The Canadian Spopp Ai\d Natural! 



No. 5. 



MONTR KAL, MAY, 1882. 



WILLIAM COUPER, Editor. 



THE GAME LAWS OF THE PROVINCE 

 OF QUEBEC. 



A NATURAL HISTORY REVIEW. 



It is notorious that for many years past 

 Game Laws have been in force in the Province 

 of Quebec ; that these laws were repeatedly 

 amended and even at this instant they are 

 imperfect; that on all former occasions the 

 alterations sought for were brought forward 

 by parties who knew very little of the Natural 

 History of the animals which are said to occur 

 in the Province. In the Bill now before. the 

 Legislature of Quebec there is the heading 

 Moose, Deer, Elk, Caribou. Now, to make 

 the matter plain, the word deer includes all 

 which are hunted for venison. We have 

 in this Province, four species of deer,, viz. : 

 the Elk, commonly called and known as 

 Moose ; two of Caribou and the Virginian Deer. 

 These quadrupeds are invariably confined to 

 certain localities, each having ranges of various 

 extent. For instance the Virginian Deer has 

 not a wide range in Quebec, and it may be 

 now accidental in places where it was former]}' 

 abundant. The cutting down of forests 

 accounts, in a great measure, for its disap- 

 pearance. The Elk or Moose is also similarly 

 situated, because its chief food consists of 

 moosewood and aquatic plants ; it is also ex- 

 tremely fond of mountainous regions, especially 

 where there are lakes, which are not frequent- 

 ly visited by man. The deer known as Caribou 

 of which we have two species, are generally 

 confined to high latitudes, and it is only during 

 winter that man can approach them. To 

 make the Game Laws perfect, these animals 

 should be indicated in the Act, by placing the 

 scientific after the local name of each species — 

 as Elk or Moose, (Cervus alces) ; Woodland 

 Caribou, (Rangifer tarandus) ; Barren-ground 



Caribou, {Rangifer Gra nlan 

 Virginian Deer, (Cervu Virgin 

 would make the law definite with 



these animal-. Confllflion will 



from this nomenclature when 1 in a 



manner to be clearly aodi 



ing people of the Provina , I 



inhabitants of the United 9 



in some matters of this nature, they will call 



animals by wrong name-, for h . - 



deer or Wapiti (C<, 



Rocky Mountains, if) vulgarly named Blk,while 



the latter is the animal we call M 



and which is scarce near the Rockies. ! 



French and English copies of the Act, the 



word Pekan occurs. Now . surely, it tin- framer 



of this Bill went to any trouble, be would 



discovered that this is the animal commi 



called Fisher by English people, V< 



Canadensis of naturalists, and not the WILD 



cat (Chat sauvage). Well, what animal i 



we here? We are told that it is the Racoon ("f 



uncommon occurrence in this Province). 



There is another common animal called I. 



(L. Canadensis) which is also called wild 



by country people, and although there - 



true wild cat found in the Province 1 



it occurs in Ontario. As for tfuskrat, there 



is no greater nuisance among the quadru] 



of this country. It burrows under the banks 



of rivers, making numerous holes whereby 



the fertile lands of the farmer (especially if a 



stream is overflowed in Spring), are d 



however, if all parties are satisfied with the 



protection of this animal. WE are. 



Regarding the feathered game, no bird called 

 Partridge exists in this latitude. Then 

 five species of Grouse occurring in the Pro- 

 vince — i. e. the Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa urn- 

 bell us), Sharp-tailed Grouse (Tetrao ;>< 

 cetes), rare in the valley of Lake St. John, 

 Upper Saguenay ; Spruce Grouse (T. Cona- 



