BRINGING BACK THE GAME 



By a. a. Allen 



A Department for the instruction and information of members of the American 

 Forestry Association and others regarding birds and the conservation of bird life 



THERE is, in this country today, a widespread awak- 

 ening to the value and the necessity of conserving 

 our native game. Law-makers, sportsmen, and the 

 people at large, have come at last to the realization that 

 America, at one time the richest game-producing land in 

 the world, has been 

 wantonly devas- 

 tated. In previous 

 pages of the Bird 

 Department we 

 have traced the 

 development of 

 game laws, culmi- 

 nating in the Fed- 

 eral Migratory 

 Bird Law, and the 

 treaty with Can- 

 ada. We know that 

 open seasons have 

 been shortened, 

 ' ' bag limits ' ' cur- 

 tailed, and most po- 

 tent of all, the sale 

 of game ruled out 

 in numerous states. 

 Laws in themselves 

 ever, are not 



Photo by Courtesy oj the American Game Protective Association. 



A PEN OF RING-NECKED PHEASANTS 

 The pheasant has been reared in captivity more successfully than any other game bird and. while 

 not a native of the New World, it is now the commonest upland game bird in many parts of the country. 



how- 

 sufhcient. 

 There mtist be an organ- 

 ization of ptiblic opinion be- 

 fore they will be respected 

 and obeyed. Organizers 

 have not been wanting. The 

 need for protective associa- 

 tions has been met by stich 

 men as Dutcher arid Pear- 

 son, who founded and 

 perfected the National 

 Association of Audubon 

 Societies, Bumham and 

 Quarlcs, of the American 

 Game Protective Asso- 

 ciation, Dr. Wni. T. Horna- 

 day, and the scores of 

 leaders of local sportsmen's 

 organizations and bird clubs 

 throughout the country. 

 Through the efforts of these 

 men, there are, today, over 

 500,000 affiliated sports- 

 men, and over a milhon 



Photo by Courtesy oJ the American Game Protective Association. 

 YOUNG RING-NECKED PHEASANTS 

 These birds are in the rearing field of the American Game Protective Association. 

 Questions concerning the rearing of game birds addressed to this association, 

 233 Broadway, New York, will be cheerfully answered. 



affiliated bird sttxdeiats and conservationists working for 

 bird and game preservation. 



But even though the best laws arc respected and 

 enforced by an enlightened public, the natural increase 

 of game cannot meet the demands of the five million 



owners of shot- 

 guns. The game 

 must be given a 

 chance to get on 

 its feet before it is 

 knocked down, and 

 unless it is well es- 

 tablished it cannot 

 hold its own against 

 such odds. There 

 are three practical 

 methods of accotn- 

 plishing this end. 

 The first is to pro- 

 claim a long closed 

 season for several 

 years upon any 

 species which is 

 apparently losing 

 ground until it can 

 regain its hold. Thus, the 

 Federal Law provides a 

 continuous closed season 

 for a term of years for the 

 wood duck, cranes and the 

 smaller species of shore 

 birds. The second method 

 is the establishment of 

 refuges where no hunting 

 at any time is allowed. 

 When these refuges have 

 restocked themselves, the 

 excess game spreads to the 

 surrounding country where 

 it may be hunted, but the 

 parent stock, the nucleus, 

 the germ, is never des- 

 troyed but goes on pro- 

 ilucing, mtiltiplying, and 

 restocking the surrounding 

 country. Colonel Roosevelt, 

 during his administration, 

 was particularly active in 

 establishing Federal bird 

 and game reservations, and 

 15 



