PARTRIDGE IN WINTER 
Dear Forest and Stream: 
I WAS crossing recently through a rocky 
swale, high up near the top of a ridge 
where laurel and sappling were separated 
from an open field by an old stone wall 
which nature had toned into an unbroken 
grey. While working my way through 
a dence thicket of green horse-briers a 
partridge suddenly rose on thundering- 
wing and taking a sharp curve disap- 
peared behind a convenient rise of 
ground. 
The ground was covered with ten 
inches of newlj^ fallen snow and I fell 
to wondering what he could find to live 
on at this time of the year. What is 
more barren looking than the New Eng- 
land landscape in the dead of winter ? 
The white expanse of the fields is broken 
by patches of dead, flattened leaves, 
mounds of frozen mould and a waste of 
rocks, where the snow has been blown 
away by the wind. 
Looking around for a possible source 
of food supply for the partridge I no- 
ticed that some vines bore a juicy black 
berry which might be acceptable to him. 
I know that he often digs through deep 
snow on the northern slope of a hillside, 
where it is light and has no crust, to feed 
on the wintergreen and partridge berry, 
often working through three feet of 
snow for that purpose. 
In the early spring he visits the or- 
chards and feeds on buds and in the fall 
he has the elder and dogwood berries 
and later the frost-grape. 
In the time of plenty we think little 
about the partridge, but when winter 
comes the frugal traits of this noble bird 
stand out. The wilderness belong to 
him and we are trespassers on his in- 
herited domain. He is a self-supporting 
bird and seldom leaves the rocky heights, 
the wooded slopes or the elder swamps 
for the granaries of man. 
Richard J. Cattelle, 
Connecticut. 
GAME IN IRELAND 
Dear Forest and Stream: 
W ITH peace happily reigning here 
in Ireland, the sporting possibili- 
ties of the country should be thoroughly 
overhauled. There are nearly a million or 
more acres of good ground for the in- 
crease of game of all sorts, especially 
grouse — in the west, north and south. 
A syndicate or syndicates should take 
the bull by the horns at the beginning by 
renting tracts here and there for a long 
lease and turn out grouse from York- 
shire and Scotland. Hungarian partridge 
also thrive amazingly in this country. 
Pheasants find Ireland an ideal place — 
one meets lots of them even in unpre- 
served places. The chief drawback to 
the increase of game in the past was due 
to the excessive amount of vermin, 
feathered and furred. An extensive war 
against them would wipe almost all off 
in two seasons. 
As poisoning is not prohibited here, 
cur dogs, which are in great numbers, 
are a serious menace ; unlicensed gun- 
ners and lack of vigilance is the third 
drawback ; lastly, the lack of cultivating 
grouse moors and bogs by tending to 
the heather, i. e., burning and cutting old 
useless heather is also one of the causes 
of non-multiplying of these glorious 
birds. A few good, experienced keepers 
that have the knack of getting under the 
skin of the people in making themselves 
liked by them would do wonders. Cross- 
grained keepers, hectoring and domineer- 
ing, would ruin all the prospects. 
The fishing in this country is not a 
tithe of what is used to be, owing to 
many causes. Bad minding, poaching, 
badly suppressed fines, and utterly in- 
adequate lack of funds in the preserva- 
tion association’s coffers. 
The almost yearly cleaning and widen- 
ing of spawning streams destroys mil- 
lions upon millions of ova and little 
troutlets. 
The otters are increasing by leaps and 
bounds; they even leave the rivers and 
quarter the bogs in search of grouse, 
chickens and young wild ducks. The 
world-famous Westmeath Lakes for 
their trout fishing. Lough Ennell, Owel, 
Derravaragh and Lough Sheelin from 
time immemorial held the palm for the 
excellence of fishing, especially during 
the May-fly carnival. Baskets of ten to 
forty per boat were the order of the 
day on suitable fishing days— weight 
ranging from half pound upwards. A 
magnificent specimen of lake trout was 
killed on a silver red spoon off the Blind 
Island on Lough Ennell about a dozen 
or so years ago, weighing twenty-six 
pounds, two ounces. The fishing from 
lack of preservation, and I fear careless 
vigilance of watchers, went to pieces. 
Another cause of the non-rising pro- 
clivity of the trout is the increase of 
ground food coming down from the 
rivers that feed into the lakes, bringing 
down shoals of minnows so the trout, 
seeing food more easily gotten at the 
bottom than by squinting above for stray 
flies, gave up the fly-catching stunt. So 
you see what a great country for sport- 
ing possibilities Ireland can be made. 
Ireland is a country par excellence for 
wild-fowl, snipe and woodcock. The 
season lasts from August 1 to March 1 
for wild-fowl ; grouse, Aug. 12 to Dec. 
10; partridges. Sept. 1 to Eeb. 2; pheas- 
ants, Oct. 1 to Eeb. 2. 
The opening of the partridge season. 
Sept. 1, is too early by at least three 
weeks for Ireland; it always used to be 
Sept. 20. 
Deer could be introduced and they 
thrive well too ; rabbits in thousands in 
many parts and they can be introduced 
anywhere. Hares are not numerous ; 
whenever they get numerous some curi- 
ous disease wipes them almost all off. 
Ireland is a very bad camping spot for 
pussy-foot folks, so any American who 
comes over for sport, can get his fill 
of the very best anywhere. 
The suggested syndicates would also 
have every chance of improving the 
fishing of rivers, lakes, hill loughs on 
their shoots, by introducing good breed 
of trout, but not rainbows, they are 
terrors of wanderers, unless put in land- 
locked loughs without egress. Plenty of 
the loughs and small lakes are swarming 
with very small trout that never appear 
to grow big; such should be netted out 
and good growing varieties, such as 
loch levens, introduced. 
Ptarmigan. 
Ireland. 
CATALINA SWORDFISH 
Dear Eorest and Stream : i 
T here may be just as good swordfish 
left in the sea, but few bigger ones 
have been caught than the record 426- 
pound broadbill swordfish taken at Cata- 
lina this season by Mrs. Keith Spalding y 
of Chicago. 
Stories emanating from California are . 
sometimes taken as proverbial “fish 
stories” and indulgently laid to the exu- , 
berance of the California booster, but 
this is a real fish story with the records 
of the exclusive Catalina Tuna Club, 
whose rigid rules covering sportsman- I 
ship are known in the four corners of the 
world, to vouch for the authenticity of ; 
every ounce of weight and inch of girth i 
of Mrs. Spalding’s marvelous catch. 
Using “regulation tackle,” a slender 
24-strand line with a breaking strength 
of 65 pounds, Mrs. Spalding, fishing with 1 
her husband from their launch, the i 
“Goodwill,” during their annual summer ' 
outing at Catalina, calmly reeled in the , 
monster Xiphias gladius and won last- 
ing fame for herself among the anglers 
of the world. ' I 
Mrs. Spalding’s catch is the largest j 
broadbill taken by any angler in four i 
years — second only to the world’s record 
swordfish, taken by G. W. Boschen in ^ 
