1917 GAME AND FISHERIES. 11 



SiMCOE, Ontario, 30th Oct., 1916. 

 D. McDonald, Esq., 



Acting Deputy Minister of Game and Fisheries, Toronto, Ontario. 



Sir, — I have the honour to submit my report for 1916. 



Speckled Trout : These fish are decreasing in the streams of this district, and 

 I would advise more fry being planted in the future so as to keep up the supply, 

 as the brooks of the County of Norfolk are particularly well adapted for the pro- 

 pagation of this game fish. 



Bass : The bass fishing at Long Point Bay has been the best for a number of 

 years, and the size is still increasing every year. 



Commercial Fish: The fishermen report that the gill net fishing has been 

 good. The seines have been successful. The experiments with the carp ponds 

 continue to be successful, the fishermen being able to catch the carp when they are 

 plentiful and at low price and preserve them in the pond until the fish are scarce 

 and the price high. The carp in Long Point Bay have very much increased in 

 number and the price during the year has been much higher than ever before, so that 

 this coarse fish is now one of the best paying commercial fish. 



Quail and Ruffed Grouse: The quail are still very scarce in this district, the 

 number being practically the same as last report. Ruffed grouse are very scarce 

 and are decreasing in number more than they have for a number of years. 



Woodcock : These are still very scarce, but are reported to be slowly increasing 

 in number. 



Black Squirrels: There has been a decided increase in number of these 

 squirrels. The sportsmen attribute this to the short season that they are allowed to 

 be shot. 



Wild Geese: These birds continue to be very scarce, although a few are seen 

 at Long Point. 



Wild Ducks : Long Point district continues to have more ducks than formerly. 

 The black duck, mallard and pin tail are very numerous, an increased number of 

 black duck and wood ducks have bred in the marshes about Long Point Bay, and 

 it has been reported that some young broods of pin tail ducks were seen. The 

 canvasbacks, redhead and blue bills seem to be here in about as large numbers as 

 usual. 



Fur-bearing Animals: Muskrats continue to rate the highest among these 

 animals in this district. Trappers report a very good catch last spring. This is 

 attributed to the fact that some of the companies and others owning marshes 

 prohibited the trapping in their marshes during the previous season, leaving a 

 larger breeding herd than usual in the marshes. 



The game laws in this district have been well observed, the Deputy Wardens 

 and Overseers have performed their duties well, so that there have been very few 

 complaints of the infringement of the laws. 



I have the honour to be. Sir, 



Your obedient servant. 



. W. BUBT, 



Game and Fisheries Warden. 



