A PLEA FOR THE UNPROTECTED 



the only birds that search out and kill 

 the insidious, destructive borer. 



In some States, too, the hare is unpro- 

 tected by any law, and it is common cus- 

 tom to hunt it, even so late as April, for 

 the mere sake of killing, apparently ; or 

 perhaps the charm of the hound's music, 

 which makes the butchery of Adiron- 

 dack deer so delightful a sport to some, 

 adds a zest to the slaughter of these in- 

 nocents though, be it said, there is 

 no comparison in the marksmanship re- 

 quired. Alive, the northern hare is one 

 of the most harmless of animals ; dead, 

 he is, in the opinion of most people, one 

 of the most worthless ; so worthless that 

 hunters frequently leave the result of all 

 their day's " sport " in the woods where 

 they were killed. Yet the hare is le- 

 gitimate game, and should be hunted 

 as such, and only in proper seasons, 

 and not be ruthlessly exterminated. A 

 woodland stroll is the pleasanter if one 

 sees a hare there in his brown summer 

 suit, or white as the snow about him in 

 his winter furs. 



Where there are no statute laws for 

 the protection of game and harmless 

 I S 2 



