Forest and Stream 
i 
Terms, $3 a Year. 10 Ct, a Copy., NEW YORK, SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, IOO 9 . 
Six Months, $1.50. f ’ * 7 7 
VOL. LXXIII—No. 9. 
No. 127 Franklin St., New York. 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL. 
Copyright, 1909, by Forest and 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 
j in outdoor recreation, and to cultivate a refined 
taste for natural objects, 
—Forest and Stream, Aug. 14, 1873. 
WILL MAINE LEAD? 
| It is gratifying to observe that interest in the 
subject of stream pollution is growing little by 
.little- and becoming more widespread. Similar 
slow awakenings of the public mind have been 
witnessed in recent years as to game protection, 
forest preservation and other matters, the eco¬ 
nomic importance of which was long ignored 
by the public. 
A movement advocated by the Governor of 
Maine promises something in the way of purer 
waters, first for New England and then for the 
whole country. Governor Fernald hopes to set 
on foot a national movement for the protection 
of the streams of the United States from pol¬ 
lution, whether by sewage or manufacturing 
wastes. The lines to be followed are those laid 
down by Gifford Pinchot, and substantially 
adopted by the National Conservation Commis- 
I sion. It is hoped that this movement may be¬ 
come general in New England, and Gov. Fer¬ 
nald believes that New Hampshire, Vermont, 
Massachusetts and Rhode Island will follow 
Maine’s lead. 
The purpose is to appoint for Maine a pollu- 
t tion commission which shall investigate the evil 
and suggest remedies to the Governor. A more 
accurate knowledge of the subject is likely to 
arouse public opinion and to result in adequate 
legislation and executive action. The pollution 
of the streams of Maine by sawdust and by 
the waste discharged from pulp mills has been 
an evil long recognized, but any effort to com¬ 
pel the mills to cease discharging their waste 
into streams would have been regarded as an 
interference with business, and would have been 
exceedingly unpopular. The supposed discovery 
of a useful byproduct from sulphite waste may 
render the problem less difficult. 
I New York State has talked much about the 
pollution of the Hudson River and of Lake 
. Champlain, but has done little to prevent it. 
The jurisdiction in relation to stream pollution 
now vests in the health departments of the dif¬ 
ferent States, and these departments are, or 
have been, powerless. 
If we can investigate this stream pollution, 
find out what it really means, and let the public 
know the facts, the public will take care of the 
matter. We need facts, and facts well put. 
THE ANGLERS. 
In the national casting tournament, held in 
this city last week, there was a noticeable im¬ 
provement in the rods used. Compared with 
tournaments held four and five years ago, those 
of this year were lighter, more resilient and less 
stick-like. In all of the casting for accuracy 
and most of the distance work the rods used 
were well adapted to actual fishing of one kind 
or another commonly found in America. In the 
fly-rods the change in recent years has not been 
marked, but in the bait rods there has been a 
radical departure. For a while the tendency was 
toward freaks, but the balance between the long 
and clumsy rods of the old days and the four- 
foot sticks of a few years ago seems to have 
been found. Curiously enough, the present aver¬ 
age is not far from that of the long bows of the 
past, which were fashioned after the height of 
their owners; in other words, between five and 
one-half and six feet. There is, however, noth¬ 
ing tangible as showing that the angler’s stature 
bears any relation to the length of the rod that 
best serves him, but the fact is interesting never¬ 
theless. 
Mentioning this tournament recalls the fact 
that the Anglers’ Club of New York, under 
whose auspices it was held, is making a strong 
plea for the moral support of anglers in its 
efforts to prevent the pollution of all game fish 
waters. As a body it is working toward this 
end, while its hundred members, wherever they 
go, endeavor to further the cause. 
THE COMING OF AUTUMN. 
The tide of the seasons is at its flood and in 
a few days it will be ebbing, barely perceptible 
at first, growing stronger as the weeks pass, 
until, in winter, all nature will reach its lowest 
ebb. Meanwhile we are in the midst of a sea¬ 
son of plenty, and the bountiful harvest pro¬ 
vided by nature with man’s assistance is being 
garnered and stored against the needs of the 
cold season, even as the squirrels hoard their 
stores of nuts and fruits. It is a time when it 
is good to live. 
It is meet, then, that presently the workers 
may lay aside their cares and go forth into the 
woods and fields of the sportsman’s world, on 
the borderland of which they are now hovering, 
with eager hopes centered on the immediate 
future. September is coming, with its glorious 
days, its cool nights, the foliage showing the 
effects of the heated term and taking on those 
faint tints which, as the days pass, will deepen 
into the medley of colors the gunner loves best. 
The harvest is over, the fields are clear of grain, 
and the work of the dogs can be watched with 
fond eyes. Along the shore the surf breaks with 
a lisp and murmur that, increasing day by day, 
tells the watcher in the blinds of more exciting 
sport to come. In the woods the squirrel and 
the grouse, sleek and plump, are scurrying about 
intent on their small affairs, and the dew lies 
heavy at early morning when the purple haze 
and the balmy breezes call incessantly to all out¬ 
door people and will not be denied. 
On salt water and on the larger bodies of 
fresh water the angler is gathering the best that 
the year has to offer, and here the angler’s and 
the shooter’s seasons overlap, so that one may 
choose between the two or take his measure of 
both, at his option. 
Fortunately, too, the promise of still another 
trying time of severe drouth has been broken, 
at least in the Middle Atlantic, New England 
and some other States, and with the arrange¬ 
ments that have been made and the knowledge 
gained in recent autumns, it may come to pass 
that the enormous waste caused by woods fires 
may be avoided or greatly lessened this year. 
To W. J. Carroll we are indebted for the 
tribute to that noble animal, the Newfoundland 
dog, printed elsewhere in this issue. When dogs 
are mentioned and the good qualities of indi¬ 
viduals are under discussion, one instinctively 
recalls the Newfoundland dog and its efforts to 
make 'man’s existence safer and his lot a hap¬ 
pier one. Other dogs have their own good quali¬ 
ties and serve man well and faithfully in fair 
weather and foul, but in no other type are there 
more useful individuals than in this one. It 
will be well, therefore, if all of our sportsmen 
who are fond of dogs will heed the warning 
given by Mr. Carroll, and endeavor to keep the 
breed pure, since in crossing its usefulness may 
in time be destroyed. • 
Thomas J. Leary died suddenly from heart 
failure in New Chambers street, New York city, 
on Aug. 23 . Mr. Leary was in his sixty-second 
year and a bachelor. For a great many years 
he had been actively engaged in the firearms 
trade, and through him came a large proportion 
of the firearms made in Europe and distributed 
through the New York, Chicago, St. Louis and 
San Francisco jobbers. It was his custom to 
go to the European firearms centers in the 
autumn and devote several weeks’ time in the 
selection of guns and rifles to fill his own and 
his customers’ orders for delivery the follow¬ 
ing spring and summer. He was an important 
factor in the trade, and a well-known member 
of the Hardware Club. 
R 
Carl E. Akeley and Mrs. Akeley are at sea 
en route for British East Africa, where they are 
going on another expedition for big game speci¬ 
mens for the American Museum of Natural 
History and to obtain photographs of game in 
its haunts. With them is Ford M. Stephenson 
and John T. McCutcheon, the artist. Mr. 
Stephenson plans to travel through Abyssinia, 
recently described by Mr. Lethbridge in these 
columns, the narrative concluding with the cur¬ 
rent issue; and through Egypt. 
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