June 2t, 1896. j 
FOREST AN1D STREAM. 
821 
tended for: that is, in accordance with the constitution 
of the different field trial clubs, not one of which states 
that they are for the purpose of creating a revenue for 
first prize winners. 
To permit the first prize winners to compete till such 
times as they will win two firsts is practically to permit 
them to compete all their lives, for there are many more 
first prize winners than there are first prizes. The first 
prize winners added to the second and third prize win- 
ners make a competition against which a man with only 
one or two dogs would be foolish to compete. It would 
encourage handlers to gather together strings of winners 
to campaign through the circuit with no other purpose 
than to capture the prizes. If one handler attempted to 
campaign a string of winners the other handlers would 
have to follow the same polioy in self-defense. The pur- 
poses of the trials in developing the dogs of the year and 
of the future would be neutralized. 
In this connection the precedents are worthy of careful 
consideration. The first prize winner has been barred 
from the all-aged stakes for many years past by the 
great field trial clubs of the country. Indeed, the IT. S. 
F. T. C. turned a deaf ear to the pet measure of Mr. 
Avent till the present year. The rules of other clubs are 
specific and explicit on the subject, and there is a uni- 
formity throughout save in the one instance of this club. 
It seems like a suicidal policy to follow when it is so ap- 
parent that it is a policy that will work the club an injury, 
irreparable if persisted in. 
In nearly all forms of competition a handicap obtains. 
We observe the attempt to establish an equity in the 
competition of horse races, bicycle races, trap-shooting, 
etc. All such forms of sport have a means of establish- 
ing a handicap. They have some means of making diffi- 
culties for the contestant of known great ability greater 
than the common. In field trials there is no means of 
establishing a handicap. The conditions governing the 
pursuit of birds do not admit of it. The only way is to 
give a dog every opportunity to make his reputation in 
the all-aged stake, then bar him from it. As said 
before, if he seeks further reputation, there is ample 
opportunity in the champion stake. 
The dog or man who is in the competition solely for 
the revenue he may derive from it is of no special benefit 
to field trials, the more so if he is both a professional 
handler, breeder and club member. The temptation will 
be to make the different interests as near one interest as 
may be, and that interest is in the t direction of revenue 
for his own personal profit. 
It is well worth while for the U. S. F. T. C. to recon- 
sider a matter which has a support, not from the field 
trial supporters at large, but from a source which is 
so small as hardly meriting to be dignified with the term 
minority. ' 
A REDUCTION IN EXPRESS RATES. 
The breeders of dogs will learn with no little gratifica- 
tion that the express rates on bitches, which are shipped 
to distant points to be bred, are cut down one-half — that 
is, when one full rate has been paid the bitch is returned 
free. A double first-class rate as heretofore is maintained, 
but as there are now no return charges there is an enor- 
mous saving in the expense of shipping. It removes a 
serious obstacle to the interests of the kennel world. 
This result was brought about through the efforts of 
Mr. Robt. H. Burrows, proprietor of the Seaforth Ken- 
nels, East Orange, N. J., and Mr. Dudley E. Waters, 
Grand Rapids, Mich. Much credit is due these gentle- 
f or their skillful management of the matter and its suc- 
cessful issue. They began their efforts in the matter 
during the New York show, visiting in person the man- 
agers of the express companies and explaining to them the 
express features of the kennel world, and showing how 
the present rates were detrimental both to the kennel 
world and their own interests, as owners could not afford 
to ship, and with no shipment or small shipment the com- 
panies suffered a corresponding loss of revenue. The 
companies which have granted the new rate are as follows : 
United States. Express Co., Wells, Fargo & Co., American 
Express Co., Adams Express Co. and National Express 
Co. This was after the matter had been considered by 
•the Traffic Association, so that it virtually is a concession 
from all express companies, as the above mentioned con- 
trol many of the smaller fines. The following is a copy 
of the letter, dated March 9, on which the concession was 
granted, and which was sent to the managers of the dif- 
ferent companies, and forms the official beginning of 
their records on the subject: 
"Referring to our conversation on the 24th ultimo, when 
we asked' for a reduction on the express rates on dogs to 
apply to bitches sent for service only, we now beg to again 
put the matter before you as briefly as possible. 
"There are very few first-class stud dogs in this country, 
and those few are at wide distances apart, and therefore 
your present charge of double first-class rates on bitches, 
both to and from the stud dogs, added to the stud fees' 
entails an expense on breeders which not one in fifty can 
stand, and the result is that owners of bitches are com- 
pelled to let them pass over or breed them to local dogs 
simply because they cannot afford to send them to a good 
and suitable stud dog that may be anywhere from 200 to 
1,000 miles away. Now you can readily understand that 
every owner of a bitch takes pride in her, and would like 
to breed her to a first-class dog; but when he discovers the 
heavy express charges for sending her to the dog of his 
choice and having her returned after service, he invari- 
ably is deterred from doing so on account of the great ex- 
pense. 
"Now we have to ask if you will make the rate on 
bitches sent for service the same as on all dogs sent to 
shows, viz.: double first-class rate one way and return 
them free, and by so doing we feel sure the companies 
will benefit to a much greater extent than by the present 
system, on account of the greater number of bitches they 
would be called upon to carry, and not only that, the pup- 
pies from such unions would be readily sold, and the com- 
panies would transfer them to all parts of the country. 
As it is now, bitches with very few exceptions are bred to 
local and unsuitable dogs, and the offspring being inferior 
is destroyed or disposed of in the immediate neighbor- 
hood, so that the express companies get nothing out of it, 
and instead of the breed being improved, as all lovers of 
dogs desire, the reverse takes place. 
"By the plan that we propose the express company can- 
not be deceived, for the double first-class rate to the stud 
dog has to be paid in advance, and then if for any reason 
the bitch is not returned, the company is so much better 
off, as it has received full pay for the service performed. 
"Your present rate, you can readily see, operates espe- 
cially against the large varieties of dogs, such St. Ber- 
nards, etc., in which we are directly interested. 
"A St. Bernard bitch, when crated for a journey by 
express, will weigh, as a rule, from 200 to 2501os., ana the 
expressage for sending such an animal to a stud dog is by 
far greater than it would be for the smaller varieties. 
"The breeding season has just commenced, and if you 
can give our application your early attention we are sure 
it will be for the good of all concerned. 
"Hoping that you will grant the modification we ask 
for, and assuring you that if you do so we will take it 
upon ourselves to see that it is well advertised, we remain 
very truly yours, Dudley E. Waters, 
Grand Rapids, Mich. 
Robt, H. Burrows, 
Seaforth Kennels, East Orange, N. J." 
To this replies came favorably from the different man- 
agers, the last one under date of June 17. 
Since the foregoing was set in type, we have received 
the following from Mr. Waters: 
Oakhurst, Grand Rapids, Mich., June 16. — Editor 
Forest and Stream: For a number of months I have been 
making an effort to obtain a reduction in the express 
rates on bitches sent for service, and I have to-day been 
notified of my success. My first effort was through the 
local express agents, and receiving but little encourage- 
ment I determined to go to headquarters. When attend- 
ing the Westminster show February last I interested Mr. 
Robert H. Burroughs, owner of the Seaforth Kennels, East 
Orange. I called at the office of the A. K. C. and was as- 
sured by Mr. Vredenburg that an effort to get any re- 
duction in express rates for bitches sent for service would 
be fruitless, and reviewed with him carefully the report 
of the express committee of the A. K. C. published in the 
Gazette of September, 1892. I concluded the A.K.C. could 
give me no aid, and with Mr.Burroughs went on a still-hunt, 
making as little noise as possible and presenting arguments 
we thought most likely to win. Together we called upon 
the traffic committee, composed of Messrs. Zimmerman, 
superintendent of traffic of the Adams Express Co. ; Dudley 
Evans, vice-president of the Wells, Fargo & Co. Express 
Co. ; T. A. Ritson, general manager of the American Ex- 
press Co. ; C. T. Thayer, general agent of the United States 
Express Co., and G. W. Slingerland, traffic manager of 
the National Express Co. We spent a part of two days 
calling upon these gentlemen, and stated our case to them. 
We were received most courteously, and listened to with 
interest. We were assured by them individually that our 
matter would be taken up and. acted upon at a meeting 
of the traffic committee. We were advised to write each 
member a personal letter, stating our side of the case care- 
fully. This we did, as follows [here follows the copy of 
letter published above]. 
Since that time I have writ^?.n a number of letters to 
members of the committee. Mr. Burroughs has called on 
them, and their representatives have called on me several 
times. Upon my return from Chicago this morning I 
was very much gratified at finding a letter from Col. 
Dudley Evans, vice-president and manager of the Wells, 
Fargo & Co. Express Company, which reads as follows: 
New York, June 12.— Mr. Dudley E. Waters, Grand 
Rapids, Mich. Dear Sir: Referring to your application 
of March 9, 1896, for rate on bitches sent for service, it 
was agreed at the last meeting of the Traffic Committee 
that they could be returned free when double rates bad 
been paid going. This took effect On the 10 th instant. 
Yours truly, Dudley Evans, Manager. 
This is the meat of the nut we have cracked, and means 
that when breeders ship bitches to a stud dog they will 
have to pay only one-half of what they did before this re- 
duction took effect. Dudley E. Waters. 
Central Beagle Club. 
Sharpsburg, Pa., June 22.— Editor Forest and Stream: 
The field trial committee of the Central Beagle Club met 
on Friday evening. The grounds have not yet been 
selected, the club having under consideration fields at 
Rice's Landing, Waynesburg and others. The selection 
will be made at the next meeting. The running rules of 
the club are now out. The field trials will be run on the 
percentage plan. The club will only take 10 per cent. ; 
the rest goes to the winners. The secretary has received 
offers of several valuable special prizes for the field trials, 
and everything points to a favorable day. A number of 
applications for membership have been received lately 
and will be presented at the next meeting. Secretary. 
POINTS AND FLUSHES. 
The following item is from the daily press: "A small 
black dog become mad, as is supposed, early in the morn- 
ing of June 13, in the excitement of worrying a cat, and 
was shot by a policeman in the basement of No. 5 Suffolk 
street. The dog had chased the cat in and out of alleys 
and basements until the feline took refuge on the window 
sill of No. 5 Suffolk street. Failure to dislodge the cat by 
continued barking drove the dog into a fit, and he at laBt 
went mad, it is thought. He ran about the street for a 
while, but soon jumped into the basement of the house 
where the cat was. Policeman Rohrbach, of the Delancey 
street station, had been following him, and in the base- 
ment fired at him five times with his revolver. One shot 
hit the dog in the back, another in the neck, a third in one 
of the forelegs, a f ourth in one of the hindlegs, and a fifth, 
the fatal one, in the head." The dog had a fit, and forth- 
with the cry of mad dog was raised. It is the same old 
story of ignorance and cruelty. There is an object lesson, 
however, of the benefits of pistol practice, for the police- 
man with his pistol could kill the dog after a while instead 
of shooting through second-story windows or through in- 
nocent passers-by. 
Those who maybe interested in theDogue de Bordeaux, 
which from its appearance is a direct cross between the 
mastiff, bull dog and terrier, will be pleased with a 
pamphlet devoted thereto, just published by M. Megnin, 
editor of L'Eleveur (Vincennes), a French journal devoted 
to field sports. It need scarcely be said that the "dogue" 
takes its came from the town of Bordeaux, whore it is 
supposed to flourish amain. It is kept for fighting and 
for guard purposes, and not, as is generally supposed, as 
a beast of burden. The strong limbs and great power 
might make it useful in drawing light carts, but we are 
afraid its disposition is against any utilization for such a 
purpose. The pamphlet in question contains several por- 
traits of leading examples of the breed, which appear to 
vary very much in type, one favoring the mastiff, another 
the bull dog, while still a third bears certain character- 
istics of the Great Dane. The "dogue de Bordeaux" has 
its ears cropped, and this, with its general ugliness, is 
against its adoption as a favorite in this country. — London 
Field. 
Toronto dog show will not after all be compelled to use 
a tent this fall, as arrangements have been completed to 
retain the show at the old stand, commodious and airy. — 
Canadian Kennel Gazette. 
Field trial supporters should not overlook the chicken 
trials, and that the Derby entries of the Manitoba Field 
Trials Club close on July 1. Entrance fee, $5; $10 addi- 
tional to start. John Wootton, secretary, Manitou, Man. 
The Ladies' Kennel Association's bench show was held on 
June 11 and 12 at Holland Park. It was successfully con- 
ducted, and was favored with the best of weather. It 
is regrettable that America cannot boast of a similar or- 
ganization. 
The British Fancier comes to us in a new dress and a 
colored cover this week, bright and artistic in all its de- 
tails, as is fitting in a change from Manchester to London. 
Mr. James B. Blossom, New York, writes us as follows 
under date of June 20: "I have lately obtained an Irish 
setter bred by Mr. Brian McSweeney, of Annamore, Ire- 
land, where he won second in open and first in novice 
class at Cork last autumn. He is by Chief (Kinsale, E. 
20,442— Nellie X.) out of Queen (Grouse VIIL— Fanny), 
and not yet 2 years old; of the darkest, most superb red I 
ever saw (bar none); magnificent feather of same color as 
coat (a rarity); very powerful in build, deep-cheated, and 
active as a cat. But I value him most highly because of 
the opportunity to breed him to some of my Bedford and 
champions Kildare and Elcho bitches. He promises well 
in the field, and the infusion of new blood ought to result 
in great benefit." 
It would be a decided gratification to us if Mrs. Pres- 
ton's note, on page 520, should prompt some one of our 
readers to. supply for the place of her lost Sancho another 
dog worthy of the home and affection be would be given 
at Maple Corner. 
fohting. 
FIXTURES. 
S indicates races sailed by the Yacht Racing Union of L. I. Sound. 
M indicates races sailed by the Faeht Racing Ass'n of Massachusetts. 
JUNE. : 
27. Chicago, special, Chicago, Lake Michigan. 
27. Roy. St. Lawrence, four classes, Montreal, St. Lawrence River. 
27. Atlantic, special, Bay Ridge, New York Bay. 
27. Winthrop, open, Great Head. Boston Harbor, 
27. Rochester, club, Lake Ontario. 
27. Eastern, knockabout class, Marblehead. 
27. Beverly, 1st cham.. Buzzard's Bay. 
M 27. Duxbury, An., Plymouth, Plymouth Harbor. 
S 27. Seawanhaka, An., Oyster Bay, L. I. Sound. 
S 29. Stamford, special, Stamford, L I. Sound. 
29. Pavonia, An., Communipaw, New York Bay, 
S 30. Indian Harbor, special, Greenwich, L. I. Sound. 
Our opponent, the Marine Journal, having given up the fight over 
steam, now turns its attention to sail, as follows: 
Seldom has the New York Y. C. had a finer racing day for their 
annual regatta than that of last week, when they had all the wind 
wanted, steady and true, with sunshine too. This regatta leads the 
events in the season's yachting and is only exceeded in interest, ex- 
cept when there is an international contest, by the annual cruise of 
the same club's squadron at a later date. The appearance of the 
Lower Bay, with the fleet of sloops and schooners eagerly doing their 
level best on every point of sailing, was a sight not to be surpassed in 
beauty anywhere. Whatever opinions may be held about the relative 
merits of American and foreign-built yachts, there can be only one 
opinion as to the superlative excellence of our sailing craft, the New 
York Club yachts being almost without exception native products 
and unsurpassed for speed and excellence. Considerable interest 
was evinced in the late event as to the performance of the Colonia in 
her new schooner rig. She was only beaten one and one-half minutes 
on the course and can undoubtedly do better in the future. 
JApart from the fact that not a sloop started in the New York Y. C. 
regatta, every single-stick yacht being a cutter, the above statement 
is quite correct. The Marine Journal, however, fails to point the 
moral of this superiority ot the American sailing yacht over the 
British. 
Through certain peculiar circumstances sailing yachts of such a size 
as to be sailed across the ocean have for years been entirely free from 
the action of those tariff laws which apply to almost all imported arti- 
cles, and a unique and most instructive experiment infree trade has 
consequently been possible. At the outset the American article was 
decidedly inferior in quality to the British, and quite as costly. At the 
time when the demand for a better class of vessel than the old cut-nail 
and sof t-wood sloop was first felt about New York, the British cutter 
could be freely imported, and a superior yacht could be had at a less 
price than the home-built craft. The sole result of this free competi- 
tion for some fifteen years has been not the ruin of American builders,, 
but the production of a new national type of sailing yacht that haa 
proved far faster than anything yet produced on the other side; the 
growth of such building yards as Lawley's in Boston, Herreshoff's in 
Bristol, and scores of smaller plants equally perfect in their way, and 
the opening of a growing market abroad for American yachts. Aa 
for foreign competition and the underselling of American workmen 
by the products of cheap labor, no one now cares to import a British 
sailing yacht, duty or no duty; natural causes, unhampered by ignor- 
ant and partisan legislation, have simply worked out for themselves 
the desired result. So far as the industry of designing and building 
sailing yachts is concerned, it has, under a policy of absolute free 
trade, achieved its own legitimate protection through the superior 
ability of American designers and builders. We hope that the Marine 
Journal, as the self -elected exponent of protection carried to the point 
of exclusion, will not deem this thoroughly practical experiment be- 
neath its notice and discussion. 
One of the difficulties existing in American racing, the great num- 
ber of classes for which courses and prizes must be iprovided by the 
clubs, is well shown in the regatta of the Larchmont Y. C. on Satur- 
day. The 60 starters were divided among no less than 18 different 
classes, most of them with one, two or three starters each. Deduct- 
