PUBLISHER’S NOTES. 
MARBLE CLEANING ROD. 
The Marble Safety Axe Co., Gladstone, 
Mich., makes one of the most practical 
and effective shot gun cleaning rods I have 
ever used. The rod is hollow, and has a 
steel rod running through it, with a wedge 
in the lower end and a lever on the upper 
end. The ball attached to the lower end 
of the rod is split in 4 equal parts, and is 
covered with a thick bed of short brass 
wire. Then the ball is inserted in the gun 
the user grips the lever so that the ball 
separates into 4 parts, and presses against 
the inner surface of the barrel with a greater 
or less degree of force, at the will of the 
person using the rod. 
Some time ago I used some unusually 
soft shot in a fine gun, and the barrels 
were badly leaded. I went at them with one 
of these Marble cleaning rods and in 5 
minutes had both barrels as clean and 
bright as when they came from the shop. 
The brass wire being softer than the steel 
in the barrel does not scratch nor mar 
it in the least. Every shot gun user in the 
country should have a Marble Safety Clean- 
ing Rod. 
When writing for this instrument, please 
mention RECREATION. 

PROCTOR PLAYHOUSES. 
During the investigations of the newly 
appointed Fire Commissioner, none of the 
theatres controlled by Mr. F. F. Proctor, 
the Fifth Avenue, 23d Street, 58th Street 
or 125th Street, has been mentioned as re- 
quiring any additional precautions. The 
Proctor plan vet agoooe particularly to mati- 
nee audiences of women and children, and 
this has made Mr. Proctor additionally cau- 
tious in providing for any emergency. Not 
alone are the ushers and the other members 
of the house staff given weekly drills in 
fighting fire and handling crowds, but the 
stages are kept in such perfect condition, 
and the lighting equipment is so carefully 
watched, that a catastrophe like that which 
occurred in Chicago would be absolutely 
impossible at any Proctor house. In place 
of trusting to untried fire extinguishers to 
save the scenery from damage from water, 
the stage force has instructions to turn on 
the hose at the slightest appearance of dan- 
ger, no matter how much scenery may be 
ruined. Had a similar rule been enforced 
at the Iroquois Theatre, the terrible loss of 
life would have never been recorded. 
4 

A GOOD HUNTING KNIFE. 
The Press Button Knife, advertised in Rec- 
REATION and handled by the Novelty Knife 
242 
Co., 426 East 52d street, New York city, is 
one of the most useful and valuable articles 
put on the market for the benefit of sports- 
men, in recent years. This hunting knife 
has a 4 inch blade, a buck horn handle and 
is built for business. The finest razor steel 
is used in the blades of all these knives, and 
the press button principle, on which they 
are built, can never be appreciated by any- 
one without practical experience in using it. 
Every man who goes into the woods for 
any purpose, whether for hunting, fishing, 
prospecting, surveying, or merely camping, 
should have one of these knives, and I am 
sure every man who may buy one will thank 
me for having called his attention to it. 
This big knife sells at $1, and is worth $5 
to any man who needs it. When open, the 
blade is locked and can not close on your 
hand. When closed it is locked and can 
not open in your pocket, as other knives 
frequently do. Write for circular or, better 
still, order a knife, and mention REcrE- 
ATION. 

Montclair, N. J. 
J. R. Buckelew, 
New York. 
Dear Sir: 
The Collan Oil I purchased last spring 
has been put to severe test on the golf 
links during the summer, owing to the un- 
usually wet season. It has exceeded my 
expectations. Shoes treated with it seem 
to repel water to a greater extent than 
with any other dressing I have been able 
to obtain. I anticipate much comfort from 
its use on my trip into the woods this 
fall. I have had a great deal of experience 
with so called waterproof dressings, and 
for some years have made up for my own 
use different combinations, but have not 
had better results than Collan Oil gives. 
Yours respectfully, 
Frank S, Hyatt. 

The students of the Northwestern School 
of Taxidermy, Omaha, Nebraska, ate loud 
in their praise of what the school is doing 
for sportsmen. This school teaches taxi- 
dermy by mail, through a course of 15 les- 
sons and supplementary personal instruc- 
tion and criticisms. Every sportsman 
should be interested in saving his best speci- 
mers of both animals and birds, and with 
this school available there is no reason why 
every one can not have a knowledge of how 
to mount them properly and skilfully for 
himself. The school has just issued a new 
illustrated catalogue and is sending it free 
to all readers of RECREATION. 

