T he Game Breeder 



VOLUME XV 



JULY, 1919 

 "o" 



SURVEY OF THE FIELD) 



NUMBER 4 



More Game and Fewer Game Laws. 



Mr. Aldo Leopold has written a story 

 about an imaginary controversy. It 

 gives us pleasure, Mr. Leopold, to read 

 what you say about the "more game 

 and fewer game law" question which 

 seems to have attracted the attention of 

 all of the sportsmen and naturalists in 

 America. .You write so well that we 

 are sure our readers, who may not agree 

 with some of your ideas of democracy, 

 will be interested in reading what you 

 say. 



All will agree with you that "there 

 has been a general and growing scar- 

 city of game all over the United States, 

 that the decrease has not been checked 

 so far as upland game is concerned ; that 

 the annual' drain on the game supply 

 will greatly increase after the war." 



This is true not only in the United 

 States but also in Canada where most of 

 the wild ducks we shoot are bred. Hun- 

 dreds of thousands of gunners have not 

 been shooting in Canada for some years 

 and this may have helped the migratory 

 law some, as the stopping of spring 

 shooting in our Northern States, by State 

 enactments, undoubtedly did. Since the 

 result of our numerous laws has not 

 been to save the quail and grouse shoot- 

 ing (we know they were given a fair 

 trial in our native State a score of years 

 .ago when we executed the laws more 

 effectively than they have been executed 

 anywhere) it is evident that there is 

 something the matter. 



We are glad you observe that the 

 words "more game and fewer game 

 laws" started something. There is, as 

 you say, a "nation-wide determination 

 that something must be done." In fact, 

 something is being done. 



Should Be No Controversy. 



As to your imaginary controversy the 

 game farmers are too busy to engage in 

 any controversy. When we read the 

 statement that "our enemies are publish- 

 ing a monthly magazine," we made some 

 playful remarks about the singularity of 

 any one being the enemy of common 

 sense but our readers never were much 

 interested and we are quite sure no one 

 ever took the matter seriously. 



There is plenty of room in America to 

 hunt with the camera and there will be 

 more game to snapshoot when America 

 becomes the biggest game producing 

 country in the world. 



Col. Wallace well said that you erred 

 in stating there is any antagonism be- 

 tween the two propositions, one is a 

 direct corollary to the other. 



As Col. Wallace said, all the farms 

 are closed to free shooting in his State. 



Shooting on Farms. 



Most of the farms in all of the States 

 are posted. No good reason can be as- 

 signed why the owners of the farms 

 should not profitably breed any species 

 of plant or animal if they wish to do so. 

 No good reason can be assigned why 

 sporting game breeders should not keep 

 the game abundant on some of the posted 

 farms if they wish to do so. As a mat- 

 ter of fact thousands are doing so. 

 When it becomes legal to sell all species 

 of game as food many men of moderate 

 means can get shooting on these posted 

 farms by combining to share the ex- 

 pense oi looking after the game pro- 

 perly. Our advice to the sportsmen is 

 that they form shooting clubs or syndi- 

 cates as they say in England and go 



