118 



^^ 



at the first national conference on American game breeding, held in March, 

 1915, in New York City, the chairman, Mr. Frederic C. Walcott, paid 

 this tribute to the game keeper: 



"We get most of the good things of life from our brothers 

 across the Atlantic, the Germans and the English, including the 

 Scotchmen and the Irishmen. All of our present success in game 

 keeping really originated Avith the small handful of men that the 

 elder Mac\ icar brought over for the late Rutherfurd Stuyvesant. 

 One of the first if not the very first of these was Mr. Duncan Dunn. 

 He brought also his son, Mr. A. G. MacVicar, Mr Adam Scott, 

 Mr. Monroe and one or two others. We don't appreciate how much 

 we owe these men. They form the nucleus of the intelligent, hard- 

 working, resourceful game keepers that we have today. Mr. Harry 

 T. Rogers and Messrs. Samuel and Wallace Evans are a few of the 

 many successful men native to this country; but we owe this first 

 man that came over a great deal, and it gives me pleasure to make 

 acknowledgment of the debt." 

 The state game farms and the larger clubs are doing a valuable work 

 in educating game keepers. Raising as many birds as they do, they must 

 employ a number of men, all of whom have full opportunity to graduate 

 into experienced keepers. 



EXPERIENCED MEN REQUIRED.— It does not follow, however, 

 that a man capable of bringing a field of 1500 birds through a season in 

 good shape under the direction of a superintendent or head keeper will 

 necessarily be a success if placed in charge of breeding operations at some 

 other place. The two things are widely different. Engaging a game 

 keeper, then, is a good deal of a lottery at the best but, even so, it is 

 surprising to see how easily deceived many estate owners are in employing 

 this class of help. In a recent instance that came to my notice, a keeper 

 who had deserted a rearing field filled with young birds for three days dur- 

 ing the absence of the head keeper had no trouble in securing employment 

 immediately on his discharge on the estate of a wealthy New Yorker. 

 The most cursory sort of investigation by the second employer would 

 have brought forth these facts, but it was not made. 



REGISTRY FOR EXPERIENCED KEEPERS.— The Department 

 of Game Breeding of the American Game Protective Association has a 

 registry list for experienced game keepers of good character, which is open 

 gratis to all who can qualify and keepers are invited to register. At the 

 same time those wanting to employ a keeper will be served without charge 

 and they are invited to make use of the Department's information on this 

 gubject. Address 2*273 Woolworth Building, New York City. No 



