22 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 7, 1884. 



OUR CANOE COLUMNS, 



r pHE'RE is no special necessity of calling attention to our 

 -*- canoeing department. It speaks for itself. It is newsy, 

 helpful, practical. We are doing now, and mean t» do in 

 the future, for the canoe just what we have so long been 

 doing, are now doing, and will keep on doing, for the gun, 

 dog, roi, rifle, trap and yacht. The readers of the canoe- 

 ing columns ought not to be confined to canoeists. Canoe- 

 ing, and angling, and shooting, and camping, and the study 

 and investigation of wild life arc all connected. The sub- 

 jects are blend. Anglers will find hints in the canoeing 

 columns, and canoemen may profitably read the angling 

 columns. 



In fact, our advice is to read the whole paper. Even the 

 yachting man, once in a while, says something that lands- 

 men may find amusing if not instructive - . 



But what we started out to say is this, that the. sport of 

 canoeing is in the ascendant. It is no transient "boom.'- 



The canoe has found its way into popularity. It has come 

 to stay. We propose to make the canoeing department of 

 the Forest and Stream so complete that it will be regarded 

 by those who read it as a worthy exponent of the subject. 

 Communications on canoeing are welcome. When you 

 write up your log book send it in. Tell us of your outfit, 

 culinary triumphs, news notes about routes, hints and help 

 about fittings, handling, and the care of the boats. In short, 

 put in your paddle and add to the momentum. . 



COLLAPSE OF LENGTH MEASUREMENT ABROAD. 



THE recent investigations of a select committee of the 

 General Council of the British Y. E. A. has made the 

 clear and positiv» declaration that length entirely fails to 

 fairly compare boats of different types. It sets forth that 

 the largest boat on a given length has inherently the greater 

 possibility for speed, and that differences in size are prop- 

 erly subject to taxation, inasmuch as they enable larger sail 

 spreads to be carried and contribute to greater ability in 

 performance. 



In other words, the highest authority in Great Britain 

 once for all officially subscribes to a fundamental proposi- 

 tion long known to every intelligent person, that increased 

 length not accompanied by corresponding increase of big- 

 ness is not a true gauge upon which speed can be compared. 

 The committee simply reiterates the old, old story that a 

 forty-foot canoe is not a match for a forty-foot yacht several 

 times as big, and that to tax a fifty -foot canoe for the extra 

 ten feet is to tax her for presumed possibilities for speed 

 which the canoe does not possess, because lacking the bulk 

 enabling her to display the superiority hitherto wrongfully 

 attributed to the extra ten feet of length. Hence, between 

 the two, or between the small chittywee a»d the big Itchen 

 boats of like loadline, the length rule "entirely fails" to 

 equitably match boats which differ so much in size. There 

 is nothing new or startling about such an enunciation. We 

 have sought to make that clear all along. Simple as such a 

 proposition may seem and self-evident as it is from examples in 

 practice, it is strange and almost inconceivable that in this 

 age any one can still maintain the equity of racing a small 

 boat against a large one without an allowance, should they 

 happen to coincide in the one special feature of length. Yet 

 It is upon the crass and glaringly false assumption that like 

 lengths afford like chances for speed, whatever the bulks 

 may be, that the length rules of the day are founded. "All 

 other things being equal," the committee says further, "the 

 speed of yachts will vary as the square root of their lengths. " 

 But as in no two yachts are "all other things equal," no 

 rule can be built upon an assumption which does not apply 

 among vessels of a length but varying in "all other things," 

 said other things drawing their existence from the varying 

 bulks found on the same length. Very properly, then, the 

 committee has concluded that the errors of comparison by 

 length must be corrected by the introduction of some expres- 

 sion equivalent to the difference in bigness of the boats en- 

 tered for competition. It is true the committee does not 

 recommend measurement of bulk in so many words, but 

 beats the devil round the bush in advising the measurement 

 of sail in connection with length. As sail area, broadly con- 

 sidered, will vary with beam and depth, the sum total of 

 the operation is nothing less than a rough equivalent to the 

 multiplication of the three chief dimensions of a vessel, in 

 plain words, a gauge of her bigness or bulk. 



There are, of course, instances in which, through differing 

 mechanical provisions for ballasting, the sail area rule will 

 fail to compare correctly the bulks of two vessels, and to that 

 extent the rule will exhibit faulty application in practice. 

 Upon the assumption that every man attends to the best 

 mechanical provisions for racing, and that a match should 

 be truly a test of model, the new rule will work with 

 approximate equity. Where, however, inferior ballasting or 

 rig is brought to the line, the rule offers an allowance for 

 such shortcomings, as the area of sail will be correspondingly 

 less, and it may be supposed the vessel also crippled to the 

 extent of the allowance she receives. As long as the time 

 granted is not so great as to put a positive premium upon the 

 butchering of rigs, the neglect of proper ballasting or the 

 shrinkage of bulk, as in a sharpie for example, there need be 

 no fear but that the sail area and length rule will be found 

 to permit the classification of yachts of all kinds, and for 

 that reason free play to every man's preferences as to the 

 form most suitable to his objects apart from racing only. 



To the degree that the sail area and length rule approximates 

 a measurement of bulk, it will work with equity. To the 

 degree it fails so to do, it will be open to further modifica- 

 tion in the future. As a final quietus to "simple length" 

 and piloting a truer course to the ultimate haven, the con- 

 clusions of the British Y. K. A. have our approval, and 

 those conclusions cannot be without immediate beneficial 

 effect in our own waters. 



One Satisfaction. — One source of greatest satisfaction 

 in the work of conducting the Forest and Stream is the 

 promptness with which its patrons meet their pecuniary obli- 

 gations. Subscriptions are always paid promptly, we have 

 no list of "poor pay" readers, whom it is necessary to #oerce 

 by editorial threats into paying up. We conduct our busi- 

 ness on business principles. The rule is that subscriptions 

 must be paid for in advance. The practical working of the 

 rale is that they are paid in advance. Indeed, veiy many 

 (in a continually increasing ratio) have taken advantage of 

 our "long term" rates and forwarded $10 for a three years' 

 subscription in advance. Perhaps the reason why sub-, 

 scribers to the Fokest and Stream pay so promptly is that 

 the paper is worth the money. "Nothing very occult about 

 that, you see." __ 



Improved Smald Arms.— The reports from Switzerland, 

 given in «ur rifle columns, show that the little republic is 

 struggling with the small arms question. In Europe it is a 

 problem of immediate and pressing importance and none of 

 the nations there can afford to fall behind in this department. 

 It may safely be said that compared with the small arms 

 here, there is a general aspect of antiquity abofct the arming 

 of European armies. The metallic central fire cartridge is 

 not in common use and unsatisfactory substitutes of paper 

 are employed. The inventors and improvers are, in most 

 cases, military men with very set and circumscribed opin- 

 ions, and a disposition to reject, even without examination, 

 anything coming from outside sources. In no department 

 •f human invention is there more necessity of full informa- 

 tion on foreign progress than in this of military weapons, 

 and no class seems less disposed to give and take than mili- 

 tary-bred critics. A trip through American armories would 

 be, no doubt, fruitful of good results to our Swiss experi- 

 menters. 



Books for Our Readers. — Our notification some weeks 

 since that we would send any book published on receipt of 

 the publisher's price, has evidently been appreciated by our 

 readers. We knew that to do this woald be a convenience 

 to a great many, but the number of those who have taken 

 advantage of it has surprised us. So many of those who 

 read the paper live in places so far from the bookstores that 

 it is a real blessing to them to be able to write out the titles 

 of the book required and send it to us to be forwarded to 

 them. Moreover, in ordering a list of books it is a great 

 saving of time and postage to have to write but one letter in- 

 stead of half a dozen. Although the filling of these book 

 orders consumes no little time and trouble, we will furnish 

 any of the books published in the list in our advertising- 

 columns, or any other book published, on receipt of the 

 publisher's price. We will also send any magazine or peri- 

 odical on the same terms. The name of the publication de- 

 sired should be written plainly and the order must invari 

 ably be accompanied by the money. 



The Brooklyn Water Works Scheme.— A bill has 

 been introduced at Albany which gives the Department of 

 Public Works of Brooklyn power to enter upon any lands or 

 waters in Suffolk county, and by paying a certain appraised 

 amount, occupy the same in perpetuity for the erection of 

 pumping works, reservoirs, conduits and such other appur- 

 tenances as may be deemed necessary. As Queens county 

 lies between the city of Brooklyn and Suffolk county, it is 

 to be presumed that the waters there are either insufficient, 

 or not to be obtained. Suffolk county comprises the eastern 

 half of Long Island, and has long been noted for its trout 

 streams, which now are threatened with confiscation by the 

 city. The bill specifies no particular streams, but. allows the 

 tapping of every spring and stream in the county. Added 

 to this is a clause exempting all the works and improvements 

 made in robbing the county, from taxation. The streams of 

 Suffolk county contribute the greater part of the fresh waters 

 to Great South Bay, the home of the "blue point" oyster, 

 and to the influences of these streams is due the excellences 

 of this famed mollusk. The trout streams of both sides of 

 the island so dilute the salt water of the harbors that they 

 make suitable spawning grounds for many species of coast 

 fishes, and with the streams taken fr«m them the bays would 

 soon become as salt as the ocean. We hope that the oyster- 

 men, fishermen, owners of trout streams, and all who are 

 interested in preserving both our inland and marine fisheries, 

 will protest against this bill being passed in its present shape. 

 The streams of Suffolk county add greatly to the value of 

 property there, and if they are all liable to confiscation every 

 time toe Department of Public Works of Brooklyn may 

 issue a decree, then owners of streams will feel insecure in 

 then- possession. The Supervisors of towns should at least 

 have a voice in this matter. 



An Interesting Series of Experiments is described 

 in our angling columns. 



iottm\nn %ami$U 



HOW DO THEY LIVE? 



AYE, that is the question. How do they live — these 

 bright-eyed wood-folk, that the human biped pursues 

 and persecutes with dog and gun, not only in season, but with 

 snares, traps, and all villainous devices known of men, out 

 of season. And when at last the human persecutor lets up, 

 nature comes in with a heavy fall of snow, topped with a 

 sharp crust. The ground is inaccessible. The trees are 

 covered with ice. The beechnut and thorn-plurn are the size 

 of marbles. Seeds and buds become balls of ice. How do 

 they, how can they live? 



Truth to say, a large percentage dan't live at all. They 

 die. Notably, the quail, who is the first of gallinaceous 

 birds to succumb. The wild turkey holds out longer, but is 

 beaten at last. A.nd the beautiful, gamy, hardy ruffed 

 grouse is the last to give in. But a winter ftke the present 

 tries even his powers of endurance. How does he live? 

 _ Well, so long as there is no ice-glaze on the trees, he will 

 live like a fighting cock. Four feet of snow with a crust on 

 top does not beat him. So long as beechnuts, thorn-plums, 

 and buds are not embedded in a thick coating of ice, he will 

 keep in condition. But there are seasons (I have seen three 

 of them), when nature chooses to envelope all her food re- 

 sources in an ice armor that no bird can break through. In 

 such a season the ruffed grouse does not live; he simply dies. 

 And he is a bird that you cannot help. You canuotfeedhim. 

 Once gone, he is gone forever. 



But you may, and can, feed the quail. Next to the grouse, 

 he is our finest game bird. Feed him when and where you 

 can. In a heavy ice-glaze at the north, he perishes by the- 

 thousand. But he thrives and multiplies on grounds where 

 you would never look for ruffed grouse, and is first favorite 

 with those who affect wing-shooting. 



If the wild turkey were sufficiently prevalent to make him 

 a common obje«t of pursuit to the spertsman, I would accord 

 him first place, as the most magnificent game bird on the 

 list. Far ahead of the n'embu, the cassowary, or the caper- 

 cailzie, the latter being the grandest game bird of Europe, 

 but nearly extinct. But the turkey is fast becoming remote, 

 and is soon destined to become phenemenal. He can stand 

 a pretty hard winter; but an ice-glaze beats him. Once, in 

 Southern Michigan, thirty-six years ago, I saw a drove of 

 thirteen turkeys making their way to the southward. They 

 halted in the barnyard, skirmished around for a few minutes 

 in the vain hope of grain, took the lane that led to the main 

 road, crossed the road, crept through the fence on the other 

 side, crossed an open meadow and disappeared in the forest 

 beyond. As they clambered over the single bar that divided 

 the lane from the main road more than half of them tumbled 

 over through sheer weakness. But they gathered up and 

 went on. The snow was three feet deep, with a crust, and 

 the thermometer 24° below zero. How did they live? 

 Probably not one of them lived a week. Heaven be my 

 judge, that I would have given my rifle for a bushel of corn 

 that I could have fed them. But it was impossiltle. They 

 went away to starve — after the manner of wild turkeys. 

 During the same winter, quail, in bevies of fifteen to thirty, 

 were found frozen en masse, packed snugly together, as 

 they had huddled for warmth. Even the omnipresent and 

 pestilent squirrel failed to raid the cornfields the next season. 

 Grouse and quail were very scarce for years thereafter. How 

 did they live? Well, the few that managed to pull through 

 had exceptional feeding grounds, if birds; and, if squirrels, 

 a supply of nuts stowed in a hollow tree. 



Fifty three years ago the 20th of last November there 

 came a snow storm that lasted without intermission for 

 nearly four days. This was in New England. When the 

 storm passed away the snow laid thirty-six inches deep on 

 the level. The weather changed and there came a rain, fol- 

 lowed by zero weather. On the first of February roads 

 were of no use. The farmer hauled wood across lots, over 

 fences and through woods on a hard snow crust that made 

 the best of sleighing. This lasted until the 20th of March 

 without a let-up. It was a fine winter for business, but it 

 nearly exterminated grouse, quail and squirrels in Eastern 

 Massachusetts. During the previous October they had all 

 been very plenty; one could scarcely cross an open field 

 without flushing a bevy of quail. There were grouse in 

 every thicket, and the average country boy could make a 

 decent bag of gray squirrels with a club and a cur dog. 

 During the following summer and autumn 1 was in the 

 fields and woods a large part of the time, and did not see or 

 hear a single quail, and only two gray squirrels. The rem- 

 nant of the grouse family was represented by a few hard- 

 billed, strong-winged old cocks, who had managed to make 

 the riffle by burrowing under the snow and raiding the 

 nearest orchards for fruit buds. But 1 do not recollect that 

 a single clutch of young grouse were seen the following 

 season. 



In a winter like the present, with only three feet of snow, 

 with two crusts, but no ice on the trees, the ruffed grouse is 

 at home every day. You will not find him in the low-lying 

 thickets and hemlock swamps. If you look for him where 

 you found him last October you will be apt to think he has 

 emigrated for erood. 



Follow me for a little and I will tell you just how he lives— 

 and lives well, in a winter like the present. Two years ago it 

 would have taken several hours of cold mountain travel to 

 reach the little lumbering hamlet of Ansonia from Wells- 

 boro. Now, we take a comfortable seat in a passenger ear 

 of the P. C. & J. S. Railroad, and make the trip.iu thirty -five 

 minules. The road has not been in operation long enough to 

 destroy the wild features of the region; and, as we glide 

 down the romantic valley of Marsh Creek we have a steep 

 mountain slope on the left, covered to the summit by a dense 

 growth of hemlock, the trees near the foot of the slope and 

 on the narrow flat more or less weighted with large patches 

 of snow. It is in these trees, under the snug shelter of these 

 snow tents, that the grouse loves to hide, spending the 

 greater part of his time in keeping himself safe and comfort- 

 able. As we are traveling wi stward, the high slope on the 

 right, with a southern exposure, shows a different growth 

 of timber entirely. Thtre are few pints or hemlocks, but 

 large thickets of scrub oak, birch and poplar, and here is 

 where the grouse makes his living. So long as the buds of 

 the poplar and birch are not enveloped in a thick coating of 

 ice, he will keep in good condition, though every species of 

 ground food be covtred with four feet ot snow and a crust 

 on that. 



Twenty years ago, on this very slope, I was following a 

 doe's track just at night in bitter winter weather, and her cute 

 ladyship chose to foil me by keeping along the side bill and 

 in the tnickest growth of small timber. There was a track- 



