496 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Sept. 25, 1909. 
ward game increase which shall not stop short 
of restoring abundance. 
The methods which must in all likelihood be 
employed by the game preservers thus created 
would be practically those so long and success¬ 
fully employed on preserves in Great Britain, 
namely, the reduction of natural enemies, and, 
wherever possible, artificial propagation. It is, 
of course, obvious that the former is not prac¬ 
ticable under our present system, since State 
bounties are only an incentive to wanton and 
indiscriminate slaughter. Destruction of ver¬ 
min should be done only under the most in¬ 
telligent supervision, and this is practically im¬ 
possible except on restricted areas. 
As to propagation, it is eviderit that a State 
hatchery cannot adequately stock an entire 
State. 
In this connection, however, a plan suggests 
itself whereby the State may make the best use 
of the products of its game bird hatcheries, and 
at the same time practice game increasing for 
the benefit of the general public. Indiana, I 
believe, is already trying such an experiment. 
The setting apart of sanctuaries for game is now 
very generally regarded as one of the most im¬ 
portant moves for game and vyild. life preserva¬ 
tion that can be made by State or National 
Government. 
If to the mere guarding of such areas from 
depredations by man can be added a reasonable 
application of the above-mentioned methods, a 
considerable increase in the game birds should 
result, and the overflow into surrounding sec¬ 
tions ought to more than compensate those 
who have been deprived of some of their 
favorite shooting grounds. Besides this, it 
should prove a useful object lesson to the sur¬ 
rounding country. 
How such sanctuaries should be determined 
is a question over which great difference 01 
opinion seems to have developed. Massa¬ 
chusetts this year has declared all State reserv¬ 
ations, parks and commons or any lands held in 
trust for public use to be sanctuaries for all 
wild birds and game, “except that the author¬ 
ities or persons having the control and charge 
of such reservations, parks, commons or other 
lands may in their discretion, and with such 
limitations as they may deem advisable, author¬ 
ize persons to hunt, take or kill * * * any 
wild birds or animals which are not now pro¬ 
tected by law.” Although the passage of this 
act is a step in the right direction, the areas 
thus made sanctuaries are not numerous, nor in 
many cases large, and are not in all cases of a 
character best suited to shelter and support 
game birds and animals. Furthermore, as the 
management of these sanctuaries is placed en¬ 
tirely in the hands of the various authorities 
now controlling them in their character as State 
reservations, parks, etc., there is no certainty 
that an adequate trial of game increase methods 
will be made, such as might be looked for if, in 
their character as game sanctuaries, they were 
under the supervision of the fish and game com¬ 
missioners. William P. Wharton. 
“Died of curiosity,” was the verdict of a 
coroners jury. "Died of curiosity!” incredu- 
ously exclaimed a bystander. “Yes, he wanted 
to see why his muzzleloader was hanging fire, 
so he looked down the barrels to see what was 
up, and just then the blamed thing took it into 
its head to go off. There’s lots of people who 
die of curiosity.” 
Currituck Prospects. 
Waterlilv, N. C., Sept. 18 .—Editor Forest 
and Stream: Duck shooting at Currituck should 
be good this coming season, as there is an 
abundant crop of food for them—wild celery 
(Vallisneria spiralis), foxtail grass ( Potanoge - 
ton pcctinatus), redhead grass ( Perfolinaius ) 
and widgeon grass ( Ruppia maritima). W. L. 
McAtee, of the Biological Survey, has been here 
for several days making a study of our Curri¬ 
tuck duck food. I visited with him the Swan 
Island, Currituck and Narrows Island club 
grounds, going through their creeks and ponds. 
We found a fine crop of the above mentioned 
kinds of food except in the ponds where the 
water was stagnant. In those ponds there was 
plenty of food, but it was covered with a sort 
of moss or slime which destroys the food. It 
seems to me wild oats, wild rice and smart weed 
is the kind of food for such ponds, as all marsh 
ducks, especia'ly widgeon, sprigs, teal, mallards 
and black ducks are fond of all three kinds of 
seed. I know smart weed will grow around the 
edges of such ponds and creeks and I think 
wild oats and rice will also. 
M. McAtee informs me there is no longer any 
doubt about the propagation of wild celery from 
the seeds, as it is being done in Wisconsin and 
other Western States. I know from letters re¬ 
cently received that foxtail grass and redhead 
grass has been grown successfully in the far 
South and West from seed secured from Min¬ 
nesota, and this section also. Mr. McAtee will 
visit us again in November and December, se¬ 
curing as many duck gizzards as possible in 
order to find out just what the ducks love best. 
This seems to me a very important matter and 
will no doubt be interesting to duck hunters in 
all sections. 
We are now having the biggest flight of rice 
birds I ever saw in this section of our country, 
and on examination of their gizzards found 
they were full of caterpillars, the marshes being 
full of them no doubt caused the birds to 
stop while migrating to the South. 
There has been verj' good shooting on the 
shore bird marshes recently and the gull and 
tern family seem to be increasing very rapidly, 
especially Wilson terns and sea pigeons. Quail 
along the west side of Currituck have raised 
good large broods and are well grown. I have 
seen several flocks of sprigs and black ducks 
from Sept. 2 to 8. 
The keepers of the clubs all tell me there is 
a larger crop of duck food than we have had 
here for many years. So altogether the outlook 
for the future is good. More Anon. 
Aix Sponsa. 
Currituck, N. C., Sept. 11.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: I have read a good deal of the rarety 
of the wood or summer duck, but this year they 
seem to be very numerous. About three weeks 
ago I heard a lot of shooting on a marsh near 
me; I am not certain it was not an outlying 
one of my own. There were two men, as you 
could tell by their shooting. It seemed to me 
nearly a hundred shots were fired. I thought 
men were shooting blackbirds, which roost on 
the marshes by the thousands and in the day 
time destroy my corn, but I find they were shoot¬ 
ing summer ducks and killed thirty. 
A storekeeper near me was out last week and 
shot eighteen times and got two ducks. A neigh¬ 
bor came to see me last Saturday and asked me 
to take him out to one of my ponds; I have 
two near each other on the river connected by 
a narrow gut. He poled me through this to 
the inland pond and left me in an old blind that 
I used last year for black ducks. It is a barrel 
set in the reeds in which you have your feet 
and a seat close to it. The woodduck had used 
my seat for a roosting place and the barrel was 
full of water. As I had on hip boots I did not 
mind the water. . 
In a very short time I killed e'ght ducks, all 
this year’s birds, and one teal. It was a cripple 
and think it must have been here all summer. 
My friend killed one woodduck. We were home 
in time for supper, which consisted of speckled 
perch that my wife and her sister had caught 
while we were shooting. As they were the first 
they had ever caught, they were very proud of 
them. I saw about thirty-five ducks which I did 
not shoot at. Four-Bore. 
Caribou in Newfoundland. 
St. John’s, N. F., Sept. 12 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: “A magnificent caribou head was on 
exhibition at the hardware department window 
of the new store of Ayre & Sons, Ltd., yester¬ 
day. The antlers had 41 points, and their for¬ 
mation was perfect. Mr. Ewing, taxidermist, 
dressed and mounted the head.” 
The above clipping, from a local paper, shows 
that one hunter at least got the “head of heads” 
of his dreams. 
The season for caribou is now open. Many 
American hunters have arranged for fall hunt¬ 
ing. The railway people expect several hunt¬ 
ing parties next month. 
The caribou have not yet begun their annual 
southern migration, so that at present a hunter 
has to travel for his quarry, but later there is 
no doubt that any ordinary hunter with any 
kind of luck ought to get the full quantity of 
heads allowed by law. 
The following regulation and alteration of 
the existing law has been upon recommendation 
of the Game and Inland Fisheries Board, ap¬ 
proved by the Administrator in Council: 
1. No person shall hunt, kill, purchase or 
have in his possession any ptarmigan or willow 
grouse, commonly called partridge, nor any 
curlew, plover, snipe, or other wild or migra¬ 
tory birds (except wild geese), or the eggs of 
any such birds; nor shall shoot any wild rabbit 
or hare within this colony between the 15th day 
of December in any year and the 20th day of 
September in the year succeeding, under a pen¬ 
alty of not less than $25 nor exceeding $100, or 
imprisonment not exceeding three months; 
Provided, it shall not be held unlawful to sell, 
purchase, or have in posses.-ion any of such 
birds when the party shall prove that the said 
birds were killed between the 2Cth day of Sep¬ 
tember and the 15th day of December in any 
year. 
2. No person shall trap or snare any wild 
rabbit or hare between the 1st day of March 
and the 20th day of September in any year 
under a penalty of not less than $25 and not 
exceeding $ico, or imprisonment not exceeding 
three months. 
3. The foregoing regulations shall come into 
force immediately, and shall apply to the present 
season. W. J. Carroll. 
