426 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[£>ec. ilj 1890. 



nlflwas the only representative of the rig, Idler and Countess 

 doinT no racing. Tlie small schooners of under 50ft. that were 

 once found ^in such numbers in the East have disappeared entirely 



f ^UsToo^'rly yet for any definite forecast of aext year, but the 

 oatokfo? schooner racing is very poor; if boats would noc enter 

 this year there is no apparent reason tor them enteLing next. 

 Tie largast racer in the class, the 108ft. Constellation, may .join 

 thesSsticker^afactwhlcti is not likely ^ have much in- 

 fluence on racing, one way or the other. Fortuuai^b smutted 

 with a more modern rig, and miy choose to take a hand, m the 

 keel class and the races of the craise. Two or three new yachts 

 of Qalckstep's class are promised, though whether for racing or 

 cruising is not yet announced; if for the former they will have 

 the ? wor£ cut out to beat the little steel flyer Comparing this 

 year with last we find that the 12 races of 1839 had 9a starters, 

 while the same number of races this year had but Id. 



The reason and remedy for the present condition ot schooner 

 racing is something for committees to puzzle over this winter. A 

 few would have it that the trouble lies m the amount and charac- 

 ter of the prizes, that yachtsmen tire of accumulating silver- 

 ware and that cash prizes of large value will restore racing. 

 Against this view is the experience m England, where the once 

 prosperous schooner class has long since entirely disappeared, 

 there being but one schooner, Amphitrite, m the British racing 

 to-day. That this is not due to lack of cash prizes is shown by the 

 following table, from a late number of the Field, showing the 

 amounts given in prizes each year: 



Vonr Prizes. Year. Priz°s. Year. Prizes. 



1855 £2 733 1867? ,£5,100 1879 £10,250 



lie S,800 I860 : 6:210 1880, 1*700 



1857 3 670 1869 6,723 1881 11,650 



lis 3 900 m r i m 188? IS 000 



1859 ..... 3,700 1871 7.987 1883 13,720 



I860. 3 400 1872 10,551 1884 11,600 



1861 3 721 1873 11,312 1885 13,079 



1862 4,000 1874 13 264 1886 10,410 



1863' 4 540 lS-o . 12 498 188" 13 510 



1864 5,400 M i$m 1338. ?-320 



1865 5 800 187 13,220 1889. 11,160 



1866::::::::.... 5^00 ma 13,300 1890 12,020 



While the totals have held their own very steadily from year 

 to vear, schooner racing, and in fact the single-stick racing in 

 the* large sizes, have steadily declined, until one is dead and the 

 other in a very moribund condition, with but two recognized 

 racers of over 70ft. l.w.l. . . 



One thing must not be forgotten in considering large cash 

 prizes, a few of them, for half a dozen or so of races would not 

 make winning profitable, or induce men to race for the chance of 

 making their expenses; in order to show a balance on the right 

 side in September it is necessary to start and to win. too, in 20 to 

 40 races. This year Iverna made 36 starts, winning §5,220; Thistle 

 made 41 starts, winning $5,150; Valkyrie, 34 starts, S1.550; Dragon, 

 40 starts. $2,405; Velzie, 49 starts, $1,615; Yarana, 40 starts, *3,500; 

 and in the smaller classes a number of yachts have started 40 

 times. In order to make yacht racing so profitable an investment 

 as to induce men to follow it, the entire American system would 

 have to be changed, the number of races being trebled. As one 

 great trouble now is that men are too busy to give their time to 

 yacht racing even in the ordinary regattas, this remedy wo a Id 

 hardly avail. „ .. . „ . 



One reason for the absence of the older boats is their inferiority 

 compared with the latest craft, but this does not explain why the 

 new boats keep out of the races, nor why the old ones fight shy of 

 races in which none of the new ones are entered. One trouble un- 

 doubtedly is the cost of racing a larsre yacht in proper form, and 

 the loss of the hoat for other purposes so long as any racing is 

 in view. This is a serious difficulty, and keeps many boats out ot 

 the races, but it is the inevitable result of advance and improve- 



ment. It seems like a retrograde mo vement to clip the wings of 

 the racers and make them go slower m any way. „_ af 

 One of its effects is seen in the increased number of racing craft 

 of small siz% and the greater number ot races sailed ™em , 

 and so far as the sport is concerned this a gam rather than a 

 loss, as the small craft are certain to bring m more i mra l than the 

 Urge. None of us are ready, however, to stand by and se e the 

 large yachts disappear entirely f rom the. racing. There ^still re- 

 mains one remedy to be tried, and though a difficult one it may 

 not be beyond the powers of the regatta committees. This is the 

 creation of a class limited to what is commonly known as cruis- 

 ing trim," or in other words, the limitation of light sails, of strip- 

 ping the boats, and of other extreme racing features, thus lessen- 

 iag the labor and expense of entering a race. If such a class 

 could be established it would take away the excuse that many 

 now have for not entering, but it is impossible to say just how 

 successful the result might be. As long as a depression of this 

 kind in yachting is not due to some specific cause, such as the in- 

 fluence of a bad rule of measurement, which is not now the case, 

 the remedy must be moral rather than material, men must be 

 stirred up to a renewed interest in the sport and to a pride m the 

 achievements of their clubs, and if anything can be done now in 

 this direction it is likely to do much more good than the ottering 

 of larger prizes or any changes of rules. 



HURRY UP THAT CHALLENGE.— Thus far there is no news 

 of a challenge for the America's Cup from England, Scotland, 

 Australia or anywhere else, and the chances are very poor for an 

 international race next year. Under the existing conditions a chal- 

 lenge must be received by the New York Y. C. at once, in order 

 to comply with the ten months notice, and unless one is well on its 

 way now all hopes of a race under the terms of the new deed are 

 at an end for another year. 



NEW STEAM YACHTS.— It is reported that Mr. F. W. Van- 

 derbilt, owner of Vidette, has ordered aSOOff, steam yacht from 

 the Cramps, to be designed by them. Mr. Watson has an order 

 from M. Konsnezoff , a Russian yachtsmen, to design a steam yacht 

 of 1000 tons, to he built by Messrs. Scott. Greenock. The length 

 will be 240ft., beam 30ft. 6in., depth 20ft. 6in. A speed of lo knots 

 is expected. — ______ 



^T* No Notice Taken of Anonymous Correspondents. 



A. H., City.— We would not advise the use of the cartridge in 

 the rifle you name. 



A. E. W., Shady Nook, Pa.— Will yon please tell me how long it 

 is lawful to kill deer in this State? Ans. To Dec. 15. 



S. L. W.. Grand Rapids, Mich.— Of what use are wads in rifle 

 cartridges? Ans. They confine the gas and if of right material, 

 act as lubricators. 



K. H. O.-Will you kindly let me know the best place to go to 

 shoot partridges somewhere comparatively near New York. Ans. 

 Try Mountainville, in Orange county, on th9 Erie; or Woodbury, 

 on the same road. 



Novice— Will you kindly let me know in the next edition of 

 your valuable paper the name and address of the gentleman who 

 is to judge the mastiff classes at tbe next New York bench show? 

 Ans. The judge has not yet been selected. 



A. C. Jb— If in your power will you kindly tell me how or where 

 I can find out if the pedigree of a dog given me is a true and if a 

 good one? This will greatly oblige a reader of your paper. Ans. 

 Write to the American Kennel Club, No. 44 Broadway, this city, 

 giving all the particulars you have about the dog. 



P E. W., Jackson's Hole, Idaho.— Do antelope shed their horns; 

 if so at what time of year? Are the animals known in this part 

 of the Rockies as the mountain lion the same as the Eastern pan- 

 ther? Ans. 1. Yes, they shed them annually, from October to 

 January, the older ones earlier than the young. 2. They are the 

 same. 



M M. B., Ogontz, 0.— Do minks climb trees? I was told by a 

 reliable man that he shot one from a tree which his dog had put 

 up at a height of about 50ft., in the night, while coon hunting. 

 Ans. We have never heard of a similar case, hut it might well 

 occur. Of course some members of the weasel tribe, e.g., marten 

 and fisher, are great tree climbers and pursue and catch in the 

 tree tops such active animals as squirrels. 



p M— 1. Where can I buy colored portraits of fish and game 

 birds from 10, 25 or 50 cents each. Please give address of company 

 that sell same. 2. In which volume of Forest and Stream can 

 I find how to cook fresh-water mussels? 3. Best oil to U9e iu oil- 

 ing inside of barrels after a day's hunt, and where can it be 

 bought? Ans. 1. Perhaps of Currier & Ives, Nassau street, New 

 York. 2. Vol. XXX., pp. 308, 431 contain references to edibility of 

 fresh-water mussels, Dut there is no receipt for cooking them. 

 One writer says he ate them raw. 3. Use vaseline. 



Observer, Ellenburgh Centre, N. Y. — I observed the other 

 day, with a flock of sparrows that are around the barns here, a 

 bird as black as black can be with them feeding, and when they 

 were disturbed this African flew up with tham. He did not seem 

 to be afraid of them or they of him. In size he was a trifle larger. 

 Can you or any reader tell of what species it was? Ans. A bird 

 slightly larger than a sparrow and black in color! Impossible to 

 say what it was. We might guess, but so can you. We guess a 

 blackbird, but of what species? Possibly a rusty, possibly a cow- 

 bunting, though both of these have head lighter than body. 



H., Edgar, Neb.— Are there two kinds of mountain sheep? That 

 is, the sheep known as the big horn and of a dark color, and also 

 one with smaller horns and entirely white? Or is it the regular 

 big horn sheep and the R.ocky Mountain goat? One party claims 

 that there exists (1) the big horn sheep, dark color: (2) the moun- 

 tain sheep, white; (8) the Rocky Mountain goat. Ans. The big horn 

 Or/* ,-a i ' i< • 1 Ld the so-called white goat (Mamma montana) 

 are the only two wild animals called sheep in the United States 

 between Canada and Mexico. The female big horn has small 

 horns and so have the young males. These animals are dark in 

 color— i. e., nearly deer color— in summer and autumn, hut get 

 much paler, sometimes almost white, at the approach of spring. 

 The so-called goat, which is really an antelopa, is white or cream 

 color at all seasons. It is called sheep in some parts of the North- 

 west, especially toward the coast. In Alaska there is another 

 kind of big horn slightly smaller and somewhat lighter colored 

 than the more southern form. This is known as the Dalls sheep. 



INFORMATION WANTED. 



C. J. W„ Longmont, Col., writes: Can some of your numerous 

 readers tell me where I can get good scooting in Texas, near the 

 line of the Denver. Texars and Fort Worth Railroad, sometime 

 during next month? 



Can any of your readers give me the address of Mr. Edward 

 Hamilton, reported to have lived at Deering, Me.? A.ny informa- 

 tion will confer a favor.— Jas. F. Johns, 419 Eastern ave., Lynn, 

 Mass. 



Canvas Canoes and how to Build Tfiem. By Parker B. Field. 

 Price SO cents. Canoe and Boat Building. By W. P. Stephens. 

 Price £2.00. The Canoe Aurora. By C. A. Neide. Price $1. Canoe 

 Handling. By G. B. Yaux. Price $1. Canoe and Camera. By T. 

 S.Steele. Price 1.50. Four Months in a Sneakbox. By N. H. Bishop. 

 Price $1.50. Canoe and Camp Cookery. By "Seneca." Price $1. 



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