306 
RURAL HOVRS. 
Tuesday, 26 th. — A fine bunch of woodcock, with several par- 
tridges, and a brace of wood-ducks, brought to the house. The 
woodcock is less common here than the partridge, or the ruffed 
grouse rather, as we should call it ; but all our game-birds are rapid- 
ly diminishing in numbers. By the laws of the State every county 
is enabled to protect its own property of this kind, by including 
any wild animal, or bird, or fish within the list of those which can 
only be destroyed at certain seasons ; the county courts deciding 
the question in each case. Hitherto more attention has been paid 
to the preservation of game on Long Island than in any other 
part of this State ; and although so near New York, although the 
laws are very imperfectly administered in these, as in some other 
respects, yet the efforts of the Long Islanders have succeeded in 
a degree at least. The deer, for instance, are said to be actu- 
ally increasing there, and until lately they have preserved more 
game-birds than in most other counties ; they still have, or had 
quite lately, a few of the fine pinnated grouse. In this county 
very little attention has been paid to this subject, and probably 
everything of the kind will soon disappear from our woods. 
The reckless extermination of the game in the United States 
would seem, indeed, without a precedent in the history of the 
world. Probably the buffaloes will be entirely swept from prairies, 
once covered with their herds, by this generation.^ 
The wood-ducks brought in this morning were both drakes, 
but young, and consequently they had not acquired their beauti- 
ful plumage. We had one for dinner ; it was very delicate ; a 
* In West Chester County, they have recently had the good sense to extend 
the protection of the game laws to many birds of the smaller kinds, useful to the 
gardener and farmer, such as the robins, which destroy many troublesome insects 
