FOREST AND STREAM. 



53 



ami scarcely covering chaos, or the levity which finds life 

 a huge joke, and the grave the doorway to a Paradise of 

 fools, Such, wc say gravely, is human nature. It is just 

 possible, however, that these woeful results are the die- 

 distortions of nature — the direct products of an erroneous 

 system of education. Men speak learnedly of idiosyncra 

 cies, and contemplate with resignation mental peculiari- 

 ties, which they, in their wisdom, hold to be the shapings 

 of the divine mould. But let us turn to the physical for un 

 illustration. On the street, every day, men and women 

 may be seen of whoi' effort of the imagina- 



tion could bring us to think that it was to such as they 

 that, the Greek artist pointed, when he Baid to his pupils, 

 a3 he looked on the passers-by, "There arc your masters.'' 

 Narrow chests and stooping shoulders are physical facts for 

 which our senses most readily suggest causes, such as want 

 of exercise, confinement, or one or oilier of the thousand 

 and one things which simply mean, at last, a total ignor- 

 ance or absence of the primary elements of physical edu- 

 cation. There is no perceptible difference hetween such 

 cases and those of mental deformity. Experience tells 

 that the greater number of instances of intellectual excel- 

 lence or deficiency can be traced to some specialty in the 

 individual's early education. We speak, it is to be ob- 

 served, generally. Bacon must have entertained the same 

 idea, when, in one of his Essays, lie recommended certain 

 studies for the remedy of certain mental weakness, or the 

 development of certain faculties. But beyond this there 

 is the ever-present difficulty of telling what physical or 

 moral agency is affecting the mind; what mental or moral 

 influence is affecting the body and brain, or what physical 

 or mental agency is affecting the moral system. Hence we 

 come to have an idea of the urgent, almost vital necessity 

 of having education complete in all its parts, and of the 

 enormous and weighty trust confided to the educators of 

 the youDg. 



-«»» 



GAME PROTECTION. 



Quail in Confinement.— One of our city correspond 

 ents writes us that he also is losing the quails he had 

 intended to keep through the winter. As his experience 

 may be of benefit to others among our readers, we print 

 it. He says:— 



"Three years ago I had fifty-seven, lost twenty-one; last 

 year I had forty-eight una lost them all. This year I had 

 one hundred and thirty two, and found that they were 

 dying at the rale of five and six a day. On the 10th of 

 February 1 put out fifty-eight— all that I had left. They 

 were in good condition; in fact, the birds would seemingly 

 feel well; next day some would be dead. Some of the 

 birds seemed to have the pip, others would he puffed up 

 like a balloon even down to the thighs; some were emaci- 

 ated, and a few had their heads injured. The room the 

 birds were in was large, sunny, quiet, and well ventilated 

 with a canvas ceiling. Feed, buckwheat, birdseed, and a 

 very little cracked corn. In former years, when 1 had 

 only eighl to twelve birds, 1 had no trouble and none died. 

 My idea is, that too many quail in one coop, a« with barn- 

 yard fowls, breeds disease. 1 think a discussion in your 

 valuable paper as to the cause, treatment and cure, if any, 

 would be of interest to many of your readers. I am dis- 

 couraged with my experience in quail propagating, and if 

 no satisfactory cause and cure is given, I have had enough 

 of it." E. S. 



Glenyille, Conn., February 19th, 1877. 

 Editor Forest and Stream:— 



Sir, for upward of two years I have been a constant 

 reader of your excellent paper, and have noticed many 

 articles, in both Forest and Stream and Hod and Gun, 

 hitting the poor "pot hunter," and knocking him right and 

 left. I have seen thequeslion put, "What is a pot hunter?" 

 and Forest akd Stream said, "a Dot hunter is a "market 

 hunter." Others have answered and said, a person who 

 shoots more game than he can possibly have use for at his 

 own table; and B. H. P., in an article dated Vicksburg, 

 January 13th, 1877, says, in your issue of the Sth inst., 

 "You have doubtless heard of pot burners, who sneak about 

 in the bush until they find a covey of birds huddled to- 

 gether for protection from bad weather, and then blaze 

 away at them with an infernal old "Spill-out," and murder 

 the "poor things by wholesale." Now, if they are such 

 poor shots, I don't see how they can kill a whole covey of 

 birds; they may get some three or four, and the rest "will 

 get away; but, if it had been a "gentleman sportsman," 

 with a two or three hundred dollar dog, and a three or four 

 hundred dollar gun, he would have had the last bird in 

 that covey before, he had "let up." I would like Mr. B. 

 H. P- to define what he means by "Infernal Spill-out?" The 

 only gun 1 ever heard of that I would take the liberty to 

 call ' r an infernal old Spill-out," is a sixteen pounds gun, 

 shooting six ounces of No. 2 shot, driven by sixteen 

 drachms of powder, used by one of your correspondents, 

 who calls himself "Rusticus," who could kill and disable 

 from "forty to sixty" brant at one discharge. He shoots 

 from a sink-box, atlerthe water and sand bar within a few 

 yards of his hidden position has become densely packed 

 with brant. When, at the same time he says, "and pres- 

 ently a company, circliug nearer and nearer, swept over 

 our box," then would have been the time (if I am rightly 

 informed) when a gentleman sportsman would have de- 

 livered his fire, and would have felt satisfied to have 

 bagged from four to six birds. But, it would have taken 

 the last brant in that immense flock (he claims there was 

 5,000) to have satisfied Mr. Rusticus, for, after having 

 killed and disabled from forty to sixty birds at one dis- 

 charge, he laments that he has not two or three more of 

 those 'HnferrMl old SpUi-outs" to slaughter the rest of the 

 flock wiih; he also claimed that he and his companion 

 killed in five consecutive shots, "one hundred and iwenty- 

 one" brant. Now, if there is a pot hunter iu this country 

 who can beat this bag of game, he ought to be hung up 

 by the thumbs uulil he promises lo be a pot hunter uo 

 more. And this same correspondent says, in part second 

 ot his article, enthkd "A Tale of Two Flats," that a 

 market gunner (who must be a pot hunter) told him, after 

 witnessing Baiu correspondent kill thirty geese and fifty 



ducks in one day, that he, the market gunner, alias P. H., 

 never knew such a shot lo be made in that neighborhood 

 before. 



Now, Mr. Editor, wben a southern market gunner ad- 

 mits that gentlemen sportsmen from the north can come 

 there and "slaughter more game in one day than was ever 

 known to be killed in that neighborhood before (in the 

 same length of time), I think it time that the cry which 

 has gone up from one end of the country to the other, that 

 our game is being exterminated by pot hunters, ought to 

 be made to read "by gentlemen sportsmen," for, where 

 ninety-nine out of one hundred so-called pot hunters can 

 afford to spare a day, or a half a day, and go out without 

 any dog, and with what B. H. P. calls an infernal old spill- 

 out, and Mr. Rusticus calls a pop gun, and get a small bag 

 of game, the gentleman sportsman will go out day after 

 day witli his costly gun and more costly dog, and does not 

 return satisfied until he has exterminated every covey of 

 birds there is within a radius of ten miles. Rather rough 

 on the gentleman sportsman! but I think they are having 

 every tbiug too much their own way. 



Mr. Editor, hoping this will be given a plrceiu your 

 valuable paper, I will eomc to a close, hoping some of 

 your correspondents will "let up" a little on us poor and 

 "much abused pot hunters. I remain, very truly yours, 

 W. H. Barton. 



— The Nonotuck Game Club has just been established at 

 Northampton, Mass., with the following officers: — 



"A. P. Peck, President; E. O. Damou and Gen. Otis, 

 VlCc Presidents; G. W. Oritterden, Secretary, and L.War- 

 ner, Treasurer. The club will at once proceed to take ac- 

 tive measures to stock the ponds in the vicinity. Quail will 

 be procured, and an effort made to propagate them, and 

 the experiment of planting wild rice lo bring ducks back 

 to tlieir old haunts. 



New York.— Wc have come to look regularly in our 

 Rochester exchanges for some item regarding illegal fish- 

 ing in Irondequoit Bay, and are rarely disappointed. The 

 last issue of the Kcprens contains a paragraph to the effect 

 that six men and two women have just been arrested, 

 some of them old offenders. It. seems that they catch as 

 much as 150 pounds of fish per day, sometimes, which is 

 readily sold. If the purchasers were implicated in the of- 

 fense, and made to feel the penalty, and if the buyer of 

 fish or game out of season was placed on the same footing 

 as the receiver is to ihe thief, it might put a stop to poach- 

 ing. 



Si.auoiitkrim; Deer.— An Albany correspondent sends 

 us the following letter from a well-known Northwoods 

 guide, for whose veracity he vouches. It is time that vig 

 orous measures were taken to stop the wholesale slaughter 

 ing of deer out of season. In this instance there could 

 have been no difficulty whatever in obtaining evidence, and 

 the matter should he brought to the notice of the Legisla- 

 ture: — 



Lono Lake, February 9th, 1877. 



The snow is very deep in the Adirondatks, and thinking 

 that perhaps you would be glad to hear how we are getting 

 along, thought I would drop you a line and let you know. 

 There is nothing lo do only to take notice of those that claim 

 to lie guides. Some of the first-class guides are having a 

 very nice, lime killing deer ou three feet of snow, among 

 whom are Mitchell Sabbaties, Charles Sabbaties, J. D. 

 Blumby, Alba Cole, Juslin Larros and several olkeis. 

 Now, if you sportsmen wish to have the deer all killed 

 off on snow shoes and out of season, I have nothing to say. 

 If not, please publish them in the sporting papers. It is 

 my request that you should do so. The Sabbaties' and 

 J D. Blumly killed twelve in two weeks, and for proof 

 please address L. Hall, Long Lake, Hamilton, Virginia. 



L. M.H. 



Franklin County.— Out correspondent, Mr. A. B, Ful- 

 ler, wiites from Meacham Lake as follows: — 



"I send you a copy of a resolution passed by the Board 

 of Supervisors of this county at their last meeting. Some 

 of its features are good, but if enforced it would be clear 

 ly for the benefit of one class of people — those who hunt 

 with dogs. It entirely ignores the still hunters. The pro- 

 tection of the game of our State should be attended to, 

 but it is a very delicate thing to touch, and unless all 

 classes can be made'to feel that they have a part and inter- 

 est in it, it will be very difficult lo enturce any law. I will 

 write you soon ihe result of my labors here with the salmon 

 and brook trout." 



The resolution is invalid and unconstitutional, as super- 

 visors have no power to make laws which are in conflict 

 with the general Slate law. — Ed. 



New Jersey. — A valued correspondent sends us from 

 Monmouth county, a letter which is too long for publica- 

 tion, but from which we make the following extracts: — 



"I've not heard a gun fired since the close of the season. 

 I with I could say as much before its opening. Through 

 our county, and particularly along the shores of Barnegat 

 Bay, the greatest amount of unlawful trapping and snar- 

 ing prevailed during the past season. It is surely driving 

 the patronage of the sportsmen from these shores, and if 

 the resident land owners would awake to their true interests 

 they would stop it of their own accord. I think the trap- 

 ping season commences very early down there. 1 was there 

 with a party of friends Noy. 10th, and as we could not 

 have any good duck shooting we tried the main land for 

 quail, with the same result. We saw any quantity of quail 

 traps, and found the birds very scarce thus early in the 

 season. This is one of ihe most desirable and convenient 

 localities for New York sportsmen and others near by, and 

 it will be necessary for us all to make some efforts to stop 

 and correct this abominable practice." 



Now that pound net fishing has been abolished iu Bar- 

 negat Bay, and the results have already been felt, it should 

 be encouragement to the local sportsmen to see that their 

 land was as well protected as the water.— Ed. 



The Florida Legislature is likely to pass a State game 

 law the present season. Several prominent residents of the 

 Slate are pushing the matter, and we have assisted all we 

 could in furnishing copies of State laws, suggestions, and 

 such other data as we had at command, 



Pennsylvania. — The Greenville Sportsmen's Club met 

 in the rooms of the President, S. S. Hewitt, on Friday 

 evening, the 9th inst., and elected the following officers for 

 the ensuing year: — 



President, Wm. P. Leech; Vice-President, Dr. F. Her- 

 rick; Treasurer, 0. R, Beatty; Secretary, M. Hargen 

 Brooks. It was determined to purchase a -|o0 badge as a 

 shooting prize, and an assessment was made accordingly. 

 After the adoption of the following resolution, offered by 

 the Secretary, Club adjourned to meet on the second 

 Thursday in March next: 



Resolved, That it. is Hie desire of this Society not in any 

 way to conflict with the interests ot the tanning com- 

 munity, but, on the contrary, to cultivate friendly rela- 

 tions with them, and hope that they may so reciprocate 

 as to render those relations mutually beneficial. 



Omo. — Regarding procuring live quail from Ohio for 

 restocking, a Tiffin correspondent writes us as follows: — 



"I see in your issue of the Sth inst. th it the YoDkers 

 Sportsmen's Club have procured their first instalment of 

 1-11 live quail from Ohio. We have a law in this State 

 which forbids the killing of quail until alter Nov. loth, 

 and the trapping at any time. But perhaps somebody was 

 kind enongii to drive "them over to their barn, tor 1 don't 

 suppose they would encourage any one to violate our game 

 laws by offering to purchase" quails that hud been 

 trapped. Buck Shot. 



Indiana.— The game laws of Indiana are undergoing re- 

 vision in a manner which does not suit the views of many 

 sportsmeu of the Slate. The following letter, dated 

 Oouuersville, Indiana, February 15th, 1877, is from one of 

 them: "Our present game laws are good enough if prop- 

 erly enforced, bill our Granger solons are now racking iheir 

 brains trying to devise a new one, that will put the sports- 

 man on just as small an allowance of sport aa possible. 

 The first bill presented prohibited the killing of quail for 

 five years, but it was defeated by a vole of fo:iy-six lo 

 thirty-four. Mr. Trusler, of this county, then presented 

 a bill (copy enclosed), which will in all probability become 

 a law. It leaves us two months for quail— November and 

 December. The month of October we cau afford to loose, 

 as during this month a great many birds are found no 

 more than half grown, but we do not like to loose our 

 January shooling. If our trespass and game laws keep on 

 contracting, in five years the sportsmeu iu this Stale will 

 have no rights that anybody is bound to respect. Weather 

 very fine lor the pasl three weens— a few snipe coming in. 

 Think we will have good shooting iu a few Gays. 



Deck No. Two. 



[If our Indiana frieuds are confined to two months for 

 quail shooting, they will still be as well off as their breib- 

 ern of the East. It does seem hard that January shooting 

 should be prohibited, when ihe breeding season is yet so 

 far off, and yet. there is no wiser provision for ihe protec- 

 tion of quails iu the whole statute book. During that and 

 the succeeding mouth, the ground is likely to be covered 

 with snow, and the birds are easily found huddled logel) er 

 in bunches, where they fall an easy prey to the pot hunter, 

 Who sometimes exterminates an entire bevy at one shut. 

 Such has been the case ou Long Island this winter, and Ihe 

 men who are doing it defy the game constables or auihori 

 ties to prevent it. — Ed.] 



— A writer in a western Slate says: — 



"The winter has spent its force, the deep snows are 

 melted, and kuowiug the deep anxiety of ah "Gentlemen 

 of the gun" as to the outlook for quail shooting lor 1877, 

 I thought I would give you the. benetil ot my personal ob- 

 servation. 



In a country where farmers leave a large portion of the 

 corn crop unharvested until spiing, and where that 'which 

 has been harvested is cribbed iu the field— iu cribs made 

 of rails— and where the wheat and other small grams are 

 threshed lrom Ihe stack, quail will live through ttie coldest 

 winters, amid the deepest snow. I have studied their 

 habns this winter, and iu localities where they were 

 abundant in October. 1 found none in November, but in 

 one neighborhood where the owner ot Hie land rears a large 

 number of hogs every year, teeding immense quantities of 

 corn on the ground every day duiiug the winter, 1 found 

 no less lhan eight eovies of birds in vnc field— enough to 

 re-slock the whole country. Those thai 1 killed (before Lka 

 the close season set in) were very tat. Then- pluee of 

 shelter during the night had evidently been used a long 

 time from the signs. A more beautiful sight 1 never saw 

 than the one tuat 1 witnessed the morning of January 

 29th, 1877. In the field before alluded to lhad liu.-hed and 

 killed a few birds a few days previous, and learutd lhat 

 Ibis was their feeding ground. So early in the morning I 

 made my way there and secreted myself by a friendly 

 wood pile, and very soon saw a line covey of quail coming 

 down a little ravine. How beautiful they looked I Perfect 

 in plumage and fearing no danger they came gayly along. 

 Soon another, and still another, came until within forty 

 rods circuit, at least titty of these beautiful birds were 

 feediug and playing before my eyes. At length wearied 

 with keeping sLill so long, 1 quietly walked out from the 

 place of my concealment, tlusiiing the two coveys Dealest 

 me. 1 did not shool. it would iiave been an unpardon- 

 able thing to have killed a single biid. Ou yesterday the 

 gentlemen who owns this farm was in my office; he re- 

 ports the birds as unmolested. The "curse" ot the whole 

 matter is this: The hoys and men shoot these birds 00 the 

 ground, or rather on the snow, Hacking iheui lioui place 

 to place until they are killed or driven Horn their feeding 

 places, where they pel ish Willi hunger. 1 advocate a law 

 that will prohibit* ttie shooting erf quail when there is any 

 snow ou the ground; this, iu addition to the presenl close 

 season would, if enforced, soon restock our fields. 



Hoosikr. 



—The editorial article in our last week's issue entitled 

 "Jamrach," was contributed by Edwin B. Huffish, of the 

 Philadelphia Zoological Garden, who is known lo many 

 periodicals by the nMnde plume of "Huou." 



— T. A. Meyer, a baker, was attacked on the Hackensack 

 plank road early the other day by two men. He Struck one 

 of the men with a long, hard loaf and knocked him off the 



wagon. 



