2 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

Feeding Wildlife in Winter

(From U. S. Department of Agriculture Farmers' Bulletin No. 1783)

WINTER IS A critical period for many species of wildlife. Coverts then grow smaller in area and, without foliage, afford less protection. Available food supplies also diminish in both quantity and quality. The species of wildlife that hibernate or migrate do not suffer from these changes, but by midwinter the upland game birds, many songbirds, some small mammals, and, more rarely, big-game mammals are often crowded into restricted patches of cover and forced to subsist on scanty and undependable foods.

As a result, starvation may kill these creatures or so weaken them that they become easy victims of predatory animals or more susceptible to cold, disease, and other misfortunes that do not menace well nourished individuals. Well-fed game birds, for instance, rarely, if ever, die from exposure to cold, even in the most severe winter weather, and if food is abundant in and near good cover they have little to fear from natural enemies. Food, which is always a limiting factor in determining the distribution and abundance of wildlife, becomes of the utmost importance, therefore, in times of excessive cold, sleet, deep snows, and blizzards, especially for birds. Yet many coverts are seriously deficient in available winter foods, and in such cases man can come to the rescue with winter feeding. Nature's lack offers a challenge that he should be quick to accept. His aid can frequently be an individual matter, but organized feeding campaigns often produce more lasting benefits.

Organizing a Winter Feeding Campaign

All winter feeding campaigns require work and effort, and regardless of the type of organization, preparations should be made well before feeding becomes necessary, as the test of the efficiency of winter feeding comes when roads are drifted, traffic paralyzed, and all ordinary transportation tied up. Well-planned organization will facilitate feeding activities at such times. In the past, much winter feeding has been ineffective because bad weather had not been anticipated far enough in advance or because preparations had lagged. Feeding operations should be under way before the usual critical period arrives. In some instances, liberally provisioned caches handy to feeding stations should be made far in advance of the ordinary storm periods.

A town or city game association sponsoring winter feeding may well form a definite organization to raise funds, solicit labor, and in general obtain the cooperation of hunters, Boy Scouts, women's clubs, businessmen's associations, the local press, outing-goods stores, grain-elevator operators, feed-mill proprietors, rural mail carriers, railway section workers, and others.

Having obtained such cooperation, the organization should delegate certain individuals who are well acquainted with local farmers to make arrangements for wholesale, systematic feeding, because any feeding campaign to be successful must have the cooperation of the resident farmers. Farm boys and men are best equipped to feed wild game in winter, not only because of their place of residence but also because of their general interest in wildlife and their intimate knowledge of the many forms. They do most of the winter feeding, in most cases simply for the enjoyment and occasional sport they derive from having the birds on their properties.

Although in many cases it is not necessary to pay farm owners either for services or for grain to be used in feeding birds, there can be no question that reasonable reimbursement for the grain, at least, will go far toward establishing better feeling between farmers and sportsmen. When arrangements are made to leave standing or shocked corn or to feed threshed grain payment certainly should be made. If hunters make the production of game profitable for the farmer, even in a small way, it is reasonable to suppose that he will be willing to leave a half-acre thicket here and there for cover and food and that he will take an interest in increasing his game stock. If, however, hunters are unwilling to assume some of the cost of production, farmer-sportsman controversies may be accentuated and the game birds, left without cover and short of food, will continue to decrease in numbers.

At present game birds and animals often constitute a liability rather than

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OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 3

THE CARP, Friend or Enemy?

By ALEX. P. SWEIGART

IT MAY sound like downright heresy to say it, but we are fast inclining to the view that the despised carp may be definitely beneficial in waters having a dense game fish population. We realize that many of the angling fraternity regard this foreigner to our streams and lakes as a serious menace to other species, but before condemning it too strongly it is well to consider certain tendencies of the fish.

Regarding its effect on bass, pickerel, and wall-eyed pike, the outstanding warm water game fishes in Pennsylvania streams and lakes at the present time, the following factors enter: (1) Competition with these and other species for the available food supply; (2) Destructiveness to vegetation; (3) Availability of its young as game fish forage and (4) Its status as a destroyer of spawn of other species.

Competition for the Food Supply

Carp comprise three types commonly found in our waters: the scale carp, with regularly concentrically arranged scales; the mirror carp, usually easily identified by three or four rows of exceptionally large scales running along the sides of the body, the rest of the body being bare, and the leather carp or leatherback which may have on the back only a few scales and frequently has none at all.

Examination of the contents of a number of carp stomachs, supplied to us last summer by Peter Patricoski of Mount Carmel, revealed a preponderance of vegetable matter. The fish will also take larvae of aquatic insects, worms and other organisms readily. We have had reports of carp being taken on crayfish by anglers fishing for bass, but investigation failed to verify these rumors.

In Pennsylvania waters, the most active feeding season for these fish seems to be during the months of May, June, July and August. Apparently, high water temperatures are conducive to greater activity with the species. During the winter months they enter into a kind of sleep, the duration of this inactivity seemingly being regulated by the severity of and the early or late setting in of the winter. In preparing for this hibernation period, a cavity known as a "kettle" is formed in the muddy bottom, and here frequently, large groups of the fish may huddle in circles, their heads close together and the rear portions of the body raised and held motionless. From the time of the first heavy frosts, with attendant lowering of the water temperatures, until warming of the water in the spring, it is believed they do not take any food. Strangely enough, it has been found in Europe, where carp culture is being carried on today on an advanced scale, that the fish does not diminish in weight while in the winter's sleep in its natural environment. In man-made tanks or wintering quarters, however, it does so to a remarkable extent. During the period of inactivity, it has been found that the carp does not grow. Generally speaking, in our waters, the carp seems to favor more stagnant sections and backwaters, although last summer on the Conodoguinet Creek in Cumberland County, we observed, particularly during August, considerable activity on the part of these fish in the riffles and faster portions of the stream.

It is our belief that, in so far as active competition with other species is concerned, this competition is limited chiefly to bottom feeding species such as the sucker and mullet, and to certain minnows which are herbivorous by nature. Extremely low water, prevailing in recent years in most streams, has resulted in an abundance of vegetation and hence a vastly increased supply of food of this type.

Destructiveness to Vegetation

In this respect, the carp is perhaps most harmful. Upon emerging from the hibernation period, it seeks hungrily for seeds of many of our most beneficial water plants, and in this manner, in localities where too abundant, may do considerable damage to vegetation such as the Tuscarora rice or Indian rice. On the whole, however, with the number of carp in most waters being reduced by a constantly increasing army of carp fishermen, there is small reason to believe that this fish will ever become a serious threat to vegetation. Lake Pymatuning in Mercer County, formed in recent years, is today literally swarming with carp in some sections. When this great body of water is thrown open to fishing this summer, however, it is believed that the carp population will be thinned drastically.

Frequently, when low water prevails, a school of large carp may, during their feeding period, cause a roily condition of a stream or lake. This condition was apparent daily during the summer months last year when the water was low and clear in the Susquehanna River in the vicinity of Harrisburg. It was observed, however, that the murkiness of the water usually passed off by 10 o'clock in the morning, having only a temporary effect on the condition of the stream. Apparently the fish has adapted itself to waters having a rocky bottom as well as to streams or lakes with muddy bottoms.

Availability of the Young as Game Fish Food

Spawning time for the carp comes usually in Pennsylvania in late May or early June, and may extend in some waters through August. To observe a group of these big fish participating in the spawning act is a sight long to be remembered.

Usually attended by from three to six male fish, the female darts swiftly about in short, tremulous rushes close to the surface, the male fish following closely. As the female releases the eggs, the attending male fish fertilize them, and the eggs, adhesive by nature, frequently cling to surrounding vegetation. At this time of the year, the male, in common with most other members of the minnow family, develops wart-like protuberances on the head and back which disappear when spawning has ended. This spawning takes place usually in very shallow water. After the eggs have been fertilized, and deposited, the adult fish seem to make no attempt to protect the spawn or young.

During recent years we have heard many carp fishermen remark the obvious scarcity of small carp, that is, fish of from one and one-half to three pounds in weight, in most waters. That this scarcity may be traced to the activity of other species, we have reason to believe. Many of our forage fishes such as the silver shiner frequent shallow areas along the shorelines in which carp eggs are deposited. These active little fishes, seeking their food in schools, undoubtedly destroy great quantities of carp eggs annually.

When the carp eggs hatch, usually in from 12 to 16 days if the water is warm, the baby fish break from the shell with a yolk sac attached, upon which they may subsist from 4 to 6 days. While absorbing the yolk, they are helpless little creatures, and then it is that great inroads are made on them by shore-feeding fishes such as the sunfish, as well as minnows.

Under favorable food conditions, prevailing in most Pennsylvania waters, for the young carp, their growth after absorbing the yolk sac is not extremely

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4 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

"Old Timer" Writes About Trout Bait

By ROSS CHAPMAN

ABOUT four years ago I fished Nine Mile in Scotts Bluff County on the opening day. There were fishermen everywhere you cared to look. It looked like a hopeless undertaking, but I rigged up a fly outfit and a Rock Worm. I was at, what we call, the North and South bridge, usually a very good spot on Nine Mile. The water was crystal clear and everything looked "made to order" for the fly fisherman.

Well, as soon as I got a chance to step into the water without getting hooked in the ear, or hooking some one else, in I went. There was a fellow just ahead of me, in fact, he was at the first good riffle below the bridge. There was also a guy right at my heels. I could not figure out what he expected to do. Neither did I see how I could do anything. I asked the fellow ahead of me how many he had, and he told me he had just started, but had seven, all taken on this one riffle. He was using a nickel spinner of some kind. He said they were all about alike, but very small. Well, he moved on down stream, then it was my time to try the same spot with my Rock Worm on a ten hook. The first cast into this riffle I had a strike, of course. And when I set the hook, clear over my head went a little trout almost in the fellow's face behind me. My fly took five of those small trout just about as fast as I could lay it out there. The fellow behind me also took several in this same pool after I moved on down stream. He was using a Royal Coachman. They would hit any kind of an artificial. I followed on down and it was no trouble to take those small fish at every good spot.

The next half mile I walked more than I fished. Most everyone seemed to be using flies or spinners. And all taking small trout, except a few that were using minnows or worms. They had nothing. In passing one fellow using a spinner, I says, "Any luck?" and he reached into his creel and pulled out a handful of those little things—and by the way he took them out through the hole in the lid of his creel.

"They are pretty small, aren't they?"

"Yes," he says, "but they are sure fine eating."

"Yes," I says, "those little young ones like that ought to be nice and tender."

Up to this time I was Ashless, but not altogether discouraged, for I knew exactly where I was going. The water kept getting cloudier as I got down stream farther. I was headed for what we call the High Bank Hole. It has a sort of a clay bottom and was cut in under the bank.

Well, if this article is ever published and a fisherman happens to read it, you will guess the first time, what an old big Rainbow would think about this cut under the bank. Well, I also thought I knew. I sat down on the bank and began changing my fly outfit for bait. I put on about a two-inch minnow with a little weight and slipped up to this spot, and let out about all the line I could handle so I could stay back as far as possible, and let my minnow suck down under this bank. Well, a big trout was there,—could not help but be a good one there. He made a rush at that minnow and broke water almost as high as my head, and when I set the hook I just didn't set the hook. Missed him a mile, and was sure he had not been hurt, so tried again with another minnow. I thought he would certainly try it again. Well, I tried everything, except dynamite, but never another strike. I sat down on the bank again. Not to change baits this time, but to suffer. I wanted that trout about as bad as I wanted a new V-8. A guy was coming down the stream behind me, so I told him what almost happened just a few minutes before, and to slip up to this spot very carefully and try him with a fly, and everything else he had if necessary. Well, he did just this, but never a strike. I still think to this day that this big boy is still under that bank. Whoever takes him is just bound to let it be known if he is taken fair.

I had an experience very similar to this with a big Rainbow, down on Lower Nine Mile last year under a bridge. All I had left was a yarn about the big one that got away. There are a few large trout on Lower Nine Mile, but they are very hard to take on anything except bait.

I have almost entirely got away from what I started in to say, when I began this letter. But as I see it there is still a place in the angling world for the bait and also the fly. Nebraska is said to have more miles of river than any other State in the Union, and still not a mile of genuine mountain trout stream. Up till about three years ago, it was not unusual to go out on Nine Mile, Red Willow, Winter Creek, Sheep Creek, and don't forget the famous old Stuckenholdt, I call it. Famous because that is where I caught a five pound Rainbow in the fall of 1931. Many other good trout have been taken from this little stream on bait. It never was a fly stream. One of the few times I ever caught the limit of trout was in lower Red Willow. Try it now. Don't suppose there is anything left there any more. They have been flooded out. And as long as those streams are allowed to be fished through the winter, a great many trout are going to be taken. It would be the easiest thing in the world to seine out these holes in our shallow streams and get every trout in them. I think our small trout streams should be closed to all fishing through the winter and also lengthen our trout out to nine or ten inches. I can't see where the sport is in taking eight inch trout, and that is about what the Western Nebraska fly fisherman has to show for his effort. If we should ever have water like the Gunnerson River of Colorado, dozens of other mountain streams, Simson Lake out near Dubois, where the finest brookies in the world are to be found, and don't forget Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone Park, Wyoming, where the dumbest fisherman in captivity can catch cut-throat trout on a fly and never get one under fifteen inches long, that is honest-to-God sport. We never can expect to have that here, in spite of all the good work our State may try to do. The State is planting about as many trout out here as the feed and water will take care of. Our streams are only carrying about half the normal amount of water. Trout must have food. Also a place to hide. Floods have taken out most of their cover, also a lot of bottom food, and a great many trout. Well, they end up in the Platte River, where I think the most of them stay. It is possible to catch trout in the river here in Morrill and Scotts Bluff Counties. I have taken them, but have never seen one taken in the Platte on a fly.

My fishing career started down about where the Litchfield Recreation grounds now are, about fifty years ago. And I was good and dry behind the ears too at that time. Fact of the matter is, I grew up about fifty feet from where the Overhead Bridge crosses the Burlington Railroad, midway between Hazard and Litchfield. All we had to do when we wanted to go fishing was to go down to the old muddy Clear Creek, or the Beaver, and cut a willow any length we wanted. We could have a

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OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 5

Twenty Million Cats Menace Birds

The Pennsylvania Game Commission Calls Attention to the Abandoned Cat Increase Throughout the Nation

THERE are at the present time about 20,000,000 predatory and tramp cats in the United States, taking a daily toll of birds and other wild life, according to Leo A. Luttringer, Jr., chief of the education division of the Pennsylvania Game Commission. And according to experts who have been studying this problem, perhaps the biggest factor in the alarming increase in the number of stray cats is the growing popularity of the automobile trailer.

So great has this menace become in Pennsylvania that the Game Commission brought it to the attention of the Governor, who took it up with the Legislature, and not long ago a new law was passed imposing a $25 fine on anybody who gets caught turning a cat or kitten loose on the highway, or anywhere else in the State.

In a recent survey it was estimated that a cat kills an average of fifty birds every year. This, of course, does not mean that every cat kills that many birds, but some cats, and especially stray cats, kill many more than this. If this estimate is correct, it means that 1,000,000,000 insect-destroying, feathered friends of the farmer and the gardener, are killed each year.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission calls these homeless cats "tramp cats." But R. I. Pough, head of the Persecuted Species Department of the National Association of Audubon Societies, says:

"There is practically no such thing as a tramp cat. Nearly every cat works from a man-supplied base. That is the trouble. If cats were on their own, they would not be nearly the problem they are now—the foxes, owls and other natural enemies would take care of them. The trouble is that a predatory cat—and all cats are predatory—can hole in on a farm or elsewhere and make his forays from there. The cat does not take the sporting chance that other wild animals do but relies on man's protection.

"Every farm family has from four to a dozen cats. If we figure at least 3,000,000 such families, the estimate of 20,000,000 predatory cats is not high."

As this estimate includes only farm families, it is obvious that, if correct, many more millions of cats in the suburban sections throughout the United States must kill many more birds.

Some idea of the number of stray cats in a city can be gotten when it is learned that the New York S. P. C. A. alone painlessly destroys about 190,000 stray cats a year. The Morris Refuge in Philadelphia, which cares for homeless small animals, either found homes for or destroyed humanely last year 58,717 little creatures, of which 7,599 were dogs and about 50,000 were cats. In one day in July, last year, 395 animals, mostly cats, were brought into the Refuge.

It might be thought that a litter of kittens turned loose by a trailer would not have much chance to survive. But the supporters of the new Pennsylvania law against abandonment of cats pointed out that people, as a rule, are not quite cruel enough to leave the kittens while they are still blind and helpless. At any rate, these little families of "wild cats" do grow up into destructive strays, it is asserted.

Nor are all stray cats deliberately abandoned by the trailers, it is pointed out. The cat might have been taking a stroll when the camp was broken up and when it came back, it was to find its home gone.

Obviously the old adage about the cat always coming back couldn't apply very well to a trailer, which is continually on the move, but there's not much truth in it under any circumstances. Dogs have been known to travel on foot a thousand miles or more through the worst kind of wilderness to get back to their masters, but about the best a cat will do is twenty miles on a good road, and it usually won't take the trouble to do that The reason is that cats are not so dependent upon any particular family, as dogs are.

In fact, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has finally come to the conclusion that mankind's long and noble effort to make home-folks out of Tommy and Tabby hasn't been wholly successful. Cats, says the Commission, have been exposed to civilization for 6,000 years but it hasn't done much to improve their manners or their morals—they still have the killer instinct, and they always will because they have inherited it from their remote ancestors, along with their cousins, the leopards, the lions and the tigers.

But all cats are not savage and predatory, of course. Instead of killing birds, a cat will sometimes be friendly with them—as did the cat shown in one of the photographs published recently. Finding a helpless little bird that had been made an orphan by a storm, this cat took it home for a pal and they have been buddies for several years. It is only when a cat has been abandoned and has to shift for itself by prowling through the woods and fields that it reverts to type and becomes a merciless killer.

The $25 fine for turning a cat loose in Pennsylvania won't come anywhere near paying for the damage one lean and hungry stray can do in a year, let alone its traditional nine lifetimes.

Just suppose, for example, that a cat specializes in woodpeckers, which are worth $20 each to the country, considering the trees they save by pecking out destructive bugs and worms. By killing fifty woodpeckers a year, such a cat would be doing $1,000 worth of harm each season, and if it had six active years, as is usually the case with strays, its total damage would be $6,000, which is a lot more than most trailer dwellers could ever pay back for turning a cat loose.

Of course no cats would concentrate on the extra-valuable woodpecker but it should be remembered that the country cats kill many times the average of fifty birds because allowance is made for city strays, which seldom have a chance to kill anything but an occasional sparrow or sick pigeon.

Stray cats sometimes suffer from diphtheria, and if they wander as they please, they can infect human beings with it. They spread tuberculosis this same way, and the germs of anthrax, scarlet fever and a number of other diseases are carried around in their fur.

So the Pennsylvania authorities are going to do everything they can to rid the State of vagabond cats, but they want the people who cherish cats to understand that this campaign in no way threatens their pets—only homeless, half-starved, marauding strays.

Friends of the cat point out that it does man a great service by killing rats and mice, and in this way perhaps prevents the spreading of bubonic plague which is carried by these rodents. But writing in the Pennsylvania Game News, Mr. Charles F. Stambaugh says: "Even on the farm, the value of the cat in destroying rats and mice is questionable, when one considers the countless hundreds of insects that might have been killed, had not the cat taken its heavy toll of insect-eating birds."

In ancient Egypt cats were once worshipped as sacred, and to this day there are many people who are so much attached to them they simply cannot understand why everyone doesn't feet the

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EDITORIAL

Ducks Coming Back

It is indeed good news to hear our federal authorities say the duck situation is improving. Nebraska duck hunters in all sections of the state are becoming exceedingly restless under the many restrictions placed on this popular sport, and are hoping they will get a break when the 1938 regulations are fixed.

Here is the good news:

From all America comes the message, "The Ducks Are Coming Back," said Ira N. Gabrielson, Chief of the U. S. Bureau of Biological Survey in a nationwide radio address arranged by the American Wildlife Institute recently.

The trend towards more ducks was ascribed to an appropriation to the Biological Survey of $20,000,000 to spend on a national program of waterfowl restoration and to restrict measures on hunting.

"Four years ago I would have had to speak on this subject in the lugubrious terms of one who sees the approach of disaster but is helpless to prevent it," said Dr. Gabrielson. "In 1933, after years of drought; after years of overshooting of wild ducks and geese, I was convinced their days were numbered and that nothing could save them for more than a few years at most. The situation was so bad that it seemed to be useless to keep up the struggle to preserve these birds; that the best course was to make a quick finish to the tragedy by throwing off all shooting restrictions and allowing the gunners to complete the destruction of another of our great natural resources as rapidly and painlessly as possible."

Now from places as widely separated as The Great Slave Lake in northern Canada and Lake Patzcuaro in southern Mexico and from every waterfowl concentration point in between comes the message of the return of the duck," said Dr. Gabrielson.

"This means that here in America, where we have seen the passenger pigeon, the heath hen and half a dozen other creatures disappear forever from the face of the earth, where we have watched a priceless heritage of forest, soil, water and wildlife go down under the impact of civilization, by working together we have found a way to restore one variety of American wildlife. If it can be done with one variety it can be done with another if we are equally determined."

The $20,000,000 appropriation credited with the return of the duck was not spent solely for the benefit of Mr. and Mrs. Mallard and Mr. and Mrs. Goose, Gabrielson pointed out, but was used to give employment to jobless Americans by setting them at work building dams and ditches to afford flood control and for other purposes.

Dr. Gabrielson estimated that it would cost approximately $25,000,000—"not a dismaying figure"—to complete the restoration program. He warned against allowing current evidences of increase in the numbers of wildfowl to beguile us into a sense of too great security and said that it would be fatally easy to return to a state of insolvency if we go all the way back to the destructive methods of shooting permitted only a few years ago.

The Past Year In Review

A NEW game farm, another recreational center, further improvement of state parks and fish hatcheries are the highlights of the year's activity in the Game, Forestation and Parks Commission.

Though many of its larger lakes in the sand hills were dry and there was a shortage of game birds in eastern Nebraska, the receipts of the department during 1937 exceeded those of 1936 by $2,136.45. The total revenue for the past year, which includes fees for permits, sale of fish, hides, guns and park eoncessions totaled $171,502.31.

One of the features of the work of the Commission during 1937 was the cooperative activities with the federal government. These were carried on through the use of National Parks and WPA funds and an average of three hundred relief workers were kept busy. The largest group was employed at Chadron State Park where 150 transients improved roads, built cabins, installed a sewer system, constructed a new entrance to the grounds and carried on other minor improvements. The second largest project was in the development of the Hastings Recreation Grounds, located in Adams County, eleven miles south of Hastings. Here a twenty acre lake was constructed, roads, bridges and other improvements made. This recreation area will be opened to the public during 1938.

Other WPA projects were carried on at Niobrara State Park in Knox County, at Lake Alexis in Hayes County, at Arbor Lodge Park in Otoe County, at the State Game Farm in Madison County, and at the Wild Cat Hills in Scotts Bluff County.

The Nebraska Game Commission now has a large number of parks, recreation grounds, game reserves, fish hatcheries and other holdings throughout the state. These are worth well over one and a half million dollars, the value being increased materially during the past year through development and improvements through the use of federal funds.

Expenditures during 1937 made from state funds were $173,613.50 as compared to $166,070.33 in 1936 while expenditures were slightly more than the income for the year, the Commission carried over a reserve December 31, 1936, of $44,665.64, some of which was spent in cooperative work with the federal government and in the purchase of land which could be developed by federal money. The reserve carried over for the coming year is $38,470.35.

It is also the desire of the Commission to rehabilitate the numerous lakes and ponds of the state which in many cases are completely dry. While this will, of course, depend greatly on the rainfall, the Commission is holding a good supply of fish at the several hatcheries to take care of these lakes just as soon as it is safe to restock them. Reports received the last few weeks indicate that there is a good flow from springs and intermittent creeks in the western and northern parts of the state. With a good rainfall during the coming spring and early summer, the situation should be greatly improved.

Another feature of the fish-stocking activity for the coming year will be the planting of larger fish. This will apply especially to trout. A good number of Rainbows, Brown and Brooks are being put in shape for early spring stocking. Most of these fish are large enough in size to give them a chance of survival and to ultimately reach the fisherman's pan.

The Commission looks forward to further recreational development during the coming year. Federal funds will become available which will be used for development of present holdings and in the enlargement of a game farm. Whereas about three thousand game birds were raised in 1937 it is hoped that a production of 10,000 can be reached in 1938. Last year was the first time the Nebraska Commission attempted to raise partridges, quail and pheasants, and they were well pleased with the success of the venture.

Accomplishments of 1937

A new State Game Farm.

Another Recreational area.

Completion of Wild Cat Hills Recreational area.

Improvement Chadron State Park.

Opening of Ponca State Park.

Introduction of Chukar Partridge.

Better regulation for hunting and fishing.

Stocking of three million fish.

NEW BULLETIN TELLS HOW WILDLIFE PROFITS FROM EROSION CONTROL

Soil conservation and wildlife manage - men go hand in hand, according to a new Department of Agriculture Farmers' Bulletin that explains how farmers in the southeast can control soil erosion and at the same time create potential havens for game birds, fur-bearing animals, and various other forms of desirable farm wildlife.

The bulletin, "Wildlife Conservation Through Erosion Control in Piedmont," was written by Ross O. Stevens of the Soil Conservation Service, who declares the relation between soil conservation and wildlife management is so close that by proper planning, the benefits of both can be achieved in the same operation.

Stevens declares that erosion has left scars in the form of gullies, galled spots, and impoverished fields, on a majority of farms in the southeast. By healing these scars with vegetation which benefits wildlife, farmers can prevent the damage from spreading to adjacent good lands, and the eroded areas, often considered worthless, can be put to work producing crops of wildlife.

The bulletin describes in detail the various practices that have proved successful in both soil and wildlife conservation and gives complete information concerning the selection of proper shrubs and other fruit and seed-bearing plants that are effective in erosion control and especially beneficial to wildlife.

In pointing out the advantages of an abundance of wildlife, the writer says the birds, mammals, and other species, help protect crops against pests, provide sport and recreation, add beauty to the farm, and in some cases have a real market value. Any possible damage to farm crops by increased numbers of wildlife is ordinarily offset by the other values, he says.

Publication of this bulletin, says the Department of Agriculture, calls further attention to the interpendence of wildlife conservation and agriculture. Development of farm game conservation has been greatly aided by the fact that one bureau of the department, the Biological Survey, is primarily concerned with wildlife, and other bureaus are providing for incidental wildlife benefits in their programs. The new bulletin refers to earlier Biological Survey publications on Improving the Farm Environment for Wildlife, and Game Management on the Farm.

The new publication, Farmers' Bulletin No. 1788, is written in popular style and freely illustrated. Copies may be obtained from the Office of Information, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.

8 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

COMMISSION FIELD ACTIVITIES

Plant a tree this spring. Nebraska needs thousands of them to replace those lost in the drought.

SULLIVAN REAPPOINTED

Governor Cochran announced the reappointment of Dr. M. M. Sullivan of Spalding for a second term as member of the Game Commission. The appointment became effective January 15th.

LAKES IMPROVE

A slight improvement in the water level of sand hill lakes was noticed by deputy conservation officers during the past month. However, only a few lakes are affected. Many others are still dry and no improvement can be expected until more rainfall is had.

Most of the state-owned lakes are holding up quite well: Rock Creek Lake (Dundy County), Wellfleet, Hayes, Memphis, Pibel and Arnold. Guide Rock and Merriman will come through the winter nicely.

NEW WATER MAIN

A six-inch water main is being laid through Arbor Lodge State Park. This will protect the mansion in case of fire and will be used for watering trees.

GAME COMMISSION MOVES

On or about February 15th, the Game Commission will move to the ninth floor of the State House, giving up their old quarters on the ground floor.

The Commission moves with some reluctance, but has been advised by the Land Commissioner, Mr. Leo Swanson, that he positively must have the ground floor rooms to reduce traffic on the elevators. Rather than fighting the matter in the courts and spending funds for litigation, the Commission deemed it in the best interests of the department to move.

The new quarters will be larger and, with some alterations, it is believed the new rooms will meet with public approval.

NON-RESIDENT PERMITS

During the year of 1936 there were 340 hunters from other states who purchased a non-resident permit. These cost from $10 to $25, depending on the state.

The following are the states from which the hunters came:

Non-Resident Permits 1936 California 3 Colorado 15 Illinois 23 Iowa 46 Kansas 152 Kentucky 4 Michigan 1 Missouri 62 New Jersey 1 New York 1 Ohio 4 Oklahoma 9 Pennsylvania 1 South Dakota 2 Texas 1 Wisconsin 1 Wyoming 15   OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 9 WILDLIFE DISAPPEARING

It is a well recognized fact among nature students as well as sportsmen that our wildlife is rapidly disappearing and the reasons are not hard to learn.

In the early days on every farm there was a plum thicket, as we called them, and in every thicket there was sure to be quail at some time during the fall and winter. It was only the matter of enough cash money to buy the powder and shot, for the game warden was unknown and no license was required.

Sometimes one would hear of a plan to establish a fish and game commission and charge a license and regulate the number of birds that could be killed. The objection was by Mr. Farmer and I was one of them at that time. We held that the land belonged to us, that we should have the right to hunt on our own land without interference or license, that is was not anyone else's business or the business of the state.

This is what happened: Mr. Farmer would say to some of his friends in the city, "Come out and hunt on my place." They came in large numbers and some would pay for the privilege of hunting and fishing on the farm, but the sky was the limit, and barrels of quail and prairie chicken were sent to the large markets, with the result that the birds became very scarce.

Then, too, it was the rule that all grass growing in the fence corners or where it could not be grazed by stock must be burned and the result was that there were no nesting places for the prairie chicken.

Now we find confronting us this problem: We encourage the young as well as the old to get out into the open. Hunting is one of the attractions of outdoor life, but the game is not plentiful enough to permit wholesale slaughter.

The fish problem is being taken care of nicely, as we are now growing more fish in our hatcheries than are being caught. With the problem of game it is much more complicated, but here are some of the things that we can do: One is to cut the limit on pheasants to two takes on any one day, and not permitting any shooting of hens.

The objection to this is raised with, "But we are not always sure that it is a hen." My answer to that is, don't shoot if you are not sure.

Two birds is not enough, some say, and perhaps that is right, but it is a choice of two birds and annual shooting and periods of closed seasons for five years at a stretch.

We do see some hopes of the Fish and Game Commission establishing a hatchery for pheasants, using incubators and by keeping our limit down should make good headway.

Most important is that every sportsman obey the game laws exactly as they are. Then if they do not work out as expected they can be changed to meet changing conditions, with accurate information upon which to base the changes.

All of us must realize that we are living in an organized society where we must all obey the laws as they are written even if we think they are wrong. Changes will be made if practice proves the necessity.

V. W. BINDERUP, Past President of the Nebraska Honey Producer's Association. BIRDS IN NEBRASKA

How many birds are seen in Nebraska and how does the Cornhusker state rank with others?

According to authorities, Nebraska is the home of 418 different species of birds at various times throughout the year.

Nebraska ranks third among the states for birds. Texas is first with 546, and California second with 541.

ELEVEN MILLION HORSES

"Eleven million horses running wild on the hills couldn't pull a rubber-tired baby buggy to town unless there was a harness to hook them to the load. Likewise eleven million sportsmen in this country and 36,000 scattered sportsmen groups should have some kind of harness to band them together to exert a united influence for the good of wildlife."

This statement was made recently by Mr. J. N. (Ding) Darling in an address explaining in plain, pointed talk the need for organizations of America's sportsmen on a major scale, to make the most of conservation, restoration and proper administration of wildlife funds and wildlife resources. It also explains the goal of the General Wildlife Federation of which Nebraska is a part.

The Wildlife Federation should be no mystery to any sportsman. It is not just another wildlife society nor a competitive one. Its purpose is to unite the thousands of clubs and groups interested in conservation and restoration, and get them walking down the same road in the same direction.

In the past fifty years we have had many conservationists but very little conservation or restoration, and instead of more and more of our natural resources, we are really having less and less.

Mr. J. N. (Ding) Darling, the cartoonist and former chief of the Biological Survey, is the founder of this new restoration and conservation movement, and Wildlife Federations are to be found in forty-seven of our forty-eight states. The Nebraska Wildlife Federation was organized in Lincoln, Nebraska, in March, 1936. At the present time seventeen counties have Wildlife Councils with over 400 affiliated groups with many more to be completed in 1938.

The Nebraska Wildlife Federation with the Izaak Walton League has already functioned in helping to arouse public opinion during the last legislature to have our seven state parks supported from the general tax fund, instead of the fish and game money. This saving of fish and game money has enabled the Commission to establish the game farm near Norfolk, Nebraska, and to develop the twenty-three recreational lakes and parks program that Nebraska is so justly proud.

Foremost of the General Wildlife Federation accomplishments is the influence it wielded in securing passage of the Wildlife Aid Bill, which act makes $3,000,000 available annually for restoration of fish and game from one end of the country to the other. Some of our Nebraska congressmen have stated they have never received so many letters regarding any one particular bill. The measure passed both House and U. S. Senate unanimously. Nebraska's share will be about $67,000 yearly.

Wildlife Restoration Week of March 20-27 is intended to familiarize, inform and mold public opinion of the need for action in behalf of outdoor life before it is too late. In the next few weeks, a number of releases will be sent by Mr. Fred F. Jordan of New York City, the Director of Wildlife Week, to Nebraska newspapers.

If you would like to know more of this worth-while work, write to one of the following officers of the Nebraska Wildlife Federation:

Dr. M. C. Pedersen, State Chairman, 1700 So. 24th, Lincoln, Neb.

Mr. D. L. Willhoite, Vice-Chairman, Superior, Neb.

Mr. Fonda Brown, Vice-Chairman, Scottsbluff, Neb.

Mr. Ernie Bihler, Vice-Chairman, 220 Leflang Building, Omaha, Neb.

Mr. Leo Stuhr, Vice-Chairman, Grand Island, Neb.

Mr. J. A. Jimerson, Vice-Chairman, Auburn, Neb.

Mr. Harry Krusz, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce, Lincoln, Neb.

Mr. Charles Anderson, Treasurer, Municipal Court Building, Lincoln, Neb.

10 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

Feeding Wildlife in Winter

(Continued from page 2)

an asset on farms, as their very presence subjects the farmer to annoying and sometimes destructive trespass by hunters and where winter concentrations of game birds occur, the birds may eat more grain than the individual farmer can afford to spare, even though he is willing to donate a reasonable supply. Where these concentrations are of semi-migratory species, which may have left the property before the advent of the hunting season, there is often real cause for complaint. It is useless, under such circumstances, to urge farmers to feed game for the implied purpose of furnishing sport to strangers, and arrangement for reimbursement must be made; the sooner the better.

Sportsmen's organizations are generally willing to purchase grain for the birds. Farmers invariably take a great interest in feeding the ordinary numbers of game birds found on their properties and are glad to assist in promoting their welfare. In unusual cases, however, where the burden becomes severe, the game commission, sportsmen's clubs, or humane societies can be approached for assistance.

In some communities winter feeding contests are practicable if given sufficient publicity through local papers. These contests may be sponsored by state conservation departments and supervised by game protectors or wardens, or they may be carried on by 4-H clubs, Smith-Hughes groups, or in schools. Awards should be made on the basis of the methods of winter feeding employed and the extent and effectiveness of the contestants' feeding activities. Such competition is most effective when organized on a large scale. Contests have a broad educational value but are less likely to produce permanent results than are personal interviews, the direct purchase of materials and services, and definite local organization.

Game wardens assigned to this kind of duty create good will and respect, thus frequently obtaining better local cooperation in other phases of their work. Rural mail carriers have at times been instructed to assist in feeding game along country roads. Section crews on railroads also sometimes carry food to localities difficult of access, if the food is furnished. Other ways of getting the work done may be found in many communities, and all possibilities should be kept in mind.

Treatment of Predators

Hawks and owls are often seen in winter coverts that shelter game and rodents. Without further evidence, however, their mere presence should not lead to the assumption that they are seriously depleting' the game species. Where there are good coverts and food is plentiful, birds suffer little winter loss from predators. With the exception of the large, rare goshawk and the smaller Cooper's hawk, predaceous birds ordinarily need not be eliminated from the vicinity of feeding stations. Indeed, such forms of wildlife add a great deal of animation to the wintry scene, giving pleasure to the nonshooting public, the importance of which hunters should be willing to concede. There is no excuse for slaughtering snow owls, red-tailed hawks, screech owls, and similar species of beneficial tendency. Where such slaughter does occur in the name of sport or for its reputed advancement, those interested in nature in general are fully justified in seeking to prevent it. It is well to recall that birds of prey destroy mice that otherwise might easily eat more than enough grain to feed a covey of quail through a storm period.

Upland Game and Other Land Birds

Because of so many adverse factors, the supply of game birds is being reduced faster than it is being replenished by the natural means. Measures to facilitate replenishment are essential, and every effort to correct environment deficiencies should be made. Winter feeding is one of the most practicable measures, and it is urgent that interested persons, whether on farms or in towns and cities, provide adequate winter feeding in their communities. Most starvation of game birds is cumulative, the result of short rations over considerable periods rather than for a few days only. Consequently the situation will not be much relieved unless feeding also is carried on over rather extended periods. Intermittent feeding accomplishes some good at certain times, but it is not so effective on the whole as systematic feeding.

Food for many valuable small winter birds is provided incidentally by winter feeding activities for game birds. Persons generally interested in nature, however, may well pay particular attention to small birds, especially to the tree-inhabiting species, including downy woodpeckers, nuthatches, and creepers, which by means of suet and other food, can frequently be attracted to dooryards and orchards that they would not otherwise visit. Chaff, screenings, table scraps, or other waste thrown on the ground or snow will feed many ground-loving species; or scratch feed or other grains or seeds may be provided at little expense.

Natural Winter Foods and Their Shortage

The chief natural winter foods of upland game and other land birds are weed seeds, dried fruits and berries, and to some extent buds and persistent green foliage. Where plenty of aspen, birch, and alder are available, the ruffled grouse and other birds that eat many buds find subsistence throughout the winter. Herbage for birds is scarce in winter, but partridgeberry is a kind that stays green, and white clover and chickweed, also-relished, stand up well against the cold in protected places; wintergreen, hardy,, but also of harsher texture, is frequently eaten. Acorns, beechnuts, and hazelnuts are valuable as long as they last and some will remain until spring unless the wildlife population is so great as to consume them earlier. Juniper, greenbrier, chokeberry, sumac, holly, Virginia creeper, sour gum, bearberry, privet, cranberrybush, and snowberry are fruits that hang throughout the winter. Seeds most available at that season include those of the coniferous trees, hophornbeam, birch, alder, partridge-pea, black locust, boxelder, and ragweed.

By and large, however, the combined supply of these foods available to the birds in winter is decidedly deficient on the ordinary farm, and many farms in. intensively cultivated sections are virtually barren of any natural food that would be of use to wildlife.

Among weed seeds, those of ragweed are of great importance to birds in stubble fields, pastures, and fallow lands; but the supply is generally limited, and frequently the seeds are buried under snow. The same is true of the seeds of several other weeds: by midwinter the supply is usually buried or exhausted,, especially in sections that are intensely farmed. This winter food supply for the birds can be made more abundant, however, if harvesting machines are set ta leave long, high stubble and more of the weeds and if stubble field that are near coverts are left unplowed over winter.

Some weeds that are of the utmost, importance in carrying the birds through the winter are considered pests by the farmer, but he should remember that by their destruction of insects during the crop seasons birds will repay him for any consideration he gives them in winter. Furthermore, in spring and summer the surplus weeds are ordinarily removed by cultivation. Leaving weeds in suitable places causes the farmer little, if any, extra work and may save the lives of many birds.

Dried fruits, mast, and berries are scarce on most farms. Furthermore, they   OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 11 are frequently covered up, are out of reach, or are distant from good protective cover. For the benefit of wildlife it is desirable to have extensive hedgerows of wild fruit- and seed-producing plants. Buds are a staple winter food for ruffled and sharp-tailed grouse, and green foliage seems to be important for Hungarian partridges. Whenever possible, however, buds and foliage should be supplemented by grains of proved utility instead of placing entire reliance on an uncertain abundance of persistent berries and fruits.

Feeding Stations

All-winter feed patches and permanent shelters where grain can be placed make the best winter feeding stations for birds, but in emergencies, feeding can be done wherever birds are found, including railroad rights-of-way, hard-packed roads, haystacks, pits dug in the snow, or any natural windbreak or shelter. The important thing is to have the feed where the birds will find it.

Feeding stations should be so placed as to afford easy access to good protective cover. If established for quail, the station should probably never be more than 75 yards from protective cover, and even then a strip of connecting cover or a series of patches at intervals is desirable. Pheasants, prairie chickens, and sharptailed grouse will no doubt range farther for food. Hungarian partridges are like quail in being closely localized.

In areas where quail are abundant, one feeding station to every 40 acres is desirable; otherwise, a station may be established near the thicket or wood that a covey is known to use. The same applies to Hungarian partridges.

For ring-necked pheasants and sharptailed grouse, one effective station to the square mile is sufficient for wholesale feeding.

Prairie chickens may be accommodated by one good feeding station to every 5 or 10 sections—that is, every 5 or 10 square miles—although under stress these birds cover even larger areas in their search for food.

Wild turkeys also will come from a considerable distance, but it is best to provide feed in all the permanent winter headquarters that they are known to frequent.

Little information can be furnished on the effective intervals at which to place feeding stations for ruffled grouse. Although these birds subsist well on buds, berries, fruits, and other natural foods, they relish grains also.

One permanent, well-attended feeding station to a farm is a good goal for upland birds in general. Farmers who wish to make sure of holding their own stock of birds or to attract additional wild breeders to their property from outside will probably find, however, that several feeding stations to a farm are needed. Establishing good coverts and giving adequate attention to their development constitute definite steps toward game-bird increase.

Stations should be located in areas that are sheltered from drifting snow, wind, and sleet. They should not constitute traps, where birds can be cornered by cats, dogs, goshawks, or other enemies; nor should they place the birds at any disadvantage. Hence they should not obstruct flight in any direction. It is safer for the birds if openings are left from which they can escape in case of attack.

Best results will be obtained by placing shelters in natural game coverts, rather than by attempting to entice game into barnyards or too far into the open. In any event it is inadvisable to feed domestic poultry and game together or on the same ground, as some diseases to which barnyard fowls and game birds are subject are interchangeable.

PERMANENT FEED PATCHES

The simpler and more natural the feeding station and the less attention it requires, the better. Food for permanent feed patches that are to be effective throughout most of the winter should generally consist of standing, shocked, or sheaf grain. As compared with other types of stations, such patches have the decided advantage of requiring little attention.

STANDING AND SHOCKED CORN

There is no more effective provision for winter feeding than leaving standing or shocked corn in fields near cover. The size of an all-winter patch of corn depends, of course, on the number of birds expected and the quantity of grain that will be consumed by rabbits, squirrels, and mice. A quarter to a half acre is probably the minimum size. Town and city sportsmen may purchase (and, if necessary fence) blocks of shocked or standing corn for winter feed patches. For quail such patches should adjoin ungrazed wood lots; for pheasants they should preferably be near a tamarack swamp or swale, and for prairie chickens, close to marshes. If there is no good cover near, brush-heap shelters may be provided. An ample number of these winter-feeding stations in each community would make a material difference in game-bird survival.

Standing corn.—In sections where corn matures, standing, unhusked corn is perhaps the ideal source of supply of winter food for game birds. It is most satisfactory for prairie chickens, sharp-tailed grouse, and ring-necked pheasants. It provides food at all common snow levels, the uppermost ears become available to the birds as the snow deepens. In patches of considerable size, ears may be at all elevations from 6 inches to 5 feet, so that some are within reach even when snow is deep. When there is little snow or when no -ears are near the ground, the stalks may be broken over. Light grazing of standing corn by cattle will cause many kernels to fall to the ground where the game can get them. Overgrazing, however, should be avoided, and where heavy grazing is necessary, the farmer should temporarily fence off a corner of the field to keep the stock out and preserve the corn as cover and food for the birds. The corner nearest thicket, woodland, or swamp is ordinarily the most suitable. Sportsmen and individual hunters are often glad to provide labor and fencing materials for this purpose. Fields of standing corn, even though they have been harvested,, often contain here and there nubbins, or poorly developed ears, or even good ears that have been missed. Such fields are of considerable service to game birds if left over winter.

Shocked corn.—Shocked corn is possibly most effective for bobwhites, other quails, and Hungarian partridges. It is generally advisable to have the shocks within 70 yards of woodland, grape tangles, raspberry thickets, or other cover, although game birds vary in the degree of reluctance to leave such protection. Hungarian partridges often take feed far from any considerable cover, whereas quail keep close to it. If the shocks are opened up, tepee fashion, the birds can scurry inside in the event of danger from goshawks or other large enemies and can also obtain ears that would otherwise be out of reach. Moreover, if the shocks are not opened, the birds may exhaust the supply of outside ears and thus be without food even in the midst of plenty. At such times, squirrels dragging out the ears may incidentally save the lives of quail, which glean what the rodents drop. In sleet storms or blizzards shocks may become heavily coated with ice or snow, and if so, they must be cleared and loosened. It is important to check up on the situation regularly and particularly after storms.

BUCKWHEAT

Buckwheat has well-known value for game, especially prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse, which use it from early in the fall until late in the spring. It is better adapted than corn for use in northerly latitudes. Because it is resistant to fire in the summer, it is a   12 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA useful planting for fire lanes in brush and forest country, where it can be expected to feed a great variety of wildlife. When buckwheat is left standing for the birds, it is well also to have a good supply of sheaves stacked up against the time when the uncut grain will be buried by snow. The patches left for the birds should probably be larger than corn patches left for the same purpose, as buckwheat seems to be even more attractive than corn and the patches will ordinarily be used longer. Buckwheat leaves also may be eaten during the growing season.

WHEAT, RYE, AND BARLEY

Sometimes it is possible, even late in the season, for sportsmen to buy standing wheat, rye, or barley very reasonably; and in any years, of course, arrangements can be made in advance to have strips of grain adjacent to cover left uncut. A few sheaves of wheat set up in long stubble, which serves as moderately good approach cover, will be used by game birds and by many species of songbirds as well. Rye is useful on sandy soil and in regions subject to frosts. It will volunteer the second year if the land is merely disked. Barley is accepted, but not especially relished, by most game birds. For this very reason, however, its use may be advantageous, as drain on the feed patch will be less until other foods have been exhausted, after which the patch provides an available food supply.

MILO, KAFIR, AND OTHER SORGHUMS

Milo, kafir, shallu (Egyptian wheat), and other sorghums are especially suitable for bobwhites in the more southern localities and for scaled quail in the agricultural districts of the southwestern United States.

SUNFLOWERS

Blackbirds, goldfinches, crossbills, cardinals, and other small birds are especially fond of sunflower seeds. The gathered sunflower heads may be put out -as needed, and the stalks, with a few heads attached, may be left for cover.

SOYBEANS

Soybeans are a delicacy to quail and most other upland game birds. They are also valuable in increasing soil fertility. Practical measures for making them available include planting in fallow fields, in outside corn rows, and next to frequented coverts.

MISCELLANEOUS CROPS

In the northern states, millet, popcorn, various peas, and other crops are adapted for bird-feed patches; in the southern states, cow-peas, sesame (benne), peanuts, lespedezas, and chufas. Clover seed is sometimes eaten by birds where a second crop of hay is left. Winter wheat will serve as green food if the snow is shoveled away. In general, experience and local farming practices are the best guides as to what supplemental foods to plant, purchase, or leave. If in doubt, it is better to use a variety than to depend on any one crop.

Permanent Shelters

Permanent feeding stations are effective over long periods if properly handled. Many types, requiring more or less attention, have been successfully used. The basis of most of them is some form of shelter into which grain on the cob or in the head is thrown or in which shelled grain is placed in a food hopper. The shelter may be as simple or elaborate as desired: a lean-to against a tree; cornstalks thrown over a brush heap; straw, stalks, or brush piled over an ordinary A-type brood coop; tepees; tarpaper shacks; fishing shanties hauled up on land; and many others. It is not so much the type of shelter that counts as its location and the care and constancy with which food is supplied. Birds do not forget places where food is abundant and will return to them in emergency if the supply is dependable. Large, roomy brush heaps with straw piled over them are especially effective for quail and probably will serve also for Hungarian partridges. Three-sided lean-tos sheltering automatic wooden hoppers have proved successful in feeding prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse in Wisconsin and are suitable for pheasants and, in fact, for almost any species. The hopper can be of such size as to serve for short or long periods.

A simple wire-basket feeder may be employed for making ear corn available to pheasants and other birds. Stakes or poles about 1 inch thick are used for the framework and ordinary 2-inch mesh chicken wire for the basket. The ends of the basket are attached by lacing the frayed ends to those of the basket proper. The stakes are run through and between the loops in such manner as to fasten the basket securely to the supporting uprights. To make the feeder rigid, the uprights should be wired or nailed together securely. It is a simple matter to adapt the device for feeding in varying depths of snow by merely adjusting the uprights, if they are wired instead of nailed.

Feeding shelters for small birds may constitute attractive features of the lawn or orchard; they may be elaborate or simple, as taste and time dictate. A rough board shelter on a window sill or in some quiet place protected by shrubbery and trees will attract juncos, tree sparrows, crossbills, pine grosbeaks, cardinals, titmice, blue jays, creepers, woodpeckers, redpolls, and other winter birds, depending on the region and the location of the station. Shelters may be provided with such food as apples, grains, birdseed, suet, nuts, raisins, and bread. Suet tacked or tied on posts or trees is attractive to the tree birds in winter and will keep fresh for weeks.

Providing Grit

Game birds have been observed to congregate on roads just after they have been cleared by snow plows, apparently for the purpose of picking up the sand and gravel thus exposed. This indicates that they may sometimes find it difficult to obtain ample supplies of grit in winter. In protracted snowy periods, therefore, it is well to provide them with coarse sand, oystershell, ground limestone, or other mineral substances similarly used by poultry.

Emergency Feeding

Though permanent all-winter feed patches and regularly tended shelters provide the best means of feeding birds in winter, in emergencies almost any kind of feeding will substantially aid wildlife for short periods. It should be ascertained, however, that only temporary and not permanent feeding is needed. A common tendency is to consider feeding ample if grain is carried out once or twice a winter, but in most cases food shortages extend over weeks or even months. Then, too, unless stations are so placed as to be protected from winds and drifting snow, the grain put out in the morning may be covered and unavailable later. It is altogether inadvisable, wasteful, and ineffective to scatter loose grain upon soft snow. Feeding stations should not be established in such a way as to encourage the birds to congregate on main-traveled highways, where they are subjected to mortality from fast-moving traffic and from poachers.

Pits in the snow, with chunks of ice, crust, or even soft snow thrown up around them, are good windbreaks for open-field birds, including Hungarian partridges, snow buntings, longspurs, horned larks, and redpolls. Grain thrown on the ground on the sheltered side of these barriers is easily visible to the birds, but the supply must be renewed repeatedly, as it is likely to become drifted over.

Natural windbreaks, such as those formed by trees, shrubbery, fallen logs, and stumps, southerly exposed hillsides that blow bare, and other areas not   OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 13 covered by snow may be taken advantage of in distributing shelled grains. A variety of species may be fed under grapevine tangles and in various other places that afford shelter.

Airplanes have sometimes been used to drop bags of grain, which burst in falling, into coverts that otherwise could have been reached only with great difficulty, as in mountainous country inhabited by wild turkeys.

Convenient cheap foods for day-to-day or emergency use include screenings from mills, threshing machines, combines, or elevators, haymow chaff, food products manufacturing wastes, and dry or fatty table scraps that are more or less resistant to freezing. Ordinarily these should be supplemented with grain.

Sheaf Grains

For use in feeding game birds it is occasionally possible to obtain sheaves of wheat, buckwheat, oats, or other grains stored in barns for late threshing. Such sheaves can be set upright in the snow or hung by wire or corn from limbs of trees so that the birds can reach them by jumping.

Ear Corn

Ear corn may be used in any of several ways; it may be hung on wire fences or from branches, impaled on nails driven through boards resting on sticks, put in wire-basket feeders thrown loose in protected places, or even set up in the snow. The ears can be picked up easily and moved or stored, and they do not sink out of sight in snow so rapidly as loose grain, so that not much of the corn is wasted.

Straw Stacks

Straw stacks frequently afford sheltered places bare of snow where ear corn, loose grain, haymow chaff, or screenings may be placed to good advantage. Some straw stacks also contain enough waste grain and weed seeds to make it worth while to open them up from time to time to expose a fresh supply.

Manure Spreading

In some sections the daily spreading of manure on snowy fields is common enough to be an important factor in attracting game birds throughout the winter, as the manure contains enough undigested grain and seeds to afford some food for small birds as well as for pheasants, quail, and Hungarian partridges. Throwing a little threshed grain on the manure after it has been spread on the fields is particularly efficacious, since on such a surface the whole grain is more visible to the birds and does not quickly sink out of sight.

The Carp, Friend or Enemy?

(Continued from page 3)

rapid. In the early stages of their growth, we believe that these young fish, sometimes referred to as "carp minnows," provide a most suitable source of food for the rapidly growing young of the small-mouthed and large-mouthed bass.

Nature apparently intended that a heavy toll be taken from the eggs and young of this species, for the female carp is very fecund, frequently depositing as many as 750,000 eggs. In this respect alone, we believe that the carp serves an admirable purpose in most waters of the state.

When we consider present day conditions in Pennsylvania waterways, with constantly increasing stocking of such predacious fishes as the black bass, is there much likelihood of the introduced carp ever attaining abundance sufficient in most streams to make it a menace to other popular species of fish life. Observation and study of the carp in recent years would indicate otherwise.

Do Carp Destroy Spawn?

One accusation to which the carp has been subjected in recent years, we believe to have little background, its supposed tendency to destroy the spawn of other species of fish life. Perhaps the most timid fish of the inland waters, carp, despite the large size which they occasionally attain, generally give other species a wide berth. The habits of the sunfish family, including the black bass, in protecting the nests and young are well known; since the other popular game species, the pickerel and wall-eyed pike, spawn usually before the carp becomes active in the spring, the latter constitutes virtually no threat to the unprotected eggs and young of these species.

On the other hand, the rapidly growing pickerel and baby pike-perch undoubtedly do rank as a menace to the young carp, as do the bass later in the season.

Conceptions of value, in so far as the various species of fishes in our waters today are concerned, will undoubtedly undergo changes with the passage of "the years. We are inclined to believe that at the present time, large numbers of carp in our favorite bass waters (the North Branch of the Susquehanna River, Juniata River and its Raystown Branch, the Upper Allegheny River, the Conodoguinet Creek, and the Perkiomen Creek, for example), are definitely on the credit side of the better fishing ledger.

"Old Timer" Writes About Trout Bait

Continued from page 4)

new pole every time we wanted one. Then a piece of chalk line ten feet long and a spike nail for a sinker. By the way, the chalk line was the only thing in the outfit we had to swipe. We made our lines last as long as possible. Anything from a rabbit, one of mother's young roosters, worms, or even a young mouse, was all right for bait. Find a good hole and try for a nice channel cat. If we could not get one by fishing we would hang on a chunk of beef and jam our pole in the bank and go home. Out of three or four poles we were almost sure of a nice cat the next morning.

Our family out here don't eat trout, but would I like to have a five pound cat right now. Those were the days before fishing stories were born. Nobody ever got jerked out of the boat, his rod broke into a thousand pieces, or a back lash, unless Dad found out what became of his chalk line. Our rod was a pole, and nobody ever saw a broken one. When we set the hook, "boy" did we set it. If everything hung together it was nothing unusual to put a three or four pound cat fish clear over our head up in a tree top. Those times are gone never to return. We are called anglers now. A pole is a rod, a back lash is a bird nest, a fish makes a dimple in the water now, where it used to be just a damn big splash.

Fishing through the ice out here on Lake Minatare is getting to be a lot of sport. I guess I was the one that started it off here a year ago. The first time I went alone and got seven perch about one and a quarter pounds a piece. The finest I ever caught. Next time Grover Snyder went along with me, and we caught twenty. All fine ones. Last winter there was someone there about every day.

Will wind up this article by making a suggestion or two. Let us lengthen out our trout to ten inches. Not to hurt the fly fisherman, but because there is only one place in the world for a little eight inch trout, and that is in the stream. I enjoy fly fishing where ten inch trout or larger can be taken. Let's have ten inch trout and close all running streams in Western Nebraska, except the Platte River to all fishing, from trout closing time in the fall till the first of April, or such time the trout season may open in the spring. Which is the most sport, taking fifteen shy eight inch trout on a fly, or maybe one or two sixteen or eighteen inch trout on a minnow. We may get nothing, but at least if we get nothing we have done no harm.

14 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

Twenty Million Cats Menace Birds

(Continued from page 5)

same way, and often become quite irritated with those who don't. But the late Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell, who was one of the most famous physicians this country has ever produced, has pointed out that some people suffer from a strange infirmity which he calls "cat fear," and which causes them to become violently ill whenever a cat comes close to them.

Dr. Mitchell studied a number of patients who had "goose-flesh" and whose hair had a tendency to stand on end the moment a cat got anywhere near them. Others would become nauseated and sometimes have chills and hysterical convulsions, or their jaws would become locked and their arms rigid. Still others would become temporarily blind. But in every case they would get well just as soon as they were out of the presence of the cat.

While suffering from an attack, the patients were seldom conscious of the odor of the cat, but Dr. Mitchell finally decided that what causes these mysterious reactions is an emanation, or a faint odor, which comes from cats. Just as there are some sounds that are so low the human ear cannot hear them, this faint cat odor may be too delicate for the nose to detect. Yet when it strikes the sensitive nasal membranes of persons who are susceptible to it, the whole nervous system is upset.

A modern physician might explain this by saying the patients are "allergic" to the odor of cats, just as people who suffer from hay fever are allergic to pollen and various other tiny particles of matter, or vapors, floating through the air. But that just means that the undetected cat odor makes them sick.

It might be simply a physical reaction, as in the case of hay fever or asthma, or it might be that the sensation caused in the nose by this faint odor stirs up memories of some occasion in childhood when the patient was badly frightened by a cat. Then again it might be that it revives some deep racial memory that dates back to the days when man's ancestors lived in constant terror of the sabre-toothed tiger and big man-eating members of the cat family.

But whatever the original cause of "cat fear," if the undetected odor of a cat can arouse such violent reactions, it is no wonder that cats have been hated in various countries as demons, and have long been associated with black magic, witchcraft and sorcery.

The universal saying that a cat has nine lives harks back to the good old days when kitty had her first adventure in religion on the banks of the Nile. Among the most important of the ancient Egyptian deities was the great goddess Bast, usually represented with a cat's head and surrounded with sacred kittens. But the Egyptians had three different companies of nine gods each, all of them supposed to be quite fond of cats. So it was believed that with the protection and love of the gods, a cat had nine times as many safeguards as had a human life.

Cambyses, the son of Cyrus the Great of Persia, once took a mighty mean advantage of the Egyptians' high regard for cats. He was trying to capture Pelushium, the stronghold of the Egyptian King Psammeticus, and he wasn't having any luck until he thought of a clever but cruel scheme. He had his soldiers gather up thousands of cats and hurl them over the walls and into the ranks of the Egyptian troops drawn up in battle array. This shocked the superstitious Egyptians and threw them into such a panic that the invader had little trouble conquering them.

The Egyptians thought so much of their cats they embalmed their dead bodies with the same skill they used in embalming human bodies. In 1890 hundreds of thousands of these cat mummies were found in a feline cemetery at Ben Hassan.

But the Egyptians also had a stray cat problem and since no one dared kill one, they might have overrun the country except for an odd thing. Herodotus, the Greek historian who lived five centuries before Christ, says that in ancient Egypt the mother cats were so fond of their kittens they lost all interest in the father cats after the young were born. But the father cats got jealous, and, their killer instinct aroused, they often dragged off the kittens and killed them—and that, according to Herodotus, is what kept the cat population of Egypt from growing to fantastic figures.

Campaigns to get rid of stray cats in this country are nothing new. Probably the most remarkable one was about fifty years ago when a group of New York women organized the famous "Midnight Band of Mercy." Dressed in old clothes and mackintoshes, the leader and her associates went out at night, carrying baskets lined with oilcloth and bottles of chloroform. They would attract the cats with catnip, and as soon as they caught one it would be popped into a basket with a rag saturated in chloroform tied over its face. The cat would bound around and the closed basket would shake, while the members of the band chanted:

"Hush, kitty, hush! You'll soon be in kitty heaven."

The band was getting rid of about 500 cats a month in this way when it was finally put out of business because people began to accuse its members of luring away their harmless pets.

The Game Commissions of a number of States are considering laws similar and in some cases even more severe than that of Pennsylvania to punish those who abandon their cats.

HOW TO CONTROL COYOTES DURING DENNING SEASON

Coyotes are particulary destructive on open sheep ranges in spring, as they then need extra food for themselves and their young. Their preying upon lambing bands of sheep can be checked, however, by den hunting, says the U. S. Department of Agriculture.

Successful methods employed in finding the dens are explained in a new leaflet 132, "Den Hunting as a Means of Coyote Control," recently issued by the Department. It was prepared by Stanley P. Young and Harold W. Dobyns, of the Bureau of Biological Survey, both of whom have had wide experience in controlling predators.

Some coyotes, the leaflet points out, show great cunning in refraining from killing lambs near their dens and will pass by a band of sheep that is herded right over their den only to raid another several miles distant. Contrary to popular belief, the male coyote is as destructive as the female, as investigations by the Biological Survey of fresh kills at lambing time have shown that tracks of males are more in evidence than those of females. Under normal conditions a pair of adult coyotes is found to every den unless one parent has been killed. If this happens to be a female and the pups are young, they die. If they are old enough to eat meat, the male parent cares for them.

Stockmen and others confronted with coyote control problems may obtain copies of Leaflet 132, "Den Hunting as a means of Coyote Control" from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C, at 5 cents each.

HUNTING DUCKS

Hunting Ducks—Hunting Ducks; First you get your shot and shell Then you ramble all over hell. Hunting Ducks—Hunting Ducks; Bing, Bing, Bing, Bing, Never get a damn thing Hunting Ducks. —From Old German Song.

NOTICE! Game and Fish Regulations, State of Nebraska

Prescribed by GAME, FORESTATION AND PARKS COMMISSION, State of Nebraska

THE FOLLOWING REGULATIONS are prescribed by the GAME, FORESTATION and PARKS COMMISSION, State of Nebraska, in accordance with Section 37-301, Compiled Statutes 1929, as amended by Session Laws 1937, L. B. No. 312, Serial No. 170, after due investigation and having due regard to the distribution, abundance, economic value, breeding habits, migratory habits and causes of depletion or extermination of the same in such designated waters or areas and having due regard to the volume of hunting, trapping, and Ashing practiced therein and climatic, seasonal and other conditions affecting the protection, preservation and propagation of the same in such waters or areas, and are EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 1, 1937.

I HEREBY CERTIFY that these regulations have been fixed, prescribed and published according to law and that same have been placed on file in the office of the Commission and a certified copy thereof sent by registered mail to the clerk and sheriff of each county, the whole or part of which is affected thereby, not less than fifteen days before the taking effect of same.

Dated at Lincoln, Nebraska, this 17th day of August, 1937.

FRANK B. O'CONNELL, Secretary. Open Season, Bag and Possession Limits, Areas Open for Game Birds and Animals Open Seasons Possession Specie (Both dates Hours Open Area Daily Any inclusive) Daily Open Bag Time Coots Oct. 9 to Nov. 7 7 A.M. to 4 P.M. Entire State 25 25 Doves, Mourning Sept. 1 to Nov. 15 7 A.M. to Sunset Entire State 10 10 Ducks, all specie ex- Oct. 9 to Nov. 7 7 A.M. to 4 P.M. Entire 10 10 cept Wood-duck, State Canvasback, Red- head, Buddy, Bufflehead Geese Oct. 9 to Nov. 7 7 A.M. to 4 P.M. Entire State 5 5 •Pheasants Oct. 17 to Oct. 26 6 A.M. to 7 P.M. Entire State 5 5 Snipe (Wilson or Oct. 9 to Nov. 7 7 A.M. to 4 P.M. Entire 15 15 Jack) State Sora Oct. 9 to Nov. 7 7 A.M. to 4 P.M. Entire State 15 15 Cranes No open season None None None None Curlew No open season None None None None Prairie Chicken No open season None None None None and Grouse Partridge No open season None None None None Plover No open season None None None None Quail No open season None None None None Wild Turkey No open season None None None None Opossum Nov. 1 to Feb. 1 All hours Entire State 3 3 Babbits Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 7 A.M. to 6 P.M. Entire 5 5 Cottontail State Raccoon Nov. 1 to Feb. 1 All hours Entire State 2 2 Squirrel Oct. 1 to Nov. 30 7 A.M. to 6 P.M. Entire State 7 7 Woodchuck Oct. 1 to Nov. 30 7 A.M. to 6 P.M. Entire 5 5 (Ground Hog) State Antelope No open season None None . None None Deer No open season None None None None

Note: Where entire state open it does not include game reserves, sanctuaries or areas closed by any state laws or city ordinances.

(*) Platte River and North Platte River beginning at east line of Morrill County, hunting permissible only from 7 A.M. to noon each day of open season. Garden County Game Refuge not included.

(*) No more than two hen pheasants may be taken in any day or be possessed at any time.

Trapping Open Season for Fur-Bearing Animals Species Open Seasons Species Open Seasons Badger Fox Mink Opossum Raccoon Nov. 1 to Feb. 1 Nov. 1 to Feb. 15 Nov. 1 to Feb. 15 Nov. 1 to Feb. 1 Nov. 1 to Feb. 1 Beaver Muskrat Martin Otter No open season No open season No open season No open season

Note: Any fur-bearing animals not classified under state laws as "game animals", and not listed above, can be trapped any time of year.

Open Season, Bag and Possession Limits, Areas Open for Game Fish

The following fishing, hunting and trapping areas, open seasons, bag and possession limits are fixed, prescribed and published, effective September 1, 1937:

Open Season Possession Specie (Both dates Area Open Size Daily Any inclusive) Limits Bag Time Trout Apr. 1 to Nov. 30 Entire State (except state owned lakes) Keep All 10 10 Bass (L.M.) Apr. 1 to Apr. 30 and from June 15 to Nov. 30 Entire State 10 in. 5 10 Bass (S.M.) Apr. 1 to Apr. 30 and from June 15 to Nov. 30 Entire State 10 in. 5 10 Crappie Apr. 1 to Nov. 30 Entire State 6 in. 15 25 Sunfish Apr. 1 to Nov. 30 Entire State Keep All 15 25 Rock Bass Apr. 1 to Nov. 30 Entire State 6 in. 15 25 Bullheads Apr. 1 to Nov. 30 Entire State 6 in. 15 25 Perch Apr. 1 to Nov. 30 Entire State Keep All 25 25 Catfish Apr. 1 to Nov. 30 Entire State (except Missouri River under permit) 10 in. 10 15 Pike, Walleye May 15 to Nov. 30 Entire State 12 in. 5 5 Pike, Northern May 15 to Nov. 30 Entire State 15 in. 5 5 Pike, Sauger or May 15 to Nov. 30 Entire State 10 in. 5 5 Sand Trout Apr. 1 to Nov. 30 State owned lakes, i.e., Fremont Sand Pits, Louisville Sand Pits, Rock Creek Lake Keep All 5 5 Catfish Apr. 1 to Nov. 30 Missouri River 13 in. No No under commer- Limit Limit cial permit

It shall be unlawful, except in the Missouri River under commercial permit, to take a daily bag or have more than twenty-five (25) fish of all species combined in possession at any one time.

All fish caught that are under the size limits enumerated above must be returned to the water at once with as little injury as possible.

"Daily bag" means fish taken in any period from 12 A.M. to 12 P.M.

"Possession any time" means fish in possession of person taking same at any and all times.

Carp, buffalo, suckers and other non-game fish may be taken with hook and line at any time without limits on size, bag or possession.

GAME, FORESTATION & PARKS COMMISSION LINCOLN, NEBRASKA

Get Your Permit —NOW!

The 1938 Hunting and Fishing Permits are now in the hands of the dealers throughout the state and are ready to issue.

Get your permit early in the year. By so doing, you will have it when you are ready to go hunting or fishing and you will aid the Commission greatly in carrying on its 1938 program. Remember that it is your permit dollar, along with that of your fellow sportsmen that keeps the good work under way. Funds are needed early in the year in order to provide more pleasure for you.

A feature of the purchase of a permit this year is the filling out of an application. Please cooperate with your Commission and fill out this application. It contains important information that will be invaluable to the Commission. From it we get badly needed information about the annual take of fish and birds, and by it several abuses can be remedied.

Let's go forward during 1938 for a Bigger and Better Outdoors! Do your part by getting your permit NOW! GAME, FORESTATION & PARKS COMMISSION

LINCOLN