CALIFOKNIA FISH AND GAME. 



83 



migration, records of migration and speed 

 of migration, is the one entitled "Bird 

 migration" (U. S. Dept. Agric. Bull. 185). 

 One of Professor Cooke's published arti- 

 cles entitled "Our greatest travelers" 

 (Nat. Geog. Mag., 1911, 346-365), at- 

 tracted wide attention and is one of his 

 best known publications. 



In the death of Professor Cooke those 

 have lost the man foremost in research on 

 migration. What younger worker will be 

 able to continue the work so ably carried 

 on by Professor Cooke still remains to 

 interested in the birds of North America 

 be seen. 



Another ornithologist more closely re- 

 lated to work in California died at his 

 home, Branehville, Maryland, October 1, 

 1916. This was Professor Foster E. L. 

 Beal, assistant. United States Biological 

 Survey, a man noted for his work in 

 economic ornithology. Our first definite 

 information on the foods of birds in Cali- 

 fornia was the result of the work of 

 Professor Beal, who for several years 

 studied the relation of birds to fruit- 

 growing in California. 



The economic work of Mr. Beal came 

 at a time when any esthetic or economic 

 value that a bird might have was entirely 

 overshadowed by depredations made more 

 obvious by the conditions existing in a 

 new country. The bringing under culti- 

 vation of large areas together with the 

 consequent destruction of native food 

 plants forces the birds to turn their atten- 



tion to the substituted field crops and 

 exotic trees and shrubs. The compara- 

 tively small amounts of this new food 

 supply, which supplants the native one, 

 results in more apparent destruction of 

 cultivated crops. The dry summers form 

 another factor in California conditions, 

 for juicy fruits prove an acceptable sub- 

 stitute for water. With no regard for 

 inherent values or protective measures, 

 farmers formerly resorted to the gun and 

 harmful and beneficial birds alike met the 

 same fate. This was the situation when 

 the bulletins on the food habits of Cali- 

 fornia birds appeared. 



The evidence brought forth in the bul- 

 letin "Birds of California in relation to 

 the fruit industry," published in two 

 parts (U. S. Dept. Agric. Bur. Biol. Surv. 

 Bull. 30 and 34), so clearly showed the 

 economic value of California birds that 

 there was a noticeable change in the 

 attitude of the ranchers of the state. 

 Many other bulletins have shown the 

 dollars and cents value of California birds 

 and to Mr. Beal must be given credit 

 for being the first one to show the eco- 

 nomic relations of California birds and 

 to develop interest in the protection of 

 the insectivorous birds beneficial to agri- 

 culture. For twenty-five years economic 

 ornithology has been enriched by the 

 investigations of this tireless worker who 

 laid the foundations of economic orni- 

 thology in California. 



HATCHERY NOTES. 



W. H. Shbbley, Editor. 



MOUNT SHASTA HATCHERY. 



After the completion of the distribution 

 of trout fry from the different hatcheries 

 of the state during the fall of 1916, the 

 stations were put in shape for the coming 

 season's operations. 



This work was completed at Mount 

 Shasta Hatchery during the month of 

 December. During the month of No- 

 vember the first eggs of the eastern brook 

 and Loch Leven trout were taken from 

 the adult fish in the ponds. Operations 

 were continued throughout the month of 

 December and approximately 1,500,000 

 eggs of each variety of trout were se- 

 cured. About 150,000 eastern brook eggs 



were also received at Mount Shasta 

 Hatchery from the Marlette-Carson oper- 

 ations in the state of Nevada. 



Six million quinnat salmon eggs were 

 shipped to Mount Shasta Hatchery from 

 the United States Bureau of Fisheries 

 stations on Battle Creek and Klamath 

 River. These eggs hatched out during 

 the month of January and the fore part 

 of February. They have been given care- 

 ful attention and the oldest of the fry 

 have now reached the swimming stage. 

 When they have been reared to the proper 

 age, a portion of the fry will be returned 

 to the Klamath River, plants made in the 

 upper reaches of the Sacramento River 



