THIRTY-FIRST BIENNIAL REPORT 31 



list. Two hundred thirty-nine, including men already employed under 

 temporary authorization, took the preliminary examination, and 122 

 qualified for the final part of the test. In the final test 72 were success- 

 ful in attaining a passing mark and were placed on the eligible list. 

 During the six months probationary period fifteen failed to demon- 

 strate sufficient ability to warrant their retention in the service, and 

 were dropped. It is thought that a six-months' probationary period is 

 too short to satisfactorily determine whether or not a new man will 

 make an efficient deputy, and it is suggested that this probationary 

 period be lengthened to one year. 



During the biennium seven deputies resigned, two of them doing so 

 rather than to face civil service charges, the others leaA^ing to go into 

 other lines of work. One deputy was discharged as the result of civil 

 service trial ; another for absence without leave. 



Death has taken a very heavy toll during the past two years, Depu- 

 ties E. D. Ricketts, Wm. Armstrong and G. 0. Laws dying from natural 

 causes and Deputy Allan Curry having been killed in line of duty on 

 April 30, 1930, during the arrest of a commercial fisherman in San 

 Francisco Bay. Former Deputy John Burke of San Mateo County 

 also lost his life during this arrest. 



Conventions were held during February or March of both 1929 and 

 1930, the last day in each case being devoted to a barbecue and a pistol 

 competition on state property near the Yountville Game Farm.' It is 

 felt that these meetings are very much worth while as the men have a 

 chance to get together and compare notes regarding various methods 

 of enforcing fish and game laws, etc. 



During July, 1929, nine Ford coaches were purchased for the use of 

 deputies in the field. These automobiles are located at the following 

 points : Yuba City, Stonyford, Truckee, Mt. Shasta, Eureka, Rocklin, 

 Fresno, Sebastopol, and Altviras. 



One of these vehicles was destroyed by fire and one needed an 

 unusual overhauling, due to poor care on the operator's part, but the 

 balance have rendered satisfactory service on the whole. 



In July, 1930, eleven additional Fords and three Chevrolets were 

 purchased, so that at the present time 20 per cent of the patrol force 

 operate state-owned cars. Three Ford closed-cab pick-ups with delivery 

 bodies were purchased for use in both patrol and fish planting work. 

 One is assigned to Owens Valley and the other two in the San Joaquin 

 Valley. The Reo fish planting truck, originally purchased during 1928, 

 and fitted with an air-compressor outfit for aerating fxsh cans, has now 

 been in service for three years and will shortly have to be replaced. 

 Owens Valley at the present time has roads high up on the western 

 slope, many of them reaching elevations as high as approximately 

 10,000 feet, necessitating much heavy duty work in low gear to deliver 

 fish to the animal pack trains at the end of the road. 



A new tunnel propeller shallow-draft speedboat was purchased for 

 use on the Klamath River. This boat has high speed and can navigate 

 very shallow water, and we believe will prove efficient in the important 

 work of protecting the splendid run of fish in this body of water. An 

 outboard motor boat has been procured for use on the Napa River, and 

 is very helpful in checking the immense number of striped bass fisher- 

 men who frequent these waters. 



