BUREAU OF BIOLOGICAL. SURVEY. 459 



or in which the bureau assisted in completing the evidence, were 

 brought to successful conclusions in State courts with lines, costs, and 

 forfeitures totaling more than $7,000. Many guns and traps, the 

 carcasses of 2 deer, and the skins of 27 muskrats and 66 beavers 

 were included in the list of articles confiscated in connection with 

 the disposition of these State cases. In an Oregon case one violator 

 was fined $300 and sentenced to 30 days in jail. 



Of six cases reported for Federal prosecution during the year, two, 

 together with five cases previously reported, were disposed of in Fed- 

 eral courts. Of these seven cases, four resulted in the imposition of 

 fines and costs totaling $250; two prosecutions were barred by the 

 statute of limitations, because informations were not filed in time; 

 and one w^as dismissed because the authorities were unable to ap- 

 prehend the accused. 



Many other investigations of interstate shipments were made, but 

 did not result in prosecutions, as the shipments were either legally 

 made or it was impossible to obtain evidence of their illegality. At 

 the close of the fiscal year 85 cases were being investigated. 



IMPORTATION OF FOREIGN BIRDS AND MAMMALS. 



The importation of foreign birds and mammals, while showing 

 a considerable increase over that of previous years, has not yet 

 reached the maximum prior to the World War, which was attained 

 in the year 1913. The number of permits issued during the year 

 was 572, an increase of 44 over the previous year, and the number 

 of shipments inspected increased from 186 to 222. The total number 

 of birds imported was 388,388, of which 8,331 were entered without 

 permits. 



The permits for mammal imports included 2,756 foxes from 

 Canada, a considerable increase over the 2,064 authorized to enter 

 in 1922. One notable importation of mammals was a shipment of 

 12 chinchillas, which reached Los Angeles, Calif., about February 

 20. This is the first consignment of which there is any record for 

 many years of these animals actualty imported into the United 

 States. 



Importation of game birds included 9,123 Mexican quail, some 

 ruffed grouse from Canada, a few Hungarian partridges, and oc- 

 casional small consignments of ducks and geese, and 600 bamboo 

 partridges and 200 sand grouse were received from China in Jan- 

 uary. Importations of some of the rarer aviary pheasants have de- 

 creased to such a very low point that very few of some species are 

 to be found in the United States since the dispersal of several of 

 the larger private collections of pheasants which were brought to- 

 gether 20 3'^ears ago. 



The principal cage birds imported as usual have been canaries and 

 parrots, of which the canaries numbered about 182,000 and the par- 

 rots 37,721. Of the latter group, those most commonly entered are 

 Cuban parrots, several of the other Amazons from tropical America, 

 and grass parrakeets from Australia. A shipment of 6,000 grass 

 parrakeets entered on June 30, 1922, passed into the hands of three 

 of the large importers in New York, and nearly all died within six 

 months after arrival. These were wild birds, and when cold weather 

 came on and the windows were closed in the buildings in which they 



