1^ 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
tJ^AN. I, I§9^. 
for. a few hours tlie bubbles gradually disappear, but I 
expedite matters by admitting a little air, the weight of 
■v(;hich crushes the froth instantly and sends the oil into 
the line then and there. The next move is to pump, as 
before, time after time, for at least one hour. Repeat the 
business for at least twelve hours. Afterward the pump 
need only be worked morning and evening for four or 
five days, and allowed on every occasion to remain with 
Valve closed. At about that period it should be impos- 
sible to bring forth the sign of a bubble, even in the 
shape of a bead." 
When the air is exhausted as thoroughly as the pump 
will exhaust it, and the oil has penetrated to the very 
core of the line, that is called the first process or body 
dressing, and the line is removed and stretched, in the 
open air if possible (and the best time is late autumn so 
the line will not dry too quickly), to be treated by sec- 
ond process. When the line is stretched begin at one 
end, and with the finger and thumb of the right hand 
press the oil gently from the line, walking backward, and 
permitting the superfluous oil to drop from the finger 
into a glass held in the left hand. "A month or six 
weeks later, according to the weather, choose a fine day 
and start on rubbing the line, so that in due course it is 
made smooth enough for the second process to take 
good^ efiEect. Rub the surface of 2 or 3ft. at a time with 
the fingers, working backward and forward. Repeat 
the dose twice during the next month. Upon the occa- 
sion following this procure a piece of thick felt, sprinkle 
it with powdered pumice stone, double it, place the line 
in the pad so formed, and now rub in accordance with 
these directions. The object here is to rub in such a 
way that the roundness of the line is preserved and not 
made oval in shape in any part. To do this, spin or roll 
the line between the thumb and forefinger of the left 
hand, Avhile the short length is submitted to the back- 
ward and forward treatment pretty much as before. 
* * * The student who regards this business as too 
tedious may rest assured that it is impossible to get an 
ideal dressing — one that will last for years and years and 
never 'knuckle' — by any other known process." 
Mr. Kelson is careful to impress upon the operator 
who is dressing a line that the oil in the line must be- 
come perfectly dry before it is polished, and here is the 
polish and the manner of applying it: "Procure a loz. 
pliial, and into three-quarters of an ounce of pure spirits 
of wine put a teaspoonful of the best copal varnish. 
Shake the opened bottle so filled against the ball of 
the right forefinger, spin the line to and fro with the left 
fingers, as in the latter method of rubbing, and with the 
wetted finger working backward and forward proceed to 
cover a few inches of it all around. Repeat this per- 
formance quickly until a length of nearly 3ft. is moist- 
ened. Then, while the spinning continues, rub that 
much smoothly and evenly backward and forward be- 
tween the finger and thumb, and so proceed by degrees 
from right to left throughout the entire length of the 
line. In two days give a second coat, and when quite 
dry the line is fit for use." 
I presume that the average American sportsman, after 
reading Mr. Kelson's precise directions — but Mr. Kel- 
son has a way of being precise and minute in his direc- 
tions—will conclude that it is certainly easier to buy a 
line if it does not cost more than $25; and in one sense 
that is true, but there is not the satisfaction in using a 
purchased line that there is in dressing one's own line 
if one has time to do it and it turns out all right. So 
far as I can judge, the lines that I have — that is, the 
Halford-dressed lines — are as perfect as an}' lines can 
be. One of them was mounted — backed with a smaller 
and cheaper line — and tied by Mr. J. J. Hardy before it 
was sent to me, and I have given it some hard work 
since I received it, and it is as smooth and soft and pol- 
ished as when it arrived. I cannot say the same of other 
and cheaper vacuum-dressed lines that I have. I must 
say, however, that I think the salmon lines of the best 
class are too finely tapered, tapering as they do from C. 
and D. to H. A. N. Cheney. 
New Jersey Game and Fish Interests, 
The annual report of the n£w Fish and Game Com- 
missioners is an interesting and most creditable exhibit 
of a year of great activity in the enterprise of restocking 
the waters and the game fields, and in the enforcement 
of the law. Under the direction of the Commission, 
Messrs. George Pfeiflfer, H. P. Frothingham, Parker W. 
Page and George L. Smith, with Charles A. Shriner, of 
Paterson, as the very efficient State Game and Fish 
Protector, New Jersey has taken its place in the front 
rank of those States which are husbanding their re- 
sources of fish and game. 
Several years ago New Jersey established a fish- 
hatching station for the propagation of fresh-water fish, 
more particularly brook trout, but the conditions proved 
to be unfavorable and the hatchery was abandoned. The 
Commissioners report that owing to the establishment of 
large trout hatcheries as private enterprises they have 
found it now practicable to purchase fry more cheaply 
than they could be produced at State hatcheries, and 
during 1897 there have thus been secured for distribution 
throughout the State 50,000 half yearling trout. 
The experiment made in the latter part of 1896 of 
introducing adult pike-perch from the Great Lakes dem- 
onstrated the feasibility of the plan, and in 1897 the 
Commission secured a large number of these fish from 
Lake Erie, also large numbers of channel catfish and 
white or silver bass. Of the pike-perch 35,000 were ptit 
into lakes of Middlesex county; the transfer of the bass 
was less successful, the remnant after the long journey 
having been placed in a reservoir of the Passaic Water 
Co., and in Cedar Pond. The Delaware River received 
300 adult channel catfish and Greenwood Lake 100. 
There is a constantly increasing demand for black bass 
to be used for propagation, and the Commissioners re- 
port 'that they have had much difficulty in supplying the 
fish, owing to the fact that there is no market where 
they can be bought, nor are they so plentiful in any of 
the waters of the State that it would be wise to diminish 
the native supply. Fortunately, through the assistance 
of Vice-President Hobart and Gov. Griggs, a contribu- 
tion of about 2,000 black bass has been secured from the 
United States Fish Commission. 
The necessity of providing food for the increase of 
fish in the fresh waters has been given attention. Large 
numbers of bait fish have been taken from the Oak 
Ridge and the Clinton reservoirs and deposited at Green- 
wood Lake, and through the courtesy of Commissioner 
H. O. Stanley, of Maine, 250,000 eggs of land-locked 
smelts were secured and deposited in Lake Hopatcong, 
Greenwood Lake and the trout streams of Sussex county 
emptying into the Delaware River, Culver's Lake, Big 
Swartzwood Lake, Long Pond, IliiJ's Pond and Stru- 
ble's Pond. 
The introduction of ring-neck pheasants has proved 
a decided success; 343 of the birds were purchased early 
in the spring, and reports show that they have thrived. 
This chapter of the report was given in full in our issue 
of last week. Attempts to acclimatize the Southei-n quail 
having proved failures in so many instances, it was 
deemed best to secure birds from the West. Late in the 
spring 1,032 Western quail were purchased and distrib- 
uted in lots of from 50 to 100. 
It is thought that the establishment of the Audubon 
Society of the State of New Jersey, with headquarters 
at Plainfield, will result in the creation of a public spirit 
in the spread of protection of song and insectivorous 
birds. Members of the society are pledged to a declara- 
tion of purpose which discourages the use of feathers of 
any birds for ornament except those of the ostrich and 
domestic fowls, or the destruction of birds and their eggs. 
The society will strive to secure the establishment of a 
bird day in the State. The life membership fee is $1, 
except in the case of teachers and pupils, who may pay 
25 cents. All the money thus secured has been used for 
the publication of leaflets instructive as to the habits ^nd 
economic importance of birds. 
The book entitled "The Birds of New Jersey," pre- 
pared by Chief Warden Shriner and published by the 
Commission, has been in large demand; and has very 
generously fulfilled the object of its publication, which 
was to disseminate useful knowledge concerning birds, 
and thus create a public sentiment which should insure 
their better protection. So great was the demand for the 
work that it was found necessary to issue a second edi- 
tion, and many applications have been received from 
outside the State. The book is sent out at a nominal cost 
of $1. Ornithology as treated in this publication has 
been added to the list of studies in a number of schools, 
and the suggestions contained in it have led to the ob- 
servance of Bird Day in connection with Labor Day 
in eighteen of the twenty-one counties of the State. 
A suggestive fact noted in the report is that while in 
former times a few hundred copies of the fish and game 
laws were foimd sufficient, there were published in 1897 
no less than 100,000 copies in various forms for distribu- 
tion throughout the State. Under these circumstances, 
it is pertinently suggested, ignorance is a poor plea for 
violators to urge. 
The past year has been no exception to its prede- 
cessors in the number of complaints coming from Bar- 
negat Bay and the violations of the law there; and no 
other part of the State has been subjected to so much 
vigilance and attention on the part of the wardens. 
Nevertheless, no progress of any importance was ef- 
fected. The blame can rest only on the shoulders of 
those who should be the most interested in the enforce- 
ment of the laws. Repeatedly the most energetic and 
best qualified wardens were sent to Barnegat, but the 
efforts there of these men who had been successful in 
breaking up violations of the law in other parts of the 
State proved of little avail at Barnegat Bay. The of- 
fenders there have formed a clique and have brought to 
their assistance a large number of the hotel proprietors 
and residents, the very men who in past years have cried 
loudly for a better enforcement of the law. It was abso- 
lutely impossible for a warden to procure a boat when 
his errand was known, and he could not depend on any 
one thereabout for assistance. Those who complained 
of the depredations of poachers, and who declared that 
they knew of violations of the law, absolutely refused 
to give any evidence or clew on which the wardens 
cotdd work. The frequent presence of wardens on the 
waters of the bay undoubtedly had a deterrent effect on 
the lawbreaking element, and your Commission does not 
believe that the fact that there were no prosecutions was 
attributable to any lack of determination or skill on the 
part of the wardens. Fortunately, Barnegat Bay is the 
only locality in New Jersey where the whole community 
seems to be on the side of the lawbreakers, and willing 
to suffer for the misdeeds of a few. 
The suggestions contained in the report respecting 
changes in the law are given in the full text. 
The Game Law. 
The present law for the protection of game and fresh- 
water fish has now been in operation for two years, a 
long enough time to determine its value. Owing to the 
difference in the latitude of the extreme northern and 
extreme southern parts of New Jersey, and the conse- 
quent difference in the habits of animals in the two ex- 
tremes, it is manifestly impossible to enact any measure 
which will satisfy all the residents of the State. The ex- 
periment of dividing the State into two sections has been 
tried twice, but no two succeeding Legislatures approved 
of it. A law dividing the State was in force in 1895, but 
it was repealed by the following Legislature, which 
placed the present law on the statute books. So much 
fault was found with this law in all parts of the State 
that the last Legislature undertook to make a change, 
but so diverse were the views of the Senators and As- 
semblymen that an agreement was arrived at only dur- 
ing the last days of the session of the Legislature. The 
act had been so amended that a number of important 
particulars had been omitted, notably protection for 
English pheasants. The act partook of the nature of a 
general law as well as of a two-section law, and before it 
was ready for final passage its original provisions had 
been so altered that interest in the measure was lost to a 
great extent. North New Jersey had asserted its claims 
to have a law such as would be indicated as proper by 
the climate and existing conditions there. The southern 
part of the State, where the seasons are frequently two 
or three weeks later than in the northern part, had in- 
sisted on a later season. The rivalry between the two 
sections of the State produced a measure satisfactory to 
neither. Gov. Griggs declined to approve of the act, 
and so the law of the previous year remained in force. 
The conviction which prevailed a year ago that the 
law was inadequate to carry out thd purposes for which 
it was enacted, has been intensified, and there has been 
a general and continued demand all over the State for 
the enactment of a measure making a uniform season for 
all woodland and field game. This can be accomplished 
only by a modification of the demands of interested per- 
sons in different parts of the State. If the gunner of the 
north will agree to open the season for woodcock and 
partridge fifteen days later than a date such as might be 
indicated by the climatic conditions, and if the gunner of 
the south will agree to cease shooting quail and rabbits- 
fifteen days earlier than his demands have insisted upon 
for some years, a uniform season might be secured. A 
two-section law, while it might satisfy the people in 
Cape May, Cumberland, Salem and Atlantic, and at the 
same time be acceptable to the people of Sussex, Pas- 
saic, Morris and Bergen, would be unsatisfactory to the 
large area of territory lying between these two tiers of 
counties. A law opening the season for woodland and 
field game on the ist of November and closing it on the 
1st of January would be acceptable to the people in 
the southern part of the State, iDUt it would be objected 
to in the northern part, as it would prevent altogether 
the killing of woodcock, which have moved southward 
before the first open day, and because it would mean the 
killing of hundreds of rabbits and quail in the deep 
snows which frequently precede the holidays. A law 
opening the season on the ist of October and closing it 
on the 1st of December, while agreeable to the interests 
of the gunners in the northern part of the State, would 
meet with serious objections in the southern part, 
where some kinds of game have not yet matured suffi- 
ciently by the ist of October to make them proper tar- 
gets for marksmanship. A law opening the season on 
the 15th of October and closing it on the 15th of Decem- ' 
ber would properly conserve the interests of the whole 
State. It would satisfy the middle tier of counties, and 
although the gunner of the north would lose fifteen days 
at partridge and woodcock and the gunner of the south, 
would be required to cease his sport after rabbits and 
quail fifteen days earlier than his desires would dictate, 
both would have the consciousness of knowing that a 
law subserving the best interests of the State and prop- 
erly protecting game had been agreed upon. Such a law 
would be comparatively easy of enforcement. The pres- 
ent law is open to the serious objection that there is 
some kind of game open to be killed from the ist of 
July to the ist of Januaiy, thus affording the violator of 
the law an excellent cloak for his unlawful acts. Al- 
though the law suggested above would reduce the num- 
ber of days in which game may be lawfully killed, there 
can be no doubt that it would so increase game as to 
more than counterbalance the restriction placed on the 
length of the period. Your Commission feels confident 
that a law of this kind, once placed on the statute books, 
would not be disturbed for many years. 
The Fist Law* 
The introduction into the waters of this State of pike- 
perch, white bass and channel catfish, more extended 
reference to which is made in another part of this report, 
will necessitate some changes in the laws relating to 
the taking of fish in the fresh waters of the State. 
It is but reasonable that some kind of protection 
should be afforded to these strangers. To prohibit their 
taking for a number of years would involve hardship on 
the angler who is seeking for other fish and who could 
not avoid taking the new species. It would perhaps be 
impracticable to establish any close season for the taking 
of the catfish, as all kinds are angled for in the same 
manner. . Slightly extending the close season for pick- 
erel and embracing in it the pike-perch, would afford the 
necessary protection for the latter, and the white bass 
would be amply protected if the same protection were 
extended to it which is now accorded to the black bass. 
For the better protection of the game fishes, a slight 
change in the law pertaining to the capture of the infe- 
rior fishes is indicated. At present the law permits of 
the spearing of suckers, eels and carp; but this provision 
of the law is frequently abused by persons who spear 
everything the light of the lantern may disclose in the 
water. Violations of the law of this nature are palpably 
difficult of detection. If the law were changed to pro- 
hibit spearing altogether, but permitting the use of eel 
pots under reasonable restrictions, we feel confident that 
it would tend to the better protection of the game fishes 
without in any way reducing the opportunities for dimin- 
ishing the number of eels and catfish. 
Although the black bass is firmly established in the 
waters of the State, there is a continual menace to the 
proper multiplication of these fish by taking of them at 
night. Nearly all other States have enacted statutes pro- 
hibiting the taking of black bass between 9 o'clock in 
the evening and sunrise the following morning, and the 
enactment of such a measure in New Jersey would un- 
doubtedly be attended by good results without in any 
way interfering with proper sport. 
Deer. 
In the southern part of this State there are still vast 
areas of uncultivated lands suitable for the habitat of the 
wild deer, and these animals Avould have continued to 
flourish were it not for the ever-increasing army of 
hunters. Last year your Commission requested the pas- 
sage of a law establishing a close season for five years, 
thus enabling our indigenous deer to increase in number 
and affording yotir Commission an opportunity to add 
to their number by importations from the West; and 
your Commission would again most strenuously advo- 
cate the enactment of this measure this winter. 
The law for the protection of our song and insectivor- 
ous birds is in anything but a satisfactory condition; the 
law prohibits the taking of all kinds of insectivorous 
birds, and strictly construed would prohibit the killing 
of many species of shore birds now considered legitimate - 
sport, for nearly every bird is more or less insectivorous. 
A law mentioning by name all the kinds of birds which 
it shall be unlawful to kill would be more just to the 
sportsman and also to the agricultural interests of the 
State, which depend in a great measure for their success 
on the destruction of noxious insects. Such a law would 
