82 



THE GAME BREEDER 



There are far too many laws which are 

 violated because their execution seems 

 absurd. Mr. Brigham is quite right in 

 suggesting the amendment, and contract 

 -rearing may receive . a great impetus 

 . when there is no longer any doubt about 

 what can legally be done with the food 

 produced. 



Fun in the Boies Case. 



An attempt was made at the trial of 

 -the Boies case to show that the defend- 

 ant was an old offender and that for 

 many years he had been a law violator. 



Mr. Boies when he learned that he 

 must have a license to breed game wrote 

 to. the Conservation Commission, Albany, 

 N. Y., using a letter paper which indi- 

 ■cated that he was a breeder and dealer 

 in dogs, cats, rabbits, fancy mice and 

 rats, pigeons, bantams, pheasants and 

 water fowl. He said in the letter he had 

 had much experience with birds for 

 twenty years. 



The claim made by the State, .pur 

 readers will remember, was. that he had 

 eight mallards and one pheasant in his 

 possession at the time he applied for and 

 paid for his license. 



On cross-examination he was asked to 

 state where he had his experience with 

 birds. He replied : for several years in 

 Massachusetts, where he was employed 

 by a breeder to look after his birds. He 

 said his employer owned seventeen vari- 

 eties of pheasants. Asked if he then 

 had a license, he said he did not; that 

 he did not think as a hired hand he was 

 obliged to have one. He did not know 

 if his employer was required to have a 

 license at that time or if he had one. 



For several years, Mr. Boies said, he 

 had a bird store in the city of New York, 

 where he sold birds. What kind of 

 birds? Answer: Poll parrots, parra- 

 keets, canaries, etc. Laughter fol- 

 lowed this announcement. 



Was it not a fact that on one occa- 

 sion he purchased ducks at Dover 

 Plains? Answer: Yes; white Pekin 

 ducks. More laughter. 



This was the evidence showing that 

 Mr. Boies was an old offender. 



He proved without contradiction that 



the ducks he had in his possession were 

 descended from ducks reared by him 

 some years ago from eggs which he pur- 

 chased in Connecticut in answer to an 

 advertisement in a poultry journal. At 

 one time, having been burned out, he 

 gave the ducks to his father-in-law, who 

 that season reared 25 and ate them all 

 but eight. When these eight tame ducks 

 were returned to Mr. Boies and he de- 

 cided to become a commercial breeder he 

 applied for a license and wrote the de- 

 partment, using the letter paper which 

 indicated he was a breeder in dogs, cats, 

 rabbits, etc., etc. 

 " There was no intent to deceive the de- 

 partment; otherwise he would not have 

 used -the letter paper illustrated with 

 pictures of dogs, cats, rats and an aviary 

 species of pheasant. 



He should not have been told that he 

 was liable for $285, because in good 

 faith he applied for a license and paid 

 for it. He should not have been scared 

 into agreeing to pay $100. AH that was 

 necessary and proper was to notify him 

 that he should have obtained the license 

 before he hatched the ducks, or at least 

 to suggest that he pay a very small fine 

 for his error. He was directed to pay 

 $10. 



We wonder' if farmers who have tur- 

 keys which are as closely related to wild 

 birds as the Boies' ducks are should pay 

 a license or take their chances of going 

 to jail. 



Wild Mallard Eggs. 



We have had numerous inquiries as 

 to the color of mallard eggs. 



Audubon describes these eggs as fol- 

 lows: "The shell is smooth and of a 

 plain light dingy green. Size 2>4 by 

 1^." He says the eggs are smaller 

 than those of the jame duck and rarely 

 so numerous. 



Elliot describes the mallard eggs as 

 grayish white with a green tinge. 



Pale olive seems to us to be a good 

 color description. 



The Quaiil a Food Bird. 



Audlibon was a sportsman and en- 

 joyed eating game. The quail was no 



