50 



FOKEST AND STKEAM. 



A WEEKLY JOURNAL., 



0EVOTBD TO FlKLD AND AQDATI0 SPORTS, PRACTICAL NATURAL HISTORY, 

 PISH ODT.TDBK, THE PROTECTION OK BaIIS, PRESERVATION OF P 



andthk 1nouloat10n in men and women of a likaltuy interest 

 in Out-Door Rborkation and Study: 



PUBLISHED BY 



~<g(ntsi »nd gtwati §tiblishing faowyatw.. 



—AI- 

 NO, Ul FULTON STREET, NEW YOKE. 

 [POST OFFICE BOX 2832.] 



TEKMS, FOUR DOLLAKS A YEAIJ, STRICTLY IN ADVANCE. 



Advertising llaten. 



Inside pageH, nonpareil type, '& cents per line ; outside page, 40 cents. 

 Special rates lor three, six and twelve months. Notices In editorial 

 columns, 60 cents per line— eight words to the line, and twelve llneB to 

 one inch. 



Advertisements should be sent m by Saturday of each week, if pos- 

 sible. 



All transient advertisements moat be accompanied with the money 

 or they will not be inserted. 



No advertisement or business notice oi an immoral character will be 

 receivedon any terms . • 



".' Any publisher inserting our prospectus as above one time, with 

 brief editorial uotlce calling attention thereto, and sending marked copy 

 to na, will receive the Forest and Stream for one year. 



NEW YORK THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 20, 1879. 



To Correspondents. 



All communications whatever, Intended for publication, must be ac- 

 companied with real name of the writer as a guaranty of good faith 

 and be addressed to the Forest and Stream Pubmshino Company 

 Names will not be published If objection bemade. No anonymous com 

 munlcatlonB will be regarded. 



We cannot promise to return rejected manuscripts. 



Secretaries of Olubs and Associations are urged to favor ns with bri 

 notes of their movements and transactions. 



Nothing will be admitted to any department of the paper thatmuoi 

 not be read with propriety in the home circle. 



We cannot be responsible for dereliction of the roall servloeif [ y eja 

 emitted to ns Is lost. 



vr Trade supplied by American News Company, 



HONEST EXPERTS. 



IT would almost seem as if in almost every lino of sport 

 superior utilities carry with them overwhelming tempta- 

 tions. A man through long years of hard work and closely- 

 confined energy makes himself the master of some particular 

 line of endeavor. He stands out a marked man, and the ordi- 

 nary class of the community come to look upon him as the 

 measuring gauge of perfection in that special branch. They 

 take him at his word and at his record, and judge him by 

 them, and they back their judgments with money, and then 

 comes the temptation. It is the old, old snare of trying to get 

 rich suddenly. The exercise of his natural or acquired abili- 

 ties may insure, him a comfortable income and in time a com- 

 petence, hut there is the glittering possibility of a sudden ac- 

 quisition by just a slight deviation from the true, fair, honest 

 path. Expert as he is in a straightforward way he indeed 

 must be more than expert/who can tread a crooked path and 

 yet have the appearance of traveling on directly toward the 

 goal. The failure of exposure is sure to come ; it may be 

 late, but more frequently it comes very soon. The press, that 

 very agency which gave him the prominence he so richly de- 

 served when by honest, manly endeavor he successfully strove 

 to do something better than his fellows, now becomes the 

 power which will hurl him from his position of prominence, 

 snatch the laurels from his brow and consign him to a place 

 even lower than that of common mbrtals where the fallen an- 

 gels writhe and curse. 



For such an one there is but one verdict, "Served him right." 

 It may be mixed with a pitying confession of his remaining 

 skill, but the moral obliquity which induced him to promise 

 one thing when his real iutent was to do another cannot be 

 overlooked or condoned. It will not do to plead the tempta- 

 tion, there is no justification in that. The duty to the public 

 is first and preeminent, and this duty, faithfully and intelli- 

 gently performed, material success is sure to follow. But that 

 same public has a long and relentless memory when its confi- 

 dence has been betrayed, and a lifetime spent in good work may 

 be in a moment turned blank. The favorite becomesa nonen- 

 tity, ignored, aud it may be depised. If he can calmly bear 

 such a revulsion he is at heart devoid of moral feeling and a 

 rogue, and his condemnation comes none too soon. 



We would not be so short-sighted as to denounce profes- 

 sionalism indiscriminately, but we do plead for an honest ar- 

 ticle of the sort. We do object that a man shall spend years 

 of his life in studying a subject in its entirety only the better 



to hoodwink the public about it; that he shall become nothing 

 more than an expert of trickery and fraud, with the odor of 

 concealed crime about him ; or vanishing like a bubble when 

 some honest critic shall burst hiB bubble of sham. Why is 

 it that every where there is this distrust of professionals V Why 

 are tbey watched with a keener eye? Why, in short, do people 

 look for some form of evasion aud deceit ? It need not be. 

 There is nothing inherently dishonest in being an avowed 

 master of an art, of a process, or a special form of manipula- 

 tion. Properly such an one is to be honored in that he serve 

 as a guideboard and beacon for many others who may be 

 struggling up the ssme path, not to the dazzling heights of a 

 master, but to the satisfactory level of a proficient. He who 

 plods over a hundred miles in the 24 hours may give valuable 

 lessons to thousands wlw> foot it only through the ins and outs 

 of an ordinary business day. The oarsman, skimming along 

 in a craft as useless for cvery-day use as his speed would be 

 for an every-day pace, may yet render valuable guidance to 

 those who find in a quiet evening pull one of the most charm- 

 ing of relaxations. He who may make his thousands of uner- 

 ring snap-shots in a day, as a show, though he may have no 

 higher ambition than a desire for gate-money, may yet settle 

 many disputed questions connected with the use of the gun 

 aud teach many a lesson to practical sportsmen in the field. 



No one would for a moment suppose that the efforts of the 

 American rifle team were to stop short when the ability to hit 

 a target at 1,000 yards was reached ? The effect of their 

 wotk will never be adequately measured until we can deter- 

 mine exactly how far a well-armed soldiery contribute to the 

 maintenance of peace and the prosperity of a country. 



Turn and twist it as much as may be, in matters of profes- 

 sional expertness, the old truth yet stands out the bolder and 

 the clearer, applying here as to the pulpit, to journalism, to 

 every profession and every trade, however humble, that 

 " Honesty is the best policy." Our columns bear testimony 

 to the truth of this in almost every issue. Now, it is a dog 

 show conducted without the guiding star of integrity ; anon, 

 a grand shoot turns out to be a trap-shoot in more senses than 

 one. Eish stories receive their grano of salts, and rifle scores, 

 which are too good to be true, are given their true weight as 

 pencil productions. The press is not perfect, such a claim 

 would be impious ; but it is a sieve through which very few 

 tricksters and swindlers manage to slip. In the " bright sun- 

 light of publicity" of the newspaper columns the clever de- 

 vices of those who would supplement natural or acquired gifts 

 by chicanery are sure to come to naught. There may be no 

 actual prison cell in which to "jug" the offender, but he is 

 punished as surely as deservedly, and far more effectually by 

 the exposure and the consequent degradation aud loss of pres- 

 tige. He may for a time rest under a cloud which explanation 

 may dissipate, but a smirch once received needs a vast amount 

 of very vigorous scrubbing for its removal, and this can never 

 be applied too soon. 



STATE RIFLE ASSOCIATIONS. 



A FEW weeks since the Forest and Stream devoted space 

 to a reference to the attempt now making to put the 

 militia of the whole country on a uniform and reliable basis 

 so that it may be a force of men and arms, and not a mere 

 brigade of skeleton laws, with empty ranks and offices. 



One of the points strongly urged in that scheme was the es- 

 tablishment in each State of an active and energetic State rifle 

 association. Each commonwealth was to sustain at least one 

 general range, and a method of rifle practice was laid down 

 extending pretty far into particulars. It is quite certain that 

 when the new miUtia law shall come into effect the im- 

 portant subject of rifle practice will not be left uncovered and 

 that the militia of the future will be able to use their firearms 

 for something more than mere drilling pieces. 



But while this new movement is working its slow way 

 through the legislative mill much can be done by the riflemen 

 of the several States and those, too, who do not as yet lay 

 more than a prospective claim to that title by organizing State 

 rifle associations. The time must eventually come when each 

 of the several States will have such an organization recognized 

 by the riflemen and marksmen of the State, and receiving and 

 giving the rights and privileges of fees with the organizations 

 of other States. Some of the States already have such bodies. 

 Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and California are 

 ones in point and, if the National Rifle Association is regarded 

 as a State body as well, then New York may be added to the 

 list, and our columns to-day tell the story of the inception of 

 the Pennsylvania State Association. These organizations 

 should be so constituted that they can readily act in conjunc- 

 tion with the militia forces when such exist, or in anticipation 

 of them where they do not already exist. They are not, how- 

 ever, to allow their purposes and endeavors to begin and end 

 in military shooting. That class of target practice always will 

 and always should be the bulk of the ball-firing done ; but 

 there is a large class of experts with the rifle, or of men who 

 may and would become patrons of the sport who do not be- 

 long to the uniformed force, and the militiaman who goes 

 through his routine of class practice, and that only, may pass 

 through the required standard and secure his conventional 

 marksman's badge, but he will fall far short of that familiarity 

 with the rifle which comes of frequent aud varied practice. 



Iu other words, the State rifle association, wherever it may 

 exist, is to supplement the regular routine practice of the 

 troops by an intelligent support, and fostering of all-comer's 

 nia.tcb.eB, with any as well as military rifles. This will bring 

 to the ranges not only the militiaman out of uniform, but the , 



civilian shooter-as he would be styled on some of the foreign 

 ranges, the small-bore man. 



The Rifle Association is to act between the marksman and 

 the general public. It is to prevent the sport of the buts from 

 falling into professional hands and keep the record pure. It 

 is to unite the effort of thousands of men here and there over 

 the country who would gladly escape from the drudgery of 

 the office, from the close confinement of a professional career 

 to spend pleasant hours in the health-giving and mind relax- 

 ing excitement of the rifle lawn. For a personal sport noth- 

 ing can excel rifle shooting and target practice as a field ex- 

 ercise. Boating, riding, field sports and athletic games all 

 have their advantages and their disadvantages, but it is at the 

 firing points alone that all men step forth equal. It is a clear 

 test of eye and hand, and he of irregular habits, though he be- 

 a giant, finds himself beaten on the score list by a puny David 

 who keeps eye and hand in healthy accord and trains them to 

 act iu perfect unison. A State rifle association could do much 

 in keeping these facts before the people, and its weight in a 

 Stale would enable it to aid with effect in the organization of 

 local clubs and organizations. With little ranges scattered here 

 and there over the land the interest will be held, as it takes 

 year after year- a deeper root. Grand tournaments arc good 

 things in homeopathic doses and International matches are 

 of value if they are sufficiently far apart. But in a State 

 it would be the province of us association to foster in every 

 way the local clubs and keep the merry rattle of the rifle run- 

 ning from one to another, and then when men are wanted, 

 either to fire with telling effect into the ranks of those who 

 would mauace the country's liberties, or on more peaceful 

 fields, with only a coaxing endeavor toward the white disk 

 the men and the skill stand ready to be beckoned to the front. 



. — >ti>-d . 



THE PLEASURES OF GUNNING. 



PLEASURES are of three kinds, mental, physical and 

 -t spiritual. He whose nature has a symmetrical develop- 

 ment will seek and enjoy pleasures corresponding to his triple 

 nature. Some enjoy the mental alone ; the physical and the 

 spiritual arc dwarfed in consequence. Give them the latest 

 novel and they will sit down after a hearty meal, or possibly 

 lie down, and allow themselves to be carried away to realms 

 that never existed, forgetful of the physical and entirely ignor- 

 ing those of the spiritual. 



Some persons may be fond of physical exercise and yet 

 may never have shot a gun. Their natures may not run in 

 this particular direction ; partly from a natural shrinking it 

 may be, but more likely from a lack of early culture, for it is 

 to a great extent, like many other things, a matter of educa- 

 tion. I feel thankful that my early education in this particu- 

 lar physical pastime was not neglected. If Solomon had lived 

 in the days of Sharps rifles, Damascus steel breeeh-loatling 

 shot-guns and .pointer dogs, he would have recorded in th 

 third chapter of Ecclesiastes among the rest, " There is a time 

 to gun," This time varies according to the locality and the 

 species of game. There are certain seasons called " close " 

 when gunning is prohibited, and then again, the law will be 

 " up," and permission granted. It is not much pleasure to 

 hunt in the close seasons, especially when the people are 

 watchful and will bring the offenders to justice; and paying a 

 fine of several dollars apiece far a few small birds, especially 

 when the times are as stringent as at present, has no pleasure 

 at all connected therewith. 



But excusing random preliminaries, what are the pleasures 

 of gunning ? Is there anything in it ? or is all the cry, ex- 

 pense and time consumed thereupon by a continually increas- 

 ing number of persons, consumed simply to be in a certain 

 fashion, and is there nothing substantial in it after all ? Aro 

 people deluded and fit objects for the lunatic asylum who 

 naturally averse to physical labor and early rising, will rise 

 long before daybreak, take immense jaunts through thickets 

 and swamps and work like a Trojan in rowing a boat or 

 something of the kind, or are they of sound mind and fully 

 rewarded for their trouble ? If you measure their pleasure 

 by the game they sometimes bring home, it will, it is true bo 

 very little. But where there really is shooting to be had, and 

 where the excellent shot has something to reward his skill 

 then the pleasures of the gunner are of a high physical order' 

 Let him travel if necessary through water and mire a foot in 

 depth, let him be scratched by the briars till he has the ap- 

 pearance of one whose face has come into too close contact 

 with the claws of Sir Thomas; let him shiver with the cold 

 or swelter with the heat ; let him be fairly deluged by the 

 storm, and be made the prey of Jersey mosquitoes ; let his 

 hands be blistered with rowing a boat, or his limbs refuse to 

 do duty from being cramped in an uncomfortable position 

 watching for game— all this he will readily endure with the 

 fortitude and patience of a martyr, provided only the whist- 

 ling snipe ; the bold flying canvas-back ; the crafty pheasant 

 or the impetuous Bob White be brought to the ground from 

 their rapid flight through the air. If he gets a good bag 

 whatever toilings aud soilings, he is rewarded. To stand in the 

 midst of a bevy of quail or whirring," pheasants, as they in- 

 stantaneously popjup, and a Utile quicker, if possible, get out 

 of sight a half dozen at a time, each taking a different direc- 

 tion, is a sublime moment for the gunner. 



It requires a great amount of coolness, and so far as a man 

 can deliberate in the fraction of a second (and in such mo 

 ments as these he undoubtedly does) it requires much deliber-c 

 tion, and calculation, too. Then, besides coolness and calcu- 

 lation, there is still requisite the quick eye, the skillful hand 

 and in long-rango,|the trusty weapon. To take one of these 



