
FOUNDERS OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETY 

Dr WILLIAM BRUETTE, Editor 
ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES 
New York: W. V. HODGE, 221 West 57th Street 
Chicago: P. J. HACKETT, 326 West Madison Street 
St. Louis: L. M. PERKINS, 217 North 10th Street 
United Kingdom: F. J. OSBORNE, 131 Fleet Street, 
E.C. 4, London, England 

Member of Audit Bureau of Circulation 


THE OBJECT OF THIS JOURNAL WILL BE TO 
studiously promote a healthful interest in outdoor 
recreation, and a refined taste for natural objects. 
August 14, 1873. 
wv 6 
WHAT GOOD FISHING MEANS 
“A feller isn’t plottin’ schemes—out fishin’; 
He’s only busy with his dreams—out fishin’ ; 
His livery’s a coat of tan; 
His creed’s to do the best he can; 
A feller’s always mostly man—out fishin’.” 
—E. C. FEARNOW. 
HE term “good fishing” implies the presence 
of so many other desirable conditions that it 
would seem as if every man, woman and child 
would be anxious to assist in its development and 
expansion. Fishing is a relaxation and a lure that 
appeals to the aesthetic nature of old and young, 
rich and poor, the learned and the ignorant. The 
angler by the brook symbolizes either a virgin ter- 
ritory or a well-regulated country. The desirable 
species of fish cannot thrive in an unsanitary en- 
vironment. In order to produce a habitation fit 
for the trout, the bass, the bluegill, etc., it is neces- 
sary that stream conditions be made as nearly per- 
fect as possible. The requirements of fish life go 
hand in hand with the interests of the farmer, the 
lumberman, the manufacturer, as well as those of 
other useful industries. 
While most persons experience the yearning to 
go fishing, probably inherited from ancestors who 
practised it for a livelihood, there is inherent in 
many individuals the desire for immediate posses- 
sion without regard to consequences. Some fisher- 
men are so strongly influenced by this feeling that 
they are turned by it into veritable fish hogs. 
In the course of the ages experience has taught 
many of us the necessity of foregoing certain im- 
mediate pleasures with the view to our own ulti- 
mate good and for the benefit of these who will 
follow up. We have come to realize that if civili- 
zation is to endure we cannot afford to destroy our 
natural resources, but must govern our actions 
with the view of passing on to coming generations 
the blessings we now possess. It goes without say- 
ing that this view is not accepted by those who 
refuse to look into the future and visualize the in- 
evitable results of the wanton destruction of every 
form of wild life. 
598 
. 
The cultivation of land in close proximity to 
streams is not only inimical to the well-being of 
wild life, but it is unprofitable to the farmer. Lands 
subject to overflow have been and are still being 
denuded of their most desirable tree life—maple, 
elm, hickory, and oak—with the result that the 
surface soil is being swept away as the roots decay, 
converting what was formerly a valuable timber 
resource and a suitable habitation for animals and 
birds into a barren waste of no value for agricul- 
ture or for any other useful purpose. Such lands 
should be reset with trees, as should all other lands 
from which the top soil is liable to wash away. The 
roots of the growing vegetation will bind the soil 
together, checking and holding the water and thus 
maintaining a more even flow in adjoining streams, 
In this way and only in this way can the farmer 
retain the water in his soil, to be given off gradu- 
ally to plant life, but, more important still, he can 
retain the soil which would otherwise be carried 
into the streams, causing his land to become sterile 
and rendering the surrounding streams an unfit 
habitation for the desirable species of fish. 
Good fishing means unpolluted water flowing 
calmly and serenely toward the sea; landscapes and 
beautiful grassy or timbered banks that do not 
erode and that serve as a refuge for animals and 
birds; forests filled with flowers; game to delight 
the most ardent Nimrod; beautiful and graceful 
birds, appealing to the aesthetic sense; continuous 
springs and wells of living water. This is the pic- 
ture that comes to the mind’s eye when good fish- 
ing is referred to, but only the true conservationist 
can see it clearly through the industrial smoke of 
this age. 
It is pleasing to feel that the altruistic spirit in 
this country is sufficiently strong to be instru- 
mental in the formation of organizations of large 
membership having for their purpose the conser- 
vation of wild animal, bird, and fish life. This 
work is of far-reaching importance, but the lapse 
of time is required to bring out its full effects, 
Streams cannot be fully rehabilitated with fish life 
or forests grown and stocked with game in a lim- 
ited period. It is remarkable to note, however, the 
progress that has been made in this direction with- 
in a comparatively short time. 
It is believed that good fishing embraces aboull 
everything for which the conservationist is labor- 
ing. Its value cannot be reckoned in dollars and. 
cents. It is not the fishing alone but the fact that 
we are brought into contact with nature that makes 
of fishing a valuable relaxation and recreation. 
2 o£ 
BRUIN—A GLIMPSE 
T an old stump, soft and rotting with age, 
Bruin reaches a mighty paw and sweeps 4 
passage through it, and with a swift move 
ment wonderful for so large a beast, the other paw 
scoops a squeaking white-footed mouse out of the 
nest to his mouth. Unconcernedly he tramp 
through the wreckage and goes up a dry brook 
bed—it is better walking. Eventually coming to 
the top of the ridge he looks with a long, pene- 
trating scrutiny over the green roofs of the forest, 
then strikes into a slow, winding jaunt southward, 
zigzagging in and out the squat trees standing 
along the ridge. 









