THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 169 



and return home with a bag full of delicious trout. You relate your 

 day's outing to your neighbor and your friends. You tell of the big 

 ones you didn't get and the smaller ones which you actually landed and 

 you create a desire among your auditors for a day of similar sport. 



These anglers for the most part use some form of railroad trans- 

 portation to and from their favorite angling stream. Literally thou- 

 sands of them take from one to twenty trips in a season. This means 

 actual money spent with the steam and electric lines of our state. I 

 need not remind those of you who have charge of the traffic here of 

 the crowds which have every Saturday and Sunday invaded your cars 

 for a Sunday's angling on the many streams within a radius of forty 

 miles of Portland. Your report sheets tell the story more eloquently 

 than I can. While it is true that the automobile has taken some of 

 this traffic, yet, with the increasing interest taken in the sport, due in 

 a large degree to the work of stocking and restocking the streams, 

 the railroads should show an increased number of fares collected from 

 sportsmen. 



With the exception of those trout which are liberated directly into 

 the streams from the feeding ponds all the work of distribution of 

 fry is accomplished through the agency of the state fish car, which 

 has been fittingly named the "Rainbow." Last year the Rainbow 

 traveled between twenty-two and twenty-three thousand miles. This 

 year the travel record will be higher. This car accommodates 177 cans. 

 When the Rainbow reaches its destination it finds enthusiastic sports- 

 men from all walks of life ready to assist with their time and their 

 means in the task of transporting these cans from the car to the 

 streams where the fish are liberated. These men are busy men and 

 in their own community are representative of its varied activities. 

 They put in from a half to a whole day of their time. They furnish 

 their autos and other conveyances and they do not charge the state 

 a single cent for anything. They do it because they love the sport. 

 It is a splendid example of unselfish devotion to a cause from which 

 they themselves reap only a very small proportion of the benefit. Were 

 we to be charged for the actual cost of auto hire and two men's time 

 with each machine the cost of distributing each car of fish would ap- 

 proximate something over $100.00. Prior to August the first of this 

 year the hauling of the Rainbow has been done free of any charge 

 by the railroads of the state. We were notified some time ago that 

 hereafter a charge of ten cents a mile would be made for this service. 

 It is estimated by us that the cost of transporting the Rainbow next 

 year would maintain three feeding ponds of good size. I mention 

 this merely as a matter of fact and not in the nature of a criticism. 



In addition to the liberation of commercial and game fish the state 

 conducts quite an extensive game farm from which about 4000 Chinese 

 pheasants will be liberated this year. Wild bird refuges have been 

 established and a movement is now under way for the establishment 

 of wild game preserves within the national forests which will be 

 under the control of both the federal and state authorities. 



The citizens of our state have grasped the idea that if they are 

 to continue to enjoy the splendid recreation of hunting and angling 

 they must encourage not only the protection but the propagation of 

 our game animals, birds and fish. Conditions are rapidly shaping 

 themselves for the propagation of wild animal life in a similar manner 

 to that which we now employ with Chinese pheasants and trout. Rod 

 and gun clubs and game protective associations are giving helpful and 

 active co-operation in our efforts to make the fish and game of our 

 state worth more and more as a real tangible asset. It is estimated 



