18 



THE GAME BREEDER 



ting live day-old chicks to the U. S. mails 

 for delivery as parcel post was the most 

 important single act of our gorernment 

 in behalf of the poultry industry since 

 our country was drawn into the world 

 war. 



The Game Breeder, also, appreciates 

 this wise action. The Game Conserva- 

 tion Society has demonstrated that both 

 one day old pheasants and wild ducks 

 can be shipped safely by parcel post and 

 it no doubt will soon be able to show 

 that one day old quail, prairie grouse 

 and other wild food birds classed as 

 game can be marketed in this manner. 



Migratory Birds. 



Persons wishing to procure migratory 

 wild fowl for game farming purposes 

 can have them trapped by the advertisers 

 in The Game Breeder, many of whom 

 are well equipped to perform this service 

 at moderate prices. The Game Conser- 

 vation Society will purchase all its birds 

 used in experimental work from those 

 who advertise in the magazine. As soon 

 as it is finally settled that the Biological 

 Survey cannot stop an owner from 

 shooting his birds, if he wishes to do so, 

 the preserve owners and syndicate 

 shoots will purchase large numbers of 

 ducks and geese. 



The opinion is gaining that the owner 

 of food birds, who has acquired his title 

 by purchase, gift or in any legal manner, 

 really owns his birds and that he can 

 safely multiply them for food, for profit 

 and for sport. Of course if the laws in- 

 tended to save wild game could be ap- 

 bhed to these food birds there would be 

 no production. 



* 



Wartime Wild Rabbits. 



War time conservation of beef and 

 pork has enabled a Kansan to develop a 

 rather extraordinary business in the 

 marketing of wild rabbits, both jacks 

 and cottontails. A rabbit packing plant 

 has been established and is now ship- 

 ping frozen bunnies by the tens of thou- 

 sands. 



A recent contract called for 480,000 

 pounds of jack rabbit meat. The jacks 

 average four pounds each when dressed. 



This means that approximately 120,000 

 rabbits were required to fill the order. 



The fur is disposed of at a handsome 

 profit. It is used in the manufacture of 

 high grade felt, such as enters into the 

 making of men's hats. 



All waste products are converted into 

 fertilizer. The industry also rids the 

 country of a crop-destroying pest. 



Wartime pheasants now are produced 

 in America in big numbers. The reason 

 why more pheasants are not seen in the 

 markets is that new game breeding 

 plants starting so rapidly and numerous- 

 ly that most of the pheasants are sold 

 for breeding stock. Oh my! What a 

 crop there will be when all the game 

 breeders are running full time with 

 plenty of stock birds ! 



Ruffed Grouse. 



Repeatedly we are asked why the 

 ruffed grouse are vanishing. The an- 

 swer seems plain. It is because they 

 are not properly looked after. If a little 

 shooting be done by many guns there 

 are not enough birds left for breeding 

 stock. We have seen the grouse made 

 quite plentiful on protected areas where 

 they were properly looked after and 

 where it would be safe to shoot some 

 every season because the hawks, foxes 

 and other enemies were destroyed and 

 the gunners safely could shoot the birds 

 which would have been eaten by natural 

 enemies. 



Grouse are very good to eat and we 

 feel quite sure that in spite of laws pro- 

 viding for closed seasons many are shot 

 and trapped every year. The taking of 

 only a few birds in this manner is too 

 many in places where natural enemies 

 are plentiful and where eggs are eaten 

 by crows, snakes and other vermin and 

 where hawks, foxes and other ground 

 and winged vermin live on grouse. 



At a place where we visited some years 

 ago the grouse were quite plentiful in 

 charge of a gamekeeper but in shooting 

 on neighboring grounds we found and 

 destroyed many snares and traps which 

 no doubt took entirely enough birds to 

 cause their scarcity or extinction. It is 

 quite impossible to stop the people who 



