Forest and Stream 
T ““'' S,*“S” C ° P7 1 NEW YORK, SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1010. j VOL. LXXIV,—No. 16. 
oix montns, ) 7 7 7 7 INn 127 Frani/Un Qt 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL. 
Copyright, 1910, by Forest tnd 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. 
PUBLIC PARKS FOR PRIVATE USES. 
Efforts by individuals or corporations to seize 
on public property for their own uses are not 
new in this country. Many persons are old 
enough to recall the efforts nearly thirty years 
ago by the Yellowstone Park Improvement Com¬ 
pany to secure for itself that national pleasure 
ground. Something like twelve years of fight¬ 
ing was required before the original raiders 
and their successors finally became discouraged 
and gave up the attempts. Within two or three 
years another National Park—the Yosemite—has 
been attacked, and a faction of the population 
of San Francisco would like to acquire the use 
of a section of its territory. People have been 
trying to seize the Adirondacks for a long time. 
Finally the State put into its new constitution 
certain provisions to protect that famous resort, 
and now the worthy New York legislators pro¬ 
pose to amend the constitution so that they and 
their clients may make a little money out of 
what the State of New York has time and again 
declared is public property. 
To bring this about Mr. Merritt strives to 
amend the constitution; Mr. Cobb, Mr. Holden, 
Mr. Fowler and a number of other members in¬ 
troduce bills in the Legislature permitting a mul¬ 
titude of things, any and all of which tend to 
limit the rights of the individual and to increase 
the powers of well to do corporations. 
From the beginning it has been the intent of the 
State to keep these parks free to everyone, and 
to everyone on the American plan, where the 
rights of the poor man and of the rich man are 
equally to be respected. But if automobile roads 
are to be built, campsites to be leased, dams for 
water power to be built—under State control of 
course—the area free to the public will be much 
contracted, and the rights of the average man 
who can afford to go to the Adirondacks and 
spend a couple of weeks under canvas will be 
seriously abridged. Above all, the backing up 
of the waters by the building of these dams will 
•destroy camping places and will render the 
woods unsightly. 
This water power scheme is one of the most 
serious dangers that has threatened the Adiron¬ 
dack region in many years. It is for New York 
sportsmen, campers and outers to say whether 
they will consent to have their rights in this 
wilderness taken from them. 
A MASSACHUSETTS VICTORY. 
The baymen and shore dwellers of Massachu¬ 
setts have made a tremendous fight to reopen 
spring shooting on certain wildfowl, including 
coots, whistlers, sheldrakes and brant, but have 
been defeated. This bill, which permitted spring 
shooting on these seven species until May 20, 
passed the Senate, but was finally killed in the 
House by a good majority after debate lasting 
most of the day. Another bill which removed 
all protection from the brant was also killed. 
Mr. E. H. Forbush led the fight against these 
measures and is to be congratulated on his suc¬ 
cess. 
There still remains a bill which repeals all 
existing laws and leaves wildfowl wholly with¬ 
out protection, but it does not seem likely that 
the Committee on Fisheries and Game will re¬ 
port such a bill, though possibly it may come up 
in modified form. 
The persons interested in brant shooting made 
a great fight to pass the bills which removed 
protection from the brant in spring, but the senti¬ 
ment of the sportsmen was too strong for them. 
The State of New York will do well if it shall 
pass the bills stopping, spring brant shooting in 
this State. While they are being lawfully killed 
on Long Island, ducks and geese are unlawfully 
killed with them. The anomaly of protecting 
ducks and geese while permitting the killing of 
brant must make sportsmen in other States laugh 
at those of New York. 
FASHIONABLE AFRICA. 
Within a very few years the American sports¬ 
man seems to have given himself over to ex¬ 
ploiting Africa. Nor are his activities confined 
.to a single field. 
Colonel Roosevelt and his son, in the interests 
of science, have shot many great beasts, and the 
periodical press has fairly bubbled over with 
stories 'of their achievements and those of others. 
Mr. Dugmore followed the Roosevelts and took 
some .very marvelous photographs. Buffalo 
Jones has gone with a lot of riders and ropers 
to capture the wild animals that Roosevelt killed 
and Dugmore photographed, and now the Louis¬ 
iana State Game Commission, evidently deter¬ 
mined to be in the fashion, is proposing to im¬ 
port large African game to Louisiana for breed¬ 
ing purposes. 
That all these activities and efforts should fol¬ 
low one another, so rapidly seems curious enough, 
yet after all it is but the natural result of the 
accessibility of a region which can now be 
reached by railroad, and in time is distant only 
about six weeks from New York. Africa has 
become fashionable, and is now being exploited 
by the sportsman and the writer. Anyone who 
can persuade a publisher to send him there, sets 
out with a great flourish of trumpets and many 
announcements of what he is going to do. We 
may well enough shudder to think of the flood 
of books on Africa which has already begun to 
pour from the presses. 
We are slow to believe that the Louisiana 
Game Commission has actually committed it¬ 
self to the extraordinary proposition with which 
it is credited in the newspapers, or that Mr. 
Broussard has introduced a bill in Congress look¬ 
ing to the introduction of African mammals into 
the United States for food purposes. Is the 
oryx to graze on the prairies of Calcasieu and 
the hippo to bathe in the Gulf? 
It is a trifle early to speculate on the effect 
Halley’s comet may or may not have on the fish¬ 
ing this season. Already the comet has been 
credited with numerous real or imaginary things, 
hence an excuse will be at hand if anglers find 
their sport not equal to their expectations. The 
fact is that so far the early trout fishing has 
been prosecuted under abnormal conditions. So far 
April has been a dry month, and as little or no 
rain fell during March, the streams are low and 
clear and the woods free from pools and ponds. 
Our cover picture illustrates one of the effects 
of protecting sea gulls wherever found. In New 
\ ork Harbor during the winter the gulls are 
always present in large numbers. Here they are 
so tame that they frequently remain on the water 
until a steamboat is within a few feet of them, 
and then, in rising, they often circle within arm’s 
length of persons on deck. A few miles away, 
however, the gulls are not so confident and rise 
on the near approach of all craft. 
*S 
Through an error credit was given to J. W. 
Parsons for the photograph reproduced in our 
issue of April 2, entitled “In the Canon.” It 
was made by J. W. Preston. Both Mr. Preston 
and Mr. Parsons have entertained our readers 
with articles on life in the open and in the 
forests. 
* 
Martin boxes that have not as yet been placed 
should be put up at once, for these birds can be 
expected any day. If they locate in boxes placed 
for them this year, they can with confidence be 
watched for next season, and it is a pleasure to 
have them about, and a good investment as well. 
Four men were last week convicted for kill¬ 
ing fish with dynamite in New Jersey streams. 
The Fish and Game Commissioners are anxious 
to break up the practice and will appreciate any 
assistance sportsmen may be in a position to 
render them toward that end. 
* 
Captain J. J. Dunne, who died recently, was 
the well-known angling correspondent of British 
publications, “Hi-Regan.” His book, “How and 
Where to Fish in Ireland,” was a successful one 
which has run through several editions. 
