THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 7 
demned ; and if it becomes evident that baiting in general results in greater 
total destruction of ducks than would otherwise occur, the whole practice 
should be prohibited, at least until the time, if that time ever comes, when 
our wild fowl have regained something of their former numbers. A good 
many observers are doubtful of the argument sometimes heard that in the 
absence of baiting on privately owned waters the ducks would scatter in 
search of food and be killed in greater numbers than under the present 
system. It may be true but it sounds a little like wishful thinking. With 
baiting forbidden there would probably also be fewer cases of exceeded 
bag limits, which today are by no means unknown even in the better class 
of duck clubs. Where the concentration of ducks makes it possible to over- 
shoot the limit, there is an ever present temptation to drop a few extra 
birds and present them to the pusher or to a friend who has not reached 
his legal quota. 
With regard to control or elimination of the open season there are 
almost as many opinions as there are individuals. he present plan of per- 
mitting the different States to select thirty days of shooting, arranged in 
one of several different ways, seems to have arisen from the dissatisfaction 
of State game departments at having the Biological Survey dictate as to 
the length and time of the season. One unfortunate result has been the 
selection by Illinois of fifteen successive week ends of two days each, which, 
though not exceeding the permitted thirty days total, is likely to cause 
a slaughter impossible under a season of thirty consecutive days. 
Aside from the protests of duck hunters, ‘the main objection to a 
closed season is based on the argument that by reducing the revenue from 
hunting licenses it would undermine the State game departments and 
practically eliminate local enforcement officers. It is claimed that in this 
event there would be unlimited destruction and a real danger of irrepar- 
able damage. Possibly more definite information on that question could be 
obtained. Most States do not depend wholly on duck hunters for their 
license revenue, and could supply some warden service even in a closed 
season. Private clubs owning thousands of acres of valuable shooting water 
would certainly provide some protection during a closed season if only as 
insurance for the future. Additional Federal wardens might well be pro- 
vided out of the millions of dollars now being diverted to conservation 
uses. Many well informed naturalists are convinced that nothing but a 
closed season, followed by closely restricted shooting in future years, will 
prevent the reduction of our duck population, at least some species, to the 
vanishing point. 
Broadly speaking, the final answer to all of these questions is educa- 
tion. The necessity for conservation has come upon us suddenly and has 
found the public unprepared, if not uninterested. If intelligent action may 
be expected during the coming generation, it will have to be founded on 
the knowledge of present day school children acquired through systematic 
instruction covering the entire subject of wild life protection. Excellent 
