64 Decrease of Birds 



possible. In the general settling up of the country special 

 attention should and must be paid to the protection and 

 encouragement of birds, by leaving trees and shrubs which 

 will provide food, shelter and nesting sites. There are 

 spots on every lot and farm where the wild food plants of 

 birds can be made to grow. Fencerows and hedges should 

 be allowed to remain uncleared. 



There are sections of swamp land and some of the coast 

 islands, owned by the State, which will never be suitable 

 for agricultural purposes. By legislative enactment cer- 

 tain areas should be set aside as reserves upon which birds 

 might live and breed in safety. 



One observer suggests doing away with modern fire- 

 arms. Some of the most destructive guns should certainly 

 be prohibited by law, and until that time comes, no man 

 who regards the protection of game as important should 

 ever use one. In the old days skill in bagging the game 

 was more in the man than in the gun. Some of the 

 weapons in use today, in the certainty of their slaughter- 

 ous effects, leave no room for the element of sport. 



As regards the suggestion that the game and fish laws 

 be made intelligible, there is no doubt that complications 

 arising from the lack of stability and uniformity of these 

 laws, and the differences in the dates of the "open season," 

 result in a lack of understanding and respect, and 

 encourage violations. Many persons report that Quail are 

 killed in the Dove season before the Quail season opens. 



Local legislation is usually at the instigation of individu- 

 als who are working for their own private, selfish interests 

 at the expense of the game and the public. The keynote 

 of modern game legislation is uniformity. There should 

 be no "cloudy laws". State laws on migratory birds 

 should be made by legislative enactment to harmonize with 

 federal regulations. The seasons also should be made to 

 agree. 



The blood test to be applied to any bill introduced into 

 the State legislature affecting bird life, is this: Is it for 

 the protection of the birds? If a plain answer cannot be 

 given in the affirmative, the public should demand the 



