FOREST AND STREAM 
313 
the 1st of September; for starlings, the 1st of August. Country people 
do not carry these dates in their minds, and are lea into error; and those 
seeking to enforce cannot tell whether a sportsman in the earlier months 
is pursuing legal game, and there is a total absence of a fixed, definite 
time in the public mitid when field sports begin. 
The same irregularity in our laws exists in those of the other States, 
oreater step in advance in these matters could be made than by hav- 
iucr a fixed, permanent day when all shooting might begin. 
We cannot pass in silence one general omission existing in the laws of 
all the States. No provision exists protecting the migratory birds that 
visit us in the spring of the year. English snipe, plover, dovvitches, and 
the many varieties of birds that enliven our beaches, are wholly unpro¬ 
tected by law, and are killed and sold in the markets in April and May in 
lar^e quantities. W r hen the spring is late, and the birds are delayed in 
their passage, they are found full of eggs, and sometimes are forced to 
nest within the State. 
These birds should he protected in every State, no matter where they 
are flying to, for they are the children of our common country, and are 
gladdening every part of it in their migrations. No rule is so good as the 
rule that no gun is to be fired at birds or animals in spring or summer. 
Every reason of health to the eater, of abundance of supply of the article 
eaten, of justice to the animal when breeding or preparing to breed, plead 
for the fullest and most comprehensive and uniform laws in these 
matters, and therefore we submit the following plan and resolution:— 
Whereas, The general sentiment of the country is in favor of the crea¬ 
tion and immediate adoption of some system which will secure in the 
different States and in Canada greater uniformity, and consequently 
greater efficiency in the laws for the protection and preservation of game, 
and inasmuch as a plan for securing these objects through co-operative 
legislation of all the States was submitted to the American Fish Cultur¬ 
es’ Association, and unanimously endorsed by it last February, and 
since then bv other similar bodies m various parts of the country; 
Resolved , That it is expedient and necessary to call a National Con¬ 
vention at the earliest date consistent with a careful and general scrutiny 
of the scheme; and inasmuch as this body, the New York: Society for the 
Protection of Qa'tne, has already discussed it in session and submitted it 
to legal gentlemen of experience for examination and secured its ap¬ 
proval, we do hereby recommend and advise that a circular letter be ad¬ 
dressed to each, and all sportsmen’s clubs, acclimating societies, natural 
history societies, and fish culturists’ associations throughout the country, 
wherever available, inviting an endorsement of the same, and requesting 
that a written notification of such endorsement, signed by their respec¬ 
tive Presidents and Secretaries, be sent to the Secretary of this Society, 
to be filed, and that the said letters shall express the choice of location 
and date of year at which the National Convention shall be held, and if 
it shall be found upon examination at the end of six months that the 
favorable responses are sufficiently numerous and widespread to be re¬ 
garded as representing the wish of the country, then a call.shall emanate 
from this New York Society for the Protection of Game, designating such 
time and place for the meeting of the Convention as shall appear to be 
the wish of the majority of the societies responding. All of which is re¬ 
spectfully submitted. 
William C. Barrett, 1 
Chas. E. Whitehead, Committee. 
Chas. Hallock, | 
May 11 tk, 1874. 
The report was'adopted, and referred to the Executive Committee of 
ike Association with power. 
Oswego Convention. —The New York State Associa¬ 
tion for the Protection of Game met according to an¬ 
nouncement at the Trade Booms, Doolittle House, on Mon¬ 
day evening. 
First Day's Proceedings .—The credentials of delegates, of 
winch some one hundred and eighty were presented, were 
received. Some delegates were not present, and some 
clubs failed to use their privilege in sending delegates. 
Several new clubs were added, and the President, Hon. A. 
C. Mattoon, opened the meeting with a few appropriate 
remarks. Considerable discussion ensued relative to alter¬ 
ing the by-laws, and the sense of the meeting was then 
taken as to the choice of place for holding the next annual 
meeting. Aqjnformal ballot showed the following result: 
Syracuse, 26 ; Niaraga Falls, 17; Geneseo, 17; Buffalo, 12; 
Watertown, 12; Loekport, 5. The meeting then adjourned 
to meet on Tuesday evening, after which a collation was 
extended to the entire delegation by the Leather Stocking 
Club of Oswego, under whose auspices the convention is 
being held. 
—--— 
A Rifle Challenge from Canada. —We publish a 
challenge emanating from Canadian riflemen. The well 
known standing of the gentleman who sends the challenge 
to us for publication is a guarantee that it means business. 
We have requested E. to address Colonel Gildersleeve, the 
Secretary of the N. R. A., and have sent copies of original 
challenge to Colonels Gildersleeve and Wingate. By “A 
Simultaneous Match” is meant that on a fixed day the 
Canadians and Americans, at their respective ranges, near 
Montreal or Quebec, or Creedmoor, shall fire a certain 
number of shots at certain ranges, agreed on before hand, 
each side having appointed umpires. During the match 
scores are telegraphed, and at the conclusion the totals are 
given. A match of this character, novel with us, would 
be most exciting. We trust not only the simultaneous, 
but the regular match will be accepted. 
Montreal, June i6, 1864. 
Editor Forest and Stream :— 
A couple of old stagers who have not fired a rifle for 
several years, proposed yesterday that I should endeavor 
to get up a friendly match with some of the Creedmore 
marksmen. I therefore propose for friend Wingate’s re¬ 
flection, a simultaneous match, to be something as follows : 
1st. Military weapon, say six to ten men a side, Ameri¬ 
cans to use Springfield, Remingtop, or any rifle bona fide , 
in use by their regular troops or volunteers, with open 
sight, and pull of trigger not less than six pounds ; 
Montreal Rifle Club to use Snyder Enfield’s Government 
issue. Ranges to be not shorter that 200 yards, nor over 
600 yards. Say seven shots each at 200 from shoulder, and 
seven shots at 500, in any position, or five shots each at 
twenty-five and six hundred yards. Match to be shot some 
Saturday afternoon, each party to appoint an umpire to 
keep the score for the other parties, the aggregate score to 
be telegraphed immediately on conclusion of firing. > 
2d. If Colonel Wingate would prefer it I could bring out 
a team of, say six small bore men, to shoot at 800, 900 and 
1,000 yards, ten or fifteen shots each distance, any rifles 
coming within N. R. A. rules. Montrealers use the _ Met* 
lord. My only object m proposing a match of this kind is 
to endeavor to get the shooting men of both countries to 
know a little more of each other and to have an afternoon’s 
amusement. If a match is made with the military weapons 
will be a pretty fair test of their quality, as the men on 
both sides will probably know how to shoot them. My 
team would consist of some of the old hands who have long 
ago deserted the rifle, but who have a hankering after their 
old ally. 
The annual matches of the Province of Quebec Rifle 
Association will take place early in August, when sev¬ 
eral thousand dollars will be given in cash prizes. We 
J v ill only be too delighted to welcome any of our American 
triends who may care to shoot, and as almost all our 
matches are open, they can rely on plenty of fun if they 
come. If Colonel Wingate would like to get up a mated 
with the Montreal Rifle Club the Secretary of the Club will 
be delighted to bear from him, and will, I have no doubt, 
be quite Avilling to accept any modification of the sugges¬ 
tions above Colonel W. may care to make. The Secretary’s 
address is, J. E., care of “Royal,” box 342 Post Office, 
Montreal. 
--*>*•<>-- 
Obituary. —The very sad death of Mr. Francis Butler, 
on Tuesday the 16tli of June, from hydrophobia, has 
caused a most painful sensation. The detail of the case re¬ 
duced to its simplest form is about as follows:—About six 
weeks ago a Spitz dog, a house pet, was brought by its 
owner to Mr. Butler, at Peck Slip, to he professionally 
treated. The owner of the Spitz said the dog was sick, and 
moped, and refused food. Mr. Butler determined to give 
the animal medicine, and in eudeavoring to force some 
fluid down the creature’s throat, the dog bit him badly in 
tlie thumb. In taking the dog home a day afterwards, to 
Mr. Butler’s house in Brooklyn, the animal is said to have 
bitten him again. On Monday, the 15th, while at break¬ 
fast, while taking a cup of tea, the unfortunate man found 
he could not swallow it, and paroxysms coming ou, on 
Tuesday Mr. Butler died. Mr. Butler was buried on Sun¬ 
day last. The unfortunate man was well known both in 
this city and in the State for a great many excellent 
qualities. Besides being a dog fancier and a florist, he had 
a great deal of information in regard to natural history, 
and was a linguist and author, and a*poet of some merit. 
In his profession of selling dogs he was always esteemed as 
especially trustworthy and honest. Mr. Butler, strange to 
say, was skeptical as to hydrophobia, and did not believe 
in it. In summing up this sad accident and stripping it of 
a great deal of the verbiage which usually accompanies such 
cases, we see undue prominence has been given to what we 
think is a very absurd theory, that hydrophobia may re¬ 
main latent for years in the system and then develop itself. 
Such theory rests on no single fact. The action of the 
poison rarely remains in abeyance for more than three months 
at the outside. We write this because we have received 
several letters in regard to this subject, when, perhaps, un¬ 
told agony may have been endured by persons who have 
been bitten by dogs. The chances are many millions to 
one that the dog that may have bitten, any one is mad, and 
it is to aggrevate one’s terrors to think that madness in the 
individual thus bitten may be threatening at any time. 
We again repeat what we have before advised. If bitten 
by a dog, believed to be mad, use the heroic treatment. 
Incise deeply, put on fumial nitric acid and poultice, in 
order to keep the wound open and aid the discharge. We 
have not seen ligatures used as in cases of snake poisoning. 
We should advise sucli ligatures to he immediately em¬ 
ployed above the bite, even before the physician is sen tfor. 
-- 
Death of Mrs. Audubon. —There died at Kellyville, 
Kentucky on Thursday last, at the advanced age of eighty- 
eight, the wife of the American ornithologist, J. J. Audu¬ 
bon. Mrs. Audubon was a woman of wonderful attain¬ 
ments, and devoted to her husband’s noble calling, assisted 
him in his labors, and helped him to gain his triumphs. In 
his company she made frequent visits to the wildest regions 
of the United States, and was an example of a woman’s 
love and courage. For many years past, after Audubon’s 
death, she has lived in peace and quiet with her relati ves 
in Louisville. 
---«♦<»-- 
Military Reception. —The 1st Battalion of Massachu¬ 
setts Light Artillery, Maj. D. II. Follett commanding, 
arrive here on the 25th, and will march np Broadway about 
10 A. M. to the Grand Central Hotel, where they will be 
quartered. They will give an exhibition drill at Tompkins 
Square the next forenoon, for which invitations have been" 
extended to Mayor Havemeyer, and Maj. Gen. Shaler. 
On the evening of the 25th Maj. Follett will give a recep¬ 
tion to the officers of the 22d Regiment, all the prominent 
officers of the 1st Division, and the Press, at the Grand 
Central. The battalion, which is composed of two bat¬ 
teries of six guns eacli, is one of the most popular organiza¬ 
tions in Boston, where its commander is well known as one 
of the leading citizens, formerly proprietor of the Globe 
Theatre and an enthusiastic yachtsman. The battalion 
returns home on the 27th. 
Slaughtering Woodcock. —Pot hunters from Wash¬ 
ington infest all the marshes below this city, play sad 
havoc among the young woodcock, and send their game in 
large quantities, packed in ice, by sail-boats to that city. 
The shooting of the woodcock now is contrary to law, the 
penalty being a heavy fine, half of which goes to the in¬ 
former.— Alexandria Gazette , 13 th. 
If the Sportsmen’s Club of Washington feel unable to 
bear the expense of prosecuting these violators of law and 
common sense, let them apply to outsiders, and we will 
guarantee that from subscribers of the Forest and Stream 
alone they will easily obtain what is needed. Courage and 
energetic action, a few arrests witlrfull penalties, will dis¬ 
may the pot hunters. 
- --—-- 
—At a meeting of the Great Falls Fishing Club, held last 
Monday evening, the following officers were re-elected for 
the ensuing term:—Charles Whelpley, President; Conrad 
Ebcr, Vice-President; Theodore Freibus, Secretary, and 
Samuel BfCretan, Treasurer. 
---- 
—Persons leaving the city for the summer can have the 
Forest and Stream mailed to their address for two months 
I for one dollar. 
--- 
— We shall print in our next, an extended notice of the 
Morris County Sportsman’s Club of New Jersey, organized 
on the 11th of June just passed, and already numbering 
sixty members • ~ 
§yorthtg Jfeius from Abroad. 
THE DERBY CARNIVAL. 
[From our Special Correspondent.] 
Y gun it is cleaned and beeswaxed down the seams, 
and it will remain in statu quo until the glorious 12tli 
of August. My old black-and-tan setter, who has led the 
team of young ones in their breaking all the spring, is amus¬ 
ing himself by snapping at blue-bottles in the yard, and he 
knows as well as I do what a long time he will have to wait 
till the breechloaders crack and the feathers fly. It is very 
hot,and my “Negretti and Zambia” tells me that iced moffi; 
ought to be somewhere handy. The men sport puggarees 
in Indian fashion and round straw hats, and the women are 
festooned in the most graceful of gauze and muslin. Shoot¬ 
ing is at a discount, and it is impossible to get up more 
energy than is required for uncorking the soda water 
bottles. 
But to-day is a season of great rejoicing to sporting men, 
if not to sportsmen, for the spectators are countless on the 
Epsorn downs and the bets are numberless, which one short 
anxious moment has decided, 
George Frederick, who, a week ago, was a rank outsider 
and almost laughed at, lias just pulled off for his lucky 
owner a prize, which is coveted by the noblest of our aris-* 
tocracy, and which men of the highest social position have 
risked life and fortune to gain. I have scarcely need to 
tell you who has won, for, in all probability, almost before 
the white cloud of carrier pigeons had left the horizon, the 
electric current had flashed the news to the uttermost 
corners of the world, and money was fast changing hands 
in New York, and India, and Australia ; but such is the 
ease, and the problem of a twelve month has been decided 
in a few minutes. ’Tis a problem that many have at¬ 
tempted to solve and found a veritable “xlss’s Bridge.” 
Of course there are every year^ hundreds of turf prophets 
who will sell you “a good thing” for eighteen pence in 
postage stamps, and a douceur from your winnings. It is 
really marvellous how these “parasites on the hull of the 
turf” thrive so amazingly, especially when we know that, 
the well established racing papers, such as the Field and 
Old Belf without pretending to Cassandra’s talents, give the 
best advice on the subject which it is possible to obtain. 
The sporting correspondents of these papers are in the best 
position to get information, and they devote all their time 
and ability to studying the chances, and I would infinitely 
sooner risk my money according to their judgment than go 
to a miserable impostor, who sends a different horse to each 
of his victims and then calls on the fortunate one for a 
bonus, and ends b^r selling him another “barmecide.” It 
is the old story over again of the Quack who, when asked 
by the Doctor how it was that he could keep a brougham 
whilst the professional man had to walk, replied triumph¬ 
antly, that in every ten of the human race nine were fools, 
and he secured the nine whilst the one wise man went to 
the Doctor. “Prospero,” th q Land and Water correspond¬ 
ent, was very discriminate, as lie actually selected the two 
first horses, but this feat was not equalled by any other 
paper. 
Amongst tlic multitudes that throng the Epsom downs 
there are many thousands who care very little for racing or 
betting. They go to the Derby as they go tq the University 
boat race, solely for amusement and an enjoyable holiday. 
To them the luncheon is the great feature of the day’s en¬ 
tertainment. What matters it to them whether the favor¬ 
ite or an outsider wins the day, if they can unpack a well 
filled Fortnum & Mason basket, and let loose “the spark¬ 
ling” from silver tinselled and green labelled bottles. As 
soon as the race is over these sybarites spread their table- 
clotlies on the green sward, and fall too at pigeon pie and 
chablis, whilst the heavy plungers are cursing their bad 
luck and desperately laying out their last “fiver” on the 
next event on the card. All the tag-rag and bob-tail of our 
vast metropolis take their part in this wild carnival. There 
are tumblers and acrobats, rope dancers and negro songsters 
in scores. There are men that eat fire with extraordinary 
gusto, “Professors” that show the highest excellence of 
pugilistic art, athletes that have paving stones crushed on 
their stomach by blows of sledge-hammers, Punch and Judy 
shows, three thimble men, and beggars, mountebanks, and 
scoundrels of every' degree. There are elegant landaus 
whose fair occupants drink champagne, and rouge too 
vividly and laugh too loudly. There is my lady’s carriage 
where the aristocratic beauties lounge languidly and affect¬ 
edly in a circle of equally languid and affected swells of the 
first water. Then our friend the costermonger’s donkey 
cart painted a spruce red, and with a very sporting air all 
round it. There are four-in-hand coaches, well horsed, 
well handled, and well leathered with a team that can do 
its fourteen miles an hour without turning a hair, stepping 
well up to their chins and “flying” when the white thong 
whistles down their flanks, and reminds them of their 
duty. 
It-is a vast fair. A festival in honor of the goddess 
Yoluptas, or a modem celebration of the Isthmian games. 
The first Derby is the thing which a man remembers to his 
dying day. There is no race in the world like it. The 
Oaks, the Two Thousand Guineas, and even the great St, 
Leger sink into painful insignificance v/hen compared with 
it. Perhaps the Ascot course is more remarkable for its 
fashionable liabitues and elegance of its toilets, but If it be 
desired to see the English people enjoying itself in every 
variety of manner, by all means go to Epsom. 
But the raco itself.. A race where no expense, no talent, 
