GAME AND ITS PROTECTION. 17 



the provocation, the true sportsman will never for- 

 get the chivalric motto, noblesse oblige. 



The close-times of the present statutes are not 

 altogether correct ; and in so extensive a locality as 

 the United States, where diverse interests are to be 

 considered, it is nearly impracticable to make the 

 laws perfect. For instance, where quail are abun- 

 dant, as in the South, there is no objection to killing 

 them during the entire month of January ; but, as 

 at that period they are often lean and tough, and 

 have to contend, in the Northern States, against 

 dangers of the elements and rapacious vermin, with 

 not too favorable a chance for life it is undesirable, 

 where they are in the least scarce, to continue the 

 pursuit after December. 



If it were possible to make a uniform law for the 

 entire Union, and to enforce it everywhere, English 

 snipe and ducks should not be killed at all during 

 the spring. The latter at the time of their flight 

 northward are poor and fishy ; but if they can be 

 slain in New Jersey, it is hardly worth while to 

 protect them in New York. For every duck or 

 snipe that passes towards the hatching-grounds of 

 British America in the early part of the year, four 

 or five return in the fall and winter. Could proper 

 protection, therefore, be enforced, the sport in the 

 latter season would be four times as great as in the 

 former. 



As matters stand, however, the seasons for killing 

 game birds should be: For woodcock, from July 

 fourth to December thirty-first j for ruffed and pin 



