Oct. 22, 1910.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
655 
Hunting in California. 
San Francisco, Cal., Oct. 10. — Editor Forest 
mid Stream: Although the State law sets the 
date for the closing of the deer season at Nov. 
1, many counties have shortened the season ma¬ 
terially, and hunting is at an end in such places. 
The deer season ends in some of these counties 
as follows: Alameda, Oct. 1; Lake, Oct. 1; 
Marin, Sept. 1; Santa Clara, Oct. 1; San Benito, 
Oct. 1. The dove season has also been short¬ 
ened in other counties, and this is considered 
a good move, for in some places the birds are 
found nesting on July 15 when the season com¬ 
mences. In most of the counties where doves 
are found in numbers the season commences Aug. 
15 and lasts two months. In Inyo county there 
is now a close season for two years on valley 
quail, extending from Oct. 1, 1910, to Oct. 1, 
1912. In Santa Cruz county the dove season is 
for two weeks only, from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15; 
rabbits and wild pigeons from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1, 
and tree squirrels protected at all times. 
The great number of hunters in the McCloud 
River and Trinity forest districts has driven the 
deer from those places to the Sacramento River 
side of the mountain range, and the few who 
have visited that district have been well re¬ 
warded. In the vicinity of Ukiah there is plenty 
of sport, and Deputy Fish and Game Commis¬ 
sioner Frank Tindall recently counted in a half 
a day’s ride fifty-nine does, bucks and fawns. 
On another day he saw fully a hundred deer in 
that locality. In Shasta county there has been 
some splendid deer hunting, and sportsmen there 
have also found some sport with bear and moun¬ 
tain lions. Fully twenty of the latter have been 
killed this season by bounty hunters who make 
a business of hunting this animal. 
The duck season opened on Oct. 1, and it is 
estimated that 5,000 sportsmen were scattered 
among the various marshes in the vicinity of San 
Francisco Bay on the opening day. Those who 
visited the marshes in the vicinity of Suisun and 
at Los Banos met with splendid success and 
limit bags were common. The low water in the 
streams is serving to concentrate the birds, and 
there was but little sport to be had except along 
the marshes covered by the tide or along such 
streams as the Sacramento and San Joaquin 
rivers which do not go dry. At Newman the 
Newman Gun Club held a successful day’s sport 
and about twenty secured the limit. The Gun- 
stine Club at Gunstine held the most successful 
opening in the history of the organization, and 
out of seventy-five guns on the grounds more 
than forty secured the limit, and most of the 
others came very close to the number allowed 
by law. The Blackjack Club opened the season 
at Collinsville, but the water in the preserve was 
very low and the sport was limited. 
Governor Gillett and Colonel Dinkelspiel spent 
opening day on the Allegre grounds in the Suisun 
district and experienced no difficulty in securing 
the limit. 
Sprigs are to be found in the largest numbers, 
but mallards are commencing to make their ap¬ 
pearance. and many home-bred teal are being 
secured. English snipe are also present in num¬ 
bers, and in places where ducks were scarce 
hunters paid their respects to these. Gray geese 
are commencing to come in, and after the first 
rain there will be some good shooting in this 
line. A heavy rain is all that is needed now to 
bring the ducks inland, and this would make the 
sport much more general, although it might re¬ 
duce the numbers to be found on some of the 
attractive preserve ponds. A. P. B. 
Los Angeles, Cal., Oct. 10. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: The open season for ducks and quai^l, 
Oct. 1, brought an unexpected flight of teal to 
those who sought the marshes, and disappoint¬ 
ment to upland hunters. The bags for the first 
time on record on Oct. 1 contained more of these 
toothsome little ducks than any others. 
The cannonade of opening morning in the 
Orange county duck territory was as unprece¬ 
dented as the flight of teal. One car—a double- 
header—brought fifty duck shooters to one sta¬ 
tion, and half as many more went on further, 
nearly all being club members. Twice as many 
more came in automobiles. A rough estimate 
placed the figure at 250 club gunners in the 
Bolsa, and as many or more road hunters. For 
a while the rattling roar of the duck hunters' 
skirmish line suggested a sham battle. 
There was no scarcity of sprigs. Waders of 
various sorts were plentiful. Mallards, gadwall 
and other big birds, excepting sprigs and wid¬ 
geon, were scarce. 
Some clubs were very short of water and suf¬ 
fered thereby in reduced bags. 
The quail shooters found the country overrun 
with an army of gunners. The automobiles sped 
out of town Friday afternoon as if to some 
motor racing course, each loaded with hunters, 
dogs and paraphernalia. The day was hot, con¬ 
ditions were unpleasant, and the bags mostly 
averaged far below the limit of twenty allowed 
in this State. Young birds were found packed 
into big flocks with wiser, older birds which 
promptly took them off into the safety of the 
higher, brushy and unscalable hills upon which 
no sane hunter would care to follow them. The 
California quail can outrun any other biped. 
The weather was bad for dogs, and these soon 
played out. Few are much good the first day— 
if, indeed, they ever are on valley quail. A dog 
of just the right temperament and makeup is a 
valuable companion in the quail cover. 
Some of the best bags were made closest to 
town. This is accounted for on the theory that 
the further hills always look greenest to the 
cow. The occasional good shooting near town 
is left to boys who do it little harm, most of 
the men thinking they must go further to get 
any game and often faring far worse. 
Quail will have to be preserved in this State 
just as the ducks. Many of the bigger ranches 
now forbid shooting excepting to a favored few, 
and virtually these places are quail preserves al¬ 
ready. It is but a step to the leasing of shoot¬ 
ing rights upon such places, and but another 
step to the acquiring of large tracts of waste 
land to form places of refuge for the quail. The 
automobile has ruined local quail shooting. 
This is the first year the season for waders 
has opened with that for ducks. By Oct. 15 the 
waders are gone mostly, and the opportunity to 
get some shooting upon them has been produc¬ 
tive. 
Los Angeles county’s able and efficient game 
warden, AVilliam B. Morgan, died a few weeks 
ago of apoplexy. He was a most faithful public 
servant, a sportsman, and the most admirable 
game protector the county ever knew. Since his 
death the supervisors have been trying to play 
petty politics with the office witlr the usual re¬ 
sult ; Morgan’s excellent staff disorganized and 
the law is violated at will. 
Edwin L. Hedderly. 
The National Beagle Club of America. 
The Twenty-first Annual Field Trials of this 
club will be held at Shadwell, Albemarle county, 
Virginia, commencing Nov. 10, 1910. 
The Fourth Show of Beagles of this club will 
also be held at Shadwell on Nov. 13, 1910. 
The judges will be LePage Cronmiller, of 
Laurel, Maryland, and Frank D. Stewart, of 
Jersey City, N. J. 
For the first time in the history of this club 
the prize money in each of the open single 
classes will be as follows: First prize, $50; 
second prize, $30; third prize, $15; fourth prize, 
$10. The entry fee will remain the same as 
heretofore, $10. 
Again for the first time in the history of 
this club post entries will be received at any 
time after the closing of the regular entry and 
previous to the drawing of the class upon the 
payment of the entry fee of $15. 
The trials will be run in the following order, 
commencing on Thursday, Nov. 10, 1910. iyt 10 
A. M., with packs of eight followed by thirteen- 
inch packs, fifteen-inch packs, thirteen-inch 
single class, fifteen-inch single class, continuing 
until the trials have been completed, ending with 
the Derby. 
Rumor has reached the ears of the secretary 
of this club to the effect that the National 
Beagle Club of America is a rich man’s club and 
composed only of millionaires. Tn' response the 
secretary desires to say that such a rumor has 
positively no foundation; that it is not a rich 
man’s club, that it is not composed entirely of 
millionaires. 
The initiation fee for new members is $5, the 
annual dues are also $5. 
Any lady or gentleman is eligible for mem¬ 
bership, who is a lady or gentleman, and who 
is a good true sportsman, having the interest 
of the club and the beagle hounds at heart. 
The motto of this club has been and is now 
“The best Dog Wins” no matter who its owner 
may be. 
The aim of the management always has been 
and is now to make the expenses of becoming 
a member of the club, the annual dues, and the 
cost of attending the trials, as light and small 
as possible in order that no one may be barred 
from the pleasures of membership or attending 
the trials by reason of expense. 
The entire revenues of this club received from 
initiation fees, annual dues, entry fees and all 
other sources are entirely applied for the benefit 
of its members, and any connected with the 
Annual Field Trials including prizes and medals 
offered at the leading dog shows. 
There are no salaried officers, no office ex¬ 
penses, and no perquisite of any kind or de¬ 
scription to anyone connected with the club. 
The entries for the Twenty-first Annual 
Trials will close Oct. 27, 1910. Further infor¬ 
mation will be given from time to time through 
the sporting press. In the mean time the sec¬ 
retary will gladly furnish upon request any and 
all information and will only be too glad to 
mail to any address premium lists and entry 
blanks. Chas. R. Stevenson, Sec’y. 
