Aug. 7. 1909] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
215 
of the most backward of all the States in 
ttters of game and fish protection. 
Jwing to the evil effects upon the waters of 
j streams, of the mining and lumbering op¬ 
tions, the fish seem to be doomed. At the 
i session our legislature adopted the Forest 
j Stream platform by making a law prohib- 
g the sale of game of any kind at all sea- 
s. That is a long stride in real protection. 
Jn it was further provided that no deer ex¬ 
it bucks with antlers over four inches long 
uld be killed, which is well, 
mother act which will be further reaching 
n any other in game protection, if observed, 
o the making of a law forbidding any one 
iiting or camping on any land, whether en- 
;ed or wild unenclosed land, without written 
mission from the owner of such land. This 
:ig the work largely of extensive timber land 
uers, means that the masses of the people will 
:shut out of the woods entirely, which is a 
y effective way of protecting the game, al- 
ugh a little hard on those of us who have no 
>ds of our own and no “pull” with those 
) have. 
ur law-makers have also fallen in line and 
■ffire that all residents of the State who wish 
■Jiunt shall take out a resident license at a 
of one dollar. Taking into account all the 
vective measures, the game in West Virginia 
(uld increase very materially. 
Emerson Carney. 
California Quail in Massachusetts. 
his summer there has been seen in the neigh- 
:iood of Springfield, Mass., a very unusual 
: for that locality. Some time ago it took 
its residence near the South End sawmill and 
Bartholomew, of the mill, called the atten- 
: of Wm. Dearden, the taxidermist and 
nralist, to its presence. Mr. Dearden visited 
place, and when he saw the bird, recognized 
s a male California quail ( Callipepla cali- 
iica). The bird called daily from the log 
I.; around the sawmill, whistling morning and 
rnoon much as a bobwhite utters its call, 
'.igh of course the notes uttered are not the 
e. There seem to be other birds of the 
e species in this neighborhood, for a few 
aks ago R. O. Morris saw one not far from 
: ngfield. 
ow these birds should have appeared there 
lore or less a mystery. About seven years 
perhaps more—the late Franklin E. Foote, 
1 formerly lived on South Main street, 
; ngfield, brought six pairs of California quail 
Springfield and finally liberated five pairs in 
test Park. The birds were seen from time 
ime for a short period and then seem to 
a: disappeared. Mr. Dearden writes us: “It 
ns impossible that these birds could have 
ived our hard winters, but they are here and 
d made themselves at home at least for this 
mer. It would certainly be a great surprise 
now that they have wintered here.” All the 
is so far seen appear to be males. 
ie California quail, as is well known, is a 
i of the Southwest and of a country which 
:ry arid during a large part of the year and 
: n at all times. It is hardly to be supposed 
; the valley quail could live through the win- 
i in southern Massachusetts. They have done 
■ in Vancouver Island, but that region has a 
very mild climate, although well to the north. 
We should not be greatly surprised if the moun¬ 
tain quail were to be naturalized in southern 
Massachusetts, but the valley quail would have 
less chance. Future reports about these birds 
will be looked for with interest. 
Bird Destruction in the South. 
New Orleans, La., July 24. — Editor Forest 
and Stream: President Miller, of the State 
Game Commission, and Col. Frank Zacharie, of 
the Audubon Society, are attending the conven¬ 
tion of the American Fisheries Society in 
Toledo. They will be joined in Toledo by At¬ 
torney W. O. Hart, who is also a delegate from 
New Orleans. 
Mr. Miller, while absent from this city, will 
investigate the subject of the purchase of 100 
mountain deer from North Carolina. It is pro¬ 
posed to place these deer in the game preserves 
secured in Washington, Webster and Bossier 
parishes. It is thought they will improve the 
breed of stock. Mr. Miller will also purchase 
a few dozen pairs of domestic turkey hens and 
place them in the preserves and allow them to 
become wild; also a few pairs of pheasants from 
Kansas for various parishes of Louisiana. It 
is also planned to bring here a number of Cali¬ 
fornia valley quail. 
Reports have been received by the game com¬ 
mission here to the effect that the recent severe 
storm on the Gulf of Mexico practically annihi¬ 
lated the remaining young birds and the eggs 
of the old birds in Battledore, Audubon and 
Breton islands. Previous storms had virtually 
devastated these islands and the latest tornado 
has completed the wreck of the remaining bird 
life. The loss will be very severe and it will 
probably take several seasons for'the birds to 
regain their former numbers. Mr. Miller visited 
these islands a few weeks ago and reported that 
most of the young birds had been destroyed by 
high waters and storms, and he did not expect 
a thousand to be raised this year, while the 
usual output is 200,000. F. G. G. 
Queer Bird in a Queer Place. 
A subscriber to Le Chasseur Frangais, pub¬ 
lished at St. Etienne, France, tells a curious 
story as follows: 
“On the morning of Monday, May 10, a good 
housewife of the little village of M-, in the 
Department of Hautes Pyrennees, went out into 
her garden to get a cabbage for soup. Suddenly 
from the midst of the cabbage plants an enor¬ 
mous bird rose with great noise and perched 
in a pear tree. The good woman, somewhat 
frightened, went back into the house and told 
her husband about it. The husband partly 
opened a window looking into the garden, and 
in his turn saw the bird standing on a horizon¬ 
tal branch broadside to him. It presented such 
a good shot that St. Hubert himself would 
have forgotten that it was the close season. 
Quietly he took down his old musket, handed 
down in the family for generations, from father 
to son, carefully opened the window, aimed, 
aimed and aimed, until ‘boom’ there was a re¬ 
port which startled all the neighbors. The peo¬ 
ple rushed about to find out what had happened, 
and when the man went out to the foot of the 
pear tree, guess what he found? For learned 
people a magnificent Tetrao urogallus, but for 
the plainer hunters a splendid capercailzie. 
“Let whoever will try to explain it. I only 
record the fact.” 
Can this actually have been a capercailzie? It 
seems far from any recent range of that bird. 
California Shooting Season. 
San Francisco, Cal., July 2 6 .— Editor Forest 
and Stream: Up to a short time ago there was 
much uncertainty here in regard to an inter¬ 
pretation of the game law and for a time hun¬ 
ters were not able to agree on whether it was 
meant that deer hunting would begin July 15 
or Aug. 15. This confusion in regard to the 
opening date of the present season resulted from 
the fact that in the statutes recently printed the 
date was given as Aug. 15. In making its recom¬ 
mendations to the Legislature, the fish and game 
commission had named Aug. 1 as the most de¬ 
sirable date for the opening of the season and 
an impression was created in the minds of some 
that this was made a law. Others declared that 
Aug. 15 was the date decided upon. The only 
bill that received the Governor’s signature was 
one which provides an open season from July 
15 to Nov. 1. Bills naming Aug. 1 and Aug. 15, 
respectively, as the opening date were also passed 
by both Houses, but these did not receive the 
signature of the Governor. 
The question of dates has been submitted to 
the attorney-general and he has rendered an 
opinion that July 15 is the legal date. Several 
of the counties of the State have changed the 
dates formerly in force, these changes being as 
follows: Santa Clara, Aug. 1 to Oct. 15; San 
Mateo, Aug. 1 to Oct. 15; Marin, six weeks 
from July 15. Santa Cruz and Sonoma counties 
have also made changes and the season com¬ 
mences on Aug. 1, but the end of the open sea¬ 
son is not yet known. Bucks in Marin county 
are reported to be scarce and the officials there 
have seen fit to shorten the length of the open 
season. Most of the shooting grounds there are 
in the control of shooting preserves and the 
public will be forced to journey further away 
to secure sport in this line. 
The dove season also opened on July 15 and 
this season there is a bag limit of twenty birds 
a day, the lowest ever placed in effect. It is 
illegal to buy, sell or offer for sale or trade 
doves at any time, and hunting on inclosed land 
or cultivated land is prohibited unless permis¬ 
sion has been secured of the owner. A. P. B. 
