MONTHLY VJIEDIIFE RESEARCH LETTER 
Vol. 1, No. 7 
Page 2 
population of pheasants on the Sibley area mainly reflected (1) a large carry¬ 
over of adult birds from 1957 and (2) a low harvest of cocks during the 1957 
hunting season. 
W-ii2-R-8 R. D. Lord 
A neitf disease caused by a virus has been isolated for some of the 
rabbits being kept for the aging study. So far this disease has caused the death 
of eight rabbits. One rabbit recovered. This disease is easily recognized from 
its symptoms. The rabbits hold their heads far to one side, and attempts to 
move result in rolling. All this time the rabbits eat normally as their lack of 
coordination will permit. Ultimately the disease becomes so severe as to cause 
tremors and death. Dr. Deam Ferris of the University of Illinois College of 
Veterinary Medicine has succeeded in isolating the virus from the cerebellum of 
the sick rabbits and has successfully transmitted it to several domestic rabbits. 
Any one finding a sick rabbit exhibiting these symptoms should confine it and 
notify Rex Lord immediately. 
W-52-R-3* P. Vohs, R. Condor 
The final report of the project itfas completed. During the 3-year in¬ 
vestigation, the number of observations of individual game animals was recorded 
in the experimental wide-row corn fields and in the neighboring standard interval 
control fields. These data indicated that game species shoitfed an overwhelming 
preference for the wide-row corn fields. For example, while 1,101 observations 
of individual bobwhite quail were being made in the wide-row corn only 217 such 
observations were made in adjacent standard interval fields of corn. Also, U,396 
such observations of mourning doves were made in the wide-row fields as opposed 
to 5U3 observations in standard interval fields. In the case of rabbits, the 
use of wide-row corn was as much as eight times that of standard interval corn. 
It was concluded that wide-row corn culture is a farm practice which serves the 
best interests of land and wildlife conservation. 
W-55-R-3 F. Bellrose 
This project was inactive during July. 
W-56-R-3 G. Sanderson, K.- Johnson 
The data obtained from wood duck nests located in natural cavities 
during the investigation of raccoon predation on wood ducks and their eggs have 
*Southern Illinois University cooperating 
