Nov. 28, 1903.] 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
421 
There is a finfe pack a feW niileS sbtitll of Ralelgli belottg- 
insr to a Mr. Stephenson. For mah-y years the late Mf. 
William Boylan kept a noted pack hefe, and later Mf. 
Carapbsll had a fine one. There are plenty of foxeS thk^ 
srason, and they are seen within a mile or two of this 
city. 
The United States Fish Commission car has been here 
and in other points in this section for a week or more, 
distributing black bass and bream, mainly to private 
pcnds. The fishing for black bass (called bere chub and 
perch) has been excellent all the autumn, in fact un- 
usually C'ood. 
Mr. William Robbins, whose home is two miles from 
Raleigh, is breeding beagles for use in rabbit hunting on 
his extensive farm. He has had bad fortune in losing 
some of his finest dogs. 
Vermont Game. 
Enosburg Falls, Vt., Nov. 16. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Where are the wild geese? Up to the present 
jime but a few small flocks have put in an appearance in 
this vicinity. This must mean mild weather away north, 
and when they do come their stay with us will be but for 
a short time, as our marshes will soon be frozen up solid. 
The migratory flight of bifds southward is a thing but 
imperfectly understood by the general public. It is our 
belief that many times the migratory flight of birds is 
high in the air, and that they ny long distances without 
stopping to feed or rest. 
Late one afternoon in October some years ago we wit- 
nessed such a flight. Figuratively speaking the heavens 
above were full of birds of all kinds and sizes going 
Southward. The geese, ducks, gulls, and other variety 
of large birds Were flying very high, mere spedks iti the 
air, and without doubt extended far beyond the vision 
of the naked eye. Their cries and calls nlade such a 
clamor that the noise first called my attention to the 
flight. 
They were all flying in a slow plodding kind of a Way, 
as though they had come a long distance and had still a_ 
long journey ahead of them to go. With the exception of 
the strata of bluebirds who were quite near the ground, the 
old birds were going on at a steady gait, but the young 
birds were darting about here and there and chirrupping 
in a frolicsome manner, as though they considered this 
migratory business a great lark; they would alight on a 
stump or a roek for a moment, then rush on to Catch up 
wilh the old parent birds. A severe dold wave followed 
this flight which brought our pleasant weather to a sild- 
den close. 
As for game notes in this vicinity this season, native 
bred ducks have been quite abundant in our marshes, and 
in some localities the ruffed grouse and woodcock have 
been very plentiful, though most of the woodcock were 
Ihght birds- Where the late frosts last spring did not 
Ir-ch and destroy the nuts, gray squirrels are fairly plen- 
liril. The farmers' friends, red foxes, are here in 
roodly numbers. A couple of our local hunters have so 
far bagged eleven of the mouse hunters. From the 
general smell around the Country We should say that the 
••^knlik trapper is meeting with powerful success. It is a 
fjict of natural history not generally known that the color 
of the skunk found up among the rocky hills is far 
blacker than those found down on the sandy plains. 
We have no report as yet as to the exact number of 
deer killecl in this State during the past open season. It 
will quite likely exceed that of past years. A large num- 
ber of does have been reported aS being found shot. 
We have always claimed that too short an open Season 
is a grave mistake; If we are to have an open season, 
we should have one long enough to rob it of its novelty. 
During the short open season of ten days the whole male 
population of our country and many of our neighbors 
were out with guns, and scouring through our small 
woods they Started out every deer, who were almost sure 
to bump aginst a fellow with a loaded gun, and _ it is a 
wonder that any escaped without being either killed or 
wounded, and too many of the gunners that were, out 
would blaze away at anything that was a deer, which 
accounts for the large number of dead does and fawns 
found lying about our fields, food for foxes and skunks. 
With a sixty-day open season on deer, very few of our 
farmer boys would go out deer hunting unless they saw 
a buck crossing their fields, and then there would be no 
mad rush and excitement which causes so much illegal 
shooting. Our motto is "Either a close season or one 
long enough to rob it of its novelty," then only one deer 
with horns to be killed by any one person, and have the 
penalty for illegal killing a term in the workhouse as well 
as a fine; this would in a great measure keep in check 
a set of lawless fellows who are loafing around with a 
gun when they should be at work. Regarding a license 
for non-residents, that will come when we have salaried 
game wardens. Stanstead. 
The Scarcity of the Partridge. 
What is going to be done to save the partridge ? is the 
question that confronts sportsmen, and which the next 
Legislature will be asked to decide, says the Worcester, 
Mass., Telegram. The partridge is being shot to extinc- 
tion, and in the opinion of A. B. F. Kinney, one of 
Worcester's best known sportsmen, and first vice-president 
of the Massachusetts Fish and Game Commission, some- 
thing has got to be done to save the bird. 
It is Mr. Kinney's recommendation that sportsmen de- 
cide on some plan that will be the most feasible from all 
points of view, incorporate it in a bill to the Legislature, 
and have laws made that will preserve the bird. In the 
opinion of Mr. Kinnev and other sportsmen, the partridge 
will be extinct in this State in three years unless some- 
thing is done. 
In the hunting season for birds, which is now coming 
to a close, there has been the greatest scarcity of par- 
tridge that has been known in some years. One reason 
for this was the wet weather in the spring which killed 
the young birds, and .but few were raised. Hunting has 
gone on just the same. 
^ There have been just as many and more partridge hun- 
ters in the woods every day, with the result that what 
m §110^ ^ir^s liav^ UM ^he q14 Uii%s ^m. 
comes the question of where the young are to come from 
next year. The point has been reached, in the opinion of 
Worcester hunters, where a halt has to be called to save 
-the bjfd at all.- 
This week two men Were in the woods hunting par- 
tridges for two days, having two dogs with themi. This 
combination of twos scared up just six partridge. It was 
clear to the hunters that of these six every bird was an 
old one, and cautious enough to get out of the way of 
the hunters. The hunters covered twenty-five miles of 
ground on their trip without securing a single partridge. 
Another hunter, who had been out three days a week 
since the hunting season opened, says he has not seen a 
young bird this year. 
Reports come from Connecticut and Vermont showing 
the same conditions. Letters to hunting papers from 
these States state that the shortage of partridge is greater 
than ever experienced before, and the question is askd on 
all sides, what is going to be done to save the partridge? 
It is up to the hunters and sportsmen to take up the 
matter in a fair way and decide what is going to be done. 
If the present method goes on there is no chance, in the 
opinion of Mr. Kinney, of saving the partridge. If the 
hunter wants to exterminate the bird from New England' 
and give up his pleasant and exciting hunting trips for 
the favorite game of this section of the country, he 
has only to continue in the old rut and go on shooting the 
old birds, while no young are being hatched. 
Mr. Kinney told a reporter for the Telegram last night 
that he saw two plans which the sportsmen might adopt 
to save the partridge. One is to settle yes or no whether 
to stop hunting the partridge altogether for a year or two. 
If this course is adopted it will give the birds a chance to 
get started again and get numbers enough so that they 
can withstand hunting. 
The second plan and the one which Mr. Kinney is -in 
favor of, is for the Legislature to pass a bill which will 
limit the number of partridge and other game which 
a man can shoot. Mr. Kinney would recommend that a 
hunter be allowed to shoot not more than two partridge, 
two ^yoodcock, and half a dozen quail a day. Or if this 
is not satisfactory, limit hunting to two or three days a 
week, and allow no hunting on other days. 
H-is opinion is that the hunters and sporting men do 
not want the season Cut of? or taken away entirely, and 
that a fair adjustment of game to each hunter will have 
equally as good effect in saving the birds. 
The plan of limiting the amount of game to be killed 
ought to satisfy every legitimate hunter, he says. It will 
give the hunter an opportunity to roam and scour the 
brush to his heart's content and give him game enough to 
satisfy the desires of any ordinary sportsman. The hun- 
ter gets the same amount of recreation and sport as if he 
attempted wholesale slaughter of the birds. 
Mr. Kinney says he would like to see a bill framed for 
the Legislature with some satisfactory adjustment of the 
game limit to save the partridge and other game. He 
says he believes in receiving through the Telegram the 
version of hunters of Worcester county on the question. 
There is no doubt but that some provision will come 
up in the next Legislature for the preservation of par- 
tridge, he says. 
Massachusetts Deer. 
Springfield, Mass., Nov. 19.— Deer are increasing 
rapidly in this section of New England, and it is no un- 
common sight to see a doe or a buck in the edge of the 
woods or to find the little sharp cut hoof prints in the 
sand of a wooded road. The laws of both Massachusetts 
and Connecticut forbid the killing or hunting of deer, yet 
some are killed each season, for there are always men 
who have not the good of the sportsman at heart. A 
case of a deer being killed by hunters was reported from 
•Somers, Conn., last week, and Game Warden Eaton, of 
Stafford Springs, is now investigating the case. The case 
IS a peculiar one, and has a rather humorous side which 
shows that it is an ill wind which blows nobobdy good. 
Henry A. Root, formerly of New York, but now closely 
connected with the Butte copper interests, has a sum- 
mer home in Somers, and the other morning sent one of 
his men to the village on an errand. As the man was 
driving through the woods he heard a crashing in the 
brush and stopped his horse to see what the matter was. 
Soon a large doe came out on the bank above him, stag- 
gered for a moment, and then fell down into the road, 
dead. The man got down to examine the deer and found 
two bullet holes in its neck, and it had bled to death be- 
cause of them. Someone had tried to kill the deer, but 
had only wounded it, and it escaped from them. The man 
put the carcass in his team and drove back to the Root 
homestead with it. So Mr. Root had the venison and 
the game warden is hot on the track of the men who 
were instrumental in his getting it. Click. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
This article is written with the hope that every Massa- 
chusetts sportsman who reads it will lend his hearty sup- 
port for the enforcement of the existing deer law and to- 
ward the enactment of any law to further protect the 
deer in this State. 
In the small space of territory within the towns of 
Barnstable, Falmouth, Mashpee, and Sandwich, a terri- 
tory about fifteen miles square, there are at the present 
time probably 200 to 250 deer. Now, if these deer were 
"left unmolested to increase as they naturally would, it 
would be but a few years before it would be no uncom- 
mon sight to see them almost anywhere in our woods. 
But are they left umnolested? 
Far from it 
It seems to be an unwritten law in this section that if 
anyone wishes to hunt deer no one will say anything 
about it. 
The way people here speak about it is this: "Oh, well! 
If the 'boys' round here want to get a deer or two in the 
winter I don't object." 
Now, suppose we follow this line of reasoning to its 
logical conclusion, what will be the result? I can name 
in the town of Sandwich, with its 1,400 inhabitants, fifty 
hunters, -and the proportion will hold good in the other 
towns. Now, if each one took advantage of this un- 
written right, how long would it until tli§re ^gs uot 
a dqqr in tlii§ %^*ml- - ' — 
Of course all do not take advantage of this state of 
affairs, but there are a few game hogs who do, and who 
also abuse the privilege by bringing in their friends from 
Rhode Island, New York, and from many of the larger 
cities of Massachusetts — Boston, Cambridge, Newton, and 
others, with the assurance, "Oh, you need not be afraid. 
No one will bother you." 
Now, to my mind, and to that of a number of others 
here, it is high time that this business was stopped. I 
do not wish to blame the Massachusetts Fish and Game 
Commission in this matter, because with the nurnber of 
deputies and the small appropriation which they have, it 
is very hard to cover all parts of the State. 
It does, however, seem too bad that what is probably 
the largest colony of deer in the State cannot be better 
protected. 
I sincerely hope that every sportsman who reads this 
article will exert what influence he may possess to bring 
about a different condition of affairs. 
Of course a few persons in this section who wish to sea 
the law enforced can do but little, but the united effort 
of the sportsmen throughout the State can do much to 
stop this violation of the law. Therefore, fellow sports- 
men, I appeal to you. If you have any influence which 
you can bring to bear on this matter, either through 
legislation, through the Massachusetts Fish and Game 
Protective Association, or through the . Massachusetts 
Fish and Game Commission, do exert that influence both 
in the interest of this section and of the State in general. 
James M. McArdle. 
BSandwich, Mass. 
Mud-Sounding in the Adirondacks. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I once gave your readers an account of the attempts of 
a tenderfoot to explore the outlet of a certain pond, 
specially with reference to the mud on the bottom. Al- 
though" he was long-legged and fell in twice— each time 
he attempted to cross on a fallen tree — he did not find 
the bottom. This season another young man at the same 
pond and outlet met with better success, for he used more 
of his length. With his fiance, some other ladies, and 
two guides, he had gone to the pond to give the ladies 
a camping trip, and incidentally to kill a deer. The pond 
has long "had a reputation for deer. It is likely to have 
for some other things. 
The voung man had not got a deer — he must shoot 
something. A little bird, a "tip-up," took most convenient 
position on a rock along shore some two or three rods 
from the rock on which the mighty hunter was standing 
with one of the ladies. The gun was leveled ;with deadly 
precision — a glance— and it belched forth its deathful 
charge. What became of the bird deponent saith not— - 
the young man was of more consequence. He lost his 
balance by the recoil of his gun and fell backward into 
the mud and water. He went in nearly to his neck, and 
was rapidly disappearing, when the lady on the rock 
coolly stooped and seizing him by the collar drew him 
u]) beside her. As a retriever she was entirely successful. 
Then one of the guides took him in charge. They went 
to camp; he stripped, put on a long waterproof (too 
late), and assisted the guide in drying his clothes. Be- 
tween them they managed to burn up his underwear and 
to burn so large a hole in his trousers that one of the 
ladies had to remove a skirt and with it patch the trousers 
in order that the poor fellow might return to the hotel 
decently. It is believed that in his mud-sounding iie 
touched bottom. It is certain that his experience afforded 
great amusement to the entire party. Whether he is still 
ambitious to slay a deer is unknown to 
JUVENAL. 
How to Cook a Duck. 
Twin Lakes, near Rockwell City, Iowa, Nov. 7. — Edi- 
tor Forest and Stream: The rest of the boys are down- 
stairs occupied with fifty-two small pieces of pasteboard, 
and r am sure they must be patriotic, because they are 
exhibiting the national colors in front of them m small 
round objects, like buttons, each contributing to a pile 111 
the middle of the table, this pile being awarded to one of 
the party after comparing the pictures on the pasteboards. 
The copy of Forest and Stream which I carry in ray gnp 
on these" trips oft'ers me more pleasure than the proceed- 
inss downstairs possibly could. But I had no sooner 
be^un to read it than I encountered something which 
makes me grab for pencil and paper. For this thing can't 
be passed over. Under the head of "Camp Cookery, on 
page 359, November 7, J. W. B. appeals to you for bread, 
and verily you have cast a rock at him— literally, too, 
for if he follows the advice to parboil ducks he will get a 
"rocky" result. Now, when the criminal code is revised 
with due regard to the rights of men who spend their 
time and money and invigorate their bodies to bring the 
most- toothsome piece of wild game to the table, it will be 
written down a crime, as it surely is a sm, to parboil a 
duck. Seneca's only hope for forgiveness lies m the fact 
that he says a duck "may be parboiled." Yes, it may, 
and the unappreciative cook sometimes does parboil it, 
but it is a sad mistake. It takes the rich juice out of the 
meat and makes it dry and flat. It is astonishing how few 
cooks who can do almost everything very well, know how 
to cook a duck. Even those who have been doing it for 
years sometimes fail miserably, and I am sure their "men 
folks" don't go hunting for the sake of the delicious duck 
meat which they do not get. One other thing not to do, 
and then in a few words what to do : Never skin a duck; 
I am almost ashamed to intimate that such a caution is 
necessary, but it is sometimes done. It lets the juice out 
and makes the meat dry, tough, hard, and altogether 
unpalatable. 
After the bird has hung in cold storage, not drawn, for 
from three to fifteen days, pick it very carefully,^ dry, 
never scald. Singe very little, and only when absolutely 
necessary. Dress the duck wilh extreme cnre and nicety. 
Now we are ready to decide whether the bird shall taste 
"strong" of the wild flavor or not. Many sportsmen want 
this strong wild flavor, and for them no further cleaning 
should be done. The bird may then be prepared for roast- 
ing or broiling, as desired. But the great majority of 
people prefer the wiWness slightly tame4, tQv^(\ down <iijd 
