Forest and Stream, 



A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 



Teems, $1 a Year. 10 Cts. a Copy. ) 



Six Months, $2. f 



NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 29, 1888. 



I VOL. XXXI.-No. IS. 



I No. 318 Broadway, New York. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



The Forest and Stream is the recognized medium of entertain- 

 ment, instruction and information bet-ween American sportsmen. 

 Communications on the subject to which its pages are devoted are 

 respectfully invited. Anonymous communications will not be re- 

 garded. No name will be published except with writer's consent. 

 The Editors are not responsible for the views of correspondents. 

 ADVERTISEMENTS. 



Only advertisements of an approved character inserted. Inside 

 pages, nonpareil type, 30 cents per line. Special rates for three, six, 

 and twelve months. Seven words to the line, twelve linea to one 

 inch. Advertisements should be sent in by Saturday previous to 

 issue in which they are to be inserted. Transient advertisements 

 must invariably be accompanied by the money or they will not be 

 Inserted. Reading notices 81.00 per line. 



SUBSCRIPTIONS 

 .May begin at any time. Subscription price, $4 per year; $2 for six 

 months; to a club of three annual subscribers, three copies for $10; 

 Ave copies for $16. Remit by express money-order, regi ered letter, 

 money-order, or draft, payable to the Forest and Stream Publishing 

 Oompany. The paper may be obtained of newsdealers throughout 

 she United States, Canadas and Great Britain. For sale by Davies 

 & Co., No. 1 Finch Lane, Cornhill, London. General subscription 

 regents for Great Britain, Messrs. Davies & Co., and Messrs. Samp- 

 son Low, Marston, Searles and Rivington, 188 Fleet street, London, 

 Eng. Brentano's, 17 Avenue de l'Opera, Paris, France, sole Paris 

 agent for sales and subscriptions. Foreign subscription price, $5 

 per year; $2.50 for six months. 

 Address all communications 



Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 

 •No. 318 Broadway. New York City. 



CONTENTS. 



Editorial. 



Buffalo Breeding. 



Snap Snots. 

 The Sportsman Tourist. 



Notes on Western Florida.-iv. 



In Newfoundland. 

 Natural History. 



The Ways of Snakes. 



Jumping Mice aud the Porcu- 

 pines.— ii. 



The Audubon Monument. 



Game in Town. 

 Game Bag and Gun. 



The Sleeping Buck. 



Shots we Remember. 



TPe Woodcock Supply. 



Are His Points Well Taken? 



Betsy for Short. 



Save the Does. 



With the Squirrels. 



Michigan's Northern Penin- 

 sula. 



The Letheans. 



A Hunt on the West Gallatin. 

 Ducking in Great South Bay. 

 What the Blizzard Brought. 

 A Hunt in "Forest and 



Stream." 

 Elk Hunting Ethics. 

 Chicago and the West. 

 Rifles for Small Game. 

 Game Notes. 



Sea and River Fishing. 

 Salmon in the Dungarvon. 

 The Menhaden Run of 1888. 

 Frederick E. Ranger. 

 Effect of Sawdust on Fisti. 



FlSHCULTTJRE. 



New York Fishery Commis- 

 sion. 

 The Kennel. 



Practical Judging. 



The Eastern Field Trials. 



American Field Trial Club 

 Entries. 



The Spaniels. 



"Our Prize Dogs." 



Dog Talk. 



Kennel Notes. 



Kennel Management. 

 Rifle and Trap Shooting. 



Range and Gallery. 



The Trap. 



Wichita Tournament. 

 Yachting. 



MacDonald's Cove. 



Summer Cruise on the Sound. 

 Canoeing. 



A. C. A. Meet of 1888. 



A. C. A. Executive Committee. 



Essex C. C. 



Sliding Seat for Canoes. 

 New Publications, 

 answers to Correspondents. 



BUFFALO BREEDING. 



WE have already recorded the transfer of the cele- 

 brated Bedson herd of buffalo to the well-known 

 'Buffalo" Jones of Kansas. Our Chicago correspondent 

 in his notes printed to-day, reports the arrival of the herd 

 at Minneapolis on its way to Mr. Jones's ranch at 

 Garden City. In the estimation at least of those who 

 take pleasure in the study of our large game, either as 

 sportsmen or as naturalists, this transfer of live stock is 

 an event worthy of more than passing note. 



The last year of the great buffalo herds in the Canadian 

 Northwest was 1878. During that summer the great 

 plains of the Saskatchewan were dotted and darkened 

 with buffalo herds for hundreds of miles, and in the 

 words of a recent correspondent of this paper the coun- 

 try was "one robe." Of course the hunters of all kinds 

 repaired thither from all regions, and the slaughter was 

 great. The supply of robes then sent to Winnipeg is 

 hardly yet exhausted. 



One band of Indians returning to that city laden with 

 spoil drove in alive five buffalo calves. These calves be- 

 came the property of Mr. James McKay, a prominent 

 half-breed, better known as ''Tonka Jim" from his im- 

 mense stature. For four years these buffalo were 

 allowed to ramble about the prairie on the outskirts of 

 the town, in company with the ordinary cattle of the 

 vicinity, nor were they disposed to molest any one nor 

 to move away to distant regions, but continued to thrive 

 and multiply without care or attention until 1883, when 

 the whole herd, now numbering twenty-three, including 

 hybrids with the domestic cattle, were sold to Mr. Sam- 

 uel L. Bedson, the warden of the penitentiary at Winni- 

 peg, and an enthusiast on the subjects of domestication 

 and improvement by-tfareeding of more than one species 

 of indigenous wild animals. 



Having received the material for his experiment, Mr. 

 Jiedson set about endeavoring to supply a r§ftch animal 



that was better adapted to withstand the rigors of the cli- 

 mate and scarcity of food than the common neat cattle 

 now universal on the ranches of the Northwestern States 

 and Canada. Setting the buffalo and the neat kine side 

 by side with a view to comparison of their respective 

 advantages as ranch beasts, we find first, that the domes- 

 tic animal is liable to great mortality from drought, frost, 

 snow, starvation, disease, stampede, and to some extent 

 from wild beasts. Its flesh certainly is of the highest grade, 

 but its hide is not worth more than a couple of dollars, 

 and the great cost of herding all the year round and of 

 feeding through the winter, is enough to turn the balance 

 of profit into dead loss whenever, as is now the case, the 

 cost of marketing or the price in market takes a turn 

 for the worse. 



The buffalo's characteristic disadvantages are the com- 

 parative inferiority of its flesh, the great size of the fore- 

 quarters and the slightness of the hindquarters; all of 

 which is just the reverse of what a beef animal should 

 be. On the other hand, all records and all Mr. Bedson's 

 experience go to show that the buffalo enjoys complete 

 immunity from all disease; and in winter and summer it 

 can feed itself on the prairie grasses even when it has to 

 dig for them through a couple of feet of snow. To frost 

 and snow it is entirely indifferent; as an example of this 

 we may cite the case of a buffalo cow which brought 

 forth a calf on the open prairie in January, 1884, and 

 although at the time the thermometer registered 38° 

 below zero, neither cow nor calf appeared to suffer 

 the slightest inconvenience. Numerous other instances 

 might be given to illustrate the complete hardiness of the 

 buffalo; but, as a matter of fact, this is a point on which 

 no one who has had any experience with the animal can 

 have any doubt. It is, moreover, quite certain that all 

 losses from mortality that ensue with the present cattle 

 would be saved with the buffalo, for all reductions of the 

 Bedson herd were made either by the butcher's knife or 

 by the rifles of maliciously disposed neighboi-s. 



Again, the hide of the buffalo is worth from $10 to $15, 

 and it has established itself in the position of an indis- 

 pensable wrap in our northern climate. Once a year the 

 buffalo sheds its fleece, scraping it off in great flakes 

 against the bushes and trees. This wool is easily gath- 

 ered and readily worked up into a yarn that will com- 

 pare favorably with that produced by the inferior breeds 

 of sheep. This it will be seen is no inconsiderable item 

 when we are told that each animal yields from 10 to 

 121bs. of the raw material. Many years ago there was 

 in Winnipeg a cloth factory for the manufacture of 

 buffalo wool, and its operations ceased only with the ex- 

 tirpation of the animals in the vicinity of the town. 



In one particular the buffalo is greatly the inferior of 

 its domesticated relative, and that is as a milker, but to 

 the ranchmen this item is of no consequence whatever. 

 As a draught animal it is stronger, quicker and more en- 

 during than its short-haired relative. 



It is a remarkable fact that the buffalo and the Bos 

 taunts are inter-fertile in all degrees of hybridity, so that 

 Mr. Bedson found his material plastic enough when he 

 s et about his experiments, and yet it proved necessary to 

 exercise caution , for it was believed that though the buffalo 

 cow could readily bring forth the hybrid calf, the com- 

 mon cow could not always do so on account of the great 

 size of the young one's shoulders compared with the 

 orifice in the pelvic bones. But beside this one mechani- 

 cal obstacle there was no barrier to indiscriminate inter- 

 breeding. 



As a result of crossing Mr. Bedson has succeeded in pro- 

 ducing an animal which in a great measure unites the 

 best qualities of both species. It is of nearly the same 

 shape as the common steer and therefore much better for 

 beef; it is invested with a robe of long, soft, glossy fur, 

 which is almost even in length all over the animal and 

 varied in shade from light brown through brindle to pure 

 black. It is also improved as a milker, but it must be 

 confessed that the animal is more or less liable to kick 

 during the process of milking. It, however, retains the 

 hardiness of its wild progenitor, and altogether gives 

 good promise of being the ranch beast of the future. 



In January, 1885, the herd numbered forty-one; of 

 these nine were half-breeds, six were three-quarter bred 

 and the rest were pure buffalo. During that year the 

 Northwest Buffalo Breeding Company was formed, with 

 Mr. Bedson of course as its central figure. Major Bell, of 

 the Bell Farm at Qu'Appelle, also took a prominent part, 

 and the herd was divided, so that a large portion was 

 under tjxe supervision of the l§tter gentleman! 



In January, 1887, the remainder of the original herd 

 numbered something over sixty; and if we are informed 

 aright, it is this remaining lot, with its natural increase 

 of the last two years, numbering now some eighty odd, 

 that has become the property of "Buffalo" Jones, of Garden 

 City. That the Kansas breeder may succeed beyond his 

 highest expectations in preserving this grand animal 

 from extirpation, in giving us a new and valuable addi- 

 tion to the stock farm, and in reaping the golden harvest 

 he so richly deserves for his energy and enterprise, must 

 be the wish of every one who is watching his experiments. 



SNAP SHOTS. 



OUR gun columns have been specially useful in recent 

 numbers, because of the many reports of shooting 

 localities. Numbers of our readers are on the lookout for 

 information respecting desirable game resorts, and notes 

 giving such directions are always acceptable. It is by 

 the free interchange of advice of this character that the 

 shooting fraternity can make the columns of Forest and 

 Stream most useful to one another. 



The seventh annual meeting of the American Forestry 

 Congress will be held at Atlanta, Ga., Dec. 5, 6 and 7. 

 Special passenger rates have been provided, particulars 

 of which may be had on application to Hon. Sidney Eoot, 

 Atlanta. The sessions will be open to the public, and as 

 interest in forestry is rapidly growing in the country, it 

 is expected that the Atlanta Congress will be more largely 

 attended than any of the previous ones. The secretary 

 is Mr. E. B. Fernow, of Washington. 



The suggestion made in these columns that the female 

 deer should be spared, was intended to apply specifically 

 to the Adirondack game region of New York. The neces- 

 sity of reasona' >le resti ictions of game destruction in that 

 area is very generally recognized. Without discussing 

 the economic advantages of a general observance of a rule 

 to spare the does in all hunting localities, without con- 

 sidering even the practicability of such a rule were its 

 general application desirable, there can be no question of 

 its beneficial effects on the North Woods nor of the feasi- 

 bility of observing it there. Indeed, the rule is actually 

 in force, by common acceptance, in certain localities, 

 where guides and visitors are agreed upon its advantages. 



The season of 1888 is not to be recorded as the ideal 

 with respect to weather conditions. There has been 

 much rain, and of the days set apart for shooting a large 

 proportion have proved to be disagreeable. Hunting par- 

 ties who have returned from the far Northwest report 

 exceeding disagreeable weather there, with much snow 

 and storm through October and November, making suc- 

 cessful hunting an utter impossibility. The mild tem- 

 perature which has prevailed in the vicinity of New 

 York has not helped the duck shooting; but a change 

 came with the storm of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday 

 which has prevailed very generally over the country, and 

 we may now expect to hear of successful wildfowling 

 excursions. 



Missouri sportsmen have set on foot a movement to pro- 

 vide for that State a game warden system similar to those 

 of New York, Michigan and others. This is the only 

 machinery yet devised to secure game protection, while 

 associations like that of the Connecticut sportsmen and 

 farmers, which is now attracting attention because of its 

 activity, answer the purpose in specific cases, and for a 

 short period, so long only as the initial enthusiasm holds 

 out; but they fail in the end from the very nature of 

 things. It is not to be expected of average human nature 

 that private citizens shall keep on forever doing the 

 work which properly belongs to the State or town 

 administration. Game law enforcement, like all other 

 law enforcement, is a public concern; provision should 

 be made for it by the community at large. Missouri and 

 all other States which supply the Eastern markets with 

 game must, as steps of political economy, control the 

 traffic by a system of public officials paid to do the work. 

 Why is it that at the present time, when local supplies 

 have been exhausted, the New York game dealers buy 

 their quail about as cheap now as they did twenty years 

 ago? Because transportation facilities are such that they 

 can bring their game from a great distance by a "long 

 haul" at about the expense formerly attaching to a "short 

 haul," and they are thus depleting the supplies of the 

 W^st j«4 S§ t&ey hayg thQ§e of fee Bast, 



