Dec. 18, 1909.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
977 
themselves shall enjoy life in the open and sport 
with the fish and game. He invited all good 
sportsmen to visit Ontario when on their vaca¬ 
tions, there to enjoy the bountiful gifts show¬ 
ered on the region by Providence, at the same 
time bespeaking their support of the work that 
has been instituted to conserve these natural re¬ 
sources. He told anecdotes illustrative of the 
natural kindness of heart of the Canadian far¬ 
mers and of the ease with which strangers can 
gain their confidence and friendship if they but 
be polite and considerate. 
T. Gilbert Pierson, secretary of the Audubon 
Society of North Carolina, opened his address 
with a brief statement of the abundance of game 
in that State, of the varied interests considered 
in the game laws, and of the common desire 
there for State rights and county rights and 
divisions and subdivisions of shooting grounds. 
To illustrate, he quoted one section of the game 
laws affecting a part of Currituck where the 
boundaries of a certain shooting ground are 
drawn between landmarks known only to men 
who have lived there all their lives. The peo¬ 
ple, he said, had long been accustomed to doing 
as they pleased, and were loth to give up special 
privileges, hence their representatives in the 
Legislature insisted on these conflicting local 
provisions .in order to please their constituents. 
Formerly quail were shipped north at the rate 
of SjOOO a week, he said, and now the wildfowl 
shipped to market from Currituck alone are 
worth about $100,000 per year. It seemed that 
the market gunners were exerting every effort 
to shoot all the wildfowl that could be found 
and hurry these to the cold storage houses. One 
man, shooting there recently, bagged 400 ducks 
in one day. Wildfowl were abundant, and one 
hunter in an afternoon saw fourteen coveys of 
quail. He told of the work of his society in 
game legislation and protection in Texas, Louis¬ 
iana and North Carolina. In his State the war¬ 
dens devote a portion of their time in the closed 
season to distributing literature among the far¬ 
mers and school children, and to little talks to 
the latter, some of whom on occasion are taken 
afield and shown the work of insectivorous birds. 
At one time, he said, when with a group of 
children, they counted the number of insects 
caught by one bird in a given time, then several 
persons tried to find as many but failed. 
He referred to the necessity for better pro¬ 
tection for migratory wildfowl, and of the pres¬ 
ent lack of belief in any legislation in the near 
future to relieve the situation. Therefore, he 
hoped the day would come when the Govern¬ 
ment will take charge of the migratory birds, 
and the sentiment was heartily endorsed by his 
auditors, who gave him an ovation at the close 
of his remarks. 
William Dutcher, President of the National 
Audubon Societies, reviewed the work done at 
the last convention of the league and of the 
Legislature and declared that it is his intention 
to ask the Legislature to prohibit the possession 
and sale of the plumage of non-game birds in 
New York State. He suggested that the league 
do as one of the New Jersey protective organi¬ 
zations had done. This organization, in order 
to obtain information, mailed inquiries to per¬ 
sons all over the State. The responses showed 
that the law enforcement amounted to little and 
that on the 35,000 farms in the State there were 
some 70,000 quail, or two quail per farm, with 
an average of one bevy to every five farms. This 
association, he said, proposes to ask the next 
Legislature to stop quail shooting for several 
years, or until there shall be 1,000,000 of the 
birds in the State; it also will ask for an appro¬ 
priation of about $8,000 with which to employ 
quail wardens, buy buckwheat seed and feed 
the birds during inclement weather. During the 
year 35,000 shooting licenses were sold. It is 
also proposed to stop the sale of quail in the 
State in the closed season. In advocating the 
prohibition in New York of the sale of quail 
shipped from other States he referred to the 
boxes of quail found in the markets and marked 
“pigeons.” 
Mr. Dutcher said he began his work in the 
Audubon Society in 1884; that he had devoted 
a great deal of his time and thousands of dol¬ 
lars of his money to the work, and had never 
received a penny by way of compensation. He 
hoped the work would not only become national, 
but international. He, too, believed the Govern¬ 
ment should take charge of the protection of 
all migratory birds, and called attention to the 
Weeks bill, now before Congress, in which it 
is proposed that the Government protect these 
birds, the Department of Agriculture to formu¬ 
late and enforce rules, the same to become ef¬ 
fective after three months’ notice and after 
hearings shall be given. State laws are not to 
be interfered with, as States will be given ample 
time to harmonize their laws with the proposed 
national one; the enforcement to be taken over 
by the States. He asked the league’s endorse¬ 
ment of the bill. 
The motor car was mentioned as a vehicle for . 
the violation of the game law, by Fdward Mc¬ 
Laughlin, of New York city, who spoke of the 
evils attending the present Long Island laws. It 
was an easy matter, said he, to smuggle netted 
and potted ducks to the markets at night, in 
motor boats and cars, and he declared the only 
solution of the problem is to close the duck and 
brant season simultaneously. 
In the absence of D. W. Huntington, Kings- 
land Smith, of New York city, read a paper pre¬ 
pared by Mr. Huntington in which he advocated 
measures looking to the increase of game and 
its sale in the markets. 
The credentials committee reported that forty- 
seven clubs were represented by delegates or 
alternates at the meeting. 
A resolution offered by C. H. Wilson, of Glens 
Falls, was adopted. It relates to the prohibi¬ 
tion of the sale of black bass in New York 
State, no matter where taken. 
Mr. Sperry, of Whitesboro, spoke in favor of 
the non-sale of game, especially deer.’ After a 
deer is dead, he declared, it too often becomes 
mere merchandise, and if the venison cannot be 
sold there will be no incentive for woodsmen 
to kill deer. He also referred to the difficulty 
in determining the sex of deer in the brief view 
generally obtained of them, and thought one 
deer per man should be enough. His declara¬ 
tion that there was no more reason for a special 
law relating to trespass on private preserves 
than for one applying to trespass on other prop¬ 
erty was applauded. He said it was not diffi¬ 
cult to prove a trespass case, where the pres¬ 
ence of the accused was sufficient evidence of 
guilt, while the punishment on several counts 
was unfair. He believed in equal rights for 
both rich and poor. 
Mr. Lawrence of the committee on legisla¬ 
tion and law, offered four bills which were not 
passed by the last Legislature, and which it was 
proposed to reintroduce this winter. These 
were: 
Taking the blue heron out of the class of pro¬ 
tected birds, in accordance with Commissioner 
Whipple’s recommendation. Adopted. 
Making the open season for ducks, geese, 
brant and swan the hours between sunrise and 
sunset Sept. 16-Dec. 31, both inclusive, and at 
no other time; possession restricted to this time, 
with no open season for woodduck. This was 
amended, to make it apply to the entire State, 
and to cut out Sections 170 and 170a of the 
present law, and adopted. 
For the appointment of additional protectors 
to make the total number 150. Adopted. 
Limiting the bonding privilege to fish only. 
Adopted. 
Changing the open season for meadow hens 
and other birds to the dates Sept. 16-Dec. 31, 
both inclusive, and for upland plover Aug. 16- 
Dec. 31, both inclusive. Amended to apply to 
entire State and adopted. 
A resolution was adopted looking to a more 
general observation of Arbor and Bird Day. 
Also one relating to the establishment by towns 
of game refuges for periods of ten years or 
less, and on which no shooting shall be al¬ 
lowed, even by the owners, with whom the ar¬ 
rangements for the land shall be made; to be 
posted. 
B. F. Stetson, of the Adirondack Fish and 
Game Club, of Elizabethtown, offered a resolu¬ 
tion permitting the taking of dogs into the State 
preserves; these to be such as will hunt foxes, 
rabbits and birds; to be licensed (fee $1) and 
tagged, fees to go to the county issuing licenses. 
This was opposed because of the fox and rabbit 
provision and was lost, but was re-introduced 
to apply to bird dogs,only, and passed. 
Mr. Culver offered a resolution which was 
adopted, making the open season for bucks only 
in parts of Sullivan and Orange counties Nov. 
1-15, both inclusive, with no open season for 
does. This to conform with the general State • 
law. 
Mr. Lawrence offered a resolution submitted , 
by W. T. Hornaday, of the Camp-fire Club, re¬ 
lating to a perpetual open season on gray squir¬ 
rels. Lost. 
By Mr. Stetson, taking skunks out of the pro¬ 
tected list. Adopted. ( 
On motion Oliver Adams and A. Kelly Evans, 
of Ontario, and T. Gilbert Pierson, of North 
Carolina, were unanimously elected honorary 
members of the league. 
Mr. Lawrence’s motion to nominate candi- , 
dates for officers for the ensuing year from the 
floor, being carried, he nominated for president 
Charles R. Skinner, of Watertown, and in a 
graceful speech Dr. Honsinger seconded the 
nomination and the election was made unani¬ 
mous. A vote of thanks was then tendered the ( 
retiring president in recognition of his good | 
work. J. P. Rapalje, of Buffalo, was elected 
Vice-president; L. C. Andrews, of Elmira, was : 
elected Secretary, to succeed himself, and Emer¬ 
son H. Stowell, of Oswego, the treasurer, was also . 
returned to office. These directors were elected: ,, , 
A. C. Cornwall, of Alexandria Bay; Andrew | | 
D. Meloy, of New Yo'rk city; F. S. Honsinger, 
of Syracuse; B. F. Stetson, of Elizabethtown; 
