July, 1921 
FOREST AND STREAM 
303 
THE AUTO CRUISER 
T HE automobile has become such an important 
factor in the life of this country and so many 
tourists are cruising our highways and camping by 
the roadside that it is only a question of a few 
years before every wide-awake municipality will 
have its public parking and camping ground. 
Denver, Colorado, we believe, was the first city 
of importance to provide accommodations for vis- 
iting auto camp tourists, and the California maga- 
zine, Outdoors, reports that more than a score of 
southern California cities recently drew up meas- 
ures intended to insure the greatest conveniences 
and comfort for visiting auto camp tourists. 
Some of the special features of the rules adopted 
at the Long Beach gathering are that motorists 
will be allowed to spend only two weeks in any one 
camp except upon local renewed privilege. Gas 
for cooking, electricity for lighting, telephone ser- 
vice, public comfort stations, water, showers or 
bath are some of the facilities to be universally 
provided in these municipal outdoor camps. No 
repairs will be allowed on cars while in the camp, 
neither will salesmen be allowed to make their 
headquarters there. 
It is further indicated that all camp grounds 
will be beautified by the planting of trees and 
flowers, that they will be open at all hours of the 
day and night and be in charge of a custodian who 
will see to the enforcement of all rules and regula- 
tions and generally look after the comforts of vis- 
itors. Fees to be charged to motorists will be 
based upon the amount invested to provide the fa- 
cilities as outlined. 
COLORADO GAME CENSUS 
'"THE annual game census for the fifteen National 
Forests of Colorado indicates that greater pro- 
tection is necesary, and deer are far fewer in num- 
ber than in some of the smaller eastern states. 
An accurate count is impossible, but since the work 
of the Forest Rangers requires that they spend 
much of their time in the regions occupied by the 
wild animals, a fair estimate is possible. 
Several years ago, elk were brought in by the 
Forest Service, in conjunction with the Biological 
Survey and with the help of local organizations, 
and distributed in areas where only small bands 
were in existence and to localities where, many 
years ago, they were abundant but had been en- 
tirely exterminated. The elk have increased until 
the estimate now shows 5,640 animals within the 
State. The number on each forest varies from 10 
on the Leadville and Uncompahgre Forests to 1,925 
within the White River Forest. 
The number of black-tailed or mule deer is 21,- 
780 and of white-tailed 42. These latter all within 
the San Isabel Forest. There are still a number 
of antelope on the eastern plains and one lone one 
in North Park, but there are but 20 of which the 
Forest Service has record, these being entirely 
within the Pike Forest. 
Mountain sheep now number 6,720, black bear 
2,690 and silver tip bear 35. Beaver are decidedly 
on the increase as a result of many years of a rigid 
closed season and now number 38,100. 
The so-called predatory animals, in spite of con- 
stant war made upon them, are far too numerous 
for the increase of game animals. The estimate 
gives mountain lions 740; gray wolves 190; lynx 
cats 6,965; foxes 2,455 and coyotes 26,485. 
During the year just closed there were killed 
by individuals 963 deer, 172 bears and 132 beaver 
while those killed by predatory animals number 
983 deer, 325 mountain sheep and 10 elk. The 
beaver were trapped under permit issued by the 
State Game Department. 
The number of predatory animals killed by all 
persons other than officers of the Biological Survey 
was 29 mountain lions, 30 wolves, 579 lynx cats 
and 4,036 coyotes. 
The number of fish fry placed in unstocked 
waters and in our much depleted streams, through 
the efforts of the Forest officers, from both Gov- 
ernment and State hatcheries, was 4,293,400. The 
results of such plants will never be what they 
should be until maturing ponds are established 
along the streams. 
CHECKING UP THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS 
‘‘T HE desire to learn what became of birds that 
1 flew south with the approach of cold weather 
led Audubon — the great American naturalist — to 
place silver threads about the legs of a brood of 
phoebes. The following spring he was rewarded 
by having two of the birds return to nest near the 
haunts where they learned to fly. 
This occurred early in the nineteenth century, 
and was the first known case in America of bird 
banding. Since that time this means of securing 
information on the movements and life history of 
migratory birds has been used by many societies, 
and every fall thousands of birds fly south, each 
bearing a narrow numbered ring on one of its legs. 
It is the plan of the Biological Survey of the de- 
partment, which is supervising the bird-banding 
work, to advance this method of research along 
two principal lines : first, the banding of fledglings 
as formerly practiced; and second, the systematic 
trapping and banding of adult birds. As the band- 
ing of fledglings has the advantage of affording 
valuable information on the ages of birds, the sur- 
vey wishes to encourage these activities, but it de- 
sires to lay special emphasis on the added value 
of the systematic trapping of adults. 
With the establishment of a well-connected 
chain of trapping stations throughout the United 
States and Canada, regular “returns” are confi- 
dently expected by department specialists with re- 
ports of retrapped birds that had been banded at 
the original and other stations. Data thus afford- 
ed are already indicating the exact lines of migra- 
tion of individual birds, the speed of travel, and 
innumerable items of interest, many of which have 
a direct bearing upon the study of life histories 
and the administration of the Migratory Bird 
Treaty Act with which the department is charged. 
The department issues bands of two types to co- 
operators in the work. One type is the split ring 
band for all small birds, and the other is the flat 
strip band that is adjustable for all large birds. 
For general land-bird trapping the so-called Gov- 
ernment “sparrow trap” has been found the most 
satisfactory. The bulletin contains details of con- 
struction of this trap. It also discusses other 
methods of trapping, the operation of traps, han- 
dling and releasing birds, and filling out reports. 
Federal trapping permits for this work are re- 
quired under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Ap- 
plications for permits and requests for the bulletin 
should be addressed to the Bureau of Biological 
Survey, Dept, of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 
