148 



Bird - Lore 



and goes far to allay the feeling of disap- 

 pointment among the members of the 

 Audubon Society and the New York 

 members of this Association. It will pro- 

 vide a large fund for the use of the game 

 commission in protection and education, 

 and will be a very potent factor in sup- 

 pressing illegal shooting and enabling 

 the game wardens to identify violators of 

 the law. Hereafter, any one found hunt- 

 ing must have his license upon his person 

 at the time, and must show it to any officer 

 or other person on demand. The fact that 

 a hunter has not a license on his person 

 constitutes a violation of the law. 



The amendments that the Audubon 

 Society of New York and this Association 

 desired, were as follows: To stop the 

 shooting of Brant on January first, making 

 the law for this species of wild fowl the 

 same as for Ducks, Geese and Swan, and 

 also to prohibit the possession of wild fowl, 

 except during the open season, instead 

 of for sixty days thereafter; to make uni- 

 form open seasons throughout the state 

 for shore birds; to give protection to the 

 valuable species of Hawks, and to prohibit 

 the sale of wild birds' plumage, irrespec- 

 tive of whether said bird was captured or 

 killed within or without this state. 



Commissioner Whipple was urged to 

 admit these suggested and necessary 

 amendments in the revision bill, but he 

 was unwilling to hazard the passage of the 

 bill as originally introduced, providing, 

 among other things, the license feature, 

 and he refused to have them made a part 

 of the revision. He, however, is in sym- 

 pathy with the proposed amendments, 

 and has promised to give his support at 

 the next session of the Legislature to a 

 further effort for their adoption. — W. D. 



Massachusetts. — Early in the legis- 

 lative session in Massachusetts, we were 

 put on the defensive by a bill, introduced 

 by Senator Treadway, of Berkshire, to 

 abolish the commission on fisheries and 

 game. This bill was defeated in committee, 

 and the petitioners were given leave to 

 withdraw. 



A bill was introduced by the State Board 



of Agriculture for the purpose of establish- 

 ing the position of State Ornithologist. 

 The Ornithologist of the Board of Agri- 

 culture has been an unpaid official. This 

 bill establishes an official ornithologist 

 with a salary and an appropriation for 

 travelling expenses, apparatus, etc. The 

 bill passed both Houses without opposition, 

 and was approved by the Governor on 

 March 19th. 



House Bill No. 1,321 (new draft), pro- 

 tecting gray squirrels at all times until 

 October, 1910, passed and received the 

 signature of the Executive on March 23. 



A local statute (House, No. 510), pro- 

 hibiting the use of boats in the pursuit of 

 wild fowl in certain Edgartown waters, 

 was passed, and, on March 31, was ap- 

 proved by the Governor. 



The attempt to secure a law giving 

 deputies or game wardens the right of 

 search without a warrant, which has failed 

 for so many years, was renewed this year. 

 This privilege is essential if the bird and 

 game laws are to be enforced. The bill 

 was reported by the Committee on Fish- 

 eries and Game, but was defeated over- 

 whelmingly in the House. The commis- 

 sioners on fisheries and game consulted 

 with the legislative committee and a new 

 draft was framed and substituted, which 

 passed both Houses. This bill (House, 

 No. 1,279) was signed by the Governor 

 on April 20th. It gives the officers power 

 to request those suspected of violating the 

 law to exhibit any bird, fish, or other ani- 

 mals in their possession. Upon the refusal 

 of the suspect to comply with the request, 

 the officer may arrest without a warrant. 

 The passage of this Act was largely due 

 to the persistency of Dr. George W. Field, 

 chairman of the commissioners on fish- 

 eries and game. 



The scarcity of upland game birds gave 

 rise to a sentiment in favor of a close sea- 

 son of one year or more and several close- 

 season bills were introduced. Finally, 

 a bill (House, No. 505), introduced by 

 the Massachusetts Fish and Game Pro- 

 tective Association, was passed as a com- 

 promise measure, and on April 24 it 

 received the signature of the Governor. 



