174 



THE CANADIAN SPOliTSMAN AND NATURALIST. 



winter in Europe. They should certainly pay 

 for the privilege of squatting on our territory, 

 and carrying off the best fish to foreign 

 markets. As for the labour and system of 

 pay the fisherman is ground down, doubtless, 

 under a contract of dependence ; his work 

 from day to day is merely chance, and in 

 many instances after the season is over, he 

 finds himself in his employer's debt. This 

 system of slavery should not be allowed; it is 

 now time to expose it, and I trust that some 

 philautrophist will take up this matter in the 

 interest of the poor fellows who toil on the sea 

 risking their lives for a mere existence. This 

 disgraceful system of sweating the Canadian 

 deap-sea fishermen should be thorough/ ex- 

 plained at the approaching International Fish- 

 eries Exhibition in London. A subject of this 

 nature comes under class II, " Economic con- 

 dition of Fishermen," section 4, " Contracts 

 of Partnerships." The Committee offer a 

 prize for the best essay on fishing industries, 

 and as the matter is of great interest to Canada, 

 some one should attempt it. — C. 



DEPARTMENTAL BLUNDERS. 



A New Brunswick Inspector of Fisheries 

 has brought the Government into trouble 

 by interfering with riparian rights. It ap- 

 pears that the Department at Ottawa in its 

 efforts to enforce an order-in-council in direct 

 opposition to the second section of the Fish- 

 eries Act and in defiance of the judgment of 

 the Supreme Court of New Brunswick, which 

 has recently been confirmed by the Court of 

 Appeal at Ottawa, ordered this Inspector to 

 follow out their instructions. The first suit 

 was that of Spurr vs. Venning, which we 

 believe went to appeal. Three suits have 

 since gone against the Department, viz., J. H. 

 Phair, Esq., of Fredericton vs. the Inspector 

 of Fisheries, for seizing his fishing tackle ; 

 Mr. Phair's damages amount to $511. The 

 second suit was brought against the same 

 officer for the same action, by Judge Stead- 

 man, and resulted in a verdict for damages 

 to the extent of $3,000. The third suit was 

 brought by Mr. Hanson, of the Crown Lands 

 Office, against the same officer for a similar 

 seizure, and a verdict was given for $1,000 



damages. . In all the Department will have to 

 pay $5,731 for ordering an officer to carry out 

 the instructions of the Government. The 

 above does not include the costs. All this 

 through ill-considered instructions submitted 

 by the Minister at a meeting of Council from 

 whence the order emanated. — C. 



ORNITHOLOGICAL QUERIES. 



Young Pigeon Hawks (Hypofriorchis col- 

 umbarius, Gr.) were abundant in the Province 

 of Quebec this year. Can any of our eoi- 

 respondents give us additional information 

 regarding the nidification of this species? 



A Whip-poor-will (Antroslomus vociferus, 

 Bonaparte) was shot lately by W. H. Eintoul, 

 Esq., on the south side of the St. Lawrence, 

 not far from the river. It is in this year's 

 plumage, indicating that it was bred not far 

 from the Island of Montreal. Have the notes 

 of the Whip-poor-will been heard on the 

 Island? 



Can any of our readers give us the chemical 

 composition of the saliva used by the Chim- 

 ney Swallow to build its nest? Why does 

 this Swallow prefer breaking off dead twigs 

 from a tree by force of flight in preference to 

 selecting the same kind of branches which 

 have fallen to the ground ? 



We notice the Purple Martin (Progne pur- 

 purea Boie.) every summer in the neighbor- 

 hood of Montreal. Can any person inform us 

 if they nest on the Island ? 



How far east in Ontario has the nest of the 

 Ground Robin or Towhee Bunting beer 

 found ? 



Did anyone discover the nest of the 

 Western Grebe (Podiceps occidentalis, Lawr. 

 nesting in the Province of Quebec ? The 

 young birds are shot sometimes near Montrea 

 in the fall.— C. 



• NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 



BY THE EDITOR. 



Mr. F. B. Caulfield, a member of the 

 Montreal Branch of the Entomological Society 

 of Ontario, obtained the prize at the late 

 Montreal Exhibition for a collection of insects 

 methodical ly arranged, illustrating the native 

 species injurious to vegetation. 



One important omission, probably not 

 thought of, at the late election of officers of 

 the Province of Quebec Forestry Association 



