March 25, 1911.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
457 
Letting Dogs into the Woods. 
Norwich, N. Y., March 11. — Editor Forest 
and Stream: Assemblyman Shea, of Essex 
county, has introduced two bills which, if they 
or either of them, become law will operate-to 
decrease and exterminate our stock of wild deer. 
One oill provides that dogs and bitches may 
be harbored in any part of the Adirondack Park 
and used in hunting deer the last ten days of the 
open season in Essex, Warren, Franklin and 
Clinton counties. Section 79 of our present game 
law prohibits this and should not be changed if 
we care to keep what few deer are left in the 
Adirondacks. 
1 he using of dogs during the last ten days 
of the open season will result in killing more 
deer than can be killed without the use of dogs 
during our present open season of six weeks. 
Formerly it was lawful to kill deer four months, 
from the first of August to the first of Decem¬ 
ber, and it has been found necessary to cut the 
open season down to six weeks with some now 
advocating a further reduction to thirty days in 
order to save what deer remain. 
When it was lawful to hound deer I had re¬ 
liable information about four men who took 
dogs into the Adirondacks to run deer into a 
lake, and then rowing alongside the swimming 
deer and shoot them at close range. Within a 
week those four men returned home, bringing 
the saddles of nineteen deer, having left the fore 
parts in the woods to rot. Those four men 
could not have killed nineteen deer if they had 
still-hunted all winter. 
Besides, dogs, like minks and weasels, are 
wanton kiilers and kill deer the year round if 
left in the woods, just as dogs kill sheep. The 
State paid thousands of dollars in bounties on 
wolves in order to get them out of the woods, 
and one dog will kill more deer than several 
wolves, as the latter kills to satisfy hunger. 
Venison taken by still-hunting is sweet, prime 
and fit for eating; that taken by hounding is 
just the contrary. Deer shot after having been 
mn by dogs are hot, inflamed and distressed 
with the poison of used-up tissue in their bodies 
and blood to such an extent that only a very 
small part of the blood will run out. Some per¬ 
sons are made sick by eating such venison. If 
our butchers ran sheep and cattle with dogs be¬ 
fore killing and sold the meat, we would prose¬ 
cute them for selling meat unfit for food and 
dangerous to life and health. 
The other bill, introduced by Assemblyman 
Shea, provides that any citizen may, upon pro¬ 
curing a license, hunt birds, foxes, hares and 
rabbits in the proper season with dogs or bitches, 
but not of a breed used in hunting deer, the 
license fee being one dollar each. 
It will be worse than a mistake if these two 
bills, or either one of them, become law. The 
first mentioned one would allow the keeping of 
dogs and bitches of all kinds and breeds in the 
Adirondack Park all the year, and many of them 
pursue and kill deer the year round, for dogs 
like to hunt alone and kill whatever game they 
can; besides which their owners could use them 
to run deer whenever they so wished, and an 
army of protectors cou'd not stop all of it, even 
if they really cared to stop hounding of deer. 
The only safe way is to retain our present law, 
which does not permit dogs or bitches to be 
kept or taken into forests inhabited by deer. 
T. he second bill would let dogs and bitches into 
the park and other forests where we have deer 
for the ostensible purpose of hunting birds and 
small game, which would really result in much 
illegal hunting of deer, besides their death and 
depletion throughout the year, even though these 
words, “But not of a breed used in hunting 
deer” are included in the bill. Do not let those 
words deceive you, for I know of no breed of 
dogs which will hunt birds, foxes and rabbits 
that cannot be easily trained to hunt deer and 
do it very effectively. 
First—Most dogs that will hunt foxes and 
rabbits, together with some dogs used for hunt¬ 
ing birds, will hunt and pursue deer and will 
leave the smaller tracks for the larger when- 
A FAITHFUL COMPANION. 
Photograph by W. H. Shay. 
ever chance permits. Further, any kind of a 
dog, including bird dogs and common curs, can 
readily be trained to hunt and pursue deer. The 
first law was against hounds and had to be 
changed to cover all dogs and bitches because 
they were used in place of hounds, and will be 
again so used if this bill becomes law. 
The usual way of hunting deer in Florida is 
to go out on horseback with a pack of dogs to 
start the deer, which are shot from the saddle, 
the dogs being used to find and start the deer, 
just as bird dogs find and flush birds. I have 
thus hunted in Florida behind packs of dogs, 
no two of which were of the same breed, and 
at different times a bulldog seemed to be the 
most effective one in the pack, and this in com¬ 
pany with a fine looking hound. 
Second—If a dog chases a doe when snow is 
deep, she has small chance, and if she escapes 
with her life, she soon drops a still-born fawn 
and one life is lost. It takes only a short chase 
in the spring to bring the same result. 
Third—Flundreds of deer dogs will get into 
the Adirondack Fark under this bdl, and our 
1 emaining stock of deer wi.l rapidly decrease. 
We have shortened our open season for deer 
fiom four months to six weeks in order to save 
them from extermination. If the dogs are let 
in they will hunt and kill deer the year round. 
It will not answer if we care to keep our deer. 
Besides, we should have these partial game 
refuges or shelter for game and birds. Such 
refuges have been provided in other parts, and 
we ought to have them in our State. Deer, par¬ 
tridges, foxes and rabbits naturally work to¬ 
ward the edges of our forests, and all except 
deer will spread out and away from the woods 
and help replenish covers in the farming sec¬ 
tions. 
It would be a rare experience in the Adiron¬ 
dacks to find a shotgun without its accompany¬ 
ing supply of buckshot cartridges. So do not 
be misled by the statement, “In permitting the 
use of bird dogs in the Adirondack preserves, 
the killing of deer will not be greater, as the 
bird hunter s weapon, a fowling piece with a 
load of 1 ounces of small shot, would rarely 
if ever be effective if used on deer.” Many deer 
are killed with shotguns and buckshot each year, 
and many more will be if dogs are let into the 
woods on any pretext whatever. Do not fall in 
with the mistaken idea that it will save human 
life if hounding of deer is allowed. On the 
contrary, it would send many more hunters into 
the woods during the time dogs were used, and 
would that much the more tend to loss of life. 
Having the open season from the 1st of October 
to the 15th of November, in order that hunting 
may be done after the leaves have fallen, when 
hunters can see further and’ more clearly, will 
help save human life. 
It will be well for game clubs and associa¬ 
tions, together wilh individuals from all parts 
of the State, to write their Senators and Assem¬ 
blymen about these two bills, asking that the 
dogs be not let into the woods, and that what 
deer we have may be given even better protec¬ 
tion than they had in the past. 
Clarence L. Parker. 
Glens Falls, N. Y., March 6. — Editor Forest 
and Stream: Herewith we hand you copy of 
an amendment to Section 79, Article VI., of 
the forest, fish and game laws, together with 
copy of a letter to Hon. Franklin D. Roose¬ 
velt, chairman of the Senate forest, fish and 
game committee. 
Geo. R. Harris, 
Charles H. Wilson, 
and Others. 
The amendment provides that any citizen of 
the State owning or possessing a pointer or 
setter dog, upon the execution of a bond for 
$100, the registration of such setter or pointer 
dog. and the receipt of a metal tag for each dog 
so registered, which tag with a collar identi¬ 
fying its owner, shall be worn at all times while 
hunting, may during the open season for the 
same, pursue and kill the game birds of the 
State in all parts of the State where the 
presence and use of dogs are prohibited. The 
bond to be subject to the approval of the com¬ 
missioner as to form thereof and sufficiency of 
sureties, sha ’1 be to the people of the State, 
conditioned that such owner or possessor of 
