294 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Aug. 20, 19io. 
disappointingly small on the plate. For all of 
that it was more fun, and though the blackducks 
I killed are long since gone and the law for¬ 
bids the shooting of any more, yet I not only 
have the pictures but can still go out when the 
ice breaks to take more, pitting my skill against 
the duck's wariness, enjoying the freedom of the 
deserted river and exploring the miles of ice 
floes that come down from the North. 
Julian Burroughs. 
Biltmore Doings. 
The field work conducted at Sunburst, N. C., 
during July has consisted of timber estimating, 
railroad and bridge surveys, selecting and sur¬ 
veying proper sites for splash darps, a study of 
mill construction, botanical and zoological work. 
The general routine was interrupted for one 
week, during which some very interesting trips 
were taken to several lumbering operations in 
the proximity of Asheville. One day was spent 
in Canton, N. C., where we visited the fibre and 
tannic acid plants of the Champion Fibre Com¬ 
pany. A trip of several days to the operations 
of the Pigeon River Lumber Company at Crest- 
mont, N. C., offered excellent opportunities for 
the study of log transportation in the moun¬ 
tains. A striking contrast between different 
methods of operation adopted under similar con¬ 
ditions was presented to the students seeing near 
Crestmont, the interesting operations conducted 
by the Pladdock-Frantz Lumber Company. FI. 
C. Oberholser (U. S. Biological Survey) has 
spent two weeks with us lecturing on Zoology. 
Dr. Schenck is lecturing on the second and last 
part of Lumbering and Technology. Dr. House 
is lecturing on Morphology and Classification of 
Plants. 
The school will be located, in Cadillac, Mich., 
in the logging camps of Cummer-Diggins, from 
Aug. 15 until Oct. 1. It will sail on Oct. 4 on 
the S. S. New Amsterdam, of the Holland- 
American Line, from Hoboken, N. J.. for the 
German forests. 
Game Laws and Politics. 
The fish and game law is one that may be 
safely played with, without running any risk of 
serious political afterclaps. That is one reason, 
says the Savannah (Ga.) News, why the fish and 
game law is always being batted hither and yon 
by members of the Legislature. They do not 
know anything about it and do not care any¬ 
thing about it, but it affords an opportunity to 
get their names mentioned in the chronicles, 
wherefore there are always members of the 
Legislature who are ready to raise merry cain 
about the “protection” of fish and game upon 
the slightest provocation, or without provoca¬ 
tion at all. They make use of the subject for 
advertising purposes. It is cheap advertising, 
but it “goes” as patriotism and the “conserva¬ 
tion of natural resources” in some quarters. 
Ward Allen is as right as the Testament when 
he says that a great many of those who are 
marving the most fuss over the fish and game 
laws do not know the first continental thing of 
what they are talking about. Moreover they do 
not care. A man who knows might talk to them 
until he was blue in the face, but it would not 
do any good, because they never could under¬ 
stand. When common sense comes into contact 
with politics, common sense has the tarred end 
of the stick. 
Destruction in the Millions. 
The forest fires which for weeks have been 
raging in the Rocky Mountains and on the 
Pacific coast are increasing. Forests are burn¬ 
ing in many places in the Pacific Northwest, and 
it is said that only a general rain can put an 
end to them. Meantime, millions of dollars are 
going up in smoke, and the national forests and 
private forests are alike being destroyed. 
There are great fires all through Washington, 
Idaho and Montana, and two of the National 
parks have been invaded. Near Bell Mountain 
and Mary's Mountain, in the Yellowstone, fire.s 
started, and others to the southeast of Yellow¬ 
stone Lake. Large areas of the park were 
threatened, but troops from the different sta¬ 
tions checked the fires near Bell and Mary's 
mountains. The country to the southeast of 
Yellowstone Lake, which from the dispatches 
seem to be near the road leading to the Sylvan 
Pass, has been burning furiously. Much timber 
is reported to have been destroyed and deer, elk 
and other wild animals have been seen fleeing 
from the fire. When the first reports were re¬ 
ceived of fires in the Glacier National Park, and 
in the adjacent forest reserves, Major H. C. 
Benson, superintendent of the Yellowstone Park, 
was sent north to direct the fire fighting there, 
but on the appearance of fires in the Yellowstone 
he was ordered back to his post. Serious fires 
are raging on the Flathead Indian Reservation 
and in the Coeur d'Alene. Several Idaho towns 
have been threatened. 
At the to\^i of Wallace, Idaho, which was 
threatened by the flames," dynamite tied to limbs 
of trees on high points about the town was ex¬ 
ploded, in the hope that rain might be produced. 
Curiously enough, not long after the explosion, 
rain began to fall for the first time in two 
months. It is believed that this has put Wallace 
out of danger. 
A bad fire is reported to have broken out in 
the Crazy Woman’s Mountain, a portion of 
Absaroka forest, and another in the Bitter Root. 
The timber in the Glacier National Park is 
burning, and Major Win. R. Logan, the recently 
appointed superintendent of that park, has made 
another appeal to the Secretary of the Interior 
asking that troops be rushed to his assistance. 
The messa'ge was probably sent before Major 
Logan had learned that troops had already been 
ordered to help him. Major Logan was advised 
to communicate with the commander of Fort 
Wright, at Spokane, who would inform him how 
many soldiers had been ordered to his assistance 
and when they would arrive. If the number is 
insufficient, an additional force will be sent. 
Meantime the situation is being dealt with as 
well as possible. The whole forest force is at 
work, troops have been ordered from different 
points, employees of the Indian service are do¬ 
ing local work, and it is said that the State 
militia of Montana will be called out if the 
situation grows worse. 
In a bulletin just issued by the Forest Service. 
Prof. Harry S. Graves, Forester, calls attention 
to the impossible situation which exists. 
“As long as there is any considerable risk from 
fire, forest owners have little incentive to make 
provision for natural production, to plant trees, 
to make improvement cuttings, or to do other 
work looking to continued forest protection.” 
He points out that most of the forests of the 
country are inadequately protected from fire, and 
says that in probably 75 per cent, of the private 
forests there is no attempt whatever at syste¬ 
matic protection. He adds the well known fact 
that reproduction of the forests has been more 
influenced by fire than by any other cause, for 
repeated fires prevent reproduction by destroying 
the seed and killing the seedlings. 
The Nova Scotia Guides’ Association. 
T he annual meeting of this association is be¬ 
ing held at Lakeside Park, Yarmouth, N. S., this 
week, the dates being Aug. 18 and 19, and every 
guide who can possibly attend is expected to be 
present. It is planned to have the business all 
transacted on the first day of the meeting, and 
to devote Friday to the sports festival, which 
will consist of contests' in the following events 
for valuable prizes. These contests are open 
to licensed guides only. Rifle shooting, 200 yards 
off-hand, sporting rifles only; trapshooting, sal¬ 
mon fly-casting for distance, trout fly-casting for 
distance, trout fly-casting for accuracy, canoe 
racing, log burling, log chopping, swimming, 
canoe tilting, etc. 
On Friday evening a supper will be tendered 
the guides hy the local branch of the People’s 
Game and Fish Protective Association. 
West Coast Hunting. 
San Francisco, Cal.. Aug. 10. —Editor forest 
and Stream: The deer season has proved to be 
a very successful one, especially in Marin and 
San Mateo counties, and those who understand 
hunting have but little difficulty, in securing" 
bucks. Landowners in these counties have com¬ 
bined in many districts to keep hunters from 
their lands and those fortunate enough to be 
able to secure the privilege to hunt there have_ 
met with success where those hunting over un¬ 
protected ground have been disappointed. 
Dove shooting in the Sacramento Valley is at¬ 
tracting many city sportsmen at the present time 
and this is now at its height. In the vicinity of 
Paso Robles doves are also very plentiful and 
sportsmen are making week-end trips to that 
place to hunt and enjoy the baths. 
A. P. B. 
This Deer Likes Pie. 
Frequent thefts of garden produce and of 
pies and cakes from the kitchen and pantry of 
the home of Mrs. Benjamin Beers, in West- 
port, Conn., aroused both the ire and the curi¬ 
osity of Mrs. Beers. A high fence surrounds 
the place, and it seemed impossible that man or 
beast could accomplish the feat. 
After a long vigil Mrs. Beers was rewarded 
this morning when she saw a deer vault the 
eight-foot fence, and after cautiously approach¬ 
ing the kitchen, reached up and eat some green 
peas and half of a rhubarb pie which were up 
on the window sill.—Herald. 
An Insinuation. 
The Marine Fish and Game Commission 
claims that sportsmen leave more than $20,- 
000.000 in that State each season. And yet 
Maine is at the head of the prohibition States!— 
Spartansburg (S. C.) Herald. 
