November, 1921 
FOREST AND STREAM 
497 
of these drainage projects are made without due investi- 
gation and are resulting in the destruction of great breed- 
ing grounds, and at the same time proving dismal failures 
from an agricultural standpoint. In many cases where 
jll-advised drainage is contemplated the marsh and swamp 
area is far more valuable as a game preserve and breed- 
ing and trapping ground than it will ever be for agricul- 
tural purposes after drainage. Sometimes the swamp area 
is more valuable than a large part of the surrounding farm 
(land, without taking into consideration the value of such 
tracts of land and water as re-creative centres and propa- 
gating places for fish. 
Marsh and swamp areas also play an important part 
n preserving the water supply of the surrounding coun- 
try; in many cases where drainage of marsh lands has oc- 
curred adjacent lakes have dried up, wells and springs 
Iniles away have gone dry, trees have died, and dry 
districts have been formed considerably affecting agricul- 
ture. 
There is but one way to protect our wildfowl breeding 
ireas and resting places, and make sure the perpetuation 
if the many species of our wild fowl, and that is to save 
our valuable swamp and marsh areas for them. This can 
inly be done by the purchase for all time of such areas 
:o be set aside for breeding purposes in the spring and in- 
cidentally to provide public shooting grounds in the fall. 
The passage of the Bill filed by Senator New, known 
is Senate bill No., 1452 will accomplish just this. It pro- 
vides that every person hunting migratory birds shall pro- 
cure a license from the Federal government, one half of 
:he funds so raised to be used for the purchase of tracts 
if marsh and swamp lands for wild-life breeding grounds 
ind for public shooting grounds. 
All those interested in protecting our birds, all those 
►vho want to have better shooting, and have it last so that 
heir children and their grandchildren can enjoy the same 
irivileges, should see that their members of congress vote 
for this measure. 
CHANGES IN GAME LAWS 
T HE open season fixed by New York law for cotton- 
tail rabbits and varying hares will be from October 
15 to March 1, inclusive, instead of beginning on 
Dctober 1, as stated in Farmers’ Bulletin 1235 — Game 
Laws for 1921 — according to an announcement just 
ssued by the United States Department of Agriculture. 
By order of the New York Conservation Commission 
:he hunting season for cottontails may be further re- 
stricted, and this has been done in several counties and 
on Long Island. 
The statement in the Bulletin that the open season 
for deer in the Adirondack region is from October 15 to 
November 15 should also be modified, as a special open 
season on these animals has been prescribed in the 
towns of Jackson, Salem, and White Creek, in Wash- 
ington County, from November 7 to 19, inclusive. The 
incomplete information in the department’s Bulletin 
resulted from the fact that notice of a late amendment 
by the State legislature had not been received at the 
time the Bulletin went to press. 
BIG RABBIT CROP 
F ROM every section of the East come reports that rab- 
bits are unusually plentiful this season. Farmers and 
sportsmen agree that it has been many years since the 
cotton-tails were so numerous. Autoists tell of the bun- 
nies racing across the roads in every rural section. Con- 
fused by the automobile headlights at night, many rabbits 
are killed by cars on the highways. 
The reports also indicate there is a bountiful supply 
of pheasants and quail this year. A dry summer is 
usually credited with insuring a big crop of young game 
and every farmer can testify to the thoroughness of the 
drought during the last few months. Other factors that 
have added to the game increase have been the liberal re- 
stocking with birds by Fish and Game Commissions 
and the increased efficiency in the enforcement of game 
conservation laws. These factors are helping the States 
meet the increase in the number of sportsmen with an 
increase of game for all. 
SNAKES AS FRIENDS 
S NAKES have few friends, and no doubt this is ex- 
cusable, though it results from lack of information. 
The popular prejudice against snakes, beginning 
with the story of the Garden of Eden and persisting 
throughout our historical period, has been fostered 
largely by the potential power of certain species to cause 
death through venomous bites. But the poisonous kinds 
are relatively few. While some snakes are known to be 
injurious, information concerning many species indicates 
that they are not only harmless but even beneficial and 
fill an important place in maintaining the natural bal- 
ance. When people generally can distinguish between 
the dangerous or injurious and the harmless species, the 
indiscriminate killing so often indulged in will cease. 
JERSEY JUSTICE SCORES 
V IOLATION of fish and game laws proved not 
only an unsportsmanlike but a costly practice 
for 749 defendants in New Jersey during the year 
ending June 30. According to a report of State Pro- 
tector James M. Stratton, this was the greatest number 
of prosecutions ever made in a similar period in the 
history of the State Fish and Game Commission, and 
the fact that only 24 of the number were acquitted 
shows the efficiency with which state wardens procured 
the evidence against the violators. 
The list of prosecutions indicates that the law has 
been enforced without respect to persons. Mercy, how- 
ever, has tempered justice in the few cases of extreme 
poverty of the defendant or other extenuating circum- 
stances. The wardens have been unusually successful 
in having the maximum penalties imposed on a class 
of poachers of wealth or prominence, whose example 
made their violations the greater crime in the eyes of 
sportsmen. 
In addition to penalties of fines or imprisonment im- 
posed on violators, licenses of several hunters were re- 
voked. Wardens also confiscated 62 guns from aliens. 
DEER IN VERMONT 
T HE records of the Conservation Commission of 
Vermont show that 4,440 deer were killed in that 
state during the last hunting season. Some of our 
big western states with many times the deer range con- 
tained in little Vermont should read these figures and 
make an effort to find out wherein the trouble lies if 
they cannot furnish an equal amount of game for their 
sportsmen. Many of the eastern states have proved 
conclusively that adequate laws well enforced will fur- 
nish a big yearly kill of deer without in any way en- 
croaching upon the necessary breeding stock. 
In the state of New Jersey with New York City on 
one side and Philadelphia on the other, it is not difficult 
to secure deer. Many western states have an area suit- 
able for deer which is a hundred times as large as that 
of New Jersey. 
