PEOPAGATION 51 



normal conditions of life. On the Maeomber ranch at Paicines, San 

 Benito County, quail have been carefully protected and regularly fed, 

 and as a result are very abundant, two or three hundred of them 

 gathering to feed in front of the ranch house each morning. 



Game birds may be attracted to a locality by using appropriate 

 food as an enticement. Quail may be attracted with patches of buck- 

 wheat or other grain. Wild fowl may be brought to a pond by plant- 

 ing Egyptian corn around the edges or by scattering wheat or barley 

 on the banks and in the water. Still better for this purpose are such 

 natural forage plants as pond weed {Potamogcton sp.), ditch-grass 

 (Ruppia maritima), tule potato {Sagittaria latifolia), bulrush 

 (Scirpus sp.), sedge {Carcx sp.), water-cress (Nasturtium officinale), 

 or knotweed {Polygonum sp.). Seeds or plants of wild rice, wild 

 celery, and other water or bog plants suitable for attracting water- 

 fowl can be purchased from dealers whose addresses can be secured 

 through the University of California. Although many attempts have 

 been made to grow wild rice and wild celery in this state, the results 

 have so far been negative. Mr. R. W. Skinner of Eureka, Humboldt 

 County, writes us that he was successful in getting wild rice to grow 

 in a small fresh-water pond one foot deep, but that the drying up of 

 the pond the following year unfortunately ended the experiment. He 

 believes that this plant will grow in tlie Humboldt Bay section in fresh 

 water that has little current, and is not too deep, and where the soil 

 is rich. Mr. W. W. Richards of Oakland, who has experimented with 

 wild rice in the Suisun marshes, calls attention to the fact that fresh 

 running water such as is suitable for wild rice is seldom found in our 

 duck marshes. 



How TO Start a Game Farm 



Upland Game Birds. — Prerequisites. — A permit or license from 

 the State Fish and Game Commission. Five or more acres with sandy 

 or loamy soil ; movable pens for quail 4 by 8 feet or, better, 10 by 12 

 feet ; for pheasants, large stationary pens, for bantams and chicks, 

 coops about two feet square with removable tops, and each connected 

 with a small pen. Sun and shade, abundant insect life, and well 

 drained soil are necessities. 



Breeding Stock. — Should be procured in late fall or early winter, 

 preferably from a locality of similar climate. Quail should be pro- 

 cured in pairs; with pheasants, which are polygamous (excepting the 

 Silver Pheasant), one male to six females is the rule. Purchase birds 

 rather than eggs. 



Food. — Adults do well on almost any sort of grain if fed regularly 

 and moderately. Ordinary commercial "chick-feed" is good for quail. 



