THE GAME BREEDER 



151 





ing or agricultural operations or over- 

 shooting, than there is of their being too 

 many posted farms converted into game 

 producing plants under agreeable ar- 

 rangements between their owners and 

 those who may be willing to produce 

 game on them as an additional crop for 



sport or for food. 



•■ 



In America and England 



There are syndicates of sportsmen 

 who share the expense of a game keeper 

 and there are individuals, by no means 

 rich, who produce game for sport and 

 for food. There are men and women 

 owning small country places, who intro- 

 duce and look after their game and sell 

 it as food. One of them, Capt. Oates, 

 a retired English officer, described in his 

 clever little book on wild ducks how he 

 provided good shooting for himself and 

 his friends at practically no expense, 

 since he sold enough ducks to pay the 

 cost of production. There are many 

 game farmers who make a living selling 

 game and eggs for breeding purposes. 



In America there are hundreds of 

 thousands of square miles of good shoot- 

 ing land where not a single game bird 

 is ever shot or eaten legally. There are 

 many more hundreds of thousands of 

 square miles of posted farms where no 

 sportsman is permitted to fire a gun. 

 There are thousands of miles of desolate 

 fields and woods where not a single game 

 bird can be found. The posted area rap- 

 idly is increasing. In all cases where the 

 sportsmen arrange with the farmers to 

 utilize the posted areas and to have an 

 abundance of game they harm no one. 

 By providing sport for themselves they 

 necessarily provide sport for others since 

 the abundant game overflows. By shoot- 

 ing in places where shooting was pro- 

 hibited they leave the shooting on public 

 lands and waters for those who prefer 

 to shoot on such areas. 



The important matter just now is the 

 food question. Admitting that game can 

 be made abundant and cheaper than 

 poultry by utilizing the lands closed to 

 sport, Mr. Burnham says : "We do not 

 want that system ; we do not want to 

 adopt the sale of game which goes with 

 it." Fortunately Congress decided it was 



not what Mr. Burnham wanted but what 

 the Game Breeders claim is right. 



Before the Migratory Bill passed (and 

 we are inclined to believe that before it 

 could get past many intelligent men in 

 the Congress ) section 12 fortunately was 

 added. Section 12 provides that: "Noth- 

 ing in this act shall be construed to pre- 

 vent the breeding of migratory game 

 birds on farms and preserves and the 

 sale of birds so bred under proper regu- 

 lations for the purpose of increasing the 

 food supply." Some people don't want 

 the sale of game : some people do. The 

 do's seem to have won. 



The Biological Survey now has a 

 chance to make America the biggest wild 

 food producing country in the world 

 within two years' time. We will help 

 much now that the Survey has arranged 

 liberal regulations for the procuring of 

 breeding stock. It should issue bulle- 

 tins inviting attention to the utilization 

 of waste swamp lands and ponds on 

 many of which not a single wild fowl is 



seen to-day. 



■*- 



A big legal mistake was made, in my 

 opinion, when we decided that any one 

 who legally takes a game bird does not 

 own it. A worse mistake was made in 

 some States when we decided .that those 

 who produced the game birds by industry 

 do not own them. I have observed a 

 shocking waste of food due to such an 

 interpretation of the laws and big food 

 producing plants have been closed, rural 

 laborers have been discharged and the 

 value of farms and country homes has 

 been sadly depreciated by such nonsense 

 which never occurred until our game 

 was made a political football. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 

 Ringnecks the Best. 

 The Game Breeder, 



New York City. 



Gentlemen: — Kindly write me if ;•' 

 kinds of pheasants of the followin" 

 breeds are suitable for eating: English 

 ringnecks, golden, Lady Amherst and 

 silver. 



New Hampshire. Clinton Lovell. 



(All good but ringnecks are better and 

 cheaper. — Editor.) 



