JWKEST AND STREAM. 



507 



any time to spare, i should recommend-a trip 1.0 the north end 



alii Winnipeg, which is not distant. Oar sportsman will 

 then find himself in the land of the caribou and the willow 

 gCOUsa. The former is very abundant in the timber belt, which 

 toward the northwest extends in the direction of Lake Ata- 

 basca, and the latter, as I am informed by perfectly reliable 

 parties, is swarming on the open barrens, which toward the 

 northeast Btretch out all the way to Hudson Bay. Those who 

 have tasted the pleasures or partridge shooting in Newfound- 

 land or a grouse hunt on the British moors will not hesitate 

 to go a good distance out of their way to enjoy once more this 

 delightful sport, and here it can be bad to perfection. And 

 although the scientist may discover some microscopic differ- 

 ences, which might justify him iu making different species, 

 it is the writer's unscientific and humble opinion that the wil- 

 low grouse of this continent, the partridge of Newfoundland, 

 the garcoclc, or moor-fowl, of Scotland and the dal-ripa of 

 Scandinavia are all one and the same species, the Tetrao lag* 

 puj of good old father Linnes. If our sportsman-friend is 

 not in too great a hurry he may after a while Teach those fa- 

 mous grouse resorts in a comfortable sleeping car -, for 1 notice 

 iu the last report of the Surveyor-General of the Dominion, I. 

 8. Dennis, that he strongly urges on Parliament the construc- 

 tion of a railway from a point on the lower Saskatchewan to 

 he mouth of .Nelson River at York Factory, on Hudson Bay, 

 in order to make an outlet for the enormous quantities of 

 wheat and other agricultural products presumed to be raised 

 in the near future in the Saskatchewan and other valleys of 

 the British possessions in the Northwest. In his report the 

 Surveyor-General states that the length of the road would be 

 about 100 miles, that from the magnificent harbor at the above 

 factory the distance to Scotland is shorter than from New 

 York, that for 300 years the Hudson Bay Company sent all 

 their supplies and received all their furs by sailing vessels 

 oyer this route, and that Hudson Bay is free from ice from the 

 end of June to the beginning of October. 



For bis homeward trip the traveler had better take the same 

 route that brought him within the dominion of Queen Victoria. 

 There is, however, from Winnipeg another route, known as 

 the "Dawson road," by way of Lake of the Woods and the 

 Uainy Lake Region, along the boundary between Minnesota 

 and the Province of Kewatin. But the first 125 miles of this 

 road, from Winnipeg, is overland and will entail more hard- 

 ship than all the journey from the Atlantic seaboard to the 

 outmost post on the Saskatchewan. It is simply horrid, lead- 

 ing over corduroyed swamps for a great part of the way. 

 Once on the Lake of the Woods, however, you are amply re- 

 paid. Nice little steamers provided by the Canadian Govern- 

 ment "will carry you over the most enchanting lakes, and at 

 the several portages are good camping grounds. The banks 

 are high and rocky, the waters, clear as crystal, are filled with 

 fish— pickerel, pike, black bass, whitefish, etc.— and the sur- 

 rounding country is well stocked with game of the same vari- 

 ties as are found in northern Minnesota, excepting the pinnated 

 and sharptailed grouse ; but the ruffed grouse is found in 

 goodly numbers, and now and then the spruce partridge (Qa- 

 nan canadensis). Lako Saganaga, near the eastern terminus 

 of this remarkable expanse of water, is one of the most beau- 

 tiful lakes in the whole Northwest, surrounded by enchanting 

 scenery. The end of this route will put the traveler down at 

 the mouth of Pigeon River on the shore of Lake Superior. 



J. S. 



. — », -^. 



GAME PROTECTION. 



Massachusetts.— The new game law, which, as we are in- 

 formed, the Massachusetts Kennel Club will ask the present 

 Legislature to pass, provides that pinnated grouse and quail 

 may be bought, sold and had in possession during January, 

 February, March, April and May, if not taken in the State ; 

 that is, birds lulled over the border can find a market in Mas- 

 sachusetts. Such a law would be perfectly monstrous, and 

 the citizens of the Old Bay State can never hope to enforce 

 close seasons while such a proviso is in operation. It is really 

 putting a premium on law-breaking in neighboring States. By 

 this proposed law the birds referred to can appear in the Bos- 

 ton market to be sold as food when others of their kind are 

 nesting. Of course provision dealers and restaurant keepers 

 are well pleasod that the State is going to legislate money in- 

 to their pockets in this way, and well they may be. 



We understand that, by the proposed law, all shore birds 

 except four species, the golden plover, the knot, the turn- 

 stone and the telltale are protected absolutely from April 1 to 

 July 15 ; but why should these four be excepted ? The fact 

 is that the season at 'which game birds can be bought, sold or 

 had in possession, should close on or before the first of Feb- 

 ruary each year, and we should only be too glad to have all 

 spring shooting, except at ducks and geese, put an end to. 



We hope that by calling attention to this matter we may 

 put the friends of game protection in Massachusetts on their 

 guard. The question whether such a law as the one proposed 

 is desirable or not, can be answered in five seconds by any 

 person of ordinary intelligence who has given any attention 

 to Uie subject. We do not believe that such a law can be 

 passed if all sportsmen work against it. 



Massachusetts Fish and Game Association.— A special 

 meeting of the Massachusetts Fish and Game Association was 

 held at their rooms in Boston on Thursday evening, 16th 

 inst., for the purpose of giving a reception to His Excellency 

 Governor Talbot, first Vice-President of the association, 

 Lieut. -Gov. Long and other members of the State Govern- 

 ment. There was a good attendance of members of the 

 association. Previous to the arrival of the Governor, a busi- 



[ng was held, the President, Dr. John P. Ordway, 

 presiding. Three persons were proposed for membership, 



and their names were referred to the proper committee. The 

 secretary was instructed to cause to be printed 300 lists of 

 members of the association, to appear in conneolion with re- 

 vised by-laws. It was also voted that the Special Committee 

 on Fisheries be instructed to petition the Legislature thai the 

 present. Mas tor the protection of trout be 



Changed S."> as to fix the dose lime of trout fishing on the 16th 

 bet insti ad of i )et. I, and to advocate the change 

 before the Legislative Committee of Fisheries. 



At nine o'clock Governor Talbot, Lieutenant-Governor 

 Long, and several members of the Legislature arrived and 

 were cordially received. The president welcomed His Excel- 

 lency as one o£ the first friends of the association, who had 

 been invited to visit them and see for themselves what the 

 association was doing. 



The Governor in reply said that he was gratified at the at- 

 tention shown him and the evidences of the suocess of the 

 association. He had been greatly interested in the preserva- 

 tion of game and the cultivation of fish. He believed in fish 

 and the man who liked to catch them, ami deemed the ob- 

 jects of the society — to protect fish and game and to seek 

 their more extensive production and culture — were worthy the 

 labors of intelligent men. He believed that much success 

 had been obtained in the propagation of salmon and trout, 

 and much more promised, and was glad to see that every 

 year there is increased interest iu the subject. He related 

 some of his experience as an angler, telling of his mishaps as 

 well as his good fortune. He declared that the stocking 

 of the streams of the State with shad and salmon and smaller 

 fish is a matter of great importance, not only in order to se- 

 cure a supply for home consumption, but also as a matter of 

 comity between States, as. if the streams were full of fish, 

 one of New Hampshire's complaints against Massachusetts 

 would lose its force. He expressed an opinion 

 that the association served a useful purpose, and 

 wished it might be successful in all its endeavors to in- 

 crease the quantity and quality of the game and fish in the 

 forests and streams of the Commonwealth. In conclusion, he 

 congratulated the members upon the success which had 

 already attended their efforts. 



His honor Lieut. Gov. Long, on being introduced, recipro- 

 cated the kind expressions which the President had not ad- 

 dressed to him, and looked upon the matter as a joke. Of 

 course it was a good thing to stock the streams, as it would 

 make the narratives of fishermen more interesting. Legisla- 

 tion shifts according to the needs of the times, and this asso- 

 ciation was to be congratulated upon its labors for the im- 

 provement of the laws in relation to fish aud game. He 

 claimed that the desire to fish, or "go fishing," was universal 

 in the human breast, and he certainly desired to see the Legis- 

 lature and this association co-operate in the beneficent work 

 proposed. 



Brief remarks were made by Senator Stockwell and Repre- 

 sentatives Bond, Lowther and Locke, after which the mem- 

 bers and their invited guests adjourned to the library, where 

 they partook of a delicious collation, sewed by Stephen E. 

 Sewell. During the evening two dishes of smelts were ex- 

 hibited, in illustration of the benefits derived from the en- 

 forcement of the laws. One plate contained a dozen smelts, 

 taken in a seine in Maine, which measured about six inches 

 in length aud weighing one pound in the aggregate, while the 

 other plate contained eight smelts, caught through the ice 

 with hook and line at Weymouth, Mass., weighing three 

 pounds and measuring eleven inches in length and four inches 

 in circumference. The arrangements for the reception were 

 in the hands of a committee consisting of Dr. John P, Ord- 

 way, H. H. Kimball, Weston Lewis and Ivers W. Adams. 



New Hampshire— Plymoutli, Jan. 1(3.— For the last two 

 years we have had sea salmon, Sahno salar, in the Pemige- 

 wasset in large numbers, from two feet to forty inches in 

 length, and the hatching-house at Livcrmore Falls contains 

 eggs taken from salmon caught in the river this season. 

 There is also a very stringent Taw in regard to catching any 

 (parr) smolts; or salmon, it being $50 fine for each fish caught 



ught 



at any time, and the close season extends to the 14th of June 

 1880, being five years from the passage of the act. A gentle- 

 man fishing for bass near Concord last June hooked a salmon, 

 and after a hard fight of three hours landed him, and then 

 came the question what to do with him ? And he did what 

 most any one would have done. After looking around, and 

 seeing no one in sight, put him under his coat and made 

 tracks for home. The salmon weighed 14 pounds. 



E. B. H. 



The Virginia Fish and Game Law's.— The Forest and 

 Stbbam, of New York, an American authority par excellence 

 in this line, observes that in no State in the Union are game 

 laws better obeyed than in Virginia. Our markets have never 

 in our experience shown such an abundance of game in sea- 

 son as they have exhibited since these laws became generally 

 known. The poorest man may now enjoy a partridge for his 

 Sunday breakfast. It is to be hoped that the same may be 

 said before long of the fish laws. It is to be hoped that the 

 business before the Legislature this session will not be so en- 

 grossing as to prevent proper attention to these most im- 

 portant matters. A prominent official in North Carolina 

 writes: " Our Legislature meets in January, when we are 

 going in heavy for game and fish laws, and we hope for a 

 hearty co operation from Virginia with regard to our inter- 

 state streams." — Richmond JDispatcli. 



The Vu'ginia Association is ably seconded in its efforts by 

 the Richmond papers, which are outspoken in their advocacy 

 of game protection, and by frequently bringing the cause be- 

 fore their readers, keep up popular interest in the subject. 

 The Dispatch is doing its full share of the work. 



Illinois State Sportsmen's Association— Headquarters 



Illinois State Sportsmen's Association, Peoria, Jan. 17. A 



special convention is hereby called of the Illinois State Sports- 

 men's Association and all others interested in the protection 

 of game and fish, to convene at Springfield, 111., on Wednes- 

 day, February 13, 1879, at two o'clock p. jl, for the purpose 

 of devising means to secure the passage of a practical game 

 law, one that would secure the objects to be accomplished, 

 viz.; protection of the game and fish in our State, aud to pre- 

 vent the same fr an being exterminated. It is expected that 

 each local club in the Stata will be represented, whether they 

 belong to the State Association or not. All sportsmen and 



belonging I i clubs, who are interested in the pro- 

 tection of game and fish and fish culture, are cordially invited 

 to meet with us and take part in the convention. It is hoped 

 that every county in the State will be well represented, so 

 that the convention can devise or suggest a new game law' to 



our Legislature, now in session, for their consideration, that 

 can lie put into practical effect in all parts of the State, An 

 opportunity will also be given to local clubs to join the State 

 Association. V. M. Lincoln, President, 



Geo. W. Baker, Secretary. 



MioniGAN Sportsmen's Association.— The annual session 

 Of the Michigan Sportsmen's Association was held at Lansing 

 last Tuesday. 



Kunt County Sportsmen's Cum.— The Kent Connty 

 men's Club held its annual meeting Jan. 7, and elected 

 the following officers; President, Dr. E. S. Holmes; Vice- 

 President, Aaron B. Turner; Secretary, W. C. Dennis; 

 Treasurer, George A. Gould. Vacancies in the executive 

 board were filled, aud it is now composed of Messrs. W. II. 

 Calkins. James Stewart, H. Widdicomb, Geo. 8. Bnars and 

 J. C. Parker. 



Cuvier Club of Cincinnati. —The Cuvier Club of Cincin- 

 nati are giving their attention to the protection of the quail 

 durmg the cold weather. They have issued appeals to the 

 farmers for food and shelter for the birds, and are enforcing 

 very strictly the law against their capture and sale. 



Quebec— The seventh annual dinner of the Fish and Game 

 Protection Club, of the Province of Quebec, was held with 

 the City Club at Montreal last Tuesday evening. 



e, 



GOVERNMENT vs. PRIVATE ARMORIES 



C OME weeks ago wo presented the views of the private 

 *-5 manufacturers of small arms, as embodied in the memo- 

 rial from the " Association of Manufacturers of Arms, Am- 

 munition anil Equipments," to Gen. Burnside and the other 

 members of the Joint Committee on the Reorganization of 

 the Army. A copy was also sent to the Secretary of War, 

 who referred it to Gen. S. V. Beneb, Chief of Ordnance, and 

 he in turn presents a report drawn up by Col. Jos. G. Benton, 

 TJ. S. A., in command of the Springfield Armory. 



The subject was an important one, not alone for the large 

 interest immediately involved, but as well from the perplex- 

 ing coudition in which the government would find itself in an 

 emergency should the Government small-arms' workshop be 

 closed and a full and entire reliance be placed on the facilities 

 to be got for hire at the armories of private firms and com- 

 panies. 



CoL Benton opens his reply by dividing the point of the 

 memorial into two arguments: First, That it is the proper duty 

 and policy of the Government to foster privato manufacturers"; 

 and upon this as one which involves questions of political 

 economy, etc., Col. Benton does not pretend to offer any 

 opinious, preferring to leave it to the wisdom assembled in the 

 Capitol at Washington. Upon argument Second, The greater 

 cost of manufacture at Government, compared with private, 

 establishments, tho reply is long and interesting and backed 

 up by an array of figures which seem to set aside the startling 

 exhibit of the manufacturer's memorial that small arms were 

 turned out at Springfield at a cost of $115 each. The extra- 

 ordinary factor of interest in this amount was obtained by 

 multiplying $7,000,000 by 10 per cent, and dividing the pro- 

 duct by 7,050, the number of rifles and carbines made in tho 

 year 1877. But Springfield Armory is something more than 

 a small-arms' manufactory. It has founderies, etc., for turn- 

 ing out cannon, and it is a great storehouse as weil. In the 

 Beven millions of dollars all these items are included without 

 explanation or comment. The number of arms made in each 

 fiscal year since the present model was introduced are as fol- 

 lows: 1874, 28,539; 1875, 20,903; 1870, 15,144; 1877, 7,050: 

 1878, 13,005; a total of 90,640, or an average of 18,12s. Tak- 

 ing the actual interest paid by the Government for its money 

 and the real taxation of property about the armory CoL Ben- 

 ton shows that the proper amount to be charged on the 90,010 

 arms made since 1873 for taxes and interest was §2.93. The 

 balance sheet of the armory for the year ending June 30, 1S78. 

 shows that the cost of each was $14.18. This includes cost of 

 proof and inspection, items that do not enter into tho price 

 paid to private manufacturers. 



Attached to the report are complete statistical exhibits of 

 the costs of making arms since the armory was established in 

 1795. From 1808 to April 15, 1872, there were issued to the 

 militia of thj several Slates CS0.G86 muskets, rifles and car- 

 bines, and during that time $3,103,484 had been expended in 

 permanent improvements. During the war S05.537 rifle-mus- 

 kets were made at an average cost of $11.70 each. The cost 

 of contract arms during the same period was an average of$20 

 each, and with the cost of inspection made the rate 89 more 

 than the Government arms, or a total saving during the war of 

 $7,249,833, or more than twice the cost of the armory paid 

 since its establishment. 



THE MASSACHUSETTS RIFLE ASSO- 

 CIATION. 



While the National Rifle Association was holding iu 

 aeventh annual meeting in New York, the fourth annual 

 meeting of the Massachusetts was holding at Young's Hotel, 

 in; Boston. Preceding the heavy, or routine, business the 

 members sat down to the first annual dinner of the associa- 

 tion. First Vice-President Colonel Nathaniel Wales presided. 

 Speeches were made from the Chair, and by Captain.). L, 

 Stevenson, Salem Wilder, J. N. Frye, H. T, Rockwell, L L. 

 Hubbard, \V. Parkman and others upon the success of the 

 Association in the past season and the position it has gained 

 aa the leading long-range body of the country. One marked 



