Aug. 30, 1913. 
FOREST AND STREAM 
271 
being a trick that a rabbit sometimes works on 
a dog. The question was suddenly settled be- 
yond°doubt, however, for the long-eared quarry 
with one tremendous leap sprang into view at 
the further end of the clearing, then stopped 
abruptly to listen. What a picture he made, 
sitting there alert, with muscles tense, waiting! 
And as I view that superbly-made piece of physi¬ 
cal mechanism I could seem to feel its greatness, 
and my conscience smote me sharply. Only for 
a second was he motionless, then with another 
bound he was coming toward us. Frank was 
shivering like a man with a chill, and I well, 
I'm not saying anything about myself. We 
leveled our guns over the fallen tree, full on 
the approaching white breast and pulled. The 
rabbit gave one convulsive leap into the air, then 
went down in a heap. An instant later the dog 
appeared with a yelp, and nosing the dead rabbit 
for a moment, backed off and sat down, watch¬ 
ing us expectantly as we walked over and se¬ 
cured the prize. 
The Hunting Story Weakness. 
No one knows how ancient is the practice 
of making fun of hunters and fishermen when 
they tell of their adventures and exploits in the 
field. We may feel certain that it is very old. 
No doubt in their day the other sons of Cush 
used to joke Nimrod when he came in after a 
dav’s hunting and told what he had seen. In¬ 
deed, if the Scriptural tale is to be under¬ 
stood just as it reads, the community was 
small, and it may well enough be that all 
the great-grandsons of Noah enjoyed their little 
jests at the expense of their cousin. Probably 
he did not greatly mind their jeers, and kept 
telling his hunting stories over and over again, 
until at last he believed them himself. Such 
stories and such jokes are a part of the stock 
in trade of many newspaper writers at the pres¬ 
ent day, and the same stories are told century 
after century. 
Away back in 1574 there was published in 
Italian, at Brescia, a little book on etiquette, 
which was soon translated into French, and a 
little later to English, and printed in London 
in 1581. It is called “The Civile Conversation 
of M. Steven Guazzo, written first in Italian and 
now translated out of French by George Pettier 
The volume purports to be a dialogue between 
the author’s younger brother, Roberto, and his 
friend Anniball, a famous physician, in which 
the human nature of the day is admirably de¬ 
picted. On the one hand the foibles, arrogance, 
vanity, vulgarity and pretentiousness of society 
are treated; and on the other appreciation is 
expressed of such good qualities as tact, gener¬ 
osity, social charm and honesty, which oppose 
themselves to the weaknesses so often seen. 
The book is full of quaint and delightful satire, 
but almost all of it good natured. 
Save for the slightly different dress in which 
it is clothed—for the language is that of Shakes¬ 
peare’s time — the book presents a very fair pic¬ 
ture of the society by which people are sur¬ 
rounded to-day, especially those who live in large 
communities. 
One of the little stories told to satirize those 
individuals who have formed the habit of draw¬ 
ing the ‘ long bow” deals with a hunting story 
that even then was old. Roberto says: 
There are divers which thinke to get the name of 
pleasant conceited fellowes, by telling some monstrous 
strange tale, to make the hearers merie, or cause them 
to marvell, and crave the Poets priviledge, to use the 
figure Hyperbole at their pleasure. Like as hee, which 
tolde that going a hunting, hee found a Poore so olde, 
that hee was become starke blinde, and that another 
young Poore for very compassion, put his taile into the 
olde ones mouth, and so lead him out to feede: Now 
hee shooting at them, cut of the young Poores tai.e, 
which hung still in the olde Poores mouth, and running 
quickly, tooke the taile in his hand, and brought the 
poore Poore by a long way even unto the Citie, thinking 
stil that his fellowe had lead him. 
Annib. I thinke it troubled him more to tell this 
tale, then to leade the Poore. 
Guaz. These fellowes perswade themselves so 
earnestly to beleeve a lye, that they wouid have you 
beieeve it too, and if you doe not, they thinke you mis¬ 
use them." 
There are few of the failings of men and 
women that are not alluded to in this very de¬ 
lightful work, the chief charm of which is its 
simplicity, and freedom from any attempt to 
instruct. The reader is credited with sufficient 
intelligence to draw from the dialogue his own 
conclusion and to act upon it, and the instruc¬ 
tion is offered in the most effective way, by good- 
natured ridicule of the weaknesses to which at¬ 
tention is called. 
At the present day the volume is scarcely 
known, for the last edition was printed in 1586. 
It has been pointed out, however, by a writer 
in the Nineteenth Century that the book had a 
considerable vogue at the time of its publication, 
and that it probably was well known to Shakes¬ 
peare who from it may have learned much 
about the manners and ways of the different 
classes of Italian society which he transferred 
to those of his plays in which the action was 
located in Italy or in Southern Europe. 
Hunting in California. 
BY GOLDEN GATE. 
The deer season commenced in a number 
of coast counties on Aug. 1, and many fat bucks 
have already been bagged. In Santa Cruz county 
tile season opened two weeks earlier, and a num¬ 
ber ot deer were killed in the Big Basin section, 
but most of these have been in velvet. This 
early hunting is not looked upon with favor by 
the majority of sportsmen, but no relief can be 
expected until the Legislature meets two years 
hence. 
M. V. Brazil, a dairyman of Novato, was 
arrested recently on the charge of having vio¬ 
lated the law in regard to killing does. He 
pleaded not guilty before Justice H. J. Conradt, 
claiming that during the past year he had slain 
but one buck. However, the evidence was pro¬ 
duced, this consisting of a barrel of deer meat, 
the hides of two does, a buck and six "green ’ 
front legs. The justice scouted the dairyman’s 
story of a freak animal and fined him $75. 
Judge Edgar T. Zook has ruled that the 
Marin county ordinance cannot bar the posses¬ 
sion of venison, except during the month of 
August, but expressed the opinion that the ordi¬ 
nance prohibiting the slaying of deer in that 
county during July was valid. A test case was 
held to determine whether it would be lawful 
for hunters to ship game through Marin county 
from other counties or to have deer meat in 
their possession that came from the outside. 
Marin county is paying bounties for var¬ 
mints killed within its borders as follows: 
Coyotes, $2.50; wildcats, $1; raccoons, foxes, 
weasels and skunks, fifty cents; ground squirrels 
and Cooper hawks, ten cents; gophers and blue- 
jays, five cents. Almost $800 has been paid out 
in bounties since the first of the year. 
Prof. Bruner and his Bug Basket. 
BY LILLIAN S. LOVELAND. 
Prof. Lawrence Bruner, head of the De¬ 
partment of Entomology in the University, and 
State Entomologist for Nebraska, came up to 
Pelican Lake in Northern Minnesota for a vaca¬ 
tion. He left the Nebraska bugs to the care of 
competent assistants and announced that he was 
going to leave all his work behind and have a 
real vacation—that he would row, fish, gather 
blueberries, read and loaf as he pleased. Still, 
according to his invariable custom, he brought 
along his butterfly net, pins and trays, insect 
basket, etc., in case he should find some new 
insects worth collecting. 
1 he region around Pelican Lake was rich 
in his kind of game, and he gave up many a 
pleasure excursion to go collecting, especially on 
certain days when the bugs were out in great 
numbers. 
He not only caught and pinned many valu¬ 
able specimens for his own collection, but made 
sets of forty of insects not found in Nebraska 
for use in his classes. All these were care¬ 
fully arranged in trays and placed in the insect 
basket, they were too precious to be entrusted 
to any hands but his own, and he planned to 
carry the basket with him on the train back to 
Lincoln. 
The baggage wagon with old Sol Marquis 
driving had been gone about half an hour, and 
the Bruners were waiting for the automobile to 
carry them to the station, when Prof. Brunei- 
exclaimed, “Where’s my insect basket? I put 
it one side, so it shouldn't be loaded on the 
wagon.” 
"I haven t seen it," Mrs. Bruner answered. 
"Well-, it’s gone on the wagon in spite of 
me. It’s sure to be smashed with all those 
trunks and suit cases. There’s my whole sum¬ 
mer's work gone! I thought I had put it out 
of sight, but I suppose some meddling busybody 
loaded it on when I wasn’t looking. Well, I’ll 
be—” and Prof. Bruner came as near using cuss 
words as a man of his kindly nature and Chris- 
tion character permitted. As it was, he fumed 
and fussed and scolded most emphatically. Mrs. 
Bruner was sympathetic, but hadn't noticed 
where he had put the basket. 
Mrs. Steel, one of the neighboring campers, 
had come out to bid the Bruners good-bye, and 
was sitting on a log near by, when she noticed 
a queer looking basket back of the Bruner cabin. 
"I wonder if the Bruners haven’t forgotten 
that basket,” she said to her son. "I will speak 
to Mrs. Bruner about it, and they can take it 
with them in the automobile if it is theirs.” 
When Mrs. Bruner showed the professor 
the basket, he admitted it was in the exact place 
where he had left it, but he grabbed it with 
great eagerness and shortly afterward when the 
automobile left camp there he sat with his 
precious basket on his knees. 
Figures show that live stock raising is in¬ 
creasing so rapidly that Minnesota will soon 
rank among the greatest of the live stock pro¬ 
ducing States. 
