FOREST AND STREAM. 
071 
' /rest and Stream in the Sick Room.—V ictor Cherbu- 
~*"n‘ tells of a famous and skilful physician, who admibis- 
^red to his patients ail the medicines of the schools, but 
■ when ill himself, he used only one simple rerusdy distilled 
from a little flower growing high up on his native Alps. 
The healing virtues of the draught may have been not 
more in tbe berb itself than in the mountain scenery, the 
P’n-e Alpine atmosphere and the youth giving associations 
of his childhood’s home. Be this as it may, fresh air, sun¬ 
shine and rest are Mother Nature’s remedies for soul sick¬ 
ness and bodily ill. It is not always possible, however, 
to avail oneself of these, even though they be without 
money and without price. When the mountain would 
not come to Mahomet, Hahomet went to the mountain. 
In these later timeB if we can neither bring the moun¬ 
tains to us nor go to them, we can at least catch much of 
their Bpirit in the printed sheet; and so it is that many 
invalids find in the Forest and Stream something of the 
benediction of the woods and streams. He is a consider¬ 
ate physician who stuffs his pockets with copies of the 
paper and administers them along with the remedies of 
the pharmacopoeia. Here is what is written of a sports¬ 
man doctor ■- “As for myself, I have had the benefit of the 
paper for more than a year through the kindness of my 
physician. I have been a miserable invalid for years and 
I can say this much for a sportsman doctor, that he is 
the kindest, the most patient, and the most successful 
of any man of his profession that it has been my good 
fortune to meet.” 
—A curious bit of the moonshine superstition—fami¬ 
liar to our readers by its discussion in these columns— 
has been developed by the current debate about Edison's 
electric light. A New York “ Ph, D,” with all serious¬ 
ness urges as a final objection to the use of the light 
that it possesses the baneful properties of the moon’s 
rays, and if generally used it would exert a malignant 
influence upon every one exposed to it. Had this Doctor 
of Philosophy allowed the light of the Forest and 
Stream to illumine his understanding, there would have 
been no need of thus making himself a laughing-stock 
in the public prints. Esto lux, 
GAME PROTECTION. 
Game Laws of Spain. —Sport in Spain has something 
of the zest of tiger hunting when the tiger is doing the 
hunting, The sportsman there must liie him away to 
the wilds if he would find game, and that is a rather dan¬ 
gerous proceeding if he happens to be rich, for the hills 
are infested by gangs of robbers who do not hesitate 
to bag a sportsman and demand a heavy ransom for his 
release. The country is generally not posted, and the 
game law code is substantially as follows:— 
1, Land owners may shoot over their own property all 
the year round. 2. Shooters over publio grounds must 
not shoot in the close season. 3. The close season is from 
April 1st to September 1st in northern, and from March 
1st to September 1st in southern Spain. 4. No guns may 
be fired in snowy or misty weather. 5. Angling is al¬ 
lowed all the year round, but net fishing is forbidden to 
ail from March 1st to fuly 30th. 6. Decoy birds and nets 
for birds are only allowable for flights of quail and stock¬ 
doves. 
Michigan Sportsmen’s Association.— The Fifth An¬ 
nual Session of the Michigan Sportsmen’s Association 
will be held at Bay City, on Tuesday, Feb. 3d next, and 
continue two, and perhaps three days, The most in¬ 
teresting aud profitable meeting yet held and the largest 
attendance since the organization of the association are 
indicated and confidently expected by its officers and 
members. Every sportsman in the State, whether a 
member of a club or not, is invited; every fish culturist 
and fisherman in the State is urged to be present; breed¬ 
ers of sporting dogs should attend ; all interested in the 
study of natural history, especially the game animals, 
birds and fishes of the State should he there, to impart 
and to receive information of mutual benefit to all. Dis¬ 
appointed, but not discouraged, in their failure to secure 
better and wiser game laws at the last Legislative, Session, 
the State Sportsmen's Association will renew their efforts 
in the interest of game and fish preservation, and ask the 
cooperation of all good citizens in this cause. If time 
permits, after the legitimate business of the convention 
has been disposed of, the Bay City sportsmen will provide 
a if!ass ball shoot for the entertainment of their guests. 
Places of interest will be visited, while a trip to the ‘‘city 
(of fishermen) on the ice ” on the Bay is among the 
possibilities, which will be of itself a feature of great in¬ 
terest. Visitors are assured of a hearty welcome, and 
that they will be well cared for with the hospitable cour¬ 
tesy characteristic of the Bay City Sportsmen. The Sec¬ 
retary is H. B. Roney, East Saginaw. 
Migratory Quail— Washington Pa. Jan. 3d!.—We 
imported one hundred migratory quail last season, they 
arrived in excellent condition, without the loss of a single 
bird. When let loose they displayed a degree of wing 
ower really surprising, when we consider their long con- 
nement, I let loose two pairs on my farm in good cover. 
They flew away at once into a large field of sturdy wheat, 
then just heading, and I have not seen one of them since, 
although, about October 1st. hunted over the farm assisted 
by a half son of Nellie* without standing or uncovering a 
single bird. I then gave up all hope of their success in 
this region, and remained under that impression until 
about November 1st. when one of my men ran across 
a covey of about twenty young birds within two hundred 
yards of the spot where I first let them escape, Since 
then we have seen nothing of them. Reports from other 
parts of the country, are similar to my own. We still 
hope that a number of birds were hatched, and that the 
gentle spring zephyrs may return them to us in increased 
numbers. X. Y, Z. 
N. Y. NATIONAL GUARD PRACTICE IN 1879. 
T HE report of the General Inspector of Rifle Practice 
of the State of New York has just been made to 
the Adjutant General of the State. It is a highly satis¬ 
factory showing of the work of a large number of men, 
and shows that the Empire State is an unquestioned 
leader in this part of the full duty of a State. In pre¬ 
vious years the matter of rifle practice was so new, and 
the difficulty in creating an interest so great, that the 
main endeavor was to encourage the troops to shoot as 
much as possible. Demands for ammunition and trans¬ 
portation were honored by the proper officer to an un¬ 
limited extent, but at the close of the year 1878 the con¬ 
dition of rifle practice in most, if not all, the several 
organizations had become such as to render no special 
encouragement necessary beyond the issue of such am¬ 
munition and transportation as were required for the 
practice exacted by the State, with a reasonable amount 
for team shooting. The amount fixed upon was sixty 
rounds per man on the muster roll, with extra allowance 
for team practice ; but a failure of funds made it neces¬ 
sary that only forty rounds per man for all purposes 
should be issued, and so it was ordered. There has been 
a uniformity of practice during the past year more than 
in any previous year. There has been a rigid compli¬ 
ance with the rule requiring each man to use his own 
particular rifle. The report passes in review the thirty- 
three ranges which have been established in. this State 
and which are used as places of practice by the mem¬ 
bers of the National Guard. In establishing the first 
ranges the tendency was to make them too large and too 
expensive, it being expected that they would receive 
more support from the public at large than experience 
has shown to be the case. The general policy of the mili¬ 
tary authorities has been to establish in each Division dis¬ 
trict a large central range on which the Division matches 
could be shot, and then establish other ranges of smaller 
size readily accessible for local practice. Ranges permit¬ 
ting practice up to 600 yards have been the rule. 
Creedmoor is the original range of America, and from 
1873 to 1875 was the only official shooting ground. The 
other ranges are at Yonkers, Ellenville, Sing Sing, 
Poughkeepsie, Kingston, Newburgh. Hudson, GrandView 
Range, near Albany, Troy, Glen’s Falls, Saratoga (range 
abandoned), Whitehall, Port Henry, Malone, Syracuse, 
Auburn, Moravia, Oswego, Watertown ,Lowville, Utica, 
Oneonta, Rochester, Elmira, Binghamton, Penn Yan, 
Buffalo, Ellicottville, BataYia, Warsaw, Westfield and 
Jaraestowh. 
The system of practice pursued, after many changes in 
first years of rifle practice here, has at last been fixed on 
what appears to be a definite plan, as suggested by the 
meetings of the regimental and brigade inspectors of 
rifle practice. It is a system which should be adopted in 
other States where attention is paid to rifle practice, so 
that a ready means of comparison should be had at all 
times between the forces of several States. 
Each organization is now divided into four classes. 
Eaoh man starts in the fourth class. As soon as he shoots 
in class-tiring he passes into the third class, without re¬ 
gard to any score he may make, he having necessarily 
learned more about loading and firing his rifle than men 
who have never visited a range for practice. 
The third-class shoot (standing) at 100 and 150 yards ; 
the second at 300 yards (kneeling), and 400 yards (lying): 
and the first at 200 yards (standing), and 500 yards (ly¬ 
ing). Each class fires five shots at each distance, and, to 
qualify, must make 25 points out of a possible 50. No 
sighting shots are allowed. 
A final classification is made of each organization in 
November of each year, and its “ figure of merit” com¬ 
puted by allowing:— 
For eaoh man who has become a marksman .... 100 
For “ “ remaining in the first class .... 60 
For “ “ “ “ “ second class ... 30 
For “ “ “ “ “ third class. ... 10 
For “ “ “ “ “ fourth class. . . . 0 
These figures are aggregated, and divided by the num¬ 
ber (present and absent) of the organization as shown at 
its last annual inspection, the result being its “ figure of 
merit.” 
There have been received detailed reports from organi¬ 
zations numbering 17,251 men, as against 17,623 in 1878, 
13,343 in 1877, 10,946 in 1876, and 7,670 in 1875. The sinail 
falling off in 1879 is accounted for by the fact that the artil¬ 
lery organizations have, in accordance with instructions, 
mainly omitted to report. 
The number of marksmen for 1879 is 3,641, as against 
3,059 in 1878, 2,126 in 1877, 9l8 in 1876, and 583 in 1875. 
The number remaining in the several classes in the two 
years just passed, were as follows : First class, 1879, 858 ; 
1878, 793. Second class, 1879, 2,534 ; 1878, 3,152. Third 
class, 1879, 2,155 ; 1878, 2,573. Fourth class, 1879, 7,973 ; 
1878, 8,049. 
The highest “ figure of merit ” was won by the Ninth 
Separate Company, of Whitehall, Captain Baseom. He 
has seventy-two men, and fifty-six of them became marks¬ 
men. The figure was 95.64. The Thirteenth Separate 
Company of Warsaw, was next with 77.07 ; tbe Seven- 
teentli Separate Company, of Flushing, next with 68.54 : 
and the Sixth Separate Company (the Citizen’s Corps, of 
Troy) next with 63.27 ;_the Eighteenth Separate Company, 
of Glen’s Fall, followed with 60.48. Those five companies 
have an aggregate marching roll of 328 names. The high¬ 
est regimental -‘figure of merit” was taken by the Seventh 
Regiment—58.64 against42.051astyear. The regiment had 
854 rnen, total strength, and 411 became marksmen, while 
145 members of the command did not visit tbe ranges. 
It will be seen that the Separate Companies lead tbe 
large organizations. This is on account of the interest 
taken by their officers, bringing out all the men and re¬ 
ducing the non-attendants to a minimum, Besides, the 
Separate Companies are country organizations, being in 
towns or large villages where the range is readily accessi¬ 
ble, and the men are in many cases accustomed to the 
handling of firearms. Twenty-four companies in the State 
have got a “figure of meric” of over 50. These include 
the Ninth, Thirteenth, Seventeenth, Sixth, Eighteenth, 
Twentieth, and Thirtieth Separate Companies; Companies 
H, I, E, C, F, B, G, and K of the Seventh Regiment; 
Company A, of the Forty-eighth ; Companies A, B, E, 
and G, of the Forty-ninth Regiment; Companies D and C, 
Sixteenth Battalion; Company D, Twenty-third Regi¬ 
ment ; Company R, Twelfth Regiment. 
The work on the ranges lias been admirably well per¬ 
formed. The method of handling the troups at all the 
larger ranges, and the performance by officers and men 
of the detail connected with the close firing of a regi¬ 
ment, assimilate very closely to the duties required dur¬ 
ing service in the field. The bronze marksmen’s badges 
with the many bars, have been replaced, in the case of 
marksmen of five years standing, by a silver medal con¬ 
sisting of a silver Greek cross with a bar inscribed, “Vet¬ 
eran Marksman.” 
Great pains have been taken to explain to the various 
commanding officers that the fundamental principle of 
the system of rifle practice, is that accurate shooting is a 
necessary result of drill, to be car ried on by the company 
officers in their armories during the drill season, and that 
practice upon the ranges is mainly intended to test the 
lessons previously taught. It is the duty of the company 
officers to instruct their men during such drill season in 
shooting, and that the success which will be attained on 
the ranges and their company “ figure of merit ” will be 
in exact proportion to the care given in this particular. 
The figure of merit of most companies owes its largest 
reduction to absentees from practice, and that that com¬ 
pany is relatively superior which reduces its third and 
fourth class to a minimum as compared with that having 
a number of marksmen with high scores but a large pro¬ 
portion of uninstructed men. 
The following remarks on volley firing are the conclu¬ 
sions reached by the Inspector :— 
The limited amount of ammunition available has pre¬ 
vented any practice in volley firing, except such as has 
been voluntarily practiced. This is to be regretted. Vol¬ 
ley fire is that wbioli would he used in all conflicts in 
cities, which are those in which the National Guard are 
most likely to be called upon to participate. Experience 
has shown that with a little drill men can shoot by vol¬ 
ley with almost as much accuracy as in individual shoot¬ 
ing. The firing by volley is much preferable to that of 
firing by file, in all cases where aim is required to be 
taken, the men not being interfered with by their com¬ 
panions in the ranks, and the smoke lifting much more 
quickly from a volley than where it is constantly renewed 
as in file firing. Firing by volley is also valuable from 
its permitting the expenditure of ammunition to be kept 
under the control of the commanding officers, a fact 
which with the breech loaders now in use is of the ut¬ 
most importance. Soldiers firing by file in ranks become 
excited from the haste around them and fire faster and 
faster, using up their ammunition to no purpose, and be¬ 
coming nervous. When they listen for their officers’ 
command they are more apt to remain steady. 
The objections to the carbino as issued to the State are 
renewed, aud this useless little arm characterized in 
proper terms. The .50 cal. Remington rifle, which is the 
State arm, is described as antiquated, in view of the fact 
that tbe Government arms and all newly adopted rifleB 
have the .44 or .45 calibres. A weapon carrying the 
Government cartridge is the arm to be sought for. The 
scores for the several State matches are appended to the 
report, which is full in other respects not here touched 
upon, and it is noteworthy that while nearly a million 
cartridges have been used during the year at State prac¬ 
tice, and many more in private practice, not an accident 
of any kind is reported. 
More Experiments by Rabbeth.— Providence, R. I., 
Dec. 28/.h, 1879 .—Editor Forest and Stream: — Sir —Wish¬ 
ing to know the truth about that new-fangled projectile, 
the “ express bullet,” I reoently procured small lots of 
40, 44 and 45 calibres of the Winchester Metallio Cart¬ 
ridge Company aud Sharps Rifle Company make. I waB 
much disappointed in the appearance of both lots. 
Neither appeared to have been swaged at all. I wrote 
the Sharps Company expressing my disappointment at the 
imperfections appareutin their bullets. They replied that 
the bullets sent me were just such as they sent their 
other customers, and that they were satisfied with them. 
I tested the 45-305 gr. bullets very carefully also some I 
improvised by drilling out a Sharps military bullet 
(swaged and patched) 420 grs. to receive a long 22 calibre 
shell, same as those sent from the factory, weight now- 
345 grs. I fired eight consecutive shots in a N. M. 
Sharps Rifle, 200 yards from rest, using . 90 grs. ‘FG 
powder. The group made with bullets sent from factory 
required a 16-incb circle to cover them. Those I drilled 
out were all grouped in an 8f-in circle. The drop of the 
factory bullets in the second 100 yards was 154 inches, 
that of the improvised lOf inch. I then wrote the Sharps 
Company giving the results of my tests, and remarked, 
that “ when a hunter had tramped all day to get a shot 
at large game it was of the utmost importance that his 
ammunition should be as perfect as possible, and that, as 
between two kinds of bullets having the difference in ac¬ 
curacy which these appeared to have, the inferior kind 
could'not be given away except as old lead, after the 
difference once became known to those using them.” At 
the same time I made the above test I also fired eight con¬ 
secutive shots from a Peabody-Martinimilitary, using 100 
grs. F G powder,480 grs. bullet drilled out to receive long 
22 calibre shell, weight 431 grs. Group Sf inch ; drop in 
second 100 yards, 13f inch. I did not test the 40 calibre 
Sharps express bullets, as they appeared quite as imper¬ 
fect as the larger ones. The Winchester Metallio Cart¬ 
ridge Company’s 40-225 grs.. tested in a Peabody-Martini 
sporting 26-incli barrel, using 75 grs. F G( powder, 209 
yards from rest, required a 14-inch circle to cover eight 
consecutive shots. Drop in second 100 yards, 15 inches. 
Eight consecutive shots, same time and distance, 330 gr. 
bullet (swaged and patched), drilled out to receive a 22 
calibre shell, weight 264 grs. grouped in a 6f-inch circle ; 
drop in second 100 yards, 14 inches. 
1 find innsing a light hollow-pointed bullet with paper 
patch, that it is essential to good shooting that the patch 
should be slit on one side nearly to the upper edge, other¬ 
wise the bullet will not upset properly to fill the grooves. 
In testing the Winchester Metafile Cartridge Company’s 
