Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-12-16
BIG GAME KILLS
BEING TABULATED
Belief That The Showing This
Year Will Be One of the
Best Ever Made

| While it may be several weeks
until the kill of deer and bear and
smaller game for the season of 1918
is known the opinion of officials of
| the State Game Commission, based
upon the reports sent in by the
game protectors, is that there has
been an exceptionally good hunting
period for most of the game. DR..
/ Joseph Kalbfus. secretary of the
Commission, believes that 1t has
| been an excellent year for turkeys
| and deer, while the success of
sportsmen with quail and pheasants
| can to a great extent be considered
! in the light of what care was given
to this KIND of game during the ter
ribly severe winter of 1917-1S.
| The closing days of the deer sea-
! son came with a storm of sleet
which reminded many hunters of
! the heavy snowfall and great cold
| that marked the outgoing of the
! deer season a year ago when parties
| were caught in camps and hunting
| had to be abandoned. Fortunately,
the weather conditions are not so
| rigorous, but they have come in a
way to remind the sportsmen that
the birds must be looked after,
while the need of the closed season
on grouse seems to have been fore
! IDLY borne in upon those who have
finished their hunting.
Summed up, the hunting this year
has been enjoyed by almost as many
men as last year in spite of the
heavy cut in the hunters by war
, service and the Game Commission
men look for Il registration of 3OO,-
| 600 hunters. If this increase holds
lsgood it is going to mean over 4OO,-
| 900 hunters next year. The regis
tration means funds for the extern
sion of the preserves, more pur-
chases of game and other work.
The fret closed year on grouse will,
in belief of many observers, enable
considerable increase and with what
is planned, good Matching weather
next year should bring back grouse
shooting in the fall of 1919. Some
people think the deer kill may go
beyond $500, but it is a bit early
10 make estimates. More killing Of
does than usual has been reported
and probably forty arrests may
have to be made. The grouse regu-
lations have been violated, too.
The only open season now except
on wild water fowl, is on the coon
which may be killed until the end
of the year. Everything else is
NlOSGh up lOhs
1t is the general opinion of men
who have been at the offices of the
State Commission that but few
changes will he asked in the game
code of 1917. The disposition to try
it out thoroughly manifested last
year is as strong as ever except in
regard to the red squirrel, whose de-
struction of nests has made him as
unpopular with sportsmen as he is
with farmers in some sections of the
state, and the blackbird, which has
increased in numbers and mischief
making. The chances are that the
red squirrel will be made game at all
seasons for a while at least and the
blackbird season opened in August
instead of September. The damage
done by the blackcoats this year
was extensive while their visits to
towns made many good people mad.
A few local attempts to change sea-
sons and to twist around the bounty
provisions will likely be made.
The only change in the bounty law
that seems likely to get much coun-
tenance is one to raise the price on
the head of the wildcat as quite
a few have been turned up the last
year and to facilitate payment of the
state allowance for scalps. This now
has to take one of the most ap-
proved methods of payment and the
schedule is not less than a couple
of weeks and sometimes much more
by the very nature of things. One
of the suggestions is for the Game
Commission to issue the checks. In
this connection it is interesting to
note that since April Is, 1917, the
state has paid over $1S0,000 in boun-
ties and has more than that in the
treasury applicable to the purpose.
OF the bounties paid 1858 were
for wildcats, some of them of big
size, while the state also paid for
1000 weasels and 5000 minks
and over $4,000 foxes, 1910 grays.