birds are sold and eaten in America; but the shooting remains 

 good. There is no fear of extermination. 



The ornithologist, Elliot, in concluding his chapter on the 

 American prairie grouse, which, as a sporting and food bird, 

 is very similar to the red grouse of Scotland, says: "But the 

 inevitable day will surely come that will bring the same fate 

 to all our wild creatures, and the prairie chicken, like other 

 natives of the wilderness, will remain only as a memory." 

 We should take notice that "the inevitable day" is almost here. 



The size of the impending catastrophe becomes evident 

 when we observe that the area of Scotland which supplies the 

 English markets with cheap grouse is only 30,405 square miles. 

 Since there are some grouse in Northern England and parts of 

 Ireland, it would be fair to say that the food producing area is 

 about 50,000 square miles. The combined area of the states 

 where our grouse of the open country still occur (in sadly 

 diminished numbers) may be roughly estimated as 2,350,000 

 square miles. We have besides about 230,000 square miles 

 in the states where the prairie grouse have become extinct, and 

 in one of these states, Audubon says, they were so abundant 

 as to be regarded as pests. They can be restored and made 

 plentiful for sport and for a highly desirable food supply, pro- 

 vided the matter be attended to now. 



Grouse shooting has been prohibited in many states, and in no 

 state can these birds be sold as food. It is evident, therefore, 

 that it does not pay to look after them properly; to restore the 

 prairie grass for nesting sites and cover, and to preserve the 

 wild roses, sunflowers and other plants, which furnish protection 

 and food and which have been destroyed throughout the range 

 of the grouse in the interest of agriculture. If only a small 

 portion of the area suitable for grouse breeding be utilized for 

 the profitable production of these birds they might be made 

 more abundant than they ever were and all of the sportsmen 

 in America and many from abroad might have shooting suf- 

 ficiently good to feed the people with cheap grouse. All that 

 is needed is a little encouragement for those who are willing to 

 undertake the needed industry. 



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