THE GAME BREEDER 



111 



and to get this, he will seek the con- 

 fidence of the sportsmen of every state 

 in the Union. That he is deserving of 

 their confidence, the sportsmen will soon 

 learn. 



In discussing game matters, Mr. Law- 

 yer made it definite to the writer that 

 he proposes to work with the States in 

 protecting game, raher than against 

 them. So far as climatic conditions will 

 permit, there will be uniformity of reg- 

 ulations. At present under the Federal 

 Migratory Bird Law, the United States 

 is divided into two zones — the breeding 

 zone, which embraces the twenty-five 

 states between the two oceans and north 

 of the fortieth parallel of latitude and 

 the Ohio River, and the wintering zone, 



which includes the twenty-three States 

 below this line. 



Besides having charge of the adminis- 

 tration of all of the game laws of the 

 United States, Mr. Lawyer will look after 

 the preparation of rules that fix the open 

 and closed seasons. That he is fitted 

 for the position is evidenced by the fact 

 that it came to him unsought. He was 

 highly recommended by Secretary of Ag- 

 riculture David F. Houston, who con- 

 sulted with several influential men before 

 offering the appointment, and it is not 

 unlikely that a good word was spoken 

 for him by Secretary of State Robert 

 Lansing, for Mr. Lawyer is a staunch 

 Democrat and hails from Mr. Lansing's 

 home city — and besides, Mr. Lansing is a 

 sportsman. 



THREE IMPORTANT WILD DUCK FOODS. 



By W. L. McAtee. 



[The following is from an important bulletin issued by the Biological Survey, United 

 States Department of Agriculture.J 



The vegetable food of wild ducks in- 

 cludes a large variety of plants, of which 

 three have been found of especial im- 

 portance. These three are wild rice, wild 

 celery and pondweeds. 



Wild celery beds and wild rice 

 marshes have long been recognized as 

 important features of ducking grounds. 

 Less widely known, but not less impor- 

 tant, are the submerged plants known as 

 pondweeds. In the case of sixteen of 

 the most important species of game 

 ducks whose stomachs have been exam- 

 ined, wild celery, wild rice and pond- 

 weeds collectively compose 25.31 per 

 cent, of the total food. The percentages 

 of these foods consumed by the various 

 species are given in the accompanying 

 table. Too much reliance, however, 

 should not be placed on these percent- 

 ages, since the number of stomachs of 

 some species is none too great, and ex- 

 amination of a larger number may neces- 

 sitate material changes in the figures. 



To many it may appear that the average 

 percentages of wild rice and wild celery 



eaten by ducks are low, but it must be 

 remembered that these foods are by no 

 means universally distributed, nor are 

 they accessible at all times of the year. 

 Although on first thought a percentage 

 of less than 5 for wild rice may seem 

 small, it really means that these 16 

 species of ducks get a twentieth of their 

 annual subsistence from this grain ; in 

 other words, the quantity they eat would 

 support them for two and a half weeks 

 if wild rice were fed upon exclusively. 

 Similarly, wild celery, which forms 6.65 

 per cent, of their food, would suffice 

 for three and a half weeks, and pond- 

 weeds which form 13.88 per cent., for 

 more than seven weeks. 



The fact that wild celery and wild 

 rice, although naturally of local and re- 

 stricted distribution, may be grown in 

 suitable places over the whole United 

 States should be more widely known. 

 There is no doubt that by transplanting 

 and sowing the seeds of these and other 

 plants used by ducks for food many de- 

 pleted ducking grounds can be restored 



