Nov. 25, 1911.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
Y OU know mallards—wisest and wariest of all 
ducks- Solomons of the air. You can’t knock 
down mallards with a paddle nor can you get them 
with a gun that plasters its shots all over the face 
of creation. 
A mallard shot is generally a long shot, and long 
shots require a hard-shooting, close-shooting gun. 
That’s why the long-headed man who goes to a 
mallard country takes a Lefever. When he swings 
it on a towering pair of mallards he does not ques¬ 
tion the result. He know it— 
TWO CLEAN KILLS 
The reason a Lefever kills clean and sure and 
far is Lefever Taper Boring. 
But if you buy a Lefever for the taper boring 
alone, you will get more than your money’s worth. 
For instance, you will never be handicapped with 
looseness at the hinge joint. The exclusive Lefever 
screw compensates for a year’s wear by a trifling 
turn that you make yourself with a screwdriver. 
LEFEVER 
SHOTGUNS 
Sixteen other exclusive Lefever features and Lefe¬ 
ver simplicity and strength make the $28 gun the 
f eer of any S 50 gun on the market. Upwards to 
_ 1 , 000 . Send for free catalog and get Lefever wise. 
Lefever Arms Co., aj Maltbie St., Syracuse,N.Y. 
double-barreled breech-loading guns, . 7 » 5°7 
single-barreled guns, 5,045 revolvers and pistols, 
and 4 other guns. The number of barrels sub¬ 
mitted to the test for finished rifles was 73,369, 
of which 5,014 were refused before testing and 
66,178 received the official stamp. 
Consul Albert Halstead writes of the gun 
trade of the United Kingdom: 
The total value of the exports of firearms, 
gunpowder, and all other kinds of military 
stores from the United Kingdom for the first 
three quarters of 1911 was reported to be 
$14,540,187, an increase over the same period of 
1910 of $2,347,298. Of this total, firearms con¬ 
tributed $1,576,337, a gain over the first nine 
months of the previous year of $721,838. The 
number of pieces exported in the 1911 period 
was 123,144, being an increase of 51,806. The 
value of gunpowder shipments was $557,823, a 
decrease of $109,491. 
Domestic business in sporting guns and am¬ 
munition is distinctly improved over recent sea¬ 
sons, and almost every manufacturer of good 
sporting guns is said to be overwhelmed with 
work and has great difficulty in getting men. 
The growing popularity of the Gunmakers’ 
School is an offset to this complaint; the at¬ 
tendance has more than trebled and eight new 
classes have been started. The pistol trade is 
not sharing the boom of other branches, but one 
large Birmingham firm has the first order for 
arming the London police with automatic 
pistols. There is some possibility of the British 
Government providing the army with a new gun. 
The Forest and Stream may be obtained from any 
newsdealer on order. Ask your dealer to supply you 
regularly. 
793 / 
K@nm<gJI D<gpgurftmeira£ 
Fixtures. 
DOG SHOWS. 
Dec. 1-2.—Toy Spaniel Club of America, New York 
City. Mrs. II. S. Morris, Sec’y. 
Dec. 12-13.—French Bulidog Club of New England, Bos¬ 
ton, Mass.. Walter Burgess. Sec’y. 
Dec. 16.—Associated Specialty Clubs, Chicago, Ill. A. 
W. Cates, Supt. 
1912. 
Jan. 3-1).—Fort Orange Kennel Association, Albany, N. Y. 
T. S. Beilin, Sec’y. 
Jan. 26-27.—Lynn (Mass.) Kennel Club. W. Rolfe, Sec’y. 
Feb. 6-9.—Fanciers’ Association of Indiana, Indianapo¬ 
lis, Ind. C. R. Milhous, Sec’y. 
Feb. 12-15.—Westminster Kennel Club, New York City. 
William Rauch, Chairman. 
Feb. 20-23.—New England Kennel Club, Boston, Mass. 
R. C. Storey, Sec’y. 
FIELD TRIALS. 
Nov. 21.—Maryland and District of Columbia Field Trials 
Association, Laurel, Md. H. L. Clarke, Sec’y. 
Nov. 21.—International Field Trial Club, Ruthven, Ont. 
W. B. YVells, Sec’y. 
Nov. 23.—Delaware Setter and Pointer Club. H. B. 
Lyman, Sec’y. 
Nov. 27.— Continental Field Trial Club, Waynesboro, Ga. 
John White, Sec’y. 
Dec. 4.—Georgia Field Trial Association, Waynesboro, 
Ga. Entries to Derby and All-Age stakes close 
Oct. 15. Tracy Mackenzie, Sec’y, Waynesboro, Ga. 
Dec. 5.—Virginia-Carohna Field Trial Association, New¬ 
ton, N. C. R. T. Stedman, Sec’y. 
Dec. 11.—Southern Field Trial Club, Letohatchie, Ala. 
J. H. Wallace, Jr., Sec’y. 
Dec. 18.—Kentucky Field Trial Club, Letohatchie, Ala. 
All-Age entries close Oct. 15. S. W. Linebaugh, 
Sec’y, Russellville, Ky. 
1912. 
First week in January.—Eastern Field Trial Club, Cotton 
Plant, Miss. S. C. Bradley, Sec’y. 
Jan. 7.—United States Field Trial Club. W. B. Staf¬ 
ford, Sec’y. 
Jan. 14.—National Field Trial Championship Associa¬ 
tion. W. B. Stafford, Sec’y. 
The Labrador Retriever as a Wildfowl Dog 
BY STANLEY DUNCAN. 
Admirers of typical wildfowl dogs cannot fail 
to be somewhat impressed at the adaptability 
of the Labrador retriever for general wildfowl¬ 
ing purposes. Comparison with other breeds 
show that the Labrador is possessed of remark¬ 
able characteristics which may be said to set 
him under serious consideration. He is a big 
dog, generally well set up, with plenty of bone, 
yet being a smart animal endowed with much 
activity, usually gives one the idea of being 
much smaller than he really is, and certainly 
of a deceiving weight. His short, somewhat 
harsh, dense coat impresses the onlooker with 
the belief that in this direction he is well fitted 
as a wildfowl dog. His head is invariably pleas¬ 
ing, and generally carries an expression of in¬ 
telligence noteworthy of the breed. The skull 
is rather broad, with the muzzle of medium 
length. The jaws are strong, but not heavy, 
showing capacity for carrying. The ears are of 
moderate size, leathery in appearance, and 
usually stand out at the back, except in the 
most typical specimens, when they lie closer. 
The eyes are soft and light. The tail is like 
that of an otter. 
Altogether the Labrador retriever appears an 
ideal wildfowl dog, and, indeed, could it be 
promised that in the field he would answer to 
requirements as well as he does on the show 
bench, I should have no hesitation in stating 
that he would be the dog for the wildfowler in 
the future. This can, however, be applied to a 
few individuals of this breed already, but does 
not, I am sorry to state, judged from a general 
standpoint, apply with comparative force. As 
most of the dogs which are the property of 
gamekeepers are used daily in the field, one can 
take it that they are more likely to be workers 
than otherwise, and since the institution of field 
trials for retrievers we have had proof of the 
merits of certain dogs and the qualifications of 
breeds. 
Regarding the working abilities of the Labra¬ 
dor retriever as a breed, until recent years 
means were not available whereby owners of 
certain kennels could prove the merits of their 
dogs, and the general impression was that dogs 
of this breed were hard-mouthed, wild by 
nature, and exceedingly difficult to break. The 
probability may have been that they were re¬ 
jects or the offspring of rejects from these 
kennels. That these conditions were to an ex¬ 
tent true as far as dogs in the hands of the gen¬ 
eral shooting public were concerned there is not 
the slightest doubt, but at the same time a few 
select admirers and breeders of the Labrador 
held animals of unquestionable abilities—a mat¬ 
ter of fact which of late has been repeatedly 
proved. It is this latter circumstance which 
has gained the increasing popularity of the 
Labrador—a state of affairs, much thought I 
regret to make the statement, I fear will not 
continue, due to two causes, which I will pro¬ 
ceed to discuss. In the first, so many take it 
that if a breed has succeeded all animals of the 
said breed are equally likely to. This has re¬ 
sulted in much disappointment. A Labrador 
of any strain or breeding is not very likely to 
make a good animal; indeed, from the best 
strains really good workers are not by any 
means common. The result has been that more 
Labrador pups have lately been given a trial, 
and the atavism characteristic to the general old- 
time standard of hard mouth, wildness, etc., 
has had an opportunity to become pronounced 
and more than overbalance the creditable 
merits, and now the would-be convincing, 
though somewhat despairing advice is tendered 
—procure from the proper strain. This last 
sentence, though bitter after failure, is sound 
logic, and in the minds of reasonable folks will 
be given attention; but the question exists, Will 
the bad qualities in so many individuals of the 
breed outweigh the highly meritorious perform¬ 
ances of the few and cause damnation of the 
whole as a breed? Secondly, I hear that the 
best strains are very much in need of new blood 
and of the requisite quality. Where is it to 
come from? 
With these circumstances ahead and the 
beautiful flat-coated retriever as a rival, the 
Labrador can scarcely ever hope to secure the 
premier position among our gun dogs, much 
though the matter may be regretted. He has 
little to fear of the curly-coated retriever, since 
so many of this breed exhibited are not work¬ 
ers, and the few to be seen in the field are daily 
losing popularity. The flat-coated variety—un¬ 
questionably the latest breed-—stands as the 
Labrador's most dreaded rival. The good looks, 
general adherence to type, docility and mild¬ 
ness of temper, generally speaking excellence of 
utility, of the flat-coat make him a difficult dog 
to place behind. Other varieties need not be 
discussed. 
Summarily considering the Labrador for wild¬ 
fowling, we must for the present place him first, 
always provided, however, that lie is properly 
bred and a worker. His physical structure, if 
he is possessed of mental faculties and working 
abilities, place him in this light before even the 
infallible flat-coats, but I should not say for any 
other purpose. It is only the remarkable hardi¬ 
ness and adapted structure and merits of a few 
Labradors which give him place; and who can 
deny him this when in the eyes of fowlers who 
value animals only on their merits and appreci¬ 
ate them accordingly he has gained a voice of 
praise? Unless, however, proper animals can 
be secured—i. e., of the best strains—one had 
better resort to a good strain of the ever- 
popular flat-coat. 
A word here for the flat-coated retrievers as 
a wildfowl dog may not be unfitting. Much has 
been said of the “softness” or “soon tiring” of 
this breed when wildfowling. Having owned a 
great number of this breed and shot over many 
