498 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[March 26, 1910. 
How Adirondack Deer Wintered. 
Minerva, N. Y., March 14. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: It has long been the fashion either 
through interested motives or by misinformation 
to get up a “deer scare,” and I feel like calling 
your attention to one lately published in a widely 
circulated New York paper. It seems to have 
very little foundation. 
I showed the statement printed by this paper 
to one Indian Lake and three Minerva guides, 
all of whom said that they did not consider that 
the winter had been a hard one on deer in this 
part of the Adirondacks, and expressed surprise 
that such a statement should be made. I was 
in the Huntley Pond region for over a week, 
traveled around there some, was where I would 
have found dead deer if there had been any, 
but there was none. I saw a good many deer 
while there with another guide who had been 
trapping there, and he said he was glad the deer 
were wintering so well. 
Those I saw were in good heart and had not 
the “slabsided” appearance that a poorly win¬ 
tered deer gets about this time. In the territory 
embraced in a circle of twenty-four miles’ diam¬ 
eter in this part of the Adirondacks it is safe 
to say that not a dozen deer have died this win¬ 
ter from natural causes. Some of the very old 
animals minus their front teeth would be ex¬ 
pected to die the winter after their “nippers” 
were lost, and those incurably wounded would 
also have to succumb; but that would be all, or 
nearly all. 
When deer bunch and yard they go together 
to drink and to their feeding grounds, and they 
help each other break trail, the strong going 
first and taking turns. As few as three deer 
will travel in this way with but little if any 
hardship in as much as five feet of snow, and 
they do not sink into it to any great extent— 
not over fourteen inches usually. Besides they 
do not graze; that is. eat from the ground in 
winter very much. The ground hemlock is the 
only thing they dig for through snow, and that 
grows from ten inches to three feet above the 
ground. The only thing that would bother them 
in this matter would be a deep, hard crust, and 
this winter there has been none. Moreover, deer 
get their living in winter chiefly by browsing the 
slender shoots of brush and young trees, cedar, 
balsam, maple, moose-maple, birch, etc., and the 
deeper the snow the higher they stand upon it, 
crust or no crust, and so the more of it they 
can reach. 
I would really like to know how many deer 
actually did die from natural causes in the 
whole Adirondack region this winter. It would 
be safe to say they were comparatively few. If 
deer did die, the eatable parts would soon be 
eaten up by foxes, fishers and other carnivora, 
and the evidence of their death would be a skele¬ 
ton and a bloody, dirty hole in the snow. Very 
likely the case has originated in the finding of 
sets of entrails with the head, legs and hide lying 
near. In years past I have known men whom 
you would not think to be guilty of it who have 
gotten up deer scares like this, where only the 
hand of man was responsible for the deaths. 
There is another thing to be considered. A 
bogus scare such as this is often made the basis 
of an attempt to secure legislation that will still 
more restrict the native resident in his hunt¬ 
ing, or may even shut him off entirely. We who 
live here to a man are jealous of all such at¬ 
tempts. Still worse is the effect produced by 
some scares got up by the city novice who, though 
meaning well, still does not know. Men who 
have never become acquainted with the status of 
animals living in the wilds except to shoot at—• 
and sometimes kill—an animal pointed out to 
them by someone else should not have any power 
to control or to influence game legislation in any 
way, as has been done so many times before. 
Fred. Wilson, one of the afore-mentioned 
guides, repeatedly told me that of all the deer 
he ever found dead he never found half a dozen 
that had not either lost their nippers or else 
been severely wounded. The other guides I men¬ 
tioned, Jess. Lorimer, Joe Lorimer, Will. Dimick 
and Will. Raymond, all say in substance the 
same as Wilson said to me; namely, that the 
deaths of deer in winter time in this region 
caused by stress of weather are but few. 
Most of the Adirondack region is heavily 
stocked with deer at present, and in places 
near burned over districts where deer will some¬ 
times persist in yarding, there is always some 
fatality among them. But that a winter like 
this present has caused any widespread mor¬ 
tality among deer is unthinkable. I have been 
for over fifty years right in the thick of the 
deer question as it is here, and that all the year 
round, too, familiar with the animals, their habits 
and all pertaining to them, and I should know 
how it is here at least, and believe I do. I do 
not think it is very different anywhere else, un¬ 
less it were some place where a large area was 
highly overstocked in consequence and food 
proved scarce. Rodney West. 
[J. B. Burnham, chief game protector, has re¬ 
cently been quoted as saying that the Adiron¬ 
dack deer have wintered well and without un¬ 
usual loss. —Editor.] 
Springfield Fish ant) Game Association. 
Springfield, Mass., March 18. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: With two excellent speakers and 
an attendance of about 250 members, the Spring- 
field Fish and Game Association held one of its 
most successful dinners last night in the High¬ 
land Hotel. 
Hon. Joseph Walker, speaker of the Massa- 
\chusetts House of Representatives, and Hon. 
James S. Whipple, head of the department of , 
forestry, fisheries and game of New York State, 
were the speakers. Mayor Lathrop presided in 
a manner that exemplified Mr. Whipple’s char¬ 
acterization of him as a man full of ginger from 
head to foot 
Speaker Walker was the first to be called upon 
by the toastmaster and gave an excellent address 
in the course of which he answered the criticism 
which has been made by the fish and game asso¬ 
ciation for failing to place any real sportsmen on 
the legislative committee dealing with these mat¬ 
ters by saying that he had placed the good men 
on other committees and that the tag end was 
left for this committee. He, however, promised 
to place upon the committee a real sportsman if 
the association would send one to him. 
“With good wardens whom we can secure for 
salaries commensurate with the position we in¬ 
tend to fill your covers with birds and your 
streams with trout, and will hatch them on the 
ground. This I can promise with some free¬ 
dom,” said the speaker. 
One of the amusing features of the evening 
was the parody on “In the Good Old Summer 
Time,” written by John B. Smith, and entitled 
“In the Dear Old Fishing Time.” The song 
had seven verses and was sung with a vim by 
the 250 sportsmen present. 
James S. Whipple, the New York State game 
commissioner, lectured on forestry and illus¬ 
trated many of his points by lantern slides. 
Our association now has about 500 members 
and our meetings are held every month. 
Geo. H. Graham, Sec’y. 
New York Legislature. 
The Assembly has passed Assemblyman S. C. 
Clark’s -bill empowering the forest, fish and 
game commissioner, on the request of a ma¬ 
jority of the town board of a town, to pro¬ 
hibit or regulate the taking of birds or game on 
lands set aside with the consent of the owner 
as bird and game refuges for a period of not 
to exceed ten years. 
The Assembly forest, fish and game commis¬ 
sion has reported favorably the following bills: 
' Assemblyman Merritt’s, authorizing the State 
commissioner to bring, in the name of the peo¬ 
ple of the State, any action or proceedings which 
an owner of land would be entitled to bring to 
perfect the State’s title or record title, to lands 
in the forest preserves, and any other action 
with respect to such lands which an owner would 
be entitled to bring. Assemblyman Thompson’s, 
providing that there shall be no open season for 
deer on Long Island for two years from the 
time this bill is enacted. It also strikes out the 
provision permitting taking dogs into forests in¬ 
habited by deer during the present open season 
for deer on Long Island. Assemblyman Evans’, 
permitting the taking of suckers by hooking 
through the ice from the waters in Sullivan 
county. 
BILLS INTRODUCED. 
By Senator Hamilton-—Making the open sea¬ 
son for ducks, geese, brant and swan Sept. 16 
to Jan. 10 with possession from Sept. 16 to Jan. 
15. The bill repeals the law relating to brant 
on Long Island and prohibits the taking or pos¬ 
session of brant between sunset and daylight. 
Uniform provisions are inserted regarding ducks, 
geese, brant and swan on Long Island, the open 
season to be from Oct. 1 to Jan. 10. 
The Senate finance committee has reported 
favorably the Merritt bill appropriating $10,000 
to be used by the forest, fish and game commis¬ 
sioner to reforest lands in the forest preserve, 
to propagate or purchase trees for the purpose 
and to sell trees under proper restrictions to 
citizens of the State for reforesting lands. 
By Assemblyman Howard. — Relating to eel < 
weirs in certain waters. 
By Assemblyman Sullivan, of Chautauqua.— 
Relating to size of whitefish. 
By Assemblyman Fowler.—Permitting the tak¬ 
ing of carp by nets from the Hudson River at 
any time. 
By Assemblyman Evans—Relating to minnows 
and tip-ups. 
By Assemblyman M. Smith—Providing that 
there shall be no open season for woodcock, 
grouse and quail in Dutchess county prior to 
Oct. 1, 1913. Senator Schlosser introduced the 
same bill. 
By Assemblyman S. C. Clark—Relating to 
coarse fish. 
