452 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[jAimART <?, 1881. - 



THE GAJME LAW REVISION. 



THE final meeting of the committee on game laws of the 

 Long Island Association was lield at fli. '' mih 'i Gun 

 Club rooms Tuesday evening, Jamiaiy 4, ^! i ; iij 



the chair. Mr. Geo. A. Chappellread the f'l i i i ■, : 



Pish annually frozen in N. Y. City, 950, 0'JU lUt,. , utli ,iu- 

 Eually i'ro/.cn iu Boston, 300,000 lbs.; fish amiiiftlly frozen 

 elsewhere, .5,700,000 lbs. ; total, 6,850,000 lbs. 



The speakir recommended that the following should be.the 

 Minimum ■-^< 1. In 'T ilsii raught for market : blue flsli, f lb. ; 

 Jtriped sea ' '• -. ;, i lb. .■ weak li.sh, ,^ lb. ; porgies, 



t)b. ; whit' ; -!,,--; nuiUett, :]: lb. ; butter fisli, | lb. ; 

 Ounderu, ^ 1-j. ; .:ij;iiiitJi mackerel. 1 lb. ; eels, not less than 

 JS iiichos ill length. A close season for shad fr(.im June 1 

 to March 10, and the smallest caught must not Ije less than 

 ■4 lb. weight ; yellow perch, { lb. ; sun flsh, h lb, ISalmoii 

 ■and brook trout — the close seasons remain a^ thev are and 

 no fish weighing less than 3 oz. to be caught, and in tlic 

 comities of Kings, Queens, Suffolk, New York and Weoi,- 

 chester the limit to be 6 o?.. This was laid over for future 

 discussion. 



The game laws were taken up and the following 'changes 

 recommended: Deer— Open season from September 1 to De- 

 cember 1, and inarkclmeube allowed to freeze all that conies 

 in before January 1, provided it was killed bi season, and 

 then to furnish an inventory of what tbey huve on hand to 

 an oliicer appointed for that pm-pose: and also to make an 

 affidavit every nionlh of the amount sold. Hounding of deer 

 to be strieily prohibited. .Squirrels — Open season from No- 

 vember 1 tLi February 1- 



Quail — The open season to remain as it is, but the market- 

 Tiien to liave the same privilege of preserving as with deer. 



Woodcock — Open season from September 1 to January 1. 



Grn\ise— ^eiiKoii to remain as it is, with the same privilege 

 of p^r.^^rThl_2;:l^ with deer. 



Tlie r.illii\ving suggestion by Mr. Furey, of the Coney 

 Islaiirl Itod mid l4un Club, was adopted: 



■' No per.TOii shall use a drag net of any description in the 

 Watera of Omey Island Creek or Gravesend Bay between the 

 first day ot February and the first day of Oetoticr. No nets, 

 BciiK's, L'ill-iicis or fykes shall be set within five hundred 

 yards of low-water mark along the land known as Coney 

 IBland, from the mouth of Cojiey Island Greek to the wester- 

 ly end of said land, and known as Coney Island Point, said 

 land bomiding Gravesend Bay southerly and westerly, from 

 the first day of May until the first day of October. And no 

 pets, seines or gill-neta shall he used in the waters of Coney 

 Island Creek or'Graveseud Bay the meshes (if which shall be 

 o( a less dimension than two inches square. Except for eel 

 and llouuder fisldng, hoop-nela with suitable meshes may be 

 used within said Gravesend Bay between the first day of 

 October and the first day of May. 



" Any person violating the prrmsions of this section shall 

 ha deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and in addition thereto 

 shall be liaible to a penalty of fifty dollars. Also all nets, 

 seines, traps or other devices forbidden Ijy this section are 

 hereby declared contraband, and anj-^ person finding the same 

 ja any place where they are forbidden is hereby authorized 

 to destroy such contraband articles, and no action for dam- 

 ages .shall lie against him for said destruction." 



A committee of three were appointed to draft a complete 

 hill and to bring it tiefore the Long Island Association at an 

 early date. I'lie following gentlemen were appointed : 

 Messrs. Fure}-, Chapped and Steers. The meeting then ad- 

 journed to a sumptuous collation, prominent in which was a 

 large Restigouche salmon, which had been preserved Ijy 

 isir. Geo. A. Chappell since June last. 



OUR PHILADELPHIA LETTER. 



IT is very evident that we are to have a winter of unusual 

 severity and one particularly trying upon all game birds 

 of the gallinaceous order. Already three snows have fallen, 

 and at the present writing a fourth is adding to the depth of 

 the white mantle which now completely covers the country 

 and renders it diiacult, if not impossible, for either the pin- 

 nated grouse, TuBed grouse or quad to obtain a scanty liveli- 

 hood. The open season is not yet closed, and we hear of 

 quail being killed by the sportsman, and whole cover's, or 

 -what remains of thcni, arc daily trapped or snared by the 

 COuntr\' poacher and sent to market before the law prohibits 

 their beine offered for sale, advantage Ijcing taken of the 

 snowi aud"the traps and snares set in clearedand liaited spots, 

 to which the quail is lured by trails of chaff and straw whicb 

 arc etigerly followed to where the grain has been deposited. 



ITnlcsa 'great effort is made to protect and help them 

 through the winter it will be found that, as it was eight or ten 

 - years ago, we will have little or no .shooting for two or three 

 seasons following. As it is we doubt not that the wisest 

 course to follow (certainly the most htiniano one), 

 -would be for the spoilsmen to abstain from quail shooting 

 next autumn : indeed if we are to liave a contiuu;mce of the 

 present weather, and all our wise ones predict many more 

 snows during the winter that has j«st begun, it will be abso- 

 lutely necessary. _ . , , , , 



Sportsmen's clubs and game protective societies should 

 house and feed all the quail they can purchase, at the same 

 time jieisiiade the fanner to care for the birds that will most 

 certainly ."eek tlie barnyards for food. Not only has the poor 

 quail to" weather a severe winter, but this season we are told 

 there is an unusual number of hawks, which will add to their 

 persecutions. 



We have no doubt you will receive many letters on the 

 aubiect, and we trust FouEsr akb Stoea.m will be prominent 

 and' pay panieuhir attention to the mattoi, which is one of 

 vital iinporl.incc to the preservation of the quail from almost 

 total extiiu-l ion. . . 



Prairie chickens Ijv the ear-load are coming into our mar- 

 ket frozen birds. Iiv cheap freight, that sell for a song. It is 

 always so after cold weather and heavy snows, when Ihepoor 

 bird can be caialy slaughtered. Trappers arc Iriunq.hant 

 now and reap a haiwest. Tlu.s is a season wlien we may ex- 

 pect cheap and poor game all crowded in on the market to l>e 

 ,tllsposed of be.rore the middle of January, when our Pennsyl- 

 vania law prohibits the offering of most varieties. 



There has been little or no duek-shooting at Havre de 

 Grace, Bush and Gunpowder rivers for the past ten days or 

 two weeks, owing to the closing up of the feeding grounds 

 ■with ice. On the Jerse)- coast \te learn of poor fowl shoot- 

 ing, brant being both wVry and scarce. Homo. 



BRiaHT ASO li-KKLTBT—PJulactelphfa, Pa.— Tlie JFnKB.sr 

 ASD Stream ia bright, healthy, andkeep-i alive (he ?eMCions 

 i.pjpifWlueli like Mio light "ncvei.. n > " i 



jipartofUicjieuuiuObiioytsraimV. el; : 



MICHIGAN SPORTSMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



THE Michigan Sporlsmen's Association for the Protection 

 of Game.Pish and Birds, will hold its sixth annual session 

 at Lansing, commencing Tuesday, ,lan. 3o, at 3 r: w., and 

 erinliiuie one and a half or two days. Headquarters at llie 

 L.ansiiig House. 



Every local club or society organized in the interest of 

 game and fish protection or propagation, improvement in 

 miu-lvuianship and outdoor recreation, or the study of the 

 natin-al history of game animals of the land and water-, in the 

 State, IS earnestly desired to send delegates to the number of 

 five (or less) to this meeting, and individual sportsmen and 

 citizens interested in the otijccts eif this association are in- 

 vited ti) attend and become individual members of the Stale 

 association, and be entitled to all the privileges of elected 

 delegates. 



Contributed articles and essays upon any subject of inter- 

 est to sportsmen, naturalists and students of nature on laws 

 for the protection of game animals of fur and feather and in- 

 sectivorous birds; on fish laws, including ]3ropagatiou as 

 well as protection ; on trespass laws, and the mutual rights 

 of sportsmen and land-owners; on enforcement of game, 

 fish ancl trespass laws ; on nomenclature, both popular and 

 scientific; on sporting dogs; (ui hunting, angling, guns, 

 powders, projectiles, experiments, observations, etc., are re- 

 quested from every .source without further solicitation. Con- 

 tributors who are unable to attend will please send their ar- 

 tieleg to the Secretary at Lansing, care of Lansing House, 

 who will read them at the mee'ing. 



Tins will )ie one of the most vital a.5 well as interesting 

 meetings ever held bv this association. The wanton slaugh- 

 ter of deer for tlie hides only, and the fact thai not less than 

 15,000 deer, lulled mostly by professional market hunters 

 from other States, -n-ere shipped out of the State to Eastern 

 markets during the three mouths just closed, should rouse 

 our citizens to a sen.sc of the importance of preserving this 

 valuable game animal in pai-tictdar, for present and futm-e 

 generations, before it is too late. A large attendance is ex- 

 pected and desired. 



E. S. HoL.MEH, President, Grand Rapids. 



H. B. RoNBT, Secretary, East Saginaw. 



Indiana Quaii, Siiootixo— i''«i?-fa7ir/, Iiid., Dec. 25.— I 

 ani a life subserilier, for I could not be satisfied not to be 

 ahreast with the best thought of the day concerning matters 

 pertaining to field sports, of which I eon.sider the FoiiEST and 

 S-f)iKA:M the best exponent, by all odds, published in this 

 coantiy. Quail shooting has been almost nil in ibis part of 

 Indiana this season. The snow has covered the ground 

 almost uninterruptedly since the 17lh of November, and 

 previous lo that lime the grass, weeds and Com, together 

 with the heat rendered anything like a good bag a matter of 

 ini]iossiliility. The season closes with a fair number of birds 

 to remain over for propagating purposes should the snow, 

 which is now falling steadily, not be of a suflieient depth to 

 cover up their food, thus renclering them much more liiihle to 

 fall a prey to the pot-hunter, the trap and such vermin as 

 usually prey on them during a hard wdnter. 



I, in common with every other sporbsman and dealer in the 

 country, owe you thanks for the able e.vposition of the Ditt- 

 mar powder. For some time previous I had refused to sell 

 it to ni^v' ciislomers, although using it myself ciirefully, and 

 mixed with black powder; a shock not unlike, I imagine, a 

 mild stroke of lightning adraouished me not to use it too 

 freely alone in a breech-loader. 0. W. W. 



Another correspondent \vTites from Thorntown, Iiid : 

 Mr. E. H. Goodman, of Philadelphia, his brother, Col. Sam. 

 Goodman ; jMr. T. H. Eh-, of ^Utoua : Jolui Cable, of Jersey 

 City; Gen. G. W. Riissand liiissell Elliott, of Indianapolis, 

 and myself, of Thorntown, Ind., have just retm-ued from quite 

 an extensive quail shooting trip in central Indiana ^Ye 

 found game plenty, lint the early cold v.'eatber eoraiug on de- 

 prived us of some sport. However the party w.as well 

 equipped, having a Pullman dining car, liroughl from Phila- 

 delphia by Mr. Goodman, the Supei-inlendeut. The weather 

 was so extremely cold, however, that we had to rpfii. We 

 succeeded in bagging several huudred birds. HmrpiiAN. 



Fox Shootixg. — For the express benefit of our English ex- 

 changes we reprint the following from the New Havea, 



" Not for some years have the foxes tieen so plentiful along 

 the line of the Shore Line road as liiis wiin.er. It is no uii- 

 common thing for the I'o.x: hunters to gel four or live foxe.s, 

 and thej^ can't go out from Clint<m, <jver through .Madison, 

 without starting up several. Thanksgiving the Stony Creek 

 shooters went out and bagged several, and didn't go far. The 

 Clinton shooters have been over the ground made famous by 

 the Staunard murder and have also shot Reynard as lie has 

 been found along the shore. Morgan Pierson, Lcandcr Ste- 

 vens. Asa Watrous, Captain Albert Hubbard, George A. 01- 

 cott, Henry Stevens. Eben Buell, Warren DooUtlle, Gilbert 

 Woodstock, George Buell, AY. S. Grinnell and Hiram Dee 

 are arminir tliose who have hunted. Mr. Doolittle. it is said, 

 reeeiiij', "; illi i, n fi:\ near his liouse in open ground. Henry 

 Sle--i ' ■ ' I '-::'. Is without moviuL' out of his tracks. 

 Cli;;ri' - , ., a fox down off Farm Lsland. He didn't 



kiil ii ..1,^1 .. ..MS iifferward shot in the water, bul it drifted 

 av,'av. Thanksuiving dav Dr. Stevens shot his fir.sl fox at 

 the west end of the town, and Charles Dee had tlie same kind 

 of luck. A peculiarity of the season's work thus far is that 

 some of the best shots' have made bad wfsses and the ama- 

 teurs have bagged their game. " 



Was It a Dkkam?— Iu the spring of 18771 wa-s attached to 

 the Eighth U. S. Cavalry, Col. Shafter comnianding. sta- 

 tioned at that lime at Fort Clark, in Texas, near the Rio 

 Grande River. It was often my duty to carry dispatches to 

 the adjacent posts. On, the oee'asion of the incident which I 

 am about to n-l;xte I was on niv wuv to Lieul. Yan Ylect, in 

 eomniaiid of ,■■ small post on I be Frio River, about seventy- 

 five miles disiant. It was on mv relm-n trip and I rode late 

 to gel to water: had picketed mv horse, eaten my H. T. and 

 colEee, lain down with my saddle and blanket, no shelter but 

 the stariy canopy above, with my carbine lying acro.ss my 

 lap ready for an Apache c>|- anything else. It was nearly 11 

 e. 51. when 1 fell asleej). 1 must Lavr sle|Ji smmdly two 

 hom-8, wlieu I commenced dreaming ? 1 that n- panther was 

 approftchiug me. I seemed powerless u:. move or defend my- 

 solf. Thus I lay on my back until he was mthin a few feet 

 of mo, wliou suddenly I awoke im.l sprung up into a sitting 

 ' itioii, grasped my carbine and put a bullet through the 

 ■ lit of a very large panther not more thwx fifteen, feet difl- 



tant and in exactly the place where I dreamed (?) he was. 

 No more sleep for me that night, and as the pray of dawn 

 was appearing in the east I was on my way with his skin to 

 carry into camp. Sam. 



Qvy^y.nx^oK—WiUhwoodBankH, Va., I>ee. 19.— I learn by 

 arecent issue of your paper that Currituck has been written 

 up, so I will merely tell the measure of our success. Biggest 

 bag any one day, about thirty-five, includinu; everything, 

 from canva.s-backs to scoots. Though this number is" small, 

 yet we averaged well, getting more or less every day, accord- 

 ing to the weather. A' isiled Kuott's Island and found quail 

 in aljimdance. 1 think a dozen bevies a day could be flushed 

 tliere. Dogs worked well. F. A. Copeland has a rare one in 

 Gyp— staunch and under easy control. Snipe not as plenty 

 as usual. No troulile picking up a fairbag, though, A^ licnever 

 the appetite demanded a change from duck, pork and yam. 



RlGUT A2fD LkFT. 



y\^'^-v\'hoiivDK~Ok<t.r\WaterIIarb(rr, Fla., Dec-. 10.— I have 

 read in your valuable paper an account of ihc AVest Coast of 

 Florida by the able pen of Al. Fresco, llavir.i,'- spent two - 

 winters and one siminier on this coasi I (:an indorse all he 

 siiys about it to sportsmen, and would add for tlie information 

 of parlies Mho visit this section and do not wish to .ship a 

 boat that tliey can take steamer, or take pa.ssage on a schoon- 

 er ;U Cedar Keys for Clear AA^ater, where if t"heyinqiiire for 

 M. C. Dwighi, -rt'lio has a fine whsu-f and nice place, they can 

 find the comforts of a home al reasonable cost, and also a 

 boat and man accpiamted with the coast down to Key AVcst, 

 whicb will enable them to visit the southwestern coast at lit- 

 tle cost and with comfort. E: P. H. 



GiTN- TtnxLH—Bditor Forest and ■■^trmm. : Plea.se allow me 

 space to report trial of gun ■'' ?, Schaefcr, 61 Elm 



street, Boston, weight, 7.} I! nuited. 28 in., IS 



bore; right, modified ehol.L . hm -Jioke ; powder, Si 



dr.; soft shot. No. 8, 1^ oz.; distance, 4(i yards;' SJO-hich cb"- 

 cle: 



Right- 311, 236, 271, 210, 201, 273, -24.5, 330. 2.33, 227. 



Left— 287, 2.94, 3.51, 332, 303. 3G9, 287, 325, 3-13, 300. 



The gun was handicapped with poor powder, ' it being too 

 quick and foul, the residuum forming dry, hard scales. Not 

 having regulation pads, did not test pejictration, but the pel- 

 lets were well driven in the boards supportiug target. 



lUlhlioruuril, Bridge, A^ H., Dee. 24. Wakfield. 



A Dkmoi;aliz-ed Vox- ''h 

 brought tosrcther be; : ,'. 

 twenty rid'crs, :dl ;ii. , : ■ i 

 been lately caught ain' ■,;i-: 

 When turned loose, hov.evei 

 and then lay down. On heir 

 the same thing. The dogs \ 



', P'!., Dec. 23.- A fox chase 

 ,uod dogs, v/ith :Qfteen or 

 rl time, as the fox had 

 , ' i-tcd to make a good run. 

 he ran only a short distance 

 chained up three times he did 

 :; then turned loose and soon 



came up with and killed him. The fox Avas caught in n 

 muskrat hole and supposed to have been hmt in pulling him 

 out. The sport proving so poor a good part of the company 

 went to Brickerville, where twenty-five turkey.s were "shot 

 out." BaisK Shot. 



DrBUQUB, i()yf.\—Dec. 28.— Mr. J. Green and J. G. Peter- 

 son, each killed a large wild tm-key ■within a few miles of 

 the city a few days ago. They followed a luineh of seven 

 through the woods and finally got a shot tosctlier -,vith aliove 

 result. A party of rabbit shooters killed a' full ;,'rown wild 

 cat bul a short wav out of llio city limits, and a iiuge limber 

 wolf was ;>.ls,. bag-;ed. Pivf. l);mgeriield. our laxiderndst 

 has the two latter in hand- Julien. 



We SHOULn TftiNK He Dm.— The Newton, N. J., Herald 

 says ; 



" As the hiiuliug season is aliout closed, we hear the sport- 

 ing men tell of the eract; shots made during the season. We 

 venlinelosay that Linden 'Pranger, of Wal pack, has out- 

 stripped them all on quad, he having killed a whole fiock of 

 fifteen in one shot, not a single one escaping." 



Texas — JruUnrxdu, Dec. 23. — Since writing last the 

 weather lias been dry, and now as good shooting as any one 

 could reasonatily desire can be had. Took a for'ennon's hunt 

 the other day — result, one fine goose, eleven fine ducks 

 (of six different speeiesj, two Wilson snipe and one ycllow 

 legs. Stiirted after breakfast and was at home for dinner at 

 uocm, and did nut walk over 1-i miles. 



WvoMrNO— Glieymne, DfC. 10.— Large game is plenty here 

 this season. I was out last month on a hunt and bagged 

 twenty-two deer and five antelope in five days. This is my 

 first -and only hunt of the season. G. O. L. 



North Cxuouvx.—Iiidffewa}/, Dec. 80. — The shooting has 



been good and the woather fine until yesterday, when .snow fed 

 to tlic deptii of six inches, and the theinometer now .stanrls 

 at -i des. below ztro — colder than was ever known here. 



T. W. 



Mk. Abel Ckook (Bennett Building, N. Y. City), Presi- 

 dent of the New York State Sportsmen's Association, is ready 

 to receive bids from pigeon trappers for birds for the next 

 State tournament. 



SHOOTING MATCHES. 



•s ProKON HmtoTTSii—Gmicc-rd, iJa; 2i\.~£dilor 

 J^oret^t and .Stream : I see by yeirr issue of the 23d Inst, tliat the 

 Sportsmen or Coimeeticut are to littempt to repeal the law agahiHt 

 pigeon ghootlng. Would nut bueU an effort ou the psii-l uC the 

 many aportsmen of MaBsacdiusetts lead to the repealing of the 

 Hiime law in this State V B. 



Dextkh's Fahk— i. J., ./(!». 3.— Tenth regular nioulhly eonteet 

 Of the Lnub- ThI.'.iel t^hooting Club, for a RUn prcacuted by the olub, 

 shot foi- at 7 buds each, from 5 gi-oiiad tiaps, haudieappodriee, 80 

 y.ad-< lioiiiidnry. Long Ibland Shooting Club rules : 



■I. \. Tin lie... ■ -tyards 1 t \ 1 I I )—T 



-V. ):,]!!>- ■-'■-■ ,1 1 1 1 (I I 1— (i 



.T. I:iur.-ejl:e '.;« 1 ) ] 3 (1 1 1— B 



W. Milts - 2S 1 1 1' 1 i l_rt. 



K H.MaUltiOU 'iS 1 I t ] 1. I tl-6 



W.J.eiiikeu -M ,« • I I I C 1— ii 



a Tan StaiiKu.-»-- a2 i 1 1 i) i j (I— fi- ■ 



e Hance ... ,. ..-JS i U i t) i i u-^ 



V\'. A^'yan « , o u t a « .i. i— * 



T). 'Tiiomiiooii ,.,..,..n 1 u 1 3 1 n o^^ 



Captain Biiulsn- ai « ) 1 • u l 0— d 



Dr. Morton ...i.--25 o i o 1 * D 1—3 



Dr. TalBot 27 " t li 1 II 0— li! 



L, Mason , »i .0 w. 



