FOREST AND STREAM. 



331 



The following gentlemen acted as judges; C. Lewis, 

 jBerce. Scorer, W. C. Wyatt. The score stood as fol- 



Total. 



lo f S: fl Total.! Name. 



^ m n e - 8C. HoBpers.. 



5L ? ie K e acb" •' 6|G.M. O'Key 8 



t O'Key ' H - ^likkerveer 4 



y i, plurabe.'.'.' ■ ti|G. Roozenboom 7 



Tota l 341 Total... 32 



Roving a surplus of birds, the day's sport was concluded 

 bv the shooting of three double birds each, which score as 



follows.— 



-NTflnje 1st pair. 2d pair. 3rd pair. Total. 



M Pfir'ce. 00 01 11 3 



AL.Beach ;..-.*) 01 11 4 



v'vf Mabren 00 01 11 3 



L'L. O'Key 01 11 11 5 . 



W. B. Plurabe 11 01 00 3 



C Hospers - .01 11 01 4 



G M. O'Key 01 01 01 3 



^LeCocq.Jr 11 00 11 4 



Q Roozenboom 01 01 01 3 



C. H. 

 ■ ~+*o i 



HUNTING AT SPIDER LAKE. 



Editor Forest and stream:— 



I intended taking a deer and moose hunting trip to 

 Spider Lake (MaecanDamack) about the 10th or 15ih Janu- 

 ary and should be glad of the company of one or two 

 respectable amateurs accustomed to snow shoeing. Spider 

 hake is just on the Canada side, southeast of Lake Megan- 

 tic aDd nearly west of Moosehead Lake, distant from here 

 80 miles. This is the terminus of the Connecticut and 

 Paseumpsic River Railroad, and a station on the Portland 

 and Montreal end of the Grand Trunk Railway. Also 

 the terminus of Quebec Central and International Rail- 

 ways. The International at present shortens the distance 

 25 miles. I have spent from two to four weeks fishing in 

 Spider and vicinity every September for the last 14 years, 

 and have on every occasion seen large game or "big signs." 

 Last September I saw three moose on Spider Inlet. And 

 the banks were well worn with moose and deer tracks. A 

 good man or two cau be had for $1 to $1 50 per day. I 

 shall be happy to furnish any further information on ap 

 plication, and take the liberty of referring to W. W. 

 Secombe, 155 Broadway, New York, with whom I have 

 had the pleasure of camping out. Expenses (dependent on 

 odc's ability to helu himsell) $20 to $40 each (teu to fifteen 

 days) for a party of ihree oi four. Snow shoes and all 

 camping out requisites can be obtained here. 



Sherbrooke, P. Q., Dec. 10//i, 1870. D. Thomas. 



GUNS AT THE CENTEN1AL. 



Editor Forest and Stream:— 



The display of sporting firearms at the Centennial Ex- 

 position was very fine and by far surpassed any collection 

 of guns ever seen in the country. Several of the eminent 

 London makers exhibited for the first time. The old firms 

 Purdy, Charles Lancaster, Rigby, Alfred Lancaster and 

 Alexander Henry were represented by cases of beautiful 

 weapons, perfect in materials, workmanship and finish, 

 fully maintaining their high reputations. The prices 

 charged by these makers, with ihe exception of Henry, 

 are high, and although they give us perfection, yet we must 

 pay very liberally for their reputation. The difficulty we 

 labor under m this country is, that we have to pay in a de- 

 preciated currency or exchange, and outrageous duties. Were 

 it, not for these impositions the guns of even the best makers 

 would not be beyond the means of most sportsmen. When 

 we consider that a pound sterling is four dollars and forty- 

 four cents in England, and is increased by the causes men- 

 tioned above to about eight dollars here (a difference of 

 three dollars and fifty-six cents on each pound), we can 

 but shrink from paying £60 for a gun, or $480, while in 

 London the same weapon costs but about $206. Why 

 sportsmen are thus taxed it is difficult to see, especially as 

 strictly first-class guns are not made in this country. 



The exhibit of Purdy fully sustained his high reputa- 

 tion, and his guns were perfect in materials and workman- 

 skip. The third generation, which now represents the 

 liouse, seems determined that the laborious fidelity of their 

 ancestors shall be maintained, and in their hands there 

 shall be no depreciation in quality. 



Rigby, of Dublin and London, offered a case of guns and 

 rifles equal to the best, and at moderate prices. Hi3 style of 

 pickling the barrels and finishing in smoke brown, although 

 not as attractive to the eye, is vet much admired by a large 

 class of sportsmen, as it obvia"tes glimmering, which is an 

 undesirable feature when game is shy and difficult to ap- 

 proach. J v 



Charles Lancaster makes and exhibits as perfect weapons 

 as ever The flint-lock fowling-piece in his case is beauti- 

 iui m all us details, and carries one back to a former 

 generation, and awakens a desire to own, if one will not 

 use, he weapon of his father. 



Alfred Lancaster, whose reputation for fine work and ex- 

 iraoi dmary shooting powers is so great with the Harlingham 

 anu otner fashionable pigeon clubs, had a small case fully 

 sustaining his well-earned honors. Alexander Henry, of 

 ^lnburgii, had a display of guns and rifles equal to the 

 «r? V ■' pnces con sidered, he stands at the head of the 

 "."J'y nr «t- class makers. He is one of the few who have 

 pvhi! U ; a ?S t0 lose > and lt certainly will not suffer by this 

 PoriSn ^ ^' Greener > of Birmingham, displayed some 

 a3? JV n , laid work > and a fine collection of medals 

 *™jcd t obis late father, yet he exhibited but one gun 

 ers o 5* be considered in competition with other mak- 

 etirt* ?} i notJtllD g special can be said. The crowning 

 Si i dlspla ^ was tlie case of W. & C . Scott & Sons, of 

 count S 5 am ' Tllis firm Las sent more good guns to this 



esnpr \ i! g the last few y ears thau an y other » and the y 



from tl f ° 0mmeQd tuemselves t0 American sportsmen 

 and rvM • v 1 that tney f urDlsn g° ocl g uns > honestly made, 

 Their h sll00tirj g powers, at very moderate prices. 



oest quality, with case and apparatus complete, at 

 TliPmo? . c f tainl y the cheapest gun in the exhibition.- 

 abip t al T s and work nianship were equal to the fashion- 

 remim? n makers > while the balance, feel, and solidity 

 denarS>r e M the best work of Wm - keener, who, alas! 

 and o-nn i any y ears a g° Greener, m his work on guns 

 be nmri ma , r- mg ' said » "as good guns have been and can 

 ties thp r 5 - - u BirmiD £ ham as m London, and the facili- 

 teriaii n i m i ng am maker possesses in the choice of ma- 

 alwav^ t "!?• e u ease with wnirn P arta ar e supplied will 

 can to n! i lhe competition, and guns of equal quality 

 uu be produced for less money than in London." He il- 



lustrated the truth of his opinion when lie established 

 himself at Aston Newtown, and by the production of 

 honest guns at reasonable prices rapidly secured the best 

 American trade, and had he lived would have held it 

 against all competitors. Scott & Son have followed Green- 

 er's policy, and in guns suited to the American market, 

 their exhibit was unequaled. Their plain "field" gun, 

 which is retailed at one hundred dollars, is sound and good, 

 and will supply a want lone felt in this country for a 

 good, honest piece, at a price within the reach of all 

 sportsmen. 



. The new patent triplex lever grip fastening, combining 

 the double bolt below the barrels with a strong hook cam, 

 gives the advantage in one action of the systems of 

 Purdy and Wesley Richaids. It works smoothly and 

 easily by a top lever moving from left to right. This 

 movement experience proves to be the most convenient 

 ever adopted and is fast superceding all others. This ac- 

 tion combines in the highest degree strength with simpli- 

 city, and it must rapidly secure the favor of all who test 

 its merits. The quadruple fastening exhibited by Scott 

 greatly mars the beauty and symmetry of the gun, and the 

 application of two side bolts does not give as great strength 

 as the extended rib. It must be classed with the thousand 

 and one conceits to which the revival o f breech-loaders 

 have given rise. Among the same conceits must also be 

 placed the hammerless gun which, while showing great 

 mechanical skill and beautiful workmanship leads invari- 

 ably to one end— cut bono? 



The compensating lump to counteract any wear on the 

 pivot bolt is a well known and appreciated invention, and 

 although a new bolt is not expensive or difficult to supply 

 when a gunmaker is available, yet with a simple turn screw 

 the sportsman is independent, and can in an instant correct 

 any looseness. These inventions show conclusively that 

 Scott is alive to progress, and that he is in the foremost 

 rank of good and cheap gnnmakers, and it he will con- 

 tinue the good work so auspiciously begun he will find the 

 American market a rich mine which will well repay faith- 

 ful working. 



The exhibits of Reiley, Lang, Green and Williams & 

 Powell were all good, but possessed no striking merit either 

 in materials or workmanship. In low-priced weapons the 

 Belgian display would stand first, but gnus ranging from 

 one dollar and eighty cents to sixty dollars do not please the 

 average American, and cannot have a permanent hold on 

 this market. Forty- Five. 



[During the early days of the exhibition we commented 

 upon the various gun exhibits at the Centennial, and al- 

 though our correspondent's views agree mainly with our 

 own we gladly print his letter as coming from one who as 

 a judge of awards in the gun department had such supe- 

 rior facilities for examining and arriving at sound conclu 

 sions.— Ed ] 



* MmneL 



Northern Dog3 in Soutiiekn Stubbles.— The shoot- 

 ing for the present season being about over in these parts, 

 many of our more prominent breakers are moving South 

 with the young dogs placed for tuition in their hands. 

 A Newark correspondent writes as follows regarding one 

 of them : 



I met my friend, T. D. Gadson, of Boonton, N. J., on 

 Thanksgiving Day on his way to Virginia with the follow- 

 ing dogs. He intends taking up his quarters there during 

 the winter and spring for the purpose of working his dogs, 

 where game is more plentiful than around here. As near 

 as my memory now serves me, 1 noticed Dr. Fleet Speer's, 

 of Brooklyn, two setters "Joe" and ''Fan ;" Mr. Chas. 

 Raymond, of N. Y. , setter bitch "Check;" Mr. E. D. 

 Brainard's, of Albany, setter bitch "Fanny;" Mr. Geo. 

 Colburn's, of N. Y., setter "Don ;" Mr. L J. Gaines, of 

 Meriden, Ct., setter "Blue ;"■ Mr. V. V. Powers, of N. Y. 

 city, setter bitch "Nelly ;" Dr. W. S. Webb, of N. Y. city, 

 pointer bitch "Daisey ;" Mr. Geo. De F. Grant, of N. Y. 

 city, pointer dog "Pat ;" Mr. Fisher Howe, of N. Y. city, 

 pointer dog "Itex ;" Mr. H. R. Bishop, of N. Y., setter 

 bitch "Biddy," pointer dog "Short" and pointer bitch 

 "Vick." All of his own stock I learned he left at home, 

 in order to give his whole attention to the completion of 

 these named with him. I have heard but once from him 

 since his departure, and he mentions being well located, 

 among plenty of birds and dogs all working finely. 



"Jersey." 



That well known sportsman and breaker, Mr. E. 8. Wan- 

 maker, of Sufferns, N. J., also sailed for the South on 

 Saturday last, Charleston being his present destination, 

 although he will take up his permanent quarters iu what- 

 ever locality promises to afford the most frame. He has 

 with him Mr. Nelson's setter dog Quail (by Colburn's Dash), 

 Shot, a fine Gordon puppy belonging to Mr. Jerome Mar- 

 ble, or." Worcester, and by his dog Grouse; also another 

 puppy of Grouse's belonging to a gentleman of Worcester, 

 a fine red dog owned by Mr. Johnson, of Poughkeepsie* 



and several others. 



^> . 



DOGS OF CHINA. 



Editor Forest and Stream:— 



„ My attention has been drawn to the latter part of your 

 correspondent "Vaquero's" communication contained in 

 Forest and Stream of this week regarding the wonder- 

 ful similarity existing between the Esquimaux dog and 

 those of the South of China, and I may add Japan. 



This remarkable likeness in countries the antipodes of 

 temperature has been the subject of much remark, and is 

 certainly inexplicable unless we accept the theory he ad- 

 vances, and in which I confess I concur. The general 

 belief that the representative dog of China is constituted 

 in the "hairless" specie, and that of Japan confined to a 

 small broken-nosed spaniel is purely erroneous. The pre- 

 vailing breed in both countries is almost a perfect simile of 

 the Esquimaux animal—sharp muzzle and ears, long, thick 

 straight hair and curled tail, and withal a powerful 

 stocky brute, weighing about eighty-five pounds. These 

 animals are frequently seen in Janan in packs, or droves of 

 a dozen or more in rice fields, and are to all intents and 

 purposes in a semi-feral state, preying upon whatever may 

 fall in their way, even, as authenticated cases on record 



prove, attacking moribund beggars, who while in their 

 death throes are unable to resist the onslaught, and are 

 consequently devoured by these ferocious brutes. They are 

 quite able to withstand the heat of the south of China, 

 being as "cool as a cucumber" in the most intensely hot 

 weather, and, singularly euough, if rabies is generated by 

 excessive heat Canton, then, ought to be full of dogs with 

 the hydrophobia, but I have never heaid of, much less 

 seen, a rabid animal during a residence of some years there. 

 Perhaps from having become acclimated generations ago 

 the dog of China and Japan, while retaining all the in- 

 stincts and peculiarities of his predecessors, even to cold, 

 finds in this very same long coat of hair a certain amount 

 of coolness, which if denuded of would make the heat 

 insuportable. 



If, then, we are forced to accept this as the only valid ex- 

 planation of the genealogy of these dogs why is it not 

 possible that the famous breed of King Charles spaniels 

 are lineal descendants of that ugly little brute, the spaniel 

 of Dai Nippon. To j in. 



December 22d, 1876. 



[One of the authorities on the dog, we believe it is Id- 

 stone, advances the theory that the progenitors of the 

 King Charles spaniel were imported from the East, and 

 we quite agree with that conclusion. We have seen 

 Japanese dogs that were almost identical with the King 

 Charles except in color, the former being almost invariably 

 black and white. With regard to rabies in the East, we 

 have a theory that its absence is owing in a large degree to 

 the peculiar diet of the people and their dogs. When rice 

 forms the staple article of food, and meat is partaken of, 

 if at all, very sparingly, the blood must be in a condition 

 to resist the attacks of certain poisons. That rabies do 

 sometimes occur in China we have bad an occular 

 demonstration, followed by a rather singular illustra- 

 tion of our theory regarding the ability of Chinese to 

 resist the influence of poisons. Many years ago the writer, 

 while living at Kiu Kiang, on the banks of the Yang 

 Tsze Kiang, possessed a bull terrier, the joy of his heart 

 and the terror of predatory Chinamen. One day the bull 

 terrier showed unmistakeable symptoms of rabies, and 

 after running a-muck through the servants' quaitera finally 

 took refuge under one of their beds. The surgeon of the 

 place, an educated Scotchman, and if we remember right 

 ly the surgeon of a British gun boat in port, both ex- 

 amined the dog and pronounced him unmistakably mad. 

 While preparations were being made for his destruction, 

 our personal servant, or "boy," crawled under the bed and 

 dragged the dog out, not without being bitten in at least 

 half a dozen places. The dog was killed, and most 

 anxiomsly we awaited the first symptoms of hydrophobia 

 on the part of the faithful A-kow; but although he re- 

 mained for some years in our service he always enjoyed 

 the most perfect health. To be sure the dog might not 

 have had rabies, but the probilities are that it had, and it 

 must be remembered that the terrier was of English ex- 

 traction and pampered by being fed from the table. We 

 should be glad to hear further from "Tojin" on the sub- 

 ject of the dogs of the East. Has he ever met the little 

 "sleeve," or Mandarin dog of Pekin? The wife of our 

 once consul at Hankow, Mr. C. D. Williams, had a very 

 fine specimen.— Ed.] 



.«-•«. 



—Mr. W. Humphrey's red Irish setter bitch Belle has 



just visited Mr. R. Robinson's famous red dog Duke, a full 



brother to his Jack. The produce .should be something 



very fine. 



«» — » . 



—Mr. G. Hills, of Hudson, N. Y., has received from 



Dr. Goldsmith a pair of puppies, three months old. Their 



sire is Plunket and dam Nell, (known in the stud book as 



Jobling's Nell) and are a very promising pair. 



•*•«. 



—We understand that Mr. Brooks, the well known 

 owner of the celebrated dog, Bismarck, lately shot over 

 one of his progeny (Bismarck's) near Dover, Delaware, and 

 in a day's hunting bagged 21 partridges and 31 woodcock. 

 The latter he found unusually numerous. 



.#-•-». 



—Mr. Wm. F. Steel, of Piermont-on-Hudson, claims 

 the name of Pride of the Hudson for his liver and white 

 setter dog puppy, whelped November 1st, 1876, by Pride 

 of the Border out cf Fairy. 



THE ST. LOUIS BENCH SHOW. 



St. Louis, Mo., December 21st, 1876. 

 Editor Forest and Stream:— 



My attention has been called to the communication of 

 Wm. F. Steel, owner of "Flake," published in your issue 

 of December 14th, and I am surprised that Mr. Steel 

 should make such statements without more foundation. 

 I agree with him in thinking that the awarding of a pointer 

 dog a prize over anotker, because he had a thicker hide as 

 absurd in the extreme; but all his charges or insinuations 

 against the St. Louis Kennel Club are false in nearly every 

 particular. J 



1st. He says the St. Louis Bench Show was held under 

 the auspices of the 9ft. Louis Kennel Club. 



That is not true. It was held under the auspices of the 

 St. Louis Agiicultural and Mechanical Fair Association 

 and the St. Louis Kennel Club had nothing to do with it 

 except as exhibitors. 



It is true that two members of the Club assisted the Fa*r 

 Association in some of the details at their request, but had 

 no more to do with it than Mr. Whitman or Mr. Waller 

 with the Chicago Bench Show held last winter. 



2d. Mr. Steel says, "The show was a success, but will 

 another one be under the same management, when the 

 public sees that the dogs, or the progeny of dogs belonging 

 to the Club, or members of the Club, took most of the 

 prizes?" "It seems to be a Club for the mutual admiration 

 of each others dogs." Now, Mr. Editor, what an out- 

 rageous insinuation is involved in the above quotation 

 It means, in plain English, that it was ananged or "fixed" 

 by our Club, either by bribing the judge or otherwise, so 



