2S0 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Sept. i6, 1905. 
rice, if once allowed to become dry, will not germinate, 
save possibly an occasional grain. In its natural habit 
the seed, as soon as mature, falls into the water and 
sinks into the mud beneath, where it remains during 
the winter months, germinating the following spring if 
conditions are favorable. 
Heretofore the plan generally followed, _ and the one 
usually recommended by those who have given sorne at- 
tention to the propagation of wild rice, was practically 
that of natural seeding; that is, to gather the seed in 
the autumn, as soon as thoroughly mature, and, while 
still fresh, to sow it in i to 3 feet of water. 
Fall Seeding Versus Spring Seeding. 
It must be remembered that the bulk of the seed 
remains dormant during the winter, germinating first 
the spring after maturing; consequently, with but few 
exceptions, fall seeding is unsatisfactory and unreliable. 
Fall seeding is likely to prove a failure for three pa- 
sons: (i) Wild ducks and other animals of various 
kinds eat or destroy the seed in considerable quantity 
before it has had time to germinate the following spring; 
(2) much of the seed is frequently covered so deeply 
with mud that washes in from the shore during the 
winter that the young plants die of suffocation and 
starvation before they reach the surface; (3) in some 
cases a large quantity of the seed is carried away from 
the place where sown by the high waters and floating 
ice prevalent during the latter part of the winter and 
early spring. 
In exceptional cases these difficulties can be over- 
come: under which circumstances autumn sowing may 
be preferable to spring sowing. In the majority of 
cases, however, much better results will be obtained if 
the seed is properly stored and sown in the early spring, 
as soon as the danger of heavy floods is passed and the 
water level approaches normal. 
In sowing the seed considerable care must be exer- 
cised in selecting a suitable place, securing the proper 
depth of water, etc. Good results can be expecpd if 
the seed is sown in from i to 3 feet of water, which is 
not too stagnant or too swiftly moving, with a thick 
layer of soft mud underneath. | It is useless to sow 
wild rice seed on a gravelly bottom or in water where 
the seed will be constantly disturbed by strong currents. 
Previous to this time, save in a few reported cases, 
the seed which was allowed to dry during the winter and 
was sown the following spring gave only negative rp 
suits. It is now definitely known that wild rice, if 
properly handled, can be stored during the winter with- 
out impairing the quality of germination to any ap- 
preciable degree, and that it can be sown the following 
spring or summer with good success. 
Directions for Storing the Seed, 
The vitality of wild rice seed is preserved almost 
perfectly if kept wet in cold storage — nature’s method 
of preservation. This method of storage implies that 
the seed has been properly harvested and cared for up 
to the time of storage. The seed should be gathered as 
soon as mature, put loosely into sacks (preferably bur- 
lap), and sent at once to the cold-storage rooms. If 
the wild rice fields are some distance from the cold- 
storage plant the sacks of seed should be sent by ex- 
press, and unless prompt delivery can be guaranteed it is 
not advisable to send by freight even for comparatively 
short distances. It is very important that the period 
between the time of harvesting and the time when the 
seed is put into cold storage be as short as possible. 
If this time is prolonged to such an extent as to admit 
of much fermentation or to allow the seed near the 
outside of the bags to become dry during transit, its 
vitality will be greatly lowered. 
It is not practicable to give any definite length of 
time which may elapse between harvesting and storing, 
inasmuch as the temperature, humidity and general 
weather conditions, as well as the methods of handling 
the seed, must be taken into consideration. Let it 
suffice to say, however, that the vitality of the seed will 
be the stronger the sooner it is put into cbld storage 
after harvesting. _ 
As soon as the seed is received at the cold-storage 
plant, while it is still fresh and before ferftientation has 
taken place, it should be put into buckets, open barrels, 
or vats, covered with fresh . water, and placed at once 
in cold storage. If there is present a considerable 
quantity of light immature seed or straw, broken sticks, 
etc., it will be profitable to separate this from the good 
seed by floating in water preparatory to storing. The 
storage room should be maintained at a temperature 
just above freezing — what the storage men usually desig- 
nate as the “chill room.” 
When taken from cold storage in the spring the seed 
must not be allowed to dry out before planting, as a few 
days’ drying will destroy every embryo. 
Seed which was stored under the foregoing con- 
ditions from, Oct. 19, 1903, to Nov. 15, 1904, 393 days, 
germinated from 80 to 88 per cent. Another lot of seed, 
which was stored on Oct. 6, 1904, and tested for vitality 
on April 17, 1905, germinated 79.8 per cent. 
Packing for Transportation. 
Too much care cannot be given to the matter of pack- 
ing the seed for transportation, fer unless the packing is 
properly done the vitality of the seed will be destroyed 
during transit. What is here said applies to fresh seed 
which is to be sown in the autumn, as well as to seed 
which has been kept in cold storage during the \vinter. 
It must not be forgotten, however, that the vitality of 
cold storage seed is more quickly destroyed on drying 
than that of fresh seed. 
For transportation the seed should be carefully packed, 
with moist sphagnum, cocoanut fiber, or fine excelsior, in 
a loosely slatted box. If the time of transportation does 
not exceed five or six days no special precautions need be 
taken as to the temperature. During the period of trans- 
portation it is quite probable that some of the seed will 
germinate, but if sown at once growth will not be re- 
tarded and the roots will soon penetrate the soil and 
anchor the young plants. 
tWild Rice: Its Uses and Propagation. Bulletin No. 50 , Bureau 
of Plant Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, 1903 . 
If the time of transportation is necessarily long, it is 
recommended, if the best results are desired, that some 
provision be made for a reduced temperature. The nearer - 
the temperature approaches that of freezing the better. It 
has been demonstrated, however, that a fair percentage 
of seed will remain germinable for a considerable time 
if packed as above described. 
On Oct. lo, 1904, Mr. C. S. Scofield sent a small quan- 
tity of wild rice, packed in moist sphagnum moss in a 
well-ventilated box, to Dr. De Vries, of Amsterdam, Hol- 
land. On Oct. 14 or 15 this box was placed in cold stor- 
age on the steamer in New York harbor. The box of 
seed was received by Dr. De Vries in good condition on 
Nov. 2, twenty-one days after the seed was packed for 
shipment. 
Summary. 
(1) Under no circumstances should wild rice seed 
which is intended for planting be allowed to dry. Dried 
seed will germinate but rarely and should never be sown. 
(2) Wild rice seed can be stored without deterioration 
if it is gathered as soon as matured, put into barrels or 
tanks, covered with fresh water, and, before fermentation 
has set in, stored at a temperature of 32 to 34 degrees 
Fahrenheit. Seed treated in this way germinated as high 
as 88 per cent, after being in storage 393 days. Fresh 
seed seldom germinates better, and usually not so well. 
(3) After the seed is taken from cold storage it should 
not be allowed to dry. The vitality of cold storage seed 
is destroyed on drying even more quickly than that of 
fresh seed. 
(4) For transportation the seed should be packed in 
moist sphagnum, cocoanut fiber, or fine excelsior. If not 
more than five or six days are required for transit, no 
special precautions need be taken for controlling the tem- 
perature; but if the time for transportation exceeds six 
days, provision should be made for a temperature suffi-^ 
ciently low to prevent marked fermentation. A tempera- 
ture approximately freezing will give the most satisfac- 
tory results. 
(5) Wild rice can be sown either in the autumn or in 
the spring. Spring sowing is preferable, thus avoiding 
the danger of having the seed eaten or destroyed by wild 
ducks or other animals during the fall or winter, or of 
its being buried or washed away by the heavy floods of 
late winter or early spring. 
(6) Wild rice should be sown in the spring in from 
one to three feet of water which is neither too stagnant 
nor too swiftly moving, as soon as the danger of heavy 
floods is passed. 
(7) Wild rice is of the greatest importance as a food for 
wild waterfowl, likewise a delicious breakfast food for 
man, and the area in which it is extensively grown should 
be extended. It will grow luxuriantly in either warm or 
cold water; furthermore, it can be grown successfully in 
water which is slightly salty to the taste. 
(8) In determining the vitality of any sample of wild 
rice seed the germination tests should be made in water 
— the condition under which the self-sown seed germi- 
nates. 
(9) The seed will germinate well at temperatures rang- 
ing from IS to 30 degrees C. The maximum temperature 
of germination is above 35 degrees C. (95 degrees F.), 
but better results are obtained at lower temperatures. 
In Maine Game Woods. 
Bangor, Me., Sept. 4, 1905. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
With the approach of the season for hunting big game 
in this State there are appearing many misleading 
items in various publications regarding the privileges 
allowable to non-resident sportsmen who come into this 
State to hunt during the coming open season. In view of 
the fact that there have been many efforts, more or less 
successful in the past, to get around the non-resident 
hunters’ license law, the last Legislature in session dur- 
ing the winter of 1904-5 added to the license law an 
amendment which provides that every hunter who is a 
non-resident must purchase a license, whether he be in . 
search of big game or small, protected or unprotected, ^ 
in feathers or fur. That this might aid, the wardens in , 
the detection of illegal hunting still more than the old 
method, the law provides that these licenses for bird 
hunting, and for wildsanimals other than those pro* 
tected by law during certain close seasons, shall expire 
when the general ^pen season for all game goes into 
effect, so that .sporismen who hunt birds and other 
wild animals during the respective open seasons prior tp 
October i, shall pay therefor a license fee of $5, and if 
they desire to remain beyond that date to hunt, may 
add the other privileges of the season to their licenses 
for $10. , But sportsmen should not make the mistake 
of thinking that they may take out a bird hunting license 
and hunt for deer, to return to the agent and secure a 
big game license when they have killed and secured 
the quarry. The newly enacted license clause does not 
permit the non-resident to kill any more game prior 
to Oct. I than in preceding years, nor in general open 
season; but it does permit him to take, or ship to his 
home without the State, ten each of partridges or 
ruffed grouse, woodcock and ducks, affording him thirty 
birds to regale his home friends on in addition to the 
two deer and one bull moose heretofore the sole objects 
of his trip in this State. Formerly, by paying 50 cents, 
the non-resident as well (as the resident) might ship to 
his home or to any hospital within the State, a pair 
of game birds; but now he has no need to_ use that 
privilege, since his license permits him to ship his ten 
birds of each kind, an advantage that the sportsman 
will not be slow fln availing himself of. Those hunters 
who have hitherto come into Maine for the sole purpose 
of hunting birds and have not gone to the expense of 
a license, must now pay $15 for their fun if they in- 
dulge in it after the first of October, and as most of the 
bird hunting worth coming after is possible between 
Oct. I and Dec. i, all hunters will endeavor to avail 
themselves of all the privileges of the entire license, 
and take home thirty birds, two deer and a moose. It 
is noticeable, too, that the non-resident may not kill 
so much as a crow in this State under the new law, at 
any time, without first taking out one of the licenses. 
The outlook for big game hunting during the general 
open season from Oct. i to Dec. i is excellent, and it 
now looks as if the season were going to be one j 
the best in the history of the State, so far as the suppj 
is concerned. Should hunting conditions prove as ba 
in many sections as they were throughtout the seas<; 
of 1904, there is no forecasting what the results shall b 
There was a positive abundance of big game in tl'i 
woods last fall, and in many sections their signs ar 
workings were all around one, while the utmost ski 
failed to bring the hunter within shooting distance '• 
his quarry, which dashed past him in the woods ati 
safe distance, or crept gently away without giving tl 
anxious hunter a chance to raise his rifle to tl 
shoulder. Late snowfall and very dry days made <| 
hunting difficult, except for the few brief minutes i 
the morning sun struck the frosted leaves in the pa; 
and were consequently slightly softened. The luc) 
hunters were most generally those who found a go( 
place to sit down, and sat there until their game can; 
their way. Still hunting, particularly in certain section 
was positively out of the question. In other portio:: 
of gameland the weather conditions were good, an 
they knew nothing of the difficulties that beset t| 
hunters in most of the State for two-thirds of t; 
season. It has been so exceedingly dry througho, 
Maine for the past month that October is likely to i' 
wetter than last fall, with consequently better sport, s 
though it is of course far too early to make any for 
cast that can be relied upon. 
Speaking of the dry weather of the past month i 
minds your correspondent of a vital question that ; 
sure to come up before long, and may be settled in 
way far from satisfactory to the hunters. It is t 
question of forest fires. For years there have bee 
from time to time, enormous losses to the large ti( 
berland ownfers by fire, and with the increasing army ; 
summer camping and canoeing parties, these fires ha 
appeared to show a tendency to increase; but wheth 
this is due to the presence of these parties or not 
a question still undecided. It would appear alm( 
certain, however, that many of these disastrous fil 
could have been avoided if camping parties had us 
caution, or had spent a little time in putting out fir 
already started by others. 
Less than two weeks ago the writer came down tl 
west branch of the Penobscot, and at camp one eveni 
one of a party of three, who had been over a part 
the same route, spoke of his surprise to find how ve 
readily the ground took fire. He said that he h 
noticed the extreme dryness everywhere, as indeed i 
journey over a waterway that was such in name only 
the rapids could but show him, and when he lighted i 
pipe at the noon camping place he took particif 
pains to break his match into small pieces befc 
throwing it away, to be sure that no fire was left in 
Having finished his smoke and waited several minu 
with the bowl of exhausted tobacco, or better ash 
in his hand, he shook out the supposedly dead asl 
upon the ground at his feet, watching it carefully 
be sure that no blaze was started by it. Before tl 
embarked in the canoe he was obliged to put oui 
fire which started from- that very bowl of ashes, b 
of course, as he had given the matter such close 
tention the fire was slight and easily extinguished. 
On the same river, further down, the writer’s pa 
had fortunately to walk a carry, while the canoes 1 
the rapids, and a hundred yards below the putting 
place discovered a fire in full blaze, where a party mi 
have camped shortly before. There was only one pa 
to go down the river ahead of ours, and we had r 
no other party on our way tO' this point, so that < 
cumstantial evidence pointed direct to them as ■ 
authors of this fire, which in an hour or, two furti 
with a high wind blowing straight into the woo 
must have been beyond control. As it was, our pa 
of five worked nearly two hours to undo the misci 
which the carelessness of others had created. Althor 
there were large stones handy to use in building 
fire these had been rolled aside and the free built ; 
the bare ground, and every evidence went to show t 
no effort had been made to extinguish the fire; 
leading, but it had been left to spread, and a brisk w 
had, kept it to the task only too well. On the sa 
;jtrijiij it was common report, at one point, that a cert' 
■;^’^arfy of campers had left a camp-fire burning nea; 
:;cabjn they had occupied at a lumberman’s depot cat 
;'afl’d‘ but for the prompt and heroic efforts of others v\ 
chanced upon the blazing hut, $2,000 worth of lumb 
ing outfit must have been destroyed, and an enormi 
amount of standing timber. From the summit 
Katahdin extensive forest fires were observable, wl 
beyond the smoke of others was discernible in the ( 
tance. Not all of these were caused by sportsmen, 
course, but if sportsmen do not take some responsibi 
upon themselves and see to it that their guides ’ 
out these fires, the timberland owners are liable to J 
in their wrath and demand a law that shall shut spoi, 
men out of the Maine woods during the most delig 
ful season of the year. 
An interesting question came up during the trip 
a party of canoeists, incidental to the discovery of ( 
of these neglected flres, which was: “Whose busir 
is it to put out these fires, anyway?” It was an 
teresting and important question and most pertind 
since the party, guides and all, had been hard at w 
fighting fire set by others, and for a moment there 
a dead sfllence — not one of the whole party but / 
accepted the individual responsibility thus thrust uj 
him of doing his best to stop the fire, without a qt 
tion as to whether it was his particular duty or r 
The writer is glad to say that, so far as he has > 
covered, the great majority of the guides, and most 
the sportsmen, are not only careful about fires, but 
their utmost to put out fires when found, and will 
continue their trips to devote hours and perhaps 
entire day to fight that which threatens the for, 
Guides who are in the service to-day have been kno 
by the writer to paddle back thirty miles to a camp 
place, to put out a fire left by another member of • 
same party; but so strong is the first-class guide’s se 
of his responsibility that, as head guide for a party! 
feels personally liable for every fire kindled by 
sportsmen or their individual guides, even though 
may never have seen the fire in question; and he < 
