298 



FOREST AND STREAM. 







A WEEKLY JOURNAL, 



n TnFlEI.n AMD AqUATlC SrOTtTS, PHACTIC.1l.NATCr!AI.H[F,T0r!V, 



Fisit Cri.TiuiF, Tin: Pnc.TEtTioMiF Game. rm:-i.i.v..Tios- of Forests, 



ANti THE fiTOULOATUW inJIek ANT! Vimcsoa HEALTIIV i.VTKUFST 



I in Outdoor Kbcueahos ami Siurrr: 



PUBLISHED II T 



forest and §frcnttj publishing §.omj).ai\v, 



17 CHATEAU STRKET, rclTY HALL SQUARE) XEW YORK, 

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 135 SOETU THIRD BTKMT. PHILADELPHIA. 



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Advertising llntca. 



In regular advertisiiic columns, nonpareil typo. 13 lints to the inch.SJ 



cents pur lino. Advertisemonl; Idi i ige, 40 cents per line. Roadinfl 



Dotices, 60 cents per line. Advertisements in rluablet Bp 



are Inserted over J month, n'dlsccrant oi 



10 per cent, will he made: over three months, SO per cent ; over sis 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1874. 



To Correspondents. 



All commnnicali' m 

 correspondence, mm I be , ; ; 



whether rclntiii;; to business or literary 

 taed to The Fouest and Steeaji 1Tb- 



All eommnnications intended for publication mi 31 be nccoii ijttnieei fifih 

 v-.v of (rood faith. Name" will not be ; 



! ; . amtrlbutlone will be regarded. 



any topic within the scope of this paper are iolicHed. 

 promise tor tam Wjected mannscripts. 



Secre iresqfClu -, ,'A-- i- are urged to favor us with brief 



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

 to become a meaium of rnsefu] anil re'eiMe Iwf0«natlon between gentle- 

 men sportsmen from one end of the connlry to the other : and they will 

 lind oar columns a desirable medium rot advertising announcements. 

 The Publishers of FOBBST ani> Stream aim to merit and secure the 

 ion of the community whose 



iii.-i e, 



is beau t 



the legit 

 I ;n.l to 



all that 



bl<M .. n to properly appre 

 itnre. It will ponder to no deprsvi . I isi - 

 arts of land and water to those tausei 

 m unpopular with ihe virtuous snd i. - 



ent or business notice of an immoral character will be recei 



Tins; and noii.iir.- wall be admitted Lo taiy deportment of the 



;ay not be rend with propriety in tlie home circle. 



We cannot be responsible for the dereliction of the moll 



ouey remitted to Hi isli 



Advertisements Baauld be (out in bv .Saturday of each week, if possible. 

 CHARLES II ILLOCK, Managing Editor. 



WILLIAM C. BARKIS, Business Manager. 



, if 



A COLLEGE RIFLE CLUB. 



NO better idea of the hold which rifle exercise litis. 

 taken of our people cart be given than the statement 

 that the graduates of Harvard have organized a rifle club. 

 This proves how rapidly the love of manly aecomplish- 

 springiug into an active existence, and how gen- 

 erally it is being diffused. In order lo make this organizti, 

 tion one which will bind all the members of the gray old 

 ■ /• together, all good shots who are now in the 

 University will be entitled to fellowship. 



Our colleges have, within Ihe past few years devoted ranch 

 attention to all exercises I hat tend to strengthen the muscles, 

 improve the health and impart that sturdy, self-reliant spirit 

 to their students which all meu should possess; so the in- 

 troduelion of rifle practice now cap? the cli max and gives 

 them the whole range of physical education. The men 

 who can jump the highest, run the fastest, and lift heavy 

 weights, ought certainly to become excellent marksmen, for 

 besides possessing these qualities, their brains have also been 

 educated to reason on cause and effect, and to make the 

 proper deductions, so that mistakes may be detected and 

 the remedy applied 



We believe it can be asserted boldly that Hie best rifle- 

 men must be persons of intelligence, who will have the 

 nerve to fight bravely in a contest the assiduity to practice 

 with diligence, and the observation to note closely, and to 

 reason from certain results. 



These are the men who can practice self-denial also for 

 the sake of honor, and who will leave no effort untried to 

 gain an honorable victory, or attain a fair eminence in any 

 a ii t which they may outer. 



The mutches in the British Kingdom, Canada and the 

 United Stales have proven that the best marksmen have 

 been, as a general rule, persons of superior intelligence, as 

 they seemed to be the best able to understand the foro 

 the wind, and the principles which govern the flight of 

 projectiles. Such being the case, it ought to follow that 

 our students should in the future be not only at the summit 

 in physical and mental powen but also in surety of eye and 

 Steadiness of nerve, and consequently in marksmanship. 

 The effect of the Oiercifte now introduced must be highly 

 beneficial, so we hope to leara of other colleges following 

 the lead of Harvard. 



—Earthquake las; week all around New York, but the 

 wicked ciiy wuo not shaken. 



FLORIDA. 



The season in Florida is now fntrty open, and invalids, 

 tourists, and sportsmen are wending their way lliilher. 

 Old habitues are seeking out, their well-known haunts, and 



trsare in ecslacies over [he prospect of viewing the 



charms of Ihe flowery land, which to them will be a new 

 revelation. And what n delightful land it is! redolent, with 

 perfume of flowers, luxuriant with vegetation, balmy with 

 the gct)ittl air of the sub-tropical Winter, and abundant in 

 Summer fruits and vegetables I Lei us read a few para- 

 graphs from Ihe Jacksonville FJ'virtini of the current 

 week. 



" Strawberries have been selling in our market last week. 

 They were grown at Mandarin. Cucumbers, grown by Mr. 

 J. Hawkins, near this city, have also made their appear- 

 ance in the market, and met ready sale. 



The schooner Hover brought 8*000 oranges from Vass 

 and Dummilt's grove hist week. They were sold off in one 



The finest potatoes we have seen this year have been sent 

 in by -Mr. John It. Ilerndon, from Sanderson, Baker coun- 

 ty. They were huge things, of the red yam variety. 



Fish is plentiful ; a four-pound mullet selling for twenty 

 cents. The market is Well kept up with good meat of all 

 kinds. 



The weather all last week was very warm. On Sunday 

 night, the Ctll, il began to rain, which continued to fall ail 

 night, and it got colder on Monday, the wind northwest." 

 What a relief must be a " little colder 11 weather in this 

 month of December ! Our New Smyrna correspondent re- 

 ports ihe average mid-day temperature for November in lie 

 aboftt l~i degrees. It varies about ten degrees in the twenty- 

 four hours, And our Northern friends who shivered here 

 last week tire courting the shade of the olives, the magno- 

 lias, and the China trees. The Fiorklinn says the steamer 

 brought over two hundred of them to the city last week. 

 At St. Augustine the. Magnolia Hotel is in full blast, 

 and doing a good business. The Floridian has been 

 repainted and otherwise improved. The St. Augus- 

 tine has a new tin roof and new attractions. All 

 Ihe boarding houses are open and doing as well 

 as can be expected. The Pi-ess reports an unusual 

 number of visitors, both transient and permanent. And 

 so, Florida is in life once mure; loungers stroll upon the 

 old sea-wall Dial flanks San Marco, and passengers waive 

 handkerchiefs of recognition from ihe steamers that ply up 

 and dOWQ lye St, Jphn; invalids are picking the luscious 

 oranges once more at Palatini, md the alligators of the Oc 

 lawaha already recognize the familiar pellets of ihe thun- 

 dering eight bores lhat rattle on their armor plates, We 

 shall soon have stories of exploits to print, from veuluresomc 

 sportsmen. Says the Palatka Herald : 



" The Ocklawaha River never grows old and never tires 

 the eye. Its crooked course and picturesque scenery by 

 night' as well as by day, ever furnishing exciting objects to 

 the curious mind "and eye of every traveler. That distance 

 of a hundred miles through Ihe cypress and palmetto forest 

 is, in our judgment, the finest collection of curiosities in 

 Ihe world, to say nothing of Silver Spring, one of its grand 

 scources, and one of the most astonishing fountains of pure 

 water on the continent. The alligators and snakes afford a 

 splendid opportunity for shot-gun sporting, while the 

 birds, both large ami small, and of varied plumage, add 

 interest to the journey, and afford an opportunity for 

 shooting." 



This paper reports the people on the head waters of the 

 Ocklawaha (upper lakes) iu earnest upon the subject of 

 building a railroad from Lake Harris to the waters of the 

 St. John's River, connecting either at Hawkinsville or 

 Lake George, 



A gentleman who has no land interest on the upper 

 lakes says lhat the lands on Lake Harris are the best that 

 he has seen in East Florida. The scenery is unusually 

 beautiful and attractive. Frost seldom, if ever, injures the 

 sugar-cane; it tassels, and grows from fifteen lo twenty feet 

 in height. Lake Harris connects with Lakes Griffin and 

 rXueslis. The timber around the lakes is tall and stately. 

 Fine fish in abundance abound in their waters. This sec- 

 lion is healthy, and is rapidly filling up with new settlers, 

 and will iu a few years become one of the most interesliug 

 settlements in this country These scalers rind much profit 

 in the culture and sale of fruits and vegetables for the early 

 Northern markets. Even in the interior of the State, nota- 

 bly at Lake City, many of the citizens are speaking of 

 giving up the cultivation of cotton and turning their atten- 

 tion to English peas and other vegetables for shipment to 

 Northern markets. Several intend trying tobacco, and, if 

 successful, it will soon become a leading production. 

 Eighteen years ago, with the exception of Welaka, scarcely 

 anything was to be seen but the interminable forests along 

 the @t. Johns River. There was scarcely a settlement or 

 clearing; to mark the advance of civilization. What a 

 change now appears! landings, clearings, houses and 

 , ', es map out to the eye of the traveler the rapid 

 improvement now going on 

 One of the most useful improvements contemplated is 

 i,. canal now being laid out by ihe U. S. Coast Survey, 

 across the narrow strip Of dividing lands between the In- 

 dian River proper and Mosquito lagoon, where the present 

 eaual has been cul. This strip of land is coquina rock, 

 soft, and very easy to excavate, about ten feet above the 

 water, and only 800 yards wide from this canal north to the 

 head of navigable waters. On the Tomoko the channel is 

 open and clear. The distance is about seventy-five miles. 

 From thence across the land to navigable waters of Haws' 

 creek, the distance cannot exceed ten miles, and the aver- 

 age height above, the water level of both streams cannot be 

 over six feet. No dams or locks will be required ; there 

 will always be water enough. In fact, these two canals 



will make Indian River a tributary to the St. Johns one 

 hundred times more valuable than the whole upper St. 

 Johns. This scheme, the Palatka Herald says, is receiving 

 the gravest attention of the most practical men. 



There seems, no doubt, that the population and devel- 

 oped resources of Florida are destined to double iu lert 

 years. Those who have some prescience will do well now 

 to take time by the forelock that they may reap coming ad- 

 vantages. 



We have often spoken of ihe necessity of a hotel on In- 

 dian River, where sportsmen with their families could be 

 comfortably housed and fed, in hope that some gentlemen 

 of means, who know how to keep a hotel, might be in- 

 duced intake the venture. Sportsmen are often deterred 

 from visiting, this most delightful part of Florida because 

 they cannot lind suitable acconrmo lotions for their families. 

 Two or three applicants or inquirers approached us on this 

 subject last Summer, but none, we believe, have decided 

 to take hold. Now, our readers will congratulate them- 

 selves and us, and especially admire the courage of our 

 well-known correspondent, Major Geo. J. Alden, now or 

 late of ihe U. S. Signal Service at New Smyrna, when we 

 inform them that, although not a gentleman of large for- 

 tune, by any means, he has consented to open his house lo 

 guests, and presently to enlarge it to meet the requirements 

 of the situation. Mr. Alden, we are forced lo say, was the 

 projector of the only game protective cliib that now exisls 

 in the State of Florida. He is well and faborably known 

 to all gentlemen who have visited New Smyrna. Perhaps 

 Ave can explain (he present situation and progress of his 

 new enterprise in no better way than to copy from one of 

 his recent letters. This letter was a private one, and not 

 intended for publication, but we will venture it: 



OostqSi House, Se«- S.myhna, Fla., i 

 Deputy Collectok's Office, Dec. 7, 1874 \ 

 Chas. IIallock, Est; : 



I agree with you that we need a large hotel here, but as; 

 I had not the funds 1 thought best to commence in a small 1 

 way, and thus get a class of sportsmen to come here who 

 would see the advantages for hunting and fishing I have* 

 over others, and thus perhaps be induced to aid me further. 

 I have room for several buildings, which I think better 

 than to house till guests iu one huge buildiug; if not, I 

 could work my way so as to build what I wish eventually. 

 I inclose a rough sketch of the peninsula. You will see 

 100 acres north of me, and section 16 (100 acres) south, I 

 shall have the deeds for all in January. The beach where 

 1 am located is heavily wooded, and an excellent place for 

 gardens, oranges, lemons, bananas, etc. One can get all 

 ihe deer they want within four miles, and within twenty 

 yards of the bouse good bass and slieepshead fishing". 

 Your correspondent, S. V. Clarke, will vouch for this, and 

 for the desirability of the place for a hotel. It is by alt 

 odds the best location between Si. Augustine and "Key 

 West. Any yacht lhat can come over the bar can come to 

 my wharf, and it is Ihe only place where this can be done. 

 Good anchorage close by. I intend to have a carriage and 

 horses for those who wish to drive on the beach, which is 

 one-half mile back of the house, plenty of good dogs for 

 deer and bear, and boats for fishing." 



That we do not write specially in Ihe interest of Sir. 

 Alden, will be seen by the following, passage which shows 

 what a demand exisls for just such a resort as wc think we 

 have been instrumental in securing for readers of Forest 



AND STKEAM: 



"As to taking boarders. 1 have all rooms engaged, anil 

 have rejected over fifty applicants for want of mom. Had 

 I a hundred rooms 1 could engage them all in advance.'" 



So much for Florida— tit present, 



ARMY OFFICERS AS RIDERS. 



The latest Vienna papers received contain a description 

 of the grand military steeple-chase, under Ihe patronage of 

 the Emperor, which came off recently at the Austrian 

 Capital. From this we should infer that German officers 

 are much better "cross country" riders than they have 

 received crodit for, and that they have a breed of horses 

 that will take a wall as quickly and with as much ease as 

 an Irish steeple-chaser. This race is the great event of the 

 year on Ihe turf, and is attended by all nobility, aristocracy 

 and burgeoise of the capital, so that the course is usually 

 one mass »f gay toilets and brilliant uniforms, whoso glit- 

 tering hues are only increased by the sober black of the 

 quiet and aged gentlemen. This meeting is patronized 

 more than any other for the reason that none compete in 

 it but officers, and they generally belong to the cavalry, 

 and in Austria that is the most famous arm of the servico, 

 so that the young fellows who wear the hussar jackets are 

 the military pets of the country. When these pets enter 

 the list for a contest in equestrianism, of course the popu- 

 lace must see them, fur it would never do to miss such an 

 event for fear of social ostracism. This interest has caused 

 the previously rigid and mechanical riders to assume a firm 

 seat and a flexible attitude; to become, iu fact, horsemen 

 in its literal sense, so that no matter what sort of broken 

 country they meet, they may be able to go at it, or over it, 

 provided their horses have couiagc and power. This is an 

 important element of the education of cavalry officers, as 

 it increases their efficiency Ivy giving them confidence in 

 their own ability when they may encounter danger. 



Steeple-chasing and riding to hounds is also getting more 

 popular in France from day to day, so that it is no unusual 

 event now to see a French officer taking his walls and 

 ditches with the same ease that one of Lever's heroes would. 

 This equestrian exercise is encouraged by the war office as 

 much as possible, in order to make the officers what they 

 diould be — thorough horsemen. 



In the British Kingdom the hunting field has long be.en 

 the great display ground for officers of «U arms of the ser- 



