THE MISSISSIPPI RESERVES 313 



the work of the collector is still necessary, the 

 work of the trained faunal naturalist, who is 

 primarily an observer of the life histories of 

 the wild things, is even more necessary. The 

 progress made in the United States, of recent 

 years, in creating and policing bird refuges,^ 

 has been of capital importance. 



At nightfall of the third day of our trip, 

 when we were within sight of Fort Jackson 

 and of the brush and low trees which here grow 

 alongside the Mississippi, we were joined by 

 Mr. M. L. Alexander, the president of the Con- 

 servation Commission, on the commission's boat 

 Louisiana. He was more than kind and cour- 

 teous, as were all my Louisiana friends. He 

 and Mr. Miller told me much of the work of 

 the commission; work not only of the utmost 

 use to Louisiana, but of almost equal conse- 

 quence to the rest of the country, if only for 

 the example set. 



The commission was not founded until 1912, 

 yet it has already accomplished a remarkable 

 amount along many different lines. The work 

 of reforestation of great stretches of denuded, 

 and at present worthless, pine land has begun; 

 work which will turn lumbering into a perma- 

 nent Louisiana industry by making lumber a 



^See Appendix B. 



