
7 
if it be in a solvent condition the sport will be decided 
- only firmer. 
There is also a three minute trot for horses owned in and 



but certamly the insidious manner they have of in- 
terlaciay you in their arms makes them a terrible foe to en- 
counter. The only way to get-rid of them when they have 
hold of you with their arms, is to use a good heavy sharp 
knife and to cut off their tentacles, 
The flesh of the arms of the smaller octopus when boiled 
aman, 
I consider excellent eating. If the outside skin is tough 
andstringy, the meat inside is edible, resembling lobster, 
Indians and whites eat the octopus at Puget’s 
Sound. Accidents from drowning by an attack of the oc- 
topus, though rare, have occurred, but people are wary of 
them and on their guard. F. E. E. 
—--—+-——— 
—Tuer Garrisu.—We are requested by the Smithsonian 
Institute to print the following card: 
Eprror Forgesr AND STREAM:— 
DEAR Str:—I am anxious to learn something about the 
spawning of the fresh water garfish or gar-pike (Lepidosteus), 
a species of which is found in eastern waters, from the Del- 
aware southward, throughout the Mississippi Valley, and 
in the Lakes. 
Information as to when and where the eggs of the fish 
are deposited, and their general appearance is especially 
asked for. Respectfully, 
Spencer F. Barren. 

How Rare Lrons are Becomrnc.—The following inte- 
resting matter in regard to the number of lions in northern 
Africa we translate from Moniteur del Algerie:—‘‘M. Con- 
stant Chéret, who follows so closely as a lion hunter the il- 
lustrious Jules Gérard, thinks that fully eight hundred lions 
are alive to day in the province of Tel.and the three Alge- 
rian provinces. The lion can only live in certain places, 
where forests abound, and where men do not come. The 
lion seems to appreciate man’s power, and has abdicated, 
and is not in fact the lion of a hundred years ago. Our 
French possessions have now actually very few retreats for 
the monarchs of the beasts. He is still found at Bone, 
Jemmapes, Guelma, Batria, all four localities situated in 
the province of Constantine, where M. Chéret hunts them. 
Byerywhere elise in Algiers the lion is unknown, or at least 
comparatively rare. Occasionally a lion is found in Oran, 
rarely in Kabylie, and scarcely ever at all in Algeria 
proper.” 
[We differ, then, from M. Chéret, who has evidently 
taken the lions in his immediate vicinity as a Lasis on which 
to found his calculatigns as to number, and we are inclined 
to think that to give the total of lions in Algeria at seven 
or eight hundred is an impossible flgure. In making up & 
lion census, because some few of these beasts still range in 
the places above mentioned, we are not to suppose that 
they are to be found in overwhelming numbers any more 
than if a beat is seen in the Pyrenees we are to state that 
they abound all over France. This seems to be another 
case of the probable extinction of a species, and is worth 
recording. ..Collectors of animals, especially zoological so- 
cieties, may find it difficult in time to get lions. Will Mr. 
Reiche put up the price?|— Kn. 
ies SAV EET 
—The following from the Field seems to prove that the 
eagle of the Tyrol has the power of carrying off full grown 
chamois. It is taken from the journal of an English 
chamois hunter. 
June 27, 1871.—Whien taking out a young eagle from the 
Falknervaud, near Johanneslaus, I found in the nest (which 
was quite inaccessible except by means of a fifty fathom 
rope) the half-devoured carcass of a full grown chamois; 
three pairs of seven inch chamois horns, and the corres- 
ponding bones of the animals; one pair of goat horns; the 
Pi of a mountain hare, and the head of a roedeer 
awn, 


Che Horse and the Caurse. 
—Trotting races on iee are among the favorite Canadian 
winter sports. Several are advertised for next month. The 
Toronto Sporting Times announces the Toronto races for the 
10th, 11th and 12th of February. The sum of fourteen 
hundred and fifty dollars is apportioned for premiums, and 
the amount is judicially divided. There is a purse for 
horses that never beat 2:34, and a race for three minute 
nags owned in Canada, (bar Kitty Wellsaud Toronto Chief). 
within ten miles of the city. Next is a two-forty premium, 
and on the Jast day there is a ‘‘Free for all” purse, four 
hundred dollars and a two-fifty purse. If the ice be safe 
the races are to come off on the Bay opposite the city, but 
on Ashbridges’ Bay. 
—The following entries have been made for the Canadian 
Derby to come off at Barrie, Ontario. The books closed on 
Jan. 1st:— 
George Ayers, Albany, Erastus Corning; Martin Mc- 
Kee, Leslieville, Belfast Boy; T. C. Patteson, Toronto, 
Helen Bennet; Simon Langley, Lexington Maid; N. Rooney, 
Toronto, Earl Marshall; Dr. Smith, Toronto, Winestone; 
©. J. Alloway, Montreal, Voneid; Mr. Torrance, Montreal, 
Tipperary; P. Woodstringfield, Lexington, Trempington; 
F. Lowell, Galt, b. c. by Gilroy; B. C. Jones, Port Jervis, 
N. Y., b. f.; William Ownings, Lexington, Fairplay; Wil- 
liams & Ownings, Lexington, Gilt Star; Williams & Owings, 
Lexington, Amy Farley; Horton Kildairs dam by imp. 
Albion. Charles 8. Lloyd, Holmdel, N. J., enters B. C. 
—., Hunter & Travis, New York, Crows Meat; Hunter & 
Travis, New York, Vesta; H. Gaffney Fordham, Culpep- 
per; Jas. Donohue, Fordham, Dublin, G. H. Rice, New 
Orleans, Vortex; John Coffee, New Orleans, Nettie Norton; 
John Coffee, New Orleans, Ida Wells; John Coffee, New 
Orleans, Owen Cutler; Wm. Jennings, Memphis, Tenn., 
Larry Hunt; Wm. Connor, New Orleans, Stampede; Wm. 
Connor, New Orleans, Moonbeam; Daniel Desmond, Sara- 
toga, Mollie Darling, 























































FOREST AND STREAM. 
RET PTR HS EE TTI ASP CES Le URSA A aA A Lh RR AR ASS ra AO A a CD 
! 
—The following are the entries to the stakes of the Ken- 
tucky Blood Horse Association, made up to January 7th, 
to be run for at the spring meeting of 1874. Phoenix Hotel 
stakes, one mile and an eighth, to be run first day -—H. N. 
Horene’s b. c. Kingsley; 8. J. Salyer’s ch. f. Planetta; John 
Harper’s b. c. Excel, by Endorser; Gill & Logan’s ch. f. by 
Lexington; W. B. Withers & Co.’s ch. c. Monte Cristo; F’. 
T. McCallie’s ch. c. Big Fellow; Warren Viley’s b. f. Let- 
ola; James McIntyre’s b. c. Warrior; H. P. McGrath's b. 
c. Aaron Pennington; D. McIntyre’s b. c. by Gilroy; J. A. 
Grinstead’s ch. f. by Gilroy; J. A. Grinstead’s br. f. by 
Gilroy; W. T. & H. C. Wall's b. g. Judge Pryor; T. J. 
Megibben’s b. f. by Lexington; Robinson, Morgan & Co.’s 
br. c. Astral; Dixon & Wimmer’s b. c. La Grange. The 
Citizens’ Stake, for three-year olds, two miles andan eighth, 
to be run for on the fifth day, has 8. J._Salyer’s br. c. Pat 
Dolan; John Harper's b. c. Excel; W. B. Withers & Co.’s 
‘ch. c. Monte Cristo; F. T. McCallie’s ch. c. Big Fellow, 
Warren Viley’s b. f. Letola; James McIntyre’s b. c. War- 
rior; H. P. MeGrath’s b. c. Aaron, Pennington, W.T. & 
H. ©. Wall’s b.g. Judge Pryor; T. J. Megibben’s ch. hae 
T. J. Meg’bben’s b. f. by Lexington; and Dixon & Wim- 
mer’s b. c. La Grange. 
—Wild Horses in large numbers, abound on the prairies 
between the Arkansas and Smoky-hill Rivers. They are of 
all sizes and colors, and the wildest of wildanimals. They 
usually roam in bands of from six to twenty, and will run 
at sight of a man two miles away. A great many domestic 
horses, as well as mules, which have strayed away from 
their owners, have taken up with the wild ones. After 
running with them for a while they become as wild as their 
untamed companions. Various methods have been adopt- 
ed to capture these aboriginal horses, but they have gen- 
erally proved fruitless. A scrubby colt or a broken-down 
mule is as a general thing the only reward for all the time, 
labor and expense of such schemes, 
—Down in Texas horse-thieves go in gangs, headed by a 
pretended clergymen, who gets up protracted and zealous 
meetings, and while he is taking the congregation upward 
on the wings of his eloquence the rank and file make a de- 
scent, steal all the horses, and are off before their presence 
is known. : 
—The Boston Traveller tells about the horses employed 
in hoisting wool for the wool houses, as follows :— 
“The hoisting horses, which raise the bales to the lofts in 
our wool houses, became remarkably intelligent in their 
business, so much so that they work by themselves without 
direction. When the hook is fastened on to a bale, the 
‘horse, with head turned aside, notices it, and starts off 
briskly, perhaps from the knowledge that he thus escapes a 
crack from the whip. The other morning one of the work- 
men had on an army overcoat, and by some unaccountable 
accident the hook got caught in the belt of said coat. The 
horse, feeling the weight, started off, and up went the work 
man like a rocket. He was taken in, badly frightened and 
as pale as a ghest, at the third-story window.” 
We were once on intimate terms with Bobby, a horse em- 
ployed in hoisting and landing mixed cargoes ina Southern 
port. Cesar was a ragged negro boy, who was much more 
kind and considerate to his horse than our colored brethren 
usually are. Now, with a cask of trace chains, or a tierce 
of bacon, whether they came down with a heavy bang on 
the dock, did not make much difference to the contents, 
but with a crate of crockery, or a barrel of glass ware, 
there was a chance of a crash. The mate on the gangway 
of the steamer would shout out to Bobby, ‘‘China, boy, 
watch out!” Cesar would go to Bobby and thus apostro- 
phisehim: ‘‘Chiney—Bob—now dar ’aint no use of show- 
ing off and bustin’ things. I’se jess going to sit down on 
this yar cotton bale and watch you work off that yar chiney 
pretty—gee now. Bobby—Chiney—I ’aint going to say 
nuffin more; you’se got sense ‘nuff to boss dat job.” So 
invoked, Caesar seated on a cotton ball, not saying another 
word, Bobby would look round, point one ear front, one 
back, in a knowing way, and go on witha steady pull, then 
land his load, backing so gingerly that if the crate had been 
made of sugar-candy and filled with glass thermometers, 
not a stem nor a bulb would have been broken. That horse 
we always thought might have been made an excellent 
officer in a plate glass accident insurance company. 

Answers Ca Correspondents. 
[We shall endeavor in this department to impart and hope to recetve 
such information as may be of service to amateur and professional sports- 
men. We will cheerfully answer all reasonable quest.ons that fall within 
the scope of this paper, designating localities for good hunting, fish 
ing, and trapping, and giving advice and instructions as to outfits, im 
plements, routes, distances, seasons, expenses, remedies, traits, species 
governing rules, etc. All branches of the sportsman’s craft will receive 
attention. Anonymous Communications not Noticed. 
PS See 
J. A. C., Orange, N. J.--If you will allow us to pick one out it is just 
as serviceable. 
D. H. E., Boston.—The address of the Sporting Gazette ig) be 
Strand, London, England, 
SuBscBIBER, St. Louis.—Breech-loaders. 
page. \ 
Cuas, A. Hart, New York.—Will the Pacific salmon take a fly? Ans. 
Several varieties do. The impression that they donot has arisenfrom 
the fact that anglers have tried th em at the wrong season of the year. 
September is the best month for fly-fishing in the Columbia. 
N. D., Buffalo.—What stream would you recommend in the State of 
Maine for fly fishing for trout, say about the lst of June? Ans. June 
1st is a trifle early for most streams. The Umbagog, the feedurs of 
Moosehead and the tributaries of the St. Croix are the best. See Hal- 
lock’s “Fishing Tourist” and files of Forrest AND STREAM. 
Quaker Crry, Phila.—I would consider it a great favor if you would 
give the location of a good hunting ground where guides can be had who 
will not expect $10 per day, and where good sport is reasonably certain. 
A number of us wish to camp out next August. Ans. If you desire a 
better or more accessible hunting ground than Elk and Potter counties 
in your own State, you are hard to suit. , 
G. G. J., Hartford, Conn.—What is the best place in Florida for duck, 
snipe, quail and deer shooting? Ans, For one that combines all these 
there is no accessible place better than Enterprise, Lake Monroe, St. 
John river, 2. What are thechances for good sport on the game indi- 
cated, say for three weeks, from about the last of Februrry? Good 
enough but dlmost too late in the season. 8. What would be about the 
expense per diem for two during such a trip? Ans. Twelve dollars a 
day. 4. What would be the best kind of gun to carry, a breech or muz- 
zle loader, or both? Ans. Breech-loader, 
See ad vertisers on cove 


E. E. H., New Haven.—Should a young setter puppy, when first ta- 
ken im the field, having never seen game before, be allowed to run 
about, flush and chase the birds at will, or be restrained and punished 
from the first? Ans. Be should be entirely under the control of the 
breaker or trainer, and on no account allowed .to “flush” and ‘‘chase’ 
birds. See letter headed “Training Puppies,’’ under Kennel. 
BreEecu-Loaper, New York.—While rubbing the locks of my gun 
outside with emory cloth and oil, the blue color put on them by the case 
hardening process came off. Will you be kind enough to give me a re~ 
ceipt to replace that color on my locks? Ans. Write to E. Madison 
564 Fulton street, Brooklyn. 
W. S.S., Pottsville, Pa.—Does the Megalloway river in Maine, furnish 
good trout fishing? ans. Yes. Are they large and plenty? Yes; 
abundant, and average two pounds in weight. What part of the river is 
the best locality? Ans. The whole of it, from its mouth to Parmachene 
Lake, its head waters. What the nearest point by railroad? Ans, Take 
Grand Trunk to Bethel Hill or Upton, stage to Errol Dam, and thence 
batteau to Durkee’s Landing. Boats necessary and plenty of them, with 
good guides. River much broken and scenery of the most romartic 
character; liable to sudden freshets at all times of the year. 
F. W. Dean, Tannton, Mass.—The rod you refer to would be of no use 
to experts, but will well serye a beginner to practice with. It wonld be 
a waste of money to put an expensive rod in his hand, as he would cer- 
tainly break it. The rod you have ought to kill any speckled trout that 
swims. In the hands of a skillful angler, it might kill a 40-lb. salmon, 
if the reel used were large enough to hold all the line required. The ef- 
fectiveness of a rod does not depend upon its ‘“‘stiffness.”’ If you intend 
to use main strength to land yourtrout, you should give a tackle manu- 
facturer a contract to keep you in rods. We will print directisns for fly 
fishing ere long. Use achck reel, two inches in diameter, and twenty- 
five yards of line. 
W.H. D., M. D., Pittsburg, Penn.—1. Which is considered the most 
dificult for the ‘‘pointer’s nose,” the first finding of bevies of quail, or 
single birds after the bevy has been once flushed? Ans, Drawing on flocks 
of birds for a dog, the scentis of course much stronger; but after the 
birds have been flushed, if you can carefully ‘mark down” the individ- 
ual birds, it becomes a matter of breaking and training. 2. What isthe 
proper or most to be desired gaitof a pointer wheu hunting birds, a 
“gallop or trot?’ Ans. Trot. When a dog first enters the open he will 
generally range at a fast pace, but when drawing or working on game he 
will (if properly trained, or else he will flush the birds) road or work 
his hindquarters. 
J. E. L.—Some one of your correspondents last fall wrote of wood- 
chucks as game then being taken in his beat. Spence Ward, the Com- 
modore of the Upper Oswegatchie guides, an old and experienced 
woodsman, says, this animal goes into his burrow early in August, and 
does not put man appearance again until the following April. Can you, 
who are snpposed to know everything of woods and waters, tell how this 
is? Ans. In the Middle and Eastern States woodchucks do not burrow 
for the winter until late in September and the fore part of October. In 
ravines and sheltered places they burrow later than in more exposed 
districts. They have often been killed near Springfield, Mass., during a 
warm gpell in October. 
§.,Kansas—Could you or some of your readers tell the name of an animal 
that I killed yesterday (January 8th)? Tt appears to be some kind of rat, 
but as it was miles from a house and in anewly settled country, it can 
not be a house rat, although quite similar. Its body, from nose to root 
of tail,is7E imches; tail, 4} inches; total, 124 inches; rather stouter in 
proportion than a house rat, ears larger’ and nearly round; color lighter, 
witha light brown tinge on the sides, something like that ona flying 
squirrel, although not so decided—Male. I drove it from its nest. The 
nest was of grass and under it was a quantity of small sticks and twigs, 
eut up short and the bark gnawed off. I should think it lived on the 
bark? Ans. Probably the Mountain Rat. 
I, Carron, Detroit.—My setter pup has the distemper. I have tried 
severalremedies. Can you recommend anything? Ans. Distemper is 
infectious. You must keep your dog apart from the other dogs. Give 
him, every hour or so, in a piece of meat, according to his size, extract 
of belladonna } to 1 grain, nitre, 1 to 4 grains, conserve of roses to pro- 
duce consistency, one drop of the tincture of aconite (monkshood) to 
each four pills. Give no other medicine; keep him clean, with plenty of 
spruce bows to lie on, not straw or corn stalks. 
F. W. E., Woburn, Mass.—Deer feed mostly at night, and during the 
day they retire to the hills to rest and bask in the sun. Ima level coun- 
try they resort to thickets near the water to restduring the day. The 
best time to still hunt deer is just before sunset, when they come down 
from the hills to drmk. They always make straight for the. water and 
quench their thirst, and then commence feeding. Early in the morning 
you will find them on the sunny side of a mountain or hill. Never hunt 
below them—thatis, at the foot of a hill—for if you do nine deer out of 
ten willsee or smell you, and bound away without you knowing of their 
presence. Get on the top of a mountain and look below for the deer. 
Always hunt to windward and move slowly and do not try to cover too 
much ground, and you will be successful if in adeer country. Do not 
know where the caribou hocks can be had. Are trying to induce parties 
in Montreal to fnrnish them. 
C.W. R., Brooklyn.—Is the smpe, curlew and plover shooting in the 
vicinity of St. Augustine better than onthe St. Johns river? 2 Can 
good woodcock shooting be had in the eastern portion of Florida, if not 
where then? Ans. 1. This question is too general; the shooting is bet- 
ter for some varieties of bay birds, and not as good for others. Itis as 
good as can be desired, however. 2. Yes, but woodcock are not very 
abundant anywhere in Florida. See FoREST AND STREAM, page 204. 
G. H. Wixp, New York,—What place do you consider the best for 
trout principally and salmon occasionally, the Schoodic Lakes in Maine, 
or the streams of Northumberland, Gloucester, and Victoria counties of 
New Brunswick? Can guide, boat, &¢., be secured at Woodstock for 
the trout fishingin Victoria county, N.B., or can the fisherman put up at 
any place you know of on the road from Woodstock? Do you consider 
the Tobique a good river for trout (Salmo Jontanalis)? Can salmon be 
taken ad libitum in the Tobique? What time would you start from New 
York to avoid the black fly? Can our friend Abbey select such flies as 
are suited for these waters? Ans. 1. The counties of New Brunswick. 
2, Yes. 8. Fair. 4. No. The Tobique is reserved by the Government 
for artificial propagation. 5. Last of August. June is too early for 
salmon fishing, and the flies come about the middle of the month. 6. 
Yes. 
O. H. H.—What would be the best dimensions fora boat large enough 
tohold two persons, with guns and a dog. The qualities desired are 
speed and freedom from rocking. The boat is to be propelled by a screw 
atthestern? Ans. The dimensions of a boat such as you want should 
be about 15 feet long and four feet wide. Have it built lap-streak fash- 
ion, with streaks and knees of cedar and the laps fastened to the frame 
by being riveted with copper boat nails. The seams of the laps between 
the knees should be riveted together with smaller copper nails. A piece 
of white oak will make a good keel, and should the boat be used where 
there isa stony bottom cover the bottom of the keel with a strip of 
sheet copper or brass to keep it from getting worn and ragged. Have 
the boat partially decked over forward, and make the dog a bed under 
saiddeck. In that position he will be out of the way and his weight 
willhelp “trim” the boat. The less ‘“‘belly”’ the boat has the stiffer it 
will be. If you wish to use your boat on flats where there is not much 
water, make it broad on the bottom or not much rounded, and with a 
shallow keel. A boat to be propelled by a screw should sit low at the 
stern. Deck over the sides of the boat for six inches and put a cleat one 
inch high on the inside edge of it, to keep out the water from the boat. 
Fasten gun racks to the knees on each side of the boat. When finished, 
all knots in the cedar should be bored ont and the holes plugged with 
solid wood, 
