Forest and Stream 
Terms, $3 a Year, 10 Cts. a Copy. 
Six Months, $1.50. 
NEW YORK, SATURDAY, JULY 18 , 1908 . 
1 VOL. LXXI.—No. 3. 
1 No. 127 Franklin St., New York. 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL. 
Copyright, 1908, by Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 
George Bird Grinnell, President, 
Charles B. Reynolds, Secretary. 
Loins Dean Speir, Treasurer. 
127 Franklin Street, New York. 
THE OBJECT OF THIS JOURNAL 
*ill be to studiously promote a healthful interest 
8n outdoor recreation, and to cultivate a refined 
taste for natural objects. 
—Forest and Stream, Aug. 14, 1873. 
OUR POLLUTED WATERS. 
In its Forest, Fish and Game law, the last 
New York Legislature provided for a-sanitary 
inspection of oyster beds and other places from 
which oysters and other shell fish are taken for 
use as food. 
Arrangements for co-operation in this inspec¬ 
tion have been made between the Forest, Fish 
and Game Commission and the State Depart¬ 
ment of Health, which last intends to make as 
thorough a study as practicable of the pollu¬ 
tion of the waters of the State near oyster beds, 
and the possible presence of sewage bacteria in 
the shellfish. It is intended also to make a 
sanitary survey of the sewage systems and 
sewers emptying into the waters of the State 
adjacent to oyster beds. 
That a beginning is to be made at the work 
of inquiring into the sanitary condition of the 
waters of the State is gratifying, and that the 
results of the inquiry will be important to grow¬ 
ers and consumers of oysters is evident. There 
is, however, no special reason why such inquiry 
should be confined to waters near oyster beds. 
The Health Department should have authority, 
and should have means provided it for a sani¬ 
tary inquiry into the waters of the State at large. 
Attention is being called more and more fre¬ 
quently to the pollution of Lake Champlain and 
of the Hudson River valley. Residents of the 
j States of New York and Vermont alike are said 
to be indignant at the way in which Lake Cham - 
plain’s waters are befouled by sewage and waste 
from the pulp mills, and every winter during the 
ice harvest we are told of the character of the 
water which New York city people buy in a 
frozen state during the summer and drink. 
The pulp mills on streams running into Lake 
j 1 Champlain have to bear the chief blame for con- 
i stantly dumping tons of poisonous refuse into 
these waters. Very likely they deserve all that' 
is said about them, but they are not the only 
offenders. Often the very communities that com¬ 
plain most loudly about the condition of the 
water are themselves contributing to render foul 
the very water which they themselves drink or 
j, that which is drunk by other people at a little 
distance from them. 
AMERICAN SHOOTERS WIN AGAIN. 
The decisive victory of the American rifle and 
revolver teams last week, in the main evenls 
of the Olympic rifle and revolver contests, at 
Bisley, England, is just cause for a feeling of 
pride and gratification on the part of every 
American. 
Against such redoubtable opponents, the very 
best that the world can produce, the highest 
order of skill, nerve and endurance was a prime 
essential in the struggle for the premier place 
and honors. Supplementary to these requisites 
on the part of the contestants was the need of 
perfect rifles and revolvers, with perfect powder 
and bullets combined into perfect cartridges. 
In particular, the shorter barrel of the new 
Springfield rifle, which in respect to long-range 
work, was a cause of some apprehension to 
some experts, fully equalled the occasion, and 
special notice of approval was bestowed on it 
by the foreign riflemen for its very obvious 
excellence. 
As soon as the contest was closed, Lord 
Cheylesmore warmly congratulated General Drain, 
Captain of the American team, for his team’s 
clear-cut victory. 
The aggregate score of the American team 
totaled 2,531, leading the British team by 35 
points and the Canadian team by 92 points, these 
two teams being the nearest contestants to the 
Americans. 
The American revolver team, the members of 
which were Gorman, Axtell, Calkins and Dietz, 
defeated the four-men teams of the United King¬ 
dom, Sweden, France, Belgium, Holland and 
Greece, scoring a total of 1,914. Belgium had 
a total of 1,868, and England 1,816. Gorman’s 
individual score of 501 surpassed that of the 
famous Belgian expert, Van Aebrock, who 
scored 493. 
Taken in part or in whole, the American teams 
won their laurels magnificently, of which the 
United States may well have much long-time 
pride and pleasant remembrance. 
MONTANA’S BUFFALO RANGE. 
Now that Congress has established a Montana 
National Bison Range, and has appropriated the 
sum of $40,000 to purchase and prepare it for 
its occupants, the American Bison Society faces 
the task of stocking the range. 
From many points of view the matter is im¬ 
portant. It is important to the American public, 
which is vitally interested in having a third herd 
of buffalo owned and cared for by the United 
States Government. It is especially important to 
the State of Montana where the range is situated. 
It is especially important to the American Bison 
Society because Congress passed the bill provid¬ 
ing for this range, and appropriated the money 
to buy and fence it, solely on the faith of the 
Bison Society's pledge that it would provide the 
herd and would have it ready for the range as 
soon as the range is ready to receive the buffalo. 
The Bison Society is hard at work perfecting 
plans for the raising of the sum of $10,000 to 
purchase the herd, and every American naturalist 
or sportsman or patriot must feel an interest in 
the matter so great as to wish to contribute 
something to the purchase of this herd, which 
will be a national credit and which, by its in¬ 
crease, will in time represent a large number 
of pure-blooded bison. The range has been 
tested and is known to be admirably suited to 
its purposes. The buffalo are sure to do well 
there. 
It is the wish of the officers of the Bison 
Society that the subscriptions to this herd should 
be popular, that the fund should be made up of 
moderate sums, from $1 up to $25, and that the 
subscriptions should come from all over the 
country. If it can be raised in this manner the 
sum required will mean much more than if it 
were all given by one individual or by one cor¬ 
poration, as the animals for the stocking of the 
Wichita Game Preserve were given to the United 
States by the New York Zoological Society. At 
the same time the raising of the money in this 
way will be slower and more difficult, and much 
time and work will be required for the com¬ 
pletion of the fund. 
Many of the readers of Forest and Stream 
feel a peculiar interest in this excellent work, 
and many will wish to contribute to its success. 
Such contributions may be sent to Dr. Wm. 
T. Hornaday, Zoological' Park, Bronx, New 
York city, or if desired we will receive them 
at this office and forward them, making due 
acknowledgment of the contributions. The object 
is so good a one from every point of view that 
we look forward to liberal subscriptions to it. 
In Ohio and other Middle States the demand 
for carp has increased steadily since the price 
of fresh meats has advanced, and now the com¬ 
mercial fishermen are devoting attention to 
catching, confining and feeding these fish with 
a view to obtaining the best market prices for 
them. It is claimed that if the carp are kept 
in clear water and fed properly for a time, they 
lose much of their muddy flavor and are sought 
by persons to whom the price of meat is an 
important item. 
The Shikar Club, which recently celebrated 
its second anniversary by holding a reunion and 
dinner in London, will in time establish head¬ 
quarters there. Big-game hunting literature, 
maps and a large fund of information will be 
available to members. It is its policy to work 
for the conservation of big game, and to en¬ 
courage more sportsmanlike methods of hunt¬ 
ing. So far 160 of the best known big-game 
hunters of Great Britain have become members. 
