340 
FOREST AND STREAM 
March 15, 1913 
Published Weekly by the 
Forest and Stream Publishing Company, 
Charles Otis, President. 
W. G. Beecroft, Secretary. W. J. Gallagher, Treasurer. 
127 Franklin Street; New York. 
CORRESPONIJENCE— Forest and Stream is the 
recognized medium of entertainment, instruction and in¬ 
formation between American sportsmen. The editors 
invite communications on the subjects to which its pages 
are devoted, but, of course, are not responsible for the 
views of correspondents. Anonymous communications 
cannot be regarded. 
StJBSCRIPTTONS: $3 a year; $1.50 for six months; 
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This paper may be obtained of newsdealers throughout 
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ADVERTISEMENTS: Display and classified, 20 cts. 
per agate line ($2.80 per inch). There are 14 agate lines to 
the inch. Covers and special positions extra. Five, 
ten and twenty per cent, discount for 13, 26 and 52 inser¬ 
tions, respectively, within one year. Forms close Monday 
in advance of publication date. 
Entered as second-class matter at the Post-Office, 
New York, N. Y. 
GAME PROPAGATION. 
The American Game Protective and Propa¬ 
gation Association is arousing widespread in¬ 
terest in raising game birds both native and for¬ 
eign. Anyone can take it up on a small scale, 
and it is likely to prove very profitable. Birds 
will be distributed free from the association’s 
farm to applicants who will make proper pro¬ 
vision for their protection by placing them on 
land where there is good cover, and by agree¬ 
ing that there shall be no shooting on this tract. 
The plan is to secure sanctuaries of this kind 
all over the country which shall serve as foun¬ 
tain heads from which the overflow will stock 
the surrounding territory. If the birds are un¬ 
molested, they will increase so rapidly on a sanc¬ 
tuary that they will be forced to spread out, and 
there will be good shooting in the neighborhood. 
There will be no danger of their extinction, 
however, if the rule against killing them on the 
protected areas is enforced. 
The value of game as a food supply is lead¬ 
ing more and more people to take up its propa¬ 
gation. Propagated game is the only kind which 
should be used for market purposes. Because 
game is sold in Europe at a very low figure, 
some people in this country have been led, 
through ignorance of the facts behind the con¬ 
ditions, to advocate the sale of all game in this 
country, erroneously thinking that a withdrawal 
of the protective laws would make game cheap. 
Of course, as is well known, in Europe shooting 
is only for the rich, but so much game is raised 
on the large estates by corps of gamekeepers, 
and so much is shot by the few who have the 
privilege, that there is a large surplus to be dis¬ 
posed of. The people are placated for being 
deprived of the shooting privilege by being al¬ 
lowed to buy game at a surprisingly low figure. 
Any such institutions as European game pre¬ 
serves would, if they became the rule, be in¬ 
tolerable to American ideas, yet such conditions 
are inevitable if our wild game is allovved to 
be slaughtered for the market. Game might be 
slightly cheaper at first if this were permitted, 
but it would soon be exterminated everywhere 
by the market hunters, as it has been already 
in some places. The game farm offers a solu¬ 
tion to two vexing problems, that of free shoot¬ 
ing for all, and that of supplying the markets, 
for both the wild covers and the meat shops 
may be stocked from this source. 
BIRDS TO EARN MONEY. 
The passage of the bill placing the protec¬ 
tion of migratory birds under the Federal Gov¬ 
ernment is likely to save a number of valuable 
and beautiful birds now verging toward extinc¬ 
tion. It will also have the effect of increasing 
in a thousand ways the productivity of our 
farms, and besides this will reduce the taxes 
of the ordinary dweller in our towns. In cer¬ 
tain portions of New England—to instance a 
region where more money has been spent in 
combating noxious insects than anywhere else— 
an increase of insectivorous birds can hardly 
fail to - cause a decrease in the depredation of 
the brown-tail and gypsy moth, to lessen whose 
ravages millions of dollars have been expended. 
This money comes out of the pockets of the 
taxpayers, and if the work of destroying the 
larvae and eggs of these destructive insects can 
be done by the birds instead of by men, we 
shall not have to pay city, county and State 
for doing it. 
Many a Connecticut town, famous for its 
ancient elms, has lost them through the ravages 
of the so-called canker worm, which sometimes 
twice or three times in a season defoliates the 
trees. The .birds are able to cope with these 
worms as man cannot, for, as we have so often 
said, birds work every day in the year and de¬ 
vour adult insects, larvae and eggs alike. 
It is to be hoped that before long a conven¬ 
tion of all the Governments of North America 
may be called together, to take up the study of 
taking advantage of the good done by our feath¬ 
ered neighbors. At all events it is fortunate that 
the United States has taken the matter in hand. 
GAME RESERVATIONS. 
President Taft created during the month 
of December three new bird reservations; 
Chamisso Island, Alaska, Dec. 7, 1912; Pish- 
kun, Montana, Dec. 17, 1912, and Desecheo 
Island, Porto Rico, Dec. 20, 1912. Chamisso 
Island is the bird reserve furthest north and 
lies just below the Arctic circle in Kotzebue 
Sound. Many thousands of sea birds breed on 
this island including puffins, Pallas’ murres. 
Pacific kittiwakes. Point Barrow and other gulls. 
This island is unsurveyed and the area is, there¬ 
fore, unknown. Pishkun reserve embraces a 
reclamation project with small legal subdivis¬ 
ions adjoining. Many species of the edible wild 
duck breed here. The area of this reserve is 
about 3,150 acres. Desecheo Island reserve is 
a small island fourteen miles west of Porto 
Rico, and is the home of eleven species of birds 
of which nine species are characteristic water 
birds and two land birds. From 2,000 to 10,000 
of each of the species of the water birds nest 
on the island, and embraces noddy and bridled 
terns, laughing gulls, several species of boobies, 
man-o’-war birds, oyster catchers, etc. The 
island is unsurveyed and the area is unknown. 
There are now fifty-nine bird reserves in the 
United States and outlying possessions. 
GETTING OUT OF DOORS. 
For the training of mind and body, as it 
concerns the individual and his own best in¬ 
terests, and as it concerns the interests of so¬ 
ciety of which he is a member, there is no 
better field of activity for the boy or man than 
the sports of field and stream. In these sports 
there are situations which contribute to the de¬ 
velopment and exercise of physical courage; 
self-reliance, endurance, patience and inventive 
power in surmounting obstacles are in constant 
requisition. 
To the boy the energies thus applied afford 
a useful schooling in qualities essential in later 
serious life. He by success acquires confidence 
in himself and in turn is not timorous in assum¬ 
ing the initiative. He learns to think and to 
act for himself. 
To the man who shoots or fishes, or who, 
better yet, does both, there comes by such rec¬ 
reation a rest of mind and upbuilding of body. 
Who has not remarked the bright eye, the 
ruddy color, the assured carriage and vigorous 
stride of him who has had an outing devoted 
to fin or feather, and noted the health and 
energy thus displayed in contrast to the' hum¬ 
drum, listless manner of action exhibited before 
the outing? 
The old boy needs his playground quite as 
much as does the young boy. He needs it for 
his amusement and for his best well-being. More 
playgrounds for the old boys mean fewer sani¬ 
tariums, and still fewer inmates; fewer doctors 
and still fewer patients; fewer dyspeptic minds 
and still fewer dyspeptic stomachs; and healthier 
and happier men, women and children. Cherish 
and maintain the playing places for the old and 
young. 
TRAVEL AND VACATION NUMBER. 
Now that the winter of our discontent is 
over—discontent because the weather was so 
mild we didn’t feel compelled to go away from 
home, although we felt that we needed a change, 
we are jangling our pennies in anticipation of 
spring fishing and summer travel. This, then, is 
the opportune, by some called the psychological 
moment, to tell Where and How to Go. Conse¬ 
quently our next issue will be Travel and Vaca¬ 
tion Number, this comprehensive title covering 
interesting articles on fishing, in the States and 
Canada, with illustrated descriptive articles on 
many of America’s vast playgrounds. Every 
red-blooded American will take a personal and 
patriotic interest in the contents of this number. 
Order at once from your newsdealer, for as 
Forest and Stream is not returnable, dealers 
order only such copies as they have calls for. 
Now that Congress has passed the migratory 
bird legislation, a number of self-advertisers will 
probably discover that they were responsible for 
this action and modestly proclaim the fact. Such 
claims will be absurd because no one man or 
body of men could have put the matter through 
unaided, but the chief credit belongs to the 
American Game Protective and Propagation Asso¬ 
ciation which led the fight, organized the efforts 
of the conservationists and directed their ener¬ 
gies from the time the first gun was fired at the 
hearings in Washington a year ago, till the 
measure went through on the last day of the 
session just ended. 
