THE GAME BREEDER 



49 



resent any interference. Fortunately 

 they are. not required to 'secure the aid 

 of two well known ornithologists who 

 have known them for years any more 

 than the shooters are required to have 

 such assistance. It would be a poor sam- 

 ple of a sportsman who would say that 

 a game breeder should have no birds to 

 lay eggs for him. We are inclined to 

 think that such a shooter is more rare in 

 most neighborhoods than the well known 

 ornithologists are. 



We sincerely hope that the regulations 

 can be simplified and that the game 

 breeders in all the states can be per- 

 mitted to take all the birds they may 

 need for breeding purposes. The prices 

 of food are so high that there is no 

 danger of any breeder taking more than 

 he can use to advantage. Notwithstand- 

 ing the difficulty, which is prohibitive in 

 many neighborhoods, a good number of 

 breeders have secured trapping permits 

 and these, added to those who can oper- 

 ate under state laws, can sell a large 

 number of breeding fowls to those be- 

 yond the reach of ornithologists. 



Readers who secure permits are ad- 

 vised to examine them and see if they 

 prohibit shooting. As originally printed 

 this error appeared and although the 

 provision is void, being a violation of 

 the law, it is a good plan to return such 

 permits and the survey promptly will 

 correct them. 



There seems to be a disposition to 

 treat game breeders fairly, but the sur- 

 vey seems to have been badly advised 

 when its regulations were made and pos- 

 sibly the advisers were those who, to 

 gain some private ends, were opposed 

 to the protecting section added to the 

 preventive law which made it highly 

 permissive. We are quite sure it never 

 could have been enacted had it not been 

 repaired so as to give full protection to 

 game breeders. 



A South Dakota reader, a capable 

 game breeder, who inquired of his game 

 warden how he could procure a permit 

 to take birds alive for breeding purposes, 

 since he prefers to produce ducks rather 

 than to destroy them, was informed it 

 would do no good to get a permit since 



the state law prevented taking fowl for 

 breeding purposes. 



South Dakota, no doubt, has an in- 

 telligent state game officer who is not 

 opposed to food production on the farms 

 and who will favor the amendment of 

 the state law so as to permit the taking 

 of birds for breeding purposes when his 

 attention is called to the matter. If he 

 should not do so the proper remedy is to 

 retire the officer or to abolish the de- 

 partment. A department of the state 

 government which insists that no food 

 can be produced by a farmer and no 

 fowl can be taken for breeding purposes 

 has no excuse for its existence, and the 

 farmers and intelligent sportsmen quick- 

 ly can bring about a change when their 

 attention is called to the matter. 



An interesting case may be presented 

 if a game breeder taking wild fowl un- 

 der a national permit be arrested for so 

 doing by a state officer who may believe 

 that food production should be a crime 

 and that the Congress had no right to 

 make a law encouraging it. It will be 

 interesting to learn what such an officer 

 was doing during the war and how many 

 of his associates put in their time pre- 

 venting the production of food. The 

 writer is a sportsman with a very wide 

 acquaintance among sportsmen in many 

 states. He has made numerous inquiries 

 to see if he could find a sportsman who 

 would say that it should be a crime to 

 produce food on a farm. If any such 

 there be, a letter from such an individual 

 will be printed in The Game Breeder 

 if sent to the office. 



Mexican Quail Survive a Blizzard. 



A big lot of Mexican quail arrived at 

 the preserve of the Long Island Game 

 Breeders' Association during a snow 

 storm. Most of the birds, however, sur- 

 vived and all are now in fine condition. 

 If the breeding season is a good one a 

 big lot of quail of several species will 

 be produced and many will be harvested 

 in the proper manner known to scientists 

 who like shotguns and field shooting. 



