in upholding and setting forth the bene- 
ficial qualities of the “Porky,” I do not 
hesitate in taking sides against them 
in the matter. Perhaps Mr. McVicker 
has never had an opportunity to ob- 
serve the havoc wrought in the beauti- 
ful spruce and hemlock groves, which 
we have here in York state, by these 
animals. Maybe if he could see for him- 
self, he would be inclined to change his 
mind in regard to their being an asset 
to sportsmen.” 
It isn’t exactly inspiring to a 
forest lover to go out into the woods 
and find what was once a_ beauti- 
ful soft-wood grove to be only a group 
of ghastly trunks almost entirely bare 
of bark and branches and bearing gaunt 
evidence of the destructiveness of this 
pest which Mr. McVicker wishes to see 
protected by law. Of Alaska and Alas- 
kan ways and methods I know next to 
nothing. Maybe their unwritten code 
of never harming a porcupine is all 
right when applied to certain communi- 
ties. But I wonder if Mr. McVicker has 
ever stopped to consider the fact that 
these animals being protected by law, a 
starving person would be committing a 
misdemeanor, which would immediately 
render him liable to arrest, were he to 
kill one. He might also take into con- 
sideration the fact that only the old and 
seasoned woodsmen (the kind that sel- 
dom get lost) know that the porcupine 
is good to eat and how to prepare one 
so that it would be at all edible. 
Nine times out of ten the “green- 
horn” lost in the woods and hungry 
would pass by the porky without know- 
ing that he was passing a meal. And 
if he did know it’s a pretty sure thing 
that the repulsive appearance of ‘the 
animal would help him to decide that he 
would take a chance on starving before 
resorting to it as means of sustenance. 
Perhaps in Alaska there are not any 
towering trees in which porcupines can 
take refuge and from which, without 
the use of a firearm, it would be impos- 
sible to dislodge them unless one were 
endowed with the climbing abilities of a 
black bear or racoon. Ask any lumber- 
man who has ever had a saw or axe 
handle chewed up by a quill pig what he 
thinks of the pests. 
Or again ask the opinion of the back- 
woods farmer who has had his crop of 
buckwheat trampled down; or perhaps 
a hole gnawed through the woodshed 
door by these life savers. Their replies 
will be decisive and unanimous, “Kill 
the beasts.” 
Taken all in all it is my firm belief 
that the damage done by these animals 
completely offsets their “life-saving 
qualities.” Maybe I’m wrong, but— 
you’ve got to show me, and I am not 
from Missouri either. 
Harotp E. SAMSON, Lacona, N. Y. 
2 
Believes the Moose Could Give 
One a “Nifty Nip” 
DEAR Forest & STREAM: 
OU will find enclosed herewith a 
drawing showing the construction 
of a moose skull and one of a farmer’s 
cow. The cow and moose are not to be 
compared as to temperament, but if 
either cared to, it could give you a nifty 
nip. 
The moose, like the cow, has only 
front teeth and undoubtedly uses them 
in the same manner. When: eating, 
these might well be compared with a 
steam shovel in that they are used to 
scoop up and send back to the crusher 
or grinders the bite they have taken. 
The teeth dig in and clamp the grass or 

root firmly against the upper jawbone, 
then with a quick.little jerk the morsel 
is torn loose and sent back by the 
tongue to the powerful grinders for 
mastication. 
I believe Dr. Travis saw the teeth of 
his moose and I think he was lucky to 
escape them. The yellowness could 
easily have been caused by the diet and 
no matter how small the teeth are, if 
they were clamped on your arm or leg 
and Mr. Moose gave a jerk with his 
powerful neck muscles they certainly 
would tear something more than your 
shirt. I’ll bet one would feel badly 
crushed, too. As to the red in its eye, 
well, I believe that, too, but hope I’m 
never near enough to see it. 
P. J. KINSMAN, 
Buhl, Minn. 
Praises California and Its 
Angling Laws 
DEAR FOREST & STREAM: 
| HAVE just read a letter (page 100, 
February issue of Forest & STREAM) 
from Mr. George Mundell of Reading, 
Pa., in which he complains (and very 
justly) of the laws of his state against 
fishing on Sunday. He says that he un- 
derstands that there are only two states 
—Pennsylvania and California—which 
prohibit Sunday fishing. I should like 
to disabuse his mind in regard to Cali- 
fornia. 
This good old state is not burdened 
by any such law. The people of this 
state are almost to a man lovers of the 
“great outsides,” as Hashimura Togo 
puts it. Like the péople of other states 
we have our living to make, and with 
many of us it is a case of fish on Sun- 
day or not fish at all. No, Mr. Mundell, 
we are not under such a hide-bound 
government that we cannot have a little 
innocent amusement. Incidently, if you 
want some real sport and at the same 
time wish to see the garden spot of the 
world, come to Sacramento Valley. 
P. S. HUDDLESTON, 
Red Bluff, Cal. 
Haight sen 
Outlawing the Water Snake 
DEAR ForREST & STREAM: 
ENCLOSE you herewith a_photo- 
graph of a five foot water snake 
starting his dinner on a ten inch black 
bass, which his snakeship caught in one 
of the streams of Greene County, Penn- 
sylvania. 
He was seen swimming across the 
creek with the bass—still alive, in his 
jaws. He landed and crawled up the 
bank with the bass; after reaching a 
point several feet from the water he 
coiled around the bass and killed it; 
when all signs of life had passed he 
again drew his coils around the fish 
and apparently broke the bones and 
made the fish stretch a considerable 
length at the expense of its diameter or 
circumference. 
He then proceeded to cover it with 
slime, which he exuded from his mouth, 
turning the fish over so as not to miss 
any part of the surface of the fish’s 
head and gills; this done to his fancy 
he opened his mouth as shown in the 
photograph and started his dinner. 
The photograph was taken by hold- 
ing the camera within a few inches of 
the subject, to which performance he 
paid no attention whatever. 
I personally have the honor to be a 
285 
