84 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Jan. 21, 1905. 
The Cuvier 
CwciHNATi, O., Jan. 12.— The annual meeting of the 
Cuvier Club of Cincinnati was held January • 7. 
marked the close of one of the most successful years m 
the history of the club. Judge Peter F. Swing, acting 
president, presided. The annual reports of J. W. Lawler, 
seGretary, Charles Drury, custodian, and J. Ryan, game 
warden, were read. Mr. Drury announced that the club 
had been offered many rare specimens for their museum. 
The game warden reported many arrests and convictions 
for violations of the game laws. Dr. A. B. Heyl, J. J. 
Faran and Robt. J. Morgan were elected trustees, and, 
with Judge Peter F. Swing, P. E. Roach, Henry Hanna, 
J. T. Rouse, George Gerke and E. M. Pattison, constitute 
the new board. Dr. A. B. Heyl v/as unanimously elected 
president. In his speech of acceptance. Dr. Heyl paid a 
high compliment to Alex. Starbuck, his predecessor, who, 
he said, had served the club faithfully for nine years, and 
bad set a -high standard of excellence for his succes€or. 
Judge P. F. Swing, Henry Hanna and P. E. Roach were 
elected first, second and third vice-presidents. Over 1,500 
members and guests attended the New Year's Day recep- 
tion of the club on January 2, and enjoyed the hospitali- 
ties extended; especially the egg-nogg prepared, as for 
many years past, by Captain Luther Parker. 
- BONASA. 
New Yoffc Legislature* 
special 'Correspondence Forest and Stream. 
Albany, N. Y., Jaiiv 14. — Standing legislative committees on 
forest, fish and game have been announced for the Senate and the 
Assembly, as follows: 
Senate. — Senators Allds, of Chenango; Armstrong, of Monroe; 
Warnick, of Montgomery; Cobb, of Jei¥erson; Riordan and Fraw- 
)ey, of New York. 
Assembly Fisheries and Game.— Messrs. Reeve, of Suffolk; F. C. 
Wood, of Fulton and Hamilton; Knapp, of Clinton-; Stevens, of j 
Rensselaer; C. R. Matthews, of Franklin; Hooper, of Essex;:': 
Foster, of Jefferson; Bass, of Otsego; Waddell, of Warren; Bis^i 
land, of Sullivan; Caughlan, Rosenstein and Machacek, of New 1 
York. ] 
Assembly Public Lands and Forestry.— Messrs. Hanford, of| 
Tioga; Stanley, of New York; Piatt, of Steuben; F. C. Wood, J 
of Fulton and Hamilton; Pratt, of Oneida; Rigby, of Westchester; *' 
Slocum, of Lewis; Becker, of Monroe; Ellis, of New York; • 
T. F. Matthews, of Kings; Salomon, of New York. 
Bills amending the forest, fish and game laws have been intro- 
duced in the Legislature, as follows: 
By Senator Gardner, amending Section 114 so as to provide that / 
from the first day of May to the first day of October in each year fish ; 
shall not be taken by any device other than angling, in Great 
South Bay and its inlets. 
By Assemblyman Gates, prohibiting non-residents hunting for i 
deer without having first provided themselves with ^ a license ; 
issued by the State Forest, Fish and Game Commission, at an 
annual cost of $25. 
By Assemblyman Gates, prohibiting the catching of brook trout i 
for the purpose of selling the same from any waters within the | 
Adirondack or Catskill forest preserves. 
LET THE MEASUREMENT RULE STAND. 
We publish this week the complete report of the Com- 
mittee on Measurement appointed by the New York Y. 
C. This report is accompanied by a very intelligent paper 
by Mr. Charles Lane Poor, a member of the committee, 
in which he outlines just what has been accomplished 
during the past year. 
From the first we have supported the rule; not because 
we believed it ideal, but because it seemed to be the best 
formula yet devised for the handicapping of racing yachts. 
There has been some adverse criticism of the rule, and 
the New York Y. C. has accomplished very much to bring 
about so general an adoption of it in the face of such 
opposition. The best evidence that the rule has some 
merit is the fact that the majority of our foremost clubs 
have adopted it. Uniformity of measurement was the 
goal that all wished to attain, and much has been accom- 
plished in that direction. So far the merits of the rule 
have not been adequately tested in practice, and its value 
remains a subject of conjecture. They can be proven only 
by a practical demonstration. The schooner Ingomar is 
the only vessel of any size that has been built under the 
rul^ and she came from the board of Herreshoff, the 
real exponent of the formula. Ingomar is a fine all- 
around boat. Her performances both here and abroad 
preclude any criticism in so far as her speed is concerned ; 
and in the bad weather experienced while making the 
ocean passages to and from England, she proved an ex- 
cellent sea boat. 
It is not our purpose at this lime to defend the rule, 
even if it needed a champion, and we are very sure it does 
not; but now that it has been adopted by so many influen- 
tial clubs, which were represented by so many capable 
men at the conferences, the only thing remaining is for 
the organizations, whether individually or collectively, to 
let well enough alone, avoid any amendments or changes 
for a reasonable length of time, say five years, and see 
what the result will be. 
During such a period ample opportunity will be had to 
demonstrate the value or lack of value of the rule, and 
no matter what the outcome, progress will certainly be 
made. The time will not have been lost. If the rule is 
weak, the results of the next few years will prove it so, 
and a change can then be made. In any event, a great 
deal of data and material will be available, which will be 
of great value in securing a better formula ; and certainly 
layman and scientist will then be more amply equipped 
for the undertaking. Perhaps the evolution which the 
sport of yachting is undergoing will bring forth some- 
thing better in the way of a rule ; indeed we hope so. In 
the meantime we ask the indulgence of all yachtsmen, 
and we ask them to give the rule a fair test before aban- 
doning it. For the present, let us abide by what has been 
done. Let the men who believe in the rule build under it 
and prove its value ; and, on the other hand, let those who 
do not believe in it do likewise, and any weaknesses can 
then be proved to everyone's satisfaction. This is the 
only real test, and the only way in which progress can be 
made. . 
Rating Rule Modification. 
BY CHARLES LANE POOR. 
During the months of November and December com- 
mittees from various yacht clubs met in conference at the 
New York Y. C. The present lack of uniformity in 
measurement rules has greatly injured racing, and the 
conference was the outcome of an attempt to harmonize 
the existing rules. No effort was made to investigate 
the theoretical relation of speed to the various factors of 
measurement, nor to deduce a formula for rating from 
mathematical or mechanical laws. A condition of chaos 
confronted the members of the conference, and they at- 
tempted to bring order out of confusion,, and to find a 
rule of measurement which would be adopted by all clubs. 
With the conditions as they are, this is all that coiiM be 
att^pted; judical changes are not wanted, uniformi^ is. 
The proposed rule is good, and if adopted by all clubs 
should produce good racing. It is probably _ the best 
method of arbitrarily handicapping boats of various build 
and design that has yet been considered. 
As a basis the Herreshoff formula, 
was adopted. This is a purely arbitrary formula, and has 
no theoretical relation to speed; but as the result of ex- 
perience during the past two ytars this formula was 
deemed the fairest yet proposed for handicapping and 
classifying boats of different design and construction. It 
is the basis of nearly all the measurement rules now in 
force, and has produced good results^ 
The methods of measuring L., VS A, and D which 
appear in the formula were the cause of much discussion. 
The adopted methods are the result of compromise, and, 
it is to be hoped, successfully harmonize the diverse views. 
Method of Measuring L, 
The method of measuring length in vogue with the At- 
lantic Y. C. was adopted. This substitutes a single 
measurement in place of the mean of two, as in the 
present New York method; and further, it is claimed, the 
new method measures as nearly as possible the actual 
waterline of a modern yacht when heeled over in sailing. 
The proposed method undoubtedly has the effect of 
heavily penalizing the scow bow, which was so objec- 
tionable a few years ago. In this regard the new length 
measurement is fully as effective as the Larchmont tax. 
A comparison of three existing boats of different types 
will show this clearly. From the designs of the three 
boats I find : 
Waterline. Larchmont L. Proposed L. 
(A) 35.00 35.16 33.00 
(B) 36.00 39.50 38.00 
(C) 41.10 41.90 39.10 
(B) is a full bowed boat, (A) is an older boat of more 
moderate design, and (C) a boat designed and built since 
the present quarter beam rule went into effect. Allowing 
for the one foot difference in waterline length, it will be 
seen from the above figures that (B) relative to (A) 
takes penalties of 
3.34 ft. under the Larchmont rule, 
. 4-Ooft. under the proposed rule. 
Again comparing (B) with (C) and allowing for the 
difference of waterline, we see that (B) relative to (C) 
is penalized by 
2.70ft. under the Larchmont rule, 
4.00ft. under the proposed rule. 
Thus the proposed method of measuring length taxes 
the scow bow even more heavily than does the Larch- 
mont method. 
The trouble with the proposed method is that it will be 
very difficult, if not impossible, tO obtain L. directly from 
the boat. Measurers will be forced to accept designers' 
drawings from which to calculate L. In this particular 
the Larchmont method for measuring length is preferable. 
Method of Measuring Sail Area. 
All methods of measuring sail area are arbitrary, and 
none of them attempt to measure the actual sail carried 
by a yacht during a race. Such an attempt would result 
in endless confusion; each and every sail carried on a 
yacht would have to be measured and officially marked; 
and further, in each race, an accurate account would have 
to be kept of the number of minutes each and every sail 
was_ in actual use. All that a rule of measurement can 
do is to give an approximate idea as to the amount of 
sail the yacht can carry. 
The method adopted was proposed by Mr. Crane. 
Under it the spars are_ measured, and from these spar 
measurements is determined, by simple calculations, a very 
close approximation to the actual area of the mainsail 
and topsail. If the gaff be at right angles to the diagonal 
drawn from the after end of the boom to the topmast 
head, the Crane formula will give the actual area of the 
after sails; in every other case the Crane formula 
gives a result too large. In three sail plans by different 
designers and of different types of boats^ the Crane 
formula made the areas of the after sails exceed the 
actual areas by 2%, 5 and 4 per cent, respectively. 
A great improvement was made by taking as the area 
of the headsails, go per cent, of the area of the fore- 
triangle. The headsails (balloon jib excepted) never fill 
more than 75 to 80 per cent, of the fore-triangle; the 
balloon jib, which fills the entire triangle, is carried but 
a small fraction of the time in the average race. Thus 
when the whole triangle was used in the measurement, the 
boat was taxed for sail which she could carry only aj 
small part of the time. The new method will give the | 
designers more freedom in designing the headsails ; they '. 
will not feel under the necessity of putting on large sails ' 
in the attempt to fill up the triangle. 
On the whole, the sail area rule gives fully as satisfac- 
tory results as any rule that has been tried ; it is more ' 
simple than the present New York rule, and it has the 
great advantage that it avoids all complications due to? 
stretching of sails, peaking up of gaff, position of hounds, 
halliard-blocks carried on pennants, etc. 
Limits and Penalties, 
The limits on draft and sail area were made dependent' 
upon L., and the penalties for excessive draft and sail 
area were removed from all existing boats. Boats 
launched after January i, 1905, are subject to the penalties 
and rate at the highest limit of their respective classes.- 
This seems a fair and proper provision ; boats designed 
and built under the old rules take their full rating under 
the rule, but are not penalized for exceeding certain arbi- 
trary limits, which were not thought of at the time they 
were designed. This, however, puts a heavy handicap! 
on new boats, and it will take some exceedingly clever: 
designing to win against some of the boats now in 
existence. 
Boats built five or ten years ago should stand very 
good chances in future races, and it is to be hoped that: 
next season will bring together a number of the old^ 
favorites. With new sails and up-to-date rigging, many 
of the old-timers would undoubtedly win out against., the 
racing freak of the last three or four years. 
_ One of the most important changes is the abolition of 
time allowance for all new boats. This is an attempt to: 
re-establish the successful class racing of former years. 
Proposed Amendments to the Racing Rules. 
Proposed amendments as recommended by the Committee on: 
Measurement, consisting of S. Nicholson Kane (Chairman),i 
W. B. Duncan, Jr., Newbury D. Lawton, Oliver E. Cromwell,: 
Charles Lane Poor, H. De B. Parsons, Archibald Rogers, G. A,-, 
Cormack (Secretary), in conference with committees from the: 
following yacht clubs: Atlantic Y. C, Larchmont Y. C, East-- 
em Y. C, Corinthian Y. C. (Marblehead), Corinthian Y. C.^ 
(Philadelphia), Seawanhaka Corinthian Y. C, and the Yacht 
Racing Association of Long Island Sound, comprising American- 
Y. C, Bridgeport Y. C, Corinthian Y. C. of Stamford, Harlem, 
Y. C, Hartford Y. C, Hempstead Harbor Y. C, Horseshoe Har-? 
bor Y. C, Huguenot Y. C, Huntington Y. C, Indian Harbori 
Y. C, Knickerbocker Y. C, Manhasset Bay Y. C, New Haven! 
"V. C, New Rochelle Y. C, New York Athletic Club, Northport; 
Y. C, Norwalk Y. C, Park City Y. C, Riverside Y. C.,i 
Sachem's Head Y. C, Sea Clifl; Y. C, Shelter Island Y. C, 
Stamford Y. C. 
Amend Rule I. of the Racing Rules, entitled "Measurement! 
for Classification and Time Allowance," by striking out all follow-; 
ing the headings, "Length" and "Sail Area," page 227, to and^ 
including "Topsails," page 233, and substituting therefor thC) 
following; 
LENGTH. 
L. measured on a line parallel with the middle fore-and-aft* 
vertical plane at a distance from it equal to one-quarter of thei 
greatest beam (B) at the load waterline, and one-tenth of this 
beam (B-10) above the load waterline; and in case there are many 
notches, jogs, curves or angles at or near the plane of measure- 
ment, L. shall be taken on a fair line bridging such notches,: 
curves, jogs or angles. 
SAIL AREA. 
The measurer shall measure the spars and calculate the sail 
area in the following manner, and the square root of this area 
shall be the VS A in the rating formula. 
Mainsail and Topsail Sloops, Schooners and Yawls, and Mizzen 
and Topsail of Three-Masted Schooners. 
B.— Length of boom measured from after side of mast to out-! 
board end. 
G. — Length of gaff measured from after side of mast to out- 
board end. (At the option of the owner the outer points of 
measurement on tlje boom and gaff may be black bands, beyond' 
the inner edges of which the sail shall not be extended. "j 
P. — ;A perpendicular taken along the after side of the mast 
from the upper side , of the sheave of the highest halliard block' 
or sheave on the mast or to-pmast to the upper side of the boom| 
■yvhien resting on the saddle or on the lowest part of the goose 
neck; tbe distance_pf which point above the fair line of solid bul 
warks. shall be recorded by the measurer. 
In pole-rricisted yachts which carry the upper liailiaTd block oti 
a pennant, the upper point of measurement shall be the point all 
which the pennant is fastened to the mast. 
/ H.— A perpendicular measured along the after side of the mast 
from the upper side of the boom, when resting on the saddle 01' 
on the lowest part of the gooseneck to the lower edge of a blacl 
band, or other distinctive mark i-ipon the mast, above which mark 
the throat cringle of the; mainsail shall not be hoisted. 
Th^ area, of the mainsail , and topsail in sloops, . schooners anc'^ 
yawls, or. pf the mizzen and. topsail, in three-masted schooners': 
sball be obtained from the above measurement:s by multiplyin;: 
.B by H, and G by the sijuare roof of tJie sum of the square? 0 
