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Forest and Stream 
Terms 'L a MoTth“ $ S. aCoP7 -} NEW YORK, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 , 1909 . 
VOL. LXXIII.—No. 13. 
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 
in outdoor recreation, and to cultivate a refined 
taste for natural objects. 
—Forest and Stream, Aug. 14, 1873. 
THE LOUISIANA COMMISSION’S WORK. 
The people of the State of Louisiana are 
lassing through the transition stage out of 
.vhich the citizens of other States have already 
oassed. They are being taught the difficult 
esson that the game and fish are the property 
|)f all the people—of the Commonwealth—and 
hat, in order to conserve the supply, certain 
•estrictions have been decided on and a com- 
nission appointed to enforce these necessary 
estrictions. 
As in other States where, for one reason or 
mother, law enforcement has been lax, there is 
\ class of men who rebel against new regula- 
ions; who believe in the ancient tradition that 
heir fathers did this or that freely, without let 
r hindrance, and that they should not be inter- 
ered with in their habit of doing likewise. This 
as been shown in the fierce resistance of cer- 
t . 
ain classes in Louisiana against the establish¬ 
ment of private preserves; we fear similar ob- 
tacles will be raised when the lands for State 
ame refuges are set aside and protected by 
hardens. This spirit is even more in evidence 
ince the establishment of the State Game and 
ish Commission, and some of the people are 
rotesting loudly against laws which, in the 
ourse of time, will prove to be of great benefit 
b their parishes. The commission has been 
ttacked with great bitterness by various classes, 
mong them being men who are thoroughly con- 
ersant with the ultimate necessity for its work 
-men who, to use a homely expression, “should 
now better.” 
Following a trait that is as old as human 
ature itself, the good people attack their own 
gents, the men who were appointed to act for 
iem in the adjustment of those regulations 
hich their representatives in the Legislature 
eemed best for them in the preservation of 
ie game and fish with which the State is so 
chly endowed, but which cannot withstand the 
eavy drain that is being brought to bear on 
• With the steady increase in population and 
ie improved facilities for reaching one-time 
laccessible places, there is more shooting by 
Jtives and by Northern visitors than ever be- 
ore. And there are three distinct classes to 
itisfy: the casual resident sportsman, the 
jortman tourist who goes to Louisiana in 
inter, and that class which is composed of 
en who shoot and fish for the markets. 
Among these are men who are nomadic and 
who believe they possess an inherited right to 
the shooting and fishing in certain regions; in¬ 
deed, on some of the wide marshes the shoot¬ 
ing is allotted and is held by families after 
ancient custom. 
To harmonize all of these varied elements 
and interests is a task few public officials would 
care to undertake, but the game commissioners 
have proved that they are equal to the task set 
for them. Working along the line of least re¬ 
sistance they have gone among the people, sup¬ 
plied with data and pictures, and have talked 
with them in their own towns and villages, ex¬ 
plaining the necessity for game protection and 
how, through it, the people themselves will in 
time reap the benefits of better shooting, in 
proper season, for all. In many cases it is like 
kindergarten teaching, for the theory and prac¬ 
tice of game conservation are entirely new to 
them, and only through illustrated talks and by 
enlisting the local press in the work can the 
commission hope to bring about the end sought. 
THE CONSERVATION PROPAGANDA. 
There was a time when Forest and Stream 
was one of the very few publications that gave 
serious attention to the pollution of streams. It 
was for a number of years a thankless task, 
this drumming into deaf ears of a warning that 
few heeded. 
Too often those who were ready to admit 
that large corporations should be punished for 
polluting streams failed to notice that they, too, 
were offenders in a lesser way, and that their 
home villages defiled nearby streams in a shame¬ 
ful manner. Take, for example, almost any 
trout stream that flows through a village where 
two out of every ten men are ardent trout 
fishers. Above, the stream-bed and the water 
are clean and clear; below, both are befouled 
in a manner almost indescribable. The worst 
feature is, that those things which are thrown 
into streams might just as well be utilized to 
advantage in filling depressions in vacant lots 
or by being burned. Waste which pollutes the 
water may not actually kill the fish, but iron 
and glass and crockery are an eyesore forever, 
for the elements have little or no effect on these. 
It is suggested that where conditions such as 
we have described exist, the angling residents 
organize an annual cleaning up of all the hard¬ 
ware in nearby streams. At the same time the 
hiding places for game fish can be improved 
through the judicious placing or misplacing of 
stones. There is not a stream that cannot be 
improved in this way if a little effort be exerted. 
This is particularly true of trout streams that 
have suffered from the effects of drouths and 
freshets, due to lumbering at their headwaters. 
Old-time pools, now shallow, can be deepened 
by the changing of stones on the rifts. Low 
dams of loose construction are easily formed, 
will check the flow of water and furnish new 
hiding places for game fish. The service of 
boys—fond of this sort of thing if it smacks 
of play—might well be enlisted, and once their 
interest is attracted, they will watch the experi¬ 
ment carefully to note its effect. 
The conservation movement is gaining advo¬ 
cates right and left. The esthetically inclined 
are rendering aid unconsciously. Interested in 
beautifying their country places and their sur¬ 
roundings, they are assisting to some extent in 
discouraging the utilization of streams and lakes 
as waste dumps. The golf clubs are also assist¬ 
ing and their influence is apparent. Wherever 
a golf links has been established, the surround¬ 
ing country has been improved. Adjoining 
property owners have seen how quickly aban¬ 
doned fields and briar patches have been made 
over into beautiful green fields, with here and 
there a few trees and shrubs picked out and given 
an opportunity to thrive in air and sunlight, and 
they have taken more pride in the upkeep of 
their own fields and fences. Not a few streams 
and ponds have been saved in this way, mainly 
for their natural beauty, and in the course of 
time there will be woods where now thickets 
of small growth exist. The time has passed 
when it was believed that, in order to beautify 
the country, lawns and flower beds must be 
made; grass and trees and water are now in 
order, and with this approach to natural con¬ 
ditions, protection of bird and fish life will 
follow as a matter of course. 
It is gratifying to note that several eminent 
statesmen, on important occasions, have spoken 
at length on the pollution question. One of 
them, in referring to the Hudson-Fulton cele¬ 
bration, spoke of it as a fitting time to impress 
upon all of the people the necessity of stopping 
forever the defiling of the great river that bears 
the explorer’s name. It was pointed out that 
if Hudson could again visit the river, while 
he would be astonished on viewing the stately 
homes and the great institutions that have 
sprung up on its shores, he would look upon 
its polluted waters and its scarred and blackened 
hills with a sad heart. 
One of our greatest jurists has been quoted 
far and wide for his recent utterances on the 
pollution of inland lakes and streams, and offi¬ 
cials of the Government are spreading the propa¬ 
ganda. The conservation of our natural re¬ 
sources includes the forests, the fish and the 
game, and our song birds as well. 
The necessity for greater activity in the 
preservation of insectivorous birds has been 
made apparent this year as never before. Chest¬ 
nut and birch trees have been dying everywhere 
in numbers, and it is believed the so-called 
blight is extending in all directions. Mean¬ 
while the increase in the number of those birds 
that are known to keep down pests of this class 
is not noticeable, although in theory they are 
protected everywhere. 
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