168 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



&£ 



A WEEKLY JOURNAL, 



Devoted to Field isn Aquatic SponTs, PpacticalNatural History, 



Fish Culture, the Protection op Game.Pukservation of Forests, 



A2JD TDK IKCULCATION UN Hen AND WlMJS OF A HEALTHY INTEREST 



in Outdoor Recreation and Studt : 



PUBLISHED BY 



forest and <§tremtt jfflnblislimg ^onifiavs, 



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

 [Post Orpin: Box -.s<S2.1 

 135 SOUTH TH IK LI STREET. PHILADELPHIA. 



COBB'S BUIJHNw, DEARBORN ST., CHICAGO. 



Term., Five Uolln 



ir, Strictly In Advance. 



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

 sending, us two subscriptions uud Ten Dollars will receive a copy of 

 Hallock's "Fishing Tourist," postage froc. 



Advertising Hates. 



In regularadvertisingcolnmns, nonpareil type, 12 lines to the inch, SI 

 cents per line. Advertisements on outside page, 40 cents perline. Reading 

 ■ ■-.-uts per line. Advertisements in donble column 25 per cent. 

 -SEtra. Where advertisements are inserted over 1 month, a discount of 

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

 months, 30 per cent. 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1874. 



To Correspondents. 



All communications whatever, whether relating to business or literary 

 •orrespouileuce, must lie addressed to The Forest and Stream Pub- 

 lishing Company. Personal or private letters of course excepted. 



All communications Intended for publication must be accompanied with 

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 Names will not be published if 

 objection be made. No anonymous contributions will be regarded. 



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



We cannot promise to return rejected manuscripts. 



Secre'aries of Clubs and Associations are urged to favor us with brief 

 notes 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 

 find our columns a desirable medium for advertising announcements. 



The Publishers of Forest and Stream aim to merit and secure the 

 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 thorn unpopular with the virtuous and good. No advertise- 

 ment or bnsirfess 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 mall service, if 

 money remitted to ns is lost. 



Advertisements should be sent m bv Saturday of each week, if possible. 

 CHAH.LES HALLOCK, Managing Editor. 



WILLIAM C. HARRIS. Business Manager. 



CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR THE CUR- 

 RENT WEEK. 



Friday, October 28d -Trotting at Massillon, Ohio, Poughkeepsie, N. 

 Y. , Parerson, N. J., Danville. N. T., Denver, Co!., Alleghany Valley, 

 W. Va., and Penn. Cumberland Fair. 



Batubday, October 24th— Trotting at Denver, Colorado. 

 Monday, October 26th— Racing at Fleetwood Park and Patersan, New 

 Jersey. 



Tuesday, October 87th— Trotting at Fort Wayne, Ind., Wooster, 

 Ohio, Rtiincbeck, N. Y., Great Falls, N. H„ Toledo, Ohio, and Prospect 

 Park, N. Y. 



Wednesbay, October 28th— Trotting at Fort Wayne, Ind., Wooster, 

 Ohio. Ehinebeck, N. Y., Great Falls, N. U., Toledo, Ohio, Prospect 

 Park,N. Y. 



Thursday, October 2Qtk— Trotting at Fort Wayne, Ind., Wooster, 

 Ohio, Rhinebeck, N. Y., Great Falls, N. II., Toledo, Ohio, Prospect 

 Park, N. Y. 



HUNT OF THE IRISH TEAM. 



The following special dispatch shows how and where the 

 Irish riflemen have been enjoying themselves in the West. 

 We are pleased to note that our distinguished visitors have 

 been treated with the courtesy and hospitality so character- 

 istic of our AVestern gentlemen :— 



Hannibal, Mo., October 15th, 1874. 



Irish riflemen returned last night from week's hunt in 

 Kansas and Indian Territory, bringing deer antlers and 

 other trophies. Party included Rigby, Milner, Johnson, 

 Kelly, and Bagnall of the team, Chas. Hallock, editor 

 Fqbest and Stream, New York, G. W. Dorman, of this 

 city, and E. W. Hope, of La Grange, with servant, and 

 six setters and hounds. Express themselves much gratified 

 with success, and surprised at richness and immensity of 

 country. Some 300 chickens and quail were brought to 

 bag, although long continued drouth made game compara- 

 tively scarce, and water for camp use difficult to find. At 

 Schell City, however, and all along the line of Missouri, 

 Kansas, and Texas Railway, chickens and quail were very 

 abundant. Party drove about twenty miles into Indian 

 Territory, where the Indians and half breeds treated them 

 with courtesy, loaned dogs, &c. 



Officers of Toledo, Wabash, and Western Railway, and 

 of Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railway, passed party free 

 over their lines, and contributed in every possible way to 

 pleasure and comfort. 



Whole trip was carried out according to programme of 

 Messrs. Hallock and Dorman, whose efforts were seconded 

 everywhere by officials, landlords and private parties. 



Party go to St. Louis to-night. H. 



AN INTERESTING MISSION. 



T^ROF, BAIRD, one of the most celebrated naturalists 

 1 of the present age, and the Uuited States Commissioner 

 uf Fisheries, will send one of his ablest assistants to the 

 Pacific Coast next year to study the salmonida; of that 

 region, with the primary view of classifying them speciflc- 

 eally and noting the differences between them and their 

 Eastern congeners. In no portion of the world are there 

 so many varieties of this family as in Oregon and Wash- 

 ington Territory, but how far they differ from each other, 

 and how much each variety is entitled to be elevated to the 

 dignity of a species, is a matter yet undecided, as no 

 specinl report has been made upon them since that of 

 Buckley and Cooper was published in 1856-7. The belief 

 among learned icthyologists is that the classification made 

 by these gentlemen is somewhat cumbersome, and that 

 they have made a distinct species of what is really but 

 a variety of the same species, the change in appearance 

 being the effect of seasonal and sexual causes. If that is 

 the case, the report of Prof. Baird will be looked for with 

 much interest by naturalists, for they expect that he will 

 treat his subject with the careful study and thorough 

 analysis which are so essentially characteristic of him. 

 The grounds for supposing that the number of distinct 

 species in those waters has been made entirely too large is 

 well founded, as it is deduced from experiment and obser- 

 vation. One instance of this is the change noted in the 

 salmon (18, quinnat) placed in the ponds at Bucksport, Me. 

 These had no means of becoming mingled with other 

 varieties, j-ct some caught in the Pall differed materially in 

 outline from those captured in the Spring; for, instead of 

 the ordinary long and pointed head which they possessed 

 in the latter period, they had the hook nose, which is the 

 most marked peculiarity of the Salmo scoukri, and even 

 tin- flesh assumed a whitish hue. The inference to be 

 drawn from this is, that the same species undergoes a de- 

 cided metamorphosis in different seasons, that, therefore, 

 such a change dues not make a speciflcal difference, and, 

 as a sequence, that owing to want of careful study and 

 observation, seasonal or sexual transformations have caused 

 the same species to be classified into two distinct species, 

 thus rendering our nomenclature cumbersome and our 

 classification incorrect. 



The rectification of this error is in itself quite important 

 to science, but the mission will even have a higher result 

 than Ibis, as it will, undoubtedly, attempt to solve the 

 cause for the destruction of so many millions of the salmon 

 of that region during and after the spawning season, and 

 the extent to which the fisheries can be utilized for com- 

 mercial purposes. 



Prof. Baird may even make a thorough examination of 

 the entire icthyc fauna of the Pacific Coast, and, if so, he 

 will, we doubt not, add some most interesting information 

 to our present knowledge of the fish of that region. No 

 thorough examination has been made of the jiisces of the 

 Pacific Ocean, for, although Richardson made an excellent 

 collection, yet he did not by any means secure all indige- 

 nous to its waters. It is almost incumbent upon our Gov- 

 ernment to complete the work it commenced several years 

 ago, in order that the treasures of the Pacific waters may 

 be made known, so that they may be worked into commer- 

 cial products, and our country thereby enriched. 

 ■»**- 



AMERICA vs. EUROPE. 



ONE of our English exchanges suggests that the an- 

 nual winners of the Elcho Shield, the great honor 

 badge of Wimbledon, meet our American riflemen in order 

 to test the marksmanship of both teams, and the accuracy 

 of the rifles used. It does not specify that if our men 

 should win they would be entitled to the shield, nor refer 

 to the conditions of the match, so we cannot consider that 

 proposition until these matters are defined. It believes 

 that some Americans are equal to the best English 

 "cracks" at long range shooting. This is a sage conclusion 

 to arrive at after the last match, when the Americans and 

 their competitors made the highest score ever known in 

 rifle contests. The fact of their being equal to any rifle- 

 men in the world is self-evident; so that matter being de- 

 cided, renders all further reference to it unnecessary. We 

 should like to see an international contest on a large scale, 

 and would desire nothing better than to behold all the best 

 riflemen in Europe, whether from the rocky Tyrols, the 

 heathers of Scotland, the sunny vales of France, the green 

 fields of Ireland, or the "tight little island" itself, meet 

 our riflemen in friendly competition at any central locality, 

 and there test their nerve and skill. If such a match were 

 undertaken, it would set at rest all mental reserves as to 

 which men and rifles are the best, and, with all due allow- 

 ance for the skill of the others, we would have little fear 

 of our riflemen coming out second. 



A series of international matches between picked teams 

 from any of the European nations and our own men would 

 undoubtedly receive warm support from the public, as 

 they would foster a most useful and important modern ac- 

 complishment, and arouse an emulation for supremacy be- 

 tween the different nations that would be enthusiastic in 

 the highest degree. 



If these matches were inaugurated, a challenge cup or 

 shield, with appropriate devices, and of sufficient value to 

 render it an object worth competing for, could be bought, 

 each "team" or nation contributing a certain amount to- 

 wards its purchase, and by this means making it a perpetual 

 challenge badge. 



If this subject were ouce broached by those who have 



the power to organize such matters, the probability is that 

 it would be warmly received in the United Kingdom at 

 least, as that undoubtedly boasts of the most skilful marks- 

 men in Europe. If a team of the best shots in Europe 

 were organized for competition with an "All America," 

 we would not fear the result, so those wbo so niggardly 

 admit the success of our riflemen, if they have any interest 

 in the matter, can now set this suggestion rolling, and if 

 they can manage to infuse courage enough into their rifle- 

 men to act upon it, the Americans will, we think, uot hesi- 

 tate to go more than half way to meet them. Let the next 

 contest be between an "AllEurope" and an "All America," 

 or bGtween the best picked team in the United Kingdom 

 and our men, and we can then decide which nation can 

 claim superiority as riflemen and as manufacturers of ac- 

 curate weapons. 



♦»♦ 



THREE BARRELED SHOT GUN. 



THE three barreled shot gun, mentioned in a late issue 

 of the Forest and Stream as being invented re- 

 cently, is, it seems, after all, a rather ancient affair, it hav- 

 ing been used in this city over forty years ago, having been 

 introduced by an enterprising firm in Alsace. The first one 

 in this city was used by Mr. Michael Sckweyer, a native of 

 Alsace, who had become acquainted with the weapon in 

 his own country. He found it sadly deficient in all the 

 elements of a good fire arm, so discarded it promptly for 

 one more effective. This old gentleman still resides in this 

 city, and takes much interest in all matters appertaining to 

 fusils de chasse. 



We have before us a patent or circular issued by the 

 Brion Brothers, of Wissembourg, in 1834, in which they 

 describe their celebrated new invention with all the pompous 

 detail of the olden times. A cut of the gun decorates the 

 circular, and this shows the old weapon to have been sup- 

 plied with a small bayonet, cleaning apparatus, and other 

 paraphernalia supposed to be necessary in the chase or in 

 keeping the weapou clean. The third barrel occupies the 

 upper surface of the other two; and from tUe way it sets 

 one would suppose that accuracy would be the exception 

 and not the rule with it. Modern improvements, however, 

 may remedy this defect, so three barreled shot guns may 

 become as common as our ordinary two barreled guns. 



LONG RANGE SHOOTING. 



THE month of September was a busy one among the 

 volunteers and rifle clubs of England, Ireland, and 

 Scotland, and, judging from their scores, we should say 

 that our American riflemen are by far the best shots. The 

 best long range shooting ever noted was done by Dr. Bur- 

 nett, of the Ulster (Ireland) club, who made eight bulls- 

 eyes out of ten shots, at a distance of 1,100 yards. This 

 is most remarkable work, and if it is not an exceptional 

 case, the doctor must be entitled to premier championship 

 at that distance. The following scores were made by the 

 two clubs competing for the Irish Challenge Shield: — 

 Dublin Shooting Club 1'eam— 1,000 yards, Twenty Shots. 

 Points. 



J. K. Milner 72 



Edward Johnson 6V 



W. Rigby 65 



'.'. U r:;e/l ."/' 



—263 

 1,100 Yard*. 



J.K. Milner 66 



Edward Johnson 64 



W.Rigbv 60 



W. Waterbouse 59 



-349 



Grand total... 812 



Ulster Bifie Association Team— 1,000 Yards. 



J. McKenna 67 



Dr. Barnett 64 



H.Fulton 60 



WUliani Steele 64 



—256 

 1,100 Yards. 



J. McKenna 57 



Dr. Barnett 62 



H. Fulton 62 



William Steele 49 



—230 



Grand total .-. 485 



The Edinburgh Long Range Rifle Club, which contains 

 the best shots in Scotland, and notably one of the winners 

 of the Wimbledon badges, held their match recently, and 

 their best men made the following score:— 



800 Yds. 900 Yds, 1,100 Yds. Totoi. 



A.Menzies 32 31 32 95 



A.Logan 30 33 19 82 



E. Miflidge 27 33 21 81 



We have introduced these scores to show what the Euro- 

 pean riflemen can do, and to prove therefrom that none of 

 their clubs have made as good shooting as our Amateur 

 Club, and that those who so ably sustained the reputation 

 of our riflemen lately need fear to meet no body of men. 



— •» 



A Hegika of Game. — Our advices from Michigan 

 specify that bears and squirrels were never before known 

 to be so plentiful as they are at the present time. The 

 former are even visiting the towns on a tour of inspection, 

 and three of them were killed in one town last week. A 

 Grand Rapids correspondent states that swarms of squir- 

 rels passed through that way last week, and that they are 

 now followed by the ursus family, the dam and cubs gen- 

 erally keeping together. The "oldest inhabitant" cannot 

 account for this hegira; so many sage heads are predicting 

 certain calamities in store for that region. We should be 

 pleased if some of our correspondents would note the 

 movements of the animals, their course and mode of pro- 

 cedure, as such matters will be interesting to our readers, 

 and we may be able to deduce therefrom some facts in 

 natural history. 



