VOL. LXV
INDIANAPOLIS, OCT. 1, 1910.
NO. 40
PROTECTING Ql All,.
Editors  Indiana  Farmer:
I have always believed that it was
bad business to prohibit the killing ui
quails for any number ot years, and at
each legislature when a bill (or such
purpose was under consideration, I
have always acted accordingly, but
within the past year I have been compelled to change my mind.
For instance, people living on game
preserves throughout the State tell me,
and in many instances I have seen for
myself, that quail are much more numerous on these game preserves, where
they are protected the year around,
than thy are upon adjacent territory
where quail hunting is permitted from
November 10th to January lst. This
convinces me that if quail hunting was
stopped all over the State for a period
of five years or even two years quail
would increase and multiply and become much more abundant than they
now are.
The argument that has been used
against this proposition before is that
under the present law any land owner
in the State can protect quail on his
place as long as he wants to by prohibiting hunting thereon, and that hawks
and cold winters kill more quail than
the huntors do. The first part of this
proposition is true.
Under Section 604, page 731, Acts of
1905 no hunter dare go upon the lands
of another to hunt without flrst securing the consent of such land owner,
and to a considerable extent advantage
is being taken of the provisions of thla
section. Adjoining farmers are binding together under agreement to permit no person, not a member of such
agreement, to hunt upon their several
lands without a majority consent of all
the farmers joining in such organization.
Wherever such organizations exist
road supervisors and members of horse
thief detective associations—all of
whom have police powers—are interested, if there be any in that vicinity,
and deputy constables are appointed,
and all these officers work to prohibit
tresspass. This reduces hunting to a
minimum in that particular locality
and quail are practically protected the
year around, as very few farmers ever
shoot them. If this plan was carried
into effect all over the State there
would be no need of a law to protect
quail for any specified length of time;
but it is not.
Then, too, a great deal of advantage
is taken of the farmer in this way; his
lawyer, or his doctor, or the merchant
from whom he buys, or the grain dealer to whom he sells, or some other
person with whom he is on business or
social intimacy will say to him, a few
days before the quail season opens: "I'd
like to come out to your house as soon
as the law opens and do a little hunting. I haven't been away from my
place of business for a long time and
the outing will do me good." The
farmer may possibly tell him that he
doesn't want his quail killed, but the
other fellow will solemnly swear that
he will shoot nothing but rabbits; a
promise which of course he will break
every time a covey of quail gets up in
front of him unless the farmer is
watching him, and while the farmer
believes that he will, and really does
not want hiawi on his place, yet he fears
to   give   offense   by  refusing;   so   aflter
quibbling and exacting all the promises he can he grudgingly gives liis consent. If the law prohibited killing
quail at any time all his troubles would
be easily settled by just saying: "Well,
old man, I'd like to accommodate you,
but you know it is against the law to
kill quail for five years."
It ls true that many quail are killed
by hawks, and I think it would be well
to put a small bounty on these outlaws,
but the fact that hawks kill quail is to
my mind a very insufficient reason as
to why hunters should be permitted to
kill them.     I have  never yet heard a
PATRONIZE    THE    AGRICULTURAL
SCHOOL
Those who have been on what has
been known as the "Wheat Train" or
"Special" running over the Pennsylvania lines, in charge of the Rxtension
Department of Purdue University, during the past few weeks have been impressed with the large number of farmers who are seriously seeking information as to how to produce a more profitable crop of wheat in Indiana. Twenty
thousand farmers it is estimated have
earnestly listene>I to these lectures
given   under   circumstances   which,   at
A Close Contest at the State Fair, 1910.
murderer defend himself by saying of
his victim: "Oh, well, a train, or an
automobile, or a runaway horse, or a
falling tree might have killed him, and
he would have died sometime anyhow."
Yet there is as much sense in one argument as there is in the other.
Quail never, or at least rarely ever,
freeze if they get enough to eat. If
they become enfeebled by hunger they
succumb to cold, especially if there is
a heavy snow. Many farmers throughout the State will feed and take care of
their quail ln cold weather, but a
good many of them think it is useless
to feed them and go to a lot of bother
in caring for them through the winter,
only to have the hunters kill them during the next hunting season. I think if
quail are protected the year around
that the great majority of farmers
would look after them during the winter. Anyway in places where they are
protected the year around they have
increased wonderfully, and I believe a
State wide prohibitory law would bring
about a corresponding increase all over
the State.
If the hunters think that five years
is too long the next legislature could
pass a two year law and birds given
that length of time to increase; then
the succeeding legislature, in 1913,
could handle the matter as they deem
wise. If quail are plentiful enough at
that time they need not renew the prohibitory act.
I will be glad to hear from those who
are Interested in either or both of these
matters; that of enforcing the present
tresspass law, or the passing of the prohibitory  law. H.  H.  Earle.
best, are not most favorable. Doubtless
many farmers have been impressed
with something that has been said by
these lecturers, but to the man, who
looks broadly at the development of
the agriculture of the state, this question naturally arises. Why is it that
farmers who will drive many miles to
listen to lectures on wheat growing or
maybe corn growing, soil fertility,
dairying, or horticulture, do not encourage their sons to take an agricultural course in the School of Agriculture?
During the past five years many
special trains have been run by the Extension Department and thousands of
farmers have listened to the gospel of
better corn, soil fertility, better dairying, fruit, etc., and yet the number of
students in the State School of Agriculture remains comparatively small. The
number of farmers listening to lectures
from special trains would indicate a
wide desire for information which will
enable them to grow better crops and
increase their profits on the farm, and
these same farmers should be in position to answer the question: Why do
not you send your boy to the agricultural college and let him have the advantage of a thorough practical scientific training in apiculture in order
that he may put the farm on a more
profitable basis?
No man who has taken an apicultural course in the university but what
has had drilled into him the fundamental principles of maintaing soil
fertility, improved crops and live stock
and methods of reducing cost and in-
creasi*2    profit. An      agricultural
course is the best investment a father
can make for his son. It is the best
investment that a young man can make
for himself, to say nothing of the pleasure and ability to compete with the
best in this most important line of business. It would be interesting to have
replies to these questions from a great
many men who have listened to the
lectures from the "Wheat Train" during the past three weeks.
SECRETARY     WILSON     ON    FARM
CONSERVATION.
Secretary James Wilson was one of
the prominent speakers at the Conservation Congress, held in St. Paul, September 7. He spoke of the rapidly diminishing area of new soil in the country and of the necessity of preserving
the fertility of what is in cultivation
in every way possible.    He said:
"The Federal government is expending large sums to irrigate more land,
which is wise; but the amount of water
impounded is small compared with the
volume that flows to waste. In a recent visit to the mountain states I saw
that the most advanced localities are
every year making more reservoirs to
hold winter and spring flows of waters
that go free of man's restraint to the
ocean. The nation, the states and private enterprises have ample fields in
which to work toward greater crop production in this direction."
He thinks the time will come when
our farmers in the semi-arid regions
will find it necessary to follow the example set by European countries of
dense population of building reservoirs
to impound overflow water to be used
during times of drought. These reservoirs are built from the sources of their
rivers   on   down   toward   their   mouths.
The most important farm conservation, he said, is undoubtedly the preparation of farm youth for better farm
management. We have inherited our
system of education that looked to the
farm for the best material to reinforce
the professions and the industries.
Education has, therefore, prepared
young people for everything but farm
life. The American Congress saw this
half a century ago and provided for
agricultural colleges in all the states.
These colleges have grown and are preparing teachers, a hopeful task, in the
nature of things. It is difficult to
change or materially modify the education of a people, interwoven with
their history, their industries, their
literature, their traditions and religion.
It is being done, however, in our country. Research is accumulating facts
along the life lines of our people. The
people read the publications treating
field and forest, the soil and its crops,
the animal   and its well being.
CORN CROP PROSPECT.
The condition of corn, as reported
by the Bureau of Statistics, U. S. Deot.
of Agriculture, September 8th, was
78.2; condition Sept. 1, 1909, 74.6; condition, average of ten years past, 79.5.
The condition in Indiana for Sept. 1,
this year was 85, Sept. 1, 1909, 91, and
average for ten years 84, so we are a
little ahead of former records. Obi-.;
Illinois among corn growing sta'os is
ahead of us in this year's report, and
that only by one point.
Indiana ranks side by side with Illinois in the oats crop, which was 94
per cent in each state.