530 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



is sure to come. The placing of a bounty on the few inju- 

 rious species of hawks has been proposed. No such meas- 

 ure should be enacted, for it would result in the increased 

 killing of all hawks. Moreover, our present law, allowing 

 the destruction of all hawks and owls, is in this respect 

 wrong, and should be modified. 



Control of the Cat. As it is almost universally admitted 

 that the cat is one of the greatest enemies of birds, many 

 suggestions have been offered in regard to controlling the 

 pest. The law which prohibits a man from killing certain 

 birds at all times does not prohibit him from keeping any 

 number of cats, and allowing them to run at large, not 

 only killing these same birds, but torturing them as well. 

 In this respect our game laws and bird laws are farcical. 

 But what remedy shall we provide ? The cat license finds 

 the most advocates. If a license fee of two dollars or more 

 were demanded for each cat, and a penalty provided for 

 failure to comply with the law, the number of cats soon 

 would be reduced. This would be a distinct advantage. 

 Every man, however, would have to be a self-appointed 

 officer to kill all unlicensed cats, while the licensed cats, 

 being protected by law, would continue to roam the fields and 

 woods with impunity, killing far more birds than licensed 

 dogs do now. With cats unlicensed and in too many cases 

 uncared for, as at present, every sportsman or gunner who 

 is out after game should shoot every cat he sees running 

 at large in the woods. A box trap baited with catnip will 

 capture a large number of cats in the course of a year. 

 This protective device is used by breeders of pheasants and 

 by poultrymen. I have described some cat-proof fences 

 and other devices for protecting birds against cats, in a bul- 

 letin on methods 'of attracting and protecting birds, to be 

 issued by the Hatch Experiment Station at Amherst, Mass. 



The suggestion regarding the planting of trees and other 

 plants that will provide both food and shelter for the birds 

 is a good one, which is also treated at some length in the 

 bulletin above referred to. 



The Establishment of State Parks for the Preservation of 

 Forests and Game. This is a policy that is already attract- 



