THE GAME BREEDER 1 1 3 



breeders in Michigan own four thousand years ago the sale of a wild food was 



and twenty-seven skunks. impossible. 



Three prairie grouse breeders in Mich- The quickest way to make game abun- 



igan" own two pairs of prairie chickens dant is to make it profitable. As a mat- 



and one pair of sharptails. ter of fact the prices are highly satis- 



We have readers who really own hun- factory ; the only trouble in some States 

 dreds of prairie chickens and sharp- is that it is illegal to receive the profits 

 tails, but they say nothing about it since after the quail and other desirable foods 

 the birds are bred wild in protected fields have been produced, 

 and the breeders have no license for this, Enough States now permit the sale of 

 the kind of game farming which is the game to make it an easy matter to make 

 best method since it is inexpensive and the United States the biggest game pro- 

 produces the best results. ducing country in the world. The pro- 



= hibition States, where it still is a crime 



An Amusine Error ^° produce food, in time will observe 



T ^1 ^ J- «T-i T>' *^-^ 1 >j • how lively the new industry is in other 



In the story of ihe Big Duck, m i j j u^. ^u -n 4. ^■ 



, -r ^ ^ ^ J ..1 r . .1 . xi places, and, no doubt, they will get hv« 



the une Game Breeder, the fact that the c- i- az j i 



. •! J X xi -x 1 1 X State game officers and wake up. 



giant appeared to the writer when shoot- ° ^ 



ing over decoys, by a typographical — 



error was made to read, when he was The Cost of a Pheasant. 



shooting owr decoys. This is quite as bad '^ ^, ■ , ^ -mt r,- , 



as the thrilling story in a newspaper , ^ast month we printed Mr Bigelow s 



about a battle-scarred veteran who ap- if'^ °^ ^""^ ^^ '^^'f, pheasants m 



peared 



veteran. 



peared in type as "the bottle-scarred Massachusetts at a cost of 35 cents per 



_ Capt. Aymer Maxwell gives the fol- 

 c, , J oi • Pi-. TT 1 lowing as his estimate of the cost of 

 Sales and Shipment of Game Under ^^^^-J pheasants in England : "The cost 

 Permit m Michigan. ^^ ^^^^^^ pheasants is largely influ- 

 In Michigan (July 1, 1914, to July 1, enced by the many varying conditions of 

 1916) permits were issued to breeders each particular case. Taking everything 

 to sell and ship 339 deer, 4 elk, 2,743 into account, including rent, rearing, 

 wild ducks, 10 geese, 17 pheasants, 4 feeding, wages, incidental expenses, de- 

 grouse and 2 partridges. The report in- preciation of plant and interest on capi- 

 dicates that many of the ducks were sold tal expenditure, a pheasant is probably 

 as food and shipped "dressed." It does a cheap bird if he has cost about seven 

 not appear how many of the deer and shillings by the time he is shot." 

 other game were sold as food. We re- The items rent and feeding are, no 

 gard it as highly important that much doubt, much higher in England than they 

 game should be eaten otherwise it are in America, especially the first named 

 quickly will become overabundant and item. Shooting rights or rentals are 

 the prices will fall. very cheap in America, where there is an 

 We feel sure there must be an error abundance of land, and they are much 

 in the number of pheasants sold since higher in England, where the area suit- 

 we are quite sure our readers have sold able for shooting is comparatively small, 

 many live pheasants. Possibly the per- There are many "shoots" in America 

 mits only relate to game sold as food, where the shooting is rented for five to 

 While the figures are not large, they ten cents per acre, or $32 to $64 per 

 indicate a good start. Michigan soon square mile, per annum. Wages of keep- 

 will be selling many tons of game and ers, on the other hand, are much higher 

 the State department will become of in America than they are in England, 

 great economic importance. The State A keeper who gets $75 per month and 

 commissioner is to be congratulated on cottage in America would receive about 

 :ne good work accomplished. A few $15 or $20 i)er month in England. It 



