30 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[FfiBBTLUiY 10, 



similar conditions, and taken out of the woods alive too. 

 Take it for granted that if moose can be so treated, the poor 

 deer are easily made victims. It is possible to so hamper 

 deer with ropes either id the water or in the deep snow. I 

 believe it very excusable for the guides or residents of the 

 wilderness proper to procure venison for subsistence in any 

 manner possible, but the wanton destruction of deer is quite 

 The sportsman might justify himself for 

 t woodcock while on the ground during ncst- 

 llile earing for their young quite as well. It 

 a where necessity demands it, 



irks that owing to the condition of the 



another matt* 

 shooting quail o. 

 ing season, or w 

 is only exeusabi 



Mn Dodge als 

 snow the dogs a 

 Tectly in thisuncom 

 most pernicious evil 

 cated without State . 

 habitants of regions borderm 

 can go in with hounds with p 

 arrest during all times. M: 

 practice during close season evi 



In connection Willi this suhj 

 (ion to a i onion of a leitc rpnbl 



<»t utile to 



eha 



, and in that way p ants di 

 • to one of the greatest and 

 id owe tUat canoot bfeeradi- 

 mney. The fact is that in- 

 llie Adirondack wilderness 



Dodge gu 



of be 



■i I B ! 



ndh 



inst. "The prop 

 after the first day of the 

 Why should it not be so 

 might he made in theca 

 State in a few localities. 

 laws, with the consent 

 Close the gates on tlir 

 Prevent the reception "I 

 the Wen and South, bu 

 marketed very well— c 

 Yes. deer "only exist in 

 if it becomes possible I 

 other cities all during?! 

 be obliged to goto the fa 



juld like to call attcn- 

 your issue of tl c2Tih 

 mid be to forbid the sale of game 

 season. Thisisthe rule abroad. 

 ; Tin; only exception to this 

 venison, which only exists iu our 

 could there be protected by local 

 co-operation of the residents " 

 I but let the sheep go through ! 

 til, grouse and other game from 

 lit venison because it cannot be 

 nientlv — only In cold weather. 

 3tftte In a few localities." I fear 

 arkei venison in Now York and 

 y that the market men will not 

 Weal entirely with orders for veni- 



son ; mysterious boxes and barrels of "potatoes" or possibly 

 "nuiUoii"will be shipped from Ihc "few localitiesof ourState" 

 as long as they exist. However great the supply may be at 

 present 1 think means should be taken to prevent a diminu- 

 tion of it rather than to olfer loop-holes for a contrary result. 

 If the marketmen cannot conveniently freeze their venison so 

 as to bring it to markel during the Open season, and sell it 

 during that season, why I say let them sutler, not the deer. 

 If it is prohibited to sell qiinil'on or after the nrsl day of the 

 close season it reverts to the benefit of game, for there would 

 not be so much killed during the last few dayB of the open 

 season virtually cutting short the opeu season for pot-hun- 

 ters, and is a suggestion worthy of consideration, very broadly 

 too. For in protecting the zarne are we not protecting the 

 interests of all lovers of sport at thesame lime the genuine in- 

 terests o!' maikch i : J ll' they do not know their own 



greatest interests the societies who study such matters and 

 the sportsmen's- papers should point out to tbem the straight 

 and narrow path. 



To permit o fc violation and discountenance another, it 

 must be admit! ed, "works harm to the general enforcement 

 of the law." Woixat. 



QUAIL AND DUCKS IN FLORIDA. 



Wtlliamsi'ort, Md., Jan. 31. 



A WORD of warning and of a ivice to brothers of the rod 

 and gun may not come amiss, and I shall be fully re- 

 paid if 1 can save only one of your manv readers, who are 

 thinking of such a Hip. from Ihc 'impositions practiced by the 

 railroad between Kieontnnd, Ya.. and .Jacksonville. Append- 

 ed they will Sad .-, tisi ot d.og tales with (he routes (raveled. 



The Oral question asked, "Is there plenty or game?" aud 

 lean truthfully Bay yes. Ducks, quail, deer, turkeys and 

 fish are to be found iu abundance, such an abundance as no 

 Eastern gunners can ever hope to see here, and withal so 

 easy of access from all points North that the wonder is that 

 more spoilsmen do not go (here. The whole line of railroad 

 from Feruandimi lo Cedar Hey s literally swarms with ducks 

 and quail, and at almos 1 every station on the road board can 

 be had at from $1 to 81 50 per day. 



Our party, consi ting of II ,1. and the writer, with our guns 

 and three dogs, left Washington on the fast mail south al 11:60 

 a. m., January 6, and right there our (roubles began. 



While purchasing our' tickets we inquired about charges on 

 our dogs, and were informed by the gentlemanly agent that 

 there waB no charge on dogs except the baggage master's fee, 

 and such we found reasonably corned Until We reached Rich- 

 mond There, as paymaster' for our trio, my troubles began 

 in dead earnest, and the further we went the worse ii became, 

 until in sheer desperation we threw away our tickets from 

 Charleston, S. C, to Jacksonville via railroad, and took pas- 

 sage to the latter point on the steamboat. St. Johns, mak- 

 ing thereby a clear saving of twelve dollars on account of 

 dogs, aud in addition reaching Jacksonville fully six hours 

 ahead of our train. For Jacksonville we star >ed for Otter 



Creek and Col. W 



ing when we reached A 



i in the "Gulf Hammock," bu> find- 

 her that the whole country south of 

 e concluded lo stop at the latter point. 

 l the person of Capt. J. D. McDon- 

 Iraiu) came to the front, and advised 

 assuring us that it was the "gunner's 

 ion we cau heartily bear testimony to 



Bronson was flooded 

 There our good angel 

 nell (our couduetoi ot 

 us to go to Shell Laki 

 paradise," which asse 

 the truth of. 



Reaching Shell Lake about noon we were most hospitably 

 received by our generous host, Judge Mel). Although he was 

 totally unprepared for our arrival we were at once made to 

 feel that sou hern hospitality is still no myth, for "right roy- 

 ally" were we enterta'iied, although unknown to us a dark 

 shadow even then overhung the household. 



The time flew by all too fast for us, and our departure, has- 

 tened as it was by the demise of Judge McD's wife, made our 

 leave-taking doubly sad. We will long remember our week 

 of sport among the ducks and quail, with which Shell Lake 

 and the adjoining broad acres abound, and the happy evening 

 hours spent in the society of their owner and his noble sons 

 and lovely niece. Any sportsmen tourists who are in the fu- 

 ture so fortunate as to drop into our quarters there will ac- 

 knowledge that half has not been told. 



Our gunning score was for two days as follows : Friday, 

 the 14th, 87 ducks to three guns; Saturday, the 13th, 70 

 quail to three guns. This could have been duplicated every 

 day of our stay had we been inclined to shoot for the score, 

 but it looked too much like wanton slaughter, and we only 

 hunted hours enough each day to kill what game could be 

 consumed. 



But all things must have an end, and as our holiday drew 

 to a close we regretfully turned our faces homeward, lauding 

 safely in Washington on the night of the 23d, tired and 

 "travel stained," but of the unanimous opinion that Florida 

 n general and Alachua and Levy counties in particular can 



afford such shooting as is nowhere else to be found that it has 

 been our good fortune to visit. 



In conclusion let me say to all who are going South and in- 

 tend taking their dogs along, do not go via ""Atlantic Coast 

 Line" of railroads unless your pocket is deep enough to stand 

 a constant drain on it iu shap-. of mileage on dogs. Charges 

 on dogs from Petersburg to Weldon are lc. per mile ; from 

 Weldon to Wilmington, N. C, l^c. per mile; from Wilming- 

 ton to Florence, l^c. per mile; Florence to Charleston, lfe. 

 per mile ; Charleston to Savannah, lc. per mile and so on 

 all through, charges ranging from one to one and three-quar- 

 ter cents per mile. On the F. G. and W. J. Transit Road 

 charges are one dollar per head if you take dogs only five 

 miles, or one dollar for the. whole length of road from Fer- 

 nandina to Cedar Keys. The best route for sportsmen is by 

 water from either New York or Philadelphia, as it is not 

 near so hard on the dogs and $25 easier on the pocket. 



Kexoiio. 



KILLING GROUSE FROM TREES. 



UPON reading the pleasant articles of "Jack," of Staun- 

 ton, Virginia, and " Black Ned," headed "Dogs That 

 Tree Grouse," in your issue of the 2'ith inst., I was some- 



i Ned " does not consider 

 a trees. If there are any 

 rribly hard to bring to bag 

 of Virginia and partridge 

 ^s) I am not aware of it. 

 ." How is one to kill them 

 i bench-legged flee to get 



hat surprised to" find that " Bl: 

 it sportsmanlike to kill grouse fror 

 other birds so wild, so horribly, te- 

 as the ruffed grouse (the pheasant 

 of the Northern and Western Stat) 

 I will not agree with " Black Ned 

 iu an ivy thicket too thick for I 

 through ? Aud just such places suit grouse besl 



I am very much like the old country fellow who went to 

 the menagerie. I believe I will tell the Story— with your 

 permission ; An old countryman, upon one occasion, went to 

 an animal show and was very much pleased witli all that he 

 saw. As he stood leaning upon his long staff, intently gazing 

 upon the various animals, he asked very many questions Of 

 one of (ho showmen, whose business it was to answer all 

 questions about them. " What is this ?" queried old home- 

 spun. " That, sir, is the elephant." " And what is this V" 

 asked the old fellow. "That animal, sir, is the monkey." 

 "Monstrous like folks, too," put in the old one. " Here is 

 another great critter," said the countryman; "what do ye 

 call him?" "The camel, sir. He cau go without food as 

 long as Dr. Tanner — and without water, too— and bear at the 

 same time the hottest sun," said the showman. " The camel I" 

 said the countryman. "Well, I have long wanted to see 

 one. In searching the Scripter I have, read a heap about 

 'em." 



Just at this time the showman was called off and the old 

 man had then to navigate alono. He wandered around for 

 some time in the most serious manner until, by and by, he 

 came upon a cage of snakes. Here he stopped and a grand 

 smile lit up his face, which soon turned to a broad grin and 

 finally the grin ran into an old-fashioned laugh. Here was 

 something the old fellow knew all about. While looking at 

 and enjoying the snakes, his horny hand still firmly clutch- 

 ing his good two-year-old hickory stick, one of the snakes 

 thrust its head between the wires" right in front of him, and 

 in an instant the old one popped oil' its head, killing it as dead 

 as the mischief. Quick as lightning another and another 

 head came out, and by quick blows of the old man's staff 

 were sent the way of number one. By this time the work 

 became fast and furious, snakes poking their heads out of 



nearly every i 

 and were decapitated 

 fact, he got. so warme 

 hickory With both hai 

 down with all pc 



n one end of the cage to the other. 

 n a (rice by blows from the stick. In 

 1 mi to his work that he seized his 

 ds and thrust it into the cage and came 

 overhanded, upon its occupants. 

 At this juncture the atteution of the keeper was called to 

 the scene and, rushing up, he said ; " In the name of all that 

 is good, what arc you doing, sir? Those snakes cost me 

 $5,000." 



The old man merely turned his head for an instant (.the rc- 

 maiks of the showman having no oilier effect than to cause 

 the countryman, to withdraw his stick and resume (he pop- 

 ping-off process in his former .scientific manner), remarking; 

 "Stranger, I don't care a darn ; I kills 'em just wherever I 

 sees 'em." 



Now, "Black Ned," I am, with regard to the ruffed 

 grouse.' like my old friend— "I don't eared, cent ; 1 kills 'cm 

 just wherever I sees 'em." Riohakd St. Conway. 



t'fiiwi'iy Farm, Va. 



Montreal, Jan. 2(5, 1881. 



I am happy to see that matters pertaining to ruffed grouse, 

 mode of treeing them, etc., are claSmingaltention in your col- 

 umns. Some years ago 1 lost a tine Norfolk spaniel. Friend 

 Hallock ui making mention of his death in Fokest an-d 

 Stkkatb claimed him to have been " the best ruffed grouse 

 dog known." His superiority was in his nose, which enabled 

 him to find every bird iu the woods, and in the perfect control 

 I had over him. 



The red colleys when trained for that purpose make very 

 fine dogs for ruffed grouse shooting; they, perhaps, have not 

 so strong a nose as the field spaniel, but their color, greater 

 intelligence and sly, careful, foxy-like movements, make 

 them seemingly especially adapted for treeing grouse. 



A brother of the writer has one of these dogs (not for 

 sale) which in some ways displays more intelligence in tree- 

 i"g his bird than any other dog I ever saw. I have repeated- 

 ly seen lion when following a bird at full speed that he had 

 flushed and lost sight of in (he brush stop suddenly and listen 

 to hear his game when it would alight then locate, and find 

 it. Those who have hunted tins kind of game know 

 that, when they alight on a tree after flying some 

 distance they make a noise with their wings that can 

 be heard quite a distance. To train a colly for ths 

 work, begin when he is not over six or eight months old, 

 and let, him mouth the first bird shot to his satisfaction, use 

 him kindly, encourage, but never abuse bim, his intelligence 

 and love for the sport will teach him to do right when he 

 learns what you require of him. 



I can also bear testimony with "Jack" that fox hounds 

 are sometimes good grouse dogs. The " old gent," Mr. E. 

 W. (leer, of Fairfield, or rather Sheldon, Vt. P. O., who is 

 an old veteran fox burner, had in my boyhood's days a fox- 

 hound that we used to hunt foxes, rabbits and grouse. He 

 W 'Uld give tongue on the trail of the latter game, and tree 

 them and keep his bugle agoing until the whole woods fairly 

 echoed with "delightful music" and we bagged the bird. 

 The "old gent " deserves more than a passing notice. Quite 

 a humorist and naturalist, in his way, full of dry wit, and 

 thoroughly understanding the habits of the local groue found 

 in his vicinity make bima pleasant companion to thosewhoru 

 he will accept as suck. In his younger days be used a short 



twenty-inch under-lock Windsor rifle, and many a fox has 

 he knocked over when running at. full speed from twenty to 

 thirty-five rods away, and would also kill rabbits while "run- 

 ning before the hounds, in thick swamps where he could not 

 see the rabbit but for a single jump at a time. I have also 

 known him to shoot muskrats swimming in the creek in the 

 evening when it was too dark to see the sights on his gun. 

 The last wolf killed in his county he killed by still-hunting, 

 and shot his game as it lay asleep digesting the mutton it had 

 eaten in a farm yard the eveuing before. The "old gent" 

 is now sixty-three years of age, and owing to failing eyesight 

 has laid aside his ride and uses a light muzzle-loading Eng- 

 lish shot-gun, and has within the past month taken uomelong 

 tramps through the snow at his favorite sport, fox bunting. 



At some future date I will send you some facts regarding 

 thehabit8 of ruffed grouse, where they are likely ttf tree 

 when flushed, etc. Stakstbad. 



Wkllsvillb, Jan. 26. 



Having watched with much interest the discussions in your 

 valuable paper, particularly the conflicting opinions of my 

 friends F. and Bell Muzzle relative to grouse tree ng after 

 being flushed by dog or man, I offer some smrgestii-.iTs, elm 

 results of observations made in the twenty years" that I have 

 been a lover of both rod and gun. In my humble opinion 

 they are both correct, aud only have to be located differently 

 to make them so. My experience has been that grouse will 

 tree after making their flight in localities where is no under- 

 growth or fallen limber, making it a subject of wonder to 

 owners of fine pointers or setters aud ofttimes of censure to 

 the dogs that they were unable to find after the first flight 

 and marking down of birds, which birds were undoubtedly 

 at the time standing very still and straight, close to the 

 trunk of some bushy hemlock forty feet above them. For it 

 does not prove absolutely that there is no grouse, in almost 

 any tree because you cannot detect his presence, which the 

 most practiced eye fails to do. But the same dogs often re- 

 deem themselves when hunting in low cover, making good 

 the reputation lost by not being able to climb tree's iu 

 search of game. 



It does not tax my memory severely to remember when it 

 was considered an achievement to bag a limited number of 

 grouse by the easiest method afforded, either by stealing a, 

 inarch on an old drummer, guided by the thud of his wings, 

 and bowding him over with a villainous old musket loaded 

 wilh No. 1 shot and tamped with a whole edition of the vil- 

 lage pjaper, or searching lum out from the dense foliage of a 

 tall hemlock. We never intentionally flushed our birds in 

 those days, and usually forgot to fire if they were so unkind 

 as to anticipate our designs. Men Were rare in this country 

 twenty years ago who would believe it possible, much less 

 attempt" so difficult and uncertain things as bautiut: » ' i. , 

 ou its flashing flight through thickets which at. b. st or Iv" afford 

 a glimpse to direct the aim. But breech-loaders were "equally 

 rare.; also pointers and setters ; and, worse than all, ivehad 

 no Fokest and Stream to guide us. That was the time 

 when the Dittmar might have flourished, aud possibly there 

 would have been no gunners left to tell their 'experience if 

 they had moral courage sufficient to use the deadly i" "i 



K. C. w 



Andovbb, O. 

 I notice in the current number of your paper a .communica- 

 tion in regard to pheasant-treeing dogs I have owned a 

 couple of such dogs and agrpe with sour correspondent as to the 

 breed being unnecessary to make a good treeing dog. l„ the 

 communication referred to the qiier, was put, "How does 

 Ihe dog select the right tree V in my mind this is simple to 

 explain in two ways: one by the fact that some dogs follow 

 the flight of a bird with their eye. When a pheasant is flush- 

 ed by a dog well in advance of the hunter ii nearly always 

 rises into a tree and there remains until somelhi 

 flushes it therefrom. This in itself causes more false points 

 by both setters and pointers than any other one fae;. as the 

 bird rises quite noiselessly, and not with the frightened 

 bur-r-r-r that is heard when the hunter approaches. The pheas- 

 ant-treeing dog notes this, aud when the bird alights in some 

 friendly bushy-topped tree he goes tearing alter it and by his 

 barking so bewilders the bird that he is easily stalked and 

 shot. The other way in which some treeing dogs distinguish 

 the tree (and probabiy the most general manner | is by search- 

 ing for the droppings of the bird, which are made immediate- 

 ly on their alighting in a tree. As soon as the whilfel winds 

 these droppings he works up to the tree and, finding Ihem. 

 elevates Wb nose and gives loud mouth until the bird again 

 takes wing or is shot by the sportsman. The trees gen- 

 erally selected by pheasants treeing are evergreens or beech 

 with the dry leaves still on. I have a dog at present that will 

 tree birds by the latter method and stay with ihem hours, 

 but I don't allow him with me except when rabbit hunt ing, 

 as I prefer a setter and the sport of shooting On the wing. 

 Very few pheasants were killed in this section ibis 

 though they were quite plenty. I know of a nut 

 brood of quail, but did not disturb then., preferring to let 

 them breed another sensou. The rabbits arc very numerous, 

 and within a few miles of here some hare Can be found. The 

 wild turkeys are gelling scarce, though there were a couple 

 of flocks reared in the Dorset woods last summer. 



A. W G. 



MokkisanU Station, N. Y,, Jan. 10. 



While the subject is under discussion in your columns, 1 

 would say that I think the different views of the subject of 

 ruffed grouse resting on trees may be easily accounted for. 

 In the Canada woods, where and because they are seldom 

 disturbed, I have often shot them from fees with my rifle. 

 A setter or pointer there would be superfluous. But in the 

 woods nearer home, where they are so often shot at or hunt- 

 ed, I have very seldom seen them take refuge ou trees, and I 

 doubt whether the "little barking dog," so often mentioned, 

 would have much occupa 1 ion in treeing them in any of the 

 well-scoured woods near New York. 



As to squirrels not laying up stores for winter use, I shot a 

 red squirrel last November iu Dutchess Comity which was 

 watching my movements from a hole iu a dead tree. Cut- 

 ting the stump down I found the little fellow, and from 

 under him, in the hollow of the tree, I gathered more than 

 three quarts of chestnuts. And the experienced farmer- 

 sportsman with me asserted that they always lay up stores 

 for winter. On the same trip I had a black snake, and a very 

 large fellow of some unknown kind, hiss very dl cidedly at 



met M .VNHATTATX. 



The Staten Island Association have received 000 quail 

 from Tennessee, 



