28 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 3, 1887. 



THE MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION. 



THE thirteenth animal dinner of the Massachusetts 

 Association for the Protection of Fish and Game -was 

 given at the Parker House, Boston, Tuesday evening, 

 Jan. 25. President E. A. Samuels presided, and among 

 the guests of the evening were Lieut. -Governor J. Q. 

 A. Brackett, Hon. Halsey I. Boardman, president of the 

 Massachusetts Senate; Fish Commissioners E. B. Hodge 

 and Geo. W. Riddle, of New Hampshire, H. Brainerd, of 

 Vermont, and E. A. Brackett. F. W. Putnam and E.'H. 

 Lathrop, of Massachusetts: Hon. Chas. Levi Woodbury, 

 Hon. Patrick D. Dwyer and Mr. Chas. B. Reynolds, editor 

 of the Forest and Stream- 



An unusually large number of members and others 

 were in attendance, the fist being as follows: 



J. F. Stetson, 

 William F. Ray, 

 Charles J. McKenzie, 

 George W. Wiggin, 

 Walton C. Taft, 



A. B. Bradstreet, 

 Joseph Warren, 

 Samuel Hanson, 

 F. H. Johnson, 

 S. M. Johnson, 

 W. R. Davis, 

 Francis Fitz, 

 Joseph Guild, 

 James N. Frye, 

 Luther little, 

 James H. Jenkins, 

 Winthrop M. Merrill, 



C. A. Jones, 

 Jay C. Smith. 

 E. B. Newton, 



B. C. Johnson, 

 J. R. Johnson, 

 Marshall Johnson, 

 J. H. Freeman, 

 Chaxles 0. Pratt, 



D. F. Eddy. 

 James Zenas Loring, 

 J. W. Roberts. 



A. C. Walker, 

 H. L. Roberts, 

 Wesley Jones, 



B. F. Nichols, 

 Rollin Jones, 

 Charles D. Appleton, 



E. S. Tobev, 



Dr. W. S. Stroma, 

 Wm. H. Parmenter, 

 J. Allston Newhall, 

 CoJ. H. T. Rockwell. 

 Walter W. Brackett, 

 John Fottler, Jr., 

 O. P. Ricker, 

 H. J. Thaver, 

 John C. Tripp, 

 A. T. Jenness, 



R. H. Jenness, 



C. A. Le wander, 

 R. H. Fuller, 



J. R. Glover, 

 William Prior, 



G. H. Morey, 



D. T. Curtiss, 

 George A. Moore, 

 Herbert A. Rhoades, 

 Waldron Bates, 

 Frank E. Simpson, 



H. H. Kimball, 

 H. C. Litchfield, 

 C. G. Gibson, 

 A. L. Carpenter, 



A. W. Robinson, 

 Mark S. Field, 

 Nathan D. Blake, 

 Charles M. Blake, 

 Levi L. Cushing, 

 George O. Sears, - 

 William F. Alney. 

 Albert C. Hill, 



E. R. Hunnewell, 

 J. Walter Sanborn, 

 George W. Wads worth, 

 George Loring, 



Gen. Joseph R. Scott, 



F. R. Shattuck, 



B. C. Clark, 

 E. E. Small, 

 W. Hapgood, 

 Charles Darrow, 

 William S. Hills, 

 Thatcher Magoun, 

 John P. Woodbury, 

 Charles E. Lauriat, 

 Henry R, Beal, 

 William A. Oarbett, 

 Thomas J. Holmes, 

 A. M. Davenport, 

 Charles I. GoodaU, 

 James Russell Reed, 

 Chas. Langdon Gibson, 

 Capt. Gould. 



The address of President E. A. Samuels was as follows: 

 "Gentlemen: It is again my pleasant duty to extend, 

 in the name of the Massachusetts Fish and Game Protec- 

 tion Association, a most cordial welcome to our friends 

 who are with us here this evening. We may all be proud, 

 gentlemen, of such a gathering, for it shows that, although 

 we are now one of the veteran associations, this being 

 the 13th year of our existence as a society, we are not 

 losing our interest in the objects for which 'we exist, but 

 that we are as enthusiastic as ever in the work we have 

 undertaken to do. The presence of so many distinguished 

 gentlemen from far and near is also an encouragement 

 for us and an assurance that our labors are appre- 

 ciated by an intelligent portion of the community. The 

 results of our past year's work are second in importance 

 to none in the history of this association. Thanks to the 

 labor of members of this association, in and out of 

 the Legislature, we have at last on our statute books a 

 wise, a strong law. a law for the better protection of our 

 - game arid insectivorous birds that can be enforced, and 

 we wilt cause it to be enforced, if work will do it. Already 

 have we attained most encouraging success in the prose- 

 cutions of offenders, and we now see no loophole for the 

 escape of evildoers. Our present law is, in my judgment, 

 the best we have ever had, but it is not perfect. A provi- 

 sion that allows the selling of quail until May 1 is not 

 wise, for so long as there is a market for any quail for 

 four months after our close season begins, our own birds 

 will be killed and sold. It is impossible, or next to im- 

 possible, to prevent it. In my opinion the near and utter 

 extermination of this beautiful bud in this State is as- 

 sured if the market is not shortened very considerably. 

 I believe, however, it is the best judgment of this associa- 

 tion that we had better be content, for the present, with 

 the law we have, good as it is in nearly every respect, 

 rather than endanger its many good features by endeavor- 

 ing to have it perfected. 



"The gradual but certain decline in our lobster fishery 

 indicates the near exhaustion of one of the choicest and 

 most valuable food products of our waters, the increase 

 of demand, caused by a rapidly growing market, is tell- 

 ing surely upon the supply, and unless a halt is called, 

 the lobster will become a luxury obtainable onlv by the 

 wealthy. Modern methods of refrigeration and trans- 

 portation have created a demand that is insatiable, and 

 unless there is by law an absolute close season adopted 

 by all the States that possess a lobster fishery, there will, 

 before many years, be no occasion for such a law, for 

 there will be practicably no lobsters to save. The Fish 

 and Game Commissioners for this State favor the estab- 

 lishment by la w of a close season diu-ing the most critical 

 egg-bearing period, and our association will do a good 

 work in advocating such a measure before the proper 

 committee of the Legislature. 



"The calls on us in various ways have been so many 

 and so urgent that our expenditures have been unusually 

 heavy. The money, therefore, that has been donoted to 

 us by a number of friends came most opportunely, 'and 

 the donors are entitled to the lasting and most sincere 

 gratitude Of our sosiety." 



Mr. Samuels then called upon the guests present, inter- 

 spersing their speeches with the apparently inexhaustible 

 flow of his own stories and wit and wisdom.' What the 

 speakers said was summarized as follows in the next 

 morning's Herald: 

 Lifeut. -Gov, Brackett was loudly applauded, and after 



thanking the association for the honor done him and ex- 

 tending to it the good wishes of the executive of the com- 

 monwealth, said that the society was organized for the 

 promotion of the public good, and for the enforcement of 

 the laws for the protection of fish and of game. Ignor- 

 ance of the law excuses no man. If you shoot a book 

 agent or a lawyer, or any other man who seeks to do you 

 good for a slight pecuniary compensation, it is no excuse 

 for your doing so ungentlemanly an action that you are 

 ignorant of the law. In diffusing knowledge of our game 

 laws you are doing a good work. Mr. Brackett then read 

 extracts from the game laws, giving the various dates be- 

 tween which the killing of certain kinds of birds is pro- 

 liibited, and humorously depicted the perplexities of a 

 sportsman who goes hunting at almost any time during 

 the year. "He sees two birds on a branch," said Mr. 

 Brackets "He looks at his calendar to see what day of 

 the year it is, and then at his copy of the game laws, con- 

 stantly carried in his hip pocket, and then he says to one 

 bird: 'I'll see you later,' and to the other, 'Your time has 

 come.' This association is doing worlds of good in dis- 

 seminating knowledge for the benefit of the sportsman. 

 Becoming serious, Mr. Brackett commended the associa- 

 tion for its work in enforcing the laws, and wound up 

 with two or three good fish stories, and urged his hearers 

 to go on promoting the public good of the commonwealth 

 as they have been promoting it in the past. 



President Boardman of the Senate followed in a felici- 

 tous address. He remembered the work which President 

 Samuels had done, and done so well, two years ago, for 

 the protection of game. He told some good stories of his 

 own early hunting experiences, and said he had come to 

 the conclusion that hunting was not his best hold. He 

 doubted if all present had caught as much fish or shot as 

 much game as they had eaten to-night, but this all goes 

 to prove the disinterestedness of the members of the as- 

 sociation. He painted in bright colors the pleasures of 

 hunting and fishing, and thought that their reward, if it 

 did not come through well-filled bags, it might at least be 

 found in rounded cheeks, elastic muscles and glowing 

 health. He said that in an economic point of view, it is 

 more important to preserve the fishing interests of Mass- 

 achusetts than the game. The use of traps, seines and 

 weirs would result in the killing of the goose which lays 

 the golden egg if not speedily checked. The work which 

 the association attempts to do is of great difficulty and of 

 great value. Whatever of judgment and study can be 

 brought to the question are all needed to secure the pur- 

 poses which these gentlemen are struggling for. Mr. 

 Boardman promised his hearty co-operation in the good 

 work being carried on by the association, and sat down 

 amid applause. 



Mr. E. B. Hodge, Fish and Game Commissioner of New 

 Hampshire, said that the good which such an association 

 can do is illimitable and can never be reckoned up in 

 dollars and cents. Who can calculate the amount of work 

 done in unseen channels by deterring men from breaking 

 the game laws? Referring to what had been done in 

 New Hampshire, Mr. Hodge said that a law had been 

 passed prohibiting the exportation of game birds from 

 that State, and had resulted in decreasing the snaring of 

 those birds some seventy-five per cent. 



Commissioner Geo. W. Riddle, of New Hampshire, said 

 that the influence of the association had extended all over 

 New England, and that New Hampshire's commissioners 

 would endeavor to do all in their power to assist the 

 society in its work. 



Prof. F. W. Putnam, of Cambridge, followed in a brief 

 speech. It had been a part of his work, he said, to get 

 the fishermen of the State to make returns of the number 

 of fish they catch. If is very difficult to make the fisher- 

 men understand the importance of making such returns. 

 The statistics show that not only are the lobsters doomed 

 to go, but all the fishes in our waters are bound to go with 

 them, unless some measures are taken to stop then ruth- 

 less destruction. The seines and the pounds are very 

 dangerous to our fisheries. Something must be done by 

 the Legislature to restrict their work of destruction, and 

 protect the fishes in the bays as well as in the streams. 

 The salmon have already been brought back to the Merri- 

 mac, and something should also be done to get the shad 

 back into our streams. It remains for this association to 

 create a healthy public sentiment, which will bring to our 

 statute books laws relating to fisheries even better and 

 more stringent than those relating to the protection of our 

 game. 



Hon. Charles Levi Woodbury talked about deep-sea 

 fisheries. He brought out a hearty laugh over the ad- 

 ventures of Captain Jonah of Biblical fame, but said 

 that those stories were nothing in comparison to those 

 narrated by the two modern Bracketts. The lobster was 

 learning something. He could shrink up into a 10-in, 

 limit in the trap and get himself thrown over again to be 

 given a chance to grow. There are hopes that either this 

 or the next Congress will pass some law for the protection 

 of the mackerel in the spawning season. He thought 

 that a short close season should be established. The sea 

 fishery has to proceed slowly and carefully. Two years 

 ago, at a meeting of this society, a movement was in- 

 augurated to protect American fishermen. Where are we 

 now? Last night the telegraph brought us the glorious 

 news that the Senate, by a vote of 47 to 1, had agreed to 

 stand by the American fishermen. The same bill will 

 probably go through the House, and we shall see that the 

 whole power of the United States will not only protect 

 the fish, but will protect the fisherman as well. 



Mr. A. Brainard, Fish and Game Commissioner of Ver- 

 mont, came next and spoke of the hand-to-hand contests 

 which the officers had had with poachers at home and 

 the great difficulty which the Commission had encount- 

 ered in enforcing the law. Vermont has a law prohibiting 

 the snaring of game birds, he said. He humorously re- 

 ferred to the gigantic lobster industries of Vermont and 

 sat down amid shouts of merriment. 



Mr. Chas. B. Reynolds congratulated the Massachusetts 

 Association on its persistence in good work and said its 

 influence cannot be bounded by Massachusetts or New 

 England, but radiates throughout the country. 



Mr. E. E. Small spoke of the protection of the deep-sea 

 industries. There is not one law upon our books for the 

 protection of the great staple fisheries, he said.' He ad- 

 vocated a law that would prevent the setting of a trawl in 

 Massachusetts Bay for ten years, a law which would pre- 

 vent seining dining the spawning' season of the mackerel. 

 The mackerel are hounded throughout the whole season. 

 Every barrel contains from 30,000,000 to 40,000,000 eggs. 

 It is an experiment worth trying to give thes'e fish a 



chance to deposit their eggs, and see if the mackerel 

 catch cannot be increased thereby. During April and 

 May the haddock throw their spawn, and should be pro- 

 tected. Let the society do its best to create a healthy 

 public sentiment in this matter, which will bring the 

 needed legislation. Referring to the international ques- 

 tion, he said the Senate has at last passed a law to the 

 effect that every American seaman is an American citizen 

 and every American shall be protected, and congratulated 

 his hearers on the brighter outlook for the American fish- 

 erman on account of this manly stand. 



Commissioner Lathrop, of Massachusetts, wanted to en- 

 force the lesson that the primary object of the association 

 was to educate the public as to the importance of the 

 preservation of fish and game. From this city has 

 radiated over the country the sentiment that the song 

 birds of America must be preserved. He then spoke of 

 the protection of salmon in the Connecticut River, and 

 said it had been the effort of the Commission to educate 

 the people at the mouth of that river to aid Massachusetts 

 in the protection of these fish. The Massachusetts Com- 

 mission has become tired of putting fish into the river 

 only to have them fall into the traps and pounds of the 

 Coenecticut fishers, who are killing the goose which lays 

 the golden eggs. To protect game birds, educate people 

 not to eat game birds out of season, and then Boston will 

 no longer be a "dumping ground for the game birds of the 

 West." Let the Western States enforce non-export laws, 

 and they will need no longer to complain of the "dump- 

 ing grounds of Boston." 



ft was a representative gathering of Boston's business 

 and professional men, whose dignity would have graced 

 any assembly even though convened for graver purposes 

 than this festal gathering, where the talk was of field 

 and stream experiences, and to "give and take" fish 

 stories was the rule of the hour. There was a noticeable 

 proportion of silver-haired gentlemen among the hun- 

 dred odd who sab down to the two long tables to discuss 

 the menu. The menu cards bore original and handsome 

 designs, provided for the occasion by Messrs. Beckman 

 and Punchard, the Parker House, proprietors and the 

 menu Avas as follows: 



* MENU. * 



Blue Points, Deep Shell. 

 SOUP. 



Green Turtle. Puree Game, 



FISH. 



Chicken Halibut, a la Hollandaise. 



Smelts, a la Tartare. 



Wild Goose. 



REMO VSS. 

 Saddle Venison. 



Capon, Puree Celery. 



ENTREES. 



Oyster Croquettes, Bechamel. Chartreuse Grouse. 



Lobster Croquettes, Cardinal. 

 Spaghetti, au Gratin. Fried Bananas. Apple Fritters, Wine Sauce. 



Redhead Duck. 



Charlotte RflSae, 



Roman Punch. 



GAME. 

 Black Duck. 



SWEETS. 

 Omelette Soumee. 

 Biscuit Glac6. 



Quail. 



Grape Meringne.s. 



Oranges. Bananas, 

 Ice Cream. 



Apples. Grapes. Dry Fruits, 

 Sherbet. Coffee. 



THE OHIO ASSOCIATION. 



AT a meeting held at Columbus, O., Jan. 12, the Ohio 

 Game and Fish Protective Association was organ- 

 ized. The convention was attended by delegates from a 

 number of clubs from different parts of the State, the 

 Sherman Gun Club, of Columbus, taking prominent 

 part. The objects of the association are set forth in the 

 constitution : 



Art. ii.— The object of the Association shall be the 

 protection and increase of game and fish, the bringing 

 about of the enactment, by this and other States and 

 Territories, of laws for the protection and increase of 

 game and fish, and for the better enforcement of such 

 laws. 



Officers were elected as follows: President, Gen. W. 

 B. Shattuc, of Cincinnati; Secretary and Treasurer, Dr. 

 Wm. Shepard, of Columbus; Corresponding Secretary. 

 Geo. L. Graham, of Columbus. Vice-Presidents: District 

 No. 1, J. P. Murphy, Cincinnati; No. 3, Col. L. A. Harris, 

 Cincinnati; No. 3, Seth W. Brown, Lebanon; No. 4, Edwin 

 Best, Dayton; No. 5, 6 and 7 were the only ones not rep- 

 resented'by appointees; No. 8, H. B. Ingalls, Huntsville; 

 No. 9, Dr. T. B. Cotton, Mt. Vernon; No. 10, E. D. Potter, 

 Toledo; No. 11, Hon. J. A. Turley, Portsmouth; No. 12, 

 A. D. Corwin, Waver ly; No. 13, C. H. Damsel, Columbus; 

 No. 14, W. P. Mickey, Shelbv; No. 15, C. E. Vergess, 

 Lowell; No. 16, E. Z. Hays,* Coshocton; No. 17, W. H. 

 Gorbey, Bellaire: No, 18, L. C. Cole, Massillon; No. 19, 

 Jules Vautrot, Warren; No. 20, Dr. W. C. Jacobs, Akron; 

 No. 21, E. C. Beach, Cleveland. Law Committee: J. P. 

 Murphy, Cincinnati; E. L. Taylor, Columbus; H. B. 

 Ingalls, Huntsville; L. D. Waters, Akron; W. H.' Harris. 

 Cleveland. Delegate to attend the convention to be held 

 at Ionia, Mich., Mr. W. R. Leflet, of Toledo; delegate to 

 represent the Association at the National Association, B. 

 F. Seitner, of Dayton. The next annual meeting will be 

 held at Dayton, January, 1888. 



OLD AND NEW RIFLES. 



Editor Forrest aud Stream: 



These long winter evenings give one ample time to review, in 

 memory's mind, the many hunting scenes of years gone bv, as 

 well as to post up on the improvements constanflv being made in 

 the utility of arms. To hold trade old firms of standing and 



Van Dyke, were well taken, and would apply with equal, force to 

 counteract certain statements recently made as to the wonderful 

 merits, of the muzzleloader as a hunting gun. Surely the day for 

 selling muzzleloading hunting rifles is past; all admit that, ft has 

 been a nauseating pill for the muzzleloading devotees to swallow, 

 and as might have been expected, drew forth from a certain few 

 all the invective threats imaginable. The breechloader, how- 

 ever, has come to stay, and is well liked. It has the merits, and 

 as J. J. M. remarks, what the late arm now being furnished the 

 English army did at Enfield, putting ten consecutive shots into a 

 card 5x9in. at 500yds., proves that there is no'thing in the meite 



