Tuesday, 26th.—A fine bunch of woodcock, with several partridges, and a brace of wood-ducks, brought to the house. The woodcock is less common here than the partridge, or the ruffed grouse rather, as we should call it; but all our game-birds are rapidly diminishing in numbers. By the laws of the State every county is enabled to protect its own property of this kind, by including any wild animal, or bird, or fish within the list of those which can only be destroyed at certain seasons; the county courts deciding the question in each case. Hitherto more attention has been paid to the preservation of game on Long Island than in any other part of this State; and although so near New York, although the laws are very imperfectly administered in these, as in some other respects, yet the efforts of the Long Islanders have succeeded in a degree at least. The deer, for instance, are said to be actually increasing there, and until lately they have preserved more game-birds than in most other counties; they still have, or had quite lately, a few of the fine pinnated grouse. In this county very little attention has been paid to this subject, and probably everything of the kind will soon disappear from our woods. The reckless extermination of the game in the United States would seem, indeed, without a precedent in the history of the world. Probably the buffaloes will be entirely swept from prairies, once covered with their herds, by this generation.[1]
The wood-ducks brought in this morning were both drakes, but young, and consequently they had not acquired their beautiful plumage. We had one for dinner; it was very delicate; a
- ↑ In West Chester County, they have recently had the good sense to extend the protection of the game laws to many birds of the smaller kinds, useful to the gardener and farmer, such as the robins, which destroy many troublesome insects.
