THE OOLOGIST. 



172 



and still agaiD, Oct. 1st. .The game 

 laws of the state were totally revised 

 this year, so that the open season began 

 Oct. 15th to extend to Feb. 15, 1896, 

 and, it was owing to a flaw in the law 

 that Rails were declared legitimate 

 game this year and not the next. To 

 be precise, the season opened after mid- 

 night of Oct. 14th, and many ambitious 

 hunters were on the marshes long be- 

 fore the golden rays of morning pro- 

 claimed the bombardment to follow. 

 I was not one of the lucky ones, for, 

 business in San Francisco demanded 

 my presence, but, I was treated to a 

 sight I never saw before, as the train I 

 was on sped across a small marsh about 

 thirty acres in extent between Oakland 

 and Alameda, where two years ago 

 Rail were thick as $20 pieces: — I count- 

 ed nearly forty persons walking about 

 and sending their dogs into patches of 

 tall "salt grass" and along the banks 

 of numerous small sloughs left half 

 empty by the receding tide. Some of 

 the hunters, I heard, bagged ten and 

 twelve Rail apiece, and well they might 

 for thick as bees around a hive, some 

 one would drop the flushed bird if the 

 last one didn't. On the marshes back 

 of Alameda where boats are necessary, 

 bags of fifteen to forty wei'e about the 

 average for a few hours sport. Every- 

 one who could aft'ord the time, school 

 boy, city ofiicials, sportsmen and pot- 

 hunters were out in full force, and the 

 reckless and unchecked slaughter has 

 continued, so that now, Oct. 25th. only 

 a very anxious mortal will try his luck, 

 and, it is safe to say that in another 

 week not a Rail will be found. 



The yacht -'Emerald" with Mr. E. K. 

 Taylor (brother of the man who sends 

 us our Nid.) and party of friends from 

 Alameda on board cruised along the 

 San Mateo shores for two days and the 

 daily papers reported this crew had 

 bagged 400 Rail. My doubts were dis- 

 pelled when the jolly crew returned, 

 and although I did not see all the game 



I had their word for it, and, the town 

 ate nothing but Rail for the next two 

 days. San Mateo county "produces" 

 more Rail than any in the state. Mr. 

 Taylor shot two rare Black Rail {Por- 

 zana Jamaicensis) which, unfortunate- 

 ly wei'e lost. 



Oct. 20th being Sunday, I resolved to 

 take advantage of my first opportunity 

 in three years to bag a few Rail. 1 did 

 not start to row across the wide slough 

 to Bay Farm Island Marsh until ten 

 o'clock as a flood tide was due at half 

 past one. Rain began to fall and don- 

 ning the rubber coat borrowed from 

 the boat-keeper I spent two hours and 

 a half rowing up and down the small 

 sloughs and sending the dog into likely 

 looking patches of salt grass and bush- 

 es on higher j)laces. The tide had 

 risen and the marsh was covered by 

 half a foot of water with a few high ex- 

 posed places. From one of these the 

 first bird noted was flushed and brought 

 down. Then the fun began! I had 

 found a good location and put up a 

 bird every few minutes for two hours, 

 when, becoming alarmed at the rapid 

 falling of the tide I set out for the near- 

 est good sized slough, shoving along 

 through little tortuous channels and the 

 last forty feet was a case of get out and 

 push the boat across the short, curly 

 "marsh gi'ass" into a slough deep 

 enough to float it. I found the 

 birds very much wilder and scarcer 

 than reported but managed to bag 

 eight. I swapped all that had broken 

 limbs and shot holes in the heads with 

 a sportsman who wanted his ''to eat" 

 not "to skin." Seven of them were fe- 

 males, one of which was immature in 

 size and plumage, showing it was 

 hatched late in the season. The males 

 appear larger and stouter and perhaps 

 darker on the breast and underparts. 

 One hunter shot a partly albino; the 

 white predominating, on the neck, 

 wings and back in large patches. He 

 would not swap it, give it away or sell 



