Nov. 25, 1893.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



469 



Californian Coursing Notes. 



San Francisco, Ncv. 6.— Things in the coursing line are 

 pretty busy now in and about this city. Most of the leash- 

 men can be seen at early dami exercising tbeir dogs in anti- 

 cipation of the big meeting that is to come off on the Newark 



f rounds on Thanksgiving Day, under the auspices of the new 

 an Francisco Coursing Club. It is pretty certain that at 

 least from 50 to 64 dogs will enter for this stake, and as the 

 major portion of the proceeds will be handed o'f-er as a dona- 

 tion to our Midwinter Fair (which, I may say, is spreading 

 out into vast proportions and bids welito rival in many of 

 its exhibits the great one of Chicago), the managers of the 

 coursing meeting are expecting to see the largest crowd at 

 Newark that was ever seen on these grounds before. All the 

 crack dogs of the Pacific coast are sure to be nominated, and 

 if weather suits, and of that there is but little fear, the lovers 

 of the leash hereabouts will witness two such days' sport 

 as has not been seen here for some time. Of course, Mr. 

 Grace will be in the saddle and the greatest slipper in 

 America, James Wren, will handle the leash, so there cannot 

 be any danger of mistakes. 



On this occasion there will be two stakes, an All-Aged one 

 at $5 each for all comers and a Puppy Stake at S2.50 each for 

 members' dogs only. The new club has now 46 members on 

 its books and they control about 140 dogs. 



There were two very fine specimens of the greyhound 

 added to our stock of longtails last week. Mr. R. E. de B. 

 Lopez, who has brought from Australia during the past 

 year many fine thoroughbred horses, arrived here last week 

 again from the southern hemisphere, bringing another con- 

 signment of thoroughbreds and the two dogs referred to 

 above. The breeding of these dogs is of the bluest blood 

 and if their performance in the field will be anything in pro- 

 portion to their appearance they should be dangerous oppo- 

 nents. They will be run at Newark on Thanksgiving Day, 

 so we will soon see what they are likely to do when pitted 

 against some of our California cracks. 



The interstate meeting, which was postponed until spring 

 in consequence of the international event, bids fair to equal 



would have a nxit to crack that would throw the Chicopee 

 Lass— Pearl of Pekia case completely in the shade, and may 

 cause a rehearsal if not a reversal of the whole proceedings. 



Of course I take it for granted that the card was run as 

 printed in the papers above mentioned. Gazehound. 



• • ■ • 



Condition of Greyhounds. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In your paper of Nov. 4, Dr. G. Irwin Royce in his remarks 

 on the winners at Goodland, .speaks of my greyhounds beinsr 

 in better condition this year than ever before, hence they 

 have gone to the front. Now I am not finding fault with the 

 Doctor having his opinion, every man has a right to that, 

 but any one reading his remarks might suppose that this was 

 the first year my kennel had taken honors on the coursing 

 field. 



I think the record of my kennel during the five years that 

 I have been coursing in this country, will bear comparison 

 with any greyhound kennel in America, as the following 

 results show. It may be as well to mention that for seven 

 years the only coursing meeting held in America, except in 

 California, has been the American Coursing Club meeting, 

 held annually in October at Great Bend, Kansas. I have had 

 the pleasure of running greyhounds at that meeting for five 

 years out of the seven, with the following record. In 1888, I 

 was the runner-up in the American Field Cup, a thirty-two 

 dog entry, with AVhite Lips; in 18S9 I was again the rtinner- 

 up for the same cup, with White Lips. In 1890, I ran with 

 the last four in the same stake, with Lancashire Lass. In 

 1891, I ran into the last four for the same stake, with Master 

 Peter, and in 1892 I was the ntnner-up for the same stake, 

 with Master Pet«r, and I think every man who was present 

 on those occasions will admit that it was only a bit of bad 

 luck and not the want of condition in the greyhounds that 

 prevented my taking first honors on some of those occasions. 



A greyhound must be fit to run to enable him to be a 

 runner-np in a thirty-two dog stake, especially when cours- 

 ing a Great Bend jack. The only other public coursing 



12 3 4 5 G S !) 10 1 12 13 11 15 16 17 IS 



KENMORE COURSING CLUB AT GOODLAND, KAN. 

 1. Dv. Cattannch with Princes.? May. 2. W, Walker. .3. P. DawsonT^-ithRhea, 4. C. F. Webs er, Sec'j-- .i. F. Robinson, fi. M.B. Tomblin, Vice-Pres. 

 7. D. C. ] use with Llghtfoot. 8. Mr. Davis. !). J K. Cochran with Nancy. 10. Mr. Woodard II. E. H. Mulcaster, Judge, on horsebaclr. 

 12. D. O. Miller. 13. H. C. Lowe w ith St. Lawrence and" MelJtta. 14. Dr. Van Hiimmell. 15. C. Barrow with Bird's Bye. 16. Dr. O. Irwhi Royce. 

 17. T. W. Bartels with Bon Bon. 18. E. Taylor, Slipper. 



any of the meetings held hitherto on the celebrated Merced 

 plains. The lovers of the leash in that district are already 

 making arrangements and the purses will, as usual, be worth 

 competing for. The meet will be held, I think, on Washing- 

 ton's Birthday. Indeed, this is a much better season of the 

 year to hold a meeting on the plains than in November, as 

 the hares will not then be such flyers and much mote satis- 

 factory coursing may be looked for. Due notice, of course, 

 will be given before the end of the year of this great event. 



A coursing club was started in the southern portion of the 

 State last month, with its headquarters at Los Angeles, and 

 I have it on the best authority that some young gentlemen 

 of the millionaire class who reside about Bakersfield, also in 

 the southern portion of the State, intend forming a club 

 among themselves during the coming winter months, and 

 will give good purses to be competed for. This is what is 

 wanted, not only in California but all over the country; and 

 if these young gentlemen with long purses and high social 

 positions will only take to the grand old sport, it is safe to 

 say that in a A'ery few years the game of the leash would 

 become the most popular, as it is the most enjoyable, of all 

 our field sports. 



The Chicopee Lass— Pearl of Pekin case evidently promises 

 to be one of the celebrated cases of the leash in this country. 

 I see [that at the last meeting of the American Coursing 

 Club held at Goodland, Kas., on Oct. IS last, it was 

 agreed to accept the decision of the National Greyhound 

 Club in this case. This surely is somewhat singular to say 

 the least of it, as I read in the very same issue that the N. G. 

 Club had been most unceremoniouslj^ washed out of exist- 

 ence by almost the same individuals a few days before, pre- 

 sumably, I suppose, in consequence of their incompetency. 

 It does not appear that even tne usual cheap compliment of 

 a vote of thanks for past services was accorded the kicked 

 out body, yet these very men of the American Coursing 

 Club, or at all events the greater portion of them, accept the 

 decision of the club in the Chicopee Lass case, that upsets their 

 own ruling of a year ago. This surely is an admitted proof 

 that the N. G. Club knows more of coursing rules and ethics 

 than do the gentlemen of the American Coursing Club. Why 

 then, may I ask, are they so unceremoniously nurled from 

 their exalted pedestal and replaced by the very men who by 

 their own action admit that they are their inferiors in cours- 

 ing knowledge? Strange work this, is it not? Judging the 

 new organization by such methods as this it is difficult to 

 see how they can gain confidence from outside clubs. 



I see that the International meetirg as reported in Forest 

 AND Stream was, on the whole, a success, and that with the 

 exception of the course between Ban Boy and I/aplander, 

 which evidenly was misjudged, Mr. Williams did very well, 

 and possibly with more experience will be all that could be 

 wished for as a judge. But what seems a puzzle beyond all 

 comprehension is the working of the card as published, 

 for surely never since the first coursing match was run in 

 the world were dogs so outrageously mixed up and made to 

 run altogether out of their proper places. For instance, why 

 did Voltaire in the second round of the Cup get a bye, as it 

 clearly belonged to Delsarte. Why the former was brought 

 up to the top of the card from the bottom beats comprehen- 

 sion; consequently nearly all the dogs ran in the wrong 

 place before the card was finished for the Columbus Cup. 



The same thing occurred at Goodland last week. I trust 

 that some of the gentlemen who had charge of this depart- 

 ment will explain how they managed or what guided them 

 in their actions. If any of the losers in the cup had made 

 protest I am inclined to think that the N. G. Club, or the 

 more recent formation, the "American Coursing Board," 



meeting ever held this side of California, to my knowledge, 

 imtil this year, was at Hutchinson, Kansas, in 1890, when 

 I won the National Derby with Liberty, by Lord Neversettle 

 out of Partera, and my two greyhounds Little Climber and 

 Line of Luck, both by Lord Neversettle out of Partera, 

 divided the Hutchinson Stakes with Babazoun. 



H. C. Lowe. 



Lawhenge, Kansas. 



• • ■ • 



Forest and Stream Fur Club's Meet. 



The annual outing of the Forest and Stream Fur Club 

 took place at Wakefield, N. H., Oct. 16 to 26. The weather 

 was hot and ground dry, making it hard following for the 

 hounds, whose occasional loss of the trail was in marked 

 contrast to the steady driving of previous years. 



An early start was" made Monday morning. The hounds 

 soon hit a hot track and trailed rapidly awfiy, and soon had 

 reynard on his feet. Each "assassin" grasped firmly his 

 murderous 10-gauge and eagerly scanned the surrouiiding 

 hills for a sight of the fox, but all were disappointed. The 

 hounds drove steadily westward and soon were out of hear- 

 ing. No more was heard from them for the day, in fact, one 

 of the dogs was not found until Wednesday, and another not 

 until after the meet was over. Ill luck seemed to follow us 

 the whole week, for after the hardest kind of work on our 

 part and hours of unsatisfactory trailing by the houuds we 

 succeeded in killing 4 foxes against 9 the previous year. 



Some of the boys not so enthusiastic over fox hunting as 

 the others, gave it up and turned their attention to other 

 game, and such a bombarding you never heard, the result of 

 which was 12 rabbits, 10 partridges and 41 gray squirrels. 



M. 



Faemington, N, H. 



• • o • 



HUNTING AND COURSING NOTES. 



The Los Angeles Coursing Club held its first meeting Oct. 

 29, and is said to have been a success. Tom Rice's Tom won 

 first prize, and C. J. Nestor's Queen was the runner-up. The 

 club will hold another meeting shortly. 



■ ■ • • 



A meeting of the executive and field trial committee of the 

 National Beagle Club of America will be held at the A. K. 

 C. rooms, 44 Broadway, New York, on Monday, Nov. 27, at 

 4 P. M. 



• ■ • ■ 



We have received a picture of the "Buckstaff medal," 

 awarded at the N. W. Beagle Club trials to Messrs. Dilling- 

 ham & Remmele's beagle Mayfly. A beagle's head is rep- 

 resented on the medal, which bangs from aTbar under which 

 is a rabbit "on the run." It seems a handsome piece of 

 work and we congratulate Mayfly's owners upon their good 

 fortune. 



Westfield, Mass., is a pretty town, through which the 

 Westfield River runs. The town is surrounded by hills 

 covered with woods and brush, afl:"ording a capital hunting 

 country. Grouse are plentiful and there are lots of foxes. 

 The town seems to be devoted to the manufacture of whips 

 and segars. Mr. Jeffers, who showed the foxhounds Nora 

 and Nancy at Providence and Danbury, winning firsts and 

 seconds, kindly piloted us through the American Whip Co.'s 

 large factory, affording us a novel and entertaining experi- 

 ence. Another whip and dog man is Mr. Whipple, wnose 



fancy runs to English setters, of which he has had a large 

 number. He just lost a Rockingham— Donna bitch,'Donna 

 Innees, that he thought a great deal of. She was afflicted 

 with paralysis in the hind parts, and her ownerjfeltjcom- 

 pelled to put her out of her misery very recently.!* He, owns 

 a good-looking dog. Buck II., by Buckellew out of, Lady 

 Mary. 



• • • • 



Mr. Dell A. Hamilton, of Worcester, Mass., has bought the 

 foxhound Hector from John G. Sibley, of Gilbertville, Mass., 

 and on Thursday last shot two foxes ahead of him in the Gil- 

 bertville country. 



• • • • 



The Worcester Coon Club is composed of Chas. S. Barton, 

 L. N. Kinnicutt, Charles Bowker, Waldo Lincoln and George 

 Richardson, and they have a good many skins to show. 

 With their coon dog iSI^ed they grassed three big "ringtails" 

 last week. 



• • • • 



Uncle Nathan Harrington, of Worcester, Mass., who is 

 said to be 76 years old, has a great reputation as a fox hunter 

 and original character. He was expected to be present at 

 the Westfield hunt, but did not turn up. He shot his third 

 fox this season near Dority Hill with the first barrel. The 

 day after this hunt a party of hunters including the veteran 

 sportsman, were discus.sing the merits of black and smoke- 

 less powders in fox hunting. One hunter remarked: "I don't 

 want any black powder in mine when I am fox hunting, any 

 more than when I am in the brush; there is so much smoke 

 that you can't .=ee to put the second barrel on. What do you 

 think about it, LTncle Nathan?" "Black's good enough for 

 me. You don't need to see to shoot the second barrel :iffyou 

 can kill 'em with the first." And that's true enough. 



• • • • 



The Radnor Hunt has elected the following officers: Pres., 

 A. .7. Cassatt; Yice-Pres., Rudolph EHlis; Treas., George 

 Philler; Sec'y, W. S. Ellis; M. F. H., Charles E. Mather. 

 Governors— Clement A. Griscom, Henry L. Geyelin and 

 Lincoln Godfrey. Charles E. Mather. M. P. H., gave a 

 breakfast at the club house on Saturday morning last. 

 After breakfast the members and guests had one of the 

 finest hunts of the season. Starting a fox about 8:45 they 

 ran him to earth after an hour and a quarter's run. Another 

 good run followed with a fox that was lost near Haverford 

 College, This hunt is one of the few in the country which 

 has not to draw on the wily aniseed bag for its fun. They 

 follow the real Simon pure with a brush on it. Frank Gil- 

 lard is the huntsman, son of the noted huntsman of the 

 Duke of Rutland's Belvoin Hunt, in England. 



• • • • 



President Roraback of the Western Massachusetts Fox 

 Club, tells us that hereafter the dogs that take part in the 

 annual hunts will be registered with the club before they run. 

 This is a good move. It leads to greater accuracy in pedi- 

 grees and lends more interest to the competition. 



• • • • 



Word comes from Denver, Col., that "a nice little coursing 

 party" will charter a special car and go to Goodland, Kas., 

 for a quiet bit of coursing. The members of the party will 

 put in .^S each for an eight-dog stake and run it off in a day. 

 Mr. Ralph Taylor will go along and has kindly consented to 

 slip. Should the weather be unfavorable the aft'air will be 

 put off till Dec. 30. Coursing interests are simply on the 

 hum out in Denver; every Sun'day parties can be seen driving 

 out in nearly every direction with from two to six hounds, 

 going out for a course. 



• • • • 



The St. Patrick Kennels have matched Buenarita (Norwe- 

 gian — Buenretero) against A. C. Lighthall's Buster (Goldust 

 —Lady) for -SlOO a side. The race will be run off near Denver 

 on Nov. 26. 



The popular interest in a contest for the America's Cup is a fairly 

 constant quantity, varying a little according to chance circumstances, 

 sucli as the personality of the challenger or defender, or the record of 

 either boat; but it is at all times sufficient to create a stir, throughout 

 all parts of America at least. The technical interest, on the part of 

 experienced yachtsmen of both nations, is a far more variable quan- 

 tity, disappearing almost entirely in some contests, such as those be- 

 tween Madeline and the Countess of Dufferin, and Mischief and At- 

 lanta, in which both defender and challenger were of the same type ; 

 and rising to the highest pitch in such races as that of 1885, in which 

 the wide compromise centerboard v\'as pitted against the narrow keel. 



Although the old issue of sloop and cutter, with its clearly marked 

 line of separation over vital points of design, has entirely disappear! d, 

 and the two contestants of 1893 hare very many points of design in 

 common, the technical interest this year is quite as great and even 

 more important than the popular, as is shown by the numerous com- 

 ments and criticisms which have appeared since the last race, some of 

 which we reprint this week. Of the British criticisms, it must be said 

 that in the main they are remarkablj' fair and impartial in the state- 

 ment of facts, and correct in their deductions. 



IjiMEDtATKLT after the races there was a revival of the old clamor 

 over the cent«rboard on the part of some British critics, but on sum- 

 ming up the races finally most of them now concede that Vigilant's 

 superior speed lies in her power, and not in the mere possession of a 

 centerboard. The Field devotes some space to an interesting discus- 

 sion of both the centerboard and the extra live ballast of Vigilant, but 

 in our opinion it undervalues the importance of the latter, Vigilant" 8 

 gain in carrying a very large crew is a double one. In the first place, 

 apart from all mathematical considerations, it has been repeatedly de- 

 monstrated in practice in this country that under the proper condi- 

 tions live ballast is the best by far that can be carried, and will almost 

 invariably defeat fixed ballast, even in the form of low lead. While it 

 is a long step from Mary Emma, Sir Iselin's racing sandbagger of 

 1875, with her dj-af t of 3i3in., to VigUant with her draft of 14ft., it is 

 quite certain that both Mr. Iselin and Mr. Herreshoff had the old boat 

 in mind when the new Cup defender was planned, and that in the ab- 

 sence of any specific limitation to the crew, sucli dimensions and form 

 were chosen as would give the greatest possible effect to live ballast. 



That there was a material gain in this way can hardly be disputed in 

 the light of past experience in the same direction; but the advan- 

 tage did not stop with the mere carrying of the weight at the end of a 

 long horizontal lever, the half beam of the yacht, and the facility for 

 trimming fore and aft by this extra weight. Under the interpretation 

 of the measurement rule wiiich has been followed this year, each 

 yacht is allowed the privilege of being measured with no crew on 

 board. What this means to Vigilant is easily seen when we consider 

 that after measurment she takes aboard no less than 414 tons of ■ 

 U7imeasured ballast, while Valkyrie, with less than forty men to Vig- 

 ilant's seventy, has but SJ^ tons of unmeasm-ed ballast. This means 

 that the excess of sailing waterline over measured waterline is upward 

 of one foot more in Vigilant than in Valkyrie, a clear gain of that 

 much length. 



A.SSLMLVG the right of Vigilant, in default of any express prohibi- 

 tion, to avail herself of this kind and amount of ballast, there still 



