THE GAME BREEDER 



117 



of the country. The regulations are sug- 

 gestive of the multitudinous State game 

 laws, and their execution will require a 

 large force of wardens. If, as it seems 

 likely, these regulations are to be multi- 

 plied as the State game laws have been, 

 we are inclined to think the new law 

 should be amended so as to simply de- 

 fine a closed season throughout the coun- 

 try during the breeding season and there 

 should be, of course, a clause in the law 

 excepting game breeders and owners of 

 game from its provisions. 



A most important event was the wild 

 duck dinner of the Game Conservation 

 Society at the Hotel Astor, December 14, 

 1915. One of the objects of the dinner 

 was to bring, together representatives of 

 the National Association of Audubon 

 Societies, the Game Protective and Prop- 

 agation Association and the many game 

 breeding clubs, in order that they might 

 dine together on such game as it is now 

 legal to serve in New York. Since the 

 wild turkey long has been extinct in New 

 York and was dropped from the laws on 

 that account, the Game Conservation So- 

 ciety decided to add these birds to the 

 menu, a number of birds having been 

 donated by members of the society. The 

 State game department, however, ruled 



that the turkey could not be served at a 

 subscription dinner, because it was a 

 relative of New York game birds, and 

 the bird was omitted. Mr. Ernest Napier,. 

 State Game Commissioner of New Jer- 

 sey, who spoke at the dinner, invited the- 

 association to dine in New Jersey in the 

 future, where, he said, they seldom ar- 

 rested anyone, and it seems likely the 

 invitation will be accepted if the absurd 

 New York law be not amended so as to 

 permit the industrious wild turkey breed- 

 ers to send this desirable food into New 

 York. 



The war continues to put an end to the 

 importation of pheasants and partridges 

 from Germany and Austria-Hungary, 

 and thousands of birds about to be 

 shipped were held up. 



The prices for fresh killed game re- 

 main up in New York, and it seems 

 likely it will be several years before the 

 markets are abundantly supplied at rea- 

 sonable figures. Tens of thousands of 

 eggs were sold last spring by advertisers 

 in the magazine, many of whom reported 

 they could not fill their orders. Hun- 

 dreds of thousands of eggs soon will be 

 for sale, but we predict the prices will 

 remain up since new bree'ders and clubs 

 are starting in many States. 



THE PRAIRIE GROUSE. 



(Seventh Paper.) 

 By Dwight W. Huntington. 



From October to April, inclusive, Dr. 

 Sylvester I. Judd says, in the bulletin 

 referred to in previous papers, the prairie 

 hen takes little but vegetable food. This 

 element amounts to 85.89 per cent for 

 the year. Fruit constitutes 11.79 per 

 cent ; leaves, flowers and shoots 25.09 

 per cent; seeds 14.87 per cent; grain 

 31.06 per cent and miscellaneous mate- 

 rial 3.08 per cent. 



Like the bobwhite and the ruffed 

 grouse, the prairie hen is fond of rose 

 hips, and the abundant roses of the 

 prairie yield 11.01 per cent of its food. 



This fact perhaps may be a useful hint 

 to anyone who attempts to introduce the 

 bird or to improve its environment. The 

 other fruit found was of little import- 

 ance — merely 0.78 per cent. It was made 

 up of domestic cherries, woodbine ber- 

 ries, sumac, poison ivy, huckleberries, 

 strawberries, partridge berries, mistle- 

 toe, wild grapes. The berries of sola- 

 tium and symphoricarpus and cornel 

 (cornus asperifolia). Of the frugtiv- 

 erous habits of the prairie hen Audubon 

 writes : "In the western country, at the 

 approach of winter, these birds frequent 



