Forest and Stream. 



A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 



Terms, $! a Tbar. 10 Ore. a Copt. I 

 Ses Months, 82. ) 



NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 16, 1882. 



j vol. xvrn.— No. 8. 



( Nos. 39 & 40 Park Row, New York. 



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CONTENTS. 



Editorial. 



Didn't Know It Was Loaded. 



Shall We Have a Match S 



Sighs of the Zodiac. 



A Question of Ethics. 



Battle of Pork and Beans. 

 The Sportsman Tourist. 



Piseeo and T Lake Falls. 



A Trip to Texas. 



Florida Resorts. 

 Natural History. 



The Hibernation of Animals. 

 Game Bag and Gun. 



The Purpose of Field Sports. 



Old Grouse of Barney's Swamp. 



The Irrewessi'ole Conflict. 



Trajectory Curves of Rifles. 



New York Association. 



Migratory Quail. 

 Sea and River Fishing. 



Angling. 



Silkworm Gut. 



Chub Fishing. 



"What is a Ten-Pounder? 



Sea and River Fishing. 



Tennessee Fish Notes. 

 Fishculture. 



American Association. 



Massachusetts Commission. 



New Jersey Menhaden. 

 Kennel. 



Scent. 



Laverack Pedigrees. 



Our Loudon Letter. 



Eastern Field Trials Club. 



Simcoe Dog Show. 



New York Bench Show. 



The Yellow Dog Ahead. 

 Yachting and Canoeing. 



Key to Measurement. 



Measurement. 



Sail Making. 



American Canoe Association. 



New Yacht Club. 

 Rifle and Trap Shooting. 



Pistol Shooting. 



Matches and Meetings. 

 Answers to Correspondents. 



DIDNT KNOW IT WAS LOADED. 

 npHE New Jersey idiot, to whom we referred some time 

 -*- since as having shot a young girl "by accident " with a 

 gun which he did not suppose to have been loaded, was very 

 properly convicted last week of " atrocious assault and bat- 

 tery." On Monday last he was sentenced by Judge Wood- 

 ruff, at Paterson, N. J., to pay a fine of $500 and the costs of 

 the prosecution. Besides this, the prisoner has been confined 

 in jail since last October, and has thus had abundant time to 

 meditate upon what he has done. The very light sentence 

 imposed is to be explained in part by the fact that the young 

 lady who was injured by his stupid carelessness is recovering. 

 There is still pending against this young man a civil suit, in 

 which the damages are placed at $2,000. Until this is tried, 

 it seems probable that Wolfe will continue to inspect the 

 outer world through the gratings, as he is unable to furnish 

 bonds for his appearance. 



Wc regret to have observed that, in the community where 

 this deplorable and criminal act took place, considerable 

 sympathy is expressed for the offender, and some efforts have 

 been made to lighten the weight of the judge's sentence. 

 Sympathy, of course, we feel for all criminals, and that any 

 one should commit a deed that is wicked is, undoubtedly, 

 much to he deplored; but our sorrow and pity for these 

 wretches can hardly be expected to take the practical form of 

 abolishing punishment for their misdeeds. 



It is satisfactory to know that Judge Woodruff promptly 

 committed to jail a friend of the prisoner who applauded, 

 under the mistaken impression that Wolfe had been found 

 guilty of simple assault and battery. On the other hand, the 

 action of eight members of the jury in the case, who petitioned 

 the court for a lenient sentence was decidedly improper. 

 Their interference after they had given their verdict was out 

 of place, and, while they then had just as much interest in 

 the case as any other citizen, and no more, the fact that they 

 had served on the jury should have made them especially 

 careful to avoid meddling in the matter after it had passed 

 from their hands. The place for them to have decided as to 

 the degree of the crime, and hence, infcrentially, as to the 

 character of the sentence to be pronounced, was in the jury 

 room, where the matter was wholly under their control. By 

 this subsequent interference they stultified themselves without 

 benefiting the prisoner. 



It may be hoped that the result of this trial will have a sal- 

 utary effect on the class to which Wolfe belongs. 



SHALL WE HAVE A MATCH? 



IT does certainly begin to look as though the International 

 Military Match was to fall through. Weeks have now 

 elapsed since the receipt of the conditious from the sub-com- 

 mittee of the National Rifle Association of Great Britain. 

 Those conditious were amended in two points, one having 

 reference to position at the shortest ranges and another dis- 

 carding the requirement which would put the American 

 rifles to the necessity of a severe proofing test. These amend- 

 ments, when submitted by cable to the senders of the chal- 

 lenge, were at once acquiesced in by them, and everything 

 looked lovely for a fine, fair contest between the Military of 

 our country and the Volunteers of Great Britain. It was the 

 one match which everybody was looking forward to as cer- 

 tain to be fought sooner or later. Long-range shooting may 

 be very exact and severe as a fine test of the handicraft of 

 our armories and of the ability of a handful of men who 

 make shooting a study and a hobby, but to the mass of the 

 people these marksmen were regarded merely as enthusiasts 

 and having nothing which gave them any hold on the sym- 

 pathies of the general public. The matches, when fought, 

 roused a great deal of popular excitement, and remained a 

 nine days' wonder, and then interest in them died out. The 

 generation of American marksmen who had fought and won 

 the great contests, left no progeny, and to-day long-range 

 practice in this country does not number a hundred devotees. 

 The series of matches which it was hoped would be inaugu- 

 rated when the "Palma" was setup as a prize, came to an 

 abrupt termination simply because it was shown beyond a 

 doubt that we were the better gunmakers, and that the Brit- 

 ish marksmen were too much set iu their ways to be subjected 

 to any improving influences. The defeated marksmen stub- 

 bornly accepted their discomfiture, rather than gracefully 

 give up their old weapons and ways for the ideas and methods 

 embodied in the American arms and system. The great 

 apology made for these matches when in progress, was that 

 these small bore rifles enabled many points to be tested which 

 could be turned to advantage in the making of military arms, 

 and this class of arms is, after all, the one for which ranges 

 are established. The target rifle is a toy as such; and if the 

 target rifle began and ended in itself, then little loss would 

 result if every range in the country closed its gates to-mor- 

 row ; but the aim of rifle practice is to make soldiers. Small- 

 bore work was acceptable and endurable only so far as its 

 lessons could be made profitable in improving the arms placed 

 in the hands of soldiers, and the records of small-bore prac- 

 tice became available in guiding the ball practice of the men 

 of arms. 



It followed then naturally that the small-bore matches 

 should give way in time to military contests. These would 

 more really represent the endeavors of the majority of those 

 who patronize the ranges. A comparison after entry lists on 

 American as well as English ranges will show that where there 

 is one shot fired from a long-range target rifle, one hundred 

 are fired from the military weapons. There are scores of 

 ranges on the other side given up exclusively to military 

 shooting, and yet from one course or another there was no 

 successful effort to bring this great volume of military marks- 

 manship to express itself in the form of a challenge to our 

 American shooters. At last finding that success was as far 

 apparently as ever from their grasp, the British Association 

 resolved on putting their great army of volunteers against 

 the militia of the United States which is a formidable body, at 

 least on paper. It would be thought that such a propo- 

 sition would only need to be suggested to find a ready response 

 from the American shots. The British marksmen showed 

 their willingness to meet all reasonable demands by at 

 once changing the conditions when certain points of ob- 

 jection were pointed out. But just then crept up the 

 shadow from the jealousy of the managers. They were not 

 willing to have a match for its own sake, hut there must be 

 a certain amount of personal vanity gratified before these so- 

 called promoters of rifle practice are willing to lend any aid 

 to the project. To send a team abroad for a match on the 

 English ranges means a great deal of preliminary work and 

 very little of the popular flattery and adulation which the 

 managers would be able to draw about themselves in case a 

 match were shot on this side the water. If it be the intention 

 of those having the matter in charge to force themselves into 

 prominence iu this way, the sooner they retire the better. 

 If there is no such intent then to insist upon a guarantee of a 

 return match is simply to all nppearances a method of wrig- 

 gling away from the defeat which so many of the faint- 

 hearted ones see in store for the team that may try conclusions 

 with the English military marksmen. These American 

 managers profess to be very solicitous that eveiy fostering aid 

 should be extended to the not over-strong rifle shooting in- 



terest in tills country, but have they calculated the chance 

 of a refusal on the part of the British managers to agree to 

 the guarantee demand? Such a refusal, which is very likely 

 to come, would leave for us cither a very undignified retreat 

 or a dog in the manger attitude, and work no end of mis- 

 chief to the growing feeling in favor of rifle shooting here. 



It is nonsense to pretend that the public is not willing to 

 sustain such a match. We are justly proud of our National 

 Guard and believe that in their ranks the very best of military 

 shooters may be found. That we can produce a weapon 

 better than any foreign one goes without question, and there- 

 fore, while there is a certain amount of uncertainty regard- 

 ing the issue as of every other event, yet the prospects arc 

 good enough to warrant us in making an effort in the contest. 

 It is not yet too late for those, who make the absurd demand 

 for a guarantee of a return match, to withdraw from their 

 untenable position, and in place of filling the role of obstruc- 

 tionists, turn to and lend their aid in forwarding the pre- 

 liminaries of the match. Will they do it? 



SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC. 



IF angling were an exact science it would have few 

 charms. We would then know all that was to be known 

 about it, and the delightful uncertainty that now envelops a 

 proposed trip would be lacking, while in its stead we would 

 have a set of calculations showing the result of a present 

 departure or of its postponement for a week. Consequently, 

 many of those enjoyable days, when the fish were not in the 

 humor to partake the proffered hospitality, and the trip was 

 its own good reward, would be lost. The angler always 

 tries to forecast his luck by glances at the sky, observing 

 the wind, and, if he be an elderly one, he is often full of 

 such lore. 



Now, the signs of the zodiac seem to have gone out of 

 fashion for some reason, but as they have done good service 

 in the past, there would seem to be no good reason why they 

 may not come around agaiu and be of use in the future. 

 Astrology has been ruthlessly pushed aside by her son and 

 heir, Astronomy, and it is no longer the fashion to adorn our 

 almanacs with the zodiacal sigus which delighted our grand- 

 fathers, except iu those reliable pamphlets designed for agri- 

 cultural purposes. The farmer plants by the "signs," why 

 may not the angler angle by them? 



After long years of study in this direction we have pre- 

 pared the following formula, having, as we write, a copy of 

 the "Farmers' Almanac," published by the American News 

 Company, before us, with the plate showing a man sur- 

 rounded by the "signs" looking like Adam naming the 

 animals. Fi rst we have : 



ArUa the Ram. Sign in the head and face. Head your 

 boat for the nearest fishing ground and don't ram into the 

 face of the bank. Headwork pays, if you don't do too much 

 of it. Motto: "Be sure you're right, then go ahead." 



Taurus the Bull. The picture shows him lying down. In 

 crossing the lot where he is pastured it is better to go around 

 it. Don't take him by the horns. In fact, beware of horns 

 of any kind, they are alleged to bite like a serpent and sting 

 like a "lightning calculator." Bullheads should bite now. 



Gemini the Twins. The original Greek was "jimminy," 

 for Socrates said "By jimminy !" when Xantippe presented 

 him with a pair. Don't use the expression rashly on hook- 

 ing a snag, but sit down and call to mind the fact that two 

 of a kind beat nothing, by a large majority. 



Gander the Crab. Now, go down to Fulton Market and 

 lay in your "shedders." Motto: "What shadders we are, 

 and what shads we pursue." Crab apples probably repre- 

 sent the acidity of temper with which your bitter half, the 

 partner of your jaws, will look upon your return with those 

 new trousers all wet and only one fish of two ounces. 



Leo the Lion. As anglers have been falsely accused of 

 underrating their catch, and evil-disposed persons might pun 

 upon the "sign," we pass it. 



Virgo the Virgin. This is evidently a misprint for virago, 

 for the female is sitting down and has a branch in her hand, 

 and by her countenance we judge that she has an intention 

 to apply it below the waistband of the trousers of the boy who 

 has lost his shoe in the swamp. Boys, you had better stay at 

 home while the sign is here. 



Libra the Balance. Moral : Weigh your fish iu these 

 scales, or their own if handier, and don't liebra about their 

 avoirdupois, especially about that largest one that got away. 

 Paste this in your hat. 



Scorpio the Scorpion. Here the sign is iu "secrets." Now, 

 if you have a secret fishing place, where the fish are large 

 and always hungry, don't keep it secret any longer. Share 

 it with your brother anglers, who will take pleasure in going 



