A Saint Bartholomew of Birds 233 



mallard, on the other hand, robs nobody. "He 

 lives on the cresses and celeries of the waters, and 

 his flesh is superior to that of his canvasback or 

 redhead cousin. Every state ought to take meas- 

 ures to conserve him, else soon we shall know him 

 no more. n What is needed in addition to game 

 laws is public sentiment backed by public spirit 

 that will condemn their non-observance. Without 

 enlightened civic consciousness on the subject of 

 protecting the wild birds, their numbers will rapid- 

 ly decrease, and beyond question a time will come 

 when the multiplication of insect pests will avenge 

 the slaughter of the feathered races. 



Most of the hunting on our Lake, is at the 

 Head, or down at the inlet ; both localities having 

 a more or less variety of attractive duck food. 

 At the head the ducks cross from their feeding 

 ground on a near-by marshy lake to the protection 

 of the open water of our lake and were frequently 

 slaughtered in great numbers, night and morning, 

 on the portage between the lakes. If there are 

 Ducks anywhere you can safely count on finding 

 a goodly number at the inlet. When the country 

 was first settled Adolph Buzze not infrequently 

 used to bring a "Dugout" full from the inlet, the 

 result of a few hours' shooting. Adolph was ut- 

 terly without education, as we understand the 

 meaning of the word, though he actually under- 

 stood more than the average man, the mystery of 



