April 14, 1882.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



351 



Commissioners and might or might not be residents of 

 the localities where they are stationed. Much good 

 would undoubtedly result from the appointment of such 

 a force of game wardens, eTery county or district in the 

 Province should pay a certain sum annually, say $50, to the 

 Government toward the support and maintenance of the 

 force aforesaid, this fund to be supplemented by the Gov- 

 ernmentan equalsum. The fines imposedfor infractions of 

 the game laws should be largely increased and that the law 

 should provide distinctly that each case must be charged 

 separately, without any option in the matter to the ma- 

 gistrate or prosecutor. One-half the fines should go direct 

 to the Government and the other half to the informer. 

 As an additional means of assisting in the maintenance 

 of the force of game wardens, a $25 license should be col- 

 lected from all foreign sportsmen, and which would en- 

 title them to shoot or fish, during the open season in the 

 Province. 



Dealers in game and fish should be required to take out 

 licenses, so that their premises may be subject to search 

 at any time, at the hands of the' game wardens, the 

 license fees thus received to go direct to Government. 



The suggestion that every owner of sporting firearms 

 should be required to register his weapon and pay a 

 nominal fee therefor is intensely unpopular and we can- 

 not recommend it. 



Many sportsmen are of opinion that shooters and 

 anglers, when sporting in counties where they do not 

 reside, Bhould be required to take out a local permit at a 

 small fee to go toward the expense of supporting the 

 local game and fish warden. This suggestion is a useful 

 one, and may in time be acted upon, when a permanent 

 Commission has had time to elaborate its work. In the 

 meantime, however, on account of the difficulty which it 

 is thought would exist in the way of finding the game 

 warden, and the loss of time to which sportsmen would 

 be put, it is not deemed wise to recommend it. 



In some localities dogs are not taxed, and a large num- 

 ber are kept, in consequence, for the purpose of hunt- 

 ing deer. We recommend, therefore, that all dogs 

 throughout the Province be licensed. The license need 

 not be taken out in any particular city or town, but the 

 dog must be licensed somewhere. 



Sportsmen in the various counties and districts should 

 form associations to protect game and fish therein. 



The formation of close or exclusive game and fish pro- 

 tection associations, which cover marshes by freehold or 

 lease, is intensely unpopular, and should not be en- 

 couraged. 



All police officers, whether city, county or Government 

 constables, and all Government bush rangers, should be 

 wardens under the act for the purpose of enforcing the 

 game laws. Wardens should have power to arrest 

 offenders on sight without a warrant, and should have 

 power to try cases themselves, this power, however, to be 

 only exercised in localities where the services of a magis- 

 trate cannot be conveniently obtained. 



Persons arrested by the wardens should be tried 

 before the nearest magistrate without having to be taken 

 back to the place at which the offense was committed. 

 In the event of the establishment of a permanent Game 

 and Fish Commission, the members of the said Commis- 

 sion should be made magistrates under the game act for 

 the purpose of taking evidence on oath and trying cases 

 brought before their notice from time to time. 



Your Commissioners unanimously and very strongly 

 recommend the formation of a provincial game park, in 

 which protection could be afforded to the game and fur- 

 bearing animals of Ontario. The establishment of such 

 a preserve would be the best means of restocking the 

 Province. The preserve should, however, be Provincial 

 in its character, and under the control of the Government 

 and not in private hands. 



THE VERMONT LEAGUE. 



A COMPACT and useful handbook of the Vermont 

 Fish and Game League has been prepared by Sec- 

 retary John W. Titcomb. Its contents comprise the con- 

 stitution of the league, a roster of the members, and the 

 text of the fish and game laws of Vermont. The ad- 

 mirable purpose of the book is set forth in the preface: 



Many citizens of Vermont think that fish aDd game laws are 

 made entirely in the interest of sportsmen. While this belief 

 may be natural, it is a mistaken one. Many citizens are prone to 

 consider all tish at d game protective associations as organized 

 for selfish purposes only. While this imputation is a natural one 

 it is untrue in the case of the Vermont Fish and Game League 

 Of it8 large membership only a small majoritv shoot and fish, and 

 of those who do many go to more favorable localities for their 

 sport. 



There are an abundance of laws on our statute books aimed at 

 the protection of fish and game. Many of the general laws for the 

 protection of fish bave become ineffectual owing to the innumer- 

 able private bills which have been added from year to year. 

 Whatever good game laws we have are rendered ineffectual for 

 the reason that there is no special provision for game wardens or 

 officers whose duty it is to look after their enforcement. 



With a view to accomplishing some of the objects set forth in 

 our constitution, this book is published. In order that all who 

 are interested in improved fish and game legislation may read 

 our present laws intelligently, this book contains a compilation 

 in concise form. No attempt has been made to include the 

 special Jaws which burden our statute books, and cover so rnanv 

 of the public waters of the State. 



The compilation has been well done, and the book re- 

 flects credit upon Secretary Titcomb. Copies may be 

 had on application to the secretary, whose address is 

 Rutland, Vt. 



A Queer Old Game Law.— Newbern, N. C, April 8. 

 —In searching some old records recently 1 happened upon 

 the draft of a game law which was passed by the Colo- 

 nial Legislature of North Carolina in 1777, in the second 

 year of the American Revolution, which provided that 

 any person caught hunting deer by night should be put 

 into the Continental army for three years. At this same 

 session a bill was passed for the organization of the State 

 militia. If such a law were in operation in some sections 

 of the United States at the present time there would be 

 no occasion to appeal to patriotism in order to fill up the 

 ranks of the militia. The night-shooters would furnish 

 the quota.— Charles Hallock. 



The Port Jervis Deer Case.— The game law case of 

 the people vs. Ernest Wollner, of Port Jervis, N. Y., for 

 having sold venison out of season, was brought to trial 

 last week. The case was tried before a jury, District 

 Attorney Hirschberg appearing for the people and John 

 W. Lyon, of Port Jervis, for the defendant. The wit- 

 nesses for the prosecution were Edgar Wells, C. E. Bar- 



ton and W. H. Crane, of Port Jervis. According to their 

 testimony the defendant had received the carcass of 

 the dead deer by Wells, Fargo & Co.'s express from 

 Shohola, Pa., along the line of the Erie Railroad. Dr. 

 Willett Kidd, of Newburgh, the fish and game protector 

 upon whose complaint the suit was brought, gave testi- 

 mony. He told a straightforward story about the case, 

 although Mr. Carr, in cross-examining him, tried to make 

 Dr. Kidd believe that he should have brought the suit 

 against the Wells-Fargo Express instead of his client. 

 John Hess, a track walker on the Erie at Shohola, told of 

 the carcass of the deer having been found along the 

 tracks at 4 o'clock one morning last December. At this 

 point Mr. Lyon moved for a dismissal of the case and 

 argued to show that his client did nothing wrong in dis- 

 posing of the venison. He claimed that the deer had 

 fallen from a precipice eighty feet high, had. been mor- 

 tally injured, and that it was no crime to dispose 

 of the meat in the way his client had done. The 

 court decided against the motion. At the close of the 

 trial the court ordered a judgment against Wollner for 

 the full amount of the fine, $100, which the jury ren- 

 dered without leaving their seats. 



A Deer's Escapade. — Arcata, Cal., March 31.— Last 

 Sunday a deer was driven out of a swamp near town, and 

 being closely pushed by the hounds it made for a railroad 

 track. After going up and down the road bed several 

 times it fell through a cow catcher, and being helpless 

 and losing its antlers in the struggle, it was an easy prey 

 for some boys who appeared on the scene, and putting a 

 rope on it they took it home, where it was left in the 

 woodshed for safety. The boys had neglected Sunday 

 school that day and their appearance in the house was 

 the beginning of a general thrashing to all concerned. 

 During the fracas the deer got out of the shed and find- 

 ing its way into the house it knocked over the stove and 

 furniture all about the place. A general stampede was 

 the result and the people could not get out of the way 

 fast enough. The deer saw a friendly window, and 

 jumping through it bid adieu to family broils. With his 

 white flag waving he sped away over the hills to his free- 

 dom, no doubt vowing for the future to keep clear of 

 Sunday school boys and hounds.— F. P. Nye. 



Spring Shooting. — Chatham, N. J„ March 28. — 

 Editor Forest and Stream: At the last meeting of the 

 Chatham Fish and Game Protective Association the mem- 

 bers present agreed not to shoot any duck or snipe on 

 their preserve grounds this spring, it being the second 

 season the Association has given protection to these birds. 

 With a marvelous instinct found only in birds, the wild 

 ducks quickly discovered a refuge on the flowed land near 

 here and have flocked to it this spring in numbers far 

 greater than any other season for the last twenty or thirty 

 years. The Association has good reason to hope that the 

 lean, wary bird of the spring will return early in autumn 

 fat and gentle with increased numbers, more especially 

 so as it is now being shot at and frightened away from 

 almost every other place.— Wm. E. Btjdd. 



Maine Deer.— Portland, April 2.— I received yesterday 

 a letter from one who has been my camp companion and 

 guide in the Washington county woods, relative to the 

 prospect for next fall, and quite an interesting item: "I 

 have been in the woods all winter; got home laat Satur- 

 day. I was on township 36, near Fletcher Brook; landed 

 our togs on first lake of main river. We've had a lovely 

 winter for the deer: the snow has not been very deep 

 until recently, and then came a crust that would hold a 

 horse anywhere. That made it good for the deer: they 

 could go anywhere they wanted to. They must be in 

 good condition this spring. There were plenty of them 

 up there; new tracks every day, and they come in to the 

 tops every every night."— S. 



Washington, D. C, April 11.— A great many wood- 

 cock are being sold in this market at present. They are 

 shot, it is said, in Prince George's county about ten or 

 fifteen miles from Washington. Another bit of law- 

 breaking was accomplished last Friday, April 8, by a man 

 who shot sixty-six bluebills on the Mount Vernon flats. 

 Potomac River, in spite of the fact that the close season 

 commenced April 1. A great many ducks are on the 

 eastern branch of the Potomac, and these are ever and 

 anon receiving a death-dealing salute from the all-the- 

 year gunners. — Bengies. 



§*ing=<gin «glufui[ing8. 



"That reminds me." 



FOR a long time I stood proof against hunters' yarns 

 and fishermen's lies, but constant reading of sports- 

 men's letters— some in Forest and Stream— and almost 

 daily communication with those who tish and hunt, 

 caused me at last to become contaminated. However, I 

 have never been able to quite equal others in putting 'on 

 the imaginary embellishments. One day, though, I was 

 satisfied I had conceived something good and proceeded 

 to relate it to a select few of those who were in the habit 

 of rivaling me in such talk. I had just returned from 

 an April turkey hunt in the swamps just above Vicks- 

 burg, Miss., and while a fair bag had been secured, the 

 chief feature of the trip had been the myriads of mos- 

 quitoes that harassed us at all times, except when under 

 a good bar. Any one who has hunted in a Missisippi 

 swamp during rather warm weather in spring, on land 

 from much of which an overflow has recently receded, 

 will understand what a pest they are. At such times it 

 becomes necessary to wear a coat and gloves, and to pro- 

 tect the face, ears and neck by a piece of bar or other- 

 wise, however much such apparel may handicap the 

 sportsman. In talking of the pests, I determined to do 

 justice to the occasion and to be bold in my remarks. So 

 one day I told G. H. D., who is no insignificant talker 

 himself, that the mosquitoes were so thick that one 

 sweep of my hat through the air filled it to the brim. A 

 twinkle in D.'s eye led me to suspect he had not swal- 

 lowed the thing altogether. I went to my companion on 

 this hunt, W. L. W., not knowing that he had a develop- 

 ment of talent in this line, and told him that I had been 

 telling a tolerable stout one about our turkey hunt and 

 that I wanted him to substantiate my remarks. 



"P., I'll back up any remarks you may chance to make 

 about that trip," was his prompt and spirited reply, suf- 

 ficiently assuring me that he could be relied upon in an 

 emergency of this kind. 



I then proceeded to tell him what I had told D. about 

 sweeping a hat through the air and catching a hatful of 

 mosquitoes. 



W. drew himself up and said, apparently without re- 

 flection or effort: "P., you could have done better than 

 that," with a marked emphasis on the word "better." 

 "You could have swept a quart cup through the air and 

 caught a gallon." 



I was thus put to rest as to my anxiety for proof to D. 

 and at the same time vanquished in my ambition to 

 excel as an artist in telling a hunter's lie. W. L. P. 

 ViCKSBURG, Mississippi. 



A large dealer in fish in the market, who frequently 

 takes a "flyer" in stocks, remarked to a friend the other 

 day that he never went short on lobsters. Reignolds. 



Boston. 



St** M[A 



The pull texts of the game fish laws of all the States, 

 Territoties and British Provinces are given in the Booh of 

 the Game Laws. 



BOSTON ANGLERS. 



r pHURSDAY, April 7, was Fast Day in Massachusetts, 

 X and the day was pretty generally improved by 

 anglers, either in looking over their tackle or in actual 

 contact with imaginary trout on the streams. The 

 weather was fine— too fine, in fact, for the tender skins 

 of indoor life, and the burnt and reddened noses and 

 wrists were not the exception among those who were 

 out, even a part of the day. Mr. J. W. Chickey, sub- 

 scription agent of the Boston Herald, likes trout fishing 

 as well as the best of them. He went, with a friend, up 

 to a brook in Sharon, where they hoped for success. The 

 result was one trout for Mr. Chickey and two for his 

 friend. But they got the burned noses and hands, and 

 the outing. The last was greatly enjoyed by both. The 

 brook was almost crowded with fishermen. Mr. Chickey 

 thinks there must have been at least twenty on the 

 stream. Such was the case with most of the streams in 

 the vicinity of Boston, and it is worthy of note that not 

 yet has a good catch of trout come to my notice. When 

 the fishermen are successful you are pretty sure to hear 

 from them after their return, otherwise they are silent. 



Mr. A. W. Tompkins, with Foster, Weeks & Co., on 

 Clinton street, took Fast Day for a visit to the camp on 

 the Sudbury River. His partners in the camp, Messrs. 

 A. S. Hartwell and John Tolman, were with him. They 

 invited "Nick," who owns "Nick's Camp" on the same 

 river, to accompany them. Everybody in the field sport- 

 ing business knows "Nick." He was there, and they 

 fully intended to try the trout, but there were too many 

 fishermen already on the brooks and the banks were too 

 deeply indented with footprints. Tbey gave up the idea 

 of fishing and came back to first intentions— fixing up 

 the camp, painting the boats, etc.— and they really en- 

 joyed the outing. "Nick" took hold with the others, and 

 now he will invite them to his camp, on the first oppor- 

 tunity, for the same purpose— that of putting it into ship- 

 shape for summer. These gentlemen really get a deal of 

 pleasure out of their camps. The distance is not so far 

 fromWaltham, where they reside, but what tbey can 

 drive up, even in the evening; and many is the jolly party 

 of gentlemen and ladies who make these excursions. 

 The boys usually take turns at the cooking. 



The Eugene Clapp party to Lake Mooselucmaguntic for 

 trout fishing, must now be called the Wadsworth party; 

 for Mr. Clapp has gone to visit happier fishing lakes and 

 streams in the better world. This party, besides Mr. 

 Wadsworth, Mr. Montague and Mr. Paine, mentioned in 

 the Forest and Stream last week, will be increased by 

 the addition of Mr. George White, of the leather trade 

 and Mr. Augustus Parker, of Boston Highlands. Part of 

 the company will be off as soon as the word comes that 

 the ice is out of the Rangeley Lakes. They are as im- 

 patient as the record of each year shows. But the older 

 hands at the business, like Mr. Wadsworth and them do 

 not care to start till the ice has been gone several days. 

 They enjoy a touch of spring, with green trees, even 

 more than angling for trout in snow water with the mer- 

 cury down below freezing every morning. 



I have no particular information as to the departure of 

 the ice from the Maine lakes. The unusually hot weather 

 for April last week is reported to have taken off a great 

 deal of the snow from the surface of the ice-bound lakes 

 and this is looked upon as favorable for an early de- 

 parture of the ice, since it gives the sun more chance to 

 work. But at last accounts they were hauling lumber 

 over several of the lakes. The ice is out of the Penobscot 

 up as far as Bangor, and the salmon are jumping. The 

 anglers have also begun to try for them in the Bangor 

 Pool. But up to date I have no reports of salmon taken 

 with rod and reel. The first Penobscot salmon of the 

 season arrived last week in the Boston market, and sold 

 for $1.50 per pound. This fish, with four others, was 

 taken in nets "down river." 



Mr. John G. Wright, who, with other members of the 

 Commodore Club, has lately returned from a visit to the 

 club's property, on Moose Lake, in Maine, finds that the 

 Maine Fish and Game Commissioners are willing to do 

 all they can for the Commodore Club in the way of 

 stocking the lake with landlocked salmon or trout. The 

 matter of this restocking was the principal object of the 

 visit of Mr. Wright and the other members of the club to 

 Maine this time. Commissioner Stanley tells them that 

 they shall have their share of fish that have been hatched 

 by the State this season, but that the number must neces- 

 sarily be small, for the reason of the low water last 

 autumn at the time of taking the spawning fish. It is 

 probable that the next Maine Legislature at its next session 

 will be asked to close permanently one or two of the 

 trout streams that lead into Moose Lake, the nurseries of 

 the trout that are to supply the lake. The club proposes 

 to set off a part of one of these streams to receive and 

 rear the small fry, that they hatch or obtain, till they 

 are large enough to set at liberty with some sort of assur- 

 ance that they will not be destroyed by other fish. 



Special. 



