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THE CANADIAN SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST. 



Cat-fish in various ways, bufrthe perfect mode 

 of obtaining the flavour of the common Cat- 

 fish is to pot them ; they "constitute the best 

 fresh-water fish on this continent for potting, 

 and their flavour is not tar removed from 

 Salmon. We rely therefore on the gist of our 

 remarks being looked into ; that we may see 

 the Sardine of the Lower St. Lawrence put up 

 in genuine olive oil ; the pretty Caplin sold by 

 our grocers, as sun-cooked fish, and the Cat- 

 fishes of our fresh waters potted in such style 

 that the strong prejudice formerly held against 

 them may be forever removed. — C. 



THE QUEBEC GAME LAWS. 



It is strange, after the many changes or 

 alterations made in the Game Laws since they 

 were first framed for this portion of the 

 Dominion, that they are now imperfect. The 

 Commissioner of Crown Lands has adopted an 

 ornithological nomenclature peculiarly his 

 own, as we cannot determine his " Sand-lark," 

 and question if any one else can. Suffice to 

 say that no bird of the name is known on this 

 Continent. Section 5 of the Act is a perfect 

 jumble, for we find the Grakles, Grosbeaks 

 and Cow-bunting classed as insectivorous, 

 while the (wax-wings) Cedar-bird is ordered to 

 be destroyed. The Sparrow, which we 

 suppose to mean the introduced European 

 species is classed as an insect-eating bird, 

 merely by chance because it has changed 

 much of its old country habits in this climate. 

 Only the other day, a motion was made by 

 one of our Montreal City fathers devising 

 means to destroy the House Sparrows, which 

 are said to be a nuisance. But the mover and 

 seconder of the idea forgot that an Act was 

 passed by the Quebec Legislature protecting 

 the Sparrow, and as soon as they gave the 

 order to the Road Committee and they com- 

 menced to destroy them, Inspector Gailey 

 could pounce upon these gentlemen, when 

 according to law, they would be fined or go to 

 jail. In connection with Section 5, a paragraph 

 occurs which appears to us to have been 

 placed there as a joke, as we cannot see what 

 "poultry" or domestic fowl have to do with 



the wild birds of the forest ; however he who 

 shoots a barn-yard fowl to bag it instead of a 

 Whip-poor-will is a knave when he pleads 

 ignorance of difference between the two birds. 

 To show the confusion in this Game Law, it 

 says that " it is forbidden to hunt or take (a) 

 any Partridge between the first day of January 

 and the fifteenth of September in each year;" 

 and (b) any Grouse rr Ptarmigan between the 

 first of February and the first of September in 

 each year." The poorest tyro sportsman in 

 Canada possesses some knowledge of the birds 

 classed as game, and when the Ruffed Grouse 

 is called a Partridge, he knows that the name 

 is vulgarly used. Suffice to say that we have 

 no Partridge in Canada, (unless they have 

 been lately introduced from Europe or some 

 other country without our knowledge). The 

 birds of this class called game — i.e., the 

 Ruffed Grouse, Spruce Grouse and Ptarmigan 

 are true American representatives of forms 

 known to ornithologists as Grouse. Now, as 

 stated above, a man may shoot Ruffed Grouse 

 on the 16th of September and in accordance 

 with the correct nomenclature of the bird, 

 backed by scientific evidence, he can defy any 

 Provincial Magistrate to fine him for doing so. 

 We are displeased with this amended Game 

 Law, and the hurried manner in which it was 

 passed to the Statute-book. The matter 

 should have been placed in the hands ot a 

 competent naturalist — one who professes to 

 know something of the animals referred to; — 

 A course of this kind would avoid criticism 

 and the Statute would not then be paradoxical 

 to legal men or magistrates. We wish some 

 of our sportsmen would give us their opinions 

 on these Game Laws; our object being to 

 arrive at their correct framing. — C. 



THE SAW-WHET OWL. 



The melanic form of this little owl is rare. 

 A beautiful specimen was sent to us on the 

 21st inst. from Ontario. In days of yore, the 

 variety was not properly known, its dark 

 colouring would at that time lead an ornitholo- 

 gist to describe it as a new species. A want 

 of knowledge of this bird led to the description 

 of the White-fronted or Kirtland's owl, but now 

 it is known that we have only two distinct 

 species of small northern owls — i.e., Richard- 

 son's and the Saw-whet, both of which appear 

 in distinct dresses during summer and winter. 

 — C. 



