
FOREST AND STREAM. 
73 
ea eeoaonanayn”nnaumumumummuqmsmemsoe eee ooo 

THE ADIRONDACK PARK. 
Seay 
T may probably devolve on the next Legislature to de- 
cide the question whether the Adirondacks will become 
a portion of the public domain. While we have been so 
lavish in granting whole sections of country—giving away 
at a single stroke of the pen as much land as the area of 
England—to railroad companies, it might be wise to recall 
the old adage “‘that charity begins at home.” The Com- 
mission recommend the occupation of about 850,000 acres, 
or 13,300 square miles, situated upon the Hudsgn river side 
of the mountain divide which separates the head waters of 
that river from the streams flowing to the St. Lawrence. 
The Commission state that ‘‘this would be the approximate 
area which would be required for the purposes of a forest 
park, in case it should be determined that the preservation 
of the forests covering and protecting the sources of the 
Hudson is all that is necessary for that purpose.” Of these 
lands the’ State already owns nearly 40,000 acres, pertaining 
to the general and school funds. Most cogent are the argu- 
ments of the Commission. The principal and strongest is, 
that it is the water reservoir of the Hudson river, and that 
it influences the whole general climatology of the State. 
Not only do questions of navigation enter into the subject, 
but in a sanitary point of view such a reservation would be 
a perpetual retreat for those who dwell in the cities. In 
the United States such is the energy of the settler, who 
only necessarily looks to his own interest, that forests are 
cut down almost, as it were, in a single day, and without 
some State interposition it is absolutely certain that in less 
than ten years three-quarters of all this section will be per- 
fectly denuded of trees. 
Legislatures are slowly but surely commencing to under- 
stand these matters, and our hope is, that the whole subject 
will be placed before them in a practical way. We do not 
urge here the tourist or hunting question. As much as the 
FOREST AND STREAM advocates the preservation of game, 
we would give it a secondary place, though the preserva- 
{ion of the. woods is the life of the game. Cut down these 
Adirondack woods and the lakes will dwindle into ponds, 
and the rivers into brooks, and then, when the ground is 
parched, when the rain does fall, will come those freshets 
which will sweep away all man’s works on the borders of the 
streams. Then, exactly those capricious changes most det- 
rimental to man’s interests will befound. To-day the noble 
rivers will run dry; to-morrow a huge avalanche of water 
will tear down the channels, The right way for the Com- 
missioners to place it before our Legislature is to have them 
look at the preservation of the Adirondacks as a question 
of self-interest. 
oo 
OLDISHOTS: 
phen 2s 
PORTSMEN of to-day, with their delicate sights, and 
the utmost nicety in the bore of their guns, are entirely 
ignorant of how well their ancestors used the fowling piece 
and rifle. Two centuries and more ago it must have not 
only required great accuracy of aim on the part of the 
sportsman, but, what is more difficult to explain, a contin- 
uance of aim. With guns and rifles of the seventeenth cen- 
tury, a certain interval of time, and quite an appreciable 
one, must have elapsed before the match or flint which 
brought the fire to the pan could communicate with the 
charge in the chamber of the piece. It is not impossible to 
suppose that the old marksman never knew precisely to a | 
second when his piece would be discharged, and was forced 
to follow for a certain time with the muzzle of his piece 
the movement of the bird or animal. We hear of Josseleyn, 
in his voyage to New England in 1644, telling how a certain 
Mr. Hilton shot at the Pdélhaunan which he styles as ‘‘the 
king of birds of prey in New England,” and how ‘Mr, 
Hilton, having made ready his piece, shot and brought 
her down to the earth as she was soaring aloft in the air.” 
Now here we have a sportsman of the time of Charles the 
First who must have shot a bird flying with a single ball; 
for from the size of the bird described, as frightening all 
the ducks and birds in the neighborhood, it was very prob- 
ably an eagle. We have evidences, too, that the Moors 
were quite good shots, for in 1637 one Alkaid Abdallah, am- 
bassador from Morocco to England, is quoted in the old 
chronicles ‘‘as being so good a marksman with his piece 
that he will shoot-eight score at a mark as big as an English 
sixpence and hit it with a round bullet.” 
Good marksmen of to-day will allow that to hit a mark 
of this size at 160 feet is quite good practice. In the 
“Good News from New England” of 1621 there is an ac- 
count of some of the early English settlers going to Packa- 
nock, where lived the great Indian chief Massassoye, and 
how this good savage gave the Pilgrim fathers a kind of 
bread called mazzian, and the spawn of shad, and in return 
for his hospitality Massassoye begged them to kill some of 
the crows which damaged his corn. ‘‘When one of our 
men,” says the account, ‘‘shooting one some fourscore 
yards off (eighty yards) and killing, they (the Indians) 
much admired it, as.they did our shots on other occasions.” 
The same authority goes on to state that wanting a duck or 
a goose to make some pottage therewith, ‘‘I took a man with 
me and made a shot at a couple of ducks some six score off 
and killed one, at which the chief wondered.” 
oo, 
The ‘‘ Canadian Gentleman's Newspaper and Spirit of the 
Times” is published at Toronto, and gives a valuable weekly 
resume of sporting intelligence throughout the Dominion of 
Canada. To gentlemen who are interested in Canadian turf 
matters this paper must be of essential service, as it is we 
believe, the only paper of the kind published in the Do- 
minon, 


INEFFICIENT PROTECTION OF RIVERS. 
Eos. 
Professor Curtis, of New Haven, in another column, com- 
plains of the negligence or inefficiency of wardens upon the 
interior rivers of New Brunswick, and makes the statement, 
without qualification, that some of those persons who are 
appointed to guard and protect the rivers, actually wink at 
or countenance the destruction of salmon by netting and 
spearing to that extent that rod-fishing in the upper waters 
amounts almost to a nihility. His statements, we regret 
to say, are borne out by letters which we have already pub- 
lished iu this journal, as respects other rivers in Canada 
and Nova Scotia, over all of which overseers are appointed 
and paid to protect them from this most baneful description 
of poaching. 
Certainly, the beneficial results that have followed in the 
remarkable increase of salmon in rivers that have been 
efficiently protected, ought to stimulate the vigilance of the 
higher functionaries of the Canadian Government, and in- 
duce them to apply the penalty provided by law in all cases 
of dereliction, of which they must, assuredly, be cognizant. 
That there may be no plea of ignorance of these violations 
offered, by way of excuse, we shall forward copies of the 
ForEs? AND STREAM, containing these letters, direct to the 
Hon. Peter Mitchell, the Minister of Marine and Fisheries 
at Ottawa. 
It is unjust and dishonorable to take the money of gen- 
tlemen,. who pay liberally for their leases, as in the case of 
the Miramichi, while they secure nothing but emptiness in 
return for the time, trouble, and outlay of their vacation 
journeys. We shall no more assist the flourish of Canadian 
trumpets, until these abuses be corrected. Hitherto our 
words have been only those of praise and admiration for 
Canadian energy and efficiency. 
a ee oi 
Nova Scorra.—Desolate Nova Scotia! She really seems 
literally and practically to be doomed. Blowing up of her 
mines in thespring ; fearful forest fires later on, and now 
the hurricane catastrophe, which has been almost unparal- 
leled in the history of storms, over such a comparatively 
smallarea. Cape Breton’s sea-board is lined with wrecks, 
and dead mariners on the sand tell the ghastly tale. The 
small towns and villages on both sides of the Bay of Fun- 
“dy have suffered distressingly, and what the people are to 
do for food, &e., this coming winter, and in such a cli- 
mate, is beyond comprehension. We who have hunted 
and fished in Nova Scotia, who have enjoyed its hospital- 
ity, have learned to appreciate the good-heartedness of its 
inhabitants. Is there no way of showing, in a practical 
manner, this feeling other than by words ? 
<0 
“ Aprronpack Lire:” « Luorurr.—We could hardly 
imagine a more interesting topic, when properly handled, 
than pleasing lectures drawn from forest and stream. Sub- 
jects of this character, have been mostly given to the pub- 
lic in book form; we therefore welcome the more popular 
method of lecturing, believing that it will further the ap- 
preciation of out-of-door-life. The Rev. W. C. Winslow, 
of Boston, a therough sportsman and pleasant writer, who 
is familiar with all the haunts of the ‘‘ wilderness,” will de- 
liver a lecture on the Adirondacks this winter. Lecturing 
committees would doubtless find here a topic of great in- 
terest and novelty, and likely to be appreciated by their 
audiences. 

Lost Carrier Piazons.—As the breeding and training 
of carrier pigeons is on the increase, and from stormy 
weather accidents frequently occur to the birds whilst fly- 
ing with messages, we should be very glad to advertise in 
our paper, free of cost, the announcement of any carrier 
pigeons that have come into the possession of our readers 
who may be desirous of returning them to their owners. This 
method of gratuitous advertising is common in France, 
Belgium, and England, and it would give us pleasure if we 
were the means of restoring any lost birds to their owners. 
Any parties having strange birds will carefully describe 
marks, &e. 

ah 6 fe — 
As the winter terms of our colleges and universities are 
to commence this month, we would be thankful if the offi- 
cers of their athletic and boat clubs would report to us their 
plans for the future. It would please us to promote in 
any way within our power the development of gymnastic 
exercises and out-door recreation in our colleges through- 
out the country. As a member of the class of ’54 at Yale, 
and afterward at Amherst, we naturally have the interests 
of collegians at heart, and feel that we have some claim 
upon their consideration. 
$$ 0 
—A committee of citizens have undertaken to improv 
the appearance of Washington’s headquarters at New 
burh, N. Y., now in a dilapidated conditition. The ex- 
penses will be defrayed by private subscription. The 
War Department at Washington promises co-operation. 
Secretary Belknap has ordered thirty cannon, ten Spanish, 
ten Mexican, and ten pieces taken from the confederates, to 
be sent there to be placed on the headquarters grounds. 
* _—t> 6 Se 
—An economical Iowan, who had the tooth-ache, deter- 
mined to remove his tooth in the Indian fashion. Accord- 
ingly he bent down a sapling in the woods, lay down him. 
self and attached a stout cord to his tooth and to the sap- 
ling. Then he touched the spring, and the next he knew he 

“had jumped over a grove of about forty small trees and 
was tryinz to get out of a small pond that he happened to 
light in, 



FISHERIES’ PROTECTION IN CANADA. 
Mea F SUE 
INCE the inauguration of Confederation, the Do- 
minion Government has given a great deal of attention 
to sea and inland Fisheries, particularly to the latter, which 
previous to Confederation, were rapidly declining, owing 
to the wanton destruction of fish by persons who, for the 
sake of present gain, selfishly carried on a warfare which- 
seriously affected the interests of future generations. 
der the efficient management of the Fisheries department, 
presided over by the Hon. Peter Mitchell, the Fisheries 
have been vigorously protected, and under the fostering 
care of the law are yearly becoming more and more valua- 
ble. 
well at the hands of the people. 
Un- 
For this alone the Government of Canada deserves 
In order to make the fisheries still more valuable, the 
artificial propagation of fish has been resorted to, which 
has been so successfully carried on in France and England 
for years past. 
ened enterprising Americans to the great importance of 
the subject, and in this country also the artificial method 
is being carried on under the fostering care of the Govern- 
ment, 
The example set by Canadians has awak- 
We copy from the ‘‘ Union Advocate,” of New- 
castle, Miramichi, the following resume of Government 
operations in Canada, and respectfully suggest that the 
Government proceed without delay to extend its long con- 
templated supervision to the rivers of Nova Scotia, before 
they are totally depleted. We do not need any testimony 
to corroborate our own experience of the needs of the 
case, which are woefully pictured by a prominent gentle- 
man of this city who spent five weeks in Nova Scotia 
this season. He says:‘‘I am satisfied that the netting and spear- 
ing which is carried on by the Indians and others with im- 
punity will utterly destroy the little fishing afforded by 
Gold river and other streams. A few years’ care and pro- 
tection extended over that section of Nova Scotia, and in 
fact throughout the Province, would be rewarded a thousand 
fold. With such attractions, in addition to the bracing 
climate and the really beautiful scenery, this coast might 
well command the patronage of summer tourists.” 
‘‘ Previous to confederation,.S. Wilmot, Esq., of New- 
castle, Ontario, carried on the artificial process as an ama- 
teur, but when the Provinces became united, the Minister 
of Marine and Visheries secured the services of this gentle- 
man, who had met with considerable success in his pre- 
vious efforts. Under his direction, the artificial propaga- 
tion of fish has become quite a success in Ontario, and we 
are pleased to know that the North is now to have the 
benefit of his valuable services, which in the past have 
been recognized most substantially by societies formed fcr 
the promotion of Pisciculture in both England and 
France. 
Mr. Wilmot arrived here recently. The object of his 
visit is to select some eligible site for the erection of a 
salmon breeding establishment. The principal object of 
introducing this new industrial work in this section of the 
Dominion is, that the Miramichi river, once so famous for 
its great product of salmon, may by this artificial method 
of propagation be, if we may so term it, largely subsi- 
dized in its production. By so doing, the Minister of Marine 
and Fisheries has again shown his usual sagacity in advan- 
cing the general interests of the Fisheries Department, 
not only in introducing this important work on the Mi- 
ee river, but also in other parts of the Dominion as 
well. 
The gentlemen referred to, after taking some time to 
thoroughly inspect the various brooks emptying into the 
Soutwest and Rortlecet branches of our river, has at last 
selected one about five miles distant from Newcastle, on 
the last named branch, just above the bridge on Stewart's 
mill stream. This sight is represented by Mr. Wilmot as 
being a very eligible one, and well adapted for all pur- 
poses of an extensive fish breeding establishment. The 
large and constant flow of water in the stream, with sufli- 
cient fall for the easy erection of dams—the fine cove at 
its outlet—the proximity to our town— and its truly pic- 
turesque appearance, make it a charming spot, not only for 
the practical carrying on of the work, but also a very at- 
tractive one forthe lover of nature and the study of the 
naturalist. 
The above location, including the whole lot, has been 
purchased at a very reasonable figure. Mr. Wilmot has 
let the contract for erecting the dams, and is on the eve of 
closing the contract for constructing the breeding house. 
This will bea building of considerable magnitude, and is 
intended to have somewhat of a commanding appearance, 
its size being about 67 x 27 feet. The lower story will be 
used wholly for artificial breeding purposes, whilst the 
upper flat will be fitted up for a comfortable dwelling for , 
the person in charge. Though the season for its comple- 
tion is very limited, Mr. Wilmot’s great anxiety is to get 
it so far advanced as to be enabled to lay down alarge num 
ber of salmon ova this autumn, in order that its beneficial ef- 
fect may be felt here as speedily as possible. When we 
consider the location, and the method to be adopted in dis- 
tributing the onus fry after being hatched out, the site 
must commend itself to every intelligent inhabitant; for 
it is intended that.the fruits of this establishment shall be 
distributed equally in all the various tributaries of our 
river that can be approached. The modus operandi will be 
as follows: The parent fish willbe procured at the most con- 
venient points on the river, just previous to spawning, and 
placed in the‘dam. So soon as they become matured for 
manipulation the ova will be taken, duly impregnated, and 
then placed in the breeding boxes; and when hatched out 
in the month of April or May, will be carried in barrels or 
cans of water in boats or scows, and towed up to the 
rapid parts of the various tributaries forming the Mirami- 
chiriver. The system pursued in Newcastle, Ontario, is 
to carry the young fry hundreds of miles by railway, and 
it has been done most procs the losses in transporta- 
tion being very trifling indeed. ow much more easily and 
safely, then, can the system of distributing young salmon 
be practiced here, where water conveyance will be resorted 
to, and where fresh supplies of pure water can be given to 
the young fish on their journey, which requisite is found 
almost impossible to procure whilst journeylng upon ihe 
railway cars» We therefore look forward to a successful 
result, for the interests of all concerned in the advance- 
