88 



THE GAME BREEDER 



ments in game breeding made by the 

 Game Conservation Society and many 

 others have proved conclusively that 

 cats both wild and tame are very de- 

 structive to many species of birds. 



The Hon. W. C. Adams, chairman of 

 the Massachusetts Game Commission, 

 says, "One cat which was watched care- 

 fully was seen to kill 58 birds in a 

 single season." 



The Massachusetts commission was 

 among the first of the state departments 

 to recognize the necessity for looking 

 after the game properly and always it 

 has welcomed and encouraged the assist- 

 ance of garnie breeders who produce 

 many thousands of game birds every 

 year and who aid in destroying the cats 

 and other vermin. The Massachusetts 

 commission conducts able and valuable 

 experiments with the quail and other, 

 game birds and its annual reports easily 

 rank first in value among all of the re- 

 ports published in the United States and 

 Canada. 



Massachusetts with its large popula- 

 tion and severe climate is by no means 

 the easiest place to protect and increase 

 the game, but the shooting is kept open 

 for all hands and it is significant that it 

 is necessary to prohibit shooting in states 

 where there should be an abundance of 

 game. 



Aviary Pheasants on the Preserve. 



Many preserve owners and clubs are 

 beginning to breed a few ornamental 

 pheasants as a side line. A good keeper 

 easily can produce a few dozen Reeves, 

 Golden, Amhersts and others. The 

 skins make handsome hats for the ladies. 



(Continued from page 85) 



the idea of having them breed wild in 

 many fields and woods in order that the 

 shooting always will be good. There is 

 a way of sending the tame birds back to 

 a wild breeding existence but the vermin 

 must be controlled. 



We are opposed to otherwise than by 

 shooting laws and regulations because 

 shooting is the inducement to make the 

 game abundant on many places. 



Wild Breeding Ducks. 



We are much interested in some of the 

 places where hand-reared ducks have 

 been turned down in marshes and in- 

 duced to find all or a good part of their 

 food. The birds seem to be stronger on 

 the wing than most hand-reared ducks 

 are. There is, of course, a decided sav- 

 ing in the food bill where the ducks are 

 only fed once in a day or only occasion- 

 ally during the week. It has been proved 

 that a very little food will hold a good 

 lot of ducks on a ground where there are 

 some natural foods ; that the birds will 

 nest and rear their young without any 

 artificial feeding for the young birds. 

 We hope to secure some illustrated sto- 

 ries about some of these places where 

 the crop is harvested by shooting. 



A Failure to Fertilize. 



Could you give me a little informa- 

 tion regarding the raising of wild Can- 

 ada geese?. 



I purchased a pair early in April but 

 up to this timie the goose has not started 

 to lay, neither have I seen the gander 

 try to fertilize the goose which made 

 me wonder whether they need water deep 

 enough to swim in. 



The man from whom I purchased 

 them said that this pair raised young last 

 year. 



I am feeding them chicken chowder 

 and scratch feed mixed and all of the 

 greens they wish to pick. They seem 

 now to be acquainted with their sur- 

 roundings but they are' not in a very se- 

 cluded spot. Would this have anything 

 to do with them not breeding? 



Any information that you might give 

 me will be appreciated. 



Wm. L. Zeller. 



[Illinois wild-geese breeders say it is best 

 for the geese to have water to swim in during 

 the mating season. It is believed that other- 

 wise the eggs will not be fertile. The geese 

 need grass, of course. Many breeders rear 

 the young birds away from the pond. We 

 shall publish some articles written by success- 

 ful breeders of wild-geese — the question of 

 seclusion probably depends upon the wildness 

 of the birds— usually geese become quite tame. 

 —Editor.] 



