340 ANIMAL LIFE 



tortoise-shell articles continues on the increase another 

 decade or two, the hawkbill turtle will share the fate of 

 the buffalo. The salmon, trout, and lobster, once supply- 

 ing millions of dollars' worth of fine food annually, are 

 reported to be decreasing in an alarming manner owing to 

 the recklessness with which lax laws permit them to be 

 caught. Of the twenty-eight rivers formerly inhabited 

 by the salmon, only eight now contain them, and in one 

 district where in 1896 three hundred thousand cases of 



FIG. 382. The brook trout. 



salmon were put up, scarcely any fish were taken three 

 years later. While the brook trout will probably always 

 be cultivated in ponds, where its finer qualities degener- 

 ate, there is scarcely a possibility of its continuance in the 

 unprotected forest streams longer than a decade or two. 



The government authorities of the various states as well 

 as of the United States within recent years have become 

 aware of the fact that in order to preserve the vast wealth 

 of our country represented by wild animal life, stringent 

 protective laws and an enlightened public sentiment must 

 be created. The recreation and sport afforded by the 

 legitimate hunting of wild game is a great conserver of 



