FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Jan. 18, 1902. 
tnve some law which will tax them harder and give 
nothing in return. Not satisfied with their success in the 
past they propose to go even further and tax the wild 
lands even more, in order to lessen the tax burden rest- 
ing on other classes of property which are so dependent 
on a flourishing forest growth. 
"The report of the distinguished chairman of 
the taxation committee appointed by the State 
Grange at their recent session in this city, voiced this 
sentiment quite emphatically, and this was followed by a 
resolution adopted by that body, indorsing the same idea. 
"Did any of you hear that, provided the wild lands 
did pay more tax, they would receive any part of the ben- 
efit resulting therefrom? Not by any means, because it 
is not so intended. 
"The State has given you — and by you I mean the fish 
and game interests — from the genera! fund to which the 
•wild lands contribute, $25,000 each year with which to 
plunder their forests, trespass all you will, burn if you 
choose, do almost anything you like, and has given the 
munificent sum of $400 annually for the purpose of pro- 
tecting forest property against damage by fires that per- 
haps you yourselves have started, and also for the pur- 
pose of making scientific investigation as to the best 
methods of preserving our forest growth, so essential to 
the future welfare of the State. 
*|is this right, just or fair? 
"As a land owner, I've no particular objection to your 
using my property within reasonable bounds for the pur- 
pose of either fishing or hunting; but I certainly have 
very serious objections to your leasing my land — which 
is what a hunting license virtually means — to other 
parties, and appropriating the proceeds for your own 
private use. 
"While I've not consulted with the numerous wild land 
owners of the State and therefore do not claim to be 
acting as their representative, I've no doubt they will 
agree with me fully in the idea that it would be just and 
lair to ask the Legislature to enact a license law similar 
to that proposed, but differing in this respect, viz., that 
every cent of revenue should be devoted to forestry in- 
terests, instead of fish and game interests. 
"This does not appeal to me as asking too much, be- 
cause we are virtually giving value received. In other 
words, we should be leasing the right to hunt and fish, 
carrying with it camping privileges, including necessary 
fuel, on our private property. 
'Under the present system, it is only at great personal 
expense that forest owners can guard against losses by 
fire, to say nothing of any other losses, occasioned by 
the carelessness or indifference or wanton disposition of 
the numerous tourists. 
"With the revenue derived from a license law such as 
I have indicated, embracing a provision that the total re- 
ceipts shall be used only for the purpose of guarding the 
property against losses by forest fires, and to gather and 
disseminate valuable information relative to forestry prob- 
lems, it seems to me that the idea of selfishness on our 
part should be entirely eliminated, excepting in so far 
as we should be relieved of a portion of the personal 
expense of protecting our property against your depre- 
dations. 
"We frankly admit that we should expect to be re- 
lieved of a part of the fire risk on account of a less num- 
ber of tourists, but please "bear in mind that we never 
invited them here. 
"You are the hosts, and as such common courtesy 
would demand that you provide the necessary entertain- 
ment to make their stay pleasant, without demai ding 
that we furnish all the facilities, stand all the risks, and 
'chip in' beside, when we are never benefitted. 
"We could stand this for a year or two without a mur- 
mur; but it seems to me that there is a disposition mani- 
fest to bear on a little harder than we can stand. All we 
demand is simple justice, but for that we must insist." 
Rhode Island Fish and Game Interests, 
Providence, R. I., Jan. n. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
In the General Assembly yesterday a resolution appro- 
priating $r,500 for the payment of bounties for the kill- 
ing of wild foxes was read and passed by the Senate. 
Gov. Charles Dean Kimball, in his message to the 
General Assembly last week, had the following to say 
concerning shell fisheries and inland fisheries: 
"The revenue to the State in rents from the lands 
leased for the raising of oysters is $25,691.25 for the year. 
During 1901 there have been leased additional lands to 
the number of 1.858 acres, which the commissioners esti-. 
mate will add more than $10,000 to the receipts of the 
current year. 
"The clam beds are an important source of revenue 
to many of the inhabitants of our State, Their depletion 
to any extent is to be seriously deplored. I urge that 
you consider measures for their protection. Attention 
should also be given to the preservation of the scallop 
fisheries. 
"The valuable work of the Commissioners of Inland 
Fisheries has been continued during the present year. 
They report that beside attending to the .usual work of 
stocking the streams and ponds and protecting the fish, 
they have made a strenuous effort this year to stop the 
illegal taking of short lobsters and egg lobsters, with a 
very gratifying degree of success. It is definitely known 
that a great many thousand lobsters have been returned 
to the water and given a chance to breed. You will 
doubtless be gratified to learn that the authority granted 
the commissioners to use certain land for experimental 
purposes has resulted in numerous tests of the feasibility 
of practical clam culture that promise to be successful." 
He also said concerning the protection of birds: "The 
commission report a very general support to their 
efforts on the part of the public, which is a matter for 
gratification. They call attention to a measure adopted 
at the January session, 1901, that they believe prevents 
the adequate protection of certain birds. They intend to 
bring before you at this season a bill calculated to im- 
prove existing legislation. They feel that extreme 
measures will be necessary to protect from extinction our 
ruffed grouse f commonly called partridge*" 
______ W. IT. M. 
Alt costiwtmieaHows itttettded t«? Penur awjj Stveme should 
always be addressed to the Forest *nd Stfe&ia P^Ufhfaf C»„ «&£ 
twit to say isdmdu*! connected with the g » p «r 
A Wild Tt»fcey Invades Asheville* 
Asheville, N, C., Jan. it, — Editor Faust and Stream; 
We frequently read in Forest an 11 Stukam abuiit quail 
killing themselves by flying against a huws'c, aird have 
several times during the past few years read of wild geese 
being confused by lights in windows and fires, etc., but I 
have never yet heard of a wild turkey being caught in the 
center of a city, which city measures several miles in 
diameter. Here is a note from an Asheville paper of 
Jan. 7, which contains an article, the truthfulness of which 
I can vouch for: 
"Last Thursday night about 10 o'clock, when Street 
Superintendent Bostic, who lives on Haywood street, 
stepped outside of his house, he heard cries, something 
like those made by a flock of geese over his head, and 
looking up saw a large bird circling round wildly in the 
air, evidently dazzled by the glare of the arc light which is 
located at that point. The bird, which proved to be a 
large wild turkey, attempted to alight in an oak tree, but 
crashed through the lines and dashed against the window 
of a room which had a light in .it. Then it fell to the 
ground and attempted to run, colliding, in its blindness, 
with a stone wall, and Mr. Bostic's son, Rex, grappled 
with it on the ground. 
"A wild turkey has great strength in its wings, and 
this one might have beaten itself free if Mr. Bostic had 
not come to the rescue. 
"The bird, which was captured without injuring it. was 
a big bronze specimen, weighing 18 pounds. It had 
evidently been disturbed in the mountains and in attempt- 
ting to fly over the city had become confused by the 
lights. Mr. Bostic and his family dined on wild turkey 
on Sunday, and state that it was fat and tender." 
It is very seldom that wild turkeys are now seen near 
Asheville, but judging from the number which have been 
seen on the streets this winter, they must be more plenti- 
ful in the mountains than they have been for several years 
past. C, P. A. 
Mississippi Valley Notes* 
Illinois State Game Commissioner A. J. Love joy, 
writing of the condition of the game fields in Illinois, 
says that so far as reports in his office go to show, the 
law is being closely adhered to through the State gener- 
ally. This applies especially to quail at this particular 
time, as the open season has but recently closed, and the 
report speaks volumes of the work of the Commissioner 
a new jersey group. 
and his wardens, in view of the fact that the late Legisla- 
ture left the quail almost unprotected. By vigorously de- 
claring and following the manifest intention of the law, 
the spirit of true sportsmanship has infused itself into 
practically all men who go afield; the farmers have sec- 
onded this work by declaring unanimously that no birds 
shall be shot after the middle of December, so that, while 
it was freely predicted six months ago. that quail would be 
speedily exterminated in this State, the supplpy of birds 
left over is unusually large, and the prospect for the 
coming season very good. However, the fact remains that 
our Illinois law is very faulty in its present shape, and all 
sportsmen will breathe easier when the next Legislature 
convenes and remedies present defects. 
Lovers of duck shooting in the Mississippi Valley, who 
were deprived of their favorite pastime last fall by rea- 
son of the fact that all lakes were dry and the wildfowl 
took another route south, are now afraid that they will 
meet with similar deprivation as to the spring shooting 
season. The birds have already begun moving northward, 
but there is no more water on the feeding grounds than 
during the fall season, and unless there are copious rains 
soon, the birds will hurry through this country, if, indeed, 
they come this way at all. F. C. R. 
The Long" Island Game Season* 
The upland hunting season on Long Island closed on 
Tuesday last, and hunters report the season a very good 
one. Small game, especially quail and partridge, have 
been plentiful, good bags being made. Woodcock have 
been more abundant than usual, Rabbits, for some rea- 
son, have been unusually scarce. It is said a disease at- 
tacked them. Fox hunting will be the next sport in 
season, and there is an abundance of them on the island. 
Opossums seem to have increased largely the last few 
years. The ducking season was a long one and a success- 
ful dm, hut closed by the freezing of the. bay. 
North Carolina Wildfowl. 
Currituck Sound, N. C— Editor Forest and Stream: 
Our canvasbacks this season are in the finest cond tion I 
have ever seen them. I weighed a bag of thirty-one 
birds yesterday, which weighed as follows : Two of 4% 
pounds each, three of 4^ pounds each, two of 4 pounds 
each, seven of 3^ pounds each, six of 2> l A pounds each, 
eleven of 3% pounds each. I attribute this to the very 
heavy crop of wild celery in our Sound, which is so abun- 
dant the game has done very little so far toward destroy- 
ing it. I shot fifteen Canada geese one day last week, 
which weighed from 9*4 to 14 pounds each. This is also 
unusual— in fact, all our birds seem in perfect condition. ( 
Mr. Curtis, of Boston, a member of the Swan Island 
Club, was on our island a few days ago. He said their , 
club had killed three thousand five hundred ducks up to 
Christmas. All the clubs, or a majority of them, have 
had the best shooting this season they have had in many 
years. 
The swans, for some reason, seem to be leaving our 1 
Sound. There are not half so many now as there were 
five years ago. I do not understand this, as I am quite 
certain that not one-tenth of the young birds that arrive 
are killed during any one season. I have been told re- 
cently, however, that they are seen in large numbers in 
the large sounds south of here off Kinnekeet, Hatteras 
and Ocracoke, where they have been seldom seen, except 
in small flocks. This may account for the scarcity here. 
I understand that black brant are more abundant in the 
Albemarle, Pamlico and Bogue sounds this season than 
ever. That section of Carolina from Oregon Inlet to 
Beaufort is destined to become a hunter's parad se, but 
unfortunately the water is too salty to grow wild celery, 
and the flavor of the game is not good. 
More Anon. 
A. Virginia Qwail Point* 
Mr. L. P. Blow, of Luraberton, Va., reports that the 
quail stock this year is a very abundant one. The sea- 
son will extend to Feb. 15. 
100 Sportsmen's Tinas. 
Some of the Qaeet Discoveries Made by Those Who Are 
Looking for Game or Fish. 
81 
Three boys of Union township, N. J., while hunting 
recently in the woods, chased a 'possum to the Essex 
county line, where it disappeared in a hole leading under 
a pile of stones. While engaged in d'-gging it out. they 
came across a wooden box containing more than one 
hundred silver spoons, knives and forks and four gold 
salt spoons. County Detective Keron, of Elizabeth, 
learned about the discovery and took possession of the 
silverware. Keron believes the silverware was stolen by 
tramps and hidden, awaiting an opportunity to safely dis- 
pose of it. ' 
3> 
Proprietors of fishing resorts will find it profitable to adveriise 
them in ForiSst ANP Stream. 
Connecticut Birds* 
MrAHTTf, Conn., Jan. 12. — There ace Lots of birds left 
over, and they seem to be doing well. Wtifl* fox buy- 
ing yesterday I flushed seven pheasants They must have 
been recently turned loose. There are lets m foxes this 
Trout Pictures. 
The one lying on the table is very pretty. It was given 
to me yesterday by a friend, and Fprize it highly, but it 
makes me think of a picture of trout I have in my m nd 
which is indel'ble and can never fade. The natural is 
always in evidence, when I think of it. Nearly forty 
years ago I went to school — not because I wanted to then, 
but because I was advised by older heads who attended to 
my welfare, that going to school was the proper thing 
for me. The school house was of the old New England 
type, situated under the shadow of grand old Ml. Tom, in 
Hampshire county, Massachusetts. I can see it now in- 
side and out — the old wooden benches hacked here and 
there by some boy long before me to see if his knife would 
cut ; the old cast-iron box stove about four feet long, and 
the teacher's ruler which was always in evidence on her 
desk, and the next hottest thing to the stove. All I can 
see now. Bujt I am off the subject. 
One afternoon in the month of May I happened to look 
up at the teacher and noticed her look out of the window 
and smile with a gentle blush (it was something unusual 
for me to see a teacher smile). Pretty soon there was a 
knock at the school house dcor ; the teacher went to the 
door, and I had a glimpse of a fishing rod. a man and 
a strap over his shoulder. The teacher brought him in. 
and, of course, he was invited to. look over the daily 
register; but I don't think he was as much interested in 
it as he was in our pretty and young school teacher, who 
had been out of the High School but a short time. I was 
in a bad fix. I wanted to see if that young man had any 
fish. I was too young then to go fishing alone, but if 
there was a chance to hang around or go with some 
older person and be in their way. I was always there, and 
the mere glimpse of a fish pole in the school house 
settled my studies for that day as far as books were 
concerned. 
I plucked up courage and tried to catch the teacher s 
eye, but it seemed as if she would never look my way. but 
I raised my hand and she said, "Well, what do you wish ?" 
"May I go out?" said I, and the usual, "Is it necessary?" 
came from her lips, and, of course, I said, "Yes'm." Well, 
I went out into the "entry," as we used to call it, and 
there in the corner I saw what I thought was the finest 
little fishing rod in the world, and hung up on a nail 
beside it was the creel. But it was so high that with my 
short .legs I ,could not reach it ; so I went to the wood- 
shed and procured a block of wood as large as I could 
lift and brought it out and stood on it, and then I lifted 
the cover off the "fish basket," removed the green grass 
from the top and saw a dozen or so of the # prettiest trout 
L mif gazed upo% lifted one out, and r it took both of 
rite llten Utde hands to hold if> But it was a great de- 
tijpft to tne to see those trout, and I remember as if it 
