THE GAME BREEDER 



147 



a little fox terrier who had the mange. 

 He scratched and scratched one night 

 until it got on my nerves, so I took the 

 bottle of black oil and gave him a soak- 

 ing on the mangy places. In about 15 

 minutes the scratching stopped, the dog 

 evidently went to sleep, and in a few 

 days he was cured of scratching, and in 

 a couple of weeks the mange was gone 

 and new hair growing. I have tried all 

 kinds of mange dope, but now use black 

 oil, as it has proved a positive cure. I 

 just soak it in without washing the place, 

 and it seems to be absorbed by the scabs 

 and held on until they drop off. I have 

 never used it internally, ■ except on 

 chicken houses, and it did not hurt them. 

 I doubt if it is any good whatever for 

 the interior decoration of animals. — 

 M. A. P. — Rural New Yorker. 



Mast a Valuable Game Food. 



Acorns, beech nuts and other nuts are 

 valuable foods for game, both deer and 

 birds. In Germany we are ^ told that 

 acorns can be purchased by the car load 

 and having had a number of requests 

 for acorns we endeavored to ascertain 

 if they could be purchased to advantage 

 in America. A large dealer in seeds 

 reported that he could only procure 

 acorns at a price which would make this 

 food dearer than corn. 



It would seem that in places where 

 oaks are abundant acorns should be 

 gathered cheaply and that they should 

 be marketed as a game food. It is well 

 known that the flesh of all animals is 

 affected by the food they eat. The mal- 

 lards we used to shoot on the Kankakee 

 and other western rivers were excellent 

 food because the birds fed on acorns 

 and wild rice. The mallards in Cali- 

 fornia often are said to be compara- 

 tively poor birds for the table because 

 in many localities they do not get the 

 best foods. Mallard reared in captivity 

 and fed only on corn should be no more 

 valuable as food than any barnyard 

 ducks. We should aim to supply the 

 natural foods on our game farms and 

 preserves. 



Notes From the State Game Depart- 

 ments. 



Hon. Walter B. Eraser, State Game 

 and Fish Commissioner of Colorado, 

 says in his last report: 



Both the bob white, and Gambel's 

 partridge, the so-called crested quail, are 

 protected under our laws, and I am 

 pleased to state that these valuable in- 

 sect-destroyers are fast multiplying and, 

 in practically every locality, receive the 

 protection merited. 



Leading agricultural specialists of the 

 United States agree that the quail ren- 

 der the farmers and fruit-growers of 

 our country services which in actual 

 value run into millions of dollars annu- 

 ally. One authority states that each 

 quail is worth five dollars per year to 

 the farmer. 



Government reports are my authority 

 for the statement that "the American 

 sparrow family saved the sum of $89,- 

 260,000 to the farmers in 1910 in con- 

 suming weed seed, and that one-half of 

 the daily food of the quail consists of 

 undesirable weed seeds." 



I have recently issued several permits 

 to responsible parties residing in locali- 

 ties adapted to quail, and where there 

 are but a few, authorizing them to ar- 

 range for the trapping of such birds, 

 in numbers of from two to five dozen, 

 the trapping to be conducted in locali- 

 ties where the quail are plentiful, with 

 the express understanding that the birds 

 are to be shipped and liberated in new 

 districts. 



It is the intention of the department 

 to assist our citizens, who will guaran- 

 tee protection to the birds, in securing a 

 proper number for liberation, where feed 

 is plentiful, and where the winters are 

 not too severe. 



For several years the quail have been 

 increasing rapidly upon the western 

 slope, especially in the fruit-growing sec- 

 tions of Mesa, Delta, Montrose, and Fre- 

 mont Counties, and it is reported that 

 large numbers are to be found in the 

 Arkansas and Platte valleys on the east- 

 ern slope. 



Inasmuch as the value of these birds 



