-...^ 



THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN^S JOURNAL. 



lEntered Aooording to Act of Consresa, in the year 18Y9, by the Forest and Stream Publishing Company, in the Office of tHe Librarian of Congress, at Washington 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, SEPT. 23, 1880. 



CONTENTS. 



Bditoriai, :— 

 A Generous Gift; A Compliment to Our Kennel Editor; 

 Almost Perfect; The-' Dittmar Sporting- Powder"; The 

 Oreedtnoor IVTeetinff ; The TUeBton Fund; The Interna- 

 tional Crielcer Match 143 



NATHRA:, ni,vio,;v:- 



Beart II I hiinestioated; Geographical Distribution 



or -i I M)iitan Btackbirds; SuakesBatingFlsh ; 



ADr.'ii-', ':,.iiii-,,., (Joule 118 



PiSlI Cui/ruRB:— ^ 



Salmon of the Paciflo Coast ; How the Shad Have Migrated ; 



The Berlin Prizes; SaibUng Eggs; Solesln America; Work 



of the Fish Hawk l 149 



,8ha an-d River FisiirNO:— 



The FJy in N'orth Elba 149 



GAM 



I!\i 



• Powder ; Game Notes ; Shooting 



The KBVNEt,:— 



Oritieialng.Iiulgos; Dog Breaking; Accident to Bex ; Cana- 

 dian Kennel Club; Field Trials Notes; Kennel Notes 150 



TriK lliPLB:— 



The Creedmoor PaU Meeting; Sohlietzen Corps Notes . . ; . . 161 

 ARCHEar:— 



The Ohio State Archery Association 186 



ORtCKET:— 



International Orickot ISo 



VACHTrwO ASO Canobinq:— 



New York Yacht Club; Eagtern Yacht. Club ISa 



Answers to Cobbehpondents 157 



PcBLiSHBRs' Department 1S8 



For advertising; rates, instructions to correspondents, 

 etc., see prospectus at end of reading matter. 



Forest ^^ Stream, 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1880, 



A Generous Gift.— We owe to the kindness of one of 

 our oldest and most valued subscribers, whose modesty 

 forbids our mention iug his name, but who is well known 

 to the sportsmen of tliis State, a complete file of Foeest 

 AND STEEAJf. Tiie gentleman to whom we are indebted 

 for this gift has talcen the paper from its first number. 

 Complete flies of the Forest and Stkeajsi are of great 

 value, and we cannot too heartily express our gratitude 

 for this gift. Our friend, speaking of his volumes of the 

 paper, says : "It is too bad to think that they may not 

 be used by me in the future, and I desire to present them 

 to somebody that they may be used. Do not think that 

 I do not prize every number, for, as a sportsman, I do ; 

 but as I grow older I have noc time to re-read them. 

 Your paper I value, and until I die I shall remit annually, 

 for 1 welcome its arrival and go through it with care." 



A COMPUMBNT TO OuR Kennel EDITOR,— We leani by 

 the public prints that the kennel editor of Forest and 

 Stream has been nominated by the Executive Committee 

 of the Nebraska State Sportsmen's Association. While 

 desiring to express his high appreciation of the compli- 

 ment thus paid him, the kennel editor feels obliged to 



; ecline it. Owing to his absence from New York no 

 ■"i.ationof this was received until the 20th instant, or his 



' .^ ,jn in the matter would have been earlier defined. 



p . 'nanifestly improper for the representative of a 



rMch is to criticise an exhibition of this kind to 

 "•idge, and the kennel editor of this paper has 

 . . "nressed our views on the subject, 

 ^ I « IIB ' 



tvjECT.— The unprecedented score of 234 out 



« "«SP"" - ;25, made by Mr. William Gerrish, at Wal- 

 ■^ '' t, '''igs long range practice very close up to the 



jjoinc of perfection. There is no reason to doubt the 

 score ; it was made in a regular match, and on a day 

 which, from the report, invited and almost provoked 

 such a record. Mr. Gerrish is a young man who has 

 given much time and careful endeavor to long-range 

 work, and being in a coterie of marksmen where abund- 

 ance of leisure gives ample opportunity for the most ex- 

 act and careful study of the minuticB of rifle shooting, it 

 is not wonderful that such a result should have been at- 

 tained. Nevertheless, with so many chances agamst his 

 performance Mr. Gerrish is to be congratulated on his 

 feat, and it will doubtless be a long time before he finds 

 himself dispossessed of the "best oa record." 



THE "DITTMAR SPORTING POWDER." 



WE shall show in tliis article : — 

 1st. That the so-oalled •' Dittmar Sporting Pow- 

 der " is a highly dangerous coilipound when used in fire- 

 arms. 



Sd. That Mr. Carl Dittmar thoroughly uuderstanda this. 



3d. That for the past five years, from the. date of its 

 first manufacture until the present, he has strenuously 

 denied the dangerous nature of the powder. 



In doing tliis we shall advance no theories, but shall 

 confine ourselves strictly to what are, to the best of our 

 knowledge and belief, facts. 



The public may expect from Mr. Carl Dittmar, or from 

 those interested with him, a denial of these facts. 



No denial can alter facts. 



We may, in justice to ourselves, premise something of 

 the circumstances. The " Dittmar Sporting Powder " 

 has been on the market since the winter of 1874-5. The 

 first notice of it in the Forest and Stream will be found 

 in Vol, III., page 26, Feb. 4th, 137.3, and a notice in the 

 Rod and Gun at about the same date. From that time 

 until the present, before and since the consolidation of 

 the two papers, our columns have always been open for 

 full and free reports of the use of the powder by sports- 

 men. They have also been open, up to a fortnight ago, 

 to Mr. Carl Dittmar and those associated with him in the 

 manufacture and sale of the powder. Accidents witli the 

 compound have been numerous and serious. It has been 

 our custom to publish, together with coimaeudations of 

 the powder, such reports oi" accidents as canid to us. The 

 Dittmar powder manuf ac tuvers have always been accorded 

 a fair chance to explain away these accidents. How well 

 they made use of it is shown by the fact that the product 

 is BtiU in the market. 



There has come a change ; affairs are altered. Why is 

 this ■'. 



Previous to June 10th, of this year, we had published 

 several letters from Dr. S. P. Nash, of Pliiladelphia, 

 Miss. Ilis communications showed liim to be a man well 

 acquainted with the use of nre-arjii3 and a, practical sports- 

 man. On that date was published a comuiuuication from 

 Dr. Nash recording "x^ Disastrous Experience with Ditt- 

 mar Powder." The writer alleged that he had loaded a 

 Parker gun with 3Mrs. " Dittmar Powder," PFP, that the 

 gun was by this charge shattered, blowing off one of his 

 thumbs, subjecting him to many weeks of suffering and 

 confinement, with a prospect of many more, making him 

 a cripple tor life, and prohably debarring him from the 

 further practice of his profession of dentistry . 



In the issne of June 17th following, the Dittmar Powder 

 Manufacturing Company published a reply, professing to 

 discredit the statements of the Nash letter, and ca-Iling 

 for proof. 



In response the can containing the remainder of the 

 powder was sent to us, and a portion of this powder 

 handed over to the Dittmar Powder Manufacturing 

 Company. 



In our issue of July 15th, following, we published let- 

 ters from Dr. Nash and others, proving conclusively the 

 truth of his previous report, and showing the injury to 

 his hand to have been more serious than he had before 

 anticipated. 



The Dittmar Powder Manufacturing Company sent us, 

 and we published, a disclaimer of responsibility, it being 

 substantially a denial that the powder was of their (the 

 present Company's) make, or that it was strong enough — 

 as tested by them— to have produced the alleged acci- 

 dent. Then, having demonstrated that the old powder 

 was of a much weaker grade than that now manfaotured 

 and could not be dangerous, they gravely warned the 

 public against buying it. 



This explanation by the Company was unsatisfactory 

 and inadequate. 



It was the old story — the repudiation by Mr. Carl Ditt- 

 mar of powder manufactured by himself. The files of 

 the Forest and Stream, of the Rod and Gcn, and of 

 the paper since its consolidation, tell this story. Our 

 readers are invited to refer to their files to see that our 

 quotations are correct, are not garbled, and are fair. 



Mr. Dittmar professed to be able to make his powder 

 uniform so far back as the summer of 187.'). 



Forest and Stream, Vol. IV., page .300. Letter from Carl 

 Dittmar, dated at Neponset, Jfass., June 5th, 1875 :— 



[ am now making- a much slower powder, as many consider It 

 too quick, and J. will stick to it and 7iiake it always uniform as 

 I as I and that the sporting- community like the latest issue 

 best. T/ic method of manufacture inmhm absolute, evenness of 

 sti-fiiif/t/i, and if your correspondent, Mr. jD. C. Ailiaaon, decides 

 which Idnd ho likes best I can (Jim it, to him rawam Hie same." 



(Italics ours.) 



Bejnidiation No. 1.— Mr. Dittmar having thus put 

 himself on record, we should hardly look for t'ne fol- 

 lowing when he came to change his busmess relations : — 



Forest and Stream, Vol. v., pag-n i i ls75 Ad- 



i'ertisement of the "Dittmar PowdHi ' '"orapany, 



nanufiicturersof CarlDittmar'sPatpru .. i, IJIast- 



ing Powders, etc., 'Neponset, Mass. I ha\, ~un( ti ntd lu o\ eioom 

 iogallobjectionsthatmay have been raised to the kuid of Sport- 

 ing Powder previously manufactured by me. By an eumely new 

 process, and with the assistance of new machinery, I am now 

 able to make the grains as hard as those of black powder, thus 

 avoiding- the g-reat compressibility of the kind rtrst introduced, 

 and alkiuinii an ei;&n loadina enuiy time. In addition to the greater 

 density of the new powder, I have also obvifi ted the areat rapidity 

 of ignition. There Is now no fear of overloading. No necessity 

 fovauy special directions for use; simply use it like black powder 

 and use Iha samequantity in hulk. 



" The powder can now bo used from an ordinary powder llask. 

 The same kind of powder can be used for both shot guos and 

 rides. The sizes and numbers for the grain are the same as those 

 for black powder. The rasdlum size is best adapted for general 

 purposes, the largest size for gmall bores, and the linest size for 

 large bores. 



" Every package of ttic new powder bears my signature. None 

 genuine without It. 



'• I manufaeturenone of the old kind, and all connection with my 

 former agency, the so-called Dittmar Powder Company, is at an 

 end. Please address all orders tome. Any letters unanswered or 

 order.s not tilled since Sept. Ist will be immediately attondod to if 

 parties will please re-wrilo to me. I will e.sohange, when rc- 

 iiuestert, any of my powder bought before that date for the new 

 kind. 



"ily best thanks to the friends of my new powder, who have by 

 their sug-gestions helped me to make it perfect, so that I now 

 have no doubt of its complete success. CAKt. Dtttaiak." 



He also advertised this in the ROD and Gcn, see issue of 

 Oct. 8d, 1875, page 13 :— 



" Every package of the now powder bears my own signature on 

 top of cover; without it, do not consider it genuine. I do not 

 manufacture any more of the old kiad.and all my connections 

 mth my former agency (the so-called Dittmar Powder Company) 

 are ended." 



Tlie manufactqjry, be it understood, was all this time 

 at Neponset, Mass., and Mr. Dittmar was the man who 

 made, or superintended the making of, all the powder. 

 The Dittmar Powder Manuf icturing (.loinpaiiy (No.i) 

 then also adopted tlie tactics afteru'ard repe.-ited by the 

 Dittmar Powder Manufacturing Coiup.iuy (No. 3). They 

 attempted to turn tlie responsibility of the v.-ovking of 

 the'powder away from themselves anil upon -'the old 

 company : " — 



KOD AND Gun, May 27th, 1878, Vol. VIII, page IMS. Letter from 

 Carl Dittmar, Neponset, Mass., May 20tli:— 



" There aro two kinds of my powder in the market; the new 

 kind, which I am manufacturing now for the last eight months, 

 which comes in regular powder flasks with my signature on each. 

 Thi.'j I warrant, and my former advertisements and all circulars 

 say that I only consider that genuine which bears ray signature 

 on the can Now, a few days ago, I learned through a com- 

 munication from Chicago, that a large ui/iount of old powder is 

 still kept by Chicago dealers, of which a ttrmi deal is )io( Jit fur use, 

 notlmmio gone thruuah. the, last stage of manufacture. All this 

 powder has been sold without my knowledge and consent by the 



company I have been connected with last summer Since 



manufacturing the new kind no accidenis have come to my 

 kuowledgc, and I sincerely believe that the powder in its present 

 slate is safe, even safer than black powder, and I am ready to 

 prove it at any time. If your correspondent, Abe Dacotah, from 

 Iowa, will send what he has of that '-won hlcss and miserable 

 stuff,' as he calls it [I will load some and scud it back and try acme 

 in the presence of others!, and if I fail tp prove wuh that con- 

 demned kind that it is at least equal to any black powder, then f 

 will say Abo Dacotah is right." 



The Dittmar Powder Company in Boston sold the pow- 

 der made at Neponset, and turned over to them by Mr. 

 Dittmar, the manufacturer of it. Does any one suppose 

 that Mr. Dittmar, at this stage of his enterprise, would 

 let powder go from Neponset which was not ready for the 

 market ? His letter, like his advertisements, can be made 

 to mean nothing but a repudiation of his own powder. 



