42 



THE GAME BREEDER 



I have ever tried, unless it might be a 

 live bug placed before him in the water; 

 if the bug don't put life in him he is 

 already dead but don't know it. 



Some think the mallards, being so 

 common, will eat anything a tame duck 

 will eat. My experience is that pure 

 bred wild mallards are just as particular 

 about what they eat as any of the other 

 breeds of ducks, the only difference is 

 the mallards will eat any kind of grain 

 just so it is clean and wholesome. Of 

 course you can force a mallard to eat 

 spoiled, musty grain by starving him to 

 it; but you will be the loser. I feed 

 more stale bread to young ducks than I 

 used to as I find it a great deal cheaper 

 and it also agrees with them; changing 

 to egg custard and duck mashes as they 

 grow older, adding chick food after 10 

 days. Gravel is kept before them at all 

 times. A friend of mine raised a brood 

 of Canvasback in a small back yard lot 

 in the city, giving them nothing but stale 

 bread and finely chopped lettuce, throw- 

 ing it in their swimming pool. I bought 

 these ducks and they were fine large 

 birds. 



I see a few flocks of the beautiful 

 Bufflehead duck go through here, when 

 the flight is on, but they do not stop but 

 a few days. Ten years ago this duck 

 was passing in large flocks ; twenty-five 

 years ago thousands passed over. A few 

 years more and their flight will be a 

 thing of the past. Both the Teal and the 

 Gadwall breed here in large numbers, 

 although the Greenwings are only a few 

 in number compared to what they were 

 a few years ago. Young Teal, especially 

 Greenwing, are easy to raise, and they 

 will learn to eat as easily as Mallards. 

 I have had as many as twenty-five Teal 

 with one chicken hen. Of course they 

 are like all young ducks as they grow 

 older, they then lead and the hen has to 

 follow. I have raised Teal and Spoon- 

 bill with decoy Mallards as foster moth- 

 ers, but I like them much better with 

 a light chicken hen. 



I have had young Teal so tame that I 

 could not dig angleworms fast enough 

 to suit them and while spading up the 

 ground they would pull and jerk on the 

 worms to get them from their holes. 



I am enclosing photographs of a pair of 

 Snow Geese which are owned on the 

 game farm of H. J. Jager. This pair of 

 Snow Geese are the first to my knowl- 

 edge which have set and raised young 

 in captivity. The mother is hatching 

 and you will notice one of her babies 

 in front of her. They have set now for 

 two years, laying, I think, six eggs each 

 year. Money could not buy this pair of 

 birds of Mr. Jager. I have just received 

 a letter from him stating that his Snow 

 Geese and also his Blue Geese, of which 

 he has a fine flock, have begun to lay 

 already. Since it is only April 14th, it 

 seems to be rather early for them to lay. 

 Mr. Jager, who, by the way, is a thor- 

 ough naturalist, has one of the finest col- 

 lections of wild game birds anyone could 

 wish for. He and his wife are both 

 taxidermists and they have one of the 

 finest collections of mounted birds and 

 animals, covering nearly all species of 

 birds, both land and water fowl, and 

 many species of small fur bearers. Mr. 

 Jager only keeps his wild fowl for the 

 pleasure he gets from caring for them. 

 It is no unusual sight to see pheasants 

 and other birds in their lovely plumage 

 parading on his beautiful lawn. You 

 will enjoy a visit with him among his 

 birds and will be entertained like a 

 prince. 



When I read in The Game Breeder 

 about the Congress, at last, giving us 

 game-breeders a chance to trap birds for 

 propagation, I was very much pleased, 

 as I had disposed of all my collection, 

 excepting breeding stock, and I hoped I 

 could get a few birds for new blood, if 

 nothing more. I wrote our game war- 

 den asking what I had to do to get one 

 of these permits' from Washington, D. 

 C., and I received this answer : "It would 

 do you no good to get a permit as this 

 state does not allow birds to be trapped 

 for breeding purposes." Now how is 

 this, Mr. Editor? I supposed when Con- 

 gress passed a law it covered one state 

 as well as another. Why have not I as 

 much right to trap them for breeding in 

 South Dakota as I would if I were a 

 resident of New York? 



About sixty rods west of my yards is 

 a lake covering about forty acres. A 



