80 



THE GAME BREEDER 



probabilities get it after the ducks have 

 hft the vicinity. 



Yours for more game, 



Connecticut Reader. 



Wild Ducks. 



Editor of The Game Breeder : 



My papa and I have been somewhat 

 interested in wild game, so we started 

 with seven wild Mallard ducks and three 

 drakes and hatched about 150 little 

 ducks. This year we saved twenty-three 

 hens and seven drakes and did not raise 

 a single duck. The ducks did not aver- 

 age to lay two eggs a-piece. All the 

 conditions were the same, so far as we 

 knew of. They have plenty of grazing 

 giound, as natural as could be found for 

 a duck, and food such as grain and 

 vegetables. 



Can you give me any advice as to the 

 trouble ? 



Colorado. Milton Goodrich. 



(Without knowing about the water, food, 

 etc., we are not able to say what the trouble 

 was. We hope some of the many skilled game 

 keepers who read The Game Breeder will 

 write to us what they think about the matter. — 

 Editor.) 



♦ — 



Unique Trap for Rabbits. 



A tile trap for rabbits, designed by De- 

 partment of Agriculture experts, is well 

 worth describing. This is the scheme : 



"Set a 12 by 6 inch 'T' sewer tile 

 with the long end downward, and bury it 

 so that the six-inch opening at the side 

 is below the surface of the ground. 

 Connect two lengths of six-inch sewer 

 pipe horizontally with the side opening. 

 Second-grade or even broken tile will do. 

 Cover the joints with soil, so as to ex- 

 clude light. Provide a tight, removable 

 cover, such as an old harrow disk, for 

 the top of the large tile. The projecting 

 end of the small tile is then surrounded 

 with rocks, brush or wood, so as to make 

 the hole look inviting to rabbits and en- 

 courage them to frequent the den. 



"Rabbits, of course, are free to go in 

 or out 1 of these dens, which should be 

 constructed in promising spots on the 

 farm and in the orchard. A trained dog 

 will locate inhabited dens. The outlet is 



closed with a disk of wood on a stake, 

 or the dog guards the opening. The 

 cover is lifted and the rabbits captured 

 by hand. 



"These traps are especially suitable 

 for open lands and prairies, where rab- 

 bits cannot find natural hiding places. 

 They are permanent and cost nothing 

 for repairs from year to year. If it is 

 desired to poison rabbits, the baits may 

 be placed inside these traps, out of the 

 way of domestic animals or birds. This 

 trap also furnishes an excellent means 

 of obtaining rabbits for the table, or 

 even for market." 



Beaver Replaces Beef and Bacon. 



Algonquin Park, Canada., Nov. 2. — 

 The Provincial Government is introduc- 

 ing the beaver, Canada's national animal, 

 to take the place of beef and bacon. 

 Algonquin Park has shipped 600 ani- 

 mals to the civic abattoir at Toronto. 

 The flesh was sold to the trade at 18 

 cents a pound. 



. «. 



A Suggestion for Wild Duck Farmers. 



By W. L. McAtee, United States 



Biological Survey. 

 From all points of view it is desirable, 

 in fact, practically necessary, for wild- 

 duck farmers to keep their birds as 

 nearly as possible like the feral game 

 birds from which they were originally 

 derived. If the birds are reared in part 

 for sporting use, maintaining the stand- 

 ard of wildness is a necessity. If they 

 are being produced for market, retention 

 of the conformation of the wild duck 

 and especially of the natural gamey fla- 

 vor is equally important. The wild-duck 

 farmer's equipment and methods are too 

 expensive to permit him to compete with 

 producers of ordinary barnyard ducks, 

 yet that is what he is forced to do if he 

 permits his birds to become logy, corn- 

 fed, prize-ring specimens. 



Space Is Needed. 

 To keep ducks wild, either in nature 

 or flesh, requires considerable space. 

 There must be breeding and feeding 

 ponds, both marsh and upland range, 

 and, if possible, controlled areas over 



