526 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 



Gradually legislators are awakening to the increas- 

 ing scarcity of bird life about us, and to a compre- 

 hension of the invaluable services performed by the 

 birds for agriculture. It has taken the public a long 

 time to begin to comprehend what these services mean, 

 and it is yet, standing only at the threshold of this 

 knowledge. But having made this small beginning, 

 our faith may be strong that this interest will increase, 

 and that before long the birds will be generally recog- 

 nized as a natural resource of this country which should 

 be conserved. 



In a number of the States and provinces the 

 law now provides that there shall be no spring shoot- 

 ing; that non-game birds shall not be killed nor their 

 nests and eggs disturbed, and that the shooting seasons 

 shall be short not more than two, or at most three 

 months. In some States the laws provide that only a 

 limited number of birds may be taken during one day 

 or during one season. This provision should obtain 

 everywhere, as well as the now very generally accepted 

 view that game birds shall not be sold. In many States 

 we have excellent laws, which, however, lack some- 

 thing of satisfactory enforcement. 



