DIVISION OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 217 



will be Investigated, and a snmmary of the game laws will be widely 

 distribnted, to fnrtlier prevent illegal shipments of game. Methods 

 of shipping, and, if practicable, storage of game will be more fully 

 investigated. C^old storage is one of the most important matters 

 connected with game protection, for if the storage of some spe- 

 cies continues unchecked it will neutralize the efforts for their 

 protection. Inspection at the principal ports of entry now main- 

 tained by fees should be placed on a permanent basis, but this will 

 require a special appropriation. By strict economy the present 

 inspection could be maintained at three of the most imijortant ports 

 of entrj' for $1,000 per annum, a very small outlay in view of the 

 protection afforded to the entire country by such service. More 

 effective supervision will be made of the importation of foreign birds, 

 particularly those brought in with passengers' baggage. Of the 

 thousands of cage birds annually imported, some do not breed in 

 captivity; others breed in captivity, but not at large; while others, 

 if liberated under favorable conditions, may become acclimated and 

 increase. The first two groups may be imported with impunity, 

 the third only under careful restrictions. To determine more fully 

 which species belong to the third group is the object of investigation 

 to be begun at an early date. Upland game birds and certain kinds 

 of big game may be increased directly bj^ propagation or bj' restocking 

 depleted covers. Without duplicating the work alread}'^ done by 

 private individuals and State commissions, several lines of experiment 

 in this connection may be advantageously taken up under Federal 

 auspices. During the past year the Department has received the 

 offer of a small band of elk in the San Joaquin Valley, California, 

 believed to be a different sijecies from the elk of the north Pacific 

 coast. Thej^ are the sole survivors of thousands which formerly 

 inhabited the San Joaquin Valley, and provision should be promptly 

 made for their i3reservation. Their accej)tance has been prevented 

 thus far by lack of funds for securing a proper range and transport- 

 ing them to it. The game law recently enacted for Alaska imposes 

 certain duties on the Secretary of Agriculture. If it is to be carried 

 out under the supervision of this Department, provision should be 

 made for the employment of several wardens and also of an inspector 

 at Seattle, Wash., during the open season to enforce the provisions 

 against shipment of game. 



MIGRATION OF BIRDS. 



During the current j'ear the bulletin on the migration of North 

 American warblers, prepared by Prof. W. W. Cooke, will be published 

 and Professor Cooke will continue the preparation of reports on the 

 remaining species of land birds inhabiting the region east of the Roekj^ 

 Mountains. An attempt will be made to work out the evolution of 

 migration routes in order to account for the distribution of North 

 and South American species of certain families. Such parts of the 

 records of migration for 1902 as relate to the species now being 

 studied will be compared with those of previous years in order to add 

 the new material the}' may contain. 



With a view to the acquisition of information that will pave the 

 way for better protection to our shore birds, preliminar}' work will be 

 begun to determine the routes of migration and winter ranges of the 

 various species. Shore birds, as a class, are noted for the great length 

 of their migrations and for wide dispersal over their southern ranges. 



