April 30, 1910.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
697 
The Senate has passed the bill of Assembly¬ 
man Shea, forbidding the sale of the plumage 
of native wild birds from without the State. 
The Assembly has passed the concurrent reso¬ 
lution of Assemblyman Merritt, proposing an 
amendment to the State constitution in relation 
to the disposition and use of land in the forest 
preserves. 
The Assembly has passed the Shea bill mak¬ 
ing more stringent provisions against the setting 
of forest fires. 
The Hungarian Partridge. 
The Connecticut Fish and Game Protective 
Association, through its committee on game birds 
of which A. B. Lapsley is chairman, has just 
issued a twenty-eight-page pamphlet with the 
above title. The paper purports to give a brief 
review of the European partridge in its native 
land and of its introduction into this country. 
The bird is described and some account given 
of its habits, while something is said of its man¬ 
agement in Austro-Hungary and Great Britain, 
in both of which places under rigid protection 
they are extremely abundant. It is said that at 
present nearly 2,000,000 partridges are killed an¬ 
nually in Bohemia alpne, while 40,000 birds are 
exported every year to England. Besides this, 
great numbers of eggs are sent to England for 
hand rearing. An account is given of the efforts 
made to introduce this bird to America within 
the past two years. Some of these accounts are 
very encouraging; others much less so. Taking 
up especially their introduction into Connecticut 
it is found that, in 1907-08, 640 of these birds 
were introduced, and the following year 6,280. 
In some cases they have done well, but other 
plantings have completely disappeared from the 
vicinity where they have been turned out or in 
some cases where they bred. It is suspected that 
vermin and perhaps the pot-hunter are respon¬ 
sible for this. 
It is recommended that certain areas in each 
county be set aside as preserves for these birds, 
that they be protected for several seasons and of 
course that they be fed when necessary. It is 
too soon as yet to determine whether this for¬ 
eign bird can be made abundant in Connecticut. 
London Fur Sales. 
The great March fur sale of Messrs. C. M. 
Lampson & Co., took place in London as usual, 
running from the 7th to the 17th of the month, 
inclusive. Among the interesting lots sold dur¬ 
ing the first week were 1,800 blue fox, 1,299 cross 
fox, 679 fisher, 3,868 otter, 8,768 beaver, 301 lynx, 
928 wolverine, 4,830 badger, 12,466 wildcat, 307 
sea otter, 480 silver fox and 25 muskox. The 
following week there were sold 11,345 marten, 
362,216 skunk, 4,290 black bears, 515 brown bears, 
81 grizzlies, 1,519 Russian grizzlies, 28,459 red 
fox, 174,225 raccoons, 82,987 mink, 13,019 gray 
fox, 2,746 kit fox, 651,164 muskrats, 14,920 black 
muskrats, 321,360 American opossums and 21,617 
wolves. It is reported that some of the musk¬ 
rats sold as high as one dollar each, and the 
prices brought by the most valuable skins—as 
sea otter and silver foxes—were very high. 
All the game laws of the United States and 
Canada, revised to date and now in force, are 
given in the Game Lazvs in Brief. See adv. 
Recent Publications. 
The Game of British East Africa, by Captain 
C. H. Stigand, F.R.G.S., F.Z.S. Decorated 
cloth, 310 pages, illustrated with full page 
reproductions from photographs, 21s. net. 
London, Horace Cox. 
Asserting that civilized weapons in the hands 
of irresponsible black men have been largely in¬ 
strumental in upsetting the balance of nature in 
Africa; that civilization is advancing so rapidly 
that opportunities for wild nature study are be¬ 
coming more difficult; and that everyone who 
has been fortunate enough to so study its wild 
life should leave a careful record, Captain 
Stigand has added this his mite to the natural 
history of the region referred to. His notes 
were written in the field without reference 
books, and he lacked the assistance of his col¬ 
laborator in “Central African Game,” D. D. 
Lydell, but the results of his work on this latest 
volume are extremely creditable. 
After an extended experience in which he col- 
ODD DEER HORNS. 
From North Carolina Mountains. Killed in 1909. 
lected a large number of fine specimens, the 
author confessed that it was the trailing and 
hunting, and not the shooting which interested 
him; for, in East Africa, he asserts, the plains 
game frequents country so easy of access that 
anyone who can hold a rifle straight or shoot 
fast and often can procure all of the common 
varieties. Therefore, in the main he preferred 
to shoot only that which was required for food, 
and to devote his time to nature study and ob¬ 
servation. In elephant hunting he estimates that 
he was compelled to walk 100 miles for every 
one secured. Success with lions is to work 
hard and endure many disappointments. Rhinos 
he does not consider “sporting animals to shoot.” 
His review of the entire list of big game is 
equally interesting. He believes many writers 
on the habits of wild animals generalize too 
much in basing their assertions on one or two 
incidents observed. Innumerable instances are 
detailed, and these are not only of interest, but 
instructive to those who propose hunting in East 
Africa. 
Captain Stigand’s chapter on “The Difference 
Between Hunting and Shooting Big Game” is 
not without its amusing side. In ridiculing the 
various attempts to approach game that he has 
witnessed, he asserts that he has seen a hunter 
carried in a hammock by porters while “stalk¬ 
ing” game. Others depended on rapid and con¬ 
tinuous fire at long range, hoping for luck. Still 
others walked in a crouching posture over the 
open plains, like the ostrich, thinking they were 
concealing their movements. 
“I remember watching such a figure from a 
distance,” writes the author, “crouching about 
for the best part of an afternoon, occasionally 
stopping to fire a few rounds and then crouch¬ 
ing on again. Behind him stalked erect three 
boys, carrying spare rifles and other belongings, 
possibly a spare case of ammunition; but this 
may be imagination. One of these boys wore a 
red fez and another a white coat.” 
Of the hoofed game the author says: “There 
is a very prevalent idea that these plain-dwellers, 
where lions are plentiful, lead a miserable, hunt¬ 
ed and harassed existence. Nothing could be 
further from the truth. Man is the only animal 
which hunts and worries them to excess. They 
seem to be aware that he is their worst enemy, 
for they tolerate the lion and let it walk in their 
midst as one of themselves. Whereas even the 
distant sight of man makes them feel uneasy. 
Their apprehensions are well founded, for man 
f » 7 
will never rest until he has exterminated them 
utterly from the face of the plains. The lion 
may live with them for all time, yet never di 4 
minish their numbers. * * * It is the rifle in 
the hands of civilized man or the trained native 
that so completely upsets the balance of nature.” 
The appendix to this large volume is devoted 
to notes on the game animals in alphabetical 
order. Common and native names are given, as 
well as other data of value, including some of 
the native traditions. 
The book is one every big-game hunter should 
possess. 
The Home Afloat, or the Boy Trappers of the 
Hackensack, by Thomas Townsend. Cloth, 
313 pages. Athenia, N. J., The Athenia Pub¬ 
lishing Company. 
Sportsmen who were young twenty-five years 
ago will find this little volume full of reminders 
of their own shooting days on the vast meadows 
of the Hackensack River before they were 
grilled, as now, with railways and. their edges 
dotted with towns and manufacturing plants. 
By the death of their parents two boys and their 
sister were left alone in the world, though they 
were befriended by a number of good people, 
among them an old darkey; so they built a house¬ 
boat on the Hackensack River, made it their 
home, and trapped, shot and fished for a living. 
The story is a wholesome one, and can be read 
with profit by adults as well as boys. 
By Reef and Trail: Bob Leach’s Adventures 
in Florida, by Fisher Ames, Jr. Decorated 
cloth, 312 pages, illustrated with drawings 
by Charles Livingston Bull. Boston, Brown 
& Page. 
Although a boys’ book, and a very clever one, 
there is sufficient information in this one to cause 
older men to read it to the end. The ways of 
the plume hunters, the turkey trappers and the 
beach-combers of Florida are skillfully portrayed 
by Mr. Ames. The story of the adventure of 
Jim and Bob in their search for hidden treasure 
is an exciting one in which the boys’ woodcraft 
and seamanship played an important part. 
Supplementary to the story there is a glossary 
dealing with the natural history of Florida woods 
and waters, and notes regarding .camping and 
sport in that delightful region. 
