FOREST AND STREAM. 



247 



judgesiB subject to a revision by the eontraattee, and hi this 

 plainly could have willield the award, 



The display of red Irish setters, Mr. Maedona aai 

 finest lie has ever sees, and in fact tin:- Whole show, in the 

 quality of tlic dogs in attendance, and in order and general 

 results, he characterizes as being ahead of anything ever held 

 he water. 



Old Rover went back on the Nevada lasl Tuesday week, but 

 wc shall have his Wood here. Mr. Brown's magnificent team 

 of mastiffs returned at the same time. Snapshot. Mr. Lloyd 

 Price's pointer. Will remain here a while longer. Milttgo, the 

 magnificent St. Bernard Brought over by Mi*. G. do Lam 

 dona, and sold to Mr, Lester Wallack. is dead. Neva, the St. 

 Bernard hitch, was sold to Mr. Leroy Z. Collins, and 

 II. and Magnet have both been sold in this country, the former 

 jentteman of Pittsburgh, Pa., and the latter to Mr. Con- 

 ner, The little few terrier puppy which took the prize,. Mr. 

 Maedona very generously presented to Mrs. Park, fflio 

 prize-winning toy terrier was poisoned. Jet, the bin 

 terrier, returned with Lover. Mr. Maedona himself sails On 

 Saturday in the. Britannic, of the White Star Line. And so 

 winds up the greal New York Bench Show-, a show unparallel- 

 ed as it success, and which did more i to elevate 

 tin dog into the firm position in which he is now placed in 

 this country than all the shows and writing that had prc- 



THE ANGLING WATERS OF NORWAY. 



"""THE rivers and fiords of Scandinavia have long been the re- 

 J- sort of British. German and Trench anglers, hut now. 

 when a new season has but fairly opened, the diseouragin, 

 word comes that the field is no longer a productive one for the 

 profession. 



Almost all the rivers of Norway are noble streams, that flow 

 rapidly down from and empty into the sea at the bend of long 

 fiords. The lauds on the banks of these streams bel 

 various proprietors, and nearly all of them have been in the 

 habit of setting fixed nets. The result, which might have 

 been predicted from such an avaricious course, has already 

 Come. About, ten years sufficed to exterminate the salmon, 

 and now the rivers not only do not furnish any fish to the 

 greedy nets, but the landowners find that they have cheated 

 themselves out of the income which they formerly derived 

 from the rental of fishing privileges. Thus we see repeated 

 the history of our own American rivers. The responsibility 

 for this ruin of the whole stream lies mainly with the farmers 

 near the mouth. It does not suit them to believe thai tin 

 salmon are hatched at the head of the river, and they insist 

 upon their right to take evervthiug passing theirland, refusing 

 to ■ : til ighl to BS i Dr rent it at a kw |. . - 



Now, BB b reeeat writer in the Lotion /'V,,',7 has said, there 

 is a very important fact to be borne in mind with reference to 

 ilmon in Norway. They are by no means so prolific as 

 in other countries further south, perhaps owing to the early 

 freezing of the rivers and the great quantity of ice : but, what- 

 i ver he the cause, it takes but a short time' to alter the char; 



red 'fishing river. So that at the present day. high as rei 

 are in Scotland and Ireland, a larger return, judged by t 

 v.vight :f the fish caught, ictobegotby the Britah angler 

 home than in Norway. 



Moreover, there seems very little prospect of a remedy. The 

 English flyfisher knows how discouraging has been the history 

 Of salmon legislation in Great. Britain, and the same element's 

 of avarice, ignorance and selfishness, multiplied four-fold, arc 

 to be contended aTainst in Scandinavia. Nevertheless, it is to 

 be confessed that sturdy attempts have been made by a few 

 intelligent men to secure fish-laws which shall he effectual in 

 restoring the salmon to Norway's locks and streams, or. at 

 least, in staying the insane ravages which tire now going 

 on. In the river Moselle. France, ten years ago, salmon had 

 almost entirely disappeared; but now'- they arc again quite 

 abundant— the result of artificial stocking. The original ex- 

 tirpation was caused by the same reason we complain of here, 

 the dragging of the river with seines and the use of all kinds 

 of nets, etc. These are now prohibited. 



Quack. ScoTWdeeusm, — We have had several letters from 

 eminent sources complaining of the advertisement referred to 

 below, of whose character we were wholly ignorant. One of 

 our firm took the trouble to call at the so-called doctor's 

 "office" in Philadelphia, and found a garret room with two 

 women engaged in preparing labels. The "doctor" himself, 

 we need hardly say, can never be found: consultations are 

 not encouraged by him. Of course we took the advertisement 

 from our columns at once, and, as maybe supposed, will never 

 receive a cent of pay for it. We hope the scoundrel may be 

 unearthed and punished as he deserves. We regret to have 

 been made an accessory, although we plead entire ignorance. 

 Toxkkks, N. Y.. May IB, 1STT. 



F.DITOK FllEEST AND STREAM: 



I regret to sec- tliat the FOREST AM) STitE.vvr, s>n< of the 1 

 p Vi[i? other papers, are. inadvertent!; assisting to swim 



Sbj publishing among jour reading matter the advertisement at 

 Dr. (?) stone. He is simply a scoundrel, who '■ borrows the livery ot 

 Heaven to serve the devil in." To make sure before writing I sent for 

 his receipt, which eonhtins some articles not usually kept, especially in 

 country drug stores, costing, say Bftj cents. An in- Knows they cannot 

 he obtained easily, and, as he says, not tor less than S3 60, "he feels I 

 quote, '-willing, ami considers l| ins duty to benefit Ms fellows in tiny 

 and every way he can," and thus add his humble mite toward carrying 

 out the blessed doctrine taught in the Snored Volume and practiced by 

 Ttim -'who went about doing good," and then offers to send in mailto 

 any "fellow sufferer" the drags for *:i. Should mi, I, , ■ q 

 sacrilegious scoundrel and hypocrite be allowed to -advertise In n re- 

 P&pert! ScusiKiiiti;. 



«■» 



— The mean mid-day temperature at New Smyrna, Florida, 

 for the month Of April, was T.S dog. ; 7 A. i\i. 65 dfio : , 

 "iighest for Ibe month, B47teg; lowest, 00 deg. 



GAME PROTECTION. 



Way dt/i. 1877.— Wro. Kimball and George W. 



of Haverhill, , Mass., have been 

 Constables Allen and ITunt charged with setting nets in the 

 Merrimack river for the purpose of catching shad, contrary to 



in such case, made and provided. The accused 

 ted in court and Sned each, from which they 



— Buhpteiias have been issued for a number of persons who 

 have violated the game laws at Concsus Lake, this spring. 



—The Salmon Kivcr Sportsmen's Club, of Pulaski, con- 

 templates running an excursion to Syracuse during the State 

 shoot. 



The State CoSYESTIOK.— It is probable that the conven- 

 tion of the State Sportsmen's Association, which is to be con- 

 vened at Syracuse, will be held during the third week in June, 

 commencing, probably, oh the 18th. The preparations are on 

 a very extensive scale, ami the affair will doubtless he a very 

 enjoy ab Ie 



In the following letter the writer makes a point which is 

 worthy of most thoughtful consideration. 



Mikeus Ranohe, San Diego Co.| Oal. 

 Mr:. Editor : 



From all quarter? of our American sporting world arises a 

 universal, long drawn, heartfelt cry, "preserve flic game!" 

 1 sincerely hope ami believe that if this demand is kept alive, 

 the end, so desirable to every sportsman, will eventually be 

 attained. The means for its accomplishment will surely be 

 found in lime if all those interested will keep the subject in 

 agitation, and, above all, put their own hands, as well 

 tongues and pens, into the work. It is not my purpose to 

 instruct as to the most effective means for the attainment of 

 this end. Hut there is one means that I have not yet seen 

 mentioned, which in my humble opinion would be, to say 

 the least, quite as effective as heaping maledictions, however 

 richly merited, upon pot-hunters, farmers' boys and other 

 pests. That is, for every spoilsman to abstain from butch- 

 ery, and confine himself to a rational and moderate indulg- 

 oting game. For a man who only at long inter- 

 vals can tear himself loose for a day or two "from the chains 

 of business, it is perhaps excusable to kill all lie p - 

 in the very limited time he can snatch. Hut can this lie said 

 of him whose time is his own. and who hunts for sport as 

 Often as the pot-hunter does for profit ? Are uol lens of 

 thousands of birds annually slaughtered merely to swell 

 tlready reasonably large, beyond the " bag " of some 

 friend or rival, "or else to furnish foundation for an evening's 

 boast at the spoiling rendezvous? 1 know sportsmen, gentle- 

 men, capital companions, and splendid shots, who during 

 are in the field tit least one-half the time, ae.d vet 

 always make il a point to kill every bird they possibly 

 When they have shot 3d or -10 pinnated grouse, y « So 

 quail, or 13 or 15 woodcock, etc., they have no more idea of 

 stopping than they had after the first'shot. It never enters 

 their minds that they have for that day had as much sport as 

 any rational creature should desire, and that further shooting 

 is mere murder. Who is the more reprehensible, the man 

 who is at heart as true aspoitsman as I am, who hunts only 

 for sport, but is by poverty compelled either to sell his game 

 to pay for time and ammunition ; or I, who can afford to hunt, 

 but kill three times as much as he does only to give away? 

 On what principle do I denounce even the mercenary wretch 

 who sweeps the land of game professedly for profit, while I 

 do the same to give, or often, to throw away ? Now, this is 

 not so noticeable in the East, where there is little danger of 

 any one making a very large bag; but in the West the waste 

 ful destruction of game by genteel but thoughtless murder is 

 enormous. I say "thoughtless, because the class to whom I 

 refer are generally high minded gentlemen, to whom il is im- 

 possible to impute any motive but thoughtlessness. Now if 

 all sportsmen would set a reasonable limit to the " bag " and 

 leave the field when it is reached, they would have quite as 

 much true sport as in excessive slaughter, and would cer- 

 tainly contribute far more to the preservation of our uoble 

 game than they ever will hy showering invectives on pot- 

 hunters. And their denunciations would then come with far 

 better propriety than they do now. 



It may be said that this idea is Utopian. It certainly is, so 

 far as imposing upon sportsmen any binding obligation is 

 concerned, and has not been mentioned with that view. But 

 1 think its fulfilment by aid of the native, sense of propriety 

 «f all true sportsmen quite an easy matter. I will state my 

 own practice; not by way of boasting, for it is no more a 

 ground for boasting than ordinary temperance is, but only to 

 show that it is possible to enjoy to the fullest extent the' di- 

 vine pleasures of the field without being immoderate. It 

 would be difficult to find a bigger lunatic on the subject of 

 hunting than 1 have always been, from the earliest days when 

 [ practiced on my grandfather's chickens and pigs' with a 

 piece of lead pipe pounded shut at one end and touched off 

 with punk, up to this very day. Few persous have kid 

 awake more nights over a prospective hunt, spent, more time 

 in fondling a favorite gun, lingered more lovingly around the, 

 window of a gun store, or felt more of that' indi 

 burning, yearning sensation that in autumn crawls with red 

 hot feet through all the recesses of one's soul, and which I 

 call the. sportsman's fall fever, than I have. And few have 

 preserved so keen and unimpaired, through oilier attractions 

 which tend to weaken it, their relish for the sports of the 

 chase. And yet f find my enjoyment in no way diminished 

 letation of which I have spoken. ' On moving 



well satisfied in leaving the field with hundreds of birds all 

 around mi;, and twenty in my pocket, as I would be with my- 

 self and horse loaded down with them. I follow the same 

 practice with all game. 



Now, I am satisfied that sportsmen who will fairly try (his 

 plan for one season, will find that they have just "as "much 

 pleasure as in wholesale murder. The true, spoilsman's 

 iot lie in ihe men; killing, any more than il. 

 -ne mere eating of game. It lies hugely in the amr- 

 rau Dgs ami attendant circumstances, in a hundred attrac- 

 i ii i I nature too extensive to mention ; excessive slaughter 

 is a habit, not a taste— a habit of yielding to a brutish pro- 

 pensity which is strengthened by an unreasonable pride in ex- 

 celling some one else, or having something to boast of. The 

 man who smokes twelve cigars a day has not, a whit mote of 

 true enjoyment thuihe wdio confines himself to six. The 

 former yields only to a habit. 



Gentlemen, I say in perfect sincerity, try it. Limit your- 

 selves for on,: season to a reasonable number per day, and See 

 how it works. This will be an easy matter where 'there are 

 clubs. There can be no question as to its effect upon the 

 game, and 1 verily believe the effect upon yourselves will ho 

 equally si Excessive killing cannot be justified on 



anygron u sense, reason or decency. I should 



like to hear the yjew of others on this subject. 



T. S. Van Dtke. 



Fatal RatxukSxake Bite.— Our Lake George correspond- 

 ent, "The Old Pilot," recently mentioned the ease of an ac- 

 quaintance who was recently bitten by a rattlesnake while 

 breaking up a den at Lake George. The man has since died. 

 although it is believed he would have survived but for the in- 

 judicious advice, of friends, who advised him to take a cathar- 

 tic. Our correspondent says : 



'■Burton was getting along finely. Walked all over his farm, 

 inspecting his cattle, sheep ami horses. Being a little costive, 

 he .was advised by friends to take a good dose of pills: con- 

 sequently, before going to bed, he helped himself, and took 

 as many as he wanted. Before daylight he was taken with 

 cramping pains, Which grew worse and worse until he died, 

 which was between eight and nine in the morning. He walk- 

 ed the house, lay on both bed autl floor by turns, and finally 

 died in terrible agony. He had been told not to take pills by 

 the physician, and his family kept him from so doing, being 

 aware that it was a most certain death if he did." 



wm 



West some ten years ajo, 1 soon lost the foolish pride I had 

 always felt in making a "big hair," and which, in my native 

 State, New Jersey, 1 had, lor obvious reasons, rarely been 

 able to gratify, ami have ever since made it a practice to Stop 

 shooting at a reasonable number. Time and again, in Miune- 



itB, 1 have left the field wilh 15 or 2(1 prairie chickens. 10 

 12 woodcock, or 13 or 16 quail, whtin 1 could just as well 



ive doubled, or sometimes even tripled, the number, and felt 

 just us much satisfaction as if I had dene so. Even here. 

 though surrounded by thousands ol quails, hare 

 nothing to do but amuse myself , and with all shooting con- 

 veniences at my nod, l have always limited myself to go 

 quails a day, and have only overrun'this number when going 

 out with some of the sportsmen ami tourists who conic in 

 «nd I find mysel [usl 



ipe. 



THE SCIENCE OF SHOOTING. 

 A BFLLET discharged from a firearm. an arrow from a bow, 



a* a stone from the hand, or an v projeel ivhile in its 



flight through the air, is submitted toaud controlled by the ac- 

 tion of three forces. 



First, There is the power which drives the missile along ; 

 second, the gravity, or weight, which keeps constantly draw- 

 ing it toward the earth .- and, third, the resistance of the atmo- 

 sphere, which has a tendency to stop its progress. 



Although these forces are universally known to influence 

 the projectile while in the air, the extent of their control is 

 neither understod nor appreciated liy a large mi i: . ,,. 



ing men. 



By asking what is mean! by the point-blank range of a ri- 

 fle, it is safe to say two-thirds of the answers from riflemen 

 woidd convey the idea that it was the range or distance the fire- 

 arm could throw the bullet in a straight line without do-, ii 

 from the line of sight. "Webster, inhis "big dictionary," jivi 

 the follow -ing definition: '•.Point-blank— The point to which a 

 projectile is supposed to move without a curve." 



After a careful research, it has been found that the diction- 

 ary and the standard books on shooting do not exactly agree 

 on this subject. To point where the line of sight is intersect- 

 ed by the trajectory, when approaching the ground, is Ihe 

 point-blank range of the gun. which may be varied by elevat- 

 ing or depressing the rear sight, and when a rifle is said to 

 shoot point blank at. 300 yards range, it is to give the informa- 

 tion that it will "hold up" at that range and hit the mark by 

 aiming directly at it. The term is generally applied to "opeii- 

 sigl le 1" rifles, where the sights are not movable, and which 

 will sh >ot at the certain range, whatsoever it might be, with- 

 out ai ling above or below the mark. 



MojorG. L. Willard. V. S. A., in his admirable, book on rifle 

 shooting, tells us that the point-blank range of the 1". S. rifled 

 musket (1862) with the sights down, is 100 yards; and ex- 

 plains that, to hit a man in the breast at 100 yards, he should 

 ii i ins breast; at fifty yards, aim at his hip ; at one hun- 

 dred and fifty yards, aim at, his throat ; at two hundred yards, 

 at his head, etc.: and adds. •' that the number of points- 

 blank can be increased by the use of the raised sights." 



Nothing having Weight can move in a direct line when thrown 

 m the atmosphere, unless, of course, it is hurled vertically. Be- 

 cause, even without the air's resistance, the attraction of grav- 

 itation would not permit ii. Begar.'dess of the bulk or density 

 otiles. or the veloeitv which may be imparted to them, 

 our works on natural philosophy teB us they are continual!} 

 and instantaneously influenced by gravity while in the air. 



A bullet can be thrown with such force as to no in an ap- 

 parently si ra ight line, its direction not. being sensibh ai 

 for a short disiaitec, but, in all cases, a. certain deviation from 

 the hue of fire will be found to exist. 



To prove tin- constant controlling influence of gravitation, 

 the following experiment has been tried : The barrel of a gun 

 \vas placed in a perfectly horizontal position on the lop of a 

 high tower. This would make the line of sight and the line 

 of tire parallel to each other. 



In discharging the rifle, without regard to the initial vcloaitv 

 given to the bullet, it was found thai Ihe ball would Strike the 

 ground in the same time which would elapseh, dropping from the 

 muzzle. II a number ol guns should he loaded, using differ- 

 ent amounts of powder to each gun, placed in horizontal pa- 

 id lired, those having the largest charges would give 

 more velocity, and thus greater ranges to the' bullets; all of 

 Which, however, would strike Ihe ground at the same mo- 

 ment. 



This proves that the prejt i tit i \> n it on by gravity fl >m 

 the very instant of leave , [p \ im \ \ t fj. oin 



