[Jtok 33, 1881. 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



407 



brand, was then sung by the glee, club of that gun club as- 

 sisted by lhe Fountain Glee Club, and was received with 

 marked favor by the assembled spoilsmen, who indeed from 

 the first had manifested a good-natured tendency to applaud 

 everything that was offered for their entertainment. En- 

 cores were the older of the evening. 



Mr. Wm. E. Mac Masters, of the Albany Arms and lhe 

 Philadelphia Press read the following poem which he had 

 written for the occasion: 



FIELD SPORTS. 

 a. I'oeto of Greeting-: 



I 'mm flrta :- same ( ou.o 'a [-.land'-, a ...laud, 

 From the old -'North Wood,'' to the "Southern Tier,'' 



Eere where the Atlantic laves our native land, 

 Agalnouvcoiin.su slftnall/.e l lie year. 



la mliflic 



With ej 



You'll wli 



l.tkr lhe bold cloni- 

 Where every phn 



Here at her Uiruslu 

 New York gives ' 



While Held mid v.ood ie-jdhd lhe flying war. 



\\ III, ', :'UT,i mull .CI 111 eoLlOes-.rojm l.'JI'l 



Till vale and forest repeat the loud refrain 



While Lhe warm scent draws on Hie deep mouthed train. 



Where mounts 



In and forest 





gled glen. 



interfere with 



our dogs 



Where the um 



i odden acres 



i it ■ eean 



ire spread. 



And the birds 



.re still waiting 



( mi- delate C 



:iead! 



Mile our' whal 



a magle 



TUattounoM 





01 full-bloodec 





Whose Instil 





They dash on 





Until the wa 





Unerringly lea 





irk" them, de.id | 



When summer's o'er tnxl autumn mild succeeds, 

 And quail or pnrtridee en rue heather feeds ; 

 ' Before his lord the seller then should go, 

 And heat the cover carefully and slow. 



When I be days shorten and the nights grow ehlfl. 



And softer llghi doth rest on vale and hill, 



The sportsman then will change ins hunting ground 



!>'": re,.,;-, and :■,-,, e i si.- . 1"-,- ,, ;.' ■ ' ioal sins 



Whore heavy geese; s.orcaut up against, the sky, 

 Andswlli-win-ed teal almost", our skill defy. 

 Where ulcus, are darkened by si illtird oi their lllglif, 

 And the rice Ileitis are garrisoned at night. 



Now comes 1 lie sport which gives such manly zest. 

 Wildfowl shuoiliig-. inost. dlinemi and best. 

 To measure speed and di-t..tnee. and to bring 

 Ateal at sLvly yards upon the wing:— 

 Or land a w luge on with uneirlng sidll, 

 Ou some safe tog, convenient to your will; 

 RequU'es a master in the sportsman's art. 

 Whose evei-y nerve obeys his head and heart. 



Hunting In all phases, on the field or flood, 

 Makes men more hairtv. ■ncue humane and good; 

 Gives, health and alea.-u.ts. -est.- the slant free, 

 Teaches love of nature— netpa the memory; 

 And more I ban this, It leache- love of law, 

 Which will, nor kill to teed a greedy maw. 

 How lhe locks hnstieand the eyeoiows arch, 

 for quail oi purl i Ui in . i d in i\iareh. 

 Wllh what conl.eiupi one spoilsmen shun the spot. 

 Whereon I hey meet some hunter for the pott- 

 Poor worthless d — 1, bis head beneath a price. 

 Else Com ts might ask tf "Pott, '-ers hunted twice. 



Gladly would I sing when our hunt !s o'er, 



The pleasure which our camp he;, still in store; 

 The smoking viands; ot. our simple fare, 

 Appetii.es keen as ts the morning air; 

 A hospitality that's no empty name- 

 Each guest a brother whencesoe'er he came. 



A cordial greeting, then, brothers of a race 



Whose deeds are sun.' In man; a .0- tag chase;— 

 Heroes whose lasers ey fairer hands than mine 



Are iVI-oat lied wuVi ClsE atei-- hULsaU, yel do, i ao. 



idav scene,-! like these taeir annual oleasures bring, 



\l!d hards, moid von. I u re thee Intuits stmt 



While here with res.' jieltls and cottiest.s. at bay, 

 I give you welcome in my humble lay. 



The roll called showed that the clubs, represented by ac- 

 credited delegates, were : Phoenix Sportsmen's Olub, Seneca 

 Falls; Phoenix Gun Club, Brooklyn; Spencer Sportsmen's 

 Club, Lyons ; Adirondack Sportsmen's Club, Adams ; Long 

 Island Shooting Club, Brooklyn ; Fountain Gun Club, 

 Brooklyu ; Jefferson Sportsmen's Club, Watertown ; Au- 

 dubon Club, Rochester ; Brooklyn Gun Club, Brooklyu ; 

 Monroe County Sportsmen's Club, Rochester: Genesee 



Sportsmen's Club, Irondoip.ioi; ; Niagara Fails Shooting 

 Club, Nia am Falls; Coming Sportsmen's Club, Corning; 

 Wayne County Sportsmen's Club, (lytic; Rochester Gun 

 Hub, Rochester; Dan&vjlle Sportsmen's Association. Dan- 

 ville; assau Si oolins Club, Brooklyn! I ■"in: Island Shoot- 

 ing Club. Brooklyu; Le Roy Sportsmen's Club, Le Roy; 

 Deer Richmond Club; Bat&via; S. ill Green Rod and Gun 

 Club. Dansville: ForresterC.nl>, Buffalo; Queen City Club, 

 Buffalo; Washington Gun Olub, Buffalo; Central City 

 Sportsmen's ( 'bib, \vraeu-e; Central Gun Club, Troy; On- 

 ondaga County Spoilsmen's Club, s-vracusc; Onondaga 

 County Fishing Club, Syracuse-; Seneca Gun Club, 

 Set tci Falls: Nonpareil BprntBtaan's Club. Brooklyn; Lew- 

 is County Sportsmen's Club, Lowville ; (lardcn City Gun 

 Clnb, Hempstead; Eitvhignori Sportsmen's Association, 



Gciieseo; Abdul Club, Buffalo; Falcon (iim Club, New 



York ; Fast Buffalo Shooting Club, Fast Buffalo 



After a tenor solo, "The Standard Wtiirli," by Mr. Fred. 

 Harvey, of the Fountain Glee Club, antl the rendering of a 

 song, "Toasl," by that club, the follow ng new clubs were 

 admitted to membership in iiie State Association: Gann and 

 Fish Protective Association, of Richmond Countv, Slaten 

 island: Coney Island Kod ami Gun Club, Brooklyn; Pros- 

 pect Gun Club, Brooklyn; Kastehester Gun Club, of West- 

 ell' slot; First Geinmii Gun Club. New Fork City. 



The essay prepared by Gaston Kav was then read by Mr. 

 F. K. Casluer, of the Nonpareil Sporting Club. It is printed 

 in another column. At the conclusion 'of this reading and 

 after (he singing of "''he Loyal S ng" by the Wnshingion 

 Glee ' lub and a tenor solo, " Dids't Thoii But Know," by 

 Mr. Fred. Harvey, it was voted, because of the lateness of 

 the hour, to suspend all the remainder of the programme ex- 

 cept the necessary business. For the next convention the 

 three places named were Ntogava Falls, Dansville ami Lyons 

 Horace Silsby, of Seneca Falls, and Dr. B, L, Sargent, of 

 Watertown, were, appointed tellers of the election and, on 

 informal ballot, the following result, was obtained: .Niagara 

 Falls, eiuhty-f our ; Dansville," seventy-nine, and Lyons nine- 

 teen, wben Lyons withdrew. On the formal ballot the vote 

 was announced : Niagara Falls eighty-eight and Dansville 

 eighty-seven. The convention will therefore assemble a' 

 Niagara Falls the coining year. The meeting then adjourned 

 to a sumptuous collation, when the scinfilktions of wit, 

 brilliant repartee and jovial merrymaking were prolonged to 

 a late hour, even for Coney Island. 



The adjourned meeting of the association was held at the 

 Hotel Brighton Tuesday eveniinr, President Crook in lie 

 chair. The report of the. Treasurer, Mr. W. J. Babcock, 

 was read and showed a, balance of $215 86 in the treasury. 

 The election of officers for tie ensuing year resulted us fol- 

 lows : President, Mr. Sheldon T, Murray, of the Niagara 

 Falls Shooting Club ; First Vice-President", Mr. Robert Rob- 

 inson, of the Loner Island Shooting Club; Second Vice- 

 Prcsilent, Captain W. L. B. Steers, of the Coney island Rod 

 and Gun Club; Recording Secretary, Mr. John B. Sage, of 

 the Forester Club. Buffalo; Corresponding Secretary. Mr. 

 William Pool, of the Niagara Palls Sheeting Club, and 

 Treasurer, Mr U\ J, Babcock, of the Monroe County Sports- 

 men's Association, of Rochester. The Southern Ulster 

 County Club was admitted to membership of the associa- 

 tion. 



The retiring President, Mr. Abel Crook, and the various 

 committees of the present convention were tendered a vote 

 of thanks for the able manner in which they had Conducted 

 their duties. A motion was made that the number of birds 

 to be shot at in the coining matches should be reduced to 

 seven, but it was decided to leave if to the judgment of the 

 officers of the. Long Island Sports n's Association. 



Mr. M. A. Stearns, or Rochester, gave notice that at the 

 proper time he would lav a resolution be'ore the Standing 

 Committee to the effect, that any man who should challenge 

 a man for unfair loading, without, proper evidence, 'should be 

 well pntiished for lhe offense. 



A resolution was offered to the effect that as Mr. Bergh 

 was endeavoring to get a lull passed to prohibit trap shooting 

 in this State, the members. ,f the different clubs request, their 

 members of the Legislature, to oppose any such bill, but 

 before any action was taken the meeting adjourned lo meet 

 Thursday evening to discuss the game laws. The Driving 

 Park is easy of access fiom note! Brighton, and handsomely 

 decorated for the occasion. Prominent among the well 

 equipped tents are the Loug Island Sportsmen's Association 

 large Ihree-pole tent, fully eighty feet, long; Phoenix Gun 

 Club of Seneca Falls; the Monroe County Club and Roches- 

 ter Guu Club, both, of Rochester; the' Audubon club of 

 Buffalo, the Spencer Club of Lyons, the Dean Richmond 

 Club of Bat.avia.. the Onondaga Countv Club of Syracuse, 

 Seneca Gun Club of Seneca Falls. Hast, Buffalo Shooting 

 Club and the Forester Club of Buffalo. 



Unfortunately a sad scene occurred on Tuesday evening in 

 the destruction by lire of the tent of the Monroe" County and 

 Rochester Gun Clubs, coniaiuing several valuable guns with 

 their equipments as well as the stores and supplies belonging 

 to the members. This is lhe first accident of the kind that 

 has ever occurred in the history of the organization. The 

 official list of scores will be published in the next issue of 



the FOEEST AND STREAM. 



NEW YORK GAME LAW. 



AS soon as it was announced that the Governor had signed 

 amendments to the game law we telegraphed and 

 wrote to Albany for a copy of the same. In response we re- 

 ceived from a prominent member of the Assembly the bill 

 already published. A telegram just, at, hand now informs us 

 that the bill signed by Governor Cornell was one referring to 

 fish only, and that he refuses to sign the one which we pub- 

 lished upon the strength of the representations made to us 

 by the memb. r of the Assembly referred to. 



The law respecting game will therefore remain the same 

 that was in force last year. 



We regret exceedingly that we and our readers should 

 have been misinformed. 



A Babc+aiw in Rin.Es. — Wo call special attention to the 

 card of MessrB. William Read & Sons, of Boston, Mass. 

 They offer a real bargain in rifles, and purchasers should 

 avail themselves of the opportunity to secure a good ami at a 

 low figure. The firm are thoroughly reliable and their rep- 

 resentations are to be accepted as square. 



fee adv. of large sale of Archery Goods at Auction on Friday, June 



THE GAME BIRDS OF LONG ISLAND. 



an, 1881.] 



rp HE occasion that has called us together, is one of mo- 

 JL mentous interest not only to us individually, but to 

 the people at large. Our main object and primary aim is to 

 examine into, and recommend the best measure for the pres- 

 ervation of the game of our island, that of late years has been 

 so ruthlessly destroyed ; and if some adequate check is nut 

 put upon this wanton and reckless destruction, the lime is 

 not far distant when many species at least will bo extermin- 

 ated. Our efforts to protect our game birds from extermina- 

 tion by securing the ennctuient Of proper, concise and strin- 

 gent laws to that end, will subserve more than' one purpose ; 

 not only will it protect our game from needless destruction, 

 and allow their decimated ranks to recuperate by natural 

 causes, so that the true sportsman may in the near future he 

 enabled to find in plenty whathe now so often seeks in vain, 

 but it will do far more practical good in its benefits to the 

 agriculturist, by the protection such lawB will afford against 

 the heartless and wanton destruction of the smaller birds, so 

 many of which, living more or less upon insect life, keep in 

 check the ravages of these silent antl voracious pests. 



All tribes of animal life were created to subsist upon some 

 other, thus to keep in check their otherwise too rapid in- 

 crease ; this is seen even from the highest form of animal to 

 the lowest form of insect life. No insect. so minute but some 

 other tribe of insects are their foes, and subsist upon them, 

 another tribe on them, and on so ad infinitum. Were it not 

 for this wise provision of nature, the earth would be over-run 

 with insect life. It is here that the usefulness and necessity 

 of birds are most apparent. It is well known to all who have, 

 made the subject a study, how much the agriculturist is in- 

 debted lo the feathered tribe for the good they subserve by 

 keeping ill check the ravages of insects. Why, a single pair 

 of insectivorous birds no larger than a common sparrow, will 

 destroy more obnoxious insects in a day than any man. 

 Have you ever stood and watched our little nuthatch, tit- 

 mouse or creeper, hopping from tw.g to twig, prying into 

 every crevice, with its Bharp and pointed bill picking outeven 

 the minutest egg of insect life, examining every leaf and twig 

 and seizing its insect prey with ama/iug dexterity; restless, 

 ever on the move, doing a better day's work for the farmer 

 and fruit grower than the ablest man he hires ; and yet these 

 little benefactors to man are ruthlessly shot down by any ig- 

 norant lad who is enabled to gain the use of a rusty gun. I 

 would not so desecrate lhe name as to call him a sportsman, 

 this merciless destroyer, who kills at random everything that 

 is clothed with feathers, killing perhaps in one day's shooting 

 lhe authors of more substantial good to lhe country at large; 

 more good in many places, than he himself ever confers upon 

 his country, society or himself. 



As an il ustration of the inestimable value of birds in de- 

 stroying insect life, a better perhaps c uldnot he offered than 

 Unit of the introduced European sparrow. Most of you will 

 doubtless rememl er, befoie the introduction of these birds, 

 that the maple trees in our streets were infested by a measure 

 worm, the larvue of a delicate white moth — the Ennmnossub- 

 signaria ; these worms were so exceedingly numerous and 

 annoying that no one could puss under anv trees on which 

 they were without, having them dangling in their face or 

 attaching themselves to some part Of the clothing; besides 

 ti is they stripped these beautiful trees of every vestige of 

 verdure, in many c 'ses destroying them ; yet as soon as the 

 noisy and pugnacious house sparrow was introduced, so 

 rapidly were they exterminated that now not a single one can 

 be found on auy of our shade trees. 



It is true ihat many birds are very destructive to the agri- 

 cultural interests, these are chiefly confined to the gramniv- 

 orotts or seed-eating birds, though a few omnivorous ones do 

 their share of destruction. Foremost of those most destruct- 

 ive is the well-known hoblink — Dnlichoux orytworou* ; ihe 

 rico or reed bird of Ihe Southern States. In the North they 

 commit considerable havoc in the cornfields, aud m the South 

 the spring wheat and barley, and later the rice fields suffer 

 LnmeasUrdbly by this depredator. 



Another great enemy to our cornfields is the red-winged 

 starling or swamp blackbird — AgUmm phcenmiut. So well 

 known is his character that in many districts he is c-dled the 

 corn or maize ihief. But whilst a tew species are enemies to 

 the farmer, by far the larger portion are his friends. 



It is chiefly to the insectivorous birds that we must look 

 Tor protection from the depredations of insects, and by reason 

 of the incalcu'able blessing they are to the agriculturist, and 

 the rich and varied melody nature has endowed so many of 

 the species with, they well deserve our fostering care. None 

 of the species belonging to the following families or genera 

 should ever be wantonly destroyed ; 



None of the Sialia or bluebirds, none of the SyMadse or 

 warblers, a large family of stric'ly insectivorous birds; none 

 of the Parianfe or Titmice, or the Certhiadre or creepers ; 

 none of the Vireos or greenle'8, or the Sittinie or nuthatch: 

 none of the Tyranninre or fly-catchers, or the Froglodytes, 

 wrens; none of the Piciflte or woodpeckers; none of the Cap- 

 rimulgidieor night, hawks, and none of the Hirundinidre or 

 swallows. 



All the species belonging I o these groups are highly bene- 

 ficial lo man, and include the main body of our strictly insec- 

 tivoious birds. 



Quite a number of families of omnivorousbirds are equally 

 won by of our protection, in recompense for the good they 

 conserve in keeping in check instct life, without taking into 

 consideration i heir melody. The chief are to be found in 

 families: Merulida; — Thrushes; Icterime — Hiarynests and 

 Tanagrinre — Tauagers. 



Now, by well-defined protective laws such, a« your Associa- 

 tion desire to have enacted, you would not only restore the 

 decimated game, but also be the means of protecting our 

 useful birds from wanton destruction. From a long residence 

 in your midst, and intimate acquaintance with the western 

 section of our Island, I am fully aware how, not only our 

 game has been thinned out, bur. also our small birds. The 

 time was, when It was the boast of the Long Islander that 

 his favored Island was frequented by a larger numbar of 

 species of the feathered tribe than auy locality in our wide 

 domain; for, independent of the large number of species, 

 cither resident here or always to be found during some part 

 of the year, its position being so favorable, it was at times 

 visited by many species whose natural home was the Gulf 

 States or the Atlantic sea-board ; besides this, species belong- 

 ing to the inhospitable regions of the far North of ten found 

 their way to our more congenial shores ; these circumstances 

 always rendered the Fauna of Long Island, particularly 

 favored as to birds. But how is it now? Large tracts 



