202 
FOREST AND STREAM 
each landholder the control of the fishing upon his own 
enclosed land.” 
Judge Steele was an able, an upright, and an accom¬ 
plished jurist. His death was lamented, and he was an irre¬ 
parable loss to the judiciary of his State, and if space per¬ 
mitted, the letter of the intelligent gentleman, from which 
the above extract is taken, would belnserted. The language 
and opinion of Judge Steele is in perfect harmony with the 
common law and statute law of every State in the Union— 
“the landholder and the land owner controls the fishing 
upon his own enclosed land.” Trespass is the technical as 
well as the popular name for that kind of injury which is 
done to a man’s land or house by intruding upon it against 
his will. The maxim is familiar that every man’s house is 
his castle, and he is entitled to regard as an enemy every per¬ 
son (with few exceptions) who attempts to enter witiiout 
permission, and this general rule is applicable to a man’s 
land as well as his house. Judge Steele was correct in vin¬ 
dicating the right of the land owner to the fishing upon his 
own enclosed land, but if the land owner had no right of 
property in the fish (as he had not if they w T ere “ ferae 
naturae ”) which lived in the water flowing through his land, 
he had just the same control over them as he had over the 
birds which flew over his premises, and the legislature had, 
and has, the constitutional right and power to protect every 
species of animal of fur, feather, or fin, in its nature “feraae 
naturae ,” from reckless or inconsiderate slaughter or cap¬ 
ture. 
The land owner has the control of the shooting and hunt¬ 
ing on and over his own land. It is the land itself which 
gives the right, but a man who finds game on his own land 
cannot justify pursuing it into the land of another. If A 
starts a hare in the land of B, and hunts and kills it there, 
the property continues all the while in B, but if A starts a 
hare in the grounds of B, and hunts it into the ground of 
C, and kills it there, the property is in A, the hunter, but 
A is liable in an action of trespass for hunting on the 
grounds of B as well as C. 
In the case of a'private fresh water river, in which the 
tide does not ebb and flow, he who owns the soil has, prima 
facie , the right of fishing, and if the soil on both sides be 
owned by an individual he has the sole and exclusive right, 
but if there be different proprietors on each side, they own 
on their respective sides— “adJilum medium aquae ”—subject, 
however, to the restrictions of law. It is impossible, within 
the limits of a newspaper article, to give a detailed account 
of the provisions which the legislatures of several States 
have introduced for the protection of game. It must suf¬ 
fice to say that from a very early period in the history of 
every civilized country statutes have been passed for the 
protection of game of all kinds, including the pro¬ 
tection of the" breeding of fish and preventing the 
destruction of the spawn or fry. A feeling 
of the interest which the whole community has 
in the development of the fisheries has led to the appoint¬ 
ment of commissioners, and to a system of advancing pub¬ 
lic moneys to enable them to conduct and accomplish the 
good work in which they are engaged, and in the progress 
and accomplishment of it let every good citizen give a 
helping hand. Let every proprietor of the soil, every ripa¬ 
rian owner, every sportsman, and every law-abiding citi¬ 
zen raise his voice, however weak, and exert his influence, 
however feeble, for the protection and preservation of 
game. The law is humane; it is a law of necessity, of 
public policy; it infringes no vested private right; it shields 
and protects “fur, fin, and feather” from destruction, and 
protects game during seasons of incubation and producing; 
it only directs its shafts against the unprincipled, disloyal, 
thievish poacher; it has stood the test of an English and 
American judiciary, and every man should support, sus¬ 
tain, and obey it. B. 
The New Yoiik State Sportsmen’s Association. —The 
Annual Meeting of this Association will be held in Oswego 
on or about the first week in June under the auspices of 
the'Leatherstocking Club of Oswego County. An adver¬ 
tisement in this week’s issue of Forest and Stream con¬ 
tains the full programme of the exercises, which we should 
otherwise note editorially. The Leatherstocking Club 
has made full arrangements, not only for the convention, 
but for a most active season. At a meeting held last w r eek 
the following letter from Mr. Bergli was read, in which the 
assurance was convejmd that the pigeon shooting matches 
at the convention will not be interfered with: 
New York, April 27,1874. 
Dear Sir:— 
In reply to your telegram of yesterday, asking whether I intended in¬ 
terfering with the proposed “pigeon shooting” at the Sportsmens' Con¬ 
vention, to be held at Oswego, I have to say that I have learned that the 
Sportsmens’ Club is a regular corporation, created by the laws of the 
State, for the express and avowed purpose of protecting and preserving 
game. 
Furthermore, that on the occasion of its meetings the birds used are 
wild pigeons, untampered with, and in a state of nature; that also, out¬ 
side marksmen are stationed by the Club where they can prevent the es¬ 
cape of mutilated birds, and finally, that the birds ihus killed are used 
for “human food.” 
Now I see no legal parallel between that state of things and the shoot¬ 
ing of tame pigeons, after the manner of certain individuals, in many 
parts of the State. 
While, therefore, I regard the killing of these unoffending creatures 
under both circumstances as immoral, I do not purpose interfering with 
the Sportsmens’ Club. I have the honor to be. 
Your most obedient servant, Henry Bergh, Pres’t. 
We are pleased to acknowledge the courtesy of the 
Leatherstocking Club in receiving as its guest Mr. Wm. N. 
Griffith, the travelling representative of the Forest and 
Stream, who was called to the floor at its last meeting, 
and very properly tendered the aid of the paper he repre¬ 
sented in furthering the interests of the convention. 
In this connection we take an opportunity to thank the 
editors of the Albany Journal , Syracuse Courier, Oswego 
Palladium , Utica Herald, Poughkeepsie Press, and others of 
the fraternity, not only for courtesies, but material aid and 
comfort extended to Mr. Griffith. His efforts through 
these and club members have been attended with marked 
success. 
Formosa. —In a series of most interesting articles on 
Formosa, written for the Forest and Stream by Piseco, 
the name of General Legendre, the pacifier of the Island 
of Formosa, was brought into notice. By the last accounts 
from Japan it seems that a Japanese fleet was ready to 
start for the island, and we take the following from the 
despatches : 
“Lieut. Cassell, late commanding the Ashuelot, and 
Lieut. Wasson, until recently engaged in the Yozo coloni¬ 
zation department, are the naval and military advisers. 
Over political and general details Gen. Legendre, formerly 
United States Consul at Amoy, exercises supervision. I he 
plan will occupy a long time in carrying out, and the Japa¬ 
nese do not expect to firmly establish themselves before 
the end of this year. The first detachment of the expedi¬ 
tion will start on the 9tli or 10th inst. The commander-in- 
cliief will be Saigo Kitenosuke.” 
By the way, Mr. Bret Harte tells an admirable story of a 
Mexican officer who saved his life from the fact of his 
having a glass eye, which, while he sleeps, glares wide 
open on his murderer and so frightens off an assassin. It 
may be remembered that Piseco states that Gen. Legendie 
owed much of his influence over the people of Formosa 
from the fact of his having a glass eye, which he took out 
and put back again whenever he wanted to be particularly 
impressive. Gen, Legendre may then, to some, have 
seemed to be an apochryphal character, but all Piseco has 
said about Formosa and the General may be implicitly 
relied upon. So we see sometimes that truth is stranger 
than fiction. __ 
''nchtinq and j§oatmg. 
All communications from Secretaries and friends should be mailed not 
later than Monday in each week. 
HIGH WATER, FOR THE WEEK. 
DATE. 
BOSTON. 
| NEW YORK. 
CHARL’ST’N 
h. 
m. 
. 
h. 
m. 
h. 
m. 
May 7. 
3 
49 
eve 
35 
11 
49 
May 8. 
4 
48 
1 
35 
eve. 
48 
May 9.. 
1 5 
51 
2 
37 
1 
51 
May 10. 
6 
53 
3 
39 
2 
53 
May 11. 
7 
54 | 
4 
39 
3 
54 
May 12. 
1 8 
50 
5 
35 
4 
50 
May 13. 
1 9 
*3 1 
6 
29 
5 
43 
—Mr. Daniel Edgar’s large center-board sloop was recent¬ 
ly launched from the yard of her builder, Mr. David Kirby, 
of Rye, Westchester County. She measures, by carpenter’s . 
rule, about 85 tons and is of the following dimensions: 
Length over all 66 ft. 8 inches, length on water line 61 ft. 3 
inches, beam 20 ft. 2 inches, depth of hold 6 ft. 8 inches, 
length of mast 77 ft., length of boom 63 ft., topmast 28 ft., 
gaff 33 ft., bowsprit outboard 31 ft. Her frame is of oak 
and chestnut and planking of yellow pine, except the gar- 
board and upper strakes, which are of oak. Hatch coam¬ 
ings, sky-liglits, and companion w r ay, are of black walnut. 
Her cabin arrangements are well designed and will be 
neatly finished with pine panels edged in black walnut. 
We have not heard by what name she was christened. Mr. 
Kirby has been an unusually successful builder of our open 
racing sail boats like the “Meteor,” “Lee” and “Maud,” 
the latter, by the way, was one of his own boats. The 
“Addie,” also built by Mr. Kirby, of the large class, was 
quite successful until eclipsed by the “Grade,” so the 
“Vision” will have to look to her laurels this season, for 
practically she will have two new antagonists in Mr. 
Edgar’s new sloop and the “Grade” so changed that her 
past record belongs only to her old self. 
—The Brooklyn Yacht Club held its regular monthly 
meeting on the 29th of April at the new rooms of the club, 
corner of Montague and Court streets. The President, Mr. 
P. W. Ostrander, presided, and in calling the meeting to 
order congratulated the club on the acquisition of such 
comfortable quarters. The rooms are furnished handsomely 
and consist of a large audience room for club meetings, a 
smaller one adjoining for social gatherings, library, com¬ 
mittee room, &c. After the general routine business Mr. 
Wm. F. Costen and Mr. Francis Burritt, owner of the new 
schooner yacht “Estelle,” were elected members. Mr. 
Costen exhibited to the club a distinguishing night 
signal composed of various colored lights. On motion of 
Vice Commodore Dickerson, the signal was adopted. Mr. 
Costen said that the New York Yacht Club had gone to an 
expense of $600 to perfect a code which should accompany 
the night signals so that yachts could have a complete 
method of communication by night, and that by resolution 
of that club members of either the Eastern or Brooklyn 
Yacht Clubs can be furnished with a copy of the code at 
merely the cost of printing by application to the Secretary 
of the New York Yacht Club. 
—Mr. William Edgar Morris, who formerly owned the 
“Maud,” is also having a sloop yacht built by Mr. Kirby, 
of Rye. She is to be called the “Wayward” and will prob¬ 
ably be completed some time in June. Her dimensions are 
as follows:—Length on deck 48 ft. 2 in., beam 15 ft. 5 in., 
depth of hold 4 ft. 9 in., length on water line 43 ft.,mast 54 
ft., topmast 22 ft., boom 44 ft., gaff 23 ft. 6 in. 
—Mr. Fowler has ordered from McGiehan, of Pamrapo, 
N. J., a center-board sloop which will probably be launched 
some time next month. She is to be 47 ft. over all, 39 ft. 
keel, 14 ft. 6 in. beam, and 4 ft. 11 in. deep. If intended 
for a racer, she will be apt to fulfil all expectations, for Mr. 
McGiehan has built some very fast vessels. 
—The sloop yacht “Anna,” Mr. Cumming, of the Atlan¬ 
tic Yacht Club, is in the hands of Kirby, of Rye, under¬ 
going extensive alterations. Her top sides will be raised 
about 10 inches with a view to improving her heavy weather 
qualities. 
—The boating season in Boston was inaugurated last 
Friday evening by two races, one for single sculls and the 
other for four-oared, both rowed in the harbor off Com¬ 
mercial wharf. The races were closely contested and 
afforded much gratification to the crowd which had as¬ 
sembled on the ends of the docks, in the rigging of the 
shipping and in small boats near the start. Tl 
scull race was pulled first and the boats started ab SillS ! e 
o’clock. The contestants were the well-known N -of 
oarsmen J. N. Henry, J. J. Flynn and P. McGonnicr]! 1 ^ 
race was well contested, being two miles, turnino' 
buoy, and made in 15 minutes 3 seconds by Hen^ 
Gonnigle was second, and Flynn a good third 
medal was the award of the Associates to the winner 
silver one was taken by McGonnigle. Only three 1 ' a 
four boats entered completed the course in the f 0Ul ° ^ 
- The order of their coming in was as follows ,J.° ared 
race. 
“Young America”—J. N. Henry, M. McDevitt P 
\y\ TTminoccmr * * 
Luff, 
:ee, 
Wm. Hennessev. 
Campbell. 6 B1U6 ” _E ' McCaIthy ’ J ' Na S le > J- <Magher, P. 
J. McG e raveT’ _J ' J ' E,ylm ’ D ' Mc6 ° nnisle ’ Connors,' 
The “Young Americas” pulled the race in + 
the “Bonnie Blues” were in in 19 minutes and the “n - ’ 
backs” one minute later. The Judges were M Bur of 0 ' 
J. Gallagher and the Referee was M. Driscoll. * The 05 ^ 
were awarded to the first and second named crews 
is the only annual regatta of the Associates, but “sernh 
are in order for the remainder of the season. UDS 
—To those of our aquatic readers who like to go dead 
windward without tacking, we would recommend a visit t° 
the office of the New York Safety Steam Power Compan ° 
who are paying particular attention to the construction of 
steam launches and will furnish them complete in ever 
way, fitted and furnished with a view to the purpose for 
which they are intended. 
—Messrs. Harvey and Pryer, the well known yacht build- 
ers at Wivenlioe, England, have invented a new sail called 
the shadow, which it is supposed will supplant the spin¬ 
naker. This sail might be used by our yachtsmen to ad¬ 
vantage in cruising, but as it partakes of the character of a. 
square sail it would be generally ruled out in regattas. The 
following is a description taken from the London Field:— 
“The gaff is socketed to the masthead under the forestay 
and as it has a universal joint, it will not require unship- 
ping to be shifted from side to side. Several hoops will be 
seized to the head of the sail, and when the latter has to be 
hoisted the hoops will be passed over the gaff, and then the 
halliards (rove through a single block) will be hooked to the 
gaff. The sail will be kept in to the mast whilst it is being 
hoisted, and the tack will be hauled out to the boom end— 
the boom, by the way, is rigged as a spinnaker boom—and 
the sail sheeted. To keep the gaff from going forward a 
brace or vang will lead aft from the gaff end. The sail will 
contain more canvas than would a spinnaker of the same 
length in the foot. But beyond this it is intended in long 
runs in light winds to set a jib-headed top-sail above the 
gaff, so that an area of sail will be got equal to that of main¬ 
sail and topsail. There is no doubt that this wall be a most 
effective sail when once set, and that there will be no strain 
on the top-mast.” 
Boston Yacht Club. —This flourishing organization 
held their anuual meeting of 1874 at the rooms of its Treas¬ 
urer, Augustus Russ, Esq., 15 Pemberton square, Boston, 
on Wednesday evening last, April 29th; Commodore Benj¬ 
amin Dean, presided. The committee appointed at the 
previous meeting to confer with Dorchester Yacht Club, 
and arrange for the regatta in which this club had been in- 
vited to participate to take place on the 21st instant, report¬ 
ed progress, and that they awaited further action of the 
Dorchester Club in the matter of change of certain rules, 
so that the regulations of the two clubs regarding regattas 
should not conflict. Mr. Russ, the Treasurer, submitted 
his annual report, from which it appeared that $9,665 had 
been raised and disbursed during the year, and that the 
permanent fund invested in the club house and improve¬ 
ments, exclusive of, and aboye a mortgage of $5,000, 
amounted to about $4,800. Nearly $9,800 has been ex¬ 
pended, and about $1,000 more, which has been pledged by 
ten life-members, it is expected will be required to fully 
complete the structure and its appurtenances. The whole 
number of members is now 263. Deducting the life and 
honorary members, who are exempt from assessments, the 
income of the club from its annual assessments will exceed 
$20,000 per annum, and from rent of wharf and lockers 
$1,000 more. In consequence of the superior accommoda¬ 
tions and attractions furnished to yachtsmen, the accessions 
of new members for the past few months number from 
twenty to thirty per month. The Commodore’s repoitcite 
the above facts and congratulated the club on the prosper¬ 
ous condition. The annual election resulted in the choice 
of the following board of officers, which is with some slight 
variations the same as the past year:—Commodore, Benj. 
Dean; Vice Commodore, W. H. L. Smith; Rear Commo 
dore, George B. Durfee; Secretary and Clerk, Thomas 
Dean; Measurer, D. J. Lawler; Trustees, S. D. Nickerson, 
J. Claxton Cary, Arthur Cheney; Regatta Committee, 
Charles E. Russ, Coolidge Barnard, W. F. Halsa , b- 
French; Membership Committee, A. C. Martin, C. L. ui j> 
Paul West; House Committee, Commodore Dean, R- • 
Curtis, S. D. Nickerson. An attempt to amend Rule 
of the sailing regulations, which reads, 1 ‘the tur c 
shall comprise all yachts measuring eighteen fee, 
under twenty-six feet,” so as to allow the enI ° ^ el \ b 
yachts of sixteen feet, proved futile. The thanks o ie r 
were tendered to Forest and Stream for favors, 
thirty yachts were represented at the meeting. 
—The Atalanta Boat Club have nearly finished the s®^ rs 
story of their boat house. It is reported that Mr. 
will not pull stroke this year in the club four. 
—The Neptune Boat Club House, at FactoryviUe, b» 
Island, which, it will be recollected, was destroys , ^ 
recently, has been commenced. The house wi ^ 
finest one of the kind in the country, and wi c 
completed, exclusive of furniture, about $10,0 
