Forest and Stream 



A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 



NEW YORK, DECEMBER 14, 1882. 



OORRESPOmtEHfOE. 



Tin: Foucsr and Stream is the recognized medium of entertain- 

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 respectfully Invited. Anonymous communications will not be re- 

 garded! No nam.- Mill be published except with writer's consent. 

 The Editors arc not. responsible for the views of correspondents. 



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CONTENTS. 



EdkcobiAl. 



Sea and Riveh Fish i no.. 



The Sea Serpent. 

 Danevrous Delay. 

 What Will You Do About. It? 



The Blue-Back Trout. 



A Nepigon Trout. 

 t.ar-'e Black Bass. 



Their Last !:• tuge. 



Adirondack Fishes, 



Our Holiday Numbers. 



FisHeCLTURE. 



Adirondack Survey tTotes -y.iy. 



Penning Whitefisli 1TU11 they 



'I lie. Si'OUTSjL-, 1',., ;:■-:,■. 





One Deer. 



TiieKeknkl. 



Natural History. 



The National Field Trials. 



The New Zeland Bird Nuisance. 



Ottawa Bench Show. 



Bird Migration iu the Mississippi 



Kennel Notes. 



Valley. 



Rifle and Trap Shooting. 



Sabs Bao and Gun. 



Westminster Kennel Club. 



Tin; Hunter and Trapper. 



Down East Gossip. 



i , i . i ■ . r i ...a- ... 1 ' : 



Range and Gallery. 



DeerHimiint'in Virginia. 



The Trap. - 



Experience with Wild Rice. 



'latches anil 3Ieetings. 



(Tame Protection for the People. 



Yacht-ess and Canoeing, 



Virginia Quail Grounds. 



The America Cup. 



Our Chicago Letter. 



Sincle Hand Yachts. 



Oregon Game Law . 



Rough Night in the Irish Sea. 



Forest and Stream Schedule"!?' ' 



A Cruise in the Snow. 



S.i.A AND RIVER FlSHIKG. 



Swung Around the Circle. 



Winter Talks on Summer Pas- 



Cutter Yachts in America. 



times.— v. 



Answers to Correspondents. 



THE SEA SERPENT. 

 r PHE very name of sea swpent is enough to call up the 

 A smile of incredulity on most faces, and the average 

 rue, 1 : paper man will have his joke at the expense of this 

 unknown animal at least once a year. Notwithstanding 

 litis general disbelief in its existence, there is no doubt that 

 there dwells in the ocean some marine monster, which, al- 

 1 hough not a true serpent, is unlike anj>- known living ani- 

 mal Inhabiting the sea, and which has the long neck and 

 small head which has given rise to the story of a great snake. 



As long ago as the year 18 ill, we wrote editorially in these 

 columns as follows: 



"Does it not seem almost time to look for the capture of 

 this individual or some one of his race? There is really no 

 reason in the. uncompromising disbelief with which the 

 name of our friend is always met. It is but a few years 

 since the sea serpent and the Kraken, the giant cephalapod 

 of the north, were classed together, and the two were equally 

 foe subjects of pertseofla and sneers. Now, however, we 

 know all about the latter animal, and half a dozen speci- 

 mens are at present in our museums, ycl for hundreds of 

 years the Kraken was unknown except from an old print 

 and its accompanying description, while almost every sum- 

 mer tourist in Europe has seen, or has had an opportunity 

 of seeing, the great sea snake. We have never had the 

 latter ashore, it is sure, but we take it that this fact alone 

 would be regarded by scientific men as a very poor reason 

 for disbelieving its existence, 



"The fact is that the ocean and its inhabitants are as yet 

 but very little known, and there are vast possibilities in the 

 wide extent of waters that surround us. Where there is so 

 much smoke there must be at least a. little fire, for it is 

 scarcely to be believed that all those who profess td have 

 seen the monster have been deceivers or deceived. We 

 know that in the distant past, during the cretaceous epoch, 

 giant reptiles of various kinds inhabited the ocean in vast 

 number:-. Some of these, Mosasams, were snake-like in 

 form, but possessed fore aud hind limbs in the shape of 

 paddles not unlike a whale's fin, and sometimes attained a 

 length of from sixty to seventy feet ; others, the Plesiosaurs, 

 were more lizard like in appearance, but had a long, swan- 

 like neck and a small head. These latter could no doubt 

 have raised head and neck high above the water without 

 showing any part of the body, except perhaps the back just 

 flush with the waves. 



"No\y why is it not possible that some of these animals 

 may have continued to exist either in the same or in some 

 modified form uutil the present time? We know of no 

 reason for supposing that the conditions of marine life 

 were any more favorable to the existence of such animals 

 iu the past than they are at present, unless possibly food 

 may have been somewhat more abundant then than now. 

 Their enormous abundance in the cretaceous of the West 

 warrants us in believing that during that period they were 

 among i he most numerous of all the strange forms that 

 habited the sea. Dreadful creatures they must have been 

 and terribly destructive to their neighbors in this ancient 

 ocean. 



"That sea serpents exist at present is a well known fact, 

 but they are pigmies beside the monster which causes the 

 periodical sensations of which we have spoken. About the 

 islands of the Indian Ocean there are several species of 

 marine snakes, characterized by flat tails and a venomous 

 bite, but which never attain to a greater length than eight 

 or ten feet. They are an interesting class of ophidians, and 

 with their rough and barnacle-covered skins would, except 

 in the matter of size, answer very well to the description 

 ordinarily given of the sea serpent." 



Scientific men have long been on the lookout for speci- 

 mens of this animal, but none have yet come to light. In- 

 stances of its being seen, the authenticity of which cannot 

 be doubled, continue to be reported. 



We shall have the pleasure next week of laying before 

 our readers au illustrated article on this subject, which will, 

 we think, be of great interest to all. Three iustances of the 

 appearance of the sea serpent will be cited, aud illustrations, 

 not exactly from life, but from memory, will assist the 

 reader to form an idea of the monster as he really is. 



DANGERO US DELA T. 

 VV7HEN defeat came to the American Rifle Team in 



' ' September last there was a general agreement that if the 

 match of 1883 was to score another American victory then 

 prompt, and vigorous work was required on the part of the 

 riflemen and rifle makers of this country. Months have 

 since slipped by, and so far as can be ascertained by any 

 official reports, no effective results have been reached in the 

 way of preparation. If an American rifle is to be produced 

 capable of such work as was shown at Oreedmoor X>y the 

 English rifles last fall, it is about time that the weapon was 

 forthcoming. It may be that in some armory or shop such 

 an arm is iu process of manufacture, but if it were it is not 

 unlikely but it would have been heard of ere tins. In the 

 ranks of the National Guard if may be that there is work 

 going on and very energetic practice under way, but there 

 is certainly little or no enthusiasm, aud over the whole field, 

 look in whatever direction, there is little at present to en- 

 courage a belief that the match of July next is to be more 

 than another defeat for American arms. 



If the match is to be won, it cauuot be by a grand hurrah 

 and a greal scurrying arouud for points at the last moment. 

 T}ie team must be so strong as to have a reasonable prospect 

 of success before sailing from this side, since it is quite out 

 of any reasonable hope that much improvement will be 

 made by drill on the English ranges. There is no reason 

 why a large amount of excellent preparatory work should 

 not go on during the winter in the way of position drill, with 

 some general experiments on the matter of ammunition 

 aud rifles during the fine days on some armory range. There is 

 no time for enjoying a long winter hibernation, else the 

 spring will open and the day of sailing be upon the com- 

 mittee without having any thoroughly equipped and care- 

 fully trained team ready to send abroad as the representa- 

 tives of American skill with the rifle. 



As yet no programme of selection has been made out, and 

 guardsmen do not care to undertake the labor and expense 

 incident to preparation for a place on a team until they 

 know just what their chances are of getting on that team. 

 Then there is always a great deal of anxiety felt as to how 

 the captain of the team is to be chosen. He is largely re- 

 sponsible for the results which the team accomplish, and 

 unless he has the hearty support of the members of the team 

 and enjoys in return from them a readiness to obey his 

 orders to the very letter and with alacrity, there is a great 

 deal of waste effort, and the team go into the contest largely 

 handicapped by want of proper organization. 



There has been time enough already spent for all necessary 

 consideration of the many questions incident to the gather- 

 ing together of a team. If anything is to be accomplished 

 it must be by direct effort in fields where some result is 

 promised. The committee ought by this time to know pretty 



well just what is to be expected from this or that militia or- 

 ganization; whether there are eligible material in it for use 

 in making a team. To depend on the sending out of circu- 

 lars pell-mell, aiming at everybody and hitting nobody, will 

 not do. It has been tried in the past andfound to be utterly 

 valueless in results. Just at present, for instance, the 

 National Guard of Louisiania is busy with a possible match 

 with the French team which has been invited and is ex- 

 pected. It is a question whether a guardsman from Cali- 

 fornia can be induced to undertake so long a journey as 

 that from the Pacific to England with the chances of not 

 getting on the shooting team after all. It is pretty positive 

 that the coming team is to be drawn from a small number of 

 contestants for places, and it is a matter of policy for the 

 managers of the committee to start the process of selection 

 as soon as possible. The, delay thus far has been foolish 

 aud unwise, further delay will be worse, for it will be fatal 

 to any chances of success. The annual meeting of the 

 National Rifle Association takes place in a few days, and it 

 will be an entirely pertinent point of information for any 

 life member to ask for an explanation of this prolonged 

 tardiness in making up the programme of the attack which 

 is to be made next summer for the recovery of the palm of 

 victory in rifle shooting which now rests too securely in 

 British hands. 



No doubt, the committee have been in some measure em- 

 barrassed by the non-receipt from England of the amended 

 conditions of the match. There has been ample time for 

 the secretary of the British Council to have informed the 

 American committee of the decision on the several paints 

 submitted. It has been understood unofficially for some 

 time past that the extension of time to January 1, 1883, for 

 enlistments in the National Guard had been granted, but no 

 civilian marksman wishes to join an organization without 

 some official guarantee that it will give him the right to com- 

 pete for a team place. To get an official letter next month 

 informing the committee that the British Council have been 

 graciously inclined to grant the extension of time would be 

 little more than a mockery. There is a measure of miti- 

 gation in this neglect of the British rifle managers to re- 

 spond, and due allowance should therefore be made in this 

 direction for the tardy way in which our committee have 

 worked, still there is a vast deal which should have been 

 done ere this which has been left undone. 



WHAT WILL TO IT BO ABOUT IT f 

 HPHE question as to what methods shall be employed in 

 *- the coming session of the New York Legislature is 

 now exciting much interest. There are probably more 

 plans being devised for the improvement of the game laws 

 aud the better protection of our ferx natures than ever before, 

 because each year more people see the urgent necessity of 

 doing something in this direction. A time, will no doubt 

 come, when a majority of the population of this country 

 will appreciate the importance of the subject, and then, if 

 this appreciation does not come too late, proper measures 

 will be taken for restoring to our deserted fields and woods 

 their whilom inhabitants. But the chances of accomplish- 

 ing much during the present winter are not encouraging, 

 unless all who are interested in the subject work together, 

 and having discovered what it is that they want, put forth 

 the most strenuous endeavors to obtain it. In a recent edi- 

 torial we briefly set forth our views with regard to this mat- 

 ter, and in another column of the present issue may be found 

 communications responsive to our remarks. These letters 

 come from men of age and experience, and their voices 

 should cany weight with all our readers. 



It is, as Mr. Hoard says, not only almost, but quite time 

 that the tinkering was ended, but we fear that the usual 

 crop of bills will make their appearance with the opening 

 of the present session, and if an attempt is made to alter the 

 laws, is it not more than probable that from a dozen counties, 

 towns and hamlets will appear representatives who wish to 

 have exceptions of some kinds made for their section? The 

 legislators do not appear to have the backbone to stand up 

 against the persistent pleadings of such people, or perhaps, 

 and this is more likely, they do not know enough to stand 

 lirm in the position which they have taken. No better com- 

 mentary on this feebleness of purpose is needed than that 

 shown last year by a legislative committee, and a committee 

 of supposed representative sportsmen appointed by the State 

 Association. This last body of men comprised a large 

 number of gentlemen who undoubtedly understood fairly 

 well, some of them as well as anyone cau, just what should 

 be done, but there were among them a few individuals, like 

 the delegate from Wild Rose Point, who thrust themselves 



