THE REFERENDUM 
gun, while, as he says, in an auto-loading gun 
it is spent upon the breech mechanism in re- 
loading. I have shot one hundred loads of 34 
drams of smokeless powder at one stand without 
the slightest discomfort from recoil, while 
others using the same loads and pump or 
ordinary guns without recoil pads would stop 
with half that number of loads and complain 
of a lame shoulder. 
I can put 70 per cent. of the load in a 30-inch 
circle at 4o yards with my auto-loading, 
which was as good as I could do with my 
pump-gun. I have killed ducks just as far as 
I ever did with my pump-gun. Ina very recent 
trial while using the same kind of load I drove 
shot just as deep into the leaves of a book as I 
could with the pump-gun, which proves to me 
that it has just as good penetration. The pump- 
gun is a good gun, and if I could not have an 
auto-loader I would have one. But, like all 
true sportsmen, while I have my choice I want 
the best. J. W. Hotpren. 
Cherryvale, Kans. 
Wants No Change 
I am greatly interested in the “discussion 
columns” of your valued magazine, especially 
in that particular portion relating to shotguns. 
I have owned a number of standard American 
guns, but my present choice, a Baker grade 
*“*A,” more nearly fills the bill than any shotgun 
I have ever owned. With 3} drams of Dupont 
powder and 1} ounces No. 4 shot, I have killed 
ducks at eighty yards. Of course, the Parker, 
Ithaca and Lefever guns are all good, but the 
Baker, with its unexcelled safety device and 
strong shooting qualities, always ‘‘looks good to 
me.” L. J. JONES. 
Pontiac, Mich. 
In the Tennessee Mountains 
November in the Cumberlands. How much 
those four words mean only those who have 
enjoyed an autumn outing in the mountains 
can realize. When the hickories, scrub oaks 
and other deciduous trees have taken on their 
gorgeous garb of red, brown and gold; when 
the mistletoe hangs in dark green bunches from 
the otherwise bare branches of the gum, 
looking in the distance like crows’ nests; when 
the ivy, laurel, fern and holly cling to the brown 
slopes and aid the pines and hemlocks in 
relieving the monotonous brown of the forest- 
covered mountains; when the squirrel is busy 
among the hickories and the children among 
the chestnuts, gathering their winter supply of 
goodies, then is the time to be in the mountains. 
I had long planned an outing in the Ten- 
479 
nessee mountains along with several com- 
panions, but something always kept them from 
going, so I finally went alone. My stopping- 
place was the little town of Winfield, in Scott 
County. I was met at the station by my 
cousin, Sidney Crain, an old man of some 
seventy summers, and a resident of that section 
for about twelve or fourteen years. He was too 
feeble to accompany me, and so I was obliged 
to hunt alone in a strange country. Quail were 
fairly plentiful in the valleys, but I did not 
hunt them; I wanted to shoot a wild turkey. 
But although I occasionally saw ‘‘signs,” I did 
not succeed in seeing the coveted bird. 
I was somewhat compensated for my. failure 
to secure a turkey by the squirrel I shot. I 
climbed mountains, explored ravines, visited 
coal mines and had a splendid time in general, 
returning home feeling better than I had for 
some time. 
Nearly every man in the Cumberlands carries 
- his ‘‘gun,” and is not slow to use it when 
aroused. The moonshiner once flourished in 
this locality, but his day is drawing to a close. 
Books and newspapers have invaded his realm, 
and a new era is dawning. Ten years ago guns 
without “‘ears” (hammerless) were an object 
of interest for miles around, and many of the 
simple implements of every-day agricultural life 
were unknown. Improvements are _ slowly 
creeping into the valley, but many years will yet 
elapse before the pure mountain air will be 
contaminated with the smoke and poisonous 
fumes, or the quietude broken by the noise and 
confusion of active commercial life. 
CLARENCE A. VANDIVEER. 
Miamisburg, O. 

In re the Game Farm 
The September RECREATION has an interest- 
ing article on the extinction of the prairie hen. 
When any desirable bird or animal is likely to 
become extinct, I believe the only effectual 
remedy is to breed them in captivity. This has 
been done with the ruffed grouse, and, after ages 
of failure, the gray partridge of Europe is now 
successfully bred in confinement in France. 
The superintendent of the Yellowstone 
National Park wrote to me last spring that “‘the 
band of mountain sheep in the park became 
almost as tame as domesticated sheep during 
the winter when they were fed every day.” 
Every State in the Union ought to have at 
least one sanctuary for native and foreign game, 
and our State fairs ought to offer premiums for 
the best exhibition of tamed wild animals, both 
native and foreign. ‘The trouble is we have at 
least 100,000 men who are ready to slaughter 
wild animals to one who would save them from 
extinction. At Oak Park, near Chicago, is 
