1912 AND FISHEKIES COMMISSION. 225 



Ontario. Mr. Miner is no game-hog, and when in the spring of 1908 

 eleven wild geese settled on a little pond in the vicinity of his house and 

 joined the flock of 16 tame birds that lived on it and on another little 

 pond immediately in front of his house, he refrained from disturbing 

 them and prevented others from doing so also. The birds soon became 

 accustomed to their surroundings, and even though Mr. Miner subse- 

 quently shot five of the eleven wild birds, the remainder came back and 

 joined the tame flock on the pond in front of the house, where they 

 stayed until May 15th, when tlie^^ migrated north. On March 20th, 

 1909, 32 wild geese arrived and settled on these little exposed ponds, 

 where they were accorded the same treatment as in the previous year, and 

 though on this occasion Mr. Miner shot 12 of them on April 10th, the 

 remaining 20 stayed on until they took to wing on their way to the north 

 lands on May 1st. On March 4th, 1910, 30 wild geese arrived, and from 

 that date on the flock continued increasing until some 250 or 300 wild 

 geese were assembled on the two ponds. Mr. Miner allowed 36 to be 

 shot, but the balance as before did not abandon the ponds on that 

 account, but remained on until the time arrived for the northward 

 migration. The accompanying illustrations well indicate the exposed 

 nature of the pond immediately in front of the house, and it is exceed- 

 ingly doubtful whether such photographs of this exceedingly wild bird 

 have ever before been taken. The facts, however, that the birds were will- 

 ing to live in such a public and exposed place for several weeks on end and 

 to become so used to the presence of human beings, as the photographs 

 prove them to have been, clearly indicate what the result would be, not 

 only to the numbers of wild geese, but to those of other waterfowl and 

 game birds, if the great bulk of the shootists were as good sportsmen as 

 Mr. Jack Miner, of Kingsville, and confined their annual slaughter to 

 the bounds of reason. 



The open season for pheasants, which was declared during the past 

 year, resulted apparently in the satisfactory discovery that the birds 

 were more plentiful than had been supposed, and most excellent sport 

 would appear to have been enjoyed. Sufficient time, however, has not 

 yet elapsed to enable a determination to be arrived at in regard to the 

 advisability of repeating the experiment of an open season during 1911. 

 Careful investigations should be made on this point by the proper 

 authorities, for the pheasants in some localities have become so well 

 acclimatized and are thriving to such an extent that it would be a 

 grievous mistake to allow their numbers to become unduly diminisihed. 

 The question, also, as to the shooting of hen birds merits consideration. 

 The past season was very properly only open to cock birds, and this 

 restriction would, on the whole, seem to have been fairly well observed. 

 Moreover, it Avould appear to liave won the approbation of many sports- 

 men, as the hens were apparently so easy to find that it would have been 

 a simple matter to have killed great numbers of them. It is to be noted, 

 hov/ever, that to maintain good stock, the percentage of cocks to hens 



