Forest and Stream 
Terms. $3 a Year. 10 Cts. a Copy. . NEW YORK, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1 , I908. 
Six Months, 51.50. 1 
VOL. LXX.—No. 5. 
No. 346 Broadway. New York, 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL. 
Copyright, 1908, by Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 
George Bird Grinnell, President, 
Charles B. Reynolds, Secretary. 
Louis Dean Speir, Treasurer. 
3+6 Broadway, New York. 
- 
the object of this journal 
rill be to studiously promote a healthful interest 
in outdoor recreation, and to cultivate a refined 
taste for natural objects. 
—Forest and Stream, Aug. 14, 1873. 
THE NEW PRISON SITE. 
We have already referred to the fact that the 
State of New York has purchased a tract of land 
'for the site of the prison that is to take the 
place of Sing Sing. This tract lies on the west 
side of the Hudson River and includes the old 
Revolutionary forts, Clinton and Montgomery. 
Now the Empire Society of the Sons of the 
American Revolution and the Scenic Preserva¬ 
tion Society are up in arms. The former pro¬ 
tests vigorously against the utilization of this 
historic region for the purpose intended, and the 
latter is opposed to the plan on the ground that 
the blasting out of trap rock for the walls and 
buildings of the prison will destroy the beauty 
of the hills. Both societies desire to see the tract 
purchased by the State and set aside as a park. 
• The Commission of New Prisons, appointed 
by Governor Hughes, which purchased the tract, 
declares that not a tree will be cut that can be 
left standing without interfering with the general 
■plan of the new prison site, and that the blasting 
of trap rock will occur at places not visible from 
!the river. 
It is likely that a stubborn fight over this 
matter will take place in the Legislature, and 
the leaders will have the moral support of all 
that small army of men and women who have 
tramped over the hills that are little less than 
sacred to all patriotic Americans; who have 
camped along the shores of the beautiful Hud¬ 
son River and fished in the brooks and lakes. 
Which side will win remains to be seen, but 
while the march of our boasted improvement can¬ 
not be stayed, it must be admitted that sentiment 
won in the hard fight to wrest the Palisades of 
the Hudson from the grip of the trap rock quarry- 
men. Ten years ago the noon hour and 5 o’clock 
in the afternoon were announced every working 
day by perfect cannonades of blasting; to-day 
thirteen miles of the water front and the cliffs 
and the roads are devoted to recreation by good 
'people from the great city and its suburbs. Camps 
are to be seen in summer all along the water's 
edge, the old-time villages are passing away, the 
Jfoliage is creeping over the spots laid bare by 
the quarrymen, and the States of New Jersey 
and New York are proud of the fact that their 
people have a vast recreation ground within an 
hour’s ride where they can tramp, showshoe, 
'camp or sail, in season. 
THE POSSESSION OF EAGLES. 
Every person who has read anything about 
the case will sympathize with the New Jersey 
man who was fined twenty dollars by a Newark 
judge for having in his possession a live eagle 
which some kind-hearted but thoughtless friend 
sent him from another State. It has been re¬ 
ferred to as one more case in which “Jersey 
justice” has been applied with its proverbial 
severity. 
It cannot be denied that the punishment was 
severe, and that the offender was in a way made 
an example of for breaking a law by exhibiting 
an eagle in his shop window—for that is the 
construction that has been applied to the case, 
when as a matter of fact his exhibiting the bird 
had no further bearing on the case than to at¬ 
tract the attention of the warden who prosecuted 
him. He had the bird in possession, and the 
game laws of New Jersey forbid this. 
That wise provision which excuses no man 
for ignorance of the law works hardships at 
times, as it did in this case, but it saves not a 
few persons from committing offenses unwit¬ 
tingly. Judges are empowered to be lenient 
when it is shown that the imposition of a penalty 
will not bear out the spirit of the law. 
It is assumed that the man who shipped the 
live eagle did so in ignorance of the peculiar 
position he was placing his friend in; for the 
latter had no recourse but to refuse to receive 
the eagle, thus putting the forwarding agent in 
an equally unfortunate position, and eventually 
giving his friend to understand that what he had 
intended as a prized gift was not wanted. 
The forwarding company which first accepted 
the shipment was at fault, as its first duty was 
to ascertain whether or not the eagle could be 
delivered lawfully. 
FLY-CASTING TOURNAMENTS. 
The tournament of the National Association 
of Scientific Angling Clubs at Racine, Wis., last 
August was so largely attended by the anglers 
of the Middle West that interest in the 1908 
tournament is keen. 
The forthcoming affair will be held in Chicago 
under the auspices of the National Association 
and the management will be in the hands of 
the Illinois Bait-Casting Club, which has already 
made its selection of the men who are to handle 
all of the details. 
This meeting will attract to Chicago a large 
number of anglers, and the National Association 
is planning to inaugurate a campaign against 
illegal and unsportsmanlike fishing at that time. 
Preliminary steps have already been taken, and 
we understand that the work is to be carried on 
by committees composed of men who are active 
workers in the cause of fish and game protection. 
The association is composed of a large number 
of influential clubs on both coasts and inland, 
and if the work proposed is pushed, as it should 
be, all of the varied interests will be directly 
benefited. 
President Perce and the executive committee 
are anxious to enroll all of the large salt water 
fishing clubs of the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf 
coasts in the National Association, and if these 
clubs will respond, affiliate and assist, the power 
of the central body for the good of all interests 
will be materially increased. The annual club 
dues are nominal, and it is to be hoped these salt 
water clubs will join the association and assist 
in its work. 
Advices from far away Australia indicate that. 
the value of practice casting with the fly-rod is 
estimated there as well as in England and the 
United States at its true value. Australia’s first 
public tournament of this sort was held in Syd¬ 
ney, as mentioned in another column, and so 
much interest was centered in the affair that it 
is not unlikely other tournaments will be held 
from time to time. 
We are often asked why the English angling 
clubs do not combine and hold an annual tourna¬ 
ment. Certainly the contests that have been 
held from time to time in London have attracted 
widespread attention and favorable comment. 
Many of the salt water clubs hold fishing con¬ 
tests, but while the value of casting contests is 
recognized, the clubs do not devote much if any 
attention to them. 
A bill has been introduced in the New York 
Assembly which embodies the ideas and recom¬ 
mendations of the Forest, Fish and Game Com¬ 
mission, whose President, James S. Whipple, and 
its Chief Game Protector, John B. Burnham, 
have devoted several months to the task of codi¬ 
fying and simplifying the existing game and fish 
laws. The result is a bill of 140 pages which 
the Legislature will be asked to pass. If this 
action is taken, then all other game and fish 
bills, as they are introduced, will be made to 
conform to the general plan for simpler regula¬ 
tions and a readjustment of all special laws, so 
far as may be possible. The new bill provides 
for a universal license system, the proceds from 
fees to go into the State treasury. 
* 
The announcement has been made that the 
first annual Philadelphia Sportsmen’s Show will 
be held in the First Regiment Armory in that 
city, March 9-14 inclusive. Commencing with 
the New York Motor Boat and Sportsmen’s 
Show, which will open on Feb. 20 and close on 
March 7, the sportsmen of the East will have 
opportunities to visit what might be termed a 
continuous performance lasting three weeks, with 
a slight difference in the settings. 
