152 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



CENTRAL PARK ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN. 



A WEEKLY JOURNAL, 

 Devoted roBBto and Aquatic Sror.TB. Pnc 



Fish Ci:i,ti:p.e. to KPiu.Ti:,:-Ti,i>i..r Game.Pi 

 and tub Inculcation inMkn and Women 

 or Out-door Recreation and Study : 



PimLISHET) BY 



Rarest and §£treani jjjubUshing fgompang, 



17 CHATHAM STREET, (CITY HALL SQUARE) NEW YORK, 

 [Post Office Box 3332.1 

 126 SOUTH THIRD STREET. PHILADELPHIA. 



COBB'S BUILDING, DEARBORNS'!' , CHICAGO. 



Terms, Five Dollars a Year, Strictly In Advance. 



A discount of twenty percent, for five copies and upwards. Any person 

 sending ns two subscriptions and Ten Dollars will receive » copy of 

 Uallock'e " Fishing Tourist, 1 ' postage free. 



Advertising Kates. 



In regular advertising columns, nonpareil type, IS lieu- o m: u ■•). :' 

 cents perlfne. Advertisements on outside pnL-r \ tOcents perlinc. Reading 

 i,,,i ;, ■,.;., "jfi cents pit liar. AiU.'riisi'iu. in.-, iii di, ii hi.- ruin inn 2.i pn- <vin, 

 ajrtra. Where advertiBemoritB are inserted over 1 month, a discount of 

 in per cent, will be made; over three months, 20 per tent; over six 

 months. 30 per cent, 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1874. 



To Correspondents. 



All communications whatever, whether relating to business or literary 

 correspondence, must be addressed to The Forest and Stream Pib- 

 USHTHG Company. Personal or private letters of course excepted. 



All communications intended for publication most he accompanied with 

 real name, as a guaranty of good faith. Names will not be published if 

 * objection be made. No anonymous contributions will he regarded. 



Articles relating to any topic within the scope of this paper are solicited. 



We cannot promise to return rejected manuscripts. 



Secretaries of Clubs and Associations are urged to favor us with brief 

 notos of their movements and transactions, as it is the aim of this paper 

 to become a medium of useful and reliable information between gentle- 

 men sportsmen from one end of the country to the other ; and they will 

 tlnd our columns a desirable medium for advertising announcements. 



The Publishers of Forest and Stream aim to merit and secure fin: 

 patronage and countenance of that portion of the community whose re- 

 fined intelligence enables them to properly appreciate and enjoy all that 

 is beautiful in Nature. It will pander to no depraved tastes, nor pervert 

 the legitimate sports of land and water to those base uses which always 

 tend to make them unpopular with the virtuous and good. No advertise- 

 ment or business notice of an immoral character will be received on any 

 terms ; and nothing will be admitted to any department of the paper that 

 may not be read with propriety in the home circle. 



We cannot be responsible for the dereliction of the mail service, If 

 money remitted to ns is lost. 



Advertisements should be sent in by Saturday of each week, if possible, 

 •IHAHLES IIALLOCK, Managing Editor. 



WILLIAM C. HARRIS, Business Manager 



CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR THE CUR- 

 RENT WEEK. 



I in r.-i'A-i. October 1"<Eh- — Trotting at Henderson, K., Gardiner, Me., 

 Parkins Landing. Pa., I.ecsbmg, Ya., New Haven, Conn., Deerfoot 



, i n.Mas>. -loliel, 111.. Lancaster, Ohio, Keene, N. U., Deer- 



foot iv-irk. St. Paul, Minn.. Paducah, Ky, and racing at Boise City, Idaho 

 Territory. 



Fin day. October 15th.— Trotting at Hendeison, Ky., Deerfoot Park, 



: hu-s., Lancaster. Ohio. Kei-ne, X. H., Deerfool, L. I., Paducah, 



Ky.. Pln.ua, Ohio-Racing at Boise City— Tournament at Pitpia, Ohio. 



Saturday, October lTth— Trotting at Lancaster, Ohio. Piqua. Ohio. 

 beetroot, 1.. 1 , and racmgHl Uoisc- City. 



Monday, October Kith.— Georgia State Agricultural Fair. 



Tuesday. October 20th. -Fair at Alleghany Valley, W. Va.. and Peun. 

 Cumberland— Georgia State Fair. 



WEDNESDAY, October 21 at, —Trotting at Bethel, Vt., Portsmouth, Ohio, 

 Provide ■ if, R 1 Lawrence) Mass., Massillon, Ohio, Poughkoepsie, N. 

 Y. Cambridge City. Ind.— Georgia State Fair— Horse fair and shooting 



Tiii'u-day, October 22d.— Trotting at. Portsmouth. Ohio, Providence. 

 R I Lawrence, Mass., Massillon, Ohio, Poughkoepsie, N. Y., Paterson, 

 N. J . Danville, N. Y.. Denver, Col., Cambridge City, Ind.-Tournament 

 at Bedrord, Ohio-Horse fair and shooting tooruament. Champaign, III. 



Friday, October 83.— Trotting at Ponghkeepsic, N. Y„ Cambridge 

 City, Ind. , Massillon, Ohio, Paterson, N. J., Fleetwood Park, N. Y„ 

 Danville, N. Y . , and Denver, Col. 



Jeiiome Park Fall Meeting.— One of the most bril- 

 liant seasons ' that the always brilliant Jerome Park has 

 enjoyed was the Pall meeting, which has closed this week, 

 as the track was in fine condition, the attendance very- 

 large, a great number being ladies, and the best stables in 

 the country were represented. The racing was character- 

 ized by close competition and large fields; two of the most 

 important adjuncts to the success of such contests. One 

 feature noticeable about it was the rapid downfall of the 

 favorites of past years, and another, the exceedingly good 

 time made by the winners, the average being equal to the 

 best of former years. 



The great improvement in the speed of our mulling and 

 trolling horses is becoming more evident every day, and if 

 in the years coming they can make the same progress as in 

 a few past, the steeds of America must prove successful 

 competitors in the race to attain the position of Eclipse, 

 and even the ideal equines of the Arabs. The last meeting 

 at Jerome has also proved a financial success, so thai the 

 managers may be congratulated on the brilliant termination 



of their effort. 



■+**+- 



—The mean temperature in Florida uuvhnjthn pjisl 



month was about 80 deg. 



has been the aim of all European cities, of metropoli- 

 tan pniensions, to set apart a portion of the public 

 land for patka and gardens, in order that their citizens 

 might have an opportunity of beholding something more 

 picturesque than the wearying brick, or dazzling, though 

 inonoiunous petrol columns of stone which form their arch- 

 itectural structures, and to enable them to enjoy those 

 beauties of Nature represented by umbrageous trees, the 

 emerald grass, and the rich hues of her lovely (lowers. 

 This attention to testhetie tastes is founded on the highest 

 principles of philosophy, for it is a well defined fact that 

 cities deprived of those purifying retreats are, as a general 

 rule, much more infected with crime than those possessing 

 them, and for the very simple reason that the vagabond and 

 vicious classes, if they have no place of resort but vile dens, 

 are always on mischief bent in moments of idleness. Pub- 

 lic parks are for all classes, but they are appreciated by 

 none better than the latter, for they give them the only 

 vistas of pastures green that they get from one end of the 

 year to the other. But as parks are intended to become 

 educational institutions, to a certain extent, as well as sans 

 ttnins, they should embrace, as much as possible, all that 

 imparts instruction, as well as that which pleases the eye 

 and appeals to a cultured taste; and it is for this reason 

 that they are made the receptacles of such treasures of 

 Nature as the person of average means seldom sees else- 

 where. No portion of a park has as much interest for ihe 

 general public as that devoted to wild animals, for they 

 possess a power of all ruction unknown to inanimate objects, 

 no matter how beautiful they may be in form and color. 

 Such being the case, it is the duty of all interested in the 

 welfare of the cities in which they dwell to encourage zoo- 

 logical gardens, for they repay in manifold shapes all the 

 care and expense required for their establishment. The 

 only city in the Union that has paid any attention to this 

 subject, until recently, is New York, and the efforts made 

 here are puerile, indeed, compared with Its wealth, import- 

 ance and great resources. As this is not only the Metro- 

 polis of the country, but also the intellectual centre, and 

 the place from which all great enterprises, whether of 

 finance or intellect are supposed to emanate, il is not much 

 to our credit that our cherished park is so sadly deficient as 

 it is in its zoological department. True, it possesses a fair 

 amount of the quadrupeds and larger birds peculiar to 

 the North American eonlineut; but even that is meagre to 

 what it should be. The only living representatives of the 

 foreign fauna which it owns are confined to a few lions, 

 tigers, hyenas, monkeys, and camels, and four or five species 

 of the bovine family. All the higher order of animals, such 

 as Ihe giraffe, elephant, rhinoceros and quagga, are the 

 property of importers or proprietors of menageries who 

 have kindly loaned them for a short time. If the authori- 

 ties who have the power to improve this department of the 

 park could see the eager throngs which press around the 

 cages every afternoon, and especially Sundays, they would 

 soon become convinced that any money spent for its im- 

 provement could not be expended to better advantage, or 

 in a way which would be more highly appreciated by the 

 public. The menagerie is a constant source of pleasure 

 to all classes, hence, it should, at the earliest moment, be 

 raised to the importance which it deserves. 



The Commissioners do not make any appropriation for 

 its support, so that its Superintendent has to draw from an- 

 other fund the means required for evenfecdingthe animals. 

 Not a cent is allowed for the purchase of any animal, no 

 matter how cheaply it may be bought, or how interesting 

 it may be to science. The consequence of this niggardli- 

 ness is that no addition of foreign fauna is made to the col- 

 lection; and that it is entirely dependent on the contributions 

 of the public for any increase in its collection of the natu- 

 ral history of our own country. For the present efficiency of 

 the department, the public are more indebted to Mr. Conklin, 

 its Superintendent, than to any person or any official body 

 of men, for to him its improvement is a labor of love. No 

 man better fitted for the position than he is, can be found 

 in the country, as he brings to his aid ardor, close obser- 

 vation, and a large experience which has extended over a 

 space of fifteen years. Few gentlemen are better versed in 

 the habits of animals than lie is, for few are as attentive to 

 duty, and as close observers. 



The amount of money required to place the zoological 

 garden in such a position as to make it worthy of this great 

 city is very trifling, if the expenditures are made gradually 

 and with discrimination; so we hope that the Legislature, 

 at its next session, will pass a bill making yearly appro- 

 priations for its support and improvement. Every person 

 in the State should be as much interested in its welfare as 

 the citizens of the Metropolis, as its advantages and pleasures 

 are open alike to all. Of one portion of the department of 

 natural history we can speak in the highest terms, and that 

 is the Museum, which has now become public property 

 through the liberality of its former owners. This is the 

 finest collection of both native and foreign fauna on the 

 continent, and, asil is arranged in groups and divisions, it 

 affords ready facilities of investigation to the student or 

 mere observer. A new building to contain these treasures 

 is now in process of erection on the corner of Eighth ave- 

 nue and Seventy-sixth street, and that, when completed, 

 will be fully adequate to meet all demands upon it for years 

 to come. It is to be a plain, solid, and commodious struc- 

 ture, arranged specially for the purpose for which it is to 

 be used. It will cost the sum of half a million dollars, so 

 eve may expect such an edifice as will be worthy of the 

 City and the high duties for which it will tie employed. 



But while this mortuary collection is worthy of all care 

 and expense, yet, our authorities should bear in mind that 

 the living representatives are also^entitled to their serious 

 consideration; that they are in fact the first in importance, 

 as the study of their habits is interesting alike to flaneur 

 or naturalist, and the means by which we can judge of 

 their adaptability" to the use of mankind. Any appropria- 

 tions our legislators may make to increase the liviug fauna ot 

 the park will meet the approbation of the public, and this 

 fact, combined with the necessity of making the collection 

 worthj T of this city, should induce them to take prompt 

 action in the matter, for a work of such excellence cannot be 

 commenced at too early a day. 



■•*•■ 



THE LESSON OF THE RIFLES. 



THE competition for supremacy between the manu- 

 facturers of different rifles is exceedingly vigorous at 

 present, both in this country and Europe, as each is bring- 

 ing forward a mass of facts and testimony to prove thathis 

 rifle is superior to all others. This active canvass of the 

 merits and demerits of each weapon is sure to result in 

 good, as il will inform us of the faults and advantages 

 peculiar to any one, and by this means we shall know how 

 to uuite those qualities of excellence which all may possess, 

 and thus produce a perfect arm. 



In England the fight is between the Metford muzzle 

 loader and the Martini-Henry breech loader, but both seem 

 to have so many apparent faults that the final conclusion must 

 be that neither is adapted to the present exigency, and must, 

 therefore, give way lo a superior weapon. The merits of 

 the former are its fine finish and accuracy of fire, and of 

 the latter its simplicity and the readiness with which it can 

 be loaded. The former has been the victor in the principal 

 Wimbledon contests, while the latter is said to have pro- 

 duced a score even inferior to the Snider rifle. It is also 

 said to kick badly, so much so, in fact, as to give a large 

 number of those who use it a lame shoulder. This is a 

 most radical defect, if the statements are true, and one 

 which must more than counterbalance any merits it may 

 possess. At the Wimbledon matches the Metford and 

 Rigby muzzle loader rifles have borne off the palm of vic- 

 tory most frequently; but, though they may possess ac- 

 curacy, and prove better for target practice than the breech 

 loader, it does not follow that they are superior for general 

 work, especially military work, nor that the breech loaders 

 cannot be brought to their state of perfection. 



The Whit worth rifle, when first brought out, was deemed 

 almost incapable of improvement, yet, when the Rigby 

 style of grooving was introduced and its superior merits 

 made known, the former was withdrawn entirely from 

 public use, and its more successful competitor adopted. 

 Could the Metford or Rigby rifles retain the accuracy as 

 breech loaders, that they do as muzzle loaders, they would, 

 iu all probability, be the acme of perfection; but as we 

 have not heard that Ihe experiment of transformation has 

 been tried, we must conclude that their makers do not think 

 the feat possible. Although the muzzle loaders have thus 

 far proved victorious in the larger number of contests, we 

 must not deduce that breech loaders equally its good cannot 

 be made. The recent contest between the Rigby and Sharp 

 and Remiugton rifles at Creedmoor proved naught so far us 

 it went, or if anything, il was that the Irish were the bosl 

 marksmen. 



To prove which weapons were the best, they should have 

 been fired from fixed rests, and then the mean deviation 

 from the "bullseye" noted and compared. The result 

 would then have been more satisfactory, and would have, 

 In a certain extent, proved which was the superior weapon. 

 The Rigby and Remingtons, for instance, use broad, and 

 the Metford and Sharp narrow grooves, and each have often 

 been Ihe winners iu matches, but we cannot from this fact 

 prove that one style of grooving is better than another; nor 

 neither can we prove,other conditions being equal, that the 

 muzzle loader of the same make as the breech loader is 

 superior to il. 



We can assert with confidence, and we believe prove it 

 satisfactorily, that our American breech loaders are fully 

 equal to the best of the muzzle loaders, and certainly far 

 superior to the best English make of the same pattern, as 

 they are grooved on higher scientific principles. If we 

 mistake not, the characteristics of the latter are deep 

 grooving, and using hard balls in order to resist the power 

 of the deep twist. The American arms, on the contrary, 

 have Very light grooves, and use a soft ball. By a com- 

 parison of the effect of both principles or characteristics, 

 we must deduce that the latter are the best; for the light 

 grooving is undoubtedly as effective as the heavier, and 

 superior to it in the fad that it offers less opposition to the 

 expulsion of the ball, aud, therefore, has less friction, so 

 that the missile is nol deviated from its course, while the 

 latter, on the contrary, must resist it with such force as to 

 lengthen it out, and by this elongation change its centre of 

 gravity, and, as a natural sequence, its accuracy. If, then, 

 our American weapons combine the best qualities of the 

 muzzle loader with the simplicity and quiekenss of loading 

 and firing of the opposite style, we must conclude that they 

 are the best in the world, not only for sporting but for mil- 

 itary purposes. 



There are other rifles manufactured in this country, prob- 

 ably, equally as good as those mentioned, but not being ac- 

 quainted with their good qualities we cannot cite them as ex- 

 amples. The fact that arms manufactured in the United 

 States possess the merits of all those of other countries Is 

 highly creditable to our inventors. So, possessinc; good 

 w eapons., it must follow that with practice our people must 



