66 REPORT OF STATE BOARD OF FISH COMMISSIONERS. 



twenty dozen were turned out and where special efforts had been made 

 to protect them by killing off the ground varmint and establishing a close 

 season on all shooting for a term of years. Our experience would seem 

 to indicate that as these birds roost upon the ground they fall easy prev 

 to the varmint, but where the latter have been exterminated an increase 

 is noted. 



In February, 1905, another effort was made to secure quail from 

 Mexico, and deputy H. T. Payne was sent there for that purpose, but 

 owing to continuous storms and otherwise unfavorable conditions that 

 prevailed in the country at that time, and also a serious illness con- 

 tracted by Mr. Payne while there, he returned empty handed, which 

 was a great disappointment to us. From the specimens brought by 

 him on a previous trip the year before, no special success followed. 



With respect to pheasants, we are pleased to report continued interest 

 in their propagation in captivity by people in all sections of the State. 

 The increase is yet small and is generally disposed of to friends and 

 neighbors. Our means have not permitted us to procure additional 

 birds from Oregon, and the prices in Asiatic countries, added to the 

 transportation charged, preclude their importation. 



FISH AND GAME PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATIONS. 



During the past two years quite a number of new fish and game pro- 

 tective associations have been organized in different portions of the 

 State, chiefly in the high Sierras. They have accomplished much 

 toward building up a better sentiment in their respective communities 

 in favor of the observance and enforcement of the fish and game laws. 

 On the recommendation of the officers of these associations we have 

 appointed several members in each one as deputies of this Board, which 

 gives them full authority to make arrests for violations of the fish and 

 game laws. We are pleased to say that excellent results have followed 

 these appointments, which is the more commendable in view of the fact 

 that in the higher elevations the fish and game breed much later than 

 in the valleys, and the general State law does not fit to the entire satis- 

 faction of the permanent residents in those regions. 



These clubs are in the main composed of representative and intelli- 

 gent citizens, who realize the importance of having a bountiful supply 

 of fish and game in order to attract the summer tourists, who bring in 

 a considerable amount of money each year, which would not be the 

 case if the fish and game were scarce. We have always found the asso- 

 ciations ready and willing to do their full share of the work, also in 

 meeting the expense attached to the hauling and planting of fish, and 

 in some sections where prosecutions for violation of the fish and game 

 laws had never before been even considered, there have been a sufficient 



