April 19, 1888.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



249 



of the charge to make up for bad shooting. I wrote some 

 years ago several articles on small bores, but as since 

 then new readers have come to the Forest and Stream, 

 and as there seems to be considerable interest in the sub- 

 ject, allow me to quote from what I wrute. I may call 

 the following ''axioms'' in the matter of small gauges vs. 

 large bores. The small gauges referred to are cylindrical 

 bores: 



Fust— The small bore scatters less with same charge of 

 shot than the big bore. 



Second— The small charge of powder used in small bores 

 shoots coarse shot better than fine. 



Third — With the small charge of powder used in small 

 bores coarser shot must be used to obtain penetration 

 than in a big bore. 



Fourth — We do not lose in pattern when using coarse 

 shot in small bores, but in big bores with the large charges 

 of powder they require, coarse shot containing but few 

 pellets scatters too much. 



Fifth— The small charge of powder suitable for small 

 bores does not answer in big bores. 



Sixth — It is a heresy, favorite with users of big bores, 

 that the small shot penetrates further than coarse shot, as 

 it has less resisting surface. This is not so, but is a state- 

 ment full of mistakes, as any one can prove by experi- 

 ment. 



In conclusion let me say again, I hope the Forest and 

 Stream may see its way clear to give us a trial of small- 

 gauge cylinders vs, the fashionable, modern, so-called 

 "improved" big chokebores. Cyrtonyx. 



Fayetteville, Ark. 



AN OHIO LAW. 



WE print below a bill introduced by Mr. Stranahan 

 in the last General Assembly of Ohio, which has 

 now become a law. It is entitlel "A bill to amend Sec- 

 tion 409 of the Revised Statutes of Ohio." 



Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State 

 of Ohio that Section 409 of the Revised Statute of Ohio be so 

 amended as to read as follows: 



Sec. 409. The Commissioners shall annually, on or before the 

 16th day of January, make to the Governor a report of their pro- 

 ceedings for the preceding year, giviner in detail their labor and 

 opera U'ous with such suggestions as tbcy doom proper, and also a 

 detailed statement of expenditures; and their report shall be 

 published with the report of tnc State Board of Agriculture. The 

 Commissioners shall, at their annual meeting in January or 

 at any other time, appoint a fish and game warden in each county 

 in the State, who shall hold his office for two J ears, unless sooner 

 removed; and they shall also appoint a special warden for Lake 

 Erie and for the Mercer county, Lewiston, Six-Mile. Licking, 

 Laramie and Sippo reservoirs of the State; each warden shall, 

 before entering upon the discharge of his duties, give a bond to 

 the State, with sureties to the satisfaction of the Commissioners, 

 in the sum of two hundred dollars, conditioned for the faithful 

 performance of the duties of his office, which, bond shall be de- 

 posited with the Commiss'oners; it shall be the duty of the 

 wardens, under the general direction of the Commissioners to 

 appoint such assistants as they may require to assist them in 

 policing the territory, both land and water, of their respective 

 counties and territories, arresting wherever fouml in the State all 

 violators of the laws of the State enacted for the protection of 

 fish and game; and the Commissioners shall appoint, if in their 

 udgment it is desirable, a State warden, who shall hold his office 

 or one year, unless sooner removed, at a salary of not more than 

 $1,200 per annum, payable quarterly, and he shall be allowed a 

 sum not exceeding &e00 per annum for expenses. The salary and 

 expenses of the State wardens shall be paid out of the fund set 

 apart for the use of the Commissioners. The State warden shall, 

 before entering upon the discharge of his duties, give a oond to 

 the State in the sum of $2,000, conditioned for the faithful per- 

 formance of his duties, which bond shall be deposited with the 

 Commissioners. It shall be the duty of the State warden under 

 the general direel ion of the Commissioners, to visit any and all 

 parts of the State, assist the county and reservoir wardens, and 

 arrest, wherever found in the State, all violators of the laws of 

 the State enacted for the protection of fish and game, and to 

 assist when so ordered, in the work of propagation and transfer 

 of fish. Each warden shall annually, on or hefore the first day of 

 December of each year, make a detailed repert to the Commis- 

 sioners of their respective labors, number of arrests made, num- 

 ber of convictions with such other suggestions as they may deem . 

 proper; the compensation of the county wardens shall be from 

 fees the same as are paid the sheriffs of their respective counties 

 for similar services, to be paid from the fish and game fund, which 

 shall be made up from fines arising from cou victions for violation 

 of the fish and game laws; and the County Commissioners shall, 

 upou the recommendation of the Fish and Game Commissioner!, 

 allow to their county warden a salary not exceeding $300 per 

 annum, which salary shall be paid quarterly, upon the warrant 

 ef the Fish and Game Commissioners, out of the fish and game 

 fund or dog fund. And the Fish and Ganio Commissioners may 

 pay to the. Lake Erie warden and to each of the wardens of the 

 reservoirs, from the State fund set apart for their use, a salary 

 not exceeding $500 p er annum, payable quarterly; and if in the 

 judgment of the Commissioners any special class shall be entitled 

 to increased compensation, it shall be paid them out of the State 

 fund set apart for their use. 

 Sec 2. That Section 409 be and the same is hereby repealed. 

 Sec. 3. This act shall take effect on its passage. 



Massachusetts Game Laws.— Melrose, Mass., April 

 10. — Editor Forest and Stream: I am informed a bill 

 has been favorably reported from the committee in the 

 Massachusetts Legislature making the open season for 

 woodcock and ruffed grouse Sept. 1 to Dec. 1, and for 

 quail Oct. 15 to Jan. 1. As the law now stands the season 

 for grouse and quail closes on Jan. i. I see no objection 

 to the proposed law except as regards grouse. In Sep- 

 tember our grouse are small and weak of wing as com- 

 pared with some birds in November. But to my mind 

 the proposed change is especially unwise in attempting 

 to make a close season for grouse in December while the 

 season is open on quail. With us both quail and grouse 

 are found on the same grounds, and are, or ought to be, 

 hunted in the same manner. When a dog comes to a 

 point it is impossible to tell which bird is to rise. Now 

 this law purposes to give its sanction, during the best 

 month of the season, to the shooting of one bird and to 

 make it a criminal offense to shoot the other. To keep 

 the law in good faith, we are to get ready for a shot and 

 then after the bird rises determine which it is and let the 

 grouse go unchallenged. If this law is confirmed I shall 

 try to keep it, and hope others will do the same; but I 

 have harrowing doubts whether even law-abiding sports- 

 men will be able to respect it upon trial. I am afraid it 

 will tend to bring all game laws into disrepute. Will 

 brother sportsmen give their opinions? If the law can be 

 enforced, well and good; if it cannot, then I hope it will 

 not be enacted. Rather let the season commence Oct. 15 

 for woodcock, grouse and quail, and end Jan. 1. — W. 



It was Good.— Toronto, Ontario, April 9.— Editor 

 Forest and Stream: Allow me here to express the pleas- 

 ure I had in reading Mr. Orin Belknap's article, "My 

 only Buffalo Hunt." I do not remember that I ever be- 

 fore read so interesting an account, or one which so 

 abounded in those little incidental touches which, to use 

 Pooh-Bah's words, "give an aspect of verisimilitude" to a 

 narrative,— Ernest E. Thompson. 



Schultze Powder.— New York, April 12.— Editor 

 Forest and Stream: I have lately been trying some of 

 the much talked of Schultze white powder which has 

 come into such prominence during the last year. I am 

 shooting a 7Jlbs. Clabrough gun, and have been using 

 3£drs. of this powder, 3 pink-edge, and l|oz. of shot at 

 the trap. I find that the powder is all that is claimed for 

 it, excepting as to the recoil, which I find to be a great 

 deal more than that of any black powder I have ever 

 used, nor can I make as close and even patterns with it 

 as I can with the Dead Shot FFG. It has always been 

 claimed that all wood powders give less recoil and closer 

 patterns than black, which, however, I have not been 

 abW to verify. The almost total absence of smoke and 

 the great strength and quickness of this powder, together 

 with its cleanness, make it veiy desirable. I notice that 

 it is so quick that I need not lead my crossing birds as 

 much as with black, and at live birds it kills cleaner than 

 anything I have seen. I always believe in a good charge 

 of powder, but the recoil of this Schultze seems excessive, 

 and I shall either have to reduce my charge, in which 1 

 have no confidence, or go back to my favorite FFG. I 

 have seen it used by some members of the Country Club 

 at Bartow, in imported shells, before I tried it myself, 

 and all spoke in the highest terms of the powder, and no 

 one complained about kicking. I understood they were 

 also shooting 3-Jdrs. of it. I primed my shells with a few 

 grains of black powder, as otherwise it seemed to hang 

 fire. I am very sorry to say that the quail which were 

 originally let out on' the grounds of the Country Club, 

 and which have stocked the whole surrounding country, 

 seem to have nearly all perished during the blizzard last 

 month. I have heard of several being found dead in the 

 cemetery, a very appropriate place. — Amateur. 



Colorado Jottings.— Berthoud, Colo., April 9.— 

 Ducks and geese have been very plenty in our lakes this 

 spring, but there has not been a great deal of shooting by 

 the "town dudes." A few have been shot by the farmers 

 for their own use. Saw four fine swan in my field this 

 week. Our alfalfa fields near the reservoir are a favorite 

 place for the teal to nest and hatch their broods. Last 

 summer I found a number of nests when I cut my hay, 

 and they are about the smartest little things I ever saw. 

 A neighbor caught two coon on the creek near here this 

 winter, something new for Colorado, as this is not a 

 timber or a coon country. How did they come here? 

 Think they must have emigrated from Kansas or Missouri. 

 Minks and muskrat are getting very plenty along our 

 large irrigating ditches and reservoirs. What became of 

 the Alaska excursion? Expected to hear from them 

 through the Forest and Stream.— A. A. K. 



A Maryland Game and Fish Club. — At Elkton, Md. , 

 April 6, the Northeast Gunning and Fishing Association 

 of Cecil county was incorporated under the general laws 

 of the State, the incorporators being James C. Davis, Wm. 

 D. McCullougb, Alex. H. George and Jonathan M. Dough- 

 erty, of Cecil county, and Don. J. Waitings, William E. 

 Moses and Harry C. Lowden, of Philadelphia. The capi- 

 tal stock is $10,000, with shares at $50 each. The objects 

 of the association, as stated in the articles of incorpora- 

 tion, are to provide a club house and premises where they 

 may gun, hunt, fish, etc. The association will be man- 

 aged by seven directors. The new association purchased 

 of J. M. Dougherty his farm on Northeast River, The 

 property contains 106 acres, and $5,000 was the price 

 paid. 



Old Reliable Rod and Gun Club. — Detroit, Mich., 

 April 7.— The Old Reliable Rod and Gun Club of Detroit 

 held their annual meeting Friday evening April 6, at 

 which the following officers were elected for the ensuing 

 year: B. W. Parker, President; C. H. Preston, Vice- 

 President; Wm. Blair, Secretary and Treasurer; J. R. 

 Brooks, Field Captain; Jno. Parker, Lieutenant; W. H. 

 Smith, W. J. Miller, M. P. Hutchhis, Directors. This 

 club is in a healthy and prosperous condition, increas- 

 ing in numbers and contains within its ranks some ex- 

 cellent shots. Their grounds are pleasantly situated be- 

 low the Fort, and are pronounced by experts equal to 

 the best.— Wm. Blair, Sec'y. 



Eureka Gun Club. — At a meeting held Wednesday, 

 April 4, at Eureka, Dak., the Eureka Gun Club was 

 organized, and the officers were elected as follows: 

 President, W. Bach; Vice-President, J. E. Reagen; 

 Treasurer, E. L. Hopkins; Secretary, F. W. Moulton. 

 The club was formed for the purpose of enforcing the 

 game laws. A club house will be built on Brant Lake 

 and several boats made.— W. E. B. 



A Massachusetts Bill.— A bill has been introduced 

 into the Massachusetts House of Representatives which 

 forbids the shooting of black ducks with any gun larger 

 than 8-bore, or pursuing or killing them by the use of a 

 boat or any floating device. 



Deer in Essex County, N. Y.— A letter received by 

 the Adirondack Preserve Association says that the deer 

 have wintered well, lumber camps being scarce in this 

 vicinity, their yards have not been disturbed. 



English Snipe at Buffalo.— The News of April 10 

 says: "Geo. Stauber and his shotgun were up the Lake 

 shore road, near Brocton, yesterday, and bagged 18 Eng- 

 lish snipe." 



Chronic Founder."— Office of Secretary op State, Raleigh, 

 K. C, i 'ec. 8, 1887.— Humphreys' Homeopathic Med. Co., 109 Ful f ,on 

 St., N. Y. Gents: In November last i purchased a case of your Vet- 

 erinary Specifics because I had an opportunity to test them on 

 the worst case of chronic founder that I ever saw. I think it but 

 justice to you to say that the experiment has been absolutely suc- 

 cessful. The animal was foundered in July or August. From then 

 until the time your system was brought to bear on her she could 

 not step over the butt cut of a broomstraw. yhe is all right now 

 and rapidly regaining the flesh she lost during her long illness. 

 Very respectfully, W. F. Batchelor, Chief Clerk Dept. of- State. 

 Ntito.— Upon our request for permission to use the above as an 

 "open letter," Mr. Batchelor responded in a public spirited man- 

 ner, saying: "The cure to which f refer is really so remarkable 

 t hat if the use therof leads to the further adoption of your sys- 

 tem, I shall regard it of greater service to the public than to your 

 company."— Adv. 



Addrem all communications to the Forest and Stream Puh. Co. 



Every person who is sufficiently interested in the National 

 Park to do his share toward securing protection for it, is in- 

 vited to send for one of the Fore»t and Stream's petition 

 blanks. They are sent free. 



TACKLE. 



fH REENE, N. Y., April 11.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 VJT I do not consider the automatic reel available 

 for minnow casting. I only use mine for fly-fishing. 

 When I have to make short and long casts I use not over 

 thirty yards of the best enamel line I can buy. I have a 

 line which I have used four years, and it is good for four 

 years more. I never allow my Jine to get water-soaked. 

 I always have a lump of white wax in my pocket, and 

 keep about twenty-five feet of my line well waxed, which 

 preserves the line and causes it to lay out straight when 

 you cast, and makes it less liable to kink than a water- 

 soaked line. For minnow casting, the only reel to use, 

 in my opinion, is an easy-running multiplier, such as 

 Prof. W. M. Mayer used in the tournament of October 4, 

 1884, and with which he won first prize for minnow cast- 

 ing. I only, as I have said, use my automatic reel for 

 fly-fishing, and any angler who wishes to fish with 

 flies, after he has once learned to use an automatic reel, 

 will use no other. For all bait-fishing I use a single mul- 

 tiplier. I have no particular preference, as all first class 

 reels are good. If any one thinks that in fly-casting an 

 automatic reel is not a luxury, if they will visit me and 

 go trout fishing with me, I will try and demonstrate the 

 superiority of an automatic over an old crank reel. 



Skill-Back. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Will "P. L.," "Skill-Back" and Mr. Keene please accept 

 my thanks for information concerning the automatic 

 reel and Horton steel rod. I notice "H. P. U.," inquires 

 if the reel can be used in minnow casting. I hardly see 

 how, for instead of being free-running, the spring of the 

 reel is "wound up" by unwinding the line, the more line 

 out the stronger the tension. Of course if the cast is not 

 to be much longer than the rod, it could be used as well 

 as any reel. There may be more than one pattern of 

 automatic, but in the one shown nie lately, the line was 

 unwound by the hand with considerable tension. 



O. O. S. 



Fort Shaw, Montana, April 6. — Editor Forest and 

 Stream: I have used the automatic reel for two years, 

 and would not give it for a wagon-load of those old crank 

 reels. The automatic gets there every time. If "O. O. 

 S." uses one for a day or two he will use no other. — 

 R. H. W. 



SUNAPEE TROUT APPEAR IN A DREAM, 



NEWPORT, N. IT., April 7.— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: I have noticed much in the Forest and 

 Stream regarding the trout in Sunapee Lake, and the 

 different varieties of trout found there and the mode of 

 catching them. Some pretend to have first fished in deep 

 water as far back as 1857. I used to fish upon the shore 

 of Sunapee Lake for trout, making large catches after the 

 fish comtnissioners stocked the lake with black bass. I 

 used to make regular trips to the lake, occasionally get- 

 ting some trout, and was in a deep study to know how I 

 could catch trout which I saw jumping in all directions. 

 In 1882, 1 proposed a fishing trip to the lake, and before 

 we went I had a dream that if I could anchor in 70 or 

 SOft. of water I could find trout fishing good. Two of us 

 got everything in readiness and took the train for Mt. 

 Sunapee, a team waiting torus convejed us to our desti- 

 nation, and at three in the morning we started for the 

 lake. We anchored in SOft. of water and threw in our 

 hooks and in less than ten minutes I had a beauty in the 

 boat. The sun was sinking in the west when we re- 

 turned to our camping place, leaving our basket of pro- 

 visions and the rods in a secret place and returned to 

 camp. After a night's rest we were up at an early hour, 

 once more trying our luck at trout fishing. We found 

 our provisions destroyed and the rods broken. We re- 

 paired our rods and in two or three boms were ready for 

 a start, and arrived at our old fishing ground, and we had 

 all the fun we wanted for this day. making a catch of 

 nine trout that would tip the beam at from 2 to 5£lbs. I 

 claim having first discovered the deep-water fishing. I 

 have fished in different parts of the lake to good advan- 

 tage, making large catches at different places. Once 

 on a trip three of us fished all day; I caught none, my 

 comrades making a catch of eleven trout each. Next 

 morning found me on my old trout ground, anchored 

 on the same ground, threw in my hooks, had a strike, 

 played the fish a short time, thenlanded my prize, which 

 tipped the beam at 5|lbs. By noon I had caught ten trout, 

 making in all 38 trout for three of us in less than two 

 days. Have fished at Chandler's, Indian canoe banks 

 ledge, George's mills, North Point Underbill, Cold 

 Spring, Birch Point, Hedgehog, and a great many other 

 places. There are four different kinds of trout in Suna- 

 pee lake — native trout, white trout, blueback, and land- 

 locked salmon. Jacob R. Hutchinson. 



The Trout Opening in California.— San Francisco, 

 April 2. — Editor Forest and Stream: This is the first day 

 oi the legal trout season, but illegal fishing has been 

 going on for some time and anglers feel that they have 

 been forestalled by the poachers. Reports from Pesca- 

 doro Creek, and neighboring streams, say that hundreds 

 of trout were taken last month by all sorts of devices. 

 The Pescadoro is the best stream for trout in this part, 

 wliich is readily accessible to anglers from this city, and 

 if it was well stocked and protected would be one of the 

 best in the country. As it is the law is violated with im- 

 punity and men fish openly in the close season, without 

 fear of arrest. This state of things is not peculiar to the 

 vicinity of San Francisco, but exists throughoutfhe State, 

 especially in the splendid streams of Sonoma county, 

 among the tributaries of the Russian river. We have a 

 large foreign population here which needs a lesson in fish 



Erotection, especially the Italians and Chinese, and if we 

 ad an efficient force of fish and game protectors, some- 

 thing after the model of the New York system, working 

 in harmony with our Fish Commision, no State would 

 i have better trout fishing than California.— Pesca, 



