96 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[July 18, 1908. 
Recent Publications. 
Sunshine and Sport in Forida and the West 
Indies, by F. G. Aflalo. Cloth, 272 pages, 
47 illustrations, $2.50. Philadelphia, George 
W. Jacobs & Co. 
The Queen newspaper, of London, in com¬ 
menting on this book, said that while the United 
States is pretty well known to Europeans, “still 
every new observer, worthy of the name, sees 
with different eyes, and we can hardly have too 
many books about a subject which interests us 
profoundly.” Which goes to show that in de¬ 
voting a considerable portion of his book to the 
people and places that interested him, as well 
as to his actual sport, Mr. Aflalo knew his 
audience on the other side of the water—for his 
book was published simultaneously in London 
and Philadelphia. 
The first part is devoted to the voyage; im¬ 
pressions of New York and its environs and 
institutions; Washington and President Roose¬ 
velt, to whom, by the way, the book is dedi¬ 
cated; political and social questions in the South, 
etc. 
Part II. is devoted to fishing in Florida waters, 
and with his usual thoroughness Mr. Aflalo de¬ 
votes large space to the tarpon and to all that 
goes to make successful fishing a pleasure. He 
does not consider the expenditure of three 
months’ time and considerable money prohibi¬ 
tory to English anglers of moderate means, al¬ 
though he admits that six weeks’ time is suffi¬ 
cient for a tarpon fishing trip costing not more 
than $750. He regards American tarpon tackle 
as almost perfect, but deprecates its great 
strength as too much in favor of the angler. 
“There is more art,” he asserts, “in catching 
trout than tarpon. The diplomacy used toward 
the tarpon is rather what some folks call the 
‘new’ diplomacy; that is to say, less delicacy 
and more elbow work, otherwise less give and 
more take * * * luck and brute force play the 
paramount part.” Still, he admits that rods 
break and lines part at the most unexpected 
moments. 
Part III. is descriptive of journeys to Cuba; 
of fishing at Jamaica; of visits to the Panama 
canal zone, fishing at Porto Colombia, and his 
return to England. 
Mr. Aflalo is now in the West after a jour¬ 
ney to South and Central America, and while 
at Catalina Island recently he landed two black 
sea bass weighing 130 and 160 pounds respec¬ 
tively on light tackle in one morning’s fishing. 
Recent Hunting Trips in British North 
America, by F. C. Selous. Cloth, 400 
pages, 65 illustrations, $5 net. New York, 
Charles Scribner’s Sons. 
In this book the veteran big-game hunter re¬ 
lates his experiences during his first moose hunt 
in the forests of Canada. Included also are 
chapters relating to woodland caribou hunting 
in Newfoundland; on the North Fork of the 
Macmillan River, in the Yukon country; and 
numerous notes intended for the guidance of his 
fellow countrymen and others who may wish 
to follow his trail. 
Mr. Selous hunted caribou in Newfoundland 
in 1900. 1901 and 1905, going far inland to the 
little known regions about St. John’s Pond and 
King George the Fourth Lake, where he secured 
magnificent trophies. In 1904 and again in 1906 
he visited the Macmillan River country. The 
last time his party spent twenty-two days of 
hard work in going up one of the feeders of 
the Macmillan, and it was there he secured some 
of the magnificent specimens of big game that 
are now to be seen in the South Kensington 
Museum in London. 
Mr. Selous has had such a wide experience in 
many lands as a hunter of big game, that the 
conclusions he has reached may be read with 
profit by sportsmen and all persons who regard 
with real concern the game conservation prob¬ 
lems that now confront us. He failed to see 
the reason for the stringent game laws of Alaska 
CARIBOU MIGRATING. 
From Mr. Selous’ Book. 
when the game was not being preserved—that 
region is now under better regulations, as our 
readers know, through the recent passage of 
more comprehensive laws. 
“The Indians,” he said, “now no longer armed 
only with the archaic weapons of their fore¬ 
fathers, but with repeating rifles of the latest 
pattern, kill what they will without any restraint 
and find a market at the mining camps for all 
the meat they can bring in; while white meat 
hunters are equally destructive. Prospectors 
and trappers, though they do not often destroy 
game unnecessarily, are each and every one of 
them more harmful to the wild fauna of the 
country than the average sportsman, because 
they kill whatever comes first to hand, while 
the latter seldom shoots anything but old males, 
the elimination of which does not reduce the 
power of increase of a species. 
“One often reads some very caustic criticisms 
concerning the selfishness and thoughtless sav¬ 
agery of the head-hunting sportsman, and I ad¬ 
mit that it is quite arguable that the Indian 
hunter or white prospector or trapper who shoots 
a lot of female moose, caribou or wild sheep 
in order to provide himself with a supply of 
meat for the winter, has a better justification 
for what he does. He has the justification of 
necessity, which the sportsman has not. Still, 
it is the men who live in the country, and who 
of necessity are constantly killing the game, 
without regard to age or sex, who will grad¬ 
ually bring about its extinction; not the casual 
sportsman looking for a few good heads of old 
males.” 
The illustrations, from photographs made by 
Mr. Selous and others, are excellent, adding 
interest to a book that is a distinct addition to 
the literature of big-game hunting. 
Hunting in California. 
San Francisco, Cal., July 3.— Editor Forest 
arid Stream: The deer and dove season opens 
this month and sportsmen are anxious to try 
their skill on running and flying game. Accord¬ 
ing to reports now being received from the dis¬ 
tricts where game is to be found, sportsmen 
will meet with much disappointment this season 
when attempting to hunt on private lands with¬ 
out a permit from the owner. Farmers, who in 
previous seasons have allowed hunters to shoot 
on their property without question, have posted 
notices against any and all hunters. This action 
has been taken on account of the exceedingly 
dry season and the fear of disastrous fires. The 
State Board of Forestry has issued warnings to 
all campers and hunters to be careful this season 
against the building of fires, and an extra force 
of forest rangers are now patrolling the Gov¬ 
ernment preserves. 
The Miller Gun Club, of Watsonville, has re¬ 
newed its lease on the Miller ranch near Castro- 
ville for a term of three years and many im¬ 
provements will be made on this well known 
duck shooting preserve. 
1 he Honey Lake Valley Outing Club was or¬ 
ganized recently for the purpose of protecting 
the game of that valley, which is fast disappear¬ 
ing under the present system of protection. The 
following are the officers of the club: Presi¬ 
dent, J. A. Pardee; Vice-President, W. E. 
Dozier; Secretary and Treasurer, W. D. Har¬ 
rison; Executive Committee, E. P. Cody, Chas. 
Hallowell, G. E. Winchester, F. H. Shanks and 
B. F. Gibson. The membership fee has been 
placed at $5 and the annual dues the* same 
amount. 
The supervisors of Yolo county are consider¬ 
ing the advisability of closing the dove shoot¬ 
ing season from July 15 to Sept. 15, and the 
quail shooting season until Nov. 1. According 
to the general law the dove shooting season will 
open July 15 and the quail season Oct. 15. 
The Kings county supervisors have passed an 
ordinance, at the suggestion of sportsmen, short¬ 
ening the dove season six weeks, and it will 
therefore be unlawful to kill doves there until 
Sept. 15. A. P. B. 
The Forest and Stream may he obtained from 
any nczvsdealer on order. Ask your dealer to 
supply you regularly. 
