THE OOLOGIST 



165 



ly a staple article of food among 

 many Indian tribes, and their excep- 

 tional flavor is said to be little, if 

 any, inferior to that of the celery-fed 

 canvas-back of the east. Prized alike 

 by the sportsman and by spicure the 

 ranks of the canvas-back have been 

 depleted by the relentless pursuit to 

 which it has been subjected. How- 

 ever, the greater number of these 

 ducks breed far to the northward 

 where they are safe, and under pres- 

 ent laws their number should increase 

 to something like their former abund- 

 ance." 



Despite this country's present vast 

 wealth in game birds, according to 

 the writer, they would soon be shot 

 away but for proper protection. As 

 it is, he continues, the number of 

 game birds today are quite insignifi- 

 cant when compared to the abundance 

 of former days. Destruction of for- 

 mer breeding places by drainage and, 

 more especially, the relentless pur- 

 suit with firearms, are the causes as- 

 signed for the falling off of supply. 

 Mr. Henshaw writes: 



"The statements of the early chroni- 

 clers regarding the multitudes of 

 ducks, plover, and wild pigeons al- 

 most defy belief. When, in the 

 records of the first part of the last 

 century, one reads of clouds of pig- 

 eons that required three days to pass 

 a given point in a continuous moving 

 stream, and again of flocks estimated 

 to contain more than 2,000,000,000 

 birds, credulity is taxed to the limit. 

 Yet not only one such flock was ob- 

 served, but they were of periodic oc- 

 currence during many years of our 

 early history, and the accounts of 

 them are too well attested to be 

 doubted. As throwing a curious side- 

 light on the abundance of wild fowl 

 and the hardships to which the slaves 

 of the period were subjected, I quote 

 from Grinnel, who states that 'in early 



days slave owners, who hired out 

 their slaves, stipulated in the con- 

 tract that the canvas-back ducks 

 would not be fed to them more than 

 twice each week." 



A high money value is placed on our 

 game resources. Mr. Henshaw states 

 that Oregon values her game re- 

 sources, consisting largely of game 

 birds, at $5,000,000 a year, while Cali- 

 fornia and Maine each claim their 

 game to be worth $20,000,000 a year, 

 which suggests the enormous aggre- 

 gate value of the country's game. Mr. 

 Henshaw concludes his communication 

 with an expression of the belief that 

 the government and the people of the 

 country should do all in their power 

 to protect and to bring about a right- 

 ful use this rich heritage. 



W. A. Strong. 



Edward Reinecke. 



A letter of September 18th brings 

 the sad news of the death of Edward 

 Reinecke, of Buffalo, New York, a son 

 of Ottomar Reinecke, who is known 

 to all bird students from coast to 

 coast, which occurred on the first of 

 August at the end of a long sickness. 



The father says: 'In all my scienti- 

 fic researches he was my faithful com- 

 panion and help. My collection was 

 largely accumulated by his help. I 

 shall miss him the balance of my exist- 

 ence." 



While the Editor never had the 

 pleasure of meeting Mr. Edward Rein- 

 ecke, we have no doubt of his scientific 

 and painstaking characteristics, as 

 many specimens in our collection bear 

 data showing them to have been taken 

 by Edward Reinecke, and they are all 

 absolutely A-l. 



We extend our sympathy to our 

 friend, Ottomar Reinecke, in his hour 

 of trouble. 



