FROM THE CAME FIELDS. 



it? 



to camp tired and hungry, or when on the 

 move and there is little opportunity for 

 cooking. 



We are not Southern folks, and did not 

 take kindly to biscuit and hoecake, so for 

 variety we sometimes made Boston brown 

 bread, as follows: One pint of water, l /2 

 cup of sorghum, 1-3 cup of grease, one tea- 

 spoonful of soda, one cup of flour and one 

 pint of corn meal. Pour into a greased 

 pail, put the pail in a kettle of boiling water 

 and boil 2 hours. Open the pail and put it 

 near the fire a few moments to dry. May 

 you enjoy camping as much as I did! 



A MISLEADING CIRCULAR. 



Roselle, N. J. 

 Editor Recreation : 



In spite of the Lacey act, in spite of the 

 L. A. S., the illegal depletion of our game 

 covers continues, and we must still fight 

 before we can hope to have good laws 

 properly enforced. 



A few quotations from a circular will 

 show how the market hunters are infring- 

 ing on the rights of every sportsman. 

 In the section given to Pennsylvania 

 it says : "Ruffed grouse have been plentiful 

 for several years in Venango county, but 

 market hunting has depleted their number. 

 During '96 at least 2,000 were shot in 

 this county, where one pot hunter captured 

 about 700. The same may be said of 

 Tioga county. It is reported that market 

 hunters sent to New York during '95 

 over $5,000 worth of grouse. Westmore- 

 land county yielded about $1,000 worth of 

 game in '96, -consisting of wild turkey, 

 grouse, quails, rabbits and squirrels. Five 

 merchants in Wilkesbarre, from October, 

 '95. to January, '97, sold 3,500 grouse. 

 One Luzerne county hunter is reported to 

 have killed in '96, within a radius of 30 

 miles of Wilkesbarre, 804 grouse ; in '95 

 this same individual marketed about 1,200 

 grouse. York county formerly contained 

 a great deal of game. A few years ago 

 fully $8,000 worth was annually shipped 

 from this county, but market shooting has 

 greatly reduced the supply. From 5 town- 

 ships in York county there were sent to 

 market in one year 1,800 quails, 2,800 rab- 

 bits, and 3,000 wild ducks. In 1896 a firm 

 in Susquehanna county bought 3,000 

 grouse, 1,500 quails, 30,000 squirrels, and 

 40,000 rabbits." 



This work is still going on, for although 

 it is unlawful to ship game out of 

 nearly all States, it is still permissible to 

 sell game within State limits. A grouse 

 killed in Pennsylvania looks exactly the 

 same as one killed in New York, and after 

 the game illegally shipped is unpacked, 

 who can detect the crime? As long as the 

 sale of game is permitted anywhere, just 



so long will men shoot game for the mar- 

 ket. Three Western States have abolished 

 the game market, and have, under the 

 guidance of the L. A. S., nobly commenced 

 the final struggle for the preservation of 

 our game. Let New York be "not the last 

 to lay the old aside" ; let all States unite 

 in this grand cause, and the battle will be 

 won. This should be every sportsman's 

 first endeavor. Spring shooting and every 

 other kind of vandalism is not so destruct- 

 ive as the game market. 



As a result of spring protection to game 

 more birds are staying every year in Ver- 

 mont to breed than formerly, and un- 

 doubtedly when pickerel shooting is made 

 unlawful many more will stay; as the con- 

 stant banging of the pickerel shooter every 

 spring must drive many ducks away. 



Even in New Jersey, where spring shoot- 

 ing is still permitted, I know of 2 ducks' 

 nests within 2 miles of Rahway. One is 

 a wood duck's ; the other, a black duck's. 

 If the open season ended January 1, thou- 

 sands of ducks and marsh birds that ordi- 

 narily go far into Canada would stay with 

 us. The Canadian Indian, who smokes and 

 salts down thousands of ducks for his food 

 supply in winter, would wonder why the 

 yearly flight across the line was growing 

 less, and we should rejoice that our game 

 birds were no longer driven to the far 

 North. C. D. H. 



The statement you quote from the circu- 

 lar is no doubt grossly exaggerated. For 

 instance, it is stated that in one year 3,000 

 ducks were shipped from 5 townships in 

 York county, Pa. That is not a duck coun- 

 try in any sense. A few ducks may be 

 found each year along the Susquehanna 

 river, but I doubt if even 200 were ever 

 killed and shipped from that county in 

 one year. 



The statement that a firm in Susque- 

 hanna county bought and shipped 30,000 

 squirrels in one year is simply absurd. I 

 doubt if that many squirrels have been 

 killed in that county in the past 10 years. 



A number of men have been prosecuted 

 for violations of game laws in Susque- 

 hanna and York counties within the past 5 

 years, and but little illegal shooting or sell- 

 ing of game is done in that county now. — 

 Editor. 



HOW MR. SHARP CONSTRUES THE LAW. 

 Hon. John Sharp, Salt Lake, Utah : 



I have several times been informed by 

 citizens of your State that you have made 

 ruling to the effect that a so-called sports- 

 man may take with him in his boat a guide 

 or pusher on the duck grounds ; that the 

 sportsman may, if he choose, forbid the 

 guide doing any shooting, and that he, the 



