104 



THE GAME BREEDER 



Bob White in New York. 



The superintendent of the New York 

 Zoo, editor, or perhaps we should say- 

 chief editorial writer, . of Field and 

 Stream, says, under the heading, "Edi- 

 torial" in the January number of that 

 publication : 



The bob white quail is a great destroyer of 

 the seeds of noxious weeds. In our fauna he 

 has no equal. And yet this fact is ignored. 

 Throughout the North and most of the South 

 that species is mercilessly shot, and as a re- 

 sult it is fast becoming extinct. In New 

 York State it will soon be as extinct as the 

 mastodon unless given a ten-year close season 

 at once. Its value as a plentiful game bird is 

 gone. 



The quail now are tremendously 

 abundant in many places. North and 

 South. It is an easy matter to keep 

 them plentiful in places where the 

 shooting is excellent. We know places 

 where thousands of these food birds 

 are safely shot every season. The 

 quail are doing well in many places 

 in New York. Within a few miles of 

 the City of New York eleven covies 

 were flushed one day last week by two 

 of our readers who enjoyed some good 

 shooting. Other readers recently pur- 

 chased quail for introduction in New 

 York, and, since the price is now 

 from $20 to $25 per dozen, the birds 

 undoubtedly will be properly looked 

 after, provided it be not made a crime 

 to do so. 



If the sportsmen of New York wish 

 to prohibit quail shooting for ten years 

 the law should exempt those who own 

 quail and look after them properly. 

 It is true that these birds are extinct 

 in many places, but it is equally true 

 that a prohibitive law will not restore 

 them. Those who enjoy eating quail 

 should not be sent to jail because they 

 keep their birds plentiful and shoot 

 and eat them. 



A GOOD WORD FOR NEW 

 JERSEY. 



By Peter H. James. 



_ [It was not our intention to severely criti- 

 cise the commission unless it favored the 

 arrest of citizens bringing home food legally 

 taken in another state. — Editor.] 

 Editor "The Game Breeder": 



My attention has been called to the 

 December issue of "The Game 



Breeder" wherein the New jersey Fish 

 and Game Commission is severely criti- 

 cised because of the arrest of persons 

 having attempted to remove game from 

 the State contrary to the New Jersey 

 law, the arrest having been made by 

 the warden in the belief that it was 

 New Jersey game being so removed. 



In all fairness to the commission 

 I beg to advise that I have on numer- 

 ous occasions represented hunters be- 

 ing charged with the violation of the 

 New Jersey game laws and I have par- 

 ticularly in mind a very recent case 

 wherein I represented two gentlemen 

 who had been arrested under the above 

 circumstances and although they were 

 arrested as they were about to leave the 

 State with game in their possession and 

 found guilty of a violation and the time 

 for appealing the same under our laws 

 had about expired before I was retained, 

 it was therefore incumbent upon me to 

 take prompt and decisive steps to pro- 

 tect the interests of my clients before 

 they would have lost their remedy, I 

 therefore immediately got in communi- 

 cation with these same cornmissioners 

 on the long distance telephone at Tren- 

 ton and the commission at once sent 

 their chief warden, James M. Stratton, 

 to investigate the case. The result of 

 the investigation was that the board 

 ordered prosecution in these cases drop- 

 ped, which was entirely satisfactory to 

 me and my clients. This is only one 

 of the many similar instances wherein 

 immediately any unjust action is taken 

 by a warden or a justice of the peace 

 before whom an arrest is pending, if 

 the matter be properly presented to the 

 commission, they will always investi- 

 gate and see that no injustice is done 

 any citizen. 



I am prompted to write you the 

 above as an act of justice to the com- 

 mission, whom in private practice at 

 the law and during the several years 

 'that I have been a member of the 

 New Jersey legislature coming almost 

 in daily contact with the members of 

 said commission, I have always found 

 them to be fair and just in the enforce- 

 ment of the fish and game laws. 



The board adjusted the case last be- 

 (Continued on page 120) 



