THE FOURTEEN BORE 
Dear Forest and Stream : 
A LOT has l)een written in both the 
United States, Canadian and British 
sporting papers re 12, 16, 20, 28 and 10 
bores, but nary a word have I seen about 
that splendid 14 bore. Are they defunct, 
if so, what is the reason? I maintain 
that a 28 in. barrel, hammerless, ejector 
14 bore, weighing about 6 lbs. would be 
unapproachable for handiness, killing 
patterns, penetration and comfort in 
using. Also it would be as strong as an 
8 11). 12 bore. 
In my younger days I used a 14 bore 
central fire, cylinder bored in both bar- 
rels, 29 in. long, 6 lbs. It lasted over 
thirty years of very hard work and killed 
hund’reds of birds from geese down^ to 
jack snipe. I saw in a British sporting 
paper that a gentleman used a pair of 14- 
bore ejectors at a battue of pheasants in 
which over 1.000 pheasants were killed 
each day by nine guns. 
I am* wondering if any one on your 
side has any good word to say for that 
dear fourteen. I am trying to get one 
for next season which I trust will see us 
Irish gunners handling our well-beloved 
guns once more without hindrance. I 
wish vou the very best new year for fish- 
ing and shooting. 
Ptar.migan, Ireland. 
TURTLES GETTING SCARCE 
Dear Forest and Stream; 
W HEN at Key West last year I was 
informed at the turtle crawls that 
it was often necessary for the boats to 
travel a distance of 200 miles to get 
turtles that could be collected formerly 
between Key cst and the Dry Tortu- 
gas. They said that this scarcity existed 
because turtle eggs were collected and 
used for human consumption and that 
female turtles would be butchered when 
discovered on the beach. If this is true 
it is another instance of the unthinking 
destruction of a natural resource. 
Joseph W. Stray, 
N ew York. 
A UNIQUE CATCH OF 
CAVALLIA 
Dear Forest and Stream; 
I HAVE been going for many years to 
1 Coden, Alabama, fishing for tarpon 
and have always stopped at the famous 
Rolston Hotel, which is now owned by 
the Coden Hunting and Fishing Club. 
Last summer I was there with Mr. J. 
R. Hall, of New Orleans. We had been 
fishing for tarpon and had caught four 
one morning, and while we had our 
trolls out I remarked to my friend that 
I though I would try a new lure that I 
had made, which is a rather crude thing 
with two hooks on it. I put it over and 
we had not gone very far when I got a 
strike. 1 looked for a tarpon to leap, 
but as it did not I remarked to Hall ; "I 
have a very queer fish and very heavy. 
In about five minutes I saw that I had a 
cavallia, which is called jackfish in some 
waters. When I brought the catch to the 
gaff we discovered that I had hooked two 
cavallia that weighed 40 lbs. each. They 
gave me a wonderful fight, as they are 
a very strong fish and two of them at 
one time is all a man wants to handle. 
Two Cavallia hooked at one time 
I enclose a picture of the catch. The 
man holding the fish is my guide. Matt 
Bosarge. Jack R. Connor, 
Alabama. 
SALMON LEAPS IN COLD 
WEATHER 
Dear Forest and Stream ; 
I N the newspapers of late, where “The 
Arkbuilders” revels at Jackson, New 
Hampshire, were mentioned, I noticed 
that as the lecturer on “Fish and Their 
Habits,” I was quoted as the editor of 
Forest .a.nd Stream. I was guilty of 
publishing Forest, Lake and River, in 
1900. Hence the mistake. Years ago I 
did write quite a number of articles for 
your delightful magazine, but realized 
that I could never become its editor. 
I received a letter recently from Ar- 
thur C. Hamilton, who has a number of 
camps at Forest City, New Brunswick, 
from which I quote the following, that 
I hope will be of interest to you and to N 
your readers ; I 
Dated January 3, 1922. “Went up the I 
stream to shoot some shelldrakes to-day | 
and saw the largest salmon I ever had 
the luck to see in fresh water ; he made 
a jump of 3 feet, clean and clear. Was j 
very close to him. The funny thing is 
that the weather is intensely cold — 20 be- 
low zero. The first salmon I ever saw 
come out of water at this time of year. ’ 
In my experience of over fifty years, I 
never knew of a salmon jumping at this 
time of year. 
Frank M. Johnson, Massachusetts. 
GAME BIRDS AND POISON _ 
Dear Forest and Stream ; 
R eferring to an editorial in your 
February issue, “Game Birds Im- 
mune from Poisons,” this fact has been a 
matter of common knowledge in certain 
sections of the South for years. Chickens 
are also immune, it being a custom of 
long standing, in certain sections, to feed 
poisoned grain to chickens in hawk-in- 
fested territory, on the theory that the 
flesh of a chicken so fed will kill hawks, ^ 
owls, etc., when eaten by them. Person- - 
ally, I do not know this to be true, but 
it is generally believed and is easily dis- 
proved if not based on fact. _ _ | 
As to a scientific explanation of this i 
phenomena an old negro volunteered the 
information ; “Pizen won t kill birds born ■ 
with their eyes open,” which includes all 
the birds mentioned, viz. ; pheasants, 
quail, partridges, etc. 
O. A. Bennett, Arkansas. 
FISHING ON COLD DAYS 
Dear Forest and Stream ; | 
I N Southeast Missouri there is a body , 
■I of water in the shape of a horse-shoe, j 
with the title of Clear Slough. It lives 
up to its title, too, for the water is like 
glass and in places is forty feet deep. It ! 
is rather remotely situated, and for that 
reason we had for a long time failed to H 
visit it. But one day in early spring, 
when the rain had kept the streams so 
muddy that fishing in them was out of 
the question, we took a chance at Clear ^ 
Slough. 
We started early in the morning on 
one of those warm March days. Sure 
enough, the water was crystal clear and 
it looked good for fishing; just about as 
good, in fact, as any place I have ever 
seen. But the fish wouldn’t bite. We 
used half our minnows, and we even I 
got down to the humble worm, but they I 
wouldn't bite. I 
Along about four o’clock the warm I 
March day changed to a cold March day I 
