80, 1883.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



86 



larj e tsity.in Che most thickly-settled part of Massachusetts, it 

 was no eame law, or it th.it, law did not have the 

 nior.i! i. comi imtfl No honest man would 



advance an argi trd, All who are entitled to the 



name sportsman will respect and obey the gamelawB; because 

 Ihe.y believe in them, ami it is for teem lo gee to it that the 

 unprincipled nscnls are made to fee) the law. 1 do not pre- 

 lend to Say that tin' law is never violated in this vicinity, or 

 that we are more virtuous than others, but I do =ay that, as a 

 class, the sportsmen here obey t In-law, and as a club, we have 

 spent a gfeal deal Of time and money in compelling that 

 Other class to do the same. And if sportsmen's ciubs in 

 Other sections arc unwilling to pul forth their best efforts in 

 the same direoticm. they ought not to complain if the game 

 does go. 



I confess tied what I hav said concerning the partridge 

 will not apply in the woodcock, as they are migratory, and 

 ■with them it is open i ou abou1 eight months, and now 



of om n'o|>le an South to spend their winters 



the poor birds fare hard, and the tendency will be for them 

 to grOW less in numbers year by year, Still it will help the 

 matter much if we can learn wisdom and cut off the month 

 of August, from the open season, 



Several years ago a severe winter swept away nearly all the 

 quail in New England except in the southern portion or 

 along the coast. Inn they gradually worked inland and in- 

 creased in numbers tlll'we hud them again fairly plenty. 

 Then came another sewre winter, and it was only by the 

 most persistent efforts I hat, they were saved in this section. 

 Our dub spent a good deal of money iji caring for then?, but 

 we succeeded in carrying the bird's through, and we have. 

 been rewarded with good quail shoptingin Worcester county 



the past three years. 



And now I will close with a little ai.U ice to clubs. .1 need 

 not ask yon to encourage, trap-shooting. There is not the 

 slightest 'danger of that branch being neglected, lint while 

 yon are enjoying the "clay" and the "glass" do not forget 

 that the enactment Of good same laws and their enforce- 

 ment is something that, concerns you, and see to it thai 

 this subject receives a fair share of your influence and 



money. E. Bfragub EiJowxks, 



\V< .ricKSTER, Mass.. Aug. 31, JSS3. 



NEW JERSEY DEER LAW. 



Editor F'irrxl a/'ii ,S/i;;/.;l: 



1 am in receipt of your letter in regard to the New Jersey 

 deer law, and am glad to give my views upon the question 

 yon ask. 



ft is to he regretted that, FOREST AND Stkka.m, which is 

 the recognized authority among .spoilsmen, .should have al- 

 lowed the publication of the opinion that the law is icpi aled 

 and our deer unprotected, unless careful inquiry established 

 the fact. There are enough deer in southern Jersey to give 

 good Jesuits 'o those who delight in hunting (hem, if the 

 laws provided are St i act I v observed. The doctrine, that there 

 is no Jaw is most pernicious, and, if believed, will harm the 

 deer, and get innocent parlies into trouble from hunting out 

 of season. 



1 will try lo give the present condition of the law on this 

 Subject, The question as to whether there has been an ali- 

 solute repealer of the old law by implication is a legal one. 

 I have no test-books before me from which to quote authori- 

 ties, but 1 think a statement of facts will convince that there 

 has been no repealer of the law as contained in the revised 

 statutes of 1874. 



The latter provides that no person shall kill or pursue anv 

 deer, etc., "save only from the l.iih day of October to the 

 first day of Decern be'r in any year." In 1881, an act was 

 passed amending the former act, and providing penalties 

 against any person who shall kill, etc., deer "for and during 

 the term of three years from date of passage of act (March 

 3, 1881), and after the expiration of the said term of three 



years, and at any othci 

 the last, day of Octolu 

 yearly, and every year.' 

 ' This act of 1S81 was 



The 



the: 



The 



rfor thr 



!. The 



or season, except only between 

 I the first itay of December, 



led March 8, 1883. 



the act of 1881, conse- 

 act of 1874, unless by 

 insistent. The first act 

 ■eks; the second ejost d 

 after that time for every 

 Second act leaves that of 



clai 



alof tin 

 e not iu( 



il of tin 



quen 

 implication. 



made a close 



the whole ye 



month but oi 



1874 in force. 



In looking over your schedule of New Jersey game la 



1 notice t\so unimportant errors. Quail and rabbits may be 



killed "between Oct, HI and Dec. 81," both days exclusive. 

 A reed bird is no more a "marsh hen" than it is an eagle, 

 Wilson's snipe, doves, and all shore birds are unprotected, 

 i ,i„:,.n.:.\ X. .!., Au K -. >:.., 1SS3. P. S. J. O. 



Editor Vor&t mid Stream; 



Under the head of "Open seasons for lish and game," pub- 

 lished in Forest .\Kt> Stheam of 18th Inst., you give for 

 New Jersey the dates July 1-Atigust 1, and October 1- 

 Doceniher 16 as the days on which woodcock maybe killed 

 in this SI:im , 



The last act relating to v.oodcoc.k (pani. laws 1881. page 

 21(5) reads as follows: 



Be it enacted, etc.. That, from and after the passage of 

 this act no person shall kill, take, expose for sale or have 

 unlawfully in his possession after the same has been killed, 

 any woodcock except only between the first day of July and 

 the first day of August, and between the last clay of Sep- 

 tember and the seventeenth day of December in any year, 

 under a penally of fifteen dollars, etc. 



The word "between," when predioablc of time, is held to 

 be intermediate and to exclude the. terminal dales (see Ab- 

 bott's Law Dictionary, page 139). Under the New Jersey 

 act, therefore, the first day of July, the first flay of August, 

 the last day of September and the sixteenth day of Decem- 

 ber, are excluded from the open season forwoodcoek, and for 

 the same reason thj lasl Claj of October and the last day Of 

 December are excluded from the open season form Bed grouse, 

 quail and rabbit. The act ol March 3, 1881, para, law, page 

 70, prohibiting the killing of deer tor and during the term 

 of three years ft om the passage of this act. was repealed by 

 the act of March 8,188;). pam. law, page 88, leaving the 

 open season as before, from Oi tober IS To December 1, ex- 

 clusive of both those flutes. 



The phraseology of the woodcock act is unquestionably 

 misleading- Why it wasso worded is known only to the 



i Lord and the Legislature of the State of New Jersey. 



T. C. P. 



N'nwiBS, X. J. 



MOSQUITOES. 



OF all the game birds within reach of the average Ameri- 

 can sportsman, there are none which display so inany 

 thoroughly game qualities as the mosquito, nor any so 

 capable of thrilling the sportsman's heart with those pecu- 

 liar sensations which give such charm to wildwood experi- 

 ence. Strong of wing as the ruffed grouse, uncertain of 

 flight as a frightened snipe, greearious as the W) 

 hold as the panther, and more ferocious than the gnzzly 

 bear, he embraces in one apparently insignificant anatomy 

 every characteristic we seek in objects of the chase, adding 

 thereto some peculiar to himself. ' If there is any one charm 

 he dries not possess, it is only that of rarity: but that is rather 

 a fictitious than actual good quality, and one we never com- 

 plain of in regard to other game. ' It is only objects which 

 have no positive qualities that become valuable through 

 rarity, as witness the fabulous sums paid for old autographs 

 and for the unilefinablc daubs of the "old masters," which 

 could not hold their own in open market with tea store 

 chromos if thev were so plentiful as the latter. There is 

 nothing rare about the mosquito. He is about the most 

 common object in existence. His many striking qualities 

 are within reach of all who seek them, and also, alas, within 

 reach of all he seeks, go common is lie that that familiarity 

 which breeds contempt has hitherto caused his game quali- 

 ties to be grievously overlooked. Indeed I suppose there are 

 probably thousands of sportsmen who have met the mos- 

 quito thousands of tirnes, and under all possible conditions 

 and circumstances, who will deny that they possess 'any 

 game qualities whatever. The great men of the world al- 

 ways live in a previous age, and the heroes of the army are 

 always in the other division. But if the primal characteris- 

 tic of a game bird is the power of bringing out the so-called 

 "game" qualities of the hunter, no one at all acquainted 

 with the subject can seriously deny that in this respect the 

 rao>quito holds first, rank. Certainly, so far as my experi- 

 ence, goes at least, there is not in all Nature's kingdom a 

 creature capable ot so thoroughly analyzing a man's cbarac- 

 ict, and proving whether or not he is "game to Ihe backbone," 

 as these little dancing imps of moonlight. 



The books and papers devoted to out-door life have bad 

 much to say about mosquitoes, usually in a deprecatory or 

 absolutely spiteful spirit, and books of science have described 

 their anatomy, and given some of their habits and peculiari- 

 ties; but there is Still a deep felt, want for a complete and ex- 

 haustive monograph on this subject. I do not propose, to 

 write such a monograph, I could nut if 1 would, since lack 

 of lime, experience and ability would all unite lo make the 

 attempt a failure. But I wish to jot dowu, for the benefit 

 of whoever shall assume the responsibility of such a work, 

 such random facts ashave fallen under my observation dur- 

 ing several extended sojourns in the mosquito world. 



To begin such a monograph according to the usual scien- 

 tific method, we should first, locate the subject under discus- 

 sion, and carefully define, so far as known, the limits of its 

 geographical range. But in this case such definition is im- 

 possible, since the range of the mosquito has no limit. Like 

 his victim, man, he seems ubiquitous. Climatic conditions, 

 which restrict the range of other members of the animal 

 kingdom, have apparently no influence whatever ou the 

 mosquito. Prom pole lo pole, and from the Orient to the. 

 Occident, "by land or sea, by hill or plain, wherever thy 

 wandering steps may lead," the mosquito keeps pace with 

 his prey. "From Greenland's icy mountains to India's coral 

 strand,'" they are utilized by zealous missionaries lo convince 

 the unclad and unregenerate heathen of the dread reality of 

 the other world, 



"From the remotest plaius 

 Where Libyan monsters yell, 

 To where the fertile fields of England spread 

 Their harvests to the day, 

 Thou canst not find one spat" 

 where the mosquitoes will not put in an appearance. They 

 are equally at home by the crystal lakes of the bracing 

 North, and in the fetid swamps of the weltering South. 

 Their cheerful music enlivens the dreamy silence of the 

 everglades of Florida and rivals 



"The wolf's long howl on Onalaska's shore." 

 The Hudson Bay voyagers have observed them clad in 

 gum overshoes and chest protectors on the banks of the 

 frozen MeKeuzie, and the discoverer of the tailed men of the 

 Amazon Valley saw them roosting in swarms ou the equi- 

 noctial line, fanning themselves complacently with fiouds 

 of the cabbage palm. From Ihe snow -clad hills of Iceland, 

 to the sunstruck streets of St. Louis, and at all intermediate 

 stations, the mosquito is ever present to lead the mind of 

 the reverent sportsman, "from Nature up to Nature's God," 

 and the mind of the sportsman who is not so reverent, in a 

 totally different direction. 



It is true, of course, that these insects are not so abundant, 

 in some places as in others. There are favorite localities 

 where they are thicker than in otherplaces, not only thicker, 

 but longer and wider, and more of them to the square inch, 

 but I have never yet seen a locality where the most particular 

 person complained of their absence. 



My principal observations on the mosquito have been made 

 in the lower Mississippi valley, a locality peculiarly suitable 

 for acquiring this information, since the size and numbers 

 of the mosquitoes found there areprobably not surpassed 

 ou earth, though apocryphal stories coming' from other re- 

 gions may apparently discount anything 1 have seen. The 

 account lately published in a Georgian paper, for instance, 

 of a mosquito two inches long, ami a Statement of a South 

 American traveler that he has seen mosquitoes tamed and 

 yoKed like oxen in the field, throws in a deep shadow 

 any story 1 can tell. But what, statemei ts I 

 may be "relied on with absolute confidence, si 

 uot'only from experience, but, with a reverent 

 the responsibility of scientific authorship. A 

 hesitl te to say. that no ten other places can sh< 

 record on the mosquito question as the lowe: 

 A tolerable acquaintance With aboriginal dialects, leads me 

 to believe that iusteadof Mississippi meaning the "Father of 

 Wafers," it should bo translated "Father of Mosquitoes." 



The abundance of mosquitoes in those sw urn py lowlands 

 is one of the marvels of nalun , but actual figures cannot be 

 given, because no man, since Job, could have p 

 count them. Their abundance can only be icalized through 

 illustration, and yet t.ne hesitates to illustrate the subject, 

 he most "modest and truthful comparison will sound 

 so much like outrageous hyperbole. When I state, for in- 

 stance, that I have seen mosquitoes so thick on moonlight 

 nights in the full of the moon that the light of that luminary 

 has been wholly eclipsed by the singing swarms, most men 

 will greet the statement with an incredulous sneer, yet this 



3 1 speak, 

 ai regard For 



id 1 do not 

 w up such a 



gives but a faint, idea of their numbers. I find record in my 

 journal of one place where mosquitoes clustered so thickly 

 on my hands and arms that when one of them wished to 

 withdraw from the feast he had to reverse his engines and 

 back out because there was no room for him to turn around 

 i.i ■■■ !, 1 , 1 1. in entangled in the wings of those about 

 him. I have seen them packed so thickly before me that a 

 bullet fiom my revolver made a visible hole through their 

 auks. But perhaps the following actual experience will 

 •onvey the best idea of what nature really can do when she 

 undertakes to raise mosquitoes by wholesale. On a flitboat 

 excursion down the Mississippi in 1S81 I had a camp cot 

 with a canopy ot mosquito netting supported over it on 

 wires. On wa'rm nights when there was no sign of storm, I 

 used to spread this cot outside the tent where it would catch 

 the faintest breeze. One morning I awoke, as I supposed, 

 at the usual hour of daybreak, but as all around was as dark 

 as Egypt I concluded I had awoke too early, so I lay there, 

 ti , inj in vain to get to sleep again, for four or five hours 

 longer, and still the darkness kept thick enough to fed. I 

 might have Din there till this time had not an accidental 

 kick against, the canopy searxl the mosquitoes clustered on 

 Ihe outside and let daylight through. It was then half past 

 ten in the morning, and the sun was shilling like molten 

 brass, hut not bright enough to shine through the hordes of 

 mosquitoes rousting on my canopy. This is no fish story, 

 but: reliable historical narrative, as I can prove by pro- 

 ducing, if necessary, that identical canopy with the original 

 mosquito tracks still visible. 



Leav ng it lo be inferred that residence in such a climate 

 entitles me to "speak by the card." 1 will now give some, 

 of I lie random notes on this subject 1 find scattered through 

 my diary. Probably uot one in a thousand of those who 

 suffer from their attacks realize the wonderfully complicated 

 anatomy of the insects they anatln matize. Viewed through 

 the microscope the mosquito presents a picture of mechanical 

 ingenuity as marvelous in execution as it is devilish in de- 

 sign, lii the bill alone, which seems so fragile to the un- 

 aided sight there is a combination of five distinct surgical 

 instruments, These are, a Ian. e, two meat saws, and a 

 suction pump. The fifth instrument I have forgotten but 

 labor under the impression that it is a portable Corliss engine 

 to run the rest of the factory with. 1 know that the hum 

 of the mosquitoes in the cottonwood thickets along the lower 

 Mississippi reminded me constantly of the hum of a manu- 

 facturing village, and several times I walked back several 

 miles looking for a town, before I. could convince myself 

 that the buzzing 1 heard was made by mosquitoes, with their 

 engines running to sharpen their saws. When the insects 

 operate on a man the lance is first pushed into the flesh, then 

 the two saws, placed back to back, begin to work up and 

 down to enlarge the hole, then the pump is inserted, and 

 the victim's blood is syphoned up into the reservoir carried 

 behind, and finally", to complete the cruelty of the 

 performance, the wretch drops a quantity of poison 

 into the wound to keep it irritated. What good this does 

 the mosquito I cannot guess, and am led to believe that it is 

 simply a method of displaying his "cussedness." 



With such an instrument of torture, and with a disposi- 

 tion to use it, the mosquito is let loose upon society to pray 

 upon its helpless members according to his own sweet will. 

 But no. I find I have been using the wrong pronoun, for it 

 is a well established fact that those mosquitoes which are 

 provided with slings are of the female sex. The male 

 insect, like the same sex in mankind, are harmless, inoffen- 

 sive creatures, living a secluded and unobtrusive existence. 

 Thev can be recognized, says a scientific writer, by their 

 long, hairy antenna?, and by the complete absence of bills. 

 Thfs accounts for the tireless character of Ihe stinging 

 insect. The bill of a mosquito is the homonym of the 

 tongue in woman. It is well known that the latter instru- 

 ment never tires. I believe the former never docs either. 

 If perpetual motion is ever invented, it will probibly be 

 through studying the workings of one or both of these 

 instruments. 



The tirelessness of mosquitoes is really something remark- 

 able. They seem never to gtow weary. There is absolutely 

 no letup to them. They furnish a beautiful illustration of 

 the "conservation of energy," of which Herbert Spencer 

 writes so much. A man may keep his arms going like a 

 fly-wheel of a perpetual-motion machine, and yet the 

 moment he ceases to move the hordes of mosquitoes will 

 alight on the spot where his last blow fell, and begin to tune 

 their beautiful notes as if asking him impudently if the 

 state of his health required the taking of such vigorous 

 exercise. 



The size to which mosquitoes attain is a matter of dispute, 

 and probably always will be, since every sufferer from them 

 will swear by all "the gods in the sportsman's vocabulary 

 that "those" mosquitoes were the largest ever created. The 

 average size in civilized districts is about one-half inch in 

 length, but civilization always retard their development. 

 The Georgia paper, which lately spoke of one two inches 

 long, lied most outrageously. 1 'have seen mosquitoes when 

 they grew for all they were worth, and I never saw one yet 

 that measured more than one inch and five-eighths in length, 

 nor do I believe any one else, ever did. It is the feats they 

 perform out of all proportion to their size, that leads men to 

 imagine thev grow to a monstrous size. It is well known, 

 tor instance, that every season a story goes the ionnds, of an 

 eagle in Kentucky carrying olT some child, but it is not so 

 well known that the sto'ry is true only as it relates Ihe Tact of 

 the child being carried off. The children which disappear 

 are the colored babies of the Louisiana swamps, and Ihe kid- 

 nappers are not eagles but mosquitoes. A man can scarcely 

 walk five miles in certain of those swamps without stumbling 

 over the skeleton of some child who has been borne away to 

 these solitudes by mosquitois, and there bled to death. At 

 least one-hall the children supposed to be annually devoured 

 by the alligator in the Southern bayous, are really carried 



,, i , Bquiloes and killed by the bloodsucking fiends. 



Doubtless, also, many Northern IravcU rs can remember 



theirstart of surprise on aeeing mosquito steak on. the hills 



eil fare of village hotels, and learning that such was the sole 

 subsistence of the poorer classes during the famine! 

 by destruction of the mops by freshets Such things are 

 cold, hard facts; but when a person comes down t i ulnodletH 

 figures and speaks of a mosquito two inches long, he do 

 I, contradiction he is sure to meet. 



t peaking of large mosquitoes reminds me that I OUCfi 

 knew a sailor who, when reefing topsails in a fog at the 

 mouth Of flic riv, r, was Struck by a wan l ring mosquito, 

 and knocked off the y.ad. being killed by 1 1 



I never measured a mosquito's bill, Imt I know they grow 

 to an enoruiuUi size sometimes, when alt the conditions axe 

 : . , . ■ 1 remember seeing a clerk rsrj river n aim 

 -'0.-.P nose was perforated through and through by a nios- 



