Forest and Stre 
Copyright, 1906, by Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 


Terms, $3 a Year. 10 Cts. a Copy. t 

Six Months, $1.50. 

NEW YORK, SATURDAY, MAY 26, 1906. 

THE: SEA. SERPENT. 
For nearly 100 years the sea serpent has fur- 
nished unending matter for the humorous news- 
paper writer, but for many years scientific men 
have expressed their belief in its possible exist- 
ence. Of late years, as has been from time to 
time pointed out in these columns, a sea monster 
differing from anything known to science, with 
a long neck and tail-and a thicker body, has made 
its appearance on the coast of Tonquin, where it 
has been seen by many people entirely worthy of 
credence, and especially by a number of naval 
officers, cool, clear-headed men, who, with abun- 
dant time to observe, have made the most of their 
opportunities. Dr. Blanchard, a French physi- 
cian of eminence, is now endeavoring to induce 
the French Government to take steps to capture 
specimens of this animal, the nature and relation- 
ship of which are quite unknown. 
It has many times been suggested that it is al- 
together possible—not to say probable—that there 
may live, near the surface or in the depths of the 
ocean, survivors of the reptiles of earlier geologi- 
cal times, and that some of these may be the 
singular forms of life which have so often been 
reported at many times and from many seas. 
Such animals, destitute of the blubber which 
covers the marine mammalia and with heavy 
bones, would on death at once sink to the bottom, 
and thus would rarely or never be cast ashore to 
be found by man. 

A PRACTICABLE FISHING PROGRAMME. 
Many a city business man who enjoys a day’s 
fishing on salt water would go oftener if he knew 
just where to go, how to go and whom to go 
with. The determination of these three condi- 
tions is likely to be so much of a task and of 
perplexity that the fishing project is abandoned, 
as the results do not justify the trouble taken to 
secure them. ; 
A plan which has been devised and tested by 
a party of New York fishermen has proved so 
successful and yielded so much social satisfac- 
tion that it is worthy of adoption by others. 
The members organized in 1900 as the Monroe 
Fishing Club, “for the purpose,” as their simple 
and brief articles of agreement read, “of sociabil- 
ity, recreation and amusement.” Membership is 
limited to fifteen; and the qualifications are that 
one shall “love fishing for its edifying, soothing 
and healthful influence.” The officers are a com- 
modore, a secretary and a treasurer. The annual 
dues are $15. This provides a fund for the 
charter of a boat for fishing excursions on pre- 
arranged Thursdays during the season. This 
year there are twelve such fishing Thursdays. In 
addition to his annual dues, each member pays 
his pro rata share of the expenses of such trips 
as he goes on; that is, for the bait, beverages 
and to the steward for cleaning the fish. A rule 
of the Monroes is that only “soft drinks’ are 
{ VOL. LXVI.—No. 21. 
(No. 346 Broadway, New York. 


taken; no intoxicants are permitted on the boat. 
The expenses for the day will average fifty cents. 
The members bring each his own lunch. The 
power boat will accommodate the entire party of 
fifteen, but the number actually going on a trip 
varies. The rendezvous is at Canarsie, reached 
by trolley from New York. The fishing grounds 
aré off Seabright, Long Beach or elsewhere, ac- 
cording to the season and fish supply. All the 
fish taken on the trip are cleaned and dressed by 
the steward, and the catch is divided equally 
among the members, so that every one has an 
abundant supply of fish to take home, and may 
there claim all the credit for them if he wants to. 
This having a definite time and place to go fish- 
ing, and congenial companions to go with, has 
solved the problem for the Monroe Club mem- 
bers; and, as we have said, it is a scheme which 
might well be adopted by others. 
SiPakhelLie WILD FLOWERS, 
Tuts is the season of the year when dwellers 
in cities and towns may be seen returning after 
holiday excursions, loaded down with flowers, 
leaves and branches of trees, torn off from their 
stems by people who wish to carry away with 
them the beautiful things that nature so lavishly 
spreads abroad in the spring. To admire and to 
desire to possess these beautiful things is natural, 
yet to tear them down and carry them away 
shows a deplorable lack of thought. The least 
informed person, if willing to pause and think 
for a moment, knows very well that a few hours 
after the twig has been parted from its branch 
or the flower from its stem, twig and flower 
alike must lose all resemblance to the beautiful 
growing thing that inspired the wish for posses- 
sion, and is no longer worth having, Thus, for 
the gratification of a passing impulse, one has 
destroyed a beautiful object that but for this 
hasty act might have given pleasure to other 
people for days or weeks. 
It is not uncommon to see people coming from 
the country laden with branches of dogwood for 
example, four feet long; lilacs are torn down and 
defaced, and bunches of more ephemeral flowers 
like violets, buttercups and others are wilting in 
every hand. If people would recognize how fleet- 
ing is the gratification derived from this destruc- 
tion of the flowers, and how selfish it is, they 
probably would not be guilty of it. A well regu- 
lated person does not—even if the opportunity 
occurs—destroy shrubbery in the public parks for 
the purpose of carrying away with him the flow- 
ers or branches. In towns and cities such an act 
is commonly regarded as an offense, and anyone 
found guilty of it is likely to be punished, by a 
fine or otherwise. Yet, the principle is the same, 
whether the destruction is wrought in town or in 
country; but in the country the owner does not 
attempt to protect his shrubbery or his wild flow- 
ers, unless they are close to his house. 
There are many wild flowers and plants that 
for one reason or another are highly admired and 
so constantly sought for that they are becoming 
very rare, and in places where they used to be 
numerous are extinct. A familiar example is the 
trailing arbutus or May flower, which is growing 
constantly: rarer. 
The Society for the Protection of Native Plants 
is one which merits the greatest encouragement 
by everyone. Its aim is indicated in its title, and 
its method is so to educate the public that they 
shall see the selfishness and the unwisdom of 
wantonly destroying these beautiful things. It 
were greatly to be wished that in every city in 
the land there was a large membership in this 
Society; and, as no membership fee is required, 
there seems no reason why it should not soon be- 
come an important force in the land. 
TO IDENTIFY ADIRONDACK DOGS. 
Cuter Protector J. B. BurNHAmM’s successful 
prosecution of employees of William Rockefeller 
for hounding deer on the Rockefeller preserves 
in the Adirondacks invites attention to the anti- 
hounding law under which the case was tried. 
This is a statute which is unpopular in the North 
Woods; and its enforcement is difficult. 
A common obstacle is encountered in the un- 
willingness of witnesses to testify as to the own- 
ership of a dog found chasing deer, It is ex- 
ceedingly difficult to fasten the possession of the 
dog on the owner prosecuted. Witnesses who 
know perfectly well that the dog delongs to the 
defendant will evade testifying to the fact, and 
what may otherwise be a perfect! good case, 
may for this one weak point fall through. If, 
on the contrary, suitable provision were made 
for establishing the ownership of a dog caught 
running deer, the law would be much more read- 
ily enforced. 
This end may be gained by adopting in the 
Adirondack Forest Preserve the license tag sys- 
tem, which is in operation in cities and towns. 
The owner of a dog should be required to take 
out a license for it, and to provide for it a collar 
with a registry number, the collar to be worn 
by the dog when at large for purposes of identi- 
fication. Deer hounders might still seek to 
evade the law by removing the collar when the 
dog was hunting and so making its identification 
as difficult as now; but. this could be prevented 
by going a step further in the license require- 
ment, and compelling the owner, at the time of 
procuring the license, to file with the authorities 
a:complete and accurate description of the animal, 
sufficient to identify it by even after the deer 
pursuing dog may have been killed by a protector. 
A dog license. system of this character, for the 
purpose of protecting the deer in the Adiron- 
dacks, would be a perfectly reasonable require- 
ment; it would work no actual hardship on any 
law-abiding resident; and it would very materi- 
ally aid the authorities to enforce the deer law. 
