68 The Water-fowl Family 



sions, in many places, that circumstances favor 

 the gunner, and many a conscientious man feels he 

 is justified in taking every advantage. But if our 

 wild ducks are to be preserved, even in present 

 numbers, self-sacrifice is necessary. In North 

 Dakota a law restricting each man's portion to 

 twenty-five birds has gone a long way to prevent 

 the wanton destruction of game. Rules restrict- 

 ing the quantity of game killed have long been 

 in use by many clubs with most excellent results, 

 and state legislation to this same effect, though 

 perhaps difficult to enforce, would undoubtedly be 

 of benefit. 



Market gunning has been responsible in many 

 instances for utter destruction of game, and the 

 high prices paid in the East for varieties of ducks 

 most excellent for the table have made it possible 

 for the pot-hunter to thrive. The result has been 

 a foregone conclusion, and the most famous resorts 

 along the Atlantic Coast have been stripped of 

 their wild fowl. With market gunning go hand 

 in hand all the illegal methods of killing, — shoot- 

 ing at night, the use of large-bore guns, in short, 

 any possible means to destroy game. With the 

 present facilities for cold storage, the market ca- 

 pacity is unlimited ; this evil, however, could be 

 effectually obviated, and by preventing the sale 

 and storing of wild fowl, probably more would be 

 done toward actual protection than by any other 



