6o8 DUCK SHOOTING. 



then there has been comparatively little law-breaking 

 in this particular respect. 



WHAT SHALL BE DONE? 



Over, at least, one-fourth, and probably a greater 

 area of the country, the inhabitants now have duck 

 shooting in neither spring nor fall. If they desire to 

 have a day or two in the blind or in the battery, it is 

 necessary for them to travel some hundreds of miles, 

 and to spend considerable sums of money, on the 

 chance that they may get gunning. This state of things 

 will continue, and as population increases, and as the 

 fowl become fewer, the number of men who must go 

 without shooting will increase. It is one of the condi- 

 tions under which we live, and there is no escaping it. 



It is difficult to suggest how a general and effective 

 change in the shooting laws of all the States and Prov- 

 inces of the continent can be brought about. A few 

 States, from time to time, have passed laws prohibiting 

 spring shooting, but these laws have not always re- 

 ceived the support of public sentiment, and have in some 

 cases been repealed. To accomplish much good, such 

 laws should exist in all the States. 



The time is coming, however, and it cannot be long 

 delayed, when gunners will be obliged to make a choice 

 between having no shooting at all, or giving up some 

 portion of the season that is now open. The operation 



