKKBB tent to which this 



profitable business has grown may be gathered from the letter 



iur Shelter Island correspondent, which we print herewith. 

 Of course most of our readers know that the fish are taken 

 chiefly for their oil ; the scraps after having been pressed arc 

 used as fertilizers. Some few fish are suited and bai 

 Western use. They are sweet but bony, aud vastly more rank 

 and oily than a herring. Bui hey would 



We have that the bunker Ashing season this 



ful i of Long 



Island, There have been ii L vd in this busi- 



ness in this part of Long Island-chiefly iu Gardiner bays, 

 andoff Alomnuk. These v. , ny-seven 



millions of fish. There ar ,,:r sailing 



in this business. The sv ■ .ding vessels 



combined have taken this on Bah. Other 



vessels from Maine and ( n , . . i, in these 



waters about 5O,O0O,0iii). i' ! , ,"■:,.,,-•■ , .ear at east 



end of Suffolk County, lfQ^O.OOO, and still 



of diminution ; indeed it was estimated that more 



out to sea by Mohtauk Po November 



than had been caught during the year. Very truly yours, 



ISA/VO McGl.KLI.AN. 



New $obk— fflngTumton, Das. 86,— Thanks to i 

 of ejeth Green, we have fine bssi D. D. 



Tkskessek— NtuitmiUe, Dee. IS.— Fish in large quantities 



are being brought here from the Gulf and Western lata 

 say nothing of the barrels full that fire strlppi 

 Lake. Emmctt ,te Go. received 250 pounds of perch from 

 them a day or two ago. 



Florida- Cltn.Ur, Deo. Hi.— Ocean Pond is located within 

 one-half mile of this R. R. station ; in size about two by three 

 miles. Ye- eft] 



measuring it. We have u..»t. found 



running from south side toward centre over one mile, iu the 

 fog of the morning I ran a boat within 40 yards of a deer 

 quietly feeding ou shore. Friday saw one wild n 

 shore of an Island near outlet of pond. From the 

 rises I should conclude that Hsh were very abundant. Quail 

 are very plentiful in this locality. The pond is over Hid feet 

 above its outlet, the mouth of St. Mary's Hie 

 is very mild, although we have had several white frosts since 

 this mouth came iu. Mount Carey, -l.V miles from here is- 

 300 feet above the Ocean at the R. R. station. E. in'. 



— .». . ; 



y HOW TROUT TAKE A FLY. 



i House, Boston, Dec, 21.— If the question is not 

 already decided, and the tail and fly meeting adjourned, I 

 would like to say how it looks from my rock. A trout 

 may have been known to i bis tail and then 



dexterously turn and catch it in his mouth, and the angler 

 striking just in time holds the fish. All th ' bi 



I don't think it necessary to account far il 

 meditated action on the part of the trout. I 

 it out in some other way. I could much easier be 

 trout had the fly in his mouth before he turned that somer- 

 sault, or in the other instance of the one thi 



B might have missed the fly with his mouth. I 

 have not only caught a few trout on the fly, but have had 

 some opportunity to observe their habits aud style when 

 breeding, and please notice that the food with a 



dash and never halt where they take it, but go along : or. if 

 rising 1'rpm u hiding-place, always return quickly to that 

 shelter before swallowing, flow common it is for two or 

 three trout to start simultaneously fat the same fly and go 

 headlong for it : perhaps one secures it, and all in their haste 

 to return slap the surface with their tails as they double back 

 for the home rim. If the fly was o i her, and 



one happened to get caught by his tail, my brain is not fertile 

 enough to have evr-i 'thought Otly trying 



to "flop the fly" into their mouth with the tail. ' Il is simply 



[f proved 

 that they do such a thing in isolated instances, I fail to see in 

 it any result of inteUigence or reason iu the fish, and if it be 

 the exception and not the rule it should not be noted aa a 

 habit. Skeptically yours, M. 



I see in your recent issues a disci. ...iher trout 



take flics on the surface by knocking them into their mouths 

 with their tail. I have never seen 



but I have seen trout having a frolic' 'they would jnmp out 

 of water and come down oii top of the fly a n 

 it and let it float down stream. I limes in 



my life to have taken good baskets when they we 

 mood. I will tell you about it it you will not tell. I thought 

 il pretty cunning when I did it thirty years ago, but now it 

 would be considered unsportsmanlike. I tied several small 



