FOREST AND STREAM. 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL OF THE Rop AND GuN. 
Terms, $44 Year. 10 OTs, a Copy. 
Six Montus, $2 
NEW YORK, OCTOBER 28, 1884. 
{ VOL. XX111.—No. 13. 
Nos. 39 & 40 Park Row, New Yore. 
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Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 
Nos. 39 ann 40 Park Row. New Yor«r Orry,. 
CONTENTS. 
Spa AND River FisHInG. 
The Ichthyophagous Dinner. 
FISHCULTURE. 
Catching Codfish with Gillnets. 
Oyster Culture at Cold Spring. 
EDITORTAL, 
Angling Tournament. 
Cutter and Sloop. 
Another Irish-American Match. 
Tu SPORTSMAN TOURIST, 
Lassoing the Grizzly. 
Tog of the Bucktail.—v. 
A Yoyage Between the Lakes. 
Florida Again.—im. 
Natouran History. 
“Key to North American Birds”’ 
The Moose, 
Antidote for Rattlesnake Bite. 
Game Baa AND GUN. 
Duck Shooting in New Bruns- 
wick, 
A Bad Case of Bear Fever. 
To Dakota for Game. 
The Woodcock’s Concealment. 
With the Grouse in New Zealand 
THE KENNEL. 
Concerning Dictatorship, 
The National Breeders’ Show. 
The Non-Sporting Dog Show. 
English Kennel Notes.— xvr. 
Southern Field Trials, 
Kenaoel Management. 
Kennel Notes. 
RE AND TRAP SHOOTING, 
Range and Gallery. 
The Trap. 
A National Association. 
CANOEING, 
Amateur Canoe Building.—xyii. 
The Log Book. 
Adirondack Game Preservation, 
California Association. 
Game in Pike County. 
The Delaware River, 
Cruising Reminiscences. 
YACHTING. 
Philadelphia Notes. The Open Boat Sweepstakes. 
Louisiana Game Supply. An Utter Rout. 
SHA AND River FISHING. An Unconditional Surrender. 
The Tournanient. The Seawanhaka Fall Races. 
Black Bassin Hopatcong. Daisy. 
Angling for a Moccasin. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
ANGLING TOURNAMENTS. 
SX CE the angling tournament inaugurated by Forest 
AND STREAM in 1882, and afterward adopted by the 
National Rod and Reel Association as its first contest, there 
has been an awakening of the spirit of scientific angling in 
all its yaried branches of fly-casting, casting for bass, and 
minnow-casting. Some have argued that the tournaments 
accomplished no good, and were merely gotten up to adver- 
tise tackle dealers. The fact is, that while dealers in fishing 
tackle are allowed to contribute prizes, and this without 
special solicitation, not one is placed on the Committee of 
Arrangements nor is selected for a judge. The committee 
is composed of men who are entirely free from trade alli- 
ances, and are only interested in the tournaments as lovers 
of the art of angling. 
A glanee at our published list of the committee and the 
judges will show that this is true, while the prize lists. ex- 
hibit donations from such men as Mr. McAndrew, Mr. 
Cross, Mr. Brown and Mr. Wilbur, who have only the desire 
o advance the art of fishing in the most scientific manner. 
We have gone out of our way to state this because we have 
heard that a New York evening paper has had a statement 
to a contrary effect, which we have not seen. We do not 
think, however, that it is worth while to more than notice 
this, because the case is, as we have pointed out, very plain. 
If any one should ask what the benefit is to be derived 
from angling tournaments, we will not reply by asking him 
to explain the use of tournaments where shooting with either 
the rifle or the fowling piece is used, or where skill in 
archery is-the object. We can only say that angling tourna- 
ments beget a desire in persons witnessing them to possess 
good tackle and to handle it as they have seen others handle 
it. It is useless to say that this can be learned on the stream. 
We will admit that it can, for there all our expert anglers 
learned it, but on the stream one is absorbed in the prospect 
of hooking a fish and has to learn to handle the fly by years 
of experience, when at a tournament he can see where the 
contestants begin to raise the longline from the water, 
where they stop the rod in its upward sweep; how they 
apply the power and increase it in the forward cast, and 
when it comes to the contest foraccuracy and delicacy, how 
they deliver the flies upon the water. All this may be 
noted by the tyro, if he uses his eyes, by observing the diff- 
erent styles of casting of the best experts that have been 
produced in this or any other country, and this fact is 
recognized by the private gentlemen who have given the 
largest prizes in this last tournament. 
We regard these tournaments as a mighty power in educa- 
ting anglers, both young and old, for while a person not 
familiar with fly-casting might sit out the programme and 
think it stupid, one who has some knowledge of it can learn 
much that he neyer knew. Contrary to general opinion, we 
place the highest value on the long distance casts. We hold 
that a man who is master of his rod sufficiently to cast a fly 
eighty feet, can deliver his flies lightly on the water at sixty 
feet, while he who can only reach the latter distance by the 
greatest effort, can only fish well at forty feet, Many an 
angler has seen a trout rise full twenty feet beyond his power 
of sending a fly, and has wished for a wind to send the lure 
out or for the skill of an expert to deliver it where he wished. 
The same things may be said of the striped bass casting, 
for distance and accuracy are factors in these contests also 
as they are in actual fishing. The minnow-casting for black 
bass, introduced this year, promises to make our Eastern 
anglers acquainted with a new style of fishing whichif it 
becomes popular will do so only through the tournament, 
or it would have waited for years to pass from one to 
another, and even then imperfectly and with alterations and 
modifications. 
Another objection which has been raised against these 
tournaments is that men who have never fished might prac- 
tice and win prizes. This is true, but the practice would 
lead them to fish; or if it did not, then their proficiency 
would be instructive. It has never been an objection to rifle 
matches that men might enter and win who had never either 
killed nor even seen a deer; skill with the rifle being the only 
consideration. Hence, we believe that no matter what the 
fishing records of the contestants may be, their skill with the 
rod is instructive and the influecce on the rising generation 
of anglers is good, and those who promote and encourage 
these tournaments are doing good work. 
ANOTHER IRISH-AMERICAN MATOH. 
A fee Irish riflemen-making firm of the Rigbys has been 
very busy of late upon a new weapon. It isa breech- 
loader of the small bore or sporting class, and hence capable 
of the finest work, but it is as well a non-cleaning rifle so far 
as match shooting is concerned. In trial at the home ranges 
and at Wimbledon, the Elcho ranges of 15 rounds at 800, 
900 and 1,000 yards have been shot over, and with cleaning 
only between ranges, scores running close up to 220 in the 
possible 225 have been made, 
It is now proposed by the veteran Irish rifleman to renew 
hostilities of the old time friendly sort with his American 
acquaintances of the rifle range, and by a match at the 
longer distances show what the new weapon can do. He 
wishes to have the nou-cleaning clause inserted in the con- 
ditions of the proposed match, holding the Americans to 
such a rule, 
The question now is whether or not it would be wise to 
invite such a contest, and whether or not we are prepared or 
may put ourselves in a state of proper preparation so far as 
rifles are concerned. It is claimed by some that the Rem- 
ington is capable of doing this non-cleaning feat. The 
Brown rifle also makes a claim very similar, but there are 
no matches for sporting rifles on our programmes which 
would make the record complete on this point. 
If there are no such rifles in this country there ought to be, 
and at once, otherwise we have allowed ourselves to be dis- 
tanced in this important improvement in small arm manu- 
fucture. It may be claimed that we have succeeded in bring- 
ing outa military arm which will stand the non-cleaning 
ordeal for a number of shots and yet continue to do 
fairly satisfactory work over the long distances. The 
record is against us on this point, for the Amer- 
ican team has suffered its only defeats on this 
line of endeavor. It may be necessary tor us to take 
another drubbing to find out whether or no we have or can 
make in American armories a weapon capable of the finest 
work, and yet in which all the unnecessary nuisance of 
cleaning and polishing the bore after each shot may be abol- 
ished. It is certuin that the rifle of the future is to be some- 
thing after this class or at least embrace this feature. 
We should be glad to see such a match as this proposed 
by Mr. Rigby. It is pretty certain that there will not be 
another match for the Palma under the conditions originally 
set for it, That class of shooting will, and should be, set 
aside for the more advanced kind of marksmanship and rifle 
manufacture in which cleaning is abandoned. It might be 
wise to use the Palma as atrophy in a new match; but at 
any rate, whether the object fought for be but » simple medal, 
the match ought to come off. 
CUTTER AND -SLOOP. 
INCE the commencement of the battle for a reform in 
American yachts, which began in our columns five 
years ago, there have been times when it has seemed as 
though the struggle against vested interests, ancient and 
firmly rooted dogmas, prejudiced ignorance, and a strong 
opposition to foreign ideas, was too great a task for the few 
against the many; but looking back to-day, both Fornsr 
AND STREAM and those who have been with us in the fight, - 
can well feel proud of the results attained. The truth of 
every principle that we have maintained has been demon- 
strated, the position we have taken and held in spite of op- 
position and abuse, has been recognized and approved by 
the yachting public, and the men who have had the courage, ~ 
in the face of public opinion, to build and sail cutters, have 
had their reward in a series of undisputed successes. 
The war we have waged on the American death-trap, big 
and little, has borne fruit sooner even than we anticipated, 
and the results are plainly to be seen on every body of water 
throughout our country on which boats are used, in the 
tangible shape of better model, lower ballast, reduced and 
more sailor-like rigs, increased care and knowledge in 
handling. 
Besides the question of safety, the less important ones of 
speed, ability and general good qualities have been decided 
in favor of the cutters. What Madge begun, Bedouin and 
Oriva have finished. The success of the English cutter is 
an accepted fact, but the end is not reached yet; the whole 
science of yacht designing is not fathomed; there is more-to 
learn than we yet know. 
The best boat of thirty years ago was an American 
schooner; the best boat to-day is an English cutter. Both 
have taught valuable lessons to all willing to learn, and it 
now remains to us so to study them that the boat of the 
future shall be a distinctively American yacht. 
SHootinc Prosprots.—All the reports from those who 
have been out with the gun in the Eastern States indicate 
that birds are numerous. At the same time the bags that 
have been made have not been large. This is due to the un- 
paralleled dryness of the woods and swamps, and to the very 
warm weather that we have had so far during this month. 
While the weather has been delightful, it has been so warm 
that to travel through thickets and swamps has been very 
exhausting. In fact, the days have seemed more like those 
of July than of October. The woods, and in many cases 
the swamps as well, are quite dry, and the ground when 
turned up is dusty as a country road. This, of course, 
means that the birds have left such situations, Besides, even 
when they are still there, the dogs have great difficulty in 
finding them, and altogether the sportsman is at a great dis- 
advantage. We have no doubt that after the next heavy, 
soaking rain, there will be many heavy bags made. We 
look for a short season of exceptionally good woodcock 
shooting to follow the next rain, and then, after the cold 
weather has set, there will probably be good quail and grouse 
shooting until the close of the season. But until there has 
been a storm of some magnitude it is scarcely worth while 
for any one to start out with his gun, unless he livesinsome - 
locality especially favored in the way of moisture. 
A Narionan TraAp-SHootrers’ Leacurn.—Last May at 
Chicago an attempt was made to organize a national associa- 
tion of sportsmen who practice shooting at the trap. The 
steps then taken did not result in anything, It is now pro- 
posed to repeat the attempt at the coming New Orleans 
tournament. There can be no qnestion of the usefulness of 
such an organization. If national tournaments are to be 
held they should be under the control of some responsible 
body of representative sportsmen. The Chicago tourna- 
ment was admirably conducted, and doubtless the New 
Orleans meeting will be equally satisfactory in this respect; 
but it is clear that these conyentions should not be left to 
depend upon the enterprise and energy of asingle individual. 
We believe that a properly constituted association of repre- 
sentative sportsmen would be a useful and worthy organiza- 
tion. The scheme for providing such a society is set forth 
in a communication elsewhere, and if to be acted upon early 
attention to it is desirable. 
