138 



THE OOLOGIST. 



taxidermist's store and workshop on 

 Thomas street. 



They found 69 partridges, 27 quail 

 and half a dozen pheasants, some of 

 them mounted, and the skins of others 

 ready for mounting. 



Mr. Reed was summoned to appear 

 in Central street Court this morneng 

 on the charge of having game birds in 

 his possession in the close season. 

 The charge of having game birds in 

 possession with intent to sell will also 

 be brought against the defendent. 



The attention of the Massachusetts 

 fish and game commission was direct- 

 ed to Mr. Reed by a New York organi- 

 zation for the protection of birds. The 

 New York society discovered an adver- 

 tisement for quail Mr. Reed is running 

 in the Oologist, published in Albion, 

 N. Y. 



Mr. Reed's explanation is that he is 

 running the advertisement to buy 

 scientific skins of the birds from taxi- 

 dermist's to mount and send to St' 

 Louis to the World's fair, where he is 

 showing a collection. He maintains 

 that he does not buy the game birds . 

 He says he has no knowledge that such 

 a practice is violation of the law, and 

 that if it is he will be glad to learn it. 



The fact that very few people know 

 how to remove the skin of a bird to pre- 

 pare it for mounting, indicates to their 

 minds that the advertisement was not 

 for skins only, they say. 



The deputy commissioners maintain 

 that there should be no distinction be- 

 tween killing game birds out of season 

 for mounting purposes and for the pot. 

 The bird is killed, and it is to protect 

 the bird that they are seeking to stop 

 the practice. 



Judge Utley Rebukes Three Game 

 Wardens. 



"It seems to me that state officers, 

 men appointed as fish and game war- 

 dens ought to know the difference be- 

 tween a crow and a quail or a bluebird 



and a sparrow. I have not the power 

 of appointment in that respect but I 

 think if I did possess that power I 

 would appoint men who knew their 

 business. "There is no case against 

 this man." 



After delivering a stinging rebuke 

 to three deputy fish and game wardens 

 in the central district court this morn- 

 ing Judge Samuel Utley discharged 

 Charles K. Reed, taxidermist at 75 

 Thomas street who was charged with 

 violating the provisions of Sections 2 

 and 3 of Chapter 92 fish and game laws. 



Reed was discharged after a long 

 hearing during which Webster Thayer 

 of Thayer & Cobb argued for him. 

 Jere R. Kane appeared for the govern- 

 ment. During the trial Atty. Thayer 

 remarked that if the defendent had 

 bird skins in his store they were not 

 birds; if a man wore leather shoes they 

 were not cows. 



Deputy fish and game warden John 

 F. Luman of Palmer testified that he 

 and Debuty fish and game wardens A. 

 D. Putnam of Spencer and Dennis F. 

 Shea of Ware visited Reed's store yes- 

 terday afternoon and found specimens 

 of stuffed quail there. Witness said 

 he visited the store Saturday after see- 

 ing an advertisement in which the de- 

 fendant offered to buy quail. He 

 asked Reed why he did not get his 

 quail from breeders and Reed replied 

 that it was now the close season. Wit- 

 ness claimed that men in the store 

 were skinning about 20 quail. The 

 "quail" were imported. French part- 

 ridge which are on sale in the markets 

 all the year. 



Under cross examination the witness 

 admitted that the advertisement was 

 for skinned quail and bobwhites. He 

 said two dozen were advertised for by 

 Reed. 



The law which Reed was charged 

 with violating states that no person 

 shall have game birds in his posses- 

 sion. The defense interpreted the 



