4 INTRODUCTION 



cities and towns in the paradise are increasing in popula- 

 tion rapidly. 



This matter is of the utmost importance to all duck 

 shooters East of the Rocky Mountains, since the ducks 

 which are shot throughout this portion of the United 

 States must come, for the most part, from the breeding 

 grounds above described. The duck clubs in the Mis- 

 sissippi valley and about the great lakes and on the At- 

 lantic coast, from New Jersey to Florida, should be much 

 interested in the preservation of "the ducks' paradise," 

 since when this is destroyed the shooting on the club 

 marshes will be sadly lessened and the splendid proper- 

 ties of the clubs must decrease in value accordingly. 

 How to prevent the destruction of the breeding grounds 

 is one of the most important problems for the duck 

 shooters. Some big parks or refuges for ducks should 

 be established in this region, and the inhabitants should 

 be taught to save some of the breeding grounds, which 

 they own, because it will pay better to do so than to 

 drain them. It is evident that laws prohibiting the shoot- 

 ing on certain days of the week and limiting the open 

 season and the size of the bag can only delay the extir- 

 pation of the ducks; they do not govern the most im- 

 portant matter — the preservation of the breeding 

 grounds. This can only be accomplished in the ways I 

 have pointed out. We should remember, always, that 

 restrictive laws of the character just mentioned make it 

 not worth while for the land owners to save the marshes 

 and the fowl. No one can be expected to do anything 

 which does not pay. 



The wild ducks which migrate up and down the Pa- 

 cific coast are hatched, for the most part, North of the 



