CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME. 



125 



FOX FARM A SUCCESS. 



The foxes at the fox farms of Lewis 

 aud Kierman, situateu near Pomins, 

 Lake Tahoe, are doing splendidly. The 

 snow and cold, moist atmosphere at Lake 

 Tahoe puts the fur in prime condition. 

 The accompanying photograph is a pic- 

 ture of "Tahoe Queen," a black silver 

 fox at the fox farm of Lewis aud Kier- 

 man, which is valued at $3,000. The 

 results thus far have been so encouraging 

 that Lewis and Kierman are contem- 

 plating enlarging their fox farm of silver 

 black foxes. Joseph H. Sanders. 



DEER PROTECTION IN SISKIYOU 

 COUNTY. 



There is nothing so abhorrent to the 

 true sportsman as the wanton slaughter 

 of deer, and especially the ruthless killing 

 of a doe. One morning in March, 1919, 

 the writer came upon a spectacle of this 

 kind which so aroused him that he is 

 prompted to utter a protest against such 

 butchery. He was riding on horseback 

 through the winter range for mule deer in 

 Siskiyou County, which extends from the 

 Weed Big Spi'ings road as far north as 

 the foot of Goose Nest Mountain and as 

 far east as Morrison Station on the 

 Klamath Falls line. In this section there 

 are several hundred deer that come from 

 the higher mountains and even from the 

 lava beds to winter. There was about 

 one inch of snow on the ground. Sud- 

 denly there appeared in the snow a blood 

 trail with a man's track following. The 

 writer detennined to investigate. He did 

 not have far to go when he came upon a 

 sight that made his blood boil. There 

 under a little bunch of pines he found the 

 head of a mule doe and nearby two un- 

 born fawns that the violator had taken 

 from her. It was late in the evening and 

 the writer had no kodak. When he re- 

 turned next morning to get a picture he 

 found that the coyotes had been there in 

 the night and nothing remained. 



This, however, was not the first 

 slaughtered doe that the writer has found. 

 The previous year on this same range he 

 had come upon a mother and two year- 

 ling fawns, both does, wantonly killed and 

 left for the coyotes. Furthermore, almost 

 every day of the week shots may be heard 

 in this section and evidence found of deer 

 killed out of season. Game hogs have 



even gone so far as to build roosts in the 

 trees, that they may have a better vantage 

 point to watch the runaways. 



In view of the conditions existing on 

 this range it would almost seem advisable 

 that a special patrol be established here 

 from the first of December until the first 

 of May, by which time the deer will have 

 gone back to their summer ranges and 

 can protect themselves. — Edwin H. Bas- 

 COMB, Edgewood, California. 



BIRD CENSUSES. 



In order to better regulate national 

 affairs it is necessary to know the popu- 

 lation from year to year so that fluctua- 

 tions may be noted. Hence the ten year 

 census. Likewise if we would control 

 bird and animal life to better meet our 

 needs it is necessary to obtain figures as 

 to the wild life population. A number of 

 states have recently inaugurated game 

 censuses and the United States Biological 

 Survey is advocating bird counts to gain 

 knowledge of the total bird population 

 and its fluctuations from year to year. 

 Reliable observers the country over are 

 being sought to undertake bird counts dur- 

 ing the nesting season and to forward 

 reports. In the hope that some of our 

 readers may be interested in the work, 

 and to show the thorough manner in 

 which the work is undertaken, we are 

 adding the following directions issued in 

 Washington : 



The height of the breeding season 

 should be chosen for this work. In the 

 latitude of Washington, D. C. (latitude 

 39 degrees). May 30 is about the right 

 date for the first count ; in the latitude 

 of Boston the work should not begin until 

 a week later, while south of Washington 

 an earlier date should be selected. In any 

 locality the count should be made soon 

 after the end of the migration and during 

 the early part of the nesting season. 



What is wanted is a count of the pairs 

 of birds actually nesting within the se- 

 lected area. Birds that visit the area 

 for feeding purposes only must not be 

 counted, no matter how close their nests 

 may be to the boundary lines. 



In making this count, it is a good plan 

 to begin at daylight some morning at the 

 height of the nesting season and zigzag 

 liack and forth across the area, counting 

 the male birds. Early in the morning 

 every male bird is usually in full song, 

 aud at that season may safely be con- 

 sidered to represent a breeding pair. The 

 results of one day's count should be 

 checked and revised by several days of 

 further work to make sure that every bird 



