FOREST AND STREAM 
313 
Fur, Fin and Feather 
Nubbins of News From “ Forest and Stream’s” Duffle Bag for the Information and Pleasure of Readers 
MORTON F. PLANT’S PRESERVE. 
The generous contribution toward game pro¬ 
tection recently made by Morton F. Plant, the 
New London, Conn., yachtsman, who turned over 
to the state his private game preserve of 3,000 
acres at East Lyme, for a period of ten years, 
gives Connecticut a retreat for quail, ruffed 
grouse and woodcock and in addition a finely 
equipped plant for the raising of ring-necked 
pheasants, ducks and other game birds which can 
be successfully propagated in captivity. 
About ten years ago Mr. Plant began the con¬ 
struction of the preserve and it has been brought 
to its present high state by the intelligent work 
and supervision of men possessing special knowl¬ 
edge of what a game preserve should be. The 
preserve is situated in East Lyme on the main 
highway between Old Lyme and New London, 
the greater part being north of the highway. It 
comprises nearly three thousand acres and is two 
miles east and west by three miles north and 
south, extending into the towns of Old Lyme and 
Lyme. Through the preserve runs the Four 
Mile river, one of the celebrated trout streams of 
the state. The territory consists of marsh, 
meadow, upland and forest and is especially suit¬ 
able to all kinds of game. In the woods are 
many ruffed grouse, and the quail are numerous 
in the fields. Woodcock find favorite resting 
places in the lowlands and on the hillsides, and 
both the black and the wood-ducks have been 
known to nest and raise their broods within the 
confines of the domain. The preserve is well- 
equipped for the raising of ringneck or English 
pheasants, and Mr. Plant has turned out thous¬ 
ands of these birds for the sport of himself and 
his friends. The buildings and pens for these 
birds are all of large size and in fine condition 
and are ready for the use of the fish and game 
commission for propagating purposes. By build¬ 
ing a large concrete dam on the Four Mile river 
Mr. Plant made a large pond, three-quarters of a 
mile long by two hundred yards in width, and this 
can be utilized for the raising of wild ducks. An 
island in the middle of the pond is especially 
adapted for the raising of the beautiful wood 
ducks and will doubtless be utilized by the com¬ 
mission for this purpose. Black and Mallard 
ducks can readily be propagated in suitable places 
along the banks of the pond. 
OPEN VIOLATION. 
Game killed in violation of the Virginia state 
laws is exposed for sale in the markets every 
day, and nothing is done to prevent it, according 
to a recent address delivered at Norfolk by 
Charles E. Brewster, game expert of the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture. 
“I saw trapped ducks offered for sale right 
here,” he said—“game killed in violation of both 
your state laws and Federal statutes. 
“The only way that game laws can be effec¬ 
tively enforced is by the employment of a game 
warden system, and I shall strongly advocate at 
every opportunity the adoption of this system in 
Virginia. It is impossible to enforce your pres¬ 
ent laws because you cannot get a local warden 
to testify against his neighbor. Virginia is one 
of four states that have not adopted the game 
warden system, and when one considers that Vir¬ 
ginia once was the most prolific producer of all 
sorts of wild game this statement becomes more 
astounding. 
“The wild turkeys that once were plentiful 
have nearly all been killed off. The Virginia 
deer, famous all over the country in its day, has 
become little more than a memory. What has 
happened to the wild turkeys and the deer will 
happen to the pheasants, partridges and some of 
the other species. The slaughter of wild ducks 
by pot and market hunters continues under the 
archaic laws of your state. The Federal gov¬ 
ernment is doing everything possible to aid in the 
preservation of game and is interested in Vir¬ 
ginia, because here is offered a great opportunity 
to see the enforcement of the Federal laws.” 
FISH AND GAME RESOURCES— 
Golden Gate. 
According to a yearly report now in course 
of preparation by the Fish and Game Commis¬ 
sion, California has a greater variety of furred 
and finny tribes than any other state in the 
Union. Not only that, it has a larger expanse of 
territory to patrol in the protection of game and 
fish and is doing it better and at less expense 
than many other states 
It is estimated that the confines of the state 
embrace over one hundred million acres with all 
kinds of temperature and climate. In Mount 
Whitney it has the highest mountain of the 
United States, outside of Alaska, and in Death 
Valley the lowest elevation, some four hundred 
feet below sea level. 
The state possesses 26,212 miles of streams 
available for fishing, 862,133 acres of lakes, and 
158,297 square miles of land on which can be 
found almost every variety of furred animal in 
Western America. 
A comparison of the work done by fish and 
game wardens in this state with that done by 
officials in other states indicates that the local 
authorities have reached a high state of efficiency. 
New York has 20,000 square miles of territory 
less than California and expends $900,000 annu¬ 
ally in the. protection of game and fish, while 
California expends $200,000 and at the same time 
deals with 8,000 more hunters. 
The motorcycle has proved to be of great value 
in patrol work in this state, one warden alone 
covering 7,800 miles last year at a total cost of 
$191.74. He made 29 individual arrests, assisted 
in 12 others, which resulted in fines aggregating 
$ 975 - 
In the endeavor to entirely prohibit the sale 
of game, the state authorities are not working out 
theories of their own but are following the exam¬ 
ple set by forty-seven other states. In San Fran¬ 
cisco alone over 600,000 ducks found a market 
last year, and it was from that city that fully 
eighty per cent, of the signatures came to recall 
the provision of the law which prohibited the 
sale of game. The duck supply, that formerly 
seemed almost inexhaustible, is now showing 
signs of depletion. In spite of the seemingly 
large number of birds killed many hunters were 
out of business during a part of the season on 
account of the scarcity of game. Large ship¬ 
ments of linnets and other small birds not on the 
protected list are being made to the city markets 
from time to time and only by a determined fight 
on the part of bird lovers had the meadow lark 
been saved from a like fate. 
NEW HATCHERY IN CALIFORNIA. 
The new private fish hatchery in Mill Creek 
canyon, Cal., recently received 50,000 rainbow 
trout eggs, the first of a consignment of more 
than a million which are expected within the next 
twenty weeks. Eight spawning reservoirs have 
been installed adjacent to the hatchery. Game 
and Fish Warden Vale, who recently inspected 
the hatchery, said that a better location for the 
project could not have been found in that region. 
ADAMS SPORTSMEN ORGANIZE. 
Hunters and fishermen of Adams, Mass., met 
recently and organized the Adams Fish and 
Game Association, with an immediate membership 
of about seventy. This number probably will be 
more than doubled, as there were about 150 ap¬ 
plications on hand. 
The result of the election of officers was: 
President, J. Nelson Sanderson; secretary, 
Maj. H. O. Hicks; treasurer, Harry J. Sheldon; 
directors, Philip D. Powers, J. D. Haytree, A. T. 
Lacy, Dr. J. E. Donovan, Frederick Brunell, 
and Henry Harrington. The directors and 
officers will constitute the executive committee. 
The annual dues will be 50 cents, or as much 
more as members wish to give. 
The association organized with the understand¬ 
ing that it was not necessary to pay dues to be a 
member in case the applicant felt that he could 
not afford it. The question was put in the ap¬ 
plication to all the members regarding the five- 
inch trout law, and all were unanimously in favor 
of the five-inch law. It is claimed that the ma¬ 
jority of the small streams of Berkshire county 
seldom grow large trout, but abound in trout 
from five to seven inches. 
HEAVY DEMAND FOF FISH FRY. 
More interest is being shown this year than 
ever before in restocking the lakes and streams 
of Douglas county, Wisconsin, President A. J. 
Wentzel of the Fish and Game Protection League 
receiving daily many applications for free fish 
fry. Most of the applications are for bass, trout 
and pike. - 
KATY LAKE BEING RESTOCKED. 
Katy Lake, north of Hillsboro, Tex., which as 
a result of several years’ drought was dried out 
and depleted of fish, was stocked recently with 
2,650 black bass from the State Hatchery at San 
Marcos. Several other shipments are yet to be 
received. 
MANY BIRD INSECTS AT GATUN. 
About 900 varieties of birds, more than in any 
one state in the United States, are estimated to 
be found within the limits of the Canal Zone. 
And one little island in Gatun Lake harbors a 
greater number of species than any other one 
locality in the western hemisphere. E. A. Gold¬ 
man, of the Biological Survey, obtained about 300 
different species in two short collecting trips. 
