Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1905-12-21

In your issue of the 7ths instant
you suggest the idesira1F 81 Of .
closed season for three or rm . years
for the protection OF the Esrtri6ge.
No one who has hunted tbs year
will deny their present scarcity,
but there is q question wn1ther OF
not the remedy suggested ~ ron 4
the most efiicacious. and | i.eQ space
to present some reasons heIies.
ing that a different treatm@nt Of the
problem would yield better results.
Apart from the questions tle ben
eft 70 the birds from q cls Il sea
son, even il rigidiy snfo |. she
possibility Of such enforcemsnt must
beconsidered. tits well known that
hundreds are now annually shot with
impunity before the legal season,
and this disregard OF the law would
be intensified under the Legislation
you suggest. so that the law abiding
gunner would be deprived of his
sport during the closed years and
would obtain no benefit therefrom
at the end of that time.
Ii is not the gunner, moreover.
who is the worst enemy OF the part.
ridge. Ten are probably killed by
hawks where one is shot. The part
ridges are subjected TO danger from
the former throughout the entire
year, both in the winter when cover
is lacking, and ia the summer when
they are young. / recall a case in
which during the heavy winter OF
last year covey Of eighteen birds
which was being fed and protected
from the weather was reduced TO six
by one hawk. The depreciation of
the hawk will be appreciated il the
number of birds seen in the summer
be compared with the number found
in the faH, aud aclosed season is not
enforcible against the birds of the
air.
The remedy is the removal of the
hawk, which could be accomplished
in great part if the County Commis-
sioners paid bounty for them. They
have now a discretionary power TO
do so, and have probably refrained
from exercising it, due 10 a desire
10 keep the tax levy as low as pos
sible. This win be remedied II the
Legislature would require the Coun-
~ Commissioners to pay a bounty
and provide specific tax for that
purpose.
No better one for this can be de-
vised than that resulting from a tax
on cunning. By such a tax the
burden of the county will fall direct
ly on those benefited by the preser-
vation of the birds. A bounty of
fifty cents head seems to be suffi-
cient, and a cunning tax of one or
two dollars should turn in a suffi.
cient amount to the county treasury
to meet the expenses. The propos-
ed tax is one that could be easily
collected by making it a misdemeanor
for any one to gun or have in his
possession undressed birds or rab-
bits without a proper license, and
by giving the constables power to
require the exhibition by every gun
ner Of his license.
1t is not believed that any bona
fide sportsman will object to the
slight tax suggested, especially when
the advantages resulting therefrom
are taken into consideration. AS to
the farmer it might be urged that he
seldom hunts and be does not care
to pay for aprivilege so seldom used,
but must be remembered that the
benefit to result from the bounty
| will not be restricted to the part.
ridge or the sportsman. 1t is prob
able that there is not q single house
hold in St. Mary's county who are
raising poultry that does not suffer
from depredations OF the hawks to
an extent of at least ten dollar
every year.
The bounty would not only there
fore protect the birds but it would
have q much greater commercial
valuein protectinganindustr which
brings much money every year into
the county, and however necessary
a closed season may be in other and
more thickly settled parts OF the
state. under the local conditions here
prevailing such closed season would
be useless and that our remedy is
the protection of the birds from their
feathered enemies. M. ID.