28 
Tlie use of poisoned corn for the destruction of surplus crows by 
our representatives has proved most satisfactory with no injurious 
results to beneficial birds of any kind. 
A number of complaints have reached the office during the past 
year about what was purported to be the improper and outrageous 
use of poison on the part of our representatives. Each of these com¬ 
plaints has been investigated and in no case was such careless or 
improper use of poison properly chargeable to employees of the De¬ 
partment. I am satisfied that instead individuals who desired to 
reflect upon the work of the Dame Commission saw to it that these 
outrages were committed causing the killing of valuable dogs, etc., 
and that the responsibility was placed upon our officer in that dis¬ 
trict. In other cases I am confident that the antipathy to certain 
hunting dogs in various sections of the Commonwealth caused in¬ 
dividuals of low repute to place poison for the specific purpose of 
destroying such dogs. In some parts of the State deer hunters have 
killed every dog that came into their deer hunting territory, while in 
other places the feeling against bird dogs makes it unwise to take 
such dogs into those sections. In still other cases, and probably in 
a great majority of instances where dogs were killed in large numbers 
persons interested in sheep took such steps as in their judgment were 
necessary to protect their flocks, and while all of these practices de¬ 
serve most severe condemnation and were violations of a general 
statute prohibiting the placing of poison outside of buildings, still 
it is absolutely unfair to charge such misdeeds to our employees. A 
number of complaints relative to the destruction of game of various 
kinds through strychnine have beeh carefully investigated without 
any foundation in truth except where in several cases dead opossums 
were found. In one instance a raccoon badly decomposed was found 
and apparently had died from other causes, but in no instance have 
we been able to find trace of a single wild turkey, or ruffed grouse, 
or deer, or squirrel, or rabbit killed through the use of strychnine 
placed for vermin by representatives of the Department. 
It is my intention to follow up closely all complaints of this sort 
as rapidly as they reach us so as to place beyond question the re¬ 
sponsibility where it belongs; at any rate to satisfy myself that our 
officers are not improperly using material of this kind in the destruc¬ 
tion of vermin. 
PURCHASE OF GAME. 
The purchase of game of any kind suitable to Pennsylvania in quan¬ 
tity has always been a difficult matter, and this has been especially 
true recently. This condition was largely due to war conditions, 
scarcity of desirable supplies, etc., but a number of other States that 
during the past two or three years secured revenue through licenses, 
appropriations, etc., for this purpose are withholding permission to 
make shipments out of their State. This has been true in several 
cases where we had placed orders for ring-neck pheasants and the 
shippers were later compelled to sell to their own State game au¬ 
thorities. We have a contract for approximately 150 Michigan white- 
tailed deer to be used in stocking preserves not yet supplied and 
have already secured about 6,000 ring-neck pheasants to be released 
next spring, this being less than half the number contracted for. 
29 
Rabbits of the cotton-tailed variety are difficult to secure at prices 
within our reach because of the enormous prices received for dead 
rabbits for food purposes, although quite a number have been con¬ 
tracted for, and a Maine shipper believes he can supply upwards of 
two thousand Varying Hares, or snowshoe rabbits. Time alone will 
tell what will result from these orders. 
Approximately one hundred and seventy-five (175) wild turkeys 
have been secured and distributed and if weather conditions permit 
‘we have arrangements made for trapping from one to two hundred of 
* these birds out of large flocks left over in the turkey sections of the 
State and distributing them to places suitable for turkeys. Far better 
results will be secured in this way and at less expense. 
The securing of Bob-white quail from Mexico, the only place where 
they are obtainable at all, is quite a problem. Last winter the Federal 
authorities upon our recommendation that no birds be shipped from 
the border until after February 15th made the importation regula¬ 
tions so stringent that the shippers could not even bring the birds 
over the border until February 15th, with the result that only 1,500 
birds were received out of orders for 35,000 birds. Two of the ship¬ 
pers reported that the drought in Mexico had driven the birds in¬ 
land where because of internal troubles they were unable to secure 
them. This season we again placed large orders for delivery after 
February 15th, but the Washington authorities contrary to our ex¬ 
pectations opened the importation and shipping season December 
1st, whereupon the shippers advised that if we wanted birds we must 
take them as they come through quarantine. In order to get birds 
it was simply a case of letting them make shipments and if the birds 
get along all right permit them to continue; if not, suspend shipments 
until weather conditions are favorable. Up to the time this portion 
of the report is written approximately 2,000 birds have been shipped. 
These birds practically all reached us in first class condition, the 
losses incurred during transit being negligible, but in one lot re¬ 
ceived the birds began dying rapidly a few days after arrival and 
the Washington authorities have suspended shipments until a proper 
investigation can be made because some of the specimens sent them 
were claimed to have quail disease. Recent reports from officers re¬ 
ceiving consignments of these same quail indicate that their birds 
are getting along nicely, some of them not having lost a bird, so that 
my former opinion relative to this quail disease, namely, that it is 
invariably nothing but improper handling that develops this trouble, 
is still my thought on the matter. I firmly believe that this one con¬ 
signment in which heavy mortality occurred immediately after ar¬ 
rival was grossly misused by the express company, that the birds 
were subjected to extreme heat and then extreme cold in rapid suc¬ 
cession, which treatment is sufficient to kill any living creature, 
especially quail. What the outcome of our plans in this direction 
may be I am as yet unable to say. All the birds received are being 
retained in captivity until springtime, so that no harm can possibly 
come to our native birds even though quail disease in a virulent form 
should develop among more of the consignments, which I do not anti¬ 
cipate. 
