Feb 8, 1883.} 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



29 



New Hampshire Big Gamk.- Colebrook, N, H.-— Wc 

 Wrought out iu the month of September last, three cari- 

 bou from Second Connecticut Lake. I mounted tbc beads 

 of two. i he largest had symmetrical antlers, 28 inchesspread, 

 32 inches from point of brow anlli-r to top of main branch, 

 and ten points, estimated weight of animal 525 pounds. 

 Head eau be seen in Etfeter, N. IT. 1 do not expect ever to 

 see a larger one. Your correspondent "K " will he sad us 

 he looks nt tins ilie\ came I'nmi bis favorite pond. I have 

 not allowed the June jiek-Ught barbarian to look nt that tin- 

 known trail and In the future I will not act as guide for any 

 man oi party that brings aloittga gun to protect' his miserable 

 carcass With during thai month. 1 hope this may be seen 

 hy all who come this way. to avoid last year's scenes at 

 Second Lake. I received for mounting the'head of a Ulacfc- 

 tail 'leer killed near the Gunnison River, Col., with eight 

 points on each horn, uniform in appearance, greatest width 

 BjQf inches, 844 inches high above skull. Is it unusual in 

 size?— Sku Norton. [The horns were large.] 



"NebSMURV' Neiii:l:n.— Great, noble, glorious old "NOSS- 

 inuk." Thy sentiments have -'such divine complexion. " 

 What a New Year's Screed! If there were only many 

 thousand!: more like thee, there would be no pot-hunters 

 and trout hogs to infest the forest and pollute the streams. 

 There would be no park improvement companies to 

 slaughter the "auttorcd mbnavchs of the waste" to feed 

 gangs- of laborers, desecrating the lovely face of virgin 



Lojfa Island Wildfowl. — Extract of letter dated Good 

 Ground, January 28, 1988, from William N. Lane: " The bay 



"ed hotels for that model 



vandal, 

 ical old 



nature to build higli 



the summer tourist, it'tli 



humbugs" like thee. Aye 



destiny which shapes our ends" guide my footsteps some 



day to thy cam])"; be dear solitary groves where 



peace does dwell." whc>v T -ball Bad no '"greasy pack of 

 cards" to detract from llieir surroundings, and wliere T may 

 reverently look llpoH thai old single barrel, that will never 

 be held to bring down "the mother doe or her bright-eyed 

 fawn" while thou art its master. — Catt. Dors at, Finn. 



as Game Birds. — Detroit, Mich., Feb. 3. 



'id ■Slnrun: I read "Brindle's" ccmimunica- 



v herein he says 

 outer f cannot 

 shooting pa 

 ' a of 



if Ja 



: "Ho 



11, 



7 these bird: 

 Three veil 

 and 



hen. 



Fowl 

 ould lie 

 ago last 

 •hen working 

 tcr, Don, who 

 ml staunch at 

 lead of me. I 

 a few seconds 

 nds 

 It 



fully 



Guinea. Fo< 

 —Editor Font, 

 lion in Forest 

 Game Birds," 

 to a setter or \\ 

 October 1 wa 

 through a very thick 

 had passed through the tl: 

 a little clump of bmhes about t 

 came up on the "ready," and a 

 tip jumped something and flew iv 

 shot it and it proved to be a line 



half a mile from my house; the bird was alone and lav t'o 

 the pointer like a quail. I have no doubt that if a 'lew 

 guinea fowl were allowed to run wild in the woods thev 

 would skulk and hide like a quail or turkey after being 

 hunted a little.— G. M. S, 



Massachusetts Notbs— Taunton, Mass., Jan, si.— 

 Quail and ruffed grouse aiv wintering well, notwithstanding 

 we have had some qjjite severe snow storms. Quite a num- 

 ber of ruffed grottSC v ere shot in the open season, but enough 

 were left to breed next season. Quail were, plentiful when 

 the season opened, but owing to the thick swamps and 

 woods near their feeding ground, which they were ever ready 

 to dive into when flushed, but a few were' shot. Out of a 

 large flock, feeding in an old cornfield, Had. I started yester- 

 day, only two had been killed during the entire open season 

 Several other large broods lost but a. few from their ranks. 

 and if not shot during Ike closed season there will he a goodly 

 number left to breed next summer. One snowy owl was 

 taken iu the vicinity of this place iu November. Hares 

 and rabbits are as abundant as usual, and several foxes have 

 been shot this winter. — Chester. 



Qu'au, en -Niaoara County.— Quail have not been so 

 plenty in this county for years, owing probably to the 

 past mild winter and favorable breeding season. Many 

 good hays have been made iu one day's shooting, among 

 which were Abe Tenbrook and Steve Loekwood, 31 birds"- 

 T. F. Ulev and Kred Hawks, 22 birds; Andrew and Win. 

 Patterson, la birds; and other parties report doing as wed. 

 I was told by a parly last week that he knew of four or live 

 Hocks on one farm that h id no! been disturbed, and I know 

 of one brood within a half a mile of the City limits that had 

 not been molested up to Monday of last week. If what 

 birds are left are well protected 'and we do not have too 

 seveie a winter there will prolialilvbc an abundance another 

 season.— I. L, D. (Lockporf, N. V., Jan. 8, 1883). 



Tun Atb-Si'AOK US KrFI.ES.— Philadelphia, Pel). 3,1883.— 

 Editor Forest and Stream: In discussing the "air-space" in 

 cities 1 expressly staked that bullets which were "wedged" 

 were, quite, another matter. Children, even, ought tr/fear 

 a "burst" if they tire rifles in which the bullets- ate EttUCli 

 fast, or rifles which contain gross obstructions, such as 

 sand, mud, snow or snakes. But it is of no use. Some 

 people will continue to lug in those thing, just as, to the. 



end of time, they will continue to burst rifles hy permitting 

 such unnatural conditions to obtain. During the last three 

 months, iu experiments I am now conducting, I have bred 

 over 500 shots hereon, and expect to prove mv assertion ex- 

 actly as I made it in your issue of Nov. 23-30, 1883.— W. 

 McK. Heatu. 



Rabbits in Oswjmci County.— Oswego, N, Y., Feb. 2.— 



Editor Focal and s'/i-im; According to the statute laws 

 i lie season tor hunting rabbils closed on Feb. 1 iu this State. 

 Some have an idea that the board of supervisors passed a 

 resolution a few years ago, giving any one the right to hunt 

 or kill an any way, at any time during the year iu Oswego 

 county. Mo. such local law is in force, and any one who 

 tills ji ; ;- in posession, or offers for sale any' rabbit be- 

 tween the date.- of Feii. 1 and Nov. 1, commits a mis.de- 

 ai ■ u find is liable to a, fine and imprisonment.— Daniel 

 Boone. 



TENNESSEE Notes. — Quail in considerable numbers are 

 being offered on our market, and at reasonably low prices, 

 though I regret to say they arc not bagged by sportsmen. 

 Pot-hunters with nets and traps are doing the butchery as a 

 rule. Other kinds of game are abundant, but, as with the 



Snail, they are not the result of legitimate sport. In fact, 

 le young sportsmen about Nashville have abandoned the 

 manly exercise. The few who have uot, and have, the 

 means, arc off to Florida, where they find better shooting 

 than here —J. D, H. 



is all frozen ovc 



', Ithit 



i, (?, ,1 



all have lots of redheads here 



thisspiittg , th 



IT conn 



in th 



bay every day to look, and 



as soon as the b 



iv open 



j thev \ 



trill be here. We shall have 



an inlet now in 



about a 



week. 



1 think we shall have good 



pinning this sp 



rag, as 



every] 



bay is codflshihg, and there 



Won't lie many 



runners 



The 



- is lots of teed for redheads, 



and We hud mor 



e in tilt 



hay 1; 



st fall than I ever Knew iu 



the fall." 









Tije QUEBEC La w.— Fort Covington, N. X.— Editor FotrM 

 and Stream: The new Quebec game law which was put iu 

 force on account of the "sportsmen" who come in yachts 

 and send out boatload after boatload of "hunters," stay all 

 fall, kill anv number of ducks, keep them until they spoil, 

 and throw them overboard to the amount of two or three 

 hundred at a time, has put a stop to the "chickens" who 

 didn't scratch and spoil the gardeu. Should the chickens 

 sutler as well as the "old bent" Such is the law, however. 

 — Gyrfalcon. 



§■ miiy ^girq <glukei[ing8. 



"That reminds mc.'' 



IN t lie contribution from "Forked Deer" iu CampFire Flick 

 erings, issue o*f January 18, I sec that credit is given 

 to Mr. Newton Dexter for classifying the ibis referred to. 

 I think that the Forest a3sd Stream must have supplied 

 the name " Newton," for I am quite sure that "Forked 

 Deer" is not acquainted with the gentleman, nor ever had 

 any correspondence with him. My reasons for thinking as 

 1 do are; first, I received the wing and head referred 

 to, and have them now in my cabinet; second, I sent 

 ■ ' Forked Deer " n long account of the bird, which I ob- 

 tained from Audubon and other naturalists' works; and, 

 further, I made a drawing of a glossy ibis, which I sent 

 with the letter containing the description. The above 

 would not have been written had it not been for the tale 

 connected with the killing of the last bird, the shooting of 

 which he wrote me about, but never once hinted about " the 

 edible qualities of the bird." "Forked Deer " and I have 

 corresponded for some years, and he writes me of his shoot- 

 ing and fishing excursions, but he has never said one word 

 about that dinner of glossy ibis on that farm in Mason Val- 

 ley. How he must have suffered iu mind the past three 

 years ! Only think of it ! 



I have never had an opportunity to try glossy ibis, so 

 cannot judge of its quality for the table, but I have tried 

 one bird which every one condemns as good for nothing, 

 even to the editors of Forest and Stream, and that bird is 

 the horned grebe, commonly known as the dipper, tinker 

 loon, hell diver, etc. Now don't laugh, for you may make 

 a mistake, for the bird is good. Last October Mr. Payne 

 and myself, while winning "for ducks iu Narragausett Bay, 

 killed sixteen grebes and thinking that they might be made 

 good (although 1 had never heard of anyone eating (hem), I 

 took them home and cooked them for supper the next 

 evening A friend calling in at this time was invited 

 to have supper with us, and he being something of an 

 ornithologist aud sportsman, was glad of the opportunity. 

 I had taken the precaution to have something else ready in 

 case the grebes did not turn out well, but we did not make 

 use of it, for all at. the I able were pleased with the grebes. 

 I wrole "Forked Deer" at the time about our shooting ex- 

 cursion and gave him an account of our grebe suppei, and 

 now that he may not go wrong on the grebe, 1 have sent 

 him an explanation of how I cooked them. Grebe is good; 

 but it makes a great difference how you cook them. Some 

 day I may tell you how I did it. "Samuei. F. Dexter. 



l'AWTiicKET, R. I., Jan. 33. 



|#r mid Jjfttw fishing. 



T/< insure prompt attention, communications should be ad- 

 dressed to the Forest and Stream Publishing Co., and not to 

 individuals, in whose absence from the office viatters of im- 

 portance arc liable to delay. 



ive of uovelty in all anglers We prefer to 

 we can. and it is sometimes pleat aub-r to ex- 

 lecuss, than to take fish in familiar places. 

 s always worth finding.- IT. C. Prim,: 



Ther. 

 flsli nei 

 plore, e 



i, 1 thii: 



POSITION OF REEL-WEIGHT OF RODS. 



!."H)R some time I have been tempted to say something on 

 the subjects contained in the Caption Of this article, 

 but have refrained from doing so, thinking that it would 

 be a work of supererogation. I am forced to do so now to 

 defend myself and many good friends of mine from the idle 

 aspersions of some of your correspondents, I hope those 

 of your readers who may feel interested in this matter will 

 refer to the articles cited, and read them iu full, in justice 

 to their authors, for I will only quote the points material to 

 a proper understanding of Ibis reply. 



In Forest AND Stream of October 5, 1882, appeared an 

 article entitled "The Henshall Rod," by 0. L. Jordan, of 

 Texas. In the course of this article occurs the following: 



"When in Florida last winter with my friend. Dr. lien- 

 shall. I had only one rod. It was what he styled 'the 

 coming bass rod,' with ash butt and lancewood second joint 

 and tip. I think it, weighs about eight ounces, but have 

 not weighed it. I used "that rod all the time while there, 

 and have it now in as good condition as the day I got it, nor 

 did I use. but one tip during the time," 



"As to the. holding qualities of this rod, its 'give and 

 take,' its peipetual elasticity, I don't think can be surpas,ed 

 on earth." 



"The bass that we took in that country are simply enor- 

 mous, and an eight-ounoe rod that will master these eight 

 to ten-pound fellows is certainly good enough for the most 

 obstinate stickler." 



"But iu all the bass-fishing in Florida with that little 

 eight- Ounce rod and a little silk line the size of three horse- 

 hairs, 1 never lost a fish, parted a line, or broke a hook but 

 once, when 1 had an old, half rotted line, a seven or nine- 

 pouud bass struck just as the line got kinked on the reel and 

 snapped it." 



"The Tod that I havo has the, reel-seat behind the hand, 

 and the first bass that I took in Florida— a five-pound one 

 •^-eame near cutting my ringer off with the line. I then 



took the reel off. placed it above the hand, and lashed it on 

 with a. string. I had no more trouble afterward. I don't 

 see the sense of a reel behind the hand, or where the idea 

 ever came from." 



InFoitr.sT and Stream of Oct. 19. "Floridiau" proceeds 

 to "enlighten" Mr, Jordan, aud in the course of his article 

 uses (he following language; 



"ft did not occur to him (Mr. Jordan) that this was 

 another thing for him to learn, and that the burning of his 

 fingers was due to improper handling. For his benefit 1 

 will say that this position for the reel is the result of the 

 observation of anglers for a long time, that a reel in front 

 of the hand adds to the apparent weight of (he. rod, and 

 one behind the hand tends to balance it, If Mr. Jordan 

 will restore his reel to the old place and learn to use it there, 

 he will never go back to the obsolete custom of placing it 

 in front." 



Now, Mr. Jordan knew perfectly well when he penned 

 his article, that click reels on fly rods were properly placed 

 behind the hand, at the extreme butt; but as his remarks 

 applied solely and only to bait-fishing aud the use of bait 

 rods aud multiplying reels, he, of course, omitted any men- 

 tion of the fly rod or click reel. He particularly mentions 

 the bait he used — "half-grown bream" — and the manner of 

 using it — "casting the minnow 0, la Henshall." Yet in the 

 face of all this, "Floridiau" tells him that his trouble was 

 due to "improper handling," and advises him to replace his 

 reel behind the hand, and never go back to the "obsolete 

 custom" of placing it in front, Shades of Walton! What 

 lamentable ' 'angular" ignorance ! The only way in which 

 a minnow or other natural bait can be cast' with* a reel be- 

 hind the hand, is the method employed by youthful anglers 

 and negroes, who use a line tied to the end of a stiff pole. 

 This consists in first throwing the bait behind, and then 

 throwing it forward overhead, when, if the bait is not 

 jerked off the hook, it is hurled into the water as from a 

 catapult. Nothing heavier than the. artificial fly can be 

 east neatly overhead, and this necessitates a very pliant rod. 

 What will our manufacturers of rods say to the "obsolete 

 custom" of placing the reel-bands in front on bait-rods? 

 And how about "the observation of anglers for a lung time" 

 that led to this "result'.'" 



Mr. Jordan, thinking, perhaps, that "Floridian" mis- 

 understood him, put in a rejoinder in Forest and Stream 

 of Dec. 28, in which he acknowledges the reel bfhind the 

 hand as proper in fly-fishing, and then proceeds to explain 

 more fully- his rod, reel and mode of using them, and asks; 

 "How can you cast the minnow it la Henshall, with the reel 

 behind the hand?" 



To this 'Floridiau" replied in Forest and Stream of 

 Jan. 11, 1883. As his article is a short one, I will consider 

 it seriatim. He says: "For the style of fishing that he (Mr. 

 Jordan) aims at, he is right, m having the red in, front of his 

 baud, and especially with the reel that he uses." 



fin.ii where was the necessity of finding fault with him 

 in the first place? And why advise him to replace his reel 

 behind the hand? Mr. Jordan clearly described his manner 

 of casting in his first article. "Floridian" can truly say, 

 with lago: "F, r I am nothing, if not critical." 



Then "Floridian" delivers himself of this sentence: "This 

 is the style used in heavy sea fishing for striped bass weigh- 

 ing from twenty-five lo fifty pounds." 



"Floridian" here shows ids utter ignorance of the style of 

 angling alluded to by Mr. Jordan, and this fact, though so 

 palpable in his first article to any well-informed angler, 

 needed but this statement to confirm it. Sea fishing for 

 striped bass is practiced with a very heavy and short, two- 

 handed chum rod. and though a rapid multiplier is used, 

 the casting is entirely and essentially different, as all intelli- 

 gent anglers know, from that of casting the minnow, single- 

 handed, "«. la. Henshall," as Mr. Joidan styles it. 



"Floridian 's" next sentence is overwhelming, far-reaGh- 

 ing and crushing: "Dr. Henshall, like all Southern and 

 Western anglers, believes in and uses heavy tackle, and for - 

 those who like that style it is good enough."' 



I would here enter my protest against ""this wholesale slan- 

 der on "all Southern and Western anglers." In this asser- 

 tion "Floridian" belies his nam ile plume, aud this reminds 

 me that it is solely to refute this slander on my brother 

 anglers of the South and West that I have deigned" to notice 

 an anonymous writer. It is scarcely necessary to say to any 

 angling reader of Forest and Stream, except "Floridian," 

 that "Southern aud Western anglers," as a rule, use as light 

 and elegant tackle as those of any r ether section of the coun- 

 try. I will go further, and leave it to the tackle manufac- 

 turers of the East to affirm or deny, by asserting that, bar- 

 ring the "Catskill" fly rods of from four to six ounces (for 

 which wc have no use), Southern aud Western anglers use 

 lighter rods and lighter tackle, for the same tidies, than 

 those of the North and East. So much in vindication of 

 "all Southern and Western anglers;" but for myself a werd 

 or two more is necessary, 



Last summer I was soundly berated in the columns of 

 Forest and Stream for deprecating the use of very light 

 rods for sizable fish, in my "Book of the Black Bass." I 

 made but one reply* to the over-zealous aud irate gentleman 

 who inaugurated the discussion, owing to his unfairness in 

 trying to commit me to the advocacy of "heavy rods," pre- 

 ferring to leave the matter to the" jury of your readers, 

 rather than to continue a profitless and acrimonious discus- 

 sion. Out of this matter, as all are' aware, ensued a contro- 

 versy on "light vs. heavy rods," which was remarkable 

 only for its latitude and w'ide divergence from facts, and the 

 evident misapprehension on the part of some, of the disput- 

 ants. Of course, as in most discussions, ridicule took a 

 prominent part, aud such irrelevant and inelegant expres- 

 sions as "holding hard and killing quick," "fishing 

 for meat," "tishitig for count," "bean poles," etc., were 

 freely indulged in, Some spoke of "Dr. Hensbail and his 

 disciples" iu connection with "heavy rods," even the fishery 

 editor of Forest and Stream, usually so fair and correct 

 in his statements, was led astray, and alluded incidentally 

 (iu Adirondack Notes) to "Dr. Henshall and other advocates 

 of heavy rods." And now comes the feeble echo of 

 "Floridian." "Dr, Henshall, like all Southern and West- 

 ern anglers, believes in, and uses heavy tackle." "But yet 

 the pity of it, lago! 0, lago, the pity of it, lago!" (I have 

 been reading "Othello" lately). 



Now, it is not necessary to state to old readers of Forest 

 and Stream that I have, since the establishment of that 

 journal, been prominent in the advocacy of light and elegant 

 tackle for black bass fishing; audi flattered myself that! 

 had done the angling guild some service by inducing the 

 manufacturers to produce a short, light and elegant singlo- 

 hatided bait rod for black bass fishing, and in doing away 

 with the long, heavy and cumbersome rods formerly made 

 for that purpose, I have always contended for a standard 



