302 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



ip.f,' places for wild fowl. Unfortunately, the ponds are small, but 

 as the rise and fall of the water does not vary more than about 2 

 feet they should lend themselves admirably to the planting of Avild 

 duck foods. At one of these ponds tules and som6 small willows and 

 cottonwoods are alread}' in evidence along a part of one side. The 

 surroundings of both reservoirs are marshy. 



Mosquito Inlet, Fla. — A petition has been received from the resi- 

 dents in the vicinity of Holly Hill, Fla., for the extension of this 

 reservation. This shows very clearly a gratifying change of senti- 

 ment on the part of local residents toward bird protection, as at the 

 time the refuge was created local opposition was voiced against the 

 inclusion of any additional area. 



Tojnpa Bay Group, Fla. {Passage Key, Indian Key, and Palma. 

 Sola). — Bush Key, which was included in the enlargement of the 

 Indian Key Reservation, is reported to have its usual colony of rose- 

 ate spoonbills, 143 having been counted by the inspector in June and 

 a considerably greater number being reported to occur there. Pas- 

 sage Key was seriously damaged by a hurricane in October, and was 

 reported to have been entirely Avashed away. Either this report was 

 not strictly correct or else the sand rapidly built up again, for in 

 January, 1922, a considerable part remained above water. The man- 

 groves, however, had been washed away in June, 1922, and the in- 

 spector foimd only a small bit of the key above water, and that ap- 

 peared to be washing away from the north side. It was covered with 

 pelicans, gulls, terns, and skimmers, but no birds w^ere nesting. 



CarJshad and Rio Grande, N. Mex., and Salt River, AHz., are all 

 reclamation projects, and while practically no ducks nest on them, 

 the}^ serve during migration and in winter as resting places for wild 

 fowl which would otherwise be forced to go beyond the ])order. 

 Many blue herons and cormorants nest on the Salt River Reservation. 



MIGRATORY-BIRD TREATY AND LACEY ACTS. 



The administration of the migratory-bird treaty and Lacey Acts 

 has been seriously embarrassed by insufficient funds for maintaining 

 an adequate warden service. Violations of the law will continue to 

 increase until wardens can be maintained in every State. As against 

 this disquieting situation, it is very encouraging to have reports from 

 practically every section of the United States showing that the pro- 

 tection now given migratory birds is resulting in a material increase 

 in their numbers. It has been most gratifying to observe, since the 

 abolition of spring shooting, that waterfowl in ever-increasing num- 

 bers are extending their ])reeding range, convincing proof of the wis- 

 dom of the advocates of Federal protection for migratory birds. 



Waterfowl have, in fact, increased to such an extent that the mat- 

 ter of maintaining adequate breeding, resting, and feeding places is 

 becoming a serious problem. Reliabde information is at hand from 

 Oregon that large numbers of wild ducks died of starvation- and 

 others w^ere in an emaciated condition after having eaten all the 

 vegetation from the ponds in the locality in wdiich tliey were found. 

 This emphasizes the necessity for prompt and vi^jorous action in set- 

 ting aside and perpetuating as homes for the birds and other wild 

 life marsh and water areas unsuitable for agriculture, or less valu- 

 able for agricultural uses than they are in their natural state. 



