Maine woods and water folk . ercailzieand black game of Sweden were imported to Maine. Attention to these splendid game birds was first brought to thesportsmen of Maine by Hon. W. W. Thomas, Jr., of Portland, who wasthen minister to Sweden. He had observed the habits of these birds withmuch interest, from the standpoint of a true sportsman, had hunted themin their native forests, and was convinced from the climate and their habits, that both capercail-zie and the black game couldbe made to thrive in Maine,and that they would be a val-uable addition to the gamebirds of the state. The first spec
Maine woods and water folk . ercailzieand black game of Sweden were imported to Maine. Attention to these splendid game birds was first brought to thesportsmen of Maine by Hon. W. W. Thomas, Jr., of Portland, who wasthen minister to Sweden. He had observed the habits of these birds withmuch interest, from the standpoint of a true sportsman, had hunted themin their native forests, and was convinced from the climate and their habits, that both capercail-zie and the black game couldbe made to thrive in Maine,and that they would be a val-uable addition to the gamebirds of the state. The first specimens of thecapercailzie and black gamewere liberated on Mt. Desertisland, where they winteredwell the first year, and arenow thriving and increasing,with good prospect that in afew years they will be plen-tiful on the island, and willafford excellent opportunitiesfor hunting. Since that time more birdshave been liberated in thetown of New Sweden, inAroostook county. The in-t chjckof partridge habitants of this town are all,. IMPORTED GAME BIRDS. 15 or at least nearly all natives of Sweden, who have a great love for thebirds of their native land, and who are doing everything in their power topromote the welfare of their feathered friends. The wisdom of placing these birds in a section of the state inhabitedby natives of the same country has been proven, and as the climate andfood conditions in New Sweden are almost exactly the same as in Swedenitself, there is little danger that the birds will not live and thrive, andbreed almost as well as in their native land. As a food bird the capercailzie is said by those who are familiar withit, to have no equal among the birds native in Maine, and it is also saidthat its cousin, the black game, is but little behind in this respect. Thesebirds are now protected by law, and will continue to be until they havebred sufficiently to make their extermination or material decrease innumbers, by hunting, practically an impossibility. The matter of
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectf, booksubjecthunting
