FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jan. 19, 1893. 



MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION. 



Boston, Mass., Jan. 16.— The annual meeting of the 

 Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective Association was 

 held at the American House, Boston.Wednesday evening, 

 Jan. 11, President George W. Wiggin in the chair, 110 

 members being present. Mr. Henry J. Thayer, secretary 

 of the Committee on Acclimatization, made the following 

 report: 



"During the year 1893 the committee has loosed alive 

 in Massachusetts 91 [irairie chickens, 146 sharp-tail grouse, 

 332 Rockjr Mountain quail— total, 572. 



' ' Reports concerning birds loosed in previous years have 

 been received, and are very encouraging, being far more 

 favorable than had been anticipated. Pinnated grouse 

 are known to have bred in six localities, |sharp-tail grous( 

 in two places, and Rocky Mountain quail are often k 

 ported, some near tlie places where released, and otheis 

 many miles away from wdiere loosed, and they aic 

 thought to have materially increased. The first lot of 

 these birds was put out in March, 1890. and they me 

 known to have survived to the present time and to" ha ve 

 increased in numbers. 



Twelve prairie cliiekens have been reported as having 

 been shot in Massachusetts the present season, also two 

 sharp-tail grouse and five Rocky Mountain quail. 



*'Your committee, smce its organization, Jan. 17, 1890- 

 has brought to Massachusetts and liberated in the Stale 

 aMve 349 pinnated grouse. 146 sharp-tail grouse, 1,020 Bob 

 White quail, 26 Oregon Mountain quail. 601 Rocky 

 Mountain quail, 87 northern hares; total, 2,239 head of 

 game. 



''These have been distributed in 134 different lots and 

 hberated in 63 different localities in such places as seemed 

 most favorable to their preservation and increase. 



•'Birds contracted for, to be delivered before the com- 

 ing spring, are: .lOO pinnated grouse, 500 sliarp-lail 

 grouse, 120 Rocky Mountain quail. 



"TelegTaphic advice of the first shipment of pinnated 

 grouse was received yesterday, Jan. 10, and other ship- 

 ments will foU,ow soon."' 



Officers for 1893 were elected as follows: 



President — Hon. Geo. "W. Wiggin. 



Vice Presidents— Ivers W. Adams. Edward A. Samuek 

 Augustus Hemenway, Hon. James F. Dwinell. C. J. H- 

 Woodbury, John T. Stetson, Horace T. Rockwell. 



Treasurer— Andrew J. Lloyd. 



Secretary— Richard O. Haixling. 



Librarian— John Fottler. Jr. 



Executive Committee— Heber Bishop, Chas. G. Gibson. 

 John N. Roberts, M. A. Morris, W. G. Kendall, Wm. B. 

 Smart, Frederick R. Shattuck, Wm. F. Keith, Wm. 

 Tharilwall. RoUin Jones, Henry H. Kimball, Cha.s. F. 

 Chamberlayne. 



Membership Committee— Ed-svard T. Ba.rker, Artlmr W. 

 Robinson, Walter C. Prescott. 



Fund Committee— Benj. C. Clark, Edward Brooks. 

 Walter A. Power. 



Miscelaneous — Chas. H. Peckham, David M. Little, 

 i 'has. E. Howe and Henn^ P. Plimpton were elected 

 member.s of the association. 



• RiCHAED O. Harding, Secretary. 



MASSACHUSETTS GAME INTERESTS. 



In iheir annual report for 1892. the Massachusetts Com- 

 missioners of Inland Fisheries and Game says: 



' The laws for the protection of game are more generally 

 observed than heretofore, and are regarded with yearlv 

 increasing favor by the people. 



"The disease of last year continues among the grouse 

 causing a decrease in numbers. It is not to be expecT( d 

 to prevail another year, judging by the past histoi-y of hkc 

 occurrences. 



' 'We renew the suggestions of last yeai', concerning the 

 desirability of a law pi-oviding for a bounty for the destruc- 

 tion of predatory vermin. The increase of these animals 

 is large, and is not appreciated by people not given to 

 knowledge and obseiwation of this matter. The preserved 

 value of farm products resulting from the destruction of 

 such animals would, in our opinion, be many times the 

 amount paid out in ioounties. 



"The desirability of the maintenance of game wardens, 

 with sufficient funds and authority therefor, becomes more 

 and more apparent as the years go by. Intelligent con- 

 tinued action for the preservation of the game is justified 

 by each year's added experience. 



Deputy Commissioner Delano reports: "All complaints 

 of the bird laws have been promptly investigated; but, 

 from the fact of there being one month's difference be- 

 tween the open season on partridge and quail, it is im- 

 possible to convict unless the parties are caught in the 

 act. With a uniform season, the hunter would have no 

 excuse to be in the woods with his gun and dog out of 

 season; and, for the protection of the birds and the en- 

 forcement of the laws, better results could be attained 

 than at present." 



District Police Officer Proctor reports that owing to a 

 defect in the law as it now stands, "the possession of a 

 game bird is not an offence at a;ay season of the year. I 

 would recommend that the law be amended so as "to )nake 

 possession of game birds an offence during the time within 

 which the taking or killing of the birds aforesaid is pro- 

 hibited, and also a tinifoi'm season for taking or killing 

 said birds." 



Deputy Commissioner Chadwick reports: "There lias 

 been a decided impro-s'ement in the observance of the 

 laws in relation to game. Very few complaints have been 

 sent me, as compared with previous seasons; only t^vo 

 arrests have been made and those were for offering game 

 for sale in the close season. The parties were convicted 

 and paid their fines. With the exception of quail and 

 woodcock, the markets have shown a decrease. Partridges 

 have been scarce, and prices higher than in former seasons. 

 This, in some measure, is due to the law in New Hamp- 

 shire, prohibiting the transportation of partridges out of 

 the State. The open season for shooting in New Hamp- 

 shire is Sept. 1, while in Massachusetts it is the 15th. The 

 result of this difference is two weeks' shooting in Massa- 

 chusetts by parties from New Hampshire, all along the 

 State line. Complaints of this nature have been sent me. 

 A distance of seventy miles is quite a space for one person 

 to properly guard, and it is extremely difficult for an officer 

 to locate the State line when he attempts to prosecute an 

 offender. The open season for the shooting of game birds 

 in Massachusetts and New Hampshii-e should be on the 

 same date. Early in September, half -grown gray squirrels 



and rabbits were offered for sale by hunters at the low 

 price of five cents each. September 1 is too early to shoot 

 such game; and. with an open season of six months, it is 

 useless to expect much increase. To be allowed to kill 

 gray squirrels and rabbits in January and Februarv is cer- 

 tainly not in the interest of those who hunt them. " Three 

 months of good shooting is better for the hunter than six 

 months of poor shooting.'' 



The Commissioners recommend a ne^\' law making the 

 close season for pinnated arouse, '.vooilcook and ruffed 

 grouse (partridge), Jan. 1-Sept. 10; quail, Jau. 1-Oct. 15; 

 wood or summer duck, black duck, teal, or any duck, 

 April 15-Sept, 1; with sale a.nd possession forbidden in 

 close season. 



SEARCHING POACHERS' POCKETS. 



['iTT-^Bru(,n Pa Jan. IJ Lihfu, I <>, < mul ^i,< n m 

 Yom assistance m getting our sportsinen rut erested m new 

 law^j to protect our game is pro^'mg iii\-aluab]R, I ain m 

 ie( eipt ol inan\ ((tteib liom tlio-( w I o w n i ni' ]h ifeif 

 l)iotei turn not oni> foi the i.ani, IhiiIIk li^n --will Vho 

 lioui mau.v visitors who are eaucr to st e success crown the 

 labors ol Uio.sc who have tlie msitter ui iiand. We are all 

 likewise intercHted in tins subiect. 



It \%.is su(,_(-,t(il 1)\ nil- to UKK.i^t Ihe poweis of the 

 piesent bish (.oiuinissLoii and increase it bv addmg to it 

 the State Ormth(jlos,ist. A\'hosH knowledge would be most 

 vahiable in more \v;ivs i one. Hv doniL;- so. no objec- 

 tion ( ould beuigc d ujinii > In 1)1 n 1 (il ( o'-t^ md exi'ciist N . 

 wbde it could be it ,ui ciii irelv new board was organized 

 to propagate and protect tlie i>auic. 



My experience has [)io\(n to nio that there are short 

 peiiod^oftlu Acit uluii IK I 1 -,in_le intiai tion of thel.iu 

 IS made, and then wi ien thevdo 1)e2,in. thev are all against 

 the fiisli l,n\^ ;i,d ilu 11 Uu V stop .md th.. moI ili,;ii-, oL tb( 

 grime la.ws Ix-ym. It seems to uie to gu m streaks, Jirst 

 one, then the other. 



I liaA-e no personal interest m the matter oxcppt that I 

 desne to -^pe tbp h li m I _imH ,>H>reH 1 ri, thpi-- 

 who follo-w usm itr^i u-, mov nio> tUm , T _pt 



but little -hooting nis^ II hul '.^ b< n U-m v r i \ T nit 

 to get some game as mv reward. 



Let me tell vou of an instance of a man who boasted ot 

 bemg a sportsman and how I "called hnn down.' One 

 da^ m August- s,erfT„1 veai* mo f^' o ladi^'- i unc to m* 

 office ind a'-k^d it T v pie tin- bsh \\ aulen umKiuI th^v 

 wanted to teU nte oout flung pi o-\ nled I uonld not mi5. 

 them up m it. I aave mv pleda-e of secrecv ami thev in- 

 formed me that a man came on the ( 'astlp Shorinnn Rail- 

 road everv week and brouulit his don- and enn alona and 

 was shootmg all around the village, and thev T^-erp posi- 

 tive he was kdlmg quad. I had this road watdied tor 

 weeks; had men stationed m Hie fields and woods to be 

 able to .swear rlmt he killed quail, but not one of them 

 cotild be sure it was so. [ srrew .lespemte and the killing 

 went on. But one day a man cairip inTi; mv oltice with a 

 lush and said tlie Monndul \\ is tu.l i^un nd ih. \ siv\ 

 him shoot into a tlock of birds, and thev tiioiiLiht tlu^v 

 wcie quail but -would not like to ssveai thil Vm\ win 

 I w.as Wild and math.' up mv ninid tiiat: T would haul thai: 

 fellow in if it cost a law suit at mv expense. I found the 

 time table of the road, w^ent to tlie station an hour ahead 

 of time and waited. l lie louiier I waited the madder I 

 got, and when the tram did coine mv man. Iuk doa and 

 gun got oft and 1 nuitciied up lo lum. palled hini hv 

 name, asked what luck he liad tliat da\ . and he said: "I 

 did not kill dn\ game 1 \^ i ^ iil\ ai\m_, ni\ iKv piac 

 tice I kne^^ he lied 1 lu the bnlgiiig pockets ot his 

 hunting LiMt and a- quu k as a Hash m\ hand \\ ent dovMi 

 ill one and out I drew a. halt-grown (jnail wrapped m 

 paper, and holding it up before his astouLslied evew asked 

 Inm \^ hat h.M ailed rh It 'AIv st ai( h hi. i li 1 a i halt 

 grown and one mother quad and one hali-grov\ n rabbit. 

 I took man, gun, dog and game before one of our magis- 

 trates, who promptly lined him .$75 and costs. 



If I had not searched this fellow what further destruc- 

 tion would he have conmaitted? I do not thiuk any 

 sportsman would hesitate to show an officer his game at 

 any tune, but a poacher-or violator will. Hoav is a warden 

 to catch men with ferrets in bag-s hung inside tlieir coats 

 luiless they can search them? 



I hope that our friends will have framed a suitable biH 

 making aU game come in and go out together. 



How can we stop the shipment of game from one State 

 to another'? When our close season comes our hticksters 

 send to Chicago, to St. Louis and other points and get 

 game, so they say. and prove by express bills, when some 

 of the places they get game from have the same close 

 season that we do, and then they claim they are not vio- 

 lating the law! I woidd like to furnish to tlie v^ ardens of 

 other States the names of the persons who ship game to 

 Pittsburg out of season, and if any ot tliem will write to 

 me I -will gladly aid them. 1 liot)e the Forest and Stream 

 can open up a field in this i;lireetioii and lend us its assist- 

 ance. I will give my aid in an v- was^ 1 can to further the 

 interests of our hunters and fishej-men. 



J. W. HAtJT'E. Fish Warden. 



No. 90 Diamond .Street. 



Barnegat Ducks Rest on Sunday. 



East Ora-NGE, N. J., Jan U.— Editor F'o^est a nJ Stream: 

 A short time since I wrote Capt. Joe Ridge Avay. oi' Barne- 

 ga,t, asking what arrangements 1 conld make'for d u eking 

 trips of two 01' tlii'ee days' duration. I inclose his reply, 

 which may be ot interest to your readers, and at the same 

 time would draw your attention to the second paragraph 

 of his letter, wdiich I think worthy of commendation. 



C. C. H. 



Barnegat, N. J. . Jan 10. — It is useless for you to come 

 to Barnegat for duck shooting just at present, as the bay 

 is closed with ice. 



It is of no use to come for Sunday only, as no guide will 

 go out with you on that day, for it is an unwritten law 

 among us to give the birds one day in the week: and we 

 think this is one reason that keeps 'the wild fowl with ils 

 more than in some other places where they are sliot at 

 every day. 



Terms are $2.50 per day and board and ammlinitioh for 

 each guide, he to furnish boats and decoys. Some very 

 good bags of game have been made in the past two weeks 

 by men gunning in air holes in the ice. Fifty head of 

 geese and ducks to a man for a two days' shoot" has been 

 done by several of om local gunners, but each man in that 

 kind of shooting has all he wants to do to look out for 

 himself, and will not take a sportsman with him, two 

 boats being more than he can handle in or on ice. 



Jos. K. Eedgway. 



THAT MAINE TAX PROPOSITION. 



Among Boston sportsmen the interest in what the Maine 

 Legislature may do concerning fish and game is very great. 

 The lawmakers of that State convene only once in twc 

 years, and it is felt that whatever measures may be adopted 

 have got to be endured for a long time. The interest in 

 Maine fish and game has been steadily growing for many 

 yeai-s with sportsmen outside of that State as weU as in it. 

 and it is perfectly natural that Boston, the largest citj^ ir 

 New England, as well as east of New York, should be "the 

 centre of this interest. While Boston sportsmen have ne 

 desire to dictate matters legislative, ui Maine, they do feel 

 that they have paid out a great deal^of money" in that 

 State, and that legislative action there should not be made 

 hostile to them, unless it be absolntelv iiecessarv for the 

 hettpi piotection and piesei \ rini n ot tlu h-h md aainc 

 tiieie The most abboibmg question at this tinu is as U 

 whether September will be opened m Maine, tor the hunt' 

 mg of deer. Hundreds ot Boston hunters, wiio annually' 

 visit that Statue, are interested. I have; met a great uianV 

 ot them within a, couple ot weeks, and all are rc-ady tc 

 discuss the possibilities or the impossibilities of such action. 

 <r<ncidK these spoifsiin 11 ,1! di -non- ot i omhmni!, both 

 the pleasures of the gxtn and rod on their annual trips t(" 

 Mame, but under exi,stma laws thei-e n- cannot be done^ 

 It la believed that bei)temljer mi aid, lie added to the opei^ 

 season., withont danaer to ilii; deer siippK , ami P.ostoiii 

 sportsmen ai-e generUv awaiv tliac tlipv have both th(- 

 Avorthv game commissioners ot Alauie on their side m thai 

 niatte>. l{e])oits tiom W iim su ^< st Ihat Ilu nuasiirt 

 will again be oppos(;d l)v Ihc lumlier intere.st. and the 

 chances are not very taA^jraljle toi- its success. ; 



Capt. Fred C. Barker, well knoAvn to manv readers oi: 

 Forest and Stream, w.-ss m Boston last wppk. He is very 

 much interested 111 liavina Sppteniher added to the opei, 

 season for bia aame. [n his |iart ot the State, tiie Eangeley 

 region, he hnds the opinion .-ilmost universa-lly in favor of 

 the openm_ ot | t i il i ' |., d- ) olitaiupil opinion- 



trom a large nunil:;ei < i _ ri' men m Oxford anc^ 



Andro.scoaain comirif r > • _ 

 abv fa^ oiable Fid i ^ 

 whole State the Hii - i - t^i 

 ask that Septeml f-i ' c 'l n 

 Capt Fied .1 th d t idis 

 nnmlipi oi leu Ldl-d tlip p i^t 



■ii itict is almost tmivers. 

 i aa Utp t> easuie m th^ 

 1111 of the S'atf V, il; 

 11 rr.iii;i*-us alone 



andmg the unusually largfi 

 - in t'lP bipedm;^ supplj 



has not been harmpd m rhe tpa^t. tie and his 

 l^een in the V, oods < ,-,1, i m m i n - 

 and he finds that th^- u I lU Ip^i i f-t i 

 large. 



' ' ncrinmg the jiroposition i il M nni 



to impose a license tax on non residentr, <it 

 the pnvdeae of hunting or fishma tliere. co 

 anst 1^ (-\oi p^-ed I have qupsnoup 1 i lo 

 e'emlempn m boston, who annually limd. 

 nd the universal opinion i.s one ot surprise 



men hav< 

 losed 

 qrkal-ily 



nf --nrlpnitL 

 th^ t^tp foi 

 usi 1.^ dilp di& 

 ae munlier o:i 

 or hsh there: 

 in;iti members 



ol riie Mame Legislature sliould prc.ipose such a, mea.sur& 

 and aenerallv d. is not believed that a measure so foolish 

 can possiljlv i:)ass, Grentlemen say that it is not tlu- amount 

 that would proliablv be required, but it is the idea, ot suol 

 a. thma! Boston sportsmen have visited Maine tor yearsi 

 They liave |iaid out large sums of inonev on these 'tnps, 

 and thev are willmg to contmue to do so. They owli 

 camps and boats there, and thev are Avilhng to meet everjl 

 legal rec|Uirenient to sustain tlit-se. But wlien it comes tc 

 a license tee, be it never sti sniall. thev a.r(^ roundly op» 

 posed to it. It IS not coii'jpnrd !,o ilip Npw I'.uglaiid idea,' 

 Indeed tliere is a ()nestion coiippi-nma the eonstitutionahtj 

 ut such a measure, "dinpose a license tax. and we shal, 

 withdraw our interests, and a-o to Canada.' Such is the vev. 

 diet ot more i",han one lioston hunter and tisherinan svliC 

 IS interested m camps and cottages in Maim?. 



A Gentle Moose. 



Boston hmiters and would-be hunters have been a goo^ 

 deal interested of late in a live cow moose that has beeii 

 on exhibition at 102 Friend street. Mr. Peter LeRoyer hai 

 at last reached Boston with his celetai-ated cinv moose, 

 He has exhibited it at the Maine State Fair and other fairs. 

 At the Maiae State Fan- he drove his moose in hai ncs- 

 and "made excellent time." The animal weighs a'ocul 

 7001bs. is five years old, and thorouglily tame and adei:- \ 

 tionate. It will follow its master like a dog, and is verj'J 

 fond of being petted by even strangers. It is anytliing| 

 but a beautiful animal, with its long muzzle, coaise hair, 

 forming almost a hump at the shoulders. The nose must 

 be seen to be appreciated. Mr. LeEoyer has taught his i 

 moose to eat hay, and to see it gather up the straws witb 

 its almost prehensile muzzle gives one a better idea of wdial 

 the snout of a moose is made for than any mounted mooss 

 head — tven by the most skillful taxidermist — can ever do. 

 Its owner claims tliat his aninial is the only living adult 

 cow moose in captivity. It shows signs of a desire tc 

 breed every fall, and its master has tethered it severa 

 times in tlie woods in the vicinitv ot where bull moos* 

 v,'e re known to be. It has caUed, and several times a 

 mate has responded and comt dowii till it could scent the 

 signs of domestication — l\Ir. LeRo^ er's idea — when it hatl 

 turned and fled. Mr. Le Royer is of tlie opinion that therei 

 is a scarcity of bull moose in Maine and Cianada. His ideal 

 is that if moose are to be su.staiiied in Maine, the few buUs 

 tliere are left must be left alone in October, tlie height ot 

 the breeding season. From Boston this moose is likelj^ to 

 go to Mr, Austin Corbin's i:jreserv'e. 



There will be Plenty of Ice. 



Mr. Rollin Jones, of Boston, has just mvited his friends 

 to his annual jjickerel and cusk fishing excursion at his 

 camp, Camp Millstone, Tuftonborough Neck, near Wolf- 

 boro, N. H. Mentioned as to be in the party are Messrs. 

 Rollin and Westley Jones, Adrain T, Nourse, Benjamin F.; 

 Nichols, John E. Stuart, Joseph T. Meader of Boston;' 

 Orlando Bro-^m, George V. Ladd and Sidney A. Garjienter 

 of Haverhill, George W. Gardner of Manchester, Lester 

 C. Shepard of Brushton, N. Y. , -Jeseph T. Hathaway of 

 Plymouth, Mass., Jacob Cohn of New York, Horatio L. 

 Gate of Rochester, N. H. , and Harry Jones, Samuel W. ' 

 Faj-", and Charles H. Gage of Wolfboro. 



The weather has continued remarkably cold, as it was 

 at time of the departure of the party on Saturday. But 

 they go prepared for cold weather. They were to proceed 

 in sleighs from Wolfboro to the camps. The lake isl 

 frozen solid, and even if the party (to.only a little fislnngj 

 the sleighing wiU be excellent. SPEOIAL. 



The Charles5ton, S. C, markets are overstocked with wood- 1 

 cock, which have been killed ta great nttmbers by hunters I 

 this seasoui and sell at a very low ^iice.—Ev6v4ng Post. 



