BRINGING BACK THE GAME 



17 



be impossible to allow the shooting of rabbits and hope 

 to protect any other game. 



After good laws have been passed and enforced, and 

 the community sanctuary made a potent factor in :game 

 protection, there remains still another means of bringing 

 back the game its artificial propagation. The reproduc- 

 tive capacity of game birds is far ahead of what is necessary 

 to perpetuate the species, or even to provide for a normal 

 increase. The bob-white, for example, lays from 10 to 17 

 eggs in a clutch, although, in order to perpetuate the 

 species, it is necessary to raise to maturity only two young 

 during the entire life of the pair. The additional eggs are 

 nature's provision against calamity, and normally, just 

 balance or offset the number of enemies to which the 

 species is subject. Large as the clutch seems, it by no 

 means represents the full capacity of the bob-white, for if 

 the first nest is destroyed, another will be built and another 

 clutch of eggs laid. Domestic fowls have been known to 

 lay 314 eggs in 365 days through artificial stimulation by 

 an abundant and continuous food supply and removal of 

 the eggs as soon as laid. Game birds have never ap- 

 proached this record but the bob-white, in captivity, 



Photo by J. T. Lloyd. 



A WILD MALLARD NESTING IN CAPTIVITY 



The egg-laying capacity and the comparative hardiness of the mallard make it 

 a favorite with amateur game breeders. 



regularly lays thirty to forty eggs and the pheasant fifty 

 to a hundred. Is it not to be expected, then, in this age 

 of science, that man should take advantage of this, as he 

 has all the other resources of nature, and in return for 

 proper care of the eggs and young, and protection from 

 the natural dangers and enemies, reap the benefits of this 

 great reproductive ability. This is the secret of rearing 

 game in captivity and the reason why it brings such great 

 returns compared with mere protection of the birds in the 

 natural state. The first eggs can be taken and placed 

 under a hen and the bird will still produce more than she 

 would in the wild state, and the output is thereby doubled 

 or tripled. 



Game breeding in this country is still in its infancy 

 but we are at the beginning of an era of great activity. 

 The greatest strides have been made with those species 

 that already have been bred in Europe for centuries, 

 namely, the mallard duck and the ring-necked pheasant, 

 and during the past few years, much has been learned 

 about breeding the bob-white. Successful experiments are 

 being carried on also with the wild turkey, the ruffed 



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Photo by J. Heywood. 



WATERFOWL POND ON A GAME FARM 



These waterfowl are owned by John Heywood of Gardner, Mass. Our native 

 Canada goose does well and breeds freely in captivity. White-fronted, Egyptian 

 and blue geese are here also shown. 



grouse, the California quail, and several species of native 

 waterfowl besides the mallard including the beautiful wood 

 duck. It is probable that before many years have passed 

 every species of native game bird will have been raised 

 in captivity. Think what this will mean for the game of 

 our country. 



In nature probably less than 10 per cent of the eggs 

 of game birds develop into mature birds. By artificial 

 cultivation as high as an 80 per cent yield has often been 

 attained and considering that the yield of eggs can be 

 doubled or tripled it is fair to expect twenty times the 

 efficiency of nature under artificial propagation. How 

 much more rapidly, then, can coverts be restocked? 



The case of the ring-necked pheasant, although it is 

 not a native game bird, speaks well for this method of 

 bringing back the game. For years, hundreds of birds were 

 imported and liberated, in suitable coverts with the result 

 that in only a few places did they establish themselves. 

 Little attempt was made to breed them in captivity since 

 it was supposed that the birds would do much better in 

 the wild state. But the birds, when liberated, scattered 

 so widely that when the mating instinct came they rarely 

 found each other. The result was that up to ten years ago, 

 the pheasant was nowhere sufficiently abundant to be a 

 practical game bird. At about that time, however, several 

 states established game farms, taking up the breeding of 

 pheasants in captivity. Methods were perfected and soon 



