INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY EFFORT 291 



A sympathetic attitude on the part of farmers throughout 

 Canada towards the conservation of wild Ufe would be more 

 effectual than any other factor in promoting this object. 

 Comparatively few farmers, however, appreciate the ad- 

 vantages which accrue from the protection and encourage- 

 ment of wild life on their own properties. The economic 

 importance of protecting insectivorous birds on our farms 

 has already been emphasized in a previous chapter. To the 

 farmer the presence of a supply of game on his farm means 

 an addition to his meat supply. Further, if he undertakes 

 to propagate game on his farm, he would, in many cases, 

 obtain higher prices for such game than for the domestic 

 poultry; game propagation, however, is a special subject in 

 itself, and should not be undertaken without some knowl- 

 edge of the subject, or loss and disappointment will follow 

 instead of profit and enjoyment. The protection of game 

 and wild life on the farm requires neither special knowledge 

 nor great expense. The essentials are: (1) a well-defined 

 boundary with appropriate notices at intervals for the 

 public; (2) plenty of cover; (3) the destruction of predatory 

 mammals and birds; (4) as abundant a supply of water as 

 can be provided; and (5) a little food during inclement 

 weather. 



Until the pleasures of wild life protection are enjoyed 

 and its benefits appreciated by farmers, it is impossible for 

 them to realize how the attraction of the farm and of farm 

 life can be increased for them and their families. Such an 

 added interest to the life of the farms in many parts of 

 Canada would help to retain some portion of the youth 

 that now finds farm Ufe too uninteresting, and migrates to 

 the cities, thus reducing our agricultural population and food 

 production; this is not a hypothetical opinion but is based 

 on experience. 



Clubs. — In an account of his hunting experience in Quebec 

 a few years ago, the late Colonel Theodore Roosevelt wrote : 



