T he Game Breeder 



Published Monthly. Entered as second-class matter, July g. 1915, at the Post Office, New York City, 



New York, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 



VOLUME XIII 



MAY, 1918 

 Co} 



SURVEY OF THE FIELD. 



NUMBER 2 



A Bad Session? 



Under the heading, "A Bad Session at 

 Albany for Game Conservation," The 

 New York Sun says, "Certainly the Leg- 

 islature which adjourned last week will 

 not receive the thanks of the sportsmen 

 of the Empire State." 



The Sun is right in its criticism of the 

 abolishment of the office of State Fish 

 Culturist, but The Sun should remem- 

 ber that an election approaches and the 

 fact that the fish culturist is capable may 

 be more than offset by the fact, stated 

 by The Sun, that he was not a resident 

 of this State when employed. 



A Wrong Idea. 



Whoever suggested to The Sun the 

 idea that the ruffed grouse season should 

 be closed for two years has evidently no 

 knowledge of natural history and little, 

 if any, knowledge of the effect of such 

 legislation. The heath hen became ex- 

 tinct in New York while a closed season 

 was in force. Real conservationists 

 know that laws preventing anyone from 

 having ruffed grouse to shoot, to eat or 

 to sell are very likely to result in the 

 extermination of the grouse in settled 

 regions, at least, and it is in such re- 

 gions the birds should be kept plentiful, 

 as they easily can be, for food. 



The late Mr. Whitehead well said, 

 "It requires the extinction of a valuable 

 game bird to teach the average Ameri- 

 can the importance of its preservation." 



Abundant Game. 



It has been shown beyond a reason- 

 able doubt that it is a very easy matter 

 to make game birds abundant. Only a 



few years ago we secured a law making 

 it legal to produce certain species of 

 birds for food. As a result the pheas- 

 ants and mallards rapidly have become 

 abundant in many places. Had the law 

 closed the season there would have been 

 no production. 



Two thousand birds have been shot 

 near an artificial pond where they were 

 bred and where, of course, no ducks 

 bred when there was no pond. An ad- 

 vertisement in The Game Breeder of 

 40,000 pheasant eggs for sale does not 

 indicate that the Legislature should pro- 

 hibit the production of pheasants or the 

 shooting and sale of the birds, for two 

 years or for any other period. 



Practical Experiments. 



The Game Conservation Society con- 

 templates making some practical experi- 

 ments with ruffed grouse. To do this 

 it is necessary to have funds, which in- 

 telligent sportsmen are willing to fur- 

 nish. Those who collect vast funds in 

 order to secure foolish legislation never 

 have any money to expend on game and 

 like the dog in the manger they do not 

 want anyone else to produce or eat 

 game, possibly because such conduct 

 might interfere with their game-saving 

 activities. Millions surely, and possibly 

 billions of dollars, have been expended 

 in the effort to save the game by law. 



The criterion of abundance is found 

 in the markets. Judged by this standard 

 America appears to have become game- 

 less. 



The Sun is right in saying the Legis- 

 lature had a chance to strike from the 

 Penal Law the section relating to Sun- 



