Jbbrcart 5, 1880.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



11 



looking forms. These they incorporate in their models in 

 practice with more or less success, and in proportion as 

 they surpass others in this capacity of mind and eye, they 

 produce results better than those of individuals less for- 

 tunately endowed by nature. This is all there is to their 

 success, and in no way vitiates or modifies either the cor- 

 rectness or the utility of tiava.1 design. 



To put the value of the latter in a clear and impregna- 

 ble light is an easy matter. " Corinthian " claims that 

 builders of fast yachts are "born." that study of the 

 problems involved are superfluous. But great artists are 

 also " born." The great masters, the queens of song and 

 the skillful fashioners of clay, are not the product of 

 much despised " book-learning, - ' but the favorites richly 

 endowed by nature ; yet " Corinthian" would hardly, on 

 that account, think less of studying the laws of perspec- 

 tive, give up practice with his brush, or refuse the bene- 

 fits of the methodical pursuit of music to his children. 

 If by such means they cannot be molded into artists of 

 the highest rank, they can at least be made to compre- 

 hend, to value, to copy or to approach the great works 

 held up to them as models, and be thereby lifted far 

 above the level of the " common herd." 



If great naval architects are " born" — for argument let 

 it be so — it is perfectly idle to decry the investigation of 

 the elements of their success, and it is these which the 

 naval architect examines into and lays bare before the 

 world, if possible, so that all may benefit by positive 

 knowledge, and no longer travel in leading strings or be 

 submissive subjects to the black arts of mystification 

 with which yacht builders are so prone to enshroud their 

 work — something which in the end they may be less able 

 to explain than members of the lay public incapable of 

 producing a model equally as fast or able. 



Besides, half a dozen successful yacht builders, 

 Btretched out over half a century, is not a very heavy 

 crop of "inborn talent" for the public to depend 

 upon. The yachts of really admirable performances 

 hardly exceed one in fifty, and it is beyond doubt that 

 the proportion would be much more favorable were the 

 principles of naval architecture better understood and 

 not so hastily thrown overboard at the occasional lucky 

 strikes of jackknife art. It is comparatively an easy 

 matter, after long experience with a certain type of ves- 

 sel, to design or whittle out satisfactory craft of very 

 similar dimensions and form, and for such work the 

 necessity of theoretical knowledge may not be very 

 pressing, for the effects of slight variations can be 

 guessed at beforehand with some approach to truth. But 

 let the builders who depend upon " instinct " once sheer 

 off the well-marked course, and they are only too glad 

 to grasp at any formula, any figures, anything "from 

 authority," as the drowning man grasps after a straw. 

 To suppose that structures differing so radically from the 

 normal as a Poppoffka ironclad, a Devastation monitor, 

 a Czar's elliptic yacht, a Seabelle, or Jullanar, could have 

 been made such complete successes upon the mere guess- 

 work of a " smart " individual, is sheer nonsense. In 

 such works the methodical knowledge of a naval architect 

 becomes invaluable, and itx a lesser degree the same holds 

 good in the modeling of craft of a moderate tonnage, be 

 they yachts, smacks, or launches. 



On the whole, if there are cases where the world is 

 happier without knowledge, it cannot be denied that 

 the more we know the better. We fail to see that the 

 opponents of scientific design have scored a point in 

 favor of intuitive talent, precarious enough at all times, 

 but think that if naval science has not yet reached per- 

 fection, from a theoretical point of view the more all 

 hands pull together the sooner will the science be re- 

 duced to a shape suitable for every-day application. 



Soldier, Sportsman and Naturalist.— We had a most 

 pleasant call last week from Capt. Chas, A. Bendire, 

 whose name is familiar to old and new readers of this 

 paper. Capt. Bendire's command is at Fort Walla 

 Walla, Washington Territory, whence he has come 

 East to undergo a surgical operation ; meantime he is 

 visiting the museums of natural history and noting the 

 advance in the several collections with which he is famil- 

 iar. Much of a sportsman and more of a naturalist. 

 Capt. Bendire has, during his twenty-five years of ser- 

 vice on the frontier, enjoyed most favorable opportuni- 

 ties for indulging his tastes. The sections of country in 

 which he has been stationed from time to time have been 

 rich in scientific material, and more than one museum of 

 natural history has been enriched with specimens sent 

 from his post. Special attention has been given by him 

 to ornithology and oology. His collection of American 

 birds' eggs is very complete, and is probably unequaled 

 by any other private collection in the country. On his 

 present trip Capt. Bendire brings to the National Mu- 

 seum of Washington five specimens of fishes, of which 

 one is the " red-fish," and three others are entirely new. 

 Concerning the '•' red-fish," a memorandum from these 

 who have had the task o£ classifying it places it as the 

 Sahna khinerh/i (Gill and Jordan), or red trout, first dis- 

 covered by Dr. Kinnerly, in Chilowequick Lake, near the 

 Prazer River, in August, 1659, and first described by Dr. 

 Geo. Luckley in the " Annals of the Lyceum of Natural 

 History," Mew York, VII, 1861, p. 367 ; full description 



1873-3. The specimen, however, seut by Capt. Bendh-3 

 was quite a revelation as to the size of the species, being 

 three times as large as the others. Both were caught in 

 the same month of the year, October, and while dis- 

 tinctly disclaiming any disposition to dispute the classifi- 

 cation, the Captain thinks that his fish is a different one 

 from the specimen examined in the Smithsonian. 



Volume Fourteen.— We begin to-day a new volume, 

 and as it has been for thousands of years the pleasant 

 custom of men to mark the completion of one stage of 

 life's journey and the entrance upon another by some 

 token of good cheer, we have thought it fitting to express 

 our good feeling at this timo by some substantial evidence 

 of satisfaction. Butting this into shape we appear with 

 several of our departments in smaller type than hereto- 

 fore. That means more matter in the same space. It is 

 a change which will enable us to treat more satisfactorily 

 the several departments of our field, and we shall take 

 great pains in the future as in the past to put into the 

 space accorded each department the very best material 

 attainable. 



As the years are advancing, and one volume succeeds 

 another, we are reminded to impress upon the reader the 

 value of the books thus formed. The file of the For- 

 est and Stream since its beginning is a vast library of 

 entertainment - and instruction. The numbers which 

 make up a volume are well worth preserving and bind- 

 ing. The novice will find in the pages of such a journal 

 full and explicit instruction upon every branch of the 

 sportsman's craft. Several treatises upon game, guns, 

 fishes and fishing might be compiled from its columns ; 

 and most admirable books of travel might be made up 

 from the sketches of its contributors. 



Notes.— In striking contrast to the dashing and foam- 

 ing rapids of Maine, St. Clair pictures the weird and 

 funereal scene of a sluggish Louisiana swamp, where 

 cypress trees, hung with Southern moss, are reflected from 

 the dark waters of the alligator's home. "A Winter in 

 Louisiana" has much romance and much strange adven- 

 ture about it. Many of our readers will turn from its 

 perusal back to the days of their own personal experience 

 before the war. This is one of those sketches which re- 

 veal to us— or rather suggest— the wealth of entertaining 

 sporting reminiscences stored up by our friends at the 

 South. We could wish that St. Clair's pen might stimu- 

 late others to recall for our readers their tales of South- 

 ern sport a quarter of a century ago. 



The Arcadians of Southern Louisiana have not changed 

 since the day St. Clair kissed the Hose de Teche. The 

 stranger finds them still the same simple, quaint peo pie, 

 preserving their odd prejudices and primitive customs, 

 They are aside from the current— off in an eddy of the 

 stream, where the flow does not disturb them, 



We can put ever so many of the countries ot Europe 

 into the single State of Texas, and have room for one or 

 t wo Eastern States beside. Our correspondent, N. A. T., 

 has the happy faculty of seeing scores of interesting 

 things in the great State which he has made his own, and 

 this faculty he supplements with another equally felici- 

 tous—that of describing what he sees. The fish problem 

 he propounds at the close of his letter is one that will 

 puzzle icthyologists. 



A.mong those who called at the Forest and Stream 

 office this week was Mr. Charles Gilchrist, of Port Hope, 

 Ontario, who, many of our readers will be pleased to learn, 

 has made arrangements with the Indians of Bice Lake to 

 secure next fall a full supply of wild rice. The gathering of 

 this cereal in Canada is reserved to the Indians, white 

 men being forbidden to collect it. Mr. Gilchrist has al- 

 ready been very successful in securing from his Indian 

 agents large supplies of rice, which he has shipped to all 

 parts of this country, as well as to England and Scotland. 

 The Indians go out in canoes through the rice patches, 

 the man at the bow and the squaw at the stern, with two 

 sticks or poles about three feet in length, with one of 

 which the rice is drawn alternately from one side and 

 then from the other over the canoe, while the other stick 

 is used as a flail to beat the seed out into the boat, 



If the responses are any indication, our colored pictorial 

 posters must be accomplishing their mission in a highly 

 satisfactory manner. We still have a full supply on 

 hand, and shall be pleased to send them to all who may 

 be inclined to post them where they may be seen and 

 read. Attention is called to the prospectus of our com- 

 missions and prizes, as given elsewhere. 



In response to several inquiries we may explain that 

 we do not propose to publish a game and fish directory 

 in book form. Such an undertaking would be futile, be- 

 cause of the constant change in game, localities. Our 

 plan, which we are now carrying into effect, is to secure 

 all information of a useful character relating to fish and 

 game resorts, to register such notes in a book here, and in 

 turn give it to such of our readers as may wish to avail 

 themselves of it. Comprehensively stating the case, we 



propose to act as a medium for the interchange of infor- 

 mation. We have been led to this by having long known 

 the needs of gentlemen sportsmen, and have, after ma- 

 ture deliberation, adopted this as the most feasible and 

 satisfactory method of supplying this want. That the 

 directory to sportsmen's resorts may be of the most com- 

 plete and valuable scope we. cordially invite the active 

 cooperation of every man who may be able to help us by 

 his contribution. 



The Bay County Sportsman's Association gave a ban- 

 quet in honor of the State Sportsman's Association, at the 

 Eraser House, Bay City, Mich., last evening. We were 

 there in spirit, and only wish we coidd have material- 

 ized ourselves into tangible form to participate in the 

 festivities. 



"Is fish culture a success?" This question is not asked 

 now as it was a few years ago. We are finding answers 

 to it on all sides. To-day we publish a most emphatic 

 and favorable reply in the report of the California Com- 

 missioners. 



Anything coming from the pen of Mr. A. Gary Smith 

 ■null be read with much interest and attention by all. The 

 long experience of Mr. Smith in practical building and in 

 the designing of numerous yachts of all tonnages, as well 

 as the mass of statistics it has been his good fortune to 

 accumulate during his long service as Measurer of the 

 N. Y. Y. C. and S. Y. C, entitle him to speak as an 

 authority upon all mattters connected with yachting. 

 Wo welcome his name to our columns, and know that 

 the public at large share our pleasure in seeing his ideas 

 in print. The very instructive lectures delivered by Mr. 

 Smith before the Seawanhaka Y. C. form, as wo know, 

 a standard which governs the modeling of most of the 

 yacht builders in America to a larger extent than any 

 other source of information. As the question of meas- 

 urement has more bearing upon the future models of both 

 America and England than is generally supposed, we pro- 

 pose to give it all the consideration its importance de- 

 serves. 



We have long since been satisfied that the importance 

 of the protection of game from its natural extermina- 

 tors in the animal world has not been sufficiently recog- 

 nized. Some sportsmen's associations have offered prizes 

 for the greatest numbers of vermin killed ; among such 

 clubs, that of Luzerne County, Pa., is conspicuous, Foxes, 

 weazels, skunks, owls, hawks and all the pestiferous class 

 of preying animals and birds destroy more game each 

 season than the poachers and lawless gunners and trap- 

 pers. Foxes are reported very abundant this year in 

 certain sections of New England and the Middle States. 

 Sportsmen in those same sections may, as the result,iook 

 for a scarcity of game birds. 



Cricket Club Meetings,— The annual meeting of the 

 Staten Island Cricket Club was held at Delmonico's,_ 

 Broad street, on the 2d inst. The following Board of 

 Directors was elected to serve for the ensuing year : Mr. 

 William Krebs, President ; Mr. E. Wiman, Vice-Presi- 

 dent ; Mr. E. H. Outerbridge, Secretary, 23 South street ; 

 Mr. W. M. Betts, Treasurer, 87 Leonard street ; Messrs. 

 William M. Donald, R. B. Whittemore, E. W. Stevens, 

 W. H. Davidgeand Ashton Harvey. The late Secretary, 

 Sir. W. H. Davidge, read his annual report, the pith of 

 which, including the club's averages, have already been 

 published in the Forest and Stream's cricket columns. 

 The Treasurer's report showed the club's income for laBt 

 year to have been $2,701.52. This does not include the 

 gate money received from the Irish and English matches, 

 After paying all expenses there is left a handsome bal- 

 ance in bank. The vote on the amendment to prohibit 

 members who are also members of other organizations 

 from playing against the club in matches was carried by 

 a two-thirds vote. The clause does not apply to college, 

 school or commercial elevens. This reform was much 

 needed, not only to stamp the club's individuality, but 

 also to protect one or two kindred organizations in this 

 vicinity. The chair was instructed to appoint a commit- 

 tee of five to revise the present constitution and by-laws, 

 and it wisely suggested that the captains of both elevens 

 are to be elected by the elevens, and not selected by the 

 committee, as heretofore. The new mode will commit, 

 as it were, each player to his choice, and will give less 

 opportunity to "kick." A large number of new mem- 

 bers were elected, and the propriety of building a new 

 club house is in serious contemplation. 



The St. George's Club had their meeting atDelmonico's, 

 Twenty-sixth street, on the 2d inst. The following officers 

 were elected for the current year: President, Mr. J, T. Scat- 

 ter ; Vice-President, Mr. G. T. Green; Treasurer, Mr. B. 

 Mostyn ; Secretary, Mr. G. Hyde-Clarke ; Committee, 

 Messrs. E. H. Moeran, C. W. Bance, David B. Gilbert, T. C. 

 Richardson and J. P. Conover. The suggestion to divide 

 theclub'H ground at Hcboken with the Columbia, College 

 Club has been referred to a special committee, The 

 Secretary's and Treasurer's reports were both read and 

 adopted ; and the club trust this year to play several out- 

 of-town matches. 



