EDITOR'S CORNER. 



«53 



EDITOR'S CORNER. 



SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPTS FOR 3 

 YEARS. 



Read the deadly parallel columns: 



1895. 1S96. 1897. 



January $379 $723 $2,146 



February 256 693 2,127 



March 300 1,049' 2,215 



April 342 645 i ,92 1 



May 292 902 1,596 



June 507 770 1 ,402 



July 345 563 1,101 



August 306 601 1 ,906 



September 498 951 2,223 



October 438 969 2,586 



November 586 1,054 2,440 



December 652 1,853 4,760 



$4,671 $10,773 $26,423 



Do you realize what these figures mean? 

 They mean that Recreation has achieved 

 a greater success than has ever been real- 

 ized by any other sportsmen's journal in 

 the world. 



Do you see the footing of. that right hand 

 column? Do you realize that Recreation 

 has taken more subscriptions in the past 

 year, alone, than any other journal of its 

 class ever had on its books, at one time? 

 Are you aware that I took more subscrip- 

 tions in December, alone, than any other 

 sportsmen's paper has on its books to-day? 

 Well, these are facts, and if any man 

 doubts any one of them let him say so and 

 I will produce the letters in which all these 

 26,423 subscriptions came. 



What is the reason of this phenomenal 

 growth? Read Recreation and you will 

 soon find out. 



Beginning with the March number I 

 shall institute a fourth parallel column. 

 Watch it, all through the year '98, and see 

 if it does not show a gain of at least 100 per 

 cent, each month, over the corresponding 

 month of '97. 



By December 31, '98, I will show you a 

 total paid circulation of at least 100,000! 

 Watch the returns and see. 



Read Mr. Carlin's article, in this issue, 

 on " Hunting with a Carpera," and the 

 next opportunity you get, go and do like- 

 wise. How much greater pleasure a true 

 sportsman can have in studying and pho- 

 tographing the beautiful creatures of the 

 woods and the mountains, than in killing 

 them, as is the custom of so many thought- 

 less and reckless hunters. 



I do not mean tc condemn the killing of 



game, entirely; but to caution my readers 

 against the insatiate desire for wholesale 

 slaughter that is so grievously common. 

 Many men and boys think they must shoot 

 at every living thing they see in the woods, 

 no matter what it may be. This is a crime 

 against nature. If you have no valid use 

 for an animal, or a bird, why kill it? 



I hope to see the time when no man will 

 think of killing anything not actually need- 

 ed for camp use, or for his family, even 

 though he may be in a region that is full of 

 game. Moderation is commendable, in all 

 things, and in nothing more than in hunt- 

 ing and fishing. 



A great many of my friends, in renewing 

 their subscriptions, send also one or more 

 new subscriptions, with theirs. It is im- 

 possible to write personal letters to all 

 such; but I want to say here that I thor- 

 oughly appreciate this generous action on 

 your part. It is not my fault that Recre- 

 ation has made the phenomenal success it 

 has, by any means. It is due largely to the 

 cordial co-operation and assistance of my 

 friends; and if they will kindly aid me in 

 the future, as in the past, I shall in time 

 be able to double the size of the magazine, 

 and to double its circulation several times. 

 That means, of course, a proportionate in- 

 crease in its power for good. 



A friend sent me, as a Christmas present, 

 a bronze paper weight in the form 4 of a 

 mouse, bearing this unique inscription: 



The Lord of Creation you see in this brass. 

 No? Man, you maintain, is the head. 

 Yet who rules o'er man? It is woman I 



guess, 

 And a mouse fills a woman with dread. 

 So it thus becomes clear, as the mud in the 



street, 

 And it's granted in each advanced nation; 

 The mouse, being the boss of the boss of 



the boss. 

 Must be easily the head of Creation. 



A large number of clubs have been 

 named in honor of Recreation. These 

 are gun clubs, rifle clubs, canoe clubs, 

 bicycle clubs, etc. They are scattered over 

 the various states and territories, so that 

 Recreation's flag is kissing the breezes 

 from Maine to California and from Florida 

 to Alaska. 



It is safe to say no other sportsmen's 

 journal has ever been so widely and so 

 generally honored, in this way. The rea- 

 son is that no other periodical of this class 

 has ever been so widely read and so truly 

 loved, by sportsmen, as Recreation is. 



The March number of Recreation will 

 be as good as any of the others that have 



