Forest and Stream 
Terms, $3 a Year, 10 Cts. a Copy. 
Six Months, $1.50. 
NEW YORK, SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 1909. 
1 VOL. LXXII.—No. 13, 
I No. 127 Franklin St.. New York 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL. 
Copyright, 1909, by Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 
George Bird Grinnell, President, 
Charles B. Reynolds, Secretary. 
Louis Dean Speir^ Treasurer. 
127 Ftanklm Street, New York. 
THE OBJECT OF THIS JOURNAL 
will be to studiously promote a healthful interest 
in outdoor recreation, and to cultivate a refined 
taste for natural objects. 
—Forest and Stream, Aug. 14, 1873. 
ARBOR AND BIRD DAY. 
Governor Davidson, of Wisconsin, has ap¬ 
pointed Friday, May 7, as Arbor and Bird day. 
In his proclamation he refers to the importance 
of the National Conservation Commission, a 
body recently appointed to do what may be done 
to repair the wastefulness of past generations. 
It is very important that the youth of the 
nation should be taught the necessity of pre¬ 
serving the natural resources of the country, the 
forests, the streams and the wild creatures on 
which both so largely depend for existence, and 
which, incidentally, add to the beauties of nature. 
Arbor day was established many years ago 
through the efforts of the late J. Sterling Mor¬ 
ton, in his day an earnest worker in behalf of 
the forest preservation and forest increase, whose 
influence did much to lead the people of the 
United States to consider the importance of 
forestry. He was one of the leaders who 
brought about the change of sentiment for the 
better. 
In several States Arbor day and Bird day are 
already fixed institutions. They should be estab¬ 
lished in all the States, and instructors every¬ 
where should endeavor to interest the children 
in the preservation of trees and of birds, ex¬ 
plaining to them what both mean and why both 
should be cared for. 
PROPOSED FISH AND GAME LAWS. 
In our summary of bills introduced in the 
New York Assembly, printed in another column, 
it will be seen that some very important recom¬ 
mendations have been made by the Fish and 
Game Committee of that body. Among these 
is the proposed increase in the number of game 
wardens to 100 and the placing of these ap¬ 
pointive positions under civil service rules. The 
sportsmen, who provide a large proportion of 
the money in the treasury that is available for 
game and fish protection, have long favored the 
civil service idea, and they are surely in accord 
with the increase in the number of protectors: 
indeed, the delegates of clubs affiliated with the 
great Fish, Game and Forest League of the 
State have already recommended an increase to 
150, or nearly double the present force of pro¬ 
tectors. 
The proposed changes in the laws relating 
to forest fire protection are stringent, as they 
must be to save the hunting regions in times of 
severe drouth. It is proposed to empower the 
Governor to close any or all State lands to 
camping, hunting and fishing if such action 
may be deemed advisable; in other words, to 
postpone the open season until a more pro¬ 
pitious time, as was done last autumn in 
Vermont. 
If this bill passes, deer raised in private pre¬ 
serves may be killed, shipped and sold in the 
markets, through the permit system. 
The State League's recommendation for one 
rabbit season for the entire State is made a 
part of this bill, and so is the proposition to 
license all guides operating in forest preserve 
counties. 
The trout open seasons are simplified. The 
last chapter in Atlantic salmon culture is found 
in the deletion of all reference to that fish 
which was at one time abundant in the State, 
but is now only a memory. 
AN INTERESTING BOOK. 
It is not generally known that Charles 
Sheldon, besides being a mighty hunter, an 
•Alaskan explorer and a student of large prob¬ 
lems in zoology, is also an enthusiastic collector 
of books. He has a large and very interesting 
library of works on shooting, and the volume 
of which he tells us this week is one of his 
greatest treasures, for it is absolutely unique. 
Not only is it a perfect copy, in perfect con¬ 
dition, but it is the only copy known to exist 
of the first book on shooting ever published in 
America. 
When this book was printed, the city sports¬ 
man was not obliged to go far afield for game. 
At that time the city extended not very far 
above the present Wall street, and it was not 
until nearly twenty years later that the founda¬ 
tions of the City Hall were laid on the remote 
outskirts of the town, where City Hall Park 
now is. Above that stretched green fields and 
fertile farms; the almshouse, situated on the 
poor farm, was far out in the country, near the 
present Canal street. 
In those days there was excellent shooting 
on the uplands and along the shores. A great 
place for bay snipe was on the Lispenard 
meadows—on the wide flats that bordered the 
little stream which gave its name to Canal 
street. Jacksnipe frequented the wet, fresh 
meadows where great warehouses now stand; 
ruffed grouse drummed on the hemlock-crowned 
ridge that stretched away toward Fort Wash¬ 
ington, prairie chickens hooted on Long Island 
barrens, and small boys went fishing in the Col¬ 
lect Pond and the Canal. 
Seventy-five and even a hundred years later 
there were little spots on Manhattan Island 
that recalled those primitive days, but now 
those spots are almost all gone, and the life 
that once occupied them has wholly disappeared. 
TROUT FISHING AND SNOWSHOEING. 
The State of New York offers an unusual 
range for selection in the matter of outdoor rec¬ 
reation just now. Over on Long Island the 
trout season is open and the early anglers are 
whipping preserved and open waters to-day. 
Barring the vagaries of March winds and clouds, 
a bright and bracing but not a real cold day 
may be expected. 
In the Adirondacks, only one night’s travel 
to the north, the snow lies about three feet 
deep on the level, and the conditions for tramp¬ 
ing or snowshoeing are ideal. Advices from 
that part of the State a few days ago were that 
a fresh snow had fallen on top the heavy crust, 
making snowshoeing excellent. Many of our 
friends go into the woods late in February or 
in March and spend a week roaming frdm camp 
to camp with no other object in view than the 
enjoyment of seeing the forests at their best 
while indulging in vigorous exercise. At this 
season the air is pure, the sun warm, and after 
a jaunt of ten or fifteen miles up hill and down, 
one appreciates the plain fare of the backwoods 
inn, the after dinner pipe beside a good fire, and 
he sleeps like a child. It is good medicine. 
Our cover picture this week comes from far 
away Australia, where trout fishing is worth 
while. In Sidney last year the New South 
Wales Anglers’ Casting Club was organized. 
One of its objects is “The betterment and ad¬ 
vancement of the sport of scientific rod angling 
in every possible direction.” It also teaches 
novices, disseminates information and propa¬ 
gates game fish. There as here casting contests 
are held now and then, and American rules and 
tackle are employed. Not long ago several fine 
trout rods were shipped from this city to Sidney, 
six months’ time elapsing between the date of 
the order and the receipt of the rods. This 
shows that Australians must give due thought, 
during their winter season, to the outfits they 
plan to use in the warm months. 
at 
The United States Fisheries Bureau will have 
an exhibit at the Alaska-Yukon Exposition in 
Seattle, Wash., this year. It is understood that 
the Pacific coast hatcheries will contribute largely 
to the exhibition of game and food fish and the 
culture of the same, as these will be of peculiar 
interest to the people of the Western States. 
The exhibit will be a part of that made by the 
Bureau of Commerce and Labor. 
St 
Next week we >vill print the first one of two 
excellent papers by Edward Howe Forbush of 
the Massachusetts Audubon Society on game 
bird propagation in that State. At the same 
time canoeists will be able to read the first in¬ 
stallment of the log of a canoe cruise from 
Detroit to New York city, a voyage that any 
young man might make during his vacation. 
