234 
FOREST AND STREAM 
entries..are not yet closed, but there will in all probability 
be at least a thousand dogs exhibited of every description 
under the sun. The Palace being close to London, and the 
fashionable resort of many sightseers and pleasure seekers, 
it is a capital place for an exhibition of this sort, and ar 
rangements are made to give every comfort to dogs exhibi¬ 
ted. This year there will be a foxhound, and harrier class, 
and a handsome cup is offered for the best greyhound who 
has actually made himself- a reputation as a public runner. 
It is on the card that the Prince of Wales will exhibit as he 
has done in days gone by, and it is said, has signified 
his intention of joining the Kennel Club. About £1200 
will be distributed in prizes, and it is far the best dog show 
of the year. 
—I do not know if the “Battue” is as yet an institution 
on the other side of the Atlantic; I presume not. I should 
think that sportsmen who had once killed pinnated grouse 
on the'prairies, and seen the tracks of a grizzly or stalked 
a moose would have but little sympathy for indiscriminate 
slaughter of several hundred pheasants. But here in Eng¬ 
land the steam plough, and high farming have made, and 
are making game scarce, and there would be no pheasants 
if we did not breed them, though we have fallen into the 
abuse of breeding and rearing them in such enormous 
numbers that the covers about Christmas time are alive with 
them. They of course have xo be fed and watched dll they 
are tame as fowls. The “Battue” is everywhere abused, 
but it survives its excommunications like most heretics. 
No body was ever yet known either to express a liking for 
it or to refuse to go it. About this time the keepers are in 
the covers collecting eggs for next Christmas auto dafe, but 
a great many are purchased from dealers w'ho are sup¬ 
posed to “raise them” in covered runs and the usual price 
for the eggs is twelve shillings a dozen. The poachers of 
course do a lively trade, and it is by no means unusual for 
a man to buy bis own eggs after all, from the dealers. 
The eggs are generally hatched under turkeys, and a large 
yard is made in a warm place in the pffrk, and the coops are 
carefully screened from wind, and watched by dogs and 
men day and night. Hawks are great enemies to the young 
birds, and posts with traps are usually provided for their 
especial accommodation whilst their intended victims run 
under the branches of trees laid on the ground at their ap¬ 
proach. The feeding and rearing is quite a science and 
every bird killed costs at least a couple of sovereigns, whilst 
the sport costs many hundred pounds an hour in some 
covers. At the Battue few people begin much before two 
o’clock in the afternoon, and comparatively few birds are 
killed in each cover till the last moment, as it is their 
nature to run, and then are allowed to carry out the full 
bent of their wishes, but they only run in to the farthest 
corner of the cover where the privet and gorse has been 
“splashed” down and pegged, and holds them like a net 
till the guns come up. Then begins the sport, if sport it is. 
As the beaters poke them out, they rise in what are termed 
bouquets, twenty or thirty at a time. The air is thick with 
smoke and feathers, every one has two breech loaders and 
a man to load, and sometimes the unfortunate pheasants 
receive the contents of two or three barrels. At one of 
these “hot corners” as they are appropriately named, I 
have found my guns when we left off so hot that I could 
scarcely touch them, from continual firing. Of course in 
this “hole and corner” work the pheasants have not time 
to rise properly, and are knocked down before they are 
really on the wing, but it is quite a mistake to suppose that 
a “rocketing” old cock is an easy thing to hit, or that he 
bears any comparison to a barn door fowl. Let him get 
well up, with a little wind, and come over your head forty 
miles an hour, you must shoot well in front, and can- 
nily, to touch him. 
The chief part of an English Battue is the lunch. Sports¬ 
men at one time were content with bread and cheese, and 
cider, but “ nous avons change tout ccla .” Luncheon is 
brought out in the woods in a pony cart, and kept warm 
in wliat is termed a Dutch oven, an ingenious combination 
of hot water and spirit lamps. There are rugs and camp- 
stools to sit upon, and all those luxuries which you see on 
the Derby day, at Epsom, whilst the finale is generally 
liqueurs and Havanas, whilst the keepers and beaters who 
wear a white smock with a red cross on it, seize on the 
fragments that remain and fall to. 
—I hope next week to touch upon grouse shooting on 
the Scotch moors, and I am happy to say that at present 
we seem likely to have plenty, both of grouse, and par¬ 
tridge. Last year’s season was perhaps the worst ever on 
record, there being no grouse anywhere except in Wales. 
Idstone, Jr. 
Morden Vicarage , Blandford , Dorset , England. 
The DoDO.--Dr. A. B. Steiuberger, whose recent visit to 
the Navigator islands is the subject of a highly interesting 
report to the Secretary of State, made a discovery in the 
course of his explorations upon which he prides himself 
greatly, relating to the present existence of the dodo, a bird 
long supposed to be extinct. It is the tooth billed pigeon, 
having three teeth upon either side of the lower mandible. 
The doctor has brought home a living specimen and also a 
dead specimen preserved in spirits. In regard to its habits 
he says that “it is a timid bird, lonely in its habits, exceed¬ 
ingly scarce in number, and only found in lonely and al¬ 
most inaccessible parts of the mountains;” and in regard 
to the value of his discovery he says; 
“For about two centuries past the few remains of this 
bird known to the scientific world, as a foot or a head, to¬ 
gether with some paintings made of it in the seventeenth 
century, have been preserved in European museums with 
f reat care, and have been regarded as of great value. 
everal scientific treatises upon it have been contributed to 
learned societies within the last fifty years, but so little has 
been known of it by naturalists that they have not been 
agreed as to what family it belonged, or what were its 
habits. Ornithologists will doubtless recognize in these 
specimens an extremely valuable acquisition to science, 
and improve the opportunity now offered of making a 
thorough acquaintance with its peculiarities and of deter¬ 
mining its proper classification.” 
jf hot (§nn and 
MAY IS A CLOSE MONTH FOR GAME. 
Details of pigeon shooting and scores of rifle matches, and other interest¬ 
ing matter, should be mailed so as to reach this office on Tuesday morning 
in each week. 
GENERAL ADVICE FOR CREEDMOOR. 
COMPILED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES.—No. I. 
T HE possessor of a sound constitution, keen eye, steady 
hand, and good judgment can, without much trouble, 
become an expert marksman. Many people think that 
good shooting depends upon “nerve,” but I have known 
gentlemen with a superabundance of nervousness who are 
good shots. 
Some poor shooters say they never can become good 
marksmen, but they are mistaken, for if they would only 
make an effort they would improve, and soon, by perse¬ 
verance, would become well skilled. They may be unsuc¬ 
cessful at first, but by receiving instructions from expert 
marksmen, and reading reliable books, they cannot fail to 
succeed. 
RULES FOR SHOOTING. 
Before shooting, get yourself in as good physical condi¬ 
tion as possible, sleep naturally, and take moderate ex¬ 
ercise and substantial food. 
The eyes are in a great measure affected by the diges¬ 
tion, therefore you should not eat, drink, or smoke to ex¬ 
cess before or during a match, for any over-indulgence 
will affect them; but if in the habit of smoking or drink¬ 
ing moderately do not give them up for a few days before 
shooting, for you will not gain, but might lose thereby. It is 
unnecessary to train yourself by an excessive use of dumb 
bells or gymnastic apparatus. If you think that your 
dress has nothing to do with your shooting, you are quite 
mistaken, as your attention must not be taken from the 
shooting, and nothing will do it more than a tight shoe or 
a bad fitting coat, which cuts you under the arm. I think 
a soft felt hat, with a wide brim, is the best kind to use 
while shooting, and the coat and pants should be loose, 
plain, flexible, and such as will not spoil by either sun, 
rain, or a little mud, for remember that comfort, and not 
appearances, should be consulted by those who wish to 
win. 
Your rifle should suit you, for if it does not you will 
never be apt to make good shooting; and always remember 
that it should be kept like yourself—in the best possible 
condition. One night’s rusting does it more harm than 
one year’s shooting. 
There is no end of patterns of sights. You should try 
them all until you are suited, and after that you should 
never change. One kind of sight might suit one person’s 
eyes and not another’s. Fcr this very reason you should 
try the different ones yourself. 
Load your own cartridges, as you will then know the exact 
amount of powder you are using, for five grains will change a 
bulls eye into a miss at 1,000 yards. When you buy the 
ammunition already made up it might be imperfect, and 
when fired the ball might fall short of the mark. Do not 
hesitate to pay a little more for a pound of powder, and 
get the best, for the finest rifle will rapidly foul with infe¬ 
rior powder; and who can shoot with a foul barrel? The 
variable nature of poor powder is enough to spoil the most 
careful efforts, even with a clean barrel, and destroy the 
shooter’s confidence in himself and his rifle. Tlie best 
plan is to lay in a quantity of powder enough to last during 
the shooting season, and before using shake it up, so as to 
have the smaller grains united with the larger ones. 
Be as careful with the bullets as with the powder, and 
see that they are all of equal weight. Keep the cartridges 
in a dry place, for the saltpetre, which is about seventy- 
five per cent, of the powder, is affected by moisture. Pow¬ 
der that has become once damp and caked is worthless for 
fine shooting, even if nicely dried. It will never regain its 
original strength or uniformity. If you use cartridges 
with different, charges, be careful to keep them from get¬ 
ting mixed. 
Always have a score book, keeping a record of every 
shot fired; also a diagram of the exact position of the 
shots, the distance, time, kind of day, etc. Then, on go¬ 
ing home, you can study your book, and perhaps find out 
why it was ycu did not do better, or, if your shooting is 
good, how it is that you have improved. Before shooting 
always look and see that the sights have not been moved 
while cleaning, or by an inquisitive friend, who “wants to 
see how they work.” 
The rifle should be held firmly, but not so as to over exert 
the muscles. This is one of the greatest mistakes a new 
beginner can make. The muscles of the arm become tired, 
and thus the aim is made unsteady. The main point in 
holding the rifle is to get an easy position, so that after re¬ 
maining several minutes your muscles will neither become 
cramped nor over tired. This can only be secured by prac¬ 
tice, and may be acquired in a room at home, and by 
watching old and experienced shots. Do not attempt any 
unnatural position, as it has a tendency to unsettle the 
mind, and create a certain amount of over-confidence 
which is just as likely -as not to spoil a promising score ’ 
Place the centre of the heel plate of your rifle against 
your shoulder, and not the toe of the but, for when the 
rifle recoils, and you have pressed the toe of the but to your 
shoulder, there is a tendency to throw the muzzle of the 
rifle up. Bulls I 
[To be continued .] 
English Rifle Matters. —The change in the targets 
may be considered now a fait accompli. There has been 
some slight modification as to the method of marking ns 
may be seen by the following notice, published by Captain 
E. St. John Mildmay, Secretary of the National Rifle As¬ 
sociation:— “I am directed to state that the National Rifle 
Association have adopted the proposal of Major Bland 
viz., to attach a small disc to the shot hole in the real tar¬ 
get, in addition to the large disc in the dummy taro-et. 
Major Bland’s suggestion will tend to make the National 
Rifle Association’s scheme more perfect,” etc., etc. The 
Volunteer Service Gazette explains the somewhat roundabout 
method in this way:— 
“It is intended, we believe, to have a small disc, which 
will be easily hooked upon the paper target. This disc 
will be black on one side and white on the other, and will 
be used in combination with the dummy marking.’ 'When 
the shot strikes the target the large disc will be hung upon 
the dummy in the proper place, the dummy sent up, and 
the real target lowered into the trench. The marker will 
then paste a patch over the shot hole, and hook the small 
disc over the patch—white to the. front if the shot be a 
bulls eye, and black to the front if it be an outer, inner, or 
centre. He will then lower the dummy and raise the tar¬ 
get. The shooter will see the exact position of his last shot 
remaining on the target till lie fires the next, when the pro¬ 
cess will be continued, there being, of course, only one 
small disc, and therefore only one shot marked upon tlie 
target at any given time.” * * * 
Now this is all very well in its way, but we must take tlie 
liberty of remarking that it seems to us very much like 
that famous powder for killing fleas which Captain Marry- 
att tells about. The trouble might arise that the marking 
on the two targets—the dummy and the real one—might 
differ slightly. The Volunteer Service Gazette advises the 
use of fine binocular glasses, through which the competi¬ 
tor might look if he desired. We might as well mention 
here that quite a number of good glasses, to be the prop¬ 
erty of our National Rifle Association, would be found 
useful at Creedmoor. 
—Mr. John Boylan has presented to the regimental rifle 
club of the Twelfth N. G. a handsome gold medal, which 
is to be shot for at Creedmoor on the following terms:— 
Once per month, distance 200 and 500 yards, seven shots at 
each range; weapon, any military rifle, under tlie rules of 
the National Rifle Association, to be won three times by 
one person before owning. The first match will take place 
some afternoon neNt week. The medal is shield-like in 
form, having the figure “12” suspended above it, the whole 
being attached by gold chains. 
—There are to be two matches during the present week 
between members of the Seventh and Twelfth regiments. 
There will be another match on May 30tli for a badge by 
the Amateur Rifle Club; distances, 800, 900, and 1,000 
yards. 
—Our representative in the western States, J. G. True, 
sends us the following score of the pigeon shooting match 
for the Michigan State Medal, which took place at Detroit 
last week. There were thirteen entries, fifteen birds each. 
The day was warm, and the wind blowing slightly. The 
judges were Henry Harris and Silas M. Allen, Secretary 
New York State Association. Scorer, J. G. True:— 
STATE MEDAL MATCH. 
Name. 
Straight. 
Killed. 
W. J. Mason, 
4 
10 
M. H. Christy, 
7 
12 
L. Dubois, 
5 
withdrew. 
J. Noovell, 
2 
withdrew. 
J. Y. D. Eldridge, 
5 
10 
E. Fisher, 
4 
10 
J. E. Long, 
5 
11 
E. H. Gilman, 
5 
11 
Goff Stanton, 
1 
withdrew. 
W. C. Colburn, 
10 
13 
J. J. Berger, 
H. W. Babcock, 
3 
withdrew. 
11 
P. Jones, 
4 
withdrew. 
The medal was won last year by E. H. Gilman. W. C. 
Colburn, having killed thirteen birds out of fifteen, is now 
the holder. After the Medal Match had been decided, the 
members shot off three sweepstakes. We have to thank 
the members of the Shooting and Fishing club of St. Clair, 
and especially Mr. John E. Long, for the many kind favois 
extended to our representative. 
—Our correspondent, “Chit,” says Chicago is the head¬ 
quarters for pigeon shooters, and can produce as fine shots 
as any other city in the Union. Her clubs number no less 
than four, any of which will send from one to twenty 
members against the same number of shots, for money or 
pastime. He sends a score of a match which took place 
last week by two members of the Kennicott club, fifty 
birds each, club rules to govern:— 
Name. Straight. Kitted. 
Sampson, - 9 “4 
Orndorf, 27 ^4 
—Mr. David Crocker, Jr., of Philadelphia, sends us the 
following:—“At 40 yards distance, with my gun charge 
with li oz. No. 7 shot, I put 234 pellets in a twenty-eight 
circle. My gun is 7^ pounds weight, pin fire, 32 -inch am 
mated steel barrels, made by W. W. Forsyth, St. James, 
