FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



445 



However, Dick soon started one, which I 

 killed. My next shot was a clean miss, but 

 after that Dick and I got down to business. 

 Of course, that was not the only miss of 

 the day, but we did well and had it not been 

 for fear of being called a game hog, I could 

 have secured a few more. Dick is the best 

 bird dog in this part of the State. 



O. J. Marsh, Westfield, N. Y. 



Have enjoyed some fine quail shooting in 

 Tonto basin. The birds are there by thou- 

 sands. At Armer I had 2 good coon hunts 

 and added a coon hide to my collection ; 

 also 2 silver tip fox skins, which I got on 

 Sycamore creek. Recently I shot a large 

 wildcat ; but thought I was playing in hard 

 luck as I saw 4 and only got one. At Liv- 

 ingstone I secured a coyote. 



We fished in Salt river but met with small 

 success; catching mostly "bony tails" as 

 the natives call them. 



Mr. A. A. PaChards, of Tonto Basin, has 

 a son who within 6 months has killed 14 

 mountain lions. He uses nothing but a 

 Winchester repeater, .22 extra long. How 

 is that for the small bore? 



A. C. Fayrer-Hickey, Globe, A. T. 



I am fond of squirrel hunting. I do not 

 keep a horse, and as the hunting grounds 

 are 10 or 12 miles from the city, I have 

 rigged up my bicycle to carry my shooting 

 dufiie. On the handle bars I have hung a 

 carrier in which my fox terrier — the best 

 squirrel dog in these parts — rides with com- 

 fort to himself and no inconvenience to me. 



I strap my .32 calibre Marlin to the upper 

 bar, and carry the cartridges in my pockets. 

 My squirrels,- when I get them, I tie be- 

 neath the saddle. 



I usually start at 7, reach the woods in 2 

 hours, and hunt until noon. Squirrels are 

 scarce, but with the aid of my dog I always 

 manage to find some; though I never shoot 

 more than 4 in a day. 



G. C. Deuschle, Racine, Wis. 



Madera county has its share of game. In 

 the mountains are bears, deer, mountain 

 lions, wild pigeons, mountain quails, grouse 

 and trout. In the foot hills can be found 

 valley quails, rabbits and other small game; 

 on the plains, ducks and geese. The geese 

 are generally hunted with a trained ox. 

 Jack rabbits are so plentiful as to be a 

 nuisance. Nearly all the ranches keep 

 'hounds to kill them. In the streams we 

 have salmon, salmon trout, carp, and cat 

 fish. Climate we 'have lots of; from 120 

 degrees in the shade on the plains, to snow 

 and ice in the high Sierras. Snow is al- 

 most unknown on the plains here. 



Chespa, Madera, Cal. 



The fishing season ended here in Novem- 

 ber and the sportsmen devoted their time 

 to duck shooting for the next 2 months. 



The different clubs had excellent sport on 

 their preserves, near the coast. Many fine 

 bags were made, mostly consisting of wid- 

 geon, sprig and teal. The season was a 

 dry one, which had the effect of keeping 

 the ducks confined to the marshes, and to 

 fresh water ponds formed by artesian wells. 

 Many of the crack shots made bags of 

 30 to 50 during the morning and evening 

 shooting. A party of 4 game hogs slaugh- 

 tered 4,000 quails recently, in lower Cali- 

 fornia, near Ensenada, in 3 days. I am 

 sorry I have not the names of these butch- 

 ers to send you. 



B. C. Hinman, Los Angeles, Cal. 



The Catskill Fish and Game Club is doing 

 its share in restocking the country with 

 game. In 1897, we liberated 100 ringneck 

 pheasants, 102 Western quails, 15 Belgian 

 hares and one pair of Canadian hares. We 

 also planted, in suitable waters, 300 brown 

 trout and 3,000 land locked salmon, all year- 

 lings. 



We now have a breeding pen of Mongo- 

 lian pheasants, 9 hens and 6 cocks. We hope 

 to be able to put out 300 young birds next 

 season. We have had restored the bounty 

 of $1 a head on foxes. Our membership is 

 100, and still growing. We hope to accom- 

 plish much good for a future generation, if 

 not fc 1 * this. 



Wm. Mattice, Sec, Catskill, N. Y, 



Many men, in this State, violate the laws 

 by killing more than their share of deer 

 and selling them. A guide will go into the 

 woods with a party of 3 or 4 and kill deer 

 enough to equal the legal allowance of the 

 whole crowd, while his employers are un- 

 able to kill anything. If city hunters can- 

 not kill their own game, let the game live 

 and increase. 



I went up last fall and, with my one 

 hand, killed 2 deer. The guide I had, Dell 

 Durgin, of Kennebec Forks, told me that 

 in the winter woodchoppers make a busi- 

 ness of hunting up yards where deer are, 

 driving them into deep snow and killing; 

 them. 



Geo. H. Rock, New Auburn, Me.. 



I do not know why J. K. L. asks that 

 you let up on game hogs, but I am ashamed 

 that such a request should come from 

 Rochester. We have a splendid lot of 

 sportsmen here, law abiding and fair minded. 

 You have evidently discovered some game 

 hogs also. Our county game and fish asso- 

 ciation is doing good work. Success to the 

 L. A. S. 



J. B. Warren, Rochester, N. Y. 



Recreation is the first periodical I ever 

 saw that gave a game hog his due, and I 

 hope it will be the means of clearing the 

 country of such pests. 



Thomas Mickle, New Orleans, La. 



