534 



THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



of preserving the female animals and 

 birds and only permitting bncks and 

 cocks to be killed has been put in prac- 

 tice. The results already obtained show 

 conclusively that this is one of the most 

 valuable methods of preserving game 

 which has ever been tried, and while the 

 plan received its initial support from men 

 who were actuated by unselfish motives, 



Only (li'cr with horns lonf,'(^r llian a fixed mini- 

 mum siz(> ari^ allowed lo lie killed, so Ilia I, llie lmn((^r, 

 befon- shoolin^', musi lirsl, 1)(; very eerlain of the 

 iialiire of his fpiarry. Thus (he buck law has the ad- 

 vantage of proteeliiif,' human life 



it has proved so practical that it has now 

 won over most of the other element as 

 well. The remarkable result obtained 

 by state protection of hen pheasants in 

 New York and of doe deer in Vermont 

 will serve to illustrate what may be ac- 

 complished under such a system. 



Ten years ago game of all kinds, with 

 the possible exception of cottontail rab- 

 bits, was extremely scarce in Monroe 

 County, New York. As far as the 

 writer has been able to ascertain there 

 were no quail left in the county and but 

 few ruffed grouse. Many local sports- 

 men had either abandoned shooting or 

 else chosen other localities. Today, 

 however, the situation is reversed and 

 men from distant portions of the state 

 and even from other states are attracted 

 to Monroe County for field shooting. 

 The cause of this improvement has been 

 the introduction of the Chinese ring- 

 necked pheasant, coupled with the pro- 

 tection of the hen birds. 



For six years prior to 1904, the State 

 Forest, Fish and Game Commission sent 

 to applicants in Monroe County one 

 hundred and thirty-five pheasants which 

 were distributed in various localities for 

 stocking purposes. In 1908 the pheas- 

 ants had increased to such an extent 

 that a very short open season was given 

 for cock birds only. A year later a care- 

 ful estimate indicated that more than 

 six thousand pheasants had been killed 

 in the county and from that time until 

 the present the supply has been increas- 

 ing despite the fact that on each shoot- 

 ing day Rochester alone sends thousands 

 of sportsmen over the county by the 

 various trolley lines radiating from that 

 city. If it were possible to protect 

 female grouse, similar results, although 

 in less tlegree, might be hoped for. Un- 

 fortunately however it is impossible to 

 distinguish the sexes of grouse at shoot- 

 ing distances and therefore this method 



