22 



THE GAME BREEDER 



"OTHERWISE THAN BY SHOOT- 

 ING." 



We understand that the Biological 

 Survey is very receptive to the idea that 

 game farmers should have some shooting 

 customers. They must if game rapidly 

 is to become tremendously plentiful for 

 profit, for sport and for food. We hope 

 the Survey will not cogitate on this sub- 

 ject as long as it did on the Mexican 

 quail question. We were afraid the 

 quail would be laying in the South before 

 we could secure the stock of breeders to 

 be transported north. The Secretary of 

 Agriculture took the proper view of the 

 matter when we brought it before him 

 and our readers will remember the tele- 

 gram marked rush announcing the ear- 

 lier opening for quail importations which 

 we published. 



In matters of game breeding and in 

 matters of all business for that matter, 

 speed is desirable. Eggs spoil if they 

 are kept too long. Quail die if kept too 

 long in boxes waiting for the action of 

 "hoss doctors" as one of our readers 

 puts it. We know how easy it is to go 

 slow in all official matters but one thing 

 the Survey can bank on, when we ask 

 for anything it is right and proper. Al- 

 though at first blush it may not seem to 

 be good politics we can guarantee it as 

 Al. Bunch all the interests which talk 

 about free shooting on the farms and 

 include all who say it should be criminal 

 to produce certain kinds of plants or 

 animals and let the farmers fully under- 

 stand the question and we will guarantee 

 that they will vote with the intelligent 

 sportsmen who admit they cannot even 

 shoot up the farmers' trespass signs with 

 impunity. The women who have been 

 arrested for having eggs or birds in their 

 possession also will vote for good gov- 

 ernment we are quite sure and there are 

 several women among the hundreds who 

 are breeding game who are very good 

 talkers. So even if the Survey should 

 happen to be a Republican or a Demo- 

 cratic outfit (we know no politics here) 

 it should have no fear when The Game 

 Breeder says anything is right and pro- 

 per. Speed it up. The proper method 

 of taking game is by shooting. Salt on 

 the tail is old style. 



Editor Game Breeder : 



Looking over the Migratory Bird Law 

 in The Game Breeder, 1 find that the 

 duck law calls for an open season on 

 Long Island October 16- January 31. 

 The State law is October 1-January 15. 

 Woodcock Migratory Bird Law, October 

 1-November 30; State law for Long 

 Island, October 15-November 30. 



Who's who and what's what? Your 

 interpretation will be appreciated. 

 Yours truly, 



H. J. Montanus. 



When the State laws and the Migra- 

 tory Bird Law conflict we believe the 

 regulation makers for U. S. hold that 

 the State law is supposed to fix the dates 

 provided the State dates fall within the 

 national dates. If, for example, the State 

 law for woodcock is as you say it is (and 

 if you saw it in The Game Breeder it's 

 true) that is October 15, this is O. K.,. 

 since it is later than October 1, the date 

 fixed by regulation makers. In the case 

 of wild ducks, although the State, which 

 is said to own the ducks, says they may 

 be shot October 1, we believe the regu- 

 lation makers claim they have amended 

 this State law by making a regulation 

 fixing October 16 as the date when they 

 would prefer to see the New York duck 

 shooters get busy. One of the advisers, 

 told us there was plenty of beef and 

 mutton for the people to eat, and it was- 

 not necessary for them to have any game 

 in America. Although this statement 

 was made before the war, he still holds 

 that it is a European custom to have 

 game and that it is quite different in this 

 country, where, he might have added, the 

 people seem to like to be humbugged by 

 those who collect vast sums to see that 

 they get what they are supposed to want. 



You may have noticed that our request 

 that the law be amended so as to read 

 that it should not be construed to apply 

 to game farms and preserves, and the 

 sale of the game by those who wished to 

 sell was granted. We insisted upon this, 

 so that those who look after their game 

 would have to spend all of their time in 

 ascertaining if the laws are the same 

 as they were when they were issued. By 

 keeping the game laws off the farms 



