150 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



and to-day there are probably not far 

 from five millions who are interested in 

 the pursuit of game! 



The enormous number of men in a 

 single State who hunt appears from a 

 statement of the Secretary of the Game 

 Commission of Pennsylvania, who says 

 that "during the season of 19 13 there 

 were 305,028 resident hunter's licenses 

 issued in this State. During the season 

 of 1 91 4, from reports at hand, there were 

 fully as many licenses issued. 



"When we consider that the landowner 

 with his tenants and their families may 

 hunt under the provisions of law without 

 paying this license, and add to this those 

 who hunt in violation of law, we are led 

 to believe that fully 100,000 more men 

 hunted in this State during each of these 

 seasons than were licensed, making all 

 together an army of more than 400,000 

 men, who, for a certain period and for 

 good reason, are permitted to destroy 

 game that in the aggregate amounts to 

 millions of pieces and thousands of tons 

 in weight." 



Large as the figures seem, and they are 

 the largest for any State in the Union, it 

 should be remembered that they repre- 

 sent but 5 per cent of the total population 

 of Pennsylvania, while in the Northwest, 

 notably in Idaho and Montana, more than 

 to per cent of all the people are licensed 

 hunters. 



What this army of five million hunters 

 means to the large and small game of 

 America can better be imagined than de- 

 scribed ! Modern guns and ammunition 

 are of the very best, and they are sold at 

 prices so low as to be within the reach 

 of all. Added to these very efficient 

 weapons for killing small game, are in- 

 numerable devices for killing waterfowl, 

 as sneak-boats, punt-guns, swivel-guns, 

 sail-boats, steam-launches, night floating, 

 night lighting, and others. 



While it is true that most of these de- 

 A r ices are illegal, they are nevertheless in 

 u^e at the present time, and in out-of- 

 the-way places offenders are difficult of 

 detection, especially as they are often 

 intrenched behind local sentiment, which 

 countenances and even encourages the 

 practice because "it brings money into 

 the countv." To the above devices for 



the destruction of game must be added 

 the automobile, and it may be doubted if 

 any other modern invention is so potent 

 for harm. It is possible for a party of 

 three or four in a speedy machine to hunt 

 over territory in a single morning that 

 formerly would have required a week or 

 more. 



MONEY VALUE OF GAME BIRDS 



Passing by for the moment all esthetic 

 considerations, the money value of the 

 vast number of game birds that breed 

 within the several States or visit them in 

 migration is so great as alone to entitle 

 the birds to careful protection. This 

 point of view is being taken by several 

 States Thus Oregon values her game 

 resources, which consist in no small part 

 of game birds, at five millions of dollars 

 annually, while Maine and California re- 

 spectively claim their game to be worth 

 twenty millions annually. 



To permit the extermination of any 

 part of this valuable food asset, valuable 

 alike to State and Nation, by continuing 

 the wasteful methods of the past is an. 

 economic crime against present and fu- 

 ture generations. And here it is impor- 

 tant to point out that while the majority 

 of our ducks, geese, and swans breed 

 outside our jurisdiction they winter 

 within our own borders. Failure ade- 

 quately to protect them, therefore, in 

 their winter quarters means their ulti- 

 mate extinction 



SALE OE GAME BIRDS 



Intimately connected with the problem 

 of conserving our wild game is the kill- 

 ing of game for market. Many of those 

 who have studied the subject earnestly 

 do not hesitate to express the conviction 

 that under the conditions now prevailing 

 in the United States the conservation of 

 our ducks, geese, and shorebirds is im- 

 possible if their sale in open market con- 

 tinues. 



In considering the present effect of the 

 sale of wild game, it must not be forgot- 

 ten that the demand for game in the 

 United States has enormously increased 

 in the last decade. Even with our pres- 

 ent population the market demand is in- 

 finitely greater than the supply, and all 



