502 GAME BIRDS. WILD-FOWL AND SHORE BIRDS. 



following notes on the stomach contents of wild-fowl: Ten 

 Mallard stomachs contained an average of twenty-two locusts 

 and twenty other insects each; seven Pintail stomachs con- 

 tained an average of eleven locusts and thirty-four other in- 

 sects each; nine Green-winged Teal stomachs contained an 

 average of four locusts and forty-eight other insects each; 

 nine Wood Duck stomachs contained an average of fifteen 

 locusts and twenty-three other insects each; four Buffle- 

 head stomachs contained an average of ten locusts and forty- 

 four other insects each. All these Ducks had eaten also some 

 seeds and mollusks, but had not disturbed the farmers' crops. 



The chief value of the wild-fowl to the people, however, 

 is not to be found in the place that they occupy on our tables, 

 nor in the sport that they afford. Even their utility to the 

 farmer is secondary to their aesthetic value, which serves as an 

 added attraction to any country. Their beauty and grace, 

 their stirring calls and lively ways, their swift and winnowing 

 flight make the land that they inhabit a more interesting place 

 to live in. Game birds of all kinds have a very high educational 

 value. As objects of observation and study with field glass or 

 telescope they are of far greater service to the majority of 

 outdoor people, and to those who seek needed recreation in 

 the country, than they are to the gunner, the marketman or 

 the sportsman. Those who love nature for her own sake, who 

 take delight in the living bird, whose ears are attuned to 

 resonant cry and whistling wing, who have that quality of 

 mind which sees more value and more profit in the bird alive 

 in its native element than in the bloody and bedraggled carcass 

 hanging in the butcher's stall, must see to it that these birds 

 are conserved. 



Americans are turning to the country life. It is the life 

 to which we as a people must resort to maintain and increase 

 the vigor and virility of the nation. Our lakes and rivers have 

 now lost much of their former attractiveness. It will never 

 be fully regained until, as of old, they are again frequented by 

 flocks of beautiful and lively water-fowl. The great army 

 of outdoor people that is constantly recruiting — an army 

 destined soon to far out-number all others interested in 



