1909 GAME AND FISHERIES. 46 



the Cooley pond seems to be practically exhausted. As far as game is concerned, 

 there are a few grouse and partridge, but they are scarce: rabbits are very plen- 

 tiful. Muskrats are doing much damage to miU dams, being exceedingly num- 

 erous. Squirrels seem to be plentiful. ^ As far as violations are concerned, he has 

 none to report. He has investigated every point periodically, and when around 

 could find no cause for complaint. 



Overseer Newton Langford, of Dorset, reports that last season the number of 

 fishing parties were more than usual, but the fishing was fairly good. They are 

 getting things in very good shape there now. In many small lakes the fish are 

 becoming more plentiful and in a few years they will have better fishing all over 

 this part. They have a few outlaws there that are hard to catch. 



Overseer Wellington Lean, of Apsley, reports that he has visited lakes and 

 portions of country where game may be found in his district at different times 

 during the year, and found no illegal fishing or hunting. Fishing was not as 

 good in his district as in former years. Bass were very scarce, especially in Loon 

 Lake, He would like to again call attention to the stocking of Crab and Wolfe 

 Lakes with bass and trout. These lakes would make admirable summer^ resorts, 

 and thus open up new fields for tourists and sportsmen. 



Partridge are very plentiful this fall, and very few are being killed, so in a 

 short time they will be as numerous as in former years. Deer are getting very 

 scarce here. He has been through the woods a number of times this summer and 

 has. seen only a few tracks or other signs of them being around. 



Beaver are getting quite numerous around some of the lakes. He found two 

 traps which he thought were set for beaver; these he took and reported to the 

 Department, and he has the traps yet. 



Overseer J. R. McAllister, of Gore's Landing, reports that the fishing has been 

 very poor for some reason; in fact, there were not half the number of maskinonge 

 taken this year that was taken last year, and none of the old. fishermen can ac- 

 count for it, as the fish are quite plentiful. 



The law has been well observed in Eice Lake, but he understands that there 

 has been some bad poachers at work up the Otonabee Eiver and the harm is done 

 mostly by people from Peterboro with gill nets. He got one gill net in Otonabee 

 River, but he did not know who set it. 



Ducks are quite plentiful and he has not seen or heaid of any person killing 

 any game or fur-bearing animals out of season. But he is sorry to say that those 

 who call themselves duck hunters and sports, are building blinds and shooting- 

 over decoys out of same, not on his division, but on the north side of Rice Lake 

 east of Hiawatha, in all the rice beds. He was down the lake yesterday and he 

 destroyed two blinds, one was half a mile, and the other a -quarter of a mile from 

 the shore. None of the overseers there try to stop this, so he is told, and those 

 who keep within the law come to him and want him to go on this other over- 

 seer's division and try and have some of* the offenders fined ;" it makes it very dis- 

 agreeable for him. He wishes that catching frogs in the rice beds by those large 

 lamps ^as stopped. He saw two of these going up and down the rice bed on 

 Monday night the 1st of November, and they are every night at this time of the 

 year. It drives the ducks all away, so that they cannot feed at night in the rice 

 beds, where they always want to feed at night. 



