6 



THE GAME BREEDER 



learned the value of game conservation. Forty 

 odd years ago, when I was a Texas Ranger, 

 these wide and treeless prairies teemed with 

 game — antelope, buffalo, some deer, prairie 

 chickens, quail, and, after a rain, myriads of 

 water fowl in the lakes. 



Today there are a few antelope privately 

 owned and rigidly protected. There are some 

 quail, an occasional prairie chicken and a few 

 migratorv water fowl. 



Reading Notices. 



We are glad always to publish read- 

 ing notices about what our advertisers 

 are doing and also stories about how to 

 rear any species successfully. Such mat- 

 ters no doubt help the advertisement but 

 it is such matter we are sure which most 

 interests our readers. 



Changed Times. 



Since the arresting of breeders for 

 having stock birds in their possession 

 is going out of fashion, we are called 

 upon less frequently to defend members 

 of the society in the courts. We are glad 

 of this. Y\ e never liked the practice of 

 criminal law, and it is only from a sense 

 of duty that we have denounced the ar- 

 rest of people for doings which are not 

 criminal in any civilized country ex- 

 cepting America. 



One result of our activity has been the 

 amendments to many laws ; another has 

 been to reduce the number of fool ar- 

 rests by grafters for the sake of 

 moieties. 



Our readers, no doubt, will be glad 

 to know that the atmosphere has been 

 cleared sufficiently in many states for 

 us to forget about many silly game 

 law crimes and to record the excellent 

 work of many breeders in the sunshine 

 of the present more happy conditions. 



We never believed our readers cared 

 so much about reading stories of hew 

 ladies and gentlemen were arrested for 

 taking home food legally procured or 

 about arrests and fines for taking: esrg-s 

 from irrigated fields and other exposed 

 situations, in order to procure "more 

 game,"' as they do for stories about how 

 to make money with game, how to supply 

 the people with food and ' how to have 

 good shooting. These topics will fill our 

 pages in the future. Xow that quiet reigns 



we hope our readers will send more 

 and more notes about their experiences 

 in the rearing fields and fewer and fewer 

 notes about the outrageous arrests of 

 b/eeders. 



Although we were i ejected for mili- 

 tary duty we still keep our fighting 

 clothes, so to speak, and if necessary we 

 will turn on the searchlight of publicity 

 when an occurrence may require it, and 

 we will defend any breeder threatened 

 with an excessive fine when it appears 

 that by so doing the result will be to in- 

 vite attention to a legal wrong and to 

 see that the law permitting it be re- 

 paired by amendment. 



We care far less about such contro- 

 versial matters than we do for the bright- 

 er work in the rearing fields and with 

 the gun, over dogs or decoys, and we are 

 glad to report that the times have 

 changed. 



Xow is the time to send -advertise- 

 ments of eggs and it is well to offer 

 birds, one day old and larger stock, for 

 summer and fall delivery. 



Conference of the Protectives. 



The annual conference of the Ameri- 

 can Game Protective Association was 

 held Monday and Tuesday, M arch 4 and 

 5, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New 

 York. Several score of people attended 

 and the conference closed with a dinner 

 at the hotel which attracted more people 

 than could give the time to the day ses- 

 sions. 



The program included an able opening 

 address by the chairman, Wm. B. Boul- 

 ton, reports of the various committees, a 

 plea for experiments in breeding the 

 grouse by Dr. A. K. Fisher, a paper on 

 standardized practices in the sale and 

 shipment of game by R. A. Chiles, 

 Louisiana the winter home of America's 

 game (with moving pictures), M. Alex- 

 ander conservation commission of Loui- 

 siana, the need of more widespread 

 knowledge of game preserving in Amer- 

 ica, A. G. McVicar ; the conservation of 

 fish, Geo. D. Pratt ; the menace to bird 

 life in a weakening of game laws, T. G. 

 Pearson ; supply of game and relaxation 

 of laws, T. W. Hornaday ; sportsman's 



