150 



THE GAME BREEDER 



fee. Those interested in the Virginia 

 law say it is very popular. It is to be 

 hoped that it will not result in the pro- 

 hibition of quail shooting as similar laws 

 have necessarily resulted in many States, 

 including New ♦York, with the exception 

 of Long Island where the quail thrive 

 because the laws permit and encourage 

 the people to look after them properly. 



Game Reservations. 



Five big game preserves and 67 bird 

 reservations are maintained by the Bio- 

 logical Survey, U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture. The mammal reservations 

 include the Montana Bison Range, the 

 Wind Cave Game Preserve in South Da- 

 kota, the Niobrara Reservation in Ne- 

 braska, the Elk Refuge in Wyoming, and 

 the Sullys Hill Game Preserve in North 

 Dakota. The Niobrara Reservation was 

 intended as a bird reserve, but has been 

 stocked with big game and is at present 

 maintained chiefly for buffalo and elk, 

 according to the annual report of the 

 chief of the Biological Survey, just is- 

 sued. In the first three reservations 

 mentioned the herds of buffalo have 

 shown a notable increase since their es- 

 tablishment a few years ago, says the 

 report, and now include 207 head, or 

 more than a third of all the buffalo which 

 now belong to the government. The elk 

 number about 160 and the antelope 40, 

 making a total of about 400 head of big 

 game. 



National Bird Reservations. . 



The number of bird reservations was 

 increased during the year by the addition 

 of the Big Lake Reservation in Arkansas. 

 Sixty-seven reservations are now main- 

 tained primarily for birds. The report 

 urges the importance and necessity of re- 

 taining as breeding grounds for water- 

 fowl and other birds, tracts of land which 

 are not especially valuable for agricul- 

 tural purposes. The area of marsh land 

 necessary for breeding grounds is insig- 

 nificant, it is said, in comparison with 

 the benefits which will accrue to the pub- 

 lic through the increase in our supply 

 of game birds. 



Private Game Farms. ^ 



An excellent report of the Massachu- 

 setts Commissioners of Fish and Game 

 contains 'the following about private 

 game farms : 



The policy of the Commission has al- 

 ways been to encourage in every possible 

 way the artificial propagation of game 

 birds. Chapter 567, Acts of 1913, pro- 

 vides that a person, firm or corporation 

 may, upon request, receive a permit to 

 propagate any species of deer, elk, pheas- 

 ants, quail, partridge, geese, wild ducks 

 or squirrels for sale, exchange or to be 

 given away. People are beginning to 

 recognize the benefits accruing from 

 such undertakings, as is well evidenced 

 by the annually increasing number of 

 permits issued. 



A table shows the commendable re- 

 sults being obtained, particularly with 

 pheasants and ducks. The commission 

 says that such work contributes toward 

 the public welfare. 



Southern Quail Shooting. 



The number of quail clubs or syndi- 

 cates formed to lease quail shooting in 

 the South is increasing rapidly. There 

 are also many new individual game pre- 

 serves. The annual shooting rent is from 

 five to ten cents per acre and in some 

 cases the amount of the taxes on lands 

 and buildings. Many small farms usu- 

 ally are included in one preserve and one 

 or more gamekeepers are employed to 

 look after the game and to control its 

 natural enemies so that big bags can be 

 made safely every year without any fear 

 of extermination. 



Excellent kennels full of pointers, set- 

 ters and spaniels are to be found at 

 these places and the keepers see that the 

 dogs are well trained and in good con- 

 dition when the shooting opens. The 

 farmers are well pleased since they have 

 no taxes to pay and have an abundance 

 of quail and often wild turkeys. 



The shooting is comparatively inex- 

 pensive. There are no expensive pens, 

 coops and other equipment necessary for 

 pheasant rearing. The quail find most 

 of their food in the fields and woods. At 



