THE GAME BREEDER 



115 



eral times to warn all vessels in the 

 vicinity. 



Instantly numbers of wild birds may 

 be seen coming from all directions, the 

 reason being they have learned that 

 many dead and stunned fish rise to the 

 surface of the water following each ex- 

 plosion. To them this particular whistle 

 is like a dinner gong. More remarkable 

 still, they readily distinguish between 

 this whistle and others. Canal workmen 

 and natives also share in the harvest. 



[Game breeders know that hand-reared wild 

 ducks soon learn to come to dinner when a 

 horn is sounded. We made this discovery 

 long ago, when our black ducks came in to 

 feed with some setter puppies which were 

 being taught to respond to a dog whistle. The 

 ducks flew in to feed with the dogs. One of 

 our members always uses a dog whistle to 

 call his ducks from the marsh. At the Clove 

 Valley Club the call is sounded on a military 

 bugle. Many use a tin horn. — Editor.] 



Black Duck— Mallard Hybrids. 



Mr. Holmes, whose advertisement ap- 

 pears on another page, is a large breeder 

 of black fuck-mallard hybirds. These 

 ducks have long been used for decoys in 

 New England and they lay large num- 

 bers of eggs under control. 



Mr. Holmes gives his ducks a wide 

 range and they fly from the patches of 

 wild rose and briars where they nest to 

 the feeding ground and return on the 

 wing to their nests. He says he found 

 some of the ducks nesting in briars which 

 seemed almost impenetrable ; two ducks 

 hatching a large number of eggs were 

 found sitting side by side. 



Although many breeders prefer 

 straight-bred ducks and other game birds 

 we can see no reason why this hybrid 

 should not be extensively used for sport 

 since the birds are reported as strong and 

 fast on the wing as the wildest wild 

 ducks are. 



The pheasants used for sport both in 

 England and in America are nearly all 

 hybrids. It is said that it is unusual to 

 see a pure bred ring-necked pheasant or 

 a pure bred dark-necked pheasant in the 

 London markets. Many of the birds shot 

 and sold show a cross between the spe- 

 cies named and some incidently have been 

 crossed with Mongolian and even Japa- 

 nese pheasants. 



The breeders of black ducks all report 



that fresh-trapped birds do not lay for 

 one or more years and very few breed- 

 ers can furnish black ducks or eggs suit- 

 able for breeding purposes. The de- 

 mands for sport now are so large that 

 we can see no reason why the strong 

 flying hybrid ducks which are excellent 

 on the table should not be used on many 

 preserves. They surely are far superior 

 to many of the commercial mallards, 

 some of which are not nearly strong 

 enough on the wing to satisfy the de- 

 mands of sport. 



The black duck-mallard hybrid should 

 be a valuable bird for those who wish 

 to have black ducks. By crossing the 

 true wild black duck with the hybrid it 

 seems likely that a duck which for all 

 practical purposes is or appears to be a 

 pure bred black can be produced which 

 will lay eggs abundantly under control 

 just as the mallard and near-mallards 

 do. 



In all probability the black duck-mal- 

 lard hybrid is entirely exempt from game 

 laws. It is not named in any of the 

 statutes which prevent the production, 

 shooting or "having in possession" of 

 certain species. We are quite sure the 

 courts will hold that such a new species 

 produced by industry for food and not 

 mentioned in any statute is not governed 

 by laws protecting certain species enu- 

 merated in the statutes. We feel certain 

 we are right in this opinion, and if so 

 the hybrid should be a valuable duck for 

 shooting clubs, game farms and preserves 

 in the states which have not yet re- 

 paired their game laws so as to encourage 

 food production. 



To Transplant Reindeer. 



Cordova, Alaska, June 22. — Alaska 

 reindeer, which heretofore have roamed 

 only in the tundra country of the Sew- 

 ard Peninsula of Northwestern Alaska, 

 are to be planted in the Copper River 

 valley of Southwestern Alaska, north of 

 Cordova. The reindeer originally were 

 brought from Siberia and transplanted in 

 Northwestern Alaska. The task of 

 transplanting the animals has been un- 

 dertaken by the Bureau of Native Edu- 

 cation. Herders will bring the deer over- 

 land this spring from Nome to Cordova, 

 a distance of approximately 900 miles. 



