100 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



A WEEKLY JOURNAL, 



D*voraD to Field and Aquatic SroBTS, Fpacticai, Natotui. History, 



FlSHSCtn-TUViE, IHi PhOTECTION OF G-AXB.PllEaKBVATIONOFFOBBaTS, 



Aim eaz Inculcation in Men and Wombs or a healthy interest 

 ot Out- door ."Recreation and Study : 



PUBLISHES BY 



Serest md £treanf gnblishing (^ontysiig, 



— at— 



17 CHATHAM STKBET, (CITY HALL SQUARE) NEW YORK, 

 LPobt Okpioe Box 2832.1 



f'rmi, Four Dollara n Year, Strictly In AilT»nc». 



Twenty-five per cent, off for Clnbslof Three or more. 



AdierllHlng Katr». 



Inside pages, nonpareil type, 20 cents per line: ontside page, 30 centB, 

 Special rates for three, six, and twelve months. Notices in editorial 

 columns, 40 cents per line. 



*»* Any publisher inserting our prospcctns as aliove one time, with 

 brief editorial notice calling attention thereto, and sending marked copy 

 to us, will receive the fohebt and Stream for one year. 



NEW FORK, THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 1877. 



To Correspondents. 



All communications whatever, whether relating to Dusiness or literary 

 Correspondence, must be addressed to The Forest and Stream Pub 

 H8H1N6 Comi'any. Personal or private letters of course excepted. 



All communicationslntondcd for publication must be accompanied with 

 real name, as a guaranty of good faith. Names will not be published if 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 ns with brief 

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

 to become, a medium of useful 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 conntenance of that portion of the community whose re- 

 fined intelligence enables them to properly appreciate and enjoy all that 

 la heautiful 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 l.hem unpopular with the virtuous and good. No advertise- 

 ment or business notice of an immoral character will be received on any 

 terras ; and nothing will be admitted to any department of the paper that 

 may not be read with propriety in the home circle 



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

 money remitted to us Is lost. 



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



83?" Trade supplied by American News Company. 

 CHARLES HALLOCK, 



Editor and Business Manager. 



To otie Readbhs. — Owing to the delays attending the sub- 

 stitution oi* new type for old, our paper this week presents 

 some blemishes which we trust will be overlooked. Nest 

 week just look at our new dress and our "form ! " 



Notice to Subscribers. — It is our custom to send to sub- 

 scribers a notice informing them of the date on which their 

 subscriptions expire, and requesting that they advise us 

 whether or not they wish to renew. If no response is re- 

 ceived, the paper is stopped at the expiration of the 

 time for which it is paid. To rnako exceptions to this 

 rule would destroy nil system in the mailing department 

 mid lend to confusion ; and besides, it is simple justice to 

 treat all precisely alike. If subscribers will notify us 

 promptly, by postal card or otherwise, whether they desire to 

 continue, they will prevent the erasure of their names from 

 our list, and avoid any break in their files of the paper. 



Chinese Quail and Caufoenia Pigeons. — We have received 

 from R. Tallant, Esq., of Cambridge University, two fine 

 ornithological specimens, with the following note accom- 

 panying : 



Cambridge, Mass., March 19th. 

 Charles Halloce, Red.: 



One you will doubtless reoognise as the wild pigeon of California, not 

 found east of the mountains, I believe, while your Eastern pigeon does 

 not extend to us in California. Thoyare very wild and hard to ap- 

 proach, generally go in small Hocks, breed in California, building in 

 tall pine trees, Scientific name. f.hi„,h„ j .< i: i„iii. from the not very dis- 

 tinctly markod baud on tho tail. The other is the quail of China ( not 

 the fighting quail ) and the Asiatic Coast; they are found In Immense 

 flocks, and are so easily injured by the shot, that it is very difficult to get 

 a good specimen to stuff; but the bird la so email that it ought to be 

 hard work injuring them. B. S. 



[Of course we need hardly express our appreciation of the 

 gift, which wo shall value very much, as adding two new 

 specimens to our collection. — Ed ]. 



— The present condition of journalism in New York city, 

 as compared with that, of former times, illustrates the 

 tendency to consolidation and concentration among uews- 

 papeis— to fewer papers in number, of larger circulation, 

 greater eoat, and greater power. In 1840, there wereeight- 

 Reii dailies published in that city, with only 60,000 aggre- 

 rculation; now, there are but sixteen dailies, with 

 , aggregate circulation approaching 500,000 copies. 01 

 the , Bent, one is in the hands at the Sheriff, another is 

 confessedly dying, and two or three havo no sufficient ex- 

 cuse for living, Within live years, it is not likely there 

 will be over a dozen daily papers in New York city.— The 

 Proof Sheet. 



VIRGINIA AS A SPORTING GROUND. 



THIS State presents a wide and attractive theatre for the 

 gun and tho rod; with water, plain, and mountain, 

 every variety of sport may be hud in its season. There are 

 2,500 square miles of water within its limits, extending from 

 lie Potomac to Albemarle Sound, a distance of 130 miles, em- 

 bracing most of the Chesapeake Bay, and stretching up into 

 the interior, by several large tidal streams, 160 miles. In 

 these waters are found numerous species of fish and every 

 variety of water fowl. On the rivers, too, near the head of 

 tide, sora and English snipe abound in their season in all the 

 marshes. Of these rivers, beginning on the north, we have 

 first the Potomac, then the Rappahannock— the two majdng 

 the narrow peninsula of 60 miles in length, and 7 to 12 in 

 width, called the Northern Neck — abounding in game and 

 fish ; then the Pionkitank, and various streams in Gloucester 

 and Matthews — an arm of the sea, as it were, emptying into 

 Mob Jack Bay, a sort of inland sea— then York River, with its 

 tributaries, Mattaponi and Pamaunkee — which make a pen- 

 insula of 30 miles in length, and from 2 l to 7 in width, 

 bringing both streams within the range of the gunner and 

 the angler, abounding with fish and fowl, and the dividing 

 ridge with deer, quail, turkey, foxes, raccoons, and opossums. 

 The sportsman, with an humble heart, might find a content- 

 ed home here. Next comes the JameB, called in earlier and 

 better days, the Powhatan — which, with the York, makes what 

 is called, simply by the way of pre-eminence, the Peninsula. 

 It was the theatre of the earliest civilization of the Old Do- 

 minion, and the seat, of its first metropolis. It extends from 

 the bay upward some 70 or 80 miles — its upper portion 

 bounded by the Pamaunkee and Chickahominy. This pen- 

 insula also abounds with game. The deer have returned, 

 verifying Horace — lemqne nursiis occiipabiiitr .vofaiA 



South of the James and near its mouth are two tributaries 

 — Elizabeth River, and Nansemond — having their sourceB in 

 the Dismal Swamp. This whole region is well adapted for 

 sporting adventure. 



Next we have the Chowan and its tributaries — the Black- 

 water, Nottaway, and Meherin — and then the Roanoke, with 

 its tributaries — the Staunton and the Dan, which rise in the 

 Allegheny Mountains. 



Every portion of Virginia is easily reached by steamboat or 

 rail from Norfolk, or Baltimore, or Washington. 



The Atlantic, Mississippi, and Ohio Railroad runs from 

 Norfolk, 408 miles to Bristol, Tennessee— passing Suffolk, in 

 Nansemond, near the Dismal Swamp, through Isle of Wight, 

 Sussex and Surrey Counties (where deer and other game are 

 almost as abundont as when the Indians ruled the land), by 

 Petersburg, Burkesville, and Lynchburg, at each of which 

 places it is crossed by railroads going North and South. 

 The Sea-Board and Roanoke Railroad also runs from Nor- 

 folk through Nansemond and Southampton Counties, to Wel- 

 don, N. C. , crossing the Blackwater, Nottoway, and Meherin 

 — the tributaries of the Chowan. This railroad is an exten- 

 sion of the daily line of steamboats from Baltimore to Nor- 

 folk. A lino of line steamers also ply between Norfolk and 

 Richmond, stopping at the various landings on the River. 

 York Biver and its tributaries — the Mattaponi and the Pa- 

 maunkee — are accessible from Richmond and Baltimore by 

 the York River Railroad, and steamers from West Point to 

 Baltimore. All the landings on the Rappahannock are reach- 

 ed by steamers, which run twice a week between Baltimore 

 and Fredericksburg. Every portion of the Potomac below 

 Washington is accessible by steamers from that city, or Bal- 

 timore, or Norfolk. A line of railroad (the Richmond, Fred- 

 ericksburg, and Potomac) extends from Quantieo on the Poto- 

 mac (accessible by steamer or railroad from Washington), 

 due south along the head of tide-water by Fredericksburg, 

 Richmond, and Petersburg, to Weldon, N. C. The Washing- 

 ton, Virginia Midland, and Great Southern Railroad, runs 

 from Washington by Manassas (where it connects with the 

 Manassas Gap Railroad leading to Front Royal and 

 Shenandoah Valley), by Gordonsville, Charlottesville (where 

 it connects with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad,) by 

 Lynchburg (where it connects with the Atlantic, Mississippi, 

 and Ohio Railroad), to Danville (where it connects with the 

 Air-Line to Atlanta). 



The great Shenandoah Valley may be reached by rail from 

 Manassas, or from Washington and Baltimore, by Harper's 

 Ferry, by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, where it connects 

 with the Valley Road, extending to Staunton, where connec- 

 tion is made with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. On 

 either side of this Valley Road, at distances varying from 5 

 to 40 miles, is found a great variety of game ; deer, ruffed 

 grouse (there called pheasants), bears, wild turkeys, etc. Most 

 of the mountain streams have speckled trout — St&moji wtinaMs 

 — the more abundant and larger, the deeper you advance 

 into the mountains, and tho further from civilization. Per- 

 haps the best trout fishing <>n | he continent may be found in 

 the head-waters of that river in Pendleton, Grant, and Archer 

 Counties, West Virginia, and in the head-waters of the 

 Greenbrier, in Bath and Highland, Va., and Pocahontas, W. 

 Va., and in the Garsley River, in Nicholas and Webster 

 Counties, W. Va. The Cheat River waters may be reached 

 in 40 miles from the ■ Valley Railroad, and the others from 

 the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in less than 30 miles. 



The Chesapoake and Ohio Railroad runs from Richmond 

 to Huntingdon (423 miles), passing Charlottesville, Staunton, 

 the famous While Sulphur Springs in Greenhrier. the Great. 

 Falls of the Kanawha, etc. After passing the Blue Ridge, 

 this line supplies the greatest, abundance and variety of 

 game and the widest field for adventure of any district in 

 the State. Deer, bear, ruffed grouse, turkeys, and trout are 

 more abundant, and accessible than elsewhere, it presents a 

 magnificent tick! for camping parties. 



The Richmond and Danville Railroad extends 140 miles 

 to Danville, and forms a part of the Piedmont Air-line to At- 

 lanta. It traverses Middle Virginia, where the game mainly 



consists of quail, hares, squirrels and wild turkeys, sn.l 

 where the waters contain very few lish, dams and seines 

 being fatal to them. Above Danville, on the Dan Kiver. the 

 ease is different. There the game becomes more abundant, 

 and the mountain streams have many trout. 



LEGITIMATE SPORTING LITERATURE. 



THE lack of a legitimate sporting literature is I (min- 

 ing every year more and more apparent. When I .-ay 

 literature I do not refer to the sterling periodicals that 

 grace the calling they represent, for it ia an acknowledged 

 fact that never before in the history of our country was 

 each branch of that expansive field nominally quoted 

 "sporting," so well represented; every part has its organ, 

 and so ably and exclusively are they managed, that the lover 

 of field sports can read his favorite journal, and tind it de- 

 voted entirely to his pet branch, and his sensitive eye never 

 distressed by the annals of anything out of his particular 

 line. 



We who shoot and fish, who delight in out of door ex- 

 ercise, who love nature in all her varied moods and forms, 

 who delight in the protection of God's creatures, who 

 have in us that right spirit thai sees in the pursuit and 

 capture of these creatures at the proper time, something 

 more than the wherewithal to fill a hungry sioinach, that 

 sees in a gorgeous sunset, something more than natures 

 simple promise of a fair day to-morrow. In a word, wo who 

 are notonly quick at the trigger and deft at the reel, but in a 

 certain sense artists and poets (for I believe the true sports- 

 man is by nature something of an artist and poet) claim 

 the name of "Field Sports" for our particular branch, and 

 what we lack is books combining instruction and pleasure, 

 pleasant narratives of personal experience in the field, seen 

 through eyes that make a study of the rending of nature's 

 open page. Where are the Frank Forester's Lite J. 

 Cypress, Jr's. the Col. Hawkers and Charles E. White- 

 heads, of today? We havo plenty of treatises on the 

 habits and haunts of game, on the breaking and rearing of 

 dogs, on Ornithology, Taxidermy and Natural History, OH 

 the science of shooting with gun aud rifle, but what have 

 we beside? What have we left to please the eager sports 

 man when nature is wrapped in her winter mantle, when 

 the gun is carefully oiled and laid away, the dogs warmly 

 kennelled and nothing left but the pleasant thoughts of 

 the happy field days past, and the blissful future. O so 

 far distant. 



What shall I read to night? Fohest and Stream is 

 covered from title page to outside of cover, even the cuts 

 of those enterprising advertisers who try to show in some 

 small way the stock they deal in, by the open breech loader 

 are scanned and the reliability and soundness of the wares 

 they represent mentally discussed. Let me look over my 

 library again, the spirit moves and I must read something 

 to remind me of the field. There they are! how natural 

 they look, Frank Forester's "Field Spoits," and "Sperling 

 Scenes and Characters," "Porter's Edition of Hawker," 

 "Fire Island Ana," by J. Cypress, Jr., "Camp Fires of the 

 Everglades," by Chas. E. Whitehead, and Headley's "Adi- 

 rondack or Life in the Woods." But these I know by 

 heart. There are none of them younger I ban twenty years. 

 Within ten years 1 have found but two books thai smacked 

 at all of the real thing so vividly portrayed by those old 

 champions of a past generation, viz. Murray's "Adiron- 

 dacks," and Prime's "I go a fishing," aud neither of these 

 gentlemen demeaned their cloth, when they added to the 

 meagre store of real legitimate sporting literature, 



The writer of to-day seems to aim at instruction entirely, 

 and we are told over and over again what we were (old 

 forty years ago, and it is a fact that even when ihe. modern 

 sportsman wants an instructive work, relative to some iin- 

 portanl part, of the shooter's or (label's category, and asks 

 advice from some reliable journal or sporting friend, as to 

 what it had better be; does he wish to post himself on the 

 Uaiuing and management of dogs? he is told, Get "Dinks, 

 Hutchinson and Mahew." Does he wish to become famil- 

 iar with American game, its haunts and habits? he is 

 told, gel Forester's "Field Sports." Belie young, a mere 

 novice in the handling of firearms, and desires to become 

 a wing shot? there is nothing that cau be recommended to 

 him so honestly and unhesitatingly as Forester's "Manual 

 for Young Sportsmen." And these are all old works, 

 which since the introduction of the breech-loader and 

 other devices unknown when they were written, alight be 

 greatly improved, but sad to say, they are not, aud we 

 cling to them, for we love them, and are unwilling to al- 

 low them to be supplanted in our affections by the indif- 

 ferent matter these lalter days produce. 



There is one line of spoiling literature l hat to-day is 

 simply perfect. I relei lo Ihe books of sportsmen's routes 

 that are now so numerous. The woods of Maine, the 

 savannahs of Florida, the. rj ;■. ':■:■■ . , i tie choice 



points on the Pacific slope, the si reams and woods of Can- 

 ada and the northern provinces, are all familiar to us 

 through the medium of the guide book, and with means 

 and leisure at our disposal we cannot go amiss. Ah! but 

 we only need these when we have made un our minds to 

 take our shooting or fishing vacation, and are undecided 

 where to go. And we only need the instinctive works 

 when we get a new dog or gun, or rod, or reel, or some 

 specimen, the genus of which is doubtful in our minds. 

 We have neither time nor inclination to ma!: 

 History and other field studies a lite work. We want 



something that when sinins t»J I be ■ iful lire, pleasant 



memories of the chase wiih all its retinae of accident and 



incident, come stealing o'er our minds, and We bi 



our pleasant homes, almost homesick for that whudi now 



