1911 GAME AND FISHERIES. 11 



be able to supply these lakes with a great number of bass from your Brantf ord 

 pond's, the success of these ponds being now assured, and when the series of ponds 

 now being built are finished, you should be in a position to fill all demands. 



I was pleased to learn that the muscalonge catch was extra good' this year, 

 especially in Lake Couchiching, no doubt due to the extra protection provided last 

 spring, and the careful patrol of the steamer " Xaiad" during the whole season. 



The laws and regulations governing both commercial fishing and angling 

 have been fairly well observed, and your officers have been diligent and faithful 

 in the discharge of their duties. A few fines have been imposed for infractions, 

 but there will always be some who are willing to take a chance, but not often the 

 same one the second time — one lesson seems to be enough. 



Some of your officers are handicapped by not having boats suitable for the 

 purpose of patrolling their divisions. In this connection I wish again to call your 

 attention to the need of a boat on Lake Superior. From Sault Ste. Marie to Port 

 Arthur there is no way to protect the shore of this lake except by boat, one that 

 would be on duty the whole of the season; not a large boat, but one that would be 

 safe and could get into the smaller harbours. The streams coming into this lake 

 are the home of the brook trout, and deserve more attention than they have re- 

 ceived in the past, and it can only be done by providing a suitable boat. 



Game. 



"We have not had full returns of the number of deer and moose killed this 

 season, but they are reported as being plentiful. Partridge very plentiful, the 

 close season of two years, and the favourable winters coming together, producing 

 this result. Is it not time some limit should be placed on the number of these 

 birds that should fall to one gun? We hear of one man getting sixty-eight in one 

 day; another kills over two hundred during the season, and was not out the whole 

 of it, either. It is a shame to preserve these birds for two years, and then have 

 them slaughtered like this. A limited number each day, or a limit for the season,' 

 would be an improvement. I know it would be difficult to enforce, but all these 

 things help some. We know the limit helps in bass and muscalonge fishing, and 

 why not in this? 



From a great many of your officers I hear as to the difficulty they have where 

 the open season for two kinds of game frequenting the same grounds or waters are 

 not alike; for instance, the open season for snipe and other shore birds opens on 

 the Ist September, and that for ducks on the 15th of the same month. The tempta-' 

 tion must be great to a hunter if many ducks are around during that fifteen days, 

 and of course your officers cannot object to guns being carried in places frequented 

 by both kinds of bir^s. 



Trappers. 



I strongly recommend that all trappers, either resident or non-resident, be 

 compelled to take out a license. This would not only be a source of revenue, but 

 would also be a protection against poachers. Every licensed trapper would be in- 

 clined to see that no illegal work was done, and in these times of high prices for 

 all kinds of furs a small fee will not be a hardship, in fact a great many trappers 

 would be glad to have one imposed. It would also be well to furnish each license 

 holder with a blank on which to make returns of his catch ; you would then know 

 something about the value of this business. I am told of a man and boy who sold 



