PROTECTION. 106.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14916, 14 March 1914, Page 15

PROTECTION. 106.

To prevent several of our most interesting birds from becoming extinct, a moro efficient eystem of protection must be contrived, and the note about bittorns recalls a case which points out th© evil of allowing the average human boy to go at largo with a gun. None bettor than our New Zealander boy exists, but he does not stop to think—neither, 1 suppose, did wo at his age, but, of course, this fact does not matter—and though I am informed that somo of our silly unenforced laws forbid him to shoot or smoko cigarettes until ho is turned seventeen, ho does both a s the spirit moves hira, and at least with a gun he will manago harm unless he.has responsible companionship. For instance, a boy was given a gun for being strangely good, so, naturally, he gathered unto himself a friend, who went likewise armed for other reasons, and straightway the pair went hunting II the usual riverbeu. Thero uprose a hare which they slow lawfully and much as boys will; next appeared a. rabbit that was unskilfully '''legged," and pursued hurriedly down a bank by a pool. It happened to be a noted frog-pool, and thereupon they flushed a bittern who instantly fell slain by tho contents of the four cartridges in readiness. Then those boys became afraid, and hid the bittern under a bush; but about a weok later the thought occurred to theni of ,f good moat wasting, so they returned, retrieved their victim, and wore roasting it in a fire, of gorse when . I found them. What would you have done?

No more or less for birds than for trout is protection demanded, but it is not quite nice that a, fisherman who has paid his pound for a license, should be expected to undertake the bother of police-court proceedings like a keeper who is paid for that purpose; therefore I chose to order my own ways with poachers, for a doubtlessly blameworthy example like this. One evening, a month ago, I was fishing in a famous trout stream, when on turning a corner I was aware of three men who evidently were trying to "tickle" trout in a pool somo distance above. Controlling my simmering emotions, T seemed to see them not, but whon I looked upstream I know they had hidden themselves in a neighbouring patch of gorse. Then I betook mc to the place at a rate of knots, aad proceeded to fish that pool, even though it was plain that my efforts would be unrewarded. T fished that pool three times, very slowly and carefully, at every cast being sure of anxious eyes attending to mo through tho screen.of gorse. Afterwards I changed my flies and fished it again, and at length sat comfortably upon the bank while I rigced up a quite new cast.

Then having made thoso wicked ones prisoners for more than an hour, I spoke without bothering myself to turn towards their concealment, "You can come out vow, I want to borrow a knife from ono of you to cut this end of gut." I have seldom seen three madder men. and had I moved they might have put mc in the water, but I stared at them stolidly. "Give mo that knife will you?" and one of them drew the ciesired weapon from his pocket. The advantage was now mine, and I proceeded to rub it in: "You go away upstream to General Droponem's, he will care for the like of you; I object to your interfering with mc here," and slowly and sadfv they went. I scored off those poachers, anyway, and ha\-e all their names nicely noted, but a.s already there are far too many trout in the stream, and tho general aforesaid has been stocking it with more, they may havo met better luck.