214 
FOREST AND STREAM 
[Feb. 6, igog. 
Just four minutes later tlie hound jumped the 
wall and made one shake at the fox he had 
driv'en since about lo o'clock in the morning. 
Over ledges, dry leaves and a big stretch of 
swampy ground he had followed his fox and 
finished four minutes behind, a worthy son of 
Ben. Harrison. We fed the dogs, filled our 
pipes and drove home through the dusk de¬ 
lighted with a record of five foxes on bare 
ground in one day. W. E. J. 
Grouse in Pennsylvania. 
Auburn, Pa., Feb. i. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Prior to the opening of the shooting 
season of igo8 you asked for my opinion as to 
the probable scarcity or abundance of ruffed 
grouse. At that time I had been so little in the 
covers — the only way of obtaining reliable in¬ 
formation — that I felt any opinions I might give 
would be too vague to be of any value. 
During the shooting season I did not go out 
witli the gun at all, feeling that what few birds 
might be in the covers should he left alone that 
they might be “fruitful and multiply’’ and re¬ 
plenish the covers. And they were but little 
hunted by any one in this immediate localitJ^ 
Rabbit hunters were numerous, but they paid 
but little attention to the birds, onh' a few 
giving them much attention, but those who did 
look for them found them much more plenti¬ 
ful than during the preceding fall. 
Since the close of the season I have been 
through the covers and have also made inquiry 
of reliable parties and am very much encour¬ 
aged by the results. The winter so far has been 
e.xtremeh^ mild, and should we get a favorable 
nesting season, I look for a material increase 
in the supply for igog. I own a piece of cover 
that furnishes ideal feeding and nesting con¬ 
ditions, and I am now certain that it shelters 
not less than fifteen fine birds. A friend who 
passed through it on next to the last day of the 
open season started twelve. Not long since 1 
put up nine birds on less than an acre and all 
seemed to be uncommonly large strong birds. I 
know of but one being killed from this flock 
during the entire fall, ^^'ild grapes were an 
unusual crop and beech nuts were fairly plenti¬ 
ful, and all who killed any birds remarked about 
their size and condition. All things considered, 
I am quite hopeful of the future of this royal 
bird. 
My attention was called during last summer 
to a new enemy — to me—of the ruffed grouse. 
James Donlin, a neighbor, while passing through 
the cover mentioned above, noticed a mother 
grouse protesting vigorously the presence of an 
enemy, and upon investigating found that a large 
black snake had caught one of her chicks. A 
Mow from a stick that proved too rotten to do 
much damage to the marauder caused it to drop 
its prey and make its escape, while the chick, 
anparently little the worse for its experience, 
scuttled away to hide in the leaves. I never 
knew before of a similar case, yet as the snakes 
are quite plentiful here they may account for 
the death of a good many grouse. 
Squirrels were more than usually abundant 
and rabbits very plentiful. Although I saw and 
heard several quail during the summer, they are 
practically extinct. I did not see or hear of 
a single covey during the entire fall. 
Bon Ami. 
North American Annual. 
Quebec, Canada, Feb. i .-—Editor Forest and 
Stream: The North American Fish and Game 
Protective Association held its annual conven¬ 
tion on Jan. 20 and 21 in Toronto, where both 
days’ sessions were presided over by the re¬ 
tiring president. Hon. Dr. J. O. Reaume, Min¬ 
ister of Public Works and Fisheries. 
Hon. Mr. Grimmer, Surveyor-General of New 
Brunswick, who like Commissioner Whipple, 
of New York, sent his regrets at inability to 
attend, was represented by his ^ Fishery Com¬ 
missioner. Col. McCulley. British Columbia 
sent the gratifying report that the government 
of the province had established Goat Mountain 
Park, asked for by the association last year 
in accordance with Dr. Hornaday’s suggestion. 
The association was welcomed to Toronto by 
Lieut.-Governor Gibson, of Ontario, by Mayor 
Oliver, of Toronto, and by President Reaume. 
% 
A GAME PROTECTOR ON THE TRAIL. 
Mayor Oliver's address was a literary gem, en¬ 
livened with a prominent vein of humor and 
flashes of classical lore pertaining to the gentle 
art as practiced by the ancients. 
Lieut.-Governor Gibson insisted that the 
abolition of spring shooting was the great step 
toward the prevention of the ruthless slaughter 
of ducks. 
The New York report submitted by Chas. F. 
Burhans reported a good increase of ducks of 
various kinds as a result of the abolition of 
spring shooting, but regretted that no success 
so far seems to have attended the efforts to 
facilitate the increase of grouse and woodcock. 
The report favored the later opening of the 
deer season, urging that meat killed in Sep¬ 
tember was often wasted, that the danger to 
human life in the woods would be lessened by 
opening the season on Oct. i instead of Sept. 
16. and that the change was also desirable in 
the interest of protection a.gainst fire. Its 
recommendation against the sale of black bass 
was heartily approved by the association, and 
also against its capture for commercial pur¬ 
poses. 
The action of the Massachusetts Legislature 
in again opening the month of October for 
ruffed grouse, woodcock and quail was strongly 
criticized by G. H. Richards, of Boston, who 
contended that quail in Massachusetts are not 
large enough to be shot on Oct. i, and that 
the open season should not begin for them until 
Nov. I. Approval was expressed of the resi¬ 
dent license fee of one dollar and of the regis¬ 
tration of all hunters, but the report wisely 
suggests careful investigation of the result of 
pheasant introduction, with a view to ascertain 
whether these birds are not killing and driving 
out the native game. 
Much of A. Kelly Evans’ report for Ontario 
dealt with the work and progress of the On¬ 
tario Fish and Game Protective Association. 
Dr. Finnic briefly reported for Quebec 
province, showing that the -government had 
prolonged the close season for beaver until 
1910, and had continued the prohibition of the 
sale of partridges until 1911. A wise provision 
recently made is to hold railway contractors 
and companies, as well as lumbermen, re¬ 
sponsible for an}' infraction of the laws com¬ 
mitted by their employees. In the course of 
the discussion which followed, Hon. C. R. 
Devlin, the provincial Minister of Fish and 
Game, declared that if the woods and waters 
of the province were left perfectly free, there 
would not be any life left in them in the course 
of fifty years. He described his recent dismis¬ 
sal of over seventy fish and game guardians for 
negligence of duty, and also spoke of the rapid 
increase of wild life in the game preserves of 
the province, one of his colleagues in the gov¬ 
ernment having told him of seeing hundreds 
of caribou in one trip through the Laurentides 
National Park. 
William Dutcher, president of the National 
Association of Audubon Societies, had bro light 
to the attention of the association the work of 
the National Conservation Commission under 
the leadership of Forester Gifford Pinchot. 
The association unanimously expressed itself as 
being heartily in sympathy with the movement 
and H. G. Elliott, of Montreal, was appointed 
to represent it at the meetings of the commis¬ 
sion in Washington. 
W. A. Preston, M. P. P., and Arthur Hawkes 
were appointed a committee to ascertain the 
condition of fish and game preservation in the 
adjoining portions of Ontario and Minnesota, 
and to secure co-operation between the author¬ 
ities. Mr. Preston pointed out that a large 
part of Minnesota bordering on Ontario was 
wild land. Animals passed freely backward and 
forward across the boundary line and were fre¬ 
quently followed by hunters who committed 
illegal acts. He had known a case in which 
-A.merican hunters crossed the boundary and 
killed nine moose simply for the heads. Com¬ 
mon action was necessary also, with regard to 
net fishing on the lakes. He said that the wolf' 
question was another matter that required tak¬ 
ing up. Red deer had been coming into west¬ 
ern Ontario lately in large numbers from the 
American side followed b}' wolves. He thought 
it would be money in the* pocket of the govern¬ 
ment if the bounty was increased. The revenue 
from hunting licenses was increasing year by 
year, and it was important from that point of 
view to keep down the natural increase of the 
wolves. 
Hon, Mr. Reaume pointed out that the gov- 
