Forest and Stream. 



A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 



Tkrms, 84 A Yeah. 10 Cts. a Coft. I 

 Six Months, 82. ) 



NEW TORK, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1893. 



j VOL. XLI.-No. 10, 



I No. 318 BBOAD-WAiiir, New York. 



COIfTENTS. 



Editorial. 



A Question of Ducks and Duty. 

 A Conference of Fish Commis- 

 sioners. 

 Snap Shots. 



The Sportsman Tourist. 



A Great Day for Black Birds. 

 September Lights. 



Natural History. 



Mounted Game Birds in U. S. 



National Museum.— iii. 

 The Moose Bu-d. 



Game Bag and Gun. 



Tenderfooting in the Rockies. 

 The Museum Moose. 

 Idaho Hunting Ranges. 

 Coursing an Old Trail. 

 An Uncomfortable Time. 

 With the Ducks in Warner Valley 

 Rail Shooting Here and There. 

 Montana Game, Wild and Tame. 

 Forest and Stream in the 

 World's Fair. 



Sea and River Fishing. 



Camps of the Kingfishers. 

 Ctucago and the West. 

 The Bass of Crooked Lake. 

 Where Fish Teem in Michigan. 

 A Little Prose About Barnegat. 

 Fishing Postals. 



The Kennel. 



Lexington Dog Show. 

 Manitoba Field Trials Entries. 

 Flaps from the Beaver's Tail. 

 Dog Chat. 



Answers to Correspondents. 



Hunting and Coursing. 



National Fox Hunters' Associa- 

 tion. 



Northwestern Beagle Club Trials 

 Yachting. 

 The Trial Races. 

 Eastern Y. C. Regatta. 

 New Jersey Y. C. 

 A Second August Gale. 

 Larchmont Y. C^ Race. 

 New York Y. R. A. Annual. 

 News Notes. 



Canoeing. 



The A. C. A. Meet. 

 News Notes. 



Rifle Range and Gallery. 



Columbian Prize Shooting. 

 Revolver Shooting in England. 

 Rifle Notes. 



Trap Shooting. 



Boiling Springs vs. Passaic City. 

 Sigoumey Second Annual. 

 Drivers and Twisters. 

 Answers to Queries. 



Fo7- Prospectus and Advertising Rates see Page viii. 



You are invited 



to visit the " Forest and Stream's" 

 exhibit in the Angling Pavilion at 

 the entrance from the main hall 

 of the Fisheries Building, in the 

 World's Fair. 



A QUESTION OF DUCKS AND DUTY. 



One of the amendments of the Minnesota game laws 

 adopted last April presents a curious complication. It is 

 the section relating to duck shooting. The intent of the 

 framers of the law was to forbid the killing of wild ducks, 

 geese and brant "except between the 1st day of Septem- 

 ber and the 35th day of April following." But somebody 

 blundered — a copyist or a compositor or a proof-reader — 

 by omitting from the printed copy of the bill the word 

 "except," so that when finally the measure was adopted, 

 this section declared that it should be a misdemeanor for 

 anybody to kill wild ducks and geese "between the first 

 day of September and the 25th day of April following." 

 The error was discovered by Mr. W, P. Andrus, the 

 very eflScient Executive Agent of the Game and Fish 

 Commission, who took such an active part in securing 

 the enactment of the code. When Sir. Andrus sent in 

 a copy of the new law then pending for the Gavie Laws 

 in Brief, he called attention to this error and assured us 

 that it would be corrected before the bUl was put on its 

 final hearing. The la'w as printed in the Brief accord- 

 ingly contained the word "except." 



The blunder, by which this one important word was 

 omitted in the final draft, completely reverses and nulli- 

 fies the intent of the statute. It makes the intended open 

 season the close season, and the intended close season the 

 open season. It renders what might have proved a good 

 law an exceedingly foolish one. 



In practical effect the statute has failed to protect the 

 game when it needed protection, for a certain class of 

 hunters have not been slow to take advantage of the 

 license afforded, and have killed the fowl right and left at 

 a time when, whatever the laws of the State, those of 

 nature and prudence and sportsmanship and decency de- 

 manded that they should be tmmolested. 



And now that the days of September have begim and 

 those of October and November with their "glorious 

 weather for ducks" are on the way, what shall be the line 

 of duty, if you M'iU, or conduct or practice for him who 

 claims to be a sportsman? 



In Minnesota, as elsewhere in the United States, inas- 

 much as every man has a share in making the laws, it 

 is the recognized duty of every man to abide by whatever 

 laws may be enacted. This he must do if he is to respect 

 himself and command respect from his fellows as a good 



citizen. And inasmuch as the laws relating to game and 

 fish are as a rule chiefly the fruit of the efforts of sports- 

 men-citizens, and as their observance and respect are as 

 a rule chiefly to be secured by the active interest and co- 

 operation of sportsmen-citizens, it is in a peculiar degree 

 the duty of every indiYidual sportsman-citizen carefuUy 

 to observe such laws. That is a statement to which, as a 

 general proposition, most people wiU subscribe. Most 

 sportsmen, indeed, rightly make it a point to respect the 

 game law, even when the provisions of the statute are 

 not in all respects to their individual liking or opinion of 

 what may be wise and proper. 



But here is this Minnesota law, which does not appeal 

 to any man, who knows a wild duck from a wild goose, as 

 being in the least degree wise or proper, or calculated to 

 protect game in a season when it ought to be protected. 

 What is the duty of the individual sportsman-citizen of 

 Minnesota with regard to such a law? 



Three courses are open to him. He may join the 

 shooters who shoot when the law declares it lawful to 

 shoot, between April 25 and September 1. He may re- 

 frain from shooting then, but may shoot in the season 

 forbidden, between September 1 and April [25. He may 

 refrain from shooting at any time. 



One who shaU adopt the first of these courses may 

 indeed justify his shooting by the plea that the law 

 allows it; but claiming to be a sportsman, how may he 

 reconcile himself to shooting at a time when those other 

 laws of nature and sportsmanship forbid? 



If he elect the second course of action, and go for 

 ducks in the natural ducking season, but the illegal 

 season, shall he reason with himself that the statute, 

 which stands in the way, does not embody the intent 

 of its framers, but serves the very opposite of their pur- 

 pose; that therefore it is not worthy of respect and that 

 he will not be bound by it? 



These are not merely idle questions of casuistry, sug- 

 gested here for passing thought. They are veiy real and 

 live questions, which many a Minnesota sportsman has 

 thought out for himself; and if the whole truth were 

 known we probably should find that with different 

 individuals each of the three several conclusions has 

 been accepted as the rule to control personal action. Of 

 one thing we may be sure. Every individual duck 

 shooter who has determined the problem conscientiously 

 has found satisfaction in the course thus decided upon. 



It will be two years before the law can be changed. 



A CONFERENCE OF FISH COMMISSIONERS. 



In connection with the Fisheries Congress to be held 

 next month at the World's Fair, it is proposed to hold 

 also a conference of the Fish Commissioners of the 

 various States. In compliance with a request received 

 from the Commissioners of Fisheries of the New England 

 States, Col. Marshall McDonald, U. S. Commissioner of 

 Fish and Fisheries, has sent out letters to the Commis- 

 sioners of all the States, inviting tlvem to meet in such 

 conference on Oct. 18. All who are present at the Fish- 

 eries Congress wiU thus be able to attend the conference. 



Mr. E. A. Brackett, of Winchester, Mass., Fish Commis- 

 sioner of Massachusetts, has been appointed chairman of 

 the committee on organization of the conference, and 

 Col. McDonald requests those intending to take part in 

 the meeting to announce to Mr. Brackett in advance the 

 topics which they propose to bring up for discussion. 



Meetings of fishculturists are always interesting, and 

 many matters deserving attention may come up at this 

 conference. Perhaps the most important of these is the 

 regulating of our fisheries and the protection of our fish, 

 which should have the fullest discussion. The mainte- 

 nance of our fisheries now depends very largely on 

 methods of artificial propagation, and but slightly on 

 regulation and protection, but these last subjects are 

 quite as important as j)ropagation. To constantly replace 

 captured fish by others, which in their turn shall be cap- 

 tured, is an effective but also a crude method of keeping 

 up the fish supply. Bodies of water once properly 

 stocked should be so protected and the fishing in them so 

 controlled that they wiU restock themselves and con- 

 tinue to be productive for many years. The present care- 

 less and wasteful methods of fishing should be given up 

 and their place be taken by more economical ones. 



It is to be hoped that this conference may be f uUy at- 

 tended by the Fish Commissioners from the various 

 States, and that the subjects which will come up may 

 have careful consideration in advance of the meeting. 



The time given is ample, and those who attend the con 

 ference should come to it prepared for an intelligent and 

 exhaustive discussion of practical mattera. If wisely 

 conducted the meeting shoixld be productive of much 

 good to the general public. 



THE KEEL CUP DEFENDER. 

 Although the Eoyal Yacht Squadron cup of 1851 was 

 won by a keel yacht, from which it has taken its present 

 name of the America's Cup, the defense of the trophy 

 has, from the first challenge, been intrusted to center- 

 board yachts. 



The success of the little cutter Clara, in 1885, first sug- 

 gested the possibility of a keel cup defender, and such a 

 yacht was talked of at various times, especially in con- 

 nection with the victories of Minerva and Gloriana. 



Now the suggestion has become a reality, and a Herre- 

 shoff keel yacht will sail in the trial races; but it must be 

 admitted that the long-looked for experiment, which 

 should have been fruitful and, profitable, has been con- 

 demned to failure from the start. 



Colonia is in all ways a beautiful model, quite the equal 

 in form of Gloriana and Wasp, well canvassed and ably 

 handled, but she has one fatal defect in the lack of ample 

 draft. This was well demonstrated in the cruise races, 

 but no attempt was made then, while there was time to 

 remedy it, the builders, as we understand, opposing the 

 deepening of the keel. Now, at the last moment, an at- 

 tempt has been made, but it promises to be both costly 

 and ineffective. Lead has been taken from inside and 

 bolted to the keel, but not where it is really needed. 



The keel was originally elliptical in section, being 

 slightly bulbed, and the new lead has been hurriedly 

 bolted on each side for the length, the addition being 

 6in. thick in the middle and tapering out in all directions. 

 The effect is to increase the major diameter of the ellipse 

 by 1ft. The fault to be remedied was not lack of power, 

 the yacht was as stiff as the other three and carried her 

 sail well; the real trouble was the failure to hang on. 

 How this is to be remedied by a mere addition of outside 

 weight on the same draft remains to be seen, but it looks 

 now as though the whole costly experiment of building a 

 keel cup defender would fail through an error in the 

 selection of the original dimensions. 



SNAP SHOTS. 



Mr. F. H. Thurston, of Central Lake, Mich., who 

 wrote in our issue of Aug. 26 in defense of his claim of 

 priority in the use of the pen-name "Kelpie," tells us that 

 it was by inadvertance that he signed his commimication 

 "Kelpie" instead of by his own name. We improve the 

 opportunity to remark, as we intended then to say, that 

 Mr. Thurston is entitled to the nom de plume "Kelpie," 

 which he has employed for many years to the please- 

 ment (as "Kingfisher" would put it) of our hosts of read- 

 ers who know thLs ' 'Kelpie" and no other. 



The course of many a life is determined by a trivial 

 incident, something that appears to have been the merest 

 chance. It was just happening to glance into a poulter- 

 er's window one day and seeing there exposed for sale 

 some game in the close season that set Mr. A. C. Collins, 

 of Hartford, Conn., to thinking on the violation of the 

 game laws; prompted him to undertake the enforcement 

 of the laws; and eventually made of him the best known, 

 most efficient and imcompromising terror to game and 

 fish poachers in New England. And now, because of his 

 good record as a game warden, Mr. Collins is talked of as 

 a candidate for the office of Hartford's chief of police. 

 It would be a satisfaction to see him there, if for nothing 

 more than to round out the story of what followed from 

 that casual glance at game out of season in a Hartford 

 show window. 



It is curious' how many people say Adriondacks for 

 Adirondacks; people who live there, too, or who have been 

 fishing up there, and ought to know better. It is like- 

 wise curious how many people write monies for moneys, 

 people who have lots of money, too, and ought to know 

 better. The mis-speUed "monies" appears frequently in 

 trap tournament programmes, more often perhaps than 

 the correct "moneys." 



We have learned that three broods of Massachusetts 

 prairie chickens were seen this year — fruit of the Massa- 

 chusetts Fish and Game Protective Associatiori enterprise, 



