VOLUMF 1

^AWRC,H

nuMbfr, 10

MONTANA 51

J

PUfe^AtiON or THE

FISH AND GAME DEPARThAENT

Ter 'Billy an' Per CDe

Dad, your gun is in its case

Your rod is on the wall —
Daddy, when you shooted ducks

Did you shoot 'em all;
When you killed the deer an' fox

An' cut the balsam tree.
Couldn't you a' left a few

Fer Billy an' fer me?

Dad, your factory's on the creek —

Makes a lot o' noise,
Churnin' up the ivater

Where you played when you tvas
boys;
Daddy, tvhen you built it there,

Coiddn't you, maybe,
Jest a' saved a swimmin' hole

Fer Billy an' fer me?

Daddy, wouldn't you suppose

That if you really tried
You could save a little woods

An' fields an' countryside?
Kind o' keep a' savin' up —

You an' Uncle Lee —
Just a little out-of-doors

Fer Billy an' fer me?

MONTANA WILD LIFE

The Official Publication of The State Fish and Game Commission

VOL. I.

HELENA, MONTANA, MARCH, 1929

No. 10

Moetaea^s Ne^w Fish aed Gamie l^a^wi

By FLOYD L. SMITH

SEVEN important bills, passed by
Montana's 21st legislative assem-
bly, which adjourned March 7, and
which have been signed by Governor
J. E. Erickson and become state laws,
comprise the complete grist of fish
and game legislation Introduced and en-
acted during the session. Eight bills
were proposed and seven have become
laws. The only bill which failed to
pass had to do with shifting the open
season on muskrats to meet differing
climatic conditions in the state. All
have to do with conservation move-
ments and are intended to cope with
situations arising within the state de-
manding remedial measures. Montana's
program of conservation of wild life,
which has attained national recogni-
tion, was many times complimented
on the floor of house and senate in
discussion of these bills, as were the
sincere, progressive efforts of men who
comprise the State Fish and Game
Commission.

Montana is among the first states
of the nation to take advantage of
benefits accruing under passage of the
Norbeck bill creating, developing and
maintaining refuges for migratory
waterfowl. Under the provisions of the
federal act each state legislature must
ratify state cooperation. Before the
bill was finally signed by President
Coolidge the measure was under way,
and when, during the legislative ses-
sion. President Coolidge made the Nor-
beck bill a law. Representative Ben
Nelson of Phillips county, chairman of
the house committee on fish and game,
made the announcement on the floor
of the house. Final passage of the
measure followed within a few hours,
hence Montana will share in the initial
federal appropriation of $75,000 for
surveys and preliminary work.

Senator F. T. McCormick of Mussel-
shell county, chairman of the senate
committee on fish and game, was like-
wise instrumental in fostering legisla-
tion desired by sportsmen of Montana.

For the benefit of readers of MON-
TANA WILD LIFE, these seven bills
are herewith published in their entirety.
with changes noted when compared
with the former laws.

Migrratory Waterfowl

THE BILL introduced by the senate
committee on fish and game relat-
ing to cooperation with the fed-
eral government in providing and main-
taining refuges for migratory waterfowl
reads as follows:

For the purpose of more effectively
cooperating with the United States, in
the acquisition, development and main-
tenance of refuges for migratory wild-
fowl as provided in Senate Bill No.
1271, passed by the second session of
the 70th Congress of the United States,
and commonly known as, and called,
the Migratory Bird Conservation Act,
permission is hereby granted to the
United States to acquire by purchase,
gift or lease, lands and waters within
Montana, which the Secretary of Agri-
culture of the United States may deem
necessary and suitable for the purpose
provided in said act, provided that the
jurisdiction of Montana, both civil and
criminal, over persons upon areas ac-
quired under this act shall not be af-
fected or changed by reason of their
acquisition and administration by the
United States, as migratory bird reser-
vations, except so far as the punish-
ment of offenses against the United
States is concerned, and provided fur-
ther that nothing in this act is intended

Subscription Price
Is $1 On June 1

ON JUNE 1 the subscrip-
tion price of MON-
TANA WILD LIFE will
be increased from 50 cents
to $1 per year. Because
of the increasing demand
throughout the nation for
the official publication of
the State Fish and Game De-
partment, and in justice to
the great number ivho have
already paid the subscrip-
tion, the price will be ad-
vanced and names 07i the
complimentary roll dropped
from the mailing list. Checks
and money orders received
up to June 1 ivill be entered
at the introductory price of
50 cents per year. This ac-
tio7i is taken by direction of
the State Commission.

to interfere with the operation of the
game laws of Montana applying to mi-
gratory game birds, insofar as they do
not permit what is forbidden by federal
law.

Jndith Kiver Preserve

THE BILL creating the Judith River
game and bird preserve was in-
troduced in the house. The pre-
serve was originally created by the
State Fish and Game Commission, the
new measure changing the boundaries
slightly. It reads as follows:

For the better protection and propa-
gation of game animals and birds, the
following described area in Judith Ba-
sin county is hereby set aside as the
Judith River game and bird preserve.

Beginning at a point which is the
intersection of the boundary of the
Jefferson national forest and the center
of the Middle Fork of the Judith river,
thence up the center of Middle Fork to
the mouth of Weatherwax creek, thence
up the center of Weatherwax creek to
the mouth of Cottin's creek, thence up
the center of Cottin's creek to the west
boundary of Judith Basin county, thence
southeasterly along the boundary of
Judith Basin county to the nearest
point of the South Fork of the Judith
river, thence to source of said South
Fork, thence down the center of said
South Fork to the intersection with
the boundary of the Jefferson national
forest, thence north along the boun-
dary of the Jefferson national forest to
the place of beginning.

It shall be unlawful tor any person
to hunt for, trap, capture, kill or take,
or cause to be hunted for, trapped, or
killed any game animals or birds of
any kind whatever, within the limits
of the said preserve; or to carry or
discharge any firearms, or to create
any unusual disturbance, tending to or
which may frighten or drive away any
of the game animals or birds or to
chase the same with dogs or hounds
in said preserve; provided, however,
that permits to capture animals or birds
for the purpose of propagation, or for
scientific purposes or to destroy moun-
tain lions, wolves, foxes, coyotes, wild
cats, or other predatory animals or
birds, or for carrying firearms, may
be issued by the State Game Warden
upon the payment of such fees, and
in accordance with such regulations as
may be established for the said pre-

MONTANA WILD LIFE

serve by the State Game and Fisli
Commission.

Any person violating any of the pro-
visions of this Act shall be guilty of
a misdemeanor, and upon conviction
thereof, shall be punished by a fine
of not less than twenty-five dollars
($25), nor more than three hundred
dollars ($300), or by imprisonment in
the county jail for not less than thirty
days (30) nor more than six months
(6), or by both such fine and imprison-
ment.

Open Seii-son on Deer

EFFORTS were put forth by Repre-
sentative Fulsher of Mineral coun
ty to foster a bill changing thi-
open season on deer in his county to
conform with winter conditions exist-
ing in Idaho, which adjoins, but the
measure leaves the dates the same as
in the previous statute and adds Blaine,
Petroleum and a portion of Big Horn
counties to the list of counties in
which the killing of deer is forbidden.
The district in which deer of either sex
may be killed is changed by inserting
Gallatin county and removing Beaver-
head. In other counties where there is
an open season only buck deer may
be killed. The measure reads as fol-
lows:

The open season for deer shall begin
October 15 and shall end November 15,
both dates inclusive, of each year. The
closed season for deer shall begin No-
vember 16 of each year and end Octo-
ber 14 of the following year, both dates
inclusive: provided, however, that in
all of that portion of Ravalli county
drained by the West Fork of the Bit-
ter Root river, the open season for
deer shall begin with the 20th day of
September and end with the 20th day
of October, both dates inclusive, of each
year; and provided, further, however,
that it shall be unlawful and a misde-
meanor, punishable as in this act here-
inafter provided, tor any person to
shoot, hunt, kill, take or capture, or
cause to be shot, killed, taken or cap-
tured, any deer, at any time within
the counties of Yellowstone, Rosebud,
Custer, Musselshell, Powder River, Car-
ter, Richland, Roosevelt, McCone, Daw-
son, Carbon, Phillips, Prairie, Garfield,
Petroleum, Treasure, Blaine and Valley,
and within all of that portion of Fer-
gus county lying north of the town-
ship line between townships 18 and 19
and east of the range line between
ranges 24 and 25 in said county, also
all of Glacier and Pondera counties
lying within the Lewis and Clark na-
tional forest; and also all of that por-
tion of Gallatin county lying and being
north of the south line of township 4,
north, M. P. M., and that part of Big
Horn county lying east of 107th meri-
dian.

During the closed season for deer
It shall be unlawful for any person to
take, hunt, shoot, kill or capture, or
cause to be taken, hunted, shot, killed
or captured any deer; during the open
season for deer it shall be unlawful
for any person to shoot or kill or cause
to be shot or killed any deer other
than one male deer with horns not
less than four inches in length above
the top of the skull. Provided, how-
ever, that It shall not be unlawful to
take one deer of either sex In Mineral,

Raymond Is Leader

Claud Raymond

FEW sportsmen
have taken the
sincere inter-
est in the conser-
vation of wild life
such as displayed
by Claud Raymond
of Klein, president
of the Musselshell
Valley Sportsmen's
Association. For
more than IS years
Mr. Raymond has
been a resident of
Montana and dur-
ing all the years he
has likewise been
an ardent advocate
of ways and means
intended to make
Montana a better
state in which to
live. He is shown
here with his limit
of three male Chi-
nese pheasants
taken during the
open season last
November near Pompey's Pillar. Aside
from being a splendid field shot Mr.
Raymond is an ardent fisherman, and
despite the agitation against the East-
ern Brook, he defends him as one of
the gamiest Montana fish. In conclud-
ing a recent letter to the editor Mr.
Raymond says: "Every Montana sports-
man should be a subscriber to MON-
TANA WILD LIFE and as president of
the Musselshell club I expect to make
an earnest effort to encourage every
member to take the magazine and keep
in touch with the Department. I have
enjoyed every issue."

Madison, Glacier, Lake, Flathead, Lin-
coln, Sanders, Gallatin and Ravalli
counties. It shall also be unlawful and
a misdemeanor punishable as in this
act hereinafter provided, for any per-
son responsible for the death of any
deer to wilfully waste any portion or
portions of said deer suitable for food.

Open Season on Elk

REPRESENTATIVE HODGSKISS of
Teton county fathered the bill
which changes the dates on the
open season for elk in portions of
Teton and Lewis and Clark counties
in the Sun River district. The old law
provided the open season dates as Oc-
tober 15 to November 15. The new
law extends the open season to Decem-
ber 1. The law reads as follows:

The open season for elk in Teton
county, not included within a game
preserve, and all that portion of Lewis
and Clark county lying north of the
North Fork of the Dearborn river, and
not included within a game jireserve,
shall begin October 15 and end Decem-
ber 1, both dates inclusive, of each
year; provided, however, that the Mon-
tana State Fish and Game Commis-
sion shall in its discretion have power
to shorten such season in said terri-
tory and declare said territory closed

to the hunting or killing of elk at any
time during the open season therein
upon giving no less than five days'
notice thereof, by publishing such no-
tice in at least one newspaper of gen-
eral circulation circulated iu said coun-
ties, which said publication shall be
at least five days prior to the time
fixed by such Commission for the clos-
ing of such season.

During the open season for elk in
the territory described and set forth
in Section 1 of this act, it shall be
unlawful and a misdemeanor punish-
able as hereinafter provided, for any
person to shoot, kill, take, or cause
to be shot, killed, taken, more than
one elk, or for any person during the
closed season for elk to pursue, hunt,
shoot, kill, take, capture, or cause to
be pursued, hunted, shot, killed, taken
or captured, or attempt to shoot, kill,
or take any elk within said territory
or for any person responsible for the
death of any elk to willfully waste any
portion or portions of said elk which
are suitable for food.

Any person violating any of the pro-
visions of this act or any of the orders,
rules, or regulations of the Montana
State Fish and Game Commission relat-
ing hereto, or made pursuant to the
authority given it by this act, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and upon con-
viction thereof, shall be punished by
a fine of not less than two hundred
dollars ($200) nor more than five hun-
dred dollars ($500), or by imprison-
ment in the county jail for not less
than thirty days nor more than six
months, or by both such fine and im-
prisonment.

Far Dealers

FUR DEALERS and their agents will
hereafter be more strictly regu-
lated by the State Fish and Game
Department through passage of the bill
fathered by the senate committee on
fish and game, which requires them to
keep separate records of furs handled,
names and addresses of trappers, open
their books to the game warden and
his deputies and in other manner aid
in the prevention of illegally taking
Montana furs. The new law reads as
follows:

Any person or persons, firm, com-
pany or corporation engaging in, carry-
ing on, or conducting wholly or in
part the business of buying or selling,
trading or dealing, within Montana, in
the skins or pelts of any animal or
animals, designated by the laws of
Montana as fur-bearing or predatory <
animals, shall be deemed a fur dealer j
within the meaning of this act. It such
fur dealer resides in or if his or its
principal place of business is within
the State of Montana he or it shall
be deemed a resident fur dealer. All
other fur dealers shall be deemed non-
resident fur dealers.

Every fur dealer shall keep a book
in which shall be recorded separately
on the date of each transaction the
following facts:

The number and kind of all skins
or pelts purchased or sold by such fur
dealer.

The place where such skins or furs
were killed or trapped and a separate
record of all such skins or pelts as

MONTANA WILD LIFE

were killed or trapped outside the
State of Montana.

The trapping license number under
which such furs or pelts were taken
in cases where a trapper's license is
required for the taking thereof.

The names and addresses of the per-
sons to whom such skins or pelts were
sold or from whom they were pur-
chased.

Said book shall be open at all rea-
sonable times to the inspection of the
State Fish and Game Warden or any
of his deputies, or any United States
Game Warden, and shall be preserved
and accessible for one year after the
expiration of any license granted to
said fur dealer.

All fur dealers as defined in this
act shall before buying, selling or in
any manner dealing in the skins or
pelts of any fur-bearing or predatory
animal within Montana secure a fur
dealer's license from the State Fish
and Game Warden, provided that no
license shall be required for a hunter
or trapper selling skins or pelts which
he has lawfully taken, nor for any
person not a fur dealer who purchases
any such skins or pelts exclusively for
his own use and not for sale.

The following classes of licenses shall
be Issued:

Resident fur dealer's license.
Non-resident fur dealer's license.

Fur dealer's agent's license, and the
following fees charged therefor:

Resident fur dealer's license, one ($1)
dollar; non-resident fur dealer's license,
twenty-five ($25) dollars; fur dealer's
agent's license, ten ($10) dollars.

Any person who is employed by a
resident or non-resident fur dealer as
a fur buyer shall be deemed a fur
dealer's agent. Application for a fur
dealer's agent's license must be made
by the fur dealer employing said agent
and no agent's license shall be issued
until the necessary fur dealer's license
has first been secured by the employer
of said agent.

The license required by this act shall
be issued annually and shall expire on
April 30 of each year and no reduction
in the fee charged for said license
shall be made in any case where said
license runs for less than one year.

Any person, firm, company or cor-
poration violating any of the provisions
of this act shall be guilty of a misde-
meanor and upon conviction thereof
shall be fined not less than twenty-
five dollars ($25) nor more than three
hundred dollars ($300) or shall be im-
prisoned in the county jail for not to
exceed thirty days or shall suffer both
such fine and imprisonment.

Xip'lit Fishing in Lake

DIFFICULTIES arising through
night fishing in Georgetown Lake,
where the Department is operat-
ing the largest spawn-taking station in
I he world at the mouth of Flint creek,
were covered in the house bill making
n:30 P. M. and 5 A. M. the hours be-
tween which fishing shall not be al-
lowed. Complaints have been made of
night seining for trout and other noc-
turnal violations. The new law fol-
lows:

AN

OPINION

"Well, it's
seldom f

queer," said he,
ind

'but

you

A lover of

trees in a prison

cell

Or doing a

wrong of any kind;

It's in stuffy
dwell.

rooms the crim

nals

"I've watched
ways of men

the world

and

the

And those
summer

who
sun

are bronzed

by

the

And know
glen

the

secrets of f

ield

and

Aren't apt
is done.

to

be near when wrong

"For crime
streets,

is

bred in the

crowded

But the man w
and tree

ho bothers w

th p

lant

And is friend t
he meets,

0 the humblest flower

Is likely a

friend to man to

be.

— Edgar

Gue

St.

It shall be unlawful and a misde-
meanor punishable as in this act here-
inafter provided for any person to fish
for or attempt to take in any manner
any fish from the waters of George-
town Lake In Deer Lodge and Granite
counties, Montana, during the hours in-
tervening between 9:30 o'clock P. M.
Mountain time of each day and 5:00
o'clock A. M. Mountain time of each
following day.

Any person violating any of the pro-
visions of this act shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction
thereof shall be punished by a tine of
not less than twenty-five dollars ($25)
nor more than three hundred dollars
($300), or by imprisonment in the
county jail for not less than ten days

Honkers on Parade

SPORTSMEN of the Norris countr>-
know their geese. When the Cana-
dian honkers wend their way
southward with the tang of winter in
the air, the Norris sportsmen cherish
the friendship and crave the acquaint-
ance of W. B. Johnson, proprietor of
the Norris garage, who has eight do-
mesticated decoys. There are two mated
pairs and four birds that will be a year
old in May. They were hatched In
captivity and seldom fail to chatter and
honk down the big boys in the "V"
piercing the gray dawn of late autumn.

nor more than 100 days, or by both
such fine and imprisonment, and in ad-
dition thereto, shall in the discretion
of the court, forfeit his or her license
to hunt or fish within Montana tor
a period of one year from the date
of conviction.

Artificial Fish Ponds

TO ENABLE the establishment of ar-
tificial fish ponds of larger area,
Senator Keeley of Powell county
fathered the bill which finally became
law. It increases the area from 100
acres as provided under the old law
to 500 acres of surface water. The
law follows:

Any person who owns or lawfully
controls an artificial lake or pond may
stock the same with fry procured from
the federal or from the state govern-
ment at the prevailing market price,
providing there is a surplus of said
fry, or from any other lawful source,
and shall thereafter have the right and
privilege to take from said lake or pond
in any manner, except by the use of
poison or explosives, the fish therein
contained, and to sell and dispose of
said fish and of eggs and fry there-
from. The words "artificial lake or
pond" as herein used shall not be con-
strued to include any natural pond or
body of water created by natural agen-
cies, but shall be limited only to such
bodies of water as are created by the
artificial diversion or storage of water
and shall not exceed 500 acres of sur-
face area. Provided, however, that such
owner shall procure a license in the
manner provided by the laws of the
State of Montana, and shall furnish a
good and sufficient bond to Montana,
in the sum of two hundred dollars
($200), conditioned to the effect that he
will not sell fish caught in any of the
public waters of this state, and also
conditioned to the effect that such
owner or holder will report to the
State Game Warden the quantity of
fish, fish eggs and spawn taken from
said lake or pond, and sold from and
planted in, said lake or pond during
any calendar year. Said report to be
made under oath annually in the month
of January of each year.

MUCH SMOKE. NO POWDER

"If vou kiss me again, I shall tell
father."

"That's an old tale. Anyway, it's
worth it," and he kissed her.

She sprang to her feet. "I shall tell
father," she said, and she left the room.

"Father," she said softly to her par-
ent when she got outside, "Charlie Riley
wants to see your new gun."

"All right, I'll take it in to him,"
and two minutes later father appeared
in the doorway with his gun In his
hand.

There was a crash of breaking glass
as "Charley" dived through the window.

A man of diminutive proportions sat
down at the restaurant table.

"I want some salad," he said.

"What kind, shrimp?" asked the
waiter.

"Don't get funny with me, young
man!"

MONTANA WILD LIFE

Peblie Aroesed to Fn§h CoeservMioe

EVER BEEN THEKE?

You men who go hunting and
fishing.
Or long to live in a camp,
Have you ever slept in the open
Tired from a long day's tramp;
Then Just as the day is dawning.
And you lie on your bed awake,
With only the trees as an awning.

As still and as calm as the lake
For even the birds are silent
Asleep in their lovely nest;
A silence that God alone has sent
To sweeten and deepen our rest.
Awed by the beauty of nature

That comes at this hour of the
morn
To fill every living creature

With a thanks that he was born?

^W. C. Shewmon.

AN AROUSED public conscience to
the need tor proper husbandry of
our fisheries resources is the most
encouraging feature of the present fish-
eries situation, Henry O'Malley, United
States Commissioner of Fisheries, sets
forth in his annual report. Montana's
State Fish and Game Commission is
engaged in a vast program of game fish
conservation similar to the federal plan
in commercial fishing.

The commercial fisheries of the
United States are in a stronger eco-
nomic position today than those of
any of the other large fish-producing
countries, according to Commissioner
O'Malley. This favorable status is due
in no small degree to the scientific
research work conducted and the prac-
tical aid rendered by government ex-
perts. Commercial fishing interests.
state and private enterprises engaged
in large-scale fish propagation and or-
ganizations and individuals interested
in having good fishing and enjoying
the use of lakes and streams for rec-
reational pursuits — all are in accord as
to the importance of conserving our
fishery resources.

Notwithstanding the present prosper-
ity of the fishing industry as a whole
there are certain factors which are
cause for grave concern for its future
welfare. While the total yield has in-
creased steadily for the past halt-cen-
tury until it now amounts to over 2%
billion pounds annually, valued at more
than $103,000,000, there is convincing
evidence that many of our great fishing
grounds are suffering actual depletion.
Tha growing importance of sea food
in the diet; the rapid Increase in the
population of the country; recent de-
velopments in refrigeration, preservu.-
tlon and distribution of sea foods; to-
gether with revolutionary changes In
methods of marketing, all show un-
mistakably that we are entering upon
an era of exploitation of the fisheries
greater than ever before. The urgency
and importance of the practical prob-
lems of conservation, the report sets

forth, make it Imperative that the bu-
reau center the attention of its re-
search staff upon their earliest solution.

For the past ten years, the report dis-
closes, there has been a steady down-
ward trend in the total fish catch of
the Great Lakes. The fisheries in this
area represent au investment of more
than $15,000,000 and furnish employ-
ment to about 15,000 persons.

A new record for fish culture was
established by the bureau's stations
during the year 1927 when more than
seven billion fish and fish eggs were
produced, an increase of half a billion
over the previous high record of 1926.
The number of co-operative fish nur-
series increased from 55 in 1927 to S6
in 1928, distributed in 11 states. As
a consequence of this expansion in
hatching and rearing facilities, many
more fish are reared to a length of
three or four inches before being re-
leased in natural streams and ponds.

An item of unique interest in the re-
port is that in connection with the
loss of young salmon each year in irri-
gation ditches. From SO to 90 million
salmon fry. it is pointed out. are re-
leased in the Columbia river each year
and it is estimated that fully 90 per
cent of these which migrate seaward
are lost in irrigation ditches. An ap-
propriation looking to an investigation
and remedying of this situation was
made by congress.

The average annual landings of fish-
eries products in the United States
have a value of more than $100,000,000:
about 118,000 men are engaged in com-
mercial fishing and 300 are employed
on vessels directly connected with the
fishing industry. In 1927 the production
of canned fishery products amounted
to more than 475.000.000 pounds valued
at $81,384,000 and the output of by-
products was valued at $12,793,000. The
value of salted, dried and smoked fish-
ery products may be estimated at $12,-
000,000.

What Reduces Game?

WniLK some Montana folks con-
tend that greater shooting re-
strictions represent the only
means of preventing depletion of game,
shooting is only one of the many fac-
tors responsible for such reduction, and
In some cases it is not the chief factor,
it is set forth in a bulletin of the
American Game Protective Association.

Complete prohibition of shooting
would be of little avail, it is set forth,
without food, cover, sanctuary, brood
stock, control of predatory species, and
adequate range.

Wild life always is reduced in pro-
portion to the reduction of its range
and natural habitat conditions.

"The plow and the cow made it im-
possible for a herd of wild buffalo to

MOUNTAINS

I know not if they may have been
flung Heaven high

By some primordial throe of Na-
ture's breast.

I only know how still .... how
vastly still

They stand against the sky ....

Gray crag, green slope, and snow-
crowned crest.

I know not if chaotic thunders
crashed and rumbled

'Round their ragged peaks.

I only know their far still silences.

And I am hushed .... God speaks.

find range anywhere in the United
States," the bulletin points out. "The
ax and the saw played havoc witli the
roosting and nesting groves of the wild
pigeon.

"Just so the displacement of the worm
rail fence, the stone wall and the hedge
row by the wire fence has obliterated
the cover of the bob white: the steam
shovel and the ditching machine have
sucked out the water and dried up the
homes of the waterfowl and the musk-
rat; the same engines have caused an
impenetrable crust to form where the
woodcock was wont to bore for food:
fire, pasturage, deforestation and cul-
tivation have ruined the resorts of the
grouse, deer and moose; all these agen-
cies, added to poisonous pollution, have
obliterated the streams or made them
untenable for fish.

"These things can not be charged to
sportsmen, though the man with the
gun must bear his rightful share of
the blame, because gunners are not al-
ways sportsmen. A few hoggish indi-
viduals have brought odium on the
wliole fraternity.

"It is up to the man who is not rec-
onciled to hang up his gun and rod for
keeps to help solve this problem in a
constructive way. He must work
through organization, local and national,
to put effective methods into operation.
More restrictive laws will not suffice.
There must be more food, more cover,
more sanctuary, more breeding and
stocking and better law enforcement."

WORLD RECORDS

"This is a good restaurant, isn't it'.'"
said the customer to the waiter who
liad brought his order.

"Yes," replied the waiter. "If you
order a fresh egg here, you get the
freshest egg in the world. If you order
a good cup of coffee, you get the best
cup of coffee in the world, and — "

"Yes, I can quite believe it. I ordered
a small steak."

MONTANA WILD LIFE

Mestieg Tnime I§ Mear ^t Miee Fip©

A SCAUP OR. &LUE.e>lLl_ CN HER.
NEST AMONJGr THt THISTLES

A SLACK- MAULARD'S
NeST IM ALFAUFA
FIE.LD

A PlE-D BILLE-D GR-E-BE- LEAVING-'^'
HER. FLOATfMO- NEST ON A POT H OLE-
NEAR MINE PIPES -BA&YOR,E6£ OWEDOE OF MEST-

AVOCET AT

NINE Pipe

MONTANA W I L D LIFE

MONTANA STATE FISH AND GAME COMMISSION

COMMISSIONERS.
Thomas N. Marlowe, Missoula, Chairman.
G. T. Boyd, Great Falls.
Joseph L. Kelly, Anaconda.
\V. K. Moore, Billings.
E. A. Wilson, Livingston.

ROBERT H. HILL, Helena

State Fish and Game Warden

Secretary.

MONTANA WILD LIFE

The Official Publication of the State

Fish and Game Department.

Published Monthly at Helena, Montana.

FLOYD L. SMITH, Editor.

Introductory Subscription Rates

15 Cents per Copy — 50 Cents per Year.

Advertising Rates on Application.

Copy for advertisements subject to approval of State
Commission and must be in the hands of the editor at the
State Capitol building, Helena, on the 15th of the month
preceding publication date.

TOLIME I

MARCH, 1939

NUMBER 10

SUBSCRIPTION PRICE GOES TO U

MONTANA'S State Fish and Game Commission has de-
cided that the subscription price of MONTANA WILD
LIFE, official publication of the Department, which
has been greeted with enthusiastic acclaim among sports-
men as well as other commissions of the United States
and Canada, shall be increased to $1 per year after June
1. the start of the second year of the publication. Hence,
in keeping with the order of the Commission, sportsmen
of the state and nation who desire to secure the magazine
at the introductory price of 50 cents per year, must have
their checks in the office of the editor at Helena before
June 1. That date likewise will mark the discontinuance
of complimentary copies which have been mailed to pos-
sible subscribers, state officials, members of the legislature
and others. The first year of the existence of the maga-
zine has proven it a success, hence, because of the neces-
sity of meeting publication costs and production expenses,
it has been mandatory that this step be taken. On the
mailing list of MONTANA WILD LIFE, as paid subscribers,
are the names of men prominent in conservation of natu-
ral resources in every state in the Union. Others have
been placed on the paid mailing list through the activity
of Montana sportsmen, and to those who have paid the fee
it is manifestly unfair to continue mailing monthly copies
free to others. At the last annual meeting of the Montana
State Sportsmen's Association it was agreed that the maga-
zine is worth far more than the price now charged. It's
the wise feller who gets out the check book now and puts
his name on the line for a subscription of several years.
.Tune 1 is the dead line for the four bits subscription.
After that It's a buck.

Take Your Choice — Song Bird or Cat — You Cannot Have
Both.

SPORTSMEN'S ARTICLES WELCOME

MEMBERS of the Montana State Sportsmen's Associa-
tion, as well as men and women generally who are
interested In the conservation of wild life, are again
earnestly requested to submit articles and photographs of
interest for publication In MONTANA WILD LIFE. Through
foresight and enterprise of the State Fish and Game Com-
mission this magazine has been established to aid in spread-
ing the gospel of conservation. Cooperative efforts of
sportsmen In sympathy with the vast program of the State
Commission are sincerely sought and welcomed. Results

achieved during the first 10 months of its existence are
already apparent. Every Montana sportsman should be a
subscriber. It behooves him to keep in touch with activi-
ties of the Commission which he is aiding in making pos-
sible. He should consider it a duty and a pleasure to see
to it that friends in other states are likewise subscribers.
They enjoy the Montana contact. On June 1 the subscrip-
tion price goes up from 50 cents to $1 per year. Now Is
the time to act.

Let us unite in taking the "rest" out of restoration.

ANOTHER UNIVERSITY GAME COURSE

STATE universities are gradually developing an interest
in establishing courses of study in conservation and
propagation of game animals and birds. One of the
latest to establish a course is the State University of Idaho,
which has introduced a course of study in game propaga-
tion in its poultry department of the School of Agriculture.
Experimental work in propagation is to be carried on,
especially with the view of developing methods involving
less expense than those in common use. Incubators and
artificial brooders are used in these experiments.

Another thing needed for wild life perpetuation is less
wishbone and more backbone.

WISCONSIN BUILDS FISH HATCHERIES

WISCONSIN has 24 fish hatcheries and will build three
more this season, one for pike perch and two for tlie
propagation of black bass. This state has long been
famous for the efficiency of its fish cultural work, which
was established many years ago on a firm and practical
foundation by the late James Nevin, who had charge of
fish cultural work in Wisconsin for more than thirty years.
His successor, B. 0. Webster, has continued to carry on
with equal success and has, since the death of his prede-
cessor, made marked progress in the propagation of the
many species of fine food and game fish indigenous to
Wisconsin.

Mr. Webster is convinced that the propagation of black
bass and other nest-building fishes can be materially en-
couraged and promoted by the establishment under state
supervision of a large number of breeding ponds along the
Mississippi river. He is preparing to make a thorough
survey of suitable areas for such ponds during the coming
summer along the 140-mile length of the Mississippi river
where it borders on Wisconsin.

Every business profits from fish and game, but fish
and game profit from precious few businesses.

DID YOU KNOW?

AT Fort Leavenworth federal penitentiary there are
clubs of all kinds organized among the prisoners:
bankers clubs, realtors clubs, manufacturers clubs —
but there isn't a fisherman within the walls. Statistics on
major crimes show that in 25 years there has never been
a man convicted who loved to fish, smoke a pipe and
owned a dog. No man without a clear conscience can be
a fisherman or a lover in any way of the great outdoors.
Our crooks arc found where the lights are brightest, where
there Is a crowd and music and hustle, where they can
forget consciences.

MONTANA WILD LIFE

BEAVERS TO IMPKOVE FISHING

THE EFFECT of beavers on fishing streams has always
been a moot question and doubtless the effect varies
according to conditions and locality. It remains, how-
ever, for the Sportsmen's Association of Seattle to inaugu-
rate a plan for systematically directing the energies of
these industrious builders so as to contribute to the im-
provement of fishing in Washington streams. It is in-
tended to divert the beavers from their unorganized pro-
gram of building dams and put them to work constructing
dams at carefully selected spots, thus forming artificial
pools useful for the propagation and encouragement of
trout and incidentally the improvement of trout fishing.

The man who spends several hundreds of dollars eacli
year for his hunting and fishing, then refuses to support a
sportsmen's conservation organization, is indeed an unwise
investor.

KILL OF WILD GAME EQUALS 10,000 STEERS

FOOD VALUE of wild game killed last year in South
Dakota equals, from the standpoint of quantity, the
meat from 10,000 steers, according to C. H. Johnson,
state game and fish commissioner. This includes four mil-
lion pounds of pheasant meat, 31,600 pounds of venison
and three-fourths million pounds of wild duck, or a total
of nearly 4,900,000 pounds of dressed game. Estimating
a dressed steer at 500 pounds. It would take 10,000 of them
to equal the meat of the game. Fish are not included
in the commissioner's figures as the number caught dur-
ing the year is so large and their weight so varied that
no accurate estimate could be made of the total.

Don't forget your hunting license. It should be carried
on every hunting trip.

GABLE AS AN ASSET

IN THIS country the thought of game as an asset, as
a commodity of economic value, is fairly new. It has
been pointed out that the annual kill is worth millions
of dollars to a state from the standpoint of food values
alone and entirely apart from its recreational value or its
value in tourist trade, but this idea is new to the mass
of Americans.

In Europe such values have long been recognized and
conservation practiced for years. Europe, in short, has
recognized that a continued production of its game crop
can not be left to chance but must be worked at as any
other crop, and we are beginning to realize this ourselves.

In this light it is not surprising to find that France,' a
country where all waste must be eliminated in order to
take care of its huge population, is keeping abreast of
the times on conservation matters. We quote from the
Baltimore, Maryland, Morning Sun:

"France is interested to some extent at leas'., in Vir-
ginia's work in wild life conservation. This is indicated
by a request made to M. D. Hart, executive secretary of
the Virginia State Commission of Game and Inland Fish-
eries, by a French editor for an article dealing with game
and fish laws. Following recent communications with A.
Fiot, attache to the French embassy at Washington. Mr.
Hart has received a letter in which Mr. Fiot informs him
that the editor of Chasseur Francais is eager to get in-
formation on wild life conservation work."

The weakest alibi for decreasing game and fish is "ease
of transportation" — modern transportation provides equal
facility for maintaining the supplies.

HIGHWAY SAFETY VALVES

MOTORING visitors approaching Bonners Ferry. Idaho,
over main traveled roads meet with a peculiar road-
side sign. From a distance he makes out only a
square white space from which stand out a row of three
regulation rifle targets. Getting nearer the reader may
make out the legend, "Donated to the Sign Shooters."
Then is revealed the name of the proprietor of an ignition
service station. The trenchant satire of the signs has
preserved them from the silly assaults of the shooters.

PIBLICITY PREVENTS VIOLATIONS

THERE is a great difference in policy in states with
reference to giving publicity to prosecutions for viola-
tions of conservation laws. Some states publish all
such prosecutions, giving names, dates and full facts con-
cerning each case. In other states such information is
withheld from publicity. Publicity seems to be the better
policy because it has a deterrent effect on would-be vio-
lators.

Executive Secretary M. D. Hart of the Virginia Com-
mission of Game and Inland Fisheries recently advised all
game wardens of that state to give facts relating to such
prosecutions and violations to their newspapers. This is
a new departure in Virginia and Mr. Hart is fully con-
vinced that a policy of pitiless publicity is what is needed.
He believes it will have a salutary effect and will at the
same time inform the public as to the activities of the
wardens.

Let us not overlook the fact that predatory animals and
semi-wild house cats have a year around open season on
game, song and insectivorous birds.

A PATRIOTIC SERVICE

THERE is no branch of the public service, either state
or federal, in which a greater patriotic devotion to
duty and the public welfare is displayed than in the
fi.sh cultural work of the United States Bureau of Fisheries
and the various state departments.

Fish propagation is a highly technical work, requiring
close attention to every detail and thorough training. It
involves long hours, heavy labor, unremitting vigilance,
scientific and practical knowledge and few vacations.

AVere it not for the marked progress made in the
science of fish culture and the resulting large output of
fish from hatcheries, there would be many less fish for
angling purposes in the lakes and streams of the country.
In other words, the fish culturist has made it possible to
continue to enjoy angling for trout in a great part of
the country which would otherwise be barren of fish. The
supply of many other varieties also depends to a great
extent on artificial propagation.

Fish culture is a life profession, requiring many years
of study, experience and intense application, yet it is
without exception the poorest paid branch of the public
service. The federal government and most of the states
are niggardly in providing for these faithful servants.
Most of them are compelled to subsist on the salary of
a common laborer or less. They continue in their chosen
work because of their love for it, despite its unat-
tractiveness from the standpoint of compensation.

Some people are unable to understand that the sentence,
"a public office is a public trust" is anything more than
a line in the copy book.

INTERESTING DATA ON HUNGARIANS

TOM NASH of Ohio wrote a letter read at the meeting
of the Washington State Association of County Game
Commissioners and Game Wardens by Charles Meyers,
chairman of the commission. Mr. Nash claims from 40
years' experience with Hungarian partridges in Europe
that the scarcity comes from inbreeding and unless new
blood is introduced into the bands of these birds every
three or four years the covies decrease in size, and the
birds do not survive hunting. He further advises that
banded birds have not been found farther away from
where they were liberated than eight miles. Relative to
the flight of Hungarians, the general impression is. in
the United States, that Hungarian partridges travel much
farther than eight miles from the place of liberation. It
is hoped that further banding ot this species will definitely
settle this fact.

"Human life is absolutely dependent upon wild life
and forests. Without these things we would become
extinct as a race. If all vegetation should disappear tomor-
row, the human race would become extinct upon the face
ot the earth within one year."

10

MONTANA WILD LIFE

SCIENTIFIC experiments among Mon-
tana's neighborinK states have
proven that acclimated game birds,
artificially propagated, have been a
successful venture and it won't be long
now until the Montana stale game farm
at the hospital for the insane at Warm
Springs or the state prison at Deer
Lodge will be turning out Montana-
bred Chinese pheasants and Hungarian
partridges for stocking fields and
hedges of the Treasure state.

At the last meeting of the Commis-
sion at Helena. March 14, Chairman
Thomas N. Marlowe was instructed to
proceed in the employment of a game
farm expert, the erection ot pens, ac-
quiring of brood stock and other do-
tails. The expert to be employed is
to be entrusted with the selection of
the site and the construction of pens
and houses.

Members of the Commission insisted
that a start be made this year. Ne-
braska will doubtless aid in supplying
a part ot the breeding stock because
of the offer of the commission of that
state to trade 400 pairs ot Chinese
pheasants for 1.000.000 trout eggs, the
birds to be considered worth $4 per
pair and the trout eggs .$2 per thousand
in making the swap. An investigation
looking toward establishing the game
farm has been conducted by Game
Warden Robert H. Hill for several
weeks.

Members present at the meeting were:
T. N. Marlowe, chairman; E. A. Wilson.
W. K. Moore. G. T. Boyd and .J. I..
Kelly, Commissioners; Dr. I. H. Treece
and J. W. Schofield, Field Assistants,
and Robert H. Hill. State Game Warden.

Mr. Hill presented a request from
John Tressler of Malta asking that
Lake Bowdoin in Phillips county be
closed to the trapping ot muskrats for
five years. In view of the fact that
the trapping season is over April l.'Jth
and it is necessary to give a 15 days'
notice before closing the trapping sea-
son, action was deferred.

Mr. Hill advised that John W. Wood-
cock and Mr. Gordon, members ot the
legislature, had requested him to pre-
sent to the Commission the matter of
opening the High wood Forest to the
hunting of elk. Several complaints of
damage have been received from that
locality, and last year's open season
proved unsuccessful in diminishing the
herd. Mr. Hill read a complaint of
damage by elk from Thomas Rtrelt of
High wood, and read Deputy Roushar's
report of existing conditions. Mr. Hill
was instructed to investigate conditions
in the Highwood and report his find-
ings at the nf>xt meeting of the Com-
mission.

Mr. Hill asked the field hatchery as-
sistants concerning egg-taking opera-
tions at Lake Francis, in Pondera
countv. John W. Schofield advised that
he believed operations for taking rain-
bow eggs could he started this fall, and
that permanent fixtures for the taking
of these eggs would have to be bulU.

WILD LIFE PROGKAM

I'latform and Principles Adopted
ISy the Internationsil Association
of <i:inie, Fish and Conserva-
tion Commissioners

WE BELIEVE in and recommend
the observation, by sportsmen
and conservationists, of unmo-
lested areas where wild life mai' find
rest and nest so their reproduction
of like species may forever continue.

We believe in a census of all spe-
cies as accurately as can be had and
that the bag limits and open sea-
sons thereon be regulated on a basis
commensurate therewith.

We believe in the taking of all
game, fish and fur-bearers if the
supply Justifies in such sparing
quantities that the continuation of
the interesting and valuable wild
life may exist in needful abundance.

That these principles be taught
to boys and girls of America in the
most effective manner.

Mr. Schofield and Dr. I. H. Treece were
authorized to proceed with the building
of permanent fixtures in completing the
egg-taking station at Lake Francis tliis
fall after the water recedes sufficiently.

Mr. Hill advised that M. W. Wick-
ware of Valier, a member of the legis-
lative assembly, had made a request
for A. J. Simmons for an all-year open
fishing season on Lake Francis. He
read letters making a similar request
from the Valier and Shelby Rod and
Gun (Mubs. The applications were de-
nied because the Department is endeav-
oring to build up the lake for a rain-
bow spawn-taking station.

The Secretary read a letter from the
Hill County Rod and Gun Club request-
ing that Beaver Creek in Hill county,
which has been closed to fishing for
three or four years and which is
stocked with rainbow trout, be open to
fishing during the regular open season.
but that the tributaries of the creelt
remain closed, and the petition was
granted.

Mr, Hill read a request from the Deer
r,,odge Anglers' Club that Cottonwood
Creek in Powell county be opened to
fishing the year around, inasmuch as if
is almost overstocked with eastern
brook trout. The closed season was
suspended until further order of the
Commission,

Mr, Hill read a letter from the Red
lyodge Rod and Gun Club asking that
the Commission close to fishing, for
three years from the time of stocking,
September Moru Lake. Rasin Creek
Lake and Third Rock Creek I^ake on
the Second West Fork, all of which
are in Carbon county, and the request
was granted.

The Secretary advised that Sylvan J,
Paulv. a member of the house of rep-
resentatives, had made a request from
Dr. Kllburn of Ovando that Cooper's

Lake in Powell county be opened to
fishing. Dr. Treece advised that eggs
have been planted there in great num-
bers but that the eggs taken from the
lake were too inbred. Action was de-
ferred in view of the fact that it would
interfere with the spawning season if
anything was done at the present time.

Warden Hill asked Commissioner W.
K. Moore for his report on allowing
Mr. McCracken to seine in Hollins
Lake, which matter had been referred
to Mr. Moore at the last meeting. Mr.
Moore advised that he wished to make
further investigations.

A petition was presented from set-
tlers in the Medicine Lake district ask-
ing tliat they be permitted to seine in
that lake without paying a license or
seining fee. A letter from Deputy
Krost advised that seining expenses in
Medicine Lake were not high. The pe-
tition was denied.

Mr. Hill read a report of the condi-
tions in the Red Rock Lakes, in Bea-
verhead county. At the last meeting
Senator Pearl I. Smith, a member of
the legislature from Beaverhead county,
had requested that ling be seined out
of this lake. Mr, Hill advised that
under the law ling may be fished for
through the ice and may be commer-
cialized. The closed season was sus-
pended in the Upper and Lower Red
Rock Lakes and the channel connecting
them,

Mr, Hill read a letter from William
Adams, director of the Department of
Conservation of Massachusetts, thank-
ing the Commission for action relative
to shipping sharptail grouse to that
state to breed with the heath hen, which
is disappearing. Mr. Adams advised
that they did not believe it would he
advisable to cross the birds.

Mr. Hill advised tliat the sportsmen
in Toole, Glacier and Pondera counties
are anxious to Iiave a warden for that
district, Mr. Marlowe read correspond-
ence which he had in connection with
this matter. No definite action was
taken.

Mr. Hill asked the desire of the
Commission in appointing a game war-
den for Big Horn county for eight or
nine months ot the year and Charles
Hutton of Hardin was reappointed spe-
cial deputy for Big Horn county, his
appointment to be effective April 1,
1029, and to continue at the option of
the State Game Warden,

It was decided that from and after
the June publication of MONTANA
WILD LIFE the subscription price
shall be increased to one dollar a year:
that all issues of this magazine pub-
lished between now and that time
cnrry a notice to that effect: and that
:i notice also be published conveying
Ihc idea to those who have not actually
subscribed to this magazine, but who
arc now receiving it. that they will not
receive any issues of MONTANA WILD
LIFE free after the May issue.

Mr, Hill advised that the I'. S. Bu-
reau of Biological Survey had put Mon-

MONTANA WILD LIFE

11

taiia oil a list making it possible, with
the permission of the Department, for
persons to secure permits to kill robins
which are injurying cherry and other
berry crops. Mr. Hill asked the senti-
ment of the Commission. The Com-
mission declined to authorize the kill-
ing of robins in any place in Montana.

Mr. Hill read a letter from the Flat-
head Fur Farms of Kalispell wherein
they requested permission to sell some
of their male muskrat stock before the
two-year period terminated in order to
have a better increase for the coming
year. Discussion followed as to the
productivity of muskrats. The matter
was laid on the table until later in the
meeting.

Mr. Hill presented the matter of pay-
ing the prizes in the predatory animal
contest and he gave a report of the
winners.

Mr. Hill read a letter from the Izaak
Walton League chapter at Plentywood
asking the Commission to furnish them
with duck food and Chinese pheasants
for planting in their locality. He also
read a similar letter from Warden
Krost. The game warden was in-
structed to advise them that the De-
partment is not planting duck food this
season, but that negotiations are now
being made tor the purchase of birds,
and as soon as results are at hand birds
may be available for distribution.

The Secretary read a letter from
Sweet Brothers at Butte offering to
sell their hatchery at Wilder, and the
offer was filed.

Deputy J. H. Chartrand complained
that a number of fish had died at
the Miles City station and Field As-
sistants Treece and Schofield were sent
to Miles City to look over the station.
It was also suggested that they send
some of the water at the station to the
U. S. Bureau of Fisheries for examina-
tion.

Mr. Wilson advised that the A. W. T.
Anderson hatchery at Emigrant, which
the Commission considered buying, had
been sold.

The matter of installing a fish wheel
or ladder over the dam at Bonner was
considered. The Deer Lodge Anglers'
Club had requested the building of such
a fish ladder. Deputy Warden Hill at
Missoula was instructed to investigate
the dam in the Big Blackfoot river,
near Milltown in Missoula county, and
report his investigations to State Game
Warden Hill. The matter of installing
fish ladders over three other dams- -
one in the West Gallatin near Gallatin
Gateway, one in the Tongue river and
one in the Yellowstone river below
Glendive, was discussed and Deputy
Marshall at Bozeman ordered to inves-
tigate the dam on the West Gallatin
and see whether or not it needs a fish
ladder.

Mr. Marlowe reported on the quota-
tions which he had received tor metal
signs, one being from the Everwear
Sign Corporation at Glendale. Calif.,
and the other being from the Depart-
ment of Welfare of the State of Penn-
sylvania. Both quotations are 25c per
sign. Mr. Marlowe advised that he
would order the 5,000 signs being pur-
chased by this Department from the
Pennsylvania Department of Welfare.

Chairman Marlowe advised that Dr.
M. J. Elrod of the University of Mon-
tana had recommended a man to plant

eyed eggs for this Department in the
inaccessible streams of the state. He
had planted eggs in Glacier Park tor
four years and had done satisfactory
work. His charges would be merely for
expenses and the hire of some one to
look after his stock while he was awa v
from home. Mr. Marlowe was instructed
to arrange taking care of this work.

Mr. Marlowe suggested that, inasmuch
as it is necessary to feed game birds
during the severe winter months, it
would be more economical to purchase
wheat in the sheaf in the summer time
and keep it in storage until the winter
months. Mr. Marlowe was authorized
to determine the locations in which it
will be necessary to feed game birds
and animals during the winter months,
and to purchase the necessary food.

Mr. Marlowe suggested that the De-
partment should have some record of
the sale of fish eggs. Mr. Hill sug-
gested that when a trade is being con-
templated it should be brought up for
approval by the Commission.

Mr. Marlowe read a petition from the
citizens of Mineral county asking that
Big Creek, tributary of the St. Regis
river, from its mouth, near Haugan,

Subscribe Now!

The subscription price of
MONTANA WILD LIFE
will be increased from 50
cents to $1 per year on June
1, the first anniversary of
the official publication of the
State Fish and Game Depart-
ment. Checks for subscrip-
tions at the rate of 50 cents
per year will be received
until that date. The compli-
mentary list will be elimi-
nated. Help the cause. Do
it now ! Attach your check
to the following list of
friends and mail it to the
editor at Helena :

Name

Address

Name

Address

Name

Address
Name.
Address .

Name.
Address

to the forks (a distance of less than
three miles) and Twelve Mile Creek,
also a tributary of the St. Regis river,
in its entirety, be opened for fishing
during the regular open season. Both
these creeks are in Mineral county.
The petition was granted.

Mr. Marlowe read a letter from the
Judith River Rod and Gun Club asking
for another warden in that territory
tor Judith Basin county alone, inasmucji
as the territory covered by the warden
there at the present time is too large.
The Secretary of the Commission was
instructed to answer this communica-
tion and state the condition of the De-
partment, that there are several places
where wardens are needed but that
funds are not available to make more
appointments.

Mr. Marlowe advised that he had re-
ceived a letter from the Great Falls
chamber of commerce asking whether
the state had ever purchased aquarium
tanks for the Great Falls hatcher •, and
if so. where they now are located. Mr.
Schofield advised that he had never
known of such a purchase, but that
the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries had once
sent some tanks to Montana, which
tanks proved useless, and that perhaps
this had caused confusion in the minds
of Great Falls sportsmen.

Mr. Marlowe read a letter from Byron
DeForest, wherein he asked if the De-
partment would not put loch leven,
which are in the Great Falls hatchery,
into rearing ponds before planting them
in the Missouri river, so that they will
have a chance to grow. Mr. Schofield
advised that these fish will he two
years old when planted and that there
is not a suitable place on the Missouri
river for natural rearing ponds. Mr.
Marlowe was authorized to write Mr.
DeForest. advising him that the De-
partment would appreciate finding a
site along the Missouri river suitable
for a natural rearing pond, where the
fish will not have to be fed.

Mr. Marlowe read a letter from the
Western Montana Fish and Game Asso-
ciation of Missoula, asking that the
Grass Valley Migratory and Game Bird
Preserve in Missoula county be abol-
ished and that it be kept for only a
game bird preserve. The farmers in
that district however are opposed to
such a change and submitted a peti-
tion to this effect. The request was
tabled.

Mr. Marlowe advised that Clyde Ter-
rell of Terrell's Aquatic Farm had of-
fered to send a man to this state this
summer to ascertain the results of the
duck food which the Department has
planted.

Attorney Wiggenhorn of Billings took
up the matter by letter of the stand
taken by the game warden that all
shipments of fur-bearing animal skins
outside the state must be accompanied
by a shipping permit. He is counsel
for W. L. Weaver whose six fox skins
were confiscated for shipping without
a permit. The Commission voted that
Chairman Marlowe be instructed to
write Mr. Wiggenhorn that the posi-
tion taken by Warden Hill is correct
and in accordance with the laws.

It was decided that Chairman Mar-
lowe should confer with photographers
in an endeavor to secure another mov-

12

MONTANA WILD LIFE

iiig picture reel ot wild animal life of
Montana.

Chairman Marlowe brought up the
resolution passed l)y the Montana
Sportsmen's Association asking a secre-
tary in common with the Department
and the adoption of MONTANA WILD
lAFK as their official publication. He
read a letter from Glen Smith in this
connection. It was suggested that the
advisory board of the association meet
with the Commission at some future
time to discuss their problems.

Dr. Treece and Mr. Schofield advised
that they needed more fish tanks for
transporting fish In both the western
and eastern divisions. Mr. Marlowe
read a letter from Mr. Parvin of the
Colorado fish and game department,
wherein Mr. Parvin explained that they
had had tanks built by the Thompson
Company of Denver, which tanks had
proved satisfactory, and the Commis-
sion ordered two tanks, one for eastern
and one for western Montana.

The Commission ordered a new
Standard Buick coupe to be used by
Dr. Treece in his work, a sedan for
J. W. Schofield in his district and a
Chevrolet sedan for the use of Jack
W. Carney, assistant game warden. The
Department authorized buying a Model
A Ford truck, with a stake body, for
use at the Missoula hatchery.

Commissioner W. K. Moore asserted
that several years ago the Department
had turned over to the Red Lodge
American Legion, for the sum of $1,
the hatchery at Richel Lodge, which
was to be used for government pur-
poses, and that the hatchery had not
been taken care of in the last few
years and is deteriorating rapidly. The
Lions' Club at Billings is sponsoring
a boys' club and they have made re-
quest for the hatchery building for
club purposes. Mr. Moore was author-
ized to take care of arrangements for
disposing of the old Richel Lodge hatch-
ery, with full authority to act.

Chairman Marlowe advised that the
Missoula sportsmen are planning on
sowing barley and wheat around the
Nine Pipe Reserve and leaving it for
the birds. He was given permission
to buy new fence posts to mend the
fences surrounding this preserve, so
that the grain would be unmolested.

Mr. Schofield was authorized to build
a pond to cost about $100 at the Big
Timber hatchery, for the purpose of
experimenting in keeping a few fish
until they grow to a larger size before
planting.

The annual meeting of the Commis-
sion will be held about April 15.

Cerioujis Faets Aboet Fisli

UIKDS OF A FEATHEH

A woodsman was conducting a friend
on his first game hunt. The new man
was fully equipped tor the expedition.
Ho had a brand new corduroy suit and
a new and shiny gun. As they ap-
proached a swamp a pair of ducks flew
up. The would-be Nimrod in his en-
thusiasm fired both barrels, and when
the smoke cleared away the air was
empty. He rushed excitedly over to the
tall grass, and after poking around a
while held up a large frog.

"Well," he boasted, "that's not so
bad for the first llinc. I shot all the
feathers off."

WH.VT is a fish? It is an aquatic
animal, the lowest in the order
of the vertebrates, or back-boned
animals. It is distinguished from the
higher forms of animal life in that it
breathes through gills and its limbs
take the forms of fins.

The earliest fossil remains of fishes
are estimated to date back 400 million
years. The characteristics are some-
what the same. While scientists are not
sure whence they came, it is quite cer-
tain that many of the important and
essential characters of the higher ver-
tebrates made their first appearance
among the fish and that they were the
forerunner of all higher forms of life.

The variety of fishes is almost beyond
comprehension. There are over 13,000
species. Among these thousands are
tiny fellows and giants, fat ones and
thin ones, round ones and triangular
ones.

The smallest fish known, and perhaps
the smallest vertebrate in the world, is
the tiny Goby which lives in the Phil-
ippine waters. It is only about one-
half inch long; in fact its name is
longer than it is. Then there are the
Carplings which live in most tropical
waters. These little fellows are about
the same size as the Goby. These fish
feed upon the larvae of dangerous mos-
quitoes. Most of the brilliantly colored
fish are only from two to four inches
long.

The largest fishes are found among
the sharks. The largest is perhaps the
Basking Shark, found in sub-Arctic
waters, which reaches a length of about
forty to forty-five feet. Then there is
the dreaded Carcharodon of tropical
waters, about the same length. The
Vampyre Ray of the West Indies
reaches a width across the wings of
some twenty-five feet, while the great
oarfish is over twenty feet long and
weighs over 500 pounds.

As a rule the fish of the tropics are
more brilliantly colored and show more
variations than the fishes of the tem-
perate zones. But even in the latter
some remarkable species may be found.
There are the blind fishes of Mam-
moth Cave. Kentucky: once they had
eyes but from years of disuse the organ
of sight has decayed. There are curi-
ous species found in ocean depths that
likewise have little or no organs of
sight.

One of the most remarkable fish
known is the salmon, which lives in
fresh water and in salt water. As a
general rule to suddenly change fish
from ocean water to fresh water, or
from fresh water to ocean water, is
to condemn them to death, for their
delicate gill-membranes are so nicely
balanced to the outer conditions that
a change of water acts like poison.
But not 80 with the salmon. It travels
anywhere from twenty to a hundred
miles through salt water in the course
of a season and then when spawning
season comes ascends some river to lay
its eggs.

Other remarkable fish is the climb-
ing-perch, which occasionally travels
short distances over land and has also
been known to climb trees. There is
the chub which buries itself in the
mud in the fall and hibernates. Then-
is the pickerel which reverses the gen-
eral order and is active and hungry
in winter. There are the parrot fishes
of the Mediterranean Sea of gorgeous
hues. And there is the great weever
which is protected by poisonous spines;
the swordti.'ih and sawfish with their
strange jaws; the electric eel wliich is
powerful enough to stun a man.

The struggle for existence among the
fishes is indeed fierce. Not only is
there a continuous battle being waged
in the depths of the ocean where hun-
dreds of species, great and small, feed
upon one another, but there are like-
wise struggles continually taking place
in our lakes and rivers and ponds. Not
only do many fish feed upon other
species, but a number feed upon their
own kind. The little minnow must ever
be on the alert for the bass or the
pickerel or the perch which is seeking
to pounce upon him. The perch and
smaller bass in turn must look out for
the pickerel and the pike, the pike and
pickerel for the muskalonge. and so on.
Not only is man, above the water, seek-
ing him, but there are enemies on every
hand in the murkv depths about him.
Life for most fish is ever chasing after
food and being chased.

The more active fish are usually the
flesh-eaters and are exceedingly vora-
cious. Many of them have elastic stom-
achs into which they crowd a large
number of smaller fish; a few species,
like the deep-sea Gastrostomids, allies
of the eels, can extend their stomachs
and thus swallow a victim larger than
themselves. Few fish take time to
chew their food. As a rule, the booty
disappears as rapidly as possible, prob-
ably to prevent a rival having a share.
This has led to curious consequences.
Eels have been taken with another eel
in their mouth which had wriggled its
way between the gills and thus suf-
focated its captor. And live fishes have
been taken in the stomachs of others.
It is on record that on occasions the
live booty has cut its way through the
lining of the stomach and either es-
caped or embedded itself in the tissues
of its captor. Some few fish, among
which are the .«!harks. take a pleasure
in killing far more than they can de-
vour at a time. One species combines
this lust with such a morbid appetite
that it is said to eject the contents of
its stomach when full in order to go
on feeding.

COOPERATION

It ain't the guns nor armament.

Nor funds that they can pay,
But the close cooperation

That makes them win the day.
It ain't the individual.

Nor the army as a whole.
But the everlasting team-work

Of every bloomin' soul.

MONTANA WILD LIFE

13

AFTER a strenuous and protracted
campaign of eight years, tlie Mi-
gratory Bird Conservation Act.
known in various sessions of Congress
by different names and generally re-
ferred to as the "Game Refuge Bill,"
was finally passed near the close of
the last session of the 70th Congress
and approved by President Coolidge on
February IS, 1929. It has especial sig-
nificance to Montana sportsmen. It
was officially recognized by the Mon-
tana legislature which has just ad-
journed.

This measure was first introduced in
May, 1921, by Senator Harry S. New
of Indiana and Representative Daniel
R, Anthony of Kansas. The bill was
passed in the Senate in December, 1922.
but was defeated in the House the fol-
lowing February. It was successively
introduced in the 6Sth and 69th Con-
gresses by Mr. Anthony and Senator
Brookhart. During these two Con-
gresses the bill reached a vote only
once, when it was passed in the House
of Representatives during the 6Sth Con-
gress but failed to reach a vote in
the Senate.

In the 70th Congress, the bill was
introduced by Senator Peter S. Nor-
beck of South Dakota and Congress-
man Anthony and was finally passed
in the Senate on April IS, 1928, after
being amended so as to eliminate pro-
visions for raising funds by sale of
federal shooting licenses and for public
shooting grounds. The bill as passed
by the Senate authorized an appropria-
tion of one million dollars per year
for the purchase of refuges and their
maintenance. The two provisions elim-
inated had been the chief bones of con-
tention in Congress and to some extent
among its proponents during its entire
history.

INTO THE OPEN

OUT of the dill, the dust of the
street,
Out of the Jail of the stifling
heat.
Out in search of a cool retreat.

Into the open.
Out of the gray and smoky night,
Out of the hurry, and scurry, and

fight.
Out of the mass that crowds you
tight.

Into the open.
Into the laughing cooling breeze
Into the music of the trees,
Into the heart of drifting ease.

Into the open.
Into the soul of natural things,
Into the hills on Joyous wings,
Where sky, and earth, and nature
sings.

Into the open.

— May .-Vrno.

Following the passage of the bill in
the Senate, a successful effort was
made on the part of game officials and
organizations interested to come to an
amicable understanding with reference
to the provisions of the measure, which
resulted in the creation of a National
Committee on Wild Life Legislation, to
which committee was entrusted charge
of the interests of the bill and it is
due to the campaign waged by this
committee that the bill was passed dur-
ing the last short session of the 70th
Congress and became a law. Before
passage, the bill was amended in the
House committee to substitute a graded
series of appropriations for a flat mil-
lion dollar a year provision, beginning
with $75,000 for the first year to be
used in making a survey to determine
what areas may be suitable for pur-

chase or lease under the bill. Appro-
priations are also authorized amount-
ing to $200,000 for the second year,
$600,000 for the third year, $1,000,000
a year for seven years thereafter, and
$200,000 each year subsequently for
maintenance. Another amendment was
made which restored federal control of
the refuges which had been given in
part to the states by the Senate bill.
There were several other minor amend-
ments. All the House amendments were
accepted by the Senate, which repassed
the bill, as amended, unanimously.
Congressman Andreseu of Minnesota
was active in securing final action in
the House.

The Chief of the Biological Survey
announces that he is making prepara-
tion to begin operations under the Act
about July 1, 1929, when the survey
provided for will be commenced. It is
estimated that from 100 to 125 refuges
will eventually be acquired and these
will be distributed throughout the coun-
try wherever they are most needed and
where suitable areas can be found.
The exact location of this great system
of sanctuaries will closely follow the
main migratory flight lines and concen-
tration areas of the birds.

The passage of this act completes
our federal system of protection of
migratory birds which was begun by
the passage of the original Migratory
Bird Law, followed by the Migratory
Bird Treaty with Canada and later by
the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of Con-
gress, under which regulations are
made fixing seasons, bag limits, etc.
By taking this step, the United States
has moved to fully meet its obligations
under the treaty and the act is un-
doubtedly the most important conser-
vation measure affecting wild life
passed by Congress since the enactment
of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 191S.

Montana's Magnificent Distances Lure Eastern Folks

Eastern lovers of the out-of-doors will soon be flocking to Montana again for the 1929 season to take advantage of fishing,
hunting, hiking, mountain climbing and the countless attractions of wild life in the Treasure State.

The photograph shows a camping party on a Montana skyline with their pack horses and fishing equipment, headed for moun-
tain trout streams.

14

MONTANA WILD LIFE

This is a question asked innumerable
times and is one wliicli results in many
discussions. The man who owns the
land on which the game is found feels
he has a proprietary interest in it and
often claims absolute ownership on the
ground that he provides the feed neces-
sary for the existence of the game bird
or game animal. Many sportsmen con-
tend that since the work of game pro-
tection and propagation is maintained
by the tees received from the sale of
hunting and fishing licenses that the
game belongs to the sportsmen.

Neither of these positions is correct.
The game belongs to the state. It is
the property of all the people and be-
longs to no one individual until it has
been reduced to ownership by taking
in the manner prescribed by law. The
man who owns the land on which the
game is found undoubtedly has just
as much claim to ownership as the
man who makes it possible for the
game to exist by providing adequate
protection. Likewise the citizen who
does not own that particular land
area or possibly owns no land at all,
and who may not hunt or fish but who
is nevertheless an integral part of the
citizenship has an equal equity with
each of the others.

An interesting court decision bearing
on this question has just been handed
down by the supreme court of the state
of Missouri. This is the case of the
state versus Savage and the opinion
rendered in addition to having a bear-
ing on the question of ownership of
game makes it plain that a deputy game
warden has a right to inspect the game
bags of hunters.

We deem this to be a very important
case because of the principle involved.
This is the first time this point has
ever been decided by a supreme court
in the United States.

It seems that one J. H. Savage was
arrested by a deputy game warden of
the state of Missouri for refusing to
allow said warden to inspect and count
his game as provided for in Section
5645 U. S. Mo. 19, which section reads
as follows:

"It is hereby made the duty of every
person participating in the privileges
of taking or possessing fish, birds, ani-
mals, and game, as permitted by this
article, to permit the game and fish
commissioner or his deputies to inspect
and count such fish, birds, animals,
and game, to ascertain whether the re-

Better DUCK Shooting

V Order Wild Rice Seed Now
For Spring Planting. Thou-
Mand-s of (!u<-l(H will come to
an c.stabll.-ihcil rice field. Wc
also have wild celery. Sago
Pond plant, Wapato duck
potato .and other attr.aotlons
for waterfowl and fur bearers. Also
parched wild rice f^»r table uhc.
GEO. D. HAMILTON'S AQUATIC FARMS
Box 16 Detroit, Minnesota

quirements of this article are being
faithfully complied with. Any person
who shall refuse to comply with a de-
mand to permit such inspection and
count by any authorized officer of this
state, or who shall interfere with such
officer or obstruct such inspection or
count shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
and upon conviction, shall be fined not
less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00)
nor more than one hundred and fifty
dollars ($150.00)." (Laws 1915, p. 295.)
Savage was quail hunting and the
game warden asked him to show his
quail for count; he refused to do so;
charges were filed against him in the
circuit court of Benton county, Missouri.
The information was quashed by the
circuit court for the following reasons:

1. Because Section 5645 is in con-
flict with the provisions of the con-
stitution of the state of Missouri "that
the people shall be secure in their per-
sons, papers, homes and effects from
unreasonable search and seizures," and
therefore, unconstitutional and void.

2. Because Section 5645 is in con-
flict with the provisions of the consti-
tution of Missouri "that no person shall
be compelled to testify against himself
in a criminal cause."

3. Because Section 5645 deprives the
defendant of the equal protection of
the laws and is therefore unconstitu-
tional and void.

This decision was appealed to the
supreme court of Missouri and the judg-
ment of the lower court was reversed
and the cause remanded. This then

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Breeders of Seller Fur
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means that the lower court was wrong
in sustaining the motion to quash the
information and that Section 5645, re-
el uiring the hunter to produce his game
lor inspection and count, is a valid
and constitutional statute.

The court said in part as follows:
"The license issued to the defendant
authorized him to hunt and kill, sub-
ject to the regulations and restrictions
of the law. This is a reasonable police
regulation to prevent evasions of and
for the effectual enforcement of the
act; the defendant had no interest what-
ever in the quail that he may have
taken, he simply had a privilege to kill
or have in his possession a limited
number on any one day. He has ac-
cepted his license under the terms, re-
strictions and limitations of the law and
consented in advance that the game
warden might at any time count the
quail in his possession and that such
inspection and count of quail in the
defendant's possession is not an un-
reasonable search and seizure and such
requirement is a reasonable and neces-
sary regulation for the enforcement of
the statute."

Cases were cited which stood for this
proposition: "The ownership of wild
animals so far as they are capable
of ownership is in the state, not as a
proprietor but in its sovereign capacity
as the representative and for the bene-
fit of all its people in common. It is
therefore the duty of the legislature to
enact such laws as will best preserve
the subject of the trust and secure its

Northern Fur
Company

Buyers of

RAW FURS

Missoula, Montana.

O0OC30O0C3O

Members of Montana Raw
Fur Dealers' Association

MONTANA WILD LIFE

15

beneficial use in the future for the peo-
ple of the state."

Further quotation from the decision:
"The defendant by taking out a license
to hunt and kill game, the title to which
was in the state, acquired a mere privi-
lege to hunt, subject to the restric-
tions and limitations of the statute;
that the statute requiring him to per-
mit the game commissioner or his dep-
uties to inspect and count the fish,
birds, animals and game in his posses-
sion to ascertain whether the require-
ments of the statute were being faith-
fully complied with, is a pi'oper and
necessary police regulation to discover
and prevent easy evasions of the stat-
ute. The statute, being of general ap-
plication to all persons alike, is not
repugnant to the due process and equal
protection clauses of the constitution.
By acepting a hunter's license he
waived the constitutional rights in-
volved so far as applicable to the facts
in this case."

More Feed for Ducks

SPRING is the time of year when
sportsmen's thoughts should turn
to waterfowl and their care. We
see nearly all the wild ducks, geese and
shore birds wending their way into the
far mysterious north. Time was when
our prairies were vocal with the call
of mating wildfowl in the spring. That
condition can be restored in a measure
by restoring conditions which will en-
tice the migrating birds to stop and
take up their abode where they were
wont to do generations ago.

Such swamp and marsh land as has
not been destroyed by man's insatiable
greed for more plow-land should all
harbor nesting colonies of many species
of waterfowl. Since we abandoned the
destructive habit of shooting these birds
in the spring, there is nothing to pre-
vent their tarrying along the route of
flight, except the lack of congenial sur-
roundings. To meet this need there
has grown up within a few years a
useful and thriving business of supply-
ing seeds and roots of suitable plants
for stocking these water areas with
food for birds.

Let us quote one of the best authori-
ties on duck food in the country —
George D. Hamilton of Detroit Lakes.
Minnesota — who says:

T MORE Ducks

1072 W BIk.

More food means
more game. Com-
plete line of planting
materials suitable for
Montana. Planting
helps free. Write
TERRELL'S
AQUATIC FARM

g

Oshkosh, Wisconsin

FOXES

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What they must have is more pure
water with more natural growing plants
in it; better feeding places; more quiet
retreats where they may fill up on
wild rice and other seeds and tender
grasses and tubers; places where as
night comes on they may perch on the
floating bogs and lily roots and the
sandy shores and gravel points confi-
dent that there will not suddenly burst
on them from hidden cover frightful
explosions and streaks of fire and
leaden hail."

He says further: "The waters have
been diverted from their natural
courses; timber removed; miles upon
miles of ditches have been dug; vast
areas burned over, all combining to
destroy the natural reservoirs which
served to maintain the water levels of
lakes, streams and marshes, the habitat
of countless waterfowl. Thousands of
acres of wild rice, wild celery, sago,
pond weeds and various other aquatic
plants which provided food in seem-
ingly unlimited and indestructible quan-
tity have been rendered useless for the
purpose for which they were intended
by nature."

Remaining waters, including marsh
and swamp, must be maintained and
others which have been destroyed by
drainage without beneficial results
must be restored. Planting of such
areas is entirely practical and much
of such planting can be accomplished
in the spring. Dealers in wild water-
fowl food, seeds and plants, have found
how to preserve their stocks through
the winter so that planting can be done

THE

Leo. M. Goldberg

Fur and Wool House, Inc.

One of the Largest Direct
Buyers in the Northwest, of
All Kinds of American Raw

FURS

1040 Helena Avenue

Helena - - Montana

in the spring. No better use can be
made of sportsmen's funds either
through state department activities or
sportsmen's clubs than in devoting a
substantial amount each season to the
restoration of attractive food conditions
for waterfowl.

Attract Wild Ducks. Fish, Muskrats, Up-
V land Game Birds and Animals

Jry Plant Natural Fooda

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Here

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Mont.

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509 Fifth Avenue (it 42nd. SO

I

16

AI 0 N T A N

A WILD LIFE

Sec. 4:!5ii., P. [.. ii U.
II. S. POSTAGK

PAID

Helena, Montana
Permit No. 27

Deer aed the Gr^^ieg Probleei

By J. J. MEAKY, Deputy State Game Warden, Plains, Montana

TO THOSE of us who have lived in
iMontana during the last 25 or 30
years, in portions of the state
where deer and other game animals
are abundant, comes the deepest ap-
preciation of strides made toward con-
servation of game through the efforts
of the State Fish and Game Department.
To those of us who are today upon tlie
firing line in the battle for game con-
servation comes the knowledge that al-
though a great deal has been accom-
plished, there is still much to do. New
developments bring about new condi-
tions. New conditions bring into being
new problems, and new obstacles which
must be overcome.

Of all the game animals that abound
in Montana's vast game country there
are none to equal the deer and it is
to his welfare that this article is dedi-
cated.

From the beginning of time the deer
has withstood the ravages of more
natural enemies than other animals and
has survived conditions which have
caused many of the more powerful spe-
cies of the animal kingdom to become
extinct. He has survived the demands
of the Indian tor food and clothing.
The white man has killed wastefully
of deer. The mountain lion has killed
large numbers for food, and the coyote
slinks upon his trail constantly.

The deer has survived these, his natu-
ra lenemies. and during the last few
years shows a marked increase in
numbers, but, entering upon the scene
is an enemy which if permitted to go
unchallenged will mean, eventually, tho
wiping out of our stock of deer.

This enemy, which so seriously
threatens the deer, is the sheep being
permitted to graze off in the summer
the food supply so necessary for deer
forage during the winter months.

The killing of deer by the white
man and the Indian has been brought
under control, the mountain lion has
been reduced in number until he is no
longer a serious menace, and com-
mendable efforts have been made to-
ward eradication of the coyote.

Montana has witnessed serious dis-
asters in her livestock industry, duo
tr) the combination of severe weather
conditions in winter and the lack of
sufficient feed. Sooner or later this
combiantion of circumstances is going
to strike our herds of deer. When it
does it is going to be too late to do
anything but stand helplessly by and
see thousands of these beautiful ani-
mals sacrificed.

During the summer months tho deer
drift back into the higher ranges of
the mountains. It is during this season,
when nature's schema of things is not
interfered with, that grass and other
forage grow In abundance in the lower
mountain valleys, building up a vast
supply of food which enables the deer
to endure severe winter months.

The practice of permitting sheep to
be grazed in large numbers during the
summer months on these lower ranges
is becoming general and it means that
the winter food supply fur the deer is
threatened.

Unless some action is taken to neu-
tralize this condition Montana is going
to see her herds of deer follow the
buffalo, antelope, and mountain sheep
into the happy hunting grounds.

Like Fried Carp?

DONALD R. CRAWFORD, M. S., as-
sistant professor of fish culture
at the College of Fisheries of the
University of Washington at Seattle,
has addressed the following communi-
cation to the editor of MONTANA WILD
LIFE:

"In a recent issue of MONTANA WILD
LIFE is an article entitled, "Carp,
Poor Fish, Horrible Example." This
article is a sample of opinion of the
carp. While I don't attempt to defend
the carp, it is interesting to note that
many thousands of pounds of carp are
eaten in the United States every month.
In the states of Washington and Ore-
gon the fishermen along the Columbia
river catch large quantities of carp and
sell them without apparent difficulty.

"If carp are to be controlled, why
not take advantage of their spawning
habits? Carp are known to lay their
eggs on submerged vegetation when
the temperature of the water is about
70 degrees F. After carp spawn the
weeds could be raked up and dried on
the banks of the pond or other places
where carp spawn. Many fishes eat
young carp.

"Of course, it is useless to convince
most people that the carp is edible,
although if properly prepared young
carp of about a pound in weight are
as good as other fishes which are re-
garded more highly. In this connection
it might be mentioned that most people
know only one or two methods of pro-
paring fish to eat and so condemn all
fishes which do not give satisfaction
when thus prepared. Frenchmen can
not make good apple pie, nor can the
usual American chef properly cook a
fish. Our friends the Chinese often
prepare fish in palate-tickling ways.
I have some Chinese recipes, one of
which is as follows:

"K'ried Carp (a la Chien) — Some
one-pound fish dressed and washed.
Trim off heads and fins. Score sides
across, about one-fourth inch deep.
The Chinese fry with oil, but any fat
may be used, the method being that
of deep frying. The fish are removed
when almost done. Pour off most of
the grease and finish frying the fish

with one ounce soy sauce and one-
fourth ounce sugar. The fish are
turned constantly while frying. Before
removing the fish add some pieces of
cibol (green onion), mushrooms, and
one-half ounce vinegar. If you can de-
velop commercial fisheries for carp,
you will have no carp problem."

I Am a Fisherman

I AM > fisherman, —

I HAVE a rod,—

AND A basket,—

AND A fly book,—

AND A flannel shirt, —

AND YELLOW pants,—

AND HOBNAILED Boots,—

AND EVERYTHING.

AND THEY smell

LIKE THE water

AND MY hands

ARE ALL filled

WITH PRICKERS

FROM BERRY bushes,

AND ROSE BUSHES.

AND MY knees

ARE RAW like a steak

FROM SLIPPING down

ON ROCKS

THAT WERE covered

WITH GREEN goo,—

OR SLIPPERY ELM,—

OR SOMETHING.

AND— FOR TWO nights

I SLEPT on the ground,

WITH MY stomach

FULL OF hard boiled eggs.

AND GOT up

BEFORE DAYLIGHT,—

AND DRANK something

THAT SOME other boob

SAID WAS coffee.

I COULDN'T SEE IT.

I COULD just taste it.

AND MAYBE it was.

I DON'T KNOW.

1 WAS sort of numb.

AND I love the country, —

AND THE open air,—

AND NATURE,—

AND THE babbling brooks,

AND CALVES,—

AND LITTLE pigs,—

AND EVERYTHING.

THEY LOOK nice

FROM AN automobile.

WHEN YOU'VE got a flat,—

THAT'S NICE AND warm,—

AND A BIG chair,—

AND A bed,—

THAT DOESN'T cripple von

WHEN YOU sleep in it.

AND I LIKE camp fires

WHEN YOU don't have to eat' om.

I AM A fisherman,

AND A wreck,

AND I'VE got six little fish

ABOUT SIX inches long,—

ON ICE.

AND I'M going to eat 'om.

AND IN two weeks

I'M GOING back

AND GET six more—

OK LESS.

I'VE GOT A new place.

IT'.S A secret.

AND NOBODY knows about it

BUT ME—

AND A THOUSAND OTHERS.

m