March i6, 1912 
FOREST AND STREAM 
335 
Game in the Cold Weather. 
Somerville, Mass., Feb. 23-—Editor Forest and 
Stream: Since writing of the section border¬ 
ing on the towns of Bedford and Lexington in 
which 1 mentioned having seen nineteen grouse 
in an afternoon, I have spent a part of Feb. 15 
and 17 on these same grounds, partly for the 
purpose of working my beagles, and partly to 
put out some grain and see if the birds had 
found any of that which I had scattered about 
on previous occasions. Every place that I could 
remember where I had placed food I found that 
the birds had discovered and eaten it; in fact, 
two or three were flushed in the vicinity of these 
particular spots. I put out more food in these 
places, feeling sure that it would be found and 
eaten. 
On Feb. 17 Mr. Swenson, who frequently ac¬ 
companies me, and I in making a circle through 
this cover flushed six or eight partridges. It 
being quite a mild day and the snow being soft, 
we were able to distinguish the fresh tracks of 
several others that we did not see. At least 
three times I called my companion’s attention 
to the fresh tracks of birds that had evidently 
seen us approaching and had gone back with¬ 
out our seeing or hearing them. Two birds 
were started out of small pines, where they may 
have taken refuge at sight of the dogs. One of 
them I took to be a cock pheasant until I saw 
it sail out into the open. It made such a racket 
in getting out of the trees. I believe that a par¬ 
tridge can make a much better get-away from 
the ground where it can take a step or two in 
starting, although that is not always the case, 
as they can start without doing so and get under 
full headway in a remarkably short distance. 
We saw no pheasants, but twice tracks were 
seen that would indicate these birds by the ac¬ 
companying long unbroken line traced in the 
snow by their long tail feathers. Sometimes 
these birds appear to travel with drooping wings, 
as two parallel lines often show outside the 
foot prints. 
On the 15th I met a gunner wdio informed me 
that he had just seen a small covey of four 
quail which he was surprised to find had sur¬ 
vived the long spell of severe weather. I be¬ 
lieve that most of the game here has managed 
to subsist, as we saw nothing to indicate other¬ 
wise, with perhaps one exception. Mr. Swenson 
came across the remains—feathers only—of a 
partridge which in all probability, although I 
dislike to say so, was eaten by a fox, as the 
place was much tracked up by what appeared 
to be fox tracks. Whether it was a crippled or 
dead bird, or whether the fox was successful in 
catching it alive, will never be known. Con¬ 
sidering the great amount of healthy outdoor 
recreation that has been furnished by reynard, 
I cannot join ranks with those who are clamor¬ 
ing for his extinction. I have a great deal of 
respect for him as a pleasure producer. 
We started but three cottontails, which made 
short, direct cuts to burrows. While the net¬ 
work of tracks everywhere showed quite an 
abundance of rabbits, they seemed to be all 
under ground. Our rabbits here seldom travel 
much during the day when there is any depth 
of snow on the ground, although their main 
tracks show that they must travel a great deal 
at night. Probably they are aware of the fact 
that with the small underbrush covered with 
snow and the ground so white, that it affords 
them scanty protection. 
I am surprised that there should be so much 
small game in this particular locality, only a 
two fare ride on the cars from Boston. Last 
fall I found with much disappointment that this 
entire piece of cover had been burned over in 
the spring, which cleaned it out very clean. Prev¬ 
iously it was an ideal piece of cover with the 
very thick underbrush, and in some places an 
almost impassable barrier of down timber, the 
result of a fire a few years ago. The earth last 
fall was in such a hard, cakey condition that I 
doubt if the vegetation ever gets started again 
in some places. 
In others of the surrounding towns in which 
I have been since the cold snap came on, I have 
found conditions practically the same and feel 
that the small birds and animals have managed 
to survive. This past week we have had much 
warmer weather and considerable of the snow 
has melted. I fear that the waterfowl have had 
a hard time of it, owing to so much ice and 
snow. They must have suffered from want of 
food and fresh water. There are numbers of 
ducks frequenting the shipping thoroughfares in 
the vicinity of the wharves here in Boston. 
Chas. H. Shaw. 
Skunk Farming. 
I\Lany attempts have been made to raise skunks 
for their fur, but the enterprises have usually 
been given up as unprofitable. According to the 
Biological Survey, the chief causes of failure 
have been cost of fencing inclosures, cost of 
maintenance, or lack of experience, leading to 
overcrowding and overfeeding the animals. In 
many cases, where the animals were successfully 
reared, it was found that the expense of feed¬ 
ing them to maturity exceeded the value of the 
fur, while in other instances the antipathy of 
neighbors led to the abandonment ol the experi¬ 
ments. At present the value of the best black 
skins w'ould probably allow a margin of profit 
in rearing this class of skunks. The Survey 
gives the following practical hints on skunk 
farming: 
In the matter of food, the chief aim should 
be to supply a suitable and sufficient diet at rea¬ 
sonable cost. A certain proportion of meat is 
necessary, but the animals eat also bread, green 
corn, clover, tomatoes, and many other vegetable 
substances. Butcher and table scraps given when 
fresh are the main reliance. The food should 
not be salted, and fresh w-ater should be sup¬ 
plied regularly. 
Skunks are especially fond of insects, and if 
the pens are large enough and favorably placed, 
the animals will forage for a part of their food. 
At least an acre of ground should be inclosed 
for each fifty skunks, and even then there is 
danger of cannibalism unless there are plenty of 
separate dens for the females. The fence should 
be made of poultry netting one and one-half inch 
mesh. The posts should be set in ditches eigh¬ 
teen inches or more in depth, which should be 
filled with broken stone or concrete. Another 
plan is to extend the wire netting underground. 
The fence should be three or four feet high and 
have an overhang at the top to keep the animals 
from climbing over. 
Skunks breed once a 3'ear and produce from 
six to eight young. They are born in May or 
June, and mature by December. 
New York Legislature. 
Albany, N. Y., March ii.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: These bills have been introduced in 
the Legislature; 
By Senator Roosevelt and Assemblyman 
Jones, in relation to the definition of “pike 
perch.” It provides that “pike perch” includes 
wall-eyed pike, commonly called pike and j'el- 
low pike. 
By Assemblyman Patrie, relating to suckers 
in Ulster county. 
By Assemblyman Whitney, of Saratoga, ap¬ 
propriating $60,000 for thq acquisition of four 
sites for game preserves within this State, and 
the construction of suitable buildings and 
fixtures. 
By Assemblnian Jones, of Jefferson, trans¬ 
ferring to the Conservation Commission the 
powers and duties conferred by this section 
upon the former Forest, Fish and Game Com¬ 
mission in relation to the assessment of State 
lands, etc. 
By Assemblyman Evans, of Sullivan, author¬ 
izing the State Conservation Commission to 
select a site for a game farm in Sullivan county, 
and to purchase such land as may be necessary, 
and appropriating $20,000 for that purpose. 
Appropriating $20,000 for the establishment 
of a fish hatchery for bass and other fish. The 
hatchery is to be established in Sullivan county. 
By Assemblyman T. K. Smith, of Syracuse, 
relating to the State college of forestry at Syra¬ 
cuse University. 
By Senator Platt, of Painted Post, reducing 
from 25 to 10 the number of lake trout that may 
be taken or transported at any one time by 
any one person. 
The Senate has passed Senator Coats’ bill 
appropriating $20,000 for the establishment of a 
fish hatchery in St. Lawrence county. 
The Assembly has passed the bill of Mr. 
Prime, of Essex, relative to the’ use of tip-ups 
in Lake Champlain. E. C. C. 
Illinois Notes. 
Bloomington, Ill., March 2.— Editor Forest 
and Stream: Careless hunters continue to antag¬ 
onize farmers by shooting their stock while 
seeking game, and with each recurring incident 
of this kind, the number of “no trespass” signs 
increase, and the greater the difficulty the re¬ 
sponsible hunter meets with in trying to find a 
place to seek game. 
While hunting near Apple River, Albert Mc- 
Fadden killed a fine specimen of the gray timber 
wolf. The bounty of $5 was paid for the pelt. 
Numerous cases of sheep killing were charged 
to this animal. 
Game wardens are bringing in reports that 
many dead quail have been found, succumbing to 
the long period of frigid temperature. Game 
wardens have urged farmers to distribute grain 
where the birds can reach it and thus prevent 
the loss of their insect-destroying friends. Many 
agriculturists are doing this, and it is hoped that 
the practice will become general. 
The Illinois Rod and Cun Club, composed of 
sportsmen of Rock Island and vicinity, has been 
incorporated. The incorporators are: Phillip 
Mitchell, Willard Schaeffer and A. D. Sperry. 
The club owns a comfortable club house and 
controls a large tract on the Illinois River. 
E. E. Pierson. 
