170, 



THE GAME BREEDER 



some of the prices advertised ; it has been 

 our experience that to raise a duck to 

 maturity, it costs us about, $1.50 per 

 head as against 75 cents for feed for a 

 pheasant. 



While we only handle pure bred mal- 

 lards, we do not think from a sporting 

 proposition it is material whether it is a 

 pure bred mallard or crossed with black 

 or some other breed if it can fly, fly fast 

 and hard. What the sportsman wants is 

 sport and if he gets that what matters 

 it whether the duck is half gray and 

 half black or some other mixture? If 

 he flys fast and is good food. 



We think, however, that. all advertise- 

 ments should state and the advertiser 

 should be strictly held to the same that 

 the birds are pure bred, and if of a 

 strong flying strain to say so and if not 

 to not say so. 



We also frequently hear the com- 

 plaint this duck does not taste like the 

 ones we killed in Minnesota, or on other 

 lakes or marshes. Certainly he does not 

 if raised in captivity ; we never heard 

 that corn, wheat and mash tended to im- 

 part a game flavor to birds reared in 

 captivity, unless they be given the same 

 food the wild birds feed on viz., wild 

 celery, rice, wapato, etc. And not to be 



ciaught four-flushing we want to say ours 

 do not get these foods ; they are not here 

 and they cost more than we can afford to 

 properly stock. Had we the means and 

 were we going to shoot or eat the birds 

 we would do this, for without these 

 necessary foods or unless the ducks are 

 raised on lakes and marshes we would as 

 soon eat a good fat puddle duck as a 

 mallard raised on corn, wheat and mash. 

 No matter how he is served we defy any 

 one to distinguish the difference. 



What we say absolutely appHes to the 

 wild turkey also. And he will, like the 

 mallard, lose his shyness and wariness 

 when raised in captivity as well as his 

 powers of flight. To keep this king of 

 all game birds up to snuff as he is in the 

 wild he has to be raised in the wild, you 

 cannot raise him on a "bottle" and then 

 expect him to remain a game bird, it 

 takes a large space well wooded and 

 secluded to keep this bird game. 



And there are very few real wild 

 turkeys in captivity; nearly all we have 

 seen are crossed with the domestic, or 

 have been in captivity so long as to have 

 entirely lost all their original type. 



[We believe where ducks are reared in the 

 manner suggested "letting the old duck hustle 

 with the young," it is advisable to feed them 

 once a day, at 4 p. m. — Editor.] 



RAISING PHEASANTS. 



Rev. R. W. Siegler. 



In this article I shall describe in detail 

 how I raise my pheasants, with special 

 reference to my pure Mongolians. This 

 is my eighth year for raising Goldens, 

 and for the last three years I have also 

 kept some Lady Amhersts. I have had 

 exceptionally good luck in raising Gold- 

 ens, even this year in spite of all the 

 cold and rainy days during the spring 

 months. 



Last winter I resolved to try my luck 

 also with the pure Mongolian. I had 

 seen a nice colored engraving of this 

 magnificent pheasant and later some live 



birds in a zoological garden. Of all the 

 larger species in that garden none seemed 

 more pleasing to my eyes than the pure 

 Mongolian. 



As this pheasant had been some years 

 ago confounded in our country with the 

 Ringneck, P. Torquatus, and as some 

 breeders of pheasants are still confound- 

 ing the pure Mongolian with the Ring- 

 neck, as can be readily seen by the en- 

 gravings and descriptions in their circu- 

 lars, I wrote to one of our famous 

 pheasant breeders, living, in Illinois, ask- 

 ing him for his opinion regarding the 



