PUBLISHER'S NOTES. 



WHY THE WINCHESTER PEOPLE QUIT. 



What is the cause of the disappearance 

 of the Winchester ad from Recreation? 

 Did they get their back up about the crit- 

 icisms of their guns in your magazine? 

 Lester G. Miller, Asbury Park, N. J. 



You are correct in your surmise. The 

 president of the Winchester company took 

 offense at an article on revolver shooting, 

 printed on page 349 of November, 1902, 

 Recreation, in which Dr. Conyngham said : 

 "Do not use factory ammunition. Buy 

 the best shells and powder you can get and 

 load them yourself, starting with a 5-grain 

 powder charge." 



Soon after that issue of Recreation ap- 

 peared Mr. Bennett, president of the Win- 

 chester company, wrote me a letter in 

 which he claimed I should not have al- 

 lowed that sentence to appear in print, and 

 that it would work a serious detriment to 

 their business. 



I replied at length, and in the most cour- 

 teous manner possible, to the effect that 

 Recreation is conducted as an experience- 

 meeting, in which sportsmen are allowed 

 to express their views and opinions and to 

 state their experience on all matters of gen- 

 eral interest to the craft ; that under these 

 conditions I could not well have cut out 

 that paragraph from Doctor Conyngham's 

 article. 



I told them the Doctor's statement would 

 undoubtedly call out contradictions from 

 several of my readers, and that if so such 

 would be printed. 



In order to insure this, I took pains to 

 send the Winchester letter to several ex- 

 pert riflemen and revolver shooters in turn, 

 asking them to reply to Doctor Conyng- 

 ham. These gentlemen all complied with 

 my suggestion, and their articles were 

 printed in the Gun and Ammunition De- 

 partment of Recreation, for February and 

 March, occupying about 2}/ 2 pages. Though 

 the item to which the Winchester people 

 objected consisted of only 5 lines, and the 

 answers covered more than 2 pages, Mr. 

 Bennett 'refused to be comforted. 



Then, in the December number, I printed 

 an article from a contributor condemning 

 the Winchester pump gun, whereupon Mr. 

 Bennett wrote me another .letter instructing 

 me to drop their ad from' Recreation. 



I have prirrted hundreds of articles com- 

 mending Winchester goods, but now, when 

 I print a few lines of adverse criticism 

 these people drop out. 



What do the readers of Recreation 

 think of such business methods? 



BEN, THE LIFE STORY OF A CUB. 



As announced in May Recreation, this 

 remarkable bear story will be printed in the 

 July issue. I have had 17 drawings made 

 for it, and as it now stands the story and 

 illustrations will occupy about 14 pages of 

 Recreation. It is safe to say the narra- 

 tive will be more eagerly sead and dis- 

 cussed than any ever primed in this maga- 

 zine. 



Ben was a remarkable product of a 

 mountain wilderness. He seemed endowed 

 with more than ordinary ursine, instinct, 

 ingenuity and cuteness ; and Mr. Wright, 

 who captured him, had a better opportunity 

 to study him than any other writer has 

 ever had to study a wild animal in its na- 

 tive environment. Ben was captured when 

 a baby, and traveled with a pack outfit all 

 summer. He was made the guest of honor 

 as well as the pet of a hunting, fishing 

 and exploring party; and the things he 

 did to amuse and puzzle his- friends were 

 legion. Mr. Wright is a close student of 

 wild animals. He has spent 25 years in the 

 mountains, and has killed more than 100 

 bears. In order to have been so successful 

 it has been necessary for him to study their 

 habits closely, to have learned what they 

 feed on, what grounds they seek at various 

 times of the year, how they acquire their 

 food, etc. He used Ben as a living object 

 lesson, and in this story has given to the 

 world the result of this long and careful 

 study. It is doubtful if nature students 

 will ever have another such opportunity to 

 learn just how a cub learns how, when be- 

 reft of his natural teachers. 



Tell all your friends that this great bear 

 story is coming in July Recreation, and 

 advise them to make sure of getting a copy. 

 Tell your newsdealer to order an extra lot 

 of that issue, and that he will be supplied 

 in due course with a poster containing one 

 or more pictures of Ben, to hang in his 

 window. 



EASTMAN PORTFOLIO. 

 The Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N. 

 Y., has issued a portfolio of the prize win- 

 ning pictures in its recent competition, 

 which is indeed a luxurious work of art. 

 The reproductions are the finest that it is 

 possible for any engraver in th^world to 

 make, and the printing is the best pos- 

 sible. This portfolio is a striking object 

 lesson to the world as to the wonderful 

 progress still being made in photography. 

 Many of us thought years ago that the 

 limit of the possibilities of the camera had 

 been reached, but apparently ther- is no 



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