166 



THE GAME BREEDER 



we would like to know if the Minnesota 

 laws permit the marketing of all species 

 of game. 



It is estimated by Frank D. Blair, 

 Field Superintendent of the Minnesota 

 Game and Fish Protective League, that 

 within the proscribed territory about 

 1,000 mallards, from 5,000 to 10,000 

 quail and no more than a dozen pheas- 

 ants have been taking shelter. 



At the end of tv/o seasons he believes 

 that there will be 30,000 or 40,000 birds, 

 the most marked increase being among 

 the pheasants — now very rare which 

 should be 5,000 strong. 



"The rate of increase of these wild 

 birds in captivity is remarkable," said 

 Mr. Blair recently. "Mallards will lay 

 an average of forty eggs a season, quail 

 from thirty to fifty, and pheasants 

 from thirty to forty. When they are 

 living in a wild state, they usually "lay 

 several batches of eggs and then hatch 

 out only one batch, while in captivity all 

 the eggs are saved. Birds hatched will 

 average roughly about sixty per cent, of 

 the eggs. 



"The most serious difiBculty confront- 

 ing those who experiment in the propa- 

 gation of wild birds is in keeping them 

 separated from poultry. They are espe- 

 cially susceptible to diseases that are 

 communicated\ from coops and land 

 where chickens have been. A bantam 

 hen is most generally used to set on the 

 eggs and frequently breeders make the 

 mistake of turning the young birds loose 

 in the chicken yards along with the hen. 

 "The Minnetonka residents who ex- 

 pect to raise mallards, pheasants and 

 quail are actuated by a desire to increase 

 the number of birds within the refuge. 

 Though they will be put to some trouble, 

 the returns eventually, they believe, will 

 more than ofifset the tribulations." 



Stock Birds and Eggs. 



We are glad to know that a big lot of 

 stock birds and eggs will be needed for 

 the Minnetonka reservation. Our adver- 

 tisers furnish the best. We shall spread 

 The Game Breeder abundantly in the 

 neighborhood so that all intending pur- 

 chasers may know just where to get the 



best and the cheapest (for the best are 

 the cheapest) stock birds and eggs. 



Aviary Species. 



Reports coming to our game census 

 indicates that the number of pheasants 

 which are bred for ornaments in the 

 aviary is increasing rapidly. Some of 

 these species are bred on foreign pre- 

 serves for sport but they are nowhere 

 as common as the ringnecked and dark- 

 necked pheasants and the various hy- 

 brids produced by these birds and by 

 crosses with the Mongolian and Prince 

 of Wales pheasants and some other spe- 

 cies. One of our Kentucky breeders re- 

 ports that he has 6 of the rare Impeyan 

 pheasants ; 4 Manchurian eared pheas- 

 ants; 2 Elliotts; 6 Swinhoe; 3 Mongol- 

 ian; 8 Prince of Wales; 10 Versicolor; 

 12 Amhersts ; 2 White Crested Calij ; 12 

 Reeves; 9 Silvers and 7 Golden pheas- 

 ants. 



An Insular Preserve. 



President Wilson has just issued an 

 order authorizing the use of a small isl- 

 and lying about three miles south of 

 Lake Mille Lacs, Minn., as a federal 

 game preserve and a breeding ground for 

 native birds. The island is locally 

 known as Spirit Island, and hereafter 

 will be called Mille Lacs reservation. 



The Presidential order also provides 

 that the Klamath Lake reservation in 

 California and Oregon, which is used 

 for the protection of native birds, be re- 

 duced in area, by eliminating consider- 

 able land on the east and west bound- 

 aries. — The Globe, N. Y. 



The Maine Meeting. 



The 20th annual outing of the Maine 

 Sportsman's Fish and Game Association 

 was held at Kineo. President Robert 

 J. Hodgson said, "The important mis- 

 sion of this association is the preserva- 

 tion of game and wild life and to aid in 

 the enactment of such laws as will best 

 protect all wild life and at the same time 

 give the sportsmen from within and 

 without our State the best fishing, the 

 best hunting possible." He added that 

 the members of the Legislature have 

 given a great deal of honest thought upon 



