Dec. 14, 1912 
FOREST AND STREAM 
767 
necessitates his being abroad to a considerable 
extent. The keeper is fully aware that the man's in¬ 
terest in nature is not the feeling which impels him 
to wander, and that it is a more sordid interest. 
The laborer who does a hard day’s work is too 
tired and desirous of repose to take long walks 
in the evening and at early morning, and that is 
a habit of the poacher which gives the show 
away. He may trust to spies to do the pre¬ 
liminary scouting, but they are seldom trust¬ 
worthy, and at any time may sell him for “a 
mess of pottage.” 
THE POACHER AND LABOR. 
It is most necessary for the poacher, if he 
would cloak his real intentions, that he should 
work regularly. Nothing arouses the suspicions 
of village dwellers so speedily as to see a man 
able to idle all day and yet have money to spend. 
Such behavior, according to their ideas, does not 
tall}' with honesty, and it is just as necessary 
that a poacher should deceive his neighbors as 
the keeper, for any one of them is liable to “'go 
and tell.” So the poacher makes strenuous en¬ 
deavors to keep in regular employment, but there 
again fate is against him. A laborer who does 
not get proper rest cannot do a good day's work, 
however hard he tries. He falls behind the 
other man and soon gets the reputation of being 
a ‘'“slacker.” He becomes unpopular with his 
companions, too, for they detest to work in com¬ 
pany with a man who cannot take his fair share 
of the labor. In the end, no one will employ 
him, and he becomes a regular ne’er-do-well. 
POACHER CANNOT CONCEAL HIS TACKLE. 
There are other matters which prevent the 
poacher concealing from the keeper the fact that 
he poaches. Should he try to hide a gun on his 
person, the set of the coat betrays its presence. 
If the barrel is in one pocket and the stock in 
the other, the coat sags in front. Should the 
barrel be down a trouser leg, his walk betrays 
it. Ferrets, too, cannot be trained to lie still in 
the pocket, and their wriggling is easily de¬ 
tected. Snares may be hidden in the pockets but 
a man who sets snares wears the knees of his 
trousers and the toes of his boots and such 
small tokens convey a world of intelligence to 
the keeper. If a poacher is to keep a dog which 
will be useful to him, it must be of a certain 
variety, and the purpose for which it is main¬ 
tained is at once apparent. Therefore, he sel¬ 
dom invests in a dog till he knows the game is 
out and that everyone knows he is a poacher. 
IF HE DOES KEEP DOGS AND FERRETS. 
Once a villager sets up a lurcher, everyone 
is aware of his purpose, for such a dog can be 
kept with only one intent, and there is no mis¬ 
taking it. When the professional rat-catcher 
was in vogue, he was able to keep a kennel of 
these dogs without his motives being openly 
questioned, as they are useful animals for kill¬ 
ing rats, but the rat-catcher of to-day is a skill¬ 
ful poisoner, and does not depend on dog and 
ferret. It would be useless for any villager to 
keep a lurcher now and pretend that it was in¬ 
tended for rats alone. Neither does anyone 
keep ferrets solely as pets, and besides they 
would be expensive pets; a certain quantity of 
flesh food they must have and the ordinary per¬ 
son cannot procure this necessary except at con¬ 
siderable expense. 
THE POACHER’S FERRET. 
Gamekeepers will give a good deal to get 
hold of a poacher’s ferret, as it is generally a 
good working one. It would not be worth the 
poacher’s while to keep any other. Therefore, 
he selects one of the best and trains it carefully. 
On being alarmed, poachers seldom stay to with¬ 
draw a lined ferret from a burrow, as that would 
involve a risk of being caught, and the keepers 
find many a one which has been left behind on 
a false alarm. If they work a ferret in the dark 
without a line, it often slips out of a burrow un¬ 
seen and creeps away, to be picked up later bv 
the keepers. It was the poacher who first placed 
a bell on a ferret to prevent its getting away at 
night unseen. 
THE POACHER AND ALARM GUNS. 
The poacher goes about at night in great 
fear of alarm guns, not bodily, but mental fear, 
PARKER GUNS 
Wear Well, Shoot Well and Handle Well 
Wear well because they are made of the best material by the most skillful craftsmen. 
Shoot well because they hold the charge compactly together at extreme ranges. 
Handle well because the greatest attention has always been paid to the distribution 
of wood and metal, to insure perfect balance and the most symmetrical outline. 
Twenty-bore Parkers have set the pace for small bores in America, and are growing 
in popularity every year with the most progressive sportsmen. 
For further information regarding guns in gauges ranging from 8 to 28, address 
PARKER BROS. Meriden, Conn. 
New York Salesrooms, 32 Warren Street 
(.Patented, Feb. 20. 1912.) 
/^LEAR VISION means a sure shot. The bright rays of the sun, or the haze ofa 
dark day can’t affect your vision if you wear KING’S SHOOTING GLASSES. 
Made of Akopos Crystal, our exclusive product and infinitely superior to amber. 
Non-magnifying. Postpaid, $1.50 to $7.00. Prescriptions ground to order. 
The KING and the KING-BUSCH-STELLUX Binoculars have wonderful magnify¬ 
ing power, are handsomely finished, durable and scientifically correct. Endorsed by 
the leading sportsmen of America. You save $10 to $25 buying direct from us. 
Write to-day for Booklet and Prices 
THE F. W. KING OPTICAL CO. Cleveland, Ohio 
No Shortcomings 
The Smith Gun has no shortcomings—not one. The 6 Hunter 
brothers, with inventions, precision, workmanship and experience, 
kept after shot gun shortcomings for 22 years, until they had wiped 
out the last and least important one. 
“6 Times 22 Years Experience” gives the shooter of a Smith 
Gun the fullest possible pleasure in the field, and the maximum 
game in his bag. 
Ask your dealer to show you the new L. C. Smith 20-gauge. 
Send for Catalog. 
HUNTER ARMS CO., 90 Hubbard St., FULTON, N. Y. 
L. C. SMITH GUNS 
FOR ARCHERY SUPPLIES 
Write for Archery Catalogue. 
E. I. H0RSMAN CO. 365 Broadway, N. Y. 
for he knows that once the loud report of one 
of these resounds in the still night air, all he can 
do is to make tracks at once, and even then he 
may be intercepted by keepers making for the 
spot. If lie suspects the presence of these guns, 
he will spend a long time carefully feeling for 
the wire, and he uses a slight metal rod for the 
purpose, as once this touches the wire, a slight 
metallic sound is heard, which cannot be mis¬ 
taken. Afterward it is not difficult to trace the 
location of the gun and prevent its going off. 
If poachers are clever at this, the keeper should 
substitute for the wire very fine and strong fish¬ 
ing gut.—Shooting Times & British Sportsman. 
PROTECTION OF THE PENGUINS OF 
THE FALKLAND ISLES. 
The Governor of the Falkland Islands has 
directed the customs officer attached to the 
whaling service of the South Shetlands to in¬ 
struct the managers of whaling companies to 
forbid their employes to kill penguins or other 
birds. The granting of fishing licenses is made 
conditional on a promise to respect both seals 
and penguins, and, if possible, other birds. 
Whalers have been accustomed to. kill the pen¬ 
guins wantonly. 
High Gun 
AT DENVER, 1912 
HANDICAP, SEPT. 10-13 
Mr. R. H. Bruns, shooting his 
LEFEVER 
made the marvellous run of 
283 without a miss. 
On the 700 single targets, in¬ 
cluding handicaps, Mr. Bruns 
scored 683 out of 700. 
The second day of the tourna¬ 
ment on the day’s program of 
200 targets, Mr. Bruns and 
his Lefever gun scored 200 
out of 200. A world’s re¬ 
cord for ten traps. 
On the 500 single 16-yard 
target for amateurs, Mr. Bruns 
scored 494 out of 500. 
ANOTHER WINNER AT THE 
PACIFIC COAST HANDICAP 
Mr. L. H. Reid, shooting his Lefever gun, won 
second high average with 381 out of 400. 
Why don’t you shoot a LEFEVER? 
Write for Catalog 
LEFEVER ARMS COMPANY 
Guns of Lasting Fame 
23 Maltbie Street Syracuse, N. Y. 
