106 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



such impalpable things as words have immense powers of 

 resistance. Something like diamonds, far tougher than the 

 surrounding drift, they have never been ground to pieces. 

 They have kept hard, brilliant and concise, and have come 

 down to us from a period so far distant, as to be perhaps 

 beyond the ken of man to determine their precise age of 

 formation. « 



. -#-►-*■ 



COOKING GAME. 



HENRY WATTERSON, of the Louisville Courrier- 

 Jotcrnal, has been writing some very clever letters 

 from abroad. Among the many good things he says, para- 

 phrasing the well-known quotation of "painting the lily and 

 gilding fine gold," in regard to cooking game he uses- this 

 terse apotheghm : "Truffles do not improve woodcocks." 

 Sentence fraught with wisdom, and worthy of a Brillat Sa- 

 varran ! The Louisville editor does not relish on the whole 

 the French cuisine-, and takes Edmund Yates as an author-* 

 ity about our American cookeiy. Of Yates, he says : "I 

 heard Edmund Yates remark last winter — and whatever 

 you may think of Edmund's novels, if you have ever met 

 him, you would allow that, he has a belly of unqualified* 

 culture and genius. I heard him say last winter that the 

 Brevoort House, meaning, of course, the kitchen, is the best 

 hotel in the world." 



In subtile gastronomic discriminations you can find no 

 more able analytical powers than those possessed by liter- 

 ary men. That delicate shading between the gourmand and 

 the epicure, they fully appreciate. If the immortal Thack- 

 eray was illustrious as a novelist, incomparably great was 

 he in his table diletemtiism. Think of his saying, as he ate 

 his first oyster at Fulton Market, in the presence of the late 

 departed Dorlon, who, on asking him how he liked them, 

 replied, in a Johnsonian way : "Sir, I feel as if I had swal- 

 lowed a baby." 



What more just than Mr. Watterson's remarks on the bad 

 taste of eating spoiled game, and we may properly quote 

 Churchill, who says that " the sooner a bird or fish is eaten 

 after it is taken the better." 



A salmis de becasse, of course, is a thing not to be despised, 

 only it is an ingenious method by which a spoiled wood- 

 cock may be so disguised by a sauce, that you have no com- 

 prehension of the real flavor of the most delicate of birds. 

 Tastes are fashions. The gamey twang, or what is called 

 in French the phacsaiulee flavor, only became a la mode when 

 it was impossible to bring game rapidly to market, and the 

 length of time used in transportation caused absolute de- 

 composition. It then became necessary to invent methods 

 of making food palatable, which otherwise would have 

 been repulsive. Of course the season of the year has much 

 to do with this question, but we are still in doubt whether 

 a canvass-back duck in dead winter, is not better, when 

 cooked a day after it is killed, than when kept frozen for a 

 week. 



lews pom $br<md. 



TOM FRENCH, the famous English jockey, is no more! 

 The name of a certain Greek rider, who rode his 

 horse to victory, some 2,300 years ago, has come down to 

 us. Perhaps the old Greek knew perfectly well how to 

 nurse his mount, to follow instructions, and to get the "last 

 ounce " out of his steed, foaled, may be, in 

 "Grassy Argos, 1 ' 

 M Famous for its steeds of fire. 1 ' 



How the Greek Jock died, however, never will be known. 

 Was it of old age ? or did he, on the home stretch, driving 

 his chariot too fine, strike the brazen goal with his whirring 

 wheels, and have his neck broken ? Certainly the old 

 heathen Greek could never have died the death that Tom 

 French did. Perhaps they had no post mortems in the he- 

 roic age, as they have now in our more prosaie times. The 

 cause of this man's death, Dr. Meade, the physician who at- 

 tended him, states, arose " from that wasting and exposure 

 and irregularity of diet, consequent to his profession." Su- 

 perficially read, this may mean but little, but when leading 

 English journals declare that French died a victim to the 

 ill effects of severe training, necessary to enable him to ride 

 at the present state of weights, the matter assumes a much 

 graver appearance. There are two points to be looked at 

 in discussing this subject : The question of the man and 

 that of the horse. It may seem strange, but the Foiiest 

 and Stbeam, contrary to usual sporting precedents, is'in- 

 elined to take into consideration the question of that insig- 

 nificant creature, the man, first. There is something cruel 

 in the idea of training down a man to a mere skeleton — "a 

 ruckle of bones"— in order to fit him to ride up to feather 

 weight. It means the destruction of the human being. 

 Jockeys are sometimes sweated with their horses, in order 

 to reduce them both in flesh. There need be no great out- 

 cry made about this up to a certain point, as when a "logey" 

 or heavy rider must be reduced a few pounds; but when it 

 comes to dwarf human beings, when jockeys are required 

 at that period of life when the body fills up, to go on, 

 sweating and reducing themselves until they die'from this 

 unnatural treatment, then, even in^Christian England, such 

 practices should be decried. Now, secondly, about the 

 horses : An English journal says, speaking of [the deterio- 

 ration of the thorough-breds,andthe methods advocated for 

 their improvement, that the carrying of weights by racing 

 horses ought to be approximated to the weights the horse, 

 in ordinary life, is expected to carry. 



Now, the question naturally arises, "What possible sense 

 can there be in raising horses which can only attain speed 

 when ridden by human mannikins?" In this era of ad- 



vanced ideas, when we breed finer every day, running 

 horses at tender ages, when they should not be worked at 

 all, perhaps we may require not men, nor even boys, but 

 monkeys, to land some swift, but fragile racer, to the win- 

 ning post. Feather weights in England demand, some- 

 times, minimum loads for horses. We have an example of 

 this in Kitchener, who, some twenty years ago, weighing 

 56 pounds, a boy, it is true, won the Chester Cup. 



— If grouse have been scarce, and with a return of better 

 judgment their lives have been pretty generally spared for 

 another season, partridges have turned out somewhat bet- 

 ter, so that sportsmen have received somewhat of a com- 

 pensation. Just now, however, this gamey bird is in the 

 stubble, and it may be some time before he leaves it. 

 Pretty generally, however, partridges seem not to have 

 been so plenty, and it is highly probable that the season 

 will not be a good one. It is early for partridges just now 

 in England, and many sportsmen never draw covers before 

 the middle or close of December. 



— Of cricket, many notable matches have just been 

 played. The Gloucestershire and Sussex match was a re- 

 markable one, in which the two leviathans,, the Graces, fig- 

 ured. A Mr. Townsend made -168 runs. Of course, the 

 side the Messrs. Graces were on won the match, which w as 

 with the Gloucestershire men. It is calculated that, had 

 the score of the full match of the winners been carried out, 

 they would have summed up 1,700 runs. The wonderful 

 play of certain men at the bat, somewhat inclines one to 

 think that the day may not be far distant when certain 

 modification, even in the conservative game of cricket, may 

 be neceasary even in England. The remedy would be 

 found in adding a fourth wicket, and making the stumps 

 at least some four inches higher. What is certain is, that 

 batting is now beating bowling in England. 



— We are pleased to cite quite an increase, in fact an 

 enormous one, in the grand total of those angling matches, 

 which we have noted from time to time. Here is the Grand 

 Angling Sweepstakes of Lincolnshire, 600 men, with a 

 whole jungle of fishing-rods, and may be a thousand miles 

 of line, and a ton of hooks, fishing in a canal. The winner 

 caught 11 pounds 11-t ounces, beating an equally clever ri- 

 val by exactly the weight of a minnow scale. Anglers gen- 

 erally, in England, are amazed at this startling result, when 

 in prior years a gross weight of three pounds four ounces 

 secured the prize. 



— English amateur coaching is now almost at its conclu- 

 sion, and may be said to have been moderately successful. 

 Pleasure seekers at Brighton conclude the season by rat- 

 tling up to London in a coach and four, driven by a baro- 

 net. There may be some particular satisfaction in an Eng- 

 lish tradesman, when he is conscious that a nobleman 

 coachee handles the lines. One can gather from the notices 

 of the coaching horses put at public sale, the price of these 

 animals in England. A good hack fetched £60 to £70, 

 and a cab or omnibus horse, £35 to £40. 



Uiot (Bun mid itifk. 



GAME IN SEASON FOR SEPTEMBER. 



Moose, Alces Malchis.) 

 Elk or Wapiti, Cervus Canadensis.) 

 Rabbits, common Brown and Grey.) 

 Wild Turkey, Meleagru gallopavo.) 

 Woodcock, Scolopax ritaticotct.) 

 Ruffed Groiase, Tetrao umbellus,) 

 Esquimaux Curlew, Numsrdus bo- 



realis.) 

 Plover, Char admins.) 

 Godwit, Liniosinat.) 

 Rails, Jiallus Yirginiaiiitx.) 



Caribou, Tarandus Rangifer.) 

 Red Deer, Caricus Vi?'ginianus.) 

 Squirrels, Red Black and Gray.) ( 

 Quail, Optyx Virginiana.) 

 Pinnated Grouse, Tetrao Cupido.) 

 Curlew, Nmmnius Arguata.) , 

 Sandpipers, THnginx.) 

 Willets, 



Reed or Rice Birds, Dolichonyx oriz- 

 ivon . 



[Under the head of "Game, and Fish in Season''' rge can only specify in 

 general terms tlie several varieties, because the laws of States vary so much 

 that were we to attempt to particularize ive could do no less than publish 

 those entire sections that relate to tJie hinds of game in question. This' 

 w'oidd require a great amount of our space. In designating game we are 

 guided by the laws of nature, upon which cdl legislation is founded, and 

 our readers woidd do well to provide themselves with the laws of their re- 

 spective States for constant reference. Othtrivise, our attempts to assist them 

 will only create confusion. ] ^ 



One of the best localities withfn a fair distance of New 

 York for ruffed grouse shooting is called the Cannape. It 

 is a large extent of wild territory situated on the north- 

 east corner of Ulster county, New York. Take Hudson 

 River railroad for Kingston, which connects with the New 

 Rondout railroad to Shokan. which is seventeen miles. 

 The distance from Shokan to Watson Hollow is seven 

 miles. Stop over night at C. Rockwell's, who will every give 

 information and send a guide or go himself. This country 

 is quite unknown to the sportsmen, as we firmly be- 

 lieve. There has never been a breech-loader or a setter 

 within its limits. The scenery is grand in the extreme, 

 and the berries which the ruffed grouse feed on, are very 

 abundant. This territory is also noted for its deep mountain 

 gorge, at the head of which is a beautiful lake, the head 

 waters of the Bushkill creek. It has two outlets, one 

 emptying into the Esopus creek, and the other in a directly 

 opposite quarter, into the Susquehanna. 



— North Alabama is one of the finest hunting regions in 

 the United States. The fields are filled with quail, the 

 woods with wild turkeys and deer, and all the streams and 

 ponds in winter abound with wild ducks and geese. The 

 finest wild-goose shooting in America is to be had every 

 winter in the Mussell Shoals in Tennessee River. The wild 

 geese congregate there by the thousands, apparently to feed 

 on the periwinkles that abound in the shallows, as well as 

 on the long moss that covers most of the rocks in the river's 

 bottom. The shoals are about five miles wide, and filled 

 with small islands, called "tow-heads." Most of these tow ; 

 heads are covered with drift wood, in which the sportsmen 



conceal themselves, and shoot the geese as they fly over 

 which happens every few minutes, as they are constantly 

 being disturbed by one cause or another. Just before night- 

 fall the geese leave the river for the fields and ponds, which 

 affords the sportsman another good opportunity for rare 

 sport. What is true of the wild geese, is more or less true 

 of the wild ducks, with this in addition, that the latter are 

 to be found every where, all the winter through, filling 

 every point, "spring branch," or creek. Wild turkeys 

 abound everywhere, and the red deer almost everywhere. 

 The deer are hunted with hounds. 



—Smyth County, Virginia, on the western slope of the 

 Alleghanys, is one of the finest game districts easily acces- 

 sible to the sportsman. Bear and deer are found there, aud 

 wild turkeys, grouse, quail, and woodcock are abundant. 

 We hear of one bag of seventy-five quails secured in a sin- 

 gle day by G. E. Penn, Esq. There is good hunting all 

 about the neighborhood of Marion, the county seat, and ac- 

 cessible therefrom by good mountain roads. Marion is on 

 the Virginia and East Tennessee Railroad. There are three 

 good hotels in the town. We shall refer to this district at 

 greater length in subsequent numbers. 



—The southern part of Wayne county, Indiana, is another 

 good locality for small game, such as squirrels, rabbits, and 

 quail. Here are several packs of dogs, and in winter great 

 sport is enjoyed in " circling" foxes, and in hunting coons 

 at night. As many as seventeen foxes were destroyed by 

 the farmers last winter in the course of a single circle. The 

 trespass laws are rigidly enforced in this county. Centre- 

 ville is the nearest railroad station. Very good hotels in 

 Centreville. 



— The Leather Stocking Club, of Oswego county, New 

 York, we have every reason to know, does honor to the dis- 

 tinguished name it bears. Its officers are : H. C. Tanner, 

 President ; M. L. Marshall, Vice-President ; N. W. Nut- 

 ting, Treasurer, and J. F. Miller, Secretary. There are 

 several well-broken dogs in Oswego county, comprising fine 

 breeds of setters, hounds, and pointers. There is fair shoot- 

 ing throughout that section,- and the game, beside foxes, is 

 confined to birds, of which duck, snipe, plover, woodcock, 

 partridges and pigeons are the chief. Four railways from 

 Oswego traverse this region. 



— On the Montezuma Marshes, in Seneca county, and in 

 the adjacent country, there is good woodcock, partridge, 

 quail, snipe, and duck shooting ; also coon hunting. These 

 grounds are within three to five miles of the nearest railway 

 station, and can be reached by way of Waterloo, on the 

 New York Central Railroad. 



— Messrs. G. A. Sickells, T. E. Smithson, John Dowel, 

 and John Lannon, of Washington, returned last week from 

 a three days' gunning expedition to the Patuxent River 

 with 2,162 sora, besides a large number of reed birds and 

 some blue wing and summer ducks. 



— We give these bits of information in hope that such of 

 our readers as may be able to avail themselves thereof, will 

 be induced to render us an equivalent by sending some ac 

 count of their experience and their impressions of the locali- 

 ties visited. 



— The sora of America do not enjoy the same immunity 

 from sportsmen's attacks as do the birds of Japan, as wc 

 learn from u Sir Rutherford AlcocWs Residence in Japan,''' 

 He writes : 



"On the surface of the pond, are myriads of wildfowl 

 so conscious of their immunity from gun and dog, under 

 imperial decree, that they allow you to approach within a 

 few yards — a most aggravating sight to a sportsman, but 

 such is the law, and the birds evidently know it. No shot 

 at bird or beast may be fired within tenri, or thirty miles, of 

 the Tycoon's residence ; and Yokohama, alas ! is only 

 seventeen miles distant. To the Japanese probably it is no 

 privation ; but to an Englishman, sick of pork and fowls 

 all the year round, and eager for open air sport and exer- 

 cise, it is very hard ; but the Japanese officials seem to take 

 all the more pleasure in vigorously insisting upon the invio- 

 lability of the laws. Their artists equally excel, from tong 

 and loving study, in depicting all kinds of wildfowl. 

 Hawking seems the only sport in vogue even among the 

 privileged and higher classes, and that in the imperial do- 

 main is strictly limited likewise to the Tycoon. No private 

 individual, so I am told, may even keep a falcon, of which 

 there are some very fine specimens. This is only one of the 

 numerous petty restraints and restrictions arising from a to- 

 tally different state of society and political organization— of 

 a more or less irritating and vexatious character — to which 

 foreigners must perforce submit who take up their residence 

 in Japan. 



— A number of gentlemen, members of the Brooklyn Gun 

 Glub, met at Bexter's, L. I. , last week, to try, for the first 

 time, shooting from five traps, five yards apart, use of both 

 barrels, English rules, handicapped. The birds were bet- 

 ter than the general average, and the shooting, considering 

 the long distances, and the first trial of many of the mem- 

 bers at five traps, was remarkably accurate. The following 

 is the Handicap : 



H.S., 37 yards, shot with Pui'dy,C. P.— 1 1* 1 1 1 1* 1 1 1* 1 M* 



W. S., 25 yards, shot withPape, C. P.-l 1 1* 1 1* 1* 1 1 1" 

 0—9. ... . 



Dr. W., 27 yards, shot with Powell, C. F.-l 1* 1* 1* 1 1 i 



1-8. . 1 

 Dr. A., 27 yards, shot with Scott, C. F.-l 1 1* 1 1 1* 1 1 ' * 



1 1—11.. 1# 

 Capt. A., 30 yards, shot with German, M. L.-O 1*1 1001*! 1 ' 



1—8. 

 (*) Denotes killing with second barrel. 



—Mr. Harvey H. Brown of Cleveland, Ohio, an amateur 

 pigeon shooter, and the winner of the Lorillard badge at 

 Saratoga, in a letter to the Herald, after making some 

 remarks as regards the conditions of the badge, &c., very 

 properly says : — 



"I have no present desire or intention to engage in trap 



