121 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL, 
Devoted to Field and Aquatic Sports, Practical Natural History, 
..Fish Culture, the Protection of Game.Preservation of Forests, 
and the Inculcation in Men and Women of a healthy interest 
xn Out door Recreation and Study : 
PUBLISHED BY 
Sorest mid §tremi( §uhlishmg §ompmig, 
103 FULTON STREET, NEW YORK, 
and 125 SOUTH THIRD STREET, PHILADELPHIA. 
“i'erras, Five Dollars a Year, Strictly in Advance. 
- * - 
A discount of twenty per cent, for five copies and upwards. Any person 
sending us two subscriptions and Ten Dollars wiu receive a copy of 
Hallock’s “Fishing Tourist, 1 ' postage free. 
Advertising Kates. 
In regular advertising columns, nonpareil type, 12lines to the inch, 25 
cents per line. Advertisements on outside page, 40 cents per line. Reading 
notices, 50 cents per line. Advertisements in double column 25 per cent, 
extra. Where advertisements are inserted over 1 month, a discount of 
10 per cent, will be made; over three months, 20 per cent; over six 
months, 30 per cent. 
NEW YORK, THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 1874. 
manure. Among these^were certain large species which the 
fishermen called carp, o% account of their olive color, and 
which may have been this species, hut which at the time 
we were unable to distinguish from the gold fish by any 
other character; and indeed, among the largest specimens 
we found quite a number which were quite particolored, 
indicating that they were gold fish, or else hybrids between 
that and the carp. However this may have been, we shall 
be glad qf any information that our readers may be able to 
give us. 
It is well known that the gold fish under certain circum¬ 
stances fails to put on its brilliant livery until at quite an ad¬ 
vanced period of life; and should there be any question as 
to the character of particular species, it may be solved by 
transmitting the specimens to Prof. Baird, the United 
States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, at Washington. 
In. this same connection we would invite any of our readers, 
who may at any time secure a strange fish that they are un¬ 
able to identify, to make—as has already been done on 
more than one occasion by Messrs. Middleton, Carman and 
E. G. Blackford, of the Fulton Market, Mr. John Suther¬ 
land, of Liberty street, and others—a similar disposition of 
them. They may be forwarded in alcohol; or what is still 
better, properly packed in ice and saw dust., so as to arrive 
fresh. In this case they should be first wrapped well in 
cotton cloth, so as to prevent abrasion of the scales while 
on the journey. We understand that among his other plans 
as Fish Commissioner, Prof. Baird proposes to prepare an 
illustrated report upon the food fishes of the United States, 
and for which he will doubtless be happy to receive speci¬ 
mens at any time, as well as any information procurable in 
reference to the habits and migrations of the different 
species. 
BERGH AND THE BIRDS. 
THE COMING INTERNATIONAL p Tt , 
MATCH. iF ^ 
I 
N our last the types made us say in regard to the < 
International match, that it was open only to 
W4 
loading rifles of bona fide American make, it shout/] 
read “any rifle breech-loader or muzzle-loaders ” n,. • ? v - 
- * • <• - • - ’ e l °viaW 
they were of American manufacture, under certair ^ 
regulating their weight and pull of trigger. The pro/^® 
published by us and the address of the Amateur Rip n " ,li 
to the Riflemen of the United States, explain this so 
that there could have been no mistake in regard to it ^ 
are having innumerable questions put to us on the s ■ 
of this International match, which seems to have aw/ ^ 
no small amount of interest. We are also the n 
recipient of 
a -great many letters from rifle manufacturers, most] 
muzzle-loaders, who all seem desirous of bavino- their 
tested. There is no doubt but that many of them hav 
of remarkable merit, but we would beg to state toth 
that it would be wise for them to look at some of thesco^ 
published by us of long range shooting before 
ige shooting before asking f! 
public tests of their weapons. We shall however be 0 1 
too glad to do all in our power to encourage their effort' 
and intend to give a great deal of our time and no sni'il! 
amount of our pages to this subject of arms. We beli 1 
that there is a great deal of inventive talent laying 
and that Creedmoor, the International match and the V 
R: A. is certain to bring it out. Rifle ranges are not made 
alone for those who shoot, hut especially to better devck 
this most important branch of manufactures by bringj 
into prominence the makers of arms. The programme/! 
address of the Amateur Rifle Club is now printed for dis¬ 
tribution, and the Secretary, Mr. F. P. Fairbanks wi!] 
furnish them on application to all parties who may require 
information on this subject. 
To Correspondents. 
All communications whatever, whether relating to business or literary 
correspondence, must be addressed to The Forest and Stream Pub¬ 
lishing Company. Personal or private letters of course excepted. 
All communications intended for publication must be accompanied with 
real name, as a guaranty of good faith. Names will not be published if 
objection be made. No anonymous contributions will be regarded. 
Articles relating to any topic within the scope of this paper are solicited. 
We cannot promise to return rejected manuscripts. 
Secretaries of Clubs and Associations are urged to favor us with brief 
notes of their movements and transactions, as it is the aim of this paper 
to become a medium of useful and reliable information between gentle¬ 
men sportsmen from one end of the country to the other ; and they will 
find our columns a desirable medium for advertising announcements. 
The Publishers of Forest and Stream aim to merit and secure the 
patronage and countenance of that portion of the community whose re¬ 
fined intelligence enables them to properly appreciate and enjoy all that 
is beautiful in Nature. It will pander to no depraved tastes, nor pervert 
the legitimate sports of land and water to those base uses which always 
tend to make them unpopular with the virtuous and good. No advertise¬ 
ment or business notice of an immoral character will he received on any 
terms ; and nothing will be admitted to any department 0 the paper that 
may not be read with propriety in the home circle. 
We cannot be responsible for the dereliction of the mail service, if 
money remitted to us is lost. 
Advertisements should be sent in by Saturday of each week, if possible. 
CHARLES IIALLOCK, Managing Editor. 
WILLIAM C. HARRIS, Business Manager. 
REMOVAL. 
The office of Forest and Stream will he removed early 
in April, to the Iron Building, No. 17 Chatham Street, lately 
occupied by "the Staats Zeitung newspaper, which we have 
leased for a period of years. This splendid location in 
Printing House Square we shall occupy jointly with our 
popular daily contemporary, the Evening Mail. 
-- : - 
THE CARP AS A FOOD FISH. 
I T is not a little remarkable that among the various 
measures adopted by the United States for the multipli¬ 
cation of food fishes, so little attention has been paid to the 
carp, a species which has been cultivated for such purposes 
for many years in Europe, and which possesses the special 
advantage", not shared by such kinds as the black bass, the 
trout, etc.., of being able to subsist entirely on vegetable 
food, and consequently capable of being crowded and rear¬ 
ed in much narrower quarters than is possible with the 
other species mentioned. Any ditch or pond, however re¬ 
stricted, if provided'with suitable aquatic plants, may be 
made the home of numbers of these fish, which, although 
not disdaining insects, worms and other animal matters,can 
get along very well without them. 
In this connection we are glad to learn that a company is 
being formed in New York, liaving>pecial. reference to the 
rearing of this fish and supplying it to applicants, and that 
an experienced specialist is about visiting Germany for the 
purpose of bringing over the better varieties, of which 
there are several known to fanciers, some superior to others 
for such special purposes. 
We shall be glad to learn from any of our correspondents 
to what extent the carp has been already introduced into 
the United States and where it is to be found. We have 
heard of no special efforts lately in regard to its multipli¬ 
cation,with the exception of a stock recently carried to San 
Francisco. There are indeed, traditions of the existence of 
carp in the Hudson River and elsewhere, as having descend¬ 
ed from specimens which had escaped from fish ponds 
along its borders,. This, however, remains to be better 
authenticated than it appears to be at present. 
It is well known that the gold fish are extremely abund¬ 
ant in the Hudson, and as long ago as 1855 we accompanied 
a seining-party in the mouth of Croton River at Sing Sing, 
on which occasion at least fifty bushels of fishes were 
taken, a large proportion of them good fish and used as 
W E have been requested to define our position as re¬ 
gards pigeon-sliooting matches from traps, 'and to 
state if we are in favor of tlie practice. We accept the 
challenge. There is much—a great deal—to say against it. 
It is demoralizing to man’s finer sensiblities, it is repugnant 
to his humanity, and it is the most expensive amusement 
to be had with shot gun or rifle. Abstractly, we do not re¬ 
gard it as more cruel than the taking of animal life by any 
other method of shooting. If the Society for the Preven¬ 
tion of Cruelty take cognizance of pigeon shooting, it can¬ 
not be excused from exercising a sweeping authority over 
all killings of beast, fish and fowl, when not necessary and 
with intent to procure food. As to fish, it certainly must 
be a more wanton torture to keep a salmon forty minutes 
on a line until lie is done to death, than to shatter a poor 
pigeon’s life out of it. Always, whether in the field, or in 
the stream, or at the trap, whether for pastime or for hun¬ 
ger, some creatures must escape wounded, and in suffering 
die. So long as man and the brute creation occupy the re¬ 
lations to each other of pursuer and pursued, so long will 
human laws prove futile to revoke the laws of nature; and 
while we may sicken, not only at the distress which, under 
the divine economy, besets and befalls all dumb creatures, 
as well as at man’s more revolting “inhumanity to man,” 
we must submit to what is foreordained. We can allevi¬ 
ate suffering, to be sure, and this it is our duty and the 
avowed mission of the Humane Societies to do. All honor 
to those who succeed in abating it one jot or iota ! 
But in all things, expediency, utility, and advantage are 
to be considered, and so long as the comfort of the brute 
creation must be subordinated to the necessities of man— 
so long as it is more important ihat our citizens should be¬ 
come expert in tlie use of arms than that the lives of thous¬ 
ands of pigeons should be saved, so long shall we defend 
the practice of trap-shooting. It secures quickness of 
trigger, accuracy of aim, confidence in the field, readiness 
for emergency, and renders our people the worthy descend¬ 
ants of ancestors whose training amid wilderness experi¬ 
ences and hand to hand encounter with wild beasts enabled 
them to conquer a country and win an independence. It 
was in such a school as this that our forefathers were tried; 
in this they learned the art of arms. Pigeon shooting we 
regard as essential to the defence of our country through 
the education of our citizens to be marksmen, and until 
some contrivance shall be invented or discovered which 
shall serve equally well in the manual of instruction, we 
must be content to permit and endure trap-shooting, repug¬ 
nant as it may be to our finer natures. 
The University Boat Race. —On tlie Thames, from 
Putney to Mortlake, a distance of four miles and two fur¬ 
longs, sped the boats on Saturday last, and Cambridge, the 
light blue, came in ahead of Oxford by four boat lengths, 
having made the good time of 28 minutes, 35 seconds. 
Last year the time was 19 minutes, 85 seconds. The four 
minutes slower this year was caused by the water having 
been a trifle lumpy at the start. Cambridge lias now won 
straight along for the last five years, having entered on the 
career of victory in 1870; before that the Oxfords had it all 
their own way, having started to win in 1861, and continu¬ 
ing through for nine years. Some quite unfortunate din 
ner question was the disturbing element this year. The 
Lord Mayor invited both crews to dine, Cambridge accept¬ 
ed, Oxford did not know whether to dine on Aklermanic 
turtle or not, and being slow in answering, received a rather 
sharp telegram from the Lord Mayor, and when they had 
made up their minds not to dine got a peculiarly curl letter 
from the Mayor, which is variously commented on. There 
might fiave been rudeness on the part of the University and 
| pomposity on the part of tlffi Municipality. For further 
I details we refer our readers to our full account. 
HYDROPHOBIA. 
W ITHOUT being alarmists, or believing that rabies Is 
on the increase, the late sad accident recorded by 
us has naturally awakened a great deal of interest in regard 
to this most fearful malady, hydrophobia. It may be slated 
pretty positively that although scientific men have studied 
the pathology of other diseases, and have in many ease 
isolated some particular venom or virus as fatal to liumaoj 
life, in regard to rabies and hydrophobia our acquaintance 
with them either in the animal or in tlie man is limited, 
We know of the terribly distinctive symptoms which at-j 
tend the disease when we are stricken with it, hut beyond 
that rabies is contagious our acquaintance with hydropic 
bia is scarcely more advanced than it was one hundred 
years ago. 
In regard to the animal, we are sure that it attacks only 
the carnivora, and has never been known among theher-j 
bivora or omnivera. As to its origin, the author of “Rabic-i 
and Hydrophobia” states that fuby ninety per cent, of the 
dogs attacked owed the disease to contagion and the re¬ 
mainder to spontaneous production. Climate has 110 influ¬ 
ence on rabies, though we are inclined to think that Res¬ 
ists to a comparatively less degree in tropical ^climates, It 
seems pretty well established that there are more mad dogs 
in temperate zones than in the tropical or semi-tropical 
ones; more dogs inclined to run mad in tlie Stale of iW 
York-than in Louisiana. We are fast learning, too, M 
the season of the year has nothing to do with it, and llul 
if dogs are to be muzzled in July they should be treated 
the same way in January. Treatment of dogs—as to food,, 
starving them, or depriving them of water, or feeding t ei 
on decayed meat—have excited no particular influence^ 
As to sex, it was supposed that the male dog was 
prone to rabies, but this may he only apparent fiom f 
general fact that there are more male animals than fern 
Anger has nothing to do with it, as tlie cases 0 ® 
beings bitten by dogs are innumerable where no bac e; c 
have ensued. As to breed, and the tendency somepecui 
races may have to spontaneously produce the h sei M 
still a disputed point. It has been affirmed. • on '| er jfiu 
authority that mongrels are more frequently at ac ■ 
rabies than thoroughbred dogs or animals of P uie J 
It is a perfectly well known fact that dogs am 0 
good stock, on whose ancestors a great deal 0 
been taken to eliminate all defective qualities, 
vital powers, and consequently are less prone 0 ^ 
Without, then, asserting that mongrels are dange \ l0 « 
being of mixed breeds, or arguing that more G g J 
degree are affected with rabies, because very P 10 . ,, i8 1 
mongrels are bred than anything else, we a. 1 J, ^1 
dorse the advice given by the New Yom 
states that “the possibility of hydrophobia, kow j 
is so terrible, and tlie peril incurred so en 11 A Dal) ionsW 
tionate to the pleasure derivable from the co Y^ji 
of any beast, that too much care can hardly ira #bl 
selecting dogs for household companionship- 
pure breed ought in every case to be pre e /^ tll0 ] e t!)i J » 
grels resolutely tabooed. As vve have said, 1 ^ ^ 
is a question of chances—infinitesimal,. pm . , | or t!i° ? 
pie who do not keep dogs about,; a trifle S rea ouJ]Ce( l!(j 
who have dogs of pure breed, still more P 
such as surround themselves with ‘mongie 
low degree.’ ” . h con temP° r l 
Some time ago we noticed in our Lug 0 f the* 0 
Land and Water, the statement made of m \ c0 ws|J 
nitrate of mercury in cases where sU cc</ 
been bitten by a mad dog, and that it ha 0 '} 
in preventing disease. The proof se^* e ^ ^ 0 
acid nitrate of mercury was useful, because 
