THIRD BIENNIAL STATEMENT 169 



A dog with a tin-can tied to his tail naturally seeks home 

 and friends and it is not strange that wild life, when har- 

 assed by sportsmen, should seek safety and peace in these 

 sanctuaries. Many stories are told regarding the instinct 

 or sagacity of the deer, especially old bucks, in eluding their 

 pursuers by seeking temporary safety in these refuges. 

 During the snow at our Ligonier Preserve, tracks of 74 

 deer were seen entering the Preserve during one day and 

 night and only 14 leaving it in that time. Grouse, turkeys, 

 squirrels and other small game nest and breed in the sanc- 

 tuaries and naturally scatter over the surrounding coun- 

 try. During the hunting season it is surprising how quickly 

 they learn that inside the sanctuary wire means safety. 



To our minds this system of game propagation in its 

 habitat and environment and under absolutely natural con- 

 ditions with protection from hunters and vermin, is in- 

 finitely superior to any plan which involves the breeding of 

 game in confinement. In fact, the Pennsylvania Game Com- 

 mission considers it a patriotic duty to bend all its energies 

 and apply all its resources to the conservation and perpetu- 

 ation of our native and useful wild life rather than to im- 

 port from foreign countries at great expense birds and 

 animals of doubtful value. 



Through the adoption of Pennsylvania's constructive game 

 preserve policy, the million acres of State Forest Reserve 

 on which a few years ago wild life was almost extinct, 

 are being gradually made into the greatest hunting and 

 recreation grounds ever contemplated for the benefit of the 

 people of any State. 



It has been observed that in 1919 our State sportsmen 

 killed 7,251,904 pounds of game, which at the low price of 

 20c per pound would have a value of $1,450,380.80. Our 

 sportsman who pays a dollar fee to belong to the greatest 

 hunting club in America makes a good investment. In 

 1919 we sold 400,000 licenses, and there are 215,000 farms 

 in Pennsylvania with at least one hunter to a farm, all 

 exempt from license, making up a grand total of 600,000 

 hunters. 



It is our opinion that our game sanctuaries are the main 

 factor in bringing back our game, although this could not 

 be done without good game laws, especially our Buck Law 

 and Alien Gun Law, and the enthusiastic support of our 



