Outdoor Nebraska

PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY NEBRASKA GAME, FORESTATION AND PARKS COMMISSION Editor: Dick H. Schaffer Associate editors: William C. Blizzard, Dan McGrew Artist: Claremont G. Pritchard Photographer-writer: Gene Hornbeck Circulation: Phyllis Martin AUGUST, 1958 Vol. 36, No. 8 25 cents per copy $1.75 for one year $3 for two years Send Subscriptions To: Outdoor Nebraska, State Capitol, Lincoln 9 NEBRASKA GAME COMMISSION Floyd Stone, Alliance, chairman Leon A. Sprague, Red Cloud, vice chairman Don F. Robertson, North Platte George Pinkerton, Beatrice Robert H. Hall, Omaha Keith Kreycik, Valentine Robert F. Kennedy, Columbus DIRECTOR M. O. Steen DIVISION CHIEFS Eugene H. Baker, engineering and operations Glen R. Foster, fisheries Lloyd P. Vance, game Dick H. Schaffer, information and education Jack D. Strain, land management and parks PROJECT AND ASSISTANT PROJECT LEADERS Orty Orr, fisheries (Lincoln) Phil Agee, game (Lincoln) Clarence Newton, land management (Lincoln) Dale Bree, land management (Lincoln) Malcolm D. Lindeman, opertions (Lincoln) Frank Sleight, operations (Lincoln) Harvey Miller, waterfowl (Bassett) Bill Bailey, big game (Alliance) DISTRICT SUPERVISORS DISTRICT I (Alliance, phone 412) L. J. Cunningham, law enforcement Lem Hewitt, operations John Mathisen, game Keith Donoho, fisheries Robert L. Schick, land management DISTRICT II (Bassett, phone 334) John Harpham, law enforcement Delmar Dorsey, operations Jack Walstrom, game Bruce McCarraher, fisheries DISTRICT III (Norfolk, phone 2875) Robert Benson, law enforcement Lewis Klein, operations Gordon Heebner, game H. O. Compton, big game George Kidd, fisheries Harold Edwards, land management DISTRICT IV (North Platte, phone 4425-26) Samuel Grasmick, law enforcement Robert Thomas, fisheries Chester McClain, land management (North Platte) Gale B. Mast, game DISTRICT V (Lincoln, phone 5-2951) Bernard Patton, law enforcement Robert Reynolds, operations George Schildman, game Richard Spady, land management Delvin M. Whiteley, land manager RESEARCH BIOLOGISTS Karl E. Menzel, coturnix quail (Lincoln) Raymond L. Linder, pheasants (Fairmont) AREA CONSERVATION OFFICERS William J. Ahern, Box 1197, North Loup, phone 89 Robert Ator, Box 66, Sutton, phone 4921 Cecil Avey, 519 4th Street, Crawford, phone 228 William F. Bonsall, Box 305, Alma, phone 154 H. Lee Bowers, Benkelman, phone 49R Dale Brutha, York Loron Bunney, Box 675, Ogallala, phone 247 Ralph L. Craig, Sidney Robert Downing, (unassigned) Lowell I. Fleming, Box 269, Lyons, phone mutual 7-2383 Raymond Frandsen, P.O. 373, Humboldt, phone 2411 John D. Green, 720 West Avon Road, Lincoln, phone 8-1165 Ed Greving, 501 So. Central Ave., Kearney H. Burman Guyer, 1212 N. Washington, Lexington, phone Fairview 4-3208 Larry Iverson, Box 201, Hartington, phone 429 Norbert J. Kampsnider, 1521 West Charles, Grand Island, phone DUpont 2-7006 Jim McCole, Box 268, Gering, phone 837 L Jack Morgan, Box 603, Valentine, phone 504 Roy W. Owen, Box 288, Crete, phone 446 Paul C. Phillippe, Syracuse, phone 166w Fred Salak, Mullen, phone KI 6-6291 Herman O. Schmidt, Jr., 1011 East Fourth, McCook, phone 992 W Harry A. Spall, 820 Clay Street, O'Neill, phone 637 Joe TJlrich, Box 1382, Bridgeport, phone 100 Richard Wolkow, 817 South 60th Street, Omaha, phone Capital 1293 V. B. Woodgate, Albion GRAHAM PRINTING SERVICE — LINCOLN, NEBR.

IN THIS ISSUE:

LEAD VITTLES FOR VARMENTS Page 3 (Jack Morgan) THE NEBRASKA DUCK STORY Page 6 (Gene Hornbeck) SNAPPING TURTLE DELIGHT .. Page 9 NETS IN THE OLD MISSOURI .... Page 10 (Gene Hornbeck) YOUR FRIEND, THE SNAKE ...... Page 13 (William C. Blizzard) NESTING FACTS .... Page 16 (Phil Agee) DOG CONDITIONING ........ Page 18 (George D. Wixer) PESTICIDES OR SUICIDE? .......... Page 20 HELP WANTED ...... Page 23 (Donald F. LaPointe) READERS' COLUMN .......... Page 24 OUTDOOR ELSEWHERE .... Page 25 NOTES ON NEBRASKA FAUNA (Blue-Winged Teal) ...... Page 26 (Dan McGrew)

LEAD VITTLES FOR VARMENTS

If you get impatient while waiting to hunt during the regular seasons, try your skill at varment hunting for off-season practice by Jack Morgan Conservation Officer Valentine

ESTIMATING the distance at about 250 yards, I swung my rifle into position, placing the scope cross hairs high and slightly to the left of the prairie dog's shoulder. When I squeezed the 23A-pound-pull Timney trigger, the little rodent was flung up and away, landing about 20 feet from the point of impact. The dog was shredded; death had been instantaneous.

I was in the Sand Hills near Valentine, having driven through the rolling, grass-covered country to one of the numerous dog towns that dot this region. This was a test of my new varment rifle, built to my own specifications, on which I myself had done much work. I also loaded my own shells.

This field test of my new weapon had produced gratifying results. I had previously sighted in the rifle at AUGUST, 1958 3   150 yards. That morning, I had killed 30 prairie dogs, at ranges from 50 to 400 yards. My score wasn't as good at the longer ranges, but this was not the fault of the rifle. The wind had been strong and steady, a complicating factor to any varment shooter. And my scope was only 8X, not the best choice for extremely long shots. This choice, however, had been deliberate, for nearly all my shooting is done at 200 yards or under.

If you love hunting, and find the interval between spring and fall short on thrills, don't hang up your rifle or shotgun. In varment shooting, a whole new area of pleasure awaits you. It is possible, of course, that you may have already tried this sport. If you belong to the species, Gun Nufus, those practitioners of rifle voodoo, you almost certainly have done so. This article is designed for those novice gunners who desire to know what might best suit their varment-shooting needs in Nebraska.

I shall describe my own rifle to show what I consider best for my purposes. The gun is designed for shooting prairie dogs, coyotes, and jack rabbits, the most common varments where I live. It will also work on crows, of course, where a bullet-catching backstop is present. It is, in short, tailored to specific varment shooting.

My rifle is a "wildcatter", that is, there is no factory-built gun or ammunition made in its caliber. Other former wildcat rifles, notably the .219 Zipper, have proved popular enough to move into the respectable, factory-built class. Whether or not this will happen to my gun is moot. But, for my purpose, this rifle is close to ideal.

The caliber is .25/06. The cartridges are of standard .30/06 dimensions, but neck-sized to fit an 87-grain, .257 Roberts caliber Sierra bullet. The hulls require full-length resizing if they have been fired in a conventional .30/06 rifle.

So far, I have loaded my own hulls with 56 grains of No. 4831 powder. This is a slow-burning, antiaircraft powder developed during World War II, and pushes the slug out the barrel at 3,400 feet per second. Compare this with the 2,700 f.p.s. muzzle velocity of the old flat-base, 150-grain, .30/06 bullet. Hulls may be loaded with more powder to give even higher velocities, for the action, from an old .30/06, is the Model 98 Mauser, one of the strongest built.

The barrel weighs 4tVz pounds, is 26 inches long, and is classified as a medium-weight varment-type. There are six grooves in the barrel which make a complete twist every 10 inches. This is the standard twist for the big .30/06 rifle. There are many different twists employed for different calibers, and even for the same caliber.

It is elementary, of course, that the system of lands and grooves called rifling imparts a spin to the rifle bullet. Without this system, there could be little accuracy or sustained velocity. The grooves are .004 inches deep in standard American rifles, somewhat deeper in English and European guns. In American guns, they are usually of the same diameter as the slug fired.

The scope on my rifle is a Weaver K-8, 60B. It is an 8X scope, with variable focusing from 50 feet to 1,000 yards. A variable-power scope with a somewhat higher maximum magnification would have been better, also more costly. The stock was handmade from American walnut, and is the full roll-over Monte Carlo style. The barrel is bedded in fiberglass and carefully fitted for accuracy. Incorrect bedding causes inconsistent barrel vibration, seriously impairing accuracy.

The trigger is an adjustable Timney. A 2% -pound-pull fires the rifle at the present adjustment. The bolt-operating arm has been altered by a gunsmith, but work yet needs to be done on the safety, which will not function when the scope is in place. With scope, the gun weighs approximately 11 pounds.

A light, high-velocity slug such as used in this rifle strikes with tremendous impact. A prairie dog picked off at 150 yards is usually knocked several feet in the air, and blasted some yards from his den. A body shot with a soft-nosed bullet virtually disintegrates the little animal. The effect on coyotes and other varments is similar, allowing for the difference in size.

OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 4  

Other excellent varment rifles are the .220 Swift, the .22/250 Varminter, the .219 Zipper, and the .250/3000, with 87-grain bullets. To reach out as far as 400 yards or more, few varment rifles will do a better job than the .243 Winchester or the .244 Remington. With these two weapons, a 20X scope is not out of place. A good pair of binoculars, by the way, is a virtual must for all varmenters, especially when shooting at longer ranges.

For shooting at shorter distances, 100 to 125 yards, the .22 Hornet and .218 Bee, with less powerful scopes, are excellent rifles. The Model 43 Winchester is made in both these calibers. These two rifles, as well as the .220 Swift and .222 Remington, are really .22's, despite varying nomenclature. The diameter bore in all is .219 inch.

Some good factory-made varment rifles are: Winchester Model 54 in the .22 Hornet; Winchester 70 in .22 Hornet, .250/3000, .220 Swift, or .257 Roberts; the Savage Model 99 in .250/3000; the Remington 722 in .222; and Marlin Model 336 in .219 Zipper caliber.

If you are thinking of buying an ultra-velocity, smallcaliber rifle, you should be warned that some of these pieces wear out barrels rapidly. And some require many warming-up shots before the barrel throws consistent patterns. It is also true that slight changes in bullet design and powder load can shift your point of aim. The field of ultra-velocity shooting is far from begin completely explored.

No commercial rifle will even dent tough armor plate. But Roy E. Weatherby, who makes Weatherby Magnum rifles, says that a little .22 slug, weighing 48 grains, has torn an egg-size hole completely through a half inch of the hardest armor plate, when shot at 5,000 feet per second. It is certain that the historical trend in rifles has been toward smaller slugs and higher velocities. Thinking should not be confined within the limits of modern smokeless powder and steels. The future will see more powerful propellants and better rifle materials.

Varment hunters toting their imposing cannons sometimes have difficulty getting permission to shoot from landowners. Some of these rifles have an ear-piercing report, and those unfamiliar with guns are often alarmed at the big blast and instantaneous spurt of dust on the distant target. It is a fact, though, that the light, speedy slug almost never ricochets, for it explodes on impact. The little rimfire .22 is more dangerous, in some ways, than these fast rifles.

No rifle is more safe than its user makes it. Guard your reputation as a careful, safe shooter as you would your bank account. Losing the former by a careless shot can put a dent in the latter.

The shotgun, too, has its place in varment hunting, and it isn't so complicated as that of the rifle. This is because of the less-specialized nature of the shotgun, at least in this field, and because varment wing shooting in Nebraska is largely confined to crows. Most hunters use their duck or pheasant guns on the crow, depending upon a call, a blind, and decoys to bring their black quarry within range.

A stuffed or live owl and commercial crow decoys or actual crow cadavers may be used as decoys. Weapons of varied gauges and chokes, with equally varied shot sizes, work well under proper conditions. The 12-gauge, however, is a good choice, and tiny No. 9 shot are recommended by Bert Popowski, a well-known expert.

The crow is both wise and wary. Emerson has been quoted as saying: "If men wore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows." Nevertheless, men with shotguns annually harvest throusands of crows.

By destroying the crop-destroying crow, within sane limits, you are doing the farmer a favor, and may wind up receiving an invitation for a fall on game species. It you do much shotgun shooting of crows, you'll want to know how to load your own shells (see the February, 1958, issue of OUTDOOR NEBRASKA). The saving is substantial. In good crow country, many varment hunters fire from 200 to 500 rounds a day. This can be expensive, even when you load your own. Handloading rifle shells is explained in June's OUTDOOR NEBRASKA.

Large winter crow concentrations occur in several areas in Nebraska. Some of these are near Superior, Axtell, and Litchfield.

The magpie is another Nebraska feathered varment, a meat-eater hated by many cattlemen because of his alleged destructiveness to livestock. Like the crow, he may be called from some distance. Weapons and ammunition suitable for crows are also good for magpies.

The shotgun is often used for hunting foxes in brushy, rolling country where they may be called in close. A fox call imitating the squeak of a mouse is often effective.

Whether you use rifle or shotgun on varments, good public relations in the form of courtesy and observation of safety rules will pay off. In fact, you will often be invited by farmers to do some varment shooting, once you establish a reputation as a safe and efficient hunter.

The reason for this is not far to seek: The farmer is not anxious to feed such varments as woodchucks and crows. He would much prefer that you feed them lead. As a varmenter, you are a specialist in this dish, in which a second helping is never demanded and seldom required.

THE END AUGUST, 1958 5

THE NEBRASKA DUCK STORY

by Gene Hornbeck Photographer-writer

SENOR Leaprile of Caracas, Venezuela, hunting near San Juan de los Morros, tensed as a flock of blue-winged teal bore downwind toward his blind in the tall marsh grasses. The birds flared as he raised to meet them. His gun swung smoothly as he touched off first one shot, then another. Two teal pinwheeled out of the flock and his guide waded out to retrieve them.

The guide picked them up and exclaimed, "Senor, one duck, she's wearing a bracelet."

The so-called bracelet turned out to be a U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service band. After some time, Senor Leaprile received information on the band. The teal, as an immature bird, had been banded four years previously by the Nebraska Game Commission at Spring Lake ranch in the western part of the state.

Nebraska's duck-banding program has been carried on over the past 14 years in conjunction with allied duck surveys. Through these surveys, game men have learned much pertinent information, helping to determine desirable regulations for the Central flyway.

Harvey Miller, Bassett, biologist in charge of Nebraska's duck program, has high hopes for this year's 6 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   duck crop, for water levels in lakes, sloughs, and ponds throughout the state are holding up well. Miller believes that given another month of average rainfall, this year's crop of ducks should be good. Practically all birds were nesting by July 1, with some broods in their third and fourth week of growth, while some early nesting pintails had young that were already flying.

Duck banding involves long hours, hard work, and getting wet, but the results pay dividends in helping to determine hunting regulations

Nebraska's duck factory produces tens of thousands of ducks for gunners in the Central flyway, while certain individual teal, mallards, and other species also move into the Pacific and Mississippi flyways. Studies of banding returns show that many Nebraska-raised teal leave the state early. They do not fly south as expected, but northeast into the lake states of Minnesota and Wisconsin, where hunters bag them early in the season.

From there they work along the Mississippi flyway into the coastal areas of Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi. Here they seem to split into two groups, with some going into Florida, across to Cuba, and into South America; the remaining group joins birds coming through the Plains states into Texas, then to Mexico and South America. Their wintering range is from the coastal marshes of the AUGUST, 1958   southern states through Central America into South America.

Nebraska-banded teal have been reported as far away as Peru, some 4,500 air miles distant. They apparently took a land route via Central America.

Spring migrants usually arrive in Nebraska during March and April. Large flocks diminish as the ducks pair off and seek seclusion for their nesting. Actual mating of the birds begins early in spring, and does not necessarily take place after they arrive on the nesting areas. Once incubation has begun, the male assumes the role of bachelor and loses all interest in the opposite sex. He usually joins others of his sex, going into the postnuptial molt. It is not uncommon at this time to find a large number of males on one lake, without a female in sight.

The hen starts laying soon after arrival in the nesting area, with eggs usually being laid on consecutive days until the clutch is complete. Incubation for most ducks takes about 28 days. More than one brood per year is uncommon, but a hen will generally renest if her early clutch is destroyed. Some cases of the ruddy duck and gadwall having more than one brood a year are recorded, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

The hen tends her brood, retaining her flight feathers and not molting until after the brood is able to fend for itself. It is quite interesting to watch the hens trying to lead banding crews away from their brood by feigning injury. Hens appear quite helpless until the intruder draws near, but always manage to recover enough to put a safer distance between them and the invader of their rush-covered domains.

Banding and data recording are started as soon as the broods appear, which is usually in the spring, and continues throughout the summer. Most of those banded are young of the year, but a goodly number of adult birds is taken during the summer molt, when they are flightless.

The adult birds go through two major molting stages each year, namely the prenuptial and postnuptial molts. That is, they lose their feathers before and after breeding. The male is the first to lose plumage in the summer postnuptial molt. After breeding, he usually joins others of his species and sex, leaving his mate to care for nesting and the ensuing brood.

During this period of loafing, the drake loses all flight feathers at once, and is completely grounded. The new-growing plumage is quite drab and colorless, giving protective camouflage during the flightless period. Upon regaining his flight feathers, the drake passes through a short period called the eclipse, then begins his prenuptial molt. During this time he regains, over a longer period, his brightly colored courting plumage. During this latter molt he does not lose his flight feathers, only the drab postnuptial plumage.

The hen molts some time later, getting her new flight feathers at about the time her brood takes to the air.

Birds are captured early in the season by driving a marsh or pond, pushing the ducklings into one end. Then begins the fun of trying to catch the diving, swimming ducks in an aquatic game of hide and seek. Some species of puddle ducks, such as mallards, teal, and pintails, will leave the water with their broods and hide in the tall grasses along the edge. A good dog, to locate hiding ducks, is then valuable to conservation men. Miller's golden retriever is quite adept at the business, working close to the men. He merely finds the birds for Game Commssion personnel to pick up, rather than attempting to retrieve the waterfowl himself.

When the majority of the broods reach bandable size (for most species this is in about four weeks), a large trap with two long wings is erected and set in readiness. The field men then drive the marsh, driving and guiding the ducks into the trap for capture and banding.

It is not unusual for the banders with their nets to take 50 ducks from one pond. All birds are banded, sexed, and notes made on location, physical condition, and water tables in their breeding areas.

Biologists, in their 1957 population surveys of the Sand Hills breeding area, found an average of 10.82 ducks per square mile in a 10,000 square-mile section. Breeding ducks counted, totaled 154,000, with an average of 1.4 broods per square mile, and an average of 6.7 ducklings per brood.

Ten different species were banded in 1957. Blue-winged teal topped the list with mallards second. Gadwall, pintails, and shovelers in about equal numbers came in third. The entire work of duck research and studies is a long, complex story which will be in future issues of OUTDOOR NEBRASKA. Biologists are compiling information on both locally banded ducks and ducks banded elsewhere that are shot in Nebraska. With this information, along with hunter-success reports and other findings, they will eventually come up with a clear and comprehensive picture of the Nebraska duck story.

THE END

New Work-Text Available

"Learning About Soil and Water Conservation", is the title of a new work-text recently prepared for elementary and junior high school pupils. The material was prepared by Adrian C. Fox, educational relations specialist, United States Soil Conservation Service, and George E. Rotter, curriculum co-ordinator and director of conservation education, Nebraska State Department of Education.

The new publication presents a delightful story of a school in action, studying conservation of natural resources. It presents rich and interesting experiences for children in city, town, and rural schools alike. Much practice is given pupils in the organization of ideas and in setting them down in clear and thoughtful writing.

The material contains many "picture lessons", in conservation and presents enrichment activities for the rapid learners or gifted. Much opportunity is given for correlation with either the language arts or the social studies.

A teacher's manual accompanies the book.

Both Mr. Fox and Mr. Rotter are recipients of the Kennedy Trophy for outstanding work in conservation education.

8 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

SNAPPING TURTLE DELIGHT

AUGUST, 1958 9

Nets In The Old MISSOURI

by Gene Hornbeck Photographer-writer Commercial fishermen, 291 strong in Nebraska, angle for pay in Old Mo., the river of ponderous fish

UP and down the Missouri River, Nebraska commercial fishermen have been plying their trade for some 50 years. "Old Mo" has yielded some tremendous fish to the men working with their nets. Big tackle busters—105-pound yellow cats, 35-pound carp, 80-pound spoonbills, and 30-pound sturgeon—are on record.

Nebraska's commercial fishing is limited to the Missouri River from the Dakota border downstream to Rulo on the Kansas line, except that portion of the river from the Yankton bridge on U. S. 81 upstream to 300 yards above the mouth of the Niobrara River. This includes the Gavins Point Reservoir area. In 1957, 291 licensed fishermen ran their seines, trammel, and hoop nets in the Missouri and came up with some 200,000 pounds of fish that sold for about $30,000.

A breakdown by species shows that carp dominated the haul to the tune of 130,000 pounds. The catch also 10 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   included 25,000 pounds of channel catfish, 5,000 pounds of blue catfish, 17,000 pounds of yellow catfish, 10,000 pounds of buffalo, and 13,000 pounds of miscellaneous species.

Many fishermen have spent a lot of time on the river. Jim Satterwhite of Dakota City has spent 36 years of his life running nets on the Missouri, making him one of the oldest practitioners in the business. He has seen many changes in the business, not so much in the way fish are taken, but in their population fluctuations, the markets, and the changing river. Satterwhite thinks that the fish population today, with exceptions, is perhaps as good as it ever was. He is of the opinion, however, that there are fewer big fish, particularly carp, catfish, and buffalo. Still, though, there are more than enough to fill his demand.

The market for fish has declined since World War II, and now most of the fish are sold to the general public. The river has changed, especially in the last decade. Federal engineers, implementing a program of flood control through construction of jetties, dams, and other structures, have made a very noticeable change in the Missouri. With more work being planned, the Missouri in the future may no longer be muddy.

Clearing waters can have and are having an effect on commercial fishing. Satterwhite contends that the clearer waters make it more difficult to take fish with hoop nets, for the woven traps are more easily seen. Whatever the reason, the catfish catch has dropped over the past few years. Most cats are taken in early spring or late fall, when they move more than in summer.

Commercial fishing methods are rather uniform, but some fishermen use different baits to lure fish into the hoop nets. The net, with bait placed inside to lure the fish, is usually set in a straight run in the river. For bait, Satterwhite uses ground wheat formed into doughballs by cooking. The balls are about the size of a gallon pail, and for the most part attract carp. Satterwhite's best bet for catifsh is scrap cream cheese, bound in a cheesecloth bag and placed in the net.

No bait is used in fishing with trammel nets and seines. The average trammel net runs from 100 feet to 500 lineal feet, and is composed of two walls, one made up of large mesh, the other of finer mesh. It has a float on one end to hold it upright as it drifts downstream. The other end is usually held by the fisherman at the boat. The bottom of the net has lead attached every foot or so to hold it near the bed of the river, while small floats at intervals along the top hold it upright.

The fisherman lets the net drift until he feels he has covered enough water to have some fish, then he begins moving his boat in an arc to form a circle of the

AUGUST, 1958 11   net. The trapped fish try to plunge through the large mesh wall and as a result become entangled in pockets of the small-mesh wall. The net is then hauled into the boat and the fish removed.

Fished in somewhat the same manner is the seine, except that the fish are not entangled in the mesh. It can be handled by a man on each end, either in boats or wading. The net is brought into shore in a tight "U", then raised, lifting the fish from the water.

The hoop net is a trap into which fish may enter by a funnel-shaped throat, but are Tarely able to get out. The net varies in size, but most are about 3V2 feet in diameter and seven feet long. However, E. T. Shanks of South Sioux City is making up a much larger "hoop" that he says is of the sort used on the Mississippi River. Shanks plans to retire in a couple of years, and will devote his spare time to commerical fishing with his nets. Hoop nets are held in place by an anchor or stake, and are marked by a floating buoy.

Captured fish are held at the fisherman's base of operations until sold. In peak fishing periods, such as in spring, catches will be as high as 1,000 pounds or more a week. Summer fishing is much slower; sometimes even the best week, during this period, accounts for only 100 pounds or so.

Satterwhite recalls the fishing of the old days when he and a helper would put in at Yankton and float the river down to South Sioux. Fishing with trammel nets for a week, they would come in with one to three tons of carp and buffalo. He states he could make as much as $4,000 a year in those days.

No game or protected fish is legal quarry for the commercial fisherman except the catfish, and they must be at least 13 inches long. The mesh of all nets is limited to 1V2 inches and larger, but most fishermen use 2 to 21/2-inch mesh to restrict their catches to the larger fish.

Many commercial fishermen build their own equipment, including nets, boats, and fish boxes. The average boat is about a 16-footer. It must be powered by a good motor to push the boat through the Missouri River current with a load of fish.

In preparing carp for the consumer, the commercial fisherman first decapitates the fish, then cuts out the fins. After skinning, the fish is scored or cut about one-fourth inch deep to elminate the very small bones. The customer need only cut the fish into steaks and deepfat fry for palatable eating.

Handling and holding the fish for market, unless done properly, can cost the commerical fisherman a lot of money. Satterwhite uses live boxes which, kept in the river, will hold fish for a week or a little better, with some loss.

Larger operators, such as Medford James of Nebraska City, may handle 150,000 pounds of fish a year, most of it purchased out of state. His loss was high until he installed holding tanks. His tanks will hold up to 40,000 pounds of fish, and are fed by well-aerated city water. James sells fish throughout Iowa and Nebraska and is one of the larger commercial fishermen in the state. His processing plant is designed to handle great quantities of fish, with such do-it-yourself items as a paper cutter redesigned to remove fish tails and some fins.

James feels that commercial fishing on the Missouri is on the downgrade, especially for carp, as flood-control work is closing off all this species' spawning areas. He believes spawning will be cut to a minimum when you add to this the pollution from industrial wastes. Catfish are not so adversly affected by the lack of spawning areas, for they can spawn in the river. But pollution does destroy the spawn.

All circumstances point to a slow decline in commercial fishing on the Missouri River. Today, with the high prices of gasoline and other supplies, it is not a lucrative business. But so long as there is a place to run their nets, there will be men fishing the big river, perhaps more for the love of the river itself than for the profits derived from the sale of its inhabitants.

THE END 12 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

YOUR FRIEND, THE SNAKE

He can be friendly, is most always timid, rarely vicious, rigidly clean of person; but the valuable snake is still despised by William C. Blizzard Associate Editor

THE old-timer directed a stream of tobacco juice against the pot-bellied stove. There was a malodorous hiss and sizzle. The old-timer then leaned back and let his eye roam over the little group in the general store.

"Yes sir," he said, "that's exactly what happened. Remember it like yesterday. They called it the Swanson curse. Happened to old Weir Swanson first, long before my time. Rattlesnake got him. Seven feet long, some say.

"Weir had a son, fine-looking feller. About 10 years old when his pa died. Growed up to be a strapping young man with a big family. Well, one day he just keeled over in the house. Shame it was, and nobody knowed why. Left a lot of kids! Six girls and one boy. This boy, I knowed him, name of Dean, and we hunted together. Well, Dean growed up, and then he keeled over one day, for no reason the doc could figure out.

"Well, sir, I took a look at poor Dean, stretched out a corpse. Happened to look at his boots. They was old, but in good shape. In one of the boots was a rattlesnake fang, imbedded in the boot top. Still potent enough to kill Dean. The same rattlesnake that killed old Weir killed his son and grandson. Yes, sir, you won't believe it, but that's the way it was."

Obviously, the story is impossible. Weir Swanson may have been killed by a rattlesnake, but the fang imbedded in the boot could not possibly have killed his son and grandson. This tale, along with others based on superstition and ignorance, should be remembered only as a testimonial to the ingenuity of human imagination when sparked by fear.

Not all snakes are poisonous, and most of them are beneficial to man. Biologists and others have for years tried to convince the general public of these facts. I shall in this article attempt to strike a blow or two in the same battle, albeit rather wearily.

First, let us consider what a snake is not, and what it does not do. A snake is not a creature with a sting in its tail. A snake is not slimy. A snake does not form itself into a hoop. A snake does not suckle at a donor's breast, bovine or human. A snake does not swallow its young for protection. A snake does not avenge its mate, except by the rarest of coincidence. A snake is not made of glass, and will not grow back together if broken in 13 AUGUST, 1958   pieces. Finally, snakes, except for a few species, are not dangerous to man.

What is a snake? Karl P. Schmidt, chief curator of zoology, Chicago Natural History Museum, defines snakes thus: ". . . elongate, scaly reptiles without limbs or with the vestiges of hind limbs only, without movable eyelids, without ear-opening, with an elongate, deeply forked, and retractile tongue, with a transverse vent and paired organs of copulation, and with the two halves of the lower jaw independently movable, connected in front by an elastic ligament."

The snake is regarded by some writers as belonging to the Order Serpentes, of the Class Reptilia. By others he is retained in the same Class, but is placed in the Order Squamata, Serpentes being designated a suborder.

To depart from scientific terminology, the snake is a meat-eating, predatory animal that gets along quite well in the world at the expense of his fellow creatures. That he gets along well is shown by his great numbers and the fact that he has successfully wormed into and adapted himself to all sorts of environments.

A few species of snakes come equipped with potent poison glands and efficient fangs that can inflict a fatal wound. It is this fact which makes many people fear and hate all snakes. This is unfortunate, for the feeding habits of nearly all snakes make them beneficial to man. Many species are rodent destroyers par excellence, unsurpassed Pied Pipers sans legs and pipes.

This is not to say that venomous snakes capable of injuring or killing man should not be destroyed. All snakes should be treated with respect by those not able to make positive identification of species. This advice applies also to all wild animals capable of scratching, biting, striking, stinging, or, sometimes, merely stinking. But treating a creature with respect and killing it are not synonymous.

The honey bee can inflict a painful sting, sometimes fatal. But honey bees, unlike snakes, are not destroyed on sight. Their usefulness to mankind protects them. The usefulness of the snake is not so much appreciated. This is true even of the poisonous species, but their threat to human life outweighs their usefulness as predators on undesirable species.

The role of the snake is in many ways analogous to that of the hawks, touched upon in an earlier issue of OUTDOOR NEBRASKA. For many years, hawks of all species were hated and shot on sight. Bounties were given for slain hawks, a system, by the way, used at times with snakes. But a more enlightened attitude, based on scientific fact and made possible by public education, has brought about laws in many states, Nebraska included, protecting all but a few species of hawk. So far as I know, no state has yet passed such legislation protecting snakes.

For the layman, the most useful knowledge concerning snakes is the ability to tell a poisonous snake from a nonpoisonous one. Prominent naturalists have stated there is sometimes no way to be certain a snake is poisonous or otherwise except to examine the mouth for poison fangs. As the snake, in a live state, is not likely to co-operate in this examination, you may not find this method practical, even if you recognize a fang when you see one.

But your task is simplified in Nebraska, for there are only two poisonous snakes in this state—the copnerhead and the rattlesnake. There are, however, three species of the latter: the massasauga (not a true rattlesnake, scientifically speaking), the timber rattler, and the prairie rattler. From the point of view of identification in this context, species differentiation is unimportant. When you see a snake that wags its tail and produces a buzzing noise (rattlesnakes don't really rattle), you may be sure its bite is much worse than its bark.

The copperhead is more difficult to identify. It has no rattle, and color varies from one locality to another. But it is generally a rich, golden brown, with many darker bands around its body. These bands are not straightedged, but are scooped out on both sides at the top of the snake! This beautiful animal is best admired from a distance.

Both the rattler and the copperhead are pit vipers, and have broader heads than most other snakes to make room for the poison glands. There is a rather sharp differentiation between head and neck, but this is true of several nonpoisonous species. It is a sad fact that thousands of nonpoisonous "copperheads" are killed 14 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   every year, simply because people can not correctly identify the golden snake with the red head. An infallible identifying feature is the vertical and slit-like pupil in all poisonous snakes in Nebraska. Pupils of nonpoisonous snakes are round.

Treatment for poisonous snake bite was discussed in July's OUTDOOR NEBRASKA. If you are bitten, keep your head. You will be in pain, and fear may tend to envelop you like a cold cloud. Don't permit it to do so, for your life may depend upon your calm actions. Few healthy people actually die from snake bite; almost none when they use proper first-aid measures.

Before I leave the poisonous snakes, it might be an interesting aside to mention that all snakes are deaf. The rattlesnake never hears the sound of his own rattle. This snake's buzz is not a warning, but the result of nervousness and fright or anger. The copperhead often vibrates his tail for the same reason, as do several non-poisonous snakes.

Rattles are formed each time the rattler sheds his skin, which may be several times a year, and no adult rattler keeps all his rattles. They break off. This is just as well, for a long string of rattles wouldn't buzz properly.

Poisonous snakes use their poison primarily to capture food. A copperhead strikes a rat, then permits the unfortunate rodent to wobble away to die. The rat doesn't get far, and the snake, at its leisure, hunts down his dead victim like a bloodhound, by following the body scent.

The snake smells with the aid of the constantly moving forked tongue. The tongue picks up minute scent particles and transfers them to two cavities in the roof of the mouth. These cavities are called the Jacobson's organ, which performs the smelling function. The two pits at the sides of the face of the rattler and copperhead also help to locate prey. They contain nerve centers so sensitive to heat that the body temperature of a warmblooded animal is sufficient to enable the snake accurately to deliver his strike, even in the dark.

One zoological authority lists 146 species of snakes in North America. Only 28 are found in Nebraska, and of these, only four species are poisonous. The others are harmless, and most are beneficial to man.

The most common beneficial Nebraska snake is probably the bullsnake. One Nebraska specimen measured just one inch under seven feet in length. The largest on record was seven feet, eight inches long The bullsnake kills its prey, when relatively large, by constriction, preventing normal respiration with its coils, then swallows its victim. As in all snakes, the movable jaws allow the swallowing of prey much larger than the snake's normal head and body.

Both the Eastern and Western hog-nosed snake are present in Nebraska. They are quite similar in appearance, though the upturned shovel-like nose is much more pronounced in the Western species. The nose is used as a shovel, for the hog-nosed snake likes to burrow for toads. It puts on the most remarkable defensive act of any snake, and many people think it poisonous.

Be assured that the hog-nosed snake is really gentle and harmless, despite his common names of "puff-adder", "blowing viper", and "spreading adder", to name a few of his horrenous appellations. He has two large teeth in his upper jaw, but absolutely no poison fangs.

If you molest him, he will raise a third of his body from the ground, flatten himself like a cobra, and hiss. But if you advance on him he will fall over in a faint like an opossum, gape his mouth wide, and writhe on his back as if mortally wounded. Then he lies as if dead. But turn him on his belly and you can prove him a faker. He will promptly flip over on his back and play dead again. I had such an experience with the common, or Eastern, hog-nosed snake. George E. Hudson, however, in The Amphibians and Reptiles of Nebraska, states that no western individuals captured in his studies "played possum." But it is certain that both species hiss and threaten when molested. Do not kill the hog-nosed snake unless you have a streak of cruelty where your conscience ought to be. It bothers most people to know they are murderers.

Most common among the harmless and beneficial snakes, aside from those already mentioned, are the king snake, green snake, fox snake, blue racer, western coachwhip, water snake (two species), and garter snake. There are no venomous water moccasins in Nebraska. The water snakes are nonpoisonous, but usually bad-tempered and ill-smelling. Water snakes and garter snakes give birth to live young, while the other nonpoisonous species mentioned lay eggs. Rattlers and copperheads produce live young.

It might be wise to caution the reader about handling or teasing snakes. A large, nonpoisonous snake can give a nasty bite, even if nonvenomous. Most are not aggressive, and some, like the little green snake, almost never attempt to bite when handled. But individuals of any species can have bad tempers, actively resenting molestation. Treat them with respect, as you should all wild creatures.

If you are like a friend of mine, you won't need the above advice. After a hunting trip in rattlesnake country, he composed the following paraphrase:

"I had no shoes and I complained, until I saw a creature that had no legs. Then I didn't need shoes, for I immediately sprouted wings."

THE END AUGUST, 1958 15

NESTING FACTS

by Phil Agee Project Leader Six out of seven pheasant nests may be a total loss. Yet this beautiful game bird continues to survive, and even increase

IT is a general rule that most of us show concern about the welfare of pheasants during those months when winter's icy hand is upon the land. When the welcome warmth of mid-May arrives, bringing fair weather and a new cloak of vegetation, our fears for the pheasant fade.

But it is during this period of seeming ease that a hen pheasant experiences the most critical phase in the life cycle, and possibly the most perilous period so far as her own welfare is concerned. She must reproduce. The number of trials and failures that occur for every successfully hatched nest are being pointed up by studies currently under way in Nebraska, studies conducted to gain some facts which could be the key to a program of management designed to reduce the impact of our present and future land use upon game birds.

Nest studies, no easy tasks, provide the only means of learning many of the facts. Randomly selected plots in each cover type are searched by a field crew with such thoroughness that it is assumed that every nest is located. And every nest has a story to tell.

Nests which have been preyed upon are usually easily recognized. If the marauder was a mammal such as a skunk, raccoon, or badger, the nest frequently has a scrambled appearance: crushed shells and nest materials are thoroughly mixed and scattered. A mammal gets at the egg contents by crushing in one side of the shell. A crow or other bird, however, normally leaves a different card. Punctured egg shells with bits of shell removed from around the hole are laid besides the nest. Sometimes the eggs are pierced through both sides by the bird's bill.

Predators destroy about one of every three nests started. This is not to say that they reduce production by one-third, for virtually every hen whose nest they destroy escapes to nest again. The hen is not so lucky when she meets the second most effective nest destroyer, farm machinery. Mowers, plows, discs, and combines destroy about one-fifth of all nests, and only about 80 per cent of the hens on those nests escape.

As additional one-fifth of pheasant nests are abandoned. It is not generally understood just why abandonment occurs, for such nests usually are not discernably different from nests carried through to completion. While it appears to be a normal step in preparation for reproduction, it is the source of a good deal of alarm to laymen who believe the eggs infertile.

When all these factors, and a few others, have taken their toll, about six out of seven nests may be lost. The entire year's production comes from the remaining nests. Most hens probably make two or three nesting attempts, or even more. Thus, the total number of nests far exceeds the number of hens. Obviously, all nests could not hatch unless hens produced more than one brood per year, which they do not.

Perhaps the most findings from the Game Commission's studies deal not with the nests themselves, but with the nesting cover. Aggregate figures for three years of studies show that about 46 per cent of the chicks on the Clay County study area were produced in wheat, and only about 2 per cent in alfalfa. In the production of pheasant chicks, no other agricultural lands were of importance. Fully half of the chicks were produced on the only nonagricultural lands present, the roadsides.

These are a few generalizations drawn from the first three seasons of nest studies. These figures, together with some other information, indicate that the Game Commission may have its finger on a part of the pheasant's environment that, when properly managed, will produce and maintain better pheasant populations than would otherwise be possible in areas of such intensive farming.

THE END 16 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   AUGUST, 1958 17

DOG CONDITIONING

by George D. Wixer Getting your hunting dog into condition before the hard work of pursuing actual game is a good way to assure pleasuref ul fall days

ALL athletes know the importance of conditioning their bodies to the rigors of sports. No champion, even after attaining top competence through years of hard work, would, after a layoff, plunge into competition without preliminary exercises to insure a tough body capable of prolonged exertion.

Your working dog is an athlete, too. It is unfair to keep him cooped in a tiny apartment or pen for most of the year, then expect top performance when the first gun cracks on opening day. Not even Rocky Marciano, if he came out of retirement, would risk battle without intensive and prolonged conditioning.

The mighty Rock becomes soft when not in training. So does your dog. This has become a particularly difficult problem for the dog owner in this day of restrictive ordinances, crowded dwellings, and lessened availability of training and conditioning areas. But, for the sake of your dog and your hunting pleasure, treat your faithful field companion to pre-season exercises.

Your hunting dog will be only too happy to co-operate in pre-season training. Be sure you know the pertinent laws governing such use of your dog. In Nebraska, it is illegal to run a dog on private property at any time without the express permission of the landowner. But game birds may be procured and used for dog-training purposes from the holder of a game-farm permit at any time, if you observe Game Commission regulations governing such purchases. And you may train your dog at any time on certain areas approved and posted by the Commission, or at a sporting-dog trial conducted under authority of the Commission.

With the before-mentioned exceptions, you may not run your dog through game habitat from April 1 to July 15. It is wise to consult your local conservation officer for full details about these laws, as well as for information concerning such Commission-approved training areas.

Investigate the dog-club situation in your area. Such clubs generally maintain extensive grounds, and your 18 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   dues will entitle you to their use. Such clubs also conduct field trials, possibly the finest between-seasons conditioners your dog can get, as well as the most fun for you.

While live birds are used in American Kennel Club trials, you may exercise your dog quite efficiently with an inexpensive dummy "bird," if your hunter is of the type used on winged upland game or waterfowl. I generally use a dummy constructed of a small stuffed sack with attached duck wings.

If you pursue the cottontail or raccoon, you may, of course, hunt at any time after July 15, with the permission of the property owner. With my retrievers, I like to begin training about September 1. Summer heat has largely dissipated, but I still exercise my dogs in or near water this early in the season. The retriever's heavy coat, ideal for cold-water work, makes this precaution advisable.

The exercising of the dog simulates actual field conditions. I generally let the dog run about a bit to loosen soft muscles and relieve the excitement of unaccustomed freedom. Then I give the usual command to sit (my Irish water spaniel is polylingual, responding to commands in several languages) and toss out the dummy. The dog retrieves on command and I continue the process, varying the length of cast of the dummy.

I also use blind retrieves, not permitting the dog to see where the dummy goes, then giving directions by hand signal. It goes without saying that reviews of commands and training make your dog more valuable in the field, in addition to providing essential conditioning.

During the off-season it is wise to be certain your dog has the necessary rabies and distemper shots. And you will take proper steps to prevent and remove pests such as fleas and ticks.

A little pre-season training and care will do much to insure successful and pleasureful hunting. Your dog will be in shape for his all-important function in the field, or in lake or stream. And these excursions will also help to condition another important member of the hunting team: YOU.

THE END

AUGUST, 1958 19

PESTICIDES OR SUICIDE?

ABNER Unbright shoves back his straw hat and, scratching his head, looks over the directions on the bag of grasshopper poison.

"Hmm," he says, "according to instructions, I'm supposed to use 234 sacks of mix to spray a field this size. Sounds silly to save a quarter-sack of 'hopper' poison. Might as well throw it in, too, just for good measure."

Of course, Abner, just for good measure. Despite the fact that the experts who wrote the package instructions and the university boys who analyzed your special conditions said to use 2% sacks.

"But," Abner protests, "I may as well do a good job, and get 'em all."

Abner, that is typical Unbright reasoning. More mature thinkers realize that enough is enough, and too much may be worse than none. Too much poison will kill your grasshoppers, all right, but the killing won't stop there.

You know that pheasant hen with the nice clutch up the draw? The one you've been eyeing all summer? When the hen and her chicks move in this field to get the easy pickings, you may watch them keel over from your "good measure" overdose. And, don't plan on a dinner from that covey of quail in the fence row. After they get some of your "good measure" hoppers, you may have to be content with pork.

According to Lucille F. Stickel and Paul F. Springer, U. S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife biologists, in their recent report, Pesticides and Wildlife, "Increased rates of insecticide application or extra treatments for good measure, do not greatly increase insect control and do increase hazard to wildlife. Use minimum dosages and minimum number of insecticide applications."

Offering no quarrel with the necessity of insecticides and the very real benefits to humanity in general, Stickel and Springer insist the user: (a) Make sure there is a real need for insecticide use; (b) Consult with competent wildlife biologists before starting large-scale insect-control programs; (c) Select the chemical which will be the least dangerous to man and wildlife and still do the required job of pest control.

Whether you are a commercial operator spraying thousands of acres of crop and rangelands, or a municipal official charged with fly control, there is one basic rule: READ DIRECTIONS AND FOLLOW EXACTLY.

"Indiscriminate and improper use of pesticides can be a grave danger to wildlife," reported Stickel and Springer. Permanent reductions in wildlife populations may result from increased use of powerful new materials, some of which are applied several times in a season or remain toxic for a long time after application.

Animals may be killed by contact with certain insect poisons. They also may die as a result of eating insects, fish, or other animals that have been poisoned.

Springer reports in an article titled, Insecticides Boon or Bane, published in Audubon Magazine: "Despite the enormous good wrought by insecticides, they must be considered in the category of mixed blessings. Being poisons, they can be harmful to birds, mammals, and fish.

20 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA  

"Damage to valuable wildlife resources has sometimes occurred unnecessarily, because insecticides were applied without proper knowledge of accepted procedures, or without full regard for the over-all consequences."

Some materials are safe for recommended use as long as label instructions are followed. Others are so poisonous that there is little or no margin of safety for animals that are not intended to be poisoned. When, in the long range public interest, advantages gained from a particular insect-control program are outweighed by damages to wildlife, then the insect-control measures should be modified.

There are two main types of insecticides. DDT is one of the group known as chlorinated hydrocarbons. Others are BHC (benzene hexachloride), lindane, toxaphene, TDE or DDD, methoxychlor, chlordane, heptachlor, aldrin, dieldrin, and endrin. Some chlorinated hydrocarbons are much more toxic than others, but they resemble each other in remaining poisonous for a considerable time.

Members of the other group of insecticides are known as organic phosphates. Those in common use include malathion, parathion, methyl parathion, TEPP, EPN, and demeton. Newer materials are diazinon, guthion, phosdrin, and thimet. Some are extremely poisonous to birds and mammals. In contrast to members of the first group, organic phosphates break down and lose potency relatively quick.

When aldrin was applied to Colorado rangeland, at a rate of 2/10 pound per acre in rolled wheat bran to combat Mormon crickets, the majority of wild mice on the treated rangeland died, but there was no observed effect on deer and rabbits. In California, however, cotton tails, jack rabbits, meadow mice, and gophers were killed by treatments of one-half to IV2 pounds of dieldrin per acre to control insects in orchard cover crops.

Simple reading and reasoning will save Nebraska's wildlife from needless slaughter as man battles pests with chemical weapons

Mice were totally eliminated by applications of 2% pounds per acre of endrin in Virginia tests. There also have been reports of dead rabbits and birds from this rate of endrin treatment. In Maryland and California orchards, mice suffered heavy losses from ground treatments of parathion and toxaphene at four pounds per acre.

The relative order of the lethalness of the new insecticides to birds is similar to that observed for mammals, although chlordane appears to be more damaging than DDT. Pheasants and quail are less tolerant of some insecticides than are mourning doves and pintail ducks.

Aldrin, one of the most harmful chlorinated hydrocarbons to birds, is used to control grasshoppers in Nebraska. As little as two ounces per acre of this chemical resulted in the death of nestling red-winged blackbirds on Montana rangeland, and of young waterfowl in North Dakota marshes. Field experiments showed that ducks were adversely affected as a result of eating aldrin-dosed insects.

Research has revealed that at a one-ounce-per-acre rate of application of aldrin, one square foot of ground surface would contain enough of it to kill one adult quail or 16 quail chicks; two square feet would contain a lethal dose for a pheasant chick, and seven square feet, enough to kill an adult pheasant.

Certain insecticides have odors and tastes that are disagreeable to humans and may affect birds in like manner. In a three-week feeding test with bobwhite quail, a number of birds literally starved to death rather than eat more than nominal amounts of some of their insecticide-treated diets.

Recent experiments at the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Patuxent Refuge, Laurel, Maryland, have shown that poisoning effects to wildlife do not end with the generation present at treatment time.

Adult pheasants that ate extremely small quantities of aldrin and dieldrin, one two-thousandths of an ounce per day for a two-month period, produced eggs of reduced hatchability and chicks subject to high death rates. Feeding of one-fifth this amount of each of these chemicals, including endrin, to adult quail had a similar effect on chick survival. Studies are being continued to determine whether there is any influence on reproduction by the few remaining young which have never eaten any of the insecticides. Demonstration of these subtle effects points up the danger of using stable poisons with high residual qualities.

Oddly enough, some of the organic phosphates which are extremely damaging to mammals and birds appear to be less harmful to fish than the chlorinated hydrocarbons. TEPP breaks down rapidly in water and only initial affects are important. Among the chlorinated hydrocarbons tested, endrin was the most toxic to fish. Both dieldrin and toxaphene are considerably more damaging then DDT and have killed fish at a rate as low as 1/10 pound per acre. Ten times this amount of dieldrin or one pound per acre, is destructive to almost all kinds of water life.

In the South, toxaphene and other insecticides have been used extensively to control cotton-destroying insect pests. Average seasonal applications of commercial dusts may total 50 to 60 pounds per acre. Large losses of fish in Alabama resulted from heavy rains washing poisons from treated fields into ponds and streams.

Folllow-up investigations two to three years later showed that some of these waters again supported normal fish numbers. But most of the bass, sunfish, and crappie were absent, and populations were unbalanced in favor of rough fish.

In lab tests, heptachlor and aldrin were more damaging than DDT, but single field applications of up to 2/10 pound per acre to control midges and mosquitoes had little effect on fish. An experimental spraying of one pound of lindane per acre, however, killed many fish. Chlordane and methoxychlor are about in a class with DDT in their effects on fish.

BHC containing 12 to 14 per cent gamma isomer, is the safest chlorinated hydrocarbon for fish and is recommended for use in areas where preservation of aquatic life is a consideration. Very recent California research indicates TDE is more toxic to fish than was formerly believed.

Some fish are consistently more resistant than others to poisoning by the new insecticides. In laboratory tests, golden shiners proved to be the most resistant, with bluegill, sunfish, largemouth bass, and goldfish showing increasing susceptibility.

The type of carrier with which an insecticide is combined also has an important bearing on how fish survive poison dosage. As a rule, emulsions are most dangerous because they mix with water, remaining distributed in that medium. Dusts, wettable powders, and granules tend to settle to the bottom where they are not as readily available, except to catfish, suckers, and other bottom feeders.

Since oil solutions float, for the most part, their hazard may be considered intermediate. They are particularly dangerous to surface feeding fish. Also, wind and wave action can build up accumulations of insecticides in oil solution on the leeward sides of lakes and ponds.

Sometimes there is a tendency to condemn all insecticides without considering the good resulting from AUGUST, 1958 21   their use, or because of isolated cases of damage. The latter may have been the result of carelessness in an otherwise safe program.

Entomologists are just as open-minded as any other group of people, and most of them are anxious to limit wildlife losses. At times, persons charged with insect control may not be aware of wildlife values in an area. When these factors are called to their attention, they may be able to modify the program or use alternative control measures to reduce wildlife damage. Except in an emergency, conservationists have a right to insist upon balanced programs using the safest materials and methods of application consistent with reasonable control.

Strict compliance with label instructions, and following recommendations in state and federal insect-control bulletins will probably, more than any other measure, reduce the extent of present-day insecticide damage to wildlife.

More than $500 million worth of pesticides were produced for retail sale in the United States in 1956, seven times the 1940 volume. Production by 1975 is expected to exceed $2 billion worth annually. Farmers bought 60 per cent of the 1956 total. The remainder, more than half a billion pounds, was purchased for nonfarm use. More than 200 basic pesticides and more than 6,000 brand-named products are now on the market. Much of the pesticide production increase has been in chemicals not on the market before World War II.

Questions of value and priority inevitably have arisen. Twenty-five million people in the U. S. depend on fishing and hunting for part of their recreation. A far greater number regularly use outdoor areas for camping, nature study, picnicking, and vacationing. Many of these people are ardent conservationists. They have a legitimate and strong objection to the wastage of wildlife.

No farmer or rancher wantonly destroys wildlife for sadistic pleasure. Most folks who earn their living in active farming do so because they love outdoor living and all living creatures. But they must earn a living. Today, this includes pest control as a basic agrarian practice, because often the grain or pasture eaten or destroyed by pests contains the margin needed for a profitable operation.

The same may be said for cities and towns trying to control mosquitoes, flies, and other insect pests in their environs. For health reasons, this control is imperative. Curtailing the insect nuisance is also receiving strong emphasis in this modern age.

It is encouraging to note an increased emphasis on insect control, in specific cases, with responsible management and supervision of the program. But nature contains many valuable insect friends to man. Even rodents and other superficially unattractive wildlife forms are irreplacable in the chain of life. Concern for balanced wildlife populations is part of sound management.

It is encounraging to note an increased emphasis on developing more specific chemicals and methods of application to kill only the pests requiring control. Also, there is greater recognition of the need for learning more about the biology of certain insects and their relation to the environment.

Armed with such knowledge, entomologists can often devise measures for reducing unnecessary and harmful losses. These include development of plants resistant to insect damage; attracting and increasing of natural enemies of harmful pests; planting and harnesting crops at specific seasons; proper fertilization and rotation of crops; destruction of insect wintering quarters; intelligent water regulation; and the manipulation of other biological factors to reduce pest nuisances.

Such measures may never replace completely the need for insecticides. They can, however, serve as a basic approach, and can lessen appreciably the extent of the insect-control problem.

THE END

State Fair Exhibit Is Greatly Expanded

Greatly expanded facilities, featuring circular multi-colored wildlife pens and picnic tables in a previously undeveloped area, will greet the thousands of visitors to the Game Commission exhibit at the State Fair in Lincoln, August 30 to September 5.

The new exhibits, located west of the Game Commission's fish building, will include circular pens with a varied assemblage of wild waterfowl in one, and a complete raccoon family in the other. Translucent, multi-colored plastic tops over those pens will add a colorful note to the exhibit. The other addition will be a large pen of adult and young deer from state ranges.

As usual, the eye-popping fish exhibit is expected to attract capacity crowds. An exhibit of Nebraska-produced furs and products of fish and wildlife will be found inside the neighboring building. Game Commission specialists will demonstrate techniques for determining wildlife ages in one booth, and demonstrate common fishing faults in another. The department also hopes to distribute wildlife "age-gauges" to the visitors, free of charge.

"OUTDOOR NEBRASKA" BROADCASTS

Radio stations carrying the Game Commission weekly program are as follows:

Sunday WOW, Omaha (590 kc) 7:15 a.m. KXXX, Colby, Kansas (790 kc) 8:15 a.m. KBRL, McCook (1300 kc) 10:00 a.m. KMMJ, Grand Island (750 kc) 10:15 a.m. KODY, North Platte (1240 kc) 10:45 a.m. KOGA, Ogallala (830 kc) 12:30 p.m. KCNI, Broken Bow (1280 kc) 1:15 p.m. KFGT, Fremont (1340 kc) 4:45 p.m. KFOR, Lincoln (1240 kc) 12:45 p.m. Monday KJSK, Columbus (900 kc) 1:45 p.m. KSID, Sidney (1340 kc) 5:15 p.m. Thursday KCOW, Alliance (1400 kc) 7:30 p.m. Saturday KRVN, Kearney (1010 kc) 11:45 a.m. KOLT, Scottsbluff (1320 kc) 12:45 p.m. KCSR, Chadron (1450 kc) 1:30 p.m. KWBE, Beatrice (1450 kc) 5:00 p.m. KGFW, Kearney (1340 kc) 5:30 p.m. KHAS, Hastings (1230 kc) 5:45 p.m. KRGI, Grand Island (1430 kc) 6:30 p.m. KVHC, O'Neill (1400 kc) 6:00 p.m.

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS

Rates for classified advertising: 10 cents a word; minimum order $2.50 MINNOWS Grow minnows for bait in your own pond. Pond-spawning varieties for sale: golden shiners, red-fin shiners, brassy, and fathead minnows. Pice 25 cents each. Dale Fatting, Brady, Nebraska. VACATIONS Spend a nice, quiet vacation at Lake Ericson. Good swimming, boating, fishing, or hunting in season. Plenty of shade. Nice cabins with refrigeration. Boats for rent. Cabins for sale or rent. For reservations call for L. W. Watson at Flossie's Cafe, Phone 18. Call at 7:30 a.m., 12:30 p,m,. 6:30 p.m., or write L. W. Watson, Ericson, Nebraska. 22 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

HELP WANTED

by Donald F. LaPoinle U. S. Bureau of Sports Fisheries and Wildlife

THE next time you drive by a shelterbelt or farm woodlot, stop for a moment and listen. Most likely you will hear the cooing of a mourning dove, long heralded as one of the finest game birds in the nation.

The dove you hear may have begun his northward migration last February or March from Central America, Mexico, or one of the states south of Nebraska. He probably arrived here in early April, selected a mate, and began nesting in late April or early May. The pair is having a busy summer, since they may nest as many as four or five times before beginning their southward migration in early fall.

Both birds share in building the nest and incubating the usual clutch of two white eggs. Preferred nesting sites are low, horizontal branches of elms, pines, cedars, Russian olives, and catapla trees. The eggs hatch in 14 days and the young leave the nest about 10 to 14 days later. The young are fed "pigeon's milk," a milky fluid regurgitated by the adult, for several days; but by the time they leave the nest, their diet is composed entirely of seeds. The adults may begin a new nest before or shortly after the young leave the old nest.

In 1956 a national, co-operative dove-banding program was instituted by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state game and fish departments, including the Nebraska Game Commission, in order to determine migration routes and wintering areas and to obtain miscellaneous information needed for management purposes. Biologists, AUGUST, 1958 23   game protectors, ornithologists, and other persons interested in the management of this bird have been issued dove-banding permits, so that information will be received from diversified areas throughout the nation.

Let me take you on a dove-banding field trip. We will start at 7 or 8 a.m. and drive to a "dovey" shelterbelt. Cooing doves can be heard best on a still morning, the sound helping to locate areas where they are common. The outside rows of the shelterbelt usually contain the most nests, so it is best to begin there. Walk slowly, keeping your eyes focused in an area from shoulder height to about 10 feet overhead. Some nests, though, may be as low as two feet or as high as 20 feet.

Look for the sitting dove, not the nest. The nest is small and inconspicuous, so that the dove's body covers and often overlaps it. The male usually sits on the nest in the daytime. Sometimes his long, pointed tail is the only visible part of his body.

Often, especially when brooding, he will remain on the nest until you approach within a foot or two. At other times, though, he may leave the nest when you are two or three trees distant. After locating a nest you must determine whether eggs or young are present. A snooper stick is a very good aid, since climbing trees can be tiresome. This instrument is just a broom or mop handle with an attached auto mirror.

If eggs, or nestlings less than six days old, are present tie a short piece of cloth nearby, so that the nest can be readily located on a subsequent trip. If the young are from 6 to 10 days of age, they may be banded. Doves older than this probably will fly off the nest. If caught and banded, they may be replaced. Hold your hand over them for a few seconds and they will remain on the nest.

Ages of the young will be difficult to determine until you have seen several nestlings of different sizes. The hind toe must be developed enough to hold the band on the leg. Some banders use Dalzoflex adhesive tape to keep the band on doves less than six days old. The band is placed on either leg just above the foot. A pair of banding pliers will insure that the band is closed correctly. Bands bent in an oval shape may injure the bird's leg as he grows to adult size.

Use extreme caution in handling young birds. If they struggle, do not squeeze them, for they are easily injured. Tie two pieces of cloth near this nest to indicate banded birds, so you will not disturb them on future visits. Do not be afraid that the adult will not return, for it will be back at the nest a few minutes after you leave. Proceed through the shelterbelt, banding birds and flagging trees as necessary.

As you gain experience, you will find that locating nests is not difficult. I often locate nests when driving slowly by a shelterbelt or group of trees.

Some doves are gregarious and seem to colonize; others may be found nesting alone. If you are interested in banding a lot of doves, you must find the colonies. The time involved in banding at isolated nests is too great to be profitable. As a general rule, you should find at least 10 nests in a quarter mile of shelterbelt. If you don't find this many, delete the area from your list.

When on a banding trip, walk slowly. Your eyes will be focused upward on trees most of the time, and you may not see holes, logs, barbed wire, or branches which may trip you. And be extremely cautious when climbing trees. Do not step on or hold to dead branches. An injury caused by a fall may be doubly dangerous if you are alone and cannot reach help.

Carry a county map in your car and you will be able to return to the hot spots without difficulty. Also, ask permission from the landowner before entering his property. After explaining the purpose of my visit, I have yet to have permission denied.

A federal dove-banding permit may be obtained through W. G. McClure, federal game management agent, Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, Post Office Building, Columbus, Nebraska, or through the Bird Banding Office, U. S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, Patuxent Research Refuge, Laurel, Maryland. In addition, state permits must be obtained from the Nebraska Game Commission, Lincoln, Nebraska. Bands will be sent upon request without cost if your application for a permit is granted. Persons over 18 who are able to recognize mourning doves are eligible for a permit.

THE END

Readers' Column...

Lots of Snake

C. C. Gale, Rulo: "A friend of mine who farms land on the Indian reservation southeast of Rulo came to me with a timber rattlesnake he had killed. The snake measured 56 inches long, 8 inches around at the largest part of the body, and had 17 rattles. Some snake, huh?"

* * * * * A Game Warden, Sir

An anonymous reader submitted the following:

A man knocked at the Heavenly gate His face was scarred and old; He stood before the man of fate For admission to the fold. What have you done, St. Peter asked, To gain admission here? I have been a game warden, sir For many and many a year. The pearly gates swung open wide, St. Peter touched the bell. Come and chose your harp, he said, You have had you share of hell. * * * * * Every Sportsman?

William H. Preston, Hastings: "Please renew my subscription as I'd be lost without it. I think OUTDOOR NEBRASKA is a great big little magazine that every sportsman in Nebraska should be reading."

* * * * * Poison "Safety"

L. Williams, Stromsburg: "Thought you might like the following "Safety" verse in connection with your July magazine's "Poison in The Rough":

Berries, berries, berries, Berries red have no dread, Berries blue never so true, Berries white poison in sight.' 24 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

Outdoor Elsewhere

Behind The Iron Curtain

WASHINGTON, D. C. . . Without so much as a "by your leave," American migratory waterfowl have been "ducking" behind the Iron Curtain, Department of the Interior bird-banding records indicate. Since 1954, the Bureau of Sports Fisheries has received five communications from the USSR Academy of Sciences reporting on 76 American-banded birds killed in USSR territory. A recent communication contained the band reports of 35 such birds. The bulk of the bands recovered in the USSR have been taken from pintails and snow geese. No Russian-banded birds have been reported in the United States, although some have been reported in Canada and Greenland.

* * * * Raining Fish

NEW HAMPSHIRE . . . People in New Hampshire are no longer astounded to see it raining fish, for the fish and game department has for 10 years conducted a program of aerial stocking of trout in remote ponds. During the recently completed aerial plantings, 32 remote ponds received some 90,000 fingerling trout. The tiny fish are kept alive in flight through aeration with canned oxygen.

* * * * Great-Horned Owl Attack

SOUTH DAKOTA . . . Two airmen fishing Sheridan Lake in the Black Hills escaped serious injury when attacked by a group of great horned owls. The airmen were fishing the north shore when the attack occurred. One of the airmen, T/Sgt. Herbert Hudgens, said the owls had been perched in near-by trees and had been diving at anglers using the shoreline at dusk. "We had been watching the owls but didn't seriously expect anything to happen. I was carrying some fishing tackle to the car when I was hit in the neck from behind by the first owl." Hudgens said he then attempted to retrieve a stringer from the shoreline when one of the owls struck him in the face, inflicting deep cuts to his temple and left eyebrow with its talons. The proximity of the anglers to the owls' nest may have been the reason for the attack.

* * * * Poacher Detection

NEW HAMPSHIRE . . . It's getting harder and harder to become a successful poacher nowadays. The fish and game department reports that it's developed a method, in co-operation with the University of New Hampshire, for identifying venison even if it's cooked or chopped with other meat. Venison shows crystal bodies in the muscle tissue which aren't found in any common domestic meats.

* * * * Crazy Birds

PENNSYLVANIA . . . Strange things have been happening to game-bird hens, says Game Protector George Dieffenderfer. He reports: "This spring a mallard made a nest and started to lay a clutch of eggs in the yard at my headquarters. Checking, I found that a ringneck pheasant and a bantam hen also were laying eggs in the duck's nest. There's more. In another part of the grounds a female ringneck made a nest, and a sociable bobwhite quail laid two little eggs among the much larger pheasant eggs." In Lancaster County, Protector J. P. Eicholtz wonders how many pheasant hens laid eggs in two nests he found. One nest contained 40 pheasant eggs, the other 57.

* • * * Fish Lice

SOUTH DAKOTA . . . Marvin Allum, assistant professor of zoology, South Dakota State College, says that fish lice are responsible for heavy mortality in rough fish at Lake Poinsett. The kill is presently limited primarily to buffalo, but it could affect other species, including game fish. Treatment to stop the kill is virtually impossible because of the large size of the lake and because the chemicals used also affect game fish.

* * * * Another Trout Stamp

VIRGINIA ... On July 1, Virginia became the 12th "trout stamp state". Thus the "Old Dominion" joins the growing list of states whose trout fishermen will henceforth pay a little extra to enjoy a sport that is becoming increasingly costly to provide. The Virginia stamp fee is $5. Those of Missouri, Tennessee, and West Virginia are $1. States whose trout stamps cost $2 include California, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, and North Carolina. Arizona tops the list price-wise with its $10 trout stamp.

* * * * Bounties on Autos?

SOUTH DAKOTA . . . District Forester Tom Borden suggests a bounty be paid on automobiles. He believes cars are "predatory" after counting an average of two dead pheasants per 10 miles of highways. Translating these figures into South Dakota's total highway mileage and potential additional losses due to hen deaths, he figures the state's annual pheasant mortality to cars at 272,000 birds. This number, he concludes, is "predation" worthy of a bounty.

* * * * Duck Likes Trap

MICHIGAN ... A bird of distinction and discretion is a black duck drake that has been captured 18 times in the waterfowl banding traps of the Michigan Department of Conservation during the past nine years, the Willife Management Institute reports. An adult when first trapped and banded in 1949, the duck has eluded hunters for at least the past 10 years. Its latest appearance in the trap was on January 31. Its original aluminum leg band has been worn out and replaced. The banding studies are part of a national effort to uncover facts about the migration habits of waterfowl.

AUGUST, 1958 25

Notes on Nebraska Fauna

BLUE-WINGED TEAL

by Dan McGrew Associate Editor

GAST RONOMICALLY he's a puddler or surface feeder, scientifically he's the Anas Discors, Anas being Latin for duck, and Discors, Latin for discordant. Discord often describes the mental condition of average hunters who pursue this duck, commonly called the blue-winged teal.

Of more than 20 duck species seen in the state, the blue-winged teal is by far the most common summer resident. This duck is found almost anywhere there is water in the state. Bluewings are especially popular during summer months in the Sand Hill and south-central freshwater basin regions of Nebraska.

Bluewings are among the last ducks to arrive in spring and the first to decamp ~ for winter homes, in company with pintails. However, where Mr. Pintail remains in North America for the winter, seldom moving south of Panama, the little bluewing may journey as far south as central Chile and Brazil. Many of these shallow-water-loving ducks remain in coastal and Mexican waters, but the majority fly to South America.

Bluewings are almost as small as their green-winged cousins, and small size is characteristic of the species. The best identifying mark, however, is the bright-blue wing patch of both sexes, separating this species from greenwings and European teal. The female also can be identified by her blue wing patch. However, she cannot be told from the female cinnamon and is difficult to distinguish from greenwings and shovellers, except for the latter's larger size and big bill.

Beginning in March, bluewings trail the major water-fowl migration into their breeding grounds. Migration peaks in April, but may continue until early June.

Much of the bluewing courtship occurs during the northward trip, with the brightly plumaged males and their consorts circling and darting above feeding grounds along the flyways. The most interesting phase of bluewing courtship occurs on water. The males and females, or males and female, or male and female, begin this ritual, swimming about slowly, bowing to each other. Their heads and necks pop up and down and outward, as many as 15 to 20 times every half minute.

This is repeated over and over, with one or sometimes two males chasing others away from a favorite. 26 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   Prior to the chasing, mass courtship may continue for hours without the slightest dissension.

After pairing off, the male and female carefully inspect many possible nesting sites. They will fly over area after area, alighting and either swimming or waddling around the shore line to inspect the location. The female apparently makes the final decision, but is known to make many false starts before completing a nest. She scoops out a small depression in the dirt with her feet and uses loosely matted dead grass for the bowl. The nest is about three inches thick at the rim, 7 to 10 inches in diameter, and 4 to 6 inches in depth. The inside is lined with down, with most of the fluffy feathers around the top edge. These feathers are used during incubation to cover the eggs when the female leaves her nest for exercise and food.

The normal nesting territory is within 220 yards of the water's edge. Slightly less than five per cent of the females build nests farther than that from their pothole, slough, or pond. In rare cases, nests may be found as much as one mile from water. Females rarely defend nesting territory. To save their nests, they depend upon distraction of intruders and protective coloring.

The male does not assist with nest building or incubation. He establishes a breeding territory while the female builds the nest, deposits from 6 to 16 eggs (usually 9 or 10), and starts incubation. During or just after the 21 to 23-day incubation period, the male joins other deserted males and enjoys a free and easy bachelor life until late in the rearing season.

Normally, the entire clutch is hatched in a matter of hours. From three to four hours later, as soon as her ducklings are dry, the female leads them to water. Nebraska's bluewing hatching season is centered around July 1, ranging from early June through mid-August.

Acceptance of water is instinctive for the ducklings, usually numbering an average of nine at hatch time. About eight juveniles per hatch survive the first five to six weeks until they can fly. The young manage their own feeding after about a week, but the entire group remains under cover until flight age is reached.

Summer breeding grounds for bluewings extend from the Gulf of Mexico to northwestern Canada. Centered around the south-central Canadian marshlands and prairie, the area also includes Rhode Island, the Great Lakes region, the Great Plains, Utah, and Nevada. More than 80 per cent of the hatch occurs in Canada, with the Nebraska Sand Hills being a favorite U. S. nesting area. The current Canadian production, however, is 25 per cent less than around 1900, when only half the total was hatched in Canada.

Many old males leave for the South before August, and the annual migration is in full swing by mid and late September. As a result, bluewings are well on their way before most hunting seasons are opened.

The fat, tender, and marvelously juicy bluewings comprise the major portion of early season duck eating. Many waterfowl gourmets insist the native bluewing is the superlative of all species for a table bird.

In the field, legions of huntsmen describe bluewings as the greatest of all birds for sport shooting. They fly in fairly large, tightly bunched flocks in swift, darting passage. Flashing into a marsh or slough, often flying below the tops of reeds and cattails, the sporty little birds provide a difficult target. For the uninitiated, they appear to be moving at slightly subsonic speeds, rocketing along open muskrat runs, lifting and dropping over reed patches and disappearing without warning.

Proven hunter technique is to stand straight and still in the blind, shotgun practically at the ready position, and look down. Twisting, turning, and suddenly soaring vertically, a flock of bluewings offers unequalled sport.

Bluewing shooting areas are the same as for other puddle ducks. Requirements include areas with cover, plentiful food—pondweeds, duck potato, coontail, smartweeds, sedges, insects, fallen grain, mollusks, and crustaceans—shallow waters for their surface-feeding habits (bluewings rarely tip in their surface search for food, more often merely reach down in the water to full-neck length), and no more than one hunter per 10 acres at one time.

Even with their small size, speed, and over-all deceptiveness, bluewings suffer incredibly from long-range shooting. As in all duck hunting, the fewer guns the better. Heavy gun concentrations chase ducks from hunting areas and limit bags become scarce.

Each hunter becomes afraid the next fellow will get "his" duck and as a result blazes away at 100 yards. Usually, the only result is that many cripples struggle away to die of wounds, without adding to anyone's bag. The No. 1 reason for cripples is out-of-range shooting. Most flights at 100 to 150 yards, skimming in low over the water, will draw fire. Any flight at 60 to 80 yards will be peppered and six birds lost for every four retrieved. (Lost does not mean "got clean away"; it means crippled, to die later).

Nebraska conservationists report that on a national average, largely due to their migration before season's opening, only one of 125 bluewing leg bands is ever returned. This compares with an average of one of 12 mallard bands.

In 1955, 7.4 per cent of the Nebraska bag of 662,500 ducks was composed of blue-winged teal. In '54, it was 10.4 per cent and in 1957, 15.4 per cent, or 107,350 of the 697,000 total ducks bagged.

One non-flying duckling was banded in Rock County and eight days later was found 1,000 miles south of there, emphasizing the specie's rapid maturation and flight speed, even while young.

THE END AUGUST, 1958 27

Buy Your STAMP?

Miss Earlene Niday, Lincoln, has just purchased her Recreation Use stamp and is about to affix it to her car's windshield. How about you, have you bough your stamp? The $1 stamp, a must at all major recreaton grounds, is avilable from all permit vendors, the state's consercation officers, and Game Commission employees working on the state areas.

Postmaster: If undeliverable FOR ANY REASON, notify sender, stating reason, on FORM 3547, postage for which is guaranteed. FORWARDING POSTAGE GUARANTEED OUTDOOR NEBRASKA STATE HOUSE Lincoln, Nebraska