40 THE REPOET UPON No. 14 



Kent 'County. 



Overseer John Grotty, of Bothwell, reports there was a decrease in the number 

 of fish caught owing to the water being high in the river late in the season. 

 Another reason may be found in the fact that the farmers are using nets for 

 domestic purposes and local consumption only, not being allowed 'to export any, 

 and that, therefore, the regular fishermen have given up the business. 



Game birds are becoming scarce and consist of only a few partridge and wood- 

 cock and some scattered bevies of quail, to which the protection of this year will 

 be beneficial. 



Muskrats are the only fur-bearing animals in this disitrict, and there are 

 only a few of them. 



Overseer John Featherston, of Renwich, reports that fishing during the last 

 year on the whole was not up to the average, either for tugs with gill nets or for 

 pound nets. The catch of whitefish was good and some excellent fish of a very 

 large size were taken especially in the vicinity of Wheatley. The catch of blue 

 pickerel was very large, probably double the number of pounds 'taken any year 

 before. Herring fishing has fallen off very much. He has consulted several of the 

 oldest and most experienced fishermen but they seem to be unable to give any 

 reason for the decrease. Some say it is just an off year and in all probability the 

 catch next season will be well up to the average. All other less important varieties 

 of fish seem to be well up to the usual standard and of good quality. 



Game is slightly on the increase. The Hungarian partridge sent to him by 

 the Department in furtherance of an effort to stock his territory are doing well and 

 have increased in number. He thinks they are well adapted to the Country. 



Quail and squirrels are also more numerous than they have been for years. 



Overseer Richard Little, of WaUacehurg, reports that angling for bass was 

 excellent and other game fish were fairly plentiful. 'Commercial fishing was as 

 good, if not better than in 1913, especially for carp. The latter fish is in great 

 demand among the Hebrews and the market for it is growing rapidly, between 

 seven and eight hundred boxes of carp having been shipped from Mitchell's Bay 

 to Toronto besides quite a large quantity shipped to Montreal during last year. 



Marsh and lake ducks were very plentiful. He would strongly recommend 

 that the season for ducks and other water fowl such as snipe, rail, plover and all 

 other birds known as shore birds, should open on the first day of October instead 

 of the fifteenth day of September as at present. 



He would also recommend that the Game Law be eo amended that the shooting 

 of ducks more than two hundred yards from shore line be prohibited. Somie 

 ' hunters in his district go out into the open water in small boats and stir up and 

 shoot into large flocks of ducks. Such flocks are thus scattered and driven off 

 their feeding grounds with little benefit to the shooter who merely puts them in 

 flight and drives them away from their usual haunts. 



Overseer James McVittie, of Blenheim, reports that the fall season for 1913 

 was good, large catches of herring being reported but not many whitefish, though 

 as those waters are not considered whitefish grounds they do not look for many. 

 Carp fishing was light. 



The spring fishing for 1914 was poor and the summer fishing light. The run 

 of herring that the fishermen usually get did not come at all. The prices were 



