84 



THE GAME BREEDER 



probable death rate among the cattle 

 caused by those hunters who "thought 

 the calf was a covey of quail just ris- 

 ing?" If we take away the right of the 

 upland farmer to post "No Hunting" 

 signs and the protection of the trespass 

 law, no rancher in any game country 

 could keep even so much as a milch cow 

 or a single horse in his pasture. But he 

 enjoys the protection of the same law 

 that prevents indiscriminate hunting 

 upon the property of the lowland farmer. 

 The erroneous idea of what duck clubs 

 really are has made some people conjure 

 up in their minds a veritable ogre. Peo- 

 ple who have never thought of them save 

 that "they were a curse to the country" 

 believe they are vast stretches of water 

 and tule of unknown depth with here 

 and there a bleak little island for the 

 hunters to stand upon. They can see, 

 in their mind-picture, attendants busily 

 strewing wheat, rice and other grain over 

 the water to attract the water-fowl which 

 fly over in a sun-obscuring cloud and 

 alight upon the water. They also see the 

 hunters shooting from early morn until 

 late at night, day after day, while at- 

 tendants feverishly reload the guns and 

 bring refreshments to the busy shooters. 

 It is a wonder that these people can call 

 this sport, when such grilling work 

 would call for the greatest hardihood and 

 endurance. 



It is not generally known that practi- 

 cally every duck club in this State has 

 written in its by-laws a prohibition 

 against shooting more than two days in 

 any one week during the open season 

 and none at all during the closed season. 

 A violation of this clause or of the bag- 

 limit law will cause a member's expul- 

 sion from the club and the forfeit of 

 his membership. The capital he has in- 

 vested in his membership would, in many 

 instances, cause a considerable personal 

 financial flurry. 



Many duck clubs own their own 

 grounds and they, in turn, lease the graz- 

 ing privileges. Now could we, by any 

 form of law, prohibit these men from 

 owning that property? Could we force 

 them to allow free access to their land 

 to every man with a gun, simply because 

 they themselves hunted there? Is it 

 possible to confiscate that property sim- 

 ply because it is hunted over about two 

 months in the year and grazed the re- 

 mainder? 



Suppose the State appropriated $500,- 

 000 for the purchase of duck grounds. 

 When this purchase was consummated 

 who would enjoy this expenditure of the 

 taxpayers' money? Answer: The re- 

 tired capitalist and the market hunter. 

 Stop and think it over. 



IS THE DOVE A GAME BIRD? 



As the interest increases in wild bird 

 protection more attention has been given 

 to the study of these creatures from an 

 economic standpoint. In some localities 

 in Oregon farmers are demanding the 

 rigid protection of game birds like the 

 bobwhite and other insect and weed-seed 

 eating birds as an aid to larger and bet- 

 ter crops. 



There is a growing sentiment through- 

 out the United States for the removal of 

 the dove from the list of game birds. 

 Two reasons are advanced for this ac- 

 tion; one is from a sentimental stand- 

 point, the other from an economic point 

 of view. 



In an editorial treating of the Value 

 of Birds on the Farm the editor of For- 

 est and Stream says : 



"One of the game birds, the mourning 

 dove, is especially worthy of mention as 

 a useful seed-eating bird. While the 

 dove sometimes takes grain, most of this 

 seems to be waste grain taken after har- 

 vesting is over. These birds are most 

 abundant, however, in waste lands where 

 weeds abound, turkey mullein forming 

 one of their favorite foods, while tumble 

 weed and mustard are also eaten ex- 

 tensively. 



"The immense numbers of weed seeds 

 destroyed by these birds is shown in the 



