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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 1959)
SUNDAY, MAY 3. 1959 HERALD AND NEWS. KLAMATH FALLS. OREGON PAGE THIRTEEN Game Laws Reach Back Into Antiquity: Pioneers Strict In Wildlife Views By JAMES R. NORRIS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service USGMA One of the practices used in game management to help produce sustained annual crops of wildlife is that 01 regulations controlling the harvest of the resource. Regu lations or game laws are by no means a new practice exercised by man, as controlling measures of taking wildlife date back many, many decades. It is in the Bible that we find what is probably the first written restriction on the taking oi game. The restriction is one of the stat utes and judgments composing the Mosaic Law, and decrees that: "If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way, in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, thou Shalt not take the dam with the young: But thou Shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee: That it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days." fDeuteronomy 22: 6, 7). Conservation of the "dam" or hen as breeding stock being the intent of the phraseology. A record of game management for conservation purposes is found to have occurred in the Mongol Empire, and Marco Polo in de scribing his travels across Asia, tells or the game laws of Kublai, The Great Khan. "There is an order which pro hibits every person throughout all countries subject to the Great Khan, from daring to kill hares, roebucks, fallow deer, stags, or oMier animals of that kind, or any large birds, between the months of March and October. This is that they may increase and multiply: and as the breach of this order is attended with punishment, game of every description increases prodi giously." Hunting controls in Europe be gan as customs rather than laws. One of these customs was given by Edward, second Duke of York. Master of Game, to his cousin. Henry IV, during the early years of the 14th Century. This custom was that the hart or red-deer season opened at St. John's tide (June 24i and ended on Holvrood Day (September 14). This was the period when an animal was be lieved to be fattest and best fit for meat. Henry VIII. ruled that waterfowl and their eggs would be protected from Iuy 31 to August 31. and later James I, afforded this pro tection to the pheasants and par tridges. It is believed that some species of non-game birds in Eur ope were protected about 1831. Another hunting custom during Edward's time was one somewhat equivalent to our buck law. It stated that "warrantable hart Soybeans Now Cash Crop ST. PAUL. Minn. (UPII Min nesota farmers have found a new staple crop in soybeans, to pace a nationwide agricultural trend. In 1935, Minnesota farmers plant ed only 100.000 acres of soybeans annually. Last year, the figure was three million acres. In these 24 years, soybeans have become the fourth largest crop in an agricultural state long depend ent on corn, oats and hay. Min nesota now ranks third in total soybean production behind Illinois and Iowa. The importance of soybeans is indicated by national figures. In 1936. there were 449 bushels of soybeans produced in the United States: in 1957 the figure rose to 480 million and the estimated 1958 crop -was 561 million bushels.. MIX-S-BAKE IDEA NEW YORK (UPII Petit fours ore easy lo make at home from a 10'i-ounce package of pound cake mix. Mix and bake cake ac- cording to package directions. Cool, cut into small squares and frost with 1 cup confectioners' sugar mixed to spreading consistency with maraschino cherry juice. Gar nish each tiny cake with maras chino cherry halves or slices. was defined as a "hart of ten" (points). Lesser stags (staggards), yearlings (bullocks), fawns (calves), and does (hinds), were either not killed at all, or only dur ing the great jdrives where the King participated. Edward further pointed out that "beyond the sea" (France), deer were taken, "with hounds, with grey hounds, and with nets, and with cords, and other harness, wilh pits, and wilh .shot (bows) and other gins (traps). . . . But in England, they are not slain ex .cept with hounds or with shot." In the far north early hunting laws were practiced by the exer cising of taboos. Among the Eski mos almost every detail of hunt ing and of utilizing the catch was regulaled .-by these taboos. The basis of the taboos was that land animals, like the caribou, and wa ter animals, like seal, walrus and whale, would be kept separate. It. was the practice of these people not to eat caribou and seal pn the same day. The Eskimos also had seasonal restrictions of preserving one specie of game when another was more conveniently at hand. The use of fuel gathered from the ground, such as faggots and moss, was prohibited when a whale was captured, for the whale oil was used as fuel. In America the first of the game laws is usually recognized to be that passed by Connecticut in 1677. It regulated seasons and prohibited (he export of game, hides and skins. By 1700 all of the original colonies, except Georgia, had es tablished closed seasons to pro tect deer. William III, through the Act of the Virginia Assembly in 1G99, prohibited the killing of deer from January to July, the fine for violation being 500 pounds of tobacco. In 1730 Maryland fol lowed suit, the fine being 400 pounds of tobacco. It was also ruled that the hunting of deer by firelight was unlawful. The doe was protected by Virginia in 1738. and running of deer with hounds was prohibited by New York in 1788. Closed seasons on birds were first set by New Y'ork, and in 1708 that state protected the heath hen (now extinct), ruffed grouse, quail, and wild turkey: in 1'V1 it added the woodcock. Some of the colonists thought furbearers were also threatened and Vermont in 1797 placed a closed season on muskrats. although it was lifted lour rears later and reestablished in 1812. Of course, laws are of no value without enforcement and in Mas sachusetts there were deer war dens as early as 1739. This was Irue of New Hampshire two years later. The enactment of state game laws followed close on the heels of the retreating frontier, reaching (he Pacific in California in 1B52. By 1880 all of the stales had game laws. The first bag limit (25 prairie chickens per day) appeared in Iowa in 1R78. Market hunting was first tabooed by Arkansas in 1875. A hunting license was first re quired by New York in 1864: a non-resident license by New Jer sey in 1864. Federal supervision of interstate game began with the Lacy Act, which in 1900 prohibited interslatc commerce in illegal game. This was followed by our present migra tory bird bills, which were intro duce in 1904 and 1908. but not passed until 1913 and they were finally anchored to the Constitution by the Canadian treaty of 1916. In the state of Oregon, the first game law was believed lo have been established in 1872. but II was not until 1893 that the first (ish and game protector was ap pointed. This man, a Mr. Hollister McGuirc. was to enlorce ine game laws throughout the entire state. In 1895. Oregon established the first closure on beaver and placed the first limit on upland game birds. In 1899. a L. V. W. Qiiim bly was appointed as the state game and toresiry proiecior. Quimbly was altoted a sum of $2,200 lo carry on his activities and from this money he nad pun lished 5.000 copies of the game laws of the state of distribution to the oublic. During this year the first bag limit of five deer per season was established, the season running from Julv 15 to October 31. Also in HMO Oregon established its first duck season and closed the, season on elk, the elk season did not re open until 1933. During this year 15 game law violators were appre hended and the total fines for the violations amounted to $780. The first bag limit on trout (125 per day) was established in 1901 and during this year the bag lim it on ducks was 50 per day or 100 per week. Oregon's'first hunt ing license was required in 1901 and a non-resident license sold for M0. Commercial hunting of pheas ants was allowed during the last !4 K3ftft " W?J&?n ; I. ''HAitk DOUGLAS SMELCER, selected "Fa rmor of the Year - 1958" by the supervisors of Lan gell Valley Soil Conservation District, is sho.vn here with part of his herd of cattle turned into one of his improved pastures. The development of this fine pasture is the result of applying several conservation practices; land leveling to improve the irrigation and drain age; subsoiling to improve the penetration of water and plant roots in the soil; seeding to adapt species of grasses and legumes; a well located drain ditch to remove the ex cess water; and last but not least using good management practices to maintain the stand. PU k crc. 13 days of the season, which ran from October 1 to June 3L, how ever, commercial or market hunt ing was brought to a close in Ore gon in 1905. During 1901, doer hides were required to be lagged beloru (hey could be sold, 500 of these t.igs were made arid 250 were is sued. In 1902, a new game officer was appointed, this was a man by the name of J. W. Baker. Angling licenses were required in 1!H9 and sold for $1. Resident hunting license cost was the same. The first buck law was also passed during this year. In 1917. Hie state of Oregon had a working force of two game offi cers. The Oregon Stale Police were given the responsibility of enforc ing game laws in 1931 and at Ihe end ol Ihc fiscal year of 1958 the game law enforcement divison ot Ihe Oregon State Police was com iwsed of 68 men. Also stationed in Oregon are four Federal Game Management agents, members of Ihe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, whose duty it is lo enforce the Federal laws as they pertain to fish and game. Space Rates Apply Here BOULDER. Colo. (UP!) Sci entists at Colorado University's High Altitude Observatory were long puzzled because an observa tory in Czechoslovakia continual ly reported more solar flares sun spots than any other observatory in the world. When Colorado's Harold Zirin embarked recently on a 13.000 mile tour 'of the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, he was asked to check up on the situation. He came back with this explanation: "One scientist who observes sol ar flares much as we do is paid on the basis of the number and size of the flares he observes." Commercial Printing Business Forms Letterheads Envelope! Cards Invoices Statements Checks Designed Especially To Fit Your Needs All Types Of Snap Our Forms GUIDE PRINTING CO. Ph. TU 4-5373 12th and Klamath , C0QPERA1MM1 GETS THE JOB DONE RIGHT For details on the benefits gained through co-operative membership, check with us. NEWELL GRAIN GROWERS ASSN. Tulclake, California - P. O. Box 871 Ph. 4-2591
