June 8, 1912 
FOREST AND STREAM 
?35 
a raccoon was recently caught; the first and 
only one thus far seen. The animals are com¬ 
mon enough,' as ihdicated by their tracks in snow 
and mud, but they are extremely shy. So far 
as our experience goes, they are entirely harm¬ 
less. The hind foot of the one that was killed 
was about four inches in track-making length, 
and as soft and smooth as velvet. Such a track 
in the sand by a brook looks not unlike the 
imprint made by the foot of a human infant. 
This ’coon was strong enough to break the 
stick to which the trap was chained, and to make 
off with the trap and chain, but as there was 
a little snow on the ground, it was easy to follow 
and discover the poor animal. It seemed a pity 
to point a rifle toward that alert, intelligent face, 
with its bright eyes, but there was no help for 
it. Neither hide nor flesh was allowed to go 
to waste. It was before the arrival of the sal¬ 
mon before the raccoons had begun their annual 
work as scavengers. 
Chipmunks have to be trapped or shot, as they 
pay no heed to warnings. They are inordinate 
feeders, and quick to take every advantage, and 
each individuad seems to have friends without 
number. Give them quarter and they take full 
possession of one’s barn. Tolerate them in the 
garden, and they eat half of every berry crop. 
They take no hints; the death of one does not 
deter another. It is different with the squirrels 
which seem to have better reasoning powers. 
THE TOP RAIL. 
Claiming that their profits from cattle rais¬ 
ing have dwindled to practically nothing, Frank 
Young and Eric Johnson, cattle raisers at 
Minatare, Neb., have decided to fatten fish in¬ 
stead of steers for the market, and have asked 
the State fish hatchery for a supiply of minnows 
with which to start their fish ranch. A unique 
feature of the experiment is that instead of 
establishing fish ponds, the farmers will utilize 
the big irrigation ditches of the district in which 
to raise their fish. These ditches are filled with 
water from the Laramie Mountains, pure, clear, 
snow water—just the kind for mountain trout 
and other game fish to thrive at their best. 
“It’s a whole lot less expensive to raise 
fish than cattle,” says Young. “There’s always 
a demand in this Western country for fresli 
fish, and instead of shipping our product to a 
distant market, we can ship to the surrounding 
towns and to the mountain cities. Worms and 
things of that kind will be utilized for food, 
and that beats feeding 6o-cent corn to a steer.” 
* 
A HOME run hit made in a ball game at 
Plainfield, Ill., was found to have killed a rab¬ 
bit. When the outfielder located the sphere, he 
found the dead bunny, it having been struck on 
the head by the ball while lying in the grass, 
writes a correspondent. This is not the first 
death due to the altitudinous spheroid. 
Grizzly King. 
Tournament Anglers’ Club of New York 
• New York City, May 28. — Editor Forest 
and Stream: Inclosed herewith find scores and 
results of the annual tournament of the Anglers’ 
Club. The tournament this year was held under 
the new rules adopted by the club, and we be¬ 
lieve that they were generally well accepted by 
casters. The new rules were adopted primarily 
to make tournament casting approximate stream 
conditions. 
Jason G. Lamison, President. 
The seventh annual fly- and bait-casting tour¬ 
nament of the Anglers’ Club of New York was 
held at the Big Lake, Central Park, New York 
city, on May 20 to May 25, 1912. 
OPEN TOURNAMENT. 
Unless otherwise specified, rules of the Na¬ 
tional Association to apply. The committee re¬ 
serves the right to reject or refuse any entry 
in any event, and to examine and pass upon the 
tackle of every contestant. Entries may be 
made at any time up to the hour set for any 
event. Entrance fee $i for each event. In any 
event there must not be less than two competi¬ 
tors, or it will be declared no contest. Flies to 
be furnished by the committee. Hooks must be 
removed from all lures. No one allowed on 
the platform during any event except the referee 
and contestant. 
The tournament committee of the Anglers’ 
Club of New York consisted of G. M. L. La 
Branche, Harry Friedman, E. E. Spencer, E. E. 
Todd, A. B. Hubbell, W. C. Metcalfe and Walter 
McGuckin, Chairman. 
LIST OF EVENTS AND WINNERS. 
MAY 20. 
EVENT NO. I.—BAIT ACCURACY. FIRST COMPETITION. 
Winner to receive a silver medal and 15 
points. Second, a bronze medal and 13 points. 
Third, ii points. Fourth, 9 points. Fifth. 7 
points. Si.xth, 5 points. Seventh, 3 points. 
Eighth, I point. 
Five casts at each target, 50, 65 and 80 feet 
from platform. No restrictions as to rod. Reel 
must be free running. Line must stand test of 
eight pounds. One preliminary cast allowed. 
Any style of casting and any form of fresh 
water artificial lure suitable for fishing may be 
used. The contestant receiving the smallest 
number of demerits to be the winner. In the 
event of two or more contestants having re¬ 
ceived the same number of demerits, they shall 
make five more casts at the first target to de¬ 
termine their positions. 
H. Friedman . 
/—Demerits —n 
. 18 15 14—47 
Pr. Cent. 
96 13-15 
E. F. Todd . 
. 4 22 
21— 47 
96 13-15 
Cl. M. L. La Branche 
. 11 7 
56— 74 
95 1-15 
C. H. Higby. 
. 21 21 
42— 84 
94 6-15 
Warren Miller . 
. 51 155 
74—280 
81 5-15 . 
Cast off of tie for 
first, at 50 feet: 
H. Friedman. 
...14 E. F. 
Todd.... 
. 19 
EVENT NO. 2.—DISTANCE BAIT HANDICAP. 
Winner to receive a cup. Silver medal for 
second; bronze medal for third. 
Handicap to be computed on the basis of 
allowance of one-half of the difference between 
contestants' best previous half-ounce average 
records and on a basis of 125 feet for contest¬ 
ants without records. Any form of fresh water 
artificial lure suitable for fishing may be used, 
but weight must not exceed three-quarter ounce. 
Restrictions as 
to rod, reel and 
line same 
as in 
Event No. i. 
Best average of five casts to 
' win. 
Average. 
Handicap. 
Score. 
M. hriedman ... 
. 110.0 
3.3 
113.3 
C. H. Higby_ 
. 110.6 
110.6 
E. F. Todd. 
. 93.4 
ii 
101.5 
H. Elliott . 
. .51.4 
45.4 
96.8 
J. G. Lamison.. 
. 81.8 
14.9 
96.7 
King Smith .. .. 
. 48.4 
45.9 
94.3 
J. E. Tevendale 
. 73.9 
14.9 
88.8 
J. G. Fulton ... 
. 60.8 
14.9 
75.7 
MAY 21. 
EVENT NO. 3.—FLY ACCURACY. FIRST COMPETITION. 
Winner to receive a silver medal and 15 
points. Second, bronze medal and 13 points. 
Third, ii points. Fourth, 9 points. Fifth, 7 
points. Sixth, 5 points. Seventh, 3 points. 
Eighth, I point. 
Five casts at each target, 30, 35 and 40 feet 
from platform. No restrictions as to rod, reel 
or line. Leader must be at least six feet in 
length and reel must be in place on rod. The 
preliminary casts at first target to be made at 
will, and when contestant calls “Ready,” the 
next fifteen consecutive casts to count to score. 
Line may be extended in air at any time, but 
after preliminary casts have been made every 
time the fly strikes the water, it counts as a cast. 
Penalties: If fly is retrieved from water be¬ 
fore judges signal permission, one demerit. If 
fly touches water at back of caster, five demerits; 
if lost, ten demerits; when lost fly is replaced 
contestant may extend his line to the first target 
at will and when he says “Ready” the next cast 
to count from where he left off. The contestant 
receiving the smallest number of demerits to be 
the winner. In the event of two or more con¬ 
testants having received the same number of 
demerits, they shall make five more casts at the 
first target to determine their positions. 
R. 
J. Held. 
, —Demerits—, 
Pr. Cent. 
9 
8 4—14 
99 1-15 
W. 
McGuckin . 
4 
6 12— 22 
98 8-15 
G. 
R. Jenkins. 
6 
6 10— 22 
98 8-15 
A. 
B. Hubbell. 
8 
8 9— 25 
98 5-15 
C. 
H. Higby. 
8 
8 35— 51 
95 9-15 
Cast-off tie for second at 
30 
feet: 
W. 
McGuckin. 2 
G. 
J 
EVENT NO. 4 .—DISTANCE 
FLY 
HANDICAP. 
FIRST 
COMPETITION. FOUR-OUNCE RODS. 
Winner to receive a silver medal and 15 
points. Second, bronze medal and 13 points. 
Third, ii points. Fourth, 9 points. Fifth, 7 
points. Sixth, 5 points. Seventh, 3 points. 
Eighth, I point. 
Handicap to be computed on the basis of 
allowance of one-half of the difference between 
contestants’ best previous four-ounce records 
and on a basis of seventy feet for contestants 
without records. Reel must be in place on rod. 
No stripping of line from reel allowed before 
casting. Each contestant allowed eight minutes. 
No time allowance. Cast not to count if fly 
