April 13, 1883.| 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



211 



ball long enough to hold a steady flight for that distance can 

 be loaded by the muzzle-loaders' peculiar way of patching 

 without wrinkling the patch too much. It might be so cut 

 as to do it, but for perfect accuracy at 200 yards a very long 

 bodied ball is needed. 



"F. J." asks how a breech-loader can do close work at 300 

 yards against a muzzle-loader that will shoot exact fifty 

 yards? For precisely the same reason that a .32 gallery rifle 

 that will hit a dime every time where the old Henry rifle will 

 hardly hit a quarter or a' half dollar will be beaten at any 

 target by the Henry at 300 yards. The difference is in the 

 sustaining power of the ball. The light ball cannot hold its 

 flight like the other. At even 200 yards a long ball four 

 times the weight of the round ball will be steadier than one 

 only twice the weight of a round ball. It will be less af- 

 fected by wind and less by trilling variance in density or in 

 amount or strength of powder. For this reason no long 

 range scores counted in the usual way, counting alike all 

 shots on the bull'seye without reference to their nearness to 

 the centre, can prove the perfect accuracy of the rifle in start- 

 ing its bullet. They may prove great accuracy in starting 

 and great sustaining power but nothing else. 



To test the starting accuracy, rifles should be shot at only 

 twenty or thirty yards and in quite still air; even then it 

 round' balls are 'used, they should be tried with telescope- 

 sight with a fine tack or pin-head for a mark. The sight 

 should then be set a little off, so that the balls strike an inch 

 or so from the tack in a piece of cardboard, or something 

 that will leave a cleare-dged hole. A large number of shots 

 should be fired, and the diameter of the hole cut by the series 

 should be the test. This is even better than string measure, 

 as at a distance where the differing density of balls or the 

 wind, fight, etc., could have no possible influence, the balls 

 would strike so very close together as to make string measure 

 quite difficult to take. 



The following scores were made by a ten pound muzzle- 

 loader. Having been made in matches they are records. 

 They may be easily verified by writing to San Franscisco, if 

 any one. doubts them. 



ist. Dr. E. H. Pardee, ofSan Francisco, against Mr. War- 

 ren Loud, S; 

 (forty rods) m 

 Pardee's winr 

 centre of built 

 an average of 



A fac si mill 



i Fran-is. 



i, Feb. 1866. Distance 220 yards 

 eh tor $1,000. One hundred shots each. Dr. 

 g score measured from centre of bullseye to 

 hole one hundred and thirty-one and £ inches, 

 )OUt 1J. 



lithograph of this target plainly shows that 

 but for the wind (which is always strong and variable at San 

 Francisco, especially when a match lasts as did this one for 

 two days) Dr. Pardee would certainly have made a string of 

 seventy -five or an average of f- of an inch. It must also be re- 

 membered that this shooting was done sixteen years ago, when 

 wind, light, etc., were less understood than now, and when 

 there were no such delicate arrangements for sights as now. It 

 was also made with the bullets then in use for muzzle-loaders, 

 rarely over double, the weight of reund ball and which could 

 not. sustain themselves jus well in the wind as those now shot 

 at such distances from breech-loaders. The coirectness of 

 this view is plainly shown by the targets of the two follow- 

 ing marches, which were made about ten years later, when 

 wind and light were better understood and when he doubt- 

 less had better wind gauges, etc. 



2d. Dr. Pardee against an English gentleman — Mr. Eeed — 

 for $750, shot in San Diego county, Cal., 1875. Twenty shots 

 each — same distance etc. as No. 1 (220 yards or 40 rods) — 

 string of Dr. Pardee from center to center, sixteen and one- 

 quarter (16|r) inches, an average of about £ of an inch. 



Match between same parties, distance and money as inNo. 

 2. Ten shots each. String of Dr. Pardee from' center to 

 center, four and one-half inches (4|), or an average of less 

 than half au inch from the exact center at 220 yards. 



Examination of these targets would convince anyone that 

 if the marksman had been shooting at a distance where wind, 

 light, etc., required no allowance for— say at thirty yards— 

 .that 130 successive shots would have passed through the 

 same hole without widening it v^rr' of an inch after the first 

 shot, certainly not rtrri. 



I agree with "Byrne" fully as to the nonsense that has been 

 talked about shooting both with shotgun and rifle. Absurd 

 stuff has been talked about, the old muzzle-loader. But it 

 was about what could be done with it at long distances or at 

 short distances offhand. What it would do in proper hands 

 with dead rest, fine sights and at a distance where its light 

 halls were unaffected by wind or by a trifling difference in 

 d'-nsity, or where the light made no difference iu aiming has, 

 I fully believe, not only never been exaggerated, but has been 

 even unsuspected by the majority of those admiring its accu- 

 racy the most. The above matches can be as fully verified 

 as any of the international ones. 



Now, is it not a shameful commentary upon human reason 

 that to prevent misconstruction of what 1 write, I am actu- 

 ally compelled to add that I do not give the above to show 

 that we should all screw an immovable breech plug in our 

 rifles? Is it not disgraceful that I am driven to say in most 

 explicit terms that I give the above only to show what a rifle 

 may do when the bail is left in the grooves instead of being 

 put' below them, and not to prove that the man who makes 

 another rifle that is not immovably closed behind should be 

 drawn and quartered? Nothing but blind, absurd, unreason- 

 ing idolatry of the breech-loader on account of its unques- 

 tioned convenience! utility, long-range power and other vast 

 advantages over the muzzle-loader, could ever make folks 

 look as they do upon anyone who ventures to even name a 

 muzzle- loader in any connection on the same day with the 

 inviolable idol. T. S. Van Dyke. 



SAH Diego, Cal. 



A Loon as the Starboard Boav. — New York, April 7. — 

 WSitffr Forest and Sfre/mi: In the last issue of Forest and 



Stream, two writers quote from "Chasseur's" article on 

 i Cobb's Island," and compare his remarks on 

 Slaughtering bay birds with his denunciation of the brant- 

 shooiers who bunt with jack lights. Let me make another 

 quotation from "Chasseur's" article, and see how it looks 

 standing alone : "The ride in the boat to Cherrystone takes 

 about two bout's, and is pleasant and exhilarating if you 

 happen to have about a hundred 6hells loaded with No. -1 

 shot, for the ducks, loons and coots are in myriads in the 

 hay, a.nd are so lazy that they won't, fly until the steamer's 

 prow eiits its way through the flock. It is beautiful sport, 

 and the best practice an amateur can have. Shooting down 

 at them FrOiiJ your elevation in the bow as they fly across 

 Hie prow, yon can see when the shot hits 'in the water, and 

 can thus practice aiming and perceive the. laws of shooting 

 ahead of game, the velocity of the bird's flight, anil • 

 discover that a tQUgh loon is as hard to kill as a cat, Fox 

 and myself got our hands in on our way, and made some 

 handsome fancy shots. All (fa dusks kilM are pirkM up by 



passing schooners." •>. (the italics and question mark are mine). 

 Now, Mr. Editor, any person who has spent much time 

 along the. coast knows that it is very rarely that a duck is 

 picked up by a schooner. Imagine a three-master scudding 

 along under close reefs before a sou'wester. Suddenly the 

 captain's voice, roars out: "Hard down the helm— loon on 

 starboard bow!" Seem3 to me this advice, about carrying 

 along a hundred shells to shoot ducks with while sailing 

 down the bay is hardly proper for the younger sportsmen in 

 whom Forest and Stream is trying to instil the true vir- 

 tues of sportsmanship. — Mark West. 



"The Corn on the Cobb."— Warrenton, Va., April 6.— 

 Editor threat and Strewn : Regarrling a communication about 

 my letters from Cobb's Island, signed "H. P. U.." I can only 

 say that so long as he don't know the difference between 

 shooting brant in the night time and a flock of snipe in the 

 day time, then it is wasting time and patience in trying to 

 explain. This much "H. P. U." is informed— that no' sports- 

 man wastes his ammunition on a loon or a coot. — Alex. Hun- 

 ter ("Chasseur"). 



The New Hampshire Fish and Game Leaotjk met at. 

 Manchester April 4 The meeting was a business one, as 

 all the conventions of this societynave been. The time was 

 taken up with the reading of papers and of discussions of 

 game and fish matters. We print elsewhere Mr. Colburu's 

 address, and the report on fishculture. The annual address 

 was delivered by Rev. A. H. Quint, D.D. , of Dover. The 

 officers elected were: President, John B. Clarke, Manches- 

 ter. Secretary, Charles L. Richardson, Manchester. Treas- 

 urer, Frederick Smyth, Manchester. Vice-Presidents. Mar- 

 cellus Eldridge, Portsmouth; Luther Haves, South Milton; 

 E. B. Hodge, Plymouth; W. ' W. Fletcher, Concord; V. C. 

 Gilman, Nashua; W. S. Shurtb'ffe, Colebrook; John Clem- 

 ent, Troy; W. M. Weed, Sandwich; M. A. Haynes, Lake 

 Village; Gilbert P. Whitman, Manchester. 



Minnesota.— The Pioneer Press says that "the Minnesota 

 State Sportsmen's Association will have an epitome of the 

 game laws printed for the benefit of those who wish to join 

 the_ association. With these, will be printed excerpts from 

 articles on game protection published in the Pioneer Press 

 during the past three months, drawing special attention to 

 the value of our game in drawing strangers to our borders. 

 Birds that cost our visitors from $14 to $17 apiece to obtain 

 must be worth protecting. This money is not spent in our big 

 cities, but in little villages and country towns, where $100, a 

 week's bill of a small hunting party, will start out from the 

 hotel and livery stable and travel half around town paying 

 off bills as it passes from hand to hand. Our game birds are 

 the goose that lays the golden eggs. Let us not kill the goose 

 by an in and out of season pursuit." 



Illinois Wildfowl. — Bluffs, Scott county, 111., April 2. — 

 Mallards are leavingf ast, and bags of sixty to'eighty bi rds each 

 have dwindled down to from ten to twenty. Snipe are very 

 slowly coming in, and are very wild and in good condition. 

 By advices from Hannibal, Mo. , and Centralia, 111. , both of 

 which places are excellent snipe grounds, I learn that the 

 birds there are also very scarce, and only very small bags are 

 made. It appears that the great overflow of the Mississippi 

 this spring has seriously damaged the best grounds. The 

 Illinois River here is one great lake of about five miles in 

 width, and the waters of the river are falling very slowly as 

 the high water of the Mississippi backs up the current, I am 

 assured that the best snipe shooting here, a hundred miles 

 north of St. Louis, is generally had between the 10th and 

 20th of April.— C. L. 



Massachusetts Association. — At the annual meeting of 

 the Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective Association at 

 Boston, on Friday evening, April 14. the old board of officers 

 were unanimously re-elected, as follows: President, John 

 Fottler, Jr.; Vice-Presidents, Hon. Thomas Talbot, Hon. 

 Daniel Ncedham, Walter M. Brackett. Esq., Theodore Ly- 

 man, Esq., Edward P. Brown, Esq., T. T. Sawyer, Jr., H. 

 T. Rockwell, Esq.; Treasurer, James R. Reed; Recording 

 and Corresponding Secretary, E. S. Tobey, Jr.; Librarian, 

 E. M. Messinger. Executive Committee— Ivers W. Adams, 

 W. S. Hills, Arthur K. Roberts, F. R. Shattuck, O. T. 

 Jenkins. Committee on Membership — L. Prouty, F. Tuck- 

 erman, E. Delano. 



Wild Turkey Hunting. — Belleville, 111,, April 5, — A 

 very good way, or rather the best way, to hide from a turkey, 

 if you see them approaching you while bunting them, is to 

 get in front of a tree, stump, or anything else that you would 

 be likely to get behind to hide yourself. They never think 

 of looking in front of anything to see if there is any one 

 there. They are always on the lookout for the hunter to be 

 behind the tree or stump, or whatever it may be. — O. H. A. 



Nashville, Tenn., April 1. — With the exception of snipe, 

 there is no game at present in season. Several respectable 

 bags have been made of them, though they are in poor con- 

 dition, and scarcely pay for the trouble and labor of going 

 for them. A live otter was brought into the city on Friday; 

 it was taken a few miles below the city. On arriving here 

 with it Johnny McEwen the hatter at once purchased it, 

 telling the boys he would make a hat of it next winter. — 

 J. D. H. ' 



Massachusetts — Beverly, April 4 — To-day Mr. Geo. F. 

 Hi n kley bagged two snipe, which are the first birds reported 

 shot, in this section this season. Very few geese or black 

 ducks shot thus far, and "old gunners" think it doubtful 

 about 1 here being many this spring. Woodcock were reported 

 with us about the 20th of March, 'and in greater numbers than 

 is usual at this season of the year. — Farms. 



Deer in Louisiana. — New Orleans, April 5.— Continued 

 reports of the slaughter of deer reach me from the over- 

 flowed districts. Now that the deer are so weak and poor, 

 they offer but little resistance to the man who, for the hide, 

 goes forth to violate our State laws. Papers thro ugh mi i the 

 State are calling on officials to make arrests. — Eoward 

 Odell. 



Washington, D, C. — I am glad to report, that, through 

 having our poUee supplied with "the law relating to the kill- 

 sxpostareof game for sale, we do not see "wood- 

 cock" and other game birds exposed for sale out of season in 

 the markets, as in years past. — A. B. B. 



Tennessee,— Sandersonville. — I use a 12-bore, 32in. barrel, 

 8*lb. gun, and find good satisfaction with 4dr. powder, 

 l|oz. shot, shoot over a brace of setters, and agree with 

 "Mark West" on the ground shooting question. Partridges 

 are growing scarce arotmd here, rabbits and squirrels plenty. 

 — Wm, W. G. 



Philadelphia. — Friday and Saturday last were days 

 made for the snipe. John Brown and Harry Gatzner killed 

 seventy-five near Compton, Delaware. We'are now all hav- 

 ing good shooting. Ducks that were killed last week in 

 Delaware would not keep, so warm lias been the weather. — 

 Homo. 



American Partridge for Peru.— President Arthur has 

 nominated James R. Partridge of Maryland to be Envoy 

 Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Peru. 



Snipe. — Mr. J. H. Von Lengerke and a companion recently 

 killed eighteen snipe in a day's shoot on the Jersey meadows. 



*>m and Miter 



North. **■*■*. I doubt if any person can be really humane in heart 

 unless really sound in head. You hear people talk of angling as 

 cruel. 



Shepherd. Fools— fools— waur than fools. It's a maist innocent, 

 moral and religious amusement. Gin I saw a fisher gruppin' creelfu' 

 after creelfu' o' trouts, and then flingin' them a' awa among the 

 heather and the brackens on his way hame, I micht begin to suspec' 

 that the idiot was by nature rather a savage. But as for me, I send 

 presents to my freen's. and devour dizzens on dizzens every week in 

 the family— maistly dune in the pan, wi' plenty o' fresh butter and 

 roun' meal— sae that prevents the possibility o' cruelty in my fishin', 

 and in the fishin' o' a' reasonable creatures. 



NOCTES AMBROSIAN.S. 



FI8H IN SEASON IN APRIL. 



Brook trout, RalveliniU) foiitinalis; salmon, Salmo ualur; lake trout, 

 Christ ivomer namai/cush. This list may he in conflict with the lawp 

 in some of the States. 



BLACK BASS IN ENGLAND. 



I HAVE read "R. N's" and "Koorb's" remarks on the 

 black bass. I entirely disagree with them as to the game 

 qualities of the fish, but when they refer to the superiority of 

 perch fishing, you seem to overlook the fact that perch in 

 England are very large, being frequently caught weighing 

 2| to 4ilbs. They are usually caught in rivers, and are of 

 course gamier than their species taken here in the lakes, not 

 to speak of their superior strength and the quantities which 

 can be caught. Bass, as every one knows who has tried for 

 them, are exceedingly capricious, so much so that while I am 

 most enthusiastic as to their game qualities, I never can 

 quite make, up my mind whether "If )tu mat la chandelU." 

 G. W. K. 



One cannot blame our English friends for looking well 

 into the character of a fish before introducing it, we would 

 have done well to investigate their sparrow's character before 

 bringing the little nuisance here, and as this is their own 

 funeral, we ought not to advise them too strongly. The writers 

 which you quote from the London Field are, as you say, a 

 little "funny," and talk like men who have never taken a- 

 black bass. " They are evidently Britons of the "hide bound" 

 kind, who look with defective vision at everything outside of 

 their own microscopic island. They would decline to see 

 anything good come out of America, except perhaps in that 

 part which is still "loyal." John. 



Boston, Mass. 



I know the kind of fellows who wrote the Field articles 

 under the names of "R. N." and "Koorb." They occasionally 

 come here in great plaid suits and a glass screwed in one eye, 

 and "want to see those bloomin' black bass, ye know." Not 

 being anglers at home, they mistake in trying" to pass for them 

 here. We have some English gentleman come here to fish, 

 (and I can tell the genuine article as soon as I look at him) 

 who know what good fishing is and how to enjoy it, and they 

 all think well of the bass. As a class they like to fish for the 

 big pike, or pickerel as we call it, and it is hard to convince 

 them that one mascalonge i s worth a dozen pike to fight or to eat, 

 unless they strike one. They are getting rare now, and we 

 take fifty pickerel to one mascalonge. We see all classes of 

 people here in the season, and quite a number of the plaid 

 suit fellows. I am told that they do not wear such clothes 

 "at home," but think them the thing for America. I sup- 

 pose that our friends across the water see queer specimeni 

 of Americans in the loud commercial drummer, who may 

 pretend to be an angler over there, and talk about what he 

 knows nothing of. In this manner we judge individuals and 

 nations by their lowest specimens, but when a man goes back 

 to England and says that a black bass is not game, he don't 

 know what he is talking of. Why, he might as well tell me 

 that my old rooster "Clip," who has won eleven battles, 

 ain't game. Old Bass. 



Alexandria Ba y. N. Y. 



AMONG THE FISHES OF FLORIDA. 



ON a Friday evening of a few days gone, from the cares 

 of business, myself and Mr. O'Neal, an ardent and keen 

 angler; found lodging at the hospitable, home of Mr. Geo. 

 Lie 11, on the banks of the St. Marks River, Florida. 



Partaking of an excellent supper we worked up an ebony 

 salt cruiser to sail us over the salty waters, the coming 

 morrow, in whose briny waves we proposed tackling the 

 cunning sheepshead, channel bass and sea trout. Having 

 succeeded we then put our tackle in order, swopped a few fish- 

 ing incidents overflowing with great truths of wonderful 

 catches of monsters of the "bubbling deep," and then cuddled 

 up in a soft, downy bed to woo the drowsy God. 



At five o'clock we were awakened by a yell that would 

 have thrilled the dull, cold ear of death, uttered by O'Neal 

 in the eestaey of his joy, at the prospect of a day's fishing. 

 Plumped out of bed, seising the festive youth, joined him in 

 a hilarious jig over his report that "not a single cloud 

 obscures the 'glory of the morning sky, and the winds from 

 the south are stealing softly northward through the orange 

 and banana trees, scarcely ruffling their leaves." Breakfast 

 announced, we sat down, our appetites increased by the 

 grateful perfumes from delicious broiled mullet and fried 



