OREST AND STREA 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL OF THE Rop AND GUN. 
TERMS, $44 Yrar. 10 Ors, A Copy. ' 
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NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 4, 1884. 
{ VOL, XX11T.— No. 6. 
Nos. 39 & 40 Park Row, New Yorr. 
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OONTENTS. 
THE KENNEL. 
The National Breeders’ Show. 
Philadelphia K. C. Show. 
~The Exhibitors’ Convention. 
Pasteur’s Sure Cure. 
Liancollen Sheepdog Trials. 
Great Danes, 
8.8. A. Field Trials. 
Kennel Notes. 
RIFLE AND TRAP SHOOTING. 
Range and Gallery. 
Tip-Top Shooting, 
, The Trap. - 
CANOEING. 
Meet Reflections. 
Mohican GrC. 
Canoe Cruise on the Mississippi. 
The Canoes of 1884. 
YACHTING. 
The Goelet Cup Race. 
Ships’ Lights and Rules of the 
Road 
EDITORIAL, 
The Need of the West. 
A Phantom Showman. 
The-Close Time for Black Bass. 
THE SPORTSMAN TOURIST. 
A Song of Selfishness. 
Fishing in Norway. 
A Saranac Romance. 
Birch and Paddle in New Bruns- 
wick Waters. 
NATURAL History. 
' Anumal Life in the Gulf Stream. 
Antidote for Snake’s Bite. 
The Robin as a Game Bird. 
Fruit-Eating Birds. 
GAME BAG AND GuN, 
Bullet versus Buckshot. 
Camp Bread. 
Buck Fever. 
The Star Mountain Buck, 
CAMP-PIRE FLICKERINGS. 
' SEA AnD River FIsHinea. 
The Rangeley Lakes. 
Trouting in New Hampshire. 
Thé Seven Ponds, 
Spawning Season of Black Bass, 
~~ 
+ 
Open Yachts on the Sound. 
Knickerbocker Y. CG Pennant 
Match, 
The Open Races at Marblehead. 
Large Black Bass. The Marguerite, 60-ton Cutter. 
Angling in Kentucky Waters. The Cruiser in Hastern Waters. 
FISHGULTURE, ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Shellfisheries of Connecticut, PUBLISHERS’ DEPARTMENT, 
THE NEED OF THE WEST. 
| eee people understand the difficulty of enforcing laws 
for the protection of game and fish in the Western 
States and Territories, Most of them have upon their statute 
books laws that are stringent enough in letter and spirit, 
but they are non-effective in the great majority of cases for 
‘the reason that penalties are not, or cannot, be enforced. 
They are, as a general thing, very liberal to the informer 
and to the public; one-half the money penalty usually going 
to the former and the other half to the common school fund. 
The theory of the law-makers is, of course, that the large 
reward offered to the prosecuting witness, or informer, for 
securing punishment for violations of the law will stimulate 
the public to extra vigilance. Hvyery man is expected to be 
awatch upou his neighbor, because he can profit by the 
latter’s violation of law. But such is not the effect, and for 
two reasons—first, self-interest, and second, fear. 
There are, in general terms, two classes of offenders 
against game protection laws: First, those who have means, 
and, therefore, hunt for pleasure. They are generally 
Strangers in the regions where-they hunt. They remain but 
temporarily, and disappear before their acts obtain notoriety, 
To the few with whom they come in contact in the sparsely 
settled districts they visit, they are good customers; hiring 
teams, horses, guides and servants; buying supplies of all 
kinds at whatever price asked. Hence, it is to the interest of 
such settlers to wink at the offenses of their visitors and cus- 
tomers against the laws of the State. 
The other class are mercenary meat or skin-hunters, who 
destroy game simply for the profit there isin it. They vio- 
late the law persistently and knowingly. They are lawless 
and unprincipled. Regardless of one law they are naturally 
suspected of disregarding any other law or all laws. Hence, 
scattered settlers are afraid of them—afraid to report their 
unlawful acts. The man who with his family lives in the 
wilderness, far from neighbors, feels that it is not safe to re- 
port the offenses of theskin-hunter, because in doing so he 
would place himself, his family and all his property at the 
mercy of an outlaw, who might hesitate at nothing to secure 
‘revenge. The informant. may be waylaid and shot, his 
stock may be killed, his range burned over, his hay, grain 
or improvements destroyed by fire, his spring poisoned, or 
revenge taken in some other malicious: way. And the man 
whose cunning has been sharpened by the studied pursuit of 
wild animals will wreak his vengeance in such manner that 
detection is almost impossible. Only a few days ago a man 
was waylaid and shot in the night, in Chaffee county, Colo- 
rado, and the only provocation tbat could be thought of was 
the fact that a few days before he had lodged a-complaint in 
a justice’s court against certain persons for killing trout with 
giant powder. 
The only effective method of enforcing game protective 
laws is by game wardens, or commissioners appointed by the 
State. Such officers are responsible to the State, and the 
State becomes the prosecutor. Individual responsibility 
ceases, and with it all thought of personal revenge. ‘The 
warden can have no interest in winking at the offenses of 
hunters for pleasure, nor can he, except in extraordinary 
cases and at rare intervals, suffer vengeance from the pot- 
hunter. 'The wide field of his service would make that ser- 
vice only the more effective and the more to be feared and 
respected by violators of the Jaw. Settlers, too, could then 
become informers to the warden without endangering them- 
selves and their property, 
THE CLOSE TIME FOR BLACK BASS. 
N another column will be found a communication from 
Mr, A. N. Cheney, on the subject of extending the close 
season for black bass, which we commend to the attention of 
our angling readers, and especially to that portion of them 
which make our laws. We have long wondered why the 
close season for black bass should be different in different 
parts of the State of New York, because the exceptions to 
thé general time, which extend it, are in waters not only 
wide apart, but in some which lie in tne southern portion of 
the State, where the season might be expected’to be earlier, 
The fact that Mr. Cheney usually fishes in the northern 
portion of the State need not lead any person to think that 
he is not competent to speak for the whole State, for he is 
not only an enthusiastic angler, but one who is greatly inter- 
ested in the art and its literature, and is in correspondence 
with anglers not only in all parts of ‘New York, but in most 
other States. We regard him as one of the best-informed 
anglers in the country, and know that many of our readers 
in Southern New York agree with him that the close time is 
not long enough. If the object of the law is to protect the 
black bass while they are spawning, and during the time 
when they are protecting their young, as we suppose, then 
the period between the first of January and the first of June 
is not sufficient. As to the fixing of the time when the 
season shall close,.we do not suppose that any one cares 
whether it shall be November first or March first, because be- 
tween the dates named nature practically closes the season, 
and no one fishes for black bass in the State of New York 
al this time, and if they did the fish would not bile. It is 
well known that black bass hibernate in the Northern States 
during the winter, and those fishermen who cut holes in the 
ice and try to imagine they are having sport in dragging 
pickerel from a temperature at which ice is fluid to one 
where it is not, do not capture the bass which lie dormant at 
the bottom. 
But if the four months hetween Noy, 1 and Feb. 28 are so 
cold that it makes no difference whether black bass are pro- 
tected or not, the folowing four months ending June 30 are 
vital because, as Mr, Cheney says, the waters are opening 
and the anglers are waking up. This fish begins to take 
food, after its winter fast, as soon as the temperature of the 
water rises to about 45 degrees Fahrenheit, and not until 
then does any increase in the ovaries take place. Itisa 
question of temperature entirely. In the Southern States, 
where the black bass does not hibernate, but feeds all winter, 
the fish spawns earlier. In the State of New York, the date 
at which all law-abiding bass should haye finished spawning 
and protecting their young has been fixed at June 1, but we 
regret to say that the majority of bass are so depraved and 
have so little regard for law as to delay their family arrange- 
ments for a month later, and the question is: Shall the fish 
be compelled to change their habits to comply with the wis- 
dom of our legislators, or shall we acknowledge that they 
know best when they want to spawn and accommodate our- 
selves to them? 
Perhaps our abused lawmakers thought that the first of 
June was as long as they could hold the anglers off, because 
mankind is so constituted that when it sees a belated angle 
worm hurrying home over the gravel walk in the morning, 
after a roystering night of hilarious dissipation, it (man- 
kind) immediately wants to go.afishing. Now, suppose that 
an observant and intelligent angler, in the person of Mr. 
Cheney, calls a halt and asks mankind to wait another 
month until the bass has not only brought its young into the 
world but has carried them through the period of long skirts 
into that of short dresses and knee-breeches, What answer 
will he get? A universal shout will go up, ‘‘My vacation 
begins in June and I can’t wait.” Another question now 
presents itself: Shall the parent fish be captured and the 
brood be untimely cut off, or shall the impatient angler be 
restrained? Is it better to wait and let the fish get through 
with their domestic arrangements and have some fishing two 
or three years from now, or is it best to kill the old fish and 
trust to luck for a future crop? 
We think that Mr. Cheney has rather understated the case. 
Hiven in Southern New York the black bass are not done 
Spawning by the middle of June, and it seems to us that 
while his request to make the close season end at that time 
would be a step in advance we would go still further and 
make the law for the whole State exempt black bass from 
capture before July. This may deprive some anglers of 
their accustomed fishing. If they cannot go fishing later we 
are sorry for them, These are few, however, and they 
should sacrifice their pleasure for the public good. The 
Inain Opposition to such a change would come from summer 
resorts and country hotels which look for the black bass 
fishers in June. With them it is a question of dollars, in 
which we and unselfish anglers like Mr, Chency are not at 
all interested, The law needs changing, 
RecuLrar ARMy PracticH,—The crack marksmen among 
the regulars are now busy in a general scheme of the selec- 
tion of the fittest, and as each department picks out its team, 
after exhaustive trial these choosen ones are placed in further 
contest in the division matches until it will soon be known who 
will make up the champion team for the year as well as the 
leading individual shots. We have had occasion in the past 
to criticise the nethods of army practice and instruction, 
but there is such a great advance in the present skill of at 
leasti a minority of the men over what it was but a few years 
ago that the general public will look with satisfaction at the 
result and not pay much attention to what dangers lie in the : 
future. There is an excellent rule which prevents the mak- 
ing up of a crack team to be brought out on eyery possible 
occasion, Rotation on teamsis the team rule, and it is a 
good one, but while the teams are piling up the bullseyes 
and showing us high percentages, perhaps some officer pos- 
sessed of the knowledge, will tell us precisely what the bulk 
of the army can do in the way of shooting, not merely in 
filling blanks, but in the haphazard, catch-distance methods 
of actual warfare. 
Tue NAtionaAL BREEDERS’ SHow.—A show under this 
name will be given in Philadelphia next October. The plan 
ot a show of this kind originated with a prominent breeder 
and exhibitor, who writes to us privately that it was at his 
solicitition that the gentleman who is acting as secretary 
undertook that task. The names of the gentlemen under 
whose auspices the exhibition will be given and the names of 
the judges are suificient vouchers for its character, The prize 
list is liberal and the payment of the awards has been guar- 
anteed by a fund of $1,500 already subscribed. We make 
no question that the show will receive the cordial support 
ot breeders, owners and exhibitors. 
TRAP Nores.—The New Jersey Association are making 
preparations fora fall tournament. They have had prone 
since 1880, but there is a good deal of vigorous life left in 
the society yet; and its secretary thinks that the coming 
meeting will be well attended. At the late clay-pigeon 
tournament in this city the New Jersey shooters did some 
good work, one of them bearing off the honors of the best 
average, A praiseworthy effort is being made to form a 
club in this city to secure suitable shooting ground. Boston 
will soon have a big tournament, 
THe Narronan SHAmE.—After many fatal weeks have 
gone by, the Indian Commissioner has at last seen fit to pro- 
vide a food supply for the starving Indians in Montana, 
The cruel apathy with which the slow deaths of those poor 
creatures have been regarded is a national shame, Some one 
at Washington is responsible for the outrageous condition of 
affairs that has been permitted on the Montana reservations, 
and when Congress meets we hope to see an investigation 
that will fix the blame where it belongs. 
