The Audubon Societies 



195 



relieved of the presence of the Pelican, 

 because it greatly interferes with their 

 business. 



It is but natural that the Pelican op- 

 ponents should file complaints with the 

 United States Food Commission in Wash- 

 ington, and as a result the Association 

 received the following letter under date 

 of January 21, 19 18. 



Dear Sir: 



We are receiving many very definite 

 requests from the Gulf of Mexico district 

 that the Government take steps to exter- 

 minate the Pelican. 



"The recommendations in this matter 

 are very largely grounded on the follow- 

 ing statement of apparent facts: 



"i. That the birds in question annually 

 destroy millions of pounds of food-fish. 



"2. That the birds interfere very 

 materially with the operations of the fisher- 

 men and result in very largely reduced 

 catches of food-fish in all the fishing dis- 

 tricts. 



"3. The Pelican serves no useful pur- 

 pose whatever, and is not a scavenger, 

 never having been known to eat fish that 

 have been washed ashore, etc. 



"While we are not at present consider- 

 ing any recommendations in this matter, 

 we would very much like to have a full 

 expression of opinion from your society on 

 the subject and any data which you can 

 provide us with regarding the Pelican, 

 and as answer to the very definite state- 

 ments which are coming to us, as before 

 mentioned." 



Very truly yours, 

 United States Food Administration. 

 Per Keneth Fowler. 



Upon receipt of this letter, a copy of it 

 was sent to a number of observers who 

 have had more or less opportunity to 

 study the feeding-habits of these birds, 

 and their replies, in due time, were filed 

 in Washington. These were quite suffi- 

 cient to convince the Food Administra- 

 tion that at least for the present there was 

 no need for beginning a war of extermina- 

 tion on the Brown Pelican. 



Since Mr. Fowler's letter was written, 

 new and additional pressure has been 

 brought to bear on the Food Administra- 

 tion, and the question at the present writ- 

 ing is a very live one. As a result the 

 Association is now planning to go some- 

 what th<ir<)Ughly into the subject of the 



feeding-habits of the birds during the 

 coming summer. 



The following are a few of the letters 

 collected by the Association bearing on this 

 subject. The first three are written by men 

 who have been employed for many years 

 to guard Pelican colonies and who there- 

 fore have had unusual opportunities to 

 study the fishing-habits of these birds. 

 We feel that their letters should be pub- 

 lished and thus be made a permanent 

 record. 



In Defense of the Pelican 



"It would appear that, through the 

 efforts of the market fishermen, the Food 

 Commission is seriously thinking of tak- 

 ing steps to exterminate the Pelican as a 

 great destroyer of food-fish. 



"In defense of this grand old bird I 

 wish to say that I am a native of Florida, 

 have lived here continuously for fifty 

 years, and have noted very carefully the 

 changes of conditions along these lines. 

 Before the advent of the railroads there 

 were vast quantities of fish and many 

 thousands of birds, but with the emigra- 

 tion to the state came along the market 

 fishermen who have plied their trade with- 

 out restrictions until there have become 

 fewer fish and consequently fewer Pelicans. 



"If the Food Commissioner could visit 

 the fishing districts of Florida and see the 

 vast destruction of fish caused by the 

 fishermen, he would no doubt take im- 

 mediate steps to stop this wanton waste 

 of the best food-fish that the waters of the 

 state afford. They drag their seines on the 

 beaches, and I have seen, day after day, 

 tens of thousands of food-fish left on the 

 banks to die because they were too small 

 to sell, and the fishermen were too lazy 

 to put them in the water again. 



"My business as Inspector of Federal 

 Reservations takes me among these men. 

 and I have noted these conditions many 

 times, and have several times brought the 

 matter before the Fish Commissioner and 

 the County Solicitor, with a view of having 

 these people prosecuted for the very acts 

 of which they now accuse the Pelican. 

 Il is a well-known fact that the Pelican 

 can catch only such fish as are on the 

 surface of the water, and, with one excep- 

 tion — the mullet — ^the food-fish of Florida 

 are what arc known as bottom-fish, and 

 cannot be caught by the Pelican. 



■'.\t least twice each year, in the breed- 

 ing-season of these birds, I visit their nest- 

 ing-places and carefully note the species 

 of fish they l)ring to their young. These 



