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71 
THE AXTELO rE OF THE PLAI\S. 
BY ALASKA. 
One of the pleasantly remembered notes that almost 
every traveler recalls who may have passed over the 
Pacific road, is this mention of the antelope of the 
plains. From the car windows the fleet, agile animals 
are often seen springing away to the right or left of the 
train as the case may be, or else standing ofi some little 
distance in mute wonderment as the locomotive dashes 
by. How many men then give way to the expression, 
“ How easy it would be to shoot them ; ah, if I only 
had a chance with a good rifle !” It may not be credited, 
but stilt it is true, that ninety nine out of every hundred 
of those who see the antelope in this manner for the 
first time, if they had the opportunitj' coveted would 
hunt for weeks on that ground with the best of 
guns and the fleetest horses, and every one of them 
would fail to kill an antelope ! unless by accident. 
This arises more from the usual failure on the part of 
these people to correctly calculate upon distances, ow- 
ing to the deceptive clearness of the air, than upon want 
of ability to hit a target, the range being known ; but 
we w'ill venture to say that no hunter eyer stalked deer 
unavailingly with greater comfort than does he here on 
the prairies — no swamps with tangled brush and trip- 
ping vines ; no timber with pit falls and break-neck 
logs — all is hard, dry, and clean under foot, and were it 
not for the cocft', or prickly pears, the floor of a room 
could not be freer from hindrance to movement. What 
more exhilarating than to spring upon the back of a 
good fleet horse as j'ou leave your camp early in the 
morning, and ride at a free run for half an hour or so 
over the hard, springy ground with the cool, bracing 
air of early day in your lungs and playing around your 
temples. With such surroundings, no wonder that the 
antelope of the plains embodies beauty and grace in 
form and movement, and has almost fabulous endurance 
when running for its life, and had it no worse enemies 
than the hundreds of those hunters who see it for the 
first time, it might live in comparative peace and se- 
renity ; but it is no exception to the rule in wild life ; 
it has trained, deadly foes, man and beast, the Indian 
and the wolf ; from the former it rarely escapes when 
beset, and the latter destroy it in severe weather when 
an unusual amount of snow happens to be on the earth. 
To kill antelope, the hunter must be familiar with the 
rolling ground of the prairies, have, by long practice, a 
correct appreciation of distance, so that he may not 
shoot too high or too low with no better result than the 
empty satisfaction of having made a good line shot, and 
possess also a strong, rugged hound, that will follow si- 
lently and patiently behind his master until sent out for 
a wounded animal which it usually seizes by the throat 
and drags to the ground. Possessed of these qualifi- 
cations, the antelope hunter rarely fails to secure his ob- 
ject, but the naturally acute sense of the game sought 
always gives him trouble enough to dispel any feeling 
of contempt which might be presumed to follow, after 
he had become familiar with his occupatiun. 
A CORRESPOSDEST in Harford county, Maryland, says that he 
ately observed two crows on a shock of corn on the farm of Wesley 
Forwood, one bird was removing the grain from the cob and gave it 
to the other which buried it to soften and then to eat. On approach- 
ng nearer he discovered that the upper bill of the bird being fed was 
entirely off, the loss of which the correspondent supposed was due 
to strychnine . With this poison some Maryland farmers destroyed 
thousands of crows during the winter. There should be a fine im- 
posed for destroying this intelligent and useful bird. It is, as every- 
body knows, carnivorous in its habits, living upon worms and other 
insects when the ground is not frozen, and will eat corn only when 
no other food can be obtained. 
M. Parai- has, to a certain extent, solved the problem of artificial 
rrigation by the discovery of a method of doing without rain. His 
plan is to apply calcium chloride, which has a powerful afliuity lor 
moisture, and absorbs a large quantity from the atmosphere. From 
actual experiments he has found that it wiil produce irrigation more 
efficiently and cheaper than any other artificial method. One appli- 
cation will, he states, produce and retain abundant moisture lor 
three days, when the same amount of water, applied in the ordinary 
way, would evaporate in an hour. The inventor believes that his 
way is cheaper than canal irrigation, and that not only by its use 
two blades of grass will be produced where only one is now, but that 
it will make it possible to have fields, meadow's, grass and prosperity 
where now there is nothing but sand and desert waste. 
SPKiii) op Greyuouxd ari> Horse. — The question having been 
asked in the London Field which was the fleeler the horse or the 
greyhound, a correspondent relates the following incident in which 
t was tested: “MaHy years ago I was with some gentlemen coursing 
near Lewes. A hafe was found silting; she had about a mile to run 
tosome firsat the top of a hill, A Mr. Poole, then acelebrated ri- 
der, offered to bet a guinea that he would ride up to the hare, I 
being on a thoroughbred mare, and a lighter weight determined to 
try,it and did^so.and'passed him and the dugs and overlook the bare. 
The dogs killed the hare, and to show bow much was thought of the 
performance I wae offered ery Wgk prico for my mere,” 
fiUEfiiES & ANSVyERS. 
J. B., New Havex.— PJ ease inform me when black bass spawn 
and when is the law on black bass off; also where I can get a book 
that will touch on fishing? Ans. 1. Black bass may not be taken 
in April or May. 2 At this office. 
C. S. McC.» Peekskell.— What book gives the best directions for 
breeding, training, and. taking care of sporting dogs; where can}! 
get it; and at what price? Ans. Hutchinson, May hew, Idstone, 
Forester, also Burges in back numbers of Sportsman. Aiy of 
them may be had at this office. 
C. W., Bos roN — Are spruce grouse sufficiently plentiful along the 
northern line of New England or in the Canadas to warrant a trip 
after them, and are they easily shot? Ans. We think not; the birds 
are rare and very shy, and from the thick cover they haunt are very 
hard to kill. 
Gko. II., Cambridge — Do ruffed grouse roost upon trees or on 
the ground? Ans Generally upon the ground under a log or other 
projection. We have, however, frequently found hollow stumps or 
logs raised a foot or more above the ground presenting evidences 
that grouse had rocsted there. Such cases are quite common late 
in the season, especially if it is snowing, as the birds seek shelter 
from the storm and cold wind. A tree with a hollow near the root 
is also a favorite resort. 
G. A. R., Toledo.— I have a fine blooded pointer bitch that is 
considerably smaller than the others of the same litter. Canyon tell 
me of any food that will promote her growth? Ans. Bread made 
from wheat middlings, alternated with corn meal mush, made with 
strong broth and vegetables is the best food for a growing pup, and 
your dog will do as well on it as on anything else, it may not, how- 
ever, make her as large as the others, since there is at mich differ- 
enee iu this respect with animals as with members of the human 
family. 
A. F , Phela.— W ill you oblige me with instructions as to the 
best way to break my dog, a full blooded pointer. He will fetch 
anything, and all I want to teach him is to stand snipe and quail. 
Ans. Pointing must be natural to the dog or he will not amount to 
anything. You can only decide this by trying him on game, yet if 
he is very young he may not take any notice of the birds now and 
and still turn out well later. Take him into the field with an old 
steady dog, and he will soon show you what he means. If he is old 
enough and does not stand he will not be worth the trouble of 
breaking. 
Taxidermist, Providence. — Have you ever seen birds that have 
been embalmed instead of stuffed for preservation, and what do you 
think of it ; will it give a belter and more natural shape than 
stuffing? Ans. We have never seen embalmed birds, but have heard 
very favorable comments upon their appearance. If the work is 
properly done so as to avoid shrinking, the natural size aud shape 
should be well presen'ed. It takes a naturalist of experience and 
with a good eye for proportion to stuff a bird so that it will look 
life like, aud embalming, if thoroughly learned and practiced, will 
probably give as good satisfaction. 
aM. P. M. K., Franklin.— 1. Is there any place inN. Y, where 
dog biscuit are made? 2. What are they made of, and are they 
good food for dogs? 3. What is the price? Ans. 1. They are not 
made in N. Y. that we know of. John Krider, Philadelphia, has the 
imported Spratt’s biscuits for sale, and these are probably better than 
auj manufactured in this country. 2. We don't know , the in- 
gredients but understand that they are meat and vegetables. They 
are good food, especially for travelling, but for ordinary use are 
probably no better than such food as is usually given by dog owners. 
3. Twelve cents per pound. One biscuit will make a meal for an 
ordinary sized dog if soaked in water. We believe there arc about 
four biscuit to the pound. 
Frank, Ellinville —I have a fine setter dog that has been af- 
fected for several days with violent spells of coughing and vomiting 
a great deal of phlegm which sometimes almost chokes him. It ap- 
pears like an attack of distemoer. What can I do for it. Ans. 
Your dog is undoubtedly suffering from distemper. Give one half 
grain each of calomel and tartar emetic, repeating each hour till the 
dog vomits freely. One hour after vomiiing give half a wine glass 
of the following mixture — eight ounces saturated solution of epsom 
salts in water, 30 drops sulphuric acid; mix well and keep corked; 
be sure to observe proportions of mixture and quantity of dose. 
Rest the dog for a day or two, then if not greatly relieved give a 
dose of ipecacuanha and nitre. Give the dog a clean, dry bed, 
plenty of water and let him run in the open air. 
S. A., Po'kbepsie. — 1. Have not all the experiments in England 
of wood powder and gun felt against black powder resulted in favor 
of the latter? 2. Are the new inventions in general use among 
sportsmen abroad? 3. Do yon know of any tests to which Dittmar’s 
powder has been applied that has demonstrated its superiority over 
black pow'der? Ans We cannot say that ail the experiments have 
been in favor of black powder, as we don't know tae results of all. 
Some trials have nudoubtedly shown the results you name. 2. 
Many sportsmen use the wood powder aud felt and report in high 
terms of their excellences. See letters in The Field and LaJid and 
Water. 3. We do not know personally of any trials of Dittmar's 
powder, but a recent letter in these columns speaks in its favor, 
aud we hope soon to see it thoroughly tested that its qualities may 
be known to the public . 
Pheasant, Bloomsbcbg.— 1. Which of the spaniels do you con- 
sider the best for woodcock and pheasant shooting exclusively, the 
cocker, springer, or clumber? 2, Do you know where I can purchase 
a clumber spaniel ? Ans. 1. The springer is not a distinct variety, 
the term is applied to spaniels of larger size than the coekers. 
Springers comprise the Norfolk. Sussex and Clumber spaniels. 
Cockers are smaller dogs'of mixed blood though certain families of 
these have been, kept distinct for many years. The Clumber is a 
large, powerful spaniel, standing about eighteen inches high and 
weighing about forty-five pounds, he would doubtless prove a good 
dog for the shooting you mentio^i if he did not invuriabiy hunt mute, 
and iu our covers would spriug his birds without giving the sports- 
mau any warning. Cockers are therefor© iho best. 2. There are 
uo pure clumbers iu this country that wu know of. the breed ia rare 
In England aud has never, we believe, been imported, You uuj 
I pbt4q pny through a foreign agent. 
SMALL SHOT. 
— — — 
Dbrter Ci.rB compriges over 95 member*. 
SoRASTON, Pa., ie organizing a Sportsman's *lnb. 
“SsiPE Shootirg.— In Ceylon, India, the snipe don’t fly ziz-zag, 
but go straight away and afford much easier shooting. 
A TOWN oouNcii, in Pennsylvania lately voted a small snm of 
money to Introduce sparrows. One of the members objected that 
they were desperate birds and would frighten away the casPiron 
swans in the front yards. 
The wild animals in the forests of Eulengebirge. in Germany, are 
pat to great straits for want of food. The snow is not only deep 
but hard frozen, and many of the poor creatures almost destroy 
themselves in their efforts to penetrate through the ice to the grass 
below. Steps are being taken to supply them with food. Eagles, 
taking advantage of the weakness and exhanstion of the deer, at- 
tack them while still alive. 
It is poor comfort to know others as bad as we are. Such as it is 
however, it may as well be known that the hnmming birds are being 
rapidly extirpated in the interest of fashion. We are told that Lady 
Burdett Coutts, famous for her enlightened philanthropy, makes an 
appeal in the interest of these little birds. The votaries of fashion 
will not pity, however; the best chance for the little birds is a change 
ofstyl., 
Black Grouse and Quail.— The introdnetion of Black Grouse 
and Quail into Ireland is being agitated. By many writers in the 
lAindon Field it is contended that both in climate and food there U 
no impediment to the experiment being a success. Many quail were 
turned out three or four years ago in Norfolk and Suffolk, England, 
though they have bred very freely, yet they are not now seen as of- 
ten as they were three years ago. 
An Eagle-Fox Fight.— Mr. Carver, gamsskeeper on the Glen- 
trium hills, recently witnessed a curious combat b.tween an Eagle 
and a Fox. He had been watching a fox sitting on a bank, when an 
eagle rose from the opposite side, made a desperate swoop at the 
fox, missed him and lighted on the ground a little beyond. The fox 
immediately sprang for the eagle and missed it, and the eagle again 
resumed its position, when Reynard made a second attack. This 
time the eagle forced him and a desperate fight ensued lasting for 
about 10 minutes, until the fox made for hie hole, the eagle ponnej 
ing on him until they reached the hole. 
Glasgow Dog Show.— 1 he Scotch National dog show, which wa» 
held at Glasgow on the 30th of March, was a great success, being 
far ahead of any of the previous exhibitions. The setter class was 
enormously large, aud the animals exhibited very superior; so much 
so that the judges found much difficulty in awarding the prizes. 
“Rail,” belonging to Mr. I. Fletcher, took the let prize as the best 
setter exhibited, and Mr. Macdona’s “Mozart,” the sire of Mohawk's 
“Banshee,” took the 2d prize. “Mozart” is by the great “Pluuket” 
ont of “Min.” 
We hear from the North Woods that snow and ice are rapidly. dis- 
appearing, though there is still considerable thickness of both. 
Old guides express the opinion that the season will open early. 
One of them writes; — “ The Winter has been terribly severe, and 
the snow has been so.dcep that an unusually large number of deer 
have been killed by outsiders who only desired their skins. Those 
that remain are very poor and thin. We are looking for an early 
season. After so hard a winter it is almost always the case that the 
streams and lakes run off quicker than after open winters. I have 
done considerable in trapping during the winter and expect to real- 
ize six hundred dollars for my skins, which include one beaver 
skin.” 
South prom Jacksonville, Fla., about two miles is Alachua lake. 
Formerly this was a vast praine of over twenty thousand acres of 
good grazing land. In the midst of it was a deep hole or land sink of 
which there are a great many in the State, in which the waters of Mc- 
Kinstry lake, situated further north, and of the surrounding country 
used tD flow and find a subterranean outlet to the sea. About four 
years ago the outlet got more or less choked np, and the surplus 
water backing soon covered this vast tract of country, in which 
aqueons condition it has remained ever since, increasing and dimin- 
ishing as the season varies from wet to dry. This lake is literally 
alire with fish. Colored boys with an ordinary pole cut from the 
woods, a line not over five feet long, and a fly rudely constrncted ot 
while and red flannel, catch eighty pounds of black bass in a conple 
of hours. These fish average from two to twelve pounds. An eight 
pound bass is common . A gentleman residing in Grainsville canght 
and weighed on Fairbanks scales, in the presence of a number of 
Northern visitors, a black bass weighing nineteen and one quarter 
ponnds. Tradition says one was canght here last year that weighed 
twenty-three pounds. All the small streams flowing into this lake 
are also full of bass. 
Ferocity or the Hamster Rat.— This is the only species of rat 
found in Europe possessing pouches iu his cheeks, and is a native of 
Austria, Silesia and parts of Germany. He feeds on grain, herbs, 
roots, and at times even eats flesh. The life of a Hamster is divided 
between eating and fighting. He seems to have no other passion 
but that of anger, which induces him to attack every animal that 
comes in his way, without in the least attending to the strength of 
the enemy. Ignorant of the art of saving himself by flight, rather 
than yield he will allow himself to be beaten to pieces with a stick. 
If he seizes a man’s hand, he must be killed before he will quit his 
hold. The magnitude of the horse terrifies him as little as the te- 
nacity of the dog, which is fond of hunting him. M’hen the Ham- 
ster sees a dog at a distance, he begins by emptying his cheeks and 
pouches, if they happen to be filled with grain; he then blows them 
out so prodigiously that the size of his head and neck greatly ex- 
ceeds that of the rest of the body. He raises himself on his hind 
legs, and thus darts upon the enemy. If he catches hold, he never 
quits his fo# but with the loss of life. This ferocious disposition 
prsTsnts the Hamstsr from being at peace with any animal, even 
with his own species. When two Hamsters meet, they never fail to 
attack each other, and the stronger always devours the weaker. A 
combat between a male and female nsually lasts longer than that be- 
tween two males. They begin by pursuing and biting each other; 
then each of them retires aside, as if to take breath. After a short 
Intarval, they renew the combAt And enntinna to fight till one ot 
them falls. The vAuquished aulmal nuifurmly serves for a lepsst 
to the conqueror, 
