FOREST AND STREAM. 



w$wm®&: 



A WEEKLY JOURNAL, 

 Devoted to Field and Aquatic Sports, Practical Natural History, 

 Fish Culture, the Protection op Game, Presrvation op Forests, 

 and thp Inculcation in Men and Women op a healthy interest 

 in Our-"' yjR Recreation and Study : 



PUBLISHED BY 



S<H'Mt mul §trmttf §ablwhmg §ompntfg, 



103 FULTON STEEET, NEW YORK. 



♦- — — 



Terms, Five Dollars a Year, Strictly in Advance. 



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A discount of twenty per cent, for five copies and upwards. Any person 

 sending us two subscriptions and Ten Dollars will receive a 'copy of 

 Hallock's "Fishing Tourist,'' postage free. 



Advertising Kates. 



In regular advertising columns, nonpareil type. Mines to the inch, 25 

 cents per line. Advertisements on outside page, 40cents per line. Reading 

 notices, 50 cents per line. Advertisements in double colnmn 25 per cent, 

 extra. Where advertisements are inserted over 1 month, a discount of 

 10 per cent, will be made; over three months, 20 per cent; over six 

 months, 30 per cent. 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, OCT. 30, 18 73. 



To Correspondents. 



♦ 



All communications whatever, whether relating to business or literary- 

 correspondence, must be addressed to The Forest and Stream Pub- 

 lishing Company. Personal letters only, to the Manager. 



All communications intended 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 Names will not be published if 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. 



Ladies a^e especially invited to use our columns, which will be pre- 

 pared wf!' areful reference to their perusal and instruction. 



Secretaries of Clubs and Associations are urged to favor us with brief 

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



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 countenance of that portion of the community whose re- 

 fined intelligence enables them to properly appreciate and enjoy all that 

 is beautiful in Nature. It will pander to no depraved tastes, nor pervert 

 the legitimate sports of land and water to those base uses which always 

 iend to make them unpopular with the virtuous and good. No advertise- 

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

 terms ; 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. 



This paper sent gratuitously to all contributors. 



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



CHARLES HALLOCK, 



Managing Editor. 



Calendar of Events for the Current Week. 



♦ 



Friday. October 31st.— Trotting. White Plains, Westchester, N. Y 



Macon Fair, Georgia Richmond Fair, Virginia. . . Eutaw Fair, West 



Alabama. . . .Roanoke and Tar Rivers, Wei don. N. C. 



Saturday, November 1st.— Boat Clubs, foot 133d street — Foot ball, 



Princeton vs. Yale, New Haven Trotting, White Plains, Westchester 



county, N. Y. 



Tuesday, November 4th Columbia Fair, S. C Aurora Fair. 



South Eastern Indiana. 



Wednesday, November 5th.— Foot ball, Princeton vs. Rutgers, New 

 Brunswick, New Jersey. 



ROMANCE AND SCIENCE. 



» 



PERHAPS modern romance writing is more indebted to 

 Oliver Wendell Holmes than to any other author, for 

 the introduction of scientific matter in its midst. Balzac, 

 the greatest novelist the world has ever produced, whose 

 comprehensive brain held all subjects, rather generalized 

 science than otherwise in his romances, a notable instance 

 of which may be found in his "Pean de Chagrin." Dr. 

 Holmes, however, draws his similies from chemistry, nat- 

 ural philosophy and physiology with such delicacy and 

 neatness as to add immensely to the interest of his books. 

 It mav be said of this admirable author that illustrations 

 takenby him from science, are something like Thackeray's 

 French quotations— they are never out of place. The ad- 

 vance sheets of the admirable romance, fraught with scenes 

 of startling horror, when the primeval Alfred Augustus 

 fights with the Megasaurus, and from his gaping jaws res- 

 cues the primitive Angelica, are, we suppose, to-day in the 

 hands of the publishers. 



French romance writers are exerting their skill this way, 

 and nature's secrets are getting dressed up for exhibition like 

 actors, with no end of rouge, frippery, artificial flowers 

 and spangles. 



Perhaps the time may yet come when the dime novel, 

 with its atrocities, may be rendered yet more horrible by 

 paleontological effects, and servant girls when they buy 

 the "Penny Dreadfuls," may shed tears over the struggles 

 for life of some hero and heroine of the lacustrine era. 



How far true scientists like this rather promiscuous 

 handling of their sacred subjects is quite a question. "Pop- 

 ularize science" is the cry. All the world is shouting it. 

 But perhaps, though wise men may "hark on," they may 

 be fearful that the dogs are on a false scent, leading to 

 very little. 



Nature, in a poem called "Molecular Evolution," (quite 

 a touching production, by the way) has these lines, which 

 seem pertinent as to what the present romantico-scientilic 



period. may lead us to:— 



"Yield, then, ye rules of rigid reason! 

 Dissolve, thou too. too solid sense! 

 Melt into nonsense for a season, 

 Then in some higher form, condense.' * 



HAIR TRIGGERS AND RESTS. 



E have received from numerous correspondents a 

 series of questions in regard to rifle shooting at Creed- 

 moor, and" various is the character of the information asked 

 of us. As a sample of such inquiries, we have taken a 

 letter received from a prominent gentlemen in Mobile, as 

 embodying some of the principal queries. Our corres- 

 pondent writes: 



"I seem your accounts of target practice that three and six pounds pull 

 on the trigger is still insisted on at Creedmoor. Is not this unnecessary, 

 since the introduction of the breech loading target and army rifles? I 

 know from experience that in the army a "hard" trigger had to be used 

 for safety with the muzzle loading musket, when it was frequently ne- 

 cessary to carry the arms loaded day and night, but now that an army gun 

 need not be loaded until the enemy is in sight, or until the marksman 

 takes his place at the shooting stand, a one pound or even half pound 

 pull on the trigger seems to me to be ample. Should the New York State 

 militia take the lead in this the army will follow in a few years. As it 

 is now, a soldier has a poor show opposed to an adversary armed with a 

 hair trigger rifle." 



The same correspondent, in a later letter, says : 



"In Mobile and New Orleans rifle clubs hair triggers are always used. 

 A man must not cap a muzzle loader, or load a breech loader until taking 

 his place at the stand." 



Our correspondent's letter is not wanting in acumen, 

 and is worthy of a full explanation. In regard to the pull 

 of three and six pounds required on the trigger at rifle 

 ranges, questions of this character, though appertaining 

 rather to the ordnance department, enter somewhat with- 

 in our province. The primary object in the formation of 

 any rifle range, whether at Wimbledon, Hythe or Creed- 

 moor, is to engender more fully proper military spirit; to 

 relieve, as it were, the dull monotony of the drill; to make 

 the citizen-soldier have something to think about, and bv 

 affording him a thorough acquaintance with his rifle, to 

 give him greater reliance. "We do_ not think it at all dere- 

 lict to the noble fraternity of sportsmen to which we be- 

 long, to state that the interests of the huntsman are cer- 

 tainly secondary to that of the soldier, at Creedmoor or any 

 other national ranges. A proficient marksman as a soldier, 

 would be of course an excellent shot when using his rifle 

 for game. 



War experience has shown that any rifle or musket, no 

 matter whether it be muzzle or breech loader, when carried 

 by an army would be terribly unsafe, unless there was a 

 certain definite limit, and that rather leaning on the side of 

 hardness of pull on the trigger. The general pull of an 

 army gun, as for instance the old Springfield and Enfield, 

 was from fifteen to twenty pounds. The decision arrived 

 at, of a minimum pull of six pounds, is one that has not 

 been hastily determined, but is the result of long experience. 

 A very simple test of the safety of a gun, is to take one of 

 an average weight, say of ten pounds, either a military or a 

 sporting arm, to load it, and to drop the but on the ground. 

 If the sear spring is made of less restraining power than 

 three pounds, the arm will go off by the shock, the spring 

 being unclosed. Three pounds trigger pull, though it might 

 do for a sporting rifle, would be impossible for a military 

 gun, liable as it is at ail times to accidental concussions. 

 Of course all our military and sporting readers know this, 

 as does our able correspondent. 



As to the comparative safety in using muzzle and breech 

 loaders, the advantage on the part of the breech loaders is 

 immense, as they need not be loaded until wanted; after 

 that period, however, when charged, both the breech and 

 muzzle loading guns are about the same as to liability to 

 premature discharges. It is impossible to prevent men 

 from loading guns out of season, no matter how con- 

 structed, and though the facility with which a breech 

 loader can have the cartridge removed is one of the strong- 

 est points in its favor, it is a question having to do entirely 

 with the man and not with the gun. 



Accuracy of fire with the rifle is undoubtedly gained by 

 means of hair triggers, and also by permanent rests, some 

 of our inquiries being particularly directed toward this 

 latter subject. When both hair triggers and rests can be 

 combined, no doubt extraordinary shooting is the result. 

 But practically, for actual service, it is not of avail. There 

 cannot be an army of sharpshooters, with hair triggers, 

 each one having a fixed rest. The fixed rest was part and 

 parcel of the old musqueton, when a match was used, the 

 rest being called the fork, and hair triggers are of the mid- 

 dle of the last century, and they have not, been found of 

 service but in exceptional cases. The time requisite to set 

 first the main trigger and then the hair spring catch occupies 

 a certain period, and a convenient rest is not often avail- 

 able. Army officers used fixed permanent rests every day 

 in order to test the accuracy of any special arm, and a 

 properly made arm thus secured ought to send a succession 

 of balls all to the same spot. The use of hair spring guns 

 will not we think show on an average much better shoot- 

 ing than that of practical simple trigger shooting. Then 

 again, a man who could shoot well with a gun having a 

 three or a six pound pull could undoubtedly use a hair trig- 

 ger with great effect, while per contra, the hair spring rifle- 

 man would shoot quite wild with an ordinary rifle. 



We do not mean to cast the least imputation of diletan- 

 tism on the advocates of hair springs. We have frequently 

 used them ourselves, and have seen amazing strings made, 

 but it is neither practical, military, nor sportsman's shoot- 

 ing; not because ordnance officers do not endorse them for 

 soldiers' use, but because ninety-nine times in a hundred, 

 either on the battle-field, or in the forest, hair springs would 

 be out of order, or circumstances would not allow of their 

 being: used. When- the term "any position" is used for 

 rifle shooting at Creedmoor for distances over 200 yards, it 

 means that a rest can be used, but such rest does not allow 



of any other than the natural one, such as of the elbow on 

 the ground, or of the rifle laid across the thigh of the 

 shooter. 



There is quite a common error conveyed to srme in re- 

 gard to a three or six pound pull, which gives the idea that 

 the pull on a trigger is something like the pull on a horse's 

 mouth. The trigger pull is a most gradual one, requiring 

 little effort, and the knack and skill is to make the pull 

 cumulative, to commence with the slighest pressure on the 

 trigger and to bring it up to its maximum, when the target 

 and sights are together. The acme of art then is to know 

 exactly when your gun is going off. As was remarked by 

 tlie best Canadian shot at Creedmoor: "If I only knew 

 precisely when my gun was going off, I would win every 

 match in the world." Now the advocates of the hair trig- 

 ger may assert that this is exactly the excellence they claim 

 for this delicate gun mechanism. We are inclined to as- 

 sert that a hair trigger piece goes off much more frequently 

 when you do not expect it, than an ordinary coarser trigger 

 piece. As to the question of certain sights being barred at 

 Wimbledon, we believe there is to be greater license allowed 

 at Creedmoor for certain matches. In fact, we can see no 

 reason if a sight be invented, no matter how complicated 

 it may be, if it will give greater accuracy of aim, allowing 

 us better facility of sighting, why we should not have it. 

 The objection raised to hair triggers or fixed rests is of a 

 different character. It seems to us that sights, no matter 

 of what kind, can by no means interfere with that steadi- 

 ness of aim or the command over the nerves which a rifle 

 range teaches. Of course for a military gun, complicated 

 sights would be impossible from their delicacy of construc- 

 tion. That there are improvements to be made in sights is 

 quite probable, and many ingenious men are to-day devo- 

 ting their attention to this subject. 



Questions of cartridges have also been frequently put to 

 us. It is getting to be to-day, many suppose, not so much a 

 question of guns, sights, or grooves in a rifle, as that of 

 properly made ammunition. The best arm in the world 

 may be worthless when charged with a carelessly prepared 

 cartridge. Even a match may be lost by the best of shota 

 because the cartridges used by him are not fresh, but have 

 been manufactured for a year or more. It is certain that 

 the packing of powder in a cartridge case, and the powder 

 remaining in this condition for a certain period, not exact- 

 ly determined, has a tendency to cake the powder and to 

 diminish its explosive power. The fact of balls falling 

 short at long ranges is frequently attributed to inferior 

 powder, when the fault lies in the cartridge, which when 

 first made was excellent, but has deteriorated in time from 

 some molecular or chemical change in the powder. "We 

 are by no means prepared to as.sert that this is always the 

 case ; but for careful shooting, when a single point is to be 

 gained in a score, the prudent marksman should be perfect- 

 ly acquainted with the character of the cartridge he uses. 

 The subject of hardened balls of rifle grooving have all 

 been put to us, which in time we will answer fully in our 

 columns. 



Questions relating to Creedmoor, coming from all sec- 

 tions of the Union, show the interest taken in rifle shoot- 

 ing, and in our correspondence we find many sensible sug- 

 gestions, which are not only worthy of the attention of our 

 rifle makers, but of consideration by the National Rifle As- 

 sociation. 



Perhaps the name of the associatipn will convey to many 

 the best idea of its aim and purpose,and that is that it must 

 be thoroughly national. Though hair-trigger shooting may 

 be national in Switzerland it is not the case in the United 

 Slates, and between a rifle club, where perhaps a few hun- 

 dred gentlemen may practice at their leisure, and C.eed- 

 moor, where thousands of the National Guards, and rifle- 

 men from all parts of the world will use the range, there is 

 a vast difference. 



At Creedmoor and other ranges changes are taking place 



every day. Like everything else, where theory and practiee 



go hand in hand, increased skill in rifle shooting has been 



the result, due not only to improved arms, but to individual 



proficiency. In England they are talking of decreasing the 



sizes of the targets, so as to increase the difficulties and to 



make even more skillful marksmen, and very certainly it 



must result in bringing forward better guns and better 



men 



<*•-«»- 



CENTRAL PARK MENAGERIE. 



MR. CONKLIN'S REPORT. 



R. Conklin's report of the Central Park Menagerie 

 shows that the collection of animals, birds, reptiles, 

 &c, confided to the director's care, is in excellent condition. 

 If the Zoological collection is secondary to the Park it- 

 self, it having been we think but a later idea to add the 

 show of animals to New York's pleasure garden, neverthe- 

 less with the means at the disposal of the Park Commission- 

 ers the results attained have been entirely satisfactory. 



Though the collection is sa yet somewhat limited, and it 

 might be desirable and by no means impossible to have re- 

 presented at the Central Park Menagerie, if not all, at least 

 the major part of our native animals and birds, what there 

 is at the Park to-day, may be considered as an excellent 

 nucleus, around which doubtless other specimens will be 

 shortly added. 



Personal inspection has convinced us of the care and 

 judgment Mr. Conklin has exercised; the best proof of 

 which is shown by the healthy condition of the animals 

 and the number of births which have taken place in the 

 Park colleclion. That wild animals can be acclimatized 

 ana propagated to a certain extent in well organized Zoo- 



