Forest and Stream 



A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 



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NEW YORK, APRIL 23, 1885. 



VOL. XXIV.— No. 13. 

 9 & 40 Park Row, New York. 



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CONTENTS. 



Editorial. 



Colorado Game Laws. 



A Change Needed. 



The New Trout Law. 



A Shad War. 



Through Two-Ocean Pass.— xiv. 

 The Sportsman Tourist. 



The Bucktail in Florida.— in. 



Campiug Life. 

 Natural History. 



Winter and Spring Birds at St. 

 Louis, Mo. 



Habits of the Prairie Dog. 

 Game Bag and Gun. 



Minnesota Duck Shooting. 



Battery-Shooting. 



On Duck Netting. 



Crusters at Work. 



An Unaccountable. 



Protection in Montana. 



Reynard's Ways. 



Maine Legislation. 

 Sea and River Fishing. 



Mr. Wood's Tarpon. 



A New Fishing Club. 



Fly Nomenclature. 



The Most Killing Fly. 



The New Trout Law. 



Leasing Trout Streams. 

 Fishoulturb. 



The Canadian Muddle. 



The Minnesota Commission. 



The Kennel. 



The Proper Size of Beagles. 



English and Native Foxhounds. 



The Scotch Collie. 



He Protests. 



The Pittsburgh Piece of Paper. 



The Philadelphia Dog Snow. 



The New York Dog Show. 



The St. Louis Dog Show. 



Kennel Notes. 



Kennel Management. 

 Rifle and Trap Shooting. 



Range and Gallery. 



The Trap. 



The National Gun Association. 

 Canoeing. 



A Canoe Trip on the Brule. 



Port and Starboard Tacks at 

 Turning Buoys. 



Rudder Gear for Boats and 

 Canoes. 



An English Canoe Association. 

 Yachting. 



Log of the Minetta. 



A Folding Dingey. 



MaGhine for Cleaning Vessels' 

 Bottoms. 



Small Cruising Steam Yachts . 



Interior Fittings in Small Yachts 



Wooden or Iron Mast Hoops. 



Winter Cruises. 

 Answers to Correspondents. 



A CHANGE NEEDED. 



WE urge the prompt removal from office of the Superin- 

 tendent of the Yellowstone National Park, for the 

 reasons given in our issue of April 9. 



These are: (1) that he has neglected his duty as Super- 

 intendent, and has devoted his time to working in the in- 

 terest of the Improvement Company ; (2) that during the past 

 ■winter he has made it impossible for the Assistant Superin- 

 tendents to do their duty, and (3) that he has, under the 

 impression that the amended Vest bill was about to become 

 a law, laid claim to a portion of the reservation, and so has 

 enrolled himself among the number of the land-grabbers who 

 have endeavored to wrest from the people a portion of their 

 pleasure ground. 



A man who, while occupying the position of guardian of 

 the people's interests, lends his aid to those who are striving 

 with all their might to seize for themselves the public 

 domain, has manifestly extremely vague and misty ideas as 

 to what is required of him by his office. He should be re- 

 placed without delay by some one whose comprehension of 

 the duties of the Superintendent are more intelligent. 



The claims which Superintendent Carpenter filed on 

 portions of the National Park, will, no doubt, be found in 

 the Land Office at Bozeman, Montana. At all events it is 

 here that they were filed. Nine names were on the claim 

 on the supposed coal lands on Mt. Evarts, the land being 

 taken up in partnership. As to the claim on the water 

 right, it is alleged that it was at first made in the names of 

 four men, only one of whom, a Mr. Hoppe, was on the 

 ground at the time, and that afterward he changed it so 

 that three of the names, Armstrong, Hobart and Carpenter, 

 were stricke'n off, and that of Hoppe alone appeared. The 

 claim notices were torn down after the fourth of March, but 

 the records at Bozeman should tell the story, and from these 

 Secretary Lamar can obtain the whole history of these claims, 

 and the men who were interested in them. 



The facts in thjs c^se are very clear; and we have no doubt 



that the matter will receive attention before very long. 

 There will probably be no difficulty in finding plenty of 

 people who are willing to take Carpenter's place, but to se- 

 cure for the position a man who is honest and competent, 

 may be very difficult. The appointment is such an import- 

 ant one, that we are extremely anxious to see it held by a fit 

 person. Almost any one will be better, however, than the 

 present. 



COLORADO GAME LAWS. 



EXCEPT for the Virginia deer and an occasional bear, no 

 large game is now to be found in the United States 

 east of the Rocky Mountains. A dozen years ago, one who 

 went so far West could kill all the species of West ern game 

 in a summer's hunt; now the man is fortunate who can kill 

 enough to keep the camp in meat. Slowly the idea is work- 

 ing its way into the heads of the Western people that the 

 game must be protected. We of the East did not learn this 

 lesson until the large game had all been destroyed, and even 

 now those of us who thoroughly comprehend it are few in 

 number. 



The people of the West are quicker of apprehension than 

 we are. They have seen the necessity of enacting laws for 

 the preservation of the game. It is to be hoped that they 

 will be more energetic in the execution of these laws than 

 we have been, and will provide means to enforce them 

 before it is too late. With the laws of several of the Western 

 States and Territories little fault can be found, but laws 

 alone can accomplish nothing. 



We have noted with great satisfaction the excellent provi- 

 sions of the acts passed by the Legislature of Colorado during 

 its last session. The sections which shorten the open season 

 on all large game, and which absolutely prohibit the killing 

 of mountain sheep for a period of ten years, will receive the 

 hearty approval of the better class of sportsmen all over the 

 country. Such restrictive measures are called for more and 

 more each year by the alarmingly rapid diminution of our 

 game. 



It is to be regretted that the killing of buffalo is not for- 

 bidden in this law. Practically there are no buffalo in 

 Colorado, and yet it is possible that somewhere, hidden 

 away in the rough mountain fastnesses of its western portion, 

 there may be a few individuals of this species, which, by 

 rigid protection, might so increase in numbers as to form a 

 little herd, which in the years to come could show the 

 children of that day, the game which their fathers used to 

 pursue in the olden time, before the railroad had brought 

 destruction to the shaggy black herds whose tramp once 

 shook the prairies from the Arctic slope to the land of the 

 Montezumas. 



Colorado is to be congratulated on its good laws. Now 

 let it model its method of enforcement on that of the State 

 of Maine, secure one or more fish and game commissioners 

 who are thoroughly devoted to their work, a corps of 

 mounted wardens or police, who can be trusted, and by 

 energetic action at length put an end to the wholesale 

 slaughter of large game, which has for years taken place 

 within its borders. It may cost a little money, but this will 

 all be returned in the increased travel which an abundance 

 of game would bring in, and the capital expended for game 

 protection would prove a good investment to the inhabitants 

 of the State. In Maine this has been the case, and similar 

 results will be attained in any other State that has brains 

 and foresight enough to follow out the example set by the 

 Pine Tree State. 



THE NEW TROUT LAW. 



ANEW law has been suddenly sprung upon the anglers 

 of the State of New York, which closes the season 

 after it has been legally opened. We give the law in full 

 in another column, and commend a careful reading of sec- 

 tion nineteen. 



For years the law of the State has allowed trout fishing on 

 April 1, and the season was so opened this year, but about 

 the 13th of April a law was passed which "takes effect 

 immediately," that suddenly closes the season until May 1, 

 in all the State except the counties of Suffolk and Queens, 

 which comprise nearly the whole of Long Island. The bill 

 is known as the Owens bill, and is in many respects unjust 

 and faulty. 



It is unjust in closing the season after it has been legally 

 opened, thereby rendering an innocent and law-abiding angler 

 who went forth, believing that it was lawful for him to take 

 trout, liable to arrest and punishment on his return. It would 

 not be possible to get a jury to convict a man under these 

 circumstances, but as the law went into immediate effect he 



would have unknowingly violated it. The law is unjust in 

 exempting two counties of the State. These are mainly 

 fished by residents of New York city, who may go there 

 and fish, but may not have the fish lawfully in their posses- 

 sion in their homes. We do not think there would be any 

 objection to making the first, of May the legal opening of the 

 trout season throughout the State, without exception of any 

 locality, if done at a time when due notice could be given to 

 anglers, so that all would be able to conform to it. 



The law is faulty in its definition of "private waters," 

 see section 18, because this phrase is not made to include 

 streams which, while flowing through an owner's land, do 

 not rise on it. The fact is, that an unnavigable stream is 

 private water from where it enters a man's land to where it 

 leaves it, no matter how far below the source it may be, 

 and the owner may post it and forbid any person from fish- 

 ing in it. 



By exempting the two counties named, the door is opened 

 to send fish from the interior of the State into those coun- 

 ties in April, by persons who are ever on the alert to turn 

 a dishonest penny by violating the law, and the only bene- 

 fit of the exemption accrues to such persons. 



The good points of the enactment are the prevention of 

 trout fishing through the ice at any time, and the forbidding 

 of taking or selling trout under six inches in length. No 

 doubt Mr. Blackford will feel relieved at the change of date, 

 as he will make no more expensive "trout openings" in the 

 market, but his gain is the loss of an annual ichthyological 

 treat to the angler, who Received all the benefit from the 

 displays. 



Taking the bill as a whole, it contains many objectionable 

 features. In fact they almost overshadow the few desirable 

 ones, and therefore we consider it, to say the least, very ill- 

 timed. The clause forbidding State officers to stock Adir- 

 ondack waters with predatory fish is very good, but as these 

 officers have already placed black bass in some of the lakes, 

 from which the fish will naturally extend to many others, 

 this clause seems to be useless, as the offense has been so 

 loudly protested against in our columns, that there is no fear 

 of its being repeated. 



A Fortunate Appointment. — Our New York readers 

 will learn with great satisfaction that Mr. J. A. Allen has 

 recently accepted the position of Curator of Birds and Mam- 

 mals in the Museum of Natural History at the Central Park 

 in this city. This is an event upon which New York 

 city is to be cordially congratulated. For twenty years 

 past Mr. Allen has had charge of the mammals and birds in 

 the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, where 

 for fifteen years he has held the position of assistant in orni- 

 thology. He is known as one of the first of American orni- 

 thologists, is President of the American Ornithologists' 

 Union, and is the author of many important works on orni- 

 thology. Although Mr. Allen for a long time devoted him- 

 self chiefly to the study of birds, it may truly be said that 

 his contributions to our knowledge of some groups of mam- 

 mals are still more important. His monograph of the 

 "American Bison" is a grand work well performed, which 

 will be a lasting monument to his fame. The more recent 

 monograph of the "Pinnipedia," as well as his contribution 

 to the joint monograph of the "North American Rodentia," 

 by Dr. Coues and himself, are both of very great value. 

 The excellent collections in the Museum at Central Park 

 ought to be under the charge of a man of Mr. Allen's attain- 

 ments and experience, and all who are interested in this in- 

 stitution will rejoice that he has been induced to accept the 

 position. 



New York Game Legislation.— The bill forbidding the 

 use of dogs in hunting deer has been ordered to a third read- 

 ing in the Senate, but has not yet been reached. Mr. C. K. 

 Baker's Assembly bill for the protection of fish in some of 

 the fresh waters of Northern New York (Assembly 501) has 

 passed the lower house and now goes to the Senate. 



Dp, C. H. Mekriam has returned from Europe, where for 

 nearly three months he has been working in the English, 

 German and Dutch museums. His labors have been chiefly 

 on the Pinnipeds. 



The Dog Show Season is now in full blast, and until early 

 June reports of shows will follow one another in quick 

 succession. 



Write on One Side of the paper only. Never roll 

 your manuscript, always fold it. 



