The Audubon Societies 



49 



protection. He prepared and had pub- 

 lished the laws of the state, and has fur- 

 nished many articles to the press on the 

 subject of birds, game and fish; for the 

 General Assembly has added to the usual 

 burden by giving control of non-migra- 

 torv fish to the Audubon Society. 



From the beginning of the year, the 

 secretary has kept up a series of articles 

 in the daily and weekly newspapers of the 

 state, treating at length almost every 

 phase of the question, and educating the 

 people to a higher knowledge of the value 

 ■of bird life. This campaign is still being 

 kept up. 



Tlie society has now a regular member- 

 ship of 500, and is growing fast. 



GENERAL CONDITION 



When the Audubon Society took charge, 

 there had never been any concerted at- 

 tempt to enforce the game and fish laws, 

 although two years before (1905) the 

 American Ornithologists Union law had 

 teen adopted. 



Up to a few years ago the state was com- 

 posed of large plantations, and this is 

 still the rule over much of its area. The 

 state has an area of some 30,000 square 

 miles, or a little less than 20,000,000 acres. 

 Of this, probably not exceding 5,000,000 

 acres are under cultivation, the rest being 

 wild land, several million acres being 

 river swamp. 



From early days South Carolina has had 

 a variety and an abundance of birds, game 

 and fish, natural fastness preventing their 

 extermination. Within recent years, with 

 the introduction of rapid-fire guns, and 

 the propensity of the negro to slaughter 

 anything with fur or feathers on it, vast 

 inroads have been made on the game and 

 on the birds. This condition accentuates 

 the need for protection. 



Deer exist only in a few counties and 

 on the private preserves or in a few large 

 swamps; same of bear. Doves have been 

 slaughtered ruthlessly by northern visi- 

 tors to Aiken and Camden, and by native 

 gunners; sometimes several thousand are 

 bagged in a day by one party of gunners. 



The Dove now has no protection, being 



listed as a game bird but having no closed 

 season. Turkeys have been increasing, 

 owing to the disappearance of their chief 

 enemy, the wild cat, but the disastrous 

 freshet of the present summer decimated 

 young turkeys. Deer also suffered by 

 being out on the uplands, where they fell 

 easy victims to prowlers with shotguns. 

 A case is authentic where a fifteen-year 

 old boy killed thirteen deer in a day, on an 

 island in one of the rivers where the ani- 

 mals had taken refuge from high water. 



Up to last winter the sale of game birds 

 vi^ent on without check in every part of the 

 state, more than ten thousand (10,000) 

 Partridges (Quail) being found in cold 

 storage at three hotels, in Aiken county, 

 within ten days. This has now been 

 stopped, and the sale of game birds, is rare 

 and always done under cover. 



Nonpareils, Cardinals, Bluebirds, and 

 other non-game birds have been shipped 

 out of the state in quantities; but this has 

 also been stopped. The Southern Express 

 Company, and the various railroads, have 

 lent assistance in stopping the traffic in 

 game and in non-game birds. 



Reports from over fifty (50) wardens 

 show a decided improvement in all lines. 



At least two rookeries of Snowy Herons 

 have been located and reported. 



Without being able to give a full de- 

 tailed report of convictions, several hun- 

 dred have been secured. The offenses 

 were (a) violation of fish laws, and these 

 were most numerous; (b) violations of 

 laws for protection of non-game birds; 

 (c) violations of game laws. 



ANNU.-\L MEETING AND RECOMMENDATIONS 



The society held its annual meeting 

 in Columbia, in the chapel of the Univer- 

 sity of South Carolina, on October 28. 

 All the old officers were reelected but a new 

 board of directors was chosen. 



The society passed a resolution favoring 

 the naming of a state fish and game 

 commissioner, to have active charge of 

 wardens and to relieve the society of this 

 burden. The society also favored a resi- 

 dent hunter's license of one dollar. 



The work is being activelv maintained, 



