12 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



Out corespondent, SO positive atrd hearty thai we make the 

 following extracts, which will" sufficiently explain itself : 



Messina, May 5, 1877. 

 Wakris lUrrmOD, Esq., BOStOn, Mass. : 



De/w Sir— In pursuance of a letter received from Capt. 

 Beai, I hereby bug leave to Inform you that I have to-day 

 shipped by the Enfl;. S. S. J. B. Walker, bound to New York, 

 two oases cohtainiarf 260 quailSj addressed to John II. Whit, 

 eomb, Esq . Ayer Juuctiou, Mass., care Adams' Express Co. 

 ,: * * Hoping I hey will reach New York in good condi- 

 tion i ivni:iin, dear airj rtspecU'ttily yours, 



DoMNiGK Fisilei:. 



The J. B. Walter arrived in New York on June 5, but 

 owing Id some misunderstanding of A- &'Oo's Express, the 

 birds were not delivered to Mr. Whilconib until a week later. 

 Mr. Fisher toot? particular, pains lo have a couple of nico 

 made fur the comfort and safety of our little pets, laid 

 in a large slock of bempseed for foal, and for personal atfen- 



■ ii the voyage gave the steward two pounds sterling, and 

 otherwise took every precaution that friendship or interest 

 could dictate, Whatever may happen to the birds, we shall ever 

 feel grateful to him for his kindness. From some cause or other, 

 (:1 w re I iStOE the passage leaving us but 183 for distribution. 

 By the best obsei'vers of the habits of quail, it, is understood 

 there is a Law regulating their breeding. For instance: 

 A section of country Or even part of a township that is 

 ■ Itockfld, i.e,-, when there arc already too many for the 

 supply of foot) in that section, they will not pair or breed the 

 following- season, hut will 1 remain in (locks or bevies. That 

 supply has great influence on the reprpduutiveness of 

 both animals and man is a well established fact. It was there- 

 fore decided not to liberate all the birds iu one place. They 

 might find plenty of food to their liking in one town but fail 

 to do so in .another. Foxes or other enemies might destroy 

 them in one place but not iu another, and for the greater se- 

 curity, the more certain perpetuity of our little colony, they 

 were scattered in several of the counties in the eastern part of 

 the State- Tlie most serious objection to the division was that 

 Iheplumago of the sexes is so nearly alike it was found verydif- 

 fieult to select them in pairs. And here let us pause for a 

 word in. explanation. If might be inferred from the fore- 

 going that we claim t" have originated and consummated the 

 only plan for stocking tins country with European quail. We 

 wish if understood distinctly that we put forth no such claim. 

 Wc have simply narrated our own grief's and joys— our own 

 failures and final triumphs, not wisiiing in the slightest de- 

 i m ietract from others, nor would it become us to attempt 

 to porl-ray the trials and annoyances of others who are much 

 better able to do it for themselves, and yet we would venture 

 in this direction. The, Hon. Martin G. Everts, 

 Land, Yr., we understand, had conceived the idea of 

 importing these birds, arid had actually moved in the matter 

 as early; or even earlier, than the period at which parties here 

 had hcCTin to aaitafe or discuss the subject. His letters large- 

 ly antedate ours, and although at first cachacted independent- 

 ly and without the knowledge of the other, later it was 

 known to each that the other was struggling to get the birds 

 out for the purpose of colonizing, and each would cheerfully, 

 if he could, aid the other. It was a most singular circum- 

 slauce thai after vears of delay and disappointment, each 

 opcratmff through"different agents— lie through Consul Owens 

 and we thronarh Mr. Fishtr, without any concert of action 

 whatever— at "last our birds should happen to he Shipped 

 on board the same vessel and arrive at the same time. And 

 yet such is the fact. Of the two hundred birds invoiced to 

 'him only three were lost. By eldllful management of trans- 

 portation his birds were delivered to him and liberated a few 

 days before ours were, and if any one is entitled to the credit 

 of 'first planting in this country the migratory quad of Europe 

 Iha: man is the Hon. Martin G. Everts, of Rutland, Yl. And 

 now 1 he birds are here what will they do? They have fre- 

 quently been seen since they were liberated, and it is thought 

 they have mat eel or paired, which looks well for their future 

 family relations, though we are not certain that any nests or 

 eij-ns have been discovered. If they breed, will they in this 

 new and strange land, as the winter draws near, with their 

 little families, migrate ? If they migrate, will they strike 

 boldly out to sea, thinking they are to cross the Mediterranean 

 and thus perish, or will they follow the coast line or a more 

 inland route to Florida ? Will they pass the winter there or 

 cross over to Cuba and there intermarry with their non-migra- 

 tory cousins (Ortyai cabanenm) and so mix themselves up 

 willi tbeh mean relations as to lose their identity and forget 

 to return ? Or, aixain, will they nobly fulfill theirrnission aud 

 sustain the confidence we reposed in them when we brought 

 them out of the land of Egypt ? Or, still again, will they tor- 

 sake their migratory habits and stupidly squat, down herein 

 the very jaws of relentless winter, where certain death awaits 

 them? " If they once go South to pass the winter and return 

 Che following spring our triumph is complete. But will they 

 do tins? "lYuvxwrrons." W. Hat-good. 



Botfovt, Jv-'y 38, 1877. 



P, s.—Siuce writing the above a note from Mr. Everts in- 

 forms us that the birds in his neighborhood have brought out 

 several large broods, aud he is quite sanguine of success. 



W. II. 



[The above has particular interest in connection with the 

 article on Migratory Quail which appeared in our editorial 

 columns last week. Advices from Rutland seem to indicate 

 that the successful acclimatization of the European quail is 

 red. We hope that success will crown all efforts in this 

 direction ; and also that more of our public spirited sportsmen 

 will engage in this enterprise. — Ed.] 



-^— • — 



i;E,TioorcHE Salmon.— We are indebted to our friend H. 

 L. Leonard, of Bangor, Me., for two fine salmon caught by 

 him in the Restigouche. They were preserved at J. Porter 

 £c Co.'s freezing establishment, at Compbelltown, Nova Scotia, 

 and reached us as fresh as the clay they were taken from the 

 river. They were quite three feet in length, and the two 

 weighed nearly seventy-five pounds. It must not be supposed 

 that our gastronomic abilities were sufficient to utilize all of 

 Mr. Leonard's magnificent present. The associate editor has 

 not ixeaable to draw a long breath since, and the staff, gen- 

 erally, are rapidly assuming Lambertine proportions. 

 . , + , . 



— On the island of ,Orkney lately, the leader of a flock of 

 akee i took refuge during a storm upon a ledge overhanging 

 the sea.SLThe rest of the flock, twenty in number, thinking 

 theC. leader had jumped into the sea, leaped over aud were 

 iko.vned. 



| STRAY NOTES FROM THE EDITOR. 



Pittsburg, Aug 4, 1877. 

 What a romantic and charming locality Pittsburg must have 

 been before the purity of its atmosphere was tainted by the 

 smoke of the thousand fires kindled among its hills and 

 ridges, and the face of its natural beauty was smouched with 

 lamp-black and soot! When the old Monongahela Bowed in 

 the full and unrestrained volume of its excellence, and was 

 not hooped into hogsheads to be busted open by unconscion- 

 able rioters and incendiaries ! Alas I what a desolation these 

 irrepressibles have created. The traveler who comes from 

 flu.'. East lias to elbow his tiresome way through three, miles of 

 total destruction and heaps of rubbish still smoking aud 

 smouldering. I Lave never before seen such concentrated 

 loss, and I have gazed upon the ruins of many conflagrations. 

 A thousand laborers are now engaged in preparations to re- 

 suscitate ; and a thousand volunteers and regulars are here to 

 protect them, quartered in the court house and barracks, and 

 thrown out to the right and left as pickets and patrols in the 

 old-fashioned way, so familiar to all who participated in the 

 great struggle a dozen years ago. One learns lo love the 

 soldierswhen be needs their protection ("Hove the military"). 



Last night I attended the monthly meeting of the Sports-. 

 maps Association, at their spacious headquarters here, and 

 learned with satisfaction that its members have stepped to the 

 front in almost solid phalanx, and enrolled themselves as a 

 military company, 107 strong, under the title of the " Sports- 

 man's Guard," and under the command of Maj. Gen. J. B. 

 Sweitzer, with several veterans of the regular army as officers. 

 They will be armed with shot-guns loaded with buck-shot, 

 and I'll guarantee will be able to disperse a mob with these 

 weapons quicker than with bayonet and rifle. The Fokest 

 and Stream once suggested the manufacture of a big-cylin- 

 dered, burglar-repellant pistol that would throw shot. For 

 mobs and shooting in the dark, scatter-guns will beat rifles in 

 and out. 



The Sportsman's Association here was organized 1874, and 

 now has about 200 members. It is a body of earnest game 

 protectors, and so great sticklers are they for law and equity 

 that they, are discussing the expediency of expelliug, for 

 shooting birds out of season, one of its own members, who 

 happens to be a Chief Justice, which is going behind the bench 

 with a vengeance. The club has one of the finest natural his- 

 tory collections in the country. Its officers are Robert Dal- 

 zell, President; D. C. Phillips, Vice-President; John A. 

 Harper, Treasurer ; O. F. Wharton, Secretary. It has also 

 an attorney and a naturalist, which all clubs ought to have. 



In coming on from New York yesterday I fell in with ex- 

 Gov. William Pitt Kellogg, of- Louisiana ; and as I found him 

 attentively studying a copy of "Hallock's Sportsman's Gazet- 

 teer," I inferentially concluded that he was not so bad a devil 

 as politicians had painted him. He informed me that he was 

 posting himself on angling gear, and intended to give politics 

 a long rest and engage in bass fishing in Minnesota lakes. 

 We hope his lines may fall iu pleasanter places than of yore. 

 s I don't hear of any great amount of game along the line of 

 the Pennsylvania Railroad between this place and New York. 

 However, they do say certain game was plenty about here a 

 fortnight ago, when the citizens made the rioters quail. Rail 

 shooting also good— along the track — though altogether out 

 of season. The club proposes to give especial protection to 

 rails hereafter. 



I start for Grand Rapids this afternoon. Hallock. 



The Gazetteer. — The Sportsmen's Gazetteer was duly 

 received, and myself and many of our best judges in sporting 

 literature have critically examined the book, and all unite in 

 pronouncing it the most valuable work ever issued from the 

 press on kindred subjects. It is a wonder to all how so much 

 valuable information 'could be so intelligently crowded into a 

 book of its size. The, task must have been very great, but has 

 been accomplished in a remarkably concise, intelligent aud 

 pleasing manner. Every page demonstrates the fact that the 

 author was compent master of his subject. No sportsman or 

 tourist can afford to be without the book, and it ought to be, 

 and no doubt will be, read generally by the masses, and cer- 

 tainly by all interested in the study of natural history. 



Lake City, Minn., Aug, 1, 1877. Dr. D. C. Estes. 

 - .- ♦. — . 



Notice to Sportsmen.— Having received so many communications 

 asking us for information in regard to our six-section bamboo trout, 

 black bass, grilse and salmon rods, we have prepared a circular on ttie 

 subject, which we shall take pleasure in forwarding to any address. 

 We keep on hand all grades, the prices of which range from $15 to $150. 

 We put our stamp only on the best, in order to protect our customers 

 and our reputation, for we are unwilling to sell a poor rod with a false 

 enamel (made by tmrnmg and stainhig, to imitate the genuine article) 

 without letting our customers know just what they are getting. 



P. O. Box, 1,294. — [Adv. Abbey & IMBRIE, 43 Maiden Lane. 



Vt\e §ifle. 



Quebec Rifle Association.— The programme of the Ninth 

 Annual Prize Meeting of the Province of Quebec Bifie Asso- 

 ciation will open at the Point St. (Jharles ranges, Montreal, 

 on the 21st inst., and will continue several days. Eleven 

 competitors are on the list, all the prizes being in cash, The 

 first seven matches are for Snider rifle shooting; competition 

 Vill. for the Strangers' Stakes is open to Sniders at 500 and 

 small hores at 800 vards. In the Eadies' Stakes the small 

 bores fall back to 900 yds. The thud match, open to any 

 vine, is for the small-bore championship, 15 shots at 1,000 yds. 

 Were it not for the work of preparing to meet our English 

 friends, several of our Creedmoor shooters would doubtless 

 pay a visit to Point St. Charles and try their hand in the all- 

 comers shoots, , 



CoSKKbTiduT, Willow Brook,— At the shooting on Saturday 

 the 28th ult., a new member, Mr. W. H. Binns, of Hartford, 

 took the champion lotog^ratfge badge for 1877. At 800 vards 

 he made 44, at 900 yards 48, and at 1,000 vards 39, total 125 

 in a possible 150. C. 0. Case, of New Britain, scored u.'i 

 William Parker, New Britain, I'JO; W. H. Layne, New 

 Haven, 117. At the 500-yard range, H. P. King, of New 

 Britain, won the mid-range champe, badj ma perfectscore 

 of 50— fen straight bulls eyes. Mr. King' is the winner of the 

 badge for the second time. 



Mabsaotipsetts— FitohBurg, Any 4.- At (ho rifle shoot 

 held by the Sportsman's Club of Qua city, Mr. W. B. Haskell 

 made 43 out of a possible 50; Mr. A, E. Robbius. of Gardener, 



43) and W. W. South, and S. N. Choat of Fitchbur^, 10 and 

 39 respectively. Distance 300 yards. Dee Feevschct/.. 



THE ELCHO SHIELD MATCH 1877. 



SOMEHOW or other our London exchanges find very little 

 space to give the details of the shooting for the Elcho 

 Shield on the 19th ult. If could not surely have been that the 

 details were rejected because of the poor shooting shown, for 

 better scoring has never been done in the Eloh.0 Bhield 

 matches; and we will not be so rash as to assert that the fact 

 of an Irish victory in any way influenced the London editorial 

 mind to boil the event down to a mere paragraphic 

 notice. The Daily News, however, looked upon the event as 

 news and treated it accordingly, giving the usual foil scores. 



The day w r as a good one for rifle shooting. There was a 

 shower or two. Rain and sun alternated in what we should 

 consider a confusing manuer, but the Britishers Ware at home, 

 and did hot care for such trifles. 



In the early hours the atmospheric conditions wereVholly 

 favorable for spectators to witness the stages of the Elcho 

 Shield. Around this the interest of all marksmen centred, 

 and rarely have they had an opportunity of witnessing grander 

 shooting than that of the Irish eight. This team led at 800 

 yards by 13 points above the Scottish, and 30 above the Eng- 

 lish. They increased the lead at 900 yards, where their total 

 was 00 poults higher than the Scottish, while Eugland had 

 pulled up four points, and stood with 991 against the 1,000 

 scored by the Northerners. But it whs at the long range that 

 the great superiority of the Irish team was manifested. Shot 

 by shot they crept away from their opponents. Shot after 

 shot the white disc hung in the cent re of the target, and bull's- 

 eyes seemed to fall for them as thick as leaves in Vallambrosa. 

 The unerring accuracy of every man's aim was perfectly won. 

 derful, and the people pressed close around lo see the man 

 whose limbs seemed to possess the rigidity of iron, and whose 

 nerves were susceptible to no external influence. At 800 

 yards one of the best marksmen had a miss recorded against 

 him, but this, the only one iu all their 300 shuts, and therefore 

 every man of the team seemed to be endowed with the .-.' 

 ness of a machine. Changes of light and fickleness of wind 

 influenced them scarcey a whit, and, judging by result j, 

 not a rifle could have quivered a hair's-breadth. or the shots 

 could not have clustered so thickly round the central black. 

 Mr. Banks and Major Young each scored 66 at this range, the 

 former putting on eight bull's-eyes, five inners, and two mag- 

 pics, and the latter nine bull's-eyes, four inners, one magpie, 

 and an outer. These were the highest scores of the Irish team 

 at 1,000 yards, hut in the aggregate at thesu ranges Mr. Wil- 

 son took the lead with a score that has never been surpn 

 he having made 203 out of a possible 225. Next to him was 

 that prince of small-bore marksmeu, Lieut. Fent.on of the 77th 

 Regiment, with 2 01. Mr. Banks scored 200 altogether, arid 

 Major Young 199. While the Irish were surely and steadily 

 creeping away from the other teams the English were gradu- 

 ally becoming the lead of Scotland. There had been nine 

 points difference at the previous range, this was decreased a 

 point or two in the first round at 1,000 yards, but increased to 

 12 by a sad falling off in the English shooting in the next 

 round. Then, however, Scotland began to lose ground again, 

 while the English pluckily struggled to court the lead 

 from them, though there was hardly a hope then of getting 

 up with the Irish. At the seventh round there was a 

 murmur of applause from the Saxons gathered behind their 

 countrymen, when the numbers went up, and England 

 was found to have headed Scotland by two points. Hem 

 forth this lead was increased at almost every round until 

 Scotland was twenty-five behind England. The' totals made at 

 this range were; Ireland, 510; England, 473; Scotland, 439. 

 Though the aggregate, of two or three Irish marksmeu were 

 the highest by several points for all the ranges, the best scores 

 at 1,000 yards was the 69 made by Lieut.-Col. Fenton, of the 

 Euglish team, whose fifteeu shots at that distance were placed 

 within a circle of about four feet diameter. He made nine 

 bull's eyes and six inners. AVhen the last shot had been fired, 

 and the throng of spectators saw recorded for Ireland the 

 highest total ever made for the Elcho Shield, a wild cheer 

 burst from the Celtic throats, aud Englishmen joined quite as 

 heartily, if«not so demonstratively, in acknowledging the 

 grand shooting by which the Irish team bad placed Ihemsi 

 more than one hundred points ahead. After a brief delay 

 Lieutenant Menzies, speaking on behalf of the Scotch team, 

 in the absence of Air. Midcolm, congratulated the Irish on their 

 brilliant success, and expressed a hope that before lung every 

 prize at Wimbledon, including the Queen's, would be open to 

 our gallant brothers from the Emerald Isle. The Duke of 

 Abercorn responded, and repeated the opinion he expressed 

 last year, that the Elcho Shield would be none the worse for 

 a trip across the Irish Channel, at all events they would keep 

 it among them as an honored guest as long as "they possibly 

 could. He asked Irishmen and Scotchmen to unite in three 

 hearty cheers for the English eight and their captain, Mr. 

 Wells, whose absence all regretted. Mr. Parsons, the adju- 

 tant of the English team, replied, and proposed three da b 

 for the Scottish team. He hoped fli;it, (those who had sbol BO 

 splendidl.y that day would represent Ireland in America this 

 year, and wrest from the enemies the laurels they BO : 

 won at Creedmoor last autumn. 



IKELAMO. 



JKMllner. JobnBlgby. 



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