38 
FOREST AND STREAM 
Pennsylvania Game Law Changes 
The United Sportsmen of Pennsylvania are 
going to ask the legislature this winter to amend 
in a number of particulars, the present game laws 
of that state, and when they ask for amend¬ 
ments they will show by the result of test ballots, 
that hundred of hunters and fishermen in the dif¬ 
ferent counties are in favor of the suggested 
changes. The law that they desire will contain 
the following provisions : 
Open season for gray, black and fox squirrel, 
gray rabbit and hare, wild turkeys, ruffed grouse, 
Virginia partridge, commonly called quail, 'wood¬ 
cock, Mongolian, Chinese and ringneck pheas¬ 
ants, during the month of November of each 
year. This includes all small game in a uniform 
season. 
Open season for bear. November i to Decem¬ 
ber 15, both days inclusive. 
Open season for deer. December 1 to Decem¬ 
ber 15, both days inclusive. 
No hunting to be allowed in the forest or 
waste lands or on agricultural lands for any pur¬ 
pose during the months of September and Octo¬ 
ber of each year, for red squirrels, groundhogs 
or any other unprotected animals or birds, ex¬ 
cepting web J footed wild water fowl, snipe, shore 
birds and other migratory game birds as pro¬ 
vided by law. 
The sale of no native game birds or animals 
killed in Pennsylvania to be permitted. This adds 
squirrels and rabbits to the list of game which 
may not be sold. 
The bag limits proposed are: Wild turkey, one 
in one day; two in one week or two in one 
season. 
Ruffed grouse—Five in one day; 20 in one 
week; 25 in one season. 
Squirrels—Six in one day; 20 in one week; 40 
m one season. 
Quail—Ten in one day; 30 in one week; 40 in 
one season. 
Rabbits—Ten rabbits or five hare in one day; 
30 gray rabbits or 20 hare in one week; 60 gray 
rabbits or 30 hare in one season. 
Woodcock—Thirty in one week; 40 in one 
season. 
Deer—'One in a season, Which in every in¬ 
stance must be a male deer with horns or antlers 
extending not less than two inches above the hair. 
The deer limit would remain the same, but re¬ 
ductions on other season bags would be heavy, 
the present limits now being: Ten in one day on 
rabbits for as many days as the shooter hunts, 
reduced to 60 in a season; quail reduced fro'm 75 
in a season to 40; ruffed grouse reduced from 50 
in one season to 25; squirrels reduced from six 
in one day for any number of days to 40 in one 
season. 
In addition to this, it is proposed to amend the 
law for closing territory to the hunting of deer 
or elk so that from one to five contiguous coun¬ 
ties may be closed to the hunting of any one or 
all of the species of native game birds or ani¬ 
mals. By this system it will probably not be 
necessary to establish any more closed periods of 
years on quail or turkey, as enough counties may 
always be closed to insure a good stock of birds 
The present law is mandatory upon aldermen. 
justices of the peace and others having jurisdic¬ 
tion in cases of game law violation so that the 
magistrate must impose the penalties fixed when¬ 
ever a conviction is secured. But in several in¬ 
stances justices of the peace have had convic¬ 
tions, or even pleas of guilty, and discharged the 
defendants without penalty and without any ex¬ 
cuse to jusify such action. 
Fishermen, farmers and sportsmen who believe 
there are too many dogs running about the 
woods ate strongly urging the repeal of the law 
which protects the raccoon as a game animal. 
He is not included in the list of game animals 
for which seasons are fixed above. In case 
hunting is prohibited in September and October 
two months will be cut off the coon season 
anyway. 
GAME CONDITIONS IN WESTERN CON¬ 
NECTICUT. 
The close season on birds practially closed in 
this section on the 19th instead of the 23rd of 
November, as it was useless to try to hunt with 
any expectation of success on account of the 
snow and cold. 
There was a crust on the snow that would 
warn a partridge of the approach of danger two 
or three gun shots away. Very few were brought 
to bag after the snow came. 
It no doubt saved hundreds of partridge. From 
reports from rabbit hunters who have been out 
since the season on birds closed, there is more 
birds left over than usual. Almost every hunter 
plans to go all they can the last week, as it gen¬ 
erally is the best time to make good bags. In 
the past I have killed as many partridge the last 
week as I would all the rest of the season. This 
year I got one in the four last days. This was 
the case with dozen of others whom I personally 
know and hunt with. Four of us were foolish 
enough to go up to Litchfield County in an auto 
the last day. It was a trip you will not forget. 
We struqk six inches of snow and so cold you 
had no feeling in your hands. We all had some 
good shots, but could not handle our guns and, 
after an hour, there was a young blizzard raging 
and we made for the auto in quick time most 
frozen. We vowed never to tackle that country 
in snow again. It took about an hour to run to 
New Milford and we killed more birds in Tom 
Young’s hotel than we did any day this season. 
- From my own experience and what I can 
learn from the sportsmen I have come in contact 
with the past season has been as good, if not a 
little better than last year. In some localities 
where you would not find any birds in the last 
two or three years, they would be quite plentiful- 
The quail has certainly increased. I moved four 
flock in one day, which was unusual. The dry 
season no doubt, saved a good many birds, as 
there were very few days when the conditions 
were right for good dog work, the birds being 
wild on account of the noise in the leaves. The 
introduction of the pheasant has made better 
shooting in Connecticut, as the game commission 
liberated 6,000 in the State. You hear a good 
many say they ought to be protected, but as long 
as they can be propagated on the game farm and 
liberated each spring, it gives the sportsman 
something to shoot and helps to protect our na¬ 
tive game birds, which we have not been able to 
raise successfully up to now. 
I know of parties who have spent a whole 
week chasing pheasants, whereas they would 
have been hunting partridge and quail. 
On account of the dry season the woodcock 
shooting has not been up to the standard. On 
Dec. 2 I was out for a walk with my dogs and 
moved one. Now the season is over and we have 
had our fun, let us devote a little thought and 
time in looking after the bevies of quail we know 
are left and see that they are fed and cared for 
this winter. Get in touch with the nearest far¬ 
mer where the quail hang out and see that he 
gets some feed. If he has a son get him to go 
with you to locate and build a shelter, where you 
can scatter feed, so they will get the habit of 
coming there for their meals. Our partridge will 
take care of themselves, as they will bud when 
they cannot get their other food. Another mat¬ 
ter that every sportsman should take an interest 
in, is the Legislature at Hartford, where the laws 
are enacted. I have been on the legislative com¬ 
mittee to attend the hearing before the Fish and 
Game Committee ever since the Pahquioque Rod 
and Gun Club was organized sixteen years ago. 
There is more good legislation started from this 
club in that time than all the rest of the state 
combined. The commissioners gave our commit¬ 
tee the credit for starting the license law, Sena¬ 
tor Bailey of Bethel, introducing the first bill 
which was defeated that year but the next ses¬ 
sion there were several bills introduced from dif¬ 
ferent sections of the State which was through 
the efforts of this committee. Every sportsman 
should take an active interest in the fish and 
game laws. Now the duck law is taken care of 
by the Federal authorities which seemed to be 
the bone of contention for the last few years. 
Now we can go there united on the best laws to 
be enacted. 
The present law on game birds is giving good 
satisfaction with those who want to see game in¬ 
crease, or hold its own, while others want to see 
a longer season. 
We all know what that would mean under the 
present conditions with the auto to take you to 
any cover which was impossible to make before, 
unless two or three days were spent in going and 
coming. It is going to be hard in the future for 
our game to hold its own with the modern 
things to get it with. 
The rabbit laws certainly should be improved 
on. There should be a limit placed on the num¬ 
ber taken in a day, the season should be short¬ 
ened, then there would not be any such slaughter 
as we read about once in a while. A party of 
rabbit hunters went for a week’s hunt this fall 
and came back with 100 rabbits. They were not 
satisfied with getting that many but had to put 
it in the local paper. A man in the town where 
they hunted saw it and was furious over it. He 
sent the piece to one of the farm journals, and of 
all the call-downs you ever saw anyone get, it 
was the hunters in general. Any man from Dan¬ 
bury has got a black eye in that town now, no 
matter what he hunts. 
I do not suppose the rabbit hunters will like it 
but it seems all the kicks you hear from the far¬ 
mers is due to the rabbit hunters tearing down 
the walls to get a measly little rabbit instead of 
trying to find another. The law gives them the 
