
THE GAME FIELD 79 
Victoria Fish and Game Club are multiplied in 
the Province, it will have enough and to spare 
for natives and visitors alike. 
And yet some of the residents of Victoria and 
its neighboring districts are so thick as not to 
see which way their bread is buttered. 
Secretary Musgrave, of the British Columbia 
Fish and Game Club, announces the arrival of 
a consignment of the great capercailzie, or 
caper pheasant, from Great Britain, for distri- 
bution upon Vancouver Island and the main- 
land. 
A good specimen of the caper pheasant weighs 
from eight to twelve pounds; a blue grouse of the 
weight of four pounds is considered a big bird, 
- so that by comparison it is possible to form a 
fairly approximate idea of the size of the caper. 
Obviously, therefore, he will form a valuable 
addition to British Columbia’s stock of game 
birds. 
The problem will be the protection of the 
stock. A flying game bird of the size of a caper- 
cailzie would prove a very tempting mark to pot 
hunters. What would the man or boy who 
acknowledges allegiance to neither law nor con- 
science—whose conscience has perhaps never 
been developed at all—of whom it is surmised 
there may be some in British Columbia, do 
under similar circumstances ? 
We suspect, also, from the history of the 
caper, that after the manner of all fowls of 
gigantic growth, he is not prolific. Although he 
withdrew himself to the farthermost wilds of 
the United Kingdom, he was at one time all but 
extinct. By fostering care and assiduous pro- 
tection he is becoming common again. Never- 
theless his tribe cannot be shot in thousands by 
the sportsmen of Great Britain, as is the case 
with the ordinary grouse of the moors. 
British Columbia ought to be well suited to 
the nature of the immigrants.’ They should do 
well indeed, and increase and multiply if given 
a chance. If every sportsman makes them a 
special object of his solicitude and care they 
will have a chance. 

Missouri Law Upheld 
The Supreme Court of Missouri has upheld 
the game law that was passed as the Walmsley | 
bill by the Missouri Legislature during the 
1904-1905 session. The decision was on a test 
case brought from the St. Louis courts. Last 
fall some of the St. Louis dealers decided to test 
the validity of the law and Fred Heger openly 
offered for sale a few game birds. He was 
arrested on a charge of violating the game law 
and the case was tried in the Circuit Court at 
St. Louis and then appealed to the State Su- 
preme Court. The case was argued before the 
Supreme Court, which decided that the section 
of the law which prohibits the selling and ship- 
ment of game birds protected by the law is con- 
Stitutional. — 

State Game Parks Increase 
McLean County, Ill., is to have a state 
game preserve similar to that recently opened 
near Auburn in Sangamon County. The entire 
stretch of timberland known as Funk’s Grove, 
comprising 3,000 acres, has been tendered to 
the State by the owners, and will be leased for 
the propagation of game, rent free. The work 
of stocking it with quail, pheasants and wild 
turkeys will be commenced at once under the 
direction of the State Game Warden. It is 
interesting to note that the State Game Com- 
mission is taking a census of the prairie 
chickens in the various counties, and that this 
shows the birds are not in immediate danger 
of extinction, due largely to their protection by 
the farmers. It is unlawful to kill prairie 
chickens in Illinois until rgo9. 

Ducks in Wisconsin 
A letter from a subscriber in La Crosse, 
Wis., brings the information that the new law 
prohibiting spring shooting in that State is 
already showing good results. In April and 
early May, seemingly conscious of the security 
afforded them, thousands of ducks made the 
marshes between the north and south sides of 
the city of La Crosse their feeding grounds. 

Deer for Tennessee 
The Belle Meade herd of deer, which were 
owned by the estate of General W. H. Jackson, 
in Belle Meade County,Tenn., have been bought 
by subscription and turned over to the State 
Department of Game, Fish and Forestry, and 
subsequently turned out to roam the hills as 
State property. 
Deer are protected by law in Tennessee for 
the next two years, and the parties interested 
in the, purchase of the Belle Meade herd 
believe that, with the protection they will have 
from Colonel J. H. Ackler, the State Game 
Warden, these deer will distribute themselves 
over a wide section and acquire the necessary 
ability to take care of themselves by the time 
the law is off. 
