1*M)(> GAME COMMISSION. 



hunting or killing any species of game. Mr. T. S. Palmer of Washington, refer- 

 ring to the above, says : "The destruction which an army of 26,000 hunters 

 roaming at will over any State or Province might bring about is beyond com- 

 putation. In the absenee of game laws these persons would be free to hunt dur- 

 ing every month of the year, to shoot game throughout the breeding season, to 

 break up nests, kill song and insectivorous birds, destroy eggs, and net or trap 

 desirable species to the point of extermination. " The tendency of the respective 

 game laws has been to restrict hunting by shortening the open seasons to some 

 extent commensurate with increased modern destructive methods. That this is 

 wise policy cannot be' denied. It is time the* issuing of hunting permits to 

 settlers in organized territory was abolished. Many of the sett'ers or farmers in 

 the exempted districts have better farms and are in better circumstances than 

 many of the farmers who have to buy licenses. The reasons for granting such 

 permits in 1896 no longer prevails. The northern portion of our Province is 

 becoming noted as one of the best health and pleasure resorts on the Continent. 



The foreign tourists who annually visit our northern resorts, large as the 

 numbers are, will increase tenfold in a few years, if the attractions remain, 

 namely an abundant supply of game and fish. To ensure this, the Indian and 

 settler problem in unorganized territory will have to be solved in the near future. 

 Many of the» Indians and so-called settlers are more destructive to game and tish 

 in the unorganized districts than all the wolves in the Province. Like the 

 wolves they recognize no close seasons, of ten killing moose and deer for the hides 

 alone, leaving the meat to rot in the woods. A man having business at the head 

 of Lake Nepigon three years ago, in the fall of the year, on his return reported 

 having seen the far-famed Nepigon trout piled up like cordwood for the purpose 

 of feeding dogs during the winter. Employment can now be procured in nearly 

 all parts of the Province by those who want to work. Such vandals should be 

 made to either work or starve, and not be allowed to lead lazy loafing lives, 

 destroying valuable assets of the Province with impunity. 



Ducks. 



Ducks appeared to be as numerous as .usual in the early open season, but 

 left earlier than usual. For this reason the late shooting was not satisfactory. 



Ruffled grouse, or partridge, were very scarce in the northern portion of the 

 Province, largely due to the light snowfall during the winter of 1905-1906, and 

 what little snow there was being badly crusted. During severe or extremely 

 cold weather, partridge spend the nights in the snow. Many were found dead 

 on the crusted snow, being deprived of their usual winter covering. It would 

 be unwise and of no avail to have a close season prohibiting shooting of part- 

 ridges by sportsmen, while allowing Indians and settlers to continue their usual 

 unreasoning slaughter of these grand and prolific game birds. 



Quail. 



It is a pleasure for me to report that to a large extent, owing to two close 

 seasons and our efforts in re-stocking, quail during the late open season were 

 more numerous than could be reasonably expected. -That fine sportsman, Mr. 

 Marshall Graydon of London, kindly consented to take charge of the purchasing 

 and distributing of the quail in the most desirable localities, which his long and 

 valuable experience in re-stocking enabled him to do successfully, I desire to 

 draw the attention and enlist the sympathy of all true sportsmen on behalf of 

 these useful and handsome little game birds, so dear to the hearts of all genuine 

 sportsmen. Sportsmanship and butchery are not synonymous terms. Butchery 



