38 



CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME. 



reader who desired to take fish by ques- 

 tionable means a query saying : 



"Please advise me how to dynamite a 

 stream." 



The newspaper man sent the following 

 advice : 



"Four sticks of dynamite are sufficient. 

 Tie them securely around your neck, 

 attach fuse, light it and run as fast as 

 you can away from the water to avoid 

 injuring the other snakes and reptiles." 

 —Wild Life, September, 1917. 



MT. WHITNEY HATCHERY GROUNDS 

 TO BE IMPROVED. 



Mr. John McLaren, the well-known 

 landscape gardener of Golden Gate Park, 

 San Francisco, recently made a visit to 

 the Mount Whitney Hatchery for the 

 purpose of offering suggestions as to the 

 improvement of the grounds. The large 

 amount of water which passes through 

 the hatching troughs is to be utilized 

 in beautifying the surroundings. The 

 natural boulders, so numerous in the 

 vicinity, will be utilized to form cascades, 

 and shrubbery and trees will be planted 

 to give a suitable background. Mr. 

 McLaren gave helpful information as to 

 the grouping and kinds of trees and 

 shrubbery to be used. 



FIREWORKS USED TO FRIGHTEN 

 BIRDS IN RICE FIELDS. 



Some experiments to determine the 

 effectiveness of fireworks in frightening 

 liirds from rice fields have recently been 

 made in the Sacramento Valley. The 

 location selected was on the Gingg and 

 Cooper ranch, four miles west of Live 

 Oak, where birds did considerable dam- 

 age last year. 



In talking with Mr. Cooper in Septem- 

 ber regarding cooperation by the Fish 

 and Game Commission in order to find 

 a remedy, and knowing the effect of 

 black powder, which is both loud and 

 smoky, we suggested to him the use of 

 some form of loud explosive that would 

 carry fire and smoke. We secured sev- 

 eral samples of rockets and bombs from 

 San Francisco and commenced the exper- 

 iment by setting some of them off after 

 dark. However, the birds were still 

 numerous on the rice fields at daylight in 

 the morning. We then fired more bombs 

 and still more while the birds were in 



the air. To say that the ducks were 

 demoralized does not convey an idea of 

 how much they were frightened. 



Mr. Cooper was so impressed with the 

 effectiveness of the bombs that he sent 

 for four dozen of the kind selected, at 

 five dollars per dozen. After using half 

 of this number night and morning there 

 was not a bird of any kind to be found 

 on his fields. In a few days some mud- 

 hens and ducks returned, presumably 

 new ones. He then used the balance of 

 the four dozen effectively, and sent for 

 five dozen more for emergency use. On 

 September 2G Mr. Cooper stated to ua 

 that he had had no occasion to use or 

 open the last five dozen, as at that time 

 there was not a bird on his fields and he 

 had not suffered a particle of injury. 

 Judging from this, the experiment may 

 be said to have been a success. 



Conditions on Mr. Cooper's fields made 

 it harder to protect them from the birds 

 than any other fields in the district, the 

 water being deeper in spots, which 

 induces the birds to congregate there. 

 Of course, when the birds were driven 

 from the Gingg and Cooper grounds, 

 some of the other growers certainly suf- 

 fered from the addition of these birds. 

 This only demonstrates that entire relief 

 for all growers can only be had through 

 the cooperation of all the growers. Each 

 can protect his fields, but the one who 

 does not will be the greatest sufferer. 



We are certain that the experiment 

 referred to above is the only logical rem- 

 edy, although many other methods have 

 been suggested. Some rice growers, and 

 many who are not growers (and, by the 

 way, the last named class is the loudest 

 in its complaints) have advocated an 

 earlier open season for ducks. This posi- 

 tively will not remedy the situation. It 

 might, if every one would kill blackbirds 

 and mudhens, as well as ducks, but they 

 want to kill ducks onlj% as the other 

 birds are not considered good eating. So 

 by killing ducks only, the worst menace 

 would still remain. Again : The rice 

 grower will not permit trespassing on 

 his fields, as the hunter will do more 

 damage at this time than the birds. 

 Many of the rice farms are posted with 

 signs prohibiting shooting and trespass- 

 ing. Further, if the season was opened 

 earlier than at present, a large number 



