Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1895-06-22
GULL FARMING.
a NOVEL OUOINeSS ON the
LoNo ISLAND COAST.

NalsiHS enc Zee Birds See Thsle
Wings, Which Are Sold Sss MI.
.IWssy Purposes.
A novel industry is conducted By
Fritz Gritman, an old bayman on the
small beach of the south coast of
Long Island known as Jones's Beach.
It 10 within the recollection Of thou.
sands Of gunners and summer visitors
when the Long Island beaches were
crowded with sea gulls and small sum.
mer gulls, beautiful birds which
sailed gracefully over the beach and
the water, utterly harmless, and ask.
ing OF nature only small supply OF
the fish Of the sea as their food. In
the past two years these beautiful
birds have been almost annihilated,
and strange to say, their cruel oblite.
ration Is due entirely to women, who
would In must cases cry out In de-
nunciation OF any cruelty to Q bird.
Fashion decreed that wings such az
gull's wings should be fashionable
adornment OF women's hats. This
gave market value to the hitherto
valueless dead gull, 30 cents . pair
being offered for the wings, The bay.
mon at once turned themselves into
'gull-hunters, almost to the neglect
Of wild ducks and geese in the Great
South Bay. There was moro money
In killing gulls than any other birds,
for man could bag several hundred
In day easily.
But the supply soon ran out, and
now the trade In gulls' wings Is look.
Ing for new sources. The price for
good wings has advanced, and they
are worth from 30 to 90 cents q pair.
These soft, light.colored wings OF the
gulls sell as dove wings, and bring
the price Of the latter In tho market.
Ninety.nine hundredths Of the SO.
called dove wings worn on street hats
are Rulls' wings. for IL would be Q
manifest impossibility to supply
doves wings In the quantities now
worn upon women's hats.
The barren island OF sand and
meadow grass known % Jones's
Beach Ii natural home Of the gulls,
and II they are let alone they multi.
ply there rapidly. A few specimens
Of the birds were loft on the beach,
and they laid their eggs In the warm
sand In the summer to be Matched
out by the sun. Gulls never sit upon
their eggs 40 other birds. but let the
sun and warm sand do the motherly
act for them. Fritz collected oil OF
the eggs he could find, and placed
them In little round holes In the sand
near his hut. to hatch. In week or
two more than o score OF little gulls
we're running around. A strong wire
netting confined them within Q GER
tain limited space. and 90 kept the
old gulls from reaching them. These
latter. however, fed the young. vora.
cious birds with fish. which they
would drop to them from above. The
little gulls In this way were reared
without any labor on the part Of the
old bayman.
AZ the season advanced Fritz col.
lected more eggs from the beach un.
til he had Matched out over 200 gulls
the first year. This was o big start.
and this year no expects to market
nearly 500 pairs Of wings. Al most
OF the wings are from young birds, he
will receive ut least &c cents q pair,
and he will net good sum and carry
enough birds over for next years
breeding.
The man does not pretend to cage
his blrls or to sonfne any more than
. certain number OF good breeders.
Jones' Beach 10 only o small island,
but the birds once bred upon II do
not forsake II. They are essentially
homo birds, and only 20 away In the
winter to warmer places, inevitably
returning and breeding on the same
beach. Gunners facility understand
that they are not to modest Fritz's
eulls on the beach. and II 10 very
rarely that he 10 disturbed In this
way. Every morning during the
breeding season the old bayman goes
forth and collects all OF tho eggs OF,
the beach and places them In the
sand near his hut to hatch out. There
are many enemies to the eggs, and
many are broken and eaten up before
they are Matched unless protected Ia
this way. Whom the birds are large
enough to fly and care for themselves
they are turned out. BY this time
they are attached to the place and
always look upon II 20 their home.
In the autumn after the breeding
season Fritz has several weeks Of
great cunning The gulls ere shot
by the hundreds and their wings
shipped to market. Tho stock IL moi
reduced too low. however. About
fifty OF the best breeders are kept IN
the net during this hunting season,
90 that they will not be frightened
away from the island by the noise,
They are not turned loose until late
In the autumn. and they are sure to
return the following spring. When
winter comes on the breeding farm Il
deserted and old Fritz returns to the
mainland.
Usually the birds secure oil OF the
fish they need for food. but the old
keeper spends good part OF his time
In hauling the net around the bay.
The small fish are thrown to the
gulls and tho marketable ones ore
shipped In Ice to New York. In this
way he makes o double profit.
aulES or ThE ROAD At era