FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Dec. 5, 1908. 
898 
Hunting Near San Francisco. 
San Francisco, Cal., Nov. 25. — Editor Forest 
and Stream: Immense flocks of- widgeons, com¬ 
monly called “baldies,” owing to the white 
feathers that adorn the heads of the birds, have 
been arriving for the past two weeks from the 
North and have taken possession of the 
sloughs and marshes. The widgeon is not con¬ 
sidered by epicures as being in the same class 
with canvasbacks or mallards, but early in the 
season when it is fresh from the mountain 
lakes and the breeding grounds of the North¬ 
west, it is a bird by no means to be despised. 
Subsequent, however, to the first heavy rain¬ 
fall, this variety of aquatic game leaves in a 
body for the inland grain fields, which are 
then inviting to this particular member of the 
duck family. A week’s feasting on sprouting 
vegetation is all that is necessary to place a 
widgeon on t'he retired list as far as it is con¬ 
cerned as a valuable table bird. 
The farmer in the interior of the State, in 
the vicinity of sloughs or marshes, considers 
the widgeon his greatest enemy; in fact, a 
flock of these ducks has been known to do 
more damage to a field of growing grain than 
any other variety of bird, not even excepting 
the wild geese. Grain growers throughout the 
State are heartily in favor of exempting by 
law the limit bag statute on widgeon and 
placing these birds on the same level as the 
geese, the killing of which is not restricted 
to any number. The mallard and teal ducks 
frequent the fields when the grain is first sown 
and again after it is ripe ready for the harvest, 
but their principal food is found along the 
marshes. 
Although there is a stringent law in this 
State in regard to night shooting, it is asserted 
that a great deal of this is now going on, and 
that there seems to be practically no efforts 
made to put a stop to the practice. During 
the past two weeks, shooting by the light of 
the moon in the vicinity of Suisun and Alviso 
has been very common, and men who have 
openly violated the game laws have not hesi¬ 
tated to tell their friends of the choice bags 
of ducks they have secured between sunset and 
sunrise. 
Canvasback and bluebill ducks are plentiful 
along the shores of the Sonoma marshes, and 
many fine bags of these deep diving birds have 
been secured lately by city sportsmen who 
have made the trip there. 
In the Merced and Fresno duck hunting 
districts good shooting has been the rule all 
during the present season. Coupled with this 
is the excellent snipe and goose shooting that 
has fallen to the lot of the enthusiasts there. 
Snipe hunting is receiving more attention than 
ever before, and parties desiring sport of this 
character are making week-end trips from San 
Francisco to indulge in their favorite sport. 
Many of the hunters in southern California 
are complaining that there are fewer quail 
there this season than for many years past, 
and some of the “old inhabitants” are now out 
with the prediction that the coming season will 
be a dry one, basing their assertions on the 
alleged experiences of the past. From all ac¬ 
counts the quail are scarce all over the south¬ 
land, and usually a day is necessary to secure 
a limit bag, where formerly a few hours were 
all that were necessary in favored localities. 
This holds true even in San Diego county, the 
home of the quail. The hunters state that the 
birds paired off last May, as is customary, but 
that they soon flocked together again and 
really did not begin housekeeping. It appears 
from the signs that there were but very few 
young birds hatched there this year, except in 
the mountains, and the hunters say the old 
quail did not want to raise broods to face a 
dry year; in fact, almost all of the birds killed 
this season have been old ones, which proves 
there were but few young ones hatched. 
Sportsmen in southern California are schem¬ 
ing to 'have the hunting licenses changed dur¬ 
ing the coming season so as to conform with 
some of the ideas found practical and advisable 
in some of the Eastern States. The card sys¬ 
tem is recommended, as this seems to be about 
the best check on hunters that could be de¬ 
vised. The card would be on the same order 
as a railroad ticket, and would be numbered, 
with spaces for a man’s description and signa¬ 
ture. For deer hunting, for instance, there 
would be two coupons attached to the ticket, 
and whenever a deer was killed a numbered 
coupon would be torn off and attached to the 
carcass. If a warden happened to find a man 
with a deer and no corresponding coupon, then 
the hunter could be sent to jail. As matters 
are now, there is no check as to the number 
that may be killed, and the tags may be loaned 
indiscriminately. A. P. B. 
Trapping Hawks. 
Washington, D. C., Dec. 1.— Editor Forest 
and Stream: In one of my recent outings I 
made the acquaintance of an old gentleman who 
has a novel way of trapping hawks which I 
think may be of interest to your readers. 
He has a number of fowl and also some quail 
that he has fed and which have become quite 
tame. Business recently took him away from 
home for a time and he found upon his return 
that a number of his chickens and pets had dis¬ 
appeared. He suspected the hawks which are 
numerous in his neighborhood, and after a little 
thought he hit upon the following ingenious 
plan: 
He sinks a piece of terra cotta pipe into the 
ground either in the open field or any place the 
birds frequent; then he takes a pole and sets 
it into the pipe, on the end of the pipe he fastens 
a steel trap with jaws set. In this way he has 
only to take the pole out of the pipe and reset 
the trap. 
To use his own expression he “has caught 
bushels” of birds in this manner. 
I also met a man who shot two white quail, 
which seems quite remarkable, as they were in 
the same covey. j^r 
New Jersey Woodcock. 
Salem, N. J., Nov. 27.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: Woodcock are more numerous in this 
section than for a long time. Everyone is satis¬ 
fied that the abolishment of spring and espec¬ 
ially July shooting is a benefit to sportsmen. 
Birds are not only more numerous, but are more 
mature and furnish better sport. W. H. H. 
The Registration of Hunters. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
It is necessary sometimes, in the attempt to 
limit the pernicious activities of certain classes 
of immigrants, to enact laws which restrict or 
regulate somewhat our own actions. The regis¬ 
tration of hunters under a license system serves 
a double purpose by enabling us to regulate the 
hunting done by our own people and suppress 
law breaking by aliens. 
1 he resident license law usually requires the 
payment of a fee of one dollar by all resident 
hunters. It usually provides that a State license 
may be secured in the town in which the appli¬ 
cant resides. This law usually furnishes the 
greater part of the money available for the pro¬ 
tection and propagation of game. It is obvious 
that those who are killing the game should be 
required to furnish protection during the close 
season and to supply game to take the place of 
the excess killed off. Without such a law, it 
often happens that the men who kill the most 
game do nothing whatever to conserve the game 
supply. This law makes their assistance com¬ 
pulsory. 
The bill for the registration of hunters under 
a license system gives no man a right to hunt 
on the land of another without the owner’s con¬ 
sent. It originated in the Middle West. Two 
years ago I wrote to prominent farmers and 
officers of the State Granges of Western States 
asking them whether the hunters’ license law 
was satisfactory to the farming element. With 
only two exceptions they replied that it was, and 
that its effect had been to do away with the 
irresponsible, trespassing, thieving hunters that 
had previously caused the farmers much trouble. 
It would be hard to get a more unanimous ex¬ 
pression of approval than this from farmers on 
any subject. When the hunter is obliged to 
register and to carry on his person, when hunt¬ 
ing, an identifying license open to the inspection 
of any citizen, he becomes a marked man. If 
he trespasses he can be identified, and he must 
behave or lose his license and be unable to hunt 
at all without danger of arrest and fine. 
1 he license fees provide a force of paid war¬ 
dens, always at hand to guard the interests of 
the farmer and the law-abiding hunter. The 
license gives the hunter no privilege that he did 
not possess previous to the passage of the license 
law. In other words, it gives him no right to 
take game or birds except under the restrictions 
already in force previous to the passage of the 
registration bill. The farmer is allowed to hunt 
on his own land without a license, or shoot at 
any time vermin which is not protected by law. 
The farmer is allowed in some States to kill 
deer at all seasons without a license if the deer 
are injuring his crops or trees, and in some 
States he is also allowed damages for injury 
done by deer to his crops; but these laws relat¬ 
ing to deer are not a part of the license law, 
but remain in force as previous provisions. 
1 he license law provides means for the propa¬ 
gation and distribution of game on the farms of 
the State. Probably, however, the greatest bene¬ 
fit that the farmer derives from this law comes 
from the increased protection it affords to in¬ 
sectivorous birds. When every hunter in the 
field has to carry a license (except the farmer 
when at home on his own land), the bird-hunt¬ 
ing foreigner is trapped at once, unless he has 
