Plowing in a needle-grass pasture to produce gueil-food plants has been © 
found to discourage needle grass and bitterweed and to encourage the desirable 
Bermuda grass, in addition to producing an abundsnce of goatweed and other good 
quail foods. 
Considerable work has been done on plant relations to wildlife, with 
special reference to occurrence, abundance, and especially the periods of avail- 
ability of quail foods, to the effects of frost on game rood and cover, and to 
the effects of cultivation, burning, fires, timber-cutting, and soil on wildlife. 
Marked progress has been made on a study of the wildlife value of cut-over 
timber country in four age groups. Quail are numerous in cut—over land up to 8 
to 13 years after cutting, but they begin to decrease as the canopy tends to close. 
The project on the life history of the gray and fox squirrels represents 
the first comprehensive work on the habits, occurrence, and abundance of these 
squirrels in eastern Texas. It develops that there are two distinct breeding 
seasons, one, apparently the more important, in December, January, and February, 
the other in June, July, and August. The fox squirrel begins breeding about two 
weeks before the gray. An occasional pregant squirrel may be found at any 
season of the year. The Texas Game, Fish, and Oyster Commission has recently 
requested facts on squirrel life histories with a view to correcting the present 
quite inadequate hunting statutes. 
Preliminary work on the Attwater prairie chicken, which belongs to the 
same species as the heath hen and is now restricted in its distribution to 
Texas, has indicated a total population of 380 on 100,000 acres in Austin, 
Colorado, and Wharton Counties, or an average of 1 individual to 263 acres. 
In a 4-day census before the season opened, covering 25,000 acres in the best 
prairie chicken country, two cars and several dogs were used, and only 2 birds 
were found, of which only 11 were young. 
A Division of Wildlife Research has been established in Texas Agricultural 
Experiment Station. The first full-time extension specialist in wildlife con- 
servation to be appointed by the Texas Extension Service is planning three demon- 
strations: (1) Game-management demonstration, (2) 4-H game-management demonstra- 
tion,sands(3) fish’ culture: It ds hoped to form a wildlife committee among the 
farmers and sportsmen of each of tne 254 Texas counties. 
MAINE UNIT--LEADER. APPOINTED DECEMBER 23, 1935 
In a study of forest-game relationships on cut—-over areas, 3 square miles 
have been type~mapped and a 10 percent sample plot cruise made of all tree 
species by types and diameter classes. Fifteen miles of plot lines have been 
established and eight permenent sample plots of l-square acre each are distributed, 
one to each representative forest type; on these tracts a 100 percent tally of all 
trees by species and diameter class has been made. In the center of each l-acre 
sample plot a l-chain square plot was established on which a 100 percent tally was 
made of all shrub end tree species reproduction. In the four corners of the chain- 
square plots are mil-acre plots on which a 100 percent tally of all herbaceous 
growth was made. Three grouse censuses have now been taken and two deer counts 
were made by the strip method. 
On a plot now being cut over, 3 square miles have been type-mapped and a 
19 percent sample-plot cruise made of timber. Permanent sample plots have been 
established as described in the cut-over area. On the cut-over site, however, 
Be ctr 
