The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-01-06
-ConServation-
ANOTHER HONOR
is PAID FOX BY
TIMES WRITER
Conservation
Bill Collins Says There Is
No Middle Ground in
This Argument.
BY WILLIAM F. COLLINS
Times Special Writer

Times Special Writer
I find myself in an argument over
foxes. 1t has been my experience
with the outdoor clan that in an
argument no e-straddling is
permitted. One is either on the
right or left, there is no middle
ground. They are the most argu-
mentative people in the world, ready
to defend their stand to the last
trench.
I also have discovered that either
in debate or argument over conSer-
walton matters nothing is decided
definitely; there is no winner.
Both sides present their causes Of
action, both sides rally staunch
support and both sides retire from
the scene firmly convinced they are
in the right and their opponents
are wrong. Occasionally, the pros
win over a con, but that is by the
route of visual evidence.
have in mind an Iowa farmer
who objected strenuously to the
advent Of pheasants on his farm,
stating in no uncertain terms to
the local warden that the birds were
in his new corn, pulling it out by
the roots and he was loading his
gun for a pheasant massacre. The
warden requested stay of eXecu-
ton until he could witness the.
debacle. Arriving on the farm, one
cock pheasant was killed and the
craw contents examined. Eighty
one cut worms were discovered and
not a grain of corn nor a spear of
sprout. The farmer retired as
gracefully as he could from his
stand and requested some No Hunt
ing signs from the warden.
Sport Element Missing
I cut my baby teeth on a Mother
Goose rhyme book in which the old
favorite, odd Lady Slipper Slapper
jumped out of bed and out of the
window popped her head, saying,
Oh, John, John, the gray goose is
gone and the fox has gone to his
demo" appeared.
1t is probable that I shall carry
in the back of my memory even
unto the day when my inlays drop
out, the picture of that grewsome
fox that stole the old lady's pet
goose, but even then I will be pre-
pared to debate the question with
you fox haters, what is the sporting
method to take him. I can be just
as sincere in discussing the perf1dy
of pot shooter who Stays his quail
on the ground or his ducks on the
water.
I believe there is large element
Of sport in fox hunting, but I APP
prove Captain Talbot's or Henry
Sipes system over that of the mob
There is no element Of sport in these
drives, no more than there is sport
in an alligator hunt.
FineSse in Killing
If there are foxes to be killed,
approach the killing with a little
more flneSse, but be sure first that
the fox you are after is guilty of
the crime. I was convinced last
month that the fox was responsible
for the loss of pheasants in the
south part Of the state, but after
some visual evidence presented by
Lon Weddle at the game farm in
Brown county, I can't maintain the
theory in the face of released
pheasants, a crippled one at that
living under the very paws and
noses of dozens of wild foxes in the
Salt Creek hills.
After abandoning that view, we
must fall back on some facts known
to be true. We know the stray house
cat is bird hunter. I am also sure
she is a field mouse catcher, because
I have witnessed her in the act. 1
also have seen my bird dog dig up
a field mouse, and have had one, at
least, that surreptitiously ate a
quail or two in a days hunt. But
my reason tells me the cat eats
more birds than the quail dog.
Skunks, snakes and crows are egg
hunters Horned owls and three spe-
cies of the hawk are omnipresent
murderers of every form of bird life.
The horned owl also has heaven
sent gift of eating one another given
the opportunity.
Now It's Horned Owls
Cornell university tells us 80 per
cent of our birds are killed in the
egg or the chick by one or more of
these predators, giving first rank to
the crow, house cat and skunk. If
that is true, let us work off our sur
plus steam on crow drive, house
cat drive or a skunk scout.
I also can furnish the farmers
with visual evidence that three
horned owls killed twenty-seven
chickens in ten nights on farm in
Johnson county where the farmer
laid the blame on fox. One pole
trap solved the mystery and cleared
the fox. In Galloway county, Mis-
souri,, called on farmer who had
lost half of mis- chickens in less than
a month. One night he heard the
fox in the hen house, dashed out,
grabbed blindly at the big brown
thing in the corner half revealed in
the light of his lantern and had his
hands lacerated by the beak and
claws of a great horned owl
Be sure Of your predator, don't
take your neighbours word for it.
When you are sure it's fox set a
pole trap or bait a set trap with a
fsh-it may be Galloway county
owl or the cat you lost last summer.
installation Slated