M.-yrch 28, 1908.] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
game used to winter, and where the hillsides blow 
bare the sheep men graze their sheep. The sheep 
eat the grass close and tramp it out, so that it 
is impossible for game to live through the win¬ 
ter. Our President has set aside large tracts for 
timber reserves in order to protect the grasses 
and also to protect game. Then he has his forest 
superintendent lease this very ground wheie 
game range, so it is impossible for elk or deer 
to live there as the tame sheep tramp out and 
destroy all grasses. , 
“Any one who has never been where sheep 
range has no idea how barren they make a coun¬ 
try. The very first thing that has to be done is 
to draw the President’s attention to this matter, 
and as he is a Western man he will understand 
it at once. I believe he will then issue an order 
prohibiting sheep from grazing where game 
ranges, or on timber reserves. I interviewed 
the Montana game warden in regard to this mat¬ 
ter. I also went and saw Gen. Young, superin¬ 
tendent of the Yellowstone Park. He said he 
would do all in his power to help. I also had 
Howard Eaton write to Mr. Pinchot about the 
matter, but Eastern men do not know what dam¬ 
age sheep do to the range. 
“I live just on the western border of the Yel¬ 
lowstone National Park, where game is more 
plentiful than anywhere in the United States. In 
some parts of the park they put up hay and feed 
the game, which is as tame as cattle. Still there 
are vast areas which could be cultivated and 
much more hay raised and more game fed. Gen. 
Young takes a great interest in feeding the game 
and caring for it, but Congress does not appro¬ 
priate enough money to properly do the work of 
raising hay and feeding the game, so he is han¬ 
dicapped. 
“I should judge that there are about thirty 
thousand elk in the park, besides deer and ante¬ 
lope. There are about one hundred and fifty 
tons of hay raised, so you see that there could 
be very much more hay raised if money was ap¬ 
propriated for the park. So far this winter, we 
have not had much snow, and game is not suffer¬ 
ing very much, but last winter I believe more 
than 40 per cent, died.” 
Shelter for Quail. 
Minnetonka Beach, Minn., March 16 .—Ed: 
tor Forest and Stream: You have had a great 
deal of good advice from time to time as to help¬ 
ing quail through the winter. Here is something 
from some Western paper that sound sensible. 
“William E. McCulley of Macon county, 
thinks he has solved the problem of preserving 
quail. He owns quite a large farm and he dis¬ 
covered that quail were becoming more and more 
scarce each year. Then he set about studying the 
cause and came to the conclusion that it was lack 
of shelter. Since then he has every spring 
planted sugar cane along the side of the hollows 
of his farm and permits the same to stand dur¬ 
ing the winter. It affords the quail not only food, 
but shelter of the kind they like. 
“Other farmers in Boone, Callaway and sev¬ 
eral counties of the State have adopted Mr. Mc- 
Culley’s plan and they think it is just what was 
needed. It is a fact that quail will not stay where 
they cannot find shelter. In many of the best 
counties there is very little natural shelter left, 
as every foot of available ground is under culti¬ 
vation. In such localities it has been observed 
that the quail have nearly all left and it seems 
pretty well settled that they will never return un¬ 
less artificial shelter is provided for them. Sugar 
cane, when thickly planted, furnishes just what 
these birds seem to want. They are very fond of 
the seed, and as the season advances the cane 
stalks fall down and provide a thick mass in 
which the quail can hide from their natural ene¬ 
mies, hawks and owls, and also afford a nesting 
place in the spring and summer.” 
H. W. Osborn. 
In a short time Forest and Stream Publishing 
Company zvill bring out a small volume which 
will contain the charming serial recently con¬ 
tributed to these columns by Mr. S. T. Ham¬ 
mond. The book zvill contain not far from one 
hundred and fifty pages, and zvill be illustrated 
by a number of engravings. All readers zvho 
enjoyed the serial as it appeared in the Forest 
and Stream are likely to desire this book in 
order to keep in permanent form these charming 
accounts of Nezv England shooting. Orders zvill 
be received for the book at any time. It zvill be 
sent postpaid for the sum of $1.00. 
