Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-18
The Army That Always Shoots.

ne army nat Always shoots.
The shoot because they-love-to-shoot
throng, who are satisfied to bang away
with any old thing from a musket of the
vintage of 1S4s to the rusty old muzzle load
er the possessors grandfather shot squir-
rels with, will be out in full force however
and those of the army who cannot get boats
Will wade along the marsh edges and the
branch and river banks and pop away at
anything that heaves in sight from a fly
up-the-creek to a mud turtle.
1t would be so on the first day of reed
bird season if it began in July. Custom
and inheritance inspires an enthusiastic
determination in this section of the coun-
try to get out 9Th gun OH that great day.
just as it does later on to make the
same army turn out with the same arma-
ment on Thanksgiving day. With many
persons In the marshes, banging away re-
CARELESS, and on account Of the high
growth of the oats and marsh grass fail
ing to see anybody in the line of fire who
may be only twenty or thirty yards away
there are always numerous cases of shot
perpering on opening day, seldom serious
thanks to the small shot used, but often
painful.
Pests Further Southwark.
The rice growers of South Carolina would
be glad if every shot thus expended would
kill ten thousand reed birds, as they are
| called here-rice birds as they are called
| In that state-where they are pests scarce
ly less devastating than the grasshoppers
| used to be in Kansas. Where there are
| thousands of reed birds in this vicinity,
| there are millions in the rice fields of the
| south, and while their food in our marshes
| Is the invaluable wild oats. their susie
| nance in Dixie is derived from the little
| white grain of commerce Just why there
| is any law for their protection anywhere
| is, therefore, Problem that our southern
| friends cannot solve.
The ortolan, however, which is the water
/ c ont
| kind of individual. And he is a mystery
ON one day search warrant cannot dis
| cover representative of his family in a
| thousand marshy acres. Next day there
| will be dozen to every rod in the same
| territory. He is to the birds of the all
| what the mackerel is to the fishes of the
| sea. He cometh at regular periods. Then
ne disappeareth He is the subject of or
| astrological theories and naturalistic re-
| search. But the man who bags a hundred
! OF him on tide on the Eastern branch
| marsh knows as much about him as all the
| saVants who ever lived.
| Points to Purchasers.
! Like the reed bird, the ortolan is best
| studied on toast, but in this capacity he is
| not comparable from a purely gastronomic
| standpoint to his smaller autumn compan-
ion. He may be more filling from strictly
| substantial standpoint, but when the tenets
! or Epicurus are taken into consideration
| the rat ana inspiring reedie beats Mr.. Orto-
| Ian to standstill without half trying
| Persons who are not initiated into tho
| mysterious developments of the reed bird
on toast and who propose to investigat q
| by way of purchase will be wise If they
| BUY their reed birds with their distinctive
| feathers in place. The removal of this
| piumage is rather eXasperating because
! there are so many feathers on such a little
bird But the carcass when denuded and
broiled and served on toast with bit of
parsley and slight squeeze of lemon well
| repays the trouble of picking. Buying the
| birds unadOrned is very apt to bring the
purchaser in gastronomic conjunction with
an English sparrow or marsh black bird
| Promising Indications.
To return to the approaching season.
| however, and considering the shooting of
these birds alone, the indications for their
plenitude continue very promising A few
! reed birds have been already seen on the
| Eastern branch marshes, which are the
| favorite feeding grounds in the immediate
vicinity of Washington, but no ortolan
| have been yet reported. Black birds are
| coming in, and focks of several hundred
| are becoming common.
| Reports from the experienced observers
| on the PatuXent, which will be in closer
| touch with Washington sportsmen now that
| the new Chesapeake Beach railroad is
| about to run to points contiguous to that
| famous resort for reedies and ortolan are
| to the same effect-that all signs point to
a good season and plenty of birds.
| There will naturally be great competition
| between gunners as to who will bag the
| largest number of ortOlans on tide. The
| bags of reed birds do not count in Septem-
Der shooting, as they fly in fiocks and
| knocked down half a dozen or more at a
time. Ortolans. on the other hand, always
rise singly, and it needs a barrel for each
| bird. The greatest number ever killed on a
| tide in this vicinity was 26O This record
| was made fourteen years ago and is held
| by Mr.. William Wagner.