2 CIRCULAR 9 6, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



every grain of importance except maize; apples, pears, peaches, 

 cherries, all citrus fruits ; in fact, most of the high-ranking cultivated 

 fruits. Consider the chamois of the Alps, the ibex of the Pyrenees, 

 the bustards. of southern Europe, and the pheasants of densely popu- 

 lated China. They have maintained their existence in close contact 

 with man for centuries, while similar representatives of our fauna, 

 with untold millions of acres to range over, have faded away before 

 the hunters like mist before the morning sun. It is true that these 

 native American animals have been pursued by more numerous and 

 better-armed hunters than were the wild Eurasian stock, and the 

 contrast between methods of the chase in the Old World and in the 

 New may well be further analyzed. 



In this country, a fully armed population imbued with the theory 

 of free shooting hunted to the verge of extinction a fauna wholly 

 unused to the presence of a large population, almost before becoming 

 aware of the impending result. In the Old World the number of 

 hunters and firearms has always been restricted, so the game perhaps 

 has not had to face so withering a barrage. However, the fewer 

 hunters have customarily taken larger bags, and snaring, trapping, 

 and other methods of securing game have been practiced for ages. 

 The Eurasian game birds and animals doubtless had time through 

 the centuries to develop defenses against man's slowly improving 

 armament and a tolerance for the changes in natural conditions 

 resulting from increased population. 



American species, on the other hand, adapted to conditions in a 

 country sparsely populated and primitively armed, were suddenly 

 called upon to face the destructive influences of an effectively armed 

 and ever-growing population. It is no reflection on the stamina of 

 our fauna that it could not cope with a change in conditions that 

 came on so rapidly that there 'was not time for the slow processes 

 of adaptation. Whatever the reasons, there is little doubt that the 

 wild life of the Old World, in general, has shown far greater ability 

 than that of the New to survive despite human occupation of the 

 land. Nothing is more logical, therefore, when seeking game birds 

 for transplanting to a country that is now well populated, than to 

 utilize species that have been tested and tempered by ages of close 

 association with man. 



POSSIBLE DANGERS FROM IMPORTATIONS 



Many pests among the insects and weeds, and smaller numbers 

 among other groups of organisms, tell the same story of greater 

 adaptability of the Old-World fauna and flora to modern conditions. 

 Very few American plants have become established in other lands, 

 while the principal weeds not only of this country but of others 

 widely spaced over the globe are of Eurasian origin. Similarly the 

 English sparrow and the European starling have become thoroughly 

 established in the avifauna of the United States, and various other 

 birds from the same countries have become common in Australia 

 and New Zealand. The Asiatic mynas have flourished wherever 

 introduced, and one of them is now spreading in British Columbia. 

 No American bird has exhibited such aggressive tendencies. 



