648 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Oct. 28, 1911. 
Quail in Western North Carolina. 
Mt. Avery, N. C., Oct. 19 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: I had the pleasure of taking a trip over 
the hunting grounds of this section with H. G. 
Galloway, who not only hunts, but knows the 
quail in this his native heath. The object of this 
trip was to ascertain the prospects for hunting 
and it was through Mr. Gallaway’s reserve that 
we made the experiment. 
This section, consisting of 75,000 acres, is 
splendidly located at the foot of the Blue Ridge 
Mountains, which forms a shelter from the b'.eak 
winds in the hatching season and produces per¬ 
haps the highest average hatched and grown to 
maturity. The fields abound in grain, peas and 
grass seed, the natural feed of bobwhite, and 
there is no section where he thrives and matures 
more quickly into a plump bird that is able to 
take care of himself with the best of sportsmen. 
This is truly the home of the quail, but owing 
to a remarkable dry season there are more than 
ever before, for every brown leaf seems to hide 
a grown bird. The coveys are large, many con¬ 
taining thirty birds, and every hill and dell seems 
to possess its own covey. A day in the fields 
demonstrated that there are no better hunting 
grounds on earth, and that birds are more plen¬ 
tiful than ever before, and while the season is 
short, the climate, with genial sunshine, cool re¬ 
freshing breezes makes this the ideal section for 
the man who desires real sport on the firing line. 
This is written for the purpose of giving in¬ 
formation to those sportsmen who really desire 
an outing where sport can be found and where 
birds are perhaps more plentiful than in any 
other section. Past years have brought many 
brother hunters to this section, but this season 
promises more than for the past several seasons. 
Jack Albright. 
In Louisiana. 
New Orleans, La., Oct. 21. — Editor Forest 
and Stream: The game commission has leased 
for a series of years from the Louisville & 
Nashville Railroad the property known as Seven 
Ponds, near Chef Menteur, for the purpose of 
raising ducks. While the preserve is compara¬ 
tively small, still it is considered an ideal place, 
and hundreds of ducks feed there. The ducks 
will be protected and a number of them may 
remain there and raise their young. The rail¬ 
road leased the place for a very small sum, in 
order to encourage the plan of protecting the 
ducks. Chef Menteur is a resort for both fisher¬ 
men and hunters in season, and is now con¬ 
nected with New Orleans by an excellent auto¬ 
mobile roadway. 
The commission has appointed Joseph White 
warden of the Ward-Mclllhenny duck reserve in 
Vermilion parish. There was for a time a 
difference existing between Messrs. Mclllhenny 
and Ward and the game commission in regard to 
the best method of appointing wardens to care 
for this preserve, and it looked for a while as 
though art agreement could not be reached, but 
the matter has apparently been settled satis¬ 
factorily and the donors of the large preserve 
will have the privilege of advising with the 
board and also going into court if they do not 
approve of the appointment of a certain warden. 
The commission held that under the law the 
power of appointment of wardens is exclusive 
with it. There seems to be no doubt that the 
commission will in a very large measure adopt 
the suggestions of Messrs. Mclllhenny and 
Ward in making appointments of game wardens. 
The advent of fairly cool weather has en¬ 
couraged the hunters to some extent, and many 
of them are preparing to take to the woods, 
while others are getting ready for the ducks, 
which are expected here in November. The 
continuation of very hot weather here up to a 
day or two ago knocked all the spirit out of 
the hunters, and there was little prospect for 
the sport starting soon. The hunters will go 
out shortly for wild turkeys, quail and doves 
and other small game. Quail are abundant in 
the southern and middle sections of the State, 
while there are many wild turkeys in the north¬ 
ern and eastern portions, where there are high¬ 
lands and hills. The prospects are bright for 
a good season, and it is likely that many visit¬ 
ing hunters will be here the latter part of No¬ 
vember and during December and January. The 
wardens say that deer are in plenty, especially 
in the middle portions of the State. The law 
allows two bucks a day to be killed by each 
hunter. Does cannot be shot. Hunters are 
not allowed to kill wild turkey hens. F. G. G. 
The Firearms Law. 
Greenwich, Conn., Oct. 18.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: What an awful lot of shooting cases 
have taken place in New York city since the 
Sullivan law went into effect! Of course a man 
who would break into a dwelling would take a 
chance with the Sullivan law, yet the law pre¬ 
vents a law-abiding citizen from keeping a pistol, 
as many a poor woman can ill afford to pay $10 
a year for a license, and even if she had a license 
and lived near the border of the next town and 
chanced to step across the border, carrying the 
pistol, she would be a felon liable to seven years 
in State’s prison. 
Vicious dogs are not uncommon. A friend of 
mine was bitten the other day by a collie belong¬ 
ing to a farmer, while he was cranking his car 
on a public highway. The Sullivan law makes 
no provision for the sharp teeth of the collie. I 
have been accustomed to take fishing trips into 
New York State and left some money there each 
time, but shall never go again unless the Sullivan 
law is amended. If some body of merchants or 
some paper will raise a fund to test the general 
constitutionality of the law, I will contribute $10 
to the fund. John E. White. 
Creasing Big Game. 
Boston, Mass., Oct. 16.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: Some forty years ago I had a treasure, 
to wit: an autobiographical volume by George 
Catlin, describing his boyhood and part of his 
later life among the Indians. I recall distinctly 
that one day he and a companion named ‘‘Joe” 
undertook to “crease” a wild horse; that is, Joe 
did. Catlin referred to it as a not uncommon 
feat upon the plains in those days, but one that 
he had never tried. The result was sad. The 
horse was dead, and Joe sat down and cried. 
Sometimes in after days they would chaff each 
other at the sight of some distant mustang. 
“Crease him, Cat,” or “Crease him, Joe,” but 
they never tried it again. 
Congratulations to Orin Belknap at the chance 
to live it all over again. It was good to see that 
signature once more. John Preston True. 
The Springfield Meeting. 
Boston, Mass., Oct. 21.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: The season for quail, woodcock and 
grouse opened on the 16th, and not a few of the 
hunters who dwell in out cities took care to be 
within easy reach of their favorite covers in the 
early morning of that day. President Charles 
and Ivers W. Adams were at Brimfield and suc¬ 
ceeded in bagging several birds. But it has been 
a rainy week and the killing in our State cannot 
have been extensive. The number of quail and 
grouse is somewhat in excess of one year ago, 
or even two years ago, and there seems to be 
no doubt that the quail have increased consider¬ 
ably, but it is to be hoped that the sportsmen 
will refrain from cleaning up the coveys, leaving 
a goodly number to breed next year. During 
the past two seasons many of our hunters have 
declared that they have shot no quail. 
Oh Thursday evening I enjoyed the hospi¬ 
tality of the new commissioner, George H. 
Graham, and the Springfield Fish and Game 
Association, of which he is secretary. To at¬ 
tend meetings of this association is a rare treat, 
and you can imagine what it must have been 
with two such speakers as Messrs. Moore and 
Burnham, of New York. I hope that they will 
at no distant day be heard by the members of 
the Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective 
Association. Dr. Field and Mr. Garfield, of 
the Massachusetts Commission, received an en¬ 
thusiastic welcome. Every one regretted the 
necessary absence of President Lathrop, although 
Vice-President Sherwood proved an excellent 
master of ceremonies. 
In the long and stubborn fight for the saving 
of our partridge by excluding it from the mar¬ 
ket in 1900, as well as in the contest for the law 
requiring the registration of hunters, the Spring- 
field Association took a conspicuous part. 
Secretary Graham announced that a carload 
of fingerling trout was due to arrive from a 
Federal hatchery, having been secured by the 
efforts of Congressman Gillette. 
Dr. Field and Commissioner Graham have 
been making an examination of fishcultural sta¬ 
tions and bird farms in several States prepara¬ 
tory to selecting sites and establishing similar 
plants in Massachusetts. Our commissioners 
have purchased about 100.000 fingerling trout, 
and a large portion of them have been dis¬ 
tributed. Henry H. Kimball. 
Springfield, Mass., Oct. 21. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: The heavy rains during the past week 
have kept many of the sportsmen out of the 
woods in Western Massachusetts and was a 
damper on the Blandford fox hunt. 
In spite of the rains some good bags have been 
secured, and it is reported that partridges are 
more plenty than for several years past. Owing 
to the good breeding season, woodcock are just 
beginning to come in ; gray squirrels are plenti¬ 
ful everywhere and large numbers are being 
taken by the hunters. 
The Springfield Fish and Game Association 
held its first fall meeting Thursday evening, Oct. 
19, at Highland Hotel, and it was attended by 
over 250 members; the membership now is about 
eight hundred. 
Our sportsmen are much pleased with the large 
brok trout that are being planted in this part of 
the State by the State Commission. Holyoke. 
