THE GAME BREEDER 43 



neck of land, or sand bar, runs out into birds, are a nuisance in our grain fields, 

 this lake. Nearly every morning and Last winter about a hundred prairie 

 until evening this lake is black with chickens stayed near our yards every 

 ducks; they will sit on this sandbar; it day, getting a full feed of corn. I could 

 is most of the time covered with ducks, have easily trapped them and raised a 

 Imagine yourself in my place — I am not large flock of young from them this sea- 

 wanting to' kill these ducks, only to son and had a few to pass on to the rest 

 propagate from them. In the open sea- of the game breeders for propagation, 

 son I can take my gun and destroy these but the law says "NO, you cannot trap 

 birds and nothing is said— that is law- them to save them, but wait until fall 

 ful ; but I cannot trap any of them to and you can kill them !" This flock and 

 save them, for that is not lawful. I their young will give the hunters this 

 have walked within six rods of these fall just a few hours of pleasure. How 

 birds ; they are not shot at and for that about the pleasure we would have had in 

 reason are much tamer than in the fall, propagating them? The sage-hen and 

 In the open season, every fall, thou- the grouse are going the same way ; only 

 sands of hunters in this state slaughter a few more years and they will be like 

 the ducks and other game birds, more the other inhabitants of these prairies, 

 for the pleasure of killing than any The buffalo is gone, only for a few speci- 

 other reason. Do they stop and think mens that some of our far-seeing people 

 where this will end if we keep on? insisted on trying to save by propagat- 

 Twenty-five years ago geese and ducks i n g. When I came to South Dakota the 

 by the millions crossed this state on Curlew and the other upland game birds 

 their trips to and from their breeding were s0 abundant you could see them in 

 grounds; now there are thousands where large flocks Now we se ldom see any. 

 then there were millions. We wonder A few more years of this keeping t h e lid 

 where they have gone Where are the . ht Qn breeding, and not allowing 

 large flocks of cranes that used to light ug breeders t0 propaga te them, and the 

 on our fields? We seldom hear more ^ ^ ^^ mQre scarce than 



than a dozen flocks m a season now ; °, , . , tJ , A —, , 



•11 u <-u ~„ ~. +t,<> „ nc . the hairs on our bald heads. I hen the 



tney will soon be the same as the pas- ,. , 



senger pigeon, a thing of the past, the smart ones will say, why didn t someone 



same place all game will be in a few fay why did not we think of it. Well, 



more years if we are not allowed to here is to The Game Breeder and its 



progagate them. When I came to this editor, the magazine that has worked 



state, thirty years ago, prairie chickens for game breeding and fought for us 



were more plentiful on our prairies than ever since the first copy came from the 



blackbirds are today and they, the black- press. 



WILD-BRED AND HAND-REARED BIRDS. 



By The Editor. 



There are two methods of breeding know how on the comparatively small 



game-birds which are well Understood in rearing fields of the commercial game 



all countries where such birds always farms and shooting preserves. The stock 



are abundant. The hand-rearing, which pheasants and ducks are confined in 



may be described as the poultryman's closures where the numerous eggs are 



method applied to game, is commonly gathered and hatched under barn-yard 



used in the old countries to produce fowls or in incubators. The young 



pheasants and ducks. Easily these birds pheasants and ducks are raised in 



are bred in large numbers by those who rearing fields where numerous coops are 



