36 
^pril 17 
SPORTSMAX I\ ITALY. 
BY DR. M. GOLDSMITH. 
Rome, Italy, March, 18T5. 
There is not much left to say about hunting dogs in 
France and Italy. As you leave Paris and proceed as I 
did through the Mt. Cenis Tunnel to Milan, Turin, 
Naples and Rome, you -will see a gradual change in the 
dog, which is the prevailing class of the pointer and 
setter genus, from the s\’lph-like comeliness of the met- 
ropolitan dog to the bob-tailed currishness of the Milan 
representative or the antique standard of Naples. To 
begin with, the pointer along the French frontier and 
along the Franco-Italian frontier is very generally a 
beefy, rather a coarse Dointer. He has a sort of hul- 
locky look. His tail (I hope we will never adopt the 
English stinginess stem) is thick and meaty, and when 
allowed to remain of full length has a certain shortest 
business like that so often seen in the fox hound. The 
head is broad, but the nose short and broad, the upper 
lip is pendulous almost like that of the blood-hound. 
Altogether he has a sort of hull-doggy, hlood-houndish- 
ness of cast to him. The tail is almost always short- 
ened and sometimes unequivocally bobbed. In South- 
ern Italy while still retaining the bobbiness of tail he 
acquires a look about the head very much resembling 
that of the Dalmatian, a pointer-head, but one which 
looks like that of an English pointer shortened without 
being widened. That quality of head is found among 
the marbles of the Vatican, and since that of a pointer 
in the act of pointing the game is supposed to be an- 
tique, we may suppose this to be the genuine Italian 
pointer-head. In Rome there is such a large resident 
English population that one sees here many genuine 
English dogs, and, bred as these would naturally be to 
the .native pointer, a great many of the dogs owned 
here show more on less of an approximation to the 
English type. It is curious to see here a predominance 
of those colors in the pointer, which are so common in 
America, but which are growing so uncommon in Eng- 
land. After all, when you have seen England, Ireland 
and Scotland you are done with any interest in pointers 
setters anywhere else. Go where you will you find the 
genuine setter or pointer of the countrj’ is a more or 
less degenerate British dog. The only game seen on 
the markets is a woodcock, a partridge, or a hare. The 
Woodcock is found on the Campagna in wet seasons or 
in the Pontine Marshes. It does not breed here, but 
tarries along the coast of the Mediterranean during the 
autumn and winter, seldom I believe, doing more than 
to shift its quarters from lowland to upland borings 
with the exigencies of the season. None breed here. 
They are shot with almost as much^freedom as in Amer- 
ica, and since Italy has a hundred idlers where we 
have one, the result can be.easily understood — a deal of 
shooting but very few birds brought to bag. It is also 
noteworthy that here where game ma)' he said to have no 
protection, it is higher in price than almost anywhere, 
and that in England where it is most protected, it is 
cheapest. 
I take it there is but little genuine sportsmanship 
amongst these people. They are rather a nation of pot- 
hunters. 
AX OLD BOOK. 
Keexe, N. H., April 5. 
Editor Rod axd Got: 
In the last number of The Sportsm.o^, you mention 
that “ Mr. Frank Buckland, in a lively notice of an in- 
teresting old book on the fish in the Thames one hun- 
dred years ago, tells us how ex'actlj^ the complain'ts of 
that day and country are repeated in this daj' and 
country.” I wish you had given us more extended quo- 
tations from that “old book,” or from Mr. Buckland’s 
notice, as I am interested in those things which be- 
longed to our father-!, and also would like to know if 
the book was “ The Art of Angling. By K. Brookes, 
M. D.” Printed for T. Lowndes in Fleet Street, Lon- 
don, ilDCGLXXIV or 101 years ago ; a copy of which 
I found in a book stall in New York a few days since. 
This book is “ Illustrated with One Hundred and Thirty- 
five cuts exactly describing the different kinds of fish 
that are found in the fresh or saltwaters.” That little 
notice on the title-page was well put in, for it would 
puzzle the most experienced fisherman to name some of 
the cuts without the text. The book is filled with in- 
structions for catching all kinds of fish with all kinds of 
tackle and bait, from “ Dibbing, or Fly-angling,” to 
“Trowl-iigin P^l||(l^,” and “Trimmer Angling” for 
night fishin;;; for making all kinds of baits and descrip- 
tions of all the insects most commonly used in angling, 
together with descriptions of the. fish and theii habits. 
Under the head of salmon, the author states a fact which 
even now has not man)' real believers, outside of a se- 
lect few, but which is the law upon which the success 
of re-stocking our rivers with salmon and shad depends 
Entirely. I quote from the article : “It is worth ob- 
servation, that the salmon is not only desirous of return-, 
ing back to the rivers, but to that very river where it 
was spawned, as is evident by an experiment made by 
fishermen, and others, who have caught them when 
ver)' small, and have run a small ribbon, tape, or 
thread, through the tail fin. By this mark they have 
been certain that t'ley have re-taken the same fish, at 
the same place, as they returned from the sea. By this 
means they have likewise discovered that the salmon is 
of very quick growth, and mnch more so than any oth- 
er fish.” 
If you could only print that extract with all the capi- 
tal lettei^, and the old-fashioned S, upon yellow, water- 
laid paper, I am sure you would convince some of 
your readers that there are some things under the sun 
relative to fish -and fi«hing which are not new. The au- 
thor also complains that when the salmon have gone up 
the smallest rivers as far as they can to spawn, “ seme 
few are caught by angling, hut the far greatest part of 
them is destroyed by poaching fellows, with spears, 
though the fish are at that time of little or no value. 
Thus most harm is done to the breed of salmon, and it 
were to be wished that the justices of the peace would a 
little more exert themselves and imprison these idle 
poachers.” Amen and amen! So say we all of us, 
even in these latter days. 
One more extract and I have done. I see that Messrs. 
Thompson and Tagg, fish lulturists at New Hope, 
Bucks County, Pa., have succeeded in hatching salmon 
in their waters, from salmon three years of age, whicii 
had never visited salt water. These three-year old nou- 
anadromous, or “landlocked” salmon weighed but 
three pounds each, while their Canadian ancestors, fur- 
nished by Mr. Wilmot, weighed sixty pounds. The 
.success of these gentleman was partially anticipated 
more than a hundred years ago, if we may believe our 
author, who states “Two of them were, whilst small, 
put by a tradesman of Stockport into his fish pond, and 
again taken out in three years, and proved to weigh five 
pounds.” No less credit, however, belongs to our 
Bucks County friends for their successful experiment in 
rai^ing and breeding from their “ non-anadromous sal- 
mon,” of which we hope to hear more hereafter. 
J. E. H. 
At THE Moxroe Co., N. Y. meeting. President A. 
B. Lamberton made an interesting address on the sub, 
ject of fishing to the following eflect: He had caught 
trout in Pennsylvania, in the Adirondacks; in .Maine, 
and in Canadian Provinces. When he first started out 
he, took a large number of flies with him, but latterly 
but a smaller number, as he found that the hackles 
conld always be relied on. In addition to these he 
used the red ibis, and this and the spinners were gener- 
ally enough. In the hot months night fishing was very 
successful as the trout then congregated in the spring 
holes. As to salmon fishing, he had two seasons in 
New Brunswick. In his opinion salmon did not rise to 
the fly toe same as trout, that is, for the purpose of se- 
curing food, but merely took it in play. This makes 
the sport uncertain. In the opinion of anglers of most 
experience, especially of Mr. Wilmot, salmon do not 
take food at all when out of saltwater. They remain 
in fresh water nea^’ seven months coming from the 
sea in fine condition and returning to it'emaciated As 
a general rule only the fresh run of salmon take a fly, 
although he silled one hist season, about the last<<f Sep- 
tember, weighing twenty pounds. It took him twenty- 
six minutes to kill this fish, during whieh time it made 
several leaps, some of them not less than seven feet out 
of the water. In answ'er to some questions propounded 
him. Mr. Lamberton said that spawning might account 
for the poor condition of the salmon returning to salt 
water, and that the young remained for the first tw'o 
years in fresh water and of course got their nour- 
ishment there. A salmon would often pay no atten- 
tion to the fly, although the water was whipped for an 
hour near him and then the fish would change its mind 
and take it. The best salmon were in the Canadian 
provinces and the grounds were leased by Canadians or 
Americans. Thanks to the excelient system the Do- 
minion government had established, the fish were each 
3 'ear growing larger and more powerful. The time for 
salmon fishing was from the 12th of July to September. 
Mr. C. S. Westcott has just crossed Gildersleeve 
setter “ Nellie,” the only pure bred bitch of the T wad- 
dell Benson In ancli of the stock to Chas. H. Raymond’s 
Laverack “ Pride of the Border.” 
Patents. 
The following Patents, in which our readers are interested, were 
issued in March. 
I60.263-— Cartridges, DeWitt C. Farrington, Lowell, Mass. A 
cartridge in which the shell or case and projectile are connected to- 
gether, and having the metal of the projectile turned over the end 
of the shell. 
160,420— Cartridge Holders, N. S. Goss, Xeos ho Falls, Kansas. A 
cartridge spring socket having a flaring or tunnel shaped top 
and tongue groove. 
160,432-Cartridge Shellholders, W. H. Holahird and Aaron Parke, 
V alparaiso, Ind. A shell holder consisting of ring back wire and 
spring shell clamp and charge supporter. 
160,551— Revolving Fire Arms, Dexter Smith, Springfleld, Mass. 
The object is to extract all the shells from the cylinder at the same 
time, which is accomplished by means of an ordinary extractor 
plate provided wi'h a projection, having a peripheral shoulder, on 
which clutches operate in the rear of the recoil shield engaged 
to hold the extractor plate stationary while the cylinder is 
moved forward. The clutches are so arranged that when the arm is 
half-cocked they are disengaged from the shoulder of the projec- 
tion, thus entirely detaching the cylinder from the lock frame of the 
arm. 
160,691— Chambers of Fire-arms and Ordnance, Thos. MacNeil, 
Brooklyn. The combination of the perforated air chamber and a 
tiring device, constructed to ignite the charge at the extreme front 
end of the air chamber, and prevent the fire from passing back into 
the same. 
160,730— Cartridge Belts, David Taylor, Tueson, Arizona. A nar- 
row strap is laced through slots in the belt, and the clips which bold 
the cartridges are secured to the narrow strap by mean- of end ex- 
tensions instead of by rivets. 
160.734 — Breech-loading Fire-arms, Eli Whitney, New Haven, 
Conn. A variety of combinations of existing arrangements (requir- 
ing a more full explanation than can be given heref. 
160,748— Breech-loading Fire-arms, Edwin Burt. Washington, 
D. C. Breech made as shown. Combination of hammer or striker, 
catch spring, and breech block, whereby the breech is opened by 
half cocking the arm, and is then left free to be closed by thumb of 
the operator or hammer upon discharge. Arrangement of lock with 
guard and attachment of guard to receiver. 
160.762— Briech-loading Fire-arms, F. W. Freund, Denver, Col., 
Combinations and details too extended for our columns and 
needing cuts for explanation. 
160.763— Metallic Cartridges, F. W. Freund, Denver, Col. 1. A car- 
tridge shell made of one piece of paper, with a small powder tube 
between a fire tube and a main powder chamber. 2. A cartridge 
shell made with a thin hard metal portion and a thick soft metal 
portion. 
160,765— Pistol Stocks, W. L. Godfrey. New York. 1. A pistol 
stock constructed of composition or plastic material, in combina- 
tion with a metallic framing, entirely surrounding and afllxcd to the 
edges of such stock or of cheek pieces. 2. A composition pistol stock 
having a metallic strengthening plate. 
160,819— Sights for Fire-arms, F. W. Freund. Denver, Col. Thn 
sight for a fire-arm having a spring tail in combination with a 
stepped support having a tail, and with a guide so arranged as to 
adjust the sight to a higher or lower position, with respect to the 
top of the barrel w ith various combinations. 
160,653— Bird Foodholders, Samuel E. Thompkins, Sing Sin£, 
N. Y. 
160,880— Breech-loading Fire-Arms, 1). Conner, Meriden, assignor 
to Eli Whitney, New Haven. Conn. Combinations as described. 
160,915 — Breech-loading Fire-Arms, C. A. King, assignor, etc. 
Devices as described. 
160,919— Breech-loading Fire-Arms, James Lee, Milwaukee, Wls. 
Combinations and devices of lock, hammer and trigger arrange- 
ments. 
160.935— Stocks for Fire Arms, Joe. V. Meigs, Lowell, Mass. A 
gun stock or imperfect conductor surrounding a gun barrel to pre- 
vent burning the hands when the barrel is healed. 
161,117— Locks for Fire Arms, Dana G. Hadley, Bethlehem, N. H. 
The locking lever provided with square shouldered notch and under- 
cut recess in the limb of the hammer. 
161,184 — Shell fuses, Rudolph L. Walter, Washington, D. C., as- 
signor, etc. The firing pin is adjustable so as to be well-drawn into 
the cap, to insure safety in handling or transportation. 
161,206— Bird Cage Hooks, Jas. Comly. Philadelphia, assignor. 
161,214 —Reamers for shot guns, F. A. Deland, Memphis, assignor. 
161,267— Breech-loading Fire Arms, W. F. Parker, Meriden, Conn., 
combinations as shown. 
161,275 — Bird Cages, Louis T. Reubert, Buffalo. The hinged 
hook is locked by a brace hinged at the opposite end of the base- 
plate which attaches the hook to tbe cage bottom. 
161,300 — Barrels for Shot Guns, Joel B. Tubbs, Waterloo, N.Y., a 
shot gun provided at its muzzle with a concentrating ring arranged 
within the bore. 
161,307— Breech-loading Fite Arms, B. C. Watson, N. Y., assign- 
or, the comlijnation of the barrel leaving trunnions on a line with 
the center of the barrel and a case having adjustable bearings. 
161,314— Fishing Reels, Thomas Williams, and Thos. D. Whist- 
ler, Baltimore, combination with a rotary reel of an independent 
eye or ring on the prolongation of the axis, to lead the line over the 
side of the reel and deliver it freely without rotating the reel, with 
other combinations. 
A DwxRF Bi.BPHA>rT has just arrived in Paris from India. Cawn- 
pore, as he is called, is nineteen years old, but for years he has not 
grown any, and is now only thirty nine inches in height. He is re 
markably intelligent and performs many tricks. As it takes but a 
small blanket and other trapping to cover thiselephant. of coarse his 
crunk is not so big as that of the regular menagerie sized elephant. 
Maixi has credit for an Indian lobbyist. “ Senator, you report 
bill no killum moose for five years f” “Yes,” replied the Senator. 
“You report hill no killum deer for five years?” “No.” “Very 
well.” says Joe; “make nm law no killum deer for five years except 
by Indian when he campum out. Last summer Massachusetts fel- 
lows come. Hire me to go with um six weeks. Killum two deers 
weighing 140 lbs., spend fifteen hundred dollars— good for guide.” 
