l68 ECONOMIC MAMMALOGY 



reaching and disastrous results. Hence legislation regarding one species 

 should be devised with as full knowledge as possible of its relation to 

 the whole environment, including all other species of the region, food 

 supply, enemies, and other factors. This idea is usually ignored by 

 legislators and game commissioners unfamiliar with the complexities 

 of nature. (2) Local conditions may require regulations of a certain 

 sort in one place, while conditions in another locality not far distant 

 may require very different treatment. Therefore conditions within 

 the whole area of the jurisdiction and often even beyond its confines 

 should be studied in devising the regulations. (3) Natural conditions 

 often change rapidly in limited districts and sometimes over large areas. 

 Epidemic diseases and changing food supplies often seriously affect 

 wild life. A harmful species may suddenly become so abundant in a 

 favorable season that it is advisable to give special encouragement to 

 its natural enemies which are usually kept in check. Many other possible 

 changes that would make changes in regulations necessary will occur to 

 every thoughtful reader. All these matters could be handled more effi- 

 ciently by a properly-constituted permanent commission, studying the 

 whole subject from year to year, than by any ordinary legislative as- 

 sembly, meeting occasionally, and whose personnel is constantly chang- 

 ing. 



The development of game laws in the United States during the past 

 300 years 1 has been marked by great differences in the definition of 

 game birds and mammals in various states and at various times. Among 

 the earliest American game laws were those providing special hunting 

 privileges and concessions in New Netherlands, Massachusetts and 

 New Jersey, in 1629, 1647 an d 1678. At the end of the colonial period 

 twelve of the thirteen colonies had game laws of some sort. Georgia 

 had close season on deer, New York on turkeys, heath hens, partridges 

 and quail, but the first close season on deer was in Massachusetts in 

 1694. Several colonies prohibited fire-hunting at night, and Massachu- 

 setts in 1710 prohibited hunting waterfowl in camouflaged boats or 

 canoes. Several had laws restricting the exportation of deer skins, 



1 Palmer, Chronology and index of the more important events in American game 

 protection, 1776-1911, U. S. Biol. Surv. Bull, No. 41, 1912, with summary of laws 

 on pp. 20-46. Summaries of state and federal game laws have been issued either 

 annually or biennially by the U. S. Dept. Agric. for many years, the one for 

 1927-1928 being Farmers' Bull., No. 1550; for 1928-1929, No. 1575; for 1929-1930, 

 No. 1616. The same department also issues directories of organizations and officials 

 connected with protection of game. For Alaska, Laws and regulations relating to 

 game, land fur-bearing animals and birds, U, S. Biol. Surv. Circular No. 5, 1928. 



