14 CHRONOLOGY AND INDEX. 



LOCAL LAWS. 



In several of the States protection of game was first afforded in the 

 form of local laws. Thus the first law in Texas established a close 

 season for quail on Galveston Island; the first in California applied 

 to only a few counties; in Louisiana, to St. Bernard Parish; in Mis- 

 souri, to St. Louis County; and in New York, to the counties on 

 Long Island and near New York City; while an early law of Missis- 

 sippi was one authorizing police boards of counties to pass ordinances 

 for the protection of game. The first close seasons in Alabama were 

 established in three counties in the southwestern part of the State. 

 As time went on, local laws in some States increased greatly in num- 

 ber and resulted in considerable confusion. Such legislation was 

 especially popular in Alabama, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, 

 North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. 

 Many of these local laws are comparatively recent, having been 

 enacted within the last 25 years. In Tennessee under the constitu- 

 tion of 1870 and in Texas under the constitution of 1875 special pro- 

 visions were made permitting local game legislation. On the other 

 hand, several of the States prohibited local legislation by constitu- 

 tional provisions, notably Pennsylvania in 1874, Kentucky in 1894, 

 and Alabama in 1901, thus putting an end to the complexity of local 

 regulations and greatly simplifying the game laws in these States. 

 Congress in 1886 adopted a general provision prohibiting local game 

 laws in any of the Territories, a provision incorporated in the con- 

 stitutions of the Dakotas, Montana, and possibly one or two other 

 States admitted about that time. Recently both Virginia and Ten- 

 nessee repealed most of their local laws and substituted general 

 statutes, and at the present time comparatively few States depend 

 on local legislation for the protection of their game. 



CLOSE SEASONS. 



It is interesting to note the gradual adoption of the close season 

 as a means for the protection of various kinds of game during the 

 204 years from 1694 to 1898. Following are the dates of the first 

 close seasons for various kinds of game, beginning with deer in 

 Massachusetts and ending with European partridges in Vermont in 

 1898: 



1694. Deer (Massachusetts). 



1708. Heath hens, ruffed grouse, quail, 



wild turkeys (New York). 

 1791. Woodcock (New York). 

 1818. Snipe (Massachusetts). 

 1820. Rabbits (New Jersey). 

 1830. Moose (Maine). 

 1841. Squirrels (Pennsylvania). 

 1846. Ducks (Rhode Island). 



1850. Doves(Conn acticut and New Jersey) 



1851. Prairie chickens (Wisconsin). 



1852. Antelope, elk (California). 

 1859. Rail (Pennsylvania). 

 1861. Goats, sheep (Nevada). 

 1864. Buffalo (Idaho). 



1870. Caribou (Maine). 



1882. Introduced pheasants (Oregon). 



1898. European partridges (Vermont). 



