404 
A dolt can appreciate the consequences. If the 
average duck hunter does not derive more sport 
than lucre out of shooting, the 'balance would 
be an even hundred to one against him. But no 
true sportsman has any thoughts of augmenting 
his bank account through the instrumentality of 
his favorite sport—‘better health and enjoyment 
are his main and only objects. And- what royal 
fun it is, beginning with the anticipatory pleas¬ 
ures of an expedition, continuing delightfully on 
through all the work of preparation, and culmin¬ 
ating in a grand cataclysm of happiness when 
once the camp fire is blazing. 
If the sportsman be advanced in years the 
fires of youth surge back over him the night be¬ 
fore he crawls into his blind in the golden rice 
or darksome tides; in his dreams, he is again 
sailing over the old Christmas tide of his boy¬ 
hood. If he be a young man, with that misty 
vista of years that lie before all yet to be trodden, 
his emotions are even keener and more varied, 
and in the beatitude of the moment he would 
not exchange places with a king. 
Then comes the action itself, the glories of a 
mingling with nature in her blandest moods, the 
supreme pride felt in the execution of a difficult 
shot—a double on a lone pair of meteoric teal, 
for instance—and the perfect satisfaction of 
bringing home your full complement of birds 
with which to remember your legion of friends— 
the returning ducker’s friends are always legion 
—awaiting you with smacking chops and out¬ 
stretched arms at home. 
But this is not all, aye, but a mere suggestion 
of the grand maximum, and every duck shooter 
of my acquaintance, and they number thousands, 
and are stretched from the fabled Chesapeake to 
the Sui-sun marshes, will forever maintain that 
his days on the droning marsh and by the wil¬ 
lowy lake are worth to him more than all the 
physic and all the doctors’ bills in the world. 
Figured from this basis the sportsman makes 
his accounts balance to a nicety. Health and 
happiness, with their glorious accompaniments 
are more than ample recompense for the loss of 
25 or 30 cents on every goose or duck killed. 
And now a word or two relative to the sea¬ 
son that is all but upon us. Whether there is 
going to be more or less shooting than has 
marked other seasons is a problem yet to be 
solved. The summer has been an unprecedented 
one, with its evenly tempered climate, its scarcity 
of destructive storms, and plentitude of feed and 
water. Generally such a summer insures good 
flight of birds in the fall, and with favorable 
conditions prevailing on up to the rigorous ad¬ 
vent of winter, I can only predict a busy and 
successful campaign. Just now the locally bred 
birds, which are reported in greater numbers 
than ever before, are just beginning to make 
themselves manifest, and through the present 
month the bluewing shooting should be fine. Six 
weeks hence the main issue of birds will have 
winged their way from their breeding grounds 
around Hudson and Baffin’s bays and the inner¬ 
most recesses of British Columbia, and then it 
ivill be “auh-unk” and “quack” along all our 
waterways from morning till the dropping of the 
sun. 
And the days wall soon roll by, as days have 
done before, and the time of the hunter’s idyl 
will be here. Already the tops of the cotton¬ 
woods are taking on their tinge of gold and the 
FOREST AND STREAM 
distant hills are shrouded in hazy splendor. The 
hazel pod’s serrated lips are parting and the 
sumach burns and glows along the country high¬ 
way. The broad prairies have exchanged their 
garb of green for one of dusty dun, and many of 
the wdlted and browning pursuivants admonish 
the ducker that his time is almost here and that 
he must get busy. There is the boat to haul 
forth and recalk, waders to be patched, shooting- 
duds to be mended, decoys overhauled, restrung 
and anchored, shells to be loaded and a thousand 
and one things to be looked after before he will 
be ready to answer the call of scurrying winds 
and sally forth for his days on the marsh and 
his joyous nights in the tent or hunting lodge. 
A letter from an old shooting-rancher friend 
in South Dakota informs me that more ducks 
bred in his particular neighborhood this year 
than in any year during an eighteen years’ resi¬ 
dence up there. He adds that the same condition 
of things exist on the famous Lake Creek 
marshes on the Pine Ridge reservation and that 
there is plenty of water there this fall. There 
will be several Omaha camping parties on these 
great mallard grounds this season and the pros¬ 
pects are good for fine sport on both wild fowl 
and grouse. The most encouraging reports also 
come to me from various points throughout 
Nebraska and the indications are for plenty of 
birds everywhere. Mallards have been especially 
plentiful all through the summer, showing, in¬ 
disputably, that many of them preferred to re¬ 
main in this region and rear their young than 
make the long journey to arctic fastnesses. The 
teal, too, particularly the bluewing, have already 
been encountered in uncommon numbers, while 
the crop of yellowlegs, rail and other species of 
waders is something really wonderful. 
The first birds to come from the north in the 
autumn time are the bluewings, which can be 
'distinguished from the locally bred birds by 
their extreme wariness. Of course the wood- 
duck and many spoonbill are here all summer, 
like their cousins, the teal and the mallard, but 
while one is hatched out here, thousands are 
given life in their more natural breeding haunts 
in the far north. Following the northern teal, 
come the mallards, bluebills, redheads, green- 
wings, canvas-back and pintail in about the order 
named, the geese coming last and many of them, 
especially Canadas, remaining all winter. 
NEW HAMPSHIRE GAME LAWS TO BE 
REVISED. 
Concord, N. H., Sept. 17, 1914 - 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
There are adequate reasons for a popular be¬ 
lief that the session of the legislature which con¬ 
venes next January will adopt measures to con¬ 
serve and extend the fish and game laws as well 
as to remedy the many deficiencies which now 
exist in the code. 
Following plans which he has -had in contem¬ 
plation for some time, Fish and Game Commis¬ 
sioner Beal invited gentlemen actively interested 
in fish and game to meet him in conference 
here and advise as to the best practical methods 
to be adopted to effect legal changes desired. 
His suggestion met with all-around cordial ap¬ 
proval and on the 15th, men representing every 
section of the state met him in convention and 
thoroughly considered all the subjects regarded 
as pertinent and important. 
The matter of propagation was taken up and 
discussed from all angles -of view and opinion, 
but the primary reason for the conference was 
in evidence throughout the day’s proceedings. 
That was the financial question, it being the 
desire of every sportsman in the state that the 
money received yearly from licenses, fines and 
such revenues, be used directly for the further¬ 
ance of fish and game interests. Several hours 
of discussion on this point led to the adoption 
of the following resolution: 
Whereas, under our present law, the money 
derived from resident hunters, permits, non-resi¬ 
dent licenses, guides licenses and fines and for¬ 
feitures, only a portion is appropriated for the 
interests of fish and game, 
"Therefore, be it resolved that it is the unani¬ 
mous opinion of this convention that all the in¬ 
come derived by the State from the above 
sources be used for the protection and propa¬ 
gation of our fish and game interests. 
As this resolution would be practically use¬ 
less unless followed by some definite campaign, 
steps were taken to -have the fight for financial 
recognition go on under a systematic manage¬ 
ment. A legislative committee was accordingly 
appointed and it was unanimously voted that the 
committee should see that the resolution adopt¬ 
ed be printed and sent to all prospective legis¬ 
lators, to the end that the voters of the state 
learn just how each candidate stands on the 
fish and game question, and govern the casting 
of his ballot accordingly. 
Other action taken at the business meeting 
was the leaving of the question of propagation 
of fish and game to Commissioner Beal and his 
associates. Several urged that committees 
should be appointed to this end, but the major¬ 
ity favored the selection of Commissioner Beal, 
claiming that he would have the entire interest 
of the state at -heart where committees might 
favor certain districts and classes of game and 
fish. 
The advisability of introducing pheasants into 
the state was also considered, and this developed 
a singular antagonism to the proposition. 
Scarcely a man favored the idea, though there 
has been a general expression of gratification 
over a prospect that the birds had begun to 
breed in several sections. The objection raised 
was on the score of destructiveness to crops 
and grouse. 
The formal program of addresses was as fol¬ 
lows : “Enforcement of laws—organization of 
department with responsible local deputies, or 
wardens,” Gen. Frank Battles, Concord; “Propa¬ 
gation of game,” Louis J. Rundlett, Concord; 
“Game refuges,” Louis J. Rundlett, Concord; 
“Reimbursement of farmers for damage,” Rich¬ 
ard W. Pattee, Laconia; “Organizations and co¬ 
ordination of local Fish and Game Associations,” 
W. Parker Straw, Manchester; “Securing li¬ 
cense fees for use of Fish and Game depart¬ 
ment,” Charles W. Vaughn, Laconia; Frank A. 
Musgrove, Hanover; Dr. Tarleton H. Bean, 
Fish Culturists, Albany, N. Y., on “Fish 
Culture.” 
In the evening the following speakers were 
heard: Rev. Manley B. Townsend, Secretary 
Audubon Society, of Nashua, illustrated lecture 
on “Our Native Birds and Why We Should Pro¬ 
tect Them”; John B. Burnham, President Amer¬ 
ican Game and Protective Association, New 
