sound basis of a great economic and recreational 
necessity is to become the devitalized subsidiary of 
a war time tax that every precept of good govern- 
ment demands should be removed. 
It means that seven men will have placed in their 
hands more money and more power than our sys- 
tem of government has ever contemplated placing 
in the hands of any seven men whco have ever lived. 
It means placing: at the disposal of the Biological 
Survey seven hundred thousand dollars of sports- 
men’s money, with which to extend federal author- 
ity and assume powers that are those of the states 
who should control all funds collected within their 
borders in the name of conservation, and whose 
state commissions have demonstrated their willing- 
ness and ability to support the National govern- 
ment. 
It means that if war time taxes are to be levied 
on guns and ammunition to purchase refuges and 
support federal officials that it is only a question 
of time when a tax will be levied on fishing tackle 
to build up fish hatcheries and support fish com- 
missioners. 
The fact should not be lost sight of that pro- 
viding shooting grounds for sportsmen is neither 
an obligation nor a function of the national govern- 
ment and there is no possible way in which they 
can do so except to a favored few. 
Do not ask sportsmen through any flush of 
altruism to assume national obligations or to take 
money collected within their states and there 
needed for conservation purposes and place it in 
the hands of federal officials over whom they have 
no control. 
The cause of conservation first of all begins at 
home. It is an economic and not a political ques- 
tion; all the laws that Congress may pass or may 
be asked to pass will not solve a problem whose 
solution lies in the hands of sportsmen themselves. 
It did not require the assistance of the National 
government for Pennsylvania to restock its forests 
and game covers—the sportsmen of the state were 
their own conservationists and handled their own 
money in their own way. Other states are making 
good progress along similar lines and as soon as 
sportsmen cease depending on weird forms of legis- 
lation, new forms of taxation and new Federal bu- 
reaus, and face intelligently their own problems 
at home, “the more game question” will be well on 
the way to a practical solution. 
a9 Ete owt 
OHIO’S FARM GAME REFUGES 
HE state of Ohio has more than 100,000 acres 
of game preserves located in 74 of the 88 
counties of the state, which were obtained and 
are operated without expense to the taxpayers. 
These have been established by the division of fish 
and game of the Ohio department of agriculture, 
under a system of leasing farms for game refuge 
purposes. The farms, usually groups in a compact 
body, are leased by the state for ten-year periods 
at a yearly rental of $1 for each farm. 
All shooting, trapping or other disturbance of 
wild life is prohibited in these preserves, and since 
the lease is for game-refuge purposes only and 
does not interfere with the operation of the farm 
in any way, farmers have been glad to lease their 
lands because of the protection afforded against 
trespassing. This work was begun in 1919, and 
now 87 such refuges, ranging in size from 500 to 
2,800 acres, are established, including about 700 
farms in all. 
Not only is the existing wild life protected, but 
the farms are stocked with game birds from the 
state game farms. The intention is that these 
refuges shall be breeding centers for wild life in 
the various counties, from which adjacent unpro- 
tected lands will gradually become stocked with 
game. The division of fish and game is supported 
by fees, supplemented by fines. 
These refuges are thoroughly placarded and ac- 
tively patrolled by 65 regular game protectors, 
with the active sympathy and cooperation of 
sportsmen in the plan. 
The state also owns over 15,000 acres in the 
southern part of the state, which has been desig- 
nated as the Roosevelt game preserve. Turkey, 
deer, bear, and other wild animals are found on 
this preserve. A large pheasant hatchery is lo- 
cated there. 
The state also owns a game farm of 200 acres 
at Wellington in Lorain county, which is fenced 
and cross-fenced with seven-foot woven-wire fenc- 
ing, and has the necessary buildings and equip- 
ment to make it an ideal game farm. 
The output of pheasants from Ohio’s game farms 
this year will exceed 10,000 birds. 
2“ wy 
$10,000 FUND SOUGHT FOR RUFFED 
GROUSE 
IN order that a scientific investigation of the 
Ruffed Grouse may be made in New England, 
sportsmen from Maine to Connecticut are being 
urged to contribute to a fund of $10,000 which is 
to be raised to permit a three-year investigation of 
the grouse. 
A Conference on this subject was held by the 
Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective Associa- 
tion at their quarters, 3 Joy Street, Boston, on 
October 14. Dr. Alfred O. Gross of Bowdoin Col- 
lege gave an illustrated lecture on his studies of the 
ruffed grouse. He told of finding diseases in many 
of the specimen sent to his laboratory last year. 
The disease which appears to be the cause of scar- 
city in some localities is of an intestinal nature, but 
according to Dr. Gross certain blood-sucking flies 
or external parasites found on grouse may prove 
to be connected with the disease as secondary hosts 
or “carriers.” He emphasized the need for more 
specimens and appealed to the sportsmen of New 
England to send him the intestines, treated with 
salt, of all birds killed. 
Sportsmen are not only urged to contribute to 
the fund which the Massachusetts Association has 
undertaken to raise, but are especially urged to 
serve as cooperators in this investigation by send- 
ing specimens of ruffed grouse to Dr. Alfred O. 
Gross, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine. Dr. 
Gross is particularly anxious to have the entire 
bodies of small or thin birds as well as birds which 
appear to be healthy. However, it is expected that 
in the majority of cases sportsmen will not care to 
send the entire bodies of healthy birds, and they 
are therefore urged to save the entire intestines of 
all birds killed, sprinkling each specimen liberally 
with salt, wrapping separately in paper, with in- 
formation regarding the date and place where the 
bird was killed, and sending promptly by parcel 
post directly to Dr, Gross. 
127 
