The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1906-11-30
WHYCH|CKENS ARE SCARCE
HUNTING DOGS DESTROY EGGS
DURING LAYING SEASON.
RAID NESTS IN THE FIELDS
The only Way to Increase Supply Of
Game Birds, According to Sports.
man Writing to The News, is TO Tie
Dogs During Matching Season.

Game Birds, According to a Sports.
man Writing to The News, is to Tie
Dogs During Matching Season.
The News received a letter from
a hunter In South Dakota, which
should furnish suggestions for sports
men and legislators who are trying to
improve the game laws and preserve
the game birds for legitimate shoot
ing The letter deals with the destruc-
ton of birds eggs by dogs which are
allowed to roam through the fields and
woods
Dogs are very fond of eggs and the
countless hundreds that are permitted
to hunt the fields and woods probably
reduce the bird crop more than all
the hunters combined A great many
dog owners will say their dogs simply
hunt rabbits but it is doubtful If any
dog, especially a hunting dog, will pass
up nest filed with eggs. All of the
adverse conditions of weather com
bned are less damaging than n half
dozen dogs that are permitted to hunt
| between May / and September /.
These dogs not only eat the eggs but
they run down young chickens, quail
ana partridge, before lhe plrdS can
| fly.
! This is one of the weakest points in
our game law, hut it will be a difficult
problem to solve unless the dog own
ers solve it themselves. There Is no
| difference in dogs in this respect.
| They all get the egg habit II allowed
to forage in the fields and woods, II
the birds cannot be hatchod there Will
be no shooting, and the more dogs the
less birds. The letter runs as f"l
Webster, S. D., Nov. 2i.--I see that
there is scarcity of chickens in many
localities, and the cause, many say
was the late rains drowning out the
young birds and in some cases rotting
the eggs.
! differ as to the cause, for | have
found the chicken crop the finest this
year that it has been for the past 10
years. The largest covies running
from fourteen TO nineteen birds in all
cases, but you must go at least ten
miles from any town, city or village
to find them so numerous.
Some eight years ago | lived on a
farm ten miles from Webster, S. d.
started to town in my buggy and when
got four miles on the road, or six
miles from town, | saw pointer dog
that belonged in town. He was quar-.
terng the field in fine shape, so | kept
my eye on his work. When he flushed
a chicken about forty rods away saw
the dog stop so | turned off the road tC
: investigate Just before | got to him
he left but found the nest filled with
empty egg shells. | found fourteen
there. | followed the dog about two
, miles further; another flush and an
: other breakfast This time siXteer
eggs. | followed until he raised the
third chicken and found fifteen egg!
this time, making forty-five eggs il
all. then struck the road and wen
- to town. The dog seemed as full o
q energy as ever, in addition to beint
nearly full of eggs. This was the lat
ter part of May. Now supposing tina
. dog went out the next day and the
next and so on, what figure would III
- cut in the season?
,, When left that dog | drove abou
' one mile, towards town, when | me
a skirmish line composed OF five dogs
pointers and settlers, hunting for al
they were worth. At that time there
y were 1OS dogs in Webster. Now talk
a map and count the towns in Mime
sofa and the two Dakotas, estimate TIT
y dogs according to the inhabitants; al
low 200 eggs per dog per season, AM
= you have the neat little sum OF Sc
100000 of birds eggs destroyed pc