THE LEAGUE OE AMERICAN SPORTSMEN. 



479 



Many names hav.e been submitted, 

 among them gentlemen and sportsmen 

 whom I personally know to be of the right 

 calibre, and the question now arises how 

 can we make use of all of them, so that the 

 League may derive the benefits which 

 would naturally follow their appointment? 



As rapidly as is possible the choice of 

 local wardens will be made, and I shall 

 submit to you for publication, in the next 

 issue of Recreation, a list of the names 

 selected to act in this capacity. 



It must be a source of great satisfaction 

 to the officers of the League (as it is to me) 

 to note the increasing interest taken in this 

 great work. Every day I receive letters 

 asking for information as to its objects, 

 as well as for by-laws and application 

 blanks. One letter, now before me, comes 

 from a remote corner of Wisconsin, where 

 I had not supposed they knew, as yet, of 

 the formation of the L. A. S. ; but the 

 writer is well posted and it is evident he 

 is a reader of our official organ. 



Will you kindly make it known, through 

 the columns of Recreation, that the latch 

 string to the Chief Warden's Office is al- 

 ways on the outside and that he will be glad 

 to welcome such members as may find it 

 convenient to call on him. 



A. Edward Pond, 

 Chief Warden, New York Div. 



Four state divisions of the L. A. S. have 

 now been organized, viz.: New York, with 

 A. E. Pond as Chief Warden; New Jersey, 

 with T. H. Keller as Chief Warden; Massa- 

 chusetts, with C. W. Dimick as Chief 

 Warden, and Pennsylvania, with the Hon. 

 J. O. H. Denny as Chief Warden. These 

 officers are getting their war paint on, as 

 fast as possible, and it is expected they will 

 move on the pot hunters, vigorously, by 

 the time the shooting season begins. Ap- 

 plications for local wardenships are being 

 received by all these state officers, but no 

 appointment will be made, in any case, 

 without thoroughly investigating the stand- 

 ing of the applicant. We want no dead 

 timber in any of the offices of the League. 

 We want only men who will work, and if 

 any of the appointees prove negligent, on 

 trial, they will be promptly displaced and 

 live, energetic men put in their places. 



Members of the League, residing in any 

 of the states named, are advised to recom- 

 mend to their respective Chief Wardens, 

 men who would make good local wardens. 

 and who are known to be friends of game 

 protection. 



Applications for membership are still 

 coming in steadily, but not as fast as they 

 should, and every member of the League, 

 who desires to see the game preserved, 

 should work faithfully among his friends 

 to induce them to join. 



A circular letter has been prepared, and 

 is being sent out to persons who should be. 



members. If you would like some copies 

 of it, for use among your friends, write 

 the Secretary and he will send them to you. 

 He will also send you as many blank appli- 

 cations for membership, and as many 

 copies of the constitution and by-laws as 

 you want. 



Can you not use a large number of copies 

 of this letter? Each member of the League 

 should be able to use, to good advantage, 

 50 to 100. He should sign them personally, 

 and should put a P.S. on the margin ask- 

 ing the recipient to make this a personal 

 matter and to send his dollar at once, to 

 the writer, in order that he may forward it 

 to the secretary. 



MR. FOX, GAME HOG. 



In the crusade against pot hunters and 

 game hogs, one of the rascals has been, so 

 far, overlooked. He is a cunning hunter 

 and tireless worker, and destroys more 

 small game than any of his two-legged com- 

 petitors. His name is fox, and he was once 

 an outlaw, with a price set on his scalp. 

 Since New York ceased paying bounty for 

 foxes, they have become, in some parts of 

 the State, as numerous as rabbits. Untii 

 their numbers are materially reduced, little 

 can be accomplished in the way of protect- 

 ing or propagating small game. 



I suggest that the L. A. S. endeavor to 

 procure the passage of a law restoring the 

 bounty on foxes, and placing one, as well, 

 on such varieties of hawks and owls as are 

 known to prey on game. 



The open season for ruffed grouse, as 

 fixed by our present game law, begins Au- 

 gust 16. At that date the young grouse are 

 mere chicks, unable to fly more than 10 or 

 20 yards. Whole coveys are then slaugh- 

 tered by men who a month later could not 

 kill a grouse if they shot all day. The 

 grouse season should not open before Sep- 

 tember 15, and the L, A. S. should see the 

 change is made. 



W. S. Mead, Woodstock, N. Y. 



Please put my name on the rolls of the 

 L. A. S. I will do a farmer's share in its 

 favor. Send me a silver badge for the 50 

 cents inclosed. 



I have stopped spring shooting and have 

 told others to do so. Last week when I was 

 trapping I caught a wood-duck. She was 

 promptly released and set free. There are 

 a pair of them in the woods, across the 

 river, and now I often see one or the other, 

 as they feed, on the river. That is what 

 Recreation does. 



Mr. B. Knispel, Ebenezer P. O., Water- 

 town, Wis. 



I am glad to know you have stopped 

 spring shooting. Many men who formerly 

 practiced this have reformed, and I hope all 

 of them .will in time. If they do not. many 



