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THE GAME BREEDER 



in a very secluded place, far away from 

 people, where the timber is very dense. 

 Otherwise they would soon become tame 

 ■ — too tame for sport. When bred in do- 

 mestication, they soon lose all fear and 

 become as tame and large as the domestic 

 turkey. 



The wild turkeys do not lay as early 

 as the domestic turkeys. Not until all 

 danger of frost is over. Therefore do not 

 hatch before about the middle of June, 

 when the weather is more settled and 

 warmer. Also insect life is more abun- 

 dant, which is 95 per cent of their food. 



We have had wild turkeys hatched as 

 late as July 7th, which were given free 

 range with no care from us, that were 

 much larger and healthier than domestic 

 hatched June 1st, that were hand fed and 

 kept tame. 



Give turkeys free range and keep the 

 young as wild as possible until nearly 

 full grown. They will soon become tame 

 when snow covers the _ground and you 

 begin to feed them. The tamer a turkey 

 is, the more subject he is to disease. 



For those who love wild game birds, I 

 especially recommend the wild turkey. 



They are much easier raised and handled 

 than any other wild game. They are very 

 handsome birds, much more so than the 

 domestic turkey. 



The wild crossed with the domestic 

 produces the best domestic turkey that 

 can be had. Greatly improved vitality, 

 plumage and form without being a dis- 

 advantage in any way ; also gives them 

 an astonishing ability to take care of 

 themselves. 



What greater pleasure than breeding 

 a thoroughly domesticated wild bird? 

 Not tamed through the gradual process 

 of centuries of breeding and handling, 

 but converted from the natural state of 

 the wild game bird of the forest to a 

 tame turkey almost in a year. 



A great many ask us if they will not 

 fly away. A wild turkey does not care 

 to fly under any condition unless abso- 

 lutely necessary and then only for a short 

 distance. They would much rather run, 

 as they are remarkably swift. 



It is my firm belief that the only hope 

 of the turkey raising industry depends 

 on raising the pure wild turkey. Are 

 they worthy a trial? 



NOTES FROM THE GAME FARMS AND PRESERVES. 



Country Living. 



Henry Ford, in a newspaper clipping 

 sent to the Game Breeder, is reported to 

 have said : "I have always held the be- 

 lief that too many people live in the cities 

 of these United States and too few in the 

 country." 



In an editorial the World, N. Y., says : 

 Henry Ford, who has spent some not un- 

 profitable years answering questions by 

 trying experiments, purposes to ascertain 

 if a cripple soldier returned from France 

 can make a good living, provide for a 

 family and insure a comfortable old age 

 on a small farm. 



Mr. Ford will provide the farm, with 

 bouse, barn, stock and tools, and install 

 a soldier on it as a purely business trans- 

 action. The cost of the home will be 

 about $4,500 complete. The handi- 



capped farmer's problem will be to make 

 a living and pay for the place, principal 

 and interest. A market for his produce 

 is guaranteed as part of the arrangement. 



"It is most appropriate that Mr. Ford 

 asks Secretary Lane to select a soldier 

 who would like to try this experiment. 



"For what Mr. Ford proposes to do in 

 one instance is substantially what the 

 Secretary of the Interior believes the 

 United States itself should do on a gi- 

 gantic scale, inviting returned soldiers to 

 take up land that needs draining, clearing 

 or irrigation and 'staking' them until they 

 are fairly started. 



"Mr. Ford has 4,000 acres on which his 

 experiment can be tried and, if he desires, 

 repeated." 



We have suggested that game be made 

 an asset of the farm. We will send The 



