778 
FOREST AND STREAM 
[Nov. 14, 1908. 
Game Bird Protection. 
Groton, Mass., Nov. 2. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Somewhat less than a year ago I wrote 
vou regarding the marked scarcity of ruffed grouse 
in this section, and strongly urged a close season. 
At the annual session of the Legislature such 
a close season was strongly advocated by a 
large number of sportsmen, but was also op¬ 
posed by a considerable number, especially 
from the western part of the State, the result 
being that the open season was shortened so 
as to include the month of October only. This 
change should save to us many birds which, 
under the old arrangement, would doubtless 
have been killed after the leaves had fallen, and 
the feeding grounds become more restricted. 
The fact that the rabbit season still remains 
open to March 1, however, will give plenty of 
opportunity to lawbreaking gunners to kill 
birds all through the winter. If our upland 
birds are to be adequately protected, the killing 
of all protected game should stop not later 
than Jan. 1. If this were the case, any one 
wandering through the fields and woods with a 
gun after that date would at once be suspected 
of bad intention, and could no longer give the 
old excuse that he was “looking for rabbits.” 
It would seem as if the legitimate rabbit 
hunters ought to be willing to agree to such a 
change. They now have almost half of the 
year in which to hunt their favorite game. 
Shortening the season in the manner indicated 
would leave them three months, during at least 
one of which it is reasonable to expect that 
hunting could be done on the snow. Here is a 
chance for these gentlemen to be generous and 
co-operate with other sportsmen to secure the 
much-to-be-desired greater uniformity in open 
seasons. 
For whatever increase has occurred in the 
numbers of our ruffed grouse this year, we may 
be thankful to a kind Providence and not to 
any legislative enactments. The talk, which 
we occasionally hear, that the birds are again 
plentiful can be set down to the overexcited 
imaginations of those who have found good 
bunches of birds in certain favored localities, 
and immediately jumped to the conclusion that 
every woodlot is populated in the same ratio. 
Considering the extremely small breeding stock 
which remained in our cover last spring, any 
abundance of birds this fall would, of course, 
be a physical impossibility. 
In this connection Wilbur F. Smith’s letter, 
which appeared in your issue of Oct. 10, puts 
the facts just right, and fully deserves the men¬ 
tion which you made of it editorially in your 
issue of Oct. 24. The careless optimism dis¬ 
played by some hunters is entirely unjustified. 
Had last spring proved unfavorable to the rear¬ 
ing of young grouse, in what condition would 
our covers be to-day, and, after allowing the 
birds to be killed during the past month, with 
what hope could we look into the future? 
Happily last spring proved one of the finest 
seasons for rearing young birds which has been 
known in recent years; otherwise we should 
now be urging further protective measures to 
save the remnant of the ruffed grouse from 
serious danger. It cannot be too strongly 
brought home to all sportsmen that only the 
greatest moderation in killing can .assure the 
maintenance of the birds even in their present 
numbers, and that for any marked increase we 
may look only to a fortunate succession of 
favorable seasons. 
The letter of Geo. L. Brown, which appeared 
in your issue of Oct. 3, regarding the establish¬ 
ment of refuges for game and other birds, 
should interest all who are concerned for the 
preservation of many diminishing species, and 
not least all lovers of our splendid ruffed 
grouse. That wildfowl will freely resort to 
ponds where shooting is forbidden has been 
clearly demonstrated by experience in this State. 
Indeed, such numbers of birds were using Spot 
Pond in the Middlesex Fells Reservation as 
a resting place a year ago as to arouse fears 
in the hearts of some good people that the 
water might become contaminated, and various 
measures were taken to keep them away. li 
I remember aright, the question of the advis¬ 
ability of designating certain lakes and ponds in 
the State as refuges for wildfowl was brought 
up .in the Legislature, but no action was taken 
at the last session. 
Whether the mere setting apart of refuges 
for upland birds would be equally successful 
may, perhaps, be doubted. It is probable that, 
to attain success in inducing ruffed grouse to 
remain in any number on a given area of land, 
much more would have to be done than merely 
to stop shooting over it. The complete cessa¬ 
tion of all shooting and killing would be likely 
to result in a considerable increase in the 
enemies of the birds, and this would tend to 
prevent their becoming especially numerous. 
In order to attain the best results, therefore, 
traps and other devices would have to be em¬ 
ployed to reduce the natural enemies. Further¬ 
more, in order to attract the birds, and induce 
them to remain'within the comparatively limited 
area, it would probably be necessary to make 
plantations both to furnish food and cover. 
All these things and more could be done by an 
interested owner, whether such owner be State, 
town, or private individual; but if the State 
merely forbade shooting over a given area of 
farms or woodlot, these important measures 
would probably be neglected, and much less 
satisfactory results would be likely to be at¬ 
tained. 
In view of the importance of refuges for the 
preservation of wild life, it is rather surprising 
that Mr. Brown’s letter has not received more 
attention from correspondents of Forest and 
Stream. It would be interesting and instruc¬ 
tive to hear from those who have had such 
refuges or reservations in their charge or under 
their observation as to increase of various 
species under complete protection on the one 
hand and of certain species when carefully pro¬ 
tected from their natural enemies as well as 
from man on the other. In this connection a 
book which has recently been translated into 
English entitled, “How to Attract and Protect 
Wild Birds,” is very illuminating. This book 
gives a detailed description of the methods 
which have proved so successsful on the estate 
of Count Von Berlepsch in Germany, and which 
are the result of many years of painstaking ex¬ 
periment. Though the birds which nest at 
Seebach in such numbers are mainly insectivor¬ 
ous, and the book speaks chiefly of these, ducks, 
moorhens, and other wildfowl have been in¬ 
duced to breed about the lake, and the presence 
of other game is once or twice alluded to. It 
would take up far too much space to attempt 
here even to outline the various methods em¬ 
ployed by Count Von Berlepsch; suffice it to 
say that his efforts have been chiefly directed 
toward providing suitable nesting sites by 
putting up large numbers of boxes, constructed 
with the greatest care in imitation of the natural 
cavities, and by making plantations and prun¬ 
ing them in such a way as to form large num¬ 
bers of suitable nesting places. Winter feeding 
and a rigorous warfare against natural enemies 
have also been practiced. The book can be ob¬ 
tained for a small sum by applying to the Na¬ 
tional Association of Audubon Societies, 141 
Broadway, New York city. 
William P. Wharton. 
Indigestion in Dogs. 
New York, Nov. 7. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Eczema is also a frequent symptom, 
and let me state right here that I find more 
cases of eczematous eruptions arising from a 
disordered condition of the digestion than any 
other cause. Doubtless many who will read this 
will recognize the fact that at some time some 
certain dog has had some obstinate skin trouble, 
all kinds of which are by the layman diagnosed 
as “mange,” and that, after trying various mange 
cures to which the trouble has not yielded, the 
blood has then been treated with no better re¬ 
sults. Having so many cases of indigestion in 
my daily practice, and being so frequently con¬ 
sulted by letter, it became imperative that I 
should put a remedy in the market for this ail¬ 
ment which dog owners could avail themselves 
of without the necessity of consulting me. This 
I have done in the form of a pill. 
To any who have, or may have in the future, 
indigestion cases, let me advise the following 
treatment, viz.: Feed rather sparingly three 
times a day on raw or scraped beef, this being 
the most readily accepted and most easily digest¬ 
ed of all foods when the digestion is disordered, 
allowing no other diet, and giving immediately 
after each meal one of the digestive pills. Add 
to the drinking water lime water in the pro¬ 
portion of one to thirty. 
By following this treatment as laid down, 
many cases of eczema will disappear. Some, 
probably, may be accelerated by the use of a 
skin lotion in conjunction. Eczema in these in¬ 
stances is merely a symptom appearing in evi¬ 
dence of disordered digestion. Indigestion may 
be considered as a mild form of gastritis which, 
if not corrected, will be followed by true gas¬ 
tritis, the- stomach then being in such condition 
that nothing is retained, even water being re¬ 
turned immediately after drinking. This will be 
accompanied by fever, colic, emaciation and only 
too often followed by death. 
H. Clay Glover, V. S. 
The Cleveland Fanciers Club Co. 
Cleveland, Ohio, Nov. 5. —Editor Forest and 
Stream: The Cleveland Fanciers Club Copi- 
pany will give its annual dog show Jan. 27 to 
30, inclusive, 1909; judge, James Watson. 
Cleveland has found it necessary this year to 
secure the largest building in the city, as our 
show last year was so large that we could not 
take care of the entries properly. 
J. T. Conkey, Sec’y-Treas. 
