394 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[June 17, 



A WEEKLY Journal, 



Bevoted to Fmnn attd Aquatio Sports, PRAOTiOAnNATiTRAX 

 History, Ftsn Culture, this Protection oW.; a me, Preserva- 

 tion OF FoilESI s, Mil TIIJ! iNCCECATION IN MEN AND WOMEN OF 



A Healthy Interest in Out-Door Recreation akd Study i 

 PUBLISHED BY 



FOBEST AND STEEAM PUBLISHING COMPANY. 



NOS. 3UAND40 PARK ROW (TIMES BUILDING), NEW YORK 

 rPosT Oman Box 2832.1 



TERMS, FOUR DOLLARS A YEAR. STRICTLY US ADTANCB. 



Advertising Bates. 



Inside pages, nonpariel type, 25 cents per line; outside page, 40 

 cents. Speeial rate! «. Notices m 



editorial column, 50 cents per line-eight words to the Une,and 



^dverSsranente should be sent in by Saturday of each week, if 



Ail transient advertisements must bo accompanied with the 



money or they will not be inserted. 



r " N , , ltl ., , , t ., s ii .tice of an Immoral character 



^Afirpubuehe^ns rl b ' '".urproapectusasaboveonetime.with 

 brief eifitoZlnoii.-.M^ili>,- i ,!kM,iio I .thoreto,fln<l S cn.linfr marked 

 copy to us, will recce > Ih- Koiiest ANn stream for one year. 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 1880, 



THE WORK OF A STATE GAME PROTEC- 

 TIVE ASSOCIATION. 



All communications whatever, intended iorpu^ !fe,a *'on* crawUm 



locompanled with real name of the writer as a guaranty of good 

 faith and be addressed to Forest and Stream Publiehino Com- 

 pany. Names will not be published if objection be made. Anony- 



rtinent of the paper that 



m of mail serviceif money 

 s Company. 



• We c-ionot be responsible 

 reinited to us is lost. 

 |gT Trade supplied by A 



THE T1LESTON MEMORIAL FUND. 



THE lamentable, circumstances under which Mr. 

 William M. Tileston lost his life are still fresh in the 

 minds of our readers. One ot the saddest things connec- 

 ted with the calamity at the Madison Square Garden t8 

 the sudden destitution of the widowed wife and Iter little 

 children. 



With a spirit worthy of the highest commendation, 

 the Eastern Field Trials Club, of this city, having satisfied 

 themselves of the actual Btate of affairs, are now actively 

 engaged collecting money for a ' 'Tileston Memorial Fund." 

 In this labor of love the promoters of the scheme deserve, 

 and, we doubt not will receive, the cordial and generous 

 cooperation of every sportsman who may read these 

 lines. 



Mr. Tileston was for several years prom inently identified 

 with the sporting press. His name, as a writer on field 

 sports, was familiar all over the country, more especially 

 to the readers of the Forest and Stream, and we are not 

 mistaken when we say that the response from those who 

 thus knew him will be prompt and generous. 



We make this appeal because we are satisfied that this 

 is an urgent case. The money is sorely needed. It will 

 go directly to those for whom it is given. Nothing 

 further need be added. The subscription is open, 



The committee having the matter in charge are Messrs. 

 Chas. H, Raymond, P. H. Morris and Fred, N. Hall, P. 

 O. Box 1,893, New York, to whom contributions may he 

 sent. 



Following is the acknowledgement of the Secretaryup 

 to June 12th : — 



Editor Fore* ana Stream .- - NeW Tcllut " ** to 



I have to 

 BUbserJptio 



Chus. H. Raymond $35 00 



Dr. S. Fleet Spier 25 00 



D.O 25 00 



S. F 10 00 



W. A. Wheatley (Guide)... 5 00 



John Davidson 5 00 



B.H. W G 110 



Total 



knowledge the receipt to 12th mat of the followim' 

 lo the " Tileston .Memorial Fund :" — 



E.H.H 



Dr. H. F.Atcn. . 

 F. It. Hvor 



..$ 5 00 



. . 5 00 



... 600 



- — 6 Oil 



,1 . Von Lengerke 5 00 



IMF Morns 5 00 



P.N. Hull 5 on 



8135 00 



Fred. N. Haul, Sect'y. 



The Team Abroad.— Rifle shooting is dull now, with 

 the team away and everybody waiting for news of their 

 arrival and setting to work on Irish soil. The last news 

 from Ireland shows that the Irishmen arc working at a 

 remarkable rate, and with a fine day (June 10th) six of them 

 ran up an average score of 2101. It is certain that Col. 

 Bodine and his men have a real task on their hands, and 

 it begins to look now more than at any previous time 

 that there was to be a break in the line of American 

 rifle victories. 



THERE is in this State to-day a very definite field of 

 work for a State game protective association j and 

 it is highly important that this field should he clearly 

 comprehended, and that the efforts of such an associa- 

 tion should be very definitely confine-' to this field. In 

 the light of the present condition of affairs we may not 

 be accused of uttering truisms if we define the work of 

 a game protective association to be the protection of 

 game. A society which does this must begin at the very 

 foundation, and — 



First — secure right game legislation. We have a game 

 law. It consists of forty-one sections, These are of 

 patchwork growth — tinkered up and amended rit every 

 session of the Legislature. The law is notoriously in- 

 complete, inadequate and inoperative. To change this 

 condition of things is peculiarly the province of an asso- 

 ciation of intelligent and influential sportsmen, gathered 

 from the various sections of the State, each representing 

 the various interests of his locality. Such a body could 

 frame a law which would receive the sanction of every 

 man whose sanction it would be desirable to have. Such 

 a law would possess all the merits which the present 

 statute so conspicuously lacks. And, what is more, until 

 an association of this kind does take up the subject of a 

 State game law we shall never have anything satisfactory . 



It is objected that a State association cannot enact 

 laws. We answer that we have faith in the respectabil- 

 ity and standing and in the moral and political influence of 

 the sportsmen of the State of New York. Only let it 

 once be thoroughly understood that a State game protec- 

 tive society really means work, and it will speedily be- 

 come powerful by the hearty and active membership of 

 scores of men who are waiting to-day for such a society, 

 and it could secure at Albany just what game legislation 

 it might be pleased to demand. 



Having secured such laws as are necessary, an equally 

 important step is — 



Second — to provide for the enforcement of the game 

 law. Game legislation is altogether too much of a dead 

 letter. Its enforcement is a farce and a reproach to the 

 State, Provision maybe added to provision, and pen- 

 alty piled upon penalty ; what is everybody's business is 

 nobody's business ; neither is provision enforced nor pen- 

 alty inflicted ; the night fisherman, the bird snarer, the 

 poacher and the butcher ply their infernal practices in 

 season and out of season unpunished. Fish mongers and 

 game dealers, grasping for the almighty dollar, serve as 

 go-betweens for the restaurant keeper and the hotel 

 proprietor, and shield the nefarious deeds of the pot 

 hunter behind their guise of respectability and their 

 moneyed w T eight. It requires vigdance to catch the 

 skulking game thief, and it requires nerve to attack^he 

 law-defying marketmen. This has been the work of in- 

 dividuals ,too long. It should be undertaken by a State 

 Association. Will it be? 



How best an association should proceed to secure the 

 right execution of the game law it is not now the time to 

 discuss at length. It has long been a subject of serious 

 consideration among intelligent sportsmen ; and it is 

 generally conceded that the most efficient system is that 

 of a game constabulary, appointed by the State, and as- 

 signed to particular sections, where local and personal 

 considerations may not interfere with a discharge of 

 duty. With the cooperation of a wide-awake State as- 

 sociation this system might prove effective. It is at 

 least worthy of attention. 



It might be possible, also, to do very much for game 

 protection by creating and fostering amicable relations 

 between sportsmen and land-owners, removing mutual 

 misunderstandings and making the interests of each 

 identical. 



Another and a most important field of effort is to se- 

 cure the sympathy and cooperation of the press through- 

 out the State. The influence of the home paper will be 

 given not grudgingly nor fruitlessly when it is com- 

 manded by the earnest example of an association itself. 



These two divisions of the work are of sufficient 

 moment to receive the immediate and continued atten- 

 tion of any society professedly interest d in game protec- 

 tion. Another branch of effort, equally important but 

 to come as a complement of the other is — 



Third — to replenish and increase the supply. To re- 

 stock the depleted waters of the State and to introduce 

 new species of food and game fishes is clearly the work 

 of the State Fish Commission, but for the assured suc- 

 cess of its labors that commission requires just the hearty 

 supriort which a live, wide-awake and intelligent game 

 protective society could give it. In the importation of 

 game birds and animals, also, the most brilliant possibil- 

 ities suggest themselves. There is no good reason to-day- 

 why a New York sportsman should be obliged for a 

 day's deer hunting to make an expensive trip to Mich- 

 igan, where they protect their game better ; nor that to 

 the New York business man a quail shoot should mean 

 three days on the cars, and three hours in the field ; for 

 there is no reason why our own forests should not he 

 full of deer, nor why in our own valleys and hillsides 

 should not be heard the cheery note of Bob White. 



The work which we have briefly outlined is no boys' 

 play. Its accomplishment demands systematic and earn- 

 est labor, involving expense of time and money, and 

 some drudgery, of which the public can have no compre- 

 hension. Not until a body of men, who recognize these 

 facts, shall associate themselves together and make the 

 accomplishment of this work the chief object of then- 

 conventions, may we look for a remedy of the existing 

 state of affairs. This work belongs to the New York 

 State Association for the Protection of Fish and Game. 

 Can the Association afford to shirk it? 



HOW IT IS RECEIVED. 



THE most decided indorsement which representa- 

 tive sportsmen have accorded to our remarks on 



the State Association last week has afforded us sincere 

 gratification, for such an indorsement gives evidence 

 that the time is ripe for a change, and is in itself also an 

 earnest that the change will come. 



Below we publish a number of responses which have 

 come to us, and next week these will be supplemented by 

 others of an equally outspoken character. This matter 

 is one of vital interest to the sportsmen of New York. 

 We invite and urge a full, free and candid expression of 

 opinion from all men who have an opinion on the subject; — 



Syracuse, N. Y., June Villi. 

 Editor Forest and Stream: — 



You have expressed my opinion in regard to the "New 

 York State Association for the Protection of Fish and 

 Game" so well in your editorial of the 10th instant on the 

 subject, that I have but little to say. Every true sports- 

 man who reads that article will thank you most sincerely 

 for it. It is bold and right. The Association has existed 

 for a number of years under a false name, and it was 

 time long ago for it to either reorganize or change its 

 name. 



At its last meeting at Seneca Falls it did Hot say one 

 word or perform a single act for the " protection of fish 

 and game." Its chief desire was to proceed to the slaugh- 

 ter of 13.(100 pigeons as speedily as might be. Deer, 

 birds and fishes throughout the State needed a friend, 

 but the "Association for the Protection of Fish and 

 Game " had no protection to offer. The business meeting 

 was hastily and unceremoniously adjourned immediately 

 after the next slaughter field was named and officers for 

 the ensuing year appointed. Such proceedings have 

 many true sportsmen and prevented many 

 others from joining. It is now only men who thirst for 

 the sport which the traps afford them who manage the 

 affairs of the Association. 



It is most desirable to perfect an organization for the 

 protection of lish and game. As you well said in your 

 editorial, it is desirable to have I Ins association become a 

 power of this kind if it will ; but if it will not, it ought, 

 in justice, to drop the latter part of its name upon an 

 association of spi irtsmen who love to protect as well as 

 kill game and fish. 



A great many sportsmen in this State will sustain you 

 in the position you have taken on this question, and tne 

 hope will prevail among them that the State Association 

 will yet see the ridiculous position in which it baa | laced 

 itself and endeavor in the future to make trap shooting 

 the pastime rather than the object of its annual conven- 

 tions, D. U. Bruce. 



Rochester, N. Y., June Uth. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : — 



Your vigorous editorial of the 10th inst. cannot 

 fail to make a sensation among the many thousand 

 readers who have by this time read the article and 

 weighed the arguments it contained. 



There are probably a great many Others who feel on 

 the subject as I do, neither wholly agree nor disagree 

 with its sentiments. 



If the State Association for the Protection of Fish and 

 Game iB to be judged solely by its actions at the annual 

 conventions, oven its friends would he compelled to admit 

 that there is some inconsistency between its title and its 

 action on the occasions when the time is mainly devoted 

 to shooting pigeons over the traps. This latter pursuit 

 certainly has no tendency to promote the protection of 

 game, in or out of season, for it is the hope of every one 

 who steps to the line that he will make a " clean score," 

 that is, kill ten or twenty pigeons that have been caught 

 at the breeding season, and are not naturally in good 

 condition to be used for food. If this is not a fair repre- 

 sentation of the matter, at least it is the opinion of one 

 who has had fair success at trap shooting and confesses 

 to find considerable pleasure in the various emotions 

 awakened by a shooting match. 



In defense of the State Association, it may be said that 

 it carries out directly one of the professed objects of its 

 existence, and indirectly contributes to fulfill the other 

 function it assumed. The first article of the Constitu- 

 tion Ls as follows : — 



This Association is formod for the purpose of securing- proper 

 legislation for the protection of wild birds, lish and animals, 

 throughout the State, daring the season ut which it Is improper 

 in pursue them ; for the vigorous enforcement of such laws us 

 .h.ii be on icted. and for the promotion of kindly intercourse and 

 L'.-uenms emulation itraony sportsmen. 



Everyone who has attended a convention of the Asso- 

 ciation" must admit that it is preeminently a success 

 "for the promotion of kindly intercourse and generous 

 emulation among sportsmen ;" at least I never 

 Convention of so" many men, where the intercourse was 

 more friendly or the emulation keener, while fair. If 

 the name of the Association might lead one to think 

 Id be devoted to discussion of 

 game protection, legislation, etc., let it be remembered 

 that as ill" a sociation could not enact laws, 

 waste a great deal of time framing bills that the Legisla- 

 ture would not pass. Furthermore, the subject of game 

 protection could not he discussed, and anything new 

 produced every year. The subject would long since have 

 been, exhausted. The clubs winch form the "State Asso- 

 ciation do carry out its protective purpose, and they 

 Ht-e encouraged to continue in existence and usefulness 

 by the. annual meeting of the main body. 



I make no claim of great usefulness for the Associa- 



