FOREST AND STREAM. 



245 



history. The blinding snow and sleet hid the bold cones of 

 Porcupine Mountains from view, while away to the east we 

 could faintly discern the rugged face of Fourteen Mile 

 Point. The regular steamers which plied between the town 

 of Ontonagon and the lower lakes, had one by one been ob- 

 liged to pass the port and run for Bayfield and take shelter 

 behind the Apostle Islands. 



Camping out was disagreeable business, and 1 had re- 

 turned to the village and the inhabitants were mostly in- 

 doors, except now and then a solitary individual who could 

 be seen moving about in the snow snugly encased in his 

 warm capote. Suddenly it was passed from house to house 

 that an object had been discovered far out on the lake 

 which looked like a boat. The news of an object of so 

 much interest on the lake in such a fearful storm soon drew 

 to the beach a large portion of the people. 



We leveled our glasses through the blinding storm at the 

 strange object as wave after wave swept it towards us, and 

 many were the speculations concerning it. The clouds of 

 snow grew thicker and thicker, drifting into the most inac- 

 cessible parts of our hoods and gathering oh to the waves 

 and shore in such quantities that it was difficult to distin- 

 guish land from water. 



First the object was seen on the crest of a wave, then it 

 sank to reappear oh the top of another. Some thought it 

 was part of an ill-fated vessel until it was finally discovered 

 to be some kind of a boat, and on closer examination proved 

 to be one of those most fragile of all crafts, a birch bark canoe. 



ZSTow we thought it must be capsized as sea after sea 

 swept over it. Now we thought we could distinguish a 

 human form in it struggling to make the shore. When the 

 canoe had approached sufficiently near for us to discover its 

 occupants, there in the stern sat an Indian stripped to his 

 Avaist clenching in his hand his trusty paddle, while in the 

 bottom of the birch bark sat his squaw, clasping to her 

 breast her pappoose, and vainly endeavoring to shelter her 

 charge from the pitiless storm. In the bow of the canoe 

 was rigged an impromptu sail consisting of a ragged 

 blanket stretched on poles and the company was further- 

 more increased by the irrepressible dog. 



This family of Chippewas (as it was afterwards found) 

 had started from Isle Royal intending to make some harbor 

 on the north shore, but in the thickest of the gale had lost 

 their way, and b'een driven a distance of sixty miles in this 

 egg-shell to the- south shore of the lake. From crest to 

 crest they flew, until they reached the Ontonagan River, 

 (from which the town takes its name), and with a last stroke 

 of the paddle they shot into still water . amid the shouts of 

 the gazers. 



The Brave without looking to the right or left, or notic- 

 ing in any manner our anxiety for his safe arrival, hustled 

 his family out of the bark, drew it up on the shore, threw 

 his gun over his shoulder, and with his dog at his heels, 

 disappeared into the woods with as little concern as if 

 nothing unusual had happened. T. S. S. 



• — ■■ +•+- 



THE ROCKY MOUNT AIN SHEEP. 



Camp in Geneva Park, Colorado, Nov.. 8th, 1873. 

 Editor Forest and Stream:— 



MONG the many different species of game in a coun- 

 try possessing such a variety there are none so diffi- 

 cult to capture as the Rocky Mountain sheep, or big horns, 

 as they are sometimes called. Living remote from civili- 

 zation and the haunts of man — ranging along the roof of 

 the Continent, on the almost inaccessible peaks high above 

 timber-line, and endowed by Nature with keen scent and 

 hearing, they are considered by hunters as being the most 

 difficult to approach of any animal among the deer kind. 

 The horns of the male are sometimes of enormous size. 

 I have seen them eight inches in diameter at the largest 

 part, and weighing sixteen pounds. Those of the female 

 are small and sharp, resembling the horns of the goat; in 

 fact, but for the horns, and a fine silky wool at the roots of 

 the hair, they might readily be mistaken for deer. They 

 feed upon the short nutritious grass which grows upon the 

 treeless ridges and ravines along the Snowy Range, and 

 when fat weigh from one to two hundred pounds. The 

 flesh is very much like that of the deer, but jucier and of 

 superior flavor. They are almost constantly on the move, 

 ranging from one mountain to another, feeding as they go, 

 and finding some rocky cliff sheltered from the Range 

 winds, where they lie at night. Sometimes several hundred 

 may be seen in one drove, but generally from two or three 

 to a dozen. When pursued they make a break for the 

 highest point of rocks in sight, where they stand looking 

 curiously at the hunter as he slowly picks his way upward 

 over the debris to get withing shooting distance. When 

 that has been gained, however, the sheep have disappeared; 

 nor does the tired sportsman get another glimpse of his 

 game until he has reached the cliff they have just left, 

 when they may be seen standing on some point higher up 

 on the mountain, and still beyond rifle shot. Should the 

 hunter have perseverance and plenty of muscle, he will 

 probably follow them to the highest pinnacle of a the Range 

 to find at last that his climbing has been in vain, and that 

 . the game he has been following so faithfully and hopefully 

 have mysteriously vanished from his sight. 



The only successful method of hunting the mountain 

 sheep is to get above them, unseen, and, if possible, get a 

 shot before being discovered. In this way the herd get 

 confused, not knowing which way to run, and sometimes 

 four or five may be killed before they recover themselves. 

 Once started, however, pursuit is useless. Throwing back 

 their heads they throw themselves into space as if shot 

 from a cannon, and in a few minutes are miles away, tak- 

 ing leaps of twenty or thirty feet, and hardly ever making 

 a mishap, however rapid and headlong their flight. . . A. . 



OS© 



r aadhnd, Wmvn md $mAsn-. 



THE LAWN AND HOW TO MAKE IT. 



"Strength may wield the ponderous spade, 



May turn the clod and wheel the comfort home; 



But elegance, chief grace the garden shows, 



And most attractive is the fair result 



Of thought, the creature of a polished mmdi.—C'Owper. 



NE of the principle elements of the beautiful, as ap- 

 plied to the art of laying out landscape gardens, is a 

 goodly sized, well-made, well-kept lawn. 



"How shall we construct such a lawn as lies in front of 

 Mr. H.'s fine residence?" said a gentleman to me last April. 

 "I have just purchased some eighteen acres of good land, 

 and it lies in a good situation for forming a good lawn, but 

 I do not know how to do it." 



This apparently frank question deserves an equally frank 

 and explicit answer. Every one well knows the fact that 

 a fine lawn, properly decorated with groups of trees and 

 shrubs, is one. of the indispensibles of landscape gardening. 



I do, not mean to be understood, when I speak of lawns, 

 that I refer to many little green spots of ground of from 

 one half to one acre of land, that one beholds in riding- 

 through many of our country villages. These I call "plats" 

 of greensward; and there are many of them very well laid 

 oat, and answer the end for which they were designed. A 

 small piece of land of half an acre in front of our several 

 dwellings is much to be preferred, if it is well kept 

 and frequently mowed to the same ground when designed 

 and set apart for flowers. These little plats should, like 

 the grand old lawn of inairy acres, be well and truly made, 

 to give general and lasting satisfaction. We would prefer 

 to trench to the depth of two feet to two and one-half feet 

 the little grass plat that lies before our door. 



Having determined to have a "small lawn," as we call It, 

 with some two or three fine shrubs, such as every family 

 who possess the same are desirous of enjoying, we will en- 

 deavor to give you some of our own ideas upon the best 

 manner of doing the same. And first, a large and extensive 

 tract of ground, made into a fine and beautiful lawn, with 

 all the accessory adornments of trees, shrubs, lakes and 

 islands, are elements of the beautiful, however simple they 

 appear to the beholder, that cost money. So with our 

 little bright spot of evenly cut, finely rolled land, the joy of 

 our hearts; this, small as it is, with all its harmony and 

 beauty, this costs money also, but not so much as our grand 

 old lawns. So we say to all our friends: "Stop a bit, before 

 you begin your work on small or large plats, and see how 

 much money you will necessarily have to expend upon the 

 same, to give you something like a realization of your idea 

 and your wishes. 



Here is the starting point in fact of your future opera- 

 tions. 



Having settled in your own mind that you will spend 

 such a sum of money, begin your operations. It does not 

 follow of a necessity that making a good lawn involves so | 

 great an expenditure of money as many may suppose. 



I therefore propose to answer for the benefit of my read- 

 ers the question proposed: "How can I obtain a fine lawn?" 

 The soil which constitutes your lawn must be prepared by 

 deep and thorough trenching, or by very deep and thorough 

 ploughing. Many of our farmers deem it one of the first 

 steps to be taken in order to give them even a good crop of 

 coarse grass. They do not feel assured of a remunerative 

 crop by ordinary ploughing, and sowing grass seed in the 

 ordinaiy manner. 



Many men, no doubt, have followed the thriftless prac- 

 tice to some extent; they have found their mistake in 

 meagre crops of grass, thinking doubtless that all they 

 would have to do in qrder to realize the fruits of their 

 labor, would be in sowing their fields with grass seed" and 

 patiently awaiting the result. One season has generally 

 brought its corrective, and the man who knew how to build 

 a church, did not know how to raise a good crop of grass, 

 with every appliance for the same beneath his hand, except 

 the knowledge of how to prepare his five acre lot. 



Some men have pursued the same idea, or a very similar 

 one, as applied to making an American lawn, and as singu- 

 larly failed. It is quite impossible to obtain a thoroughly 

 good, lasting, even lawn by the "sodding process;" how- 

 ever neatly and evenly the greensward may be laid, it often 

 fails in giving the satisfaction that the trench or deeply 

 ploughed grounds give. 



We love to look upon a green and even lawn, with its 

 broad acres of velvety carpet, and we can, if we have the 

 patience to prepare our grounds properly, have before 

 us not perhaps everything pertaining to an English lawn,* 

 but a beautiful, never-failing source of pleasure. 



A deep trench is to be made in the first place, and it will 

 be found of great value to the future lawn that all stones 

 should be removed from the same. True, this costs time 

 and money, but you desire that your "labor may not be in 

 vain." Then do your work thoroughly and well, and you 

 can safely trust a kind Providence for the result. Sunshine 

 and showers, a good season, and all is well with you, for 

 you will reap your reward. By deep and even trenching 

 every foot of your lawn is to be stirred to the depth of 

 three feet at least; four feet would be better, f 



The trenching should be commenced at one end of the 

 ground designed for your future lawn, and the earth, to the 



•••The English lawn derives much of its beauty from the natural hu- 

 midity of the atmosphere, which our brighter skies and warmer climate 

 do not give us; still, with proper culture, the American lawn vail never 

 lail to please and remunerate. 



+1 have seen the roots of clover and strawhen-y plants running from 

 two to rour feet on good ground. '""...' 



depth of three feet, thrown out upon the top of the ground' 

 and all the stones you may find, if you desire a smooth 

 lawn. Having proceeded, once across the end of your 

 ground in this manner, you will make a second trench, and 

 throw the soil you move back into the first trench you 

 made, and so to the end of the lawn. If it is necessary to 

 add manure it can be done while sub-soiling, and the good 

 judgment of ah intelligent farmer will at once determine 

 the quantity to be used. Mr. Downing, from whom I de- 

 ceived much of my agricultural knowledge, in answer to 

 the question, "What do you consider the grand requisites 

 for a good lawn?" replied, with much emphasis, "Deep 

 soil, the proper kind of grasses, and frequent mowing." 



These essential requisites, if applied as noted, will give 

 you a lawn every way desirable, and one which will last in 

 all its beauty for years, and such a lawn is worth the mak- 

 ing. You must guard against the droughts of our hot sun- 

 shiny season by the best natural means you possess, viz. : 

 a thoroughly pulverized, deeply trenched or ploughed soih 

 Such a soil will safely carry almost any of the grasses 

 through. Remember that grasses have root, and the clovers 

 particularly love to strike deep into the cool, damp soil. 



I need not say to any of our New England cultivators, 

 that a surface drought or a "dry spell," as it is called, has 

 no power over plants whose fibres or rootlets rest in the 

 cool moist under-soil or lower stratum of earth. So with a 

 well prepared lawn soil, if you desire to look upon a beau- 

 tiful green, undulating lawn, even in mid-summer, take the 

 proper means to secure it by preparing every foot of your 

 ground, whether it is one-eighth of an acre, or garden plat, 

 or your fifty acre lawn. We do not expect all our lawn 

 makers will deem it expedient to trench with the spade ac- 

 cording to our directions, as here laid down, but it would 

 amply pay in the end to do so. Deep ploughing will be the 

 means generally used for lawn making for the present; this, 

 with proper draining:}: and manuring, will give quite a good 

 lawn. We prefer deep trenching to any preparation of 

 lawn grounds we have yet seen. This month and the 

 month of December, if open, are the best seasons for lawn 

 making, and if a finished lawn cannot be obtained in 

 autumn, your ground can be trenched and cleared of stones 

 and then left to rest until the coming spring, when the 

 ground can be ploughed, top-dressed and sown at an early 

 day. We suppose your ground now fit for the reception 

 of the seed. And here the question again occurs, "What 

 seed shall I sow?" You wish for. a close, compact turf; 

 you will sow only grass. The best, and seeds usually sown 

 for this purpose are^a mixture of "Red Top," {Agrostis vul- 

 garis) and "White Clover" (TrifoUum vepem). These are 

 .short, hardy grasses, and will give you satisfaction. They 

 are, in our opinion, better adapted to our climate and soil 

 tkan any we have ever used. The seed sown as follows: 

 Three-fourths of Red Top to one of Clover. Sow four 

 bushels to the acre— the minimum .This done, finish your 

 lawn by passing over the same some four times' with a 

 heavy roller, and you- may have a reasonable hope of look- 

 ing the next summer upon a magnificent, well-made lawn. 



As a top dressing for all lawn ' grounds, the one recom- 

 mended by Downing-is the best we have ever used, and the 

 good effects of the same prove its great value. Downing 

 says "one bushel of guano and three bushels of ashes to 

 the acre, to be applied in March and April." Rough and 

 coarse manure should be applied as your lawn gains in age, 

 and applied in the fall— October, November and first De- 

 cember — left evenly spread during the winter, and care- 

 fully raked off (the coarser parts) by the 5th of April. Lawn 

 grass, when cut, should be left to fertilize the lawn, and 

 should be cut whenever it has attained the height of an 

 inch or an inch and one-half in length. 



By following strictly all the above directions you will 

 have a lawm you will feel a just pride in showing to your 

 friends. Try it, and if you do not succeed to your mind, 

 we will tell you "what's the matter." Ollipod Quill. 



tOf drainage in general and particular, how and when to be used we 

 shall speak in another paper. 



-*•*» , 



—Few people have any clear idea of the extent of forest 

 land in Germany, and most imagine that of the Black 

 Forest little is left except a tradition and a conventional 

 blister of woodland, so-named. On the contrary, in Han- 

 over alone there are 900,000 acres of wood under state man- 

 agement; while nearly a fourth part of the area of Prussia 

 is in forest, although half of that is in private hands. As 

 is well known, the forest administration in particular dis- 

 tricts has long been famous, especially in Thuringia and 

 the Hartz mountains, In North German j* generally the 

 responsibilities are allotted in districts among a carefully 

 organized body of officers, presided over by a forest direc- 

 tor. The appointments are fairly remunerated; and they 

 are so eagerly sought after that candidates will remain on 

 probation for years at their own cost, or with moderate and 

 precarious pay, in the hope of securing a place in the corps 

 at last. In Austria things are on a somewhat different foot- 

 ing. The Austrian forests are magnificent — so magnificent 



indeed, that the forest management has been neglected. 

 <^*^> 



Lily of the Valley for Window Gardens.— While 

 we are taking up our plants let us not forget to take a few 

 tubes of the Lily of the Valley, the loveliest flower of all 

 Flora's kingdom. Select large, healthy clumps, and plant 

 them in boxes filled with very rich soil, mingled with one- 

 third sand. Put the boxes beside a warm stove, or on the 

 shelf of the kitchen range. Give them water, at first spar- 

 ingly, but as the sheathed leaves appear increase the quan- 

 tity. Too much at an early stage would cause the roots to 

 decay. When the flowers appear, put the boxes into the 

 sunniest location you.posssess. All window gardeners' will 

 be charmed with this lovely gem,, and its fragrance is not 

 .-too powerful in any room. 



