56 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



^rSfe 



A WEEKLY JOURNAL, 



Devoted to Field and Aquatic Spobts, Ppactical Natubal History, 

 ;p r ~~ ^tttvtxtbe, the Protection op Game, Preservation or Forests, 

 aitd the Inculcation in Men and Women op a healthy interest 

 in Out-door Recreation and Study : 



PUBLISHED BY 



^onnt mtd §£tre&tn jffubHzhing j$;0tnp&tflj, 



17 CHATHAM STREET, (CITY HALL SQUARE) NEW YORK, 



[Post Oppice Box 2832.] 



127 SOUTH THIRD STREET, PHILADELPHIA. 



HONOR TO WHOM HONOR IS DUE. 



Terms, Five Dollars a Year, Strictly in Advance. 



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



_ . «i ip ' — — 



Advertising Kates. 



In regular advertising columns, nonpareil type, 12 lines to the inch, 25 

 Cents 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 

 jnonths, 30 per cent. 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1875. 



To Correspondents. 



All communications whatever, whether relating to business or literary 

 correspondence, must be addressed to The Forest and Stream Pub- 

 lishing Company. Personal or private letters of course excepted. 



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 Names will not be published if 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 anouymous contributions will be regarded. 



Articles relating to any topic within the scope of this paper are solicited. 



We cannot promise to return rejected manuscripts. 



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

 notes of their movements and transactions, as it is the aim of this paper 

 to 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 secure the 

 patronage and countenance of that portion of the community whose re- 

 fined intelligence enables them to properly appreciate and enjoy all that 

 s beautiful in Nature. It will pander to no depraved tastes, nor pervert 

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

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

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

 terms ; and nothing will be admitted to any department of 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, Editor. 



WILLIAM C. HARRIS. Business Manager. 



CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR THE COM- 



ING WEEK. 



Thursday, September 2d.— Trotting at Hartford, Conn.; Dover, N. 

 H • St. Albans, Vt. ; Florence, Ky.; Jamestown. Pa. Nineteenth Anni- 

 versary of N.Y. Caledonian clubs at Lion Park, N. Y. Baseball- 

 Philadelphia vs. Boston, at Philadelphia: Confidence vs. Nassau, at New 

 Rochelle; Randolph vs. Olympic, at Dover, N. J.; Eagle vs. Magnolia, 

 at Brooklyn; Irvington vs. Eagle, at Hobeken. 



Friday September 3d.— Trotting at Hartford, Conn.; Aurora, 111.; 

 Florence, Ky.; Battle Creek, Mich. Base ball— Athletic vs. Boston, at 

 Philadelphia; Pavonia vs. Randolph, at Dover, N. J. 



Saturday, September 4th.-Racing at Newport, R. I. Trotting at 

 Battle Creek, Mich. Regatta of Burlington Yacht Club, Hamilton, 

 Canada Base ball-Athletic vs. Boston, at Philadelphia; N. J. A. As- 

 sociation vs. Hoboken, at Hoboken; Active vs. Alert, at, Harlem; Key- 

 stone vs. Quickstep, at Wilmington, Del. 



Monday September 6th.-Racing at Newport, R. I. Trotting at Du- 

 buque, la. Regatta of Royal Canadian Yacht Club, Toronto Banquet 

 to L American Team, Academy of Music, N. Y. Base ball-Philadel- 

 phia vs. Boston, at Philadelphia. 



Tuesday September 7th. -Racing at Lexington, Ky.; Prospect Park, 

 L 1 Trottin- at Dubuque, la. ; Syracuse, N. Y. ; Gardiner, Me. ; Syca- 

 more 111- Mankato, Minn.; Knoxville, and Macomb, 111. Dominion 

 mu> Association Tournament, Ottawa, Canada. Bench Show of Dogs 

 at Manchester, N. H. Regatta at Watkins Seneca Lake; Royal Cana- 

 dian Yacht Club, Toronto, Canada; Race between Union and Herald 

 Boat Clubs, Harlem River. Base ball-Alaska vs. Hoboken, at Hoboken. 



Wednesday, September 8th. -Racing at Lexington, Ky.; Prospect 

 Park L I Trotting at Syracuse, N. Y., and as above Rifle match of 

 Saratoga and Parthian Clubs, Saratoga, N. Y. Bench Show of Dogs, 

 Manchester, N. H. Regatta at Watkins, on Seneca Lake. 



Boundaries in Pigeon Matches.— We observe that 

 Captain Bogardus, in an interview with a contemporary, 

 strongly deprecates the practice of having boundaries m 

 nfceon matches, justly urging the fact that the element of 

 luck is thus introduced, and suggesting that a time allow- 

 ance for gathering birds be substituted. We have long 

 advocated this plan, and at a recent match at Philadelphia, 

 where we were referee, the new mode was adopted with 

 excellent results. We would call attention of sportsmen's 

 associations throughout the country to this suggestion, and 

 trust to see it act ed upon. 



Long Branch.-A private letter written at Long Branch, 



A uT S n^Bmnch Sy'wlth visitors. The weather has been rainy for 

 4 g w hot it did not materially affect the travel, as all the hotels 

 Tdo r g 6 fS ' " OwinTtrtLe n po P ular,y of the Metropolitan th. sea- 

 son the house is full. Mr. W, W. Palmer, its proprietor, a so of the 

 MaUoTia Hotel at St. Augustine, Fla., has retrieved its reputation The 

 vLuauon, it is thought, will be prolonged far into September At this, 

 ^e headquarters of the Florida visitors, the Winter resort is discussed, 

 .aUhe indications are that the State will be well represented in Florida 

 £ 8 Winter Money this Fall will not be so stringent the numbers 

 of pleasure-seekers greater, and henca an increase of travel to the 

 ♦jtaly of America.' " 



"After all, what real good is to accrue to the human 

 race from putting a rifle ball through a bullseye a thousand 

 yards away?" — Syracuse Courier. 



Leaving to the Peace Commission the settlement of 

 the question as far as the human race is concerned, the 

 benefits to be derived by our own country from the in- 

 creased interest taken in rifle shooting are too palpable to 

 be ignored, and it is a matter of some surprise that those 

 high in Federal authority have as yet not made some move 

 toward recognizing and encouraging it. We believe it is 

 received as an axiom that those nations best prepared for 

 war and whose skill both in the manufacture and use of 

 military and naval appliances is beyond a doubt, are the 

 least likely to be drawn into a conflict, and although the 

 comparatively isolated position of this country lessens the 

 probability of such an event as far as we are concerned, it 

 must be borne in mind that at the present day both time 

 and space have been almost annihilated as compared with a 

 half century since. Nor are we prepared, as are other 

 nations, with a large standing army to repel an invasion or 

 hasten an attack. In the occurrence of either deplorable 

 event, the working man, the artisan and the merchant must 

 compose the rank and file, and be called upon to defend 

 his country, and however "regulars" may sneer at target 

 practice among civilians, by which are meant also the 

 volunteer militia, as being valueless when the men are 

 brought face to face with an enemy, the veteran must be 

 the work of time and experience, and previous familiarity 

 with and skill in the use of his weapon will make the best 

 soldier when the necessary coolness has been acquired. 



Our State governments have been wise in their genera- 

 tions in recognizing the importance of rifle practice in the 

 National Guard, and present indications show that the epi- 

 demic which originated in thb State with the opening of 

 Creedmoor but little more than two years since, is rapidly 

 spreading until it has embraced California and Nevada on 

 the West and Maine and Florida, North and South. The 

 improvement in shooting made at Creedmoor since the 

 opening of the range is almost incredible. A reference to 

 the files of this paper amply verifies the statement. In 

 the issue of Forest and Stueam of December llth, 1873, 

 will he found a complete report of the oflicial scores of 

 Creedmoor matches, (the same being the first ever produced 

 bywhich comparisons might be made as to the shooting). 

 This statement shows that on the opening day, June 21st, 

 1873, in the first match, out of 220 shots fired only six were 

 bulleyes, and these at a distance of only 200 yards. A 

 comparison of this score with those made in the Interna- 

 tional contests, shows what wonderful proficiency has been 

 attained in two years. In the second match only eight 

 bullseyes were made, but from then the progress was 

 steady until the proportion of bullseyes in some of the 

 recent matches has reached to the enormous figures of 93 

 per cent. 



In a recent capital article on this subject in the Armg 

 and Navy Journal^ facts in history are pointed out which 

 go to prove the value of target practice as a purely military 

 exercise, demonstrating the value to be very much greater 

 than is generally credited to it by military men. We 

 quote : — 



"We have in history four campaigns in which troops 

 trained only in target practice were opposed to troops not 

 so trained. Three of these campaigns belong to the age of 

 archery, one to the age of modern breech loading fire arms. 

 They are the campaigns of Cressy, Poictiers, Agincourt, 

 and Sedan. In the first three, as will occur to every reader, 

 the victory was due wholly to the precision of English 

 archery, and the result decisive. The English archers ac- 

 quired their skill in shooting at the butts, for the game 

 laws of England were then frightful in severity, and free 

 shooting unknown, save in the myths of Robin Hood. 

 We have purposely left out the triumphs of American rifle- 

 men in the Revolution, because largety due to a different 

 sort of marksmanship, that of the hunter, and not so com- 

 plete. In the Sedan campaign of 1870 the Germans, 

 likewise used only to target shooting, against the French. 

 The latter had special corps of marksmen, just as at Cressy 

 they had the Genoese cross bowmen, but the mass of rank 

 and file was unused to target practice. The Germans were 

 greenhorns, the host that served at Sodowa having been 

 replaced by new levies of only three years service, but 

 they had all been used to target practice, and were fair 

 average shots. The result was marked in every battle 

 when it came to close range shooting, and in nothing more 

 than in saving of ammunition as compared with the lavish 

 expenditure by the French. While the special French 

 marksmen shot well at long range, at short range all the 

 Germans and very few French shot respectably, and the 

 losses soon became out of proportion to the numbers on 

 each side." 



We think, however, that our contemporary should have 

 ascribed a certain proportion of the German success to the 

 great superiority of the Prussian needle gun over the 

 French Chassepot, which was much commented upon at 

 the time. 



But setting aside the military view of the case, the in- 

 creased interest taken in rifle shooting is of value in other 

 respects. An impetus will be given to the efforts of inven- 

 tors, and although our rifles of the present day seem almost 

 perfect and have been so recognized abroad, ingenuity at 

 the present time knows no limit, and it is impossible to pre- 

 dict what may or may not be accomplished in the future. 

 In this connection we observe a disposition on the part of 

 many newspapers to fall into error regarding the present 

 military weapons of Europe, citing the recent International 

 match as a battle betwen the muzzle loader and breech 

 loader, and infering therefrom that the former is still in use, 

 whereas in point of fact both for sporting and military pur- 

 poses the breech, Joa.der is the universal arm throughout 



Europe and the muzzle loader is only used for long range 

 target practice. 



There is another aspect also to the recent International 

 victories which entitles them to greater consideration than 

 under other circumstances they might deserve. It is the 

 first occasion on which we have beaten our trans-atlantic 

 cousins, decisively and unmistakably, and on their own 

 soil, in any of those games requiring skill and nerve. The 

 defeat of the Harvard crew and the almost total annihila- 

 tion of the crew which subsequently went from this city 

 is now wiped out, and the eagle may scream himself hoarse 

 without risking a pin-feather. To be sure the America 

 taught them a lesson in yacht building, but that event 

 rather belongs to a different category of victories than the 

 achievements of the American team and Captain Bogar- 

 dus. 



Although a reticence on the subject is noticeable on 

 the part of the English press, the recent rifle matches 

 have excited the greatest amount of comment and some 

 consternation across the water. We learn that it is highly 

 probable that an Irish team, per se, so far as international! 

 matches are concerned, will henceforth be unknown, and 

 that the team to visit this country next Summer will be 

 strictly a national one, selected from among the best shots. 

 of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Sir Henry Hal- 

 ford, probably the best shot in England and a leading 

 spirit at Wimbledon, has entered heart and soul into the 

 matter, and the probability is that '76 will see a team in 

 this country whose skill will try to the utmost that of our 

 own riflemen. So also, the rapidly spreading interest 

 throughout the United States, that has ^already stimulated 

 the organization of rifle clubs here, there, and everywhere, 

 will evoke a spirit of honorable sectional emulation, and 

 thereby probably call out a team that will be more strictly 

 representative, and not confined to the State of New York 

 alone. 



The moral effect of the International match, is to unify 

 national sentiment, sympathies, and ambitions, on both 

 sides, and to nationalize future competitions. It will bring 

 the Irishman and the Englishman shoulder to shoulder con- 

 genially, on the one side, and our countrymen of the North, 

 South and West on the other. So far as this effect reaches, 

 it is of appreciable value . Whether the success of the Ameri- 

 can team in making bullseyes at 1,000 yards is worth all 

 the ado which has been manifested over the victors, may 

 be a question in the minds of persons inclined to be cap- 

 tious, but one thing is certain, success and consummate 

 skill have compelled the respect of nations for us, and any 

 instrument, however humble, that adds one grain of 

 weight to our American honor deserves to be extolled. 

 The Forest and Stream is gratified to join, in its hum- 

 ble way, in doing honor to those who have honored us. 



CANVAS TARGETS AT WIMBLEDON. 



SEVERAL of our readers have asked for a description 

 of the targets used at Wimbledon, which we are 

 pleased to give herewith. It is the first we remember to 

 have seen printed : — 



The targets at Wimbledon are of canvas, stretched on 

 wooden frames, which are so fitted in iron frames that they 

 can be easily and quickly removed, and are arranged to 

 raise or lower on upright sliding posts. When the 

 target is pierced by a bullet a large red disk, operated 

 by a lever hung on a pivot, with a weight at the extremity, 

 is swung up so as to conceal the bullseye, indicating that 

 the target is struck. Immediately the target disappears 

 downwards, and a dummy target, which is covered by a 

 fine wire network, upon which is hung a disk indicating 

 where the real target is struck, rises upon a similar sliding 

 frame directly in front of the other. The dummy target 

 rises and the real target falls simultaneously, by the marker 

 simply turning a crank, the two targets being balanced by 

 a proper weight attached to a chain running over pulleys. 

 When the target is lowered, the marker takes a small, dia- 

 mond shaped disk, about three inches long, one side of 

 which is painted white to use on the bullseye, and the 

 other side red to use on the rest of the target. On each 

 side of this disk is a small wire ho.ok, one of which the 

 marker inserts in the last shot hole, with the proper color 

 out, according to where the shot is. He then covers the 

 previous hole with a small piece of paper, leaving the disk 

 in the last shot hole to indicate its exact position until the 

 next shot is fired; then, by turning the crank, the target is 

 raised and the dummy is lowered at the same time. The 

 large red disk remains in front of the bullseye until the 

 target is raised, when it is swung out of sight, showing 

 that the target is all clear. By means of a field glass the 

 small disk in the last shot hole can be seen plainly, indica- 

 ting exactly where the last shot struck. The sliding 

 frames extend downwards in a trench about ten feet deep 

 and eight feet wide; a roof covering the marker extends 

 over about four feet, leaving the rest of the trench open; 

 but as there is no splash from the canvas targets, the 

 marker is perfectly safe. Tlie marking is according to the 

 new rules of the N. R. A. of the United States, as adopted 

 this year, excepting as to the 3d class target, which has 

 been altered by the N. R. A. so as to include the remainder 

 of the target outside of the 40-inch ring, to form the outer, 



6 feet by 4 feet. 



, •**»- ■ 



— Summer is ended — September has come— and the 

 clerk of the weather is now fanning the "embers" of the 

 year for a protracted heated term. 



«< M » — 



—President Grant is an expert cod-fisher. He tried & s 

 hand at the sport off Block Island lately. 



