Dbobmbeb 30, 1880.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



429 



Mo'RTA.UTY OF FisH IN Ta.mpa Bat.— Oar correspondent, 

 "Al Fresco," in writing to us fmrn .Tackaonville, Fla., en- 

 closes a slip headed "Tlie Epi-ichthyolic," from the Svmland 

 Tribune of Tamps, wliicli snys: 



Last \\'eek %ti' notrd tiip fact that a great many fish of all 

 varielica wert dyiii!: iu T'lmpa bay. Al first it seemed to 

 affect the worse bolloin fisli, though such as move in the 

 Water near the surface were not exempt. Ou a tolerably 

 dilligent inquiry we can leai'n of no local cause for it. It 

 seems, however, that some time Ijack ihe iioi=oiiouH waier 



which appear! — n , 



its rcaiipearni.i 

 almost coiifiir. 



BOIUO til'!" !.■■■•. ■'. • '■ ;!;l'i nil!/! ,,l.!r[!'lV ^Vl til 



thepoi-' I :i!'rmed liy lb.: fijLCt that 



fish in t.!. !■!■!■ -- - ' . ! -re the IJrtiL and worst 



affected by uie cuu.^u, i.uai.j.ti ujuo uiay be. 



Tenskssbe— iVrtsAfjV/s.— The largest Jish ever seen in this 

 market was exhiliited by Sulzbachcr last week ; he called it 

 " Warsaw," but in reality it was "Jew fish," Promtcropt ffit- 

 aia, and weighed 32.5 pounds. J. H. t). 



§^n(e ^ng and ^mu 



GAME IM SEASOIV IIV DECEITIBZIR. 



Moose, Alct am 

 Carllxio. !!■•■•■,!' 

 Elk or--! ' 

 Ked 01- \, 



piper, 



etc,, Cfi:i!'i 



permit prairw lowi (pLimaifa sr,- 



I Rpcflorrlop 1)!i-(J, Tic-Hfluimjv, i 



The following articles have been reprinted together m 

 pamphlet form from our issues of September 2.3, Septemlicr 

 30, October 7, and December 9, and will be furiiished to tlic 

 readers of this paper, or of any other pajier for that matter, 

 upon application : 



"The 'Dittmar Sporting Powder.'" 



"Evading Detonation." 



' ' The Detonatiou of ' Dittmar Sporting Powder. ' " 



"The Dittmars' Abracadabra." 



TO THE PAEMEES OP LOJfG ISLAND. 



Oks'it,!--,-'-:- 



Mari^ 

 feveut ■ 

 lion 01 - , 

 sures to have the Irnv;:, 

 These alterations will 1 

 to every farmer on t'l 

 the laws rehuinu; to the 



! it is the intention of tlic dif- 

 iif Long Island for tlie Protcc- 

 u' Cirde. to take sU'enuoua uiea- 

 !•; I HIT I . revised and amended. 

 ■, :viiii' '11. of great iiiiportance 

 M!i 'I, !■ -I !i;' rial h' those portions of 

 hlnis. 



Tlieir indiscriminate slaughter, together with the robbing 

 of their nests, lias so redvgvL-d their number tliat insect life 

 has inci'cased, till it ia iio'.v one of the most serious plagues 

 you have to contend against. Many of you that I have hud 

 the pleasure of meeting dming my ramliles over tiie island, 

 collecting and studying the insects injurious to vegetation, 

 have seriously complained to me of the ravages wid'eli your 

 croDS sustain from the attacks of mnnorous tribes of insc-cta, 

 which of tentitnes spread universal havoc. Your frnit trees 

 are SCO!!! ' ' ' 'ijUS cureulios (snout lieetie.? or weevils) 

 andb, !!ily of clear-winged moth. Tour wheat, 



i^ye, o::' ill fact every iirliclo grown for comfort 



orproia, ..:; i .-Ar pe'juliar species of insects which de- 

 stroy them. 



You who have woodlands must have noticed of late years 

 that many of yr.!i;r forest trees have sickened and died. In 

 the C\:i i II Evergreens, at Cypress Hills and iu 



ProS|j! ■ I' !.'ther parts of tde island, many of the 



finest 1 1 1 Old, deslroyr-d by insepts. "Oti the 



hickory aj o !'■ nv .,„..,-,-..-,,,, ,. , >r 



tigremis, iJi. 

 hatches and .. 



lectin k-Dgt'!, ! ■ .. • ,_,,,. ,,■ 



spring, v.Oii.'ii i!!.' i. 'jo putt: forth weak, .jji'klj Itaiveii, ibaL the 

 extent of l! -■ n-n.^e is shown, as till then it usu:iily appears 

 sound and licaliliy. There lire many other insert.') which 1 

 could name Dial are iujurioua lo your forest trees, but this 

 exa.mple will suflice, Y\"ithir! u few years a new iu.^ect has 

 made its appear nice and alreaily developed into a |jest almost 

 as serious SIR llv pcito,, i.,i.::. I refei' lo the Pierk rapm, 

 generally kuo^.i! : i i iiiiiage worm— iu fact, the list of 

 your insect pli I'l ' 



Now, gentli. : oause for the gi-eal increase of 



these Bwarni.'; 'M' i;!:-!'!' ': -, ' ilon, it is 



owing in a very gre: rlruction 



of our iuseclivoruu.-. i ,, , , ;ibimdant 



everywhere. 



If you visit the woods at the proper season you will tb.en 

 see that beautiful bird, the golden-winged woodpecker, a 

 bird every farmer is familiar with as the "Highhold." 

 Watch him and others of lii.s kindred ; see him Hitting from 

 tree to tree, busily engaged from early morn till the sun 

 sinks below the horizon, tapping every'part of the' tree and 

 making the woods resorvnd with the blows from his sharp 

 and powerful beak. He is searching for the worm that is 

 slowly but surely ealmg away its very life, and his iustinct 

 enables him to detect it when man would fail to do so. See 

 what valuable assistance this bird renders to man, and is it 

 not a disgrace that it should be so rutWessly slaughtered ? 



From a rough calcidation, it is estimated fiat over one 

 hundred thousand of tliese birds are destroyed every year. 

 I counted 130 gunners in a small belt of timber near Flat- 

 bueli this fall, in the course of h morning's ramWe, a'I intent 

 iu their murderous work. Then there are iln i : ,,1 

 a large number of insect! vorous lards too uu' 

 tion'in this paper. Lad. sprir.g I eAMinine.l 

 thl'iishes (Turdus melodius) given to me, and m iu.. 5i....iut. us 

 of four I foimd over one hundred and twenty specimens and 

 parts of specimens which I could identify, representing six- 

 teen different species of insect known to be injurious to vece- 

 talioB. It is stated by Biugley that a pair of house wrens 

 have been observed to leave their nests and return with in- 

 sects from forty to sixty times an hour, and hi one particidor 

 hour the pair carried food no fewer than seventy-four times, 

 and in this business they were engaged during the greatest 

 part of the day, Allowing twelve hours t<i be thus occupied, 



a single pair of these birds would destroy at least six liuudred 

 insects a day. Swallows and martins live entirely i.n in- 

 sects, and as tliey are always on the wing they rid tjie athio:^- 

 phere of no.xious pe.sts that, tmt for their friendly aid, 

 would be unendural-ile to m.an. .Were it not for these insect- 

 ivorous birds the enrth would be overrun liy insect life. By 



those who have 'ti'i'"'! 'i" l!i '• -■ -ilmitted that tlie 



agriculturist i; ' 



The large m" i mdsand woods, 



armed with ; _ ■ everything that 



comes in theii i; doineatic fowl when oppor- 



tunity oft'ers, i! :ed in some way, or your labor 



on your cro)js ' i! vain. The remedy in a great 



measure rests m vi./ur iinnds. and your CO-ojieration i: ;■ ■ 

 earnestly solicit ed lo the proposed amendments and ao 

 to tlic laws, tliat Ihoy may pass the Legislature, as u 

 of vii.nl i'!tA.-,-..ii ,,-, >•,:,, .,n' 



The : irabrieliy as fol- 



lows; . nous to' the laws 



nov,' i, line birds, it is 



proposed liivi, :ii,y p!a^oii !leO'!-:.e:l !-:i'lii.'!r cagieB, night- 

 hawks, m-irlius, wuio-poor-vdJi,;. .> ira'dows, W!"'!;.'i peckers, 

 meadow larks, tliru.sliC!^, or any of oor soiiu; or ir.teetivorous 

 birds, shall li!- fined $10 for llic liist offe^ise, and for the 

 second c!tTV!i.^e imprisonment for not less than twenty days 

 nor mnreibiin tlu-ee months in the County Jail, with for- 

 feiture 01 ioe !:'Mri. 



For tbede ! ■ , ! ■ ■ ,, 



for irappiug ! - 



i;-. proposed foi- the first oJler.se, ami i:;i.50 Avitii ii.ijpr!.st-:n- 

 ! or not less than thi'ee or more than six months for the 



also propose to have giin." ■-',''■■- f - .tjie and 



1 !!rd8 and for fish, one i. 'i > have a 



'.■ law, to compel every r !:e out a 



„ . ii^tr, to be issued by pro;.! ;: ;...,, ^ .inertj and 

 ibt ir families excluded.) 



Gentlemen, if these laws can be passed, and I ant certain 

 they can with your assistance, they will strike at the very 

 root of the evil. I hope that this article ^vill receive your 

 terious aUenlion, :oid any suggestions relative to the pro- 

 posed addilion.s to and alterations of the present Irv.-s woiilrl 

 be very acceptable and would materially ascij^ "- ' ■ '.;„;,,,t 

 at some definite conclusion, that the laws ov 

 such as you approve, and that you will emi 

 influence with your representatives iu the St:! . i i 



to have tiiem passed. 



Any communication on this subject can be sent to the 

 Editor of the Forbst and Stream,"No, 89 Park Row, New 

 Yorli. Nionor.AS Pikb, 



President of the Society for the trotectiou of Song and In- 

 sectivorous Birds of Long Island. 



"THE TRAPPER'S LAST SHOT." 



HE was probably christened James, but is always Jim 

 now^ and along with the greater part of Ins Christian 

 name he has almost entirely lost his surname. If he had 

 been a few shades lighter he'miglit have been "Colored Jim," 

 but black being thujabsorptiou of all > : ...le would 



not fit him. & he is known, wher i .all, as 



"Nigger Jim." lie is an expert tra ] ! .;".en, but 



rather Fi"'--i''r'-i--, '-"rsidering these gui^, a pnu. marksman. 

 For Y ! about or carried in his Ijoat an anci-nt 



thnt-l! ,!, so deadly iu its action that ir v.:!iild 



kill nil I . nly a charge of powder, so Jim said, ^cii 



he rarely brought home any spoils of field or flood but such 

 as were gained by trap or hook. 



Once, however, he made a very tcPing shot. It was on an 



.rapping 

 iuy In- 



! ofdi the 



.re she 

 : fowl. 

 I -litest 



Oclober morning, and he wj 

 .skill up the channel of Woii; 

 dian could, when as herouui'. 

 tall stalks of the wild rice a., ,., 

 among the lily pads in the edge, of i^i 

 from him. Here was his long-Bouj..: 

 sooner did he descry them tlum 1. 1 

 paddle stopped the headway of lii 

 poked her sharp nose iu sigUt of 

 Then he laid the paddle in fhe O!,..! 

 noise, and as silently lifted from i- 

 gun, whose true inwardnesB at that 

 the powder in her owner's possessio. 

 shot, both wadded with a half-pound l. . j . 

 cautiously thrust her muzzle througii the r 

 her without a tell-tale click of the ponderon 

 breech-plate firmly against his shoulder, kid lo- . ; ! 

 stock and took such long and deliberate aim that a spider, 

 setting his snare among the rushes, made fast an end of his 

 web to the rurty biirrel before Jim shutting both eyes, set his 

 teeth, and wit"- ■■ ■■''!■■;-' '-iiil unhitched. There was a daz- 

 zling fiashi'! kettle full of lard had caught 

 fli'o, and thei, .;|iou belched forth a horizontal 

 columu of ihoii , : - , kicked Jim and bis s<kiU' hall the 

 boat's length astern, and gave a roar that .' 

 dowm the creek, across the lake, and wu,, 

 forth from Split Rock Moimtain to Sljelbi.'i, .i- 

 utcs before it lost its Toice. 



AYhen Jim got his eyes open and his wits gathered, he 

 peered tkroiigli tlie iiddying smoke and saw — ^not a feather 

 raised nor one wounded duck fluttering its last, but some 

 riding unconcernedly with their heads knocked off and some 

 keel up in a quarter acre of fine splinters. TIllmi 

 uprose two Boston men from among the rushes, and the fire 

 and smoke and uproar and vicious recoil of Jim's gun wei« 

 as nothing to the vials of v.Tath which they poured out upon 

 his curly devoted head. Kever was such paddling done ou 

 the-i^e water.s as Jim did till he put half a mile of Wonakakn- 

 . tuk's clianue!, seething with his rapid strokes, betweeu him- 

 1 self and the scene of bloodless slaughter. Then he shoved 



his boat Ulto rhe rnslies and sklllkRd\is]iore 



Kextdayii ing as a reason 



that she bmi; .i could afford to 



keep her. li! ' lia.s done no duck 



sho'.'ting since lie tiiys. with emphatic shakes of the head, 

 " Any man that 'U try to fool ducks with them cussed wood- 

 ! en images, 'U steal sheep! Tfji, sir, 'cowKhe will!" 



AWAHSOOSE, 



KKNTDcnrr, LouinfiUe, Kavmnher 28.— The sport of duck- 

 shooting is now in full blast. Six-mile Island is a favorite 

 resort for gunners. We use a sldff 4 ft. at top, 30 in. bottoni 

 and 18 ft. long. We sit on one side of the craft, so that tlie 

 other side tiUs up and conceals us from view ; and then we 

 paddle down, and nine times m ten manage to get within 

 thirty feet of the birds. I have been himtmg for eight years 

 and have foimd this place most sucoesafuL M.'L. 



ATMOSPHERIC EFFECTS UPON SHOOTING. 



Le Rot, Dec. 17. 



I HAVE been much interested in reading the articles which 

 have appeared lately concerning gims, their peculiarities 

 and how to load them to secure the best results. No doubt 

 many brother sportsmen have noticed, as I have, that a cer- 

 tain proportioned load at one time \voiild produce good re- 

 sults, and at another, under apparently similar circumstances, 

 the results would be rpute unsatisfactory. Sometimes a load 

 would be very killing, hitting hard and clean, and at another 

 time the same load would only wing tlie birds or miss tliem 

 .iltogether, even with equal care in loading it, seUling pow- 

 '' ■ aed shot ei-euly and having the wads lie at right angles 

 f!>;iK of Ibe ehel], and holding the gun on the birds as 

 !"! 'I ly as possible. 



Ti UU regard lo this matter I received an explanation once 

 from an aged gentleman who had spent most of the years of 

 his life in Turkey, about Tokat, Smyrna and Constantinople, 

 and wlio ImdalTv-ays been asreat lover of shooting, spending 

 a portion of eao] , , - , j , i n i ns about the country. He said it 

 was always hi: ■ ; ind a fov.* shells with what he 



thought the ]■;■ , ■. , :,!■,!:! of powder and shot, and then 

 target them, ooacrvuvy- the pattern and penetration befor« 

 going into tlie field, if it was a damp daj- and the pattern 

 was not good he would have a larger proportion of powder 

 io shijt, arid if a diy day vice versa. 



' for so doing was this : on a damp day he could 

 ivder to get the sume pattern and penetration 



. ! d than he could ou a diy day. He said he 



leanied this from his scTvant, who was an old and experi- 

 enced and Successful hmitin-, ami wiio always practiced this 

 plan. He gave an illustration. Once he was out shooting 

 i-ed-legged partridges, and with his first .?hot dropped the 

 bird dean, with the second he only winged the bird, and as 

 they are grsat runners he bad some difficulty in capturing it. 

 With the third shot he missed altogether. "He noticed that 

 the atmosphere was changing from dry to damp, so he 

 changed bis load accordingly. With the next shot he killed 

 clean : with ihe next he only winged, and with the next he 

 uiissfid. He changed again with better results. The third 

 time he repeated his former experience. He trained his 

 aor.3 to practice the same care, and they are good shots. This 

 gentleman explained this method to many English hunters 

 wlioru he accompanied, but they only laughed and persisted 

 in bringing their ammunition fixed, and consequently were 

 uncertain in their shooting. 



Now, whether this ride is onl^' applicable to the climate in 

 riuastion or not I cannot determine, but certainly his experi- 

 ence is worth something, and to bring about a better under- 

 standing of this matter I give you these facts. I am sure it 

 would be of interest to the fraternity if some one would ex- 

 periment carefully with this method and give us his opinion. 

 Jlay not the principle involved, if I may term it such, ac- 

 count for some of om- off days? I have not had time to test 

 this matter myself, because when I go shooting it is only for 

 a few hours, and wish to receive as much benefit and make 

 as heavy a bag as are to be obtained in a gentlemanly and 

 sportsmun-like manner. 



Two t'uings have caused the Foeest and Stkeam to be a 

 source of pleasure to me, beside the accounts of sport, viz., 

 the exposure of the Dittmar Powder Company and the success- 

 ful endeavor to expimge from its sporting literatm-e the 

 frt><iuenl use of oaths apd reference to the bottle. A gentle- 

 1 01 s n.rt'miii imi LPiiuinc lover of nature has no need of 

 , ' ^1 Intfr.nlt o Lomnion accompaniments, and their oc- 

 tjii^aiem piejunts of good sport is decidedly distastefid 

 to him. 



Many shooters in this town and vicinity make it a practlco ' 

 of shooting birds and hares on Sunday as well as other days. 



Oatka. 



OUR PHILADELPHL4. LETTER. 



AM pleased to be be able lo tell yon that Mr. Spencer 

 Trotter, of Philadelphia, v.dio has been engaged for two 

 }'ears by the Academy of Sciences to re-ela.ssify and arrange 

 the immense collection of birds hi possession of this institu- 

 tion, has promised to furnish the writer ornithological notes, 

 etc, to incorporate in my weekly letter to you"; and your 

 readers may expect very interesting matter, as we know of no 

 young man whose knowledge on the subject is so varied and 

 njio lius pro.secuted the study with more thoroughness. 



Mr. T. -writes me this morning referring to the query, '-Do 

 '■ :;es swallow their young?" the follo'.ving: "Doubts have 

 .- iixpressed as to whether smikes swallow their young on 

 III' approach of danger, and there has lieen at various times 

 ami places some little discussion on the subject. Last sum- 

 mer, while tramping among the Berkshire Hills in Massachu- 

 setts, I came upon a common garter snake {Eutinnia airLaiii) 

 which was making all haste from the path. As I think now 

 1 might li.avc let'i the poor harmless reptile to enjoy life, but 

 because some nervous females were near by who declared 

 they v,-ere never so frightened in all theii- "lives, I cut the 

 -';■ ii!-,c ' .1 I V, o with my heel, just about the middle, when out 

 pop;!':-'! iinite a lot of little squirmers, which made lively lime 

 10 t:-el !!ut of the way. The old lady was probably basking 

 in the .sun, with her family around her, when, hearing us ap- 

 proach, she gulped qov,ti tlie whole number. I oidy offer 

 Ihi.^ at a fact widch cnnie under my own eyes. 



"I hear tli'.o 'f- i-'in'^'-'ohia Zoological Society have pur- 

 chased a youi IS, which'wiU be quite an addi- 

 tion to their aud interesting collection." 



In conver.sa. . ' o.e old sportsmen who have long 



since given up the gun, bat who still love to relate of theii- 

 past experiences, we learned that General Cadwalader, of 

 Phiiadclpbia, who owned a farm and ducldng punt on the 

 Gunpowder or Bush series, some years ago made the attempt 

 to "transplant " the Califoniia quail on bis ijronerty and the 

 Burrounding country by liberating a Inr^e number. The 

 birds,, we understand, p'eriahed the succeeding winter, as it 

 juoved very severe, and many were found frozen to death. 

 There is a record, however (Lewis, in bis "American Sports- 

 man," speaks of it), of a curious bird having been shot from 

 !i covey of the common quail, which was supposed to have 

 been a hybrid or cro.ss of the California quail, and our own 

 Bob White, and more of the same were reported in the covey. 

 This bird, wc think, is now in the Philadelphia Academy of 

 Science. Vv^ould it not lie well, Messrs. Editors, to make a 

 special request in your coUmins to sportsmen of country resi- 

 dence to make a report to you of any odd or new birds that 

 come under their notice 'i Many of this class who are not 

 familiar with the work done by some of our game protective 

 societies iu liberating prairie chickens and migratory quaU 

 might thus furnish valuable information pointing to the suc- 

 cess of the several enterprises. 



Last week the Qermantown Hares and Hounds Club had a 



