AND 
A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 
Terms, t4 a Ybab. 10 Ors. a Oopt. 
Six Honthb, 
NEW YORK, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1896. 
I VOL. XLVIL— No. 15 
! No. 346 BROADtTAY, NlTT \ ORK. 
For Prospectus and Advertising Rates see Page iv. 
BIRDS AND THE FARM AND GARDEN. 
In response to a demand for Miss Florence A Merriam'a 
paper, "How Birds Affect the Farm and Garden," we have 
reprinted it in a pamphlet of thirty-two pages, and it is now 
for sale at this office. Price, 5 cents per copy, postpaid ; 
hut with special prices to individuals or bird protection 
societies who may wish it in quantities for distribution. 
OSMOND O. SMITH. 
We are deeply pained to record the passing away of 0. O. 
S. — Osmond O. Smith, of Fredonia, New York — who died 
at Dewatto, "Washington, in the first week of September. A 
vague report of his death came to us shortly after that date, 
but confirmation of the unwelcome intelligence has only 
just now been received. 
For many years, from 1876 to the present, Mr. Smith was 
a contributor to our columns over the signature O. O. S., 
which had become familiar to thousands of readers. His 
sketches covered outing experiences in fields so widely sepa- 
rated as Florida and New Jersey, Missouri, Oregon and 
Washington. They were permeated through and through 
with appreciative recognition of all that nature has to give 
to her children. His was the eye to recognize the majesty 
of the mountain range, to catch the beauty of the 
humblest wild flower growing in the shadow of the wood, 
and to study the sea mosses of the shore; and his was the 
pen so to picture these and all the manifold charms and de- 
lights of the outdoor world that others might share with 
him something of the joy of beholding them. Whatever he 
wrote was marked by never-failing vivacity and cheeriness; 
there was in it the spirit of looking on the bright side of 
things and making the best of the situation. We used to 
think, as successive papers were received from his pen, and 
we think now as we sum them up, that O. O.'S. came as 
nearly as did any one we ever knew to the actual winning of 
what is best in field sportsmanship. 
If it was a privilege to read what he wrote for publication, 
it was a privilege richer still to know him and to enjoy his 
friendship. "Noble and kind-hearted Mr. Smith" is the 
simple tribute of the letter which brings to us the announce- 
ment of his death. The unaffected grief which has filled 
the little cabin in th.e Northwest where his last days were 
spent among strangers will be shared by all who knew him. 
SOME QUEER WAYS OP GAME BIBD3i 
Theke are certain of our birds which have a well-defined 
migratory Instinct which finds expression in a manner use- 
ful to them, for it impels them to leave the cheerless habitat 
of the North, with its inclement weather and dearth of food, 
for the warmth and abundance of the South. This annual 
migration has a well-defined purpose and is a matter of 
common knowledge. 
The non-migratory game birds, notwithstanding their 
abundance and the wider opportunity afforded for studying 
them, have certain erratic habits and instincts, exhibited at 
certain times in the fall, which are quite as far from being 
definitely explained and settled as they were at the time 
when first noted. 
The ruffed grouse in particular is subject in the autumn to 
a violent disarrangement of instinct and habits. For a few 
days it seems to lose its cunning, and its fears and shyness of 
man are much lessened. It leaves its old haunts, and shows 
no preference for open or cover. At all other times it is rare 
indeed when it will voluntarily go fm-ther than a short flight 
from its accustomed haunts. Its senses too seem to be dulled, 
for it is reckless in flight and will dash against obstacles 
which it ordinarily would avoid with ease. 
QuaU, too, show a decided uneasiness and change of 
habits at a certain time in the fall, often seeking a new hab- 
itat, so much so that many sportsmen believe that they 
migrate. What might serve as excellent summer quarters for 
lhe quail might be worthless to it in winter, hence it is neces- 
sary for it to seek a new range when winter appioaches, 
one that comprises both shelter and food. To secure such it 
may be necessary for it to travel, which has by some been 
confounded with migration. Quail do not migrate in the 
sense that the term is understood, there being an obvious 
distinction between readjusting the habitat from summer to 
winter, and leaving one climate for another by continuous 
flight of all the species. Quail can be found throughout the 
North in winter as in summer, but not in the same haunts. 
Prairie chickens exhibit changed habits of life when the 
frosts and high winds of fall set in. They grow wilder and 
the coveys of a certain district come together, forming what 
is called a pack. Then instead of having well-defined 
ways, as when they were in . bevies, they seem to have no 
fixed habits. Their flights are much longer, and tameness is 
superseded by excessive wildness. 
The ruffed grouse exhibits the most unaccountable traits 
of all. It seems to have no migratory sense of direction. It 
has a sort of crazy impulse to go somewhere, with but little 
heed of consequences. 
Whether it is the fragments of an instinct which was ages 
ago once strong at a time when all contemporary bird life 
on the continent was forced to migrate, and which migra- 
tion was rendered unnecessary as the world changed and 
earth became better organized, or whether it is some physical 
or mental aberration peculiar to the bird itself, no one can 
say. 
It is in the realm of speculation, and while the impulse of 
the ruffed grouse to move about for a brief time with disor- 
ganized habits and instincts is commonly noted, it hardly 
explains the phenomenon by terming it migration. It may 
be that some new light can be shed on this hazy subject by 
more recent observers. 
SUNDAY. SHOOTING. 
The first arrest made by the agent of the newly-established 
Rod and Gun Club of Massachusetts was of a Sunday 
shooter. The record of the protective work in New Jersey 
for September shows a long list of arrests of Sunday gun- 
ners; and the month of October has opened with more 
notable work in the same line. On Monday of this week 
Deputy Game Wardens Ten Eyck and Squires, of Plainfield, 
arrested Otto Wagner, a farmer, and Fred Domeyer, a hide 
dealer, for shooting on Sunday at Warrenville. They were 
fined, and paid $30 apiece for their Sunday sport, and $20 
each for three birds had in possession out of season, fines and 
costs aggregating $107.80. 
In Massachusetts and in New Jersey the Sunday gunner is 
a nuisance, and one of the worst pests the authorities have 
to deal with. As a rule the man who shoots on Sunday in 
violation of law is quite as defiant of all other provisions of 
the game law; and as in this New Jersey instance kills game 
out of season. The Sunday gunner robs other gunners who 
respect the law ; he is on a level with the man who shoots 
out of season ; and it is quite as essential to suppress the one 
as the other. We are speaking now purely from the stand- 
point of game protection. There once came to us a plaint 
from a trap-shooting club whose members were indignant 
because the congregation of a church near their shooting 
grounds complained that the racket of the shooting disturbed 
the services on Sunday; and the club appeared to think that 
the preacher should talk louder or that the services should 
be postponed until after the shooting. 
"MEN I HAVE FISHED WITH." 
Mr. Fred Mather is making a hit with those reminiscent 
sketches of angling associates. "Men I Have Fished With" 
he puts it; but he began with boys and boyhood days. 
Whether he was conscious of it or not, there was art in this. 
If you would make sure your welcome as a story teller 
among the men of the rod and gun, begin with boyhood 
times. Foi where on earth will you find men who fished 
or hunted in their youth who do not love to be reminded 
of those happy days, and to live them over again in memory ? 
They may have given up both pursuits years— ages— ago, 
and yet you shall not recall for them the youthful experi- 
ences of field or stream without winning their sympathetic 
attention. Fortunate indeed are the boys who have this priv- 
ilege of going afield with rod and gun. Doubly fortunate 
are the grown men whose privilege it is to recall in reverie 
such experiences of former days. Thrice fortunate they who, 
amid the responsibilities and exactions of mature life, may 
renew their youth by actual active participation in field 
sports. 
The boy who cultivates his taste for fishing or shooting is 
acquiring thereby something that may be of lifelong benefit. 
He is not only so storing up material for pleasant recollec- 
tions; in the years to come, but is providing means of recre- 
ation when recreation most urgently shall be needed. The 
man who enjoys fishing or shooting well enough to take a 
day or a week off now and then to indulge in it has in that 
very taste a valuable element of business equipment; for he 
will be induced by the gratification of that taste to renew his 
strength, clear the cobwebs from his brain, preserve his 
health, and keep himself mentally and physically in condi. 
tion to do his best work. This is not theory, nor is it said 
here for the first time. It has been practically demonstrated 
over and over again in the observations of all men; and we 
have been preaching the doctrine for many years. Here is a 
specific instance in illustration: Some four years ago on 
this page was cited the case of a New York busi- 
ness man who once said in effect, "I don't care 
anything about fishing. I have tried it and can find 
no interest in it; moreover, 1 have no time to 
waste on it." That was four years ago. Since then he has 
found time— not to go fishing, but to be prostrated for 
months with illness brought on by too much confinement to 
business and not enough play— no time to go fishing. We do 
not cite this as a horrible example of a man who tried to do 
business without going fishing; and whose business in con- 
sequence went to the dogs. While he was undergoing this 
protracted siege of sickness his business interests were not 
wrecked. As a matter of fact the business went right 
on. For, you see, he had a partner who did go fish- 
ing; and by reason of the relaxation found in that pur- 
suit gained strength to do the work of two men. Moral : 
If you don't like to fish yourself, do the next best thing, 
make choice of a partner who does. This is a business 
axiom second in importance only to that other rule, that if 
you are chained to business and can't go fishing or shooting, 
you should do the next best thing and read Forest and 
Stream. Next to fishing is just now reading Fred Mather's 
stories of the men and boys he has fished with. 
TECHNICALITIES, 
Observers in the field of court procedure tell us that there 
is a growing tendency to increase the difficulty of securing 
convictions, in cases of unquestionable guilt, by the inter- 
position of technicalities. Thieves rob the widow and go 
free, and murderers go unhanged, because of a flaw in 
an indictment, a missing word in a warrant of arrest. The 
tendency is manifested in causes big and little, from capital 
crimes to violations of the game laws. We reported last 
week the arrest of a Rhode Island grouse snarer who was 
captured red-handed with nineteen snared grouse in posses- 
sion. When the case came to trial last Friday his coun- 
sel interposed a motion for its dismissal on the ground that 
the constable who had made the arrest had not been quali- 
fied to act, since he had not been elected to his office in due 
form. This was the turn given to the trial, as we find the 
proceedings reported in the Providence Journal: 
Lawyer Thompson called Town Clerk Gough to read a certified 
copy of the Council records of the town of Johnston. They showed 
that on the 12(h of last June Pnilip Randall, J. V. Bames, Hiram 
Kimball, George Naylor and W. L. Piaisted were elected special con- 
stables under the game law; that on the 13th of August George Nay- 
lor resigned and William L. Piaisted n as elected to flU the vacancy, 
qualifying on the 15th before Joseph Gough, Notary Public. 
On these records Mr. Thompson contended that his client should be 
discharged. He quoted from the General Laws, Chap. 112, which 
provides that "annually, in the montb of April, the Town or City 
Councils shall elect not less than one nor more than four special offi- 
cers." The records did not show that any were elected in the month 
prescribed. None were elected until June. Mr. Thompson argued 
that the present administration followed their predecessors, who 
have elected previously in the month of June. The Council not only 
elected when they had no right to elect, but they elected five when 
the statutes provide for but four. After Ave were elected, what four 
were to say they constituted the legal number, even if tney had been 
chosen in the month provided ? He contended that Naylor's resigna- 
tion did not create a vacancy, and consequently Plaisted's election in 
August was invalid, and there was no one elected in April, the only 
month during which the General Laws provide for the election of 
special game officers. 
Attorney Lee urged that Piaisted was properly and legally appoint- 
ed and quahfied to serve warrants, upon which the defendant was 
brought into court. 
Jwdge Phillips took the case for advisement, and will announce his 
decision Oct. 9. 
MARYLAND 
An interesting work in black bass stocking is to be under- 
taken by the Maryland Game and Fish Protective Associa» 
tion this fall. They propose to transfer to the Potomac 
River, from the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, when its waters 
shall have been drawn off, some of the black bass which are 
left in the pools, and which under usual conditions are left 
to perish or are scooped out by net fishermen. By planting 
the bass in the Potomac the Association hopes to increase the 
resources oi a stream already offering rich reward for the 
angler. The system of transferring fish from the pools left 
by the receding waters of the Mississippi and other rivers in 
the West has long been prosecuted with decided advantage, 
and there is every reason to believe that the work will be 
equally successful in the Potomac. The Maryland Associa- 
tion has made an excellent beginning in protection activity 
Something of what has already been accomplished is out- 
lined in another column and the record appears to giv 
abundant promise of a yet more vigorous campaign. 
