70 



THE GAME BREEDER 



that always there will be plenty of game 

 to shoot, sell and eat. The selling is im- 

 portant because men of moderate means 

 should sell. some game to help pay their 

 expenses. L ' 



The Cost of Quail Preserving. 



Where quail are bred wild in the fields 

 the cost of production is very small com-"" 

 pared to the cost of hand-rearing pheas- . 

 ants and ducks. The wild bred quail af- " 

 ford the best shooting. The advantages 

 of a good game breeder's law are that 

 those who operate under it make their 

 own season and bag limits and sell some 

 of the extra game to keep the expenses 

 down. There are places near New York 

 where the dues in quail clubs are only 

 $15 to $25 per year. Since no quail can 

 "be sold only enough birds are produced 

 for the club members to shcot. We hope 

 it will not be long before extra keepers 

 can be employed and that enough quail 

 will be produced to keep the markets full 

 during a long open season. Very little of 

 the land now posted will be needed to 

 Tceep the markets full. The open season 

 for those who do nothing should be long 

 and the bag limits should be increased as 

 soon as there are one or two quail clubs 

 in each county. Trap shooting; clubs pru- 

 vide their clay birds. Quail shooting 

 clubs must provide their quail. It-is a 

 very easy matter to do this but not in 

 States where shooting is prohibited. 



Some Questions for California. 



One of our California members has 

 sent the. following questions : 



1. Is California a game breeding 

 State? , 



2. Is there a licensed game breeder in 

 California? 



3. Are any California breeders oper- 

 ating under the Bowman act? 



4. Have any permits to breed game 

 been issued under this act? 



5. If so, how many? 



6. What part, if any, of the Bowman 

 act is executed? 



7. Is the State propagating and pre- 

 serving its game? 



& Is there a duck preserve in Califor- 



nia which produces any of the ducks 

 shot ? 



9. Will 3,000 game birds stock 156,000 

 square miles of territory? 

 . .10. Does the State plant fish in private 

 waters ? 



11. If the California breeders are not 

 operating under the Bowman act under 

 which law are they working ? 



Many of our readers are breeding 

 game in California. Only a few adver- 

 tise in The Game Breeder, but we pre- 

 sume that here, as elsewhere, most of 

 them could not fill their orders. 



We are, inclined ...to think from the 

 many . letters coming from. California 

 that it is time Tor the game breeders, 

 sportsmen, hotel. men,, farmers and- deal- 

 ers to get together and to work together 

 for more game and a better game breed- 

 ers' law than the Bowman act is. 



We understand that the charge for a 

 license is too hi°fh— $25.00. This should 

 be reduced to $2 ; as it has been in some 

 States, or to nothing as it is in Massa- 

 chusetts. The State should be glad to 

 issue breeders' permits at a nominal cost 

 or without charge, if it wishes to have 

 the game increased rapidly. 



We are inclined to believe that most 

 of the numerous California duck clubs 

 are v destroyers only and not producers 

 of game. We believe all of them will 

 auickly undertake game breeding when 

 they understand the subject and the 

 many benefits game breeders have under 

 a proper law. 



Of course, 3,000 birds will not stock 

 a big State, especially when the birds are 

 thinly distributed and for the most part 

 quickly eaten up by vermin. Some of 

 our members now shoct over 3,000 birds 

 in a season and have plenty left over. 

 Tame game produced en a State game 

 farm is no match for the numerous ene- 

 mies which occur everywhere when, it 

 is liberated. We heard recently that 

 California had decided to give up feed- 

 ing vermin and that the State farm 

 would be abandoned. The State should 

 distribute game birds as the United 

 States Fish Bureau distributes fish. To 

 those who will look after them properly 

 and multiply their numbers. Quickly the 



