taking a dead rest, and waiting for them to get into position 
80 that he could kill both with one shot, as any local gunner 
would have done, he jumped over the fence and grassed 
them wilh two shots from his .32-caliber rifle. Mr. Foulke 
is one of the few who have been very successful in killing 
grouse on the wing with the rifle, HE. A. LHoPoLp, 
Norristown, Pa,, Nov. 20. 
WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS. 
eta grouse seemed unusually plenty in this vicinity 
at the opening of the season, but now appear rather 
scarce, and the inference is that many have been shot. There 
is not much snaring, or shooting out of season, and if it were 
not for market-shooting, sportsmen would find a fair abun- 
dance of birds. Here, in Hampden county, it is a common 
remark that game is so scarce it does not pay to keep a gun, 
yet a few men find it profitable to leave other occupations 
and spend much, or all of their time during the season, io 
pursuit of the ruffed grouse, most of the game going to the 
Springticld market. Consequently, by the time the leaves 
are off, few birds are to be found by those who start out 
from Springfield or Holyoke for an afternoon’s shooting. A 
dozen or twenty miles west, toward the Berkshire hills, for 
example, at Huntington, on the Boston & Albany Railroad, 
game is reported to be extremely abundant—birds, ’coons 
and squirrels, East from Springfield, also, there is plenty 
of good cover, and a recent item in the Republican gives the 
name of aman in Ware who shot 500 ruffed grouse last 
year, and is busy getting in his work this season, 
Quail are never found in any great numbers about here, 
but were more numerous at breeding time this year than 
usual, One farmer near this city found a nest of fourteen 
eges within a few rods of his barn while mowing. He pre- 
served the nest with care, but in a few days all the eggs 
were gone, probably at the hands of boys, who destroy some 
hundreds of the eggs of small birds annually in pursuit of 
what they may imagine to be the study of natural history, I 
have heard of four beyies this fall, running as high as 
twenty-tive in number. Duck shooting on the Connecticut 
does not amount to anything, Not nearly so many fowl go 
down the river now as were seen a few years ago. 
At Northampton there is a spot in the river which does 
not freeze, and where, during the winter, ducks are shot in 
considerable numbers and great variety. Nonorucs. 
Hoxyoxrn, Mass., Noy, 24. 
DEER IN THE ADIRONDACKS. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
The “‘sporting season” just closed has been an unusually 
good one for trout and deer. I held all bands strictly 
within the law by not allowing venison or partridges to be 
cooked until the law allowed it; and from Aug. 1 we were 
not without venison on the table, and after Sept. 1 we had 
lots of partridges. J am sure eyery house in the Adiron- 
dacks could do the same. The law does not quite come up 
to my idea of what it should be for this section, but till we 
can do better, we must respect it as it is. 
Franklin county has more real value in the wild deer than 
in its domestic cattle; in this way: every one is virtually 
sold because it is killed by a sportsman from outside the 
county, and leaves af least three hundred dollars in money 
in the hands of the county people, which would not come 
in for any other purpose. Many, at first thought, will re- 
gard my estimate as exaggerated, but my experience of 
twelve years here, satisfies me that 1 am giving low rather 
than high value. 
I haye been very much interested in your articles on Maine 
game laws. LIthink the Maine people now recognize the 
real value in their wild game, and 1 have always feared the 
people of New York would wake up too late. There are so 
many different interests to satisfy. First, the July and 
August sportsman wants the night-hunt; then the next man 
wants to hound, and the still-hunter wishes to stop both the 
night-hunter and the hounder. My experience is that the 
August hunting is a cruelty, as many fawns are left to die. 
LT wish the law did not allow any hunting until Sept. 1, but 
I would be glad to have the time for hounding extended to 
Noy, 15, This would give more chance for hunting when 
the meat is good. The month of November very rarely gives 
us any good still-hunting, and as hounding is not allowed, 
all sportsmen quit the woods, and the guides are idle, Then 
they are tempted to break the law, and in many cases they 
do, as such Gases as the last three have been would tempt 
any one. Lhave caught myself looking out over the lake 
many times during these Indian summer days, expecting to 
hear a dog, perhaps seeadeer. If hounding were allowed 
till Noy. 15, it would give employment to many men in this 
county at a time when yery little work is to be had. As one 
of the guides said to-day, ‘‘l would like to put out the dogs 
to-day, but if it would come still-hunting I could kill more 
deer in one week without dogs than I could with half a 
dozen dogs.” IJ know this is the opinion of all the guides in 
this section. Iam satisfied the deer are increasing, and if 
the hounding was stopped the still-hunters would have fine 
times, and the markets would be well stocked with venison. 
The hounding makes the deer more wary, aud the hunters 
cannot get up to them as they once did. I remember years 
ago, when living in St, Lawrence county, seeing sled load 
after sled load of venison come into town to be shipped to 
market to enrich one man. Had they been killed by sports- 
men, how can we estimate the amount scattered among this 
oné man’s less fortunate neighbors? 
One of your correspondents, ‘‘L.,"’ would give us to under- 
stind that all Adirondack guides are ready at all times to 
break the present or any game laws—for fun or pay—] am 
sorry he has been so very unfortunate in seeing only such 
guides. My experience is that the Adirondack guides, as a 
class, are as honest and trusty as any class of laboring men I 
eyer knew, As Mr. Sherman says, ‘‘There are men who 
call themselves guides who might be willing to kill anything 
out of season.” But, 1 would like ‘‘L.” or any one else 
broach the subject of night hunting in June in our guide 
house. It was tried last June and no offer of money could 
fet one of the boys cut. 
We have about two inches of snow, and to-day has been 
very good still-hunting. A big buck crossed the clearing 
about six rodyfrom the barn some time last night, one of 
the cuides started after him about 8 A. M. and followed him 
till 1 P, M. and finding he had not lain down, gave up the 
job. He saw two fawns but did not shoot at either, he says 
e started seven different deer during the day, but wanted a 
buck for the head. This man killed a line bear a few days 
ago. \ 
 Siuce Aug. 1 twenty-six deer have been killed here, only 
seven does among them, 
— 
1 
$$ 
~ (et. ow » the FA ee 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
son, and [ have not known of a single goose in the lake. 
Several flocks went over in October. 
Small fur-bearing animals are very scarce. Very few 
mink, in fact the only one caught was after the boy’s 
bantam chickens, he got three before we caught him; have 
not seen a sable sign yet; a few ’coons, but we are too far 
from cornfields to suit them, A. KR. FULLER. 
Mnaonam Laks, Nov. 27. 
THE WILD SWAN. 
H, whence dost thou come, O bird of wide-spread wing? 
From what remotest shore dost thou wendrous tidings bring? 
*Mid the Northland’s Arctic ice, what woes hast thou beheld, 
Where the gales o’er shipwreck’d crews their savage requiem knell'd. 
In thy century of life, o’er the drifting, whelming snows 
Hath the shadow of thy pinions swept o’er the grinding floes, 
Where by the Pfeffer River, or King Williams Islet plain 
The bones of Franklin’s men in ghostly rest have lain! 
Perchanee the flitting shade of thy hovering wings did fall 
On that desolate, gray cairn, where repose the dust of Hall; 
Perchance by Lena's flood in bleak Siberian land 
Thou saw’st the lost DeLong, and all his dying band! 
O'er Baffin’s Bay, o’er Bellot’s Strait, perchance hath been thy flight, 
Or over shores of Labrador in tempest and in night, 
Where the Indian lurk’d in ambush, with rifle and with spear, 
Or Esquimaux in light canoe, to stop thy swift career, 
Mayhap o’er Rocky Mounts, o’er the bleak Sierra’s space, 
High up in empty air, hath been thy tireless race; 
Thou hast hover’d o’er Pike’s Peak, whose granitic boulders rise 
In majesty supreme—cliffs soaring to the skies! 
O’er Yosemite’s green vale, where Capitan's white cone 
O'’er mountain range and mighty woods uprears its royal throne, 
Hath been thy flight, and thou hast paus’d where Merced’s waters 
pour; 
One sheeted ghost of snowy foam, along its garden shore, 
For there the wild-fowl swarm, the swan, the duck, the crane, 
The pelican and gray geese, that browse the grassy plain, 
Where rangeth bear aud puma, the antelope and deer; 
Yor o’er that sportsmen’s paradise, hath heen thy free career. 
Thy flocks we’ve watch’d at Barnegat, and Currituck’s great Sound, 
A league-long line of gleamy plumes, like snows o’er winter ground, 
Now, whither dost thou tend? Perchance to southern clime, 
Where calm lagoons are girdled in with orange and the lime. 
GrerNport, L, 1. Isaac McLennan, 
EXPERIENCE AND ADVICE. 
WN Saturday last, Nov. 22, I had my final ramble for the 
season; cleaned, oiled and put away my companions 
of many days in the field and cover, and to-day have passed 
an hour in looking over the record and comparing it with 
other seasons. Although my hair may be turning gray and 
the years creeping on apace, I find that I quite hold my own 
with the noble grouse, and this season’s campaign has been 
oue of the best of my life. Why should it not have been so? I 
loye this world with its many sources of pleasure and happi- 
ness, and none more than that of the rod and gun, rambling 
over hills and through valleys, breathing God’s life-giving 
air and stowing away vitality for the months and years to 
come, And nioreover, where do we find pleasure and the 
fountain springs of health so combined, as in the sports of 
the fields and woods? To me they are tonic, brain and mus- 
cle, better than [can find in any materia medica, and for 
many years have been one of my greatest joys. 
But [ began this article with the intention of giving an 
outline of my season’s sport, and afew suggestions 10 those 
younger in years, and without the experience that I have 
had in hunting the wary grouse. For more than twenty-five 
years I have made if a rule to take a half day of each week 
during September, October and November, and with gun in 
hand, tramp through the woods and fields; and I feel certain, 
that at the age of fifty, with eye undimmed and a system 
free from any known disease, it has been the best investment 
Tever made, And, dear reader, this is the opinion of one 
whose life work has been to heal the sick so far as was in his 
power, and to study the wants of the human system. But to 
the record: 
Sept. 6, 8 grouse and 1 woodcock; 6 shells. 
Sept, 13, 2 grouse, 3 shells, 
Sept. 20, 1 grouse and 1 woodcock; 2 shells. 
Sept. 27, 2 woodeock, 3 shells. 
Oct. 4, 7 grouse; 4 shells. 
Oct. 18, 2 woodchucks and 1 rabbit; 3 shells. 
Oct. 18, 1 grouse and 2 gray squirrels; 3 shells. 
Oct, 25, 3 grouse; 5 shells. 
Novy, 1. a blank; 1 shell, 
Noy. 8, 2 grouse; 2 shells. 
Noy, 15, 5 grouse; 7 shells. 
Nov. 22, 3 grouse and 2 ducks; 4 shells. 
Total—27 grouse, 4 woodcock, 1 rabbit, 2 gray squirrels, 
2 woodchucks and 2 ducks, in all 38, using 43 shells. 
Oct. 4.—This was my red-letter day with the grouse. 
Seven grouse and four shells; not a bad record, surely. I 
made it in this way; A neighbor’s boy called at my office 
the eyening before with the word that, while driymg cows 
to pasture in the morning he saw nine or ten grouse on the 
fence near a patch of second growth pines and white birches. 
The location was familiar fo me, but I had not visited it the 
present season. Tbe next morning found me skirmishisg 
carefully around the edge of the pines and birches, but not 
a grouse could be found, Knowing that a path led through 
the woods toa field beyond, I faced in that direction with the 
intention of visiting another small piece of woods on the 
further side of the field. AsI padre ine path the beautiful 
view was before me of nine grouse huddled together in ap- 
parent wonderment and fear. What did I do under the cir- 
cumstances? What would you have done, brother sports- 
man? ‘Given them a chance for their lives,’ I presume 
you will answer, ‘‘as any true sportsman would have done,” 
I plead guilty, and confess that time, which flies very quickly 
on such an occasion, did not permit me to discuss the ethics 
of sportsmanship, but quick as thought the little gun came 
to my shoulder and the contents of two shells carried death 
and confusion into the happy family of a moment before. 
What a fluttering! Five beautiful grouse the result of the 
wicked act. Did Idoright? Some will say no, others yes; 
who will decide? After putting the birds into my game bag 
I captured two of the remaining four, making the best day’s 
shoot of the season. : 
Oct. 18.—A neighbor wished me to get her a woodchuck, 
which she said made a delicious dish, and 1 was fortunate 
enough to bag two, with a rabbit thrown in. . 
There haye been very few ducks in the lake during the sea-| Nov. 1.—The only “blank” day of the season. Before 
going far, and after oné miss shot, I was called back to visit 
a patient, and had to go without my weekly dish of grouse, 
Such has been my experience in the fields and woods the 
past season; and although my friends may say that the re- 
sults were small, I feel that I have put on new life, and am 
better prepared for the climatic changes of a New Hngland 
winter. 
A word relative to guns and ammunition; andif my young 
friends will allow meI will offer u few suggestions which 
may possibly be of some benefit fo them, Hxperience has 
taught me that the best gun for the early part of the season, 
before the leaves have fallen, is alight 12-gauge, after this 
pattern: Have made to order, or take an ordinary 12-gauge, 
shorten the barrels to 22 or 24 inches, the left barrel bored 
straight, the right barrel a little larger than the shell cham- 
ber, or in other words bell shaped, This suggestion may 
seem to be rather wild iu these days of “full chokebored” 
guns, but please bear in mind the fact that we are not going 
to break clay-pigeons at 40 or 60 yards, nor take long shots 
at ducks and geese. During September and early October 
grouse and woodcock are generally found in cool and shady 
cover, near brooks and runs, where the growth is small and 
dense, and where you will have to kili them inside of 25 
yards if at all, With aclose-shooting gun you will miss 
many birds that a very open-shooting gun would bring to 
bag. Have a light pull, not more than four pounds, and 
with shells loaded with 2} drams of quick, strong powder 
and 14 ounces No. 10 shot you will soon learn how to outwit 
the wary grouse. 
Later in the season, when the leaves have fallen and the 
brooks are dry, the birds will wander about more, and may 
be found in larger and more open cover, often near the edge 
of small growth, such as white birch, pine, hemlock, and 
juniper, apple trees, barberry bushes, etc., and then you will 
need a closer shooting gun, My idea of sucha gun is a 12- 
gauge, 28-inch barrels, 8 to 84 pounds, right barrel straight, 
left barrel choked, a strong, close, hard shooter, suitable for 
ducks and geese at 50 or 60 yards, using 3 or 4 drams of 
strong powder, and 14 ounces No. 4 shot; or grouse at 40 
yards, using 3 drams quick powder, and it ounces No. 9 
shot for right barrel, and No. 7 for left. With sucha gun 
you will do good work if you hold right, You will find this 
part of the season the most difficult of all. Carry your gun 
with hammers up, stock under the arm, and barrels pointing 
straight ahead, or barrels resting across left arm, thumb of 
right hand resting on hammer, forefinger on trigger, with 
left hand grasping fore end, and you are ready for action and 
grouse. Commence operations by firmg at the first and 
every bird you flush, This rule may not seem important, 
butit is allimportant. A habit of instantaneous action when 
your eye catches or your ear hears a bird, is the foundation 
of successful wing-shooting, And moreover, the first chance 
is generally the best chance. Don’t wait for a better shot, it 
may never come. Do not be discouraged if the bird is near 
the ground, and yourshot clip the leaves from the top of 
atree directly over its head—try again. Be quick, very 
quick, but at the same time be calm and deliberate. That 
is to say, bring your gun to shoulder as quickly as possible, 
and then be deliberate. See your bird in full view over the 
sight, and pull. You will be inclined to overshoot at first. 
It a cross shot, hold on with a steady, swinging movement 
ofthe gun, and you will hit your bird. No holding ahead 
unless your gun is at a rest, or moving in an opposite direc- 
tion from the bird. 
If you are without a dog, get to your bird as quickly as 
possible. A wounded grouse is wonderfully wise in finding 
a hiding place. I prefer hunting grouse without a dog; a 
matter of education, I presume. Asa matter of fact, I 
never owned a hunting dog, Experience teaches me that it 
is better io keep moving and not stop to listen or look, and 
you will get nearer to your game, and also cover more 
ground. : 
Finally, my young friends, be very careful in handling 
your gun, and take no chauces. Drop the hammers before 
climbing a wall or fence, remove the shells before getting 
into a wagon or boat or entering a house, and never draw a 
gun from a wagon or boat muzzle first. It would seem that 
such caution must be unnecessary, but my experience in 
post mortem examinations and amputations, teaches me that 
the last fool is yet to die, or died very recently. 
Be cautious and calm under all citcumstanees, tramp 
through the fields and woods all you can, and my word for 
it, you will thereby live longer, be happier, do more good 
inthe world, and loye mankind the better. M. Dz 
SOUTHERN SHOOTING GROUNDS. 
Hiditor Forest and Stream: 
In regard to quail round Chattanooga, I would suggest 
that Chattanooga itself be the point to which you recom- 
mend your applicant, and have him find Joe Vance, D. J. 
Duffy, J. R. Ryan, ard the Chattanooga Gun Club, which 
is composed of Boyd Ewing, F, I. Stone, Hd. Reed and 
others, who devote a great deal of time to the sport during 
the season, and who are well posted as to the best fields. 
The immediate vicinity of that city is pretty well hunted, 
but an hour or two’s drive over into Dry Valley, or down into 
North Georgia, will bring you into plenty of sport; you can 
return in the eyening and find good comfortable quarters, 
and be ready for another trip the next day. The arrivaland 
departure of trains is very convenient; you can take the 
early morning train to some good point about two hours’ 
run distant, and after seven or eight hours’ shooting, return 
to the city about 8 o’vlock. The vicinity of Charleston, just 
forty miles from Chattanooga, isa glorious place, and is 
visited nearly every season by some Pittsburgh, Pa., gentle- 
men, who are usually very well satisfied. Orin the other 
direction Jasper, about equal distance down in Sequatchie 
Valley, isin the midst of the wheat fields, from which, it 
was reported to me a couple of years ago, while 1, with 
others, was interested in the preservation of the game, that 
a ‘¥ull flour barrel of birds were netted in two days,” and 
that they were hardly missed. 
Or down the line of the A. G. 8. R. R, the birds are very 
plentiful, We were accustomed to go out in the morning to 
Trentun, Cloverdaie, Wild Wood, etc., the stations being 
from five to seyen miles apart We would get off at one 
pate aan our way to another by evening train time, with 
ull bags. 
I was treated last night and the night before fo some good 
music—a pack of hounds trailing a skin through the streets 
of Wilmington, in full cry. We have had rain, the first in 
about six weeks, and to-day 1 met several men with gun and 
dogs going to the fields. Several attempts have been made 
at hunting, but the extreme drowcht made it almost impossi- 
ble for the dogs 1o do anythin&. 
I aim told that woodcock are frequently seen fying through 
