06 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST, 
No Protectioo for IKioois Quail» 
Chicago, IU., Jime 2t. — ^Early this week there was hur- 
rying in hot haste among the shooters of Chicago. Copies 
of the new game law were at hand for the first time, and 
sportsmen of this part of the State could hardly believe 
their eyes when they found that, owing to some unfore- 
seen event or other, the new game law has left the Bob 
White quail of this State absolutely without protection, as 
also the woodcock. 
We have had splendid crops of quail in this State for the 
last two seasons, last fall being an exceptionally good 
one. Yet there is nothing but the most criminal care- 
lessness which could have explained the shocking negli- 
gence on the part of the legislators of this State. It might 
perhaps be called negligence on the part of the sportsmen 
of the State, but this would be too sweeping an accusa- 
tion. As a matter of fact, the Legislature of the State of 
Illinois ought to be a body of men intelligent enough to 
look after this branch of the law-making requirements as 
Avell as those governing the erection of Government build- 
ings and the local river and harbor improvements. There 
is not the slightest likelihood of there being a special ses- 
sion of the Legislature to rectify this egregious blunder, 
and hence we must go on for two years with absolutely no 
protection for the Illinois quail. It is a case inciting 
sportsmen to the most bitter recriminations. 
Yet the sportsmen have none but themselves to blame, 
and perhaps hereafter they may learn to give better at- 
tention to their own concerns. It is not the fault of any 
one organization in this city or this State any more than 
it is the fault of any one of the sportsmen making up 
this, that or the other organization. As a matter of fact, 
the sportsmen of Illinois ought to have a representative at 
Springfield every session of the Legislature. This will 
require money, and more than that, it will require time 
and individual attention. There is no use wasting- time 
in general and vague squealing over this matter now that 
it has happened. Yet the fact is none the more palatable 
for this. Illinois stands before the bar of the sportsman- 
ship of the United States guilty of criminal negligence. 
The New Illiaois Game "Warcfco. 
Mr. A. J. Lovejoy, of Roscoe, 111., the newly appointed 
Fish and Game Commissioner of this State, paid the 
Forest and Stream office a A^ery pleasant visit this week. 
Mr. Lovejoy is a man of fine stature and commanding 
presence, and if he is not willing and able to perforrn 
the duties of the office, then certainly "he deceives his 
looks," as they say in the backwoods precincts. He 
says that Avliile he has not as yet had much experience in 
the matters of practical protection of game, he is' no worse 
off than any one else who takes an office, and he modestly 
claims one advantage which has not been possessed by all 
the wardens of the great and glorious State of Illinois. He 
states that he does not intend to see how much he can 
make out of the office. He purposes to content himself 
with the salary of the office and does not wish to go out 
with a sandbag and a club and hold up people, be they 
game dealers, restaurant keepers or club members. He 
wants to give the people of this State a good, square, 
heel-and-toe administration in the office of the fish and 
game warden. To that end he is looking about for a 
deputy game warden to represent him here in Chicago. 
Although he is only a few miles out of the city, he recog- 
nizes the fact that he ought to have a man here at all 
times ready to telephone him at any time and ready to 
take the initiative whenever the proper time shall appear. 
Realizing that the selection of this deputy is an im- 
portant one, Mr. Lovejoy is taking his own time and look- 
ing over the ground very thorough^. He has consulted 
with several friends in the city as to the best man to be 
found for this position, and the choice is perhaps practi- 
cally concluded at this writing. It would be rather a. 
violation of Mr. Lovejoy's confidence to state who this 
man is apt to be, but it is sufficient to state that the selec- 
tion as it appears to-day bids fair to be satisfactory to 
those who really mean business. Just what it may mean 
to the game dealers of South Water street is something 
that remains to be seen. Let us hope that they will 
cordially hate and detest the new game warden ap- 
pointed for Chicago. The probabilities are that they will 
do so. 
The sportsmen of Chicago and of Illinois ought to give 
to the new fish and game warden their cordial and un- 
divided support. There ought not to be any politics in 
these matters, for, though tlie appointment be a political 
one, there ought to be back of it among the people that 
cordial and honorable spirit of all true politics • which 
accepts the nominee after he has been chosen. It is no 
difference if we have this or the other. man whom we 
personally wanted to see in such and such an office. When 
a man has been chosen to an office, he is entitled to that 
office, and moreover should receive the aid and confidence 
of the citizens he represents. Mr. Lovejoy is going to 
give us a good, square, honest administration,^ and as such 
he deserves the sympathy and aid of every citizen of this 
city. He will get it. too. or at least that of every sports- 
man Avhose influence amounts to anything. 
Don't Know About It. 
The following pleasant note was received from Mr. 
Fred Irland, of Washington, D. C, but does not quite 
explain itself : "I hear," said he, "that you are going up 
Tobique way this fall with Ad Moore. You are to_ be 
congratulated. I was with our good uncle, Henry Braith- 
waite, on a bear-killing expedition this spring for seven 
weeks. We saw thirty-five moose, but not mariy caribou 
and deer, and we devastated the bear." 
I am glad to hear that the bear have been devastated by 
Mr, Irland and Uncle Henry, and am also glad to reflect 
that they did not devastate all those moose. As to my 
going to New Brunswick this fall, it would be almighty 
good news if I could believe it. But one of these days I 
am going to have a hunt with big Ad Moore, just to see 
how it goes. This business of working is a most 
monotonous affair at best. Meantime, if anybody has lost 
a moose, I reckon that Ad Moore could locate that moose 
if anybody could. 
The Virtooosest Place. 
';^he keeper of a summer resort in the State of Wiscon- 
sin, who appeals very largely to the support of Chicago 
anglers, takes exception to the statement that all Wiscon- 
sin resorts sell "mutton" in the summer season or allow 
it to be killed by tlieir guests. I am glad to hear from 
this virttiousest place, and am very willing to believe that 
the writer is really doing all he can to prevent this illegal 
killing of deer in the summer time. As to the general 
truthfulness of the assertion that the Wisconsin resorts 
either wink at or openly encourage the killing of deer by 
their guests, it is too well known to require further re- 
assertion or comment. The letter reads as follows : 
"You give all the summer resorts in Wisconsin a bad 
name. I believe there are exceptions. I sent a bill to 
the Legislature last winter myself to have the female 
deer protected. I would like to see the game laws en- 
forced my.'!elf. I will not say that there has not been a 
piece of Axnison served on my table, but will say this 
much, that under the present laws if there is any mut- 
ton serv^ed on my table it will be from some packing 
house in Chicago. I tihnk myself that any man who 
will kill a doe and fawn at this season of year ought to 
be prosecuted. I believe I have done as much toward 
the preserving of fish and game as any other man in 
this part of the country. I will say furthermore that 
during fly time ten to thirty deer can be seen on the 
lakes of- our resorts every day, and it is not necessary 
that their hides should be bulleted through." 
Uses ol Birch Baik. 
Everybody knows what a useful material is the beautiful 
bark of the birch tree, and no one has ever lived in the 
North Woods who has not found it to subserve a score of 
useful purposes. A newspaper item of this week states 
that some carpenters were recently tearing down a house 
in an old city located in the Northeastern pine woods, 
which house had been built more than too years ago. In 
tearing down the house the carpenters found that it had 
been originally sheathed or lined with sheets of birch 
bark, which had been nailed over the cracks between the 
boards, the sheets being held by small hand-made wrought 
iron nails, heavy clapboards having been nailed in turn 
above the bark. This house was built in 1782, and it had 
always been warm and comfortable. Our ancestors may 
not have had tar paper and the like, but they had some- 
thing which was prettv nearly as good. 
E. HoucH. 
Hartfobd BuixBiNO, Chicagfo. 111. 
hours he was there, but this fish weighed between 3 and 4 
pounds, and the fun he had with him in about 6 feet of 
water fully came up to Mr. Georges most sanguine ex- 
pectations. 
Phtnce Bay, N. V , June 19. 
*** 
On Staten Island. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Some time ago in a personal correspondence we had I 
jnentioned the fact that Ave Avere putting out some quail on 
Staten Island, and you Avished me later on to report the 
result. The quail Avere put out by the Richmond County 
Fish and Game ProtectiA^e Association early this spring. 
Some Averc let out at Tottenville, others at Prince Bay, 
Kreicherville, Hugtrenot and Green Ridge. I haA'^e heard 
encouraging reports from the vicinitj^ of all these places. 
Here at Prince Bay Ave can hear the familiar call of Bob 
White any morning in several different places within a 
radius of two miles. Indications point to good results. 
The cover for quail here is excellent, though I am afraid 
ther« is not enough grain raised to carry the birds through 
the winter, but in that case we Avill feed them. 
Our quail of course have their enemies here as well as 
in other places — for instance, the pot-hunter, the cat and 
the rising generation Avith their Flobert rifles, but the 
Richmond County Game Association has had good game 
protectors appointed for this end of Staten Island and the 
evil doer will have to be shy in his violation of game 
laws. Some time ago our Avorthy game protector for this 
locality, Mr. Van Tobin, took a man to court for shooting 
robins. The man said he thought it Avas a croAV, but 
the judge thought $25 was about right for shooting that 
kind of a croAv, and the culprit paid his fine without a 
murmur. Probably that man can go among his associates 
noAV and brag of his knoAvledge in ornithology, having 
paid a good price to find out the difference between a 
robin and a croAV, but I don't thmk he Avill. 
Staten Island is a great place. The woods are full of 
mighty hunters. We have men here who are hoAvling to 
haA-e the island stocked Avith rabbits. There are lots of 
rabbits here in any locality, and where a rabbit can thrive 
you can find them: but these same men, who want more, 
let their hounds run rabbits all the spring and summer and 
catch the young ones. The other day a man told me that 
his neighbors' hounds had chased an old rabbit under his 
piazza, and the old rabbit did not have hair enough on 
her body to wad a gun Avith. The fact is, the old rabbit 
had all her fur and hair somewhere in a nest to keep her 
little ones vvarm and dry, and she had led the hounds on a 
Avild goose chase. 
There are quite a number of young broods of woodcock 
around here now, but the first dry spell they will go, but 
not all will go that start. The island is so threaded with 
electric light, telephone and telegraph wires that a great 
many woodcock are killed in their flight. 
Rail birds are nesting here noAV. Almost every night I 
hear them utter that sharp, piercing note peculiar to their 
brooding time. Last year at about this time I found a 
rail bird's nest, and the sitting bird was so fearless I 
could put out my hand and she would peck at the end 
of my fingers and scold in great style. Finally she would 
jump off her nest and circle around me among the reeds 
and cattails, uttering a most plaintive shriek. At last the 
village boys found the nest and kept bothering with it 
and finally took out the eggs and broke them, and I think 
killed the old bird. A neighbor and I talked to those 
boys in a kind and proper way, but the devil was born 
in them, and it Avas jitst as much fun for them to kill that 
bird and destroy her nest as to take their Flobert rifles and 
break incandescent lamps along the back roads. 
Weakfish, have been here the past two weeks and soine 
good catches have been made — that is. good for this 
time of year, and taking into consideration the weather. 
The fish are taken on what we call the flats. Here in 
Prince Bay they are mostly tide runners, but some very 
small fish have been caught, not more than 8 inches long. 
This seems strange, as we generally count on very large 
fish in on the flats. It is not a common occurrence here 
to catch anything of that size except out in the channel. 
Last cA^ening, June 18, Henry George, of this place, Avent 
out on the flats and caught only one weakfish in the two 
ANGLING NOTES. 
Shad Culture 10 Hudson River. 
The shad fishermen of the Hudson River seem never 
to be quite suited with the conditions Avhich exist in the 
river during the shad season, and the laAVS which govern 
the fishing are also not to their liking. Last season the 
shad were so abundant that the fishermen were 
reported to have taken up their nets before the 
end of the season, as shad were too cheap, and this sea- 
son there are complaints that shad are scarce before the 
season is over, though they Avere numerous during the 
early run of the fish. A specific complaint has been 
brought to my notice in the Catskill Examiner that is 
so full of errors and misinformation that it demands a 
reply from some one, and I quote from the article in 
part: 
"The veteran fisherman, Jacob Conine, explained to 
an Examiner reporter Avhat he thought was the cause of 
the scarcity of shad in this part of the country. As he 
has fished in these waters many years, and has made it 
a study by observation and reading, it is safe to say that 
be speaks authoritatively. This is Avhat he said: 'Why 
is it that there are so few shad caught in this sectioti of 
the country?' Well, for one reason, I will say this: 
Soon after the shad hatcheries Avere started along the 
Hudson River we noticed that our catches became less 
and less each year. We also noticed thousands of shad 
fry floating dead upon the surface of the Avater. Now 
those in charge of the fish hatcheries say that a fish does 
not look after its young, but leaves them to shift for 
themselves, and as soon as they have spawned they go 
away. Now, I knoAV as a fact, from my own observation, 
that this is not true. Why, I have, seen a bullhead dig a 
hole in the mud several inches deep and lay its eggs. 
They do not leave the spot for any length of time, but 
remain there until the fish are hatched. They stay with 
the little fish until thej^ are large enough to look out for 
themselves. This is trtie of all kinds of fish. The small 
ones need looking after. 
" 'Now, what do the men employed in the hatcheries do? 
They are paid $25 a night to fish for roe shad. These 
shad go on the flats or near the banks to spawn, and are 
caught. Those not needed in the hatcheries are put in 
barrels and sent away to be eaten. As soon as the young 
fish are hatched in the hatcheries they are dumped over- 
board, and the most of them die from neglect. If this 
thing is kept up, in a few years there Avill be no_ shad. 
Why, I have seen more fish taken from the river in one 
day" than there is now in a season. In some streams 
fishermen may fish seven days in the week, but here we 
are permitted to fish but five days, and pay a license of 
$T per net. In the State of Vermont the fish hatcheries 
are maintained for less than $7,000 a year. In New York 
State .$100,000 Avill not pay the expenses, and a number 
have made themseh^es Avealthy in the business.' " 
It may be true, as the Examiner reporter states, that 
Mr. Conine has read and observed, but it is quite evident 
from his interview that he has not observed the habits 
of shad, nor has he read anything about them that is 
reliable, and the entire intervicAV is the rankest balderdash 
that was ever put out seriously by a neAVSpaper upon the 
subject of fish culture, and as for its containing facts, it 
deserves to rank with that other newspaper essay Avhich 
declared that the United States Fish Commission was 
crossing the shad with the jellyfish to eliminate the 
bones; a cross which would be as fruitful as a cross 
between a Avindow shutter and a bull pup. There is one 
fact in this Avonderful interview, but it is not the one that 
Mr. Conine declares to be such from his observation, for 
in that he is utterly Avrong. The bullhead does guard its 
spawn and brood its young after they are hatched, until 
they separate, and there are two other fishes that do the 
same thing, but the shad is not one of them, the other 
lAvo being the black bass and sunfish. Because Mr. 
Smith plays golf on Slinday it does not folloAV that Mr. 
Robinson. Avho lives in the same block, is a devotee of 
the game and swipes the ball on the same day of the 
Aveek. The shad does exactly as the hatchery men told 
him, spawns and leaves the spawn and resulting fry, if 
any, to fate, and this is no new thing with shad, for they 
have done it ever since men Jcnew anything about shad. 
Can Mr. Conine produce any evidence that any one has 
ever seen, not thousands, but a single dead shad fry float- 
ing on the surface of the river? Shad fry are alrnost 
transparent, and in a glass of water held up to the light 
they are scarcely distinguishable by the unobservant, 
and' one man drank a lot of them in the water he dipped 
from a can in the glass used for the purpose of examin- 
ing the fry. It is not unusual for people to go into the 
shad hatchery at Catskill and with hundreds of thousands 
of shad fry m tanks level Avith their eyes, and glass on 
all sides, with a good light for background, ask where 
the young shad are. It is for this reason that I wonder 
if any one could see dead fry in the river even if they were 
there. 
This is exactlv Avhat is done by the State in hatchmg 
shad for the Hudson River in the shad station at Cats- 
kill. One man from another State hatchery is sent there 
to take charge of this work, and two old shad fishermen 
are employed on the spot. This constitutes the State 
force. A professional shad fisherman, who has a seine 
hauling ground near the hatchery, receives $20 per day 
from the State. This man employs a crew of twelve men 
in seine hauling for shad and herring. When the seine Is 
hauled tAvo of the meii from the hatchery are present and 
examine the fish, and if any ripe females are found they 
are spaAvned artificially. The only condition imposed by 
the State is that a given number of hauls must be made, 
if necessary, on each day that he is paid. 
If the eggs of the spawning shad were not taken by 
the hatchery men they would be lost, as shad neters never 
