FOREST AND STREAM. 



A WEEKLY JOURNAL, 

 Devoted to Field akd Aquatic Sports, Practical Natukal History, 

 Fish Culture, the Protection of Game, Presrvation of Forests 

 and the Inculcation in Men and Women of a healthy interest 

 m Out-boor Recreation and Study : 



PUBLISHED BY 



Sorest mid jf/mn/f §uUinHna §omym\y, 



103 FULTON STREET, NEW YORK. 



■ ♦ 



Terms, Five Dollars a Year, Strictly in Advance. 



♦ 



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. 121ines to the inch, 25 

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

 notices, 50 cents per line. Advertisements in double column 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 YOKK, THUESDAY, NOV. 20, 1873. 



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 Names will not be published if 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 are especially invited to use our columns, which will be pre- 

 pared with > -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 beautiWl in Nature. It will pander to no depraved tastes, nor pervert 

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

 i«nd 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 wjll be admitted to any department o 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, N vember 21.— Meeting of the Natchez Jockey Club, Natchez, 

 Mississippi. 



Saturday, November 22.— Meeting of the Natchez Jockey Club, 

 Natchez, Mississippi. 



Tuesday, November 25.— Charlotte State Fair, N. C. 



Wednesday, November 26.— Charlotte State Fair, N. C. 



Thursday, November 27, Thanksgiving Day.— New York Caledonian 

 Club Sports on the groiinds of the N. Y. A. C. 



SPORTSMEN VS. POACHERS. 



♦ 



ALL true sportsmen will read the following account of 

 a trial, which we take from the JVew York Herald. 

 k It is idle to suppose for a moment that the preservation of 

 game and fish acts detrimentally to the poorer classes. The 

 poacher will never work, and is always ready and willing 

 to take his chances in private preserves to kill game and 

 fish in all seasons. For what "benefit? Certainly not for 

 his poOrwife and family. Sometimes, as in this instance, 

 the poacher gets his just deserts. Stock the forests and 

 streams once again with game and fish suitable to the land 

 and water, and the production of food from these sources 

 will he within the means of all: — 



"The South Side Sportsmen's Club vs. John Kortright.— 

 This action was tried at Riverhead, and presents some in- 

 teresting features for sportsmen and owners of fishing pre- 

 serves on Long Island. The plaintiffs, the well known 

 shooting and fishing club of which Recorder Hackett is 

 President and John E. Devlm counsel, own some nine hun- 

 dred acres of sporting preserves in the town of Islip. The 

 defendant is a fisherman of Amityville, some fifteen miles 

 west of tlri club grounds. On the night ©f Sunday, 16th 

 of March last— a windy, rainy, tempestuous night— he, in 

 company with three other Amityvillians were detected by 

 the club's boatman on watch, in drawing a net in Connet- 

 quot Creek, into which they had sailed and rowed from 

 the South Bay. This creek composes part of the waters of 

 the club in which it owns the exclusive right of fishery 

 under the Nicoll patent. The club, determined to protect 

 its property and fishing privileges brought a separate action 

 against each of the trespassers. The jury was out all 

 nieht and in the morning rendered a verdict of $25 for 

 plaintiffs which, as the title of the club to its property 

 came in question, is understood to carry full costs m each 

 of the suits. These will amount to about $150, besides de- 

 fendants' expenses and loss of time in attending court, and 

 their own counsel fees, making up the pleasant sum of 

 about $300 for one night's fishing. The value of the fish 

 taken was abuut $10. A rather poor investment, but an- 

 other illustration of the truth that "The way of the trans- 

 gressor is hard." A venerable piece of documentary evi- 

 dence was produced on the trial, being no other than the 

 original patent issued by King William III., of England, 



to William Nicoll, in 1697, of a tract of land some ten 

 miles square, extending from Blue Point on the east to near 

 the present village of Islip on the west, with the South 

 Bay for its southern and the country road running through 

 the middle of the island for its northern boundary. This 

 interesting piece of parchment, with the great seal at- 

 tached, is in the possession of and was produced on the trial 

 by Mr. William Nicoll, now residing upon and still owning 

 a considerable portion of the land granted by the Crown 

 to his namesake and ancestor. His patent is liberally word- 

 ed, and shows that the colonial gentlemen "in favor" in 

 those days kept a good lookout for the main chance and 

 were "learned in the law." Here are some of the things 

 granted in addition to the land:— "Marshes, pools, ponds, 

 lakes, fountains, waters, water courses, rivers, rivulets, 

 runs, streams, brooks, creeks, harbors, coves, inlets, out- 

 lets, fishing, fowling, hunting, and hawking." The club 

 was owner under this patent, and the Judge held that, al- 

 though, as claimed by the defendants, in the Connetquot 

 Creek the tide ebbed and flowed, the Crown had a right to 

 and did grant to Nicoll and his grantees the exclusive right 

 of fishery in these waters, and that this right belonged to 

 the club, and had been violated by the defendants, for 

 which they must respond in damages. The Game laws 

 limited the recovery for exemplary damages to $100, and it 

 is understood that most of the jury were in favor of award- 

 ing that amount, but that one of them, who did not think 

 that the owners of trout streams, on which tkev had ex- 

 pended thousands of dollars, had any rights which a Lon£ 

 Islander was bound to respect, kept his eleven stubborn 

 fellows— cold, hungry, and uncomfortable— out for an en- 

 tire night. 



"The result of this trial is encouraging to gentlemen of 

 means fond of outdoor sport witn gun and rod, because 

 they can now rest assured of protection in the enjoyment 

 of their property, and that their fishing privileges will be 

 respected and reserved for their own and their friends' en- 

 joyment," • 



-#^6»- 



THE ENGLISH HORSE QUESTION. 



READERS of Forest and Stream, may have noticed, 

 that from time to time, we have touched on the horse 

 question in England. Notwithstanding a parliamentary 

 committee, with Lord Rosenberry at their head, has been 

 convened to study this particular subject, the decrease of 

 horses in England, we were rather inclined to think that 

 complaints were directed toward the scarcity of pleasure 

 horses, as hacks, hunters, or carriage horses, than toward 

 any dearth of agricultural or working animals. 



From a more careful study of this important subject, we 

 are forced to admit that the matter is a grave one, and that 

 there are strong reasons to suppose that unless greater atten- 

 tion be paid to the rearing of horses in England, the conse- 

 quences may be quite serious. "Some ten years ago," says 

 an excellent authority, "a fair horse for cart, harness or sad- 

 dle might be bought for £30 to £40; to-day^ he is worth 

 double the money. Any kinds of horses fit to drive in a 

 carriage, providing they are sound, are worth to-day in 

 London £150. If they are anything like fine or handsome, 

 the figures for a pair will go as high as £400. It seems of 

 all the things which have notably increased in price in 

 England, the noble horse is now at the top of such aug- 

 mented values. 



Testimony of well known dealers in London, Tattessall's 

 among them, declares that in the last ten years, the price of 

 horses has increased more than thirty per cent., and in 

 some cases, sv.ch as of hunters, 100 per cent. The reason 

 assigned by the horse merchants is the growing scarcity. 

 It has become more profitable to raise sheep and oxen than 

 horses. One of the leading dealers in England, in reply to 

 a question put to him by the committee said "If you told 

 me that you would give me £400 for a pair of carriage 

 horses that you dare put your wife behind, and give me a 

 fortnight to get them in, I would not guarantee to buy 

 them." It seems that to make up for the dearth of horses, 

 foreign animals are imported, and this very strange practice 

 is in vogue. Young English horses are sent abroad to the 

 Continent, kept their for a certain time, and then shipped 

 back again to England as foreign horses. This scarcity of 

 horses includes every variety of horses, from the huge 

 brewer's horse to the diminutive Shetland pon} r . Here again 

 there comes in a peculiar quality of the horse as to his size, 

 which is worth noticing. Under-sized animals are required 

 to work in coal mines, in England and Scotland, and the 

 want of such animals is a serious inconvenience. Importa- 

 tion of horses from Iceland have been noticed in the United 

 States, as arriving in England, undoubtedly to be used for 

 underground work. 



Some peculiarities essentially English of a remarkable 

 character, have apparently cramped the trade in horses. 

 We might imagine a revolution in the United States, under 

 similar circumstances, as it would kill the dicker and swop, 

 the highest aspiration and birth-right of our own free born 

 Yankees. 



The law of selling or disposing of horses seems to be as 

 follows : Chambers' Journal is our authority. ' 'Any person 

 buying or selling even a single horse is compelled to pay a 

 horse dealer's license of £12.10." An instance is cited of a 

 man going into an English county to buy pigs, who seeing a 

 likely pony, and thinking he could turn an honest penny 

 by it, he bought it, and bringing it home, made ten shillings 

 by the sale of it. A gentleman bought the pony, exchanged 

 him for a horse, and was immediately held liable to pay 

 $12. 10, ahorse dealer's license. 



It seems curious that particular licenses should be re- 

 quired for selling a horse in England when none are required 

 by a person who disposes of a cow or ox. 



The guarantee question on warranty, valid for six months, 

 is another impediment to the horse trade. It renders a 

 horse liable to be returned at any time. In Ireland no such 

 extended warranty exists, nor is a license requisite. 



Yery interesting information was obtained by the com- 

 mittee in regard to the cost And m anagement of the large 

 London omnibus lines. Almost all the horses used, were 

 found to be foreign animals. They are generally from five to 

 seven years old, and cost about £34. They lasted on 

 an average four and a half years, some fully five years 

 which we think if any thing is slightly below the experience 

 of New York omnibus lines. 



In a late number of the London Field, we saw announced 

 that fifty horses would be sold every day for a certain num- 

 ber of days, these horses having been purchased by the 

 Government some time prior, at a high cost, for the use of 

 the army duriug their late summer manoeuvres. These 

 horses were employed for army transport and artillery 

 service, and w r ere bred almost all of them in France. The 

 history of the purchase of these horses was as follows: A 

 dealer was commissioned to purchase horses in 1872, con- 

 tracting for 2,000 horses, for the army, and of this number 

 1,500, at least, were foreign animals, bred in Normandy, 

 and were derived strangely enough from English stock sent 

 to France some forty years ago. They cost about £42 each. 

 So scarce then were and are now horses of this class, that 

 in order to procure them, should England be engaged in 

 war, she would be obliged to provide her artillery and 

 trains almost entirely with imported horses. 



Some of the evidence given by practical cavalry officers 

 was as follows: that if it had not been for this importation 

 of foreign horses, there would not have been any army 

 manoeuvres at all, and what is even stronger, Col. S. G. 

 Jenyns stated "that if a war broke out tomorrow (in Eng- 

 land) and you had to get 7,000 horses for the combatant 

 branches alone, they would all be unbroken horses, and be- 

 fore they were really broken, the war would be over." 

 Racing matters were thoroughly overhauled by this com- 

 mittee, and though we do not agree with some very strong 

 authorities, men familiar with horses, we give their 

 conclusions which were as follows : and they were ' 'that the 

 world did not want race horses. It wanted horses fit for 

 harness, and horses to "carry a good weight, and as for the 

 army; it wanted horses that could take the field and stand 

 fire, and that administrators of Queen's Plate appear to have 

 lost sight of these objects." No one doubts but that Eng- 

 land produces scores of animals which are weedy and 

 leggy. 



Certain taxes in England, discriminating between agricul- 

 tural and sporting horses act too detrimentally in the raising 

 of horses. For example, one authority states that "if a 

 farmer allows his son to ride one of his farm horses to a 

 hunt, the duty must be paid for it, the same as if it was a 

 regular riding horse." 



In 1872, about, 859,358 horses paid duty in England. In 

 1870, 7,200 horses were sent to Germany and France, in 1872 

 only 3,383. To-day imports fai exceed exports. Last year 

 12,618 horses came over to England. The reason fer 

 the scarcity and high price of horses does not ap- 

 parently arise as much from any marked diminution 

 in the number of horses, raised in England, as from 

 the increased demand. Instead of railroads having dim- 

 inished the carriage of goods by horses, they seem to 

 have increased it. In England wealth has augmented en 

 ormously, and more people ride and drive. Merchandise 

 alone in the cities, not counting the transportation of pass- 

 engers by omnibuses and cars, consumes more horse-fiesh 

 than was used perhaps in the whole of England fifty 

 years ago. The remedy for this scarcity of horses we think 

 lies in less legislation in regard to the whole matter, and 

 turning more attention to the breeding of useful, instead 

 of ornamental animals. 



In the United States, the total number of horses, according 

 to the estimate made in 1872, was 9,222,470. As to states. 

 Indiana had the largest number, 1,049,400, and of the 

 Eastern, Middle and Southern States, Rhode Island had the 

 least number, some 14,700. The total value of the horses is 

 estimated at $684,463,957, an average price of $74. 24 per 

 horse, the New Jersey horse being held the highest, at 

 $127, and the Texas horse at the lowest, some $37. Of 

 mules the number is estimated at 1,310,000. 



From the taking of the census of 1860 up to 1872 the in- 

 crease in horses, notwithstanding the enormous quantity of 

 animals killed during the war, has been in round numbers, 

 about 1,750,000. 



To conclude this interesting subject, the question natural- 

 ly arises, can we ever hope to send some of our surplus 

 stock to England, in order to fill up the void in horses 

 which is so apparent there. Putting aside the poorer quali- 

 ties of animals, which would be worthless in England, 

 there is no doubt but that from certain sections of this 

 country, occasionally good horses could be procured, which 

 might even after cost of shipment allow some small margin 

 of profit, but while France is so near, we should think the 

 business would at best be a precarious one. 



That our working horses are improving every day at 

 home, there is little doubt about, but as to their docility, or a 

 thorough acquaintance with breaking them, we think we 

 have much yet to learn from England. 



— -*~*- 



—The "St. Louis Ledger" is the title of an illustrated 

 independent journal to be published by John S. Hay for the 

 Ledger Publishing Company, the first number of which will 

 be issued on the 25th of this month. As this paper is to 

 devote some portion of its space to sporting intelligence, 

 we shall be compelled to receive it into the fraternity, and 

 we feel, from our personal acquaintance with the manager, 

 that he will make it worthy of the place accorded to it, St. 

 Louis, with a half million of people ought to support one 

 illustrated paper like this —that is if all the inhabitants take 

 it. Terms $5.00. 



