534 
FOREST AND STREAM 
FOREST and STREAM 
FORTY - SEVENTH YEAR 
FOUNDERS OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETY 
GOVERNING BOARD: 
GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL 
CARL E. AKELEY, American Museum of Natural History, New York 
FRANK 8. DAGGETT, Museum of Science, Los Angeles, Cal. 
EDMUND HELLER, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. 
0. HART MERRIAM, Biological Survey, Washington, D. C. 
WILFRED H. OSGOOD, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Ill. 
JOHN M. PHILLIPS, Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
CHARLES SHELDON, Washington, D. C. 
GEORGE SHIRAS, 3rd, Washington, D. C. 
WILLIAM BRUETTE, Editor 
Nine East Fortieth Street, New York City 
THE OBJECT OF THIS JOURNAL 
WILL BE TO STUDIOUSLY PROMOTE A HEALTHFUL IN- 
TEREST IN OUTDOOR RECREATION, AND TO CULTIVATE 
A REFINED TASTE FOR NATURAL OBJECTS. Aug. 14, 1873 
WHY NOT EAT MORE FISH 
T is important that every man, woman and child in 
this country be aroused to the fact that we are in a 
war not to be lightly taken, for it will require all of 
our energy and many sacrifices to bring it to a success¬ 
ful end. It is not given to all to bear arms, but the man 
in the field should know that those in the homes are 
doing all they can to conserve our resources, without 
which the fight cannot be carried on. 
The world-wide food crisis is at this Nation’s door. 
The harvest of the stockman and the farmer must al¬ 
ways be remote; they require time and care and effort. 
The harvest of the sea is ready at the hand of man. All 
it needs is to be taken. According to the Bureau of 
Fisheries, 20 pounds per head is the annual consump¬ 
tion. In Great Britain and Germany the consumption 
is nearly four times greater.' Why not here? 
Eat more fish, urge others to do so, and impress your 
representative in your legislature and at YVashington 
with the importance of supporting the efforts of the 
fish and game commissions to increase the supply. 
RAIDING THE RIVERS 
HE special correspondent of the United Press of 
America, Mr. Henry Wood, relates how the 
Germans, before evacuating those portions of 
France from which they were recently compelled to re¬ 
treat, made a systematic raid on the fish of the canals 
and rivers. It shows clearly the value attached by them 
to fresh water fish. 
“Whilst this latest barbarity might be explained in 
part by the critical food situation of the Germans, there 
is evidence that this is not the sole motive. The task 
of leaving the French rivers and canals fishless is being 
pursued with the same systematic thoroughness and at¬ 
tention to detail which characterized the efforts of the 
Germans preceding their retreat last March to leave 
behind them a desolate wilderness, in which the French 
might not find either a mouthful of food or an ounce of 
material that would be of service to them. 
November, 1917 
“The discovery that the numerous rivers and canals 
of the district evacuated by the Germans had suffered 
the same fate as the ground was only made when the 
French recently undertook the task of rendering these 
waterways navigable after the German destruction of 
bridges, locks, embankments, and barges. The neces¬ 
sity of draining dry many of the canals and portions of 
river beds rendered unusuable by the Germans has 
brought to light numerous fish traps, seines, barriers, 
and other appliances used by the Germans in order to 
catch absolutely every fish. 
“Frequently the canals and rivers were divided up 
into sections, with barriers across each end in order to 
render impossible the escape of a single fish. Evidence 
has also been found of the use of explosive for stunning 
the fish and bringing them to the surface, where they 
were raked in with hand-nets.” 
Mr. Wood adds that before the German invasion 
the canals, rivers, and waterways had been brought to 
a high state of fish productiveness by stocking and 
preservation. 
The Germans having evidently aimed at securing for 
their immediate use all the fish food available, and at 
the same time rendering it certain that it would be some 
time before the waters would recover. 
FARMER AND SPORTSMAN 
HE pamphlet published quarterly by the Board of 
Fish and Game Commissioners of California, 
contains much interesting material, and should 
have a wide circulation outside the state. The articles 
deal chiefly with local topics, but some of them have 
a broader interest. 
In a recent number two quotations are given setting 
forth the case of the sportsman and the case of the 
farmer. One writer tells how the sportsman works 
hard to save the game and how much good he has done, 
and the other writer shows how hard the farmer works 
in trying to get a little shooting, and how the sports¬ 
man really gets it all. The two accounts are printed no 
doubt to show how narrow and how prejudiced some 
farmers and some sportsmen are. 
Efforts to set against one another the land owner and 
those persons who wish to pass over his land in search 
of game and fish, are unfortunate and quite unreason¬ 
able. These are not two classes of society and there is 
no antagonism between them. To talk of their inter¬ 
ests as being opposed is about as sensible as to talk 
of the opposing interests of smokers and automobilists. 
Many farmers are sportsmen, and many sportsmen 
farmers, and these do more or less shooting and fishing 
over lands belonging to others. The interest of land 
owner and sportsman alike is to conserve and increase 
the stock of game. 
While the real sportsman as a rule is a fine fellow, 
who tries to deal fairly and even liberally by his neigh¬ 
bor, there are some people fond of shooting—who carry 
rods or guns about with them and call themselves 
sportsmen—who are extraordinarily selfish and seem 
absolutely regardless of the wishes and even the rights 
of others. People of this kind who trespass on the 
farmer’s land are likely to pull down his fences, leave 
his gates open and even shoot his livestock, and by 
doing all this make the word sportsman a by-word and 
a hissing in certain communities. These men should 
be reached and should be educated, but unfortunatelv 
a large proportion of them never read. 
There are some people also who make a hunting or 
fishing excursion a mere excuse for riotous, not to say 
lawless, activities, and devote a gunning trip to getting 
