82 



CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME. 



COUNT THE DUCKS. 



The accompanying photograph was 

 taken on the overflow from Butte Creek, 

 just northwest of the Marysville Buttes, 

 on February 2, 191S. The picture gives 

 evidence that two days after the season 

 closed there were still plenty of ducks left 

 in this vicinity despite the toll taken by 

 numerous gun clubs. At least 98 per cent 

 of the ducks iu the picture were mallards. 

 A slight sprinkling of pintails, baldpates 



A day's wondering through the woods 

 is likely to result in the addition of one 

 or more sets of rare eggs to the collec- 

 tion of the wonderer. 



Take the advice of the editor and 

 wonder. 



CONSERVATION SENTIMENT GROWS. 



We do not have to go very far back 

 in the history of our state to find the time 

 when a game warden held a political job. 

 The first warden in the state was a market 



Fig. 49. Mallards and still more mallards. A photograph taken at the mouth of Butte Creek, 

 near Pennington, Sutter County, California, two days after the 1917-18 season closed. 

 Photograph by H. C. Bryant. 



and green-winged teal was noted. Beyond 

 the birds in flight was a mile of water, 

 black with ducks. Although geese were 

 not numerous at the same date the pic- 

 ture on page 84 shows that a few still 

 remained on the loafing grounds in the 

 vicinity. There is a notable concentration 

 of ducks in this vicinity, probably occa- 

 sioned by the abundant food supply fur- 

 nished by grain and rice fields. 



ANOTHER EDITOR WONDERS. 



The tedious routine of an editor's life 

 is often enlivened by his exchanges. The 

 apparent lack of proof reading in one 

 exchange that comes to our desk so invari- 

 ably furnishes amusement that it is 

 scanned as one would read a funny maga- 

 zine. Here is the latest on the. front 

 page: 



FEBRUARY. 

 February is the month for Owls. It 

 is this month that the big North Amer- 

 ican owls of A'arious species collect their 

 nesting site, and frequently lay their 

 eggs. 



hunter himself and, instead of prosecuting 

 offenders, profited by added protection. He 

 marketed 107 25-pound sacks of game dur- 

 ing the first year of his appointment. 

 Contrast this condition with the situation 

 at the present time and you will discover 

 that conservation sentiment has grown 

 rapidly. Now wardens are appointed on 

 merit and their sole duty is to enforce 

 the fish and game laws. That they actu- 

 ally do enforce these laws is evidenced by 

 the number of convictions obtained from 

 month to month, reports of which are 

 always to be found in California Fish 

 AND Game. 



NEW PATROL BOAT "MAKES GOOD." 

 "Albacore," latest acquisition of the 

 Fish and Game Commission for commer- 

 cial fisheries research and regulation work 

 in southern California ocean waters, has 

 taken up the business for which she was 

 built, and is now patrolling the waters 

 between the mainland and the channel 

 islands, devoting a great deal of her time 



