2 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

FISHING IN NEBRASKA

Hunting Prospects Favorable

WATCH FOR NEXT ISSUE

The next issue of "Outdoor Nebraska" will contain full and complete information about the coming hunting season, with open seasons, limits, etc.

A number of extra copies are to be printed so that copies will be available for those who desire them. If you are not already on the mailing list and want a copy, or if you have a hunting friend who wants one, just drop us a card and give the mailing address.

GAME, FORESTATION AND PARKS COMMISSION

State House

Lincoln, Nebraska

The outlook for fall hunting in Nebraska is favorable at this writing. A large number of pheasants have been hatched and they are more widely distributed over the state than at any time heretofore. Reports received to date indicate a good crop of ducks.

The Federal authorities have not, as yet, announced the 1940 open season on ducks and geese. This is not done usually until after a mid-summer survey of the nesting grounds in the Dakotas and Canada has been made. However, the spring survey was favorable and there is some hope that the regulations for the coming open season may be less restrictive than last year. Whether or not a little longer season or a larger daily bag will be allowed is yet to be decided upon.

The pheasant crop throughout the State of Nebraska has generally been good. There are some sections where floods and hail storms on one hand and droughts on the other has hurt the crop, but these areas are small in comparison to the areas where conditions have been favorable.

A very successful season has also been experienced by the state game farms and cooperative hatching units. Thousands of birds are being placed on sanctuaries and together with those placed there last year, should begin to make themselves felt this fall. It is expected, and desirable, that the overflow from these refuges provide better hunting.

There is also a big crop of rabbits and squirrels this year. Undoubtedly, the Game Commission will be able to allow good seasons and larger bags of these animals. The rabbit, in particular, has made a rapid recovery from a small population two years ago. Of all Nebraska species, the rabbit can probably make the most rapid recovery.

The Nebraska Game Commission will meet in August to fix the forthcoming regulations which will become effective in September. It is believed that the Federal authorities will by that time have decided upon the seasons for the migratory game birds.

Recommendations for a duck and goose season for Nebraska similar to last year has already been sent to Washington by the Nebraska Game Commission. It is their belief that a little longer season would be preferable to having a large daily bag.

The bag last year was 10 ducks a day and 20 in possession. If the season were lengthened to 60 days rather than 45, and Nebraska was given something like October 10th to December 10th, then Nebraska hunters would be pretty sure to get some good duck hunting weather. Last year there was scarcely a single day of good duck hunting weather during the entire 45-day period.

Another change the Nebraska Game Commission would like to have is the opening shooting hour each day. Last year, hunters were not permitted to shoot until 7:00 A. M. In many cases, especially where hunting was done on small ponds, the ducks had already left for larger bodies of water or for reserves. A half hour or so earlier would make it possible for hunters on smaller ponds and streams to get a break. It is the intention of the Nebraska Commission, as well as the Federal authorities, to tighten up considerably on the professional hunters and guides who have been operating on the North Platte River. In many cases last year, and also in 1938, birds were sold or bartered, and hunters were charged exorbitant rates for blinds where they never had a chance to get a goose and, in other cases, favored guests were allowed and helped to get too many birds. Unless the situation can be better controlled this fall, it is very likely that the Nebraska Commission will ask the legislature for authority to license all such guides and see that they treat the hunters fairly, impartially, and follow the letter of the law.

WHITE PHEASANT?

Did you ever see a white pheasant? Well, there isn't such a thing, but Bill Monnette, Nebraska game warden for the northeast district, was given a real start recently when he observed a pure white chick among the brood of a mother pheasant. A close examination revealed that it was a White Leghorn chick. Now the mystery is how did the hen pheasant acquire the chicken? Did she adopt it or did a hen lay an egg in the pheasant's nest where it was hatched? Bill doesn't know.

IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE STATE CONVENTION

According to Ward C. Betzer of Lincoln, Nebraska, State President of the Izaak Walton League, the 18th annual convention of the Nebraska Division of the League has been set for Fremont, Nebraska, on Monday and Tuesday, September 16th and 17th.

The first session of the convention will begin at 9:30 Monday morning. The theme of the state convention this year is "Nebraska's Waters". A number of speakers who are being secured for the business part of the program, which will be on Monday and Tuesday mornings, will speak especially on the matter of conserving Nebraska's water supply, which deals not necessarily with the keeping of the water supply but judicial use of the water which comes to Nebraska by precipitation or is brought in by its rivers.

The Izaak Walton League, as far back as 1933, has advocated and urged the building of dams on farms for the retention of water. The League has assisted in securing a number of locations for small dams and in the last two years has advocated the use of the fills in our state and county highways for the creation of small lakes. This plan is an outgrowth of a similar program which is conducted in Oklahoma. The League secured the cooperation of the State Highway Department and the County Commissioners Association in this project.

At the convention this year, in addition to the speakers on "Nebraska's Waters", there will be outstanding conservationists dealing with Nebraska's game crop and recommended uses for the Federal funds which are allocated in the matching of Pittman-Robertson funds. Speakers are being secured from the Biological Survey, U. S. Forestry Service and the Extension Department of the University of Nebraska as well as representatives from the Nebraska Game, Forestation and Parks Commission.

The two afternoons of the convention will be given over to a sports program which will be set up for the enjoyment of both men and women, with trophies awarded to winners in trap shooting and bait and fly casting contests. On Monday

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4 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

FISHING FACTS

Stories of Curious Fish by U. S. Bureau of Fisheries

THESE radical changes definitely mark various stages in the existence of every Pacific salmon:

Between the ages of six months and a year, their color is yellowish green on the back, silvery on the sides, which are marked with dark bars.

After they swim from fresh-water streams into the open ocean their color changes from pale green to dark-bluish gray.

When mature, and returning to their "home" spawning streams, after three to six years in salt water, the male becomes blackish, tinged and blotched with dull red.

Their jaws become prolonged and hooked at the tip so that the mouth cannot close. The front teeth lengthen, and the body grows narrower and humped at the shoulders.

Females lose their silvery color, and the reddish flesh of both males and females becomes pink or white.

Shortly before entering the shallower spawning waters, they stop eating; this is the beginning of a long fast which lasts throughout the entire migration upsteam.

After entering the river they usually remain in the estuary for several days to become accustomed to fresh water. Then, traveling at the rate of two to four miles a day, the homecoming salmon journey upstream, jumping over falls, climbing up fish ladders of dams, pushing their way against the current until they reach the tributary where they are to spawn. A mysterious homing instinct guides them to the stream where they were hatched. If you transplant eggs from one river to another, the fish will return to the stream where they were planted.

When at last they reach their breeding ground, the male excavates with tail and snout a broad shallow nest in the gravelly bottom, where the eggs are deposited and fertilized.

At the conclusion of spawning, the fish are exhausted from their exertions and their long starvation. None are able to survive the rigors of this first and only spawning season; all die.

Some fish are unusual with respect to their body covering—not all have scales.

A South American catfish and the sea horse are armored with bony rings, and certain gars of North America are covered with hard, bony quadrate plates, with an outer sharp, cutting edge. The batfishes are completely covered with bony tubercles; the puffers are covered with prickles; the porcupine fish with long, sharp spines.

Most interesting and strangest body covering of all is found among the sharks. As if the five or more sets of teeth in the hammerhead's jaws were not enough, nature provided this shark with teeth (denticles) set in the skin of the entire body.

The most highly poisonous fishes are certain tropical toadfishes. They have hollow, syringe-needlelike spines, on the opercules and back, at the base of which poison glands are located. The spines take the place of fangs in poisonous snakes. While the venom from these fish apparently has never proved fatal to man, it has made some persons quite sick.

In the streams of Central and South America is a genus of the so-called "four-eyed fish." It does not actually have four eyes, but each eye is divided into two parts by a membrane. The upper part of the eye is adapted for vision in the air, and the other in the water. They swim at the surface with the upper half of the eye above water.

The swellfish, or puffer, has the unique habit, when excited or irritated, of blowing himself up so that he resembles a tennis ball with a mouth, fins and tail.

The closest thing to a sea-going hitchhiker is the shark sucker, or remora. It does not indulge in the courtesy of flipping a thumb, however, but merely hooks on and starts going places. It is equipped with a sucking apparatus on the top of the head by which it clamps itself to a shark and proceeds to travel in modern, but undersided, "piggy-back" style. This habit is not entirely due to a desire to see the sea, but is also influenced by the fact that by sticking with the shark, the remora may be in at the kill and pick up a few surplus morsels which the shark overlooks when feeding.

The climbing perch has strongly developed gill covers which enable it to progress on land by jerking or flapping these organs as it rolls from one side to the other. Thus it is able to promote little cross-country or overland trips when the spirit moves.

Another dry-land navigator among fish is the mud springer, a native of Africa. In addition to distinct pop-eyes, it has extremely strong fins which enable it to skip around on the wet beach and on the roots of trees, staying out of water for rather long periods.

What one might call the "fish-which-cannot-make-up-its-own-mind" is the common flounder. For the flounder can and does vary the color and pattern of its skin to match closely the bottom on which it lies. It may shift in a few hours from a very dark background with small blotches to the exact reverse, depending upon whether it is on a muddy, pebbled bottom or in a sandy area with gravel.

Experiments have been made utilizing various colors and patterns on the bottom of an aquarium tank to show that the flounder can mimic very closely the design and depth of color which serves as its background.

One of the lesser known aquatic fantasies is the triggerfish. On its back is a set of three stout spines which can be lowered to fit into a groove on the back. When it elects to do so, the triggerfish can erect one of these spines, and all efforts are fruitless to lower it until its owner is ready, unless the combination is known. This simply calls for touching one of the smaller of the three spines. Then the longer one can be easily and conveniently folded down. An analogy is the safety trigger of a gun.

"Champion snoozer of the fish world," however, is the title by which the triggerfish is best known, for nothing short of an earthquake, a hurricane or a body blow will rouse him once he is sound asleep. As a rule, his favorite sleeping spot is among the jagged points of coral rock.

An eccentricity in the fish world is the angler fish, which buries itself in the mud. There dangles in front of the mouth a whiplike appendage which has a growth at its tip which seems to be alluring to small fish. When the latter investigates this, possibly with the idea of picking up a meal, they are brought within easy range of the spacious mouth of the angler.

Generally buried in the sand up to its eyes and antennae, either watching for prey or on the lookout for enemies, this is the "life of Riley" as lived by the tiny sandcrab, or "lady crab", which is abundant on nearly all our sandy shores from Cape Cod to Florida.

In recent experiments conducted to prove that bacteria may play an important role in the nutrition of sea animals, sandcrabs

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OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 5

Meet Mr. Chukar

By JACK CARTER (Courtesy The Cornhusker Countryman)

DURING recent years many different species of upland game birds have been introduced in Nebraska. Some of these introductions have been successful—others have not. It is obvious that a given species would be more likely to establish itself in a climate similar to its native one than in a climate vastly different. A few species that have been successfully established in various sections of the United States are the Ring-Necked or Chinese pheasant, the Hungarian Partridge, and the Chukar Partridge. The first two are the less recent introductions. The Chinese pheasant or just plain "pheasant," as it is more generally known, was introduced into the United States in 1880 and into Nebraska in 1915 and has established a large population in many counties of Nebraska. The Hungarian Partridge is unadapted to Nebraska, but is well established in the Great Lakes and southern Canada. But it is the Chukar, the most recent introduction, which is currently arousing the most interest.

The Chukar Partridge, Caccabis chukar, was first introduced into the United States in 1928 by F. E. Booth of California. The bird thrived well and plantings in California were very successful. The bird was brought to Nebraska by the Game Commission and its propagation was undertaken with much success by the Game Farm at Madison. Four hundred six birds were released in western counties of Nebraska in 1938 and 3,250 in 1939. These plantings were in Lincoln, Thomas, Garden, Morrill, Scotts Bluff, Dawes, Sheridan, Dundy, Cheyenne and Cherry counties and were very successful. The Chukar is best adapted to the western part of Nebraska. At least 15 pair of Chukars were released at the same place each year. In Cheyenne County the birds were planted in the custody of R. P. Kepler, about four miles west of Sidney in the Lodgepole Creek valley. The birds spread and soon lost what domesticity they had acquired at the Game Farm. In the spring of 1939 about 40 young birds were hatched in that vicinity. This is a very good rate of reproduction for the first year after planting. Mr. Kepler reports that the Chukars had spread in pairs for a radius of five miles in the valley and on adjoining tableland. One Chukar was seen in the Lodgepole valley west of Chappell—25 miles from the place of its release.

Perhaps you have become curious as to the appearance of Mr. Chukar and the whereabouts of his native home. The Chukar has a dove-colored (gray) back and breast, is red-barred on each side under and below the wings, and has red legs and bill, white throat, and a dark "horseshoe" running from one eye down the neck and back to the other eye. His feathers are smooth and glossy like those on a duck's breast, and he is a very beautiful bird. The male and female are marked the same and can hardly be distinguished except that the male is slightly larger, has a broader skull (indicative of the superior intelligence of the male of all species, no doubt!), and sometimes bears stub spurs. It weighs about one to one and one-fourth pounds and has a long, wide quail-like breast.

The Chukar is a native of India and western China. It is a widely adapted bird and has been found from sea level up to 16,000 feet elevation. It can live equally well on barren hills, grassy hillsides, in low hot valleys, high snowy regions, or scrubby brushlands. It is so hardy that the people of India believe that it eats stones for food. Perhaps that is why it thrives well in the "great American desert." The Chukar has only two restrictions as to habitat—heavy timber and very damp areas.

The birds are quite docile and friendly and lend themselves well to captivity and artificial propagation. This is one of the reasons why they are so easily established in a new section, because all plantings must be made with birds raised in captivity on game farms. The Chukar is quite prolific. The hen will lay as many as 125 eggs, under controlled conditions, during the breeding season, which begins about the first of March. In captivity the hen will lay in the most haphazard sort of nest or seek no nest at all. However, in the wild, the hen is very particular about her nest, a scratched out cavity in the ground lined with leaves, grass, etc. The male, who makes the nest, may have to make several before the hen is satisfied. (Possibly analogous to the housewife who has the husband push the piano about the house several times annually.) In the wild, the hen lays a "clutch" of about 10 to 14 eggs and may have to make several attempts to hatch a brood if her first nests are destroyed by a predator, a rainstorm, a fire, or some agricultural implement. The Chukar is monogamous; that is, he mates with only one female, in the natural state, but he may be polygamous under artificial propagation. Coveys of 30 to 50 are formed after the breeding and brooding season and remain intact usually until the next spring.

The Chukar is an excellent game bird, a strong and swift flyer, and difficult for dogs to find and flush. Many sportsmen state that there is not a better game bird. It is highly edible, in fact many believe it the best of upland game birds. Furthermore, unlike the quail, the Chukar is large enough that not many are required to make a meal. The Game Breeder and Sportsman reports that an expedition isolated in India without food lived three weeks on Chukar Partridge and later said they never grew tired of them.

The Chukar is quite pugnacious, especially during the breeding season, and has taken over the supremacy of many sections from its competitors. Little is known of its associations with the Ring-Neck pheasant, its principal competitor in western Nebraska, but there is no reason to believe at the present that they cannot live peacefully in the same region.

It will be several years before the Chukar will become established in sufficient numbers to justify an open season. If it is successfully established, sportsmen and scientific gamemen predict that it will be the most sought after game bird in years to come. The Chukar Partridge is legally protected by the State of Nebraska, but farmers and sportsmen can greatly aid the cause by providing ample food and cover to insure its quick establishment. Meanwhile the Chukar is wanted alive—not dead.

Get your permit today. The hunting season will soon be here and you will want to be ready.

EDITORIAL

Starling Causing Trouble

In the bird world, the starling offers an example of persistence. Starlings have very definite ideas about sleeping quarters and, so far, no way has been found to change their minds.

In all the big cities, suburbanites journey to the downtown section to work and at night return to their homes to sleep. The National Wildlife Federation of Washington, D. C, reports that starlings do just the opposite. They spend the night roosting on the ledges of downtown buildings and, early in the morning, they fly to parks and suburban areas to forage for food and to upset the domestic tranquility of other birds. When night comes, they return to the heart of the city.

Various schemes have been tried out to drive the starlings away from what must appear to them very comfortable quarters. Various devices for making noise have annoyed people in the vicinity, but have not greatly disturbed the birds. Fire departments have deluged them with millions of gallons of water. This resulted in the starlings taking up temporary quarters on other buildings, to return later unharmed to their former quarters, made clean by the washing process.

Recently, police and firemen of Oklahoma City tried out a new plan. They laid down a Roman candle barrage on the eaves of downtown buildings. The starlings flew away to a vantage point on nearby buildings, where they could enjoy the fireworks in comfort. When the show was over, they returned, none the worse for their experience. The police and firemen went back to their headquarters sadder and not a bit wiser.

Starlings are increasing at a rapid rate. They are spreading out in all directions and will soon be found in practically all parts of the United States. They are a menace to some of our most beautiful and valuable birds, particularly the woodpecker. The starlings drive them from their nesting places, which they occupy and use for raising their own families.

Permit Buyers

The Nebraska Game Commission recently made an interesting study of the sale of hunting and fishing permits. The study covers the sales during the year of 1938.

In the eastern part of the state about four permits were sold to the square mile. In the southern part, two permits to the square mile. In the northwestern part, one permit to the square mile.

Douglas County led with 23,441 buyers. Lancaster was second with 10,943. Banner County was smallest with 96.

Vacations Pay

During the late summer there is nothing like a vacation in the outdoors to restore the energy lost during the hot weather. Chadron State Park offers an ideal place for the vacationer. Nice cabins in the pines, swimming, horseback riding, hikes along nature trails, boating—all these are offered at Nebraska's largest park. Rates are reasonable.

OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 7

TURTLES—Friends or Foes of Fish?

By KARL F. LAGLER, Department of Zoology, University of Michigan.

DO TURTLES hinder or help the fish-culturist? Are they a benefit to fishing or have they no relation at all to game-fish crops? What should be the fish-culturist's attitude toward the aquatic members of this group of reptiles?

Data have been assembled in Michigan which are useful in answering these and similar questions. The information in hand has been obtained largely from laboratory examination of the contents of the digestive tracts of more than 900 turtles, mostly from southern Michigan. Snapping, Blanding's, map, western painted, spiny soft-shelled (rubber-back) and musk turtles comprise a large majority of the specimens examined. Field investigations were conducted on hatchery and natural waters to determine where and how these turtles live, to find the relative abundance of the various kinds, and to learn how they are related to man in ways other than as fish predators.

Most of the specimens studied in the laboratory were collected in conventional, barrel-shaped turtle traps.

The food of these turtles, especially that of the common snapper, differs markedly from that recorded by previous writers on the basis of less extensive studies. About four quarts of food from the stomachs of 186 snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) collected on natural waters was made up as follows: One-third, water plants; the second third, game fishes; and the last third, dead fishes and other carrion, insects, crayfishes, snails and clams. Remains of water plants made up a little more than nine-tenths of the food (about nine quarts) in the intestines of 278 snappers. These findings are considerably at odds with the current general opinions that this turtle is entirely carnivorous, and that it subsists principally on fish and young waterfowl. Twenty-one snappers taken from bluegill and bass rearing ponds had not eaten significantly more game fish, on the average, than had those from wild waters. The major occasions for concern over this turtle at hatcheries appear to be: (1) When the fishes are extremely crowded in raceways, (2) where eggs of pondfishes are placed on trays in rearing ponds, and (3) when the fishes are concentrated in a seining or holding pool.

Blanding's or the semi-box turtle (Emys blandingii) was discovered to forage chiefly upon crayfishes and aquatic insect larvae in lakes and ponds. Small amounts of carrion, leeches, snails, clams and water weeds were also taken. In fish-rearing waters the fishes being cultured appear in the food.

Map turtles (Graptemys geographica) from wild waters had eaten crayfishes, snails and clams. Also included in their food were a few small fishes and some carrion, insects and now and then a little aquatic vegetation. No specimens were available for study from hatcheries.

About two-thirds of the food of the western painted turtles (Chrysemys picta marginata) in lakes and ponds was composed of water plants. The remaining third was made up chiefly of insects, but includes also some fish remains, leeches, earthworms, crayfishes, scuds, snails and clams. In hatcheries or rearing ponds, this turtle may prey on eggs and fry and for this reason probably should be removed or excluded from such waters.

That very adept swimmer, the soft-shelled turtle (Amyda s. spinifera), long thought to prey extensively on fish, was found to feed mostly on crayfishes and burrowing mayfly larvae and other insects. None were studied from fish-cultural waters.

The musk turtle or stink-pot (Sternotherus odoratus) which is so often mistaken for a young snapping turtle, when taken from natural waters had eaten principally carrion, crayfishes, insects, snails, clams and the hard-coated seeds of water plants. At hatcheries there is some evidence that it feeds on eggs and fry, especially those of bass or sunfish. More than a thousand bluegill larvae were found in the stomach of a musk turtle taken from a bluegill nest in a rearing pond.

On the basis of the materials examined from wild waters it seems that of these six common aquatic turtles, the snappar alone eats appreciable amounts of fish. In order to give an idea of the significance of the snapper to game fish populations, the following estimates seem justified. It may be assumed that each of the 186 stomachs which contained food held the remains of less than one "meal" and that each of the 278 intestines which contained food held the remains of more than one meal. Together these may be taken to total 454 meals. The 275 game fishes eaten by these turtles then average about six-tenths of an individual per feeding. In other words, these snappers average only about one game fish for every two meals. According to data obtained on snapping turtle populations in two lakes, this turtle averaged about two individuals for each acre of surface area. The average daily loss of game fish due to snappers in such waters might thus be one fish per acre. This is a very small part of the effect of the total predation pressure on the game fish population in any body of water and in itself is doubtless not a determiner of good or bad fishing.

Since the snapping turtle may account in part for poor catches by anglers on

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8 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

With Nebraska Sportsmen's Organization

Nebraska Federation Notes

THE Third Wildlife Stamp Sale is over and final accounting has been made. Total sales this year exceeded last year's sale by $361.86, according to Ernie Bihler and Dr. Merritt Pedersen.

If it were not for the combined efforts of Nebraska sportsmen, the stamp sale would have flopped. Ernie and Doc are to be commended, but so is everyone who helped them put it over. Every effort must be made to spread conservation throughout Nebraska all during the year. There's more work to be done. The Nebraska Game Commission needs your support in their program. They are doing a good job now, and will do a better job with Nebraska sportsmen backing them to the limit.

On my way to Holdrege a short time ago I stopped off at Kearney and visited Eric Mueller. They have a couple of nice lakes and are putting up a fine shelter house.

Quite a little game food plot mixture has been sold. Anyone needing any should place their order with the Game Commission at Lincoln. Prices are reasonable. If too late for this year, get some for next spring.

G. W. Pollard of Farnam has the Burlington Railroad planting trees on the right-of-way from Holdrege to Sterling. We can always use more trees, and it makes good cover for wildlife. Keep us posted on how this works out and perhaps other railroads will fall in line.

How many of you took in the all-day inspection tour of the shelter belt area around Pierce on June 16th?

NEW COUNTY FEDERATIONS ORGANIZED

March 22d, the Phelps County Wildlife Federation was organized at Holdrege, with Dr. A. Kalblinger as chairman and Oliver Billing as secretary. A pheasant raising project is on their list for this year.

Harlan County Wildlife Federation began its existence on April 17th at Alma, with Guy Thompson as chairman and Robert W. Porter as secretary; both are from Alma. They expect to have a pheasant raising project. Harlan and Franklin counties are working together to improve Turkey Creek for trout fishing.

The Polk County Wildlife Federation elected as its officers: Maurice Frizzell and June Frizzell as chairman and secretary respectively. All officers are youngsters and willing to do their part for conservation. We are betting these folks go to town. Are there other counties willing to help their young folks organize their county?

Seward County was organized by Dr. Pedersen, with Mr. John Schuknecht as chairman and A. C. Floto as secretary; both use the Seward postoffice. The Doctor tells me nine towns were represented and 125 were at the dinner. A fine crowd. Game Commission pictures as well as shelter belt pictures were shown.

Boone County was added to our list on April 17th. Dr. Pedersen was the organizer. Leroy Ball was elected chairman and George Gaskill as secretary. Post-office: Albion.

Platte County Wildlife Federation is now a reality too. The Izaak Walton League of Columbus sponsored the meeting. F. J. Tooley is their chairman, and H. C. Hoferer is secretary, both of Columbus.

This makes 47 counties affiliated with the State Federation. You are more than welcome. We need you, and hope you will need us.

On April 26th Franklin County organized a junior club. Any youngster can belong if between the ages of 8 and 16. To create enthusiasm, the business men of Franklin offer prizes for the best three bird houses built. This is a good idea for any county to promote.

RESPECT FOR GAME LAWS

If we don't do anything else this summer, let's promote respect for game laws and regulations by (a) reporting to the proper state and federal authorities violations of the game laws; (b) encouraging good sportsmanship; (c) providing training in the safe and proper use of firearms.

Who wants a list of the unorganized counties and will volunteer to organize one or more counties? There are only a few more left, and 25 volunteers could finish up the job before December 31st. At least volunteer to call a meeting of people interested and let us know a few days ahead of the meeting and someone will come and help. It costs nothing to have a county federation.

-D. L. WILLHOITE, President, Nebraska Wildlife Federation.

Izaak Walton State Convention

(Continued from page 3)

evening, the State Division is planning a big dance which will be held in the auditorium at Fremont. At this dance there will be a number of prizes given away absolutely free.

The state convention of the League is open to all men and women in Nebraska who are interested in the conservation of natural resources, which primarily is the objective of the Izaak Walton League, as well as to the members of the chapters.

Registration fee at the convention will be $2.50, which will include the banquet on Monday evening and the privilege of entering any of the contests which are conducted on Monday and Tuesday afternoons.

The Izaak Walton League is the oldest conservation organization in the country which has a local, state and national program and has consistently stood for conservation even though opposed in many ways by state and Federal organizations and governments. Its accomplishments over the past 18 years are outstanding and a resume of such accomplishments may be secured by writing to the state office of the League at Lincoln, Nebraska.

COMBINATION PERMITS POPULAR

Sale of hunting and fishing and combination licenses are keeping up with 1939, reports the State Game Commission. In April the ratio was four to one on the combination license over the straight fishing license. There also were a few straight hunting licenses issued, but no big number of these is expected until just before the pheasant season opens. However, the revenue will be greater this year as the combination sells for $1.50 and the hunting or fishing for $1. This is the first year Nebraska has had the three kinds.

In accordance with plans made several years ago, it is likely that 12 or 15 counties will be kept closed to hunting this fall and restocked with pheasants. It is estimated that Nebraska has about 70 counties where pheasants thrive. It is planned to restock these about every five years, thus covering the entire pheasant hunting territory in that period of time. New blood will be introduced and birds placed on favorable areas where they would be protected until they get a foothold and could later interbreed with the wild stock found there.

OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 9

Game Commission Activities

GOOD YEAR AT GAME FARMS

Seventy thousand pheasant eggs and 6,700 partridge eggs have been produced during 1940 up to July 13th at the two game farms operated by the Nebraska State Game Commission, according to a report made recently by Dale Halbert, superintendent of the farms. Superintendent Halbert in his report also gives the following statistics:

1,500 partridge and 2,700 pheasants liberated.

11,620 day-old pheasants sent to cooperative units.

1,200 day-old pheasants sent to other organizations.

3,000 partridges on hand.

21,000 pheasants on hand, ranging from one day to eight weeks old.

2,600 partridge eggs and 15,000 pheasant eggs in incubators on July 13th.

5,500 more pheasant chicks will be sent to cooperative units and the balance of the pheasants and all the partridges will be raised on the two farms.

The State Game Commission operates two farms at the present time. One is in Madison County, between Madison and Norfolk, and the other is at the State Park at Niobrara in Knox County. All the brood stock is kept at the Madison farm. The chicks are produced there and some of the pheasants are sent to the Knox farm for rearing. Chicks for the cooperative are produced at Madison.

Equipment at the Madison farm consists of 48 electrically heated double brooder houses with proper shelter pens and runs, 375 pheasant laying pens, 129 double partridge laying pens with wire floors, and 21 large range pens for rearing the pheasant broodstock for next year. In addition there are many small pens and shelters. In all there is more than 1,500,000 square feet of pens of which over 500,000 square feet is covered with a wire top.

The Knox County farm consists of 12 electrically heated brooder houses with shelter pens and runs and 150 pheasant rearing pens. These pens cover approximately 180,000 square feet and all are covered with wire tops.

Fourteen men are needed to care for the birds at the two farms during the summer months. Most of them are temporary workers hired for that time and the policy has been to employ young men who, if they show adaptability for the work, are re-employed the following year and may find a permanent position in the organization.

CO-OPS RAISE BIRDS

Nebraska's pheasant - rearing project under the Pittman-Robertson Act is progressing up to the fondest expectations of the State Game Commission and interested sportsmen and citizens. Fifty-one cooperative units are operating this year, an increase of 25 over 1939, and a total of 11,600 baby chicks have been distributed among them by the State Commission.

The chicks were distributed early in June and after three weeks' operation the loss has been very slight. The chicks are reared at these cooperative units until fall when they are released on game preserves where they are protcted against hunters so natural propagation can result.

Approval of this pheasant-rearing project for 1941 has been received by the State Commission and plans are under way to increase the units next year to 63. Under the plans for 1941 the units will receive feed for the birds in addition to equipment and chicks.

These units are operated by groups of sportsmen, civic clubs and others interested. Three of the 1940 units are being operated by Boy Scout troops. They are located at Clay Center, Rushville and Hay Springs.

SELECT NEW OFFICERS

Examinations to fill three vacancies in the ranks of deputy conservation officers of the State Game Commission have been announced for August 15th at the Commission's offices in the State Capitol, Lincoln, and at the Court House at North Platte on August 20th. Applications can be secured on request from the Commission and must be returned prior to August 10th. Successful applicants will be placed on probation for six months before appointment.

Requirements for these positions are: Age 23 to 45 years, high school or equivalent in education, must be 5 feet 8 inches or more in height, must weigh 170 pounds or more and in good health. Salary ranges from $80 to $120.

The Game Commission was the first state department to fill vacancies by civil service examination. It started the practice in 1935.

FLOODS CAUSE LOSS

June floods took a toll among the wildlife of Nebraska, but not very serious, according to an estimate by the State Game Commission. The biggest losses were suffered in the Elkhorn River, Plum Creek and Omaha Creek valleys where the floods were the heaviest.

Nests of many pheasants were destroyed and many of the recently hatched birds were drowned. Most of the adult birds, it is believed, escaped, and the Commission experts figure that they will nest again so that the loss will not be   10 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA great. There also was a considerable loss of rabbits.

Minor damages were suffered at the State Game Farm in Madison County where nine inches of rain fell. A transformer on the power line supplying electricity to the farm was burned out by lightning and could not be repaired for eight hours. This cut off the heat in the brooder houses, causing the death of several hundred young chicks. As there was between eight and ten thousand chicks in the brooder, the loss can be considered as small.

The new recreation grounds near Scribner in the Elkorn Valley was flooded, but the damage was small and can be easily repaired.

Roads in the Ponca Park were washed out in spots and a bridge destroyed.

Near Wauneta in the Frenchman Valley the high waters did some damage to the bird life.

NEW GAME FARM PLANNED

Another state game farm is to be constructed this year so as to be ready for operation next spring. It will be near Benkelman in Dundy County where the State Game Commission now has a fish hatchery. The Commission has found that the smallness of the springs there is making the fish hatchery unprofitable, so part of the land will be used for a game farm, making a combination hatchery and game farm of the project. Pens will be built and equipment installed this summer and fall so as to be ready for the 1941 season. This will be the third game farm the Commission is operating.

MANY FISH AT NORTH PLATTE

A three-day check, made on May 1st, 5th and 12th, of fishermen at the North Platte and Sutherland reservoirs by a State Game Commission official, revealed 833 cars with 1,894 fishermen busy snaring the cagey fish. At the North Platte reservoir there were 1,307 fishermen and 693 cars, and at the Sutherland reservoir there were 587 fishermen and 150 cars. Thirty-four Nebraska counties were represented.

Thirteen of the cars were from out of state. The Nebraska cars by counties were as follows: Lincoln 525, Keith 68, Dawson 41, Perkins 37, Frontier 30, Custer 20, Red Willow 17, Hayes 9, Chase 9, Logan 7, Hall 6, Hitchcock 6, Cheyenne 6, Gosper 5, Phelps 5, Buffalo 4, Garden 4, Dundy 4, Scotts Bluff 3, Box Butte 3, Deuel 3, Furnas 3, Adams 2, Dodge 2, Lancaster 2, Douglas 2, Brown 2, Hamilton 2, Harlan 1, Sarpy 1, Sherman 1, Knox 1, Polk 1, York 1.

SHELL LAKE RESTORED

Another fishing spot for Nebraska sportsmen will be created this summer by the resurrection of Shell Lake in Sheridan County. The State Game Commission recently took over the school lease at a cut of $1,500, on a section of land on which Shell Lake is located, and will spend $300 for material for a dam to store water in the lake. The labor will be furnishsd by the citizens in that community. Permission to restore the lake has been secured from the drainage district and when the dam is constructed it will fill naturally. Shell Lake in years gone by was one of the best bass lakes in the state. It covers about 200 acres when in its natural state.

HOW THE CHUKAR DOES IT

First, finds good cover; next builds a nest and lays the eggs. The last picture shows the family gone with only the eggshells remaining.

IMPROVE VALENTINE HATCHERY

The new concrete dam in Minnechadusa Creek in Cherry County near Valentine and the new rearing pools at the State Fish Hatchery there are now in full operation. The dam is making a lake three-quarters of a mile long where there is some fine fishing and also is providing an ample flow of water for the hatchery.

Water is piped from the lake by a 24-inch conduit to a reservoir pond from which it is piped to the new circular pool system. The circular pool system is composed of 12 circular pools, four 50 feet in diameter, four 32 feet in diameter and four 20 feet in diameter. The feed pipes to the individual pools release the water through jets so there is a constant movement of the water in each pool and can be regulated as desired. The overflow is in the center, which makes each pool self-cleaning.

This new circular pool system will increase the output of the hatchery many times and will serve a two-fold purpose: From June 15th to September 15th it will be used for channel cats and from September 15th to June 15th of the following year will be used for feeding trout to creel size. A new area of 20 acres will be developed into rearing ponds in the future.

DISTRIBUTE CATFISH

The 1940 distribution of catfish by the State Game Commission in its propagation program took place this year with the placing of thousands of 13 and 14-inch fish in rivers where there are dams. These fish, taken from the lower Platte and Missouri River, are being put above the dams.

So far no fish ladder has been found to be successful at most of the dams in the Nebraska rivers on account of their height, so it has been necessary to plant fish above all dams. A new type of ladder is now being tried at the Spencer dam in the Niobrara in Holt County.

Game Warden Frank O'Connell announces that about 100,000 of these adult catfish were planted.

Later in the summer, starting in August, the distribution of fingerling size catfish from the hatchery at Gretna will be made. About 250,000 of these will be planted. They will be placed in all types of water and by next spring will be of legal size.

This year there has been a good supply of adult catfish available in the Missouri. Warden O'Connell says that the river improvements by the government and dams in the upper Mississippi apparently have caused an increase in fish coming up the Missouri and there has been a bigger run of them.

OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 11

Turtles

(Continued from page 7)

certain waters, perhaps thanks are due the commercial turtle hunters who are fast reducing the numbers of these slow-growing reptiles. On some waters, however, it is probable that a reduction of the numbers of sub-legal fishes by this turtle and other fish predators is beneficial to the angler. That a given body of water can produce only so many pounds of fish annually has been known by carp-culturists in Europe for more than a hundred years. If the fish are large, they will be few; if small, many. Predation may, by reducing numbers in some instances, be operating to give ultimately fewer but larger fishes to the angler.

In regard to aquatic turtles other than the snapper, the data obtained for natural waters indicate that the greatest importance of these reptiles to game fishes probably lies in the competition they offer such fish for food. These turtles and fishes eat many of the same organisms such as insects, crayfishes, leeches, snails, clams, etc. No general statement regarding policy toward turtles can be made on this evidence, however, since the actual significance of turtles as food competitors is a thing which must be determined separately for each body of water. Similarly, predation by all of these turtles on eggs and fry, particularly on those of basses and sunfishes, must be analyzed for its local effects where it is found to occur.

Several considerations may be pointed out as balancing the possible deleterious effects which turtles may exert as competitors or predators of fishes. They provide a considerable amount of janitorial service in our lakes and streams. Dead and dying fishes and other animals as well as some domestic wastes are eaten by them and thus prevented from littering bathing and resort beaches. In addition, these turtles are all edible (with the possible exception of the musk turtle) and constitute a source of food supply for man.

In spite of the scanty data on hand for turtles at fish hatcheries it may be stated that at such stations these animals hardly appear to be an asset. They may be trapped for removal to other waters Dy any of several means. A barrel may be sunk into the bottom of the pond and equipped with a "teetering board." Turtles which climb upon this board to bask in the sun literally "walk the plank" and are tumbled into the barrel, from which they cannot escape. This type of trap works well for those turtles which habitually crawl out of the water to bask in the sun, but for this reason excludes the more strictly aquatic ones such as the snapping, mud and musk turtles. Many other kinds of effective traps may be designed to fit particular needs. For the most part they will be of two kinds—those which cannot be moved easily from pond to pond, such as the one just described, and those which can be moved more easily.

Ordinary fyke or hoop nets make effective turtle traps, but are usually made of twine which will be torn by larger turtles. The conventional type of turtle trap is a modified fyke and may be purchased from dealers or made up to the following specifications:

Net: Two-inch square mesh (or size suited to the kinds of turtles) of No. 24 linen seine twine.

Length: Four to five feet.

Hoops: Six - gauge steel wire with welded joints, circular, three per trap.

Throat: Funnel shaped, 18 inches deep from front hoop to opening, aperature one to two inches high by 20 inches wide; corners tied to middle hoop.

Rear End: Closed by pursing string.

Preservative: Asphalt, applied hot to hoops and twine alike.

Stretchers: Wood or nine-gauge steel wire; two for each trap.

Twine keeps best when tarred or barked. A marker float is attached to the trap by two or three feet of stout cord. Before setting such a trap a container filled with bait is suspended in the middle just inside the mouth. Effective containers are punctured tin cans and the best general bait is freshly killed fish. Watermelon rind is a very effective lure for soft-shelled turtles. Best results are obtained when traps are set so that the tops of the hoops are just out of water. In one of these traps as many as 75 turtles have been taken in a single night.

OLD HUNTER WRITES

To The Editor:

I am an old hunter and was raised on a prairie homestead in Cuming County, Nebraska. In the year of 1871 I was 11 years old and I possessed an old army muzzle loading single barrel musket, and if I do say so myself, I was very proficient for a lad of my age. On account of there being an abundance of all kinds of small game in the country at that time, I was able to keep our family in a good supply of fresh meat.

All kinds of small wild game, in great quantities, such as prairie chickens, quail, curlew and upland snipe, was to be had at all times. Then, in the spring and fall of the year, wild geese and ducks and sand hill crane were on their flight north and south. There were no game law restrictions for hunting, and no bag limit.

But, even at that, most people very seldom would kill more game than they could eat. I can remember when I would be coming home from the country school about 4 o'clock, like all boys of from 10 to 12 years of age, mother would say: "Charlie, will you go out and get a mess of eight or ten young prairie chickens, about half grown, for our supper?" I would get down my old musket, game bag, powder horn, shot pouch, and then call our old Shepherd dog. He was not a bird dog, but he could find the coveys of prairie chickens, but would not set them, though I could tell by his excited actions when he had found a covey.

I might get one or two birds out of one flock, because I had to reload my single barrel after each shot, then go find another covey or raise a single bird or two. In twenty minutes or half an hour, not over half a mile away, I would trudge home with plenty of young chickens for our supper.

But this was not only a single happening but a common occurrence every few days. Those days are gone a long while ago and many people of today would take this account as very poor fiction. I want to say that it is all true.

Would you think there is any wonder I like to read The Outdoor Nebraska?

C. H. MULLIN, 320 N. 41st Street, Omaha, Neb.

12 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

PLANTS ATTRACT BIRDS

Many ornamental woody plants around a home not only add to the beauty of the land but attract a variety of birds, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of the Interior. Specific recommendations for increasing bird populations near residences by using ornamental woody plants were made in a recent report to the Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes.

More than 55 kinds of plants are discussed in the report, which was issued as a mimeographed leaflet, BS-156, entitled "Ornamental Woody Plants Attractive to Birds." The leaflet, written by Myer Katz, of the Section of Food Habits, Division of Wildlife Research, is available to the public upon request.

Man's steady encroachment upon the natural haunts of wild birds has forced many of them to seek food and shelter elsewhere, Katz declares. Planting shrubs, trees and vines that offer an abundance of food and cover throughout the year will do more to attract birds to lawns, yards and homes than will any other effort in their behalf.

Birds help to pay their way, Katz points out, because they not only are beautiful in themselves but help to maintain the beauty of ornamental shrubs, trees and vines by feeding on destructive insects.

The selection of plants to attract birds should be made carefully, Katz declares. It must be remembered that birds invariably frequent areas where ample food is available throughout the year and where there is sufficient cover for nesting and for protection from enemies.

Evergreens, for example, are almost indispensable in attracting birds in winter as they offer food, to some extent, as well as protection from wind and cold. As safeguards against enemies, mass plantings of shrubbery are invaluable. A thick, thorny hedge assures birds of certain protection from their natural enemies and also provides many nesting places.

On the basis of studies conducted by investigators of the Fish and Wildlife Service, it is known that alder attracts at least 23 kinds of birds. Forty-four kinds of birds are known to feed on apple trees, while wild sarsaparilla is utilized by more than 18 of the feathered creatures.

The fruits of the ornamental dogwood, which persist through winter, possess great value as a bird attractant. No less than 98 kinds of birds have been found feeding on dogwood, including such well-liked songsters as the robin, evening grosbeak, cardinal, bluebird, red-eyed vireo, flicker and kingbird.

Oak trees, being producers of great quantities of mast, are also a food source for many birds. In all, 62 kinds of birds have fed on the oak, especially the brown thrasher, red-eyed towhee, and most of the woodpeckers.

BIRDS HELP FARMERS

The birds of North America are important not only because they are objects of enjoyment to those who like the outdoors but also because they are economically useful in the control of insects that damage agricultural crops, according to a recent report issued by the Bureau of Biological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.

Although their esthetic and recreational worth constitutes, perhaps, their greatest value to mankind, birds have also tremendous economic potentialities to which consideration must be given, according to the report. Written by Dr. Clarence Cottam and Francis M. Uhler, biologists of the Survey's Section of Food Habits, Division of Wildlife Research, the report has been issued as a mimeographed leaflet, BS-162, entitled "Birds as a Factor in Controlling Insect Depredations." The leaflet is available to the public upon request.

Probably more than half the food of the 1,400 species and varieties of North American birds consists of insects, the report declared. The greatest value of birds in the role of insect destroyers lies in the coordination of their feeding activities with all the natural factors of the environment in preventing the development of destructive insect eruptions to plague proportions.

No claim is made, however, that birds can completely control insect infestations. As a control agency, the report explains, birds are not wholly effective as they do not kill all the pests, but the same is true of every other control measure, biological or artificial.

Explaining that birds have a high rate of metabolism, or energy consumption, which gives birds an impressive consuming capacity, the report asserts that a bird may destroy more insects at a single feeding than individual parasites destroy in a lifetime.

The value of birds as insect destroyers is enhanced by the fact that the feathered creatures are highly mobile and move quickly from one infested area to another.

The sea gull-cricket episode of Salt Lake Valley in 1848, which saved the lives of the early Mormon pioneers, is cited as a conspicuous example of effective control by birds of a serious insect pest. In memory to the California gulls that saved the Mormon pioneers from the cricket plague, a sea gull monument was erected in Salt Lake City at a cost of more than $40,000.

Get Your Hunting Permit Now!

BALD EAGLES PROTECTED

The bald eagle, symbol of American ideals of freedom, is now protected from all hunters and collectors by an act of congress which has been approved by President Roosevelt, Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes announced recently. Enforcement of the act will be delegated to U. S. game management agents and deputy agents of the Bureau of Biological Survey, who are charged with the conservation of the country's wildlife resources.

The "Bald Eagle Act" was sponsored by Senator David I. Walsh and Representative Charles R. Clason of Massachusetts. Declaring that the bald eagle is now threatened with extinction and expressing the desire to protect the bird that was adopted as the national symbol by the Continental Congress in 1782, the act prohibits anyone from possessing bald eagles in any manner, whether by taking, bartering, selling, or other means. The act protects the bird throughout the United States and its possessions, except Alaska.

Persons taking, possessing or dealing in bald eagles will be liable to fines up to $500 or imprisonment up to six months or both.

Secretary Ickes, however, has been authorized to issue permits to take, possess or transport bald eagles after investigations show such action is compatible with the preservation of the bird. The act specifies he may issue these permits, when deemed advisable, to public museums, scientific societies or zoological parks, or when he finds such action necessary for the protection of wildlife or of agricultural or other interests in any particular locality.

OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 13

FIRST AID

Sunburn: Apply cold moist compresses, using a turkish towel or other soft material wrung out in ice water or cold spring water; change as often as cloths become warm—do this for about 20 minutes, five or six times a day. At intervals apply cornstarch or talcum powder freely; do not wash areas with soap and water, but cleanse with cottonseed oil, sweet oil or cold cream once a day. Do not apply antiseptics such as mercurochrome, camphophenique, tincture of iodine or other irritative drugs. For those who believe in preparedness, the following salve applied, not rubbed in, at bedtime will be most gratifying, and insure rapid recovery: Ichthyol 20 drops, zinc oxide 1 dram, cornstarch 1 dram, white vaseline 4 ounces.

Heat Exhaustion: Lay patient on back, head low, feet elevated 18 inches, loosen clothing about neck, chest and abdomen, keep warm with heated stones. A cup of strong coffee, hot milk or hot water should be administered if patient conscious. Give no liquid stimulant if unconscious.

Sunstroke: Cool quickly with cold bath or spray, elevate head and apply ice packs or cold applications to head. No stimulants.

Open Wound: To scratches and slight wounds should be applied iodine half strength. Dirty or greasy wounds should be cleansed first with high grade benzine. Cover open wounds with gauze and bandage—do not touch with fingers any wound or bandage removed from wound, where it was against the wound.

Fracture: Handle carefully, apply narrow board, heavy pasteboard, umbrella, cane or any rigid appliance as splint, so that patient may be moved without pain or danger—pad splint if next to the skin, and make splints long enough to extend beyond joint above and below fracture. Get doctor.

Eye Injury: Cover with clean cloth compress wrung out in cold water and go to nearest hospital.

Stings of Venomous Insects, etc.: Apply weak ammonia, oil, salt water or iodine.

Mosquito Bites: Apply following lotion three times a day to relieve itching. Use linen cloth or handkerchief, not cotton. Mix together % dram of carbolic acid, 4 drams of prepared calemine, 3 drams of zinc oxide, 6 ounces of rose water, add water, if too strong. Shake well before using.

Mosquito Dope: (1) To one part of pennyroyal and 2 parts of castor oil, and 2 parts of pine tar; or, to 1 ounce of oil of citronella, add 1 ounce of spirits of camphor and % ounce of oil of cedar. Either of these remedies should drive away the most ferocious mosquitoes.

Chigres: To prevent chigre bites mix an equal amount of powdered flower of sulphur, or prepared sulphur, with cornstarch or talcum powder; put the mixture in a pasteboard carton, with lid punched full of holes to make a shaker. Sprinkle the formula over the body, particularly the limbs and put in shoes. To eliminate chifpres imbedded in the skin cover welt with a drop of collodion or chloroform twice daily. If there is irritation, use mosquito lotion each morning until relieved.

Poison Ivy: One ounce of tincture of iron, which contains approximately 15% ferric chloride and J4 ounce alcohol, dilute with l/z ounce water. The ferric chloride content is about 7 to 8%, the maximum strength advised. Paint infected parts with the solution, using a camel's hair brush; if too strong, add more water.

Hook Caught in Body: No attempt should be made to remove the hook until mercurochrome has been poured on the wound. When barb is not deeply imbedded, the hook may be backed out; when the barb is buried in the tissue, it Will be necessary to force the hook through, after which the point and barb may be cut off with a pair of wire pliers, and the shank of the hook readily withdrawn; if too deeply imbedded so that the delicate or vital tissues will be injured seriously, iodine or mercurochrome should be poured on the wound and the services of a physician obtained.

MARSH HAWKS EAT MICE

The traditional villain of the bird world, the marsh hawk, is locally a beneficial bird and not a bad fellow after all, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of the Interior. While many individuals charge the hawk with preying upon desirable forms of wildlife, recent findings of the Pennsylvania Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit show that mice are the staple food of the marsh hawk, and pheasants are not a normal item in the diet.

To learn the food habits of the marsh hawk in Pennsylvania and to observe whether it preyed on pheasants, Pierce E. Randall, a graduate student of the Cooperative Unit, conducted an investigation on a 1,675-acre sample plot in Lehigh County that is typical of the best pheasant range in the Keystone state.

The work was directed by the unit leader, Dr. Logan P. Bennett, of the Fish and Wildlife Service, and his assistant, Dr. P. F. English, of the Pennsylvania State College. The unit is financially supported by the college, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the American Wildlife Institute, and the Fish and Wildlife Service.

An examination of 60 pellets collected from roosts in weedy stubblefields showed that early in fall the marsh hawk diet consisted of mice (73.6 per cent), birds, mostly songbirds (21.6 per cent), and 1 shrew, 1 cottontail rabbit, 1 skunk, and 1 unidentified mammal. Late in fall, the marsh hawks ate more mice (83.2 per cent) and less songbirds (12.2 per cent).

In winter, Randall examined 156 pellets. He found that mice still predominated in the diet (83.2 per cent), while the proportion of songbirds taken fell to 7.9 per cent.

"Despite the presence of a large number of pheasants on the study area," Randall reported, "no evidence of predation by marsh hawks was found, either in the pellets or in the field." He asserted that the marsh hawks paid no attention to pheasants feeding in the open.

Bobwhites and mourning doves observed on the study area likewise were not molested by the marsh hawk.

Thirty-five species of hawks have been recorded as residents or visitants in North America north of Mexico, but several are so seldom observed that their economic value is not a matter of public interest. The marsh hawk is the only species that beats back and forth over marsh, meadow and grasslands with a floppy sort of flight, dropping on the prey it surprises in openings.

Larger than the crow, the marsh hawk has long wings and tail. The rump is always white, a good field mark by which to recognize it. Its flight is gull-like, and, in fact, at a distance the light-gray old males look much like gulls.

The marsh hawk, known scientifically as Circus hudsonius, breeds from northwestern Alaska, northwestern Mackenzie, northern Ontario, central Quebec and Newfoundland south to northern Baja, California, southern Arizona, southern Texas, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, Ohio, Maryland and southeastern Virginia.

It winters from southern British Columbia, western Montana, western South Dakota, the southern parts of Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire south to the Bahamas, Florida, Cuba and Colombia.

Randall's report of the investigations in Pennsylvania has been published, and copies are available to the public upon request as long as a supply is available. Copies may be obtained by writing to the Pennsylvania Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Pennsylvania State College, State College, Pa., or to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Harrisburg, Pa.

14 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

Fishing Facts

(Continued from page 4)

were used as some of the "guinea pigs."

Ten tiny sandcrabs, not more than three-eighths of an inch long, were placed in quart jars to which clean sea sand and aged sea water had been added. A washed suspension of bacteria, to give around 500 million cells per cubic centimeter, was put into each jar. If any toxic material was added to the water, or a disturbance of any kind occurred, the sandcrab immediately dug itself into the sand. As soon as the "all's well" sign was flashed again, tiny, feathered antennae eagerly darted after food. The bacteria collected on the antennae was scraped off into the crab's mouth. Two hours after their bacterial feast, an examination disclosed that the little lady crabs, in a most unladylike manner, had literally stuffed themselves with bacteria.

However, in order to consume an amount of bacteria equal to its own weight, a sandcrab weighing five grams would have to filter at least 50,000 quarts of such water!

Comparatively speaking, this means that a man weighing 150 pounds would have to fish through 187,500,000 gallons of sea water to procure for himself a bacterial meal equal to his own weight!

NEBRASKA FISHES

Meet Mr. Sand Pike, or formally Mr. "Stizostedion grisea". He is a member of the perch family and is found in the larger Nebraska rivers.

The sand pike or sauger, as he is sometimes called, is a very close relative of the wall-eyed pike and is often confused with the wall-eye. It averages a weight of two pounds and a length of 18 inches. Often five-pound and occasionally six-pound sand pike are taken in the upper Platte.

The sauger is a voracious species which feeds almost entirely on other fishes. It is an important game fish, because of its fighting qualities and because of its firm, white and tasty flesh.

"CONSERVATION"

"Restoration of Environment is of first importance not only to sport, but to our whole economic structure. Wildlife is the crop that is of first interest to the sportsman, but wildlife is only an extra dividend paid on the rebuilding of our productive system of Earth, Water and Vegetation.

"In every state where there is a progressive, constructive conservation policy, carried out by a sound and sincere outfit of officials, there is also a militant organization of conservationists. One goes hand in hand with the other—united sportsmen and conservationists; successful conservation. Conservation officials have but one defense against political exploitation: the backing of alert, intelligent public opinion, organized for action. As sportsmen, we deserve precisely the kind of conservation that we have, because if we don't like it, all we have to do is to get together and say so, and it will be changed."

—DAVID A. AYLWARD, President, National Wildlife Federation.

The TEN COMMANDMENTS OF SAFETY

Recommended by The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute "Safety First---Always!"

Make That Your Motto

1

Treat every gun with the respect due a loaded gun. This is the cardinal rule of gun safety.

2

Carry only empty guns, taken down or with the action open, into your automobile, camp and home.

3

Always be sure that the barrel and action are clear of obstructions.

4

Always carry your gun so that you can control the direction of the muzzle even if you stumble.

5

Be sure of your target before you pull the trigger.

6

Never point a gun at anything you do not want to shoot.

7

Never leave your gun unattended unless you unload it first.

8

Never climb a tree or a fence with a loaded gun.

9

Never shoot at a flat, hard surface or the surface of water.

10

Do not mix gunpowder and alcohol.

The CAT is out of the Bag!

A cat that is well fed and confined at night makes a pet for children and helps to rid the home of mice. But the kitten dumped from a bag along country roads becomes a killer—perhaps Public Enemy No. 1 of the birds.

At one of Nebraska's game farms over fifty cats were killed ithin two months this year. All of them were caught marauding the pens where small pheasants were held. These were cats that had been abandoned.

Let us be sensible and fair about the cat. In its place, well fed and attended, it is of service. Abandoned in the field it becomes a menace. All such abandoned cats should be destroyed. The birds killed by them are too valuable.

Cats purr in the home hut kill in the woods GAME, FORESTATION & PARKS COMMISSION LINCOLN