404 
FOREST AND STREAM 
March 30, 1912 
Gulf Fishing. 
ing themselves against the constant traffic of the 
city street. Most of our parks are • posted 
against dogs. I tried taking them out in the 
country to exercise them along the public high¬ 
ways, but found no such road exempt from the 
automobile. It is quite generally understood to 
what extent most of the drivers of these ma¬ 
chines consider the welfare of such an insig¬ 
nificant thing as a dog. Our little party has 
found this out to our sorrow. Then the con¬ 
stant worriment is anything but pleasant. 
Any actual harm done by these properly trained 
dogs I have never witnessed. My limited ex¬ 
perience with such dogs have convinced me that 
with very few exceptions when taken out they 
know just what is required of them and they 
hunt exclusively the animal upon which they 
have been trained. Such dogs frequently ignore 
offers of food, and many of the most enthusiastic 
hunters show no inclination to eat the animal 
hunted. That they ever bother to rob nests I 
doubt very much. I am willing to believe that 
these dogs as well as any others can disturb 
nesting birds, and if done at night with more 
or less harmful effect. My impression is that 
the most of this night running of dogs during 
the summer is done by the resident country 
hound, seldom used in actual legitimate hunt¬ 
ing, but are allowed to run at large the year 
round and are as lax in their training as are 
their owners. 
As the conditions to-day call for every pos¬ 
sible effort in the interest of game and song 
birds, it is proper that they should be afforded 
every advantage and protection during the breed¬ 
ing season. If the running at large of dogs is 
detrimental to the welfare of these birds, it be¬ 
hooves us as well thinking sportsmen to encour¬ 
age the restraining of these so-called self-hunt¬ 
ing dogs by controlling our own. As no amount 
of earnest appeal will accomplish this desired 
effort, let us have a law to regulate it, provid¬ 
ing it can be properly enforced where it should 
be, and not mean the restraint of the least harm¬ 
ful dog by a well-intending owner. Senate bill 
17s, as published in Forest and Stream in a 
recent issue I considered more than fair to dog 
owners, and hardly fulfilling the purpose for 
which it is intended. Chas. H. Shaw. 
Bihmore Fore«t School. 
On Shipboard, March 17 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: During the first part of February our 
field work was conducted in the forests near 
Darmstadt. On the 12th we found ourselves in 
the famous Black Forest. We were situated at 
the Kurhaus Sand, high up in the mountains, 
with the most wonderful views, surrounded by 
silent dark forests of fir and spruce. Here is 
the playground of Germany-—the ideal home for 
the simple life. The beautiful white winding 
“macadams” piercing the blackness of the sigh¬ 
ing solemn forest, the enchanting streams, gurg¬ 
ling and dashing down the mountain sides, the 
alluring footpaths leading off into the mystery 
of the woods, and the welcome, comfortable rest¬ 
ing places where one can relieve his mind of 
worldly cares, and be soothed by the lullaby of 
the forest choir, and drink to content of the 
good pure mountain air—all these are in striking 
contrast with the busy outside world. 
Our headquarters upon our return will be in 
the Adirondacks at Tupper Lake. 
James W. Egnor, Class President. 
Jacksonville, Fla., March 21. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: Though somewhat early in the 
season I have made a couple of trips to McGirts 
Creek to try for black bass, but did not get a 
strike, either casting or trolling. With a week 
or two of warm, settled weather, it will be a 
different story. 
Last month many fine strings of speckled perch 
were caught about the railroad bridge crossing 
this creek, live minnows being the bait used. 
During the first part of the winter I was down 
in St. Petersburg, on Tampa Bay, for a few 
weeks, and what spare time I had was spent 
along the water front. Fishing from the docks 
is a favorite pastime with a large number of 
the tourists, many States being represented, and 
the tackle used was equally varied. Alongside 
of a man using a rod and reel equal to landing 
a six-foot shark I noticed another fisherman 
using a split bamboo fly-rod. When a fifteen- 
pound kingfish was hooked, there was excitement 
all along the line, for the kingfish is a game 
fighter. 
Two grizzled old fishermen were standing side 
by side watching their corks riding the green 
swells and occasionally reeling in to see if the 
bait was in good condition. Said one: “Who 
do you think will be elected mayor of Philadel¬ 
phia?” 
The other, intent on putting on a live shiner, 
did not reply until he had cast far out from the 
dock and reeled in the slack. “Haven’t taken 
much interest in the matter,” said he at last. 
“What interests me is whether or not I am 
going to catch a kingfish this morning.” 
It was while fishing off the electric dock that 
I saw my first balloon fish. As the fisherman 
swung it back over the dock, the fish fell off the 
hook, grunted two or three times, and with a 
flip of the tail was on its back. Then it began 
to inflate, and in a minute it was about the size 
of a toy balloon. As I was examining this 
curiosity the man who caught it remarked that 
he could stand on the fish and not injure it. As 
he weighed at least 160 pounds, I replied that I 
imagined it would explode like a torpedo if he 
attempted it. Placing one foot on the fish and 
balancing himself with his rod, he raised his 
other foot and stood erect. A few moments 
after this exhibition the fish expelled the air. 
It was then tossed overboard and swam off as 
though such incidents were all in the day’s sport. 
This fish was not over ten inches long. 
The man who caught this fish told me that 
he once saw a pelican make the mistake of 
swallowing, or attempting to swallow, one of 
these fish and died as a result of its greediness. 
He said the pelican tried all kinds of schemes to 
eject the fish, but could not do so, and after a 
short struggle went over on its back, and with 
feet up drifted out with the tide. 
Before leaving St. Petersburg I went over to 
Pass-a-Grille, known far and near for its tarpon 
fishing. There is but a narrow strip of land be¬ 
tween the pass and the gulf, and on this is the 
little town of Pass-a-Grille. To the west is the 
open gulf with its crescent-shaped bathing beach, 
across the pass to the east Pine Key, and to the 
south a number of small islands dot the entrance 
to Tampa Bay. Among them is Bird Key, a bird 
reservation under Government supervision. 
Going back to Gulfport across Boca Ceiga Bay 
I witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets 
I have seen in years. During the afternoon a 
storm had been brewing over the gulf, but just 
before sunset the great bank of clouds began 
to break up, and behind this ragged curtain the 
sun shot its brilliant rays over sky and water, 
and disappeared in the gulf like a big golden 
ball. From up and down the bay came gulls 
and pelicans, all headed for Bird Key. I counted 
up to sixty in one string of pelicans, then lost 
count. They were strung out in a straight line, 
one behind the other, and for some distance the 
whole line would sail along just above the water 
without w'ing motion, then the leader would 
glide upward, flap its wings a few times, coast 
down the incline and resume the steady sail just 
above the water, each pelican in turn following 
its leader’s motions. These undulating strings 
of birds, all headed toward Bird Key, presented 
a curious sight in the changing twilight colors 
reflected in the water. Geo. A. Irwin. 
The Law Upheld. 
Bloomington, Ill., March 22 .—Editor Forest 
and Stream: Of deep interest to the fishermen 
of Illinois was the recent decision of the Illi¬ 
nois Supreme Court in the Booth cases. The 
section of the fish law was upheld which pro¬ 
hibits the sale of game fish in Illinois, but the 
court declared unconstitutional that section ap¬ 
plying to the transportation or sale of fish 
caught outside of the State. The court held 
that a State has no power to wholly exclude a 
lawful article of commerce produced in another 
State. While it may regulate the introduction 
of an article, including a food product so as to 
regulate its purity, the police power does not 
extend to its total exclusion. The court holds 
that sound, wholesome fish constitute a valu¬ 
able article of food and are property. The 
owner of such fish, taken in another State or 
foreign country, has the right to bring them 
into Illinois for any lawful purpose. He may 
have them for his own consumption, to give 
away, or he may store them, although he may 
not have the possession of them here for pur¬ 
pose of sale. He has the right to receive an¬ 
other’s fish for storage. If, being the owner, 
he desires to ship them to another State, he may 
do so, or if having them in store for another, 
the owner orders him to ship them to another 
State, he may do so. This transportation of 
commodities from one State to another is inter¬ 
state commerce, and the Illinois law, where it 
prohibits such transportation, is unconstitu¬ 
tional and void. 
E. E. Pierson. 
