El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-12-30

"HE water Fowl club of America
| will hold it's annual meeting III
! - New York tomorrow 1t is DONG
! much to create a nationwide interest
| in the protection of the water fowls
| of the country and to stimulate ma
| tional interest in them. 1t had a nano
! in the passage of a bill by the New
! York legislature, which was approved
/ by governor Hughes, regarding the sale
] of bird plumage for millinery purposes
Unless some multiplying legislation can
| be put through within the next SIX
i months this bill will go into erect
July 1 After that date it will be un-
/ lawful for any firm in the state OF
| New York ito have on sale any part OF
| the skin, head, wing or any plumage
| of a gull, eagle. tern, vulture, aba
(, tross or any plume bearing heron"
Passing of the Water Fowl.
| The passing of the American water
| fowl Is a subject that is receiving much
| attention. Many organizations are
| uniting to secure protection for these
! birds. Owing to the craze FOR feathered
! millinery, the greed of hunters, and
| several other causes, number of va
rieties of American water birds have
| become almost extinct. Others are de-
| creasing so rapidly that strict legisla-
! ton and vigilance in its enforcement
| is necessary If they are to be preserv-
| ed for the benefit of the future Be-
sides the demands of the millinerS and
| sportsmen the loss of life to water
birds from the effects of navigation
I, and various Industries must be con-
sidered. Oil polluted waters are poi
| sonous to bird life and as they are
! driven back from their native haunts
1 they cannot but decrease in numbers
unless some new provision is made for
, them.
| The most noteworthy example of the
American water bird to become entire
| ~ extinct is that of the great aux
| formerly found along the coast from
| Labrador to northern New Jersey. This
| bird was about the size of goose and
| was conspicuous for its short wings
used as paddles for swimming, and for
| its close, rich plumage. The last record
| of these birds was on an island off
the coast of Maine in 1S47, when some
fishermen slaughtered a large flock
Now that they are no longer in exist
ence, naturalistS are realizing their
value and a single skin of an aux was
recently sold at an pathological sale
| In London for $500. There are only
about 40 specimens in existence, in
GLIDING those in museums and private
ownership.
Conserving the Tern.
The fact that other American birds
are likely to share the same fate has
aroused the interest of the American
public TO the need of measures for their
| protection. The tern and the laughing
gull used to be very numerous along
the Atlantic coast. Now they are so
reduced in numbers that there is said
| TO be only a small spot along the New
Jersey coast where they breed.
Through the efforts Of the New Jersey
Audubon society, harbors and breeding
places for these birds have been pro-
] vided. The school children of the state
have raised $500 for the preservation
of Marsh Island as a home for them.
/! The feathers of these birds have been
, greatly in demand for millinery pur-
poses The tern has been especially in
favor since the early eighties and
hunters have been continually in
its quest until now its former haunts
are almost entirely depleted.
! At one time the white egret heron
was the most prolific breeder along
the coast of Florida and the other Gulf
I states. 1t is now difficult to find a
group of heron in Florida, outside OF
the Everglade swamp. and the greed
, of the hunter has extended even here.
To furnish the milliners with the white
egrets so much in demand during the
last few years these beautiful birds
have been slaughtered by the million.
The most grievous side of this great
sacrifice is that the egret is at its most
perfect stage just at breeding time
Therefore the killing Of the parent bird
| means the starvation of the young.
Wild Ducks Decreasing.
The lust of the hunter for game is
rapidly decreasing the number OF wild
ducks. The modern improvements in
| hunting apparatus have rendered it pos
sible each year TO kill birds with less
difficulty. So rapidly has this decrease
/ been recognized during the past 10
years that it is stated upon good au
, thority that if allowed TO continue un-
checked. the American wild duck will
be known TO the future student of the
next generation only through the
pages of natural history. American
wild ducks are divided into two classes
known as divers and nondivers Divers
have TO go to the bottom of the water
|, for food and are more apt to come
within the range of the hunter through
the allurement of the decoy. Canvas
backs. redheads. blue. bills and bay
widgeons are among the best known
Of the diving ducks The nondivers in
clude the mallards, the black and gray
ducks and several others.
Last month 5000 wild ducks were re-
ported to have been shipped from
Georgetown, S. c., in one day While
this was an unprecedented record new
er likely to be duplicated it is an evil
dence of the rapidity with which the
American water fowl is being slaugh-
tered Recognizing also the loss to the
world In their extinction. the sports
men themselves are urging the passing
nounced her first name in a tone Of