Vo 1. 11, No. 11 
Page 2 
Seeding operations cost about $78 per acre or $15*+ per mile; application of nitro¬ 
gen fertilizer cost $18 per acre or about $28 per mile. Fertilizer and lime for 
seeding operations cost nearly $35 per acre or $68 per mile. Seed costs and appli¬ 
cation came to $14 per acre of $27 per mile. 
3* Factors Inf1uencinq Distribution and Abundance of Pheasants W. L- Anderson, 
D. R. Vance 
The mean weight of seven adult hen pheasants collected in Ford and Livingston 
counties during October 1968 was 924 g. This compares favorably with the mean 
weights of adult hens collected during the same period in I 966 (901 g) and 196 7 
(901 g). The mean weights of muscle groups and of fat deposits of the hens 
collected in 1968 , relative to those of the hens collected in I 966 and 19&7> 
respectively, were; sternal muscles, 102 and 102 percent; leg muscles, 101 and 100 
percent; fat strip, 275 and 1 83 percent; visceral fat, 436 and 321 percent. These 
findings indicate that adult hens in the state's better pheasant range were in 
better physical condition during the postnesting period in 1968 than during the same 
period in the 2 preceding years. 
4. Responses of Bobwhites to Habitat Manipu1 at ion J. El 1 is, P. Matthews 
One of the non-"Smokey Bear" type of problems associated with the burn programs 
on the Dale and Forbes areas has been the establishment of firebreaks. During the 
fall, we have plowed around the sites scheduled for burning the following spring. 
Although plowed strips 4-6 feet wide are adequate firebreaks, the "dead furrows" 
tend to erode in certain topographic situations, creating small ditches. 
To overcome this problem of erosion, we have contrived a tractor-drawn machine 
that will establish firebreaks by burning. The machine consists of a 150-gallon 
orchard sprayer, to which we attached three propane burners of the type used for 
burning alfalfa fields, and a spray system behind the burners to extinguish the 
outside flames. Preliminary testing of the machine indicates that it can be used 
to establish adequate firebreaks: the best method include" burning firelanes 
around the chosen sites in June or July. Burns at this time will kill the vegeta¬ 
tion. A later burn in September over the same firelanes will eliminate the vegeta¬ 
tion completely, leaving the firelanes bare surrounding burns initiated in the fall 
or the subsequent spring. 
5- Responses of Prairie Chickens to Hab:tat Manipu1 at ion R. L. Westemeier 
In the last report (MWRL 11(10):3) it was shown that timothy and weedy grass- 
forb-domestic legume mixtures, if available near booming grounds, are more readily 
accepted than redtop by nesting prairie chickens. During the 6-year period of 19&3 - 
68, 84 prairie chicken nests were examined, and the dominant plants at the nest 
sites were compared with the dominant cover in the fields which contained the nests. 
