Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-02-08

II drives straight aftAr them. The big
| birds making perhaps so miles an hour,
but the machine Is doing twice that. In
nve minutes IL is but so yards behind
them. Their steady honking breaks into
n Wild medley Of alarm. To them this
thing Ia a terror inconceivable. II is
a hawk as big as a house and twice ar
swift AS any bird that flies. II is a
| hawk that roars like the North wind.
| And then, suddenly. IL begins 70 spit
| fire and fame. and two geese crumple
In tho air and fall to blue waters far
| below.
Tho geese have besn shot at before.
| In fact, they have been shot at ali the
way from Southern Alberta to New
Jersey. Tho sound of a shotgun In
| for them "a signal TO tower out OF range.
| And so they tower now. climbing on
strong pinions a hundred feet straight
I. into the air.
And the plane towers after them.
roaring moro loudly than ever. There
are more shots and three more geese
go hurting toward the water. The
| survivors. honking In hoarse terror,
| fly every which way some tower, some
| plunge toward the water. some go north
and some go eouth. The plane pur-
sues one lone goose that happens 70 bs
| in front Of IT. kills him. and then de-
scends gracefully to gather its prey.
| Airplane Hunting Illegal.
This is a acene the like Of which has
been enacted again and again in recent
| months. and IL is one which has pro-
voked the ire Of game protectors. The
| Biological Survey here is especially
| aroused over the killing of wild fowl
| from airpianes. because the Migratory
/ Bird Law, the enforcement Of which IL
| entrusted To the survey. specifically
| forbids the taking OF Wild fowl in that
| way. The survey has obtained several
| arrests and convictions. and IL is ready
20 send men 20 investigate any case OF
such violations. This hunting in the
| air is new thing, and The survey hopes
TO scotch IL before it has grown 20 dan
gerous proportions. II hopes 70 do this
| in two wsys-by arrest and prosecution
| Of offenders. and by appealing 70 the
| sportsmanship and seif-interest OF the
| hunters. For Il IS hardly fair 70 hunt
birds ny a method which leaves them
no chance Of escape. and 10 is hardly
intelligent 70 hunt them by method
| which has the effect Of driving them
clear out Of the country.
That fs the immediate and striking
effect of airpiane hunting. Tho birds
are not slow 70 see that they have an
enemy which 10 is impossible 70 escape.
After one experience of befn, pursued
by n plane. a flock Of Wild geese or
ducks will often leave that vicinity
for good and all. a whole season OF
legitimate sport from blind and boat is
spoiled for few minutes Of spectacular
slaughter in midair.
The migratory bird law, which pro-
-
their migrations northward toward
their nesting grounds. has made Anieri-
can Wild fowl more abundant in the
last few years than they had for dec
AIDES before. Sportsmen IN general
have come 70 appreciate it's value
They are now asked not 70 undo the
good work by the use Of a new ard
deadly method ot invading the air.
which has heretofore been the sautuary
Of ali wild wings-
The Auntins % birds from planes
seems 10 have begun toward the end of
the war when some Navy hydropianes
On practice flights began chasing locks
Of Wild fowl. apparently for lack Of any
thing better 20 do. The Biological Sur
vey took the matter up with the Navy
Department and the practice was stop
ped. But after the war a great many
=
sums and number OF manufacturers
began putting popular priced airplanes
on the market The combined air-and-
water craft especially has become 2
popular toy for young men with money.
and its purchase and use seems 70 be
almost unrestricted by law.
As a result cases Of hunting IN the
air have been reported with iacreas-
ing frequency. They have come from
the Atlantic coastal region. from the big
Middle Western rivers. from California
In California q motion picture film was
made OF shooting the ducks from an
atrplane. and II was subsequently sup
Pressed at the request OF the Biological
Survey.
When Ducks Are Pest
In California. too. was made the only
attempt 20 justify the hunting Of wild
fowl from airplanes. California is one
Of the few places in the world where
wild ducks and geese are so abundant
that they sometimes constitute q pest.
In some parts OF California they deVour
the rice crops at such a rate that some
measures have 10 be taken 70 kill them
or drive them away. Every year the
Biological Survey IS besought for per-
nits to hunt these ducks out OF sea-
oNAk ~ OA N&SA " ASSR NtAc&A& NAA the GlCG
fields. Ii has often appeared that those
who applied for the permits were more
Interested in getting the ducks that in
saving the rice. These self-appointed
protectors Of the rice fields decided that
the airplane would be just the thing
with which TO chase the ducks out OF
the country. but the Biological Survey
has not agreed with them IT makes
the claim that the recent invention OF
the seif-nring acetylene flash gun has
solved the problem Of soaring the birds