472 



RECREA TION. 



GAME NOTES. 



Editor Recreation: I noticed in Rec- 

 reation a description of how to train a 

 beagle written by W. L. Blinn. Mr. Blinn's 

 theory is good but it will not always work. 



It is as natural for a beagle to hunt rab- 

 bits as it is for Mr. Blinn to breath and in 

 my opinion the time spent in forcing a pup 

 to eat their entrails is lost and amounts to 

 nothing. What a hound wants is good solid 

 work and instructions right in the bushes. 

 Take your beagle pups where there are 

 rabbits, encourage them to hunt around and 

 if you notice a pup smelling along a trail 

 help him out by kicking around and start- 

 ing the game from their bunks. Don't be 

 afraid to work through the brush with your 

 pup. Take him through briars, water, mud 

 or anywheFe you think it possible you can 

 find a rabbit. 



Let him drive a few in. Dig them out 

 for him. When you shoot ahead of your 

 dog let him come up on the game if he will. 

 Few pups will come up on a gun. 



If they will not come up on the game 

 take the dead rabbit to the dog. Show him 

 where you shot the rabbit and let him 

 smell around to see that the trail ended 

 there. 



A beagle does not hunt for the sake of 

 his appetite. He hunts because it is his 

 nature and, although he may bark up a 

 squirrel or bird trail when young, if you 

 shoot nothing but rabbits ahead of him 

 this is all he will follow. 



Of course every one knows enough not 

 to allow a dog to follow a backtrail. 



I agree with Mr. Blinn as to exterminat- 

 ing ferrets. R. Clement Stevens. 



merely for the purpose of breaking records 

 made by fellow members of a club, is en- 

 titled to recognition or fellowship of gen- 

 tlemen, under any circumstances. — Editor. 



Monroe. Mich.. November 22. — W. C. Sterling, of Mon- 

 roe, a member of the Monroe Marsh Club, had a record- 

 breaking week on the club grounds shooting ducks. One 

 day last week he broke the mallard duck record for one day 

 by killing 97 mallards over live decoys. Saturday he 

 broke both the canvasback and redhead records by killing 

 5t canvasbacks and 8t redheads. The shooting on the 

 Monroe marsh is improving. The club have dammed the 

 marsh there, always having good water for ducks. Some 

 of the Detroit members are Senator and W. C. McMillan, 

 Deming Jarves, Truman H. Newberry and Clarence Car- 

 penter. 



The above appeared in the Detroit Free 

 Press, of November 23d. This man must 

 be one of the " gentlemen sportsmen." of 

 whom we read so much. Our season 

 closed here December 1st. Quails were 

 plentiful, and with an open winter our next 

 season's shooting will be best ever known 

 here. Deputy game warden Hodge, who 

 resides here, has his eye open for law- 

 breakers. T. G. Torrey. Leslie. Mich. 



If the Free Press report quoted is cor- 

 rect, then it is plainly the duty of the Mon- 

 roe Marsh Club to expel Mr. Sterling. No 

 man who will, at this day, wage such a 

 bloody and swinish war against ducks, as 

 that reported in the Free Press clipping, 



The reed bird season along the flats of 

 the Delaware river has seen some fearful 

 slaughter of birds. Game hogs from this 

 city and market-hunters have never been 

 more active. One fellow from the office of 

 the " Press " recently killed 103 birds in a 

 day. In a recent issue of the " Record" I 

 found a paragraph which says that John 

 Smith, of Bridgeton, N. J., has killed, for 

 the city market, an average of 35 dozen 

 birds a day for 2 weeks. Smith is also 

 quoted as saying this has been one of his 

 best seasons. I read Recreation every 

 month and it is a valuable magazine. Keep 

 after the game hogs. Let your readers 

 know your ppinion of these double-bar- 

 relled, big bore, Philadelphia hogs and pot 

 hunters. 



James E. Everett, Philadelphia, Pa. 



It seems incredible that there should still 

 be men who pose as sportsmen and who 

 could be so utterly lost to all sense of de- 

 cency as to slaughter reed birds in this wt-.y. 

 And the men who buy and eat these beau- 

 tiful and innocent creatures are almost 

 equally guilty with the men who kill them 

 Verily it is high time laws were passed in 

 all states to prohibit the sale of all kinds 

 of game, at all times. In this alone lies our 

 only hope of saving the song birds, the 

 game birds and the game animals from 

 early and entire destruction. — Editor. 



Can you not classify, in your valuable 

 magazine, the men mentioned in the fol- 

 lowing clipping? 



Tacoma Readers. 



" Marshall K. Snell and James Hathaway, of New York, 

 returned from Tanwax lake this morning with 54 grouse 

 and pheasants as the result of two days' snooting." 



While this appears to be a large bag, yet, 

 even if the report is accurate, it does not 

 mean that these men are game hogs. I ad- 

 mit that any man may kill 10 grouse or 

 pheasants in a day without being unreason- 

 able. There were 2 men in this party and 

 they were on the shooting grounds 2 days. 

 This would entitle them to 40 grouse or 

 pheasants on the basis mentioned. It 

 seems they killed 54. This would be an 

 average of less than 14 birds a day to each 

 gun, which is not really excessive. 



I am glad to know, however, that my Ta- 

 coma readers are watching so closely the 

 conduct of men who are inclined to be ex- 

 travagant in the killing of game, and shall 

 be glad to have reports of any cases of ex- 

 cessive slaughter that may come to their 

 knowledge. — Editor 



