84 



REPORT OF THE FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



Considerable progress has been made in the examination of duck 

 stomachs Avitli the idea of pul)lishing an article on the food habits of 

 ducks in Calii'oi-nia. .Alost of tlie material now on hand has ])een gone 

 over, and a full report is now in preparation. 



A cursory study of the fur-bearing mammals of the state and esti- 

 mates of the annual take have been prepared. This data has now been 

 turned over to the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, of the University of 

 California, where Mr. Joseph Dixon is undertaking the preparation of a 



F'IG. 21. Wild pintail ducks being fed on the lawns surrounding Lake Merritt, 

 Oakland, California'.s first game refuge. Photograph by H. C. Bryant, January 6, 1919. 



full report illustrated with colored plates by America's foremost artists. 

 It is expected that at least three years work will be required before the 

 results of the investigation will be ready for publication. 



A list of all of the publications of the Commission together with a 

 finding index has been prepared and is now ready for publication. A 

 history of the Fish and Game Commission is also being compiled. 



In addition to the work outlined above there has been the routine 

 M'ork of estimating the annual deer kill, and the study and filing of the 

 reports made to the Commission by forest officers. The latter contain 

 much valuable data relative to the status of fish and game. 



The holders of scientific collectors' permits now number about 140, 

 nearly a third of whom are collecting for museums and schools. Each is 

 required to make a full report to the Commission of their activities for 

 the year. Permits are issued only to those competent to exercise the 



