Jan. I, 1898.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
18 
also restrain the rapacity of the pot-hunter, who slays 
birds for the mere sake of' killing, or for the purpose of 
supplying the millinery market with ornaments, the gath- 
ering of which inflicts lasting injury on the whole com- 
munity. 
There is one other section of the general fish and 
game law to which your Commission desires to call 
especial attention. Of late years game clubs and individ- 
ual sportsmen have secured by purchase or lease large 
tracts of woodland and large areas of water for their 
own exclusive use. According to the present law the 
fish and game wardens of the State are required to look 
after the pi'otection of these property rights as far as 
private streams and ponds are concerned. The law in 
relation to trespassing with guns is not enforced by the 
wardens under the statute, the latter leaving all protec- 
tion of private lands to the owners and their agents. 
This condition of affairs is anomalous, and it places a 
burden on a public oflicer apparently not contemplated 
by other and similar enactments. Your Commission 
would accordingly suggest the eliminating of the tres- 
pass law from the general fish and game law and placing 
it in the same category with laws pertaining to the pro- 
tection of private property. 
Menhaden Fishing, 
The Menhaden Act. — The beneficial efifect of the law 
which restricts the taking of menhaden from the waters 
of the State adjoining the eastern boundary is more ap- 
parent than ever. For many years menhaden steamers 
plied their avocations along our shores without let or 
hindrance of any kind whatsoever, and a lair estimate of 
the number so engaged was over sixty. An act prohib- 
iting the taking of menhaden was violated daily during 
the season, the presumption being that the act was un- 
constitutional, a view of the law taken by eminent coun- 
sel. Your Commission caused the constitutionality of 
the act to be tested, and the result was that the Supreme 
Court declared the act to be valid. Not desiring to in- 
terfere with the judicious taking of menhaden, but anx- 
ious to afford them such protection as might be indicated 
by the circumstances, your Commission suggested the 
passage of an act providing for the licensing of steamers 
engaged in the menhaden business, the scale of license 
fees being governed by the tonnage of the vessel. Two 
years ago, immediately after the passage of the act, 
thirty-two steamers were granted licenses, about one- 
half the usual number seen along our coasts. Wardens 
were instructed to be diligent in the work of watching 
the steamers and seeing to it that none but licensed 
steamers took menhaden. The expense of the license 
and the vigilance of the wardens has further reduced the 
number of menhaden taken, for_ during the j^ear just 
past only twenty-two steamers availed themselves of tlie 
provisions of the menhaden act. The number of sailing 
vessels licensed during the first year of the operation of 
the law was nine. A similar number was licensed last 
year, indicating that the taking of menhaden for bait has 
not decreased. As to the menhaden taken off shore, it 
is evident that less than 25 per cent, are now taken when 
the total volume of fish taken is compared with that of 
three or four years ago. 
Pounds, 
Pound Nets. — ^Your Commission in its two previous 
reports has pointed out the evils attending the indis- 
criminate slaughter of fish by means of pound nets along 
the coast. The evil has not abated in the least, and dur- 
ing the past year thousands of tons of fish were de- 
stroyed without any adequate return. Your Commis- 
sion does not suggest the wiping out of this industry, no 
more than it did two years ago the wiping out of the 
menhaden industr}'; but would strenuously urge the pas- 
sage of some restrictive legislation. Fortunately this 
year the pound-net fishermen cannot urge the argument 
advanced last year in their interest, that they had in- 
vested their capital in nets, and that any limitation might 
work hardship. 
An attempt was made last year to pass a measure ab- 
solutely prohibiting the maintenance of pound nets. The 
pound-net men asked the Legislature to give them an- 
other chance — they wanted one more year and then they 
would be satisfied. This plea for clemency probably de- 
feated the measure. Taking the pound-net men at their 
own word, so abundantly and vociferously given in the 
I -halls of legislation last year, they certainly cannot object 
to a restrictive measure this year; for your Commission 
desires nothing more than to subject them to such regu- 
lations as may conduce to a continued supply of fish for 
years to come. 
Inland Tide Waters. — The most complicated laws on 
the statute books of New Jersey are probably those gov- 
erning the taking of fish in the inland tide waters. A 
large number of these waters are not governed by any 
law whatever, but others make up for this oversight on 
the part of past I^egislatures by having a number of 
Special enactments. In some instances what is lawful on 
one side of an imaginary line is on the other an offense 
punishable with imprisonment. In one water dynamite 
may be used to kill fish; in the water in an adjoining 
township it is unlawful even to take crabs. Unfortu- 
nately it is a matter of difficulty to agree on a general 
law governing all tide waters, as the interests are diverse 
in different localities. Your Commission would, how- 
ever, suggest, in the event that no general law can be 
agreed upon, that such of the present enactments be re- 
pealed as are worthless at the present day, thus ridding 
our statute books of a great deal of undesirable lumber. 
The Delaware River. — The Legislature of 1897 passed 
a comprehensive law pertaining to the taking of fish in 
the Delaware River, every section of the measure having 
met the approval of the Fish and Game Commissioners 
of Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. The Penn- 
sylvania Commissioners agreed to use their endeavors to 
secure the passage of the law by the Pennsylvania Legis- 
lature, but unfortunately their efforts were of no avail. 
The measure which had been passed in New Jersey 
would accordingly have been of no avail, and so it was 
• filed away in the State Library by Gov. Griggs without 
his approval. The Pennsylvania Legislature will not be 
in session this winter, and consequently no relief can be 
secured to the fishermen of the Delaware from the bur- 
densome enactments which have been from time to time 
placed on our statute books. In the interests of these 
fishermen it is to be hoped that better success will 
attend the work of the Pennsylvania Commission next 
year. 
Protection to Sturgeon. — For the past three years 
there has been on the statute books of New Jersey an 
act for the protection of sturgeon, providing that these 
fish should not be taken from the 30th of June to the 
31st of December of each year. The act contained the 
usual clause providing that it should not go into effect 
until similar measures had been adopted by the Legisla- 
tures of Pennsylvania and Delaware. Pennsylvania 
passed the same law last year, but Delaware took no 
action until this year, when the law was enacted there. 
The Sturgeon Fishermen's Association and all others in- 
terested in keeping alive an industry which annually 
turns a great many thousands of dollars into the pockets 
of the hardy fishermen who make a living by taking fish 
in the Delaware had for some time hoped for some such 
action on the part of the State of Delaware, and it came 
none too soon; for the high price of the fish and its roe 
during the past few years had induced a number of mis- 
guided peonle to take them at all times and seasons. 
With the protection accorded to the fish T)y this salutary 
legislation it is but natural to expect that the sturgeon 
industry will continue to flourish for many years. 
As Told in Rhyme. 
Syracuse, N. Y. — Editor Forest and Stream: To most 
of those who fish in the waters of central New York and 
hunt for gray squirrels in the woods of the same terri- 
tory my subject is a familiar figure, for Prof. Ernst Held 
has whipped every stream and knows every likely tree 
within a wide circle of country of which Syracuse is a 
center. Many of his vacations have been spent at a quiet 
little resort in the lake region, where his taste for sport 
could be gratified to a reasonable extent and where his 
lovable and gentle nature made many friends among the 
visitors and inhabitants of the country round about. 
Like all trout fishermen, he was wont to keep his haunts 
a mystery to the curious. A professor at each end of the 
tackle is a strong combination, but even that sometimes 
fails. A light basket had its story of experimenting on 
nearby streams, but if it contained a goodly mess of 
scarlet-spotted inmates, a tale of long tramps and wan- 
dering afar was sure to account for the success. Once 
he surprised the housefid of summer sojourners by 
bringing in a plump 2lb. beauty; and was besieged by 
the crowd to know where and how the prize was caught. 
When the storm of questions was at its height he grave- 
ly said: "Well, now, I'll tell you all about it. I didn't 
catch him at all. I simply gathered him. He was out 
picking strawberries for his luncheon and I picked him 
for my dinner," and to prove the truth of the story he 
opened the fish's mouth, which was seen to be filled with 
wild strawberries. Upon his return each day he was 
constantly greeted with, "Well, what luck to-day. Pro- 
fessor?" until one time when appearances were all against 
him, evidenced by a broken rod and other signs which 
we all know how to read, when, in reply to the usual in- 
quiry by a very attractive young lady, he agreed to tell 
his story after dinner, and this is the way he did it — 
MY FISHING EXCURSION. 
I made a trip, a stream to whip — 
Where plenteous trout in frolic skip- 
Before — ahem! — I took a sip, 
A fever-ague-killing nip. 
Thus fortified, I let her slip, 
My fishing boat, a tiny ship, 
Down North Branch Moose, where river's lip 
With kisses laves a sandy strip. 
There speckled beauties flop and flip, 
And took the fly with eager leap, 
Oft filled the basket at my hip. 
But joys are fleet, "twixt cup and lip," 
A proverb old, "there's many a slip." 
Crazed by mosquitoes' bloody gri^, 
I rose and lit my pipe, to keep 
Those bloodhounds off — meanwhile my whip 
I'd thrown across the seat midship. 
Just then — alas! my naughty snip 
Of boat made a preposterous dip. 
I balanced — staggered — made a slip — 
A seatward fall — a crash — "Oh! Rip 
Van Winkle, saint of woodman, keep 
My soul from swearing, lest a heap 
Of savory words befoul my lip ; 
And woiild that mend my broken tip?" 
Thus cried I, while from out the deep 
The biggest trout made leap on leap 
And dared me with a saucy peep 
Of wistful eyes to catch and keep 
Them if I could! A splintered tip 
Is the memento of this trip. 
An artist of no mean ability, a musician whose talent 
is widely known, a true lover of nature, and on the 
stream, in the woods or in the drawing-room always the 
same unselfish, modest gentleman. Such is Ernst Held, 
and that he may live for many years to enjoy the sports 
he loves and to brighten the lives of all with whom he 
comes in contact is the hearty wish of those who know 
him. W. A. B. 
Nofth Cafolina Trout. 
The trout fishing this year in W^atauga, Mitchell and 
Ashe counties, N. C, is reported as being of rare ex- 
cell ence. These counties lie between two great mountain 
chains, one of which is the Blue Ridge, and there are 
numerous streams, all of which are peculiarly favorable 
for the habitat of the trout and peculiarly well supplied 
with that gamest of fish. May and June are said to be 
the best season for sport. 
The Forest and Stream is put to press each week on 
Tuesday. Correspondence intended for puhlication 
should reach us at the latest by Monday, and as much 
earlier as practicable. 
Fixtutes* 
BENCH SHOWS. 
Jan. 5.— Wilmington Kennel Club's show, Wilmington, Del. E. 
W. Jester, Sec'y. 
Jan. 11— Brunswick Fur Club's niiltb atimial hunt, Barre, Mass. 
Bradford .S. Tirrpin, Sec'y. 
Feb. 1.5.— New England Kenvicl CltOi's fotitteenth annual show, 
Boston. James L. iLittlc, Sec'y. 
Jan. 18. — Butterly Bench Show Association's show, Grand Rap- 
ids, Mich. Miss Grace H. Griswold, Sec'y. 
Feb. 21.— Westminster Kennel Club's twenty-second aanttal show, 
New York, G, de F. Grant, Sec'y. 
March 1.— Mascoutah Kennel Club's show, Chicago. L. Lincoln, 
Sec'y. . . ^ ■- 
March 9. — St, Louis Kennel Club's third annual show, St. Louis, 
Mo. Wm. Hutchinson, Sec'y. ^ 
March 15. — Northwestern Kennel Club's dog show, St. Paul, 
Minn, E. D. Brown, Sec'y. 
FIELD TRIALS. 
Jan. 10.— II. S. F;. T. Club's winter trials, West Point, Miss. W. 
B. Stafford, Sec'y. 
Jan. 17.— Continental -F. T. Club's trials, New Albany, Miss. W. 
S. BeU, Sec'y. 
Jan. 24.— Pacific Coast Field Trial Cltlb''s MtiAU, Bakersfield, Cal. 
J. M. Kilgarif, Sec'y. 
Jan. 24. — Champion Field Trial Association's Champion Stake, 
Tupelo, Miss. W. B. Stafford, Sec'y. 
Feb. 7. — Alabama Field Trial Club's second annual trials, Madi- 
son, Ala. II. K. Milncr, Sec'y. 
Dogs as Draft Animals* — IIL 
Frankfoft, 
Mr. F. H. Mason, Consul-General, Frankfort, re- 
ports; 
For and Against Duakt Dogs. — Although the use 
of dogs lor working purposes in this city una district of 
Frankfort dates from medieval times, the subject is 
one concernmg- which public opimon is still somewhat 
sharply divided. 'I he Germans are second only to the 
English in their general love of dogs for their higher 
attributes — fidelity, purity of breed lor the purposes of 
hunting., watching over property, and as the faithful, 
devoted companions of humankind. By a large propor- 
tion of German people the use of dogs as draft animals 
is held to be an unworthy degradation of an animal 
clearly intended by nature for nobler purposes; and 
Ludwig Beckman, in his two handsome volumes, 
"Races of Dogs" (the standard work of its kind in the 
German language), makes but one reference to tltat 
portion of the subject, which may be quoted as a fit ex- 
pression of the higher sentiment of German people on 
the subject: 
"The use of dogs as draft animals should, on account 
of unavoidable abuses, be prohibited by law in all civil- 
ized countries, as has long been done in England." 
Down to 1866, when Frankfort ceased to be a free city, 
wagons and carts drawn by dogs were not allowed to 
enter the city gates, and were to a mttch greater degree 
than now under the ban of public disapproval. But to 
a large majority of people here, as elsewhere, life is a 
struggle which requires the practice of every form of 
economy, and to the tradesmen and shopkeepers in vil- 
lages, or even large cities, market gardeners,butchers, 
milkmen, beer and wine merchants, laundrymen and 
peddlers of fruit and other country produce, the dog that 
watches by night and works by day is a cheap and most 
efficacious substitute for the horse, or rather for the 
kind of work usually done in other countries by don- 
keys, which are practically unknown in Germany. 
Regulations. — Recognizing this fact, the municipal 
government adopted in 1884, and has shice carefully en- 
forced, a comprehensive code of regulations for the li- 
censing, annual inspection, and general surveillance of 
dogs used as draft animals, and under the system thus 
established the number of dogs so used in this city and 
district has largely increased, and their general condition 
and treatment visibly improved. 
, In accordance with this code, each owner of a work- 
ing dog is required to present the animal for inspection 
before the chief veterinary official of the district once 
each year, at a date specially fixed by announcement for 
each precinct — usually during the early spring. On 
such occasions the owmer or a responsible agent must 
appear in person with dog or dogs, their harness and 
wagon in perfect order, and drive up and down before 
the veterinary, who then examines tlie animal and its 
certificate of the previous year, and if all is fotmd satis- 
factory a new license is granted, good for one year, 
unless revoked, in which the age, weight, sex, domicde, 
etc., of the dog, and the maximum load which it is per- 
mitted to haul are carefully stated. If a dog is sold the. 
license must be presented at headquarters and the trans- 
fer entered on the record. The certificate must be 
always carried by the driver Avhen working the dog on 
the public street or highway, where it may at any tno- 
inent be called for by a policeman, and if not forthcom- 
ing the delinquent is subject to a fine; or if the dog is 
fotmd to be sick, overworked, tmderfed, or in any way 
seriously abused, the license may be canceled and the 
owncr_ disqualified. for the future. 
Breeding.— There is in this portion of Germany no 
race of dogs which, like certain species in Holland and 
Sweden, are specially bred and used for working pur- 
poses. Any large, strong, healthy dog will do, and may 
be trained to work in harness. Those usually employed 
for this purpose are not pure-bred animals,but mongrels, 
either of no definable race or derived from crossings of 
the Florentine, St. Bernard and other breeds with the 
Deutscher Doggc, a large, short-haired species, which 
may be called the parent race of working dogs in this 
country. The dogs in actual use therefore vary consid- 
erably as to size, and are of all canine colors — black, 
brown, gray, yellow, brindle, white, tan — usually short- 
haired, but sometimes with long, silky coats and show- 
ing the markings and general characteristics of the span- 
iel. There are a few establishments in the country near 
Frankfort where dogs are bred for hunting, watching 
and working purposes, but usually those used as draft 
animals are reared and trained by the peasants or vil- 
lage tradesmen, who afterward use them. 
Training. — Training begins at the age of one year, 
and is a very simple process. The young dog is har- 
