282 A BOOK-LOVER'S HOLIDAYS 



generally, have increased in numbers on this 

 big stock-farm. There is no wanton molesta- 

 tion of any animal permitted, no plundering 

 of nests, no shooting save within strictly defined 

 limits, and so far as possible all rare things are 

 given every chance to increase. As an example, 

 when, in clearing a tract of swamp land, a 

 heron's nest was discovered, the bushes round 

 about were left undisturbed, and the heron 

 family was reared in safety. Wild turkeys 

 have somewhat, and quail very markedly, in- 

 creased. The great horned owls, which de- 

 stroyed the ducks, have to be warred against, 

 and the beasts of prey likewise. Surely it will 

 ultimately again be recognized in our country 

 that life on a plantation, on a great stock-farm 

 or ranch, is one of the most interesting, and, 

 from the standpoint of both body and soul, 

 one of the most healthy, of all ways of earning 

 a living. 



At four on the morning of the 8th our party 

 started from the wharf in front of Pass Christian. 

 We were in two boats. One, good-sized and 

 comfortable, under the command of Captain 

 Lewis Young, was the property of the State 

 Conservation Commission of Louisiana, the 

 commission having most courteously placed 

 it at our disposal. On this boat were my host. 



