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It will be impossible, within the limits of this paper, to give even 

 the briefest abstract of the bird laws passed by this Commonwealth 

 since 1818; therefore no attempt will be made to show more than 

 their general pm-pose and effect. For the convenience of the reader, 

 the legislation for each group of birds will be treated separately. 



Waterfowl. 



After the re-enacted province law of 1710 finally lapsed, soon after 

 the revolutionary period, the protection of waterfowl was not taken 

 up again in a general way until 1886. Dm'ing the latter part of the 

 seventeenth century and the earlier part of the eighteenth these birds 

 had no protection at any time of the year, except a law passed in 1821 

 protecting birds on salt marshes between March 1 and September 1. 

 Landovv-ners, however, were allowed to shoot on their own land, and 

 towns had local option regarding the acceptance of the law. No 

 doubt its provisions were nullified by towns in some cases. At that 

 time (1821) Dwight -vwote that waterfowl still existed in great abun- 

 dance. Even then, however, they had decreased in numbers in the 

 waters of the most populous maritime towns, and their flocks con- 

 tinued to diminish, particularly in the interior, for Sylvester Jucld 

 in his "History of Hadley," pubhshed in 1863, says, "wild ducks 

 were formerly abundant. Now but few ahght about our ponds and 

 streams." ^ 



By 1865 the decrease of wild fowl, even on the remoter coastwise 

 feeding grounds of the State, had become noticeable, and the people 

 of certain towns began to call loudly for special local protection 

 for the birds. In 1865 the worrying and pursuing of birds by boats 

 on Popponessett and Waquoit bays was prohibited. This was fol- 

 lowed in 1867 and 1869 by similar acts for the protection of sea fowl 

 in the waters of Edgartown, Tisbury and Barnstable. Section 6, 

 chapter 246 of the Acts of 1869, was designed to give wild fowl some 

 protection, as it forbade shooting or pursuing fresh-water fowl or sea 

 fowl from, or by means of, boats or vessels of any kind in any of the 

 waters of the State. It also prohibited the killing of sea fov/1 or fresh- 

 water fowl on the feeding or roosting grounds; but this was repealed 

 the next year, and the use of batteries and swivel guns was forbidden. 



By that time, however, the decrease of the more common river ducks, 

 which are in most demand for food, had become so marked that a law 

 was passed (1870) giving wood duck, black duck and teal protection 

 from March 1 to September 1. This was the first real respite that these 

 ducks had in this State during the breeding season, and the gunner was 

 still privileged to shoot all other waterfov.-l at all times. 



Now commenced that juggling x\ith the game laws for which the 

 people of this Commonwealth are famous. We tried closing the 

 season for black duck and teal on April 1 in 1875, on April 15 in 1877 

 and on April 1 in 1881. We protected all ducks for the first time 

 in 1886, beginning April 1. In 18SS we made the date April 15, 

 and this date remained fixed until 1900, when at last the pitiful rem- 

 nant of wood duck, black duck and teal that bred in the State were 

 given a httle peace by the revival of the first of March as the beginning 

 of the close season. In the meantime, the opening of the season for 

 wood duck, black duck and teal had varied considerably but was finally 

 fixed at September 1, All other ducks can still be shot until May 20. 

 A special law was passed in 1888 to prohibit the pursuit of black 



1 Judd Sylvester, "History of Hadley," p. 354. 



