Conservation Commission 199 



this is the greatest recommendation for the so-called " buck law," 

 as it has a great tendency to save human life. A sportsman 

 afield hunting deer, with the law as it is now framed, is very 

 careful to ascertain if it is a buck that he is shooting at, thereby 

 avoiding hunting accidents, which occurred very often in the 

 past when hunters could kill either a buck or a doe, as a move 

 in the brush meant a shot from the hunter, and too late it was 

 found that he had killed either his guide or his hunting 

 companion. 



THE HOUSE CAT 

 Mr. Edward H. Forbush, State Ornithologist of Massachusetts, 

 makes a claim that a mature cat in good hunting grounds kills on 

 an average fifty birds a year. The old cat that wanders off into 

 the fields and woods is terribly destructive. Mr. William 

 Brewster tells of an acquaintance in Maine who said that his cat 

 killed about fifty birds a year. When asked why he did not get 

 another cat, he said that it would be of no use, for they were all 

 alike. Another gentleman by the name of A. C. Dyke writes that 

 his family owned a cat which was well cared for and a particular 

 pet. They watched it through one season, and found that it 

 killed fifty-eight birds, including the young in five nests. Nearly 

 a hundred correspondents scattered throughout all the counties of 

 the State report the cat as one of the greatest enemies of the 

 birds. There is no doubt that the predatory house cat is one of 

 the destructive enemies to our game and insectivorous birds. I 

 do not hesitate to recommend that a law be enacted providing that 

 "Any person may and it shall be the duty of every game pro- 

 tector to kill cats found afield." 



ASSAULTS 



On April 5, 1914, Protector Samuel S. Taylor was assaulted 

 and killed in the vicinity of Rome. The following resolution was 

 passed by the Division Chief Protectors at a meeting held at 

 Albany on April 21, 1914: 



" Whereas, the wise hand of Providence has seen fit to re- 

 move from our midst, our highly esteemed and respected 

 game protector, Samuel S. Taylor, of Madison county, while 

 in the performance of his duty ; and 



