Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1910-07-19

OF state preserves or farms. and Min.
nesota and ontario set aside adjoin-.
ing tracts comprising altogether more
than 100000 acres. The demand
for game birds for restocking. 90 I'm
former years. was much larger than
the supply. and Imported pheasants
and European cartridges seemed TO
be the only upland species which
could be obtained IN sumcient mum.
bsrs to restock depleted covers.
In general, game wintersd well, q.
cspt that the elk Of Wyoming and
idaho suffered for food during the
cold weather, and It became necessary
IN Wyoming for tho state to provide;
hay in some localities. The hunting
season % whole was fairly success!
full, but weather conditions proved Nm
favorable in certain sections. pafticu-
larry In the case Of deer hunting IN
Michigan and Wisconsin and duck,
hunting on the Pacific coast. In most
parts Of the country duck shooting
was considered above the average.
The hunting season was mafrod. -
IN 1908. BY . large number Of hunt
ing accidents, the fatalities reported
being nearly 80 per cent. more than
those reported in any previous year.
I'm the administration Of the game
laws important chsnges were made n
several states. 10 New York. New
Jersey and Wisconsin civil service
methods were applied to the warden
}. = ~
game departments were Handicapped
BY lack Of funds through defects In
the appropriation bills. and In North
Carolina the responsibility Of enforce
ment was divided between the board
Of supervisors In some counties and
the Audubon society in others.
'.1n legislation the record Of the
year was very large. owing to ses-.
sions Of the legislatures in all but half
dozen states and the wide interest
manifested In game protection. The
number OF game cases appealed to
the higher courts was smaller than
usual. and few poyel or important
points were decided, but It IL interest
ing to note that several game laws
were declared unconstitutional"
Taking up various kinds Of game n
detail, the book states that the killing
OF deer showed . decrease last year.
returns from the states east Of the
Mississippi showing $500 deer killed
in 1909. ~ against 10000 in 1908,
In the two states where moose may
be hunted-Maine and Minnesota-
these animals still are plentiful. the
report says. The antelope OF Mon
tana. Nevada. oregon and Wyoming
are now eliminated from the game
list. Gays the government report.
Rather discouraging predictions for
certain sections Of the country are
made in the report on quail. which
reads a. follows:
"Quail have been unusually abund.
ant In their normal range, and along
it, northern limit, In states like Penn
sylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts,
and Wisconsin, they showed much In
crease over last year. The breeding
season was favorable and in many
localities two broods to the pair wersI
raised. At the opening Of the shbot-
ing season, however, some scarcity
was noted In various sections in
New York, Illinois and Virginia. and
even In Oklahoma and Texas. where
the birds had previously been report
ed 40 showing abnormal abundance.
Toward the end of the year heavy
SHOWS and cold weather proved de-
structive and 1t 10 probable that next
season will witness unusual scarcity
Of quail in the region Of heavy snow
fall"
The statement 10 made that prairie
chickens are decreasing in number In
Illinois despite the protection Of the
law. OF ducks the pamphlet has this
to say:
Ducks are reported as plentiful In
all the large ducking centers. The
season seems to have been favorable
almost everywhere and securing the
days bag limit has been common and
easy. Prohibition Of spring shooting
In North Dakota caused large In.
crease In the number of ducks nest
ing In that state. A satisfactory Ia.
crease in the number Of canvasbacks
was observed by those hunting on the
susquehanna fats In Maryland during
the fall. At some points. however,
while ducks were abundant, shooting
was not good. This was particularly
noticeable on the California coast.
from which complaints have como
that the ducks new high and that
MANY OF them MIGRATED nv INLAND
routes. The season was rather poor
ut the outset on the Illinois river. but
later the fight was very satisfactory.
Both In Wisconsin and Illinois the
season as whole was unusually
favorable"
nrok. ahoulds. e.vino ean.