GAME-BIRDS 239 



But tlie seventy-five are sufficient to meet the re- 

 quirements of all sportsmen, if the sportsmen are 

 not too prodigal with their guns. After our great 

 object-lesson in destruction which took place dur- 

 ing the last three quarters of a century, when 98 

 per cent, of our native game was wiped out, such a 

 statement as the above is perhaps a bold one to 

 make. But modern methods of legislation and 

 conservation have satisfactorily demonstrated 

 that it is possible to rejuvenate the reduced stock 

 of game-birds to meet the increasing needs of the 

 time. We have sufficient hinds of game-birds left, 

 and if the sportsmen of the present and future will 

 cooperate in their proper protection there will 

 always be sufficient numbers. 



The Tragedy of the Water-Fowl 



This is not the place, however, to enter into a 

 discussion of conservation and protection. In- 

 stead we shall describe some of the causes which 

 led the United States to turn so seriously to them. 



As has been stated, the early settlers discov- 

 ered in America a veritable paradise of wild life, 

 both animal and bird. The writers of that day 

 were profuse in their expressions of wonder at 

 its abundance. And most numerous of all were 

 the water-fowl. The coastal bays were literally 

 covered with ducks and banked with countless 



