FROM ILLINOIS. 
Centralia, III., June io.—The march of pro¬ 
gress in the protection of fish and game has ex¬ 
tended even to the protection of bullfrogs, and 
under the laws of Illinois they may not be killed 
in May and June. This is the first close sea¬ 
son in Illinois for bullfrogs, and it is probable 
many infractions of the law will occur, because 
the sport loving public, not identified with 
sport associations, may err through ignorance of 
the law, although it is a well known legal maxim 
that ignorance of the law excuses no one. The 
enactment of a measure for the protection of 
bullfrogs was brought to the attention of state 
solons, who were informed that this edible little 
fresh water animal was rapidly becoming ex¬ 
tinct. Frogs do no harm, as has been amply 
proved, and as an article of diet are becoming 
more popular with the passing of time, and as 
game birds, animals and fish become scarcer and 
are harder to secure. May and June comprise 
the spawning season of the frog, and the legis¬ 
lators acted wisely in protecting them at this sea¬ 
son. Deputy Game Warden James Payne, of 
Jefferson county, has just made his first arrest 
at Herrin in Williamson county, for violation of 
the frog law. The “victim” was a seventeen 
year old boy who was as ignorant of the law as 
a prize fighter is of diplomacy, and he was re¬ 
leased on his promise to obey the law in future. 
One million two hundred thousand wall-eyed 
pike which have just been hatched at the Illinois 
fish hatchery at Havana, were taken to northern 
Illinois a few days ago for distribution in Rock 
river and Yellow creek. The wall-eyed pike 
is the best and gamest fish to be found in the 
streams of Illinois, and with other fish recently 
shipped and others soon to be received, will afford 
the Isaak Waltons of that section fine sport. The 
fish were almost equally divided into four lots 
of 300,000 each, to be placed in Yellow creek 
near Freeport at the dam in the park and 300,000 
each in the Rock river at Dixon, Sterling and 
Rockford. C. J. Dittmar, president of the Illi¬ 
nois Fish and Game Conservation Commission, 
was in charge of the fish cars and supervised 
the transfers to the different streams at Dixon 
and Sterling. 
The Illinois commissioners have a car specially 
designed for transporting fish, which will be in 
use in about a month for bringing larger fish 
to northern Illinois. The consignment will in¬ 
clude pike, crappies, catfish, bass and other 
varieties. The commission has already com¬ 
menced seining two lakes in the central part of 
the state for these fish. They will then be plac¬ 
ed in a pond where they will be available when 
shipments are to be made. These fish will be 
taken to Freeport, Oregon, Dixon, Sterling and 
Rockford. 
Deputies Lonergan and Bartlett patrolled Rock 
River from Rockford to Oregon a few days ago, 
looking for non-resident clammers, from neigh¬ 
boring states. They found fourteen, all of 
whom paid the annual license of $50.50, the total 
amounting to $707. All deputies in the state are 
watching for violators of the fish laws. 
OUT OF OHIO. 
Sandusky, O., June 10.—With early reports to 
the effect that bass should be biting, members of 
the exclusive Pelee Island Fishing Club are at 
Pelee Island, on Lake Erie, prepared for one of 
FOREST AND STREAM 
their most successful fishing outings in the his¬ 
tory of the club. Among those in the party 
were George R. Bolch, of Cincinnati, president 
of the Clinton Hotel Co., operating one of the 
most costly and pretentious hostelries in the 
middle west: J. S. Peebles, of the Peebles 
Wholesale Grocery Co., o’f Cincinnati; Alfred 
Hill, of Page and Hill, Cincinnati investment 
brokers and Attorney Thomas W. Paxton, a 
leading legal light of the Gem City; Frank W. 
blurry, of Chicago, Ill.; Arthur E. Langford, of 
Baltimore, Md.; A. W. Figenhaum, of Beliot, 
Wis.; M. W. Renick, of Middletown and F. A. 
Laidley, J. W. Bullock, S. T. McLaughlin, C. E. 
LaBorteaney, C. M. Cist, D. W. Laren, M. W. 
Hinkel, Michael J. Walsh and B. H. Kroger, all 
of Cincinnati. 
Alfred Hill, as usual, is in charge of the ar¬ 
rangements. The club members have a two- 
weeks fishing party twice a year. Harrison 
Parker, of Sandusky, steward of the club, be¬ 
cause of illness was unable to accompany the 
members on this trip. It is the first time in years 
that Mr. Parker has not been with the organiza¬ 
tion on its trips. 
E. F. WALRATH. 
TOO MANY FISH IN UPPER LAKES. 
Almost wholly safe from the angler and yet 
disporting themselves in waters in immediate 
proximity to a city of 13,000 is the happy condi¬ 
tion of thousands of brook trout inhabiting lakes 
Sally, Iron Mountain and Tilden, in Michigan. 
Their presence has raised a problem. 
Ishpeming, Mich., procures its water supply 
from this chain of lakes. Fishing was formerly 
permitted, but the danger of contamination was 
threatened. Legislation was enacted and for 
twelve or fifteen years fishing has been unlawful. 
So has camping on the shores of the lakes. The 
region is under guard summer and winter. 
As a result the water is coming to have a 
fishy taste. The proper care and feeding of the 
trout has also become a problem. It is believed 
that eventually the lakes will have to be rid of 
their fish, or at least most of them. 
It is proposed that fishing be permitted to some 
extent under proper supervision. It is suggest¬ 
ed also that the lakes be seined and the trout 
transferred to streams in the region. 
SUGGESTS ARTIFICIAL PONDS. 
“There are hundreds of farms where artificial 
ponds can be made and where large quantities 
of fish could be raised,” said Commissioner 
George H. Graham, of Massachusetts, recently. 
“On many farms are found swamps that are full 
of springs and where quite a stream of water 
is flowing at all seasons of the year. At a 
small expense in cleaning out the brush and 
stumps at odd times, the owner could make quite 
a large basin and by building an earth dam 
could create an artificial pond of considerable 
size. If the water is cold and deep enough, brook 
trout and rainbow trout could be raised, and if 
the pond is shallow, such fish as white perch, 
yellow perch and large and small-mouth black 
bass could be raised in large numbers. These fish 
breed very rapidly and the owner would soon 
be realizing a handsome profit from the land 
that was previously worthless. 
“All artificial ponds are under the control of 
the riparian proprietor without regard to size 
793 
and the owner could thereby control the fisher¬ 
ies in these ponds. He could procure his stock 
of fish from a commercial hatchery or from the 
Federal Government which supplies fish for pri¬ 
vate ponds as well as for public waters. Be¬ 
sides producing fish in these ponds, a large crop 
of ice could be annually harvested. I believe it 
will pay any land owner who has a worthless 
swamp to look into this proposition which will 
be the source of considerable revenue and at 
the same time afford him much sport.” 
OPEN SEASON FOR REEDBIRDS IN NEW 
JERSEY, PENNSYLVANIA, DELAWARE. 
Washington, D. C.—Notices have been issued 
by the U. S. Department of Agriculture calling 
attention to a proposed amendment in the Fed- 
tral regulations for the protection of migratory 
insectivorous birds. Under the new rule reed 
or rice birds can be shot in September and Oc¬ 
tober in the States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania 
and Delaware, Maryland, the District of Colum¬ 
bia, Virginia, and South Carolina. The law re¬ 
quires three months’ notice of this change. If it 
is decided to adopt it, the rule will be officially 
promulgated at the end of that time and will go 
into effect on September 1, 1914. 
The effect of this change will be to extend to 
sportsmen in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and 
Delaware the privilege of shooting the birds 
during a period of two months. This they can 
now do in Maryland, the District of Columbia, 
Virginia and South Carolina. As the season is 
so short it is not believed that the birds will suf¬ 
fer appreciably in numbers. 
In the late summer and early fall, they migrate 
to the far South, where they are known as reed 
or rice birds. They are regarded in the States 
where they can now be shot as offering good 
sport. 
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. 
May 23, 1914. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I do not know whether you will 'be interested 
in bird notes, but I am going to report the first 
appearance of the yellow-breasted chat in this 
vicinity. To-day, while engaged in rifle practice 
at the Bon Air range, we were entertained by 
the song of this odd and interesting bird. 
The range is on a dry hillside overlooking a 
deep ravine, the sides of which are clothed with 
thick underbrush. This is an ideal place for 
chats. Evidently it is the home of a pair of 
these extremely ludicrous birds, for I have heard 
or seen them here for several seasons in succes¬ 
sion. They are mimics of the highest order, 
and can make any kind of whistle or squawk, 
frequently chattering on for several minutes, ac¬ 
companying their vocal efforts with much flirt¬ 
ing of the tail and twisting of the head, even 
jerking their tails up and down while flying. 
To me this is one of the chief pleasures of 
an afternoon at the range—the sight and songs 
of the feathered denizens of the field and forest. 
We were also cheered by the song of a meadow 
lark, the call of a flicker, and the shrill piping 
whistle of a field sparrow. Sparrow-hawks and 
turtle doves are also common, and occasionally 
the towhee, or chewink, and goldfinch are seen. 
The Maryland yellow-throat and the Kentucky 
warbler are less frequently heard. 
MILO H. MILLER. 
