n completely exterminated."

But the work of the Evil Genius of Laysan did not stop with the
slaughter of three hundred thousand birds. Mr. Schlemmer introduced
rabbits and guinea-pigs; and these rapidly multiplying rodents now are
threatening to consume every plant on the island. If the plants
disappear, many of the insects will go with them; and this will mean the
disappearance of the small insectivorous birds.

In February, 1909, President Roosevelt issued an executive order
creating the Hawaiian Islands Reservation for Birds. In this are
included Laysan and twelve other islands and reefs, some of which are
inhabited by birds that are well worth preserving. By this act, we may
feel that for the future the birds of Laysan and neighboring islets are
secure from further attacks by the bloody-handed agents of the vain
women who still insist upon wearing the wings and feathers of wild
birds.

* * * * *

CHAPTER XV

UNFAIR FIREARMS, AND SHOOTING ETHICS

For considerably more than a century, the States of the American Union
have enacted game-protective laws based on the principle that the wild
game belongs to the People, and the people's senators, representatives
and legislators generally may therefore enact laws for its protection,
prescribing the manner in which it may and may not be taken and
possessed. The soundness of this principle has been fully confirmed by
the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Geer vs.
Connecticut, on March 2, 1896.

The tendency of predatory man to kill and capture wild game of all kinds
by wholesale methods is as old as the human race. The days of the club,
the stone axe, the bow and arrow and the flint-lock gun were
contemporaneous with the days of great abundance of game. Now that the
advent of breech-loaders, repeaters, automatics and fixed ammunition has
rendered game scarce in all localities save a very few, the thoughtful
man is driven to consider measures for the checking of destruction and
the suppression of wholesale slaughter.

First of all, the deadly floating batteries and sail-boats were
prohibited. To-day a punt gun is justly regarded as a relic of
barbarism, and any man who uses one places himself beyond the pale of
decent sportsmanship, or even of modern pot-hunting. Strange to say,
although the unwritten code of ethics of English sportsmen is very
strict, the English to this day permit wild-fowl hunting with guns of