310 



FOREST AND STREAM 



ties to delight the appetite. Last Winter he supplied this 

 market wilh salad, radishes, rhubarb, and other vegetables. 

 He also rllipped larsre quantities to New- Fork This Win- 

 ter the Colonel has entered a new field, and in the window 

 of Messrs. MeGibbon & Bairn, opposite, are specimens 

 from his greenhouse of various sorts of evergreens, includ- 

 ing heaths, ferns, heather, lyeopodiums, both native and 

 exotic, all in a state of refreshing preenress." 



•**- 



FEED THE BIRDS. 



Milton, Mass., December 17, 1874. 

 Editor Forest a*t> Stream:— 



A hint to nil who love tha little birds this cold weather : Procure a 

 piece of b ef suet, tie it securely to pome bush or tree near your window, 

 and you will soon havo a call from the chickadee-, *BO perhaps, if the 

 106* has bsen on the ground long, the blno jay will lie tempted to come 

 and cot ablto or tno, andtheu hurry away before you can see half his 

 beauty. 



This hint may give plea<nre to some sportsman who is confined to his 

 honsj, but ivho still recalls how, on some lone runway, while after a deer 

 or fox, he has b.-cn visited by the chickadees; when, by keeping still, 

 they would como and peep into the muzzle of his gun as it rested over 

 his shoulder, fours truly, Geo. S. Estky. 



Cakkhr m the Eaji.— We have seen within the past 

 two weeks two very bad cases of canker in the ear of one 

 setter and one pointer cured by the following treatment, 

 which we give our readers, feeling confident of its utility. 

 The treatment, as follows, our friends tell us, they took 

 from Herbert's "Sportsman's Vade Mecum," but on refer- 

 ence we find it differs somewhat. From the severity of 

 the cases wo inspected, and the perfect recovery the treat- 

 ment wrought, we give it as it has been handed us, as it- 

 will doubtless be valuable to the sportsman. 



Begin by washing the ear well with mottled castile soap 

 and warm water, afterwards filling up the member with 

 powdered charcoal, and cleaning out every day with a 

 small piece of soft sponge fastened to a pliable whalebone, 

 using warm water. After the ear is perfectly clean, dip 

 the sponge into a weak solution of acetate of lead or sul- 

 phate of zinc; insert into the ear again, and turn it around 

 gently once or twice. 



Canker is a very dangerous disease in a dog, and many 

 are destroyed by it, as it frequently attacks the drum of 

 the ear, and even extends to the brain if neglected. As we 

 said before, we particularly noticed the severity of these 

 two cases, and are pleased to hand their cure to our pat- 

 runs. 



»*•■ 



Another Pedigree. — We have received from our cor- 

 respondent, "Nimrod," of Boston, the pedigree of his 

 famous Irish setter Kiltie, an animal that he imported last 

 year from the kennel of Mr. Llewellin, of England. He 

 also sent us the photograph of Dick, another of the Irish 

 breed, and from looks we should say that it was a fine type 

 of its race. The brother of Kittie won the first prize at 

 Glasgow and the second at the Crystal Palace: — 



Bed Irish setter b'.tcb, winner of second prize, North Wales Dog Show, 

 and own si~ter to Mr. Llewellin's "Kit..-," winner both at the show bench 

 and lu the held. 





o 2* 



§ & B 



Si 



The Dingo Doos at Philadelphia. — The Philadelphia 

 Zoological Society have lately added to their collection of 

 animals a remarkably fine pair of wild Dingo dogs from 

 Australia. These animals havo become domesticated in a 

 great measure, and show their pleasure while visitors are 

 about their enclosure by an active wagging of the tail. In 

 appearance they resemble a cross of the Esquimau dog 

 and shepherd, and in color are very much like ihe Scotch 

 colley; but in countenance we could not help noticing the 

 same wollishness apparent ill all wild dogs, with the ever 

 characteristic fox-like eye. The keeper informed us that 

 thus tar he had never heard them bark, the only sound 

 the/ utter being a whine or howl. They readily partake 

 of bread or biscuit given to them by visitors; hut their 

 chief food is the flesh provided for them once & day. 



In their native state, the Dingo dogs hunt in packs of 

 from fifteen to twenty, following a leader and running by 

 scent, and are extremely lasting and fleet ou foot. They 

 are said to have excellent olfactory powers, and seldom 

 fail to run their prey down. 



In Australia, the Dingo dog is a great pest to the settler, 

 doing great damage to the sheep fold. The natives have 



succeeded in domesticating it, and use it for the chase to ad- 

 vantage; but in every case it can he said the animal is but 

 partly tamed, always retaining its savage nature. The 

 Dingo dogs at the Philadelphia Zoological Gardens are 

 male and female, and, like those in the collection at Lon- 

 don, will no doubt breed in confinement. 



■*»♦■ 



Snipe to First Break Puppies On.— We heard in the 

 past week a very forcible argument in favor of the snipe 

 as being the best bird on which to first break young setters 

 or pointers. The trainer in question is remarkable for the 

 perfection with which dogs know his hands, and telis us | 

 that owing to the stubbornness with which the quail lies, a ! 

 beginner will soon learn that the bird will allow his near j 

 npproaoh before pointing, and on being hunted on snipe or j 

 woodcock, which do not lie so close as the first men- j 

 Honed bird, the puppy will naturally attempt to get as | 

 near to them as he could to the quail. There is a great 

 deal of truth in this, for we seldom see a erack quail dog 

 that is at all good on snipe and woodcock, much more of- 

 tener finding a fine snipe dog equally as good ou quail. 



A Magnificent Bloodhound.— Mr. Oscar Spitzer, of 

 Fast Thirteenth street, New York, advertised in our jour- 

 ual that he bad a Siberian bloodhound for sale, and in a 

 day or two after he sold the animal. Ere delivering him 

 to the purchaser, ho brought him to our office, and from 

 his looks we must say that he is one of the finest types of 

 his race we have ever seen. He is a direct descendant of 

 Francis Butler's celebrated dog Uncas, his dam being one 

 of the Emperor of Russia's most valued kennel of Russian 

 bloodhounds. He is of a black and white hue, the former 

 merging closely into the mouse color. He is the only ani- 

 mal of his peculiar breed in this country snd in England. 

 We understand that there is only one kennel of the same 

 type, and that belongs to the Queen, though none of her 

 dogs are as tall as this one, nor as long by a few inches. It 

 is supposed that he is the largest animal of his breed in the 

 world, and ibis can be readily understood from the meas- 

 urement which we made ourselves, and wdiich we give 

 here. Length of body from tip of nose to root of tail, 

 fifty-six inches; length of caudal, twenty-two inches; total, 

 seventy-eight inches, or six and a half feet; length of head 

 from tbe nose to the anterior portion of the ears, thirteen 

 inches; depth through the forehead to the neck, twenty- 

 five inches; girth of neck, twenty and a half iucbes; girth 

 of body near the foresboulder, thirty-six inches; height at 

 foreshoulder, thirty-one inches; length of foreleg below 

 the shoulder, eighteen and a half inches; weight, 136 

 pounds. 



Though he was in rather poor condition, owing to recent 

 illness, it will be seen that he displayed fine proportions. 

 The purchaser was Mr. James D. Butler, attorney-at-law, 

 of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 



^ i» — - 



POINTER vs. SETTER. 



Hachting and Routing. 



HIGH WATER. TOR THE WEEK. 



Date. 



Boston. 



Xew York. 



Charleston. 



Dec. 34 



eve.' 31 



1 23 



2 11 

 ■I 55 



3 88 



4 21 



5 5 



9' 19 



10 9 

 15 53 



11 39 

 eve. 21 



1 8 

 1 Si 



10 n 



:o 55 



Dec. 25 



Dec. --6.. 



Dec 87 



Dec. 28 



Dec. 28 



eve. 21 



Dec. J« 



1 5 



For forest ami Stream. 



Pomfket Centbe, Conn., December 7, 1874. 

 Editor Porest and Stream:— 



Two typographical mistakes 111 my account of the Webster setters. In- 

 stead of Zip read 77/i, and instead of one sixth read one-sixteenth. I see 

 yon consider the pointer the steadiest, easiest worked, and less liable to 

 flush his gamo. If yon havo or know of any extra flue, cautions ones, I 

 would like you to make me a visit and bring one and see how my setters 

 will compare with him ou ruffed grouse, which is the most wary game 

 bird we have to get points over. I have three setter bitches, all well 

 broken, all small size, and one in good condition only weighs 24i lbs. 

 She is very sp'-eily. The other two are quiet, steady w;orking ones in the 

 field, but will drop each a litter of pups the last of this month. 1 have 

 also here a flue hred, nice working pointer, that came direct from the 

 kennel of the Dnke of Newcastle, sired by the prize dog that sold for 

 $800 in gold. My kennel now numhers twelve, all told— four setter 

 bitches, rive setter dogs, one fox hound, and one St. Bernard. 



E. Allin. 



Our correspondent is a little sensitive on the pointer and 

 setter difference. If he will re-peruse our article he would 

 sec that we recommend the pointer for the sportsman who 

 goes into the field but two or three times a season, but for 

 the every day, constant shooter, we admire the setter, and 

 so does everybody. 



—The following very "Frenchy" story is going around: — 

 "Recently the dogs lost a fox near to the station of Ferte 

 Saint Aubiu, and, though they beat up the neighborhood 

 for two hours, could get no trace. It was thought very 

 strange that an old dog was missing also. Next day it was 

 ascertained that the 'fox had leaped into the baggage car of 

 a train just going out, and the dog had followed and killed 

 him." 



— Rev. Wm. Atwood has secured a venerable goose, said 

 to be seventy-one years old, having been hatched in 1803, 

 This is age with a vengeance. 

 «»■» 



—Boston ate three million frogs last season. One firm in 

 Niiwburyport supplied most of them, hiring men to hunt 

 the swamps tor them. 



— A canny Scot has discovered that if a hide is immersed 

 for four or live days in a mixture of vegetable or animal 

 charcoal and water, of the consistency of a tliin paste, the 

 hair is entirely removed, and the leather made from a hide 

 thus treated is of superior quality. 



—A Darwin man went coon hunting recently, and on 

 coming home mistook his wife's band-box for a stool and 

 sat do idi on it. There were no harsh words, notears.no 

 upbraiding— she simply rapped him with a club. 



—An Atlanta man left a shot gun at the guard house the 

 other night as a sort of security for the appearance of his 

 mother, who had been arrested. Desiring to go hunting 

 the next morning he curried the old lady down, turned her 

 over to the authorities, and proudly marched off with his 

 gun. 



YACHTING. 



OUR good yacht May at her mooring swings, 

 The waves are dashing merry and free; 

 The wind through the rigging gaily sings, 

 So up with the anchor and out to sea. 



You may talk of gnnning and rowing, 

 Of your sport with the plover and quail, 



But hurrah for the fresh breeze blowing, 

 As out of the harbor we sail. 



Ah I that la-d puff was rather heavy- 

 Are your timbers and spars quite strongf 



And really, it's getting quite wavy — 

 I hope there is nothing wrong. 



Does'nt that, topsail crowd her? 



Is -but t think I'll step below, 

 That steward's villainous chowder 



Has upset my stomach sol 



C. F. G. 



The Sea-Captains of the Future. — The schoolship 

 St. Mary's is moored in the East River, off Twenty-third 

 street, and will remain until next Spring. She arrived re- 

 cently from Boston, where she was fitted for the school 

 service. Half the battery was taken out to make room 

 under the deck for study-tables for the boys. The object 

 of the training school is to fit the boys to "become seamen 

 in the merchant service. Their drill embraces boxing the 

 compass, learning to distinguish a true knot from a 

 "granny" knot, splicing and knotting ropes, reefing and 

 furling sails, heaving' the lead, and handling the boats. 

 Their heaviest exercise will be to unmuzzle the big guns 

 once a day. The boys will sleep in hammocks, and wear 

 navy blue. 



There is room, Commander R. L. Phythian says, for 200 

 boys in the ship. A ligbt crew T is to be engaged until the 

 boys learn how to run up to the mast heads and man the 

 yards. The officers appointed by President Grant are Com- 

 mander Phythian, Lieut.-C'ommander D. D. Wadleigh, and 

 Surgeon D. C. Burleigh. The school is to be opened this 

 week. — Sun. 



— The ice boats have heen out on the Hudson in full force 

 since the ice has enabled them to run. Several improve- 

 ments have been made recently in these picturesque crafts, 

 and they now seem to be as perfect as they can be made. 



— A telegram from the Signal Service observer at Cape 

 Hatteras announces the arrival there ou Dec. 18, of Mr. N. 

 H. Bishop, who has made the trip from Quebec, Canada, 

 in his paper canoe, the Maria Theresa. The craft weighs 

 only fifty-eight pounds, and has been since the 4th of July 

 last making the voyage. Mr. Bishop expects to reach his 

 destination, Key-West, about March 1, 1875. 



—The Columbia Yacht Club has elected R. McWhinney, 

 Commodore; E. H. Osborn, Vice Commo'lore; James A. 

 Smith, Secretary; Robert Wilson, Treasurer; Wm. Copper- 

 smith, Measurer; J. P. Smith, Steward. 



— Within the past ten years the screw has entirely re- 

 placed tbe paddle in transatlantic navigation; the weight of 

 marine engines has decreased one half, the steam pressure 

 has quadrupled, and the consumption of coal has dimin- 

 ished two-thirds. 



The Fair Haven Shabpie.— We have alluded several 

 times in these columns, inciden'ally, to the Fair Haven 

 "sharpie," a craft strictly sui generis, as will he found by 

 reading the following from the New Haven ttegMer:— 



The sharpie is a craft that can be successfully built only 

 in this port. Gen Ducat of Chicago bought one iu Fair 

 Haven about a year ago and took it home, where it has be- 

 come famous. In 1873 Frank Leslie had one built in Fail- 

 Haven, and took it with him to Florida, where the boat 

 whipped everything in those waters. Amos Cummiugs, of 

 the Sun, has recently purchased a sharpie of David O. 

 Twitchell, of this city, which he has taken to Florida. It. 

 is said that several sharpie builders, who had built famous 

 boats in Fair Haven, found it impossible to equal their 

 former successes after removing to ports on the Long Islaud 

 shore. 



The sharpie was born in Fair Haven and several have 

 been built there and sent across the Atlantic in answer to 

 orders. The most famous specimen of the craft in these 

 parts is the boat known throughout the Sound as "Law's 

 sharpie." So fast is she that she is barred out of the races 

 which are frequently gotten up along the shore in Summer, 

 and excellent builders have vainly tried to equal her by 

 making boats whose measurements, weight, and .spread of 

 canvas were exactly the same as hers. There are several 

 copies of her in this port, but the divine swiftness of the 

 prototype admits no rival. Those who have, seen her scud- 

 ding under full sail, with two men sitting ou the end of a 

 long plank running out over the water to the windward to 

 keep her from tipping over, will always remember "Law's 

 sharpie." 



We are personally quite familiar with this species of 

 craft; and every Yale alumnus, or any other man who has 

 resided in New Haven will recall their familiar outlines 

 and their wonderful achievements. A description of the 

 boat which Mr. Twitchell built for Mr. Cummings of the 

 Sun will answer for them all, in a general way, although 

 the length varies greatly, and the lines are different. Most 

 of them have two masts, with leg-of-mutton sails. This 

 boat was sixteen feet long, four feet four inches wide on 

 the top, and three feet eight inches wide ou the bottom, 



