Forest and Stream 
NEW YORK, SATURDAY, AUGUST 7 , 1909 . 
j VOL. LXXIII—No. 6. 
I No. 127 Franklin St., New York. 
Terms, $3 a Year. 10 Cts. a Copy. | 
Six Months, $1.50. I 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL. 
Copyright, 1909, by Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 
Georgs Bird Grinnell, President, 
Charles B. Reynolds, Secretary, 
Louis Dean Speir, Treasurer, 
127 Franklin Street, New York. 
: . ■ - = 
i THE OBJECT OF THIS JOURNAL 
/ill be to studiously promote a healthful interest 
n outdoor recreation, and to cultivate a refined 
aste for natural objects. 
—Forest and Stream, Aug. 14, 1873. 
A WISE USE FOR PARKS. 
! In Chicago on a summer afternoon the 
granger who strolls through one of the beauti- 
ul wide parks is at first impressed with the 
iparent disregard of the people for all the 
mventional park rules. Everywhere they will 
: seen, in small groups and crowds, strolling 
:ross the lawns, playing games, sitting under 
le trees, picnicking or frolicking. One who is 
imiliar with the usual keep-off-the-grass and 
>-thoroughfare signs will marvel at the absence 
: these, just as he will over the apparent m- 
fference of the park policemen to all sorts of 
hletic games and the crowds each group of 
'ayers attracts. And, apparently also, the miles 
f well made walks are intended for use only 
l rainy days, so little are they employed when 
;e softer turf serves as well. 
■When one grows bold enough to take a short 
Jit across the lawns from one point to another, 
i half expects to be warned back, and is 
tonished when the first officer he meets passes 
m without a reprimand. 
Within comparatively few years these great 
irks have been extended and improved to a 
markable extent. They are beautiful indeed, 
it it is not merely to please the eye that they 
• e so well kept. Instead they are for the pleas- 
je of all the people, and that they are appre- 
nted is evident at a glance on any sunny day 
■ pleasant evening, when the variety of the 
rms' of recreation indulged in is confusing 
the st/anger. That the people, young as well 
■ old, take pride in their playground is found 
' the absence of any of the earmarks of van- 
<lism and petty resentment which are too often 
1 be found wherever stringent rules are en- 
rced in public places. 
The Park Department has taken long strides 
i the right direction, when it has gone to large 
ipense not only to provide comfort for all citi¬ 
es but also to encourage clubs and groups to 
lactice their favorite forms of sport, the de- 
irtment providing the place and adapting It 
1 the requirements of the game. Permanent 
itificial fixtures that might be unsightly are 
it permitted, but space is provided for the 
Drage in park buildings of such equipments as 
required for the games. 
This is a proper use for parks. 
EARLY GAME PROTECTORS. 
In these days, when every town and village 
has its gun club or its game protective associ¬ 
ation, we are all of us likely to forget those 
people who long ago pointed out to us the 
way in which we should go, and who, buoyed 
up by a far-sighted enthusiasm for the cause, 
bore the heat and burden of the day in the 
early struggles in behalf of the conservation of 
our game and fish. 
The two oldest game protective associations 
in America are the New York Association for 
the Protection of Game, founded in 1844 , and 
the Game and Inland Fishery Protective So¬ 
ciety of Nova Scotia, organized in 1853 . Both 
these associations have done extraordinarily 
good work, and both have numbered among 
their members some of the best American sports¬ 
men of the bygone years. 
Among the early members of the New York 
society is found the name of Henry W. Herbert, 
whose writings more than those of any other 
man were instrumental in beaching Americans 
what true sportsmanship is. Thomas Ward— 
known, to readers of Herbert’s writings as Tom 
Draw, of Warwick—was a member, and on the 
rolls are to be found many of the best citizens 
of New York in the past. Such men as James 
Harpier, Orison Blunt, Genio C. Scott, Philo 
G. Ruggles, Recorder Hackett, Charles Banks, 
Charles E. Whitehead, Royal Phelps, Robert B. 
Roosevelt, and a multitude of others have be¬ 
longed to that society, but most of them have 
passed on. Charles Banks is the only one of 
the early members who survives. 
It was this association which set on foot 
various improvements in the game law, the ap¬ 
pointment of a State fish commission, and under 
the able leadership of Charles E. Whitehead, 
brought a number of suits, which established 
certain principles of game protection that are 
now constantly quoted. 
The work of the Nova Scotia society has been 
for its section equally effective. It has done 
much to educate public sentiment, and has sug¬ 
gested much suitable legislation, besides assist¬ 
ing by its officers and agents to enforce the 
game laws. It has been entrusted with the dis¬ 
bursement of much of the revenue derived from 
the sale of game licenses, and has looked after 
the enforcement of the game laws. 
The game society owes much to the late C. 
S. Harrington, K. C., who was the first chief 
game commissioner of Nova Scotia, and was 
also a member of the council of the game so¬ 
ciety. It owes much also to George Piers, who 
for many years was the secretary of the game 
society, and is probably the only one living of 
the original members of the organization. 
Mr. Piers is still actively interested in the 
work which he began so long ago, and in which 
he has seen such changes. He must look back 
with great satisfaction on the half century that 
has elapsed since he first took hold of the work, 
and he is much to be congratulated as one of 
the founders of a system in which to-day 
millions of people are interested where only 
hundreds were so when he began. In him we 
have an example of persistent energy which the 
men of this generation will do well to emulate. 
The good work done by these early con-’ 
servators of our game and fish can be kept up 
only by unceasing vigilance on the part of the 
great body of sportsmen who are now so deeply 
interested in it. Let them do their part toward 
educating their fellows on the importance of 
this work. 
THE PECAN TREE. 
Forest lovers in the South have in the pecan 
tree a strong argument in favor of tree planting 
by all land owners. The publicity committee 
of the National Nut Growers’ Association is 
distributing literature descriptive of the excel¬ 
lence of the pecan nut and the satisfactory 
results accruing to those who plant pecan trees, 
and at the same time urging the Southern peo¬ 
ple to plant these trees as a means of beautify¬ 
ing as well as enhancing the value of cut-over 
lands that are now idle and of little value. The 
Nut-Grower says of the plan: 
These lands, which are not only non-productive since 
the cutting of the mill timber, but which entail the cost 
of taxes, present an opportunity for cooperative work 
with practical nut growers, which, when properly 
handled, should prove of mutual profit as well as be¬ 
coming a valuable advertisement for the locality in 
which the operations are conducted. As a rule, these 
large tracts are being held for an enhanced selling 
price as the demand for land for agricultural purposes 
increases. 
Our purpose is to show how these lands can be brought 
into demand at remunerative figures, thus adding to the 
wealth of the owners, and at the same time subserve the 
public good in various ways. 
The pecan is one of the handsomest of our 
native trees. While, under very favorable con¬ 
ditions, it grows to a height of 150 feet or 
more, with a trunk diameter of five feet, and 
is therefore the largest of the hickories, its 
average size is smaller. When a pecan tree is 
isolated its branches grow evenly, forming an 
immense top. As the lower branches are not 
far from the ground, when in foliage and bear¬ 
ing nuts these droop slightly, giving the tree 
an ovoid form that is as remarkable as it is 
pleasing to the eye. 
The pecan is at its best in Texas, but is also 
found in Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Okla¬ 
homa, Southeastern Kansas, Western Tennes¬ 
see and Kentucky, Missouri and Southern Indi¬ 
ana, with its northern limit in Southeastern 
Iowa. 
In an early issue “In Menelik’s Kingdom” 
will begin. It is by John A. M. Lethbridge, 
author of “An Afrikander’s Journal.” Mr. 
Schultz’s Arizona papers are not yet concluded. 
