Novkmbbb 24, 1881.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



331 



tacbed to a machine consisting of an upstanding rod made ' 

 to revolve on its axis, at 1 he lop of which is fixed at right 

 angles an iron croBs-bar which ho'ds a pigeon at each end; 

 Turn the crank arranged on to the revolving rod and the 

 pigeons sail around slow or fast at will, uffording single and 

 double shots. Rabbits made of felt for rifle practice, and of 

 iron for the shot-gun, arc hung on an endless cord between 

 two trees or posts, and made to run up and down by turning 

 a wheel, the iron representations being whitewashed auto- 

 matically by a brush every time they come to the end of their 

 run. 



Within the last few months the clay saucer, or pigeon as 

 it is called, has been sold a good deal to clubs, it being a re- 

 production in another form of a clay bird m^de some time 

 previous. The principle of the clay saucer has been fre- 

 quently mentioned in your paper, but to auy one v^ho has 

 never seen it work the skimming of a clam shell gives an 

 exact idea of its flii-ht. 



In the above list, are substitutes for the pigeon at trap 

 shooting I hope some of our sportsmen will continue to use, 

 and others who have hitherto patronized tournaments will 

 take up in place of the wild birds used there, if indeed they 

 really mu-t have an annual State match. Your editorial, 

 published a few weeks ago, I think will convert the ideas of 

 of many who have hitherto been its warmest advocates, and 

 Sn another season or two no more will cause the name of 

 sportsmen to be held in suspicion by the press of the country, 

 as our last tournament at Coney Island did. Colin. 



SUCCESSFUL ROCHESTER SPORTSMEN. 



Roohebtkk, N. T., Nov. 18. 

 Editor Forest and Stream: 



So many of your correspondentsarethis year writing about 

 the scarcity of game that I thought something in another tone 

 would be acceptable to many of your readers as an antidote 

 to the gloomy state of mind caused by so many reports of ill 

 luck. 1q this vicinity the fall shooting of migratory birds 

 has been better in some respects than it had been for years. 

 Woodcosk shooting was about as good as could be desired. 

 Among several excellent bags the best I have heard of was 

 one of thirty-seven birds shot north of Brockport, in this 

 county, by One matt in a day. He hunted in aregion that 

 has long been famous for its fall woodcock shooting. The 

 birds, it is believed, cross Lake Ontario from Canada, and 

 stop in the first favorable cover they find after their long 

 flight over the water. Every year some lucky fellow has a 

 big shoot in that region. 



There was some very good snipe shoooting here this fall 

 also, and several bags ranging from fifteen to thirty are re- 

 ported. One of my friends found them very abundant on 

 corn fields where he had not seen a snipe for years pre- 

 viously. 



Neither the four-footed vermin nor the partridge fly, nor 

 the red squirrel, nor man, has killed off all the ruffed grouse 

 in this part of the State yet. Three of my friends came 

 back from a two days, search for ruffed grouse this week, and 

 brought with them forty fine grouBe. 



The most extraordinary shooting of all was performed by 

 three men from the city a few days ago on the wide waters 

 three miles from the Court House. It is an expansion of the 

 Erie Canal containing 30or 40 acres in whichducks sometimes 

 drop in. Scores of men are constantly firing on its banks and 

 no day passes that half a dozen shooters fail to make it a visit 

 The three men in question went out carrying twelve pounds 

 of shot, with muzzle-loading guns. There chanced to be 

 three ducks on the water and the wild fowlers began to blaze 

 at them, and. as the birds seemed to be infatuated and would 

 not leave, the shooters discharged all their shot, finally kill- 

 ing two of the ducks. You can calculate how many shots 

 they muBt have firedr 



Three or lour successful deer huiting parties from this 

 citv have visited Canada and Michigan this fall. Of indi- 

 viduals John C Lighthouse was most successful, he having 

 killed Beven deer and a wolf in Michigan. E. R. 



MAINE WARDENS AND VISITING SPORTSMEN. 



I AM glad Mr. Hubbard has spoken, for it is an important 

 subject, and one that interests us greatly in Eastern Maine. 

 We have labored for years to have our game protected ; and 

 now to have it the commodity of a class opposed to us, 

 and who have made us all the trouble they possibly could, 

 is a bitter pill. I have no sympathy for an officer who fails 

 1 1 do his duty- I know our county wardens, as a class, are 

 a failure, anil am satisfied that the appointment of local 

 wardens is a mistake ; yet I am certain it is not so in all 

 cases. That Mr. Hubbard should abuse our Commissioner 

 Stilvvell, in such an ungeutleinanly and unsponsmanly man- 

 ner, is perfectly unjustifiable in a visitor. I am satisfied 

 Mr. Stilwell is a gentleman, and an honorable man ; and I 

 have no reason to fiud fault with him as an officer, 



The animus of Mr. Hubbard's communication is apparent. 

 Mr. Hubbard clearly ignores Maine's sportsmen, and can 

 see none save "visiting sportsmen" and "gentlemanly 

 guides" east of the " Hub ;" and, more, they must be a privi- 

 leged class, because they, the " visiting sportsmen," have the 

 money — some have whisky. 



Let ua see how the thing stands to-day. Sportsmen of 

 Maine are doing their best to preserve the game, and have 

 done so for years. The sporUmen of Maine are composed 

 of as good material as can be found in auy Slate, and are 

 entitled to respect. We have been for years obliged to con- 

 tend with "gentlemanly guides," market hunters, middle- 

 men, cheap landlords, whisky smugglers, deer hounders, 

 crust hunters, " visiting sportsmen" and various other non- 

 descript specimens of the human raca 



No j this time we are sensitive, and feel that our " visiting 

 sportsmen" have insulted us. I do not know that Mr. Hub- 

 bard is one of the members who came from Massachusetts 

 last month. The facts are as follows : Messrs. Howe, 

 Weymouth Bros, and others from Merrimack and vicinity, 

 numbering eight, with five dogs or hound*, came to Cherry- 

 field; they were met by the Shopper Bros., guides, resi- 

 dents of Beddmat'iu, who conveyed them to Cranberry Lake, 

 where they found quarters in Isaac Albee's logging camp; 

 and there they were joined by a party from East .Machias. 

 A deputy warden appeared and found the hounds chained 

 and in the care of a keeper. Trie parly set at defiance the 

 law, but being watched, were somewhat troubled; but by 

 the aid of the Bast Machias party, the Shopper Bros, and a 

 Northfield man, who was camped at the Sabor, they eluded 

 the warden and got a few days' run with the dogs into Little 

 Sabor Lake. Report has it they killed bLs deer. 



What has Mr. Hubbard to say of this ? It is perfectly im- 

 practicable to allow game to be killed out of season to supply 

 the tables of camping parties. It is game protection we wish, 

 and to have it the law must be obeyed/ to the letter. There 

 can be no such thing as a privileged class ; if we do have, 

 game protection is a dead letter, for we cannot enforce laws 

 partially. 



We are asked questions I hope to see answered by some 

 one qualified to satisfy all. " Why do not the authorities put 

 down hounding deer ?" We are all trying to do it But 

 why do " visiting sportsmen" persist in breaking our laws ? 

 We do not thank you for bringing your money into our State 

 to tempt guides to break our laws, for we believe the re- 

 ceiver equally guilty with the thief. "What right have 

 wardens to enforce one part of the game law and neelect 

 another ?" Is that proved ? 



" What right have wardens to see only one class of persons 

 and overlook their nwn townsmen?" I hope Mr. Stilwel 

 will answer this, for we know that an Indian, by the name 

 of Kutehum, has a camp at Mopang Lake and is accused of 

 having hounds, or that he allows Bangor men to keep bounds 

 at bis camp for the purpose of runuing deer into Mopang 

 Lake. I know Mr. Stilwell has had his eye upon these 

 parties. We ate constantly watching our law breakera, and 

 if Mr. H. will look over the Reports of the Commissioners 

 of Fish and Game of Maine, he will find his assertions need 

 qualifications, to say the least. 



We sportsmen of Maine think we have a right to make 

 our own laws for game protection, and enforce them ; and, 

 more, we think we shall. As "visiting sportsmen" are 

 bound to trample upon us with their hounds, I advocate 

 " no quarter for the dogs." 



I hope to see a more efficient system for game protection, 

 and do not doubt we shall. 



Let us protect the game — one and all. 



Machias, Nov. 15, 1881. Old Tug. 



Statb of Mains, ) 



Department of Fisheries and Game, .- 

 Dixfield, Nov. 15. ) 

 Editor Forest and Stream : 



I notice in your paper of Nov. 10 an article from Lucius 

 L, Hubbard entitled "Maine Wardens and Visiting Sports- 

 men," reflecting on the enforcement of the game laws, hon- 

 esty of Maine Wardens, etc 



I have had the honor of being one of the Commissioners 

 of Fish and Game, for Maine, since 1872, with the exception 

 of apart of the years of 1879 and 1880, and have never al- 

 lowed my name to appear in print in any controversy per- 

 taining to the fish and game, as generally it is no advantage 

 to the cause. But when the hor esty of our guardians of the 

 fi-h and game is assailed, a word in defense I do not think 

 amiss. I do not see how any gentleman and sportsman who 

 is in favor of enforcing our laws, can object to my old friend, 

 H> n. E. M. Stillwell'8 'vigorous 'etterfrom Maine," which 

 appeared in your paper a few weeks ago, unless it might be 

 some one who had killed a moose or d erin close time and pa ; d 

 too dear for the whistle. 1 think the letter expresses the sen- 

 timents of every man who has had the honor to be Commis- 

 sioner of Fish and Game in Maine. They are certainly 

 mine. As to the honesty of the Wardens, if there are those 

 t who can be hired to break the game laws would it not he 

 better (if not more honorable) to inform the Commissioner 

 so they could get them removed or dealt with as they de- 

 serve rather than attack them through the press? 



As to the enforcement of the game laws, I do not pretend 

 they are enforced in every case, as there are some which I 

 presume we know nothing about. Maine forests are large — 

 our means are small — poachers, lam sorry to say, are too 

 numerous, though a goodly share come from outside of 

 Maine. But I assure ihe writer, and also gentlemen and 

 sportsmen interested in the protection of our fish and game 

 in Maine, that we shall do all in our power to convict any 

 person who kills our fish and game in clnse time, whether 

 he calls himself gentleman or plebeian. And I would ear- 

 nestly request any gentleman who knows of any violation of 

 the game laws in Maine, to give us the information and name 

 of witnesses, and we will bring the offenders to conviction if 

 possible. Several have been convicted this fall for killing 

 moose, deer and caribou. Cases are good for six years past, 

 of which we hope to prove in the near future. 



1 am sorry to say the writer is correct about the hounds, 

 but am happy to inform him they have not all come out of 

 "the woods alive. 



To the sportsmen who visit our State, we bid you welcome. 

 Her woods and waters are free and open to you. We are 

 happy to give you all the assistance and information in our 

 power, and we feel confident that no person entitled to the 

 name of gentleman will willingly catch our fish or kill our 

 game in close time. 



Henry O. Stanley, Comr. of Fish and Game. 



RUST SPOTS IN GUN BARRELS. 



New Yobk, Oct. 27, 1881. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : 



I have seen many inquiries and replies to the above, and 

 probably not one out of twenty has been correct in their use, 

 until in your last issue (Oct. 20) your correspondent, from 

 Columbus, O., has the precise cure. He says he bad it from 

 an old Californian frend. I gave this to Dr. Fonda, then of 

 Lafayette, Ind., in 1858, who went to California about 1860 — 

 perhaps the same gentletnnn your Columbus friend alludes to. 



I wrote to the old Spirit of the Times in 1850 or '57, stating 

 that 1 had tried all means to prevent rust inside the ban els, and 

 had f ound that in using Hazard's Electric Powder, and after 

 a day'sshootingi could wipe the gun outside dry and after rub 

 over with an oily rag ; put it in a dry place, and then not 

 touch the inside for so many days, weeks or mouths, as you 

 please. Before using it again wipe out the barrel — then of a 

 brownish powdered ash — and they will be aa bright as any 

 steel polished with whitening. 



A Mr. Baker, of Charleston, S. O, then ridiculed the 

 idea of a fine gun being put away without cleaning, but I 

 replied again to all sportsmen of these United States to try 

 my plan, and I would guarantee the perfect state of barrels, 

 even after any time. 



My gun then being a muzzle-loader, this made it almost 

 impossible to often wash it out, and to adopt any kind of 

 oiling, to prevent rust; but with muzzle-loaders we had to 

 use water, driving it through the nipples. With the breech- 

 loader I would never use a drop of water. Put your gun 

 aways after a day's shooting " in a dry place." Wipe well 

 the outside, aa the perspiration of the hands, or salt air, 

 might rust. After thoroughly wiping dry, add a little oil, 

 either coal oil or sperm, and then pass over the barrel a dry 



cloth. This for the outside. The inside is protected by the 

 lining of powder, which becomrs in a day a fine ash powder. 

 Now to show you a test of this My ban els, of the finest 

 laminated steel, after baviDg been used twenty-five years, 

 were altered to a breech-loader by Messrs. Read & Sons, who 

 stated on examination (previous to al ering them) that they 

 were in perfect condition, aDd remarkably well preserved, 

 even if for ten years, much more than for twenty-five years. 

 Therefore 1 recommend all to try this simple but sure" cure 

 for rust spots in gun-barrels. As to water, then oil, you can 

 never prevent rust, if you work at them for a week. There- 

 fore, your correspondent of Columbus, O., is right. 



Wm. King. 



GAME IN NEW JERSEY, 



I HAVE been at some psins to ascertain the truth in re- 

 gard to the amount of game in the central and lower 

 parts of this State, and submit the result. The severe winter 

 told fearfully on the quail. I have been out with good dogs 

 in Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth am I Atlantic counties, and 

 am convinced that the quail were decimated by the prolonged 

 snow fall. I mean by this that not one bevy can be found 

 this year where there were ten last year, but the open summer 

 has made the broods larger. Pheasants d d not suff. r from 

 the winter, and are plenty in their usual haunts, except that 

 in some sections they are rapidly being exterminated by trap- 

 ping and snaring, which is openly and extensively carried on. 

 This is particularly tiue of the shore counties. In one day's 

 tramp in Atlantic county I found as many as twenty quail 

 traps, and this too in the jurisdiction of the famous West 

 Jersey Protective A-sociation. By the way, I find that this 

 association is very unpopular, as the farmers seem to believe 

 that all the organization does is to sell licenses to Philadcl- 

 pDia pot-hunters Rabbits are very abundant, but many of 

 them are hardly large enough to shoot, the prolonged open 

 weather having apparently brought out late litters. There 

 were no woodcock in the Middlesex swamps in October, 

 their feeding grounds being dry, but a few are found now in 

 the sprouts. English snipe have been plenty in some parts 

 of the State, and I fou'.d a few of 'hem last week al ng the 

 bottoms near Great Egg Harbor. Squirrels have not been so 

 thick in many years as this season, and, with no drawback, 

 they will furnish unusual sport next year. There are plenty 

 of ducks along shore, but on account of the mild weather 

 they do not "draw," and our gumiers come home light. The 

 pheasant and quail are the only game that need special at- 

 tention. We should have a close season for a year or two, 

 and close attention to the law-breakers. In many sections 

 the hucksters and store-keepers buy up snared birds as openly 

 as they do poultry and eggs. A. 



PHILADELPHIA NOTES. 



Philadelphia, Pa., Nov. 17. 



THE duck shooting at Havre de Grace since the opening 

 day has been on the average good, but the main body 

 of fowl appear to be redheads. Few canvas backs have ar- 

 rived on the flats, owing no dou't to the mild weather. I 

 made inquiry this week among the poulterers, to whom a 

 great part of the ducks shot at this point are sent, and 

 learned that a very large proportion reaching thun are red- 

 heads. Blsck heads, strange to say, ere in a minority — the 

 reverse is almost always the rule. Quail are here selling- on 

 the streets, in the hands of "hawkers of the curbstone," at 

 $4 per dozen. I have yet to hear from a returning sports- 

 man that good quail shooting has been enjoyed. One I met 

 this a. m, stated he had been gone a week, found four covers, 

 and bagged, after hard hunting, twenty birds. 



The way your journal is talking against the immense 

 slaughter of pigeons at bippodroming tournaments is meet- 

 ing with favor here. While gentlemen who wish to practice 

 between seasons at pigeons from the trap will still continue 

 to do so, they are, I think, unanimous in favoring the saving 

 of the large amounts of money expended at these shootings 

 by gun clubs and sportsmen's associations, and devoting it 

 to the preservation and increasing of our game birds. 



Word was sent to Philadelphia last week from Lower 

 Delaware and Maryland, that a large flight of woodcock had 

 reached these points. A number had been killed by resident 

 sportsmen, but we have not heard of any of our Philadel- 

 phians making any bags. 



Would you believe that a few rail birds can still be killed 

 on our flats? The weather has not been aevere enough, it 

 appears, to drive the lazy stragglers southward. 



"Down the bay," duck shooters say, the yearly flock of 

 snow geese that appears in the Delaware, below Bombay 

 Hook, has not yet shown itself. For the past four years 

 these fowl have regularly presented themselves in our waters, 

 and are little troubled by our market shooters from the fact 

 that there is no sale for them in Philadelphia. Homo. 



THE DECREASE OF GAME BIRDS. 



Wbstohestek, N. Y. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : 



I have found that my experience in hunting for game 

 birds of all kinds about the city this fall is the same as ex- 

 pressed by Mr. Holberton, in his letter in your issue of 

 Oct. 27. Tuesday, Nov. 1, I tramped through a good part 

 of Westchester county, and although 1 found excellent 

 cover and suitable feeding places for grouse, quail and wood- 

 cock, not a bird did I see in a whole day's tramp. I met 

 plenty of men from the city, however, who were having ine 

 "sport" shooting robins, blackbird' 1 , chipmunks, etc., and 

 tearing down fences and destroying things generally. One 

 party of Italians, eleven strong, marched through the woods 

 blowing tin whistles "to charm the leetle birds," and shoot- 

 ing at every living: feathered creature, from a chippy-bird to 

 a farmer's boss gobbler. Skkec a. 



Middletown. Codu., Nov. 18— -Editor Fertst and Sfr 

 I have been very much interested in the discussion in recent 

 numbers of your paper in relation to the great decrease of 

 game birds. About here, by snaring and i specially by the 

 ravages <>f the " tick," the rufiVd gn.use had nearly but n ex- 

 terminated. The last severe win er cut off most of the quail, 

 while many of the survivors are believed not to have bred, 

 remaining together in packs during the summer. — One <.f 

 Yode Sobboeibeeb. 



Editor Forent and Stream: I've just returned Imm a two- 

 weeks' sojourn with the ruffed grouse in Northern Penn- 

 sylvania. Found the birds very scarce indeed. Almost all 

 of the birds killed were old cocks and " we" found quite a 

 large share of them by listening to their drumming, and then 



