246 



rOREST AND STREAM. 



[April 39, 1880, 



and perch. In the parent streams those fish are .bold 

 bitera, but in the ponds they never take a hook. I have 

 rtied them with all kinds of bait, and with the fly. but to 

 no purpose. They do not seem wild, simply indifferent. 

 These same ponds lw a'n i •■ orthless variety of catfish, 

 which at times will bite ravenously ai any bait. I have 

 known of repeated ;i!ul strenuous efforts having been 

 made by others beside myself to induce the bass and 

 perch of these ponds to take the hook, but altogether 

 without success. 



These are the facts in the case. Cannot some follower 

 of the angle give us a solution of the difficulties they 

 present? _ Will. 



Flashing Flt-Rods.— We notice that Fjrest and 

 Stream, of New York, has taken up this flashing sub- 

 ject, and thinks it deserves attention. One correspond- 

 ent of that capital paper says his experience is. that if 

 the angler keeps out of sight, no amount of flashing will 

 BOiu-e the fish, and we incline to agree with him, for 

 this reason: We have repeatedly caught trout, chub 

 and grayling during a thunderstorm, and when Hashes of 

 lightning have been vivid and frequent ; in fact, we re- 

 member "once fishing in the Rye, above Haw n by, during 

 one of the most terrific thunderstorms we have ever 

 seen either in this country or abroad, the flashes of light- 

 ning, frequently forked, were almost incessant, and we 

 several times struck fish, the rise of which a flash had 

 enabled us to detect, for the stream was so shaded by 

 trees in many places, and the black clouds overhead 

 made things so dark, it was a difficult matter to detect a 

 rise. Now, if trout are not frightened by such terrific 

 lightning, to say nothing of the thunder, which seemed 

 to shake the hills, is it likely the flash of a fly-rod will 

 scare them? The flashing of a light at night attracts 

 fish, as salmon poachers well know. — Fishing Gazette. 



Fishing and the Sun-Spots. — In the last number of 

 Kordishe Tidsskrift for Fiskeri, the Swedish ichthyolo- 

 gist, Dr. Ljungman, gives an interesting account of the 

 connection which exists between the wanderings of the 

 herring and the recurrence of the sun-spots. To the 

 Scandinavian people, the herring fishery in the fjords 

 and along the coast ia a principal source of wealth, and 

 as this industry formerly was a royal monopoly, and 

 often played a prominent part in the foreign policy of the 

 Kings, the State archives contain very minute statistics 

 of its yield, as far back as the beginning of the four- 

 teenth century. An examination of these statistics shows 

 that there rules a certain periodicity in the herring har- 

 vest, and Dr, Lj ungman has now demonstrated that the 

 regular decrease and increase correspond exactly to the 

 periods of the sun-spots : not only to the great period of 

 fifty-five and a half years, but also to the minor ones Of 

 eleven years. The herrings go and come with the sun- 

 Bpots. The explanation Which the Doctor offers, of the 

 connection between these two so different phenomena is 

 is as yet a mere hypothesis, but it sounds quite probable. 

 On the one hand, scientists have established beyond 

 doubt that there is a connection between the sun-spots 

 and certain terrestrial agencies, as for instance, the 

 magnetic currents. On the other hand, fishermen know 



that there is a connection between certain met ' .... 



cal phenomena and the success or failure of their craft. 

 Thus, when the mackerel cloud appears as above, the 

 mackerel fish is sure to he found beneath. Dr. Lj ung- 

 man 's hypothesis now is that the sun-spots cause a change 

 in the currents of the sea, by which the food on which 

 the herring feeds is carried now to this place, and now to 

 that. — New York Times, 



y 



LOOK SHARP. 



Beaveriuix Club, April VtUi. 

 Editor Forest and Stream :— 



Now that the effect of our Mend Halloek's mischievous base- 

 hall joke, about trout kaockinR flies into their mouths with their 

 tails, has somewhat wora off, let me ask fly-fishermen to observi 

 during the present bcusou that trout often (not always) strike at 

 the fly with their tallB. Close observers will occasionally seen 

 trout come out of the water, arid hit with its tall a natural fly, 

 Striking it down to Ibesuriaeo; the trout will thou drop inio the 

 water head first, turu, come up and eat the fly. Probably bait- 

 flshermea will laugrh at this ; that is whore most of the laughter 

 camefrom Defore when this subject was liefng discussed, but 

 then b:iit fishermen very seldom see a trout alive. 1 believe tl 

 was one gentleman who claimed to be a llf-llsherman, who 

 that trout move so fast that he could not see quickly eooilg 

 see one of them come out. of the wafer, turn over and go back. 

 Probably that gentleman ia a novice, or else "gun-shy " with his 

 trout-rod, t. e„ shuts his eyes aad gives a jvrk lit the rod when his 

 fly touches the water, just us a woman does when she pulls the 

 trigger of a gun. After a mau has used his eyes for twenty .years, 

 or even less, in the wild woods, and on mountain streams, his eyes 

 get so that they see distinctly many things, paths without a traee, 

 shadows, motions— 



" With here a blossom sailing, 

 And here and there a lusty trout, 



And here and there a grayling. 

 And here and there a foamy flako 



With many a silvery waterbreak 

 :•: : Above the golden gravel," 

 to all of whioh he whs blind when he first began to hold commun- 

 ion with nature. A number of lly-llshermen have agreed with 

 me as to having seen trout strike with their tails at tlios out of 

 he water, and I hope to have many gentlemen confirm our ex- 

 perience, in your columns, this year. 



Happy the man who is so familiar with nature that he can say, 

 with the old Massachusetts poet, Jones Very :— 



"The bubbling brook doth leap when I come bv, 



Because my feet find incisure with its Bill ; 

 The flower that on the lonely hillside grows 



Expects me there, when spring its bloom hath given ; 

 And many a true and bush my wandering knows, 

 And e'en the clouds and silent stars of heaven." 



Geo. W. VasSiclen. 



ghe gennd 



Trout Brooks.— Westjield I'lats, Sullivan Co..N. 1.— 

 The best wild trout fishing for months of April, May and 

 June in the State— Beaverkill, Willowemock, Stewarts, 

 Jftuasell and Spring brooks, within an hour's drive. 



SOMETHING ABOUT BREAKERS AND DOG 

 BREAKING 



fourth paper. 



THERE is an old saying that '•' you may take ahorse 

 to water, but you cannot make him drink," and it 

 can equally well lie said that you may take your dog to a 

 snipe meadow, but you cannot make him hunt. Should 

 it be your misfortune to have selected such a one, and at 

 the outset of your practioal tuition find that you have 

 been mistaken in your preliminary tests— discard the dog 

 at once, for he is unworthy of your time and trouble. 

 It is usually only in the field, and in front of the gun, 

 that the dog's "true inwardness " can be ciphered out, as 

 oftentimes all previous calculations go for naught. He 

 must have snap and bottom, pluck and go, no fear to face 

 the briers or wet his feet — no shirker of his duty or 

 waster of your time ; for even if you perambulate on 

 crutches, as pictured by John Leach, avoid a pottering 

 dog. As young dogs, however, arc liable to tire out, par- 

 ticularly when first handled on rough or miry ground 

 with which they are unaccustomed, common sense would 

 teach us that the youngster should be in the best of trim 

 when first brought face to face with the fortunes of the 

 field and flood. It is necessary that Ms first acquaintance 

 with game should leave a pleasant remembrance j there- 

 fore, beware in the excitement of the glorious sport, of 

 overtaxing the strength of your puppy by shooting 

 over too long a beat, or by working him all day, as if he 

 were an old field dog. Remember, he really must not be 

 taken home tired, so that he is unfit to take the field on 

 the succeeding day ; but rather call him in to heel after a 

 few hours of successful work. Constant fatigue will tak 



the snap out of any _ 

 into a listless and careless way of 

 overwork, when young, that cam 

 " one-hour dogs " in the field at tl 

 Of the many ways to conditio! 

 haps, is the daily exercise which t 

 smooth bill-side, in makingjiim i 

 rolled swiftly towards the botton 

 this exercise in view that we argt 

 that all young dogs should be ta 

 of this play every da 



d he 



•ill S 



nng hi 

 1 us to 



ipr 



tiino fall 

 wk. It is 



a so many 



dog, the best, per- 

 m be given him on a 

 brieve a bail which is 

 . It was partly with 

 3d in a previous paper 

 ight to retrieve. An 



ill harden life 



the muscles of any dog, give spring to his legs and strength 

 to his back, expand his chest, and give him plenty of 

 wind— a very essential requisite— the cultivation of 

 which does not receive the proper attention. We do not 

 believe in exercising a sporting dog by making him jump 

 for a ball suspended out of reach, as it is a performance 

 that may perhaps in the field lead to attempts to catch at 

 low-flying game. 



Another method which is commonly used to keep a 

 dog in trim is to allow him to run with a wagon. When 

 this is done he should in all cases be trained to run on 

 well ahead, and not behind, as the dust and dirt stirred 

 up will choke him and frequently injure his eyes. We 

 do not altogether believe in this practice, for in a long 

 drive a dog has hard work to keep up with a fast horse, 

 and should he, when tired, be lifted into the wagon iu 

 an overheated state, he is almost sure to catch cold. No 

 dog should ever be allowed to jump into a wagon, for 

 fear of a strain. But as any exercise is better than none 

 at all, be careful to let your dog run on in front ; he will 

 then be in continual sight, and you can see in time to 

 protect him from the attacks of way side dogs. No dog- 

 owner can be too observant of the actions of his animal 

 at all times, as the dog's good health and worth as a well 

 broken and well behaved dog depend upon the master's 

 intelligence and constant care. 



It has been our experience to find that the best dogs 

 are broken upon English snipe, which we would not have 

 too tame or lazy. The snipe meadow is iu our opinion 

 the very place to give them the benefit of your own ex- 

 perience and that of a good old steady dog, with whom 

 vou should, if possible, work them in company. But re- 

 member, at the same time, that they had much better be 

 worked alone than to be subjected to an evil example. 

 Old dogs are up to every artful maneuver. Game oaunot 

 beat them in cunning, and they are more than a match 

 for it. Therefore, let their labor at first be shared with a 

 steady companion, for there is nothing better for a young 

 dog than being worked with a first-class old one. Con- 

 tinued work will bring down their too ardent spirits; 

 and. for animals of this kind, nothing else will prove 

 really beneficial. Be sure and pick out a warm spring 

 day— the ice should be gone, and the wind blowing gently 

 from the south. Endeavor to begin your beat pi ground 

 that is entirely free from bunches of willows, ! 

 or patches of brush and briers, as it is not only n 

 thai your pupil should never be out of your sight, but he 

 should also at all times watch your movements and that of 

 his fellow -, who will at once, become bismodel. This plan 

 adopted, the attention of your voting no\ ice will not be 

 distracted from bis work in constant attempts to hunt 

 vou up for all young dogs when lost become more or 

 less bewildered and nervous, and in racing wildly about 

 endeavoring to find their master, are apt to flush birds, 

 which tends to destroy the. necessary discipline, and is 

 liable to make them unsteady before they know what 

 work really is. 



The approach to many shooting-grounds, and particu- 

 larly to snipe meadows, is often over strips of water, 

 bridged only by fallen trees or slippery fence-rails. 

 Across these logs never allow your clog to pass, but tram 

 him from the first to wade or swim. We have seen many 

 a dog seriously injured by falling straddle of a rail, and 

 many more rendered useless for the season from strains 

 received in slipping off. Teaott him also to be careful 

 how he crosses h-is fences, as these dog-traps are a bane 

 to a sportsman's holiday, A dog should be taught to pass 

 between the rails that are widest apart, but he should not 

 be forced to squeeze himself through, as the result is 

 sometimes serious. If there should be no opening, have 

 him clirnb up at the same tuna and panel that you 



cross yourself, that you may be at hand to assist him 

 should he chance to catch. " In many sections of our 

 western country the post and rail fences are built six or 

 seven feet in height, so that a dog in attempting to jump 

 them frequently has a rough fall backwards, or is occa- 

 sinally left hanging by the" legs. Let, therefore, your 

 dog accustom himself not to rush at his fences, but to 

 take them quietly, and you will have more go left in hiiu 

 •at the end of a week than the one who has no regard for 

 these precautions. 



The frequent difficulty to get on the snipe meadows, as 

 the crossing logs are few and far between, and the oou- 

 stant shifting of the wind during many of our spring 

 days, does not warrant the loss of time and trouble to go 

 far out of one's way to get to the extreme leeward side of 

 the tract. But despite of the theory of beating for snipB 

 "down wind," originally advanced by Herbert, and now 

 carried out by many of his disciples, we most earnestly 

 advocate beating fur all game, when it is possible, ex- 

 actly the other way — that is, "up wind." True it is that 

 snipe, arid, in fact, all water fowl, rise to the wind, vet it 

 is absurd to expect dogs to do other than flush the game if 

 they bear down on it with the breeze, and alarm the birds 

 with their splasbings away to windward. If your dog 

 has a fair nose he will soon be brought to stop at a dis- 

 tance that will not flush tho birds, and you can either 

 pass him and move the game yourself, or by making a 

 slight detour soon locate the birds bet ween yourself and 

 the dog. This is an excellent plan when they lay badly, 

 as it usually affords a reasonably fair shot. On Che prin- 

 ciple that paper kites are used on the Scotch moors to 

 make the grouse lay, we have heard from good authority 

 that a light-colored felt hat sent skimming through the 

 air would make wild snipe lay, We do hot, however, 

 place any particular faith in the performance, and have 

 thus far preferred to keep our hat dry and upon our head. 

 One thing, however, is certain, that the best find on a< 

 snipe meadow is on the windward side, particuhuly if 

 the wind has been blowing steadily for a day or two 

 from one quarter. Almost every bird that has moved Or 

 *een flushed has gone that way, and often the birds congre- 

 gate in large numbers in little sheltered nooks along the'ex- 

 tremewindward edge, when birds can be found innoother" 

 parts of the meadows. The very reason that snipe move 

 off to windward enables the sportsman who begins to lee- 

 ward to continue right on in his beat, while, should he, 

 start from the windward he will constantly be obliged to! 

 retrace his steps as the buds are flushed and light behind 

 him. 



Should your beat lead you among briers, through which! 

 your puppy is at first unwilling to crawl, toss a bisctuiS 

 "well in, " and point out to him the thinnest] 

 entrance to the thicket. Encourage him freely, but- 

 on no account push him in. If hungry he will soon find 

 a way to reach it. This will be his reward for the few 

 scratches, which you would have him at onci torgel 

 Neither push nor throw him into the water, should hoj 

 show a dislike to enter. Rather, on a warm day throw! 

 some biscuit that will float close to the edge of the bank, 

 where it is so shallow as merely to require his wading. 

 Chuck the next piece a little further off, and hj 

 increase the distance until he gets beyond his depth, and 

 finds that nature has given him useful swimming powers. 

 On no occasion will the example of another dog more as- 

 sist you. Shun any that may induce the youngster tCr\ 

 dive ; it can never be of service, besides it is apt to cause 

 premature deafness. 



Having thus summed up bow to ward against aeverajj 

 of the most co mm on accidents incident to the field, and 

 also told you how to get your puppy into condition for it, 

 we consider that if you follow out the following system-fl 

 atized programme of instruction, which covers four im-£ 

 portant points, it will be all that is absolutely neoea-J 

 sary :— 



To beat, that is, to have the dog range properly and 

 methodically beat out the ground, so as to avoid leaving" 

 birds behind unnoticed. 



To thaw, that is, when the dog feels a scent, to at once 

 proceed in the direction in which he may believe the 

 game to lie, and in so careful a manner locate the irauie 

 as to direct the sportsman to it. without disturbing it.' 



To point, that is. for your dog to stand immovable the 

 instant that the scent of lie game is felt with cerJ 

 tainty. 



To back, that is, to have your dog stop the moment he 

 sees another dog pointer back. 



From what we have already written, it will be sur- 

 mised that we advocate the breaking of puppies to game! 

 with the gun ; although this is a desperate point, we be- 

 lieve that they should be rewarded for their exertions by 

 having it killed over them. The shooter, however, should 

 kill nothing but game birds over anv pointer or setter, or 

 the dog will never learu his business. He should avoid, 

 above all things, shooting at rabbits, rail, larks and all 

 small, birds. The man whose pleasure it is to shoot at 

 small birds, is a walking satire on the sportsman. TrueJ 

 he genp.rally has bis •' hunting-cap " decked out 'villi 

 chippy-bird or blue-jay feathers ; but aside from this, ho 

 can always be distinguished from the action of his dog, - 

 for should a crow come flying across the meadow the dug 

 will stand excitedly watching him until he is oul oa 

 sight — they making an interesting picture, these three, 

 in which the carrion bird, iu our mind, has rather the 

 best of it. When the gunner is in tho habit of killing 

 small birds, and at other times correcting him for point- 

 ing them, is it astonishing that the dog becomes con- 

 fused and is puzzled when he comes to a snipe whether " 

 to point it or not? We have read a great deal that has 

 been written by those who have never seen a dog iu the 

 field, and simply wondered at the ridiculous suggestions 

 that have been submitted to an intelligent sporting publioj 

 Thelaughable theories of hiding quail under little baskets, 

 rather reminds one of the East Indian juggling trick 9 

 •■ Now you see it, and now you don't," Also permitting 

 the birds to fiy a few yards by having strings tied to 

 their legs, and other pantomimic tricks, is impressive no 

 doubt, but not apt to bring a dog to the proper standard 

 of what a pointer or setter should be Of C 

 severity a dog can be taught to never do wrong ; but ills' 

 spirit will he broken, and he will do his mechanical work 

 with no enjoyment or zest for the sport, without which 

 he is not worth a rap, 



At first your puppy will run about in a mean ingles? 

 way, and will stand at times looking at you. He has been 

 taught to ran ahead at tho word " On ;" it now is ttnwG 

 that he is broken to work to hand iu the field. During " 





