FOREST AND STREAM 
105 
whoso far-reaching arms are draped with swaying moss, 
drooping over the waste where a pretentious mansion for¬ 
merly stood; and one can sometimes trace the outlines of 
a flower garden by the rose trees, .jonquils, and cape jas¬ 
mines that seem to grow with a strange system of regular¬ 
ity and design. Some few of these favoiod localities have 
been reclaimed in part by their former owners, and others 
are occupied by Northern families who have acquired 
possession since the war, aud are in vain attempting to re¬ 
habilitate them, wondering why, in this enervating climate 
and the present demoralized state of labor, they cannot 
make the waste places blossom and yield abundantly as ot 
yore. When the tide goes out all the shoaler creeks are 
emptied, and a vast extent of marsh mud, interspersed 
witli grassy oases, is exposed to view; and all alotig the 
edges of these islands is a fringe of “coon oysters,” and 
here and there beds and reefs of these oysters crop out, of 
the mud at random, threatening with their sharp flinty 
edges serious damage to any craft that runs upon them. 
One would think there was food here for the million, hut 
it is not so; these bivalves are chiefly shells, and no “coon,” 
however hungry, can consider himself half repaid for 
what he is able to pick out of them. In some places, how¬ 
ever, there are beds of fine edible oysters, which have of¬ 
ten afforded a luxurious eniremei to scanty tables. 
These mud flats yield abundant food to all the tribe of 
web-feet and waders, and when the curlew, the willets, the 
winter yellow legs, and tiie snipe, et idomuc genua, resort to 
them at low water, the sportsman seizes the auspicious 
moment at the half-flood and cautiously pushes his boat up 
and down the intricate channels and speedily secures a 
load. Of ducks, too, there are usually plenty. Great sport 
can be had with decoys and blinds. Moreover, through 
these thoroughfares the hunter finds passage by night or 
day to places where larger kinds of game abound on the 
dry islands. Even without a boat most of the islands can 
he reached at low tide, and throughout this entire labyrinth 
of peculiar territory, from island to island, and from point 
to point, cross-cutting and intersecting until the stranger 
becomes lost in the bewildering maze, run little narrow 
footpaths where the vagabond negroes shuffle along in their 
purposeless wanderings, happy in their freedom, and com¬ 
plaining only because the sun does not always shine and 
the ravens do not bring them bread and meat to eat. Some¬ 
times one musters energy enough into his listless frame to 
shoulder a gun aud hunt for rabbits and sqflirrels, but it is 
seldom that either negro or gun is capable of doing much 
execution among nobler game, so that the experienced 
sportsman may be said to have the field wholly to himself; 
and certainly there is none that we wot of that affords bet¬ 
ter facilities. Of this region the U. S. Commissioner of 
Agriculture, in iris recent report says:— 
“A soil of marine formation appears to be necessary for 
the growth of the stock and fibre of the Sea Island or long- 
staple cotton, and a sea atmosphere with its warmth and 
equability. A sandy deposit of marine salt, but little above 
the sea level, permeable by the moisture beneath, and con¬ 
venient for the requisite manuring by salt marsh, furnish 
conditions for the highest production. Edisto island, south 
of Charleston, is the most prominent locality for the pro¬ 
duction of long-staple cotton. Saint Simons, Jekyl, 
and Skidaway, are also favorably known for products of 
high quality. The geographical limits and area in which 
Sea Island cotton matures a perfect growth include the 
islands of the coast of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, 
and the Gulf of Mexico, and a few miles mland from the 
coast, ten or fifteen, more or less, the line extending farther 
inland up the river valleyB, which have a marine soil and 
unobstructed sea breeze, and including most of the area of 
Florida. The area suitable for tins culture in Texas is 
claimed to he quite large, and has of late been extending. 
The proportion of upland to Sea Island cotton produced is 
about 200 to 1. Probably not more than 100,000 acres are 
now devoted to its culture, while that occupied in upland 
cotton is from 100 to 120 times as much. The area could 
be increased immensely were the conditions favorable—a 
sufficient price, more systematic and labor saving modes of 
culture aud preparation, and more available and efficient 
labor, the former residents of the coast and islands having 
gone to the cities or retired to the uplands.” 
I must run. cursorily over this delightful ground. It is 
not my object to recount personal prowess, so I can afford 
to be brief. Let me simply state that there is the most 
comfortable accommodation for the sportsman, either at 
Port Royal, or Beaufort. These places are four miles 
apart. Beaufort used to be the Newport of the South, and 
many traces of its pristine glory remain. If one will only 
make headquarters at Beaufort, he will find everything at 
his command that pertains to a watering place, from a bil¬ 
liard table to a fast trotter; there is a boat-house and bath¬ 
ing-house, and an unlimited area of shooting ground in all 
directions. Port Royal is now an important naval station, 
and an occasional visit to the fleet at any time will serve 
to break the monotony that may chance to hang heavily 
on time. There are two railroad trains a day from Port 
Royal to Yemassee, whence one may go to Charleston, Sa¬ 
vannah, or Augusta, as he may elect. 
There is one gentleman—Mr. Chas. G. Kendall, a resi¬ 
dent at Palmetto Island, opposite Port Royal, and an oc¬ 
casional contributor to Forest and Stream— who will be 
glad at all times to receive a visit from gentlemen sports¬ 
men, and to give them any required information. He is a 
thorough sportsman and a worthy member of the frater¬ 
nity. _ __ _ Hal. 
—The destruction of small birds has been so merciless in 
the north of Italy and in parts of the Tyrol that their pro¬ 
tection has been made the subject of a diplomatic treaty 
bet ween Austria and Italy. On the destruction of the birds, 
caterpillars, and other insects, mischievous to agriculture, 
increased with great rapidity. 
GAME PROTECTION. 
—It must be borne in mind that the New Jersey game 
laws forbid the shooting of woodcock out of season, even 
for stuffing and setting up as specimens. We call atten¬ 
tion to this from the fact that within a few days several in¬ 
stances have been brought to our notice wherein parties 
have been found with woodcock in their possession, and 
have evaded punishment by claiming that they were in¬ 
tended as specimens, This “specimen” business is being 
oarried too far, and we are glad to see that the Palisade 
Sportsmen’s Club and the Diana Sportsmen’s Club, of Ho¬ 
boken, have issued placards offering rewards for the detec¬ 
tion of offenders. We are informed that a very flagrant ca< c 
occurred at Elizabeth a few days since, where a gentleman 
met some “shooters”—they cannot be called sportsmen— 
who displayed eight woodcock as the result of their morn¬ 
ing’s sport. Although well known, they have not been 
prosecuted. 
Greenville Sportsmen's Club. —The sportsmen of 
Greenville, Pa., have organized themselves into a Sports¬ 
men’s club with the above title, the object being the pro¬ 
tection of game. The association will be incorporated, 
and from the character of the gentlemen who are mem¬ 
bers, the game laws Will undoubtedly be rigidly enforced 
within the limits of their jurisdiction—at least we hope 
so. The officers are: President, S. S. HewiLt; Treasurer, 
C, R. Beatty; Secretary, M. Hargen Brouks. 
Minnesota. —The Lake Pepin Sportsmen's Club was or¬ 
ganized last week by the election of the following officers: 
President-, S. M. Emery; Vice President,8. B. Dilly; Secre¬ 
tary, D. C. Estes; Treasurer, F. Ruckert; Managing Com¬ 
mittee, George Lemley, O. Gibbs, Jr., James McCroden, 
Fred J. Kopplin, Win. Morris, and W. H. Dilly. 
The object of the club is mainly the enforcement 
of the game laws, the promotion of an interest in the study 
of natural history, aud the collection and preservation of 
specimens relating thereto. The club will also endeavor 
to make this neighborhood attractive to naturalists and 
sportsmen from abroad. The association numbers about 
fifty wide-awake members on the start, has adopted rules 
and regulations governing its affairs, and will soon be in¬ 
corporated in due form. 
—W. II. Holabird, Esq., of Valparaiso, Ind., writes re¬ 
garding the protection of game in that State:— 
“I have not known of a single case of violation of the 
game law, and the reason is, not that tile gunners are be¬ 
coming more law abiding, but we have had no tracking 
snow. The law for the protection of fish is shamelessly 
violated all throughout this portion of the State, and noth¬ 
ing save an action of the State in the appointment of Fish 
Commissioners and Slate constables can prevent the utter 
extermination of our black bass and other varieties of edi¬ 
ble fish. 1 have had some correspondence with prominent 
gentlemen in the central part of the State regarding this 
much-needed protection and propagation, and the prospect 
is we will have our hopes realized next year; but its a long 
time to wait. 
Mr, W. IT. Vaii and I, together with several other gen¬ 
tlemen, propose organizing an association here, and wish 
you to forward us the rules and regulations governing 
some of your own organizations of a like character, and fur¬ 
thermore we propose to stop the spearing of fish in our 
own locality." 
—At a meeting held at the Queen's Hotel, Guelph, Can¬ 
ada, last week, and which was largely attended by gentle¬ 
men of the town and township, it was resolved to form a 
society for the protection of fish and game in the county 
of Wellington. A committee was appointed to draft by¬ 
laws, after which the officers would bo nominated, 
—The Virginia Legislature has declined to legislate upon 
the petition of citizens of Princess Anne County, relative 
to the shooting of wild fowl on the Chesapeake. 
—Our correspondent “Podgers,” whilom of the old Por¬ 
ter’s Spirit of the Tunes, sends us the following deplorable 
account of the wanton disregard of all game laws and 
close seasons in California. We are glad that a poweiful 
protective game society, with our influential correspondent 
at its head, has at last been formed in that State. It will 
have great influence and effect. Podger’s statements re¬ 
garding the abundance of ceitain kinds of game are al¬ 
most marvelous!-^ 
San Francisco, March 6th, 1876. 
Editor Forest and Stream:- 
It gives me great pleasure to be able to say that at last the trne sports¬ 
men of California have waked op to the necessity of some organization 
forihe protection of fish and game in this country. Better late than never, 
the destruction has been most terrible. An organization known as the for 
“Sportsmen’s Club of California" has its second meeting to-morrow 
evening. It is composed of some of the best men of the State, and we 
hope now to have some legislative action on these questions. At pre¬ 
sent all the previously enacted laws are virtually a dead letter, and in the 
interior Jndges, Justices of the Peace, Sheriffs, and all that class of 
people of whom yon would naturally expect better ihings, and some re¬ 
spect for the laws, set the example and shoot and fish regardloss of time, 
place, or seasons. What do yon think of a country that allows quail to 
be poisoned by the thousand on the ground that they destroy a few 
grapes? Game and birds of all kinds are destroyed wantonly by the in¬ 
discriminate nse of poisoned grain scattered over or about for ground 
squirrels, which, of course, invites the destruction of every kind of 
bird. The gentleman granger and farmer must be protected at all haz¬ 
ards, regardless of anything or anybody else. Any one would suppose 
from the deference shownthis most gingerly-handled class that they were 
gods anointed and favored beyond all other men. It has been impossi¬ 
ble heretofore to get any game laws passed I hat did not except this 
county and that county, and virtually amount to no protection at all. 
There is a law against fishing for trout before the first of April, and yet 
every Sunday duringfifebruary and March you may eee people with rods 
and baskets bound for the tront streams. Trapping, netting, and even 
giant powder cartridges are common methods, nobody having ever been 
arrested, mneb less convicted of any of these abominable and unsports¬ 
manlike practices. In my experience all resistance to game law has 
come from the so-called farmer. He wants to poison birds because they 
pick up a few kernels of grain, or eut a few of his grapes. He expects 
the Lord who made the birds, to bless him with abundant crops, and yet 
he begrudges them the little they pick up that would probably lie wasted 
anyhow. Does such a man deserve any crop? I am down on them as 
a class, for I have seen such contemptible meanness and narrow-minded 
selfishness In them in the course of my efforts heretofore to have proper 
game laws enacted that I have no patience with them; and when a howl 
goes up from them because it is too dry, or rains too much 1 say mentally 
I am glad of it! serveB younghll Wo are going now to see what can be 
done towards enacting laws that will protect fish and gome, and what is 
equally important, see that they are not a dead letter. The great tronb'e 
is to get a conviction In the country towns and villages, where probably 
every man from the jadge down is equally culpable. Your widespread 
movement in this direction is having its effect, and waking "1> the whole 
country to the importance of seriously considering the fish aud came 
qnestion, and creating such organizations as will carry all laws into effect, 
and promote the objects aimed at. 
We have a glorious country for game, and, fortunately, it is still 
abundant, but wo must not wait as you have waited, until it has become 
almost extinct before taking action to restore it. I think I have never 
had better wildfowl shooting limn this season—now at aelose. Mal¬ 
lards, teal, spoon-bills, and sprig tails have been plentiful; canvas-backs 
not so abundant as last season. As forgeeso we hardly count them 
game. 1 have sat In my “blind" and had an almost uninterrupted stream 
ot them passing over my head; in fact, so numerous wore they that 
they spoiled my mallard shooting. We don’t waste ammunition on 
them except now and then a shot inlo*a flock of “old honkers,” select¬ 
ing a couple [of young ones. As for the white geese, we value them no 
more than we do pelicans, not considering them worth carrying home i 
The last time I was out (in February) I abandoned my old shooting 
ground on account of the wcces of white geese. There were thousands 
covering the ground as far as the eye could reach, making it lootc as if 
there had been u fall of snow. 
The Inland waters and lagoons, (creeks we call them), leading from onr 
larger bays abound in wildfowl shooting, and with a small yacht and a 
skipper that knows the navigation you eau cruise a hundred miles 
throngh the marshes aud uever anchor twice lit the saute place. We 
have floating cabins, (little bouses on u scow), llial, have half a dozen 
bunks, kitchen, diniog room, and very comforiablu affairs they urn lo 
pass a fewduys in. 
A -—*♦*-- 
—Our California correspondent, who seems to have a 
high appreciation of the usefulness of our journal, writes 
the following words of encouragement, which deserve our 
thanks:— 
"Your work on Florida having met with Such favor 
should encourage you lo continue similar efforts, 1 am 
sure the Forest and Stream, in the course of a twelve- 
month, contains the material front which an interesting 
volume can be compiled yearly, that would be extensively 
read by not only sportsmen, but the general community, 
and prove profitable as well ns popular, if you will say 
you will do it, every good sportsman will doubtless con¬ 
tribute an article to it of some kind, on the principle filial, 
if he can’t sing a song, he can tell a story. The under¬ 
signed volunteers for one lo give a yam or two. 
Podgers, 
Springfield Bench Show. —We have received ihe pre¬ 
mium list and rules of the second annual bench show to 
be held by the Rod aud Gun Club of Springfield, Mass., 
on April 26th and 27th. The list embraces 59 classes, and 
a large number of valuable prizes- Our space will not 
permit us to give details,, but intending exhibitors can ob¬ 
tain full information and the premium lists by addressing 
the secretary of the club, Robt. O. Morris, Esq., Springfield. 
It is well to note that the American Express Co. and Adams 
Express Co. will return free of charge all dogs who have 
been sent prepaid over tlieir lines. 
Twenty second Regiment, N. G. 8. N, Y.—The second 
Promenade concert by Gilmore's Twen ty-second Regiment 
Band will take place on Saturday evening next, 20th inst., 
at the armory in Fourteenth street near Sixth avenue. 
This will be the last concert but one of the season, the 
concluding one to occur on April 1st, after which Ihe band 
will visit California, These concerts are a very grateful 
source of entertainment during the Lenten season, and 
Conductor Gilmore will receive the gratitude of true lov¬ 
ers of music, as well as those who delight in such social 
reunions, The last concert, of March 11th, was most en¬ 
joyable, and we feel positive that those who attend on Sat¬ 
urday will feel amply rewarded. 
—A correspondent wishes to organize a party of four to 
cross the plains next summer, spend it in the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains, and go south for the winter to New Mexico or Cali¬ 
fornia. He says:— 
“I have been on the plains several times, crossing in 1874 
from Kansas City to Colorado by myself, and am convinced 
it is the sportsman’s trip of the world for health and en¬ 
joyment. Expenses will be about $500 apiece for four 
men to outfit completely, and $40 per month afterwards. 
But we would of course have the proceeds of the Outfit to 
credit the trip with, and I have generally sold mine nearly 
about even.” 
—Acorrespondent states that a flock of about seventy 
black ducks have occupied the circular poud ill the centre 
of the city of Providence nearly all winter long; that they 
have become so tame that they will cut Ihe bread which 
the people are in the habit of throwing to them. 
■ - -*•*■ - 
—The water in the river is still receding, having gODe 
down uptoards of two felt since yesterday morning.—Alia- 
ny Argus, 11th. 
Indeed! We presume the volume of water is absolutely 
growing less. Glad to hear it. 
—Mr. Wallace, the taxidermist, at 1!) North William 
street, is stuffing a gigantic ox for the Centennial exhibi¬ 
tion, which is so large that he will have to cut an extra 
space to get him out of the shop. 
- — - 
—Tbe average mid-day temperature at New Smyrna, 
Fla., during the month of February was 69°; iliebigbesl 
83°, Feb. 21gt, and the lowest 47°. New Smyrna lies it) 
latitude 39°. _’ ‘ 
—To prey eut the handles of tools from splitting, saw off 
the end square and nail on two round disks of sole leather, 
