32 
SONG AND INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 
More people are constantly taking an interest in the song and 
insectivorous birds of the State and seeing to it that they are pro¬ 
tected at all times, fed when necessary, supplied with nesting boxes, 
etc. in order to not only make life more comfortable for our litt e 
feathered friends but to give them an opportunity to perform the 
utmost service possible to humanity. Data collected ciunng t e pas 
year convinces me that we have more beneficial birds with us each 
year and while we are called upon from time to time to prosecute 
persons killing birds, the law relative to this question on the whole 
is being obeyed splendidly. , 
The special educational work relative to the value of the litework 
of birds carried on in the schools of the State is producing a geneia- 
tion of bird conservationists that will surely bear fruit in years to 
come. We are now preparing to accomplish as much of this educa¬ 
tional work as possible through our entire field organization as well 
as to encourage teachers, civic bodies, Boy Scout organizations, 
sportsmen’s organizations, bird clubs, Audubon societies, etc., to do 
their utmost in bringing this subject forcibly to the attention of 
the school children of the Commonwealth in any manner they may 
be reached. In communities where this work lias oeen carried on 
systematically for a number of years it is as unsafe to openly kill a 
beneficial bird as it is to kill a highly prized pet dog. In either case 
the little folks would make it mightily unpleasant for the perpe¬ 
trator. The bird boxes and fruit and berry trees planted for the birds 
in many communities bear mute evidence of the interest our men 
and women of tomorrow are taking in this work. 
ENFORCEMENT OF FISH LAW. 
During the past year our officers have assisted the Department of 
Fisheries in the enforcement of the Fish Law wherever such action 
did not interfere materially with their work as Game Protectors. 
Our work along this line is appreciated by the Commissioner of Fish¬ 
eries and the law-abiding fishermen of the State, and the sportsmen 
give their entire approval to our action in this direction. By so 
doing we are also creating a wholesome respect for the. Game Law 
and frequently breaking up practices that would lead to similar viola¬ 
tions under that law. 
In pursuance to your action at the July meeting data has. been col¬ 
lected on the various nursery streams in the immediate vicinity of 
our Game Preserves and will in the near future be supplied to the 
Commissioner of Fisheries in order that steps may be taken to close 
to fishing such waters as may properly be classed as nursery waters 
only. The Commissioner of Fisheries is pleased to have this co¬ 
operation and has not previously taken steps to close such nursery 
waters because of lack of necessary field assistance to post and guard 
the streams so closed. This difficulty will be overcome by having the 
Preserve Keepers look after these matters. 
FOREST FIRES. 
While all of our salaried field officers are regularly appointed 
Fire Wardens so they will have power to call help to their assistance 
33 . 
m case of a forest fire, this power was rarely needed during the past 
year as. we fortunately had but few forest fires to contend with in 
comparison to former years. The educational work of the Depart¬ 
ment of Forestry, in which we are assisting wherever possible has 
been securing excellent results. Weather conditions were not favor- 
abie to fires during the worst period both last spring and this fall 
which helped very materially. ' ’ 
ENFORCEMENT. OF DOG LICENSE LAW. 
At the request of the Secretary of Agriculture our officers through¬ 
out the State rendered special assistance in securing a proper observ¬ 
ance of the dog license law. The majority of our efforts were directed 
m assisting to secure action upon the part of County Commissioners 
constables, and other police officers rather than assume the burden of 
the actual enforcement of the law, although in many cases our 
officeis under the special direction of the Secretary of*Agriculture 
secured the necessary evidence and became the prosecutors in order to 
set an example and have the people understand that this law must be 
ooeyed. I am glad to say also that in those portions of the State 
where this dog license law was most strictly enforced we had a very 
marked increase of rabbits this year so that our co-operation in this 
direction has been beneficial to the game interests of the State as 
well as the agricultural and stock-raising interests. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Taking the work of the Department in general since the time the 
first funds secured through the Resident Hunters’ License Act became 
available to our use on June 1st, 1915, I am confident all fair-minded 
sportsmen will agree we have made very decided progress and that 
we at this time have that work in far better condition than ever be¬ 
fore possible. If favorable comments from sportsmen residing in 
other States are to be taken as a criterion, as w T ell as the ever in¬ 
creasing number of Non-Resident Hunters’ Licenses issued, Pennsyl¬ 
vania holds an enviable position today in her wild life conservation 
work. 
Our monthly prosecution report is meeting with entire approval 
among the sportsmen of the State and our mailing list to those in¬ 
terested is constantly growing. We are from time to time importuned 
to place more monthly publications on the work of the Department 
before the public, many sportsmen feeling that we should have a De¬ 
partmental magazine or bulletin published and distributed monthly 
either from funds now available to our use for general educational 
vmrk or else establish such magazine and place it on a self-sustaining- 
basis through a small subscription merely sufficient to bear the actual 
cost of paper, printing and postage. The latter method would permit 
the sale of advertising space to reliable business firms which if neces¬ 
sary would also assist in defraying expenses. Other States that have 
tried this method are securing excellent support in their efforts along 
this line and I am confident we in Pennsylvania could produce very 
. gratifying results in this manner. I present this for such considera¬ 
tion as you may deem advisable at this time. 
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