FOEEST AND STREAM. 



39 



generally black and tan, and slightly mottled down his legs. 

 The red Irish seems to be all the fashion now among sports- 

 men-, they have delicate noses, great powers of endurance, 

 are very headstrong, and although may appear in per- 

 fect trim to-day, next week they will show wildness 

 and a want of steadiness that is very provoking. Never 

 keep them on chain too long; exercise once a day if possi- 

 ble, as their sense of recollection if not often tested, will 

 fail when most needed. English setters, high priced prize 

 dogs imported at great expense and trouble, are not nearly 

 as sociable " all round " as a natural born citizen. A pure 

 blood English setter crossed with an American, will be a 

 tar more useful animal, as "high priced prize dogs" 

 are only valuable to get the best strains from. The setter, 

 taking him all in all, of whatever crosses-, is by far the 

 most hardy dog, more agile, bears the wet and cold better, 

 his feet and legs being well feathered, is easily taught to 

 retrieve, and has an immense advantage over his smooth- 

 coated rival by his non-liability to take cold. 



Where gentlemen are hunting with orfe or more brace, 

 the dogs ought to be trained that if one comes to a point he 

 wili instantly be backed by the other so as to avoid the dis- 

 turbing of more game than is necessary. The color of 

 the setter is a matter of fancy, but the same remarks as 

 regards the pointer in this matter, will apply equally well 

 with the setter. 



— From the Editor's Drawer of Harpers we cut the fol- 

 lowing bit of fun. We have no doubt of its authenticity. 

 It is a fair sample of the general character of state legis- 

 lation in regard to game laws, and of the absurd nature of 

 the syllabus. We wish it was only a satire : 

 Bad habit of dog or dogs. Any dog or dogs found or known to 



yotlee to owner of dog or ™ n « »** ^ the owner of such 



dogs. f^og or dogs shall be notified of the 



fact, and if the dog or dogs be found 



Violation of act by dog or transgressing this act a second time, 

 or more, upon the affidavit of any per- 



Afjiidavit against dog or son who is a lawful witness to testify 

 dogs. - m other cases before, any Justice of the 



Warrant for dog or dogs. Peace, such Justice shall issue his war- 

 rant directed to any constable, to arrest 



Arrest of dog or dogs. <tlU i hying such dog or dogs before him, 



„ . , „ , , and, o)i proof of guilt, may condemn 



7nal or dog or dogs. ^ ^ Qr dogg * ^'j^, . md ^ 



Sentence of dog or dogs, constable, upon a copy of such judg- 

 ment, signed by the Justice, shall f orth- 

 Exeeution of dog or doge, with kill the said dog or dogs, and shall 

 be entitled to fifty cents for each dog 

 Fee for ntling dog or ] ie may so kill, which shall berecover- 

 - ogs - ed of the owner of such dog or dogs. 



flow far a dog is a game dog, or made game of, depend 

 upon the fancy of his owner. The Land and Water describes 

 Hi-:- Chinese edible dog: 



A dog and a bitch of this breed were brought from Can- 

 ton, where they were fattened with rice-meal and other far- 

 inaceous food for the table. They were of the size of a 

 spaniel, but with fox-like heads, the ears- being sharp and 

 erect, and the eyes, which were small and piercing, were 

 jet black. In color the animals were pale yellow, and the 

 hair on the back was coarse and bristling. One of the most 

 noticeable features in the anatomy of these animals was the 

 unusual s.traightness of the hind legs, which had no visible 

 bend il at the hock nor ham." The bitch showed a taste 

 for hunting, and when in motion on the scent of her game 

 She carriedher tail curled high over the back. This animal 

 appears to have somewhat the form of an ordinary Italian 

 greyhound, but differs from the latter in having a fox-like 

 head, on which, extending from the eyebrows to the back 

 of the skull, is a tuft of long hair. The tip of the tail, 

 which is long and tapering^ is also graced with a similar 

 adornment. \Yhether there are two distinct breeds of Chi- 

 nese edible dogs, or whether " all's d/og that comes to the 

 net " with the "celestials, cannot be stated, but doubtless 

 some of our readers maj r be able to set the question at rest, 

 as possibly they may also be able to furnish a few hints on 

 cooking and serving up the animal, so that should we at 

 any future time find ourselves in a position similar to that 

 experienced by the Parisians, the many curs lurking about 

 London might then become invested with charms which 

 they do not now possess. 



[%£ ^u^u%h\^n. 



POLO. 



* * TiS" Persia, in the country of Zaiman, there was a king 

 JL who was leprous, and to him there came a doctor called 

 Douban," and Scheherazade goes on to say how Douban, 

 M. D., made a mallet with a hollow handle filled with drugs, 

 and ordered the king to play at a game with balls on horse- 

 back ; and the good old Arabian Nights tells how the king 

 sweated profusely over the game, and that he was cured by 

 means of the medicated drugs put in the handle of the mal- 

 let, and the sequel is that in the guise of an honorarium, in- 

 stead of receiving so many purses of gold, the king had Dr. 

 Douban's head cut off. 



Ex Oriente, lu;>.\ for from the East certainty comes the game 

 of Polo, brought into England from Hindostan, where the 

 irregular cavalry have been playing it for the last twenty- 

 five years. Polo is simply hockey or shinny, only instead 

 of being played on foot, it is played by men mounted on 

 ponies. From the St, Jmnes Wagwme we copy the follow- 

 ing spirited sketch: 



"The ball is much larger and heavier than at hockey*, 

 whilst the players carry cross-headed mallets with long 

 handles instead of blackthorns. For the rest of it the two 

 games are exactly alike, with well-defined goals at either 

 end of the selected ground, through which Polo players 

 endeavor to force the "ball by the united power of men "and 

 ponies. 



"At the beginning of each game the sides remain at their 

 respective s;oals until the umpire, proceeding to the middle 



of the ground throws up the ball as a signal to commence. 

 Then, with mallets upraised and bodies bent forwards, the 

 rival squadrons make at each other as if on deadliest thoughts 

 intent, until the player mounted on the smartest pony 

 reaches the ball, and with a quick swing of his mallet sends 

 it humming toward the opposite goal. From that momsnt 

 the two sides are intermingled as they scurry hither and 

 thither after the missile, which at one moment is nearly 

 driven through this goal, at another through that, and so 



. ' pom 



Such is Polo to the casual observer; a fine manly sport, 

 needing good horsemanship and good wind. To the adept 

 it presents far higher characteristics, such as require the 

 player to possess coolness, nerve, presence of mind, good 

 humor, and proved stamina. For instance, the ball having 

 been driven from one end of the ground to the other, be- 

 tween it and the goal but a certain debonnaire giant of the 

 Hussars, who, being too heavy for much forward play, 

 lies back. Merrily bounds the ball towards the doomed 

 goal, whilst a few yards behind it rides, as for his life, a 

 Spanish-looking player who hopes to have one more crack 

 at it before great Jotun drives it back. Vain the hope! 

 Setting his pony into a canter, and judging the distance to 

 a nicety, the big hussar brings down his mallet with uner 

 ring aim, just as the Don's is descending, and away fiies 

 theball towards the farther end of the field, whilst Goliath 

 again takes up his sentry-like position. How the great 

 mallets whirl overhead, how the players' supple bodies sway 

 low, first to tins side, then to that, how nimbly the ponies 

 twist and turn, striking the ball with their forefeet as if un- 

 derstanding all about the game, and what nasty whacks 

 fall on arm and leg, hand and foot, as the " bully " goes on. 

 Then more charges; then the chances of victory swing first 

 to one side, next to the other; then, as the ponies begin to 

 grow weary, you see their riders skirmishing about on 

 chance of the ball coming their way, instead of following if 

 like sleuth hounds; and then up charges the mighty hussar 

 with his pony still fresh, and the game seems to be over as 

 he gets the ball and strikes it fair for the goal. Not so, 

 however; there's many a, slip twixt the cup and the lip. 

 One of the other side on a black pony rides np just in time. 

 and the goal is saved. But see, like an arrow from a bow, 

 shoots out the piebald from the crowd, and just as the ball 

 is Avithin a eoitplc of feet of the posts, the Saxon rider cuts 

 across the Don's way, and his mallet swiftly descending, 

 drives the missile to one side. Then a collision; then down 

 o;o piebald and [ducky lord in the dust, whilst tin.' rest of 

 players, riding up, prepare to renew the game. In an in- 

 stant half a dozen are off their horses, whils great Jotun 

 supports the lad in his ponderous arms, and saying it is 

 only a bit of a stun, tells some one to bring the big water- 

 ing pot, Which being done, and the young fellow's eurly 

 head duly watered, becomes to himself* looks around some- 

 what vacantly, rubs his pate which was struck by the pie- 

 bald's forefeet when they rolled over together, and then 

 calmly asks, "Did I save the goal, old fellow." 



Such is Polo; no more, no less. Seemingly a sport de- 

 manding the cultivation of good temper, presence of mind, 

 perfect horsemanship, coolness of judgment, quickness of 

 sight, suppleness of muscle, and unflinching nerve. To be 

 a good player, a man must possess those qualities in a super- 

 lative degree, and, since this new game fosters, if it cannot 

 create them, we may safely accord it a meed of praise with- 

 out being open to' the charge of admiring only what is 

 novel. At all events, there can be no doubt that in every 

 point this manly sport is a vast improvement on those 

 effeminate pigeon tournaments which have now happily 

 fallen out of fashion with all but betting men. 



Two charges an 1 brought against Polo which it is as well 

 to note. The first, that of danger to the players. This must 

 be granted; in Polo, as in every other manly game wkh 

 which we are acquainted, there is and must necessarily be 

 a certain element of danger. But until our young ihen for- 

 sake cricket, hunting, shooting, and football in fav»r of the 

 athletic game of croquet, Polo may be well content to 

 remain under an equal ban. The second indictment is that 

 it is cruel to the ponies. We fear that this is so at present ; 

 the hard blows falling on their legs, the -seyere spurring, 

 and the use of sharp curbs are altogether opposed to modern 

 usages, and if the game is to live, these defects musl be, 

 amended, for the public will not long care for anything 

 savouring of brutality. There are signs that the players 

 themselves see this necessity and are prepared to meet it 

 cheerfully. Many of the ponies' fore legs are already 

 swathed in bandages, one gentleman, if not more, has ex- 

 tracted the rowels from his spurs, and the club is, we believe, 

 taking into, consideration the abolition of curbs. When 

 these reforms are carried out, there is no reason why Polo 

 should not take a recognized place amongst our national 

 sports. 



MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS. 



FINDING THE QUININE. 



THOSE who undertake to collect bark have a hard 

 time of it. After the Indian has agreed as to price 

 with the dealer, he plunges into the tractless forests of New 

 Grenada. He carries with him enough food for a week, 

 and on his shoulder his axe, and at his side his machette. 

 Without compass, guided simply by his instincts lie travels 

 onwards. Prom time to time he scales some high tree, 

 and from its summit peers into the distance, hoping to find 

 the tree the erinchona ladfolia. At last he discovers one 

 and his first task is to make a small clearing round it, for 

 so overgrown is the forest, so strong all the clinging vines, 

 that even did he cut the tree through, there are many 

 chances that it would not fall to the ground. After the 

 tree is felled, the whole of the trunk is carefully cleaned, 

 to get rid of the moss, ciyhotogramic growth which covers 

 it. The bark is then removed and carefully dried. This 

 bark is then made into a pack and carried to the merchant. 

 Fifteen years ago, an aroha of good bark was worth 3 

 fracs at Pitago, but to-day, 16 to 20 fracs is the price. 



The quin qund trees are getting very scarce, from their 

 indiscriminate destruction, and the roots of those cut down 

 in former times, are dug up for their bark. 



Voltaire said " that the Lord put fever in Europe and its 

 cure in Peru." Feouel, however, had a better idea of the 

 wisdom of Providence and clearly proved an affinity to 

 exist between the plants and trees which grow many 

 country, and their 'power of curing the diseases which 

 attack men dwelling in that neighborhood. What he 

 should do is to try and find the remedies necessary derived 

 from home sources. — Doctor Saff ray's Travels Taaoweur 

 New Grenada — Tour du Monde. 



IF you are wise, y r ou had better not annoy that particular 

 class of Indians, whose business it is to guide you safely 

 over the Cordilleras. If they express a desire to make a 

 halt early in the day, yield the point. It is probable that a 

 mile or so further oil there is a dangerous pass, and they 

 want a rest, in order to regain their lost powers of endu- 

 rance. If you place yourself entirely under their care you 

 will find them the best and most careful guides. You 

 might confide to them a package of gold dust, and they 

 would not take a grain of it. Pmt abuse them, and they 

 will spare you no mercy. A Spanish officer some years 

 ago, was perhaps a trifle rude to his guides. If the story 

 is correct, he applied a switch to the shoulders of one of 

 his Indians. At the next pass one Of the Indians appar- 

 ently made a false step, and stumbled on the Spaniard. 

 Over went the officer fully 1,000 feet down the sheer preci 

 pice below. The Indian* guides of Quindio, will show 

 you the place where the Spaniard lost his life. — Travk.ls ix 

 "South. America — Tour du Monde. 



THE ANOMALIES OF ENGLISH BETTING. 



+ 



TO say that Tatter/sail's represents something more than 

 one of the most flourishing institutions in London — that 

 it is also one of its greatest anomalies — is of course to take 

 up a thorny question. Vet this is the fact, Tattersall's is 

 a perplexity to the House of Commons, to the courts of 

 law, to the police. 11 is the great outwork of the Ping; 

 and as long as Tattersall's exists, Mr. Tom. Hughes will find 

 himself foiled at every turn in his crusade against the Turf. 

 You may do at Tattersall's what you may do no where 

 else ; anil the privileges of Tattersall's yard paralyse all 

 the attempts of the police to put down gambling upon race- 

 horses by obliterating or confusing all the lines which the 

 House of Commons tries to draw in business. You may 

 pencil a bet at Tattersall's which, if penciled at an office in 

 Blackfriers or the Strand, or even in the street, will bring 

 the police down upon you in an instant. You may do in 

 the smoking-room of a club what you may not do in the cof- 

 fee-room of an hotel. You may do in Scotland what you may 

 not do south of the Tweed; and the consequence* is, that 

 when the English police arc? swooping down upon every nest 

 of betting men they can find in London, every English sport 

 ing paper is full of the advertisements of agents with offices 

 in Edinburgh and Glasgow ; and that the sums of money 

 which a year or two ago found their way to Tattersall's 

 through Jermyn Street and St. James's, now find their way 

 to tin- 'head-qiiarters of the Turf through Scottish banker-. 

 Lotteries .are illegal, and are put down with a high hand by 

 the law, even where they are set up under the most plaus- 

 ible pretexts. Yet Tattersall's is the centre of a vast system 

 of gambling which has its ramifications in every town and 

 villa,!.'!' in the Empire ; and the Derby, the Oaks, and the 

 St. Ledger are growing into a lottery in which we may all 

 take tickets to any amount, with the temptation of almost 

 any possible prize, and the risk of loosing onlv the. trifle we' 

 lake it into our heads to stake. — Gevtl'ineii's Magazine. 



I i IV 1 shall rmitiiiur in /his department to impart ami hope to receive 

 meh information w nun/ be of gervice to amateur a, a/ professional sports- 

 men. We 'rill e/nnfidh/ answer all reasonable <) "Jest '.ions' ' t./i a, I fall within 



the scope of this paper, designating localities for good hunting, fish- 

 ing, and trapping, and giving ad nee ami instructions as to oaifts.vm- 

 pli-nn-nfs, routes, ilislances. seasons, expenses, remedies, traits, species, 

 governing robs, etc. All branches of the sprrrtsman.'s craft trill receive 

 attention, Anoriymous convmunicaUons not noticed.] 



IIandt.— The section of country you mention is not the terra imw/nita 

 you suppose. It was visited by a hunting party from New York in 1871. 

 Make Halifax your centre of operations. Time necessary to get there 

 and back will be six weeks. Do not depend on finding Indian hunters on 

 the spot, as they are scarce and not reliable. 



John B.— Your yacht model will not do. Tt was tried and abandoned 

 in 1867. Do not waste time or money on it. It has a host of vital de- 

 fects. Your ideas of rig are also open to serious objections. 



s. L.— Yours is a heavy question, but fortunately we found a reply of. 

 it by -reference to an old collection of sporting items. The largest ele- 

 phant known to have, been killed was bagged by the Duke of Edinburgh. 

 Possibly it was preserved for him. From tip of trunk to tail he mea- 

 sured twenty-three feet and five inches ; girth, sixteen feet and six 

 inches ; weight, four tons, eight cwt., four pounds, to a hair. 



M rs. L.— A good way to prevent your English skylark from hurting 

 himself by flying to the top of his cage is to stretch, not too tightly, a 

 piece of green baize on the roof of the cage, about three inches below the 

 wires. 



F. antjT. — From Thunder Day to Rainy Lake the distance is about 

 sixty-five miles, and no trouble about the route. 



Aiiajian.- Your idea of inoculating young dogs with the distemper is 

 not novel. There is. reference to it in a book fifty years old. The way it 

 was done, was by taking a feather having some of the discharge from an- 

 other dog's nose on it, and introducing it into a slight wound made on 

 the nostril of the dog to be inoculated. 



S. 11. T., Boston..— <>ur columns can never be used for the purpose of 

 promoting any one gun maker's particular system of arms. Treat the 

 matter more generally and we shall be glad to hear from you. 



X.. Brooklyn.— For 3.000 yards we can give you no size for a target. 

 For 1,800 yards targets have been used thirty-two feet wide ; height not 

 given. 



Thompson. -Mr. Hyde, jeweller, of Maiden Lane, has an improved fly- 

 book, in which the sneuss or gut" lengths are kept straight by an elastic 

 cord, the loop and the fly-hook being caught in small brass hooks oppo- 

 site each other. Nevertheless, we must express our preference for the 

 old-fashioned parahment fly -hook, with its various pockets and compart - 

 ments, and leaves that may be detached and taken out if the whole seems 

 too cumbersome to carry on a short excursion. 



C. L.— Rabbits and quail are found on the line of the Northern Rail- 

 way of New Jersey, from "English Neighborhood" up. Shooting season 

 for quail begins November 1st in New Jersey. For snipe, within an 

 hour's ride of New York, see Canarsie Bay and Jersey coast. 



Bartlett. — YoU are right. Under the amended law the close season 

 for ducks is extended to the 15th of September. We hope the editors of 

 F(*r, Fin and Feather will make the correction. 



Fleminoton.— Your note was mislaid, but can jreply in. part. Grey 

 squirrels are scarce, and black ones scarcer yet. We know of no locality 

 where black squirrels are found inconsiderable numbers except in North- 

 ern and Central Michigan. We can't designate localities in a wilderness, 

 but D. H. Fitzhugh, Jr., of Bay City, will readily inform you, we think. 



Piscatok.— The Spanish mackerel is the highest priced fish in our 

 markets, and often brings $1 per pound. It cannot be considered a game 

 fish, because it seldom takes a hook, even when swimming in immense 

 shoals and intently feeding near the surface. It la captured in set nets or 

 pounds. 



Querist — Trout fishing ceased in Pennsylvania on the 15th of August. 

 We have already stated the fact in the "Sea and River Fishing" depart- 

 ment of this paper. 



