THE GAME BREEDER 



43 



opportunity I am certain my profit in 

 this interesting occupation would have 

 been quite large. 



The individual like myself who raises 

 game, wild birds and animals to study 

 and play with, will make a failure as far 

 as profit is concerned. 



Geese, turkeys, ducks, pheasants and 

 even quail can be raised profitably, but 

 to say that the average person can do it 

 as easily as raising so many broods of 

 chickens, is going far beyond the truth. 

 Of all the wild game I have tried to 

 raise I have had by far the best experi- 

 ence with ducks. 



One of the drawbacks in getting peo- 

 ple interested in raising game is that the 

 propagators live too far apart. There 

 are only about so many people that be- 

 come interested and they are so well 

 distributed over the country that they 

 do not get to see one another often 

 enough to keep up interest. In regard 

 to wild geese, a number of years ago I 

 ordered a trio of wild geese from one of 

 the leading game breeders who wrote me 

 in reply that it would be of no use to 

 order the third one as he had never 

 known o£ a polygamist in the wild goose 

 family. I have also been told this a 

 great many other times by men of wide 

 experience. I bought two, a male and a 

 female. The party from whom I pur- 

 chased them sent me an extra goose 

 which he said he had had about twenty 

 years and had never mated. 



Last year each of the females hatched 



six young goslings. This year about 

 the middle of February the old gander 

 commensed manifesting his imperial au- 

 thority choosing one of the females for 

 his consort. After he got her comfort- 

 ably settled in a feather lined nest with 

 her seven eggs what did the old rascal 

 do but desert her entirely and he is now 

 bestowing his affection and attentiveness 

 on the other goose which at this writing 

 has four eggs to her credit. 



Last year about the same program was 

 followed. About two or three days be- 

 fore the first eggs were to hatch the 

 gander came back to his first mate, chas- 

 ing everyone and everything else off the 

 premises. When the second brood be- 

 gan to hatch he again turned traitor and I 

 gave his attention to his second mate. 



After both broods were running about 

 the gander was shown up properly as 

 neither of the females would tolerate 

 his presence. Instead of him strutting 

 around them then he followed an old 

 plymouth rock hen, trying his best to 

 persuade her to be his mate. I believe 

 he thought himself to be quite guilty in 

 his Brigham Young tactics. 



I know a good many, and perhaps all 

 game breeders will say they do not be- 

 lieve this story, but nevertheless I have 

 two nests of fertile eggs and in about 

 two weeks will show you some fine gos- 

 lings. 



[We shall be glad to have you send us photo- 

 graphs of the goslings. Let a professional 

 photographer make their portraits and send us 

 the bill.— Editor.] 



PRESENT STATUS OF THE HEATH HEN. 



By Hon. W. C. Adams. 



I was greatly interested in reading 

 about your plans for experimental work 

 with American game birds in place of 

 your customary annual dinner, and noth- 

 ing would give us greater pleasure than 

 to help you in this if it were in our 

 power. On the matter of the heath hen, 

 however, in view of the present condi- 

 tion of the colony it would be most un- 

 wise for us to use any of these birds 



for purposes of experiment, as I think 

 you will readily see. The situation in 

 regard to the heath hen is this : as you 

 probably know, under the protection 

 given these birds for some years past, 

 they increased until there was a sub- 

 stantial colony on Martha's Vineyard, 

 and it appeared that the future of this 

 bird was practically assured. In the 

 spring of 1916 a disastrous fire swept 



