Forest and Stream. 
A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 
Copyright, 1900, by Forest'and Stream Publishing Co. 
Terms, $4 A Year. 10 Cts. a Copy. 
Six Months, |2. 
NEW YORK, SATURDAY, JULY 21, 1900. 
VOL. LV.— No. 3. 
No. 846 Broadway, New York 
The Forest and Stream is the recognized medium of entertain- 
ment, instruction and information between American sportsmen. 
The editors invite communications on the subjects to whicli its 
pages are devoted. Anonymous communications will not be re- 
garded. While it is intended to give wide latitude in discussion 
of current topics, the editors are not responsible for the views of 
correspondents. 
Subscriptions may begin at any time. Terms: For single 
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particulars respecting subscriptions, see prospectus on page iii. 
UNDER THE TREES. 
The trees of the land have now a specially high place in 
the appreciative consideration of sweltering mankind. 
The woods still hold good their claim of being the first 
temples. Hurrying and scurrying from the overheated 
cities, men, women and children during the heated term 
are eagerly journeying treeward, seeking the grateful 
shade which invites them to rest and comfort. ^ 
And as to shades, there are none at all comparable with 
that of the trees. Brick and wooden walls cast shadows, 
but the true shade is found under the spreading arms of 
the trees, where the freshest of green colors of nature, 
spread over the entire landscape, are everywhere to 
gladden the eyes, and clear sunshine and pure air are ever 
fresh from nature's founts. 
It then is in consonance with man's nature that he 
seeks the benefits of the country, with its comforting 
shades, in the season when the woods are at their best, and 
when they minister most to his health, comfort and hap- 
piness. Beautiful always, and adorning nature above all 
else, in their usefulness to man they hold a first place. 
Theirs is a universal beneficence at all seasons, but in 
the glaring light and intense heat of the midsummer 
days they to him are a special boon. To rich and poor 
alike they offer wholesome recreation free of price. 
Under the trees the camper pitches his tent, and settles 
to repose and comfort. About him are the rugged trunks 
which through calm and storm have stood bravely sky- 
ward for ages, while overhead are a profusion of branches 
which form a canopy and shut out the sunlight save such 
shafts and glintings as steal through the shifting open- 
ings left by the swaying branches and fluttering leaves 
in their playful struggles with the languid breeze. Un- 
der the trees, about the camp, the light is soft and the 
air cool, while outside in the open in the glare of light the 
heat waves boil tremulously. 
The wheelman chooses his midsummer route as much as 
possible through a wooded country. Along roads by 
which trees grow in abundance he can ride with more 
pleasure and comfort. Where the trees are, at every 
stretch and turn of road, there are alwaj^s new pictures to 
gladden his eyes. No section can be so plain nor anj' nook 
so ugl}^ but what, if it have trees, it is beautified and a 
pleasure to gaze upon. Under the trees he speeds along, 
enjoying the cooling shade and feeling that every mo- 
ment is one of enjoyment. 
To the unfortunate dwellers in the cities who cannot 
escape to the country, the parks are a boon of inestimable 
value. Even in those limited and artificial areas there 
are at least true touches of nature. They are a source of 
infinite delight to children, who fairly revel in their 
enjoyment of an outing where the trees grow, and the 
flowers bloom, and nature reigns even if imperfectly. For 
such children a picnic in the country, where there are real 
brooks and song-bird melody and flowers, with trees 
enough everywhere for every one, is an event to be long 
talked of and longer remembered. The beauties of 
architecture and elegance of art may excite admiration, 
but the profound emotions, the adoration of nature, can 
be excited only by nature's own handiwork, of which 
the trees are an important part. They are the natural 
heritage of all mankind, and therefore are a source of 
wholesome enjoyment. 
But to the sportsman they are specially dea/. Under them 
are his treasures. Under them the deer and moose roam 
quietly about, and under them is the home of the ruffed 
grouse, woodcock and quail in their cool sequestered 
haunts. 
While there are thousands in the great cities who are 
chained to business, there are none whose rninds can be 
chaine(i from roaming in the wildwoods. The deer 
hunter, in imagination, can see the deer, soft-eyed and 
timorous, gliding under the trees, where there are cool 
brooklets and pleasing shade. The wing shot sees, in 
his mind's eye, the richly colored game bird in its wood- 
land habitat, and longs to be among the trees even with no 
thought of killing. The fisherman has day dreams of 
waters with wooded shores, and their beautiful vistas of 
festooned vegetation which add a zest to the sport which 
no mere catching of fish could confer. 
Unfortunate, indeed, is he who cannot avail him- 
self of the wholesome recreation of camp, or wheel, or 
gun, or rod, in the places where the trees grow. 
THE ADIRONDACK FOREST. 
The Adirondack Forest Preserve is protected by a 
clause in the Constitution of the State which forbids ab- 
solutely and permanently any cutting of the forest. In 
1896, w^hen a proposition to remove this prohibition by 
amendment came before the people, it was defeated by the 
greatest majority that ever defeated a repeal proposition 
in the history of New York. The reason of this was that 
the people feared the mismanagement and ruin which 
they believed would inevitably follow if any lumbering 
whatever were permitted in the Adirondacks. 
There was ample justification for the fear. At that 
period, save for a few isolated cases of private forests 
conducted on scientific principles, lumbering, as prosecuted 
on this continent, was a synonym of woodland devasta- 
tion. Of that scientific forest management which means 
the utilization of the mature timber and the perpetua- 
tion of the forest' itself as a component whole we knew 
nothing. Timber cutting, as evidenced in the Adiron- 
dacks, meant vast stretches of blackened wastes and 
denuded mountain slopes — in short, ruin and desolation. 
With such warnings before their eyes, the people refused 
utterly to listen to the specious arguments of those who 
coveted their forest possessions, and they voted in 1896 
as they had before in 1894 f^iat the woodman's axe should 
be kept out of the public lands in the North Woods for 
all time. 
In the years that have intervened, the interest of eco- 
nomic scientific forestry has made vast strides in Amer- 
ica, For one thing, the public has been taught that there 
are certain well-approved methods of forest exploitation 
which do not mean the ruin of the woods. As the popu- 
lar appreciation of this fact has grown, people are be- 
ginning to ask themselves if there is not a better way 
of administering their forest possessions than to clear them 
in the old fashion or to leave them unmolested in a state 
of nature. The great forestry enterprise of Mr. Van- 
derbilt in North Carolina, so well described by one of our 
correspondents to-day, is only one of many similar un- 
dertakings by private owners. And so with public forests. 
The New York Commissioners some time ago requested 
the Division of Forestry of the Agricultural Department 
to examine the Adirondack lands and submit recom- 
mendations for the management of the forests. Accord- 
ingly the work of investigating the forest conditions in 
the preserve began in June, and the completed working 
plans are to be ready for submission to the Legislature 
by Jan. i, 1901. The beginning of this investigation 
marks an epoch, in the forest history of the country. 
For the first time the Division of Forestry will co- 
operate in practical forest management with one of the 
State governments. If the final report should lead to the 
repeal of the forest clause of the 1894 amendment, a 
large public preserve will for the first time in our history 
be put under skilled forest management and operated with 
a view, not only to its permanent preservation, but to the 
production of a regular reA'enue. 
As announced in a bulletin of the Division from which 
we draw these facts, the working plans for which the data 
are now being gathered will amount to a detailed scheme 
for managing and harvesting the forest crop of an im- 
portant section in the preserve. They will show whether 
or not a steady revenue can be drawn from the New 
York Preserve without diminishing its timber yield in 
the future ; and whether it is necessary or not to prohibit 
all cutting whatsoever in order to preserve the forest. 
Their preparation will involve, first of all, an ex- 
amination of the forest itself with a view to finding out 
what timber there is now on the ground, in quantity as 
well as in kind; and, secondly, a thorough study of the 
possibilities of lumbering on a sound business basis; or, 
in other words, an examination of the forest trees frorrj 
the lumberman's point of view, and of the most profitably 
methods of marketing the timber; thirdly, it will neces- 
sitate a thorough investigation of the fire problem, taking 
jnto consideration not only the best means of preventing 
fires in the future, but also those of dealing now with 
lands which have been injured or devastated in the past; 
fourth, the preparation of forest maps; and' lastly, an 
examination of the forests in their relation to the water 
supply of the region, and of the importance of preserving 
them as natural reservoirs, and for other reasons than 
those involved in the immediate production of revenue. 
This part of the investigation, to be taken up in collabora- 
tion with the Hydrographer of the United States Geo- 
logical Survey, will dispose effectually of any danger to 
the water supply from the proposed cutting, and will 
fix all those areas which must be totally protected, or 
which will require particularly careful and consf.rvative 
treatment. 
THE WASHINGTON GAME CASE. 
We print elsewhere the text of Judge Hanford's deci- 
sion in the case of a Spokane, Wash., restaurant keeper 
who was prosecuted for having sold quail in violation 
of the Washington la\v. Judge Hanford's reasoning is 
far from lucid, but the ground upon which he dismisses 
the case as unconstitutional appears to be that the Wash- 
ington statute is held by him to interfere with inter- 
state commerce, the control of which is vested in Con- 
gress. His argument in brief is that while a State has the 
right to control its own game, even to the extent of ab- 
solutely forbidding its capture at any time, it has no con- 
trol over the game of another State which may be im- 
ported within its borders. He says : "But the power of a 
Legislature in this regard only applies to game within 
the State, which is the property of the people of the 
State, and no such power to interfere with the private 
affairs of individuals can affect the right of a citizen to 
sell or dispose of, as he pleases, game which has become 
a subject of private ownership by a lawful purchase in 
another State." This goes squarely in the face of other 
decisions, notably the Phelps-Racey case in New York, 
where it was held that quail imported from the West 
could not be sold in the close season. But these prece- 
dents Judge Hanford brushes aside as "not binding as 
authorities in this court," and not resting on sound prin- 
ciples. 
Not only is this Washington decision in the face of the 
precedents, but it runs directly counter to a principle 
which prevails almost universally throughout this country 
where there is any game protection at all. Laws for- 
bidding the sale of game in close season are of almost 
universal application, and where such statutes prevail no 
distinction is made, for a portion of the season at least, 
between game native to the State and that which is im- 
ported. All is barred alike. The reason for this is that no 
other expedient will avail to save the native game. Experi- 
ence has demonstrated that if there is an open game market 
for the sale of imported game the State's own game will 
find its way into that market. The purpose of the anti- 
sale system is not to save the game elsewhere, but the 
game of the State, And this is a purpose which is 
abundantly well worth securing and is so recognized, 
despite Judge Hanford's sneer at "the interests of a few 
sportsmen," It is not worth while to discuss here the 
relative importance of the "few sportsmen" and the 
"many" who want to eat imported game. The point is 
that the sale of game native and imported being generally 
prohibited in the close season throughout the United 
States, Judge Hanford declares that the system is based 
on statutes which are unconstitutional and therefore are 
void; and the relative importance of the interests of 
sportsmen and close time game consumers can have no 
bearing on the constitutional aspect of the subject. We 
are not advised whether this case will be carried up to a 
higher court, but we trust that it may be, for we believe 
that such an appeal would result in a complete vindication 
of the anti-sale of game statutes. ' 
It has been suggested that the point at issue has been 
settled by the Lacey Act, which provides that when 
game shall have been brought into a State as an article of 
interstate commerce it shall therefore become subject to 
the State law. But as we have pointed out, this is only a 
statement of an accepted principle. If, on the other 
hand, the Hanford view shall be upheld, the Lacey Act 
cannot affect the matter. For if a law prohibiting the sale 
of imported game is in violation of the Constitution, 
simple act of Congress can alter its unconstitutional na- 
ture. Congress may not enact that whit is unconstitu- 
tional shall be constitutional. The, (One ouly 'iwaty In whicH 
that can be achieved is by a cons^tutic al atnendtnent, 
