BUREAU OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. ' 677 



New Mexico, to collect similar information regarding antelope and 

 to examine certain locations suitable for f^ame refuge.-;. Mr. E. W. 

 Nelson, during a visit to Arizona, collecting information regarding 

 the proposed refuge on one of the national forests in that State. 



The index of game legislation has been almost completed. During 

 the year the laws of Maine. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode 

 Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and most of those of New York 

 were indexed. At the present time the only gaps in the index are a 

 few years in New York, Maryland, and North Carolina. The work 

 liad advanced to a point, early in the year, which warranted the pub- 

 lication of a summary of some of the more important provisions under 

 the title " Chronology and Index of American Game Protection from 

 1790 to 1911." 



Much time has been devoted to correlating, summarizing, and pre- 

 paring for ready reference the material on game protection collected 

 during the past decade. Summarized tables showing the protection 

 accorded certain species of game birds at 10-year intervals from 1850 

 to 1910 have been prepared. Data on the protection of migratory 

 birds have been summarized and information brought down to date 

 on the subject of hunting licenses, national and State game preserves, 

 bag limits, game commissions, and similar topics concerning which 

 frequent requests for information are received. As in several pre- 

 vious years, the data concerning the number and details of fatal 

 hunting accidents were collected. These data show a regular in- 

 crease in the number of fatalities in the United States from year to 

 year, but it is believed that a certain proportion of these accidents 

 can be obviated by special legislation. 



The usual annual game publications were issued, including the 

 '• Directory of Game Officials " and " Summary of the Game Laws for 

 1911." 



In order to meet the demand for information regarding various 

 national bird and game refuges, data were collected and arranged 

 for publication on the various national reservations which can be 

 utilized for the preservation of wild life, including national parks, 

 military parks, game preserves, bird reservations, fur-seal and light- 

 house reservations, and such portions of the national forests as have 

 been made State game preserves. The date of establishment, loca- 

 tion, and area of each reservation were brought together for a circu- 

 lar, and this information was supplemented by a brief bibliography 

 of the publications on the fauna of the reservations. 



PLUMAGE. 



Every effort has been made to stop the sale of plumage of certain 

 birds, particularlv herons, which have been slaughtered for the mil- 

 linery trade in recent years. Information regarding the distribu- 

 tion of the egrets has been collected and published in the form of a 

 brief circular for the use of State officers. Assistance has been ren- 

 dered wherever possible, and in Ohio the attention of the State game 

 commissic n was brought to the illegal sale of pluuiage in Cincinnati, 

 which resulted in successful action against six of the largest mil- 

 linerv stores in the city. In Florida information h:is been collected 

 regarding plume hunting in the Everglades and the surrei)titious 

 shipment of aigrettes from certain points in the State. In Missouri 



