Why, there is never a morning that we do 

 not find in our mail anywhere from a dozen 

 to a score of letters, from men whose friend- 

 ship we have won by simply putting out a 

 clean, strong, American magazine. 

 But don't be afraid. 



We won't do it. 



We know that you will 

 take all that for granted, 

 and judge us by the pub- 

 lication we are placing in 

 your hands every thirty 

 days. 



A Word to our 

 Contributors 



It is quite evident that 

 a very considerable por- 

 tion of our friends do 

 not understand the mak- 

 ing up of a magazine. 

 It is not unusual for a 

 contributor to send in 

 an article about the 25th 

 of the month requesting 

 that it appear, without 

 fail, in the forthcoming 

 issue. Now, with every 

 desire to make things pleasant all around and 

 do as our friends wish, we invariably find it 

 impossible to comply with such requests as, 

 by the 25th of the month the forthcoming 

 issue has been on the press for about ten 

 days. 



At this present writing — Christmas week — 

 we are making up the February issue, and 

 are alreadv turning anx- 

 ious glances toward the 

 hooks upon which the 

 March copy is hanging. 

 So you see that you must 

 be patient with us and 

 give us credit for trying 

 to meet your wishes. 



Always send in your 

 manuscripts and stories 

 as far ahead as you can. 

 If you have anything on 

 tap that you think will 

 be suitable for the late 

 Spring or Summer num- 

 bers, send it along and 

 give us chance to pass 

 upon it in good season. 



THE MYSTIC FIRE 



Preparing Copy 



IIECIIEJTION'S 

 PLATFORM 



From the Forest and the Field 



We hold ourselves fortunate in having ob- 

 tained an unusual proportion of Idler, and 

 stories from practical men. in our judg- 

 ment, the day of the professional writer on 

 sports has passed. lie. 

 had a long inning but he 

 did not wear well. 1 1 Is 

 not true that there ire 

 only a score or so of 

 men, among eighty mil- 

 lions, who are able to 

 write upon sporting sub- 

 jects, though this impres- 

 sion might be gained by 

 looking at the back num- 

 bers of some magazines. 

 Rifles, shotguns, pis- 

 tols and fishing rods are 

 sold by the million and 

 among those who use 

 them there are many men 

 and women who are 

 quite competent and 

 more than willing to tell 

 their fellow enthusiasts 

 what they have done, 

 where they went, how they got there, and 

 the equipment they found best suited to the 

 particular sport in which they engaged. 



It is to this contingent that we confidently 

 appeal, assuring them that the pages of 

 Recreation are ever open to those who can 

 tell an interesting, straightforward story, and 

 we would add that we dearly love good pho- 

 tographs. 



Game Preservation 



In the preparation of 



copy even those that 



cannot claim to be 



trained literary craftsmen may help consider- 

 ably by attending to a few simple rules. 

 Never write upon the two sides of the paper. 

 Write as distinctly, as possible and leave am- 

 ple space between the lines for possible edi- 

 torial revision. These things are even more 

 important than purity of diction. 



An uncompromising fight for 

 the protection , preservation and 

 propagation of all game; placing 

 a sane limit on the hag that can 

 he taken in a day or season; the 

 prevention of the shipment or 

 transportation of game, except 

 in limited quantities, and then 

 only when accompanied hy the 

 party who killed it; the prohi- 

 bition of the sale of game. These 

 are i{ Recreation V slogans now 

 and forever. 



The true sportsman is 

 a born game preserver, 

 not only from motives of 

 humanity, but also large- 

 ly from self-interest. He 

 has seen the deplorable 

 effect of indiscriminate 

 game slaughter, and he 

 knows full well that his 

 only chance of indulging 

 in his favorite avocation 

 is through the preserva- 

 tion of the game animals 

 and birds that he pur- 

 sues. Let each reader 

 of Recreation constitute 

 himself a committee of 

 one to enforce the game 

 laws, and let him also be 

 ceaseless in his endeav- 

 ors to improve the laws that are on the 

 statute books, wherever, in his judgment as 

 an expert, he considers they need improve- 

 ment. 



