April 13, 1882.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



205 



y™ Sp ar t m t im §a#ttt$t 



FIELD SPORTS IN NEW ENGLAND. 



|Tho following paper was read by Mr. W. W. Oolbum, of Springfield, 



Mass.. before the Fish and (iame League of New Hampshire, at 

 its meeting at Nashua.] 



THE aimui!! meeting of the Game arid Fish League affords 

 an excellent opportunity for sportsmen of New Hamp- 

 shire to confer with each oilier on matters of common inter- 

 est; to take an inventory of the various items that enter into 

 the present account of field sports ; to note the tendency or 

 drift of public opinion in regard to sportsmen and (heir prac- 

 tices; to mark the recent improvements in the implements 

 and accessories now deemed essential to the success and en- 

 joyment of shooting and angling, and to observe carefully 

 the outlook for the future of those who reckon field sports 

 among their avocations, and who consider a day, now and 

 then, in the open air, with dog and gun, or rod and reel, as 

 not misspent, but devoted, to rational, healthful, and honor- 

 able recreation. Accordingly, I have selected as a subject for 

 brief consideration. "The Status of Field Sports and the Out- 

 look for Sportsmen in New England.*' 



At the outset, I notice that field sports, especially the 

 shooting of gone birds on the wing and over dogs trained to 

 find and to point them, have grown rapidly in favor in this 

 country during the last ten years. This indicates a radical 

 change in the general sentiment of New England. Not many 

 years since it was not deemed reputable to 'spend much time 

 with dog and gun. The practice of shooting and angling 

 was formerly viewed whotly from the financial standpoint, 

 and, as it did not pay directly in dollars and cents, was con- 

 demned and associated with the shiftless and thriftless 

 '•ne'er do wcels" who often showed an excessive fondness 

 for this unpopular and unremunerative sport. Now it is 

 quite the reverse, and among the wealthy and fashionable 

 young men of our large cities it is entirely en regie to take 

 vigorous exercise in the open air with dog and gun. Shoot- 

 ing is now considered as a rational and a reputable pastime, 

 affording recreation and health. Professional men, clerks 

 and mechanics may, without fear of losing caste, find relax- 

 ation and salutary exercise in field sports, during their few 

 holidays and brief vacations, and if they do not gain money 

 therefrom they get that which is better, namely, health and 

 increased power, both of music and brain, belter digestion, 

 clearer thinking, a more generous spirit and a less morbid 

 and less censorious morality. This change is in accordance 

 with the laws of evolution in civilization. It is a singular 

 fact that hunting is a characteristic of both the lowest and 

 the highest degrees of civilization. The savage hunts from 

 dire necessity, the civilized man for amusement. With the 

 former hunting is a vocation ; with the latter it is only an 

 avocation. The one hunts to live ; the other often lives to 

 hunt. 



What is the outlook in regard to legislation in the interests 

 of sportsmen ? On the whole it is as favorable as one could 

 reasonably expect it to he when he considers all the circum- 

 stances bearing upon it. Legislation is of little avail, except 

 as it accords with public opinion. If all who shoot or trap 

 birds were unanimous in their belief that game birds should 

 be captured only in the throe fall months, and would support 

 their belief by their practice, there would be no need of leg- 

 islation for the protection of game. There is evidence that 

 public opinion is becoming more favorable toward restrict- 

 ing the time for the legal destruction of game. The majority 

 of those who shoot for sport keep the game law, although i't 

 may not in all respects accord with their own views. There 

 are some who violate the law under the temptation of high 

 prices offered by market men for early birds, and others an- 

 ticipate the legal opening of the season by a few days or 

 weeks and plead self-defense, fearing that the market-hunters 

 will leave nothing for them if they await the legitimate sea- 

 son. This commercial and selfish spirit is antagonistic to 

 true sportsmanship, but fortunately this spirit is suicidal, and 

 its impolicy is becoming every year more manifest. Spring 

 shooting should be abolished, and three months are long- 

 enough for 1 he open season for any game. 



The outlook in the direction of the accessories and con- 

 veniences in shooting is eminently satisfactory. Dogs of 

 high breeding and fine training are abundant" and can be 

 purchased at lower prices than formerly. The numerous 

 bench show T s and field trials in this country during the last 

 eight years have done much for the improvement of "our dogs, 

 especially of the two varieties that are indispensable com- 

 panions and coadjutors of the wing shot, namely, pointers 

 and setters. .Much is now being done in the interests of the 

 lively little cockers, which will be found useful in working 

 the thick coverts which are the favorite haunts of the wood- 

 cock at some seasons inNcw England. The fox hound deserves 

 attention, and more account should be made of fox hunting. 

 Foxes are numerous in the Eastern States, and the pursuit of 

 them would afford good sport. By the formation of chilis, 

 and the establishment of subscription packs on a small scale, 

 the chase might he made a social amusement, and contribute 

 more than it now does to the sports of winter. Guns of 

 good quality as to material, proportion and workmanship, 

 are now offered at prices within the reach of limited means. 

 The last dozen years have wrought changes in the manufac- 

 ture of guns in this country and England. The pistol grip, 

 rebounding locks, patent 'fore ends, large firing pins, low 

 hammers and invisible hammers are among the novelties of 

 the last few years, and most of them are improvements and 

 will remain. The invention of glass balls for trap shooting 

 is worthy of notice. Clubs fur the purpose of shooting these 

 balls have been formed all over the country, and are good 

 training schools for wing shots. Ball shooting is also free 

 from many objections that lie against pigeon shooting. 



All who have enjo} r ed hunting our noblest game bird must 

 have lamented the rapid decrease of the ruffed grouse in many 

 parts of the Northern and Eastern States during the last five 

 years. There has been much inquiry as to the cause of their 

 disappearance, and various theories have been advanced to 

 account therefor. The following are some that I have no- 

 ticed: 1. Exhaustive hunting and snaring. 3. Disease among 

 the young birds. 3. The partridge licks, supposed to fie the 

 larvie of the so-called partridge fly, 4. The depredations of 

 foxes, skunks, and other vermin. 5. The effects of cold 

 storms at the time of hatching. 6. The destruction of the 

 eggs by red squirrels. 



No one of these alleged causes will satisfactorily account 

 for the sudden and widely prevailing scarcity of these birds: 

 but each has doubtless contributed its share in the work of 

 destruction. 



It is evident to the most superficial observer that the first- 

 named has been constant and constantly increasing with the 



increased popularity of field sports, It was noticed last fall 

 in the western part of Massachusetts that grouse were more 

 abundant among the hills and mountains than in the valleys. 



This fact supports the theory of a disease among the young 

 birds on the low grounds, or that cold storms about the last 

 of Mayor the first of June may have destroyed them, although 

 I am not aware that the storms at thai time of the year have 

 been any more severe than in former years when the young 

 grouse survived in huge numbers. There is no doubt that 

 red squirrels destroy the eggs and young of many small birds, 

 but thai they have had any large share in the destruction of 

 the birds in question over the large area from which they 

 have nearly disappeared, is scarcely credible. These squir- 

 rels, according to my observation, have been much less plenti- 

 ful in New England' during the last live years than they were 

 in former years when grouse were abundant. 



Although the woodcock have been hunted in season and 

 out of season, they slid come to us in fair though diminish- 

 ing numbers each year. There are many localities in the 

 Northern States Where a few scattered broods are. raised and 

 remain unmolested through the summer. Many breed so far 

 to the north as to be beyond the reach of sportsmen and 

 market hunters, and are undisturbed except by their natural 

 enemies. But when the ' 'flight' 1 time comes, they are obliged 

 to run the gauntlet of the myriad of guns that are in the 

 field in October and November. If they can escape the mur- 

 derous fusilade to which they are exposed on their journey 

 southward, many of them can find a safe retreat during the 

 winter in the Southern States, large areas of which are com- 

 paratively inaccessible to hunters. If the time for shoot- 

 ing the woodcock in all the. States should be limited to two 

 months, and sportsmen would not he too desirous to make 

 large' lings, the prospect would he good for a fair number of 

 these beautiful birds from year to year. 



The beautiful passenger pigeon has become a rare bird 

 indeed in New England/ Though not strictly a game bird 

 all sportsmen are interested in its preservation. Wholesale 

 netting in many States has nearly exterminated the pigeons 

 in some localities and greatly reduced their numbers in 

 others. If they should be protected for nin e months in 

 the year, as they ought to be, the close, time covering their 

 breeding season, there is no reason why (they should not 

 become fairly plentiful again, even in New England. 



The experiment of introducing the migratory quail of 

 Europe into this country remains in uneertainity as to its 

 success, as it did one year ago. There are some who believe 

 that the birds which were liberated here, or their offspring, 

 are still alive, and that their migrations ore already estab- 

 lished. Many are still skeptical, and assert that the evidence 

 of the success of the experiment is not decisive. 



For one, I am glad that the attempt has been made, and 

 hope that further trials will be made in this direction, The 

 suggestion made by Mr. ffm. M. Williams, of Springfield, 

 -Mass., that the birds be kept over one winter in confinement 

 and let loose early in the spring so that the young birds may 

 mature early enough to migrate southward before cold 

 weather, is a good one, and worthy of adoption. 



I regret to learn that the movements made during the past 

 winter to bring our native quail {Oriyx Virginian at) from the 

 south have not been so successful as former attempts have 

 been. If proper care is taken in caging and sending them, 

 and they are carefully housed and protected after their 

 arrival until they are liberated, there is uo reason why the 

 attempt should not he successful. 



ON AN OLD TURNPIKE. 



TAUT I. 



" I love it the better the older it grows, 

 For its quiet beauty and homespun air, 



Still blossoms, in corners, the sweet wild rose ; 

 And the birds are 't 'ome in its hedges there. 



And the folk one meets have a gentle iook, 

 As of those who never a sorrow knew : 



While, below the willows, a dreamy brook 

 Runs soft and clear, as if fed with dew." 



OF all who wait the oncoming of spring, I doubt not the 

 angler and pedestrian are" heartiest" in its welcome. 

 They, perforce, have hibernated and only in retrospection, 

 or in anticipation have for long months followed their 

 wonted recreation; and the exultant streams and tuneful 

 groves find response in their now bounding hearts. Al- 

 though winter may o'erleap his bounds and make the first 

 weeks of spring very unlike its poetical and whUom gentle- 

 ness, there are signs of the approach of balmy breezes, of 

 verdant meadows and of budding tree and flower ; so, with 

 a spray of " fussy willow" in the hand, the child of nature 

 may wave early and loving greeting to the coy maiden whose 

 coming calls the violet and anemone from their hiding-places 

 to grace and make memorable her progress through the land. 



Let us go forth and .set ourselves face to face with nature, 

 while she is in her fresh and virgin beauty ; ere the sun and 

 shower and omnipresent decay make havoc with the delicate 

 adornments that give promise of a lush summer-tide, and 

 glowing harvest -home. 



There arc only two ways by which to enjoy, truly and 

 fully, the country-side — the first on one s own 'legs, with uo 

 impedimenta, and subject only to one's own will and pleas- 

 ure ; the second, astride a good horse in close sympathy with 

 his rider, and subject to uo untoward pranks to distract his 

 master's communion with the kindly spirit of nature, with 

 which be holds tryst. 



To enjoy the by-ways of field and wood, perfect freedom 

 to halt or to advance', is absolutely necessary, and endowed 

 with this blessing, with health and' a good conscience, what 

 unalloyed pleasure the wanderer a-field may have "without 

 money and without price!" 



Clad in comfortable walking-gear, then, let us for a few 

 miles, follow this old Turnpike— erstwhile a famous thor- 

 oughfare, from the coast into the peaceful bucolic regions of 

 the midland counties. It has been long deserted by ordi- 

 nary travel, and few are the habitations to be seen for miles 

 and miles of its length. The ruts are overgrown with turf, 

 the stones in the pathway are covered with moss, and the 

 alder and birch, here and there, are growing luxuriantly 

 where the galloping stage-horses once made the dust fly 

 from their hoofs. Is it possible, do you ask? Tis the truth, 

 my friend, that along this sequestered way the mail coach, 

 the baggageman the" pleasure-carriage, and the " up-coun- 

 tmce bowled or jogged to the music of the guard's 

 horn.Jthe rattle of harness,' and the merry talk of the passen- 

 ger. Yonder cellar-hole was once covered by an old-time 

 coaching-inn, and thereabouts were the sheds, stables, and 

 out-buildings so common on a stage-coach road in the good 



old days, which only the hoary-headed ones now wot of 

 from personal experience. 



Think how gallantly the laden coaches were driven up to 

 your threshold — 'tis of stone and the only remaining relic of 

 the rambling superstructure which, erstwhile, gave food and 

 shelter to "man and beast" — the coachmen, in their course, 

 showing their skill (as coachmen would do in those, days) at 

 "feather-edging" the slow wheels of the farmer's cart, or the 

 sturdy post of the gateway! See the long line of passengers 

 filing into the grateful Warmth of the spacious inn, hearing 

 each the burthen of a light or heavy heart ! The spot seems 

 haunted. There is a "poetry of the past" about this once 

 busy spot which is bewitching to the contemplative and 

 imaginative mind. But we may not tarry longer here; 

 there are pleasant spots to see and "flowers to cull ere we turn 

 from this neglected byway into the pretentious highway of 

 the present time. 



Here, of all places, is the spot in which to pause and listen 

 to the sweet sounds of awaking nature. Bird and insect 

 life, on such a day as this, is abroad on swift wing, and the 

 songs which fill the air have a sweetness which the peace- 

 fulness of the air intensifies and prolongs wonderfully. Not 

 a trace of humanity can be seen on either hand, and one is 

 led to sing: 



"I am out of humanity's reach, 

 I must finish my journey alone, 

 Never hear the sweet music of speech— 

 I start at the sound of my own." 



The cows, grazing in yonder field, betoken that a farm- 

 stead is not far off, but they seem contented with the fore- 

 taste of their season's browsing, and. at this moment, one 

 might esteem them as free from the care (and in too many 

 eases the abuse) of man as are yonder blackbirds, singing so 

 merrily. How restful is a lush meadow and a grazing herd to 

 the weary eye ! The green grass, the feasting kine, with their 

 dun, piebald or black sides glistening in the sun; an old wall 

 in the foreground, and in the far distance a gently-flowing 

 stream, hard -by a goodly growth of wood, form a pretty 

 picture, and 'tis never so pretty as in early spring-tide, with 

 the halm of spring's air and canopied with the sky of spring. 



Mark yon steep hill bereft of woody shelter. U is a blot 

 onrthis lovely spring day and our innocent "outing." The 

 hand of man and the ax has been lain heavily thereon, and 

 desolation is left behind the vandal work of winter days! 

 'Neath the shades of the now fallen trees the anemones and 

 the violets, in profusion, were wont to hloorn, and the 

 graceful fern waved in the breeze as in mockery of the 

 sturdy boughs, their shelter. How changed is all now! We 

 cannot well avoid the place, so let us hasten by and more 

 leasurely saunter in the vale beyond. Here are flowers, in 

 spring's perfection spread, and they are beautiful to see. Sit 

 down and muse awhile in this flower-strewn spot. Share 

 with bird and bee this brave show of beauty and innocense, 

 and drink deep of the tiny, perfumed cups still glistening 

 with the dew of night. Here Herrick might have written: 



"'What, were ye born to be 



An hour or half's delight, 



And so to bid goodnight? 

 'Tis pity Nature brought ye forth, 

 Merely to show your worth, 



And lose you quite I 



"But you are lovely leaves, -where we 

 May read how things have 

 Their end, though ne'er so brave: 



And after they have shown their pride 



Like you, awhile, they glide 

 Into the grave." 



To be sure the above was written to the "blossoms" of trees, 

 but it seems, for the nonce and here, just as appropriate for 

 these fragile bits of color, so coy, so sweet, so pure ; smiling 

 back to the sky, nodding in the breeze, and fading, like all 

 mundane thing's, be they large or small, just as they begin to 

 impress the susceptible heart with the depth and sweetness of 

 Divine love and goodness. The lush life to be seen in the 

 new leaves is pleasant to the eye, and their manifold forms 

 and shades of green contrast very prettily. Here and there 

 are tiny tendrils reaching forth for a support, and in their 

 supplications seem pitiful. How blithesome is the note of 

 the bobolink, and how saucy he looks, perched on yonder 

 swaying twig! When the grass is high he loves to swing in 

 the meadow, and his song then has an exultation in it, as if 

 joy itself were pent up in his gay body aud in spasms comes 

 rippling from his throat. These hedges are famous haunts of 

 the song-sparrow and of the catbird, and so seldom are they 

 disturbed that they are "free of speech," as it were, and 

 merely look upon qui intrusion coming as the tardy listeners 

 to their wayward notes. 



Just where we now stand was once a toll-gate, and that 

 ruin -was the tollkeeper's shelter, Not even his ghost demands 

 our pence, and we pass on, unchallenged save by the dis- 

 cordant scream of that fugitive bluejay, whose presence is 

 oftener associated with the season of the falling than of the. 

 budding leaf. 



Beyond that quaint "turnstile" is (he only house we have 

 seen, aud even it seems more like a ghost of a house than a 

 comfortable inhabitation. Comfortable? Ah! time and 

 neglect have fought against it— have gnawed into it, and have 

 buffeted it with wind and weather 'till comfort must have 

 forsaken it long since. It stands in a goodly spot and in its 

 prime must have presented a pleasant picture of old-time 

 home life to the passenger who passed its door, or to the 

 guest who was set down thereat from the dusty coach or 

 the modest chaise. The surrounding and outlying fields 

 give no promise of a generous yield, for the soil is, hungry 

 and its need o'er long neglected, "lis a scene in nature's 

 luxuriance of a hand to hand struggle for a "bare existem 

 yet, in its poverty, it is beyond expression picturesque and 

 not utterly dolorous in its decay. Nature is striving hard to 

 cover the wounds of time, aud moss and lichen and clinging 

 vine blend with the brown wood of gable and roof. 



That child, with a bunch of violets in her hand, is the one 

 bit of human cheer the place presents, and a painter might 

 "go farther and fare- worse" for a subject for his deft hand to 

 sketch and color. 



We will here turn aud retrace our steps, trying to find some 

 new delight that our dazed eyes o'erlooked in coming thus 

 far to meet the spring, who 



***** "hast been a wanderer long, 



On many a fair and foreign strand; 

 In calm and beauty, sun and song, 



Passing from land to land." 



O. W. R 



