Forest and Stream 
A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 
Copyright, 1902, by Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 
Terms, $4 a Year. 10 Cts. a Copy. 
Six Months, |'2. 
NEW YORK, SATURDAY, JULY 2 6, 1902 
1 VOL. LIX.— No. 4. 
> No. 346 Broadway, New York. 
THE BLOOMING OF THE CHESTNUT. 
With the coming of mid-summer comes also, in these 
temperate climes of ours, the beginning of maturity for 
all growing things. The time of adolescence is at an end. 
It is true that before the process of ripening is complete 
months may elapse ; nevertheless the period of growth 
is well nigh over, and one feels that henceforth, until the 
coming of the autumnal frost, animal and vegetable life 
alike are but preparing for that time of bitter cold which 
pinches and kills. If early spring is the time when life 
first starts into being, and May and June are the months 
of increase, July and August may be called those of pause 
and rest, while the months of early autumn are those of 
fruition and the garnering of the fruits of the earth. 
Who does not know the signs of this season — so evident 
to him who walks or runs or rides — visible by every bit of 
roadside, in every field, along each hedgerow or bit of 
woodland. 
Meadows are shorn of their once waving crops of grass, 
or in billowing grain fields the yellow wheat or rye or 
oats stand ready for the reaper's cradle — or that more 
ir.odern but less ^.oetic engine, the reaper and binder. 
Asters, daisies and rtiilk weed bloom along the roadside or 
in brushy fence corners, and crowning the tops of the 
chestnuts in the woodland are seen the feathery blooms 
which always appear after the summer's solstice has 
passed and gone. 
Already many of the birds have reared their first and 
second broods, and their young are well able to take care 
,of themselves. Even the chimney swifts, late breeders as 
they are, have young almost large enough to leave the 
nest, which make their presence known throughout tbe 
house by harsh grating cries, as they hungrily call for 
food. The number of robins on the lawn has mightily 
increased since the spring, for those of the new genera- 
tion are not less busy now in digging worms for them- 
selves than Avere their parents when the first nests were 
building in April. Now from many quarters of the land- 
scape comes the mellow call of Bob White, sometimes 
near, again further off, the different birds answering each 
other in exttltant emulation, yet each no doubt contented 
with his lot and calling for the ear of his own dear mate. 
The kingbirds are beginning to get together for the 
autumnal flight, and woe to the unlucky hawk whose 
course brings him near to one 'of these gatherings. 
Snapped at, buffeted and dismayed, he is only too glad 
'to hurry on heav}^ wing to the shelter of the nearest 
wooSs. 
Over the wet meadows along the rivers and the shore 
the whetstone clinks merrily against the ringing scythe, 
and already the notes of blackbird and bobolink, prepar- 
ing for their southward journey, may be heard as the 
airds swing on the tall stems of the maturing wild rice. 
Is there any connection between the blooming of the 
chestnut and the getting, out the gun? In old times— 
happily now past for most of the country — the woodcock 
shooting opened when the flowers of the chestnut ap- 
peared. At that time, too, the bay birds were wont to 
show themselves in numbers along the shore, and there 
was much shooting under the hot sun of summer. The 
work was hard. Low shoes, a pair of linen trousers, a 
hirt and a straw hat were all too heavy covering as one 
waded through the woodcock swamps, dripping with 
perspiration, stung by mosquitoes and flies, and scratched 
oy the briars, getting now and then a shot and stopping to 
pour in powder and shot and to ram the load and put on 
he cap. In those old days we suffered indeed what would 
t»e hardships from the point of view of the sportsman of 
[O-day, but also we had joys of which the modern sports- 
man scarcely knows, for then there were birds. The 
i^^'vver of branches, the green umbrella, and the various 
■^her devices which the beach bird shooter used as shelter 
ire unknown to the present generation. Unknown, too, 
the great bags of rail which formerly were boated; 
5b or 70 for a good day, loo or 125 or 150, or even more, 
for a great tide. Indeed, if in those days of rail plenty 
we had had also the guns of to-day, how many might we 
aot have killed. But we charged our muzzleloaders from 
iwo cigar boxes, one containing powder, the other shot, 
ach having its measure, while the loading rod lay in the 
aottom of the boat, one of its ends resting on a thwart. 
Surely it is well that in his killing the gunner of to- 
day is forced to be more moderate than him of forty years 
sgo. It will bfi well, too, if this m6d6ration shall be con- 
tinued until a time when birds shall have so increased as 
to be found in something like their old-time plenty. In 
many, even of our most thickly settled, States, there is 
much to encourage us. The ducks of northern New 
York, protected in some localities, have there bred in num- 
bers. Even in some New England States, where, though 
the law permits, public sentiment forbids spring shooting, 
black ducks and wood ducks are breeding this season. In 
many parts of New England, too, quail are singularly 
abundant, as they are in many portions of the West. We 
may hope for a good shooting season. 
Let us be glad that the blooming of the chestmtt no 
longer marks the opening of the shooting season. 
THE YACHTING SEASON. 
The season of 1902 will go down in the annals of yacht- 
ing as the most successful one ever known. This healthy 
condition of affairs is due in a great degree to the fact 
that there has been no America's Cup race this year. The 
popular impression has always been that the Cup races 
have helped the sport, but the contrary has proven to be the 
case. The thousands of people who attend the Cup races 
are not yachtsmen, but rather represent the crowds that 
gather at baseball and football games and horses races or 
at any event of public interest. Another reason for the 
unusual prosperity in yachting circles is to be found in 
the grov/ing popularity of the smaller yacht, for it is in 
these boats that the best type of yachtsmen is developed. 
It is well that such is the case, because of the tendency • 
toward luxury and extravagance in the larger craft. Dur- 
ing these latter years many wealthy men have abandoned 
the larger boat and built in the smaller classes. This is 
easily accounted for, as boats are outbuilt almost every 
year, and it therefore becomes necessary for the racing 
man who desires to be in the front rank to build a new 
and faster boat every Season. The cost of construction 
of the modern large boat is very large, and to this must 
be added the great difficulty of securing able and reliable 
paid hands ; hence it is that the smaller boat is looked to 
for a solution of the problem. The attitude of the New 
York Yacht Club toward the smaller boat is perhaps the 
best evidence of the change of public sentiment on the 
.subject. For the first time in years the club has offered 
prizes for boats of 30 feet waterline length. During the 
recent races at Newport prizes were offered for the New- 
port special thirties as well as for the Beverly Yacht Club 
cne-design class; and there is every indication that next 
year the club will give an open regatta on Long Island 
Sound for all classes. If the New York Yacht Club can 
be persuaded to do this it would prove of the greatest 
benefit to yachting, as it would not only stimulate the 
sport, but would create a new following. This club is the 
one to do this, because it is the largest organization of 
the kind in the United States, and its action carries great 
weight in yachting circles, both at home and abroad. 
Unusual interest has been shown the past few years in 
the one-design classes, and to-day nearly every club on 
Long Island Sound has made this a special feature. Since 
the Larchmont 21-foot one-design class was introduced in 
1894, there has been a number of others started, including 
the Newport special thirties, Manhasset Bay 15-footers, 
American Yacht Club 21, i8 and 15 footers, the Seawan- 
haka Corinthian Yacht Club 21-foot knockabouts. Marine 
and Field Club is-footers and a great many others. The 
unsettled condition of the measurement rule question has 
done much toward developing the one-design class. Last 
winter the Yacht Racing Association of Long Island 
Sound and the Larchmont Yacht Club adopted a rule 
which has proven most satisfactory to boats of over 30 
feet waterline length. The conditions of this rule are not 
easily evaded, and the result is that the boats produced 
under it are of a wholesome type. The rule is a vast im- 
provement over the old Seawanhaka rule, which has pre- 
vailed since 1882, although many yachtsmen have been 
skeptical regarding it, owing to the complicated formula 
that is embodied in it, but on close examination the con- 
riitioiis are found to be simple and fair in every way. The 
committee selected by the New York Yacht Club to ex- 
amine the matter of measurement rules went into the sub- 
ject thoroughly and will make its report in the fall. 
The change in the construction of yachts during the last 
two or three years has been very noticeable, there having 
been a reaction in favor of heavier building, with the 
result that the racing and cruising boat of this year is 
better able to stand the strains to which it is subjected 
than has heretofore been the case. There is yet much to 
be done in improving and strengthening the rigging, how- 
ever, the experience this year has shown alarming weak- 
ness in this particular. Hardly a race has been sailed 
without a mishap, and the fact that no serious accident has 
resulted is a matter of congratulation. In two instances 
large yachts have been dismasted in consequence df the 
light rigging. 
The season opened very early this year, the spring 
weather being most favorable for fitting out, consequently 
the racing has been good everywhere all along the coast. 
With Larchmont race week under way the height of the 
racing season is therefore here. The cruise of the New 
York Yacht Club is the next event of importance, and it 
promises to be of great interest, the owners of a larger 
number of boats having signified their intention to par- 
ticipate than ever before. The Seawanhaka cup trial races 
held at Bridgeport early in July also created much atten- 
tion; eight boats competed for the honor of being sent 
to Canada. It now remains to be seen whether or not 
Tecumseh, the boat selected, can beat the production of 
the hitherto invincible Canadian, Duggan. An event of 
much interest will be the races for the Quincy cup, which 
are to be held at Manchester early next month. The type 
of boat which is to compete in these races is most ab- 
normal in that the only restriction in design is on the 
waterline length, which must not exceed 21 feet. The 
three boats that have been built for this purpose are about 
53 feet over all, 15 to 17 feet breadtR, and carry in their 
mainsails and jibs from 1,500 to 2,000 square feet of 
canvas. Such extreme craft will never be seen again, as 
the clubs all over the country are sure to legislate against 
them. It was never thought that boats of these dimen- 
sions would ever be constructed. Interest in yachting on 
the Great and Inland Lakes in recent years has been very 
great, and the strength of these Western yachting organi- 
zations is a matter of surprise to the Eastern yachtsmen. 
These men are, as a rule, good sportsmen and splendid 
boat sailors, and they are doing a great deal in their 
different localities to increase interest in the sport. Re- 
ports from Kiel, Germany, state that the success of Amer- 
ican-built boats in those waters has been marked. Nava- 
hoe and Virginia 11^ (ex Oiseau) have done remarkablj? 
well, the former having won eight first prizes out of nine 
races sailed. The latter having done equally well. The 
little boat, Uncle Sam, designed by Crowninshield, beat 
all her competitors with the greatest ease. Meteor, the 
German Emperor's new American-design and built 
schooner, has so far made but an indifferent showing with 
the English and German boats, but she will undoubtedly 
show up to advantage when she is in better shape, and her 
crew become acquainted with her. 
MEAT AND DRINK. 
It is a well-known fact that at all seasons of the year 
the majority of men eat and drink much more than their 
actual physical needs require. In winter, when the body 
needs abundance of fuel, the ill effects of overeating are 
not to any important degree in evidence. In summer, 
however, when bodily comfort is largely a problem of 
. keeping cool, what and how much one eats, and what one 
drinks, are of paramount importance for the best well 
being of mind and body. While the fields and streams, 
beside their witcheries of beauty, give, to those who will 
take, a balm for minds aweary and a restorative for bodies 
worn by business labor, one may nullify all by over- 
indulging his palate and his stomach. In the torrid season 
it specially behooves him to eat sparingly and plainly, to 
drink nature's wholesome drink, pure cold water. In 
sum.mer, alcoholic drinks are specially abhorrent to the 
system, though, whether in winter or summer, the person 
who indulges habitually in alcoholic drinks, as sliown by 
statistics, has incomparably less power of resistance and 
endurance than has one who eschews them. Eat lightly 
and plainly, drink all that is required, but drink water or 
mild, thirst-gratifying but unstimulating beverages, and 
at this torrid season comparative comfort will' be secured. 
To those who fish, or camp out or sail, the'bienefits of the 
outing' will be many times multiplied by observing 
steniiousness in food and drink, • • 
