Forest and Stream 



A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 



Terms, $i a Year. 10 Cts. a Copy. > 

 Six Months, $ 2. ) 



NEW YORK, JANUARY 24, 1889. 



1 VOL. XXXII.-No. 1. 



] No 318 Broadway, New York. 





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CONTENTS. 



Editorial. 



Army Rifle Practice. 



A Proposed Zoological Garden 



Custodian Squatters. 



Snap Shots. 

 The Sportsman Tourist. 



Early Morning in the Woods. 



A Breath from the Maine 

 Woods. 

 Natural History. 



A National Zoological Park. 



Philosophical Society Meeting 



The Bats.— ii. 

 Game Bag and Gun. 



Newfoundland Game Seasons. 



A Brace of Elk. 



Massachusetts Game Interests 



The Connecticut Association. 



Shooting Clubs of Chicago. 



Dominion Gun Alliance. 



Lyman's Wind-Gauge Sight. 



New York Legislature. 

 Sea and River Fishing. 



Newfoundland Fishing Sea- 

 sons. 



Maine Trout Notes. 

 Notes on Salmon, Trout and 

 Eels. 



Saibling in Sterling Lake. 

 Black Bass in Ponds. 

 Lake Trout. 

 What's in a Name? 



Sea and River Fishing. 

 "More About the Black Bass." 

 Menhaden Question Again. 



FlSHCULTURE. 



Notes on Fish Fungus. 



Whitefish for England. 

 The Kennel. 



Old World Kennel Topics. 



Salisbury's Pedigree. 



Long Island Rabbit Baiting. 



The National Dog Club. 



Coursing. 



Dalton Dog Show. 



New Bedford Dog Show. 



Dog Sense. 



Dog Talk. 



Kennel Notes. 



Kennel Management. 

 Riele and Trap Shooting. 



Range and GaUerv. 



Army Rifle Practice. 



The Trap. 

 Yachting. 



Cutters on the Lakes. 



Orinda. 



New Yachts of the Year. 



Cruise of the Leona. 



Cythera. 

 Canoeing. 



The New Royal C. C. Rules. 



The Sliding Deck Seat. 

 Answers to Correspondents. 



A PROPOSED ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN. . 



BILLS have been introduced -in the New York State 

 Senate and Assembly, providing for the appropria- 

 tion of $300,000 for the establishment of a zoological gar- 

 den in the Central Park in New York city. The fact that 

 New York has no garden of this kind has long been felt 

 to be a shame to this city. But, while we ought to have 

 such a garden, it may be questioned whether it is wise to 

 attempt to establish one in the way provided by these 

 bills. 



Although Central Park is at present much nearer to the 

 thickly settled portion of the city than any other park 

 which would be available for the purposes of a zoologi- 

 cal garden, there is in the public mind a well settled 

 feeling that no part of that pleasure ground should be given 

 up to this purpose. The project has been started again 

 and again, but has always been met with the objection 

 that there is in Central Park no tract of land which can 

 be used as a zoological garden without seriously injuring 

 the park as a whole. We do not believe that this objec- 

 tion can be overcome, for it is well founded. The proper 

 place for such a garden is in one of the smaller, newer 

 parks, which, though further up town, will eventually 

 be in the central part of the city. In more than one of 

 these parks there is abundant room for such a garden, 

 with land sufficiently varied in character to give to many 

 animals surroundings which approach in some degree 

 those amid which they dwell in nature. 



Nearly ten years ago the Universal Conservatory and 

 Zoological Garden Company was formed for the purpose 

 of starting here in New York a "zoo" on the plan of that 

 of London or of the Paris Jardin des Plantes. Connected 

 with this company was some one who clearly knew one 

 of the chief requirements of such a garden, and the 

 ground selected by the company is probably the best 

 adapted plot of land on New York Island for such a pur- 

 pose. This is near Ninth avenue on the north side of 



155th street, and as it has recently been included in the 

 new Hi^h Bridge Park, it would be available for any 

 project of this kind which should be controlled by the 

 city. 



The Universal Company, after having selected its site 

 as above stated, and promised to break ground in the 

 spring of 1881, disappeared from public view, and so far 

 as we know has not since been heard of. It is earnestly 

 to be hoped that the present attempt to establish a satis- 

 factory permanent zoological garden in this city will 

 prove something more than a mere flash in the pan. 

 Philadelphia, Chicago, Cincinnati and San Francisco 

 have collections of living animals which do them credit. 

 New York, with its wealth and intelligence, should no 

 longer be left behind by its younger sisters. 



ARMY RIFLE PRACTICE. 



GEN. SCHOFIELD has signalized his coming into 

 command of the U. S. Army by a revision of the 

 regulations for rifle practice. His changes seem to be 

 well advised, for it is not to be gainsaid that the rifle 

 practice of the regulars was getting into a perfunctory 

 stage, where the filing of reports with figures was of 

 more importance in the minds of many officers than the 

 creation of self-confident individual marksmen from the 

 boys in blue. 



The aim has been to make the course of practice such 

 that the soldier should know as much as possible of the 

 science of rifle shooting and pretty much all of the art 

 connected with accurate hitting. Then turned loose on 

 his own resources, with an enemy in front and an un- 

 known distance to fire over, he would first of all know 

 his arm and in the next place would know how to use it. 



Instead of an annual round of practice, the new system 

 gives something akin to a three years' course in marks- 

 manship, so that a man makes a gradual increase in re- 

 sult through greater exertion and exercise of skill until 

 he has become as proficient as any reasonable system 

 could demand. Another point in the new rules is that 

 each arm of the service will use its service arm, and cav- 

 alry men will shoot with carbines, as they would be re- 

 quired to do in actual warfare, and not with the rifle as 

 now, for the mere purpose, seemingly, of giving them 

 some practice of some sort and keeping up the depart- 

 ment or division totals. 



Revolver shooting, too, will come in for a share of con- 

 sideration which has hitherto been denied the side arm. 

 It will be interesting to find out just what can be done 

 in a practical way with these hard-hitting service 

 weapons, if for no other purpose than comparison with 

 the excellent records made on the civilian ranges. 



In all the new firing regulations the General command- 

 ing and the Secretary of War have been careful not to 

 cut off the spur of competition. Rivalry will go on as 

 before for places on the several teams, and even more 

 so, for now there will be carbine as well as rifle teams. 

 A liberal supply of ammunition is to be given out to 

 the various posts, and no doubt if it be found that the 

 burning of more powder will result in better showing 

 and better marksmen, then the powder and bullets will 

 be forthcoming. It is poor economy to save a few pounds 

 of powder and leave the Army short of the highest-hitting 

 proficiency. 



CUSTODIAN SQUATTERS. 



JN their preliminary report, just sent to the Legislature 

 by the New York Forest Commission, the problem of 

 what to do with the custodians of State lands again 

 comes up. In their manner of treating the question we 

 see indications that the Commissioners are less anxious 

 for the interests of the State, into whose service they 

 have entered, with so much show of public spirit, than to 

 make friends of the mammon of unrighteousness. In the 

 matter referred to they may be animated by pure philan- 

 throphy, but the aim and tendency of their recommenda- 

 tions is to benefit individuals at the expense of the public, 

 by legalizing the most impudent attempts to grab public 

 domain; and the public will hardly give them credit for 

 disinterested motives. If their office is without emolu- 

 ments, they are certainly not likely to win much honor 

 by praying the Legislature to introduce such legislation 

 as shall empower the Forest Commission to grant relief 

 to those custodians whose unscrupulousness is only 

 equalled by their impudence. 



The history of these custodians is simply stated. Be- 

 tween the years 1875 and 1885 certain persons set envious 



eyes upon the islands in the Lake St. George and choice 

 tracts of State land in the Adirondacks, and there being 

 no provision of law to enable them to acquire the tracts 

 by purchase, they moved the State Board of Land Com- 

 missioners to appoint them "custodians" of the chosen 

 tracts. This meant that the individuals so appointed 

 were given leave to occupy the islands and choice tracts 

 of Adirondack lands, and they set to and erected 

 "camps" or cottages, and settled down to enjoy their 

 possession of public properly. As the Commissioners 

 put it: 



Some of these so-called custodians having accepted the appoint- 

 ment on behalf of the State Board of Land Commissioners in good 

 faith, and supposing (in the absence of any legislative or judical 

 definition of the duties and rights of "custodians") that it gave 

 them practically a lease of the premises named in the resolution 

 making their appointments, went on to expend considerable sums 

 of money in the erection of summer houses and in beautifying and 

 adorning their grounds. 



This is evidently an attempt to darken counsel by 

 specious pleading. The plea that "because the rights of 

 the custodians were not legally or judically defined, they 

 supposed that their appointment practically gave them a 

 lease of the premises named in the resolution appointing 

 them," has a strong flavor of Celtic originality about it. 

 One might as well argue that the present warden and his 

 forest guards have, by their appointment, practically 

 acquired a lease of the whole State domain; but conced- 

 ing even that they were right in their supposition, their 

 appointments have since been revoked, and the leases 

 naturally terminate with them. 



Attorney General O'Brien having been consulted by 

 the Forest Commissioners, replied simply that the Board 

 of Land Commissioners had no power to make appoint- 

 ments, and that the custodians gained no rights through 

 their appointments. Nevertheless, in spite of so decisive 

 a legal opinion in favor of the public, the Commission 

 which professes to guard the public interests, does not 

 scruple to petition the Legislature for power to grant the 

 custodians relief from the unfortunate dilemma in which 

 they have placed themselves — in other words to legalize 

 their attempted appropriation of some of the most beauti- 

 ful spots in the Wilderness. 



Some of these custodians, probably all of them, are 

 very estimable gentlemen; we are quite ready to believe 

 that they are, and, doubtless, endowed with a high ap- 

 preciation of the beauties of nature; but they knew that 

 their appointment was a job, they were assigned no duties, 

 given no pay; they knew that the Land Commissioners 

 had no power to confer any legal rights in respect to the 

 land; nevertheless they entered on possession, and as- 

 sumed and asserted all the rights of ownership, and built 

 and improved, and spent money, confident that cheek 

 backed with dollars would be mighty and prevail. 



To oust these squatters would as a matter of course en- 

 tail some hardships upon them; but it is the duty of the 

 Legislature to consider first the public interest; and the 

 public interest most certainly does not sanction the pro- 

 position to perpetuate the privileges of the squatters on 

 State lands. Keep the people's possessions for the people. 

 There are square miles of property which may be bought 

 and paid for by individuals in search of delectable sum- 

 mer homes. Available land is not yet so scarce that it 

 is necessary to give over the State lands to private' con- 

 trol, more particularly when that control has been ac- 

 quired by jobbery. 



SNAP SHOTS. 



]\T ASSACHUSETTS is considering a bill which provides 

 that all damages to persons or property caused by dogs 

 shall be paid by the treasurer of the town or city in which 

 such damage is done, the act not to affect the double 

 damage done to persons; and that all female dogs shall be 

 prohibited from running at large in places of more than 

 5,000 people. As the taxes are high in Massachusetts, 

 dogs $2 and bitches $5, it would be no more than right 

 that damages should be paid out of the great revenue 

 thus received. The clause to restrict running at large, if 

 it be correctly reported, is a senseless piece of crankiness 

 which will never get beyond the committee room. 



The acquisition of hunting and fishing territory goes 

 on apace. The latest enterprise is that of certain New 

 York parties, headed by Mr. Austin Corbin, who are 

 negotiating for an 8,000 acre tract on Corydon Mountain, 

 New Hampshire. The purpose is to stock the reserve 

 with moose, deer and other game. 



