May 4, 1912 
FOREST AND STREAM 
563 
Under the above conditions we may conclude 
that a very small percentage from the hatcheries 
becomes mature fish. My urgent plea for close 
seasons to assist us in perpetuating the fisheries 
of the Province is strengthened by the knowl¬ 
edge that the most expert authority on the con¬ 
tinent—Professor Prince—is a strong advocate 
for the observance and strict enforcement of 
close seasons. 
Nearly 100,000 small-mouth black bass were 
raised, and deposited in the various inland lakes 
of the Province, and in the near future the re¬ 
sult of this important work by the Government 
will be noticeable and appreciated by the tourists 
who each year come over in increased numbers. 
I The sale of angling permits was greater than 
j in former years, showing that more tourists are 
! taking advantage of the excellent fishing which 
I this Province offers, and I am glad to say that 
our officers have had less trouble in enforcing 
I the laws and regulations with regard to angling 
; than in any former year, and in their reports 
j there would appear to be a general desire on 
i behalf of the public to not only observe the laws 
I and regulations, but in many instances to render 
I assistance to our officers, realizing how import¬ 
ant it is that the fisheries of the Province be 
preserved. 
j It is almost impossible to get a record of 
moose killed during open season for same, in 
consequence of so many of the carcasses being 
given to Indians and guides, sportsmen only tak¬ 
ing the heads which are sent to taxidermists in 
various parts of the Province and United States, 
but from the reports of Crown Lands agents, 
rangers and others, there is no appreciable dimi¬ 
nution as yet in their numbers. 
! The wisdom of allowing only one deer to be 
killed by each hunter instead of two is already 
apparent. Express companies in 1909 carried 3,923 
deer, and in 1910 only 2,468, a decrease of 1.455. 
There is no perceptible increase in the num- 
^ ber of otter in the Province. Beavers have in- 
j creased very rapidly, and are returning to the 
, original beaver meadows in large numbers. Com- 
^ plaints frequently reach me to the effect that 
these interesting engineers are damaging private 
I property by flooding roads and meadows. On 
investigation it has only been necessary in a few 
cases to destroy their dams. A large number 
of mink are killed in the Province. The skins 
of those killed early in the season are of small 
' value. Muskrats appear to be as numerous as 
ever, which, when we consider the large number 
killed annually, is most surprising. A large busi¬ 
ness is done in all the more common varieties of 
fur-bearing animals. 
: ^ Duck shooting has not been as satisfactory as 
: in former years, in a large measure due to the 
almost unprecedented low water, many of the 
private preserves having little or in some cases 
no water in their ponds. 
Ruffed grouse have been numerous, affording 
good sport—sport to such an extent that many 
so-called sportsmen have forgotten how near ex¬ 
termination of these grand and hardy game birds 
had been reached a few years ago. If shooters 
in general in the future are not more reasonable 
and satisfied with less slaughter, it will be neces¬ 
sary to further reduce the open season and limit 
the bag. In fact, the time has arrived in the 
interest of the Province and perpetuation of 
game in general to impose a general license fee 
for the privilege of killing any species of game. 
Quail is another species of our grand native 
game birds, as useful as they are beautiful. 
Severe winters make sad havoc of them, and 
improved farming and wire fences have de¬ 
stroyed both their winter food and shelter. Since 
the export of live quail from the United States 
has been prohibited, we have been unable to 
procure birds from there as in the past for re¬ 
stocking. Therefore, it may be necessary to es¬ 
tablish a small quail-breeding farm in the most 
suitable locality for that purpose. Such a farm 
in charge of a man interested in his work, I be- 
Knoxvii.le, Tenn., March 25.— Editor Forest 
and Stream: I note with pleasure the protests 
of men authorized to speak on the subject against 
the utterances of your contributor, who takes 
the extreme position that certain species of birds 
—heretofore sought to be protected—should be 
exterminated. 
Unlearned in ornithology, only a lover of birds, 
I can but sincerely hope that no case will be 
made against our feathered friends that cannot 
be successfully met and defended by those who 
are qualified to speak on the subject. The many 
and timely kind words spoken by your contribu¬ 
tors in defense of wild life afford me gratifica¬ 
tion and pleasure, and I feel sure have accom¬ 
plished much in the campaign of education along 
this line. 
It is a real sorrow to the outdoor man to note 
the growing scarcity of bird life, and my theory 
has ever been that ignorance and thoughtlessness 
are the factors most responsible for this sad 
state of affairs. 
The untaught boy, given a target rifle to make 
more enjoyable his summer vacation, kills many 
birds during the nesting season with never a 
thought of the nestlings left to suffer and die 
in the little homes among the trees. 
On the theory that there is some good in the 
worst, some bad in the best. I believe that any 
bird is better than no bird, and would advocate 
protection for all. Most of us, who were boys 
a quarter of a century ago, have sorrowful 
memories of sins we committed along this line, 
but the average boy of ten is better educated 
as to the economic and esthetic value of birds 
now than was the man of that day and time. 
A sad memory of childhood is that of an old 
farmer I once saw guarding a cherry tree with 
a shotgun. He was fairly intelligent, the owner 
of a fine Kentucky farm, and yet knew no better 
than to think he was conserving his interests by 
pouring load after load of shot into the tree to 
kill the birds that were coming to take a small 
toll of the fruit their earlier efforts had con¬ 
served. Indeed, as I now know, many of the 
birds he killed were insectivorous and destroyers 
of enemies of the fruit and in the cherry tree 
for that purpose. 
Remaining late in Florida one season I saw 
the gathering of the robins for the Northern 
migration. They were in countless numbers, and 
lieve, would be successful. Quail should be 
specially available for this purpose. Much has 
been written and said in favor of introducing 
game birds from Europe to take the place of 
our native birds, adapted by nature to withstand 
and survive our severe winters. We are not 
likely to be more successful with imports from 
milder climes. 
Snipe, plover and the elusive woodcock are to 
be found in their usual resorts, but in reduced 
numbers. Some good bags have been made by 
the initiated, these being the exception. 
into their busy throngs — feeding for the long 
flight—darkeys and small boys, and some men 
(save the mark) were pouring loads from large 
bore shotguns, heavily charged. Loads of robins, 
in sacks, tied by strings and in pockets, were 
brought into town. It was a sad sight, and 
deeply impressed upon my mind by after events. 
That spring, for the first time in years, we missed 
“our robins” as we called a pair nesting in the 
yard in a low magnolia tree within a dozen .feet 
of the sidewalk, where pedestrians passed every 
hour of the day. My little children watched for 
them, wondered at their absence, and finally 
mourned them lost, as they were, for they have 
never come again. 
I am proud of my pair of young sportsmen; 
will back them against the field, with any arm 
they can handle, but the best thing I can say 
about them, and the thing that warms my heart 
most is the fact that they will fight man or 
beast in defense of the birds they know and 
love. 
Recently I met a man in the sunny South who 
was bewailing the fact that having taken a river 
trip for the sole purpose of seeing the birds, he 
saw, as he expressed it, “only a few cranes and 
some buzzards.” About the same date my feel¬ 
ings were outraged by the sight of a gunner 
racing back and forth on the Indian River in a 
motor boat, shooting the half-tame ducks that 
had been coming in to the boat landings and 
wharves, morning and evening, to be fed by 
those who loved to see them. 
The residents are as a rule on the right side 
of this matter, and almost every one of the 
beautiful water front homes had its sign, “No 
Shooting,” but this could not protect the ducks 
when they went to the mid stream, the navigable 
water, to rest. 
Many feel very deeply the need of stringent 
legislation along the line of bird protection, and 
many residents refuse to kill any of the rapidly 
diminishing game, but not all are as radical as 
one I heard express himself. He had returned 
from a trip into the interior, and was asked if 
he had a chance at a deer. His reply was: 
“Plenty of chances, but I would as soon kill 
a man as a deer.” Then after a pause for re¬ 
flection, he added, “Rather, I believe.” 
I am no sentimentalist, but a sportsman and 
fairly catholic, but refuse to class men as sports¬ 
men, or be classed with those who kill only for 
the sport of shooting at live targets, or lust of 
Birds in the South. 
