84 



THE GAME BREEDER 



proaches and the birds will thrive better 

 and lay more eggs if they are secured 

 early and become accustomed to their 

 new surroundings. 



Turkeys and Turkey Eggs. 



One of the largest breeders of wild 

 turkeys recently reported that he had sold 

 all the birds he wished to sell. One 

 breeder declined to sell any wild turkey 

 eggs for less than $25.00 per dozen and 

 said he preferred to keep his eggs and 

 hatch them. 



Miss Mary Wilkey, who advertised for 

 the first time this season, reported that 

 quickly she sold all the wild turkeys and 

 eggs she wished to dispose of. 



good that it seems likely more people 

 will get into grouse breeding. A good 

 big grouse ranch in one of the prairie 

 states soon will make a fortune for its 

 owner and the breeding operations need 

 not interfere with the farming opera- 

 tions. The grouse can be made a valu- 

 able by-product on many big wheat farms 

 where we predict they soon will yield 

 more than the wheat. We hope to open 

 the New York markets to this desirable 

 food soon and quickly it should become 

 plentiful. It is mighty good to eat. 



The Deer Market. 



Many deer breeders declined to adver- 

 tise since they could not fill their orders. 

 One wrote that a small advertisement 

 sold all of his deer within a few days 

 after it appeared. A space advertise- 

 ment asking for deer did not bring any 

 response and it was evident that the de- 

 mand far exceeded the supply. 



Quail. 



Quail prices literally soared. We had 

 a few birds offered at $24.00 per dozen 

 but soon sales were reported at thirty- 

 six dollars per dozen and later we heard 

 of an offer of $5 per bird. It is quite 

 evident that the laws should be amended 

 promptly in every State so as to permit 

 the taking of live birds for propagation. 

 The absurdity of issuing licenses to de- 

 stroy a certain number of birds per diem 

 and of refusing permission to those who 

 would prefer to take their birds alive in 

 order to breed them is apparent and this 

 nonsense like many other varieties must 

 be eliminated from the statutes. 



Grouse and Eggs. 



Very few sales of prairie grouse and, 

 ruffed grouse have been reported. There 

 is a big demand for these birds and their 

 eggs. It is now legal to produce them 

 in many States and the prices are so 



Quail in the Woods. 



Reports from several of the large quail 

 preserves where quail always are abun- 

 dant say that the birds frequented the 

 woods more than usual. We were un- 

 able to give a reason for this without 

 seeing the ground. An absence of food 

 in the fields, too much persecution in the 

 fields by gunners or vermin will produce 

 such a result. On some of the big places 

 with which we are familiar we can not 

 believe that either over shooting or ver- 

 min could be assigned as a reason for the 

 quails leaving the fields. We would sug- 

 gest that the food supply should always 

 be looked into and the natural field 

 covers should be observed. In some 

 places where the covers are too much re- 

 duced and food is scarce the quail natur- 

 ally take to the woods. 



In a story about one of the smaller 

 places published in this issue, it would 

 seem that the quail went to the woods 

 for the small acorns which were so abun- 

 dant that the food could be easily ob- 

 tained. Probably is was found easier 

 to get a good meal quickly in the woods 

 than it was to glean the fields. A little 

 corn and wheat distributed in fields when 

 the abundant birds may have eaten most 

 of the natural food should keep the 

 shooting good in the open, where it is 

 easier to make the attractive double shots 

 than it is in the woods. The more food 

 and the more attractive and safe covers 

 there are in open fields the easier it is to 

 hold the birds evenly distributed in them. 

 Vermin should of course be controlled, as 

 it now is fairly well on some of the quail 

 shoots. 



