Forest and Stream. 



A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 



Terms, $4 a Year. 10 Cts. a Copy. 1 

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NEW YORK, AUGUST 13, 188B. 



J VOL. XXV.-No. 3. 



( Nos. 89 & 40 Park Row, Kew York.. 



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CONTENTS. 



Editorial. 



The Trajectory Test. 



The St. Louis Convention. 



Tne Canoe Association. 



Possession in Close Season. 

 The Sportsman Tourist 



Sport in the Sierras.— rv. 

 Natural Historv. 



Water Birds of Nova Scotia. 



Male and Female Grouse. 



The Pileated Woodpecker. 

 Game Bag and Gun. 



Days With the Quail. 



Himting the Mountain Goat. 



Some Remarkable Stiots. 



Still-Hunting the Grizzly. 



A Night with a Mountain Lion. 



The St. Louis Convention. 

 Sea AND River. Fishing. 



Possession in Close Season. 



Okoboji Lake. 



Doweled versus Simple Ferrules 

 Four "Boys" on a Frolic. 



FiSHCULTURE. 



The Shad. 



[ FiSHCDLTURE. 



The Oyster Beds of New York. 

 The Kennel. 



Do We Want a New Standard? 



The Laveracb ILonumeDt, 



The Irish Wolfhound. 



Kennel Management. 



Kennel Notes. 

 Rifle and Trap Shooting. 



The "Forest and Stream" Rifle 

 Trial. 



Range and Gallery. 



The Trap. 



How to Award the Prizes. 

 Canoeing. 

 The Association Meet— Regatta 

 Week. 



■•Canoe «nd Camp Cookery." 

 Yachting. 

 A Premature Explosion. 

 The Lake Y. R. A. Round. 

 Hull Y. C. Regatta. 

 Galatea. 



New York Y. C. Cruise. 

 Answers to Correspondents. 



IRE ST. LOUIS CONVENTION. 



THE original call for the St. Louis convention, to be held 

 Sept. 29, has been so modified as to include the 

 sportsmen of the entire country, with all fish commissioners 

 and the game dealers of the large cities. The promoters of 

 the meeting express their anticipation of a very large gather- 

 ing and of important results to follow. 



The invitation is a very broad one. Some may consider it 

 to he entirely too broad. The tendency of movements of 

 this sort, when once they have set out to become "national," 

 is to hecome at the same time unwieldy. Because of their 

 size and the conflicting interests represented, such a meeting 

 is very apt to result in nothing more tban talk and resolu- 

 tions. This is all the more possible on such an occasion as 

 that of the St. Louis convention, because there the interests 

 which will be given a hearing are in decided opposition. 

 The members of the game protective clubs in our large cities 

 who have for years noted the attitude of the game 

 dealers toward the game laws will be apt to view with 

 extreme suspicion the presence and participation of these 

 dealers in a convention called for the purpose of modifying 

 the laws regulating the sale of game. The sportsmen who 

 have seen their covers depleted by the pot-hunters to supply 

 the markets will naturally question whether any real advance 

 in our protective system is likely to follow the St. Louis 

 convention if the dealers are to have a hand in it. It is 

 announced that New York game dealers and other Eastern 

 dealers will be present. The sportsmen of the West ought 

 to know tliat if these men are represented there they will be 

 on hand for only one thing, which will be the modification 

 of existing laws in such a way that more game may be 

 shipped to the East. There is no conceivahle reason why 

 they should attend for any other purpose. They are sharp^ 

 shrewd business men, and if they go to St. Louis they will 

 go there for business. 



Some years ago, when the attempt was made to blind the 

 sportsmen of New York State by a coalition of sportsmen 

 and dealers, and under cover of a pretended sportsmen's 

 association to foist on the people of this country the notorious 

 refrigerator amendment, it was stated to the writer by one of 

 the most active promotors of that scheme, that he was pro- 

 posing, at the suggestion of certain St. Louis dealers, to foi-m 

 a national association of sportsmen and dealers for securing 

 better game legislation. The refrigerator amendment was a 

 sample of the kind of legislation they wanted. If the dealers 



are now going to the St. Louis convention as a step toward 

 securing next winter what they lost when the refrigerator 

 amendment was killed, they will bear very close watching. 



THB CANOE ASSOCIATION. 

 /"pHE meet of 1885 did not differ greatly from that of last 

 J- year on the same ground, the number present being 

 rather smaller, while the race programme was the best yet 

 offered. It has been claimed that the smaller attendance 

 was partly due to the camp being in the same place as last 

 year; but there arc other causes that have had much more 

 influence on the attendance. There are manj'^ who cannot 

 afford time or money to visit camp every year, and who last 

 season made a special effort to visit the Thousand Islands 

 and the Canoe Meet at one time. In at least two cases clubs 

 which were well represented last year, have this season been 

 under extra expenses for houses at home, and have been 

 poorly represented, and the general condition of business 

 has had an unfavorable effect on summer travel of all kinds 

 in the St. Lawrence region. To make up for the smaller 

 number there were many new faces, representatives of new 

 clubs and localities, who go back resolved to extend the 

 Association at home. 



This meet will be remembered by the fact that for the first 

 time measures have been taken to divide, to a certain extent- 

 the Association and to provide other meets in distant locali- 

 ties. This scheme has been talked of for some time and now 

 has been put into practice. The question of the place for 

 meeting next year will soon have to be decided, and is per- 

 haps the most important one before the Association. Many 

 wish to return to Grindstone for acother year, while others 

 desire a new place. There is yet time before the Executive 

 Committee meet for a full discussion of the question and for 

 the suggestion of other sites, and as it is a matter that con- 

 cerns all canoeists, we hope lo hear from them on both sides 

 of the question, as a thorough discussion of the question in 

 the columns of Forest and Stream will bring forth the 

 views of all more effectually than any other method. 



THE TRAJECTORY TESTS. 

 'I'^HE hearty responses of approval, which have come in 

 since our announcement of last week that a careful 

 test of hunting rifles would be made by us, show that there 

 is a general demand for just such a trial. The suggestions 

 which come in are many, and from time to time we shall 

 print such as may be offered by others. 



The idea is simply to make a series of tests over a carefully 

 surveyed range, with every item as to the weapon and the 

 conditions under which it is shot most carefully noted. We 

 do this to furnish data from which any and all riflemen may 

 draw their own conclusions. 



The details of much of the work to be done have not as 

 yet been formulated into any set of rules. The programme 

 will, however, be made as broad and liberal as possible, and 

 every point in connection with the tests will be open to the 

 fullest investigation and scrutiny. Rifles of to-day, those 

 which are in the market, in the hands of hunters and most 

 likely to be there, are the arms which we more particularly 

 wish to test, We know of no such set of trajectory trials 

 made in recent years which is of any but the most remote 

 interest at this day. 



When we mentioned 300 yards as the distance over which 

 the tests would be made, it was with the idea that this was 

 to be the maximum range; but the surveys and measure- 

 ments of the range will be such as to make the tests at the 

 lower ranges a matter of the greatest ease. 



Can.^da Sunday Pishing.— Sir Roderick Cameron and 

 his friend Judge Henry, who have been in trouble for Sun- 

 day salmon angling, plead that the statute forbidding fishing 

 on that day relates only to netting. It is a pretty poor plea. 

 What is good law for the netter is good law for the angler ; 

 and because the netter looks upon the law as enacted largely 

 for the angler's benefit alone, the angler should show himself 

 hearty in observing it to the letter. If the fly-fisherman 

 cannot forego his sport for one day in the week, how can he 

 reasonably expect the man whose livelihood depends on 

 netting, to take up his nets for Sunday? More than this, the 

 streams ought to have one day of absolute rest from both 

 anglers and net ters. 



The Old Way.— The other day we came across a little 

 manual for travelers, giving with careful detail all the routes 

 of travel by "stage lines, canals and packets" between the 

 prominent American towns. It was not so very old, bearing 

 a date in the present century, but it had the flavor of a 

 thousand years of antiquity. 



POSSESSION IN CLOSE SEASON. 



TN our angling columns will be found an opinion recently 

 rendered by Judge Turner, of Washington Territory, in 

 a case where a dealer had been arrested for having in his 

 possession in the close season some trout which were alleged 

 to have been brought into the Territory from Idaho. 



This decision invites careful consideration for several rea- 

 cions. It is manifestly that of a judge in sympathy with, 

 and desirous of giving full effect to, legislation designed to 

 protect fish and game. It is a thoughtful determination of 

 the issues presented, and, whether right or wrong, is arrived 

 at after contemplation of high authorities bearing upon the 

 questions raised. 



A clearer understanding of its import can be had on read- 

 ing the following portions of the statute which it construes: 



§ 7. Every person who shall, within the Territory of Washington, 

 during the months of November. December, January, February and 

 March of any year, catch, kill or have in possession, sell or offer for 

 sale, any mountain or brook trout, etc., shall be guilty of a mis- 

 demeanor, 



§ 10, Every person who shall, within the Territory of Washington, 

 have any male deer, * * * brook trout, etc,, at any time when it 

 is unlawful to take or kill the same, as provided in this act, shall be 

 guilty of a misdemeanor, and proof of possession of any of the 

 aforesaid animals, fowls, birds or flsh, at a time when it is unlawful 

 to take or kill the same in the county where the same is found, shaU 

 be prima /flcte evidence in any prosecution for a violation of any 

 provision of this act that the person or persons in whose possession 

 the same is found, took, killed or destroyed the same in the county 

 wherein the same is found during the period when it was unlawful to 

 take, kill or destroy the same. 



The penalty prescribed for a violation of this act (§ 13) is "a 

 fine of not less than |10 and not more than $300, or imprison- 

 ment in the county jail of the county wherein the offense 

 was committed for not less than five days nor more tban 

 three months, or both such imprisonment and fine." 



Judge Turner decides, first, that this act does not forbid 

 the possession, within the State during the close season, of 

 game lawfully taken in another State; and, second, he states 

 that if the statute did forbid such possession it would be in 

 violation of the Federal Constitution, which provides that 

 Congress shall have power to regulate commerce among the 

 several States. The latter point, although a mere dictum, is 

 the more important for the double reason that the decision 

 suggests very strongly that, had the judge not concluded 

 that a statute, which made the possession within the State 

 of game lawfully taken without the State an offense, would 

 be unconstitutional, he would have construed the statute 

 differently ; and that this interpretation of the United States 

 Constitution by a Federal judge is likely to have a large 

 influence upon the courts of other States in passing upon 

 similar statutes. 



In determining upon the weight to be given to this obiter 

 decision of a single judge in disposing of a habeas corpus pro- 

 ceeding, it is well to bear in mind that the New York Court 

 of Appeals, an appellate court consisting of seven judges, and 

 second to none in this country except the United States 

 Supreme Court, has given a contraiy decision in a case which 

 fairly raised the same questions, under a statute quite simi- 

 lar to that of Washington Territory. The language of the 

 late Chief -Justice Church, who wrote the opinion, is: "It is 

 unnecessary to consider how far the exei'cise of the power of 

 Congress under this provision would interfere, with the 

 authority of the States to pass game laws, and regulate and 

 prohibit the sale and possession of game either as a sanitary 

 measure or for its protection as an article of food. It will 

 suffice for this case that the statute does not conflict with any 

 law which Congress has passed on the subject. States can- 

 not pass laws in respect to subjects expressly prohibited by 

 the Constitution, nor when the power is conferred upon Con- 

 gress and its exercise by the States conflicts with the policy 

 or functions of the Government; but there are many powers 

 conferred upon Congress which, until exercised by it, are re- 

 garded as dormant and may be exercised by the States 

 within their limits, among which is the power to regulate 

 commerce. * * * It. is quite evident, within these prin- 

 ciples, which have been repeatedly reiteraied by the Supreme 

 Court of the United States, that the act in question does not 

 violate the Constitution of the United States nor any law of 

 Congress." PMps v. Racey, 60 N. Y. 10, 



The same question came before the Supreme Court of Illi- 

 nois, and in an unanimous decision indorsing and following 

 that of the New York Court of Appeals, it was held that 

 such prohibition of the possession and sale of game was not 

 a restriction of inter-State commerce; but that the law re- 

 lated only to internal commerce of the State in the article of 

 game, that it acted altogether upon the retail or domestic 

 traffic within the State, and that the State was not bound to 



