276 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



In 1830 the Carolina paroquet was so numerous that it was reported 

 that Audubon killed a half barrel with two shots of a shot gun. In 

 Carolina not a single one remains, and in the wilds of Florida but few 

 can be found. 



The prairie chicken was once so abundant, that in Kentucky, where 

 the slave owners fed it to the negroes, they tired of it and begged their 

 masters not to make them eat it. It was commonly known as " nigger 

 bird." To find the prairie chicken now, one must tramp the isolated 

 regions of the west. Even in Indian Territory, a hunter is considered 

 lucky if he even gets a shot at one. I have heard the old settlers say 

 that the prairie chicken was once more abundant than the English 

 sparrow is now. 



The game birds are so nearly depleted, that our song birds are being 

 killed off as a result. The quest for game birds having failed, and the 

 desire to " kill something " being still unabated, the " hunter " " takes 

 it out " on the song birds. The blue bird is fast nearing extinction, 

 and the larks and several other songsters are suffering a considerable 

 depletion in numbers. 



After reading the above reports of killing and depletion, one is apt 

 to take a pessimistic view of the situation; but thanks to the Audubon 

 Societies, which are pretty well established in every state, the appoint- 

 ment of game wardens, who are beginning to realize that they are 

 personally responsible for the condition of bird and animal life in their 

 region, the issuing of hunting licenses, which necessarily prevents a 

 great many unscrupulous men from hunting, and the widespread 

 interest which is being manifested in the cause, there is no reason why 

 the great decrease should continue. 



