Jan. 21, 1899.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
end of the partridge unless immediate protection is given 
the birds. In his opinion neither shortening of the season 
nor a five or ten-year close season will avail to protect the 
birds as long as the marketmen offer the present price for 
birds and so set up inducements for the slaughter. He 
favors as the only escape the absolute prohibition of the 
sale of game birds. This he believes will solve the market 
question, and materially decrease the killing now en- 
couraged by the trade. 
It is said that six men can be named among Worcester 
bird shooters who have bagged at least 1,200 birds this 
season. These shooters market their birds. Despite the 
excellent work of the Protective Association, snares have 
done a thriving business this season. In Rutland, Oak- 
ham, Templeton and Hubbardston, thousands of birds 
have fallen into nooses, and have found their way to 
Worcester and Boston markets. Along Canna.sto Brook, 
Hubbardston, this season, four and a half miles of snares 
were set, and operated almost throughout the season. One 
farmer in Hubbardston received from a Worcester mar- 
ketinan a check for forty-four birds snared and sMpped 
in one week. Thomas H. Davis, warden of the Protective 
Association, was unable to cope with the snares single- 
handed. 
Only one conviction was secitred. Jacob Shaifer, of 
Hubbardston, was convicted and fined $20. 
The lawpermitting snaring permits "the trapping or snar- 
ing of ruffed grouse, commonly called partridge, hares or 
rabbits, by an owner of land upon his land, or by a mem- 
ber of the family of such owner if authorized by such owner, 
between Oct. i and Jan. i," was framed to allow the farmer 
to snare for his table, but has been prostituted until 
now, with birds at high prices, this clause in the game 
laws legalizes the most destructive form of bird killing 
and marketing. Dozens of men in Worcester county have 
made a business of snaring birds for market in the past 
three months. 
Bird shooters who follow the sport not for the .sport's 
sake, but as a money maker, kill as many birds in Wor- 
cester county annually as all other shooters put to- 
gether. There is a growing sentiment against the in- 
veterate hunter who markets birds and is out and blazing 
awaj-- from opening to close of the season, as long as there 
is a feather in sight and with the knowledge that game 
birds are fast> decreasing. 
Tanning Skins. 
Replying to J. A. R. about tanning small skins, I 
will say that I have tanned, with the hair on, a num- 
ber of skins of such animals as bears, caribou, deer, 
foxes, and some smaller animals. I do not know much 
if anj-tbing about the Indian methods of tanning, but 
T have been told by fur dealers that the Indian method 
(on such animals as needed the thorough removing of 
all grease from the hair) was not satisfactory. Such 
skins as I have tanned were to be used as mats or rugs. 
A simple method, as given me by a Maine guide, has 
worked well on deer and caribou skins: Two cups of 
fine salt, one of powdered borax and one of alum to 
about a gallon of water (rain water). I remove any 
particles of fat or flesh from the skin, but do not try 
to scrape it much, and if the skin is dr}^ soak it out 
well in water and put it in the solution, letting it stay 
from one to three days, moving it about in the solution 
once or twice a day. Then take it out and wring as 
dry as I can, and work it dry; then scrape well, and 
finish by going over the flesh side with coarse sandpaper. 
With bear, fox, skunk, or such skins as have more 
or less grease in the hair I first soak well in water, and 
then give a thorough washing in several changes of 
warm water, using plenty of soap or any washing powder 
used to remove grease. After rinsing well, to remove 
soap, I put the skin in the solution, and if a bear skin 
let it stay about, three days, turning and moving it about 
often. After taking it out and wringing as dry as pos- 
sible, I put it in a tub containing two or three bushels 
of dry mahogany sawdust, and keep working it in the 
sawdust until it works dry. If it is a large skin, I put 
on rubber boots and keep treading and turning the skin, 
^-'''ng it out now and then and shaking out the dust, 
mahogany sawdust will work all through the hair, 
asing and brightening it. After the skin is worked 
I hang it up On a line out of doors, and switch it 
to get out all the dust. Treating a skin in this way 
ns some work, but if the dust is kept dry and the 
is viforked until it is perfectly dry, it will come out 
soft', I then give the flesh side a good scraping, 
ling with sandpaper. 
me of my friends who have bought fox skin mats 
have told me that they were unable to keep them a year 
on account of moths, although they had tried to take 
good care of them. I have never been troubled in this 
way with such mats of my own making, and have one 
now which has been about the house two or three years 
and has never been packed away at all. All of my rugs 
are taken out of doors once or twice a week during the 
spring and summer and given a shaking, and this is all 
the care they get. 
When preparing a fox skin for a mat I wash the skin 
well, using plenty of soap; then rinse it well in clean 
water, and while wet give it a coating on flesh ^ide of 
arsenical soap, such as taxidermists use, letting it remain 
on a few hours, and then wash the skin in several changes 
of clean water to remove to some extent the arsenic. 
I then have gone over the skin with a tanning fluid, such 
as many of the taxidermists sell, and afterward work the 
skin dry in the sawdust. I do not know that the tan- 
ning solution gives any better results than the -alum and 
salt and borax, but it is easier to use and takes less 
time. 
The working of skins of any sort dry in the sawdust 
seems to be the most important point. The Indian 
method of smoking skins, I understand, is to keep such 
skins from drying hard should they get wet, and is more 
to be applied to buck skin than to a skin intended for a 
mat. 
My experience in tanning has been confined to som^e 
twenty-five or thirty skins of the kinds I have nam.ed. 
and has been almost wholly for. my own use. A fur 
dealer told me, when I spoke of tanning some bear skins, 
that I could not do it so that they would last a year. 
Nevertheless I tried it on four bears which I killed one 
fall, and I have those skins as rugs now on the floor. 
I have had them for five years and they are in perfectly 
good condition. As for such skins as deer and caribou, 
they look well for a time, but I never knew of one on 
which the hair did not break off badly; and the same with 
a moose. They might last better if in the short coat, 
but those I have were all killed in the late fall or early 
winter. 
Your correspondent Mr. Hough's suggestion of using 
a strap over the instep and ankle of a rubber boot is first 
rate. Heretofore I have found rubber boots very de- 
structive to the heels of woollen socks. Rubber boots 
are the only boots I find satisfactory to use in all kinds 
of snow when out waiting for a fox, and hereafter I 
shall follow Mr. Hough's advice and strap down the 
plaguey things so that they cannot keep slipping up 
and down at the heel. C. M. Stark. 
DUNBARTON, N. H. 
ble wisdom and providence, to remove from this earth our 
friend and fellow member of the sporting goods "trade, 
Charles Daly; and 
Whereas, Our friend stood high in the esteem and 
affection of his business associates and companions, vvith 
an honorable record for business probity, coupled with a 
genial disposition toward all; therefore be it 
Resolved, That we extend to his bereaved family, also to 
his business associates in the firm of which he was the 
senior member, our fullest sympathy and condolence for 
their irreparable loss. 
Resolved, That we most tenderly convey to his grief- 
stricken children the sorrow and sadness we feel at parting 
with their protector and our friend. 
Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions, suitably en- 
grossed, be presented to each of his children. 
Mf. Oilman and Section 249. 
Educate Them. 
Pasadena, Cal,. Jan. 6. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
I enclose a few clippings from the Los Angeles Times. 
Hotel. Coronado, San Diego, items, whicla are self-ex- 
planatory, and arc only a few of the many items of like 
purport recently published : 
■'C. H. Lester a*id W. H. Dupee, of Chicago, returned 
last night in a soaking rain from lower California, where 
they spent two days shooting quail. The most of the 
shooting, however, was compressed into the hours be- 
tween 10 and 4 o'clock yesterday. They got 216 birds, 
stopping then on account of the rain, though passing 
through coveys of from fifty to 100 birds each." 
"Capt. J. S. Sedam and A. B. Daniels, of Denver, and 
John Markle, of New York, went out again yesterday, in 
spite of the rain, to get a few ducks. They, with E. S. 
Babcock, as fourth man, hold the record for duck shoot- 
ing, having killed 671 birds in one day at Otay Lake, all 
with i2-gauge guns, wing shots." 
"James T. Hayden, of New Orleans, and Judge C. N. 
Sterry, of Los Angeles, are out in the back country 
somewhere, getting ducks and quail. They telephoned in 
night before last that they had shot 153 quail the first 
day." 
"Capt. Sedam and A. .B. Daniels returned Saturday 
from lower California, where they went with Chick and 
Haniilton, of San Diego. The quartette slaughtered 
forty dozen and one quail in two days." 
Our resident sportsmen as a rule recognize the neces- 
sity of moderate indulgence in the killing propensity, and 
all the clubs controlling the shooting grounds about Los 
Angeles county have enacted rules limiting the bag per 
gun and the shooting days as well. 
While the "glad hand" is extended to every true sports- 
man from the East, as your columns constantly attest, 
every season we are inflicted by a visitation of that de- 
testable species called the "game hog." Read the above 
clippings and then ponder upon the scarcity of game and 
its causes. 
The correspondent in his zeal to furnish all the news 
has given its paper good grounds for the editorial com- 
ment, clipped from the same paper: 
"It is about time for the enaction of a law limiting the 
number of game birds or fowl that a man may kill in 
one day. The best gun clubs limit the bag that members 
may make, and also restrict shooting to certain days in 
the week. Reports of the performances of so-called 
•sportsmen' who infest Coronado prove the necessity for 
protection of ducks from game hogs and pot shooters. 
Three men visiting Coronado killed 338 ducks in one 
day, and brag that they would have killed more but for 
the rain. And recentlj^ False Bay was covered with dead 
ducks killed wantonly by 'sportsmen' of the same stripe. 
The sport will not last long at this rate. 
Cannot you get these men to subscribe to Forest and 
Stream ? They need a little education along the lines 
which yowr paper has fought valiantly for — the moderate 
indulgence of the .sporting instinct ; in fact one cannot 
read your editorials and be a game hog at the same time. 
Frank S. Daggett. 
Death of Charles Daly. 
Mr. Charles Daly, senior member of the firm of 
Schoverling, Daly & Gales, No. 325 Broadway, died on the 
evening of Jan. 11 at his home, in Summit, N. J. 
He had been at his office in New York until the usual 
hour, and spent the evening at home in pleasant inter- 
course with his family. About 11 o'clock an attack of 
apoplexy proved almost immediately fatal. 
Mr. Daly began his business career with the old firm 
of Tuffts & Colley about 1858, and afterwards with 
Messrs. Sargent & Co.. and later with Messrs. H. Boker 
& Co., whom he left in 1865 to join Mr. Schoverling. 
They commenced business in a very modest way as gun 
dealers in Barclay street, removing the following year to 
No. 52 Beekman street, and later to Nos. 84 and 86 Cham- 
bers street, and then to No. 302 Broadway, where his 
firm handled every variety of sporting goods. Mr, Daly 
was one of the incorporators and for many years presi- 
dent of the Marlin Fire Arms Company, of New Haven, 
Conn. He was one of the organizers of the Hardware 
Club, and took an active interest in its success, and was 
a member of the Colonial Club. He was a member of 
, the Presbyterian Church. He had been a widower for 
some ten years. A son and a daughter, Mr. Charles How- 
ard Daly and Mrs. R. Courtney King, survive him. Mr. 
Daly leaves a large circle of friends endeared to him by 
his sincerity of character, largeness of mind and generos- 
ity of impulse. 
New York. Jan. 16. — Editor Forest and Stream: At a 
meeting held to-day, Mr. A. H. Funke, chairman, Messrs. 
W. J. Bruff and Henry Werleman, committee, it was de- 
cided to send you copy of the resolutions which were 
adopted, and which I enclose. A. H. Funke. 
At a meeting held at the office of Hermann Boker & 
Co., January 16, 1899,-to take, suitable action in refer- 
ence to the death of Charles Daly, of the firm of Schoyer-- 
ling, Daly & Gales, the following. resolutions Were unani- 
mously adopted: 
'eas, It has pleased Almighty God, in his inscruta- 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
My attention has been called to the fact that Mr. Theo- 
dore P. Oilman . who, as the representative of the Market- 
men's Association, did all that he could to retain Section 
249 in the game laws, and to defeat the efforts of the 
sportsmen to repeal the same, is again urging the re-enact- 
ment of the obnoxious section and has made the assertion 
that I am in favor of its re-enactment, and has quoted Mr. 
F. J. Amsden as having also experienced a change of 
heart, and agreeing with him on its desirability. As to 
myself, I hasten to say that the assertion, of made, is ab- 
.solutely false, and 1 am certain the same may be said of 
Mr. Amsden. The New York As.sociation for the Pro- 
tectit)n of Game for three years fought the fight which 
finally resulted in the repeal of Section 249, and will 
resist by every means in its power the attempt to again 
place this section on our statute book, and no member 
will more heartily expend time and trouble in that direc- 
tion than its secretary. The New York State Fish, Game 
and Forest League can also be counted on to appose any 
such action as that proposed by Mr. Oilman. 
Robt. B. Lawrence, 
Sec'y N. Y. Assn. for the Protection of Game. 
Rochester, N. Y., Jan. 16.— Editor Forest and Stream: 
Kindly state in your journal that I am most decidedly op- 
posed to a restoration of section 249 to the game laws. I 
understand that such a movement is on foot, and it has 
been stated that I am favorable to it. 
I also understand that if this does not succeed, then a 
compromise will be offered, permitting the sale of game 
for three months after the close of season. I am opposed 
to this also. Frank J. Amsden. 
The New Jersey Game Warden Case. 
The case of the New Jersey game warden who, in 
October last, killed an Italian gunner, was tried last week, 
resultmg in a verdict of manslaughter, and a penalty of 
eight years' imprisonment. 
The warden, it will be recalled, had been sent to arrest 
two Italians, who were shooting robins. When called on 
to surrender, one of the gunners handed over his gun. but 
the other, as the warden claimed, menaced the officer, 
leveling his gun at him, and the oflicer thereupon, as he 
stated, shot in self-defense. 
In passing sentence, Judge Dixon said there was no 
doubt that the prisoner had been justly convicted. His 
act in attempting to arrest Canova and Danielle, he said, 
Vi^as clearly illegal. The warden had not displayed any 
badge of authority to warrant him in making an arrest, 
nor had he seen the Italians commit any offense against 
the game laws. It was shown that on the way to the 
woods the warden had stopped at several saloons, and 
Judge Dixon was very severe in his criticisms upon the 
warden having indulged in drink when about to dis- 
charge an official duty. 
Pablic Sentiment and the Gaihe Laws. 
Batavia, N. Y., Jan. 14.— Editor Forest and Streavi: 
-The Fish and Game Protective Association of Genessee 
County has had five cases of the violation of the laws 
during the past ten months, two of which were con- 
victions, and three were settlements by payment of fines, 
making a total amount of convictions and fines, $178.56. 
Four of these cases were for the violation of fish and game 
laws, and one case for the shooting of song birds. While 
game protective societies have and will continue to do 
much good, and their influence grow, still they will al- 
ways be unable satisfactorily and effectively to enforce the 
game laws until the obser\'ance of these laws becomes 
popular with all classes of people, irrespective of tastes 
for field sports, and I think the indications are that ob- 
servance of the laws is receiving more general attention, 
and this feeling could be greatly augmented if the daily 
papers would assist the sportsman's journals in the work. 
, W. L. Colville, 
Maine Game Records. 
The figures of shipments for 1898 have been given out 
by the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad, showing the follow- 
ing record: 
October. November. December. 
Total 
9-3 3 3 
K S . " S V o V o 
h S rS o .-2 S -° t." « .0 
I I !3 Si J g li § S § 'S 
- - O S o O S o 0 S o p . S cj 
1894- •• ••■ 479 24 10 345 8 13 177 13 27 1001 45 50 
189a 669 53 37 501 21 31 411 38 62 1,581 112 130 
1896 1029 79 57 718 19 28 498 35 45 2245 133 130 
1897 1246 55 20 1023 37 24 671 47 34 2940 139 78 
1898... 1348 71 22 1347 77 19 682 54 27 3377 202 68 
In 1897 and 1898 the moose shipments were from Oct. 
15 to Dec. I only. 
The above statement, compiled from records kept by 
station agents, comprises only game shipped by visiting 
sportsmen, and does not include that killed by native 
hunters, nor the large quantity consum.ed in camps. 
, The Forest and Stream is put to .press eacK week on Tuesday. 
Correspondence intended for publication should reach "us at the 
Jatest by Monday and as much earlier as practicable. 
