THE GAME BREEDER 



25 



without a trapshooting club, the shoot- 

 ing of clay targets also brings to the 

 farmer social privileges. Here he meets 

 men of all walks of life. 



Of course, there may be a country or 

 hunt club near his place, but he is timid 

 about joining, even though he is worth 

 as much as many of their members 

 financially. He has, like many other 

 farmers, attended the farmers' annual 

 dinner at such clubs, but feels more at 

 home at a cosmopolitan trapshooting 

 club. On such occasions, however, he 

 has surprised those present with his 

 shooting ability. Only recently at an 

 eastern hunt club, a clay pigeon shoot 

 v^as held in connection with the annual 

 dinner, for at this club the members are 

 greatly enthused about trapshooting. The 

 gentleman of the farm took the marks- 

 manship honors. 



It may not be the case that all farmers 

 who can shoot are trapshooting club 

 members. Some of them have pur- 

 chased hand traps and have their shoot- 

 ing pleasures right on their own grounds, 

 where wife, sons and daughters join in. 



Investigation proves that farmers are 

 participating in trapshooting and enjoy- 

 ing it very much. 



[We are very strong for trap shooting and 

 have helped organize several clubs. We also 

 prefer an abundance of game to the scarcity 

 referred to. Trap shooting and game shooting 

 are found to go well together on the same 

 ground. We recently visited a trap-shooting 

 club made up largely of farmers. They have 

 decided to have game also, and just beyond 

 the trap there are fields full of pheasants, 

 many quail and other game birds. We know 

 the du Fonts have done a great service in 

 encouraging trap shooting. We wish we had 

 more space to give to this.] 



{Continued from page 21.) 



lands where the owners see no reason 

 for controlling them. 



The rabbit, undoubtedly, is a valuable 

 food animal and affords much health- 

 giving sport to those who shoot it. It 

 has been found necessary, however, to 

 provide in many states protecting this 

 animal that farmers may destroy them 

 "when found injurious to crops." 



Some states have provided for boun- 

 ties on hawks and other game enemies. 



The result is that gunners go forth to 

 shoot hawks in the closed season and 

 having the right to shoot hawks, many 

 are tempted to shoot protected game. 

 Beneficial hawks as well as the non-ben- 

 eficials are known to be killed in states 

 which have bounty laws. 



By far the best plan is to protect val- 

 uable fur bearers and beneficial hawks 

 and owls and to permit the game farmers 

 and poultrymen to control harmful 

 species on areas where large quantities 

 of desirable food are reared and where 

 the fur bearers are of no value to any 

 one on account of trespass laws. 



There are vast areas of wild and un- 

 inclosed lands which are the only lands 

 where professional trappers should have 

 the fur bearers protected in their in- 

 terest. 



The main trouble with our whole pro- 

 tective system is that it has prevented 

 the profitable production of game and 

 has attempted to compel land owners 

 where crops, fruit and poultry are 

 reared to entertain harmful vermin. 



It cannot be denied that laws protect- 

 ing game are desirable, and that laws 

 protecting vermin of many kinds are 

 desirable, they should, however, except 

 those who wish to breed game from their 

 preventive provisions as to the number 

 which may be had in possession and the 

 game produced by industry should of 

 course be sold. 



I hope to see the laws uniformly 

 amended now that game breeding has 

 become a big industry in America, so 

 that no game farmer will be in danger 

 of arrest because he traps the enemy 

 which he finds destroying his game. I 

 rely upon the farmers to help in secur- 

 ing the necessary amendments to laws 

 which in many states are too restrictive. 

 I hope it will be a long time before 

 another farmer goes to jail for killing 

 a four-footed robber of his hen roost. 



A series of articles about how to con- 

 trol the enemies of game and poultry, 

 written by the best experts, will be pub- 

 lished in The Game Breeder beginning 

 in the November issue. Game brceding^ 

 is now a legal industry in nearly all of 

 the states. 



