The Sunapee trout

April

1, 1886.]

FOREST AND STREAM. 185

gaugeby employingexplosiveshells,but tbeyoftenexploded before penetrating to a sufficient depth,and it wassoon foundthat the bulletswere

much

more effective

when

the hollowswerefilled with beeswaxor plugs of wood.

The

powderchargeshave been increased sincethen to50grains idthe.86,80inthe.40, 125oreven 150 in the.45,and 165 inthe.500 breechloaders.

Thisis,Ibelieve, the realhistory of the discoveryofthe

modernexpressrifle. J- J-M.

London,England,March15, 1886.

EditorForestandStream:

Iwa9very

much

interested inyour trajectorytest._{_}

The

resultrather surprised

me

inseveral instances. Iwishto asksomeofyour correspondents

who

^{have had}experience with muzzleloadingriflesto pleasecomeoutandtellforthe benefitof tenderfeet like myself

how

to loadand

manage

thatarm.

Ihavealwayshada great liking forthe muzzleloader, so last spring

when

IwasinSt.LouisI huntedthe city over for agoodone. Atlast Igot holdof one,itwasa 42-inch

•Varrel10-pound gun, verywell put

up

andwas^evidently a 'j:»?un,butthe bulletmouldwasnot good. Ihave

made

\:ind,:haveaccomplished somevery goodshooting, but

^-Tg^Od asIthink therifleis capableof. "Willsome

wuttfll

me

what kindof a bullet to use (thegun shoots to thepound) and

how

toloadthegunto get the best results.

I usea.45-caliber PacificBallardfordeerandfindit an excellent gun. As far asaccuracyisconcernedIthink it

goodenoughforanything,but the chargescannot bechanged to suit the

game

as I like to do. C.L.S.

FortClark, Texas.

ONTARIO GAME SEASONS.

ANEW

^{law of the Province of Ontario(totakeeffect}

July 1, 1886) provides the following open seasons:

Deer, elk, moose, reindeer or caribou, Oct. 15 toDec. 15.

Grouse, pheasants,prairie fowlor partridge, Sept. 1 to Jan.

15 Woodcock, Jan. 1 to Aug. 15. Snipe, rail,golden plover, Sept. 1 toJan1. Swans or geese, Sept.1toSlay1.

Ducks

and allotherwater fowl, Sept.1toJan.1. Hares, Sept.1toMar.15. Beaver, mink, muskrat, sable,martin, otter, fisher, Nov. 1 to

May

1. Quail protectedto 1888;

wild turkeysto1889. Imported

game may

notbeshotwith- out consentofland owner. Unlawfultokilldeer,elk,moose, reindeerandcaribouforexportation.

Matnk

Rtjffed

Ghouse.—

EastAuburn, Me., March22.

—

^{Ifeel quite sure that} ourruffed grousedidn't suffer as

much

fromthe severe icestorm(thatformedan icy crustan inchthick)

we

had in February, as

many

ofour sportsmen feared. I saw four ashort distance from

my

housesince the crust that were livelyenough,and

my

neighbor only a fewrodsfrom

my

house saw^{th^ee}budding hisapple trees in his garden a few evenings since. I hope

many

more escaped.

— W.

A Duck

Astray.

—

Brooklyn. N.

Y.— The

othermorning Mr. Bahr, a butcher,at the head of

New York

avenue, Brooklyn,sawalarge birdonthe telegraphwires,opposite hisshop.

He

got a shotgunand killedit. Itturned out to beaduckabout as big as our

common

ducks, but witha long sharp bill,plumage black, rather long wings. Nice placetoshootducks.—E. K.L.

Westchester County Game and

Fisn Protective Association, organized in 1886.hasthe followingofficers

:

President, Frederick G. Leroy;FirstVicePresident,

W.

E.

Warrenj Second Vice-President, Wesley H.

Wood

; Secre- tary,GeorgeLaick, Tarrytown, N.Y.; Treasurer, William

E

Tompkins; Counsel, GeorgeC.Andrews; Special

Game

Constable, OscarPurdy.

California Laws.

— ^We

^{havereceivedfrom S.P. Maslin,}

Esq., of Sacramento, a compilation of all the California lawsrelating to

game

and fish.

The compendium

^is com- prehensive, wellarranged, fullyindexed,and amodelin its

way. ItispublishedundertheauthorityoftheSlateBoard of Fish Commissioners.

New Brunswick Game.—

Campbellton, N.B.,March25.

—

^{Winterstillretainsitsicy hold here,the} snow lies deep over the landand the ice remains firm and strongon the lakes.

A

few caribou have been killed inthis vicinity during thepast season,butnomoose,so far as

we

canlearn, hasbeen bagged.

One

parly claimstohave caughtamoase inacaribousnare,buthe proved a tartar, smashed things up,broketheropeandescaped,awiser and maddermoose.

Quantitiesoffinetrout arebroughtinhere,whicharetaken through theiceonthesmall lakes in the interior, by the Micmacs.

The

catchoffur-bearinganimals has not beena large one,whichproves that they are also decreasing in numbers. Wildgeesehaveputin an appearance

down

the bay.

A

woodcock

was

seenonthe22d nearSt.John, N. B.

—

Stanstead.

Jekyl

Island

Club.— The

Jekyl Island Clubis in the natureofa hunting,fishing and yachting establishment on JekylIsland,on the coast of Georgia, off Brunswick.

A

meetingof the clubwas held recently in theFifthAvenue Hotel, in thiscity,andthefollowinggentlemenwereelected directors: Gen.Lloyd Aspinwall,

New

York;Erastus Corn- ing,Albany; WirtDexter, Chicago;JudgeHenry

E How-

land,

New

York;

Commodore

R.L.Ogden, SanFiancisco;

O. K. King,

Wm.

B. DeWolf,Tbos.

W.

Pearsall,Lewis

Edwards

and L. M. Lawson,

New

Yoik,John Eugene du Bignon, Georgia; FranklinM.

Ketchum

and N.S.Finney,

New

York.

Long

Island

Snipe.—The

textofSection_2,Chapter 485 ofthe

Laws

of 1885 readsas follows,thecountiesdesignated being Queens and Suffolk, which comprise the shoot- ing along the Atlantic coast: "Section 2.

No

person shall, in said counties, kill or havein possession any baysnipe,sandpiper, shorebird or plover,fromthefirstday of"Januaryto the tenthdayof Julyinanyyear,orauyrail bird,or

meadow

hen,from the first dayof Januarytothe firstdayof September in any year,underapenaltyof ten dollarsforeachbird killed orhadin possession."

Mr. Xenophon Cleveland,

ofWaltham,^Mass.,hasscut tousfdr exhibitiona

uumber

of crayonandoilpictures of fishingand

camp

scenes.

VrvA

los

Gachupinos

(March18).—

For

"Harpads"read Harpado;for'Algara"readAlgava.— Kelpie.

English

Snipe havebeen killedthepastfortnightouthe

Newark

meadows.

Emmetsburg,

la.,

March

22.—Geeseare justcommencing theirflight. Onlyone has beenkilledthatI

know

of sofai%

but as soon as the weather opens there willbe plentyof hunting. Duckshave not

made

theirappearanceyet.

We

hadquite afallof

snow

onthe 20th,but nearlygoneto dav.

Prairiechickenshave winteredwell in thissection,and the shooting promises well thecomingseason. Cotton-tails are abundant, with an occasional lone jack. Wolveshave not been hunted

much

onaccountof thedeepsnowthiswinter

—

E. fl. S.

Game

in Sullivan

County

—Monticello, N.Y.,March

22.

—Foxes

andwildcatshave been very plenty_{the past}win- ter. Rabbitsand squirrels are too numerous to mention.

Ruffed grousehave winteredfinely andingoodnumbers.

The

malegrouseare

now drumming

ineverydirection.

To

the

many

gentlemenand sportsmen

who

have huntedhere with

me

forthepasttwentyyears, I willsaythatthe pros- pectfornextfull'sshootingisbetterthanfor

many

years.

—

harles

F. Kent.

8 i

.'tt-uiPOWDER River.

—

^Magnolia,

Md

,

March

26.—Presi- uciitClevelandwasoneof apartyofgentlemen

who

tonight par* ofa of a ducksupperat theshoreof theSan

Domingo

•earingClub,on the

Gunpowder

River,a milefromthis village. President Cleveland and Gen. Farnsworth came from Washingtononthe invitation ofGen.Olcott, ofAlbany, N.Y., and Mr.Wells,president of the club.

Among

the invited guests were Judge

Peckham

and CharlesH. Ray- mond,of

New

^York;

Maj.

W.

D.

Fuller.—

Sedalia,Mo., March 25.—Editor Forest and Stream: Major

W.

D. Fuller diedattheSicher House,thiscity,March11,of heart disease. Ihave nodoubt butthat this notice will meet the eyeof someoldcomrade

who may

be ata loss to

know

what hasbecomeofanold friend. Hiseffects,which are valuable, still remainat the officeofthe hotelawaitingtheclaimof legalowners.

—

Occi- dent.

Addressall communicationstothe ForestandStream Publish- ingCo.

TROUT SEASON OPENS.

California,April1;Colorado,July1;Connecticut, April1

;

Dakota,

May

1; Iowa, Feb. 1; Maine,

May

1; Maryland, April_1; Massachusetts, April 1; Michigan, Jlay 1;Minne-

sota,April 1;

New

Brunswick, Feb. 1;

New

Hampshire,

May

1;

New

Jersey,March 1;

New

Mexico,

May

1;

New

York,

May

1(inQueens and Suffolk counties,April 1; not to be transported into other counties); Ohio, Maieh 15;

Ontario,

May

1; Oregon, April 1; Pennsylvania, April 15;

Quebec,Feb.1;

Rhode

Lland, March 1: Vermont,"May1;

Virginia,April 1; WestVirginia, June1; Wisconsin, April 15;

Wyoming,

June1.

BOSTON'S TROUT DISPLAY.

TO

^{followthegrowth}of fishing tackle,fromthe juniper pole,cutgreen, strippedof thebarkandnailed against thewoodshed to season outthe crooks,uptothe beautiful split

bamboo

rod,isaninteresting study. Thirty yearsago a few fishrods—stiff

bamboo

poles orheavyrodsofash

—

werekeptⁱⁿthecountrystore;buttodaythe fishing tackle storeisone of the most novel and interestingwithin the limitsofourcities. Indeed,hisoutfithascometobeoneof the angler's chiefsourcesof pleasure,andhiseypisopenfor everynovelty,andtbeyarenumerous, bothusefulandpleas- ing. Butthe tacklewindow, alwaysattractive to the passer- by,hascometo

mean

somethingmore. Messrs. Apijleton

&

Litchfield,No. 304Washington street,Bostou,haveinstitu- ted a

new

departureinthe displaytheyopened on themorn- ingofApril1,thebeginningof the trout season.

Theirentire

window

isa scenefromnature. Thereisthe rushing stream, the pool containing live brook, rainbow and Lake Superior trout, with the lakeand the forest be- yond.

Alonesideis alsoan aquarium,inwhichtroutspawn is

shown

in everystage from the time lifebeginsupto the fingeriing.

The

entire

window

isnovelandartistic,and showsagenius inlovewithitscalliug,which must have beenmoulded by themagictouchofthedeparted Prouty.

BASS FLIES.

Editor ForestandStream:

I notice in thisweek's Forest

and Stream

oneof your correspondents seeks informationon the subject of killing bass flips. I havenotfished in Minnesota, butIhave had twenty-five yearsexperience in fly-fishing for black bass, andrarelytakethem anyotherway. Bassare

much

more particularthan trout in taking flies; oftenwhat isgoodin one water provesuselessin another. Iwould adviseyour friend to getoneortwoofeachofthefollowingflies: Bass grizzly, matchwingibis, bass miller, Lord Baltimore, Hol- berton, Whitney,post jungle, St.Patrick,.bumblebee, Gov.

Alvord,Lottie,turkey.

TJseanine-foot siugle leader with any two of theabove

flies,which should be on single gut snells,double atthe head. Castasfar as possibleandlettheflysink wellunder water.

Then move

the flyslowly afoot at a time. Cast neartheshoreorover reefs,always remembering thatbass are veryshyfish,and if yougetnear enough to see

them

theyalso seeyou,andwill refuse the most attractive bait.

Lethimtry these different flies;and findout which is the

mosttaking.

W. Holberton.

New

York,March25.

TROUTING.

IN

_the

^{New York}

^{theseason fortakingbrooktroutopens in}

counties of Queens and Suffolk,which comprise nearlythe wholeof

Long

Island, on April 3, and bythe time this reaches our readers itwill have begun. In all otherparts of ihe Statetheopening dayisone

month

later.

A

^bill allowing fish taken in the counties

named

to be broughtintoother countiesfor use,butnot for sale,is

now

before the Legislature.

On Long

Islandthereispromiseofgoodsport thismonth, because the season has beenearlyandthe trouthavebeen feeding freely for some time. At the different clubs and preservesplaces havebeen engaged,andiftheopening day

is favorable, a great

many

willwet their linesand

many

trout will be taken. Thereismourningat Massapequa, the famouslakeowued byMr. William Floyd-Jones,whereex- PresidentArthur. Francis Eudicott, and'otherfriendshave

literallycast their linesin pleasant places, for thelake has been taken by the citywaterworksof Brooklyn, and will

swarm

with strange

men

of political"inllooence"

who

willget permitsto fishits waters under the windowsof the late owner, whose pride it has been andwhose family have always ownedit since the islaudwassettled. Farewell to the glories of Massapequa, withthelossof itssprings the trout willsoon disappearandgive

way

totheblackbass or otherfish.

The

South SideClubalways hasgoodfishing in itswell-stocked preserves at Oakdale,andthe SuffolkClub

isreadytoentertainitsfriendsatthepondsnear Patchogue.

Allalougthe southside thestreams arealreadymarked by theanglers for awhippinatoday.

In

New

Jersey,Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, andseveral other States, Iheseasonforbrooktroutopensto- day, but in very few of themwill therebe

much

fishing donefora fortnight ormore-

Long

Island,exposedasitis tosea breezes,isalways readyfor fishingbeforethestreams further inlandare. in the Adirondacksthe lakes are still

coveredwith ice,whieh

may

not leavethemallfor five or six weeks yet.and thereisreally little fishing tobedone, therebefore June.

NEW YORK BASS LAW.

TO-DAY

^{Inotice forthefirsttime}

—

simply becauseIhave been obligedtoput

my Forest and Stream

oneside oflate,tobe readatamoreconvenient season

—

^that

Forest and Stream

ofFeb. 25 purportstogivetheprovisionsofthe Hustedbill.

You

have beenled into thesameerror thatwas committed by the Albany Argus, Journal,Express, Troy Times,andadozenother papers.

The

Hustedbill

made

no changeinthe open season for blackbass.

The

season for thisfishopensinLake George andBrantLakeJuly 20,not July13; inSt.Lawrence,LakeErie, etc.,

May

20, not

May

13. Bullheadsfrom Lake George shall not beexposed for salebeforeJuly1,notJuly18. In short, the only change

made

bytheHustedbillistopermit having in possession of salt-water striped bass. In Section 21 the words "fresh water"are inserted intwoinstance beforethewords"striped bass."

The

clause readsthus:

"No

person shall catch,kill or expose for sale,or have in his or herpossession after the samehas beenkilled,any black bassor freshwater striped bassweighing less thanone-half pound or lessthaneight inchesinlengthfrem endof snouttoendof caudal fin. at anytime." Thisclause is thenrepeated,exceptfor"black bass orfresh-waterstriped bass" read "salt-water striped."

Inthe nextclause "fresh water"isinserted before "striped bass,"andagaininSection24 "freshwater" is inserted be- fore "striped bass." 1 wrote an article for a localpaper, quoting the lawas you have it.

Then

followed,inother country papers abouthere, the greatestrubbish of fishlaws thatwereever put onpaper, so that the people wereall at sea.

When

ⁱⁿAlbany I saw the originaldraft of theHusted

billandgota certifiedcopyof thelawfromtheSecretaryof

State. A. N. Cheney.

GlensFalls,March36.

THE SUNAPEE TROUT.

EditorForestandStream

:

Willyouallow

me

aword inregard totheSunapeeLake trout?

The

specimen that I sent to the National

Museum

atWashington, and which wasatfirst pronounceda coin-

mou

brook trout,but is

now

decided tobeagiganticspeci-

men

of Salvelinus of the Oquassa or blue-back type, and identicalwith the little 3-ouuce or 4-ounce blue-back of Rangeley, Me.,isin no

wav

connected withtheplant

made

bythe Commissioners in 1879. These fish are natives of the lake,and were

known

to have beenthere overforty years ago. It isan impossibility that in six years thelittle

Rangvleytrout -would reachaweight of 10 pounds. Sucli a radical change in sizeand habits, merely byits transfer fromthe Rangeleyto the Sunapee waters, would implya deviationfromwell

known

andfixedlawsinnature.

E.B.H.

Plymouth,N.H.,March23.

Editor ForestandStream:

InApril, 1878, the

New

Hampshire Commissionersplanted inSunapee

L

ike3,000fry ofblue-back trout, the eggs hav- ing been obtained from the RangeleyLakes throughthe courtesyof theMaineCommissioners. Itisprobable, there- fore,that the variety of trout recently obtained fromthe lake byMr. E. B. Hodge, and identified by^Dr.Beanas oquassa,isnot indigenous tothose waters,but has beenin- troducedfromtheRaDgeleyLakes. This,itwillberemem- bered, was mentioned a3 their probable source by Mr.

Samuel Webber,lateFishCommissionerof

New

Hampshire.

Washington,D.C, March24.

X.

Largest Rangeley Trout.— A

^letterfromCom. H.O.

Stanley, of Dixficld,Me.,toCom.Stilwell,Nov.19,18S4,con- tains the followiug note which

we

are permittedtocopy:

"In regardto thebig troutyouwantto

know

about, I can- notvouchforthetruth ofit,yetIthinkitiscorrect.

They

were caughtafterIcame away. I

made

arrangements with Frank

Hewy

to take some blue-backs' eggsforme.

He

caughtthe fishwithalargelanding netattachedto a long pole.

He

wasdippingthem from underajamofcedarsbe- lowthe

dam

ontheRangeleystream,and could notseeun- derthejam.

He

firstdippedthe bigfish (afemale). Itwas solarge'that he had the curiositytoweighit. Itweighed 12pounds.

A

few minutes later he dippedamaleof 10£

pounds. Both were ripe fish.

He

putthem backin the poolbelowthe dam. I

am

inclined to believethis, though, ofcourse,Icannotvouchforit.

"

Illegal Fishing.—

We

havetwocomplaintsofillegal fish- ing in the State of

New

York, both relatingtothesame waters.

One

writer charges a State officerwithparticipa- tion inthe

work

ofunlawfully takingfish;butasneitherof thesecorrespondents has complied wilh ourrule ofrequiring

name

andaddresstobe signedtoletters,

we

cannot publish thecomplaints.

We

require this a3 an evidenceofgood faithontheir part, and with nointention ofpublishingtheir namesiftheydesire to use initials or anyother signature,

They

can thussee

why

noattentionispaidto theirquestions andcomplaints.