FOREST AND STREAM. 



—It is asserted that ittdre geese have been shot this sea- 

 son In the Great South Bay, Long Island, than during any 

 season for ten years past. 



—Our correspondent, Fred Pond, of Montello, Wiscon- 

 sin, regrets that the lakes and streams in his section froze 

 bo suddenly as to prevent his sending the editor of Forest 

 akd Stream a goodly bunch of ducks, as he had desired. 

 If warmth of good feeling and earnestness of purpose on 

 our friend's part had availed, the water would have re- 

 mained open to this day. There shall be no coldness be- 

 tween us on account of this disappointment, that is certain. 



—The loudest complaints of scarcity of quail seem to 

 come from those who do not know where to go, or, having 

 found the right locality, do not know how to find the game 

 or point their guns when found. Gunners who have vis- 

 ited Chesapeake or Delaware Bay have brought back lots 

 of ducks, while big bags of quail repay the visitor to Mary- 

 land and Virginia. 



—Daniel W. Lindsay, Esq,, is now in charge of the ho- 

 tel at Poplar Branch, Currituck county, N. C, and is pre- 

 pared to entertain duck shooters, having live decoys and 

 every appliance that may be required. This house was 

 formerly leased by a Boston club. The marshes afford 

 some of the best shooting on the Sound, and join the prem- 

 ises of the old Currituck Club. 



—We believe that W. H. Holabird, of Valparaiso, Indi- 

 ana, was the first to introduce the water-proof linen shoot- 

 ing suits to the notice of sportsmen. Since he began to 

 advertise in Forest and Strram, his business has rapidly 

 increased until he can scarcely supply his orders. Those 

 who once use these garments will not be satisfied to take 

 the field without them. 



— In reply to several inquiries put to us respecting the 

 Connecticut Lakes that lie in the extreme northern border 

 of New Hampshire and Connecticut River, we say: To 

 reaeh these lakes, take Grand Trunk Railroad to North 

 Stratford station, stage to Colebrook, and wagon twenty- 

 six miles further. Second Lake is the largest, being about 

 three miles long by a mile wide. It lies four miles from 

 First Lake. There is a good bark shanty there. Third 

 Lake is still two or three miles further. One correspond- 

 ent says: — 



"Game of various kinds is abundant in this region. Mooae are nu- 

 merous in some localities, and deer without number tange the hillsides. 

 Some of their runs are beaten hard. Also otter, mink and sable are in 

 such numbers that the trapper sets well paid for his time and labor. 

 The lumbering business has not been carried on in this locality, conse- 

 quently it is the paradise of hunters and trappers. We made this de- 

 lightful place our home for ten days, and succeeded in capturing about 

 four hundred speckled beauties, from one-foarth of a pound to two 

 pounds in weight. I think we could have caught as many mare, if we 

 had given more time to fishing." 



We have printed one or two sketches in previous num- 

 bers of our paper giving much information of this section. 

 Besides the Connecticut Lakes, there is the Unknown Pond, 

 near Stewartstown, N. H., at the head of Diamond River, 

 which empties into the Megalloway, reached by wagon 

 from Colebrook. These waters are filled with trout. 



New Yore— Schroon Lake, Essex county, Nov. 26ih— This 

 charming locality seems to be rising into prominence, 

 not only as a beautiful Summer resort within striking dis- 

 tance of the grand Adirondacks, but as a very fruitful 

 sporting territory. Deer hunting is all the rage at this 

 time. In fact, deer have not been so plentiful about here 

 for several years, and no doubt there will be a rejoicing 

 among them on the 1st of next month, as the law will then 

 protect them from the unerring rifles of such sportsmen as 

 Capt. Russell, George Pardo, George Wickham, and oth- 

 ers. For the benefit of those who are victims of that dis- 

 tressing malady, hay fever, I would call attention to the 

 fact that a few weeks sojourn in the season in this section 

 invariably proves an infallible remedy that disorder. 

 Ye who are thus afflicted will wisely make a note of this. 

 The hotels of Schroon Lake are exceptionally excellent. 

 The Island and the Ondawa are admirable establishments, 

 of whose superior accommodations and management any 

 town in the State might be proud. Besides this their 

 charges are hardly half as high as those of the perhaps 

 more fashionable, but certainly less desirable watering 

 places. E. R. W. 



The Adirondacks.— Mr. Frank Bolles of Springfield, 

 ha? fa versa us with a letter from C. Fenton, Esq., residing 

 at "Number Four," Lewis county, N. Y., which states 

 that "the grouna in that region has been covered with snow 

 Bince the 30th of October. I think that this is the earliest 

 Winter I ever knew. It has been so cold that the leaves 

 on the ground under the snow have been so frozen that 

 there has not been any still hunting, save one day, and 

 that was last Friday. It thawed that day, causing the 

 snow to fall from the trees, and I thought I would see if I 

 could find a deer. After hunting some time I came upon 

 a large doe and two fawns. I could only see the legs of the 

 doe, while the body was entirely hidden by spruce brush. 

 I took aim and fired through the brush, but missed her. 

 A.t the report of my rifle one of the fawns jumped out in 

 full view and halted. I turned the second barrel upon the 

 fawn and killed it. The doe now walked out from behind 

 the bush and halted. Oh! how I wanted another charge 

 in my rifle. I fell to loading with all possible speed, cast- 

 ing covetous glances at her splendid proportions mean- 

 while. All is ready but capping, and still she stood; five 

 seconds more and she would have been a dead doe, but as 

 I was bringing my rifle to my shoulder she raised her flag 

 and darted oft into the woods. I followed her for two 

 hours, but it was of no avail, so I had to be satisfied with 

 my fawn. 



New York— Pen Tan, Nov, 2Qth.— But comparatively 

 few ruffed grouse and woodcock have been bagged by us 

 in Yates county so far this season. They don't seem to be 

 here. Of quail there is a pretty fair show. A good many 

 black and gray squirrels have been killed. Everybody 

 shoots them. E. 



Bayville, L . i*., Nov. 20.— Wild fowl were never more 

 plentiful in our bay than during this Fall, and battery 

 shooting has been very good, considering the weather. 

 Some visitors, however, have carried away from forty to 



seventy birds . My bag for the last few days has been— 

 18th, 9 broadbills, 1 grouse, 3 old-wives; 19th, 10 quail; 

 20th, 7 broadbills, 2 shelldrakes, 5 trout and 1 whistler. 

 Expenses, board, one dollar per day, battery and decoys 

 with man, eight dollars; for two batteries wiih two men, 

 twelve dollars. E.Danes. 



Massachusetts— tialem, Novemb&r 27th.— Since my last 

 week's report I have shot both whistlers and dippers, so 

 that the Winter quota of the fauna of our coast is about 

 full. Geese are going by us, off an on. Grouse and quail 

 are shot occasionally. Teal. 



New Jersey — Kinsetfs Ashley House, Bamegat Inlet, No- 

 vembw 27th, 1875.— Brant, geese, and black ducks never 

 more plenty. Quite a number of broad bills, but they 

 decoy poorly. The score for the week ending the 27th 

 footed up 71 brant, 24 geese, and 32 ducks. B. 



Pennsylvania — Harrisburg, Nov. 2C>th — Two well 

 known gunners returned from a gunning excursion -up the 

 Cumberland Valley Railroad yesterday with sixty-seven 

 quail and three rabbits, the result of one fair day's shoot- 

 ing. They captured a covey of forty five birds on one 

 farm. Deer are not as plenty in Clinton county. John 

 Tyson has captured three bears on Shade Mountain, near 

 Mifflintown this year. A wild cat five feet long was killed 

 near Titusville a few days ago. 



Wisconsin— MonHlo, November 27th, 1875.— Duck shoot- 

 ing is now over. The rivers and lakes are frozen, and the 

 few ducks still with us linger around the spring holes and 

 water channels. Before, or rather just after the first hard 

 freeze, which closed up Puckaway Lake, excellent shooting 

 was enjoyed for a few days in the open river, and one gun- 

 ner killed seventy-five ducks, mostly canvas backs and 

 mallards. Deer hunting is fine in Northern Wisconsin, 

 and a few sportsmen are now enjoying the manly pastime. 



Tex as— Gainesville, Nov. 22d—A. E. Dodson, of the Ga- 

 zette, has just returned to town from a trip to the buffalo 

 range. Two others accompanied him with a wagon. They 

 were gone ten days, killed four buffalo and many turkeys. 

 Capt. Rowland and a large party are now in the Indian 

 Territory after deer. I learn from a gentleman who was 

 with them two days that they killed thirty deer in that 

 time. We who are left behind have to content ourselves 

 with quail, pinnated grouse, and an occasional turkey. 



Missouri— Jefferson Gity, Nov. 20th. — Game scarce here; 

 quad small, all late broods. Several flocks of turkeys in 

 this vicinity. Ducks will not stop with us this Fall, I 

 think — at least they have not so far; not much venison 

 brought in yet, but what we have has been verv fat. 



H. 0. M. 



Ptoeon Shooting.— A couple of marches were shot on 

 Ira Paine's grounds on Thanksgiving day. The first, be- 

 tween Capt. Nat Clark, the well known "sailing master of 

 the yacht Magic, and Sol Saxton, resulted as follows: — 



Saxon t 111110 10 11 1—10 



Clark I 01011010010-6 



The match was for $25 a side, the winner to pay for the 

 birds. There were sixteen birds killed, and Mr. Paine's 

 bill for birds was just sixteen dollars. If the men had 

 tied and it had taken about ten more birds to shoot the tie 

 off, how many dollars would the winner be to the good? 

 The second event was a sweepstakes match, w r on by Mr. 

 Jones, who killed five birds without a miss. The Babylo- 

 nians were on hand in force, and many carried home rem- 

 iniscences of the event in the shape of shot pellets in va- 

 rious portions of their anatomy. 



The members of the Long Island Shooting Association 

 held the monthly contest for their challenge cup on the 

 same day, with the following r#sult: There were fifteen 

 entries, to shoot at seven birds each, with twenty-five yards 

 rise. Following is the score: Wingate, 7; Wynne, 2; 

 Hartshorne, 4; Posten, 8; \an Buren, 6; Eddy, 5; Rid- 

 den, 7; Captain, withdrew; Fendick, withdrew"; Bayliss, 

 4; Gildersleeve, 3; Walton, 3; Staufleld, 1; Aten, 2; Parks, 

 withdrew. The tie between Wingate and Ridden was then 

 shot off, each shooting at three birds. The former killed 

 one, the latter won the cup, securing two. Some sweep- 

 stake matches, participated in by nearly all the members, 

 followed, the shooting in whioh was much better than that 



for the cup. 



<t » 



PiiNN Yak, Nov. 24, 1875. 

 Editor Forest and Stream:— 



On the 18th Inet. a few sports indulged in a trap shoot here under the 

 New York State rules— 21 yards rise, SO yards boundary, ]£ ounces shot. 

 This was the result:— 



Sheldon 13 out of 14! SI ay ton.... ............ 7 out of 1C 



Smitn 4 out of 14 Amadon 5 out of 10 



Gilbert 9 out of 12|Conklin 4 our, of 10 



Also on the Hth of last month the same sort of a performance was 

 done here with the following; result, ten biids being shot at:— 



Pratt 9iConklin 5 



Smith 8 j Tompkins 5 



Sheldon .- 7 1 ftlmentiorf 4 



Gilbert 6 WyckofL 6 



Capell... 51 c. 



Lexington, Ey., Nov. 20, 1S75. 

 Editor Forest and Stream:— 



On the 19th our quarterly match came off at this place. Tt was a club 

 affair, and for the club badge, a gold medal with appropriate engrav- 

 ings. Everything was as pleasant and enjoyable as could be, with 

 exception of the weather, it being very cloudy, and most of the time a 

 misty rain falling. All was in readiness at two o'clock promptly at 

 Major John R. Viley's, about three miles from the city, (and in whose 

 honor the club is named.) The contestants and their Ecores are as fol- 

 lows:— 



D. Knoble, Jr 5 



C. W. Bradley 6 



C. Y. Peck 2 



J. W. Headley 5 



L'hos. Martin 8 



F. W. Woolley 6 



S. vV. McChesney ...7 



H. P. Kmkead 4 



C. M. Johnson 7 



R. Gilmore 2 



J. H. Davidson ". 



Mr. Thos. Martin won the bad^e. The event of the day was a leather 

 medal, to be awarded to the most humane shot (according to Bergh,) 

 and was tied for by your humble and Mr. O. Y. Peck, who would have it 

 and did get it, missing his first bird in the tie. Our judges were Messrs. 

 A. G. Morgan and Major Joel Higgins; referee, Dr. B. W. Dudley, (all of 

 the Hunters' Club.) and to them the thanks of the Vileys are due— with 

 "hats off "—for the very satisfactory manner in which they discharged 

 their duties. Mr. J. T. Viley and Dr. T. J. Clay acted as scorers. If 

 all our meetings are as pleasant as this one the club will be a success. 



Yours respectfully, R. Gilmore, Secretary. 



' » 



Makshalltown, Marshall county, Iowa, Nov. 25, 1875. 

 Editor Forest and Stream:— 



A pigeon match took place this afternoon on our Fair Ground, the par- 

 ticipants being members of our club. The weather was not favorable, 

 being dark and eloudy. Birds "strong flyers.'' The following in the 

 score :-r- 



H. P. Williams . ..." 4 1 Perry Woodruff, .6 



J. T. Blackburn 7 S. L. Smith 6 



Wm. Mason. 8 | John T. Blackburn. 



"GLOAN" ON CHOKE BORES. 



» . . 



Editor Forest and Stream:— 



You ate entirely correct in stating that the "Roper gun" was the first 

 public application of the choke bore system in this country during the 

 last twenty-five years. The plan, however, was known to local gun- 

 smiths here for years before the Roper. Soldering a rim of lead Inside 

 the muzzle and beating in the muzzle itself were temporary equivalents 

 resorted to by the early shooters of the West, and marvelous tales are 

 told of the performances of their guns. 



Mr. Pape claims to have invented it, and the Field awarded him a prize 

 for the invention. He was not entitled to it, and the paper afterward 

 excused itself by saying he was the only claimant In England. Papa 

 says he invented it and practiced it years before the Field gun trial, and 

 offered to produce guns bored by him then on that plan. He abandoned 

 it, not becanse of its superlative shooting, but because he did not con- 

 sider it fit for the field. I notice three things in this connection— first 

 that the gentlemen to whom he says he sold these early guns have never 

 testified over their own signatures nor produced the guns for inspection- 

 second, that albeit he must have had confidence in the system when he 

 was using it, he never used it when he was competing for the gun trial. 

 He had everything at stake there which a man can possibly have at stake, 

 and it will not be believed that he forbore at that time to shoot a choked 

 gun when fame and fortune waited on its use; third, although he says 

 that the choke bores which he made and sold so many years ago are still 

 extant, and did then and will now beat Greener's winners at the last 

 Field trial, yet no gunmaker in England ever heard till lately that Pape 

 was boring extraordinary shooting guns, nor did any owner of one of 

 them ever make known the fact that he possessed a gun better than the 

 ordinary run of guns in those days. Every man who knows anything of 

 English sporting matters knows that every gun which is an unusually 

 good one immediately acquires a reputation all over the island, and is 

 deemed a treasure by the owner. The fact m regard to the introduction 

 of the choke bore in England is precisely as stated in the article from 

 the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic Neivs which you quote, and that 

 is, Mr. Dougall introduced it there. 



In the Fall Of 1872 I saw a Roper used daily for weeks, and witnessed 

 its incredible shooting at long ranges. As the sudden contraction of 

 the cup piece screwed on at the end of the muzzle seemed to me to be in 

 defiance of all theories of shooting, I wrote to Mr. Dougall in regard to 

 it. In the Spring of 1873 Mr. Dougall was in this country, and we dis- 

 cus?ed the question in every aspect. Upon his return he set about mak- 

 ing those experiments which are referred to by the editor of the News. 

 From time to time he wrote me in regard to his progress, as embodied iu 

 a gun which he was then building for me— a gun which, by the way, has 

 exceeded all that was done by the winner of the. last trial. This gun 

 was the first one which Mr. Dougal turned out with his "modified 

 choke." As the editor of the News, "Mr. Dougall, like a sensible man, 

 had found out when the 'choke bore,' pure and simple, was a failure, 

 i. «., 'balled' or 'clubbed' the shot on the target, an i he developed the 

 system into the modified choke bore." Those who are aware of my 

 views, as published frequently, are aware that I am opposed to excessive 

 choke boring. We are running to excels on that point, and wblle the 

 fi'ield trial has served to make it fashionable, and while the winnerof the 

 trial will make a fortune from it, yet there will come a necessary reaction 

 for field guns. Then the "modified choke" of Mr. Dougall, which re- 

 tains all the virtues of the new system aud discards all its vices, will be 

 properly appreciated, and as Mr. Dougall has not patented it but left it 

 free to all, it is not too much to predict that it will be generally adopted 

 in both countries. Gloan. 



We are glad to find that the stand we have taken on this 

 question is endorsed by so eminent an authority as our cor- 

 respondent above. We shall keep our readers posted on 

 the choke bore question, and report its progress, whether 

 retrograde or advance, from time to time. — Ed. 



4*-*-* ■ ' 



TO FASTEN WADS IN PAPER SHELLS. 



Saratoga Springs, N. Y m Nov. 19, 1875. 

 Editor Forest and Stream:— 



In your issue of the 11th I notice that a correspondent asks how he can 

 keep the wad over the shot (in shells for breech loaders) from falling 

 out. I use a kind Of punch which tears small holes in the paper of the 

 shell, and the small pieces of paper hold the wad. If your correspond- 

 ent would go or write to J. & W. Tolley, Maiden Lane, he could get ex- 

 acily what he wanted. I am very sure that he could get the punch from 

 any gun dealer or sportinsr goods house. Q. A. White. 



fHchting and Routing. 



All communications from Secretaries and friends should be mailed no 

 later than Monday In each week. 





HIGH WATER, 



FOR THE WEEK. 





Date. 



Boston. 



New York. 



Charleston. 



Dec. 2 



Dec. 8 



H. M. 



2 7 



a «t 



S 36 



4 24 



5 13 



6 8 



7 1 



B. M. 



11 35 

 morn. 



23 



1 11 



1 59 



2 hi 



3 46 



H. M. 



10 56 



11 51 



Dec. 4 . ......... 



j)er.. 5 



morn. 

 24 



Dec. fi 



1 13 



Dec. 7.. . 



2 6 



Dec. 8 



3 1 



Measurement for Time Allowance.-— We noticed in 

 our last issue the formation in England of a Yacht Racing 

 Association, the object of which is to adopt a universal 

 code of regulations, and to place all yacht racing under the 

 jurisdiction of a committee, which shall exercise the same 

 powers as those devolving upon the committee of the 

 Jockey Club in horse racing. The project appears to meet 

 with much favor, and is likely to prove a success. Many 

 of the leading yacht owners of Great Britain have become 

 members, among whom we find our old antagonist, Mr. 

 James Ashbury, M. P., and most of the owners of promi- 

 nent racing yachts. There is one rule proposed, however, 

 which seems to us as arbitrary and likely to lead to compli- 

 cations, that is, one causing forfeiture of membership on the 

 part of the yacht sailing in any regattas or matches where 

 the association rules are not in force. We are led to notice 

 this at this time more particularly from the fact that a Cen- 

 tennial International regatta is now under serious consider- 

 ation, and, if properly managed, likely to be brought to a 

 very satisfactory conclusion. In this event it would be a 

 very serious drawback if English yachts were fallowed to 

 compete only at the risk of a loss of membership in their 

 own home association. For an event so very much out ox 

 the common a dispensation could probably be procured, 

 and the races might be sailed under regulations of a give 

 and take or meet-me-half-way nature, to be decided upon 

 by those having the matter in charge. 



Certainly no better occasion will ever be offered for re- 

 vising our own standard. of time allowance, or for adopting 

 tome" general system of measurement which shall over- 

 come the njMtierous objections to the many now in vogue. 



