FOREST AND STEEAM. 



7 i 



One of our Indians (Black John), one evening went from 

 the camp a short distance, in search of birch bark to make 

 a canoe, when he came to a large tree nearly stripped of its 

 outer Dark by a bear to get at the inner bark, of which it is 

 very fond. 



On our way down the river our men told us of a beaver 

 dam a short distance from the river, so being anxious to see 

 it we took the things out of our canoe, and in no time the 

 men had them on their shoulders, and on their way to the 

 dam. We soon arrived at a sheet *of water about three- 

 fourths of a mile iu length, and from six to ten feet in 

 depth, formed by the beavers felling large trees, some four- 

 teen to eighteen inches in diameter across the lower end, 

 and then smaller timber laid at an angle of forty-five de- 

 grees into the ground, with their upper ends resting on the 

 cross beam; they then fill up beLween with clay and small 

 sticks till the dam is as tight as a drum. Near the upper 

 end they have two houses, one of twelve feet in diameter, 

 and the other eight feet, which I presume is the baby-house 

 or nursery. The^entrance to these houses is from below water, 

 and the shape conical, or very like a hay cock. The bot- 

 tom of the dam is covered with a beautiful green carpet of 

 moss, and as the water is very clear you can see ridges 

 along the bottom, and holes in them where the beaver 

 makes himself at home when he is afraid of man or gets 

 tired of his two storied castle. On examining the chips 

 which the creatures cut from the trees they had felled, I 

 found some of them from four to five inches long, and cut 

 as though done with a woodman's axe. 



Having engaged our schooner to come back for us on 

 Saturday to the mouth of the river, we arrived there that 

 evening dripping with wet, but in excellent health and with 

 good appetites. We had killed fourteen Ralmon, and from 

 eight hundred to one thousand pounds of sea trout, and 

 very well pleased with our sport; and took two barrels of 

 pickled tish home with us, having given the rest away to 

 our friends of New Richmond. 



We could have killed a great many more salmon, but as 

 we had no ice to pack them in, we thought it would be 

 wrong to let tliem spoil, having used all our salt. I have 

 given instructions to the Guardian of our river to make an 

 ice-house for us next winter, so that we can then keep all 

 we catch and pack them fresh, and take them with us by 

 Intercolonial railway. 



We found our skipper just arrived and ready for us, as 

 at 5 a. m., next morning we hoisted sail, and with a fair 

 wind and very pleasant sail, arrived at Dalhousie the same 

 afternoon, where my friend got on board the cars for Mon- 

 treal to attend to his duties of cashier of the G. T. R. , and 

 sorry that his time was up, while 1 took the cars next day to 

 Daniel Fraser's on the Matapedia, and the following day had 

 the pleasure of landing two salmon from that river, and the 

 next day after, made tracks for home just as the hot spell 

 was over. D. Davidson. 



_ -«&-♦-*» ■ 



For Forest and Stream. 

 REMINISCENCES OF SPORT IN TEXAS. 



THE word "Texas" in Indian signification means 

 "plenty," referring to the game; but "plenty," as appli- 

 ed to Texas, should include less desirable things, such as cut- 

 throats and horse thieves of every grade. While camped 

 near Denisou waiting for &ome friends, horses were stolen 

 and murders and other outrages committed in all direc- 

 tions. In all our hunting experiences we have never felt 

 so safe as when out of the reach of white Indians. 



Early in October we started for the West via Gainsville, 

 Montaigne and Henrietta. On the seventh day we reached 

 and crossed the Big Whitchita river. Following up tne 

 valley of the river, in another day's march, we crossed and 

 camped on a tributary, when the departure of two of our 

 party reduced us to three— M., myself, and Ben, our cook 

 and teamster. By the time we had finished a substantial 

 supper and smoked our pipes, the moon rose and we stroll- 

 ed down the creek to look for turkeys. These we soon 

 found, and brought in all we could carry. There is not 

 much sport in this sort of shooting, still it often requires 

 experience to be successful, and sometimes is attended with 

 much fun. I once posted four friends under a tree with 

 their guns pointed at what they supposed to be turkeys, 

 but I knew to be mistletoe. In breathless silence they 

 waited for the word from me, and then to their disgust, 

 only produced a shower of leaves. During the night we 

 were disturbed by a great noise and rushed out of the tent 

 expecting Indians, but it was only a buffalo, which came 

 up a path from the creek into camp, and was attacked by 

 our dogs. 



In the morning we had an excellent breakfast of devilled 

 turkey, ham, coffee and hot biscuits, and went out with 

 shot guns for more turkeys. M. soon came in with six on 

 his horse, and I killed four; we could have filled the 

 wagon on this creek. We now went out for deer. M. 

 brought in a fine antelope, and I shot a buck near camp, 

 which I dragged in tied to my horse's tail, a common way 

 on the frontier. By taking a clove hitch with the middle 

 part of your lariat over the tail, and attaching the end to 

 anything you want to drag, you have a most convenient 

 method for camp service. The turkeys and deer made the 

 camp look cheerful, and that night we made a hunter's 

 pot-pie — venison, turkey's breasts and livers, well seasoned, 

 placed in a large pie dish lined with pastry, and baked in a 

 Dutch oven. 



In the morning we started early to look for buffaloes. A 

 short ride brought us to an elevated plateau from which 

 we had a fine "view of the country. To the south the 

 broad valley of the Whitchita, and on all other sides a 

 rough, broken and undulating country of great extent, in. 

 tersected by numeious small creeks, but best of all abound, 

 iug with game. Herds of buffalo in various directionSj 

 deer and turkeys in the valleys, and a fine herd of antelope' 

 on a distant ridge. Here was a hunter's paradise, and as 

 we gazed enraptured with the view our hearts ached to 

 think that but a few years must elapse ere the country 

 would be overrun by ruthless butchers, and this game a 

 thing of the past. All true sportsmen will sympathize 

 with us. Thousands of buffalo have been killed within 

 the Jast few years whose hides have only realized from one 

 to two dollars for the mercenary hunters who killed tbem. 



Selecting the nearest herd of buffalo we got as close as 

 possible without being discovered and then rode at them, 

 cutting out the two we wanted. Our horses were well 

 trained and we soon killed these, getting furious charges 

 from them. Cutting out the best meat and tongues we 

 returned to camp, in the evening we went out to look for 

 deer. While stalking some buffalo I found in the creek I 

 got within ten yards of some turkeys and they had evi- 

 dently never seen a man in such a position before, for they 



made no attempt to run until I had shot at the buffalo. 

 Soon after this I jumped a fine buck in a thicket. I got 

 a snap shot and dropped him. On my return M. came in 

 with a panther which he shot while stalking a deer; it 

 was lj-ing in the grass waiting for the same deer. We now 

 had a variety of game in camp including some ducks I 

 kiiled in a pond, and busied ourselves salting and smoking 

 meat. Aiound the camp-fire at night M. related some of 

 his adventures. On one occasion he left camp on Repub 

 lican river, Kansas, to ride to Fort Kearney for butter and 

 other things. The next morning while preparing his break- 

 fast he saw two Indians across the creek looking at him. 

 lie had taken a Spencer carbine with him and found that 

 the ammunition was worthless. He had shot several 

 buffalo the day before and not one in ten of these cartridges 

 were good, and he threw them away. Now he only had 

 three cartridges in and no confidence in them. With great 

 presence of mind he invited the Indians to join him, which 

 they did. He then made them sit down while he finished 

 hid breakfast, pointing the carbine at them whenever they 

 attempted to rise, and never turning his face away. They 

 were anxious for him to pay their camp a visit, but he did 

 not accept their kind invitation. His horse was ready sad- 

 dled and breakfast over he sent them off, and got a good 

 start before they got to their camp, which was a war party 

 of Sioux; he got into the fort safely. The next morning a 

 party of Texas stock hunters, called cow-boys, came into 

 camp and reported some hunters driven in by the Indians. 

 These fellows are greasy looking little men principally 

 composed of boots, spurs and broad-brimmed hats. They 

 are excellent riders, and especially so when Indians ap- 

 peaf, for they are great cowards as a rule. 



We Lad so* much game in camp now that we hunted 

 very little for some days there, shooting deer occasionally, 

 preserving the hams by smoking and salting and preparing 

 for a move farther west. Fitz. 



Autumn Leaves. — We are often requested to give some 

 information as to the best way of preserving our beautifully 

 colored leaves so that they can be used to decorate our 

 houses, and, in the cold, snowy winters, bring back the 

 glorious October days. 



This fall we have tried waxing the leaves, both when 

 freshly gathered and when half dried, and are greatly 

 pleased with the result. Those half dried do not look as 

 well or keep the color as perfectly as those waxed when 

 first gathered. Common yellow wax is preferable to the 

 white. 



Lay several thicknesses of thick, firm wrapping paper on 

 the ironing tabfe. Fold up paper, or old cloth, into a pad 

 on which to put a cake of yellow wax. Lay the leaves 

 smooth, and, if a spray or branch, pick out those leaves 

 which overlap on the branch and hide a good part of the 

 leaf; pass a warm flat-iron over the wax quickly and then 

 over the leaf or spray, on the upper side first; then turn 

 over and do the same with the under side, and remove to 

 the paper in which it is to be pressed. When the sheet is 

 full, cover with two or three thicknesses of paper and pro- 

 ceed the same way with more leaves till alJ are waxed. 

 This done, put all under an even but heavy pressure, and 

 change them to dry papers every two or three days till the 

 leaves are perfectly cured. 



We find the leaves that have been thus treated in good color, 

 soft and nearly as flexible as if fresh from the tree. But 

 this year, although leaves on the mountains and in high 

 latitudes have turned very beautifully, they do not appear 

 to have the firm texture and strength usually found in 

 autumn leaves, and do not keep their color under any pro- 

 cess as formerly. We hear it attributed to the intense heat 

 of the summer, which seems to have burned all strength 

 and vitality out of the leaves, as well as out of mankind 

 generally. It seems a very natural explanation. 



In pressing leaves it is a good plan to get a smooth, flat 

 board, a little laiger than the papers in which they are to 

 belaid. Then put the papers smooth on this, and place 

 the leaves in order as fast as ready. Cover with more 

 papers; add more leaves, till all are done. When all are 

 finished, put another board of the same size on top, and on 

 that pile large, heavy books, making an equal pressure all 

 over, or instead of the books, take off the marble top from 

 a table or staud, and put that on top. This gives the most 

 even, pressure, and is sufficiently heavy. 



We have been told that after leaves have been pressed a 

 day or two, if they are dipped into a weak solution of sul- 

 phuric acid, shaken free from drops, and again put in press, 

 it will restore the color perfectly. When well dried from 

 the wash they can then be waxed. We have never tried 

 this . 



When leaves have been cured they can then be made 

 very ornamental, mingled with any kind of ferns. The 

 Hartford creeping fern is very beautiful to use in wreaths 

 and festoons over doors, pictures, or around window and 

 door-cases. By linking tlie vines together with a spray of 

 rich leaves the effect is very pretty. Very tasteful vines or 

 wreaths can be arranged around pictures, brackets or lam- 

 brequins. White curtains may be prettily looped up or 

 festooned in the centre by these vines or a bunch or spray 

 of richly-colored leaves. — Christian Union. 

 — «***» 



Quail Raising.— Mr. David Taggart, in the Fanciers' 

 Journal, describes his experience in raising quail. He 

 says: "I have eleven, nearly four weeks old, hatched by 

 a game bantam, and carefully nursed by her. I keep them 

 in one of my hen houses — 10x14 — with ground floor and 

 southeast windows. I give them, besides other food proper 

 for gallinaceous birds, a dog's Jill of house flies once a day. 

 They gobble them more greedily than any other food. It 

 takes twenty-two and a half days to hatch the eggs. I have 

 had bantam eggs in midsummer hatch in eighteen and a 

 half days, and brown leghorns from eighteen days eigh- 

 teen and a half hours to nineteen days ten hours, after 

 being transported from Freehold, N. J. I am satisfied that 

 quail can be raised with great certainty, if they can be 

 kept from running away. To avoid this, it is necessary to 

 plug or putty all nail or worm holes. 



• *•♦-•- 



, — When swimming a horse never touch the bridle, as a 

 horse is easily drowned when checked up or otherwise in- 

 terferred with about the head. Sit well back and guide 

 the horse with the hand, gently slapping him on either 

 side as required; thus a horse will swim a mile or more 

 with a full-grown man on his back, and suffer but little. 

 Or better still, throw yourself from the horse on the down 

 stream side, and with the right hand grasping the mane at 

 the withers, aid the progress ox the horse with the other and 

 feet as in swimming. 



Sisfi §ultup. 



—Mr. C. F. Orvis, the well known maker of beautiful 

 fly rods, is building a trout hatching house at Manchester, 

 Vermont. He says he is tired waiting for the State to do 

 the work, and so the plucky little man goes it alone. 

 Right! 



* Meacham Lake.— Mr. A. R. Fuller writes us that on 

 the 14th inst., he took 30,000 salmon trout eggs and placed 

 them in his boxes. He now has about 80,000, all of which 



will go into the lake when able to shift for themselves. 



*,*-&. 



Transporting Trout. — A correspondent of the London 

 Field says: "Considering the progress which the breeding 

 of fish, and especially of salmon and trout has made, it 

 will not be without interest to state that a new, very prac- 

 tical, and simple apparatus has been invented, by means 

 of which live trout may be easily and safely removed from 

 place to place. Their transport, as is known, entailed 

 hitherto a great deal of trouble, trout requiring for their 

 existence a water in constant motion, thereby continually 

 absorbing fresh supplies of air. This was effected but in- 

 efficiently and slowly during the transport, by air being in- 

 jected into the water. M. Jean Richard, of Lorraine, has 

 now invented an ingenious yet simple apparatus, by means 

 of which, even during the transport, the air contained in 

 the water is constantly being renewed, in the same manner 

 as it is effected in nature by the leaping and purling of the 

 water of mountain streams over their rocky beds. The ap- 

 paratus consists of a tin case, divided by a perforated par- 

 tition into two sections, both being half filled with water. 

 The trout are put into one division, while in the other a 

 kind of mill-wheel with small paddles is placed, which is 

 kept in rotation by a clockwork, wound up as soon as the 

 trout are placed into the case. Thus the water is continu- 

 ally bi ought into contact with fresh supplies of air, and 

 the trout make the railway journey under similar condi- 

 tions as if they were gaily sporting in their native moun- 

 tain streams." 



^»». 



^ Food for Young Trout. — Any food of an animal na- 

 ture which can be minutely and uniformily divided, will 

 serve as f cod for the young trout. Liver can be boiled and 

 grated, or raw liver can be chopped up with an old razor 

 very fine and then fed to the young fish drop by drop. 

 The yolk of an egg boiled hard and grated makes a good 

 food; but in our experience the best food is thick milk or 

 bonny clabber, which can easily be strained through a 

 coarse cloth and thus reduced to atoms. It is not material 

 about removing all the whey, as the water will wash it off, 

 and it does not hurt the fish; dilute with one-half or two- 

 thirds water. A half teacupfull of this mixture will feed 

 a hundred thousand fish when they first begin to feed. 

 The best way to feed them is to take a case-knife, dip it in 

 the feed and slirt off the food which adheres in to the 

 troughs; a very simple way, but one answering all practi- 

 cal purposes. Care should be taken not to feed too much, 

 else the surplus food will remain on the bottom, and decay- 

 ing there foul the trough. The reason of the difficulty in rais- 

 ing young fish appears to be that they are literally starved to 

 death. The food which we can give them is not natural 

 to them, and it is often given in such coarse pieces that 

 they cannot take it, and sometimes, through the careless- 

 ness of a hired hand, they are neglected two or three days 

 at a time . The question will very naturally be asked, ' 'Is 

 it not possible to obtain their natural food?" We answer, 

 yes, in small quantities . The moss and weeds in every stream 

 are full of it, and by placing in the troughs fresh moss and 

 weeds gathered from the stream every day, the young fish 

 may be fed. But this is not practicable. With a large number 

 of fish it makes too much work. It would soon foul the 

 troughs and cause the fish to die, and then, if the young 

 fish are fed on this at first, they will not take the artificial 

 food afterward. Trout, of any age, learn to eat that food 

 which is most abundant around them. Anglers know this 

 by experience, and use the flies which they see on the 

 stream on which they are fishing, It is commonly sup- 

 posed that a trout is very fond of grasshoppers, bu'c the 

 trout in one of our ponds, which we have fed for a long 

 time with lights, will not look at a grasshopper, and, 

 strangest of ail, will turn up their noses at the fattest and 

 juiciest worms, while the trout fresh caught out of the 

 streams, which we have put in a pond by themselves to 

 educate, will for weeks refuse the daintiest bits of lights 

 and liver. Hunger will after a time drive them to change 

 their food; but with the young ones we cannot wait for 

 this, as they will die off before they learn. As the fish 

 grow older and stronger more food must be given to them; 

 still, when six montns old, a bowl full of curd, diluted 

 with water, will answer for a thousand. While the fish 

 are young, feed often; three or four times a day for the 

 first two or three months, and the oftener the better; twice 

 a day will do after three months until they are a year old. 



A word just here about thick milk or curd. If milk 

 stands a short time in hot weather, or a longer time in 

 cold weather, it sours and becomes thick; this thick milk 

 is called, we believe, bonny clabber. The process may be 

 hastened by heating the milk, or by the addition of ren- 

 net. In that case the product is called curd. The milk 

 naturally turned is best for the young fish, as it is softer 

 and more easily picked to pieces. We have often seen the 

 young trout, one after another, take and reject small pieces 

 of curd which had Deen turned by heating, while they 

 would bite to pieces and consume a lump of the naturally 

 turned bonny clabber. When the fish are three or four 

 mouths old it may be made fine enough by stirring with a 

 spoon, and if there are a few large lumps they will not go 

 to waste, as the fish will pull them to pieces. Curd is best 

 for the larger fish, as it is more compact, and holds to- 

 gether in lumps. The bonny clabber may be given to the 

 fish until they are a year old, but after that it is generally 

 more economical to feed them upon liver or fish. A 

 change of food is good for fish, as well as for all other ani- 

 mals. But as this whole question is yet unsettled, or more, 

 properly the art yet in its infancy, we give only our prac- 

 tice. 



A feeding platform in the ponds may be used with ad- 

 vantage. This is simply a platform of boards, two feet 

 by four, placed in the middle of the pond, and raised a 

 few inches above the bottom; it will also serve incidentally 

 as a cover for the young fish. If you throw the food over 

 this platform, all, if not taken before it reaches the bottom^ 



