486 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



pH 



; 'j i fe^ 



A WEEKLY JOURNAL, 



dbt0ted to field and aquatic spoets, fbactical n atobai. 11i8toey, 

 fish culture, the fkoteotioh of bimb, preservation of forests, 

 andthj Inculcation in Mun and Women of a Ssa/.thy Intkksst 



IN OUT-DOOR EBORBATION AND STUDY: 



PUBLISHED BY 



Rarest md §jtrt»v\ ^ubliMhing ^ampat(S'- 



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NEW YOHK, THURSDAY, JANUARY 1G, 1879. 



To Correspondents. 



All communications whatever, Intended for publication, must be 

 companied with real name ol the writer as a guaranty of good faith 

 and be addressed to the Forest and Stream Publishing CosiFANy. 

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OTjR "WORK. 



Abb We Ftri,riixiNG Otje Mission ? 



Fthe prospectus of Forest akd Stream, issued in August, 

 1873, this proposition was enunciated: "A practical 

 knowledge of Natural History must of necessity underlie all 

 attainments which combine to make a thorough sports- 

 man," and one of the professed objects of this j'ournal is 

 the "inculcation in men and women of a healthy interest in 

 out-door recreation and study." After so long an existence as 

 five and a half years it is certainly fair to inquire whether 

 Fobest and Stream has fulfilled its aim in this regard ; 

 whether it has encouraged in its readers a love for Nature 

 and the study of Nature ; whether it has striven to teach 

 them to observe and to report their observations with some 

 degree of accuracy ; wmether it has been able to set before 

 them the facts of science in an attractive light — to clothe with 

 ruddy flesh the dry bones of technical detail ? 



If we have not done this, it has certainly not been from any 

 lack of material to work upon. Questions of very great interest 

 have frequently presented themselves in our columns, which 

 we have dealt with more or less fully, not hesitating to apply 

 for aid on intricate points to the most eminent specialists in the 

 various departments of science in this country and Europe. 

 We have faithfully endeavored to set before our readers the 

 importance of making careful and continued observations of 

 the various phenomena of nature, and have exhorted them to 

 take full notes, so that nothing which comes under their eyes 

 may be lost. We have reason to believe that, in many cases, 

 our advice has been gladly received and acted upon. 



Opportunities for a study of Nature, and for observation, 

 occur almost constantly, and every intelligent man, who 

 passes any time iu the open air, often has his attention drawn 

 to snuio interesting point which is new to him, and which he 

 would be glad to be able to explain. It is too often the case, 

 however, that lack of time and the want of knowledge of 

 how to go to work at the subject deter the amateur from 

 following up his point and getting at the true facts in the 

 case. Often, too, from an idea that it is impossible to learn 

 much about nature without making science a profession, the 

 observer lets pass, without noting them, interesting matters, 

 which, if brought to the attention of trained naturalists, might 

 lead to important results. 



All this is wrong. At the present day no naturalist, be his 

 attainments what they may, can hope to cover the whole 

 ground, or to ho acquainted with all the phenomena of 



biology. It has been well said that he is not far from knowl- 

 edge who knows where knowledge can be found, and the 

 student of to-day who has his attention called to a fact out 

 side ofhis special department, turns to the literature of the 

 subject, and there finds out what is known about it. It has 

 been our effort, therefore, to point out to inquirers the stand- 

 ard works on the subject which may have been brought for- 

 ward, so that each one might, so far as possible, investigate 

 for himself. We have always tried to impress upon our 

 readers the importance of at once putting in writing all ob- 

 servations, so that if new, or of interest, they can be pre- 

 sented to other workers in the field, and attention can thus 

 be called to novel points. 



Every intelligent man, we care not how unlettered he may 

 be, has it in his power to contribute some addition to our 

 present knowledge of the mysteries of Nature. Each one, if 

 he will but make the most of his opportunities, can observe 

 and report facts which will be of use ; for it must be remem- 

 bered that in science, as in other matters, it is the little things 

 that count, and the sum of observations, each one of which 

 by itself may be apparently unimportant, may form a basis 

 from which some general principle can be formulated. 



The Natural History columns of Forest and Stream are 

 always open to observers, and we take great pleasure in say- 

 ing that they have been freely used by some thousands of our 

 readers, who have either had something to communicate or 

 some question to ask. It is imperatively necessary that there 

 should be some medium through which the general public 

 may hold communication with the strictly scientific, and we 

 have endeavored to furnish such a medium. From the con- 

 gralutory letters which w T e frequently receive we are led to 

 believe that not a few of our friends look upon our course 

 with favor and approval, and we aro thus encouraged to per- 

 severe in our efforts. 



If we have failed in our attempts to render our Natural 

 History Department a prominent feature of this journal it has 

 not been for the want of able assistance and valuable contri- 

 butions from the first scientific men in all countries. With- 

 out mentioning the great army of less distinguished writers 

 we may point with pride and satisfaction to such names as 

 Baird, Marsh, Coues, Gill, Allan, Grote, Yarrow, Jordan, and 

 Eaton, which appear on the list of our scientific correspond- 

 ents. 



We desire to make Fobest and Stream something more. 

 than a mere "sporting paper," something better than a 

 weekly record of hunts, shooting matches and dog shows. It 

 should occupy a higher plane than this. It has been our aim 

 from the first to make it an educator, and to thi3 work we 

 have given thought, labor and time. Have we succeeded ? 



Are we fulfilling our mission ? 



THE SHARPIE. 



THE " sharpie" is a boat of peculiar and eminently practi- 

 cal construction, known, curiously enough, only to a 

 few miles of coast along the Connecticut shore and to a few 

 such other ports where some enterprising individual has had 

 the good sense to import and popularize this style of craft. 

 The sharpie may be said to combine in her form those peculi- 

 arities for which the sloop is famous, but to a greater degree 

 even than in the very best among her prototype and at the same 

 time possesses certain other qualities to which the sloop can lay 

 no claim. Length for length, or, better still, size for size the 

 sharpie is perhaps in most respects a better boat than the com- 

 mon light-draft sloop. She is fully as wcathery in smooth 

 water, quite as fast, if not faster, on the wind, while with 

 sheets checked her speed is reported as something astonish- 

 ing. She is a comfortable, roomy, and, above all things, a 

 safe craft in lumpy water. In this latter respect the sharpie 

 must be considered as ahead of the shallow sloop, for owing 

 to her lightness and extreme buoyancy she is a dry boat in 

 the same sense as a life boat is, and the records of little open 

 sharpies riding out heavy weather will substantiate all we 

 say so far as their safety, dryness and ease at sea are concerned. 

 Moreover, they are not as liable to "broach-to," which, in 

 light draft centreboards, is always the most imminent peril 

 to which they are exposed in rough water. The sharpie's 

 comparative exemption from this danger is to be found in the 

 fact that she draws no water forward or aft, aud has a con- 

 siderable crown or round up to her bottom at each end, with 

 hardly any flat to her section lines, and her great buoyancy is 

 against her dipping her nose into a leading sea, and having her 

 stern thrown round in consequence of being taken a little on 

 the quarter. The sloop, on the contrary, being cut away fine 

 aud nearly on an even keel, with a rounded bilge, is at all 

 times liable to play pranka with the man at the tiller, and if 

 suddenly brought "by" may turn turtle and spill her crew. The 

 deeper this class of craft is made, the more hold they are given 

 in the water, the safer they become. If we prefer the sharpie 

 build for vessels of small size it must not be inferred that this 

 predilection i3 irreconcilable with our advocacy of the deep 

 cutter for sea cruising, for, howevor safe, dry or easy the 

 Sharpie may be there can be no question but what for regular 

 outside work the narrow cutter would carry off the palm over 

 any light-draft boat, more particularly in turning to wind- 

 ward in lumpy water or when driven hard, owing to her mo- 

 mentum, easy form and low canvas then coming into play. 



But for all purposes to which a small boat is likely to be 

 put, for shoal water, creeks, inlets and bays, for sportsmen, 

 fishing and short cruising, the sharpie may be accepted as 

 equal to the light-draft sloop, with, it should be added, one 



drawback and one advantage. Though pretty to look at from 

 afar, when close aboard they seem a little too much on the 

 square for eyes accustomed to delight in the gentle curve of 

 the topside, the handsome hollow timber forward, and the 

 sharper round of the quarter aft. But custom goes a great 

 ways and fitness will cover up a multitude of sins against the 

 laws of beauty, which are after all more or less empirical in 

 their origin. As the cutter man sees no beauty in the ' ' chubby, 

 squatty sloop" and the sloop man finds nought to admire in the 

 " wall-sided, half-sunk cutter" may not at some future day 

 the sharpie, with her graceful sheer, clear run, hollow water- 

 lines and admirable adaptability to the needs of a large portion 

 of the community be viewed with more favor than at present? 

 No doubt but that she will, for there is one element in this 

 Fair Haven ship that is especially in accord with the times 

 and appeals to the sympathies of the many; her cost is one- 

 half that of the round timbered type. 



Though the orthodox sharpie is narrow and rigged with 

 comparatively small sail, distributed as leg-of-muttons on two 

 spars ; the more extensive use of this boat by yachtsmen will 

 no doubt lead to a gradual change toward the sloop's beam 

 and her rig, or that of the schooner. Just here let us enforce 

 the reminder that the great speed and handiness, as well as 

 safety from capsizing, so far as the latter quality can be incor- 

 porated in any shallow boat, arise, paradoxical as it may seem, 

 from the very fact of narrow beam. No one will dispute the 

 superiority of a small, light, narrow form on the score of "re- 

 sistance," for in such a model both skin and wave-making re- 

 sistance are less than in its opposite ; it is obviously easier to 

 drive such a form through the water with sheets free than 

 something approaching more to the bluff and beamy, in which 

 perhaps over SO per cent, more skin is exposed and which 

 commences to make waves at a lower speed. For this reason 

 the sharpie requires less canvas and is a gainer in cost and hand- 

 iness by just that much with the wind anywhere frorn f out- 

 points around the rest of the half circle. On the wind a rather 

 large board should make up for her lack of draft, while her 

 freeboard will enable her to cany a sail area which will be 

 found sufficient, and should the leg of mutton be retained 

 will send the boat closer in the wind's eye than any other. 

 With an increase in size, however, a different rig must sup- 

 plant the pretty oriental style lest the masts become too long 

 and springy. For " sharpie waters" there is perhaps nothing 

 as haudy as the shop to which the Chinese bamboo system 

 may with advantage be applied. The use of the gaff does 

 away with the excessive length of mast and carries down the 

 centre of effort, and the celestial adjuncts will keep things flat 

 and render shortening single-handed an operation easy enough 

 to execute. 



The elements, then, which contribute to a successful sharpie 

 are : extreme buoyancy and light draft, moderate beam, fair 

 round to her bottom, ample freeboard, large centreboard, fine 

 lines forward, easy rise to floor aft, flare to sides, pretty full 

 on deck all around, no skagg aft, and flat setting sails. 



These general remarks we propose to follow with more 

 specific information of our own and of our correspondents, 

 one of whom has furnished us with the description of a large 

 schooner-rigged sharpie of which we may hear more this comj 



[from our own correspondent. ] 

 TERRAPIN. 



How and Where They Are Caught— "Diamond Backs ' 

 ok the Chesapeake Bay and its Tribctabies— An Epi- 

 curean Diss, 



Washington, D. C, Dec. 28, 1878. 



The cold winds and nipping frosts of November which 

 bring the savory canvas back to our section, open the sea- 

 son for terrapin also, and all along the Chesapeake Bay and 

 its tributaries, in the shallow water beneath the lily-pads, 

 among the roots of sweet flag and rushes, where the terra- 

 pins hibernate, they are sought more for profit than for plea- 

 sure, and quick sale awaits their arrival in the market* of 

 Washington and Baltimore. There may be ducks in the 

 creeks, and the "honk" of the wild goose maybe heard 

 in the waters beyond, but the terrapin hunter pays no atten- 

 tion to them so long as he can rake the diamond back 

 (ISmi/s terrapin, which we read Of in " Holbrook's North 

 American Herpetology," but since more properly named by 

 Prof. Cope Malacoclemmys palustris) from their winter abode 

 beneath the mud, where they go at the beginning of cold 

 weather to await the return of spriog,{when their torpid con- 

 dition ends, and they resume the active duties of life. I 

 have written of the juicy canvas back and other toothsome 

 wild fowl of many varieties on these waters; the palatable 

 sheepshead, always grateful to appetite; the dainty Spanish 

 mackerel, a welcome dish to every epicurean philosopher; 

 the delicious cygnet and necessary accompaniment, a bottle 

 of good old port; and now the succulent terrapin, its haunts 

 and habits, shall be my theme. 



Naturalists seemed to have slighted our favorite diamond 

 back, and I have been able to find but little of its natural 

 history. They have not given the same attention to it that 

 they have to some other members of the Kmydn, family. 

 Away back in Schoeff, who observed it in this country dur- 

 ing the Revolutionary war, he being surgeon to a German 

 regiment, 1 find a very correct plate of the animal, and an- 

 other in "Holbrook's North American Herpetology," but 

 both have meagre descriptions. Other works on natural 

 history are wanting in their accounts, moat authors treating 



