Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 24

THE DETROIT FREE PRESS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27. 1940 mm mm wmmmz Birds Reported Archers to Go After Deer Will Get First Chanca at Bucks Friday; Slight Kill Is Expected; BY JACK VAN rnrrx and Waters By Jack Cocvering POLITICS will stay out of the administration of Michigan's conservation affairs, no matter if Luren Dickinson remains in the governor's chair or if Murray D. Van Wagoner should succeed him, according to the written pledges to Conservation and sportsmen group wno have questioned both candidates. "My record as Governor is the best assurance I can give of my sincerity in this matter," uicmnson saio. reier io my unguuu appointment of three members to the present commission, recommended to me and generally approved by conservationists all over the State.

"This record Is further reinforced by the maintenance of a "hands off pohcy In regard to the work of the Conservation Department I have never interfered In this or any other department which was functioning as It should. I will continue to safeguard the nonpartisan character of the commission and preserve its nonpohtieal status." Candidate Van Wagoner was Just as explicit In his statements on conservation. "It is not my desire or intention to disturb the present machinery for administering; our conservation program," he said. "The -4J i ninh ii ii Dogs Will Howl It's music to the ears of a 'coon hunter, but the howling of the dogs has an ominous sound to the ringtails. The 45-day season for raccoon hunting opens Nov.

1. The number of ringtails is expected to be the same as last year. FISHING BAN ORDERED No fishing will be permitted in the Muskegon River for a distance of 500 feet below the Houghton Lake Dam for a period of three years, beginning Jan. 1, 1941, by order of the Conservation Commission. The ban was adopted at the commission's October meeting.

mm I i I I if tr basic law setting up the present seven-man Conservation Commission, the members of which are appointed for staggered terms, must be preserved on our statute books." Will Stop License Fee Diversion IUNTERS' and fishermen's license money will no longer be jeopar-dized by being "temporarily borrowed" for other uses as it has been for several years if either candidate keeps his campaign pledges. Candidate Van Wagoner is outspoken on this. "It is a fundamental principle of good government that taxes or fees paid by a special group should be reserved for the support of activities benefiting that group," he said. "This principle has a very definite application to our conservation program. 'Hunters pay a fee for the privilege of hunting birds, rabbits, deer or any other of our game animals, Fishermen pay a fee to try thrtr angling skill on our lakes and streams.

Nobody else pays these fees just those who hunt and fish. There Is not one shred of fairness In a policy which permits these funds to be diverted from the support of a program In behalf of good hunting and fishing In Michigan. "As governor, it will be my duty and my policy to nee that the revenues from hunting and fishing licenses are made available to the Conservation Department for proper use In behalf of sportsmen." Candidate Dickinson simllany pledged the restoration of aports-mcn's license money to the Conservation Department. "I fully appreciate the sacredness of those conservation funds which are contributed by the buyers of licenses for the specific purpose of administering certain functions of this department," he said. "I further assure the conservationists that every dollar of their money will go to the purpose for which it was and is intended, and no diversion will be permitted.

No essential purpose of the department will be permitted to be intcrferedwlthon this account." Promise Better State Parks Revive Ancient Skill for Peer Hunting Two weeks before the boys with rifles get their chance at deer, Michigan's bow-and-arrow hunters will roam the woods with ancient stealth and ancient weapons. Downing a buck with a broadhead is no small achievement, in fact, so unusual, that last year only three of the 500 archers bagged their bucks. In the picture, W. G. McNab, of Linden, draws the, bow on a distant target.

Note the sharpened blade of the arrow, which "will penetrate a deer when it makes a fair hit. eathers in Hats May Be Fashionable, A WATER code, long desired by sportsmen and refused by the Legislature in past years, received Indorsement from Candidate Van bvA Many Come from Protected Birds More Plentiful Increase in Pheasants Found by Hunters in Three Counties "Hunters In Oakland, Wayne and Monroe counties are unan imous in their reports of increase in the number of pheasants in these areas," says Luther Baum gartner, of the game division of the Conservation Department, who has been making a day-to day survey of hunter sentiment in these three counties. "Most of the hunters thought that rabbits are more numerous than last year, and everybody re ported squirrels more Baumgartner Is one of a dozen men who are spending their time among hunters to learn how they are getting along in the field. He is interested, for example, in find ing out whether hunters have trouble finding a place to hunt, whether they arrange for hunting beforehand and what luck they are The method he pur sues Is to go hunting himself and engage other hunters in casual conversation to obtain his infor mation. Finds Hunters Scarce "On all days except Saturdays ana Sundays, there are surpriS' ingly few hunters in the field," Baumgartner reports.

"On one day, I discovered only five and on another only 11 hunters over an area of many miles." Most of the hunters he talked with had made previous arrangements for hunting and about a third of them knew which general area tney were to hunt in but did not make definite reservations with farmers. "In Wayne County I found about one mile in fve posted against Hunting as I drove Baumgartner says, "In Monroe County, about 75 per cent of the land Is posted by the co-ooera- tive arrangement of the Monroe County Rod and Gun Club, which permits hunters to hunt whether members or not, providing they park in the farmers' yard, get permission and report their kill wnen tney leave. This system seems to be working out very wen, ana is quite similar to the state co-operative system." Get Away from City Baumgartner discovered that Detroit hunters do not hunt in the close radius of the city nearly as much as suburban dwellers do. He believes that Detroiters are more likely to drive 75 to 100 miles for their pheasant hunting. There are not many co-opera tive hunting areas in nearby coun ties, but Baumgartner found that both hunters and farmers were pleased with the co-operative plan.

On all but the opening day, when the demand for tickets was greater than the supply, hunters had no difficulty getting tickets from farmers almost anywhere. Clyde H. Georlins photog Wagoner in these words: "Our State Government must carefully study and work out a legislative program that will clearly and fairly distinguish between public and private waters. We must have an end to court suits and controversy about the public's rights to fish our inland streams and lakes. This legislation should take the form of a complete water code." In regard to State parks, Candidate Van Wagoner said: "I behove that our State park program can be Improved.

This can and should be done by the Conservation Department with the co-operation of a sympathetic and vigorous administration, aware of the value of providing attractive tourist facilities. There la a special need for expanding State park facilities near our great centers of population where they will be more easily accessible to the great mass of people." Candidate Dickinson made this statement on state parks: "I bespeak a broadening of the State park policy consistent with the financial condition of the State. This has been too long delayed in view of present-day needs for better recreational facilities." On gas and oil resources, Candidate Dickinson said: "For the continued careful administration of the oil and gas industry under the present admirable laws, I must rely on the Conservation Department and upon the advice and counsel of all Conservation-minded persons." That both candidates for governor should make such clear-cut statements on conservation is not only evidence of their sincere interest in conservation for Michigan but also a tribute to the organized sportsmen of the State whose insistence had not a little to do with these forthright pledges. Whichever man becomes the next Governor, Michigan's sportsmen will not only remember the pledgps, they will look to their being carried out. That is the strength of Michigan's sportsmen's groups they follow through.

Friday morning Michigan's deer will become legal 11 archers' arrows. Chances are" the deer will not discover thi, all, unless it be that the pre of a few extra men in the uS tips them off. 8 W0O(1 Archers go at their busing, shooting deer quietlyS the method of stalking and ping up on Mr. Buck unnotLd 1 procedure which is practical 1 gotten among rifl6P shooter fN To down a buck with bow and arrow rZXlf stalk that brings the hunter in 25 or 30 yards of the JSt! Sometimes the bowman takP7hl, stand along a deer runway a. rifleman often does and wait.

his target to approach. for One- Shot Is the Limit In either case, chances are tw The twang of the bow is likely t(i scare the deer enough so th it Is away on a bound before th. second arrow can be nocked In a survey of the 500 bowmen who hunted deer last year, Palmatier, secretary-treasurer of the Michigan Archers' Association discovered that a shots as close as 10 yards. iwemy yards is the favorlti shooting distance. Top limit tor most bowmen is 40 to 50 vard.

although a few confess trie, a 100 vards. T.nat vr hunters bagged their 'bucks with niio arrow. According to Falmatler's quirv. osaie ornnca th. popular bow wood, with yew, fon.

mi, bui, uicKury, ironwood, Jow-metal and steel favorei in th order. Some archers usa of dual construction, such as lemon backed with htrlt backed with fiber, yew barked with hickory or osage backed witli rawhide. Bows' Weights Vary ine average bowman xtn a bow with 55 to 70 nminrln rmll few go as light as 40 pounds, and auine as ncavy as eu to 100 pounds. Bow lengths varv from fnm. ft eight inches to six feet long, with nve ieei as me average length.

The bow-and-arrow sen it 14 days. The license fee is $2.25. the same as for firearms, but bow and arrow hunter. rannnt him second license for the rifle season. Archers are restricted to bucks as legal game, although there is widespread sentiment favoring their being allowed to shoot does as well as bucks.

In the last fiscal year, $3,707, 803.68 was paid in taxes on sporting arms and ammunition. All this money will be paid back to the states for conservation work. under the Pittman-Robertson Act. Sportsmen's Calendar Oct 27 Detroit Archers' firti meet, broadhead round, Oct. 28 Detroit Audubon Club will meet at the Cranbrook Institute Museum at 8 p.

m. Dr. H. Walkinshaw will speak on the sandhill crane. Nov.

2, 3 Field trials for cock ers and springers, 1 miles west of Farmington on US-16. SponA sored by the English Springe? Spaniel Club of Michigan. Nov. 3 Eleventh annual AH Breed Dog Show in Demonstration! Hall, M.S.C., East Lansing. Spon sored by the Ingham County Ken net Club.

Nov. 8, 9 Annual meeting1, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, In Jackson. Nov. 9, 10 United States Grouse Dog Championship field trials near Clare; sponsored by the Saginaw Field and Stream Club and the Michigan Grouse Field Trial Club. Drawing Nov.

8 at 9 p. m. in Hotel Doherty in Clare. HUNTING SEASON Ji now In lull swing, enjoy the great outdoors, li Gaum Sv ever iiid 'OQ CA nnrier slioUun 16 Browning uln. liolnn jss-oo 11 (innt Parkrr double CC Rfl barrel ihotjun 12 Gam Retninttoa fOl "TC pump ihotrun Winchntdr Heavy Dock Gum.

30-06 Remtnttoa model lift AC 30 deef rifle. 30-40 Krai rebuilt deer rifle Remlrifton Pump, deer rifle Model 64 Winchester deer rifle 30-30 Wlnrlienter deer rifle .21.50 25.S0 18.75 DEER GUN AMMUNITION BETTER BUY NOW Ouek hunters 7.50 I'arkat Typhoon i Huita 9.50 Peniileion vlrtln woo! ahlrti Trade your ued mn for a new Budget pajinenli If jru ih. firkin V7- Farmers Back Conservation Club which Is alarmed ower the Increasing number of women who are wearing feathers of protected wild birds in their hats and the growing demand and sale of such feathers in millinery shops. After a thorough survey of millinery shops and establishments dealing with the millinery trade in New York and Philadelphia, Richard H. Pough, of the Audubon staff, discovered that there is a great variety of feathers of wild birds being offered for sale, some openly, some covertly.

He succeeded in purchasing more than 200 different samples. Specialists of the American Museum of Natural History showed unmistake-ably that more than 40 species of wild birds were represented among the purchases made. Eagle Feathers Found Pough found that 24 different firms were offering condor feathers for sale. Golden eagle feathers were on sale in 30 places and bald eagle feathers at a dozen different places. Among other protected birds whose plumage was offered for sale wire the whistling awan, osprey and great blue heron.

The catalog of foreign birds whose plumage was found Illegally on sale includes such birds as the European blue jay, jabiru, mari-bou and Japanese storks. According to Pough, these foreign feathers are feeing sold under three loopholes in the law. The first loophole makes plumage Imported before 1913 perfectly legal. "Even among the trade, it is acknowledged to be unusual that so many old invoices of imports have been faithfully kept on file to be produced in court when a chal- lenge as to the legality of the feathers Is made," says Pough. Feathers for Flies The second loophole Is provided Speaks Nov.

9 Dr. Ira N. Gabrielson, of Washington, chief of the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service, will be the chief speaker at the annual banquet Nov. 9 which will climax the two-day convention of the Michigan United Conservation Clubs in Jackson. 1 4t Hunters Asked to Help with Tally Since many pheasant hunters do not go afield after ringnecks after the first few days, they are invited to make use of the Pheasant Tally Blank published on this page and co-operate with Jack Van Coever-ing, Free Press wildlife editor, in making possible this tenth annual checkup on hunters' luck.

Results of the tally, which will tell whether pheasant hunting was better or worse, what the aterage score W'as and what hunters have to say about the season, will be published early in November. Every hunter who sends in a tally blank will be mailed a membership card in the Free Press Hunters' Fraternity. Hunting Club Attempts to End Complaints When nonmembers charged that members of the Fremont Fish and Game Association were able to shoot more birds In open season because they knew where the releases of birds were being made, the club's president, Arthur Boven, announced the location of release areas through the local newspaper. if (i i if I lllll.M.....UII....I,l... I.

IIJP.WJMMII MIMIfWIJ .1 M.MIIII. Traffic In the feathers of wild Ibirds must stop! This is the ulti matum irom me nauonai Association of Audubon Societies, Coon Season Opens Friday Hunters Should Bag 35,000 Ring-Tailed Hides in 45 Days Eager coon hunters will wait for the boom of the midnight clock which wjll usher In the month of November and the beginning of the fourty-five-day coon hunting season. Less eager hunters may wait until the next night to begin their sport, for hat will give them a whole night for their hunting. Whichever night they choose to start the season, they will want damp weather to give me dogs good scent and a rainfall to deaden the of both men and hounds. Hunters Break F.ven If the season is successful, coon hunters will bag fully 35,000 rlng- tauea niaes, iasi year nuniers took 35,287 pelts, according to their own reports.

Most coon hunters take about enough coons to pay for the keep of their dogs, thus helping offset the cost of their sport Coon hunting Is definitely a sport of the night Not until an hour or more after the sun has set does the coon hunter put down his dogs on the edge of a cornfield or swamp and tell them to go find a track. TTnlike other forms of hunting, a half dozen hunters may follow the dogs, yet there win be only one gun in the party usually a .22 rifle. When the coon is treed, it is a brief job to bring him down with a bullet. Most of the fun comes before that. Fun Listening to Hounds Coon hunters get their fun out of listening to the hounds and following them up hill and down dale through the night.

An experienced cooner can tell by the sound of his dog's voice whether the trail is cold or hot, whether the dog has lost trail or whether he has treed. The latter sound is music to the coon hunters' ears. It is a full-throated peal that reverberates through the woods and causes the hunter to hasten to the tree. There, revealed by the pencil of white from the battery light will be the hounds attempting to climb the tree trunk and above them two fiery eyes looking down. That is the end of the hunt.

BASS POND COMPLETED The Branch County Conservation Club has completed a large bass rearing pond which will produce from 50,000 to 100,000 fingerlings a year, reports H. J. McKnight of Coldwater, secretary of the club. The Country Club of Detroit has given up its skeet field and the property will be offered for sale, reports L. D.

Bolton, now in Albany, who pushed skeet at the club. Seven hundred twenty-five com mercial fishing vessels make up tne fleet operating in Michigan waters. They are limited to operation within 50 miles of their home ports, by the law which permits Importation of feathers exclusively for the manufacture of fishing flies. "It is a peculiar coincidence that the Importations of feathers for fly manufacture took an unusual spurt beginning three years ago when feathers for hats began coming into style again," says Pough. A third loophole comes from the importation of feathers from domesticated birds.

Since many officials can't tell the difference, many a wild-bird feather comes in as domesticated. Pough suggests that the fishing-fly loophole can be stopped by permitting only the importation of segments of feathers which cannot be diverted for hat decorations but would still serve the flytiers. "The traffic in bird plumage Is one of the darkest blots on our history," says Pough. "Now the traffic is being resumed. The time for an energetic campaign to stop it is before trade and fashion have combined their forces." Bookshelf LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN CUCKOOS, GOATSUCKERS, HUMMINGBIRDS AND THEIR ALLIES.

By Arthur Cleveland Bent. 506 pp. illustrated. Published by the Smithsonian Institution. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, for 75 cents.

It is only necessary to call attention to this, the thirteenth in the series of bulletins of the United States National Museum on life histories of North American Birds. This volume is similar to those that preceded it and brings together practically all the known facts about the species covered. Earlier bulletins are now on the rare book list, but it is never too late to begin buying these books when they first become available. J. V.

"BIO STONY," by Howard T. Walden II. 401 pp. illustrated. 110.

Published by the Dcrrydale Press, New York. Companion volume to the au-t "Upstream and Down," Which was published several years ago, "Big Stony" offers another literary treat to the trout fisherman. Between its beautifully bound covers are tales of the trout stream which are more than stories of fishing. They are stories which throb with the heartbeat of life and living, that pulsate to vibrations of human understanding and sympathy, that probe deeply into those things that make for human happiness. Although the stories are scarcely connected, throughout there runs a vein of admiration for a man who likes to fish better than he likes to eat or sleep.

But this man happened to be a poacher, who fished on private club property without permission. And with that, perhaps quite unintentionally, the author drops a nut for you to crack: There were plenty of fish even for the poacher yet one night he lost his life in the whirlpool of the Big Stony. JV. DFCK HAS ALIASES The ruddy duck is known by S2 different names in Canada anil the United States, amonr them blatherskite in Virginia, bristle- tail In Delaware, leatherbreeches in Smith Carolina, bumbl e-bee-i buzzer In Arkansas. The Bellevue Conservation Club has signed up 19 areas, comprising acres in a co-operative minting plan.

"The outstanding feature of this is that it was all unsolicited acreage," says Terry Mann, of Bellevue, "in comparison with the trouble we had putting a few thousand acres under manage' ment two years ago. There is no doubt that the farmers are well satisfied with the setup." Conservation League Has New Clubhouse The Jackson County Conservation League, with a membership of 2,000, now owns a log clubhouse with a bungalow near by where the permanent caretaker lives. In the last year the club released about 2,500 pheasants, planted 32.000 trees and released 1,250,000 fish in various lakes and streams Lyle Torrant, of Jackson, is president of the club; L. G. Lovell, treasurer; George Hubert, secre tary, and Glen L.

Fisher, executive secretary. 30 31! I 1 2 i 314 15 Tint bdcd mors plentiful, than year. Free Press Pheasant Tally 1940 llll.S mimx CUMMrMURAlLS FIRST ANTING lir PilQANTS IN MKIUCAN. 1 III WIJiLKFfFAStn NEAR THIS W1 BY BAUMGAHtn IKHlAMKMICHiCAN. MARHf 'wain r.v IIMI CAMf 1 Wt PulNlth Mlli-T i NnVt H15F j'M fHuuttn? dates (Number oX Hunters in Parly (Hour Huuted hy Party my any Which countie dS! yoa huatf.

Fhewaot wer ths tarns icaroer Wsr you Mtsifiej -witb huntlnr eondltionI 17 Dedicate Pheasant Markei 1I4 ia flndfnr to hunt? Vlsxb a (h vn phiinl jut Id your Kitm b4 (opiionil) In 1895, Arthur C. Baumgartel, of Grand Rapids, released the first ringnecked pheasants in Michigan on the farm of Henry Harrington, six miles north of Holland on US-31. Next Saturday, at 2 p. rh. the Holland Fish and Game Club will officially dedicate a marker to commemorate the event.

Baumgartel was secretary of tire Holland Rod and Gun Club in 1985, and he took the initiative in importing and raising the new birds which have since become prime favorites with Michigan's thousands of bird hunters. l- l.a!aeiH ie 'l, Ho 1 wM! teasuo, aadiiioa in Uii mils..