470 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



LDec. 3, 18Q8. 



days, as near as I can determine. I have not noticed 

 any change in the color of either the spots or the 

 body since he has been in my possession, The skin is at 

 the present time smooth and glossy, not inclined to 

 roughness, nor does it differ from the skin of any snake 

 except in color. I put a live mouse in the box a few days 

 after capturing him. This one he struck and killed and 

 then swallowed it. I have since put a number of field 

 mice and common house mice in the box with him, but 

 he does not molest them in any way, though they run all 

 over him. The mice if left in the box a day or two 

 become sluggish and die, though the snake does not touch 

 them." 



The little fellow is very lively for a rattlesnake and 

 carries a set of fangs such as always go wiQi the ordin- 

 ary rattler; and he seems to be of a rather pugnacious 

 disposition. If 3^ou so much as put your hand toward his 

 box, when he can see you, he starts his "music box" and 

 coils at once, all ready for business on short notice. 



I would like to hear from other readers if any other 

 cases of a like nature have ever come under their notice. 

 I have killed many rattlesnakes, but never saw anything 

 like this one. El Comakcho. 



AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION. 



The eleventh congress of the A. O. U. was held at Cam- 

 bridge, Mass. , Nov. 20 to 23. The business meeting, which 

 always precedes the public sessions, was held at "the resi- 

 dence of Mr. C. F. Batchelder on the evening of Nov. 20. 

 At this meeting the old officers were reelected, as follows: 

 Dr. Elliot Coues, President: Messrs. Wm. Brewster and 

 H. W. Henshaw, Vice-Presidents: Mr. John H. Sage, Sec- 

 retary, and Mr. Wm. Dutcher, Treasurer. The council 

 for the year consists of Dr. J. A. Allen. Messrs. C. B. Corv, 

 C. F. Batchelder, D. G. Elliot, Robert Padgway, and Drs. 

 C- Hart Merriam and L. Stejneger. Eighty-three associ- 

 ate members were elected, but there were no elections of 

 honorary, corresponding or active membei's. 



The new committee on "Classification and Nomencla- 

 ture of North American Birds" consists of Dr. J. A. Allen, 

 Wm. Brewster, Dr. Elliot Coues, Dr. 0. Hart Merriam and 

 Robert Ridj^ way. 



The new committee on "Protection of North American 

 Birds" is made up of Dr. Frank M. Chapman and L. S. 

 Foster, Dr. Jonathan D'wight, Jr. , Capt. 0. E. Bendire and 

 Mr. Montague Chamberlain. 



The public meeting, at which the papers presented to 

 the congress are read, was held in the Nash lecture room 

 of the University Museum. In the absence of the presi- 

 dent, Dr. Coues, who is detained in the West, Mr. Wm. 

 Brewster, the vice-president, presided. On behalf of Har- 

 vard University, Dr. George L, Goodale welcomed the 

 Union to Cambridge. The following papers were read: 



Bird Migration in Chester county, South Carolina, -viewed with 

 Reference to its Gauss— Leverett M Loomis. 



Brief Remarks on the Origin of Bird Migration— Frank M. Chap- 

 man. 



The Survival of the Fittest— D. G. Elliot. 



Protective Coloration and Natural Selection— J. A Allen. 



Protective Miinicry- J A Allen. 



The Island of Trinidad and its Bird Life; Illustrated with Lantern 

 Slides - Frank M. Chapman , 



On the Tongue of Dfudroica fzgrina— Frederic A. Lucas. 



Observation on the Ruby-throated Hurnmingbird- Jane L. Hine. 



General Impressions of Tropical Bird Life— Frank M. Chapman. 



The Labradoi' Duck.— Another specimen, with some additional data 

 of extant speciiueDS— Wm. Diitcher. 



Remarks on the Ne.st of Cistothorus palastris -Louis B. Bishop. 



Habits of the Double-crested Cormorant (Plicdacrocorax dilqphus) 

 in Rhode Inland - Geo H. Mackay. 



Remarks on the Fauna of Wyomine— C. Hart Merriam. 



Some Mexican Notes— E. W. Nelson. 



Change in Feedmg Habits of the Night Hawk since the General Use 

 of Electric Lights— A. P. ChadlJourne. 



Instance of Reasoning in the Scarlet Ibis— A. P. Chadbourne. 



The paper which had in it most of popular interest was 

 that by Mr. Frank M. Chapman, on the Island of Trini- 

 dad and its Bu-d Life. It was read before a large audi- 

 ence on the afternoon of Wednesday, and was listened to 

 with great attention. It w:fS quite fully illustrated with 

 lantern slides imd was the paper of the day. Many other 

 of the papers were of unusual interest. 



It was voted to hold the next congress of the Union in 

 New- York city, a session to begin on the second Monday 

 in November, 1894. Sixteen active and thirty associate 

 members were present during the congress. 



The members of the Union were invited to attend an 

 informal reception on Monday evening, Nov. 20, at the 

 residence of Mr. C. F. Batchelder to celebrate the twenii- 

 eth birtliday of the Nuttall Ornithological Club. During 

 their stay in Cambridge every hospitality was extended 

 to the visiting members of the A. 0. U. by the Nuttall 

 Club. 



At the close of the meeting thanks were tendered to 

 Prof. Geo. L. Goodale for the use of the Botanic Lecture 

 Roojn of Harvard University; to the Colonial Club, of 

 Canabridge, for courtesies extended, and to the Nuttall 

 Ornithological Club for its cordial welcome and generous 

 hospitalities extended the visiting members. 



As remarked last week, the A, 0. U. may almost be 

 called the child of the Nuttall Club, and tlie parent on 

 this occasion extended to its lusty offspring kindnesses 

 which will long be remembered by the members of the 

 Union. These and the other pleasant features of the con- 

 gress of 1893 render the meet perhaps the most enjoyable 

 that has ever been held. 



Female Caribou Horns. 



• New York, Nov. 23.— Your picture of caribou I con- 

 sider very fine. In regard to the female caribou with 

 horns my experience has been that when with young they 

 always carry antlers, sometimes so lai-ge and so w^ell 

 bunched that they come to an untimely end. I killed one 

 on my last trip by mistake: a good sized cow ,seen with 

 antlers 100yds. a^vay among the bushes can be very easily 

 mistaken for a young stag. 



I am glad they are going to have a carnival at Quebec, 

 only wish I was not so crippled, they always have a jolly 

 time at these carnivals. I have been there and would 

 advise all who are able to go by all means, it is a most 

 delightful experience^ Wakeman Holberton. 



A NEW-SUBSCRIBER OFFER. 



A boriafide new subscriber sending us $5 will receive for that sum 

 the Forest and Stream one year (price 84) and a set of Zunmerman's 

 famouB '•Ducking Scenes" (advertised on another page, price 85)— a 

 ?9 value for $5. 



This offer is to new subscribers only. It does not apply to renewdla. 



VoT^Bk bona fide new subscriber for six months will receive the 

 Forest and Stream during that time and a copy of Dr. Van Meet's 

 handsome work, "Bird Portraita for the Young" (the price of which 

 is 83). 



MODERN SPORTING GUNPOWDERS 



In the Light of the Public Powder and 

 Primer Tests Carried out at Chi- 

 cago and Carney's Point, 

 New Jersey. 



BY ARMIN TENNER, 

 Expert In Gfuiipowder, Gims and Ammunition. 



General Observations on the Theory of Shot 

 Shooting. 



For centuries black powder, which, as is well known, 

 consists of a mixture of saltpeter, charcoal and sulphur, 

 has been used as an explosive and as a propelling agent 

 for all kinds af weapons, from the smallest pistol up to 

 the heaviest cannon. 



Saltpeter, or nitrate of potash, represents oxygen in a 

 solid form, one volume of saltpeter containing about as 

 much oxygen as 3,000 volumes of atmospheric air. When 

 raised to a certain temperature, this oxygen will easily 

 separate and combine violently with the carbon, thus 

 forming carbonic acid and a certain proportion of car- 

 bonic oxide; and these in conjunction with free nitrogen 

 constitute the principal gaseous products of combustion. 



The charcoal employed in the manufacture of gunpowder 

 is generally obtained from light, spongy wood. In Eng- 

 land and on the European continent dogwood or alder 

 buckthorn is considered to be best adapted for all smaU- 

 arm powders. Lately numerous attempts, with more or 

 less success, have been made to substitute other materials 

 for wood, mainly with the object of diminishing the 

 quantity of smoke usually developed by a charge qf ordi- 

 nary black powder. 



The quality of the charcoal exercises a great influence 

 upon the behavior of a gunpowder, inasmuch as the rate 

 of combustion and the hygroscopic nature of the same are 

 to a great extent governed by the kind of wood and the 

 mode of burning employed in the manufacture of the 

 charcoal. 



The sulphur, having a great tendency to combine with 

 oxygen at a moderate temperature— about 560° F.— facili- 

 tates the ignition of black powder. The comparatively 

 non-absorbent properties of black powder and non-sus- 

 ceptibility to age are chiefly due to the sulphur. These 

 qualities and its comparative non-susceptibihty to dry 

 heat and cold impart to black powder its greatest ballistic 

 value. Many of the nitro powders do not compare favor- 

 ably in this respect wdth the old propelling agent. 



Fine-grained powder, as a rule, burns quicker in a closed 

 space than coarse-grained, and the gases are generated 

 accordingly in the same proportion. For this reason the 

 recoil is generally greater and more perceptible to the 

 shooter with the former than with the latter. Fine- 

 gi'ained black jjowder also develops a higher bursting 

 strain in the gun barrel than coarse-grained, wdaich in 

 some especially fine-grained kinds frequently reaches and 

 sometimes even surpasses the limits ordinarily drawn 

 for nitro powders only. A finer grain than FFF should 

 not be used in shotguns. 



The object sought by the gunner in loading a still finer- 

 grained black powder is the desire to propel the pellets 

 as quickly as possible to the destination. Many shooters 

 believe that this can be accomplished best with the fine- 

 grained, and that on this account they need not lead a 

 quartering bird as much as if they were using a coarser- 

 grained powder. 



While it is true that the finer-grained powder will 

 bring the pellets to a distance of 40yds. somewhat quicker 

 than the coarser-grained, this difference does not practi- 

 cally cut any figure. A bird flying at the rate of forty 

 miles per hour will travel about two to three inches 

 further if the pellets are propelled by coai-se-grained than 

 if they were driven by fine-grained black powder; if, in 

 both cases, the distance between the shooter and the bird 

 at the moment of firing is 40yds. Considering that the 

 pattern at sucli a distance shows a diameter of from 2ir to 

 8ft., this trifling difference will hardly increase the 

 chances of hitting the bird. 



The pellets constituting a pattern at 40yds. never 

 reach a point simultaneously. As soon as the shot 

 has left the muzzle of the gun it begins to spread both 

 longitudinally and laterally, and this dispersion increases 

 with the increase of the distance. At a distance of 40yds. 

 the difference in time of the arrival between the foremost 

 and hindmost pellets of a shot charge amounts to about 

 of a second; here the shooter has to reckon with a 

 greater difference than the one caused by a smaller or 

 quicker combustion of the powder, consequent upon the 

 size of the grains. Some claim that owing to the partic- 

 ular nature of certain powders a greater stringing of 

 the shot is caused than by some other powder. This 

 assumption, however, cannot be substantiated by any- 

 thing like a plausible explanation. 



Chokebore barrels generally throw the shot through the 

 air in a more compact form than those of open or cylin- 

 drical barrels. So far an unimpeachable explanation of 

 this phenomenon has not been found. That theory prob- 

 ably comes nearer to the truth which asserts that the 

 pellets eliding along and rubbing against the sides of the 

 barrel when passing the choke are directed toward the 

 center of the shot charge; because it is a well-established 

 fact that the pellets having been subject to the most fric- 

 tion are the ones generally found on the target the furthest 

 away from the center and among tlie scattering shots. 



To determine this very question, as to what portion of 

 the shot charge generally constitutes the center of the pat- 

 tern, I have, on a former occasion, tired over 1,000 shots, 

 using for thisjourpose shots of different colors. 



The causes for the occasional scattering of shots from 

 the chokebore barrel will be explained hereafter. 



There can be no doubt that black jjowder has rendered 

 valuable service, both as a blasting and as a propelling 

 agent, and that for a long period of time it has met all 

 reasonable expectations, as regards the purposes for which 

 it was emxjloyed; but at length it has fallen imder the 

 same law to which all human creations are subject, viz. , the 

 old and good must give way before the new and better. 



As a blasting agent, it has already lost much of the 

 ground it formerly occupied. Nearly all great mihtary 

 nations have also substituted for the oldblapk powder, as 



a propeUing agent for their infantry rifles, nitro or smoke- 

 less powder, mostly made of gun-cotton, and it is only 

 a question of time when the former will take the place of 

 the latter for heavy ordnance purposes. 



Black powder has held its own thxis far as ammunition 

 for sporting rifles. But recently, very promising results 

 have been achieved Avith nitro powder, even in this de- 

 partment; warranting the assumption that at an early 

 day nitro powders will be employed for this kind of am- 

 munition also, thus leaving for the black powder, for the 

 present, only a use for revolver cartridges. But it can 

 reasonably be expected that for this weapon too, a suitable 

 nitro powder will soon be found. 



As a propelling agent for shotguns, nitro powders have 

 been long employed, among the oldest of which is the 

 Schultze powder; formerly known in Germany as wood 

 or Hetzbacher powder, , and originally invented by the 

 German Colonel Schultze. 



The Schultze powder used in this coimtry is of English 

 origin, being manufactured in England under the super- 

 vision of Mr. Grifiith, one of the most celebrated ballistic 

 experts in the world, and to whom it owes many of its 

 present valuable qualities. 



The object aimed at primarily by the military author- 

 ities in introducing the nitro powder for infantry weapons 

 was of a somewhat different nature from thtit which has 

 and does present itself to the sportsman in choosing a 

 smokeless powder. 



In infantry weapons the principal aim was to create 

 for the small caliber rifle and tlie long bullet a higher 

 velocity , that is a greater penetrative force, than can be 

 attained with black powder, thus rendering it possible to 

 open an effective fire on the enemy at a longer range than 

 heretofori'. But all this can only be accomplished to a 

 satisfactory extent by the aid of nitro powders, which, 

 moreover, in case of rapid firing, obscure less the field of 

 view. 



Now, why should the gunner desert black powder in 

 favor of a smokeless, in face of the fact that the limits for 

 killing penetration with the shotgun and black powder 

 can and will hardly ever be materially extended by means 

 of another propelling agent, since black powder, summer 

 and winter, in sunshine and rain, varies very little in its 

 behavior, seeing that in proportion to its work, the strain 

 upon the gun is comparatively low, that it reacts less 

 violently under increased charges than many of the nitros, 

 and does not create corrosion in the barrels as readily as 

 some of the nitros, that it is less sensitive than smokeless 

 powders to obstructions in the soul of the barrel? The 

 answer to this question should easily be given by any 

 intelli^gent gunner. 



In the first place, it is the comparatively great amount 

 of smoke produced by black powder, which, under certain 

 conditions, especially in a quiet air, can become very 

 annoying, inasmuch as it hinders a quick and certain 

 use of the second barrel, rendering it frequently difiicult 

 for the gunner to determine quickly the effect oi the first 

 barrel. Then again, black powder, as a rule, produces a 

 much heavier, and for the gunner more perceptible, recoil 

 than nitro powders. The recoil of a service charge of fine- 

 grained black powder, for instance, is nearly doable that 

 of a service charge of DuPont or Walsrode smokeless 

 powders. In case of frequent shooting, this heavy recoil 

 often compels the gunner to cease shooting, or at least 

 effects detrimentally his shooting ability. 



Furthermore, black powder is more noisy, heats the 

 barrels quicker, and generally fouls them more than the 

 smokeless powders. 



Comparing one with the other, the advantages and dis- 

 advantages of black and nitro powders, leaving out of 

 consideration for the present the question whether and to 

 what extent the use of nitro powders presents a greater 

 danger for the gun and gunner than black powder, the 

 result would be always in favor of the nitros. 



All nitro powders at present accessible to the gunner for 

 use in shotgtms, are more violent in their action than 

 black powder. This greatt r violence, however, under 

 normal conditions, can hai"dly be considered as an alarm- 

 ing element, but it can, through many causes, become 

 really dangerous, and very few gunners are in a position 

 to discover these causes and guard against them. 



Here is the field for such instruments and devices as are 

 scarcely at the command of the individual sportsman. 

 Systematic experiments carried out under strictly uni- 

 form rules are necessary, and these again can seldom 

 be carried out by the layman. 



The qualities of a propelling agent, especially those of 

 nitro powders, are more or less affected, (a) by dry heat; 

 (b) by moisture in the atmosphere; (c) by long storing; 

 (d) by the igniting agent; (e) by the wadding material; (f) 

 by the method of crimping. 



Now, if in any given case several of these causes which 

 have a tendency to increase the violent nature of tlie 

 powder combine, the gunner will meet with strange phe- 

 nomena which will startle him, and probably induce him 

 to discard the use of such a powder. As a rule, the 

 gunner is thus tempted to condemn nitro powders in 

 general, and to fall back to the noisy black powder. 

 Several nitro powders tu the market to-day, however, 

 may be considered as comparatively safe in the hands of 

 the inteUigent, sensible sportsman. 



The first requisite in the use of all nitro powders is to 

 avoid, as much as possible, any and all excess over the 

 standard charges, then the selection of a suitable shell 

 and a proper wadding material. 



In several of the European countries proof-houses are 

 established and maintained, either directly by the States, 

 or are conducted under tiie rules laid down by statute, 

 where they merely test raw gun barrels and finished guns 

 for strength. In addition to and independent of those 

 jH-oof-houses, there are private institutions in many of the 

 countries maintained by contributions from the gunning 

 fraternity. The object of these institutions is to furnish 

 gunners on a broader scale all the information per- 

 taining to the different branches of gunnery. Here the 

 real qualities of gxmpowders, guns and ammunition and 

 parts thereof are determined by the aid of the most 

 improved scientific instruments and devices, and in ac- 

 cordance with weU established and uniform rules. The 

 results of the work of these institutions are regularly and 

 continuously put before the great mass of gunners through 

 the medium of the sporting papers, or by way of printed 

 minutes. 



Of course these institutions are frequently looked upon 

 with distrust by some manufacturers of or dealers in 

 sporting arms and ammunition, at least from those who 

 have good cause to fear a fair and thorough comparative 



