THE GAME BREEDER 43 



and Tennessee, which were liberated in shooting on lands which do not belong 



the more accessible portions, of our ter- to them, without paying for it and by 



ritory. Some few birds were obtained counting onj the good nature of the land 



from Florida and these retained their owners for their negative permission to 



distinctive marking through the third do so. 



generation, being much darker on the A weakness of our legislation lies in 



throat and breast. These birds were the fact that not sufficient police power 



even smaller than the Western quail but is provided to secure enforcement and 



caught up with them in about five years, the further fact that even if there were 



After the almost total destruction of sufficient police power it would be exceed- 

 our native birds by snow storms the lib- ingly difficult to obtain a strict enforce- 

 erated quail, let out in March, nested ment of the bag limits. A greater weak- 

 freely and replenished the preserve by ness still lies in the fact that our legis- 

 the following autumn. The Florida lation is not founded on the right prin- 

 birds increased more rapidly, that is to ciple. It aims at protection only by en- 

 say, produced larger bevies than any of deavoring to restrict the number of birds 

 the birds that we liberated, but we very killed instead of striving for means by 

 quickly desisted from buying them be- which the amount of game can be in- 

 cause we found that a whole bevy would creased. If the amount of game in a 

 light in trees instead of on the ground ; district can be increased the restrictions 

 although it is fair to say that subse- as to the bag limit may become a matter 

 quently they outgrew this habit and acted of indifference. In extreme cases too 

 like the original native birds. much restriction of shooting may even 



The success of the transplanting I effect a decrease. For example, it is a 



have just described really depended on well-known fact that on a Southern plan- 



the maintenance of our preserve. Left tation where all shooting of quail is 



to themselves, without adequate protec- stopped for a series of years the number 



tion, the birds would have succumbed of birds on that plantation tends to de- 



quickly to the free shooting that prevails crease. 



on unprotected land. This brings up the On the other side of the ocean, and 



important question of the value of the especially in England and Scotland, they 



preserve in the protection of game, go at the problem in a very different 



Probably no other one factor is of way. Instead of a mass of laws which 



greater importance than the preserve in would require for their enforcement a 



increasing the supply. Speaking broad- great police force they adopt this course : 



ly, there are two ways of attempting to for all practical purposes they say to the 



protect game — that practiced in this land owners — "You are more concerned 



country and that practiced in Europe in the preservation and increase of the 



and it is worth while to attempt to com- supply of game than any one else. If 



pare the two methods. In this country we can make it worth while, your selfish 



we have a mass of detailed legislation, interests will turn you into a great vol- 



all well meant and with the honest pur- unteer army of game wardens and save 



pose of protecting the game supply. The the state the expense, bother and care 



chief characteristic is a multitude of re- of maintaining a police force for the en- 



strictions regulating how game shall be forcement of its game laws." So the 



shot or captured and imposing limits on land owners have been given the benefit 



the daily or season's bag for each indi- of two rather simple weapons of legis- 



vidual sportsman. Practically all these lation — a trespass law which has effec- 



laws ignore the rights of the farmers and tually reduced the army of shooters. An 



other owners of the land and whether by interesting point about the gun licenses 



intention or not, are framed almost en- in England is that they are sold to all 



tirely in the interests of that very large alike, resident or non-resident, for short 



class of sportsmen who come from the periods or for the year, and the highest 



cities and towns and who obtain their price charged is $15. 



