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RECREATION. 



PRACTICAL GAME RAISING. 



Editor Recreation : 



Lewisburg, O. 



Someone asked in a recent number of 

 Recreation, what becomes of the horns 

 of moose, deer and elk after they fall off. 

 I have hunted in many parts of the United 

 States and never, save once, found horns 

 that were not badly gnawed. I think they 

 are devoured chiefly by mice. I raise elk 

 and deer. Last spring I could not, for 

 several days, find the horns dropped from 

 a large elk,. When I did find them, the 

 points were- badly eaten, and the fact that 

 they lay in an open field convinced me 

 they had been eaten by field mice. 



In May Recreation I noticed an inter- 

 esting account of a hunt in the Hell creek 

 country. I have had the pleasure of hunt- 

 ing there and it is the only place where I 

 ever found any deer horns in good preser- 

 vation. I also found there a mountain 

 sheep whose horns measure 16 inches at 

 base, and a large mule deer with as fine 

 antlers as can be shown by anyone. I had 

 both mounted, and they stand to-day in my 

 home. 



Have had experience in raising quails 

 and pheasants. No one can keep his birds 

 o- his own territory unless he offers them 

 inducements to remain. Two things, at 

 least, are essential, food and water. The 

 easiest way to feed these birds in winter is 

 to plant a patch of mixed broom corn 

 and cane. Break the cane and corn down 

 about 2 feet from the too, thus making 

 both cover and feeding grounds. If you 

 do this, and forbid shooting on your land, 

 you will have quails and pheasants in 

 abundance. I tried the plan one year ago 

 and it worked to perfection. This year I 

 have 2 broom corn patches on different 

 farms, and some of my neighbors are do- 

 ing as I did. We have hundreds of Mon- 

 golian pheasants in our neighborhood and 

 in a few years expect to have thousands. 



The question is often asked, "Can quails 

 be domesticated?" One of my neighbors 

 has Bob White quails that run and roost 

 with his chickens. Last year I raised 12 

 quails and they were just as tame as young 

 chickens until I lost track of them 

 through changing my residence. 



Doubtless there are many people who 

 would like to raise elk and deer did they ' 

 know how easy it is to do. For their 

 benefit I offer a few suggestions. 



Select your territory and let it be a dense 

 thicket or an open woodland with some 

 cleared ground adjoining; that is, if a 

 small park is in view. My deer and elk 

 are fond of alfalfa clover. I have an 

 enclosure of 18 acres, with only a few 

 trees in it, in which I keep 6 elk, 3 deer 

 and 2 horses. A portion of the lot is in 



timothy and there are about 3 acres of na- 

 tive blue grass. My elk and deer feed 

 more frequently on the clover than on 

 either blue grass or timothy. No one 

 should attempt to raise deer in large num- 

 bers unless at least one elk is kept with 

 them. The worst enemy deer have is the 

 dog, and woe unto a dog if he gets in a 

 park where there is an elk. Build your 

 fence with Page woven wire. 



The best and cheapest food for elk in 

 winter is corn fodder. The best corn fod- 

 der can be made by sowing sweet corn 

 or drilling it like wheat. Common corn, 

 cut up the ordinary way, makes good 

 fodder for elk; deer will not eat it. The 

 latter should be fed on either corn or bran 

 or both. There may be a better food for 

 deer that I am not aware of; if so, I 

 should be gflad to hear of it. 



Where can I buy a pair of mule deer 

 and a pair of fallow deer? 



F. J. Wilson. 



HARRY'S CHIPMUNK. 



As I write I am conscious of being watch- 

 ed by the sparkling Drown eyes of the chil- 

 dren's latest pet, a ground squirrel. We 

 have had him several days and he seems 

 quite content. The children tacked screen 

 wire over the top of a box; and this, turned 

 on one side, gives us a good view of him. 

 A cigar . box in one corner of the cage 

 serves as a den into which he can retreat 

 when tired of our company. 



Just now he is curled up with his head 

 resting on his fore paws, exactly like a dog, 

 while his bushy tail is spread gracefully 

 around his hind feet. He has the cover of 

 a baking powder box for a water cup ; and 

 sometimes, when in a playful mood, he 

 takes the edge of this little tank between 

 his teeth, and running backward, pulls it to 

 one end of his cage, so he can have the 

 place it occupied to run around in without 

 danger of jumping into it and wetting his 

 feet. That is a calamity to be avoided, if 

 possible, to judge from the pains he takes 

 to dry his feet when by accident he has 

 stepped in the water. 



The children give him shelled corn, of 

 which he eats only the heart of the grain. 

 He is fond of walnuts, butternuts, etc., with 

 which the children keep him abundantly 

 supplied. Of course, they are always try- 

 ing him with everything they can think of 

 in the eating line. One day they gave him 

 some lean meat, cooked. He ate it as 

 though he had been raised on it. Another 

 time they gave him some raw meat; he 

 would not eat it, but rooted it all over his 

 cage, just as a pig might do, and finally 

 pushed it down a crack. 



Sometimes we let him out in the sitting 

 room, first closing all the doors. He 



