THIRD BIENNIAL STATEMENT 187 



April 10. — Senator Smith of Arizona, acting for Senator McLean, 

 introduced in the Senate a bill designated as S. 1553, "to give 

 effect to the convention between the United States and Great 

 Britain for the protection of migratory birds concluded at Wash- 

 ington, August 16, 1916, and for other purposes." This bill be- 

 came familiarly known as the enabling act of the treaty. The 

 bill was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. 



April 11. — The New York State Senate by a vote of 28 to 15 passed 

 the Robinson bill for the killing of stray and unlicensed cats. 

 Every owner of a cat will be required to pay 25 cents for a license 

 tag and 10 cents as a registration fee. The measure was strongly 

 backed by the Conservation Commission as a protection against 

 the destruction of birds by bird-hunting cats. 



April 20. — The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations favorably 

 reported Senate bill 1553 and recommended that it be passed. 



April 30. — Hearings were held in New York City before Conservation 

 Commissioner George D. Pratt on a petition presented by citi- 

 zens of Long Island, asking that a five-year close season be given 

 the quail of Long Island. 



May 11. — Delegate Charles A. Sulzer, of Alaska, introduced in the 

 House of Representatives bill No. 4374, "to regulate the killing 

 and sale of game animals in northern Alaska during the exist- 

 ing state of war." The bill was referred to the Committee on 

 Territories. 



June 10. — Conservation Commissioner George D. Pratt, of New York, 

 denied the petition of citizens resident on Long Island for a 

 five-year close season on the quail of Long Island. Hearings on 

 this petition had been held by the Conservation Commission in 

 New York City on April 30 and at Riverhead, L. I., on May 7. 



June 15. — The Province of Saskatchewan, Canada, enacted a close 

 season on sage grouse and other grouse, and also eliminated the 

 open season on female moose. 



July 9. — Dauphin County, Pa., joined the other counties of Pennsyl- 

 vania in filing petitions with the State Game Commission for 

 the closing of their districts to the hunting of ruffed grouse for 

 two years. The only two counties not filing petitions were Phil- 

 adelphia and Delaware, the former because it has no hunting 

 district, and the latter because it has no grouse. Delaware 

 County, however, filed a petition to close the county to the 

 hunting of ring-neck pheasants. 



July 10. — Charles Goodnight, pioneer breeder of buffaloes and buffalo 

 hybrids and owner of the celebrated Goodnight herd in the Pan- 

 handle of Texas, wrote as follows to Mr. Edmund Seymour, 

 President of the American Bison Society: 



"I have just returned from the Wichita Game Preserve where 

 I was entertained by Mr. Rush, warden, and was shown thor- 

 oughly over the property, and I found, first, perfect order and 

 splendid system, and the best buffalo herd, taken as a whole, 

 that I have ever seen. This is saying a good deal, but I will 

 stand by it." 



