168 



THE GAME BREEDER 



tending to shoot on public lands and 

 waters will there find just what the regu- 

 lations are. 

 Iowa. 



Two most important laws have been 

 enacted recently which should be given 

 the widest publicity in the State of Iowa 

 and the other States which have game 

 breeders' laws. 



One of these new laws is the Iowa 

 statute encouraging the profitable breed- 

 ing of all species of game. The other is 

 the amendment to the New York law 

 opening the New York markets to the 

 sale of game produced by industry in 

 other States. The prices for game in 

 New York are high. There is a rare 

 chance for money-making in Iowa both 

 for men and women, and in fact for chil- 

 dren, since many boys and girls have 

 made money with game. 



The Iowa law provides that : 



"Any person desiring to engage in the busi- 

 ness of raising and selling pheasants, wild 

 duck, quail and other game birds or any of 

 them in a wholly enclosed preserve or enclos- 

 ure of which he is the owner or lessee, may 

 make application in writing to the State Fish 

 and Game Warden for a license so to do. 

 That the State Fish and Game Warden, when 

 it shall appear that such application is made 

 in good faith, shall upon the payment of an 

 annual fee of $2 issue to such applicant a 

 breeder's license permitting such applicant to 

 breed and raise the above described game 

 birds, or other game birds, or any of them, on 

 such preserve or enclosure ; and to sell the 

 same alive at any time for breeding or stock- 

 ing purposes ; and to kill and use the same ; or 

 sell same for food." 



The New York law provides that game 

 produced by breeders in other States, 

 which regulate the industry, may sell the 

 food produced in the New York mar- 

 kets, which, undoubtedly, are the best 

 markets in the world for game. The 

 courts are beginning to hold that any 

 breeder can shoot and sell the game he 

 -owns. 



Pheasants sell readily for $4 and $5 a 

 pair in large lots when sold as food. They 

 bring even higher prices when sold alive 

 for propagation. Wild ducks sell readily 

 for $3.00 per pair and last year many 

 ducks were sold for $3.25 to $4.50 per 

 pair. 



The best prices for quail and prairie 

 grouse are paid for live birds. There is 

 a demand for hundreds of thousands of 

 birds and the quail sell for $25 per dozen 

 and often more, in large lots. Prairie 

 grouse will sell for $5.00 to $10.00 per 

 pair in large lots and for better prices in 

 small lots. There is also a big demand 

 for deer. They sell for $25 and $35. 



Things Worth Knowing. 



In the States which have enacted game 

 breeders' laws any sportsmen who wish 

 to do so can organize inexpensive shoot- 

 ing clubs and 



(1) Make their own season limits. 

 They can shoot early in the fall when 

 the weather is fine and it is a pleasure 

 to be out of doors and as late in the 

 winter as it may seem desirable to con- 

 tinue the sport. 



(2) Make their own bag limits and 

 shoot big bags of game during long open 

 seasons. All that is necessary is to see 

 that the game is kept plentiful ; that the 

 hawks, crows, foxes, snakes and other 

 enemies do not get most of it, and to stop 

 the shooting in time to leave sufficient 

 stock birds for another season. 



(3) Sell some of the abundant game 

 to help pay the expense of producing it. 

 This will make the people friendly to 

 sport since they can have game to eat. 

 The shooting can be made profitable. 



The best places for game production 

 are the posted farms which can be 

 opened to shooting by those who deal 

 fairly with the owners. The shooting 

 rent paid is usually from 5 to 10 cents 

 per acre or from $32 to $64 per square 

 mile per annum. We now have hun- 

 dreds of clubs which deal fairly with the 

 farmers and always have good shooting. 

 Some shoot several thousand quails 

 every season without any fear of exter- 

 mination. Marshes which are likely to 

 be drained, thus putting an end to duck 

 shooting in the neighborhood, should be 

 rented and preserved for sport. The 

 overflow from such places always im- 

 prove the shooting on public waters just 

 as the quail and grouse going out from 

 "noisy sanctuaries" improve the shooting 

 for miles about. 



