| Show of game that the game law is off our woods trill swarm with hunters of all descriptions from the cockney sportsman down or up to the professional hunter there are generally four hunters to one bird and we have known men tramping all day and bringing home two or three little chirping birds it is this class of hunters who do the most damage as they are not capable of shooting game birds and pepper away at any and every little bird they see till there are hardly any left our local hunters say that there will be plenty of gama this season generally speaking we have a fair mild winter very little crust on the snow and but few ice storms the severe ice storms destroy more quail than the hunters kill because quail generally roost together on the ground and if snow falls during the night and crusts over it simply smothers them hunters have found whole flocks of them lying close together having been unable to penetrate through the crust there were never so many flocks of quail around as at present go where you will you will find them A large flock passed over the fair ground wednesday afternoon while the trotting took place which made some of our hunters mouths water partridges are also very plenty and what is still better they are fall grown and of woodcock we have seen but a few years ago they were plenty every season in our swamps but the summer shooting has killed them off and but very few breed in our swamps now the fall flight generally brings a few scattering ones but as they are a migratory bird and fly principally during the nighttime we get but now and then a chance tp shoot at them there are also plenty of boses and our hunters dont need to go very far to find them if they only know how as reynard is a cunning and sly chap watertown N Y cor waterbury american |
