IHTOHAL 





OHIO LAWS INEFFECTIVE. 



There is a great lack of public sympathy 

 with the Fish and Game Commission of Ohio, 

 and the gain is, consequently, small. The 

 commission fears that succeeding generations 

 may find the whitefish and herring of Lake 

 Erie, and the wild duck and quail, extinct, 

 unless the strong arm of the law, upheld and 

 sustained by public opinion, is interposed. 



The Fish and Game Commission, as a re- 

 sult of careful study, recommends that, in a 

 general way, the Ontario law be adapted to 

 Ohio conditions, with such amendments and 

 concessions as might seem desirable. It was 

 considered a fair set of regulations, that 

 would have inured to the ultimate benefit of 

 the fishermen themselves. Its essential fea- 

 tures were : A close season during the spawn- 

 ing period of whitefish and herring; a prohi- 

 bition against taking under-sized fish ; a lim- 

 itation of the number of nets to be used, and 

 establishing proscribed areas and places, such 

 as around islands, reefs, bays and rivers ; 

 clearly defining and classifying game and 

 commercial fish; prohibiting the sale of fish 

 to fertilizer or glue factories ; prohibiting the 

 use of explosives and poisons. 



Under the present law there are practically 

 no restrictions. Accurate statistics of the 

 catch of fish in the American waters of Lake 

 Erie are not obtainable, but the figures gath- 

 ered carefully by the Ontario Government 

 show that the herring catch was 788,616 

 pounds in 1899, and had fallen to 93,394 

 pounds in 1903. Also, that the white fish 

 catch in 1902 was 95,429 pounds and in 1903 

 but 41,698 pounds, though more men were 

 fishing. 



According to the latest estimate, 2,500 miles 

 of gill nets are used by American fishermen 

 on Lake Erie, some fishers setting as much 

 as 30 miles of nets. The only bright fea- 

 ture of the report is that the spawn obtained 

 in 1904 was abundant and of fine quality. 

 One hundred and twenty-five million white- 

 fish and herring eggs were undergoing hatch- 

 ing at the Ohio hatchery, 300,000,000 at the 

 Put-in-Bay station, and many more at other 

 points. If good protective laws could be en- 

 forced, such re-stocking would soon restore 

 the fisheries to their former condition. Black 

 bass are suffering very heavily through the 

 trap nets. 



The commission is strongly in favor of the 

 bill introduced into the national House of 

 Representatives by Mr. Shiras, of .Pennsylva- 



nia, making wild fowl and other migratory 

 birds federal property. 



The winter of 1903-4 had a disastrous ef- 

 fect upon quail. When the report was issued 

 it was hoped that the winter of 1904-5 would 

 be a mild one. This we know not to have 

 been the case. The chances are that the stock 

 of quail is now very much reduced in North- 

 ern Ohio. 



CANADIAN CAMP CLUB. 



A prospectus of the Canadian Camp Club 

 has been received at this office. From the 

 array of high-grade sportsmen, explorers and 

 naturalists connected with this organization, 

 and from what is claimed in the prospectus, 

 this promises to be one of the largest and 

 finest clubs of its kind in existence. 



The Club is situated in the Province of 

 Ontario. It will be a good headquarters from 

 which to range over a territory extending 

 from Georgian Bay on Lake Huron to Hud- 

 son Bay. 



There is probably no club which will have 

 the variety of game, and so large a number 

 of lakes and sti earns teeming with fish as 

 this club. Explorers and naturalists will be 

 in their element. Moose, caribou, ducks and 

 grouse breed in abundance. 



One of the most attractive features of the 

 club is the opportunity given for exploration. 

 A very large area of this country has never 

 known the footprints of the white man, and 

 is almost unknown to the government sur- 

 veyors. Another attractive feature is that 

 lakes and streams will bear the name of the 

 discoverer. 



The Mississaga river, which flows through 

 the heart of the club tract, offers to the ca- 

 noeist as fine scenery and as exhilarating 

 sport as any river on this continent. There 

 are 100 or more safe rapids which can be 

 shot, and high, picturesque falls throughout 

 the 300-mile course of this river, through 

 virgin forest. This will veritably be a para- 

 dise to lovers of nature. 



In the center of this magnificent territory 

 the Canadian government has made a forest- 

 reserve of 3,000 square miles, immediately 

 north of Lake Wahquekobing, on which the 

 principal clubhouse of the club is situated. 



The plan of the club is not to permit the 

 woodsman's axe or the pot-hunter's weapon 

 within its territory. 



A yacht anchorage has already been select- 

 ed on Georgian Bay, and a clubhouse will be 



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