144 WILD LIFE PROTECTION FUND 



and hour by hour is diminishing, and their natural pro- 

 tecting cover is being taken away from them. Nothing 

 but quick work and strong and intelligent work is going 

 to save any grouse and quail shooting anywhere in the 

 United States for the future generations of sportsmen. 



As instances of what sportsmen can do when they reso- 

 lutely make up their minds, take the case of the geese and 

 ducks of the United States. The stoppage of the sale of 

 game and spring shooting has not only saved the sport of 

 duck-shooting, but it has greatly increased it over what it 

 was even ten years ago. Today it is the universal testi- 

 mony that the supply of ducks and geese has enormously 

 increased — since the migratory bird law was enacted. In 

 the Mississippi Valley region there are more ducks in the 

 air and on the water than have been seen at any past time 

 during the last twenty years. As an exhibit I take great 

 pleasure in quoting four paragraphs from a letter just re- 

 ceived from Mr. J. N. Darling ("Ding"), the famous car- 

 toonist, who is an ardent, but conservative, duck hunter : 



"It was very remarkable to note the wonderful increase 

 of all kinds of game birds due to the fact that for two years 

 most of the hunters were either in France or so busily occu- 

 pied with war work that they did not have time to go out 

 and slaughter the game. Last season's flight of ducks up 

 and down the Mississippi and Missouri valley was the larg- 

 est by common consent for the last twenty years. It re- 

 minded me of the days of my boyhood, when the flocks of 

 ducks during migration extended from horizon to horizon. 

 Also it was a shame to note what little regard the average 

 hunter had for the limit set upon the day's shoot. 



"The law against spring shooting seems to be better ob- 

 served this season than ever before, though I hear occa- 

 sionally of some hunters who are going out and violating 

 the law without any serious attempt to interfere. 



"The bag limit here in the West is limited mostly to 

 twenty-five birds a day, in some cases fifteen, and I am in- 



