312 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



A WEEKLY JOURNAL, 

 Devoted to Field and Aquatic Sports, Practical Natural History, 

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

 and the Inculcation in Men and Women op a healthy interest 

 in Out-door Recreation and Study : 



PUBLISHED BY 



tgorest and ^trmn\ jgnbU&hiitQ Homy mm, 



AT 



L 103 FULTON STREET, NEW YORK. 



♦ 



Terras, Five Dollar s a Year, S trictly in Advance. 



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

 sending us one subscription and Five Dollars will receive a copy of 

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



Advertising Rates. 



In regular advertising columns, nonpareil type, 121ines to the inch, 25 

 eents 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 YORK, THURSDAY, DEC. 24, 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 Names will not be published if 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 especisflly invited to use our columns, which will be pre- 

 pared with, careful reference to their perusal and instruction. 



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

 notes of their movements and transactions, ns 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 Becure 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 ayUI pander to no depraved tastes, nor pervert 

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

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

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

 ternis ; and nothing will 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. 



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



CHARLES HALLOCK, 



Managing Editor. 



MERRY CHRISTMAS! 



HO ! a Christmas greeting to the patrons of Forest 

 and Stream ! What though the woods are bare 

 and cheerless, the water-courses bound by fetters of ice, 

 and the whole earth covered with snow? A cheery greet- 

 ing, for all that, to those who burn the Yule log and 

 brighten their homes with" the holly and yew. They say 

 these days are the embers of the dying year; then kindle 

 the flames of life and love anew. Light up the 

 candles that gleam in the branches, of evergreen. 

 Hang Christmas boxes on every bough. Make every 

 one happy, old and young. Rejoice! for to-day Tile 

 Child is born that promises the redemption of the world! 



What joyous festivities "ever attend the recurrence of this 

 hallowed natal day ! By merrie old England, with it's roast 

 beef and plum-pudding, it's hunters and hounds, and it's 

 pealing chimes from solemn Westminster; by the potifical 

 hosts who crowd the aisles of St. Peter's at Rome; by the 

 Muscovites who raise the emblem of the cross on every 

 street and highway; by the straight-laced Puritans of New 

 England, with their tables that groan with turkeys, pump- 

 kin pies, and cranberry sauce; by the cavaliers of old Vir- 

 ginia, who celebrate with tournament, fox-chase, and turkey 

 shooting; by the exhuberant negroes of the far South, to 

 whom these holidays were always an especial season; by 

 all throughout the length and breadth of the civilized 

 globe where Christianity is recognized, this sub- 

 lime Holiday is welcomed with a zest and manifesta- 

 tions that greet no other. Chief among its customs and 

 observances is the interchange of presents. It is a most 

 befitting custom, and conducive of good-will and enduring 

 friendship. But this year, it is said, old Santa Claus is 

 poor. His usually plethoric stocking is out at the heel. 

 He drives but a sorry team, and his chuckle is less merry 

 than usual, when he is wont to cram the bags of the young- 

 sters that hang in the chimneys. But what does this 

 signify? We will give the old fellow credit for past favors 

 and best intentions, and still be jolly. Our resources for 

 pleasure are boundless and varied, and none of them all 

 are more enjoyed than those which the open air affords— 

 the jingle of the bells over the crisp and creaking snow, the 

 ring of the gleaming skate on the polished ice, the wild 

 hunt in the forest, the dash after Reynard, and the number- 

 less pastimes in vogue from north to south. And so, to all 

 rosy-cheeked lasses impatiently waiting for Christ mas boxes, 

 to all lovers of roast beef and plum pudding, to sweethearts 

 and swains neath the mistletoe, to the piously devout, who 

 observe the day as sacred to all its hallowed recollections, 

 to the jolly roysterers who fill their bumpers to old Kriss 

 Kringle, to the butchers, the bakers, the lamplighters, the 



news carriers, the bell-ringers, the pastry cooks, the con 

 fectioners, the car-men, the ragmen, the beggars, the do 

 minies, the everybody who is expecting a good dinner and 

 kindly remembrances on this welcome anniversary, we wish 

 a right jolly, thumping Merry Christmas. Hurrah for 

 Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Kriss Kringle, and all the rest 

 of the mystic crew — for "Christmas comes but once a year!" 



«•*♦» 



ENGLAND VS. AMERICA. 



CHALLENGE TO OWNERS OF POINTERS AND SETTERS. 



THE publication in the columns of the Forest and 

 Stream of the challenge thrown out to all American 

 sportsmen by Mr. Price, of Bala, Wales, who is desirous 

 of testing the comparative merits of English and American 

 pointers and setters, has excited considerable attention, 

 having been copied by all the leading journals in the United 

 States. 



The straightforward tone of the challenge and its liber- 

 ality, are characteristic of the gentlemen sportsmen of 

 England. As was stated in our last issue, it is all very 

 well to expatiate on color, form, appearance and fineness 

 of breeding, but the real crucial test, the positive action, 

 hearing and manner of the dog in the field, when in pres- 

 ence of the game, is the only thing worth caring for. Dog 

 shows are of course admirable in their way, as far as the 

 judgment of experts can go as determining those ideal pro- 

 portions which should always accompany certain marked 

 breed of dogs. But from some quite extensive experience 

 in dog shows, and bowing to the opinions of the best judge3, 

 it has often come to our notice that the handsomest dogs 

 were not the best. The field trials at Bala, North Wales, 

 have inaugurated a most novel, interesting method of test- 

 ing the actual hunting qualities of the pointer and setter, 

 and the only one which is practical. At Bala, the intui- 

 tive instinct of the dog is tested, and to it is added the edu- 

 cation, the training he has received from man, his master. 



Mr. Price, in offering this friendly match, proposes to 

 adhere to the rules which governed the Bala contest, and 

 offers as arbitrators of the trial such distinguished names 

 as Sir Watkin William Wynn, Bart., and Viscount Com- 

 bermere. A certain fixed standard of excellence of perform- 

 ance is decided on. The nose, as allowing fine shading of 

 scent, is placed at 30. Pace and style of hunting at 20; 

 breaking at 20; pointing (style and steadiness) at 15; back- 

 ing, 10; drawing on game or roading, (not attended to as 

 much as it should be by our sportsmen with their dogs in 

 the United States,) at 15. It will be seen by the perform- 

 ance of Belle that with a possible 100 points, she was within 

 21 points of being perfection, her total excellence being 

 97^. 



We have already received numerous letters asking for in- 

 formation as to the rules and regulations which govern 

 field trials, which rules, &c, we will shortly publish. 



In order to give our own sportsmen who own pointers 

 and setters some insight as regards field trials, we publish 

 an account from the London Field of the trial of Belle, the 

 winner: " Belle and Grouse" were expected to do a great 

 thing, but their attention was first riveted to some snipe on 

 boggy wet ground. The bitch made a false point or two, 

 which the judges did not lay much stress on, as birds had 

 probably been there, and she cleverly puzzled out the 

 scent, and waded up to a brace of close-lying young grouse 

 in high heather. The dog was never in it, and let the other 

 do all the work. He possesses some style in pointing, but 

 is slow and clumsy in ranging, wanting more go and finish. 

 As to the bitch, she is almost our beau ideal of a broken 

 pointer — a pleasure to shoot over and a treat to see, making 

 sport delightful, and walking up birds murder. "Belle" 

 dropped to shot when a drawn bird was knocked down, 

 and then got two consecutive points. They didn't put any 

 birds up, though it was thought probable that they would. 

 For one hour and a quarter chance held the scales, and it 

 required great discrimination and knowledge of sport to 

 pick the winner, which knowledge the judges fortunately 

 possessed. The flag was run up in honor of ' ' Belle ;" and 

 to'avoid disputes, and to settle bets, Countess and Rob 

 Roy fought it out for the third place, and the bitch having 

 improved a little, won it. 



*♦♦■ 



THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS AND THE 

 TELEGRAPH. 



IN La Chasse Illustree, we find not only a most ingenious 

 but interesting article on the subject of the migration 

 of birds, where the idea is developed of bringing into use 

 the telegraph, in order that we may better study their move- 

 ments. With the prime instinct of the birds to move their 

 quarters from North to South, and vice versa, we have 

 nothing to do, but it may not be impossible to study the 

 direction of their flight, and give the reasons for their 

 alighting on certain favored localities and not on others. 



Two causes very probably induce migrating birds to 

 settle . First, the necessity of food, in order to replace 

 forces exhausted by a long travel, or to gain strength for re- 

 newed flight. This would induce birds to stop on their 

 journey at points were food was most abundant, and the 

 best adapted to their tastes. Secondly, birds of passage fly 

 with the wind, that is when they can; but when the wind 

 is adverse, they sometimes, but not always, alight. In fact, 

 the advent of birds, even their residence in certain quarters, 

 and the duration if they stay, seems to -depend very 

 frequently on meteorological causes. Now, all that is 

 wanted, as proposed by our French contemporary, is to 

 have some central office, and by means of telegraphic com- 

 munications to study the movements of the birds and the 



;-,iii',;iiMtt- ■-;. -.- 



conditions of the atmosphere. For instance, the wind off 

 the coast of British America, on the 10th of September 

 might be blowing from South to North, the probability then 

 would be that the ducks, geese and wild fowl would he ' 

 slow in coming to our shores. Now, if on the contrary, the 

 winds on the whole coast had been blowing from North to 

 South, the advent of ducks, brant and geese might be 

 earlier than usual. 



The migrations of inland birds might also be studied in 

 this way, not only to the profit of the sportsman but of the 

 naturalist. Questions In regard to the capricious move- 

 ments of that most uncertain bird, the woodcock, taking 

 into account both its opportunity of procuring food in cer 

 tain localities, and the effects of wind and temperature 

 might help us better to understand their coming and going. 



In an early number of the Forest and Stream we wrote 

 in regard to the influences of temperature on fish, as direct- 

 ing their movements, and that fishermen studied the meteo- 

 logical reports with advantage. The benefits we already 

 derive from Maury's system of weather reports may still 

 have further development, and it is not at all impossible 

 that the ideas of our French contemporary may be quite 

 practical. As was remarked before by us, the advantages 

 to be derived from the solution of any scientific fact are im- 

 mense, and practical benefits derived from it extend in 

 directions which were at first un thought of. 

 -*♦-&- 



THE FORESTS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON 

 MAN. 



THAT the effects of moisture have a marked influence 

 on the physical condition of man, is we believe pretty 

 clearly established. If we contrast the stature of the 

 Englishman living in a country surcharged with moisture, 

 with the Arab living in the arid plain where rain but rarely 

 falls, we have the two extremes of man, considered in an 

 animal sense. Questions of moral or mental power, do 

 not enter into this question, though that some effects, of 

 an incorporeal nature, are clo?ely allied to a corporeal con- 

 dition, seems quite evident. If some of the careful obser- 

 vers, of the meterological conditions of the Lnited States 

 in reference to the physical condition of its inhabitants 

 have already advanced the somewhat bold idea that the 

 drying up of the face of the country caused by the destruc- 

 tion of the forests has already had an effect upon the health 

 and longevity' of the people, and that there is a tendency 

 towards increasing degeneracy, we are not prepared ex- 

 actly to agree with them. The anthropological studies of the 

 American race have not yet commenced. There can be 

 no comparison made 3 r et of our own people, for the reason 

 that we are too young, and that we have no standard of 

 our own to go by. The inhabitants of the United States 

 are composed of such mixed elements that for centuries to 

 come there can be no types. We differ, too, in another im- 

 portant respect, from all other nations. If it was possible 

 to imagine a peculiar race of beings, as for instance the 

 Basque people, who having a certain definite physical form 

 and language, men and women who have preserved their 

 type by isolation for 1000 years, such an accident is utterly 

 impossible in the United States, where men wander to 

 and fro every day, and where that novel factor, locomotion, 

 or the ease with which a man can move, has undoubtedly 

 everything to do in preventing the creation of any fixed 

 rules of size or corporeal proportion. Yet the effects of 

 the ruthless destruction of the forest, and the consequent 

 depriving of the soil of the requisite degree of moisture, 

 may certainly have even at the present, minor local effects. 

 The quality of food a man eats may have more to do than 

 we think for with his physical and mental qualities. The 

 humidity of the atmosphere, as was remarked by Dr. T. C. 

 Duncan, of Chicago, has a marked influence upon the vigor 

 and fruitfulness of both animals and plants, and therefore 

 the effects of this great and growing change on the face of 

 the country, and its climatic and metrological condition 

 upon our people, is worthy of the attention and study of 

 men of science. 



If the effects of this denudation of the soil, this absolute 

 stripping the ground of all its natural covering, by cutting 

 away ruthlessly, inconsiderately, all the forests, does not to- 

 day make itself felt but in a minor degree, it has within it- 

 self a latent and accumulative power for working ill, not 

 only to man, but to his works, which may be developed in 

 a few years hence. The absence of rain fall in any section 

 of country, is sufficient to deter civilization. Whole broad 

 areas of this good country of ours, will very probably be in 

 the condition of barren wastes some years hence, re- 

 gions which years ago, when they were covered with 

 the forests, rejoiced in the falling showers. "The Govern- 

 ment, land owners, private individuals, should encourage 

 the growth of timber in barren regions," writes Dr. Dun- 

 can," and prevent the clearing off of whole belts of timber 

 where the face of the country would be materially affected 

 thereby. 



— -***» 



The Forest and Stream Sportsmen's Club. —We fully 

 appreciate the high compliment paid to the Forest and 

 Stream, by the fact that a club has been formed with the title 

 of the "Forest and Stream Sportsmen's Club, " at Brainerd, 

 Crow Wing Co., Minnesota. As we have the pleasure of 

 a personal acquaintance with several members of the club, 

 and know them to be thorough sportsmen, we feel certain 

 that the name these gentlemen have given to their club will 

 be upheld with all honor. We trust to hear frequently 

 from the club, and it will give us pleasure to record their 

 prowess. 



-Lake Erie is the home of thirty- five varieties of fish. 



