FOREST AND STREAM. 



279 



Clear away all suspicious looking chips from the neighbor- 

 hood of the traps, and go on in search o£ another such 

 place or it may be we shall come next to an almort sub- 

 merged house, uninhabitable now, but its top a favorite re- 

 sort as a feeding and trysting place for its old inmates and 

 thus friends. You will need no instruction how to set 

 your trap here, and all the places we shall find will be 

 nearly like this, «r the one described just before it. 

 Some trappers put near the trap a drop of musk pre- 

 pared in alcohol, which they think attracts the animal; 

 others bait their trap with a bit of carrot or sweet apple. 

 Neither will do any harm if it does no good. 



As "there are more ways than one to skin a cat," so there 

 are two ways to skin a muskrat. If you wish to stretch 

 the skin on a bow, rip from the chin to between the fore 

 legs, skin out the head, strip out the fore legs as low as 

 furred, then to hind legs, stripping them out the same, and 

 then to tail, cutting off tkere, where fur ends and scales 

 be<nn. Trim flesh and fat from the skin, and holding the 

 ends of the bow between your kees, draw the skin on to it, 

 wrong side out, as far as you can. With your knife cut 

 through the skin into the bone, near the ends, making a 

 cleft in it, into which the skin draws. Now serve the 

 other side the same, and your skin is ready to hang up to 

 dry. "Nanny bush," hickory, and the red willows, found 

 iti swamps, are good for bows, using the shoots three- 

 eighths of an inch to half an inch thick at the but. 



If you prefer to stretch your skins on boards, which it is 

 said makes the most saleable skin, begin at the other end 

 of the rat, lipping from one gambrel to the other, and 

 stripping towards the head. The shape of the beard is 

 like an elongated fiat-iron. The skin, when diawnon, is 

 fastened with a few tacks. 



Anaijsoobe. 



—Beavers are now said to be plenty on the Blackwater, 



in Virginia, and trappers who have had their lines in 



Nottoway county, and vicinity, have gone up there to try 



their "medicine." 



. *»-»-«»- 



Ottawa Fur Market. — The fur market is unsually dull 

 for this season of the year. Very few skins are being sent 

 in. Trappers are holding their lots in anticipation of ad- 

 vanced rates when winter sets in. The fine open fall was 

 most favorable for trapping, and the furs are uf excellent 

 quality. Quotations are very low, and Leipsic and Loudon 

 are not very encouraging. A gentleman writing from 

 Leipsic to a fur dealer m this city, says: "There is no de- 

 mand for skins of any kind excepting racoon, and I would 

 advise you to be careful in buying, for the Loudon and 

 Leipsic markets are unprecedenily dull." 



The following are the quotations here: — Mink, $1 to 

 $2 50; martin, $1.25 1o $1.50; otter, $5 to $7; beaver, 

 $1.50 to $1 80; fisher, $4 to $7; rats, 12ic ; lynx, $1 25 to 

 $1.50; bear, $5 to $10; fox (red), $1.25; fox (silver gray), 

 $20 to $50; skunk, 50c. ; racoon, 60c. 



Mew fflubli c&iwnn. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



■The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. By S. T. Coler- 

 idge. Illustrated by Gastave Dore. .New York, Harper & Brothers. 

 This beautiful work, recently issued by the Harper's, forms one of tbe 

 handsomest volumes which have come to our table. It reaches us as 

 an elegantly bound folio, in the fust part of which is Coleridge's poem, 

 the French artist's illustrations following, with the appropriate passage 

 from the poem under each. Everything that taste ana skill could do to 

 embellish" the volume has been done. It has, in fact, been prepared, to 

 use the well known phrase, "utterly regardless of expense," and is so 

 marvellously cheap at its price— ten dollars— that the manner in which 

 fuct. a venture can be made remunerative is a mystery even to experts 

 in the publishing business. As great a mystery is Coleridge's wonder- 

 ful Rime. At times we take it to be the foundation of the phrase "with 

 neither rhyme nor reason," that is to say, reason is so entirely distant 

 from rhyme that the two may be employed as oppositee. At other 

 times we have legarded it as a mere poetical freuzy. At still others we 

 have hunted for its moral, and offer, though with some diffidence, the 

 two following for the consideration of yachtsmen and boating men gen- 

 erally; firstly, never shoot an albatross; secondly, never employ spirits to 

 quicken the keel. The Ancient of the Rime seems to be a kind of 

 Wandering Jew, and now that Dore has given us his portrait, we cifc the 

 more easily avoid the danger of being held by "his glittering eye." 



When Coleridge wrote his poem his aim was to impart a certain 

 amount of human feeling into the super natural. He "succeeded in that, 

 and also in mystifying bis readers as to the meaning of his story as a 

 whole. With such an aim and such success it is a wonder that Dure did 

 not turn earlier to his work, and especially to the particular work now 

 under notice, for the t-xercise of bis pencil. No poet could either rise or 

 fall to heights or depths 'into.which Dore could not follow him. .Between 

 the poet and the artist there is a singular harmony. Dore excels in the 

 grotesque and terrible. His first characteristic is strength. But having the 

 true artistic instinct he is equally capable of producing a picture of more 

 simple beauty, or of a semi-humorous pathetic character. In Coleridge's 

 supernatural world he appears to be in his native element, and if in 

 portraying its beings he robs them of some of their aerial appearance, the 

 eiror is to be attributed rather to the vividness than the coarseness of his 

 conceptions. 



The illustrations of tbe Rime are as varied a<3 the feelings excited by 

 the poem. In one scene. '"The moving moon went up the sky," we 

 have a pictuie of peacefulness and beauty which contains no suggestion 

 of the agony of the hapless mariner. In a similar vein is that illustration 

 of the lines:— 



"So lovely 'twas that God himself 

 Scarce seemed there to be," 

 in which we see the solitary sufferer high up on the shrouds, and;the sea 

 beyond. 



It is unnecessary to ppeoify further. There are, in all, thirty-eight fnll- 

 page illustrations. The poem must necessarily be differently inteip;eted 

 by different minds, Dore has given us bio version of it. He nowhere 

 shows hesitation, but giving the rein to an imagination closely akin to 

 that of Coleridge, has boldly given that foim to the poets creation which 

 ^ assumed in his own mind. His boldness, moreover, never offends. 

 To say that he has succeeded in the work ho has undertaken, means 

 more than that he has come very near a realization of our own ideas of 

 the Rime. It implies that he has helped many others, who have re- 

 garded the poem as a hopeless mystery, to follow the poet from stage to 

 wage of his fantastic composition. 



♦ 



MAGAZINES. 



— ^ 



—The most important article in the current number of 



ie Sanitarian is that entitled "Florida as a Health Resort," by Prof . ■ F. 

 fci_M.» M= D.j et«», a Kepreseatatiye from Florida on |&e 2s " 



ecutive Committee of the Centennial Medical Commission. Dr. Lente's 

 long experience in Florida and perfect familiarity with every phase of 

 its climate enables him to handle his subject with perfect success, and 

 his paper will be found of great value to these who contemplate a change 

 from the vigor of our northern winter to the balmy climate of the south. 

 The Doctor ascribes the peculiar climate. uf Florida when one can be 

 comfortable, even when the thermometer shows 95», if at rest, to its insu- 

 lar position, with the proximity of the Gulf Stream flowing north and 

 the cold Arctic current flowing south. Being but a comparatively nar- 

 row strip of laud separating the Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico, and 

 having numerous small bodies of water distributed over its surface, the 

 prevailing winds always sweeping over water of uniform temperature, 

 modify the heat of summer and the cold of winter. In addition to the 

 full descriptions regarding climate, etc., we are told how to go to Flori- 

 da, where and when to go, and also who should go. 



LippincoiVs for December is at hand "and contents 

 noted." We And in it a continuation of "The Century— its Fruits and 

 its Festival," an illustrated article descriptive of the Centennial exhibi- 

 tion. The artist has chosen for his illustration some of the most inter- 

 c -.ting of the detached exhibits. "Walks and Visits in Wordsworth 

 County" is continued, with a ketches of scenery. Jennie J. Young, one 

 of our correspondents, who has lately occupied much space in various 

 papers and periodicals with the discussion of that branch of decorative 

 art known as Ceramics, has quite an exhaustive article, embellished 

 with numerous illustrations of the exhibits at the Centennial exposition. 

 Miss Young is one of our most diligent students and painstaking writers, 

 and is rapidly earning a position among the foremost of those who de- 

 vote their time to current literature. Mr. George Macdonald's story, 

 "The Maiquis of Lossie,' ' is continued, and promises to equal any of the 

 author's previous efforts. Lady Barker's charming "Letters from Soifth 

 Africa" are continued, and there are several short stories of interest, 



The Ec'ectic for December has for a frontispiece a fine 

 engraving of Gen. Joseph R. Ilawley, of Connecticut, a gentleman well 

 known at Creedmoor as an expert with the rifle, and late Piesident of 

 the Centennial Commission. Tbe articles in the Eclectic are as usual 

 the best selections from the leadiug foreign magazines and reviews. 

 Perhaps the most important is a critical review of George Eliot's last work, 

 "J»aniel Deronda," from the Contemporary Review. Anotner novelist, 

 Charlotte Bronte, is also reviewed, the "Monograph," as it is called, 

 being from the pen cf T. Wemyss Reid, and the pages of Macmillan's 

 Magazine. Two of Professor Proctor's papers are given, one from the 

 Popular Science Review on Astronomy in America, and the other on 

 Saturn's Dark Ring from the Spectator. A very interesting pap>r is 

 that from Jtlackwsod, "The Two Chancellors, Prince Gortschakoff and 

 Prince Bismarck." The other papers and sketches are from Chamber's 

 Journal, Temple Bar, Cornliill, and other magazines. 



The broad band actors the title page of St. Nicholas, an- 

 nouncing a Christmas number was scarcely necessary, as a first glance 

 at the contents shows that it has been especially and carefully prepared 

 for the holiday season. . Miss Lucy Larcom, the gifted poetess, con- 

 tributes the opening article, entitled "Poems and Carols of Winter," 

 illustrated with impropriate sketches pertaining to the birth of our 

 Saviour: E. Milder has a very funny little sketch descriptive of the 

 woes of poor old Chuck a luck, a biddy hen who raised a brood of ducks. 

 "The Horse Hotel" by Mr. Chas. Bernard tells all about our great horse- 

 car stables, where horses by the thousands are cared for. The picture 

 of the '■Chambermaid" is particularly good. Mr. Trowbridge's new 

 story, "His Own Master," is commenced, and promises to prove as inter- 

 esting as others by the same pleasant writer. "The Kingdom of the 

 Greedy" is concluded, and the moral of the story is found to be that 

 greed only leads to misery. The list of contents in St. Nicholas is al- 

 ways long and varied, and (lie children should oe well satisfied with all 

 the good things Mrs. Dodge has prepared for their amusement and 

 instruction, 



J$timi'£t[8 §0 (^anexpattdmtf. 



No Notice Taken of Anonymous Communication!. 



G. A . S., Toledo, Ohio.— Where is the Rod and Gun published? Ans. 

 33 Park Rows New York city. 



Dan, Port Dickinson, N. Y.- I am going to Florida, and I want to 

 know the cheapest route from New "fork to Mellonville. Ans. Steamer 

 to FernandiuH direct, fare $20, and thence river boat to Mellonville, 

 Florida, fare $9. 



Teal, Salem, Mass.- -Has Coca for steadying the nerves the remarka- 

 ble properties ascribed to it ? What is your honest opinion? Ans. This 

 question is aus.vered in our editorial columns this week. 



R. Baltimore.— Can you tell me where I can get greenheart wood, 

 fust quality for a trout pole? or can I get two pieces, for but and end 

 joint, through you? Ans. You can obtain greenheart from J. B. Crook 

 '&, Co.. No. 50 Fulton street, this city. 



Genehal, N. Y.— What is the best time in which ten miles has* been 

 run? Ans. In 1863, at Louden, L. Bennet, alias "Deerfoot," ran ten 

 miles in 51m. *6s. The same man ran in February of the same year 

 eleven and a half miles in 59m. and 44s. 



A. R. Sub , Baltimore.— There is a demand for white labor, skilled 

 and unskilled, m all parts of the somh, to take the place of the thrifless 

 and .indolent. We have writ ten to you and maded you letters to a fiiend 

 who will wiite you, if he sees tit to accept your overtures. 



H. G B., Nashua, N. II.— Can you give me the address of any par- 

 ties who train or bieak pups? Should prefer that they should be in 

 New England. I answered the advertisement in your columns from 

 Bridgeport, Conn, but can get no reply. Ans. Franklin Sumner, Blue 

 Hill, Mass., if btill at his old place, would be a good trainer for your 

 puppies. 



E. C. R., Fishkill, N. Y.— I have a Scotch terrier pup which is afflicted 

 with canker in the tar. Will you be so kind as to advise me as to the 

 best remedy? Ans. Make a solution of sulphate of copper, eight grains 

 to tbe ounce of water-after washing the ears out thoroughly with Castile 

 soap and warm water pour into them some of the solution, twice a day 

 for two or three days; carefully wash out the ears everyday; feed no 

 meat and give the dog exercise. 



T. T., New York.— A dispute having arisen with regard to the habits 

 of the canvass- oack and red head while feeding on the wild celery beds, 

 will you please decide whether it is the red-head which steals from the 

 canvas-lack the roots of the plant after they have been brought to the 

 surface, or vice ur a. Ans The canvass-back is a great diver and the 

 red-head and other decks which feed with him, watch their opportunity 

 when he reaches the surface and seize the celery with which tbey swim 

 rapidly away and at their leisme. 



R. E. S., Newark— 1. I have a fine English breech-loading gun of 

 Cogswell & Hariison make, 10 bore, 32 in., choked at the muzzle. Could 

 I not have two inches taken off, and rechoked without effecting the 

 shooting qualities of the gun? 2. In the same gun I have noticed small 

 spots near the chamber, I have tried almost every thing, including kero- 

 sene oil. Could you recommend anything to remove them? Ans. l. It 

 could be done but we would not advocate it with a fine gun. 2. They 

 are probably rust maiks and could only be removed by a gunsmith who 

 would lepolish tho barrels. 



W. W., Pittsburgh, Pa.— Please let me know what is the matter with 

 my gun stock. When shooting I fire the instant the but of my gun 

 touches my shoulder and sometimes the but of the gun does not come up 

 square, too low on my shoulder. The stock has drop enough. Do you 

 think the stock too long? . Ans, Probably it is too long, or perhaps too 

 : Ught is! th<s trigger puliT By- going" to a tu:f stbi't* aal* trying %%mk gtrn&* 



which come np properly and then comparing them with your own yon 

 can ascertain where the difficulty lies. 



S. W. M , Rosllndale.— In your laet issue I notice an answer to «'F. 

 K. G.," who Inquires what is the charge for a 12-gauge 8^-pound gun 

 for ducks. You say about 4 drs. powder to 1J oz. shot, and that some 

 guns of same weight will bear more powder. Do you mean by bear 

 that more powder would be unsafe? I never supposed a drachm or two 

 of powder made any difference in regard to safety, but thought that 

 over charge of shot and in not getting the wads down was the great 

 danger. AnsT We meant that the 4 drs. was the charge the gun would 

 bear without unpleasant effect to the shooter. It might bear double the 

 quantity without bursting, but there would be an increased demand for 

 sticking plaster. 



H. R., Philadelphia.— Can you tell me whether the Waltonian Library 

 of Thos. Westward was sold entire, and if so, who was the purchaser? 

 Your correspondent "A. G. W.," refers to this library in his interesting 

 articles in the first volume of Forest and Stream on "Ancient Apg- 

 ling Lore and Literature," and it was on sale at J . W. Bouton's, Broad- 

 way, N. Y. Ans. The collection of angling books you allude to were 

 bought by a collector, and not one of the books will ever be again offer- 

 ed for sale, as the entire library of the said person has been willed to a 

 public institution which will probably be opened to the public during 

 the coming year. For further particulars inquiry may be made of J. 

 W. Bouton, Book Dealer, ?06 Broadway, N. Y. 



J McK , Philadelphia.— I have a fine setter pup 14 months old; he has 

 a husky cough when he is out. exercising and he keeps thin, no matter 

 how I feed him. I gave him someareca nut, but don't appear to do him 

 any good. Some of my friends tnought he was getting the distemper 

 but he has had this cough for several months. What, can I do for him? 

 Ans. Try the following remedy: Barbadoes tar 2 drachms, powdered 

 squills, 4 drachms, extract of belladonna, 1 scruple, liquorice powder suf- 

 ficient. Beat into a mass and make into twenty pills, give four daily. 

 Give the dog genlle exercise, feed little or no solid meat, and keep his 

 bowels open with gentle laxatives. 



J. McL ., Jr., Hallifax, Nova Scotia.— The following question I believe 

 you can answer, having seeu the shooting grounds of ;Nova Scotia. 

 What shooting I have done has been over spaniels. The question 

 is, don.t you think a good staunch setter would be far ahead of a span id 

 even in our thick covert? They tell me here that setters don't suit in 

 thick cover. Ans. A setter, if not too large and of the proper color 

 would suit your shooting as well if not belter than a spaniel. In cock 

 shooting and where the birds are very abundant and the cover very thick. 

 a spauiel may be used to flush them, but the pleasure is greatly enhanced 

 when the birds are killed over a dogs points. A setter is also of use in 

 your snipe shooting, where a spaniel, except as a retriever, would be use^ 

 less. 



C. E. J., Templeton, Mass.— We did not fully understand the nature 

 of our correspondent's quei y last week, and answered him under thu 

 impression vbat he meant the menhaden oil, which is manufactured on 

 Long Island in immense quantities. Mr. Norman Elmore, of Gran by 

 Ct., however, seems to have appreciated his requirements, and informs 

 us that he does not want the commercial oil, but an oil that is obtained 

 "by cutting trout into small pieces and putting them in a loosely corked 

 bottle and hanging m the sun until they change to oil, which will take 

 about ten days in warm weather. It is the oil referred to in the "Com- 

 plete American Trapper," and I can furnish your correspondent with a 

 small quantity if he cannot obtain it elsewhere." We and our corres- 

 pondent are indebted to Mr. Elmore. 



Louise, Farmingtou.— You will possibly find the best prepared food 

 Tor mocking-birds at the shops of the bird dealers. We offer the fol- 

 lowing recipe from an nnknown source: Mocking-bird's food should be 

 mixed with grated carrot, and the supply should always be limited. A 

 few angle-worms, or a littie raw beet, cut up fine with a pair of ecissors, 

 may be given occasionally. They should not have animal food and pre- 

 pared food at the same time. Grapes, and almost all kinds of ripe 

 fruit, the yolk of a boiled egg, flies, etc., are good for them; but don't 

 feed them too much if you wish them to aing, and never give them any- 

 thing containing salt or grease. There is not much difference in the 

 various preparations for food. They are all too rich unless mixed with 

 something . 



E., New York.— Can you tell me in the brief space allotted to answers 

 to correspondents, what Is lav difference between twist, laminated or 

 Damascus steel barrels; which is the best, and whether the patterns on 

 line bancb can be put ou the cheaper grades, or if something in tho 

 barrel itself is necessary to produce the beautiful wavy lines seen on 

 fine guns. Also which is most convenient and economical to use, brass 

 or paper shell-, aud the best loading apparatus? Ans. We cannot give 

 space for a full description of metals for gun oarreis, but you will find 

 it in Mr. Greener's work, "Modem Breech-Loaders." T here are a largo 

 number of metals known to tho gun trade, and tho wavy lines of Damas- 

 cus steel are imitated iu some of them. We prefer paper shells, but 

 for duck shooting, or if you are going to inaccessible localities, take 

 metal. A Dixon's measure and a rammer are the ouly necessary imple- 

 ments required, but there are a number of loaders in the market, re- 

 garding the comparative merits of whicn we cannot speak. 



J. H. N., Menomonie, Wis.— 1st. Is the areca nut given to dogs the 

 same ae sold by druggists and known as the "Betel nut"? 2. Is it 

 good for horses also? 3. What is the best kind of a dog lor a "family 

 dog." where there are children, and to be a guardian of the household? 

 4. How would the Scotch coliie do? 5 Where can they be obtained in 

 the West, and can they be easily taught to retrieve? 6. Where iu Texas 

 can I rind best wild tmkey aud deer shooting? Where also in Florida? 

 7. What is the best gun to take for luikeys-a rifle or shot gun? 8. What 

 is the best foot-gear to wear hunting in Florida- -boots, moccasins, shoe- 

 packs or rubber boots? Ans. 1 It is said to be the tame as the betel 

 nut. 2. Yes. 3. A Newfoundland or a setter. 4. Very well. 5. We 

 donotknow. 6. You could hardly go wrong in Northwestern Texas. 

 In Florida, Gulf Hammock, near Cedar Keys or the country west of Apa- 

 lachic la. ?' A breech loading shot gun. 8. Stout hunting boots or 

 shoes, with a pair of light India rubber boots if inuck wading is to be 

 done. 



Rob., Philadelphia.— In your cditiou of November 2d, was a descrip- 

 tion of trapping in Virginia. Will you please tell me when the trapping 

 season closes in that State, and if it would be too late to start now in. 

 such an expedition? Would it be well to take abound and spaniel both, 

 and a gun ana lifle both? What stream would you advise me to locate 

 on, and what would be the best route to go fromNew York? or could we 

 start from here cheaper? Ans. Mr. Newhouse, the celebrated trapper 

 aud trap maker, did not return from Greenville county last season until 

 about the 1st of April. Best trapping months are January and February, 

 as the kits have become grown by that time. Take both dogs and both 

 guns, although yon can get meat enough for daily use without dogs and 

 with a shot gun only. A good watch dog is desirable to guard camp, as 

 the negroes will certainly rob you. 'Take Dominion steamer hence to 

 Norfolk and rail from thence to the trapping ground. Better write to 

 Mr. Newhouse, Oneida, New York, for directions where to camp. Ko" 

 other man knows so well . 



—Mr. E. W. Robinson, of Baltimore, who brought back 

 fifty-five canvas-backs from a Currituck trip last week, re- 

 ports having seen a flock of swans in the bay six miles 

 long and one hundred feet wide. They were in close con- 

 nection and moving gracefully over the waves. 



Hint for Sports 

 la lift* 



-ikftafin its life #i'Tl-Ens$ 



