Apbil 31, 1881.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



227 



new species of the familj- Proc-dlaridm taken last autumn 

 near Cape Cod. Field Notes on the Birds of San JilBh 

 County, Colorado, is a pleasantly written paper by Mr. Frank 

 JI. Drew, and gives an extremely attractive account of the 

 habits of some, of our Wesrern bints. .Mr. W D. Scott pre- 

 sents some novel and significant facts with regard to the mi- 

 gration of birds wh ch deserve lIic close attention of ornith- 

 ologists. How far it is practicable to proceed on the hints 

 that he gives us it would be hard at present to say, but his 

 observations have certainly the merit of being wholly novel, 

 and it is possible that they may open up a wider field for ob- 

 servation than would atflrst seem possible. The departments, 

 Recent Literature and Geueral Notes, are full of interesting 

 ornilholigical news, atd the number as a whole quite up to 

 its usual standard. 



PUBLISHERS' DEPARTMENT. 



floiahira Shooting Suits. Upthegrove s, MeLellau, Valparaiso, Ind. 



The II. W. t'OLLENDEK Co. Bu.r.rvKn Tables are Hi" most perfeot 

 made. Tlnar lables lor pnva'.e ni.Hinl parlor? aiv a spra i.il leatort' 



01 IJtl^- l.TallLll.Ji.-r.UTfl'^ 7 --.in.'COiS. 'lair: CO ' I 10" Ooiac-. ;IS 4 V II .;•-,,■ It , 



vcsliienee.s, hit ticnf-iti' a u ltli the i lollfrnli-r tables. We laka'plc-aaaro 

 In commending them. 



move May 1 into their 

 new and enlarged ftd- 



Kt Inline;-, relinks this 

 removal necessary. Tile] have introduced many new improvements 

 In t.UP w.i.v in ■ lauor-sauiii; inr.ehaier.Y, v. nich aeoaunts for the low 

 prices a.i, which i.hev are liu'.v furnishing the trade with reels, rods, 

 etc. Koiwlihstaixllng the laree force or men wori.-jnsr over-time, the 

 demand Is greater than the supply. No machinery has been yet ln- 

 vouied to take the glace dJ skilled hand work on the Oner grades or 

 rods. These are entirely made by hand. 



MSSSKS. < (IS!, OV. I'.ls.-anTiOULI.KSON Will 



r r i; orr; , :, o'.r o U'hirli api:-? .;!.-, Ill [Ilia' 



of East Weymouth, Mass., 2 limes: N., of Mass., 5 times ; 

 f '., of Boston, 2 times i and after about ten more shots from 

 natives. :,. Ineky shot cut the throat, and the bird redeemed 

 his chips— 81.80 in Alonzo's bank, and he happy. I put a 

 second orffi up by solicitation for a new party, and the result 

 I herewith give you : Payne, 5 shots; Dr. Holmes, S shots; 

 Dr. Kibby, 3 shots j Herman V- L., 2shoiS; Moony, -I shots; 

 Nash, 5 shots; Yan, o shots; Hall. 2 shots, and 3 from na- 

 tives— $2.80 added to Alonzo's bank, and both fowls sold at 

 cost price But few shots had been fired for thesecond fowl 

 before it had been demonstrated that 5's at 80 yards was 

 comparatively ineffectual, or rather, according to my idea, 80 

 measured yards was too much distance for No. 5's; and as 

 the interest began to slacken I withdrew all limit, allowing 

 BB (buck bul ets), thread-wound cartridges — anything, in 

 fact, 'then the fusilade commenced anew and the air was 

 filled with threads, while the ground looked like a fish seine; 

 but the gunners got discouraged, especially those using Ditt- 

 mar and 6 cent cartridges ; and the bird was finally floored 



or rather glassed by P , the Washington market light 



weight, who was advanced 15 yards and opened with his 8 

 gauge, 14 pounder, when the worthy President, of the "Lim- 

 bers " (a local oiganization) collared the game and admin- 

 istered the coup de grace. 



Such was our experience at 80 yards, and it is unnecessary, 

 after giving the foregoing names, to say anything regarding 

 the quality of weapons they use. It is but fair to say they 

 were, one and all, astonished at the distance of 80 mea'ured 

 yards. I always am, although accustomed to measurements ; 

 and when J hear of extraordinary shots at long range 

 it brings to my uiiud the two instances illustrated above. 



EVKBETT. 



%mt[e JM# <md (Jan. 



SOMETHING ABOUT SHOOTING DISTANCES. 



Boston, April 13. 



IN your late issues I have at times noted the records of 

 some remarkably long shots made by sportsmen, notably 

 the killing of a goose at 85 yards with No. 5 shot. It would 

 be interesting to know if the bird was on the wing, and if so, 

 whether the distance was measured or guessed at, and 

 whether it was to where the bird was struck or fell. I do 

 not pretend that it was impossible, but improbable. In the 

 course of quite an extended gunning experience 1 have my- 

 self made some remarkably long shots, and for the time being 

 thought my gun (as almost, every gunner is apt to think of 

 his own) a" very superior weapon, and as a consequence in- 

 dulged at impossible distances to the profit of Leroy and 

 Hazard. Subsequently I had occasion to test a great many 

 guns for a manufacturer at 40 yards, and the conceit was 

 fully taken out of me. In the. first place every time I faced 

 40 yap's measured it looked to mo very much longer than I 

 had anticipated ; next, after making a handsome, target, say 

 280 to 300 pellets, No. 80, in a UO-inch circle, I was surprised 

 to see how mati3 r plover, life size, I could mark out on that 

 target which would have escaped unharmed. If so (and 

 doubters had best try it) how much less chance of hitting 

 dead at 85 yai ds or 255 feet. 



Comparatively few gunners really know what distances are 

 until they have measured them. Let, the doubter measure 

 his stride (generally i!0 inches) and pace off GO or 80 yards, 

 and then look back, and, rny word for it, it will be to him a 

 surprise. I illustrate by two personal experiences. Some 

 years since, while in Western Ne v York, I heard marvelous 

 stories of a breech-loader owned by the hotel keeper of ihc 

 place. 1 examined the gun, v, hicl'i was a 28-iuch, 12-gauge, 

 weight about 8 lbs., and saw nothing remarkable in it. By 

 measurement it was a half and full choke, left and right bar- 

 rels respectively. On one occasion I was told of a remark- 

 able shot from this gun — namely, putting twenty No. 8 shot 

 on the face of a half dollar from l£ ozs. at, 40 yards. This 

 was vouched for by quite a number of residents, and the sil- 

 ver piece was hunted for but not found, very much to my 

 regret. My amusement roused the " Ebeuezer " of the owner 

 of the gxm, who angrily bantered me to bet. My reply was 

 a wager that he should repeat the performance, fifty cents a 

 Bitot, firing until he should either win or lose ten dollars, but 

 not to put twenty pellets on the half dollar, but one single 

 one. My experience at testing guns at that distance and 

 with that charge gave me confidence in what I w T as 

 doing. The bet was eagerly taken, of course, and the meeting 

 took place at once: When forty yards were measured off and 

 the gunner wheeled on his position to face the half dollar 

 which was on top of a post, his face was a picture to see. 

 His first remark was, "It's the biggest forty yards I ever 

 saw," but as he had measured it himself he had to accept it. 

 His second remark wis, " I can't see the half dollar," and 

 neither could I, but it. was in position. I advised him to 

 shoot at the top of the post. He positively declined and 

 showed every sign of " squealing." To prevent this I offered 

 to take a sheet of paper, draw a pencil around the half dol- 

 lar, blacken the centre, and then to allow any shot even touch- 

 ing the outside of the ring to count for him. Well, he 

 fired twenty times, struck the centre once and twice just 

 touched the rim. That settled it and he refused to carry out 

 the bet, compromisingat f 8. 50. I would add that on the paper 

 we drew a thirty-inch circle, and on counting the targets 

 found l hem a good fair average. 



And now for number two. It was at, Van Slyok's landing, 

 Currituck Sound, N. C., and a goodly lot of gunners we had. 

 Christmas Day was the time, year, 187V), and we had proposed 

 a grand shoot for the clay, but by 10 o'clock it was too hot 

 for sport and we all returned to the hotel to pass the day by 

 other means. A gunner's discussion started, each one extol- 

 ling the respective merits of his gun. I arrived just in time 

 to hear one of the party remark, "I consider a duck at 

 eighty yards as good as mine." This convulsed my sense of 

 merriment somewhat and I offered to put up a fowl at eighty 

 yards for the assembled cro*d to practice at: ten cents a 

 shot, Alonzo, treasurer. The offer was readily accepted, and 

 it was proposed to measure from the step of the store up the 

 lot, I protested, much to their amusement, that there was 

 not room enough in the lot to do so ; and my proposition to 

 measure at an angle across the lot was accepted, and when 

 eighty yards had been properly run, coming within ten feet 

 of the "further corner, the general expression was similar to 

 that of the Western New York man previously mentioned. 

 The limit was No. 5 shot, which is the usual number used in 

 duck shooting at Currituck. Mr. M., of Marlboro, Mass., 

 toed the scratch first with a beautiful Shaeffer gun. My 

 memoranda before me gives the score j M. shot 9 times ; K., 



A PLEA FOB THE SINK-BOAT. 



I HAVE been a subscriber to your paper since it first 

 started and would hardly know how to get through the 

 week without my Forest and Stkbam. There is one point, 

 though, on which we do not agree at, all. I notice whenever 

 you have a chance you invariably berate the " floating bat- 

 tery " or " sink-boat, " calling it "unsportsmanlike," e.'c. 

 In the very interesting article on brant-shooting at Cape Cod, 

 in Forf.st Mid Stkbam, now lying by me, the. writer speaks 

 of "that abomination of all true sportsman, the floating bat- 

 tery," and then goes on to describe the potting of brant out 

 of sand boxes, at, least first cousins to sink-boats. Now, why 

 the battery should be an abomination to this gentlemen, who 

 does not consider it unsportsmanliks to huddle a whole flock 

 of fowl on the water, let them swim in under the muzzles of 

 five or six guns, then pour a whole broadside into the flock 

 sitting, I fail to see, unless it is for the same reason that here 

 in Maryland, and in this county of Talbot, some persons con- 

 demn the use of batteries (although [ am happy to say that 

 the prejudice, is subsiding), and that is, on selfish grounds 

 entirely. Years ago, when good shooting could be had from 

 the shore, those owning points had the shooting all to them- 

 selves and could say who should shoot and who should not 

 and, with a feeling too common in human nature, disliked to 

 see the sink-boat introduced, as their control of the shooting 

 was gone with its introduction, as everybody was placed on 

 an equal footing. Consequently there was a great outcry 

 raised againt the "sink " and a law passed prohibiting their 

 use. 'this was some eighteen or twenty years ago. Now, 

 mark the result. In the course of the next ten or twelve 

 years owing to various causes, such as the increased traffic 

 on our waters, the numerous oyster boats and canoemen ply- 

 ing a boat, as well as the increase of sportsmen, the wild 

 fowl changed their habits, just as other game birds do under 

 like circumstances. They ceased to frequent our narrow 

 waters in any numbers, and although thousands still visited 

 us, they kept in our wide bays and large rivers, out of reach 

 of the shores, so that for 3 r ears few or none were killed and 

 the old race of gunners gave up in disgust. Now, I, with 

 several other gentlemen, realizing that times and melUfJds 

 must change in shooting, as well as in other matters, and see- 

 ing that it was a case of giving up our guns, decoys, etc., or 

 of changing our ways of shorting, concluded to revive the 

 sink boat, and after getting an act passed by our Legislature 

 allowing their use, we have been shooting out of. them for 

 the last five years, and so far from considering them "un- 

 sportsmanlike," we have come to the very opposite way of 

 thinking, viz., that it is the most sportsmanlike way "that 

 ducks and all wild fowl can he killed. Kemember, 1 am only 

 now speaking for my own section ; in other localities "the 

 circumstances may change the case. " entirely. When first- 

 class shooting can be had from t,he shore no one would pre- 

 fer batiery-shooting, as in the latter case the sport 

 can only be enjoyed by one, or at most two, 

 persons (where a " double box " is used) at a 

 time. The confinement is great, and it takes a man 

 thoroughly " up" in all that relates to shooting, and indeed, 

 to yachting, as in this shooting we carry our "sinks" and 

 live in oyu- yachts on our shooting expeditions, and as the 

 waters we shoot on are one wide bays and rivers, and our 

 best seasons for shooting are in December, January, February 

 and March. It takes a " thoroughbred " not to get caught 

 by the heavy storms incident to the season. He must be a 

 thorough enthusiast, about shooting and not afraid of any 

 wind or weather Given these, qualities there is no more fas- 

 cinating sport than fox shooting. 



And now to compare it, to oilier ways of killing wild fowl, 

 and here I will say that in thirty years' experience I have 

 tried all methods common to the sportsman of the Delaware 

 and Chesapeake Bays First take "point " or "bar" shoot- 

 ing. Here very considerable skill is required if single duckB 

 are shot, at, but what is the usual custom in this shooting? 

 Generally from three to half a dozen or more sportsmen are 

 in one blind and shoot into the midst, of the flocks passing, 

 wounding and crippling two or three ducks for every one 

 killed. The guns employed are young cannon (I have two 

 or three celebrated "point" guns in my possession now) 

 weighing from twelve to twenty-five pounds Decov shoot- 

 ing from the shore is better, but even then under the best 

 circumstances you cripple more ducks in proportion to those 

 bagged than in box shooting, have to use larger guns and 

 the sport is much more uncertain. Now as to ' ' hooby blind" 

 shooting. Here you have a continual scare-crow for the 

 ducks, as it is permanently erected on or near their feeding 

 grounds, where the ducks can feed to-day right, on the same 

 spot where they were shot yesterday out of the " sink." 

 Now, on the score of humanity, no sportsman that shoots but 

 must regret the suffering incident to his sport in the wound- 

 ing of more or less game this, I contend, is reduced to a mini- 

 mum in box shooting. Single ducks are almost invariably 

 shot at, they come within certain distance and, if struck, arc 

 almost always killed and not " crippled." 

 As to "tolling" and kindred ways of shooting it is too 



much like our Cape Cod friend's way of potting the brant 

 well calculated to fill the bag, but as to sport, well— every one 

 to his own taste. I would like to be there and assist, as [ am 

 devoted to it all, and in every variety, but think there is in- 

 finitely more sport in " taking in" a pair of canvas or red- 

 heads right and left as they "swing "to the box, dropping 

 that gun, catching up the second and killing two more as 

 they go off, than there can possibly be in shooting into a 

 bunch of brant huddled together on a bar. As to the shell- 

 drake, coots and old squaws or " soakers," as we call them 

 here, the Maryland sportsmen pity our brothers of the New 

 England coast who have no better game to shoot at. 



We h ve them here by the millions, but we would almost 

 as soon think of bagging turkey-buzzards. I have heard the 

 opponents of box shooting, who probably were never in a 

 "sink" in their lives, say "it is no sport," it is such easy 

 shooting," the ducks come so close," etc. Wait my friend, 

 " Get in the box and try." "Mark!" up comes a redhead or 

 canvas, swinging slowly up to the foot of the box In theleftside 

 within fifteen yards; as he throws himself back to alight you 

 rise on him. He is a dead mark and in another instant is 

 lying dead in the water. You say, "I told you so, anybody 

 can kill ducks that come that way," so tbey can, but mark 

 again. There is but little wind, and this fellow is coming 

 with it. Whiz, whirr, "What was that, why didn't you 

 shoot?" " Oh, I didn't have time, he was off too quick;" 

 exactly, but mark again. This time it is a pair of redheads; 

 they are coming in on your right side, they come close 

 enough. "Why didn't you shoot them ?" " And what made 

 you shoot only "one barrel, and that about, six feet behind the 

 last duck?" "Why, confound them I thought they were com- 

 ing to the foot of the box, but the instant 1 raised to shoot 

 they darted over my head to the right, at the rate of about 

 two miles to the second." So it goes my friend, and after you 

 have tried it a while I think you will agree with me in saying 

 that, although almost any one who can shoot at all can kill 

 the ducks that come singly and slowly up to the front of the 

 box, the man who can take advantage of all the opportu- 

 nities he has given him in the " sink" and can bag all or a 

 large marjorityof his "right hand shots," " darters," "down- 

 winders," etc., etc., is a thoroughly first-class shot, and more- 

 over he must be well practiced in this particular sport, able to 

 shoot well off both shoulders and thoroughly quick in every 

 way, and you will further agree that there is no kind of duck 

 shooting that gives you a greater variety of shots, or one that 

 requires more skill and judgment to make the largest bag 

 possible from the chances given you. 



In conclusion I will only say that I advocate the use of the 

 boat (under the circutnstijtices I have named : inability to 

 shoot ducks from the shore) only as an amateur as I shoot 

 solely for amusement and nut for profit. Sinn: Boat. 



Easton, Md. 



THE FLIGHT OF BIFLE BALLS. EXPRESS BALLS, 

 ETC. 



Mt. Fatrview, San Diego Co., Cal. 



Editor Forest and 'Stream, : 



Your correspondent, " C," in issue of March 17, in at- 

 tempting to answer my questions about the effect of gravity 

 on a bullet at the instant of its escape from the muzzle drifts 

 away from the real question— a question that no one haa yet 

 a' tempted to answer. When the proper time comes I will 

 give my real opinion on this question and what I consider the 

 philosophical proof of it. But I first want to sec some one 

 else cudgel their brains awhile over it. 



"C." says: "It is a well established principle of me- 

 chanics that when a body is acted on by two or more forces 

 it does not follow the direction of any of them, but takes an 

 intermediate course," etc. 



If "C." had read my letter carefully he might have dis 

 covered that I had a little inkling of the laws of motion, the 

 parallelogram of forces, resultant of forces, etc., etc., and 

 that the question I raised was not what is the resultant of two 

 forces, either constant or variable, but when does the effect 

 of one force commence. I never denied that tho ball was 

 " acted on " by gravity at the muzzle, but whether or not 

 that action can instantly overcome its inertia or whether 

 force cau instantly produce motion is a question that is not, 

 to be answered, either way by mere assertion. 



He tries to prove it by the analogy of a person running 

 bis hand along the edges of a table, and at the same time 

 pressing on it. He does not say that the hand falls instantly 

 on reaching the edge. But he must mean this or there is no 

 point in his argument. This is not the first time in history 

 that a person has assumed a fact for the purpose of proving 

 another exactly parallel. It is one of the neatest of all ways 

 of begging the question and one that deceives the person 

 using it quite as often as any one else. 



Because the equilibrium of a body released from restraint 

 before commencing motion is not apparent to the senses it 

 does not follow that there is none any more than it follows 

 that the first part of a ball's flight is" a straight line because 

 the senses can detect no curve. The equilibrium may las 

 only ono-sixteenth of a second, yet in that time a ball might 

 travel seventy or eighty feet. It may even last one-tenth of 

 a second, and yet to a person it would seem as if his hand 

 fell instantly over the edge of the table. One-eighth of a 

 second is probably as much as the moat cultivated and prac- 

 ticed sense can take notice of, and very few could do that. 

 And in one tenth of a second a ball might be driven fifty 

 yards. 



A ball cannot be started instantly by any force except 

 gravity. And if it can be siarted instantly by that it is only 

 because gravity is acting on every molecule or atom at the 

 same time, and no time is lost in the transmission of force 

 from atom to atom. But can gravity overcome instantly the 

 inertia even of an atom ? And conceding that, it can do this, 

 is not as much time required for the transmission of the re- 

 lease from atom to atom as in the case of another force is 

 required to transmit the force from atom to atom. 



"Transmission of release" may be unphilosophical 

 language, but there is such a thing, nevertheless. When the 

 ball is by the barrel detained from its downward tendency 

 each molecule or atom is detained by its neighbor. It cannot 

 move until that neighbor is released. Such being the case, it 

 is as impossible for me to conceive of an instantaneous release 

 of every atom as to imagine an instantaneous transmission 

 of force through every atom when the first pressure of tho 

 powder begins. 



" C." says that " a power that is suddenly released after it 

 has been resisted acts much more decidedly than one that 

 takes effect gradually." 1 should like to see "C.'s" proof 

 of this. Because a thing like a gun-hanitner yields quickly to 

 intense force we must not infer that its inertia was entirely 

 cancelled ; increasing the weight of it a few pounds would 



