Dec. 34. 1885,J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



429 



the buck had lasted not less than twenty minutes, and during 

 that time he did not show the slightest sign of wealieuing or 

 giving up. Mr. Ellis and Mr. Fox led the deer home, each 

 holding an end of the rope and preventing the buck from 

 attacking either, although he made several attempts to do 

 so, and came near throwing them to the ground on several 

 occasions. The buck was tied up to a post and his antlers 

 sawn off. 



The deer were sold to a gentleman in Philadelphia and I 

 never saw them again. During my struggle with the buck 

 1 received no assistance until after the rope was attached to 

 his antlers, except the moral .support of those present, who 

 Urged me to try to hold him a few minutes longer. The 

 t)uck's tactics was to get in all the work possible with his 

 antlers, and strike vicious and cutting blows with his feet, 

 the front ones being used with great facility and power. I 

 would advise any one who contemplates a fight with a full- 

 grown autlered buck, single-handed and without weapons, 

 to first estimate the strength and staying powers of his 

 adversary, quadruple that, and then ask himself seriously 

 whether or not he has any business to take the contract. 



E. A. L, 



NoRRiSTOWN, Pa., Dec. 15. 



Address aU communications to the Forest and Stream Publish- 

 ing Co. 



THE A. O. U. CHECK LIST. 



THE report of the Committee of the American Ornitholo- 

 gists' Union, appointed to consider the subject of the 

 classification and nomenclature ot North American birds, is 

 in press, and is soon to be issued. " In many respects, it will 

 be a surprise to those interested in birds, who have not kept 

 up with the progress of recent events in ornithology and its 

 change of order, beginning with the lowest forms of bird 

 life and ending with the highest, will seem at first sight 

 strange, though all must acknowledge that is is the natural 

 order to follow. The report consists of two parts, of which 

 Part I. is the new code of nomenclature recently adopted by 

 the Union. This is an elaborate exposition of the rules of 

 nomenclature by which the Committee was guided in decid- 

 ing the names of North American birds as given in X\e 

 accompanying check list. Part IL is a classified list of 

 North American birds, giving the names of the higher 

 groups, as well as of the species and subspecies, from sub- 

 genera to orders. The names of the genera and subgenera 

 are accompanied by references to the work or paper in 

 -which they were first established; the names of the species 

 and sub.<*pecies are followed by a citation of the publication 

 where they were first described, and of the authority (when 

 not also the original describer) who first used the name as 

 adopted in the list. A concordance is given of the previous 

 check ILsts, asBaird's (1858), Coues' (1872), Ridgway's (1880), 

 and Coues' second list (1882); to which is added a brief 

 statement of the geographical distribution of each species 

 and subspecies, with special reference to its North American 

 range. The list, besides being the "latest," affd an author- 

 ized "standard" list, embraces two features not found in any 

 previous list of North American birds, inasmuch as it gives 

 the classification and habitat of each bird included. The 

 code and list is the result of the expenditure of much time 

 and research on the part of the committee aurmg the last 

 two years. In many respects the list will doubtless piv. pe 

 more satisfactory, and in some ways of far greater utility, 

 than either of its several excellent predecessors. The work, 

 making an octavo volume of about 300 pages, is printed on 

 fine paper, and no care has been spared to make it typo- 

 graphically attractive and accurate. Price, in full cloth, 

 $3, postpaid. 



Akctic Owl in MiCHiaAN.— One morning last week a 

 man, living about two miles from this village, was going 

 before daylight to the house of a neighbor, when his atten- 

 tion was attracted by the movements of a creature of some 

 sort moving away from the barn toward the forest and drag- 

 gmg some object through the snow. He thought it was a 

 dog, and investigated, when to his surprise it proved to be 

 a large bird. Procuring a gun from the house he went back, 

 and the bird attempted flight, but was so loaded with the 

 loose snow that it did not succeed. It then faced the man 

 who fired and killed it. It proved a fine specimen of the 

 Arctic owl, more than five feet from tip to tip. It liad 

 caught a tame duck at the barn' and partially devoured its 

 prize, and would probably have finished its meal had it not 

 been interrupted as above stated. I have never seen one of 

 tbese birds hereabout, and old woodsmen who have spent 

 some years in the neighborhood say the same.— Kelpie 

 (Central Lake, Mich., Dec. 15). 



§^n* 



Address all communications to the Forest and Stream Publish- 

 ing Co. 



"Forest and Stream" Trajectory Test. 



(Contintiedfrom'paffe 407.) 

 Marlin .38. 

 The Marlin .88 55-355 was tried at both distances of the 

 test, and with very uniform results. The weapon weighed 

 complete 9 pounds H ounces, and had a 38-inch octagonal 

 barrel, weighing 4 pounds 8 ounces. The shop mark was 

 10,909. The rifling was uniform, with a twist of one turn 

 in 20 inches. The six grooves have each a depth of .003 and 

 a width of .138 inch. The loading was with ammunition 

 coming from the U. M. C. factory, and when opened the 



powder was found to be pressed quite hard, but in fair con- 

 dition otherwise. The bullets had four grooves. The three 

 powder charges weighed each 52 grains exactly, and the 

 three bullets ran 254 8, 354 5 and 254. 5 grains. 



The 200-yard test was made on Sept. 30, and when the 

 rifle was placed in the rest at 2:20 o'clock in the afternoon 

 the wind was going down the range from the 6 o'clock quar- 

 ter at 12 miles per hour. The barometer stood 30.02 inches, 

 the dry thermometer 79.4° and the wet-bulb thermometer 

 68°, indicating a dew point of 60.6 and a humidity in the 

 atmosphere of 53 per cent. Under these conditions the 200- 

 yard record stood 



Bullard .38. 



This weapon came with the line of rifles from the Bullard 

 works, and gave much trouble in the testing, owing to the 

 obstinacy of the carrier block. It had a half octagon 26- 

 inch barrel and was marked No. 1675. The entire rifle weighed 



8 pounds and the barrel was marked as having 3 pounds of 

 metal in it. There were five grooves with a uniform twist of 

 one turn in 22 inches, the grooves being each . 005 inch in depth 

 and .140 inch in width. The loading was with a .88-45-190 

 cartridge of U. M. C. make. "When opened three charges 

 from the lot in use showed the powder in fine condition and 

 weighed 45.7, 44,6 and 45,4 grains in the three charges. 

 The bullets with double groove weighed respectively 188.6, 

 188.4 and 188.5 grains. The 200-yard firing of the weapon 

 took place on Sept. 39, with the wind blowing from the 6 

 o'clock quarter at 7 miles per hour. The other weather 

 conditions stood: Barometer, 30.301; dry thermometer, 

 77.2°;' wet bulb thermometer, 69.8°, giving the dew point 

 65.4 and the humidity 77.2 per cent. Under trial the wea- 

 pon made the following record: 



Round. 

 1... 



50 Yards. 

 . 8.414 in. 



2 8.473 in. 



8 8.300 in. 



4 7.978 in. 



5 8.117 in. 



100 Yards. 

 11.814 in. 

 11.989 in. 

 11.688 in. 

 11.216 in. 

 11.43.5 in. 



150 Yards. 

 9.118 in. 

 9.191 in. 

 9.018 in. 

 8.719 in. 

 8.769 in. 



Round. 50 Yards, 



1 8.977 in. 



8 9.10.5 in. 



4 8.972 in. 



5 8.961m. 



8 8.756 in. 



100 Yards. 



12.673 in. 

 13.814 in. 

 13.710 in. 

 13.790 in. 

 12.470 in. 



150 Y^ards. 

 9.840 in. 

 9.870 in. 

 9.834 in. 

 9.938 in. 

 9.733 in. 



Pbotection op_ Nokth Amebic an Bibds.— The com- 

 miitee of the American Ornithologists' Union, appointed to 

 take measures lor the protection of North American birds 

 and their eggs, met for organization Dec. 12, and will pro- 

 ceed at once to collect information on this subject. The 

 permanent chairman of the committee is Mr. 6. B. Sennett 

 and the permanent secretary Mr. E. P, Bicknell. The 

 objects of the committee commend themselves to a large 

 class of the readers of Foeest and Stream, and we presume 

 that many of these readers have very decided views on this 

 matter. We hope that such as have opinions will give us 

 their views on the matter. It is only by a thorough agitation 

 of the subject that a public sentiment condemning the whole- 

 sale slaughter of our songsters can be aroused, and until this 

 sentiment takes shape and finds expression there is little hope 

 of accomplishing much for bird protection. Let the lovers 

 of the birds speak out. 



English Habes on Fishee's Island.— The members of the 

 Fiaher's Island Club report that they have found scattered 

 over the island a number of dead English hares. All of 

 them were torn in half, just as if pulled apart bv the fore 

 and bind legs. They say that theh preserve is "free from 

 ground vermin, that they have noticed several hawks, but 

 do not believe that they were the destroyers. — X, Y. Z. ' 



Average... 8.256 in. 11.617 in. 8.962 in. 



At 100 yards the trial was made on Oct. 10 at 3 o'clock in 

 the afternoon with a 9 o'clock wind blowing 6 miles per 

 hour. The barometric pressure was 30.240 inches, the dry 

 thermometer 66 5° and the wet-bulb thermometer 55.5°. This 

 would show a dew point of 44.5 and a degree of humidity 

 in the atmosphere of 45 per cent. The 100-yard heights in 

 the trajectory line stood : 



Round. 25 Yards. 50 Yards. 



1 3.159 in. 2.646 in. 



3 3.190 in. 2.639 in. 



3 2.147 in. 3.695 in. 



4 2.098 in. 3.549 in. 



5 3.076 in. 3..533in. 



Average.... 2.134 in. 2.610 in. 



75 Yards. 

 3.308 m. 

 3.208 in. 

 3.340 in. 

 3.179 in. 

 .3.174 in. 



2.202 in. 



8.954in. 12.691in. 9.851 in. 



At 100 yards the rifle refused to act, and the carrier block 

 brought the entire action to a stop. It was an instance of 

 one of those occasions when even the best arm takes on an 

 ugly fit and seems to have an intelligent obstinacy. With- 

 out tools to take the rifle apart and ease the action, there 

 was nothing to do but set it aside and deprive our record of 

 the 100-yard test. 



Stevens .38. 



This is the first of the Stevens make of rifle to come under 

 notice. The arm has a 26-inch, half-octagon barrel, and was 

 numbered 12,950. It weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces, with a 

 barrel weight of 4 pounds 5 ounces. The twist of the rifling 

 was uniform, having one twist in 18 inches, with six grooves. 

 The loading was with U. M. C. ammunition marked .38-40- 

 145. When opened the bullet was found with one groove, 



Remington-Hepburn .38. 



The Remington section of our armory for trial contributed 

 this arm, which was put on the rest for the 200-yard trial 

 Sept, 30, at 11 o'clock in the forenoon. The wind at eight 

 miles per hour was coming from the 1 o'clock quarter, while 

 the barometer stood at 30.070 inches, the dry thermometer at 

 80°, the wet-bulb thermometer 69.8°, indicating a dew point 

 of 63.6 and a humidity in the atmosphere of 57 per cent. 

 The arm had a 30-inch half octagon barrel and was numbered 

 6,082. It had a total weight of 9 pounds 7i ounces, and a 

 barrel weight reported at 6 pounds 8 ounces. The rifling 

 had a uniform twist of one turn in eighteen inches, and the 

 five grooves had a depth each of .0035 inch and .150 inch 

 wide. The loading was with Remington made ammunition, 

 .38 50-320 in a 3i-inch shell. Three charges opened showed 



The Gbouse's Deumming JjOGS.— Editor Forest and 

 Si7'eam: Will any of the readers of your paper give their ex- 

 perience as to the position of the logs on which the rufEed 

 grouse drum. My observation is that they prefer logs lying 

 ngrtli and south, — JCj^oxtk. 



charges of hard pressed powder in fair condition, and weigh- 

 ing 53.45, 51.4 and 50.6 grains, while the four-grooved bul- 

 lets corresponding weighed 332.8, 322.8 and 322.7 grains. 

 The 200 -yard record stood : 



Round. 50 Yards. 



1 8.601 m. 



3 8.947 in. 



3 9.055 in. 



4 8.984 in. 



5 8.677 in. 



100 Yards. 

 12.08l4n. 



13.554 in. 

 13.676 in. 

 13.596 in. 

 12.135 in. 



150 Yards. 

 9.142 in. 

 9.479 in. 

 9.577 in. 

 9„543 in. 

 9.115 in. 



.. 8.852 in. 12.408 in. 9.3'71 in. 



The 100-yard trial came on Oct. 13, at 4 o'clock in the 

 afternoon, with the wind coming from the 3 o'clock quaiter 

 at twelve miles per hour. The barometer marked 30.285 

 inches, the dry thermometer 55°, and the wet-bulb ther- 

 mometer 51.2°, showing a dew point of 47.4 and the 

 humidity in the atmosphere as 75 per cent. The record of 

 trajectory heights stood: 



Round. 35 Yards. 



1 3.231 in. 



3 2.239 in. 



3 2,393 in. 



4 2.357 in. 



5.. 3.111 in. 



Average 2.226 in. 



2.774 in. 



76 Yards. 

 2.280 in. 

 2.339 in. 

 2.354 in. 

 3.375 in. 

 3.195 in. 



2.289 in. 



and three . > u weighed 145.7, 145.6 and 145.3 The 

 powder, in fine condition, weighed in the three cartridges 

 38.7, 38.1 and 39 grains. The rifle gave the same trouble 

 as all the other tip-up barrels when put in the rest, and con- 

 sumed much time in making the tests. It was put on the 

 rest for 200-yard testing Oct. 19, with the barometer stand- 

 ing 30.250 inches, the thermometric recording being with the 

 dry-bulb 59° and with the wet-bulb 38,5°, denoting a dew 

 point of 58 and a humidity in the atmosphere of 96 per cent. 

 It was half-past 7 in the morning when the test was made 

 and the wind blew from the 6 o'clock quarter at two miles 

 per hour. The longer ranges record stood: 



Round. 50 Yards. 

 1 9.363 in. 



3 9,811 in. 



8 10. 088 in. 



4 8.963 m. 



5 9.469 in. 



100 Yards, 

 13.163 in. 

 13.818 in. 

 14,757 in. 

 12.596 in. 

 14.105 in. 



150 Yards, 

 10.303 in. 

 10.056 in. 

 11.718 in. 

 10.078 in. 

 11.308 in. 



Average 9.419 in. 13.588 in. 10.692 in. 



For the trial at 100 yards the weapon was placed in the 

 rest on Oct. 12, with the wind coming at fourteen miles per 

 hour from the 2 o'clock quarter. The barometer reading 

 was 30.385 inches, the dry thermometer at 57° and the wet- 

 bulb ditto at 53°, making the dew point 49 and the humidity 

 of the atmosphere at 74 per cent. Under these conditions 

 and with ammunition as before noted, the record stood: 



Round. 35 Y^ards. 



1 2.190 in. 



3 1.999 in. 



3 2.051 in. 



4 2.000 in. 



5 2.087 in. 



Average 2.065 in. 



50 Yards. 

 3.701 in. 

 3.616 in. 

 3.673 in. 

 3.558 in. 

 3.547 in. 



2.619 in. 



75 Yards. 

 2.291 in. 

 2.303 in. 

 3.363 in. 

 3.337 in. 

 3.220 in. 



2.261 in. 



Marlin .32. 



This is the last of the series of Marlin arms sent from the 

 New Haven armory. It behaved very well in the test and 

 was readily tested. The weapon had a 28-inch octagonal 

 barrel and complete weighed eight pounds, while the barrel 

 alone weighed three pounds one ounce. The rifling was of 

 uniform twist, one turn in sixteen inches, and each of the 

 six grooves was .003 inch deep and .103 inch wide. The 

 loading was with U. M. C. .32-40-165 ammunition. When 

 examined the powder was found to be pressed very hard, so 

 much so as to crush the powder grains nearest the bullet, 

 beyond this the powder was good. The bullet had four 

 grooves, and had a composition of 1 tin to 30 lead. Three 

 powder charges weighed 48.3, 43.8 and 43,7 grains, while 



