The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1922-03-30

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THE club members visit the land
owners and persuade these gentlemen
to sign agreements VIII ch permit the
State to close the tributaries. This
Is more easily accomplished by the
club members than by officials Of the
department, for the reason that the
landowner Is doing business with a
Fellow townsman. The State then
supplies the necessary signs and ma.
terials for posting and also endeavors
to supply a shipment of fry or finger
ling trout for the club to plant In the
protected brooks. Within a year there
is an Improvement in local fishing
There are more fish; the six.inch law
is more easily enforced; the rights Of
the public have not been interfered
with; the landowner is receiving more
protection than formerly, and the
whole proposition hasn't cost the club
q cent. That Is good Advertising
Vermont clubs have found il 80 popu-
lar that several hundred miles Of nur-
oery brooks have been closed in the
last year
Other communities have adopted
the same idea to their grouse coverts,
and have set aside certain areas
wherein the birds can ind complete
sanctuary. In time, these sanctuaries
will act as reservoirs for the sur.
rounding country, and the long closed
season on ruffed grouse will be indie
fntely postponed There is no other
way, outside of extended closed sea
sons, whereby the grouse can prosper.
These are but samples Of the many
projects open to every organization
Local conditions will suggest many
other things which the new club can
do TO earn the interest and confidence
of It's public. Yermin determination
offers another opportunity for or.
ganized work
The real object Of the club is to
create strong public sentiment
VIII oh will support reasonable and
necessary conservation laws and the
local newspaper is a powerful agency
for directing opinion The editor must
be alive TO whatever promises better
things for his town. and he knows
that local hunting and fishing prob
lens have real news value. Mn sub
hitting news items see to it that your
publicity man avoids generalit es; let
him tie his stun down to local brooks
and local needs; tell through your
paper what the club means to do to
improve Black Brook Be specific.
Show what one hog with a snare or a
pockctful Of dynamite can do 10 ruin
High Pond for decent sportsmen Let
1t be evident that your organization is
against violation, and that Is work is
for the benefit OF the whole commu.
nifty and not for club members only.
Club effectiveness can be measur-
ed by its educational value 20 its com
munity Many game laws and most
OF the unwritten laws of sportsman
ship, are broken through ignorance,
and full cooperation cannot be ex.
pected until people are taught that
It's really much more fun to center
a duck on the wing than to smother a
half dozen with load Of shot on the
water. The youngsters are always
chivalrous enough 10 prefer Square
methods" II someone will show them
how Lucky the boy who ha faith
er wise to the character building val
ne Of trout stream ethics, and unlucky
the community which produces moth
ing but pot.hunters for its future citi,
Gems. Where there is a deficiency OF
fathers the club members can make
II up by Offering to tutor the young
ters. Inc dentally, the tutor will find
that he's getting as much from his
twelve year old disciple as the twelve
year.old is getting from HIM.
Il presume the Editor of Field and
Stream dislikes to run a free adver
tisement as much as do others of his
profession, but | cannot leave the sub
ject of popular education in wild life
matters without mentioning a series
Of movie" subjects of more than
usual value. These pictures cover
almost every phase of out-of door sport
and their great effectiveness lies In
the fact that they are perfect teachers
for they instruct without appearing
10 instruct In the dead OF winter
with every stream frozen solid, and
the last duck gone South these two
months ago, an audience can 60 trout
fishing along a sun dappled brook, OF
1t can sit in blind and experience
the thrill that comes when flock OF
wildfOwl swing in to the decoys. II
can 20 salmon fishing or quail hunting
with gentlemen who know the game
and il cannot fail to gather few hints
on how a trout should be handled
while il watches the worlds champion
fly-caster throw his lures. Your au
dience may so far forget itself as tC
do a little fishing right there in the
theatre. One man who sat beside the
writer at such an entertainment
few weeks ago did this. There was
the trout-a beauty-lying under th'
ripple from a boulder, and there was
the man with the rod When the fish
erman began his cast my companion
unconsciously initiated his motions
gently and almost impercepubly a
first but with increasing emphasis as
the crisis approached. When the fist
rose my friend struck.an so violent
" that the old lady next on the otheI
SIDE muttered something about 'sp
! ilepsy and got up and went out.
"These animated lectures are inval
liable in arousing public interest il
organization work, and they can b'
well used to add to the clubs WORKING
funds. almost forgot to say that thu
name of the soulless corporation tina
owns these films is the Field ant
Stream Publishing Company of New