THE GAME BREEDER 



167 



were prohibited in England there would 

 be fewer birds than at present, although 

 hundreds of thousands of birds are shot 

 annually. Any one with ordinary com- 

 mon sense easily can understand that if 

 shooting be prohibited on Long Island 

 there will be fewer quail than at pres- 

 ent, although the sport has been excel- 

 lent for many years and will remain so 

 if people who have no interest in Long 

 Island and know nothing about condi- 

 tions there can be induced to conduct 

 their mischief-making industry else- 

 where. 



• 



ROCKING-CHAIR SPORT. 



We recently read the following state- 

 ment about sport in Ohio said to have 

 been made by the President of the Board 

 having charge of the game : "The fish 

 and game interests of Ohio are being 

 kept in a very prosperous condition under 

 the care of a special committee of the 

 Ohio State Board of Agriculture." 



The wild turkey, once abundant in 

 Ohio has become extinct except on one 

 game farm. The principal and practically 

 the only game bird for Ohio sportsmen 

 is the bobwhite quail. The area for duck 

 shooting is very limited and we have 

 been told that motorboats and riparian 

 residents have sadly interfered with the 

 duck shooting which once was good on 

 the canal reservoirs. Bowhite has been 

 on the song bird list for some time. We 

 are told that the dove, also, has been 

 placed on this list ; the dove is the second 

 best game bird in Ohio. Recently a little 

 pheasant breeding has started and we be- 

 lieve those who own pheasants can shoot 

 them without being arrested. 



When we recall the days when we 

 found it an easy matter to bag twenty 

 or thirty brace of quail in a day in Ohio, 

 with a few doves, ruffed grouse and 

 woodcock and an occasional wild turkey 

 for good measure, it does not seem to 

 us that the practical prohibition of sport 

 which now exists is all that could be 

 desired, or all that easily could be accom- 

 plished by those who prefer the annual 

 pursuit of "more game" to the annual 

 pursuit of "more game laws." 



The kind of sport now enjoyed in 

 Ohio seems to us to be that of the nim- 

 rod who enjoys the pipe and the rocking 

 chair. We can hardly imagine any one 

 paying a high non-resident licensee fee to 

 try the shooting in Ohio. 



Possibly the game conditions are con- 

 sidered fine from the point of view of 

 the farmer who is glad there is nothing 

 to tempt trespassers. 



NEW YORK NONSENSE. 



All persons, including State Game Of- 

 ficers, should read the quotation from 

 the excellent report of the Massachu- 

 setts Commissioners of Fish and Game 

 printed on another page. 



"The policy of the Commission has 

 been to encourage in every possible way 

 the propagation of game birds." 



Permits are issued "upon request" 

 and without charge to "any person, firm 

 or corporation" to propagate any species 

 of deer, elk, pheasants, quail, partridge, 

 geese, wild ducks or squirrels for sale, 

 exchange or to be given away. 



The Commission well says: "Such 

 work contributes to the public welfare." 



How far behind the times New York 

 seems to be when compared with Mas- 

 sachusetts and many other States which 

 encourage the profitable production of 

 highly desirable foods! 



A large amount of money is expended 

 annually in the effort to save the game 

 in New York from extinction, but it is 

 deemed necessary to charge the producer 

 $5.00 for a license and to arrest him 

 if he sells any quail, grouse or other 

 game birds he may produce excepting 

 only two common species of wild ducks 

 and pheasants. 



The people of the more enlightened 

 states must be amused at the nonsense 

 in New York ; those who breed an abun- 

 dance of game for sale as food are be- 

 coming more and more disgusted and 

 indignant that they can not send their 

 food to the best market. We have a 

 large mail on this subject, especially 

 from the West and from parts of New 

 England. 



