128 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



IMaech 12, 1885 



pasture or a stump had grown up while he was trying to 

 get asleep. Finally he trotted off around tlie hill out of 

 sight, and still our statue kept his position, for he had not. 

 hunted foxes all those years without learning some fox 

 trikcs, and pretty soon he saw the animal come around the 

 hdl and stop for another observation. This seemed to satisfy 

 reynard, and forthwith he started off to fiud another resting- 

 place where he could take his nap in peace. Not till then 

 did our statue besin to move, and knowing the ground thor- 

 oughly, he followed leisurely, After a while he saw him on 

 the top of a small boulder 'in the midst of a bunch of low 

 bushes winch were too thick to shoot through, when he 

 should get near enough; but within gunshot of the fox aud 

 between the fox and hiinself was a rock, gaining the top of 

 which he could shoot over the top of the bushes without ob- 

 struction. This time he took off his boots, and working his 

 way carefully to the iock he climbed to the top of it. and 

 was just raising himself erect to bring his gun to shoulder, 

 when suddenly reynard stood up too; but too late, the gun 

 came to shoulder and Mr. Fox got down the other side, shot 

 through the neck. Essex. 



A. F. Y., of Escanaba, Mich., says: "In the past eight 

 years I have seen not far from a dozen foxes asleep on the 

 bluff back of my house. I saw three at one time. Foxes 

 are very numerous about here. Kabbits were plenty near 

 my house until the past two years. This winter I have not 

 seen a track. " 



SOME REMARKABLE SHOTS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Your column of "remarkable shots" recalls a circumstance 

 under this head which, while not as fatal as some of those 

 mentioned, was the cause probably of as much surprise as 

 the best of them. Two gentlemen while approaching camp 

 on one of the clear Adirondack lakes, noticed a half dozen 

 ducks on the river bel-w. The only possible chance of ob- 

 taining a shot was to land and climb the bluff overhanging 

 the river. This one of the gentlemen did, and as he cau- 

 tiously looked over the edge of the rook he discovered that 

 something had startled the birds, and they were then flying 

 directly past him up the stream. Jumping to his teethe 

 sent one and then another charge among them. He was 

 well armed and a good shot, aud actually expected to bag 

 the whole brood, but in his haste he fell an easy victim to 

 the deception. 



The reader may try to imagine our friend's feelings when 

 he saw his ducks all safe overhead, but he had riddled the 

 imtiges reflected in water below. Fact. 



Mehiden, Conn. 



PHILADELPHIA NOTES. 



VAST flocks of both geese and ducks are now corn-re- 

 galed in the waters of the Chesapeake Bay below 

 Chincoteague Sound,' waiting, it would seem, for the dis- 

 appearance of ice in the shoaler sounds before moving north- 

 ward. The Sinnepuxent is still frozen over, as are also 

 manv other arms of the Chesapeake Bay. 



I have learned from a friend who has just returned from a 

 duck shooting trip not far from Fraukliu City, which is situ- 

 ated, 1 believe, in North Hampton county, Va., that illegal 

 battery-shooting is carried on there without molestation, and 

 what is far worse, firedigbting ducks at night with a big- 

 gun is practiced every night, and he cited an instance of 

 eighty duclcs being killed at one discharge, by a fellow who 

 paddled on the flock with a jack-light in the bow of his boat. 

 Each night while he was there several such shots were made 

 at the fowl while on the feeding grouuds, and the engineer 

 of a locomotive which laid over on the siding at Franklin 

 City offered to loan my friend the headlight of his engine if 

 he would accept it, and try a shot with a big-gun. Is it a 

 wonder that the ducks, when they reach more northern 

 grounds, are wild and shy? 



Many sprigtail ducks are reported down the bay on the 

 Delaware shores, and not a few are being killed and sent to 

 our market; but they are in wretched condition. Since the 

 late pleasant weather has set in, the fowl have worked 

 further up the river; but the marshes still remain frozen 

 tight, so there can be little food found. 



we have never before had so much ice in our rivers, and 

 unt'l yesterda3 r , when one of the Philadelphia ice boats 

 opened a channel north of the city as far as Florence. The 

 Delaware for two weeks has been frozen solid from shore to 

 shore clear up to Trenton, N. J. All this ice will have to be 

 moved and advantage will be taken of it by duck shooters 

 who wili use it as a blind for their skiffs while paddlintr on 

 to the fowl, and it is safe to say we shall have plenty of it in 

 our river for a fortnight to come and the ducks have already 

 commenced to come up the. stream from down the bay. 



No mention has been made to me of the presence of the 

 snow geese below Bombay Hook, although they have doubt- 

 less not arrived yet. They may be confidently expected as 

 soon as the meadows where they feed have become thawed 

 out and the grass begins to shoot up uuder cover of last year's 

 growth. 



Some spring birds have already made their appearance in 

 our rural sections. A day or two since purple gracklcs, 

 robins, and bluebirds showed themselves, and the genial 

 weather of the 3d, 4th and 5th of the month shows that the 

 backbone of the cold season has been broken. Homo. 



March 7. 



Wisconsin Game. — Menomonie, Wis., March 4 — We 

 have had a very severe winter, , the longest season of very 

 cold weather known for years, and it would seem that ail 

 the game in the country would die from the effects of it. 

 Such is, however, not the case. On riding through the 

 country great flocks of grouse will occasionally be seen,' and 

 about as often as ever. Our sportsmen are expecting their 

 usual term of good shooting next fall. Some of the mem- 

 bers of the Menomonie Gun Club are already anticipating 

 the sport in the field next season by geeting their guns ready 

 to open the practice season before "the traps. Our club pre- 

 fers clay-pigeons to all other flying targets. Some of our 

 rifle wing-shots expect to try the clays with a rifle ; of course 

 they will make the conditions proportionately easier than 

 they are in shotgun shooting — Wing Shot. 



Harrisburq, Pa., Feb. 26. — A club was organized in 

 this city on the 34th inst. for the protection of game birds 

 and fishes, called the Eod and Gun Club of Central Penn- 

 sylvania, with Walter L. Powell as President, Dr. John M, 

 Peddiccrd, John B. Nichols and Geo. W. Boyd, Vice-Presi- 

 dents; Albert J. Fager, Secretary; Dr. John Vallerchamp, 

 Treasurer. About fifty gentlemen have joined. The mem- 

 bership will be over 100 before the 1st of April. Much good 

 is expected to result from this organization. — A. J, F, 



That Ctjvier Club Venison.— Denver, Col., March 3.— 

 EaMor Forest and Stream: 1 think it was in your paper of 

 Feb. 19 that I observed a paragraph stating that some dis- 

 tinguished gentleman had shortly before given an extrava- 

 gant game dinner at either St. Louis or Cincinnati— 1 believe 

 at the latter city. This fact in itself was not remarkable, 

 but special emphasis was given to the statement that the 

 great feature of the feast was a saddle of blacktaii, procured 

 in Denver at thirty cents per pound. If this latter was a 

 fact somebody "got stuck/' 1 am sorry to say that black- 

 tail venison has been "hog plenty" and "dirt cheap" in 

 Denver all through the past winter, and I believe abundance 

 of it can be procured yet from game dealers and commission 

 men. I know it was plentiful but a few days ago. Saddles 

 have sold all winter at from six to ten cents a pound; fore- 

 quarters hardly marketable at any price. For instance, the 

 consignor of fourteen laige deer, received here in January, 

 told me one day last week that he had just got returns from 

 the sale of same and the proceeds were $40.50 after paying 

 freight and commission. He said the forequarters were 

 nearly all thrown away ; or at least brought nothing in the 

 account. It is a shame to destroy deer for such returns. — 

 W. N. B. 



Flinching.— In your issue of Feb. 26 I notice on the 

 editorial page an article on "flinching" or gun shyness in 

 sportsmen. Your remedy is no doubt a good one. The fol- 

 lowing simple plan has also been tried with complete suc- 

 cess in several cases to my knowledge. The cure is to sim- 

 ply have your gunlocks taken off and the "tumblers" or 

 "dogs" filed or ground down so that the gun will gooff with 

 a very slight touch of the trigger. Then there will be no 

 "tugging" and shutting the eyes; the gun goes off almost 

 before the shooter knows it. — Red Wing (Glencoe, Fla.). 



Quail in Indiana.— Newport, Ind.— I have made exten 

 sive inquiries, and all the reports confirm the fact that in 

 this part of the State there are but few quail left for next 

 season's sport. The continued cold weather, with the heavy 

 snow that this part of the country has been subjected to this 

 winter, has starved and frozen them by the hundreds, and 

 the majority of those left owe their lives to warm shelter and 

 feed around the farmers' barns and feed lots. The prospects 

 for quail shooting next fall are very poor indeed. — R. E. S. 



Worcester, March 2.— With the end of February came 

 the end of the fox-hunting season. The company of gentle- 

 men in this city who hunt together have found it a hard 

 winter for the sport on account of the cold and the crusts. 

 Their score is as follows: A. B. F. Kcnney and John M. 

 White 10, Leonard Rome 5, John A. Slocum and J. Henry 

 Lark 3 each, Horace Adams 2, N. S. Harrington, A. H. 

 Perry and J. F. Sargent 1 each. — E, 



Behind or in Front oe a Tree?— I notice B. B. Sea- 

 mau in Forest and Stream of Feb. 12, in "A Deer Hunt 

 in Kentucky," says he was told to "keep well behind the 

 tree." I have had a good mauy years' experience with deer 

 (since 1850), and I will take my stand in front of a tree every 

 time. The deer will not notice one if he stands still. In 

 front one has a much better chance to see his game and be 

 ready— A. F. Y. 



Long Island.— A bill proposed by ex- Senator Wagstaff 

 and introduced into tie Senate by Mr. Otes, prohibits kill- 

 ing of partridges, robins, starlings and squirrels in Queens 

 and Suffolk counties from Jan. 1 to Nov. 1; shorebirds, 

 Jan. 1 to July 10, aud rail, Jan. 1 to Sept. 1. 



Michigan Deer Hounding.— Lansing, Mich., March 6. 

 —Both houses of the Legislature have passed a bill forbid- 

 ding hunting deer with hounds. The measure is aimed at a 

 practice that has grown to considerable proportions in this 

 State. 



\m nnd iiiver 



CASTS IN MANY POOLS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I intended long since to answer Mr. Ufford's inquiry in 

 regard to gimping hooks, but an unfortunate accident in- 

 capacitated me from writing for some time, and in the mean- 

 while Mr. Cheney gave him the answer so exactly as I should 

 have dene, that it left nothing more to be said, except to 

 answer another point in regaid to the silk to be used for the 

 purpose. Here I will advice him from my own experience 

 and practice. 1 always use scarlet saddlers' silk. If the gut 

 is well softened by a few r moments' soaking in tepid, not hot. 

 water, you can tie a hook that will never give out, and the 

 bright red of the gimping helps to disguise the hook and 

 cover any deficiencies in the bait, for I suppose it to be for 

 bait-fishing that Mr. Ufford inquires, as very few people 

 attempt to tie their own flies. When I was younger, with 

 keener eyes and more nimble fingers, I always bought my 

 gut and hooks and tied all my own; but of late years I have 

 got lazy and bought ready-tied hooks, and the result has 

 been that I have lost a good many good trout in consequence, 

 by the hook pulling off from the gut, until I have come to 

 the conclusion to go back to my old habit and tie my own 

 hooks again for bait-fishing, which, for many of the heavily- 

 wooded brooks of New England, is the only practicable 

 method. 



Laid up as I have been for two months and unable to 

 write, I have had plenty of time to read, and have been 

 catching up with ajl the back numbers of Forest and 

 Stream, which had been laid aside for me during an absence 

 at the South of about four months last autumn, and have 

 been interested in the various opinions in regard to popular 

 flies, and am inclined to fall in with the majority of the 

 anglers who give preference to the scarlet ibis first, then 

 coachman or royal coachman, professor and Montreal, though 

 for our clear aud shallow waters in many parts of New Eng- 

 land, a black gnat or midge is the best of all on a bright 

 day. The green drake and queen of the waters are also ex- 

 cellent, as well as the brown and red hackles, and a very 

 killing fly for tvtilight is a white hackle with a red body 

 lined wita gold twist. 



I like the plan of the short double loop very much, as 

 when hooks are well tied, the first place to give out is the 

 gut where chafed by the end of the shank of the hook. 



I have just been reading Mr, Van Cleef's letter in this 

 week's number of Forest and Stream, and am inenned to 

 think that there is a good deal of common sense in the theory 

 he advances, as I have noticed the diminution of streams 

 where the main part of the forest about, their sources had 

 been cleared long since; but the greater part of the changes 

 which I see are due to the actual snipping of the woods from 



the heads of the brooks, and the clearing up of the alders 

 along their marains. letting in the full blaze of the sun, and 

 leaviug no place for shelter for the trout. Brooks where I 

 was sure of a good basket when a boy, have not a trout left 

 in them now, and not water enough in the summer to float 

 one. 



Among other amusing anecdotes in your columns have 

 been the "remarkable shots," but I do not remember that I 

 ever had the fortune to do much in that way myself. I think 

 the only time I was ever astonished in that way was on enter- 

 ing a piece of oak woods a dozen or more years since, when 

 I saw a gray squirrel run up an oak tree near at hand and 

 stop for an instant at an open place on the trunk, when I 

 sent him a message from my right barrel. He did not come 

 down, however, but went up and disappeared behind a thick 

 clump of leaves, appearing, as I supposed, in the next min- 

 ute above them. 



I fired the left barrel and dowu came Mr. Squirrel, and I 

 went to the foot of the tree to pick him up, when, as I 

 stooped over to do so, down came another dead squirrel, 

 striking me fairly between the shoulders, and announcing to 

 me that 1 had made an-unexpected "double." 



Still another point which has interested me has been the 

 discussion on "dowels" on rod joints, and here, as a practi- 

 cal mechanic, I desire to indorse Mr. Wells in toto, that 

 dowels are delusions and a weakness. I have an old bam- 

 boo rod (of the old style, five joiuts of four feet each) made 

 by my order twenty -five years since, without them, which is 

 in perfect order yet, while I broke the lower joint of a new 

 split bamboo rod in trying to release my hook from a sunken 

 log, where a black bass had maliciously left it, without 

 apparently putting much strain on the rod, and I found it to 

 have given way in the dowel hole at the lower er.d of the 

 ferrule. With proper ferrules the dowels do more harm 

 than good. 



Let me join "Jay" in his thanks to "Wawayanda" for 

 "Camp Flotsam." That and last winter's account of the 

 "Cruise of the Kingfishers" ought to be republished in For- 

 est and Stream's library, and^ when it is finished, which I 

 hope will not be soon, "Uncle Lisha's Shop" should form 

 another volume. I have known them all in my boyhood- 

 Uncle Lisha, Solon, Pelatiah and Samwili, though my Uncle 

 Lisha was a blacksmith instead of a shoemaker. 



The "Kanuck," Antoine, I have got acquainted with since, 

 for he had not crossed the border much forty years ago 

 But whoever the author of "Uncle Lisha" rnay be, he under- 

 stands the "lingo" of the French Canadian, trying to talk 

 English, to a hair. I shall watch for the return of that 

 pickerel-catching and musk rat-spearing party with anxiety. 

 Von W. 



VAGARIES OF FISH NOMENCLATURE. 



NOW that the vagaries of fly nomenclature have received 

 some attention from the contributors to your columns, 

 I trust that another and perhaps greater evil will have a hear- 

 ing by representation. Whether or no it is a greater evil, it 

 is not so difficult to overcome, and the remedy lies in the rod 

 hand of the contributors themselves, I refer to the use of 

 local common names when writing of various fishes, as well 

 as the use of manifestly improper names. I am aware that 

 it is asking much of an angler to pronounce the scientific 

 names of all fishes, but there are some few scientilic names 

 attached to our game fishes that it would not be too fatiguing 

 to write, if the contributor should feel that his meaning 

 would not otherwise be clear to his readers. I may be more 

 stupid than the average angler, but I must confess that it was 

 not entirely clear to my mind that "black spots" meant land 

 locked salmon, and "red spots" meant brook trout, until 

 Fish Commissioner Stilwell assured me that such was a tact 

 — in Maine. I presume there could be not the slightest ob- 

 JHction to the us-e of "black spot" and "red spot" in a com- 

 munication to a Maine newspaper, but the Forest and 

 Stream is not confined in its circulation to one State, nor to 

 the United States. 



An English friend once wrote asking what fish was meant 

 that a contributor to your journal called "lunge." I wrote 

 him that it referrf d to our lake trout, S. neimayeush; but if 

 he should happen to read another letter in a Western paper 

 that 1 saw recently, he would think that I did not know 

 much about the names of our fishes. The writer of the arti- 

 cle speaks of a certain monster "lunge" that proves, just be- 

 fore the curtain drops, to be a mascalonge, or to adopt his 

 spelling, niuskalunge. Years ago I made a mental memor- 

 anda of the fact that "lunge" and "togue" meant, in certaiu 

 New England States, lake' trout; but now that "lunge" has 

 slipped from my grasp, I shall not be surprised if "togue" 

 turns out to he a weaktidi. 



A writer, in describing his catch, speaks of "a splendid 

 specimen of the square-tailed trout," and later gives it the 

 scientific name of S. immuycush. If "square-tailed trout" 

 means any of the trout family it means the S. fominalis, and 

 by that name I know it well. Another writer was undecided 

 what kind of fish had taken his bait uutil "in one of his 

 rushes his broad forked tail was ihrown above the surface of 

 the water, proclaiming him a brook trout." Still another 

 writer, in quite a long article, gives a very interesting 

 account of some salmon fishing that he had in some waters 

 that I know, and also know that they do not now, and never 

 did, contain salmon. I knew at once that he meant salmon 

 trout, but I will warrant that many of his readers were not 

 as wise, for not once did he mention the fish by any other 

 name than salmon. Had he suffixed the word trout to his 

 salmon his meaning would have been clear, but still he would 

 have been out of line, for Prof. Jordan says S. namayeush 

 is simply lake trout, as the title salmon trout belongs by 

 priority uf claim to an English fish. 



A few years ago while spending the summer at a well- 

 known resort, 1 discovered one day at dinner that there was 

 salmon on the bill of fare, but before ordering I sent the 

 waiter to get the pedigree of the fish'and such incidents of 

 its journey across the border as the steward might furnish, as 

 I did not wish to have a tourist or the canned article rung 

 in on me. The waiter returned with a smile and the intel- 

 ligence that "You need not be afraid of this salmon for it is 

 some you caught yourself this morning." I had been fish- 

 ing that morning with Monroe Greece, and we had caught 

 some lake trout, and they were the nearest like salmon of any 

 fish in the lake, but what a gulf there is between the royal 

 Salmo seilar and the S. namayeush. 



The following story, which has the merit of absolute 

 truth, illustrates an extreme case of the abuse of fish names: 

 Within a few miles of this place stands a road house, which, 

 before its glory departed, was presided over by Unclu 

 George, as he was familiarly known, who made glad the 

 hearts and digestive organs of his guests by little suppers of 

 fish and game. One evening I drove out to the place with 

 a few friends, to partake of Uncle George's hospitality, and 



