GROUND AND WATER ENEMIES 93 



and where they are few it does not seem wise to destroy 

 them, excepting, of course, where they are observed to 

 be doing serious damage. A mink or weasel which de- 

 stroys a large number of ducks should be hunted down 

 and killed at any season of the year. The gamekeeper 

 and not a State game warden should decide the matter on 

 private lands. 



Where the natural enemies of game are few the do- 

 mestic enemies often are very numerous and destructive. 

 The cats are noted bird hunters; the dogs are fond of 

 chasing birds and prevent their nesting; the rats eat not 

 only young birds, but also the eggs. I have been sur- 

 prised, when visiting American game preserves, to learn 

 of the numbers of cats destroyed by the gamekeepers. 

 In many places throughout America the cats are suffi- 

 ciently abundant, undoubtedly, to prevent the wild ducks 

 from nesting and rearing their young, even if the birds 

 were not persistently shot by people living in the vicinity 

 of the ponds and lakes. The cats seem to be increasing in 

 many places, and many annually are turned down to 

 shift for themselves, and quickly they become wild. They 

 are skillful in taking birds. 



It is not a very difficult matter for a gamekeeper to 

 control the cats, since they are easily discovered and shot 

 as they prowl about. They can be trapped with steel 

 traps and hunted with terriers. I have seen a terrier 

 make short work of killing a cat, and the terriers are 

 useful dogs on the preserve, since they will destroy other 

 ground vermin. 



Some cats can be taught not to kill birds, and I have 

 seen cats at gamekeepers' houses which walked about 

 among the young pheasants and ducks without causing 



