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OF GREAT INTEREST TO P^ARMERS AND SPORTSMEN. 



To fanners, sportsmen and naturalists the forest 

 fire question is one of great moment, as investigation's 

 show that the amount of animal life, particularly birds 

 and mammals, destroyed yearly, is, in the aggregate, 

 ^'ery large. Persons who have followed in the path- 

 Avays oif the great hissing, crackling, smoking and 

 life-destroying flames, have found the charred re- 

 l^aiu^^ of pheasants, wild turkeys, quails, rabbits, 

 fawns, etc.. besides several kinds of small wild song 

 birds, especially such species that nest on or near 

 the ground. Last spring and summer (185)6) in almost 

 every <lislrie( where the fires burned ovei- a large 

 aci-eage numerous nests of grouse, besides many 

 turkeys, and innunii'i-ablc homes of small wild birds 

 woi-e destroyed. 



GREAT DESTRUCTION OF WILD ANIMALS. 



Through the courtesy of Dr. J. T. Kothrock, Forestry 

 (Commissioner of this Department, the Zoologist has 

 been enabled to collect, from the district visited last 

 sjjring and summer by forest fires, a large amount of 

 valuable data showing the great destruction caused b\ 

 these conflagrations to game of different kinds, as well 

 as to manv s])ecies of small wild song and insectivorous 

 birds which have their habitations in the fores! s. old 

 slashings, and bark peelings; localities that wert' 

 mostly burned over. 



The ruinous fires that did so much damage ro animal 

 life, occurred last year much Inter iliau is nsunllv the 

 case, and the injury to small wild birds and game, 

 both furred and feathered, was. according to all ac- 

 counts, consideiably greater than is customary to be 

 noticed when the iisnal "Spriner Fiies" take placp. 



