Oct. 21, 1911.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
615 
employed in the lighthouse and life-saving ser¬ 
vice, gain a livelihood from harvesting sea food. 
The unique features of the place are luxuriant 
fig trees, which bear abundantly season after 
season, the great number of ever present musical 
mockingbirds and also the primitive customs of 
some of the natives. Two aged sisters, for in¬ 
stance, who seem too decrepit to live alone and 
whose dwelling seems equal'y infirm, continue to 
herd their sheep, shear them, spin the wool into 
yarn by means of an ancient spinning wheel and 
knit mittens and socks for sale to the men who 
expose themselves to the elements. 
North of Hog Island lies Parramore Island, 
which is almost covered by a remarkable growth 
of cedar. The only inhabitants are members of 
the life-saving corps and droves of self-support¬ 
ing ponies, cattle and sheep. Fresh water lakes 
on this island attract numbers of shore birds 
and black ducks, the shooting privilege being 
leased to two neighboring clubs named Revells 
Island and Accomac. The members of these 
clubs also shoot over the marshes of the 
State. 
These marshes or meadows are intersected by 
many winding channels through which the sea 
water flows with increasing or diminishing 
volume and impetuosity in obedience to the 
mysterious law of tides. A casual observer 
would probably condemn them as an impediment 
to a broader view of the water, but in addition 
to being the feeding ground of game birds and 
the resort of many great blue herons, bittern and 
various varieties of gulls, all of which interest 
a landsman, the vigorous growth of brilliant 
green grasses that frequently change their hue 
in the varying lights of the day and night, is 
a never-ending pleasure to one who is genuinely 
in touch with the out-of-doors. 
Marshes are apt to be thought of as miasmatic, 
mosquito breeding and generally objectionable, 
but the tides leave these particular ones twice 
daily and so saturate the soil with purifying 
brine that the neighboring air is charged with 
this vitalizing influence. Unlike the sea, which 
is apt to be overawing, the marshes apply for 
intimacy, and one soon feels on a friendly foot¬ 
ing with them and looks toward them every 
now and then to see whether they are disappear¬ 
ing into or emerging from the tidewater and 
whether their countenance be clouded by shadows 
or shimmering in the sunlight. 
The shooting could be very much improved 
all along the coast if the Government could be 
prevailed upon to shield migratory birds. Every 
female bird killed in this vicinity during the 
spring flight is filled with eggs, and besides this 
appalling consequential depletion, the nests of 
the clapper rail or marsh hens are openly robbed 
by anyone who feels disposed. 
It seems impossible to get the adjoining States, 
Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina, to en¬ 
act protective laws because the citizens of each 
suspect their neighbors of an intention to take 
advantage of and reap benefit from any initial 
progressive action by any one of them. 
The clubs referred to above which are of value 
to the State of Virginia because of the payment 
of license fees by visiting sportsmen, the em¬ 
ployment of native guides and tl 
supplies would welcome -> • - * 
laws and so won 1 " 
the amount o^ 
an improver 1- 
Progress of the Hunting Season. 
The United States Department of Agricul¬ 
ture has issued the following information: 
October marks the opening of most of the im¬ 
portant hunting seasons in the United States. 
This month is the time for hunting deer, ruffed 
grouse and woodcock in the majority of States 
where these kinds of game abound, and while 
many States open the duck season in September, 
yet in several shooting is deferred until October, 
and in the case of Maryland and North ‘Caro¬ 
lina until November. The principal deer hunt¬ 
ing States in the North are Maine, New York, 
Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. In Maine 
the season opens on the 1st of October, in Michi¬ 
gan on the 15th and in Minnesota and Wiscon¬ 
sin on Nov. 10 and 11, respectively. The Michi¬ 
gan season closes at the end of November and 
thus appears to be nearly four weeks longer than 
those of Wisconsin and Minnesota, which close 
at the same time, but as the life of a Michigan 
deer license is limited to twenty-five days, there 
is no practical difference in the season in the 
SHEPHERDESSES OF HOG ISLAND. 
"1? 
three States. New Hampshire opens its deer 
season Oct. 1, while Vermont’s does not open 
until Nov. 15, and New York’s opened Sept. 16. 
In the South, Louisiana, which probably fur¬ 
nishes the best deer hunting, opens its season 
on Oct. 1, and the same is true of Montana, one 
of the chief deer hunting States of the West. 
Of the States where the best ruffed grouse 
or partridge shooting may be had, a majority 
open the season in October. In New Hampshire, 
New York and Minnesota shooting begins on 
the 1st, in Massachusetts and Michigan on the 
15th. As Maine, Vermont and Wisconsin opened 
their seasons in September, it is now lawful to 
hunt ruffed grouse anywhere along the northern 
border. Pennsylvania is the only important 
ruffed grouse State which delays the opening of 
its season with November. 
Woodcock shooting commences in October in 
seven States — New Hampshire, Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsyl¬ 
vania and New Jersey. The seasons are already 
open in Maine, Vermont, Maryland, West Vir¬ 
ginia, South Carolina and Indiana, and will open 
later in Delaware, Virginia and Louisiana. This 
month, therefore, woodcock may be shot in prac¬ 
tically all the region in which it is a prime ob¬ 
ject of sport. 
Ducking begins this month on the shores of 
Long Island, and in the waters and marshes of 
Virginia, Louisiana, California, Oregon, Utah, 
Colorado and Michigan. 
Quail shooting generally does not begin until 
November, except in the West, where California 
and Oregon permit hunting after the middle of 
October. 
Statistics of the number of deer killed are im¬ 
portant for comparison with those of previous 
years in order to show the comparative abund¬ 
ance of deer from year to year. Several States 
now provide for the gathering of this informa¬ 
tion. 
Live Ducks From Traps. 
Matteawan, N. Y., Oct. 7 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: The inclosed clipping from the Fishkill 
Weekly Times, of issue Oct. 4, regarding a 
duck shoot at the Clove Valley Rod and Gun 
Club, Clove Valley, Dutchess county, N. Y., 
may be of interest and needs no comment as to 
the ends and method taken to provide an easy 
substitute for sportsmanlike wildfowl shooting. 
As the laws of this State prohibit live-bird 
shooting at the traps, it would seem that it will 
be necessary to have this law amended, so that 
it will apply to tame ducks and also to chickens, 
if such clubs can teach them to fly. 
Charles B. Van Slyck. 
[The statement referred to has had wide pub¬ 
licity. It relates to the assertion that the mem¬ 
bers of the <~‘ove Valley Rod and Gun Club 
were 1 agent of the humane society 
* •- £ro*n traps. It 
