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FOREST AND STREAM. 



fe^J&k 



A WEEKLY JOURNAL, 



Demoted toEiei-w and Aquatic Sports, Pi>j»tioai.Natitiiai,Histort, 

 Fic« Cm,rnre, the Protection <>i» GAjiE.l'itESEiivATioN or Forests, 



AXD TtIK INIICUJATION INMKN AND WoiU!» OP A 1IEAI.THT INTEREST 



ts Oct door Recreation and Htddt : 



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4gortnl and ^treniij flttibUshing ^omp,v\v, 



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NEW YORK, TIIURSDAY, JANDARY 14,1875. 



To Correspondents. 



All eommnnlcations whatever, whether relating to bnelness or literary 

 correspondence, mnst he addressed to The Forest and Stream Pub- 

 Lisrtrao Compant. Personal or private letters of course excepted. 



All communications intended for publication must be accompanied with 

 cal name, as a guaranty of good faith. Names will not be rmbliBbed 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 ua with brief 

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

 to become a medium of nsefnl 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 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 bo admitted to any department of the paper that 

 may not he read with propriety in the home cu-cle. 



We cannot be responsible for the dereliction of the mail service, if 

 money remitted to ub is lost- 

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

 CHARLES If ALLOCK, Managing Editor. 



WILLIAM C. HARRIS. Business Manager. 



REPORTS. 



WE have been favored with the sixth annual report of 

 the Museum of Natural History, and a photograph 

 of the handsome structure in process of construction on 

 the corner of Seventy-seventh street and Ninth avenue, 

 TV 111 Ch is to contain the treasures now stored in the old 

 building- The report speaks in the highest terms of the 

 financial condition of the museum fund, and the increas- 

 ing number of subscribers. The membership fee of $10 

 defrays the current expenses at present, while all subscrip- 

 tions of $100 and upwards are reserved for increasing the 

 collection. During the last eleven months the member- 

 ship has increased from 350 to 1,100, and it promises ere 

 long to be sufficiently large to enable the managing com- 

 mittee to secure the aid of scientific gentlemen to classify 

 and arrange the various families and species. 



The museum has received a very handsome donation 

 from Miss Catherine L. AVolfe, the daughter of its late 

 President, in the shape of a rare conchological collection, 

 numbering 50,000 specimens, and a scientific library of 

 1,000 volumes. Mr. Wittbaus has also given 8,000 speci- 

 mens of the American coleoptera, representing 2,000 spe- 

 cies. 



The Smithsonian Institution has furnished some birds' 

 nests; sixteen skeletons of the moas, or gigantic^fossil 

 birds of New Zealand, the largest of which is over ten feet 

 high, have been secured; and $13,000 have been subscribed, 

 chiefly by the trustees, for the purchase of new fauDal col- 

 lections. A mineralogical department has also been added, 

 and it now numbers 7,000 specimens. 



The educational work of the museum is evident from the 

 fact that teachers take pupils there to give them instruc- 

 tion, and that as high as 10,000 people sometimes visit it 

 daily. An edifice of this sort should be supported liber- 

 ally in a financial, way, for it is not only a credit to our city 

 and State, but also one of the highest educational institu- 

 tions in the land in all matters pertaining to natural his- 

 tory. 



We have received a pamphlet on the natural history of 

 tho mnridte found along the route of the Northern Bound- 

 ary Survey, prepared by Dr. Elliott Coues, the naturalist of 

 the expedition. The technical description of each species 

 in ample, yel concise, and is probably the most complete 

 Issued thus far The ground covered by the vapor/. Is a 



belt of country extending along the parallel of 40' north, 

 from the Red River of the north to the Rocky Mountains, 

 representing the northern boundaries of the Territories of 

 Dakota and Montana. Of the murida;, the genera sigmo- 

 don, ochetodon, myodes, and cnniculus are not represented, 

 as the first two are southern and the others Arctic, yet all 

 the species and genera arc introduced to complete an ac- 

 count of the group. 



■♦.♦- 



COLLEGE CONTESTS. 



COLLEGE students, who are now recognized as onr 

 highest types of mental and physical culture, as a 

 class, have taken a very prominent, interest in ride practice 

 of late. Harvard and Columbia will soon have rifle teams, 

 and other colleges will, no doubt, follow their lead; for if 

 any one thing animates our students it is a generous spirit 

 of rivalry, and the desire to uphold the honor of their 

 ahua mater in all manly accomplishments. In that case, 

 intercollegiate rifle contests will become as much a pait of 

 the physical curriculum as boating or base ball is at present, 

 and will be prosecuted with the same vigorous enthusiasm. 



By devoting a share of their attention to this exercise, 

 students would become adepts in a virile accomplishment, 

 one which would prove of use to them in many ways, be- 

 sides its cultivation of the eyes and nerves, and imparting 

 to them a steadiness and confidence in certain cases of 

 danger. 



It has one decided advantage over other exercises to them, 

 especially boating, and that is that they need not forget 

 their studies or go into long and severe training to be- 

 come experts at it. They have plenty of leisure to prac- 

 tice after school hours, and Saturdays, and that is time 

 enough to enable them to become excellent marksmen in a 

 very limited period. The matches between the English 

 Universities and schools are as interesting as any event at 

 Wimblebon, except,'r>erhaps, those between the three King- 

 doms, and the victors receive as much applause and are as 

 proud of their laurels as if they were the crew of the win- 

 ning boat in the great aquatic contest. 



If the competition is so keen between the students of 

 Britain, and their victories are so much applauded, we do 

 not see why the same conditions should not exist here. 

 We are fain to believe that our colleges can produce ride 

 teams that will equal, if not excel, those of Great Britain, 

 from the fact that but few young men are found here who 

 are not acquainted with the use of lire arms, mid that tbey 

 have many opportunities for practice. 



Every prominent seat of learning in the country should, 

 then, organize rifle clubs, engage in friendly contests with 

 each other for a pennant or cup, and when they have proved 

 their power challenge their trans-Atlanlic kindred to a 

 trial of skill. This would cause rifle exercise to attain a 

 vigorous existence in this country, and would, at the same 

 time, give the students a delightful source of recreation and 

 an accomplishment of general utility. 



THE INTERNATIONAL TEAM. 



BUT little has been done recently toward organizing the 

 American International Team for 1875. Since the 

 close of the Fall matches, the gentlemen most conspicuous 

 in rifle practice have been confined to business, so that 

 they have had but little opportunity for completing any 

 arrangements for the coming contest, yet the general un- 

 derstanding is that the team is now composed of those who 

 participated in the international match, and those then 

 known as tho reserves. 



Positions in the team are open to any citizen of the 

 United States who proves himself a better mark* man than 

 any member now in the selected number; and in order that 

 the best shots may be chosen, an opportunity will be afforded 

 to all persons who desire to compete for a place. 



The matter of carrying out the next international match, 

 on the part of the Americans, is now under consideration, 

 as the Amateur Club have delegated all their interest and 

 power in the premises to their Executive Committee, who 

 are to complete the arrangements. The President of the 

 National Rifle Association, at the request of the Ama- 

 teur Club, has been authorized by the Board of Directors 

 to appoint a committee of five members from the Associa- 

 tion to co-operate with the Executive Committee of the 

 Amateur Club, in completing details. This Committee was 

 appointed at the meeting at the Astor House last Tuesday 

 evening, and consists of M. T. Malone, Wm. C. Church, 

 Henry Fulton, Hon. D. W. Judd, E. H. Sandford. Gen. 

 Molineux was added to the committee for the short term. 



This joint committee are not bound to accept as represen- 

 tee men, the gentlemen now known as the American Team; 

 hence they will bear the claims and carefully consider the 

 qualifications of all desiring a place, and will use their best 

 judgment in selecting the next team. 



It is well known that many men are now practising at 

 private ranges in order to test their own skill, and a few 

 of these, niuy prove better marksmen than some of those en- 

 gaged in the recent match, hence the final selection can not 

 be made until it is found that the present team cannot be 

 excelled. Besides the performance of this duty, the joint 

 committee have also to secure the means to pay the ex- 

 penses of the team while abroad. The sum needed will 

 probably amount to $12,000, as some presents are to be 

 made to the Hibernian Riflemen, to reciprocate their kind- 

 ness while here, and to show the esteem in which they are 

 held. This amount can, of course, be readily secured, so 

 that little difficulty will, be encountered in that direction, 

 A.t"tor tin? tnam h/vs been .organized they are to wissf) a Cap- 



tain. The choice now is Col. Gildersleeve, one of our'best 

 shots, and a typical American riflemen, and one besides 

 who has both experience and a thorough knowledge of his 

 duties. If he will accept the position he will, undoubtedly, 

 be the next commander. This team will leave here in 

 .Tune, probably about, the early portion, and shoot the 

 match near Dublin at a date early enough to enable them 

 to participate in the Wimbledon contest. 



The Irish and American riflemen will encamp together 

 at the hitter place, as the former are making all necessary 

 preparations for the comfort of their visitors. This will 

 make their tarry iu England most pleasant, as they will 

 have the companionship of genial and admiring friend?, 

 and their large experience in "Coaching" on that treacherous 

 range. 



The fear that our men would not be enabled to compel e. 

 in the Military matches at, Wimbledon is now dissipated, 

 for Mnjor Leech, in a recent letter to Col. Wingato, stales 

 that the order in vogue, not to permit any persons usiug a 

 rifle under forty-five calibre, to compete in such matches, 

 has been rescinded. This has been done, no doubt, in com- 

 pliment to our riflemen, and to enable them to test their 

 skill. 



The programme us outlined thus far is working very 

 satisfactorily, hence we may rest asured that our team will 

 make a good name for themselves across the Atlantic, and 

 return with honors, if not with the laurels of victory. 



THE GREAT HUNTING AND SCIENTIFIC 

 EXPEDITION. 



WE give this week the promised reply of Col. McCarty 

 to the objections raised by several of our corres- 

 pondents to his contemplated hunting expedition to Texas, 

 Oregon, and California. We find that while the Colonel 

 accepts the strictures as correct on general principles he de- 

 cides emphatically that his critics reason from false premises. 

 Moreover the details of his programme as given by us 

 about a month ago, led our readers to suppose that the 

 hunting Would be commenced in May, when in reality it 

 will not begin until the later part of l June- or the first of 

 July. We are five to saj that the Colonel's views not only 

 accord with our own as gathered from personal experience, 

 but are endorsed also by residents of Texas and other sec- 

 tions of the remote Wesl, and we think that ho has suc- 

 cessfully met llie Objections raised, as may be determined 

 from a prrtisnl of his letter which we herewith append. 

 Besides, this expedition was not originally designed merely 

 as a chase after game, but included in its comprehensive 

 programme a penetration into some of our richest archaeo- 

 logical and otherwise scientific fields of investigation. We 

 shall perhaps be able not, only to discover new geographic! i 

 features, new minerals, and new species of flora, and fain a 

 but possibly new races of men and ruins of aucieut villages 

 and cities: — 



Fifth Avenue Uotel. New Tonu, January Ilth, 1876. 

 Editor Forest and Stream :— 



In eevi-nil i-nrjes ^ ,1 your joiirn.il, pnnu-d s;il,:.,,||,i,-iif: Iu [he aimouiu ,;■_ 

 ment on December 3d of my hunting expedition through the West, I am 

 taken to task as a merciless destroyer of game; and I now propose to 

 meet in detail all the seeming objections that hove been raised by the 

 writers. 



I will preface my remarks by stating a Tact, which T presume ihcy well 

 know, that from the earliest period such parties as the one proposed 

 have been in vogue in Great Britain, and F.uropc generally, and particu- 

 larly in Africa and India. 



Koyal parties annually hunt all varieties of game in preserves Bo Con- 

 tracted, and with the gjime so lame, that to call it sport, would be a satire 

 •,n our oun vast country, where our creatures arc free to roam over l hint- 

 sands of miles of area. As an illustration, a certain English Lord has 

 told me within a fortnight that during the previous season he had killed 

 in his own preserves over 1,8)0 pheasants, Now this nobleman might be 

 branded as a slaughterer, and yet his acquaintance has been courted by 

 all the crack shots of Chicago. 



If this gentleman destroyed 1.200 birds, bow many do you estimate 

 must be annually killed in Great Britain? Do you snppose for one in- 

 stant that litis hunting party of ours contemplates any such destruction.' 

 I disclaim even the imputation. We go for sport, and not for slaughter, 

 nor to secure skins; but to shoot game in season when it, is in condition. 

 I am an old sportsman, and a lover of Nature in all her features; and 

 have yon ever seen one such who would wantonly destroy game without 

 he had use for it! 



The gentlemen who object to my action forget that the seasons are 

 three months earlier in Texas than in the East, and consequently, tha 

 the game is developed much souuer; that onr quail hatch in February 

 our wild turkey in March, our grouse in the same month, usually raising 

 two broods per annum, and that the buffalo calves in April. No hnoter 

 ever shoots a buffalo cow with a calf, or an old bull; but only young 

 heifers and young bulls are killed, and they are nuisances to the herds- 

 men of Southwestern Texas. If all the buffaloes were killed, it would 

 save the owners of cattle from a grievous annoyance, as it would check 

 all depredations on their ranches by the fierce red warriors who follow 

 in their path. With the extermination of the former the Indian would 

 cease bis work of rapine and murder, and by ibis the government would 

 save millions of dollars and the precious lives of many of its best citi- 



But this explanation has little to do with the immediate question. "My 

 object is to show that we do not wish to wantonly exterminate the game, 

 so I herewith give a detailed progra mm e of the contemplated trip, that 

 all may understand that we are not only true hunters and anglers, bat, 

 also a private corps in search of science, health, aud pleasnre. 

 OUR PROGRAMME. 



We leave Glasgow, Scotland, May 1st, per steamship "State of Ne- 

 vada," specially chartered by me for this trip; arrive in New York about 

 the 12th, where we will remain some seven or eight day e , malting short, 

 excursions about the city and bay; thence to Niagara Falls by the Erie 

 or New York Central Railroad, remaining one dny; thence to Chicago, 

 tarrying a few days; then 'take a steamer, specially chartered, and pro- 

 ceed to Lake Superior, fishing the rivers and lakes for two weeks; then 

 return to Chicago, and after a rest of Ave days start for Texas, where we 

 are to join our wagon trains, hunters, and commissariat already provided 

 for the journey.' This, you see, takes ns into (He middle of June, when 

 wild turkeys and quail un: full grown, fawns have lo„r their Bpota, (did 

 buffalo calves are brown. After homing through Western Texas for 

 fifty or sixty dsy» In quest of buffalo Had other varieties of game, we 

 will reach Pueblo, Colorado, and thence proceed up the railroad to Colo- 

 tadoSpriugs. urttffl t ■ i , ,>■■ rot n fee; dayp, ami those wito are so in* 

 c)hw4«utykii ■ i ■ irH | m Wed trout »omiEW- 



