Forest and Stream 
Terms, $3 a Year, 10 Cts. a Copy, i NEW YORK, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19 , 1908 . ) No. 127 Franklin St„ New York 
Six Months, $1.50. I ___—- 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL. 
Copyright, 1908, by Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 
George Bird Grinnell, President, 
Charles B. Reynolds, Secretary. 
Louis Dean Speir, Treasurer. 
127 Franklin Street, New York. 
THE OBJECT OF THIS JOURNAL 
will be to studiously promote a healthful interest 
in outdoor recreation, and to cultivate a refined 
taste for natural objects. 
—Forest and Stream, Aug. 14, 1873. 
CHRISTMAS GREETINGS. 
Christmas day is significant of many things 
besides good cheer and the satisfaction of mak¬ 
ing those about us happy. The shortest day in 
the year has come and gone, the sun’s strength 
is increasing, and the beautiful green things 
with which the people of all civilized nations 
deck their homes are symbolical of the coming 
New Year, with its .swelling buds, soon to break 
forth in the leaf and flower of spring. 
With the passing of the dark days there is 
also a return of confidence in material matters, 
lacking for more than a year, the promise of re¬ 
newed activity in the business world and the 
rising of the tide of prosperity. 
In wishing all of our readers and friends a 
Merry Christmas we add the cordial hope that 
all is well with them, and that the New Year, 
so close at hand, will bring them success and 
prosperity, as we trust Christmas may hi ing 
them happiness and contentment. 
THE N. Y. BONDING PROVISION. 
Game protectors, market men and restaurant 
keepers have been greatly interested in the de¬ 
cision of the Court of Appeals last week, which 
nullifies the provision in the former New York 
game law requiring marketmen and cold storage 
men to file a bond as evidence that grouse and 
woodcock in their possession were legally taken. 
The case goes back to November, 1905, when 
Leon C. Weinstock was sued to recover penalties 
for certain grouse sold, as claimed, contrary to 
the provisions of the law. Judgment was ren¬ 
dered for the People of the State of New York 
in the Supreme Court and in the Appellate Divis¬ 
ion, but when the case was carried to the Court 
of Appeals, the decisions of Judge Dowling and 
of the Justices of the Appellate Division were 
reversed. 
The points made by Wm. Victor Goldberg, 
counsel for the defendant-appellant, were that 
the sale of foreign grouse was not prohibited by 
Section 27 of the Forest, Fish and Game Law, 
the provisions of that act as to the filing of a 
bond creating a rule of evidence only and not 
a prohibition. It was claimed also that counsel 
for the People had read into the section a forced 
and strained construction, giving it a meaning 
in conflict with its expressed terms. 
The decision of the Court of Appeals deals in 
no respect with the broad question of game pro¬ 
tection nor the right of the State to establish 
rules with regard for the handling of game. It 
has to do merely with the language employed 
by the Legislature in a now repealed statute. 
The opinion of the court is not yet at hand. 
When it is received, further comment may be 
required. 
AFRICAN GAME DESTRUCTION. 
Preparations for President Roosevelt s hunt¬ 
ing trip to Africa are going forward, and it 
is now authoritatively announced, as has been 
stated in Forest and Stream, that the main pur¬ 
pose of his trip is to collect natural history 
material for the United States National Museum. 
Africa is now the most available hunting 
ground for civilized sportsmen, whether time or 
distance be considered. The trip from some 
Mediterranean port by steamer to Mombassa 
takes but two or three weeks, and the railroad 
penetrates inland 600 miles to Lake Victoria 
Nyanza, on which ply modern steamboats that 
enable the traveler to see much of the heart of 
Africa, as yet scarcely touched by the transform¬ 
ing hand of civilization. For much of its length, 
the railroad runs through a country abounding 
in great game, though the largest and most dan¬ 
gerous species are not seen from the track, are 
hard to get, and must be sought for through toil, 
trouble and danger, as is true of most desir¬ 
able things. Only a few years ago the average 
American would almost as soon have planned 
an excursion to the moon as a hunting expedi¬ 
tion to Africa, yet now it is a short and easy 
trip which is being taken more and more fre¬ 
quently. The hunting exploits of Gordon-Cum- 
ming and Sir Samuel Baker used to thrill us, 
not so many years ago, yet to-day our own con¬ 
temporaries are making hunts like theirs and 
enjoying similar sport. 
Of African hunters of modern times by far 
the greatest is F. C. Selous, the Alan Quater- 
main of Rider Haggard’s book, “King Solomon’s 
Mines.” Mr. Selous’ career as a professional 
hunter began in 1870. He was above all an 
elephant hunter, killing them for their ivory and 
incidentally trading for ivory with the natives. 
For some years he has ceased to visit Africa and 
is now as much interested in preserving the 
great animals of Africa as once he was in kill¬ 
ing them. He resides in England, yet makes 
frequent hunting trips to other lands, for he can¬ 
not lay aside the rifle. In view of the great 
interest in Africa now being felt in the United 
States and the almost equal interest in preserv¬ 
ing the natural things of the earth, we have 
asked Mr. Selous to contribute to Forest and 
Stream an article on “The Destruction of Afri¬ 
can Game,” which we shall shortly publish. 
VIENNA HUNTING EXPOSITION. 
The United States Government earnestly 
wishes to accept the cordial invitation of the 
Austro-Hungarian Government to be represented 
at the hunting exposition, to be held in Vienna 
in 1910. President Roosevelt is enthusiastic in 
his advocacy of a fitting representation, feeling 
not only that such a representation will benefit 
the country commercially, but that in view of 
the hearty way in which in past years the Aus¬ 
trian Government has responded to invitations 
extended it by the United States to appear at 
similar expositions, we cannot decently decline 
to be represented in Vienna. 
When it comes to hunting arms, hunting ammu¬ 
nition and fishing tackle, the United States need 
not shrink from competition with any country. A 
suitable display of these things in Vienna would 
be commercially profitable to the concerns which 
may manufacture them, while the old world 
would look with exceeding interest on a forestry 
exhibit from this country, on a series of groups 
of North American game birds and animals, on 
a complete series of the hunting and trapping 
implements of the North American Indians, or 
models of the same, and on a large collection 
of photographs of wild game, such as, for ex¬ 
ample, have been taken by Hon. Geo. Shiras, 3d. 
We have an abundance of material, interesting 
both from the commercial and the popular side, 
but to get together that material will require 
time and money. Nevertheless, if the Boone and 
Crockett Club and Congress will act together in 
the matter—and promptly—the work can be done 
and done well. 
When the Fish, Game and Forest League held 
its convention in Syracuse last week, a number 
of recommendations of very great importance 
to sportsmen were made. The Legislature will 
not act on these proposed reforms unless they 
are supported by sportsmen generally. Among 
other things there exists the necessity for game 
refuses- the prohibition of the sale of non-game 
birds° and of game birds and fish; uniform open 
seasons; more protectors; better equipment; anc 
finally, but not of least importance, the educa¬ 
tion of the general public to the necessity for 
the observance of the fish, game and forest laws 
which are made for the benefit of the many and 
not the few. 
The prize competition for stories of outdoor 
life closes this week, and the work of reading 
the various narratives and essays will begin at 
once. In view of the number of manuscripts re¬ 
ceived it will necessarily be some time before 
a decision as to the prizes can be reached. 
