The Audubon Societies 



107 



beneficial laws and their enforcement. This 

 same legislative body at the request of a 

 few selfishly interested sportsmen repealed 

 the law of 1903, stopping the spring shoot- 

 ing of Shore Birds or Snipe. The bill was 

 so ingeniously drawn that these birds may 

 be shot whenever they can be found in the 

 state, the close season being so arranged 

 that it covers the period when the birds are 

 not found in the state. Governor Murphy 

 approved the bill, notwithstanding the fact 

 that its retrograde and harmful character 

 was pointed out to him by well-known 

 ornithologists. His act was one more nail 

 in the coffin of this class of birds, which are 

 rapidly disappearing, owing to the wasteful 

 and sinful practice of shooting them while 

 on their migration to the breeding-grounds. 



Virginia also took a retrograde step by 

 repealing the law of 1903, giving protection 

 to the Hawks and Owls; these unfortunate 

 but entirely beneficial birds were placed in 

 the excepted class. 



The legislature also added to the excepted 

 birds Wilson's Snipe and the Knot, com- 

 monly known as the Robin-snipe. An at- 

 tempt was made to exempt all of the Bay 

 Birds or Snipe from protection, but a few of 

 the legislators who have always shown a 

 very decided and intelligent interest in the 

 preservation of the birds of their common- 

 wealth made so strenuous a fight that the 

 law protecting Snipe in the spring of the 

 year was not repealed except so far as it 

 applied to Wilson's and the Robin-snipe. 



The model law was introduced in the 

 legislature of Iowa, but it was not adopted, 

 although the secretary of the Schaller So- 

 ciety, Miss Hamand, spent three weeks at 

 the Capitol at the request of the National 

 Committee, endeavoring to have this bill 

 and an anti-pigeon shooting bill passed. 

 The committee to whom the model law bill 

 was referred reported adversely upon it on 

 the ground that the bill was too drastic. It 

 is a singular commentary on the intelligence 

 of a committee that it can report a bill as 

 too drastic that is drawn solely in the in- 

 terest of agriculture; a political bill might 

 be considered too drastic, but a bill for the 

 preservation of birds, which are the greatest 

 check nature provides for keeping down the 



myriads of insect pests that are always work- 

 ing against the interests of the farmer, can- 

 not be made too strong; it is a case where 

 men are called upon to act on a matter they 

 know nothing of and are either too careless 

 or indifferent, or give too little time intelli- 

 gently to study the subject themselves, and 

 who, for some reason, are unwilling to ac- 

 cept the statements made by scientists who 

 are competent to give them expert advice. 



Fortimately the anti-pigeon shooting bill 

 was passed, so that Iowa now has stopped 

 this barbarous sport, and has thus removed 

 a stain from her good name. 



In Ohio, the mass of citizens stood idly by 

 and let a handful of the lowest class of 

 sportsmen insist upon the passage of a bill 

 removing protection from a bird as abso- 

 lutely beneficial as the Dove. The legis- 

 lator who introduced this bill came from 

 Darke county. What a happy coincidence 

 between the name of the county and this 

 legislation : Darke, dark— either way you 

 spell the word the significance is the same. 



The introducer of the bill stated that he 

 had no apology to offer, and that he could 

 see no reason why the state of Ohio should 

 fatten Doves that the people in the South 

 might shoot them in the fall. This shows 

 the importance of a uniform and strong sen- 

 timent throughout the whole country for the 

 protection of non-game birds ; it also illus- 

 trates very forcibly the influence that the 

 action of the citizens of one state have over 

 those of another state. 



It is sincerely hoped that the better class 

 of sportsmen in Ohio were not a party to 

 this legislation and will not participate in 

 the wasteful practice of killing as harmless, 

 innocent and valuable a bird as the Dove. 



Unfortunately ten days were added to the 

 open season for shooting wild fowl in the 

 spring; this is a backward step, much to be 

 regretted, and not at all in line with the 

 best sentiment of the present time. A bill 

 permitting the trapping and caging of Car- 

 dinals was also introduced, but was fortu- 

 nately defeated, although only by the nar- 

 row margin of two votes. 



In Mississippi the model law was adopted, 

 and that commonwealth now has the honor 

 of having joined those states that are taking 



