368 



RECREATION. 



agent, is in San Diego shooting ducks and quails 

 and having all kinds of a good time at the Coro- 

 nado hotel and elsewhere. 



Gates went on a quail hunt a day or 2 ago 

 and he, with 3 others, bagged no less than 

 525 quails, and when he reached town again he 

 had to telegraph the good news of the big slaugh- 

 ter to some of his friends. 



He talked about it in San Diego also, and it 

 is said the party exceeded the legal limit and is 

 in danger of arrest if an official can be found 

 with the temerity to serve a warrant on the erst- 

 while barb-wire agent. 



No one knows in San Diego how long the Gates 

 party will be there, but the members of the party 

 are satisfied with the good time they are having. 



Evidently there must have been a great 

 element of luck in John W. Gates' acquire- 

 ment of vast wealth ; as a man with the 

 brains necessary would never call this 

 slaughter of game sport. I am led to be- 

 lieve that the number stated in the clipping 

 is a conservative estimate. These men 

 ought to be classed with Babcock and those 

 other hogs who wallow in San Diego and 

 Coronado whom you have heretofore 

 roasted. 



The position of game warden in Califor- 

 nia is such a soft cinch that the warden 

 apparently likes his upholstered office chair 

 better than the exercise to be gained from 

 getting after these violators of the game 

 law. Such flagrant slaughter, especially 

 those reported on the front page of news- 

 papers, must meet the attention of the 

 warden. I hope you will find space for 

 this, as San Diego county seems to be over- 

 run with game hogs. 



G. R. D., Los Angeles, Cal 



LAW SHOULD NOT BE CHANGED. 

 Our season for duck shooting now opens 

 October 1. A number of local sportsmen 

 are working to have the law changed so 

 the opening may be August 1, claiming 

 that ducks come in at that season and soon 

 leave, whereby the sportsman loses his op- 

 portunity at the birds. Another reason 

 given is that when the ducks stay here they 

 acquire a fishy taste which renders them 

 unpalatable. When the ducks arrive in 

 August the old birds are moulting and so 

 fall an easy prey to the hunter. The young 

 birds, accustomed to staying with the old 

 ones at that season, are also readily bagged. 

 The fishy taste acquired by the ducks that 

 stay here is easily accounted for. The 

 country at present affords little fresh water, 

 with the exception of a few reservoirs 

 where the birds are hunted so closely that 

 they are driven to the sea. It seems to me 

 far wiser that the law remain unchanged. 

 What think you? The limit for one hunt- 

 er in a day during the duck season is 50, 

 but it seems hard for some people to count 

 accurately. 



George A. Norton, Bonita, Cal. 



ANSWER. 



I heartily agree with you that it would 



be unwise and imprudent to change the law 

 so as to open the season for duck shooting 

 any earlier than it now opens. On the con- 

 trary your sportsmen should all favor the 

 shortening of the season ; and the legal 

 limit per day to each man should be 

 reduced to 20 or not more than 25 at the 

 outside. The better chance we can give the 

 birds for their lives the longer they will 

 last. — Editor. 



NEW DECOY DUCK. 

 717,790. Decoy Duck. Frederick H. Yorke, 

 Foosland, 111. Filed March 29, 1902. 

 Serial No. 100,603. (No model.) 



Claim. — 1. A decoy duck having a verti- 

 cally movable head connected thereto, and a 

 weighted rod attached to the head and ex- 

 tending into the body of the decoy, said 

 head being hollowed out at one side for the 

 purpose of catching the wind. 



2. A decoy comprising a body, the for- 

 ward end of which is hollow, the head hav- 

 ing a depending rod carrying a weight at 

 its lower end, said weight being located in 

 the hollow portion of the body, and the 

 friction device arranged upon the rod for 

 the purpose of regulating the motion of the 

 head, as specified. 



3. A decoy comprising a body, the for- 

 ward portion of which is hollow and ter- 

 minating in a neck portion, the upper end 

 of which is concaved and slotted longitu- 

 dinally, a head having a throat portion at- 

 tached thereto, a ball contained within the 

 said throat portion, and an adjustable 

 threaded rod passing into the head through 

 the ball and having a weight at its lower 

 end, substantially as described. 



BRISTLY SONS OF SOLOMON. 



Monday last the Masonic Lodge of Ludington 

 had a competitive hunt. H. Y. Huston and H. 

 M. Hallett, leaders of the respective sides, both 

 worked hard to win, and the result was a signal 

 victory for Huston's side. The official score of 

 the hunt was: Hallett, 180 points; Huston, 213 

 points. Huston himself brought in 56 points, 

 which was the best showing made by any single 

 hunter. Other successful contestants were: John 

 Stram, 38 points; Robert Towns, 35; John Davies, 

 29 points; Ed Smith, 24 points. 



The total kill was as follows: 74 quails, 60 

 grouse, 20 ducks, 36 black, fox and gray squirrels, 

 and 2 bushels of red squirrels and chipmunks. The 

 sight of such an immense showing of plunder 

 piled on the floor of the Masonic reception room 

 Tuesday evening was one that few people have 

 ever seen. The spoils of the hunt may well be 

 considered a signal achievement for these gallant 

 sons of Solomon. Great credit is due the commit- 



