730 
FOREST AND STREAM 
< r 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL, 
Devoted to Field and Aquatic Sports, Practical Natural 
History. Fish Cultube, the Protection of Game,Preserva¬ 
tion of Forests, and the Inculcation in;Men and Women of 
a Healthy Interest in Out-Door Recreation and Study : 
PUBLISHED BY 
FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
—AT— 
No. Ill FULTON STREET, NEW YORK. 
[POST Office Box 2333.1 
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possible. 
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mouev or they will not be inserted. 
No advertisement or business notice of an immoral character 
will be received on any terms. 
»*»Anv publisher inserting ourprospectusasaboveone time, with 
brief editorial notice calling attention thereto,and sending marked 
copy to us, wfll receive the Forest and Stream for one year. 
NEW YORK, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1870. 
To Correspondents. 
All communications whatever, intended for publication, must be 
accompanied wit h real name of the writer as a guaranty of good 
faith and be addressed to Forest and Stream Publishing Com¬ 
pany. Names will not bo published If objection be made. Anony¬ 
mous communications will not be regarded. 
We cannot promise to return rejected manuscripts. 
Secretaries of ChibB and Associations are urged to favor us wtih 
brief notes of their movements and transactions. 
Nothing will be admitted to any department, of the paper that 
mav not be read with propriety in the home cirole. 
We cannot be responaiblefordereliction of mail service If money 
remitcd to us is lost. 
S3F" Trade supplied by American News Company. 
“A Government Key to Geography."— Postmaster 
General Key has issued an edict requiring all letters to be 
superscribed with the full address of town, county and 
State, otherwise they will not be delivered. The enforce¬ 
ment of this unexpected and peremptory mandate has al¬ 
ready done an incalculable amount of harm. Not only is 
the order preposterous, so far as concerning many hun¬ 
dreds of thousands of letter writers who have no means 
of learning the county locations of the towns to which 
they must write, but its absurdity is best shown when a 
man in New York City must address a letter to us, 
“ Forest and Stream Publishing Company, New York 
City, New York County, New York.” Now let us add, 
“ The United States of North America, Western Hemis¬ 
phere”—yes, and “World,” lest by any possibility the 
missive should stray to the Man in the Moon. 
There is, doubtless, some cause for this strange regula¬ 
tion, but its Btrict enforcement will soon derange and ob¬ 
struct the business of the country, causing untold delay, 
vexation and pecuniary loss. If it be the design of the Post 
Office Department to teach geography to the American 
people, let such an object be known, and provide some 
other service for the transportation of the mails. Every 
grown person and child should be required to know 
every town, county and State to which he writes, as a 
qualification for citizenship ; that is, in the estimation of 
the wiseacres of the Post-Office Department. 
Wild Rice. —The wild rice season has come again, and 
with it numerous letters from correspondents pour in upon 
ns asking all about its culture. We mean to tell all we 
know about it now, and must ask all of our interested 
readers to look the article over before writing to us about 
the subject. 
First—Wild rice may be obtained of Mr. A. M. Valen¬ 
tine, Janesville, Wis., who has secured one hundred 
bushels this year by having engaged it a season in ad¬ 
vance. The cost is $3 per bushel, and parties ordering 
must pay transportation charges. 
Second—The seed may be sown either in the fall or in 
the spring. The rice should be soaked until it sinks and 
then sown in water from two to five inches in depth. 
The quantity of seed to the acre may he varied from a 
bushel to a barrel. 
The culture of this cereal has been in some cases success¬ 
ful and in others unsuccessful. There are many condi¬ 
tions of success and failure as in other crops. The ma¬ 
jority oi experiments have resulted favorably. 
We shall be glad to hear from all gentlemen who are 
interested in its culture as to their methods and success. 
- m ■ » ' m - 
—When the Blackfeet Indians wish to express great 
sorrow, they say “My heart is on the ground.” 
HISTORY AND PRESENT CONDITION 
OF THE FISHERIES IN THE 
UNITED STATES. 
I N order to obtain all necessary statistics as above, the 
U. S. Fishery Commission have veiy wisely availed 
themselves of the machinery of the U. S. census, and 
have issued broadcast a series of interrogatory circulars, 
in the hope of reaching, through the friends of fish and 
fish culture, and of our commercial industries, all the 
data which can be obtained on the subject. Not only 
does the history embrace statistics of production, and the 
present capacity of our sea and ifiland fisheries, but sta¬ 
tistics of apparatus and implements, modes of capture, 
migrations of fish, enemies of fish, food of fishes, habitat 
and distribution of species, specific characteristics, 
spawning habits, curing, marketing, sources of supply, 
fish guano, fishermen, vessels, composition and nation¬ 
ality of crews, &c.; and to facilitate the collection of 
such statistical material the circular blanks are provided 
with the names of each fish and shell-fish inquired after ; 
all departments of inquiry are particularized, so that the 
laziest or least intelligent fisherman or coast dweller can 
have small excuse for not contributing bis mite of infor¬ 
mation to the vast and important general fund. Such a 
compendium as this will presumably he will have a value 
possessed in like degree by no other tabulated statisti¬ 
cal collection. With the, history of this vast industry 
traced back to its inception, and brought down to the 
year 1880, and with the condition of the fisheries there 
indicated and mapped out, as it were, in plain view and 
tangible presence, it is manifest that fish-catchers and 
fisli-culturists will have a rare basis for intelligent future 
action and operation. We may hope that the day is not 
distant when the Fish Commissioners of our several 
States, who have been serving as independent brigades in 
desultory work, will find a base for systematic opera¬ 
tions, where their energies will be neither wasted or misap¬ 
plied. They should be all made subordinate and subsidiary 
to the U. S. Fishery Commission as a Board of Direction, 
and this Board of Direction should be empowered by 
action of Congress to obtain appropriations from the 
several States for purposes of fish culture and fish pro¬ 
tection, and to indicate and draft a budget of protective 
laws based upon the scientific information which their 
machinery enables them to gather. When the census' is 
completed, the discussion of the policy here indicated 
will be in order. 
- ^i « - 
THE SPORTSMAN DEFINED. 
T HE genuine sportsman, whatever his business may 
be, is always a true artist. He pursues his favorite 
amusement with a zest which astonishes the pot hunter 
and spear wielder. While they sleep or dawdle around 
camp, he is out and away, gathering inspiration from the 
nameless delights which rise like a perfume on every 
breeze and salute him with soulful welcome. The vary¬ 
ing tints of spring’s soft verdure, the sheen of midsum¬ 
mer's embellishment, and the glorious fruition of autum¬ 
nal splendor, imbue his mind with feelings of superior 
affection for every concomitant of nature. There is a 
warmth in the glance of his eye, and a whole-souled, ar¬ 
dent ease in his way of doing the most unimportant things, 
which the average Btay at home, plodding man of busi¬ 
ness has no time to learn or wish to cultivate. However 
his voice may sound it still retains that undertone of mel¬ 
ody which charms the human heart and gratifies the rea¬ 
soning analysis of skilled intelligence. The simple secret 
of all this superiority is improvement, the deep draughts 
which sober and refine without diminishing the glow of 
animal spirits or checking the cultivation of creative ge¬ 
nius. Ruskin has explained this intellectual accretion by 
declaring that it results from a cultivation of the better 
impulses of our nature.* And no doubt he fathoms the 
theme with the lead line of art, which Sir. T. Browne 
lengthens in his declaration : “ All things are artificial, 
for nature is the art of God.” Seneca, too, bears witness 
to the sound philosophy of natural art. “It is,” he says, 
“ the bounty of nature that we live, but of philosophy, 
that we live well; which is, in truth, a greater benefit 
than life itself.” 
Wherever a sportsman of this character is found we 
recognise a gentleman at once, and recognise what tre¬ 
mendous influences he wields over the young. No matter 
how humble, or how exalted his station in life may be, 
we see the young attracted to him, oft«n by his very pur¬ 
suits, and comprehend the wonderful prudence of di¬ 
vine intent. 
Such a sportsman will not fail to be abroad for days, 
and weeks if possible, during the natural holiday of na¬ 
ture. Of all the year this concentration in every kind and 
degree has no equal. The air is pure and bracing. The 
fogs and chill rains of September have passed away, leav¬ 
ing the whole landscape in the very zenith of its beauty 
and the earth laden with material realizations of the lan¬ 
guid sum m er’s prophecy. Every bird is on the wing and 
* “ He only advances in life whose heart is getting softer, whose 
blood warmer, whose brain quicker, whose spirit is entering into 
living space." 
every voice of nature filling the azure with its inspiring 
diapason of melody and praise. The gladdened hearts of 
child and man unite in the serene pleasures of a simple 
woodland walk or the inspiring ardor of every known 
sport by field and flood. The morning song of Memnon 
is not an uncertain, lingering monody, but glad, and 
sweet and tender like the united voices of a happy house¬ 
hold “ when the vesper hymn is stealing” and the soul 
is filled with transcendent peace. Ego. 
GAME PROTECTION. 
The Law Permitting Hounding.— Jamestoum, N. Y ., 
Sept. doth. —We have a club here composed of sixty-five 
members, a gallery fitted up to practice in winter and 
stormy weather, and have just fitted a 200-yard range for 
off-hand practice. Our members keep a sharp look-out 
for all infringements upon the game laws ; but the law 
passed last winter in regard to hounding of deer does not 
suit us out here, and is going to be the means of cleaning 
them all out unless we can have it amended. It just suits 
the Indians on the Cattaraugus reservation, and they are 
going to annihilate the last deer in this section if it is not 
stopped, and many of the vagabond whites are lending a 
helping hand. I have fought dogs all of my younger 
years, and tried to save the game, and would do so now if 
I were at liberty. But business compels me to stay here 
in the city, and I cannot get out to protect them. They 
ran into the river a splendid four-prong buck last week 
near the State line, and killed him. He was quite poor, 
and had the smallest set of antlers imaginable for a deer 
of his size. The fact is, the weather was so severe here 
last winter that the deer came through mere skin and 
bones, and have not fully recovered yet. We shall see no 
large or remarkable sets of antlers this fall for that 
reason. Our club are all to a man against this hounding 
of deer at any season of the year, and we are bound 
to have our Assemblyman from this district do what he 
can for the cause. The black and gray squirrel are also 
pretty well killed out. The ruffed grouse stood it better, 
and are quite plenty. Woodcock about as usual. Duck 
rather scarce ou our lake, but hope for more later in the 
season. Our lake fishermen are having lots of fun, taking 
good hauls every day trolling. But the law prohibiting 
the taking of them through the ice in winter is all that 
saved them. Thos. J. F. 
Our readers will bear in mind that, although the law 
of 1879 permits hounding deer with dogs, it does not 
apply to St. Lawrence county. 
No License in Prince Edward Island. —No shooting 
license is required for non-residents in Prince Edward 
Island. For the convenience of our friends who have an 
eye to the game of that country, we append the close 
game seasons :—Trout, Oct. 1st to Dec. 1st; salmon, Sept. 
1st to Dec. 31st; partridge, Feb. 15th to Oct. 1st; wood¬ 
cock and snipe, Jan. 1st to Aug. 20th ; water fowl, wild 
duck, March 1st to Aug. 10th : muskrat, otter and mar¬ 
tin, May 1st to Nov. 1st; hares or rabbits, March 1st to 
Sept. 1st. The secretary of the Fish and Game Protec¬ 
tive Association is Hon. S. D. Fitzgerald, Charlottetown, 
N. B. 
A TRIP TO NORTH PARK. 
(seventh paper.) 
[from our staff correspondent.] 
W HAT a charm there is about a camp among the 
green timber! The fragrant needles of the ever¬ 
greens, spread thickly upon the ground, form a soft dry 
couch which would woo sleep to men less tired than our¬ 
selves. A glorious fire of resinous logs sends up spouts of 
flame which almost scorch the tufted twigs of the great fir 
beneath which we lie stretched at full length, and black col¬ 
umns of smoke, varied occasionally by showers of sparks, 
wind in and ont among the branches above us. The yel¬ 
low and brown trunks of the trees flicker in the change¬ 
ful glow of the red light, and cast queer shadows behind 
them into the dark depths of the forest. Just at the edge 
of the circle of light we can see the shadowy and uncer¬ 
tain forms of some of the horses, which, having satisfied 
their appetite, have moved toward us to share the cheery 
sociability of the fire. As soon as the shadows had de¬ 
scended on the valley the temperature fell rapidly, and by 
the time it was quite dark the air was cold and crisp. 
We spread our blankets close to the fire and slept well 
and soundly, only awakened once or twice during the 
night by the noise made by some one who rose to replen¬ 
ish the fire, which had burned down to a heap of white 
ashes, 
The early sun peeping over the snowy tops of the neigh¬ 
boring mountains, and sending his long slanting rays in 
and out among the pine trees in our little valley, may 
have smiled to himself as he looked upon the shivering 
half-dozen wretches who were clustered together as close 
to the fire as possible. The change in the appearance of 
things which had taken place since the night before was 
startling. The grass, flowers and willows were white 
with frost, and all the beautiful blossoms that we had so 
much admired during our ride of yesterday, were shriv¬ 
eled and apparently destroyed by the keen breath of ap¬ 
proaching winter; the ice on some water left standing in 
our camp-kettle was so thick that we took the handle of 
the hatchet to break it, and the manes of the horses were 
sparkling with congealed moisture. The operation of per¬ 
forming one’s toilet in the half-frozen water which flowed 
down from a snow-drift above our camp, was a painful 
one, and most of the party, I think, cut their ablutions 
very short that morning. Half an hour after the sun 
