56 



Bird - Lore 



give some idea of the expansion of the 

 work of the National Association. 



South Carolina. — Mr. Pearson will in- 

 troduce a bill in the legislature, similar to 

 the law in force in North Carolina, incor- 

 porating an Audubon Society in the state 

 with all the powers of a game commission. 

 From present appearances there is no doubt 

 of the passage of the bill, as there is a grow- 

 ing interest in the state for bird and game 

 protection. 



The Dakotas.— In both of the Dakotas 

 bills of the most advanced character will be 

 considered by the legislature. It is a matter 

 of interest to the members of this Associa- 

 tion to know that in nearly every instance 

 when bills are introduced in any part of the 

 United States, they are, when in prepa- 

 ration, submitted to the National Associ- 

 ation for suggestions or revision. This gives 

 an opportunity for the Association to recom- 

 mend the adoption of the several fundamental 

 planks in the platform of the National 

 Association, which are, non-sale of game, 

 the abolishment of all spring shooting, and 

 resident and non-resident licenses for every 

 one ivho uses a gun. 



Pennsylvania.— It is reported that an at- 

 tempt will be made to make an open season 

 on the Flicker. This effort will be made by 

 a few persons living in one of the smallest 

 counties in the state, who wish the privilege 

 of killing this beautiful and very beneficial 

 bird. In order to secure this privilege, pro- 

 tection must be removed from the bird in 

 the whole state thirty days in the year, the 

 time selected being in the fall, when the 

 birds are migrating and are the most numer- 

 ous. This is another one of the instances 

 where a few individuals desire to take, for 

 their personal pleasure and benefit, public 

 property that every other individual in the 

 state wishes preserved. The two Audubon 

 Societies in Pennsylvania and the John 

 Burroughs Society will have to see that this 

 bill is killed, should it be introduced. 



Texas. — The present bird and game law 

 in this state is excellent, and it was retained 



on the statute books largely by the work of 

 Captain M. B. Davis, secretary of the 

 Audubon Society, aided by the best sports- 

 men in the state, whose combined efforts 

 prevented its repeal in 1905. It is likely that 

 another attempt will be made to repeal this 

 law during the present session of the legis- 

 lature, and this Association is making a 

 strong effort to maintain the integrity of the 

 law and at the same time to strengthen it by 

 establishing a game commission and also by 

 having the resident, non-resident and alien 

 hunter's license law passed. 



There are a few men in Texas who make 

 large sums of money every year by dealing 

 in wild fowl. They are associated with the 

 game dealers in St. Louis, Chicago, New 

 York and other game-distributing centers. 

 These are the men who are opposed to the 

 present law and are trying to secure its 

 repeal. 



This Association has been making some 

 investigations regarding wild-fowl condi- 

 tions on the coast of Texas, and our repre- 

 sentative finds a condition of affairs that is 

 simply an outrage. On one occasion, at a 

 railroad station, two market-hunters came 

 in from the marshes with 205 Ducks, the 

 result of that day's hunt. In a conversation, 

 the hunter told our representative that he 

 had hunted for market for sixteen years, 

 going out every day except Sundays, while 

 the Ducks were there, and doing nothing the 

 balance of the year. He told of the diminu- 

 tion of water-fowl, and added, '' There is no 

 doubt but that they will be entirely extermi- 

 nated within the next few years unless some- 

 thing is done to preserve them." 



At another station, he found men who 

 made a business of hiring gunners to shoot 

 for them, to whom they supplied ammuni- 

 tion and guns and paid so much apiece for 

 wild fowl which were shipped to Chicago 

 and other places, contrary to the Texas non- 

 export law. Our representative also learned 

 that the gunners are afraid to send their 

 water-fowl to the distributing points by 

 railroad and, therefore, send them by small 

 coasting vessels. On one of these boats he 

 saw an ice-box six feet long by four feet 

 wide and three feet high, which was filled 

 with Ducks at tiie time lie inspected it, the 



