THE REFERENDUM 



453 



besides these are other aquatic birds closely 

 allied to the gulls, although not of the same 

 genus. Among these may be mentioned the 

 tern (genus Sterna), the gannet (genus Sula), 

 the shearwater (genus Puffinus), so-called from 

 its habit of flying with its lower mandible in the 

 water, and the petrel, or Mother Carey's 

 Chicken (genus Procellaria), the bird sacred to 

 mariners from the ancient superstition that the 

 spirits of dead shipmates entered into its body. 



Unlike most salt water birds, none of these, 

 except the codfish gull and the winter gull, mi- 

 grate for the purpose of breeding, but lay their 

 eggs on the sand of the beach or in dry seaweed 

 on the marshes, where incubation is effected to 

 a great extent by the heat of the sun, as the 

 parent bird seems to be on the wing a greater 

 part of the time. It may be said in this connec- 

 tion that while the flesh of the gull is not often 

 eaten, owing to the slight flavor of fish with 

 which it is impregnated, the eggs are very 

 palatable, being but little inferior to those of the 

 domestic duck. 



Whether or not the sea gulls have diminished 

 in numbers, as have some other wild fowl, is an 

 open question; appearances would indicate that 

 they have not, for they still appear in myriads in 

 some localities along the coast. Their diet of 

 fish is a protection to them, for the sportsman 

 well knows that their flesh possesses a certain 

 fishy flavor that does not recommend them as a 

 choice food bird. On some parts of the coast, 

 however, it is asserted that these birds are less 

 numerous than in former years. It is main- 

 tained that this is owing to the fact that they are 

 killed for their plumage, the head and wings 

 and sometimes the skin of the whole bird being 

 used in the world of fashion for decorative pur- 

 poses. 



A full-grown gull, even if one is fortunate 

 enough to capture it, would test the patience 

 of its captor in reducing it to submission. The 

 bird could not forget the wild freedom of its 

 former life, when, poised on tireless pinions, it 

 breasted the gale, shrieked an accompaniment 

 to the howling of the storm, or circled above the 

 school of bluefish, ready to dart down upon its 

 prey. 



With "Nep," however, it was different. He 

 could not help himself, because he was partially 

 disabled. I found him on the beach, unable to 

 fly, the second joint of his wing having been 

 broken by a shot from a gun. He could not run 

 fast enough to escape, so I carried him home, 

 and after securing him for two or three days 

 with a string to his leg, I released him. I 

 christened him Neptune. 



While Nep never became intimate enough 

 to come at my call, yet he stayed about the 

 premises, and would eat pieces of fish or clams 



that were thrown to him. lie would allow one 

 to pick him up, but never appreciated familiar 

 ity. In the morning he would leave the house 

 which stood on the meadow near the bay, swim 

 up the creek, and spend the day fishing for 

 minnows in some salt ponds. He would return 

 toward evening, evidently with the expectation 

 of being fed with some choice bits. 



One day a succession of piercing screams 

 from Nep warned us that he was in some kind of 

 trouble. Investigation showed that while con- 

 sorting with the chickens a couple of sitting 

 hens, evidently resenting his presence among 

 them, had attacked him, and but for our timely 

 aid would have soon killed or disabled him. 



The gull remained with us for some weeks, 

 apparently contented with his half-wild, half- 

 domestic existence, when he suddenly disap- 

 peared, but not mysteriously. A severe north- 

 east storm came up during the night, and the 

 meadows around the house were submerged 

 with three or four feet of water. As Nep could 

 not fly, the force of the gale carried him to lee- 

 ward, and the nearest land being two miles 

 away, no doubt he perished in the storm and 

 darkness of the night. 



Would Amend the Constitution 

 Editor Recreation: 



Last year I endeavored to call the attention 

 of sportsmen and naturalists to the necessity of 

 having the National Government at Washing- 

 ton take charge of the preservation of certain 

 species of game, especially the migratory birds, 

 wild ducks, plover, snipe and curlew which do 

 not belong to a particular State, like the quail, 

 but are, so to speak, interstate birds. Some 

 would like to have the National Government 

 take charge of all kinds of game. But let us 

 confine ourselves, for the present, to the wild 

 fowl. 



We all know that the attempts thus far to pre- 

 serve or prevent final extermination of the wild 

 ducks are complete failures. The laws are not 

 enforced except that clause of them which re- 

 quires the payment of a ten-dollar license by 

 non-residents. If the money were used to pro- 

 tect the birds I, for one, would not begrudge it; 

 but it is not. Night shooting, market shooting 

 and shipping to market go on without let or 

 hindrance. A game warden on the coast of 

 Virginia, who is most diligent in collecting the 

 ten-dollar non-resident license, frankly admitted 

 this winter that he could not stop night shooting 

 and that there was no use in trying. We heard 

 the heavy guns booming every night. He and 

 his colleagues make not the slightest attempt to 

 stop shipping to market; and, of course, those 

 of us who are familiar with such places know 

 the feeling. They do not want to interfere with 



