52 



THE GAME BREEDER 



to supplement their hand-rearing opera- 

 tions, and many breeders have taken our 

 advice and are buying their breeding 

 stock for next spring before the prices 

 go up, as they surely will. 



The demand for wild ducks is not so 

 strong yet as it will be later. Ducks are 

 big eaters and many of the "shoots" and 

 some breeders are willing to wait and 

 take a chance of paying a much better 

 price than the ducks sell for, $2.50 and 

 $3.00 per pair. 



♦ 



Use of Incubators in England. 



G. Tosette, of Swaffham Prior, Cam- 

 bridge, England, says: "I only have par- 

 tridges hatched from eggs found in nests 

 cut out by the mowing machine, or other- 

 wise disturbed. These eggs are put un- 

 der ordinary hens, and when chipped all 

 but five or six are taken away from under 

 the hen and put in the incubator. When 

 hatched and dry they are returned to the 

 hen. This is done to prevent the hen 

 from stamping on the chicks and killing 

 several, which might happen when she 

 has a large number to hatch. 



Col. A. Trotter, Charterhall, Berwick- 

 shire, says : "Eggs are put into the incu- 

 bator or under bantams when the bird 

 deserts while setting; these eggs, when 

 hatched, are taken from the incubator or 

 bantam and added to other broods which 

 are known to be hatching off. 



"The following is one of many ex- 

 amples : A bird setting on her nest was 

 found dead and cold near the nest ; she 

 should have hatched off the following 

 day. The eggs were put into the incu- 

 bator; seventeen came out and were put 

 down with a brood that hatched off.the 

 same day. No partridges are hand- 

 reared." 



Hon. G. Legge Patshull, Staffordshire, 

 says : "I certainly believe in finding all 

 nests possible, especially in a fox country. 

 They should be visited frequently until 

 the bird has been sitting for eight or ten 

 days, after which they should be seen 

 every day. Then, if the bird has been 

 put off through any cause, the eggs often 

 can be saved before they get cold. They 

 are then added to nests of birds which 

 have been setting for same length of 

 time, or, failing them, put in the incu- 



bator, and, when hatched, taken out and 

 put to an old bird with young of the same 

 age. This latter course was successfully 

 adopted with three or four nests this 

 year." 



G. W. Taylor, Esq., Pickenham, Nor- 

 folk, says: "The incubator always is 

 useful, ''but use it sparingly, and always 

 remember in rearing partridges that, 

 given a decent season, you never will 

 bring up as many chicks as the wild bird 

 will herself." 



C. Cockburn, Esq., Weeting Hall, Nor- 

 folk, says : "I always pick up a few par- 

 tridge eggs from ruined nests and put 

 them in an incubator; if they are not 

 sat on, I always put them in other nests 

 if possible. 



Mr. Ross, headkeeper, The Hoo, Hert- 

 fordshire, says : "All eggs in dangerous 

 places are lifted, and incubated to chip- 

 ping point, when they are changed again 

 with the sham or clear eggs which were 

 given to the partridge." 



Good Shooting. 



Although a late start was made it is 

 certain that the members of the Long 

 Island Game Breeders' Association will 

 have some quail and pheasant shooting. 

 We hope some sportsmen from game 

 prohibition States may have a chance 

 to visit the new shoot and that they will 

 return home convinced that it is not a 

 difficult or an expensive matter to have 

 good shooting during a long open season. 

 All that is needed is a game breeders' 

 law and a little activity in the way of 

 game production. 



Sportsmen Favor Game Breeding. 



Hundreds of sportsmen now tell us 

 they favor the breeding of game and the 

 sale of some of it when it is necessary 

 to help pay the cost of production. We 

 shall publish some of the letters. 



Mr. Albert Stoll, Jr., editor of the 

 Michigan Sportsman, an attractive maga- 

 zine, in a letter to The Game Breeder, 

 says : 



"We most assuredly do favor the sell- 

 ing of game under proper regulations in 

 the case mentioned. There is no ques- 

 tion but that it is better to produce and 



