OoO Recent Literature. [july 



Of earlier origin than any system of game laws is the idea that wild life 

 may freely be drawn upon at either the need or the pleasure of man. 

 Savages secure a great part of even their vegetable food from nature, but 

 how shiftless a man would be considered who would depend upon the same 

 source now. The early settlers of America found game in apparently 

 inexhaustible abundance, and naturally used it freely. The idea has 

 largely persisted that we have a right to take game at any time for food, 

 but this fallacy should be as apparent as the older one of depending upon 

 wild vegetable products. The mere acceptance of the civilized state 

 carries with it the principle that one has no right to food which he has not 

 helped (either directly or by equivalent) to produce. 



A very high percentage of the shooting of North American wild fowl 

 and waders is in no wise necessarj' to supply food (the shooters being chiefly 

 overfed rather than the reverse). Being undertaken solely in the name of 

 sport, the disastrous effects of this gunnery upon the game birds, and the 

 practical failure of the sportsmen to do anything toward the increase and 

 preservation of birds are wholly inexcusable. 



Mr. Huntington points out the hopelessness of game laws to restore 

 game, shows how the restriction of the best breeding grounds for ducks 

 makes it impossible for them to bear up under the increasing slaughter, 

 and devotes most of his pages to instructions for making game locallj r 

 abundant, by which means the utter extinction of many species can be 

 prevented. The author terms his book the first "for American readers 

 on the practical conservation of game. It deals with the methods of 

 propagation and preservation which are essential to make game abundant 

 and keep it plentiful in places where field sports are permitted." 



Mr. Huntington drew his inspiration, he tells us, from the discovery of 

 English game keepers that "the wild duck could be preserved and made 

 abundant for sport and for profit by the hand-rearing process, which was 

 known to work well with pheasants and other game. . . .More than ten 

 thousand ducks were reared in a season at Netheiby Hall, and the skilled 

 gamekeeper who achieved this remarkable success proved that big bags 

 of ducks can be shot safely every season." This success has already been 

 approached on American preserves. The author thinks that "the breeding 

 of wild ducks should interest the farmers as well as the sportsmen, since 

 so many small swamps and waste places can be utilized for profit." 



A chapter is devoted to a general consideration of ducks, geese and 

 swans, in which is pointed out the adaptability of the various species to 

 artificial propagation. The following rather lengthy chapter gives evi- 

 dence of the practicability of rearing large numbers of ducks in an essen- 

 tially wild state and describes some successful preserves. It is shown that 

 wild ducks will breed in close proximity to some of the most disturbing 

 features of civilization, if only their little home shelter is secure. Freed 

 from meddling they go along contentedly with their family cares in the 

 most unlikely places. The best types of ponds, cover and fencing are 

 described. The following American game farms are mentioned: Oak 



