Show Mit Gg By JIM RHODY Great Expectations A marvelous inconsistency which has never ceased to be a source of amazement to us is displayed by bythe bythe bythe the economic outlook of some game license buyers A per cent genuine dyed in the wool woo true blue businessman may walk up to the counter in a haberdashery and after cursory inspection of the rows of thatches head-thatches on the shelves will select a homberg hamberg a bowler a straw a derby or if he heis heis heis is feeling exceptionally rakish perhaps per per- perhaps perhaps haps a turban or a fez After sev sev- several several several eral admiring glances in the mir mir- mirror mirror mirror he will fling a fin on the count count- counter er jauntily perch his new chapeau atop his noggin and saunter forth into the bright spring sunshine pleased as punch with his purchase The same man will file dejected dejected- dejectedly ly into a and after bark bark- barking barking barking ing at the inoffensive manager will reluctantly haul forth his wal wal- wallet wallet wallet let and lay three limp dollar bills billson on the counter Well guess its it's time to buy another hunting and fishing license heh heh heh he will say with w th mock cheerfulness After a minutes minute's delay deay accompanied accompanied accompanied I nied by groans of protest over fill fill- filling filling filling ing out all the rigmarole on the four lines of the license he will depart inwardly growling and bid bid- bidding bidding bidding ding sad adieu to his lucre What did the man expect from his hat He received either a piece of oddly shaped felt or a handful of artfully twisted wheat straw This he expects to protect his bald bad balding bading balding ing dome from the onslaught of sun and rain and be a nuisance to tobe tobe tobe be tipped in elevators But he is satisfied satisfied his his five bucks were well spent What does he expect from his hunting and fishing license Streams teeming with fish waiting to tear voraciously into any lure haphazardly offered fields run over-run with pheasants quail rabbits and bird dogs and forests scarred by the rub rob rubbing robbing rubbing bing of antlers as crowds of big game animals push their way between the too-close too trees Let any or all of these fall faU short and immediately a howl reminiscent of Gabriels Gabriel's horn tooting will mIl be let forth intended to be heard from any corner of the state clear down there in Boise Lets Let's take an average sports sports- man Let us see what he may real real- realize realize realize ize from his investment in fish fowl and game Say Say- he goes fishing four times during the season Maybe hes he's lucky and gets his limit each time Lets Let's see that's 28 pounds of fish under the 1950 law Commercial hatcheries sell trout at 80 cents a pound That's about 24 worth of fish When tingling air and rheumatism rheumatism rheumatism cause our erstwhile nimrod to tolay tolay tolay lay aside his rod and reel ree and hie off to the fields and marshes for ducks and birds lets let's see how he fares economically Say he goes pheasant hunting three times and gets his nine birds Pheasants sell commercially in other states for about 3 per bird so that's 27 worth of pheasant meat He goes duck hunting after plunking down another two smackers for the op op- opportunity opportunity op- op opportunity of pasting a federal stamp on his license and deliver deliver- delivering delivering ing a lecture on the evils of bu bu- bureaucracy bureaucracy bu- bu bureaucracy to the postal posta clerk and for four hunting trips gets his limit of five ducks Domestic ducks sell for 70 cents a pound That's about 14 worth of ducks Oh Oh there goes another rock from the wallet for a big game tag a fearsome bit of metal say vension is superior to beef but for practical purposes lets let's just rank them even A pound poun deer would be equivalent to about 50 worth of beefsteak no fancy cuts According to mathematics that's a neat worth of protein for forthe forthe forthe the season After complaining because his blank cold storage locker wont won't hold all the loot oot he has fetched home from the hills the same man will stalk majestically down to his local sportsmens sportsmen's club or assail the ear of a sympathetic barber with a pitiful tale talc A d A D A 0 Good Reason A reason why game is scarce to to- today today day an timer old-timer reminisces about shooting pot-shooting whole flocks of wild ducks duckS- with the now illegal megal gauge 8 shotgun loaded with miscellaneous scrap iron He also recalls a friend boasting of killing seven seyen deer with one shot from a similar weapon A 4 A D A Rescue Project To help meet an expected reduction reduction reduction tion in the migratory waterfowl population Ducks Unlimited Inc is s planning its largest number of rescue projects for this sum sum- mer Some already aready has been allocated for restoration of breeding areas This profit non-profit organization dedicated dedi dedi- dedicated dedicated to the production of water water- waterfowl waterfowl waterfowl fowl completed 35 projects last year and weather permitting more will be done this summer 1 |