in South Carolina 39 



Mr. John G. Chafee says that dove baiting prevails to a 

 large extent in Aiken county and that doves seem doomed 

 to extermination. Mr. Ashton Head of the same county 

 writes: ' 'Wheat fields have been sown for the last fifteen 

 years for dove shoots. I have known as many as four 

 hundred doves to be killed in one wheat field in one day." 

 Mr. H. M. Stuart of Beaufort says on this subject: "Dove 

 baiting prevails in my county in only a small way, but 

 they are overshot and their nesting places are becoming 

 scarce." Mr. Idis Brabham, Barnwell, writes: "Doves 

 will be exterminated in a very short time if dove baiting 

 continues. Dr. L. B. Bates of Calhoun believes that doves 

 are near extermination from baiting and shooting. He 

 writes: "Hundreds are killed in one afternoon. When 

 ground is plowed over and food is scarce they flock to 

 baited fields and are subjected to a merciless slaughter." 

 Mr. A. L. Youmans, Hampton, writes: "Dove baiting is 

 practiced in this county, is very destructive and should be 

 stopped." Mr. F. H. Arrants, Kershaw, believes that the 

 practice should be stopped. It prevails in his county to 

 some extent. Mr. B. F. Taylor, Richland, reports: "No 

 baiting, but fields uncut draw droves and they are 

 then shot in large numbers." Mr. W. C. White, Chester, 

 writes: "No real baiting but a good many are shot in their 

 feeding places, such as wheat and stubble weed fields. ' ' 



In allowing doves to be slaughtered over baited fields, 

 the reduction in numbers may not only affect South Caro- 

 lina, but other States as well. A letter for information on 

 this subject was sent to Dr. Wells W. Cooke, of the 

 Bureau of Biological Survey, the authority on bird migra- 

 tion in this country, and the following reply was received: 

 "Concerning the doves which winter in your neighborhood, 

 it is absolutely impossible to say where those particular 

 individuals nested. The probability is that you have with 

 you thru the winter some individuals which nested in 

 South Carolina, and also others which nested all the way 

 from there to southern Canada." 



If this be true, this State not only depletes her own crop 

 of doves but that of other States, also. Doves are among 



