uest, a
gentleman of Richmond obtained further corroboration, from negroes. He
was himself much surprised by the state of fact that was revealed to
him.

In the North, the economic value of our song birds and other destroyers
of insects and weed seeds is understood by a majority of the people, and
as far as possible those birds are protected from all human enemies. But
in the South, a new division of the Army of Destruction has risen into
deadly prominence.

In _Recreation_ Magazine for May, 1909, Mr. Charles Askins published a
most startling and illuminating article, entitled "The South's Problem
in Game Protection." It brought together in concrete form and with
eye-witness reliability the impressions that for months previous had
been gaining ground in the North. In order to give the testimony of a
man who has seen what he describes, I shall now give numerous quotations
from Mr. Askins' article, which certainly bears the stamp of
truthfulness, without any "race prejudice" whatever. It is a calm,
judicial, unemotional analysis of a very bad situation: and I
particularly commend it alike to the farmers of the North and all the
true sportsmen of the South.

In his opening paragraphs Mr. Askins describes game and hunting
conditions in the South as they were down to twenty years ago, when the
negroes were too poor to own guns, and shooting was not for them.

* * * * *

SPECIAL WORK OF THE SOUTHERN NEGROES.

It is all different now, says Mr. Askins, and the old days will only
come back with the water that has gone down the stream. The master
is with his fathers or he is whiling away his last days on the
courthouse steps of the town. Perhaps a chimney or two remain of
what was once the "big house" on the hill; possibly it is still
standing, but as forlorn and lifeless as a dead tree. The muscadine
grapes still grow in the swale and the persimmons in the pasture
field, but neither 'possum nor 'coon is left to eat them. The last
deer vanished years ago, the rabbits died in their baby coats and
the quail were killed in June. Old "Uncle Ike" has gone across the
"Great River" with his master, and his grandson glances at you
askance, nods sullenly, whistles to his half breed bird dog,
shoulders his three dollar gun and leaves you. He is typical of the
change and has caused it, this grandson of dear old Uncle Ike.

In the same way the white man is telling the