providing for: (1) a close season on 
migratory game birds from March 
10th to September 1st, with the ex¬ 
ception given; (2) an open season 
of three and one half months; and 
(3) a close season throughout the 
year on insectivorous birds. The 
open season of three and one-half 
months may be fixed anywhere be¬ 
tween September 1 and March 10 to 
suit the local conditions. The, re¬ 
striction of the open season on wild¬ 
fowl to three and one-half months 
will involve in some provinces a 
shortening of the present open sea¬ 
son, but in view of the objects of the 
treaty and the experience that such 
restriction in the United States is 
increasing the supply of birds, this 
change will undoubtedly meet with 
the support of sportsmen desirous of 
preventing the continued decrease 
in the numbers of wild fowl. 
The conclusion of this convention 
constitutes the most important and 
far-reaching measure ever taken in 
the history of bird protection. Some 
years ago efforts were made to secure 
the international protection of birds 
in Europe, but while the general 
movement towards better protection 
for insectivorous birds was thereby 
furthered, the requisite co-operation 
on the part of all the countries 
interested was hampered by in¬ 
activity on the part of some of the 
governments and a considerable 
diversity of interests and opinion. 
Fortunately many of these difficul¬ 
ties do not exist in North America, 
and in the United States and Canada 
there is an ever-growing sentiment in 
favour of preserving what is left of 
our former wealth of wild life which 
has been so seriously depleted by 
improvidence in the past. This 
international measure will affect over 
one thousand species and sub¬ 
species of birds from the Gulf of 
Mexico to the north pole, and we may 
confidently look forward to not 
merely a cessation of the decrease, 
but to an increase of our migratory 
birds which are so valuable a na¬ 
tional asset. 
7 
