THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN'S JOURNAL- 



Entered According to Act of congress. In the year 1881, by the Forest and stream Publishing company, In the Office of the Librarian ot congress, at Washington. 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1881. 



CONTENTS. 



Kditomal :— 

 The Field Trials ; Magazine Bifles for the Army ; A Merry 



Christmas 403 



The Sf-oktsman Toueist :— 



The Big Bear of fi ermoea ; A Biverside Boniance : A Tale 



of ttaecamaw; Sport as Brain Food , 404 



A Critical Event ; A December Day 407 



Natural Histoei:— 



Enemies of Game Birds ; The Snow Goose ; The Sparrow 



Curse of New Zealand.'. 407 



Gajle Bag and Gdn :— 

 Two Cold Days at the Club House ; Indian Methods of 

 Catching Muskrats ; A True Tale of a Duck Pass ; The 

 Earl of Dunraven in Nova Scotia ; A Nebraska Deer 

 Hunt j Deer in the Adirondacks ; The Dock Biot at Gun- 

 powder ; Long Island Wildfowl ; News from Bichmond ; 



Ou the Choice of a Gun 408 



Sea and Brraa Fishing :— 



Angling in Idaho ; Shakespeare and the Carp; The Angler 

 in Missouri ; American Brook Trout for Germany ; 'J he 



Manufacture and Care of Gut 411 



Fibhooi/tube : — 



The Growth of Trout in Missouri ; Carp ; Notes 412 



The Kennel :— 

 The National Field Trials ; The Pennsylvania Field Trials ; 



The Atlanta Bench Show 412 



Biflb and Trap Shootino :— 

 Pistol Shooting ; Off-hand vs. Hip Best ; The International 



Rifle Match 416 



Answkhs to Coeeespondents 416 



YAOimNG AND CANOEINO r— 



Measurement ; What is a Ton ? Bice Lakers 417 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



The forbst and Stbeam Is the recognized medium ot entertainment, 

 lnstrueUon and information between American sportsmen. 



Communications upon the subjects to which Its pages are devoted 

 are Invited from every part of the country. 



Anonymous comm uni cations will not be regarded. No correspond- 

 ent's name will be published except with his consent 



The Editors cannot be held responsible for the views of correspond- 

 ents. 



Su bscr iptions. 



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 subscribers, $3 each. Remittances should be sent by registered 

 letter, money-order, or draft payable to the Forest and Stream 

 Publishing Company. The paper may be obtained of newsdealers 

 throughout the United States and Canadas ; and Is on sale In Europe 

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 Sm. Terquem, 16 Boulevard, St. Martin, Paris, France. 

 Advertisements! 



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Address: Forest and stream Publishing Co., 



Noa. 39 and 40 Park Eow, New York City. 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



Thursday, December 2-2. 



Ir Yon Havb a Fbiend who sometimes goes fishing or 

 shooting, or "would go if he only had the time," show 

 arim a specimen copy of the Forest and Stub am. Any 

 .issue of the paper will do for this. Some publishers make 



tremendous exertions to get up specially attractive numbers 



at this season, and then spread them broadcast over the land 

 4a "specimens'' of the regular all-the-year-around issues, 

 i That is not our plan. We try to turn out a tip-top paper just 

 Jifty-two times every year. That is the fair, honest way, and 

 i'it payB. If you file your papers, and do not wish to break 



the file, send us the name of your friend and we will furnish 



him with a copy. 



The Earl of Dtoeavkn, in a communication published 

 in another column, explains that his recent misadventure in 

 Nova .Scotia was due wholly to a natural misconception by 

 him of the requirements of the statute, and that instead of 

 ^having intentionally disregarded the law, he bad, as he 

 thought, fully complied with it. 



Wk had a pleasant call last Tuesday from Mr. Edmund 

 Orgill, who had just returned from a shooting trip in the 

 'South. 



Thb Thibd Chaptkb of the "Cruise of The Nipper" is 

 unavoidably postponed until next week. 



A MERRY CHRISTMAS! 



r I lHE spicy odor of mountain spruce boughs greets us. 

 J- Christmas-tide is at hand 1 The Forest akd Stebam 

 joins in the universal salutation of good cheer. A Merry 

 Christmas to you all ! 



This is the festival lhat has the strongest hold on the 

 hearts of civilized men, and the widest acceptance among 

 them. It is the season when charity scatters its gifts with 

 most lavish hand, when kindly sentiments move every heart, 

 enmities are forgotten, and good feeling is universal. At this 

 time does the message of peace and good-will, first breathed 

 nearly two thousand years ago, beneath the quiet starlight 

 over the sleeping hills of Belhlehem, seem to have a real 

 force, which is binding on each one of us. At this time we 

 are shown the tenderest, the most loving aspect of human 

 nature. 



And it is now, at Christmas, that we remember, though 

 perhaps unconsciously, that our forefathers were dwellers in 

 the forest. Their lives were spent beneath the green woods 

 and the open sky, and their camps were pitched by the run- 

 ning brooks or the peaceful lakes. To-day we recall that 

 time by going forth into the woodland and bringing 

 thence sweet-smelling branches, green leaves and bright 

 berries to adorn our homes at this, our greatest festival. 



Fragrant are these evergreen boughs, with tender memories 

 of the past. Their woodland perfume pervades the house 

 and brings fast-rushing recollections of the Christmas circles 

 of other days. Again, in the early morning light do we see 

 the dear familiar faces from which we parted long ago, and 

 hear again the well loved voices now stilled for ever. Be- 

 neath the outward merriment of the day these deeper in- 

 fluences prevail ; happy is he who yielding to them finds 

 new courage and a manlier heart for the struggles of the 

 year to come. 



To each one of our readers this Christmas will bring the 

 memories of happy anniversaries past and others hoped for ; 

 and to each one we offer our heartiest good wishes and a 

 Merry Chbistmas. 



THE FIELD TRIALS. 



THE last of our report of the National Trials at Grand 

 Junction, as well as a complete description of the 

 Pennsylvania State Trials, will be found in our Kennel de- 

 partment this week. 



The National Trials were I he most successful that have ever 

 been run in this country, and will compare favorably with 

 anything that the world has ever seen. We heartily con- 

 gratulate the members of the National American Kennel 

 Club upon the abundant success that has crowned their ef- 

 forts. Much of this success is due to the indefatigable labor 

 of the President of the association, Mr. P. H. Bryson, who 

 has expended much time and labor in arranging the details, 

 both before and during the meeting. There was no lack of 

 birds, and the grounds are extremely well adapted for the 

 holding of the Trials. Many prominent sportsmen from all 

 parts of the country were present, and the utmost good feel- 

 ing was manifest throughout the meeting, and all appeared 

 to thoroughly enjoy tbe occasion. A large number of the 

 most noted dogs in the country competed for the very valu- 

 able prizes offered, aud the laurels there won were well earned 

 and we warrant will be proudly worn. 



The Pennsylvania Trials were very successful so far as the 

 number of entries and quality of the dogs were concerned, 

 but coming as they did immediately after the National Trials 

 there was not so large an attendance as there would have 

 been had more time intervened. Great praise is due tbe en- 

 ergetic members of the Association for planning and so suc- 

 cessfully carrying through this important meeting. 



The judges, without exception, were well qualified to per- 

 form their duties, and, although we could not quite agree 

 with one or two of their decisions, we believe tbein to be 

 thoroughly honest and to have impartially awarded the honors 

 without fear or favor. The wide-awake proprietors of the 

 Stonewall House, Messrs. Peeples and Branum, were equal 

 to the occasion, and the hungry crowd were provided with 

 well cooked and well served food. 



We should, perhaps, state that our report of the Trials j B 



not compiled from the decisions of the judges, nor from 

 hearsay, but that we carefully watched the 

 different phases of each heat, and noted at the 

 time the performance of each dog just as we saw it, 

 seeking to chronicle the history of the running simply as 

 history, extenuating nor criticising aught save as our instinct 

 as a sportsman prompted. To those of our readers who 

 have never attended a Field Trial the many false points and 

 flushes will perhaps seem to indicate that the quality of the 

 work done was not of a very high order; and they may per- 

 haps be led to think that had they but been there, with their 

 own Dash or Sport, quite a different record would have been 

 shown. While not in the least disparaging the good qualities 

 of the many Dash's and Sport's scattered throughout the 

 country, we are free to confess that, although we once enter- 

 tained the same belief, we have seen reasons to change it, 

 and among the many really good dogs that we have seen 

 afield we fail to racall one that we should deem it 

 safe to back as a winner at a Field Trial. Not 

 perhaps that in an ordinary day's shooting Dash and Sport 

 might not acquit themselves as well or better than the first 

 prize winner, but this is not a Field Trial by any means, and 

 when we take into consideration the accessories that are 

 inseparable from these public trials, we can only wonder that 

 the record reads so fair. In reading our report and criticising 

 the work therein described, there are many things that should 

 be taken into consideration. Perhaps the most prominent of 

 these, and for which great allowance should be made, is the 

 high strung, nervous temperament of our canine pets, which 

 is subjected to a far greater strain than when they are , 

 quietly taken out for an ordinary day's shooting; for the 

 noise of the crowd, and the presence of many other dogs 

 exercises anything but a steadying influence upon their 

 excitable nerves. The tramping and talking of the spi cta- 

 tors also scares the birds, making them wild and less likely 

 to lie to the dogs. This will account for many of the false 

 points, which are undoubtedly often made to the scent of a 

 frightened bird, who has just taken flight unseen. Many of 

 the flushes would not be scored, were it not for the noise 

 which puts the birds upon the alert, and causes them to rise be- 

 fore the dog has a chance to locate them. Then again thehand- 

 lers are not always quite so cool and collected as they should 

 be, and we have ever found that there is nothing more con- 

 ducive to unsteadine.-s in a dog than to have his master go 

 to pieces. Let us then give due credit to the dogs which 

 pass through this very trying ordeal and acquit themselves 

 fairly well ; for the chances are that away from the excite- 

 ment attending a public trial, they would prove themselves 

 to be excellent animals. As we have before mentioned not 

 the least of the benefits derived from the Trials is the greatly 

 improved manner in which the dogs are handled, and the 

 consequent lesson that the spectators are quick to learn and 

 apply, to the manifest improvement of their own style. 

 This, in itself, were nothing else accomplished, would stamp 

 the Trials as a wonderful success. But a still greater good 

 has been wrought in the vast improvement of the quality of 

 the companions of our sports. Gentlemen who attended tbe 

 Trials go home with more exalted ideas and broader views of 

 matters pertaining to the sports of the field, and are no 

 longer satisfied with the mediocre performances of the ani- 

 mals who have heretofore shared their outings, but at once 

 institute radical changes and rest not until they achieve some- 

 thing approaching Field Trial form. Thm our Field Trials 

 are accomplishing their mission, and the whole-souled sports- 

 men who so generously support and sustain them are reaping 

 their reward, as with a pardonable pride they rejoice at the 

 abundant success aud brilliant future of our American Field 

 Trials. 



Canob and Cambba. — A most timely book for the holi- 

 day season is Mr. T. LedgwickSteele's "Canoe and Camera," 

 the third edition of which has just come from the press. This 

 is the most artistically and elaborately illustrated volume of 

 the kind published in this country. The present edition con- 

 tains a large map of the Northern Main regions, including 

 the canoeing routes of the Main, St. John's, the Aroostook, 

 and the East and West Branches of the Penobscot. Mr. 

 Steele has been engaged several years in the preparation of 

 this map, and sportsmen tourists owe.him a debt of igrati- 

 tude for his thorough work. 



