FOREST AND STREAM. 



297 



-vice, and but for I hem the. hurdle race-and steeple-chase 

 would, ill all probability, long since have fallen into disuse. 

 The consequence of this attachment to tile dangers of the 

 "crosscountry" run, is, that the officers of John Bull's 

 troopers and artillerists are, as a general rule, hold Hder$, 

 who wiil stay on their steeds as long as men can. 



In our own army, where regiments are scattered far 

 apart, and only one or two companies arc at the same post, 

 it is very hard for our officers to practice horsemanship-, 

 ■so their only school is the, plains and mountains of the tar 

 West, where they have an abundance of rough riding in 

 pursuit of the painted savages; and while this i- an excel- 

 lent one lo impart a certain kind of thoroughness, yet it 

 does not seem complete enough to finish their equestrian 

 education. For this reason we think that I hey should be 

 ii imaged In organize burdle-races and stecple-ehascs 

 whenever a few of them may meet at one post and remain 

 there for any length of time. Bueh exercise nut only tends 

 to kill time at those dreary places, but it also gives anima- 

 tion to the camp, and certainly imparts pleasure and ex- 

 perience to the participants. The higher powers should 

 .stimulate such contests by word and action, ami, if neces- 

 sary, a sum should be devoted for premiums every year. 

 A grand military steeplechase, open to all officers of the 

 regular army, should certainly be a feature of our turf, but 

 it should he under the patronage of the army, though run 

 by any of the principal courses of the country. Such a 

 meet would be very popular, and would do much to en- 

 courage a desirable etprit in our officers, and the breeding 

 of a class of horses that are needed by our cavalry. 

 If the matter can be successfully can ied out in Europe it 

 certainly ought to be here. Bo we hope our officers will 

 take the matter into consideration and Inaugurate a yearly 

 contest if possible. It will do them much good, and attract 

 the people more to them and their arduous and often un- 

 acknowledged labor. 



-^-..C— 



BICYCLING. 



THE enthusiasm with which this species of exercise 

 lias been adopted in England recently, seems some- 

 what surprising to us on this side of the Atlantic, who have 

 been rather apt to classify any person treading a bicycle 

 through the 3trcpts or over the roads as one devoid of much 

 sense, not to use a coarser term, and rather fonder of silly 

 . display than a man ought to he. "\Ye know that the French 

 people, devoted some attention to the pastime long ere it 

 was introduced into this country, and that bicycle faces 

 were among the pleasures of the young beaux frequenting 

 the Bois de Boulogne and other prominent places of resort, 

 but on trying to analyze the source of enjoyment of such 

 means of locomotion, we failed to And it, so concluded 

 that it was merely a Parisian whim, and that it would die 

 out at an early day. 



Such a fate seams to be rather distant at present, how- 

 ever, for not only has the two-wheeled machine become a 

 greater favorite than ever in France, but it has also been 

 elevated into the niche occupied by the higher classes of 

 physical exercise in England, and is now patronized by 

 some athletes and officers of the army. The eomequeuee 

 of this is, that bicycle matches are now quite general, and 

 elicit more attention than one could possibty expect. To 

 make them popular, the experts in these contests pit them- 

 selves against horses, and sometimes with good results, 

 though the victory most frequently falls to the four-footed 

 creatures. 



Matches between the four-in-hand clubs and the bicyclists 

 arc the last efforts of testing the speed of men and horses, 

 when used as propelling powers, and to make the matter a 

 test of endurance also, the distances rauge from two to fifty 

 miles. 



What important deduction one can make in case the 



velocipede drivers should win ever}' race, does not present 



itself at first glance, unless it is that driving two wheels 



with two legs aids in the developemenl of the latter to a 



certain extent; for wo certainly cuntiol see that bicycling 



has any other advantage; inasmuch as it lias no apparent 



merits from which one would argue that its introduction 



would be of any benetit to mankind in general, or to many 



persons in particular. It has met ils fate in this country, 



apparently, so from present outlooks it does not promise 



to hi revived. 



■+•■+■ 



Tha>'ks. — We tender the members of the Junior Gun 



Club of Toronto our thanks for an invitation to attend their 



annual dinner. We hope their reunion was a pleasant one, 



and that it encouraged them to perforin greater deeds than 



ever with their favorite weapon. That the repast was a 



decided success seems quite evident from the earte, and 



that genial fellowship reigned we can readily imagine from 



the names of some of the gentlemen present, who are 



among the leading citizens of Canada. We tender the 



Junior Gun Club our congratulations, and hope they may 



have many reunions of the same sort. 



— We are glad to find that the Commissioners and War- 

 dens appointed under the auspices of the Game Protection 

 Society of Xova. Scotia to carry out the new game laws, 

 are vigilant, and active in the discharge of their duties. 

 Not long since a young sportsmau of Halifax was fined 

 heavily for illegally shooting a moose near Sheet Harbor, 

 aud more recently a firm in Guysborough county were fined 

 thirty dollars for having three moose hides in their posses- 

 sion. The legal penalty was $50 for each skin, but a rebate 



was allowed. 



<■»» 



—A country paper prints the information that a heavy 



tycoon {sic) in Japan recently caused the destruction of two 



hundred lives. 



GROUSE CULTURE IN MARYLAND. 



OUR valued correspondent signs only his initials below, 

 but we trust we violate no confidence or law of oti- 

 quetie in this case, by statingthat be is no other than Mr. 

 N. II. Bishop, the celebrated canoe voyager, who is now on 

 his way to Key West. The information he gives our read- 

 ers is not only most interesting, but to those who are en- 

 deavoring to restock sundry Eastern Slates with prairie 

 chickens, is of much practical value. 



Marshes, Head or CrmuTitcK SODKD, ) 

 NottTtr Carolina Line, December 9, 1874. )" 



EDtTOli OF FOItEST AND STREAM : — 



T take this opportunity to write you about the attempt 

 that was made to introduce the prairie chicken ihiO East- 

 ern Maryland. About five vears since*. resident of Phila- 

 delphia seat to Dr. F. J. i'uniell, near Berim, Worcester 

 county, Maryland, a few pairs of prairie chicken! arid a 

 covey of both the " valley" and " mountain " partridge, or 

 quails;. 1 am now using popular terms. Dr. Furnell has 

 an estate of fifteen hundred acres lying along the banks of 

 Newport Creek, which stream flows into Sinepuxent Bay, 

 on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Since the war this es- 

 tate has been worked for the doctor by his tenants, Much 

 of it is woodland and salt meadows. ' The partridges 

 kept confined for some time in the house and then set at 

 lihertv. They soon disappeared, excepting one pair Which 

 returned daily to the kitchen door to be fed. For some 

 cause the pair went to a neighbor's house, on the same es- 

 tate, and were fed from the kitchen door for some weeks. 

 This pair of birds nested in the garden near the house, and 

 raised a brood of young birds. The covey left their old 

 quarters, and were not heard from but once since their de- 

 parture'. A person repotted that he saw the covey of 

 " California quails ou the other side of thecreek." This 

 was two years since. It is now supposed that these part- 

 ridges have been shot by gunners, or have died from natu- 

 ral causes. 



The prairie chickens adapted themselves to their new 

 home with but little trouble to tin: proprietor of 11 

 tate. Their nests tilled with eirsis were found stl 

 fences of the fields near the meadows. The birds bet 

 lame, visiting the cattle yards, and Feeding near the bi 

 inss of the farm. They multiplied rapidly. A law was 

 passed by the Maryland Legislature protecting them from 

 gunners. The birds seemed to like thi ho: 

 of the estate, and exhibited but little fe; 

 I nfoituuatelv for the birds, a number of t 

 from New Jersey ascended the hay and riv 

 vcssels. Seeing' these tame birds on then 

 sevmen commended a war of oxterminati 

 which soon resulted in the destruction of i 

 lot. A workman on Dr. I'linuil's estate it 

 he had seen eighteen prairie chickens in tlu 

 the house, in November of the present ye 

 only covey left by the Jersey terrapin hu 

 up 'from Chincoteague Inlet. The same gentleman who 

 sent these lino birds to Dr. Puruelt is about, to send floi 

 from New Jersey the ruffed grouse, called in that Staleaud 

 Pennsylvania, the " pheasant." There are no ruffed 

 grouse" on the Peninsula. Truly your friend, ST-. II. U. 



PROTECTION OF GAME. 



ng the 

 nmc 

 dld- 



ado 



hunt 



all 



It was the 

 ho came 



THE regular monthly meeting of the New- York Asso- 

 ciation for the Protection of Game was held at the resi- 

 dence of Mr. Charles E. Whitehead, No. GtWest Thirty fifth 

 street, last Monday evening, the President, Mr. Royal 

 Phelps, in the chair. The Secretary, Mr. William ,1. Days, 

 not being present, Mr. Thomas N. Cuthbcrt was appointed 

 Secretary pro tern. Several reports were made, among 

 which was that of the President and Vice President Koose- 

 velt, regarding the character of the fish for the sale of 

 which out of season the association had brought suit 

 against Messrs. Chappel & Storer. While upon this sub- 

 ject Messrs. Penniman, Roosevelt, and Whitehead referred 

 to the subject of the killing of bay snipe and other bay 

 birds on Long Island, and thought it would be beneficial if 

 amendments were made to the game laws that would in the 

 future, enable the officers of the association to prosecute 

 any person found shooting such birds in the Spring. Mr. 

 Whitehead advised that it was only a inattei\ol time for 

 the association to give expression to such views in the pass- 

 age of new enactments, as it was their intention to ask the 

 Legislature for greater power when the public mind was 

 educated to a point that would enable them to move suc- 

 cessfully. 



The President presented the resignation of the Si oretury 

 and Treasurer, Mr. W. J. Hays, made necessary by his se- 

 riously impaired health, and, ou motion of Mr. Whitehead, 

 it -was accepted, whereupon Mr. Clinton Gilbert offered 

 some highly complimentary resolutions, thanking Mr. Hays 

 for his efficiency, which were unanimously adopted, 



After considerable minor business the association unani- 

 mously elected Thomas N. Cuthbcrt to the positii m i - 

 reury and Treasurer. Several members were t 1 

 When Mr. Cuthbcrt, with appropriate explanatory remarks, 

 introduced the following, which received unanimous ap- 

 proval : 



The attention of the New York Association for the Pro- 

 tection of Game is invited to the probability that during 

 the coming session of the Legislature efforts will'be made 

 by marketmen and others who are now being prosecuted 

 by the association, to procure the alteration or repeal Of 

 some of the most important provisions of the E lull laws 

 of this State. One of these provisions, Which is inosl ob- 

 noxious to them, and which they have repeatedly decided 



to have repealed, is that which prohibits the possess! ir 



sale during the close season of game that has been killed 

 out of the State. It is scarcely necessary to remind the 

 association that without some such provision the game laws 

 could never be enforced, owing to the impossibility of 

 proving where game was killed. Another objectionable 

 provision is thU wddch provides for .searching suspected 

 places, without which large operators, who only Buprjjly 

 their regular customers, could never be detected. 



Au attempt will also probably be made to reduce the 



penalty imposed by the present statute, or to secure the in- 

 sertion of a provision that but one penalty be imposed for 

 any violation of the Statute, instead of a penalty for each 

 bird or Ash, as now provided. Several dealers hftve claimed 

 thai prosccniions lor violations of the game laws should 

 be brought by the District Attorney alone, and it is not im- 

 probable that an attempt may be made to have a provision 

 to. that end inserted. In that' case it is doubtful, to say the 

 least, whether the law could ever be enforced. The Dis- 

 tricl Ulorpeys in this State now have* the power to bring 

 these actions"; hut we have yet to learn ol a single instance 

 Of I heir having done so. 



In view of These facts, it would appear advisable to refer 

 this mailer to the committee appointed at the last meeting 

 on proposed amendments to the game laws, with instruc- 

 tions to oppose the passage of such acts introduced during 

 I he coming session of the Legislature, in co-operation with 

 the Stale Association and oilier associations, and to author- 

 ize said committee to draw upon the funds in the hands of 

 the Executive Committee for their necessary expenses. 



A letter was read from Gov. Dix, thanking them for 

 electing him au honorary member, and stating that It will 

 afford him much pleasure to co operate with the organiza- 

 tion to put an end to the abuses which they are asso- 

 ciated to suppress. 



Adjourned to meet in January, at the residence of the 

 Vice 'President, Robert B. Roosevelt, >io. 36 East Twen- 

 tieth street.— Berate. 



THE BIG HUNT. 



Colonel SIcdarty writes us from Chicago, under date of 

 December Plh: ''I am perfecting my plans and making 

 contracts all through. To-morrow 1 close with the Pullman 

 Car Company, and for my wagons, teams and harness, 

 etc, T want this to come off as a grand affair, and will 

 sin n have it in such a shape as will preclude all possibility 

 ol' such a tiling as failure." 



TlSEASUltKIi's Ufkke. i 



Euu: R. R., 23d street, Dec. Oth, 1874. f 

 Eiiiroi; Forest and Stream:— 



FOREST and Stream grieves me'now for the first time, 

 in favoring that diabolical big hunting and fishing cru- 

 sade scheme. That's not the way for you aud me to hunt 

 or 10 recommend. It will be a most reckless, foolish, de- 

 structive slaughter, and. it maybe, inaugurate a never end- 

 ing scries. Think of bait a dozen such murderous armies 

 sweeping over our plains and mountains (very season for 

 years to come, It makes my blood boil to think of it. I 



sincerely hope McC may get impaled on a bison's 



horn, or hugged within an inch of his last breath by a 

 grizzly, or kicked to pieces by a buck, or bunted black and 

 Slue liy n mountain ram. E:;cuse my heat, but I am dread- 

 fully sorry you don't pitch into this plan. These 'diopiu- 

 ions" may lie crude, bu: Iain strong in my convictions, 

 and I hear them confirmed by others among your readers. 

 Yours truly, II. If, TnoMrsoN. 

 «.» 



OuiruAltv. — Hon. Ezra Cornell, of Ithaca, the founder 

 of Cornell University, who died last week, was a gentle- 

 man of tine .esthetic tastes, and extremely fond of natural 

 objects. Although he was in uo sense of the word a sports- 

 man, he was nevertheless a member of the Blooming Grove 

 Park Association, and interested himself in its affairs. For 

 one year he was a director of the same. As an inslance of 

 his enthusiasm, as well as of his perseverance in objects 

 which he undertook, he two years ago rode out from Lack- 

 awaxeu fourteen miles to the Park in a driving rain storm, 

 which came on just as he was about, to leave the depot. 

 He arrived at the club house drenched to the skin, but 

 having taken a warming stimulant he proceeded to make a 

 a tour of the breeding park and adjoining premises, aud 

 after a three hdurs' inspection drove fourteen miles hack to 

 the depot in the same soaking rain. Perhaps the seeds of 

 his fatal illness were sown in that trip. 



■»«-*■ 



Interesting Sporting Notes. — The following notes on 

 sporting matters in the West have been forwarded to us by 

 our special correspondent, M. M. Barker, brother of K. C. 

 Barker, Commodore of the Northwestern Yacht Club, of 

 Detroit, who is now traveling extensively in that region, 

 and Who has everywhere had the most unbounded hos- 

 pitality pressed upon him by public and private parties. 

 Tjic officers of the Missouri. Kansas and Texas Railway 

 especially have placed us under great obligations on his 

 account, aud we owe them acknowledgments in other 

 respects. It will be seen by perusing our correspondent's 

 letter that Mr. Hope, of Lagrange, Missouri, who is a 

 prominent dog fancier, has issued a challenge to all comers 

 for a field trial, to take place within the next six months. 

 No owner of line strains of dogs will regret its accept- 

 ance. General Singleton, spoken of herein, honored two 

 members of the Iiish Team by extending abundaut hos- 

 pitalities to them during their recent Western tour. 



La Grange, Mo., December 50), 1874, 

 Editor Forest amd Sikeam:— 



in i in- |over of rural sport, in utmost every variety, there is no coun- 

 try offerinc; greater iiidi:..-.. :e ■:■■.'.:■... ::- :■-•':■■ ;i' ■e-s by etcaraboatB 



anil railroads, than the valley of the Mississippi, f: i, - l jmBnr- 



Imttlou, Iown. Hero you wlil find field aud river sports hi abundance. 



d i so plentiful thai say nu-uwhsckcr, with a shooting iron and 



mongrel, can jfif his baghi ao time, and the real sport which spi - 



from «i n.i- is thereby overlooked . Notwithstanding this, wo now arid 



then rail in with tlio.-c of rare degree of excellence in field mid other 



equal to any in the States. Kennels of imported thoroughbreds 



. Ditca inaltj inetwitb, hayine choice strains and pedigree as tpog as 



jiiat of Mr, Ed. W. Hope, of this place, in whose hospitable 



mansion I :od a guest, contains HE fine thoroughbreds and well trained 



dogs ascunbe found, anywhere. l!< isau-Bngllsug^nUemim, v,«l th< 



tlile of Nature's nobility— imported Ids Own sleek, and hereby puts forth 



ilienaeto r gentlemen to the country in. setters, lie. will pump 



; i, I,,- brace i [ dogs, now nine months old. The ncc . U : dogs 



three months older, and theuial io take place in IB - State or is Illi- 

 nois within six months, subject to the. rules adopted by the Si m e Spo i ! 

 men's Association of Tennessee. 



1 can assure- any gontlematl who may accept this challenge tli.it a rare 



[.ii him not only in the field, lliir, in the good old Efl 

 lied to him by Mr. Hope and ala Inestimable lady »( fijj 



