324 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[NOVBMBEE 25, 1880. 



bringing into direct communicatiOQ with eacli otlicr, the gen- 

 tleman sportsman who is willing to make a suitable return 

 for services rendered, and the fai-mer who is willing in con- 

 sideration of fair treatment to pret;erve the birds on his land. 

 We propose the fair trial of a carefully matured scheme, 

 of which tlie general purposes are : 



1. The protection of game birds by farmer and landowner 

 for the benelit of the gentleman sportsman. 



2. A fair remuneraliou of the farmer by the sportsman for 

 privileges gi-anted. 



3. Putting the two interested parties into diced communi- 

 cation with eacli other. 



4. A discrimination between gentlemen ' and rowdies, and 

 the protection of the farmer and the gentleman sportsman 

 alike from tlie direct and indirect injury of lawless gunners. 



5. Tlie uncompromising enforcement of the law against 

 - netting and snaring — not in the interest of the sportsmiui as 



against that of the farmer; but for the mutual benctil of 

 both. 



6. The united efforts of farmers and sportsmen to duly pro- 

 tect and replenish the supply of gnme. 



To put into tangible shape such a scheme as this, wc must 

 at the outset receive the endorsement and co-operation of the 

 sportsmen who are interested. If we have not mistaken, we 

 shall receive this ; and without further preliminaiies, we now 

 call upon such of our readers as approve of the plan, and are 

 willing to join us in it, to send their names and addresses to 

 this oflice. We invite correspondence on the .suljject. 



THE DEATH TRAP IN SHINNECOCK 

 BAY. 



SINCE the publication of our article with the above head- 

 ing, which was taken up and commented upon by the 

 i?ew York Times and Brooklyn Ji'iglf, we have had several 

 letters and interviews upon the subject. A lawyer writes 

 us that he finds that no law appointing commissioners to 

 locate an inlet for the bay was passed by the last Legislature, 

 and thinks that this may be an error. 



We have not looked into this portion of the afiarr, having 

 received ovx information from the fishermen about Quogue, 

 Atlanticville, and Good Ground. Thu facts about the clos- 

 ing of the inlet and the certainty of the death of the fish, if 

 not released, all agree upon. During the pa.st week many 

 young blueflsh (snappuig mackerel) have come to New York 

 market from the bay, fish of half a pound ; and if they serve 

 for food it is better than to have them entirely lost. The 

 blueflsh left this part of the coast (Lon.g Island) fully three 

 ■weeks ago; and the millions of young of this species, as 

 well as those of the menhaden, weakfish, etc., should be al- 

 lowed to go and return with increased growth next season 

 to say nothing of the injury of the bay for spawning pm-- 

 poses by allowing the fish to die there. 



Mr. H. D. Butler, well known as the Superintendent of 

 the New York Aquarium under the old regime, has been at 

 Good Gromid all summer. He tells us that the location of 

 an in'et has been decided upon, but that it will not be dug 

 until the people have finished their fall farming work, per- 

 haps in January ! This is surely covering the well after the 

 Cidf ii drowned. The blucfish, v.eakSsh and menhaden 

 will then have died, and their carcasses, such as are not 

 devoured by the crabs and eels, will He until the warmth of 

 spring causes them to dcoay, when the scum on the top of 

 the foul water will repel every fish seeking to enter to de- 

 posit its eggs. The closing of iho inlet has resulted in a rise 

 of the waters of the bay from the iiitiowlng creeks until it is 

 between one and two foot higher than usual, and the cellars in 

 the vicinity arc flooded. The only outlet is the filter through 

 the sands of the beach. Mr. Butler stood upon a temporary 

 foot-bridge, made necessary by the rise of the waters, and 

 counted thirty-flvo dead blaeflsU in the little creek. They had 

 chilled and died. 



The fishermen say that in former years while the bay was 

 closed they got cartloads of large striijod burs wliicli, becom- 

 ing chilled, floated up to the surface. Weakfish of eight to fen 

 pounds are readily caught by dipping up in a net, they being 

 too cold to escape. Thi:ae fish cannot stand the cold weather 

 tliat some of our fish v.liidi remain all winter with us do. 

 The different fishes are siniilar to the birds— some arc hardy 

 and will endure cold and otliers will not. While meji are 

 disputing over the location of an inlet, it is well to bear in 

 mind these facts as gained from those long familiar with tiie 

 bay. Seventy years ago the inlet was away cast of where the 

 lighthouse now stands. The one opened last season was two 

 and-a-half miles west of it. All the inlets on the south side 

 of Long Island are working west, The great inlet at Fire 

 Island does not cross the beach at a right angle, but nms 

 from tlie bay in a westerly direction, and perhaps tliia might 

 prove of advantage to Shinnecock. 



This is a question which does not alone concern the men 

 who live around and from the bay. It has a wider applica- 

 tion. Itaffcri:^ 4i,„r..,i rj,,pp!y of a great city, and wlule 

 our Fish CoLii ' - 1 ving their time and energies to 



the stocking : .i. 1 the p.coplc are willing to fur- 



nish the means i.o i.io it i,.illi, here are untold numbers of 

 fish dying just as tliey have arrived at the age when they are 

 fit to go to sea to grow. We would like to see our State 

 Fish Commissiouers empowered to meet cases like this ; they 

 are the ones who should have eutire charge of it, and they 

 would arrange the inlet where it would promise the greatest 



pcrmanenc3' without regard to any man's front door. They 

 should have a distinct appropriation to meet such a great 

 emergency as lliis, and we know they would not wait until 

 Jiuiuary to do it. 



Forest and Stream Bird Notes. 



, AN INDEX A>"D SCMMABY OF ALT. THE 



OEiSTTHOLOGICAL MATTER IN FOREST ANB STREAJI. 

 VOLS. I— XIL 



Compiled bt H. B. Cailei-. 



rriniS volume, as its title imports, is a complete and com- 

 -*- prehensive summary of all the ornithological matter con- 

 tained in the first twelve volumes of the Foeest and Strea.m. 

 The material here coridenscd comprises extended essays and 

 descriptions, field notes and observations liy sportsmen and nat- 

 uralists. They include every pan of North America ; em- 

 liraoe a period of six years ; and relate to the life history, 

 haunts and habits of all the familiar birds of om' seashores, 

 fields and forests. 



Much of tins material has been ■written by well-lvnown or- 

 nithologists, who have from the hiception of the Fof.e.st AND 

 Stkeam recognized its value as a medimn f<a- the inter- 

 cliange of information of this character. In addition to hav- 

 ing seevn-ed the contributions of so many writers of accredited 

 authority, the paper lias been remarkably sucees-sf nl in stimu- 

 lating original study and observation on the part of its read- 

 ers, and the good result has been the acquisition of a vast fund 

 of new and useful information peitaining especially to the 

 game birds of North America. The great bulk of the book 

 indeed has been fm-nished by .sportsmen ; it embodies their 

 owm personal observation, and is wliat has interested them. 

 It is, therefore, what caunot fail to intei-cst all sportsmen. 



The labor of compilation, which has occupiL-d the leisure 

 time of several months, was undertaken at the earnest and 

 repeated solicitation of numerous readers of the I'aper, who 

 were cognizant of the wealth of ornithological materia! stored 

 awfiv in iis files, and who felt the need of having the same in 

 compact and accessible shape. The book as completed fully 

 justifies their opinion ; it contains more usefid information 

 about the game birds of this country than can be f oimd in any 

 other single volume published. 



The plan followed in the preparation of the Fokest asd 

 Stream Bird Notes has been to make (1st) an alphabetical 

 index, all the articles relating to a given subject being desig- 

 nated, wdth references to volume, nundicr and page ; (3il) an 

 abstract of each article, and so a complete abstract of all the 

 matter contained in the twelve volumes reiaiing to each sepa- 

 rate subject ; and (3dj a complete list of the writers. 



The book will be of equal value to those who do, and to 

 those wiro do not, possess complete files of the paper. Under 

 each head, as Quail, Kufl'cd Grouse, Snipe, Wild Turkey, 

 Woodcock, etc., will be found a digestof all the contributions 

 concerning each of these birds, the locahties where they 

 are found and the seasons, the migrations of the migratory 

 species, and their breeding and other habits. 



The book is now in the printer's hands. It will be printed 

 on fine calendered paper, with wide margins, and will make 

 a volume of about 200 closely printed pages. The date of 

 pubbcation and the price will be announced iu due time. 



DEFIANCE OF LAW IN NEW YORK. 



THE law of the State of New York prohibiting the sale of 

 striped bass (rock-fish) under half a pound in weight 

 has been generally observed by the market dealers of this 

 citj', until recently. The fact is that striped bass weighing 

 less than one-half pound are now sold iu the New York mar- 

 kets six days out of the seven of every week. It was sup- 

 posed by the dealers tliat thosff who were instrumental in 

 procuring the passage of the Jaw would be on the lookout for 

 its violation and enforcement. This is not the case, nor is it 

 to be expected. Men may advocate the passage of a law and 

 there their duty ends. Neither is it our duty to make com- 

 plaints to the comts, as we consider that we fidflU it when 

 we publicly call attention to a violation of the law. 



The fact is that New York City needs a Game Protector, 

 and Long Island needs another — men who reside on the 

 premises and can watch the markets. These markets, as wc 

 have before said, are the great incentive to poachers, and if 

 the sale of their plunder is stopped they cannot follow their 

 unlawful business. 



There is entirely too lax a state of public opinion in regard 

 to the violation of the game laws, many people looking at 

 them as a venial offence : but it is robbery ; robbery of the 

 whole people, which, if practiced upon an individual, would 

 be dealt with severely. These laws are made, or should be 

 made, to give every man a fair start in the race for sport, and 

 he who starts in a few days, or weeks, in advance is a rob- 

 ber, whom it is base flattery to call simply a violator of the 

 law. 



The striped bass law was enacted to save a valuable fish 

 from extermination by the killing off the young— and surely 

 half a pound is small enough limit for a flsh which often is 

 seen in the market of thirty pounds, and sometimes of double 

 that weight. 



The poiichers are now in arms to resist the law. Our au- 

 thority for this is the Oswego Palladium, which says ; 



Two weeks ago "William P. Dodgs, of Prospect, a State game cou- 



stablo appoint'3d raider the act of last winter, made a torn" of Oneida 

 Lalio and de-troyed atiout thhty trap nets which he found set in 

 TioIaLi(jii ot tho gamelaw. He nsed souie 1;oata from MesBenger'a 



hotei livery. Tliat night, it is r-- *■ ' 'i - •■-',:-.■■:-■> Ifrxraiug ot 



their losses, gathered at the hj. i aies oiid 



clesti'oyed aU tJie boats, tc thi- . '- luivf 



set tlieir nets, and every night tiujn icj. lu ui n. n innii uxn, nrn 

 with guns, patrol the beach all along the ftshmg grounds. I'l 

 keep a man stationed at Cauastota to send out the idaiui if » 

 State constable or any other officer stnrta ont for tlie hdie. The 

 fishermen openly declare that they will lail the nest game oflicei 

 who appears. They are lawless iu tlieix tiahiti*. and it is iiol 

 doubted that they will fulfill then- tl.re.Lts. One niftn has Ihniy oi 

 these bap nets, worth 640 a]jiece. If the carforcenient of the Ian- 

 is insisted on. it is helievta tliid thi.i'r, wUl be trouble, and at the 

 same time it toolis cowardly foi the Oueida County Game .Vrtsocia- 

 tiou, whicli started the movement, to back out. 



If what this report says is true, then no language is loo 

 strong to use in this matter. We hope to learn that the One- 

 ida Game Assciciu! ion has not backed down, but that they 

 will support Mr. Dodge in his landible undeVtaking. If not, 

 then we trust that Mr. Dodge baa the requisite backbone to 

 call on the State for aid. AVe have great hopes of the elli- 

 ciency of the new Game Protectors. The only fault is that 

 there are not enough of tliem to watch the great markets and 

 Long Island, the home of the poacher, and we -will give them 

 our miqualifled support in all their lawfid undertakings. 



There is no use iu mincing matters \vhen poachers are as 

 daring and defiant as these Oueida Lake robbers are. Tliey 

 must bo put down at all hazards. 



Since the above was penned the Kochester Democrat and 

 Chronicle cfime to hand with an account of an attempted as- 

 sassination of Mr. G. M. Schwart?;, the Game Prolcctor rA 

 that city. After recounting a splendid raid by Mr. Scliwarr- 

 on the illegal netters of Cayuga and Seneca Lakes, whereby 

 over 100 gill nets and many fine lake trout were oonfiscatcd, 

 it savs : 



As they itachcd Two Mile loint soTiial men -ncro t-ctu lu bj[it.< 

 lavm^ thLii net hut um.n ttie a^ipumh of th. htenmtr thu i idltd 

 hahtll^ tolhei-boie -uid lai. .n n rh i iirt - ii h m ,uuntei, 

 eaehloideddonn«lthmi ui'i ii i U i iltd 



l>vthe othcnlu and the htt i I n is a 



hiight moonhbht m^ht lud ^ i i I in \ , 



■^tandnij, on th diatngi^idu m ihiti i vl i rl. n , t d 

 agnn «iHhtiidi ri th sh le auJ a hnU. t Mit< ri I Ih i t i i st 

 ^>hKhidi ^chwaiiz\ ih Iciuing, ^Mtlml t > ni.li jt hi „t 1 

 Thekadla,Llc-lo£f a bphat 1 ttiMol inhhtm tht ^en >-- 

 manoMi*he(Te tut to uJ tli h m luitjiiiui 1 tdthoivh 

 thecilli as e\tndui^!, ck>Ht Ili thi i i i i i 1. 1 f tl tiipAti 

 Sbwartz Bto:>d j,uaidT\ith a gun m h I i ' Ii \ nit 



pulled ont the m t«, and befoie the> le ' i th 



had Bci/ed tweh e nets and torn up betn i 1 1 



Ml Saundeis auiicrmtendcnt ot the imu i ti mil ut hn ot 

 fera arenardtor the distuvcn of tht min«hohred the i,L t lud 

 e\ er^ effort 1? benic, made foi hi ji ic in It»i leu nl\ 

 a d<ist^idl-s attempt at mmdei I the chxiatter ui 



thenieu who a^-j I ii„a^td in III n tin ins to which 



thev^iUie irttoie ibttht lU All Sehnait/hurt 



done and jb douig sp endid woil in prut Ltiu„ our (iblung mttitsts 

 and be should rtttive a bubttantial suppoit. 



FISH EGGS FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION. 



PROFFSSOK,BAIRD, United States Commissioner of 

 Fish and Fisheries, will have eggs of salmon, laiut- 

 lockcd salmon, whiteflsh and California trout for public dis- 

 tribution during the months of December and January. 



The salmon eggs are those of the Atlantic salmon {Salmo 

 salar), from the Penobscot Eivei", and will be sent from 

 Bucksporl, Me. The land-locked salmon eggs (S, Selmgo 

 will be delivered at Grand Lake Stream, Me., the eggs of the 

 whitefish ( oregonus albmy^&i NorthvUle, Mich., and thetroui 

 from the United States salmon-breeding ranch ontheMcClouti 

 River, Califoniia. 



Now is time for all fish ccmimissioners or flsh cullui'eist.-> 

 to make applicatijii fur tiic eggs nf snch speciea as they ma_\ 

 require to Prof, llaird, AVashington, D. C. There will be no 

 charge for the eggs, nor for their packing, the only cost 1 1 > 

 the receiver being the express charges on the packages froni 

 their point of shipment. 



Db. Gaeuok on the Cam?. — The venerable fish culturist, 

 Dr. Theodatua Garlick, now in his seventy-sixth year, has 

 begun the cultm'e of the carp. The Doctor, as some of our 

 latest readers may not know, is the father of fish culture in 

 America and is an invalid of sixteen years' standing, now 

 confined to his house. lie writes to us as foUows from Bed- 

 ford, O., Nov. l.'J : " I receiveda very nice letterfrom Prof. 

 Baird a few da\-s ago. He also sent me soire German carp 

 and I have placed them in as good a place as can be found 

 most anywhere. Prof. Baird is doing more good for our big 

 human family than any other man living " 



State AssociA'nos^ Pbizes. — Last week we published tin 

 names of the prize committee. Wo are informed thai ninn \ 

 prizes of a most substantial character have been ah'eady 

 promised and that the full list, when completed^ promises to 

 be esceptionabli' full and valuable. 



A Word to Ouk Ekadees.— Every reader of the Fokest 

 asd Stkbam is requested to send us the names and addresses 

 of such of his friends as are interested iu field sports, but are 

 not among our subscribers. 



