NATURAL HISTORY. 



5* 



I found that there were 28 islands belong- 

 ing to the State of Louisiana on . which 

 birds were breeding; once in great num- 

 bers, now only in small colonies. I also 

 found that there were 7 islands belong- 

 ing to the Federal government that ought 

 to be set aside for a game preserve. 



I went to Washington, consulted Dr. T, 

 S. Palmer, 3d vice-president of the L. A. S., 

 and gave him an outline of my proposition. 1 



He took up the matter with Secretary 

 Wilson, with the result that on the 5th day 

 of October President Roosevelt signed the 

 order, creating and dedicating "Breton 

 Island Reservation" as a game preserve for- 

 ever. 



Breton island lies 100 miles South of 

 the mainland of the State of Mississippi. 

 The island is 12 miles long, % of a mile 

 wide and contains several ponds of fresh 

 water. It will in time make an ideal place 

 for the wild sea ducks to winter, and as 

 at least 300,000 of them will be saved from 

 market hunters every year, one can readily 

 see what the increase will amount to as the 

 years go by. The Old Harbor islands are 

 3 in number and contain about 1,000 acres. 

 Here the royal tern, the laughing gull, the 

 black skimmer and the least tern live and 

 breed. When I was there a majestic flock 

 of 500 frigate birds \. tre sailing high over 

 the waters of the gulf, in fancied security. 



Free Masons' islands are 3 in number. 

 They cover probably 10,000 acres, and sea 

 birds breed extensively on them. 



The Department of ■ Agriculture will 

 doubtless put a warden on the new Reser- 

 vation and will cultivate various plants 

 suitable for food of these resident and mi- 

 gratory birds, and in time this will become 

 the greatest sea bird preserve on our 

 Southern coast. 



I should like to tell you about the fish 

 and the fishing out among these islands, 

 especially that of the lordly tarpon, 7 to 

 9 feet in length ; but that is another story. 

 Besides I have your promise that next 

 summer you will go out with me to try 

 your skill in these same waters. 



DO WILD DUCKS COMMIT SUICIDE? 



A sportsman writes of watching a wild 

 duck which he had wounded. He said it 

 dived and never came up, and he asked, 



"Do they ever fasten themselves to grass 

 in the bottom -and thus commit suicide?" 



I do not think they do. They have too 

 many tricks at command to think of any- 

 thing of that kind. One circumstance comes 

 to my mind which shows the cunning of 

 these wild birds. 



I was shooting on a small creek last fall 

 and winged a black duck, which rose some 

 distance from me. He dropped in the creek, 

 which was not more than 20 feet across. 



As I went through the brush to where he 

 fell, he saw me before I had time to shoot 

 and he dived. The water was still, and the 

 creek shallow. I could see by the ripple 

 his exact course. He swam about 50 feet 

 and then rose for breath, with just his bill 

 out of water; and then did not stay up 

 more than a second. I was not accus- 

 tomed to such tactics. When I found that 

 was all I was likely to see of him I 

 commenced to shoot at the little black bill 

 as often as it showed above water. It was 

 quick work. I had to move as fast as he 

 swam and I did not have a sidewalk to 

 travel on. I fired 4 or 5 shots at his bill 

 and then I heard a little rustle in the crip- 

 ple brush which closely fringed the creek. 

 I thought, he was going out and that I. 

 should lose him, after all. I went along to 

 where I heard the noise, waded out as far 

 as I could, and looked up and down the 

 creek, but nothing was to be seen of the 

 duck. I was departing with downcast eyes, 

 when lo ! there he was dead, not 6 feet 

 from me. 



I can easily imagine how it was with the 

 gentleman who rowed out to where the 

 duck disappeared and failed to see him come 

 to the surface, especially if there was a 

 ripple on the water. Even if there was not, 

 he would not be likely to see the little bill 

 come up with so much water around him. 

 Again, he might have been directly over the 

 duck. 



I heard a man tell of such an incident a 

 few days ago. He was chasing a duck 

 which he had wounded. He was out of 

 ammunition and once nearly had a chance 

 to hit the bird with an oar, but the duck 

 dived. 



"Where do you sunnose that darned duck 

 was?" he said. "Under my boat for a long 

 time, with only his bill out of water !" 



Myron P. Edy, Clarenceville, P. Q. 



IF THE DOGS COULD TALK. 

 Do female prairie chickens, quails, etc., 

 give scent while raising broods? 



W. S. G., Todd, Boulder Creek, Cal. 



ANSWER. 



I referred this question to 2 well known 

 authorities, who reply as follows : 



It seems impossible for any human being 

 to say positively that game birds do not 

 give off scent while raising broods of 

 young. We have not the keen scent of 

 hunting dogs by which to determine the 

 fact. 



Unquestionably the dogs find it much 

 more difficult to locate game at such times, 

 but this is possibly due, in large part, to 

 3 facts: First, The birds are poor and in 

 bad feather after sitting and do not give out 

 so strong a scent as a fat healthy bird does. 

 Second, The vegetation at the time is green, 



