256 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[April 18, 1889. 



to its feet. The meadow in which these animals fed was 

 surrounded by a light, three-wire fence which could 

 readily have been pushed down or walked through, but it 

 was not learned that any of the animals ever showed the 

 slightest disposition to go beyond the inclosure. 



If a race of cattle ha ving the characters of the Jones half- 

 breed cows can be established, there is no question as to its 

 great value. That such a race can be made permanent 

 we have little doubt. Further experiments are, of course, 

 needed to determine just what cross will be the most 

 desirable. It is possible that the three-eighths bred 

 animal may prove even more valuable than the half- 

 breed, and it will be interesting to see examples sired by 

 domestic bulls out of buffalo cows. Two or three such 

 exist to-day, Ave believe. When it shall have been deter- 

 mined what the best cross is, it will take some little time 

 to make it permanent. For a few generations there will 

 no doubt be a tendency to revert to one or the other of 

 the two ancestral stocks. This can be overcome by the 

 introduction of fresh blood from one side or the other, 

 and ultimately, as we firmly believe, there will result a 

 race of the buffalo cattle of which Mr. Jones will have 

 been the originator, and of which he may well feel proud. 



Spring in the Alleghenies.— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: When I awoke from sleep this morning I was 

 somewhat surprised at the absence, of the usual carol of 

 the bluebird and robin, which we have heard for some 

 time past. And no wonder, for when I arose I found we 

 had the heaviest snowstorm of the season; and had it 

 not been for the protection afforded by the evergreens 

 surrounding the house many of the birds must have per- 

 ished. When I went out a few moments later to shovel 

 the snow off the walks I took out my rule and measured 

 eleven inches of snow on the level. I picked up a robin 

 which seemed to be dead, but when I took him into the 

 warm room he soon recovered, and took a good feed of 

 crumbs. The evergreens were literally alive with robins, 

 bluebirds and blackbirds. I do not remember the time 

 when we have had so many birds so early in the season. 

 The woodcock and jacksnipe are among the late arrivals; 

 the common meadowlark and the yellowharuiner have 

 been here for two weeks, while the robin, bluebird and 

 blackbird have been here since Feb. 22. Some of the 

 robins were building when this last storm caught us. 

 Have seen quite a number of ducks on our little creek, 

 and a few have been killed on the town reservoir. The 

 quail wintered well, as we have had but little cold 

 weather, and many of my neighbors had corn standing 

 in the fields all winter.— E. C. C. (Mt. Pleasant, Pa., 

 April 6). 



H. H. Bowles, who wrote us as to silver foxes, failed 

 to date his letter or to give his address. 



Recent Armvals at the Philadelphia Zoological Garden. 

 —Purchased— One aoudad S (Ovia tragelaphus), one yellow-winged 

 sugar bird (Cuereba cyanea), five pairs mandarin dut ies (Aix gale- 

 riculata), one blac k-faced ibis (Theristicus caudatus), two undu- 

 lated grass parakeets (Melopsittacus undulatus), two common 

 boas (Boa constrictor), two stump-tailed lizards (Trachysaurus 

 rugosa), and one spotted monitor (Varanus varius). Presented— 

 One gray ichneumon (Herpestes griseus), one mink (Putorius 

 visonj, six raccoons (Procyon lotor), one green monkey (Cercopith- 

 ecus eallitrichus), one kinkajou (Cevcoleptes caudivolvulus), one 

 bald eagle (Haliaetus leueocephalus), two undulated grass para- 

 keets (Melopsittacus undulatus), one red-tailed buzzard (Buteo 

 borealis), one common quail (Oi tyx virginianus), one great-horned 

 owl (Bubo virginianus), four alligators (Alligator niississippiensis), 

 one pine snake (Pityophis melanoleucus), one bullfrog (Rana 

 catesbiana), and five sirens (Siren lacertina). Born — One zebu 

 (Bos indicus). ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 



mnt J?#$ mid §lmf. 



.22 CARTRIDGES. 



" T L. K." asks experience with .22 long and .22 extra 

 fj • long pistol cartridges for rifle shooting. In 

 answer I would say that for several years I fired thous- 

 ands of' shots from .22 rifles, especially two Ballards, and 

 many Stevens rifles, and could never do accurate shoot- 

 ing with the long and extra long .22 cartridges in any of 

 them at short range, say within 150yds. I never worried 

 over any problem in rifle shooting more than I did this 

 one. I had one of the rifles very carefully chambered 

 for the extra long .22, but it seemed to make no difference 

 the bullets would not "get there." 



Some one away back asked me through Forest and 

 Stream why "I could do nothing with the .22cal. rifle 

 on wild geese and turkeys." 1 answer simply for the 

 reason that if the bullet did not break neck, back or 

 wings, the feathers carried off my anticipated meat. The 

 little bullets are by no means immediately fatal. Shooting 

 for turkeys at 150yds., though we knew that our bullets 

 were getting there all right, we afterward learned that 

 we were not getting near all the meat that belonged to 

 us. The day was very cold and the turkeys very fat. 

 They were placed on a board or bench in front of a tree, 

 if the bullets struck the tree near the birds they would 

 splash the bark against the turkey and make him jump 

 and flutter just as if hit by the bullet. My partner shot 

 for an immense gobbler put up with his breast facing 

 him. The bird jumped off the bench and made a great 

 fluttering: he went up to claim his bird. After a most 

 careful overlooking he could find no wound. While put- 

 ting the bird on the bench again it died. They looked again 

 but could find no shot mark. He, while carrying it in by 

 the head looked down its breast and saw a cut feather. 

 Looking beneath he found the bullet hole, which passed 

 directly through the bird, coming out over the base of the 

 tail. The bird was very fat, and the wounds did not bleed 

 a drop externally. A neighbor who got quite a bunch of 

 turkeys at that match, on cleaning found one of them with 

 three, another with two, and a third with one of our .22- 

 cal. bullet holes in them, showing plainly that Frank and 

 I, if we could have claimed our just dues, would have 

 taken about all them turkeys, for we knew that we could 

 get there "every time sometimes." Therefore I conclude 

 that the .22 is not a success on game larger than ducks. 

 I have many times, I am sure, sent the little slugs through 

 the bodies of the great blue heron, and then had them fly 

 great distances and die. Ducks when hit, as a rule, 

 keel right over, and quit living. One very cold day, as 

 an exception, I put three bullets through a large cotton 

 tail rabbit before he laid down. Byrne. 

 San Fkancisco, Cal. 



THE MIGRATION OF THE DUCKS. 



I^HE four rivers of Nebraska, the Republican, Platte, 

 - Loup and Niobrara are division stations in the migra- 

 tions of the Anatida?. The line of flight of the ducks is 

 much more variable than that of geese or swans, but 

 certain rules may be considered reliable in the observa- 

 tion of their autumnal and spring journeys. When 

 ducks in their southern flight strike a stream they drift 

 but little, either up or down, and when they make their 

 final flight to the next river they leave the spot where 

 they first arrived. In spring this is changed. Their 

 general direction is northwest. After reaching a river 

 they sail up stream a few miles each day, and thus while 

 resting accomplish a portion of their western flight. 

 Thus ducks will be found on the Platte opposite Grand 

 Island or Alda a day or two before they are noticed at 

 Kearney. This is especially to be observed in the late 

 arriving species. The first grand duck wave of the 

 season was on March 16. At this time geese and brant 

 were here in full force, and many of the Canada geese 

 had left for the north. Robins and meadowlarks were 

 abundant, and one pair of woodpeckers had been seen. 

 The latter were, I believe, nishing the season. Up to 

 March 14, our only ducks were pintails, with a few 

 mallards. 



March 15. — Redheads come from the south in great 

 numbers, also a few green-winged teal. 



March lb". — Redheads, green-winged teal, more teal than 

 redheads, some widgeon. The majority of teal did not 

 stop at the Platte, but went six miles further to Wood 

 River, a sluggish stream about ten yards wide, with banks 

 heavily covered with brush of wild plums and willows. 

 Here they have since remained undisturbed, as gunners 

 confine their attentions to the Platte and to the over- 

 flowed marshes in its immediate vicinity. This freak of 

 the teal in taking to Wood River instead of to the Platte 

 is a mystery to me. All the morning the pintails were 

 very nneasy. Tbey would ascend to a great height, fly a 

 mile or two away from the river, as though uncertain 

 what to do. In the afternoon most of them set out at a 

 rapid rate for the Loup. Vale, thou erratic Dafila acuta! 

 each flight now takes thee further from the haunts of 

 men. Sharp of sight and swift of motion must he be who 

 will now lay thee low; so, farewell until September. The 

 same day brought the bluebirds, I also saw a few widgeons. 



March 17.— A warm and rainy day, the first of the 

 season. Ducks did not leave the river and very few 

 geese went to the cornfields. What a disappointment 

 this was to the scores of would-be hunters who had hired 

 their guns and laid in their ammunition on Saturday 

 afternoon. I should pity them did I not feel it to be a 

 just retribution. How many of us, snugly hidden in our 

 blinds, have had a day's pleasure spoiled by these black- 

 coated, black-hatted fiends, who deliberately seat them- 

 selves in full view not more than fifty yards from the 

 blind, who fire at a flock 800yds. away and then jump up 

 and ram another charge into the old muzzleloader? These 

 are the gun-shop fiends, who, when they go to the store, 

 protest that they know nothing about goose shooting and 

 want the same kind of shot and the same quantity of 

 powder that the dealer uses in his own gun. He genially 

 smiles and shows them No. 4 shot, which is just the size 

 for a strong and close-shooting gun. In spite of then- 

 professed willingness to take the seller's advice, they ask 

 to see something a "leetle bigger," and finally, having 

 gone down the scale, they end the interview by purchas- 

 ing 00s. They would have taken bullets had they not 

 been informed that bullets are apt to get stuck in a choke- 

 bore. Nature is just, and when she gives us a rainy 

 Sunday, and that the 17th of March, she knows what 

 kind of sportsmen she is punishing. 



March 18. — Weather clearing and clear, very warm, no 

 frost on the ground. The buds of maples are much swol- 

 len, and our song birds gave us the first matin concert of 

 the season. Bluebirds and sparrows are abundant in the 

 shr ubbery. Many mallards arrived, and the flocks of red- 

 head and teal were augmented. Pintails seem to have 

 deserted the river, though a few may still be found at the 

 lakes, four miles west of Kearney. This was the first day 

 of good shooting at the upper lake, as both redhead and 

 mallard were to be found there. Teal are not wasting 

 much time on the Platte, but after resting a few hours 

 seek the solitude of Wood River. One gadwall (A. stre- 

 pera) and a shoveler (here called ' ■spoonbill") were shot on 

 the Platte. Sportsmen say that the shoveler indicates 

 settled spring weather, as well as the height of the ver- 

 nal shooting season. In spite of overflowed marshes, wet 

 roads and muddy cornfields, this was the red-letter day. 

 Redhead and mallard on the Platte, teal on Wood River, 

 with geese and brant by the thousand feeding in the up- 

 land cornfields that lie between the two streams. The 

 later ducks are' beginning to appear. There are a few blue- 

 winged teal and several butter balls. Redheads are com- 

 ing down well to the mallard decoys. They are doing 

 better than usual in this respect, as most of our local 

 sportsmen claim that they do not decoy "worth a cent." 



Sportsmen who went out the latter part of last week 

 returned to-day. One party had forty ducks and seven 

 geese, another thirty-seven ducks. From data furnished 

 by them I add to the report of March 1G the following- 

 species, this being the date of their first appearance: 

 Blue-winged teal— one specimen shot on Wood River; a 

 pair of bluebi Us— female shot on the Platte— and a very 

 few cinnamon teal. The latter are a rare visitant in this 

 section. Comparing this date with the best of the spring 

 shooting season in 1888, I find that ducks are more 

 abundant, and sportsman are, as a rule, getting larger 

 bags. On the other hand, sport with geese and brant has 

 deteriorated, though there are enough of these, and more 

 than enough to satisfy any rational hunter. 



March 19. — Very warm and clear in the morning with 

 indications of a storm in the afternoon. Many geese, 

 mallards and redheads go northward, though black- 

 winged brant have not yet begun to move. A letter just 

 received from "Sibylline" reports duck shooting in Colo- 

 rado as "below the average" this year. This may account 

 for the better than average sport which we are enjoying. 



From this time until grass starts and the birds can get 

 green picking along the streams and ponds, there will be 

 little new to record. The arrivals and departures of mal- 

 lards, redheads and pintails will offset each other. Teal 

 will not fly much and there will be a sprinkling of butter- 

 balls, widgeon and bluebills. It will be a month before 

 we can tell how many or what kind of ducks will stay 

 or, perhaps, summer in the lagoons along the Platte. 



The ignorance of ducks displayed by some hunters is 



marvelous. From one of to-day's Omaha papers I quote: 

 "Mr. — , a most successful sportsman, has spent two days 

 on the Platte. He returned last evening with an im- 

 mense bag of canvasbacks. " I would like the names, 

 addresses and description of the shooting grounds of any 

 one who has obtained three canvasbacks this season in 

 Nebraska. There might, of course, have been an errant 

 specimen or a pair that had lost their longitude, but even 

 this is doubtful. 



Shooting over decoys is not in high favor with most of 

 our sportsmen, although those who resort to the artifice 

 are uniformly successful. I think that failures must, in 

 many instances, be attributed to the use of pintails instead 

 of mallards or redheads. It is true that the swift waters 

 of the Platte are not so well adapted for the use of decoys 

 as are those of a landlocked lake. 



Neither are retrievers employed to any extent. We 

 have some excellent ones in this section, but most of our 

 good dogs are pointers, and as they lie on the damp 

 ground in a blind they suffer more from cold than do 

 their masters. Setters'on coming from the icy water do 

 not dry thoroughly, and soon become stiffened from the 

 exposure. The secret of the non-use of dogs in ducking- 

 is due to the fact that men who cannot have a dog especi- 

 ally for this purpose prefer to keep their four-footed 

 friends in first-rate condition for quail and chicken shoot- 

 ing. Shoshone. 



Iyeakney, Neb., March 20. 



Kearney, Neb., March 25. — I find that I am in error 

 in the above statement concerning canvasbacks, although, 

 before writing the article, I consulted all of our local 

 sportsmen, and none of them had killed the bird west of 

 the Missouri River. Prof. Smith, of the State Industrial 

 School, has a blind on Second Lake, three miles west of 

 town. He uses canvasbacks as decoys and with good 

 success. On Friday last (March 22) a'small flock of can- 

 vasbacks dropped among his "floaters" and he secured 

 eight. They are the genuine article, and I believe them 

 to be the first canvasbacks shot here in several years. 

 Duck shooting is improving every day. Shoshone. 



NEW ARKANSAS GAME LAW. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I send you new law that has passed both houses of the 

 Legislature in regard to exporting fish and game. It is a 

 decided victory for us as it will stop pot-hunting for the 

 Memphis and St. Louis markets. 



The game law was amended so as to make it unlawful 

 to kill deer between Feb. 1 and Aug. 1, with an out- 

 rageous proviso that they can be killed at any time on 

 one's own premises while destroying crops. The trouble 

 will be in proving that it was not killed on the prisoner's 

 premises. There are some other measures pending and I 

 will advise you if the law is changed. The provisions of 

 the law are as follows: 



Section 1. That all game and fish, except fish in private ponds, 

 found in the limits of this State, he and the fame is hereby declared 

 to be the property of the State, and the hunting, killing and catch- 

 ing of same is declared to he a privilege. 



Sec. 2. It shall be unlawful for any person to export fish or game 

 from this State for the space of six years next after the passage 

 of this act, aud any person violating the previsions of this act 

 shnll be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined on conviction 

 to any sum not less than $25 nor more than $50. 



Sec. 3. It shall be unlawful for any railroad company, steam- 

 boat, express company or any other common carrier to take for 

 carriage anv fish or game consigned to points bevoiid the limits 

 of this State. 



Sec. 4. Any such comraou carrier may refuse to receive any 

 package which it may suppose contains fish or game designed for 

 export, or may cause said package to be opened or may satisfv 

 themselves in any other way that said package doe3 not contain 

 Katne or fish. 



Sec. 5. Auy common carrier violating the provisions of this act 

 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be 

 fined in any sum not less than $50 nor more than $200. 



Sec. 6. Any violation of this act shall be prosecuted in the name 

 of the State of Arkansas, and one half of the fine shall be paid 

 into the county treasury, as other fines are required to be paid, 

 and the. other half shall go to the informer. 



Sec. 7. Justices of the Peace shall have jurisdiction of prosecu- 

 tion under this act. 



Sec. 8. All laws and parts of laws in conflict therewith are 

 hereby repealed, and this act shall he in force from and after its 

 passage. 



Some other measures are pending, of which I will keep 

 you ad vised. Since this law was passed the railroad and 

 express companies have been busy sending out instruc- 

 tions to then- agents regarding the bill. Col. J. A. Wood- 

 son, assistant general freight and passenger agent of the 

 Missouri Pacific lines, recently sent a copy of the bill to 

 each agent with instructions to see that it was complied 

 with. [J. M. R. 



Little Rock, Ark., April 9. 



BUTCHERY IN MICHIGAN. 



THE following account, taken from the Menominee 

 Bange, a newspaper published in Iron Mountain, 

 Michigan, is very suggestive: 



"It will be remembered that Deputy Game Warden 

 Moriarity, of this city, made a great haul of contraband 

 deer which some miscreant had killed at Sawyer Lake, 

 about forty miles up the line, in criminal contravention 

 of the State law against killing game out of season. He 

 brought down with him no fewer than twenty- six dead 

 deer, many of them tender little fawns from one to two 

 months old, showing what heartless ruffians must have 

 done the butchery. The deer were piled in Mr. Moriar- 

 ity's back room, where for a week the great heap of veni- 

 son formed one of the sights of the city, hundreds of 

 people visiting the tumbled mass of bucks, does, and 

 fawns. Not knowing what to do with his important 

 capture, Mr. Moriarity, we understand, wrote to Game 

 Warden Smith, of Menominee for instructions. He knew 

 he could not sell the venison because it would be much 

 the same as selling property knowing it to have been 

 illegally come by, and of course all he could do under 

 the circumstances was to await the orders of his superior 

 officer. Mr. Smith promised that he would come up to 

 Iron Mountain and settle the matter. Five weeks, how- 

 ever, have passed since the deer were seized by Deputy 

 Game Warden Moriarity, and yet Mr. Smith, for some 

 unaccountable reason, has not arrived in Iron Mountain. 

 Not until ten days ago, when the deer were putrid, did 

 Mr. Moriarity receive definite instructions from his chief 

 as to their disposal. As the immense mass of rotten veni- 

 son, weighing over 2,400 pounds, was threatening to drive 

 out Mr. Moriarity by its stench, he had no alternative 

 but to order it to be removed and dumped as offal. It 

 seems to be a dow nright shame, with so many poor people 

 living from hand to mouth in the city, that this great 



