Our Vanishing Wild Life - Its Extermination and Preservation by William Temple Hornaday
page 160 of 733 (21%)
page 160 of 733 (21%)
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imposes upon it, or perish. I say "civilized man," for the reason that
the primitive races of man are not deadly exterminators of species, as we are. I know of not one species of wild life that has been exterminated by savage man without the aid of his civilized peers. As civilization marches ever onward, over the prairies, into the bad lands and the forests, over the mountains and even into the farthest corner of Death Valley, the desert of deserts, the struggle of the wild birds, mammals and fishes is daily and hourly intensified. Man must help them to maintain themselves, or accept a lifeless continent. The best help consists in letting the wild creatures throughly alone, so that they can help themselves; but quail often need to be fed in critical periods. The best food is wheat screenings placed under little tents of straw, bringing food and shelter together. In the well settled portions of the United States, such species as quail, ruffed grouse, wild turkey, pinnated grouse and sage grouse hang to life by slender threads. A winter of exceptionally deep snows, much sleet, and a late spring always causes grave anxiety among the state game wardens. In Pennsylvania a very earnest movement is in progress to educate and persuade farmers to feed the quail in winter, and much good is being done in that direction. Mr. Erasmus Wilson, of the _Pittsburgh Gazette-Times_ is the apostle of that movement. _Quail should be fed every winter, in every northern state_. The methods to be pursued will be mentioned elsewhere. By way of illustration, here is a sample game report, from Las Animas, |
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