56 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Jan. ii, 1908. 
The Ruffed Grouse Scarcity. 
New York City, Dec. 24— Editor Forest 
and Stream: Reports from a number of my 
friends who have been after ruffed grouse this 
year, are in line with the general testimony in 
regard to the scarcity of these birds, and yet 
quite a number may be found near New York. 
In spite of the cold, wet spring, and the sum¬ 
mer of drouth, a number of broods were raised 
in my woods this year, and anyone is at liberty 
to see them if he cares to take a walk out that 
way. He should get off the train at Cos Cob, 
Conn., and go to the North Mianus school- 
house. Then take the Cognowaug road till he 
comes to the house of Mr. Wm. P. Patrick. 
Mr. Patrick will take him through my woods 
seventeen miles from New York city limits and 
will also take him through the woods to Mr. 
Thompson Seton’s. If one prefers to drive, he 
should get off at Stamford or Greenwich, and 
get a rig at the station. It is not very far away, 
and well worth the trip if one cares to note the 
extent of forest area so near to civilization. 
Besides the ruffed grouse, a number of 
flocks of quail will probably be seen, and per¬ 
haps some English pheasants. There are sev¬ 
eral wild deer in these woods, but they keep 
out of sight of people who are talking, although 
coming into the gardens near the house. 
By the way, the new Connecticut law, allow¬ 
ing farmers and other land owners to kill deer 
that are injuring their crops, will result in 
prompt extinguishment of the deer in the State. 
This is such a patent fact that no one is likely 
to be deceived for a moment. Four of the deer 
that kept about my woods have been killed re¬ 
cently. Two were killed by a summer resident, 
who claimed that they leaped over into an in¬ 
closure where he was shooting at a target, and 
they were accidentally hit. Two others were 
collected by an Italian who was out with a gun, 
and who stated that a train came along and 
killed the deer. There are plenty of foxes, 
raccoons, rabbits and smaller animals in these 
woods, and mink, musquash, and an occasional 
otter along the Mianus River. 
I wish that some nature lover would buy two 
or three hundred acres of forest between my 
property and Mr. Seton’s. It would allow us 
to keep a large forest area intact and compact, 
within easy reach of the city. In three or four 
years more this will all be cut up into smaller 
country estates, if the present movement con¬ 
tinues, and the chance for obtaining a single 
large tract will be lost. I have no pecuniary 
interest in the matter whatsoever, but would be 
very glad to give details to any one who might 
be interested, and would personally go over 
the ground with any one who had in mind the 
idea of purchasing and holding a large forest 
property. Robert T. Morris. 
Whitinsville, Mass., Dec. 16 .—Editor Forest 
and Stream: The scarcity of ruffed grouse, 
the causes, and the remedy for this alarming 
scarcity are of general interest to those of us 
who get together while out fox hunting or at 
the shooting club. 
In one particular cover last season and dur¬ 
ing the last week I found seven grouse. Only 
one was killed. The place was visited by an¬ 
other hunter a day or two before the season 
closed, the birds were found, but none were shot. 
The country around this section contains the 
covers in which this gentleman and myself have 
chiefly hunted for the past six or seven years, 
and I do not think it over-hunted by others. I 
generally get twenty-six or thirty birds, the other 
gentleman a less number. Knowing that we had 
found a goodly number of grouse in the last 
days of last season, we flattered ourselves that 
this fall would give us extra good shooting. But 
sad to relate the covers were barren of birds. 
In fact, I put in but two days bird shooting 
with one grouse as the result. It was tramp, 
tramp, and no birds getting up. The other 
gentleman did the usual amount of hunting and 
visited the section, and this cover in particular, 
as it was an exceptionally good one at the very 
last of the season, and no birds were found. 
Now, with the number of birds left in those 
covers on the last day of the season of 1906, it 
would seem that there must be some extraordinary 
reason for conditions such as are found this year. 
Not having had the time for close observa¬ 
tion I can only give hunters’ talk for it. Foxes, 
owls and hawks are it, so they say. 
Foxes certainly were never more abundant than 
now. On the very first hunt of our local fox 
hunters three pelts were taken. These were all 
shot in one small bunch of woods on one farm, 
and all within an hour I think. The dog evi¬ 
dently had pushed the driven fox close by two 
others which had laid up in this small stretch 
of woods, jumping them so that they ran into 
the hunters who had closed in. Thirteen foxes 
have been shot right on two or three farms 
where this hunt took place, and one can make a 
start' there any good day now. A year ago the 
hunters of whom I am speaking killed no foxes. 
The conditions were very bad and perhaps they 
did not go quite as often. 
Last year one bird hunter, if • I remember 
rightly, shot ninety-nine birds, most of them 
grouse. This year thirty or thirty-five were 
his score and mostly woodcock. Natural causes 
for the scarcity of birds remain comewhat ob¬ 
scure, but the great number of hunters and the 
size of the bag allowed show what destruction 
man may do. This we can help by a close sea¬ 
son for a number of years, and when the pro¬ 
hibition of killing is removed limit the bag. 
A gentleman of this town, to whom the bird 
hunters are under great obligations for the time 
and money he has put into restocking the covers 
with quail, said that perhaps a close season would 
not be fair to those who could not afford to 
go south for a little bird shooting, and that two 
weeks of open shooting might fit the case better. 
So far I have not thought I could afford the 
trip south, therefore cannot be said to be pre¬ 
judiced, knowing what bags some of our hun¬ 
ters have made in one day, the remarks which 
are passed on this question and how the last 
bird is followed to the death. I cannot have the 
charitable feeling that this gentleman possessed. 
Tie it up tight for a few years on grouse, quail, 
woodcock, squirrels and rabbits. Let there be 
no excuse for shooting birds and watch the 
covers close. W hitinsville. 
STIMULATION WITHOUT REACTION. 
After a day of enjoyable sport, it is wise to 
choose a drink which helps to restore the vital 
powers rather than one which tends, to deplete 
them, as in the case with many drinks. Bor¬ 
den’s Malted Milk is delicious, concentrated, 
nourishing, invaluable to the camper, made ready 
for use by adding water, hot or cold.— Adv. 
Shooting Incidents. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Now that the hunting season is practically 
closed for the majority of sportsmen it may not 
be out of place for some of them to come for¬ 
ward and relate incidents and experiences that 
have come to their notice in pursuit of their 
favorite pastime. 
This thought came to me as I read an interest- | 
ing account in Forest and Stream of the strange 
antics of a blue heron. The most reasonable 
explanation of this bird’s action in returning to 
investigate a peculiar looking island would seem 
to be that he did not recognize any part of the 
blind as a human being or supposed enemy, and 
was simply returning to find a resting place and 
seek food. One would imagine, however, that 
a salute from a shotgun would be promptly in¬ 
terpreted, even if it was a load of comparatively 
noiseless smokeless powder. I have known a 
great blue heron to alight on a sneakbox occu¬ 
pied by a somewhat drowsy gunner, one party 
being about as much “rattled” as the other when 
they parted company. 
As your correspondent says we should be going 
several steps too far if we attempted to figure 
out such strange actions on the part of bird 01 
beast from a human standpoint, but occasionally 
some actions are observed among the wild folk 
that do not seem so very far removed from wha: 
we are pleased to call reason when occurring 
among higher animals. I recall an incident 0) 
a recent gunning trip that at least showec 
shrewdness and judgment on the part of on< 
bird. With three companions, each in a sneak 
box securely hidden by burying down on a sand 
bar, and flanked by a large flock of brant decoy: 
displayed in most approved fashion, I wa 
anxiously watching a flock of perhaps ISO bran 
that a strong ebb tide had sent down the channe 
opposite us. Some of the more curious member 
of the flock would now and then start to swin 
in to our decoys, but apparently the counsel oj 
more cautious ones would prevail and the re¬ 
sult was that they continued to “mill” aroun 
in a circle some sixty or eighty yards outsid 
our decoys, all the while keeping up the cluckin 
and cackling familiar to all brant shooters. A 
this kept up for some time it may be imagine 
that we were pretty well keyed up with expect; 
tion. 
Finally a very large and apparently old bir 
took wing, came in and slowly and deliberate 
flew very low over our decoys from end to ec 
and just as slowly returned to his companion 
as we of course did not shoot, although he 0 
fered a perfect opportunity. Possibly a minu 
after this committee of one had made his noi 
report to the main body the whole flock ro 
and flew up the bay, although showing no alari 
It is quite certain that neither the single bi 
nor the others saw anything to alarm them, 
none of us hardly moved an eyelash. Althouj 
very fine specimens of the brant family, 0 
wooden decoys simply did not look good to t 
committee. 
Now what the “old man” had to say to 1 
children and feathered friends I will leave f 
some of the “nature artists” to tell us. Wlj 
we said had better be left untold. Ocean. 
[Our correspondent’s suggestion is a good 0 
All sportsmen can recall incidents sufficien 
interesting to amuse or instruct the Forest a) 
