T^^ Game Breeder 



Published Monthly. Entered as second-class matter, Jui/ g, igi5, at the Post;Office, New YorkiCity, 



New York, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 



VOLUME XII 



DECEMBER, J9J7 



Co) 



SURVEY OF THE FIELD. 



NUMBER 3 



An Important Announcement. 



America undoubtedly has become the 

 biggest pheasant producing country m 

 the world ! We have no doubt there are 

 more wild ducks also in America than 

 there are in any country in the world, 

 excepting possibly India. We have 

 heard recently some remarkable stories 

 about the abundance of wild fowl in 

 India. 



The reason why America has become 

 a great pheasant producing country is 

 that the laws have been amended in 

 many states so as to permit and encour- 

 age the profitable breeding of pheasants. 

 Certain species of ducks also can be 

 produced legally. 



We now propose quickly to make 

 America the biggest quail and grouse 

 producing country in the world! 



What Can Be Done. 



Quail and grouse can be bred in vast 

 numbers far more cheaply than pheas- 

 ants and wild ducks can be bred. We 

 propose to restore the prairie grouse to 

 Kentucky and Ohio and to make these 

 birds an abundant food supply in many 

 other places where they are extinct. 

 Sport certainly has nothing to fear from 

 this activity. 



It will be necessary in some states 

 to have the laws amended, but in states 

 where there are no grouse no legislation 

 will be necessary. It has been found a 

 very easy matter to make the wild tur- 

 keys plentiful on some farms and club 

 grounds in states where the laws pro- 

 tecting turkeys have been repealed be- 

 cause the birds became extinct. We can 

 get all the wild turkeys we want for 

 breeding purposes. 



Our main difficulty will be in pro- 

 curing other stock birds, because in many 

 states those who have sought vainly to 

 make the game abundant by enacting re- 

 strictive laws have secured legislation 

 which prevents the taking of stock birds 

 for breeding purposes. 



We can get some stock, however, we 

 feel sure. 



Proper Methods. 



Attempts to breed prairie and ruffed 

 grouse and quail "in captivity" have not 

 been very successful. There is a better 

 and an easier way to make and keep 

 these birds tremendously abundant. If 

 they quickly can be made abundant on 

 any place and the methods be made 

 known it seems evident many people 

 will breed grouse and quail both for 

 sport and for profit. They are cheaper 

 to rear than pheasants and will bring 

 better prices. When breeders can sup- 

 ply stock birds and eggs at prices which 

 at the outset will seem fabulous, we have 

 no doubt many sporting and commercial 

 breeders will undertake to make these 

 birds plentiful just as they made the 

 pheasants plentiful. 



An Experiment. 



In order to make a practical experi- 

 ment with American game birds we de- 

 cided to use the money usually used 

 for our annual game dinner, with some 

 additional money, for this purpose. A 

 letter sent to those who attended our 

 dinner and some others, asking for con- 

 tributions to our game breeding fund, met 

 with a hearty response. 



Many offered to give us nuicli more 



