Vol. 13, No. 11 
Page 2 
July 31. Thus, for farmers on the FCMU to refrain from mowing until the date 
requested by Department biologists constitutes a departure from past practices. 
During the summer of 1967, before any of the farmers on the FCMU had been 
contacted, checks were made on the progress of mowing operations on the study 
area. Nearly 60 percent of the roadsides had been mowed by June 15 and nearly 
90 percent by July 15- 
Data for 1968 could not be used for comparison, as cooperating farmers were 
requested to mow their roadsides several times that summer to facilitate the 
operation of the seeder; in 1969 , cooperators were asked to mow their roadsides 
at their discretion--when the roadsides became unsightly. It is apparent from 
checks carried out in 1970 that cooperating farmers on the FCMU generally 
adhered to the delayed-mowing agreement. Less than 10 percent of the roadsides 
of cooperating farmers had been mowed by July 31, which contrasts with 97 
percent of the roadsides mowed by this date in 1967- By August 15, 1970, about 
60 percent of the roadsides had been mowed, compared with nearly 100 percent on 
the same date in 1967- To verify the delay of mowing on the FCMU, checks were 
made during 1970 on the progress of mowing on the control area. On that area, 
almost 90 percent of the roadsides had been mowed by July 1. 
3. Ecology and Manag e ment of Sq uirrels C. M. Nixon 
Corpora lutea and fetus counts from 33 pregnant gray squirrels provided an 
estimate of prenatal mortality for this species. There were 102 ova released 
by these females and 95 ova were successfully implanted. This represents a 6.9 
percent loss of ova occurring between the time of ovulation and cornua 
implantation. Mortality of embryos/fetuses was low; only two dead fetuses were 
found in the total sample of 95 fetuses, or a 2.1 percent loss for the 43- to 
45-day gestation period. Thus, the total prenatal mortality for this sample 
was about 9-0 percent. 
4. Responses of Robwhites to Habitat Manipulation J. A. Ellis, 
D. R. Vance 
Prehunt censuses of quail were conducted on the Dale and Forbes areas in 
late October and early November, 1970. Results of these censuses revealed 
population declines on both areas when compared with populations in 19 & 9 - 
The fall population on Forbes in 1970 was 23-3 quail per 100 acres, a 
decline of 10.7 percent from the 1969 level of 26.1 quail per 100 acres. Quail 
density in the experimental management zone on Forbes was 53-2 birds per 100 
acres, a decrease of 18 percent from that in 1969- Another 250-acre zone on 
Forbes, managed by sharecropping since 1 968 by the Division of Wildlife Resources, 
had a slight increase in quail density, from 52.0 quail per 100 acres in 1969 to 
54.8 quail per 100 acres in 1970. 
A population density of 37-1 quail per 100 acres was recorded this fall 
(1970) on the Dale Area, a decline of 0.8 percent from that recorded in 1 969 • 
The population on the zone managed exclusively by prescribed burning declined 
52.8 percent from the 1969 level (43-2 quail per 100 acres) to the 1970 level 
(20.4 quail per 100 acres). In contrast, the population on the remainder of 
the Dale Area increased 18.0 percent. 
