FOREST AND STREAM. 



249 



the young fry will be ready for planting in about a month. 

 They should go into spring brooks of a very few feet in 

 width, which are not likely to freeze during winter. 



One of our worthiest and best informed correspondents, 

 J. Carson Brevoort, Esq., earnestly opposes putting these 

 fish in the Hudson. He says they are a heavy, slow, and 

 logy fish, that do not take a fly and are not very delicate as 

 food. But for all this, we will not allow our noble river to 

 remain barren of fish. These salmon will serve as fish food 

 and be taken in abundance with the shad in nets in years to 

 come. And albeit they are now coarse in flesh and afford 

 the angler no sport, they will improve in flavor in due time, 

 and also adopt the habits of their Labrador kinsfolk, and 

 rise to the fly as gracefully as the best educated of them all. 

 And if they should herein disappoint these cherished hopes, 

 what of it? We can still go to the St. Lawrence or the 

 Bay Chaleur for our rod-fishing, as we now do, while the 

 poor will be fed on salmon at prices within their reach. 



-*.•*■» 



BALL CARTRIDGES. 



AMONG- the sportsmen and guides of Nova Scotia, 

 there is a great deal of the most direct and practical 

 information to be obtained upon almost all brandies oi 

 wood craft, and well may it be so, for there is hardly any 

 point in the Province, sea-side, estuary, mountain, or 

 plains, where some game does not exist that is worth all a 

 huntsman's skill. 



The rifle is fully appreciated, and at various ranges, and 

 with frequent competitive trials, all kinds of arms are well 

 tested; but the men who go out for large game are very 

 partial to a smooth bore. The Snider rifle is, with its large 

 ball, a favorite, and is carried more generally than any 

 other; still it hardly suits many of the best guides as well as 

 a musket. One reason is found in the fact that moose, 

 when called, are usually shot at short range, and in dim 

 moonlight, or twilight, when the fine sights of a rifle are 

 quite useless. 



Beeswanger, the well known guide of the River Phillip 

 region, advises the u$e of a musket for moose, "with two 

 balls, sir; large balls, sir; one to cut away the twigs and 

 one to kill, sir!" 



And Beeswanger should know, for he has killed more 

 moose than any man in the Cobequid, and has some twenty 

 children to follow in his footsteps. 



Acting upon his counsel, a number of ball cartridges 

 were ordered at Halifax, and the}' were so well made 

 that it may be worth while to mention their form. 

 The gun for which they were loaded was a ten bore Scott. 

 The ball used was eleven, and when placed over 81 drachms 

 of powder and a thick Avad was retained by drawing a 

 strong cord around the shell just above it, making a deep 

 and permanent crease. The round form of the ball would 

 endanger wedging and a consequent strain were the car- 

 tridge rimmed over, but the crease kept the ball safely in 

 place without forming an obstacle to its egress. It must be 

 understood that the cord was not left on the shell. It was 

 only used to form the crease evenly around it. 



A strong double gun is a formidable arm when loaded 

 with one ball and one buck shot cartridge. The ball may 

 be relied upon for ten rods, and at a still longer range with 

 slight elevation, and for snap shots at running game, will 

 do fatal work about as often as a rifle. 



The round ball is considered as more immediately des- 

 tructive than any other. The Moav is very powerful, and 

 the "shock" to the animal consequently great, while the 

 flesh and skin will hardly close over the wound to retard 

 bleeding. It is claimed that large game will succumb more 

 rapidly to the ragged crush of such a large ball, and save 

 many a mile of trailing or the loss of game. As to the ac- 

 curacy of such shooting, the three first shots with the gun 

 mentioned, at forty-five yards, without rest, placed all the 

 balls in one hole, hardly enlarging it, and it was just where 

 it was intended to be. 



There are many long arduous tramps taken after large 

 game, when every ounce is to be well considered in arrang- 

 ing packs, and when but one gun can be carried, the use of 

 ball in double guns may enable a hunter to decide upon 

 taking a gun that will bring ducks, spruce grouse, &c, to 



the larder. 



-*~*~ 



CREEDMOOR. 



NOW that the rifle range at Creedmoor has closed for 

 the season of 1873, a resume of the practice which 

 has taken place there, giving the scores made in the differ- 

 ent matches, including those of the teams of the various 

 regiments, will doubtless be found of great interest. Here- 

 tofore no account has ever been produced of these matches 

 available to the public, so that means could be afforded of 

 making comparisons in regard to the merits of the differ- 

 ent regiments as marksmen. Another point of great in- 

 terest will be the study of the various arms employed and 

 their excellence as deduced from the scores of the winners, 

 and such nice points as how far the military arms have 

 kept pace with the sporting or target weapons. The im- 

 provement which has resulted at Creemoor, taking the first 

 matches and comparing them with the last ones, will be 

 better discoverable when we have grouped together the en- 

 tire series of matches. This bringing of the scores to- 

 gether has heretofore been a want that has been felt not 

 only by those, using the range at Creedmoor, but by all 

 who have beeu interested in the subject of rifle practice, 

 and the deductions made from them will be sought for 

 by manufacturers of arms not only at home, but abroad. 

 It is our intention to publish the official score, whether 



official. Many remarkable scores have been published as 

 having been made at Creedmoor, which we have no doubt 

 were accomplished by parties whose performances, how- 

 ever, in public have not equalled their practice in private. 

 The only true way is to give the official figures, and by do- 

 ing so no questions of favoritism or personal influence can 

 arise which might occur did we adopt any other course. 

 We also propose working out a careful comparison of the 

 scores of the winning teams, as also of the best individual 

 shots in these teams, and to place them alongside of the 

 shooting at Wimbledon and in Canada, so that our Amer- 

 ican riflemen will be enabled to determine not only their 

 exact status, but what it is necessary for them to do in or- 

 der to become the rivals, if not the victors, of the best 

 English marksmen. 



To show that our marksmen do not grope in the dark, 

 and are not too prone to be led by precedent, they seem to 

 have come to the opinion that at Creedmoor the tables of 

 elevation and the rules in regard to atmospheric pressui e, 

 ps affecting the accuracy of aim, and the necessary eleva- 

 tions or depressions of the piece, as laid down by the best 

 English authorities in rifle practice, will require material 

 alteration or modfication for use. The purity of the at- 

 mosphere, as compared with that of England, undoubtedly 

 makes a difference in sighting, and the variations from 

 light to shade of a bright or a dark day are somewhat less 

 noticeable on this side of the world. Exactly what are 

 these differences can of course only be determined by prac- 

 tice and experience. This important question is being rap- 

 idly brought to solution by the amateur Riflemen at Creed- 

 moor, and Ave may trust by the publications Ave are about 

 to commence that avo shall be able to collate facts aaTucIi 

 Avill be of material sendee. 



So far as avc are aAvare, no publication has been made of 

 scores except of the winning teams at the fall competition 

 of the National Rifle Association. This is a master Avhich 

 many are interested in knowing, and Ave trust to supply 

 this Avant by printing all the scores in each of the matches. 



The experiment of starting a rifle range was one Avhich 

 was doubtless entered upon by the National Rifle Associ- 

 atioc with misgivings. Though many of the original pro- 

 jectors were enthusiastic about it, the officers and directors 

 had grave fears as to Avhether a rifle range Avould prove 

 popular to the public, or even to the National Guard. Of 

 course the originators of the enterprise had no actual ex- 

 perience in the undertaking, and were doubtful of then- 

 ability to manage it successfully. The year's single expe- 

 rience, Avhich has come to so fortunate a conclusion, has 

 done aAvay with all such misgivings. We can safely assert 

 that no public movement of any kind has been instituted 

 which has so rapidly become popular as the National Rifle 

 Association. From its incipiency up to the present mo- 

 ment no newspaper, in fact no one, has mentioned the sub- 

 ject save to commend it. To-day nearly all the prominent 

 members of the National Guafd belong to it, and on all 

 sides, from the press and the public, it meets Avith a most 

 hearty support. 



The range at Creedmoor has been laid out on an im- 

 proved model, and is universally conceded from natural 

 causes, aided by judicious improvements, to be superior to 

 the best rifle ranges abroad. 



Notwithstanding that all the officers of the National 

 Rifle Association are business men, in order to insure the 

 success of their enterprise these gentlemen have devoted 

 an amount of time and attention to create and carry out 

 this undertaking which can hardly be understood by those 

 not cognizant with the fact that the difficulties were many, 

 and only to be overcome by no small amount of personal 

 sacrifice. It would perhaps be invidious to make any dis- 

 tinction Avhen all have done so Avell. Especial credit is, 

 however, due to Colonel William C. Church, the President; 

 to the Vice President, General Alexander Shaler; to Captain 

 George W. Wingate, the Secretary; and to General John 

 B. Woodward, who was for a long time Treasurer, and 

 who has had charge of the headquarters tent during the dif- 

 ferent matches. 



It is a matter of congratulation to all concerned that the 

 multifarious business of the range has not only been man 

 aged with a liberal spirit, but that the expenditures have 

 been at the same time most carefully administered. The 

 pleasant feeling which exists among the officers and direc- 

 tors has extended to the range itself, and although the 

 managers of foreign ranges at first somewhat appalled the 

 officers of our National Rifle Association by the statement 

 that there was no class of the community so captious and 

 quarrelsome as riflemen, yet at Creedmoor everything 

 has passed off as pleasantly as a summer day. Those who 

 practiced at the range understood intuitively what were 

 the difficulties and annoyances officers had to contend 

 with, and both officers and men made alloAvances for them. 

 Whatever differences of opinion may have existed, Avhich 

 were inevitable in the starting of a new enterprise, Avere 

 always quickly and harmoniously arranged, and on the 

 part of the marksmen the wise disposition Avas shown of 

 making the best of everything. Occasionally, of course, 

 a grumbler made his appearance, but the vast majority of 

 competing marksmen, by the good humor and alacrity 

 with Avhich they obeyed the laAvs of the range, have been 

 of great aid to the officers in charge. 



Conceding the fact that much the larger majority of 

 those who have used the range this year were to a certain 

 extent unused to arms, it is an extraordinary fact that not 

 a single accident of any kind has occurred, save a marker, 

 Avho, unnecessarily exposing himself, was slightly cut by a 



dered impossible for the future by an alteration at the butt 

 where the accident occurred. 



The effect of the practice at Creedmoor on the National 

 Guard has been remarkable, and Avill undoubtedly be per- 

 manent. Our volunteer soldiers recognize the fact that their 

 rifles are something else than implements, to be used only 

 for the manual of arms in the drill room. During the win - 

 ter Wingate's Manual on Rifle Practice will receive a care- 

 ful study, and aiming drill and candle shooting, hitherto 

 but little known among the different regiments, save by the 

 gallant members of the TAventy-second Regiment, will 

 form a prominent feature of the winter's drill. The Sev- 

 enth, Ninth, TAvelfth, Twenty-third, Thirty-second, Sev- 

 enty-first, and Seventy-ninth regiments have determined 

 that if practice will accomplish anything, to be poAverful 

 antagonists at the next general match of the National Rifle 

 Association. 



Individual members of the National Guard Avill appreci- 

 ate the glory Avhich is to be obtained as the Avinner of a 

 prize at future contests. It is something which may give 

 him a position AA r ell worthy of an honorable ambition. 

 There is no one thing by which a member can bring him- 

 self in such honorable prominence as by a display of 

 marksmanship. While affording pleasant recreation for 

 leisure hours it must draw forth at the same time his best 

 military qualifications. When rifle shooting, as a military 

 art, is taken hold of by the whole of the National Guard, 

 as they seem disposed to take hold, a large class of young- 

 men will undoubtedly be brought into the ranks who 

 otherAvise Avould hold aloof from military organizations. 

 A healthy emulation Avill then be excited among the dif- 

 ferent regiments, and the State will obtain a substantial 

 benefit by securing a National Guard Avhich will not only> 

 be enthusiastic in time of peace, but efficient in time of war. 



THE CINCINNATI ACCLIMATIZATION 



SOCIETY. 



* 



THE preservation of game and birds and their acclima- 

 tization entering particularly within the province of 

 the Forest atsd Stream, we hail with pleasure any effort 

 made to foster enterprises of this character. 



It is wonderful when Ave think Iioav feeble were the 

 early attempts of this kind. To Philadelphia must be 

 given the credit of having been the first to foster the squir- 

 rels in the public squares. We remember perfectly Avell 

 the time, some twenty years only ago, Avhenif an occasional 

 squirrel was seen in Washington square in Philadelphia, a 

 hundred boys would troop around, and poor Bunny would 

 be pelted Avith stones. To-day squirrels abound in the 

 Philadelphia breathing grounds, and these pretty animals 

 live the happiest of lives. Such a small matter as the pre- 

 servation of a squirrel's life may seem to many as insignifi- 

 cant, but their immunity from danger and the interest even 

 the roughest portion of a population take in their move- 

 ments and preservation, cannot but have had an excellent 

 effect. It has been the better not only for the squirrels but 

 for the boys and men. 



The introduction of the English sparrow in NeAv York, 

 is noAv a thing of the past. To-day the sparrow is part and 

 parcel of this huge metropolis, and the benefits derived 

 from his presence are universally admitted. The Cincin- 

 nati Acclimatization Society, has for its object the intro- 

 duction into this country of all useful, insect eating Euro- 

 pean birds, as well as the best singers, and to see to it that 

 the imported, as Avell as the domestic birds have a better 

 protection against the attack of heartless men and thought- 

 less boys; that the shooting of useful birds be prevented 

 and the destruction of birds nests be stopped, with all legal 

 means at the disposal of the Society. From A. Erken- 

 brecker, Esq., the President of the Cincinnati Society of 

 Acclimatization, we have received a most interesting letter 

 on the subject of their organization, from which, letter we 

 make the following summary : The Society has to-day 250 

 members, and is steadily augmenting in number. Las 

 spring $3,000 worth of European songsters of ten differen 

 varieties were set free, and the experiment proving a per 

 feet success, as the birds remained and bred, the Society 

 have sent an agent to Germany for anothar installment of 

 such varieties as had not yet been received. To make sure 

 that these birds when received shall not suffer from the 

 sudden effects of climate, arrangements have been made to 

 house the birds this winter, so that somewhat accustomed to 

 the climatic change, they Avill be ready for liberation in the 

 early spring. In this way young birds born abroad will 

 have a better chance of existence. The President informs 

 us that the sparroAvs are becoming very thick in the out- 

 skirts of the city, and that next year they Avill, he believes, 

 enter into the heart of the good city of Cincinnati. The 

 birds spoken of as expected, will arrive very shortly in 

 charge of Mr. A. Tenner, the Secretary. 



The Society has issued a number of circulars, in which 

 they call on teachers, parents and lovers of birds to help 

 them in awakening a love for these merry songsters and to 

 give their aid in protecting the birds, and promotin°- their 

 increase. No less excellent is the idea of a placard printed 

 on Avhite cloth, to be nailed in proper positions, Avhich reads 

 as follows: " Ten Dollars reward Avill be paid by the Ac- 

 climatization Society of Cincinnati for any information 

 that will convict any person or persons of violating in this 

 vicinity, the State or municipal laws framed for the protec- 

 tion of birds." 



Apart from the highly beneficial effect of insect-eatino- 

 birds in protecting orchard and shade trees, the Society, as 

 may be seen, have not forgotten the more kindlv influences 

 the songs of birds exert in all daises. We trusUo see other 

 cities emulate the- good example shown by the Cincinnati 



