FOREST AND STEEAM. 



Ill 



GAME PROTECTION. 



OPINIONS REGARDING CO-OPERATIVE 

 GAME LAWS, 



BooKBj fowa, March 3, IS 70. 

 Mt Dbak Mh.. 1£ailooJ£ i 



I want to thank you, personally and heartily, for the table 

 and rectnniuetidalions un the subject of co-operative game 

 laws iu your lust issue-. I had been engaged last week iu 

 Writing an article on game preservation for a new edition of a 

 stereotype popular work on this subject ot game and the gun 

 that, eo interests all. Saturday nigui. had come, and I laid 

 down my pen at the heading, " (Jo-operative Legislation," 

 when this morning's mail brings me your table and sugges- 

 tions. It falls in, iu almost, every respect, with my own 

 views, and 1 am sure that you have the thanks ot" every 

 thoughtful gunner in the country for the paper, and for the 

 pains it has coat to prepare It, It comes in most opportunely 

 lor my own help, which I know you will not grudge me. 



One feature of your plan cannot be introduced west of the 

 Mississippi, and that is trapping. Here in Iowa we have just 

 had our contest on that point, and the war has been " to the 

 knife." Oh, sir, if you could sec the slaughter of our grouse 

 that I have seen ; if you could see the piles of traps high as a 

 story and a half house and thirty feet, at the base, stowed 

 away at point after point in a single county, ready for winter 

 use i if you had seeu sleigh load after sleigh load of our beau- 

 tiful birds taken in a single fortnight from a forty-acre field, 

 by men from abroad, for sale abroad; if you had seen 10,000 

 birds shipped for a single dealer in a single county in a single 

 season ; it you had seen the waste and scarcity of grouse lor 

 two years after in that region; if you had multiplied this 

 10,1100 by 40, for slaughter and shipment from other points in 

 the State in a single season, you would nut wonder that Iowa 

 had risen up, though tardily, on the whole miserable busi- 

 ness and enacted that trapping game shall be no more in this 

 State for any purpose, at any seasou. 



It makes one's blood boil, this slaughter without limit in 

 the past ; tins readiness to slaughter to the last bird on our 

 prairies iu sacrifice to the auri sacra janes— the accursed 

 thirst for gold. Thanks to the American Express (Jo. for its 

 late order "to its agents forbidding shipments contrary lo the 

 laws of a State. We shall uow have no more of the gentle, 

 lifeless birds brought into QUI stations at dusk in flour sacks, 

 barreled up and marked "poultry," and hastened on to the 

 expectant accomplice at Chicago, .New York, Boston, sold by 

 the pair or the dozen, but received by the ton 1 



Do you kuow what trapping prairie chickens means, friend 

 Hallock? Let me tell you from the very ground ! In Oc- 

 tober our farmers enter their cornfields for husking. They 

 do not feed their horses grain for weeks while in this work, 

 but suffer them to help themselves to the corn as they pass 

 along the rows, Of course, only a part of every ear the 

 horses pluck off is eaten ; the rest is scattered on the ground. 

 From this time on the cornfields become the stated resort of 

 the grouse for their morning and evening feed. Up to this 

 time it has been the wheal stubble, and between the two 

 their old skill of foraging on grass seeds, buds and berries is 

 lessened, and they seek these only as variety. When, at fast, 

 the snow covers the ground and the cold is at its height, they 

 are literally shut off from all their food, without the resources 

 they had before the time of stubble and of corn. They must 

 eat something : so far i has been corn ; it must be corn or 

 nothing now. And now the trapper sees his time and the 

 gold beyond it. Alighted on fence posts, on shrubs or trees, 

 the poor grouse sees a single ear protruding above the snow 

 — on a box, indeed, but corn ; and all that is in sight. 

 He flies to the ear ; lights on the board by its side ; sinks 

 through; the board returns to its place, and the proud but 

 hungry bird is a prisoner. Another comes— he, too, 

 falls through ; another and another, tilt perhaps a 

 half dozen are pent up in the slatted prison. All over 

 the fatal fit Id other traps are set, other groups are imprisoned, 

 and often, in the winter nights and fierce storm— thermome 

 ter at 20 deg. below— sleep the sleep of the frozen, the sleep 

 of death! iSot for the mau's own use; not in thought ol 

 friend of the town ; not in considerateness of the increase ; 

 but for men 1,000 miles away, and to the last bird of the dis- 

 trict that will enter the fated pens. The voice of Iowa, ot 

 Kebraska, of Minnesota is " Death to the trap and woe to 

 the trapper!" They have left us almost stripped of our 

 chosen birds already, and no compromise will ever be entered 

 into with them. With or without a compromise they would 

 still ply their pitiless trade, iu season and out of season, so 

 long as a bird remained. It became with us simply a question 

 of " No happing or game extermination." 



You have moat happily adapted your open season to the 

 singularly uniform breeding habits of game in all sections, 

 and to the average of the State laws. Uoonb. 



Waw Yoek, March 8, 1879. 

 Editor Fokest and Scream : 



I was surprised to find, under proposed amendment o£ the 

 game laws offered by the N. Y. Association for the Protec- 

 tion of Fist i and Game, the ulteration of the statute regarding 

 ruffed grouse in JS Y State; and astonished at the temerity 

 of the 1l a appointing the 15th of October lor the 



opeuiDg of the woodcock season. That, the close time per- 

 taining to the latter bird should be extended until the 1st of 

 September is indisputable if wo would cons icier the young 

 Cuffed grouse shot unlawfully during August; but to prohibit 

 slio.iing until the 15th of October displays an egregious ignor- 

 ance of the habits of Pbilohcla minor. By the time the asso- 

 ciation would kindly allow no cock shooting the main flight 

 has been known 10 pass in their southern migration the paral- 

 lel of 4.1 deg. N. Lat. Admitting that during the average 

 climatic season the principal body Of wouilcock lly between 

 the loih and the 25th ot the most genial of our autumnal 

 months, are we to be debarred from killing, in connection 

 with our grouse shooting, those fully grown, well developed, 

 magnificently feathered birds— they ol I ids and 



pink legs —that come straggling in from their unknown moult- 

 ing retreats eveu before Oc 



Again, consider the ridiculousness of extending the grouse 

 season a month later than it now is. Has not the experience 

 of these protectionists— if any they have had in tins direction- 

 evinced to them that this grand bird, so strong of wing, so 

 cautious and so frequently successful in avoiding both dog and 

 gun, that lie is amply competent of self-protection after Sept. 

 1st ; and tbat a month later scarcely a Hock is to be discovered, 

 as is shown by the solitary nature of this woodland bird which 

 loves ils secluded wiles so well. 



Laws, however, we must have should we desire shooting at 

 all, or sufficient, time allowed us to shoot— laws, that while 

 protecting the young bird dependent upon parental solicitude 



and time for reproduction, do not prohibit sport to the sports- 

 man, and offer immunity to cockney gunners and markel- 

 shooters when the. due season arrives for enjoying it ; but 

 laws that offer alike protection to the birds as we'll 

 the protectors. 



Iu conclusion I would briefly state that the terse, yet ex- 

 haustive treatise regarding the amelioration of the present 

 game laws and the reasons thereof, in your admirable journal 

 of 27th of Feb. , expresses an epitome of the desideral urn most 

 keenly felt ; and tbat it may bo so considered and expediently 

 acted upon by those who havo the power to arrest the deple- 

 tion of our game is the heartfelt wish of 



Frank Wajiwick. 



Lakeville, Gt., March C, 1870. 

 Editor Fokest and Stbeam : 



I want to thank you for your article in issue of Feb. 27, 

 " Co-operative Game Laws." It certainly is a move in the 

 right direction, As our game laws now stand they are practi- 

 cally of very little value in the wilder localities from the 

 greater ease with which they are evaded in such places and 

 the reluctance of the residents to prosecute for violations. A 

 uniform law, it seems to me, would be much more easily en- 

 forced, and unless enforced any law is useless. I am satisfied 

 that such a law as you propose would afford much more real 

 protection than the most stringent law does at present, and I 

 for one hope the matter will receive the attention of sports- 

 men and law makers I ill went: least have a uniform open sea- 

 son for States in the same latitude. \\\ H. W\ 



Mobbis Co., % J., Feb, 20, 1879, 

 Editob Fokest and Stkeam : 



I wish to express my extreme gratification at the interest 

 you are developing in your valuable paper in relerence to 

 game protection, and more especially quail protection, and I 

 hope you will " go on with the good work " until the whole 

 sporting fraternity is roused to active measures in this direc- 

 tion. I claim that the true sportsman is not the greatest ene- 

 my of the quail, but the nefarious pot-hunter. In the section 

 from which I write all the amateur sportsmen would not, in 

 several years, destroy as many quail as these vampires slaughter 

 in a single season ;— these scavengers, who frequently, to my 

 knowledge, leave legitimate occupations to engage in this ne- 

 farious business because more lucrative ; who hunt not merely 

 twice or thrice in a season, but day after day the season through, 

 pursuing their prey with untiring energy and unerring aim, 

 and who, as your correspondent, " Sentimental Shooter/' sug- 

 gests, "gives 'em both barrels settin',"— these are the birds of 

 prey that are " depleting the country of the choicest game," 

 and the worst feature of it all is that there is apparently no 

 remedy for this despicable business Legislation evidently 

 cannot prevent it. " Sentimental Shooter" says, Send thern 

 the Forest and Stream, and thereby educate them to a 

 higher "sportsmanlike sentiment." To this I would say 

 amen with all my heart. I wish your paper could be put into 

 the hands of every man in the country who handles a gun or 

 follows a uog, for it cannot fail to be a power in elevating the 

 "moral tone of the hunting field." But the difficulty is, 

 these gentry do not read the Forest asd Stbeam, and indeed 

 do not care to, for if they did they would not be guilty of 

 practices so contemptible. Ikdi'ghaht. 



kf Manohestek, N. H., March 5, 1879. 



Mb. Editor -. We had hard work to get our game laws as 

 good as they are. We wanted to do just what you propose, 

 or nearly so— make all shooting begin the first of September, 

 excepi upland plover, which leave us about that time. But 

 the pot-hunters, who want to shoot for the Boston market the 

 first of July, fought us bard on woodcock, and told our 

 Bulons that they left the north part of the State before Sep- 

 tember, and bullied, or " bulled," them into believing such a 

 truly "cock-and-bull" story! And so we had to compro- 

 mise on August. This is all wrong, as they will then shoot 

 ruffed grouse at the same time, if they cau do it without be- 

 ing found out ; and if Massachusetts and other neighbor 

 States don't go back on us, we may get September fixed for 

 the begiuuiug of all shooting yet, which is as it should be. 

 We altered our trout law to conform with Massachusetts and 

 Maine, but they showed signs of altering theirs the other 

 way, There is not one spring in a dozen where a trout can 

 be caught in New Hampshire before May, though I well re- 

 member filling my basket till it "slopped over" the 23d day 

 of April, 1841, I had to hold the last ones in. We allow 

 fishing through September for the anglers in Mulagog anil 

 Parmachene, where the trout spawn late. Nobody in the 

 south of the State ever thinks of fishing after the shooting 

 season lias begun. We might have said the 21st of Septem- 

 ber, as they have iu Maine, but nobody ever remembers ex- 

 actly any day of the month, except the first and last, unless 

 they have a note to pay at the bank, and fishermen are not 

 apt to be troubled that way ! I like your simple code of 

 game laws hugely, and wish it could be adopted all over the 

 country. I never believed in summer shooting, and think 

 Frank Forester perfectly right in that matter, as, in fact, he 

 was in almost all things relating to sport. 



Yours most truly, Sam'l Wbbbeb. 

 _ -». „ 



Expoktatiok of Quaia.— Concerning the exportation of 

 quail, the letter to which we have referred is as follows: 



San Fhanoisoo, Jan. 25, 1879. 

 F. P. Baker, Esy. : 



Dear Sir— The cage came through all right, and if the 

 top of each compartment had any soft subtance on which the 

 birds could have struck their head, 1 don't think any of them 

 would have died. Three died on the way, of which two 

 birds were brought, here. 



Iu Wells, Fargo itCo.'s depot the noise, bustle and disturb- 

 ance killed three more, and one d'ed after f got l hem on ship- 

 board on Saturday. Up to a lale hour last Tuesday, when 

 the steamer sailed, there were no more deaths \ and 1 adopted 

 every possible precaution to insure their safety. 



I paid the butcher to attend ihem, and gave the captain a 

 bonus to pay him on arrival, if all went well ; put gravel and 

 wheat on board, and asked two New Zealand friends of mine 

 returning to the colony to look alter their welfare. The only 

 difficulty I foresee will be the heat in passing through the 

 tropics: but this will not last long, and they will have been 

 accustomed to confinement long before that. I think your 

 estimate of saving a dozen is hkely to be correct ; possibly 

 more will get through. I shall, however, advise you fully of 



. . |j| 



I also forwarded your letters to the Society in Christ 

 Church, New Zealand, and a copy of the printed duections, 

 which was most considerate on your part. 



Should they arrive safely, no miscarriage in the matter of 

 releasing the birds will happen. To guard against accidents 

 I have also arranged for telegraphing to the society as soon as 

 the steamer touches the flrsf New Zealand port. 



The arrival of the birds excited a great deal of interest, here, 

 and I have been written to from Virginia City on the subject. 

 If I can at any time, or in any wav, do you a service, pray 

 command me. You have laid me under lasting oblinalions in 

 ibis matter, which I may some day have an opportunity of 

 acknowledging. 



Robert 3. Creigh ton. 



Maine.— The following is a brief synopsis of the laws 

 passed by the Legislature of Maine, which adjourned on the 

 5th inst., relative to fish and game: "The iise of weirs is 

 limited to one-eighth of the channel of any river. The an- 

 nual close time of lobsters for canning purposes is fixed from 

 August 1 to April 1, and no lobsters less than 104 inches Shall 

 be sold or exposed for sale from August 1 to April 1, under 

 peuuliy of $0 for each lohster. Fishing for porgies with 

 steamboats and seines was further restricted by prohibiting 

 such fishing in bays and harbors the entrance to which is two 

 miles wide or less. Plover is omitted from the list of birds 

 protected. The fishery bill of 1878 was amended, changing 

 the close lime of land-locked salmon, togue and trout from 

 October 1 to May I, except in St. Croix River and Kennebec 

 County, where it shall be from September 15 to May 1 ; for 

 bass and perch, from April 1 to July 1, providing, however, 

 that during February, March and Aprd citizens may take 

 such fish for their own use. 



Nkw Yobb Association.— At a regular meeting of the 

 New York Association for the Protection of Fish and Game, 

 last Monday evening, the committee which had been appoint- 

 ed lo draft a new State game law, reported the bill which fixed 

 the opening of the season for grouse, quail, woodcock, snipe, 

 hares, rabbits, squirrels, etc., at Oct. 15. Some discussion 

 developed a great deal of opposition to putting tie date so 

 late. The next important point was in regard to having in 

 possession game after the close of the season. The date fixed 

 was the 1st of February, which allows one month to dispose 

 of the slock on hand. Wilson snipe were also added to the 

 list of birds entitled to protection, and a general penally of 

 $25 for each offence was fixed, instead of a penalty at the end 

 of each section. A number of amendments by a committee 

 appointed to confer with a like committee of the Fish Cultur- 

 al Association, were adopted, to the effect that no lobster less 

 than ten and a half inches in length, no shad less thaD one 

 pound, or blue or weak fish less than one-half pound shall be 

 exposed for sale, under the penalty of $25. There was also 

 an amendment intended to protect dealers, who, without in- 

 tent to evade or defy the law, might innocently receive con- 

 signments of fish out of season. The amendment was amended 

 so that dealers so circumstanced will be relieved of the pen- 

 alty by sending the fish back from whence they came as soon 

 as they are received. Mr. Hallock, who was one of a com- 

 mittee of three appointed in 1875 to prepare a report on the 

 best method of unifying the game laws of all the States, pre- 

 sented the report, which was filed. 



Importation of Migratobt Quau,.— Parties wishing to im- 

 port these birds will find full information iu the following 

 letter : 



Boston, March 3, 1S79. 

 Editob Forest and Stbeam: : 



From letters I have received I judge that my remarks In a previous 

 communication are not fully understood. I write to make tliem more 

 clear. .Mr. Braun, of Messina, Sicily, offers to furnish migratory quail 

 at the following rates, delivered on steamer tor New York at Messina : 



Not less tliaa two cages of 100 birds each, $20 per cage, Q, S. gold. 



" " " Ave •' " " ii 19 " •• " 



" " « ten " " m u 18 .. ,. „ 



1 am about ordering some birds for my own section, and would be 

 pleased to order at the same lime for any others who dealro to import. 

 By thus uniting the orders, each one will get the benefit of the dis- 

 count allowed by Mr. Braun for the whole quantity ordered, whatever 

 that may be, and each one (except myself) will thus avoid the trouble 

 of correspondence and of attending to transshipment aDd custom 

 house entries at New York. As I have this to do in orde-r lo get my 

 own birds, it is small additional trouble to do it for others at the same 

 time. 



In conclusion, I say lhat I take no responsibility in this matter, be- 

 yond that of promptly forwarding the money and orders received to 

 Mr. Brami, and of attending to the forwarding ot the birds to thelr 

 respeetive owners upon their arrival in New York. I have no pecuniaiy 

 Interest in the importation, but am simply giving to the public the 

 benefit of such information and facilities as I have for procuring i he 

 bic ds, with the desire ihat others may auite in sufficient numbers to 

 secure the speedy introduction of the birds Into our country iu quanti- 

 ties large enoughto give the experiment a good chance ot buccc b. 

 Mr. Braun will bo instructed to mark each cage with ihe name of its 

 ouner. Everyman must take his own chance as to the condition In 

 which the birds reach him. The cage that ia marked with his mime is 

 the one that will be Bent to him. Previous shipments have arrived, 

 with the birds healthy and in good order. They appear to make the 

 journey without injury. There Is no duty to be paid upon the importa- 

 tion HeBAOE F. Tobkt, 

 IT Oliver street, Boston. 



§}fejltfe. 



THE FOREST AND STREAM AND ROD 



AND GUN TOURNAMENT 



For the Short-Range Championship of 



1879 



First prize to be ten monogram medals, presented by the 

 Fokest asd Stream and Kod and Gun. Open to teams 

 from any organized rifle club. 



Conditions— Teams— Each team shall consist of ten men. The teams 

 participating most be composed of members of the various clubs 

 which Ihey represent It ties - Limited to ten pounds in weight ; mini- 

 mum pull of trigger, three pounds; 22-1 CO cal. Teams may furnish 

 there own rifles and ammunition, or use those at the gallery, as they 

 may desire. Number of Shots— Ten hy each competitor. Sighting 

 ShotB— Two shots will be allowed each competitor. Position— Off- 

 hand. Targets— 200- yards targets, according to the regulations of the 

 reduced In proportion to the range at the gallery. Practice— 

 No practice allowed on the dny of the match. Entrance Fee— Ten 

 dollars to be paid at the office of the Forest and STEE4H and Kod aj.d 

 Gun, No. Ill Fnltou street, N. Y. The match to be governed by 

 the rules of the N, R. A. relating to teams. 



In addition to the teams named, the Ccntennial}Team from 

 Arnold & Constable's establishment entered at the eleventh 

 hour, and were given place on Saturday evening: 



JVew Fork, Feb, 33.— A meeting of Captains of amateur 

 rifle clubs was held at Oonlin's Gallery this morning, purau- 



