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RECREATION. 



ber i ; and some said to January i. 

 In fact, the above 5 dates were ar- 

 ranged in every possible combination and 

 the same insisted on as being the final solu- 

 tion of the problem. The learned men who 

 framed the law undoubtedly intended to 

 make the open season October i to De- 

 cember i, and so it was at last interpreted. 

 The bag of ruffed grouse was limited to 5 

 a day for one man, 36 i n the season ; an 

 excellent provision. 



There is practically no shooting before 

 October 20th, on account of the leaves still 

 hanging on the trees. I know of no one 

 who killed more than 3 grouse in one day 

 before that date, and it was not because the 

 birds were not plentiful. The first day I 

 went out I raised no less than 50 grouse, 

 more than I had ever seen here before. 

 I only got 5 shots, however, killing 2 birds, 

 and I had as careful a dog to aid me as I 

 have ever owned. The birds were wild 

 and no dog or man could get within range 

 of them. So practically the open season is 

 but little more than a month. When the 

 law allowed shooting in December more 

 birds were killed then than in October and 

 November combined. The cold would 

 drive them into the swamps, and they 

 would lie until almost trodden on. This 

 year they stayed in open woods. They got 

 the best of the market hunter even, and 

 with more birds than ever to start with 

 there ought to be a great increase next 

 spring. 



Bob Whites were plentiful in the spring, 

 but not during the fall. I am at a loss 

 to account for their disappearance. Wood- 

 cock were plentiful. I shot 11 one day dur- 

 ing the flight, and 10 another, and stopped 

 both times before I had hunted half the 

 ground I started out to work. They were 

 small and poor in spite of their abundance. 

 The]Legislature should leave the law as it 

 is, and devote its energy to enforcing what 

 is already good enough. What is most 

 needed is a real, live, wide awake warden 

 or 2. Of course if the sale of game could 

 be stopped altogether that would be perfec- 

 tion, but I despair of that at present. Thor- 

 ough enforcement of the present laws 

 would be a great step. Game is sold in 

 large quantities in this city now, even 

 though the law prohibits the possession of 

 it. Thousands of birds are shipped to New 

 York during the season from this county. 

 One man boasted that he shipped more than 

 1,000 grouse and quail last year. Agents 

 representing New York dealers go all 

 over the country offering large prices for 

 game. I would be willing to wager that 

 I destroyed 50 snares while out hunting the 

 first of the season. A good warden would 

 get on to these things, wouldn't he? In a 

 nearby town a deputy was appointed the 

 other day, and he immediately went to work 



for all there was in it. He snared a few 

 birds himself for a starter, and then went 

 around sticking them in some other fellow's 

 snares. Then he would arrest his victim, 

 prosecute him, and pocket half the fine. 

 He is making a good living out of it, I do 

 not doubt. Lorenzo Blackstone. 



A GROUND SHOT; WITH REASONS. 



Lubec, Me. 

 Editor Recreation : 



On the evening of October 30 I hap- 

 pened to drop into the hardware store and 

 found Jacko, as the boys call him, just 

 bristling for a hunt. He proposed that we 

 start at 3 a. m., in order to be in the woods 

 around Porcupine hill when the grouse 

 began to feed. We arranged to have the 

 night watchman call us at 2.30 the follow- 

 ing morning. 



At the agreed hour we struck off across 

 the fields in the moonlight, and both en- 

 joyed the 2-mile walk to Porcupine. Jacko 

 chose the North and I the South side of 

 the hill, and we entered the woods. I 

 skirted the edge a short distance and then 

 followed an old wood road that carried me 

 back 2 or possibly 3 miles. Going in I put 

 up a few birds, but it was not yet light' 

 enough to shoot. 



On the way back I saw, and shot on the 

 ground, a splendid bird, as plump as he' 

 could be. I presume some Recreation 

 readers will be horrified at my shooting a ( 

 bird on the ground ; but opinions differ as 

 to what is really sportsmanlike. As yet I 

 fail to see that the wing shooters are any 

 better than I am when they employ a dog 

 to find and flush the birds. Almost anyone 

 can shoot the limit if he has a good dog. 

 When a man finds his own game, the bird 

 stands a far greater chance to get away. 

 In thick cover a good shot does well to 

 bag one out of 10 birds flushed, doing his 

 own hunting. With a dog a poor shot 

 ought to get half the birds. When a 

 ruffed grouse goes up from under a man's 

 feet without warning it takes a mighty 

 cool hand to stop it. If I can still-hunt a 

 good shot I take it, whether sitting or 

 flying, and shall do so as long as other men 

 use bird dogs. I do not class such men with 

 ferret hunters, but the difference really is 

 one of degree, not kind. 



Continuing my hunt, I came out at nearly 

 the same place where I went in. Seeing 

 nothing of Jacko, I struck across a clear- 

 ing for a spot that I thought might hide a 

 bird or 2. On the way I saw a porcupine 

 taking his breakfast, and going along as 

 quietly as possible I came right up to hinf. 

 The look of surprise he gave me caused 

 me to laugh outright. He was an enor- 

 mous old fellow, and I think would weigh 

 50 or 60 pounds. He did not appear afraid 

 of me. and I got down on my knees and 



