LAST March a federal law was passed placing game and 

 migratory birds under the protection of the department 

 of agriculture, and authorizing that department to form 

 and publish such regulations as would assure the desired 

 protection. The department has issued its rules and an ex- 

 planation, so sportsmen need not go wrong. 



Preparation of the regulations was intrusted to a committee 

 of members of the biological survey, appointed by the acting 

 secretary of agriculture March 21, 1913; this committee con- 

 sists of T. S. Palmer, assistant chief, chairman; A. K. Fisher, 

 in charge of economic investigations, and W. W. Cooke, 

 migratory expert. This committee went into the matter thor- 

 oughly, examined data on file, had maps prepared, collected 

 special information, and then made up their rules which they 

 duly reported to the secretary,. 



The committee went on the theory that regulatory laws 

 heretofore enacted for the protection of game birds had 

 provided long open seasons, and had been favorable to hunters 

 rather than to the birds. In the rules proposed, the com- 

 mittee sought to reduce the open season to reasonable limits, 

 and to give the birds the benefit of the doubt. These regula- 

 tions differ from the ordinary restrictions under state laws, 

 since they take into consideration the entire range of the 

 species and the condition of the birds at all times of the year, 

 and not merely the local conditions when a certain species is 

 most abundant in some particular state or region. The regu- 

 lations will become operative on and after Oct. 1, 1913. 



Regulation 1. Birds Protection. 



For the purpose of the regulations the following are consid- 

 ered migratory game birds: 



(a) Anatidae or waterfowl, including brant, wild ducks, 

 geese and swans. 



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