The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-09-17
FIST AND CAME.
Both Plentiful In Connecticut This
 Year.

coverts of the state. Fishing is grow ing better each year and game is hold ing it's own. On Thursday the open season on ruffed grouse and woodeock in Massachusetts began, and some of the Hartford sportsmen went over there to put their dogs into the coverts. But Commissioner A. c. Collins would re- mind them that if they bring birds from Massachusetts into this state they violate the law, which is construed to mean that all game birds protected by Connecticut laws found in the hands of sportsmen or others in this state during the close season are Connecti- cut birds, and those who have them are liable to fine
 Commissioner Collins reports the out look for good quail shooting this fall as most tiattering, Quail are often heard Whistling, within the city limits and there are indications that they will be quite plentiful when the shooting sea- son opens the 18th of October. The in- troduction of quail from Kansas and West Virginia seems to have met with success, as there are indications that they have thriven and have bred well. There is no difference In the plumage, size or general characteristics from the native birds, and the only way in which they differ is in their proneness to run before a dog. They do not lie to dog quite as close as the natives. MT. Col
 lins is of the opinion that it is not a difficult thing to keep the state well stocked with quail judging from the success with those which have been in- troduced.
 GROUSE ARE PLENTIFUL.
 Ruffed grouse, he, says, are holding their own, and the season has been a favorable one for breeding. He expects the sport with this royal game bird will be up to or better than the average. With respect to woodcock he says that the complaint that many sportsmp have made that the new game law de- prived them of much sport with native birds which they think take flight be- fore the 18th of October, Is without foundation. They get just as many na- tive birds after the 18th as they would before Flightbirds, he says, have changed the courses of their migrations of late as they do when harrassed in certain sections through which they pass. Their flight used to take them along the Connecticut valley, but last season they seemed to change and go
 south through Holland county, which caused some to think that the new game law was responsible for the poor
 woodcock season in the old coverts along the Connecticut valley.
 Poaching or killing birds out of sea- son has been much discouraged through the activity of the commission and it's agents throughout the state until it has been reduced to very small proportions. The commission has a large number of active and reliable agents who watch the coverts closely as the open season approaches, and the impatient or law less shooter is likely to be nabbed
 Fines which used to be merely nominal for such offences have been pushed up until it is a pretty costly thing to be caught shooting out of season. There is one change yet which the commission would like to see the legislature make. AS it is impossible to restock the state Wlln TulIGu SfOuSt UT pdItIluSt dS lHc bird is commonly known, Mir. Collins is of the opinion that it would be best to do away with snaring entirely. Many l birds are now taken in that way.
 The propagation of the ring neck pheasant, MT. Collins also thinks,
 might well be conducted at the fish hatchery at Windsor Locks, and the
 state be stocked with this hardy game
 bird which will thrive well in this cli-
 mate and furnish excellent sport.
 A TALK ON SHAD.
 this morning, MT. Collins spoke enthu- siastically of the work of the commits sion with respect to fish culture. Con- necticut is the only state which now
 keeps it's shad in retaining ponds till they reach from three to five inches in length and become lusty, hardy and | able to stand the change of water and | take care of themselves generally, and the results as seen in the fishing last spring, he feels warrants the commits sion in believing that it is justified in l taking such a course. Last March the commissioners boldly predicted that the shad season would be the best for twen- 1 ty-five years, and their prediction was realized. They now predict that the season next year will be better than the | one last spring. This is the third year since the commission began stocking the rivers of Connecticut with shad from three to five inches in length, and the results were first to be seen last spring in the increased catch of this ex- cellent food fish. It has been demon-
 strated that shad fry when placed in a river which shad had not been in the habit of frequenting, would always re- appear in the waters in which they
 were introduced the third year. and in greater numbers in the fourth year. At the close of the first season in which they are introduced to certain waters they go into the sea, and remain there
 till the third year, when they return to
 spawn It was this knowledge of the habits of the shad that enabled the commissioners to make their prediction of last spring, and the same knowledge justifies them in predicting that the catch next spring will be greater than retaining ponds were stocked this year
 with nine million shad, large propor- tion of which will reach the waters of Connecticut streams.
 The trout hatchery at Windsor Locks is successful in it's work and nearly a
 half a million trout and salmon fry will be distributed this fall. The delivery T ,ls.x.S