452 



RECREATiOtt. 



GAME NOTES. 

 I want to say a good word for the much 

 abused fox. He is game to the backbone 

 and affords more sport than any other ani- 

 mal we have in Vermont. He does little 

 harm, and deserves protection rather than 

 outlawry. An old farmer and sheep breed- 

 er told me he never but once saw a fox 

 chase a lamb; and, in this country, at least, 

 foxes seldom molest poultry. Their food is 

 mostly mice. An open season from No- 

 vember i to February I would prevent 

 foxes from becoming too numerous, yet 

 preserve enough to afford delightful sport 

 for the many fox hunters of this State. 



H. C. Prindle, West Rupert, Vt. 



I have read A. C. Goodchild's story in 

 December Recreation, entitled "A Decem- 

 ber Duck Shoot." It seems to me his kill 

 in the morning, of one spoonbill, 2 wid- 

 geons, 6 teal, 3 butterballs, one gadwall, one 

 mallard and 4 snipe should have satisfied a 

 reasonable man for the day. It was not 

 enough for Mr. Goodchild, however, for he 

 tells us that late in the afternoon "the air 

 seemed full of ducks. The fun grew fast 

 and furious, and many a sprig, widgeon and 

 teal made the fatal mistake of venturing too 

 near." Reads like an announcement of 

 candidacy for the pen, doesn't it? 



C. C. Pickering, Columbus, O. 



I should be glad to see a law passed in 

 Michigan allowing each hunter one or 2 

 bucks only, instead of 3 bucks, does or 

 fawns, as hunters are shooting too many 

 fawns and does. One pot hunter living in 

 Champion told me that before the season 

 was opened he shot 25 deer just for the 

 fun of shooting. Our party certainly roast- 

 ed him good and plenty, but we could not 

 make him appear ashamed of himself. 

 Charles Lavigne, our guide, has undertaken 

 to report the fellow. 



C. S. Monnier, Detroit, Mich. 



Game is not so plentiful here as formerly. 

 One of our townsmen, S. B. Wallace, was 

 up in New Brunswick last fall and killed 

 a large moose. He also got 2 deer on the 

 Alleghanies. I was in Georgia last sum- 

 mer, in the mountains among the lumber- 

 men. They were killing turkeys in Sep- 

 tember. One man told me he had got 3 

 a few days before. He does most of his 

 shooting with a 38 revolver. He wanted 

 me to go quail hunting ; said he knew where 

 there were thousands of them. 



L. S. Goodwin, Huntingdon, Pa. 



I have lately imported from New Bruns- 

 wick a pair of red deer. It is my inten- 

 tion to breed them for the purpose of stock- 

 ing our game districts, now entirely desti- 

 tute of these animals. I should like to 



communicate, through Recreation, with 

 any one doing similar work. The game 

 hog is comparatively unknown in this part 

 of the country; the chief reason is the 

 scarcity of game. 



W. B. Bishop, Canning, N. S. 



H. E. Hubbard, of 54 Billard avenue, was 

 arrested Christmas day by Lieutenant Bowen on 

 3 charges, one of which is the first case of the 

 kind ever brought before the local police court. 



The most serious charge against Hubbard is 

 shooting English pheasants, the property of S. L. 

 Burgess, of Kensington avenue. The accused will 

 also have to answer to selling the birds and for 

 discharging firearms on Sunday, 3 distinct of- 

 fenses. The prisoner was released under $100 

 bonds, furnished by Edward Sage, a neighbor. — 

 Hartford, Conn., Paper. 



The residents of Okanogan county, 

 Washington, are becoming aware that if 

 they do not strictly enforce the game law, 

 deer and other game will soon be gone. 

 Deer are scarce ; there is not one now 

 where there were 5 last year. The only 

 game that is holding its own with the pot 

 hunters and bristlebacks is the prairie 

 chicken. 



F. O. Stephan, Chesaw, Wash. 



Game was plentiful here last fall. We 

 have kept the Indians out all summer and 

 stopped all market hunting, so the game has 

 had a chance. There were deer and quails 

 around my ranch all summer. The quails 

 are still here, and my little girl feeds them 

 every morning. They are so tame that they 

 come in the dooryard and pick up crumbs. 

 G. C. Goddard, Harmony, Utah. 



Whitetail deer, mule deer, black, brown 

 and silver tip bear are as plentiful as I 

 ever saw them in this country. I was 

 on one bear hunt and found a large brown 

 bear. Sent his pelt East to be mounted. 

 His weight was about 800 pounds. 



A. J. Scheibelhut, Newyear, Mont. 



William Vivian, of Gloucester, shot a 

 whistling swan here recently, which is 

 supposed to be the only one ever shot in 

 Massachusetts. Does any one know of 

 another being shot in this State? 



Oscar Haselgard, Gloucester, Mass. 



Please advise fox hunters and wolf hunt- 

 ers that this part of Iowa is well stocked 

 with the pesky varmints. Much to the sor- 

 row of quail hunters, the birds are being 

 killed^off by foxes. 



D. E. Baird, Arbia, la. 



Recreation has made a true sportsman 

 of me. I wish more gunners would read it" 

 and learn moderation. I never take more 

 game than I need and always give it a 

 chance for life. 



Ralph E. Bassett, Bassett, N. J. 



