4 MISC. PUBLICATION 15 9, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



the many forms. The bulk of winter feeding is done by farmers, 

 in most cases simply for the enjoyment and occasional sport they 

 derive from having the birds on their properties. Any feeding 

 campaign must have the cooperation of the resident farmers. 



A town or city game association sponsoring winter feeding may 

 well form a definite organization to raise funds, solicit labor, and 

 in general obtain the cooperation of individual hunters, Boy Scouts, 

 women's clubs, and business men's associations, and of the local 

 press, outing-goods stores, grain-elevator operators, feed-mill pro- 

 prietors, rural-mail carriers, railway section workers, and others. 



Having obtained such cooperation, the organization should dele- 

 gate certain individuals who are well acquainted with local farmers 

 to make arrangements for wholesale, systematic feeding. Although 

 in many cases it is not necessary to pay farm owners either for 



Figure 2. — Winter feeding of small birds. 



services or for grain to be used in feeding birds, there can be no 

 question that reasonable reimbursement for the grain, at least, will 

 go far toward establishing better feeling between sportsmen and 

 farmers. When arrangements are made to leave standing corn or 

 shocks of corn, or to feed threshed grain, payment certainly should be 

 made. If the production of game can be made profitable for the 

 farmer, even in a small way, it is reasonable to suppose that he will 

 be willing to leave a half -acre thicket here and there for cover and 

 food and that he will take an interest in increasing his game stock. 

 If, however, hunters are unwilling to assume some of the cost of 

 production, farmer-sportsman controversies may be accentuated and 

 at the same time the game birds, left without cover and short of 

 food, will continue to decrease in numbers. 



At present game birds and animals often constitute a liability 

 rather than an asset on farms, since their very presence subjects the 

 farmer to annoying and sometimes destructive trespass by hunters. 

 Where winter concentrations of game birds occur, considerable quan- 

 tities of the farmer's crops may be eaten, thereby adding to his loss. 

 It is useless, under such circumstances, to urge farmers to feed game 

 for the implied purpose of furnishing sport to strangers. 



In some communities winter-feeding contests are practicable if 

 given sufficient publicity through local papers. These contests may 

 be sponsored by State conservation departments and supervised by 



