FOREST AND STREAM. 



189 



Illinois— Grand Tower, April o.— Our severe -winter drove 

 the ducks south and our glade shooting did not begin as early 

 as usual ; but since the latter part of February -we have had 

 uninterrupted sport, and as long as we have an occasional cold 

 storm the mallard and teal will stay in our woods feeding on 

 the small black oak acorns. Green-winged teal have been 

 thick, and there are a few yet. The sprigtails were with us 

 a month ago, but now the mallards hold possession in count- 

 less numbers. No blue-winged teal have appeared as yet. 

 The deep snows of last winter almost exterminated our quail, 

 but there are several remnants of the large coveys still left, 

 and a mild winter or two would enable them to increase rap- 

 idly. Turkeys are plentiful, but the deer have all been run 

 out of our glades, crossing the river to the Missouri hills. 



Pennsylvania— TUvmHIc,, April i.— A large flock of wild 

 swans were captured ia this city one day last week. It was 

 raining and quite cold, their feathers became wet and frozen, 

 and they could not fly. Many were sold for $4 per pair. 

 Our chances for our usual good sport among the grouse and 

 woodcock will be slim, as but very few birds were left over. 



Q. H. "W. 



Kentucky— Mount Sterling, March 3.— Snipe have made 

 their appearance, although I have not yet heard of any good 

 baas being made. The cold nearly exterminated our quail. 



W. Van A. 



Tknnessbb— NaxlwilU, April 2.— Jack snipe were never so 

 abundant about here as this season. Mr. Nicholson killed 

 eleven yesterday morning. Mr. Wm. Ervin, one of our crack 

 field shots, says that on Saturday, while on a visit to the Her- 

 mitage, he must have seen at least one hundred. J. D. H. 



Dp a Tebe.— "Tip" writes from Berkeley Springs, W. Ya., 

 of the discovery of a steel bear trap imbedded in the wood 

 and bark of a tree-fork several feet from the ground. The 

 mystery of its being there was readily dispelled by a man who 

 remembered that his father, fifty years ago, lost this identical 

 trap and afterward killed a bear which had only three legs. 

 Hence, the bear took the trap up the tree ; the trap became 

 wedged in the fork ; the bear left it there and his leg with it. 

 Awful warning to bears who get caught iu steel traps not to 

 climb trees. There is nothing curious about the wood grow- 

 ing around and finally burying the steel. 



The Hammeklbss Gun. —Washington, D. C, April 5.— 

 Editor Forest and Stream: I have a 10 gauge hammerless 

 gun of German make, purchased in Hamburg about ten years 

 ago. It is an excellent shooting gun, and especially for 

 woodcock and ortolan (Sora rail). The beauty of the ham- 

 mer arrangement is its simplicity. It is located at the ex- 

 treme end of the barrels and is made up of a small steel pin 

 or rod attached to a spiral spring and inclosed in a cylinder 

 about 21 inches long and of the same diameter as the barrelB 

 at the base. It lias often occurred to me that the hammerless 

 arrangement might be substituted for the inconvenient ham- 

 mers. But it never occurred to me that a hammerless gun 

 was a novelty. Fkankxin Hives. 



A Fine Gtjn.— I have a gun, made by Mortimer H. 

 Kirkwood, 24 Elm street, Boston. The barrels are fine Eng- 

 lish Damascus, 12-bore, and 30 inches long, with double 

 bolt, top-snap, rebounding locks and extension rib, price 

 $200. It was made to order for me a year ago last summer, 

 weight 8& pounds, and choke-bore. I have diagrams that 

 I made at -10 yards with the left barrel, 3:^ drs. powder, 

 l£ oz. No. 8 American chilled shot, 356 pellets in a 30-inch 

 .circle. I don't say I can do this every time, but the left bar- 

 rel runs from 300 to 350, and right barrel from 250 to 310. 

 I have got a diagram that I made at 30 yards, 3;, drs. powder, 

 li oz. No. 8 shot, at 18 inch circle, 365, and I made a pattern 

 with No. 4 shot, 167 in 30 inch circle, at 40 yards, with im- 

 mense penetration. I have shot single birds, 80 yards, with 

 No. 8 shot, 3;|drs". powder. If there is any one can equal this, 

 or beat it, I should be happy to hear from them. 

 Cambridge, Mass. J. T. Wabd. 



man who is an expert with rod and gun, and who compli- 

 mented me on my fame as "an enthusiastic hunter, etc., etc." 

 I did not understand the allusions until I saw the Forest and 

 Stream, and there, to my horror, I found this sentence : 

 " Rev. J. C. Fletcher, author of ' Brazil and Brazilians,' is 

 now located in Indianapolis. He is one of the most enthusi- 

 astic hunters in the West, etc, etc., and is now engaged in 

 importing 180 migratory quail, etc., etc., to stock Indiana." 

 And, as if that were not enough, there is another editorial 

 paragraph reiterating the same thing. I at once saw that the 

 editor was not squibbing, was not poking fun at me, but was 

 in downright earnest. 1 traced up the matter, or, as a sports- 

 man, I should say I " ran it down," with the result, mentioned, 

 viz. : the discovery that a letter had been written containing 

 facta about Mr. Bradshaw, which were true, and one fact 

 about myself which was strictly true. But when the editor 

 in his haste skipped over Mr. B.'s name and attributed to mc 

 the enthusiasm, the skill and the migratory quail business of 

 Mr. Bradshaw, I felt as if Mr. B. had been wronged out of 

 the greatneas he had achieved, and that I had "greatness 

 thrust upon me." And, although it was somewhat annoying 

 to be greeted by my friends as a great shot, an enthusiastic 

 hunter, etc, etc, 1 concluded to grin and bear it. I confess 

 to you that my last shot was fired when I was a boy of eleven, 

 in the wild woods where Brightwood now stands. My father 

 had given me an old-fashioned flint-lock shot-gun, which he 

 had taken for a debt. The touch-hole was large and the pan 

 was of corresponding size. I blazed away at a squirrel, and 

 the big touch-hole and the capacious pan blazed away at 

 me. It was my first and last shot at^any living thing. The 

 squirrel, unharmed, leisurely went up a tree, and I went away 

 with burned fingers and singed hair. 



Now, at this stage, comes in my desire to be understood 

 and to be published. The mistake of the editor of the Forest 

 and Stream is undoubtedly a true bill and unintentional, and 

 I am willing my friends shall laugh at me ; but when I return, 

 as I did yesterday, from Cincinnati, and find letters and papers 

 from such extremes as Boston and Chicago, from persons en- 

 tirely unknown to me, who have been innocently misled by 

 the Forest and Stream into the solemn belief that I am a 

 "mighty hunter," ranking along with General Morris, Thos. 

 H. Sharpe, General Ben HarrisoD, Judge Hines, "Jim" 

 Bradshaw and yourself, it is too bad, especially when they 

 send me letters and advertisements soliciting my patronage, 

 offering to import Messina quails for me, showing me that 

 their guns for ducking, their rods and flies for fishing, their 

 powder for precision, their hunting boots for impermeability, 

 are superior to all others ever brought to the notice of a gen- 

 erous public, I say again it is too bad. I beg you, as a spott- 

 ing man, to let the sporting-advertisement fraternity know 

 that I can't shoot, that I never killed anything, that I know 

 nothing about powder or fishing flies and rods, that I do not 

 like impermeable boots, and that all I know of Messiua quails 

 is that in a residence of several years in Southern Italy I come 

 to the conclusion that I would rather have one Hoosier Bob 

 White than four migratories. Furthermore, tell that frater- 

 nity that it's all a mistake, that I'm not the man, but that 

 James M. Bradshaw is the man, and for this and all other 

 favors, I am gratefully yours, J. C. Fletcher. 



PIGEON MATCHES. 



New York— Pert Morrin, March 25.— Knickerbocker Gun Club 

 ular monthly shoot for club medal ; 15 rjalls ; 3 Huber traps, 18 

 rise, Bogardes ruleB ; N. Jacques, referee ; very windy : 



Hover 1 1111111101111 



Potter 1 1111101111111 



m 1 1110 110111 toi 



Henshaw 1 1011011111011 



Geeks 1 1111111100010 



Fulton 1 1110011100111 



Con on 0110101111011 



French 1 111 oil 011110 



Baker 1 0101110101100 



Miller 1 1000000100010 



Eeilly o 0080 01000001 



Ties on -fourteen— 21 yards rise. 

 Hover.. 1 111 1—5 Potter 1 



THE PLAINTS OF TWO CLERGYMEN. 



Indianapolis, Ind., March 22, 1879. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : 



Dear Sir : Inclosed find the pencilled grief of Rev. J. C. 

 Fletcher, my neighbor and friend. There is something in it. 



Yours truly, MybonW. Reed. 



To Rev. Myron W. Reed : 



I come to you for protection, Rnd, having always found 

 you a sympathetic person, I believe that my appeal will not 

 be in vain. The whole thing is in a nut shell. I have been 

 taken for somebody else, and am suffering for it, 



A few week ago the editor of the Forest and Stream 

 (which able and well-known sporting weekly has now ab- 

 sorbed the Rod and Gun), writing to a layman in Indianapo- 

 lis, asked for the whereabouts of your humble servant, with 

 whom the aforesaid editor had once made a most pleasant 

 journey to the forests of Maine. In fact, the genial Charles 

 Hallock and I are old friends, but we have not met since my 

 return to the United States. The Indianapolis gentleman, in 

 my absence, wrote in reply to Mr. H.'s question the follow- 

 ing -. "Your old friend, J. O. Fletcher, is now located in In- 

 dianapolis." Nothing could be simpler and more to the point; 

 but, the gentleman having information on another subject to 

 impart to the editor, he added : "I herewith inclose you three 

 dollars for a year's subscription to the Forest and Stream, 

 to be mailed to James M. Bradshaw, Esq., of Indianapolis, 

 one of the best shots and most enthusiastic hunters in the 

 West, possessor of fine dogs, and who is now engaged in im- 

 porting 180 migratory quails from Messina, Italy, 'in order to 

 stock Indiana with them." There was certainly nothing 

 wrong about that. On the contrary, it only told the truth 

 about Mr. Bradshaw's (or as the Indianapolis boys call him Jim 

 Bradshaw) hunting excellencies. But it so happened that 

 about the time of the reception of that letter the editor was 

 meeting with the Brooklyn Sporting Club, and there was 

 much talk about the importation of Messina quail. The edi- 

 tor made a speech, but bad not read the letter straight, as 1 

 judge from the editorial written aueut the discussion of 

 migratory quail. Now it is just here that my troubles come 

 in. 



I returned home from lecturing, hoping for a few days of 

 well-earned repose, but I was soon interviewed by a gentle- 



£nswM fa ^aijrtspattiettfs. 



i— it 



1—14 

 1-12 

 1—13 

 1-11 

 1—11 

 1—10 

 1—10 

 1— 9 



1 1-8 



King's County Gun Clob.— Dexter's Park, L. 1,, Aprils.— Monlhly 

 Bhoot for club championship badge, shot for at ten birds each, from H 

 and T traps, 25 yards rise, 80 yards boundary : 



JMoller. 1 10111111 1—9 PMoller "110111 1—6 



J 11 Mller... 11111111 1—9 HDick 110 1110 1—6 



JMeyer inoiloii l— s JHSchultz.t o o i l l o i l o-s 



C Meyer 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1— s CMoller 1 00111001 1—6 



CToujes 1111*110 1—7 Witaozel»..0 11 i i o 1 * 0—5 



DFMoller...O 110 10 1111-7 F Miller 011100101—6 



JMMoller...o 11110101 1— t 



Ties on nine. 

 JMoller „ l 1—2 J H Miller o l o— l 



JMoller 011 1 1-4 JHMIUer 1 111-4 



PMoller l oil 0—3— 7 w Mangels 010 0—1—5 



Eeferee— Mr. J. C. Rapp. 



Tennessee— Nashville, April 3.— A few pigeon matches were shot 

 yesterday near here. The first was for a dog, offered by Mr. Campbell 

 of Maury County. Ten dollars was charged as entrance fee. Kirkman 

 and Perkins tied on live birds, Kirsmau winning the dog in the shoot 

 off. He then put the dog up again, same conditions. Mr. Campbell 

 won him with live straight birds. Several sweepstakes were then shut, 

 Charles Newman winning the first, Mr. Gardner the seconci. Then 

 came two team matches, six on a side— Messrs. Newman, Mitchell, 

 Colbert, Gardiner, Carter and Savage on one, Martin, Campbell. Browi 

 Buzzard, Valentine and Clinton on the other. Newman's team wt 

 first match, Martin's team winning eecond. J. D. H. 



Washington, D. C, April?.— An interesting match was shot here 

 April 6 at Riley's Corra . The first prize was $18 : second, ?s ; 5 birds 

 each, 21 yards rise, except Messrs. Dei rick and Mills, who were handi- 

 capped 25 yards each : 



Derrick 1 1 1 1—4 Woody 1 Oil 1—4 



Robinson 111 1—1 Lipscomb .....1 1 1 1 1—5 



Cnrtin. 1 10 0—2 Mills 1 1 1 1 1—5 



Daw 1 10 1—3 Jones I 110 1-4 



McLeod llll 1—5 Alexander 1 l l 1 1—5 



Ties on live. 



McLeod o 1 1—2 Lipscomb 1 I 1—3 



Mills .1 11—3 Alexander 101—2 



Hnntley WT 1 1111100111010 1—11 



Geo M Cartwright 1 lllllllllilll 0-14 



KRDudley 1 110 1111111111 0—13 



EPWheeler 1 1011101100111 1— 11 



Chas Casper 1 0101111111111 1—13 



JBGilllmni 1 OII1111111111 1—14 



J W Russell 1 1000000010110 1— 



■fG Miner 1 1001110 111101 1-12 



C A Noble 1 1110111 llOltl t-ia 



Samuel Thompson 1 111101111111 0—12 



FItFoole 1 00010011111110— s 



Cartwright.. 



—See Bogardus' advertisement. 



No Notice Taken of Anonnuou* OomniualcRttansj 



W. Van A.— See our last issue for notes on shad blow fly rods. 



J. B. T., Eaton, Ky.— For books on taxidermy see answer in Inst 

 isuo. 



G. W. B., PhtlailepWa.— We know nothing of the breed of dogs you 

 mention. 



J. B. T.— Can procure you "Yachtsman's Handy Book ' from 

 England for $1.25. Time, three waaks. 



S. M. L., Belleville, Ont.— We have no colored photographs of dogs. 

 We do not know of any breederB In the places you name. 



O. H., Ottawa. -An excellent canoe for your purposes, to carry four 

 persons and baggage. Is the Berthol boat, of Battle Creek, Mich. 



Boydton, Vh.— Sli«uld a setter from English dam and Gordon sire 

 have dew claws on hind legs 7 An3. No ; It won:d be a fraak of nature 

 if he did. 



J. M., Perry.— For particulars of "English canoe" write to Wm 

 English, of Peterboro, Ont. Cannot give you the plans you ask for. 

 Have neither time nor 9pacc in this column. 



W. S. N., New Tork.— What kind- and color of setter blteli should 

 I breed my dog— by P.unkct out of Nellie— to to get the proper result ? 

 An8. To a red TriBh bitch. One of the gee of Klcho would do well. 



H. S , Monroe, N. C— Please tell me what kind of a bird it n, the 

 head and foot of which I send you 1 Is It the game snipe wc read so 

 much, about 7 Iwant to know exactly. Ans. res, Se 



R. M. G., Danville, Pa.— Would hard rubber injure shkworm gut if 

 kept continuously in contact with it, aa, for instance, if gut ta lets 

 were kept in a bard rubber box, or distended on a fly-baok cover? 

 Ans. Where there is no "abrasion there will be no dialing, and the gut 

 will not be injured. 



Devour, Philadelphia.— 1. Is there any danger of sheila exploding 

 during the loading process 7 2. Are the loads hammered in, or forced 

 in firmly by the hand ? An3. 1. Not If placed on a block with a cavity 

 under the cap. 2. The wads should be forced firmly down. We do 

 not believe in hammering. 



F. L., Broadway, City.— How many volumes are there already pub- 

 lished of " Birds of the Colorado Valley," by Elliott Coues, where can 

 I get them, what will they cost, and what will be the expressage on 

 them? Ans. One volume so far. Apply to the Secretary of the 

 Interior, or to the author, Washington, D. C. 



R. E. F., Milford, Mas3.— Can you Inform me where I can procure 

 togues, or lake trout to stock a pond. And also if they will breed wilh 

 black bass ? Our pond Is well stocked with black bass. The water is 

 cold and pure. Ans. Write to E. A. Bracket!., Fish Commissioner, 

 Winchester. Bass and lake trout are often found In the same water. 

 If your " pond" Is a lake the two fish will not Interfere disastrously 

 with each other. 



L. C. B., Framingham, Mass.— 1. I see In your paper frequent recom- 

 mendations of Cosmollne for use on guns. A petroleum jelly, nnder 

 the name of Vaseline, Is sold here. In what respect does It differ from 

 Cosmollne? 2. I have a Damascus muzzle-loader of English make, 

 which has seen 30 years of service, bearing the stamp, A. W. spies. 

 Can you tell me anything of this maker? Ans. i. They are the same 

 thing. 2, It was probably made in England for a dealer In this city. 



Constant Readeh,— For boat lo^xsft. 2in. use a sail of the standing 

 lug pattern. Foot, 10ft. 3in.; luff, fit; head, 7ft.; leech, int. Make 

 luff at right angles to foot ; then with 7li. from knock and lift, from 

 clew describe arcs. Their intersection will give the peak. Bend 

 halliards 2ft. 2in. from knock, and hoist away. This will give necessary 

 peak to head and rise to foot. Step mast 3ft. (iiu. from how; 'lit. 

 sin. high above rail, 2j£in. diam. at deck. Boom, 10ft. gin. long, lf.in. 

 at centre. Yard, 7ft. 61n., iy 2 ln. at centre. Sail of light duck or stout 

 sheeting. 



V. S. A., Fort Bliss, Texas.— What is it? Size, )3rger than a black 

 tail deer ; color, claybank or llght-elunu ; horu?, flat ami approaching 

 each other fix inches from the head then widening out; hoofs, mule- 

 like, not cloven ; moves clumsily with a canter; called by Mexicans 

 "mulas," owing to its resemblance to the domestic male, Killed in 

 the Guadaloiipe Mountains, December, 1878. Ans. Quicn sabe ? No 

 snch animal kuown to us. One with such a combination of characters 

 would bo very extraordinary, and we would give a good round sum for 

 a skin and skeleton, if genuine. 



Spurns, New York— About three weeks ago my setter pup, aged one 

 year, had two violent spasms, followed by most melancholy howling, 

 and I was advised by a friend to treat him for worms. 1 did so, as di- 

 rected by Holberton, and he seemed better till yesterday, when, while ' 

 quietly walking " to heel," he suddenly keeled over in another fit. 

 What ails him; do yon think it can be worms ? Ans. The Ufa arc 

 probably due to the presence of worms, which should be determined 

 by his general appearance. If mere juppy fits, caused by denti 

 they will cease when the cause has pasred away. 



Domino, Matawao, N. J.— A, B, C and D are playing commercial (buy 

 and sell) at dominoes. The game is 31. B and D (partners, of course) 

 are 28 ; A and C are so. it is B's "sell." C oilers n ; D raises It Jo 4; 

 B accepts, making 30 each. B and D take the tlrsc trick, making 31, 

 after which A and c take a trick, B and D, however, taking thereat, 

 maintaining their offer. Who wins the game. Ans. We are not pro- 

 ficient in dominoes. Think A and B win, but this particular game and 

 Its rules are out of mind. Better consult Uoyle. By the way, we re- 

 call thai Steiniu is one of the best domino players living, as well as 

 chess players. 



W. E. R., Charleston, Vfc— 1, Do you charge anything for questions 

 answered in your paper ? 2. What is a choke-bored guu, and what 

 advantages does it. possess over others ? 3. Can a muzzle-loading gun 

 with a common bore be altered to a choke bore 7 4. About wluu 

 be the cost, and by whom should it be done ? Ans. 1. By no means. 

 2. The barrel Is contracted so aa to Increase the effectiveness of the 

 gun at long range; 1-lB of an inch j s regarded as the extreme choke 

 for any gun. 3. Yes. 4. The cost of choke-boring is about ii.m to $5. 

 Sendyonr gun to the maker, waoever he Is. Each maker h is a differ- 

 ent method of choking. 



G. V. \\'.— Iron centreboards add but little to the stability of a boat 01 

 any size, as they cannot be made very heavy without becoming un- 

 manageable. They do not lower tli • i much, as half 



I remains in the well, so that the centre of the board 

 not be much lower than the keel anyway. They have not gireu satis- 

 faction in the East when tried on shallow boats, though experience 

 with them Is extremely limited. Boats for sailing on the coasl 

 need only differ from those of the lakes in as far as they are expected 

 to make longer runs and keep the sea more, without the faculties of 

 picking np a port of refuge as readily as on the lata a, 



