No. 4.] BIRD PROTECTION. 399 



several species. But by 1835 the curlews and other larger shore birds 

 had been so depleted that a law was passed to protect " plover, curlew 

 and dough bird or chicken bird" throughout the State from April 20 

 to September 1, at night only. This law failed to give the birds much 

 respite, and their decrease continued. In 1836 the sale of marsh 

 birds was prohibited during the close season. In 1860 a retrograde 

 step was taken in adding July and August to the open season on the 

 salt marshes. 



The slaughter went on without much restriction until 1869, when 

 all spring shooting of marsh birds and upland plover was cut off 

 by closing the season from March 1 to July 1. This was repealed 

 at the next session of the Legislature, and in 1870 the law named 

 the close season for marsh and beach birds as April 1 to July 15, 

 except that "Wilson's snipe, red-breasted, black-breasted and chicken 

 plover," four of the most persecuted game birds, were left without 

 any protection whatever. 



From this time forward the law exhibited the usual vacillation in 

 regard to dates from year to year, and the birds were protected most 

 of the time by our statutes only when out of the State, until 1886, 

 when all marsh and beach birds were protected from May 1 to July 15. 

 In 1903 the beginning of the close season was fixed at March 1. After 

 a fight of several years' duration, Mr. Geo. H. Mackay, representing 

 the American Ornithologists Union and the Massachusetts Audubon 

 Society succeeded in securing, in 1904, legislation prohibiting the sale 

 of marsh or beach birds during the close season. This was followed 

 in 1905 by an act protecting the Bartramian sandpiper or upland 

 plover at all times for five years. Before the passage of these acts, 

 however, several species of the larger shore birds had been nearly 

 eliminated from the State. The shore birds have always been inade- 

 quately protected, and we still allow shore bird shooting in summer. 



Upland Game Birds. 

 When the Puritans landed at Plymouth the upland game birds of 

 the colony consisted of the wild turkey, the pinnated grouse or heath 

 hen, the ruffed grouse or partridge, the bobwhite or quail and the 

 woodcock, which spends a part of the year on the uplands and for 

 convenience may be classed with the others. All of these birds were 

 very plentiful. Under a policy of unrestricted shooting the wild 

 turkeys finally disappeared, and the heath hens, which were at first 

 very numerous, even on the site of Boston, were so reduced in numbers 

 that Dr. Dwight published the statement in 1821 that they were no 

 longer common, and Sylvester Judd gives testimony in the "History 

 of Hadley" to the effect that they probably disappeared from the 

 region near Springfield about 1813. In 1S31 they had become so rare 

 in the State that a special act was passed protecting them during the 

 breeding season, or from March 1 to September 1, under penalty of 



