170 
rJiiiie 12 
$ 
Black Bass 
QUERJES & ANSWERS. 
LETTERS FRO M SPORTSMEN. 
Orders to Dogs. 
Racins, Wis., May 23. 
Editor Rodant) Gun: 
I noticed in a back number of the Rod axd Gdx an article by 
“ Recapper,” in which he advocates having your dogs point dead 
birds, and then at the word “fetch” to bring in the bird- ^ow. I am 
a beginner, and would like to have him get me out of this difficulty, 
namely: In shooting wild duck they sometimes fall in the wild 
rice or tall grass, and when you send the dog to retrieve you cannot 
see him or him you; and now, if he is trained to point dead, will 
“Recapper” tell me the proper time to give the command “fetch.” I 
agree with “T. Cmbellns,” in his article in the Rod asd Gcn of 
3l3y 22, as to a good dog knowing the difference between a dead 
bird and a live one, and if left to himself will make but few m's- 
takes. But i do not agree with him about letting my friends take 
my dog out to spoil, for a dog knows who is his ma.*ter, and I do 
not think he will ubey another m»n as well ; but if your friend wants 
to go out go with him. Or if he understands hunting and loves 
shooting, he \viU most likely own a dog of his own. I borrowed a 
dog of a friend last fall and could not make him obey worth a cent. 
I afterwards found out that his owner, who is a Welshman, used his 
language in speaking to the dog, and I know the dog to be a good 
one. 
In this part of the country the loafers will call your dog off if they 
chance, bunt him all day Sunday, and ’.hen send him home at uigbu 
and yon thinking your dog lost. They took mine once and kept 
him for three days, but I could not prove it, and they cured nctbing 
about it; and if I should raise another poppy I wonld teach him en- 
tirely different words, that none but him and I would understand. 
Now for “Des Moines.” In your last number he says that he 
never saw a setter that could stand it for two days together. Tell 
him to come here and I will show him one that will bunt three days 
together to my certain knowledge, and possibly longer; but three 
days is all I hare been able to be out at a time, but the dog has been 
on the Mississippi for a week with an old hunter, and he told me 
that he was as good when he quit as when he commenced. My 
brother has a dropper and we hunt together, and as to endnrance 
we can see no difference; and I have seen them both bring duck 
when they had to break the ice in the sloughs to get them. And they 
always tire me out, and I can do my share of walking. I know of as 
many as a dozen dropper in this place, and I would not give a dozen 
cents for them to hunt with or for fine looking dogs. Within the 
last two years I have owned one pointer and fifteen spaniels all 
told. I now own only one setter, and I wonld not exchange him for 
Che whole lot of spaniels; although I thought, when I commenced 
with the spaniels, that I had just the dog, but soon found out my 
mistake and sold out; and made up my mind to keep the kind of 
dogs that for beauty, docility, intelligence and general hunting beats 
the world, dropper not excepted. W. G. B. 
Ex-Gun-Maker. 
ilosTELLO, Wis., June 2. 
Editor Rod a>-d Gck: 
In No. 9, present volume of Rod and Grs, I notice in the Ivetters 
from Sportsmen, one from "An Ei-Guii-Maker,” in relation to the 
respective merits of mnzzle and breech-loading rifles. Among other 
thmgs Es-Gunmaker alludes to his feat of shooting 1,000 yards at a 
target with a 20 Ih. muzzle loading rifle and placing twenty-five suc- 
cessive halls in an eighteen inch hull's eye, at that distance. Then 
to prove the superiority of the arm over Remington's best Creed- 
moor rifle, he takes one of the latter one half the weight of bis 
large piece, and says he fired from the same rest and under the same 
conditions, ( i. e., no wind,) failed to do it, or any where near it. 
Now, Ex-Gnn-Maker, if you really wish to test the relative merits 
of muzzle vs breech-loading rifles, why did yon use a muzzle 
loader twice the weight of the Remington, and then compare the 
results of shooting, when it is so well known that weight (other 
things being equal) has all to do in long range shooting. I will 
venture to say that a Remington or Sharps Rifle of 10 lbs. weight 
will equal or excel mnzzle loaders of any make and the same weight 
(viz. 10 lbs.) Reverse yonr plan Ei-Gnn-Maker and use a Reming- 
ton or Shartis twice the weight of any mozzie loader yon wish and 
please give ns the resnlts of a competition shoot. Fred. 
No Disguises- 
New' York, Jane 4. 
Editor Rod axd Gun: • 
Now that the spring matches at Creedmoor aru over, it seems to be 
a good time to call attention to a practice which is manifestly unfair, 
is rapidly increasing, and is not only allowed, but participated in by 
the officers of the N. R. Association. I allude to the use, in matches 
limited to military rifles, of riJUj< in dviffvixc, by the few who 
can afford to purchase them. These rifles are of smaller caliber and 
heavier metal than the arms of the rank and file, and use the long 
range ammunition. They are made expressly to win military 
matches with, and having tested them I can safely say, that as be- 
tween them and the regulation pieces, when used witn equal skill, 
the heavier piece (which as you very truly state in your remarks on 
the Directors’ 3Iatch. is a military rifle only in the open sights and 
6-lb. trigger pull) is sure to win. Now as regards the militia; these 
“matches,” even Creedmoor itself, are designed to encourage them 
to become good shots; not with fart/ti rijit^, but with the arms 
which they must use in service; and after the rank and file have 
spent their time, money and labor in practising, aod become expert 
in the use of their pieces, to have individuals, be they few or many, 
step in and snatch their prizes with superior arras, is unfair .and dis- 
couraging. to use no stnmger terms. Why, they won't even permit 
a man who finds his military rille incorrctly sighted, to make the 
least alteration in it (see regulation 7, sec. 2' nor to ascertain if his 
ammunition is properly prepared, (I have found shells with cap and 
ball, but no powder,) and yet they permit this poor fellow thus 
fettered to be pot in competition with experts armed with the finest 
rifles and ammunition which money can procure (disguised) and ex- 
pect him to-be satisfied and encouraged to continue his pracliee. 
The military matches should be confined strictly to the arm used by 
the regiment to which the competitor belongs. If he belongs to no 
military organization, he should either be ruled out, or, better per- 
haps, restricted to the use of a honajide regulation military rifle. 
A Looker-on. 
Gr.AFTON, Vt., M:.y S***. 
Editor Rod .and Gun: 
Tour correspondent “ Novice” in your issne of May 22d, inquires 
if any of your readers have ever taken the Black Bass in Michigan 
with the fly. I have never succeeded in taxiog them in this man 
ner, having tried faithfully for one season in Kalamazoo county. I 
conceded that they would not rise to the fly. Recently, however, 
I have had reason to think that my manner of fishing was not cor- 
rect. I adopted the same plan as in fly fishing for iront. Wear; 
now informt'd by experts that this is not correct. The fly shouli be 
allowed to sink below the surface of the water about two feet, and 
the line gradually drawn home towards the boat. Some times a 
very light weight has been placed upon the stretcher fly. The best 
position for fishing for black bass is in a boat, making the 
cast towards the shore, and, if possible, where the water suddenly 
deepens from a shelving shore. We sbonld be much pleased to 
leam that this method had bevn thoroughly tested in the small lakes 
of Michigan. We think with bright flies, say red body and tail, and 
white or mallard wings, would prove a success The correct thing 
in the bass fishing way now appea’^to be casting the minnow with 
a light rod from eight to n’me feet iu length, weighing about eight 
ounces, over the shoulder in the same way as is done iu Striped 
Bass fishing, using a very free multiplying reel and oiled silk line. 
With this tackle and a little experience a long cast can be made. 
After making the cast, it is necessary to reel slowdy in. When a 
fish is struck with sneh tackle there will be sport; aod if the fish 
is a heavy one, it will require all the nerve of the angler to bring 
him to reel. S. W. G. 
I’ve Seen Some Dings. 
Cincinnati, June 1. 
Editor Rod AND Gun: 
And it w as “somedings” very pleasant. Where was it. to be sure, 
but in The Rod and Gun? Which I rise to explain that the same 
trot* in The Rod and Gun aforesaid, and in the advcrii»ing columns 
thereof. I was lately surprised and pleased to notice that the pub- 
lisher, with commendable generosity and enterprise, has reduced 
the cost of “ads” iu the column of “Wants and Exchanges,” to a 
pribe which will be within the reach of all sportsmen, and which, 
once understood, will be the be^t vehicle for the e-xpresj-ion of the 
sportsman's wants that can be found in the whole field of American 
jonmalism. And that The Rod and Gun folks mn}' be encouraged 
to do even better for us in the future, let's try, every fellow of ns. 
and send 'em an “ad*’ once or twice in a while. There ought to be, 
not half a column, but half a dozen columns solid, of these “Wants.” 
And there will be, by and by. To me, no part of the paper is more 
interesting. K. £. Ducaigne. 
We Mean Business. 
Sandusky, O., Jane 2. 
Editor Rod and Gun: 
I take pleasure in informing yeu that the Sportsmen of this city 
and vicinity hare organized a Club, under the name of the “Erie 
County Sportsmen's Association.'* We have a good list of members 
and are determined to make it hot for 8.>nie of the pot-honiers, 
hercabonts. The officers of the dob are a>* follows: l*residcnt, W. 
V. Latham; V. P., D. S. Worthington; Treas., T. F. Spencer; Sec., 
W. K. ilarshall; board of directors. E. B. Sadler, J. J. Finch, G. J. 
Anderson, O. H. Rosenbanm. J. W, Hunter. 
The prospects for goo»l shooting in this vicinity, the coming sea- 
son. arc beuer than usual. Woodcock arc plenty, and quail can be 
heard whistling a few miles from towu in almost every field. M. 
We Like You- 
Mexico, N. Y., M.ty IT. 
Editor Rod and Gcs; 
Y'oar paper U at band. We are much pleased: like il much better 
than » » » * Not ao much 'rromhling nor swearinjr, etc., from 
the parties wh owrite for it. Yonr paper is flt for the most reflntd 
table, and although we like onr dog and gun. we hate )irofaniiy and 
whisky, and slnrs on sacred things, so common in si>ortiug papers. 
COEB. 
Step Up. 
Jericho, May 31. 
Editor Rod and Gun: 
In YOur last week’s issue I notice the communication of “An Ex- 
Gunmaker” which appears ^t^ongly tinctured with something be- 
^ide gunpowder. Do prevail npon its author to get up c.xbibition of 
the “Fulton position that picks off a turkey twelve times out of lif- 
teen at 1,000 yards.*' Dr. Probabilitie.** shall be arranged with for a 
“tolerably fairish day” and a large number of tickets are. war ted. 
The position, the rifle, the man and the turkeys are anxiously looked 
for. Hamburg. 
Squirrel. 
C'EDAiiviLLE. O., May 25. 
Editor Rod and Cun: 
3rany of your readers would like a law protecting squirrels. 
Please use yonr influence at the National Sportsmen's Association 
for their protection from the 1st of January to the I^t of June. As 
in some sections they are nomerous enough to injure the crops, to 
some extent, perhaps the law should permit a man to kill them on 
his own premises, at any time. For the rifle they are good sport 
and practice. J. W. 
A roRRESPONDEXT ID the Mar>thall i'o wrlte.« as follows, 
touching bis disappointment in a day's fishing. The same j-tory 
everywhere; 
“Twenty or thirty ye.irs past, the Wabanda wa.s celebrated for the 
quantity, variety and excellence of its fish; but now it is celebrated 
for the very reverse. Its waters are as clear, cool and pnre. and its 
banks as shady as they ever were. Why have the bass, pike, perch 
and other fish disappeared from our streams? Becau.xe across the 
mouths of a’most every one of them trammel nets are stretched, 
and traps set to intercept and capture the fish that are running up 
to spawn, v^ e have a game law that positively prohibit.^ this ; but 
of what avail is any lav%‘ w hich is not enforced? And how are laws 
to be enforc4*d. unless the officers are informed of their infraction? 
Whenever any one sees these nets or traps across streams, he should 
make it known, or destroy them — not for the gratification of sport- 
ing fishermen, but for the good of the people of the whole state. 
Fi.*»h is such an important and growing article of food that it needs 
and is receiving legal prulecUou. 
Arrow. Fifteen questions under one head is pretty steep. Bet- 
ter buy Baird or Coues or some good sporting mannal. 
A militiaman in Yorkshire, England, has recently died from hy- 
drophobia. 
Frank Buckland is going into fashion plates; he lately pre- 
sented a dead infant alligator to a young lad)* who had the reptile 
gill and placed in her hat. It won her a husband. 
Stephen. Have Parker Bros, got for sale brushes to clean lead 
out of shot-guns? If so, what is the price? An?.— Ycs. Jointed 
Rod with attachments; price $1.50. Sent by mail. $1.00. 
GittEN 3 Ioi*ntain. Please inform me bow to remove the con- 
tents of eggs for collection purposes. Ans.— C. J. Maynard's book, 
p. TT, directs as follows: Drill a small hole -n one side. With a 
blow-pipe force a small stream of air into the hole; this will cause 
the contents to escape at the one hole. If the eggs are stale the con 
tents may require to be removed with a small heok. You can buy 
the tools of Maynard. 
Eureka. (1) NVhy do breech-loading guns lead more than muzzle- 
loaders? (2) Please give the difference between a Wilson snipe and 
aJacksnipe. Ass.— (1) ’l hey do not. Many sport^men think their 
guns are leaded when the fact is powder is burnt on the barrels. 
(2> It is a long story to give the differences. The Wilson snipe is 
the tree snipe. The Jack snipe is properly known as the Pectoral 
Sandpiper {Tringa maculafa). 
Eureka. I have a breech-loading shot-gun (cost price $100) 
which I purchased last year at the manuraclory. I like its shooting 
qiialilic.-, but after firing it filtcen or iwemy limes I always find the 
barrels badly leaded. This is the first and only breech loader I have 
nsed, consequently have had but little c.xperience with them. Is 
this fault of leading peculiar to a!l breech-loaders. Will you or 
some old sportsman be kmd enough to explain why, after a few 
hours' shooting, my gun barrels are coated with lead. My old muz- 
zle-loader nev.r gels in such a condition. Axs.* -Wc hare repeat- 
edly answered enquirie.^ ab^mt leading. Our impression is that so- 
called “leading'’ is due to fouling from powder. 
Amateur. Please inform me of the name of a bird of the fol- 
lowing description. Ills called here “Lettuce Bird/' Itissbout 
the size of the common spaiTow, i» yellow all over, with black 
wings and tail, and black from the bill to top of the head. There 
.ire some white bands on the wings, and white feathers above and 
Ik-Iow the tail. They ao- as beautiful as a canary, i>erhaps more so. 
.\NS. — This is the Goldfinch or Thistle Bird, Chry<otnVri^ tt-iytU. 
It belongs to the largr group of Fringilhdaj, A 1 of which su^)ri^t 
principally on seeds The species in question Is vt ry common dur- 
ing the breeding season throughout the more northern portions of 
the United Sia'es migrating iu winter to far southward, even to 
Florida, although some years they winter in New England, when 
they assume a dnller plumage. 
W. D. 31. Permit me again to trespass on yta tor a name for en- 
closed bird (accompanying). It is. you may perceive, a close like- 
ness, supertlciaby, to the true or Wilson snipe, but i:^ yet a genuine 
wader; showed no di^position to crouch, but meandered the shore 
sandpiper fashion. The markings of the back are slight.y narrower 
than the snipe in outline, and ihe breast and ihroat are ruddy rather 
than white; the size is about the same, being poor in flesh as all ihc 
spring birds are this season, except that mysterious ephemeral vis- 
itor, the black-breasied plover, wh^ch suddenly appears in large 
flocks about .May 10 and are all gone in about five days to some un- 
known bleeding place. Ans.— T he bird is tlie red-breasted snipe 
SIacrorliamphu4 common during the spring and autumnal 
migrations, bni beading far to the northw ard. Although closely al- 
lied to the Wilson snipe, G<iUinago it does not appear to 
have many of its habits, seldom lurking when apj>roached; neither 
docs it have the habit of “drumming” peculiar to the Wilson snipe. 
Five Dollars Reward.— Extract from the Game Liiws of New 
Jersey, passed .March 27, 1874: “8ec. 6. — And be it enacted, that no 
)*ersoD shall kill or expose for sale or have unlaw fully in his or her 
possession after the same has been killed, any woodcock, between 
the first day of January or the fourth day of July in any year, under 
a penalty of teu dollars for each bird so killed or had in possession.” 
The above reward will be paid to any person who may detect and 
give evidence to convict any offender against the above act, bv ap- 
plying to the Ifresident of the Diana Sportsman Clnb. 
Tuos. Walker, Pres., 103 Washington Street, Hoboken. 
C. ScuoENFiELU, Secretary, 186 Washiiiglou street. 
Hoboken, 3Iay 31. 
Editor Rod and Gun: 
Two thonsand of these jiosters have been printed and posted 
around Hoboken and vicinity. We mean bnsiness here. Last 
month the President of our Club caught one Washington Market 
fellow with eleven cocks in po^sessiou. The fun cost him $75, 
which he paid. Justus. 
How a shark seizes its prey is up for discussion in Land and TTa- 
Ur. It is argued that a man or piece of call pork is not the natural 
prey of the shark. Use is second nature, so i>erhaps after all the 
man gets taken in the natural way. 
Prop. Hough has been lecturing at Albany, N. Y., on forest cul- 
ture. He estimates the wood of the U. S. now standing atone 
thousand billion feet of lumber, w hich at our present exhaustive 
rate of consumption would be worked up in another century. 
Canadian Ducks have no close seasons except black wood duck 
and teal, which may not be killed between ihe first of January and 
ihc 15 th of Angost. Are United States ducks any better off than 
Canadians. In fact arc they not the same ducks all the time? 
Bau>am. What family does the wall-eyed pike belong to? The 
pike or perch family? Axs. — The wall eyed pike, the perch-pike of 
some localities, belongs to the genus Slizo-l6*hvm^ Rafinesque, for- 
merly L'U.'iojperca^ and belongs to the perch family Perdt/<p, not to 
Et<;cidoi. 
“C.ESAR, why don't you fire at those docks? Don't yon sec that 
yon have the whole flock before you?” “I knows it, marster; but 
you See, when I gets a good aim at <ine of 'em, t'ree or fuur^>der» 
«wims right alween it and me, audjmts me all out.” 
