62 FISH AND GAME. 



parts of the State, and the Sutton game farm near Worcester 

 for the middle and eastern parts. At Sandwich on Cape Cod, 

 where the facilities for raising quail and grouse are more favor- 

 able than elsewhere, a new game farm has been located within 

 the past year. On Martha's Vineyard is a reservation of 600 

 acres in the center of the island, where attempts are being made 

 to save the last remnant of the eastern prairie chicken, or 

 heath hen, by protecting and keeping the birds in a state ap- 

 proaching as nearly as possible to the wild. Another type of 

 game farm is the experimental station at Sharon, where nu- 

 merous observations are being made on the propagation of 

 pheasants and quail. Still another type, the Norfolk game 

 farm, is located on the State Hospital Reservation, and sug- 

 gests a method whereby similar State land, otherwise useless, 

 may be utilized without additional cost, and the inmates re- 

 ceive a vocational training by assisting in the work. Likewise, 

 at Marshfield, a game farm has been started on a large reserva- 

 tion. The development of all of these stations has been ac- 

 cording to a definite plan, and such purchases of land as have 

 been made from time to time have been for the purpose of 

 improving their natural resources and permitting their healthy 

 growth. 



Rearing Methods. - - Two methods for the rearing of game 

 birds, the open and the closed, have been followed at the State 

 hatcheries in order to determine, if possible, the best conditions 

 for each particular species. It has been found that quail and 

 grouse may yield better results if separated from other birds, 

 as has been demonstrated at Sandwich on Cape Cod. The 

 Wilbraham game farm furnishes an example of the open system 

 of pheasant rearing, owing to its extensive area, and to the 

 excellent facilities for allowing the birds to roam at large. 

 Quail, pheasants and wood ducks are raised on a more intensive 

 method at the Sutton hatchery. We have, therefore, under 

 observation the open or extensive system, in which the young 

 birds are put out as soon as possible in large fields, and the 

 more intensive method of rearing the birds to adult age in 

 small enclosures. The open method causes a much greater loss 

 from predatory vermin, and greater quantities of the birds es- 

 cape, which, in a way, is offset by the hardy nature and free- 



