









































wg te 
Tig Zz ae Nie 
E JERR NNO CS 
A WEEKLY JO 
DEVOTED TO FIELD AND AQuaTic Sports, PRACTICAL NATURAL History, 
Fish CULTURE, THE PROTECTION OF GAMRE, PRESRYATION OF ForEsTs, 
AND THE INCULCATION IN MEN AND WOMEN OF A HEALTHY INTERFST 
IN Out-r.9R RECREATION AND StuDY: 
PUBLISHED BY 
Lorest and Stream Publishing Company, 
’ —AaT— 
103 FULTON STREET, NEW YORK. 

—_>——— 
Terms, Five Dollars a Year, Strictly in Advance. 
—_——_>—__—__ 
A discount of twenty per cent. for five copies and upwards. Any person 
sending us two subscriptions and Ten Dollars will receive a copy of 
Hallock’s ‘‘ Fisnine Tourisi,’ postage free. 
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Alvertising Rates. 
In regular advertising coluiuns, nonpareil type, 12lines to the inch, 25 
cents per line. Advertisements on outside page, 40 cents per line. Reading 
notices, 50 cents per line. Advertisements in double column 25 per cet. 
extra. Where advertisements are inserted over 1 month, a discount of 
10 per cent. will be made; over three months, 20 per cent; over six 
months, 30 per cent. 
ee 
NEW YORK, THURSDAY, OCT. 9, 1873. 



To Correspondents. 
——_—_.4—_——— 
All communications whatever, whether relating to business or literary 
correspondence, must be addressed to Tue Forest AND STREAM PUB- 
LISHING ComPANY. Personal letters only, to the Manager. 
All communications intended for publication must be accompanied with 
real name, as a guaranty of good faith. Names will not be published if 
objection be made. No anonymous contributions will be regarded. 
Articles relating to any topic within the scope of this paper are solicited. 
We cannot promise to return rejected manuscripts. 
Ladies are especially invited to use our columns, which will be pre- 
pared with \:areful reference to their perusal and instruction. 
Secretaries of Clubs and Associations are urged to favor us with brief 
notes of their movements and transactions, as it is the aim of this paper 
to become a medium of useful and reliable information between gentle- 
men sportsmen from one end of the country to the other; and they will 
find our columns a desirable medium for advertising announcements. 
The Publishers of Forest anp STREAM aim to merit and secure the 
patronage and countenance of that portion of the community whose re- 
fined intelligence enables them to properly appreciate and enjoy all that 
is beautiful in Nature. It will pander to no depraved tastes, nor pervert 
the legitimate sports of land and water to those base uses which always 
vend to make them unpopular with the virtuous and good. No advertise- 
ment or business notice of an immoral character will be received on any 
terms; and nothing will be admitted to any department of the paper that 
may not be read with propriety in the home circle. 
We cannot be responsible for the dereliction of the mail service, if 
money remitted to us is lost. 
This paper sent gratuitously to all contributors. 
Advertisements should be sent in by Saturday of each week, if possible, 
CHARLES HALLOCK, 
Managing Editor. 
ee Se 
Calendar of Events for the Current Week. 
gee 
Fray, October 10th.—St. Louis Fair Association, St, Louis, Mo .... 
Chillieothe, Ohio. Horse Fair.... Pittsburg Driving Park, Penn....Col- 
umbia Trotting Fair, 8. C. 
SarurDay, October 11th.—Boat clubs, foot of 133d street, Harlem.... 
Rowing races, Buffalo, N. Y..... Yale University Boat Club Regatta... 
Jerome Park races....Ameliasburg Fair, Ontario D. of Canada.... Cricket 
match; Manhattans vs Prospect Park Club. 
Monpay, October 18.—Jackson State Fair, Jackson, Miss....Little 
Rock State Fair, Arkansas....Raleigh State Fair, Raleigh, N. C. 
TuEsDAY, October 14th.—New Haven Horse Association, Conn.... Cats- 
kill Association, N. Y. 
“ WEDNESDAY, October 15.—Jerome Park Races....New Haven Horse 
Association, Conn....Catskill Agricultural and Horticultural Associa- 
tion, Catskill, N. Y....Yale Single Scull Race. 
THURSDAY, October 16th.—Rowing race Argonautas vs Neptunes.... 
New Haven Horse Fair, Conn,... Catskill Horticultural and Agricultural 
Fair Catskill, N. Y. 


AN AQUARIUM IN NEW YORK. 
+ ; 
\ K J £ are pleased to note the most praiseworthy efforts 
on the part of the editors of Appleton’s Journal, to 
establish an aquarium in New York. We understand that 
acorrespondence has been entered into with Mr. W. Sa- 
ville Kent, of England, and his aid and advice have been 
solicited, so that we may have in the United States all the 
advantages of his well-known experience. Together with 
Mr. Buckland and Mr. Lee, Mr. Kent was instrumental in 
founding and establishing the Brighton Aquarium Mr. 
Kent, having resigned his position in England, the Messrs. 
Appleton have very wisely settled on this distinguished 
biologist as the person best fitted to superintend the con- 
struction and management of an aquarium in New York. 
The cost of the Brighton Aquarium was about $320,000, 
but Mr. Kent thinks with the many advantages of locality 
our Central Park enjoys, quite an extensive aquarium 
could be built there for $200,000. This sum would be in- 
significant in comparison with the advantages it would af- 
ford. Habits and modes of life of fishes can only be thor- 
oughly studied in an aquarium, and not only is science 
benefitted, but the most useful information is obtain- 
able, which has to do with practical pisciculture. 
Opportunity given to students of Ichthiology to acquire 
a knowledge of fishes and their habits, would undoubtedly 
be greatly increased by our having an aquarium in New 
York. The close proximity of New York to the sea would 
allow of such an aquarium being quickly stocked. The 
amount of money necessary to establish a large aquarium 
is not very great. We sincerely trust that the plan 
of having such an aquarium in our midst will soon be real- 
zed. 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 
ee a 
The following articles on exhibition at the American In- 
stitute,may be of interest to our readers as entering specially 
within the scope of subjects treated in our columns: 
Hubbard’s patent wheel skates, John H. Burleson, man- 
ufacturer, New York. This skate is composed of a metalic 
foot plate, with three wheels, differing from ordinary par- 
lor skates, inasmuch as in ‘the Hubbard patent the wheels 
are outside, giving in this way a better foothold. Mr. 
Chapman, of Theresa, New York, exhibits a handsome 
collection of spoon-trolling and general fishing tackle. There 
is a handsome case sent by Messrs. John P. Morris & Sons, 
of 204 Broadway, New York, containing all the various 
sizes of explosive bullets made by them. Pieces of wood 
showing the cones of explosion are very curious. Sports- 
men anxious to try a grizzly bear, will see in this same 
case a neatly prepared skull of this fearful animal. The 
cartridges made by Morris & Son are adapted to all the va- 
rious calibres of rifles. Messrs. Grote and Co., of No. 114 
East Fourteenth street, exhibit a handsome collection of 
billiard cues and Indian clubs. Hegemen’s Portable Fold- 
ing Boat, an admirable arrangement for sportsmen 
and fishermen, made of ribs of wood and canvas—light, 
easy of transportation and quickly put 
claimed our attention. An improved feed-bag for horses 
which would have pleased Mr. Bergh, manufactured by 
Sage & Flandreau, of 52 Gold street, New York, had many 
points of both excellence and novelty. Messrs. Kavanagh 
& Decker had ‘also some very excellent billiard tables 
in view. There was but one case of arms, and it contained 
specimens of the well-known Ward Burton rifle. It is a 
matter of regret that our arm manufacturers in general 
did not send their guns tothe exhibition. The Industrial 
show on the whole is an exceedingly interesting one, and a 
day may be spent there with great profit. 
et ——_____. 
THE STATE PARK. 
—__4—___. 
gave itis highly probable that when our legislators as- 
semble at Albany, the subject of forming a park of 
the Adirondack region will be submitted to their notice, it 
may be worth our while to place before them and our read- 
ers, somewhat in evtenso, the result of the deliberations of 
the State Park Commissioners. Materials fortunately are 
not wanting, for we have Mr. Verplank Colvin’s very 
thorough topographicai survey, which gives a most thor- 
ough insight into this section of country which was, until 
quite lately, almost considered a terra incognita, 
This year the Commissioners of State Parks of the State 
of New York, presented their first annual report to the Sen 
ate, and from the result of their labors and the survey made 
by Mr. Colvin, their secretary, the fullest information is 
obtainable. What is now called the Adirondack wilder- 
ness was known among the Indians as the Coughsagrage, or 
the beaver hunting country of the Six Nations. It is es- 
sentially a great primeval forest, covering the semi-moun- 
tainous region of northern New York, extending from 
Lake Champlain on the east to the Mohawk river south; 
from the Black river east tothe St. Lawrence north. The 
wilderness abounds in lakes, brooks, creeks, streams and 
rivers. 
But few settlements have ever been formed in this wild 
country of a permanent character, although for the last 150 
yearsmany attempts have been made, all of which have 
failed. The cause of such failures may be attributed 
somewhat to the rigor of the winter climate; but princi- 
pally to the general unfruitfulness of the soil, which in 
most places becomes simply a few inches of arid soil, when 
under cultivation, whenever the ground is deprived of the 
dense growth of trees and thicket which hold the soil to- 
gether. Of course, here and there, are extensive tracts cov- 
ered at times with wild grasses, which may be cut and 
cured. Nevertheless, owing to the elevation and coldness 
of the climate, corn will not ripen, as frost is not unfre- 
quent in summer. Oats grow fairly in new lands fora 
season or so, but the want of lime in the soil soon makes 
them dwindle when a second or third crop is attempted. 
In fact the agricultural products are absolutely valueless, 
when compared with the products of the forests. In min- 
eral wealth the Adirondack region abounds. Iron ex- 
ists as specular and hematite ore in quantity; but as 
railroads are wanting, in order to work such ores, the for- 
est woods have been cut in certain portions of Essex county, 
until the mountain sides are bare. The absence of lime to 
work the ores with must always affect the iron interest in 
this section. Possibly, when railroads are developed, it 
may be found advantageous to take the rich ores to other 
sections of the State for working. In those sections of the 
country where, however, in former years the wood had 
been cut, nothing but bare denuded rocks are seen, and the 
streams which were once brooks, full of trout, are now 
torrent beds, sometimes dry, at other times - gorged with 
water. 
Large portions of the wilderness are under the control of 
the lumber interest with that of the tanneries. These lands 
are generally purchased, and valued solely for the timber 
growing on them. Just as soon as the pine, spruce, and 
hemlock are taken“off, the lands are virtually abandoned 
and revert to the State for unpaid taxes. Even the small 
trees under ten inches in diameter are cut, and the natural 
process of replacing the waste by a second growth of tim- 
ber becomes almost impossible. Of course such indiscrim- 
inate cutting makes a mass of brush-wood, which in dry 
weather withers and becomes a bed of tinder, A spark of 
fire, a stroke of lightning, kindles it, and then commences a 
fearful conflagration. These fires show the thinness of the 
together, ° 

soil, and after such a fire the boulders stand out red and 
burnt. The soil itself is nothing but a peat like earth, 
made up of the decay of fallen timber and moss. 
The area of the wilderness is estimated to comprise about 
1,700,000 acres, or about 2,703 square miles, divided up be- 
tween the counties of Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, St. 
Lawrence, Franklin, Essex, and Warren, the first named 
county having 750,000 acres within it. Of this area, 834,- 
480 acres are upon the Hudson river side of the mountain 
divide, and this would be the approximate area of the re- 
gion required for the purposes of a forest park, in order to 
protect the sources of the Hudson. The State owns to-day 
not quite 40,000 acres. 
The Forrest AND Stream has already been foremost in 
advocating the necessity of the preservation of our forests 
when practicable, as a source from whence water could be 
obtained, andthe Commissioners urge this fact in reference 
to the Adirondack region with great force. 
They state that the question of water supply is a vital one 
and that there. is ‘‘nothing of greater importance to the 
agriculturist than rain at the proper season and in proper 
quantity, and science has demonstrated that the forests of a 
country are potent in the regulation of storms, the forma- 
tion of clouds and descent of rain. Anything which vitally 
affects the interests of the farmer and producer affects the whole 
State, and demands the earliest attention of the people's represen- 
tatives.” 
Geographically considered, New York is the water shed 
of the eastern half of the Atlantic States. It is quite re- 
markable that every stream in the State, if traced to its 
source, will be found to originate in some lake or pond, 
from which, if in a forest region, it pours forth in an un- 
failing stream. The Commissioners believe that the Adi- 
rondack forest has a powerful influence on the entire cli- 
matology of the State, moderating storms, and equalizing 
the amount of moisture carried by the atmosphere through- 
out the year. 
What is the action forests play in the various phenomena 
of nature? It is quite clearly proven that they do not 
draw the rain but to a very limited extent. They may 
cause rains in counties distant from them, but they have 
not in themselves any rain-attracting powers. Even the 
question: ‘‘ How muchis the rain fall?” is entirely second- 
ary to the one, ‘‘On what does the rain fall?” If the land 
is denuded of its trees—as was thoroughly discussed by us 
in a prior article on this subject—the water flows over the 
land and not through it. Then, down hill rushes the furi- 
ous waters, cutting ravines, and with swollen volume, 
sweeps away all the work of man. Instead of this excess 
of water taking months to flow from the hills and moun- 
tain tops to the sea, its whole force and power is spent ina 
few days. In our climate, where snow falls, should it oc- 
cur on dismantled mountain tops and sides, when spring 
comes it would, when melted, almost release an ocean. 
While the Adirondack forests remain these snows will be 
protected from the direct rays of the sun, and will gradu- 
ally melt away. We can use no better term than to de- 
scribe the forests as the safety valves which regulate the 
supply of water. 
One thing which is certain, notwithstanding any argu- 
ments to the contrary, is this: That the destruction of 
a forest covering the sources of a stream or river 
by exposing the moist earth, the springs, the rills and 
brooks to rapid evaporation, diminishes the supply of water 
in the main streams. 
Putting aside the agricultural question involved, the 
Commissioners state that ‘‘the canal interests of the State 
are very great, and are already suffering from this wrong, 
(the diminution of the water.) The water supply of the 
Champlain Canal is entirely obtained from the streams of 
this wilderness, and the Erie Canal, from Rome to Albany, 
is almost entirely supplied from the same water-shed. In 
the Hudson, near Albany and Troy, navigation at midsum- 
mer is very difficult. The mill owners at Glen’s Falls and 
at other points find that their water fails them; and the 
farming lands throughout the State suffer from the storms 
and droughts already noticed.” This quotation from the 
report of the Commissioners directly controverts the asser- 
tion made by Mr. J. T. Headly, who, in a letter to the Z?i- 
bune of September 24th, says: ‘There is not the least evi- 
dence that the Hudson does not roll the same volume of 
water to the sea to-day that it did when the keel of the half 
moon first cleared its bosom, &c.” Surely the authority of 
Horatio Seymour may be weighed against the opinion of 
Mr. Headly. 
The timber question is of course one of paramount im- 
portance. Why should not this area of country still pro- 
duce timber to meet the constant demand? As the com- 
missioners very rightly state it: ‘The idea of such an un- 
productive and useless Park we utterly and entirely repudi- 
ate.” There is no possible reason why European methods 
of cutting timber should not be used. Instead of reekless 
waste, cutting down one tree and in its fall bringing down 
a dozen others, let care and judgment be exercised. Let 
only mature trees be felled, and spare the younger growth. 
Let there be some idea of Aboriculture enter into our minds. 
The Commissioners believe that by judicious cutting, not 
only could a fair revenue be derived from the Park, but 
even the growth of trees could be improved. Though the 
Commissioners point very strongly to the many advantages 
to be derived from having within easy access of our large 
cities such a Park, as a place of summer resort, and where 
the preservation of game would naturally promote a healthy 
exercise among our men in hunting the many wild animals 
which would find shelter inthe woods; they most wisely 
abstain from putting such a claim too strongly in evidence, 

