,478 FOREST AND STREAM 
• .. ? 
Diversion and Conservation 
An Arraignment of the Idle and Vicious Destructive Instinct Displayed by Some Gunners 
W HAT think you was the intention and pur¬ 
pose of a generous and all wise Creator 
when he fashioned a great world for 
man’s temporal habitation, with its countless 
varieties of beauty? One may spend many days 
of entertainment and valuable instruction in 
studying the beautiful collection of beasts and 
birds in the great American Museum of Natural 
History of New York City, one of the finest col¬ 
lections, if not the finest, in the world. Even the 
great family of “Jays” may be counted, through 
the long list bearing the distinguished name, in 
blue, green, black, etc., until the conclusion is 
reached that the conspicuous noisy blue jay, which 
is so common in our land, has much to be proud 
of after all. Some of his characteristics have 
even been noticed by naming a certain class of 
human beings in large cities “Jays” because of 
their conspicuous curiosity on the streets and in 
other places. For the jay family has a right to 
look into current events. 
Even if the odium has been placed upon Mr. 
Blue Jay of associating with his satanic majesty 
every Friday it has been noted by many that 
they are conspicuous by their absence on that 
particular day—you really believe in the old say¬ 
ing that they go to the dark world on Friday. 
If you will stand in front of the beautiful case 
containing the birds of paradise presented to the 
museum by a public-spirited and generous lady, 
the mind will perforce wander into thoughts of 
the wonderful creative power which gave to the 
world such objects to enhance its attractiveness 
and please the heart of man—variety in its widest 
range of beauty. 
Then along the aisles between the animal col¬ 
lections the mind will be easily impressed by the 
enormous variety in the four-footed species. So 
it is throughout the mineral and- vegetable king¬ 
doms, all of which are not only for the pleasing 
effect on the vision of man, but for his instruction 
as well. Besides, ’tis a dull, morbid mind which 
cannot be charmed in the' springtime by listening 
to the sweet-voiced choirs of nature as the mind 
•is allowed to be diverted from the cares that 
infest the day. 
A charming lady who was naturally a great 
lover of nature and bird song once remarked 
when a victim of neurasthenia, that the song of 
the robin actually made her angry, simply because 
it reminded her of the great and painful contrast 
.between her normal and the abnormal mind. 
• The statement may be found in holy writ, and 
it was made away back in the earliest dawn of 
human life by the all-wise Creator that man 
should have dominion over the beasts of the 
field, the birds of the air and of. the fishes of the 
sea; and it may be justly asked through the col¬ 
umns of a great sporting magazine- which has 
ever'-stood for th'e conservation and protection of 
these generously bestowed' subjects to man, hoto 
-has-he demonstrated his appreciation of such a 
great privilege and generous gift?) Or rather, 
how far has he abused it in his selfish greed and 
By R. H. McNair. 
vain-glory? It is not hard to guess why a little 
child with its playhouse full of toys is constantly 
changing from one to another, dropping one and 
picking up something else which it imagines may 
give more amusement. ’Tis simply due to the 
natural desire for diversion in the developmental 
process of the little mind. The little one would 
be considered of a very ugly, unnatural disposi¬ 
tion if it should go to work and destroy the 
pretty toys, one after another. 
But is not that just what is being done by the 
older children with the beautiful objects of pleas¬ 
ure and entertainment which were given to make 
the world more beautiful and man’s life more en¬ 
joyable? What would you think of a sportsman 
in the land of steady habits, the land of the 
pilgrim fathers, who would destroy a covey of 
quail before they were large enough to fly with 
Working a Well-Trained Dog. 
force and vigor? A hunter stopped one morning 
early in October at a greenhouse to light his pipe, 
and the florist asked what he had killed, having 
heard many reports from his gun not far from 
the greenhouse. The hunter replied that he had 
bagged quite a good bunch of quail, and when the 
florist manifested a curiosity to see them the 
hunter began pulling out little pee-wees—-half- 
grown quail which were yet in pin feathers—until 
twelve or fifteen had been counted. The florist 
remonstrated that the birds were too young for 
hunting and the sportsman laconically replied that 
“everything was grist that came to his mill.” 
This, of course, may be considered by some 
as diversion, and sportsmanlike hunting, but there 
seems little wonder that the quail of western 
Massachusetts has been about exterminated with 
such game hogs and the severe winters to con¬ 
tend with. Yet the clubs and park commissioners 
have imported new birds season after season. If 
they would only be a little more vigilant in pro¬ 
tecting what they get ’against the. ruthless de¬ 
stroyer, and if each man who is interested in 
hunting as a legitimate sport would appoint him¬ 
self a committee of one to aid in feeding the 
birds through the severe snow storms, much, 
doubtless, would be done toward repairing the 
great loss of the finest game bird of any region. 
Feeding and protecting them through the hard 
winters has been tried and found efficacious. 
No one will deny that certain game birds and 
animals were put into the world for man’s use, 
and it would make the killing of them seem no 
more cruel to take them in a sportsmanlike man¬ 
ner, while enjoying the pleasure of working a 
well-trained dog and shooting a good gun, than 
the process of wringing the neck of a fat chicken 
for Sunday dinner. However, they were not 
intended to satisfy the greed of man for the 
almighty dollar; and especially the game hog, 
who would just as soon pot a covey of quail un¬ 
der a hedge and then blow to his admiring 
friends of what a fine wing shot he is. 
This question might be reasonable if the true 
sportsmen—those who are satisfied with a mod¬ 
erate bag after an enjoyable hunt—do not demon¬ 
strate an active and untiring interest in protect¬ 
ing the game, who will? Many good laws are 
enacted in almost every state, but a very large 
proportion are not enforced, but are often dodged 
around to suit the greedy interest of men who 
should not be allowed to carry a shotgun. 
Take, for instance, the beautiful passenger 
pigeon, which flew over by the millions not a 
great many years ago, and are now extinct. Were 
they destroyed by the sportsmen who hunt in 
moderation or by the greedy game hogs who 
even fed the birds to the quadruped hogs in some 
sections ? 
Any true, conscientious sportsman will endorse 
the statement that a day of most pleasant diver¬ 
sion may be enjoyed with a good dog and gun, 
even when only a half dozen or ten birds are 
bagged. And there are not many men—-nowadays 
at least—who go forth to hunt when their larder 
is empty and the family suffering from the lack 
of nitrogenous food; they would give up the 
hunt long enough to buy the hind quarter of a 
sheep. 
History has proven it, and the medical pro¬ 
fession will, or does, endorse the fact that there 
is no form of diversion more wholesome for a 
man worried with business cares than the mod¬ 
erate pursuit of game; or, to those who like fish¬ 
ing best, whipping a good trout stream. But, as 
in almost everything else in life’s pursuits, it de¬ 
pends upon the man. While the beautiful birds 
and animals are rapidly undergoing extermina¬ 
tion, as prevention is always better than cure, ’tis 
rational to suppose that the former is the course 
to pursue rather than awakening to the fact too 
late, when there is nothing left to save. 
If thg small boy’s mother should tell him that 
it was wrong to destroy a beautiful plaything, the 
destruction might be excused on the ground that 
the yourigst-er’s reasoning faculties were not suffi- 
(Continued on page 494.) 
