Evening star., 1941-05-20

Several readers have asked the
reason for our continued reference
to BE Careful Of Fire" probably
because We have had enough rain
in some sections to make the sur
face appear beyond the hazard Of
fire. 1t isn't.
The loss of a single acre of wood
land has its effect upon the game
which lived on it, regardless Of
whether it was destroyed, and upon
the fish in nearby streams. Yet,
during the month of April, there
were 1902 .43O acres of our forests
burned over.
The National Wildlife Federation
translates this into actual loss by
showing it was equivalent to 209,-
139.460 board feet of building ma
terial-enough to house 1872, ,759
service men, or build 578 ships, and
points out the startling fact that
this great destruction was only nor
mal-in line with the rate at which
Americans are throwing away their
heritage of natural resources.
Maryland Loses 10000 Acres.
Marylad has lost 10000 acres of
timber by fire. but if you think
that is a large area consider At
lantic County in New Jersey where
10000 acres were burned over and
great numbers of deer have been
driven to feeding on the cultivated
lands.
Then know this destruction Is
caused by neglect and carelessness,
and it is possible to understand why
We continue to caution anglers to be
sure they leave the woods as they
found them.
One fire started by campers at
Catoctin was held to 10 acres by the
quick work of Mike Williams men
1t we'll could have covered the whole
mountain. Those who use the woods
are not the cause of most Of the fires
however. Motorists carelessly dis
carding lighted cigarettes along the
roadside have many to answer for
Farmers clearing their land. often
burn more than they intend, and
even lilOuSlL II IL lldIu " UCIICfC
some are set Intentionally.
Do your part by being careful.
Hardhead Catches Slim.
Catches OF hardheadS over the
week end were only what normally
might have been expected; many
boats coming in with but two OF
three, others with as high as 20
The wind might have had consider
able effect, but the real fun still
Is week or 10 days away.
Capt. Ed Bowen of Solomons fished
the hard sand off Cedar Point on
Saturday and picked up Is, which
Is a good sign. Another boat caught
six in the tide rip. We would say
the fish are dropping down to the
deep water.
Another of Bowens boats, cap
tanned by George Elliott, caught
So pounds of rock out of the Point
Patience school with trolled feathers
The largest fish weighed II pounds
A Virginia angler, with an outboard
caught five.
We still believe cumming with
live, shore shrimp is the best method
if you can get the shrimp. Second
choice would be floating-line with
soft crabs when Capt. Rody Langley
says the time is right.
Trout are starting to run the in.
lets and thoroughfares of South
Jersey. and with the big hardhead
and the unprecedented run oi
founder, anglers are having ar
exceptional May.
Every bridge, fishing pier ano
vantage point were at premium.
The South Jersey beaches are III
miles (about four hours drive) from
Washington. We wonder how many
anglers have fished them as O
change from the Maryland ano
Virginia Eastern Shore, which is
| Just as far.
Pier fishing Is an old standby OF
the Jersey coast. With many 1t Is