(FOREST AND STREAM 
THE ROBIN. 
~¥- 
S HE hung the cage at the window; 
“If he goes by,” she said, 
“He will hear my robin singing, 
And when he lifts his head 
I shall he sitting here to sew 
And he will bow to me, I know.” 
The robin sang a love-sweet song, 
The young man raised his head; 
The maiden turned away aud blushed; 
“I am a fool,” she said, 
And went on hroidenng in silk, 
A pink eyed rabbit, white as milk. 
The young man loitered slowly 
By the house three times that day; 
She took her bird from the window; 
“He need not look this way.” 
She sat at her piano long, 
And sighed and played a death-sad song. 
Select id. 
But when the day was done, she said, 
“I wish that he would come! 
Remember, Mary, if he calls 
To-night—I’m not at home.” 
So when he rang, she went—the elf! 
She went and let him in herself. 
W. D. Howells, 
7he Menml. 
JUDGING ON THE SHOW BENCH. 
W E are pleased to note the growing interest that field 
sportsmen, shooting associations and clubs are man¬ 
ifesting in all matters connected with the dog. We have 
from time to time placed before our readers some of the 
most instructive and practical matter emanating from the 
very best authorities, both at home and abroad, relative to 
the Canine World. The secretaries of the numerous Sports¬ 
men’s Associations in the West, and especially the ably con¬ 
ducted association of our own State, have informed us that 
it is proposed to inaugurate field trials and a bench show 
for dogs. The Forest and Stream has already publish¬ 
ed the rules and regulations, the laws and usage in field 
trials, suggesting some alteration of the same to suit our 
American bred pointers and setters. We shall now place 
before our readers from week to week a series of short 
articles from the London Fancier's Gazette, showing the 
points, color,action,sjunmetry, &c., of sportsman’s and non¬ 
sportsman’s dogs on the show bench. We therefore begin 
with the magnificent animal the mastiff, as our friend 
“Veritas” says, the “Noblest Roman of them all.” 
THE MASTIFF. 
Head massive, broad between the ears; ears small, fine in 
substance, and just wide enough to cover the aperture of 
the ear proper; they should lie close to the head in a pen¬ 
dent form, and be set well back in head; jaw not long, but 
proportioned just sufficiently to make the muzzle appear 
square; flews deep; eyes for a large dog rather inclined to 
be small, with a mild expression. 
Neck muscular, the neck-bone showing a slight promi¬ 
nence at the setting on of the head, and free from throati¬ 
ness; shoulders wide and powerful; chest wide and deep; 
back straight; loin of great substance, well ribbed up; hips 
well developed, with muscular stifles; legs strong and 
powerful; feet round; coat short and thick, fawn-colored; 
muzzle dark; stem fine, but not to go off at the point 
sharply. Brindles and reds are also allowed, but the fawn- 
color is most in fashion. Weight anything over 180 pounds, 
symmetrical and well-proportioned, we consider good size. 
POINTS IN JUDGING. 
Head.20 
Neck.10 
Shoulders.10 
Back.15 
Loin. .10 
Chest.10 
Hind-quarters.10 
Legs. 5 
Feet. 5 
Stern... 5—100 
THE ST. BERNARD. 
Head wide and full, givirg a grand majestic appearance 
ears small for the substance of the head, set on where the 
head curves at each side; eyes deeply sunk in head; head 
wrinkled between the eyes; lips pendulous; jaw powerful, 
with good teeth; a white blaze or streak up the forehead, 
meeting the white color of the neck; neck of great strength; 
shoulders massive; chest deep; fore-arm to show great bone 
and muscle; legs straight and powerful, with a dew claw; 
feet round or nearly so; back long, of great substance, with 
deep ribs and powerful, wide loin; hips and hind-quarters 
thick and broad, with well-bent hocks; stifles well develp- 
ed; tail bushy, not carried too high. The model dog of 
this breed, old Tell. 
POINTS IN JUDGING. 
Head.20 
Neck.10 
Shoulders.10 
Chest.10 
Size.20 
Loin.10 
*Co,at.... 5 
Tail.... 5 
Feet.. 5 
Tegs..,...,. 5—100 
-- 
A correspondent from Corinth, Miss., says: “We have 
a fine pack of fox hounds here, and some well bred 
pointers and setters. I have three pointers, a daughter and 
grand daughter of “Pious Jeems” of Lockinvar’s celebrated 
bitch “Kate.” and one of unexceptionable strain, bred in 
Middle Tennessee. Col. T. Syd. Warren owns a setter said 
to be a Laverack. 
HYDROPHOBIA. 
A GREAT deal is being written abroad just now on 
the Rabies and Hydrophobia. We notice that Land 
and Water takes from the Forest and Stream, Dr. Yar¬ 
row’s method of treatment for hydrophobia, which con¬ 
sisted in probing the wound thoroughly, treating with 
nitrate of silver and using poultices in order to create a 
free discharge. 
We hardly know whether to consider the method of pre¬ 
venting the bite of a mad dog from inflicting injury, as pro¬ 
posed by M. Bourrel of France, as serious or not. Both 
the Field and Land and Water give it prominence, although 
La Chasse lllustree , seem to look at it rather in the-light of 
a joke. 
Mr. Bourrel is the author of a treatise “On Rabies in the 
Dog and Cat,” which was read before the French Academy 
of Sciences in April last. We quote as follows: 
“ M. Bourrel had the daring to perform the operation of 
filing down the teeth on three dogs when they were in a 
condition of raging madness, notwithstanding the danger 
of inoculation he incurred both during the preliminaries 
and the different stages of the process. Six dogs kept for 
experiment were then delivered over to the mad animals, 
who precipitated themselves on them and bit them furi¬ 
ously, but without breaking the skin in any one of them. 
The dogs experimented on were watched during six 
months, and madness did not show itself in any of the 
number. M. Bourrel, convinced, that the blunted tooth of 
the dog could not penetrate through clothing, gave his 
hand covered with a glove to one of the mad dogs. 
“When,” he says, “the dog released it, the glove was in¬ 
tact, and the bite had only produced a deep impression.” 
This experiment, repeated on dogs who were not mad, to 
which 1 gave my naked hand to bite, proved to me that 
the blunted tooth can but very rarely, however great may 
be the contraction of the muscles of the jaw, break the 
epidermis of animals, whose hair necessarily deadens the 
pressure exerted; and can only injure the human epidermis 
in very exceptional cases.” 
We have no doubt but that exactly as the snake charmers 
draw the teeth of the cobra capellas and deprive them of 
the power of injecting their venom into the fluids of the 
human body, so if dogs had no teeth at all, they would be 
incapable of inflicting injury. The question is how are we 
to draw all the teeth of the dogs, or where can the canine 
dentist be found, who will take for a job, the filing off or 
blunting of all the incisor teeth of the curs? Given, a 
mad dog, how many Monsieur Bourrels could be found, 
who would try the experiment? 
—Alderman Morris’ ordinance in regard to muzzling dogs 
in New York was signed by Mayor Havemeyer last week. 
The ordinance provides that all dogs in the streets, lanes, 
highways, parks, &c., shall have a wire muzzle sufficiently 
large to cover the head entirely, but so constructed as to 
admit of the dog opening its mouth to the fullest extent. 
The penalty for not following this stupid ordinance is $3 
for each offence. The ordinance applies only to dogs of 
the age of six months and upwards. Now we suppose that, 
excepting the wire workers, (not political,) and the muzzle 
manufacturers, every body with a grain of common sense, 
is opposed to this unneccessary infliction of punishment to 
dogs. When Mr. Bergh was consulted in regard to the 
muzzling of dogs he declined to use his influence in enforc¬ 
ing it, asserting that it might create what it sought to pre¬ 
vent—namely, cruelty. The whole spirit of the law is like 
the old one made for witches. They threw the old women 
in the water; if they sank and got drowned they were not 
witches and innocent, but if they floated, they were tor¬ 
tured to death because they were witches. What is the 
use, after all the light thrown on this subject, when Mayor 
and Alderman act diametrically in opposition to all the 
rulings of common sense. 
QUAIL vs. DOGS. 
Suffern, N. Y., May 24,1874. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
Under the heading of “Do Quail Withold their Scent?” in y*ur issue 
of the 14th inst., is an article from O. H. II., who, after quoting a sentence 
of mine in relation to the above, proceeds to give his experience to show 
that I am in error. Now, without any intention of entering into a con¬ 
troversy with those who may differ with me, I still desire to maintain 
and defend my views as they originally appeared. O. H. H. begins by 
saying: “I have shot quail for years, shot thousands of them, and tried 
my best to find out if they do, but I don’t know.” Toward the close he 
says: “It is generally impossible for the dog to scent quail just after 
they have been frightened by a hawk,’’and adds: “This seems to confirm 
the theory that they do withold their scent, and that they do it involun¬ 
tarily, as the hawk does not pursue by scent.” Now this seems to me 
contradictory, for he says, first, he “don’t know,” and then follows tt 
with “this seems to confirm the theory,” which is equivalent to saying 
they do have the power of witholding their scent. O. II. H. has found 
it “generally impossible for the dog to scent quail after being frightened 
by a hawk,” and yet he has seen dogs point a single quail (closely hid 
and of course badly frightened) from one to two rods distant.” Will O. 
H. H. be kind enough to enlighten us as to the difference (if any) there 
is in the attitude, actions and scent of a quail when frightened by a hawk 
or when scared by dog or man? Does he mean to say a dog can scent and 
point quail (no matter how badly frightened) at a distance of from one 
to two rods, so long as they have not been frightened by a hawk? Is that 
what you mean, O. H. H. ? And this dog, after pointing this frightened 
quail, passed within ono foot of a bird just shot dead and did not smell 
it! Wonderful dog! Knowing quail! Scent witheld. What “tremen¬ 
dous” power was there, my countrymen. O. H. II. has never yet seen 
the dog that could smell a live quail three feet, where there had been a 
brisk rain falling long enough to give the birds and their cover a good 
wetting.” Well, friend II., you must have had, considering the years 
and the thousands of quail you have shot, a poor lot of dogs to say the 
least. The best sport some friends and myself ever had together was 
about five years ago, one rainy day, shooting quail. Wo were wet to the 
skin and willing to stop, but our dogs found the birds so easily, so 
quickly, and pointed so beautifully that we could not find it in our hearts 
to draw them off until our guns, failing us through fouling, compelled 
us to desist. And now, Mr. Editor, don’t you think it would be well for 
the sportsmen in general to bear in mind the fact that simply the owner¬ 
ship of a 4og' does not make him the best dog in the country, and also 
that a dog may exhibit a decided preferenceiufi^TT^- 
and vice versa, ^ and that a dog may hunt well one da VIZ ? aUto deab 
- & j weu one davflnav; ‘ 
aye, even hunt well m the morning and be utterly u ££ d 0t the 4 
noon. A great deal of useless discussion, ill will T ln the aftei i! 
pensed with, were we, one and all, to heed the above S 1 W ? ! uld 
for O. H. H., until he can reconcile the differences be ieve k L 
and contradictions in his former letter and answer mvff ,Stencies ^ 
Will not trouble you with anything further from yours ve° ga » 
1 ry res PectfulR 
—--*■ E- S. TR 
[Can quail withold their scent? They cannot -Ed ] 
SCENTING POWERS OF DOGS 
Editor Forest and Stream:— Shrewsbury, May U ( ; 
That there is a great difference in the scenting powers of a 
ent times every sportsman must know. And all pvn! J gs at diff e 
this line should be cited as exceptions. It is also true fh f mary feats > : 
make one dog recognize the scent of game where anotl ? Uce 
and likely better scentiner Dowers mnv r, Q * a . °ne with equi 
and likely better scenting powers may pass without gTvin? n^ eqni 
notice. Some dogs mature very slowly, and from exner- t hele£u 
to brother sportsmen, if your dog has good blood and 1 Can s « 
get easily discouraged if he does not take - notice of Zy,doil < ' 
year old. I am the owner of a fine orange and white hunk « e I eu at 011 
months old was worthless, as far as finding game goes 
stock (Mr. Taylor’s, of Cotts Neck, N. J. ; the same Uu ° W th ’ 
eyed Sancho that figured so creditably at Pine Brook „ SllI80lll v 
spring), and took pains in training her, and she has turned nlf!? 6 Ul 
In mentioning the following incident I do not wish to be "’ el 
representing this bitch as being an extraordinary dog and inTr'" 
say that I believe that several others own better and of the I! i ■' 
I was quail shooting in a piece of woods, when mv biteB ° cl ' 
of quail near a pile of wood. On being flushed they senary S apap 
killed them both. The bitch could mark one bird fall but frnS^ 
rection taken by the other a pile of wood prevented her seeing mU ' 
even when flying. Alter retrieving the bird she had marked a ™W 
coming to me on the other side of the pile of wood she passSiT 
about thirty feet of the other dead bird, and at that distance sce2 ; 
with the dead bird in her mouth. The bitch is an excellent retriever 1' 
the above incident I look upon as an extraordinary exception to w ! 
eral scenting powers of dogs, and mention it to show to what a dewee ' 
nicety it is possible for the nose of a dog to arrive at. Check Cord ' 
itnrul t§ktor}). 
-4.-- 
A Domesticated Otter.— The directors of the Zoolog : 
cal Garden at Berlin, Prussia, have tried to obtain possessio " 
of a splendid specimen of otter which was caught last yea? 
in the Saate River, near Grochlitz, by a Mr. Kaiser, supei 
intendent of fisheries. There is nothing extraordinary! 
this fact, but the characteristics of this animal are so muc 
in contradiction to the ordinary habits of otters in genera 
that a recital of the history of this specimen may be c 
interest. 
When caught, the otter was nearly full-grown- Mi 
Kaiser put it into a stable in his yard. At first, it was ver 
shy and left its lair only when prompted to do so by hun 
ger. After a while, the melancholy of the creature sue 
de'nly changed into bellicosity, the water pirate barked an 
snapped at everybody approaching him, and kept M 
visitors at a respectful distance, under penalty of skar; 
bites and tattered clothes. Its daily food consisting dr- 
fresh fish and milk, the animal received frequent shower 
baths of cool “aqua communis ” through a hole made fc 
that purpose in the wall of the stable. In the course c 
last winter the character of the water-witch underwent anev ' 
change. The fighting mood subsided into perfect gentle¬ 
ness, and the ferocious prisoner became a domestic pel 
The animal now rambles free through Mr. Kaiser’s grounds 
takes its food from his hands, climbs upon its keeper’ 
shoulders, performs several tricks like a trained dog, an - 
calls for its regular baths. The creature is now apparenth 
fully developed, has a thick fur of velvety softness anif 
behaves so well, that it does not even steal, altliougi 
it begs when it sees others eating. The *owner ha ii 
brought this about by untiring care and perseverance il 
this domestication of so shy an animal, and has decline! 
to sell it to the Zoological Garden. 
THE “HAMMOCKS” OF FLORIDA. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— A 
I see that a reader questions my use of the word “Hammock.’’ N' 
doubt it seems as peculiar to him as it did to me when I first heard il 
My first impression was that the term was simply a corruption of hum 
mock qr hammock, aud perhaps it is; but it, in Florida, has a purely lo 
cal meaning not applicable to either of the others. ml 
An old writer classifies the land of Florida under the heads, “pine 
hammock , savanna, swamp, marsh and bay, or cypress galls.” He men 
tions the existence in the hammocks of “chamaerops Jrondibus palmaii 
plicatis stipitibus ferratis, of whose fruit all animals are very fond.” B ( i 
says the pine barrens receive their name from the “pirns foliis longisti : 
mas ex una theca terms.' 1 '’ I suppose anyone with a clear head can sei ; 
the difference between lands bearing such widely dissimilar trees, whei 
the author so clearly states their specific names. Further, under tw 
head of “high” and “low” hammock is comprised the richest landoi . 
Florida. For land that produces crops of cane year after year, the Flo h. 
ridian will choose hammock land. If I were writing a letter upon tm% 
agriculture of Florida, I might go on and describe the many advantage!, 
possessed by hammock land over the rest; but I am not, and find that 
instead of merely supporting myself in the use of the term “hammock, 
I have branched off into the relative merits of the peculiar qualities o 
Florida vegetation, soil or what not, termed hammock and pine land. 
Whether the term is confined to Florida or not I am unable to say ;J 
but certain it is that it has a peculiar signification not possessed el| 
where. It may be applied to any clump of trees strikingly different froU : 
those surrounding it, as “cabbage (palmetto) hammock,” “live-oak U J 
mock,” &c. Regarding soil, it is called “shell,” if high andgrowmj 
upon one of the many shell heaps of Florida, or “swamp,” if I°w aa itj 
wet. If what I have said will induce some one of your readers to B ive . A 
the definition of the word I shall retire to my hammock perfectly sa i, 
fled. Fred. Bbveblt. 
—For a section of coutry so recently settled as OregQ^ 
and Washington, it is somewhat singular that hoimdm|i|' 
and the chase should be carried on with an expense aiF 
magnificence of proportion that vie with the practice o 
the pastime in England. Nevertheless, the kennels am 
numerous and regally stocked with the best strains, ° a 
fifty dogs or so in a pack, and so abundant is the game an ? 
