DIAGRAM SHOWING OPEN SEASONS FOR DUCKS IN 1900.

The shaded areas show the months when shooting is permitted; the unshaded areas, the time when the birds are protected by law. Note that spring shooting is prohibited in Vermont, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota. 1 Seasons vary in different counties.

The diversity of season here shown emphasizes the importance of securing greater uniformity of action on the part of neighboring States. Twenty-five years ago the International Association for the Protection of Game published a comparative table of game laws, clearly illustrating the diversity which existed in 1874. The need of uniformity in seasons has been generally recognized in recent years, but little has actually been accomplished toward bringing about the desired result.

A STEP TOWARD UNIFORMITY—THE HALLOCK CODE.

Of the various schemes proposed for uniform game laws, that suggested by Mr. Charles Hallock in 1897 deserves especial attention. In an address before the National Game, Bird, and Fish Protective Association he advocated a code of cooperative legislation, in accordance with which the United States was to be divided into three 'concessions' in each of which the laws were to be as uniform as possible, the open seasons identical, and protection was to be accorded to insectivorous birds, but withheld from à few species considered injurious.

The feature of special interest in this connection is the simple manner in which the States were grouped together. The three concessions were named Northern, Southern, and Pacific, and as originally proposed were limited as follows: All of the region west of the crest of the Rocky Mountains was included in the Pacific, while all that east of this range was divided at latitude 36° 30′ into a Northern and a Southern concession. This division, however, had the disadvantage of cutting through Colorado and New Mexico, thus giving each a double set of laws. Moreover, the Pacific concession extended from Puget Sound to the Mexican boundary and embraced wide extremes of climate. The scheme has therefore been slightly modified, for present purposes, by extending the Northern concession over the whole of Colorado and allowing the Southern to include not only all New Mexico, but also Arizona (see Pl. VII). This places all the region south of latitude 36° 30′ (except part of southern California) in one division. All the States north of this line with these exceptions belong to the Northern or Southern concessions, while California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington form the Pacific. a simple division, this seems to meet all requirements fairly well; and while it may not be practicable to secure identical laws in all the States in each group, a strong effort should at least be made to have the close seasons correspond as nearly as possible.

1 Western Field and Stream, Vol. I, pp. 232–234, 1897.

966

For

We call it 'concession,' because it is based on compromise and reciprocity."— Hallock.

LIMITS OF GAME BAGS.

Besides giving opportunity for recuperation by game animals and birds by establishing closed seasons for part of the year or for a term of years, twenty-one States have attempted to prevent the wanton destruction by limiting the amount of game which may be killed in a day or season. These States comprise the northern tier, from Maine to Washington, and Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Oregon. The restrictions have been placed mainly on big game and upland game birds, but in a few cases they have been extended to woodcock, rail, and wild fowl. In Colorado and North Dakota practically all the game of the State is limited, while in Iowa, Oregon, and South Dakota the limit applies to game birds, but not to big game. Michigan, Utah, and Wisconsin limit only the number of deer, five being allowed each hunter in Michigan, two in Utah, and two in Wisconsin. The highest limit for big game is in Montana, where six deer, antelope, or mountain goats may be killed in a season. The maximum for any species of game bird in a day is 75 rail in Connecticut, but the usual limit is 25 or 50.

Limits of a similar character and for the same object are also placed by several States on the number of birds which may be shipped at one time or in one season, usually corresponding to the number that may be killed, but seldom, in any event, exceeding 50 at a time. Florida prescribes the limit not only for each person, but also for each party, in order to prevent evasion of the law by several persons hunting together. Thus, four wild turkeys may be killed in a day by one person, but not more than six by a party. The following table, which is compiled from 'Game Laws in Brief,' shows the details of these restrictions:

Limits of game bags.