48 
FOREST AND STREAM 
Jan. io, 1914. 
Published Weekly by the 
Forest and Stream Publishing Company 
Chas. A. Hazen, President 
W. G. Beecroft, Secretary. Charles L. Wise, Treasurer. 
22 Thames Street, New York. 
CORRESPONDENCE Forest and Stream is the 
recognized medium of entertainment, instruction and informa¬ 
tion between American sportsmen. The editors invite com¬ 
munications on the subjects to which its pages are devoted, but, 
of course, are not responsible for the views of correspondents. 
Anonymous communications cannot be regarded. 
SUBSCRIPTIONS #8 a year; SI.50 for six months; 
lOcts. a copy. Canadian, S4 a year; foreign, S4.50 a year. 
This paper may be obtained of newsdealers throughout the 
United States, Canada and Great Britain. Foreign Subscrip¬ 
tion and Sales Agents—London: Davies & Co., 1 Finch Lane: 
Sampson, Low & Co. Paris: Brentano’s. 
Entered in New York Post Office as Second class matter. 
VIRGINIA GAME LAWS. 
Probably the saddest neglect of game and the 
most utter lack of conservation is found to-day 
in Virginia. A state without a head to its game 
commission, sans chief game warden, and offer¬ 
ing no bag limit. A state where the law invites 
the market hunter to bask in its lackings. In this 
hospitable state one may be a “guest,” of course 
without remuneration to the “host,” and where a 
resident may ship out of the state practically un¬ 
limited game. Of course no resident of Virginia 
would take “guests” for “board money,” nor 
would any “visitor” pay for his “keep,” while he 
shot without a license. Certain is it that no mar¬ 
ket hunter would “board” with a native while he 
slaughtered game and had it shipped to clubs and 
hotels in other states as a “gift.” It is no wonder 
that Virginia, once prolific in game birds of all 
sorts, is “shot up” beyond recognition. It seems 
as though almost entire game desolation should 
wake Virginia sportsmen to the necessity of sane 
game regulations. 
EXPLORATION THROUGH A PRESS 
AGENT. 
The irrepressible press agent seems to have 
practical control of the explorer these days. We 
find wallastepfansonpeary lost in the arctic, prob¬ 
ably dead—not heard from in six months—last 
heard of incalculable distances from Broadway, 
when, as a matter of fact, and as proved when 
his lecture tour is completely booked, he was snug¬ 
ly stowed away until the vaudeville stage yearn¬ 
ed for his magnetic presence, and the easily hum¬ 
bugged American public readily paid fifty cents 
to hear, not the story of great discovery, but the 
harrowing details of his suffering. Not whether 
the discovery brought glory to the country or to 
the explorer, but whether or not one of the dogs 
died from frozen feet and how long the party 
went without food. It would be rather unique 
for the next “backer” of an explorer to put a 
clause in the contract prohibiting the explorer 
stage exploitation or the privilege of entering the 
field of literature. 
IMPORTATION OF FEATHERED GAME. 
A correspondent wants Forest and. Stream to 
tell him whether, under the provisions of the new 
tariff law, it will be possible to bring into the 
United States feathered game shot during trips 
beyond the boundary. We are very much afraid 
that our friend cannot do so legally. To begin 
with, most of the provinces of the Dominion have 
laws prohibiting the export of feathered game 
with the exception, possibly, of ducks. The laws 
of the state of New York provide for import 
shipments of wild birds if shot legally outside the 
state, and if such import does not conflict with 
statutes covering the state or provinces where the 
game was killed; but the enactment of Congress 
overrides this state legislation, so that one at¬ 
tempting to bring feathered trophies back into 
the state would find bimself in conflict not only 
with the state laws, but with the laws of the 
United States as well. 
Theoretical interpretation of the mandates of 
our legislators is not nearly as good as citation of 
actual operation, and in this connection it is inter¬ 
esting to give the experience of a United States 
citizen who attempted to step off a steamer from 
Europe the other day with a couple of English 
pheasants in his possession, designed for holiday 
presentation to a friend in New York. He was 
promptly held up by the customs officials on the 
ground that it was in violation of the law to bring 
the feathers of wild birds into the country. De¬ 
spite his protest that the birds were wild in name 
only, and really of “barnyard” classification, the 
guardians of the port were obdurate until, as a 
happy compromise, it was suggested that the 
pheasants minus their feathers might be import¬ 
ed legally, and after an obliging butcher on the 
steamer had shown his skill at skinning, the citi¬ 
zen triumphantly went his way with two naked 
birds dangling under his arm. The Christmas 
spirit of the presentation had been utterly de¬ 
stroyed, but our friend had saved his bacon, or 
rather his game. 
We confess that the rule observed with ref¬ 
erence to the importation of the mysterious 
“Egyptian Quail,” “Scotch Grouse” and similar 
feathered foreign game served up at fabulous 
amounts per portion in New York Lobsteria is 
unknown to us, as also is the ancestry or present 
species of such game, but a little incident arising 
recently in a local court room may be applicable 
here. A policeman, dragging with him a human 
derelict, explained to the Court: “Yer Honor, 
I found him asleep in an alleyway after he had 
swiped a whole sack of peanuts from the Eye- 
talian stand on the corner.” H’m, mused the 
Court, “Guilty of impersonating an officer. Ten 
days!” This is a little aside from what we start¬ 
ed out to explain to our correspondent, but it will 
no doubt be safer for him to eat his feathered 
game in the province where he shoots it. 
Prong-horned antelope, only a few years ago 
innumerable all over the plains, have decreased 
so rapidly that mere scattered bands remain. In 
Wyoming, where the most exist, only about 6,000 
remain alive, owing largely to the severity of 
the past few winters, and to the great decrease 
of pasturage caused by the prevalence of sheep. 
A CHANCE FOR A PEAK. 
Miss Annie Peck, the lady now holding the 
mountain climbing height record in this coun¬ 
try—1,400 feet higher than any other American 
yet has climbed. Guarantees for the sum of $25,- 
000 to break the mountain climbing record of the 
world and to name a mountain for the donor. 
Here is an opportunity to have mountain sheep 
caper over and birds light on a peak bearing 
your name and all for $25,000. When you con¬ 
sider the enormous sums spent to make the name 
of Sir Thomas Lipton one with which to con- 
j’ure this proposition seems almost paltry—an op¬ 
portunity to make Pikes Peak seem like Pikers 
Hill. For whom shall this new summit be named? 
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT GAME 
LAWS. 
When you want to know about the open season 
in any state, about bag limit and game exporta¬ 
tion, please do not call us up on the telephone. 
Get a copy of Game Laws in brief at any sport¬ 
ing goods dealers, book store or at our office. 
We suggest this, not with the idea of selling the 
book, but because so often data is not correctly 
understood on the ’phone, thereby, sometimes get¬ 
ting the recipient into legal difficulty. The price 
of the book is only twenty-five cents and gives 
plainly every detail important to the man going 
on a shooting trip. And, incidentally, the book 
contains a mass of material of interest to the man 
who will do this year’s shooting under the library 
lamp. 
COURSING. 
Followers of the leash in Kerry will be very 
pleased to hear of the success which attended 
Mr. Jim Clarke’s Could Morning II at the 
Greenane (Tipperary) Coursing Meeting on 
Wednesday last, when he succeeded in winning 
the Greenane Stakes, value £35, and the Shep- 
person Cup. Mr. Clarke’s victory was most pop¬ 
ular and he was very warmly congratulated by 
his numerous friends. The issue was never in 
doubt, as his dog won on every point. 
Dr. Trant, another North Kerry courser, ac¬ 
counted for the Solohead Stakes, value £ 18, 
with his brilliant youngster Tablespoon, after a 
splendid performance. Tablespoon has proved 
himself one of the best puppies in Ireland, and 
great things are expected from him in the near 
future. We congratulate Dr. Trant on being the 
possessor of such a promising greyhound, and 
we feel certain that coursing men throughout the 
South generally, have nothing but good wishes 
for the success of the genial doctor’s puppy. 
MENHADEN DIMINISHING. 
The enormous number of menhaden caught 
annually to be made into fertilizers is causing 
great anxiety to the fishermen of Chesapeake 
and Delaware bays. The menhaden are the prin¬ 
cipal food of shad, herring, and bluefish. The 
diminishing supply of this food has caused a 
notable decrease of these valuable market-fishes; 
and the situation is made worse by the fact that 
these fishes are beginning to prey on each other. 
