The Board of Aldermen were apparently filled with good intentions, and went so far as to lay down in Madison Avenue, from Twenty-third to Thirty-second Street, a pavement which seems calculated to fill every wheelman’s heart with joy. This pavement is not the ordinary asphalt used for streets, but has an admixture of sand, which prevents extreme slipperiness. So far so good; but there remains the long stretch from Thirty-second to Fifty-ninth Street, over which no wheelman dare attempt to ride, and so many a man who pines for the refreshing run of an hour or so on his wheel is deterred by the thoughts of those trips on the cars and the other attendant discomforts. Surely the Board of Aldermen will take pity on such a good (and influential) class of citizens, and shortly remedy this real and considerable grievance.
A MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS.
AT the present time, when the inevitable effect of the actions of so-called “trout-hogs,” dynamitards, and pot-hunters is evoking so much attention, the report that on August 30 Lord Walsingham killed in one day to his own gun, 1,058 head of grouse, on his small moor at Blubberhouse, Yorkshire, has attracted no slight attention. The feat, if such it can be called, was undertaken with a view to eclipsing the former record made by Lord Walsingham in 1872 of 842 head, on which performance no great reliance has ever been placed. The new and gigantic record is, however, undoubtedly authentic. The bag was made between 5.15 A. M. and 7.30 P. M. and twenty “drives” were made, which occupied seven hours and a half. During the last half hour (i. e., from 7 to 7.30) fourteen birds were killed, during the walk home, and by deducting these it is found that 1,044 were killed in 449 minutes, or nearly 21⁄3 birds per minute. Once three birds were killed at one shot, and three times two birds at one shot. Lord Walsingham was the only person to fire, and used four guns, and employed two loaders. In this particular case, so far was the ground from being completely “shot out” that the reports say that two guns could readily get from 150 to 200 brace per day for two or three days during the next week over the same ground.
A BELLED BUCK.
THE New York Sun recently published a letter from Alex. Moss, of Madoc, Miss. Mr. Moss writes: “A day or two ago I killed a deer, a buck, the largest ever seen in this country; gross weight, 347 pounds. The horns three inches from the head were 13⁄4 in. in diameter. There were six points on one horn and seven on the other—thirteen points. Around the neck of the deer was a bell attached to a wire rope. On the inside of the bell was plainly engraved: ‘J. S. Dunn, Lansing, Mich. June (or Jan.), 1881.’ The wire rope had been spliced in sailor fashion, and was no doubt done before it was put on the deer, and allowances made for the neck growing. There was but a small portion of the material of which the rope was made left, save the wire. It was very tight around the deer’s neck, and the hair was white where the rope touched. The bell had no clapper, and was made of brass and copper.”
A DRINK FOR CYCLISTS.
A WRITER in the Bicycling World calls attention to a well-known injurious habit of wheelmen, as follows:
“The pernicious habit of imbibing large quantities of water at every stopping-place, so common among inexperienced wheelmen, not only aggravates the thirst, but, by promoting excessive perspiration, exhausts the rider. It is the perspiration that evaporates as fast as it appears, and not that which runs off the skin, that diminished the heat of the body. If the rider resists this desire to drink, the water for perspiration is taken from the fat—which is the dead weight—and he is benefited by the decrease in his avoirdupois.”
While the fault and result are very much as outlined above, the writer has failed to point out any remedy. A certain amount of liquid to assuage thirst must be taken by riders, and at the same time nourishment and mild stimulation are often essential. A harmless and satisfactory combination of all these may be secured by adding to a glass of milk a tablespoonful of Jamaica rum, and nothing but beneficial results will be secured, even if used in excess of moderation.