^16 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



STU^a fi 



A WEEKLY JOURNAL, 



'o Field and Aquatic SrOKTS, Ppjicitioai.:Natoiiai,History, 



Fisn CtTLTura:, tde Protection of Ga.me,Pheserv.».tion of Forests, 



AND THE INCDXCATION Oi J[eN AND WOMEN OF A WEALTHY INTEREST 

 IN OcT-DOOR RECREATION AND STCDY : 



PUBLISHED BY 



forest md ^irc&in publishing ^ompAt\n, 



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



i'" i ' ■--■ ■■ ■- Rr« 2832.1 

 125 SOUTH THIRD STBKBT. PHILADELPHIA. 



COBB'S BUILDLX&, DEARBORN ST., CHICAGO. 



Terms, Five Dollars s Year, Strictly In Advance. 



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

 eendmK ns two subscriptions and Ten Dollars will receive a copy of 

 HallocS's "FiSHiNe Tourist," postage free. 



Advertising Kates. 



In regular advertising columns, nonpareil type, 12 lines to the inch, 2E 

 cent « per line. Advertisements on outside page. 10ce.utsperline. Reading 

 notices, 50 cents per line. Advertisements in double column 25 per cent, 

 axtra. Whore 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 5T0RK, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1874. 



To Correspondents. 



All communications whatever, whether relating to business or literary 

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

 libhtnq Company; Porsonal or private letters of course excepted. 



AU communications Intended for publication must be accompanied with 

 real name, as a tjuaranty 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 Names will not be published if 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 this paper are solicited. 



We cannot promise to return rejected manuscripts. 



Secretaries 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 medtnm of useful and reliable information between gentle- 

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

 Und our columns a desirable medium for advertising announcements. 



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

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

 flned 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 laud 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 bo responsible for the dereliction of the mall service, if 

 money remlttod to us is lost. 



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

 «;HARLES iIALLOCK, Managing Editor. 



WILLIAM C. UARRIS, Business Manager. 



CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR THE CUR- 

 RENT WEEK. 



FBTnAT, 18th.— Billiard Tournament at Tammany Hall, New York. 

 Trotting at West Side Driving Park. 



Saturday, lltb.— Trotting at the New Dorp Club grounds, Staten 

 Island. 



Mosday, 16th.— Ellliard Tournament. 



Tuesday, 17th.— Billiard Tournament. 



Wednesday; 18th.— Billiard Tournament. 



Thursday, 18th.— Billiard Tournament. 



The Irish Team. — Major Arthur B. Leech, captain of 

 the famous Irish Team, has lately been making an extended 

 tour (perhaps we should call it a long range) over the "West 

 and South, from which he returned last Monday in jovial 

 spirits, fine form, and much improved in weight, calibre, 

 and penetration. His purpose is to remain in the city 

 until the 18th, when he will aim to reach the other side of 

 the Atlatitic and home. "While at New Orleans he was the 

 recipient of a beautiful gold medal from the New Orleans 

 Rifle Association, which is now being engraved by Tiffany 

 & Co. It is very massive, say one and a quarter inches in 

 diameter, and displays the United States and German flags 

 in enamel. The Rifle Club is composed largely of Germans. 

 "Wherever the gallant Major went, he was tendered hospi- 

 talities of the most liberal and graceful description, the 

 most public of which he felt constrained to decline. Indeed, 

 lie expresses himself with enthusiastic affection toward 

 America, and promises to Teturn again. Meanwhile, he 

 will publish, and has already partly written a history of the 

 visit, of himself and his comrades to America, detailing all 

 the incidents of the Rifle Match and Tournament, the ad- 

 ventures of the hunters in the West, and his own individ- 

 ual jaunt across the couutry. The book will be of 200 

 pages 12 mo., and will undoubtedly meet with a marvellous 

 sale. But I'our of the; Irishmen now remain in the country. 

 Milner is hunting m Colorado, and Bagnall and Kelly re- 

 main in Chicago, the former as nurse, and the latter as 

 invalid, he having probably contracted his sickness on the 

 Western prairies. Rigby left on the 4th. 



Next week we shall print a sketch of the Hunting Trip 

 of the Team in the Indian Teritorry, which circumstances 

 have compelled us to defer thus long. 



A variety of interesting matter — especially in the depart- 

 ment of Ratbual Pastimes— is crowded out of this issue. 



WOODCOCK SHOOTING. 



OUR recent article on woodcock has received the appro- 

 bation of a large number of our correspondents, and 

 its principles have been supported by several journals 

 which devote a portion of (heir space to sketching the 

 work of the Nimrods and Waltons. We have found, thus 

 far, only one who objects to slaughtering the birds in Sum- 

 mer, and his article will be found on another page. From 

 the numerous communications received, all of which argue 

 on tho steps necessary to the preservation of the bird, wc 

 should deduce that, the work of the hungry pot hunters 

 was the principal cause for the scarcity of this pet of the 

 sportsman, and next to that the indiscriminate destruction 

 of both the old and young birds early in the season by per- 

 sons who think more of the silly boast of making a large 

 hag than in doing good shooting. We can admire the 

 spirit of the man who scorns to kill mere fledglings on 

 economic as well as sportsmanlike grounds, as much as we 

 detest the vanity of him who slaughters them for the pur- 

 pose of displaying his prowess and vaunting of it to his 

 friends. 



Our assertion that the only way to preserve this game 

 was to' enact statutes forbidding the destruction for a cer- 

 tain number of years, has already been taken up by some 

 clubs, who will take prompt action at an early day to have' 

 the Legislature of their respective States pass laws forbid- 

 ding any assaults upon it for a specified period, and sup- 

 pressing all Summer shooting. If this work is prosecuted 

 vigorously, the legislators will not dare to oppose it ; and 

 the consequence of this will be that woodcock will become 

 quite numerous again, and will give our sportsmen an op- 

 portunity of testing their skill, and a very important mem- 

 ber of our family of birds will be preserved on this conti- 

 nent. 



In framing laws for the action of the State Legislatures, 

 the clubs should remember that those suitable for one por- 

 tion of the country are not adapted to others, owing to the 

 difference in the seasons and the migratory habits of the 

 bird. 



Two general statutes could, however, he framed, and 

 these would be broad enough to apply to the whole coun- 

 try, if they were based on climatic influences; for, owing 

 to the various phases of temperature in different seel ions 

 of the country, the bird is a stranger in one place when it 

 is very abundant in auother, so I he laws must be framed on 

 these distinctions if they would not be injudicious aud op- 

 pressive. 



We know of States where a woodcock cannot be found 

 in October; so to prevent shooting them in this region be- 

 fore that month would he wrong, as it would not allow 

 sportsmen to enjoy the pleasure of such exercise, 

 whereas in other places any attempt upon them previous to 

 that time would be a radical folly, as they tarry there long 

 enough to give persons all the shooting they should need. 



If our Eastern and Western clubs will unite in the effort 

 for the preservation of this fine representative of game 

 birds, they will be enabled to preserve It from extinction, 

 and enjoy for many years hence the pleasure of bagging it, 

 but if they do not, they will have to go far afield ere they 

 can obtain the sensation of tasting its delicious flavor. 



This effort of protection is needed; so we hope to hear 

 before long that the true sportsmen of the country hare 

 taken some action in the matter, and that they have pre- 

 served the bird from extinction. 



The International, Rifle Match. — Tbe following 

 criticism on the International Rifle Match at Creedmoor, 

 appears in an English contemporary : — 



" Between each shot careful cleaning of the barrel was a 

 general rule; the Americans bestowing a longer time than 

 the Irish to this business, and, as the end shows, obtaining 

 a certain benefit for their pains. It may be now fairly con- 

 ceded, notwithstanding the difference of opinion concern- 

 ing loading at the muzzle or breech, that, under equal con- 

 ditions, a breech loader has been found quite capable of 

 holding its ov\ n with its rival muzzle loader. Coucerniug 

 the bore, length of barrel, fore and back sights, weight of 

 bullet, and charge of powder, we have yet to be informed; 

 and these are all interesting points. We are, however, 

 told that Mr. Fulton used 85 grains of powder, every charge 

 having been carefully weighed into a glass flasket. During 

 the match there seems to have been the usual disaster of a 

 bull's eye by Mr. Milner on the wrong target, and of a de- 

 fective cartridge fired by General Dakin— incidents which 

 led to the natural "it's" and "had its" of disappoint- 

 ment, but, in this case of such Worthy competitors, free of 

 rancor. 



May we now turn our attention to the work done at the 

 match, which appears to be of a class worthy to be termed 

 "magnificent." The men in action have been sufficiently 

 lauded for their possession of sustaining power through so 

 long and arduous a task, calling into exertion the keenest 

 faculties of the brain, nerve and eye; demanding constant 

 and extreme tension of mental and physical forces. With 

 the details of the scores your readers are already fully ac- 

 quainted, so it will now be sufficient to simply generalize 

 them. 



Each team fired 270 shots, and each missed only seven 

 times. In ordinary circumstances double this number 

 might have been looked for. The Irish team obtained, in 

 2u'<3 hits, 149 bull's eyes, 107 centres, and 7 outers; while 

 the Americans got in 268 hits, 156 bull's eyes, 96 centres, 

 and 11 outers, the target being 12 feet wide and 6 feet high. 

 The actual scores were, respectively, 931, 934. 



Now, if this work be compared with that which, theoret- 

 ically, or on the system of averages, could he expected 

 from small-bore weapons of known superior workmanship 

 and character, we shall find that six steady good men 

 would probably obtain 108 bull's eyes, 96 centres, 51 outers, 

 12 misses, and score 828. Also, that if all the six rifles 

 were put into such good fixed rests, that nothing but the 

 natural deviation of the rifle could disturb the accuracy of 



aim at the central point, we shall find that they would pro- 

 bably register 138 bull's eyes, 108 centres, 24 outers, with- 

 out misses, scoring 934, with the same ranges and rounds, 

 and all defects of "cartridges being excluded. The work, 

 therefore, of these two learns is justly to be styled "magnif). 

 cent;" for these men — with all their variations of tempera- 

 ment, imperfections of sight, of nerve, and other disturb 

 ing "ills which flesh is heir to" — performed better work 

 than the mechanical fixed rest could record. Yet, before 

 stating this too decidedly, it may be 'a question whether, 

 when the fixed rest has been used to test the merits of a 

 valuable rifle, the human precautions of cleaning the bar- 

 rel between each shot, the careful weighing of ball and 

 powder, are really adopted; for if these things be neglected, 

 the register of the Test cannot be taken as the final meas- 

 ure of the accuracy ot the rifle. But the work done at 

 this match appears to have been surpassed by both teams 

 at the trial practice two days previous. W r ehave not de- 

 tailed scores before us, hut the total scores, for the same 

 men, are given ; for the the Irish, 938 marks; for the Ameri- 

 cans, 944— work which was sufficiently a measure of the 

 bitter strength to be put forth in tbe contest to ensue after 

 the next forty-eight hours. 



ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTION 

 OF GAME. 



OPENING MEETING FOR THE ENSUING SEASON — THE rOACTI- 

 EHS TO BE VIGOROUSLY PROSECUTED. 



THE first Fall meeting of the Association for the Pro- 

 tection of Game was held Monday night at the resi- 

 dence of the President, Royal Phelps, Esq. A large num- 

 ber of members were in attendance, £md the chair was 

 occupied by Mr. Phelps. After the reading of the minutes 

 of the last meeting, held in May, the Secretary read the 

 correspondence which had taken place in the interim with 

 different game protecting societies throughout the country, 

 particularizing the Game and Fish League of New Hamp- 

 shire, Maryland Association for the Protection and Pres- 

 ervation of Game and Fish, the New Jersey Commission- 

 ers of Fisheries, and the Worcester (Mass.) Sportsmen's 

 Club. 



Robt. Furey, Esq., of Brooklyn, complained of viola- 

 tions of law by use of set nets in Gravesend Bay that had 

 meshes of less than two inches; but as Gravesend was be- 

 yond the jurisdiction of this society, the formation of a 

 protective club and the appointment of a constable were 

 suggested as tho first preventive steps to bo taken, after 

 which the society would assist at Albany in procuring 

 requisite legislation. 



The President reported that, in compliance with the reso- 

 lution of the club, the committee to whom was referred 

 tho subject of uuiformliy of game laws in different States, 

 had had the documents in relation thereto printed and sent 

 to ninety-three game protecting organizations in different 

 parts of the country, suggesting the holding of a national 

 convention in this city in tho month of November. Very 

 soon after they had done this, however, the Slate Associa- 

 tion called a convention for the 9th of September, at Ni- 

 agara Falls, for the same purpose, and the committee there- 

 upon felt constrained, as a subordinate organization, to 

 suspend all further action, not doubting that the State or- 

 ganization would realize the responsibility which now rests 

 on its shoulders, to see this all important subject properly 

 attended to until it is carried to a successful issue. 



Mr. Charles Hallock, of Forest and Stream, said that 

 the association did not think the Niagara Convention 

 was composed of the very best material in the country, and 

 inasmuch as the representation and the number of voters 

 for officers was so small (being only thirty-two), while the 

 number of States and Terrritories was forty-six, it could 

 scarcely be considered a national convention. While they 

 considered the President and several of the officers men 

 of high intelligence, they thought the matter might be 

 placed in belter hands, but did not want to appear antago- 

 nistic to the other body. He therefore begged to concur 

 in the remarks of the Chairman, recommending that the 

 committee be discharged. The committee were then dis- 

 charged, on motion ol the Chair. 



The President reported that the jury in the suit against 

 Cappell and Storer, charged with having in possession forty 

 trout during the closed season, had rendered a verdict 

 against the association, and that an appeal had been takeu 

 to a higher court. The President stated that he had good 

 reason for believing that the jury gave a verdict for the de- 

 fendants simply because of the severity of the penalty, 

 viz., $1,000 for the forty trout, or, in case of failure to pay 

 the fine, one thousand dayx' imprisonment-. 



The President then arose, and said that he was confident 

 that many parties were smuggling trout regularly to New 

 York markets contrary to law, and suggested the propriety 

 of placing private detectives on the cars in order to arrest 

 the professional sportsmen, who were habitually violating 

 the statutes. The suggestion of the President was enthu- 

 siastically received, and the Treasurer was ordered to ;lace 

 $2,500 at the disposal of the Executive Committee for ex- 

 penses of detectives, rewards, and prosecutions during the 

 present season. 



The following gentlemen were unanimously elected 

 members of the association ;— Messrs. Gcmverneur Morris, 

 Dr. Walter R. F. Day, Benjamin H. Bonney, Henry C. 

 Carey, Martin Van Buren, Matbias Nichol, and Gov. Dlx, 

 (honorary member.) The by-laws were amended so as to 

 make the entrance fee $50, instead of $25, as heretofore, 

 the annual dues ($10) remaining the same, and limiting the 

 number of members to 100. 



A list of cases was then read showing the number of per- 

 sons prosecuted for infringing the game laws, and the ver- 

 dicts which had been rendered in favor of the association. 



The organization determined by a unanimous vote to 

 submit to tbe next Legislature the following proposed 

 amendment to the game law respecting fish and game. 

 The amendment reads as follows:— 



REASONS TOR THE AMESDJTEKT. 



1. The first object of tho amendment is to prevent the destruction of 

 valuable trout ponds by patting pike, pickerel or other voracious fish 

 therein to eat up and destroy the trout. This is done only out of pure 

 malice, and generally : I ■' thieves, '"it of revenge at being prosecuted. 

 Half a dozen pickerel will destroy a trout poud worth 81,000. The sec- 

 tion, as it now read.-. rov,-r, unly the poisoning of trout 



I lie si I null . - hi the amendment U to m ike the offence one of 



malicious mischief under the Revised SI Wl 3 B, B< GS9, km IB, a 

 Edmonds" Stat, at Large. 711, sec. 16), and punishable- in the same man- 



