430 
t^OHEST AND STREAM. 
[Dec. 1, igoD. 
Weights of QuaiL 
pR. Robert J. Carroll reports that two quail killed at 
Monmouth Junction, N. J., the other day, together 
weighed 15 ounces. 
Mr. E. Childs, of Brooklyn, tells us that of a bag of 
ten quail made by him the other day, the largest two 
weighed 16 ounces. 
A New York game dealer tells us that a bunch of 
twelve quail weighing pounds is considered a fair 
bunch ; but if a dozen are selected to make a good show 
they will weigh 5 pounds. Ohio quail run 5 pounds to the 
dozen. 
Two partridges weighed by the same firm tipped the 
scales at 4 pounds; this is above the average, which is 
izYz pounds for a brace of Pennsylvania partridges. 
New York, Nov. 23. — Editor Forest and Sffeam: When 
Didymus asked in your issue of the 17th inst for testi- 
mony as to the weight of quail in all sections of the 
country, I felt sure you would be at once deluged with 
statistics on that point. Probably by this time you have 
lots of data for Didymus, but if you have not and care 
to give him the following, here goes : 
Weights of four Long Island quail brought to my office 
on Wednesday, the 21st inst, three days after they were 
killed. Two cocks and two hens. The cocks weighed 
6^4 and sVz ounces respectively; each of the hens weighed 
just ounces. 
The above figures rather surprised me, for I had an 
idea that the' cock quail were larger than the hens. The 
554-ounce cock was a small bird for a Long Island quail, 
which I think with Didymus are considerably larger 
than any quail I ever shot in Virginia, or in any Southern 
State for the matter of that. We may both be wrong, but 
let some one bring along figures to prove the contrary. 
Edward Banks. 
Norfolk, Va.—Editof Forest and Stream: I was up 
at Ivor, on the N. & W. Ry. last fall shooting quail with 
a friend of mine, and the evening of that day, as we sat 
around the fire of mine host, we were entertained by an 
old gentleman who was an entlnisiast over field sports 
still, although he must have been then close to seventy. 
He had been out that day and had as an exhibit of his 
.=;kill a fat hen turkey. He had called her to his blind 
with a call made of a cigar box and a piece of slate. He 
fished for the large-mouthed black bass on the Black- 
water River with a bob, to wit. : three hooks in a tri- 
angle, hidden in a deer's tail and adorned with red 
flannel. J. F. D. 
PoTTSViLLE, Pa., Nov. 23. — Editor Forcst and Stream: 
A large quail yesterday of a small bag weighed 8 ounces 
exactly; it was a hen bird. The next largest, a cock, 
weighed 7 ounces. These quail are unquestionably de- 
scendants from Kansas quail, "which have been regularly 
.stocked here for the last five or six years. 
Remlap. 
Treed by a Moose. 
West River, Sheet Harbor, N. S — Editor Forest nnd 
Stream: I think during the open season of this 1900 
there have been more than 300 moose slain by rifles in the 
hands of our hunters in this Province. Notwithstanding 
that number taken away, hunters report this big game still 
plentiful, and this they credit to the fecundity of the 
cows, which is of recent occurrence. A few years back we 
would seldom see but one calf with the mother; now 
almost invariably two cah^es accompany the dam, which 
accounts for their rapid increase. 
A large bull moose in his forest home, is a sight worth 
admiring. Several years ago I had a party of forty men 
erecting a dam on Sheet Harbor waters for log driving 
purposes. It was in the forest privemal, a good home for 
moose. One morning the cook told me that the camp 
was out of beef, which meant a trip to the settlement to 
obtain the desired article— a fifteen-mile tramp. I left a 
double-barreled gun in the camp, as it was a heavy 
weapon, and might impede my progress somewhat. After 
traveling about a mile my attention was attracted by a 
rustling in the bushes near by. Looking in the direction 
of the sound, there stood the biggest wild animal my eyes 
ever beheld. He had been seen once or twice before, and 
was called the big moose. I was going to the settlement, 
fifteen_ miles away, for beef, and there stood a pile of it 
one mile from the camp, and I had nothing to shoot with. 
I knew it was useless to go for the gun, for on ray return 
this fellow would be elsewhere. 
Hunting the big game is good sport, but sometimes is 
attended with a little danger, for a wounded moose when 
aroused to passion is no mean adversary. To this the 
experience of two of our himters a short time ago can 
testify. Their names are Malay and Tupper, and both 
are scientific at the business. It happened among the 
trees at Sheet Harbor. N. S., a noted place for big game. 
We' will let them tell their own story, however : 
"The morning was all that could be desired for hunt- 
ing. We saw plenty of moose, but not of the right gender. 
At last a big fellow came up at the sound of our bark 
horn. He was a magnificent monarch of the forest, with 
broad antlers and sleek, glossy hide, that glistened in the 
morning sun. We could not but admire his whole make- 
up as he gazed at us with defiance, shaking his ponderous 
head. The wind was coming from the noble fellow in 
our direction, consequently he did not scent us. and 
stood for quite a while, not attempting to get awav. as 
moose depend on their nostrils to tell of danger. 'Tup- 
per.' Malay whispered, 'what a pity to knock that fellow 
over._ At the same time I have great admiration for those 
massive horns, and would like to possess them ; they must 
be 6 feet across, so here goes.' 
"Malay let cut with his rifle. The bullet must have hit 
hard, for at the report the huge fellow bit the ground. 
Supposing the bullet had done fatal work, Malay at5- 
proached the anima! to bleed him when up jumped the 
moose and made for the hunter. Malay thought discre- 
tion the better part of valor, and put for a convenient 
rock, «p which he scrambled with alacrity. Tupper. see- 
ing what mood the moose was in. thought it a good place 
to leave, dropped his rifle and climbed a leaing tree that 
was fortunately near, Malay, from tijs rock fort called to 
Tupper to fire and dispatch the angry aninlal, who was 
defiantly boss of the situation, Tupper answered, 'I can- 
not, I am up a stump, or rather a tree, and my rifle is on 
the ground at the foot of the tree.' 'Well,' says Malay, 
'we are in a fix surely.' Tupper fortunately thought of 
a piece of twine he had in his pocket, made a loop on orie 
end and dropped it over the lock of his gun, drew it iVq 
to his perch, took good aim and laid the game lifeless." 
It was some time before the adventure became known of 
two of our best hunters being treed by a moose. McF, 
Veteran and Novice. 
BEiSTOf^, N. H., Nov. 17.— "Don't try to know how 
much kindling wood you can make out of a brush pile 
should the track lead you across one. Step round it and 
step lightly, with eyes well ahead; and should you see 
your deer standing in the thicket or lying down on the 
sunny side of the ridge before he sees you, don't stop to 
think what a handsome sight it is, but bring your rifle 
instantly to cover, then fire." 
Such was the advice given to Bert, a novice in deer 
stalking, the other morning, when ai light fall of snow 
the previous night made the old hunter and Bert thrill 
with anticipation of getting a sight at a fine buck, or 
maybe a good fat doe. 
Up on the side of Cardigan Mountain in Alexandria, in 
this State, the old hunter and the novice, with well oiled 
rifles in hand and gum shoes on their feet, started to pick 
out a fresh trail on the first snow of the season. A trail 
was soon struck. Bert was given his advice, and told 
off to follow it to a finish. After trailing it for half a 
mile or so. he came upon a larger track, so he concluded to 
follow that, having well in mind the injunction, "Keep 
your eyes well ahead." About two hours of cautious 
tracking brought him to a beech ridge, on which thi 
warm sun striking made it seem the ideal place for a mid- 
day nap — not for the novice, oh, no ! but for the deer. 
Bert's eyes were wide open and hard at work looking 
through the second growth and against the few remaining 
beeches. What is that? It looks like a head sticking out 
from behind that old beech there on the riglit. 'There 
are horns on it. Yes, it is a buck's head, with gaze 
earnestly fixed on the astonished novice. But Bert was 
novice no longer. He realized he was "up against" a deer, 
a big one too. Bringing his .38-40 Winchester to cover, as 
per instructions, he sighted for the part of the neck he 
could see and pulled. The buck dropped in his tracks, 
shot through the jugular vein, and a hoot which came 
across the woods to the ears of the old hunter told him 
the story of the successful shot. If was a five-prong buck 
and wei^ied 300 pounds. So Bert steps out of the novice 
class into the full-fledged deer hunter. 
When the old hunter parted company v/ith Bert, he 
made a wide circle to the southeast, and taking a track 
which told that a doe and two kids had passed that 
way, followed quietly after, through thicket and open, 
ever up and up, till suddenly he heard a jump and snort 
and quickly saw a rump and white flag disappearing 
through the bushes. At the first shot she swerved a little, 
but still kept on as though she was in hurry to get into the 
next county of Orange, where. deer are protected, the 
.44 Marlin keeping up its quick work to make her change 
her mind. The eleventh and last shot, just as she was 
about to disappear over the ridge, struck her through the 
spine and brought her down, a nice fat doe of 208 pounds. 
Thtts ended a day's outing for Wm. Rice, formerly of 
Fredericton, N. B„ and Bert Robbins, of Bristol. N. ,H. 
Other deer killed within a few miles of this to' im 
were by Frank Marston, a buck of 165 pounds ; Pat Adatns,. 
two deer, saAV them together and shot them both ; A. 
Nelson, boy fifteen years of age. tracked his deer on tl 
light snow and brought him down, a buck of 270 oounds ; 
Arlie George and George Follansbee, one deer each, 
S. H. 
Maine and Massachusetts. 
Boston, Nov. 26. — Almost nightly snow flurries in 
northern iVlaine have made accr nunting comparatrveiy 
easy, and Dut lor me tact tliat deer arc not to tie touuu 
as readily as lormerJy ttiere would have been a gieac 
uacrease in the returns. As it is the number swipped 
through Bangor shows an increase over the preceomg 
week, the number being 419 deer, agamst 249 for the 
week before. iMoose also snow an increase, tlie number 
counted there being 16, agamst 4 for the preceding week. 
But after all the number is smaller than a year ago, and 
everybody is casting about for the cause. The Maine 
papers say that the Fish atid Game Commissioners do 
not attribute the scarcity of deer to September shooting, 
while the same papers almost universally declare that the 
September license law is doomed. Thcj^ saj' that the 
tiniber land owners will demand that the law be repealed, 
it is also being suggested by prominent game protectors 
that the State issue a gun license to sportsmen going 
into the woods, and that the license be refunded on the 
sportsman's return; no licenses being isstied in close time. 
The attempt will also be made to stop all buying of game. 
This will bo mighty tough on so many of the mighty 
hunters, who go down to Maine and return with their 
full quota of deer. If the shooting of moose and deer 
by Maine guides — licensed guides at that — -and then sell- 
ing the game to sportsm^en can be stopped, one of the 
greatest step toward game protection will have been 
taken. Indeed, the Boston markets are getting littl? 
other game this fall than that bought of returning sports- 
men. Each returning hunter brings his two deer, and 
he steers them directly towa-d the markets. The license 
law whereby a sportsman can send out a deer without 
accompanying it also needs amending. Such deer all 
steer directly for the markets. Larger nurnbers of deer 
are coming out from the Dead River region. William 
Bell, of Boston, came out from that region the other day 
with a buck that counted eight points to his antlers. 
M. M. Bronson and J. W. Hudson, of Mattaoan, have 
come home with two does and a large buck. There are 
rumors of a party of eight Massachusetts hunters return- 
ing from Dead River last week with 15 deer. If this is 
the party that is saying ^:erv little about their trip, it is 
certain that Boston markets got the most of the deer. 
Kinerfield. Me., retiorts say that last week the banner 
week fo^r big-srame hunters. For the week 27 deer came 
o«t over the Franklin h Meg^ntip r3i"!road. 
Good bird shooting is .reported from the vicinity of 
Chatham and all along the Cape shore. Coot shooting 
has been very good indeed. Some large flocks of blacii 
duck have appearedj but hunters say that they arp very 
wary and will not come to the decoys. 
Now Boston IS to have a tail sportsmen's show. The 
old Park .Square station has been remodeled. A track 
has been constructed around the building for racing pur- 
poses, and a six-day bicycle race is to be a feature, among 
other athletic sports. Through the center of the build- 
ing will be a collection of wild animals, said to include 
every specimen of game animal that Maine produces. 
A display of fish is also to be a feature, and 10,000 fish 
from the various New England hatcheries are advertised 
to be shown. An Indian village will also be a feature. 
Commissioner Buffington, whose death occurred last 
week, was a member of tlie Oquossoc AngHng Associa;- 
tion, and lent his energy and influence to the good of 
that Association, one of the earliest in the history of the 
Rangeleys. It w^as always a treat to "swap trout yarns" 
with Commissioner Buffington, because one felt that 
only the truth was being told, and told by a scholarly man 
and a man of experience. He delighted in travel, and 
has spent considerable time in Europe. The last time I 
met him, going up Lake Mooselucmaguntic on the little 
steamer. Pie told me of his trip around the world, but 
remarked that he had come back to that lake for his 
annual trout fishing. 
E. M. Gillam, oi the Boston Advertiser, and his 
brother, A. M. Gillam, city editor of the Philadelphia 
Record, are both great lovers of dog and gun. They 
are just back to business from their annual bird shooting 
trip. This year they went by invitation to the preserve 
of the Littany Club, in, the Blue Rdge country of Penn- 
sylvania, not far from Bellefonte. The preserve is on 
Che slopes of Bald P'agle Mountain, and is all that the 
wealthy owners can desire as to high altitude, spring 
water and woods almost equal to primitive. The trout 
streams are a delight to the heart of the angler, and are 
protected by caretakers, Vi'ho are presumed to make daily 
rounds to prevent all poaching. Restocking is receiving 
proper attention, with artificial ponds and pools. The 
preserve includes many thousand acres, in some case the 
fishing and shooting rights being leased of the farmers 
and land owners. Mr. Gillam found that the farmers 
cared very little about shooting, but that they were not 
debarred from doing so by the terms of the lease. The 
preserve is partly stocked with wild turkeys, and next 
year a good many yotwg bronze turkeys are to be reared 
till they can take care of themselves, and then liberated. 
The belief is that they will quickly become wild and breed 
with the wild turkeys. The Gillams enjoyed a turkey hunt 
but got no turkeys, though they saw where they had 
been. Quail shooting was only fair, since they were 
there after the club members had done their shooting. 
They found the club house a delight, and the guides and 
caretakers all that heart could wish. 
Special. 
Quail and Woodchuck. 
East VVkitman, Mass. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
In my many experiences with game birds, I notice the 
most peculiar traits in the quail. While visiting friends 
in a little town last Sunday, I happened to look out of 
the kitchen window and saw not 10 feet from the house 
five quail feeding tmder a .small apple tree. They were 
apparently as contented and as much at home as though 
in their native haunts and miles from civilization. They 
did not seem to mind me a.s I stood watching them, but 
remained for some tirne, and finally flew across the 
•street to the woods. 
Another incident which was a surprise to me occurred 
one day in the early fall. As I was walking in the woods 
my dog was some distance ahead of me, and 1 was startled 
by his furious barking as if in a combat, I hastened to 
the spot, and found him at the foot of a young oak. while 
.pme 20 feet above I saw a small animal clinging to the 
trunk. At first I took it to be a coon, but it turned out 
to be a woodchuck. Perhaps many readers of Forest and 
Stre.am have seen them climb trees, but this was my first 
opportunity, and I understand it to be a rare occurrence. 
Quail are quite plenty in this section; they seem to be 
in large flocks, ranging from fifteen to thirty in a bunch. 
Rabliits arc also plentj', but partridges very scarce. 
H. E. B. 
Saranac Lake Deer Hounding^. 
S.\ranac Lake, N. Y., Nov. ig. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: In your issue of Nov. 10 I find an article 
headed "Adirondack Hounding," in which it is said that 
the game warden of this locality does not care whether 
hounding is going on or not, and your correspondent say; 
they all do it. Now this report is a falsehood from start 
to finish. I liave been game protector of this locality since 
1896, and have always tried to do my duty, and if your 
correspondent from this place can show me where at any 
time I did not do my duty I should be pleased to know 
it- Also hereafter I would request you not to publish mat- 
ter concerm'ng my ofllcal duties unless it can be 
proven. I would state that very few dogs have been 
running in the w-oods this fall, and what few there were 
have been apprehptided and fined.. 
Isaiah VosbltrgiI, l^rcjctfector. 
The Mt. Vernon (N. Y.) Deer. 
It is believed that the two deer seen near Mt, Vernon 
about Nov. 15 Eire strays which escaped from a deer 
park in New York State, not far from the Hudson 
River. About Nov. i a Mr. DeGraaf, of Oscawana. N. 
Y.. a villaee between Croton Landing and Congers, on 
the N. Y. C. & H. R. R. R., lost ten deer, which escaped 
from their inclosure. This is the first one to be shot. 
About the date mentioned two deer were seen near Strat- 
ford, Conn., and and the tracks of another seen in the 
town of Milford. It seems likely that all of these may 
have belonged tojhe same lot, though the precise date 
when the deer in Connecticut were seen is not recalled. 
Sff thf tift of good fhm^s in Woodcraft in our adv. eofs. 
