74 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



;i dog dash right into tlie covey and put it up any day, if 

 he ill once recognises his mistake and drops, Hum creep up 

 10 it and Ihen be uncertain. But ray setters seldom put up 

 their birds, for they are not deficient in nose, and unless 

 i lie scent is very bail I can kill as much to them as lo a 

 slow team. The first thing to do in breaking a dog, be it, 

 seder or pointer, is to make him drop to hand, and turn to 

 whistle, and if he will do this he is more than half broken, 

 and I will makeliim "back," "point" and drop to .shot and 

 wing in two days if he has a drop of blue blood in his veins. 

 But whilst the dog is the "right sort," the breaker must 

 also have patience, and perseverance, and with these-two 

 qualities, provided his brains are superior to batter pud- 

 ding, be can, as Loid Mexborough's keeper did, train a pig 

 to find birds. To break a retriever is not so diltlculi as to 

 break a .setter, though it depends a good deal on the indi- 

 vidual dog's temperament. I saw an ingenious plan the 

 other day for teaching a dog how to dive, which ought to 

 have been patented, and I'm not sure that it wouldn't have 

 paid belter than an atmospheric churn or a cucumber 

 slicer. The old plan of weighting a cork till it 'floats in 

 mild water, has its good points, but very often a dog that 

 lias been taught to fetch sticks and corks will most annoy- 

 ingly bring slicks and stones when sent for a bird. This 

 invention was a very simple one, and consisted of a swan's 

 wing, (any large wing would do,) stretched out straight and 

 stiffened, the feathers at the end only being left, and a 

 small weight in the shape of a piece of old iron being at- 

 lacbcil w here the wing was cut off from the body. A cord 

 was fastened to this piece of iron, and one end Of the cord 

 held in the keeper's hand. Taking the wing by the tip, 

 be swung it round his head and threw it from him the 

 whole length of the string out into the lake, upon the edge 

 of which we were; standing. The weight caused the wing 

 to float perpendicularly, its white tip just appearing above 

 the wider. We sent in a dog who was mad for the water, 

 but had no notion of diving. He at once made for the 

 swan's wing, which was some thirty yards out, evidently 

 thinking he had nothing to do but to fetch it. When he 

 got within snapping distance, Gal ton, the keeper, pulled the 

 string, which of course caused t lie wing to go beneath the 

 water. "Bailor" plunged his nose in after it up lotlieeyes, 

 sneezed plaintively and wondered where it had gone to. 

 Suddenly it appeared again just in front of him, as we re- 

 laxed the string, lie wildly plunged at it and missed it as 

 before, and next moment it was sailing along a yard in 

 front of him. The dog's blood was up, and Jumping at it, 

 find missing it again, he evidently saw it below him and 

 dashing right under he followed it up too quick even tor- 

 us, und brought it to shore with great triumph. He had 

 previously shown no inclination to dive, though always 

 taking well to water. 



There is an article in this week's Field; written by "hi- 

 storic," descriptive of the proper setter for America. [We 

 will reproduce it.— Ku.] Though, as he says, it is not the par- 

 ticular breed of setter, but the individual dog which will 

 suit. With regard to retrieving setters he says:— "It is a 

 common opinion— indeed it is my opinion— that, you im- 

 peril the staunchness of a dog upon his point, if you let 

 him road a running bird, overtake and retrieve it, though a 

 good deal depends upon the man himself, and unless the 

 sportsman is thoroughly at heart a lover of the dog, he is 

 very much tempted to 'Hie on' his dog, directly he has shot 

 at, or crippled a bird, and to do so is ruin to the dog." "Id- 

 stonc" also says the American setter Should, for cover 

 sliootiug, have "a good deal of white about him, so as to lie 

 easily distinguishable, but he does not speak very favorably 

 about using setters in cover, though acknowledging that 

 the American sportsmen who do shoot over them in cover 

 are second to none. My own idea is that nothing is allow- 

 able in cover but good spaniels or even some broken-haired 

 terriers, if spaniels arc not to be got. A setter passes an 

 immense amount of game in cover, his coat and skin are 

 ill adapted to stand the thorn, and he is too long on the leg 

 I o creep under briars and rout out. selling game. Besides 

 all this, if he gets a point you lose him, and his high rang- 

 ing and turn of speed do not serve him. He, must go slow 

 and can't "go for the wind." 



As far as partridges are concerned I think we .shall have 

 plenty of them, as I have seen covies of 12, 1C and 20, and 

 the young birds are stroug and healthy. The use. of the 

 machine for cutting corn is undoubtedly very injurious to 

 -round game, as the barley and wheat being cut from the 

 outside and a ring being thus formed, the unfortunate hares 

 :,,,,! pabbits have no chance to escape, and are mobbed with 

 -i ioks by the farmers and laborers. It frequently happens, 

 ioo, that Ihe partridges have their nests in the grass which 

 is laid up for hay, and being "mown out" where the grass 

 is, many eggs are broken and destroyed. 



i,.ortre Frederick, tire Derby winner, still holds his own 

 as first* favorite for the St. Leger, but I fancy the mare 

 Apology will pull off the great event, as mares run better 

 in the autumn than in the spring. It is rumored that the 

 Duke of Richmond is to be prosecuted "for allowing bet- 

 ting on Ihe Goodwood course," under the new act for ils 

 suppression. This is indeed a farce, as the Duke and 

 Captain Valentine did all they knew to prevent ready money 

 transactions taking place. 



Horses are now so extremely deuriu England thai I think 

 it 9 ell won h t lie attention of horse-owners in other countries, 

 with a view to shipping bopses for England. We have a 

 confused notion here that in some parts of the American 

 continent magnificent mustangs with all the breeding of a 

 thoroughbred"can be caught on the prairies or purchased at 

 the all round price of a dollar a head, ready broken. If t his 

 t,e pi, anl is |tbl the erestkm Of noroliets, t seriously think 



that It would pay well to export a few, at all events it is 

 worth trying by some of your wealthy speculators. I can 

 tell them where to dispose of them, and indeed, i! is impos- 

 sible to get a hack of any sort under seventy or eighty 

 pounds, and Ihe same sum is given for earl, horses, whilst a 

 park action ladies' horse is worth 150 guineas, and a pair of 

 carriage horses at, leasl £300. You can't buy a pony under 

 G25, whilst a year or two ago eight Sovereigns would pro- 

 duce a good one. Idstojte, Jr. 



GAME IN SEASON FOR SEPTEMBER. 



i I to ItalcliU. Snip,' .'hkI Say Hints. 



[Under the Hadof "f«i 



were chickens there, for a covey of nineteen was flushed 

 by the dog of a gentleman who was shooting with me. 

 The fact was that the dog did not know that they were 

 there, because he could not scent them, and yet he was as 

 true a, dog as a man ever owned. It was no use to scold. 

 1 knew there was water there, so doft n to it we went: it 

 was only one hundred yards from where we stood. The 

 chickens when Hushed would go clean out of sight, down to 

 the slough. We went there, but could not gel a shut at, one. 

 Kicking around in the glass, I caught two bird- with my 

 own hand-. We rested there forty minutes, dipped our 

 handkerchiefs in water, and sopped it, on our dogs, aid 



cooled them off. Afterlhal Ihe I'un commenced W.-only 

 left after we hac! shot fifty-three ehicKums. So -you can ee 

 how ihe heal affects dogs. Pointers do heller heiv, but oni 

 shooting is principally duck shooting, or Tit i/ioQti))&, 



— An ardnii sportsman at Peoria, ill., just on the eve oi 

 preparing tor chicken shooting, having read ihe commit 

 iiieaii.m of "One Who Shoots with His Byes Open," in 

 regard to papornr metallic shells, write- us as follows: 



■ -A |.:i|«.r -iii-il il..i-:il ill- work forme ilmtii metallic efiell bus 

 flono. ' was |iv.-in.llii-il against paper mid nsed ni.-uiiiir only, Uttt ennui 

 them alxwl >i- inconvenient to carry, when loaded, as iiu-y wore burden 

 -urn. Minn imi. 1 fauna, luo, when tramping; nntesa yon w.-r- v-.-n 



G-AME in MakivKt. — No change in woodcock; I ill 



scattering from various localities. Birds seen in fair order. 

 About an even quantity of young and old birds. In tie 

 maud at si ?.i a brace. Hulled grouse unarki-t partridffi^ 



said Vi come from Iowa, but we did not look at the express 

 receipts, No! very prime birds, selling at si ?,, the pair. 

 Pinnated grouse I prairie chicken I, very fair birds now on 

 sabs and plentiful; worth $t 00- the brace. Heed birds 

 poor in condition, and the rails look slat veil. Raj birds 

 poor. Game generally not in very lively demand as yet. 



—.Mr. J. Delclisur, Secretary of the ExceJsioi' Sporting 

 Club of Brooklyn, was one of a party of three members of 

 lhal club, who recently made a trip to Sullivan and Wy- 

 oming counties. Pa. He reports deer plenty in the moun- 

 tains ; bears and wild cats wen- occasionally seen, and 

 squirrels were abundant. Trout fishing was rather poor. 



lie recommends Jerry Ilun/.inger as a tellable guide. 

 Board cau also be obtained at $4 per week. 



—Several flocks of bay snipe and curlew were on llarnc- 

 gat meadows last week, and on Tuesday several sporl.-mcn 

 report good bags. Captain Joseph Prediiiore. killed thirty 

 king rails or "mud hens" on the marshes of the inlet. 

 Black duck are swarming to the bay by huudreds. 



— Our friend and co-worker, "Ollipod Quill," who is as 

 ready with the gun as with the pen, reports flagging a 

 number of marsh larks, and two do/.en upland plover last 

 week in the marsh shores of Seitutrt(!i 



KEFORTS OF PJNWATE!) C. Ill it. si:. 



— Prom correspondence received during the werk we 

 collate the following : 



CHICAGO, September nth. — Pinnated grouse in this 

 vicinity are very scarce; a shooter for every bird almost. 

 More plentiful in other portions of the Slate. 



Lfdiov, IttL. — "Grouse shooting has not been good here so 

 far this season, on account of the dry weather— there is no 

 shelter in the stubble for grouse, and they are only in the 

 stuhhle early ill the morning, and quite late in the evening. 

 We have no good shoolists among us, and can give VOU no 

 irood sc->re- Co cast, your optic upon ; however, we are soon 

 to organize a shooting club, and you shall hear from us. 

 Quails are plenty. There is thought to be five to one of 

 last season." 



Iowa'. — Large quantities of pinnated grouse are being 

 killed; the birds are line and iu good condition. The law 

 prohibiting the shipment of .more than one do/.en grouse 

 per man, per day, proves a great benefit. S. H. Terrill, of 

 Chicago, who has just returned from central Iowa, reports 

 extraordinary success fn quantity and quality. 



Wisconsin.— Game is reported rather scarce. Ruffed 

 grouse and quail can be shot on and after the loth of Sep- 

 tember until January 1st. We hear of no large bags at 

 present, except from two sportsmen from your city, who 

 killed 123 birds to two guns, over two brace of pointers. 



MDOiESOT v.— Prairie chickens (pinnated grouse'!, are 

 very abundant, and in fine cowiition; no disease of any 

 kind has been noticed among the birds. Sportsmen from 

 all parts of the United States, a ad not. n few from England, 

 are having grand sport. Some iurae bags were made in 

 ihe neighborhood of All nil, la: a. and Brameril counties. 



—The Kennicott Club of Chicago are represented at the 

 national convention, Niagara Falls, which is now iu 

 session, by the following gentlemen : Abner Price. J. J, 

 Kkinman, H. W. Baldwin, J. II. Whitman, T. -J, Hbjginjj, 

 .1. P. Whiting, George C. Slu junta. 



— Our kind friend and eorrt'stiondent, F. D., ejf Cedar 

 liapids, complains that the ' Jny weather litis somewhat in- 

 terfered with chicken shoot' mg, making the hunting party 

 too thirsty. However, one. party of six, at Maynard, shot 

 in four days, 400; anotli se party, at Green's, killed 200 

 birds, bm Hie weather, 1 elivg ;;lu warm, the dogs gave out 

 for want of water. To .i'oow how dearth of water effects 

 dogs, F. D. says : "-G »e afternoon I wto at Washington, in 

 this Stitie, with -Uila> gt and white setter bitch, '-' yeaTS 

 old, with a splendid jto«e, when I found a slough of three 

 acres with three or,-'U,ur | . , , 



i,i„-ii iiuu-n iunii..n: in--- of - istii la some •-..•.— thataSo. 1.0 



-a. -it will tnfce a No. s wml, at least — my gun ?ny»— and I am not go ox 

 cejJIiou, I gin --. uai'.ii- yur aiiiiunii-- ivuskl.v i..-i .i-.-r-.'' 



| We shall lie glad to hear from P. C. \\. again, and 

 Irani how ihe chickens are in Fulton. -Ki>.] 



PiNVVti.o tttairsi-; vs. RtjpfEP Ciou-i.— A e.oricspon- 



dent in Philadelphia asks us ihe reason "why less shol 

 should be used for pinnated grouse shooting; than for ruf- 

 fe! grouse?" Weanswer: Pinnated -muse i prairie ckick- 

 ,.n.,aMl,r l.i-dnningoi the season, say August 'JOth, arc 

 nio.ilv in pucks, and iu many in-':, in-- are ttOt full grown. 



v.i-ik or so n hen the pack or brood disperse, 0«cb seeking 

 its own livelihood, they ate stronger on iln wing, bu:. 

 „,', an i'viii in their tuosl natural climate and soil, have they 

 the power lo propel themselves through theairat anything 

 like the speed of the ruffed grouse; besides pinnated gmu.-e 

 shooting isalnlo-l invariably in the ■•/•■■. 



Ruffed grouse is Ihe most powerful and dillieul! gau e 



bird toshooi and kill known lo our held sportsmen' its they 



:ly always -hot in close, thiols covers, and tiiey mii-( 



be killed iu Order to be hugyed. 



The theory ol using large shot for Gold shooting, like the 

 illusion of using tine powder, is exploded and a thing of 

 ihe oast. The great secret in shoaling and killing game is 

 to throw a fair size shot according lo the strength, size, and 

 r:.pidilv of Hight of the bird, With terrific velocity. The 

 chances of killing one, if you use No. 8 shot, taking 

 the average of Shot manufactured in Ihe United States, as 

 the St. Louis shot have nearly 1011 more pellets to the ounce 

 in No. 7 and 8 than the New York shot, would be as 433 is 

 to 893. Some years ago we loaded with 3 B's for geese 

 shooting, with but poor success; HOW we charge the gun 

 with Single B'S, and think No. 1 is large enough. Formerly 

 duck shooter- used 8's, now 5's and fi's are common. For 

 ruffed grouse, at the beginning of Ihe season No. 8 is used, 

 irr November, No 7, with half » drachm more powder, 

 making four drachms. Pinnated grouse when in packs. 

 No. 8, When wild, the wind blowingand later in the. season, 

 No. ?! Quail, No. 8; July woodcock. No. 10; fall woodcock, 

 No. B; spring English snipe, No. 10; full English snipe. 

 No. '.).' 



— We had the pleasure of a visii rroin Mr. P. G. S.'iitd- 

 L'oi'd who showed us a matinilTeeni breech loath r, a cluf 

 d'oimr from the bauds of W. C. Scott & Sons. Bore 10. 

 length of barrels, tine laminated, 30 inches. Mountings of 

 locks in superb style. The heel plate of the gun was of 

 horn eliecqiiered, as all guns should he made. We have 

 ,:,ivly si-en a licet gnu, nor one more I icaulifully balanced. 

 An amateur gentleman shot of New Jersey, killed thirly- 

 six. pigeons in succession, on Wfcdnesdiy bisr, with this 

 gun. 



— Sportsmen in Nova Scotia musl bear in mind, says the 

 1,,,',!,' Gazette of if. S.. that an act was passed at the 

 ;i si ion.of the local legislature, "for the preservation of 



- -In! birds and animals;" also that the Game and Inland 

 Fishery Protection Company has arranged lo prevent in- 

 frino-menls. The ad requires that during three years conv 

 menehig Sept. 1. 1873, no person shall kill moose or have, 



pose tor sale, a moose or any part thereof; and that 

 between the Ars* °1 January and first of October no person 

 shall take, kill, sell, buy or have any woodcock, snipe, 

 bhre-wucje'd duck or teal ; and that no woodcock shall be 

 killed before sunrise or after sunset. 



1 •ni-.i.n.MOOK.— The usual amount of practice took place 



at Cieedmoor during the last week. The American learn 



had two good day work n wttct cry fair sk::ol:ng wo 



.,, rj „ ,,i ia .i,ing on Saturday last, wa, excellent. We 



ightil necessary in all cases to append the 



scores. Our motives are run to be impu ed to any desire ot 

 "holding back our hand." In some eases, some of our 

 leading shots, desirous of resting certain experiments, may 

 have made poor scores, wlsieli 10 outsiders may have geem 

 ed as if some of curb,-- , - at - ■ 1 



