CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME. 



79 



CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 



A publication devoted to the conserva- 

 tion of wild life and published quarterly 

 by the California State Fish and Game 

 Commission. 



Sent free to citizens of the State of Cali- 

 fornia. Offered in exchange for ornitho- 

 logical, mammalogical and similar period- 

 icals. 



The articles published in California Fish 

 AND Game are not copyrighted and may be 

 reproduced in other periodicals, provided 

 due credit is given the California Fish and 

 Game Commission. Editors of newspapers 

 and periodicals are invited to make use of 

 pertinent material. 



All material for publication should be 

 sent to H. C. Bryant, Museum of Verte- 

 brate Zoology, Berkeley, Cal. 



April 15, 1918. 



EAT MORE FISH. 



THE UNDERLYING PURPOSE OF A 

 "HERRING" NUMBER. 



It is doubtless intere.stiiig and u.seful to 

 anyone to know a herring when he sees 

 it ; to know where and when it is to be 

 found and what are its nearest relatives. 

 It is also instructive to read of the herring 

 fishery of the Pacific coast, of the methods 

 of catching, canning and curing of the 

 fish. It is more pertinent still to know 

 by actual test that herring and sardines 

 are splendid food and that they are 

 among the cheaper kinds of fish. 



The "Herring Number" will fulfill its 

 purpose only, if it interests its readers 

 in the herring as a tasty meat substitute 

 in the present war emergency, and conse- 

 quently finds a larger place in our bill of 

 fare. 



SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS STATE 



LAW PROHIBITING SHIPMENT OF 



GAME BY PARCEL PUS I. 



A case in the Supreme Court to deter- 

 mine the validity of the law passed by 

 the last legislature prohibiting the use 

 of the mails in the shipment of game re- 

 sulted in a decision upholding the law. 

 This law has been declared by many lu oe 

 unconstitutional, and after, its passage a 

 ruling of the postal authorities which re- 

 ceived wide publicity, prevented the search 

 of parcel post shipments of game with 

 the result that market hunters quickly 

 took advantage of this opportunity to 



make illegal shipments. Frank Phoe- 

 dovius, having been duly convicted of a 

 violation of the provision of section 6276 

 of the Penal Code, which declares that 

 "any person who ships any of the wild 

 birds or wild animals or fish by parcel 

 l>ost is guilty of a misdemeanor," took au 

 appeal to the Supreme Court. The de- 

 cision concurred in by all of the judges 

 sitting in bank is printed in full on page 

 75 and should be read by everyone. 



This decision is the fourth important 

 one relating to game in California. Of 

 prime importance was the decision in 

 Ex parte Maier, 103 Cal. 476, 483, that 

 "wild game within a state belongs to the 

 people in their sovereign capacity" and 

 is not "the subject of private ownership." 

 A decision upholding a statute prohibit- 

 ing the buying or selling of quail was 

 handed down in connection with Ex parte 

 Kenneke, 136 Cal. 527. The handling of 

 game by "transfer companies" was held 

 invalid in the Superior Court by the Hon- 

 orable Judge Frank J. Murasky. As a 

 fitting climax to these cases comes this 

 decision on the shipment of game by par- 

 cel post (/«. re Frank Phoedovius, on 

 Habeas Corpus, Crim. No. 2108. In bank, 

 January 17, 1918; Pacific Recoraer, Vol. 

 170, p. 412). 



MARKET HUNTERS MAKE CAPITAL 

 OF THE PRESENT EMERGENCY. 



On the plea that letting down the bars 

 on fish and game will help furnish addi- 

 tional food supply, a dangerous attempt 

 has been made to destroy the protection 

 which has taken years to build. The con- 

 servationists in almost every state have 

 had to fight these attempts to break down 

 protective laws. Many persons even, from 

 lack of appreciation of the consequences, 

 have espoused the attacks on protective 

 laws. As one editor points out, "To sus- 

 pend the fish and game laws would be 

 like deciding to kill all of the hogs and 

 cattle at once, to avert starvation before 

 feeling the pangs of hunger, and thus in- 

 suring shortage at a later period when 

 hunger might be felt." 



Typical of those who would make 

 capital of the present emergency is a 

 spokesman of the fish industry in Texas 

 who exclaimed, "Damn posterity ; lets 

 get the fish." Unfortunately, this is the 



