450 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



match, ninth paragrtiph, (Tit'tlei! "Prize," these worfls: ''Each member 

 of the wlnntnz team to receive a medal representing tne trophy." Aswe 

 Blot Under Hio.Je conditions, uni] fnlfllled nil ut our obligations, we are 

 deBiroasthaf. the N. it. A. fulfill their porllou, which as yet they Havo 

 failed to do. When we shot the walk-over our work was done bnt to flx 

 the time and place /or the next match. Still we feel under an obliga- 

 tion to our brother r.flenien, and as we were their exponents before 

 the butts, we are their exponents in ull pertaining to liielr interests. 

 We, however, do not wish to dictate, bnt rather to cultivate harmony 

 and good feeling between rifle nen and the association which has taken 

 the lead in such matters ; but we would like to see that association less 

 local aud more national iti i:s officers and character. While it is grati- 

 fying to see the militia of the State of New York profleient marksmen, 

 theN. B. A. should have a wider range than ihe success of a single 

 State. We are aware that the general snecess of rifle practice depends 

 upon the exertions of riflemen themselves, but we look to the N. R. A. 

 to still lead In these matters. Therefore, to keep up and foster ritle 

 practice, it would be desirable to have a match with some foreign 

 country, and as the Palma was given to the riflemen of the world 

 through the N. R. A. for the purpose of international competitors, It is 

 to be huped that the President and Directors of the N. R. A. will use 

 every exertion to bring about a match in 1ST!). 



I have further ,o cab your attention to a change contemplated In the 

 original conditions of the international long-range match. I believe 

 that no change can be effected in those conditions by America withoul 

 the consent oi the nations that have participated in those contests. 

 W. H. Jackson, Capt. of the Am. Team. 



Massachusetts— Medford— Christmas Day at Bellevue 

 Range was passed very agreeably by a team shoot at 200 yds. 

 by members of the Medford Amateur Rifle Association. The 

 scores stood: 



Ireland's Team. 



HA Ireland..... s 1 6 4 4 S 



JKTeele 4 + i 4 6 B 



C H Russell 4 4 4 8 i A 



DN Howard 3 4 4-14 3 



HBDavIs 8 4 4 5 4 4 



WO ■loaoey.... .-5 4 4 4 s 



SWUM 4 5 4 3 li 4 



Richardson's Team. 



H K RIchirdion 4 6 4 li i 5 



J B O.iliom 6 fi 4 4 ,'j 5 



,1 li KauiBH 4 4 4 3 1 4 



Vanderollt Slbbs 4 8 8 2 5 4 * 



TCPSujil.il 4 8 12 2 5 3 3 3 3—32 



EFKeudtick » 3 2 4 4 :i 2 3 (>— 20 



JMCtoodalo 4 11 4 u 2 4 2 2—18—234 



In the winter-shed match at 200 yards, seven shots, the 

 scores stood in classes : 



JB Oflborn..,....5 B44S56- 



5 5 1 4—44 



4 4 8 5— 41 



4 4 S 3—10 



5 4 4 4-39 

 5 3 3 4—39 

 5 4 4 4—30 



4 4 4 4_ S8 _ 2S 



4 4 5 5—43 



5 4 4 4—15 

 4 4 4 4— 30 



S 64 45 5 5—33 H K Richardson. .5 5 4 5 5 5 4—33 



H WlthillgtOD....6 4 4 4 5 5 4—31 JWVmlDg 4 4 5 4 4 4 4-29 



(JH Hussell 5 4 5 5 4 4 4—31 Mufus sawyer.... 4 5 3 4 5 4 4-i9 



Jt HLaw 4 4 4 4 4 5 5-SO W V MetOHlf 4 4 4 4 4 4 4— 2S 



J H Barnes 4 4 15 44 5—30 HA Ireland 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 -27 



Third Class 

 W GTousey 4 5 4 4 4 4 3— tn VanderblH Uibbs.4 3 5 8 4 5 4-28 



Boston— Christmas Day at Walnut Hill was spent merrily 

 by the riflemen who crowded the winter shed during the fore- 

 noon. The winter shed match was on for the last time and 

 there was an unusually large number of spectators present ; 

 in fact, the attendance was larger than on any previous day ot 

 the match. The weather opened and continued cold through- 

 out the shooting, and a stiff easterly breeze, ranging from •' 9 

 to 10 o'clock," occasionally reminded the marksmen, as they 

 stood at the firing points, that Jack Frost was with them. 

 The atmosphere was clear as a bell, and the light nearly all 

 that could be wished for, though the sun at times shone some- 

 what brilliantly. Mr. Tyler came to the front, securing the 

 good total of 25 at the distance, 200 yards, the highest that 

 could be made. He was closely followed by Messrs. Lowell 

 and Osborn, who each made within one point of a clean score. 

 Mr. Poland got a total of 09 in his three entries. The scores 

 stood, omitting the many excellent reentry scores: 



rrqirter 5 5 5 5 5-25 E C Spofford 5 4 4 5 4—22 



J A Lowe'lL 4 5 5 5 5-24 l J M ifeWell 4 4 5 4 4-21 



IBOsbnrn 6 548 5_24 JNJfrye 45444-21 



j Borden 4 4 5 5 S-23 > 8 Parte 4 5 4 4 4-21 



J H Wlllianu 4 5 4 5 5 -S3 W E Uuenler 4 5 4 4 4-21 



BB Snntuer 4 5 5 4 s-23 F s Reynolds 3 4 4 4 3-ls 



DK/rkwuod 4 5 5 5 4-23 F W .-tevens 3 3 4 4 8— IT 



—In the winter shed match at 200 yards on Walnut Hill 

 range, December 21, Capt. W. H. Jackson put in a total of 

 72 in the possible 75 in 15 consecutive shots. As an all-range 

 shot Captain Jackson may fairly lay claim to be the best ex- 

 emplar of American marksmanship. 



Scottish Riflkmkn. — The second annual dinner of the 

 Scottish American Eifle Club drew over seventy Scotsmen 

 and laddies to Merritt's, on Ninth street, last Thursday even- 

 ing, and with "Haggis" and " feare-brose " and other less 

 national but equally palatable dishes, the feast went on far 

 into the morning. The officers ol the club for the year 1879 

 are: President, Colonel J. W. Marshall; Vice-President, 

 Captain Ross: Secretary, Mr. Robert Hunt; Treasurer, Cap- 

 tain William Lindsay. Board of Directors— Lieutenant D. 

 E. Vannett, Mr. John Booth, Captain W. Clarke and Mr. W. 

 Pyle. 



The prize list of the winter shed match was made up 

 according to the conditions laid down by the Board of Direct- 

 ors. By vote that body authorized the erection of a perma- 

 nent shelter at the 200-yards firing point, for the purpose of 

 giving comfortable facilities to those who desired keeping up 

 practice during the winter. To meet the expense of this 

 structure the executive officer was authorized to arrange a 

 match to be shot on successive Saturdays. The terms of the 

 match : Open to all comers ; distance, 200 yards ; rifle and 

 position, auv within the rules; rouuds, Ave ; re-entries per- 

 mitted. ' Winners to be determined by the aggregate of two 

 best scores made at any time before the close of the match. 

 The competitor having the highest aggregate will have first 

 choice of the prizes offered. The one having the next high- 

 est the second, and so on. The prizes number twenty-five 

 and are valuable— consisting of valuable silverware, two val- 

 uable rifles, carving set in case, opera-glass, revolvers, etc. 

 The value of the prizes is $210, and have been on exhibition 

 at the store of William Read & Sons. Following are the 

 fortunate prize winners, with their aggregates : . 



t, tv Hubbard. 25 24 49 J Border ..- 23 22 45 



Wm Poland 24 24 43 A W Howland 23 22 45 



Capt WH Jackson.. 24 24 4S W Howard .....23 22 45 



wftWmtner 24 24 4S BGDnrgm n 22 u 



TBOabom 24 24 4S E O Spoff.ird 22 22 44 



DKUrtSWOOd ...... 24 24 4S DP Hunt , 22 22 44 



nM Jewell 34 24 43 G W Davison 23 21 44 



WTavior & 23 iRJBParfcer 22 23 44 



TAfioweC. « 23 4T OolNath Wales 22 21 « 



SlBFtve 24 23 47 HFLlbbey..... 21 21 42 



NW Arnold 23 23 46 J LStevenson. 



HMortlmer 23 « 



WEGncrler 23 23 



Ohio TrimpeH Range, Cincinnati, Dec. 23. — Rifle team of 



the Cincinnati Shooting and Fishing Club. Weather awk- 

 wnrd: 



fTTBauia ...554454544454544—68 



W Hi' * B, 14 « Ml •' 54*4 3 4-61 



Tl>PDiBnev 3 4 445 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 ., I 



,»,,.,„, 5 4 3 4 1 4 4 5 5 4 4 3 3 4 4—60 



W Caldwell :1 4 6 3 3 4 4 4 3 1 4 5 4 4 4— 53 



A CAUDtBATE for Fame.— Mr. Richard Ficken, of Brook- 

 lyn, E. D., member of the Amateur Rifle Club and the N. R. 

 A 'has been Slaking some line scores of late, averaging 40 to 

 47 with a Billiard at the Creedmaor, Jr., range of 300 feet. 

 His first practice at the Creedmoor butts at SOU, 900 and 1,000 

 yards resulted in a score of 07 out of a possible 75. Recently, 

 overs 35-fool range, he pier© d spot after spot on a seven of 

 diamonds with his Ballard parlor rifle. 



46 J W Frost 31 



£#t and givey fishing. 



FISH IN" SEASON FOR DECEMBER 



Black Bass, Micropenis salmoide*; Pike or Pickerel, Kaox liutiva. 



M. pMidus. Yellow Perch, Perm tinvueene. 



jSea nasi, srtameps ocelMus. White Perch, Uurow omsricana. 



Fish in Makket— Retail Prices.— Bass, 25 cents; smelts, 12%; 

 Wuefish,12^; salmon, 30; mackerel, 20; shad, 75; white porch, 15; 

 green turtle, 16; terrapin, $12 per dozen; frostfish, 8 cents ; hali- 

 but, 20; haddock, 6; oodfiab, 6; blacktiah, 15 ; flounders, 10 j eels, 

 18; lobsters, 10; scallops, $1 25 per gallon; soft olama, 30 to 60 per 

 100 ; whiteflsh, 18; pickerel, 18; salmon trout, 18; black bass, 18; 

 Ted-snapper, 18; hard crabs, $3.50 per 100 ; Boft orabs, $1.25 per 

 doz. 



Wrapped up in tissue paper, with a sugar trout, came, on 

 Christmas Day, to an old Angler, from his dear wife, the 

 lines below given. The Angler's heart, though old, was 

 touched a little. 



He knew very well that there was in the verses, no display 

 of poetic skill • but somehow he felt in ihcnr that artless ab. 

 sence of skill which sometimes makes poetiy. 



Suppose such simple verses had come (wrapped around a 

 sugar trout) to Father Izaak himself as a Christmas saluta- 

 tion from his wife, would he not have thought them "choice- 

 ly good," and would they not have brought sweetly to his 

 remembrance the fresh air of summer mornings, and the 

 sound of pure waters, and the other simple delights that were 

 wont to mingle with the play of his gentle crait f 



And might he not afterward have modestly read them 



over aloud to Charles Cotton or " Venator," seated upon a 



mossy bank or under a honeysuckle hedge by the margin of 



some brook ? * 



i. 



See him wailing down the Btream— 



How lor him life's but a dream ; 



See him cast the pretty fly, 



Gently ateppiug— quick to spy 



All the little pool ao dark 



That experienced eyes would mark. 



There! He has him, anre as Fate I 



FooliBh trout, to try 7»s bait I 



Now ho plays him Bwtft as thought, 



Quick upon the bank he's brought ; 



See his sides all dappled o'er ; 



Through the Btream he'll glide no more. 

 It. 



Gurgling waters round thy feet, 



O'er thy head the branches meet ; 



Bound thee Nutate— Nature's God- 

 As thy deft hand piles the Tod. 



Oh 1 to thee this sport ao dear 



Fills thy heart with peace and cheer ; 



May I see thee— years to come— 



Bod on shoulder, trudging home, 



Hear thee calling, " Look here, Bess, 

 ■' Isn't this a pretty mesa 5" 

 New Saven, Dec. 26, 1878. 



Anotheb Elegant Fly-Boob.— Mr. Henry H. Holt, Clerk 

 of the U. S. District Court of Washington Territory, has 

 made us a present of a most exquisite fly-book, of the finest 

 workmanship, bound in Russia leather. It is really too 

 choice to take to a stream. Nothing like it, save one, has 

 ever come under our observation, and that exception was the 

 handiwork of Mr. Hyde of this city, who amused himself for 

 one or more years in its construction. The book is Mr. Holt's 

 own design, and is very different in many respects from shop 

 fly-books. It has some desirable new improvements which 

 are worth copying. Mr. Holt is anxious to find some Eastern 

 firm to manufacture and sell these books, paying him a small 

 royally. We shall do what we can to introduce it to the 

 notice of our tackle dealers, to whom we shall be pleased to 

 show our specimen. 



■i Cabbying Lrvs Bait.— Editor Forest and Stream: It ap- 

 pears not to be generally known among anglers that minnows 

 can be kept for considerable time in an air-tight vessel. I 

 have kept them four and five days, and last week carried a lot 

 with, me to the Cumberland Eiver and used them in that 

 stream. The package should not be filled more than two- 

 thirds with water, which should occasionally be put in mo- 

 tion, and judgment must be exercised as to the number of 

 minnows. If the package is of oak it must be l 

 steamed. Very respectfully, Be Bus, 



Cincinnati, Dee. 24. Riverside, HamiJtou Co., O. 



Wisoonsjs— AsMamd, Dec. 23.— Cisco fishing-time has 



come and huge fun the boys are having with the fish. 



Cis. 

 » •» — i- 



The Fly Question.— The interest in this mini 

 topic continues unabated. Seldom have seen a question at- 

 tract such general attention. We add a few more opinions 

 of contributors this week ; 



Why should anyone think it strange that a trout flirts a 

 fly into his mouth r Analogy would lead us to expect it. 



Fordoes not every ten-year-old country boy know that a 

 swallow uses its tail to flip gnats and other 'insects into its 

 mouth? A hawk or eagle uses its claws for the same pur- 

 pose, aud a monkey its foot. Now, has it not been demon- 

 strated by proof as clear as logic can deduce from 

 ture, that man is the development of a monkey, and 

 key of a fish. Reasoning from Ibis fact, we would then nat- 

 urally expect a trout to use its tail just as a man his hand, or 

 a monkey his foot. The fact that' a ravenous, "half-starved 

 trout may rush at his food with open mouth, just as we see 

 greedy boys and dogs, is no proof that trout,' men or boys 

 habitually doso. The solidity of Ihe head unfits it for such 

 purpose, while the elasticity of the tail makes it a most 

 proper instrument. But there is another view of It 

 tion worthy of notice. The trout is a dainty, lordly fifth, 

 and, like a true sportsman, scorns to take his game iti any 

 other way than on the wing, unless he be very hungry 

 When he sees a fly lyiDg still or skipping along on the water 

 he strikes it with his tait to make it, rise (in hunting 

 flushes it), and then catches it. He would no more think of 

 catching a fly on the water than a sportsman would of shoot- 

 ings bird on the ground. Besides, the trout is a playful fisb.. 

 Conscious of bis power, he likes to have a little Eui 

 with his work. So, instead of seizing the fly ti 

 mouth and greedily swallowing it. lie, like a cat, with a 

 mouse, j/ives the lazy fly a flop with his tail, and as the 

 startled, terrified insert fa flying for its life, the gay and fes- 

 tive trout turns a somersault and leaps after it with al- 

 most the velocity of light. Having captured his prey, he 

 plunges into the depths of his watery home to continue the 

 sport. 



While I do not profess to have had as much experience as 

 some of the correspondents of the Forkst asp Stream, who 

 have practiced the " gentle art" for a lifetime or more, still, 

 I have good opportunities for observing the habits of trout. 

 I have feasted on trout and moose in the wild woods of ihe 

 North; on mule rabbits and tough beef in flub and Texas; 

 on salmon aud quail in California ; on sand-hill cranes and 

 prairie-dogs on the Llano Estacado ; on sage hens aud ante- 

 lope in Nebraska and Dakota ; on chili-con-citrnc i.il 

 tillas in Arizona and Mexico; cm the catfish of the Bi 

 and Mississippi. Based upon this quite extensive observa- 

 tion aud -experience, _I confidently affirm that an 

 strike the fly with his tail before he takes it in his mouth, 

 but never after. Shoo Fly. 



Trout Falls, Virginia, Dec. 24, 1878. 



Vermont — Manchester, Dec. 23. — I did think I knew a 

 little something about fly fishing; have been at it over thirty- 

 five yearB; but I begin to think perhaps I have been working 

 on the wrong plan all this time. I suppose the next thing we 

 shall be told will be that the true gentleman Sportsman BOONS 

 to hook his fish in the mouth, that the really scientific and ar- 

 tistic way is to hook them in the tail and with a " nee die 

 point" hook, aud that no gentleman would take such mi un- 

 fair advantage as to take two chances (head and tail 

 poor fish! lhad always supposed trout took their "grub 

 alive and kicking," but according to some of the 

 have seen it appears they first ' : kill the bare." Now please 

 allow me to say " I don't see it," and never have. Have looked 

 a good many times, and I think if any one who has fished 

 much with a fly will remember that when he has hooked a 

 trout anywhere but in the mouth he has hooked him every 

 where iu the belly and sides, very seldom in the back, anil 

 not often in the tail. This proves to me that as the trout 

 misses hiB aim he always passes over or beyond the fly (or 

 where it was when he rose at it) for of course he can't "stop 

 instantly, and as the fisherman strikes the hook is fastened in 

 the belly or sides. Either the hook the trout leaped at or the 

 next one beyond has hooked him just where it happened to 

 hit, I have my doubts about fish fooling away their time 

 playing around in the open air. I think they feed on very 

 much smaller insects than we suppose, and I don't believe 

 they come out of the water very often unless they see or 

 think they see something they want to eat. I had always 

 supposed that the story about trout slapping the fly with 

 their tails was "all in the bottle, sir." C. F. Obvis. 



New York— KeeseoiiU, Dec. 20.— I have read with great 



interest letters and remarks indicating experiences of trout, 

 etc., especially in regard to trout striking the fly or hook with 

 their tail. Twenty-six years I have passed in the Adiron- 

 dacks, in annual visits, and have studied with great care trout 

 and their habits ; and after that experience, I must indorse 

 what you yourself write in regard to it. I)k. J. R. Homey n. 



WEIGHT AND STRUCTURE OF RODS. 



Editob Fobbbt ajjd Btbeaji : 



In your issue of November 21, I read with much interest a 

 short editorial, calling attention to the extreme lightness of 

 modern salmon rods in comparison with those which we can 

 almost be pardoned for calling ancient. I think, however, 

 that you have not quite done justice to Mitchell's rod — or 

 rather the lightness of it— by comparing it (being 17^- feet 

 long) with your section bamboo, which measures only l6i 

 feet. I suppose both rods are without reel-plate, in which 

 case S ounces is not by any means a great addition in weight, 

 when a whole foot is added to the length. As. an increase of 

 calibre must be made for every inch added to the length of 

 a rod, there is necessarily a great deal to be added for twelve 

 inches. I am a confirmed admirer of section bamboo for any 

 and all fly rods— that is, I think the best six section, bamboo 

 are incomparably better than any solid wood fly-rod I have 

 ever handled ; but, of course, I prefer a good solid wood rod 

 to any but the best of the section rods. Still, the question at 

 issue is not the comparative merits of any kinds of rods, but 

 simply one of calibre and increasing weight in its relation 

 to increasing length. 



In this connection 1 cannot refrain from calling your atten- 

 tion to a ludicrous mistake made by some one in your issue 

 of December 5. An 18-foot salmon rod is there e 

 weighing 33 ounces, and ihe we: 

 statement that the reel-plate weighei 

 know which seems worse— an is; 

 only 24 oum 



fly-rod, having a 9- ounce reel-plati 

 making, and a, good derl in usia 

 weight to my opinion on this subjec 

 little laugh, and to confirm my opinii 



the firm of Abbey & Imbrie. In the course 

 tiou he stated a great many facts, SOB 

 to those of your readers who are 



In regard to the weight of section bomb' < i 

 of reel-plates : The weight of any wood depeni 

 density, and its density depends almost entirely upoi 



