March 25, 1S95).] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
220 
Now, Mr. Editor, I am old-fashioned enough to be- 
lieve that a man who calls himself a sportsman, or even one 
who does not attempt to assume the dignity of that title, 
has no earthh^ right to take more lhan a reasonab'e share 
of the .game that is the property of all, and when he does 
overstep the limit of decency in that direction I know of 
no term more expressive or more fitting than that of 
''game hog," however inelegant it ni&y be. Nor can I 
agree with you that it is a difficult matter to say just 
what amount of game should be considered a fair take 
for one day's shooting. Common sense, or a sense of 
sDortsmanlike decency, should teach any man tliat a hun- 
dred, or even fifty ducks, geese or grouse — almost a 
cart-load — is away beyond that limit ideal which is deep- 
rooted in the mind of every fair-minded sportsman. Nei- 
ther do I, nor do I believe that any very large percen- 
•tasre cf our true sportsmen will agree with you that fifty 
hWd's of any kind — clay pigeons or English sparrows ex- 
■cPDted — are a legitimate bag for a sportsman anywhere, 
whether it be in Mississippi or on Long Island, in Ver- 
mont or in Texas, In daj^s gone by in localities where 
game was plentiful, everybody helped himself to as much 
as he liked, or at least as much as he could shoot, kill 
or capture, and what is the result? Look at the buffalo 
and the wild pigeon — mounted specimens are to be seen 
in our natural history collections, a few stray live ones, 
they tell us, are still on earth— their fate tells the whole 
stor3% unlimited killing. 
I am ashamed to confess that T once killed between 
simrise and sunset twenty-two ruffed grouse on ground 
\.here at this time it woi:ld be impossible to bag a half- 
dozen in a week. The same cause — the "game hog." I 
know whereof I speak, for T was one of them twenty- 
five years ago; but at that time had not sense enough to 
know how vile a creature my shanks were compelled 
to carry afield. This happy hunting ground was not de- 
spoiled by the market-shooter — none of that accursed 
■breed ever to mj^ knowledge hunted there — but the de- 
struction was the work of Christian, gentlemen sports- 
■-men; at least that was what we thought we were. 'Ad- 
mitted that legal restrictions as to bag limit may be and 
are eminentl)'- proper and necessary, it is well known that 
such restrictions 'are most difficult to enforce; hence, is 
it not well for all papers and all persons who havC a 
kindly interest in the matter of game preservation, to let 
the fellows, who persist in killing more than their share 
of the- State's game, know that wo don't care to play in 
their yard, don't like them, never did like them, in short 
is it not eminently proper that we should designate them 
by their proper names," "game hogs." however inele- 
gant the term may sound? If we fail to reform them 
we can at least show them that we are not of their ilk and 
detest their unsportsmanlike ways. M. Schenck, 
On Kansas Prairies. 
Lost Springs^ Kan., March xr. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: I hear with regret the reports from other parts 
of the country of the injury to the game by the terrible 
storms of the past winter, and so I am the more glad that 
after such investigation as I have had time to mak^ I 
tan report that both quail and prairie chickens have lived 
through all right in this section. I have seen a number 
of good strong bevys of quail and some chickens since the 
storms, and have found no dead birds. This is owing, t 
think, to the abundance of both feed and cover furnished 
by the grain called kaftir corn, and I would recommend 
this grain as without any exception the best for any game 
preserve wherever it will grow; I do not know how far 
north that is, but surely anywhere in line with northern 
New Jersey, and I think much further northward. It 
has thick leaves and very strong stalk that does not break 
with the weight of the snow, and yields twice the grain 
that wheat does. The height from 4 to 5ft. All the birds 
feed on it here from the wild goose down to the English 
sparrow. Can be obtained of almost any seedsman in 
Tiansas. 
I do not think the days of the prairie chicken are num- 
bered as yet, for all reports go to prove that since the law 
stopping the shipping of them was put in force, they have 
slowly increased in this section. The residents here pay 
but little attention to the letter of the game laws ; but are 
very jealous of any shooting for shipment, and that, of 
course, is the very best of game protection. When I first 
went to Emporia six years ago the chickens had almost 
disappeared ; but now they are slowly working back there. 
The great affalfa fields are taking the place of the prairie 
sod; but they come to stay, and the chickens are learning 
ito love them as well as the prairie grass. They also seem 
to follow and increase with the increase of the fields of 
kafhr corn, of which I have spoken. 
I am glad your paper is bringing out so much dis- 
cussion about the skunk. I suppose I run the risk of 
ostracism when I say I think them a friend both to the 
farmer and sportsman. I know they love a good fat 
chicken, but do not suppose one skunk in 500 ever tastes 
of one. But let any farmer go into his plowed fields in the 
fall and count the holes — about the size of a small dog's 
foot — in a square rod of ground, and for each one give 
our strong-smelling friend credit for a noxious worm or 
grub destroyed by him, and he will get some idea of the 
good he does ; and when he finds him under his grain stack 
or in his corn shock, remember he is after mice and rats 
and let him go his way. Do not think he injiires the game 
much, for along a certain hillside in Emporia, which ap- 
parently has been the stamping ground of the skunk for 
many years, the quail each year bring out one or more 
good strong bevys. In my opinion the common brown rat 
does more damage to the birds than all the skunks, foxes 
and hawks put together, and the skunk is their inveterate 
enemy. But the m.urderous breechloader, and the man be- 
hind it, and that means — ^you the editor, you the reader, 
and myself— are, after all our talk, the worst scourge of 
the game. 
What a plucky strong lived bird the quail is. A young 
man with whom' I was shooting last fall brought down out 
of a bevy of good strong young birds what seemed the 
mother of the flock. She had lost apparently the season 
before one foot, but had lived and brought up a brood of 
young birds, part of them for our delectation. When we 
picked her up and realized her strong courage, we were 
sorry she had not escaped. But, of course, regrets were 
in vain and she weni the way of so many good quail 
Would like to ask if the ruffed grouse is not to a certain 
extejil like the squirrels — migratory. I have not seen one 
in Kansas, but when in New England I could not explain 
their habits in any other way. 
March 13. — One of the local papers reports the capture 
of three beaver in the Cottonwood River, about twenty 
miles southwest from here, It seems too bad that the few 
remnants of such wild life as remain camiot be left un- 
disturbed. I would go a long way myself to see one free 
and living his natural life. 
I trust you will excuse the writing on both sides of the 
paper, for paper is getting very scarce, and I am in camp 
miles from any )3lace of supply. The geese, duck, kilders, 
plover, blackbirds and some of the smaller birds are here. 
Meadow larks stayed all winter in spite of the storms. 
Pine Tree. 
Spring Shooting:. 
In the New York Legislature a bill has been intro- 
duced by Mr. La Roche, Senate No. 179, to open the sea- 
,;^on for snipe and shore birds on Long Island on May i 
instead of July i, as under the present law. Mr. Robert 
B. Lawrence, Secretary of the New York Association for 
the Protection of Fish and Game, appeared before the 
Assembly Committee on Game Laws to oppose the meas- 
ure. In this connection we give the brief prepared by Mr. 
Lawrence in opposition to a former bill of like purpo.sc. 
AH that was then said applies now, and always will apply. 
Measures and men may change, but the principles of the 
laws of nature as here laid down are immutable. Mr. 
Lawrence said: 
This bill should not beconie a law for the reason that 
its passage would be a step backward, and directly op- 
posed to the idea of proper game protection. 
In May, 1892. the present law prohibiting the shoot- 
ing of plover and other birds during the spring months 
was passed, the opening of the lawful season for shoot- 
ing them being po.stponed until July. The result of the 
five years, in the increase of the numbers of these birds 
which visit our salt marshes and beaches during the 
summer and fall months, has been noticed and favorably 
commented on by many who are interested in preserving 
our game. 
Before the passage of this law, the diminution in the 
numbers of these birds was so marked that there was but 
little opposition to the enactment of the law which pro- 
tects them during their short stay in the spring on their 
way to their breeding grounds. The numbers which visit 
our shores in the spring have increased to such an extent 
that ba3fmen and gunners, failing to realize the fact that 
the shooting has been improved during the summer and 
fall months, when a far greater number of our sporting 
population care to indulge in this pastime than during the 
spring months, and that the birds, by reason of the face 
that they are not molested during their short spring so- 
journ, have come to look upon our shores as .a refuge 
place, again wish, for the sake of a few dollars, to bring 
back the conditions which existed before the passage of 
this present law. 
It is true these birds are migratory, and wifh the ex- 
ception of the spotted sandpiper {Actitis inncutaria), th? 
piping plover (Acgealitis mekida) and the field plover, or 
Rartram's sandpiper {Bartranda longicauda) , do not 
breed within our borders, and arrive in flocks for the 
most part. But in many cases they are mated before they 
leave us in the spring for their northern breeding ground'. 
Particularly is this the case with the big yellow legs 
(Totamis melanoleucas), which soon pair off, and while 
searching for their food the spring call notes of the male.,, 
differing entirely from their whistle of the summer and 
fall, are recognized by the baymen and gunners as a sure 
si.gn of their being mated or about to mate. 
The black-bellied plover {Charadrius squatarola). one 
of the most noticeable varieties, also usually consummated 
its family arrangements during its sojourn with us. Ltfi'- 
doubtedly the greatest part of these birds migrate at 
some distance from our shore, but it is nonsense to as- 
sert that the killing of those that do visit us in the spring 
will have vo serious effect on the numbers which return 
with their broods in the summer and fall. The improve- 
ment in the shooting in the summer and fall which we 
have already spoken of, is certainly proof of the absurd- 
ity of this assertion. 
These birds are not generally considered hard to shoot 
at any time. Their gregarious habits enable the gunner 
to decoy them within range, and while, in the spring they 
are old veterans, more wary and suspicious, the fact that 
they are less easy to kill at that time is a poor argument 
for legalizing their slaughter. 
The best traps shots are frequently indifferent field 
shots, and their judgment as to the difficulty of bagging 
birds is not entitled to much weight. The'old baymen, 
who would possibly do but poorly at the trap with the 
crowd around him, seldom fails to down the poor bay 
bird that conies within range of his shotgun. The num- 
bers of these birds are now on the increase so far as our 
shores are concerned, and we do not wish to return to the 
condition which prevented any opposition to the pas- 
sage of this law, because the birds were so scarce that 
their killing or non-killing was considered a matter of no 
importance. 
There was a time, as I have heard my father say. when 
a native bayman would not shoot a single dowitche 
(one of the best of these birds for table use), for it was 
not considered worth a charge. Before the passage of 
this law an ox-eye was considered a fair mark, at least 
for a visiting gunner, and a dowitche a rare prize. 
Further than that, they are poor eating in the spring 
in comparison with their condition in the summer, and 
the presence of eggs in the female, as frequently hap- 
pens, is not an appetizing discovery for the one who 
cleans them, and the physician who would order a big 
yellow leg killed in May as a delicacy for a convalescent 
would hardly be considered a gastronomic authority. 
"Spring vitality" is not as a rule considered a desira- 
ble feature in a bird intended for a table. 
Spring shooting is allowed in New Jersey, except in 
the case of the V/ilson or English snipe, but a strenuous 
effort is at present being made to secure in that State 
the tiassaee of a similar prohibitory law to that in force 
in New York. 
The majority of the States which permit spring shoot- 
ing lie to the south of tls, and the arguments against 
their shooting at that time are less worth}?- of considera- 
tion than when the birds approach nearer to their breed- 
ing grounds, 
Connecticut and Rhode Island permit spring shooting, 
but in Massachusetts shore birds cannot be killed be- 
tween May T and Jtily 15. In New Hampshire the close 
season is from Feb. i to Aug. t, and in Maine the shoot- 
ing of these birds, under the general head of plover, P3 
prohibited from May i to Aug 1. 
The shooting season should be entirely restricted to the 
southern migration of these birds. The present law is di- 
rectly in the line of game protection, and while now, 
thanks to the increase in the numbers of these birds, di- 
rectly attributable to its work, it may continue to debar 
the baymen and gunners from doing that which a few 
years ago they did not think worth doing, it should not 
be said to be legislation directed against them. _ What 
they lose in the spring they more than gain during the 
southern flight. 
Those who wish to again have the privilege of shooting 
these birds in the spring are a very small portion of those 
who make their livelihood along the bays of our sen 
coast "Penny wise and pound foolish," for the sake of 
a few dollars they are willing to again drive from our 
salt mar.shes and beaches these winged mi,grants. 
But the vast majority, in view of the object lesson 
which our present law furnishes, and the beneficial effect 
of the abolition of spring shooting,' would regret ex- 
ceedingly a repeal of this present law. 
In most of the States spring shooting is being forbid- 
den. You cannot kill your mated birds and expect the 
broods in the fall. _ ' I . 
The law as it now stands is a good one; it looks sim- 
ply' to the preservation of these birds. It cannot be con- 
sidered unreasonable, and while it may be difficult to en- 
force so long as a market for dead shore birds exists in 
New York, still that last statement is a poor argument 
for erasing it from out statute books, 
(Signed) Robt. B. L.a.vvrence, 
Of Counsel for the New York Association for the Pro- 
tection of Game, 35 Wall Street, Ne-v? York. 
Jefferson County Sportsmen's Association. — ^Water- 
town, N. Y., March 13.— Editor Forest and Stream: 
There are two bills of A'^ital importance to the sportsmen 
of this State that are meeting great opposition in the 
committee at Albany. The market-shooter and game 
dealer are fighting a,gainst us for all they are worth. 
There is only one way that we can win this battle, and 
that is to let our representatives understand that we want 
.spring shooting of wildfowl and the sale of game stopped 
in this State; and the only way we can do this is to write 
a personal letter to our Assemblyman and Senator asking 
him to support these bills. It is of the utmost importance 
that you write to-day, if you do not the bill will never 
get out of the committee. W. H. Tallett. 
Game and Fish Map of New Brunswick. 
Anglers and big game hunters whose excursions in 
Search of game or fish lead them to the little known 
regions of New Brunswick, will not fail to be interested in 
a map shortly to be published by the Forest and Stream 
Publishing Company. This map has been especially pre- 
pared for the Forest and Stre.\m constituency by the 
official draughtsman of the Province of New Brunswick, 
and no pains have been spared to make it accurate, both 
as to its topography and as to the points which more 
especially interest sportsmen — the localities where big 
game and fish are most abundant. On the map those areas 
where big game is found are enclosed in wide red lines, 
the streams where good trout fishing is to be had are 
marked with blue crosses, and the rivers which salmon 
ascend are marked by blue ciixles. Thus, at a glance; the 
sportsman has before liim all the possibilities of the 
i-egion. 
As a matter of fact there are no streams in this region 
which do not contain trout, and these fish occur also in 
practically all the lakes. Similarly, salmon are found 
in varying numbers in all the larger rivers. To pin down 
the game which roams the forests and the barrens is not 
so easy, yet on the map in question, this has been done, 
and we believe with a great degree of success. Of course, 
moose, caribou and deer do not always stay in one place. 
They migrate with the seasons, and may occasionally al- 
together desert a tract where formerly they were abundant. 
The most that can be done by any map maker is to set 
down the conditions of to-day, and this has been done in 
the Forest .xnd Stream New Brunswick Map. The map 
is 24 by 3oin., is printed on tough linen paper, and for 
convenience of carrying, is enclosed in a stout manila 
pocket. i :. 
The Expensive Barn Method. 
On Feb. 21, a deer, followed by a couple of hound 
dogs, passed the residence of Gideon Richie, of Rochester, 
N. H. Mr. Richie's bull dog was let loose by his master 
and joined in the chase, rounding up the frightened deer. 
Richie captured it and locked it up in his barn. He 
came to this city and notified the mayor that he had an 
injured deer in his barn. He stated that the animal was 
badly hurt and asked permission to kill it. The mayor 
notified John Bulldore, of this city, a fish and game war- 
den, to investigate the case, and if the deer Avas injured 
as badly as Richie represented, to kill it Bulldore went 
to Richie's place and with him decided to kill the deer. 
The Rochester warden dispatched the poor animal with a 
Iiammer. One of the men took half the carcass and the 
hide and the other the other half of the carcass. In 
dressing the deer it was found that it had two fawns. 
Fish and Game Commissioner Wentworth was notified 
and immediately went to work on the case. He found 
eight witnesses who testified that the deer was but slight- 
ly injured, having a scratch on the nose and a slight cut 
on one of the legs. Yesterday he caused the arrest of 
Richie and Buhdore and tried them before Judge Went- 
worth, of this city. As a result, Bulldore was fined $100. 
See announcement of the Woodcraft Magazine enlarge- 
pient of the Game Lavv§ in Brief. 
