Jan. 27, 1912 ] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
Ill 
New York Legislature. 
Albany, N. Y., Jan. 22—Editor Forest and 
Stream: Senator Roosevelt, of Dutchess; has 
introduced in the Legislature a bill amending the 
conservation law by consolidating in it a revis¬ 
ion of the present laws relating to fish and game, 
including the forest, fish and game law and all 
laws relating to shellfish. The principal changes 
of substance, as stated by the Forest, Fish and 
Game Commission (which is responsible for this 
bill) in a memorandum which accompanies the 
bill as introduced, are as follows: 
Increase in the number of game protectors 
from 95 to 125. 
Permission granted to a citizen to bring into 
the State under certain restrictions game law¬ 
fully taken by him in another State or country. 
Permission granted a non-resident to take out 
of the State the number of game he may law¬ 
fully take in one day. 
Trapper’s license incorporated in the hunting 
license. 
A non-resident fishing license with fee of $2 
exacted, but not applied to persons under sixteen 
years of age and a $10 non-resident trapper’s 
license required. 
Killing of deer limited to bucks only, and 
season changed to Oct. i to Nov. 15, both in- 
c'usive. 
Bag limit of five placed on squirrels. 
Use of ferrets in taking rabbits prohibited, but 
owners of farm lands permitted to take rabbits 
at any time in any manner. 
Bag limit of twenty-five to a person and thirty- 
five to a blind or battery placed on wildfowl. 
Season on certain upland game birds advanced 
to Sept. 16, closing Oct. 31. 
Closed season on quail, except on Long Island. 
Law made general on pheasants, open season 
advanced to Thursdays only in October. 
Season on woodcock advanced to Sept. 16 up 
State, and on Long Island advanced to Oct. 15. 
Shooting on public highways prohibited. 
Persons permitted to take minnows for bait 
for their personal use, but not for sale without 
procuring a license. 
Trout season made general, opening date 
fixed May i, except on Long Island where it is 
unchanged, size limit increased to seven inches. 
Sale of bass prohibited, season made general, 
the opening date being June 16. 
Limit on whitefish made twelve inches. 
Mile limit in Lake Ontario with regard to 
netting changed to one-half mile from Oct. i to 
April 30. 
A license is required for dealers in imported 
game, not to include, however, retail dealers, 
hotel keepers or clubs. 
•A.mong the amendments incorporated in a bill 
submitted by the conservation commission are 
provisions for greater protection from fire in the 
forest preserve counties. The commission would 
compel the operators of logging railroads which 
have caused so many fires in the past, to take 
the same precautions as the railroads acting as 
common carriers. Slashings and debris must be 
burned when in the judgment of the commission 
there is danger of fire, and any person setting 
a fire on or near forest or brush land, and leav¬ 
ing it unquenched is made guilty of a misde¬ 
meanor. To start a camp-fire on or near forest 
lands without clearing away the brush and leaves 
for at least ten feet is likewise a misdemeanor, 
punishable by fine or imprisonment for not more 
than ninety days. 
The provisions with regard to the scientific 
cutting of timber upon lands in the forest pre¬ 
serve and the laws encouraging the planting of 
forest trees, if enacted, will be in advance of 
any legislation yet enacted in the United States, 
it is asserted by the commission. The bill gives 
to the commission power to regulate the cutting 
of timber to the end that the forest cover may 
be maintained, thus conserving the waters, and 
seeks to encourage the growing of forest trees 
throughout the State. 
It is provided that no soft wood timber less 
than eight inches in diameter, and no hardwood 
less than twelve inches, breast high, growing 
upon any wild forest lands in Hamilton county 
and in certain towns of Clinton, Delaware, 
Essex, Franklin, Greene, Herkimer, Lewis, 
Oneida, Saratoga, St. Lawrence, Sullivan, War¬ 
ren and Washington counties, shall be cut with¬ 
out the written consent of the conservation com¬ 
mission. 
Senator Thomas, of Madison, has introduced 
a bill relating to coarse fish in certain counties. 
Senator Ramsperger, of Buffalo, has intro¬ 
duced a bill appropriating $50,000 for building 
and equipping at Cornell University a range of 
glass houses for experimental and teaching work 
in floriculture. 
Assemblyman Sullivan, of Chautauqua, has in¬ 
troduced a bill relating to whitefish. 
Assemblyman Patrie, of Greene, has intro¬ 
duced two bills as fo'lows; 
Providing that suckers may be taken by hook¬ 
ing through the ice in the Schoharie Kill below 
the Iron Bridge, at Hunter, and in the Batavia 
Kill, below Soper’s Dam, at Windham, in Greene 
county. 
Including carp among the kinds of fish that 
may be taken in the Delaware River and that 
part of the Hudson River below the Troy Dam, 
with nets operated by hand only, from March 15 
to June 15, both inclusive. 
Assemblyman Walters has introduced a bill 
appropriating $75,000 to enable the conservation 
commission to select sites for six game farms 
at such places within the State as the commis¬ 
sion may determine, and to purchase for the 
State such lands as may be deemed necessary 
therefor. 
Brown’s Tract Guides. 
Utica, N. Y., Jan. 13 .— Editor Forest and 
Stream: The Brown’s Tract Guides’ Associa¬ 
tion, which has done a great deal to promote 
the interests of fish and game, held its annual 
meeting at Old Forge on the evening of Jan. ii. 
Notwithstanding the fact that the mercury indi¬ 
cated 19 degrees below zero, and the snow was 
nearly three feet in depth, there was a very 
large attendance. The following officers were 
elected for the ensuing year: President, George 
Godsell, Old Forge; Vice-President, J. E. Ball, 
Old Eorge; Secretary and Treasurer, A. M. 
Church, Boonville; Executive Committee, Wil¬ 
liam Weedmark, E. J. Ball, Old Eorge; Eay 
Smith, Beaver River; Daniel Charbonneau, Old 
Eorge; M. J. Oley, White Lake; E. J. Arnum, 
Inlet; E. M. Covey, Big Moose. 
The report of Secretary and Treasurer Church 
stated among their things: “The year has been 
a quiet one with the association. We applied 
for and received from the Eulton Chain hatchery 
located at Old Eorge 45,000 brook trout finger- 
lings, which were planted in streams tributary 
to the Eulton Chain of Lakes, Big Moose and 
in the river. We also planted lake trout fry and 
fingerlings and whitefish fry in the lakes. Ihe 
general report from people along the chain of 
lakes was that the fishing was very much bet¬ 
ter than it had been in many years. There 
seemed to be a large number of the lake trout 
just reaching the fifteen-inch limit. Many have 
ejnestioned the wisdom of our stocking our 
waters with the lake whitefish, but during the 
past season they have been caught by the hun¬ 
dreds of pounds with hook and line. 
“At the request of the boards of the towns 
of Webb and Inlet in 1907, fishing in the small 
streams in their towns was prohibited for a term 
of five years. Unless measures are taken to 
renew this close season in those streams, they 
will be open for fishing on the first day of May 
next. As these small streams are the places 
where the trout fry and fingerlings are released 
on being taken from the hatchery, and where 
they are supposed to grow and, reaching maturity, 
drop into the larger streams and lakes, it is im¬ 
portant that this close season be continued, and 
I would suggest that the president be authorized 
to appoint a committee from each town to at¬ 
tend to this matter. 
“Nearly all the reports were to the effect that 
deer were more scarce than ever. The further 
back in the forest, the more the scarcity was 
noted. Hunters were as numerous as in other 
years, but the kill was much less. The winter 
of 1910-1911 was very severe. Many deer died 
from its effects, some early fishing parties see¬ 
ing forty or fifty carcasses on their fishing trips 
through the yarding districts. This mortality 
was more general than in any previous years 
of my experience. Feeding them by cutting 
brush and browse is all right in a general way. 
Helping them by means of snowshoe paths and 
trails is a great help also, but they cannot be 
reached to a great extent by men on snowshoes 
in isolated places, and the remedy lies, in my 
opinion, only in some regulation that will allow 
their increase in numbers to such an extent that 
they may break their own roads as they formerly 
did and find their own food in that way. In my 
report of last year I stated to you that I be¬ 
lieved in, and was in favor of, an open season 
during which bucks only should be killed, and 
I believe that in this lies the solution of the 
whole question.’’ 
At the close of the business meeting the guides 
repaired to the dining room and enjoyed a fine 
supper of which some 250 partook. 
W. E. Wolcott. 
All the game laws of the United States and 
Canada, revised to date and now in force, are 
given in the Game Laws in Brief. See adv. 
