OF NATURAL HISTORY OF CANADA 27 



A VOICE FROM NORTH SHORE 



GODBOUT, April 30tb. 1921. 

 To the Secretary, 



Societe Provencher d'Histoire Naturelle du Canada, 



Quebec, P. Q. 



Dear Sir: 



I feel highly honored in being able, as a member, to join hands 

 with you in promoting increased knowledge of our animals, birds 

 and fishes in the Province of Quebec. The subject deserves care- 

 ful study if we wish to arrive at sensible legislation. Regulations, 

 that were considered adequate years ago, are not so at present. 

 In 1905, following a convention of the Fish and Game Clubs of 

 the Province of Quebec, I suggested manj' changes in our game 

 laws, which I am sorr\' to say were considered as too far advanced 

 ideas! Most of these, however, were adopted a few years ago by 

 the Provincial Government and later on by the Migratory Birds 

 Convention at Washington. The advance of civilization, increase 

 in population, widespread use of fire arms, cutting and burning of 

 our forests by the settlers and the lumbermen, wanton killing by 

 so-called sportsmen (happily few in our Province), market gunners, 

 ignorant foreigners who shoot at everj'thing in sight and seem 

 to be imbued with a sense of destruction, all these are factors that 

 have driven the game out of its former haunts. In some cases 

 changing the conditions so much, that certain species of birds have 

 entirely disappeared, notably the passenger pigeon. Other species 

 have decreased so much as to be threatened with extermination; 

 in this class we have the wood duck, harlequin duck, eider duck, 

 curlew and golden plover, etc. The United States gunners and 

 egg collectors for commercial purposes, are the most to blame for 

 the extermination of the Labrador duck and the passenger pigeon, 

 for the wholesale destruction of the wood duck for its feathers, used 

 in fly making. Many states had no game laws at all and all our 

 migratory- birds, game or non game, were shot in or out of season. 

 It was only when the American Ornithologists Union and other 

 scientific societies raised an outcr>^ that proper legislation was 

 enacted. So far as Canada was concerned, especially in the Prov- 

 ince of Quebec, we had adequate protection. Ihe quantity of 

 geese brant, black duck and allied species killed in our Province 

 (Quebec) by shooting, is a mere drop in a bucket of water. I can 



