758 
FOREST AND STREAM 
chickens, on about 800 acres, between Harvey 
and Blue Island. Some of the land is woods, 
and much of it is covered with small trees, 
shrubs, brush, etc., and but little of it is under 
cultivation. Several large coveys of quail are 
here also. This land is under the protection of 
the state game and fish commission, and is one 
of a series of fish and game preserves which 
the commission hopes to establish on each of 
the 102 counties of the state. Signs on all 
parts of the land warn trespassers, and deputy 
game wardens patrol the land regularly to see 
that the birds are not molested at any season 
of the year. Similar refuges for prairie chick¬ 
ens, quail and other birds and animals have 
been established in Kankakee, Will, and Lake 
Counties, a big tract of unproductive land being 
devoted to the purpose in each county. The 
plan of providing game preserves is believed to 
be more practical than game farms, where birds 
will be propagated at much greater expense. As 
they multiply in the preserves they will be 
allowed to spread over adjacent territory, and 
it is thought will result in a greater number of 
game birds than if the game-farm plan is used. 
The state fish and game commission has an 
appropriation of $183,000 for the current year. 
The commission devotes most of its time and 
money to the propagation and protection of fish 
in Illinois waters, the commercial value of which 
surprises most people. Last year there were 
shipped from towns along the Illinois River 
alone fish to the value of $1,000,000, a total of 
almost 24,000,000 pounds. Most of the ship¬ 
ments were of carp and other coarse varieties, 
and they went to New York, Philadelphia and 
other eastern markets. 
The commission consists of C. Metern, of 
Chicago, and J. S. Blackmar, of Paris, and they 
have six fish and game wardens, sixty depu¬ 
ties, who are employed the entire year, and 
sixty specials, who work two months each year. 
The commission has declared “closed” indefinite¬ 
ly, except for hook and line, Rock River, Kan¬ 
kakee River, Desplaines River, and Lake Calu¬ 
met. No net fishing will be allowed in any of 
these waters until the stock of fish has largely 
increased. The Federal game warden in Illi¬ 
nois is George M. Clark, of River Forest. 
J. F. BOGAN. 
FISHING AROUND LANCASTER. 
Lancaster, May 12.—Fishermen and sportsmen 
in the regions contiguous to the up state waters 
of the Susquehanna can rest assured that they 
will have no shad in their sections during 1914. 
Notwithstanding all the bluster made about the 
adequate fishway built in the mighty dam cross¬ 
ing the Susquehanna River at Holtwood, erected 
by the Pennsylvania Water and Power Co. and 
rivaling the great Nile dam in dimensions, the 
fish channel was not finished and is now only 
half completed. The last session of the Pennsyl¬ 
vania general assembly directed that the fishway 
should be erected on the York County side of 
the river but the work is at a standstill. The 
fishway was run down the river just half the 
distance it should have been built and then stop¬ 
ped. The result is that there is a sheer drop of 
from ten to eighteen feet, and no shad or mi¬ 
gratory fish will get in the fishway this year. 
So far this year not one-twentieth of shad have 
been caught that have been taken heretofore. 
In fact the catches have been getting less each 
year, and this year the decrease is startling. 
Not only are no shad being taken below the dam 
where a few years ago they were slaughtered, 
but none are being caught worth while in the 
lower Susquehanna and upper Chesapeake. The 
fact that the shad have not had any place to 
spawn since the building of the dam is telling a 
tale of destruction of natural resources which 
has had few equals. At the rate of decline in 
the last three years, in another five years a shad 
in the upper Susquehanna will be a rarity. 
Forty cases containing 100,000 pike perch or 
Susquehanna River salmon each, raised in the 
United States fish hatcheries at Sandusky, O., 
were brought to Allentown this week in a special 
car and were taken in charge by members of 
the Allentown Rod and Gun Club, who will dis¬ 
tribute them in the Jordan Creek and Lehigh 
River. The fish were accompanied by Capt. E. 
K. Burnham. The fish when full grown measure 
from 15 to 24 inches and in a few years with the 
proper care, the anglers in this vicinity will not 
only have an opportunity for making some dandy 
catches, but will be amply repaid for their efforts 
as it is claimed that next to trout and shad, the 
pike perch makes the daintiest of dishes. Secre¬ 
tary Charles A. Snyder, of the Rod and Gun 
Club, and the members immediately distributed 
the fry at various points along both streams. 
Through the efforts of Congressman John H. 
Rothermel a carload of Susquehanna salmon 
has been secured for the Berks-Lehigh district, 
the 10,000,000 fry to be distributed among the 
streams of the two counties. Berks County gets 
6,000,000 fry of the shipment. Among those 
who have already consented to help in the dis¬ 
tribution work are Dr. John H. Rorke, Clarence 
Shaaber, Paul Gring, Clarence H. Walley, Calvin 
Miller, William D. Reeser, John Rhoads, Francis 
C. Clouser, Dr. C. J. Dietrich, Dr. Frank J. 
Gable, Edward Gable, William J. Hollenbach, 
County Detective George C. Straub, C. W. 
Potteiger, Harry Brown, William H. Luppold, 
Paul M. Kahler, S. M. Meredith and Howard 
Keiser. 
The yellow fish sent to this section often 
reaches a weight of twenty pounds. 
WEST CHESTER SPORTSMEN. 
West Chester, Pa., May 15.—The members of 
the Westchester Gun Club will contest for two 
silver cups and several merchandise trophies on 
the afternoon of May 30th. Secretary F. H. 
Eachus and Director Gill are in charge of the 
arrangements. 
Coatesville and West Chester have again got¬ 
ten on terms of friendly rivalry and there will 
be several matches between the gun clubs of 
the two places this summer. The first match 
was held at Coatesville on May 2. For several 
seasons there have been no matches between the 
shooters of the two towns, but Coatesville gun¬ 
ners have reorganized with one of the fastest 
teams ever representing that place. Harry 
Minker, well-known about the State, is at the 
head of the new club, which has opened a fine 
ground east of the town, where it holds weekly 
events. 
Two hundred of the sportsmen of Chester 
County have petitioned the State Board of Game 
Commissioners to close the deer season for five 
years in this section and the Board has promised 
to do so from June 1st, 1914. Although the 
county is nearly all cultivated there are several 
stretches of fine timber on the Welsh Mountains 
and Barren Hills, in the northern section, ex¬ 
tending also into Lancaster county to the west¬ 
ward. There are at least twelve deer roaming 
about the county. Four years ago five does and 
two bucks escaped from a reserve near Glenloch 
and took to the open country. Several fawns 
have been born since then making quite a re¬ 
spectable herd. The State will send several 
bucks and fawns here as soon as the territory 
has been closed and hunters look for a short sea¬ 
son of sport close at home in five years. Game 
Protectors Robert Sharpless, R. F. Draper, W. T. 
Hunt and others are at the head of the move¬ 
ment. 
GAME PROTECTORS MEET. 
Watertown, N. Y., May 14.—Fourteen game 
protectors from Jefferson, St. Lawrence, Lewis 
and Herkimer counties met in this city under 
the direction of Division Chief F. C. Mullin of 
Dexter. Chief Mullin announced that waters 
not inhabited by trout may be fished with set 
lines to catch catfish, bullheads, eels, suckers, 
mullet and whitefish. Sportsmen say that many 
fishermen of bullheads will be tempted to keep 
the muscallonge, pickerel, pike and other game 
fish found on the setlines. 
NETS CONFISCATED. 
Cooperstown, N. Y., May 14.—Game Protector 
Newell of Mt. Vision, confiscated two large 
seines used for hauling for Otsego bass on the 
shores of Otsego Lake on May 4 because the 
mesh was found to be slightly under the mini¬ 
mum allowed by law. One of the nets had been 
measured but a week before, and Game Protec¬ 
tor Newell is convinced that it is clearly a case 
of shrinkage and that the owners were in no way 
endeavoring to evade the law. Four other nets 
were measured by the request of the owners and 
found to be too small for use in the lake. The 
minimum mesh for bass is 1V2 inch and the nets 
measured slightly over \ x k. This is the first 
time in several years that nets have been con¬ 
fiscated from Otsego Lake. 
Otsego Lake opened on April 19th, the latest 
date in several years. 
CHANNEL BASS NEAR WILMINGTON. 
Raleigh, N. C., May 15. 1914- 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I am just back from a trip to Topsail, with 
but little good luck to report. The channel bass 
do not yet seem to have arrived at Topsail, 
though they are catching some nice ones at the 
lower inlets, those within easy reach of Wilming¬ 
ton. Several have been taken around and over 
thirty pounds, with one forty pounder. I caught 
a thirty-one pounder, and my friend, T. W. 
Adickes, caught one of twenty-seven and one of 
twenty-eight. The night after we left a party 
of three men caught five fish, but I do not 
know the sizes. I have not heard yet what my 
friends did at Ocracoke. 
The gist of this letter is that there is pretty 
good channel bass fishing within easy reach of 
Wilmington. 
H. H. BRIMLEY. 
