ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY 13 



So, under the conditions, if a youngster had any inclination whatever 

 for outdoor life, these natural surroundings would certainly develop it. 

 I have been a resident of Carlyle all my life, started at the hunting and 

 fishing game for amusement when I was a boy. and today finds me an 



enthusiast. I spend most of my spare time either hunting or fishing, but 

 neither is as good as it used to be. 



I give the above resume for the purpose of qualifying for a few remarks 

 and suggestions to follow on game and fish conservation — one will naturally 

 follow the other, that is if the state takes over certain territory, homes will 

 be preserved for both. Furthermore, permit me to state, that I served 

 fourteen years as game warden of my county, and this gave me the oppor- 

 tunity to study conditions in other parts outside of the vicinity of Carlyle. 

 During that period I had the chance to get in touch with the game condi- 

 tions in each and every one of the fifteen townships. One season quail, 

 or rabbits, or squirrels, might be plentiful, then scarce the next. They 

 seemed to come in waves, so to speak, depending largely upon the weather 

 conditions both in winter and during the breeding season. It was only a 

 few years ago that the river bottoms only a few miles northeast of Carlyle 

 — from two to three miles — were full of quail. Plenty of birds were left 

 over, remaining in the timber, but the water came up during the nesting 

 time, and the birds have never been plentiful in the timber since. The 

 high water also affects the rabbit and squirrel crop, as the severe winters 

 do the quail. 



At every session of the legislature we may expect to hear of the great 

 destruction of our game, especially the quail, by the hunters. From some 

 of the talks a person would imagine the sportsman to be the inveterate 

 enemy of wild animal and bird life, but they forget that we are the 

 fellows who are putting up the money for the only protection that they get, 

 and constantly on the alert for new schemes to increase the supply. 



We are spending thousands of dollars every year for game and fish 

 conservation in one way or another, but we seem to have hit the wrong 

 trail. We need an efficient warden system at all times, but more work 

 ought to be provided for them, for example giving them some game pre- 

 serves to look after. I suggest the following : 



First — The enactment of a law giving the state the right to acquire land 

 to be set aside as game preserves on which no hunting shall be permitted 

 at any time. 



Second — This having been done, some means should be provided for 

 making a study of such a system in other states, for example Pennsylvania. 

 If necessary appoint a special Commission of competent persons (not 

 politicians) to make a study of the proposition. 



It should be evident to every student of wild life that we can never 

 hope to maintain the supply by permitting the indiscriminate destruction 

 of the natural homes of the same. It is indeed a pity that the state did not 

 take the matter in hand years ago. There are thousands of acres of land, 

 especially in which there was timber, which should have been kept by the 

 state and the timber cut off in a systematic manner. This would have 

 served a double purpose — conserved the hardwood supply, and conserved 

 the game by maintaining homes for the same under state supervision. 



