Forest and Stream. 



A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 



Terms, $1 a Teas. 10 Cts. a Copy. I 

 Six Months, 82. f 



NEW YORK, MARCH 9, 18 8 2. 



( VOL. XVIII.— No. 6. 



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



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CONTENTS 



Editorial. 



The Match at Creedmoor. 



The Approaching Shad. 



Loading for Game. 



The Trouble in Ohio. 



Science and Fishculture. 

 The Sportsman Tourist. 



Old Red Fox of Bald Mountain. 



"Podgers" Tries Florida. 



Reminiscences of a Sportsman. 



Passaic Falls. 

 Natural History. 



Screech Owl in Confinement. 



Spring Notes. 

 Game Bag and Gun. 



How to Choose a Gun. 



Destruction of Large Game.- 



A. Converted Grouse Shooter. 



Wild Fowl in California. 



The Ohio Game Law. 



Notes from "Worcester. 



More Quail Experiments. 



St. Lawrence Club. 



Guuif A li,.iii; "hil:md|> l i!;i. 

 Sea and River Fishing. 



The Interpretation Thereof. 



Rangeley Notes. 



Night Spearing. 



Sea and River Fishing. 

 Trout Flies. 

 Trout in New Jersey. 

 The Bait Question. 

 Chub Fishing. 

 Black Fishing on the Sound. 

 The Eel Question. 



FlSHCULTCRE. 



Report of Maj. Ferguson. 



Codfish Culture in New York. 



Fishculture in England. 

 The Kennel. 



The Pittsburg Dog Show. 



A Visit to John Davidson. 



Dog Ailments. 



National Derby Entries. 



Our English Letter. 

 Yachting and Canoeing. 



The Yawl in America. 



A Typical Bourbon. 



Traps. 



Yachting on the Lakes. 



Atlantic Yacht Club. 

 Rifle and Trap Shooting. 



The International Match. 



Pistol Records. 



Matches and Meetings. 

 Answers to Correspondents. 



THE MATCH AT CREEDMOOR. 

 ^pHE English rifle managers have completely turned the 

 -*- tables on the members of our American Board of Di- 

 rectors, and in place of capitulating under the absurd demand 

 made by the acceptors for a guarantee of a return match in 

 1883, the British Council has shifted the scene of the proposed 

 match from "Wimbledon to Creedmoor for the present, and 

 made the demand of the American managers that a team be 

 sent over to England in 1883. The Americans at once ac- 

 cepted this turn in the programme ; gave the promise that there 

 should be a return match in 1883; and now all is bustle and 

 preparation for the event. 



It was a politic move on the part of the British managers. 

 Thejr avoid the conflict and rupture which seemed sure to 

 come so long as tbe return match guarantee was insisted 

 upon. 



The throwing of the match over into September or later 

 will enable the English riflemen to get in all the sea- 

 son's practice, to have the advantage of the selection 

 which the Wimbledon gathering will present, and then 

 striking the American shores when the worst of the hot 

 weather will probably be over, the visitors will find those 

 long days of steady weather so favorable to the making of the 

 highest scores. The visiting team will go back, too, with 

 many lessons gained in the matter of arms and team drill by 

 careful observation on our American ranges; and so a victory 

 for the British team during this year means an almost certain 

 victory for it in 1883, while a defeat for that team at Creed- 

 moor would leave the chances open and about even, with a 

 fair margin of probable success on the side of the British 

 team. 



With the complete acceptance by the British managers of 

 every change suggested by the Americans there ought to be 

 an obligation on this side to make the match the greatest sort 

 of a success. It will be a very easy matter to follow up an 

 American victory in 1882 by the sending of a team across in 

 1883, and a defeat of the home team in 1882 ought to serve 

 a* a spur of the most pressing sort to secure, a worthy repre- 

 sentation abroad in the year following. We are, at any rale, 

 certain of two matches in the two years, and from present 

 appearances it will require some very lively work on the part 

 of our American influence to make even a presentable show- 

 ing in the opening contest. We are in this style of shooting, 

 at the ranges named for the second stop, without rifles or 



experience. We have to make the one and secure the other, 

 and that too with the utmost promptitude. But what has 

 been once performed may be done again and with certainty, 

 before us an American victory at the first encounter is en- 

 tirely possible. 



That the English shooters feel pretty secure in their own 

 powers is shown by their desire for a match, even by send- 

 ing over a team to fight it, and judging by all the data in 

 their possession the English marksmen are justified in their 

 confidence. They are the Goliah while we are but the little 

 David. The dwarf may slay the giant but the chances are 

 always in favor of the giant. 



The turn which affairs have taken may be regarded as a 

 very favorable one, and does credit to the diplomacy of the 

 British Rifle Council. The step which they so gracefully 

 took was at once a victory and a concession. They agree to 

 the American demand for a return match without really 

 offering to do so, and by the transposition of dates retain the 

 part of leader and at the same time secure all the advantage 

 to which their magnanimous action entitles them. 



A defeat in 1882 will be very disastrous to our American 

 association, far more so than a whipping on the other side 

 would have been at the same date. The first match must be 

 won, or at least not lost on anything short of an accident, or 

 we fear that the chances of seeing an American team at 

 Wimbledon in 1883 will be very slim. 



The reception given to the visitors should be of the warm- 

 est sort. To have a set of British soldiers and members of 

 Her Majesty's army, for such they will be, landing on our 

 shores is an event of moment in itself. Such official visits 

 abroad are rarely paid by the British soldier, even of the 

 volunteer wing of the army, and we have a sufficiently large 

 force of militiamen here to give their fellows at soldiering 

 from Great Britain the heartiest of receptions. 



THE APPROACHING SHAD. 



NO doubt the extremely mild weather will cause the shad 

 to appear somewhat earlier in northern rivers than usual. 

 The 17th of March, the glorious anniversary of the ever 

 glorious St. Patrick, who put a fast upon the meat but none 

 upon the whisky, is the day set apart for the first shad to be 

 caught in the Hudson. 'No right-thinking and respectable 

 shad would like to be taken before that day, which is recog- 

 nized by the "North River" family of shads as the opening 

 of the season, yet occasionally an unprincipled member allows 

 itself to be captured several days in advance of this date, merely 

 to get its name in the newspapers. Such a one was taken up the 

 Hudson River about the first of the month, and we were 

 sorry to see that Mr. Blackford encouraged such a forestalling 

 of the day, by giving it a prominent place upon the stand, 

 and a placard calling attention to it. Such conduct upon 

 the part of an adventurous shad should not be encouraged. 



The staid and respectable shads are in no hurry to crowd 

 in on the first day, even though it be the day set apart for 

 remembering the virtues of St. Patrick; they hold aloof until 

 the restless spirits of the more adventurous ones have led them 

 through the Narrows and past Castle Garden. They wait 

 with dignity outside of Sandy Hook until the snow water 

 has all come down, gathering, in the meantime, flesh of the 

 most savory quality, in order to retain their flavor up to the 

 standard established by their ancestors, to whom was given 

 the specific cognomen of sapidissima. These have no wish 

 to be confounded with the Southern fish, which have been 

 forty-eight hours out of water by the time they reach New 

 York, and they so proceed leasurely and in order, knowing 

 that epicures await them who will appreciate their freshness 

 and juicy flavor. 



A distinct species of shad is found in the Delaware River 

 below Philadelphia. It is known as the "planked shad," and 

 is always found on a chestnut plank before the fire. Its 

 habits are little understood but it is conjectured that they 

 scent the odor of previous shads exhaled from the planks, 

 which are never new, and ascend the banks of the river and 

 fasten their tails to the same nails that held their ancestors. 

 The planked shad loves the society of green peas, asparagus, 

 hot rolls, and champagne. We think that the Fish Com- 

 missioners of New Jersey and Pennsylvania should pay more 

 attention to this species. Commissioner Anderson, of the 

 first named State, is well aware of their superiority, but we 

 would call his attention to the fact that certain hotels are 

 frequented by baked shad who try to pass themselves off on 

 unsuspecting visitors as the genuine planked variety. This 

 is resented by the simon-pure planked shad, who have cau- 

 tioned their customers to suspect all shad not brought to the 

 table on the plank. All planked shad hold a platter in ab- 

 horrence, and would not allow themselves to be served at a 



hotel where the landlord took a shad to table in this manner. 

 None genuine unless served on the plank, is their motto. 



The shad of the Connecticut River keep later dates than 

 those of the Hudson, and claim to be entirely distinct in 

 their tastes and habits. These shad have learned to take 

 flies in fresh water, by way of desert to their last pate de 

 .tomostraca, and the more aesthetic among them have be- 

 come so highly cultivated as to relish the artificial fly with a 

 hook in it — to add piquancy to the otherwise flavorless com- 

 pound of feather, silk and tinsel. After taking this style of 

 fly the stimulating effect of the hook is seen at once. They 

 dance about like a man with an overdose of horse-radish, and 

 rush around in a wild state of excitement for a few minutes. 

 and then become quiet, if they succeed in getting into a boat 

 or on the shore. After the intoxicating excitement caused 

 by the stimulating hook comes a reaction, followed by a re- 

 pose which is usually fatal, but the shad do not seem to 

 mind it. 



If Dr. Watts were now living and fully acquainted with 

 the different shads we have mentioned, he might, if so in- 

 clined, sing: 



How doth the little busy shad 



Grow till he's a whacker, 



A feeding round Long Island Sound, 



Upon En-tom-o-strac-a. 



Let sharks delight to snap and bite, 

 And chew up the sailors' clothes, 

 But I am glad when a hot broiled shad 

 Lies steaming under my nose. 



LOADING FOR GAME. 



IT is impracticable to lay down a formula for the loading 

 of guns which will apply with equal good results in all 

 cases. Two guns may be of the same make, and exactly 

 similar in gauge, method of boring, weight, etc., and yet 

 what, is the correct load for one may not be for the other. 

 The sportsman, then, who wishes to get the best work out of 

 his gun should experiment with it to determine the load best 

 adapted to securing the most effective work. The following 

 hints for amateurs we published two years ago, and venture 

 to repeat them now, in answer to numerous inquiries which 

 have come to us. 



In the first place, select the kind of powder that you think 

 will suit you, and stick to it. We have several well-known 

 makers that manufacture a first-class article, either brand of 

 which will give satisfaction after you become accustomed to 

 it. Bogardus himself could not successfully use a mixed lot 

 of cartridges, especially at cross-shots. The reason of this 

 is that one kind will burn slow and another quick, and an 

 aim that would prove deadly with one kind would be very 

 unreliable with the other. Therefore choose a good, clean, 

 strong, rather coarse-grained powder, and when you have 

 made your choice use n® other. It does not make so much 

 difference with shot, as nearly all the makers turn out a good 

 article. The greatest trouble with new beginners is that 

 they are apt to use too many shot for their powder, thereby 

 losing penetration. Always bear in mind that one pellet 

 that crashes clean through the bird will bring him to bag 

 much quicker than half a dozen that wind up in the feathers 

 or penetrate but slightly. Our gun is a 7-lb. , 12-gauge, cylin- 

 der bore, and after a very exhaustive test we decided that 

 three drachms of Hazard's No. 3 duck, with two pink-edge 

 wads, and seven-eighths of an ounce of No. 8 shot, with thin 

 wad, was the most killing charge for all distances, for com- 

 mon field shooting. For thick cover shooting, when snap 

 shots are the rule, we use the same charge for the left-hand 

 barrel, but for the right, which we always use first for a 

 quick shot, we use the same amount of powder and only five- 

 eighths of an ounce of No. 10 shot, thus obtaining high 

 velocity, which insures penetration. We also get a large 

 area of spread within a short distance, which secures ma*ny 

 a bird that we knew we should not bag with ordinary 

 charges, and we consider that our success in snap-shooting 

 is in a great measure owing to the use of this deadly charge. 

 Some may think that No. 10's Bre too light. We have not 

 found them so, and nearly all our shooting is at ruffed grouse 

 in the months of November and December, and we have 

 never killed so clean nor so large a proportion of our shots as 

 since we commenced using this charge. 



We have already said that there is a great difference in the 

 shooting of different guns, and the charge that will give good 

 results with one gun will be far from satisfactory with others. 

 Therefore test your gun thoroughly with different charges. 

 Commence with 2Jdrs. of powder and foz. of shot, and 

 2Jdrs. of powder and $oz. of shot, and 3drs. of powder and 

 loz. of shot; vary these charges until you obtain results that 

 are satisfactory; try not less than ten of each kind, and care- 

 fully note the. result. Always use a fixed rest when firing at 



