Skip to main content

Full text of "California fish and game"

See other formats


California  Resources  Agency  Library 

1416  9th  Street,  Room  117 

Sacramento,  California   95814 


SEP    51935J 

California  Fish 


Fish  &  Gaiae  CoHiifiissiwn 


'CONSERVATION'    01''   WILL)    LIFE   THROUGH   EDUCATION- 


Volume  5 


SACRAMENTO,  JANUARY,  1919 


Number  1 


CONTENTS. 

Page 

SHRIMP  FISHERIES  OF  CALIFORNIA N.  B.   Scofield  1 

THE    FISHES    OF    THE    CROAKER    FAMILY     ( Seisenidae )     OF    CALI- 
FORNIA   E.  G.  Storks  13 

NOTE  ON  THE  SAND  DAB E.  C.  Storks  21 

THE  STICKLEBACK  :  A  FISH  EMINENTLY  FITTED  BY  NATURE  AS 

A  MOSQUITO  DESTROYER 0.  L.  Hubbs  21 

EARLY  STAGES  OF  THE  SPINY  LOBSTER W.  L.  Schmitt  24 

THE  COYOTE  AS  A  DEER  KILLER /•:.  V.  Jotter  26 

EDITORIALS 30 

FACTS  OF  CURRENT  INTEREST 36 

HATCHERY  NOTES 1 37 

COMMERCIAL    FISHERY    NOTES 39 

CONSERVATION  IN  OTHER  STATES 42 

LIFE  HISTORY   NOTES 42 

RE PORTS— 

Fishery  Products,  July   to  September,  1918 44 

Violations  of  Fish  aud  Game  Laws 4i\ 

Seizures    46 

Financial  Report -     : 47 


SHRIMP  FISHERIES  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

By  N.   B.  SCOFIELD. 

As  the  question  of  removing  the  restrictions  on  the  Chinese  shrimp 
or  bag  nets  periodically  arises  at  each  session  of  the  legislature,  it  is 
thought  best  to  give  a  brief  history  of  the  shrimp  fishery  in  the  state 
and  to  describe  the  fishery  as  it  has  existed  in  the  past  in  order  that 
those  who  care  to  can  learn  of  the  great  destruction  to  young  fish  and 
young  shrimps  by  the  Chinese  method  of  fishing. 

The  only  account  of  the  earliest  shrimp  fishing  operations  in  the 
state  is  supplied  by  Mr.  A.  Paladini,  the  venerable  fish  dealer  of  San 
Francisco.  He  came  to  San  Francisco  in  1869  and  engaged  in  shrimp 
fishing.     There  were  eight  boats  on  San  Francisco  Bay  engaged  in  this 

42768 


•j  CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GAM] 

business,  each  boal  manned  bj  white  men.  They  easily  caughl  enough 
shrimps  to  Bupply  the  demand,  besides  many  flounders,  sole,  tomtod, 
etc.,  for  the  fresh  fish  market.  Pish  and  shrimps  were  very  plentiful 
in  the  bay  a1  the  time.  The  shrimps  caughl  were  the  same  species  as 
now,  bul  were  much  Larger  than  those  caughl  in  Later  years  during  the 
intensive  fishing  by  the  Chinese.  This  Later  reduction  of  the  Larger  and 
older  shrimps  as  aoted  by  Mr.  Paladini  is  good  evidence  that  the  sin-imps 
were  being  subjected  to  overfishing.  The  early  fishing  of  the  eighl 
boats  of  Italian  fishermen  was  carried  OD  with  small-meshed  seines,  sixty 
feet  Long  and  eighl  feel  deep,  with  a  bag  at  the  center.  They  used  the 
nets  iii  the  deeper  water  of  the  hay  for  there  the  catch  was  liver  of 
young  fish  and  of  the  small   unmarketable  shrimps.     The  manner  of 

fishing  was  to  lay  out  the  net.  then  anchor  the  hoat  down  the  tide  and 
pull  the  net  along  the  bottom  toward  the  hoat  by  means  of  lines,  always 
pulling  with  the  tide.  The  net  was  pulled  directly  into  the  boat.  The} 
would  make  from  three  to  five  hauls  on  each  tide  ami  they  caughl  from 
fifty  to  seventy-five  pounds  of  shrimps  at  a  haul.  This  method  of  fish- 
ing was  far  less  destructive  tit  young  fish  than  that  employed  later  by 
the  Chinese.  They  could  fish  in  deeper  water,  where  young  fish  and 
young  shrimps  were  fewer,  and  unlike  the  Chinese  nets  which  are  set 
during  the  whole  tide  and  kill  practically  all  the  young  fish  caught, 
they  were  in  the  water  only  a  short  time — Less  than  one-half  hour  and 
the  small  per  cent  of  young  fish  caughl  were  still  alive  and  could  be 
returned  to  the  water.  The  shrimps  thus  caughl  were  sold  fresh  at 
the  Long  Wharf.  Little  thought  was  then  taken  as  to  whether  a  method 
of  fishing  was  destructive  or  not  and  there  were  few  laws  protecting 
fish,  for  it  was  thoughl  that  the  supply  of  fish  in  the  bay  and  rivers 
was  inexhaustible.  The  Chinese  had  for  some  years  been  in  the  fish- 
ing business  and  with  their  destructive  methods  of  fishing  hail  already 
begun  the  extermination  of  the  Sacramento  perch  and  with  their 
fiendish  sturgeon  lines  had  inaugurated  a  method  of  fishing  that  has 
resulted  in  the  commercial  extinction  of  that  valuable  fish  which  in  the 
early  days  was  here  in  apparently  inexhaustible  numbers. 

In  1871  the  Chinese  began  fishing  for  shrimps  and  introduced  the 
destructive  Chinese  shrimp  net.  They  made  enormous  catches  with 
these  fine-meshed  set  nets  and  found  it  profitable  to  supply  the  markets 
with  shrimps  at  one  and  one  half  cents  per  pound.  The  original  eighl 
Italian  shrimp  boats  were  driven  out  of  business  and  since  that  time 
shrimp  fishing  has  been  almost  entirely  carried  on  by  Chinese.  Prom 
the  very  start  the  Chinese  dried  the  hulk  of  their  catch  for  the  Oriental 
export  trade.  The  shrimp  fishery  quickly  grew  to  Large  proportions 
and  fishine-  was  carried  on  al  many  places  in  San  Francisco  Bay  and  in 
Tomales  Bay   in  .Marin  County. 

The  firsl  printed  account  of  the  shrimp  fisherx  is  contained  in  Vol. 
II  of  "  History  and  Methods  of  the  Fisheries  "  by  Goode,  printed  in  1885 
by  the  United  states  Bureau  of  Fisheries.  A  more  extensive  investiga 
lion  of  the  fishery  was  made  by  the  author  for  the  California  Fish  and 
Game  Commission  in  1897.  A  subsequent  invest  Ration  was  made  by 
the  author  in  1!>H>.  There  has  always  been  serious  objection  to  the 
Chinese  method  of  catching  shrimps,  and  much  of  the  Legislature's  time 
lias  been  taken  up  by  listening  to  discussions  between  those  who  would 


CALIFORNIA    KISII    AND    GAME.  d 

conserve  the  fisheries  resources  of  San  Francisco  Bay  and  rivers,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  interested  defenders  of  the  Chinese,  on  the  other. 
Closed  seasons  were  finally  resorted  to  and  the  drying  of  shrimps  was 
prohibited,  without  greatly  reducing  the  destruction  of  young  fish.  At 
the  1910-1911  session  of  the  legislature  the  use  of  Chinese  shrimp  nets 
was  prohibited  entirely.  The  shrimps  had  been  so  reduced  in  numbers 
that  it  was  found  unprofitable  to  catch  them  by  the  method  formerly 
employed  by  the  Italians.  It  was  also  found  to  be  unprofitable  to 
employ  the  shrimp  trawl  which  was  in  successful  use  on  Puget  Sound. 
In  1915  the  legislature  removed  the  restriction  against  the  Chinese  net 
in  South  San  Francisco  Bay  on  the  ground  that  in  that  part  of  the  bay 
the  destruction  to  young  fish  was  much  less  than  in  the  upper  bay  and 
for  the  further  reason  that  in  that  part  of  the  bay  the  kinds  of  fish 
destroyed  did  not  include  the  young  of  herring,  smelt,  shad  and  striped 
bass  as  was  the  case  in  the  upper  bay.     At  the  1916-1917  session  of  the 


Chinese  shrimp  fishing  junk  on  San  Francisco  Bay.     Photograph  hy  H.  B.  Nidever, 


legislature  a  very  strong  effort  was  made  to  reestablish  the  fishery  in 
the  upper  bay  by  those  who  would  be  benefited  in  the  way  of  rents, 
selling  of  supplies,  etc..  and  by  those  who  would  have  the  picturesque 
industry  for  sentimental  reasons.  As  this  effort  is  sure  to  be  resumed 
at  the  1918-1919  session  it  is  believed  an  intimate  description  of  the 
industry  as  it  existed  up  to  the  year  1910  will  be  of  interest,  especially 
as  tlie  Chinese  now  operating  in  South  San  Francisco  Bay  are  using 
identically  the  same  methods,  with  the  single  exception  that  they  do  not 
catch  so  many  young  fish  in  that  part  of*  the  bay  and  the  young  fish 
caught  are  not  of  the  more  valuable  species. 

Gamps:  The  fishing  has  been  carried  on  by  what  has  been  termed 
"camps."  Each  of  these  camps  is  a  separate  unit,  which  has  its  own 
boat,  wharf,  boiling  vat  and  drying  ground,  separate  living  quarters 
and  storehouses.  Although  one  Chinese  company  may  have  owned 
or  controlled  several  camps,  even  side  by  side  at  the  water's  edge,  they 


I  C  \l  ll'OKM  \     FISH      \N|.    C,  \MK. 

did  not  co-operate  in  an\  way.     The  camps  were  very  similar  in  charac 
ter,  consisting  of  ;i  group  of  small,  rude  shacks  of  rough,  unpainted 

boards,  placed  oear  ill Ige  of  the  water,  with  a  rough  wooden  wharf 

tunning  out  into  the  shallow  water  <»n  hand-driven  piling  which 
answered  as  a  landing  place  for  the  camp's  junk.  Very  few  of  the 
camps  could  be  approached  a1  Low  tide,  for  which  reason  they  usually 
fished  the  flood  tide  in  order  that  they  might  more  easily  bring  their 
catch  to  the  Landing.  The  shacks  which  constituted,  the  living  quarters 
and  storehouses  were,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  crowded  on  a  oarrow 
beach  between  t he  water  and  the  hills.  The  dry  grounds  of  each  camp 
covered  about  an  acre  of  the  slope  of  the  hills  for  the  wanl  of  a  better 


Fig.  2.      Scenes  on  board   Chinese  shrimp  junk  on  San  Francisco  Bay.     Photographs  by 

H.   B.  Nidcver. 

place,  and  were  usually  floored  with  boards.  In  two  or  three  of  the 
camps  the  drying  ground  was  partly  on  a  platform  built  out  over  the 
water.  In  1897  there  were  26  camps  operating  on  San  Francisco  Bay 
and  in  1910  this  number  had  been  reduced  to  19.  The  camps  on 
Tomales  Bay  were  abandoned  some  years  prior  to  1897.  Of  the  19 
camps  found  in  1910  three  were  in  the  cove  just  above  South  San 
Francisco,  five  were  at  Hunter's  Point,  four  in  Contra  Costa  Counly 
south  of  Point  San  Pablo  in  Marin  County.  The  three  camps  near 
South  San  Francisco  were  controlled  by  one  company,  the  Fook  On 
Lung  Company  of  San  Francisco.  They  furnished  no  fresh  shrimps 
for  the  market  but  dried  their  entire  catch.  Their  fishing  ground  was 
in  Alameda  County  about  three  miles  east  of  San  Bruno  Point.     Each 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME.  0 

of  their  three  junks  used  sixty  Chinese  shrimp  nets  such  as  are  described 
under  "Methods  of  Operating  Nets."  Two  of  the  five  Hunter's  Point 
camps,  located  on  the  south  side  of  the  point,  were  owned  by  the  Quong 
Lee  Chong  Company  of  San  Francisco.  Each  of  the  two  boats  fished 
forty  nets  and  they  dried  their  entire  catch.  Their  fishing  ground  was 
about  a  mile  off  shore,  a  little  west  of  south  from  the  point,  which 
brought  them  within  San  Francisco  County.  Of  the  three  camps  on  the 
north  side  of  the  point,  the  two  camps  nearest  the  point  were  controlled 
by  the  Fook  On  Lung  Company,  also  known  as  the  California  Shrimp 
.Company.  The  third  camp  on  the  north  side  of  the  point  belonged 
to  the  Union  Shrimp  Company,  a  Chinese  company  of  San  Francisco. 
The  three  last-named  camps  sent  part  of  their  catch  to  the  fresh  shrimp 
market  and  dried  the  rest.  They  fished  in  Alameda  County  a  mile  south 
of  the  Alameda  mole.  The  four  Red  Rock  camps  were  located  in  a 
cove  on  the  Contra  Costa  shore  about  two  miles  to  the  south  of  Point 
San  Pablo.  These  camps  belonged  to  the  Union  Shrimp  Company  of 
San  Francisco  and  their  four  boats  fished  just  to  the  north  of  Red  Rock 
in  water  from  four  to  six  fathoms  deep.  This  depth  is  greater  than 
that  fished  by  any  of  the  other  boats  and  it  was  not  possible  for  them. 
on  account  of  the  depth  and  tide,  to  use  more  than  thirty  nets  to  eaeli 
boat.  Part  of  their  catch  went  to  the  fresh  market  but  the  main  part 
was  dried.  Of  the  seven  camps  near  Point  San  Pedro,  Marin  County, 
one  was  situated  in  the  first  cove  to  the  south  of  the  point  near  the  rock 
quarry.  It  was  an  independent  company  drying  most  of  its  catch  but 
selling  a  few  to  the  Union  Shrimp  Company,  for  the  fresh  market. 
Their  boat  fished  about  one-half  mile  southwest  of  the  point.  The  next 
camp  to  the  north  of  the  point  belonged  to  the  Union  Shrimp  Company. 
Its  boat  fished  about  one-half  mile  off  shore  and  sometimes  across  the 
channel  in  Contra  Costa  County.  This  camp  sent  part  of  its  catch  to 
the  fresh  market  but  dried  most  of  it.  One-half  mile  further  to  the 
north  was  a  Quong  Lee  Chong  Company  camp  and  next  to  it  in  the 
same  cove  a  Quong  Sing  Lung  Company  camp,  while  just  to  the  north 
in  the  next  cove  was  a  second  camp  of  the  Quong  Sing  Lung  Company 
and  next  to  this  two  other  Quong  Lee  Chong  camps.  These  last  five 
outfits  named,  dried  their  entire  catch  and  their  five  boats  operated  sixty 
nets  each.  They  fished  far  out  on  what  is  known  as  the  "Petaluma 
Flats,"  the  furthest  boat  fishing  one-half  mile  due  south  of  the  outer 
Petaluma  Creek  Beacon,  the  other  near  but  to  the  southwest.  All  five 
fished  within  the  county  of  Marin. 

The  following  description  of  the  boats,  nets  and  fishing  methods 
applies  to  the  industry  today  just  as  it  does  to  the  industry  as  it 
existed  twenty  years  ago: 

Boats.  The  boats  used  by  these  camps  are  of  Chinese  pattern  and 
make.  They  vary  in  size,  but  the  majority  are  about  fifty  feet  long 
and  twelve  feet  beam,  with  rounded  bottoms  without  a  keel,  and  with 
square  sterns  and  rather  blunt  bows.  They  have  one  mast  which 
carries  a  Chinese  cleated  sail.  About  fourteen  feet  of  the  stern  is 
decked  in  and  constitutes  the  living  quarters  of  the  crew.  This  com- 
partment is  entered  through  a  small  sliding  hatch  and  there  the  five 
men  of  the  crew  cook  their  meals,  eat  and  sleep.  Just  forward  of  this 
is  the  open  shrimp  locker,  about  twelve  feet  square,  for  holding  the 
catch,  and  next  forward  is  a  looker  of  similar  size  for  holding  the  nets. 


(•  CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GAME. 

The  remaining  space  forward  is  used  for  lines  and  gear.  (>n  the  deck 
between  the  crew's  quarters  and  the  shrimp  locker  is  :i  crude  wooden 
windlass  placed  horizontally  and  with  four  wooden  spokes  projecting 
by  which  it  is  turned  by  the  hands  and  feel  of  the  operator.  From  the 
drum  of  this  windlass  a  line  pusses  forward  through  a  notch  in  the 
elongated  how  posl  of  the  boat.  This  windlass  and  line  is  used  to  lifl 
the  series  of  nets  from  their  fishing  position  at  the  bottom  of  the  bay. 
The  boats  are  of  sufficient  size  to  carry  sixly  wet  nets  and  ten  to  twelve 
tons  of  catch. 

Nets.     Eaeh  separate  net   is  constructed   in  the  shape  of  a   funnel. 

They  are  usually  thirty-two  feet  long,  with  the  larger  opening  or  month 
about  eighteen  feel  in  diameter,  from  which  the  net  tapers  to  the  narrow 

opening  a  loot  and  one-half  in  diameter  at  the  end  of  the  sack.  This 
narrow  or  cod  end  of  the  net  is  closed  |>\  a  st  ring  which  can  be  untied  to 
remove  the  catch  when  the  nets  are  pulled  up.  The  nets  are  made  in 
China  from  a  very  strong  and  durable  twisted  grass-like  fibre.  The 
net  has  a  mesh  of  three  and  one-half  inches  near  the  month  bu1  the  size 
rapidly  diminishes  toward  the  small  end  until  the  sack  has  meshes  of 
one-half  inch  or  lesss  This  small-meshed  end  of  the  net,  which  has  to 
sustain  the  weight  of  the  catch  when  the  nel  is  pulled  from  the  water, 
is  usually  reinforced  by  a  net  of  coarse  twine  placed  around  the  outside. 
In  making  the  webbing  of  these  nets  square  knots  are  usc{]  instead  of 
the  usual  knot  used  by  fishermen  the  world  over.  The  nets  are  dried 
and  tanned  ahont  once  a  month  and  with  care  they  will  last  a  year. 
Their  cost  is  ahont  $25  Mexican  in  China.  After  paying  freighl  and 
other  charges  and  adding  the  hanging  line  around  the  larger  opening 
they  cost  here  ahont  the  same  amount  in  gold. 

Method  of  (>/><  mlintf  Nets.  Each  junk  operates  a  set  of  nets,  thirty 
to  sixty  in  number,  which  are  set  side  by  side  at  the  bottom  of  the  bay 
with  their  larger  openings  or  mouths  open  to  the  current.  The  nets 
are  held  in  place  by  a  series  of  brails  or  speaders — 2x.'{  inch  sticks  of 
pine  five  feet  long—  each  of  which  is  held  lo'a  short  stake  driven  in  the 
bottom  of  the  bay  by  a  line  from  either  end.  of  sufficient  lenglh  to  permit 
of  the  brails  with  the  nets  attached  being  lifted  to  the  surface  during  the 

slack  water  between  t  ides,  without  detaching  them  from  1  he  stake.  The 
stakes  to  which  the  brails  are  attached  are  driven  t  went  y-l'onr  feel 
apart  across  the  current  in  the  muddy  bottom  of  the  hay  in  a  very 
ingenious  manner.  For  driving  these  stakes  a  very  long  tapering  pole 
is  used  with  a  foiir-inch  iron  pipe  fitted  on  the  larger  end  so  that  a 
hollow  end  of  the  pipe  projects  a  couple  of  fee)  beyond  the  end  of  the 
pole.  Selecting  a  stake  with  lines  and  brail  attached,  ils  head  is  inserted 
in  the  hollow  end  of  the  pipe  where  it  fits  loosely  bid  is  kept  from  falling 
out  by  holding  on  to  the  brail  lines  while  the  pole  is  held  in  the  vertical 
position  over  the  spot  where  it  is  to  he  driven.  The  pole  with  the  stake 
in  place  is  then  lowered  from  the  boat  until  the  stake  is  pressed  into 
the  mnd.  The  stake  is  then  driven  home  by  repeatedly  lifting  the  pole 
a  short  distance  and  then  lowering  it  forcibly.  The  stakes  are  driven 
twenty-four  feet  apart  across  the  current  so  thai  each  brail  when  it  is 
in  position  with  nets  attached  will  stand  vertically  on  the  bottom  in 
each  space  between  the  mouths  of  the  nets.  Attached  in  this  way.  the 
nel  months  instead  of  being  circular  are  now  rectangular  in  shape,  the 
opening  being  twenty-four  feet  across  and  about  four  and  one-half  feet 


CALIFORNIA    KISII    AND    GAME.  / 

deep.  To  remove  any  uneven  strain  on  the  nets  and  1<>  prevent  their 
being  carried  away  by  the  swift  tide,  a  heavy  anchor  or  stake  is  placed 
about  fifty  feet  out  from  each  end  of  the  row  of  stakes  and  in  line  with 
them,  from  which  runs  a  heavy  line  which  is  tied  with  a  clove  hitch  to 
the  center  of  eacli  of  the  brails.  By  anchoring  this  heavy  line  in  line 
with  the  stakes  and  sufficiently  far  out.  the  arrangement  does  not  inter- 
fere with  lifting  the  brails  and  nets  to  the  surface  of  the  water  when 
the  catch  is  to  be  removed  just  before  the  slack  water  at  the  end  of  the 
tide.  Besides  the  heavy  anchor  line  running  from  brail  to  brail, 
there  is  another  and  lighter  one,  the  buoy  line,  which  facilitates  in 
lifting  the  nets.  This  line,  when  the  nets  are  set  in  fishing  position, 
extends  from  a  floating  buoy  at  one  end  of  the  string  of  nets  to  the 
first  or  end  brail,  to  which  it  is  tied  by  a  bight  about  a  foot  from  its 
top.  From  thence  it  runs  to  each  brail  in  succession  until  the  last 
brail  at  the  end  of  the  string  of  nets  is  reached,  from  whence  it  extends 
up  to  another  buoy  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  This  buoy  line  is  in 
place  only  when  the  nets  are  set.     The  nets  are  fastened  to  the  brails 


< 

\\  |! 

• 

•  ■•Vjp 

pjp 

1*"-— 

5^5l^P^^v~'* 

1  - — 

■Lmm"-          1 

**    ' 

mmr 

—^ 

Fig.    3.      Sorting    and    drying   young    fish    obtained    from    shrimp    nets,    Point    San    Pedro,    1897. 
•Shrimp   fishing  endangers  the   fisheries   by  destroying  young  fish.     Photographs  by 

N.  B.   Scofield. 


and  the  buoy  line  is  attached  just  after  the  turn  of  the  tide  before  the 
current  has  become  swift.  The  force  of  the  current  swings  the  series 
of  nets  down  onto  the  bottom  where  they  are  held  by  the  brail  lines 
to  the  row  of  stakes,  reinforced  by  the  heavy  anchor  line.  Here  they 
are  left  during  the  entire  tide,  the  time  varying  from  four  to  eight 
hours,  with  their  mouths  open  against  the  tide  while  the  current  carries 
the  shrimps  and  young  fish  into  them.  With  this  manner  of  fastening 
the  nets  they  can  be  used  on  either  a  flood  or  ebb  tide. 

When  the  nets  are  to  be  lifted  at  the  end  of  the  tide  after  the  force  of 
the  current  has  slackened  sufficiently,  an  end  of  the  buoy  line  is  taken 
at  one  of  the  buoys,  passed  through  the  notch  in  the  bow  post  of  the 
boat  and  thence  carried  back  to  the  windlass,  where  it  is  reeled  in  by 
one  man,  thus  bringing  the  first  brail  to  the  surface  and  lifting  the  net 
with  it.  The  other  members  of  the  crew  detach  the  net  and  the  buoy 
line  from  the  brail  while  the  man  at  the  windlass  reels  up  the  next 
brail.  Thus  the  nets  are  detached  in  succession,  the  catch  being  emptied 
into  the  shrimp   locker  and   the  nets   placed   in   the   net   locker.     The 


8  <  Al.iroKXJA    PISH    AND    G  \All. 

Chinese  are  verj  experl  in  handling  the  nets  and  work  rapidly,  each 
man  with  a  particular  duty  to  perform.  The  time  in  which  the  nets 
have  to  be  lifted  is  limited  usually  to  about  half  an  hour.  They  can 
not  begin  sooner  for  the  nets  can  not  be  lifted  when  the  currenl  is 
strong.  If  they  arc  not  gotten  out  before  the  tide  turns  the  nets  begin 
to  swing  the  other  way  and  they  become  tangled  ami  the  catch  is  lost. 
When  tides  are  so  strong  that  there  is  danger  of  carrying  the  nets  away 
they  reduce  the  currenl  pressure  by  tying  the  upper  edge  of  the  nets 
farther  down  on  the  brails.  If  the  tides  are  exl  remely  swift  t  hey  reduce 
the  number  of  nets. 

Shrimp  Drying.     After  the  nets  are  all  lifted  the  junk  sails  back  to 
the  dock  at   its  camp,  where  the  catch   is  carried  in  baskets.  Chinese 


Fig.  4.  Shrimp  boiling  vat,  showing  skimmers  and  rakes  hang- 
ing on  crude  chimney.  Point  San  Pedro,  1910.  Photograph  by 
N.   B.  Scofield. 


style,  to  the  boiling  vat.  This  vat  is  about  four  by  eight  feel  and 
eighteen  inches  deep,  with  wooden  sides,  the  bottom  being  of  sheet  iron 
bent  up  around  the  sides.  It  is  built  in  with  bricks  and  mud  and  to 
heat  the  water  both  wood  and  coal  is  used.  Fresh  water  to  which  rock 
salt  has  been  added  is  used  in  the  vats.  The  shrimps,  together  with  the 
fish  caugh.1  with  them,  are  poured  in.  ten  or  twelve  baskets  at  a  time, 
and  boiled  from  ten  to  fifteen  minutes.  They  are  then  dipped  out  with 
a  strainer  and  put  into  baskets  to  be  carried  to  the  drying  ground. 
Ilei-e  the  shrimps  and  fish,  the  latter  usually  small  and  delicate  with 
t!ie  flesh  boiled  from  the  bones.  ;i re  spread  out  together  to  dry  in  the  sun. 
When  the  weather  is  good  the  shrimps  will  dry  in  about  four  days, 
when  they  are  gathered  together  and  rolled  with  ideated,  wooden  rollers 


CALIFORNIA    KISll    AND    GAME.  \) 

to  break  the  shells  from  the  meats.  The  whole  mass  is  then  carried  to 
a  shed  where  it  is  run  through  a  small  fanning  mill  to  separate  the  Loose 
shells,  fish  bones  and  pulverized  fish  flesh  from  the  heavier  shrimp 
meats.  By  screening  and  hand  picking  the  shrimp  meats  are  divided 
into  two  grades,  the  unbroken  meats  in  one  and  the  broken  meats  in  the 
other.  They  are  then  sacked.  280  pounds  to  the  sack.  The  shells  fish 
bones  and  fish  flesh,  and  all  fine  particles  and  dust  are  saved  and  pu1 
in  sacks.  810  pounds  to  the  sack,  and  sold  for  use  as  a  fertilizer.  The 
loss  in  drying  is  about  65  per  cent,  and  for  each  pound  of  shrimp  meals 
there  are  two  pounds  of  fertilizer  or  "shells." 

Drying  Fish.  The  amount  of  young  fish  taken  in  I  he  Chinese  nets  is 
always  large,  varying  from  10  to  75  per  cent  of  the  entire  catch.  Form- 
erly large  quantities  of.  these  fish  were  dried.  The  larger  fish  were 
picked  out  and  hung  on  strings  to  dry  while  the  very  small  fish,  princi- 
pally the  young  smelt  (Osmerus  thaleichthys)  were  dried  on  trays 
which  had  been  covered  with  discarded  net  webbing.  The  small  fish 
were  separated  from  the  shrimps  by  dumping  a  basket  of  the  catch  in 
a  small  vat  of  cold  water  where  the  live  shrimps  sank  to  the  bottom,  thus 
allowing  the  small  dead  fish  to  be  easily  skimmed  from  the  top.  After 
being  prosecuted  for  catching  young  fish  they  ceased  to  dry  the  small 
fish  and  boiled  them  with  the  shrimps  to  get  rid  of  the  evidence  as 
quickly  as  possible.  They  were  nearly  as  valuable  as  a  fertilizer  as 
they  Avere  as  a  food  product.  There  has  always  been  this  incentive  to 
catch  the  young  fish  and  experience  has  shown  that  it  is  impossible  to 
operate  the  Chinese  net  without  catching  great  quantities  of  immature 
Jish,  thus  causing  great  damage  to  the  fisheries  of  the  bay  and  rivers. 

Fresh  Shrimps.  In  the  camps  that  sent  fresh  shrimps  to  the  markets 
they  had  a  special  shed  at  the  wharf  where  part  of  the  catch  was  taken 
and  the  larger  shrimps  screened  out  by  hand  and  all  fish,  seaweed  and 
dirt  carefully  picked  out.  The  shrimps  for  the  market  were  boiled 
before  the  rest  of  the  catch,  in  the  same  way  as  were  those  to  be  dried 
except  that  less  salt  was  used  and  they  were  not  boiled  (piite  so  long. 
After  boiling,  the  shrimps  were  spread  on  matting  on  the  sorting  room 
floor  where  they  could  cool  and  the  surplus  moisture  evaporate.  They 
were  then  placed  in  baskets  and  conveyed  by  power  launch  to  San 
Francisco. 

Three  Species  of  Shrimps.  Three  species  of  shrimps  are  taken  in  San 
Francisco  Bay.  Fully  90  per  cent  of  them  are  of  one  species,  Crago 
franciscorum.  The  remaining  10  per  cent  is  made  up  of  the  two  species. 
Crago  nigricauda  and  Crago  nigrimaculata. 

The  shrimps  drift  back  and  forth  along  the  bottom  of  the  bay  with  the 
tides  but  have  the  power  in  some  measure  to  select  their  environment, 
for  in  the  winter  time  when  the  fresh  water  is  entering  the  bay  in 
larger  quantities  they  move  farther  down  the  bay.  In  the  summer  when 
the  blue  sea  water  encroaches  on  the  flats  they  move  farther  up  toward 
the  river  mouths.  They  appear  to  go  on  the  shallower  Hats  when  they 
are  carrying  their  eggs.  The  smaller  individuals  are  found  mostly  in 
shallow  water  and  in  the  deeper  and  swifter  water  more  large  ones  are 
found.  They  have  a  wide  range,  however,  for  they  are  found  in  the 
deepest  water  as  well  as  the  shallowest  and  can  be  found  in  water  per- 
fectly fresh  as  well  as  in  pure  sea  water.  Very  little  is  known  about 
their  life  history.     Females  may  be  found  carrying  eggs  attached   to 

2  -12760 


1(1  CALIFORNIA    FISH     \.\|>    Q  \.\IK. 

her  swimmerets  al  ;ill  spinous  of  the  y>-.n-.  From  evidence  thai  lias 
been  gathered  it  is  certain  that  the  eggs  are  carried  .it  leasl  two  months 
nn  ilic  outside  of  the  body  before  they  batch  and  the  life  of  the  shrimp 

t'r the  egg  through  one  spawning  time  is  not   less  than  two  years. 

They  feed  on  minute  animal  ami  plant  lite  at  the  bottom.  They  may 
;it  times  f>'<'<l  near  the  surface  for  they  can  swim  rather  rapidly  through 
the  water,  moving  with  the  head  first. 

Character  and  Quantity  of  thi  Catch.  The  catch  of  one  junk  for  one 
tide  varied  from  ten  hundred  pounds  to  ten  tons.  An  average  day's 
catch  for  the  boats  using1  forty  nets  was  six  thousand  pounds  and  for 
the  boats  using  sixty  nets,  eight  thousand  pounds.  The  nets  always 
contain  young  fish,  the  quantity  varying  from  LO  per  cent  to  75  per  cent 
of  the  entire  catch.  The  boats  using  sixty  nets  each  on  the  shallow 
fats  on  the  west  side  of  San  Pablo  Bay  caught  the  greatest  proportion 
of  young  fish.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  most  of  the  fish  which  enter 
San  Francisco  Bay  enter  for  the  purpose  of  spawning.  Among  these 
fish  the  valuable  ones  are  the  herring,  smelt,  striped  bass,  shad  and 
salmon.  Besides  these  the  young  of  other  valuable  commercial  species. 
such  as  the  crab  and  the  sole,  enter  the  bay  for  the  purpose  of  feeding 
and  for  protection.  A  hay  with  rivers  entering  it  is  always  a  nursery 
for  young  fish.  Where  there  is  an  intermingling  of  fresh  and  sail  water 
as  in  the  upper  San  Francisco  Bay  there  is  a  prodigal  growth  of  small 
animal  life,  including  shrimps  and  other  species  of  small  crustaceans. 
Upon  this  small  life  the  young  fishes  feed.  The  young  fish  are  there 
because  the  shrimps  are  there.  A  method  of  shrimp  fishing  such  as 
that  employed  by  the  Chinese,  which  catches  the  young  fish  as  readily 
as  the  shrimps  and  holds  them  until  they  are  suffocated,  is  a  serious 
menace  to  the  whole  fishing  industry  of  the  bay  and  its  tributary  rivers. 
Even  if  they  caught  only  shrimps,  there  is  a  limit  to  the  number  which 
should  Ik1  caught  for  they  are  the  l'ood  of  our  more  valuable  fishes,  hut 
when  tlie  method  of  fishing  takes  the  young  fish  themselves  in  vasi 
quantities,  as  did  the  Chinese  nets  in  upper  San  Francisco  Bay,  it 
should  not  be  tolerated  if  we  value  the  other  fisheries,  or  if  we  value  the 
shrimp  itself,  for  there  is  every  evidence  that  even  the  shrimps  were 
being  overfished.  To  appreciate  the  seriousness  of  the  situation  as  it 
existed  in  .1910,  just  imagine  the  nineteen  Chinese  junks  with  their 
combined  nets  numbering  one  thousand,  each  one  having  a  mouth  open 
ing  of  24x44  feet,  straining  the  small  fish  and  shrimps  from  the  rushing 
water,  tide  after  tide.  The  total  annual  catch  by  the  Chinese  junks  al 
the  time  they  were  stopped  from  fishing  in  1911  was  considerably  in 
excess  of  ten  million  pounds  of  fresh  shrimps  and  fish  combined.  Of 
this  amount  no  more  than  eight  hundred  thousand  pounds  id'  the 
shrimps  were  used  fresh.  The  rest  was  all  dried  and  marketed  as 
dried  sin-imp  meat  and  fertilizer. 

After  the  Chinese  method  of  fishing  was  stopped  it  was  found  that  the 
Italian  method  as  employed  in  the  early  days  was  not  profitable,  for 
the  shrimps  were  too  scarce  and  there  were  no  more  flounders  or  toincod. 
Neither  was  the  shrimp  beam  trawl  profitable  for  tin1  shrimps  were  not 
plentiful  enough  for  that  method  and  the  nets  were  torn  on  the  Chinese 
shrimp  stakes  driven  all  over  the  hay.  As  no  other  method  of  catching 
shrimps  was  employed  and  as  the  market    was  bare  of  shrimps,  the 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME. 


11 


presence  of  which  had  been  for  years  a  feature  of  California,  the  ban 
was  lifted  from  the  Chinese  nets  in  southern  San  Francisco  Bay  in 
1915.  The  nets  do  less  damage  in  that  pari  of  the  bay  as  there  are 
IVwcr  young  fish  there  of  valuable  varieties  for  the  reason  that  there 
is  little  fresh  water  flowing  in  that  portion  of  the  hay.  The  young  of 
the  herring  are  not  found  there,  as  they  spawn  in  the  upper  bay,  nor 
are  the  young  of  the  smelt,  shad,  striped  bass  or  salmon  found  there,  for. 
they  are  hatched  only  in  the  larger  rivers  and  as  they  descend  to  the  bay 
they  distribute  themselves  in  the  brackish  water  nursery  of  the  upper 
or  San  Pablo  Bay.  Shrimps  were  not  very  plentiful  in  south  San 
Francisco  Bay  on  account  of  the  former  heavy  fishing  and  on  account  of 
the  gradually  increasing  salinity  of  the  water.  Drying  of  shrimps  had 
also  been  prohibited  and  it  was  found  not  very  profitable  to  fish  for  the 
fresh  market  only.  During  the  first  year  after  they  resumed  fishing 
the  markets  took  less  than  350.000  pounds  of  shrimps.  They  could 
have  had  more  but  there  was  not  the  former  demand.     The  amount  of 


Fig. 


Drying  shrimps  at   Point   >an   Pedro  in   19)0.      Photographs  by   N.    B.   Scofield. 


fresh  shrimps  marketed  has  increased  each  year  until  now  the  amount 
is  equal  to  that  of  any  former  year  when  shrimp  fishing  was  at  its 
height.  The  shrimps  have  increased  in  numbers  in  all  portions  of  the 
bays,  as  also  have  the  number  of  small  fish,  especially  the  young  of  the 
striped  bass.  It  has  now  become  profitable  to  use  the  shrimp  beam 
trawl  which,  towed  with  the  tide,  catches  the  shrimp  with  a  very  small 
per  cent  of  young  fish.  As  illustrative  of  the  damage  done  by  the 
Chinese  nets  in  former  years  the  following  is  quoted  from  my  note 
book  of  1897 : 

"The  average  catch  per  day  for  each  boat  at  the  San  Rafael 
(Point  San  Pedro)  fishery,  during  the  last  two  weeks  of  duly,  was 
seventy  baskets,  each  basket  weighing  about  ninety  pounds,  making 
in  all  six  thousand  three  hundred  pounds.  The  average  number 
of  boats  out  each  day  was  seven,  making  in  all  a  daily  eateh  of 
forty-four  thousand  one  hundred  pounds.  For  thirteen  days  (the 
time  they  were  under  continual  observation)  this  number  is  swelled 


12  CALIFORNIA    PISH     \M»   GAM] 

to  six  hundred  sixty  one  thousand,  five  hundred  pounds.  One-half 
•  of  this  catch  consisted  of  small  fish,  the  principal  species  being 
smelt,  California  anchovy  and  sculpin. 

The  small  smell,  two  and  one-half  to  three  and  one-half  inches 
long,  were  very  abundant,  making  up  over  one-fourth  of  the  entire 
catch.  The  estimated  amount  of  these  young  smelt  taken  in  the  hist 
fifteen  days  of  July  is  165,375  pounds,  or  about  16,537,500  small 
fish.  When  the  nets  are  broughl  to  the  surface  of  the  water,  these 
small  smelt  are  dead,  so  that  to  throw  them  back  would  do  no  good.'" 

Later,  in  the  year  1!>1<).  we  made  the  following  notes: 

"Oct.  25,  1910:  Visited  two  San  Pedro  Point  boats  as  they 
lifted  their  nets.  One  had  30  per  cent  of  young  fish,  mostly  smelt 
and  sole.  They  also  had  a  good  many  undersized  female  edible 
crabs,  which  were  alive,  but  they  had  not  attempted  to  throw  them 
back.     The  other  boat  had  20  per  cent  of  young  fish. 

Oct.  28,  1910:  Six  boats  out  of  San  Pedro  Point.  Ming's  boat 
had  eighty  baskets  on  this  tide,  of  which  30  per  cent  was  fish, 
mostly  young  smelt,  young  sole,  and  tomcod.  One  boat  had  forty 
baskets,  two  boats  fifty  baskets  each,  and  the  remaining  two  had 
seventy-five  each.  The  amount  of  young  fish  was  about  20  per 
cent.  Ming  says  he  uses  forty  nets  and  has  averaged  seventy  bas- 
kets a  day  for  September  and  October.  The  five  camps  above  him 
use  sixty  nets  each  and  their  catch  is  much  larger. 

Oct.  29,  1910:  Again  visited  San  Pedro  Point  boats.  Five 
boats  out.  The  catch  the  same  as  yesterday.  Three  boat  crews 
have  been  arrested  in  the  last  few  days  for  catching  young  fish, 
but  when  visited  yesterday  and  today  they  made  no  attempt  what- 
ever to  throw  back  even  the  few  fish  that  were  alive.  Wing  had 
used  a  screen  to  get  out  the  fish,  but  his  catch  was  still  30  per  cent 
fish.  Their  nets  were  all  set  wide  open,  as  the  tides  are  not 
so  strong  now." 

The  above  notes  are  selected  to  give  a  conservative  idea  of  what 
the  average  catch  consists  in  upper  San  Francisco  Bay.  The  greatest 
damage  is  done  on  the  shallow  San  Pablo  Bay  flats.  During  the 
winter  months  large  numbers  of  small  striped  bass  are  killed  in  the 
nets.  The  boats  which  fished  below  San  Pablo  Bay  in  the  deeper 
water  near  Red  Rock  and  the  Stone  Quarry  caught  smaller  quantities 
of  young  fish  than  those  above,  but  they  caught  more  of  the  young 
striped  bass  than  any  others.  The  late  increase  in  the  number  of 
striped  bass  is  undoubtedly  in  large  part  due  to  the  abolition  of  the 
Chinese  nets  in  the  upper  bay,  and  if  we  value  that  fine  food  and  game 
fish  the  destructive  shrimp  nets  should  be  kept  out. 

The  Chinese  operating  in  South  San  Francisco  Bay  catch  fewer 
young  fish  and  the  varieties  caught  are  not  of  the  valuable  species 
The  lower  bay  can  easily  supply  the  fresh  markets  without  serious 
injury  to  any  of  the  other  fisheries.  But  even  there,  the  nets  should 
be  prohibited  as  soon  as  a  less  destructive  method  of  shrimp  fishing 
can  be  developed. 


CALIFORN  I  V    FISH    AND    GAME.  L3 


THE  FISHES  OF  THE     CROAKER  FAMILY   (SCIAENIDAE)   OF 

CALIFORNIA. 

By    EDWIN    CHAPIN    STARKS,    Stanford    University. 

The  fishes  of  this  family  have  a  peculiar  silvery  skin  thai  is  unlike 
the  bright,  burnished  silver  of  some  fishes,  the  herrings  for  instance. 
lnii  suggests  rather  frosted  silver.  The  head  is  closely  covered  with 
scales,  more  or  less  irregular  in  size  and  shape,  and  the  pore-bearing 
scales  of  the  lateral  line  extend  onto  the  caudal  fin.  The  bones  of  the 
skull  are  variously  excavated  with  tunnels  and  open  channels  (cav- 
ernous), and  the  chin  is  usually  provided  with  large  pores  or  barbels. 
Two  dorsal  fins  are  present;  the  first  composed  of  spines  and  more  or 
less  triangular  in  shape.  The  anal  fin  has  one  or  two  spines,  sometimes 
very  small  and  slender  or  sometimes  the  second  one  is  very  much 
enlarged. 

The  croakers  are  carnivorous  fishes  rather  distantly  related  to  the 
basses.  Many  of  them  make  a  peculiar  noise  from  which  the  common 
names  of  croaker,  grunter,  and  drum  have  been  derived.  The  noise  is 
supposed  to  be  made  by  forcing  the  air  (or  more  properly,  gas)  from 
one  part  of  the  swim  bladder  to  another.  The  species  are  numerous  on 
sandy  shores,  and  are  most  abundant  in  warm  and  tropic  seas.  At 
Panama,  for  instance,  there  are  between  40  and  4">  representatives  of 
this  family.  Of  the  eight  that  occur  on  our  coast  only  two  are  found 
in  abundance  as  far  north  as  San  Francisco.  Most  of  the  others  occa- 
sionally stray  that  far.  but  are  common  only  on  the  southern  coast. 
All  of  them  are  very  good  food  fishes,  and  some  are  classed  as  game 
fishes. 

The  common  or  popular  names  of  these  fishes  are  even  more  mixed  up 
and  poorly  applied  than  usual.  Gynoscion  nobilis,  the  "sea  bass,"  is 
not  a  bass,  and  Seriphus,  sometimes  called  the  herring,  does  not  even 
remotely  resemble  the  herring.  The  young  "sea  bass'  is  known  as  "sea 
trout."  No  possible  stretch  of  the  imagination  could  make  it  suggesl 
a  trout,  and  having  wrongly  called  its  parent  a  bass,  to  call  it  a  trout 
is  a  xwy  good  commentary  on  how  loosely  common  names  are  used. 
Genyonemus,  the  fish  thai  is  usually  known  as  the  kingfish,  is  some- 
times called  "lomcod"'  on  the  southern  California  coast,  it  resembles 
a,  tomcod  as  little  as  Seriphus,  the  queenfish,  resembles  a  herring. 
When  Genyonemus,  the  kingfish,  is  called  "tomcod"  the  name  kingfish 
is  transferred  to  Seriphus,  the  queenfish.  or  white  croaker.  Gynoscion 
parvipinnis,  a  close  relative  of  the  "sea  bass."  is  sometimes  called 
"bluefish,"  though  it  has  nothing  whatever  in  common  with  the  famous 
bluefish  of  the  Atlantic.  The  names  croaker,  roncador,  and  corvina 
are  not  at  all  consistently  applied,  but  are  shuffled  back  and  forth 
between  various  of  these  fishes. 

Hence  in  the  use  of  vernacular  names  among  these  or  any  other  fishes 
the  reader  is  again  cautioned  that  there  is  no  constancy  nor  rule  for 
their  application,  and  he  can  only  be  sure  of  definitely  indicating  a 
given  fish  by  using  its  scientific  name.  Though  such  names  will 
probably  never  be  used  by  people  al  large,  and  certainly  not  by  unlet- 
tered fishermen,  the  scientific  name  is  nevertheless  the  one  true  name 
for  a  species,  and  a  name  I  hat  will  be  recognized  by  scientific  men  in 
all  countries  1he  world  over 


14  CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GAME. 


KEY    TO   THE    FISHES    OF   THE    CROAKER    FAMILY    IN    CALIFORNIA. 
1.        Lower  jaw  projecting  beyond  tip  of  snout,  which  is  sharp. 

2.        Base   of   second   dorsal    fin   aboul    equal    in   length    to   base   ol    anal   fin. 
Qneenfish  nr  WhiU   Croaker.     Seriphus  politus.     Page  L5. 

-  2.    Base  of  second  dorsal  fin  very  much  longer  than  thai  of  anal  fin. 

:;.  Teeth  at  middle  of  upper  jaw  little  if  any  enlarged.  Pectoral  fin 
more  than  half  the  length  of  head,  lis  tip  reaching  aboul  as  Ear 
back  as  tips  of  centrals.  White  Sea  Bass.  Cynoscion  nobilis. 
Page  15. 

."!-.*>.    One  or  two  long   teeth  pointing    backward   at    the  middle  of  upper 

jaw.     Pectoral  fin   less  than  half  the  length  of  head.     Its  tip  uol 

reaching    as    far    hack  as    tips    of    ventrals.     California    Bluefish. 

Cynoscion   parvipinnis.  Page   16. 

1-1.    Tip  of  snout  blunt  and  projecting  beyond  tip  of  lower  jaw. 

1.        A   single  short   barbel   or  appendage   at  tip   of  lower  jaw. 

5.        A    large   thick  spine  at    fronl   of  anal  fin.     The   firsl    spine  of   the 
firsl    dorsal  not   longer  than   the  spines  just   behind   it.     The  tip  of 
i he    first    dorsal    rounded.       Yellowfin    Croaker.      I  mbrina    ronca 
dor.     Page  17. 

.">  "p.  No  enlarged  spine  at  front  of  anal  fin.  The  first  dorsal  spine 
longer  than  flic  others,  making  the  tip  of  (he  first  dorsal  very  sharp. 
California  Whiting.    Henticirrhus  tindulattts.    Page  17. 

4-4.    No  single  barbel  al  tip  of  lower  jaw. 

I>.         A   la  rue  thick  spine  at  front  of  anal  fin. 

7.  A  large  black  spot  on  front  of  pectoral  fin.  Pectoral  tin  as 
long  as  head,  and  reaching  past  tips  of  ventrals.  Caudal  fin 
concave  behind.     S/><>ttin  Croaker.     Roneador  stsarnsi. 

Page  18. 

7-7.  Xo  spot  at  front  of  pectoral,  hut  a  dark  spot  usually  present 
on  hind  edge  of  gill  cover.  Pectoral  fin  ranch  shorter  than 
head  and  not  reaching  to  tips  of  ventrals.  Caudal  fin  not 
concave  behind.  Black,  or  Chinese  Croaker.  Sciaena  sat- 
iii  mi.    Page  1'.*. 

G  v  No  enlarged  spine  at  front  of  anal  fin.  Kingfish.  Genyonemus 
Uncatns.     Page  20. 

GLOSSARY. 

Aim!  fin:  Tlic  single  fin  on  the  lower  side  of  the  body  towards  the 
tail. 

Barbel:  A  small  fleshy  projection  of  appendix.  In  these  fishes  it  is 
on  the  lower  jaw. 

Caudal  I'm  :     The  tail  fin. 

Dorsal  fin:  The  fill  on  the  hack.  In  these  fishes  if  is  divided  into 
two  fins:   the  first    composed  of  spines,   and    hence  called   spinous  dorsal; 

the  second  composed  of  sofl  fays. 

Maxillary:     The  flattened  hone  bordering  the  mouth  above. 

r<  ctoral  Jin  ■.  The  pair  of  fins,  one  on  each  side,  situated  close  behind 
1  he  gil]  opening. 

Preopercvlum :  A  hone  of  the  gill  cover  that  borders  the  cheek 
behind.     I)  is  considerably  in  fronl  of  (he  hind  edge  of  the  gill  cover, 

and    has  a    free  edge. 


CALIFORNIA    FI8II    AND    GAME. 


15 


Snout :  The  part  of  the  head  that  lies  in  front  of  the  eyes  except  the 
lower  jaw. 

Ventral  fins:  The  paired  fins  on  the  lower  part  of  the  breast;  close 
under  the  pectorals  in  these  fishes. 

The   Queenfish,   or   White   Croaker    (Seriphus   politus). 

The  length  of  the  base  of  the  second  dorsal  fin  is  about  equal  in  length 
to  the  base  of  the  anal  fin.  The  tip  of  the  snout  is  rather  sharp  and  the 
tip  of  the  lower  jaw  projects  beyond  it  when  the  mouth  is  closed.  The 
mouth  is  long  and  narrow,  and  the  maxillary  does  not  quite  reach  to 
vertically  below  the  hind  border  of  the  eye.  The  dorsal  fins  are  well 
separated,  and  the  .spines  of  the  first  dorsal  are  slender.  The  color  is 
bluish  above  with  the  sides  and  belly  bright  silvery,  the  tins  yellow,  and 
the  base  of  the  pectoral  dusky. 


Fig.   6.     The  queenfish   (Seriphus  politus). 

On  the  southern  California  coast  this  fish  is  ridiculously  called  her- 
ring, a  name  that  should  decidedly  be  discouraged,  for  it  has  nothing 
in  common  with  the  herring,  is  not  related  to  it,  and  does  not  even  look 
like  it.  It  also  in  the  same  region  shares  with  Genyonemus  lineatus,  the 
name  of  kingfish.  The  latter  is  almost  universally  so  known  and  hence 
has  the  best  right  to  the  name. 

This  fish  reaches  a  length  of  about  a  foot,  and  is  an  excellent  pan-fish. 
It  is  salted  and  smoked  to  some  extent  in  southern  California  and 
marketed  as  herring.  It  is  common  on  sandy  shores  of  the  southern 
and  Lower  California  coasts,  and  has  been  taken  as  far  northward  as 
San  Francisco. 


The  White  "Sea   Bass"   (Cynoscion   nobilis). 

The  snout  is  sharp  and  the  tip  of  the  lower  jaw  projects  beyond  it 
when  the  mouth  is  closed,  while  the  length  of  the  base  of  the  second 
dorsal  is  three  or  more  times  the  length  of  the  anal  base.  The  length 
of  the  pectoral  fin  is  more  than  half  the  length  of  the  head,  and  the  tip 
of  the  pectoral  reaches  about  to  opposite  the  tips  of  the  ventrals. 
There  are  no  greatly  enlarged  teeth  pointing  backwards  at  the  front 
of  the  upper  jaw.  The  mouth  is  large  and  the  maxillary  nearly  or  quite 
reaches  to  vertically  below  the  hind  border  of  the  eve.     The  caudal  fin 


16 


CALIFORNIA    KIS1J     AND    UAME. 


is  concave  behind.  Very  fine  dark  points  are  everywhere  dusted  over 
the  silvery  color,  making  it  more  or  less  dusky  bluish.  The  inner  sur- 
faces of  the  pectoral  and  ventral  fins  are  dusky. 


Fig. 


The   while-  sea  bass   (Cynoscion   nobilis). 


Though  lids  fish  is  only  distantly  related  to  the  bass,  it  is  in  ( 'alifornia 
almost  universally  known  as  the  sea  bass  or  white  sea  bass.  On  the 
Atlantic  coast  fishes  of  this  group  are  known  as  weakfishes.  This 
species  is  one  of  our  most  valuable  food  fishes,  reaching  a  weight 
of  90  or  more  pounds,  and  having  firm  white  flesh.  It  is  found  in  con- 
siderable  abundance  along  the  California  coast  and  southward  to 
Lower  California.  It  has  been  reported  as  far  north  as  Puget  Sound. 
The  young  has  dusky  bands  extending  down  from  the  hack  onto  the 
sides.     Fishermen  call  the  small  ones  sea  trout. 


The    California    "Bluefish"     (Cynoscion     parvipinnis). 

As  in  the  white  sea  bass  the  snout  is  sharp;  the  tip  of  the  lower  jaw 
projects  beyond  it  when  the  mouth  is  (dosed  ;  and  the  base  of  the  second 
dorsal  fin  is  much  longer  than  that  of  the  anal  fin.  It  may  be  known 
from  the  white  sea  bass  by  (he  pectoral  fin  being  less  than  half  the  length 


Pig.   8.     The   California   bluefish    (.Cynoscion   parvipinnis). 

of  the  head,  and  its  tip  qoI  nearly  reaching  as  far  back  as  the  tips  of 
the  ventrals.  It  is  also  distinguished  by  having  one  or  two  long  sharp 
teeth  pointing  backwards  from  the  middle  of  the  upper  jaw.  The  dor- 
sal tins  are  close  together.  'Idle  color  is  steel  blue  above  and  silvery  on 
1he  lower  parts  and  sides. 

This  fish  closely  resembles  the  white  sea  bass — in  fact  it  is  not  recog- 
nized as  different  bv  many  lishennen.      It  does  not  reach  as  large  a  size., 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GAME. 


17 


probably  not  exceeding  a  couple  of  feel  in  length,  and  it  is  said  to  be 
much  inferior  to  it.  Its  flesh  is  soft  and  it  does  not  bear  transportation 
well.  It  is  found  from  southern  California  southward  along  the  coast 
of  Lower  California. 

The  name  bluefish  as  applied  to  this  species  probably  is  on  account  of 
its  color,  and  not  because  it  is  thought  to  be  the  same  as  the  famous 
bluefish  of  the  Atlantic.  The  latter  is  a  very  different  fish,  not  at  all 
related  to  this  species. 

The  Yellowfin  Croaker  (Umbrina  roncador). 

This  fish  may  be  known  from  its  relatives  by  a  short  fleshy  barbel. 
or  appendage,  that  projects  from  the  chin,  and,  in  addition,  by  a  large 
thick  spine  at  the  front  of  the  anal  fin.  The  enlarged  spine  is  the 
second  anal  spine,  there  being  a  very  short  one  in  front  of  it.  Its  snout 
is  blunt  and  projects  over  and  above  the  tip  of  the  lower  jaw.  The 
mouth  is  nearly  horizontal,  and  the  maxillary  reaches  to  under  the 
middle  of  the  eye.     The  edge' of  the  bone  that  bounds  the  cheek  behind 


Fig.   9.     The  yellow-fin  croaker    (Umbrina   roncador). 

(preoperculum)  is  set  with  fine  spines.  The  spinous  dorsal  is  triangu- 
lar in  shape  but  rounded  at  its  upper  angle  at  the  points  of  the  first 
spines.  The  pectorals  are  rather  short  and  do  not  reach  as  far  back  as 
the  ventrals  do.  The  caudal  is  concave  behind;  and  the  upper  lobe  is 
longer  than  the  lower.  Brassy  and  golden  reflections  overlie  the  silvery 
color.  The  back  is  bluish,  and  over  the  back  and  sides  are  many  wavy 
dark  lines  that  extend  upward  and  backward  following  the  rows  of 
scales.     The  fins  are  mostly  yellow. 

This  fish  reaches  a  length  of  15  or  10  inches,  and  it  is  rather  common 
on  the  southern  California  coast.  Its  range  extends  southward  into  the 
Gulf  of  California  while  an  occasional  one  strays  northward  as  far  as 
San  Francisco.  It  is  a  very  good  food  fish,  and  is  caught  in  considerable 
abundance  by  the  anglers  on  the  piers  and  beaches  of  southern  Califor- 
nia. It  is  a  very  handsome  fish  when  it  is  first  drawn  from  the  water, 
but  its  iridescent  colors  soon  fade. 


The  California  Whiting  or  Corvina   (Menticirrhus  undulatus). 

This  is  a  well  marked  fish  that  may  be  known  by  a  fleshy  barbel,  or 
appendage,  that  projects  from  the  chin,  the  first  dorsal  spine  longer  than 

3    42789 


L8 


CALIPORN]  \    PISH    AND    (i  VME. 


the  others,  making  the  tin  sharply  pointed  above,  and  the  caudal  fin  with 
its  lower  angle  rounded  and  its  upper  sharp.  The  barbel  at  the  chin  is 
longer  than  in  the  yellow-fin  croaker.  It  may  be  known  from  thai 
species  at  once  by  its  lacking  an  enlarged  spine  at  the  front  of  the  anal. 
The  upper  jaw  projects  considerably  over  the  lower,  the  mouth  is  hori- 
zontal, and  the  maxillary  barely,  or  scarcely,  reaches  to  below  the  Eronl 
edge  of  the  pupil.  The  edge  of  the  preoperculum  is  divided  into  tine 
points  which  are  membranous  and  not  bony  spines  as  in  the  yellowfbi 
croaker.     The  pectoral  is  rather  long  and  reaches  to  about  the  tips  of 


Fig.   10.     The  California  whiting  (Mcnticcrrhus  undulati 

the  ventrals.  The  color  is  grayish  with  brighl  reflections.  On  the  back 
and  side  are  many  dark  wavy  lines  that  run  upwards  and  backwards. 
The  back  sometimes  lias  faint  dark  bars  crosswise  to  the  body. 

This  fish  is  rather  common  on  sandy  shores  of  southern  California, 
and  is  known  southward  into  the  Gulf  of  California,  while  individuals 
are  sometimes  taken  as  far  northward  as  San  Francisco.  It  is  a  yen 
good  food  fish  and  reaches  a  length  of  18  or  20  inches. 


The  Spot,  or  Spotfin  Croaker  (Roncador  stearnsi). 

This  fish  may  be  known  at  once  by  the  large  black  spot  at  the  base 
of  the  pectoral  fin.  It  is  not  only  on  both  sides  of  the  pectoral,  but  is 
also  somewhat  on  the  body  behind  the  pectoral  base.     As  in  most  of  the 


Fig.    11.     The  spot    (.Roncador  stearnsi). 


CALIFORNIA    KISll    AND    GAME. 


19 


croakers,  a  Muni  snoul  extends  over  a  horizontal  mouth.  The  mouth 
is  moderate  in  size,  and  the  maxillary  reaches  to  below  the  middle  of 
the  eye.  The  preopcreuluni  is  sel  with  fine  sharp  spines.  The  iirsl 
dorsal  has  stout  spines  and  the  second  spine  of  the  anal  is  enlarged,  the 

first  spine  being-,  as  usual,  small.  The  pectoral  is  as  long  as  the  head, 
and  reaches  considerably  past  the  tips  of  the  ventrals.  The  color  is 
grayish  silvery,  lighter  below.  Wavy  dark  lines  follow  the  rows  of 
scales  extending  upwards  and  backwards.  These  are  less  conspicuous 
than  in  the  yellowfin  roncador.  Two  dusky  streaks  usually  run  back 
from  the  throat  to  the  ventrals  and  thence  to  each  side  of  the  anal. 

This  fish  is  abundant  on  the  southern  California  coast,  and,  like  most 
of  the  others,  has  occasionally  been  taken  as  far  north  as  San  Fran- 
cisco. It  is  of  some  importance  as  a  food  fish,  and  reaches  a  weight 
of  5  or  6  pounds. 

The    Black   Croaker,    or   Chinese    Croaker    (Sciaena    saturna). 

The  following  combination  of  characters  will  identify  this  fish  from 
its  relatives:  The  snout  blunt  and  projecting  over  the  tip  of  the  lower 
jaw;  no  barbel  at  the  chin;  the  second  anal  spine  large  and  thick;  oo 


Fig.   12.     The  black  croaker  (Sciana  saturna). 

black  spot  at  base  of  pectoral ;  the  pectoral  shorter  than  the  head  and 
not  reaching  to  the  tips  of  the  ventrals.  The  month  is  small,  the  lower 
jaw  closes  within  the  upper,  and  the  maxillary  reaches  to  below  the 
middle  of  the  eye.  The  scales  on  the  head  are  small,  rough  and  uneven. 
The  preoperculum  has  a  membranous  edge  that  is  divided  into  very  fine 
points  which  are  scarcely  noticeable  without  the  aid  of  a  magnifier. 
The  dorsal  spines  are  rather  stout,  but  not  nearly  so  stout  as  the  second 
anal  spine.  The  caudal  is  slightly  convex,  or  with  its  middle  rays  the 
longest.  The  color  is  dusky  with  reddish  coppery  reflections.  A  pale 
band  usually  extends  downward  from  between  the  dorsals  to  opposite 
the  tips  of  the  ventrals.  This  often  fades  with  age.  The  lower  parts 
are  silvery  but  dusted  over  and  obscured  by  dark  specks.  The  side  of 
the  head  is  more  brilliantly  coppery  color  than  elsewhere.  The  ventral 
fins  are  dusky  or  black.  A  black  spot  is  present  at  the  edge  of  the  gill 
cover  just  above  its  angle. 


20 


CALIFORNIA    MM  I    AND    G  \  Ml.. 


1'liis  iirsli  lias  not  been  reported  aortli  of  Santa  Barbara,  tts  range 
extends  southward  alonge  the  eoasl  of  Lower  California.  M  reaches  a 
Length  of  about  15  inches,  and  is  a  fairly  good  food  fish. 

The    Kingfish    (Genyonemus    lineatus). 

The  characters  of  the  firsl  sentence  separate  this  fish  from  its  rela- 
tives. The  blunt  snoiil  projecting  over  the  tip  of  the  lower  jaw;  no 
barbel  at  the  chin;  no  enlarged  spine  a1  the  fronl  of  the  anal.  The 
mouth  is  rather  oblique.  The  lower  jaw  doses  within  the  upper,  and 
the  maxillary  reaches  to  under  the  middle  of  the  eye  or  ;i  trifle  farther. 
The  edge  of  the  preoperculum  is  membranous  and  without  fine  bony 
points.  On  each  side  of  the  lower  jaw  just  behind  the  chin  are  several 
very  small  barbels,  so  small  that  they  scarcely  show  withoul  the  aid  of 
a  magnifier.  The  spines  of  the  dorsal  are  slender.  The  pectoral  ends 
opposite  to  the  very  slender  points  of  the  ventrals,  or  reaches  a  little 
past.     The  caudal  fin   is  slightly  concave  behind.     Brassy  reflections 


Fig.   13.     The  kingfish   (Genyonemus  lineatus). 

overlie  the  bright  silvery  color.  Very  faint  wavy  lines  follow  the  rows 
of  scales  upwards  and  backwards.  The  fins  are  usually  yellowish,  and 
there  is  a  small  dark  spot  just  behind  the  base  of  the  upper  pectoral 
'•ays.  <  l       < 

This  fish  and  the  white  sea  bass  are  the  only  ones  of  this  family  that 
are  found  in  any  abundance  as  far  north  as  San  Francisco.  It  runs 
southward  along  the  Lower  California  coast.  It  is  commoner  in  sum- 
mer than  in  winter,  and  more  abnndanl  on  the  southern  eoasl  than  the 
northern.  It  scarcely  exceeds  a  foot  in  length,  but  its  abundance  makes 
it  a  food  fish  of  considerable  importance.  When  fresh  it  is  a  very  good 
food  fish,  but  its  flesh  is  rather  soft  and  it  does  not  keep  very  well.  It 
is  sometimes  called  tomcod  in  southern  California.  This  name  should 
not  be  used,  for  it  in  no  way,  shape,  nor  manner  resembles  the  tomcod. 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GAME.  21 

NOTE    ON    THE    SAND    DAB. 

By   EDWIN   C.  STARKS. 

Through  an  oversight  in  the  paper  on  flat-fishes  that  appeared  in  the 
last  number  of  California  Fish  and  Game  the  old  name  of  soft  flounder 
was  used  as  a  common  name  of  the  fish  that  has  in  recent  years  been 
known  as  the  sand  dab  (Citharichthys  sordidus).  This  name,  sand  dab, 
lias  almost  entirely  supplanted  the  older  name  on  our  coast  and  for  thai 
reason  should  be  used.  It  is,  however,  one  of  those  unfortunate  names 
borrowed  from  another  fish  from  another  part  of  the  world.  The  sand 
dab  of  the  Atlantic  coast  (Hippoglossoides  platessoides)  has  the  best 
right  to  the  mime,  for  it  was  first  so  called.  It  bears  little  resemblance 
to  our  sand  dab.  So  in  your  copy  of  California  Fish  and  Game  please 
write  sand  dab  in  place  of  soft  flounder. 


THE    STICKLEBACK:  A    FISH    EMINENTLY    FITTED    BY 
NATURE  AS  A  MOSQUITO  DESTROYER. 

By   CARL    L.    HUBBS. 

Since  it  has  been  proved  that  malaria,  yellow  fever,  and  other  dread 
diseases  are  carried  by  mosquitoes,  there  has  developed  a  wide  interest 
in  these  little  insects,  which  hitherto  had  been  regarded  more  as  a 
nuisance  than  as  a  menace.  Many  studies  have  been  undertaken  in 
order  to  determine  the  best  methods  by  which  mosquitoes  may  be 
exterminated  or  at  least  greatly  reduced  in  numbers. 

'I'lie  use  of  window  screens,  the  draining  of  .swamps,  and  the  oiling 
of  waters,  as  well  as  the  spread  of  natural  enemies,  are  methods  of 
control  that  have  received  attention  with  very  notable  success.  For 
instance,  the  building  of  the  Panama  Canal  has  been  made  possible 
by  the  destruction  of  mosquitoes  and  the  consequent  control  of  yellow 
fever. 

A  word  as  to  the  main  methods  of  mosquito  control.  The  use  of 
screens  does  not  eliminate  the  evil.  The  draining  of  swamps  has  been 
very  successfully  practiced  in  New  Jersey,  and  is  applicable  to  other 
regions  where  large,  swampy  tracts  occur.  The  use  of  oil.  which 
spreads  as  a  film  over  the  wafer,  forms  a  sufficient  control,  but  requires 
continued  attention  and  expense,  and  can  scarcely  be  applied  to  most 
ornamental  ponds  or  reservoirs  or  to  pools  from  which  animals  drink. 

There  is  thus  need  for  other  methods,  and  of  these  the  spread  of  the 
natural  enemies  of  the  mosquitoes  is  by  far  the  most  import  ant,  These 
natural  enemies  are  numerous,  and  the  most  valuable  of  them  all  for 
the  purpose  are  fishes,  which  destroy  the  young  stages  of  the  mosquitoes 
as  well  as  the  adults  when  they  alight  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 

Among  the  fishes  extensively  used  in  mosquito  control,  the  little 
killifishes  or  topminnows  may  be  mentioned,  but  there  are  others  which 
can  be  strongly  recommended.  This  short  report  is  written  to  call 
further  attention  to  the  value  of  the  stickleback  (Gasterosteus)  as  a 
mosquito  destroyer  in  California,  particularly  in  the  coastal  regions. 


22  CALIFORNIA    PISH     \M>    GAME. 

FACTORS    RENDERING   THE    STICKLEBACK    AN    EFFICIENT    MOSQUITO 

DESTROYER. 

L.  Tin  stickleback  uses  mosquitoes  as  food.  This  poinl  is  to  be 
proved  firsl  of  all.  The  evidence  is  convincing.  The  stickleback  has 
been  seen  snapping  up  adult  mosquitoes  tin-own  into  the  water.  Mos- 
quitoes are  unable  to  breed  in  waters  inhabited  by  sticklebacks.  This 
conclusion,  previously  arrived  al  in  regard  to  the  stickleback  and  the 
salt-marsh  mosquito  of  San  Francisco  Bay,  has  been  rigidly  tested  out 
in  many  of  the  si  reams  from  San  Francisco  south  to  the  Mexican 
border.    Only  a  few  examples  from  the  observations  can  be  made  here. 

In  San  Prancisquito  Creek,  near  I\ilo  Alto;  pools  were  repeatedly 
found  near  one  another  and  apparently  similar  except  in  this  respect: 
in  the  one  pool  sticklebacks  were  plentiful,  bul  qo  mosquito  wrigglers 
could  be  detected,  while  in  the  other  pool  sticklebacks  were  absent, 
while  mosquitoes  were  breeding  in  abundance. 

The  swamps,  pools  and  streams  of  the  coasl  region  of  San  Luis 
Obispo  and  Santa  Barbara  counties  appear  as  ideal  breeding  waters 
for  mosquitoes,  yet  the  people  there  enjoy  unusual  freedom  from  these 
pests  and  dangers.  A  study  of  the  region  makes  it  almost  certain  that 
these  people  have  the  stickleback  to  thank  for  the  service  thus  rendered. 
But,  even  in  these  regions  mosquitoes  breed  in  abundance  in  the  moun 
tain  canyons  into  which  the  sticklebacks  can  no1  penetrate  because  of 
the  sleep  descent  of  the  bouldery  stream  beds.  The  mosquitoes  are 
forced  back,  however,  into  the  mountains  where  there  arc  fewer  people 
for  them  to  torment 

In  Mission  Valley  in  San  Diego  sticklebacks  are.  for  some  unknown 
reason,  entirely  absent,  but  mosquitoes  and  gnats  are  very  troublesome 
during  the  summer  months.  From  the  valley  the  mosquitoes  arc  blown 
up  the  canyons  to  the  city  on  the  mesa  above.  During  the  summer 
the  surface  waters  of  the  San  Diego  River,  which  flows  through  Mis- 
sion Valley,  are  reduced  to  a  series  of  pools.  In  these  pools  three 
introduced  fishes,  the  golden  bream  (Notemigomus  crysoleucas) ,  the 
bullhead  (Ameiurus  nebulosus),  and  the  green  sunfish  (Lepomis  cya- 
nellus)  are  generally  abundant.     It  seems  that  the  stickleback  is  more 

efficient  in  the  control  of  mosquitoes  than  are  these  thr ther  fishes 

together. 

During  an  entire  summer's  study  of  this  problem.  I  never  aoted  ;i 
considerable  number  of  either  mosquito  wrigglers  or  stieklehacks  in 
the  same  pool  together.  Wherever  the  stickleback  can  penetrate,  and 
they  go  as  far  as  they  can,  the  mosquitoes  are  effectively  destroyed. 

2.  Abundanci  of  other  food  will  not  deter  II"  stickleback  from  feed- 
ing on  lh<  iin>s(j)iih,  wrigglers.  This  conclusion  is  evident  from  field 
observations,  and  is  confirmed  by  the  size  and  structure  of  the  fish:  its 
mouth,  small  even  for  such  tiny  fishes,  will  not  permit  it  to  feed  on 
large  insect  larva-  such  as  those  of  dragon  flies,  which,  by  the  way. 
upon  emerging  as  the  adult  insect,  feed  upon  the  mosquitoes  in  the  air. 

3.  The  stickleback  l'<  <  <ls  at  all  levels  of  tin    water,  from   bottom  to 
surface.     Because  of  this  fact,  mosquito  wrigglers  of  different  habits  are 
all  picked  up.     Statements  published  by  Seal,  and  by  Lutz  and  ('ham 
bers  for  the  stickleback  of  the  East  Coast,  make  it   appear  a   bottom 
feeder.    At  least,  such  a  conclusion  does  not  apply  to  the  stickleback  of 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GAME.  23 

California.  I  have  thrown  mosquitoes  into  a  pool  of  the  Los  Angeles 
River,  and  scarcely  would  one  of  them  drop  below  the  surface  before 
one  of  these  little  fishes  Avould  dart  from  some  hidden  corner  and 
devour  it. 

4.  The  habits  of  the  stickleback  render  it  destructive  to  mosquitoes. 
This  little  fish  hangs  at  any  level  of  the  water,  tail  bent  to  one  side  or 
the  other,  passively  waiting  for  a  stimulus  to  move.  The  wriggler  is 
spied,  and  the  stickleback  snaps  it  up  with  pike-like  speed  and  voracity. 

5.  The.  stickleback  itself  is  largely  immune  to  the  attacks  of  larger 
fishes.  This  is  a  fact  of  much  importance,  giving  the  little  spiny  and 
armored  stickleback  a  distinct  advantage  in  many  waters  over  other 
mosquito-eating  fishes,  as  the  topminnows.  Sticklebacks  live  abundantly 
with  rainbow  trout,  as  in  the  Ventura  River ;  and  with  black  bass,  as  in 
the  San  Luis  Creek.  In  ponds  and  reservoirs  the  waters  could  thus  be 
stocked  with  both  game  fishes  and  sticklebacks,  whereas  the  topminnows 
would,  under  such  circumstances,  soon  be  devoured. 

6.  The  stickleback  is  a  widely  distributed  fish.  This  little  fish  (Gas- 
terosteus  actdeatus) ,  of  several  varieties,  is  found  along  the  shores  of 
all  northern  regions  in  the  brackish  waters  of  the  bays  and  estuaries, 
and  in  the  coastal  streams.  The  stickleback  in  the  streams  of  Califor- 
nia extend  their  ranges  from  the  estuaries  as  far  up  into  the  mountain 
canyons  as  they  can  penetrate.  At  high  water  they  spread  out  and 
are  trapped  in  many  little  pools  from  which  mosquitoes  arc  thus 
eliminated. 

7.  The  stickleback  lives  and  breeds  in  small  pools.  These  pools  include 
not  only  those  along  stream  sides,  but  also  the  little  shallow  ponds  and 
reservoirs  about  houses,  which  if  not  stocked  with  fishes,  become  breed- 
ing grounds  for  mosquitoes.  For  this  purpose  the  stickleback  is  emi- 
nently fitted  by  its  size;  structure  and  habits.  After  planting  once  it 
requires  no  further  care.  Observations  in  California  have  led  to  these 
conclusions. 

8.  The  rise  in  temperature  during  the  summer  months  seems  not  to 
kill  the  sticklebacks.  "Where  other  fishes  might  be  killed  off  in  summer 
in  shallow  ponds  and  reservoirs,  the  sticklebacks  seem  to  live  on.  These 
little  fishes  have  even  been  found  in  the  hot  springs  of  Tia  Juana.  near 
the  Mexican  boundary. 

9.  The  abundance  of  sticklebacks  in  the  streams  of  California  pro- 
vides an  ample  supply  of  these  fishes  for  the  stocking  of  artificial  and 
■natural  pools,  ponds  and  reservoirs.  A  fine  meshed  minnow  seine,  or 
one  made  of  from  four  to  six  yards  of  cheap  cloth,  can  be  used  to 
obtain  these  fishes  in  the  waters  in  which  they  live. 

10.  The  stickleback  is  a  hardy  little  fish  and  will  stand  transportation 
from  its  native  streams  to  artificial  ponds,  in  open  buckets  or  in  cans, 
such  as  those  used  to  transport  fish  fry  for  planting  in  streams  distant 
from  the  hatcheries. 

PRACTICAL   USE  OF  THE   STICKLEBACK   IN   THE   CONTROL  OF 

MOSQUITOES. 

No  artificial  cistern,  pool,  pond  or  reservoir  should  be  left  unstocked 
with  fishes,  and  for  this  purpose  the  stickleback  is  probably  the  most 
practical  fish  in  California,  for  the  reasons  which  have  already  been 
outlined.     By   iis  use  the  breeding  of  mosquitces  about  houses  would 


2  I  CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GAME. 

be  prevented,  and  a  troublesome  nuisance  and  a  real  source  of  danger 
would  be  largely  eliminated,  for  the  mosquitoes  which  attack  us  have 
mosl  l.v  been  bred  close  by. 

There  would  remain,  however,  many  isolated  pools  in  the  salt  marshes, 
along  the  sides  of  the  lower  courses  of  the  streams,  and  in  their  upper 
canyons.  These  pools  are  usually  without  fishes.  and  in  some  of  them 
dangerous  mosquitoes  breed  in  abundance.  The  stocking  of  these 
pools  with  sticklebacks  would  doubtless,  in  many  cases  at  least,  prove 
both  possible  and  advisable.  This  might  be  done  independently  by 
those  people  interested  iii  their  own  welfare,  or  perhaps  better  by  some 
public  official.  It  is  quite  probable  that  in  the  swampylands  and  in 
the  rice  fields  along  the  Sacramento  River,  the  little  topminnows  would 
prove  more  efficient  enemies  of  the  malaria  mosquitoes  than  the  stickle- 
backs. The  California  Fish  and  Game  Commission  is  working  with 
thai  idea  in  view. 

The  control  of  mosquitoes  is  quite  possible,  in  part  by  the  use  of  the 
stickleback,  as  advocated  in  this  article,  and  in  part  by  other  met  hods, 
such  as  the  draining  of  swamps,  etc.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  proper 
authorities  in  California  will  increase  their  energy  in  this  held,  for 
the  effective  control  of  mosquitoes  within  its  borders  would  make 
California  an  even  safer  and  more  pleasant  place  in  which  to  live  than 
it  is  now. 


EARLY  STAGES  OF  THE  SPINY  LOBSTER  TAKEN  BY  THE 

BOAT  "ALBACORE."* 

By   WALDO   L.  SCHMITT.   United  States   National    Museum. 

The  investigations  of  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission  boat,  the 
Albacore,"  have  recently  yielded  some  valuable  returns,  during  her 
scientific  invest  igal  ions  of  the  commercial  fishes  and  fisheries  of  soul  hem 
California,  in  the  shape  of  hitherto  unknown  larval  stages  of  the  Cali- 
fornia spiny  lobster  (Panulirus  interruptus) . 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries  and 
through  the  courtesy  of  the  Scripps  Institution  the  writer  recently 
spent  some  months  in  California  primarily  for  the  purpose  of  making 
a  study  of  the  Scripps  Institution's  extensive  series  of  plankton  samples 
in  the  hopes  of  shedding  some  lighl  on  the  life  history  of  the  spiny 
Lobster.     Though  in  considerable  number,  only  the  earlier  larval  stages 

Were    represented    in    their   collections,  t 

*Mr.  Waldo  L.  Schmitl  of  the  United  States  National  Museum,  lias  made  a 
special  study  ol  marine  Crustacea,  and  the  opportunity  to  provide  him  with  material 
tor  the  study  of  the  early  stages  of  the  spiny  lobster  was  a  very  welcome  one  to  the 
Fish  and  Game  Commission.  His  visit  to  this  coast  came  at  a  time  when  1 1 1 . - 
ntific  work  ol  the  "Albacore"  was  but  fairly  tinder  way,  and  the  fact  that  11 
was  able  to  provide  him  with  material  which  seems  t<>  he  of  verv  considerable  valu< 
'i. i  i..-  of  happy  portenl  for  the  future.  The  superintendence  of  the  hauls  ana  of 
tie'  handling  of  the  nets  was  very  competently  done  by  .Mr.  Elmer  Higgins,  attached 
1,1  the  "Albacore"  as  a  scientific  assistant  during  her  work  on  larval  fish. 

It  will  he  v.,11  to  call  attention  to  the  significance  of  the  wide  distribution  of  the 
larval  lobsters.  These  flat,  transparent  organisms  arc  found  floating  freely  in  tic 
water,  and  air  distributed  by  the  currents.  Although  we  do  not  know,  of  course, 
what  proportion  ol  tic  larvse  are  carried  along  the  coast  by  the  currents,  nor  what 
numbers  of  them  finally  succeed  in  obtaining  a  suitable  footing  on  the  completion 
pi  their  development,  yel  it  should  be  fairly  dear  that  there  is  an  interdependence 
between   widely  separated  regions  inhabited  by  the  spiny  lobster. — Will  F.   Thompson. 

tSubsequenl  to  the  taking  of  the  large  phyllosomes  referred  to  below,  one  of  like 
size  was  found  in  the  Scripps  Institution  collections.  It  is  interesting  to  note  in  this 
connection  that  in  one  of  thoir  large  aquarium  tanks  they  succeeded  in  hatching 
out  the  first  phyllosome  stage  this  past  summer  from  the  eggs  carried  bv  a  single 
berried  female. 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    CAME. 


25 


But  on  August  2i),  1918,  while  the  writer  was  aboard  the  "Albacore," 
four  phyllosomes  of  large  size,  the  largest  ever  taken  off  California,  were 
secured  with  the  vessel's  small  otter-trawl.  These  specimens  average 
about,  an  inch  in  length,  of  body  proper,  and  were  obtained  about  16 
miles  west  of  the  Coronados  Islands  in  75  fathoms  of  water.  One  of 
these  specimens  is  shown  in  the  accompanying  figure   (fig.  14). 

Including  the  above-mentioned  specimens,  the  "Albacore"  had  taken, 
up  to  the  time  of  the  writer's  return  from  California,  some  fourteen 
lots  of  large  and  intermediate  sized  phyllosomes,  and  another  rare  stage 


Fig.     14.     Large    iiliyllosomc.    an    heretofore    undiscovered    larval 
form   of  the   spiny  lobster. 

known  as  the  puerulus.  Some  of  these  lots  contained  numerous  indi- 
viduals. The  puerulus  is  the  stage  intermediate  between  the  pyhllo- 
some,  the  form  in  which  the  "lobster"  is  hatched  from  the  egg,  and  the 
definitive  form  of  the  adult.  These  collections  were  well  distributed 
through  the  southern  California  waters  ranging  as  far  as  150  miles  off 
shore  and  to  a  maximum  depth  of  75  fathoms.  This  is  a  rather  sur- 
prising range  for  such  a  well  known  littoral  form. 

So  far  as  a  preliminary  examination  of  the  material  taken  by  the 
"Albacore"  together  with  that  obtained  from  the  Scripps  Institution 
goes,  it  appears  that  the  early  life  history  of  the  California  spiny  lobster 
is  in  a  fair  way  of  solution.  A  full  report  of  the  results  of  the  summer's 
work  is  in  preparation. 


26 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GAME. 


THE  COYOTE  AS  A  DEER  KILLER. 

By    E.    V.   JOTTER. 

Although  we  have  long  known  the  coyote  ;is  a  predatory  animal  il  has 
only  been  recently  that  we  have  obtained  evidence  of  its  destructiveness 
to  big  game.  Heretofore  known  as  a  destroyer  of  quail,  grouse  and 
domestic  slock  such  as  pigs,  sheep  and  poultry,  the  coyote  musl  now  be 
classified  along  with  the  mountain  lion  as  a  deer  slayer. 

In   that    many   persons  have   been  slow  to   believe  that    the  coyote  is  a 

factor  in  oui-  deer  supply  we  have  attempted  to  gather  some  evidence 
lending  to  prove  thai  this  animal  is  responsible  for  a  considerable  loss 
each   year   in  Trinity   County.     This  evidence   is  presented   herewith. 


Fig.  15.  Mah  coyoti  taken  in  nap  January  31,  1918,  14  miles  south  of  Douglas. 
Trinity  County,  California,  by  C.  O.  Fisher.  The  stomach  contained  deer  hair 
and   meat.     Photograph   by   C.    O.   Fishei 


Bert  Biggins,  who  runs  a  trap  line  within  the  Trinity  Game  Refuge, 
reports  finding  along  this  one  line  during  one  month,  the  remains  of 
fifteen  deer  killed  by  coyotes.  Ranger  Bucklew  in  April,  1916,  saw  a 
Cull  grown   doe.   apparently   in   good   condition,  pulled   down   by  one 

coyote. 

Mi'.   W'm.   Friend   writes  as  follows  concerning  his  experience  with 

coyotes  in  the  <  iame   Refuge  : 

•In  regard  i<>  the  deer  I  found  killed  by  coyotes  in  the  Game  Refuge,  will  say 
1  i  uinmeuced  trapping  between  Little  Creek  and  Bear  Creek  on  February  1,  1916, 
and  between  that  date  and  March  2,  1916,  I  found  the  remains  of  seventeen  deer 
killed  by  coyotes. 

They  were  all  sizes  from  large  bucks  to  fawns,  but  mostly  small  deer.  The  snow 
was  about  two  feel  deep  and  the  deer  had  collected  near  the  river  and  in  gulches. 
After  the  snow  settled  the  coyotes  could  run  on  top,  but  the  deer  broke  through,  so 
it  was  an  easy  matter  for  the  coyote  to  catch  them.  In  one  gulch  I  came  down  I 
found  eight  deer  thai  had  been  killed  at  different  times— one  of  them  had  boon  killed 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME.  27 

recently  and  none  of  them  were  over  ten  days.  In  many  other  sheltered  places  r 
found  remains.  In  one  instance  about  Feb.  1,  T.  H.  Campbell  and  I  were  riding 
along  the  road  near  Philip  Habor's  place  and  saw  where  coyotes  had  just  killed  a 
spike  buck  and  were  enjoying  a  feast  when  we  frightened  them  away.  I  also  have 
a  large  pair  of  antlers  I  brought  home  from  one  of  their  victims.  It  is  not  only 
when  the  snow  is  on,  but  in  the  spring  when  the  deer  are  weak,  and  poor,  that  thej 
destroy  a  great  many.  I  was  ((lining  home  from  my  traps  after  the  snow  had  gone 
and  not  half  a  mile  from  the  Van  Matre  place  I  saw  two  coyotes  that  had  a  large 
buck  run  down  and  would  have  killed  him  if  I  had  not  happened  along  at  that  time. 
The  deer  was  not  able  to  get  up  the  bank  then." 

Ranger  Gray's  report  on  the  coyote  is  given  in  full: 

"I  would  like  to  emphasize  the  necessity  for  a  state-wide  campaign  against  the 
coyote  and  other  predatory  animals,  in  which  all  the  people  of  the  state  are  to  a 
certain  extent  interested  and  would  help  to  bear  the  expenses  of  such  work.  It  goes 
without  question  that  a  great  public  benefit  would  be  derived  in  ridding  the  country 
of  coyotes,  either  by  increased  bounties  or  by  other  means  that  would  encourage  more 
trapping.  It  seems  that  an  increased  bounty  would  be  the  most'  effective  means  of 
encouraging  trapping,  and  in  obtaining  the  desired  result.  I  have  conversed  with 
a  great  many  stockmen  and  local  people  during  the  season  with  a  view  to  getting 
actual  cases  where  the  coyote  has  been  observed  killing  game  or  stock.  The  result 
is,  few  people  have  been  found  that  have  actually  seen  the  coyote  killing  either  wild 
game  or  domestic  stock  ;  however,  they  know  beyond  any  question  of  a  doubt  that  he 
is  responsible  for  certain  large  losses  in  both  cases.  There  is  one  good  reason  among 
others  why  he  is  not  more  often  detected  in  the  actual  work  of  killing,  for  his  wan- 
dering and  search  for  food  is  generally  done  in  the  hours  of  the  night.  In  his  wild 
nature  he  very  carefully  shuns  man,  usually  selecting  the  most  secluded  places  in 
which  to  cany  out  his  destructive  work.  Karl  Moore.  T.  Flouruoy  and  other  men 
who  have  been  handling  sheep  for  many  years  in  these  mountains  advise  me  that 
they  never  saw  a  coyote  actually  kill  a  sheep.  However,  they  state  that  they  have 
seen  them  driving  and  worrying  the  sheep  and  upon  following  the  trail  they  invari- 
ably found  dead  sheep  scattered  along  the  route.  The  greatest  losses  among  this 
class  of  stock  from  the  source  mentioned  is  to  small  bunches  separated  on  the  range 
from  the  main  bands,  and  left  on  the  range  during  the  night  unprotected.  W.  II. 
Atkeson  of  Hoaglin  advises  me  that  he  saw  a  coyote  kill  two  small  pigs  near  his 
ranch  house.     Many  others  disappeared  in  only  a  few  days  in  the  same  locality. 

Fred  Becker,  who  resides  on  Pilot  Creek,  states  that  he  saw  four  or  five  coyotes 
chasing  a  small  deer.  He  did  not  know  whether  the  deer  was  killed.  Ben.  B.  Iliff 
of  this  place  tells  me  that  during  the  past  winter  a  blood  trail  was  noted  crossing 
the  road  near  his  ranch  house.  The  tracks  of  a  deer  were  impressed  in  the  snow 
together  with  small  tracks  that  resembled  those  of  small  dogs.  The  trail  was 
followed  and  Mr.  Iliff  asserts  that  in  a  short  distance  he  found  the  carcass  of  a  large 
deer  and  upon  his  approach  two  coyotes  scampered  away.  C.  W.  Vann  of  this  place 
cites  an  instance  where  he  saw  a  coyote  catch  and  kill  a  quail.  Mr.  Vann  states 
that  while  hunting  he  approached  a  clump  of  low  brush  (poison  oak)  and  flushed  a 
bunch  of  quail.  The  quail  in  leaving  the  brush  were  quite  close  to  the  ground  and 
he  very  clearly  saw  a  coyote  jump  and  take  one  of  the  birds  as  it  passed  very  near 
him.     I  have  found  only  a  few  other  cases  similar  to  these  already  mentioned." 

Mr.  W.  T.  Shock  of  Hayfork  writes  this  letter: 

"In  reading  over  the  weekly  Trinity  Journal  I  noticed  the  letter  from  \Y.  <>. 
Friend  in  regard  to  coyotes  and  as  the  Forest  requests  any  good  evidence  against 
coyotes  I  submit  the  following:  As  I  have  trapped  and  hunted  the  coyote  all  my 
life.  I  will  write  a  little  of  my  experience.  I  find  that  the  coyote  is  very  destructive 
to  many  kinds  of  game  of  this  county,  not  only  deer,  but  all  kinds  of  birds,  such 
as  grouse  and  quail,  the  nests  of  which  it  robs.  A  coyote  can  catch  plenty  of  deer 
when  there  is  no  snow,  but  it  destroys  more  when  the  snow  is  deep.  Many  deer  that 
are  found  along  the  rivers  are  killed  in  this  way.'  When  the  heavy  snow  comes,  the 
deer  gather  along  the  rivers  and  low  ground,  as  the  snow  is  less  there.  When 
coyotes  get  hungry  they  take  after  a  deer,  and  if  they  catch  it  before  it  gets  to  the 
river  they  kill  it,  but  if  the  deer  makes  into  the  water,  the  coyote  goes  after  another 
one.     The  coyote  will  not  go  into  the  water,  but  the  deer  that   run  into  the  water  are 


28  CALIFORNIA    PISH     \M>    GAME. 

so  hoi  and  weak  thai  thej  Freeze  to  death  before  venturing  oul  again.  I  have  seen 
coyotes  after  deer,  and  running  the  coyotes  away,  I  have  tried  to  make  the  deer  get 
oui  of  Hi"  water  and  could  uol  until  I  1  n -1 1 .♦  •< I  them  oul  almosl  dead,  and  some  have 
died  while  1  was  taking  them  oul  of  the  water.  I  trapped  on  the  Bayfork  Creek 
above  the  Game  Refuge  and  near  Mr.  Dockery's  place  on  Carr  Creek  last  winter 
and  a  number  of  deer  were  gathered  at  Mr.  Dockery's  lower  barn  eating  hay  with  his 
cattle.  Between  the  firsl  daj  of  January  and  the  twenty-seventh  of  February  I 
found  the  remains  of  twentj  deer,  either  killed  by  coyotes  or  pun  into  the  creek  and 
killed,  and   I  caught  eleven  coyotes." 

Mr.  Edward  shock,  who  lives  within  the  Hayfork  township 
and  within  a  Pew  miles  of  the  town  of  Hayfork,  upon  his 
own  ranch  property,  called  a1  our  office  and  made  pome  state- 
ments concerning  the  damage  done  by  the  coyote.  Tor  which 
lie  personally  vouches.  He  stales  thai  hist  summer,  he  tines 
nui  remember  the  exact  date,  while  be  was  working  in  his  garden 
he  heard  a  noise  on  the  side  hill  adjoining  the  garden  plot,  and 
upon  glancing  up,  saw  a  fawn  coming  down  the  hill  and  it  van  into  his 
wire  fence  three  or  four  times  before  it  managed  to  get  through. 
('losely  pursuing  the  fawn  were  two  coyotes.  Shortly  after  they  got  in 
Slghl  they  saw  Mr.  Shock,  stopped,  then  turned  and  went  back  into  the 
hushes.  The  fawn  came  into  the  field  and  quite  close  to  Mr.  Shock, 
then  saw  him.  became  frightened,  turned  and  went  back  through  the 
fence  and  up  the  hill  in  about  the  same  direction  the  coyotes  had  taken. 
The  coyotes  no  dotihf  later  caughl  the  fawn,  since  they  would  merely 
hide  away  in  the  bushes  for  a  little  while  when  interrupted  in  a  pursuil 
of  this  kind,  then  take  the  track  and  follow  on. 

Another  instance  of  .Mr.  Shock's  observation  was  during  this  fall 
while  setting  a  coyote  trap,  lie  set  his  rifle  down  a  few  feet  from  him 
and  iu  finding  a  place  to  drive  the  stakes  to  hold  the  trap  he  had  moved 
a  few  feet  away  from  the  rifle.  While  busily  engaged  he  heard  a  noise 
ami  looking  around  saw  a  young  deer  without  horns,  presumably  a  doe. 
come  running  along  closely  followed  by  two  coyotes,  one  of  which  caughl 
i  he  deer  while  yet  in  sight  of  him.  Mr.  Shock  quickly  went  for  his  rifle, 
but  when  he  got  it  the  coyotes  had  taken  alarm  ami  had  left  the  deer. 
Its  tongue  was  hanging  out  and  it  seemed  to  be  just  about  run  down, 
but  it  of  course  went  on  out  of  sight.  Mr.  Shock  is  firm  in  his  belief, 
based  on  his  experience,  that  in  such  instances  the  coyotes  were  merely 

interrupted    and    would    take    the    trail    again    and    no    doubt    catch    the 

deer. 

I  le  i  rapped  nine  coyotes  within  two  weeks  around  his  place  ami  states 
I  hat  in  o pen i ni;'  up  some  of  them  to  see  whaf  the  contents  of  the  stomachs 
were  he  found  that  they  were  largely  composed  of  venison,  there  being 
evidence  in  meat,  hones  and  hair.  He  also  slates  that  the  coyotes  he  has 
caughl  were  all  x<ty  fat.  Mr.  Shock  says  that  the  reason  for  his  trap 
ping  activity  was  on  account  of  the  coyotes  catching  tin'  chickens.  He 
has  found  it  impossible  to  raise  pies  unless  they  are  well  penned.  Mr. 
Shock  is  a  far  better  trapper  than  the  average  settler  and  has  some 
methods  of  trapping  that  seem  to  gel  better  results  than  the  ordinary 
trapper.  He  says,  however,  that  flic  coyote  is  a  vrvy  difficult  animal  to 
trap  and  that  he  has  found  that  he  yets  him  more  through  his  curiosity 
than  any  actual  desire  for  food.  Mr.  Shock's  experiences  concerning 
the  coyote  are  not  at  all  unusual  and  could  be  duplicated  by  a  great 
many  of  the  settlers  throughoul  the  Trinity  Foresl 


c u.iKoKM  \   h'isii    wi)  6am&.  29 

These  arc  specific,  authenticated  facts,  which  could  be  repeated  by 
every  man  who  lias  his  eyes  open,  It  really  is  not  surprising  that  the 
attitude  of  mind  expressed  by  the  following  exists.  'Why  shouldn't  I 
have  a  deer,"  the  sett  lei-  says,  "which  will  be  eaten  anyway  by  the 
eo3rotes;  especially  when  I  have  killed  one  or  more  coyotes  myself." 
Or,  as  the  trapper  would  say,  ""Why  can't  I  get  a  deer,  or  three  or  four, 
during  a  year?  Even  if  I  kill  only  one  panther  or  trap  only  six  coyotes. 
I  have  done  more  to  protect  and  to  increase  the  deer  than  any  other 
person  or  organization  has  done. ' ' 

Two  important  factors  in  the  reduction  of  a  game  species  are  preda- 
tory animals  and  the  hunter.  We  attempt  to  compensate  for  loss  by 
the  second  factor  by  closing  the  season  for  a  period  of  years  to  allow 
recuperation.  Why  could  not  similar  results  be  obtained  by  reducing 
the  toll  taken  by  predatory  animals?  Although  it  is. true  that  a  cer- 
tain balance  is  established  between  a  species  of  game  and  its  enemies 
when  left  to  nature  alone,  it  has  been  frequently  demonstrated  that  man 
can  alter  such  a  balance  very  much  to  the  advantage  of  the  species  thai 
has  been  preyed  upon. 

Residents  of  Trinity  County  are  agreed  that  by  far  the  most  pressing 
need  in  efficient  game  protection  lies  in  the  control  of  predatory  animals. 
The  liberal  bounty  on  the  mountain  lion  has  eliminated  this  animal  as 
a  serious  menace,  but  the  coyote  still  remains  abundant  enough  to  be 
an  important  factor  in  conservation.  An  increase  in  deer,  quail  and 
grouse  can  best  be  effected  by  a  vigorous  campaign  against  the  coyote 
and  other  predatory  animals  preying  upon  them. 


30 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GAME. 


CALIFORNIA  FISH  AND  GAME 


A  publication  devoted  to  the  conserva- 
tion of  wild  life  and  published  quarterly 
by  the  California  State  Fish  and  Game 
Commission. 

Sent  free  to  citizens  of  the  State  of  Cali- 
fornia. Offered  in  exchange  for  ornitho- 
logical, mammalogical  and  similar  period- 
icsls 

The  articles  published  in  California  Fish 
and  Game  are  not  copyrighted  and  may  be 
reproduced  In  other  periodicals,  provided 
due  credit  is  given  the  California  Fish  and 
Game  Commission.  Editors  of  newspapers 
and  periodicals  are  invited  to  make  use  of 
pertinent  material. 

All  material  for  publication  should  be 
sent  to  H.  C.  Bryant,  Museum  of  Verte- 
brate Zoology,   Berkeley,  Cal. 


February    3.    1919. 


"Game  laws  are  not  passed  with  the  idea 
of  furnishing  sport  for  a  limited  number 
of  people,  but  to  protect  useful  birds  and 
animals  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  as  a 
whole." 


THE    1916-1918   BIENNIAL. 

Although  due  to  war  economy  the  L916- 
is  biennial  report  of  the  Board  <»C  Fish 
and  Game  Commissioners  is  not  so  large 
or  so  attractively  colored  as  the  last  re- 
port, it,  nevertheless,  contains  some  inter- 
esting facts  regarding  the  activities, 
receipts,  and  disbursements  of  the  com- 
mission during  the  past  biennial  period. 

Outstanding  features  of  the  work  of 
the  past  two  years  have  been  the  erec- 
tion of  a  splendid  new  fish  hatchery  in 
Inyo  County,  the  building  of  a  new  patrol 
boat  to  be  used  in  enforcing  the  laws  in 
southern  California  waters  and  in  the 
carrying  on  of  fishery  investigations,  the 
nlargement  of  the  activities  of  the  com- 
mercial  fishery  department,  including  the 
administration  of  the  kelp  industry,  an 
extensive  educational  and  publicity  <-am- 
paign  and  the  splendid  results  obtained 
in  enforcing  fish  and  game  laws. 

New  laws  enacted  by  the  1917  legisla- 
ture have  proved  valuable.  The  Supreme 
Court  decisions  sustaining  the  state  law- 
prohibiting  parcel  post  shipments  of 
game  has  effectively  stopped  a  much-used 
method  of  evading  fish  and  game  laws. 
The  spiked-buck  law  continues  to  contrib- 
ute much  toward  the  conservation  of  deer, 
and  at  the  same  time  has  reduced  the 
number  of  hunting  accidents.  Seventeen 
new  game  refuges  created  in  1917,  com- 
prising   a    total    of    839,180    acres,    have 


been  well  received  bj  the  public  and  are 
serving  as  safe  breeding  places  for  game. 

The   output    of   the   Bsh    hatcheries  has 

I a   verj    gratifying,   reaching  a  total  of 

25,697,420  in  L917  and  36,425,898  in  1916. 
A  L6  per  cent  increase  in  the  number  of 
trout    fry   reared    has   been   attained. 

Scientific  investigations  of  the  fisheries 
have  been   undertaken  and  already   ra.lu 

able  light  on  the  habits  and  life  history 
of  the  albacore  have  been  obtained.     The 

educational     and     publicity     work     of     the 

commission   is  being  well  received  by  the 

public. 

The  principal  recommendation  for  new 
legislation  has  reference  to  discretionary 
powers.  Such  legislation  enabling  the 
commission  to  close  seasons,  reduce  bag 
limits,  prohibit  certain  kinds  of  fishing 
apparatus,  and  in  general  take  such  im- 
mediate steps  as  will  in  their  opinion 
afford  prompt  and  effective  relief  and 
sav<  from  destruction  bj  human  hand 
thai  part  of  the  wild  life  which  has  sur- 
vived the  adversity  of  nature,  is  pointed 
out    as   the   greatesl   need. 

Only  a  small  edition  of  the  biennial 
has  been  printed  and  it  will  be  available 
only  to  those  sufficiently  interested  to 
write    to   the  commission   for  it. 

FISH    AND  GAME   COMMISSION    NEEDS 
PLENARY  POWERS. 

The  most  important  piece  of  iish  and 
game  legislation  which  the  legislature  will 
be  called  upon  to  enact  this  spring  will 
pertain  to  the  granting  of  plenary  powers 
to  tie  Fish  and  Game  Commission.  The 
need  for  this  legislation  has  already  been 
pointed  out  in  these  pages.  The  commis- 
sion is  not  seeking  more  power,  but  simply 
a  chance  to  make  regulations  which  will 
allow  better  administration  of  the  state's 
wild  life  resources.  It  should  be  clearly 
understood  that  regulations  can  not  he 
enforced  at  will  by  the  commission,  hut 
only  after  a  bearing  has  been  held  and 
the  regulations  signed  by  the  governor. 
The  proper  administration  of  the  Migra- 
tory Bird  Treaty  Act  is  dependent  upon 
regulations  issued  by  the  department  of 
Agriculture  under  authority  granted  it 
b\  Congress.  To  make  the  administra- 
tion of  state  laws  efficient,  similar  powers 
should  be  granted  the  commission  man 
aging  the  fish  and  game  resources. 


CALIFORN]  \    PISH    AND    <;  \  ME. 


:!1 


CALIFORNIA     LAWS     WILL     BE     MODI- 
FIED TO  AGREE  WITH    FEDERAL 
GAME    LAWS. 

California  was  one  of  the  first  states 
to  make  the  game  laws  conform  with  those 
enacted  by  the  federal  government  and 
the  slate  has  persistently  upheld  the  Fed- 
eral Migratory  Bird  Law.  It  is  to  be 
ex-pecied,  therefore,  thai  at  the  next  legis- 
lature the  few  laws  which  do  not  conform 
with  the  new  Migratory  Bird  Treaty  Act 
will  be  modified.  The  state  law  still 
allows  hunting  one  hour  before  sunrise 
and  one  hour  after  sunset.  To  agree 
with    the   federal   law  this  section   of   the 


lied  or  the  meal  tested  to  prove  that  it 
is  venison  so  that  this  pica  as  a  rule  is 
of  little  avail. 

The  same  sort  of  defense  has  been 
offered  by  a  violator  recently  arrested  in 
Tulare  County  for  having  in  possession 
the  skin  of  a  mountain  sheep.  This  de- 
fendant at  first  maintained  that  the  sheep 
was  not  a  true  wild  sheep  and  later 
claimed  that  he  killed  the  animal  in  self- 
defense.  It  will  be  an  easy  matter  to 
prove  at  the  trial  that  the  skin  held  in 
possession  was  that  of  a  wild  mountain 
sheep  and  the  violator  will  undoubtedly 
be  heavily  fined. 


%a&m 


-Us?*' 


H£*:i>»i  \  : 


Fig. 


16.      Transporting   fish   to    Salmon    Creek    in    Monterey    County.      Although    packed 
miles   on   horses,    tin     fish    arrived   in   excellent   condition. 


code  will  have  to  he  modified  so  as  to 
prohibil  all  hunting  except  between  sun- 
rise and  sunset  of  each  calendar  day. 
The  limit  law  on  geese  will  have  to  be 
changed  and  the  dove  season  made  to  be- 
gin on  September  1.  In  the  few  cases 
where  the  California  laws  are  more 
stringenl  than  those  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment   no    change    will    be    made. 

VIOLATORS    MAKE    QUEER    DEFENSE. 

After  some  chronic  violator  of  the  game 
laws  has  been  apprehended  and  a  quantity 
of  dried  venison  confiscated  the  usual  plea 
is  that  the  confiscated  meat  is  bear  meat 
or  goat   meat.     The   bones  can   be   identi- 


MONTEREY  STREAMS  STOCKED. 

Through  the  efforts  of  Senator  E.  S. 
Etigdon,  Salmon  Creek  in  southern  Mon- 
terey County  has  been  successfully 
stocked  with  trout.  Although  this  stream 
is  by  nature  a  splendid  trout  stream,  a 
la  rue  waterfall  one  mile  from  the  mouth 
of  the  creek  has  made  the  upper  reaches 
of  the  stream  barren  of  fish  life.  It  was 
with  difficulty  (hat  18,000  rainbow  and 
steelhead  trout  recently  planted  in  the 
stream  were  transported  from  the  rail- 
road. A  fifty-mile  haul  with  auto  trucks 
from  San  Luis  Obispo  to  Sanco  Pojo 
('reek  and  then  a  ten-mile  transport  by 
horseback   was  jessary.     The  trip  was 


C  VLIPOKNJ  \    FISH     AND    G  VME. 


accomplished,  however,  withoul  any  ap- 
preciable loss  in  the  fish.  One  varietj  of 
troul  was  placed  in  one  branch  of  the 
creek  and  another  in  the  other  branch, 
about  ifn  miles  in  all  being  stocked. 
From  all   reports  the  tish  are  doing  well. 

DUCK     DISEASE    AGAIN    APPEARS. 

During  October,  dink  disease  appeared 
in    the    Marysville    Butte    section   of   the 

Sacra nto  Valley.     Hitherto,  the  disease 

lias    been    restricted    to    the    vicinity    of 

alkaline  lakes   in  the  southern  part  of  the 
San     Joaquin     Valley.       Many     hunters 
hunting  near  Colusa  and  Maxwell  on  the 
opening    day    of    the    season    threw    away 
their    ducks    after    they    had    discovered 
many    sick    and    dying    birds    about    some 
of  the  ponds.     The  lad   that  an  epidemic 
of    anthrax    had    been    prevalent    in    the 
same  vicinity  led  many  persons  to  believe 
thai    the  ducks  had  contracted   the  same 
disease.     This,    however,   seems   very   un- 
likely   in    that    all    birds    under    artificial 
conditions  are  largely  immune  to  the  dis- 
ease,  and  it  is   not   to   be   expected   that 
birds  of  any  kind  would  contract  the  dis- 
ease under  natural  conditions.     Sick  birds 
secured  showed   every   symptom  of    •duck 
sickness,"   a   disease    which    is   now    well 
known    through   the   investigations   of  the 
United    States    Biological    Survey.      Mr. 
Alexander     Wetmore,    assistant    biologist, 
describes   the  symptoms  as   follows    (The 
Duck    Sickness    in    Utah.       U.    S.    Dept. 
Agric.  Bull..  (572)  :   1.  Paralysis  of  nerve 
centers   controlling   the   muscular  system 
(birds' affected  are  able  to  support  them- 
selves in  the  air  for  short  distances  only 
or   have   the    wings   entirely    helpless)  ;   2, 
respiration  is  difficult  and  spasmodic;   3, 
pulse  abnormal  when  bird   is  excited  and 
in   severe   cases    is    weak   and    irregular; 
4,    nictitating    membrane    of    eye    reacts 
slowly     (a    test     of    the    activity    of    this 
membrane  is  an  important   symptom)  ;  5, 
eyes    usually    swollen    and    a    discharge    is 
noticeable;  6,  alimentary  trad  practically 
empty,     intestines     shrunken,     linn     and 

mUCh       reddened;       7.       e.\ere|;i       luose       .  I  ]  i  <  I 

watery,  more  or  less  greenish  and  voided 
at  frequent  intervals;  8,  birds  appear 
drowsy  and  lethargic  though  alerl  al  the 
approach  of  danger. 

By  November   1    the  epidemic   had  sub- 
sided and  no  more  sick  ducks  were   to  be 


seen.  The 
victims  io 
5,000. 


number    of 
the    disease 


birds    which    fell 
is    estimated    al 


FEDERAL    PERMITS. 

The  Migratory  Bird  Treaty  Acl  pro- 
vides for  the  issuance  of  scientific  collec- 
tors' permits  to  all  those  interested  in 
collecting  either  specimens  or  eggs,  and 
also  to  breeders  who  desire  to  breed 
migratory  or  insectivorous  birds,  Permits 
to  colled  specimens  are  issued  to  properly 
accredited  persons  only  and  are  required 
in  addition  to  those  issued  under  state 
laws.  Applications  for  federal  permits 
can  be  obtained  when  applying  for  a  new 
state  permit. 

FISH    COOKERY    DEMONSTRATIONS. 

For  the  purpose  of  stimulating  the 
utilization  of  fish  products,  the  United 
Stales  Bureau  of  Fisheries  has  1 n  con- 
ducting a  series  of  demonstrations  in  fish 
cookery.  Demonstrations  have  been  held 
in  San  Francisco,  Oakland,  Berkeley,  and 
Alameda,  about  40  in  all,  with  an  average 
attendance  of  more  than  100  women  at 
each  class.  Mrs.  Kvelene  Spencer  and 
Mr.  II.  L.  Kelly  have  been  in  charge. 
These  demonstrations  are  made  of  prac- 
tical value  by  securing  the  little-used  and 
low-priced  fishes,  preparing  and  cooking 
them  in  front  of  the  class,  explaining 
every  detail,  and  then  serving  each  one 
present  with  a  portion  to  taste.  Even 
minute  details  of  the  proper  way  to  skin 
a  fish,  remove  the  backbone,  and  slice  it 
are  shown.  With  the  class  watching,  it 
is  prepared  for  the  oven,  cooked  and 
served. 

Mrs.  Spencer  recommends  the  discard- 
ing of  the  frying  pan,  in  favor  of  the 
hot  oven  method  of  cooking.  Advantages 
are  found  in  the  elimination  of  unpleasant 
odors,  the  use  of  less  than  half  (lie  amount 
of  fal  usually  required,  and  greater  ease 
for  both  the  cook  and  the  one  who  has 
the  serving  of  the  fish.  This  is  the 
method  she  uses  in  doing  the  work  her- 
self, and  all  who  eat  the  cooked  fish  agree 
thai  it  far  excels  in  flavor  the  same  kind 
of  fish  fried  in  the  old-fashioned  \\:\y. 

The  making  of  salads,  both  from 
freshly  steamed  fish,  or  from  left-over  fish 
is  explained  as  is  also  the  making  of 
souffles,     creamed      dishes     and      imitation 


CALIFORNIA    I'ISII    AM)    GAME. 


:*:{ 


chops.  Soups,  which  for  flavor  are  the 
equal  of  any  which  ran  be  made  from 
meats  or  oysters,  arc  made  from  the  heads 
and  trimmings  ordinarily  considered  as 
being-  only  fit  for  the  garbage  can. 

Thirty-four  varieties  of  fish,  not  in- 
eluding  salmon  and  halibut,  have  been 
used  in  the  demonstrations.  Thus,  it  has 
been  shown  that  a  housewife  can  cook 
fish  any  day  in  the  month,  if  she  wishes, 
and  not  have  the  same  kind  twice.  Of 
these,  the  most  popular  were  small  sole, 
skate,  sablefish.  mackerel,  kingfish,  yellow- 
tail,  shark,  shad,  rockcod  and  salmon  milts. 
The  price  of  these  fish  ranges  from  5  to  15 
cents  per  pound,  and  many  hundreds  of 
women  were  surprised  to  find  a  number  of 
them  they  preferred  to  even  salmon  or 
halibut,  which  cost  from  25  to  40  cents 
per  pound. 

Needless  to  say.  these  demonstrations 
have  proved  very  popular  with  house- 
wives, and  have  added  materially  in  in- 
creasing the  demand  for  flounder,  shark, 
skate,  squid,  sablefish  and  other  low-priced 
fishery  products  of  the  California  markets. 

INCREASED  CONSUMPTION  OF  FISH 
NECESSARY. 

Increasing  the  consumption  of  fish  is 
far  more  urgent  today  than  during  war 
times.  There  is  now  no  submarine  men- 
ace; there  are  more  ships  and  there  are 
200,01)0,000  people  who  must  be  fed  if 
they  are  to  be  saved  from  starvation. 
Every  ton  of  nonperishable  goods  possible 
must  be  sent  to  Europe.  The  use  of 
fresh  lish  releases  easily-shipped  meat 
products   for  exportation. 

There  is  absolutely  no  limit  to  the 
amount  of  fish  which  is  now  waiting  in 
the  ocean,  and  more  are  growing  to  sup- 
ply our  needs.  The  people  of  California 
have  responded  to  every  call  made  on  them 
thus  far,  and  we  urge  that  they  con- 
tinue to  show  their  patriotism  and  hu- 
manitarianism,  by  a  still  greater  use  of 
fresh  fish. 

NOTES  ON  THE  NEW  GAME  REFUGES. 
The  following  notes  relative  to  the 
recently-formed  game  refuges  have  been 
culled  from  forest  officers'  reports  for 
1017.  Apparently,  the  new  refuges  are 
filling  the  place  for  which  they  were  set 
aside 


All  refuges  in  California  are  created 
under  the  districting  act  and  so  must  be 
designated  as  a  "fish  and  game  district.'' 
Each  refuge  is  lettered  with  the  number 
of  the  main  game  districts  of  the  state 
in  which  the  refuge  is  situated  prefixed 
to  it. 

Fish  and  Game  District  1-A,  located  in 
the  Klamath  National  Forest,  is  admira- 
bly situated  for  the  purpose  for  which 
it  was  withdrawn,  being  a  natural  breed- 
ing ground.  It  covers  an  area  of  about 
oue  township  and  varies  in  elevation  from 
about  L700  feet  at  the  Klamath  River 
to  about  7,000  feet  at  the  highest  point, 
thus  giving  both  winter  and  summer  feed- 
ing ground.  The  general  exposure  of  the 
entire  area  is  southwestern,  which  makes 
it  the  very  best  from  a  climatic  stand- 
point. There  is  also  one  of  the  largest 
salt  licks  known  near  the  center  of  this 
refuge. 

When  the  refuge  was  first  created  there 
was  much  opposition  to  it",  but  lately  the 
sentiment  has  been  more  favorable. 

Fish  and  Game  Districts  1-B  and  1-C 
in  Modoc  County  are  ideal  breeding  places 
for  game  and  there  is  absolutely  no  doubt 
as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  move  in  having 
these  areas  set  aside.  The  people,  as  a 
whole,  are  strongly  in  favor  of  them. 

Fish  and  Game  Districts  1-1  and  1-J. 
in  the  Tahoe  and  El  Dorado  National 
Forests,  have  not  been  in  existence  long 
enough  to  note  any  change  in  game  con- 
ditions. While  the  people  most  affected 
accept  the  establishment  of  the  districts 
as  a  matter  of  law,  some  criticism  is 
voiced  relative  to  the  location.  Why  was 
it  not  located  "somewhere  else"  is  the 
usual  comment.  This  attitude  will  grad- 
ually disappear  after  a  time  if  the  dis- 
tricts   receive   proper  administration. 

The  people  all  seem  to  think  that  the 
Chimney  Meadow  Refuge  (Fish  and 
Game  District  L-L)  will  be  of  great  value 
t"  the  deer  ns  it  is  flu;  wintering  grounds 
for  all  the  deer  in  the  Canuell  Meadow 
District.  T'hos.  Smith  and  John  Johnson 
claim  that  they  counted  7~>  deer  in  one 
band  last  spring  in  Long  Valley,  which 
is  a  part  of  this  new  refuge.  There  are 
a  great  number  of  hunters  from  Los 
Angeles  and  the  Mojave  Desert  that  hunt 
in  this  proposed  refuge,  and  it  will  require 
a  regular  paid  game  warden  in  that  vicin- 
ity to  properly  administer  the  refuge. 

Fish  and  Game  District  2-A  covers  a 
fine  piece  of  deer  country,  having  both 
summer  and  winter  range.  The  estab- 
lishment of  the  refuge  was  very  well 
received  by  the  public,  and  it  is  believed 
that  very  little  hunting  has  been  done 
within  its  boundaries.  Considerable  com- 
plaint was  made  by  hunters  and  others, 
because  the  boundaries  of  the  refuge  were 
not  posted.  This  should  surely  be  done 
before  the  opening  of  the  next  hunting 
season. 

Tie    people  are  in   favor  of  Fish  and 
Game   Districts   4-A    and   4-B.  comprising 


:;i 


CALIFORNIA    l'IMI    AND    GAME. 


(500,000  acres  within  the  Angeles  National! 
Forest.  Deer  are  becoming  more  and 
more  plentiful.  If  anyone  is  benefited  bj 
reason  of  an  open  season,  it  is  the  resorl 
owners,  and  yet  with  the  possible  excep- 
tion of  one  owner,  a  man  who  has  been 
in  court  several  times  for  alleged  game 
violations,  I  have  yel  to  find  a  resorl 
owner  who  is  not  in  favor  of  the  continu- 
ance of  the  game   refuges. 

When  Fish  and  Game  Districl  l-C  was 
first  formed  the  sentimenl  against  it  was 
very  strong.  'This  has  changed  and  one 
finds  very  few  hunters  who  do  not  favor  it. 
The  deer  are  increasing  and  one  sees  them 
in  regions  where  there  have  been  no  doer 
for  several  years.  With  the  increase 
of  the  deer  a  noticeable  increase  in 
mountain  lion  signs  arc  also  seen.  Sev- 
eral lions  have  been  killed,  and  many  of 
the  better  class  of  sportsmen  arc  talking 
of  plan-  to  rid  the  range  of  this  pest. 
Our  greatesl  trouble,  however,  is  not  the 
lion,  but  the  unscrupulous  hunter  who 
sneaks  over  the  boundary  of  the    refuge. 

A  NEW  GAME  FARMING  PROJECT. 
A  beautifully  illustrated  prospectus  en- 
titled Wisconsin  Zoological  Park,  for  the 
Propagation,  Improvement,  and  Utiliza- 
tion of  Wild  Life  has  recently  been  issued 
by  a  newly-formed  corporation  with  head- 
quarters in  Chicago.  The  intent  of  the 
organization  is  set  forth  as  follows: 

Food,  it  is  said,  will  win  this  war. 
And  it  therefore  becomes  the  duty  of 
everyone  to  give  careful  consideration  to 
all   plans  to  increase  our  food  supply. 

I  he  American  farmers,  responding  to 
their  country's  call,  arc  planting  every 
available    fool    Of  their   land,   which   means 

that  we  have  about  reached  our  maximum 
in  food  production  unless  we  can  devise 
some  way  of  utilizing  the  undeveloped  re- 
gions. Naturally,  our  thoughts  turn  to  the 
nearby  cut-over  timber  lands  as  a  possible 
solution  of  this  problem.  We  all  under- 
stand the  diffi<  iilties  that  have  presented 
an  almost  insurmountable  harrier  to  the 
development  of  these  sections  and  the 
necessity,  on  ace, mm  of  the  scarcity  of 
labor,  of  finding  some  use  for  this  land 
without  having  to  clear  away  stumps, 
rocks  and  timber. 

The  Wisconsin  Zoological  Park  was 
created  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  dealing 
with  this  problem,  li  proposes  that  these 
lands    In'    used    jest     as    they    are.    in    the 

breeding  and  raising  of  wild  life  objects 
as  a  source  "f  supply. 

This  is  a  comparatively  new  idea,  and 
to  he  understood  and  appreciated  must  be 
carefully  studied.  The  purpose  of  this 
booklet  is  to  explain  seme  of  the  most 
important    feature-,    of   this    enterprise. 

This  company  proposes  to  demonstrate 

in  a  practical  manner  how  cut-OVer  land 
can  he  quickly  ami  profitably  utilized  in 
accordance  with  the  ideas  above  set  forth, 
and   at    the   same    time   carry  on   extensive 


experiments  towards  the  development,  im- 
provement and  preservation  of  wild  ani- 
mals. 

1 1  is  hoped  t in'  company  will  i>  'come 
self-sustaining,  but  if  it  does  not,  those 
responsible  for  it  have  not  been  actuated 
by  selfish  motives.  They  appreciate  that 
pioneers  iii  any  great  enterprise  must 
take  chances  of  loss,  but  arc  confidenl  of 
their  abilitj  to  eventually  work  out  a 
plan  which  can  be  followed  with  profit 
by  others. 

To  the  uninitiated  the  plan  is  a  very 
plausible  one,  ami  it  will  doubtless  appeal 
to  many.      In  view,  however,  of  the  SUCC(  58 

thus  far  attained  in  game  farming,  the 
outcome  of   the  project    as  a   commercial 

enterprise  seems  doubtful.  If  it  will  lead 
to  the  settinu  aside  of  large  areas  as 
breeding  grounds  for  native  animals,  it 
will  be  very  much  worth  while. 


LOUISIANA    ORIGINATES    NEW    DUCK. 

The  Department  of  Conservation  of 
the  state  of  Louisiana  is  attempting  to 
seCUl'e    a    new    duck    for    their   marshes    by 

breeding.  The  experiments  an-  being 
carried  out  on  the  assumption  that  if  a 
cross  between  the  summer  mallard  or 
black  duck  and  the  winter  visitant  green- 
head  mallard  could  be  established  a  race 
of  nonmigratory  ducks  could  be  produced 
for  the  Louisiana  marshes.  The  new- 
type  of  mallard  is  in  the  third  generation 
and  a  type  has  been  selected  which  ap- 
pears to  have  characteristics  of  both  the 
mallard  and  the  black  duck.  Whether  the 
new  duck  will  become  a  p-ermanently  resi- 
dent bird  capable  of  being  introduced 
remains  to  be  seen. 

ALASKA   FISHERY    PRODUCTS. 

The  Fisheries  Service  Bulletin  states 
that    although    final    figures   showing    the 

value  of  the  fishery  products  of  Alaska 
in  1917  are  not  yet  obtainable,  the  statis- 
tics are  practically  complete  so  that  a 
reasonably  accurate  statement  of  produc- 
tion .an  now  be  made.  Compilations 
indicate  that  the  total  value  of  such  pro- 
ducts was  $51,405,260  in  I'.UT.  Of  this 
amount  93  per  cent,  or  $47,778,081,  rep- 
resents the  value  of  the  salmon  products 
which  consisl  of  5,947,280  cases  of 
canned  salmon,  valued  at  $46,304,090,  and 
16,347.367  pounds  of  mild-cured,  pickled. 
dry-salted,  fresh  and  frozen  salmon. 
valued    al    $1,473,991.     The    halibut    fish- 


CALIFORNIA    FISH     AM)    GAME. 


35 


eries  rank  second  with  an  output  of  pro- 
ducts valued  at  $1,120,226.  In  the  order 
of  production,  the  herring  fisheries  come 
next,  with  a  yield  of  products  valued  at 
$767,729.  The  value  of  the  cod  products 
was  $744.'.tTG.  Whaling  operations  re- 
turned products  worth  $053,852.  The 
production  of  miscellaneous  fishery  pro- 
ducts including  clams  and  other  shellfish 
aggregated  $340,390  in  value. 

This  unprecedented  yield  of  fishery  pro- 
ducts in  Alaska  at  a  time  when  the  world 
is  in  need  of  food  is  called  an  achievement 
for  which  the  country  may  justly  feel 
gratified. 

The  fur  products  of  Alaska  are  also 
of  considerable  importance  and  value,  as 
evidenced  by  the  fact  that  in  the  year 
from  November  10,  1916,  to  November 
15.  1917,  shipments  from  that  territory 
reached  an  aggregate  value  of  $1,031,638, 
exclusive  of  fur-seal  skins  and  fox  skins 
■shipped  by  the  government  from  the 
Pribilof  Islands.  In  the  calendar  year 
1917  the  government  shipped  from  the 
Pribilof  Islands  fur-seal  skins  valued  at 
$274,291  and  fox  skins  valued  at  $35,680. 
— Science,  June  7,  1918. 

NOVA    SCOTIA    USES    WAR    METHODS 
TO  CAPTURE  VIOLATORS. 

The  fact  that  most  of  the  illegal  fishing 
in  Nova  Scotia  has  been  carried  on  by 
gangs  of  men  in  the  darkest  hours  of  the 
night  when  it  is  impossible  to  discover  the 
offenders  without  some  means  of  artificial 
illumination  has  prompted  authorities  to 
furnish  wardens  with  "Trench  Light" 
pistols.  These  lights  which  have  been 
very  effective  by  the  allied  armies  and 
navies  are  contained  in  metallic  cartridges 
and  are  fired  from  a  breach  loading  four- 
bore  pistol  which  throws  the  magnesium 
stars  to  a  distance  of  400  or  500  feet.  The 
lights  burn  for  five  or  ten  seconds  and 
light  up  the  whole  neighborhood  so  that 
everything  can  be  distinctly  seen  even  on 
tin'  darkest  night.  In  addition  to  its 
efficacy  in  illuminating,  it  acts  as  a 
weapon  of  self-defense  which  poachers  will 
learn   to   fear   as   much   as   the   revolvei-. 


The  "trench  light"  has  been  decided  upon 
only  after  experiments  with  acetvline 
searchlights,  electric  searchlights,  and 
magnesium  Roman  candles. 

CALIFORNIA  TRAPPERS  AND  THEIR 
CATCH. 

For  the  open  season  1917-18,  nearly  4000 
trappers'  licenses  were  issued.  As  the 
t tappers'  license  law  provides  for  the  kill- 
ing of  fur-bearers  destroying  poultry  and 
domestic  animals,  no  record  can  be  ob- 
tained of  those  so  killed  and  the  reports 
of  trappers  of  the  take  for  the  year  do 
not  give  the  total  number  of  animals 
taken.  However,  the  reports  do  give  a 
basis  for  a  computation  as  to  the  value 
of  the  annual  take  of  furs.  According  to 
the  reports  of  those  holding  trappers' 
licenses  the  take  for  last  year  was  as 
follows  : 


Species 


Number      Average 
taken  price 


Skunk    ;  10,480  | 

Mink    j  8M 

Pine    marten 127 

Fisher    28 

Weasel    59 

Badger    82 

Raccoon   2,309 

Ring-tailed  eat 1,381 

River  otter 28 

Fox —  2.268 

Bear  55 

Coyote    1,941 

Mountain  lion  7 

Wild  eat 1,488 

House  cat  m 

Opossum    18 

Muskrat   ,  80 

Woodrat    20 

Mole   3 


$1  74 
2  95 

5  90 


1  87 
40 


2  16 


3  00 


1  70 


The  wolverine  is  apparently  a  very  rare 
furbearer  and  not  a  single  skin  of  this 
animal  was  reported.  It  is  also  interest- 
ing to  note  that  such  well-known  fur- 
bearers  as  the  marten  and  fisher  are  so 
reduced  in  numbers  in  this  state  that 
only  a  small  number  were  taken  in  1917- 
18.  The  average  price  indicated  was  ob- 
tained by  averaging  the  amount  received 
for  at  least  100  different  pelts  of  a  species. 


:!li  C  VLIFORNIA    PISE    AND    G  VME. 

FACTS  OF  CURRENT  INTEREST 

A  recent  report  from  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  does  not 
concern  the  present  regulations  regarding-  migratory  birds,  but  relates 
to  the  regulations  in  effect  previous  to  the  signing  of  the  treaty  with 
Canada.  The  present  regulations  are  based  on  a  treaty  and  will  be 
in  effect  for  fifteen  years,  unless  abrogated  by  consent  of  both  con- 
tracting parties.  Because  the  present  regulations  are  based  on  a 
treaty  they  can  not  be  reviewed  by  any  court. 

On  information  furnished  by  deputies  of  the  Fish  and  Game  Com- 
mission three  violators  of  the  Federal  Migratory  Bird  Treaty  Act  have 
been  arrested  and  each  is  being  held  under  a  $250.00  bond. 

j*  ■<  •,•* 

Steelhead  trout  fishing  in  the  Russian  River  will  be  excellent  this 
year.     The  bar  is  open  and  there  is  plenty  of  water. 

?<?*  t^w  ?(?• 

February  1  will  mark  the  close  of  one  of  the  best  quail  seasons  in 
many  years. 

fc?*  ^*  *." 

The  elimination  of  market  hunting  by  federal  enactment  has 
reduced  to  a  minimum  violations  of  the  laws  protecting  waterfowl. 

^9*  ^*  ^* 

The  game  refuges  created  by  the  last  legislature  have  now  been 
posted  and  hunters  will  have  no  excuse  for  hunting  within  them. 

^v*  t^*  '-f^* 

Plans  are  being  made  to  secure  some  moving  pictures  of  the  commer- 
cial fisheries  of  southern  California  to  be  used  in  educational  work. 

,*  jt  j* 

The  State  Game  Farm  at  Hayward  was  discontinued  on  November 
16,  1918. 

t^*  ^*  ^?* 

Deputies  of  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission  in  the  areas  where  there 
is  waterfowl  shooting  have  been  appointed  federal  wardens.  Twenty- 
one  deputies  now  hold  federal  commissions. 

t(?*  t^*  ^?* 

Federal  permits  allowing  a  rice  grower  to  herd  ducks  from  his  fields 
put  a  stop  to  agitation  relative  to  depredations  by  ducks.  No  appre- 
ciable damage  to  rice  when  in  the  shock  was  reported. 

jt  jt  jt 

The  epidemic  of  duck  disease  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Marysville  Buttes 
was  of  short  duration  and  less  serious  than  similar  epidemics  which 
have  occurred  at  Tulare  Lake  in  past  years. 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GAME. 


37 


HATCHERY  NOTES. 


W.  H.  Shebley,  Editor 
FISH  DISTRIBUTION,  1918. 
While  the  fish  distribution  operations 
for  all  of  the  hatcheries  were  completed 
by  the  forepart  of  October,  complete  re- 
ports  have  not,  as  yet,  been  filed.  How- 
ever,  ii.  is  possible  to  give  an  approxima- 
tion  of  I  lie  total  distribution  from  the 
different  stations  for  the  season  of  1918. 


MT.  WHITNEY  HATCHERY. 
The  past  season  has  been  most  favor- 
able for  operations  at  the  Mount 
Whitney  Hatchery,  and  the  trout  distrib- 
uted were  some  of  the  finest  fish  ever 
reared  at  any  of  our  hatcheries.  Home 
of  the  eastern  brook  and  Loch  Leven  trout 
distributed  this  year  were  from  four  to 


Fig.   17.     Wild  geese  at 


fish  pond,  Mount     Shasta  Hatchery,  September  30,   1918.     Photograph 
by  J.  L.  Stinnett. 


MT.   SHASTA    HATCHERY. 

The  approximate  total  number  of  fish 

distributed  for  the  season  was  as  follows : 

13,500,000  quinnat  salmon. 
2,600,000  rainbow  trout. 
1,100.000  eastern  brook  trout. 
1,600,000  Loch  Leven  trout. 
2,000,000  steelhead  trout. 
230,000  black-spotted   trout. 

Two  fish  distribution  cars  were  operated 
during  most  of  the  distributing  season. 
The  fish  were  all  strong  and  healthy,  and 
nearly  all  applicants  reported  that  con- 
signments were  received  and  planted  in 
the  streams  in  good  condition.  Mount 
Shasta  Hatchery  is  now  being  put  in 
readiness  for  the  coming 
operations  and  for  the  salmon  work. 


five  inches  in  length,  which  is  a  very  re- 
markable growth  for  one  summer.  Fol- 
lowing is  an  approximation  of  the  number 
of  fish  distributed : 

1,000,000  rainbow  trout. 

83,000  eastern   brook  trout. 

70,000  Loch  Leven  trout. 
240,000  steelhead  trout. 
240,000  black-spotted  trout. 
400,000  golden  trout. 

The  golden  trout  eggs  were  obtained 
from  the  Cottonwood  Lakes  Station, 
which  was  established  for  the  purpose. 
Owing  to  the  remoteness  of  this  station 
from  railroad  lines  and  the  rough,  almost 
inaccessible  country  through  which  the 
eggs  had  to  be  carried  by  pack  animal  to 
the  Mount  Whitney  Hatchery,  the  extent 


:;s 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME. 


of  our  operations  was  necessarily  limited, 
bul  we  feel  thai  the  results  obtained  have 
justified  all  (lie  hard  work  and  expense. 
Although  several  efforts  have  been  made 
in  pasl  years  to  colled  the  eggs  or"  the 
golden  trout,  this  is  the  first  attempt  that 
lias  been  successful.  The  success  of  the 
operations  this  season  is  due  to  the  skill 
and  resourcefulness  of  Mr.  George  Mc- 
Cloud,  Jr.,  who  was  iu  personal  charge 
of  the  golden  troui  egg  collecting  opera- 
lions  at  Cottonwood  Lakes  and  of  the 
Mount  Whitney  Hatchery,  at  which  sta- 
tion the  eggs  were  hatched  and  the  fry 
reared.  The  golden  trout  are  very  diffi- 
cult to  nar.  hut  the  results  obtained  in 
this  delicate  work  far  exceeded  our  expec- 
tations. 

Plants  of  golden  trout  were  made  in  the 
Santa  Ana  River,  San  Bernardino  County, 
and  in  .Mammoth  Creek  and  Convict  Lake, 
Mono  County.  A  shipment  of  golden 
trout  was  planted  in  Lake  Tahoe,  and  a 
consignment  sent  to  Mount  Shasta  Hatch- 
ery to  be  liberated  in  the  McCloud  River 
at  a  later  date.  Practically  all  of  the 
waters  of  southern  California  and  the 
lower  San  Joaquin  Valley  counties  were 
stocked  with  fish  from  the  Mount  Whit- 
ney  Hatchery  this  season. 

Fish  Distribution  Car  No.  01  was  de- 
tached from  distribution  operations  at 
Mount  Shasta  Hatchery  the  forepart  of 
September  and  sent  to  southern  California 
to  undertake  the  shipping  of  fish  from  the 
Mount  Whitney  Hatchery.  The  work 
was  completed  in  a  little  over  a  month. 
After  the  completion  of  the  season's  fish- 
cultural  operations  the  crew  was  assigned; 
to  make  the  improvements  on  the  Mount 
Whitney  Hatchery  grounds,  and  this  work 
is  now  progressing  nicely. 

MT.    TALLAC    HATCHERY. 

The  .Mount  Tallac  Hatchery  was  oper- 
ated as  in  past  seasons,  black-spotted 
troui  eggs  being  taken  from  the  fish 
ascending  'Taylor  Creek  to  spawn.  In 
addition  to  the  1,200,000  eggs  of  this 
species  hatched  at  the  station  for  distribu- 
tion in  the  tributary  streams  of  Lake 
Tahoe  in  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Tallac, 
shipments  of  eggs  were  made  to  Tahoe 
Hatchery,  Mount  Shasta  Hatchery  and 
the  Feather  River  Experimental  Station; 
150,000    rainbow    and    380,000    steelhead 


trout  Frj  were  also  distributed  in  the 
tributary  streams  of  Lake  Tahoe  from 
Mount  Tallac  Hatchery  this  season.  The 
steelhead    troill    should    thrive    well    ill    the 

waters  of   Lake  Tal and   the  addition 

of  this  valuable  species  of  trout  to  the 
other  varieties  in  the  lake  will  be  greatly 
appreciated  by  the  anglers  of  the  state 
who  enjoy  the  fishing  in  this  region. 

TAHOE    HATCHERY. 

From  Tahoe  Hatchery  were  distributed 
15,000  rainbow  and  120,000  black-spotted 
trout  try  in  the  streams  and  lakes  in  the 
Tahoe  Basin  and  in  the  vicinity  of 
Trucke,.. 

FORT    SEWARD    HATCHERY. 

The  streams  of  Humboldt  and  Trinity 
counties  were  stocked  with  rainbow  and 
steelhead  trout  fry  to  the  number  of 
200,000  and  1,000,000  respectively  from 
Fort  Seward  Hatchery  this  season.  Mad 
River,  tributaries  of  Humboldt  Bay,  and 
Eel  River  and  tributaries,  received  most 
of  the  fish. 

Quinnal  salmon  eggs  received  from 
egg  collecting  operations  on  Eel  River 
near  Bryan's  Rest  last  fall  were  hatched 
at  Fort  Seward  Hatchery,  together  with 
shipments  of  eggs  of  the  same  species 
from  Mount  Shasta  Hatchery,  and  the 
resulting  fry  to  the  number  of  1,000,000 
were  planted  in  Mad  River,  tributaries 
of  Humboldt  Bay  and  Eel  River.  As  egg 
collecting  operations  near  Bryan's  Rest 
were  not  satisfactory,  a  new  experimental 
station  was  established  this  fall  on  Bull 
Creek,  a  tributary  of  Eel  River,  near 
Dyerville.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  there 
was  not  enough  rainfall  to  raise  the  river 
sufficiently  to  enable  the  spawning  fish 
to  ascend  the  stream,  no  Quinnat  salmon 
eggs  were  taken  early  in  the  season,  but 
later  rains  during  the  month  of  November 
improved  conditions. 

DOMINGO  SPRINGS  STATION. 
The  season's  operations  at  Domingo 
Springs  Hatchery  were  very  successful. 
In  addition  to  the  rainbow  trout  eggs 
sent  to  other  hat clieri.s,  ::  17,000  were 
hatched  and  the  fry  planted  iu  lakes  and 
streams  in  Lassen  and  Placer  counties. 
A  shipment  of  100,000  steelhead  eggs  was 
sent  to  Domingo  Springs,  and  the  result- 
ing  fry    planted   in   lakes   in   that    vicinity. 


CALIFORNIA     FISH     AND    GAME. 


39 


UKIAH  HATCHERY. 
The  streams  of  Mendocino  and  Sonoma 
counties  received  their  usual  portions  of 
steelhead  troul  fry  from  Ukiah  Hatch- 
cry  this  season,  420,000  fish  being  planted 
in  the'  two  counties. 

ALMANOR  HATCHERY. 
Egg  collecting  operations  at  Alnianor 
Hatchery  resulted  in  a  take  of  less  than 
200,000  rainbow  eggs.  The  resulting  fry 
were  distributed  in  Lake  Almanor  and 
near-by  streams. 

FEATHER  RIVER  HATCHERY. 
Operations  at  the  experimental  station 
established  near  Blairsden  on  the  Western 
Pacific  Railroad  were  not  successful,  as 
the  water  supply  from  Grey  Eagle  Creek 
did  not  prove  to  be  satisfactory  for  fish- 
cultural  operations.  Rainbow  and  black- 
spotted  eggs  were  shipped  to  the  station 
to  be  hatched  and  reared,  but  they  died 
in  great  numbers  both  before  and  after 
hatching.  The  station  has  been  disman- 
tled, and  the  equipment  will  be  used  at 
one  of  the  other  stations. 

BEAR  LAKE  HATCHERY. 
Fish  distribution  operations  were  fin- 
ished on  September  5,  and  the  station 
closed  after  completing  the  most  success- 
ful season  since  the  hatchery  was  estab- 
lished. At  the  egg  collecting  station  on 
North  Creek,  3,500,000  rainbow  eggs  were 
taken.  After  being  "eyed,"  they  were 
shipped  to  Mount  Shasta,  Mount  Whit- 
ney, Tahoe,  and  Bear  Lake  Hatchery  at 
Green  Spot  Springs;  300,000  were  also 
hatched  at  the  North  Creek  Station,  and 
planted  in  Big  Bear  Lake.  A  total  of 
1,075,000  rainbow  trout  fry  were  distrib- 
uted in  streams  of  San  Bernardino 
County,  and  in  Big  Bear  Lake,  from  Bear 
Lake  and  North  Creek  stations.  At  the 
present  time  assistants  are  engaged  in 
making  repairs  and  improvements  at  the 
two  stations.    Negotiations  are  now  under 


way  Eor  the  purchase  of  a  fine  power  boat 
for  use  in  egg  collecting  operations,  trans 
ferring  materials  and  supplies,  etc.,  which 
will     greatly     facilitate     the     work     next 

spring'. 

BROOKDALE  HATCHERY. 
Steelhead  trout  fry  to  the  number  of 
700,000  were  distributed  in  the  streams 
of  Santa  Cruz  and  Santa  Clara  counties 
from  Brookdale  Hatchery  this  season,  in 
addition  to  shipments  of  steelhead  eggs 
made  to  .Mount  Shasta  and  Mount  Whit- 
ney hatcheries  for  distribution  in  other 
sections  of  the  state. 

WAWONA  HATCHERY. 
The  completion  of  the  new  hatchery 
at  Wawona  enabled  us  to  handle  the  fish 
to  much  better  advantage  this  year. 
Streams  in  the  vicinity  of  Wawona  re- 
ceived 75,000  rainbow  and  195,000  steel- 
head trout  fry- 

CLEAR  CREEK  HATCHERY. 
A  small  hatchery  has  just  been  com- 
pleted on  Clear  Creek,  Lassen  County, 
near  Westwood.  Eggs  will  be  shipped  to 
this  station  from  Almanor  and  Domingo 
Springs  hatcheries  next  season,  and  the 
fry  hatched  for  distribution  in  the  streams 
in   the   vicinity  of  Westwood. 

KLAMATH  RIVER  STATION. 
The  new  Klamath  River  Hatchery, 
which  is  being  constructed  by  the  Cali- 
fornia-Oregon Power  Company,  and  which 
will  be  turned  over  to  the  California  Fish 
and  Game  Commission  when  completed, 
in  lieu  of  the  construction  of  a  fish  ladder 
over  the  Copco  Dam,  is  well  under  way. 
As  it  was  not  possible  to  complete  this 
hatchery  in  time  to  trap  this  year's  run 
of  Quinnat  salmon,  a  temporary  station 
was  established  at  Klamathon.  Owing  to 
the  failure  of  the  main  run  of  salmon  to 
reach  the  point  at  which  the  racks  are 
located,  on  account  of  the  long  dry  fall, 
the  take  is  therefore  much  below  normal. 


COMMERCIAL  FISHERY  NOTES. 


N.  B.  Ki'oKiKi.n,  Editor. 

TIDE    CONDITIONS     INJURE 
FISHERIES. 
The  unusual   conditions  of  water   tem- 
perature   and    currents    along    the    Cali- 
fornia   coast     during     the    past    summer 
were    largely    responsible    for    a     greatly 


reduced  catch  of  albacore  in  southern 
California     and     evidently     caused     the 

appearani £   new   and   strange   fishes   as 

elsewhere  noted  in  this  magazine.  They 
also  affected  the  catch  of  sardines  and 
salmon     and    seriously    handicapped     the 


Mi 


c  VUFORN  I  A     riSII      \\|i    (I  \.MK. 


growth  iif  kelp.  For  Dearly  five  mouths 
sardines  were  not  Found  in  sufficient  num- 
bers in  southern  California  to  keep  tin' 
canneries  busy. 

Kelp.  Tin'  k<>lp  ou  the  surface  of  the 
wairr  ceased  i"  grow  and  the  serious 
shortage  of  this  seaweed  which  occurred 
made  ii  very  difficult  for  the  kelp  potash 
companies  to  secure  enough  )<>  supply 
their  plants.  It  is  feared  that  even  the 
uew  shoots,  which  come  up  and  take  flic 
place  iif  the  long  stipes  on  tin-  surface 
of  tie-  water  after  they  have  been  cut, 
have  been  killed.  Tin;  best  growing  time 
of  the  kelp  lias  usually  been  in  the  winter 
months.  Just  how  the  stunted  summer 
growth  will  affect  the  growth  during  this 
winter   is  as  yet  unknown. 

It  is  dow  quite  certain  that  the  close 
of  the  war  will  have  the  effect  of  putting 
many  of  the  California  kelp  potash  com- 
panies  out  of  business.  Before  the  war 
(he  price  of  potash  Mas  about  $65  per 
tun.  Inn  for  the  past  year  it  lias  been 
between  $250  and  .$.">.""><)  per  ton.  If  the 
price  of  potash  decreases  one-half,  the 
majority  of  the  companies  will  have  to 
cease  operations.  Already  the  demand  for 
potash  to  be  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
munitions  of  war  has  ceased  to  exist.  The 
immense  plant  of  tin'  Hercules  Powder 
<  Company  near  San  1  (iego  has  discontinued 
harvesting  kelp  and  has  issued  notice  to 
its  one  thousand  employees  that  shortly 
i  heir  services  will  not  be  required.  This 
company  has  done  a  great  deal  of  investi- 
gatioo  work  in  developing  important  by- 
products through  the  manufacture  of 
which  they  expected  to  be  able  to  con- 
tinue operations  even  after  the  close  of 
the  war,  hut  it  has  finally  been  decided 
that  in  view  of  the  market  prices  that 
will  have  to  be  met  shortly  and  the  entire 
lack  at  present  of  a  market  for  certain 
of  the  by-products,  it  will  he  best  to 
reduce  the  operations  of  the  plant  to  a 
very  small  scale  and  onlj  two  or  three 
by-products  will  he  produced  there  with 
a   small    force. 

Salmon.  The  salmon  catch  at  Mon- 
terey during  the  summer  was  only  about 
half  the  usual  amount.  The  fish  almost 
entirely  disappeared  before  the  end  of 
May.  The  catch  for  June,  which  is 
usually  large,  was  a  failure.  But  the  fish 
which  escaped  the  hooks  of  the  fishermen 
in  Monterey  Bay  later  made  their  appear- 
ance  in   San   Francisco   Bay  and   the   Sac- 


ramento  River  on  their  way  to  cast  their 
spawn  in  the  river's  headwaters.  Their 
appearance  in  the  river  was  much  later 
than  usual  and  at  the  time  when  the  fish- 
ermen and  sal u  packers  were  impor- 
tuning  the   Fish   and    Game   Commission 

and  the  Federal  F I   Administration   to 

extend  the  season  the  salmon  pm  in  their 
appearance  in  great  numbers.  For  a 
period  of  two  weeks  the  salmon  kepi 
coming  in  such  numbers  thai  sufficient 
help  could  not  be  obtained   to  take  care 

Of    the   catch.      The    final    result    lias    been 

that     the    combined    catch    of    Monterej 

Bay  and  the  Sacramento  River  was  the 
largest  for  several  years.  The  amounl 
of  salmon  taken  up  to  the  end  of  Septem 
ber  in  Monterey  Bay,  outside  of  the 
Golden  Gate,  San  Francisco  Bay  and  the 
Sacramento  River  was  11,040,07;")  pounds. 
The  catch  of  salmon  by  trolling  at  Fort 
Bragg  was  good;  the  total  amount  of 
the  catch  reaching  a  million  and  a  quar- 
ter pounds.  The  run  at  Eel  River 
was  considered  a  failure,  the  amount 
taken  being  less  than  half  the  usual 
cal<h.  The  run  ou  the  Klamath  River 
also  shows  a  falling  off. 

THE    SALMON     INDUSTRY     MENACED. 

To  dam  the  waters  of  the  Sacramento 
at  the  narrow  Iron  Canyon  above 
Red  Bluff  and  thus  make  an  immense 
impounding  reservoir  for  Hood  control  and 
irrigation  purposes,  has  for  years  been 
a  dream  of  those  who  would  develop  the 
resources  of  the  upper  Sacramento  Vallej 
and  of  those  who  have  been  interested  in 
controlling  the  floods  on  the  lower  river. 
There  have  been  frequent  efforts  to  make 
this  dream  come  true,  but  it  is  only  re- 
cently that  there  have  been  hopes  of  its 
realization. 

It  is  now  proposed  by  assessing  the 
land  in  the  area  to  be  benefited  and  bj 
the  aid  of  the  state  and  the  United  States 
government  to  raise  $20,000,000  for  the 
construction  of  the  dam  and  irrigation 
canals.  The  site  of  the  dam  is  seven 
miles  above  Red  Bluff.  The  proposed  dam 
will  1m>  so  high  that  salmon  ascending 
the  river  to  cast  their  spawn  will  not 
he  able  to  pass  even  by  means  of  the 
best  "fish  ladders"  which  have  been  de 
vised.  An  impassable  dam  at  the  Iron 
Canyon  will  cut  the  salmon  off  from  all 
the  upper  tributaries  in  which  they  natu- 
rally   spawn,    with    the    exception    of    Mill 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND   GAME. 


41 


Creek.  J  t'  remedial  measures  can  not  be  de- 
vised three-fourths  of  the  present  salmon 
run  will  be  lost. 

Remedies  which  suggest  themselves  are 
to  attempt  to  establish  runs  in  other 
streams,  especially  in  tributaries  of  the 
San  Joaquin  and  to  establish  a  hatchery 
at  the  dam.  Many  difficulties  present 
themselves  in  any  plan  to  catch  salmon 
at  the  dam,  chief  of  which  is  unsuitable 
water  temperature.  Salmon  of  the  spring 
run  will  not  be  mature  enough  to  warrant 
holding  at  the  dam  for  spawning  purposes 
and  if  eggs  are  collected  at  the  dam  from 
the  summer  and  fall  run,  the  water  avail- 
able for  the  hatching  will  be  too  warm. 
Even  if  the  eggs  could  be  held  in  a  hatch- 
ery at  the  dam  until  they  are  "eyed" 
at  which  stage  they  could  be  shipped  to 
other  hatcheries  more  favorably  located  on 
the  river  above,  there  would  still  be  the 
problem  of  getting  the  resulting  fry  down 
over  the  dam  in  their  seaward  migration. 
If  such  a  dam  is  built,  and  it  appears 
now  it  will  be  built,  the  salmon  industry 
is  sure  to  suffer  an  irreparable  loss. 

SPERM    WHALE    TAKEN    OFF 
MONTEREY. 

On  November  21,  Monterey  fishermen 
found  a  dead  sperm  whale  off  Point  Pinos 
near  Monterey.  They  towed  the  carcass  to 
Monterey  where  it  was  sold  to  one'  of  the 
local  fish  concerns  for  $300.  The  length 
of  the  whale  was  65  feet  and  it  produced 
ten  barrels  of  case  oil.  This  species  of 
whale  is  very  scarce  on  this  coast,  and 
according  to  old  residents  of  Monterey  this 
is  the  first  sperm  whale  that  has  been 
taken  iu  that  region  for  at  least  forty 
years. 

LOCATING   SARDINES    BY   AERO- 
PLANE. 

The  serious  shortage  of  sardines  in 
southern  California  during  the  past  sum- 
mer has  suggested  the  idea  of  locating 
the  schools  of  sardines  by  means  of 
aeroplanes.  The  great  difficulty  in  catch- 
ing sardines  is  in  locating  the  schools 
of  fish.  On  account  of  light  on  the 
surface  of  the  water  it  is  difficult  to 
locate  a  school  of  sardines  unless  the 
boat  runs  into  them.  Fishing  is  usually 
carried  on  at  night,  at  which  time  the 
phosphorescent  glow  caused  by  the  swim- 
ming fish  is  more  easily  seen,  but  even  at 
night  this  phosphorescent  light  can  he 
seen  only  a  short  distance.  It  is  a  well- 
known    tact    that   schools   of   fish   can   be 


more  easily  seen  from  an  elevation  where 
the  observer  is  away  from  the  glare  of  the 
reflected  light  at  the  surface  of  the  water. 
From  an  aeroplane  schools  of  fish  are 
easily  seen  which  are  invisible  to  a  per- 
son from  the  deck  of  a  boat.  At  such 
times  as  fishermen  are  unable  to  locate 
schools  of  sardines,  or  of  albacore  for 
that  matter,  it  would  be  practicable  to 
employ  an  aeroplane  for  the  purpose, 
which  adds  one  more  argument  for  those 
who  would   commercialize   the   aeroplane. 

NEW    WHALING    STATION    ON    MON- 
TEREY   BAY. 

The  California  Sea  Products  Company 
has  almost  completed  a  large,  modern, 
fully  equipped  whaling  station  at  Moss 
Landing  on  Monterey  Bay,  which  will 
employ  forty  men  when  in  operation.  In 
addition  to  the  whaling  plant  this  com- 
pany expects  in  time  to  operate  a  sardine 
cannery  and  during  off  seasons  to  use 
their  boats  to  supply  fish  to  the  fresh 
fish  trade. 

There  has  been  some  objection  to  the 
establishment  of  a  whaling  station  on 
Monterey  Bay  for  fear  that  it  would  in- 
jure the  sardine  industry,  under  the  be- 
lief that  it  is  the  whales  that  drive  the 
sardines  into  the  bay.  This  is  an  old 
belief  which  comes  to  us  from  the  Euro- 
pean coast  where  at  one  time  it  was 
believed  whales  drove  the  herring  into  the 
sheltered  waters  of  the  bays  and  fjords. 
Herring  do  not  enter  sheltered  waters 
along  the  coast  to  escape  whales,  but  for 
the  purpose  of  spawning  in  the  shallow 
waters  where  their  eggs  are  attached  t<> 
rocks  and  seaweed.  There  is  no  evidence 
that    whales  drive  sardines  into  bays. 

NEW    FISH    NET. 

A  new  fish  net  has  been  devised  for 
catching  sardines  and  other  small  fish 
known  as  the  purse-lompara  net.  This 
net  is  in  use  at  Monterey  and  is  in  all 
respects  a  lompara  net  except  that  a 
purse  line  has  been  added  to  the  bunt  of 
the  net  which  enables  the  operators  to 
pull  the  lead  line  iu  more  quickly  after 
the  net  is  partly  in,  thus  impounding  the 
fish  in  the  bunt  of  the  net.  With  this 
net  it  is  easier  to  catch  sardines  in  the 
day  time  without  their  sounding  and 
getting  under  the  net  when  it  is  operated 
in  deep  water.  By  using  this  semipurse 
arrangement  a  shallower  net  than  other- 
wise can  be  used,  which  makes  its  opera- 
lien  quicker  and  more  economical. 


42 


<  M.IFOKMA     FISH     AND    GAME. 


CONSERVATION  IN  OTHER  STATES. 


CONSERVATION      LESSONS      FROM 
MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  Massachusetts  Fish  and  Came 
Commissioners  are  calling  attention  to 
iln>  need  of  the  conservation  of  lisli  by 
means  of  "liltle  lessons."  One  of  them 
follows : 

"The  advance  of  civilization  always 
decreases  the  natural  lish  and  same  sup- 
ply.    Preach   and   practice  conservation. 

"Don't  take  fish  that  are  full  of  spawn  : 
leave  them  to  deposit  their  eggs  and  the 
small    to  grow   into  mature   fish. 

"Don't  take  more  than  you  need. 

"Don't  try  for  the  largest  number:  fry 
for  the  largest  fish. 

"Don't  try  to  set  the  last:  one;  leave 
some   for   others. 

'•Report  violations  to  (he  Fish  and 
Game    Commissioners. 

"Remember,  this  is  your  spoil.  No  one 
is  as  interested  in  it  as  the  hunters  and 
fishermen,  and  it  is  up  to  you  to  make 
or  ruin  it." — American  Field,  May  2, 
L918. 

CATS  BECOME  GAME  IN  NEW  YORK. 
In  New  York  a  bill  has  been  passed. 
permitting  any  person  over  twenty-one 
years  of  age  who  holds  a  hunting  or 
trapping  license  to  destroy  humanely  a 
cat  at  large  found  hunting  or  killing  any 
protected  bird,  or  with  such  a  bird  in  its 
possession.  The  bill  makes  it  the  duty 
of  the  game  protectors  to  kill  all  offend- 
inu    cats. 

MINNESOTA  GAME  REFUGES. 
In  the  State  of  .Minnesota  slate  parks 
and  slate  forest  reserve  lands  have  auto- 
matically become  refuges  for  same.  The 
legislature  of  1015  provided  for  a  prac- 
tical   way   of   establishing    game    refuses 


on  privately  owned  land.  Already  seven- 
teen refuges  have  been  established  in 
this  way.  embracing  531,005  acres.  The 
combined   area    of   all   of    the    Minnesota 

same  retimes  is  1.K77.813  acres.  This 
method  of  protecting  and  restoring  game 
has  met  with  instant  and  hearty  approval 
by  the  people  of  the  slate  and  in  everj 
instance  in  which  a  refuse  has  been  estab- 
lished, there  has  been  a  unanimity  of 
sentiment  among  the  people  interested 
in  it. — I'.ieii.  Rpt,  .Minn.  Fish  and  Game 
Comm.,   L916. 

MINNESOTA      DISTRIBUTES     FISH. 

Under  the  authority  of  the  Public 
Safety  Commission,  the  slate  of  Minne- 
sota has  been  catching  and  distributing 
fish.  From  October  15,  1917,  to  Janu- 
ary 1,  1918,  thiv  product  ion  of  slaie- 
caught  fish  amounted  to  77.ST»1  pounds. 
(Jreat  care  is  being  exercised  not  to  take 
fish  that  are  desirable  for  angling  from 
localities  where  people  can  and  will  use 
lakes  for  that  purpose.  In  such  localities 
fishing  is  confined  to  rough  fish  only.  As 
a  contribution  to  the  food  supply  the  state 
fishing  has  demonstrated  iis  importance 
and  lias  proved  to  be  popular  and  suc- 
cessful. Distribution  has  been  made 
through  same  wardens,  representatives 
of  the  Safety  Commission,  meal  dealers 
and  other  individuals. 

NEW    JERSEY     RESTOCKED    WITH 
RABBITS. 

The  same  farm  of  the  New  Jersey 
State  Fish  and  Game  Commission  has 
two  thousand  rabbits  which  will  be  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  state.  Rabbits 
will  be  placed  in  districts  where  they  have 
been    bunted   out. 


LIFE  HISTORY  NOTES. 


TREE-DUCKS     SUCCESSFULLY     BRED 
IN    SANTA    CLARA    COUNTY. 

A  pair  of  fulvous  tree-ducks  (Dendro- 
cygna  bicblor)  were  secured  from  the 
State  Game  Farm  in  the  fall  of  1016  and 
placed  on  my  pond  at  Cupertino.  In 
June,  1917,  I  had  a  suspicion  that  they 
were    laying,     as     I     found     several     eggs 


which  I  could  not  classify  in  different 
parts  of  the  enclosure.  I  have  learned 
from  experience  thai  one  can  nol  disturb 
ducks  during  the  laying  and  breeding 
season,  and  in  the  past  I  know  that  I 
have  broken  up  several  "settings"  because 
of  my  curiosity.  In  June  of  this  year 
I    noted  from  casual  observance  that  only 


CALIFORNIA    KISH    AND    GAME. 


4:< 


oiie  <>t'  my  fulvous  ducks  was  on  the 
pond,  and  fearing  that  the  other  had  been 
lost  or  had  died.  I  started  an  investigation 
and  after  some  days  found  the  nest  very 
close  to  the  water's  edge  on  a  ledge  of 
rock  in  a  rustic  rockery  constructed  in  the 
pond  for  ornamental  purposes.  This  ledge 
was  concealed  by  overhanging  vines  and 
it  was  very  difficult  for  me  to  see  it.  Not 
wishing  to  disturb  the  birds.  I  did  not 
make  a  close  investigation,  but  as  near 
as  I  could  tell,  there  were  five  or  more 
eggs  in  the  nest.  (This  last  is  somewhat 
of  a  guess  on  my  part.)  As  the  birds 
seemed  to  be  sitting,  I  left  the  nest 
severely  alone,  and  some  time  around  the 
20th  of  June  (I  can  not  give  the  exact 
date)  I  Mas  rewarded  in  seeing  the 
mother  duck  bring  out  four  young  ones 
into  the  pond.  These  little  birds  did  not 
appear  to  me  to  be  much  larger  than 
young  quail  and  I  used  nay  very  best 
efforts  in  an  attempt  to  segregate  them, 
but  without  avail.  My  present  pond  is 
not  constructed  properly  for  breeding  pur- 
poses, having  been  erected  in  the  first 
instance  purely  for  ornamental  purposes, 
and  the  birds  have  not  access  to  and  from 
the  water  at  all  points,  with  the  result 
(hat  these  little  ducks  became  chilled  and 
drowned,  or  were  molested  by  the  other 
ducks,  all  dying  within  four  or  five  days. 
— J.  V.  DeLaveaga. 

RARE    FISH    FROM    MONTEREY    BAY. 

The  true  halibut  (Hippoglossus  hippo- 
glos8Us)  was  occasionally  taken  this  last 
summer  (1918)  in  Monterey  Bay.  It  has 
not.  been  reported  before  south  of  San 
Francisco. 

A  specimen  of  a  fish  sometimes  called 
the  "blacksmith"  (Chromis  punctipinnis) 
was  brought  to  Hopkins'  Marine  Station 
at  Pacific  Grove  by  Japanese  fishermen 
this  summer.  This  fish  has  hitherto  been 
unknown  north  of  the  Santa  Barbara 
Channel. — E.   O.    Stajjks. 

MARLIN-SPIKE    FISH    USED   AS    FOOD. 

The  marlin-sp-ike  fish  (Tetrapterus  nut- 
suknrii)  now  being  caught  by  ■  anglers 
near  Santa  Catalina  Island  is  finding  a 
good  market  in  Los  Angeles  at  a  retail 
price  of  25  cents  per  pound.  It  is  said 
to  be  undistinguishable  in  taste  from  the 
swordhsh.      The    writer   recently   enjoyed 


eating  some  of  it,  and  found  it  one  of  the 
most  delicious  fishes  he  had  ever  tasted. 
Fresh  tuna  was  served  ai  the  same  time 
for  comparison.  It  was  much  coarser 
fleshed  and  much  less  delicately  flavored 
than  the  marlin-spike  fish. — F.  ( '.  Stakks. 

BREEDING  OF  THE  FULVOUS  TREE- 
DUCK  IN  SANTA  CLARA  COUNTY. 

Early  in  the  month  of  November,  1917, 
a  fulvous  tree-duck  (Dendrocygna  bi- 
color)  was  brought  to  me  for  identifica- 
tion by  Miss  Ethel  Emerson.  It  had  been 
caught  when  but  a  downy  bird  in  the 
salt  marsh  near  Mountain  View,  Santa 
Clara  County,  and  was  now  nearly  grown. 
Several  others  taken  at  the  same  time 
had  died,  one  by  one  in  captivity,  but 
the  survivor,  when  placed  in  a  large  cage 
with  a  pair  of  bantams,  soon  became  very 
active  and  contented.  Later  its  plaintive 
whistle  might  be  frequently  heard  during 
the  night,  and  at  times  it  seemed  to  show 
irritation  at  close  confinement.  It  re- 
mained wild  and  was  easily  frightened  at 
the  approach  of  people  or  other  animals, 
as  dogs  and  cats.  When  opportunity  of- 
fered it  made  its  escape  after  having 
spent  somewhat  over  a  year  in  captivity. 

The  most  interesting  point  in  all  this 
is  that  it  appears  to  furnish  the  first 
account  of  the  breeding  of  the  species 
in  the  marshes  of  San  Francisco  Bay, 
and  I  believe  that  the  bird  has  not  been 
recorded   before   in    Santa    Clara   County. 

J.    O.     SXYDEK. 

BANDED     PINTAIL     TAKEN      IN 
ALAMEDA    COUNTY. 

On  November  13,  1018,  I  shot  at  Alva- 
rado,  California,  a  pintail  duck  (Dafila 
acuta)  bearing  a  metal  band  stamped 
"U.  S.  Biological  Survey.  No.  4009." 
Upon  returning  this  band  to  Washington 
the  following  information   was  obtained: 

The  duck  was  captured  while  sick  with 
alkali  poisoning  at  Utah  Lake,  cured  and 
banded  October  10.  1!>1(».  after  which  it 
was  exhibited  with  others  at  the  Utah 
State  Fair,  and  released.  Its  capture  is 
good  evidence  of  the  permanence  of  the 
cure,  and  is  of  interest  because  of  the  fact 
that  over  two  years  intervened  between 
capture  and  the  date  of  banding. — Eari.e 
Downing. 


II 


CALIFORNIA    l'isil    AND    GAME. 


CO 


ac 

w 

CD 

tu 

H 
Q. 
u 

CO 

h 

CO 

D 
O 

< 

> 

_l 
D 
-j 

I 
(0 

h 


h 
O 
w 

a 

o 

DC 

0. 

> 

DC 
111 

I 
oj 

LL 


z 

DC 
O 

u. 

J 
< 


©   ~l  m 

■—   r.  — 
-.-.   eg  cr 


Total 


San  I'iego. 


05  00  6  D  «    f-   O)   IS  O  N    :c 

6  00  l£>  l^    01       7  1/        *      [-OW 

,-T  eo  eo  i  "f  — *  —  — '  ~  *  •  - 

o  ao  ©  o  ex  m        ci 

©   i-l  TT  l"    CI 


-  00  in  re  c.  f  ■»■ 

—  B  «  co  -r  ©  o 
o  a  w  »  «  o  o 


§     ;5S 


S3 


«  © 
m  co 


Orange. 


Los  Angeles. 


V 


San  Luis  Obispo 
Santa  Barbara, 
Ventura 


ffi  ©  CO 
©  C-l  CI 
I!)   «   O 

MO   S 
r-  t- 


CO      I   I-   M 
i-h      I   ©   -1> 

CO      I  noi 

!    rJ  © 

I    5-1    — 


Monterey. 


Santa  Cruz. 


San  Francisco, 
San  Mateo 


Alameda. 
Contra  Costa. 


Sacramento. 
San  Joaquin. - 


Solano,  Yulo 


Marin. 


Mendocino. 
Sonoma.  Lake. 


forte, 

Ilumboldt. 


of  oiohm 


"V  05   CO   i-H 


' 


J-       —       -f 

00   CD   Li 
~     ;■:    :: 


gs  CO 

J  -x-p 

I-H  I-l 

CO  l> 


■ 


,-    >. 


in  -r 


CO   o 

i-  v: 
i-  -# 


/   — 

-    - 


a 

p. 


a  -  «  » 

-    ;-    o:   — 
3  ■= 


""*"   W 


*a" 


M  O  N   "M    i^ 
-J    t?l   O  M    7 


■t  !: 


cc  cn 

a" 


B. 


-*  in  o  o 
ec  ■-  -     i 

rH    -r    CI 


a 


..Si 

r-   t-    © 


1(5    C4   *^  l-< 

w  to  ^  In 

CO 


8 


© 


s«<a:i  fijS 


5  in 

— '  — 
I-  — 

a     ! 


'  s  < 
1°.' 


pi 


Z.    -71    r-    U3    '-Z1    *-   CO    CO    C-l    ©    CD 


pi  o 

W  I-   "H  ;.   vi  i 

:i  ci  i  ,-h  . 

rH  ci  OD 


o  *i 

it    . 


I 


r-noio 


i-  7i  cc 


i-  re  /   —  - 

c  M  in  to  ii 

t—  i-<  : 

r-i  -r'  —' 


-co  w  a, 


0D     - 


00  **  V- 

/      /     *i 

-i   :t   — 


■  •     — L 

- 


£ 


,   -f  CR    3  —  cc 

'     --   r   -   Arv. 


ec  —  ^  ^.  i- 

—  t-  i-  ©  -r 

CO  Hri 


8rt    J~-    —    -M 
i*    C~    r-     z 

M    O  r-i 


o  © 


g  s  g  s  a 


a 
1 


88* 


a*   a 


p  o  « 

CO 


•=  —  «  5  •=  "^  i-   a  5    -   ~  ^   -   C   S  S  .S 

'_£Q^^-  =  ^~--.  -_  --  P-  ^  k  -/ 


I    on 

^  a 

y.  / 


I.      ffm 

as   v 


:     r. 

J  / 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GAME. 


45 


.r    CI  '-  f_  ~  - 

■£,   \a  to  O  -*  O 

I-  OB  rH  DO  —  ~_ 

fH  i-  SO  i-' 


«J   6*1    -*    CO 

■fli    n   >f  d 


.*  **  CC  00  iC 
O  CI  -r  l^*  i— I 
1-    CO  w    Lt 


i—   i-    Ci    .-.    lOOOfrlOtOdbINC 

--       —       -—      t- — ^     __*     *~»        t*     r*>     t^     ^^     /— 

Ct    30 


:;  ci  c  '5  cj  :i  c  »  r.  i»  i- 

(O  t*  1<  H  C  _         '      f-    rH    O    ^5    1-     /  — 

;/     —    ~     /  7  J      h«          IC  O  rtQG  BO 

6©   ::'    M  -— *  — *          1-          t-H*  r— "  cf  ©  OS 


S 


to 


CO   O 
CI    00 


i-i  t-  ci  c-.  >-  i-  !0  >.~ 

/    7i   7   -f  ffi  in  »-   -^ 


«o  o 
■-J  oj 


- 

n 

i- 

c. 

-r 

K 

/ 

Ci 

% 


05    l-H 

lO 


3 

DO 


m  -i- 
o  in 
in  m 


e 


CI 


e 


c? 


C<5 


00 

bo 


I  so 

I  s 


'A 

3 


r/J   Oi   ^    W    O   H    i:     -r 


gS«S 


i 


s 


o  w 

<M    CO 

rH     CO 


a 


c- 


OJ     CU     qq 

■j.  f.  M 


■3 

DQ    O    O    05 

'«  Si,  s  „, 

53  S  —  3  >-  s  r 
J3   3  ,M  42   e3  M   is 


CO 

3    t-    C3 


t3 

03 
OJ 

a  J= 
■a        d  a. 

3    g"C~    x 

flc33B    - 
g  o  c  tj  « 

O   (-.  Jh    3   3 


03 


—    X 

03  CC 

■°  > 

oj   cu  :£ 

03  +J  +^  o 

2  S  — 


JH  *         2 


a 


e  =1  -c 

-    —    _     ' 


S  x: 


S  *  t<: 


S  55  o  5 


x  ffl  •/:  M  33  to  K  ic  o;  «  '/  -J  b1  H  p  r  ?  '  >  '■ 


■S  as  a  -c  £ 

3  ft    &  -  £ 

g  O  oo  oo  W 


03 


X         i     — 


S    3  *i    03    03    03    K 

•3  /  -j  3  3  U  '_ 


o  *  « 
r  -:  ~ 


03 

w 


16  CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME. 

VIOLATIONS   OF   FISH    AND   GAME    LAWS. 
September  1,  1918.  to   December  1,  1918. 


Otrcnse 


<:<nnc. 

Hunting  without  license.. 

Deer— close  season— killing  or  possession 

Female  deer,  spike  bucks,  Eawns— killing  or  possession 

Running  deer  with  dogs,  close  season.. 

Failure  to  retain  portion  of  deer  head  bearing  horns 

illegal  deer  hides— possession 

bear    close  season— killing 

Quail-  close  season— killing  or  possession 

Doves — close  season — killing  or  possession 

Duck- close  season — killing  or  possession,  excess  bag  Limit. 

Shooting  ducks  from  power  boat  in  motion 

Cottontail  and  brush  rabbits— close  season— killing  or  pos- 
session   

Kail— close  season— killing  or  possession 

Wild  pigeon— close  season— killing  or  possession 

Xongame  birds— killing  or  possession 

Shore  birds — close  season— killing  or  possession 

Night  shooting 

Total  game  violations _ j         126  $2,662  00 

Fish. 

Angling  without  license 

Fishing  for  profit  without  license 

Fishing  with  nets  in  restricted  district 

Striped   hass — underweight   

Salmon     Saturday  and  Sunday  Ashing  close  season     taking 

or  possession,  excess  limit 

Clams— undersize    excess  limit  

Abalones — under  size  -snipping  out  of  state 

Spiny  lobsters— close  season— taking  or  possession.. 


Number 

Pines 

of  arrests 

imposed 

38 

$645  »  m  > 

:', 

?:.  m 

•J.-» 

flu?  lie 

1 

25  nil 

i 

L50  hi, 

■> 

100  00 

1 

11 
•> 

325  i m  i 

i 

■_>lii  on 

1 

25  ihi 

2 

:,n  ihi 

? 

25  00 

1 

2.")  IHI 

s 

71)  IH) 

•  » 

7.")  IHI 

13 

22.")  (Ml 

Total  fish  violations. 


5 

$125  mi 

i 

Sll   IMI 

<; 

650  mi 

8 

Pill  (HI 

i 

til  HI   III! 

•  i 

7: 

5 

7.">  mi 

1 

42 

Sl, 711.".   IHI 

Grand  total  fish  and  game  violations --        168        $4,367  00 

SEIZURES— FISH,   GAME  AND    ILLEGALLY    USED   FISHING   APPARATUS. 
September  1,  1918.  to   December  1,  1918. 

< ! a  inc. 

Deer  meal  194  pounds 

Hides  6 

Ducks    127. 

Quail J!» 

Doves     1 

Shore  birds I 

Nongame  birds  in 

Rabbits  8 

Miscellaneous  game  10 

Fish. 

Striped  bass 841   pounds 

Salmon    __' 15,665  pounds 

Trout    64  pounds 

Crabs    157 

Pismo  clams 103 

Abalones    . 121 

Illegal  nets :l 

Searches. 

.Illegal  lish  and  game .- —  -. -1 


California  pish  and  game. 


47 


I 


$ 


O-l  to 
00  CO 


®s 


— 

<CO 


■HOSH 

oocm  lo 


ss 


coo 

too 

coco 

Ol  i-l 


t--cOco 
no  rr  in 

OOCM 


is  io«io 

osSK 

toco 


- 

-r 


<2 

to 
to" 


to  ©  to  i-<  lO 
LOtO  CNCO  00 

HWHTfN 
"tOOJINCO 
CM©"*  OS 

tQH<CM 


LO 


CO 
I— 


1* 
as- 


nohSn 

GO  l-O  CO  OS  CO 

ffiONOl^ 

cqcftHe| 
toco'oi  i-T 


CM 

to 


-M 

00      oo 


CO""*  OS  T 
COlO  OSOS 

POM? 


CO 
i— 1 


i-H  CO 

<y&- 


COOOoScN 

a?  i—  Q  to  no 

ostoooo 

CI         rtf 


t-  cot© 

th  tcos 

—I  nos 

O  HN 

os  ooto 


CO 

T— I 


rto 


hiOmhOWW 

go  rr  co  ©  oo  i-  co 
2      85  888?  So 

lO        CM  CM  CI        r-1 

of 


3 

>-3 


s 
s 


co  f  no 
©CN  OS 

cocoas 
co  co  to 
cm  coi^ 


SSSB 

-M  © 

lOO 
to  CO 
CM  CO 


t^OsS 


CO 

to 

CM 

OS 
CO 

to" 


O-l  CO  Q  to  © 

CO  t©  O  OS  U5 

CO  CO  -f  ©  CO 

cowoSr 


as 


oso^co^cp 
to""*  cm  i 


>0s 


SCO  O-l 
CO  i-H 

co      r^cM 
§s     ©53 

CO       t-h  co' 

H         OB- 

<y»- 


•tOfttH 
CO  rH  rt  N  f 

rtgSSgs1 

N  i-l  CM  -*  CO 


OS  cOOOOOs  O 
-*  CO  O  lO  lO  OS  © 

»o  OS  "O  lO  CO  OS  o 
l>-  O  -*  ^ft^ 

CO  CO  OH 


»  : 


>© 


oso^r 

lO  i— 1 


e*- 


OS 
CO 


'Ji  CM  H  CM  ir}< 

OO'g'CM  to  00 
oo  O  to  io  h 
t^O^'*  CT5  CO 
lO*COCMr4 

66- 


05 
S5 

X 

«5 


-HtOQI^OOtpOs 

to  i^  35  lo  to  ©  ©  to 
HitinfintpWH 

-}•  CM        N  1^  »  C  CC 
COO       OS  to       ^Tfi 


OS  OS  CO 

tfiHTJl 

-f  O-l  0-1 

tC  CM  tC 

OS  -t-  CM 


p 
: 

4J 

03 
o 

a 

~ 

.2  o 

g* 

'3  s 

If 

H 

CD 

fl 

CD 


t-O  - 

©o© 

t*.  O  "O 

OB  OS 
CO  CM  35 


OO,»-0 

i-H  OS  OS 


OS 


r-  — i  00  CM  lO  CO 
i-l  CO  CM  1--  t>~  CO 


i-H         -*  CM  h-  CO  -1"  CO 


— 
to' 


co-jcop  Oco 

CO  lO  l-O  OS  i— l 
iO"cO"oi 

•vs- 


cm" 


10-hOCOCOOSCOiH 
tC^tO-^-^i-H^HtC 

§^e  to  co  co  o  to  p 
m      i-i  co  o 


03  +j 

v.  .r  £ 


CO 

la 

CD=*H 
CD  CD 

II 


x  x 

CD  CD 

X  X 

G  a 

<0  CD 

CD  CD 


x  wi  oil 

.2  a  a 

a  oxoj) 

o.a.9 
S  S  !c 

.5  S3  03 
a  ^  ^ 


X 

c 
o 

X 
X     l  x 

c  o  S 
-  c  J= 

X—    S 

x  x  o 

5-22  o 

a  a  « 
lis 


83 
OA 

a 
- 


fl?93« 


^3S 


CD" 
X   0X1 

CD  .2 

3  x 

a 

-Bo 
G  cjO  '" 


u 


o 

u  vi 

14-1  C 

03  O 


— 'O  03 
OJti-i   ^ 


M  CD  "t; 

^.2x 

oo  o  m 

a  a  qj 

03   g   0£ 

a  cd  x 

r.  qb  -  -  -  S  ^  -; 


■-.  8j  S3 


.2>. 

-I-l  s- 

—  — 

+3  o 

—  03 

.2  — 

S  03'*- 
"w  "^  03 

w  x  r^ 


>..s 

CD  X 
03  W 

r-    CD 

>v03 

CD  |H 

4-1  'C 


ci 
l~ 

30 


-3 


OCM 
ON 


coo  co 
as  o  O 

Ol  HOI 


USB 

CO  LOO 
^f  IOCM 

-r  r->  01 


H     . 

03  u 


5  2+5=5 

03    OJ    r-    - 


1 -:  3 


4-1    r»    CJO 


X3  au+3 


c 


= 
x  &+>2 

C    03   C   CD 


!hCC 
-■"03 

^  2  S 


o 


§0 


bfe5 

S   CD 
.C.CC 
CD   «   Sh 

+j4j  a 

03  S3  te 

CDCD02 
O  S3^ 

03  03  C 


X 


p 

S3^ 

4-1  -G 

x  CD  a 


CD 
A 

a  « 

_  4- 

03  03 


S-i  03 

s-s 

CD  -^ 


3,2 

fa 

o  o 


rg 


i    \l   ll'«i|;\l  \     PISH      \M>    G  \Mli. 


■D 
<U 

3 
C 

'■*-" 

C 

o 
O 


Id 

cc 

D 
h 

Q 
Z 
UJ 
Q. 
X 
Hi 

h. 
O 

y- 
z 

UJ 
UJ 

< 

h 


o 
eg 

•v. 


~  71 
/    — 


3i  h 


J  I  -  Tl 


wocc 

—  —  r: 


or  -m  ft   - 
<■/        —71 


~  =  -  •: 


i  -  /.  -.-.  r. 
—  iff 


i  5  S 

—  —  c©  t- 

rr  — .  —  or 
•/.  —  . 


SNOC 
-I  -MOO 

~  —  05  as 
i  -  -m  —  ~ 


P- 
O 

.- 
OS. 

*j 
in 

M 
Si 


7 


- 

— 
o 

-  >. 

-  ~  . 

\  t « ■§  g 

—  a  -  z 
IS*** 

■  a  -.*- 

\~f-i  S 

h  c  ^  — ■ 

o  hoC  '" 

-  i— 


71 


T. 


X 


7 


SS8 

K  -r  © 


ac  c 


s 


—  -Mir 


/- 


P 

o 

DO  — -  "T 


- 


CO 
X 

I- 

— 


«*  te 


O".  i—i 


C7  I  7 

C    ' 

COCO 

oicf 


i 


C5  r-l 
CO'— I 
IOC© 

c"<m" 
r-l 


Oci 
rH 

se- 


er. 
i  - 

/ 
> 
i  - 


i 


co" 


1« 

Ss 


US 


ft 


t-h  CO 
US  00 

Ori 


00 
117 
US 

co 

•V. 


O 
P<0J 

<D    O 


- 


5  p 

~  ~  _  ■- 
-  S  --  - 


^2  = 

c,  C  — 

t-t  CO 

-  "  - 

43  O  S 

h  S  * 

O^  c 


o 

53  a  >>□ 

-j:  C3.5 
.5  -  is~ 
T  00  —  — 
S  C  ''    i 

—  •«     .  _ 

X3  +J  c  - 

1  ■  — 

.cc   i 

CD   CC   •-    - 

~  ~  u  p, 

—  —  a  a 


"C 

a> 
cc 


03 

o 

7 

a 
s 

o 
O 


p 


i  - 
N 

- 


-.-. 
7 


5! 


rH  CO 

CO  '■/■ 


hi 


CJ 

P: 
•~  a>  >*> 

M  «  u 

floj 

^   C3  O 

OS  03 

p"    <a 

f  p  g 

r    =    rx 

2  ss  o 


- 


I 


California  Fish  and  Game 

PUBLISHED    QUARTERLY    BY    THE    CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME    COMMISSION. 

Volume  5  SACRAMENTO,  APRIL,  1919  Number  2 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

THE  CONSERVATION  OF  OUR  FISHERIES W.  F.  Thompson  49 

THE  BASSES  AND  BASS-LIKE  FISHES E.  C.  Starks  59 

BEAR  HUNTING  WITH  BOWS  AND  ARROWS Saxton   Pope  69 

NOTES  ON  THE  ARTIFICIAL  PROPAGATION  OF  TLIE  SPINY 

LOBSTER , P.  8.  Barnhart  TO 

IS  THE  HERRING  GULL  INSECTIVOROUS? A.  C.  Burrill  71 

IN  MEMORIAM 75 

EDITORIALS    76 

FACTS  OF  CURRENT  INTEREST 91 

HATCHERY  NOTES .  92 

COMMERCIAL  FISHERY  NOTES .__  93 

Notes  from  the  Long  Beach   Laboratory 94 

CONSERVATION  IN  OTHER  STATES—- 97 

LIFE  HISTORY  NOTES 98 

WILD  LIFE  IN  RELATION  TO  AGRICULTURE 99 

REPORTS— 

Fishery  Products.  October  to  December,  191S 100 

Financial  Report 102 

Violations  of  Fish  and  Game  Laws : 103 

Seizures 103 

Number  of  Deer  Killed  in  Season  1917 104 


THE  CONSERVATION  OF  OUR  FISHERIES. 

By   WILL   F.    THOMPSON. 

Fisheries  are  subject  to  depletion  because  of  too  intense  exploitation, 
as  has  been  proved  in  Europe  and  in  our  own  country.  It  is  the  duty 
of  the  government,  as  the  one  element  in  the  situation  which  is  concerned 
with  the  perpetuation  of  the  fisheries,  to  be  able  to  recognize  depletion, 
to  know  how  to  prevent  it,  and  how  besl  to  promote  the  fisheries.  It 
implies  knowledge,  perhaps  not  of  what  we  arc  fond  of  terming  pure 
science,  but  rather  of  applied,  although  the  things  to  be  applied  are 
frankly  still  in  large  part  to  be  discovered.  .Men  engaged  in  educational 
work  are  almost  invariably  engrossed  in  the  more  abstract  branches  of 
science,  and  the  commercial  firms  are  thus  far  not  interested  in  carrying 
on  research  save  for  the  purpose  of  furthering  the  methods  of  utiliza- 
tion of  the  products.  It  is  therefore  left  very  largely  to  governmental 
authorities,  on  whom  the  responsibility  of  regulation  rests,  to  pursue 
the  subject.* 

*See  Fish  Bulletin  No.  2  for  a  more  extensive  discussion  of  this  subject. 

44G20 


50 


CALIFORNl  \    FISH    WD  G  \  .M  K. 


lint  what  are  the  problems  involved,  and  what  must  be  done  to  recog- 
nize depletion?  A  fishery  is.  one  may  say.  the  reaping  of  a  harvest 
which  lias  been  sowed  by  Nature,  and  is  subjeel  to  greal  natural  fluctu- 
ations and  has  unknown  power  of  resistance  in  the  face  of  continual 
reaping.  The  primitive  man  who  went  into  the  rice  .swamps  and  gath- 
ered his  rice,  without  thoughl  of  how  it  was  sowed,  or  how  long  it  took 
to  grow,  was  no  worse  than  we  are  in  our  primitive  attitude  regarding 
our  fisheries.  The  failure  of  his  crop  threatened  his  Livelihood,  yet  he 
knew  oothing  regarding  the  causes  of  the  failure,  nor  the  fluctuations 
which  mighl  occur.  What  were  these  changes,  were  they  due  to  his 
continual  reaping,  were  they  preventable,  or  might  they  be  foretold? 
•lust  so  we  are  asking  today,  what  are  these  great  fluctuations  in  our 
fisheries  which  may  mean  the  prosperity  or  ruin  of  our  industry,  and 
how  may  they  be  prevented  or  foretold.'  If  we  can  not  cultivate,  how 
may  we  preserve?  They  are  elemental  questions,  indeed,  to  be  asking 
on  the  threshold  of  an  era  of  exploitation. 


/o  0/ 


/.*T. 


Fig.  18.  Diagram  of  halibut  bank  in  the  North  Pacific,  illustrating  the  areas  within  which 
halibut  an  considered  abundant  enough  to  justify  fishing.  Depths  shown  bj  contour 
lines,   fishing  area  by  stippled 

Men  in  general  do  not  know  what  they  are  dealing  with  when  they 
pursue  a  fishery  for  a  certain  species.  Thus  the  conception  thai  a 
species  is  as  inexhaustible  as  the  ocean  is  large  is  an  erroneous  one. 
The  fish-in  the  sea  are  distributed  as  unevenly  throughout  its  parts  as 
wild  animals  are  on  the  land,  with  this  qualification,  that  only  the  bor- 
ders are  inhabited  by  them  to  any  extent.  Thus  a  halibut  fishery  exists 
only  en  particular  small  areas  called  banks,  or  parts  of  banks,  along 
the  edge  of  the  continental  self  in  from  thirty  to  a  hundred  and  fifty 
fathoms  where  the  conditions  are  suitable.  In  fact,  just  as  mountain 
sheep  are  limited  in  their  range,  so  are  the  halibut. 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND   CAME.  51 

Then  whal  strain  will  a  species  stand  .'  Some  think  that  the  capacity 
of  a  species  is  limitless,  because  of  the  greal  number  of  eggs  each  indi- 
vidual produces.  The  halibut  lays  over  a  million  and  a  quarter  eggs 
every  year  of  its  breeding  life,  perhaps  ten  million  in  all.  and  the  male 
produces  the  fertilizing  sperm  for  the  same:  but  this  abundance  of  eggs 
merely  foreshadows  many  dangers  to  the  young,  for  from  these  ten 
million  need  come  but  two  mature  animals  to  maintain  the  species. 
If  there  were  constantly  more  than  necessary  to  maintain  the  numbers 
cf  the  species,  then  the  resultant  increase  must,  however  slight, 
eventually  overcrowd  the  waters  of  the  sea  ;  and  if  there  were  ever  so 
small  a  lack  every  year,  then  the  species  must  vanish  ultimately.  Plan's 
influence,  however  slight,  like  weighted  dice  in  a  game,  might  well,  in 
the  end  make  loss  inevitable  if  it  were  not  for  the  probability  that 
many  forces  come  into  play  to  favor  threatened  species.  Are  those 
forces  potent  enough  to  counterbalance  man's  influence?  Do  we  know 
that  they  are  sufficient  to  avert  final  loss.' 

But  has  there  ever  been  such  a  loss?  Have  not  men  fished  for  many 
centuries  in  the  waters  of  Europe  without  over-fishing?  Why  should 
depletion  oci  ur  now  rather  than  long  ago?  But  we  know  that  this  very 
thing  has  happened,  and  that  there  is  good  reason  why  it  should  have 
happened  in  our  day.  The  great  plaice  fisheries  in  the  North  Sea  have 
been  proved  over-fished,  and  in  our  own  waters  the  halibut  fisheries 
and  those  for  the  salmon  of  the  Frazer  are  good  examples  of  the  same. 
And  the  reasons  are  not  far  to  seek.  They  may  be  found  in  the  rela- 
tively recent  invention  of  the  canning  process,  in  the  use  of  steam  and 
gasoline  for  transportation,  and  in  the  use  of  ice  and  cold  storage 
methods  of  preserving  food.  Salmon  from  the  Frazer  is  known  in 
Africa  and  .Mexico  nearly  as  well  as  we  know  it  in  America.  Halibut 
taken  by  steamers  and  gasoline-driven  boats  in  the  Pacific  is  carried  by 
express  trains  across  the  continent  and  across  the  Atlantic  to  England 
in  a  fresh  condition.  The  cold-storage  and  the  canning  of  fish  have 
abolished  boundaries  and  "off-seasons"  in  so  far  as  many  species  are  con- 
(  erned.  The  net  result  of  all  this  has  been  the  recent  vast  enlargement 
of  the  market,  and  with  that  has  come  the  equally  vast  enlargement  of 
the  fishing  industry.  This  marvelous  growth  of  our  fisheries  has  not 
been  appreciated,  I  am  sure.  Our  sardine  fishery,  totaling  in  1917 
over  100,000,000  pounds,  has  arisen  within  the  last  four  years.  The 
great  halibut  fishery,  which  reached  a  maximum  of  70,000,000  pounds 
a  year,  began  in  1890,  and  is  now  on  the  decline.  What  will  the 
future  show  to  us  in  this  regard.'  Well  may  we  think  seriously,  and 
consider  our  words  when  Ave  feel  tempted  to  say  that  the  resources  of 
the  sea  are  inexhaustible.  The  population  to  be  fed  may  double  its 
numbers  in  the  next  fifty  years,  and  transportation  may  become  twice 
as  efficient.     What  will  happen  then? 

And  if  the  total  catch  continues  to  increase,  as  it  has  in  the  past,  how 
may  we  recognize  the  commencement  of  depletion  .'  First  of  all  we 
must  discount  in  our  statistics  the  marvelous  growth  in  apparatus  and 
equipment,  and  discover  whether  a  greater  effort  is  required  each  year 
to  gather  the  same  amount  of  fish:  in  other  words,  ascertain  whether 
decreased  abundance  necessitates  greater  effort.  This  means  the  aban- 
donment ef  the  old  statistical  ideal  of  portraying  the  magnitude  of  the 
industry,  and  substituting  for  it  a  mure  rational  one  of  the  observation 
of  the  real  abundance  of  the  fish. 


i>z 


C  \l,lFiii;\l\    PISH     \ND   GAME. 


But  when  ;i  decrease  is  discovered,  we  musl  know  whether  il  is  a  nat- 
ural one  or  due  to  over-fishing,  and  we  must  know  in  time  to  lake 
remedial  measures,  not  when  commercial  extinction  lias  solved  our 
doubts.  For  there  arc  greal  fluctuations  in  abundance  (of  very  differ- 
ent extent  in  the  various  species)  which  are  not  the  result  of  man's 
efforts  but  of  natural  causes,  and  a  decrease  in  numbers  of  &3h  because 
of  such  is.  of  course,  not  permanent,  any  more  than  the  causes  are.  To 
know  the  character  of  such  a  decrease  implies  a  study  of  the  biology  of 
the  species,  which  provides  a  distinctive  mark  for  the  results  of  over- 
fishing in  many  cases,  if  not  in  all.  It  also  implies  advancement  of  the 
science  of  the  subject,  a  greater  knowledge  of  the  laws  which  govern 
the  matter,  for  what  is  known  at  present  is  undoubtedly  ill-defined. 

'flic  laws  seem  to  he  much  the  same  as  those  which  govern  the  human 
population,  and  the  results  of  over-fishing  what  mighl  he  expected  if 
"over-fishing"  of  human  beings  could  he  carried  on  in  the  same  way. 
If  the  adults  are  removed  by  "over-fishing"  the  relative  numbers  of  the 
adults  decrease;  and  if  the  fishery  continues  to  remove  an  equal  number, 
the  catch  becomes  a  constantly  greater  proportion  of  the  total  left,  thus 
heightening  the  rate  of  decrease.  Hut  if  the  young  are  not  produced 
because  of  defective  spawning  conditions — which  can  not  he  blamed  on 
the  fishery — then  the  young  arc  less  numerous  as  compared  to  the 
undiminished  numbers  of  adults  until  the  latter  have  live, I  out  their 
term  of  life.  Decreased  abundance  of  fish  because  of  "over-fishing" 
of  the  older  classes  is  therefore  marked  by  decreased  numbers  of  the 
older  fish  as  compared  to  the  young,  while  the  reverse  is  true  in  the  case 
of  a  natural  decrease  because  of  the  failure  of  the  young  to  appear. 
The  inference  is  ohvious,  a  record  of  the  relative  numbers  of  adult  and 
young  musl  he  kept  in  connection  with  a  record  of  the  total  abundance, 
and  from  it  can  he  ascertained  just  where  the  loss  in  abundance  occurred, 
the  degree  to  which  the  fisherj  is  responsible  being  to  a  greal  extent 
ohvious  1  herefrom. 

If  the  failure  of  a  spawning  season  could  hi'  ascertained  early  i  oough, 
it  would  provide  a  knowledge  of  the  impending  change.  Tim  value  of 
such  knowledge  may  well  he  illustrated  by  the  history  of  the  herring  in 
Europe.  It  is  well  known  that  from  the  dawn  of  history  meat  natural 
fluctuations  in  its  abundance  have  occurred,  according  to  which  a  greal 
industry  has  been  built  up  or  destroyed,  carrying  with  it  the  fate  of 
whole  towns.  Receul  studies  by  scientists  in  the  Norwegian  fisheries 
service  seem  to  show  that  it  is  possible  to  dorecasl   the  magnitude  of 


TABLE   1. 

Table-  Showing  Percentage  of  Each  Age  in  the  Catch  of  Norwegian  Fat-herrings  in 
Various  Years,  Illustrating  the  Appearance  of  an  Unusually  Abundant  Class  as 
Successive  Ages  in   the  Catch   of  Successive   Years. 


Catch 


During  1907 
During  1908 
During  i  fl  i 
During 


Age  when  taken 

1  > 

|    1    1     .Tilt. 

2  years. 

■cut. 

'■ars. 
per  cent. 

4  years, 

.rut. 

5  yea 

.  mi 

6  years, 
per  cent. 

ears, 

i.ir. 

Total, 
per  cent. 

".  1 

M.l 
0  -2 

- 
1 
61.0 

rii.7 

51.3 

in.:; 
L3.3 
42.0 

0.4 

37.8 

0.9 

100.0 

99.9 

16.9 

1.7 

0.7 

4.5 

0  -i 

Hi 

100.2 
100.1 

Not]       Prom  Hjorl    and    Lea,  "Some   Results  of  the   International   Herring  [nvsstigations, 
1907   I 


CALIFORNIA  FISH  AND   GAME.  53 

the  yield  according  to  the  sizes  of  fish  taken.  A  great  drop  in  the 
abundance  of  the  herring  was  apparently  preceded  by  the  failure  of 
the  youngest  classes  to  appear  in  adequate  numbers, — in  other  words 
a  predominance  of  mature  existed  at  the  same  time  as  a  decrease  in 
catch.  The  success  of  the  commercial  fishery  for  herring  during  a 
number  of  years,  in  fact,  seems  to  have  depended  on  the  success  of 
a  single  year's  spawning,  the  product  of  which  became  larger  and  older 
every  year  but  which  was  not  supplemented  by  young  produced  by 
subsequent  spawnings.  The  result  was  the  lack  of  small  fish  until 
another  successful  spawning  could  occur.  The  consequence  of  the  grad- 
ual natural  disappearance  of  the  old  fish  in  such  a  case,  without  another 
class  of  small  to  take  their  place,  may  be  easily  imagined.  If  fluctua- 
tions of  such  magnitude  as  occurred  in  the  herring  fishery  could  be 
foretold,  the  doing  so  would  be  a  truly  great  accomplishment  for  the 
good  of  humanity. 

Yet  such  a  service  would  not  be  comparable  to  that  of  showing  that 
a  species  as  a  whole  is  in  danger,  that  man's  operations  are  incurring 
a  preventable  catastrophe.  Depletion  from  over-fishing  is,  obviously, 
very  likely  to  be  confused  with  natural  decreases  due  to  things  other 
than  over-fishing,  or  man's  demand  for  food.  The  ability,  then,  to 
distinguish  natural  fluctuations  due  to  the  spawning  seasons  for  instance, 
should  enable  us  to  recognize  the  results  of  over-fishing  with  greater 
clearness.  This  is  without  doubt  the  most  important  service  to  be  ren- 
dered by  a  study  of  the  fluctuations. 

So  we  must  observe  the  classes  of  various  aged  fish  as  early  as  possible, 
distinguishing  them  with  the  greatest  possible  exactness,  in  order  that 
the  nature  of  a  change  in  abundance  may  be  known,  whether  caused 
by  natural  fluctuations  or  by  over-fishing.  How  far  this  is  from  realiza- 
tion in  all  of  our  species  is  a  striking  testimonial  to  the  indifference 
of  man. 

To  do  these  things  we  must  know  the  ages  of  the  fish  taken.  We 
must  be  able  to  contrast  two-year-old  fish  with  those  six  years  old,  to 
recognize  the  youngest  fish,  and  to  be  able  to  tell  in  what  year  any 
individual  or  class  of  individuals  was  born.  If  we  do  not  know  the 
year  of  birth  we  can  not  trace  back  the  failure  of  the  spawning  season 
to  the  occurrence  of  any  particular  phenomenon  or  group  of  phenomena. 
This  means  the  discovery  of  the  age  of  the  fish,  not  merely  of  a  particular 
class,  but  of  the  individual,  a  subject  difficult  in  itself. 

We  may  illustrate  the  most  obvious  method  of  finding  the  age  by 
comparing  the  fish  on  a  given  bank  to  an  orchard  planted  at  different 
times.  There  will  be  some  variation,  but  trees  planted  in  a  given  year 
will  approach  the  same  height,  and  the  heights  for  the  successive  years 
will  be  very  different.  So  if  all  the  trees  planted  in  each  year  were 
grouped,  we  might  have  well-defined  size  groups,  and  anyone  looking 
at  them  would  say,  here  is  the  one-year  group,  here  the  second,  and 
so  forth.  And  so 'it  is  with  the  fish  ;  they  arrange  themselves  in  natural 
groups,  according  to  the  age.  But  when  they  become  very  old,  the 
growth  both  of  the  trees  and  of  the  fish  slackens,  so  thai  the  difference 
between  those  born  in  different  years  becomes  less  than  the  difference 
between  individuals,  and  the  age  can  not  he  told. 

Hut  this  is  a  cumbrous  method.  It  could  be  carried  oui  once  in  each 
case,  to  corroborate  other  methods,  and  then  ab.-ii  'oned,  as  has  usually 

2—44620 


54 


CALIPORNJ  \    FI.-UI     \ND  GAME. 


been  done.  A  preferable  method  is  to  use  the  marks  Lef  1  on  the  hard 
parts  of  the  fish,  jusi  as  il  is  possible  to  use  the  rings  lefl  in  the  wood 
<>i'  the  I  ree. 

The  reason  for  these  marks  is  thoughl  to  exisl  in  the  aature  of  the 
growth  of  the  fish,  lis  surroundings  govern  its  growth,  jusi  as  its 
temperature  depends  entirely  on  the  temperature  of  the  water.  The 
seasons  modify  profoundly  all  the  conditions  of  its  surroundings,  and 
with  them  the  growth  of  the  fish.  Dining  the  winter  months,  growth 
and  activity  become  much  decreased,  somewhat  as  those  of  a  lizard  or 

snake  do.     The  tree  grows  by  adding  to  its  trunk  a  thin  layer  of  w ly 

tissue,  and  the  part  laid  down  during  the  colder  months  of  the  growing 


Fig.  19.  Groups  of  fish 
of  various  ages,  showing 
distinct  difference  in  size 
between  the  early  age 
groups,  and  the  difficulty  of 
distinguishing  older  ages 
by  size  alone.  Average 
length  of  each  group  shown 
on  line  below,  indicating 
the  decreasing  rate  of 
growth  with  age. 


Length     a.t 


3. 


season  differs  radically  in  structure  from  that  laid  down  during  the 
wanner.  And  so  it  is.  presumably,  with  the  fish  and  its  hard  parts, 
such  as  the  scales,  the  otoliths  or  car  bones,  and  the  bones  of  the  body 
and  head,  although  to  be  sure  we  can  not  attribute  all  the  changes  to 
the  one  condition,  temperature,  directly.  The  growth  is  by  addition, 
leaving  behind  the  old  structure  to  tell  the  tale  of  the  seasons  that  are 
past.  Forest  trees  may  tell  of  fires  that  have  passed  their  way,  of  cold 
years,  of  warm  years,  of  crowding  by  other  trees,  and  of  all  the  tragedies 
of  the  forest.  So  in  a  measure  do  the  scales  of  the  fish  tell  of  birth,  of 
years  of  plenty  and  of  scarcity,  sometimes  of  spawning,  of  injury,  and 


CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND   GAME. 


55 


of  migration,  but  through  it  all  there  is  the  tale  of  the  seasons,  the 
fundamental  rhythm  of  existence  among  the  lower  animals. 

We  find  that  a  scale  is  made  up  of  many  small  rings,  or  circuli,  but 
that  at  certain  regions  these  are  closer  together,  or  that  there  is  a  mark 
or  break  in  the  continuity  of  the  pattern  on  the  scale.  These  parts 
which  are  thus  marked  arc  those  in  which  the  growth  was  affected,  or 
even  stopped.  So  there  is  a  mark  on  the  scale  of  the  fish  when  it  reached 
its  first  winter;  and  what  was  added  during  its  second  and  its  third 
summers,  is  clearly  separated  by  other  winter  marks.  We  find  that 
when  we  read  the  ages  by  these  scales,  the  individuals  in  each  of  the 
size  groups  mentioned  above  and  compared  with  trees  in  an  orchard, 
are  of  the  same  age,  and  that  the  first  size  group  has  one  annual  ring, 
the  second  two  and  so  forth,  showing  that  the  reading  from  the  scales 


Fig.  20.  Scale  of  Prazer  River  sockeye  salmon,  Bellingham, 
Washington,  June  18,  1917,  from  female,  23  inches  long,  in  fifth 
year,  showing  approximated  circuli  marking  the  winter  growth,  the 
end  of  which  is  indicated  by  a  line  in  each  case.  (After  Gilbert, 
Rept.    British   Columbia   Commissioner   Fisheries,    1917.) 

corresponds  with  the  size  groups  and  hence  must  be  accurate.  Such 
a  comparison  has  not  been  carried  out  in  all  species,  but  in  a  sufficient 
number  to  place  the  facts  on  a  firm  basis. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  otolith.  It  is  a  calcareous  formation  in  the 
ear  of  the  fish,  which  grows  by  successive  concretions.  The  ear  of  the 
fish  is  not  visible  from  the  outside,  but  is  nevertheless  well  developed, 
with  semicircular  canals  much  like  those  of  men,  and  in  one  of  the 
sac-like  parts  is  deposited  the  otolith.  The  portions  formed  during 
the  winters  have  much  less  organic  matter  in  them  than  the  layers 
formed  during  the  summers,  and  hence  are  easily  distinguishable. 


56 


CALIFORNIA    PISH     \M>   Q  V.Mi:. 


Thus  we  may  know  the  age  of  the  fish,  and  know  when  it  spawns, 
how  old  it  becomes  before  it  dies,  and  we  may  know  these  things  regard- 
ing each  individual.  This  renders  il  possible  to  know  in  what  year 
fish  belonging  to  an  abundant  year  class  were  spawned,  and  under  what 
conditions  they  were  born:  therefore,  why  thej'  were  abundant.  With- 
out a  knowledge  of  this  kind,  which  would  indicate  when  the  results 
of  particular  phenomena  might  be  expected  to  become  evident,  it  is 
obvious  that  the  careful  study  of  such  phenomena  is  meaningless  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  fisheries.  The  age  reading  also  renders  it  possible 
to  accurately  compare  the  numbers  of  fish  of  various  ages,  something  we 
could  not  otherwise  do,  because  if  we  relied  on  size  groups  we  would 
confuse  the  ten-year-old  fish  with  those  nine  and  eleven  years,  or  even 
eight  and  twelve  years  old.  But  aside  from  these  more  important 
things,  there  are,  naturally,  many  things  upon  which  a  knowledge  of  the 
age  throws  light.  Thus  il  is  possible  to  prove  that  fish  grow  faster  in 
one  locality  than  in  another.     There  is.  indeed,  much  to  be  worked  out, 


Fig.  21.  Otolith,  or  ear  bone,  of  halibut,  in  tenth  year,  showing  dark  "winter" 
zones  and  white  "summer"  zones.  I  Vftei  Thompson,  Seventh  Annual  Report,  Com- 
mission  of    Conservation,    Canada.) 

and  much  to  he  proved  in  the  case  of  the  individual  species,  and  even 
in  regard  to  the  general  principles  governing  the  different  species. 

In  every  species  the  light  thrown  by  a  knowledge  of  age,  even  when 
mosl  brightly,  is  dependent  for  its  importance  on  a  knowledge  of  whether 
it  is  shown  for  the  whole  of  a  species  or  for  merely  a  small  part  winch 
may  happen  to  be  involved  by  the  fishery.  We  must  know  whether  the 
locality  is  representative,  or  whether  it  is  isolated  from  the  others. 
Perhaps  we  could  catch  all  the  fish  in  one  locality  and  the  numbers  of 
lish  in  other  localities  would  not  diminish,  there  being  therefore  no 
danger  to  the  species  as  a  whole.  Similarly,  the  value  of  protection  to 
a  limited  area  is  subject  to  the  same  considerations.  But,  it  may  well 
be  asked,  how  is  it  possible  to  discover  this  isolation,  when  we  can  not 


CALIFORNIA  FISH   AND   GAME.  57 

see  below  the  surface  of  the  waters  to  watch  the  coming  and  going  of 
the  fish?     It  is  difficult,  hut  possible,  as  we  shall  see. 

We  know  that  when  a  village  of  men  is  isolated,  and  the  inhabitants 
interbreed  for  a  sufficiently  long  time,  a  dialect  grows  up,  and  ultimately 
certain  physical  characteristics  seem  to  mark  the  inhabitants.  The 
formation  of  the  dialect  is  a  rough  measure  of  the  degree  of  isolation 
of  the  group.  So  it  is  with  a  school  of  fish,  or  those  inhabiting  a  certain 
region,  their  separation  from  others  leads  in  time  to  the  formation  of 
small  peculiarities  of  habits  and  structure.  If  the  separation  is  simply 
lifelong,  perhaps  only  those  characters  will  be  changed  which  have  to 
do  with  the  amount  of  food  obtained,  such  as  the  length  of  the  head 
and  the  rate  of  growth.  But  if  isolation  is  complete,  and  has  lasted  for 
many  thousands  of  years,  there  are  deeper,  more  fundamental  differ- 
ences, of  habit  and  structure.  These  are  indications  of  the  degree  of 
isolation. 

TABLE  2. 

Table   Showing    Difference    in    Number    of   Vertebrae    Between    Herring    From    British 

Columbia   and    California.* 

Locality 

British  Columbia — 

Point   Grey    

Pender  Harbor  

Pender   Harbor   

Kildonan    

Nanaimo    

California- 
San    Francisco   81  50.7 


Specimens 

Average 

counted 

of  count 

160 

51.8 

96 

51.8 

281 

51.75 

305 

51.8 

206 

51.8 

*From  Thompson,  "A  Contribution  to  the  Life  History  of  the  Pacific  Herring,"  Report 
British  Columbia  Commissioner  of  Fisheries,  1916. 

Therefore,  it  has  become  a  well-recognized  method  of  research,  to 
take  samples  of  fish  from  different  regions  and  to  compare  them  care- 
fully by  minute  measurements,  such  as  the  length  of  the  head,  the  shape 
of  the  skull,  and  the  number  of  fin  rays.  The  results  are  sometimes 
astonishing,  for  well-recognizable  groups  may  be  made  out  in  many 
species  of  fish.  The  implication  is  always  that  there  is  no  migration 
between  the  groups,  that  each  group  has  its  home  waters,  to  which  it  is 
confined,  or  that  it  has  well-defined  habits  which  keep  the  stocks 
separate. 

Another  method  used  is  to  place  on  the  fish  silver  tags,  piercing  the 
fins  or  the  body  for  the  purpose,  and  then  to  release  the  marked  indi- 
vidual alive,  wTith  the  hope  of  retaking  it,  or  of  having  a  fisherman 
return  it.  By  keeping  a  record  of  where  and  when  the  fish  was 
released,  it  is  possible  to  discover  how  far  it  has  traveled  and  at  what 
rate.  The  trouble,  naturally  enough,  is  that  the  fish,  because  of  the 
irritation,  may  travel  farther  and  faster  than  it  ever  would  naturally, 
and  may  perhaps  leave  "home"  when  it  would  not  under  usual  con- 
ditions. 

Sometimes  advantage  is  taken  of  the  fact  that  fish  from  a  certain 
locality  may  be  characterized  by  marks  left  on  the  scales  by  some  local 
condition.     Then  the  dispersal  of  the  marked  group  may  be  traced  from 


58  CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME. 

year  to  year.  An  attempl  has  been  made  to  use  this  method  in  the  case 
of  the  herring,  and  also  in  the  case  of  the  sockeye  salmon,  where  the 
scales  are  marked  by  the  character  of  the  growth  during  the  first  year 
or  two.     In  the  latter  this  has  led  to  the  identification  of  the  birthplaces. 

There  are  also  other  methods  used  of  discovering  the  rale  of  movement, 
but  none  as  valid.  Thus  when  fish  are  abundanl  in  one  locality  during 
one  season,  and  abundant  in  another  during  the  season  following,  migra- 
tion is  naturally  supposed,  by  many  people,  to  have  occurred.  In  an 
extreme  case  of  the  use  of  this  method,  mackerel  being  abundant  in 
Europe  while  they  were  not  in  American  waters,  many  men  drew  the 
conclusion  that  the  mackerel  had  migrated  across  the  Atlantic.  But 
there  was  no  evidence  to  show  that  the  disappearances  and  appearances 
were  not  simply  the  result  of  great  fluctuations  in  the  success  of  the 
spawning  seasons.  The  dangers  of  such  conclusions  should  be  obvious, 
particularly  when  the  imperfection  of  any  known  measure  of  the  real 
abundance  of  the  fish,  such  as  the  returns  from  particular  methods  of 
fishing  commercially,  is  known.  There  were  also  at  one  time  theories 
that  the  herring  of  European  waters  lived  around  the  North  Pole,  and 
that  they  came  down  from  the  Arctic  seas  in  great  armies,  the  German 
Heere.  These  armies,  or  schools,  were  supposed  to  move  around 
England  and  return  to  the  far  north.  Now  it  lias  been  proved  that  the 
herring  of  the  Baltic,  of  the  English  Channel,  of  Iceland,  and  other 
localities,  are  of  separate  stocks  which  intermingle  but  slightly,  if  at 
all,  and  that  they  do  not  migrate  in  any  such  fashion.  The  method  used 
to  discover  the  truth  was  that  which  has  just  been  mentioned  of  meas- 
uring the  physical  characteristics. 

On  the  whole  the  tendency  is  to  discredit  migrations  of  great  extent. 
but  there  are  several  marvelous  migrations  well  known.  Certainly  the 
eel,  which  lives  in  fresh  water,  goes  into  mid-ocean  to  spawn.  And  just 
as  certainly  the  salmon  of  the  Pacific  comes  in  out  of  the  sea  and  passes 
up  rivers  thousands  of  miles  long  to  spawn  at  the  headwaters.  But 
the  quick  assumption  of  long  marine  migrations,  as  that  of  the  albacore 
into  Mexican  .waters,  is  certainly  to  be  deprecated.  It  is  so  easy  to 
postulate  complex  migrations  to  explain  varying  appearances  of  fish  in 
different  localities  in  different  seasons  that  to  every  species  is  ascribed 
such  movements  by  the  fishermen,  with  all  the  certainty  in  the  world. 
But  it  is  better,  without  doubt,  to  suspend  judgment  until  actual  fads 
from  other  sources  are  at  hand  to  corroborate  such  theories. 

It  should  be  evident  from  what  has  been  said  that  there  is  much  to 
learn  before  over-fishing  may  be  ascertained,  or  its  extent  judged.  Tin- 
problems  to  be  met  are  large  ones,  yet  not  insuperable.  The  appli- 
cation of  the  acquired  knowledge  in  order  to  prevent  depletion  is  a 
considerable  problem  in  itself.  Over-fishing  may  always  be  stopped  by 
restricting  the  fishery  in  any  way.  however  crude  and  harmful  the 
restriction  may  be,  but  the  application  of  measures  which  will  so  dis- 
tribute the  restriction  as  to  do  the  least  harm  to  the  fishery  and  the 
must  good  to  the  species  is  a  different  matter.  Primarily,  it  is  possible 
to  restrain  the  fishery  wherever  it  imposes  its  greatest  drain  on  the 
supply,  with  a  good  chance  of  effectiveness;  but  that  might  not  be  the 
best  available  method.  The  most  general  principles  underlying  the 
subject  are,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  unknown  or  undiscussed,  despite  the 
many  legal  measures  passed  by  the  legislatures 


CALIFORNIA  PISH   AND   GAME.  59 

We  may  ask,  for  instance,  why  the  spawning  season  should  be  so 
persistently  an  object  of  protection.  The  eggs  are  slowly  developed 
throughout  the  year,  indeed  throughout  the  life  of  the  individual,  and 
the  death  of  a  female  in  January  certainly  destroys  as  many  eggs  as  its 
death  in  June,  if  the  spawning  season  comes  in  June.  The  matter  would 
seem  to  be  one  of  securing  the  survival  of  an  adequate  number  of  indi- 
viduals throughout  their  normal  lifetimes,  so  that  there  would  be  enough 
of  them  to  produce  eggs.  But  that  implies  care  that  too  many  young 
are  not  taken,  just  as  it  implies  care  that  too  many  adults  are  not  taken. 
In  short,  the  value  of  the  individual  at  the  various  times  of  its  life  must 
be  known,  so  that  it  may  be  used  when  it  is  of  the  least  value  to  the 
species  and  of  the  most  value  to  the  fisherman.  We  are  still  far  fi*om 
such  a  knowledge  of  biology  as  that  implies. 

The  impression  that  it  is  sought  to  convey  throughout  this  paper  is 
that  in  order  to  conserve  our  fisheries,  there  are  many  problems  to  be 
solved,  all  of  them  important.  Among  them  that  of  the  adontion  of 
statistical  methods  having  for  their  object  the  ascertainment  of  the 
abundance,  rather  than  the  amount  taken,  easily  comes  first.  But  such 
a  substitution  can  not  be  made  without  a  knowledge  of  biology  to  supple- 
ment and  guide  it.  And  the  biological  phases  of  fishery  science  are  in 
themselves  many  and  important,  dealing  as  they  do  with  the  rate  of 
growth  and  the  movements  of  the  fish.  Then  finally,  there  is  almost  no 
adequate  knowledge  concerning  the  methods  of  conservation,  or  the 
prevention  of  depletion.  We  are  at  the  threshold  of  a  period  of  exploita- 
tion of  our  fisheries  and  we  must  be  sure  that  we  begin  an  era  of 
scientific  investigation  of  our  fisheries  in  time  to  adequately  guide  and 
control  the  exploitation. 

The  dependence  of  the  statistical  method  and  biological  study  upon 
each  other  necessitates  their  prosecution  by  an  agency  capable  of  giving 
the  investigation  its  needed  scope.  Adequate  statistics  can  be  gathered 
by  a  government  only,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  biological  data 
required.  The  responsibility  therefore  rests  upon  the  state,  in  whose 
hands  lies  the  legislative  control  of  the  fisheries. 

THE  BASSES  AND  BASS-LIKE  FISHES  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Families  Serranidae,  Haemulidae,  and  Kyphosidae. 

By    EDWIN    C.   STARKS,   Stanford    University,   California. 

The  basses  are  the  most  fish-like  fishes,  so  to  speak,  for  they  represent 
more  than  others  the  typical  spiny  rayed  fishes.  They  have  been  usually 
selected  as  types  of  fishes  for  books  of  anatomy  and  textbooks  since  the 
time  the  great  French  zoologist,  Cuvier,  so  used  the  yellow  perch  early 
in  the  last  centurj^. 

All  of  the  families  of  bass-like  fishes  group  about  the  central  family, 
Serranidfe.  They  and  the  mackerel-like  fishes  apparently  were 
descended  from  a  common  ancestor.  Also  related  to  the  basses  arc  the 
croakers,  though  less  closely  than  any  of  t he  fishes  here  included. 

It  is  not  at  all  desirable  to  here  discuss  the  technical  characters  that 
define  these  fishes.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  thai  tin1  first  dorsal  fin  is  made 
up  of  spines,  the  ventrals  arc  placed  but  little  behind  the  pectorals  and 
joined  to  the  shoulder  girdle  internally,  the  anal  fin  is  usually  with  three 
spines,  the  ventrals  with  one  spine  and  five  soft  rays,  and  the  scales 


60  C  \l.ll'oi;\l  \    PISH     \\1>   GAME. 

rough  with  little  spinules  on  their  margins.  This  Lasl  may  be  appre- 
ciated by  passing  the  finger  over  the  scales  in  the  direction  of  the  head. 
Representatives  of  this  group  occur  everywhere  in  fresh  and  salt 
water,  except  in  the  Arctic  regions.  They  arc  very  numerous  in  the 
tropics  and  often  very  brilliantly  colored.  Among  them  arc  some  of 
the  largest  of  bony  fishes  as  well  as  sonic  of  the  smallest,  ranging  down- 
ward from  the  giant  sea  basses  to  the  pigmy  son  fishes  and  darters,  some 
of  which  are  fully  grown  at  a  length  of  between  one  and  two  inches. 

KEY   TO   THE    BASSES    AND    BASS-LIKE    FISHES   OF    CALIFORNIA. 

1.  The  vomer  with  teeth.  A  small  portion  of  the  upper  edge  only  of  the  maxillary 
hidden  by  the  bones  just  aboTe  ii  (preorbital  bones)  when  the  moutb  is  closed. 
2.        Side  of  body   with   well-marked    lengthwise  stripes.     Striped   bass.     1!<k- 

cus  Hncattis.     Page  62. 
2  2.    Side  of  body  without    well-marked  stripes. 

3.         Spines  til'  tirst  dorsal  shorter  than  rays  of  second.     The  two  dorsals 
not    much   united.     Size   very    largo.     Black    sea    bass    or  Jewfish. 
Stereolepis  gigas.     Page  62. 
3—8.    Txmgest  spines   of   first    dorsal   as   long   or   longer   than    the    rays   of 
second.     The  dorsals  broadly  united.     Size  not  excessively  large. 
4.         No    small    round    spots    on    head   or    body.     The    third    dorsal 
spine  not  over  twice  as   long  as  the  second  and   a   little  shorter 
than    the   fourth.      The    preorbital    bone   at    its   narrowest    part 
scarcely  over  half  as  wide   as   the  diameter  of  the  eye.      Rock 
Bass  "/•  Sand  Bass,  Paralabraat  clathratus.     Page  G6. 
4 — 1    Numerous  small  round  spots  scattered  over  the  head,  or  head 
and  body.     The  third  dorsal  spine  at    least   three  times  as  long 
as  the  second,  and    longer  than   the  fourth.      Narrowest    part   of 
preorbital  about  a--  wide  as  eye. 

5.  The  small  round  spots  confined  to  the  side  of  the  head, 
and  usually  some  are  on  side  of  tail  jest  in  front  of  the 
caudal  fin.  Johnny  Verde  or  Kelp  Bass,  Paralabrax 
nebulift  r.  Page  68. 
•~p  5.  The  small  round  spots  scattered  over  the  head  and 
almost  the  entire  body  and  fins.  Spotted  Kelp  Bass  or 
Cabrilla,   Paralabrax  maculatofesciatus.     Page  67. 

1    1.    The   vomer   without    teeth.     A    considerable   part    of   maxillary    slipping   under 
boms  just  above  it.  when  mouth  is  closed. 
('».        Pectoral  fin  pointed  ami  reaching  pasl   tips  of  ventrals. 

7.  A  dark  band  extending  downward  from  middle  of  spinous  dorsal. 
Base  of  pectoral  black.  Third  ana!  spine  shorter  than  second. 
Sargo,  Anisotremus  davidsoni.     Page  63. 

7  7.    No  dark  hand  downward  across  body,  bul  several  dark  stripes  n  n- 
aing    lengthwise   on    body.     Third   anal    spine    longer    than   second. 
Big-Eyed   Bass,    K.enistius  calif orniensis.     Page  64. 
6  6.    Pectoral  fin  rounded  and  not  reaching  pasl  tips  of  ventrals. 

8.  No  scales  on  gill  cover  behind  praoperculum.  Each  tenth  divided 
into  three  points.  Dorsal  and  anal  rounded  in  outline.  Ureen- 
fish  <T  Opal  Eye,  O-irella  nigricans.     Page  65. 

8—8.  (Jill  cover  fully  scaled.  Teeth  single  pointed.  Dorsal  and  anal 
rising  to  an  angle  in  front,  straight  edged  or  slightly  concave  along 
tips  of  rays  when  fin  is  spread,  and  sharp  pointed  ln-hind  as  tip  of 
last  ray.     Half-Moon  Fish,      tfedialuna  calif  orniensis.     Page  66. 

GLOSSARY. 

Anal  fin:      'Idle  unpaired  lilt  along  the  lower  side  of  the  body. 

Caudal  tin  :     The  tail  tin. 

Dorsal  fin  :  The  tin  along  the  back.  Sometimes  separated  into  a  first 
and  second  dorsal,  the  first  part,  whether  separated  or  not.  composed  of 
spines  in  these  fishes. 


CALIFORNIA  PISH   AND   GAME. 


61 


Fin  rays:  The  softer  elements  that  stiffen  the  fins.  Differing  from 
spines  in  not  being  sharp.  They  are  usually  branched  like  those  that 
make  up  the  second  dorsal  in  these  fishes. 

Fin  spines:     Stiffer  than  rays,  sharp  at  the  tip  and  unbranched. 

Head:  The  head  is  measured  from  the  tip  of  the  snout  along  its  side 
to  the  edge  of  the  gill  cover. 

Lateral  line :  A  line  of  pore  bearing  scales  along  the  side  of  the  body. 
In  these  fishes  it  is  more  or  less  arched  upward  and  follows  the  outline 
of  the  back. 

Maxillary:  The  flattened  bone  just  above  the  mouth  and  just  above 
and  behind  the  premaxillary. 

Opercle :     The  gill  cover  just  behind  the  preopercle. 

Pectoral  fins  or  pectorals:  The  fins  just  behind  the  gill  openings,  one 
on  each  side  of  the  body. 

Premaxillary :  The  bone  bordering  the  upper  jaw  that  bears  the 
teeth. 

Preopercle :  The  bone  just  behind  the  cheek  that  forms  a  ridge  down- 
ward across  the  gill  cover  and  turns  at  an  angle  forward. 

Preoroital:  The  bone  just  in  front  and  below  the  eye.  It  reaches 
downward  to  the  maxillary  and  its  surface  is  covered  with  thin  mem- 
brane. 

Snout :     That  part  of  the  head  in  front  of  the  eyes. 

Ventral  fins  or  ventrals:  The  pair  of  fins  on  the  lower  side  of  the 
body  under  the  pectorals. 

Vomer:  A  single  unpaired  bone  that  lies  in  the  roof  of  the  mouth 
directly  behind  the  middle  of  the  upper  jaw.  Do  not  mistake  the 
palatines  for  it.  They  lie  one  at  each  side  of  the  vomer  parallel  with 
the  side  of  the  jaw,  and  may  or  may  not  bear  teeth. 

FAMILY    SERRANID/E. 
The   Striped    Bass    (Roccus    lineatus). 

This  well-marked  fish  may  be  at  once  known  by  the  dark  horizontal 
stripes  on  the  body,  teeth  on  the  vomer,  a  spine  at  the  angle  of  the  gill 
cover,  and  the  pectoral  fins  not  longer  than  the  ventrals  and  not  reaching 


Fig.   22.      Striped  bass    (.Roccus  lineal  us). 


so  far  back.  There  is  another  fish  on  our  coast  that  has  such  stripes, 
but  they  are  not  so  well  marked  and  it  lacks  the  above  combination  of 
characters.     The  eye  is  three  or  four  times  wider  than  the  narrowest 


3—44620 


62 


CALIFORNIA    PISH     \M>  Q  \  ME. 


pari  of  the  preorbita]  just  below  it.  The  maxillary  reaches  to  below 
the  middle  of  the  eye.  The  mouth  is  armed  with  rather  fine  sharp  teeth. 
Scales  extend  on  t<»|>  of  the  head  l<>  in  fronl  of  the  eyes.  The  edge  of 
the  preoperele  is  divided  into  many  small  sharp  spines.  The  dorsal 
tins  are  separate  from  each  oilier  and  aboul  equal  in  height.  'Flic  second 
dorsal  and  anal  have  a  sharp  angle  at  the  tips  of  the  firsl  rays.  The 
middle  caudal   rays  arc  shorter,  making  the  outline  of  the  fin  concave. 

The  color  is  silvery  with  brassy  and  coppery  reflections,  and  marked 
with  seven  or  eight  blackish  stripes,  one  of  which  is  along  the  lateral  line. 

The  striped  bass,  though  not  a  native  member  of  our  coast,  is  one  of 
our  important  food  fishes.  It  was  introduced  from  the  Atlantic  coast 
and  has  become  abundant,  It  is  caught  to  the  limit  of  safety  to  the 
species,  and  being  a  much  advertised  fish  it  commands  a  high  price. 
Though  it  is  without  question  a  very  line  food  fish,  it  is  rather  overrated. 
This  fish  reaches  a  weight  of  80  or  DO  pounds,  and  one  was  once 
reported  on  the  Atlantic  coast    that    weighed    111'   pounds. 

The    Black   Sea    Bass  or   Jewfish    (Stereolepis   gigas). 

This  gigantic  fish  may  usually  be  known  by  its  size.  The  body  is 
broad  and  robust,  and  covered  with  rather  small  scales.  The  top  of  the 
head  between  the  eyes  is  wide  and  not  very  convex.  The  eyes  arc  small, 
several  times  shorter  than  the  length  of  the  snout  or  the  space  between 
them.  In  small  ones  the  edge  of  the  preoperele  is  divided  into  spines. 
but  the  edge  becomes  nearly  entire  in  large  ones.  Pine  teeth  are  in 
broad  bands  on  the  jaws.  The  dorsal  fins  are  separate,  and  the  first  one 
is  composed  of  short,  stout  spines  that  are  shorter  than  the  rays  of  the 
second  dorsal.  The  pectorals  are  rather  round  in  outline,  and  reach 
past  the  tips  of  the  ventrals.  It  is  very  dark  brown  or  nearly  black 
in  color. 


Fig.  23.     Black  sea  bass  or  jew   fish    (Stereolepsis  gigas). 

Tins  huge  fish  is  rather  abundant  in  southern  California,  and  it  is 
taken  as  far  north  as  the  Parallone  Islands.  It  reaches  a  length  of  six 
feet,  or  sometimes  even  more,  and  a  weight,  of  500  or  COO  pounds. 
A  considerable  amounl  of  its  flesh,  cut  in  large  chunks  and  salted,  finds 
a  ready  market.  Its  flesh,  however,  is  not  of  the  best,  being  rather 
coarse  grained.  Those  of  small  or  moderate  size  are  said  to  be.  better 
than  the  large  ones.  It  is  a  famous  fish  among  the  anglers  of  big  game 
fishes,  and  monsters  of  nearly  500  pounds  have  been  taken  on  tackle 
unbelievably  light.  Related  to  it  is  a  huge  jewfish  of  the  south  Pacific 
that  is  said  to  reach  a  length  of  12  feet. 


C  W.IKoKXI A    FFS1I    AND   GAME. 


63 


The  arc panying  drawing  is  a  < -< >i n j »< >^i f « ■  reconstructed  from  several 

photographs,  all  of  which  show  the  lishes  hung  by  the  Lower  jaw  and 
the  head  much  distorted.  The  photographs  show  considerable  variation 
in  the  depth  of  the  body  as  compared  witli  the  length,  and  a  marked 
variation  in  the  relationship  of  the  anal  fin  below  the  soft  dorsal.  In 
some  the  two  fins  end  evenly  behind.  In  others  the  anal  projects  much 
farther  backwards. 

Rock    Bass    or    Sand    Bass    (Paralabrax   clathratus). 

As  in  the  other  members  of  this  family  the  vomer  is  rough  with  small 
teeth,  and  the  hind  part  of  the  upper  edge  of  the  maxillary,  is  but  little 
hidden  under  the  preorbital  bone  just  above  it.  The  third  dorsal  spine 
is  about  twice  as  long  as  the  second  and  scarcely  as  long  as  the  fourth. 
The  eye  is  twice  as  wide  as  the  bony  part  of  the  preorbital  space  just 
below  it.  Small,  fine  spines  are  on  the  edge  of  the  preopercle  bone, 
and  a  flattened  spine  is  just  in  front  of  the  soft  Hap  at  the  edge  of  the 
gill  cover.  It  is  steel-gray  below  with  the  upper  part  of  the  side  mottled 
and  barred  with  broad  blotches  of  dark  color  with  silvery  gray  between. 
The  fins  are  all  tinged  with  yellow.  There  are  no  small,  round,  dark 
spots  on  the  head  or  body.     Fig.  24. 


Fig.  24.     Rock  bass  or  sand  bass   {Paralabrax  clathratus). 

This  bass  is  an  excellent  food  fish.  It  reaches  a  length  of  19  or  20 
inches  and  a  weight  of  5  pounds.  It  is  found  from  San  Francisco 
southward  along  the  Lower  California  coast,  and  is  most  abundant  below 
the  Santa  Barbara  Channel.  This  and  the  other  two  species  of 
Paralabrax  are  all  known  as  rock  bass,  kelp  bass,  and  eabrilla  without 
distinguishing  between  them.  I  have  more  or  less  arbitrarily  restricted 
the  use  of  these  names  in  the  hope  that  the  species  may  be  more  con- 
sistently distinguished  from  each  other  by  common  names. 

Kelp   Bass  or  Johnny   Verde    (Paralabrax   nebulifer). 

This  bass  may  be  known  by  the  small,  round,  dark  spots  on  the  side 
of  the  head,  particularly  below  and  in  front  of  the  eye.  and,  usually, 
on  the  side  of  the  tail  just  in  front  of  the  caudal  fin.     The  teeth  on  the 


64  CALIFORNIA    PISH     VXD  GAME. 

vomer  and  the  relative  covering  of  the  maxillary  b\  the  preorbital  is  as 
in  the  rock  kiss.  The  third  dorsal  spine  is  considerably  more  than  twice 
as  long  as  the  second  and  is  Longer  than  the  fourth.  The  eye  is  as  wide 
as  the  bony  pari  of  the  preorbital  space  just  below  it.  The  spines  on 
the  edge  of  the  preopercle  and  the  Hal  spine  on  the  gill  cover  do  not 
differ  much  from  those  of  the  rock  bass.  The  small  scales  on  top  of 
the  head  extend  forward  to  opposite  the  front  of  the  eyes.  The  ground 
color  is  solid  greenish  to  under  the  middle  of  the  second  dorsal,  behind 
which  the  color  of  the  back  and  side  is  irregularly  broken  with  short 
wavy  lines.  The  under  parts  of  the  body  are  pure  white.  On  the  front 
of  the  body  are  some  traces  of  irregular  dusky  bands  extern  line  down 
and  back.  The  first  dorsal  has  a  large  dusky  spot  in  front,  and  the 
anal  fin  is  a  bright  slate-blue.  The  cheek  and  region  below  the  eye  arc 
covered  with  small  round  golden  or  yellowish-brown  spots.     Fig.  25. 


Fig.  25.     Johnny  Verde  or  kelp  bass  (Paralabrax  ncbiilifer'). 

This  bass  is  a  very  good  food  fish,  differing  little  in  this  respect  from 
the  rock  bass  and  spotted  kelp  bass.  It  is  rather  abundant  on  the  coast 
of  southern  California,  and  has  been  occasionally  taken  as  far  north  as 
Monterey  Bay,  while  southward  it  extends  its  range  along  Lower  Cali- 
fornia.    It  reaches  a  length  of  about  IS  inches. 

Spotted    Kelp    Bass   or  Cabrilla    (Paralabrax   maculatofasciatus.) 

The  spotted  bass  may  be  at  once  known  by  the  small  spots  that  every- 
where cover  the  head  and  body  and  extend  over  the  second  dorsal  and 
caudal  fins.  In  common  with  the  other  members  of  the  family 
Serranidae  the  vomer  is  rough  with  fine  teeth  and  the  maxillary  is  only 
slightly  hidden  by  the  bones  above  it,  It  resembles  the  kelp  bass 
(P.  nebulifer)  and  differs  Erom  the  rock  bass  i  /'.  clathratus)  in  having 
the  third  dorsal  spine  longer  than  the  fourth,  and  the  eye  as  wide  as 
the  preorbital  space  below  it.  It  differs  from  the  kelp  bass  in  color,  and 
in  having  the  fine  scales  on  top  of  the  head  not  extending  forward 
beyond  the  middle  of  the  eyes.  The  color  is  greenish-brown  covered 
over  with  small,  round,  dark  brown  spots  very  close  together.  These 
extend  onto  the  soft  dorsal,  caudal  and  anal  fins.  On  the  side  of  the 
head  the  spots  are  smaller  and  tinged  with  golden  color.  Six  or  seven 
dusky  bars  extend  down  from  the  back  across  the  body.     On  these  the 


CALIFORNIA  FISH   AND  GAME. 


65 


spots  are  darker  and  more  or  less  run  together.     A  dusky-bluish  streak 
extends  from  the  eye  down  and  back  across  the  cheek.     Fig.  26. 

This  is  one  of  the  very  few  shore  fishes  found  on  our  coast  that  extends 
its  range  southward  as  far  as  Mazatlan,  Mexico.  It  has  not  been 
reported  north  of  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel.  It  reaches  a  length  of 
18  inches  and  as  a  food  fish  ranks  with  the  other  two  basses  of  the 
genus  Paralabrax. 


Fig.   26.      Spotted   kelp   bass   or   cabrilla    (Paralabrax   maculatofasciatus) . 


FAMILY    H/EMULID/E 
Sargo  (Anisotremus  davidsoni). 

The  sargo  is  a  deep  bodied  fish  that  may  be  at  once  known  by  the 
dark  band  that  extends  down  across  the  body,  and  the  dark  spot  on  and 
above  the  pectoral  base.  The  mouth  is  small,  slightly  sloping  from 
the  horizontal,  armed  with  fine  teeth  set  in  bands,  and  with  thick,  fleshy 
lips.  When  the  mouth  is  closed  the  lower  jaw  scarcely  projects  beyond 
the  upper.  The  maxillary,  which  is  considerably  covered  by  the  bones 
above  it,  scarcely  reaches  back  to  under  the  front  of  the  eye.  The  edge 
of  the  preopercle  is  armed  with  small  spines.  The  base  of  the  spinous 
dorsal  is  longer  than  the  second  dorsal.  The  dorsals  are  connected, 
and  the  longest  spines  are  longer  than  the  longest  rays.  The  base  of 
the  anal  is  short,  or  scarcely  equal  to  more  than  half  the  distance  from 
the  anal  to  the  base  of  the  ventral  spine.  The  caudal  is  somewhat 
forked,  or  deeply  concave  behind.  The  pectoral  is  long  and  pointed, 
about  as  long  as  the  head  and  reaching  well  past  the  tips  of  the  ventrals. 
Color  grayish-silvery,  dark  above  with  many  dark  points.  A  black 
cross-band  extends  down  from  the  middle  of  the  spinous  dorsal  across  the 
side  to  .a  point  on  a  level  with  the  pectoral  base.  The  base  of  the  pectoral 
is  black,  with  the  black  extending  some  distance  upwards  and  touching 
the  edge  of  the  gill  cover. 


66 


('  UjIFORNJ  \    PISH     \.\1>   GAME. 


This  fish  ranges  Prom  San  Pedro  southward  along  the  Lower  Cali- 
fornia coast.  In  the  summer  time  it  is  reported  to  be  ool  uncommon 
aboul  San  Diego  and  the  Santa  Barbara  [slands.  It  reaches  a  Length 
of  somewhal  over  a  foot. 


Fig.   27.     Sargo    (Anisotremus  davidsoni). 


Big-eyed   Bass   (Xenistius  californiensis). 

This  is  not  a  true  bass,  but  belongs  to  the  related  family  Haemulidae. 
It  has  no  teeth  on  the  vomer,  and  a  considerable  portion  of  the  maxillary 
is  covered  by  the  bones  just  above  it.  It  somewhat  resembles  the  striped 
bass  in  the  shape  of  the  fins  and  in  having  stripes  lengthwise  of  the 
body,  Init  the  stripes  are  not  nearly  so  conspicuous.  The  eye  is  very 
large;  its  diameter  greater  than  the  space  between  the  eyes  on  top  of 
the  head,  and  about  equal  to  the  distance  from  its  front  margin  to  the 
tip  of  the  lower  jaw  when  the  mouth  is  closed.  The  mouth  is  moderate 
in  size,  xevy  oblique,  and  with  the  lower  jaw  projecting  beyond  it  in 
front.  There  is  no  Hat  spine  pointing  backwards  al  the  hind  angle  of 
the  gill  cover.     The  maxillary  reaches  to  opposite  the  front  of  the  large 


i  ig  Big-i  \'<1   bass    (Xoiistins  calif omiensis). 


CALIFORNIA    FISH   AND   GAME. 


G7 


pupil.  Fine  spines  .are  around  the  edge  of  the  preopercle.  The  pec- 
toral is  pointed  and  extends  farther  back  than  the  ventral  fins. 
The  first  dorsal  is  rather  triangular  in  shape,  almost  separated  from  the 
second  dorsal,  and  is  composed  of  rather  stiff  spines.  The  second  dorsal 
resembles  the  anal  fin.  The  scales  feel  very  rough  when  the  finger  is 
passed  over  them  in  the  direction  of  the  head.  The  color  is  bright 
silvery,  bluish  above.  Six  or  seven  dark  orange-brown  stripes  run 
lengthwise  of  the  body. 

The  big-eyed  bass  reaches  a  length  of  about  a  foot,  and  is  found  from 
southern  California  southward  along  the  Lower  California  coast.  It  is 
reported  to  be  sometimes  common  about  San  Diego. 


FAMILY   KYPHOSID/E. 
Greenfish  or  Opal    Eye    (Girella   nigricans). 

The  greenfish  has  a  bluntly  rounded  head  and  a  moderately  deep 
body.  Small  teeth  are  in  bands  on  the  jaws,  attached  to  the  membrane 
only  and  freely  movable.  Examination  with  a  magnifier  will  show  that 
each  tooth  is  divided  into  three  points.  The  maxillary  is  entirely  hidden 
under  the  bones  above  it,  leaving  only  the  premaxillary  in  sight  when 
the  mouth  is  closed.     The  maxillary  scarcely  reaches  to  below  the  front 


Fig.   29.     Greenfish  or  opal  eye    (Girella   nigricans). 

of  the  eye.  The  edge  of  the  preopercle  is  not  divided  into  fine  spines, 
and  behind  it  the  gill  cover  is  devoid  of  scales.  The  spinous  dorsal  is 
much  longer  than  the  soft  dorsal  and  broadly  attached  to  it.  The 
spines  do  not  decrease  much  in  length  towards  the  last  ones,  and  the 
longest  ones  are  about  as  long  as  the  longest  rays.  The  rays  of  the 
anal  fin  are  about  as  long  as  the  bast1  of  that  fin.  The  pectoral  is  short 
and  rounded,  nearly  as  long  as  the  head,  and  scarcely  reaching  as  far 
hack'  as  the  tips  of  the  ventrals.  The  caudal  fin  is  slightly  concave. 
The  color  is  olive-green,  paler  on  lower  parts,  the  fins  dusky  greenish. 
Small  ones  have  a  yellowish  spot  on  the  hack,  and  the  tins  have  bright 
blue  borders.  The  blue  color  quickly  fades  when  the  fish  dies.  The 
eye  is  a  beautiful  opal  blue  and  green,  hence  the  name,  opal  eye.  that 
is  sometimes  applied  to  it.      It  is  also  called  bluefish  and  blue-eyed  perch. 


68 


C  M.II'i'KNIA    PISH     \N1>   CAME. 


The  former  name  should  be  discouraged  as  it  is  not  related  to  the 
famous  bluefish,  and  the  latter  is  doubly  unfortunate,  for  it  is  neither 
a  perch  nor  related  to  the  fishes  on  our  coast  that  we  wrongly  call 
perches.  The  name  was  doubtless  given  it  from  a  fancied  resemblance 
to  the  false  perches,  but  aside  from  the  shape  of  the  body,  it  has 
nothing  in  common  with  them. 

Though  the  greenfish  is  herbivorous,  feeding  very  largely  on  sea 
weed,  it  will  bite  a  hook  baited  with  a  bit  of  clam  or  abalone.  It  scarcely 
exceeds  a  foot  in  length,  and  when  fresh  is  a  food  fish  of  very  good 
quality,  but  its  flesh  is  rather  soft  and  does  not  keep  well.  It  is  found 
in  abundance  from  San  Francisco  southward  to  the  coast  of  Lower 
California.     Small  ones  are  very  abundant  in  tide  pools. 

Half    Moon    (Medialuna   californiensis). 

The  half  moon  is  a  compressed  dee])  bodied  fish  that  may  be  known 
from  its  relatives  on  our  coast  by  the  complete  covering  of  fine  scales 
that  extends  over  the  anal  and  second  dorsal  fins,  and  to  a  less  extent 
over  the  caudal.  The  mouth  is  small,  slightly  oblique,  and  armed  with 
fine  even  teeth  set  in  broad  bands.  The  maxillary  scarcely  reaches 
hack  to  below  the  front  of  the  eye.     The  lower  jaw  scarcely  projects 


Fig.   30.   .Half  union   (Medialuna  californiensis). 

beyond  the  upper  when  the  mouth  is  closed.  The  edge  of  the  preopercle 
is  thin,  membranous,  and  not  divided  into  fine  sharp  points.  The  first 
dorsal  is  connected  with  the  second  and  is  very  much  lower,  the  longest 
spines  being  little  longer  than  the  diameter  of  the  eye.  The  anal  is 
shorter  than  the  soft  dorsal  hut  resembles  it  in  shape,  being  highest  in 
front,  where  it  rises  to  an  angle  and  sharp  pointed  behind  at  the  tip 
of  the  last  ray.  The  caudal  is  evenly  concave  behind.  The  pectoral  is 
rounded,  much  shorter  than  I  he  head,  and  not  reaching  nearly  so  far 
back  as  the  ti|>s  of  the  ventrals.  The  color  is  dark  steely  gray,  Lighter 
below,  and  more  or  less  mottled,  all  of  the  fins  are  dark,  and  the  dorsal 
and  anal  nearly  black. 

This  fisli  is  very  beautiful  in  its  lines  and  color.  It  is  taken  in  con- 
siderable abundance  aboul  rocky  places  on  the  southern  California 
coast,  and  is  reported  to  he  a  very  good  pan  fish.  It  reaches  a  length 
of  about  a  foot. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH     \  XI)   GAME. 


69 


BEAR  HUNTING  WITH  BOWS  AND  ARROWS. 

By    SAXTON    POPE. 

For  some  years  back  a  number  of  us  in  San  Francisco  have  been 
hunting  with  the  bow  and  arrow,  purely  for  sport.  A  powerful  bow 
is  an  effective  weapon,  but  it  takes  months  of  practice  to  be  able  to 
shoot  it  well.     Such  a  bow  pulls  75  pounds. 

Having  killed  rabbits,  quail,  squirrels,  bobcats,  skunks,  foxes,  and 
deer,  we  naturally  wanted  to  try  our  hand  on  a  bear.  We  knew  that  a 
bear  is  a  hard  animal  to  kill  even  with  a  gun,  but  we  also  knew  that 
the  Indians  killed  him  with  a  bow.  So  we  wanted  to  find  out  just  how 
much  there  was  to  the  game.  Our  friends  of  course  were  very  skeptical. 
They  said  that  an  arrow  would  hardly  go  through  his  hide. 


Fig.   31.     Black  bear  killed  with   bows   and   arrows  by   Arthur   Young  and    Saxton    Pope  of   San 
Francisco  in  Panthen  Canyon,  Humboldt  County,   California. 

We  got  in  communication  with  Thomas  Murphy  of  Blocksburg,  Hum- 
boldt County,  who  hunts  bear  as  a  business.  He  has  been  at  this  sort 
of  thing  for  thirty  years  and  never  fails  to  get  about  a  dozen  bear 
every  winter.  So  we  packed  up  our  strongest  bows  and  several  dozen 
broadhead  arrows,  and  Arthur  Young  and  I  went  up  to  Blocksburg. 

Murphy  was  willing  to  let  us  shoot  at  a  bear,  but  he  insisted  upon 
carrying  a  gun  in  case  of  accidents.  He  said  he  didn't  want  to  lose  a 
valuable  dog  over  the  affair. 

After  four  unsuccessful  hunts,  we  at  last  treed  a  good-sized  bear  up 
a  tall  fir.  After  securing  the  dogs,  Mr.  Young  and  I  took  our  stand 
about  thirty  yards  from  the  base  of  the  tree,  on  the  sidehill,  and  let 
drive  two  arrows  at  one  time.  Both  shafts  struck  the  bear  in  the 
chest,  going  completely  through,  feathers  and  all. 

Quick  as  a  flash  the  bear  wheeled  about  and  began  descending  the 
tree.  We  ran  up  close  and  shot  him  again  as  he  neared  the  ground,  and 
bounded  down  the  hill.  Murphy  turned  the  dogs  loose,  and  they  all 
went  crashing  through  the  brush  together. 

4—44620 


70  CALIFORNIA    PISH     \NI>  G  1MB. 

Pretty  sunn  we  heard  them  bay  him  again,  and  we  rushed  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  down  the  canyon  to  find  him  sitting  on  the  limb  of  another 
fir,  holding  on  like  ;i  man.  We  shol  again  and  he  dropped  to  the 
ground,  where  the  dogs  heeled  him  and  went  flying  pasl  hanging  on 
to  a  hind  leg.  The  boar  immediately  mounted  a  nearby  oak,  do1  over 
eight  inches  in  diameter,  and  ,s w  1 1 1 1  *••  ou1  on  a  limb.  At  dose  rang<\ 
we  shot  arrow  after  arrow  through  his  chest  while  he  slipped  further 
out  on  the  bending  limb,  and  at  last  fell  to  the  ground,  rolling  over 
and  over  down  the  canyon.  The  dogs  were  on  him  in  a  second,  and 
by  the  time  we  reached  the  creek  bed.  the  bear  was  dead. 

Murphy  performed  the  autopsy,  giving  the  bounds  the  liver  and 
lights.  Eleven  arrows  bad  gone  through  the  beast,  seven  of  these 
through  the  chest.  The  lungs  were  collapsed  and  pulmonary  hemor- 
rhage finished  him.  The  firsl  two  shots  would  have  been  enough  if  we 
had  waited. 

It  was  a  three  year  old  female  black-  bear,  weighing  about  150 
pounds.  That  it  was  no  larger  was  no  fault  of  ours.  The  arrows  cul 
ribs  in  two  at  several  points  and  undoubtedly  could  have  penetrated 
any  beast  with  a  hide  less  resistant  than  a  hippo  or  an  elephant. 


NOTES  ON  THE  ARTIFICIAL  PROPAGATION  OF  THE  SPINY 

LOBSTER. 

By  P.  S.   BARNHART.  Scripps   Institution  for   Biological   Research. 

Because  of  its  possible  bearing  on  the  future  artificial  propagation 
of  the  spiny  lobster,  Pcmulirus  interruptus,  I  think  it  might  be  worth 
while  to  make  a  record  of  the  conditions  under  which  eggs  were  hatched 
and  the  young  carried  through  the   phyllosome  stage  of  development. 

It  has  always  been  easy  to  secure  berried  lobsters  and  obtain  from 
them  the  first  stage  of  the  young.  These  have  always  died  before 
passing  through  further  stages  of  development,  even  though  kept  in 
fresh  running  sea  water,  supposedly  under  ideal  conditions. 

B.  M.  Allen  working  under  the  auspices  of  the  California  Fish  and 
Game  Commission  in  1911,  constructed  elaborate  hatching  boxes  at  the 
inlet  to  False  Bay.  where  a  plentiful  supply  of  fresh  water  was  con- 
stantly available  and  the  water  in  the  boxes  kept  in  constant  agitation 
by  means  of  a  rotating  wheel.     In  his  published  notes  (1916)  he  says': 

'There  is  no  difficulty  in  securing  the  young.  It  is  only  necessary 
to  impound  spawn-bearing  females.  The  young  hatch  very  readily 
even  after  the  spawn-bearing  parent  has  been  kepi  in  captivity  for 
weeks.  Attempts  to  rear  them,  however,  proved  futile.  Their  extreme 
delicacy  and  pelagic  habit  make  their  culture  an  especially  difficult 
problem." 

On  .May  14.  1918,  a  berried  lobster  was  placed  iii  a  large  concrete 
tank.  ii  by  9  feet,  in  the  research  aquarium  of  the  Scripps  Institution. 
This  tank  contained  approximately  800  gallons  of  water.  A  small  jet 
furnished  about  5  gallons  of  water  an  hour.  The  20th  of  June  two 
green  turtles  weighing  about  30  pounds  cadi  were  placed  in  the  same 
tank.  Every  few  days  after  this  quantities  of  a  green  alga  was  thrown 
in  for  the  turtles  to  feed  upon.     Much  of  1  his  rotted  and  accumulated  in 


California  fish  and  game.  71 

one  corner  of  the  tank  under  and  around  a  lot  of  large  stones  where  I  he 
lobster  kept  itself  hidden. 

The  in-  and  outflow  from  the  tank  was  oot  enough  to  keep  the  water 
perfeetely  fresh  and  it  began  to  take  on  the  milkly  hue  indicative  of  bad 

water.  This  finally  became  so  bad  that  I  decided  to  clean  the  tank  out. 
On  the  10th  of  July  I  started  to  do  this,  but  where  the  sun  struck  the 
water  I  noticed  that  there  was  a  slight  movement  on  the  surface  as  of 
many  small  animals  moving  about.  I  immediately  made  a  haul  with  a 
fine  net  and  was  much  surprised  to  find  quantities  of  phyllosomes. 
Many  of  these  were  put  into  fresh  running  water  where  they  remained 
alive  for  several  days,  but  gradually  died  off.  Those  remaining  in  the 
large  tank  kept  alive  about  eight  days  when  they  also  died.  As  far  as 
I  was  able  to  observe  these  were  in  the  small,  first  phyllosome  stage. 

This  experiment  might  indicate  that,  while  bearing  and  hatching  the 
eggs,  the  adult  seeks  comparatively  quiet  water  where  there  is  much 
decaying  vegetation.  It  surely  proves  that  fresh  clean  water  is  not 
necessary  for  their  hatching  and  development  to  the  phyllosome  stage. 
Allen  found  that  spawn-bearing  females  usually  "seek  sheltered  spots 
in  the  lea  of  islands  or  points  of  land  and  take  refuge  in  sheltered 
crevices  of  rocks  alongshore." 

I  hope  to  repeal  this  experiment  this  year  on  a  much  larger  scale. 


IS  THE  HERRING  GULL  INSECTIVOROUS? 

By   A.    C.    BURRILL,    Idaho   Station    Entomologist's   Office. 

Some  individuals  doubt  that  gulls  naturally  eat  insects.  They  con- 
sider that  the  blowflies  reported  eaten  by  gulls  (Dr.  Dutcher,  President 
of  National  Association  of  Audubon  Societies),  were  merely  gulped 
down  when  some  gull  seized  a  beached  fish  on  which  the  flies  might 
have  been  ovipositing.  This  seems  probable  and  also  that  some  other 
insects  eaten,  as  the  white  grub's  adults,  the  May  beetle,  may  have 
been  washed  up  on  shore  alongside  fish  and  so  included  with  the  bigger 
mouthful,  even  if  the  young  gulls  were  being  fed  by  their  mothers  at 
the  time.     (By  the  Wayside,  Feb.,  1912,  p.  42.) 

In  The  Auk  (v.  19,  p.  46),  Doctor  Dutcher  saw  at  the  No-Man 's-Land 
Gull  Reservation,  Maine,  young  gulls  which,  as  soon  as  able  to  leave 
the  rookery,  went  in  flocks  to  neighboring  grass  and  potato  fields  and 
ate  immense  numbers  of  grasshoppers  and  potato  beetles.  This  doesn  't 
look  like  mere  beach  scavenging,  does  it?  Yet  I  agree  that  many 
insects  can  be  easily  swallowed  unintentionally  by  scavenging  gulls. 
In  the  summer  of  1910,  I  related  in  a  recent  note  how  the  gulls  cleaned 
up  the  fish  driven  ashore  on  Lake  Michigan,  Whitefish  Bay,  Wisconsin. 
At  that  time  there  were  thousands  of  beetles,  largely  ladybirds  (Coc- 
cinellids)  of  many  kinds,  along  the  beach,  besides  various  other  unfor- 
tunates, so  that  a  gull  would  have  great  difficulty  in  cleaning'  a  fish 
body  of  all  of  the  smaller  fry  before  swallowing. 

Owing  to  the  lack  of  material,  former  Chief  Henshaw  says,  our  Fede- 
eral  Biological  Survey  has  made  very  few  stomach  analyses  of  this  species. 
But  just  lately  Dr.  A.  S.  Alexander  called  to  my  attention  a  Scottish 
work  (Transactions  of  tie  Highland  and  Agricultural  Society  of 
Scotland)   in  which  in  1912  is  given  the  analysis  of  616  Scottish  bird 


72 


CALIPORNl  \   PISH    \NI>  GAME. 


stomachs,  including  41  herring  gulls  (the  same  as  ours,  Larus  argen 
tatus  Gmel.).  This  seems  to  accord  so  well  with  the  little  known  hi  re 
that  I  venture  to  quote  in  the  words  of  the  author,  Miss  Laura  Floren 
Carnegie  Scholar  in  the  University  of  Aberdeen,  published  al  Edin- 
burgh: "Summary:  15  contained  fish;  3,  carrion;  L3,  shells;  4.  refuse; 
1,  brittle  star;  4,  Crustacea;  3,  insects  of  injurious  group;  2,  insects 
of  indifferent  group;  3,  earthworms;  3,  potatoes:  !).  urain;  14.  grass; 
!•,  seeds."  Again,  she  lists  the  food  £or  a  single  male  shot  at  Donmonth 
in  Aberdeen,  Oct.  31.  1!>10:  "Stomach  about  quarter  full;  fragments 
and  husks  of  grain  ;  fragments  of  chitin;  forceps  of  an  earwig  (Forfi- 
euliadoe)  ;  grass."  The  chitin  mentioned  may  have  been  other  parts 
of  the  same  earwig  or  some  other  insect.  This  work  was  supervised  by 
the  well-known  zoologists.  Professors  -1.  Arthur  Thompson  and  J.  W.  II. 
Trail. 


--V 


^^^ 


/ 


I 


Fig.  32.     Herring   gulls   on    breeding   grounds,    No    Man's    I_and,    North    Carolina. 

Photograph  by  Herbert  A.  Job. 

Thirty  per  cent  of  these  gulls,  therefore,  ate  fish,  but  the  amount  of 
fish  material  must  have  been  much  less  than  that.  Compare  Mr. 
llenshaw's  statement  regarding  American  gulls:  "The  herring  gull 
can  be  considered  a  fish  eater  only  to  a  very  limited  extent.  Occasion- 
ally, we  have  found  the  remains  of  fish  in  the  stomach  contents,  but 
there  has  always  been  collateral  evidence  that  the  fish  were  eaten  in 
the  shape  of  offal.  When  about  harbors  and  inland  waters,  its  prin- 
cipal food  consists  of  garbage.  We  have  a  number  of  stomachs  col- 
lected in  Maine  by  Dutcher,  ami  these  contain  the  remains  of  June 
bugs  and  other  insects  with  about  10  per  cent  of  fish  garbage,  showing 
that  the  herring  gull  is  in  some  localities  and  to  some  extent,  at  least, 
insectivorous." 

In  Leslie's  Weekly,  for  Sept.  5,  1912,  there  is  a  view  of  the  American 
battleship   "Utah,"   near   Galveston,    Texas,   surrounded  by  sea   gulls 


CALIFORNIA  FISH   AND   GAME. 


73 


picking  up  refuse.  lu  an  earlier  issue,  February,  1909,  is  another  of 
gulls  picking  up  fish  from  a  school  of  herring  on  the  high  sea.  This  is 
more  often  true  of  the  kittiwake  gull  or  of  the  stormy  petrel,  alias 
"Mother  Carey's  Chicken,"  well  shown  in  Collier's  Weekly  for  Sept.  6, 
1913  (p.  15),  though  Mabel  Osgood  Wright  says  the  name  herring 
gull  was  given  this  bird  "because  as  they  were  originally  fishermen  by 
trade,  their  presence  flying  above  the  water  told  where  schools  of 
herring  were  to  be  found.  Today  the  schools  of  herring  are  less 
plentiful  along  our  shores,  and  the  value  of  this  gull,  though  greater 
than  ever,  is  due  to  a  different  source."  Now  gulls  act  as  scavenge-, 
becoming  "the  health  officers  of  the  coast"  (November,  1907,  The 
Herring  or  Harbor  Gull,  Educ.  Leaflet  No.  29.  The  Nat.  Ass.  Aud. 
Soc,  N.  Y.  City) . 

Mr.  Brann  (By  the  Wayside,  January,  1912),  claims  gulls  still  dive 
for  fish  occasionally  in  Green  Bay,  Wisconsin,  but  Mr.  Henshaw 
rather  disputes  this  for  the  United  States  as  a  whole,  and  so  writes 
friend  W.  T.  Davis,  a  careful  observer  and  naturalist  of  Staten  Island, 
New  York  Harbor  (letter,  Dec.  31,  1912).  One  of  the  best  refutations 
of  much  fish  being  eaten  by  gulls  came  out  in  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette 
(Feb.  6,  1912),  Mr.  F.  G.  Aflalo  saying: 


Fig.    33.     Sea  gulls   flying  over  headlands,   La  Valle,   California.     Photograph  by   L.   Hugo. 

"The  public  mind  is  constantly  being  misled  on  this  subject  of  the 
destructiveness  of  gulls  by  journalists  with  a  passion  for  statistics. 
Only  the  other  day  a  morning  paper  published  what  purported  to  be  the 
pictorial  menu  of  a  sea  gull  during  the  year.  It  was  shown  in  terms 
of  a  great  line  of  barrels  of  herrings,  146  barrels,  each  containing  500 
herrings,  to  a  total  not  far  short  of  200  pounds  sterling.  There  were 
two  very  obvious  fallacies  in  this  reckoning.  In  the  first  place  it 
assumed  that  the  whole  of  the  73,000  herrings  thus  consumed  as  fry, 
would  have  grown  to  maturity  if  the  gull  had  left  them  alone.  To  put 
it  mildly,  this  is  by  no  means  proved;  to  put  it  frankly,  it  is  rubbish. 


74  CALIFORNIA    FISH   AND   GAME. 

Moreover,  this  imposing  cartoon  gave  no  hint  of  the  tons  of  offal  and 
garbage  which,  to  the  greal  benefil  of  many  a  harbor,  these  feathered 
scavengers  consume  every  year.  The  picture  told,  in  fact,  what  was 
not  true,  and  suppressed  what  was." 

.Mr.  ('.  \V.  Creel,  in  charge  of  the  cereal  and  forage  insed  investi- 
gations laboratory  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Entomology,  at 
Foresl  Grove,  Oregon,  informs  that  often,  when  the  farmers  are  plow- 
ing in  the  Salt  Lake  Valley,  Utah,  gulls  come  in  large  flocks  to  work 
over  the  land,  whether  after  insects  or  Held  rodents  would  be  a  wr\ 
interesting  line  of  investigation.  Likewise  we  have  a  photograph  of 
many  gulls  visiting  plowed  land  in  California,  and  suppose  that  this 
is  the  California  gull.  However,  it  will  he  interesting  to  hear  from 
other  observers,  if  the  herring  gull,  which  is  less  common  there  than 
in  other  parts  of  America  and  Europe,  still  shows  sufficient  interest  in 
plowed  fields  in  California  to  associate  with,  the  California  gulls  in 
their  field  patrols. 

One  species  of  gull  flies  up  the  Columbia  River  and  has  been  reported 
in  spring  as  far  up  the  Snake  River  Canyon  as  Lewiston,  Idaho,  per 
Adjutant  General  Charles  Moody,  showing  that  even  inland  Idaho, 
though  lacking  large  lakes,  may  be  within  the  flying  zone  of  this 
valuable  species.  In  the  Bi^  Bend  country  of  eastern  Washington, 
seme  of  the  farmers  who  were  worried  by  the  large  armies  of  coulee 
crickets  in  the  spring  of  1918,  were  discussing  if  there  would  be  any 
advantage  in  shipping  a  few  pairs  of  gulls  to  the  desert  country  to 
eat  up  these  crickets  and  thus  attract  more  gulls  to  fly  in  from  the 
coast,  and  thus  repeat  the  well-known  tale  of  the  Mormons  and  the 
Mormon  crickets  of  I 'tali,  and  the  deliverance  effected  by  the  gulls. 
Further  data  is  invited. 

Messrs.  I?.  G.  Thompson  and  M.  M.  Reeher,  special  field  agents  of 
Mr.  Creel 's  office,  have  furnished  the  following  details.  Mr.  Thompson 
was  sent  into  the  grasshopper  afflicted  district  near  Burns,  Harney 
( !ounty,  Oregon,  .May,  1918,  where  he  met  a  Mr.  McGee  who  said  that  for 
several  years  gulls  had  been  working  on  grasshoppers.  Messrs.  Thomp- 
son and  McGee  went  out  to  look  for  a  new  band  of  hoppers  in  May  and 
alter  a  long  hunt  saw  at  a  distance  about  a  thousand  gulls  feeding  on  the 
land.  Mr.  McGee  fell  sure  that  they  would  find  the  hoppers  near  there, 
and  on  going  over  to  see,  found  the  gulls  so  gorged  that  they  would 
hardly  get  out  of  the  way.  The  gulls  were  busily  picking  up  the  young 
hoppers.  Mr.  Reeher  was  sent  into  Langells'  Valley,  near  Klamath 
Falls,  Oregon,  early  in  dune.  1918.  His  guide  told  him  thai  a  few 
gulls  visited  the  hoppers  the  year  before,  and  showed  him  this  dune. 
1918,  about  live  hundred  gulls  feeding  on  hoppers.  We  have  no  data 
as  to  what  species  of  mill  this  was.  save  thai  it  was  white  with  bluish 
slate-colored  wings,  which  answers  to  at  least  three  species.  As  the 
California  and  ring-billed  gulls  breed  in  colonies  on  Klamath  bake,  it 
seems  reasonable  to  believe  that  birds  of  these  two  species  were 
implicated. 

These  facts  are  given  to  show  that  gulls  may  be  quite  as  well  worth 
study  in  the  AVest  as  in  the  East,  and  their  protection  quite  as  necessary. 


FRANK  A.  SHEBLEY. 


The  death  of  Frank 
A.  Shebley,  one  of  the 
oldest  employees  of  the 
Fish  and  Game  Com- 
mission, which  oc- 
curred in  a  hospital  in 
Yreka,  December  21, 
1918,  came  as  a  pro- 
found shock  to  scores 
of  friends.  Although 
he  had  been  uncon- 
scious for  seven  hours 
after  the  accident  to 
the  auto  bus  in  which 
he  Avas  riding"  between 
Fort  Jones  and  Yreka, 
several  days  before,  on 
Saturday  morning 
there  was  every  indica- 
tion that  he  would  get 
well,  but  a  sudden 
change  which  occurred 
late  in  the  afternoon 
ended  in  death. 

Frank  Shebley  was 
born  in  Nevada  county 
nearly  forty-seven 
years  ago.    He  was  the 

son  of  California's  first  famous  fish  culturist,  and  had  succeeded 
before  his  death,  in  company  with  his  brother,  William  H.  Shebley. 
in  making  a  reputation  as  great  if  not  greater  in  the  same  line  of 
endeavor  than  that  of  the  father,  who  had  gone  before.  As  a  boy,  he 
followed  farming  on  his  father's  place,  but  for  the  past  twenty-five 
years  has  been  identified  exclusively  with  fish  culture  in  connection 
with  the  California  Fish  and  Game  Commission,  and  there  are  few  men 
on  the  Pacific  slope  who  knew  as  much  about  fish  and  fishing  in  the 
waters  of  the  rivers  and  bays  as  Frank  Shebley  knew.  During  his 
experience  with  the  Commission  he  was  the  superintendent  of  the  Price 
Creek  hatchery  in  Humboldt  county,  and  the  Brookdale  hatchery  in 
Santa  Cruz  county,  and  recently  the  new  Mount  Whitney  hatchery  in 
Inyo  county.  Under  his  management  the  Brookdale  hatchery  became 
very  popular  and  was  sought  out  by  sportsmen  from  all  over  California 
as  a  place  of  great  interest.  Also  interested  in  angling  as  a  sport,  he 
was  a  master  of  the  fly  rod  and  a  skilled  angler.  In  recent  years  he  had 
given  some  attention  to  land  investments,  as  well  as  mining  ventures, 
and  with  W.  P.  Netherton  of  Santa  Cruz  was  the  owner  of  considerable 
property  in  Texas. 

Few  employees  of  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission  have  been  so  uni- 
versally loved  as  has  Frank  Shebley.  His  genial  personality  and  per- 
petual good  humor  won  for  him  hosts  of  friend;.  His  loss  will,  there- 
fore, be  a  personal  one  to  many.  Mr.  Shebley  \s  sh  cultural  attainments 
furnish  assurance  that  the  vacancy  left  by  his  death  will  be  hard  to  fill. 


76 


CALIFORNIA   PISH   AND  GAME. 


CALIFORNIA  FISH  AND  GAME 


A  publication  devoted  to  the  conserva- 
tion of  wild  life  and  published  quarterly 
by  the  California  State  Fish  and  Game 
Commission. 

Sent  free  to  citizens  of  the  State  of  Cali- 
fornia. Offered  in  exchange  for  ornitho- 
logical, mammalogical  and  similar  period- 
icals. „  „ 

The  articles  published  in  California  Fish 
and  Game  are  not  copyrighted  and  maybe 
reproduced  in  other  periodicals,  provided 
due  credit  Is  given  the  California  Fish  and 
Game  Commission.  Editors  of  newspapers 
and  periodicals  are  invited  to  make  use  of 
pertinent  material. 

All  material  for  publication  should  be 
sent  to  H.  C.  Bryant,  Museum  of  Verte- 
brate Zoology,   Berkeley,  Cal. 


April  21,  1919. 


"Conservation  deals  with  those  things 
to  which  practically  every  normal  person 
turns  for  relaxation  in  his  moments  of 
leisure." 

OUR  MAILING    LIST. 

The  mailing  list  for  California  Fish 
\\n  GAME  has  been  entirely  revised. 
Those  who  did  not  take  the  trouble  to 
sign  the  card  enclosed  in  the  October 
number  have  been  removed  from  the  list 
and  a  new  written  request  alone  will 
replace  them. 

There  have  been  so  many  additions  to 
our  mailing  list  of  late  that  the  edition 
published  has  had  to  be  increased.  This, 
in  connection  with  a  marked  increase  in 
cost  of  printing,  leads  us  to  speculate  as 
to  the  possibility  of  continuing  free  dis- 
tribution. It  may  well  be  that  some 
small  charge  will  have  to  be  made  for  the 
magazine  in  the  future.  If  this  change 
becomes  necessary,  we  will  but  be  follow- 
ing the  lead  of  several  other  states.  A 
regular  subscription  list  would  allow  a 
great  saving  in  postage  in  that  (he  maga- 
zine could  then  be  mailed  ;is  second-class 
matter. 

PENDING    LEGISLATION. 

Less  important  lisli  and  game  legisla- 
tion has  come  before  the  present  legisla- 
ture than  for  many  years  past.  The  bills 
that  have  been  introduced  are  less  radical 
in  nature  and  notably  less  in  number. 
The  few  relating  to  game  which  stand  out 
as  desirable  are:  A  bill  granting  discre- 
tionary powers  to  the  Fish  and  Game 
Commission  which  would  allow  better  ad- 
ministration of  fish   and  game  resources; 


bills  making  the  stale  laws  conform  with 
the  new  federal  regulations;  and  one  re- 
modeling the  districting  act  to  include 
two  new  game  refuges,  an  area  in  the 
vicinity  of  Mt.  Breckenridge,  Kern 
County,  and  an  area  on  Mt.  Hamilton, 
Santa  Clara  County. 

Desirable  changes  in  the  law  requiring 
fishways  are  provided  for  in  two  bills, 
and  it  is  hoped  that  another  bill  prohibit- 
ing fishing  within  two  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  of  any  fishway  or  screen  will  be 
passed.  An  important  bill  provides  for 
the  inspection  of  all  imported  fish  eggs 
or  fish  so  that  undesirables  may  be  quar- 
antined. 

Among  undesirable  bills  relating  to 
game  are  those  which  provide  bounties 
on  predatory  birds  and  on  predatory  mam- 
mals, one  opening  the  bear  season  in  dis- 
tricts 2,  2A  and  10,  one  opening  the 
season  on  rabbits  in  the  above  districts, 
one  providing  for  the  repeal  of  the  hunt- 
ing license  law,  and  one  providing  for  the 
sale  of  ducks  killed  when  destroying  rice. 
A  bill  to  permit  the  use  of  a  spear  in 
taking  trout  in  certain  local  districts  and 
a  pernicious  shrimp  bill  are  among  those 
relating  to  fish  which  would  tear  down 
present  protective  laws. 

It  seems  reasonable  to  believe  that  our 
legislators  will  look  with  disapproval  on 
those  bills  which  are  adverse  to  the  best 
interests  of  our  fish  and  game,  and  will 
stand  by  those  tending  to  uphold  protec- 
tion and  conservation  for  our  wild  life 
resources. 

FISH  AND  GAME  COMMISSION  INAUG- 
URATES EDUCATIONAL  WORK  AT 
SUMMER    RESORTS. 

Believing  that  a  better  knowledge  of 
wild  life  will  bring  about  better  conser- 
vation of  it,  and  that  when  people  are 
on  their  summer  vacations  they  are  most 
responsive  to  education  on  wild  life  re- 
sources, the  California  Fish  and  Game 
Commission,  backed  by  the  Nature  Study 
League,  will  institute  this  coming  sum- 
mer a  series  of  lectures  and  nature  study 
field  trips  designed  to  stimulate  interest 
in  the  proper  conservation  of  natural  re- 
sources. The  Tahoe  region  has  been 
selected  for  the  work  this  year.  The 
work  will  be  offered  at  six  different  re- 
sorts. The  month  of  July  is  the  time 
set.     All  lectures  and  classes  will  be  open 


CALIFORNIA  FISH  AND  GAME. 


77 


to  the  public  and  no  fees  will  be  charged. 
Illustrated  lectures  on  the  game  birds, 
song  birds,  mammals  and  fish  will  furnish 
evening  entertainment,  and  early  morning 
trips  afield  will  give  vacationists  an  intro- 
duction to  mountain  wild  life. 

Everyone  wants  to  recognize  the  plants 
and  wild  things  encountered  on  the  sum- 
mer vacation.  There  is  no  better  way  of 
developing  this  ability  than  to  accompany 
one  who  knows  the  trees,  birds  and  mam- 
mals. Special  attention  will  be  given  the 
identification  of  birds  by  call,  song,  color 
and  habits.  The  motto  of  these  classes 
will  be :  "Learn  to  read  a  roadside  as  one 
reads  a  book."  Knowledge  of  wild  life 
insures  better  conservation  of  it.  Special 
excursions  for  children  will  be  conducted. 

These  nature  study  lectures  and  field 
trips  which  compose  the  vacation  camp 
work  of  the  Bureau  of  Education,  Pub- 
licity, and  Research  of  the  California 
Fish  and  Game  Commission  are  designed 
to  bring  about  a  healthy  interest  in  the 
out-of-doors  and  in  wild  things  that 
through  knowledge  proper  public  senti- 
ment and  proper  conservation  of  our  natu- 
ral resources  may  be  brought  about.  In 
other  words,  "conservation  through  edu- 
cation" is  the  end  being  sought. 

PRESERVE  GAME    RESOURCES. 

California's  natural  resources  in  fish 
and  game,  with  its  incomparable  climate, 
its  26,212  miles  of  fishing  streams,  its 
S62,000  acres  of  lakes  and  every  stage 
of  climatic  conditions  to  be  found  out  of 
doors,  are  a  gigantic  magnet  drawing 
people  from  remote  corners  of  the  earth. 
California  should  be  the  mecca  for  the 
human  race.  The  remarkable  develop- 
ment of  road  building  of  the  past  few 
years,  with  the  development  of  the  auto- 
mobile, have  brought  the  people  in  touch 
with  this  wonderful  fish  and  game  asset. 

To  hunt  and  fish  is  as  natural  to  the 
California  boy  and  girl  as  to  breathe. 
The  farmer  and  land  owner  is  practically 
ihe  breeder  and  raiser  of  our  game  and  he 
is  ever  zealous  in  its  protection.  His 
children  hunt  and  fish  whenever  the  sea- 
son and  opportunity  offer.  Not  a  family 
exists  in  our  rural  districts  that  does  not 
own,  as  a  family  heirloom,  a  shotgun  or 
a  rifle,  and  both  sexes  of  the  children 
are   taught    their    use.      They    can    teach 


many   an   expert   the   fine   art  of  angling 
in  the  stream  that  flows  by  his  home. 

There  in  the  rural  districts  you  will 
find  the  nucleus  of  the  strong,  virile  gen- 
eration that  Northern  Europe  knows  so 
well  and  that  will  come  after  us,  for  they 
live  much  in  the  open,  where  they  learn 
self-reliance.  Let  us  not  remove  from 
them  the  natural  opportunity  to  improve 
their  physical  being,  but  rather  assist 
them  by  conserving  our  natural  resources 
in  fish  and  game. 

Continued  changing  and  revising  the 
fish  and  game  laws  will  do  more  toward 
decimating  our  fish  and  game  than  all 
the  hunters  and  fishermen  can  possibly 
do.  The  State  Fish  and  Game  Commission 
is  a  state  body  directing  and  supervising 
the  entire  work  of  fish  and  game  protec- 
tion, propagation,  distribution  and  con- 
servation. Thus  the  state  is  administered 
as  a  unit  and  a  maximum  degree  of  pro- 
tection can  be  given.  This  could  not  be- 
come an  actual  possibility  were  each  of 
the  fifty-eight  counties  given  full  and  com- 
plete control  within  their  respective  bor- 
ders. With  fifty-eight  separate  and  dis- 
tinct districts,  ranging  from  a  mere  hand- 
ful of  population  to  half  a  million,  each 
endeavoring  to  handle  the  affairs  of  each 
for  themselves  and  not  one  for  the  other, 
one  can  easily  imagine  the  chaotic  state 
of  affairs  that  would  result.  Thus  one 
can  realize  why  experimental  legislation 
would  be  and  is  more  detrimental  to  the 
unsurpassed  fish  and  game  interests  of 
California  than  all  her  hunters  and  fish- 
ermen, alien  and  domestic—  Editorial, 
Sacramento  Union,  Feb.  16,  1919. 

LARGE    PROFITS    WITH    SLIGHT    OUT- 
LAY. 

Few,  if  any,  natural  resources  of  a 
state  are  administered  with  so  slight  a 
cost  to  taxpayers  as  is  fish  and  game. 
Wild  birds,  mammals  and  fish  yield  a 
splendid  annual  return  in  food  and  sport, 
to  say  nothing  of  their  help  in  controlling 
pests,  and  this  wild  life  does  not  need 
food  or  shelter,  but  simply  reasonable 
protection.  Not  one  dollar  is  appropriated 
by  the  state  for  its  maintenance.  The 
small  burden  falls  entirely  upon  those 
who  make  most  use  of  the  resource.  The 
hunters  and  anglers  of  this  state  by  pay- 
ing a   small   license  fee   of  .$1.00  furnish 


78 


(\UFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME. 


the  funds  used  to  enforce  fish  and  game 
laws  and  initiate  protective  measures. 
Many  persons  are  ignorant  of  these  facts 
and  these  are  the  ones  thai  continually 
complain  of  the  high  cosl  of  fish  and 
game  administral  ion. 

"NOW     BEGINS    THE    SEASON." 

"Now  begins  the  season  of  the  year 
when  the  weary  city  man  turns  his  face 
from  the  familiar  crowds  and  noises  of 
the  lily  to  the  country  places:  where  he 
may  lish  in  the  trout  streams;  plod  over 
the  hills  with  a  gun  on  his  shoulder  in 
the  hope  of  shooting  something;  dabble  in 

the  o in  waves  at  the  beaches;  or  sleep 

all  riight  on  the  hard  ground,  with  queer 
noises  going  on  in  the  woods  around  him, 
<ni- ions  little  insects  walking  over  his 
hody  and  tickling  him.  curious  little  ani- 
mals tiptoeing  around  among  the  leaves, 
and  unknown  dangers,  remembered  from 
his  primitive  days,  waiting  to  catch  him 
and  gobble  him  up." — San  Francisco  Bul- 
letin,  June  30,   1914. 

It  is  good  for  a  man  to  wander  hack 
at  intervals  into  the  domain  of  old  Dame 
Nature.  What  good  docs  it  do?  It  means 
quickened  pulse,  hearty  appetite,  an  inex- 
pressible tingle  of  exhilaration  in  every 
nerve,  better  poise,  greater  resiliency  of 
step,  augmented  power  of  body  and  mind 
for  the  battles  of  the  workaday  world. 

What  clement  is  more  important  in 
making  insistent  the  call  to  marsh,  field. 
and  mountain  than  that  furnished  by  the 
wild  life?  Exterminate  the  game  and  yoti 
make  the  world  drearier,  more  monoto- 
nous, less  interesting.  Exterminate  Cali- 
fornia's game  and  you  turn  one  of  the 
most  attractive  of  the  sisterhood  of  states 
into  a  desolate  waste.  Western  Wild  Life 
(■'ill,  No.  4. 

CONVICTION    MADE   UNDER    FEDERAL 
MIGRATORY     BIRD    TREATY    ACT. 

Los  Banos  and  other  Sun  Joaquin 
points  have  heretofore  supplied  most  of 
the  ducks  for  the  market.  Changed  condi- 
tions have  moved  the  activities  of  market 

hunters  to  Colusa.  Sutter  and  Yub;i  c 

ties.  The  city  of  Colusa,  being  in  the 
center  of  operations)  became  the  rendez- 
vous of  most  of  the  market  hunters.  The 
fact  that  the  Migratory  Bird  Treaty  Act 
prohibits  the  sale  of  all   waterfowl  made 


no  difference  to  ties,,  men  who  shoot  for 
money. 

'I'll,,  difficulty  of  detecting  sale  transac- 
tions is  evidenced  bj  the  following  facts: 
<  >ne  of  the  mosl  notorious  hunters  main- 
tained a  joint  in  Colusa  where  ducks  were 
dispensed  after  the  password  had  been 
given.  So  notorious  had  the  place  become 
for  the  distribution  of  dinks  that  travel- 
ing men  had  no  difficulty  in  purchasing 
them  at  any  time.  It  was  the  custom  of 
these  men  to  keep  a  supply  of  ducks  on 
hand  in  order  that  they  might  guarantee 
the  limit  to  so-called  city  -  "sportsmen" 
whom  these  hunters  took  out  at  so  much 
per  day.  The  surplus  ducks  were  shipped 
to  San  Francisco  and  Sacramento  under 
lietiiioiis  names  to  be  distributed  by 
agents. 

The  proprietor  of  this  joint,  with  three 
other  well-known  market  hunters,  was  de- 
tected on  October  15,  191S,  the  day  pre- 
vious to  the  opening  of  the  season,  with 
226  ducks  and  one  snipe  in  his  possession. 
Information  was  tiled  against  these  four 
defendants,  Charles  Guernsey,  J.  T. 
Maley.  Frank  Chambers,  and  Joe  P. 
Meyers.  They  were  indicted  by  the  Fed- 
eral Grand  Jury  and  were  tried  by  jury 
on  February  I.  I'.U'.t.  at  Sacramento, 
Judge  Van  Fleel  presiding.  The  jury  re- 
turned a  verdict  of  guilty  in  eleven  min- 
utes, and  the  defendants  were  sentenced 
to  pay  $100  each  or  in  default  serve  GO 
clays  in  jail. 

.Much  credit  is  due  stale  and  federal 
wardens  Carpenter  and  Ludlum,  Deputy 
United  States  Game  Warden  E.  S.  Cat- 
tron  and  Assistant  United  States  Attor- 
ney Johnson  for  the  manner  in  which  the 
case  was  handled.  As  this  was  the  first 
case  in  California  under  the  Migratory 
Bird  Treaty  Act,  Judge  Van  Fleet  did 
lml  impose  a  maximum  hue.  but  warned 
all    future   offenders   to   beware. 

Geo.  Neale. 

mendocino  rancher  makes  good 

KILL. 

Mr.  Frank  Williams,  a  sheep  rancher 
of  Calpella,  Mendocino  County,  recently 
succeeded  in  killing  a  black  bear  which 
had  been  killing  sheep  in  the  vicinity  for 
several  years.  It  weighed  300  pounds. 
A  mountain  lion  was  killed  the  same  day. 
(See  Fig.  32.  I  During  the  winter  of 
1913  seven  lions  were  killed  in  this 
vicinity. 


CALIFORNIA  FISH  AND  GAME. 


79 


Fig.  34.  Mountain  lion  and  large  black  bear  which 
had  pestered  sheep-men  for  years  at  last  rounded 
up  in  one  day  by  Frank  Williams,  a  rancher  of 
Calpella,  California.     Photograph  by  Una  Boyle. 


GAME     LAWS     TO     BE     ENFORCED     IN 
NATIONAL     FORESTS. 

Persons  who  violate  the  state  game  law 
on  national  forests  now  become  liable  to 
prosecution  in  the  federal  courts.  A  reg- 
ulation recently  issued  by  the  Secretary 
of  Agriculture  is  as  follows : 

"The  going  or  being  upon  any  land  of 
the  United  States,  or  in  or  on  the  waters 
thereof,  within  a  National  Forest,  with 
intent  to  hunt,  catch,  trap,  wilfully  dis- 
turb or  kill  any  kind  of  game  animal, 
game  or  non-game  bird,  or  fish,  or  to 
take  the  eggs  of  any  such  bird,  in  viola- 
tion of  the  laws  of  the  state  in  which  such 
land  or  waters  are  situated,  is  hereby 
prohibited." 

BEAVER    HIDES    CONFISCATED. 

Deputies  Newsome  and  Sellmer,  while 
on  patrol  work  along  the  Tuolumne  River, 
discovered  14  green  beaver  hides  in  the 
eamp  of  a  trapper.  The  trapper,  fearing 
the  hand  of  the  law,  had  fled.  If  the  at- 
tempts  being  made  to  locate  the  trapper 
are  successful,  prosecution  will  follow. 


DEPUTY   ACQUITTED    AT   TRIAL. 

Deputy  Carpenter  of  Maxwell,  Colusa 
County,  was  recently  made  defendant  in  a 
suit  to  compel  payment  for  seventy-three 
ducks  which  he  seized  from  three  Colusa 
market  hunters.  The  commission's  attor- 
ney, R.  D.  Duke,  handled  the  case  in  a 
masterly  way  when  it  came  to  trial  by 
jury  at  Colusa  on  February  11.  Attorney 
Duke  contended  that  the  justice  had  no 
jurisdiction  in  the  case  and  that  it  should 
be  tried  by  a  federal  court,  but  he  was 
overruled  by  Justice  of  the  Peace,  Moore. 
Nevertheless,  the  outcome  was  a  verdict 
in  Deputy  Carpenter's  favor.  This  vin- 
dication of  the  game  laws  by  a  jury  in 
Colusa  augurs  well  for  the  future. 

WAR-TIME   SAVING    IN    COST   OF    FISH 
FOOD. 

The  furnishing  of  proper  food  to  the 
millions  of  fish  reared  in  our  hatcheries 
is  no  small  problem.  Until  the  cost 
made  it  prohibitive,  beef  liver  was  largely 


80 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND   GAME. 


used  'm  the  preparation  offish  food.  With 
the  increase  of  cost  wholesale  in  San 
Francisco  from  5  cents  to  32  cents  per 
pound,  it  became  necessary  to  seek  a  sub- 
stitute This  was  found  in  refuse  fish 
costing  but  4  cents  per  pound.  A  product 
of  a  fish  reduction  plant  known  as  crack- 
lings lias  1 n  found  usable,  but  hardly  as 

satisfactory  as  beef  liver. 

THE    PACIFIC    COAST    WHALE    IN- 
DUSTRY. 

It  is  reported  that  in  1918  the  principal 
whaling  company  on  the  Pacific  Coast, 
with  stations  in  Washington.  British  Col- 
umbia and  Alaska,  took  900  whales,  of 
which  about  200  were  of  the  set  species 
(Balaenoptera  borealis),  whose  meat  is 
light  colored  and  particularly  good  for 
canning.  One  right  whale  was  captured; 
it  yielded  1.(.500  pounds  of  excellent  baleen. 
Four  samples  of  this  baleen,  8  to  9  feet 
in  length,  have  been  sent  to  the  bureau 
for  exhibition  purposes.  The  short  baleen 
of  the  common  shore  whales,  which  in 
recent  years  has  been  thrown  away,  now 
has  a  fair  market  value,  and  large  quan- 
tities of  the  discarded  material  are  being 
profitably  salvaged.—  Fisheries  Service 
Bulletin,  No.  45. 

FOOD  ADMINISTRATION  REGULA- 
TIONS ON  FISHING  NO  LONGER 
EFFECTIVE. 

All  of  the  rulings  of  the  Federal  Food 
Administrator  regarding  the  commercial 
fisheries  of  the  state,  with  the  exception 
of  that  relating  to  the  packing  of  sardines, 
were  revoked  on  December  31,  1918.  The 
laws  of  this  state  are  now  in  full  force 
and  effect  as  they  were  previous  to  the 
rulings  of  the   Food   Administrator. 

MORE    BIRD    TREATIES    NEEDED. 

Conservationists  having  successfully 
provided  for  the  protection  of  migratory 
wild  fowl  which  breed  to  the  north  of  the 
United  States  are  now  demanding  a  sim- 
ilar protection  for  the  waterfowl  and 
insectivorous  birds  which  summer  in  the 
United  States,  but  spend  the  winter  sea- 
son in  Latin  America,  where  they  are 
wantonly  slaughtered.  As  a  sample  of  the 
type  of  destruction  which  goes  on  in 
Mexico,  we  quote  from  a  letter  written 
by  II.  S.  Battie  of  Hollywood,  California  : 


"Regarding  the  market  shooting.  1  refer 
solely  to  ducks  :  excepl  the  egret,  no  other 
feathered  game  is  shot  for  the  market. 

"As  you  ma\  not  have  beard  of  the 
methods  of  shooting  ducks  for  market.  I 
will  explain  it. 

"In  the  table  lands  of  Central  Mexico 
nearly  all  the  large  haciendas  have  ponds 
or  lakes  to  catch  water  during  the  rainy 
season  which  is  later  used  for  irrigation. 
During  the  winter  the  ducks  congregate 
in  immense  numbers  on  such  places. 

"At  a  convenient  place  on  the  bank  a 
frame  of  heavy  timbers  is  laid,  and  to 
these  are  fastened  batteries  of  guns — any- 
thing   that:   will   shoot,   in  some  cases   iron 

pipe  being  used.  They  sometimes  have  tin 

tiers,  fan-shaped,  one  above  the  other,  and 
perhaps  a  bundled  or  more  guns,  the  first 
aimed  at  the  water,  the  second  slightly 
above,  and  the  third  slightly  higher  still. 
These  are  tired  by  trains  of  powder. 

"On  the  day  selected  the  peons  go  in 
boats,  and  also  wading,  gradually  driving 
all  the  ducks  on  the  lake  into  a  compact 
mass  in  front  of  the  battery.  At  a  sig- 
nal the  boats  back  away  and  the  peons 
duck  under.  The  first  tier  is  fired  as  the 
birds  are  sitting  and  the  other  two  a 
fraction  of  a  second  later  as  the  birds  are 
taking  wing.  The  slaughter  is  dreadful. 
1  would  not  care  to  say  just  the  number, 
but  an  American  friend  who  happened  to 
be  at  an  hacienda  at  the  time,  told  me 
they  got  two  thousand  that  day.  I  had 
no  reason   to   think   he   exaggerated." 

While  interest  is  still  strong  regarding 
the  protection  for  migratory  and  insec- 
tivorous birds  effort  should  be  made  to 
give  the  summer  visitant  class  of  birds 
equal  protection  with  the  winter  visitants. 
Not  only  will  the  carrying  out  of  such 
a  program  of  protection  be  a  benefit  to 
the  citizens  of  today,  but  will  be  a  bene- 
faction  to  the  coming  generations. 

CONSERVATION    OF    FISH. 

Former  visitors  to  Santa  Catalina 
Island,  who  remember  seeing  tons  of  alba- 
core,  tuna,  and  black  sea  bass  spoil  on 
the  pier  ami  then  towed  out  to  sea,  will 
be  interested  in  reading  the  report  of  the 
Avalon  Fish  Exchange.  All  fish  caught 
by  anglers  and  not  utilized  by  them  be- 
comes the  property  of  the  Fish  Exchange. 
This  supply  is  augmented  by  market  fish- 
ermen. Last  season  165,000  pounds  of 
edible  fish  were  shipped  to  the  mainland. 
This  was  in  addition  to  the  large  amount 
sold  on  the  island.  Included  in  the  ship- 
ments to  the  mainland  were  92  giaut 
bass,  fish  which  formerly  went  to  waste, 
but  which  now  are  in  great  demand. 
Anglers  trolling  in  Catalina  waters  used 


CALIFORNIA  FISH   AND  GAME. 


81 


1.5,000  flying  fish  as  bait.  Valuable  data 
,-is  to  the  time  of  year  when  the  differenl 
varieties  of  fish  are  in  abundance  is  being 
accumulated  by  the  exchange. 

DEPENDABLE   INFORMATION   IS 
NEEDED. 

Honorable  George  D.  Pratt,  Conserva- 
tion Commissioner  of  the  stale  of  New 
York,  has  recently  called  attention  to  the 
need  for  precise  and  dependable  informa- 
tion about  wild  life  resources.  He  points 
out  that  the  underlying  cause  for  the 
multiplicity  of  laws  relating  to  game 
offered  at  each  session  of  the  different 
state  legislatures  is  inadequate  informa- 
tion regarding  game  conditions.  In  at- 
tempting to  fill  this  need,  Mr.  Pratt  insti- 
tuted in  1915  a  game  census  designed  to 
furnish  a  running  check  upon  the  condi- 
tion of  the  state's  wild  life.  By  leaving 
out  of  consideration  unprovable  asser- 
tions or  estimates  based  upon  guesswork 
or  the  unreliable  method  of  averaging, 
the  census  gives  definite  knowledge  re- 
garding general  abundance  of  different 
species  in  different  sections  and  the  fluc- 
tuations in  their  condition  from  season 
to  season.  Each  of  the  140  field  men  have 
been  required  to  report  upon  cards  every 
week  all  of  the  game  that  they  have  seen 
and  the  conditions  under  which  that  game 
was  existing  during  that  week. 

On  the  deer  card,  spaces  are  provided 
for  recording  the  number  of  bucks,  does, 
and  fawns,  damage  to  crops,  distribution, 
physical  condition  and  food  supply. 
Other  cards  provide  "for  data  regarding 
game  birds  and  waterfowl,  fur-bearing 
animals,  and  predatory  animals  and  birds, 
with  appropriate  remarks.  As  a  result  of 
a  study  of  the  deer  cards,  it  has  been  pos- 
sible to  draw  definite  conclusions  regard- 
ing relative  proportion  of  the  sexes  and 
the  extent  to  which  they  are  breeding. 

As  a  means  of  gathering  additional 
statistics,  every  holder  of  a  hunting 
license  when  applying  for  a  new  license 
will  hereafter  be  required  to  give  in  ad- 
dition to  his  name,  residence,  personal 
appearance,  etc.,  the  amount  of  game  that 
he  killed  under  his  old  license.  This  will 
give  an  approximate  measure  of  the 
amount  of  game  actually  killed  and  will 
uive  a  basis  for  demonstrable  facts.  With 
these  facts  at  hand,  wise  laws  can  be 
maintained    on    the    statute    books,    and 


changes  will  be  broughl  about  only  as 
rapidly  as  actual  changes  in  the  condition 
of  wild  life  justify  modification  of  the 
law. 

When  Vermont  inaugurated  the  same 
system  it  was  pointed  out  that  the  value 
of  such  a  census  would  be  threefold  : 

1.  The  warden  force  will  be  educated 
in  local  conditions  and  brought  into 
closer  harmony  with  the  sportsmen. 

2.  A  basis  for  wise  legislation  will  be 
secured  for  the  protection  and  conserva- 
tion of  a  resource  of  real  value  in  terms 
of  dollars  and  cents. 

3.  The  educational  value  to  our  people 
as  increasing  their  interest  in,  and  co- 
operation with,  the  work  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Fisheries  and  Game. 

STATE    GAME    DISTRICT    1K. 

In  connection  with  the  Sequoia  Park 
extension  bill  introduced  in  the  present 
session  of  Congress,  which  proposes  to  ex- 
lend  the  present  boundaries  of  the 
Sequoia  National  Park  to  include  the 
South  and  Middle  Fork  canyons  of  the 
Kings,  it  is  worth  while,  perhaps,  to  con- 
sider the,  effect  that  the  passing  of  this 
bill  would  have  on  the  game  situation  in 
the  Sierra  and  Sequoia  National  forests, 
and  particularly  on  the  State  Game 
Refuge  IK  between  the  north  and  middle 
forks  of  the  Kings. 

Nearly  one-third  of  the  area  of  Game 
District  IK  is  within  the  boundaries  of 
the  proposed  park  extension,  and  as  other 
areas  suitable  for  the  propagation  of  game 
are  also  included,  and  the  park  regulations 
do  not  permit  hunting  within  the  national 
parks,  it  is  only  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  some  action  may  be  taken  to  try  to 
have  the  present  game  district  abolished, 
on  the  grounds  that  the  park  will  amply 
provide  for  all  the  game  protection  needed 
in  this  part  of  the  mountains. 

The  fact  will  still  remain,  however,  that 
no  other  area  is  so  favorably  situated  with 
regard  to  ideal  conditions  for  winter 
breeding  grounds  as  the  low  brushy  south- 
ern exposures  in  township  12  south, 
range  28  east  afford.  Because  of  the 
rough  nature  of  the  country  and  its  inac- 
cessibility, there  is  little  probability  of  at- 
tempted poaching,  and  while  a  park  would 
provide  protection  and  ample  range  during 
the  summer  season,  I  believe  it  would 
be    a    serious    mistake   if   the   above-men- 


82 


CALIFORNIA    PISH     LND  CAME. 


lioned  township  ai  leasl  is  not  retained 
.is  ,-i  game  preserve  where  hunting  is  pre- 
vented ;K  all  seasons. 

1 1  mil; hi  be  argued  thai  the  closed  season 
during  the  winter  months  offers  all  tin-  pro- 
tection that  is  i essary  ;  but  it  would  be 

found,  I  believe,  if  the  game  preserve  were 
abolished,  that  a  large  number  of  hunters 
would  flock  to  this  area  in. the  open  sea- 
sou,  on  the  assumption  that  by  this  time 
the  deer  would  be  working  down  from 
the  higher  elevations  where  they  had  been 
protected  in  the  park  and  possibly  tamed 
to  some  extent. 

One  other  consideration  is  the  open 
bear  season  of  November  and  December 
that  offers  a  legitimate  excuse  for  hunting 
parties  in  the  brush  at  that  time  of  year. 
That  is  the  one  time  when  poaching 
might  be  carried  on,  for  only  a  few  hunt- 
ers could  resist  the  temptation  to  kill 
some  of  the  numerous  bucks  they  would 
undoubtedly  see,  especially  since  the 
chances  of  detection  are  so  small  withoul 
I  he  continuous  presence  of  a  game  warden 
in  the  vicinity.  It  would  seem  much  safer 
to  cut  out  every  -excuse  for  legitimate 
hunting  in  these  breeding  grounds. 

Roy  Bootiie. 

is  the  porcupine  worth  saving? 

Evidence  that  we  have  not  j'et  stand- 
ardized our  game  laws  is  apparant  in  the 
different  viewpoints  taken  by  the  states  of 
New  York  and  Minnesota  regarding  the 
porcupine.  The  New  York  Conservation 
Commission  classifies  the  porcupine  as 
"vermin"  and  enumerates  twenty  as  hav- 
ing been  killed  during  January,  1919. 
'The  state  of  Minnesota,  on  the  Other 
hand,  protects  the  porcupine  on  the 
theory  that  the  animal  furnishes  an 
easily  obtainable  source  of  food  to  anyone 
lost  in  the  wilds. 

MANICURE     THE     BIRD-CATCHING 
CAT. 

Dr.  Wm.  II.  Dall,  of  the  United  States 
National  Museum,  recently  pointed  out 
a  method  thai  will  save  our  cats  and 
thoroughly  protect  the  birds  against  their 
attacks.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that 
these  animals  only  seize  their  prey 
through  the  use  of  the  claws  on  the  fore- 
feet. These  claws  are,  as  we  know,  so 
organized  anatomically  that  when  at  rest 
they  are  retracted,  but  when  brought  into 


play  they  are  thrown  forward,  so  that 
their  sharp  points  may  be  instantly  em- 
ployed in  the  act  of  seizure.  No  ca1  ever 
attempts  to  catch  a  wild  bird  in  the  open 
by  employing  its  hind  feet,  or  the  daws 
upon  them.  No  lion,  tiger,  leopard,  or 
any  of  the  rest  of  the  big  felines  in  nature 
ever  do.  This  also  holds  in  the  case  of 
pel  cats  who  kill  the  canary  in  its  cage, 
or  capture  the  fish  in  the  globe  or  aquar- 
ium. 

When  one  comes  to  think  this  over,  it 
.•■on  becomes  clear  that,  were  cats  de- 
prived of  their  claws  on  their  forefeet, 
they  could  not  catch  a  bird  of  any  kind, 
however  hard  they  tried.  The  claws  have 
no  more  feeling  in  them  than  have  our 
finger-nails,  to  which  they  really  corre- 
spond. Cat  claws  can  be  trimmed  just  as 
we  trim  our  nails,  and  the  best  tool  to 
do  it  with  is  the  small  cutting  pliers  used 
by  jewelers.  Anyone  cau  use  such  a  tool, 
and  with  a  little  practice  anyone  own- 
ing a  pet  cat  can  readily  trim  all  the 
claws  on  its  forefeet.  All  there  is  to  be 
done  is  to  gently  press  the  foot  from 
above,  downwards,  between  your  thumb 
and  forefinger,  when  the  claws  will  be 
thrown  forward.  They  should  be  snipped 
off  a  trifle  back  of  their  middles  applying 
the  cutting  edges  of  the  nippers  to  their 
sides.  A  little  dressing  with  delicate  file 
afterwards  will  also  prove  advantageous. 
A  cat  so  operated  upon  can  not  possibly 
catch  and  kill  a  wild  bird  or  a  pet  bird 
in  s  cage ;  nor  can  it  destroy  fish  in  any 
receptacle  in  which  we  may  keep  them 
Moreover  a  cat  with  its  claws  so  trimmed 
can  not  climb  a  tree ;  it  is  up  in  ties 
that  they  catch  many  birds,  as  they  like- 
wise do  by  running  up  poles  topped  with 
bird  boxes  ami  bird  houses  of  every 
description.  After  the  claws  are  trimmed 
the  foot  looks  precisely  as  it  did  before 
the  trimming  was  performed — that  is  to 
say,  nothing  unsightly  results. 

Some  will  say  that  it  prevents  the  cat 
from  catching  mice.  Well,  what  of  it? 
There  is  not  one  cat  in  a  hundred  thai 
catches  mice  for  any  purpose  ;  moreover, 
a  few  mousetraps  of  modern  models  will 
very  quickly  rid  house,  barn,  and  out- 
houses of  all  description  of  mice.  Any  of 
i  lie  "cyclone"  pattern  of  traps  will  do  it 
in  a  few  weeks.  Cats  with  trimmed 
claws  can  enjoy  their  milk  and  other 
food  just  as  well  as  with  unt  rimmed 
ones,  so  there  is  no  cruelty  done  along 
such  lines. 


CALIFORNIA  FISH  AND   GAME. 


83 


Finally,  were  we  to  trim  the  daws  in 
the  manner  indicated  of  all  claimed  cats, 
and  destroy  .'ill  cats  not  claimed  by  any- 
we  would  save  thousands  of  insectiv- 
orous birds  annually ;  and  surely  the 
country  lias  by  this  time  begun  to  realize 
what  the  insectivorous  birds  mean  to  the 
farm  and  agriculturist  generally.  A  fed- 
eral law  should  be  enacted  to  enforce 
what  is  indicated  in  this  matter,  and  be 
so  framed  that,  when  passed,  it  would  be 
in  the  highest  degree  effective. — III.  A  itdo- 
bon  Soc.  Bull,  1918. 

A    PLAN    TO    CONSERVE    WYOMING 
ELK. 

After  a  very  careful  investigation  of 
the  problems  presented  by  the  herds  of 
elk  on  the  National  Forests  adjacent  to 
(he  Yellowstone  National  Park,  Henry  S. 
Graves,  chief  forester,  and  E.  W.  Nel- 
son, chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Biological 
Survey,  have  suggested  a  plan,  based  on 
sound  biological  principles,  for  conserving 
Ibis  valuable  game  animal.  They  pro- 
pose the  maintenance  of  the  present  herds, 
estimated  to  number  from  40,000  to 
45,000,  and  the  use  of  the  annual  increase 
for  legitimate  hunting  and  distribution  to 
build  up  other  herds.  The  maintenance 
of  these  herds  is  to  be  accomplished  by 
the  acquisition  by  purchase  or  exchange 
of  private  land  to  provide  needed  addi- 
tional winter  forage,  and  the  setting  aside 
of  adjoining  areas  as  game  refuges,  the 
progressive  extinguishment  of  sheep  graz- 
ing privileges  to  prevent  any  possible  con- 
flict between  wild  life  and  domestic  stock, 
the  enlargement  of  the  present  govern- 
ment ranch  in  Jackson  Valley  to  provide 
forage  during  severe  seasons,  a  vigorous 
campaign  against  predatory  animals  that 
destroy  elk,  and  state  legislation  requir- 
ing hunters  to  report  the  number  and 
kind  of  animals  killed  and  to  preserve 
and  make  economic  use  of  the  meat.  In 
addition,  it  is  pointed  out  that  a  special 
study  of  the  migratory  drift  and  winter 
and  summer  habits  of  the  elk  to  supply 
certain  facts  now  in  doubt  should  be 
instituted. 

FUR     FARMING     IN     ALASKA. 

The  United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries 
in  a  recent  bulletin  (Document  S47) 
gives  interesting  information  regarding 
fur  farming  in  Alaska.  Reports  are 
given  on  the  success  attained  by  no  less 


than  25  different  breeders.  Fur  farming 
in    Alaska    is    concerned    almosj     wholly 

with    the    lir ling    and    rearing    of    foxes. 

Iml  some  attention  lias  been  given  to 
minks  and  martens,  and  there  are  rec- 
ords of  martens  having  been  born  and 
reared  in  captivity  in  the  territory.  Al- 
though skunks  and  raccoons  have  been 
introduced  into  Southeastern  Alaska, 
nothing  is  known  as  to  the  success  at- 
tained. 

The  history  of  fur  farming  in  south- 
eastern Alaska  is  with  but  few  exceptions 
a  history  of  failures  rather  than  suc- 
cesses. Three  good  reasons  for  the  fail- 
ures can  be  advanced :  one,  neglect  due 
to  irresponsible  men  left  in  charge ;  two, 
discouragement  following  failure  of  the 
industry  to  prove  a  "get-rich-quick"  propo- 
sition ;  three,  lack  of  experience  and 
knowledge  in  handling  fur  animals. 
Nevertheless,  the  opportunities  for  the  fur 
farmer  in  Alaska  are  almost  unlimited. 

HOW    DO    BIRDS    FIND    THEIR    WAY? 

A  lecturer  at  the  California  Academy 
of  Sciences  on  January  15  discoursed  on 
"How  Migrating  Birds  Find  Their  Way." 
This  lecturer  upset  all  my  previous  no- 
tions that  instinct  had  anything  to  do  in 
guiding  birds  on  long  journeys,  and  gave 
numerous  instances  to  prove  that  birds 
followed  previously  observed  currents  of 
air  and  water  in  their  flight,  or  rose  and 
depended  upon  sighting  distant  landmarks 
through  their  well-known  powerful  vision. 

As  a  lover  of  birds  and  a  former 
breeder  of  homing  pigeons  (usually  called 
carrier  pigeons)  my  observation  leads  me 
to  believe  that  the  orienting  instinct  of 
birds  is  innate,  on  the  same  principle  that, 
biologically,  plant  and  animal  life  is  gov- 
erned by  the  influences  of  light  and  heat. 
I  cite  a  case  in  our  late  war  of  bird  travel 
under  difficulties.  A  Lake  County  man 
began  to  raise  homers  (carriers)  for  the 
United  States  Army  in  France.  Anxious 
to  try  out  his  stock  he  sent  a  male  fledg- 
ling to  my  home  at  1125  Bush  street,  San 
Francisco,  in  a  little  collar  box  with  a 
few  holes  perforated  in  the  cardboard. 
Wheat  lay  on  the  bottom  of  the  box,  but 
the  bird  was  cramped  and  did  not  eat  it 
on  the  rough  stage  trip  from  the  moun- 
tains. When  it  arrived,  it  had  nothing 
in  its  crop  and  it  should  have  been  nur- 
tured, but  next  day  it  was  taken  from 
the  dark  box,  a  quill  fastened  to  its  leg 


$4 


CALIPORNl  \    PISB    \NI>  CAME. 


with  date,  hour,  :i ml  minute,  and  released. 
1 1  barely  made  the  fire  wall  of  the  five- 
story  apartment  house  nexl  door,  and  sal 
Btretchiag  one  leg  and  wing,  (hen  the 
other,  preened  its  feathers,  lifted  its  head 
to  one  side,  then  the  other,  rose,  circled  a 
few  times  and  darted  north.  Being  of 
good  homing  stock,  I  thought  we  should 
hear  from  it  next  day,  but  three  weeks 
passed,  then  came  word  that  the  bird 
had  got  home,  worn,  bedraggled,  with  a 
.22  bullet  wound  through  its  breast  and 
wing,  over  which  the  blood  and  feathers 
had  matted  or  had  been  stuffed  in  the 
wounds  by  the  bill  of  the  bird.  The 
wounds  were  weeks  old. 

Now,  how  did  the  bird  exist,  and  how 
did  it  find  its  way — a  young  bird,  its  first 
Bight  after  a  seventy-five  mile  trip  in  a 
dark  box,  from  which  it  never  gleaned 
sight  of  a  landmark  to  guide  it  home  to 
the  Switzerland  of  America  if  not  by 
some  inherenl  trail?  Can  California 
Pish  and  Game  readers  elucidate? — 
John  Oliver  Titlow. 

A    SUGGESTION     FOR    CALIFORNIA 
CONSERVATIONISTS. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  those  concerned 
with  the  conservation  of  wild  life  in  Cali- 
fornia to  note  that  the  state  of  New  York 
number  of  game  and  fur-bearing  animals 
ing  of  additional  information  as  to  the 
number  of  game-  and  fur-bearing  animals 
killed  in  that  state.  The  American  Field 
for  December  28,  1918,  page  593,  stales 
thai  : 

"Beginning  January  1  all  applicants  for 
hunting  and  trapping  licenses  in  New 
York  State  will  be  required  to  make  a 
statement  of  the  game  and  fur-bearing 
animals  which  they  took  under  their  li- 
cense   for    the   previous   year   if   they    had 

one. 

This  information  will  be  tabulated  on 
the  stubs  of  the  licenses,  which  are  re- 
tained by  the  town  and  village  clerks  and 
will  give  to  the  Conservation  Commission 
accurate  information  of  the  greatest  value 
regarding  the  food  and  game  resources 
of  the  state. 

Statements  of  their  IDIS  catch,  which 
sportsmen  make  when  securing  their  T.»l!i 
licenses,  will  necessarily  be  from  memory. 
but  to  assist  them  in  keeping  track  of 
what  they  take  during  1919  a  neat  little 
tally  card  will  be  supplied  when  the  li- 
censes are  taken  out,  upon  which  the 
sportsmen  can  keep  a  record  during  the 
year. 

Both  license  and  tally  card  will  be 
handed  to  the  applicant  in  a  stout  manila 


envelope,  in  which  lie  may  carry  them 
in  the  field  and  keep  them  clean  through 

out   i he  \ ear." 

It   is  believed  that  this  suggestion  will 
appeal  strongly  to  Californians.     As  the 

tendency  toward  reduction  in  the  numbers 
of  game  and  fur-bearing  mammals  be- 
comes more  noticeable,  it  is  fortunate  that 
public  opinion  is  insisting  more  and  more 
upon  scientific  administration  of  the  fish 
and  game  resources  of  the  state.  It  is 
evident  that  a  common  sense  program  of 
this  sort  is  dependent  upon  adequate 
information,  and  it  seems  that  the  method 
suggested  is  one  which  gives  promise  of 
valuable  results.  The  writer  has  been 
advised  by  Dr.  T.  S.  Palmer  that  the 
method  has  been  given  a  partial  trial  by 
one  or  two  of  the  provinces  of  Canada  and 
a  similar  number  of  states.  The  chief 
difficulty  in  regard  to  it  is  in  connection 
with  enforcement.  Changes  in  residence 
and  failure  to  appreciate  the  necessity 
for  definiteness  in  Uie  record  are  among 
the  complicating  factors.  It  is  believed, 
however,  that  the  adoption  of  a  measure 
of  this  sort  would  be  a  long  step  in  the 
right  direction.  In  California  this  would 
be  particularly  true  with  reference  to  the 
fur-bearing  mammals,  concerning  the  num- 
bers of  which  taken  during  any  one  season 
adequate  information  is  not  available. — 
WALTER  P.  Taylor.  Biological  Survey, 
Washington.    D.    O. 

THE    GAME    BIRDS    OF    CALIFORNIA. 

The  Game  Birds  of  California  (Con- 
tribution from  the  University  of  Califor- 
nia Museum  of  Vertebrate  Zoology)  by 
Joseph  Grinnell.  Harold  Child  Bryant, 
and  Tracy  Irwin  Storer:  University  of 
California  Press,  Berkeley,  1918.  Large 
8vo.,  pp.  x  -G42,  16  colored  pis.,  94  figs, 
in  text.     Cloth.  $(i.<X)  net. 

The  volume  of  the  above  title  is  the 
comprehensive  book  on  the  game  birds 
of  California  that  sportsmen,  nature  lov- 
ers, and  serious  students  of  bird-life  have 
long  needed.  The  book  aims  to  supply 
the  naturalist  with  complete  information 
to  date  regarding  the  life  histories  of 
California  birds,  to  give  the  hunter  use- 
ful facts  concerning  the  birds  he  wishes 
to  shoot,  to  furnish  the  legislator  with 
helpful  suggestions  relevant  to  the  prepa- 
ration of  game  laws,  and  to  give  the 
conservationist  information  which  will  aid 


CALIFORNIA  FISH   AND  GAME. 


85 


him  in  his  efforts  to  perpetuate  bird  life. 
The  authors  took  into  account  all  four 
of  these  classes  of  readers  and  selected  and 
arranged    their    material    accordingly. 

Every  one  of  the  108  native  game  birds 
of  the  state  is  described  in  detail,  these 
including  the  ducks,  geese,  swans,  ibises, 
cranes,  rails,  snipe,  sandpipers,  curlew, 
plover,  quail,  grouse,  pigeons  and  doves. 
The  localities  in  which  each  is  found,  and 
the  times  of  the  year  when  it  is  found, 
are  designated  and  its  life  history  and 
habits  are  accurately  described. 

The  extensive  collections  and  field  notes 
in  the  California  Museum  of  Vertebrate 
Zoology,  supplemented  by  previously  pub- 
lished knowledge  from  the  experience  of 
ornithologists  throughout  the  West,  have 
formed  the  basis  for  the  volume.  To  this 
groundwork  has  been  added  material  ob- 
tained from  interviews  with  numerous 
reliable  sportsmen  and  directly  from  the 
fresh  field  experiences  of  the  authors 
themselves.  The  whole  is  worked  into 
what  constitutes  a  practically  complete 
summary  of  our  knowledge  of  each  of  the 
species  down  to  date.  The  authors  do  not 
claim  that  the  book  contains  everything 
that  ought  to  be  known  about  each  of 
the  game  birds  of  California ;  far  from 
it,  for  more  extended  observations  are  cer- 
tain to  provide  multitudes  of  new  facts. 
This  book  should  act  as  a  stimulus  for 
future  observers,  leading  them  to  add  to 
what  is  now  made  common  knowledge 
regarding  our  game  birds. 

The  joint  authorship  of  the  book  is  the 
working  out  of  the  principle  that  the 
highest  plane  of  scientific  output  is  likely 
to  be  reached  only  through  co-operative 
effort.  When  one  author  works  alone, 
mistakes  are  made  unawares ;  but  when 
two,  or  better  three,  are  at  work,  one. 
is  able  to  check  another's  work  to  advan- 
tage, and  an  increased  measure  of  accu- 
racy is  the  result. 

An  underlying  incentive  for  the  publica- 
tion of  the  present  work  was  found  in  the 
decrease  of  many  valuable  species  of  game 
birds  and  the  apparent  apathy  of  the 
public  wilh  reference  to  instituting  proper 
measures  to  conserve  them.  The  book 
adequately  (reals  of  the  means  to  be  taken 
to  conserve  same  and  makes  practical 
recommendations  suited  in  each  species. 

Introductory  chapters  are  devoted  id 
genera]  subjects,  as  follows:     Decrease  of 


Game  and  its  Causes;  Natural  Enemies 
of  Game  Birds ;  The  Gun  Club  in  Cali- 
fornia ;  History  of  Attempts  to  Introduce 
Non-native  Game  Birds ;  The  Propaga- 
tion of  Game  Birds ;  Legislation  Relat- 
ing to  Game  Birds  in  California.  The 
sportsman  and  nature  lover  will  find 
much  of  immediate  utility  in  these  gen- 
eral chapters. 

The  technical  matter  useful  to  the 
special  student  of  birds  is  found  con- 
densed in  small  type  at  the  head  of  each 
discussion.  This  makes  reference  to  the 
finer  characters  of  each  species  easy, 
and  at  the  same  time  segregates  this  for- 
mal matter  from  the  more  readable  text 
following. 

The  plan  of  treatment  of  each  bird 
follows  a  regular  sequence :  Technical 
portion  (in  small  type)  :  Accepted  com- 
mon and  scientific  names ;  other  names  ; 
description :  adult  male,  adult  female, 
juvenile,  downy  young ;  marks  for  field 
identification;  voice;  nest;  eggs;  general 
distribution ;  distribution  in  California. 
Text  (in  large  type)  :  General  and  local 
distribution  ;  migration  ;  field  marks  ;  life 
history :  nest,  eggs,  young ;  habits  and 
behavior;  food;  economic  value;  present 
and  probable  future  status. 

"The  Game  Birds  of  California"  is  well 
illustrated  with  line  drawings  and  col- 
ored plates.  Thirteen  of  the  sixteen 
colored  plates  were  made  by  the  well- 
known  artist,  Louis  Agassiz  Fuertes,  and 
the  other  three  by  Major  Allan  Brooks, 
now  of  the  Canadian  army.  In  all, 
twenty-one  different  game  birds  are  fig- 
ured in  color.  The  94  line  drawings  serve 
largely  to  illustrate  characters  of  plum- 
age, bill,  or  feet,  such  as  are  especially 
helpful  in  identifying  the  different  kinds 
of  game  birds. 

As  a  sample  of  what  may  be  expected 
in  the  treatment  of  each  species,  atten- 
tion may  be  called  to  the  chapter  on  the 
Valley  Quail.  Twenty-three  pages  are 
utilized  in  describing  the  bird,  its  nest, 
I'^s,  distribution,  field  marks,  habits  and 
behavior.  Here  will  be  found  interesting 
evidence  to  show  (hat  (he  male  birds  act 
as  sentinels.  A  compilation  of  data  on 
time  of  nesting  and  size  of  clutch  occu- 
pies over  four  pages.  It  is  demonstrated 
dial  (lie  valley  quail  lays  more  eggs  than 
any  other  game  bird,  and  under  normal 
conditions  suffers  corresponding  mortality. 


86 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME. 


Means  of  controlling  tins  mortality  are 
suggested.  A  discussion  of  the  agricul- 
tural bearing,  early  bunting  for  the  mar- 
ket, and  present  and  probable  status  of 
this  upland  game  bird  concludes  the 
chapter. 

All  through  the  book  especial  atten- 
tion is  given  to  those  distinctive  charac- 
ters of  a  bird  that  help  to  make  it  recog- 
nizable from  other  species  when  alive, 
at  a  distance.  A  useful  field  manual  is 
thereby  provided.  A  dependable  key  to 
the  various  species  makes  possible  the 
identification  of  any  specimen  in  hand. 
The  index  contains  all  the  common  as 
well  as  the  scientific  names,  thus  making- 
it  easy  to  locate  any  bird,  provided  some 
name  is  known,  even  though  this  name 
be   a    very    local,    popular   one. 

Every  school  and  library  in  the  west- 
ern stad's  should  contain  a  copy  of  this 
work  for  reference  use,  for  more  and 
more  is  the  natural  history  of  bird  life 
assuming  importance  as  a  subject  of  gen- 
eral popular  culture.  Individuals  inter- 
ested in  the  fascinating  field  treated  in 
this  work  should  waste  no  time  in  secur- 
ing copies. 

PASSENGER    PIGEONS     REPORTED     IN 
EASTERN     STATES. 

Apparently  tin1  death  on  September  1, 
L914,  of  Martha,  a  twenty-nine  year  old 
passenger  pigeon  kept  in  captivity  in  the 
Cincinnati  Zoological  Gardens,  marked  the 
extinction  of  the  passenger  pigeon.  At 
least  for  several  seasons  thereafter, 
a  prize  offered  for  the  discovery  of  a  pas- 
senger pigeon's  inhabited  nesi  failed  to 
disclose  any   pigeons. 

During  1918,  however,  several  persons 
reported  seeing  passenger  pigeons.  Bay- 
men  and  oy.stermen  of  Great  South  Bay 
insist  thai  a  few  pigeons  still  migrate 
along  the  southern  shore  of  Long  Island. 
New    York. 

According  to  a  letter   published   in    Set 
i  m  e,    Messrs.    Rasmussen,    Wilson    and 
Sanders,    id'    Amsterdam.    New    York,    en- 
countered a  Hock  of  passenger  pigeons  i  a 

October  1.  I'.HS,  while  on  a  bird  Studj 
trip  in  the  vicinity  of  West  <  lalway  and 
Charlton,  New  York.  One  of  the  birds 
lighted  within  a  few  feet  of  I  he  parly,  and 
.Mr.  Rasmussen,  who  has  Keen  studying 
birds  for  li."p  years,  declares  that  there  is 
no   possible  doubt    of  1  he   ii I < •  1 1 1  ilica  I  ion. 


The  latest  report  is  from  John  M. 
Crampton,  61  years  of  age,  and  Superin- 
tendent of  the  i  Jonnecl  icul  State  Board  of 
Fisheries  and  Game.  He  describes  having 
seen  three  passenger  pigeons  in  the  middle 
of  May,  1918,  while  fishing  at  Graniss 
Pond,  Southington,  Connecticut.  lb 
maintains  that  he  had  no  difficulty  in 
identifying  them,  for  he  has  been  ac- 
quainted with  the  appearance  and  habits 
of  the  passenger  pigeon  since  early  boy- 
hood, having  been  L3  years  old  when  he 
first  shot  passenger  pigeons,  and  having 
hail  a  trained  passenger  pigeon  for  a  pet 
lor  a  long  time.  On  June  2,  1918,  a 
.Mr.  VVooster,  who  was  told  of  the  find. 
saw  three  birds,  and  on  June  '•».  a  .Mr. 
Parker  saw-  two  birds  in  the  same 
vicinity. 

ENGLISH    GAME    BIRDS    VINDICATED. 

Recent  invest  igat  ions  of  the  food  of  the 
English  pheasant,  the  red  grouse  and  the 
partridge  of  England  show  that  these 
splendid  game  birds  do  not  appreciably 
damage  growing  crops.*  The  stomach  ex- 
amination of  183  stomachs  of  pheasants 
show  that  their  food1  consists  largely  of 
injurious  insects  and  weeds.  This  con- 
clusion is  of  particular  interest  when  it  is 
known  that  the  Board  of  Agriculture  and 
Eisheries  on  February  8,  1917,  authorized 
the  War  Agricultural  Executive  Commit- 
tee of  each  county  to  reduce  the  stock  of 
pheasants  on  any  land  "where  there  is  a 
risk  of  substantial  injury  therefrom  to 
crops."  The  only  possible  harm  occa- 
sioned by  the  pheasant  for  which  there 
seems  to  be  any  reliable  evidence  is  that 
of  tramping  down  corn,  and  this  is  not  of 
frequent  occurrence,  but  happens  only 
where   birds  are  unusually   abundant. 

The  food  of  the  young  red  grouse  is 
made  up  largelj  of  insects,  while  that  of 
the  adult  is  largely  browse  secured  from 
heather  and  twenty  or  thirty  other  plants. 
So  far  as  agriculture  is  concerned,  the 
partridge  is  a  harmless  bird.  The  percent- 
age of  cereals  consumed  is  small  and  re- 
st rioted  to  a  very  short  season  of  the  year. 
This  is  secured  largely  in  stubblefields. 

In  conclusion,  il  is  pointed  oul  that  blame 
for  crop  destruction   should   be   fixed   upon 


.    W.    l\..   (>n   the    f I    ami    feeding 

habits    of    British    game    birds.      Reprint    from 
Jour.    I. ami    Agents   See..    Tune,    1917,   pp.    ! 


CALIFORNIA  FISH  AND  GAME. 


87 


the  right  species  and  that  the  wood  pigeon, 
rook,  certain  species  of  gull  and  the  star- 
ling have  been  proved  guilty.  If  birds  of 
the  above  character  are  destroyed  whole- 
sale the  farmer  is  being  robbed  of  a  spe- 
cies that  are  beneficial,  and  the  real 
culprits  as  well  as  the  injurious  insects 
eaten  by  the  game  birds,  are  left  to  con- 
tinue their  work  of  destruction  of  the 
country's  food  supply. 

THE     GROUND    SQUIRRELS    OF    CALI- 
FORNIA. 

Anyone  interested  in  the  life  history  or 
the  control  of  the  ground  squirrel  should 
obtain  a  copy  of  the  November-December 
number  of  the  Monthly  Bulletin  of  the 
State  Horticultural  Commission  which  is 
available  free  of  charge.  This  bulletin 
contains  thoroughly  up-to-date  and  un- 
questionably authoritative  information  on 
the  ground  squirrels  of  California  and 
their  control,  compiled  by  leading  state 
and  federal  investigators.  In  the  leading- 
article  each  of  the  18  different  varieties 
of  ground  squirrels  known  to  inhabit  the 
state  are  treated,  and  nine  of  these  are 
figured  in  color.  It  is  pointed  out  that 
only  four  of  these  varieties  are  of  special 
economic  importance. 

THE  FOOD  OF  MALLARD  DUCKS. 

A  recent  bulletin  (No.  720)  of  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 
treats  of  the  food  habits  of  the  mallard 
ducks  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  W.  L. 
McAtee,  the  author,  devotes  eight  pages 
to  an  enumeration  of  the  different  kinds 
of  food  taken  by  the  mallard,  the  informa- 
tion  being  based  on  the  examination  of 
1725  gizzards.  The  enormous  quantities 
of  seeds  taken  by  the  mallard  duck  is 
evidenced  by  two  stomachs.  One  con- 
tained about  28,160  seeds  of  a  bulrush, 
8700  of  a  sedge,  35,840  of  primrose  wil- 
low, and  2560  duck  weeds,  a  total  of  more 
than  75,200.  Another  stomach  contained 
no  fewer  than  102,400  seeds  of  primrose 
willow  besides  a  number  of  other  items 
in  smaller  numbers.  "The  seeds  in  this 
stomach  if  sowed  ouc  in  a  place  and  a  foot 
apart  each  way  would  suffice  for  two  and 
one-half  acres  of  ground." 

About  one-tenth  of  the  food  of  the 
mallard  is  derived  from  the  animal  king- 
dom and  nine-tenths  from  (be  vegetable. 
A  large  proportion  of  (be  vegetable  food 


is  made  up  of  the  seeds  of  sedges  with 
those  of  grasses  ranking  next  in  import- 
ance. About  2.34  per  cent  of  the  food  of 
the  birds  examined  was  made  up  of  acorns. 
The  animal  food  consists  of  mollusks,  in- 
sects, fishes  and  crustaceans  in  order  of 
importance. 

Such  a  detailed  report  of  the  food  of 
one  of  our  best  game  birds  is  not  only 
valuable  in  proving  the  economic  status  of 
the  bird  itself,  but  should  be  of  help  in 
providing  attractive  food  for  wild  birds 
and  suitable  food  for  mallards  on  the 
game  farm. 

WILD     BIRDS    AND     LEGISLATION. 

Apparently  other  countries  than  the 
United  States  have  suffered  from  the  re- 
sult of  hasty  and  ill-considered  legislation 
relative  to  wild  birds.  In  a  recent  paper 
by  Doctor  Collinge,  the  foremost  economic 
ornithologist  of  Great  Britain,  he  points 
out  some  of  the  more  important  statutes 
passed  by  Parliament  and  their  ultimate 
effects  upon  wild  bird  life.*  The  dominant 
idea  throughout  early  acts  of  Parliament 
seems  to  have  been  that  birds  must  be  re- 
served and  preserved  for  the  king  and  his 
retinue,  or  such  favored  individuals  to 
whom  he  pleased  to  grant  licenses. 

Practically  all  of  the  acts  are  character- 
ized by  selfishness  and  an  utter  disregard 
of  the  interests  of  agriculture  or  horti- 
culture. Among  the  curious  acts  are  one 
making  it  a  felony,  punishable  by  death, 
for  a  person  to  wrongfully  take  the  eggs 
of  any  "falcon,  goshawk,  or  laner,  or  the 
birds  of  any  falcon,  goshawk,  or  laner  or 
laneret,"  and  one  providing  that  "any 
person  who  shall  take  or  attempt  to  take 
any  wild  bird  by  means  of  a  hook  or  other 
similar  instrument  shall  be  guilty  of  an 
offense." 

In  the  summary  Dr.  Collinge  states  that 
a  dispassionate  and  unprejudiced  consid- 
eration of  the  facts  leads  to  the  following 
conclusions : 

1.  That  in  the  past  the  question  of  wild 
bird  protection  and  destruction  has  never 
received  really  serious  consideration.  The 
objects  sought  in  most  of  the  acts  of 
Parliament  upon  the  subject  have  been 
largely  of  a  selfish  nature  and  not  for  the 
good  of  l  he  count  i'v. 


Wild  Birds  and  Legislation,  by  Walter  K. 
Collinge.  Imir.  Land  Agents  See..  1917,  pp. 
278-285. 


88 


CALIFORNIA    KIM!     VND    CAME. 


l'.  Thai  the  majority  of  these  acts  have 
been  ill-considered  and  often  hastily  pre- 
pared; many  of  them  have  been  repealed 
and  others  frequently  amended  or 
modified. 

."!.  That  no  attempt  has  been  made  by 
those  who  advocate  the  protection  of  wild 
birds,  to  understand  the  problem  pre- 
sented by  wild  bird  life.  Blindly,  and 
often  strongly  prejudiced,  they  advocate 
protection  for  all  birds,  and  protection 
only. 

4.  That  such  an  attitude  is  calling  forth 
a  deep  resentment  from  those  who  have 
to  live  by  the  products  of  the  soil,  many 
of  whom  having  waited  in  vain  for  repres- 
sive measures,  have  now  taken  to  destroy- 
ing wholesale  all  bird  life. 

5.  That  tin  irresponsible  advocacy  of 
uniform  protection  is  indirectly  contribut- 
ing mor<  than  anything  efe<  to  tin  wanton 
destruction  of  many  of  our  most  useful 
birds.  "Some  of  the  very  greatest  friends 
that  our  nation  has  are  being  destroyed 
without  mercy  *  *  *  a  defensive  force 
upon  which  most  of  our  prosperity  de- 
pends." 

G.  That  the  immediate  need  of  the  pres- 
ent is  for  a  wide  and  comprehensive  act 
that  will  give  protection  to  all  non-injur- 
ous  or  beneficial  birds,  and  provide 
adequate  repressive  measures  for  those 
species  which  have  become  too  numerous 
and  destructive. 

The  same  condition  seems  to  exist  al- 
most everywhere.  Realization  of  the 
chaotic  condition  of  the  game  laws  due  to 
hasty,  ill-considered  and  constantly  chang- 
ing legislation  is  not  lacking,  but  the 
initiative  to  clean  things  up  and  to  base 
game  legislation  on  scientific  fact  rather 
than  on  selfish  motive  rarely  exists. 

H.  C.  Bryant. 

FLY    LARVAE  SUCK    BLOOD   OF    NEST- 
LING     BIRDS. 

A  recent  publication  of  the  0*niversit3 
of  California  points  out  that  the  nestlings 
of  many  of  our  common  song-birds  are 
Infested  with  the  larvae  of  a  il.\  which 
Micks  the  blood.*  'The  fly  which  is  respon 
sible  is  very  much  like  the  common  house- 
By,  bul  is  of  a  metallic  blue  color.  This 
il\  lays  its  eggs  in  a  newly-occupied  nest. 
and  soon  the  larvae  which  hatch  from  the 


P  itli,  l).  !•;..  A  muscid  larva  uf  the  San 
Francisco  Bay  region  which  sucks  the  blood  of 
nestling  birds.  Univ.  of  Calif.  Publ.  Zool.,  19, 
191-200. 


ittacb  themselves  to  the  young  birds. 
Deserted  nests  usually  contain  the  pupae. 
Among  the  common  birds  whose  nests  and 
nestlings  were  found  infested  were:  the 
Nuttall  sparrow.  California  purple  (inch. 
California  linnet,  green-backed  goldfinch, 
willow  goldfinch,  and  the  California  brown 
towhee.  The  author  of  the  paper  con- 
cludes that  from  5  to  10  per  cent  of  the 
parasitized  nestlings  die  from  loss  of 
blood. 

This  discovery  doubtless  helps  to  ex- 
plain the  mortality  among  nestling  birds 
so  often  noted  in  the  bay  region. 


IMPORTATION      OF      QUAIL 
MEXICO. 


FROM 


The  joint  regulations  governing  the  im- 
portation of  quail  from  Mexico,  issued  by 
the  Treasury  Department  and  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  under  date  of  Novem- 
ber 13,  1916,  were  in  full  force  and  effect 
the  past  season,  the  entry  of  quail  beinu 
permitted  from  February  15  to  April  10, 
inclusive,  and  on  March  8,  1918,  Laredo, 
Texas,  was  designated  as  a  port  of  entry 
in  addition  to  Eagle  Pass,  Texas,  and 
New  York  City.  Co-operation  was  con- 
tinued with  the  Bureau  of  Animal  In- 
dustry in  having  a  thorough  inspection  of 
the  birds  made  during  the  ten  days' 
quarantine. 

The  first  permit  was  issued  February 
20,  1918,  and  the  last,  April  4.  The  nun; 
ber  of  quail  for  which  permits  were  issued 
was  10,500,  and  the  number  released  from 
quarantine  only  5,205,  as  compared  with 
permits  issued  for  4-_V.i73,  and  the  release 
of  32,814  in  1917. 

The  notably  large  decrease  in  the  num- 
ber of  quail  actually  imported  during  the 
past  year  is  accounted  for  by  the  scarcity 
of  birds  in  northern  Mexico  due  to 
drought,  and  the  refusal  of  large  ranch 
owners  to  permit  the  trapping  of  quail  on 
property  owned  and  controlled  by  them. 
Also  it  is  evident  that  state  game  officials 
were  reluctant  the  past  year  to  purchase 
Mexican  quail  for  propagation  because  of 
the  severe  losses  of  birds  imported  during 
the  season  of   1917. 

Of  the  5,205  birds  actually  released 
from  quarantine  only  L6  were  found  de-id 
during  the  ten  days  quarantine  period,  and 
no  case  of  quail  disease  was  discovered. 
So  far  as  reports  received  by  the  depart 

in.  nt     indicate,    there    were    few    losses    of 
birds   in    shipping.     The   change   of  dates 


CALIFORNIA  FISH   AND   GAME. 


89 


for  the  importation  of  Mexican  quail — 
beginning  at  a  later  period,  February  L5, 
instead  of  in  the  fall,  as  in  1916  has 
proved  benelicial  by  preventing  the  birds 
from  reaching  the  northern  states  during 
severe  winter  weather. — Report  of  Chief 
of  Bureau  of  Biological  Survey,  1918, 
p.  17. 

FEDERAL  MIGRATORY  BIRD  LAW. 
Owing  to  the  prevention  of  spring 
shooting  during  the  last  few  years,  under 
the  federal  migratory  bird  law,  a  great 
increase  in  migratory  wild  fowl  has  been 
reported  practically  throughout  the  entire 
United  States.  The  reports  state  that 
more  birds  were  killed  during  the  fall  of 
1917  than  in  any  similar  season  for  many 
years.  With  the  need  of  increasing  food 
resources,  this  increase  in  game  birds,  as 
a  result  of  a  federal  conservation  law, 
was  a  practical  and  opportune  return. 
Continued  protection  of  our  wild  fowl 
during  the  spring  will  unquestionably  con- 
tinue to  increase  the  returns  in  food  and 
sport  from  this  source  each  year. 

For  administrative  purposes  under  the 
migratory  bird  law  the  United  States  is 
divided  into  13  districts,  under  the  super- 
vision of  12  inspectors,  who,  with  the  as- 
sistance of  182  federal  wardens,  enforce 
the  regulations,  in  the  various  states. 
During  the  year  the  commissions  of  47 
federal  wardens  were  terminated  and 
49  new  wardens  were  appointed. 

The  inspectors  and  federal  wardens  re- 
ported 313  violations  of  the   regulations, 
which  with  those  of  previous  years  make 
a  total  of  1,132  cases  on  file.    All  but  29  of 
these  cases,  which  have  been  disposed  of 
in  court,  have  been  withheld  pending  the 
decision    of    the    United    States    Supreme 
Court  in  the  case  of  the  United  States  v. 
shauver,  involving  the  constitutionality  of 
the  law.     Defects  in  the  law,  particularly 
in  that  it  did  not  make  the  possession  of 
birds  during  the  closed  season  unlawful, 
and    did    not    confer    on    inspectors    and 
wardens  the  power  of  arrest  and  search, 
made  it  possible  for  many  violators  to  es- 
cape.    A  further  difficulty  in  enforcement 
was  encountered  in  the  limited  number  of 
inspectors,  each  with  an  unduly  large  dis- 
trict.       Reports,      however,      show      that 
violations  were  more  sporadic  and  fewer 
birds  were  killed  unlawfully  than  in  pre- 
vious years. 

Voluminous    information    has    been    re- 
ceiver!  from  state  game  commissions  and 


others  showing  that  there  is  an  ever- 
increasing  number  of  waterfowl  and 
shorebirds  in  tnosl  of  the  states;  further- 
more, that  wild  fowl  have  become  un- 
usually tame  in  spring  because  they  are 
not  molested  at  that  season  ;  and  that 
many  thousands  are  breeding  in  localities 
where  they  had  not  nested  for  many  years. 

The  consensus  of  opinion  attributes 
these  greatly  improved  conditions  to  the 
general  observance  of  the  federal  prohibi- 
tion against  spring  shooting  which  has 
been  brought  about  through  the  good  will 
of  sportsmen  and  by  the  increased  activi- 
ties of  this  bureau,  with  closer  co-operation 
of  state  game  authorities. 

The  friendly  attitude  of  the  state  game 
commissions  toward  the  federal  migratory 
bird  law  has  been  shown  in  many  ways, 
particularly  in  their  initiative  whereby 
the  state  and  federal  regulations  have  been 
brought  into  harmony.  Twenty-three 
states  now  have  laws  making  the  open 
seasons  on  migratory  wild  fowl  similar  to 
those  under  the  federal  regulations. 
Amendments  of  the  regulations  were  pro- 
mulgated October  15,  1917,  which  assisted 
in  unifying  federal  and  state  game  laws, 
thus  simplifying  their  administration. 

A  bill  to  give  effect  to  the  treaty 
between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  for  the  protection  of  birds  which 
migrate  between  this  country  and  Canada 
passed  the  Senate  July  30,  1917.  The 
Senate  bill,  with  amendments,  passed  the 
House  June  6,  191S,  and  was  then  re- 
ferred to  a  conference  committee.  The 
conference  report  was  adopted  by  the 
House  June  28,  and  by  the  Senate  June 
29,  and  the  bill  was  signed  by  the  Presi- 
dent and  became  effective  July  3,  1918. 
Nation-wide  interest  was  manifested  in 
the  passage  of  this  legislation,  which  was 
secured  through  the  united  efforts  of 
state  game  commissions,  sportsmen,  farm- 
ers, and  others  interested  in  the  conserva- 
tion of  wild  life.  The  new  law  contains 
many  excellent  provisions  necessary  for 
its  effective  enforcement,  and  it  will  be 
possible  to  obtain  much  more  satisfactory 
results  under  it  than  have  been  possible 
under  the  original  migratory  bird  law. 
Canada  has  already  passed  an  enabling 
act  and  promulgated  regulations  for  en- 
forcing the  terms  of  the  treaty. — Report 
of  Chief  of  Bureau  of  Biological  Survey, 
191S,  pp.  17-19. 


90 


CALIPOENl  \    PISH     LND  GAME. 


LONG  RUN  OF  A  TAGGED  SALMON. 

The  United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries 
has  received  From  John  P.  Babcock,  of 
the  Fisheries  Department  of  British  Col- 
umbia, record  of  the  capture  in  the  upper 
Fraser  River  of  a  sockeyc  salmon  bearing 
on  its  tail  a  button  that  had  been  inserted 
in  marking  experiments  carried  on  by  the 
bureau   on   Puget   Sound. 

The  fish,  dip-netted  by  an  Indian  at 
Soda  Creek  Canyon,  British  Columbia,  on 
A i must  1G,  1918,  had  been  taken  at  Vil- 
lage Point,  Lumni  Island,  Washington, 
on  July  19,  1918.  Soda  Creek  is  approx- 
imately 400  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Fraser  River,  and  Village  Point  is  about 
70  miles  from  the  same  place.  Therefore, 
assuming  that  the  fish  moved  by  the  most 
direct  route,  the  average  rate  of  travel 
was  nearly  17  miles  a  day. 


NIGHT   HERONS  GAME    IN    LOUISIANA. 

California  \\;is  for  some  time  noted  .-is 
the  only  slat.-  in  the  Union  which  per 
mitted  the  bunting  <>l'  ibis.  Louisiana 
now  holds  the  distinction  of  being  the 
only  state  where  the  night  heron  is  con- 
sidered a  game  bird.  According  to  the 
19H.-1N  lih-nnial  Report  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Conservation  of  Louisiana,  the 
night  heron  is  often  utilized  as  food 
and  the  law  provides  for  an  open  season 
from  November  1  to  February  15  with  a 
bag  limit  of  1~>  birds.  Both  the  black- 
crowned  night  heron  and  the  yellow- 
crowned  are  found  in  the  state,  and  both 
are  popularly  known  as  "Gros-becs."  The 
young  while  in  immature  plumage  arc 
particularly  sought  after  by  hunters  and 
that  is  why  when  served  sautes  a  Voignon 
it  is  considered  a  dish  "fit  for  the  gods." 


************************************** 


• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

J  mer? 

* 


CALIFORNIA  TROUT. 


What  kind  of  a  trout  did  I  catch  last  sum 


* 


An  answer  to  this  and  like  questions  will  be  J 

*  found  in  the  July  number  of  CALIFORNIA  * 

*  FISH  AND  GAME  which  will  be  a  TROUT  * 

*  * 

J  NUMBER.     The   colored   plates   will   make  I 

*  i 

£  identification  of  trout  easy.    Watch  for  the  * 

*  TROUT  NUMBER.  i 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    A.\TD   GAME.  91 


FACTS  OF  CURRENT  INTEREST. 

The  first  case  made  under  the  Federal  Migratory  Bird'  Treaty  Act 
resulted  in  the  conviction  of  four  violators  and  a  sentence  of  $100.00 
fine  or  60  days  imprisonment. 

trf?*  s^*  t&* 

The  work  of  the  deputies  in  the  duck  country  has  been  greatly  sim- 
plified the  past  year.  Fear  of  the  federal  law  has  resulted  in  few 
violations. 

5^*  t^*  t^* 

Whistling  swans  were  abundant  in  western  Stanislaus  and  Merced 
counties  during  the  latter  part  of  the  open  season,  but  left  about  the 
first  of  February.  Several  parties  who  could  not  forego  the  excite- 
ment of  taking  a  shot  at  these  beautiful  birds  were  apprehended  by 
deputies,  and  severely  fined. 

?<?*  t&*  ^* 

The  Sacramento  Orphanage  and  Farm,  the  Sacramento  County  Hos- 
pital, and  the  Registrar  of  Charities,  have  recently  been  the  recipients 
of  631  ducks  confiscated  by  deputies  during  the  open  season  on  water- 
fowl. 

((?•  ^*  t<?* 

The  attempt  of  market  hunters  to  make  shipments  of  ducks  to 
parties  in  San  Francisco  whom  the  shippers  did  not  know  was  frus- 
trated by  deputies  of  the  commission.  The  old  stunt  of  shipping 
under  fictitious  names  is  not  so  easily  worked  as  it  once  was. 

•^*  &p*  ^* 

Ring-necked  pheasants  have  become  so  numerous  in  Inyo  County 
that  residents  are  demanding  an  open  season. 

^*  t^*  ^* 

Large  catches  of  herring  have  been  made  this  spring  and  this  fish 
has  been  selling  as  low  as  four  cents  a  pound,  retail.  Even  at  this 
price  the  demand  is  not  sufficient  to  prevent  tons  of  herring  going  to 
the  fertilizer  works. 

(^*  (^*  <>£& 

The  new  hatchery  on  Fall  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Klamath  River, 
has  been  turned  over  to  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission  by  the  Cali- 
fornia-Oregon Power  Company  and  it  is  now  in  full  operation. 

(^*  c^*  (<?* 

J.  C.  Bruce  of  Wawona,  who  was  recently  appointed  state  mountain 
lion  hunter,  killed  three  of  the  animals  on  his  first  day's  hunt  in 
Tuolumne  County.  Mr.  Bruce  made  his  record  near  South  Fork 
Camp  and  was  assisted  by  his  trained  varmint  dogs.  He  will  remain 
in  Tuolumne  County  a  month  and  then  go  to  Shasta  County  to  con- 
tinue the  work. 

(^*  t^*  (*?* 

The  salmon  catch  in  1918  was  unusually  large,  exceeding  12,800,000 
pounds. 


:'L> 


C  M.II'oKNI  A    PISH     \NI>    Q  \Mi:. 


HATCHERY  NOTES. 


W.    H.    SHEBLEY,    Editor. 


Mount   Shasta    Hatchery. 

Approximately  ten  million  quinnat  sal- 
mon eggs  have  been  shipped  to  the  Mount 
Shasta  Hatchery  from  the  United  States 
Bureau  of  Fisheries  station  on  the  Sacra- 
mento River  tributaries  and  from  the 
Klamath  River  Station,  which  was  oper- 
ated  this  year  by  the  California  Fish  and 
Game  Commission.  The  eggs  have  all 
I ii  hatched  out  and  the  fry  will  be  dis- 
tributed in  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Sac- 
ramento  and  Klamath  rivers  as  soon  as 
they  are  of  suitable  size.  A  considerable 
number  will  be  held  in  the  three  large 
salmon-rearing  ponds  at  the  hatchery  over 
the  summer  months,  and  released  after 
the  first  fall  rains. 

Loch  Leven  and  eastern  brook  trout  egg 
collecting  operations  at  the  Mount  Shasta 
Hatchery  were  very  successful  this  sea- 
son. There  are  1,300,000  eastern  brook 
and  .1,000,000  Loch  Leven  eggs  and  fry 
on  hand  at  the  station  at  this  date. 

The  rainbow  egg-collecting  season  is  a 
lil tie  late  this  year,  there  being  only 
(■>'.),<  (00  eggs  of  this  species  on  hand  at  the 
hatchery  on  March  1. 

Mount   Whitney    Hatchery. 

A  supply  of  eastern  brook  and  Loch 
Leven  trout  eggs  have  been  shipped  from 
the  Mount  Shasta  Hatchery  to  the  Mount 
Whitney  Hatchery  and  the  fry  resulting 
will  be  reared  and  distributed,  together 
with  the  other  species  of  trout  fry  handled 
at  this  hatchery  this  season,  in  the  waters 
of  southern  California,  Tulare  and  Kern 
counties. 

Work  on  the  improvement  of  the 
grounds  at  the  Mount  Whitney  Hatchery 
is  progressing  nicely,  much  of  the  pre- 
liminary grading  and  filling-in  work  hav- 
ing been  completed. 

Mount    Tallac    Hatchery. 

Arrangements  are  being  made  to  open 
(he  Mount  Tallac  Hatchery  about  the 
middle  of  March,  and  an  effort  will  be 
made  to  take  the  usual  number  of  black- 
spotted  trout  eggs  this  season. 

Fort    Seward    Hatchery. 

Quinnat  salmon  eggs  to  the  number  of 
1.000,000  have  been  shipped  to  the  Fort 
Seward   Hatchery,  and  the  fry  are  being 


reared  for  distribution  in  the  Eel  River 
and  tributaries,  Mad  River,  and  tribu- 
taries of  Humboldt  Bay.  The  usual 
number  of  steelhead  troul  eggs  will  be 
shipped  in  Fori  Seward  Hatchery  this 
season  for  distribution  in  streams  of  the 
north  coast   counties. 

Almanor    Hatchery. 

Egg  colled  ing  operations  at  the  Almanor 
Hatchery  were  commenced  the  middle  of 
February.  The  run  of  rainbow  trout  in 
that  section  is  late  this  season,  and  to 
date  no  eggs  have  been  taken. 

Domingo    Springs    Hatchery. 

This  hatchery  will  be  opened  up  the 
middle  of  March  and  it  is  expected  that 
the  usual  take  of  rainbow  trout  eggs  will 

be  obtained  from  this  station. 

Snow   Mountain    Hatchery. 

On  February  1  a  crew  was  sent  to 
open  up  the  Snow  Mountain  Egg-collect- 
ing Station  and  Ukiah  Hatchery.  Prac- 
tically all  the  eggs  taken  this  season  at 
Snow  Mountain  will  be  transported  by 
auto  truck  to  Ukiah  and  "eyed"  at  that 
station,  as  there  are  better  facilities  for 
handling  the  work  at  the  latter  place. 

Bear    Lake    Hatchery. 

Arrangements  are  being  made  to  open 
up  the  Bear  Lake  Hatchery  during  the 
fore  part  of  March,  and  the  crew  is  all 
ready  to  proceed  as  soon  as  it  is  possible 
to  get  into  Big  Bear  Valley. 

Brookdale    Hatchery. 

Egg-collecting  operations  were  com- 
menced ai  the  Scott  Creek  Station  during 
the  fore  part  of  February,  and  while  the 
run  is  a  little  late,  as  in  other  sections 
of  the  state,  nearly  a  half  million  steel- 
head  trout  eggs  have  been  taken  to  date. 
They  are  being  immediately  transported 
to  the  Brookdale  Hatchery,  where  they 
are  being  "eyed."  The  usual  number  of 
trout  fry  will  be  hatched  at  Brookdale 
Hatchery  for  distribution  in  the  streams 
of  Santa  Cruz  and  Santa  Clara  counties. 
An  additional  supply  of  trout  fry  will  be 
retained  at  the  Brookdale  Hatchery  and 
held  in  the  rearing  ponds  for  distribution 
during  the  late  summer  months  in  the 
streams  of  San  Mateo  and  Marin  counties. 


CALIFORNIA  FISH   AND   GAME. 


93 


Fall    Creek    Hatchery. 

Fall  Creek  Hatchery,  which  was  con- 
structed by  the  California-Oregon  Power 

Company,  and  turned  over  to  the  Cali- 
fornia Fish  and  Game  Commission  in  lieu 
of  the  construction  of  a  fish  ladder  over  the 
Copco  Dam,  is  in  active  operation  at  the 
present  time. 

Egg-collecting  operations  at  the  auxili- 
ary stations  located  on  Bogus  Creek  and 
('amp  Creek  were  commenced  during  the 
middle  of  February,  and  to  date  a  total 
of  GOO, 000  eggs  have  been  taken. 

A  little  over  a  million  quinnat  salmon 
eggs  were  shipped  to  the  Fall  Creek 
Hatchery  from  the  Mount  Shasta  Hatch- 
ery, and  the  fry  resulting  from  this  ship- 
ment  will  be   reared   and   planted   in   the 


Klamath    River    as    soon    as    they    have 
reached  the  proper  age. 

Yosemite    Experimental    Hatchery. 

Troughs  and  hslieultural  parapher- 
nalia have  been  constructed  for  the  Yo- 
semite Experimental  Hatchery  and  plans 
made  to  operate  early  this  spring  to  de- 
termine the  suitability  of  the  water  for 
hatchery  purposes  on  a  large  scale  in  the 
Yosemite  Valley. 

Fish    Distribution. 

In  preparation  for  the  season's  fish  dis- 
tribution work,  Fish  Distribution  Car  No. 
01  has  been  placed  in  the  car  shops  at 
Sacramento  for  extensive  repairs.  Ar- 
rangements are  being  made  for  a  very 
early  distribution  of  trout  fry  this  season. 


COMMERCIAL  FISHERY  NOTES. 

N.    B.   SCOFIELD,   Editor. 


Biological    Stations    Want    Protection. 

Much  of  our  dependable  information 
regarding  marine  life  comes  as  the  re- 
sult of  carefully  planned  experiments  at 
the  various  biological  stations  along  the 
coast.  Oftentimes  marine  plants  or  ani- 
mals are  taken  from  their  native  habitat 
and  planted  near  the  station  where  they 
can    be    watched   and    studied.      Valuable 


experiments  which  have  been  started  have 
sometimes  been  made  worthless  because 
of  the  removal  of  specimens  by  thought- 
less people.  To  avoid  recurrences  of  this 
kind  the  various  stations  are  asking  for 
a  law  prohibiting  the  catching  or  remov- 
ing of  marine  plants  or  animals  within 
one  mile  of  any  marine  biological  station. 
In  view  of  the  facts  as  stated  above  such 
a   law  seems   reasonable. 


* 

~w'::** 

mJSM      ■                             MM 

Ha  '                     H 
"•■^B         Ik                  jH                                               ""■>•■  4 

^2 

KJ           BV     ^^ 

*JPJBBPBP                                                                ^KwSBBBjPJ                               W    Jmk                                   ■  <H 

f   :•■' 
i  i                        

^H^ 

Fig.   35.     Unloading    sardines    at    Monterey,    California.     Photograph    by    Carriel. 


94 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME. 


Proposed    Change    of    Shrimp    Law    Would 
Menace   Fish    Life. 

Attempts  are  again  being  made  to  mod- 
ify the  present  shrimp  law  to  allow  shrimp 
fishing  in  the  northern  part  of  San  Fran- 
cisco  Bay.  Shrimp  fishing  is  now  limited 
to  the  south  hay  in  order  to  prevent  the 
destruction  of  valuable  food  fish.  In 
order  that  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission 
might  be  in  possession  of  facts  to  oppose 
the  change  several  hauls  of  a  shrimp  net 
have  been  made  near  McNear's  Point. 
Many  young  striped  bass  and  other  young 
fishes  were  taken  in  the  hauls  and  these 
will  be  preserved  in  the  form  of  evidence. 

Launch    "Albacore"    Attempts    to    Aid 
Fishermen. 

Canneries  al  San  Diego,  although  well 
supplied  with  large  sardines,  have  been 
short  of  small-sized  ones,  which  are  in 
great  demand.  The  Fish  and  Game  Com- 
mission launch  "Albacore"  recently  spent 
some  time  attempting  to  locate  schools  of 
small  sardines.  The  launch  had  little 
better  success  than  the  regular  fishing 
boats.  Where  the  small  fish  are  located 
is  still   a  mystery. 


New  Cannery  Established  at  Ensenada. 
The  Mexican  Industrial  Development 
Company  is  building  a  new  cannery  al 
Ensenada,  Mexico.  This  company  plans 
to  can  albacore,  crawfish,  turtle,  and 
tuna.  They  will  also  ship  fresh  fish  to 
San    I»iego. 

Japanese  Trawler  in   Nets  of   Law. 

One   of   the   first   arrests   for  dragging 

trawl  nets  within  the  three-mile  limit  that 
has  been  made  since  the  food  administra- 
tion's rulings  lapsed  at  the  first  of  the 
year  was  recently  made  in  southern  Cali- 
fornia by  Deputy  II.  B.  Nidever.  Al- 
though the  Japanese  crew  aboard  the  fish- 
ing boat  "California"  of  San  Pedro  cul 
away  their  net  on  finding  that  they  were 
pursued,  they  were,  nevertheless,  rounded 
up.  After  a  three  and  a  half  hour  search 
the  specially-designed  salvaging  gear  of 
the  launch  recovered  the  abandoned  trawl 
net.  Evidence  of  the  destructive  feature 
of  the  trawl  net  was  apparent  in  the  large 
number  of  fish  of  many  different  varieties 
found  in  the  net.  It  is  because  of  the 
large  hauls  possible  with  such  a  net  that 
its  use  is  prohibited  in  shallow  waters. 


NOTES  FROM  THE  LONG  BEACH  LABORATORY. 

By   WILL    F.    THOMPSON    and    ELMER    HIGGINS. 


Among  the  rare  fish  which  have  come 
into  the  laboratory  and  have  not  been 
recorded  in  "Caliioi;\i  a  Fish  and 
Game,"  is  a  specimen  of  what  we  may 
term  "square-tail"  for  lack  of  a  common 
name.  It  is  scientifically  known  as  Tetra- 
gonuru8  at  fieri  Kisso.  The  individual  is 
mounted,  fourteen  and  a  half  inches  long, 
and  somewhat  badly  preserved  because  of 
frequent  handling.  The  exact  locality 
can  not  be  discovered,  the  fisherman  who 
owns  the  tish  having  forgotten  it.  but  it 
was  near  Catalina.  This  is  the  first 
record  of  the  species  in  the  North  Pacific. 

It    was    taken    I  WO  3  ears   ago   or   more. 

It  is  characterized  by  two  sharp  ridges 
on  each  side  of  the  tail,  which  is  deeply 
forked.  These  ridges  are  formed  by  (Jie 
hard,  rough  scales,  and  appear  capable  of 
giving  a  severe  injury.  The  scales  over 
tin"  whole  body  are  very  hard,  with  line 
striations  on  them,  and  .seem  to  be  fas- 
tened together  in  oblique  rows  running 
across  the  body,  so  that  one  might  lie  able 


to  tear  them  off  in  strips.  The  mouth  is 
small,  and  the  fins  feeble  in  appearance, 
while  the  teeth  show  plainly  that  the 
species  is  not  capable  of  attacking  large 
prey,  fur  they  are  small  and  comb-like 
although   numerous. 

Although  there  are  very  early  records 
of  its  presence  in  the  Mediterranean,  yet 
it  is  even  there  a  very  rare  fish.  It  was 
probably  known  as  early  as  1554,  for 
Rondelet,  a  writer  of  one  of  the  verj 
earliest  natural  histories,  published  a 
crude  figure,  calling  it  Mugil  niger,  which 
may  well  have  been  this  species.  Aldro- 
vandi,  a  later  writer,  called  it  Corvus 
niloticus.  Willoughby^  in  1G86,  also  de- 
scribed ii.  I'.ui  the  first  author  giving  a 
description  of  what  is  without  doubt  this 
fish  was  Uisso.  in  1810.  Since  the  time 
of   RlSSO,    the    fish    lias   been    taken    several 

limes  in  the  Mediterranean  and  near  the 
Madeira    Islands.     Other  specimens   have 

been  taken  near  Woods  Hole,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  one   lias  been   taken   in   Aug- 


CALIFORNIA  FISH  AND   GAME. 


95 


tralia.  The  specimen  here  mentioned  is 
the  first  from  our  coast  line,  indeed  the 
first  from  the  North  Pacific.  We  have 
also  a  number  of  specimens  which  are 
very  small,  up  to  an  inch  and  a  half  in 
length,  which  we  have  taken  in  the  small 
meshed  nets  used  by  the  boat  "Albacore," 
and  which  are  very  probably  this  species. 
If  so,  the  species  must  be  very  abundant 
instead  of  very  rare,  and  its  rarity  must 
be  ascribed  to  the  fact  that  the  fishermen 
do  not  take  it  with  any  of  their  gear. 

It  is  said,  by  the  European  writers  who 
have  chronicled  its  appearance,  that  it 
is  at  times  very  poisonous.  It  is  thought 
to  feed  on  jellyfish  and  such  animals,  and 
to  approach  the  coast  in  the  fall  in  order 
to  spawn.  When  it  is  taken  it  is  usually 
very  inactive  and  feeble  in  its  movements, 
probably  because  it  is  far  from  its  own 
native  habitat,  which  is  thought  to  be  the 
very  deep  sea. — W.  F.T. 


During  the  work  of  the  "Albacore" 
there  have  been  taken  several  very  odd 
forms  of  fish.  Notable  among  them  is  a 
fish  with  stalked  eyes.  It  seems  to  be  the 
same,  species  as  one  which  has  been  taken 
in  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  which  has  been 
called  Stylophthalmus  paradoxus.  The 
eye  stalks  are  very  long,  being  one  and  a 
quarter  times  the  length  of  the  head.  The 
eyes  are  set  on  the  end  of  these  long 
slender  stalks,  and  give  a  very  peculiar 
appearance  to  the  fish.  One  must  be  at  a 
loss  to  know  the  use  to  which  such  eyes 
could  be  put.  The  fish  itself  is  but  two 
and  a  half  inches  long  and  as  transparent 
as  a  jellyfish,  with  black  dots  along  the 
whole  of  its  very  slender  and  delicate 
body.— W.  F.  T. 


The  fish  known  as  the  "King  of  the 
Salmon"  in  textbooks  dealing  with  fish, 
a  member  of  the  genus  Trachypterus,  is 
supposedly  very  rare.  But  in  the  explora- 
tions of  the  "Albacore"  numerous  young- 
have  been  taken.  It  would  seem  that  it 
is  another  of  those  fish  which  are  not 
taken  by  (he  fishermen,  and  an  instance 
in  which  it.  is  obvious  that  (he  common 
belief  thai  a  lish  is  rare  because  Hie  fisher- 
men  do  not  take  it,  is  wrong. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  it  is  not 
possible  to  obtain  accurate  samples  of  the 
life  in  the  ocean,  either  by  commercial  or 


scientific  fishing,  when  the  adult  fishes 
are  concerned.  There  are  assuredly 
species  which  are  never  taken  by  any 
form  of  gear  save  when  tbey  are  disabled 
or  when  they  accidentally  leave  their  hab- 
itats. It  must  be  just  as  true  that  species 
which  are  abundant  at  times  are  capable 
of  hiding  themselves  or  avoiding  the  avail- 
able apparatus  used  for  fishing  so  com- 
pletely as  to  give  the  impression  that  the 
species  has  left  the  region.  The  acci- 
dental discovery  of  such  cases  should 
render  us  very  cautious  in  our  conclusions 
regarding  the  relative  abundance  of  a 
species  in  a  region,  or  the  migrations 
which  they  undertake. — W.  F.  T. 


A  species  of  sanddab  hitherto  supposed 
to  be  confined  to  Mexican  waters  has  been 
taken  by  the  "Albacore"  in  considerable 
numbers  a  few  miles  south  of  Oceanside 
and  also  by  fishermen  in  the  region  of  San 
Diego.  This  species,  Githarichthys  scan- 
thostigma,  rather  closely  resembles  the 
sand  dab  of  the  San  Francisco  markets, 
but  is  a  wider,  plumper  fish,  equal  if  not 
superior  in  quality  to  its  northern  rela- 
tive. It  may  prove  very  important  com- 
mercially.— E.  H.    ■ 


Another  interesting  specimen  taken  by 
the  "Albacore"  in  one  of  her  scientific  col- 
lecting trips  is  that  of  a  flying  fish,  new 
to  these  waters.  The  specimen,  of  the 
species  Exonautes  rondelctii,  was  taken 
some  150  miles  off  San  Diego ;  and 
although  the  species  is  of  wide  range  in 
tropical  seas,  it  has  heretofore  been 
recorded  on  this  coast  only  from  Acapulco, 
Mexico,   1700  miles  to  the  south. 

Southern  California  is  supposed  to  yield 
but  one  species  of  flying  fish — the  one  so 
well  known  to  the  sportsmen-anglers  of 
Catalina  Island ;  and  whether  the  new 
fish  is  a  permanent  resident  hitherto  un- 
distinguished from  the  common  species, 
which  it  closely  resembles,  or  another 
visitant  from  the  south  is  still  a  doubtful 
question. — E.  H. 


During  February  the  "Albacore"  landed 
Mr.  Horace  Linton  on  San  Nicholas,  a 
bleak  and  desolate  island  off  the  southern 
California  coast,  for  the  purpose  of  mak- 
ing some  investigations  on  Hie  abalone. 
Mr.  Linton  is  a  man  over  sixty  years  old. 


96 


CALIFORNIA    I'ISJI   AND  GAME. 


Inn  he  intends  to  live  on  the  island  alone 
for  three  months  and  carry  on  his  obser- 
vations. He  expects  to  look  for  abalones 
which  he  marked  and  "planted"  there  six 
years  ago  and  also  to  mark  many  more. 
He  believes  that  the  supply  can  be  in- 
creased by  intelligent  thinning  out  and 
transplanting,  bul  whether  or  not  he  suc- 
ceeds in  raising  the  supply  to  an  extent 
which  will  be  of  commercial  value,  hi.s 
observations  may  throw  some  light  on  the 
habits    of    this    most    desirable    mollusk. 

E.  II. 


The  noting  of  unusual  species  in  south- 
ern California  seems  to  have  impressed 
many  people  with  the  opinion  that  the 
year  191S  has  been  a  very  unusual  year. 
It  is  very  probable  that  it  is  such  a  year. 
but  it.  is  here  desired  to  call  attention  to 
the  fact  that  this  is  the  first  year  during 
which  the  Long  Beach  laboratory  of  the 
Fish  and  (iame  Commission  has  been 
actively  watching  for  unusual  species,  and 
that  aside  from  the  observations  which 
have  been  contributed  to  "Caufobnia 
Fish  and  Game"  from  it.  there  have 
been  verj  few  rare  species  noted,  from 
that  vicinity.  The  popular  saying  in 
southern  California  that  "every  year  is  an 
unusual  year  in  California"  comes  to 
mind  in  this  connection,  and  one  must  of 
necessity  be  very  cautious  in  concluding 
thai  last  year  was  any  more  unusual  than 
the  preceding  years  have  been.     \Y.   F.  T. 


During  the  past  four  months  the  "Alba- 
core"  has  had  the  opportunity  to  take 
several  trips  for  scientific  purposes.  On 
November  26  and  27  one  was  made  to 
Catalina  Island  and  return  to  haul  for 
young  lish  and  eggs;  November  .">(>  to 
December  7.  a  trip  was  made  to  I'oint 
<  'oncepcion  and  return  to  obtain  Hat  lish 
by  bottom  trawling;  December  S  to  H>. 
the  trip  to  Catalina  Island  was  repeated: 
I 'ecember  ]l  to  f4.  the  coasl  from  San 
Pedro  to  San  Diego  was  prospected  for 
flatfish;   February  .">.    I  and  5,  a  trip  was 


made     to    San     Nicholas     Island     with     -Mr. 

Linton,  to  haul  also  foi  young  lish  and 
eggs  over  deep  water;  and  February  •", 
and  7  were  consumed  iii  a  trip  to  Newport 

to  do  bott trawling  in   the  bay.     The 

ne\i  trip  for  scientific  purposes  should 
begin  about  the  first  of  .March.  These 
trips  have  been  very  largely  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exploration,  and  beginning  with 
the  .March  trip,  it  is  hoped  to  take  regular 
trips  over  a  definite  route,  in  order  to 
follow  the  development  and  drift  of  the 
pelagic  young  and  the  eggs,  and  to  observe 
carefully  three  chosen  flatfish  grounds. 


The  work  in  the  laboratory  has  been 
along  lines  followed  for  some  time  past. 
The  correlation  between  the  tempera- 
ture, or  weather,  and  the  catch  of 
albacore  has  been  carefully  analyzed  for 
the  year  1915,  and  a  very  high  degree 
found.  It  will  be  remembered  thai  some 
work  has  also  been  published  for  the  year 
L916 — for       instance       in       the       PACE  [C 

Fisherman  for  June,  \'.)]S.  and  in  a 
previous  number  of  "Califobnia  Fish 
AM)  GAME."  The  data  for  1917  is 
now  undergoing  a  similar  analysis. 
The  work  on  the  natural  history  of 
the  albacore  is  also  steadily  progressing 
along  other  lines,  but  until  the  ob- 
servations to  be  made  this  summer  are 
complete,  il  is  nol  likely  that  a  final  report 
will  be  made.  A  preliminary  report  on 
several  subjects  will  probably  be  made 
soon.      In  regard   to  the  sardine  it   may  be 

mentioned    that     examinations    have    1 a 

made  of  the  state  of  maturity  at  various 
times,  ami  the  progress  observed  to  be  the 

same  as   was  carefully  followed   hist    year. 


Our  thanks  are  due  the  Zoology  Depart- 
ment of  Stanford  University  for  the  privi- 
lege of  using  the  library  and  collection  of 
fishes  belonging  to  that  institution,  and 
more  particularly  to  Dr.  C.  H.  Gilbert  for 
his  personal  advice  and  assistance  to  Mr. 
Iliggins  during  his   recent    visit    there. 


CALIFORNIA  PISH   AND  GAME. 


97 


CONSERVATION  IN  OTHER  STATES. 


WARDENS    DO    DETECTIVE    WORK    IN 
NEW    YORK. 

The  New  York  Conservation  Commis- 
sion lias  been  detailing  game  protectors 
upon  secret  service  work  in  the  Adiron- 
dacks.  They  operate  under  concealed 
identity,  in  the  manner  of  detectives,  in 
every  branch  of  police  activity.  The  work 
that  they  did  and  the  results  accomplished 
are  believed  to  be  more  extensive  than  iu 
any  similar  task  ever  before  undertaken 
in  the  cause  of  game  protection.  The  re- 
ports turned  in  by  these  men  gave  the 
Conservation  Commission  the  necessary 
knowledge  and  power,  for  the  first  time  in 
the  history  of  game  protection  in  New 
York  State,  to  deal  adequately  with  the 
condition  of  lawlessness  iu  the  deer 
forests. 

ILLINOIS    SPORTSMEN    DISSATISFIED. 

The  Illinois  Sportsman,  the  official  or- 
gan of  the  Illinois  Sportmen's  League, 
continues  to  rap  the  migratory  bird  law 
and  accuse  the  Biological  Survey  of  un- 
fair treatment  to  the  sportsmen  of  the 
Middle  West.  According  to  a  recent  num- 
ber of  the  paper  the  lack  of  ducks  during 
t  he  past  open  season  is  due  to  the  work- 
ing of  the  present  federal  law  which  does 
not  allow  early  spring  shooting,  but  does 
allow,  according  to  this  paper,  the  slaugh- 
ter of  a  large  number  of  birds  in  Texas 
and  in  other  states.  The  paper  also  tries 
to  point  out  that  the  dismissal  of  the  ap- 
peal to  the  United  States  Supreme  Court 
for  a  decision  on  the  constitutionality  of 
the  former  migratory  bird  law  leaves  the 
Shauver  case  the  supreme  law  of  the  land, 
and  questions  the  immunity  of  the  treaty 
over  review  in  the  courts.  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  in  the  case  of  the  United 
States  vs.  Shauver,  Judge  Trieber  held 
that  migratory  game  when  iu  the  confines 
of  a  state  belongs  to  the  state  and  not  to 
(he  public  of  the  United  States. 

If  the  sportsmen  of  the  Middle  West 
are  actually  receiving  unfair  treatment,  it 
is  high  time  that  their  case  is  investi- 
gated ;  but  if,  on  the  other  hand,  they  are 
working  selfishly  for  their  own  profit  and 
overlooking  the  general  welfare,  agitation 
of  this  sort  should  be  frowned  upon  by 
every  one  interested  in  wild  life.  We  are 
glad    that    California    has    so    loyally    de- 


fended the  new  law  which  apparently  is 
doing  wonders  for  the  preservation  of  our 
waterfowl. 

WASHINGTON    COMMISSION     MAIN- 
TAINS   PERMANENT    EXHIBIT. 

The  Washington  Fish  and  Game  Com- 
mission maintains  a  permanent  exhibit  in 
the  city  of  Seattle.  Aquaria  containing 
many  varieties  of  fish,  models  of  fish  lad- 
ders, fish  screens,  preserved  specimens  of 
many  varieties  of  fish  and  shellfish,  and  an 
exhibit  of  fish  products  form  the  larger 
part  of  the  exhibit.  Some  mounted  elk 
and  game  birds  display  the  game  re- 
sources of  the  state.  The  offices  of  the 
commission  are  in  the  same  building,  and 
the  hundreds  of  visitors  find  it  easy  to 
have   their  questions  answered. 

WASHINGTON    WILL   OPEN    THE    SEA- 
SON   ON    ELK. 

Of  the  seven  or  eight  thousand  elk  on 
the  Olympic  Peninsula  in  the  state  of 
Washington,  nearly  50  per  cent  are  bulls. 
In  order  to  reduce  this  number  an  open 
s?ason  during  the  mouth  of  November  has 
been  recommended  to  the  legislature. 
Nonresident  hunters  will  be  required  to 
hire  licensed  guides  at  $5.00  a  day,  and  the 
license  fee  will  be  $25.00  or  $50.00.  In 
order  that  only  a  limited  kill  may  be 
made  only  one  animal  will  be  allowed  each 
individual  and  all  the  meat  must  be 
utilized. 

VERMONT   PLANS   QUARTERLY 
BULLETIN. 

According  to  their  last  biennial  report 
the  Department  of  Fisheries  and  Game 
of  Vermont  advocates  the  publication  of 
a  semiannual  or  quarterly  bulletin  for 
circulation  among  the  members  of  sports- 
men's leagues,  and  others  interested 
throughout  the  state.  This  bulletin  should 
give  items  of  interest  from  the  work  of 
the  department,  and  from  the  wider  field 
of  interstate  and  international  activities, 
in  this  way  moulding  and  directing  pub- 
lic sentiment  along  the  most  progressive 
lines. 

Vermont  in  starting  such  a  bulletin  will 
be  following  the  lead  of  California  and 
other  states  which  several  years  ago  be- 
came convinced  of  the  desirability  of  such 
a   means  of  publicity  and  education. 


98 


C  \UKoK.\l.\    I'IMI     \\'l>    (iA.MIv 


LIFE  HISTORY  NOTES. 


ELK     IN     SHASTA     COUNTY. 

John   M.   Punnett,   a   civil   engineer  oi 

San  Francisco,  who  has  recently  returned 
from  the  Pit  River,  Shasta  County, 
where  he  has  been  in  camp  with  a  survey 
party,  reports  that  in  the  latter  part  of 
November,  1918,  a  small  herd  of  elk  were 
seen  on  the  mountain  side  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  Pit  River.  They  were  ob- 
served by  all  the  members  of  the  party 
consisting  of  five  men.  Owing  to  the 
speed  at  which  the  herd  was  traveling,  the 
distance  between  it  and  the  observers  and 
the  steep,  wooded,  brushy  character  of  the 
country  it  was  impossible  to  be  absolutely 
certain  of  the  number  of  animals,  but 
the  concensus  of  opinion  was  that  the 
herd  consisted  of  one  bull  and  either  four 
or  five  cows. 

Some  cattle  men  who  were  driving 
stock  out  of  that  part  of  the  country 
stated  that  during  the  past  year  or  so 
they  had  repeatedly  seen  what  was  pre- 
sumably the  same  herd.  There  is  good 
evidence  that  the  herd  ranges  on  the 
southerly  slopes  of  the  Brock  Mountain. 
between  the  summit  and  the  Pit  River. 
M.  Hall  McAllister. 

DEER    HUNTING    POOR    IN    MONO 
COUNTY. 

We  have  no  knowledge  of  any  deer  hav- 
ing been  killed  in  Mono  County  during 
the  1917  season.  The  season,  as  changed 
by  the  redisricting  of  California,  gives 
the  residents  of  this  county  very  little 
chance  to  kill  a  deer  during  open  season. 
The  deer  range  very  high  in  almost  inac- 
cessible localities  during  the  month  of 
September,  not  working  down  until  the 
season   closes. — W.   M.  Maule. 

DEER    INCREASING   IN  TRINITY  GAME 
REFUGE. 

In  the  ten  years  that  I  have  been  trav- 
eling at  different  times  over  the  southern 
and  western  part  of  the  game  refuge 
(1-D)  I  have  never  seen  so  many  deer. 
The  numerous  deer  tracks  rather  gave 
the  impression  of  a  band  of  sheep  winter- 
ing there.  Hunters  complained  last  hunt- 
ing season  that,  as  soon  as  the  shooting 
commenced,  all  the  deer  knew  the  refuge 
and  ran  over  the  line  and  stayed  there. 
I  believe  there  is  some  truth  in  this,  from 
my  own  observations,  but  not  so  much  as 
they  would  have  the  general  public  be- 
lieve. — G.  O.  Laws. 


GROUSE    IN    THE    SEQUOIA   NATIONAL 
FOREST. 

Sierra  grouse  are  found  from  the  5,000- 

foot  contour  to  the  11,000  in  the  Sequoia 

National  Forest.  They  nest  principally 
at  the  lower  elevations  between  May  15 
and  June  l.r>,  laying  from  8  to  14  eggs. 
The  average  brood  hatched  is  about  10. 
Until  the  young  are  fully  feathered  they 
feed    on    and    in    the    vicinity    of    small 

meadows,  eating  principally  grass,  s Is. 

grubs  and  berries.  When  the  young  are 
able  to  fly  they  usually  migrate  to  the 
higher  elevations  and  live  principally  in 
thickets  and  fir  timber.  When  there  they 
feed  principally  on  berries  and  fir  and 
pine  needles.  A  peculiar  thing  about 
them  is  that  they  go  to  high  elevations  to 
winter  and  evidently  live  entirely  on  pine 
and  fir  needle..  FRANK  1'.  CUNNING- 
HAM. 

RIVER  OTTER   PLAYS  ON    MOONLIGHT 
NIGHTS. 

Lake  Leonard,  situated  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Mendocino  County  at  an  eleva- 
tion of  about  two  thousand  feet,  is  a 
small  natural  lake  with  no  visible  outlet. 
The  past  summer  on  moonlight  nights  an 
animal  was  frequently  heard  splashing  in 
this  lake.  Observation  between  the 
hours  of  2  and  6  a.m.  on  December  22 
disclosed  an  animal  swimming  about  and 
playing  in  the  water  like  a  sea  lion,  sud- 
denly bobbing  up,  giving  huge  splashes, 
playing  about  a  bit,  then  disappearing 
entirely  for  a  time.  When  most  boisterous 
it  uttered  a  sharp  little  scream  or  made 
a  noise  that  sounded  like  a  long-eared 
dog  shaking  itself  on  coming  out  of  the 
water;  Ii  appeared  larger  than  a  large 
dog,  and  could  swim  very  rapidly.  No 
slides  have  been  noticed  along  the  shore, 
but  the  animal's  actions  left  no  doubt  that 
it  was  a  Pacific  river  otter  (Lutra  cana- 
densis  pacifica). — Una  Boyle. 

VALLEY  QUAIL  WITH  EGG  IN 
DECEMBER. 

When  cleaning  some  valley  quail  se- 
cured near  Jolon,  Monterey  County,  De- 
cember 21.  1918,  1  was  surprised  to  find 
a  female  containing  a  well  developed  egg. 
Unfortunately,  the  egg  was  broken  in 
cleaning,  but  its  presence  is  nevertheless 
a  lad,  as  can  be  substantiated  by  others 
to  whom  it  was  shown.  The  eggshell  was 
of  a  yellowish  color,  and  was  situated  in 
the  oviduct  just  ready  to  be  deposited. — 
Edward  L.  Bosqui. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND  GAME. 


99 


WILD  LIFE  IN  RELATION  TO  AGRICULTURE. 


BLACKBIRDS  AND   RICE. 

Blackbirds  are  a  serious  menace  lo  rice 
culture,  particularly  as  an  agency  in  the 
distribution  of  water  grass  seeds.  While 
blackbirds  in  large  flocks  frequently  de- 
stroy large  areas  of  rice  during  the  ma- 
turing period,  they  also  congregate  along 
the  sloughs  where  the  indigenous  millets 
are  found,  the  seeds  of  which  mature  some 
weeks  in  advance  of  rice,  and  of  which 
the  blackbirds  consume  large  quantities. 
When  blackbirds  arise  rapidly  from  a 
slough  it  has  been  observed  that  they 
carry  with  them  heads  and  seeds  which 
are  dropped  into  the  fields  over  which 
they  pass. — W.  O.  Jacobson. 

DUCKS   DESTROY  GARDEN    PESTS. 

Theodore  Kytka,  the  famous  handwrit- 
ing expert  of  San  Francisco,  has  for  many 
years  successfully  reared  wild  mallard 
ducks  in  his  back  yard.  Finding  them  of 
value  as  destroyers  of  pests  he  has  re- 
cently given  a  number  of  the  birds  to 
friends  in  order  that  they  may  clean  the 
gardens  of  snails,  slugs,  and  other  garden 
pests. 

PHEASANTS   DAMAGE  CROPS  IN    INYO 
COUNTY. 

After  much  observation  and  many  dis- 
cussions with  ranchers  in  the  Owens  Val- 
ley I  am  of  the  opinion,  and  would  earn- 
estly advocate,  that  either  an  open  season 
be  allowed  for  the  introduced  pheasant, 
or  that  it  be  left  unprotected  entirely.     It 


is  becoming  a  pest  here,  and  the  farmers 
who  raise  grain  or  small  fruits  welcome 
this  bird  about  the  same  as  they  do  the 
English  sparrow  and  California  linnet 
(two  great  nuisances).  I  quote  one  of 
the  ranger's  reports  :  "The  pheasants  are 
increasing  rapidly  in  the  valley  and  live 
on  the  farmers'  crops  in  the  summer  time, 
doing  them  considerable  damage."  One 
of  the  fruit  growers  here  showed  me  a  few 
boxes  of  grapes  which  he  intended  to  ship, 
but  the  bunches  had  been  thinned  con- 
siderably owing  to  damage  by  birds.  He 
stated  that  the  robin  and  a  small  gray 
bird  (probably  the  linnet)  did  a  lot  of 
damage,  and  that  the  pheasant  was  a  very 
wicked  bird,  hiding  under  the  bushes  and 
eating  his  grapes  whole.  One  of  the 
ranchers  near  town  tells  me  that  he  has 
seen  small  patches  of  corn  entirely  de- 
stroyed by  pheasants,  the  birds  eating  out 
the  grain  just  after  the  plant  has 
sprouted. — E.   L.   Herzinger. 

MOLE  EATS  ANGLEWORMS. 
The  stomach  of  a  mole  (Scapanus  lati- 
manus  latimanus)  killed  on  September  23, 
1916,  at  Hayward,  California,  was  filled 
with  angleworms  cut  into  short  pieces, 
one-quarter  to  one-half  inch  in  length. 
This  evidence,  combined  with  the  fact  that 
moles  kept  in  captivity  devour  large  quan- 
tities of  earthworms,  indicates  that  this 
animal  feeds  largely  upon  worms  and  in- 
sects found  beneath  the  surface  of  the 
ground. — W.  N.  Dirks. 


100 


CALIFORNJ  \    l-'ISII    AND    GAME. 


Mexico. 


CN  00 

8  © 
©  © 

i 

sS 

H 

<** 

H 

— 
i  - 

r-T 

(g  S  g 


OO 

8 


Total. 


CO 

en 


.o 
E 

0) 

o 

V 

D 


u 

.O 

£ 

> 
o 

Z 


J2 
O 

u 
O 

I 
co 

0) 
1) 


§3 §8gS88385§fi 11883388883 §8881 I3S88S 


Imperial- 


San  Diego- 


g 


Orange- 


Los  Angeles.. 


2& 

C5   CO 
©  J> 

S3 


San  l.uis  Obispo, 
Santa  Barbara, 
Ventura 


Monterey. 


co  eg 
in  So 
CD  eJ 


f   W  <D  N   N  SB 

O  fr-  f  ©  CO 

in  csf  c6  ci  — ~  ©"  co 

r.  co  J    —  — 

il  c-i 


II 


CM  O  O 

Si  12  K 

oT      © 


S 


S    CM    CN 

ci   ■— '  CO 


■T\    -r 


~  i    —    r  - 

-*'  e4  si 


a 


V 


'5  g  fe  -  - 

Cl    r-l   £   ■*    N 
t-  CO   CO 

—    CO 


ft    W 


in 


s  g  g  i  s 

3:    j    O  eg  t- 

-i  ifi  — '  -r  i-' 
r*  00  O 


--  a  oi  ** 

O  >"    -r    CO 
3D  O  -v  t 

*  3"  3 


£88 

©   I-    -m 


B 


I 


0  01J5W 

—  rH  ©  |^ 

—  —  B5  •«* 

-   —   rA 

I-H     ift     ^Jl 


/    :: 


<M    -t*    f—    ~.     J      N 

c  i  S   — ' 


</3     - 


H 
O 

Oh 


re 

O     Santa  Cruz. 

U 

E 

E 

o 

o 


5 

E 

CO 

a 

n 
0 

>, 

n 

T3 
V 

a 

E 
o 
O 


V 

si 

U) 


re 
O 


San  Francisco, 
San  Mateo... 


Alameda, 
Contra  Costa- 


Sacramento. 
San  Joaquin— 


Solano,  Yolo 


Marin- 


Mendocino. 
Sonoma,  Lake. 


Del  Norte. 
Humboldt 


I  <£>   t-I   OS 


s 


e 
■-   £  ~ 

£    O    03 

<  -:  c 


l-H    (M 


889 


3 


§!§ 


m*  iA  05  eg 

•-*  Q    ft) 


S! 


05    ©    1" 

v  tS  8 


3 


i; 


/•: 


a    «J    y. 


c?  c-i 

S3 

co 


;,s 


ac 


7 


3 


CO    CO  rH    f-i 

O   O  i-t   T-t 

Ti    O 


O    C  J= 


a  c  ° 

'?   ex-S 

a 


C3    =   -^ 


p.  .a 


5  -a 


■I  .- 

r^  Oi 


- 


M  * 


r, 


s 


■/ 


s  s  /. 

^  ec  3  . 

~  —  -—  ^^ 

-_  c  -  P.  p.  "  ?:  =  =  ^  W  S  ~.  3  P<  P<  fM  «  «  a>  M  oe  -J-  '■  j.  '. 


CO     X  *J 

03    C3  ^ 

♦>  ,2  S  2  S3 

—  'O  ^ 

-    q   SI   03  a   o 

C    3    a    ;      11  S3   3 


CALIFORNIA  FISH  AND   GAME. 


101 


1       I       I       I       I       1        |       I       i       1       I   ©       f       1       1       1       l       1       1   Op    M 

'iiii!    i1     '    '    i1    i  co     i    i1             !    i    i1  4h  3 

1            1      1      1      1      1      1      1      1      1            1      1      f      1      l'      1      1  -*   ~+ 

1         1        I        I         I        i         i        1        I        n         i                 1        1        1         1        1         1        1   CO    <N 

1,009,493 

205,272 

-T<        i    m<        i  N       i    <N    DO    CO    CO    CO    i— I   ©    ©        i    Ift    IS    M    O    H    W 
Ci       it>       too       t   3  M   mi   ers  o   t<    \jq    m       i   i-    ~    CO   i-»  q   GO 
©      i  a      it—      i  ©  m<  ©  co  co  t£>  io^  in      i  ©_  ©  co  i—  t/j  r- 

co     !  in     !  «     !  &  in        oT  in  oo  i-T  oo"    !  t"  r-  «  h  od  o 

CO                                     1      O            1      3?      "^                                            •"•                   T— '            |      f— <      ' !                                1"^       l—t 

CO       J               J    00       I    <-»                                                             |            M«                   W    rl 

;     :     :  g                     i    -n 

9°                 CO   Cl    Gl        1                      lOCO^Ot^rHOCOrHOO        1    <N 
,*J"                -1*    lr-    rH        1                    i      '     i-     —     :.    b-     ;-     »    i^    n    C5       i 
^O,              1ft    r    r        1                    1    O    Tp    cs    O    rH_  CI    CO    CT^  CO    rH       1 

"I                «."  r-H~   5                           |    ci  CO    IO    JO    t-T^J    J"  rt           SO       | 

rn                     mis                                   I-          !C   rH  ci  O   IO 

°i.                                            Hrt              |                                      1                                                                                                    -T        T-H                                              , 

i5                     1          !                         *r               1 

■  i  i  i  i  i  i  i  i  i  i  i  i  i  i  i  i  i  ■  ■  i 

co"                 IIII                  lllllllllllli 

1       1      '      '  ©      i   -f      i       i       i  cl   f~   O      i      i      '    r-l      1       '   *  M     i     —                i  ifl      i      i                 ii rill 

llll<Nl»3lllr-iC3C8llllOll'Xe<5|a;                   IrHII                    IIII IIII 

ii.i-i.i-*iii        -wiftiiif-ii^aSI00.,             i  oo      i      i              iiiiiiiiiii 
1111             |  1ft"     I      i      J          r-T            1       1      !  t-      1       !  92  00         £!                1   r-T     ,'      1                 1      1      1      !      1      1       '      1      1      1      1      1      1 

iiii     i  e  i  i  i    "     i  i  i  a  i  i  *i      s      J  *  i  i      i  i-  i  i  i  i '  i  i  i  i  J  i  i 

iiii          i          iii                     iii          i     i  i-T         1    co             i          ii             i     i     i     i     i     i     i     i     i     i     i     i     i 

!.!!!eo!!iiiiHiirti!iiirt»ft|fc«                 n     !      !              '      !     i      !     i      !     i     i      i      i 

|l|ICO'lltt"MlllCDllllT©t*-|Cfe                      I    GO        I         I                      lllllllllllli 
llllrHIIIIICOII                 I        i         1        J         1    ©    r-l             ©                     1    ©^       1         I                      lllllllllllli 

!     ]     J        |  rn  co"      co           |  i-T    1 
tiii         i    i     i     i    i         ii         i     i     i    i    i               ^           '         ■     ■           iiiiiiiiiiiii 

1     I     i     i  in     i*~*>co©©©©£-     i     ih     i       to  t 

i      i      i      i-r      i  m  co  "•  ^  o  ci   v  o      i      i   -— -      i      ■  ©  co 
i      i      i      ico      ij>M*©cocor-t©m      i      i©     t      i  a  ii 

;  . ;    |    [  y&  j  rH         ro  -*  j>  r-r  in    ;    s  saf   !    ■  &  sf 

,      |       ,  GO      J  mi                                          i— *       |      |    (o      t      ,   ©  CO 

J        J       j         j    CO        [   CO                                                                    |        ,     r-t         ,        |    00 

>     |     ]             /                                       |     ;  r-T    j     ;  CO 

15,115,480 
112,970 

249 
1,595 
4,197 

50,730 
1,83?. 

45 

1(55 

5,276 
13,374 

i  ;_*}     i      i              i     i   's-           i  co     '      i  j—     i  mi      i     i 

©                  'i   CO_      I       I                  1       I  §       1       '   CO      1      I   00       '   © 

im"            J  in                             !  co"    I     J  t-T    !     J  tfT    j  od*    J     ! 

M«                            ,      1 — 1          ,                                                       J>-                                                      1^1 

CO                      l    •           A II                      II                 1         i            N   1         1                 I                 |        J 
1                 II                      II                 II                 II                 1                 II 

I     !     !     I  in     i  _Q     1     !  co co    i  j-j  co  oo       J2                                       i  tm     i     i     i     !     i     i  o>     i     i 

i  ii  is  i  p  i        i  i  :  i  i.  i  a  i s  c  b  1  -fi       iii  i       i  g  i  ;  i  i  i  :  ?i  ; 

1111          1  L5     '     1          1                11                1        -nTe>"       fe             1111             1  r-T     I     1     !     I     1     |  -t"     1     1     1     1 

i  •,  i  j     i  g  ;  j      jji';        ;    S-rH    §       iiii       '      i  !  i  i  :  | *  I i      i  | 

iiii        i  ?!    '    ;        1    1    1    1    i    1        1               IS          1    1    1    1          1        1    1    1    1    1    I        1111 

728 
419,725 

10,058 
21 

950,238 

7 

83 

185 

1,086 

47 

503,400 
45,011 

2,943 

937 
23,097 

2,483,571 

7,886 
150,119 

137 

2,149,575 
513 

163,727 
2,765 

205,964 
13 

57,055 
773 

20,989 
1,574 

t»               i      i      i      i               i      i      i      i      i      i      i      i 

f-t               iiii               iiiiiiiiiiiii 
in               iiii               iiiiiiiiiiiii 

^                                                                                               1      1      1      1      1 
m               iiii               iii      I      i      ■■■■■■      '      1 

46,133 
1,583 

S       iiii       iiiiiiiiiiiii 

Oi                      IIII                      1        1        1         1         1        1         1        1        1         1         1        1 

M                                                                      1       I       I        1       1               1       1       1        1       1 

^                    iiii                    1        1        1        I        I        1        1        1        I        I        I        I 

159 

2,333 
692 

223,500 

4,403 
28,7a5 

3,565 
94,200 
312,293 

5,444 

257 
135 

14,055 

751,193 
634 

8,086 

Striped    bass   . 

Buck  shad   .. . 

Shad    

Roe  shad 

Skip  jaek  _     ___   

Sturgeon    

Sardine  .    .    .  . 

Skat'    

Surf  fish 

Sculpin    ....     ...     __ 

S"a  trout 

Sheepshead     

Sword  flsh     .  _ 

Tom   cod 

Trout  (farm)    

Trout  (steelhead) 

Tuna    

Turbot    

Whitebait 

Yellowtail     _..    _ 

Miscellaneous    .  . 

Totals   

Crustaceans- 
Crab   (doz.)   

Spiny  lobster _ 

Shrimp    _  ...     

Ecrevisse       .. 

Mobusks— 

Squid       ..    ..      

Cuttlefish 

01am  (Pismo)  ... 
i    am  (co.kle)  .. 

Chun  (softshell)  

Qlam  (mixed) 

Oyst  r   (native),   No. 
*Oyster  (shell),  No... 

Ssa  snails 

Mussels  

Reptiles      

102 


CALIFORN]  \    FISH     \M>  G  \  .M  K 


STATEMENT    OF    EXPEN  DITU  R  ES— Year   1918. 


I       i  of  expense 


nber 


Genera]    administration    ;     $1,62-  n 

i.  -  arch,  publicity  and  education  (Kami) 219  4!j 

Printing    _' 

Fish  •  xiiiiiits  

Game  exhibits  

Gams  farm  348  20 

mountain    lion    bounties 

Lithographing   hunting   licenses :         IK    Ifi 

l.it hographing  angling  licenses 

Hunting   license   comm'ssions 2,80 

gling    license    commissions 1,11 

v.'nk  t    fishing  license  commissions 150 


210  00 

421  2i) 

. 

210  00 


77  CO 


I-         $4,823  2S 


San    Francisco    District $5 

Sacramento    District   

Los  Angeles   District 

Launch   patrol   

Prosecutions  (fish  and  gams) 

<  Irawflsh   inspection  

Winti  r  game   feeding 

Accident   and  death  claims 


124  04 


155  05 


$13,802  $13,755  18 


Hatchery   administration  -- 

Mt.  Shasta   Hatchery  

Klamath    Station    

Mt.   Whitney   Hatchery 

Cottonwood    Lakes   station 

'I  alio'    Hatchery    

Tallac  Hatchery   

Ft.   Seward   Hatchery i 

','.  '     River    Station 

Ikiali  Hatchery  

si.ou    Mountain   station 

Brookdale  Hatchery  

Scotl    Creek   station 

Feather  River   Hatchery 

Almanor    Hatch  ry   

Domingo  Springs    Hatchery 

Clear  Greek   Hatchery 

I     -I     Lake    Hatchery 

North    Creek    Station 

Wawona  Hatchery  

Yos  mit"    Hatchery   

Pish  distribution  

Fish   transportation   

Sit    mi,    lisliu  ay    ami    ft  at    r    pollution. 

Special  field   Inv  stigation 


$578  70 
8,531  26 


--  i=  24 
2,844  33 
1,397  5) 
1,090  77 


222  47 
23  17 


l«;  85 
5  00 


622  65 

14  30 


.  i 


I   !    . 
31  00 


L22  15 
30  00 


10  00 


SI  84 
155  59 


2,179   10 
37  50 


-  70 


5,986  92 

760  10 

769  10 

3,849  58 

,! 

18  54 

2,404  05 

2.2v i  21 

2,354  22 

■ 

l"  61 

2  234  :  - 

42  60 

107  75 

100  01 

"1-  3! 

200  00 

si  I  78 

$74 
10  28 


:,  00 
7  )4 

443  07 


5  0!) 


.  S  93 
721  90 


--  32 
2.72  19 


120  55 


3  00 

I'll    13 


3  00 

l!)l   -7 


1 1   part  in   ill     (  'in rial     Fish    i  i   - 


Department  of  Engine:  ring 

Launch   "Albacon  "   ._ 

Yossmite  Hatchery  


7   71 
2.063  02 


- 

3,140  15 


15  70 
2,73 


$38,072  if.      $2  ,!  i-  67      $31,640  67 


CALIFORNIA  FISH   AND  GAME. 


103 


VIOLATIONS    OF    FISH    AND    GAME    LAWS. 
December   1,   1918.  to    March   1,   1919. 


Offense 


Game. 

Hunting  without  a  license 

Making  false  statement  on  application 

Deer— close  season— killing  or  possession 

Female  deer,  spike  bucks,  fawns— killing  or  possession 

Quail— close  season— killing  or  possession 

Excess  bag  limit 

Ducks— close  season — killing  or  possession 

Excess  bag  limit 

Shooting  ducks  from  power  boat  in  motion '. 

Cottontail  and  brush  rabbits— close  season— killing  or  pos- 
session   

Grouse— close  season— killing  or  possession 

Rail — close  season — killing  or  possession 

Swan— killing  or  possession 

Xongame  birds— killing  or  possession 

Shore  birds— close  season— killing  or  possession 

Night  shooting  

Trepassing  on  posted  grounds 

Trapping  without   license 


Number  of 
ai rests 


27 

1 

11 

5 


Total   game   violations. 


Fish. 


Angling  without  license 

Fishing  for  profit  without  license 

Clams— undersize   

Alialones — close  season — undersize.   excess   limit 

spiny  lobsters — close  season — taking  or  possession 

Undersize,  oversize  

Trout— close  season— taking  or  possession,  excess  limit- 
Trout— taking  other  than  by  hook  and  line 

Dynamiting  fish   

Failure  to  produce  license  on  demand 


Grand  total  fish  and  game  violations. 


1 
2 
2 
4 

1 
1 
1 
4 

22 
3 

14 
2 
2 


103 


5 
3 
3 

34 


6 
6 
3 
1 
1 


62 


165 


Fines 
imposed 


$495  00 

25  00 

335  00 

100  00 


25  00 

90  00 

75  00 

110  00 

50  00 
25  00 
25  00 
75  CO 

456  00 
75  00 

250  CO 
40  00 
40  00 


$2,291  CO 


$95  00 
50  00 
75  00 

325  00 


140  00 

180  00 

25  00 

200  00 


$1,090  00 


$3,381  00 


SEIZURES— FISH    AND    GAME    AND    ILLEGALLY    USED    FISHING  APPARATUS. 

December   1,   1918.  to   March   1,   1919. 

(lame. 

Deer  meat   219  pounds 

Ducks    476 

Shore  birds 17 

Wild  pheasants  2 

Miscellaneous  game  20 

Beaver  skins  4 

Mink  skins 3 

Fish. 

Striped  bass   58  pounds 

Trout 1,825  pounds 

Crabs    42 

Pismo  clams h):i  • 

Lobsters 1,313 

Abalones    ■ ----  693 

Halibut   - - 2,693 

Illegal    nets   1 1 

Searches. 
Illegal  fish  and  game 9 


104 


c  \l.iF(ii;.\i  \   nsii    \.\D  G  \\ii:. 


NUMBER    OF    DEER    KILLED    IN    VARIOUS    COUNTIES    DURING    THE    OPEN 

SEASON    1917. 


District    No.   1. 

Alpine    '. 12 

Amador      50 

Butte  — 

Calaveras    66 

Del   Norte 

El  Dorado 60 

Fresno 125 

Humboldl    .'!<; 

Inyo 72 

Kern 

Kings     

Lassen 150 

Madera   — 

Mariposa   — 

Merced 2\ 

Modoc    L64 

Mono    ."lii 

Nevada    150 

Placer   :; ; 

Plumas    200 

Sacramento 51 

San  Joaquin 

Shasta   330 

Sierra    

Siskiyou    : Ms 

Stanislaus    

Sutter    ___    — 

Tehama 253 

Trinity 56  I 

Tulare   300 

Tuolumne    250 

Yi  ba    

Total   3.012 


District    No.    2. 

Colusa    150 

(Jlenn ^21 

Lake 123 

Marin     162 

Mendocino 140 

Solano  140 

Sonoma    

Yolo 

Napa    110 

Total   1,352 

District    No.    3. 

Alameda 

Contra  Costa 

Monterey 155 

San  Benito 121 

San   Francisco 

San   Luis  Obispo    342 

San  Mateo 150 

Santa  Clara 300 

Santa  Cruz 69 

Total 1,137 

District   No.   4. 

Imperial    

Los  Angeles '_':iv- 

Orange 

Riverside  52 

San  Diego 30 

San    Bernardino   95 

Santa  Barbara l-~< 

Ventura 438 

T<  tal 1,248 

Miscellaneous 105 

Total  for  year  1917 6,854 


< 
cc 

LL) 
> 


_l 

UJ 

> 

LU 

o 

O 

o 

2 
-J 
< 
I/) 

if 

Ul 

LU 

<r 
o 

o 
z 
< 
o 
_i 
o 
> 


ll    ST 


o 

z 
o 

J 
it) 

UJ 

r 
o 
z 


Q 

_1 

o 

(3 


z 

5 
< 

K 

Q 


/», 


f^ 


*'■' 


California  Fish  and  Game 

"CONSERVATION   OF   WILD   LIFE   THROUGH   EDUCATION" 

Volume  5  SACRAMENTO,  JULY,  1919  Number  3 


CONTENTS. 

Page 
THE  GOLDEN  TROUT   (colored  plate)    Frontispiece 

CALIFORNIA  TROUT B.  W.  Evermann  and  II.  C.  Bryant  105 

THE  STEEL-HEAD  TROUT  (colored  plate) Facing-  page  112 

THE  RAINBOW  TROUT  (colored  plate)! Facing-  page  114 

THE  EASTERN  BROOK  TROUT  (colored  plate) Facing  page  130 

SUMMER  ON  THE  CALIFORNIA  TROUT  STREAMS-Robcrt  Page  Lincoln  136 

PARASITES  WHICH  AFFECT  THE  FOOD  VALUE  OF  RABBITS— 

E.  Ralph  Dc  Ong  142 

OUT  FISHIN'   (a  poem) Edward  A.  Guest  144 

EDITORIALS    145 

FACTS  OF  CURRENT  INTEREST 150 

HATCHERY  NOTES 151 

COMMERCIAL  FISHERY  NOTES 154 

Notes  from  the  State  Fisheries  Laboratory 156 

CONSERVATION  IN  OTHER  STATES 159 

LIFE  HISTORY  NOTES  100 

REPORTS— 

Canned,  Cured  and  Manufactured  Fishery  Products,  1918 162 

Fishery   products,   1918   164 

California  Fishery  Products — January,  February  and  March,  1919 166 


CALIFORNIA  TROUT* 

By    BARTON    WARREN    EVERMANN    and    HAROLD   C.    BRYANT. 

INTRODUCTION. 

The  trout  of  whatever  kind  all  belong  to  the  Salmonidae  or  salmon 
family.  Besides  the  true  trout,  this  family  contains  also  the  salmons, 
the  charrs,  the  whitefish,  the  lake  herrings,  and  that  curious  fish  of 
the  far  north,  the  inconnu.  The  Salmonidae  are  confined  to  the  north- 
ern hemisphere  and  chiefly  north  of  the  fortieth  parallel  where  they 
are  nearly  everywhere  abundant  wherever  suitable  waters  are  found. 
Some  of  the  species,  especially  the  larger  ones,  are  marine  and  anad- 
romous,  living  and  growing  in  the  sea,  and  entering  fresh  waters  only 
for  spawning  purposes;  still  others  live  in  running  brooks,  entering 
lakes  or  the  sea  as  occasion  serves,  but  not  habitually  doing  so ;  still 

♦Although  containing  some  new  information,  this  paper  is  largely  a  compilation 
of  material  from  published  sources. 

46418 


106  CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME. 

others  are  lake  fishes,  approaching  the  shores  or  entering  brooks  in  the 
spawning  season,  at  other  times  retiring  to  waters  of  considerable 
depths.  Sonic  species  arc  active,  voracious,  and  gamey,  while  others 
are  comparatively  defenseless  and  rarely  or  never  lake  the  hook. 

Of  all  the  families  of  fishes  there  is  none  more  interesting  than  the 
Salmonidae,  from  whatever  point  of  view  they  may  be  considered.  To 
the  biologist  the  family  is  of  surpassing  interesi  because  of  the  remark- 
able life  histories  and  habits  of  many  of  the  species;  to  the  angler,  whal 
tish  has  appealed  more  strongly  than  salmon  and  trout  because  of 
their  game  qualities  and  their  beauty?  to  the  epicure,  there  is  none 
more  delicious  or  more  persistently  sought;  to  the  lover  of  the  beautiful 
as  exhibited  in  animate  forms,  what  appeals  more  strongly  than  the 
silvery  sheen,  roseate  or  golden  hues,  and  the  beautiful  form  of  the 
salmon,  the  brook  trout  or  the  golden  trout;  to  the  fish  culturist,  the 
Salmonidse  are  of  the  greatest  interest  and  importance,  more  species 
of  this  family  being  propagated  artificially  than  of  all  other  species 
combined ;  and  to  the  commercial  fisherman,  this  family  of  fishes  is  the 
most,  important  in  all  the  world. 

The  true  trout  all  belong  to  the  genus  Salmo  and  are  found  only  in 
the  northern  parts  of  Asia,  Europe  and  North  America;  in  Europe 
they  extend  as  far  south  as  the  Pyrenees,  and  in  America  to  Lower 
California  and  Durango  and  eastward  as  far  as  the  Black  Hills  and 
Colorado. 

The  name  "trout,"  a  word  of  French  origin,  is  in  Europe  applied 
only  to  species  with  black  spots,  while  in  America  it  is  more  loosely  used 
and  is  applied  not  only  to  the  true  trout  (those  with  black  spots),  but 
also  to  the  charrs  (or  those  with  red  or  orange  spots).  In  western 
North  America  are  many  species  of  true  trout,  some  of  them  differing 
widely  in  size  and  color,  while  others  resemble  each  other  so  closely  as 
to  make  positive  identification  difficult.  The  Salmonidaa  are  of  com- 
paratively recent  origin,  none  of  the  species  occurring  as  fossils  except 
in  recent  deposits,  and  this  doubtless  accounts  for  the  instability  of 
their  specific  characters. 

How   to    Distinguish   Trout  from    Salmon. 


Trout. 

1.  Most  species  remain  in  fresh  water, 
never  going-  to  sea;  do  not  die  after 
once  spawning. 

2.  Skeleton  hard. 

3.  Anal  fin  with  12  or  fewer  rays. 

4.  Gillrakers,  20  or  fewer. 

5.  Pyloric  caeca  few,  40  to  65. 

6.  Branchiostegals,  10  to  12. 

7.  Caudal  peduncle  deep. 


Salmon. 

1.  Live  habitually  in  the  sea,  entering 
fresh  water  only  at  spawning  time; 
spawn  once  then  die. 

2.  Skeleton  porous  and  soft. 

3.  Anal  fin  with  13  to  20  rays. 

4.  Gillrakers,  20  to  40. 

5.  Pyloric  ca*ca  numerous,  75  to  180. 

6.  Branchiostegals,  13  to  19 

7.  Caudal  peduncle  constricted. 


The  commercial  fisherman  distinguishes  between  salmon  and  trout 
by  noting  whether  the  fish  is  easily  held  up  by  the  tail.  The  constricted 
portion  in  front  of  the  tail  (caudal  peduncle)  makes  il  easy  to  hold  a 
salmon  by  the  tail,  but  that  of  a  trout  is  so  nearly  the  size  of  the  tail 
1 1 ii  that  it  is  held  up  with  difficulty. 

The  native  trout  of  western  North  America  may  be  regarded  as  falling 
naturally  into  three  more  or  less  well-defined  series,  which  are  popularly 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME.  107 

known  as  the  Cutthroat  Series,  the  Steelhead  Series,  and  the  Rainbow 
Series. 

The  species  of  the  Cutthroat  Series  are  characterized  by  small  scales, 
150  to  200  in  a  cross-series,  a  large  deep-red  or  scarlet  dash  on  each 
side  of  the  throat,  a  large  mouth,  the  maxillary  more  than  half  length 
of  head,  and  small  hyoid  teeth.  The  most  useful  diagnostic  character 
is  the  red  dash  or  mark  on  each  side  of  the  throat  between  the  dentary 
bones  of  the  lower  jaw.  This  mark  is  nearly  always  present  and  is 
usually  quite  distinct. 

There  are  many  species  of  the  Cutthroat  Series.  They  inhabit  the 
streams  and  lakes  from  Humboldt  County,  California,  northward  to 
southeast  Alaska  and  eastward  through  all  of  the  northwestern  states 
to  the  headwaters  of  the  Missouri,  the  Platte,  the  Arkansas  and  the 
Rio  Grande.  At  least  one  species  is  found  in  the  headwaters  of  the 
Colorado.  They  are  particularly  abundant  in  the  coastal  streams  and 
lakes  of  Oregon  and  Washington.  In  California,  they  appear  to  be 
confined  chiefly  to  the  northwest  counties  and  are  nowhere  abundant. 

In  the  Steelhead  Series  the  scales  are  somewhat  larger,  the  number 
in  a  cross-series  being  usually  about  150,  but  varying  from  130  to  180. 
There  is  no  red  dash  on  the  lower  jaw ;  the  body  is  rather  stout,  mouth 
moderate,  the  maxillary  about  half  length  of  head,  hyoid  teeth  wanting. 
Color  silvery.     Size  large.     Sea-run  species. 

In  California,  the  steelhead  is  limited  to  coastwise  streams  and  is 
anadromous.  To  the  northward,  it  extends  further  inland,  ascending 
the  Columbia  and  its  tributaries  to  Shoshone  Falls  in  Snake  River  and 
to  the  headwaters  of  Salmon  River  in  Idaho.  To  the  northward  it  is 
found  as  far  as  Kodiak  Island.  In  certain  lakes  of  Washington  and 
British  Columbia  are  found  several  local  forms  which  have  been 
described  as  distinct  species. 

In  the  Rainbow  Series  the  scales  are  typically  still  larger  (except 
in  the  golden  trouts),  the  number  in  a  cross-series  being  normally  130, 
but  varying  from  115  to  180 ;  usually  no  red  on  the  throat ;  a  red  or 
rosy  lateral  band;  body  stout;  mouth  small,  the  maxillary  short,  2  to 
2.5  in  head;  no  hyoid  teeth.     Size  small. 

The  rainbow  forms  are  chiefly  confined  to  the  streams  of  California 
and  Oregon.  The  typical  rainbow  (Salmo  iridcus)  was  originally 
described  by  Dr.  William  P.  Gibbons  of  San  Francisco  in  the  Proceed- 
ings of  the  California  Academy  of  Sciences  for  1855,  from  specimens 
obtained  in  San  Leandro  Creek,  Alameda  County.  The  rainbow 
occurs  less  abundantly  in  Oregon  and  Washington  and  as  far  north  as 
Naha  Stream  and  Klawak  River,  Alaska. 

Besides  these  three  series  of  true  trouts,  we  have  the  charrs  of  the 
genera  Salvelinus  and  Crisiivomcr.  The  "Dolly  Varden"  is  the  only 
native  charr  in  California.  The  introduced  Eastern  brook  trout  is  a 
near  relative,  and  is,  like  it,  a  charr.  The  charrs  are  separated  from  the 
true  trout  by  the  presence  of  red  or  orange-colored  spots  on  the  sides. 
The  word  "charr"  means  "red"  or  "blood,"  and  since  members  of  the 
genus  Salvelinus  are  usually  marked  with  red  spots  or  are  red  beneath, 
the  group  is  well  named. 

In  addition  to  the  native  trout,  there  are  several  species  which  have 
been  introduced  into  California  streams  from  Europe.  Chief  among 
these  are  the  brown  trout  from  central  Europe  and  the  Loch  Leven 
trout  from  Scotland. 


ins 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 


Cutthroat  Series. 

The  native  lake  trout  in  the  larger  Lakes  of  the  Sierras  and  one  of 
the  stream  trouts  of  northern  and  northwestern  California  are  cut- 
throats.    The  species  now  recognized  are: 

Cutthroat  Trout  (Salmo  clarkii),  in  Pit  River,  Eel  River  and  oilier 
streams  in  Humboldt  and  Del  Norte  counties. 

Tahoe  Trout   (Salmo  henshawi),  in  Lake  Tahoe,  Dormer,  Webber, 

and  Independence  lakes  and  tributary  streams.     Included  under  lids 
name  are  several  tront  which  have  been  described  as  distinct  species. 

Royal  Silver  Trout  (Salmo  regalis),  in  Lake  Tahoe. 


Fig.   36.     Cutthroat  trout    (Salmo  clarhii). 
Charrs. 

The  Dolly  Varden  (Salvdinus  parkei)  is  the  only  eharr  native  to 
California  streams.  Its  distribution  in  this  stale  is  limited  to  the 
McCloud  River.  The  introduced  Eastern  brook  trout  (Salueliwus 
fontindlis)  and  the  Mackinaw  Trout  (Cristivomer  namaycush)  are  the 

only  other  charrs  found  here. 

Rainbow  Series. 

Most  of  the  native  trout  found  in  California  belong  to  this  series. 
The  following  eight  species  are  here  recognized  as  belonging  to  the 
Rainbow  Series. 

Shasta  Rainbow  (Salmo  shasta),  in  the  upper  Sacramento  and 
McCloud  rivers. 

Noshee  or  Stone  Trout  (Salmo  stonei),  in  the  McCloud  River. 

Gilbert  Rainbow  (Salmo  gilberti),  in  the  Kings  and  Kern  rivers. 

South  Fork  of  Kern  Golden  Trout  (Salmo  agua-bonita  .  native  only 
to  the  South  Pork  of  the  Kern,  and  from  Cottonwood  Creek-  and  the 
Cottonwood  Lakes  into  which  it  has  been  introduced. 

Golden  Trout  or  Roosevelt  Trout  (Salmo  roosevelti),  native  only  to 
Volcano  Creek. 

Soda  Creek  or  Little  Kern  Trout  (Sal mo  wkitei),  native  to  the 
Little  Kern  and  other  western  tributaries  of  Kern  River. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME.  109 

San  Gorgonio  Trout  (Salmo  evermanni),  known  only  from  the 
streams  about  San  Gorgonio  Peak,  southern  California. 

Nelson  Trout  (Salmo  nelsoni),  known  only  from  the  San  Pedro 
Martir  Mountains  of  Lower  California. 

There  is  a  trout,  apparently  of  the  Rainbow  Series,  in  the  Klamath 
River  which  fish  culturists  believe  to  be  different  from  any  of  the 
above,  which  has  not  yet  been  described.  There  is  still  another  in 
Burney  Creek,  Shasta  County,  which  also  remains  to  be  described. 

Introduced  Trout. 

As  a  result  of  hatchery  operations  the  following  non-native  trouts 
are  to  be  found  in  California  streams : 

Brown  Trout  (Salmo  fario),  a  native  of  central  Europe. 

Loch  Leven  Trout   (Salmo  trutta  levenensis) ,  a  native  of  Scotland. 

Eastern  Brook  Trout  (Salvelinus  fontinalis) ,  a  native  of  the  Atlantic 
Coast  streams. 

Mackinaw  Trout  (Cristovomer  namaycush) ,  a  native  of  the  larger 
lakes  of  the  northeastern  United  States  and  Canada. 

Size   and   Coloration. 

Size  seems  to  depend  upon  food  supply  and  extent  of  water.  Resi- 
dents of  small  mountain  streams  and  pools  seldom  attain  the  size  of 
individuals  inhabiting  lakes  or  rivers  where  there  is  an  abundant  food 
supply. 

Water  appears  to  have  some  influence  on  the  coloration  of  trout. 
Brackish  or  salt  water  usually  gives  them  a  silvery  color  with  few  or 
no  spots.  Possibly  the  substrata  constitute  the  factor  most  involved 
in  coloration.  Profusely  spotted  trout  are  generally  found  in  clear 
rapid  rivers  or  alpine  pools;  in  large  lakes  with  a  peaty  bottom,  fish 
often  assume  an  almost  uniform  blackish  coloration. 

Sexual  differences  are  not  always  apparent  in  trout  except  in  the 
breeding  season,  at  which  time  the  female  is  usually  a  deeper,  heavier 
fish  and  the  male  a  more  slender  one.  However,  the  male  is  sometimes 
the  brighter  in  color. 

Young  trout  are  all  similarly  barred  with  the  parr-marks  and  are 
difficult  to  identify. 

Trout  Angling. 

The  usual  style  of  fly  fishing  consists  in  wading  the  stream  and 
making  casts  downstream  in  likely  places — at  the  foot  of  riffles,  at  the 
edges  of  stumps,  logs  and  brush,  and  beneath  overhanging  bushes  and 
banks.  On  the  contrary,  the  more  refined,  dry-fly  angler  casts  up- 
stream, presenting  his  fly  in  such  a  manner  that  it  will  float  over  a 
rising  fish.  In  order  to  have  the  flies  float,  they  must  be  dry.  They 
are  oiled  before  using,  and  false  casts  are  made  between  real  casts 
to  remove  the  surplus  moisture. 

Some  fishermen  drag  the  flies  over  the  water  at  the  end  of  each 
cast,  believing  that  the  motion  resembles  that  of  an  insect  endeavoring 


110 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME. 


to  escape  from  the  water.  Sometimes  flies  are  tied  with  head  Inward 
llir  hook-barb  so  that,  on  being  drawn  over  the  water,  the  resistance 
of  their  legs  and  wings  will  cause  them  to  flutter  as  if  alive. 

The  dry-fly  angler  declares  that  the  more  attractive  method  is  to 
allow  the  flies  to  float  quietly,  and  to  enable  them  to  remain  on  the 
surface.  Usually  local  dealers  can  supply  the  best  information  on  the 
proper  flies  to  use. 

When  streams  are  high,  better  results  are  obtained  by  the  use  of 
baits  such  as  prepared  salmon  eggs  or  grasshoppers,  earthworms  and 
helgramites.  In  clearer  water  spinners  may  also  be  used  with  good 
effect. 


F'ig.  37.     Tahoe  trout  (Salmo  henshawi"). 

Trolling  is  the  method  usually  employed  by  fishermen  and  anglers  in 
catching  trout  in  the  larger  lakes.  Similar  equipment  is  used  by 
anglers  in  taking  the  so-called  steelhead  at  river  mouths.  But  these 
methods  are  not  practiced  by  the  accomplished  angler. 

"Along  the  lower  courses  of  the  rivers  and  on  the  lakes,  especially 
off  rocky  points  where  the  rapidly  shelving  bottom  brings  the  deep 
water  near  shore,  a  crude  method  of  bait  casting  is  successfully 
employed  in  taking  large  trout.  The  large  trout  seldom  rise  to  the 
artificial  fly  except  at  times  in  the  high  Sierras.  The  same  species 
when  living  in  the  rivers  and  in  their  rapid  and  cool  tributaries  furnish 
excellent  sport  for  the  angler.  All  recommend  small  flies,  12  to  16,  and 
not  in  great  variety.  Many  of  the  smaller  streams  are  so  closely  lined 
with  dense  brush  as  to  make  fly  fishing  quite  out  of  the  question. 
Here  the  angler  should  provide  himself  with  a  short  bait  rod,  use 
worms  and  grasshoppers. ' ' — Snyder. 

As  has  been  pointed  out  in  many  an  article,  the  prime  rules  of  fly 
fishing  are: 

1.  Fish  in  streams  where  trout  are  found.  Those  streams  not  easily 
accessible  are  always  best,  for  they  are  not  depleted. 

2.  Move  cautiously  and  noiselessly  in  order  not  to  frighten  the  fish. 

3.  Drop  the  fly  on  the  water  "as  if  it  hated  to  get  wet"  or,  in  other 
words,  simulate  the  natural  dropping  of  an  insect  on  the  water. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME.  Ill 


KEY  TO  CALIFORNIA  SPECIES  OF  TROUT. 

a.  Species  anadromous,  entering  coastal  streams  for  spawning-  purposes;  color  silvery; 

aa.  Species  not  anadromous;   size  smaller. 

size  large Steelhead   (Salmo  gairdneri).     Page  112 

b.  Scales  typically  large  (except  in  the  Golden  trouts),  about  130  in  a  cross-series 
(varying  from  120  to  180);  little  or  no  red  on  throat;  usually  a  rosy  or  yellow- 
ish lateral  band;  mouth  small,  maxillary  2  to  2.5  in  head;  no  hyoid  teeth;  size 
small. 
c.  No  extensive  lemon  yellow  on  sides  below  lateral  line. 

d.  Body  elongate;  color  rosy  or  silvery,  especially  on  side;   spots  small 

Rainbow  Trout   (Salmo  irideus).     Page  112 

dd.  Body  rather  deep. 

e.  A  reddish  lateral  band. 

f.  Black  spots  largely  restricted  to  the  back,  few  below  median  line. 

g.  Vomerine  teeth  in  a  single  zig-zag  series 

McCloud  River  Trout  (Salmo  shasta).     Page  115 

gg.  Vomerine  teeth  in  two  irregular  series 

Noshee  Trout   (Salmo   stonei).     Page  116 

ff.  Entire  body  and  all  fins  profusely  black-spotted 

Kern   River  Trout  (Salmo  gilberti).     Page  118 

fff.  Heavily  and  uniformly  spotted;  fawn  brown  on  sides 

: San    Gorgonio   Trout    (Salmo    evermanni).     Page  117 

ee.  A  greenish   lateral   band 

Eagle  Lake  Trout  (Salmo  aquilarum).     Page  116 

cc.  Extensive  lemon  yellow  or  orange  on  sides  and  belly. 

h.  Back  and  upper  two-thirds  of  sides  covered  rather  closely  with 
small    black    spots;     lower    third    of    side,     except    on    caudal 

peduncle,  without  spots Golden  Trout  of  the 

Little    Kern,   or   Soda    Creek   Trout    (Salmo   whitei).     Page  121 

hh.  Back  and  upper  one- third  of  side  sparsely  black  spotted;  lower 

two-thirds  of  side,  except  on  caudal  peduncle,  entirely  without 

spots  - Golden 

Trout  South    Fork  of   Kern    (Salmo  agua-bonita).  Page  123 

hhh.  Back,  head,  and  entire  side,  except  on  caudal  peduncle,  entirely 

without  spots;  a  few  spots  on  the  caudal  peduncle 

Roosevelt  Trout  (Salmo  roosevelti).     Page  124 

bb.  Scales  small,  usually  about  150-200  in  crosswise  series;  red  marks  under  dentary 
bones  always  present;  mouth  large,  the  maxillary  1.6  to  2.25  in  head;  hyoid 
teeth  present;  irregularly  and  profusely  scattered. 

i.  Black  spots  encroaching  somewhat  on  belly 

Cutthroat  Trout    (Salmo  clarkii).     Page  127 

ii.  Black  spots  sparsely  scattered 

Tahoe    Trout    (Salmo    henshawi).     Page  127 

iii.  No  black  spots;  back  bluish  or  greenish 

, Royal   Silver  Trout    (Salmo  regalis).     Page  129 

lil.li.   Scales  so  small  as  to  be  almost  invisible,  200-250  in  lateral  series;   no  red  on 
throat. 

j.  Sides  with  red  SDOts. 

k.  Back   unspotted,    strongly    marbled    with    dark   olive    or 

Eastern"  Brook  Trout   (Salvelinus  fontinalis).     Page  130 
kk.  Back  not  marbled  with  olive  or  black;  but  spotted  with 

red   or   orange 

Dolly  Varden  Trout  (Salvelinus  parkei).     Page  129 

jj.  Back  and  sides  with  gray  spots 

Mackinaw  Trout  (Cristivomer  namaycush).     Page  133 

bbbb.  Scales  very  large,  11S-130  in  lateral  series;  introduced  species. 

1.  Adipose  fin  large,  its  width  much  more  than  half  its 

length Brown  Trout  (Salmo  fario).     Page  131 

11.  Adipose  fin  small,  its  width  one-half  its  length 

Loch   Leven  Trout    (Salmo  trutta  levenensis).     Page  132 


112  CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    (iAMK. 

NATIVE  SPECIES. 

Steelhead  Series. 

STEELHEAD. 
Salmo  gairdneri   Richardson. 

Other  names:  Steelhead  Trout;  Steelhead  Salmon;  Salmon  Trout;  Hardhead. 

Description:  Head  in  length  to  base  of  tail  fin  4.5  to  5;  depth  4..r, ;  eye  4.5  in 
head;  dorsal  11;  anal  11  or  12;  branchiostegals  11  or  12;  scales  usually  about 
30-150-28,  the  cross-series  varying  from  130  to  180;  pyloric  caeca  42;  gill- 
rakers,  8  +  12;  vertebrae  38+20.  Body  rather  stout,  the  caudal  peduncle  thick; 
head  rather  short  and  slender,  only  about  twice  length  of  maxillary;  eye  small; 
teeth  small,  those  on  vomer  in  two  long,  alternating  series  which  are  about  as 
long  as  the  palatine  series;  no  hyoid  teeth.  Tail  wide,  squarely  truncate  in  the 
adult,  emarginate  in  the  young.  Color  olive-green  above,  silvery  on  sides  and 
belly;  head,  back,  and  dorsal  and  caudal  fins  more  or  less  closely  covered  with 
small  black  spots.  During  the  breeding  season,  side  with  a  broad  rosy  or 
flesh-colored  lateral  band,  deep  rosy  on  the  cheek,  this  often  remaining  through 
the  year;  fins  not  red;  no  red  on  lower  jaw. 

Marks  for  field  identification:  Large  size;  small  head;  large  scales;  bright 
silvery  color;  absence  of  red  on  lower  jaw. 

Distribution  in  California:  The  steelhead  enters  coastwise  streams  from 
Ventura  River  northward,  ascending  to  their  headwaters  for  spawning  purposes 
and  then  returning  to  the  sea. 

The  steelhead  is  more  or  less  anadromous  in  its  habits,  it  being 
migratory  like  the  salmon,  spending  much  of  its  time  in  salt  water, 
and  ascending  freshwater  streams  at  spawning  time.  It  enters  prac- 
tically all  the  coastal  streams  of  California  from  Ventura  County  on 
the  south  to  the  Oregon  line;  also  from  there  to  Skagway  and  Sitka. 
Many  of  the  streams  on  the  California  coast  are  famous  for  their 
steelhead;  special  mention  may  be  made  of  Ventura  River,  the  Santa 
Ynez,  Santa  Maria,  those  entering  Monterey  Bay,  and  all  the  streams 
north  of  San  Francisco,  particularly  the  Russian,  the  Klamath,  and 
the  Eel. 

As  a  game  fish  the  steelhead  is  a  favorite  with  the  anglers.  Its  game 
qualities,  together  with  its  large  size,  make  this  one  of  the  fishes  mosl 
soughl  after  by  the  followers  of  good  old  Isaak  Walton.  When  in  fresh 
water  it  will  not  only  take  the  trolling  spoon,  but  it  will  rise  readily 
to  the  fly. 

The  steelhead  is  an  excellent  food  fish,  and  its  large  size  and 
abundance  make  it  a  fish  of  considerable  commercial  value.  It  is  an 
important  fish  in  the  fish  cultural  operations  of  California  and  of 
other  Pacific  Coast  states  and  the  federal  government.  It  has  been 
introduced  into  Lake  Superior  and  is  now  an  abundant  and  much 
prized  game  fish  in  that  lake  and  its  tributary  streams. 

The  fact  that  most  ichthyologists  and  many  anglers  regard  steelheads 
simply  as  sea-run  individuals  of  rainbow  trout  has  not  escaped  our 
minds,  and  we  ourselves  are  inclined  to  accept  that  view.  Nevertheless 
we  know  that  in  some  places,  they  are  entirely  distinct  and  easily 
distinguishable.  At  any  rate,  Ave  deem  it  best  for  our  present  purposes 
to  treat  the  steelhead  as  a  distinct  species. 

RAINBOW   TROUT. 
Salmo   irideus  Gibbons. 
Other    names:    Mountain   Trout;    Speckled   Trout;    Brook   Trout;    California 
Trout.      Sea -run   form:    Steelhead;    Steelhead    Salmon;    Salmon    Trout;    Salmo 
rirularis,  in  part;  Salmo  gairdneri,  in  part. 


oa 


o 

■a   S 

S   £ 

C 


^3 


■^ 
52 

H 
D 
C 
PC 
H 

Q 
< 
W 

X 

w 

H 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME.  113 

Description:  Head  3.8;  depth  about  4;  eye  4.83  in  head,  1.4  in  snout;  snout  3.6; 
D.  10;  A.  11;  scales  24-130-20,  about  70  series  in  front  of  dorsal,  counting  along 
median  line,  or  60  if  rows  along  upper  side  are  counted;  branchiostegals  11; 
gillrakers  8  +  13,  rather  long  and  slender.  Head  pointed,  mouth,  rather  large, 
maxillary  extending  to  posterior  margin  of  eye,  1.8  in  head,  with  about  20  teeth; 
preorbital  very  narrow,  the  maxillary  almost  touching  the  orbit;  several  large 
teeth  along  side  of  tongue;  no  hyoid  teeth;  teeth  on  vomer  in  zig-zag  series; 
origin  of  dorsal  at  middle  of  length;  origin  of  anal  midway  between  that  of 
dorsal  and  base  of  caudal;  caudal  broad,  nearly  truncate.  Color,  on  the  back  a 
deep  dark-blue  ultramarine  of  a  peculiar  transparency,  dotted  with  small  round 
black  spots  about  the  size  of  a  pin  head;  side  abruptly  brighter,  with  many 
scales  silvery;  lower  parts  white;  sides,  top  of  head,  dorsal,  and  caudal  fins 
covered  with  very  small  spots;  pectorals  and  ventrals  nearly  colorless,  without 
spots;   adipose  fin  with  two  spots;   no  red  on  lower  jaw. 

Marks  for  field  identification:  Rainbow  trout  usually  have  a  great  many 
spots,  which  are  more  or  less  obscured  by  a  silvery  sheen  in  the  sea-run 
examples.  Average  specimens  are  from  4  to  12  inches  in  length  and  weigh  as 
much  as  6  or  7  pounds,  but  average  3  or  4.  Sea-run  examples  sometimes 
weigh  25  pounds.  Prom  the  cutthroat  trout  the  rainbow  may  be  known  by  its 
larger  scales,  brighter  coloration,  and  by  the  absence  of  red  on  the  throat. 
The  comparatively  large  scales  (120-150)  distinguish  the  true  rainbow  from 
the  species  found  in  the  McCloud  and  Kern  rivers. 

Distribution:  Native  in  all  coastal  streams  and  most  streams  of  the  interior, 
especially  those  of  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierras.  Introduced  in  many  lakes 
and  streams  of  the  state  formerly  barren  of  fish  life. 

The  rainbow  runs  upstream  in  early  spring  to  spawn,  leaping  over 
waterfalls  and  entering  the  small  streams  forming  the  headwaters. 
Here  the  eggs  are  deposited  in  the  sand  and  the  young  are  hatched  out. 


Fig.   3S.     Young  steelhead  trout.      All  young  trout  have  black  bars  on  the  sides, 

which  arc  known  as  parr  marks. 

By  far  the  largest  output  of  the  state  hatcheries  is  composed  of 
rainbow  trout,  and  there  is  good  reason,  for  this  is  considered  the 
best  game  fish  of  all  and  it  is  most  highly  prized  by  anglers.  The 
rainbow  often  leaves  the  water  in  its  eagerness  to  take  a  fly.  In  fact, 
so  readily  does  it  take  a  fly  that  there  is  seldom  need  to  resort  to  bait 
or  other  lures. 

This  trout  has  thriven  almost  everywhere,  having  been  introduced 
into  New  Zealand,  Japan,  Europe,  and  the  eastern  United  States. 

The  rainbow  varies  in  coloring  according  to  age,  sex,  and  location. 
Those  individuals  which  are  able  to  reach  the  sea  spend  part  of  each 
year  there,  returning  to  the  freshwater  stream  a  larger  and  more 
silvery-colored  fish  commonly  called  steelhead.  Spawning  fish  travel 
far  up  the  coastal  streams  and  spawn  high  up  in  the  small  tributaries. 
Their  habits  in  this  regard  are  more  like  those  of  the  salmon  than  those 
2— 46ns 


114  CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME. 

of  a  trout.  Unlike  the  salmon,  however,  the  sledhead  does  not  as  a 
rule  die  after  once  spawning. 

Specimens  returning  from  the  sea  arc  usually  silvery  in  color,  but 
spotting  soon  appears  in  the  Freshwater  stream.  Because  of  its  large 
size  and  excellent  flavor  the  sea-run  form  is  a  splendid  food  fish.  It  is 
marketed  in  large  quantities  during  the  open  season;  as  a  game  fish 
prized  by  anglers  who  troll  in  the  bays  and  river  mouths  along  the 
northern  coast. 

"In  beauty  of  color,  gracefulness  of  form  and  movement,  sprightliness 
when  in  the  water,  reckless  dash  with  which  it  springs  from  the  water 
to  meet  the  descending  fly  ere  it  strikes  the  surface,  and  the  mad  and 
repeated  leaps  from  the  water  when  hooked,  the  rainbow  trout  must 
ever  hold  a  very  high  rank.  The  gamest  fish  we  have  ever  seen  was  a 
16-inch  rainbow  taken  on  a  fly  in  a  small  spring  branch  tributary  of 
Williamson  River  in  southern  Oregon.  It  was  in  a  broad  and  deep 
pool  of  exceedingly  clear  water.  As  the  angler  from  behind  a  clump 
of  willows  made  the  cast  the  trout  bounded  from  the  water  and  met 
the  fly  in  the  air  a  foot  or  more  above  the  surface ;  missing  it  he  dropped 
upon  the  water  only  to  turn  about  and  strike  viciously  a  second  time  at 
the  fly  just  as  it  touched  the  surface;  though  he  again  missed  the  fly 
the  hook  caught  him  in  the  lower  jaw  from  the  outside,  and  then  began 
a  fight  which  would  delight  the  heart  of  any  angler.  His  first  effort 
was  to  reach  the  bottom  of  the  pool,  then,  doubling  upon  the  line,  he 
made  three  jumps  from  the  water  in  quick  succession,  clearing  the 
surface  in  each  instance  from  1  to  4  feet,  and  every  time  doing  his 
utmost  to  free  himself  from  the  hook  by  shaking  his  head  as  vigorously 
as  a  dog  shakes  a  rat.  Then  he  would  rush  wildly  about  in  the  large 
pool,  now  attempting  to  go  down  over  the  riffle  below  the  pool,  now 
trying  the  opposite  direction,  and  often  striving  to  hide  under  one  or 


Fig.   39.     Rainbow  trout  taken   in  Manzanita  Lake,   near  Red  Bluff,  Tehama 

County,  California. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME.  115 

the  other  of  the  banks.  It  was  easy  to  handle  the  fish  when  the  dash 
was  made  up  or  down  stream  or  for  the  opposite  side,  but  when  he 
turned  about  and  made  a  rush  for  the  protection  of  the  overhanging 
bank  upon  which  the  angler  stood,  it  was  not  easy  to  keep  the  line 
taut.  Movements  such  as  these  were  frequently  repeated  and  two 
more  leaps  were  made.  But  finally  he  was  worn  out  after  as  honest  a 
fight  as  trout  ever  made. 

"The  rainbow  takes  the  fly  so  readily  that  there  is  no  reason  for 
resorting  to  grasshoppers,  salmon  eggs,  or  ether  bait.  It  is  a  fish  whose 
gameness  will  satisfy  the  most  exacting  of  expert  anglers  and  whose 
readiness  to  take  any  proper  lure  will  please  the  most  impatient  of 
amateurs."     (Evermann.) 

Spawning  takes  place  in  winter  and  early  spring,  varying  with  tem- 
perature and  locality.  The  bulk  of  the  eggs  are  usually  taken  in 
February,  March,  and  April,  although  spawning  continues  through 
May  in  the  mountain  districts.  The  average  yield  from  each  female 
is  about  900  eggs.  A  few  of  the  females  spawn  when  three  years  old, 
but  about  one-half  of  them  begin  at  four  years.  The  egg  is  from  one- 
fifth  to  two-ninths  of  an  inch  in  diameter;  it  has  a  pink  color  when 
first  taken,  becoming  darker  before  hatching.  The  rainbow  feeds  on 
worms,  insect  larvae,  and  salmon  eggs.  In  streams  in  which  the  salmon 
and  rainbow  exist  together,  the  rainbow  is  more  destructive  to  the 
salmon  eggs  than  any  other  species  except  the  Dolly  Varden. 

McCLOUD    RIVER  TROUT. 

Salmo  shasta  Jordan. 

Other  names:  Shasta  Trout;  Shasta  Rainbow.  Salmo  gairdncri  shasta;  Salmo 
irideus  shasta. 

Description:  Head  4;  depth  3.8;  eye  5;  D.  11;  A.  11;  scales  20  to  24-145-20, 
about  65  before  the  dorsal.  Body  comparatively  short  and  deep,  compressed, 
varying  considerably,  and  much  more  elongate  in  males  than  in  females;  head 
short,  convex,  obtusely  ridged  above;  mouth  smaller  than  in  most  species  of 
trout,  the  rather  broad  maxillary  scarcely  reaching  beyond  the  eye,  except  in 
old  males;  eye  large,  about  one-fifth  length  of  head;  vomerine  teeth  in  two 
irregular  series;  dorsal  fin  moderate;  caudal  fin  distinctly  though  not  strongly 
forked,  more  deeply  incised  than  in  the  typical  cutthroat.  Color,  bluish  above, 
the  sides  silvery;  everywhere  above  profusely  but  irregularly  spotted,  the 
spots  extending  on  the  sides  at  least  to  the  lateral  line,  and  covering  the  vertical 
fins;  top  of  head  well  spotted;  fins  usually  not  red;  much  red  or  rosy  on  cheeks 
and  opercles;  belly  partly  red  in  males;  side  with  a  broad  but  more  or  less 
interrupted  red  lateral  band,  brightest  in  males.     (Jordan  and  Evermann.) 

Marks  for  field  identification:  Differs  from  other  rainbow  trout,  Avith  the 
exception  of  that  in  the  Klamath  River,  in  its  larger  size,  smaller  mouth  and 
larger  eyes.  Scales  are  intermediate  in  size  between  cutthroat  and  sea-run 
rainbow  (steelhead),  about  145  in  transverse  series.  Caudal  fin  more  deeply 
incised  than  in  typical  cutthroat. 

Distribution:  McCloud  River  and  streams  of  the  Sierras  from  Mount  Shasta 
southward  at  least  to  Calaveras  County. 

This  rainbow  lives  in  water  with  a  comparatively  high  temperature 
if  it  is  plentiful  and  running  with  a  strong  current ;  but  in  sluggish 
water,  even  when  the  temperature  is  considerably  lower,  no  species  will 
do  well.  This  species  appears  to  inhabit  the  rapids  more  largely  than 
the  slow-moving  water.  The  spawning  season  in  California  extends 
from  early  February  to  May.  Males  are  good  breeders  at  two  years 
old,  but  the  females  rarely  produce  eggs  until  the  third  season.  It  may 
lack  a  little  in  the  wild  gaminess  of  the  typical  rainbow,  but  that  is 


116 


<   \ur<»u\l.\    PISH    AND   GAME. 


made  good  by  its  larger  size.     It  is  largely  an  insed  feeder  and.  there- 
fore, a  favorite  of  the  fly  fisherman. 

Tins  is  the  rainbow  which  has  been  most  widely  used  in  fish  cultural 
operations  and  lias  been  more  widely  distributed  than  any  other  variety; 

NOSHEE   TROUT. 

Salmo   stonei   Jordan. 

Other  names:  Nissuee  Trout;  Stone's  Trout;  Nissui  Trout;  Salmo  irideus 
stonei. 

Description:  Depth  4;  A.  11;  eye  4.5;  maxillary  about  2;  pectoral  1.3;  scales 
llo  to  155,  about  82  before  the  dorsal,  where  they  are  small  and  embedded; 
teeth  fewer  and  smaller  than  in  the  Shasta  trout,  those  on  the  vomer  in  a 
single  zig-zag  series.  Color,  upper  parts  plain  greenish;  spots  few  and  confined 
chiefly  to  the  posterior  part  of  body;  spots  small  and  sparse  on  dorsal,  adipose 
and  caudal  fins;  a  red  lateral  band  usually  distinct;  cheeks  and  opercles  with 
red;  no  red  on  throat.     (Jordan  and  Evermann) 

Marks  for  field  identification:  Much  larger  than  typical  rainbow,  reaching  a 
weight  of  10  to  12  pounds;  teeth  are  fewer  and  smaller  than  those  of  typical 
rainbow. 

Distribution:  Upper  Sacramento  Basin,  especially  in  the  McCloud  River  above 
Baird. 

Voracious.     Little  is  known  about  this  trout. 


Fig.  40.  Trout  spawning.  The  female  ran  lie  seen  at  the  left  digging  up  the 
sand  preparatory  to  depositing  eggs.  The  male  is  shown  at  the  right.  Photograph 
bj   .1.  il.  Gyger,  taken  on  Orchard  Creek,  San  Bernardino  Mountains,  April  25,  L916. 


EAGLE  LAKE  TROUT. 
Salmo   aquilarum   Snyder. 
Other  names:    Salmo  clarkii,   in   part. 

Description:  Head  4.2  in  length  to  base  of  caudal;  depth  4.2;  depth  of  caudal 
peduncle  9.8;  eye  7.5  in  head;  interorbital  space  3;  snout  3.5;  maxillary  1.9; 
height  of  dorsal  6.5  in  length;  adipose  fin  12.5;  length  of  caudal  4.8;  pectoral  5.6; 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 


117 


ventral  7.5;  height  of  anal  6.9;  scales  in  lateral  series  136.  Body  deep;  caudal 
peduncle  robust;  head  rather  pointed;  maxillary  broad  and  long:,  extending  far 
beyond  posterior  border  of  eye;  edge  of  opercle  3.8  in  head.  Branchiostegals  11. 
Gillrakers  18,  rather  thick  at  base,  pointed  at  tips,  and  decidedly  sickle-shaped. 
Vomerine  teeth  in  three  series  in  front,  the  middle  ones  extending  backward ; 
teeth  of  palatines,  mamillaries,  and  mandibles  in  a  single  series;  glossohyal  with 
teeth;  basi-branchials  without  teeth.  Scales  large  and  deeply  embedded;  pores 
in  lateral  line  120;  series  of  scales  above  lateral  line,  counting  upward  and  for- 
ward to  a  point  just  before  dorsal,  29.  Scales  of  nape  minute  and  closely 
crowded  as  are  those  of  throat  and  abdomen.  Axillary  scales  of  ventral  small, 
equal  in  length  to  vertical  diameter  of  eye,  sharply  pointed.  Dorsal  rays  11, 
edge  of  fine  concave;  adipose  dorsal  very  large,  broad  and  thick;  caudal  broad 
and  strong,  the  posterior  edge  slightly  concave,  the  lower  lobe  a  little  longer 
than  the  upper;  anal  ray  11,  edge  of  fin  somewhat  concave;  pectorals  strong 
and  rather  pointed;    ventrals  obtusely  pointed. 

Marks  for  field  identification:  Distinguished  from  other  trouts  of  the  Sierras 
by  the  robust  body  with  a  deep  caudal  peduncle  and  large  and  strong  fins, 
conspicuous  adipose  fin,  large  scales,  and  the  red  color  of  cheeks  and  coppery 
red  of  under  parts.  The  flesh  is  deep  red,  very  firm  and  fatty,  far  superior  to 
that  of  the  Tahoe  Trout. 

Distribution:  Eagle  Lake  and  its  tributary,  Pine  Creek. 

The  animal  spawning  migration  occurs  in  May,  when  apparently 
the  entire  trout  population  of  the  lake  attempts  to  move  up  Pine 
Creek.  It  is  said  that  anglers  do  not  succeed  in  catching  trout  in  Eagle 
Lake,  their  failure  being  attributed  to  either  a  scarcity  of  fish  or  an 
abundance  of  food.      (Snyder.) 


Fig.   41.     San   Gorgonio   trout    ( Salmo   evermanni).       Found   only   in   the   upper   Santa 
Ana  River,  Mount  San  Gorgonio,  southern  California. 


SAN    GORGONIO  TROUT. 
Salmo  evermanni  Jordan  &  Grinnell. 

Other   names:    Evermann   Trout:    San   Bernardino   Rainbow  Trout. 

Description:  Length  of  type,  an  adult  male  (as  measured  when  first  caught), 
11.63  inches;  head  measured  along  side  2.75  inches.  Head  3.63  in  length  to  base 
of  caudal,  the  jaws  being  somewhat  produced;  depth  of  body  4.7;  eye  6.5  in 
head;  maxillary  1.75  in  head;  dorsal  with  10  rays,  anal  with  10;  34  scales 
between  base  of  dorsal  and  lateral  line,  167  oblique  rows  crossing  lateral  line, 
and  33  scales  between  lateral  line  and  vent.  Snout  (from  eye)  3.3  in  head; 
anal  2  in  head;  ventral  2.2  in  head;  pectoral  1.37  in  head;  dorsal  1.57  in  head. 
Caudal  distinctly  emarginate,  or  lunate.  Vomerine  teeth  in  two  straight  rows; 
hyoid  teeth  present,  though  buried  in  mucus;  Maxillary  extending  well  beyond 
eye,  so  that  the  mouth  is  relatively  large.  In  the  female,  the  head  is  shorter 
and  the  maxillary  1.8  in  head.  Coloration,  very  dark  fawn-brown,  the  spots 
unusually  large  and  covering  the  whole  length  of  the  body,  none  of  the  brilliant 
hues  of  Salmo  agua-oonita,  roosevelti  or  whitei,  nor  oven  the  crimson  of  irideus. 
Ground  fawn-color  along  sides;  varying  toward  seal  brown  dorsally;  a  large 
patch  of  same  color  on  cheek;  lower  parts  lighter  (fresh  tints  unknown,  but 
no  red  in  throat  region  shown  in  the  specimens) ;  black  spotting  conspicuous, 
the  spots  evenly  distributed,  very  large,  on  sides  posteriorly  the  size  of  pupil 


118 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME. 


or  larger,  smaller  on  top  of  head;  25  on  dorsal  fin,  mostly  In  four  rows;  caudal 
fin  nearly  as  distinctly  spotted  as  sides,  with  spots  more  closely  set.  Younger 
individuals  are  somewhat  lighter,  but  yet  considerably  darker  than  iridcus  of 
the  same  size,  and  the  other  characteristics  seem  to  be  constant. 

Marks  for  field  identification:  Differs  from  the  rainbow  in  small  size  and 
slightly  different  coloration.  As  compared  with  Salmo  iritlais.  Salmo  evermanni 
is  slenderer,  especially  dorso-ventrally;  the  head  is  longer,  the  snout  sharper, 
and  mouth  larger;  the  scales  are  very  much  smaller  and  more  numerous,  not 
overlapping;  the  colors  are  dull  and  very  dark,  and  the  spotting  is  heavy. 

Distribution:  Upper  Santa  Ana  River  in  the  San  Bernardino  Mountains  of 
southern  California. 

Habits  similar  to  other  rainbows.  It  is  probable  that  the  San 
Bernardino  trout  is  the  older  species  in  the  region  where  found,  and 
owes  its  preservation  as  a  distinct  species,  and  perhaps  the  accentuation 
of  its  characters,  to  isolation  afforded  by  the  barrier  which  prevents 


the  invasion  of  the  rainbow  trout 
remote  history  of  the  stream,  the 
become  more  effective,  so  that  the 
trout  was  originally  able  to  ascend 
habitat.     (Jordan  and  Grinnell.) 


from  the  lower  stream,  In  the 
falls  have  doubtless  shifted  and 
ancestral  stock  of  San  Gorgon io 
to  its  present  remote  and  limited 


Fig.   42.     Eagle  Lake  trout  (Salmo  aquilarum).      Found  only  in  Eagle  Lake  and 

tributary  streams. 


KERN    RIVER   TROUT. 
Salmo  gilberti  Jordan. 

Other  names:  Gilbert  Trout;  Kern  River  Rainbow  Trout;  Salmo  iridem 
gilberti. 

Description:  Head  4  in  length  to  base  of  caudal;  depth  3.6;  eye  5  in  head; 
snout  4.3;  maxillary  1.6;  mandible  1.3;  preorbital  20;  scales  small,  about  165  in 
lateral  line;  dorsal  fin  with  14  rays;  anal  12.  Body  stout,  moderately  com- 
pressed, deepest  slightly  in  front  of  dorsal;  head  long,  conic,  snout  pointed; 
mouth  large,  maxillary  long  and  narrow,  reaching  more  than  an  eye's  diameter 
beyond  the  eye;  mandible  slightly  curved;  teeth  on  lower  jaw  rather  strong, 
wide-set,  in  a  single  series,  those  on  maxillary  strongest;  caudal  peduncle  stout, 
its  least  depth  equal  to  snout  and  eye.  Fins  all  well  developed;  origin  of  dorsal 
midway  between  tip  of  snout  and  base  of  tail,  the  longest  ray  nearly  two  in  head, 
base  of  fin  slightly  greater  than  height;  caudal  broad,  truncate,  the  lobes  equal, 
exceeding  height  of  dorsal;  base  of  anal  equaling  height  of  dorsal;  origin  of 
ventrals  somewhat  posterior  to  that  of  dorsal  and  much  nearer  base  of  caudal 
than  tip  of  snout,  longest  ventral  ray  equal  to  longest  dorsal  ray;  longest 
pectoral  ray  exceeding  by  one-fourth  the  height  of  dorsal. 

Color  in  life,  head,  body,  and  fins  everywhere  profusely  and  rather  uniformly 
covered  with  small  black  spots,  those  on  body  stellate,  those  on  fins  oblong, 
those  on  head  roundish  and  more  sparse;  inner  half  of  ventrals  with  the  anterior 
rays  white  at  tip;  adipose  dorsal  olivaceous  with  three  or  four  black  spots;  side 
broadly  rich  rosy  red,  broadest  and  brightest  near  middle,  least  distinct  on 
caudal   peduncle;    lower  half  of  side  slightly  pink  and  pale  bluish;    belly  with 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME.  119 

slight  irregular  wash  of  old  gold  on  dirty-white  ground  color;  back  and  upper 
part  of  side  olivaceous  with  fine  yellow,  orange,  or  lemon  specks;  cheeks  and 
opercles  rich  rosy;  little  or  no  red  on  throat,  no  dash  on  membrane  between 
rami  of  lower  jaw;  few  spots  on  side  of  head;  top  of  head  olive  green,  well 
covered  with  round  black  spots. 

This  description  is  from  an  example  (male)  18.25  inches  long,  weighing  3.5 
pounds,  taken  by  the  senior  author  July  19,  1904,  in  Kern  River  about  one-half 
mile  above  Kern  Lake. 

Marks  for  field  identification:  Profusely  and  closely  spotted  over  the  entire 
body,  head,  and  on  all  the  fins,  the  belly  not  so  richly  colored.  It  is  similar  to 
the  McCloud  River  trout,  but  has  smaller  scales,  about  165  in  a  transverse 
series.  There  is  usually  a  distinct  whitish  tipping  to  the  dorsal,  ventral  and 
anal  fins. 

Distribution:  Kern,  and  probably  Kings,  Merced  and  other  rivers  of  the 
southern  Sierras.  This  species  is  abundant  in  Kern  Lake  and  in  the  river  for 
some  miles  below  the  lake,  but  of  this  we  have  no  personal  knowledge,  as  no 
collecting  has  been  done  below  the  lake.  As  a  rule,  the  fish  taken  from  the 
river  are  more  deeply  and  brightly  colored  and  decidedly  more  gamey  than 
those  from  the  lake.  During  the  spawning  season  early  in  the  spring  the  fish 
are  found  chiefly  in  the  river,  but  after  the  spawning  has  been  completed  they 
tend  to  run  down  into  the  lake,  where  they  become  less  active  and  less  highly 
colored.  Large  examples  from  the  lake  are,  as  a  rule,  more  slender  than  those 
from  the  river,  probably  on  account  of  the  fact  that  those  from  the  lake  are  all 
spent  fish. 

The  Kern  River  trout  is  a  beautiful  fish,  well  built  and  symmetrical, 
and  very  rich  in  coloration  when  in  prime  condition.  As  a  game  fish 
it  will  stand  easily  among  the  best,  but,  as  already  stated,  in  the  river  it 
greatly  excels  those  of  its  kind  in  the  lake.  It  usually  takes  the  fiy  quite 
freely,  and  will,  of  course,  take  all  sorts  of  live  or  cut  bait.  We  have 
taken  these  trout  "with  the  artificial  fly,  with  grasshoppers  (which 
they  greatly  preferred),  and  with  pieces  of  fish  or  other  meat.  The 
large  example  from  which  the  colored  plate  was  made  was  first  tried 
with  a  gray  hackle,  to  which  he  rose  once  and  then  paid  no  more 
attention  to  it.  A  larger,  plain  hook  and  a  good-sized  grasshopper 
were  substituted,  with  better  results.  Scarcely  had  the  lure  touched 
the  water  when  he  rose  and  struck  most  viciously,  only  to  miss  it,  then 
turn  and  strike  more  viciously  than  before.  This  time  the  hook  caught 
inside  the  mouth  just  under  the  middle  of  maxillary,  and  then  began 
a  fight  that  would  delight  a  better  angler  than  I.  He  first  circled  about 
in  a  wide  curve,  then  jumped  twice,  clearing  the  water  beautifully  each 
time ;  circled  again,  went  to  the  bottom  in  water  ten  feet  deep,  came  to 
the  surface  and  jumped  again,  after  which  no  more  leaps  were  made, 
but  he  continued  dashing  about  until  finally  brought  to  net."  (Ever- 
mann.) 

THE  GOLDEN  TROUT  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

The  golden  trout  of  California  are,  so  far  as  known,  found  only  in 
the  headwaters  of  the  Kern  River,  all  in  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Whitney. 
To  be  sure,  through  the  activities  of  the  California  Fish  and  Game 
Commission  and  other  agencies,  their  original  distribution  has  been 
somewhat  extended  by  transplanting. 

Four  species  of  trout  are  now  recognized  as  native  to  the  upper  Kern 
River  basin,  namely:  the  Kern  River  trout  or  Gilbert  trout  (Salmo 
gilberti),  the  Soda  Creek  or  White's  golden  trout  (Salmo  ivhitei),  the 
South  Fork  of  Kern  golden  trout  (Salmo  agua-bonita),  and  the  Roose- 
velt trout  or  golden  trout  of  Volcano  Creek  (Salmo  roosevelii).  All 
except  the  Gilbert  trout  are  of  the  golden  trout  type. 


120  CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 

All  four  of  these  species  belong  to  the  Rainbow  Series,  the  species  of 
which  ;is  a  whole  may  be  distinguished,  with  greater  or  Less  difficulty, 
from  those  of  the  Steelhead  Series  or  sea-run  rainbows  on  the  one 
hand  by  the  usually  brighter  colors,  and  on  the  other  hand,  from  the 
Cutthroal  Scries  by  the  absence  of  a  red  or  scarlel  dash  on  the  throal 
and  the  entire  absence  of  hyoid  teel  a. 

The  three  species  of  golden  troul  differ  as  a  group  from  the  other 
recognized  species  of  the  Rainbow  Scries  in  having  decidedlj  smaller 
scales  and  a  very  brillianl  coloral  ion. 

When  the  first  troul  came  to  the  beautiful  streams  of  the  southern 
High  Sierra  no  one  certainly  knows;  bu1  it  must  have  been  Long,  Long 
ago,  as  men  count  time,  when  melting  ice  filled  the  Valley  of  Death  and 
the  terrible  deserts  of  Panamint  and  Amargosa  with  sweet  waters. 
Long  before  that  time  trout  had  found  their  way  into  the  Rio  Colorado 
and  when  the  ice  came  it  was  not  hard  for  them  to  push  westward  to 
certain  headwaters  of  the  San  Joaquin.  Among  the  first  to  come  were 
some  that  took  up  their  borne  in  the  Great  Kern,  a  wild,  strange  river, 
whose  sources  are  among  the  highest  of  California's  great  mountains 
and  whose  course  for  many  miles  is  almost  meridional  by  the  compass 
through  a  great  canyon  hundreds  of  feel  de<'p  and  marvelous  in  its 
stupendous  grandeur  and  beauty.  In  this  river  the  trout  were  five  to 
roam  about  as  they  liked.  Sometimes  they  would  go  far  down  the 
stream  and  even  out  into  that  wonderful  Tulare  Lake,  then  much  larger 
and  much  colder  than  it  has  ever  been  since.  Then  in  early  spring 
they  would  go  the  other  way,  even  entering  the  tributary  streams  and 
penetrating  to  the  little  rivulets  that  trickle  from  the  flanks  of  the 
great  mountains  and  the  banks  of  snow  that  never  melt. 

The  waters  in  all  these  streams  were  char  and  cold,  and  food  was 
abundant.  Some  of  the  streams  that  came  in  from  the  east  and  others 
from  the  west  already  had  formed  considerable  falls  in  their  course 
above  which  the  trout  were  not  able  to  go.  In  some  of  the  tributaries. 
such  barriers  were  met  with  in  the  beginning  and  those  streams  are 
barren  of  fish  to  this  day.  In  others,  the  invasion  from  the  main 
stream  began  and  was  consummated  before  the  falls  became  impassable, 
and  troul  are  now  found  in  them,  although  falls  which  fishes  can  not 
surmount  have  since  been  formed  in  many  of  them.  Among  tributary 
streams  of  this  character  which  may  be  mentioned  are  Soda  Creek, 
Coyote  Creek,  and  the  Little  Kern  on  the  west  and  Volcano  Creek  and 
South  Pork  of  Kern  River  on  the  east.  In  the  first  three,  the  wearing 
down  of  the  stream-bed  and  the  formation  of  impassable  falls  prevented 
any  subsequent  invasions  from  the  main  river,  isolated  those  colonies 
of  trout  which  had  pushed  toward  the  headwaters,  and  prevented  any 
further  mixing  of  creek  fish  with  river  fish.  Bui  in  Volcano  Creek 
the  conditions  were  exceptional  and  complicated.  This  stream  derived 
its  fish  originally  from  Kern  River,  as  did  the  other  streams  mentioned; 
impassable  falls  subsequently  formed  and  the  fish  of  the  creek  became 
shut  off  from  those  of  the  river.  Then  an  unique  factor  was  introduced. 
A  period  of  volcanic  activity  ensued,  during  which  the  west  half  of  the 
Toowa  Valley  was  more  or  less  tilled  with  lava,  volcanic  tufa,  and  other 
igneous  material,  the  lower  half  of  Volcano  Creek  was  for  a  time  wiped 
out  of  existence,  and  every  living  thing  in  its  waters  below  the  tunnel 
killed.  The  only  iishes  of  Volcano  Creek  that  escaped  this  catastrophe 
were  those  individuals  which  had  migrated  Well  toward  the  headwaters 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME.  121 

of  the  stream  above  the  influence  of  the  lava  flow.  But  this  creek  was 
permanently  shut  off  from  any  further  invasions  of  trout  from  the 
river;  and  when  its  waters  again  began  to  flow  to  the  Kern,  the  falls 
then  formed  were  even  greater  barriers  than  before,  and  the  trout  of 
Volcano  Creek  became  more  thoroughly  isolated. 

The  environment  of  Volcano  Creek  is  very  different  from  that  of 
Kern  River;  it  is  that  of  a  small  stream,  with  clean  gravelly  granite 
bed  in  its  upper  and  yellowish  or  blackish  lava  and  yellowish  tufa  in  its 
lower  course,  and  with  water  clear,  pure,  cold,  and  turbulent.  Con- 
trasted with  this  is  Kern  River,  a  large  stream,  many  yards  wide  and 
many  feet  deep,  with  current  often  sluggish  and  bed  of  fine  sand  or 
mud  in  many  places. 

These  different  environments  were  sure  in  time  to  modify  and 
differentiate  the  fishes  of  the  two  streams.  The  law  of  cause  and 
effect  applies  here  as  elsewhere  in  nature,  and  with  equal  force ;  different 
causes  acting  upon  even  the  same  thing  will  produce  different  results. 
But  geographical  isolation  (raumliche  Sonderung)  is  the  great 
primary  factor  in  the  production  of  new  species.  It  is  the  potent 
agent  which  holds  apart  the  two  groups  of  individuals,  preventing  inter- 
mingling and  confining  each  to  the  influences  of  its  own  peculiar 
environment. 

In  the  production  of  new  species  in  nature,  it  is  not  essential  that  the 
environments  be  greatly  unlike,  or  unlike  at  all,  if  the  groups  of  indi- 
viduals being  acted  upon  can  be  kept  from  interbreeding. 

And  thus  the  trout  in  Kern  River  and  those  in  Volcano  Creek  went 
on  developing,  each  group  in  its  own  way,  the  two  becoming  more  and 
more  unlike  and  acquiring  structural  and  other  characters  by  means 
of  which  the  two  forms  may  be  readily  distinguished.  The  trout  of 
Volcano  Creek  has  taken  on  characters  not  possessed  by  the  trout  of  any 
other  stream — very  different  indeed  from  those  of  the  Kern  River 
trout.  These  characters  have  become  fixed,  as  is  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  they  are  essentially  uniform  among  all  the  individuals  of  this 
creek.  The  Volcano  Creek  trout  is  therefore  a  different  species  from 
that  found  in  Kern  River. 

As  a  result  of  the  formation  of  impassable  falls  in  the  South  Fork  of 
the  Kern,  in  the  Little  Kern,  in  Coyote  Creek,  and  perhaps  still  other 
tributaries  of  the  Kern,  other  colonies  of  trout  that  had  invaded  the 
headwaters  of  these  streams  became  isolated,  and  in  time  they  also 
became  specifically  distinguishable  from  those  of  the  main  Kern  and 
all  other  streams,  so  that  we  now  have,  as  already  stated,  four  distinct 
species  in  the  Kern  River  basin.  They  are  the  three  species  of  Golden 
Trout,  and  the  Kern  River  Trout  which  is  the  parent  species  from 
which  the  various  species  of  golden  trout  have  been  independently 
derived. 

LITTLE   KERN  GOLDEN  TROUT. 
Salmo  whitei   Evermann. 

Other  names:  Coyote  Creek  Golden  Trout;  Soda  Creek  Golden  Trout;  White's 
Golden  Trout. 

Description:  Head  3.22  in  length;  depth  3.68;  eye  4.54  in  head;  snout  3.33; 
maxillary  1.72;  mandible  1.66;  interorbital  3.57;  longest  dorsal  ray  2.08;  longest 
anal  ray  2.17;  pectoral  1.66;  ventral  2.17;  caudal  lobes  1.61.  Body  rather  stour, 
moderately  compressed;  head  conic;  mouth  large,  oblique,  jaws  subequal; 
maxillary  long  and   slender,   reaching  much   beyond   the   eye;    teeth   on   jaws, 

3—48118 


122  CALIFORNIA   PISH    AND   GAME. 

tongue  and  palatines  well  developed;  caudal  peduncle  deep,  its  least  depth  about 
equal  to  distance  from  tip  of  snout  to  middle  of  eye.  Fins  well  developed;  origin 
of  dorsal  somewhat  nearer  tip  of  snout  than  base  of  caudal  fin;  insertion  of 
ventral  about  under  middle  of  dorsal  fin.  Scales  small,  but  noticeably  larger 
than  in  the  Volcano  Creek  trout. 

Color  in  life,  back  and  upper  part  of  side  light  olive;  side  and  back  profusely 
covered  with  small  roundish  black  spots,  these  extending  on  top  of  head,  vertical 
tins,  and  on  side  below  lateral  line;  side  with  10  large  roundish  parr-marks  and 
a  broadish  median  band  of  light-brick  or  terra-cotta  red:  lower  part  of  side 
light  lemon-yellow  with  a  number  of  bluish-black  blotches,  chiefly  anteriorly, 
somewhat  larger  than  similar  ones  on  back;  belly  from  tip  of  lower  jaw  at  anal 
tin  rich  orange-red  or  cadmium,  richest  between  pectoral  and  ventral  fins,  this 
band  the  full  width  of  the  belly;  no  red  dash  on  throat;  suborbital  pale  rosy  or 
purplish;  cheek  brassy,  with  a  large  dark  blotch;  opercle  rosy  orange,  olivaceous 
above;  dorsal  fin  with  about  five  rows  of  small  round  black  spots  and  a  black 
border  except  anteriorly,  where  the  rays  are  tipped  with  a  light-rosy  border; 
pectoral  light  yellowish;  ventral  and  anal  reddish,  with  broad  white  edge; 
caudal  profusely  spotted  with  black  like  the  dorsal  fin.  In  spirits  all  the  bright 
colors  fade,  but  the  black  spots  remain  distinct.  These  spots  are  largest  on  the 
caudal  peduncle,  over  which  they  are  evenly  distributed.  They  are  also  pretty 
evenly  distributed  over  the  entire  side  and  top  of  head;  the  space  along  the 
lateral  line,  however,  has  fewer  spots.  Those  below  the  lateral  line  extend  more 
than  halfway  to  the  belly  and  are  somewhat  smaller  than  those  above.  About 
14  spots  show  on  side  of  head. 

There  is  not  much  variation  in  color,  as  shown  by  examination  of  many 
examples.  In  all,  the  black  spots  completely  cover  the  caudal  peduncle  and  the 
entire  length  of  side  from  median  line  of  back  to  some  distance  below  the  lateral 
line;  the  top  and  sides  of  the  head  are  always  spotted.  The  middle  line  of  the 
side  and  the  belly  are  always  richly  colored,  the  parr-marks  always  present,  and 
the  dorsal,  anal,  and  ventral  fins  bright-edged.  No  conspicuous  red  dash  was 
observed  on  the  lower  jaw  in  any  of  the  specimens  from  South  Fork  of  Kaweah, 
Soda  Creek,  or  Wet  Meadow  Creek,  but  among  those  from  Coyote  Creek  were 
some  showing  considerable  color. 

Marks  for  field  identification:  The  presence  of  small  black  spots  on  top  of 
head  and  all  but  the  lower  one-third  of  the  side  distinguishes  this  golden  trout 
from  the  two  other  species  of  golden  trout. 

Distribution:  Soda  Creek;  Coyote  Creek;  Wet  Meadow  Creek;  Little  Kern 
River.  The  headwaters  of  the  South  Fork  of  the  Kaweah  were  originally  with- 
out trout  but  were  stocked  with  fish  from  Soda  Creek  at  Quinn's  Horse  Camp, 
and  this  species  may,  therefore,  very  properly  be  called  the  Soda  Creek  Trout. 

This  fish  is  known  to  reach  a  Length  of  about  Ion  inches.  It 
takes  the  fly  readily,  and  is  a  good  fighter.  Though  less  brilliant  in 
color  than  the  golden  troul  of  Volcano  Creek,  it  is  in  every  respect  a 
beautiful  and  attractive  fish. 

The  following  interesting  account  of  the  trout  of  the  small  streams 
of  the  Sigh  Sierras,  by  II.  W.  Henshaw,  and  written  many  years  ago, 
applies  chiefly  to  this  species: 

' This  is  the  common  brook  trout  of  the  small  mountain  st renins  of 
the  Pacific  slope,  and  up  to  an  altitude  of  9,000  feet  it  is  the  rare 
exception  to  find  a  suitable  stream  that  is  not  well  stocked  with  it. 
Upon  many  of  them  these  trout  are  found  in  very  great  abundance,  each 
pool  and  rapid  numbering  its  tinny  denizens  by  the  score.  They  may 
be  taken  in  any  sort  of  weather,  at  any  hour  of  the  day,  by  almost  any 
kind  of  bait.  During  the  heat  of  the  day  they  frequent  almost  entirely 
the  deeper  pools,  lying  under  overshadowing  rocks  or  in  the  shade  of 
some  convenient  log.  In  early  morning  or  late  afternoon  they  come 
out  and  run  more  into  the  shallows  and  rapids,  under  which  circum- 
stances they  bite  best  and  afford  the  finest  sport.  Like  the  average 
brook  trout  the  species  rarely  attains  any  considerable  size,  ranging 
from  four  to  eight  or  more  inches  in  length.     The  character  of  the 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME.  123 

bottom  and  water  itself  has  much  to  do  with  color  and  I  remember  to 
have  fished  in  a  small  rivulet  on  one  of  the  subalpine  meadows  not  far 
from  Mount  Whitney,  whose  sluggish  waters  flowed  over  a  bottom  of 
dark  mud,  in  which  the  color  of  the  trout  simulated  very  closely  its 
hue ;  they  had  lost  nearly  all  the  flashing  irridescent  tints  characterizing 
the  same  species  caught  but  a  few  hours  before  in  another  stream,  and 
had  become  dull  and  somber-hued.  Accompanying  this  change  of 
color  was  a  correspondingly  noticeable  difference  in  the  habits  and 
motions,  and  the  several  dozen  trout  caught  that  evening  for  supper 
were  taken  out  by  the  hook  with  the  display  of  very  little  more 
gaminess  than  would  be  noticed  in  so  many  horned  pout.  On  the 
contrary,  in  the  clear  rapid  current  of  the  mountain  stream,  a  flash  of 
sunlight  is  scarcely  quicker  than  the  gleam  of  gold  and  silver,  seen  for  a 
single  instant,  as  the  whirling  waters  are  cut  by  one  of  the  trout  as  he 
makes  a  rush  from  his  lurking  place  for  some  chance  morsel  which  is 
being  borne  past  him.  The  Western  trout  are  rarely  as  shy  as  their 
relatives  of  Eastern  waters,  and  because  of  their  numbers  and  conse- 
quent scarcity  of  food  are  apt  to  be  less  fastidious ;  yet  even  when  most 
abundant  due  caution  must  be  used  if  one  would  be  successful,  and  not 
every  one  can  catch  trout  even  in  the  West.  With  the  proper  care  in 
concealing  one's  self  a  pool  may  be  almost  decimated  ere  the  alarm 
will  be  taken,  and  I  have  seen  fifteen  fair  sized  trout  taken  from  a 
single  small  pool  in  quick  succession." 

This  beautiful  trout  was  named  in  honor  of  Stewart  Edward  White 
who  suggested  to  President  Roosevelt  the  investigation  which  resulted 
in  its  discovery. 

SOUTH  FORK  OF  KERN  GOLDEN  TROUT. 

Salmo  agua-bonita  Jordan. 

Other  names:  Mount  Whitney  Golden  Trout;  Golden  Trout;  Agua-bonita 
Golden  Trout;  Salpio  irideus  agua-bonita. 

Description:  Head  3.68  in  length;  depth  3.85;  eye  4.4  in  head;  snout  4.4; 
maxillary  2.09;  mandible  2.00;  interorbital  3.66;  longest  dorsal  ray  2.09;  base  of 
dorsal  1.8;  longest  anal  ray  1.69;  pectoral  1.63;  ventral  2.00;  caudal  lobes  1.46; 
base  of  anal  2.1.  Body  stout,  moderately  elongate;  head  short,  snout  blunt; 
mouth  moderate,  maxillary  extending  somewhat  beyond  orbit,  relatively  broader 
than  in  the  Kern  River  trout;  teeth  on  jaws,  maxillary,  palatines,  and  vomer 
well  developed;  fins  moderate;  caudal  peduncle  compressed,  its  least  depth 
equal  to  distance  from  tip  of  snout  to  posterior  edge  of  pupil;  scales  relatively 
large. 

Color  in  life,  back  and  upper  part  of  side  light  olivaceous;  entire  body  above 
lateral  line,  including  head,  sparsely  covered  with  rather  large  roundish  black 
spots,  those  extending  below  lateral  line  on  caudal  peduncle;  spots  on  side 
anterior  to  dorsal  fin  usually  few;  usually  a  few  spots  on  median  line  of  back 
between  origin  of  dorsal  and  head;  snout  and  top  of  head  usually  with  a  few 
spots;  2  or  3  spots  sometimes  on  side  of  head;  middle  of  side  with  a  somewhat 
distinct  rosy  band,  plainest  at  middle;  parr-marks  always  present;  side  below 
lateral  line  light  golden  yellow;  belly  scarlet,  brightest  from  ventral  halfway  to 
isthmus;  under  side  of  head,  except  jaw,  reddish  orange;  cheek  light  golden 
yellow  anteriorly,  rosy  or  coppery  posteriorly;  dorsal  and  anal  fins  profusely 
spotted,  the  other  fins  with  no  spots,  the  anal  dusky;  adipose  fin  with  edge 
black,  and  2  small  black  spots;  anterior  dorsal  ray  tipped  with  reddish  orange; 
ventrals  and  anal  red,  tipped  with  orange  white;  pectoral  bronze.  The  above 
description  chiefly  from  a  specimen  7.75  inches  long. 

An  examination  of  numerous  examples  shows  some  slight  variations  in  the 
colors.  The  parr-marks  are  sometimes  less  regular,  and  the  exact  shade  of  the 
bright  lateral  band  and  the  color  of  the  belly  vary  somewhat.  These,  however, 
are  simply  differences  in  intensity  rather  than  in  pattern. 


124  CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME. 

Marks  for  field  identification:  In  this  species  the  extent  of  the  spotting  on  the 
body  is  the  besl  diagnostic  character.  The  South  Fork  of  Kern  trout  are  almost 
invariably  well  spotted,  not  only  on  the  caudal  peduncle  but  also  along  the  side 
above  the  lateral  line,  at  least  as  far  forward  as  the  front  of  the  dorsal  fin. 
There  arc  also  usually  a  few  spots  on  the  anterior  part  of  side  and  along  median 
line  of  back  between  dorsal  and  head;  snout  and  top  of  head  spotted,  and  usually 
a  few  spots  on  side  of  head;  but  there  are  no  spots  below  the  lateral  line  except 
on  the  caudal  peduncle. 

Distribution:  South  Fork  of  Kern  River  from  which  it  has  been  introduced 
into  the  Cottonwood  Lakes  and  Cottonwood  Creek,  and  doubtless  other  streams. 

This  species  was  originally  described  by  Dr.  David  Starr  Jordan  in 
1893.  His  description  was  based  on  three  small  specimens  conveyed  to 
him  by  Mr.  W.  II.  Shockley  of  San  Francisco  to  whom  they  had  been 
sent  by  Mr.  George  T.  .Mills,  state  fish  commissioner  of  Nevada,  who 
in  turn  had  received  them  from  Mr.  A.  C.  Harvey  of  Lone  Pine,  Inyo 
County,  California.  A  memorandum  accompanying  the  specimens 
si  at  I'd  that  they  had  been  ''taken  by  -Mr.  Harvey  of  Lone  Pine,  Cali- 
fornia, in  a  stream  called  by  him  'Whitney  Creek'  (more  correctly 
Volcano  Creek),  on  the  west  side  of  the  Sierras  near  Mount  Whitney.'' 
It  has  since  developed  that  these  specimens  did  not  come  from  Whitney 
(Volcano)  Creek,  but  from  Cottonwood  Creek,  a  stream  on  the  east 
side  of  the  mountains  and  tributary  to  Owens  Lake.  Cottonwood  Creek 
was  stocked  in  1876  by  .Messrs.  A.  C.  Stevens,  S.  V.  Stevens,  and 
Thomas  George  with  trout  obtained  by  them  in  Mulky  Creek,  a  small 
tributary  of  the  South  Fork  of  the  Kern  in  Mulky  Meadows,  about  3£ 
to  4  miles  from  Cottonwood  Creek.  It  is  therefore  evident  that  the 
specimens  upon  which  Dr.  Jordan  based  his  description  of  Salmo  agua- 
bonita  were  descendants  of  tin1  trout  from  Mulky  Creek  transplanted 
into  Cottonwood  Creek  in  1876  and  are  therefore  the  same  species  as 
that  of  the  South  Fork  of  the  Kern.  A  comparison  of  specimens  taken 
in  the  latter  stream  in  1904  with  the  type  and  cotype  of  Salmo  <t<in<i- 
boiiila  shows  them  to  be  specifically  identical. 

ROOSEVELT   TROUT. 
Salmo    roosevelti    Evermann. 

Other  names:  Volcano  Creek  Golden  Trout;  Golden  Trout  of  Golden  Trout 
Creek;  Golden  Trout;  Golden  Trout  of  Volcano  Creek. 

Description:  Head  3.5  in  length  to  base  of  caudal  tin;  depth  4;  eye  5.6  in 
head;  snout  3.4;  maxillary  1.8;  longest  anal  ray  1.9;  pectoral  1.8;  ventral  2.1; 
caudal  lobes  1.8;  base  of  dorsal  1.9;  base  of  anal  2.6;  least  depth  of  caudal 
peduncle  2.6.  Body  stout,  moderately  compressed;  head  conic,  rather  long; 
snout  long;  jaws  subequal,  mouth  large,  somewhat  oblique;  maxillary  long  and 
narrow  but  slightly  curved,  extending  much  beyond  orbit;  teeth  well  developed 
mandible,  maxillary,  palatines,  Eronl  of  vomer,  and  on  front  of  tongue,  the  latter 
in  two  rows;  caudal  peduncle  very  stout.  Pins  all  strong  and  well  developed; 
origin  of  dorsal  midway  between  tip  of  snoul  and  base  of  caudal  peduncle;  base 
of  ventrals  under  middle  of  dorsal;  caudal  broad,  strong,  little  notched  when 
fully  spread;  anal  with  its  free  edge  somewhat  falcate.  Scales  exceedingly 
small,  smaller  than  in  any  other  known  species  of  trout,  nonimbricated,  and 
scarcely  showing  unless  dry;  there  are  about  50  in  an  oblique  series  from  front 
of  dmsal  downward  and  backward  to  the  base  of  the  ventrals;  there  are  about 
200  scales  in  the  lateral  line,  140  to  150  of  them  having  pores. 

Color  in  life,  back,  top  of  head,  and  upper  part  of  side  very  light  yellowish 
olive;  middle  of  the  side  from  gill-opening  to  adipose  fin  with  a  broad  bright 
rosy  band,  the  greatest  width  of  which  is  about  equal  to  greatest  diameter  of 
orbit;  side  below  lateral  line  bright  golden  yellow,  fading  below  into  yellowish 
white;  belly  with  a  broad  cadmium  or  deep  orange-red  band  from  throat  to  anal 
tin,  the  color  deepest  between  pectoral  and  ventral;  some  red  on  belly  between 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME.  125 

origin  of  anal  and  base  of  caudal;  about  10  roundish  or  vertically  oblong  parr- 
marks  on  middle  of  side,  upon  which  apparently  the  rosy  lateral  band  is  super- 
imposed; 3  of  these  parr-marks  are  on  the  caudal  peduncle  posterior  to  the 
adipose  fin,  2  between  the  adipose  and  dorsal  fins,  2  under  the  dorsal,  and  3 
anterior  to  it;  between  the  first  and  second  large  parr-marks  and  somewhat 
below  them  is  a  small  round  spot  of  the  same  color,  and  there  is  a  similar  one 
between  the  fifth  and  sixth  spots;  cheeks  and  opercles  bright  rosy,  edged  pos- 
teriorly and  below  with  yellowish,  an  olivaceous  blotch  on  upper  part  of  cheek 
and  a  small  black  spot  on  upper  part  of  opercle;  region  about  eye  olivaceous 
yellow,  especially  below;  lower  jaw  rosy,  with  some  yellowish,  membrane 
between  rami  of  lower  jaw  whitish,  without  rosy  wash,  tip  of  lower  jaw 
olivaceous;  mouth  on  sides  and  below  tongue  orange,  whitish  elsewhere;  side  of 
caudal  peduncle  with  about  30  small  roundish  black  spots,  these  most  numerous 
on  posterior  half,  there  being  only  3  anterior  to  the  adipose  dorsal  fin;  rest  of 
body  entirely  without  spots;  dorsal  fin  with  about  6  irregular  series  of  small 
roundish  black  spots,  those  toward  the  distal  portion  largest  and  blackest; 
general  color  of  dorsal  fin  light  olivaceous  yellow,  the  tips  of  the  anterior  rays 
with  a  broad  margin  of  whitish  orange;  adipose  dorsal  olivaceous,  narrowly 
bordered  with  black,  and  with  2  small  round  black  spots;  caudal  fin  profusely 
spotted  with  black,  the  spots  arranged  irregularly  in  about  8  or  10  vertical  rows; 
those  at  the  base  blackest  and  roundest,  those  on  the  distal  edge  somewhat 
linear,  those  on  the  outer  edges  of  the  lobes  extending  forward  onto  the  dorsal 
and  ventral  lines  of  the  caudal  peduncle;  general  color  of  caudal  fin  yellowish 
and  olivaceous,  the  lower  lobe  somewhat  rosy;  pectoral  red,  somewhat  lighter 
than  lateral  band;  ventral  reddish,  the  anterior  rays  edged  with  white;  anal 
reddish  with  a  little  orange,  the  anterior  half  or  two-thirds  broadly  edged  with 
white. 

There  is  not  much  variation  in  color,  except  such  as  is  probably  due  to 
difference  in  age;  the  rosy  lateral  band,  the  parr-marks,  and  the  broad  rich 
cadmium  band  on  the  belly  are  characteristic.  The  variation  in  the  black  spots 
is  inconsiderable.  In  the  29  specimens  which  the  senior  author  has  examined 
critically  15  do  not  show  any  spots  whatever  anterior  to  the  adipose  fin,  and 
only  2  of  the  remaining  14  show  any  spots  anterior  to  the  dorsal  fin,  and  these 
are  obscure  and  few  in  number.  In  one  large  specimen  there  are  but  12  to  14 
spots  on  the  caudal  peduncle;  in  another  somewhat  smaller  example  there  are 
but  6  spots.  The  dorsal,  anal,  and  ventral  fins  are  invariably  edged  with  color. 
The  head  in  the  males  is  longer  and  more  pointed;  the  maxillary  is  also  longer 
than  in  the  females. 

When  well  spread  the  caudal  fin  is  usually  slightly  lunate  or  slightly  notched, 
but  in  some  examples  it  is  almost  truncate  or  square.  In  alcohol  all  of  the 
bright  colors  soon  fade,  the  parr-marks,  black  spots,  and  pale  edges  to  the  dorsal, 
anal,  and  ventral  fins  persisting.  The  general  color  of  the  body  then  becomes 
a  dirty  yellowish  white  or  in  some  specimens  brownish.  In  some  cases  the 
parr-marks  almost  wholly  disappear. 

Marks  for  field  identification:  The  rich  rosy  lateral  band  showing  through 
the  large  distinct  bluish-black  parr-marks,  the  rich  lemon-yellow  of  the  lower 
half  of  the  side,  the  intensely  rich  cadmium  of  the  belly,  and  the  entire  absence 
of  black  spots  on  the  body  except  on  the  caudal  peduncle,  readily  distinguish 
the  Roosevelt  trout  from  all  other  species. 

Distribution:  The  golden  trout  is  native  to  Volcano  Creek  alone,  and  occurs 
throughout  the  entire  length  of  that  stream.  It  is  found  at  all  places  from  above 
the  tunnel  to  below  the  lowermost  of  the  series  of  falls  near  the  mouth,  and  in 
all  suitable  places  from  the  tunnel  to  the  headwaters  above  Volcano  Meadows, 
where  the  elevation  is  more  than  10,000  feet. 

Trout  are  abundant  in  Volcano  Creek ;  every  pool  at  the  foot  of  a  fall 
or  below  a  cascade  or  rapid  is  sure  to  contain  a  number  of  them,  and 
they  may  be  seen  on  the  riffles  and  under  the  protecting  banks. 
Although  the  fish  runs  down  Volcano  Creek  even  to  below  the  lowest 
falls,  it  apparently  does  not  venture  out  into  Kern  River ;  no  examples 
were  seen  there.  It  is  a  creek  fish  and  appears  to  keep  within  the 
peculiar  environment  of  the  small  stream.  They  are  most  numerous 
above  the  tunnel,  probably  because  fewer  tourists  visit  that  portion  of 


126  CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME. 

the  stream.     The  fish  there,  however,  arc  usually  small.     The  largest, 
finest  examples  arc  round  between  the  natural   bridge  and  the  lower 

fads. 

As  a  game  fish  the  golden  trout  is  one  of  the  best.  It  will  rise  to 
any  kind  of  Lure,  including  the  artificial  fly,  and  at  any  time  of  day.  A 
No.  10  fly  is  large  enough,  perhaps  too  large;  No.  12  or  even  smaller 
is  much  better.  In  the  morning  and  again  in  the  evening,  it  will  lake 
the  fly  with  a  rush  and  make  a  good  fight,  jumping  when  permitted 
to  do  so;  during  the  middle  of  the  day  it  rises  more  deliberately  and 
may  sometimes  be  tempted  only  with  grasshoppers.  It  is  a  fish  that 
does  not  give  up  soon  but  continues  the  fight.  Its  unusual  breadth  of 
fins  and  strength  of  caudal  peduncle,  together  with  the  turbulent  water 
in  which  it  dwells,  enable  it  to  make  a  figh.1  equalling  that  offered  by 
many  a  larger  trout. 

Although  now  abundant  the  golden  trout  can  not  long  remain  so 
unless  afforded  some  protection.  The  attractiveness  of  the  Kern  River 
region  because  of  its  scenic  beauty  is  sure  to  appeal  more  and  more  to 
tourists  every  year.  Practically  the  entire  length  of  Volcano  Creek 
is  easily  accessible  from  the  trail  from  the  east  side  of  the  divide.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  one  can  in  one  day  travel  the  entire  length  of  the 
creek  and  have  time  to  stop  frequently  to  drop  a  fly  into  the  pools 
which  he  passes.  The  trout  are  readily  found  and  easily  captured,  as 
they  are  so  voracious  and  rise  to  the  lure  so  readily. 

The  great  beauty  of  the  Roosevelt  trout  lies  in  the  richness  of  its 
colors  and  in  its  trimness  of  form:  the  brilliancy  and  richness  of  its 
coloration  is  not  equaled  in  any  other  known  species  of  trout.  The 
delicate  golden  olive  of  the  head,  back,  and  upper  part  of  the  side,  the 
clear  golden  yellow  along  and  below  the  lateral  line,  overlaid  b}T  a 
delicate  rosy  lateral  band,  and  the  marvelously  rich  cadmium  of  the 
under  parts,  fully  entitle  this  to  be  known  above  all  others  as  the 
golden  trout.  Except  on  the  caudal  peduncle,  the  body  is  entirely 
without  the  black  spots  characteristic  of  the  rainbow  trout  series.  One 
can  appreciate  to  some  extent  the  great  beauty  of  this  fish  by  examining 
the  splendid  painting  by  Hudson. 

In  form  it  is  no  less  beautiful;  its  lines  are  perfect,  the  fins  large 
and  well  proportioned,  and  the  caudal  peduncle  strong;  all  fitting  it 
admirably  for  life  in  the  turbulent  waters  in  which  it  dwells.  It  is  a 
small  fi.sii,  however.  It  is  probable  that  it  never  attains  a  greater 
Length  than  14  inches  or  a  weight  of  more  than  a  pound  in  Volcano 
Creek.  In  the  Cottonwood  Lakes  it  is  said  to  reach  a  weight  of  five 
pounds. 

The  scales  are  smaller  than  in  any  other  known  species  of  trout. 
They  are  so  small,  indeed,  as  to  have  caused  so  good  an  observer  as 
Stewart  Edward  White  to  declare  that  this  trout  has  no  scales  at  all. 
This  is  an  error  in  observation  that  is  not  uncommon;  even  James 
Russell  Lowell,  excellent  naturalist  that  he  was,  wrote: 

•(  >ne  trout  scale  in  the  scales  I  lay 
(If  trout  had  scales),  and  it   will  outweigh 
The  wrong  side  of  the  balances." 

But  all  trout  have  scales,  albeit  often  very  small  and  not  easily  seen 
except  by  him  who  knows  fishes,  and  the  golden  trout  scales  are  the 
smallest  of  them  all. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME.  127 

This,  the  most  beautiful  trout  in  all  the  world,  was  named  in  honor 
of  Theodore  Roosevelt,  the  naturalist,  who,  as  President  of  the  United 
States,  ordered  the  investigation  which  resulted  in  its  discovery  as  a 
new  species. 


Cutthroat  Series. 

CUTTHROAT  TROUT. 
Salmo  clarkii   Richardson. 

Other  names:  Black-spotted  Trout;  Columbia  River  Trout;  Clark  Trout; 
Red-throated  Trout. 

Description:  Head  4;  depth  4;  D.  10;  A.  10;  caeca  43;  scales  small,  in  150  to  170 
cross-series.  Body  elongate,  compressed;  head  rather  short;  mouth  moderate, 
the  maxillary  not  reaching  far  beyond  the  eye;  vomerine  teeth  as  usual  set  in  an 
irregular  zig-zag  series,  teeth  on  the  hyoid  bone  normally  present,  but  often 
obsolete  in  old  examples;  dorsal  fin  rather  low;  caudal  fin  slightly  forked  (more 
so  in  young).  Color,  silvery  olivaceous,  often  dark  steel  color;  back,  upper 
part  of  side  and  caudal  peduncle  profusely  covered  with  rounded  black  spots  of 
varying  sizes  and  shapes,  these  spots  often  on  the  head,  and  sometimes 
extending  on  the  belly;  dorsal,  adipose,  and  caudal  fins  covered  with  similar 
spots  about  as  large  as  the  nostril;  inner  edge  of  the  mandible  with  a  deep-red 
blotch,  which  is  a  diagnostic  mark;  middle  of  side  usually  with  a  diffuse  pale 
rosy  wash,  sometimes  quite  bright,  and  extending  on  side  of  head;  under  parts 
silvery  white.  The  red  blotches  or  washing  on  the  membrane  joining  the  dentary 
bones  of  the  lower  jaw  are  usually  constant,  probably  always  present  in  the 
adult,  and  constitute  a  most  important  character.     (Jordan  and  Evermann) 

Marks  for  field  identification:  Red  marks  on  throat;  very  small  scales,  there 
being  about  150  in  a  row  from  head  to  tail;  back  profusely  spotted;  teeth  present 
on  hyoid  bone  at  base  of  tongue. 

Distribution  in  California:  Pit  River  and  tributaries,  Eel  River,  coastal 
streams  of  northwestern  California,  Goose  Lake. 

Spawns  in  spring.  Decidedly  a  deepwater  fish,  except  during 
spawning  season  when  it  seeks  shallower  waters.  Cutthroats  do  not 
rise  as  readily  to  a  fly  as  other  trout,  but  more  often  take  a  sunken  fly ; 
nor  do  they  seek  swift  water  as  the  rainbow.  As  a  rule,  this  species 
does  not  rank  with  others  in  its  gameness.  Apparently,  the  cutthroat 
in  this  state  is  not  as  prolific  as  the  rainbow;  at  least  this  species  is 
not  nearly  so  abundant  as  the  rainbow.  The  cutthroat  spawns  in  the 
spring  and  early  summer,  ascending  to  the  headwaters  of  streams  or 
depositing  eggs  in  shallow  water  or  on  sand  bars  in  the  lakes.  Lake 
cutthroats  invariably  reach  a  larger  size  than  stream  fish.  Specimens 
in  the  Klamath  Lakes  have  reached  a  weight  of  seventeen  pounds. 

TAHOE  TROUT. 

Salmo  henshawi  Gill  &  Jordan. 
Other   names:    Black-spotted  Trout;    Silver  Trout;    Redflsh;    Tommy;    Black 
Trout;    Salmo    tahoensis;   Salmo   purpuratus  henshawi;  Salmo   mykiss    (in  part); 
Salmo  mykiss  henshawi;  Salmo  clarkii  henshawi. 

Description:  Head  3.75;  depth  4;  D.  11;  A.  12;  scales  27  to  37-160  to  184-27 
to  37,  usually  about  170  in  a  longitudinal  series;  body  robust,  elongate,  greatest 
depth  about  one-fourth  of  total  length  without  tail;  caudal  peduncle  about  two- 
fifths  length  of  head;  head  long,  conical,  slender,  not  extending  far  behind  eye; 
two  long  series  of  vomerine  teeth;  caudal  short  and  distinctly  forked;  dark 
olive-green  above,  covered  almost  entirely  with  large  black  spots;  males  a  dark 
yellowish -olive  color,  with  metallic  reflections,  the  dark  color  being  the  same 


128  CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 

from  the  back  to  the  ventral  surface;  a  broad,  pinkish,  Indefinite  stripe  about  10 
scales  wide  on  the  side,  each  scale  included  in  t hi -=  stripe  and  also  in  a  broad 
area  above  and  below  slightly  edged  with  light  yellow;  opercle,  preopercle,  snb- 
opercle.  and  a  triangular  spot  above  the  axil  of  pectoral,  scarlet  or  yellowish 
scarlet;  under  surface  of  lower  jaw  with  two  parallel  stripes  of  red;  red  also 
visible  on  the  tongue  and  on  the  shoulder-girdle;  brownish -black  spots  distrib- 
uted over  the  entire  body;  females  usually  more  lightly  colored,  and  the  colors 
seeming  to  have  more  metallic  luster. 

Marks  for  field  identification:  The  dark  olive  body  with  many  bold  black  spots 
widely  scattered  almost  uniformly  over  its  entire  surface,  and  the  red  marks  on 
the  throat  distinguish  the  Tahoe  trout.  Sometimes  it  has  a  silvery  luster. 
Although  plainly  belonging  to  the  cutthroat  series,  having  the  same  red  dashes 
under  the  throat,  long  head,  small  scales  and  teeth  on  the  tongue,  it  is  never- 
theless, browner  or  yellower  in  color,  and  has  larger  scattered  spots  which  cover 
the  whole  fish. 

Distribution:  Lake  Tahoe  and  its  tributary  streams  and  lakes,  upper  portions 
of  the  Truckee  River,  Donner,  Webber,  and  Independence  lakes;  introduced  in 
lakes  of  Siskiyou  County,  and  Bear  Lake,  San  Bernardino  County,  and  in  the 
Stanislaus  and  the  Mokelumne  rivers  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierras. 

Anglers  usually  point  out  the  following  different  kinds  of  trout  in 
Lake  Tahoe  and  the  Truckee  River: 

Tahoe  Trout,  dark  in  color  with  large  spots. 

Silver  Trout,  silvery  in  color,  with  small,  elongate  spots,  body 
deep  and  heavy. 

Redfish,  brilliant  in  color,  with  red  cheeks. 

Tommy,   small,   relatively   large  spotted   fish,   spawning   later 
than  the  redfish. 

Royal  Silver  Trout,  deep  blue  above  and  silvery  on  sides  with 
few  or  no  spots.     (Salmo  rcgalis.) 

Even  though  known  to  fishermen,  these  forms  with  the  exception  of 
the  royal  silver  trout  are  here  all  classed  as  Tahoe  trout,  until  further 
information  is  available. 

There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  speculation  over  the  identity  of  the 
redfish,  a  large  brightly-eolored  fish  with  a  red  cheek  spot,  which  runs 
up  the  Truckee  River  early  in  spring,  the  migration  ceasing  in  March. 
By  many  this  is  regarded  a.s  entirely  distinct  from  the  Tahoe  trout. 
With  the  conclusion  of  this  run  of  fish  there  appears  a  run  of  smaller 
fish  known  to  the  anglers  as  tommies.  This  second  migration  usually 
occurs  in  April  and  is  about  over  by  May  1.  The  tommy  is  a  smaller 
and  relatively  large  spotted  fish.  Whether  these  two  forms  which 
have  separate  spawning  seasons  are  one  and  the  same  fish  is  yet  to  be 
determined,  but  at  present  they  are  given  the  same  name.      (Snyder.) 

Frequently,  a  very  light-colored  silvery  example  of  Tahoe  trout  is 
taken,  its  sides  having  a  bright  metallic  luster  and  smaller  and  more 
elongate  spots.  This  is  usually  known  as  the  silver  trout,  and  is  said 
to  frequent  the  greater  depths.  It  attains  a  very  large  size,  one 
having  been  caught  which  weighed  29  pounds.  This  form  was  described 
by  Jordan  and  Kvermann  as  Sahno  tahoensis  and  may  be,  as  they 
thought,  a  distinct  species. 

During  a  portion  of  the  year  the  Tahoe  trout  lives  in  deep  water, 
and  can  be  caught,  if  at  all,  only  on  long  lines.     Early  in  the  spring 


CALIFORNIA  FISH   AND   GAME.  129 

and  in  the  summer  they  are  to  be  found  in  relatively  shallow  water. 
It  may  be  that  food  supply  accounts  for  this  migration  from  deep  to 
shallow  water,  as  spawning  minnows  seem  to  be  the  attractive  food 
when  the  trout  is  in  shallow  water.  The  greater  number  of  this  species 
are  taken  by  trolling  with  a  spoon.     (Snyder.) 

The  Tahoe  trout  appears  to  feed  largely  on  minnows  but  black  ants 
and  other  insects  are  taken  in  quantity. 

ROYAL  SILVER  TROUT. 
Salmo  regalis  Snyder. 

Other  names:  Greenback;  Grayback. 

Description:  A  fresh  specimen  is  characterized  by  a  deep  steel  blue  on  the 
dorsal  surface  which  color  extends  downward  on  the  sides  to  about  the  sixth 
row  of  scales  above  the  lateral  line,  where  it  abruptly  blends  into  a  silvery  hue. 
The  silver  dulls  ventrally,  while  the  chin,  throat,  and  abdomen  are  white.  The 
cheek  is  marked  by  a  faint  red  or  yellow  spot  glowing  faintly  through  the  silver, 
but  this  is  the  only  red  or  yellow  color  on  the  fish.  The  dorsal  and  caudal  fins 
are  the  only  portions  of  the  body  marked  by  dark  spots,  but  even  these  are 
inconspicuous.  It  has  about  144  to  150  lateral  series  of  scales,  29  to  31  above 
the  lateral  line,  11  to  13  branchiostegals,  and  19  to  21  gillrakers.  No  external 
sex  differences  can  be  observed.     (Snyder) 

Marks  for  field  identification:  The  Royal  Silver  trout,  easily  confused  with 
silvery  specimens  of  the  common  Tahoe  trout  (Salmo  henshawi),  differs  from 
the  latter  in  its  decidedly  silvery  sides,  blue  back,  shorter  head,  shorter  and 
more  rounded  snout,  smaller  maxillary,  large  scales,  narrow  and  more  pointed 
fins,  perfectly  smooth  basi-branchials  which  are  without  teeth,  and  fewer 
gillrakers.     The  absence  of  spots  is  also  characteristic. 

Distribution:   Known  only  from  the  Lake  Tahoe  basin. 

Little  is  known  about  its  habits,  but  apparently  it  does  not  spawn  in 
streams  tributary  to  Lake  Tahoe,  as  does  the  Tahoe  trout.  Feeds 
largely  on  insects,  but  doubtless  also  takes  minnows,  as  it  has  been 
caught  on  a  spinner. 


Native  Charrs. 

DOLLY   VARDEN    TROUT. 

Salvelinus  parkei    (Suckley). 
Other    names:    Malma;    Salmon    Trout    (Alaska   and    Montana);    Bull    Trout 
(Idaho);  Western  Charr;  Oregon  Charr;  Salvelinus  malma  (in  part). 

Description:  Head  3.5  to  3.75;  depth  4.8  to  6;  eye  6.5  to  7;  snout  3  to  4; 
maxillary  1.7  to  3;  D.  11;  A.  9;  scales  39-240-36;  pyloric  caeca  large,  45  to  50; 
gillrakers  about  8  to  12.  Body  rather  slender,  the  back  somewhat  elevated,  less 
compressed  than  in  Salvelinus  fontinalis;  head  large,  snout  broad,  flattened 
above;  mouth  large,  the  maxillary  reaching  past  the  eye;  fins  short,  the  caudal 
slightly  forked  or  almost  truncate.  General  color,  olivaceous,  the  sides  with 
round  red  or  orange  spots  nearly  as  large  as  the  eye,  the  back  with  similar  but 
smaller  spots,  and  without  reticulations,  a  feature  of  coloration  which  at  once 
distinguishes  this  from  all  other  American  trout;  lower  fins  colored  much  as  in 
S.  fontinalis,  dusky  with  a  pale  stripe  in  front,  followed  by  a  darker  one. 
(Jordan  and  Evermann.) 

Marks  for  field  identification:  Distinguished  from  true  trout  and  from  other 
charrs  by  the  lack  of  reticulations  or  mottling  in  its  color  pattern.  Large  orange 
or  red  spots  on  the  back  as  well  as  sides,  and  the  lack  of  blackish  marblings 
on  the  upper  fins,  distinguish  it  from  the  Eastern  Brook  trout.  It  may  weigh, 
when  mature,  anywhere  from  six  ounces  to  twelve  pounds.  The  little  ones  are 
brightest  in  color. 

Distribution:  The  only  stream  in  California  in  which  the  Dolly  Varden  trout 
is  known  to  be  a  native  is  the  McCloud  River. 
4—46418 


130  CALIFORNIA    FISII    AND   GAME. 

The  Dolly  Varden  is  more  voracious  than  the  true  trout.  In  Alaska 
si  reams  il  devours  millions  of  salmon  eggs,  as  well  as  young  salmon 
and  this  tish  is  the  greatest  enemy  the  salmon  breeder  finds,  ({amy  and 
vigorous,  it  makes  a  fair  game  fish,  taking  a  baited  hook  freely.  They 
also  rise  readily  to  the  artificial  fly.  Their  food  is  principally  minnows. 
In  California,  the  Dolly  Varden  is  largely  nonmigratory.  It  lies  on 
the  bottom  and  waits  for  food  to  come  to  it.  then  grabs  it  like  a  mad 
bulldog.  When  caught  it  will  often  actually  attempt  to  defend  itself 
by  biting.     Moreover,  it  will  live  longer  out  of  water  than  other  trouts. 

When  this  fish  was  taken  by  scientists  in  the  RlcCloud  River,  the 
resemblance  to  a  dress  goods  with  spots  called  Dolly  Varden  and  which 
was  then  the  rage,  led  to  its  being  given  this  name  by  the  lady  members 
of  the  party,  and  "Dolly  Varden"  it  has  been  ever  since. 


Fig.    IP,.     Dolly  Varden  trout    (.SalveKnus  parkei).     A  charr,  not  a  true  trout,   found 

in  this  state  only  in  the  McCloud  River. 


Introduced  Species. 

EASTERN    BROOK    TROUT. 

Salmo  fontinalis   ( M  itch  ill). 

Other  names:   Brook  Trout;    Speckled  Trout;   Fontinalis. 

Description:  Head  4.5;  D.  10;  A.  9;  scales  37-230-30;  gillrakers  about  6  +  11; 
body  oblong,  moderately  compressed,  not  much  elevated;  head  large,  but  not 
very  Ions',  the  snout  bluntish,  the  interorbital  space  rather  broad;  mouth  hirst', 
the  maxillary  reaching  beyond  orbit;  eye  large,  somewhat  above  axis  of  body: 
caudal  fin  slightly  lunate  in  the  adult,  forked  in  the  young;  adipose  I'm  small: 
pectoral  and  ventral  fins  not  especially  elongate.  Color,  back  more  or  less 
mottled,  marbled,  or  barred  with  dark  olive  or  black,  without  spots;  red  spots 
on  side  rather  smaller  than  the  pupil;  dorsal  and  caudal  fins  mottled  with 
darker;  lower  fins  dusky,  with  a  pale,  usually  orange,  band  anteriorly,  followed 
by  a  darker  one;  belly  in  the  male  often  more  or  less  red.  (Jordan  and 
Evermann.) 

Marks  for  field  identification:  Small  imbedded  scales  making  the  tish  appear 
scaleless;  mottled  or  marbled  color  pattern  of  back  with  no  spots,  and  red  lower 
fins  fringed  with  white,  are  the  best  distinguishing  features. 

Distribution:  Tahoe  region,  Sierran  lakes  and  streams;  planted  in  most 
streams  from  Siskiyou  to  San  Diego  County,  with  the  exception  of  the  coastal 
streams.  This  fish  now  has  the  widest  distribution,  in  California,  of  any 
introduced  species. 

Eastern  brook  front  abound  chiefly  in  cold,  slow-running  meadow 
brooks;  but  they  thrive  in  all  pure  cold  waters  which  contain  sufficient 


a; 


© 

v. 

3 


o 
PC 

C 

o 

PC 

PQ 

PC 

w 

H 

1/3 
< 


CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND   GAME.  131 

air,  including  lakes  and  ponds.  Never,  in  California,  are  they  found 
in  fast-rushing  mountain  streams.  This  fish  is  wary,  and  great  skill 
is  required  in  catching  it.  The  outstanding  peculiarity  of  its  habits 
is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  a  person  acquainted  with  its  haunts  can 
go  out  and  catch  a  string  of  Eastern  brook  in  a  comparatively  short 
time,  while  others,  with  better  tackle  and  equal  skill,  will  fish  a  whole 
day  for  them  in  vain.  The  largest  brook  trout  are  found  in  the  deep, 
wide  pools  in  the  warmer  waters ;  the  smallest  ones  are  found  in  the  cold, 
narrow  mountain  rivulets  near  their  source.  Eastern  brook  trout  do 
not  keep  well  nor  ship  well,  probably  on  account  of  the  fat.  They  spawn 
high  up  in  the  tributary  streams  and  so  early  (October  to  January) 
that  eggs  for  hatchery  purposes  are  almost  impossible  to  obtain.  This 
trout  is  a  nest-builder.  "Cavities  are  made  in  gravel,  the  nest  is 
shaped  with  the  tail.  *  *  *  After  the  eggs  are  deposited  they  are 
covered  with  gravel.  The  egg  is  about  one-fifth  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
and  varies  in  color  from  pale  lemon  to  orange  red.  The  average  yield 
of  the  female  is  from  400  to  600.  The  period  of  hatching  will  depend 
on  the  temperature,  ranging  from  165  days  in  water  of  37  degrees  to 
32  days  in  water  of  54  degrees.  The  yolk  sack  is  absorbed  in  from 
30  to  80  days,  and  after  its  absorption  the  young  fish  begins  to  feed. 
The  rate  of  growth  will,  of  course,  depend  on  the  amount  of  food 
consumed.  In  artificial  culture  yearlings,  according  to  Mr.  Ains- 
worflrs  estimate,  will  average  2  ounces;  fish  of  two  years,  4  ounces;  of 
three  years,  8  ounces,  and  of  four  years,  1  pound."     (Bean.; 

History.  The  California  Fish  Commission  purchased  6,000  Eastern 
brook  trout  in  1872,  and  distributed  them  equally  in  the  North  Fork 
of  the  American  River,  in  the  headwaters  of  Alameda  Creek,  and  in 
the  San  Andreas  reservoir,  near  San  Francisco.  In  1875,  a  large  ship- 
ment of  eggs,  60,000,  was  received  from  New  Hampshire  and  succeed- 
ing shipments  in  1877,  1878,  and  1879.  Beginning  in  1890,  large 
numbers  have  been  hatched  and  distributed  each  year.  More  recently, 
eggs  for  the  hatcheries  have  been  secured  from  the  Marlette- Carson 
hatchery  in  Nevada. 

BROWN   TROUT. 
Salmo  fario  Linnaeus. 

Other  names:  von  Behr  Trout;  European  Brown  Trout. 

Description:  D.  13-14;  A.  10-11;  P.  13;  V.  9.  Scales  25-20-30;  pyloric  caeca 
38-51;  vertebras  57-58.  Body  short  and  stout,  its  greatest  depth  being-  contained 
about  four  times  in  the  length  without  the  caudal.  The  caudal  peduncle  is  short 
and  deep,  its  depth  equal  to  two-fifths  of  the  length  of  the  head.  Length  of 
head  is  one-fourth  of  total  length  without  caudal.  Dorsal  fin  is  nearer  to  tip 
of  snout  than  to  root  of  tail;  longest  ray  of  this  fin  equals  the  distance  from 
the  eye  to  the  end  of  the  opercle.  Ventral  is  under  the  posterior  part  of  the 
dorsal;  its  length  is  about  one-half  that  of  the  head.  The  adipose  dorsal  is 
over  the  end  of  the  anal  base.  Pectoral  nearly  one -sixth  of  length  without  the 
caudal.  In  the  male  the  jaws  are  produced  and  very  old  ones  have  a  hook. 
The  maxilla  extends  to  the  hind  margin  of  the  eye.  On  head,  body  and  dorsal 
fin  are  numerous  red  and  black  spots,  the  latter  circular  or  X- shaped  and  some 
of  them  with  a  pale  border;  yellowish  margin  usually  present  on  the  front  of 
the  dorsal  and  anal  and  the  outer  part  of  the  ventral.  The  dark  spots  are  few 
in  number  below  the  lateral  line.  The  ground  color  of  the  body  is  brownish  or 
brownish  black,  varying  with  food  and  locality.     (Bean.) 

Marks  for  field  identification:  The  back  and  sides  of  this  trout  are  decidedly 
brown;  the  back  is  covered  with  black  spots  and  the  sides  with  red  spots.  The 
belly  is  silvery  white  or  brownish.    This  trout  is  not  easily  confused  with  others. 


132  CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME. 

Distribution:  A  pure  strain  is  to  be  found  in  the  Yosemite  Valley  region; 
streams  of  northern  Humboldt  ami  L akc  County.  Hybrids,  the  result  of  a  cross 
with  the  Loch  Leven,  arc  found  in  many  other  streams  in  the  state. 

The  brown  trout  lives  in  clear,  cold,  rapid  streams  and  a1  the  mouths 
of  streams  tributary  to  lakes.  It  grows  to  be  of  large  size;  maturing 
at  about  8  inches  in  length.  In  its  movements  it  is  swift,  and  it  leaps 
over  obstructions  like  the  salmon.  It  feeds  usually  in  the  morning  and 
evening,  is  more  active  during  evening  and  night,  and  often  lies  quietly 
in  deep  pools  or  in  the  shadow  of  overhanging  hushes  and  trees  for  hours 
at  a  time.     Insects  and  their  larvae,  worms,  mollusks,  and  small  fishes 


Fig.    44.      Brown   trout    (Sahno  farin)    introduced   into  California  about   1895. 
Now  distributed  widely  in  our  state. 

form  its  food,  and,  like  its  relative,  the  rainbow  trout,  it  is  fond  of  the 
eggs  of  fishes.  Spawning  begins  in  October  and  continues  to  January. 
Eggs  are  deposited  in  crevices  between  stones,  under  projecting  roots 
of  trees,  and  sometimes  in  nests  excavated  by  the  spawning  fishes.  The 
parents  cover  the  eggs  to  some  extent  with  gravel.     (Bean.) 

History.  Several  plants  of  brown  trout  were  made  by  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Fisheries  previous  to  1895,  but  in  that  year  135,000 
were  reared  at  the  Sisson  hatchery.  With  the  exception  of  those  held 
in  the  breeding  ponds  these  fish  were  planted  in  the  lakes  and  streams  of 
the  high  Sierras. 

LOCH    LEVEN   TROUT. 
Salmo  trutta  levenensis  Walker. 

Other  names:   Salmo  levenensis;  Scotch  Trout. 

Description:  D.  13;  A.  12;  P.  14;  V.  9.  Scales  24  to  28—118  to  130—26-30; 
pyloric  caeca  47-90;  vertebra?  56-59.  Body  slender  and  elongate,  its  greatest 
depth  contained  four  and  one-fourth  to  four  and  one-half  times  in  total  length 
without  caudal.  Caudal  peduncle  slender,  its  least  depth  three-eighths  of  the 
greatest  depth  of  the  body,  and  equal  to  length  of  snout  and  eye  combined. 
Head  rather  short  and  conical,  its  length  two-ninths  to  one-fifth  of  the  total 
length  without  caudal.  The  snout  is  one-fourth  or  slightly  more  than  one-fourth 
as  long  as  the  head.  The  interorbital  space  is  somewhat  convex,  its  width 
equal  to  three-fifths  of  the  length  of  postorbital  part  of  head  The  eye  is  of 
moderate  size,  its  long  diameter  contained  five  and  one-half  to  six  times  in 
the  length  of  the  head,  and  equalling  about  twice  the  greatest  width  of  the 
maxilla.  Maxilla  reaches  to  or  slightly  beyond  the  hind  margin  of  the  eye. 
Teeth  rather  strong,  those  in  the  intermaxillary  and  mandible  the  largest,  tri- 
angular head  of  vomer  with  two  or  three  in  a  transverse  series  at  its  base, 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME.  133 

teeth  on  the  shaft  of  the  vomer  usually  in  a  single,  partially  zig-zag,  persistent 
series.  Mandible  without  a  hook  and  little  produced  even  in  breeding  males. 
Dorsal  origin  distant  from  tip  of  snout  about  as  far  as  end  of  dorsal  base  from 
base  of  caudal;  the  dorsal  fin  higher  than  long,  its  longest  ray  equal  to  longest 
ray  of  anal  fin.  The  anal  fin  is  much  higher  than  long,  its  distance  from  the 
base  of  the  ventral  equaling  length  of  the  head.  The  ventral  origin  is  nearly 
under  the  middle  of  the  dorsal,  the  fin  being  as  long  as  the  postorbital  part  of 
the  head.  Pectoral  equals  length  of  head  without  the  snout.  Adipose  fin  very 
small,  its  width  one-half  its  length,  which  is  about  equal  to  eye.  Caudal  fin 
emarginate  unless  fully  extended,  when  it  becomes  truncate,  the  outer  rays 
about  one-seventh  of  total  length,   including  caudal.     (Bean) 

Marks  for  field  identification:  The  true  Loch  Leven  trout  is  a  slimmer  fish 
than  the  brown  trout,  and  the  adipose  fin  is  smaller.  Furthermore,  it  is  fully 
spotted  and  lacks  the  brown  color  of  the  brown  trout.  The  sides  are  silvery 
with  a  varying  number  of  X-shaped  black  spots  or  rounded  brown  or  black 
spots. 

Distribution:  Webber  Lake  in  Sierra  County  has  pure  original  stock.  Com- 
mon to  California  streams:  Feather  River,  Tahoe  region,  and  Siskiyou  County 
lakes  and  streams,  but  usually  crossed  with  brown  trout. 

The  spawning  season  may  begin  in  October  and  continues  till 
January.  According  to  W.  H.  Shebley,  the  egg  is  slightly  smaller 
(260  to  a  fluid  ounce)  than  the  egg  of  a  rainbow  (220  to  a  fluid  ounce) 
but  larger  than  that  of  an  Eastern  brook  (345  and  400  to  fluid  ounce). 


Fig.  45.  Loch  Leven  trout  (Salmo  levenensis) .  A  native  of  Scotland.  Introduced 
into  California  in  1894,  and  now  a  common  fish  in  Sierra  streams,  but  often  crossed 
with  the  brown  trout. 

This  trout  is  largely  nonmigratory  in  its  native  habitat.  It  takes 
the  artificial  fly  readily.  The  food  of  this  species  includes  fresh-water 
mollusks,  crustaceans,  worms,  and  small  fish. 

History.  Twenty  thousand  Loch  Leven  trout  egtis  were  received  at 
the  Sisson  hatchery  in  1894.  Since  that  time  plants  have  been  made 
annually  from  the  fry  reared  at  this  hatchery.  Most  of  the  fish  in  the 
breeding  ponds  at  present  are  hybrids  secured  by  crossing  with  the 
brown  trout.     Hybridization  between  these  two  species  is  very  common. 

MACKINAW    TROUT. 
Cristivomer  namaycush    (Walbaum). 

Other  names:  Great  Lakes  Trout;  Cristivomer;  airiong  the  Canadian  Indians 
called  the  "namaycush." 

Description:  Head  4.25;  depth  4;  eye  4.5;  Br.  11  or  12;  D.  11;  A.  11;  scales  185 
to  205;  maxillary  2;  interorbital  4.  Body  long;  head  very  long,  its  upper  surface 
flattened;  mouth  very  large,  the  maxillary  extending  much  beyond  the  eye,  the 


134  CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME. 

head  and  jaws  proportionately  lengthened  .-1)11]  pointed;  caudal  fin  well  forked; 
adipose  tin  small;  teeth  very  strong.  General  coloration,  dark  gray,  sometimes 
pale,  sometimes  almost  black,  everywhere  with  rounded  pale  spots  which  are 
often  reddish  tinged;  head  usually  vermiculate  above;  dorsal  and  caudal 
p<  1 1  sulate  with  darker. 

Marks  for  field  identification:  Largesl  ot  all  trouts  and  known  by  its  cream- 
colored  or  grayish  spots  instead  of  red  spots  as  in  the  true  charrs.  The  dorsal 
and  caudal  tins  arc  marked. 

Distribution:  Introduced  in  Lake  Tahoe,  Fallen  Leaf  and  Donner  lakes,  where 
it  is  occasionally  caught. 

Omnivorous  in  its  feeding  habits;  it  has  a  ravenous  appetite,  greedily 
devouring  ;ill  kinds  of  fishes  possessing  sofl  fins.     It  is  even  said  thai 

jackknives,  corncobs  and  other  equally  indigestible  articles  have  1 a 

found  in  its  stomach.  It  spawns  on  reefs  and  lives  in  deep  water  at 
other  times.  The  spawning  season  begins  late  in  September,  and 
spawning  continues  until  December. 

The  Mackinaw  trout  reaches  a  much  larger  size  than  a  charr,  speci- 
mens of  from  1")  to  20  pounds  weight  being  not  uncommon,  while  it 


Fig.  4t',.  Mackinaw  troul  (Cristivomer  namaycush).  A  large  trout  native  in  the 
Great  Lakes.  Now  occasionally  taken  in  the  Tahoe  region,  where  it  was  introduced 
in  1894. 

occasionally  attains  a  weight  of  50  to  80  pounds  in  the  Great  Lakes. 
As  a  food  fish  it  ranks  high,  although  it  may  be  regarded  as  somewhat 
inferior  to  the  brook  trout  or  the  whitefish.  Compared  with  other 
salmonoids,  the  Greal  bakes  troul  is  a  sluggish,  heavy,  and  ravenous 
fish.  "According  to  Herbert,  a  coarse,  heavy,  stiff  rod.  and  a  powerful 
oiled  hempen  flaxen  line  on  a  winch,  with  a  heavy  sinker;  a  cod-hook 
hailed  with  any  kind  of  flesh,  fish,  or  fowl — is  the  most  successful,  if 
not  the  most  orthodox  or  scientific  mode  of  capturing  him.  His  greal 
size  and  immense  strength  alone  give  him  the  value  as  a  fish  of  game; 
hut  when  hooked  he  pulls  strongly  and  fights  hard,  though  he  is  a 
boring,  deep  fighter,  and  seldom  if  ever  leaps  out  of  the  water,  like  the 
true  salmon  or  brook  trout."     (Jordan.) 

History.  Pirsl  brought  to  California  in  1894,  the  Mackinaw  trout 
was  propagated  at  the  Sisson  hatchery,  and  Hie  following  year  65,000 
were  planted  in  Lake  Tahoe.  In  succeeding  years  additional  plants 
were  made  in  the  Truckee  hasin.     This  fish  has  not  thrived  as  well  as 

other    introduced    species. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 


135 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Evermann,  Barton  Warreii. 

1906.  The  golden  trout  of  the  southern  High  Sierras.  U.  S.  Bur.  of  Fisheries 
Bull.  25,  pp.  3-51,  16  pis.,  1  map. 

Eigenmann,  Carl  H. 

1890.  The  food  fishes  of  the  California  fresh  waters.  Biennial  Rpt.  Cal. 
State  Bd.  of  Fish  Comm.  for  1888-90,  pp.  53-67. 

Jordan,  David  Starr. 

1892.  Salmon  and  trout  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  Rep.  Cal.  State  Fish  Comm., 
1892,  44-58. 

1893.  Reprinted  in  ibid. 

1904.  Pacific  species  of  salmon  and  trout.  Eighteenth  Bienn.  Rpt.  Cal.  Fish 
and  Game  Comm.,  for  year  1903-04,  pp.  75-97. 

1905.  A  guide  to  the  study  of  fishes.  (Henry  Holt  &  Co.,  New  York.)  Vol.  2, 
599  pp.,  506  figs,  in  text. 

1906.  The  trout  and  salmon  of  the  Pacific  coast.  Nineteenth  Bienn.  Rpt., 
Cal.  Fish  and  Game  Comm.  for  years  1905-1906,  pp.  77-112,  many  figs, 
in  text. 

1915.  Fishes  of  the  Pacific  coast.  In  Nature  and  Science  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  (Paul  Elder  &  Co.,  S.  F.)  pp.  115-123,  pi.  15.  302  pp.,  29  pis.,  19 
figs,  in  text,  14  maps. 

Jordan,  David  Starr  and  Evermann,  Barton  Warren. 

1896-1900.  Fishes  of  North  and  Middle  America,  in  four  volumes,  U.  S.  Nat. 
Mus.  Bull.,  47,  pp.  ct.  3313,  pis.  cccxci. 

1905.  American  food  and  game  fishes.  (Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.,  N.  Y.)  xl, 
572,  many  plates  and  figs. 

McCarthy,  Eugene. 

1913.  Familiar  fish,  their  habits  and  capture.  A  patched  book  on  fresh- 
water game  fish.     (D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  N.  Y.)  xii,  216,  figs,  in  text. 

Snyder,  J.  O. 

1917.  The  fishes  of  the  Lehontan  system  of  Nevada  and  northeastern  Cali- 
fornia.   Bull.  U.  S.  Bur.  of  Fisheries,  35  pp.  1-86,  9  figs,  in  text,  1  map. 

Stone,  Livingston. 

1877.  Domesticated  trout.  How  to  breed  and  grow  them.  (3d  ed.  Univ. 
Press;  Welch,  Bigelow  &  Co.,  Cambridge,  Mass.)  xiv,  367  figures  in 
text. 

Shebley,  AY.  H. 

1917.  History  of  the  introduction  of  food  and  game  fishes  into  the  waters  of 
California.     Cal.  Fish  and  Game,  3,  pp.  1-12,  2  figs,  in  text. 


Fig.   47.     Planting  fish   in   the  High   Sierras. 


136  CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME. 

SUMMER  ON  THE  CALIFORNIA  TROUT  STREAMS. 

By   ROBERT  PAGE   LINCOLN,  Associate   Editor  of  "Rod  and  Gun   in   Canada." 

Trout  fishing  California  has  in  plenty,  with  the  added  attraction  of 
picturesqueness  afforded  by  cool  valleys,  and  overlooked  by  towering 
mountains.  There  is  a  wide  variety  to  choose  from;  and  that  the  sporl 
is  of  the  very  best  is  annually  attested  by  the  experiences  of  thousands 
of  the  sons  of  Walton  who  hie  them  away  for  a  try  at  the  big  fellows. 
They  generally  come  back  with  what  they  went  for,  and  some  memories. 
too,  that  are  enlivened  with  brigb.1  lights  that  are  prone  to  linger  long 
in  the  consciousness;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  doubtful  if  such  memories 
ever  pass  out  of  one's  hoard  of  recollections. 

It  is  the  pride  of  California  to  know  that  it  has  a  native  trout  that 
has  gone  down  to  fame,  and  has  taken  up  its  home  in  practically  every 
quarter  of  the  world.  Just  how  many  of  the  people  of  the  Sunny  State 
are  aware  of  this  I  do  not  know,  but  that  brilliant  elan,  the  California 
league  of  fly-rod  men,  are  in  understanding  of  it.  The  fish  I  have 
reference  to  is  the  rainbow  trout  (Sal mo  irideus),  the  most  noble  finny 
fighter  that  ever  seized  an  artificial  fly  and  made  a  leaping,  dazzling 
flight  through  the  waters.  In  the  Eastern  section  of  the  country  men 
speak  volumes  about  the  speckled  brook  trout,  though  each  and  every 
one  of  them  end  up,  at  some  time  or  another,  by  telling  of  the  fighl 
that  the  rainbow  trout  puts  up  when  captured.  As  an  introduction 
into  other  waters,  the  native  Californian,  rainbow  trout,  has  proven 
himself  well  able  to  take  care  of  himself  and  to  perpetuate  his  kind  for 
the  benefit  of  anglers.  The  rainbow  trout  is  now  found  in  the  waters 
of  the  British  Isles,  in  France,  Germany  and  Russia.  Exceptionally 
good  rainbow  trout  fishing  is  to  be  had  in  the  many  rivers  of  South 
Africa.  Anglers  have  written  enthusiastically  of  fishing  for  Sahim 
irideus  in  the  streams  of  New  Zealand.  In  our  own  country  the  rain- 
bow trout  has  had  a  wide  distribution.  Knee  deep  in  the  waters  of 
Michigan  and  Wisconsin  streams  I  have  played  this  fighter — the  pride 
of  California;  reared  at  the  foot  of  the  snow-capped  mountains,  in  the 
heart  of  the  Sierras.  In  the  rage  that  swept  the  Eastern  States  over 
speckled  brook  trout'  fishing,  a  condition  has  arisen  where  practically 
every  stream  has  been  sapped  of  its  spotted  beauties.  "Where  to  turn 
for  a  replenisher?  The  rainbow  trout  is  always  the  happy  solution. 
There  is  not  a  properly-fitted  trout  stream  that  will  not  do  for  the 
rainbow  trout.     It  grows  fast.     It  fights  well. 

But  it  seems  that  only  in  the  shadow  of  their  beloved  mountain  home 
(as  in  the  Sierras)  do  the  rainbow  trout  give  a  befitting  example  of 
their  sprightly  dash  and  pugnaciousness.  One  who  has  tested  the 
fighting  leap  and  flight  of  a  rainbow  trout,  in.  its  own  particular 
native  waters,  in  the  mountains,  and  has  tested  a  lish  of  the  same 
species  in  Eastern  waters  at  once  knows  the  difference.  Still  flowing, 
often  quite  warm,  and  often  discolored  streams  (which  the  rainbow 
trout  has  been  introduced  into  in  the  Mast)  produce  a  slow-moving 
fish  with  little  fight  in  him.  Such  lish  speedily  degenerate  into  gluttons, 
and  keep  themselves  in  the  pools.  Many  of  thase  hulking  fellows 
finally  get  to  hugging  the  bottom  and  rarely  come  to  the  surface  to 
take  a  fly. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME.  137 

How  different  the  mountain  rainbow !  Unused  to  warm  water,  like 
the  brook  trout,  he  demands  the  sweet,  cold  water.  By  reason  of  the 
swiftness  of  the  mountain  stream  he  has  a  vigorous  "kick"  to  his  tail. 
His  fins  are  superlatively  .strong  for  breasting  those  crystal  currents. 
When  he  takes  your  artificial  fly  he  does  not  lazily  rise  to  the  surface 
to  suck  it  in,  but  snaps  it.  A  moment  later  he  will  turn  a  double  or 
triple  somersault  and  the  fight  is  on.  'Ware  of  that  light  tackle!  He 
is  a  match  for  you.  Back  and  forth  he  will  race  from  one  edge  of  the 
stream  to  the  other.  He  is  cunning,  too,  and  knows  every  log  and 
obstruction  in  the  stream.  He  will  (if  you  do  not  watch  out)  snag 
your  leader  on  a  convenient  boulder  and  there  will  be  nothing  left  but 
the  fragrant  memory  of  what  might  have  been.  The  mountain  rainbow 
is  a  high  flyer,  with  the  guarantee  of  gameness  linked  with  his  name. 
It  recalls  the  brilliant  words  of  Charles  Frederick  Holder:  "How 
that  rainbow  came  at  me ;  how  it  went  repeatedly  into  the  air ;  how  I 
nearly  fell  overboard,  are  matters  of  personal  history,  and  need  not  be 
dwelt  upon;  but  for  the  first  few  seconds  that  living  rainbow,  which 
went  pirouetting  over  the  little  river  on  its  tail,  throwing  impossible 
aerial  swings  and  leaps,  filled  a  space  in  my  imagination.  Again  and 
again  the  rainbow  leaped,  a  silvery  radiance  flashing  in  the  sunlight, 
dropping  back  to  dash  about  the  boat,  to  come  in  with  a  rush,  faster 
than  I  could  reel.    *    *    * 

"You  have,  perhaps,  never  seen  a  big  rainbow  fresh  from  the  icy 
pools  of  its  choice.  Know,  then,  that  this  fish,  this  seven-pounder  which 
I  held  upon  the  scales,  was  a  thing  of  beauty,  a  joy  forever  beyond 
dispute.  Its  back  was  well  sprinkled  with  ocelot-like  black  spots;  the 
color  a  deep  green,  the  lower  surface  silver,  while  over  all  seemed 
drawn  a  filmy  gauze  of  old-rose  fabric,  of  inexpressible  delicacy  and 
beauty,  which  was  intensified  along  the  median  line  in  a  band  of  pink 
and  rose  and  other  tints  that  produced  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow, 
for  truth,  and  gave  this  radiant  creature  rank  among  the  birds  of 
brilliant  plumage." 

Holder  wrote  of  the  large  rainbow  trout  to  be  taken  in  the  lakes  and 
streams  of  northern  California  and  southern  Oregon.  How  skillful 
was  this  great  California  angling  writer  in  telling"  the  beauty  of  fishes, 
and  the  fascination  in  taking  them?  No  one  has  equalled  his  efforts 
at  word  painting  with  black  upon  white. 

When  one  speaks  of  rainbow  trout  in  California  one  instinctively 
thinks  of  the  Kern  River,  which  finds  its  birth  in  the  high  Sierras.  The 
waters  from  Mount  Whitney  pour  into  that  beautiful  stream,  :a  great, 
clear,  green,  swift  stream,  among  the  granite  rocks,  its  waters  slipping 
along  like  oil;  a  river  with  rippling  shallows  and  deep,  cold  eddies, 
the  perfect  home  of  the  trout."  The  Kern  River  is  famed  among 
anglers  the  world  over.  When  anglers  meet  it  is  always:  "Have  you 
ever  fished  the  Kern,  of  California?"  If  you  have  fished  the  Kern 
you  are  the  center  of  a  curious  throng  of  interested  listeners.  Especi- 
ally does  the  Kern  River  interest  anglers  in  that  some  of  the  tributaries 
from  Mount  Whitney  contain  a  trout  that  is  one  of  the  gentle  wonders 
of  this  planet.  I  refer  to  the  so-called  golden  trout.  Professor  Gilbert 
brought  out  the  first  specimens  of  this  fish  for  identification.  David 
Starr  Jordan  designated  the  fish  Salmo  gilberti.  That  was  some 
twenty  years  ago.     The  fish  was  brought  from  Soda  Springs  on  the 


138  CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME. 

south  fork  of  the  Kern  River.  Later  the  isolated  golden  trout  of 
Volcano  Creek  were  designated  as  a  species  apart  from  the  others,  the 
scientific  term  being  given  them  '  Salnm  <i<in<i-l)<>iiil<t  . :::  This  name  was 
derived  from  the  waterfall  thai  separates  the  Volcano  Creek  from  the 
rest  of  the  world — that  is.  as  far  as  coming  ami  going  concerns  this 
trout.  There  are  scientifically,  three  species  of  the  so-called  golden 
mint  iii  the  .Mount  Whitney  waters;  overcast  in  gold,  the  fins  tinted 
in  the  purest-  orange  with  a  nicely  brushed-in  orange  colored  stripe 
along  the  median  line.  The  golden  trout  are  an  off-shoot  of  the  rain- 
how  trout;  merely  that  changed  environments  have  wrought  a  subtle 
transformation  in  their  coloration,  for  the  pigment  cells  of  a  trout  are 
very  sensitive  to  taking  on  a  new  coloration.  If  a  stream  bottom  be  of 
sand  and  gravel,  and  very  bright,  the  fish  attains  to  a  silvery  coloration. 
The  golden  tiuiil  owe  their  coloration  to  the  color  of  the  bottom  of  the 
stream  they  live  in.  "The  rocks  over  which  these  streams  flow,"  says 
Jordan,  "are  of  bright  granite  and  quartzite,  gray  and  red.  It  is 
supposed  that  the  color  is  protective,  for  the  fish  are  colored  like  the 
hot  torn.  To  a  bird  looking  into  the  stream,  the  deception  is  perfect. 
It  is  supposed  (though  no  one  knows)  that  the  colors  have  heen  attained 
through  natural  selection.  The  redder  the  fish,  the  better  its  chance 
to  escape  the  fish  hawk  and  eagle.  If  this  is  not  the  cause  of  the  color, 
ne  can  guess  any  other,  and  to  escape  its  enemies  through  resem- 
blance to  natural  objects  is  not  a  trait  of  the  fish  alone,  hut  of  hundreds 
of  other  creatures  in  these  and  other  mountains.  But  whatever  the 
cause,  nothing  in  nature  is  more  beautiful  or  more  graceful  than  a 
golden  trout,  alive  in  these  clear,  icy,  sun-lit  waters." 

The  golden  trout  are  trout  of  the  high  altitudes.  Such  trout  rarely 
grow  to  length  and  breadth  and  weight.  One  rarely  catches  a  true 
golden  trout  much  over  three-quarters  of  a  pound  in  weight.  They 
rarely  go  over  twelve  inches  in  length:  a  ten-incher  may  he  taken  as  a 
large  one.  They  attain  to  maturity  at  a  length  of  about  eight  inches. 
Sadly,  they  are  unwise,  being  so  far  removed  from  man,  and  they  take 
the  fly  with  a  dash  and  at  the  first  east  that  leads  many  a  fish  hog  to 
catch  ten  times  more  than  he  should.  Quieter  stretches  of  water  (as 
where  it  flows  through  the  meadows)  provide  good  fishing.  The  trout 
angler  will  find  joy  in  taking  a  x<'V\  few  of  these  exceptional  fishes  and 
enjoy  1he  thought  that  he  is  in  a  region  thai,  for  beauty,  if  is  hard  to 
equal. 

Unknown  to  many,  the  size  of  the  stream,  the  river  or  the  lake  that 
a  rainbow  troul  is  found  in  has  its  effect  upon  the  size  of  the  fish. 
The  reason  of  this  is  two-fold:  first,  the  size  of  the  stream:  second,  the 
smaller  amount  of  food  that  it  produces.  It  is  for  this  reason  thai  the 
rainbow  trout  often  mature  when  they  are  six  inches  in  length,  in  the 
streams  of  Hie  high  altitudes.  They  will  ravenously  seize  the  artificial 
fly,  believing  it  food,  for  there  is  a  scarcity  of  it.  and  therefore  its 
attractiveness  is  instantaneous.  In  the  slightly  larger  streams  the 
rainbow  trout  attain  to  weights  of  about  two  or  three  pounds.  In  still 
deeper  streams  and  huge  pools  four-pounders  are  not  uncommon.  The 
Kern,  the  Kings  and   the   Merced    rivers  are   representative  rainbow 

*It  was  later  learned  thai  Hi''  specimens  to  which  It.  Jordan  gave  the  name  8almo 

agua-bowita  really  came  from  Cottonw 1  Creek,  into  which  they  hail  In  ■en  introduced 

from  South  Fork  of  Kern  River,  ami  that  the  trout  of  Volcano  Creek  is  a  very  different 
species,  which  Dr.  Evermann  named  salute  roosevelti.     See  pages  124-125. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME.  '  139 

streams.  In  the  lakes  (as  in  Kern  Lake)  the  rainbow  trout  reaches  to 
a  weight  of  eight  pounds.  In  the  Klamath  Lakes  rainbow  trout  have 
been  taken  as  high  as  twenty-five  pounds  in  weight.  The  ocean-running 
rainbows  are  large;  they  arc  salmon-like  fellows.  They  feed  heavily  in 
the  ocean  and  thus  attain  often  gigantic  weights.  In  the  ocean  their 
beautiful  fresh-water  coloration  fades  and  they  become  silvery  in 
coloration.  They  generally  come  up  to  the  const  rivers  in  the  month 
of  March  to  spawn. 

Summer  on  the  California  trout  streams  is  one  of  joy  unending  and 
success  in  due  measure.  Nevertheless,  it  is  strange  what  a  falling  off 
occurs  in  the  number  of  anglers  who  visit  the  streams  in  the  latter  part 
of  July  and  August.  Opening  days  are  always  attended  by  outward 
moving  delegations  of  anglers;  and  the  streams  are  thickly  peopled. 
Later  on.  however,  they  dwindle  down  to  twos  and  threes — and  the 
streams  are  left  to  themselves.  A  certain  number  of  these  sons  of 
Walton  know  that  the  best  fishing  occurs  when  the  heats  of  summer 
lower  on  the  earth,  for  it  is  then  the  mountain  waters  yield  up  their 
fairest  specimens.  Those  secluded  pools  are  then  veritable  treasure- 
places  and  bear  a  careful  looking  into;  it  takes  skill  and  the  correct 
lure,  but  the  wise  angler  is  never  wanting  in  fitting  perfectly  into  the 
situation.  Live  bait,  spinners  and  artificial  flies  are  used.  The  live- 
bait  man  knows  that  the  grasshopper  is  a  telling  lure  what  time  the 
July  sun  is  gilding  the  heavens  and  is  never  to  be  found  near  to  the 
waters  then  without  a  box  of  them.  How  to  use  them  on  the  hook 
without  impaling  them?  Simply  procure  some  of  the  smallest  druggist 
rubber  snaps.  Take  a  sufficient  number  of  turns  of  the  rubber  around 
the  hock,  bend  and  then  insert  the  hopper  in  the  loop.  Helgramite  are 
attached  to  the  hook  in  the  same  manner  and  they  will  still  be  as  alive 
as  ever.  The  druggist  rubber  snap  is  a  bait-saver,  and  no  mistake. 
One  may  catch  fifty  trout  (if  it  so  be)  on  a  helgramite,  attached  to  the 
hook  with  a  snap,  and  at  the  end  of  the  day's  fishing  it  will  be  as  active 
as  ever.  The  larvaes  of  the  Dobson  fly  (which  is  the  helgramite )  are 
only  too  well  known  to  the  live-bait  fisher.  They  are  those  wicked- 
looking  creatures  one  finds  in  the  streams  upon  turning  up  stones. 
They  have  a  series  of  pincers  on  each  side,  though  they  are  more  savauc 
in  appearance  than  in  actual  combat.  It  has  been  said  that  when  all 
else  in  the  line  of  bait  fails,  the  helgramite,  the  grasshopper  and  the 
angleworm  will  win. 

And  there  is  method  in  the  skillful  use  of  the  angleworm,  too.  In 
fact  there  is  an  art,  in  itself,  to  "working  for  trout,''  as  it  is  called. 
Your  chuek-and-chance-it,  live-bait  fisherman  will  hook  on  a  great  gob 
of  worms;  will  start  it  at  the  head  of  a  pool  and  will  let  it  tumble, 
haphazard  down  with  the  current,  rolling  over  the  bottom  of  the 
stream.  Some  rainbows  may  see  it,  and  take  it,  no  doubt,  but  not  the 
fish  you  are  looking  for.  The  true  sportsmanlike  method  of  worming 
for  trout  consists  in  connecting  a  bare  hook  to  a  spinner — a  No.  1  or  2 
spinner  will  do  nicely.  To  this  bare  hook  the  worm  is  attached  so  that 
it  will  trail  in  the  water.  Instead  of  driving  the  hook  throughout  the 
worm,  it  is  hooked  just  under  ils  skin.  It  requires  some  little  art  to 
cast  this — in  fact,  it  is  nol  a  cast  at  all,  but  is  allowed  to  play  out  in 
the  water.  The  spinner  will  whirl,  throwing  off  a  silvery  ray,  and  the 
long,  trailing  worm  will  have  a  snaky,  wavering  motion  in  the  water 


140  CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME. 

that  proves  instantly  attractive.  Move  this  into  some  suspicious- 
looking  mountain  pool  and  if  there  is  a  large  rainbow  trout  there  he 
will  be  interested  in  sampling  your  offering,  he  it  feeding  time  or  no. 
It  is  hard,  in  the  tinny  world,  to  refuse  an  angleworm  that  trails  so 
subtly  and  enticingly  in  the  water. 

However,  the  safest  and  most  certain  method  in  using  the  angle- 
worm for  a  lure  goes  as  follows,  and  has  never  been  known  to  fail  at 
getting  the  fish  that  strikes:  A  No.  10  is  slipped  on  to  a  leader  and  is 
tied  to  the  leader  one  and  one-half  inches  from  the  end  of  it.  The 
hook  should  not  stand  out  from  the  leader;  rather  the  hook  shank  should 
lie  along  the  leader.  This  done,  a  second  lunik  is  tied  on  to  the  leader 
at  the  end.  to  be  the  lead  hook,  the  front  hook,  so  to  speak.  Now  the 
worm  is  connected  to  this  affair,  the  head  of  the  worm  being  attached 
to  the  back  hook,  while  the  front  hook  is  worked  into  the  body.  To  all 
appearances  when  this  is  moved  in  the  water  the  worm  is  free;  this  is 
especially  true  if  you  are  using  an  invisible  leader,  of  which  there  is 
at  least  one  on  the  market.  When  a  fish  strikes  this  worm  he  will  hook 
up  either  to  the  first  or  the  second  hook  on  the  leader,  or  both.  There 
is  hardly  a  chance  here  of  nipping  off  the  end  of  the  worm  for  the 
simple  reason  that  there  is  a  hook  in  it. 

It  seems  strange,  but  nevertheless  a  fact:  Trout  will  strike  freely 
and  well,  it  seems,  at  all  times,  on  the  fore-fin  of  a  trout.  Simply  upon 
capturing  a  trout  sever  one  of  the  fore-fins  and  attach  it  to  the  hook. 
Some  of  the  largest  rainbow  trout  in  the  mountains  will  take  the  fin 
viciously  when  even  the  succulent  grasshopper  fails.  This  fact  may 
be  known  to  some  anglers,  but  it  is  as  one  in  ten.  The  same  is  true  of 
a  little  white  strip  cut  from  the  belly  of  one  of  your  trout,  about  two 
inches  long  and  one-half  inch  wide  at  the  butt  end.  Attach  this  to  the 
hook  at  its  tip  and  play  it  to  the  current.  If  the  current  is  strong. 
one  will  need  to  place  several  split-shots  on  the  leader  to  sink  it.  Then 
let  out  line.  Let  it  flow  downstream.  Seventy-five,  one  hundred,  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet,  perhaps.  Down  it  goes,  moving  in  and  out  of 
the  pools.  Suddenly  a  large  fellow  beside  a  boulder  will  seize  it  and 
the  fun  begins.  These  methods  win  when  the  fish  are  weak  on  surface 
feeding,  and  are  closer  to  the  bottom;  and  this  often  happens.  Do  not 
forget  the  fore-fin  or  the  belly-fin  of  the  trout  as  a  lure.  Many  are 
not  aware  of  it.  but  the  artificial  fly  known  as  the  Parmachenee  -Belle, 
was  made  in  imitation  of  the  belly-fin  of  a  trout.  Think  of  it;  instead 
of  imitating  an  insect  (as  many  suppose  it  should)  it  is  an  imitation 
of  the  belly-fin  of  a  trout.  Could  anything  be  more  incongruous"?  Yet 
il  was  such  a  valuable  hint  thai  the  inventor  (a  great  angler)  made  a 
fly  to  represent  it.  The  July  and  August  angler  in  the  mountain 
pools  should  give  this  his  careful  attention. 

It  has  been  said  that  there  are  times  in  July  and  August  when  the 
angler  is  not  able  to  "rise''  a  fish;  that  the  fish  do  not  even  seem  to  do 
any  surface-feeding.  Naturally,  the  best  fishing  goes  on  when  the  fish 
are  rising  to  the  top  for  insects,  as  when  a  hatch  of  insects  is  on  and 
they  are  rising  from  the  bottom  of  the  stream.  The  higher  one  goes 
up  in  the  mountains  the  fewer,  it  appears,  become  the  true  stream 
insects.  The  angler  must  needs  use  art  in  collaboration  with  some  true 
study  to  make  some  appreciable  catches.  Mountain  trout  may  be  uncer- 
tain fellows.     Having  had  poor  luck  (if  any)  with  a  small  fly,  he  may 


CALIFORNIA   PISH   AND    GAME.  141 

shift  to  a  rather  large  fly  (even  a  bass  fly)  and  immediately  rise  a 
large  fellow  and  niake  the  best  eateli  of  the  season.  The  trouble  with 
the  ill-luck  of  many  anglers  is  that  they  give  no  time  to  experimenta- 
tion. They  place  their  luck  with  one  variety  or  color  of  fly,  or  one 
size  of  fly,  and  remain  at  that,  without  trying  anything  else.  There  is 
another  extreme  to  this  in  that  many  fly-fishermen  are  constantly 
changing  flies  and  using  one  but  five  minutes  before  another  shift  is 
made.  The  result  is  that  no  fly  is  given  a  true  tryout.  Again  there  is 
a  hint  learned  from  experience :  One  cast  well-judged  and  well-placed 
is  worth  ten  indifferent  casts  that  have  been  poorly  placed.  The  differ- 
ence is  that  the  well-placed  cast  is  the  one  that  brings  success ;  the  poor 
casts,  ill-judged,  are  so  much  waste  of  time.  Study  every  nook  and 
cranny  of  the  stream  you  are  to  cast  over.  Don't  make  a  cast  till  you 
have  mentally  made  note  of  where  a  large  fellow  would  in  all  likelihood 
happen  to  be.  For  instance,  beside  that  large  boulder  there  is  a  patch 
of  still  water.  If  you  can  make  a  cast  so  that  your  fly,  or  flies,  will 
fall  on  the  boulder  you  will  craftily  pull  them  off  the  boulder — and  in 
the  most  natural  manner  they  will  fall  to  the  still  patch  of  water. 
Deceived,  believing  the  artificial  flies  true  insects,  that  large  and 
dazzling  rainbow  will  rise  and  take  the  offering.  Or  here  is  a  semidark 
place  under  a  sedgy  bank.  There  is  a  still  place  there.  A  trout 
should  be  lurking  in  that  nook.  Or  here  is  a  log  in  the  water.  Try 
your  bait  or  fly  alongside  of  that,  seeing  to,  always,  that  your  fly  falls 
first,  not  the  line  and  leader  first.  Poor  casting,  I  firmly  believe,  has 
only  one  result,  that  being :  111  luck ! 

During  the  fore  part  of  the  season  a  great  number  of  anglers  go  out, 
but  they  are  live-bait  users  almost  entirely.  The  salmon-egg  contingent, 
the  dyed-in-the-wool  fly-fisherman  calls  them — and  the  true  fly-fisherman 
can  be  counted  on  to  eschew  the  streams  till  the  inimitable  July  and 
August  days  arrive.  Then  he  goes  happily  forth  into  the  mountain 
stillnesses. 

There  is  a  reason,  too.  The  early  fisherman  had  to  contend  with 
high  and  swift  water  which  was  mostly  discolored.  It  was  the  using 
of  live  bait  entirely,  for  the  stream  insects  were  not  hatching,  so  that 
the  trout  could  be  deceived  by  artificial  counterparts.  Now,  however, 
the  winged  life  is  abroad;  the  fly-fisherman  is  in  his  element.  As  the 
warmer  days  come  on,  the  water  in  the  lower  reaches  of  the  rivers 
disappears  or  becomes  heated  out,  the  fish  gradually  but  surely  make 
for  the  upper  pools,  and  thence  follow  the  fly-fishermen.  It  is  riotous 
travel  at  times;  the  road  is  rough.  Sometimes  there  are  no  roads  and 
one  makes  his  own  paths  at  will.  But  there  is  a  reward  among  the 
cools  of  the  upper  valleys  and  natural  parks  where  Nature  in  all  her 
untrimmed  and  majestic  glory  contrives  to  make  California  the  true 
Arcadia  of  the  disciple  of  Walton. 


142 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME. 


PARASITES  WHICH  AFFECT  THE  FOOD  VALUE  OF  RABBITS. 

By    E.    RALPH    DE  ONG,    University   of   California. 

A  fringe  of  small,  lead-colored  bodies,  the  size  of  coarse  shot,  is  fre- 
quently seei the  ears  of  the  brush  or  cottontail  rabbits.     These  are 

young  licks,  the  immature  form  of  < I'  our  common  species,  prob- 
ably the  wood  tick  (Dermacentor  occidentals).  After  hatching  from 
l he  egg  the  young  ticks  wait  in  the  grass  for  a  passing  rabbit  or  other 
animal,  attach  themselves  and  Peed  for  three  or  four  days,  drop  to  the 
ground  and  molt    (shed  their  old  skins),  then  await   another  chance  to 

feed. 

The  presence  of  these  ticks  lias  no  effect  on  the  rabbit  except  a  slight 
loss  of  blood  and  a  temporary  annoyance,  and  as  this  tick  has  not  been 


Fig.   48.     A    young    blacktailed   jackrabbit,    an    animal    often    discarded    for    food 

cause  of   th<    pn    ei C  parasites.      Photograph  by  J.   Dixon.      Neg.   290,  Calif. 

.Mus.   Vert.  Zool. 

reported  in  California  as  a  carrier  of  any  disease  it  need  not  be  con- 
sidered as  of  any  significance. 

The  species  of  fleas  commonly  found  on  rabbits  in  this  state  have  not 

1 ii  reported  as  disease  carriers  so  thai  the  presence  of  these  insects 

can  also  be  disregarded. 

One  species  of  b:)1tl\    I  ((  '  U  / (  n  h  ni  sp.  I   attacks  rabbits  verv  commonly. 

The  Larvae  of  this  fly  is  almost  black  in  the  mature  stage,  about  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  long  and  covered  with  tiny  spines.  Brush  rabbits 
taken  in  Sonoma  County  up  to  the  last  of  July  were  commonly  infested 
with  this  insect.  Alter  the  lirst  of  AugUSl  no  larva-  were  found,  they 
apparently  coming  to  maturity  at  this  time.  They  then  leave  the  host 
and  bury  themselves  in  the  ground,  emerging  the  following  year  as  flies. 
The  larva'  are   found  jusl    beneath  the  skin   along  the  back  or  breast. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME.  143 

The  only  outward  indication  of  their  presence  is  a  slight  enlargement 
at  the  affected  point.  No  injury  to  the  muscles  was  noted  in  any 
infested  specimen,  the  body  being  apparently  in  a  normal  condition. 
Wounds  of  this  kind  may,  however,  become  infected  by  bacteria  or 
become  infested  with  some  of  the  flesh  feeding  flies  and  in  this  way 
produce  large  tumorous  swellings.  These  latter  attacks,  when  severe, 
may  produce  an  emaciated  condition  of  the  animal  which  manifestly 
impairs  the  value  of  the  carcass  for  food.  But  if  the  larvae  arc 
present  on  the  body  of  the  rabbit,  without  any  outward  or  internal  sign 
of  disease  there  would  seem  no  reason  for  discarding  the  same. 

Rabbits  are  occasionally  taken  in  this  state  which  show  the  larval 
form  of  a  common  tapeworm  {Coenurus  serialis)  which,  when 
eaten  by  the  dog  produces  the  adult  tapeworm  Tcewia  serialis.1  The 
infestation  in  the  rabbit  appears  as  a  transparent,  bladder-like  swelling 
which  may  be  as  large  as  a  hen's  egg  or  larger  and  is  of  frequent 
occurrance  in  jackrabbits,  often  spoken  of  by  hunters  as  ;' boils." 
Scattered  about  on  the  inner  surface  of  this  bladder  will  be  seen  white 
dots  about  half  the  size  of  a  pinhead.  These  are  the  undeveloped  heads 
of  tapeworms,  each  one  of  which  is  capable  of  developing  into  a  mature 
tapeworm  if  taken  into  the  body  of  a  carnivorous  animal  in  a  living 
condition.  Hence  an  animal  eating  an  uncooked  rabbit  infested  with 
one  of  these  bladder  worms  will  develop  a  typical  case  of  tapeworm. 
Thorough  cooking  will  kill  the  larval  form  so  that  the  meat  can  be  fed 
to  animals  without  danger.  But  the  uncooked  carcass  or  viscera  should 
not  be  fed  to  animals. 

One  specimen  of  brush  rabbit  had  two  infestations :  one  originating  in 
the  thigh  had  grown  so  large  as  to  displace  the  muscles,  the  second 
formed  a  large  swelling  on  the  surface  of  the  breast.  Any  infestation 
of  this  kind  should  be  regarded  with  suspicion  and  the  carcass  burned 
or  buried  deeply  so  as  to  be  out  of  reach  of  all  carnivorous  animals. 

Domestic  rabbits  and  probably  the  wild  form  are  subject  to  a  disease 
called  coccidiosis  resulting  from  the  attack  of  a  sporozoa  (Coccidium 
ovi forme) .  The  symptoms  are  snuffles,  running  at  the  nose  and  diar- 
rhoea. The  inner  walls  of  the  intestines  show  reddened  patches  with 
more  or  less  ulceration.  The  liver  is  enlarged  and  the  interior  has 
many  small  round  abscesses  filled  with  pus ;  as  the  disease  progresses  the 
carcass  becomes  emaciated.  Animals  affected  with  this  disease  should 
be  considered  as  unfit  for  food. 

An  ear  mite  (Otodectes  cygnatis)  is  mentioned  by  Professor  Herms  as 
sometimes  being  abundant  enough  to  cause  serious  disease  or  death  to 
domestic  rabbits. 


'Determination   by  Professor  W.    B.   Herms. 


144  CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 

OUT  FISHIN'. 
By  Edwabd  A.  Guest. 

A  feller  isn't  thinkin'  mean — out  fishin'; 

His  thoughts  axe  mostly  good  and  clean-  out  fishin'; 

He  doesn't  knock  his  fellow  men, 

Or  harbor  any  grudges  then ; 
A  feller's  at  his  finest  when — out  fishin'. 

The  rich  are  comrades  to  the  poor — out  fishin'; 

All  brothers  of  a  common  lure — out  fishin'; 
The  urchin  with  the  pin  and  string 
Can  chum  with  millionaire  an!  king; 

Vain  pride  is  a  forgotten  thing — out  fishin'. 

A  feller  gets  a  chance  to  dream — out  fishin'; 

He  learns  the  beauties  of  a  stream — out  fishin'; 
An'  he  can  wash  his  soul  in  air 
That  ain't  foul  with  selfish  care, 

And  relish  plain  an'  simple  fare — out  fishin'. 

A  feller  has  no  time  for  hate — out  fishin' ; 

He  ain't  eager  to  be  great — out  fishin'; 
He  ain't  thinkin'  thoughts  of  self, 
Or  goods  stacked  high  upon  a  shelf, 

But  he's  always  just  himself — out  fishin'. 

A  feller's  glad  to  be  a  friend — out  fishin'; 

A  helping  hand  he'll  always  lend — out  fishin'; 
The  brotherhood  of  rod  an'  line, 
An '  sky  an '  stream  is  always  fine ; 

Men  come  real  close  to  God's  design — out  fishin' 

A  feller  isn't  plottin'  schemes — out  fishin'; 
He's  only  busy  with  his  dreams — out  fishin'; 

His  livery's  a  coat  of  tan; 

His  creed's  to  do  the  best  he  can; 
A  feller's  always  mostly  man-  out  fishin'. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 


145 


CALIFORNIA  FISH  AND  GAME 


A  publication  devoted  to  the  conserva- 
tion of  wild  life  and  published  quarterly 
by  the  California  State  P'ish  and  Game 
Commission. 

Sent  free  to  citizens  of  the  State  of  Cali- 
fornia. Offered  in  exchange  for  ornitho- 
logical, mammological  and  similar  period- 
icals. 

The  articles  published  in  California  Fish 
and  Game  are  not  copyrighted  and  may  be 
reproduced  in  other  periodicals,  provided 
due  credit  is  given  the  California  Fish  and 
Game  Commission.  Editors  of  newspapers 
and  periodicals  are  invited  to  make  use 
of  pertinent  material. 

All  material  for  publication  should  be 
sent  to  H.  C.  Bryant,  Museum  of  Verte- 
brate Zoology,  Berkeley,  Cal. 

July  15,  1919. 


"There  is  nothing  that  attracts  human 
nature  more  powerfully  than  the  sport  of 
tempting  the  unknown  with  a  fishing 
line." — Henry  Van  Dyke. 

VINDICATION. 
Periodically,  the  sta'-e  Fish  and  Game 
Commission  is  attacked  by  members  of  the 
legislature.  Any  state  commission  which 
has  to  do  with  the  enforcement  of  law  is 
subject  to  such  attacks.  In  1911  an  in- 
vestigation was  ordered  by  the  assembly. 
The  investigating  committee,  however, 
gave  a  very  favorable  report  as  to  the 
activities  cf  the  Commission.  The  1919 
assembly  began  an  inquiry  which  also 
resulted  in  complete  vindication  for  the 
Commission.  We  hope  to  publish  in  the 
next  number  '•he  full  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Governmental  Efficiency  and 
Economy  to  wh'ch  a  resolution  by  Assem- 
blyman Eden  was  referred.  While  it 
would  seem  that  the  resolution  was 
actuated  by  spite,  the  result  has  been  ve  *y 
favorable  to  the  Fish  and  Game  Commis- 
sion, for  it  has  shown  the  people  exactly 
where  the  Commission  stands  and  has 
widely  advertised  the  accomplishments  of 
the  past  few  years. 

NATURE     STUDY     LIBRARIES     TO     BE 
FURNISHED   SUMMER    RESORTS. 

Compact  nature  study  libraries  will  be 

placed  at  those  Tahoe  resorts  which  are 

selected  for  the  educat'onal  work  of  the 

Fish   and   Game   Commission   the   coming 

summer.     The  libraries  will  include  books 

on  birds,  mammals,  wild  flowers,  trees  and 

kindred  subjects.     Donated  to  the  state  by 

the  California  Nature  Study  League,  they 

will  be  deposited  with  the  Fish  and  Game 

Commission    to    be    thus    utilized    in    the 


commission's  educational  work.  These 
libraries  will  be  annually  loaned  to  sum- 
mer resorts  in  the  future  and  probably 
represent  only  the  beginn'ng  of  a  work 
which  will  eventually  cover  all  the  summer 
resorts  of  California.  They  are  intended 
for  use  at  that  time  when  people,  being 
on  a  vacation,  are  most  receptive  to  study- 
ing intimately  the  miracles  of  nature.  In 
ways  such  as  this  the  Commission  is 
applying  the  motto  :  "Conservation  through 
education." 

•    THE     1918    CATCH     OF    FISH. 

Among  the  reports  of  this  issue 
of  California  Fish  and  Game  is  a 
complete  statement  of  the  fresh  fish  taken 
in  California  during  the  year  1918.  In 
this  statement  there  is  included  a  record  of 
fish  taken  in  Mexican  waters  and  brought 
into  California  through  San  Diego  and 
San  Pedro,  but  this  is  not  included  in  the 
total  for  California. 

The  total  catch  of  all  varieties  of  fish 
in  California  for  1918  was  250,218,041 
pounds.  Compared  with  the  201,575,953 
taken  in  1917,  this  shows  an  increase  of 
48,642,088  pounds,  or  a  trifle  over  24  per 
cent.  For  a  ready  comparison  of  catches 
of  the  more  important  fish  for  1917  and 
191S,  the  following  table  is  g'ven  : 

1917  1918 

Albacore    30,556.243  7,263,895 

Barracuda    2,965,368  3,885  691 

Bonito    889.896  2,264,164 

Halibut    3,585,666  2,837.987 

Herring     7,435,997  7,938,280 

Mackerel 3,345,563  4,005,906 

Rock   fish   6,255,380  6.281,425 

Sole     8,728,429  7,027,767 

Salmon 11,007.442  13,026,076 

Sand   dabs   2,631,862  1,751.609 

Striped  bass 1,095,856  1,407,841 

Shad  (buck  and  roe)     5.616,110  2.:'A3.635 

Sardine    104,103,331  157,652,S11 

Skipjack    3.023.847 

Tuna 6,240,971 

Yellowtail 2,887,413  11,658,259 

The  figure  for  the  albacore  catch  of 
1917  includes  the  bluefin  and  yellowfin 
tuna  taken.  In  1918  the  albacore  catch 
was  very  short  and  as  bluefin  and  yellow- 
fin  tuna  were  more  plentiful,  a  much 
larger  number  were  taken  and  were  for 
the  first  time  separated  from  the  albacore 
under  the  name  "tuna."  The  tuna  and 
albacore  catch  combined  in  191S  was  less 
than  half  tin'  albacore  catch  of  the  pre- 
vious year. 

The  sardine  catch  shows  a  phenomenal 
increase  although  southern  California  had 
a  light  run  of  sard:nes  during  the  latter 


146 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME. 


Fig.   49.     Four    new    fish    hatcheries.       Upper    left,    Ft.    Seward    Hatchery,    Ft. 
Seward,    California  ;   upper  right,    Kaweah   Experimental    Hatchery,   Kaweah  River, 

Fresno  County,  Gal.  :  lower  left,  Clear  Creek  Hatchery,  Westwood,  Lassen  County, 
Cal.  ;  lower  right,  Doming. >  Springs   1  latolu-ry,  Domingo  Springs,   Plumas  County,  Cal. 


part  of  1918.  Shad,  halibut,  sole  and 
sand  dab  all  show  a  decreased  catch  during 
1918,  while  bonito,  barracuda,  mackerel, 
salmon,  striped  bass,  skipjack  and  yellow- 
la  il  all  show  an  increased  catch.  Al- 
though the  catch  of  salmon  on  Monterey 
I'.a.v  was  less,  much  heavier  catches  were 
made  at  Drakes  Bay  Fort  Bragg  and  on 
the  lower  Sacramento  River,  which 
brought  the  total  catch  for  1918  to  over 
two  mil'ion  pounds  more  than  that  of  the 
year  1917.  There  was  no  great  fluctua- 
tion in  the  catch  of  other  species. 

There  was  a  decrease  of  41,177  dozen  in 
the  catch  of  crabs  and  of  41,943  pounds  in 
the  catch  of  crawfish,  while  the  catch  of 
shrimps  shows  an  increase  of  117,174 
pounds  ove  the  jear  1917.  The  mollusks 
do  not  show  any  great  changes  over 
previous  years. 

The  Department  of  Commercial  Fish- 
eries is  making  every  effoit  to  secure  and 
complete  accurate  statistics  of  the  catches 
of  all  fish  and  it  can  readily  be  seen  that 
a  comparison  of  yearly  catches  for  a  num- 
ber   of    years    will    aid    in    determining 


whether  any  certain  species  is  being  over- 
fished and  depleted,  or  whether  it  is  be- 
coming more  abundant. — N.  B.  S. 

MAINTAIN    A   SUPPLY! 

It  can  not  be  expected  that  wild  life 
resources,  if  left  to  themselves,  will  con- 
t;nue  to  yield  food  and  sport  indefinitely. 
The  reason,  of  course,  is  to  be  found  in 
the  encroachment  of  civilized  man,  which 
not  only  means  increased  destruction,  but 
a  diminution  of  food  supply  and  nesting 
sites.  Under  the  artific;al  conditions  now 
fostered  a  constant  supply  can  be  main- 
tained only  through  carefully  planned  pro- 
tection and  propagation.  By  looking  over 
the  attainments  of  the  Commission  whose 
function  is  to  perpetuate  fish  and  game, 
we  are  assured  that  the  financial  outlay 
has  been  more  than  justified. 

RAINBOW    TROUT    ACCLIMATIZED    IN 
ARGENTINA. 

In  1903  at  the  request  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Argentina  the  United  States  Bu- 
reau   of    Fisheries    donated    the    eggs    of 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 


147 


several  varieties  of  fish  to  the  southern 
republic.  A  'etter  recently  received  by 
the  Bureau  states  that  thousands  of  East- 
ern brook  trout  are  now  being  caught 
annually,  that  some  mens-'  e  19  inches, 
and  have  a  weight  of  10  pounds.  In  the 
mountaii  range  of  Aconqu;ja  in  27°  south 
latitude  and  in  the  Patagonian  reg'on  as 
far  south  as  52°  latitude,  the  rainbow 
trout  is  doing  well. 

A     COLLEGE     OF     FISHERIES     ESTAB- 
LISHED. 

An  event  of  great  importance  to  those 
interested  in  the  fisheries  of  the  United 
States,  and  especially  so  to  those  of  the 
Pacific  coast,  has  been  the  recent  estab- 
lishment of  a  College  of  Fisheries  in  con- 
nection with  the  University  of  Washing- 
ton at  Seattle.     The  need  for  such  a  col- 


the  fishery  products  of  this  coast  alone  is 
increased  to  over  $100,000,000 ;  the  invest- 
ment in  plants,  vessels,  boats,  fishing  gear, 
etc.,  on  tins  coast  amounts  to  about 
$115,000,000,  while  over  75,000  persons  are 
employed  in  fishing  and  preparing  the 
above  products  for  market. 

The  production  of  raw  fishery  products 
elsewhere  in  the  United  States  amounts 
annually  to  approximately  2,250,000,000 
pounds,  valued,  to  the  fishermen,  at 
approximately  $00,000,000.  When  prepared 
for  market  these  products  would  probably 
be  worth  approximately  $120,000,000. 

The  College  of  Fisheries  just  estab- 
lished by  the  university  enjoys  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  the  on'y  one  of  any 
consequence  'n  the  world  outside  of 
Japan.  In  the  latter  country  the  Im- 
perial  Fisheries   Institute   at   Tokio   is  a 


TROUT  FRY  DISTRIBUTED  IN  STREAMS  AND  LAKES 

OF  CALIFORNIA  DURING  PAST  THREE  YEARS. 

1916 

1917                       1918 

Total 

Rainbow                      3,399,920 

5,223,500     5,680,500 

14,303,920 

Eastern  brook  ___     2,068,500 

1,617,500     2,294,500 

5,980,500 

Loch  Leven                1,620,000 

1,468,000     1,633,000 

4,721,000 

Black  spotted  ___     3,835,270 

3,836,000     1,059,500 

8,730,770 

Steelhead                    5,213,170 

6,699,420     4,483,000 

16,395,590 

German  brown 77,300 

77,300 

Golden    trout 

_     __          384,000 

384,000 

Totals        __     16,214,160 

18,844,420  15,534,500 

50,593,080 

lege  has  been  felt  for  some  time,  and  Dr. 
Suzzallo,  the  able  and  progressive  head  of 
the  university,  is  to  be  congratulated  upon 
his  action  in  this  matter. 

The  commercial  fisheries  of  the  Pacific 
coast  are  of  great  importance  to  its  wel- 
fare, how  much  so  being  plainly  indicated 
when  it  is  stated  that  Washington,  Alaska, 
Oregon,  California  and  Hawaii  produced 
last  year  approximately  1,000,000,000 
pounds  of  raw  fishery  products  valued  to 
the  fishermen  at  about  $25,000,000. 
Seven-eighths  of  the  wo  Id's  pack  of 
canned  salmon  is  made  on  the  coast,  while 
tuna,  sardines,  clams,  crabs,  shrimp, 
mackerel,  abalone,  etc.,  are  canned  in 
large  quantities  and  shipped  to  all  quar- 
ters of  the  globe.  Immense  quantities  of 
frozen,  fresh,  pickled,  salted  and  smoked 
fishery  products  are  also  prepared  and 
shipped.     When  so  prepared  the  value  of 


government  institution  and  has  been  in 
existence  since  1897.  S:nce  then  sub- 
sidiary schools  have  been  established  in 
various  provinces  of  Japan. 

Seattle  is  an  ideal  location  for  such  a 
college,  as  within  its  corporate  limits,  or 
in  territory  immediately  adjacent,  are  to 
be  found  "n  acfve  operation  practically 
every  style  of  plant  used  in  turning  the 
raw  fishery  products  into  all  forms  of 
manufactured  articles  both  for  food  and 
for  use  in  the  arts  and  sciences ;  while 
the  great  salmon,  halibut,  cod,  and  herring 
fleets  operating  in  Alaska  waters  have 
their  headquarters  mainly  in  tlr's  city, 
outfitting  here  and  bring'ng  back  the 
products  for  shipment  to  the  four  corners 
of  the  world. 

The  college  offers  four  yea"  courses  in 
fisheries  technology  and  fish  culture.  The 
fisheries  technology  courses  will  train  men 


148 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 


for  various  lines  of  work  in  industrial 
plants.  OwiDg  to  the  immensity  of  the 
business,  as  noted  above,  there  is  always 
a  demand  for  trained  men  in  the  salmon 
ami  other  canneries  cold  storage  plants, 
smokehouses,  and  fe-tilizer  and  oil  plants. 
Every  effort  will  be  made  to  make  the 
courses  as  practical  as  possible,  and  stu- 
dents will  make  visits  to  the  planes  when- 
ever possible  so  they  may  obtain  first- 
hand information  as  to  the  methods  in 
vogue.  They  will  also  leceive  training  in 
bacteriology  and  chemistry,  and  thus  will 
be  fitted  for  work  in  marine  biological 
laboratories,  and  in  chemical  and  bac- 
teriological  laboratories,  specializing  in 
fishery  products. 

The  practice  of  fish  culture  ;s  becoming 
a  very  important  one,  and  the  demand  for 
trained  men  is  bound  to  increase.  Students 
at  the  college  will  not  only  have  the 
benefit  of  :ts  instruction  and  equipment, 
but  can  also  obta'n  an  abundance  of  prac- 
tical experience  along  all  lines  of  fish 
cu'ture  at  the  mary  federal  and  state 
hatcheres  scattered  throughout  the  state 
of  Washington. 

Pond  culture,  or  the  farming  of  our 
inland  waters,  will  some  day  be  an  im- 
portant industry,  as  there  are  many 
thousands  of  small  lakes,  ponds,  streams, 
and  marshy  spots  which  would  be  utilized 
in  this  work,  and  acre  fo'*  acre  produce 
greater  returns  than  a  similar  area  of 
land  devoted  to  agriculture. 

The  shellfish  industry  of  the  Pacific 
coast  has  not  thrived  for  some  years,  due 
largely  to  faulty  methods,  and  it  is  hoped 
that  with  more  modern  methods  taughl 
there  may  be  a  revival  of  this  Industry, 
which  ought  today  to  be  one  of  the  most 
important  mi  the  coast. 

It  is  hoped  'n  '■he  near  future  to  offer 
short  courses  1  pract'eal  fishery  subjects 
during  the  winter  months  when  fishing 
operations  are  quite  generally  suspended, 
these  courses  to  be  open  to  those  now 
engaged  in  the  fisheries  and  others  wdio 
desire  knowledge'  along  special  lines  and 
do  nol  have  the  time  nor  desire  to  take  the 
full  courses. 

As  the  un'versity  is  a  state  institution, 
an  especially  important  part  of  the  work 
of  the  College  of  Fisheries  will  be  in 
rendering  assistance  ami  advice  whenever 
called   upon   by   the  state  authorities,   and 


also  to  aid  the  commercial  fishermen  not 
only  of  the  slate  but  of  the  nation  in 
solving  the  many  problems  which  beset 
them,  and  to  aid  in  the  conservation  and 
perpetuation  of  our  wonderful  fishery 
resources.  Research  work  'ong  the  lines 
of  utilization  of  hitherto  neglected  species, 
and  of  waste  products,  will  be  carried  on 
and  it  is  hoped  will  remit  in  materially 
increasing  the  wealth  of  the  state  and 
nation. 

It  had  originally  been  planned  to  open 
the  college  at  the  beginning  of  the  fall 
term  in  October,  but  so  many  of  our 
returning  sold:ers  expressed  a  desire  to 
take  up  the  work  at  once  that  hurried 
preparations  were  made  and  the  college 
opened  for  the  spring  quarter  beginning 
March  31,  last. — John  N.  Cobb. 

MANY  LIONS  KILLED. 
Bounty  reports  for  the  first  th-ve 
months  in  1019  show  that  an  unusually 
large  number  of  mountain  lions  have  been 
killed  in  the  state.  The  exact  reason  for 
this  kill  is  not  apparent,  but  doubtless  the 
hiring  of  a  man  to  give  all  of  his  time  to 
the  destruct'on  of  predatory  mammals  has 
had  some  effect  in  stimulating  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  famous  deer  killer.  The  totals 
for  the  three  months  are  as  follows : 

January. 

21  males      at  $20.00 .$420  00 

24  fema'es  at  $30.00 720  00 

$1140  00 

February. 

10  males      at  $20.00 $200  00 

1G  females  at  $30.00 4S0  00 

$GS0  00 

Vnrch. 

■2-2  males      at  $20.00 $440  00 

IS  females  at  $::tu>0 540  00 


$980  00 
AIRPLANES    TO    LOCATE    FISH. 

Still  another  use  for  the  airplane  is  to 

be  found  in  the  recent  experiments  carried 
on  along  the  Atlantic  coast  Avhere  a  duly 
qualified  observer  has  been  making  flights 
to  locate  schools  of  fish.  Information  so 
obtained  is  telegraphed  to  the  fishing 
interests. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 


149 


FISHERY       PRODUCTS       LABORATORY 
ESTABLISHED. 

The  incieased  importance  of  the  Cali- 
fornia fisheries  has  led  the  United  States 
Bureau  of  Fisheries  to  establish  an  experi- 
mental laboratory  at  San  Pedro.  The 
laboratory  is  now  completed  and  the 
equipment  installed.  A  corps  of  th^ee 
scientists  will  exper'ment  n  methods  of 
preserving  fish  and  othe  w'se  render  serv- 
ice to  those  engaged  in  cann"ng,  drying  or 
silting  fish. 

THE    OWNERSHIP    OF    WILD    LIFE. 

Wild  life  is  the  property  of  all  the 
people.  No  one  attempts  to  deny  this, 
and  least  of  all  the  game  v'olator.  From 
his  point  of  view  it  's  not  only  the  prop- 
erty of  all  the  people,  but  it  is  more 
particularly  the  property  of  him  who  can 
get  it.  The  more  remote  the  locality 
where  the  law  is  violated,  the  more  deeply 
rooted  is  the  idea  that  the  game  is  there 
to  be  taken,  regardless  of  law,  and  without 
much  feeling  of  more!  obliquity.  The  vio- 
lator has  a  strange  feeling  that  some  sort 
of  justificat'on  is  on  his  s:de,  though  the 
law  may  be  on  the  other.  The  point  of 
view  is  that  of  early  colonial  times,  before 
the  state  had  reason  to  assert  its  owner- 
ship— when,  indeed,  game  was  the  prop- 
erty of  anyone  who  could  shoot  straight 
enough.  It  is  the  point  of  view  of  an 
extreme  individualist. 

Game  is  still  the  property  of  everyone. 
But,  whereas  originally  the  people  p'aced 
no  restrict:ons  upon  the  use  of  that  prop- 
erty, they  have  now  thrown  about  it  safe- 
guards that  are  vital  for  its  continued 
existence.  Every  c'tizen  has  a  vested 
interest  in  every  individual  bird  animal 
and  fish,  and  is  defrauded  if  the  game  is 
taken  in  any  way  contrary  to  the  estab- 
lished  rules.     The   point   of   view   of   the 


man  who  respects  the  law,  and  insists 
upon  respect  for  it  in  others,  is  that  of 
collective  ownership.  His  individual  right 
to  take  game  is  depended  upon  consent  to 
do  so  from  others. 

The  feeling  of  collect:ve  ownership  is 
still  only  partly  developed.  The  tendency 
to  wink  at  violations  still  decreases  as  the 
sense  of  common  ownership  of  wild  life  is 
strengthened. — The  Conservationist,  Nov. 
1918,  p.  173. 

OUR  FUR   RESOURCES. 

More  and  more  we  are  discovering  that 
the  annual  take  of  furs  in  California  is 
considerable  and  that  the  money  received 
by  the  trappers  amounts  to  a  large  sum. 
Most  of  the  furs  are  shipped  to  Eastern 
markets,  but  recently  it  has  come  to  our 
notice  that  many  furs  are  utilized  by  the 
trappers  themselves.  The  books  of  the 
Eberhard  Tanning  Company  of  Santa 
Clara  snowed  that  during  1918  the  follow- 
ing skins  were  tanned  by  them  :  11  bear, 
7  lion,  4SS  deer,  128  coyote,  S6  raccoon, 
12  badger,  17G  fox,  15  opossum,  95  skunk, 
121  wildcat,  429  rabbit,  53  tree  squirrel, 
14  mole. 

A  canvass  of  the  different  tanneries 
would  doubtless  furnish  some  valuable 
evidence  as  to  what  proportion  of  furs 
are  used  for  home  consumption. — I.  L. 
Koppel. 

BLACK  BASS  IS  NOT  A  TRUE  BASS. 
Some  of  our  readers  have  perhaps  won- 
dered why  they  did  not  find  some  mention 
of  the  black  bass  in  the  article  entitled 
"Bass  and  Bass-like  F'shes"'  which 
appeared  in  the  Aprl  nunibe".  The  pri- 
mary reason  is  that  the  black  bass  is  an 
introduced  fish  in  our  state  and  further- 
more, this  fish  is  more  closely  related  to 
the  sunfishes  than  to  the  true  basses. 


150  CALIFORNIA   FISII    AND   GAME. 

FACTS  OF  CURRENT  INTEREST. 

J.  C.  Bruce,  the  state  lion  hunter,  has  been  at  work  in  and  around 
the  Mc Cloud  River  Game  Refuge,  District  IE.  In  this  locality  he 
secured  three  lions.  This  makes  a  total  of  15  since  January  1,  together 
with  6  wildcats.  Mr.  Bruce  started  operations  in  Monterey  County 
during  May. 

X.  X  X 

The  past  year  brought  splendid  returns  to  the  fur  trapper.  In 
several  instances  trappers  received  as  high  as  $20  for  coyotes,  $8  for 
wildcats,  and  $2.50  for  muskrats. 

X  X"  X 

The  Fish  and  Game  Commission  will  install  a  permanent  exhibit 
in  the  new  building  at  the  State  Fair  Grounds  in  Sacramento.  The 
whole  north  alcove  will  be  used  to  display  the  fish  and  game  of  the 
state  and  the  activities  initiated  to  conserve  it. 

Motion  pictures  showing  the  commercial  fisheries  of  the  state  are 
being  secured  for  use  in  educational  and  publicity  work. 

Far  more  definite  research  work  on  fish  and  game  is  now  being 

carried  on  by  the  Commission  than  has  been  undertaken  heretofore. 

Professor  J.  0.  Snyder  of  Leland  Stanford  Junior  University  has 

been  secured  to  undertake  a  scientific  investigation  of  the  quinnat 

salmon. 

X^  X^  Xr 

A  study  of  the  furbearers  and  the  furbearing  resources  of  the 
state  is  being  undertaken  by  the  Commission. 

X-  X-'  X 

One  haul  of  a  trawl  net  made  recently  off  the  coast  of  southern 
California  netted  a  ton  of  fish  of  seven  different  varieties. 

X  X-  X- 

Sportsmen  convinced  that  the  deer  season  has  opened  too  early  in 
southern  California  succeeded  in  having  the  law  changed  by  the 
Legislature  to  provide  for  a  September  15  opening,  15  days  later  than 
formerly. 

4r  X  X 

Applications  have  been  received  requesting  the  setting  aside  of 
three  different  areas  as  state  game  reservations.  An  area  of  25,000 
acres,  one  of  30,000  and  one  of  20,000,  are  situated  in  Santa  Barbara 

and  Ventura  counties. 

XXX 

Progress  is  being  made  on  the  attempt  to  negotiate  treaties  with  the 
Spanish-American  republics  for  the  protection  of  migratory  birds. 
The  matter  has  been  referred  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture  that 
appropriate  conventions  may  be  drafted.  The  state  department  has 
promised  to  act  as  soon  as  these  drafts  are  received. 

XXX 

Paladini,  the  wholesale  fisherman  of  San  Francisco,  was  recently 
arrested  for  trawling  within  the  three  mile  limit.  He  deposited  $250 
cash  bail  for  his  appearance  before  Judge  De  La  Montanya  at  San 
Rafael.  As  Mr.  Paladini  did  not  appear,  his  bail  was  declared  for- 
feited and  a  bench  warrant  was  issued  and  given  to  Constable  Crane 
to  serve. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 


151 


HATCHERY  NOTES. 


W.  H.  Shebley,  Editor. 


BROOKDALE   HATCHERY. 

The  take  of  eggs  at  the  Scott  Creek 
station  w:ll  amount  to  approximately 
1,700,000,  of  which  1,000,000  will  be 
hatched  at  the  Brookdale  Hatchery  for 
distribution  in  the  streams  in  that  section 
of  the  state.  Shipments  of  eggs  have 
been  made  to  Wawona,  Mt.  Shasta  and 
Mt.  Whitney  hatche  'es,  from  which  sta- 
tions they  will  be  given  general  distribu- 
lion   in  suitable  streams. 

SNOW   MOUNTAIN   STATION. 

The  take  of  eggs  at  Snow  Mountain 
Station,  on  the  Eel  River,  was  much 
greater  than  that  at  Brookdale,  and  will 
amount  to  probably  4,500,000.  Of  the 
eggs  hatched  at  Snow  Mountain  200,000 
are  to  be  planted  in  the  upper  reaches  of 
the  Eel  River  near  the  station,  and  the 
balance  of  the  eggs  have  been  shipped  to 
Ukiah,  Yosemite,  Fort  Seward,  Mt.  Whit- 
ney, Domingo  Springs,  Mt.  Shasta,  Ka- 
weah  and  San  Mateo  hatcheries.  From 
these  stations  the  result:ng  steelhead  trout 
fry  will  be  given  an  extensive  d'stribution 
under  the  arrangements  made  for  carrying 
on  this  season's  operations. 


MT.  TALLAC    HATCHERY. 

The  Mt.  Tallac  Hatchery  was  opened 
for  operations  during  the  latter  part  of 
March,  and  the  work  is  progressing  very 
nicely.  To  date  there  have  been  nearly 
2,000,000  black-spotted  trout  eggs  taken 
and  we  expect  to  reach  the  3,000,000  mark 
before  the  end  of  the  season. 

FALL  CREEK  HATCHERY. 
The  rainbow  egg-collecting  stations  on 
the  Klamath  River  were  opened  for  opera- 
tions during  the  month  of  February. 
Racks  and  traps  were  installed  in  Cotton- 
wood Creek,  near  Hornbrook,  and  in 
Camp,  Bogus  and  Fall  creeks ;  and 
1,750,000  rainbow  trout  eggs  were  taken 
at  the  four  stations.  A  portion  of  the 
eggs  were  immediately  shipped  to  Mt. 
Shasta  Hatchery  to  be  eyed,  and  the 
balance  were  placed  in  troughs  at  the  new 
Fall  Creek  Hatchery,  where  they  will  be 
eyed  for  shipment  to  stations  in  other 
parts  of  the  state.  We  have  also  arranged 
to  hatch  near'y  a  half  nrllion  rainbow 
eggs  at  the  Fall  Creek  Hatchery  for  dis- 
tribution in  the  Klamath  River  this 
season.      A   million   quinnat   salmon   eggs 


Fig.  50.  Fall  Creek  Hatchery.  A  fine  modern  hatchery  built  by  the  California- 
Oregon  Power  Company  in  lieu  of  a  fishway  over  the  Copco  Dam.  Photograph  by 
L.    J.    Stinnett. 


152 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GAME. 


have  also  been  hatched  al  the  Fall  Creek 
Hatchery  and  the  resulting  fry  will  be 
distributed  in  the  Klamath  River.  Ship- 
ments of  rainbow  eggs  will  be  made  from 
Fall  Creek  Hatchery  to  Ft.  Seward,  Alt. 
Shasta  and  Yosemite  hatcheries,  from 
which  stations  they  will  be  given  the 
usual  distribution. 

BEAR  LAKE  HATCHERY. 
Fish  cultural  operat'ons  were  com- 
menced  at  the  North  Creek  egg  collecting 
station  during  the  latter  pari  of  .March 
and  racks  were  put  in  both  North  Creek 
and  Metcalf  Creek.  The  season  has  been 
a  very  favorable  one,  and  while  the  run 
is  still  on,  we  believe  that  the  take  of 
rainbow  trout  eggs  at  this  station  will 
amount  to  approximately  4,500,000. 
Arrangements  are  being  made  to  hatch 
and  distribute  750,000  rainbow  fry  from 
the  North  Creek  Hatchery,  and  a  like 
number  will  be  sent  to  the  Bear  Lake 
Hatchery,  located  at  Green  Spot  Springs, 
from  which  stat:on  they  w'll  be  dis- 
tributed in  Big  Bear  Lake  and  streams  of 
San  Bernardino  County  later  in  the 
season.  Arrangements  are  being  made  to 
ship  eyed  eggs  from  the  North  Creek 
station  to  Mt.  Whitney,  Mt.  Shasta,  Yo- 
semite,  Kaweah  and  Wawona  hatcheries. 

ALMANOR  HATCHERY. 
Almanor  Hatchery  was  opened  for 
operations  during  the  early  part  of  March, 
and  during  the  fore  part  of  the  season 
thrrc  was  a  good  run  of  rainbow  trout. 
However,  it  became  necessary  for  the 
Greal  Western  Power  Company  to  run  a 
big  head  of  water  through  the  Almanor 
spillway  on  accounl  of  the  rapidly  melting 
snow,  and  this  prevented  the  biggest  part 
of  the  run  of  rainbow  troul  from  reaching 
our  racks.  However,  we  will  probably 
receive'  between  300,000  and  400,000  eggs 
as  the  result  of  the  season's  work. 

DOMINGO  SPRINGS  HATCHERY. 
Domingo  Springs  Hatchery  was  opened 
the  |atter  p;1ri  of  March  and  at  the  pres- 
ent; time  the  run  of  rainbow  trout  in  Rice 
('nek  is  on.  Very  few  eggs  have  been 
taken  to  date,  but  the  season  promises  to 
be  a  very  favorable  one. 

CLEAR   CREEK    HATCHERY. 
Clear   Creek    Hatchery   will   be   opened 
up   during    the    latter    part   of   May   and 


rainbow  trout  eggs  will  be  shipped  to  this 
si  ;ii  ion  from  Almanor  and  Domingo 
Springs  hatcheries.  The  resulting  fry  will 
be  distributed  in  streams  in  the  vicinity  of 
Wcstwood  and  other  portions  of  Lassen 
and   Plumas  counties. 

MT.  SHASTA  HATCHERY. 
The  take  of  Loch  Leven  and  Herman 
brown  trout  eggs  was  very  .successful. 
.More  Loch  Leven  trout  'ry  will  be  dis- 
tributed from  Mt.  Shasta  Hatchery  during 
the  coining  season  than  ever  before.  The 
German  brown  trout  eggs  taken  are  from 
stock  held  >n  the  ponds  at  Sisson  Hatchery 
resulting  from  eggs  received  from  the 
Minnesota  Fish  and  Game  Commission 
three  years  ago.  These  w'll  be  the  first 
German  brown  trout  fry  distributed  in 
California  for  a  number  of  years.  The 
take  of  Eastern  brook  eggs  was  less  than 
usual,  and  we  will  have  only  approxi- 
mately 1,000,000  fry  of  this  species  for 
distribution  during  the  coming  season. 
Rainbow  trout  eggs  from  the  Klamath 
River  stations,  Domingo  Springs  and 
North  Creek,  and  steelhead  eggs  from 
Brookdale  and  Snow  Mountain  stations 
have  been  shipped  to  the  Mt.  Shasta 
Hatchery  and  the  same  will  be  hatched 
and  reared  for  distribution  in  streams. 

MT.  WHITNEY  HATCHERY. 
Rainbow.  Loch  Leven,  Eastern  brook, 
black-spotted  and  steelhead  eggs  have  been 
shipped  to  Ml.  Whitney  Hatchery  from 
different  stations  in  the  state,  and  the 
resulting  frj  will  be  given  wide  distribu- 
tion in  the  streams  of  southern  California 
during  the  coming  season.  During  the 
coming  month  we  expect  to  open  up 
Cottonwood  Lake  station,  and  if  results 
are  as  satisfactory  as  during  the  past 
season  we  should  obtain  a  half  million  or 
more  golden  trout  eggs.  These  would  be 
immediately  transported  to  Mt.  Whitney 
Hatchery  and  hatched  for  distribution  in 
streams  and  lakes  of  the  state. 

WAWONA  HATCHERY. 
Wawona  Hatchery  was  opened  shortly 
after  the  first  of  May  and  rainbow  and 
steelhead  eggs  are  being  forwarded  from 
other  stations.  The  resulting  fry  will  be 
given  ihe  usual  distribution  in  that 
section. 


CALIFORNIA   PISH    AND    GAME. 


153 


Fig.  51.  Bear  Lake  Hatchery,  San  Bernardino  Courty,  California.  The  output 
of  this  hatchery  stocks  most  of  the  streams  of  southern  California.  Photograph  by 
Berry. 


EXPERIMENTAL    HATCHERIES. 

A  hatchery  has  been  established  in  the 
Yosemite  Valley  at  a  site  selected  for  the 
erection  of  a  permanent  hatchery,  if  the 
results  of  this  season's  operations  are 
satisfactory.  Before  erecting  a  permanent 
hatchery  in  this  section  we  deemed  it 
advisable  to  determine  by  practical  experi- 
ments if  conditions  were  favorable  for  fish 
cultural  operations.  Rainbow,  steelhead 
and  black-spotted  trout  eggs  will  be 
shipped  to  the  station  and  if  the  experi- 
ments are  successful  the  resulting  fry  will 
be  distributed  in  streams  and  lakes  of  the 
Yosemite  Valley. 

An  experimental  hatchery  to  determine 
the  suitability  of  the  waters  of  the 
Kaweah  River  for  hatchery  purposes  has 
been  established  on  the  Kaweah  River, 
near  the  town  of  Hammond,  Tulare 
County.  Rainbow,  steelbead  and  black- 
spotted  eggs  have  been  shipped  to  this 
station,  and  if  the  result'ng  fry  survive 
they  will  be  distributed  in  the  waters 
tributary  to  the  Kaweah  River,  Tulare 
County. 


NEW      EXPERIMENT      ON      HATCHING 
SALMON    ARTIFICIALLY. 

The  California  Fish  and  Game  Com- 
mission is  trying  out  a  series  of  experi- 
ments with  trout  eggs,  to  determine 
whether  or  not  salmon  can  economically 
and  scientifically  be  hatch 'd  and  reared 
in  cages  placed  in  the  beds  of  streams. 
These  experiments  will  be  conducted  with 
eggs  artificially  fertilized  and  placed  in 
the  beds  at  different  stages  of  develop- 
ment. Later  in  the  season  when  salmon 
eggs  are  available  the  experiment  will  be 
continued  by  substituting  the  salmon  for 
trout  eggs.  The  idea  is  not  a  new  one,  as 
it  was  suggested  by  Professor  Cloudsley 
Rutter  in  1899.  An  experiment  was  made 
by  Professor  Rutter  at  that  time,  but  on 
account  of  an  accident  the  result  was  not 
conclusive.  The  Commission  will  now 
carry  on  experiments  to  determine 
whether  any  improvement  in  the  propa- 
gation of  salmon  can  be  made  along  these 
lines.  The  experiments  will  be  under  the 
supervision  of  the  fish  experts  of  the 
Department  of  Fish  Culture. 


154 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME. 


COMMERCIAL  FISHERY  NOTES. 


FRESH  FISH  USED  BY 

PLANTS  AT  SAN  PEDRO. 

During  the  last  four  months  millions  of 
pounds  of  fresh  fish  have  been  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  fish  meal  and  fertilizer. 
The  run  of  fish  increased  to  such  an 
extent  in  the  first  part  of  May  that  the 
reduction  plants  could  not  handle  all  the 
fish  brought  in.  The  fishermen,  however, 
continued  to  bring  in  large  catches  of 
sardines  regardless  of  any  idea  that  they 
could  be  disposed  of  or  handled  by  the 
reduction  plants. 

On  April  30,  the  Minnie  F  brought  in 
5S,995  pounds  of  barracuda,  all  of  which 


N.  B.  Scofield,  Editor. 
EDUCTION    could  not  even  be  used  by  the  reduction 


plants. 

The  total  amount  of  fish  used  to  manu- 
facture fish  meal  and  fertilizer  during  the 
months  of  January,  February,  March  and 
April,  1919,  was  as  follows : 

Pounds. 
Sardines    15,G30,0G7 


Barracuda 
Rock  cod  _ 

Kingfish 

Halibut    — 
Shark  


58,995 

15,254 

9,290 

4,400 

2,712 


Total 15,718,000 


Fig. 


Boatloads  of  sardines  at   San   Pedro,  May  fi.   1010.       All  of  this  fish  went  to 
the  reduction  works  to  be  made  into  fertilizer. 


went  to  a  reduction  plant.  On  May  G 
many  sardine  boats  arrived  loaded  to  full 
capacity  with  sardines  which  later  went 
to  reduction  plants  to  be  made  into  fish 
meal.  One  of  these  boats  had  26  tons  of 
sardines  on  board. 

All  the  reduction  plants  combined  have 
a  capacity  of  about  1200  tons  daily.  The 
surplus  was  so  great  the  city  health 
department  ordered  185  tons  of  sardines 
dumped  out  at  sea  in  one  day.  The  sar- 
dines were  in  such  a  bad  condition  they 


Up  to  June  1,  over  32,000.000  pounds 
of  sardines  had  been  utilized  by  the  redue- 
tion  works. — Earl  M.  Nielsen. 

BETTER  RECORDS  OF  CATCH 
NECESSARY. 

In  this  issue  of  California  Fish  and 
GAME  will  be  found  a  statement  of  the 
canned,  cured  and  manufactured  fishery 
products  of  California  tor  the  year  1918. 
Although  most  of  the  packers  have  gladly 
furnished  the  Commission  with  the  infor- 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 


155 


mation  requested,  cons'de-able  difficulty 
has  been  experienced  in  securing  the 
record  of  packs  made  by  a  few  firms 
throughout  the  state.  Because  of  the  lack 
of  co-operation  on  the  part  of  these  few 
firms  there  are,  no  doubt,  a  number  of 
discrepances  in  the  figures,  not  so  much 
in  the  quantity  as  in  the  size  and  kind  of 
container.  Much  of  the  sa't  fish  is  shown 
in  barrels,  although  much  of  it  may  have 
been  packed  in  smaller  containers.  The 
tuna  pack  reported  by  some  firms  includes 


individual  firm  and  any  statement  or 
report  made  up  and  publ!shed,  or  fur- 
nished for  publication,  will  be  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  furthering  and  boosting  a  great 
California  industry. 

FIRST    TUNA     RECEIVED     MAY    14. 

The  first  yellow-finned  tuna  to  reach 
any  of  the  San  Pedro  and  Long  Beach 
canneries  was  received  by  the  Van  Camp 
Sea  Food  Company  on  May  14.  The 
tender  Undine  brought  approximately  13^ 


$$&$& 


Fig.   53.     Food  fish  made  into  fertilizer.     Left,  26  tons  of  sardines 

of  barracuda. 


right  58,000  lbs. 


their  albacore  pack,  therefore  the  tuna 
pack  shown  is  really  more  than  the  actual 
pack,  while  the  albacore  pack  is  short. 

It  will  be  the  aim  of  the  Commission  to 
have  the  necessary  blanks  for  the  1919 
pack  in  the  hands  of  ?'l  packers  before 
the  end  of  the  year  and  it  is  hoped  that 
all  packers  will  co-ope-ate  with  the  De- 
partment of  Commercial  Fisheries  of  the 
Fish  and  Game  Commission  by  filing  a 
complete  and  accurate  report  of  their 
operations  for  1919  at  the  close  of  the 
year.  This  will  enab'e  the  Commission  to 
issue  intelligent  informafon  on  the  Cali- 
fornia industry  which  should  be  of  great 
value  to  all  concerned.  No  information 
is   given   out   regarding   the  pack   of  any 


tons  of  yellow-finned  tuna  (Thunnus 
macropterus)  from  Lower  California, 
where  the  above  company  ;s  operating  a 
cold  storage  barge  and  floating  cannery  in 
conjunction  with  its  San  Pedro  plant. 

NORTHERN    BOATS   JOIN    FISHING 
FLEET. 

Eleveu  purse  seine  boats  have  arrived 
at  San  Pedro  harbor  from  Puget  Sound 
points.  These  boats  average  from  60  to 
65  feet  in  length  and  are  equipped  with 
heavy  duty  engines  of  from  45  to  85  horse- 
power. They  were  formerly  engaged  in 
salmon  fishing,  but  plan  to  fish  for  tuna 
in  sout  ern  California  waters.         . 


156 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME. 


FISHERMEN  RECEIVE  20  CENTS  FOR 
FIRST  TUNA. 
The  tirst  tuna  {Thunnua  thynnus)  to 
reach  the  local  who'esale  markets  were 
brought  in  by  the  Peter  Pan,  a  pur  e 
seine  boat,  on  May  22.  The  total  catch 
consisted  of  .'!717  pounds  and  the  fish 
averaged  about  20  pounds  each.  The 
fishermen  found  an  active  market  for 
their  catch  and  received  20  cents  per 
pound  in   tha  round. 

FLOATING   CANNERY    BURNS. 
The     floating    fish    cannery,     John     G. 


North,  which  before  its  conversion  was 
a  sailing  vesse1,  p'y'ng  between  Honolulu 
and  San  Francisco  and  other  Pacific  coast 
ports,  was  burned  to  the  water's  edge  111" 
morning  of  May  14  off  Cap"  San  Lucas 
on  the  coast  of  Lower  California,  accord- 
ing i"  word  brought  here  by  the  fishing 
launch  Rex.  The  John  <;.  North  was 
beached,  all  the  rew  reaching  the  shore 
safely.  The  loss  was  $50,000.  The 
John  (}.  North  was  operated  by  the  Van 
Camp  Sea  Products  Company,  which  has 
a  plant  at  San  Pedro. 


NOTES  FROM  THE  STATE  FISHERIES  LABORATORY. 


By  Will  F.  Thompson  and  Elmer  Higgins 
GOAT    FISH    TAKEN     IN    CALIFORNIA. 
Several  specimens  of  a  "are  and  beau- 


tiful fish  hitherto  unknown  in  southern 
California  waters  w>re  taken  by  the 
Albacore  in  March,  1919.  They  belong 
to  the  species  I  /;<  n<  us  ihii  In  I  its,  of  the 
family  of  surmullets.  The  fish  are  small, 
covered  with  large  scares,  and  brilliantly 
marked  with  crimson  and  yellow  bands. 
A  pair  of  long  fleshy  barbels  extending 
backward  from  the  point  of  the  chin 
makes  the  name  of  '  goat  fish''  seem 
appropriate. 

The  species  is  recorded  as  "rare"  on 
the  coast  of  Mexico,  and  has  been  taken 
only  at  Cape  San  Lucas,  La  Paz  and  Tres 
Marias  Islands  at  the  far  end  o£  Lower 
California.  The  specimens  taken  by  the 
Albacore  are  from  Encinitas  in  21 
fathoms  and  from  Long  Beach  in  5 
fathoms. 

This  is  another  instance  of  a  supposedly 
rare  fish  taken  by  new  methods  of  fishing. 
The  error  in  assuming  that  such  rare  fish 
are  migrants  from  Mexican  waters,  where 
they  are  abundant,  is  apparent. — B.  H. 

SPINY    LOBSTER    LARV/E. 

An  interesting  addition  to  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  life  of  the  spiny  lobster  pro- 
vided by  the  collections  of  the  Albacore, 
is  another  series  of  larvse  in  the  phyllo- 

some  Stage.  These  specimens  are  similar 
to  the  ones  described  and  figured  for  the 
first  time  in  the  January  number  of 
Oaxifobnia  Pish  and  Game  and  although 
they  were  taken  in  February,  six  months 


later  than  the  first  series,  they  show 
about  the  same  degree  of  development. 
About  two  dozen  were  taken  in  surface 
nets  in  the  vicinity  of  Osborn  bank,  outer 
Santa  Barbara  passage. — E.  II. 

ATTEMPT  TO  REAR  GRUNION. 

Following  the  discovery  of  the  remark- 
able  spawning   habits  of  the  grunion   or 

little  smelt  {Leuresthea  tenuis),  the  storj 
of  which  by  Will  F.  Thompson  has  just 
been  published  as  Fish  Bulletin  No.  •">.  an 
attempt  was  made  in  a  small  way  to  rear 
the  young  grunion  through  the  larval 
Stages  to  the  adult  condition.  The  young 
were  hatched  from  eggs  taken  from  the 
beach  and  were  placed  in  jars  of  sea 
water.  Running  water  was  not  used,  but 
the  water  was  changed  daily  and  food 
was  added  daily  from  tow-net  collections 
taken  from  the  end  of  the  Long  Beach 
pier. 

The  larvse  lived  thus  at  about  room 
temperature  with  a  maximum  range  of 
10°  F.  for  eleven  days,  when  the  last  one 
died.  The  fish,  of  course,  had  not  lost 
their    larval    character    in    Ibis    time,    but 

interesting  and  valuable  observations  were 
made  on  their  early  development,  and  on 
their  food  and  feeding  habits.  The  experi- 
ment also  yielded  experience  which  will  be 
valuable  in  the  rearing  of  the  young  of 
other  food  fishes-  an  undertaking  which 
may  be  carried  out  with  adequate  equip- 
ment  in  the  new  laboratory.     -E.  II. 


•California    State    Fisheries    Laboratory, 
lion    No.    9. 


Contriliu- 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 


157 


LIFE    HISTORY   OF    FLAT-FISH. 

The  investigation  of  the  l!fe  histories  of 
various  flat-fishes  of  southern  California 
has  been  progressing  satisfactorily.  Four- 
teen species  of  flat-fish,  Pleuronectidae  and 
SolcidEe,  have  been  taken  to  date  by  the 
bottom  nets  of  the  Albacore  and  notes  on 
their  distribution  and  movements  recorded. 
Material  for  the  study  of  the  .development 
of  several  species  has  also  been  taken  and 
is  awaiting  careful  study.  Among  this 
material  is  a  complete  ser'es  in  the 
development  of  the  sand  dab  from  the 
youngest  larva  scarcely  5  mm.  long  to  the 
spawning  adult.  Very  young  stages  or 
partial  series  have  also  been  taken  of  the 
big-mouthed  flounder  (Hippoglossina  sto- 
mata),  the  sharp-raged  flounder  or  turbot 
(Pleiironichthys  vcrticalis),  the  lemon 
sole  {Parophrys  vetulus) ,  the  long-finned 
flounder  (Xystreurys  liolepis),  two  species 
of  sand  dab  (Citharichthys  stigmaeus  and 
C  xanthostigma) ,  the  diamond  flounder 
(Hysopsetta  guttulata),  the  tongue  sole 
or  San  Diego  sole  (Hymphurus  atri- 
oaudus),  and  the  California  halibut 
(Paralichthys  calif omicus) . 

The  study  of  the  California  halibut  has 
proceeded  further  than  the  rest  and  in- 
cludes observations  on  the  age  and  rate 
of  growth,  comparative  sizes  ard  numbers 
of  the  sexes,  seasonal  movements  and 
migrations  between  banks,  spawning 
period  and  egg-production,  and  early 
development. — E.  H. 

PORPOISE   CAPTURED. 

A  unique  experience  in  shooting  big 
game  was  enjoyed  by  the  naturalist  aboard 
the  Albacore  when  he  killed  a  large 
porpoise,  probably  of  the  species  Lagcn- 
orhynchus  obliquidens,  on  April  19,  1919. 

A  school  of  about  a  dozen  individuals 
was  sighted  about  35  miles'  west  of  Point 
Vicenti  cruising  on  a  course  diagonal  to 
that  of  the  launch  but  at  such  speed  that 
the  launch  was  soon  overtaken.  The 
porpoises  paused,  circled  about  the  boat 
several  times,  leaping  and  playing,  and 
then  resumed  their  original  course.  A 
lucky  shot  from  a  high  powered  rifle, 
however,  caught  one  of  the  big  fellows 
fairly  in  the  body  as  he  was  leaping,  and 
the  rest  vanished  instantly.  Death,  which 
came  after  only  a  hundred  yards  or  so  of 
mad   leaps   and   plunges,    left   the   animal 


Boating,  head  up,  when  he  was  easily 
gaffed  and  hauled  on  board  with  block 
and  tackle. 

Tlir  specimen  was  an  adult  male  seven 
ami  one-half  feet  long  and  weighed  about 
\'<>\w  hundred  pounds.  The  skin  was  black 
on  the  back,  head,  and  fins,  white  on  the 
sides  and  belly  and  of  satin  smoothness 
without  signs  of  bristles  or  hair  as  might 
have  been  expected,  the  porpoise  being  a 
mammal  and  not  a  fish.  The  skin  was 
uniformly  underlaid  w'th  a  layer  of 
dense  hard  blubber  fully  one  inch  in 
thickness,  as  was  discovered  when  the 
an'mal  was  butchered. 

Although  the  mouth  is  small  and  prac- 
ticaly  toothless,  the  porpoise  is  evidently 
a  carnivorous  animal,  as  the  cardiac 
stomach  contained  six  recently  swallowed 
sardines  of  unusually  large  size — -about 
one  foot  in  length.  In  addition,  the 
stomach  contained  about  a  pint  of  par- 
tially digested  material  and  a  quantity  of 
fish  scales. 

The  flesh  of  the  porpoise  is  very  tender, 
resembling  beef  in  texture  but  is  very 
dark  in  color.  The  flavor  is  delicate  but 
quite  different  from  any  other  meat.  The 
body  is  so  thick  that  the  tenderloin  sup- 
plied a  great  number  of  steaks  and  pot 
roasts  of  excellent  qual:ty  except  for  the 
lack  of  streaks  of  fat  so  desirable  in  beef. 
The  liver  was  large,  closely  resembling 
that  of  pork  liver  in  flavor,  and  the  heart 
baked  en  casserole  was  indistinguishable 
from  that  of  beef.  On  the  wdiole,  the 
porpoise  would  be  a  valuable  food  animal 
if  the  public  palate  could  be  educated  to 
the  unusual. — E.  H. 

HALIBUT  EATS  LARGE  ROCK. 

The  gray  cods  are  famous  aM  the  world 
over  for  taking  into  their  stomachs  what 
the  fishermen  term  "ballast,"  in  the  shape 
of  stones  of  various  sizes.  These  are  con- 
sidered necessary  to  enable  the  cod  to 
maintain  an  even  keel  during  the  storms 
which  rage  on  the  surface  of  the  sea 
above  them.  But  it  is  not  as  generally 
known  that  the  halibut  (Hippoglossus) 
does  the  same  thing.  Due  to  the  kindness 
of  Dr.  P.  Kermode,  director  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Museum  at  Victoria,  B.  C,  I  am 
able  to  reproduce  the  following  letter  from 
a  prominent  fisherman  of  Vancouver, 
B.  C. : 


158 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 


"Mr.  Walter  Wh'te,  for  many  years 
employed  as  a  halibut  fisherman  on  the 
vessels  of  this  company,  and  latterly  as  a 
mate  on  our  S.  S.  Kingsway,  brought  to 
the  office  this  morning  a  rock  weighing 
about  two  and  a  half  pounds.  White 
states  that  he  personally  took  this  rock 
from  the  stomach  of  a  halibut  weighing 
about  GO  pounds,  during  August,  1918. 
The  S.  S  Kingsway  was  fishing  off 
Bonilla  Island  at  the  time,  in  thirty-five 
fathoms  of  water." 

The  explanation  of  this  lies  in  the  fact 
that  the  halibut  are  famous  eaters  of 
small  things  as  well  as  large  things,  and 
they  pick  from  the  ground  and  from  the 
rocks  and  kelp  all  sorts  of  animals, 
including  sea  anemones,  clam  siphons, 
worms,  etc.,  and  in  the  process  of  doing 
so  they  frequently  take  in  things  which 
were  not  intended  to  find  a  lodging  in  the 
stomach  of  a  fish.  It  is  due  to  reckless 
eating,  not  to  foresight  in  taking  in 
"ballast."— W.  F.  T. 

YOUNG   OF  THE   LADYFISH 
DISCOVERED. 

In  the  April,  1919,  issue  of  California 
Fish  and  Game  note  was  made  of  the 
abundance  of  the  young  of  a  supposedly 
rare  species,  the  so-called  "king  of  the 
salmon."  We  have  another  similar  case 
to  record  here,  the  young  of  the  ladyfish, 
Albula  wipes,  having  been  taken  in  num- 
bers in  several  hauls  of  a  bottom  net  by 
our  boat,  the  Albacore.  The  adult  fish 
is  classed  as  a  rarity  in  the  ma-kets, 
though  specimens  are  usually  careful'y 
saved,  but  the  finding  of  many  young  indi- 
cates that  the  appearance  of  scarcity  is 
rather  a  result  of  the  failure  of  present 
modes  of  fishing  to  take  the  adults  except 
as  an  accident. 

The  young  here  mentioned  were  taken 
three  hundred  yards  off  American  avenue, 
in  Long  Beach,  in  from  four  to  five  and 
a  half  fathoms.  They  are  approximately 
7  centimeters  (2$  inches)  in  length,  very 
transparent  and  delicate. — W.  F.  T. 

CLAM  INVESTIGATION. 
The  Fish  and  Game  Commission  has 
been  fortunate  enough  to  secure  the  serv- 
ices of  Professor  Frank  W.  Weymouth  of 
Stanford  University  for  a  short  period, 
beginning  April  20  and  ending  in  June. 
He   will   be   remembered   as   having   done 


much  work  on  the  edible  crab  (Cancer 
wai/ister)  of  the  Pac:fic  coast.  Professor 
WVyraouth  will  initiate  work  on  the  clams 
of  the  coast  which  will  prove  of  general 
interest,  it  is  believed.  The  laboratory  at 
Long  Beach  will  be  his  headquarters. — 
W.  F.  T. 

SHAD  CAUGHT  AT  SEAL  BEACH. 

On  the  twenty-second  of  April  of  this 
year  there  was  what  might  be  termed  a 
"run"  of  shad,  Alosa  sapidissima,  several 
hundred  pounds  being  brought  in  on  that 
and  succeeding  days.  They  were  taken  in 
sardine  nets,  one  of  the  hauls  being  taken 
off  Seal  Beach.  All  the  fish  were  of  large 
size. 

The  occurrence  of  the  shad  in  the 
waters  of  southern  California  is  rather 
unusual,  although  several  times  recorded 
as  far  south  as  San  Diego.  We  are  under 
obligations  to  Mr.  Neilsen  of  the  San 
Pedro  office  of  the  Commission  for  infor- 
mation concerning  the  run. — W.  F.  T. 

ALASKA     BLACK    COD    TAKEN     NEAR 
SAN    PEDRO. 

A  specimen  of  the  Alaska  black  cod 
(Anoplopoma  fimbria),  5Z  inches  long, 
was  taken  April  20,  1919,  near  San  Pedro 
by  a  sardine  fisherman.  It  has  been  pre- 
viously recorded  from  off  Point  Loma, 
near  San  Diego,  by  Starks  and  Morris.  It 
was  not  recognized  by  any  fisherman  in 
San  Pedro,  and  is  apparently  a  very  rare 
species.  Mr.  Neilsen  of  the  San  Pedro 
office  obtained  the  specimen  for  us. — 
W.  F.  T. 

CANNERY  RECEIVES  MEXICAN  FISH. 
There  have  been  several  species  of 
Mexican  fish  brought  recently  to  San 
Pedro  by  the  Van  Camp  Sea  Food  Com- 
pany. They  were  obtained  near  Cape  San 
Lucas  by  fishermen  working  for  the  float- 
ing cannery  (lately  destroyed  by  fire) 
belonging  to  that  company,  and  are  note- 
worthy as  perhaps  the  first  fish  brought 
in  a  fresh  condition  from  so  far  south. 
They  included  the  follow'ng  species : 

1.  Caraux  hippos,  the  "toro,"  a  very 
dark-meated  fish  allied  to  the  pompanos 
and  yellowtails. 

2.  Neomaenis  sp.,  the  "red  snapper."  a 
species  closely  allied  to  the  snapper  of  the 
Gulf  States,  and  hence  probably  of  con- 
siderable commercial  value. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME. 


159 


3.  Xesurus  punctatus,  the  "cochinito," 
not  generally  regarded  as  of  use  com- 
mercially. 

4.  Nematistius  pect oralis,  the  "pez  de 
gallo,"  or  "rooster-fish,"  a  large  fish  with 
long  dorsal  spines,  perhaps  nearest  to  the 
yellowtail  (Scriola)  but  dark  meated. 

5.  Traehinotus  rhodopus,  the  "pampa- 
nito."  a  pompano  of  good  eating  quali- 
ties.—W.  F.  T. 

THE    BREEDING    SEASON    OF    THE 
SARDINE. 

In  view  of  the  general  interest  in  the 
habits  of  the  sardine,  the  following  gen- 
eral summary  of  work  on  its  breeding 
season  is  presented : 

During  the  years  1917  and  1918,  care- 
ful examinations  oc  the  sardine  were  made 
at  intervals  to  observe  the  state  of  the 
roe.  As  the  summer  approached,  the 
examinations  were  made  at  more  frequent 
intervals.  The  net  result  was  to  prove 
that  throughout  January,  February, 
March,  and  April  the  ova  increased  stead- 
ily in  average  size,  but  that  during  May 
the  fish  which  could  be  termed  mature 
disappeared  in  large  part. 

Later,  toward  the  end  of  May,  there 
appeared  what  seemed  mature  fish  with 
spent  and  regenerating  roe  sacks.  These 
were,  however,  in  small  numbers  and  had 
to  be  carefully  culled  from  the  great 
numbers  of  small  fish  brought  in.  The 
fair  presumpt'on  was  that  the  mature 
sardines  had  become  inaccessible  to  the 
fishermen,     either     through     a     seaward 


migration  or  a  change  in  habit.  No 
spawning  sardines  were  taken  at  any 
time. 

The  discovery  of  what  appeared  to  be 
spent  fish  in  small  numbers  did  not,  how- 
ever, prove  that  the  spawning  season  had 
passed,  or  even  that  it  was  well  under 
way.  That  a  certain  proportion  of  most 
species  spawn  early,  and  that  there  is  a 
period  when  the  spawning  is  at  its  height, 
with  a  following  decline,  seems  probable. 
If  the  sard'ne  is  such  a  species,  the  find- 
ing of  spent  fish  merely  means  the  initia- 
tion of  the  spawning  period.  That  this  is 
probably  true  would  appear  from  the  fact 
that  the  roe  in  no  case  examined  was  so 
close  to  a  spawning  condition  as  to  justify 
a  belief  that  :t  was  distant  less  than  a 
month. 

These  facts  have  been  entirely  corrobo- 
rated during  the  spring  season  of  1919. 
A  series  of  samples  have  been  collected 
and  examined  daily  since  the  early  part  of 
May  until  the  date  of  writmg  (May  20), 
and  the  same  succession  of  changes  have 
been  observed. 

The  young  of  the  sardine  under  30 
millimeters  in  length  have  been  taken  in 
the  fine  meshed  nets  of  the  Albacore  dur- 
ing the  winter  months.  Pending  a  careful 
examination  of  these  younger  forms,  it  is 
not  attempted  to  decide  the  time  of  the 
spawning  season.  The  only  justified  con- 
clusion >s  that  spawning  fish  are  not 
taken  in  any  numbers  by  the  fishermen. — 
W.  F.  T. 


CONSERVATION  IN  OTHER  STATES. 


REFORMS    IN    NOVA    SCOTIA    FISHERY 
SERVICE. 

Four  years  ago  there  was  hardly  a 
river  in  Cape  Breton  Nova  Scotia,  where 
trout  and  salmon  were  not  illegally  taken 
with  spear  or  net  every  year,  and  in  many 
streams  the  fishing  had  been  almost  com- 
pletely destroyed.  All  of  the  guardians 
were  political  appointees ;  all  were  poorly 
paid,  and  at  least  three-fourths  were  neg- 
lectful or  inefficient.  In  July,  1914,  the 
Victoria  Fisheries  Protective  Association 
was  organized,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year 
its  officers  made  an  exhaustive  report  of 
12,000  words  to  the  Minister  of  Marine 
and  Fisheries  of  the  state  of  the  rivers 
in   Cape   Breton   Island,   and    the   urgent 


need  of  reorganization  and  reform  in  the 
fishery  service.  In  this  report,  which  was 
accompanied  by  abundant  proof  in  the 
shape  of  six  or  eight  voluminous  exhibits, 
the  association  pointed  out  the  evils  of 
political  control ;  asked  for  twelve  special 
guardians  with  increased  salaries ;  sug- 
gested that  the  number  of  fishery  officers 
in  Cape  Breton  be  reduced  from  233  to 
50  by  the  droppdng  of  political  workers 
from  the  rolls,  and  recommended  that  in 
future  all  guardians  be  liberally  paid  and 
be  appointed  for  merit  only,  regardless 
of  political  influences. 

Nearly  all  of  the  recommendations  have 
been  adopted.  The  number  of  fishery 
guardians  has  been  reduced  from  219  to 


160 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GA  M  I  . 


I  I  ;  salaries  have  1 11  inure  Ihan  doubled  ; 

the  fishery  service  has  been  taken  out  of 
politics,  and  the  appointment  of  all  guard- 
ians lias  been  entrusted  to  the  Civil  Sen 
ice  Commission  in  Ottawa.  Guardians 
hereafter  will  be  selected  for  meril  only; 
they  will  do  no  political  work,  and  they 
will  devote  all  of  their  time  to  an  effective 
patrol  of  the  streams.  Thus,  for  the  first 
time  in  more  than  a  generation,  the  fish- 
ery service  of  ("ape  Breton  Island  has 
been  put  on  a  business  basis.  We  now 
have  sixteen  head  guardians  with  a  salary 
of  $70  a  month  each,  and  twenty-eight 
subordinate  guardians  with  a  monthly 
salary  of  $25  each.  The  cost  of  the 
guardian  service  is  about  the  same  as  it 
was  under  the  old  system,  namely  $10,400 
a  year;  but  the  government  is  now  pay- 
ing that  sum  to  forty-eight  guardians 
instead   of  distributing  it  among  219. 


STURGEON  TO  BE  PROTECTED  IN 
OTHER  STATES. 

Several  years  ago  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  give  the  sturgeon  total  protection 
in  California.  Other  stales  now  realize 
thai  this  splendid  food  fish  is  almosl  ex- 
terminated and  are  planning  to  enact  pro- 
tective legislation.  So  depleted  is  the 
supply  in  Lake  Erie  and  neighboring 
waters  that  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  New 
York,  and  Canada  all  propose  to  protect 
lake  sturgeon  for  a  three-year  period  be- 
ginning in  1919.  Although  once  so  com- 
ini  n  thai  they  formed  cheap  food  for  the 
common  people,  lake  sturgeon  are  now  so 
scarce  that  only,  the  wealthy  can  utilize 
them.  Recently  sturgeon  have  been  sell- 
ing up  to  45  cents  per  pound  in  the  New 
York  market. 


LIFE  HISTORY  NOTES. 


NESTING     OF    THE     BAND-TAILED 
PIGEON. 

From  an  old  data  book  of  mine  I  am 
able  to  give  the  following  details  of  the 
nesting  of  the  band-tailed  pigeon 
(Colwniba  fasciata).  The  record  shows 
that  I  discovered  a  nest  at  the  bead  of 
the  Lopez  Canyon,  about  ten  miles  east  of 
San  Luis  Obispo,  in  San  Luis  Obispo 
County,  California,  on  March  30,  1S95. 
The  nest,  a  fl'msy  affair  made  of  coarse 
sticks  resembling  that  of  a  domestic 
pigeon,  but  larger  in  size,  contained  but 
one  egg  in  an  advanced  state  of  incuba- 
tion. It  was  placed  on  a  live  oak  limb, 
near  the  end  of  the  l:mb  but  not  among 
I  hick  twigs.  As  to  identification  there 
was  mi  doubt  as  I  was  close  enough  to 
the  bird  to  observe  the  cervical  white  half 
collar. 

From  personal  recollection  I  can  supply 
other  details.  The  nest  was  built  in  a 
small  oak  tree  on  a  steep  hillside  not  over 
eight  or  ten  feet  from  the  ground  and 
easily  reached  by  stepping  up  into  the 
tree.  I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  hunting 
pigeons  in  the  fall  and  winter  in  the 
vicinity  of  Atascadero  and  Santa  Marga- 
rita   and    though    I    used    to    visit    Lopez 


Canyon  every  spring  for  a  number  of 
years  never  observed  the  birds  to  remain 
there  in  the  spring  except  this  one  season. 
On  this  particular  day  I  saw  perhaps  half 
a  dozen  pairs  of  the  birds  around  different 
parts  of  the  canyon  which,  in  those  days 
at  least,  was  probably  not  visited  more 
than  once  or  twice  a  year  by  anybody.  I 
saw  one  other  nest  located  within  a  hun- 
dred yards  or  so  of  the  one  above  de- 
scribed, but  placed  so  far  out  on  slender 
limbs  al  c\  e  I  he  head  of  the  canyon  t  lial 
it      was      totally      inaccessible. — NATHAN 

MORAN. 

WILDCAT    EATS    BIRDS. 

On  March  10,  1919,  I  killed  a  female 
California  wildcat  (Lynx  eremicus  cali- 
furiiicus)  near  Coulterville,  California, 
which  had  been  feeding  entirely  on  song 
birds.  The  stomach  contained  tin' remains 
of  six  western  robins. — Donald  D.  Mc- 
Lkan. 

A  DEATH  STRUGGLE  BETWEEN 
BUCKS. 

"While  hunting  mountain  lions  on 
April  26,  L919,  cast  of  Squaw  Creek  in 
Shasta   County,  California,   I   came  upon 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME. 


161 


some  locked  antlers  (shown  in  the  accom- 
panying photograph,  Fig.  54.  The  evi- 
dence was  clear.  There  had  been  a  fight 
between  two  bu^ks  (owners  of  these 
antlers),  occurring,  probably,  some  time 
last  November.  In  the  heat  of  the  battle 
their  horns  had  become  interlocked  so 
tightly  that  they  fell  without  disentangling 
them.  The  arena  for  this  buck  struggle 
covered  an  area  of  about  twenty-five  square 
feet  in  the  corner  of  a  meadow  bordering 
on  a  small  mountain  lake.     The  bucks  in 


their  fury  had  trampled  down  the  grass 
and  vegetation  and  had  even  in  places 
plowed  up  the  ground  with  their  hoofs. 
After  a  desperate  struggle  either  the  ani- 
mals were  overcom9  by  exhaustion  or 
famished  from  hunger  and  thirst.  Winter 
came  on,  and  coyotes  and  other  predatory 
animals  prowling  around  in  search  of 
something  to  devour  made  a  delicious  meal 
on  their  carcasses,  leaving,  however,  the 
locked  antlers  in  the  condition  in  which  I 
later  found  them. — Jay  C.  Bruce. 


Fig.  5  4.  Locked  antlers  of  deer  found  on  Squaw  Creek,  Shasta  County,  by 
Jay  C.  Bruce.  The  death  of  more  than  one  large  buck  is  due  to  the  locking  of  the 
antlers  when  fighting. 


Ili2 


CALIFORNIA    FISn    AND   GAME. 


REPORTS. 


Canned,    Cured    and    Manufactured    Fishery    Products   of    California   for   the   Year    1918, 
Compiled   by   Department  of  Commercial    Fisheries. 


CANNKD. 


Abalonc — 

1-pound   

Albacore — 

1-pound   

i-pound   

4-pound   

Anchovy — 

5-pound    

4-pound   

i-pound   

Barracuda — 

i-pound   

Bonito  and  skipjack 

1-pound   

1-pound   

i-pound   

Herring — 

1-pound   (oval)   . 
i-pound   

Mackerel— 

1-pound   

i-pound   

Sablefish— 
1-pound   . 

Salmon — 
1 -pound 

1-pound  (flat)  . 
1-pound  (oval) 
i-pound  (flat)  . 

Sardines— 

1 -pound  (oval) 

i-pound   (oval) 

1-pound 

i-pound 

i-pound 

1 -pound 

'.pound 


(tall) 


(round)  - 
(round)  _ 
(round)  . 
(square) 
(square), 


San  Diego, 
cases 


San  Pedro, 
cases 


300 

17,892 

56,214 

9,195 


24 

765 

9,527 

12,310 


17,790 
171 


i-pound  (square), 
3-pound  (square) 
J-pound  (square) 

Shad— 

1-pound  

Shad  roe— 

i-pound  

Skipjack — 

i-pound  

Tuna* — 

1-pound  

J-pound  

i-pound  

4i-pound  

Turtle— 

1-pound  

i-pound  

Yellowtail— 

1-pound   

i-pound   

i-pound   


tomato, 
oil 


1,101 


i'.i,:.i;s 


67,785 


42 

5,788 

41,052 

2,647 


300 
100 

8,328 
31,737 

405 


2,012 

48,342 

5,395 


Northern 

California, 

cases 


3,450 
4,068 


136,632 

3,788 

138  879 

228,189 

51,8-11 

50,076 
70,850 


78,756 


33,825 

164,744 

29,404 

268 

199 
29 

2,824 
28,537 


1,425 


1,522 
227 
450 


58,330 
5,817 


25 

8,395 

3,304 

197 

22,540 

5: 13, 3 15 
13,244 


945 


3,716 

4,249 

133 

3,997 

5,056 

2,213 


Total 
cases 


1,725 

17,392 

50,21 1 

9,19". 

1,522 

227 
150 

24 

2,777 

57.N  :> 
17,705 

58,880 

5,817 

3,450 
4,068 

25 

8,395 

3,304 

1!>7 

22,540 

717,7::; 
17,306 

338,879 

229,240 

51,841 

50,078 

94,184 

4.219 

L83 

150,538 

5,056 

2,213 

42 

29,613 
208,896 

32,051 
208 

499 
129 

11,152 

60,274 

405 


•Includes  some  albacore. 


CALIFORNIA   PISH   AND    GAME. 


163 


Canned,   Cured   and    Manufactured    Fishery   Products   of   California   for  the   Year   1918, 
Compiled   by   Department  of  Commercial   Fisheries — Continued. 

SALTED  FISH. 


San  Diego 


Anchovy- 
Barrels  

25-pound  cans 

5-pound  cans 

Barracuda — 

Barrels  

Black  sea  bass- 
Barrels  

Bonito — 

Barrels — 

Mackerel- 
Barrels  

18-pound  kit  - 

Rock  bass- 
Barrels  

Rock  cod- 
Barrels  

Sablefish— 

Barrels  

Salachini — 

100-pound  tubs 

65-pound  tubs 

50-pound  tubs 

Salmon- 
Casks  (mild  cured) - 

Sardines- 
Barrels  

40-pound  barrels  ... 

25-pound  cans 

18-pound  kits  

Sea  bass — 

Barrels  

Shad- 
Casks  (mild  cured). 

Tellowfln— 

Barrels  

Yellowtail— 

Barrels  


San  Pedro 


450 


53 


12 


110 


29 


20 


Northern 
California 


310 
2,600 
1,000 


17 


3S0 


42 


1,521 


852 


425 


35 


76 


72 

5,955 
10,899 
12,329 

2,796 

107 

1,252 

1,200 

6 


Totals 


287 


330 
2,6!.0 
1,000 

455 

53 

29 

2,011 
6 

51 

11 

72 

5,935 
10,899 
12,329 

2,796 

961 

1,252 

1,200 

6 

29 
287 

35 
501 


Note.— Casks  contain  800  pounds  net;  barrels,  200  pounds  net. 

Canned,    Cured   and    Manufactured    Fishery   Products   of   California  for  the  Year   1918, 
Compiled   by   Department  of  Commercial   Fisheries — Continued. 

MISCELLANEOUS  PACK  AND  GENERAL  INFORMATION. 


San  Diego 


Albaeore — 

Smoked,  pounds 

Kingfish— 

Dried,  pounds 

Sardines- 
Dried,  pounds  

Scotch  cured,  pounds. 

Tellowtail— 

Smoked,  pounds 


San  Pedro 


Fertilizer,  tons 

Fish  meal,  tons 

Fish  oil,  gallons 

Number  of  plants 

Number  of  employees. 


1,123 

17,400 

13 

1,427 


Value  of  plants. '. :.—     $1,316,000 


31,420 

19,000 

37,000 
4,620 

1,000 

1,521 

3,216 

67,858 

34 

2,783 

$2,773,660 


Northern 
California 


2,874 

261,466 

40 

3,829 

$1,569,330 


Totals 


31,420 

19,000 

37,0,00 
4,620 

1,000 

1,521 

7,213 

346,724 

87 

8,039 

$5,658,990 


lf>4 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME. 


California    Fishery    Products   for    Year  of  1918, 


Species  of  fish 

Del  Norte, 
Hum- 
boldt  

Mendo- 
cino, 
Sonoma, 

Lake 

to 

f 

tfa 

O    C3 

?? 

1 
1 

Sacra- 
mento, 
San 
Joaquin. 

SlIttiT. 

Tehama, 

Glenn, 

Coin 

Alameda. 

<  '"iitra 
Custa 

ICO 



11,300 

1,6)3 

2,061 

Blueflsb                       

Carp                  -- 

14.834 
90,210 

8,250 

23,296 
14,571 

00,294 

52,745 

3,303 
4,488 

36  865 

Catli-.li                                  --  - 

42,150 

Coallish                        

VJ 
8,424 

1,848 

32,413 

Dogfish          .. 

78,070 
732 

8 

14,793 



1,522 

3  077 

10,848 

7,309 

9,704 

Halibut - 

30,316 

61,096 

1,140 

8 

3,190,C86 

10 

Hake                       





7,311 

1,500 

Mullet 

Pike                       .  ...  .    

1,285 
3 

66,183 

494 

1,894 

730 

8  790 

Pompano   - -  -- 

Penh                     32,039 

258 

105 

EJockfisb    .               ..    — 

57,408 

171 

1,234,653 

13,209 

6,500 

1,(97,771 

716 

78 

172,680 

24,012 

Sole                 

Salmon    . .  - 

2,305  800 

565,834 

11,791 

2,957,492 

Smell 

316 

Shad  (roe) 

194,549 

35,108 



673,237 

Sea  bass  (white) -,-- 

10,921 

Shad  (buek)       ...     

159,921 

13,990 

241,015 

6,719 
113,578 
104,813 

190 
5,066 
2,069 

358 

Striped  bass  _ 

22.773 
1,639 

353.100 
224,773 

751  S?0 

Shad 

671,804 

Surf  fish                       . 

StiiiRaree 

151 ,500 

Sardine 

908 

240 

451 

Skate 

Senium 

Snlittuil   . 

3,139 

3,726 

1,115 

Sea  trout                       ._     . 

::::::: : 

Trout  (steelhead) 

21,819 

Turbot 

9.297 

Whitebait 

103 

Miscellaneous 

2.000 

3.640 

3.251                41 

Total  fish 

( 'ni-tneearts — 
i  Vili   (dozen) 

1,416  605 
4,1 2S 

1,3  5, 025 

3,765,305 

3,278,026 

972,602 

71,923 

5,449,407 
13 

Suinv  lobster    ...  ..       ..... 

Shrimp 

Mollusks  - 
Souid                             

S5 
10 

Cuttlefish    

100 

Clam    (cockle) 

23.652 
125.575 

72.842 
885.811 

39,279 

Clam  (softshell)  

Clam  (mixed')  . .. 

1 .085 

20,211 

13,10-. 

1,807 



173  278 
10  780 

Oyster,  eastern  (shell),  number. 

Ovster.  native,  pounds  — 

1,935 

Abalones  ..  

Sea  snails  . ■  ...        .... 

Mussels    ..     ..  ...  .     

760 

673 
25 







4,297 

Reotiles— 
Terrapin   (dozen)  .  . 

Sea  turtles 

CALIFORNIA   PISH   AND   GAME. 


165 


Compiled 

by   Dep 

artment  c 

>f  Commercial  Fis 

heries. 

San  Fran- 
cisco. 
San 
Mateo 

9Q 

I 

l 
i 
1 

B 

O 
P 

fi 

i 

CO 

<  -a T/i  o  g 
t  ?g  ffB 

3  3    ?a 

- 

F 

3<" 
oq 

n 

a 
w 
i 

o 

S3 

3 

<T> 
1 
1 
1 

CO 

p 

3 

2 

w 
p 

3 
■a 
o> 
*i 

p' 

i 

g 

O) 
1 
1 
t 

1 

n 
o 

1 
1 
1 

39 

66,899 

33,541 

106,081 

558 

89,537 

5,084 

540,323 

37,572 

6,007 

1,083,074 

69,340 

54,622 

918 

41,185 
13,046 

0,434,770 

49,392 

1,988,598 

978,120 

230 

9,343 
363 

822,854 

9,566 

1,724,934 

1,233,087 

7,2(i::,895 

1,527 

257,170 
17,160 

867,851               310 
3,885,691  ,     951,593 
2,264,164  !     176,667 

49,351 

1,242,170  ' 

185 

70,083 

209,172 

36,073 

712 

353,331  1 



79,859 

"~56~031~ 

4,221 

1,013 

741 

14,731 

6,679 

312,774 

730 
457 

~Tl,095~ 



204,876 
67,126 

478,844 
440  796 

3,593 
123,853 

11,530 

300,432 



498,937 

915,836 

741 

400,478 

818,835 

27,801 

2,837,987 

218,672 

7,938,280 

975,095 

274  099 
716,080 

500 
47,178 

11,359 
27,243 



240 

21,711 
1,291 



2,015 

40,990 

143,678 

4,732  883 

8,619 
47,313 

5,900 

83,342 

973 

25,544 
2,019 

309,378 
64 

1,145,734 
17,094 

13,974 

1,201,166 
8,496 

1,915,704 
5,360 

62,726 

154,128 
1,489,163 

734 
4,497 

650,281 

2,346,048 

2,275 

30,267 

349 

6,242 

23,525 
158,983 

4,005,906 
2,275 

70,178 

59,390 

89,657 
13,365 
24,260 

1,745 

172 

1,786 

2,752 
10,180 

6,699 
6,551 

44 

1,616 

6,393 

123,395 

85,749 

30,747 

12,876 

26,771 

535,375 

1,575,558 

53,110 

1,065 

190,809 

374 

3,644 

25,512 

106 

100 

1,280 

231,233 

1,398,043 

4,353 



52,810 

198,167 

776,645 

6,281,425 

7,027,767 

13,026,076 

788,923 

902,894 

365 

7,219 

12,912 

1,340,106 
4,696,906 

644,450 

1,893,705 

209,923 

32,550 

1,109,737 

293,529 

2,682,953 

164,388 

1,756,134 

2  3,900 

76,910 

46,082 

8,061 

40,413 

171,885 

59,137 

64,648 

1,015,478 

1,054 

88,942 

1,452,478 

414,920 

210,432 

1,751,609 

7,267 

1,407,841 

1,065,815 

4,888 

151,800 

154,853 

248 
41,154 

6,184 

97,432 
21,970 

2,969 
25 

103,599 

38,363 

1,880,057 

308,403 

161,353 

47 

94 

60,717 

1 

4,888 
300 

8.>2,026 

559,265 

728 

2,090 

64,915,002 

155 

4,078 

2 

42 

"lis" 
45 

78,077,612 

3,019,686 

6,809 

8,605 

28,156 

133 
28 

13,207,265 
3,145 



157,652,811 

3,023,847 

240,231 

22,488 

28,404 

7,980 

6,189 

18,442 

48,536 

3,830 

21,819 

6,240,971 

3,664 

135,a57 

11,658,259 

329,614 



232,801 

165 

13,838 
81 

490 

4,902 
17,862 
39,566 

941 
159 

346 
£80 

•     8,756 

55 
1,781 

1,657 

392 



315 

1,580 

1,174 

525 

18,326 

20,782 

14,928 

5,807,961 
52 

429,941 

108,053 

81 

137,261 
36,863 

21,520 
93,366 

124,052 
1,001 

5,926,021 
139,409 

1,060 
3,175 

5,427,563 
31,940 

139,946 
264,163 

18,518,432 
62,079 

4,581,108 
707 

73,276,952 
531 

744,845 

110,424,912 

148,078 

20,205,431 

59,390 

250,218,041 

67,458 
195,750 
722,178 

3,752,071 

29,979 

120,796 

2,611 

42,364 



735,077 

722,178 

1,970 

850 

4,406 

517 

301,007 
13,268 

065,167 
160 

43,376 
372 



14,426 

361,714 

32,739 
065,684 

44,933 

313,043 

129,084 

0,188,021 

39,279 

6 12,919 

1,461 

48,319 

25 
18,135 

14,583 

21,121 







344 

252 

340 

1,359 

21,089 

5,302,210 

365,986 

183,863 

50,730 

1,461 

21,251 



5,334 

4,270 

600 

9,954 

600 

580 

835 

1 

18,135 



12,496 

166 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME. 


</> 

r- 
O 

Q 
O 
f£ 
0. 

> 

a. 

w 
I 
w 


z 
oc 
o 
u. 


< 

o 


01 

*— 

01 


o 


« 

3 
t- 

1) 

U. 


TO 

3 
C 
TO 

-s 

- 
<u 

(0 


£ 

o 
O 


re 
a 

<D 

D 

>> 

•o 

V 

a. 

£ 
o 
O 


Mexlco- 


Total. 


Imperlal- 


San  Diego. 


Orange. 


•-5 

c© 

1  r-H   <M       1        III 

llO^l  i  i  it 
1  ***  U3      i      i       i      i 

i  i   i 

i  in 
1 i*- 

I  \!Z  ©  1 
i  W  ■**  I 
i        CO      1 

i      i      i  iO  ©      1 

i      i      i  c  t~      i 

1     I  J-      1 

IIOIQIQ       i      I      1      t 

1  I-  T-l  i-H  1  l  1  1 
1  CO  -»r  00       1 

CO 

l-t 

!  *f  —    !    !    !    1 

!■*       .    !    .    . 

jg 

i 

i 
i 

:    «  ; 

1                1 

1                  1 

!    I^S   ! 

1     1              1 

!  i-t  eo*  !  !  !  1 
i              i    i    i    i 

i              i    i    i    i 

i-t  ■"*  o5    i 
3        I 


Los  Angeles. 


San  Luis  Obispo. 
Santa  Barbara, 
Ventura 


MOMM 

co  in  co  co 


i  in  © 
I  io 

if 


Monterey- 


Santa  Cruz- 


San  Francisco, 
San  Mateo 


Contra  Costa, 
Alameda 


Glenn.  Colusa, 
Sutter,  Butte- 


Sacramento, 
San  Joaquin.. 


Solano,  Yolo 


Marin- 


Mendocino. 
Sonoma.  Lake. 


I  ill  N'orte, 
Humboldt. 


DQ 


a 
to 


.-  ►/§ 


©  CM  -* 
CO  i^  ■** 

©  r-t  -h 


8S 

©  in 
CO  OJ 


CM  ©  -*  CM  CO 
CO  C-l  ©  ©  CD 
rH         &  ©  t~ 

00*  !D1-" 
rH        Oi 

in 


s 


t>  Ifi  CO  CS1 

E-  co  p  \a 

H(MNO 


ifi  CO  ©  t-  ^ 

*-  OS  -f  OS  © 
i-4  OS  00  CO 


n 


CO  CO 
in  rH 

m  © 
in  co 


S  i 


C5  rH 

©*m" 


ft  ■ 


© 
co  in 


CD  co 


I 


I  co 

I  CO 
I  <M 


I  -* 
i  in 
i  ■* 


©    i  in  co 

£  ,'8* 


I 


-a 

j-  cj       a, 
fl   do  ■/.  «  ~ 


3  =  £~ 


b   «    CJ    C   O   (.,  « 
„il.ac;S~t,«n_tl?- 

£caoo;xiaoio3cSe 


•r:ir- 
CO 


»«•  CM  ©  ©  © 
"Ct1         rH  CO  ■"T* 
© 


©  CO 

88 


cm  c5 
oi" 


"J 


>.' 


in  © 
co  be 


cV 


>  b-  OS in 

>  :■:  :*  i- 


M   ?'!  CO  ©  CO 
OS  00  "^  CO  ri 


< 


ONNlfl 
CN  00  i— >  CO 

00  CO  CO  r-l 


©  CO  rH  (N 


©  -rf  ©  00  W 

OS  CO  -?  35  © 

io  m  co  t^  cm 
m  © 


co  in 
i-  — 
in  cm 


00     I 

©    I 

CM      I 


B   I 

O      I 


I-  - 

3P 


A  a     i  0 
Bijg      «    •  O 

~  -S   Oc  O  Oq  o 


Sol 
rH 


I  ©  CM  rH 
|  J-  ©  CO 


-  in 

a" 


■^  co 
cooo 


SR«oo-Boae3c5*a2£.-Si~0i:;00oo 


'.     ' 

33    C3 

ii  — ^ 

SC3    CS 
CU   OI 


£!       -0  O 

'C   c    Cv       ■ 

■OS  ft-s 
xxxx 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME. 


167 


«l!Ot-t-H-*010NOOO 


t  <M  00 


O  <N  ■**  -*  < 

OIHHIOI 
0}  ©  ■<*  < 


<M  00  Ol 


s: 


a 


r8£ 


i  :  : 


)HMKJ(»'OO!0e>K) 

UNoaffilScoMMito 


!   i 


Sb'S 


■ 


CSI  <M      I 

So"  CO      I 

CO 


S3 


COC5 

CO  00 


3 


: 


©  02 
CO  CO 

in  r-T 


looio  go 
©  c>a  t©  cm 
co"     r-Tio 


s 


s 


t-H  CO 
©  H 
CO  CO 


CO 


I 


OOlfl 

8*" 


CM  © 


3 

so 


10  010 

t-_to_c5 


3 


:s 


oo  i 
©< 
ino6"o 


3 
8" 


V, 


)  lO 

1  l-H 

>  to 


?; 


— 

03 
I    OJ 

^£ 

I  oj  3 

°«PO 

3  3.3 


~  w  ~* 


3 

O 

."3  OJ 

03   3 

-M  03 

V* 


*    fl  «J  .y    C3    *h    -- 

«ssS«,Ssrs$goohB'    , 
4W18    7-19    5400 


.3 
en 


UN™ 
CB-O  O 


t--  to 

8S 


i© 


7 


O        £ 
ft.22 

•  a  > 

3 
O 


03  J2  _ 


3  3 

2 


iii. 

l     i  OX 


te  cjCK-O  03 
CC  OwO^  ^  u   q 

ooooopo<< 


'  03 

3  3 

09  « 

3  ^ 

-!  oj 


2 


o 


1 1 


03 


California  Fish  and  Game 

"CONSERVATION   OF   WILD   LIFE   THROUGH   EDUCATION" 

Volume  5  SACRAMENTO,  OCTOBER,  1919  Number  4 


CONTENTS. 

Page 

SOME  NOTES  ON  DRY-FLY  FISHING R.  L.  M.,  California  169 

NOTE    ON   THE    HABITS    AND   USE    OF   THE    SMALL   SAND    CRAB 

{EMER1TA  ANALOOA) Frank  W.  Weymouth  171 

GAME    CONDITIONS    IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA    THIRTY-FIVE 

YEARS  AGO M.  Hall  McAllister  172 

A  CASE  OF  DESTRUCTION  OF  PISMO  CLAMS  BY  OIL 

Frank   W.   Weymouth  174 

ACCUSATIONS  AND  THE  DEFENSE— 

The  Eden  Resolution  and  a  Reply , 170 

EDITORIALS 187 

FACTS  OF  CURRENT  INTEREST 195 

COMMERCIAL  FISHERY  NOTES 196 

NOTES  FROM  THE  STATE  FISHERIES  LABORATORY 200 

CONSERVATION  IN  OTHER  STATES 204 

LIFE  HISTORY  NOTES 205 

UNITED  STATES  FOREST  SERVICE  CO-OPERATION 206 

REPORTS- 
seizures    207 

Fishery  Products,  April,  May,  June,  1919 208 

Violations  of  Fish  and  Game  Laws 210 

Expenditures    211 

INDEX    213 


SOME  NOTES  ON  DRY-FLY  FISHING. 

By    R.    L.    M.,    California. 

There  is  really  no  mystery  in  connection  with  dry-fly  fishing; 
everybody  who  has  fished  with  the  wet  fly  must  have  noticed  that  the 
first  time  that  a  new  or  dry-fly  is  cast  on  the  water,  that  it  remains 
on  the  surface ;  in  other  words,  it  floats.  As  soon  as  the  fly  becomes 
wet  it  ceases  to  float  and  thus  becomes  a  wet  fly.  Now,  dry-fly  fishing 
merely  consists  in  keeping  the  fly  dry,  and  if  it  should  become  wet, 
of  drying  it  with  as  little  loss  of  time  as  possible. 

Owing  to  more  or  less  recent  discoveries,  several  aids  have  been 
found  which  greatly  assist  the  fisherman  in  keeping  his  fly  from 
becoming  waterlogged.  The  most  important  of  these  is  the  "oil  tip." 
The  honor  of  this  discovery  belongs  to  the  late  Thomas  Andrews,  of 
Surrey,  England,  who  obtained  it  from  Colonel  Hawker,  a  descendant 
of  Colonel  Peter  Hawker  (Diary  1802-53;  "Hints  to  Young 
Sportsmen").  "Odorless  paraffine"  is  the  fluid  generally  mentioned. 
This  is  not  always  easy  to  obtain.  However,  there  is  another  oil  that 
from  my  own  personal  experience  is  equally  efficacious.  I  refer  to 
the  well  known  and  useful  "3  in  1."  The  best  method  of  applying 
"3  in  1"  to  a  fly  is  to  dip  the  fly  in  the  oil,  then  lay  it  on  a  piece  of 

48650 


170  CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND    GAME. 

blotting  paper  to  drain  while  breakfast  is  being  eaten.  A  fly  treated 
in  this  manner  will  continue  to  floal  bone  dry  until  it  is  worn  out  or 
the  day's  fishing  is  over. 

Another  very  useful  thing  to  have  at  the  waterside  is  a  piece  of 
amadou.     This  substance,   which   looks  like  leather,  is  a  fungus  that 
has  the  property  of  rapidly  absorbing  moisture.    If  the  fly  is  very  wet 
it  can    be   pressed  between   a  folded  piece  of  amadou  and   nearly  all 
the  moisture  is  removed. 

But  all  said  and  done,  most  of  the  drying  out  of  a  fly  is  done  by 
switching  or  easting  the  fly  back  and  forth  in  the  air.  Anybody  who 
is  able  to  throw  a  fly  can  in  a  very  short  time  learn  how  to  do  this 
without  snapping  off  his  fly. 

The  first  thing  to  remember  is  that  the  fly  should  not  be  thrown  at 
the  water.  Learn  how  to  east  the  fly  so  that  all  the  impetus  imparted 
to  the  line  is  used  up  by  the  time  the  fly  is  still  above  the  surface  of 
the  water,  and  allow  the  fly  to  fall  of  its  own  weight  on  the  water. 

Now,  when  this  feat  can  be  accomplished  with  ease,  instead  of 
letting  the  fly  fall  on  the  water,  make  a  backward  stroke  similar  to 
that  which  is  made  when  picking  the  line  and  fly  off  the  water;  this 
will  extend  the  line  behind.  A  series  of  three  or  four  of  these  back- 
ward and  forward  strokes  (which  are  called  false  casts)  are  made 
between  each  true  cast,  and  this  action  called  "drying  the  fly"  is  the 
principal  thing  that  differentiates  between  wet  and  dry-fly  Ashing. 
Of  course,  there  are  other  things  to  be  taken  into  account,  about  which 
I  hope  to  say  more  at  some  later  date,  but  the  whole  secret  consists 
of  being  able  to  throw  the  fly  backwards  and  forwards  in  the  air 
without  permitting  it  to  touch  the  water  in  front  or  the  ground 
behind.     When  that  can  be  done  the  major  part  of  the  art  is  conquered. 

In  actual  practice  the  false  casts  will  be  made  at  an  elevation 
corresponding  roughly  to  the  top  of  the  rod,  whether  the  overhead 
or  horizontal  cast  is  being  used. 

I  strongly  advise  the  beginner  to  commence  his  dry-fly  fishing  with 
hackle  flies,  for  the  following  reason :  A  hackle  fly,  having  no  wings, 
is  always  "cocked  up";  whereas,  a  winged  fly  should  float  with  its 
wings  standing  up  in  the  air,  and  placing  such  a  fly  on  the  water 
properly  "cocked  up"  does  not  come  to  one  overnight.  But  as  soon 
as  the  beginner  becomes  proficient  in  putting  a  hackle  fly  lightly  on 
the  Avater  he  can  switch  to  the  winged  variety  and  note  results.  If 
the  fly  persists  in  floating  on  its  side,  i.e.,  with  one  or  other  wing 
in  the  water,  it  shows  that  there  was  too  much  force  used  in  making 
the  cast;  because  the  fly,  instead  of  falling  of  its  own  weight  onto  the 
surface,  was  propelled  thereon,  with  sufficient  force  to  topple  it  over 
on  its  side.  As  time  goes  on,  however,  the  fly  will  more  often  fall 
correctly  and  float  lightly  on  the  surface  with  an  extraordinary 
resemblance  to  the  natural  insect. 

Do  not  become  discouraged  if  you  do  not  become  an  expert  dry-fly 
fisherman  in  a  few  days.  Have  patience  and  be  persevering  and  in  a 
surprisingly  short  time,  all  things  considered,  you  will  find  yourself 
accomplishing  things  you  once  considered  almost  impossible.  The 
great  test  of  the  art  is  to  be  able  to  tell  when  a  fly  is  dry  or  otherwise, 
by  the  feel  of  the  line  when  making  the  false  or  drying  casts.  When 
you  can  do  this  your  novitiate  is  in  the  past. 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND    GAME.  171 

NOTE  ON  THE  HABITS  AND  USE  OF  THE  SMALL  SAND  CRAB 

(Emerita  analoga).* 

By   FRANK   W.   WEYMOUTH,   Stanford    University. 

Of  the  many  baits  used  for  surf  and  pier  fishing  in  southern 
California,  few  are  more  popular  than  the  "soft-shelled"  sand  crab, 
of  which  numbers  may  be  seen  for  sale  in  the  fish  markets  on  the  piers 
at  Santa  Monica,  Venice,  Long  Beach,  Coronado  and  other  coast 
towns.  Some  recent  observations  on  its  habits  suggested  that  those 
who  use  it  as  bait  might  be  interested  in  its  mode  of  life  and  where 
it  may  be  caught. 

The  small  sand  crab,  as  it  may  be  called  to  distinguish  it  from  a 
larger  form  also  found  in  the  sand,  or  more  technically  Emerita 
analoga,  is  found  on  sandy  beaches  exposed  to  the  open  ocean  along 
the  entire  coast  of  California,  but  never  in  bays  or  other  sheltered 
locations.  The  reason  for  this  will  be  clear  when  we  have  considered 
its  feeding  habits.  At  the  level  washed  by  the  waves  it  burrows  in 
the  sand,  and  is  found  grouped  in  beds  which  can  be  recognized  even 
at  a  distance  by  peculiar  diamond-shaped  ripple  marks  in  the  water 
running  off  the  sand  after  the  breaking  of  the  wave.  These  ripples 
are  caused  by  the  feathered  "feelers,"  or  antennas,  of  the  sand  crab, 
which  it  thrusts  up  into  the  receding  wave.  With  these  it  combs  from 
the  water  the  microscopic  animals  and  plants  upon  which  it  feeds. 

If  one  has  patience  to  wade  into  such  a  bed  and  wait  quietly  until 
the  crabs  have  recovered  from  their  first  alarm,  the  interesting  process 
of  feeding  may  easily  be  watched.  As  the  water  clears  of  sand  after 
the  inrush  of  the  wave,  dozens  of  pairs  of  the  plume-like  antennas  will 
be  seen  to  pop  out  of  the  sand  into  the  seaward-running  water,  where 
they  remain  until  the  wave  drains  off,  occasionally  disappearing  for  a 
fraction  of  a  second  to  be  freed  of  their  catch  of  tiny  organisms. 
Corresponding  to  this  habit  of  feeding  on  material  too  fine  to  be 
chewed,  the  jaws,  which  have  hard-cutting  edges  in  other  crabs,  are 
here  small,  soft,  degenerate  vestiges. 

If  a  shovel  is  thrust  into  the  sand  of  one  of  these  "beds"  it  will 
turn  out  scores  of  these  crabs  which  "dig  in"  again  so  rapidly  that 
few  can  be  caught.  If  numbers  are  wanted  the  best  way  to  catch 
them  is  to  shovel  the  sand,  crabs  and  all,  into  a  box  having  wire  screen 
in  the  sides,  and  let  the  sand  be  washed  out  by  the  waves  as  they 
sweep  in  and  out.  Another  but  less  efficient  method  sometimes  prac- 
ticed is  to  hold  a  screen  across  one  of  the  sand  gullies  found  in  this 
part  of  the  beach  and  so  catch  the  crabs  which  happen  to  be  swimming 
about  in  the  receding  wave. 

Observations  recently  made  show  that  the  crabs  move  up  and  down 
the  beach  with  the  tides  so  that  the  beds  may  always  be  found  in  the 
area  washed  by  the  waves,  and  here  they  may  easily  be  recognized  by 
the  ripple  marks  already  mentioned. 

Crabs  caught  by  any  of  these  methods  will  be  noticed  to  differ 
much  in  size.  In  this  species,  unlike  most  of  the  Crustacea,  the  males 
are  much  smaller  than  the  females,  and  it  will  be  found  during  the 
breeding  season,  which  falls  in  the  summer  months,  that  only  the 


♦California   State   Fisheries  Laboratory,   Contribution  No.   8. 


172  CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 

larger  specimens  are  carrying  egg  masses.  The  "soft-shelled"  crabs 
are,  of  course,  not  a  separate  form,  but  only  those  that  have  recently 
limited  or  east  their  shells,  a  process  occurring  yearly  in  mosl 
crustaceans,  and  that  have  not  yet  hardened  their  new  shells.  Accord- 
ing to  observations  just  made,  the  moiling  of  the  Large  females 
apparently  occurs  just  before  spawning  and  in  advance  of  the  molting 
of  the  males,  and  it  is  these  "soft"  females  which  are  collected  as 
bait  for  surf  fishing.  Fish  are  apparently  used  to  feeding  on  these 
crabs,  which  in  their  soft  state  have  more  difficulty  in  burrowing  into 
the  sand  than  at  ordinary  times  and  are  therefore  more  likely  to  be 
found  swimming  about  at  the  bottom.  The  fisherman,  in  using  the 
" soft-shelled "  sand  crab,  is  therefore  offering  to  the  fish  one  of  its 
customary  dainties,  and  it  is  readily  accepted. 


GAME  CONDITIONS  IN  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA  THIRTY-FIVE 

YEARS  AGO. 

By    M.    HALL    McALLISTER. 

In  1885,  I  spent  the  summer  and  fall  in  and  near  Colton,  Riverside 
and  San  Bernardino,  in  southern  California,  and  most  of  the  months 
of  September,  October  and  November  in  riding  and  hunting  all  over 
that  part  of  California.  My  companion  was  a  rancher,  Y.  C.  Reche, 
who  was  one  of  the  best  shots,  deer  trackers  and  general  all-round 
hunters  to  be  found  anywhere. 

We  had  one  week's  hunt  on  the  Santa  Margarita,  also  known  as  the 
Juan  Foster-Dick  O'Neill-Flood  property,  near  Oceanside.  Our  party 
of  four  bagged  fourteen  deer  and  con  Id  have  killed  double  the 
number,  but  stopped  shooting  because  they  were  nearly  as  tame  as 
sheep. 

There  were  then  some  antelope  just  south  of  Riverside,  and  I  have 
now  the  horns  of  a  buck  killed  not  far  from  San  Jacinto  Mountain, 
near  where  the  toAvn  of  Hemet  now  stands.  Mountain  sheep  could 
then  be  found  in  either  the  San  Bernardino  or  San  Jacinto  ranges, 
and  my  hunting  friend  Reehe  had  killed  several.  I  also  remember 
a  miner  who  reported  a  v cry  large  grizzly  as  coming  daily  to  the 
mountain  side  near  a  mine  to  feed  on  the  berries.  This  mine  was  on 
the  desert  side  of  the  Cajon  Pass  where  the  Santa  Fe  Railway  comes 
down  from  Barstow.  Mountain  lions  were  also  plentiful  all  through 
these  ranges.  I  remember  a  friend  reporting  that  while  riding 
through  a  canyon  not  far  from  his  ranch  he  suddenly  came  on  a 
bunch  of  five  lions  feeding  on  a  dead  calf,  and  as  he  had  no  weapon 
with  him  he  thought  besl  to  make  a  quid  sneak. 

On  the  San  Jacinto  plains  south  of  Riverside  were  a  few  springs, 
and  to  these  the  quail  came  in  countless  thousands  to  water,  and  at 
nearly  each  One  of  them  we  found  a  brush  hilt  and  a  Y-shaped  trough 
placed  there  by  the  quail  market  hunters.  Reche  and  I  went  around 
and  burned  up  each  and  every  one  of  these  "slaughter  pens"  and  got 
ourselves  somewhat  disliked  when  the  news  leaked  out  as  to  who  had 
done  it. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME.  173 

When  the  quail  season  opened  in  September  we  had  many  splendid 
hunts,  but  no  potting  was  allowed,  wing  shooting  only ;  and  with  birds 
so  plentiful,  we  had  wonderful  sport.  I  remember  one  hunt  where 
we  slept  out  at  one  of  these  San  Jacinto  plains  springs  and  in  the 
morning  saw  the  enormous  bands  of  cpiail  coming  up  for  water.  It 
made  one's  blood  tingle  with  excitement.  The  ground  for  hundreds 
of  yards  all  around  was  a  moving  mass  of  thousands  of  running  birds. 
We  hid  in  the  brush  and  let  them  come  in  to  water,  then  suddenly 
jumped  up  with  a  shout  and  succeeded  in  scattering  the  flock  so  that 
in  an  hour's  shooting  we  had  bagged  97  quail,  all  wing  shots.  We 
did  not  move  more  than  one  hundred  yards  from  the  spring,  as  every 
rock  on  the  hillside  had  from  one  to  a  dozen  quail  under  it. 

Mr.  Reche  stated  that  when  the  Sunset  Route  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  started  in  1880,  many  young  men  in  southern  California  started 
hunting  quail  for  the  San  Francisco  market,  but  that  nearly  all  the 
quail  rotted  in  the  sacks  before  reaching  San  Francisco,  so  that  the 
business  proved  unprofitable.  Before  refrigeration  could  be  arranged, 
the  big  bands  of  quail  were  all  killed  off.  He  stated  that  with  his 
brother  he  started  to  shoot  for  the  market,  but  his  returns  did  not  pay 
the  express  charges  and  the  cost  of  powder  and  shot.  He  stated  that 
by  actual  count  he  picked  up  363  quail  as  a  result  of  eleven  pot  shots 
of  his  old  muzzle  loader  at  the  spring  where  we  found  the  V-shaped 
trough.  This  was  an  average  of  33  birds  to  each  shot,  and  he  said  he 
would  wait  until  the  trough  was  actually  covered  with  quail  before 
he  would  shoot. 

Coming  back  to  recollections  in  and  around  my  home  in  San 
Francisco,  I  remember  that  in  the  summer  of  1875  I  visited  a  camp  of 
young  men  in  the  mountains  back  of  Pescadero,  in  San  Mateo  County. 
This  was  in  July  and  there  was  a  game  law  against  shooting  quail, 
but  these  men,  "just  for  the  fun  of  it,"  were  potting  quail  by  the 
hundreds  and  had  a  large  sack  full ;  in  fact,  so  many  that  their  camp 
could  not  eat  them  and  we  were  invited  to  "help  yourself  if  you  will 
keep  your  mouth  shut. ' ' 

In  the  California  Market,  San  Francisco,  in  the  seasonal  months 
from  September  to  February,  the  oyster  cafes  served  "quail  on  toast, 
25c, ' '  and  when  I  lunched  there  my  daily  order  was  this  most  palatable 
dish. 

Remembering  the  adage,  "You  can  not  eat  30  quail  in  30  days," 
I  tried  and  accomplished  the  feat.  It  was  supposed  the  adage  came 
from  the  idea  that  a  person  could  not  obtain  quail  on  each  day  of 
thirty  consecutive  days  or  that  you  would  so  tire  of  them  that  you 
could  not  carry  out  your  bargain.  However,  as  stated  above,  I  did 
obtain  and  did  eat  a  quail  each  day  for  thirty  consecutive  days.  I 
might  state  that  the  restaurant  had  a  fine  cook  who  understood  how 
to  prepare  them  with  plenty  of  butter,  and  they  were  delicious. 

As  I  was  working  and  had  to  keep  regular  office  hours  in  San 
Francisco,  most  of  my  hunting  was  on  Saturdays  and  Sundays  and 
occasional  holidays  and  vacations.  I  have  a  journal  and  record  book 
of  all  my  hunts  from  1877  down  to  the  present  year,  1919,  just 
forty-two  years.  Most  of  the  shooting  has  been  at  ducks  and  geese 
on  the  Suisun  marsh,  where  I  was  a  member  of  the  Cordelia  and  Ibis 
shooting  clubs. 

2— 4S650 


174  CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME. 


A  CASE  OF  DESTRUCTION  OF  PISMO   CLAMS  BY    OIL.* 

By    PROFESSOR    FRANK    WALTER    WEYMOUTH,    of   Stanford    University, 

California. 

Thai  crude  oil  is  harmful  to  marine  and  fresh  water  animals  lias 
been  so  generally  recognized  that  most  states,  including  California, 
have  passed  laws  designed  to  protect  their  waters  from  oil  by  pro- 
Aiding  penalties  for  those  who  allow  it  to  escape.  Definite  instances 
proving  its  destructive  effect  though  present,  for  instance  in  the  case 
of  water  birds,  are  not  numerous,  and  for  this  and  other  reasons 
convictions  are  not  always  easy  to  obtain.  It  is  claimed  by  the  clam 
diggers  at  Pisnao  and  Oceano  that  oil  is  ehiefly  responsible  for  the 
decrease  in  the  supply  of  Pismo  clams.     It  is  hoped  that  at  another 


Fig.  55.    Oil  cakes  on  the  beach  near  Pismo.    The  size  may  be  judged  by  comparison  with  the 

cap.    Photograph  by  W.  E.  Weymouth. 

time  it  will  be  possible  to  present  an  analj'sis  of  this  claim  and  of 
other  factors  influencing  the  abundance  of  this  important  food 
mollusk,  the  data  for  which  are  not  now  available,  but  an  instance  of 
the  effect  of  oil  which  recently  came  under  the  writer's  notice  may 
here  be  put  on  record. 

Sometimes  oil  reaches  the  beach  from  tanks  on  the  shore  near  Avila, 
but  the  most  important  source  is  from  the  water  ballast  discharged  by 
vessels  coming  to  load  oil  at  Port  San  Luis.  This  can  not  reach  the 
beach  at  Morro  around  the  projecting  "Pecho"  coast  against  the 
prevailing  winds,  but  is  blown  on  the  beaches  at  Pismo  and  Oceano 
at  times  in  considerable  quantities  as  bathers  at  these  resorts  are 

♦California  State  Fisheries  Laboratory,   Contribution  No.  11. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME.  175 

well  aware.  One  such  instance  was  observed  by  the  writer  on  June  1 
of  the  present  year,  when  along  more  than  a  mile  of  the  beach  just 
south  of  Pismo  large  masses  of  fresh  oil  were  found  scattered  over 
the  wet  sand  exposed  at  low  tide.  The  appearance  at  two  points  is 
shown  by  the  accompanying  photographs,  from  which  the  size  and 
abundance  of  the  oil  cakes  may  be  judged.  In  fact,  at  this  time  it 
was  impossible  for  a  bather  to  cross  the  beach  without  getting  so 
much  oil  on  his  feet  as  to  make  a  gasoline  footbath  necessary.  Many 
old  cakes  well  mixed  with  sand  and  free  of  the  thinner  oils  may  be 
seen  at  any  time  high  up  on  the  beach,  showing  that  the  occurrence 
is  by  no  means  rare.  On  the  date  mentioned  the  lighter  parts  of  the 
oil,  churned  up  by  the  surf  into  an  emulsion,  were  found  sweeping 
back  and  forth  across  the  sand  at  the  tip  of  the  advancing  waves, 
and  in  this  were  large  numbers  of  small  animals  either  dead  or  so 
feeble  as  no  longer  to  be  able  to  burrow.  About  a  quart  of  small 
clams,  chiefly  razor  shells  (Siliqua),  but  including  some  thirty  small 
Pismo  clams  (Tivela),  together  with  a  few  sand  crabs  (Emerita)  and 
some  worms  were  picked  up  in  a  few  minutes.  All  were  smeared  with 
oil;  some  of  the  clams  were  dead  and  gaping,  others  were  alive,  but 
too  feeble  to  keep  up  the  constant  burrowing  necessary  to  maintain 
their  place  in  the  sand  from  which  the  waves  had  washed  them. 
Whether  the  oil  killed  them  directly  or,  what  is  more  probable,  by 
filming  over  the  sand  cut  off  the  supply  of  air,  could  not  be  deter- 
mined. But  that  they  were  killed  by  the  oil  can  not  be  doubted,  as 
examination  of  the  beaches  for  two  or  three  weeks  before  and  after 
this  date  seldom  showed  even  a  single  dead  clam  except  in  the 
presence  of  oil. 

With  this  clear  proof  of  the  destructive  effect  of  the  oil  on  such  an 
important  food  animal  as  the  Pismo  clam,  there  can  be  no  excuse  for 
tolerating  the  escape  of  oil,  especially  as  it  has  been  proved  possible 
by  devices  in  use  on  many  tankers  not  only  to  prevent  its  escape,  but 
to  save  the  oil  thus  usuallv  lost. 


176  CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND    GAME. 


If  you  are  inclined  to  criticise  the  Fish  and  Game 
Commission,  read  the  following  criticisms  and  the 
defense. 

If  you  believe  in  the  work  of  the  Commission, 
inform  yourself  more  fully  as  to  the  accomplish- 
ments of  the  past  few  years. 


ACCUSATIONS  AND  THE  DEFENSE. 

Resolution    by    Mr.     Eden,    introduced    in    the    State    Legislature    April    1,    1919,    and 
referred   to   Committee  on    Governmental    Efficiency   and    Economy. 

Whebeas,  The  Fish  and  Game  Commission  of  this  state,  and  its  several  members, 
ofiicers  and  assistants,  are,  by  virtue  of  the  very  large  power  and  authority  given  to 
them  by  law,  in  a  position  to  exert  great  influence  for  or  against  legislation  pending 
before  this  Assembly;  and 

Whereas,  It  is  said  that  certain  of  said  officers  and  members  have  in  fact  sought 
to  influence  pending  legislation  ;  and 

Whereas,  Said  Fish  and  Game  Commission  and  certain  of  its  members,  assistants 
and  employees  have  been  derelict  in  the  performance  of  the  duties  imposed  upon  them 
by  law ;  now,  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Efficiency  and  Economy  of  this  Assembly  be  and 
it  is  hereby,  directed  to  make  an  immediate  and  thorough  investigation  of  the  following 
specific  matters : 

1.  To  ascertain  what,  if  any.  fishing  clubs,  gun  clubs  and  private  game  preserves, 
any  of  the  said  commissioners,  or  the  officers,  assistants  or  employees  of  said  Fish  and 
Game  Commission,  are  affiliated  with;  and  whether  or  not  any  of  said  officers,  assist- 
ants or  employees  have  been,  by  reason  of  such  affiliation,  perniciously  active  in 
supporting  or  opposing  any  legislation  now  pending  before  this  Assembly  :  and  whether 
or  not  they  have  shown  any  favoritism,  in  any  manner,  towards  any  gun  or  fishing 
club  members;  and  whether  or  not  they  have,  by  reason  of  their  said  membership, 
sought  to  set  up  and  perpetuate  in  this  state,  against  the  interests  and  wishes  of  the 
common  people,  the  European  system  of  a  monopoly  in  the  control  and  use  of  wild 
fish  and  game,  which  is  peculiarly  the  property  of  all  the  people. 

2.  Why  it  is  that  within  the  past  nine  years  said  commission  has,  without  any 
satisfactory  explanation,  dismissed  three  certain  executive  officers  of  said  commission, 
each  of  whom  was  reputed  to  be  a  faithful  and  efficient  public  servant. 

3.  How  much  of  the  time  of  the  present  attorney  of  said  commission  is  devoted 
to  the  duties  of  his  state  office,  and  how  much  of  it  is  devoted  to  his  own  private  law 
practice;  the  latter  of  which  is  said  to  be  very  large  and  lucrative. 

4.  Why  said  commission  collected  from  the  people  of  the  Slate,  during  the  four 
years  ending  June  30,  1918,  the  enormous  sum  of  $837,409.25,  of  which  the  sum  of 
s  i us..", in. , .">  was  expended;  whether  or  do!  said  sum  so  spen!  was  no1  unwisely  and 
extravagantly  used.  Also  recommend  some  legislation  that  will  reduce  the  amount 
of  money  collected  by  said  commission  at  least  $;!<U")00  per  annum.  Also  to  ascertain 
if  it  is  not  advisable  that  the  expenditure  of  such  a  large  fund  should  be  made  by  the 
governing  body  of  the  State,  upon  appropriations,  instead  of  by  said  commission,  as 
is  now  done,  without  any  control  of  the  Legislature  whatever. 

5.  Why  it  is  that  for  the  two  years  ending  June  30,  1918,  the  police  work  of  the 
commission  fell  off  about  15  per  cent  over  the  preceding  two  years  (see  last  report  to 
Governor,  page  ss  •  :  notwithstanding  said  commission  is  charged  with  the  enforcement 
of  laws  for  the  preservation  of  tish  and  game,  and  notwithstanding  more  people  hunted 
and  fished  during  said  period  ending  June  30,  1918,  than  before;  and  notwithstanding 
reports  of  frequent  and  flagrant  violations  of  the  fish  and  game  laws  were  reported 
in  the  press  and  otherwise  throughout  the  state. 

<*>.  Why  said  commission  expended  the  enormous  sum  of  $68,272.21  to  establish  and 
a  large  sum  since  for  additions  to  a  trout  hatchery  in  Inyo  County,  for  the  purpose, 
as  avowed  by  the  said  commission,  of  stocking  the  streams  of  southern  California  and 
the  western  slope  of  the  southern  Sierra  Nevadas,  when  it  was  obvious  to  any  person 
that  said  location  could  not  bo  a  success  for  the  following  reasons  : 

a.  That  there  were  no  waters  nearby  needing  to  be  stocked. 

h.  That  it  was  impossible  to  obtain  a  sufficient  supply  of  trout  eggs  in  that  vicinity 
for  hatching  purposes. 

c.  The  great  distance  the  hatchery  product  must  be  transported  at  heavy  expense. 

d.  The  hatchery  product  must  be  transported  through  the  heat  of  the  Mojave 
desert  before  they  reach  the  waters  intended  to  be  stocked. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND    GAME.  177 

7.  To  ascertain  the  cost  of  maintenance  and  operation  of  said  hatchery  in  Inyo 
County,  and  whether  the  said  cost  is  not  extravagantly  expensive  and  out  of  all 
proportion  to  the  benefit  derived  by  the  people  of  the  state,  and  likely  to  be  a  growing 
burden  and  expense;  also  the  person  from  whom  the  ground  was  purchased  and  the 
then  owners  of  adjacent  property  and  the  price  paid  therefor. 

8.  To  ascertain  whether  or  not  the  commission  is  making  any  intelligent  and 
sufficient  effort  to  obtain  accurate  first-hand  information  relative  to  the  present  status 
and  condition  of  the  game  and  fish  of  the  state;  and  whether  or  not  by  reason  of 
failure  to  procure  such  information  many  species  of  game  and  fish  have  reached  the 
point  of  actual  extinction,  with  others  in  the  same  dangerous  stage  of  diminution, 
oefore  proper  conservation  measures  can  be  proposed  to  this  Assembly. 

9.  Why  said  commission  has  permitted  the  Truckee  River,  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
streams  in  the  world,  and  a  famous  fishing  ground,  to  remain  polluted  for  years  by 
tiie  waste  products  from  a  paper  mill  located  at  Floriston,  California,  notwithstanding 
popular  complaint  and  objection  by  the  citizens,  not  only  of  our  state,  but  also 
by  the  people  of  our  sister  state,  Nevada,  whose  principal  city  obtains  its  domestic 
water  supply  from  said  river;  and  notwithstanding  said  commission  is  required  by 
law,  and  clothed  with  all  lawful  authority,  to  prevent  the  pollution  of  streams.  Why 
it  is  that  in  the  face  of  the  law  said  commission  has  deliberately  and  wilfully  failed 
and  refused  to  do  its  plain  duty,  thereby  constituting  a  clear  and  flagrant  malfeasance 
in  office,  and  one  that  should  be  severely  dealt  with  by  the  proper  authorities. 

10.  Why  it  is  that  the  ocean  waters  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County  and  the  waters  of 
San  Pablo  and  San  Francisco  bays,  and  other  navigable  fishing  waters  in  the  state, 
have  been  for  years,  and  are  now,  being  polluted  with  crude  petroleum,  oil  refinery 
refuse  and  other  substances  deleterious  to  fish  life,  in  violation  of  law ;  notwithstanding 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission  strictly  and  impartially  to  enforce  the 
law  against  such  pollution. 

11.  To  ascertain  whether  or  not,  throughout  the  state,  in  irrigated  districts,  many 
canals  and  irrigating  ditches  are  diverting  water  from  streams  that  contain  fish, 
without  using  screens  to  prevent  the  loss  of  fish ;  and  thereby  millions  of  trout,  bass 
and  other  valuable  food  and  game  fishes  are  annually  killed  and  wasted. 

12.  To  ascertain  to  what  extent  dams  and  other  artificial  obstructions  are  being 
suffered  by  the  said  commission  to  be  maintained  in  the  streams  of  the  state  without 
proper  fish  ladders,  and  whether  or  not  by  such  neglect  and  dereliction  of  duty  on 
the  part  of  said  commission,  millions  of  trout,  and  other  migratory  fish,  are  prevented 
from  reaching  proper  "spawning  beds,"  with  a  resultant  loss  of  a  great  quantity  of 
fish  spawn  and  fish. 

13.  To  ascertain  if  it  is  not  true  that  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission  has  failed 
and  neglected  to  take  advantage  of  that  provision  in  the  law  authorizing  the  creation 
of  game  refuges  on  private  land  holdings,  resulting  in  game,  in  many  sections  where 
hunting  is  intensive,  failing  to  receive  proper  and  adequate  protection. 

14.  Why  said  commission  has  discontinued  a  branch  office  established  at  the  request 
of  the  people  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  ;  thus  making  less  effective  the  supervision  of 
police  and  other  conservation  activities  in  that  important  and  developing  region  ;  and 
thereby,  and  through  other  activities,  having  lost  to  the  state  the  services  of  one  of 
the  most  efficient  and  conscientious  fish  and  game  conservationists  in  the  country. 

15.  To  ascertain  if  it  is  not  true  that  said  commission  has  wasted  large  sums  of 
the  people's  money  in  unscientific  and  impractical  experiments  at  its  game  farm  at 
Hayward,  California,  and  has  finally  abandoned  said  farm. 

16.  To  ascertain  if  it  is  not  true  that  the  distribution  of  fish,  as  carried  on  by  said 
commission,  is  unscientific,  unduly  expensive  and  results  in  the  destruction  each  year 
of  a  large  proportion  of  the  fish  so  distributed. 

17.  To  ascertain  if  it  is  not  true  that  because  said  commission  has  failed  to  investi- 
gate and  prevent  enormous  losses  occurring  among  the  millions  of  young  salmon 
propagated  and  distributed  each  year  after  they  leave  the  hatcheries,  the  salmon 
fisheries  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers  are  not  being  kept  in  a  healthful 
and  thriving  condition. 

18.  To  ascertain  to  what  extent,  if  any,  said  commission  has,  within  the  past  eight 
years,  been  governed  by  political,  personal  and  other  insufficient  and  improper  motives, 
in  its  acts  in  the  following  particulars  : 

a.  The  dismissal  of  trained  and  efficient  employees. 

b.  The  employment,  promotion  and  otherwise  rewarding  of  assistants  and 
employees  not  deserving  of  such  consideration. 

c.  The  failure  to  promote  certain  assistants  deserving  promotion. 

And  whether  it  is  not  true  that  by  reason  of  said  acts  the  entire  department  is 
demoralized  and  functioning  very  inefficiently  and  at  an  expense  out  of  all  proportion 
to  (lie  results  obtained. 

19.  To  ascertain  if  it  is  not  true  that  the  force  of  wardens  in  the  field,  where  the 
fish  and  game  are  to  be  found  and  where  constructive  work  can  only  be  done,  is 
inadequate ;  while  the  "overhead"  has  been  constantly  increased  by  adding  to  it 
expensive  and  unproductive  clerical  workers ;  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  said  committee  report  to  this  Assembly  within  a  short  time,  the 
result  of  its  investigation,  with  such  recommendations  as  it  may  deem  advisable; 
&o  it  further 


178  CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND   GAME. 

Resolved,  That  said  committee  be,  and  it  is,  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to 
compel  the  attendance  of  witnesses  at  its  several  sessions,  by  subpoenas,  to  be  served 
by  the  clerk  of  said  committee;  and  that  the  chairman  and  vice  chairman  of  said 
committee  be  and  they  are  each  of  them  authorized  to  administer  oaths  to  witnesses; 

and  any  witness  refusing  to  answer  questions  is  hereby  declared  to  be  in  contempt, 
and  may  be  punished  as  for  contempt. 

Said  committee  is  empowered  to  employ  all  needed  clerical  and  expert  assistance  to 
carry  on  said  investigation,  and  all  costs  and  expenses  of  such  investigation  shall  be 
paid  out  of  the  Contingent  Expense  Fund  of  this  Assembly,  not  exceeding  one  thousand 
live  hundred  dollars. 

Reply  to  the   Eden   Resolution   by  the  Executive  Officer  of  the  Fish  and  Game 

Commission. 

In  the  preamble  of  Mr.   Eden's  resolution  introduced  in  the  Assembly,  April  1, 

1919,  it  is  stated  that  some  of  the  members,  officers  and  assistants  of  the  Fish  and 
Game  Commission  appear  before  the  Legislature.  While  this  is  true,  they  do  60 
merely  in  an  advisory  capacity  and  have  not  at  this  or  any  other  session  of  the 
Legislature,  attempted  to  influence  any  legislation  for  personal  motives.  They  have 
favored  the  legislation  which  they  thought  was  best  for  the  conservation  of  the  fish 
and  game  of  this  state  and  have  opposed  legislation  which,  in  their  opinion,  was 
harmful  or  vicious. 

A  general  statement  is  made  that  certain  members,  assistants  and  employees  of 
the  commission  have  heen  derelict  in  the  performance  of  the  duties  imposed  upon 
them  by  law,  but  no  specific  instances  have  been  enumerated.  The  statement  is 
untrue.  Assistants  or  employees  found  derelict  in  the  performance  of  their  duties 
have  been  promptly  discharged  from  the  service  of  the  commission. 

The  following  is  a  brief  reply  to  each  of  the  nineteen  points  set  up  in  the 
lesolution  : 

1.  'Lite  fact  that  two  of  the  three  commissioners  are  members  of  gun  cluhs  has  in 
no  way  influenced  them  in  showing  any  favoritism  towards  gun  clubs  nor  have  they 
Keen  perniciously  active  in  supporting  or  opposing  legislation  pending  before  the 
Assembly,  nor  have  they  sought  to  establish  the  European  system  of  monopoly  in 
the  control  and  use  of  fish  and  game,  against  the  interests  and  wishes  of  the  common 
people.  On  the  contrary,  they  have  always  sought  to  perpetuate  fish  and  game  in 
this  state  for  the  benefit  and  use  of  all  the  people.  Commissioner  Bosqui  is  not 
a  member  of  nor  in  any  way  affiliated  with  any  hunting  or  fishing  club  nor  with  any 
game  or  fishing  preserve. 

2.  It  is  not  true  that  within  the  past  nine  years  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission 
has  dismissed  three  executive  officers  of  the  commission.  Charles  A.  Vogelsang 
severed  his  connect  ion  with  the  commission  long  before  Commissioners  Newbert  and 
Bosqui  were  appointed  and  several  years  prior  to  the  time  the  present  executive 
officer  became  connected  with  the  commission. 

John  P.  Babcock,  after  several  conferences  with  Governor  Hiram  W.  Johnson, 
resigned  on  November  24,  1911. 

Ernest  Schaeffle  voluntarily  resigned  on  September  15,  191G.  Both  resignations 
are  now  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  commission. 

3.  Mr.  Robert  I).  Duke,  attorney  for  the  commission,  devotes  all  of  his  time  to 
the  duties  of  his  state  office. 

4.  During  the  four  years  ending  June  30,  191S,  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission 
collected  the  sum  of  $837,409.25,  because  under  the  laws  of  the  state,  it  was  its 
duty  to  collect  said  .sum.  This  money  was  paid  into  the  Fish  and  Game  Preservation 
Fund  by  hunters,  anglers  and  commercial  fishermen  who  desired  that  it  be  used  for 
the  purpose  of  conserving  fish  ami  game  and  not  that  it  be  diverted  into  the  general 
fund  to  be  used  for  other  purposes.  It  is  their  wish  that  these  funds  be  spent  on 
patrol,  enforcement  of  fish  and  game  laws,  erection  and  maintenance  of  hatcheries, 
distribution  of  fish,  installation  of  screens  in  ditches,  lishways  in  dams  and  research, 
etc. 

The  fish  canners  and  commercial  fishermen,  of  their  own  accord,  asked  that  a 
privilege  tax  be  imposed  on  the  taking  of  fish  and  that  the  money  from  this  source 
be  turned  over  to  the  Fish  and  Came  Commission  for  the  purpose  of  conducting 
investigations  of  the  life  history  of  fishes  in  order  that  the  commercial  fisheries  might 
be  further  developed,  new  methods  of  fishing  experimented  with  and  proper  legislation 
passed   in  order  to  conserve  the  fishes  of  this  state. 

Accounts  of  its  receipts  and  expenditures  are  published  more  frequently  by  this 
commission  than  by  any  other  slate  board  or  commission.  "California  Fish  and 
(lame."  published  by  the  commission  quarterly,  contains  a  full  statement  of  all  money 
expended  by  this  commission  each  month,  besides  an  account  of  the  commission's 
other  activities. 

That  the  funds  of  the  commission  have  not  been  unwisely  or  extravagantly  spent 
is  proven  by  the  results  obtained.  The  salmon  run,  which  in  the  early  'SOs  was 
practically   exterminated   by   mining  operations,   was   restored   by   the   work   of   the 


CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND    GAME.  179 

commission's  hatchery  department,  so  that  in  191S  over  twelve  million  pounds  of 
salmon  were  caught,  which  retailed  at  an  average  price  of  25  cents  per  pound,  making 
the  total  value  of  the  catch  $3,000,000. 

Striped  bass,  catfish,  black  bass,  shad,  blue  gill,  calico  bass  and  other  food  fishes 
were  introduced  into  the  waters  of  this  state  by  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission. 
As  a  result  of  this  work,  1,400,000  pounds  of  striped  bass  were  caught  in  California 
in  the  year  1918.  They  were  retailed  at  about  25  cents  per  pound,  or  $325,000. 
During  the  last  three  years  over  twelve  million  pounds  of  shad  were  taken  in  Cali- 
fornia, from  thirty  to  sixty-five  carloads  of  roe-shad  being  shipped  to  the  Eastern 
markets  each  year,  retailing  at  not  less  than  20  cents  per  pound,  making  an  average 
of  $SOO,000  per  year. 

Catfish  are  also  caught  in  large  numbers.  In  191S,  200,000  pounds,  worth  25  cents 
per  pound,  or  $50,000,  were  sent  to  our  markets.  The  annual  catch  of  these  four 
species  of  fish  introduced  or  re-established  by  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission  is 
valued  at  $1,175,000.  In  fact,  a  total  of  250,000,000  pounds  of  fish  were  caught  in 
California  during  the  year  191S.  The  fish  packed  by  canners  and  curers,  alone,  were 
worth  approximately  $20,000,000,  to  say  nothing  of  the  fresh  fish  sent  to  the  markets. 

Surely  an  industry  of  such  magnitude  is  worth  protecting,  and  any  money  spent 
in  investigating  the  life  history  of  our  food  fishes  can  not  truthfully  be  said  to  be 
extravagantly  spent  without  achieving  results,  particularly  when  the  fish  introduced, 
propagated  and  protected  by  the  commission  bring  into  the  State  of  California, 
$4,175,000  per  year — over  ten  times  the  amount  expended  by  the  state  in  the  protec- 
tion, propagation  and  conservation  of  all  fish  and  game. 

As  a  result  of  the  investigations  by  the  experts  of  the  commission,  a  new  season 
and  limit  was  adopted  and  the  catch  of  crabs  increased  40,000  dozen  per  year,  valued 
at  $100,000. 

Besides  the  important  work  of  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission  in  propagating  and 
conserving  commercial  fishes,  it  has  also  propagated  and  distributed  millions  of  trout 
and  has  stocked  many  waters  which  had  been  entirely  barren  of  fish  life.  Bear  Lake, 
an  artificial  lake  in  San  Bernardino  County,  about  eight  miles  long,  was  stocked  by 
the  Fish  and  Game  Commission.  Hatcheries  and  egg-taking  stations  were  built  and 
maintained  there  and  the  supply  of  fish  kept  up  so  that  now  the  fifty  or  sixty  thou- 
sand people  who  visit  the  lake  annually  obtain  excellent  fishing.  In  addition  to  Bear 
Lake,  the  commission  has  also  planted  trout  and  black  bass  in  Huntington  Lake, 
Bass  Lake,  Shaver  Lake,  Clear  Lake,  Juniper  Lake,  Medicine  Lake,  Rea  Lakes. 
Sixty  Lake  Basin  and  many  other  lakes  throughout  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  the  Coast 
Range  mountains,  too  numerous  to  mention.  In  all  of  these  lakes  excellent  fishing 
is  to  be  had  and  they  are  annually  visited  by  tens  of  thousands  of  anglers. 

Innumerable  barren  streams  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  and  elsewhere  in 
this  state  have  been  stocked  with  trout.  All  of  the  streams  in  the  Yosemite 
National  Park  above  the  floor  of  the  valley  were  barren  of  fish  life  before  they  were 
stocked  by  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission.  Golden  trout  have  been  distributed 
from  Volcano  Creek  throughout  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  as  far  north  as  the 
Yosemite  Valley. 

The  fishing  in  some  of  our  best  streams  is  kept  up  solely  through  the  work  of 
the  Fish  and  Game  Commission.  When  the  run  of  black-spotted  trout,  the  only 
trout  indigenous  to  the  Truckee  River,  was  stopped  by  the  dams  in  the  river  in  the 
State  of  Nevada,  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission  planted  Rainbow,  Eastern  Brook 
and  Loch  Leven  trout  in  this  most  excellent  fishing  stream,  so  that,  now,  while 
black-spotted  trout  are  seldom,  if  every  caught,  excellent  catches  are  made  of  the 
varieties  introduced  by  the  Commission. 

The  banks  of  the  Sacramento  River  on  Sundays  and  holidays,  in  fact,  nearly 
every  day,  are  lined  with  anglers  fishing  for  catfish,  crappie,  blue  gill,  calico  bass  and 
other  exotic  fish  introduced  into  the  waters  of  this  state  by  the  Fish  and  Game 
Commission. 

The  work  of  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission  in  the  protection  of  the  game 
resources  of  the  state  has  also  been  productive  of  excellent  results.  Deer  are 
admittedly  much  more  numerous  now  than  they  were  ten  or  fifteen  years  ago. 
Cottontail  rabbits  are  becoming  so  numerous  that  the  residents  of  Fish  and  Game 
District  No.  2  and  Fish  and  Game  District  No.  4  have  asked  this  Legislature  that 
the  protection  given  cottontail  and  brush  rabbits  be  removed  and  that  they  be  placed 
upon  the  list  of  predatory  animals  which  may  be  taken  at  any  time. 

As  a  result  of  the  protection  given  pheasants,  those  planted  by  the  commission 
have  become  so  numerous  in  favorable  localities,  that  open  seasons  for  the  taking 
of  these  birds  are  demanded  in  Inyo  and  other  counties  and  will  probably  be  granted 
by  this  session  of  the  Legislature. 

Quail  and  doves  are  holding  their  own  in  most  localities.  Wild  ducks  and  wild 
geese,  under  the  protection  given  them  both  by  the  state  and  federal  government,  are 
so  numerous  that  in  many  localities,  they  are  considered  a  pest,  particularly  in  the 
rice  fields  of  the  Sacramento  Valley  and  the  grain  fields  in  the  lower  San  Joaquin 
Valley.  In  fact,  there  is  now  pending  in  the  Legislature  a  bill  providing  that  the 
protection  given  ducks  and  geese  be,  to  some  extent,  removed,  in  order  that  the 
farmers  of  the  state  may  obtain  relief  from  their  depredations. 


ISO  CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME. 

5.  The  diminution  in  the  number  of  cases  made  in  the  biennial  period  1916  L918, 
is  (jue  to  the  vigorous  campaign  of  education  being  carried  on  by  this  commission. 
The  commission  Eeels  that  it  can  obtain  much  better  results  by  educating  the  people 
to  a  proper  observance  of  the  laws  for  the  conservation  of  our  fish  and  game,  than 
ii  can  by  arrests  alone.  Apparently  the  commission  is  justified  in  this.  Despite  the 
Eact  that  the  patrol  has  been  more  efficient  than  at  any  other  time,  the  number  of 
arrests  have  decreased  from  2,087  in  1014-1C  to  1,797  in  1916-18.  Among  the 
activities  of  the  Department  of  Education  and  Publicity  which  emphasize  the  motto, 
"Conservation  through  education,"  are: 

a.  •v.w.ii'ukma  Fish  am>  Game,"  a  quarterly  magazine  devoted  to  the  conserva- 
tion of  fish  and  game  in  California,  published,  contains    - 

(1)  Numerous  articles  on  game  species,  means  of  identifying  them,  their  past  and 
present  status  and  the  means  whereby  they  may  be  conserved. 

(2)  Statistics  bearing  on  the  abundance  of  game  species. 

(3)  Reports  of  work  accomplished  by  commission;  activities  initiated. 

(  l  i    Financial   reports.  .  .  . 

h.  Publicity  items  in  newspapers  dealing  with  fish  and  same  and  the  activities 
of  the  commission. 

c.    Magazine  articles,  e.g.  "A  New  <  roose  for  <  Jalifornia."   "Pernicious  Bounty  Laws. 

(1.  Lectures  mi  fish  and  game  and  ii<  conservation  illustrated  with  stereopticon 
and  with  motion  pictures,  given  to  schools,  churches,  teachers'  institutes,  boy  scouts, 
summer  camps,  etc. 

Ill    Special   series  of   lectures  to  university   students. 

e.  Exhibits  showing  work  and  activities  installed  at  State  Fair  and  sportsmen 
shows. 

/.  Instruction  relative  to  fish  and  same  and  the  need  and  value  of  wild  life 
conservation  given  in  schools  by  means  of  lectures  and  trips  afield. 

(1  i   Teacher's  bulletins  issued  furnishing  teachers  with  usable  information. 

I  L' I    Similar  instructions  given  hoy  scout  organizations  at   their  summer  camps. 

g.  Record  of  activities  and  accomplishments  furnished  the  Governor  and  the 
people  of  the  state  through  the  medium  of  a  biennial  report. 

Ii.   Information  on  wild  life  furnished  in  reply  to  letters  of  inquiry. 

The  decrease  in  the  number  of  cases  can  also  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
at  the  OUT  Legislature,  the  sale  of  trout  was  prohibited,  thus  eliminating  the  many 
arrests  that  had  theretofore  been  made  of  fishermen  who  caught  trout  for  the  market 
and  who  continually  violated  the  law  regarding  both  seasons  and  limits. 

Furthermore,  on  account  of  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  cases  by  the  commission, 
many  violators  have  ceased  to  disobey  the  laws.  For  example,  after  Judge  Murasky 
decided  the  case  of  American  Game  Transfer  vs.  Fish  and  Game  Commission  in  favor 
of  tic  commission,  the  merchants  who  had  theretofore  sold  wild  ducks  illegally. 
practically  quit  doing  so.  and  market  hunters  from  whom  they  procured  wild  ducks 
discontinued  their  unlawful  shipments. 

6.  At  the  urgent  request  of  the  anglers  of  southern  California,  the  commission 
decided  to  build  a  hatchery  to  stock  the  streams  and  lakes  of  southern  California 
and  the  western  and  eastern  slopes  of  the  southern  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  which 
were  fished  annually  by  thousands  of  people  from  Los  Angeles  and  other  portions 
of  soiu hem  California.  It  emphatically  and  repeatedly  demanded  in  writing  of 
the  Department  of  Engineering  and  Board  of  Control  that  the  building  should  not 
cest  more  than  $30,000.  Plans  and  estimates  were  submitted  by  the  State  Architect, 
calling  for  a  building  to  cost  $29,500. 

At  a  meet  ins  held  in  the  office  of  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission  in  the  Mills 
Building,  San  Francisco,  attended  by  John  Francis  Neylan,  then  President  of  the 
Board  of  Control:  Mr.  Dean  of  the  State  Architect's  office;  Frank  M.  Xewbert, 
M.  J.  Council.  Carl  Westerfeld,  Fish  and  Game  Commissioners:  Ernest  Schaeffle, 
Secretary  of  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission,  and  Mr.  \Y.  II.  Shebley,  Superintendent 
of  Hatcheries,  the  commissioners  attempted  to  question  the  representatives  of  the 
State  Architect  on  the  estimates  submitted  ami  were  told  emphatically  by  Mr.  Neylan 
that  neither  he  nor  the  representatives  of  the  State  Architect  or  the  Department  of 
Engineering  or  its  officials,  came  to  the  commission  to  have  their  ability  to  estimate 
the  cost  of  a  building  questioned  by  laymen;  that  the  law  provided  that  the  amount 
sel  aside  for  the  lniilding  must  be  turned  over  to  the  Department  of  Engineering 
and  that  if  the  plans  were  satisfactory,  the  commission  would  have  nothing  further 
to  say  ahout  its  construction.  Furthermore,  if  the  commission  did  not  turn  over 
$30,000  to  the  Department  of  Engineering,  as  provided  by  law.  the  Board  of  Control 
would  not  approve  of  the  expenditure  of  one  cent  and  the  commission  could  not 
Imilil  the  hatchery.  Thereupon,  the  commissioners  turned  over  .$30,000  to  the 
Department  of  Engineering,  which  assumed  full  charge  of  the  construction  of  the 
building. 

Before  asking  for  plans  and  specifications  for  the  hatchery  to  he  built  in  Inyo 
County  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission  made  an  extended  survey  of  all  the  streams 
in  southern  California,  in  order  to  obtain  the  best  site  possible  for  a  hatchery.  The 
temperature  of  the  waters  of  numerous  creeks  was  taken  ;  the  minimum  and  maximum 


CALIFORNIA   PISH   AND    GAME.  181 

How  determined  ;  the  transportation  facilities  were  examined  ;  the  needs  of  the  sur- 
rounding country  were  investigated.  After  a  most  exhaustive  examination,  the 
present  site  on  Oak  Creek  was  chosen,  and  the  results  have  fully  justified  the  choice 
made.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  nearly  all  the  water  in  southern  California  was 
appropriated  for  irrigation,  power  or  domestic  use,  the  state  was  extremely  fortunate 
to  obtain  such  valuable  water  rights  free  of  cost.  These  alone  are  of  much  greater 
value  than  the  cost  of  the  hatchery. 

The  fish  produced  at  the  Mt.  Whitney  Hatchery  show  much  greater  and  better 
development  than  those  propagated  at  any  other  in  this  state  or  anywhere  in  the 
world.  The  facilities  for  stocking  the  waters  of  the  southern  Sierras  and  southern 
California  are  better  than  those  that  could  be  obtained  anywhere  else  in  that  section 
of  the  state  and  the  people  wno  are  informed,  are  all  of  the  opinion  that  no  netter 
site  could  have  been  chosen. 

a.  It  is  not  true,  as  stated  in  the  resolution,  that  there  were  no  waters  nearby 
needing  to  be  stocked.  On  the  contrary,  there  are  numerous  streams  and  lakes 
both  on  the  western  and  eastern  side  of  the  southern  Sierras,  some  of  which  are 
barren  of  fish  life,  in  which  trout  ought  to  be  planted.  The  headwaters  of  many  of 
the  streams  flowing  into  the  southern  San  Joaquin  Valley  rise  in  the  western  slopes 
of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  within  easy  range  of  the  Mt.  Whitney  Hatchery. 

b.  It  is  not  true  that  it  is  impossible  to  obtain  a  sufficient  supply  of  trout  eggs 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  hatchery.  On  the  contrary,  an  ample  supply  of  trout  eggs 
can  be  obtained  from  Rae  Lake  and  Bear  Lake,  besides  a  bountiful  supply  of  golden 
trout  eggs  from  Cottonwood  Lake,  the  only  place  in  the  world  where  these  eggs  can 
be  obtained.  In  any  event,  it  is  much  cheaper  and  easier  to  transport  eggs  to  Mt. 
Whitney  Hatchery  to  be  hatched  and  distributed  than  it  is  to  transport  trout  fry 
from  Mt.  Sisson  Hatchery  to  the  streams  and  lakes  stocked  from  the  Mt.  Whitney 
Hatchery. 

c.  It  is  not  true  that  the  hatchery  product  must  be  transported  a  great  distance 
or  at  a  heavy  expense.  The  lakes  and  streams  of  the  southern  Sierras  and  southern 
California  can  be  easily  reached  and  cheaply  stocked  from  the  Mt.  Whitney  Hatchery. 

d.  The  hatchery  product  is  loaded  on  the  fish  distribution  cars  at  Owenyo,  leaves 
there  about  five  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  passing  through  the  Mojave  Desert  at 
night,  reaches  Los  Angeles  and  the  southern  portion  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley 
early   the  following  morning. 

7.  The  cost  of  maintenance  and  operation  of  the  Mt.  Whitney  Hatchery  is  not 
extravagantly  expensive  nor  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  benefit  derived  by  the 
people  of  the  state.  From  year  to  year  the  expense,  instead  of  growing,  will 
diminish  on  account  of  better  facilities  and  the  probable  decrease  in  the  price  of  food 
for  fish. 

The  ground  on  which  the  hatchery  is  located  was  not  purchased  by  the  state, 
but  was  given  to  the  state  by  the  citizens  of  Inyo  County.  The  commissioners 
are  not  aware  who  are  the  owners  of  the  property  adjacent  to  the  hatchery  site. 
At  the  time  the  hatchery  was  built,  the  land  adjoining  it  immediately  on  the  west 
was  a  part  of  the  National  Forest,  owned  by  the  United  States. 

The  Fish  and  Game  Commission  of  California  has  made  a  greater  effort  than  any 
other  state  in  the  union  to  obtain  accurate  first-hand  information  relative  to  the 
present  status  and  condition  of  the  game  and  fish  of  the  state.  It  has  caused 
extended  scientific  research  to  be  made,  both  as  to  the  life  histories  of  our  game 
and  our  fishes. 

Under  the  direction  of  Dr.  H.  C.  Bryant  and  J.  S.  Hunter,  the  following  investi- 
gations have  been  instituted  : 

a.  Researches  are  being  carried  on  by  H.  C.  Bryant,  Ph.D.,  game  expert  of  the 
commission,  and  J.  S.  Hunter,  in  close  co-operation  with  the  University  of  California, 
Museum  of  Vertebrate  Zoology,  facilities  and  advice  of  the  trained  scientists  of  the 
university  being  available  and  used 

b.  Dr.  Bryant,  joint  author  of  "The  Game  Birds  of  California,"  a  600-page  book, 
published  in  1918,  detailing  the  life  history,  habits  and  past  and  present  status  of 
each  species  of  game  bird  found  in  the  State,  sums  up  present  knowledge  of  each 
species. 

c.  Investigations  of  the  food  habits  of  birds : 

(1)  Roadrunner  proved  an  efficient  destroyer  of  insect  pests  rather  than  an  enemy 
of  quail.     Actual  food  consumed  shown  by  stomach  analysis. 

(2)  Study  of  food  of  ducks  in  progress.  Will  furnish  information  as  to  their 
relation  to  agriculture  and  will  give  evidence  as  to  best  food  plants  to  attract  wild 
fowl  to  the  State.  Natural  foods  suitable  for  use  by  the  game  breeder  will  also  be 
apparent. 

d.  Compilation  of  dependable  facts  regarding  game  and  its  status.  File  kept ; 
information  furnished  by  forest  officers  codified ;  newspaper  articles  authenticated. 

(1)  Special  report  on  fur  bearing  mammals;  past  and  present  status. 

(2)  Present  status  of  beaver  with  map  showing  known  distribution. 

(3)  Present  status  of  prong-horned  antelope  with  map  showing  present  distribu- 
tion and  census  of  existing  herds. 

e.  Statistics  of  annual  kill  of  game. 

3-48050 


182  CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND   GAME. 

i  li  Deer.  Estimate  made  from  actual  report  of  kill  made  by  deputies  and  forest 
officers. 

(2)   Ducks.     Estimate  made  fr records  showing  shipments  to  market. 

/.  Investigations  of  disease  attacking  game. 

(1)  F.  C.  Clark* — disease  attacking  deer  in  Trinity  County;  proved  to  be  a 
bladder  worm. 

(2)  Dr.  Bryant — disease  attacking  ducks  in  Sutter  County,  191S. 
g.  Investigations  of  birds  in  relation  to  agriculture. 

(1)  Ducks  versus  rice  Joint  investigation  by  Biological  Survey  and  Fish  and 
Game  Commission. 

(2)  Blackbirds  versus  corn  and  other  crops. 

i .",  i    English  sparrow  versus  garden  crops  and  beneficial  native  birds. 

i  l,i    Relation  of  meadow  lark  to  agriculture. 

//.   Field  investigations  of  game  retimes. 

i  1  i    Trinity  County  (lame  Refuge;  present  condition;  predatory  mammals. 

(2)Pinnacles  Monument  flame  Refuge;  present  condition;  predatory  mammals. 

i.  Study  of  acclimatization  of  exotic  species.  Success  and  failure  in  the  intro- 
duction of  foreign  game  birds  and  mammals. 

j.   Study  of  methods  of  conserving  wild  life. 

/.-.   Scientific  investigations  of  deer  and  their  status  in  California  by  F.  C.  Clarke. 

The  following  scientific  investigations  of  the  commercial  fisheries  of  the  state 
have  been  carried  on.  and  many  of  them  are  still  in  progress  under  the  direction  of 
Mr.  N.  B.  Scofield,  in  charge  of  the  Department  of  Commercial  Fisheries. 

a.  Investigation  of  All. acme.  Sardine  and  Herring.  Mr.  Will  F.  Thompson, 
formerly  with  the  Department  of  Fisheries  of  British  Columbia,  at  present  fishery 
expert  in  our  laboratory  at  Long  Beach,  is  making  a  scientific  investigation  of  the 
life  history  of  the  albacore.  together  with  a  statistical  analysis  of  the  catch.  He  is 
also  making  a  scientific  study  of  the  sardine  and  herring,  as  well  as  observations  on  a 
great  many  other  fish.  The  greater  part  of  the  time,  however,  is  spent  with  the 
albacore  and  sardine,  in  order  that  we  may  be  prepared  to  cope  with  the  many 
problems  arising  with  the  rapid  development  of  these  fisheries. 

Mr.  Elmer  Iliggins,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the  Department  of  Zoology,  University 
of  Southern  California,  is  assisting  Mr.  Thompson  in  the  laboratory,  collecting  speci- 
mens and  conducting  experimental  fishing  trips  on  the  patrol  launch  "Albacore." 

6.  Edwin  Chapen  Starks,  assist  nut  professor  of  zoology  of  the  Leland  Stanford 
Junior  University  (formerly  curator  of  the  museum,  and  instructor  at  the  University 
of  Washington),  is  writing  a  series  of  comprehensive  articles  on  the  results  of  his 
studies  of  the  various  fishes  of  this  <  oast,  which  appear  in  our  magazine,  "California 
Fish  and  Game,"  i.e., 

The  Flat  Fishes  of  California. 

The  Mackerel  and  Mackerel-like  Fishes  of  California. 

The   Herring  and  Herring-like  Fishes  of  California. 

The  Sharks  of  California. 

The  Skates  and  Rays  of  California. 

c.  Salmon.  Arrangements  have  been  made  to  complete  the  investigations  of  the 
life  history  of  the  salmon  from  Monterey  Bay  to  the  northern  boundary  of  the  state. 
.Mr.  Willis  Rich,  a  well-known  student  in  zoology,  and  J.  O.  Snyder,  associate 
professor  of  zoology,  Leland  Stanford  Junior  University,  formerly  Assistant  United 
States  Fish  Commissioner,  naturalist  U.  S.  S.  "Albatross"  and  expert  ichthyolo- 
gist, will  carry  on  the  work.  Mr.  Rich  has  already  completed  a  great  deal  of  work 
on  the  salmon  and  Dr.  C.  IT.  Gilbert  of  Leland  Stanford  Junior  University  has 
carried  on  extensive  experiments  for  the  commission  in  marking  and  planting 
salmon  fry. 

(I.  Crali.  A  study  of  the  Pacific  Coast  edible  crab  {Cancer  magistcr)  was  made 
by  Frank  Walter  Weymouth  (assistant  professor  of  physiology,  Leland  Stanford 
Junior  University,  A.  B.  Stanford  1909,  A.  M.  Stanford  1011.  In  1912  and  1913, 
assistant  in  physiology  at  the  Johns  Hopkins  University),  in  the  year  1911.  As  a 
direct  result  of  his  findings  the  size  limit  of  crabs  was  increased  by  law  and  the 
catch  of  crabs  in  1917  was  increased  SO  per  cent  ever  that  of  1916. 

e.  Mollusks.  In  1911  a  complete  survey  was  made  of  the  California  coast  under 
the  direction  of  Prof.  Harold  Heath,  professor  of  zoology,  Leland  Stanford  Junior 
University  (A.  B.  Ohio  Weslevan.  Ph.D.  Pennsylvania),  covering  the  mollusks  of 
this  region.     W.  W.  Curtner,  Will  E.  Thompson  and  Mr.  Hubbs  assisted  in  this  work. 

f.  Crawfish.  A  crawfish  investigation  was  made  in  1911  by  Bennett  M.  Allen  of 
the  University  of  Wisconsin.  Later  Waldo  S.  Schmidt  of  the  United  States  National 
Museum  came  to  this  coast,  and  in  litis,  with  the  assistance  of  our  men  and  boats, 
was  able  to  secure  some  specimens  of  young  crawfish  which  will  greatly  assist  him  in 
his  report  of  their  life  history. 

o.  Abalones.  Mr.  W.  W.  Curtner  has  made  a  complete  study  of  the  abalones  ot 
the  State.  Mr.  Curtner  is  a  graduate  in  zoology  of  the  Leland  Stanford  Junior 
University. 


CALIFORNIA   PISH   AND   GAME.  183 

h.  Striped  Bass,  Sturgeon,  Perch,  Shrimps,  etc.  Mr.  Scofield  has  himself  con- 
ducted a  great  many  investigations  of  our  fishes,  such  as  tbe*shad,  striped  bass,  perch, 
sturgeon,  etc.  He  has  also  made  a  study  of  the  shrimp  fishery  and  has  been  able  to 
prevent  the  use  of  the  destructive  Chinese  method  of  shrimp  fishing. 

i.  Kelp.  During  the  Great  War,  when  a  sufficient  amount  of  potash  was  not 
obtainable  even  at  the  increased  price  of  $300  and  $400  a  ton,  formerly  $05  per  ton, 
a  study  was  made  of  the  extensive  kelp  beds  along  the  coast  of  southern  California 
with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  W.  C.  Crandall  of  the  Scripps  Institution  and  Dr.  F.  W. 
Turrentine  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  regulations  were 
made  as  a  result  of  this  study  which  enabled  the  harvesters  to  cut  the  kelp  to  the 
limit  without  unduly  destroying  the  beds. 

9.  There  is  less  than  eight  miles  of  the  Truckee  River  in  California  below 
Floriston.  Shortly  before  the  present  Board  of  Fish  and  Game  Commissioners  was 
appointed,  the  State  of  Nevada  appropriated  $10,000  to  abate  the  nuisance  caused 
by  the  pollution  of  the  Truckee  River  at  Floriston.  Nevada's  chief  complaint  was 
not  that  the  alleged  pollution  was  deleterious  to  fish  life  but  that  it  rendered  the 
water  supply  of  the  city  of  Reno  unpalatable. 

An  action  was  commenced  by  the  State  of  Nevada  in  the  United  States  courts  in 
San  Francisco  and  much  testimony  was  taken.  It  was  not  proven  that  the  refuse 
was  deleterious  to  fish.  In  fact,  the  testimony  showed  that  the  fish  in  the  river 
below  the  point  at  which  the  refuse  was  discharged,  were  in  good  condition  and  fit 
for  human  consumption.  The  action  commenced  by  the  State  of  Nevada  was  thrown 
out  of  court.  Thereafter,  certain  state  officials  of  Nevada  consulted  with  the  Fish 
and  Game  Commission  of  California,  with  a  view  to  abating  the  nuisance.  F.  A. 
Shebley  and  N.  B.  Scofield  were  sent  by  the  commission  to  the  Truckee  River  to 
make  further  experiments  with  the  water  affected.  Numerous  conferences  were  held 
and  a  committee  consisting  of  W.  H.  Shebley,  Superintendent  of  Hatcheries  in  Cali- 
fornia, Professor  Dinsmore,  Bureau  of  Chemistry,  University  of  Nevada,  and  Mr. 
Block,  representing  the  paper  company,  was  appointed  to  go  east  at  the  expense 
of  the  paper  company  to  investigate  certain  appliances  to  handle  the  refuse.  The 
owners  of  the  paper  company  agreed  to  install  these  appliances  providing  the  manu- 
facturers thereof  would  guarantee  their  efficacy.  When  the  manufacturers  would 
not  do  this,  the  matter  was  again  taken  up  by  Governor  Boyle  of  Nevada  and  Mr. 
Thatcher,  Attorney  General  of  Nevada,  with  Governor  Hiram  W.  Johnson  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  Mr.  Westerfeld. 

As  a  result  of  this  conference,  a  committee  consisting  of  Hon.  Arthur  Arlett  and 
W.  H.  Shebley,  again  investigated  the  condition  of  the  river  below  Floriston  and 
made  its  report  to  Governor  Johnson.  Mr.  Westerfeld  thereafter  wrote  Governor 
Johnson,  asking  that  the  Attorney  General  of  the  State  .of  California  be  instructed 
to  commence  proceedings  under  the  authority  of  People  vs.  Truckee  Lumber  Company, 
11G  Cal.  397,  against  the  paper  company  to  abate  the  nuisance.  At  the  next  session 
of  the  Nevada  Legislature,  another  appropriation  was  granted  by  that  state  to  again 
commence  proceedings  against  the  paper  company.  An  action  was  thereupon  insti- 
tuted and  is  now  pending  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

10.  Water  Pollution.  Practically  nothing  was  done  by  previous  boards  of  Fish 
and  Game  Commissioners  to  prevent  pollution  of  the  waters  of  the  state.  The 
present  board  has,  however,  made  great  strides  in  this  work  and  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  California  now  leads  any  other  state  in  the  Union  in  preventing  the  pollution 
of  its  waters. 

In  the  last  ten  years  many  complaints  have  been  filed  in  the  courts  against  large 
corporations  and  individuals  to  stop  the  discharge  of  refuse  matters  into  the  waters 
of  tha  state  and  vast  sums  of  money  have  been  expended  by  them  in  order  to  remedy 
the  evil.  For  example,  as  a  result  of  complaints  filed  in  the  courts  by  the  Fish 
and  Game  Commission,  the  following  named  companies  have  expended  the  amounts 
set  opposite  their  respective  names  to  prevent  pollution : 

Pacific  Gas  and  Electric  Company $200,000  00 

Union  Oil  Company 18,000  00 

Shell  Company  of  California 40,000  00 

Doheny-Pacific  Petroleum  Company  and  Associated  Oil  Company, 

jointly   20,000  00 

Mason  Malt  Whiskey  and  Distilling  Company 7,000  00 

Southern  Pacific  Company 23,000  00 

Monarch  Refining  Company 5,000  00 

American  Oriental  Refining  Company 2,000  00 

Capitol  Refining  Company 1,000  00 

Paraffine  Paint  Company 1,000  00 

California  Petroleum  Company 1,200  00 

Total $318,200  00 


184  CALIFORNIA    FISH   AND   GAME. 

Many  fines  have  also  been  collected  as  a  result  of  prosecutions  commenced  by  the 
commission. 

Other  large  companies  which  have  complied  with  our  requests,  or  demands,  with- 
out prosecution,  are  as  follows : 

Standard  Oil  Company $500,000  00 

Southern  Pacific  Company 26,000  00 

Northwestern  Pacific  Railroad  Company   5,000  00 

Coast  Counties  Gas  and  Electric  Company 5,000  00 

Coast  Valleys  Gas  and  Electric  Company 3,000  00 

Pacific   States  Refining  Company 2,000  00 

Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Pe  Railroad  Company 2,000  00 

Western  States  Gas  and  Electric  Company 5,000  00 

$548,000  00 
Brought  forward 318,000  00 

Grand    total $S6G,000  00 

And  in  addition  a  large  number  of  smaller  companies  and  individuals  have  been 
compelled  to  cease  pollution  where  such  existed.  In  all  cases  where  persons,  firms 
or  corporations  have  failed  to  comply  with  our  demands  they  have  been  taken  into 
court.  jl    -  i 

Three  cases  are  nowr  pending  in  the  courts  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County,  two 
against  the  Union  Oil  Company  for  pollution  of  San  Luis  Bay,  and  one  against 
the  Tiber  Pacific  Company. 

11.  Screens.  Prior  to  1912  no  systematic  effort  was  made  to  cause  the  installa- 
tion of  screens  and  ladders.  At  that  time  the  present  commission  created  a  depart- 
ment of  screens  and  ladders  and  detailed  two  men  to  attend  to  this  work  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Superintendent  of  Hatcheries.  Since  that  time,  despite  the  fact 
that  the  law  has  been  found  defective  in  some  respects,  SG2  surveys  have  been  made 
and  notices  served  on  the  owners  of  ditches  to  install  suitable  screens.  At  this  date 
518  screens  have  been  reported  as  being  installed  and  in  effective  working  condition. 
Before  May  15  of  this  year  between  fifty  and  sixty  screens  have  been  installed  at 
the  expense  of  several  thousand  dollars.  For  instance,  the  screens  installed  by  the 
Sacramento-West  Side  Canal  Company,  the  Anderson-Cottonwood  Irrigation  Com- 
pany and  the  Southern  California  Edison  Company,  cost  many  thousands  of  dollars 
each. 

The  work  of  installing  screens  in  ditches  is  being  pushed  as  rapidly  and  as  vigorously 
as  conditions  will  permit. 

Under  the  law  as  amended  in  1917,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  commission,  the 
California  Oregon  Power  Company  has,  at  an  expense  of  $20,000,  built  a  hatchery 
at  the  Copco  dam  on  the  Klamath  River,  and  last  month  conveyed  it  to  the  state, 
together  with  dwellings,  traps  and  other  equipment  necessary  to  operate  the  station. 

12.  Ladders.  The  present  Fish  and  Game  Commission  in  1912  began  a  systematic 
survey  in  order  to  determine  where  fish  ladders  should  be  installed.  As  stated  under 
the  head  of  "Screens"  (point  11),  two  men  were  detailed  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Hatchery  Superintendent  to  make  these  surveys  and  to  draft  plans  to  be  given 
the  owners  or  occupiers  of  the  dam.  Numerous  ladders  and  screens  were  installed ; 
under  the  law  47  hearings  as  to  the  necessity  of  the  installation  of  screens  and 
ladders  were  held  by  the  commission  and  findings  made  and  orders  issued  by  the  board 
compelling  the  installation  of  fishways  and  screens.  To  date  a  total  of  209  surveys 
of  dams  have  been  made  and  the  owners  have  been  legally  notified  to  install  fish  ladders 
in  accordance  with  the  plans  submitted.  Of  this  number  131  fishways  have  been 
constructed  and  have  been  accepted  as  being  effective.  The  other  cases  are  being 
pushed  vigorously  and  in  some  instances  actions  have  been  commenced  to  compel 
obedience  to  the  orders  of  the  board. 

13.  At  the  1917  session  of  the  Legislature,  the  commission  was  instrumental  in 
having  sixteen  large  areas  within  national  forests  set  aside  as  game  refuges,  aggre- 
gating 839,1S0  acres.  Besides  this,  the  commission  has  now  established  seven  game 
refuges  on  privately  owned  land  in  sections  where  hunting  is  intensive  and  game  needed 
such  protection.  Within  the  last  six  months,  over  G0,000  acres  of  private  holdings 
have  been  set  aside  for  this  purpose. 

The  commission  is  now  asking  the  Legislature  that  two  new  game  refuges  be 
created,  one  around  Lick  Observatory,  the  other  in  Kern  County. 

14.  The  branch  office  established  at  Fresno  was  abolished  because  the  work  done  by 
that  office  could  be  more  efficiently  and  economically  handled  by  the  San  Francisco 
office.  The  officer  who  had  been  in  charge  of  the  Fresno  office  was  retained  in  the 
service  of  the  commission  until  he  voluntarily  asked  to  be  given  a  furlough  in  order 
that  he  could  operate  a  mine  which  he  owned  and  also  attend  to  his  agricultural 
interests  which  demanded  his  attention. 

15.  The  game  farm  at  Hayward,  California,  was  established  in  1908,  prior  to  the 
appointment  of  the  present  board.  The  grounds  were  leased  for  a  period  of  ten  years. 
This  commission  was  willing  to  cancel  the  lease  at  any  time,  had  it  been  able  to  make 
suitable  terms  with  the  owner.     When  the  owner  of  the  land  sued  the  commission  to 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME.  185 

set  aside  the  lease,  the  commission  put  in  practically  no  defense,  but  Judge  Murphy, 
who  tried  the  case,  nevertheless  ordered  the  commission  to  maintain  a  game  farm  on 
the  land  until  the  expiration  of  the  lease. 

16.  It  is  not  true  that  the  distribution  of  fish  as  carried  on  by  the  commission  i* 
unscientific,  unduly  expensive  or  that  it  results  in  the  destruction  in  each  year  of 
a  large  portion  of  the  fish  so  distributed. 

Through  the  efforts  of  the  commission,  two  fish  cars,  distributing  fish  all  over  the 
State  of  California,  are  hauled  free  of  charge  by  the  railroad.  The  greatest  of  care 
is  taken  to  see  that  the  fish  are  properly  distributed  and  properly  planted  in  the  streams 
and  lakes. 

17.  It  is  not  true  that  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission  failed  to  investigate  the 
young  salmon  propagated  and  distributed  in  the  Sacramento  River.  The  Fish  and 
Game  Commission  has  heretofore  caused  such  investigation  to  be  carried  on  by  Dr. 
C.  H.  Gilbert  of  the  Stanford  University  and  Mr.  N.  B.  Scofield,  fishery  expert  for 
the  commission,  and  is  now  carrying  on  such  investigation  in  conjunction  with  the 
Bureau  of  Fisheries  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Willis  Rich  and  Mr.  J.  O.  Snyder  of 
the  Stanford  University,  Mr.  N.  B.  Scofield  and  Mr.  W.  H.  Shebley.  Salmon  fry 
are  held  longer  at  Mt.  Shasta  Hatchery  and  are  larger  when  released  than  those 
reared  by  any  other  state  or  county. 

18.  The  commission  has  not  at  any  time  been  governed  for  political  or  personal  or 
other  inefficient  or  improper  motives. 

a.  It  has  not  dismissed  trained  or  efficient  employees  without  cause. 

&.  It  has  not  employed  or  promoted  or  otherwise  rewarded  assistants  or  employees 
not  deserving  of  such  consideration. 

e.  The  department  is  not  demoralized  or  functioning  inefficiently  or  at  an  expense 
out  of  all  proportion  to  the  results  obtained.  On  the  contrary,  the  work  of 
the  department  is  now  being  performed  more  efficiently,  intelligently  and 
economically  than  at  any  other  time  during  its  existence. 

19.  The  force  of  wardens  in  the  field  is  as  great  as  the  funds  of  the  commission  will 
permit.  If  the  overhead  has  increased,  it  is  caused  by  the  increase  of  the  clerical  work 
connected  with  the  commission's  activities,  and  also  by  the  rules  and  regulations  laid 
down  by  the  Board  of  Control. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

FISH  AND  GAME  COMMISSION. 

Carl  Westerfeld,  Executive  Officer. 


186 


CALIFORNIA    KI>1I    ANT    GAME. 


Fig  58.  Yosemite  Valley  deer  photographed  in  a  snowstorm.  Snow  was  falling  at 
the  rate  of  two  inches  an  hour  when  these  deer  were  photographed  by  A.  M. 
Fairfield,  March  6,  1919.    Exposure  1/25  sec.,  stop,  F  6.3. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND    GAME. 


187 


CALIFORNIA  FISH  AND  GAME 


A  publication  devoted  to  the  conserva- 
tion of  wild  life  and  published  quarterly 
by  the  California  State  Fish  and  Game 
Commission. 

Sent  free  to  citizens  of  the  State  of  Cali- 
fornia. Offered  in  exchange  for  ornitho- 
logical, mammalogical  and  similar  period- 
icals. 

The  articles  published  In  California  Fish 
and  Game  are  not  copyrighted  and  may  be 
reproduced  in  other  periodicals,  provided 
due  credit  is  given  the  California  Fish  and 
Game  Commission.  Editors  of  newspapers 
and  periodicals  are  invited  to  make  use  of 
pertinent  material. 

All  material  for  publication  should  be 
sent  to  H.  C.  Bryant,  Museum  of  Verte- 
brate Zoology,  Berkeley,  Cal. 

October  21,  1919. 


PERSUASION  VERSUS  COMPULSION 
IN  FISH  AND  GAME  CONSERVA- 
TION. 

Legislati  n  is  the  time-honored  method 
by  which  the  body  politic  attempts  to 
attain  an  object.  When  new  roads  are 
desired,  the  legislature  is  asked  to  enact 
the  proper  laws.  When  the  public  health 
is  to  be  safeguarded,  an  act  of  the  legis- 
lature is  demanded.  But  beyond  the  mere 
placing  of  a  law  on  the  statute  books  is 
the  necessity  of  making  the  law  effective 
by  means  of  law  enforcement.  Where  the 
need  for  the  laws  is  well  realized  there  is 
little  need  of  law  enforcement ;  where 
they  are  poorly  understood,  time,  energy 
and  money  must  be  spent  to  attain  the 
object  sought. 

When,  in  fish  and  game  conservation, 
we  turn  to  this  same  time-honored 
method,  the  difficulties  are  just  begun,  for 
laws  passed  by  the  legislature  must  be 
enforced.  Because  of  the  failure  of  peace 
officers  to  do  their  duty,  a  large  number 
of  specially  appointed  game  wardens  must 
force  people  to  obey  the  law. 

Is  there  not  a  better  way  of  attaining 
the  same  object?  More  and  more  we  find 
campaigns  of  education  being  instituted 
to  prepare  the  way  ror  proper  legislation. 
A  city  does  not  think  of  holding  a  bond 
election  until  after  the  people  have  been 
educated  to  the  need  for  which  the  bonds 
are  to  be  issued.  Successful  liberty  loans 
have  been  effected  by  proper  publicity 
almost  to  a  greater  extent  than  by  the 
actual  systematic  canvass.  The  best 
example  of  accomplishment  by  means  of 
an  educational  method  rather  than  a 
legislative  method  is  to  be  found  in  the 


success  of  the  United  Stiles  I<  ood  Ad- 
ministration. 

How  much  better  to  have  attained  the 
goal  by  means  of  persuasion  rather  than 
compulsion  ! 

If  it  is  evident  in  attaining  an  object 
that  the  educational  is  of  more  worth 
than  the  legislative  method  because  more 
fundamental,  it  seems  reasonable  that 
more  time  and  energy  should  be  devoted 
to  this  method  in  attempting  the  conserva- 
tion of  natural  resources. 

THE    ANGLER    VERSUS    THE    NET 
FISHERMAN. 

The  old  controversy  between  the 
angler  for  sport  only  and  the  net  fisher- 
men for  profit  only,  over  the  waters  ad- 
jacent to  Santa  Catalina  Island,  has  been 
revived  recently. 

It  was  thought  that  this  matter  had 
been  definitely  settled  by  action  of  the 
1917  legislature  in  making  two  districts 
around  the  island,  one  in  which  net  fisher- 
men could  operate  and  one  for  the  benefit 
of  the  sportsmen  only. 

The  promise  of  the  cannery  interests 
and  net  fishermen  that  they  would  not 
operate  in  a  district  dedicated  to  the 
sportsmen,  provided  a  certain  part  of  the 
waters  surrounding  the  island  be  made  a 
district  in  which  net  fishing  should  be 
pernrtted,  would  certainly  seem  to  have 
settled  the  matter.  However,  it  appears 
that  this  gentleman's  agreement  was  not 
considered  binding  by  some  of  the  con- 
tracting parties. 

About  the  middle  of  August,  twenty- 
two  canneries  operating  around  San 
Pedro  and  some  340-odd  alien  fishermen 
who,  not  being  able  to  maintain  an  action 
in  the  state  court,  cloaked  themselves 
under  the  protecting  wing  of  the  can- 
neries, obtained  from  the  presiding  judge 
of  the  Superior  Court  of  Los  Angeles 
County  an  order  restraining  certain  in- 
dividuals from  interfering  with  their  nets 
and  boats,  and  further  restraining  them 
from  making  searches  and  seizures.  This 
order  was  petitioued  for  under  the  plea 
that  irreparable  damage  would  be  caused 
by  the  act:on  of  these  certain  named  de- 
fendants, operating  without  due  process 
of  law. 

The  order  was  granted  without  pre- 
vious notice  to  any  of  the  defendants 
named  in  the  petition.  No  mention  was 
made    in    the    petition    that    all   of    these 


188 


CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND    GAME. 


defendants  were  officers  of  the  law,  sworn 
to  enforce  the  law,  and  that  the  actions 
complained  of  were  performed  in  the  pur- 
suance of  their  duties. 

The  restraining  order  was  served  on 
H.  B.  Nidever,  W.  B.  Sellmer  and  E.  L. 
Hedderly,  but  no  order  was  served  at 
that  time  on  the  Fish  and  Game  Com- 
mission. The  order  was  also  served  on 
Ernest  Windle,  justice  of  the  peace  of 
Avalon  township,  Bates  and  Sutermeir, 
respectively  deputy  county  warden  and 
constable  of  Avalon  township. 

The  hearing  of  the  petition  to  make 
permanent  the  temporary  injunction  was 
held  before  Judge  Valentine  on  August 
19,  1910.  The  attorneys  representing  the 
plaintiffs  in  the  action  attacked  the  con- 
stitutionality of  section  636  of  the  Penal 
Code,  relating  to  nets,  and  also  the  de- 
scription of  District  20,  as  given  in  the 
act  dividing  the  state  into  fish  and  game 
districts.  They  maintained  that  since  the 
acts  were  void,  the  court  had  the  right  to 
restrain  the  public  officers  from  enforcing 
the  provisions  of  section  636.  They  also 
maintained  that  the  state  had  no  juris- 
diction over  the  waters  surrounding  Santa 
Catalina  Island,  because  the  state  con- 
stitution made  no  mention  of  a  three-mile 
limit  around  the  island.  This  latter  con- 
tention was  shown  to  be  so  absurd  that 
it  has  since  been  abandoned. 


The  court  took  the  stand  that  since  a 
temporary  order  had  been  granted,  it  was 
up  to  the  defendants  to  show  cause  why 
it  should  not  be  continued  and  made  per- 
manent. The  defendants  were  given  five 
days  in  which  to  present  their  opening 
briefs ;  the  plaintiffs  were  given  five  ad- 
ditional days  for  reply,  and  the  defend- 
ants were  allowed  five  days  further  for 
their  closing  briefs.  By  this,  it  can  be 
seen  that  the  cannery  interests  gained 
fifteen  additional  days  in  which  to  make 
raids  on  the  fishing  grounds  in  Dis- 
trict 20. 

Immediately  after  the  hearing,  an  order 
was  served  on  the  Fish  and  Game  Com- 
mission restra:ning  it  from  enforcing  the 
law  relating  to  net  fishing  in  the  waters 
around  Catalina  Island. 

It  is  of  interest  to  note,  however,  from 
the  report  of  our  deputies,  that  the  fisher- 
men have  gained  very  little  by  their  tac- 
tics, as  their  fishing  operations  have  pro- 
duced very  poor  results. 

Judge  Valentine  having  set  aside  the 
temporary  restraining  order  September 
10,  1919,  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission 
has  given  instructions  to  its  deputies  to 
enforce  the  law  in  District  20.  For  the 
time  being,  it  would  seem  that  this  de- 
cision in  favor  of  the  commission's  con- 
tentions will  effectually  settle  the  contro- 
versy.—E.  C.  B. 


Fig.  57.  Children  on  a  nature  study  field  excursion,  Al  Tahoe,  evidence  of  the  success  of  the 
educational  work  carried  on  by  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission  in  summer  resorts  this 
past  summer. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 


189 


EDUCATIONAL  WORK  IN  SUMMER 
RESORTS. 

The  attempt  to  stimulate  interest  in 
wild  life  by  carrying  the  Fish  and  Game 
Commission's  educational  campaign  into 
the  summer  resorts  proved  very  success- 
ful. During  the  month  of  July  Doctor 
Bryant  visited  five  of  the  largest  resorts 
on  Lake  Tahoe :  Brockway,  Tahoe  Tav- 
ern, Emerald  Bay  Camp,  Al  Tahoe  Inn 
and  Fallen  Leaf  Lodge.  Lectures  illus- 
trated with  stereopticon  and  motion 
pictures  were  given  in  the  evening  and 
parties  taken  afield  in  the  day  time.     Of 


It  will  be  of  interest  to  our  readers  to 
know  that  the  Department  of  the  Interior 
has  decided  to  employ  in  each  national 
park  a  resident  naturalist  whose  duty  it 
will  be  to  answer  questions  and  to  in- 
terest people  in  the  out-of-doors.  Thus 
will  the  government  augment  the  work 
already  started  by  the  commission. 

The  summer  resort  work  at  Tahoe 
proved  so  popular  that  an  expansion  of 
the  work  another  summer  will  be  de- 
manded. There  is  no  surer  way  of 
stimulating  interest  in  wild  life  conserva- 
tion than  to  develop  interest  in  the  out- 


Fig.  58.  "Learning  to  read  a  roadside"  at  Emerald  Bay  under  the  instruction  of  a  nature  guids 
furnished  by  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission.  An  experiment  in  making  conserva- 
tionists out  of  the  summer  vacationists. 


particular  interest  were  the  groups  or 
children  who  roamed  the  woods  am 
stream  sides  searching  for  wild  things. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  estimate  the  value 
of  these  excursions  when  the  public  at 
leisure  came  in  contact  with  nature  and 
learned  the  fundamentals  of  conservation 
first  hand. 

The  final  report  shows  that  thousands 
of  people  were  reached  through  the 
medium  of  lectures  and  that  hundreds 
received  instruction  from  a  nature  guide. 
The  nature  study  reference  books  fur- 
nished by  the  California  Nature  Study 
League  were  in  great  demand  and  greatly 
helped  in  awakening  interest  in  wild 
things. 


of-doors  when  people  are  most  susceptible 
to  information  about  it. 

TAHOE   PUBLIC  CAMP. 

The  legislature  at  its  last  session  set 
aside  the  old  hatchery  grounds  at  Tahoe 
City,  which  are  to  be  abandoned  for  a 
better  site,  as  a  public  camp  for  vaca- 
tionists. Under  the  direction  of  the  Fish 
and  Game  Commission  the  State  Engi- 
neering Department  installed  a  water 
supply,  sewer  system  and  other  sanitary 
conveniences.  The  camp  was  opened  to 
the  public  on  July  4  with  Mr.  Arnold  D. 
Patterson  as  superintendent.  On  the  first 
day  over  a  hundred  campers  were  cared 


4-48950 


190 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 


for.  The  camp  remained  open  until  Sep- 
tember 5.  During  the  season  1,239  per- 
sons registered,  but  this  number  does  not 
represent  the  total  number  accommodated. 
Further  improvements  are  to  be  made  in 
preparation  for  the  crowds  expected  next 
summer. 


and  providing  for  a  bag  limit  of  one  deer. 
Governor  Smith,  in  signing  the  bill, 
stated  thai  the  law  was  in  the  nature  of 
an  experimenl  and  that  if  it  proved  un- 
satisfactory it  would  be  repealed. 

Laws    of    this    character,    contrary    to 
recommendations  of  those  most  interested 


Fig.  59.  Tahoe  Public  Camp  on  the  old  hatchery  grounds  at  Tahoe  City.  Hundreds  of  campers 
availed  themselves  of  the  comforts  of  this  free  camp  ground  conducted  by  the  Fish 
and  Game  Commission.    Photograph  by  George  Neale. 


DEER  CONSERVATION  IN  NEW 
YORK. 

The  state  of  New  York  is  gaining  some 
valuable  facts  by  obtaining  a  census  of 
the  deer.  The  reports  lead  to  a  conclu- 
sion that  there  are  in  round  numbers 
about  50,000  deer  in  that  state.  In  1917, 
approximately  37,000  men  hunted  deer 
and  the  total  deer  killed  is  estimated  at 
10,000.  Records  show  that  5,8SS  Adiron- 
dack deer  hides  were  received  for  tanning 
by  different  tanning  companies. 

Approximately  19,000  of  the  total  num- 
ber of  deer  are  bucks.  With  a  kill  of 
10,000  about  50  per  cent  of  the  bucks  are 
killed  each  year.  This  is  a  toll  alrea  l.v 
too  great  if  the  deer  supply  is  to  be 
maintained. 

As  a  result  of  investigations  a  shorter 
season  and  a  bag  limit  of  one  buck  in- 
stead of  two  was  recommended,  but  the 
legislature,  influenced  by  selfish  hunters, 
passed  a  bill  allowing  the  killing  of  "any 
wild  deer  of  either  sex,  other  than  fawns," 


in  game  conservation  and  contrary  to  the 
best  experience  of  other  states,  are  likely 
to  prove  costly  experiments. 

MIGRATORY    BIRD    TREATY    ACT 
CONSTITUTIONAL. 

The  duck  shooters  of  the  country  who 
have  fought  federal  protection  for  migra- 
tory birds  in  an  effort  to  defeat  the  law 
so  that  they  might  continue  the  destruc- 
tive practice  of  spring  shooting  of  water- 
fowl, have  been  decisively  beaten  on  two 
occasions  lately  in  the  United  States  Dis- 
trict Courts.  This  face  is  made  more 
interesting  because  on  both  occasions 
those  opposing  the  law  felt  certain  they 
would  win.  Their  array  of  counsel  was 
the  best  they  could  obtain.  They  chose 
their  cases  with  due  regard  to  decisions 
made  in  the  past  and  with  all  respect  to 
the  local  sentiment  in  the  district  where 
the  trial  was  held.  In  fact,  they  left  no 
stone  unturned  that  would  aid  them  in 
their  fight  to  defeat  the  law,  and  still  they 


CALIFORNIA   PISH   AND    GAME. 


191 


lost.  The  sportsmen  of  the  country  should 
feel  highly  pleased  over  their  victory,  for 
surely  the  law  is  valid  or  the  organized 
fight  against  it  would  have  met  with  at 
least  some  slight  success. 

On  June  4,  1919  United  States  Dis- 
trict Judge  Jacob  Trieber,  of  the  Eastern 
District  of  Arkansas,  who  held  that  the 
original  migratory  bird  law  of  1913  was 
unconstitutional,  handed  down  a  very 
sweeping  decision  upholding  the  new  law. 
This  was  the  first  jolt  received  by  the 
spring  shooters,  but  the  knockout  blow 
came  later  at  Kansas  City,  Missouri, 
when  Judge  Arba  S.  Van  Valkenburgh, 
on  July  2,  1919,  upheld  the  law  in  a  de- 
c'sion  so  sweeping  that  a  fitting  com- 
parison is  Dempsey's  decision  over  Wil- 
lard  a  few  days  later. — Bull.  American 
Game  Protective  Association. 

WATERFOWL    DIE    FROM     EATING 
SHOT. 

Wild  ducks  and  other  waterfowl  some- 
times die  from  lead  poisoning  resulting 
from  swallowing  stray  shot  which  they 
pick  out  of  the  mud  about  shooting 
grounds.  Many  ducks  that  become  sick 
from  lead  poisoning  finally  recover,  but 
it  is  probable  that  the  effect  is  perma- 
nently injurious  not  only  to  the  individual 
but  to  the  species.  It  has  been  ascer- 
tained by  experiment  that  lead  greatly 
impairs  the  virility  of  male  domestic 
fowls.  Females  mated  with  them  lay 
many  infertile  egs,  while  in  many  of  the 
eggs  that  are  fertilized  the  embryo  dies 
in  the  shell  or  the  chick  emerges  weak 
and  unable  to  withstand  the  hardships  of 
early  life.  What  effect  lead  poisoning 
has  on  female  wild  fowl  has  not  been 
definitely  ascertained,  but,  as  the  fact  is 
well  known  that  lead  produces  abortion 
in  female  mammals,  there  is  a  possibility 
that  it  exerts  a  bad  effect  on  female 
waterfowl  during  the  breeding  season. 
Thus,  the  supply  of  waterfowl  is  likely 
to  be  decreased  by  lead  poisoning  not 
only  by  the  number  of  birds  that  die 
directly  from  it  but  indirectly  by  impair- 
ment of  reproduction. 

These  facts  are  set  forth  by  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture  in  Bul- 
letin 793,  "Lead  Poisoning  in  Water- 
fowl," about  to  be  published  as  a  con- 
tribution from  the  Bureau  of  Biological 
Survey.  Reports  of  waterfowl  apparently 
sick  from  lead  poisoning  have  been  coming 


in  for  several  years.  The  Biological  Sur- 
vey undertook  an  investigation  at  various 
shooting  grounds  to  determine  how  com- 
mon the  taking  of  shot  by  waterfowl  is, 
and  a  series  of  experiments  to  ascertain 
the  effect  of  shot  swallowed.  It  was 
found  that  at  places  where  much  shooting 
is  regularly  done  from  blinds,  shot  at  the 
bottom  of  the  shallow  water  are  so 
numerous  that  one  or  more  was  found  in 
practically  every  sieveful  of  mud  or  silt, 
and  that  they  are  swallowed  by  waterfowl 
whenever  found  as  a  result  of  this  habit 
of  swallowing  small,  hard  objects  to 
supply  grit  for  the  gizzard. 

The  experiments  have  shown  that  shot 
swallowed  are  gradually  ground  away  in 
the  gizzard  and  pass  into  the  intestines, 
producing  a  poisoning  that  results  in  pro- 
gressive paralysis  and,  usually,  death. 
Experiments  with  wild  waterfowl  cap- 
tured when  young  and  reared  in  cap- 
tivity— to  obviate  the  possibility  of  their 
having  taken  lead  before  the  beginning 
of  the  experiments— have  shown  that  six 
pellets  of  No.  6  shot  constitute  an  amount 
of  lead  that  is  always  fatal.  Two  or 
three  shot  were  sufficient  to  cause  death 
in  several  instances.  In  one  experiment, 
two  mallards  were  given  one  No.  6  shot 
each.  One  of  them  died  in  nine  days  and 
the  other  was  able  to  throw  off  the  poison. 

The  list  of  species  known  to  have  been 
poisoned  by  eating  shot  consists  of  mal- 
lard, pintail  and  canvas-back  ducks,  the 
whistling  swan,  and  the  marbled  godwit, 
but  many  other  species,  particularly  of 
ducks  and  geese,  are  undoubtedly  affected 
by  it,  according  to  the  bulletin. 

T'n fortunately,  nothing  can  be  done  at 
this  time  to  protect  waterfowl  from  lead 
poisoning  except  to  call  attention  to  the 
malady  and  to  make  known  its  cause  and 
symptoms.  The  department,  however,  de- 
sires statistics  ou  the  numbers  and  species 
of  birds  affected  and  asKs  that  sportsmen 
and  others  report  to  the  Bureau  of  Bio- 
logical Survey  all  cases  that  come  to  their 
attention. 

GOVERNMENT       NEEDS       DEPUTY 
CHIEF   GAME   WARDEN. 

The  United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture is  in  need  of  a  well-qualified  man, 
not  less  than  twenty-five  nor  more  than 
forty-five  years  of  age,  to  fill  a  vacancy 
in  the  position  of  deputy  chief  United 
States    game    warden,    and    the    United 


192 


CALIFORNIA    FISH   AND    GAME. 


States  Civil  Service  Commission  will  give 
a  most  practical  open  competitive  test  to 
secure  the  r'grht  man.  The  entrance 
salary  will  be  between  $2,500  and  $3,000 
a  year.  Headquarters  will  be  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 

The  duties  of  the  position  are  to  assist 
in  administering  the  law  which  gives 
effect  to  the  treaty  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  for  the  protec- 
tion of  migratory  birds  and  the  sections 
of  the  United  States  Penal  Code  known 
as  the  Lacey  act ;  in  the  supervision  of 
United  States  game  wardens  ?nd  deputies 
in  the  gathering  of  evidence  and  the 
preparation  of  cases  for  prosecution  of 
alleged  violations  of  the  federal  game 
laws,  and  in  office  administration  ;  and 
to  participate  in  conferences  in  and  out 
of  Washington  with  individuals  and 
organizations  interested  in  wild  life  con- 
s  'nation. 

In  accordance  with  its  practice  in  con- 
nection with  positions  of  this  class,  the 
examination  given  by  the  Civil  Service 
Commission  will  not  require  the  appli- 
cants to  appear  in  an  examination  room 
for  a  mental  test.  Those  who  apply  will 
receive  a  rating  on  their  education  and 
practical  experience,  weighted  at  80  per 
cent,  and  on  a  thesis  on  a  selected  game- 
conservation  subject,  weighted  at  20  per 
cent.  Those  who  attain  a  passing  grade 
will  later  be  given  an  oral  test  to  deter- 
mine their  personal  qualifications  for  the 
position.  Failure  in  this  oral  test  will 
render  the  applicant  ineligible  for  appoint- 
ment. 

Applications  will  be  received  by  the 
Civil  Service  Commission  up  to  and  in- 
cluding October  28.  Full  information 
and  application  blanks  may  be  obtained 
from  the  secretary  of  the  local  board  of 
civil  service  examiners  at  the  post  office 
or  customhouse  in  any  of  3,000  cities,  or 
by  writing  to  the  United  States  Civil 
Service  Commission,  Washington,  D.  C. 

ANGLERS,  ATTENTION. 
At  last  we  have  landed  the  articles  on 
angling  you  have  been  looking  for.  All 
of  the  fine  points  of  angling  wil'  be  dis- 
cussed. Read  the  first  of  the  series  which 
treats  of  dry-fly  fishing  on  page  1G9  of 
this  issue  and  watch  for  the  other  articles 
in  the  series  furnished  by  "R.  L,  M., 
California,"  than  whom  there  is  no  better 
writer  on  the  subject. 


ADDITIONAL     MIGRATORY     BIRD 
TREATIES   NEEDED. 

In  order  to  complete  our  program  for 
the  protection  of  migratory  birds,  it  is  as 
necessary  for  them  to  be  protected  in  the 
countries  in  which  they  sojourn  during 
winter  months  as  in  the  territory  where 
they  breed  and  spend  their  time  in  spring, 
summer  and  autumn. 

It  is  therefore  imperative  that  treaties 
be  entered  into  with  the  republics  of 
Mexico,  Central  and  South  America  for 
the  protection  of  birds  that,  in  the  course 
of  their  annual  migration,  pass  from  or 
through  the  United  States  and  tempo- 
rarily sojourn  in  such  countries.  It  is  a 
startling  fact  that  wild  duck  are  slaugh- 
tered by  the  millions  in  Mexico  by  pot- 
hunters, many  of  whom  use  masked  bat- 
teries,  and  that  they  are  sold  in  the 
markets  for  the  pitiful  sum  of  three  cents 
each. 

It  is  regrettable  that  the  republics  lying 
to  the  south  of  the  United  States  have 
no  game  laws,  but  in  the  event  those 
countries  enter  into  treaties  with  the 
United  States  government  for  the  pro- 
tection of  migratory  birds,  in  order  to 
carry  out  the  terms  of  such  treaties,  such 
countries  will  be  required  to  enact  and 
to  enforce  laws  making  such  treaties 
effective. 

A  campaigu  of  education  should  be  at 
once  inaugurated  in  the  Latin-American 
republics  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  to 
the  attention  of  the  people  the  economic 
value  of  birds  and  game,  and  the  relation 
of  these  resources  to  the  comfort,  happi- 
ness and  recreation  of  man. 

The  question  is,  can  the  migratory  wild 
life  withstand  the  onslaughts  made  upon 
it  for  mercenary  purposes  by  irrespon- 
sible individuals  in  the  Latin  American 
republics,  without  being  subjected  to  cer- 
tain depletion  and  ultimate  extinction? 

Should  the  sportsmen  of  the  country 
concur  in  the  views  briefly  set  out  in  this 
short  paper,  let  them  bestir  themselves  by 
addressing  communications  to  their  mem- 
bers of  congress,  and  urging  their  active 
influence  and  assistance  iu  making  the 
treaties  between  the  United  States  and 
the  Latin-American  republics,  for  the  pro- 
tection of  migratory  birds,  an  accomplished 
fact. — John  H.  Wallace,  Commissioner, 
Dept.  Game  and  Fish,  Montgomery,  Ala- 
bama. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME. 


193 


5.TATE  FAIR  EXHIBIT. 
The  Fish  and  Game  Commission's  ex- 
hibit at  the  State  Fair  at  Sacramento, 
August  30  to  September  9,  1919,  was  the 
most  pretentious  yet  attempted  and 
proved  to  be  the  biggest  attraction  at  the 
fair.  A  capable  engineer  was  retained  to 
draw  the  plans  and  Mr.  Win.  F.  Dabel- 
stein,  an  artist  of  San  Francisco,  executed 
them.  The  whole  north  end  of  the  new 
Agriculture  Building  was  given  over  to 
the  exhibit.  The  main  feature  of  the  ex- 
hibit was  a  cyelorama  or  the  Sierras  with 
Mounts  Shasta,  Lassen  and  Whitney 
looming  up  in  the  background  and  in  the 
foreground  the  south  end  of  Lake  Tahoe 


wonder,  for  their  bright  colors  would  at- 
tract anyone.  The  hardiness  of  this 
variety  of  trout  was  evidenced  by  their 
vigorous  good  health  while  in  the 
aquarium.  Not  a  fish  was  lost  in  transit, 
nor  did  one  die  during  the  ten  days  dura- 
tion of  the  fair.  The  publications  of  the 
commission  were  on  display  and  wild  life 
films  were  shown  in  the  motion  picture 
theater  twice  daily. 

GAME   CENSUSES. 

Many  states  are  inaugurating  a  game 
census  to  determine  tlie  distribution  and 
comparative  abundance  of  different  va- 
rieties.    New  York  requires  the  wardens 


Fig-.  CO.  The  Fish  and  Game  Commission^  exhibit  at  the  State  Fair  at  Sacramento  which  took 
the  form  of  a  panorama  of  the  High  Sierras  with  Mount  Shasta  and  Lake  Tahoe  at 
the  left  and  Mount  Whitney  with  a  miniature  of  the  Mount  Whitney  Hatchery  at  its 
base  at  the  right.    The  exhibit  was  pronounced  the  finest  on  the  fair  grounds. 


at  one  end  and  a  miniature  of  the  Mount 
Whitney  Hatchery  at  the  other.  Several 
miniature  waterfalls  tumbled  down  the 
rocks  into  an  artificial  lake  filled  with 
trout.  The  whole  scene  was  made  still 
more  attractive  by  a  system  of  lighting 
which  successively  showed  the  gray  light 
of  dawn,  the  rosy  tints  of  sunrise  and  the 
light  of  full  day. 

Arranged  in  front  of  the  panorama  were 
four  large  aquaria.  Two  of  them  showed 
common  introduced  fish  such  as  black  and 
striped  bass,  blue-gilled  sunfish,  crappie 
and  catfish,  a  third  showed  different 
varieties  of  trout  and  a  fourth  was  filled 
with  the  famous  golden  trout  of  the 
Mount  Whitney  region.  Great  interest 
was  shown   in   the  golden   trout,   and   no 


to  report  regularly  on  all  game  seen  and 
also  requires  a  report  of  the  game  taken, 
from  each  license  holder.  Minnesota  has 
just  inaugurated  a  similar  census  to  be 
made  by  wardens.  Although  such  cen- 
suses will  doubtless  give  a  basis  for  esti- 
mating the  abundance  of  game,  yet  such 
reports  are  necessarily  so  inaccurate  that 
California  has  not  instituted  similar 
work.  It  may  be  that  at  some  future 
date  California  will  follow  the  lead  of 
these  other  states. 

In  the  meantime  J.  S.  Hunter,  assist- 
ant executive  officer,  is  contemplating  a 
different  sort  of  a  census — one  which 
would  perhaps  bring  in  more  dependable 
data  with  less  work.  The  number  of 
cartridges   sold    in    the   state,    if   it   were 


194 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME. 


Fig.  61.    Posting-  a  game  refuge.    Suitable  signs  now  mark  the  boundaries  of  our  refuges. 

Photograph  by  H.  O.  Bryant, 


known,  would  allow  an  estimate  of  the 
game  killed.  Different  sorts  of  carl  ridges 
are  used  for  the  different  kinds  of  game 
birds  and  mammals  and  with  due  allow- 
ance for  game  missed  the  total  kill  could 
be  approximated.  The  securing  of  data 
along  these  lines  would  not  be  as  difficult 
as  the  requiring  of  reports  from  wardens 
and  hunters. 

HATCHHRY  DEPARTMENT  MOVES. 
The  Fishcultural  Department,  headed  by 
.Mr.  W.  H.  Shebley,  has  moved  to  Sacra- 
mento, where  temporary  offices  have  been 
established  in  the  Forum  Building  pend- 
ing the  more  commodious  quarters  being 


prepared  in  the  new  Capitol  Building. 
All  correspondence  connected  with  the 
Hatchery  Department  should  hereafter  be 
addressed  to  Fish  and  Game  Commission, 
Department  of  Fishculture,  Forum  Build- 
ing, Sacramento. 

COLORED       PRINTS      OF      GOLDEN 
TROUT     AVAILABLE. 

A  few  copies  of  the  beautiful  litho- 
graph of  the  golden  trout  which  appeared 
;is  the  frontispiece  of  the  Trout  Number 
of  California.  Fish  and  Game  are 
mailable  for  distribution.  Libraries  and 
schools  are  urged  to  procure  copies  for 
framing.     Send  a  two-cent  stamp. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME.  195 

FACTS  OF  CURRENT  INTEREST. 

A  number  of  aliens  who  have  purchased  citizens'  hunting  licenses 
have  found  that  it  does  not  pay.  In  each  instance  they  have  had 
their  license  confiscated  and  been  made  to  pay  a  $50  fine. 

t        -r-        t 

Splendid  fish  have  been  reared  at  the  Yosemite  and  Kaweah 
experimental  hatcheries,  thus  demonstrating  the  feasibility  of  con- 
structing permanent  hatcheries  at  these  stations. 

State  lion  hunter  J.  Bruce  recently  succeeded  in  bagging  four  lions 
in  Tuolumne  County. 

T-  1r  T 

Plans  are  under  way  for  a  State  Fisheries  Laboratory  to  be  located 
near  San  Pedro.  This  will  furnish  working  quarters  for  the  scientific 
staff  of  the  Department  of  Commercial  Fisheries  and  will  give  room 
for  an  educational  exhibit  showing  the  work  of  the  department. 

T-  T  T 

Nearly  three-quarters  of  a  million  golden  trout  were  successfully 
reared  at  the  hatcheries  this  year.  Most  of  them  will  be  planted  in 
the  Southern  High  Sierras,  but  some  will  be  placed  in  the  Tahoe 
region. 

T^  T  T 

So  great  was  the  demand  for  the  Trout  Number  of  CALIFORNIA 
FISH  AND  GAME  with  its  colored  plates  that  the  supply  is  prac- 
tically exhausted. 

Hundreds  of  campers  availed  themselves  of  the  public  camp  on  the 
hatchery  grounds  near  Tahoe  City  this  past  summer.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  several  acres  of  land  were  set  aside  for  campers  by 
the  last  legislature. 

1*         T         T- 
Several  additional  wardens  have  been  employed  this  past  summer 
to  help  patrol  the  state  game  refuges.     Added,  protection  has  also 
been  accorded  by  the  eight  aeroplane  patrols   established  by  the 
United  States  Forest  Service. 


Ducks  are  again  dying  from  alkali  poisoning  in  the  Marysville 
Butte  region  of  the  Sacramento  Valley. 


.>>6 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME. 


COMMERCIAL  FISHERY  NOTES. 

N.  B.  Scofiet.o,  Editor. 


THE  SALMON  OF  THE  SACRAMENTO 
NEED  MORE  PROTECTION. 

It  is  believed  that  the  Sacramento 
salmon  are  not  being  adequately  pro- 
tected and  that  serious  depletion  may  now 
be  taking  place.  Within  the  last  few 
years  the  salmon  fisheries  at  Monterey 
and  Point  Reyes,  which  draw  upon  the 
Sacramento  supply,  have  grown  enor- 
mously, and  as  they  have  grown  the  catch 
on  the  Sacramento  has  been  correspond- 
ingly less,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
number  of  nets  on  the  river  has  increased 
and  that  on  account  of  the  higher  price 
the  fishermen  fish  more  persistently. 

The  present  fall  season  on  the   Sacra- 
mento  remains  open   at  least   two   weeks 
too   long.     Several   years   ago   the  season 
closed    on    September    1(1.      It    was    con- 
tended by  fishermen  and  dealers  that  the 
salmon  were  running  later  each  year  and 
they  succeeded  in  obtaining  an  open  sea- 
son until  September  20.     Later  the  season 
was  continued   until   September  25.     The 
object  of  the  closed   season   is  to  protect 
at    least    one-third    of    the    run    in    order 
that  they   may   pass   up  the  river  unhin- 
dered by  nets  and  cast  their  spawn  in  the 
headwaters  and  by  so  doing  insure  a  con- 
tinuous  future  supply    of  salmon.     With 
the  present  season,   one-third  of  the  run 
is  not  protected,  for  by  the  closing  date. 
September  25,  the  last  of  the  run  or  so 
much  of  it  as  is  left  has  passed  the  nets 
in   San   Francisco  Bay,   San   Pablo  Bay. 
Carquinez  Straits  and  Suisun  Bay,  a  dis- 
tance,  favorable   for   the   use   of  nets,   of 
nearly  fifty  miles.     The  salmon  work  up 
the  bays  and  river  slowly  and  after  the 
run  has  passed  the  lower  bays  the  fisher- 
men move  up  and  continue  to  catch  them 
in  the  lower  river  until  the  season  finally 
closes.     The  wonder  is   that  any  escape 
The    salmon    which    have    escaped    make 
their  way  to  the  spawning  grounds  which 
are  located  mainly  in  the  tributaries.  Mill 
Creek,  Battle  Creek  and  McCloud  River. 
In    each    of    these    tributaries    a    spawn- 
taking     station     is     operated     to     collect 
salmon    eggs    for    the    hatcheries.      The 
number  of  salmon  reaching  these  stations 
is   becoming   less   each   year   so    that   the 
number  of  eggs  that  may  be  taken  is  now 


only  about  one-fifth  what  it  was  only  a 
few  years  ago.  This  decrease  in  the  num- 
ber  of  fish  reaching  the  spawning  grounds 
is  a  sure  sign  of  overfishing  and  it  is  self 
evident  the  salmon  should  be  protected 
from   this  overfishing. 

The  Sacramento  also  has  a  spring  run 
of  salmon  or  rather  what  is  left  of  a 
once  large  spring  run.  The  salmon  of 
this  run  enter  San  EYancIsco  Bay  during 
the  winter  and  early  spring  and  after 
escaping  the  trollers  outside  they  have  to 
run  the  gauntlet  of  gill  nets  through  the 
bays  and  the  river  as  far  up  as  Colusa. 
Above  Colusa,  as  far  as  Vina,  every  place 
the  river  sweeps  round  a  bend  with  a 
sandbar  on  the  inside  of  the  turn  there  is 
a  seining  outfit  which  periodically  sweeps 
the  deep  hole  where  the  salmon  congre- 
gate preparatory  to  ascending  the  next 
shallow  stretch  of  t ho  river.  There  are 
some  fifteen  of  these  outfits  operating  on 
the  "seining  bars"  on  the  upper  river. 
And  the  salmon  can  not  escape  thes" 
seines  which  sweep  the  holes  where  thej 
collect  except  during  periods  of  very  high 
water.  On  the  river  below  Colusa  and  in 
the  bays,  there  is  no  closed  season  to  pro- 
tect this  spring  run.  On  the  river  above 
Colusa  the  season  closes  May  15,  but  this 
date  is  so  late  the  run  is  all  but  over. 

There  is  no  salmon  stream  in  North 
America  where  nets  are  allowed  for  so 
ureat  a  distance  up  the  stream  as  on  the 
Sacramento.  The  number  of  salmon 
taken  in  these  seines  is  not  great,  but 
they  are  the  remnant  of  the  spring  run 
and  they  are  a  thousand  times  more 
valuable  for  propagating  the  species  than 
•'or  food.  The  hatchery  of  the  United 
states  Bureau  of  Fisheries  at  Baird  on 
the  McCloud  River  is  the  only  hatchery 
which  has  collected  spawn  from  the  spring 
salmon  run,  but  at  this  hatchery  they 
have  not  attempted  to  take  eggs  from  this 
run  for  the  past  six  years  for  the  reason 
the  number  of  salmon  reaching  that  point 
had  become  so  small  it  was  deemed  in- 
sufficient to  warrant  the  expense  of 
operating. 

Two  things  are  quite  obvious  to  anyone 
who  knows  the  facts.  Seining  and  gill 
netting  in  the  upper  river  should  be  pro- 


CALIFORNIA   PISH   AND   GAME. 


197 


hibited  and  the  fall  season  should  close 
earlier  so  as  to  give  some  measure  of 
protection  to  the  larger  and  more  im- 
portant fall  run.  Trolling  in  the  open 
sea  possibly  should  be  restricted.  In- 
vestigations which  were  begun  this  year 
by  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission  under 
the  direction  of  Dr.  J.  O.  Snyder  are 
expected  to  throw  light  on  this  point. 

STRIPED  BASS  TAKEN  IN  MISSION 
BAY,  SAN  DIEGO  COUNTY,  CALI- 
FORNIA. 

Mr.  A.  G.  Pearson  of  San  Diego  re- 
ports that  on  or  about  June  20,  1919,  he 
took  several  small  striped  bass  ranging 
from  five  to  eight  inches  in  length,  in 
San  Diego  River  near  its  outlet  into 
Mission  Bay. 

On  October  26,  1916,  eighteen  hundred 
small  striped  bass  were  planted  near  the 
mouth  of  San  Diego  River  by  the  Fish 
and  Game  Commission,  and  since  that 
time  small  striped  bass  have  on  several 
occasions  been  observed  near  the  place  of 
planting.  As  far  as  is  known,  only  the 
one  plant  has  been  made  in  southern  Cali- 
fornia and  striped  bass  have  never  before 
been  reported  south  of  Monterey  Bay. 
The  fry  at  the  time  of  planting  were 
between  two  and  three  inches  long,  being 
fish  of  the  year,  spawned  in  April  or  May, 
1916.  If  these  fry  had  grown  at  the  rate 
they  do  in  San  Francisco  Bay  they  would 
have  reached  the  size  of  five  to  eight 
inches  in  1917,  during  their  second  year. 
If  the  fry  reported  by  Mr.  Pearson  are 
some  of  the  fry  liberated  in  1916  they  are 
in  their  fourth  year  and  their  rate  of 
growth  has  been  remarkably  slow.  It  is 
suggested  that  these  five-  to  eight-inch  fish 
are  the  progeny  of  the  fish  planted  in 
1916,  but  that  can  hardly  be  as  a  suffi- 
cient length  of  time  has  not  elapsed,  for 
it  is  pretty  certa:n  that  striped  bass  do 
not  spawn  earlier  than  their  fourth  year 
and  the  fish  planted  in  1916  would  not 
complete  their  fourth  year  until  the 
spring  of  1920.  It  would  seem  more 
probable  that  striped  bass  plants  have 
been  made  of  which  we  have  no  record  or 
else  striped  bass  which  are  plentiful  in 
Monterey  Bay  have  strayed  to  the  south 
and  occasionally  spawn  as  far  south  as 
San  Diego. 

The   striped   bass   is   not  native   to  the 


Pacific  coast,  but  was  introduced  from 
the  Atlantic  coast  in  the  early  seventies 
and  since  that  time  has  become  quite 
plentiful. 

KELP     HARVESTING     MAY     BE 
RESUMED. 

During  the  period  of  the  war  nearly 
four  thousand  tons  of  kelp  were  harvested 
each  year  in  California  waters.  Upon  the 
signing  of  the  armistice  practically  all 
harvesting  ceased  as  potash  could  not  be 
extracted  from  the  kelp  economically 
enough  to  compete  with  the  foreign  potash 
which  it  was  expected  would  be  imported 
again  in  large  quantities.  In  extracting 
potash  from  kelp  many  by-products  were 
obtained  which  had  never  before  been 
obtained  in  commercial  quantities.  As 
yet  most  of  these  by-products  have  not 
found  a  market.  Much  progress  was 
made  in  developing  more  economical 
methods  of  obtaining  the  potash  from  kelp 
and  it  was  hoped  that  if  a  market  could 
be  found  for  the  by-products  the  kelp 
plants  could  continue  to  operate,  but  the 
armistice  came  sooner  than  expected  and 
the  plants  closed  down.  Since  then 
efforts  have  been  made  to  place  a  duty  on 
foreign  potash,  but  as  yet  congress  has 
taken  no  definite  action.  Efforts  have 
also  been  made  to  find  markets  for  the 
by-products  and  now  one  or  more  new 
companies  which  believe  they  have  found 
the  solution  expect  to  resume  the  harvest- 
ing of  kelp.  The  future  of  the  industry 
will  depend  less  on  the  value  of  the  potash 
extracted  than  on  the  other  chemicals 
which  should  be  valuable  when  com- 
mercial uses  for  them  can  be  found. 

SARDINE     RUN     AT     MONTEREY. 

The  sardine  season  at  Monterey  has 
been  earlier  than  that  usually  considered 
normal.  Canneries  were  running  full 
capacity  during  July  and  August.  Dur- 
ing August  the  run  was  exceptionally 
large  and  the  fish  unusually  firm  and  of 
good  quality.  This  year  tiiere  were  more 
crews  fishing  sardines  than  ever  before, 
forty-five  crews  operating,  or  an  increase 
of  seven  crews  over  last  year.  The  short- 
age of  cans  during  the  fruit  season 
greatly  curtailed  the  size  of  the  sardine 
pack,  which  otherwise  bid  fa/r  to  break 
all  records  for  this  locality. 


198 


CALIFORNIA    FISH   AND    GAME. 


STEELHEAD. 

It  is  often  said  by  sportsmen  that  steel- 
head  trout  do  not  take  the  hook  in  open 
salt  water.  As  contrary  evidence  a  3^- 
pound  (cleaned  weight)  steelhead  was 
caught  July  23,  1919,  on  the  hook  in  the 
open  Monterey  Bay  and  the  local  fisher- 
men chv'm  that  such  a  catch  is  no  great 
rarity.  Several  steelhead  were  also  taken 
this  year  on  the  Mendocino  County  coast 
by  the  same  method  while  fishing  for 
salmon.  During  the  summer  of  1010 
many  steelhead  were  taken,  during  a 
period  of  six  weeks,  by  trolling  off  Soquel 
in  Monterey  Bay.  Many  of  the  trout 
were  caught  a  mile  off  shore. 

SEAWEED  AS  FOOD. 
The  Chinese  consider  some  of  our  sea- 
weeds a  very  desh'able  basis  for  soups 
and  several  Monterey  Chinamen  make  a 
business  of  catering  to  this  demand.  The 
weed  is  sun-dried  and  sacked,  hut  held  in 
the  sack  for  further  drying  before  ship- 
ment. During  the  last  five  months  about 
1.450  pounds,  dry  weight,  have  been 
shipped  to  such  eastern  points  as  Chicago, 
Cleveland,  San  Antonio  and  Newark. 

SALMON    AT    MONTEREY. 

The  king  salmon  season  just  closed  at 
Monterey  resulted  in  one-half  the  normal 
s  ason  catch.  The  early  run  was  not 
caught  heavily  because  of  a  fishermen's 
strike  and  the  late  season  run  was  lighl 
and  ended  early.  The  run  of  silver-side 
salmon  was  also  light,  but  extended  over 
a  longer  period  than  is  usually  credited 
to  this  fish.  The  silver  salmon  is  said  to 
suddenly  appear  in  Monterey  Bay,  run 
heavily  for  a  few  days  and  suddenly  dis- 
appear, but  notes  kept  on  the  1919  season 
show  them  as  caught  in  small  numbers 
between  May  10  and  July  26,  with  a 
heavy  catch  on  four  or  five  days  during 
the  period. 

DRY  SALTING  FISH  AT  MONTEREY. 
There  are  at  present  twelve  firms  en- 
gaged in  the  business  of  hard  or  dry 
salting  fish  at  Monterey,  representing  an 
approximate  investment  of  .$."0,000.  One 
firm  has  invested  $7,000  in  equipment 
since  last  year.  In  addition,  there  are 
eight  fresh-fish  dealers  who  do  consider- 
able   dry   salting   during   otherwise   slack 


periods.  Several  firms  that  operated 
last  year  have  not  yet  opened  up  for 
business,  September  and  October  being 
the  big  months  in  the  hard  salting  in- 
dustry. The  chief  product  is  sardines  in 
the  form  of  salachini  pressed  into  round 
100,  (>.">  and  50  pound  tubs.  Anchovies 
are  usually  put  up  in  ">,  S  and  10  pound 
cans  although  some  anchovy  and  sardine 
paste  is  made.  Mackerel  is  salted  in  200- 
pound  barrels. 

As  yet  the  trade  will  not  take  any 
great  quantity  of  these  relatively  new 
products  on  th's  coast,  but  the  hard  salt 
business  promises  to  develop  into  a  well 
established  and  increasingly  large  indus- 
try in  the  future. 

SQUID   AT    MONTEREY. 

This  year  for  the  first  time  in  several 
years  squid  have  been  caught  in  quantity 
at  Monterey.  Three  Chinese  firms  have 
dried  this  season  about  1,772,000  pounds 
(fresh  weight)  of  squid.  Three  tons  of 
wet  squid  furnish  one  ton  dried.  Due  to 
high  labor  cost  this  year  the  squid  were 
not  cleaned,  merely  dried  on  the  ground, 
raked  up  and  sacked.  Fishermen  were 
paid  $10  per  ton  for  the  catch  and  the 
dried  product  sacked  ready  for  shipment 
is  valued  at  (5  to  7  cents  per  pound. 
Practically  all  this  sacked  product  is 
shipped  to  China. 

In  addition,  small  quantities  of  squid 
have  been  canned  in  half  pound  rounds. 
The  appreciation  of  fresh  squid  as  a  table 
delicacy  is  slowly  growing,  but  people 
who  delight  in  oysters  and  eels  usually 
balk  at  squid  tentacles  till  they  have  tried 
them  once. 

DO    FISHERMEN    GO    FAR    ENOUGH    TO 
SEA    TO    GET    THE     FISH? 

It  is  the  belief  of  some  of  the  canners 
of  southern  California  that  such  pelagic 
fish  as  the  tunas  and  albacores  may  be 
found  in  large  numbers  farther  off  sb  ire 
than  the  fishermen  usually  fish.  As  the 
tuna  canning  industry  has  grown  the 
fishermen  have  been  getting  larger  boats 
and  are  fishing,  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  season,  twenty  to  thirty  miles  off 
shore.  Incoming  ships  have  observed 
what  they  have  taken  to  be  schools  of 
long  finned  tuna  ("albacore")  some  two 
hundred  miles  off  shore.     To  determine  if 


CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND    GAME. 


199 


these  fish  are  abundant  at  this  distance 
off  shore  the  Fish  and  Game  Commis- 
sion's launch  "Albacore"  was  detailed  to 
make  an  investigation  and  succeeded  in 
finding  albacore  in  abundance  near  San 
Nicholas  or  about  eighty  miles  off  the 
mainland.  If  these  fish  can  be  found  in 
numbers  at  a  greater  distance  off  shore, 
larger  fishing  boats  will  be  built  and 
preparations  made  to  fish  farther  at  sea 
when  tuna  are  not  to  be  found  closer  to 
*hore. 

LARGE  SALMON  CATCH  AT  FORT 
BRAGG. 

While  the  salmon  catch  this  summer  at 
Monterey  was  only  half  the  usual  amount 
the  catch  of  salmon  by  trolling  has  been 
exceptionally  large  in  the  vicinity  of 
Point  Reyes  in  Marin  County  and  near 
Fort  Bragg  and  Shelter  Cove  on  the 
northern  California  coast.  The  data  has 
not  yet  been  compiled,  but  it  is  believed 
the  catch  at  Point  Reyes  as  well  as  the 
catch  near  Fort  Bragg  has  been  double 
that  of  last  year. 


THE  SACRAMENTO  RUN  OF  SALMON. 

After  the  opening  of  the  season  on  the 
Sacramento  River  August  1,  salmon  ran 
in  small  numbers  until  August  28,  when 
the  fishermen  began  to  get  large  catches 
in  their  gill  nets  and  everything  indicated 
that  what  is  termed  the  "fall  run"  was 
on.  Th?  fish  appeared  to  be  larger  than 
average  and  several  very  large  individuals 
have  been  recorded.  One  was  landed  at 
the  plant  of  the  Western  Fish  Company 
at  Pittsburg  which  exceeded  seventy 
pounds  in  weight.  No  scales  were  taken 
from  this  salmon  in  order  that  its  age 
might  be  determined,  but  judging  from 
other  large  individuals  whose  age  was 
determined  from  an  examination  of  their 
scales  it  was  not  less  than  seven  years  old. 

The  appearance  of  the  salmon  being 
delivered  at  Pittsburg  early  in  September 
would  indicate  that  they  would  spawn 
early  this  year.  They  had  more  the  ap- 
pearance of  fish  which  run  three  weeks 
later  and  it  was  argued  by  the  fish  dealers 
that  the  salmon  run  would  end  much 
sooner  than  usual. 


Fig-.  62.    Looking  down  the  Noyo  River  from  the  boat  haibor  at  Noyo,  California.    This  is  the 
center  of  the  salmon  fishing  industry  of  the  north  coast-    Wonacotes  photo. 


200 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME. 


Fig.  63.    Scene  on  Noyo  River  showing  salmon  fishing  boats.    Wonaeotes  photi 


NOTES  FROM  THE  STATE  FISHERIES  LABORATORY. 

By  Will  F.  Thompson  and  Elmer  HlGGiNS. 


THE    RECURRENCE   OF  THE    FRIGATE 
MACKEREL. 

In  California  Fish  and  Game  for 
October,  1918  (Volume  4,  Number  4, 
page  183),  the  first  occurrence  of  the 
frigate  mackerel,  Auxls  thazard,  was 
noted.  This  was  one  of  the  remarkable 
features  of  the  unusual  summer  season  of 
1918.  At  that  time  small  catches  were 
made  in  company  with  catches  of  skipjack 
(Euthyrmus) ,  yellow-fin  tuna  and  some 
mackerel  (Scomber).  Tirs  year  slightly 
larger  individual  boat  catches  won'  made 
of  the  frigate  mackerel,  but  as  the  ma- 
jority of  the  canneries  refused  them,  they 
were  not  brought  in  as  often.  One  catch 
of  five  tons  was  recorded  by  a  single 
boat  on  the  nineteenth  of  August.  The 
first  noted  by  the  writer  came  in  on  the 


♦California   State   Fisheries   Laboratory, 
Contribution  No.  12. 


seventeenth  of  August,  and  the  last  on  the 
twenty-second.  Other  catches  at  earlier 
and  later  dates  were  undoubtedly  made, 
but  the  data  have  not  yet  been  obtained 
from  the  statistical  records.  The  average 
weight  of  these  fish  was  1.3  pounds  before 
cleaning,  and  the  loss  of  weight  in  clean- 
ing and  preparing  for  canning  was  very 
high.  Therefore  those  canneries  which 
accepted  the  species  at  the  start  of  the 
run  later  refused  to  take  any  except  for 
fertilizer. 

It  may  be  noted  in  connection  with 
this  species  that  mention  of  very  young 
tuna  or  albacore  may  refer  to  the  taking 
or  observation  of  schools  of  the  frigate 
mackerel.  Fishermen  unfamiliar  with 
thorn,  as  was  usually  the  case,  were  in- 
clined to  promptly  refer  them  to  the 
young  of  other  species  of  the  tuna  group, 
frequently  the  blue-fin. — W.   F.  T. 


CALIFORNIA    PISH   AND   GAME. 


201 


THE    SPAWNING    OF    THE     GRUNION. 

In  Fish  Bulletin  No.  3,  relating  to  the 
spawning  of  Lctircsthes  tenuis,  the 
grunion,  there  is  g:ven  on  page  14  a  chart 
showing  the  relat:on  oP  the  tides  to  the 
spawning  times.  As  the  paper  was  pub- 
lished on  July  15,  before  the  spawning 
season  was  over,  no  spawning  periods 
were  shown  in  July  and  August.  How- 
ever, since  then,  runs  were  observed  on 
July  15,  July  16  and  August  14. 

The  runs  on  July  15  and  16  were  small, 
but  larger  than  that  on  August  14.  The 
full  moon  occurred  July  13  and  August  11 
(Greenwich  mean  civil  time).  Mr.  Henry 
Shands,  a  field  assistant  for  the  labora- 
tory, observed  the  run  during  July  in  the 
absence  of  the  writer,  and  states  that  it 
was  noticed  by  a  considerable  number  of 
people,  who  remained  on  the  beach  to 
collect  the  fish.  The  run  during  August 
was  observed  by  the  writer,  but  so  few 
fish  were  noticed  that  it  seemed  an  acci- 
dent to  have  taken  them  at  all.  Hence, 
although  the  fish  were  obtained  on  but 
one  night,  this  fact  does  not  mean  that 
grunion  did  not  run  the  usual  three 
nights.  No  people  were  observed  on  the 
beach  capturing  the  fish,  this  fact  cor- 
roborating the  observed  small  size  of  the 
run. 

It  will  be  noted,  from  the  above- 
ment'oned  chart,  that  August  14  was  the 
last  date  on  which  the  grunion  might  be 
expected  to  run  during  the  year  1919. — 
W.   F.  T. 

CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    CANADIAN 
BIOLOGY. 

Among  additions  to  the  library  is  a 
series  of  publications  from  the  Canadian 
Biological  Stations,*  being  studies  made 
under  the  direction  of  the  Biological 
Board  of  Canada,  Professor  E.  E.  Prince, 
Commissioner  of  Fisheries,  Chairman. 
Included  with  them  is  a  volume  devoted 
to  the  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition 
(Department  of  the  Naval  Service  1919), 
during  which  material  was  gathered  for 
studies  of  the  Canadian  herring,  the  eggs 
and  larva?  of  the  eastern  coast  of  Canada, 
the  hydrography  of  the  region,  etc.,  by 
Dr.  Johan  Hjort,  and  various  associates. 
The    publications    are    noteworthy,    aside 


*Contributions  to  Canadian  Biology, 
Supplements  to  the  Annual  Reports  of 
the  Department  of  Marine  and  Fisheries, 
Fisheries    Branch,    Ottawa,    Canada. 


from  the  undoubted  merit  of  the  con- 
tributions, in  that  throughout  many  re- 
cent numbers  there  is  an  attempt  to  apply 
to  American  species  the  technique  de- 
veloped during  the  study  of  European 
fisheries  by  the  International  Council  for 
the  Study  of  the  Sea. 

The  volume  published  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Dr.  Johan  Hjort  includes  in  its 
covers  two  papers  which  are  in  good  part 
general  in  character,  dealing  with  the 
principles  of  the  Norwegian  work  on  the 
life  history  of  the  herring  and  of  hydro- 
graphic  work,  the  former  by  Einar  Lea 
and  the  latter  by  J.  W.  Sandstrom. 
These  papers  will  well  repay  the  perusal 
both  of  the  beginner  and  of  the  investiga- 
tor, especially  in  the  absence  of  general 
works  dealing  with  the  subjects. — 
W.  F.  T. 

BLUE-FIN    AND    YELLOW-FIN    TUNA. 

The  catch  of  blue-fin  tuna  during  1919 
was  largely  the  work  of  purse  seine  boats, 
operating  during  the  last  part  of  the 
season  in  the  northern  waters  around 
Santa  Cruz  Island.  However,  during  the 
height  of  the  run  off  Catalina  Island,  the 
schools  invaded  the  prohibited  waters  of 
District  20.  The  statistics  of  the  catch 
obtained  during  the  subsequent  weeks  do 
not,  therefore,  give  an  accurate  idea  of 
the  abundance  of  the  fish  because  of  the 
attempts  of  the  seiners  to  evade  the  law, 
and  the  issuance  of  an  injunction  (August 
13)  against  deputies  seeking  to  enforce  it. 
They  are  accurate,  of  course,  in  regard  to 
the  quantity  taken. 

A  potential  source  of  more  serious 
error  in  statistics  arose  during  the  last 
part  of  August  in  the  confusion  by  the 
weighers  of  yellow-fin  with  blue-fin  tuna. 
The  albacore  boats  began,  about  the 
twenty-fifth  of  August,  to  bring  in  num- 
bers of  large  yellow-fin  tuna  (Oermo 
macro pt crus) ,  landing  them  at  the  can- 
neries, in  company  with  many  smaller 
tuna.  A  close  examination  of  these  fish 
throughout  the  period  of  their  run,  which 
was  not  over  on  September  2,  proved 
these  fish  to  be  usually  of  the  one  species, 
the  "yellow-fin"  tuna.  It  will  be,  in  fact, 
a  safe  procedure  to  call  nearly  all  tuna 
caught  by  albacore  boats  (other  than 
combination  net  boats,  which  were  not 
operating)  during  this  period  this  species, 
in  contradistinction   to   the  blie-fin    tuni 


202 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME. 


landed  by  the  purse  seine  boats.  But  thai 
even  th;s  leaves  a  certain  error  is  un- 
deniable, numbers  of  blue-fin  tuna  being 
brought  in. 

This  is,  incidentally,  the  first  year  in 
which  these  large  yellow-fin  tuna  have 
been  taken  in  this  quantity  in  these 
waters.  Last  year  the  yellow-fin  tuna 
taken  were  small,  always  under  30  pounds, 
while  this  year  75-pound  fish  (cleaned) 
were  not  rare,  and  one  of  them  weighed 
175  pounds  cleaned,  and  was  G5  ;nches  in 
length.  In  fact,  the  blue-fin,  or  leaping, 
tuna  did  not  exceed  the  size  of  these  fish. 
It  was  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  these 
large,  magnificent  fish  were  at  once  called 
leaping  tuna,  traditionally  the  largest  of 
our  species. 

However,  the  writer  has  satisfied  him- 
self by  careful  examination  of  a  consider-' 
able  series  of  fish  that  confusion  need 
arise  but  very  rarely  between  the  species. 
Careful  measurements  have  been  taken  of 
the  body  and  fin  proportions  and  com- 
pared according  to  standard  methods  used 
by  ichthyologists  in  distinguishing  species, 
but  the  more  obvious  characteristics  may 
be  reviewed  here  for  the  use  of  those  who 
wish  them,  in  view  of  the  need  for 
accuracy  in  statistics. 

Color.  The  high  fins  above  and  below 
the  fish  (dorsal  and  anal  fins)  are  usually 
tinged  with  yellow  in  the  yellow-fin  tuna, 
while  they  are  as  a  rule  dark  in  the  blue- 
fin.  The  small  finlets  behind  these  are 
usually  a  brighter  yellow  in  the  yellow- 
fin. 

The  lower  side  of  the  body  in  both 
species  bears  characteristic  markings, 
especially  in  the  young.  In  the  yellow-fin 
the  marks  tend  to  arrange  themselves  in 
alternate  narrow  transverse  lines  and 
rows  of  spots,  and  are  smaller  than  those 
of  the  blue-fin,  in  which  the  spots  are 
generally  in  transverse  rows  without  in- 
tervening lines.  In  both  species  these 
spots  become  lengthened  toward  the  tail. 
When  freshly  caught  the  yellow-fin,  the 
young  especially,  has  a  strong  lemon 
yellow  tinge  over  most  of  the  body,  which 
is  lacking  in  the  blue-fin. 

Pectoral  fin.  The  length  of  the  long 
side  fin  is  the  most  obvious  and  reliable 
character  by  which  the  species  can  be  dis- 
tinguished, but  very  rarely  a  yellow-fin 
is  found  with  a  short  fin.  In  the  yellow- 
fin  this  side  fin  is  almost  always  slightly 


shorter  than  Hie  head,  measured  from  the 
tip  of  the  snout,  and  is  not  less  than  live- 
sixths  of  its  length.  In  the  blue-fin,  this 
side  fin  is  always  less  than  two-thirds  of 
the  head  length,  and  usuallv  but  three- 
fifths. 

Head.  The  yellow-fin  tuna  has,  as  a 
rule,  but  not  invariably,  a  shorter  head 
than    the  blue-fin   has. 

'I'm nk  of  the  body.  The  yellow-fin  has 
a  very  noticeably  shorter  trunk  than  the 
blue-fin,  if  the  "trunk"  is  considered  the 
length  before  the  two  fins  situated  above 
and  below  the  body.  This  holds  only 
when  fish  of  a  size  are  compared  and  very 
large  fish  are  likely  to  be  hard  to  distin- 
guish. The  posterior  part  of  (he  body 
where  the  finlets  are  is  nevertheless  more 
drawn  out  in  the  yellow-fin  in  comparison 
with  the  rest  of  the  fish.  Up  to  a  certain 
length  the  fish  seems  to  grow  faster  pos- 
teriorly, the  young  yellow-fin  of  25  inches 
in  length  being  similar  in  this  charac- 
teristic to  blue-fin   of  45  inches. 

Height  of  fins.  The  height  of  the  two 
fins,  one  above  and  one  below  the  body 
(dorsal  and  anal),  differ  markedly  iu  the 
two  species,  but  only  when  specimens  of 
a  size  are  compared.  Yellow-fin  tuna 
have  higher  fins  (or  longer,  according  to 
the  way  they  are  considered)  but  a  yellow 
fin  of  30  inches  in  length  has  tins  about 
as  long  in  proportion  as  a  blue-fin  of  45 
or  50  inches,  although  those  of  a  45-inch 
yellow-fin  exceed  the  length  of  those  of 
the  blue-fin  by  a  fourth  of  their  length. 

The  eye.  The  eyes  in  the  blue-fin  tuna 
are  actually  nearly  equal  to  those  in 
yellow-fins  of  the  same  size,  but  because 
of  the  larger  head  in  the  blue-fin,  they 
appear  much  smaller.  The  diameter  of 
the  eye  in  the  blue-fin  averages  3.2  per 
cent  of  the  length  of  the  body,  and  is 
about  one-ninth  of  the  head  length, 
whereas  that  of  the  yellow-fin  is  3.2  per 
cent  of  the  body  length,  but  about  one 
eighth  of  the  head  length. — W.  F.  T. 

THE  OCCURRENCE  OF  THE  LOUVAR. 
On  August  6,  a  large  fish  was  brought 
into  the  canneries  at  Fish  Harbor,  San 
Pedro,  from  the  west  end  of  Catalina 
Island,  and  excited  much  comment  as  a 
probable  hybrid  between  a  pompano  and 
a  yellowtail.  This  proved  far  from  the 
truth,  however,  the  specimen  in  reality 
being    a    member    of    the    "wide-ranging" 


CALIFORNIA   PISH    AND    GAME. 


203 


species  Liirarus  imperialis  Rafinesque, 
once  previously  recorded  from  Catalina 
Island  by  Jordan  &  Starks  in  1906  (as 
taken  by  Dr.  C.  F.  Holder).  It  was  an 
exceedingly  active  fish  and  very  difficult 
to  handle,  although  the  small  mouth  and 
fine  bristle-like  teeth  do  not  indicate 
predaceous  habits. — W.  F.  T. 

THE    ABSENCE    OF   THE    DOLPHIN 
FISH. 

In  1918  the  dolphin  fish,  Coryphwna, 
was  frequently  taken  in  local  waters,  and 
this  fact  was  then  often  cited  as  evidence 
of  a  bad  year  for  the  fishing  of  albacore. 
However,  this  year  the  dolphin  has  not 
yet  been  in  evidence  (September  15),  as 
far  as  we  are  able  to  determine,  although 
the  albacore  season  is  far  from  normal. 
Indeed,  the  similarity  between  1918  and 
1919  is  marked,  the  skipjacks  (Euthyn- 
nus)  having  been  running  in  quantity  as 
they  did  last  year,  the  frigate  mackerel 
having  appeared  again,  and  the  year  being 
remarkable  as  before  for  the  predominance 
of  the  tunas.— W.  F.  T. 

TWO   RARE   FISHES. 

To  the  lists  of  fish,  new  or  rare  in 
southern  California  waters,  previously 
published  may  be  added  two  species  which 
came  to  the  laboratory  in  June. 

Four  specimens  of  the  pomfret,  Brama 
rail  (Bloch),  were  taken  from  a  gill  net 
near  San  Pedro  by  Mr.  E.  M.  Nielson. 
The  pomfret  is  an  excellent  food  fish 
found  in  open  seas,  widely  distributed, 
but  taken  only  occasionally  on  our  eastern 
or  western  coasts  or  in  Europe. 

Several  specimens  of  Gololabis  suira 
(Brevoort)  were  sent  to  us  from  San 
Diego  by  Mr.  P.  B.  Clark,  where  they 
were  taken  along  with  a  school  of  sar- 
dines in  a  round-haul  net.  The  species  is 
recorded  from  several  localities  on  our 
California  coast  but  is  said  to  be  very 
rare.  This  same  species  is  occasionally 
found  in  large  schools  'n  Japan. — E.  II. 

THE  "DAY"  AND  "NIGHT"  SURF- 
FISHES  OF  NORTHERN  CALI- 
FORNIA. 

Captain  A.  C.  Tibbetts  of  Eureka, 
California,  writes  to  the  undersigned  as 
follows : 

"  *  *  *  state  that  the  'grunion'  is 
the   fish   known   here   as   the   'night   surf- 


fish.'  There  is  another  known  as  the 
'day  surf-fish,'  both  varieties  being  caught 
in  dip  nets,  in  the  same  locality,  viz, 
between  Trinidad  and  Mad  River.  The 
Indians  catch  and  dry  these  in  large 
quantities.  The  'day-fish'  is  larger  than 
the  'night-fish,'  has  a  yellowish  tinge,  the 
flesh  is  softer,  and  to  my  taste  is  inferior 
to  the  'night-fish.'  On  the  ninth  instant 
(of  August)  I  saw  both  kinds  on  sale  at 
one  of  the  Eureka  markets.  Small 
coasters  running  to  the  Klamath  River 
bring  occasionally  to  this  place  what  is 
termed  'candle-fish.'  These,  even  when 
salted  and  smoked,  burn  freely  if  a  lighted 
match  is  applied  to  the  tail.  The  Klamath 
River,  as  far  as  I  know,  is  the  only 
stream  near  here  that  furnishes  this  fish. 
All  three  of  the  above  fishes  have  the 
appearance  of  smelt." 

One  of  these  species  is  Thaleichthys 
pacifictis,  the  eulachon  or  candle  fish ; 
another  is  probably  Hypomesus  pretiosiis. 
the  surf-smelt,  but  we  are  not  at  all  sure 
that  the  third  is  the  grunion,  Leuresthcs 
tenuis.  Both  Mallotus  villosus,  the  cape- 
lin,  and  Letiresthes  tenuis  are  surf 
spawners  and  might  possibly  occur,  and 
as  the  latter  has  not  as  yet  been  re- 
corded north  of  Long  Beach,  considerable 
caution  should  be  used  in  reaching  a  de- 
cision.— W.  F.  T. 

THE     OCCURRENCE     OF    THE     ALBA- 
CORE NORTH  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

Captain  A.  C.  Tibbetts  has  also  in- 
formed us  that  on  September  22,  1S84,  he 
captured  three  albacore  off  the  northern 
coast  of  California.  His  letter  reads  in 
part  as  follows: 

"While  in  command  of  the  schooner 
'Volant,'  I  was  coming  from  the  west- 
ward, bound  for  Humboldt  Bay,  and  in- 
stead of  getting  northerly  winds  as  ex- 
pected at  this  time  of  year,  the  wind 
came  in  fresh  from  the  southward,  in- 
creasing to  a  strong  southeaster  as  we 
approached  the  coast,  resulting  in  our 
closing  with  the  land  to  northward  _  as 
well  as  to  leeward  of  our  port.  The  wind 
after  some  hours  moderated,  and  changed 
to  light  northwest.  While  running  for 
Humboldt  Bar,  at  four  to  five  knots 
speed,  somewhere  between  Redding  Rock 
ana  Trinidad  Head,  I  noticed  fish  working 
the  same  as  they  sometimes  do  on  the 
coast  of  southern  California,  and  out  of 
curiosity  threw  a  cod  line  with  a  white 
rag  on  the  hook  over  the  stern,  and  when 
the  line  straightened  out  got  an  albacore. 
Caught  three,  as  fast  as  they  could  be 
unhooked  and  the  line  put  out  again. 
The  fish  appeared  to  be  abundant,  but 
those  taken  wrere  dirtying  things  up 
around  the  after  part  of  the  deck,  so 
fishing  was  stopped." 


204 


CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND   GAME. 


Captain  Tibbetts  is  fam:liar  with  alba- 
core,  having  taken  them  south  of  San 
Francisco.  He  believes  the  long  south- 
erly blow  had  reversed  the  usual  coastal 
current  and  brought  warmer  water  with 
it.  Extracts  from  his  log-book  are  given 
in  his  letter. 


He  also  (October  17,  1883)  records 
the  occurrence  of  skipjacks  (presumably 
Euthynnus)  in  considerable  numbers  120 
miles  west  of  Trinidad,  over  what  he 
thought  to  be  a  small  uncharted  area  of 
shoal  water,  but  in  an  area  not  now 
traveled  to  any  extent. — W.  F.  T. 


CONSERVATION  IN  OTHER  STATES. 


FIEW  YORK  OPENS  NEW  HATCHERY. 
The  Conservation  Commission  of  New 
York  announces  that  the  new  fish  hatch- 
ery at  Dunkirk  has  been  opened.  This  is 
the  largest  and  most  completely  equipped 
of  the  twelve  hatcheries  maintained  by 
New  York  and  will  be  used  largely  for 
the  propagation  of  the  lake  or  greenback 
herring. 

GAME     REFUGES     IN     MINNESOTA. 

Game  refuges  may  be  established  with- 
out hearing  in  the  state  of  Minnesota 
when  all  landowners  concerned  join  in  a 
petition.  A  public  hearing  is  required 
otherwise.  All  state  parks  and  state 
forest  reserve  lands  are  game  refuges. 

WASHINGTON       FORMS      STATE 
SPORTSMAN'S   ASSOCIATION. 

Washington  sportsmen  have  formed  an 
organization  to  further  the  interests  of 
all  the  sportsmen  of  that  state.     The  ob- 


ject is  to  assist  in  the  propagation  and 
protection  of  game  animals,  birds  and 
fish,  to  influence  legislation  toward  this 
end,  and  to  promote  such  social  conditions 
as  are  incident  to  the  sport  of  hunting  • 
and  angling.  Its  rapid  progress  voices 
itself  in  the  slogan,  "One  thousand  mem- 
bers in  1919." 

QUEBEC      ESTABLISHES      BIRD 
REFUGES. 

Great  bird  colonies  situated  on  islands 
in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  have  been 
set  aside  as  game  refuges  by  the  parlia- 
ment of  the  province  of  Quebec.  There 
are  three  definite  areas  in  the  county  of 
Gaspe  which  are  included.  The  first, 
known  as  Perce  Rock,  a  breeding  place 
for  herring  gulls  and  crested  cormorants, 
Bonaventure  Island  with  the  largest  sur- 
viving colony  of  the  gannet,  and  the  cele- 
brated Bird  Rock,  the  northernmost  of  the 
Magdalen  Islands.    Rigorous  provisions  of 


Fig.  64.    Deer  captured  while  swimming  in  Lake  Tahoe.    Photograph  by  J.  SaDders. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME. 


205 


the  law  prohibit  the  molestation  of  the 
birds'  nests  or  eggs,  the  carrying  of  a  gun 
or  other  hunting  gear  within  a  mile  of 
the  refuges.  Any  boat  used  in  violation 
of  the  law  is  liable  to  confiscation  and 
heavy  penalties  of  fine  or  imprisonment 
are  provided. 

PENNSYLVANIA     PUNISHES 
VIOLATORS. 

Severe  sentences  are  becoming  the  rule. 
In    the    Fishing    Gazette    we    read    that 


Clyde  Wilsoncroft  and  Roy  Reynolds  of 
Drury's  Run,  Pennsylvania,  were  arrested 
by  the  state  police  for  illegal  fishing. 
Each  had  sixty-five  trout  in  his  posses- 
sion. The  men  were  given  a  hearing 
before  Squire  Griffey,  of  Revono,  and 
fined  $650  each,  or  $10  for  each  trout 
caught.  Not  being  able  to  pay  the  fine, 
both  men  must  serve  G50  days  in  the 
county  jail. 


LIFE  HISTORY  NOTES. 


WEIGHTS  OF  MULE  DEER. 
Extravagant  statements  regarding  the 
weights  of  mule  deer  are  current.  Most 
weights  given  are  mere  estimates.  It  is 
worth  while,  therefore,  to  record  the 
weights  of  two  bucks  taken  in  the  Granite 
Mountains,  Washoe  County,  Nevada. 
about  September  1,  1908.  Careful 
weights  taken  on  steelyards  showed  217 
pounds  and  220  pounds  after  the  entrails 
and  feet  had  been  removed.  A  dressed 
forked  horn  weighed  180  pounds. — F.  P. 
Cady. 

DEER    CAPTURED     IN     LAKE    TAHOE. 

On  January  26,  1919,  Henry  Sail,  the 
caretaker  of  the  Hellman  resort  on  Lake 
Tahoe,  discovered  a  doer  swimming  in 
Lake  Tahoe  about  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  out  from  land,  and  he  immediately 
took  after  it  in  a  boat.  It  was  in  an 
exhausted  condition,  and  showed  marks 
of  having  been  attacked  by  a  coyote  or 
other  animals.  Mr.  Sail  took  the  deer 
home  and  took  special  care  of  it,  and 
Mr.  Hellman  procured  a  permit  from  the 
Fish  and  Game  Commission  to  keep  it. 
After  keeping  the  deer  in  captivity  for  a 
week  carefully  chained,  it  was  given  its 
freedom,  and  since  then  it  has  never 
strayed  away  from  the  property  even 
though  it  has  absolute  freedom  to  roam 
over  43  acres  of  ground.  It  has  adopted 
the  house  cat,  seven  setter  dogs  and  one 
Airedale  dog.  The  deer  appeared  to  be 
about  eight  months  old  when  captured. 
Its  mate  was  found  later  by  J.  E.  Pomin 
of  Idlewild,  near  the  Hellman  property, 
partly  devoured  by  coyotes.- — Joseph  H. 
Sanders. 


OREGON     C/ESARIAN     FAWN     A     MOST 
HEALTHY   LITTLE  ONE. 

At  Neskowin,  Tillamook  County,  Ore- 
gon, during  the  summer  of  1917  deer 
hounds  wore  heard  back  in  the  mountains. 


Fig.  65.  Csesarean  fawn  successfully  reared  in 
Oregon.  Photograph  by  Raymond 
Walsh. 

Soon  they  appeared  on  the  beach,  having 
drven  out  a  doe.  The  weary  doe  made 
for  the  breakers  and  started  for  the  rocks, 
then  well  covered  with  water.  Later 
when  the  tide  receded  a  search  was  made 
for  the  deer.  She  was  found  on  the  rock, 
but  in  an  effort  to  reach  safety  her  front 


206 


CALIFORNIA    FISH   AND   GAME. 


leg  was  broken.  But,  sadder  yet,  Bhe  was 
with  fawn.  Her  life  was  taken  and  a 
Caesarian  was  quickly  undertaken  by  the 
rancher.  The  wee  twin  buck  had  been 
injured  and  was  dead,  but  "Fawnie"  was 
soon  ready  to  eat.  It  was  miles  to  any 
hygienic  nipple  and  bottle,  so  one  was 
improvised  with  a  cork  and  straw.  A 
bed  and  warmness  was  soon  provided,  but 
iu  a  few  days  the  little  beggar  preferred 


the  bard  floor  -perhaps  it  was  more  like 
the  sunny  mountain  side.  Soon  she  was 
weaned  and  drank  from  the  cup.  Days 
and  weeks  passed,  and  what  a  pet !  She 
was  ever  free  to  return  to  the  mountains 
at  any  time,  but  she  liked  her  foster 
mother  too  well.  Later  she  was  sent  to 
the  State  Hospital  Farm  near  Salem, 
where  she  is  now  well  cared  for. — .Tank 
Fuy  \V\r.sn. 


UNITED  STATES  FOREST  SERVICE  CO-OPERATION. 


RANGERS    CO-OPERATE    WITH    GAME 
WARDENS. 

Probably  in  no  season  since  the  Forest 
Service  began  its  active  campaigns  of  fire 
protection,  road  building,  and  the  survey- 
ing of  summer  home  sites  and  other 
projects  which  tend  toward  making  the 
summer  vacations  of  the  mountain-loving 
people  of  California  more  attractive  and 


Fig.  00.  Young  mountain  lion  captured  oea. 
Helena,  Trinity  County,  California. 
Photograph  by  H.  W.  Brannan. 

beneficial,  has  it  been  so  handicapped  by 
the  lack  of  experienced  men  as  it  was 
during  the  summer  of  1918.  It  was  the 
war,  of  course.  Bui  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  it  was  not  able  to  put  on  so  many 
men  as  formerly  during  the  summer,  and 
in  many  cases  one  man  was  doing  the 
work  of  two  in  ordinary  years,  no  lack  of 
interest  was  displayed  in  its  co-operation 


with  the  Fish  and  Game  Commission.  A 
sincere  interest  in  the  protection  and  per- 
petuation of  the  game  resources  of  the 
state  is  evident  in  all  the  reports  from 
the  Forest  Supervisors,  and  in  many  in- 
stances it  is  the  forest  rangers  who 
come  forward  with  constructive  sugges- 
tions for  the  improvement  of  game  con- 
ditions. This  is  due  partly  to  the  fact 
that  all  Forest  Service  officials  know  that 
wild  life  is  as  much  a  natural  resource 
as  timber,  and  that  it  should  be  used 
wisely  and  tinder  the  proper  regulations, 
and  partly  because  they  wish  to  assist  the 
State  Commission  through  its  local  rep- 
resentatives who  are  in  many  localities  a 
pari  almost  of  the  Forest  Service  organi- 
zation, good  fellowship  and  mutual  help 
being  the  rule  between  rangers  and  game 
wardens. 

DEER     IN     THE     NATIONAL     FORESTS. 

In    looking   over   the    reports    we    find 

that  2,943  deer  were  killed  in  the 
National  Forests  last  season.  This  is  an 
accurate  record  and  is  only  what  is 
actually  known  of  the  kill.  In  many 
cases  the  Forest  Supervisors  say  that  this 
does  not  represent  the  actual  kill,  which 
might  readily  be  estimated  at  10  or  15 
per  cent  higher.  In  most  localities  they 
are  holding  their  own  and  in  some  a  de- 
erease  has  been  noticed.  The  chief  factors 
which  affect  and  have  a  direct  bearing  on 
the  number  are  the  extension  of  the  road 
system  under  the  spur  of  the  autoist,  and 
the  increasing  number  of  people  who 
spend  pari  of  their  vacation  in  the  moun- 
tains. The  most  serious  factor  is  the 
apparent  increase  in  the  coyotes  and 
mountain  lions.  The  campaign  conducted 
by  counties,  the  Biological  Survey  and  the 
state  has  not  yet  (from  the  reports)  been 


CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND    GAME. 


207 


intensive  enough  to  rid  the  mountains  of 
these  pests  to  any  appreciable  degree. 
Unless  it  is  carried  on  more  forcefully  we 
are  liable  to  see  a  steady,  if  not  rapid, 
decrease  in  the  deer.  Where  sheep  are 
grazed  in  the  mountains  during  the  sum- 
mer months  the  coyotes  seem  to  prefer 
them  as  a  more  easy  prey  than  the  deer, 
attacking  the  latter  only  in  the  winter. 
But  where  few  sheep  are  grazed  the  re- 
ports are  emphatic  in  the  assertion  that 
coyotes  do  more  damage  than  the  hunters. 
In  parts  of  the  Klamath  Forest  it  is  im- 
possible to  raise  sheep  or  goats  unless 
kept  within  a  fence,  and  in  other  sheep 
raising  countries  the  coyotes  take  a 
serious  toll  every  year. 

The  mountain  lion  is  even  a  more  im- 
placable foe  of  the  deer  than  the  coyote, 
and  if  it  should  become  as  widespread  in 
its  range  and  habitat  it  would  mean  the 
sure  and  early  doom  of  the  deer.  For- 
tunately, at  present,  the  Klamath,  Trinity, 
Shasta,  California,  and  Santa  Barbara 
Forests  are  the  only  ones  that  report, 
serious  trouble,  although  the  El  Dorado, 
Stanislaus  and  Sierra  report  an  increase 
in   the  numbers  of  lion  in  the  last  year. 


Here  the  trouble  is  traced  to  the  Tosemito 
National  Park,  which  has  been  a  breeding 
ground  for  them,  as  no  hunting  or 
trapping  is  allowed  except  by  Park 
Rangers  or  government  hunters.  Higher 
bounties  and  more  vigorous  prosecution 
of  the  work  of  extermination  of  both  the 
lion  and  the  more  prevalent  and  destruc- 
tive  coyote   are   vigorously   recommended. 

OWENS   VALLEY    RESIDENTS   ALL    GO 
FISHING. 

A  fishing  day  for  the  Owens  River 
Valley,  when  almost  the  entire  population 
closes  stores  and  homes  and  goes  out  to 
catch  the  first  trout  of  the  season,  has, 
according  to  Supervisor  Jordan,  become 
an  established  institution. 

STRANGE    DEER    KILLED. 

Ranger  Harley  of  the  Klamath  Forest 
reports  the  killing  of  a  pure  white  deer 
and  a  pure  black  one,  and  adds  that  he 
has  seen  a  third  and  greater  wonder  in 
the  deer  line,  one  with  white  head,  neck, 
legs  and  belly,  and  cream  colored  sides 
and  back. 


REPORTS. 

SEIZURES— FISH,    GAME    AND    ILLEGALLY    USED    FISHING    APPARATUS. 

March   1,  1919,  to  June  30,  1919. 

Game. 

Deer  meat  . 345  pounds 

Ducks    32 

Doves    3 

Quail   12 

Deer  heads 2 

Aigrettes    59 

Fish. 

Smelt 8  pounds 

Halibut     3,650  pounds 

Trout   78  pounds 

Barracuda   1,591  pounds 

Striped  bass  1,971  pounds 

Black  bass  9  pounds 

Catfish  178  pounds 

Salmon    475  pounds 

Yellow  fin  croaker 23,600  pounds 

Crabs   1,031 

Pismo  clams  1,933 

Abalones    383  pounds 

Abalones   (dried)   1,157  pounds 

Lobsters  8 

Dried  shrimps 1,200  pounds 

Set  lines  3 

Illegal  nets  3 

Searches. 

Illegal  fish  and  game 23 


L'OS 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 


MexK-o- 


LU 

z 

> 
< 


IS 

is 


**    *■  t  'U  i-"-  in  w  o  w  >.   Wi^^ocOOQM© 


Total 


*?  I  i— '  CI  r- i  N  M"  O  C  ^  ^  W  C 
O  N  N  H  Cfl  O  I'  Kl  ■?  J  CM  -J  00 
CO    *V    CO  1— I  t—i  CO 


San  Diego 


Orange- 


I  o 

IS 


w 


Los  Angeles — 


San  Luis  Obispo, 
-J  (  Santa  Barbara. 
^  I    Ventura 

5 

ui 


Monterey. 


O 

o 

u. 
o 

r- 
Z 
w 

H 
f£ 
< 

Q. 
UJ 

o 

> 

CD 

Q 
UJ 


Santa  Cruz. 


San  Francisco, 
San  Mateo 


CM   CD  t~ 

in  os"  oT 
1^  -t*  ^t« 

CO    CM    t- 


Contra  Costa, 
Alameda 


Tehama.  Glenn, 
Colusa 


0-     Sacramento. 
«E       San  Joaquin.. 

o 


00 

r- 
o 
3 
Q 
o 
cc 

Q- 

> 
CC 

z 

CO 


Solano,  Yolo. 


Marln. 


Mendoclno, 
Sonoma,  Lake- 


Del  Norte, 
Humboldt. 


a. 
to 


a 


8 


■--, 


<u  t» 


a 

■a  a 


S 


H    l^    O  *M 

M    H    N  ifl 

Ci  lr»  00  i-H 

CO  co" 


I    CO 

!  o 


£§ 


s 


1>   O  CO  Ift   o  00 

«   W    CI    U    i-l  CO 

co  m  o  v  o^ 

in"  CO*  o  ©  (M 

CN   CM    (N   (N  lO 

r-l  CO  1-1 


co  Oa 
i-h  in 

O   CO 


CO   CO 

■**  in 


IS 


sa 


I    O    co 


o  <q    cj    o 


s 


tu    C3 


sis     « 


7 


1/J     co 


/. 


8 


28 


tJ  J3 


r*-  co 

CD  ci 
00 


CO   OS 
OS   OS 


CO  CD 

rH  »-< 

00  O 

CD  CO 

CO  1-1 


O    1-1 

1-1  m 
t-  co 


g 


pH    CO 


§  i 


1    ?i   O 

/    — 


©CI    ^N'rN00C:cfii"C,3l>,',*C>H 

t-  o;  .1   r.  i-  ».-  ■*  co  o  ?•  ^'  1-  o  n  ^1  i- 

N   C    C    CO  I-;  ■*    lO  (C    lO    -r    X   CC    «    *    l>    lO 

A        ci  :I  c  0*  t*  cf  '■:"  t  «  t""  o  go  o 

-J-  1:    n    «    K    W  rH   lO  CO    CN    « 

r-i^OCO«©  I-  f— 1     ^"     Cft 


o  en 
t-  to 
0  10 


-    O.CC    5  .2 

—  ~  cs  i:  bo_ 
-  o 


O  P  ca  03  ca 


-0  bn-S 


-1  ©  1^. 

OS    r£  in 

r-i    I'    I- 


ci  <c  o> 
^  ir:   cn 

O  r-i  in 


8 

7 


8 


1-H    01 


or    r-     - 

in  in  '."i 

01  m  ■* 


« 


OS  CD   O  0 

co  cp  o  cFi 

CD  Cfl^  i-J  l- 

O  -v  -—  Os" 

m  ,-h  1- 


00  ce  c-  m 

>  -    1  :     •*  th 


CI    Q  iC 

-:  ®  - 


Ct    lO 

'".     01 

I 


8 


2  <^ 


03  •C 

2  o  c 


71    ^1 
CO 


■as 


r^  m  f-i 
—  t-  co 
i~  00  os_ 

CO    OI-* 

CO 


Si 


&     &    T-< 

co  in  r- 


Ci   u5  O) 

'^SSo? 


-^  c  — 

S  s-= 

c  «  S 
P?  <»  ^ 


:Sfl 


„    C3  C3 

o  -a  fi  ,a 

h    3    C3  C3 

ca    CJ    CU  CU 

C/s  CO  ^O  C/2 


-a  a  t> 
a  °  2  5 

cp  J3  J3  ^5 
»BtO  90 


CALIFORNIA    PISH   AND    GAME. 


209 


CO  ^  CO 

I O    ■«*    r- I    ■ 
<C    i-H    i-H 


fcg 


s 


I  10  cs 

I    M*    CO 


Ol  N  00  f  lO 
H  ^f  W  Cl  Ol 
H   CR   00   QO   © 

cT  of  of  of  oT 
ir  co        o  r^- 

«    W  00    H 


CO 


00H<OMMOmCIO 
WifliriOOOtCiOifJOO 
i>  (N   C-l^  lO   lO   (N   ©   t)t   Oi 

w"  a  o"  CO  CO  <o  ©  w  of 
Co         0  J  CO  CO  in  <N 


Si 


o  do 


I 

tt 


CO    CO 
CO   ©3 

CO    rH 


CI    rH 

SCO 
CO 


CM    Ol 

r-»    CO 

oo  ■** 


2g 


CO  c5i 
CO  ?o 

r-T  tft 
tH   CM 


i-H    lO, 
r-l    Oi 


1 

s 


CO 


rH  i- 


tO  or, 
l-  t5 


r-H    CO 
0>    CO 


s 


in 


?, 


oo  © 

r-i  t- 

05 


to 
oo" 


in    I   9 


in  cc 
o  to 

03 


S3 


s: 


o  m 

in  00 


oo 
to 


s 


•a 


as 

r— .  O 

g     03  03 

r   a  fen 


•C  <S  -C  £  » 

£;  tp  _  o 

S    □    3  3 

O   P   o  o 


p« 

3  35 
"3!   ^ 


^S  •"-> 


a.S-5?£      Sow 

^  ^  ^  q  o  a  +*  '■£  p  3J  p  P  ^  .n  P^.^  ^  :> 


^  -  -  o  <" 

a    S3  Bin  4^ 

a  a  p  t,  s 

p  p  s  « 


o 

33    ^ 

cs    P 

■M     CO 

|S 

— .     GO 
OJ  ^ 


—         S 


N 

^  o 

p."0 


.    0) 

to 


CD  frj 

5 


CD 
•  to 


p 


o    to    S 

C3  ,Q    £ 


a 

a  >• 


o 

is 

~^  to 


M 


»  2 


til     S  O     »     h     H 

S»tocotocoo57£3«Knl_ 

:  slaaaaslg-sa 
o  a 


o 

I  73 


N 

---  O 

P 

c 

CD   _ 
p 

tu    O    &-.    *-> 

u   H.01    3 


210 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME. 


VIOLATIONS   OF    FISH    AND   GAME    LAWS. 
March   1,  1919,  to  Jure  30,   1919. 


Offense 


Game. 

Hunting  without  a  license 

Deer— close  season     killing  or  possession 

Female  deer,  spike  bucks,  fawns— killing  or  possession 

Running  deer  with  dogs— close  season 

I  llegal    deer    hides 

Refusing  to  show  license  on  demand 

Selling  an  eagle 

Nongame  birds— killing  or  possession 

Cottontail  and  brush  rabbits— close  season— killing  or  pos- 
session    

Wild  pheasant— close  season— killing  or  possession 

Tree  squirrel — close  season — killing  or  possession 

Goose  and  niudhens— close  season— killing  or  possession 

Ducks— close  season — killing  or  possession 

Golden  eagle  in  possession 

Doves— close  season— killing  or  possession 

Quail— close  season— killing  or  possession 

Black  sea  brant— close  season— killing  or  possession 


Number  or 
arrests 


Total  game   violations. 


Fish. 

Angling  without  license 

Fishing  for  profit  without  a  license 

Refusing  to  show  license  on  demand 

Clams— undersize — close  season — taking  or  possession 

Crabs— undersize— close  season— taking  or  possession 

Using  a  set  line 

Offering  trout  for  shipment  by  parcel  post 

Trout— close  season— excess  limit — taking  or  possession 

Trout— taking  other  than  by  hook  and  line 

Catfish— undersize— offering  for  sale 

Salt  water  eels — undersize — taking  or  possession 

Using  a  fish  trap 

Dried  shrimps— possession   

Abalones— close  season— undersize— taking  or  possession 

Spring  lobsters— close  season— undersize— taking  or  posses- 


sion 


Sturgeon— close  season— undersize — taking  or  possession 

Black  bass— close  scuson— undersize — taking  or  possession.. 

Black  bass — taking  other  than  by  hook  and  line 

Striped  bass— undersize— excess  limit — taking  or  possession 

Perch — buying  or  selling— close  season 

Selling  young  fish  Eor  bait 

Taking  salmon  with  snag  hook 

Buying  and  selling  salmon  taken  in  District  No.  1 — close 

season— excess  limit  

Using  a  net  less  than  J-inch  mesh  for  bass 

Pollution  of  waters 


Total   fish   violations. 


i 
22 
2 
1 
1 
I! 
1 


3 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
3 
3 
1 


57 


16 

19 
1 
9 

10 
2 
2 

17 
2 
3 
2 
1 
2 

26 

4 
2 

1 
1 


Fine* 

Imposed 


$155  00 

460  00 

50  00 

•_'.-,  IKI 

25  00 

35  00 

5  00 

55  mi 

75  00 

LOO  (hi 

ok  nn 

50  00 
25  00 
50  00 
75  00 


$1,210  00 


$430  00 
160  00 

25  00 
250  00 

80  00 

"~5o"6o 

410  00 

50  00 

(id    llll 

120  00 

100  00 


550  00 

80  00 
40  00 

211  110 

511  mi 


30  oo 

'J.I  IN) 
100  00 

;;oooo 

20  oo 


l.:_'         $2,985  00 


Grand  total  fish  and  game  violations. 


189 


$4,195  00 


CALIFORNIA   PISH   AND    GAME. 


211 


a 


fe 

a 


tr 
< 

UJ 

> 

I 

10 
UJ 
DC 

h 

Q 
Z 
UJ 
Q- 
X 
UJ 

u. 
o 

h 
z 

UJ 
UJ 

I- 
< 

H 

(0 


tONtO 
CM  00  00 

<M  CftOO 

t-»  irt  oj 

t-i  (M  co 
of 


COOt-h 

t-H   t-I  l-"D 


OCGOl 

~)  co  r- 

I  CO  i 


Mfflq 


CM 


(33  «  Oi 

i^  tooo 
co  cftoo 

05CO 


tH  CO  oo 

STOH 
CjiCMCM 

i^-thcm 
ca 

6r& 


■^  oo  r-- 

otoo 

OOi-i 
i^oo-* 

l^CMOO 


d 

0 

o 

-r 

03 

.2  fl 

.22  =-> 

'3  s 

sf 

T3  ft 
03     . 

r-H  <y 
03  f-i 
H  03 


35 


3 


so 

r-l  O 


to  co  CO 

8o5  o 
CO  7—1 


COO 

t-  en  »o 

0-1  -5fi  C5 
CO  CO  "J*1 
H(NH 


gas 

OOTfO 

co  cnco 

O00CM 


SP-3 

rHIOlO 
CO  J-JCM 

CO  CM 


ooo 

CrtO 

iooo 


CO  CO 

<D  CU 

co  co 

a  a 

CD  CD 

CD  CJ 


SB'S 
S    8 


-  *  a  -d 
d  co.2 15 

CD   CD   (h-- 


co 

T3  a) 

-h.9  o 

a>  ^  03 

o  a 


03  03  O 


-Hrt    K 

CO 

6BCJ0-S 

a  a  S 

SP0 
a  cjoo 
d  a  « 

60  60  52, 

a  a  g 
aft— 

!h   U   60 

to  &o  d 
o  o£ 
.cc  a 

33  w 


CO 
CO- 


l  - 
CM 


O 

en 

o 

1(5 


C.  CO  CC  t  -  O  CO 

oraof oo 
HNi^roooo 

05CO  OiCO  CO  lO 

-*  co  coco  cm 
co'-sfcMcb"' 


IMMOOlOO 
00  CO  Oi-*  CM  O 

co  io  -*1  as  t~-  o 

OO  CO  CM  O  CO  <0 
CO  CM  "5  O     ,  i-H 

co"^cM*T-r 


& 


iOCO  oo 

W^(DO 
lO  O5O0  COO 

CM  i^  ©  oo  O 

CMCOO        CO 


K5  -#CM<-H 


CM 
1^. 

CO^OOOO 
lOt^CCSOC 

1 
"5 

OS  m  r^  cm  ^f  © 

ONMHtOO 
OOOCOH        CM 

as- 

CO  CO  CM  r-l 

CO 


CIlOI^MOO 

i^  oooo-*  ^  o 

lO  CO-rHOO  030 
t-i  CO  ©  Tf  CM  O 

hoiWOhM 
co'  CO  CM  t-h 


a 

x 

co 

5  ** 

C  co 

a  ° 

H  0) 
O   cj 

i-H 

03  tm  oo 
a  a  a 

C  m.2 

cm  f-i  O 
a  o3  S 


4-) 

O 

43   CJ 

CO  — 

co 

§5 

CO 

1° 

o3  a> 
*h  C 
r-l  03 

aS 

03  03 
C0  0D 


a> 

S 
- 
be 

— 
c 

93 

XI 

co 


CM 

co 

CO 
CM 
CI 

8" 


lO 
O 

CO 

CM 

lO 

•<* 

t-H 


1.0 
CO 

CO 
1^ 

C55 

CO 

T-I 


S3 

Oi 


C3 

t-H 


O 
TTI 

OS 

O 


lO  lO  lO  00  CO  CM  CM  lO  CO 

iici       en  i^oo  r^ 

CM  -f         1  -  CD  CM 


15INCHHSNOQ 
OlOOOCOtOHOO 

00  t--  CO  OS  CM  l^  C-l  fi  --I 

CC  CM  lO  CO  1^  T— I  CM  O 

t—i  lO       O  lO  C)  »o 

H  CM"         T-i"  H 


c£ 


©OCOOOU5 

oiOthqco 


I IHOOl,H 

i  -  o  oi  oo  co 
en  i^  o  t-m  t— i 
w — T      — ;  — : 


C5  O  O  CO  CM  »o 
IMOOXMN 

SCO  t-h  CM  CO  CO 
Ortai-ro 

ffl  Tf  tH  |^  ©  -I 


O'  CO  CM  CM  -H 
CM  OCO  t-h  O 

00  C5i  CO  t"  l^ 
pj  O-T  Tf  CD 


u  co 

a 

o 

cu  a-- 

60       "2 

ex:  S 


i   o 

CO  bo 

d  ox: 

•--0  03 
+e   CD  CD 

CDtd^3 


CO  jj 


a 

oo  £ 
O  03 


Hi  Hi  A) 


.-    a   03 

_£H     tlO+J 

oo  .   a 
c3  do 

H'rT  « 


d 
o  >> 

■2  « 

rH     CJ 

co  t< 

dfi  s 
.2      o 

-O+f  03 

°3   rrt*3 
S   w 

^+^  03 

«  sa 

+^  d  2 

03  O^ 


lO  lO 


S3 


o  d 

>».25 
*-i  +->  -w 

2  <S  03 

h3  >».h  03 
03  «;Or-l 
-d  O 

^x:  o  o 


t_.    "    ™i 


fl-2 

O   f-i 
+J   CD 


CDt> 
CD& 
U 

d 


03  O  o  O 


<D     «     - 
A  »-H  •« 

03  03  ja 


212 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME. 


I 


o 
8 


< 


oo 

CO 


s 

CM 


OJ 

CO 


>  do 


-3"  "3«  GO  CO 
>0<MC) 


?. 


•W1CC 
H  y-^  t~ 


-a'cNc©  o 

(NCOCIrH 


OJNO 
HNO 

N0CO 
CM  l-  O 

"■*•  CM 


CNICN  to 
tO  l^  t- 

occo  to 


LCTTOI  i"  O  1  ■■ 


©  cc  "0"  cr.  cc  < 
-.  i-  o;  CN       t 


o.  i^  O:  <N 


s 


CI  —i 


88 

•"TCN 

to  O 


lOONCO 
O  T  -9"  <M  "■* 

t^  00  <M  tH  fa 

NOCOl         CO 

co  ^r  co 


i*.  i  - 


=  <tt,f  o 
-  /.  —  — 


6C 


co 


03 

flts 


O   03 


C*  > 


o  v 


i  o 

Pec 


C.i 

oj  4-3 

J=  03 
V  -U 

+->  tK 
03 

•CAS 

c, 

OJ   CJ 

So 
g  c 

(-<   CJ 

fficc 


— 

CJ 


CI  1~ 


t*  o 

CJ  — 


«COC. 
iO  t-i  oo 

.—  OCC0  CM 

CO    T-  I- 


S8 
COCi 

<* 

co 


-  - 
oo 

CO  ID 

s 


E 


CO  CO 

to 


03  ^mo£^ 

£  a  c3 -^--e 


p« 


CD    ^    * 

03   gS   g   03   ^ 

cj-5  C-S  ej  C 


^   03   L' 

O   r    H 

St3"§ 

r-  *—   03 

03-^ 

03  -M    _ 

c  — — 

fe   03   g 
5  O   03 


£ 


o 

p. 

(h 

03   C 

TJ  be 

teg- 

a  03.5 
~*« 

§.33 

03     . 
(-.  TO.— 

*->  a  cs 
*  «  Si 

to  ^  03 

—    CJ   & 

,—  y  j 


10  1- 

C^  LO 

CO  t^ 

SSS 

CO  CO 

c/.- 

C/.»  -J. 


CO  to 

a;  co 


1.0  oi 
cxt^ 

oof 

6fe 


1-   I  - 

CO  t^ 
OJ-* 
l^-  CO 


lOQ 

OOO 

t^  o 

i— I  TT* 

» "  — 


- 


03 
03 


C3 

'3 

03 

a 
e 

o 
D 


03 


U 

03 

G 
03 

Q 


CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND    GAME. 


213 


INDEX  TO  VOLUME  5. 


Abalone,  45,  68,  95,  96,  101,  162,  104,  1G7, 
1S2,  209. 

Accident,  30. 

Accusation,  and  defense,  176-185. 

Agriculture,  wild  life  in  relation  to,  99. 

Airplane,  to  locate  fish,  148. 

Albacore,  24,  ?.(►.  39,  41.  44.  5S.  SO.  94,  95. 
96,  100,  145,  147,  155,  162,  163,  164, 
166,  182,  198,  200,  203,  208;  occur- 
rence north  of  San  Francisco,  203. 

"Albacore,"  launch,  95.  182,  199  ;  attempts 
to  aid  fishermen,  94. 

AH>  ii  la  nil  pes,  15S. 

Alga,  70. 

Allen,  B.  M.,  70,  182. 

Alosa  sapidissima,  15S. 

Amadou,  170. 

A  mi  turns  nebulosus,  22. 

AMERICAN  FIELD.  84. 

Anadromons,  105,  112. 

Anchovy.  44,  100,  162,  163,  164,  106,  198, 
21  is. 

Angler,  17.  38,  43,  75,  77,  80.  110,  112. 
113,  114,  115,  117,  12S,  139,  178,  179, 
L80;   versus  net  fishermen,  187-188: 
attention!,  192. 
Dry-fly.  109.  110.  137,  140. 

Angleworm,  139,  140  :  eaten  by  mole,  99. 

An« line-,  42,  77.  192,  204. 

Animal.  34.  95,  97.  98,  157,  158. 
Carnivorous,  143. 
Fur-bearing,  81,  S3,  84. 
Game,  79.  204. 
Predatory,  81,  S3,  161,  179. 

An  hot  yrm  nx  davidsoni,  60,  65,  66. 

Anoplopoma  fimbria,  158. 

Antelope.  Prong-horned,  181. 

Antler,  161. 

Aquarium,  70,  82,  97. 

Auxis  thazard,  200. 

B 

Babcock.  J.  P.,  90,  17S. 
Badger,  149. 
Bag  limit,  31,  190. 
Bait,  110.  119.  122.  139.  141,  171. 
Balaenoptera  borcalis,  SO. 
Baleen,  SO. 
Barbel.  1,  20,  156. 

Barnhart,    P.    S.,   notes   on   the    artificial 
propagation     of    the     spiny     lobster, 
70-71. 
Barracuda,   44.    100,    145.   140,   154,   155, 

162.  163,  164,  166,  208. 
Bass,  44,   GO,   63,  64,  177:   and  bass-like 
fishes  of  California.  59-68. 
Black,  179.  193;  is  not  true  bass,  149. 
Bis-eyed.  60,  66. 
Calico.  179. 
Kelp,  60,  63.  64.  65. 
Spotted.  60,  64,  65. 


Bock,  44,  00,  63,  64,  100,  164,  166,  20S. 
Sand,  60,  63. 
Sea.  13,  163. 
Black,  44,  60,  02,  SO,  100,  103,  104, 

16(5,  208. 
Giant,  00,  SO. 

White,  14,  15,  16,  20,  44,  100,  164, 
166,  208. 
Striped.  3,   10,  11,  12,  44.   61,  62,  94, 
101,  145,  164,  106,  179,  183,  193,  20!) ; 
taken  in  Mission  Bay,  197. 
Bear,  149  ;  hunting  with  bows  and  arrows, 
69-70. 
Black,  69,  70,  78,  79. 
Grizzly.  172. 
Beaver,  181 ;  hides  confiscated,  79. 
Biennial,  1916-1918,  30. 
Biology,  contributions  to  Canadian,  201. 
Biological  Station,  want  protection,  93-94. 
Bird.  32,  77,  79,  82,   S3.  84,  SS.  89,  99, 
192:   how   do   they   find   their  way?, 
83-84;   wild,  and  legislation,  87-88; 
fly  larvae  suck  blood  of  nestling  birds, 
SS ;  study,  86. 
Game,  79,  SI,  85,  87,  89.  90.  97,  182, 
204;  of  California.  84-86,  181;  Eng- 
lish, vindicated,  86-87. 
Insectivorous,  80,  83. 
Migratory,  30.  SO,  S3,  192;  see  Migra- 
tory Bird  Treaty  Act. 
Nongame,  79. 
Predatory,  81. 
Blackbird.  1S2  ;  and  rice,  99. 
Blacksmith,  43. 
Blind,  191. 
Bluefish.  17.  44.  100,  164,  166,  208. 

California,  14,  16. 
Boat,  5  ;  northern  join  fishing  fleet,  155. 

Purse-seine,  155,  156. 
Bobcat,  69. 

Bocaccio.  44,  100.  164.  166,  208. 
Bonito.  44,  100,  145,   146,  162,  103,  164, 

208. 
Boothe,  Roy.  state  game  district  IK.  S1-S2. 
Bosqui,  E.  L.,  178 :  valley  quail  with  egg 

in  December,  98. 
Botfly,  142. 
Boucher,  E.  C.  the  angler  versus  the  net 

fisherman,  187—188. 
Bounty,  27,  29,  76.  148,  ISO,  207. 
Bow  and  arrow  in  hunting,  09-70. 
Boyle.  Una,  79  ;  river  otter  plays  on  moon- 
light nights,  9S. 
li in m a   in ii,  203. 
Bream,  Golden,  22. 
Brooks,  Major  Allan,  85. 
Bruce,  ,T.  C.  91,  150,  195  :  a  death  struggle 

between  bucks,  160-161. 
Bryant.  H.  C.  si,   181,  189,;   wild  birds 
and  legislation,  S7 ;   California  trout, 
105-135. 
Buck.   20.   81.   82,   101.   190.   206;    death 
struggle  between,  160-161, 


214 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME. 


Bureau   of   Education,   Publicity  and  Itc- 

rch,  77. 
Burrill,  A.  ('..  is  the  herring  gull  insect- 
ivorous?,  717!. 


Cabrilla,  60,  64,  65. 

Cady,  1".  P.,  weights  of  mule  deer,  205. 
( California  Academy  of  Sciences,  83. 
CAX.IFORNIA   F1SII   AND  GAME,  94, 

96,  L45,  154,  L56,  158,  178,  ISO,  1S2, 

194,  L95. 
California  Museum  of  Vertebrate  Zoology, 

85,  142. 
California  Nature  Study  League,  145,  1S9. 
California-Oregon  Power  Company,  91,  03, 

L84. 
California  State  Fisherie's  Laboratory,  50. 

<  lamp,  3:  Lake  Tahoe  Public,  189,  190. 
( 5anary,  82. 

Cancer  magister,  15S,  182. 
Candlefish,  203. 

Cannery,   40,    1  18,    197,   200,   202;   estab- 
lished at  Ensenada,  94  :  receives  Mex- 
ican fish,  LIS;  floating,  burns,  156. 
( 'anvasback,  191. 
Capelin,  203. 
Caraux  hippos,  15S. 
Carp.  44,   LOO,  104,  100,  208. 
Carpenter,  S.  J.,  78,  70. 
Carriel,  93. 

I  iast,  109,  111,  141,  170. 
Cat,    13,  83;  becomes  game  in  Now  York. 
42;    manicure   the   bird-catching   cat, 
S-)  S.'! 
Catfish,  44,  100.  164,  100,  17!>,   193,  208. 
Catron,  E.  S..  78. 
i  !ensus,  s<  <    Game. 
Chambers,  Frank,  78. 
Charr.  la",  lor,.  1117.  120.  130.  134. 
Chilipoppor.    11.   loo.   104.   166.  20S. 
Clnniiiis  piiiK  li/x miis,  43. 
Citharichthys  stigmceus,  157. 

xanthostigma,  95. 
Clam.  35,  68,  1  17.  l.'.S;  investigation,  15s. 

Cockle,  15,  101,  164,  167,  209. 

Pismo,  45,  101,  164,  167,  200;  destroyed 
by  oil,  17  1   1  lb. 

Razor,  175. 

Soft-shelled,  45,  101,  164,  107,  200. 
Clark,  F.  C.  L82. 
Coal  fish.  44.    100.   104.  166,  208. 
Cobb.  J.  N\.  college  of  fisheries  established, 

1  (7   148. 
C.,d.  35,  1  17.  157,  203. 

Black,  taken  near  Sim  Pedro.  15S. 

Cultus,  44,  LOO,  164,  166,  208. 

Rock,   154,  163. 

<  ■  ccidiosis,  1  13. 
Coccidium  oviforme,  143. 
1  iochinito,  159. 

Co<  a  urns    .si  1  iul is,    143. 

Collinge,  W.  E.,  86,  87. 
Cololabis  saira,  203. 

(  '<J  Hllthll    fllsriillil.    100. 

Commercial  Fishery,  see  under  Fishery. 

Council.  M.  J.,  180. 


Conservation,  30,   76.   77,  17s.    IT!),    180, 
L89,  192;  lessons  from  Massachusetts, 
12;   of  our  fisheries,  49  59;   of  fish, 
80  si  ;   in   other  states,  42,  97,   159, 
204;  persuasion  versus  compulsion  in 
lish    and    game,    187;    deer    in    New 
Zork,  100. 
Commission,  8  I. 
Louisiana,  90. 
New  York,  82,  97,  204. 

Conservationist,  80,  177;  a  suggestion  for 
California,   84. 

I  !orvina,  13.  17. 

Corr  us    nihil  iriis,    94. 

Corypha  na,  203. 

( !ottontail,  8t  e  Babbit. 

Coyote,  1  I'.t.  L50,  161,  205,  207;  as  a  deer 

killer,  26-29. 
Crab,  lo.   15,  101,  1  16,  1  17.  164,  167,  171, 

170.  182,  209. 

Sand.     17.":     habits    and    uses    of    the, 
171    171'. 
( 'rago  fraru  iscorum,  0. 

nigricauda,  0. 
Crampton,  J.  M.,  86. 
Crandall,  W.  C,  183. 
Crane,  85. 
Crappie,  170,  193. 
Crawfish,  94,  U_<<.  182. 
( '1  istori/iiu  r.  Oh.  1  .■;;',. 

namaycush,  1<i(.  >.  111.  134. 
Croaker,  4  1.  59,  100,  164  ;  lish  of,  family, 
13  20. 

Black,  1  1.  19. 

Chinese,  14,  10. 

Spotfin,  14,  18. 

White,  14,  15. 

Yellowfin,  14.  17. 
Crustacean,  10,  15,  87,  101,  133,  104,  167, 

171,  209. 

Cunningham,  F.  P.,  grouse  in  the  Sequoia 

National  Forest,  98. 
Curlew,  85. 
Curtner,  \Y.  W.,  182. 
i  'uti  u  Inn,  142. 

Cuttlefish,  45,  101,  164,  167,  200. 
Cynoscion  nobilis,  16.  14,  15,  16. 
[iiirripiuiiiis,    16,  14,  10. 


Dabelstein,  W.  F.,  193. 

I  hi  fila  urn  In,  43. 

Hall.   W.    11..  82. 

Darter.  60. 

Deer,  30,  34,  69,  97,  148,  149,  172.    182, 

186,  205,  207;  killed  by  coyote,  26  29; 

increasing    in    Trinity    County,    98; 

hunting   poor    in    Mono   County.   98; 

conservation   in   New   Zork,   189;   in 

the  national  forests,  206  201  :  strange 

deer   killed,    207;    captured    in    Lake 

Tahoe,  205. 
Mule,  weights  of,  205. 
De  Laveana.  .1.  V.,  tree-ducks  successfully 

bred  in  Santa  Clara  County,  42-43. 
Di  ndroeygna  bicolor,  42,  43. 


CALIFORNIA   PISH   AND   GAME. 


215 


De  Ong,  E.  R.,  parasites  which  affect  the 

food  value  of  rabbits,  142-143. 
Depredation,  179. 
Deputy,  !»1 ;  acquitted  at  trial,  79. 
Dip-net,  90. 

Dirks.  \V.  N.,  mole  eats  angleworms,  99. 
Discretionary    powers,    Fish    and    Game 

Commission  needs,  30. 
Disease,  182 ;  again  appears,  32. 
1  Hick,  36. 
Quail,  88. 
Dixon,  J.,  142. 
Doe,  28,  SI,  206. 
Dog,  69. 

Varmint.  91. 
Dogfish,  44,  100,  164,  166,  208. 
Dollv  Varden,  see  Trout.. 
Dolphin.  44,  100,  164  ;  absence  of,  203. 
Dove,  85,  179. 
Downing,   Earle,  banded  pintail  taken  in 

Alameda  County,  43. 
Duck,  32,  43,  76,  78,  SO,  85,  97,  99,  173, 
179,  ISO,  182,  191,  192,  195  ;  Louis- 
iana  originates,  34 ;  versus   rice,   36, 
182 :   destroy  garden   pests,  99 ;   food 
of,  87. 
Black,  34. 
Canvasback,  191. 
Mallard,  34,  191. 

Pintail,  191 :  banded  taken  in  Alameda 
Countv,  43. 
Duke,  R.  D.,  79,  178. 


Eagle,  13S. 

Earthworm,  99. 

Ecrevisse,  45,  101,  164,  167,  209. 

Eden,  Mr.,  resolution  by,  176-179. 

EDITORIALS. 

The  1916-18  biennial,  30;  Fish  and 
Game  Commission  needs  plenary  pow- 
ers, 30;  California  laws  will  be  modi- 
fied to  agree  with  federal  game  laws, 
31 ;  violators  make  queer  defense,  31 ; 
Monterey  streams  stocked,  31 ;  duck 
disease  again  appears,  32 ;  federal 
permits,  32 ;  fish  cookery  demonstra- 
tions, 32;  increased  consumption  of 
fish  necessary,  33  ;  notes  on  the  game 
refuges,  33 ;  a  new  game  farming 
project.  34 ;  Louisiana  originates  new 
duck,  34  ;  Alaska  fishery  products,  34  ; 
Nova  Scotia  uses  war  methods  to 
capture  violators,  35 ;  California 
trappers  and  their  catch.  35 ;  our 
mailing  list,  70 ;  pending  legislation, 
70 ;  Fish  and  Game  Commission 
inaugurates  educational  work  in  sum- 
mer resorts,  70 ;  preserve  game  re- 
sources, 77 ;  large  profits  with  slight 
outlay,  77 :  "now  begins  the  season," 
78 ;  conviction  made  under  federal 
migratory  bird  treaty  act,  78;  Mendo- 
cino rancher  makes  good  kill.  7S ; 
game  laws  to  be  enforced  in  national 
forests,  79  ;  beaver  hides  confiscated, 
79 :  deputy  acquitted  at  trial,  79 ; 
wartime  saving  in  cost  of  fish  food, 
79 ;  the  Pacific  coast  whale  industry, 
SO;  food  administration  regulations 
on    fishing    no    longer    effective,    80 ; 


more  bird  treaties  needed,  80 ;  con- 
servation of  fish,  SO ;  dependable  in- 
formation is  needed,  81 ;  state  game 
district  IK,  81 ;  is  the  porcupine 
worth  saving?,  82  ;  manicure  the  bird- 
catching  cat,  82;  a  plan  to  conserve 
Wyoming  elk,  S3 ;  fur  farming  in 
Alaska,  83;  how  do  birds  find  their 
way?,  83;  a  suggestion  for  Cali- 
fornia conservationists,  84 ;  the  game 
birds  of  California,  84 ;  passenger 
pigeons  reported  in  eastern  states, 
86 ;  English  game  birds  vindicated, 
86;  the  ground  squirrels  of  Cali- 
fornia, S7 ;  the  food  of  mallard  ducks, 
87 ;  wild  birds  and  legislation,  S7 ; 
fly  larvae  suck  blood  of  nestling  birds, 
88 ;  importation  of  quail  from  Mex- 
ico, 88;  federal  migratory  bird  law, 
89 ;  long  run  of  a  tagged  salmon,  90 ; 
night  herons  game  in  Louisiana,  90 ; 
vindication,  145;  nature  study  libra- 
ries to  be  furnished  summer  resorts, 
145;  the  1918  catch  of  fish,  145; 
maintain  a  supply,  146 ;  rainbow 
trout  acclimatized  in  Argentina,  146 ; 
a  college  of  fisheries  established,  147 ; 
trout  fry  distributed  in  lakes  and 
streams  of  California  during  past 
three  years,  147 ;  many  lions  killed, 
14S ;  airplanes  to  locate  fish,  148; 
fishery  products  laboratory  estab- 
lished, 149;  the  ownership  of  wild 
life,  149 ;  our  fur  resources,  149 ; 
black  bass  is  not  a  true  bass,  149 ; 
persuasion  A^ersus  compulsion  in  fish 
and  game  conservation,  187 ;  the 
angler  versus  the  net  fisherman,  187— 
188 ;  educational  work  in  summer 
resorts,  189 ;  Tahoe  public  camp,  189- 
190 ;  deer  conservation  in  New  York, 
190;  migratory  bird  treaty  act  con- 
stitutional, 190-191 :  waterfowl  die 
from  eating  shot,  191 ;  government 
needs  deputy  chief  game  warden,  191- 
192;  anglers,  attention!,  192;  addi- 
tional migratory  bird  treaties  needed, 
192;  State  Fair  exhibit.  193;  game 
censuses,  193-194 ;  hatchery  depart- 
ment moves,  194 ;  colored  prints  of 
golden  trout  available,  194. 
Educational  work  inaugurated  at  summer 

resorts.  76-77,  189. 
Eel,  198,  208. 
Eg?,  Bird,  79,  85,  98,  201. 

Falcon.  87. 

Fish,  76,  96,  132. 

Fulvous  tree  duck,  42. 

Goshawk,  87. 

Grunion,  156. 

Pigeon,  band-tailed,  160. 

Salmon,  41,  92,  110,  115,  141,  151. 

Shrimp,  9. 

Spiny  lobster,  24. 

Trout,  37.  38,  39.  92,  115,  127,  131,  133, 
151,  152,  153,  176,  181. 
Egret,  SO. 

Eigenmann,  C.  H.,  135. 
Elk,  97 :  plan  to  conserve  Wyoming,  S3 ; 
Washington  will  open  season  on,  97 ; 
in  Shasta  County,  98. 


216 


CALIFORNIA    PISH    AND   GAME. 


Emi  rita,   1 1~>. 

analoga,  171. 
Emerson,   Ethel,  43. 
Epidemic,  36. 
Eulachon,   203. 
Euthynmts,  200,  203,  204 
Evermann,    B.    W.,    LIS,    119,    135,   13S ; 

( lalifornia  trout,  105  135. 
Ewonautt  a  rondeletii,  95. 


Facts  of  current  interest,  3G,  91,  150,  195. 
Falcon,  87. 
Farm,  Game,  87. 
Fat  herring,  52. 

Fawn,  190;  csesarian  healthy,  205. 
Feline,  82. 

Fertilizer,  10,  91.  148.  154,  UJ3,  200. 
Finch,  <  Jalifornia   Purple,  88. 
Fish,  2.  31,  41,  50,  53,  50,  57,  59,  G2,  G8, 
72.  7(5.  77.  7S.  71).  SO,  82.  87.  90,  91, 
94,  95,   97,   lor-.   115.   133,  135.    1  If,. 
447.  1  19,  150,  156,  172.  176,  177,  178, 
17:  i.   L80,   L85,   195,   L97,  201,  204;  of 
croaker  family,   Ui-20;  cookery  dem- 
onstrations, 32;  distributed  in  Minne- 
sota,  42;    rare    from    Monterey    Bay, 
13;    conservation    of,    SO;    proposed 
change  of  .shrimp  law  would   menace 
life  of  fish.  '.14;   1918  catch  of,  145; 
airplanes  to   locate,   148;   better  rec- 
ords  necessary,    154-155;    fresh,   used 
by  reduction  plants,  154;  flat  of  Cali- 
fornia.   182;    do    fishermen    go     far 
enough  to  get,  198-199 :  dry  salting 
.it   Monterey,  198;  goat  fish  taken  in 
('  ilifornia.  150:  two  rare,  203. 
Culture.  147,  148,  152. 
Culturist,  100. 
Dealer.  199. 
Fund.    13,   16,  20.  62,  03,  04,  SO,  112, 

135,  L56,  161,  170. 
Game,  62,  112,  135,  177. 
I., -older,  see  Fishway. 
Screen,  $<  e  Screen. 
Fish  and  Game  Commission,  California.  2, 
24,  30,  36,  39,  40,  To.  75.  70.  84,  91, 
93,  94,  96,   119,    131,  153,  176,    lis. 
179,  180.  181,  182,  183,  L85,  188,  1S9, 
197,    199,    205;    inaugurates    educa- 
tional work  at  summer  resorts,  70-77. 
( kranecticut,  86. 
Massachusei  ts,  42. 
Minnesota,  42.  152. 
New  Jersey,  42. 
Vermont,  81;   plans  quarterly  bulletin, 

97. 
Washington,    maintains   permanent    ex- 
hibit, 07. 
Fish  and  Game  District  1.\.  33;  IB,  33; 
IC,  33;   II,  33;  1.1.  33;  IF.  33;  2.\. 
33:    1A.  ::::;  41J.  :::; :   IK,  81  82 ;  2. 
179;   I.  179;  20,  188. 
Fisher.  O.  O.,  26. 

Fisherman,  13,  16,  40,  41.  42,  43,  58,  59, 
70.  70.  95,  loo.  109,  1  10,  128,  147. 
15  1.  157.  159,  172,  lso.  196,  198,  200; 
do  fishermen  go  far  enough  to  sea?, 
198-199;  launch  "Albacore"  attempts 
to  aid,  04;  receive  20  cents  for  firs! 
(una,  156, 


Commercial,    1  is,  178. 
Dry-fly,  17". 
Fly,  116,  141. 
Fishery,    30,   34,    182;    Alaska    products, 
:;i  35;     commercial     notes,     93  94; 
conservation   of,   4'.t  50;    department 
of.    140.     155.     182,    195;     products 
laboratory   established,    L49 ;    reforms 
in   Nova    Scotia   service,    15'.i    10O. 
( Commercial,  80,  147. 
Halibut,  34,  50. 
Herring,  35. 
Laboratory,  California  State,  171,  174, 

195. 
Sardine.  51. 
Shrimp,  04,  50,  183. 
Fishing,   117.    lis,    171.  192,  204;  Owens 
Valley  residents  go,  207. 
Some  Dotes  on  dry-fly,  169—170. 
Fishway,  39,  40,  76,  93,  97,  177.  178,  184. 
Flatfish.  96;  life  history  of,  157. 
FN. under.  2,   10,  33,  44,  10O,  104.  100,  208. 
Big-mouthed,  157. 
I  diamond,  157. 
Long-finned,  157. 
Sharp-ridged,  157. 
Soft,  21. 
Fly    109,  110,  112.  113,  126,  127.  130,  133, 
137,    139,    1  lo.    Ill:   larva'  suck  blood 
of  nestling  birds.  SS. 
Dobson.  139. 
Dragon,  22. 
\)iy.    169. 
Fisherman,  141. 
Flying  fish,  81. 
Fontinalis,  130. 

F l.  86,  112,  135;  of  fish,  80;  of  grouse, 

98;  of  mallard  ducks.  87:  of  porpoise, 
157:  of  trout,  133;  wartime  savin-  in 
cost  of  fish  food.  79-SO;  of  birds,  1S1 ; 
of  ducks,  181. 
Friend.  Win.,  26. 
Frog,  209. 
Fry,  107. 
Trout,  30,  92,  93,  152. 
Rainbow,  152. 
Fuertes,  L.  A..  85. 

Fur.  35;    farming  in  Alaska,  S3 :   our  re- 
sources. 1  19. 
Fearer.  35,  81,  83,  84,  150,  181. 


Came.  27.  31,  62,  76,  77.  78,  81,  84,  97, 
112  111  119,  126,  130.  135.  140.  149, 
150,  170.  177.  178,  180,  181,  192,  194; 
parcel  pi  si  shipments  of,  30 ;  birds  ol 
California.  84-86;  conditions  in 
southern  California  thirty-five  years 
ago,  172-173. 

Census.  81,  193,  194. 

Farm.   34,   36,  42,  87,   177,   184;   new 
project,  3  L 

Law,  see  Law. 

1  'n  sen  e.  s< '   Preserve. 

Refuse.  .«<  <    Refuge. 
Gannet,  204. 

< l<ist<  ruslciis,   L'l . 

(irllliill  us,    23. 

Gear,  6,  95. 
Genyonemus,  13. 

liiiiuliis,  1  I,  15,  20. 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND    GAME. 


217 


George,  Thomas,  124. 

Qermo  macropteris,  201. 

Gilbert,  Dr.  O.  H.,  96,  137,  182,  185. 

(jirella  nigricans,  GO,  07. 

Goal   fish,  taken  in  California,  150. 

Godwit,  Marbled,  191. 

Goldfinch,  Green-backed,  SS. 

Willow,  88. 
<;,,.-.  ::i,  37,  So,  173,  179,  ISO. 
Goshawk,  87. 
Grasshopper,  74. 
Graves,  H.  S.,  83. 
Grayback,  129. 
Greenback,  129. 
Greenfish,  00,  07,  OS,  208. 
Grinnell,  Joseph,  84. 
Grizzly,  172. 
< ;  ros-bec,  90. 

(J  rouse,  20,  29,  S5 ;  in  Sequoia  National 
Forest,  98. 

Red,  SO. 

Sierra,  98. 
Gruniou,  attempt  to  rear,  150 ;  the  spawn- 
ing of,  201. 
Guernsey,  Chas.,  78. 
Guest,  E.  A.,  out  fishin',  144. 
Gull,  87. 

California,  74. 

Herring,  204  ;  is  it  insectivorous?,  71-74. 

Stea,  72. 
Gun  Club,  85,  170,  178. 

H 

H;vmulidse,  59,  05,  GO. 
Hake,  44,  100,  104,  100,  208. 
Half-moon,  GO,  08. 

Halibut,  33.  43,  44,  50,  50,  100,  145,  14  t, 
154,  158,  1G4,  160,  208;  eats  large 
rock,  157-158. 

California,  157. 
Hardhead,  100,  112,  1G4,  166,  20S. 
Harvey,  A.  C,  124. 

Hatchery,  23,  30.  37,  41,  79,  91,  109,  113, 
146,  176,  178,  ISO,  196;  department 
notes,  92,  151 ;  department  moves, 
194  ;  New  York  opens  new,  204. 

Almanor,  39,  92,  152. 

Bear  Lake,  39.  92.  152,  153. 

Brookdale,  39.  75,  92,  151,  152. 

Clear  Creek,  39,  140,  152. 

Cottonwood  Lakes.  37,  152. 

Domingo  Springs.  38,  92,  14G,  151,  152. 

Fall  Creek.  93.  151.  152. 

Feather  River,  3S,  39. 

Fort  Seward.  38.  92.  140.  151.  152. 

Kaweah,  lie.  151,  152,  153,  195. 

Klamath,  39,  152. 

Marlette-Carson,  131,  134,  151. 

Mount  Shasta,  37,  38,  92,  93,  151,  152, 
181,  185. 

Mount  Tallac,  38.  92. 

Mount  Whitney,  37,  38,  75,  92,  151,  152, 
181,  193. 

Fine  Creek,  74. 

Price  Creek,  75. 

San  Mateo,  151. 

Scott  Creek,  92,  151. 

Snow  Mountain,  92,  151,  152. 

Tahoe,  38. 

Ukiah,  38.  92,  151. 

Wawona,  39.  151,  152. 

Yosemite,  93,  151,  152,  153,  195. 


Heath,  Harold,  182. 
lledderly,  E.  L.,  188. 
Helgramite,  139. 
Henshaw.  II.  W..  122. 
Herms,  Prof.,  143. 

Herring,  3.  10,  11,  13,  15,  41,  44,  53,  57, 
5S';  73,   91,   100,  145,  147,  102,   104, 
166,  1S2,  201,  20S;  and  herring-like 
fishes  of  California,  182. 
Greenback,  204. 
Lake,  105,  204. 
Heron,  Night,  game  in  Louisiana,  90. 
Black-crowned  Night,  90. 
Yellow-crowned  Night,  90. 
Herzinger,  E.  L.,  pheasants  damage  crops 

in  Inyo  County,  99. 
Higgins,  Bert,  20. 

Higgins,  Elmer,  95,  90,  150,  182 ;  goat  fish 
taken  in  California,  150  ;  spiny  lobster 
larvae,  156;  attempt  to  rear  grunion, 
156 ;  life  history  of  flatfish,  157 ;  por- 
poise captured,  157 ;  two  rare  fishes, 
203. 
Hippoglossus,  157. 
hippoglossus,  43. 
Hippoglossina  stomata,  157. 
Hippoglossoides  platessoides,  21. 
Hjoi-t,  John.  201. 
Holder,  C.  F.,  137,  203. 
Hook,  105,  139,  198. 
Hubbs,  C.  L.,  182 ;  the  stickleback  :  a  fish 

fitted  as  mosquito  destroyer,  21-24. 
Hudson,  C.  B.,  113,  120. 
Hunter,  J.  S.,  193. 

Hunter,  29,  32,  34,  30,  42,  77,  78,  82,  S4, 
90,  97,  98,  172,  178,  181,  190,  194. 
Market,  30,  78,  79,  91,  180. 
Hunting,  31,  33,  30,  42,  81,  86,  172,  1S4, 
204. 
Accident,  30. 
License,  81. 
License  law,  70. 
Market,  36. 
Hybrid,  132. 

Hypomcsiis  pretiosus,  203. 
Hysopsetta  guttulata,  157. 


I 

Ibis,  85. 

Ichthyologist,  112. 

Illinois  sportsmen  dissatisfied,  97. 

Importation,  of  quail  from  Mexico,  88  89. 

Inconuu.  105. 

Information,  is  needed,  81. 

Interbreed,  57,  121. 


Jackrabbit,  143. 

Blacktailed,  142. 
Jacobson,  W.  O.,  blackbirds  and  rice,  99. 
Jellyfish,  95. 
Jewfish.  GO,  62. 
Johnny  Verde.  GO,  63,  G4. 
Johnson,  Hiram  W..  1  J8,  1S3. 
Jordan,  D.  S.,  124,  137,  139,  203. 
Jotter,  E.  V.,  the  coyote  as  a  deer  killer, 

26-29. 
Junk,  Chinese,  3,  4,  5,  10. 


218 


CALIFORNIA   FISH    AND   GAME. 


K 

Kelly,  II.  L..  32. 

Kelp.    30,    40,    183;    harvesting    may    be 

resumed,  197. 
Key  to  California  species  of  trout,  111. 
Killifish,  21. 
Kingfish,  13,  11.  15,  20,  33,  44,  100,  154, 

104,  L63,  166,  208. 
King-of-salmon,  95,  158. 
Koppel,  I.  L.,  our  fur  resources,  149. 
Kyphosidse,  59,  <'>7. 
Kyika.  Theodore,  99. 


Lady  fish,  young  discovered,  158. 

Lagenorhynchus  obliquidens,  157. 

Larus  argentatus,  72. 

Laner,  87. 

Laneret,  87. 

Law.    7(J,   180,   187,   1SS,   192,   201,   204; 

proposed     change     of    shrimp     would 

menace  fish  life,  04. 
Fish  and  game,  30.  78,  170.  178. 
Game,  30,  31,  79,  81,  82,  88,  89,  192; 

to  be  enforced  in  national  forests,  79 ; 

will  be  modified  to  agree  with  federal. 

31. 
Spiked  buck,  30. 
Migratory     bird,    89,    191;    conviction 

made   under,    7S ;    additional   needed, 

192. 
Laws,   G.   O.,   deer  increasing   in  Trinity 

Game  Refuge,  98. 
Legislation,  2,  SS,  85 ;  pending,  76. 
Leopard,  S2. 
I.<  pomia  cyanellus,  22. 
/.•  iresthes  tenuis,  156,  201,  203. 
Life  history,  of  flatfish,  157. 
Life  history  notes,  42-43,  98-99,  160-161, 

204-205. 
Lincoln,  It.  P.,  summer  on  the  California 

trout  streams,  136-141. 
Line,  6. 
Linnet.  88,  99. 
Lion.  Mountain,  26,  29,  34,  78,  79,  82,  91, 

149,  160,  172,  195,  200;  many  killed, 

148. 
Sea,  98. 
Lobster,   Spiny,  45,  101.   104,   167,  209; 

early  stages  of,  24-25  ;  larvae.  156. 
Louvar,  the  occurrence  of,  202-203. 
Ludlum,  R.,  78. 
Lure,  140. 

Isiitra  canadensis  pacifica,  98. 
Luvarius  imperialis,  203. 
Lynx  eremicu8  ealifornicus,  160. 

M 
M.,  R.  L..  California,  192;  some  notes  on 

dry-fly  fishing,  109-170. 
Mackerel,  33,  44.  100,  145,  140.  147.  162, 
163.  104.  100.  l-HO.  20S;  and  mackerel- 
like fish,  59, 182. 
Frigate,  203;  recurrence  of,  200. 
Maintain  a  supply,  146. 
Maley,  J.  T..  78. 
Mallard,  the  food  of.  87. 
Mallotus  rillosus,  203. 
Malma,  129. 
Mammal,  181,  182. 
Game,  182. 


Manicure  the  bird-catching  cat,  82-83. 

Marlin-spike  Fish,  208;  used  as  food,  43. 

Maule,  \V.  M.,  deer  hunting  poor  in  Mono 
<  'ounty.  98. 

McAllister,  M.  II..  elk  in  Shasta  County, 
98  :  game  conditions  in  southern  Cali- 
fornia thirty-five  years  ago,  172-17:;. 

McAtee,  W.  L.,  87. 

McCarthy,  Eugene,   135. 

McLean,  D.  1>.,  wildcat  eats  birds,  160. 

McCloud,  G 'ge  Jr..  38. 

Meadowlark,  182. 

Medialuna  californiensis,  60,  68. 

Mi  iiii'ii  rims  undulatus,  11.  17,  IS. 

Meyers,  J.  P.,  78. 

Migration,  41,  55,  58,  85,  95,  98,  117.  L28, 
L57,  159,  192;  how  do  birds  find  their 
way?,  83-84. 

Migratory  bird  treaty  act,  30.  31,  32,  36; 
conviction  made  under,  78;  constitu- 
tional. 190   191. 

Mills.  G.  T.,  124. 

Milt,  33. 

Mink.  83. 

Minnow,  129. 

Mite,  i  c:. 

Mole,  149;  eats  angleworms,  99. 

Mollusk,    15,   87,  96,  101,  132,  133,  146, 

164,  107.  182,  209. 
Moran,  Nathan,  nesting  of  the  band-tailed 

pigeon,  160. 
Mosquito,   the  stickleback  a   destroyer  of, 

21-24. 
Mountain  Lion,  sec  Lion. 
Mountain  Sheep.  31,  172. 
Mouse,  82. 

Mullet,  44.  100.  104,  100,  208. 
Muskrat,  150. 

Mussel,  45,  101,  101,  167,  209. 
Xamayensh.  133. 

National    Association    of   Audubon    Socie- 
ties, 71. 
National  forest.  83,  184;  game  laws  to  be 
enforced  in.  79;  deer  in.  206. 

Angeles,  34. 

California.  207. 

El  Dorado.  33.  207. 

Klamath.  .'53,  207. 

Santa  Barbara,  207. 

Sequoia.  8]  ;  -rouse  in,  98. 

Shasta,  207. 

Sierra,  81,  207. 

Stanislaus,  207. 

Tahoe.  33. 

Trinity,  207. 

N 

Naturalist,  189. 

Nature  -uide,  189. 

Nature  Study  League,  76,  1  !•". 

Field  excursion,  1 88. 
Neale,  George,  78,  190. 
Nelson.  E.  W.,  S3. 
Vemastistius  pectoralis,  159. 

\rniiKi  nix,   158. 

Nest,  85,  160,  204. 

Net.  2,  5,  6,  7.  10,  41,  71,  159,  196,  201; 
new  fish,  41. 
Dip,  90. 
(Jill,  196,  199. 
Lompara,  41. 


CALIFORNIA   PISH   AND    GAME. 


219 


Purse-lompara,  41. 
Round  Haul,  203. 
Sardine,  158. 
Shrimp,  1,  2,  3,  7,  94. 
Tow,  156. 
Trawl,  94. 
Newbert,  F.  M.,  ITS,  ISO. 
Newsome,  J.  E.,  79. 
Nidever,  II.  B.,  3.  4,  94,  188. 
Nielsen,  E.  M.,  158,  203;  fresh  fish  used 

at  reduction  plants,  154. 
Note,    on    artificial    propagation    of   spiny 
lobster,    70-71 ;    on    dry-fly    fishing, 
1(19-170;  on  habits  and  use  of  small 
crab,  171-172. 
Commercial  fishery,  39-41,  93-94,  154- 

156;  196-200. 
Hatchery,  37-39,  92^93,  151-153. 
Life  history,  42^13,   98,  160-161,  204- 

205. 
State  fisheries  laboratory,  94-96,  156- 
159,  200-204. 
Notemigomus  crysoleucas,  22. 


Opal  Eye,  60,  G7. 

Opossum,  140. 

Osmerus  thaleichthys,  9. 

Otolith.  55.  56. 

Otodectes  cygnatis,  143 

Otter,  Pacific  River,  9S. 

Out  fishin',  144. 

Ovster,  45,  101,  164,  167,  19S,  209. 


PACIFIC  FISHERMAN,  96. 

Packer.  40,  154,  155. 

Paladini,  A..  1,  150. 

Palmer,  T.  S.,  84. 

Pampano.  44,  100,  159,  164,  106,  202,  20S. 

Pampanito,  159. 

Panulirus  interruptus,  24,  70. 

Paralabrax  clathratus,  GO,  63. 

maculatofasciatus,  60,  64,  65. 

nebulifer,  60,  63,  64. 
Paralichthys  calif ornicus,  157. 
Parasite,  which  affect  food  value  of  rab- 
bits. 142-143. 
Parcel  pest,  shipments  of  game,  30. 
Parophrys  vetulus,  157. 
Parr-mark.  109,  113,  122,  123,  125. 
Partridge,  SO. 
Patterson,  A.  D.,  189. 
Pearson.  A.  G.,  197. 
Pelt.  35. 
Perch,  44,  68,  100,  164,  166,  183,  208. 

Sacramento,  2. 

Yellow,  59. 
Permit,  federal,  32. 
Fez  de  Gallo,  159. 

Pheasant,    179 ;    damage    crops    in    Inyo 
Countv,  99. 
English,  86,  87. 

Ring-necked,  91. 
Phyllosome.  24,  25,  70,  71,  156. 
Pig,  26,  28. 
Pigeon,  S5. 

Rand-tailed,  nesting  of,  60. 

Carrier,  83. 

Homing,  S3. 

Passenger,  reported  in  eastern  states,  86. 
Pike,  44,  100,  164,  166,  208. 


Pintail,  banded  taken  in  Alameda  County, 
43. 

Plaice,  51. 

Plath,  O.  E.,  88. 

Plenary  powers,  76 ;  Fish  and  Game  Com- 
mission needs,  30. 

I'h  uronectidw,  157. 

Pleuronechthy8  vertically,  157. 

Plover,  85. 

Plumage,  90. 

Toison,  43,  95,  191,  195. 

Pollution,  177,  1S3. 

Pom  fret,  203. 

Pope,    Saxton,    bear    hunting    with    bows 
ami  arrows,  69-70. 

Porcupine,  is  it  worth  saving?,  S2. 

Porpoise,  captured,  157. 

Pratt,  G.  D.,  81. 

Predatory  animal,  26,  27,  29,  SI,  S3,  182. 
See,  also.  Bird  and  Mammal. 

Preserve,  82. 
Game,  176,  178. 

Propagation,  85,  204. 

Protection.  87,  97. 

Punnet?,  J.  M.,  98. 

Purse-^einc  boat,  155. 


Quail.  26.  27.  29,  36,  69,  85,  88,  172.  179  ; 
importation  from  Mexico,  88-89. 
Valley,  with  egg  in  December,  98. 
Queenfish,  13,  14,  15. 

R 

Rabbit,  42.  69,  76,  142;  parasites  which 
affect  the  food  value  of,  142-143. 

Brush,  142,  143,  179. 

Cottontail.  142.  179. 

Jack,  black-tailed,  142. 
Rail,  85. 

Rainbow,  see  Trout. 
Ranger,    co-operate    with    game    wardens, 

200. 
Ray,  182. 
Recreation,   192. 
Redfish.  127,  128. 
Red  Snapper,  158. 

Refuge,  game,  30.  36,  42,  76.  S3,  177,  182, 
184,  194,  195  ;  notes  on  the  new,  33 ; 
in  Minnesota,  204 ;  Quebec  estab- 
lishes, 204. 

Id,  98. 

If.  150. 

Ik,  81. 

Pinnacles  Monument,  182. 

Trinity   National   Forest,   26,   28,   182; 
deer  increasing  in,  98. 
Report,   California   fishery   products,   44- 
45,   100-101,  162-167.  208-209. 

Expenditures,  47-48.  102.  211-212. 

Number  of  deer  killed.  104. 

Violations,  46.  103,  210. 

Seizures.  4H.  103.  207. 
Reptile,  101,  164,  1G7. 
Reservation.  150. 
Rice.    76;    federal    permit    protects    from 

ducks.  36;  and  blackbirds,  99. 
Rich.  Willis.  182.  185. 
Rig-don.  E.  S„  31. 
Roadrunner,  181. 
Robin,  99. 

Western,  1G0. 
Roccus  lincatvs,  6L 


220 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME. 


Rock  Bass,  s<  e  Bass. 

Rock  <  'oil.  s<  i  <  'oil. 

Rockfish,   I  I.  LOO,   I  r>.  L64,   L66,  208. 

i:<  .1.  fly,  7.",.  136. 

Baii,  L1C. 
Rodent,    i  I. 
Roe,   L59. 
Roncador,  13. 
Roncador  stearnsi,  14.   18. 
Roosevelt,  President,   123. 
Rooster  Fish,  159. 
Rutter,  Cloudsley,  153. 


Sablefish.  :;:;.  L62,   Hi::. 
Salachini,  it;:;,  L98. 
Salmo,  106. 

agua-bonita,    10S,    111,    11!).    L23,    121. 

aguilarum,  11,  US. 

clarkii,  ins,  ill,  no. 

(  vermanni,   LOO,  111,  117.  US. 

/</,/«.    111'.:,    in.    oil,   132. 

gairdneri,   111.  Ill',  opp.  111'. 

,/ilbiiii,   ins,    111.   1  IS    Hi). 

henshawi,  ins.  m,  129. 

irideus,   107,    111,    opp.    112,    opp.    114, 
Us.  L36. 

in  Uoni,  109. 

leveru  nsis,  132. 

mykiss,    127. 

j)nri>itratn.i  henshawi,  127. 

/vW/.v.  ins.   in,  12S. 

liriilaiix,    112. 

roosmlti,  opp.  105,  10S,  111,  119,  124- 
127.  L39. 

sftasto,   ins,  m.  115-116. 

.s7o;/r/.   108,   111,  11C. 

tahoensis,  111,  127-12S. 

//•»//.(  levenensis,  L09,  111.  132-133. 

//•/, /"/./.  ins,  HI.  110,  121-122.  . 
Salmon.  L0,  11.  33,  34,  40,  44.  51,  91, 
inc.  L05,  Km;,  112,  L13,  114.  11.",,  i:;i. 
145,  1  if-,  l  17.  1  is.  i .-,:;.  102,  n;:;,  n;i, 
inn,  177.  17!>.  182,  198,  208;  long- 
run  of.  mi;  need  more  protection, 
L96-197,  at  Monterey,  L98;  Sacra- 
mento  run  of,  199;  catch  large  al 
Fort  lira--,  199. 

Kin-    L98. 

Quinnat,  37,  38,  39,  93,  L50. 

Silver.  198. 

Sockeye,  55,  58,  90. 

Trou,-.    112. 
Salmonidse,   105,  100. 

Sain  linns,   107. 

fontinalis,   109,  111.  120,  130-131,  opp. 

L30. 
parkei,    L29-130. 

Saml  Bass,  ■•><  e  I'.ass. 

Sand  dab,  H.  95,  LOO,  145,  146,  L57,  164, 
166,  208. 

Sanders,  J.  H..  deer  captured  in  Lake 
Tahi  e,  205. 

Sandpiper,  85. 

Sardine,  39,  40,  41.  45,  80,  93,  94,  96, 
KM.  14.",,  147.  L54,  155,  L58,  159,  162, 
in::.  L64,  107.  182,  198,  203,  208; 
note  on  the,  21 ;  locating  by  aero- 
plane. 41:  breeding  season  of,  159; 
run  at  -Monterey,  107. 

Sargo,  00,  Go,  GO. 

Scale,  55. 

Scapanus  latimanua  hifimnnus,  00. 


Schaeflle,  Ernest,  17s.  ISO. 
Schmitt,  W.  I,..   ls_  :  earlj    stages  of  the 
spiny  Lobster,  24-25. 

8(  i'H  mi   sim  i  mi,    1  1.    l!l. 

Scientific  i  ollector,  permit,  32. 

Scofield,  N.  B.,  7.  8,  11.  1  in.  154,  182, 
L83,  L85 ;  shrimp  fisheries  of  Cali- 
fornia. 1-12;  the  1918  catch  of  fish, 
145-146. 

Srumb    ,\     2D!'. 

Screen,  76,  97,  17S.   L84. 
Scripps     institution     fir    r.iolo-ieal     He- 
sear*  li.  2  1.  7:;.   183. 
Sculpin,   12.   15.   mi.   L64,   L67,  2  >8. 

Se  I    Hass,    x,  r    I'.ass. 

Sea  I. ion.  '.is. 

Seal.  Km-.  35. 

Season,    L50,   L59,   17."!.  190;   now  begins, 

Closed,  ::.  30,  82,  89. 

Open.  ill.  99. 
Seaweed,   as   food.   IDs. 

Seine,  2,  23,  loo.  156,  196. 

Purse,  201. 
Sellmer,  \V.  1!.,  79,  18S. 

Srriolil,     F"'.'. 
Si  i  i />li  iik.    ]'.',. 

poUtus,  1 1.  I.".. 

Serranidse,  59,  61,  64. 

Sha.l.  :;.  10,  1  1.  33,  L5,  mi.  i  ».,.  146,  179, 
is:;.  208. 

Shark,  .•;:;.  L54;  of  California,  182. 

Shebley,  F.  A..  75.  is:;. 

Shebley,  W.  IF.  75.  92,  133,  135,  151, 
180,  is::.  185,  mi. 

Sheep,  26;  see  Mountain  Sheep. 

Sheepshead,  101.  L64,  209. 

Shock,  W.  'v..  27.  28. 

Shockley,  \V.  W.,  121. 

Sho,  i  in,-,  spring,  89,  '.»7,  100. 

Shotgun,  77. 

Shrimp.  45,  L01,  1  17.  164,  107.  183,  209; 
fisheries  of  California.  1-12;  pro- 
posed   change    of    law    menaces    fish 

life.    !ll. 

Shands,  Henry.  201. 

Siliqua,   175. 
Skate,   33.    15.    mi.    164,    L67,   209;   and 

rays  of  California.  182. 
Skipjack,  15.  mi,  145,  L46,  102,  103,  104, 

L67,  200,  2i)3.  2ni.  209. 
Slue.  99. 

Smell.  :;.  9,  in.  11,  12,  44.  LOO  in  I.  L66. 
203,  2n;-. 

Lit  lie.   L56. 
Smokehouse,  14S. 
Snail.  99,   2(1!:. 

Sea.    L01,    L64,    100. 
Snipe,  85. 

Snyder,   J.    <  >..    110.   116,    117.    128,   129, 
1.-.5,   L50,   L82,   L85,   L97;  breeding  of 
fulvous     tree-duck     in     Santa     Clara 
County,  43. 
Sole,  2.  10,  33.   II.   100,  1  15.  140,  200. 

Femi  n.    15". 

San.  I  >iego,   157. 

Tongue,  157. 

Soleidse,  157. 
Sparrow,  English,  !!!). 

Xuitall.  88. 
Spawn.    12.    inn.   115.   1-7.  131,  134,  130, 

177.  L96,  L97,  mi). 
Spear,  70. 
Spinner,  139. 
Spiny  Lobster,  sec  Lobster. 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    GAME. 


221 


Splittail,  164,  107,  209. 

Spoon,  ±12.  129. 

Sporozoa,  143. 

Six  it.  69,  75.  77.  146. 

Sportsman,  78.  84,  85,  89.  95.  97,  150, 
ISO,  191,  192;  dissatisfied,  97;  Wash- 
ington forms  state  association,  204. 

Spot,  18. 

Squaretail,  94. 

Squid,  45.  101,  164,  167,  209;  at  Monte- 
ivy,   198. 

Squirrel,  69;  ground  of  California,  S7. 
Tree.   149. 

Starks.  B.  C.  158,  182.  203;  fishes  of  the 
croaker  family,  13-20;  note  on  the 
sand  dab,  21 J  rare  fish  from  Monte- 
rey Bay,  43;  marlin-spike  fish  used 
as  food,  43 ;  basses  and  bass-like 
fishes,  59-6S. 

State  Fair,  exhibit,  193. 

Steelhead,  see  Trout. 

Stereolepis  gigas,  60. 

Stevens.  A.  C,  124. 

Stevens.  S.  V.,  124. 

Stickleback,  as  a  mosquito  destroyer, 
21-24. 

Stingaree,  164,  107,  209. 

Stinnett.  L.  J..  37,  151. 

Stomach  examination.  80. 

Stone,  Livingstone,  135. 

Sturgeon.  2.  45.  101,  164,  183;  to  be  pro- 
tected in  other  states,  160. 

Stylopthalmua  paradoxus,  95. 

Sucker,  45,  100,  104,  166,  209. 

Sunfish,  22,  60.  149. 
Blue-gill.  179,  193. 
Green.   22. 

Surf -fish.  45.  101,  164.  106.  209;  day  and 
night  of  California,  203. 

Suri-smelt,  2n.-!. 

Surmullet,  150. 

Swan,  85. 

Whistling,  91.  191. 

Swordfish;  43,  45,  101,  164.  209. 

Symphurus  atricaudus,  157. 


Tackle,  137. 

Tahoe  Public  Camp,  189-190. 

Tapeworm,  143. 

Taylor,  W.  P..  a  suggestion  for  California 
conservationists,  84. 

Terrapin.  101,  164,  167.  209. 

Tetragonurus  cuvieri,  94. 

Tetrapterus  nutsukurii,  43. 

Thaleichthys  pacificus,  203. 

Thompson,  Will  F..  95,  96,  156,  158,  159, 
182 :  conservation  of  our  fisheries, 
49-59  ;  halibut  eats  large  rock,  157- 
158;  young  of  the  ladyfish  discovered. 
158;  clam  investigation,  15S ;  shad 
caught  at  Seal  Beach,  158:  Alaska 
black  cod  taken  near  San  Pedro,  158; 
cannery  receives  Mexican  fish,  158— 
159;  the  breeding  season  of  the  sar- 
dine. 159 ;  recurrence  of  the  frigate 
mackerel,  200;  spawning  of  the 
grunion,  201 ;  contributions  to  Cana- 
dian biology,  201 ;  blue-finned  and 
yellow-finned  tuna.  201-202:  the 
occurrence  of  the  louvar,  202-203; 
absence  of  the  dolphin  fish.  203 ;  day 
and  night  surf-fishes  of  California. 
203 :  occurrence  of  the  albacore  north 
of  San  Francisco,  203-204. 


Thunnus  macropterus,  155. 

fhynnus,  156. 
Tibbits,  A.  C,  203. 
Tick,  wood,  142. 
Tigei',  82. 
Titlow,  J.  O.,  83;  how  do  birds  find  their 

way.  83-84. 
Tivela,  175. 

'I'<i  n'u;  sci  ia  lis,  143. 

Tnmcod.  2,  10,  13.  20,  45,  101,  164,  107, 

209. 
Tommy,  127,  12S. 
Topminnow,  21,  24. 
Towhee,  brown,  88. 
Trachinotus  cuveri,  94. 
Trachypterus,  95. 
Trap,  184. 

Trapper,  79;   California  and  their  catch, 
35. 
Fur.  150. 
Trapping,  27,  42._  8S,  207. 
License  law,  35. 
License,  84. 
Trawl,  beam.  11. 
Net,  94.  150. 
Otter,  25. 
Trawler,   190 ;   Japanese,  in  nets  of  law, 

94. 
Trawling,  90,  198. 
Treaty,  more  bird,  needed,  SO ;  additional 

needed,  192. 
Tree-duck,  bred   in   Santa  Clara   County, 
42-43;     breeding     in     Santa     Clara 
County.  43. 
Fulvous,  42. 
Troll,  114. 
Trolling,  SO. 

Spoon.  112.  129. 
Trout.  110.  133.  104.  107.  177,  179,  ISO, 
193,  198,  204,  207;  California,  105- 
135  ;  summer  on  the  California  trout 
streams.  136-141. 
Black,  127. 
Black-spotted,  37,  38,  39,  92,  127,  147, 

153    179 
Brook,  112,  130,  134.  137. 
Brown.  SS,  109,  111,  131,  132,  147,  152, 
Bull.  129. 
California.  112. 
Clark,  127. 
Columbia  River.  127. 
Cutthroat.  10S.  111.  113,  115,  127. 
Dolly  Varden.  107.  108.  Ill,  115,  130. 
Easle  Lake.  111.  110.  118,  129 
Eastern  brook.   37.   92.    107.   10S.    109, 
111.  129,  130,  opp.  130,  133,  147,  152, 
179. 
Evermann,  117. 
Gilbert,  119. 

Golden,  37.  38.  105.  108.  111.  119,  121. 
123,    124,    120,    135.    137,    152.    179, 
193,  195:  prints  of.  available.  194. 
Agua  bonita,  111.  119,  123,  13S. 
Coyote  Creek,  121. 
Of  Little  Kern.  10S.  121. 
Golden  Trout  Creek.  124. 
Mount  Whitney,  123. 
Soda  Creek,  108,  119,  121. 
South  Fork  of  Kern,  108,  119,  123, 

124. 
Volcano  Creek,  119,  121,  122.  124. 
Roosevelt.  108.  Ill,  119,  124,  125. 
White,  119.  121. 
Great  Lakes,  133,  134. 
Kern  River,  118,  121. 


222 


CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND   GAME. 


Hake,  108. 

Loch  Leven,  37,  92,  107,  101),  HI,  132, 

133,   1  IT.  I.".!'.  17'.). 
Mackinaw,  los.  109,  ill,  133,  134. 
Mountain,  112,  140. 
Nelson,  109. 
N  issue,  lit',. 
Nissui,  110. 
Noshee,  108,  111,  116. 
Rainbow,  31,  37,  38,  39,  92,  107,  111, 
112,   113,   114,  opp.  114,  115,  116, 
118,  129,   127.    i::o,  137,  138,  139, 
140,   141,   117,   152,   179;   acclima- 
tized in  Argentina,  140. 

Gilbert,  10S,  US. 

Kern  River,  111,  118. 

.M (Cloud  River,  111,  115. 

Shasta,  10S. 
Red-throated.  127. 
Salmon,  112,  129. 
San  Bernardino,  117. 
San  Gorgonio,  109,  111,  117,  US. 
Scotch,  132. 

Sea,  13,  1(5,  45,  101,  164,  167,  20S. 
Shasta,  108. 
Silver,  127,  128. 
Royal,   108,  111.   128,  129. 
Steelhead,  31,  36,  38,  39,  45,  92,  101, 

100.  111,112,  opp.  112,  113,  114,  115, 

147,  151,  153,  164,  107,  198,  209. 
Stone,  10S,  116. 

Talior.   los,   in,  U7.  127,  128,  129. 
Von  Behr,  131. 
Trout,  fry,  30,  38,  39,  93. 

Black-spotted.  02. 
Tuna,  43,  45,  80,  94,  101,  145,  147,  155, 

162,  163,  101.  107,  10S,  200,  203,  209; 

fishermen   receive  20  cents   for  first, 

156. 
Bluefin,   145,   200,   209;   and  yellowfin, 

201. 
Leaping,  202. 
Long-finned,  19S. 

Yellowfin,  145,  155,  163,  200.  209. 
Turbot,  45.   KM.  157,  104.  167,  209. 
Turtle.  04.  102,  104.   107,  209. 
Green,  70. 

U 

/  mbrina  roncador,  14.  17. 

United  States  Biological   Survey,  32,  43, 

S3,  SI,  97,  182,   101.  -JUT. 
United  States  Bureau'  of  Fisheries,  2,  24, 

32,  83,  00.  02.  132.  140,  140.  196. 
United  States  I  )epart  men t  of  Agriculture, 

87,  88,  150,  183,  101. 
Bureau  of  Animal  Industry.  88. 
United    States    V 1    Administration,    40, 

1S7. 
United  Stiles  Foresl  Service,  105,  206. 

Co-operation,  2<i0.  207. 
United    States    National    Museum.  S2. 
United  States  Supreme  Court,  30,  89,  97. 
I  i><  neus  dentatu8,  156. 


Van  Dyke,  1  [enry,  145. 

Venison,  31. 

Vermin,  porcupine  classed  as,  82. 

Violation,  of  fish  and  game  laws.  46,  103, 
209. 

Violator,  makes  queer  defense,  31;  Nova 
Scotia  uses  new  methods  to  canture, 
35;   Pennsylvania  punishes,  20."">. 

Vogelsang,  C.  A.,  78. 

W 

Wallace,  J.  II.,  192. 

Walsh.  .1.  F.,  205. 

Walton.  Isaak,  112,  136,  141. 

Warden,  36,   89,    177.   185,  194,  105;   do 

detective     work     in      New      York.     07; 
needs  deputy  chief  game  warden,  101  - 
192. 
Game,  42,  1S7;  rangers  co-operate  with. 
200. 

Waterfowl,  20.  78,  SO.  81.  SO,  01.  07  :  die 
from  eating  shot,  191. 

Weakfish,  16. 

Westei-feld,  Carl.  ISO.  Is.",.  1 S5  ;  reply  to 
Eden    resolution,   17S,   185. 

Wet  more.   Alex.  32. 

Weymouth,  F.  W.,  158,  182;  notes  on  the 
habits  and  uses  of  the  small  sand 
crab,  171  172;  destruction  of  pismo 
clams  by  oil.  174-175. 

Whale,  41;  industry  of  Pacific  coast,  80; 

sperm  taken  off  Monterey, . 

Right,  SO. 

Whaling,  station  on  Monterey  Bay,  41. 

Whistling  swan.  91. 

White,  S.  E.,  123,  126. 

Whitebait.  45.  101.  104.  167,  200. 

White  Fish.    I.Y  105,   134. 

Whiting,  California.  14,  17. 

Wildcat.  140.  150;  eats  birds,  100. 

Wildfowl,  so.  181. 
Miuratorv.  SO. 

Wild  life.  30,  34,  76,  77,  78,  SI,  83,  84, 
ISO,  1,S-_>,  102;  in  relation  to  agricul- 
ture, 99;  ownership  of,  140. 

Williams.  Frank.  78,  70. 

Windle,  Ernest,  188. 

Wolverine,  35. 

Wood  tick,  142. 


Xenistius  californiensis,  00,  66. 
Xesurus  punctatus,  159. 
Xysrerurys  Huh  pis,  157. 


Yellowtail.  :;:'..  45,  101.  14.-.,  140,  102,  163, 

164,  107.  202.  209. 
Young.   Arthur,  09. 


48650    10-19    5200. 


CALIFORNIA 

FISH- GAME 


BOARD  OF  FISH  AND  GAME  COMMISSIONERS. 

Commissioners  appointed    by  the   Governor,   by   and   with   the   consent   of  the   Senate. 
Term   at  pleasure  of  Governor.     No  compensation. 

F.  M.  NEWBERT,  President Sacramento 

M.  J.  CONNELL,  Commissioner Los  Angeles 

B.  L.  BOSQUI.  Commissioner San  Francisco 

CARL  WESTERFELD,  Executive  Officer San  Francisco 

J.  S.  HUNTER,  Assistant  Executive  Officer San  Francisco 

R.  D.  DUKE,  Attorney San  Francisco 

A.  D.  FERGUSON.  Field  Agent  (on  Furlough) Fresno 

DEPARTMENT   OF    FISHCULTURE. 

W.  H.  SHEBLEY,  in  Charge  Fishculture San  Francisco 

E.  W.  HUNT,  Field  Superintendent San  Francisco 

G.  H.  LAMBSON,  Superintendent  Mount  Shasta  Hatchery Sisson 

W.  O.  FASSETT,  Superintendent  Fort  Seward  Hatchery  and  Snow  Mountain 

Station    Alderpoint 

G.  McCLOUD,  Jr.,  Foreman   in  Charge  Mount  Whitney  Hatchery  and  Rae 

Lak.'s   Station   Independence 

G.  E.  WEST,  Foreman  in  Charge  Tahoe  and  Tallac  Hatcheries Tallae 

E.     V.    CASSELL,    Foreman    in    Charge    Almanor    and    Domingo    Springs 

Hatcheries Keddie 

L.  PHILLIPS,  Foreman  in  Charge  Bear  Lake  Hatchery San  Bernardino 

R.  I.  BASSLER,  Foreman  in  Charge  Klamath  Stations Hornbrook 

JUSTIN  SHEBLEY,  Foreman  in  Charge  Ukiah  Hatchery Ukiah 

J.  B.  SOLLNER,  Assistant  in  Charge  Wawona  Hatchery Wawona 

A.  E.  DONEY,  Fish  Ladder  Surveyor San  Francisco 

A.  E.  CULVER,  Screen  Surveyor San  Francisco 

A.  M.  FAIRFIELD,  Inspector  Water  Pollution   (on  Furlough) San  Francisco 

DEPARTMENT  OF  COMMERCIAL  FISHERIES. 

N.  B.  SCOFIELD,  In  Charge San  Francisco 

H.  B.  NIDEVER,  Assistant Long  Beach 

W.  F.  THOMPSON,  Assistant Long  Beach 

EARLE  DOWNING,  Assistant San  Francisco 

C.  S.  BAUDER,  Assistant Los  Angeles 

P.  H.  OYER,  Assistant Pacific  Grove 

C.  H.  BLEMER,  Assistant Sacramento 

BUREAU   OF   EDUCATION,   PUBLICITY  AND   RESEARCH. 
DR.  H.  C.  BRYANT,  In  Charge -Berkeley 


PATROL   SERVICE. 


SAN    FRANCISCO   DIVISION. 

E.  L.  Bosqui,  Commissioner  in  Charge.     Carl  Westerfeld,  Executive  Officer. 

J.  S.  Hunter,  Assistant  Executive  Officer.     E.  C.  Boucher,  Special  Agent. 

Head  Office,  New  Call  Building,  San  Francisco. 

Phone  Sutter  6100. 


W.  H.  Armstrong Vallejo 

Earl   P.    Barnes Eureka 

Theo.    M.    Benson Fortuna 

O.   P.   Brownlow Porterville 

F.   A.   Bullard Dunlap 

J.   L.   Bundock Oakland 

J.  Burke Colma 

M.    S.   Clark San   Francisco 

S.   L.   N.   Ellis Fresno 

J.  H.  Hellard Laytonville 

J.   H.   Hill Watsonville 

D.  H.  Hoen San  Rafael 

R.    S.    Kimball Merced 


I.   L.  Koppel San  Jose 

Henry  Lencioni Santa  Rosa 

Albert  Mack San  Francisco 

B.    H.    Miller Ukiah 

E.  V.  Moody Santa  Cruz 

W.  J.  Moore Napa 

F.  B.   Nesbitt Salinas 

J.  E.  Newsome , Newman 

Chas.  R.  Perkins Fort  Bragg 

Frank   Shook Salinas   City 

E.  W.  Smalley Hanford 

H.  E.  Foster_JLaunch  "Quinnat,"  Vallejo 
Chas.  Bouton__Launch  "Quinnat,"  Vallejo 


SACRAMENTO   DIVISION. 

F.  M.  Newbert,  Commissioner  in  Charge. 

Geo.  Neale,  Assistant. 

Forum  Building,   Sacramento. 

Phone  Main  4300. 


T.  W.  Birmingham Sutter  Creek 

B.  W.  Bolt  (Enlisted  U.  S.  Navy)_Gridley 

S.  J.  Carpenter Maxwell 

Geo.  W.  Courtright Canby 

Euell  Gray Placerville 

W.  J.  Green Sacramento 

G.  O.  Laws Weaverville 

Roy  Ludlum Los  Molinos 


R.  C.  O'Connor Grass  Valley 

E.  D.  Ricketts Live  Oak 

D.   E.   Roberts Murphys 

J.  Sanders Truckee 

C.  A.  Scroggs Loomis 

R.  L.   Sinkey Woodland 

L.  J.  Warren Taylorsville 

J.  S.  White Castella 


LOS  ANGELES  DIVISION. 

M.  J.  Connell,  Commissioner  in  Charge. 

E.  A.  McKee,  Assistant.     Edwin  L.  Hedderly,  Assistant 

Union  League  Building,  Los  Angeles. 

Phones:   Broadway  1155;  Home,   F  5705. 


H.  J,  Abels Santa  Maria 

J.  J.  Barnett Ventura 

H.  D.  Becker San  Luis  Obispo 

J.  H.  Gyger Elsinore 

W.  Cr  Malone.— :._ San  Bernardino 


E.  H.  Ober Big  Pine 

H.  I.  Pritchard Los  Angeles 

A.  J.   Stout Los  Angeles 

Webb  Toms l.San  Diego 


ABSTRACT   CALIFORNIA   FISH   AND   CAME    LAWS 

WHITE  SQUARES  INDICATE  OPEN  SEASON.    NUMBERS  IN  SQUARES  ARE  OPEN  DATES 

r£cT»  1  «*  1  Is.  1  eu  Isml  ui  1  wn  I  mi  1  ut  1  un 

an  [  sot  1  atcl              UAOL.IMrrn.liTC. 

DEER 

ijj  tmahati&tuvmi  \ 

*■ 

B  No  Doe*,  Fawru  or  Spike  Bucka 

M    I  . 

s     1 

I   Hjflf    [-1 

No  tale  of  venison 

|s«   fl^W^l-lllnua^   ilaibsna 

RABBITS,  COTTONTAIL  AND  BRUSH 

ALL    1 

M 

15   per  day.      30  per  week 

TREE  SQUIRRELS 

ALL    ■ 

12    per    season 

OX,  ANTELOPE,  MOUNTAIN  SHEEP 

ALL 

ailuik.  or  llx  oa  eossLuioN  or  cue 

fctCAT  A   FftOh* 

SEA    OTTER.    BEAViR 

ALL 

$1,000  Tine  for  Sea  Otter 

BEAR,   BLACK  AMD  BROWN 

AU 

1  -  pHESHaWHHH| 

SEE  NOTE  II  ON  BACK  OF  THIS  ABSTRACT 

FUR  BEARING  MAMMALS 

ALL 

rll  »WSB.i6i  i 

su  wro  ii  i/  an  Asa  or  this  abtiuct 

Ducki,  Geese,  Jack  Saipe,  Mud  Hem 

ALL 

SmfMsSHI'l 

sa  »0Tts  <  u  is.  ii  on  esa  or  tub  umun 

Rail,  wood  duck,  wild  WCeom 

SSSOStt  BIRDS  '  t«^  tuk  5^,  i 

ALL 

QUAIL,  valley  and  desert 

ALL 

|     15  per  day.     30   per  week 

MOUNTAIN  QUAIL 

urn 

25^0 
2-J-4 

10  per   day      20   per  week 

wiinfii '  '  m-  l 

SAGE  HEN 

ALL 

4 

3~ 

4  per  day      8  per  week 

DOVE 

GROUSE 

ALL 

A9 

15  per  day 

I      1 

ALL 

| 

4  per  day.     8  per  week 

TROUT 

.    .      (Except  Golden) 

WHJTEFISH 

i 

I    SO  Fish  or  10  Pounds  and  ooe  Fish. 
n   or  oae  Fub  weigbing  10  Pounds  or 

2-J 

BaKeB 

3  during  Lbe  winter  season  S  fssb 

1M«JS 

a 

*  iSb:' 

per  day 

1   su  sxrrt  n  on  sua  or  ins  sbtraci 

Lakai 

J   sa  mm  a  on  iac«  or  this  «st»aci 

GOLDEN  TROUT 

ALL 

H  ■ 

■fi 

20  per  day.     None  under  S  incbes 

BLACK  BASS 

ALL 

25  per  day      None  under  7  incbes 

iu>s 

Hook  and  line  only 

SACRAMENTO  rtUCH    SUNFTSH  AND  CKAfnt 

ALL 

'  \     25  per  day      Hook  and  line  only 

STRIPED  BASS,  SBAD 

AU 

<u  mm  u  on  t*ci  ei  nets  abstuct 

SALMON 

_ALL 

'       1 

B~ 

SU  NOTE  a  ON  BACK  OF  THIS  ABSTRACT 

CATFISH 

ALL 

=  1 

9)  M-I 

Closed  kimi  esly   lot  (oesssercssl  fwsaa| 

CRABS 

ALL 

"Bil               Bat 

sa  mtc  »  on  no  or  mis  Assnun 

1                      (UJJ 

ABALOPES 

w„  j   gpjx^^  PINIt  gLACK 

ALL 

SU  NOTE  M  ON  BACK  OF  THIS  ABSTRACT 

ALL 

PISMO  CLAMS 

n 

T 

su  aon  a  on  iaci  of  rms  Aasnua 

FOR  LAWS  IN  FULL  SEE  PENAL  CODE     FOR  COMMERCIAL  FISHING  LAWS  SEE  MARKET  FISHING  ABSTRACT 

DISTRICTS  la,  lb.  It  Id.  le.  II.  If.  lb.  Ii.  1],  Ik,  II.  2*.  3*.  3b.  3c.  3d.  4a.  4b.  4c,  4d.  4e.  41.  an 

fane  refuges      Hunting  forbidden      Fisbing  in  accordance  wilb  law  rtlaLiug  la  sail  dittnd 

id  wbkb  refogr  U  located      ( Set  up  ) 

Huntm,  Unw:  RessdceiU  $1.00.  Nan-residents.  JIO.                     Tr.pvnt    Lsceosa.       Citiiena.  41.00;  Aliens.   12.00                       | 
Aliasta,  $2$      License  year  from  July  1  to  June  30                                   License  rev  from  Jwif  1  U  Jun*  90 

An  (ha  ■  Lscensas    Rossstsata.  SI  00.  Non-randcnls.  J  3               Haatmi  and  Angina  Ucexteee  can  as  iscvne  fraaa  Fisk 
At  ens.  13      License  roar  frees  Jan  1  lo  CW  31                        „d  Came  C«nua«v  CeAsaty  Clerka  ana)  1  iraasi 
Trapping  Lirssisss  fraen  Fiak  and  Game  Cosnmsssinet                      Areola 

CALIFORNIA 
FISH- GAME 


CONSERVATION  OF  WILD  LIFE  THROUGH     EDUCATION 


v> 


BOARD  OF  FISH  AND  GAME  COMMISSIONERS. 

Commissioners  appointed    by  the   Governor,   by   and   with   the   consent   of  the   Senate. 
Term  at  pleasure  of  Governor.     No.  compensation. 

F.  M.  NEWBERT,  President Sacramento 

M.  J.  CONNELL,  Commissioner Los  Angeles 

E.  L.  BOSQUI,  Commissioner San  Francisco 

CARL  WESTERFELD,  Executive  Officer San  Francisco 

J.  S.  HUNTER,  Assistant  Executive  Officer San  Francisco 

R.  D.  DUKE,  Attorney San  Francisco 

A.  D.  FERGUSON,  Field  Agent  (on  Furlough) * Fresno 

DEPARTMENT  OF  FISHCULTURE. 

W.  H.  SHEBLEY,  in  Charge  Fishculture San  Francisco 

E.  W.  HUNT,  Field  Superintendent..! San  Francisco 

G.  H.  LAMBSON,  Superintendent  Mount  Shasta  Hatchery Sisson 

W.   O.   FASSETT,   Superintendent   Fort   Seward   Hatchery,  Ukiah,   and   Snow 

Mountain  Station Alderpoiut 

G.   McCLOUD,  Jr.,   Foreman  in  Charge  Mount  Whitney  Hatchery  and   Rae 

Lakes   Station   Independence 

G.  E.  WEST,  Foreman  in  Charge  Tahoe  and  Tallac  Hatcheries Tallac 

E.     V.    CASSELL,    Foreman    in    Charge    Almanor    and    Domingo    Springs 

Hatcheries Keddie 

L.  PHILLIPS,  Foreman  in  Charge  North  Creek  Station San  Bernardino 

L.  J.  STINNETT,  Assistant  in  Charge  Klamath  Stations Hornbrook 

G.  L.  MORRISON,  Foreman  in  Charge  Bear  Lake  Station San  Bernardino 

GEO.  McCLOUD,  General  Assistant  in  Charge  Cottonwood  Creek  Station — Hornbrook 

GUY  TABLER,  Assistant  in  Charge  Fall  Creek  Hatchery Copco 

JUSTIN  SHEBLEY,  Foreman  in  Charge  Brookdale  Hatchery Brookdale 

J.  B.  SOLLNER,  Assistant  in  Charge  Wawona  Hatchery Wawona 

A.  E.  DONEY,  Fish  Ladder  Inspector San  Francisco 

A.  E.  CULVER,  Screen  Inspector San  FVancisco 

A.  M.  FAIRFIELD,  Inspector  Water  Pollution San  Francis,  o 

DEPARTMENT  OF  COMMERCIAL   FISHERIES. 

N.  B.  SCOFIELD,  In  Charge San  Francisco 

H.  B.  NIDEVER,  Assistant Long  Beach 

W.  F.  THOMPSON,  Assistant Long  Beach 

EARLE  DOWNING,  Assistant San  Francisco 

C.  S.  BAUDER,  Assistant Los  Angeles 

P.  H.  OYER,  Assistant Pacific  Grove 

C.  H.  BLEMER,  Assistant Sacramento 

BUREAU   OF   EDUCATION,   PUBLICITY  AND   RESEARCH. 
DR.  H.  C.  BRYANT,  In  Charge Berkeley 


PATROL   SERVICE. 


SAN    FRANCISCO   DIVISION. 

E.  L.  Bosqui,  Commissioner  in  Charge.     Carl  Westerfeld,  Executive  Officer. 

J.  S.  Hunter,  Assistant  Executive  Officer.     E.  C.  Boucher,  Special  Agent. 

Head  Office,  New  Call  Building,  San  Francisco. 

Phone  Sutter  6100. 


W.  H.  Armstrong Vallejo 

Earl   P.    Barnes Eureka 

Theo.    M.    Benson Fortuna 

0.  P.   Brownlow Porterville 

F.   A.   Bullard Dunlap 

J.   L.   Bundock Oakland 

J.    Burke Colma 

M.    S.    Clark San  Francisco 

S.   L.   N.   Ellis Fresno 

J.  H.  Hellard Laytonville 

J.   H.   Hill Watsonville 

D.  H.  Hoen San  Rafael 

1.  L.  Koppel . San  Jos» 


Henry  Lencioni Santa  Rosa 

Albert  Mack San  Francisco 

B.    H.    Miller Ukiah 

E.  V.  Moody Santa  Cruz 

W.  J.  Moore Napa 

F.  B.   Nesbitt Salinas 

J.  E    Newsome Newman 

Chas.  R.  Perkins Fort  Bragg 

Frank   Shook Salinas   City 

E.  W.  Smalley Hanford 

H.  E.  Foster—Launch  "Quinnat,"  Vallejo 
Chas.  Bouton__Launch  "Quinnat,"  Vallejo 


SACRAMENTO   DIVISION. 

F.  M.  Newbert,  Commissioner  in  Charge. 

Geo.  Neale,  Assistant. 

Forum  Building,   Sacramento. 

Phone   Main   4300. 


T.  W.  Birmingham Sutter  Creek 

E.  W.  Bolt  (Enlisted  U.  S.  Navy)_Gridley 

S.  J.  Carpenter Maxwell 

Geo.  W.  Courtright Canby 

Euell  Gray Placerville 

W.  J.  Green Sacramento 

G.  O.  Laws Weaverville 

Roy    Ludlum Los   Molinos 


R.  C.  O'Connor Grass  Valley 

E.  D.  Ricketts Live  Oak 

D.  E.  Roberts Murphys 

J.  Sanders Truckee 

C.  A.  Seroggs Loomis 

R.  L.   Sinkey "Woodland 

L.  J.  Warren Taylorsville 

J.  S.  White Castella 


LOS  ANGELES  DIVISION. 

M.  J.  Connell,  Commissioner  in  Charge. 

E.  A.  McKee,  Assistant.     Edwin  L.  Hedderly,  Assistant. 

Union  League  Building,  Los  Angeles. 

Phones:   Broadway  1155;   Home,   F  5705. 


H.  J.  Abels Santa  Maria 

J   J.  Barnett Ventura 

H.  D.  Becker San  Luis  Obispo 

J.  H.  Gyger Elsinore 

W.  C.  Malone San  Bernardino 


E.  H.  Ober Big  Pine 

H.  I.  Pritchard Los  Angeles 

A.  J.  Stout Los  Angeles 

Webb  Toms San  Diego 


ABSTRACT   CALIFORNIA    FISH    AND    CAME    LAWS 

WHITE  SQUARES  INDICATE  OPEN  SEASON.    NUMBERS  IN  SQUARE8  ARE  OPEN  OATES 

0,4- 
ranen 

114 

I'ti  Jmu  Itrtaj  .it  jiuf»  1  tui. 

•'.■I 

uri  I  Oct    ioi  I  ttc 

UAO  LljVllTei,  ETC. 

DEER 

145 
M 

Jfipljj 

No  Docs,  Fawn*  or  Spike  Bucki 
No  sale  of  venison 

-1 

4 

H  Sm   Notn  12-8-9-10  cxi  t**di  of    (Kit    •b*tr%<* 

RABBITS,  COTTONTAIL  AND  BRUSH 

ALL 

IS   per  day.      30  per  week 

TREE  SQUIRRELS 

ALL   1 

12   per   season 

ELK,  AJiTELOPE,  MOUNTAIN  SHEEP 

ALL  ■ 

MLUNC  OF  ELK.  OK  PCfcfoLSMON  OE   LUC 
MEAT   A  fT-LONY 

SEA    OTTER,    BEAVKR 

ALL   M 

$1,000  Fine  for  Sea  Otter 

BEAR,    BLACK  AND   BROWN 

ALL 

1  iBHSpLUMBft 

SEI  NOTE  11  ON  BACK  Of  THLS  ABSTRACT 

Frre  RRARrNO  mammat.s 

ALL 

-|JKiKBJi9HiM 

SU  NOTES  111!  ON  iACI  Of  THO  AK5TJUCT 

Ducks,  Geese,  Jack  Snipe,  Mud  Heni 

ALL 

iiiiwr 

su  nor ls<  it  in;  04  sacs,  of  rras  4ssnua 

RAIL,    WOOD    DUCK.    WILD    PlGEOM 
SHOKK  BIKD5  '  Ijfi*  J««h  S«,p*  > 

ALL    1 

QUAIL,   VALLEY  AND  DESERT 

ALL 

j     15  per   day.     30    per  week 

MOTJNTAIN  QUAIL 

l-U-M 
IS-2a 

10  per   day      20   per  week 

;-.<-•  1 

■  ■ 

SAGE  HEN 

ALL  1 

Httl 

4  per  day      8  per  week 

4 

|Ml 

DOVE 

ALL 
1 

IS  per  day 

GROUSE 

ALL 

n 

4  per  day.     8  per  week 

TROUT 

(Except  Golden) 
WfflTEFISH 

1 

SO  Fib  tfr  10  Pounds  and  one  Fish. 

l-i    1 

■  .i   or  one  rrsn  wetgoing  iu  rounai  or 

3  during  the  winter  season  S  fish 

MM 
Ukaa 

* 

per  day 

'     SEI  NOTE  77  ON  SACS  Of  THIS  AtSTtan 

|P!   sa  nort  a  on  iaci  of  nes  ustiao 

GOLDElf  TROUT 

ALL 

B-l 

Hi 

20  per  day.     None  Older  S  inches 

BLACK  BASS 

All 

25  per  day      None  under  7  inches 

Ckw     «-  1 

Hook  and  bne  only 

SACRAMENTO  PUCK  SUNFtSH  add  chappie 

ALL  M 

|      25  per  day.     Hook  and  boe  only 

STRIPED  BASS,  SHAD 

ALL 

su  *ote  »  on  a«a  of  tho  usrun 

SALMON 

JU.L 

IS 

■F 

■I  SiE  NOTE  M  OK  BACX  OF  TalS  ABSTRACT 

CATFISH 

ALL 

•i 

HI 

CUses  Maiee  oajy  for  csMiirut  fiaSmg 

CRABS 

ALL 

£D 

p 

SU  Mm  9  ON  SACS  OF  THIS  AIST1ACI 

)                    RED 

ABALONES 

*               GREEN  PINK.  BLACK 

AU 

SEE  NOTE  M  ON  BACK  Of  THIS  ABSTRACT 

ALL 

PISMO  CLAMS 

17 

IT 

su  Mm  U  ON  SACS  or  THIS  ASSTI ACT 

FOR  LAWS  IN  FULL  SEE  PENAL  CODE     FOR  COMMERCIAL  FISHING  LAWS  SEE  MARKET  F1SHINC  ABSTRACT 

DISTRICTS  la,  lb.  Ic  Id.  It,  II.  I|  lh.  1..  Ij,  Ik.  II.  2i.  3a.  3b.  3c.  3d.  4a,  4b.  4c,  4d.  4c,  41,  art 

fame  refujev      Hunting  torbtddea      Fishing  to  accordance  wrtb  law  relating  to  nun  district 
in  which  rehuje  u  located.     (Set  map  1 

Hunting  L.cenM» .  R-oKlniti.  »1  00 .  Njn-rcsiiSenU   »I0                   Trappmi  LlceAHea      Cituana.  $  1.00;  Allow.  12.00.                    , 
Alien*,  $25     LicenM  r*ar  from  July  1  to  June  30                                   License  rear  from  JuJr  1  to  Juoa  30 

Angling   Lkeiuea    Residents.  11.00.  Non-rsaadent*.  13                 Hunting  «nd  Anglmg  Ucenaoa  car,  be  tecum*  from  Fur, 
Aliens.  13      License  roar  from  Jan.  1  to  Doc  3 1                        „«■  Gam*  C0ram.u4.0n.  Countr  CUrta  anal  1  i-eeir 
Trapping  License*  from  Fish  and  Gam*  Commissi**!                       Agrou 

CALIFORNIA 

"■GAME 


CONSERVATION  OF  WILD  LIFE  THROUGH     EDUCATION 


* 


TROUT  NUMBER. 


BOARD  OF  FISH  AND  GAME  COMMISSIONERS. 

Commissioners  appointed   by  the  Governor,   by  and  with  the  consent  of  the  Senate. 
Term  at  pleasure  of  Governor.     No  compensation. 

F.  M.  NEWBERT,  President Sacramento 

M.  J.  CONNELL,  Commissioner Los  Angeles 

E.  L.  BOSQUI,  Commissioner San  Francisco 

CARL  WESTERFELD,  Executive  Officer San  Francisco 

J.  S.  HUNTER,  Assistant  Executive  Officer San  Francisco 

R.  D.  DUKE,  Attorney San  Francisco 

A.  D.  FERGUSON,  Field  Agent  (on  Furlough) Fresno 

DEPARTMENT  OF  FISHCULTURE. 

W.  H.  SHEBLEY,  in  Charge  Fishculture San  Francisco 

E.  W.  HUNT,  Field  Superintendent San  Francisco 

G.  H.  LAMBSON,  Superintendent  Mount  Shasta  Hatchery Sisson 

W.  O.  FASSETT,  Superintendent  Fort  Seward  Hatchery,  Ukiah,  and   Snow 

Mountain  Station Alderpoint 

G.  McCLOUD,  Jb.,  Foreman  in  Charge  Mount  Whitney  Hatchery  and   Rae 

Lakes   Station  Independence 

G.  E.  WEST,  Foreman  in  Charge  Tahoe  and  Tallac  Hatcheries Tallac 

E.    V.    CASSELL,    Foreman    in    Charge    Almanor    and    Domingo    Springs 

Hatcheries Keddie 

L.  PHILLIPS,  Foreman  in  Charge  North  Creek  Station San  Bernardino 

L.  J.  STINNETT,  Assistant  in  Charge  Klamath  Stations Hornbrook 

G.  L.  MORRISON,  Foreman  in  Charge  Bear  Lake  Station San  Bernardino 

GEO.  McCLOUD,  General  Assistant  in  Charge  Cottonwood  Creek  Station Hornbrook 

GUY  TABLER,  Assistant  in  Charge  Fall  Creek  Hatchery Copco 

JUSTIN  SHEBLEY,  Foreman  in  Charge  Brookdale  Hatchery Brookdale 

J.  B.  SOLLNER,  Assistant  in  Charge  Wawona  Hatchery Wawona 

A.  E.  DONEY,  Fish  Ladder  Inspector San  Francisco 

A.  E.  CULVER,  Screen  Inspector San  Francisco 

A.  M.  FAIRFIELD,  Inspector  Water  Pollution San  Francisco 

DEPARTMENT  OF  COMMERCIAL  FISHERIES. 

N.  B.  SCOFIELD,  In  Charge San  Francisco 

H.  B.  NIDEVER,  Assistant Long  Beach 

W.  F.  THOMPSON,  Assistant Long  Beach 

ELMER  HIGGINS,  Assistant Long  Beach 

EARLE  DOWNING,  Assistant San  Francisco 

C.  S.  BAUDER,  Assistant Los  Angeles 

P.  H.  OYER,  Assistant Pacific  Grove 

BUREAU   OF  EDUCATION,  PUBLICITY  AND  RESEARCH. 
DR.  H.  C.  BRYANT,  In  Charge Berkeley 


PATROL  SERVICE. 


SAN   FRANCISCO  DIVISION. 

E.  L.  Bosgul,  Commissioner  in  Charge.    Carl  Westerfeld,  Executive  Officer. 

J.  S.  Hunter,  Assistant  Executive  Officer.    E.  C.  Boucher,  Special  Agent. 

Head  Office,  New  Call  Building,  San  Francisco. 

Phone  Sutter  6100. 


W.  H.  Armstrong Vallejo 

Earl  P.   Barnes Eureka 

Theo.   M.   Benson Fortuna 

O.   P.  Brownlow Porterville 

F.  A.   Bullard Dunlap 

J.  Li.  Bundock Oakland 

J.  Burke Colma 

M.   S.   Clark San  Francisco 

S.   L.   N.   Ellis Fresno 

J.  H.  Hellard Laytonville 

J.  H.  Hill Watsonville 

D.  H.  Hoen San  Rafael 

L  L.  Koppel San  Jose 


Henry  Lencioni Santa  Rosa 

Albert  Mack San  Francisco 

B.    H.    Miller Ukiah 

E.  V.  Moody Santa  Cruz 

W.  J.  Moore Napa 

P.   B.   Nesbitt Salinas 

J.  E.  Newsome Newman 

Chas.  R.  Perkins Fort  Bragg 

Frank   Shook Salinas   City 

E.  W.  Smalley Hanford 

H.  E.  Foster_Launch  "Quinnat,"  Vallejo 
Chas.  Bouton__Launch  "Quinnat,"  Vallejo 


SACRAMENTO  DIVISION. 

F.  M.  Newbert,  Commissioner  in  Charge. 
Geo.  Neale,  Assistant. 
Forum  Building,  Sacramento. 
Phone  Main  4300. 


T.  W.  Birmingham Sutter  Creek 

B.  W.  Bolt  (Enlisted  U.  S.  Navy)_Grldley 

S.  J.  Carpenter * Maxwell 

Geo.  W.  Courtright Canby 

Euell  Gray Placerville 

W.  J.  Green Sacramento 

G.  O.  Laws Weaverville 

Roy  Ludlum Los  Molinos 


R.  C.  O'Connor. 
E.  D.  Ricketts— 
D.  E.   Roberts— 

J.  Sanders 

C.  A.  Scroggs — 

R.  L.  Sinkey 

L.  J.  "Warren 

J.  S.  White 


.Grass  Valley 

Live  Oak 

Murphys 

Truckee 

Loomls 

Woodland 

—Taylorsville 
Castella 


LOS  ANGELES  DIVISION. 

M.  J.  Connell,  Commissioner  in  Charge. 

E.  A  McKee,  Assistant.    Edwin  L.  Hedderly,  Assistant. 

Union  League  Building,  Los  Angeles. 

Phones:  Broadway  1155;  Home,  F  5705. 


H.  J.  Abels Santa  Maria 

J.  J.  Barnett Ventura 

H.  D.  Becker San  Luis  Obispo 

J.  H.  Gyger Elsinore 

W.  C.  Malone San  Bernardino 


E.  H.  Ober 

H.  I.  Pritchard. 

A.  J.  Stout 

Webb  Toms 


Big  Pine 

.Los  Angeles 
-Los  Angeles 
— San  Diego 


CALIFORNIA 
FISH -GAME 


CONSERVATION  OF  WILD  LIFE  THROUGH     EDUCATION 


v> 


BOARD  OF  FISH  AND  GAME  COMMISSIONERS. 

Commissioners  appointed   by  the  Governor,  by  and  with  the  consent  of  the  Senate. 
Term  at  pleasure  of  Governor.     No  compensation. 

F.  M.  NEWBERT,  President Sacramento 

M.  J.  CONNELL,  Commissioner Los  Angeles 

E.  L.  BOSQUI,  Commissioner San  Francisco 

CARL  WESTERFELD,  Executive  Officer , San  Francisco 

J.  S.  HUNTER,  Assistant  Executive  Officer San  Francisco 

R.  D.  DUKE,  Attorney San  Francisco 

DEPARTMENT  OF  FISHCULTURE. 

W.  H.  SHEBLEY,  in  Charge  Fishculture Sacramento 

E.  W.  HUNT,  Field  Superintendent Sacramento 

G.  H.  LAMBSON,  Superintendent  Mount  Shasta  Hatchery Siseon 

W.   O.   FASSETT,   Superintendent   Fort   Seward   Hatchery,  Ukiah,   and    Snow 

Mountain  Station Alderpoint 

G.   McCLOUD,   Jr.,   Foreman   in   Charge   Mount   Whitney   Hatchery   and    Rae 

Lakes   Station   Independence 

G.  E.  WEST,  Foreman  in  Charge  Tahoe  and  Tallac  Hatcheries Tallac 

E.  V.    CASSELL,    Foreman    in    Charge    Almanor    and    Domingo     Springs 
Hatcheries Keddie 

L.  PHILLIPS.  Foreman  in  Charge  North  Creek  Station San  Bernardino 

L.  J.  STINNETT,  Assistant  in  Charge  Klamath  Stations Hornbrook 

G.  L.  MORRISON,  Foreman  in  Charge  Bear  Lake  Station San  Bernardino 

GEO.  McCLOUD,  General  Assistant  in  Charge  Cottonwood  Creek  Station__Hornbrook 
GUY  TABLER,  Assistant  in  Charge  Yosemite  Hatchery Yosemite 

F.  W.  EDDY,  Assistant  in  Charge  Fall  Creek  Hatchery Copco 

JUSTIN  SHEBLEY,  Foreman  in  Charge  Brookdale  Hatchery Brookdale 

J.  B.  SOLLNER,  Assistant  in  Charge  Wawona  Hatchery Wawona 

A    E.  DONEY,   Fish  Ladder  Inspector Sacramento 

A.  E.  CULVER,  Screen  Inspector Sacramento 

M.  K.  SPALDING,  Assistant  in  Charge  of  Construction Sacramento 

DEPARTMENT  OF  COMMERCIAL  FISHERIES. 

N.  B.  SCOFIELD,  In  Charge San  Francisco 

H.  B.  NIDEYER,  Assistant San  Pedro 

W.  F.  THOMPSON,  Assistant Long  Beach 

ELMER   HIGGINS,  Assistant Long  Beach 

EARLE  DOWNING,  Assistant San  Francisco 

S.  H.  DADO,  Assistant San   Francisco 

C.  S.  BALDER,  Assistant San  Pedro 

T.   H.   OYER.   Assistant Monterey 

L   H.  HELWIG,  Assistant San  Diego 

BUREAU   OF   EDUCATION,  PUBLICITY  AND   RESEARCH. 
DR.  H.  C.  BRYANT,  In  Charge Berkeley 


PATROL   SERVICE. 


SAN    FRANCISCO   DIVISION. 

E.  L.  Boaqui,  Commissioner  in  Charge.     Carl  Westerfeld,  Executive  Officer. 

J.  S.  Hunter,  Assistant  Executive  Officer.     E.  C.  Boucher,  Special  Agent. 

Head  Office,  Postal  Telegraph  Building,  San  Francisco. 

Phone   Sutter   6100. 


W.   H.  Armstrong Vallejo 

Earl   P.    Barnes Eureka 

Theo.    M.    Benson Fortuna 

O.    P.    Brownlow Porterville 

F.   A.    Bullard Dunlap 

J.    L.    Bundock Oakland 

J.    Burke   Colma 

M.    S.    Clark San    Francisco 

8    L.    N.    Ellis Fresno 

A.   M.    Fairfield San  Francisco 

J.   H.   Hellard Lavtonville 

J.    H.    Hill Watsonville 

D.  H.  Hoen San  Rafael 


I    L.   Koppel San   Jose 

Henry  Lencionl Santa  Rosa 

Albert  Mack San  Francisco 

B.    H.    Miller Ukiah 

E.  V.  Moody Santa  Cruz 

W.  J.   Moore Napa 

F.  B.    Nesbitt Salinas 

J    E.  Newsome Newman 

Chas.   R.   Perkins Fort   Bragg 

Frank    Shook Salinas    City 

E.  W.  Smalley Hanford 

H.   E.   Foster_Launch   "Qulnnat,"   Vallejo 
Chas.  Bouton— Launch  "Qulnnat,"  Vallejo 


SACRAMENTO   DIVISION. 

F.  M.  Newbert,  Commissioner  in  Charge. 

Geo.  Neale,  Assistant. 

Forum   Building,    Sacramento. 

Phone   Main   4300. 


T.    W.    Birmingham Red  Bluff 

E.    "W.    Bolt Gridley 

S    J.    Carpenter Maxwell 

Geo.   W    Courtright Canbv 

Euell  Gray Placerville 

W.  J.  Green Sacramento 

G.  O.  Laws Weaverville 

Roy   Ludlum Los   Molinos, 


R.  C.  O'Connor Grass  Valley 

E.   D.   Ricketts Live  Oak 

D.   E.    Roberts Murphys 

J.  Sanders Tru^kee 

C.   A.   Scroggs Loomis 

R.   L.    Sinkey Woodland 

L.  J.  Warren Taylorsvllle 

J.  S.  White Castella 


LOS  ANGELES   DIVISION. 

M.  J.  Connell,   Commissioner  in  Charge. 

Edwin  L.  Hedderly,  Assistant 

Union  League  Building,  Los  Angeles. 

Phones:    Broadway   1155;   Home,    F  5705. 


H.  J.  Abels Santa  Maria 

J.  J.  Barnett Ventura 

H.   D.    Becker San    Luis   Obispo 

J.   H.  Gyger Elsinore 

W.   C.   Malone San  Bernardino 


E.  H.  Ober Big  Pine 

H.   1.   Pritchard Los  Angeles 

A.   J.   Stout Los  Angeles 

Webb  Toms San  Diego 


1919     ABSTRACT  CALIFORNIA  NSH  AND  GAME  LAWS      1920 

WHITE  SQUARES   INDICATE  OPEN   SEASON 
NUMBERS    IN   SQUARES  ARE   OPEN    DATES 


DISTRICTS 

c-l 

•> 

p 

i 

1 

> 

o 

Bj 

o 

3 

o 

o 

M 
P 

BAG  LIMITS.   ETC. 

l-U-41 

23-24-2.'i-26 

pUJlI] 

INo  Does.  Fawns  or  8d 

1  Bucks.    No  sale  of  venlsc 

1    Two  Bucks  per  season 

See  Notes  1-2-8-9-10-14 

DEER 

2-3 

n 

Ii.-.. 

4 

|;JEJB]| 

RABBITS,  Cottontail  and  Brush 

ALL 

I,:                      :■ 

15  per  day.     30  per  we< 
No  limit  In  District  4 

TREE  SQUIRRELS 

ALL 

L 

□E  'LEE 

■      1     1 

12  per  season 

K,  ANTELOPE,  MOUNTAIN  SHEEP 

ALL 

! 

i   ■  M2 

77^ 

1  Klll.ng   of   Elk   or   poss( 
|slon  of  Elk  meat  a  felo 

SEA  OTTER,  BEAVER 

ALL 

ii . 

1    .     J    I..!; 

|    $1,000  fine  for  Sea  Otta 

BEAR,  FUR  ANIMALS 

ALL 

-r       f      f  -,r-  y 

jju 

See  Notes  11-12 

ES.  GEESE,  JACK  SNIPE,  MUD  HENS 

ALL 

MjlG 

See  Notes  4-14-15-17 

n>.   WOOD  DUCK,   WILD  PIGEON, 
HORE  BIRDS  (Except  Jack  Snipe) 

ALL 

E 

m 

!, 

QUAIL,  Valley  and  Desert 

1-14 

2-3 

■ : 

lis 

4-4} 

■ 

Hit 

15  per  day.    SO  per  wee 

1-li 

T 

MOUNTAIN  QUAIL 

2-3 

IN 

11: 

10  par  day.    20  per  wee 

4-4J 

Hie 

SAGE  HEN 

ALL 
Except  4 

4 

4  per  day.     8  per  week 

DOVE 

ALL 

m 

■  ' 

15  per  day.    30  per  wee 

GROUSE 

ALL         1 

• 

i 

~rri 

Iir 

in 

~~i  ■ 

4  per  day.     8  per  week. 

l-12a-12b   | 

" 

u 

•  • 

IJ  See  Note  44      50  fish  or  t 
H— —                 poundsando 
■  8ee  Note  43  flsh  or  one  fl 

2 

OUT  (Except  Golden),  WHITE  FISH 

3 

—                   weigmng  ie 
See  Note  45  pounds  or  ovc 
— •                See  Notes  2i 
37-39 

See  NoU  28 

4-41 

■ 

Lake 
Almnnor    | 

— i 

23-24-25     | 

. 

Isc 

1 

GOLDEN  TROUT 

ALL 

-I'- 

IftO 

i  Rjl 

20  per   day.      None  und 
5  inches. 

BLACK  BASS 

ALL 

'■,1: 

25   per  day.      None  und 

in  Lake  Co.  1 

No  sale.     Hook  and  lln 

ACRAMENTO   PERCH,    SUNF1SH 
and  CHAPPIE 

ALL 

'1A 

i ; 

*       1 

25  per  day.     Hook  an 

STRIPED  BASS,   SHAD 

ALL 

See  Note  23 

SALMON 

ALL 

Except  1 5 

15 

«sa 

L_J 

|„ 

M 

■ 

See  Notes  27-45 

CATFISH 

ALL 

1 

C 

ti 

g. 

Closed  season  only  for 
commercial  fishing 

CTvABS 

ALL 

30| 

a 

!■ 

| 

See  Note  28 

ABALONES,  Red 

ALL 

B 

See  Note  33 

Green,  Pink,  Black 

ALL 

M 

1 

1 

a 

PISMO  CLAMS 

17 

i 

m 

* 

See  Note  32 

HUNTING  LICENSES 
License  Year  from  July  I  to  June  30 

Residents,  $1.00.      Non-residents,  $10.00.     Certain 
Aliens,  $10.00.    Other  Aliens,  $25.00. 

ANGLING  LICENSES 
License  Year  from  January  I  to  December  31 

Residents,  $1.00.     Non- Residents,  $3.00.    Aliens, 
$3.00. 

TRAPPING   LICENSES 
License  Year  from  July  I  to  June  30 

Citizens,  $1.00.     Aliens,  $2.00. 


«<     'I'"     l