Jan. i 6 , 1909 .] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
117 
MR. BUTCHER ON GAME LAWS. 
Continued from page 99. 
facture millinery ornaments from the plumage 
of wild birds and a great deal of valuable in¬ 
formation could be obtained regarding the dis¬ 
tribution of birds and animals in the State. 
I also submit for your consideration other 
important changes that I think would be of 
great benefit to the State and probably would 
be the means of giving more effective protec¬ 
tion to the birds and game than can possibly 
be given under present methods. 
These suggestions I wish it distinctly under¬ 
stood must not in the slightest degree be con¬ 
sidered to reflect upon the present Forest, Fish 
and Game Commission or any individual con¬ 
nected with the same. The recomntendation is 
made simply because I believe that it will be 
an advantage to the State. I think that the 
Forest, Fish and Game Commission should be 
divided into three separate and independent 
commissions for the reason that the present 
commission is expected to control interests that 
have no possible connection with each other, 
and, further, each branch is of such great mag¬ 
nitude that it warrants separate treatment. It 
is manifestly impossible to obtain a working 
head with sufficient technical knowledge to se¬ 
cure the best results in each department; one 
or the other must be neglected. The import¬ 
ance of each branch demands a person at the 
head who is a recognized authority on the subject 
to be treated of and is also a good administra¬ 
tive officer. The Forestry Commission needs 
a trained and expert forester, and I may add 
that the present commissioner is doing such 
magnificent work in this particular branch of 
the commission, as at present composed, that 
he is the logical head of the Foresty Commis¬ 
sion. 
A Fisheries Commission needs a trained and 
expert ichthyologist, while the Game Commis¬ 
sion needs a trained ornithologist and mammal- 
ogist. The commissions, if divided, could be 
made entirely self-supporting without any direct 
tax on the people. A Forestry Commission 
managed by an expert should be able to dis¬ 
pose of enough ripe trees annually to provide 
a maintenance fund, as well as a surplus for re¬ 
forestation. A Fisheries Commission could be 
maintained by rentals of fishing rights for 
commercial purposes and license fees for fishing 
privileges for sportsmen. 
A Game Commission could be amply provided 
for by the present gun license of $i.oo per year 
for residents, and the larger license fee for non¬ 
residents. The hunting license fees now col¬ 
lected in this State should be devoted solely and 
entirely to the uses and purposes of the Game 
Commission. This would permit a greatly in¬ 
creased number of wardens on salary and 
would also provide a large fund for propaga¬ 
tion and distribution of birds and game, and 
possibly there might be a small balance left 
annually that could be used for the purposes of 
disseminating literature relating to birds and 
game and their relation to agriculture. 
We believe also that all of these commissions 
should be removed entirely from politics, and 
that the heads and subordinates should be con¬ 
tinued in office during satisfactory behavior and 
should not be subject to removal except on 
charges proven. Further, all of the appointees 
should pass a satisfactory examination, showing 
that they were fitted by reason of their knowl¬ 
edge of either forestry, fish or birds and game 
to hold office and to be in a position to instruct 
the public, and especially the rising generations 
of school children on the subject of forestry, 
fisheries and also the economic value of birds. 
The above suggestions, if they are adopted, 
would give ideal conservation for each of these 
three great natural assets of the State. 
A further consideration is in the matter of 
reservations. One of the contributing causes 
for the diminution in the numbers of birds and 
game in New York State, as well as in other 
parts of the country, is the fact that as the popu¬ 
lation increases, and the territory that was once 
the ancestral home of birds and game is taken 
up, the places where these wild creatures may 
live and reproduce their kind becomes less and 
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PLANNING A HOUSEBOAT 
Will be a leisure-hour occupation in many a family this winter. House¬ 
boating has come among us to stay, and promises to be even more 
popular than in England itself. Every one who is interested in houseboats 
or who contemplates taking up this feature of outdoor life, should read 
Mr. Albert Bradlee Hunt’s practical, and, at the same time, beautiful work 
on the houseboat and its adaptation to American waters. 
Houseboats ai\d Houseboating 
Covers the entire range of its title, considers the use and opportunities of 
the houseboat; their relation to city and surburban life; construction, 
furnishing, motive power, and all the thousand and one details, the knowl¬ 
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building and houseboat life. 
Details, plans, drawings and specifications illuminate the text, while 
life on houseboats is interestingly described. Some of the more noted 
English and American houseboats and the life thereon are also described 
at length with illustrations. Buckram, heavy paper, sumptuously illus¬ 
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Postpaid, $5.34. 
FOR.EST 
AND STR.EAM PUBLISHING 
127 Franklin Street, New York City 
COMPANY 
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WOODCRAFT. 
By Nessmuk. Cloth, i6o pages. Illustrated. Price, $i.oo. 
A book written for the instruction and guidance of those who go for 
pleasure to the woods. Its author, having had a great deal of experience 
in camp life,, has succeeded admirably in putting the wisdom so acquired 
into plain and intelligible English. 
FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING COMPANY, NEW YORK. 
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