THE GAME BREEDER 



197 



black snake as it went into some scrub 

 oaks on a Long Island (N. Y.) preserve 

 and the entire charge made a hole in 

 the ground at the side of the snake, 

 which escaped and could not again be 

 found although we made diligent search 

 for it. 



Readers of The Game Breeder will 

 remember Mr. Gammeter's account of a 

 snake pursuing young wild turkeys at 

 great speed on the Ohio game farm and 

 any one who sees one of these snakes 

 for the first time trying to escape will 

 be surprised at the rapidity with which 

 they move and disappear. 



The beat keeper who continually goes 

 over his ground with gun and terrier 

 will kill many snakes and the death of 

 every one means the life of many game 

 birds. Crows, hawks and other ground 

 and winged vermin are controlled by a 

 good beat keeper, who will shoot many 

 of these enemies as he makes his daily 

 rounds protecting the nests during the 

 breeding season and later the young 

 birds which are an easy prey to all their 

 enemies. I have seen keepers call crows 

 within gun range and shoot them. When 

 good beat keepers are employed and 

 suitable covers and foods are provided 

 at the sides of all of the fields quail and 

 other -game birds quickly can be made 

 and kept as plentiful as it is desirable 

 to have them. 



. The amateur may imagine there ■ are 

 few or no snakes on his ground because 

 he does not happen to see them. I 

 warned a capable keeper, when I em- 

 ployed him, to look out for snakes and 

 he said he had no fears about them since 

 he saw no signs of snakes. He was very 

 good at noticing the signs of foxes and 

 all other game enemies and he called my 

 attention to many of them as we rambled 

 over the farms. Walking in dusty roads 

 he observed that there were.no signs of 

 snakes. I knew the character of the 

 land, however, and felt sure it was good 

 ground for black snakes, and I told the 

 keeper he soon would see some. A few 

 days later he showed me a lot of dead 

 snakes hanging across a fence which he 

 had saved for my inspection. Later he 

 killed a big snake in a coop ^yhere there 

 were young pheasants and his assistant 



killed another under similar circum- 

 stances. The snake, like the owl, may 

 not seem to be abundant or even to 

 occur. I have known of many snakes 

 and literally hundreds of great horned 

 owls being killed in one season by com- 

 petent keepers. Our grOuse and quail 

 easily can be made plentiful in a wild 

 state just as partridges and grouse are 

 in other countries and hand rearing, 

 which is difficult and expensive, is not 

 necessary. 



A Fur Consolidation. 



The Siberian Hare Company of Ham- 

 ilton, Canada, has joined forces with 

 angther fur-bearing firm, that buys from 

 the Indians of the Northwest and breeds 

 foxes, martin, mink, etc. 



Sir John Gibson's beautiful farm, ad- 

 joining this city, has been secured as a 

 breeding and distributing point. This 

 farm, though less than two miles from 

 Hamilton, a city of over a hundred thou- 

 sand, is well w.atered and isolated. It 

 takes in part of- what has long been 

 known as Ainsley's Woods, embracing 

 a once wild fox den. A beautiful and 

 large creek or rivulet runs through the 

 farm, which supplies water the year 

 around. There is also about three acres 

 of, a marshy pond, in which muskrats 

 could be advantageously raised; in fact, 

 there are muskrats in it now. Men are 

 now at work on the farm making houses, 

 pens and cages to receive the animals 

 when they come down from the North. 

 The Siberian hares and some of the 

 other animals are already on- the place. 



As in the future, so many other ani- 

 mals will be bred besides the black Sibe- 

 rian hare, a compromise was made on 

 the name and in the future the new firm 

 will be called the Siberian Fur Farm 

 of Hamilton, Canada. 



The new firm bas strong financial 

 backing and will be watched with inter- 

 est. One of its members has spent four 

 years with the Indians five hundred 

 miles north of Lake Superior, and is able 

 to speak the language of the Indians in 

 that section. 



More Game and Fewer Game Laws. 



