ii6 



Bird - Lore 



viiicetl of tlu' advantage of such \vt)ik. 

 I'lie results wliitli Mr. Sperry has at- 

 tained are no less interesting than his 

 nu'tliods. 



It is now about se\en years since the 

 plan was put in operation, but only a 

 small part of this period liati elapsed be- 

 fore the effects of the experiment began to 

 be apparent. As would be expected, the 

 birds soon became very abundant on the 

 preserve, f>ut it is by the effect on the 

 number of birds in the surrounding coun- 

 try that the practical utility of the work 

 must lie judged, as no shooting is allowed 

 on the preserve itself. The best evidence 

 on this point is the opinion of the people 

 living in the vicinity. With them the pre- 

 serve is decidedly in favor; in no case has 

 any land-owner withdrawn from the agree- 

 ment, though it is a purely voluntary one, 

 which can l)e broken off at any time. On 

 the contrary, another person has recently 

 become a party to it, thus increasing the 

 original area. The birds have increased 

 to such an extent that they have spread to 

 the surrounding country, and now furnish 

 good shooting on lands where there were 

 very few birds when the preserve was started, 

 and as a method of stocking a region with 

 game this plan has proved vastly more suc- 

 cessful than the usual one of liberating birds 

 on lands where they receive no special food 

 or protection, and are shot as soon as the 

 open season comes, if not before. 



It is believed that the preserve has been 

 far more liberally stocked with the western 

 Quail than was necessary, and that even a 

 smaller outlay would have been rewarded 

 with almost as nuicli success. It was, how- 

 ever, Mr. Sperry's purpose to give his plan 

 a thorough trial and to err on the side of 

 liberality rather than in the other (iirection. 

 It is hoped that the Hampton preserve 

 will not remain tlie only one of its kind. 



Though it is perfectly feasible to carry 

 out such a plan under existing laws, it is 

 evident that a law insuring their greater 

 permanence, by making the agreement of 

 the land-owners more binding when once 

 entered into, and providing special means 

 and penalties to safeguard the game, would 

 encourage and help those who wish to start 



similar preserves. A bill of this kind will 

 be presented to the ConnecticLit Legislature, 

 and as it will apply only to the lands of 

 those who voluntarily enter into the contract, 

 it is difiicult to see what arguments can be 

 brought up against its passage. 



In conclusion, it may lie pointed out that 

 game protection by means of preserves is 

 applicable to birds of many more kinds 

 than is generally supposed. A few pre- 

 serves comprising some of the marshes or 

 beaches along the coast, or some of the 

 ponds or swamps in inland districts, which 

 would furnish safe resorts and feeding 

 grounds for the various water birds during 

 the migrations, and during the breeding 

 season for such as would remain and breed, 

 would help to preserve birds which the 

 state game laws have never projierly cared 

 for, and would induce the birds to visit re- 

 gions which they have to a great extent 

 deserted on account of the constant perse- 

 cution they suffer. 



One reason for the apathy and indiffer- 

 ence with which most people regard the ex- 

 termination of the birds, is the widespread 

 belief that it is an inevitable result of the 

 progress of civilization. There is no greater 

 fallacy. A few of our birds cannot adapt 

 themselves to life in a thickly settled and 

 cultivated country, but this list is a short 

 one. Most of them, including most of the 

 game birds and water birds, could and 

 would, if they were given a chance, adapt 

 their mode of life to the changed conditions 

 due to man's occupation of the country. 

 They are disappearing through our fault 

 and neglect and for no other reasons. 



There are few more promising ways of 

 making amends for our past mistakes than 

 by the establishment of such preserves as 

 the one just described. Often no greater 

 difficulties would be encountered than in 

 the case of the Hampton preserve if some- 

 one could be found to take the initiative. 

 WiLLARD G. Van Name. 



Neiv Ha'ven, Conn. 



Note. — We are glad to receive the an- 

 nual reports of the Audubon Societies of 

 Kentucky and Florida, which will appear 

 in the next issue. 



