
ONTINUED 
weather during the past month 
has been a serious blow to game 
birds in the wild, but the breeders have 
been extremely busy with their plans 
snow and cold 
for the coming spring. The interest 
among members as well as others is 
greater than at any time since the War 
began, and one breeder reported to 
this column that he is receiving orders 
much earlier than in former years. 
Judging from the inquiries since the 
first of January the number of breeders 
will be a record, and those already 
well established are planning to handle 
all the birds that their supply of labor 
will permit. 
Many of our new members are mak- 
ing careful plans before they launch 
out into the interesting field of game 
breeding, and they are also benefitting 
by the cooperation they receive from 
veteran breeders. This cooperation helps 
the established breeder as well as the 
novice, because by exchanging ideas 
they very often work out trades, which 
would not be brought about by any 
other plan, and it is helping the War 
effort by eliminating waste. “Tony 
Carnaglia of Long Island was anxious 
to raise a few pheasants, so he became 
a member, and by meeting other mem- 
bers he not only was able to purchase 
birds from reliable breeders, but they 
also helped him to arrange his pens 
in time for the breeding season. Many 
breeders become discouraged before 
they get a good start in a very interest- 
ing hobby, but to date all members 
have worked along constructive lines, 
which has been helpful to every one 
and this is one of the reasons we have 
an abundant supply of game birds in 
America. Another member Mr. C. E. 
Clayton after reading a few copies of 
“Game Breeder’’ visited our office, pro- 
cured his set of more-game booklets as 
well as other educational material, al- 
though he is still waiting for beter 
weather to start his game breeding 
farm. 
Predators are a serious problem to 
game breeders, and many of them are 
birds that are common to many sec- 
CAPT. AMOS HORST 
tions of the U. S., but a few are pro- 
tected by law, while others are un- 
protected, so it behooves a breeder to 
make a study of the various species of 
destructive birds in his community. 
As a guide to farmers and game breeders 
this column was furnished with a very 
helpful guide by William H. Winters, 
inspector for the N. Y. State Conserva- 
tion Department with three groups of 
unprotected birds, all of which are 
destructive and can be shot in New 
York State. 
The first group of small birds con- 
sists of English sparrows, starlings, and 
purple grackle; the larger birds are 
crows, king fisher, and tormorant; and 
the unprotected owls are the great 
horned, snowy owl, and the great grey 
owl.. They are numerous and it is a 
common theory that they are all de- 
structive, which might lead one to be- 
lieve they could all be shot, but this 
may lead to serious trouble, because 
there are six protected hawks consist- 
ing of the duck hawk, sparrow, rough 
legged, red shouldered, osprey, golden 
eagle, and bald eagle. The laws differ 
on the birds within the borders of differ- 
ent states so it is advisable for all con- 
cerned to read their state law, and be 
sure to memorize the birds by such an 
easy plan, which should be obtained 
{rem the Conservation Department. 
Gerald V. Hollins, president of the 
Long Island Game Protective Asso- 
ciation not only provided the interest- 
ing data on “Duck Shooting on Long 
Island”, which was published last 
month, but also has developed some 
good ideas on increasing the duck sup- 
ply by enlisting the cooperation of 
large estate owners. His plan is to have 
private owners cooperate by making 
their land into game sanctuaries, which 
could be operated under the supervision 
of the Fish & Wildlife Service of the 
U. S. Department of the Interior, and 
have continued feeding after the duck 
season for those birds that stay for the 
winter. 
The valuable help given to wildlife 
during these severe cold days will mean 
mere upland game birds as well as 
waterfowl next season for the sports- 
men, and it is hoped that by next year 
many more organizations like the 
Southern N. Y. Fish & Game Associa- 
tion, the Amawalk Rod & Gun Club, 
and the L. I. Game Protective Asso- 
ciation will make an early start in this 
important work. Merely admitting 
that it was an unusual winter alone will 
not help the cause, but well laid plans 
for next winter backed by workers and 
money will be a great help, and now 
is the time to get started. It is hoped 
that in another year more educational 
material will be available for our 
readers as well as those interested in 
winter feeding of game birds. 
Splendid work is being done by mem- 
bers of the Eastern States Avicultural 
Society, because the members continue 
to meet despite the War, and they not 
only keep up their own aviaries, but 
also help others by supporting good 
game bird shows. There is little won- 
der that the membership is growing so 
rapidly when one considers that the 
members helped two shows establish 
records last year, and now with the 
leadership of Clifton T. Alden, presi- 
dent of the Association, the Fifth An- 
nual Game Bird Show, sponsored by 
the E. S. A. S., will be held March 31 
to April 8, 1945, at the American- 
Canadian Sportsmen’s Show, Cleve- 
land, Ohio. Some of the Long Island 
breeders will be exhibitors at Cleve- 
land, and judging from the crowds at 
other sporting events this show should 
have no difficulty in hanging up a rec- 
ord for exhibitors and patronage. 
Now that many service men are 
coming back to take their place in out- 
door work, it is hoped that breeders 
will cooperate by giving these men an 
opportunity to demonstrate their will- 
ingness to learn game management. 
The demand for game and fish will be 
greater than the present facilities can 
provide, so an increase in production 
will be necessary to meet the demand 
for more hunting and fishing. 
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