Feb. 33, 1893.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



161 



myself any more about it; but some day, and ere long, the 

 important question -will aa-ise, "What has become of tlie 

 trout?" Ask the State Commissioner of Fisheries; he can 

 solve the commdrum, if he is sincere, but it will not, be 

 to the credit of hLs administration, I assure you. 



As Ned's wife and his rosy-clieeked children at the 

 "Soo" floated in sweet visions before him he began to look 

 homeward. He could imagine, as he gazed into the 

 dying embers of the camp-fire, his hearthstone ^vitli the 

 elfiji romps around it, the kitten in its playful gambols or 

 asleep on the rug, his old arm chair in its accustomed 

 corner, and his dear old pipe ready to send forth its sooth- 

 ing incense. He spoke not of these images, but his sigh 

 and heaving bosom, as he traced these delightful home- 

 pictures, were more impressive than language. 



"Home is the resort 

 Of love, of joy, of peace and plenty, where, 

 Supporting and supported, polish'd fi-iends, 

 And dear relations mingle into bliss." 



I suggested a return, with stoppages at Twin Sisters' 

 Islands for a week's sport, and also a few days at Grros 

 Cap. He acquiesced, and the next morn was set for our 

 departure, and with this I will close this series of papers, 

 with a promise to give, in a short time, the details of the 

 return trip, wliich was not only full of eventful incidents, 

 but of some glorious battles with the ever beautiful trout j 

 which we found in great abundance. 



Alex. Starbuck. 



OiNCINNATI. 



THE MEGANTIC CLUB DINNER. 



The sixth annual dinner of the Megantic Fish and 

 Game Club was held at the Hoffman House, New York, 

 last Tuesday evening. The club is largely a Boston insti- 

 tution and previous dinners have been given there. On 

 this occasion, then, of the first i-euuion in tliis city, the 

 New York members were animated by a generous emula- 

 tion and an ambition to make the annual gathe/ing as 

 enjoyable as those which had preceded it. Chairman 

 Frederick L. Gilbert and the other members of the com- 

 mittee of arrangements have abundant reason to be grati- 

 fied with their success. The dinner was att*=nded b_Y 

 about 100 members and guests from Boston, New York 

 and elsewhere and was most happily conducted through- 

 out. 



The banquet hall was richly decorated with trophies of 

 the chase. The collection, especially rich in American 

 pieces, and representing all the great "hunting grounds of 

 the world, was notable for variety and beauty. The ar- 

 rangement was intrusted to Mr. Frederic S. Webster, of 

 the firm of Sowdon & Webster, to whose artistic skill was 

 due the elfectiveness of the display. Among the trophies 

 were mounted heads of moose, elk, buffalo, pronghorn 

 antelope, mountaui sheep and mountaui goat; horns of 

 black-tail deer, white- tail deer, koodoo and gemsbok; 

 handsomely mounted specimens of the short-eared owl 

 and the snowy owl, white pigeons, Japanese rollers and 

 peacocks; cases of California quail and of tropical birds; 

 game panels of green and copper pheasants, ruffed grouse 

 and Virginia quail; skins of black bear and brown bear, 

 Himalayan tiger, African lion and leopard; skins of buf- 

 falo, musk ox, cheetah, wolverine and gray, red and white 

 foxes; rugs of wolf and ocelot skins, and numerous otlier 

 specimens, in all making up a display aggregating .$7,000 

 in value, and prompting to hunters' yarns and talcs of 

 forest and cover. 



Much regret was expressed at the enforced absence of 

 President Heber Bishop, who was to have presided, but 

 was detained by illness in his family. His place was filled 

 by Mr. Frederick L. Gilbert gracefully and acceptably. 



Members present were: Abbott H. RoUin, C. L, Roos, W. 

 S. Burnaby, W. R. McLaughlin, Thos. W. Bryant, L. H. 

 Mullen, R. M. Stelle, Geo. C. Merriam, W. C. Bower, W. 

 P. Stevens, J. A. Beall, Frederick L. Brown, H. W. San- 

 born, Mr. Schweizer, John W. Mason, Thos. Darlington, 

 Robt. F. Tilney. J. M. Stewart, J. A. Exton, P. W. Bar- 

 ber, A. Ettlinger, J. Voorhis, J. J. Mayhon, A. W. Kelley, 

 J. F. Andrews, Chas. H. Peckham, L. Dana Chapman, A. 

 W. Robinson, Master Harry M. Peckham, C. Cottier, Jr., 

 W. H, WiUiams, C. A. Keene, E. R. Graves, H. A. Carr, 

 Joseph E. Brown, J. H. Lake, E. H. Barnes, J. Porter, L. 



B. Palmer, A. V. Nolin, W. I. Brower, J. O. Woodruff, 



C. H. Harvard, A. W. Gleason, Wm. B. Smith, Chas. B. 

 Peet, Robt. C. Alexander, S. Asham, Jr., Geo. E. Coney, 

 W. B. Faxon, J. W. Cutter, Dr. E. W. Tiffany, Mr. Von- 

 devere, R. N. Seyms, Geo. H. Burt, R. F. Way, J. H. Bid- 

 well, J. E. Woodruff, W. K. McClure, E. D. Honken, Al- 

 fred Hopcraft, H. O. Wilbur, C. L, Davis, Henry Pratt, 

 Mr. Campbell, Charles Kilham. 



The guests of the evening were: Hon. Robert B. Roose- 

 velt, president of the New York Association for the Pro- 

 tection of Game; Hon. Warren Higley, president of the 

 Adirondack League Club; Hon. Eugene G. Blackford, 

 late of the New York Fish Commission; Dr. F. R. Sturgis, 

 president of the Quaspeake Club; Mr. Henry P. Wells, of 

 the Parmcahenee Club; Mr. F. S. Webster; and Mr. Chas. 

 B. Reynolds of the Forest and Stream. Letters of regret 

 were read from Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, and from Gov. 

 Russell, who wrote: 



CoMMoxAVEALTH 01- MAssACHUSEin's, Executlve Depai-tment, Boston, 

 Feb. 18.— Dr. Heber Bishop, President Megantic Fisli and Game Club. 

 My Dear Doctor: I thank you very much for the kind invitation of your 

 club to attend its banquet in New York, on the evening of Feb. 21. 

 Important and peremptory engagements here will prevent my being 

 with you; otherwise I should be glad to enjov vour hospitahty and to 

 meet the members of your club. Please express to them my apprecia- 

 tion of their courteous invitatioa, and my sincere regret that I cannot 

 be with them. With best wishes for the continued prosperity of your 

 club, and for a pleasant evening to all, I am, Very truly yours, 



Wii. E. Russell. 



Speaking for Dr. Bishop, who was to have responded to 

 the toast "Our Club," Mr. Gilbert presented some highly 

 interesting statistics, setting forth the magnitude of the 

 Megantic domain, its wealth of fish and game, and the 

 improvements made for the comfort of members. During 

 the pa,st season there were taken from club waters more 

 than 8,000 trout, of which, the registers show, 3,300 were 

 killed, and the remaining 4,800 were returned to the 

 water. Deer killed, ;35; caribou, 6; moose, 4. No record 

 was kept of black bass and ducks. The improvements 

 during the year have included the building of a piazza on 

 three sides of the club house, provision of bath rooms, 

 water works, sewerage, etc. ; new camps have been built 

 on Spider River at the head of navigation and at Arnold 

 Bog, the best in the preserve; a new boat house has been 

 built at the club house; the camps at Big Island have 

 been repau-ed, and new trails have been cut— all tliis at 



an outlay of about $3,400. Forty-three new members 

 have been added. The preserve covers 160,000 acre, or 250 

 square miles, and haa 28 lakes and ponds, witli 6 rivers. 

 There are 31 club houses and camps. The running ex- 

 penses were about .$4,000; assets (report of last May), 

 $15,933, and liabilities, $2,358; present surplus (in valu- 

 ation of camps, club houses, etc., and cash $4,100), $13,577. 

 Improvements proposed for this year will include fish 

 hatcheries at Spider River, Chain of Ponds and Seven 

 Ponds. 



Responding for the "Protection of Game," President 

 Roosevelt, of the New York (City) Association, reviewed 

 the histoiy of that organization and its work in this city, 

 and contrasted the game and fish supply of fifty years ago 

 with that of the present. Hon. Warren Higley, of the 

 Adu-ondack League Club, in discussing the •^Relation of 

 Protective Game Clubs to Forestry," related the financial 

 success which has rewarded the League's system of scien- 

 tific forestry in the Adirondacks. Spruce timber on the 

 League's preserve is cut without impairmg the forest; a 

 large income is derived from this source while the woods 

 remain practically in their primeval condition; and the 

 Leag-ue, in demonstrating the practicability of forest pre- 

 servation witli forest revenue, is pointing the way to the 

 solution of the great forestry problem in America. 



Speaking on •'Fishculture'" Hon. Eugene G. Blackford 



PRESIDENT HEBER BISHOP 



extolled the United States as the leader in fishcultural 

 progress; we have better methods here than anywhere 

 else, and successfully jDropagate more species. Commis- 

 sioners come from all parts of the world to America to 

 learn our methods. Among the achievements in this Une 

 Mr. Blackford, instanced the stocking of Pacific waters 

 with striped bass and shad. ' 'In your Megantic watei-s do 

 not attempt to inti-oduce foreign fish; choose the native 

 stock; breed the trout indigenous to Megantic waters. 

 Don't try brown trout; they will grow to be monsters, but 

 they devour the speckled trout, and you will wish your- 

 selves rid of them. Trout culture is now almost an exact 

 science; its successful prosecution may be assured by se- 

 curing the services of experienced men. The time has 

 come when State enterprise should be directed to propa- 

 gating food fish, and the breeding of trout should be left 

 to individuals and such clubs as the Megantic." 



Dr. F. R. Sturgis gave a graphic portrayal of field and 

 stream incidents of "xl Sportsman's Vacation," and made 

 an eloquent plea for moderation in the taking of fish and 

 game. Mr. Andi-ew W. Gleason added to the gaiety of 

 the occasion by relating in a humorous vein the hardships 

 and misadventures afforded by the club's 250 square miles 

 of wilderness, and ilr. William De Vere gave a niunber 

 of humorous recitations which kept the comxsany in a per- 

 petual good humor. 



The incident of the evening was the presentation of a 

 complete angler's outfit — Leonard rod, line, fly-book and 

 landing net— and with it a check for a substantial sum to 

 ex-Treasurer Frederick L. Brown. The gift came from 

 the directors and was a testimonial of regard and of ap- 

 preciation of Mr. Brown's services to the club. Speaking 

 for the directors Mr. Chas. Kilham said in happy phrase: 



We have with us this evenmg a member who for Ave years served 

 you as treasurer and director, during which time he received no re- 

 muneration for his services, yet devoted a large portion of his time to 

 the corporation's interests. At a critical period, too. in oiu- history, 

 lie, with otliers, came to its support by subscribing to bonds that it 

 was deemed advisable to issue, to enable us to buUd a clu)) house and 

 make other needed im]irovements. In figuring on the needed quorum 

 for a business meeting, oin- cijuld alwaj'S count on the presence of our 

 worthy ex-treasurer : earnest and faithful ever, he was sure to be on 

 hand, and no labor was counted too arduous where the corporation's 

 interest was concerned. In his accounting to the dhectors as ti'eas- 

 urer he was exact to a cent, and alwaj^s had a balance sheet in his 

 vest pocket, as well as any needed figures at his command. Those who 

 were members of the board during his term of office will remember 

 how earnestly and constantly he advocated conservatism in the ad- 

 ministration of affairs, and was always striviag to keep the balance 

 on the right side. Of the healthy condition of the treasury at the 

 time he resigned his office you were all informed by the last annual 

 report... It is needless to sa^' universal regret wa.s felt by the board 

 when it was learned that other duties so demanded his time as to ne- 

 cessitate his tendering his resignation. 



In behalf of present and [last members of this corporation, I tender 

 you, Mr. Brown, this Leonard rod and tackle as a slight token of their 

 esteem for you as a man and friend, and may you derive much pleas- 

 m-e from their use. 



I ihid here also from the same hands, a bit of paper that I warrant 

 you is as good as gold, whi"h metal we regard as a lit emblem of yom' 

 sterling integrity. Please accept this also as a further token. 



The ch'rectors, too, feel that as a corporation they should recognize 

 j'our long and faithful service; your dues will therefore be remitted 

 for the present year and at the "annual meeting tlie.y will recommend 

 the incorporation of a by-law whereby we ma\- extend the courtesy of 

 life membership, and you, may feel assured' that your name will be 

 first on the hst, if the wish of the present and pa.st boards is recog- 

 nized. 



And now, brother, when wending j-our way to some promising pool 

 or stream, give the Megantic boys a thought, and believe that long 

 after trout or salmon cease to I'is'e for you, your memory will be held 

 high in the esteem of those who are pro"ud to honor you to-night. 



In accepting the testimonial, Mr. Brown said he would 

 always cherish it as a token of the kind feeling of his 

 fellow members, whose confidence so uniformly accorded 

 him during his ofiicial service, had been the highest re- 

 ward he could have asked. 



BOSTON AND MAINE. 



The Gilbert Trout Bill. 

 Boston, Feb. 30.— What is known as the Gilbert Trout 

 BiU is the all-absorbing topic of discussion among rod and 

 line sportsmen in this part of the country. It seems that 

 this biU met with a hitch the other day in the Massachu- 

 , setts House of Representatives, and came to a halt there. 

 Through some technicality or flaw it did not pass the 

 House, but was referred back to the committee. There 

 was to be another hearing on the biU on Tuesday of this 

 week. The bill now is hardly all that Mr. Gilbert asked 

 for originally, since it proposes to make the open season 

 on trout in the Bay State begin on Feb. 1 instead of Jan. 

 15, as at first proposed. But the very idea of opening all 

 of the trout waters of the State on Feb. 1, instead of April 

 1, as now, has greatly alarmed the lovers of trout all over 

 the Sta,te, and now that there is a general awakening, the 

 measure is to be thoroughly fought in the Senate, even if 

 it again gets by the committee. It is well understood 

 that the only desire of Mr. Gilbert is to sell his cultivated 

 trout in the close season, and failing to obtain this right 

 last winter, through a bill specially prepared for his own 

 interests, he is trying to accomplish his purpose through a 

 general law, though such a law would lead to the destruc- 

 tion of aU the wild trout in the State. 

 ^ The Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective Associa- 

 tion met on Friday evening, and after passing resolutions 

 condemning the Gilbert trout bill, the resolutions to be 

 forwarded to the Senate, where it is proposed to fight the 

 bill, a committee was appomted to take the matter in 

 hand, and to attend the hearing. A protest something 

 like the following was also drafted, and is being thoroughly 

 circulated and numerously signed. 



To the Honorable Senate and Hoxise of Representatives in General 

 Court assembled; 



We do most earnestly and emphatically protest against the passage 

 of the new "fiilbert Trout Bill" opening the close season on Feb. 1 

 instead of April 1 as a measure which, for the private profit of a 

 single individual, wiU exterminate our wild trout, nuUify State ex- 

 penditures and be an opening wedge for the abohtion of all protection 

 on fish and game. 



Good work lias been done with this remonstrance. It 

 was circulated at the Chamber of Commerce on Saturday, 

 as well as in the tackle stores and in the shops and stores 

 of many of the friends of the trout in Boston. At the 

 Chamber of Commerce the petition was numerously 

 signed; even men not interested in fishing signed when 

 the enormity of the new Gilbert Trout Bill was explained 

 to them. By Saturday evening there were more than 

 1,000 names on the protest, with still more to come for- 

 ward. 



The Old Colony Club, of which Actor Joseph Jefferson 

 is president and Mr. Charles F. Chamberlayne spcretary, 

 is also circulating a remonstrance exactly like the above. 

 A circular letter accomijauying the remonstrance reads as 

 foUows: 



Boston, Mass., Feb. 15.— Dear Sir: Are you aware that a bill, com- 

 pletely and disastrously reversing the settled pohcy of the State by 

 opening the close season for trout on Feb. 1 instead of April 1, is in its 

 final stages in our House of Representatives? If not, such is the fact. 

 Mi-. Walter L. Gilbert desires, for his private profit, to sell trout in 

 this period. Hence the proposed law. If the friends of thetroub 

 arouse themselves, the legislation can be defeated. Otherwise the 

 extermination of brook trout is only a matter of a short time. Our 

 club proposes to oppose this bill with all the resources at its com- 

 mand. We ask you to sign inclosed veuinustrauco, and get such of 

 your friends and others to do so as will pei-mit of its being returned 

 to our secretary at an early date— the earher the better. You are also 

 requested at once to write to your representative and Senator, and 

 persuade others to do so. It is also hoped that you will recognize the 

 fact that efficient work is necessarily expensive, especially when done 

 in a short time, and that any contribution you may remit to our sec- 

 retary will be of value in forwarding the work. 



Executive CoMinTXEE Old Colony Club, 



Charles F. Chamberlayne, Sec'y. 



Now that sportsmen are being aroused, there are great 

 hopes that the bill may be defeated in the Senate, where 

 the fight is to be made. 



Gov. Cleaves of Maine seems to have thoroughly 

 grasped the situation in his State, so far as special fish and 

 game legislation is concerned. When some half a dozen 

 special bills affecting trout fishing in as many ponds 

 were j)res3nted to him the other day for his signature, he 

 made a study of the matter and found that the bills al- 

 ready passed and before him were only a part of some 30 

 or 30" already before the Legislature of the same nature. 

 He immediately sent a communication to the Legislature 

 respecting this mass of biUs and suggesting that a law be 

 passed referring them all to the Fish and Game Commis- 

 sioner's, as well as all future petitions asking for special 

 legislation of this kind. His recommendation has been 

 very promptly acted u^jon in both branches of the Legis- 

 lature, and a measure providing that when 10 or more 

 persons, residmg on or near a pond or s-tream, and inter- 

 ested in preserving the fish in the same, shall petition the 

 Commissioners, they shall grant a hearing and take the 

 matter under advisement. If the Commissioners deem 

 proper they may provide special restrictions affecting the 

 taking of fish in the waters mentioned, and these resti'ic- 

 tions shall be equally binding with the general fish laws 

 of the State, and shall be enforced the same as the gen- 

 eral laws. Should this measure jiass, tind it is in a very 

 fair way to do so, it will do away with a mass of special 

 legislation in Maine, affecting the inland waters, that was 

 fast tending to get her fish laws into such a muddle that 

 their enforcement would have been impossible. 



Great is the ingenuity of the Maine hunter or buyer of 

 game who desu-es to ship his venison out of the State 

 illegally and into the Boston market. A good friend of 

 the Forest axd Stream was shown a very pretty little 

 dodge the other day. In the stall of a well known dealer 

 in game he saw what seemed to be the carcass of a young 

 bear, very neatly done up in cloths, and just received 

 from Maine. There were the paws of a genuine bear, 

 sticking out of the cloths, but alas, for the honesty of the 

 good sons of Maine! The paws were very nicely fitted on 

 to the carcass of a deer. Following the false bear meat 

 came a letter requesting that the yaws be returned. They 

 would answer for further shipments, though the letter did 

 not state as much. Fortunately for tlie deer in Maine, 

 where it is now close season, thl }jaw,s liave fallen into the 

 hands of an honest Boston game dealer, who does not care 

 to do that sort of business, and though bear's paws mav 

 not be very plenty in the game shipper's neighborhood, 

 the paws that have been used to cause the Maine game 

 wardens to pause, wiU pause here in Boston. Special. 



The Massachusetts Association. 



Hon. Geo. W. Wiooin occupied the chair at the meet- 

 ing of the Massachusetts Pish and Game Protective As- ■ 



