326 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



noble fellow perfectly dead, with seven buck shot in him. 

 We lifted him in the boat and returned to our watch ground 

 in high spirits. We took our station again, but we heard 

 nothing for the remainder of the day, except some guns in 

 the distance, telling of luck for others of the part3 r , until 

 about five o'clock. Jnst as we were about to unchain the 

 boat for our return, we heard a crash in some bushes near 

 the shore, and out rushed a fine doe ; she leaped high in air, 

 and while yet she was above the water my gun covered 

 her neck; a report, and the deer lay motionless on its sur- 

 face. All this had been done in so short a time that I had 

 not been excited, but now that my second deer lay before 

 me, I confess that I was excited. We now had two deer 

 to carry instead of one, and it was after dark ere we reached 

 the camp. To the limbs of a tree near the camp hung two 

 other deer killed by the party. Considering the scarcity 

 of deer there, ours was good luck. A huge fire blazed in the 

 middle of the circle of tents, and, lighting up the surround- 

 ing woods with its ruddy glare, and with tall pines all 

 around, it was quite a romantic scene. After our day's 

 work, our supper of newly killed venison was relished just 

 as much as any sumptuously prepared dinner we had ever 

 eaten at home, although served in little tin platters on the 

 rough board table. The evening was spent in hearing the 

 adventures of the guides, and many a joke those lively fel- 

 lows got off. The hounds lay alongside the fire, and ever 

 and anon one of them would bay in his sleep, going over the 

 hunting scenes of the day ; others filled the air with their 

 snorings. One by one the tired hunters retired for the 

 night, and silence reigned throughout the camp. About 

 ten o'clock a blustering snow storm set in, which raged 

 with unabated fury throughout the night; but rolled snugly 

 in our blankets, we rested after the labors of the day. 



Charles H. Crow. 

 -^*+» 



nocturnal prowlings, has strayed across your path, and off 

 they all go with full cry. The old love of their fathers has 

 been awakened in them. The hunt of the day is over, and 

 they will not return until they have tasted of his hide. 

 This sport is of course very tame to the hunter of the 

 moose or grizzly, where endurance and courage are emi- 

 nently requisite, but to those who are compelled to hunt 

 within bow shot of municipal limits or not at all, it is a 

 good way to give your setters a day's rest in a week of quail 

 shooting. The defence, however, of hare hunting must 

 rest on the ground that in the hands of your artist-cook it 



can be made by no means an unpalatable dish. S.L.P. 

 -»♦♦- 



HUNTING AT BLOOMING GROVE PARK. 



' HARE HUNTING. 



■» , 



Washington, D. C, December, 1873. 

 Editor Forest and Stream: — 



Fox hunting, as enjoyed in the early days of the Repub- 

 lic, is fast dying out. It is a rare instance to find any gen- 

 tleman of the country who has his full pack of hounds, 

 although many will relate with eye sparkling again with 

 the fervor of youth, of the meet, the thoroughbred, the 

 jumping chase o'er fence and ditch, the welkin ringing with 

 the deep mouthed yelp, and successful ride in at the death. 

 The most he can boast of present possession is two or three 

 worthy descendants of former kennels, and the old horn of 

 his fathers, whose stirring sounds have often awoke the 

 echoes of his native hills and valleys. It is true that occa- 

 sionally the united stock of a neighborhood are brought 

 together, and the chase indulged in with some resemblance 

 to the good old times, but the sport is rare and unsatisfac- 

 tory. Small farms, with their frequent fences and culti- 

 vated lands, have been its greatest enemy, and the few 

 remaining beagles are devoted exclusively to the less excit- 

 ing sport of hare hunting. It is not to be contended that 

 hare hunting is comparable with the pursuit of the fox. 

 The timid little animal has not the fieetness, the endurance, 

 or sagacity of the latter, and yet it has just sufficient of 

 each of these qualities to resemble the more exciting sport 

 without its nobility in taxing the best powers of horse and 

 rider. 



The frost is still fringing every leaflet and twig with its 

 beautiful crystals, mingling with the russet brown of au- 

 tumn into the softest grays as the undulating hills fade in 

 the distance. Not far from the hospitable country man- 

 sion is a belt of pines, where the game is plentiful. The 

 dogs know by instinct their duty. How different their 

 movement from their brothers, the hunters of the field. 

 The party of four or five — the more the better and mer- 

 rier spread out some hundred yards from each other. 



The dogs have silently penetrated the woods, each closely 

 scenting the ground. Before many steps have been taken 

 some one of the party has started a hare. Instantly', at the 

 top of his voice, he whoops for the hounds, who come 

 tearing in with a bounding galop. The spot where the 

 hare ran is shown them, with the old cry of "Hark away." 

 and then such yelping, taken up as each strikes the trail, 

 and at full speed they dash away. Stand still. He will be 

 sure to make a circuit of the neighboring hill, when you 

 may give him your fire as he bounds past you, if he shall 

 have been fortunate enough to have escaped your com- 

 rades. What music, as the constant cry comes softened 

 from the deep forest! Now farther, now nearer, now 

 ceased with the loss of the trail, now wilder than before, 

 when some old stager has caught again the warm scent. 

 How the poor frightened creature stops, intently listens, 

 and then wildly jumps from the ever approaching noise, 

 seeking in turn the wild broom sage, the deep ravine, the 

 thickest covert, and even swimming the rapid streams, in 

 the false hope of eluding his pursuers. Be patient! Stand 

 still! They will bring him around, although their yelping 

 is but faintly heard. Yes, it grows nearer, and for a mo- 

 ment, affected with the enthusiasm of the pack, your heart 

 beats' a little faster. Hush! He comes; you can hear his 

 footsteps over the dry leaves. A moment more and you 

 see him jumping down the hillside with his large eyes 

 larger still with fear. For an instant an undefined sense of 

 compassion touches the outer boundary of your conscience. 

 Alas, it has died before it was born, and a well directed 

 aim turns the poor thing over. His chase is done. In 

 come the dogs with full speed and cry. You show it to 

 them and start for another. It is not long before they are 

 off again, and the party at nightfall may be loaded down 

 with soma twenty or thirty. Sometimes an old fox, in his 



Blooming Grove Park, Park House, Dec. 20, 1873. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : — 



Our weather for the past week or more has been delight- 

 ful, thermometer at 40 e to 45 Q ; the old snow passed away, 

 but not the ice, under the genial warmth of the sun and 

 showers, and a balminess of spring in the air. Yesterday 

 a light snow fell, just enough for tracking, and here is a 

 day "hard to be beat" for stalking, but alas! I am confined 

 to the house with a bruised knee, unable to cope with rocks 

 and tangled thicket, and the hills and valleys will not re- 

 sound to-day with the crack of my Ballard of calibre 46. I 

 can only sit in my sanctum, mourn over crrM disappoint- 

 ments, and rnurmer my complaints to the sympathising ear 

 of the Forest and Stream and its numerous readers, no 

 less sympathetic. On Monday last! tried, for the first time 

 this season, the fishing through the ice — and in company 

 with F. W. Jones and Mr. J. E. McEwen of Brooklyn,took, 

 in less than three hours' fishing from Beaver Lake — one of 

 the numerous Lakes of the Blooming Grove Park — 16 pic- 

 kerel ranging from 3£, 3 and down to 1| lbs. The ice we 

 found to be about 10 inches in thickness, and just in prime 

 condition. The early fishing is always the most satisfactory 

 in its results. Lake Giles, 1he most crystal water and most 

 beautiful in its surroundings, above which stands the 

 "Club House," is always the last water to freezo of all the 

 surrounding Lakes, being fed from springs in its bottom, 

 and the ice is not yet in condition to bear the weight of a 

 person, as I happen to be able to bear woeful testimony. 

 The fish from this Lake are superior in size and quality, on 

 account of its clear water and rocky bottom. 



The Sheaffers', living near the Knob Mills, are the most 

 indefatigable and successful hunters of this section, and 

 two weeks ago, when I saw Jonas, had killed 14 deer and 

 3 bears, an old she bear and well-grown cub and a yearling. 

 His description of his fight with the cub was quite graphic, 

 and I will try and relate it. It seems that he, with his little 

 dog, were doing the driving for deer, while the rest of the 

 party stood upon runways. In skirting a dense laurel 

 swamp, the little dog being in the swamp, commenced a 

 furious barking, and, at one particular point. Supposing 

 something unusual to be the cause he slowly and cautiously 

 ventured in, and by degrees advanced to within ten feet of 

 an apperture in some old roots and stones, at which his dog 

 seemed to be stationed, and, emboldened by his approach, 

 into which he would occasionally dive, only to recede with 

 hair erect, and starting eyes and manifestations of greatest 

 excitement. In these attacks he could plainly hear the 

 gnashing of the old bear's teeth. At length having fully 

 considered the matter and taken in the situation, he, as the 

 dog withdrew from one of his rushes, and having his gun 

 — a double rifle and shot — carefully aimed and the other 

 barrel at full cock, fired into the opening, whence as the 

 smoke cleared away rolled out a well-grown cub, which the 

 dog at once clinched. He could not use his gun for fear of 

 killing his dog, and in his excitement and the tumult of the 

 fight between dog and cub, off went his remaining barrel, 

 which deprived him of the use of that weapon in a legiti- 

 mate way, but by dint of well-directed blows with the bar- 

 rels and the assistance of his dog, he kept the cub at bay 

 and from escaping into the laurels, while with lusty shouts 

 he in time brought one of the others to his assistance, 

 when they soon made an end of the little disturbance. On 

 examining the" hole, they found the old she bear lying dead 

 within, the ball from his first shot having fortunately enter- 

 ed the brain and dropped her dead as she lay. Had he 

 simply given her a wound in the random shot there might 

 have been a different tale to relate. His remark, as he 

 shook his head over the narrative regarding his canine, is 

 worthy of record : — "That dog will ketch his death some 

 of these days for his venturesomeness. " 

 Respectfully', 



A. F. Clapp, Eng. & Supt. Park. 



Life Problems. — Every full-grown adult person throws 

 out by respiration about four-and-a half gallons of deleteri- 

 our gas and watery vapor per hour; and the children of 

 school age average each one about three gallons per hour. 

 Suspended in this deleterious respired air and vapor, there 

 is in every 1,000 gallons, 3 gallons of dead, decomposing ani- 

 mal matter! In hospitals and bedrooms, other evaporations 

 add to the mass. And in ferryboat cabins and city railroad 

 cars, as ordinarily conducted, saliva and tobacco smoke add 

 fifty per cent. Now, if one person throws out four-and-a- 

 half gallons of poisonous air every hour, how long will it 

 take 1,000 persons to fill a church full? 50 children to fill a 

 school-room full? 40 persons a car full, or 200 persons a 

 ferryboat cabin full, plus the tobacco-smoke and saliva ?— 



The Sanitarian. 



,*-»♦. 



— They have Tandem clubs in Canada. Lieut. General 

 Haley is the Prest. of the Halifax club. The other day it 

 took a drive "up the road" and the turn-out comprised thir- 

 teen tandem teams, two doubles and four singles. 



— As the English plum-pudding is made in a bag, there 

 can be no doubt of it's Sacks-in origin. 



ffaadfand, %mvn md %mdm. 



WINDOW OR PARLOR GARDENING. 



* 



NO. in. -BOX OR SIMPLE POEMS. 

 "Here are cool mosses deep, 

 And through the moss the ivy creeps, 

 And in the stream the long-leaved flowers weep, 

 And from the craggy ledge the poppy hangs in sleep. 



The oxlips, pugles, with their numerous race, 

 A parti-colored tribe of various hue, 

 Red, yellow, purple, pale white, dusky blue, 

 The primrose, myrtle, and the crocus too. 



WHATEVER leads us to assemble together the beau- 

 ties of the floral kingdom as comforts and elegan- 

 cies of life within the habitations of wealth, or of those of 

 more moderate means, always increases local attachments 

 and renders domestic life more delightful. It may seem a 

 very little thing to place a flower in the window, but how 

 much may come of it who can tell? A love of flowers has 

 alway. a redeeming quality about it. You rarely hear of a 

 very bad man who passionately loves the cultivation of 

 flowers. God instituted the garden, and Lord Bacon truly 

 says, "The Lord himself first planted a garden, and indeed 

 it is the purest of human pleasures." As a penalty for his 

 transgression, the first man was shut out from a habitation 

 among the beautiful scenes of an earthly paradise. Yet all 

 his descendants have for all time sought pleasure and de- 

 light from the first Eden, and a strong desire to return to it 

 again seems to be deeply implanted in every heart. And 

 when we remember how easily we can surround ourselves, 

 even within the limits of the humblest home, with these 

 bright and beautiful flowers of earth, we are truly sur- 

 prised to behold any home without its blossoming rose tree 

 or its box of sweet elysium. 



In the progress of the art of growing choice flowers in 

 the sitting room and the parlor we shall do well to keep in 

 mind that however beautiful, however poetical are the 

 many associations connected with them, there is a deep 

 practical fact underlying this whole subject. And that is, 

 how to successfully obtain, through our own efforts, all 

 this beauty, this wealth of enjoyment. 



In our second paper we gave to our readers some of the 

 most simple forms for the foundation of a window garden. 

 And we would again state that a simple flower stand near 

 the window, a hanging basket suspended over the same, 

 each growing their pendant, fragrant, and upright flowers, 

 may be considered as the simplicityof our window garden. 

 With all their elaborate adornments and additions of rare 

 flowers, they all sprang from this simple first effort. 



Said a lady to me: — "The successful cultivation of a cac- 

 tus of this species, called the night-blooming ceres, gave to 

 me a quickening impulse, a love for something more beau- 

 tiful, and as I first started with the cactus I added one after 

 another to my collection, and now I have made a sort of 

 specialty of the cultivation of this very curious plant. 

 Strange and grotesque are the forms which present them- 

 selves to the eye in my six feet by four window frame, yet 

 all who behold it exclaim 'how beautiful! how wonderful! 

 what a lesson for practice!'" The manner in which our 

 lady friend had arranged her foreign cacti was truly very 

 ingenious, and we shall again have occasion to speak of 

 the cultivation of this plant as a window plant in these 

 papers. 



How much joy springs from the single sprig of ivy rising 

 from some favorite niche in the window and gracefully 

 throwing its branching tendrils over the whole window, 

 and rambling carelessly in the wild vagaries of rampant 

 growth. Is it not beautiful? You would think so could 

 you behold a plant of the English ivy growing in my study 

 at this writing. Rising from a recess of my window shelf, 

 it climbs in graceful negligence to the very top of the win- 

 dow, and then passes in festoons of green across the same, 

 at last finding a lodgment within the antlers of a fine speci- 

 men of the American red deer that ornaments my room. 



Such a plant is often the very beginning of a series of 

 experiments in window gardening, of which so much is 

 said and written, and of which; in fact, so very little is 

 practically understood. Window gardening is fashionable 

 to-day, and very many use a window garden just as they 

 use flowers at a funeral, simply because it is "fashionable" 

 to have them. 



* Among the not expensive window gardens we may name 

 a device we used in our own sitting room, which we called 

 an "adoptive case," as we made it a receptacle to receive 

 our flower pots, and our experiment not being patented, 

 and not beyond the constructive genius of the village car- 

 penter, of course any one who chooses can have one made 

 to order. Our window shelf being six inches only in width, 

 we had a box made that would just fit into . our window of 

 the following dimensions : — The length of the box was three 

 feet, the depth fourteen inches, and the width fourteen 

 inches. Into this box we had a zinc pan made that would 

 just fit the inside of four inches in depth. This box was 

 to receive a drainage of surplus water from the plants, had 

 a hole to draw off dirty or surplus water from the end, and 

 was stopped with a wooden stopper. A box of this kind, 

 properly made and attended to, would not need drawing 

 off perhaps during a winter, and I am speaking of the 

 winter treatment of plants now. Having placed the zinc 

 pan within the box, fill the same with tolerably small bijts of 

 broken crock until it is even with the top of the pan; then 

 cover the top of this pan with a thin piece of board (paste- 

 board will do), in which holes are bored, and then place 

 your composition or earth for your plants; set out your 

 plants, choosing those of any of the species you may wish, 

 and at once commence your study and treatment of the 



