Forest and Stream. 



A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 



Terms, $4 K Yf.> 



Six Months. $2 



NEW YORK, JANUARY 10, 188 4. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 

 The Foiiest and Stream is tbe recognized medium of entertain- 

 nieut, instruction and information between American sportsmen. 

 Communications upon the subjects to which its pages are devoted are 

 respectfully invited. Anonymous communications will not be re- 

 Xo name will be published except with writer's consent. 

 The Editors ire uot responsible for the views of correspondents. 



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AD VERTISEMENTS. 



Only advertisements of an approved character inserted. Inside 

 pages, nonpareil type. 25 cen ! s per line. Special rates for three, six 

 and Iwelvo months. Reading notices $1.00 per line. Eight words 

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Address all communications, 



Forest and Streem Publishing Co. 

 Nos. 39 and 40 Park Row. New York Citt. 



Selecting 9 Range. 

 Snared Birds 

 Amateur Photographs. 

 Torrent Taming in Southern 

 France. 

 The Sportsman Tourist. 

 Life among the Ulnekfeet. — vji. 

 u a Raft. 



.y-Build- 



Tue 



CONTENTS. 



FlSHCltLTrHE. 



New System of Fish 



„^N EL . 



Scent. 

 Meriden Dos 

 A. Private Field Trial, 



The American English Beadle 

 Club. 



, Bic 



'aTif.,1 





An C 



• She, 



it Bo! 



Where lo (.'ami. Next Summer. 

 Natiual History. 



I'll- w: It- Winged (lull. 



A Tame Crow. 

 .'.amkHag ami Qon 



Kennel Notes. 

 Northern Rifle and Trap Shootesc. 

 Caliber of Target Rifles. 

 Range and Gallery. 

 The Trap. 

 Canoeing. 



Amateur Canoe BuUuiug. 

 Minneapolis C. C. 

 The Winter Camp Fir,-. 

 Canoeing in Chicago 



Yachtlnc. 



A Cruising Mainsail. 

 Ihe F. ttdeur Again. 

 Log of the Ileen. 



? Bigosh. 



A Nov 



Tonne 



Answers 



) Correspondents. 



With Us compact tape and in its permanently enlarged form 

 of twenty-eight pages this journal furnishes eaehweel: a larger 

 amount oj first-class mailer relating to angling, shooting, the 

 kennel, and Kindred subjects, than is contained in all other 

 American publications put together. 



SmLBGTING A RANGE. 

 '"T^HEKE are many points to be borne in mind while 

 J- making a choice of a rifle range, but the leading one 

 is ever thai ol" safety. Bullets are deadly, indiscriminatiug 

 things, aud there should be no risk taken in connection with 

 them. A marker who cannot get i»to the path of a bullet is 

 more likely to live on than the marker who is simply told 

 that he should not expose himself. A rule is very good so 

 long as it is observed, hut if that rule takes the form of a 

 marking pit, out of which the spotter or marker cannot poke 

 his head lo see what is going on at the tiring points, so much 

 the better. 



Ever keeping in mind this fact of safety to those who shoot, 

 lo those who assist the marksman, and those, too, who have 

 no interest in the shooting, hut who may perchance get into 

 the way of the flying bullets, a few simple precautions will 

 enable those in search of a range to make a satisfactory selec- 

 tion, if the range is for off-hand shooting only, then n 

 stretch of 300 yards will be found sufficient, but if it is in- 

 tended for military practice, then one of at least 500 yards' 

 shooting distance should be secured, It will be unwise to 

 carry the range to an inconvenient distance from ready 

 means of transportation simply to secure a space for the ex- 

 treme loug ranges of 1,00(1 yards, etc. The percentage of 

 those who shoot, at the off-hand ranges, or even at the mid- 

 ranges, is so much greater than those who prefer the long 

 ranges, that the greatest good of the greatest number will 

 lead to the choice of a good short range, if the loug range 

 is there, too, so much the better. 



A natural barrier for missing shots iu the form of a hill or 

 other rising ground is to be looked for. Sometimes it is found 

 easy to secure a range looking over the water, and if it be 

 not a navigable sheet, this is a very good choice, though the. 

 laud barrier is the better, A hill with a very slight inclimp 



tion should uot be chosen, since there is a tendency to 

 ricochet shots, and the least bit of flat pebble may send a 

 swift, bullet deflected over the hilltop, perchance to do mis- 

 chief a half mile off. In any case, with such a natural hill 

 the chance of these dangerous ricochet shots will be reduced 

 if a few plow furrows are run across the face of the hill, or 

 if obstructions are placed upon it. If it be found necessary 

 to construct such a bullet barrier, no false economy should 

 lead to any stinting of proper expense at the start. The 

 long butt at Creedmoor costs thousands of dollars through 

 extensive slides of the earth which had been loosely cast up. 

 A parapet of planking twenty-five feet high is a good bullet 

 checker. It should be built of two-inch plank, securely 

 fastened to heavy timbers, and a space of from two to three 

 feet allowed between the two plank sheathings, the space 

 to be fillediu with broken stone. Repairs are readily made 

 to this style of barrier, and if attended to as soon as neces- 

 sary, therepairs will cost little, and keep the fence in good, 

 safe order. Wire ropes in front and heavy timber braces in 

 the rear will keep the fence secure against am' heavy winds. 



The ground for a range should be level, if possible, but if 

 this be difficult to secure, then the firing points may be 

 brought to a level with the targets by grading up. or by 

 earthen mounds. Sometimes it is found cheaper to erect 

 wooden platforms upon w T hich the marksmen may stand or 

 lie. 



The direction of the targets from the firing points accord- 

 ing to the points of the compass is important. The range 

 should run from the firing points north to the targets. This 

 will keep the sun to the back and have it shining upon the 

 target face instead of in the faces of the shooters. A veering 

 to the eastward may not do much harm, since the chances 

 are that the bulk of the shooting will be done during the 

 afternoon hours. It is desirable to have easy and quick 

 tneans of access from the tiring points to the targets. In 

 shooting across a sheet of water as is sometimes done, this 

 may not be very readily provided, but it is an essential 

 which should not be overlooked. Telephones arc now intro- 

 duced, and permit quick conveyance of any instructions 

 from those in charge of the practice or match to the markers 

 in the butts. 



To enable those at practice to make ready observation of 

 any change in the direction or force of the wind, it will be 

 well to have a number of flags at various points about the 

 grounds. Tbey should be placed on flag staffs above the 

 embankment at the rear of the targets, and also on lower 

 staffs near the firing points with a few placed between. If 

 made of light stuff and cut to a point, these will be very 

 sensitive and aid the shooter materially, especially at long 

 range. 



The distances from the target should be accurately marked 

 off, after measurements by a competent surveyor. Short 

 posts are excellent, and on them should be indicated the tar- 

 get number or letter. This will aid greatly in squadding the 

 shooting group. On ranges where there is a growth of grass 

 requiring frequent mowing, it has been found a good plan 

 to mark the firing points with flat stones, not projecting 

 above the surface of the soil. 



It is uot desirable to have the range iu a gully, where 

 there is a continued set to the currents of air, nor get in such 

 an exposed position that the winds keep up a continual 

 hurricane. A place where there is a variation of wind as to 

 direction and force is to be prefetred, as more likely to give 

 the range patrons a wide experience in calculating windage. 



Having selected the range, the nest consideration will be 

 the choice of targets. Iron is the best material for hard 

 usage, but it is not always found advisable to use it, and 

 canvas targets have many warm advocates. The particular 

 arrangement iu order to secure accuracy and promptness iu 

 signalling the value of the shots is largely a matter of choice. 

 Rifle pits in which the marker may remain secure from any 

 chauce of getting hit are the best arrangement, but swampy 

 land may make them unavailable, aud then other forms of 

 mantlets and protective shields must be adopted. The con- 

 sideration of these, with the whole subject of targets, may 

 be left to another article on the fitting up of ranges. 



The Votlng on the Flickering* goes bravely on. The 

 ballots come from every nook and corner of the vast ex- 

 panse' of territory represented by our subscription list; all 

 save the far-off laud beyond the Sierra Nevadas, whence we 

 confidently expect returns before the expiration of the time, 

 Feb. 1, when the polls will close. As the labor of counting 

 the ballots will be no inconsiderable task, it is requested 

 that votes be sent in at once. The directions to voters were 

 repeated in our last issue. 



SNARED BIRDS 

 /~\NE of the gravest problems of game bird protection is 

 ^-' how to stop the sale of snared grouse and trapped 

 quail. There are laws in plenty, but unfortunately each 

 statute is either so framed that it gives to the snarer and the 

 dealer all the license they want, or else from lack of enforce- 

 ment it is a dead letter, as useless and purposeless as a gun 

 without powder. Here iu New York the great game mar- 

 kets, which draw their supplies from all the surrounding 

 States and from the far West, are always well stocked with 

 strangled birds. The dealers advertise for game that has 

 been snared; they prefer it to that which lias been shot; it 

 brings a higher price. So the illegally captured game comes 

 iu from different parts of New York State and from other 

 sections, and the dealers hang it up on their hooks. 



When the "spy" comes around, the dealer folds his arms 

 and says: "Yes. those are snared birds; now, what are you 

 going to do about it? Do yotu want to arrest me and have 

 me prove that these birds were not snared in this State?" As 

 it is a very simple thing for the aggrieved marketman to 

 show the judge and jury how perfectly innocent he is, and 

 to make it appear that the birds came from somewhere on 

 the other side of the Himalayas, the "spies" soon grow 

 weary of weli-doing, and the game stalls are piled high with 

 fresh consignments of unlawful plunder. 



The defect of the law is that it forbids ODly the traffic in 

 birds snared in the State. This is the loophole through 

 which game is dragged by the crate and cartload. Now 

 what would be the working of a law which should prohibit 

 entirely the sale of all snared grouse and trapped quail, no 

 matter where they come from? Would that be any more 

 effective than the present statute? 



"What arc you going to do about it?'' 



The CovtEib Club of Cincinnati held its annual meeting 

 last Saturday evening, at which the following officers were 

 elected: President, Colonel L. A. Harris; First Vice-Presi- 

 dent. H. C. Culbertsou; Second Vice-President, A. W. 

 Gazlay: Third Vice-President, Henry Hanna; Secretary. J. 

 F. Blackburn; Board of Trustees, James Gordon, F. Roach 

 and Henry Hanna. The secretary's report made a very 

 creditable showing fer the work and progress of the club 

 during the past year. The extended report of the trustees, 

 which reaches us loo late for insertion in this issue, will be 

 given next week. The Cuvier Club has a membership of 

 nearly seven hundred, and is a very influential organization. 

 It is proposed to establish elsewhere auxiliary clubs, which 

 as branches of the Cuvier may have all the advantages of its 

 prestige and strength. This is an important movement and 

 if properly directed will greatly strengthen the interests of 

 the intelligent and common-sense sportsmen of Ohio. 



New York Game Law Committees.— The Assembly 

 Committee on Game Laws is made up as follows: Messrs. 

 O'Neil, of Franklin; Seeber, of Jefferson: Geddes, of Onon- 

 daga; Baiager. of Tioga: Howlaud, of Cayuga: Moore, of 

 Richmond; Murphy, of New York; Rosenthal, of New 

 York, aud Johnston, of Lister. The members of the Senate 

 Committee are Messrs. Otis, Gilbert and Van Schaick. We 

 hope that these gentlemen will scrutinize carefully any 

 measure that may he submitted to them. Unless there is 

 some good reason to look for decided improvement in the 

 law, and we are not at present aware of any foundation 

 upon which to base a hope of this, by all means let this 

 year be conspicuous by the absence of the game law tinkers. 



As American Fisheries Exhibition has been suggested. 

 In the ninth annual report of the Boston Fish Bureau, Mr. 

 W. A. Wilcox, the secretary, says; "We trust the day is not 

 far distant when we shall have a World's Fish Fair in this 

 country, and Boston is the place for it." 



AMA TE UR PHO TO G RA PBS, 



TS7E have received a number of photographs in exchange for the 

 ' * two views taken from our office v, Endows, and find them very 

 charming and suggestive pictures of camp life and pleasure travel. 

 We repeat that we have taken, with amateur outfit, two views from 

 the windows of the Forest and Stream office, and shall be shVl to 

 exchange one or both of them for amateurs' photographs of camp 

 scenes and other pictures made by the sportsmau tourist The views 

 are 5x8 iu. No. 1 is an instantaneous pieture. It shows the north 

 side of the Post Office, Mail street, a strip of the City Hall Park, and 

 a varnish sign aver on Broadway. There is also a pie ivagon de- 

 livering pies to the stand on the Port OfBee corner, with a fat 

 pedestrian in close proximity. No. i shows the front of the old City- 

 Hall, with the roof of the new County Court House, other public 

 buildings, the top of Stewart's old wholesale store and a slice of the 

 American News Co.'s building in Chambers street, 



