VALUABLE WILD LIFE 13 



and other game-birds of to-day, if the men of to-day 

 only will heed it. It is a lesson on the folly of 

 waiting too long before giving permanent protec- 

 tion! This bird formerly inhabited Massachusetts, 

 Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New 

 Jersey and Pennsylvania. It was the first Ameri- 

 can game-bird to be brought to the point of 

 extermination by sportsmen. 



When its numbers were alarmingly depleted, and 

 attention was strongly called to its impending fate, 

 in the hope of restoring it New York, New Jer- 

 sey and Massachusetts bestirred themselves, and 

 enacted for the heath-hen protective laws giving it 

 close seasons of five years. At the end of that 

 period, it was found that the species had not per- 

 ceptibly recovered; so New Jersey and New York 

 gave it close seasons of ten years. 



But it was too late! The unfortunate heath-hen 

 completely disappeared, everywhere save on 

 Martha's Vineyard. 



The logical conclusion of this episode in exter- 

 mination is of very great importance to the sports- 

 men of to-day who heedlessly go on shooting van- 

 ishing species of birds, in the belief that such species 

 can at any time be saved and brought back by the 

 application of long-close-season laws. In some 

 cases, the ten-year close season possibly can bring 

 back the candidates for oblivion; and it is well for 

 us that this is true. With every vanishing bird 

 species, however, very soon a point is reached 



