I02 



Bird - Lore 



introduced, together with a Hunter's License 

 Bill. A joint hearing before the Game 

 Committees of both Houses was held, and it 

 is an interesting fact that not a voice was 

 heard at the hearing in opposition to them. 

 Both of these bills have passed the Assembly 

 and are now before the Senate for action . It is 

 with great pleasure that we call the attention 

 of the citizens of New Jersey to the speeches 

 made in behalf of the anti-spring shooting 

 bill, and also for the most advanced bird 

 and game protection by Assemblymen 

 Crowther, of Middlesex; Fake, of Bergen, 

 and Hahn, of Essex. 



South Carolina. — A bill incorporating 

 the Audubon Society of South Carolina was 

 passed by the legislature. This law is 

 exactly like the one in North Carolina, and 

 gives the Audubon Society of the state all 

 "the powers and duties of a game commission. 



Secretary Pearson will spend a large part 

 of April in organizing and starting the new 

 organization, so that the same efficient game 

 and bird protection may be had in South 

 Carolina that has obtained in North Carolina 

 ^ince the Audubon Society of that state was 

 vested with its present powers. 



How necessary it is to have an organiza- 

 tion to enforce the bird and game laws of 

 South Carolina will be shown by a quota- 

 tion from a letter recently received from 

 Sumter : 



"About February 21 the first Robins 

 made their appearance in this vicinity, and 

 almost immediately a wholesale slaughter 

 began. Boys just large enough to hold a 

 gun (many with slingshots), men and e'ven 

 luomen, all joined in the 'sport.' You can 

 hardly look out on the streets that you do 

 not see some one passing with a string of a 

 dozen or more birds. They seem to vie with 

 each other to see who can kill the most. 

 Only last evening, the gentleman with 

 whose family we board came in after only 

 a few hours' gunning with a bag of Robins. 

 You think, when every one, almost, that you 

 meet is bent upon the self-same errand, that 

 it is a wonder there are any Robins left to 

 continue the journey northward. 



"There is a splendidly organized Civic 

 ^League here, and I have thought that pos- 



sibly they might take the matter up, if it 

 were placed before them in the proper light. 

 I spoke to one of the members the other 

 day, and she promised to mention the matter 

 at the next meeting. Can you not send each 

 of them one of your leaflets on the subject? 

 "This is the heart of the cotton-growing 

 industry of South Carolina, and I believe 

 that if the subject were placed in the hands 

 of a few of the leading men, something 

 might come from it." 



Alabama. — The bill spoken of in the 

 January number of Bird-Lore passed both 

 branches of the legislature and was signed 

 by the Governor, and it is now a law in 

 this state. It is without doubt the most 

 advanced and drastic game law now in force 

 in the country. By appointment of the 

 Governor, the Honorable John H. Wallace, 

 Jr., has been made the Game Commissioner 

 of the state, and this means that the new 

 law will be enforced, for he is a most ardent 

 protector and has a very high conception of 

 the value of birds to agriculture, and also 

 that they are one of the assets of a state and 

 should be conserved in every possible way. 



Pennsylvania. — A very radical retrograde 

 step has been taken in this state, and it is 

 understood that the legislation was approved 

 by the Fish and Game Commission. A bill 

 was introduced and has been passed by both 

 branches of the legislature to repeal the anti- 

 spring-shooting law. It has been stated that 

 this will not result in the killing of more 

 than ten thousand Ducks in the spring, but 

 when we consider that that means that there 

 will be at least a shortage of sixty thousand 

 Ducks in the following fall, the offspring of 

 those killed in the spring, there is no ques- 

 tion whatever regarding the great wrong 

 that has been done the wild fowl. 



West Virginia. — This state has just 

 adopted by a practically unanimous vote of 

 both branches of the legislature the model 

 law. Senator Hazlett introduced the bill and 

 successfully accomplished its passage. The 

 bird-lovers of the state are under great obli- 

 gations to him for his public spirit and his 

 high appreciation of good civics. 



