VOLUME 2 MARCH 15, 1943 NUMBER 3 There Will Be Take A Good Look, Son Outdoor Cooking Boating 'Spite ' l-lolds Thrill For of Rationing t Many Sportsmen

By VERNE H PETERSEN, By GEORGE 0 HENDRICKSON, State Boat Inspector Department of Zoology and Entomology, With the approach of the boat­ Iowa State Colleg

! large numbers so as to menace Iowa Conservationist Ummm--Can't You Smell 'em Frying? crops Under such circumstances Published Monthly by they are systematically extermi­ THE IOWA STATE CONSERVATION nated by hunts which often end COMMISSION .:;.} .. 1 m crow banquets. The mcreasing lOth & Mulberry Des Mones, Iowa popularity of crows for food is JAMES R. HARLAN, Ed1tor I attested by dressed birds havmg F T SCHWOB D1rector I been sold for 19 cents each in Oklahoma markets, and m Den­ u ver, Colorado, they have com­ MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION manded a shghtly higher price E B GAU ~ ~- z .ansmg, I ·man under the supposedly more at­ J D LOWE Algona tractive name ·rook'. F W. MATTES Odebolt "Crow meat is dark and tastes MRS. ADDISON PARKE R Des Momes something half - way be tv. een F. J. POYNEER Cedar Rap1ds duck and chicken. The slight R. E. STEWART ... Ottumwa gamey taste d1sappears almost en­ A S. WORKMAN Glenwo od tirely when fricaseed or par­ boiled As with chicken, young Conservation Commission crows are good broiled, while oth­ sl ers should be cooked m a pot for Military Service Cl longer periods." \j l-lonor Roll Possum treated in an unusual ti way came to our attention in b "The Best Men Are Cooks" by a Frank Shay, 281 pages, Copynght g 1941, Coward McCann Inc., New * Al(XAND[Q. til * KP ·~(DY. WAYN( York. * f>@RY. Rt.t. H * ~ T[R,ut.O "Have a kettle of boiling watet * hl:>tlNSON. ~ * u:.Y.C.I-lAS big enough fo1 you to tmmerse the *C:U~STtt.NS[ N - * ' '?tt-1, IHOS whole possum, but remove it *CO~t>Y. :.lU&t::RT *SJOSTQO ',, D. The authors of various outdoor cook1ng books do not expt>ct us to cook all of our catch from the f1re so that It IS not ac­ * COOPGUOoT * SLvL;J}."/AilD outdoors. Therefore, they describe outdoor cooking indoors as well as 1n the open. tively boiling Grab the animal * CCX)P(ll,,'f ...5fl, * STARAJPAt..;.., (dead) by the tail and lower * I='Ab;::l., L£STtJl, * 'viPQ, ~ .D£N dious process, boil 'possum unt1l "2. Cut rabbit in six pieces * ~=" 1'-;K,L .W(P.~ R[&A';\,i) head-dO\\'n into the water for a * done and boil the potatoes. Take and soak m salt watm for several mmute Then w1th a dull knife * I='LICXINGt.ll,~ >\ * . W£.Y. P.OoT *(j[ l;,ll.IC~A~D · ~ 1 1.1.'-[ t~ JOI-ltJ both from water, arrange m pan. hours Dry and roll m flour or scrape off the hair without inj ur­ *G P.A~SING. ~ * W ~_D£. ~: LTON and brown before fire or in oven, egg and cracker crumbs. Fry in ing or breakmg the skin. Make · ~A!l.V[Y. WALT * l"uJNGBLOOD.IJI basting with fat skimmed from butter in a good hot pan tlll gold­ a clean mc1s1on from throat to · ~AUGSt. .J I~ O * ·~FNSON 1.< l water m wh1ch 'possum bo1lcd. en, then add a little water and iail, and remove entrails and * 1-lOFFMAN , C· * ..t,Wt.S.LJ;ROY l Make gravy out of poi liquid to steam till they arc tender. Add a brain, savmg the hver, and cut · ~OF~AN t~ eat with both meat and potatoes'' httle more water If 1t evaporates off the feet at the first )omt If * 1-,G O. t.AP.L * in "Camp Catering'' by Louise and tables you have Cook some ba­ important, let him soak m salted ~~~;------~- Joel H . Hildebrand, 87 pages, con slightly in a Dutch oven, re­ water overnight; then wash him ~-- """ Copynght 1938, Stephen Daye move It and brown the rabb1t in m warm water, and he IS ready Press, Brattleboro, Vennont, or bacon grease, then place the part­ for stuffing. "How to rustle grub for h1kers, ly cooked bacon on top of the rab­ "Make a stuffing by browning Outdoor Cooking campers, mountaineers, packers, bit, put lid on and cook till rabbit a chopped omon in a little butter ponds were "I don't feel like a hero, but if port, Iowa; the regional mspector been taught during training. fen ced with muskrat proof fen­ Uncle Sam says I am, so I must " It developed our little yellow is R. W. Snyder. These men serve be; and judging from the amoun t cing. In both ponds there was a friends had discovered the depot without pay. serious loss of animals because of gold braid down there this aft­ and had decided on a preview. We ernoon, the fracus must have been The principal use of dogs of fighting, even though what ap­ spoiled their plans and used the supplied is for guard duty. They peared to be severe wounds pretty important. fireworks to take the concentra­ "The whole thing started about are immensely valuable to help healed rapidly. Death seemed to tion point across the river next prevent sabotage, guard munition occur most frequently near the two weeks ago when one of our day." infantry scouting units located a dumps, storehouses, airfields, etc., fence, as during the daily checks Tur ning to a sad-eyed blood­ and wherever finished dogs are most dead individuals were found strong concentration of J aps hound whose local Dogs for De­ across a jungle stream. Our units at work the request comes for near this barrier. It was not pos­ fense board had classed him 4-F, more. In fact, where they are in sible at any time to maintain the filtered to within striking dis­ but who had gotten into the thick l tance. Our service of supply use one dog relieves as many as same number of living adult of things as foreign correspon­ six men, and often, as in the case muskrats per acre under fence as 0 brought in ammunitions and cam­ dent for the Canine Press, Robey b of our imaginary Robey, they de­ were maintained per acre on un­ ouflaged them in the heavy jun­ said, "I have a half brother back II gle. tect movement, sound, or smell fenced marsh. in Elkader, Iowa, who would be a too faint for human senses. "The night before the big fight natural out h ere. Put a p iece in b "All dogs are donated outright, my corporal and I w ere on guard your rag and tell him how to get In Inspector Snyder's words, but if possible they will be re­ at the munitions dump. The in." "Dogs needed for this work must 11 turned to the owner after the sounds from the sticky n ight were Robey is r ight. In Elkader, be of aggressive nature, 20 or war. Any dog not meeting re­ not like those at home, but I Storm Lake, Vinton, in almost more inches at the shoulder, quirements will be r eturned to could tell that Corporal J iggs was every section of Iowa, there are either sex, between the ages of the owner without cost if the mentally 5,000 miles away. dogs who would be extremely one and five years, neither storm owner so desires." '·You dogs will soon learn that valuable to the armed forces and nor gun shy, such breeds as Shep­ the J aps work by stealth and are who, if given the chance, could herds (police dogs), Doberman Dogs accep ted for the armed most murderous at night. actively participate in this most Pinschers, Airedale, Kerry Blue services are reshipped from con ­ Terriers, Chesapeake and Labra­ centration points to the various p "I'll admit I was thinking a important of all wars. dor Retrievers, Boxers, Great training centers. There they are r. little along the same lines as Cor­ In World W ar I Germany was poral Jiggs; however, a faint the foremost user of "war dogs". Danes, Collies and Schnauzers. well-fed and housed and given scraping in the darkness raised P rior to the present conflict, or any cross of two of the above the training that is proving so the hackles on my back. J iggs many generals' staffs acknowl­ respective breeds. valuable to the armed services. noticed my low growl of warning, edged their value. Recently the "Newfoundlands, St Bernards, Any reader havmg a dog or dogs and in a few moments even he United States Army, through Ma­ Malmutes, Siberian H uskies, Mas­ that he believes would be valu­ could hear movements out front. jor-General Edmund B. Gregory, tiffs and crosses are used for able, and that he would like to "The rest happened quickly. Quartermaster General of the pack and sled dogs, laying tele­ present to the government, should An unanswered challenge, a cou­ United States, has asked dog phone, rescue and message work. contact J. H. Schuffman, Regional ple of blasts of the tommy gun, owners and breeders for 125,000 "Not usable are timid, &mall Director, Dogs for Defense, Route and things w ere pretty well over. WAGS, dogs for war purposes. breeds, hunting dogs, and mon­ 1, Kimberly Road, Davenport, Somehow I found myself pinning To supply these dogs, Dogs for [!;rels. Io,'" a. PAGE TWENTY IOWA CONSERVA T IONIST

them was the famtly of BJarne Herjulson, an adventurous trader Carp Yields Heavy Iowa Crop who, having come home from the sea to spend the winter with his parents, found them gone. From netghbors Bjarne learned of Greenland and set out to follow h1s people He must find a land he had never seen, somewhere in an uncharted ocean. Satling by sea-sense and the stars, BJarne's Four and one-half Almost 500 years before Colum­ JOurney IS one of the most ven­ - bus discovered the West Ind1es, turesome sea stones of history. million pounds of riches of the American forest He \vas the first white man of Iowa rough fish are were bemg harvested by white record to have seen Amenca's men. forested shores. marketed annually. It happened because Red Enk Thorwaldson had neighbor trou- Nine days of storm drove hts ble m Iceland; because BJarne httle wood ship far south and Her)ulson got lost; and because west. At last he saw a land "not darmg Vikmg traders knew good mountamous, well-wooded, with timber when they saw it small knolls upon Il" He did not Proud VIkmg freemen were stop, because this was clearly not f1erce to defend their nghts, their Greenland, he turned northeast, property and their honor, and and two days later saw "a flat none was fiercer m that defense country covered with timber," I than Thorwald's son, Erik, called \\.'htch may have been Cape Sable, "The Red" the southernmost pomt of Nova For one such defense, judged Scotia, or somewhere beyond to be too spinled, the Iceland Next he saw an island It was court sentenced Erik to three probably Newfoundland. He years of exile That was m 982. sailed around It, agam not slop­ Erik was probably 27 years old. pmg; and his next landfall was His son, L1ef, who was to earn in Greenland. Not only that-he Amenca the name, "The Lucky," arrived precisely at his father's was also exiled. farm. that Lief took home m cluded Erik was not dismayed by his And from that lime on, he told dried grapes and wme. "C" Stands exile. He had heard of a voy- the Greenland Vikmgs of the for­ But "Vinland" was, like "Green­ ager who had been blown off his ests he had seen land," a realtor's name. What For Carp Lief had come for, and did not course and glimpsed an unknown In the year 1000 Red Enk's son, forget to take back, was timber. We were five ancient Amen­ island farther west. Enk took Lief, now 20 and a seasoned voy­ his family and retainers and ager, bought Bjarne's boat and The next year Lief's brother, cans-an artist, a musician, two architects and a journalist-who sailed off to find it, and did. listened carefully to hts dtrec­ Thorwald, borrowed h1s ship and When the years of his exile were twns. Sailing from Greenland he the use of the houses Lief had had never eaten a carp. A benev­ olent bureaucracy had announced over, he returned to Iceland, seek- found the land "not mountamous, bullt, and took his own party to Vinland. Thorwald was killed in the need of a carp pond on every mg colomsts for the island he well-wooded, w1th small knolls farm, perhaps in every vacant had discovered upon 1t," accordmg to Bjarne's a brush with the Indians-"Skrel­ city lot, and so we decided to He called the new land Green- description It is not ce1lam what hngs," the Vikings called them­ but h1s crew stayed on and har­ prepare for the emergency. The land Viljalmer Stefansson says part of North Amencan main­ feast of St. Polycarp was select­ choice of that name made Red land that place was It may have Yested what they had come for. ed as an appropriate day for the Enk the first American real es- been Cape Cod Lief landed his They took back to Greenland from an American forest a cargo expenment, and the artist, hardy tate promoter. He picked the party, chopped dov.m trees, bUilt and adventurous, was appointed name to make it sound attractive log houses, explored. He discov­ of logs. Thereafter the history of Vm­ to go out among the fishmongers to the Icelanders ered that m the kindly summer mere bUildmgs, and especially timber ondary crop-grapevines loaded paragraph in the saga, like the for boats had lo be imported. with fruit. So Cape Cod (if that trader, Thorfin Karlsefin, visited shippmg news that appears in the Red Enk's colonists followed I it was) became the Viking's "Vin­ Greenland, and hearing the sto­ newspapers of any modern port. lum to Greenland in 986. Among land the Good", and the cargo ries of the Vinland forests, de­ The writer was not excited about cided to carry on. He did not it, as were the recorders of the reach Lief's Vinland; he found discoveries and colonization of Did This Boat Reach Cape Cod? great forests in "a place of strong Vmland and Markland. tides" farther north, which Vil­ jalmer Stefansson thinks may In other words, as Stefansson have been Labrador. Thorfin and other important scholars see stayed there harvestmg timber it, three-cornered voyages from for three years; and there ends Greenland to Markland in Amer­ ica to Iceland were "common­ I that part of the Amencan forests I told m the Iceland sagas. place" as late as the year 1347 But this much is mcontrovert­ The Greenland ships went to Ibly true. Thorfin Karlsefin called Amenca for lumber, earned it the "place of strong t1des," where to Iceland, where it was traded ~ he founded his colony, "Mark­ for European goods destined for land", that is, "Forestland." Greenland, and then repeated the He was a merchant. tnp to the American forestlands H1s colony was a lumber camp. as an ordmary voyage of trade In 1347, nearly 350 years after It took a shipwreck to put one Lief the Lucky brought the first notice of such a journey m the cargo of American forest products Iceland news nearly 150 years to Greenland, a saga tells of a before Amenca was discovered Greenland ship which had come to lhe rest of the world by Colum­ from Markland and was wrecked bus.-American Forest Products This old sh1p m a Norwegian museum is the type 1n which the Vikmgs discovered "Markland'' m Iceland that year. Industries, Inc. IOWA CONSERVATIONIS T PAGE TWENTY-ONE

I have some very definite con­ Tell A Pal At victions on the subject of conser­ vation. F irst, lf we Americans The Front About hadn't been so damn wasteful, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in. Your Hunt Of course, you can't hold that ag'in the present generatiOn. After You hunters can do a lot to all, they didn't loot the streams, keep up the spmts of a fnend in fields, and forests. So it is up to the services If you will just make us who are here now to fight for the effort. Tell him about the the things we have come to cher- ...... t...... game crop, and that lucky day on ::: ::: ::: ::c ~' ::: ::: ::: ::: ::: ::: ::: ish, so that those who pass along the marsh or in the cornfield. A :------: the road tomorrow may also fish note from the old deer-hunting This department, "Conservation Col­ and hunt. gang in camp wil1 go a long way umnists", is to g1ve each month a little It is my firm belief that politics toward keeping a pal at the front sketch of one of the column1sts who wnte outdoor columns regularly for and conservation do not mix. This happy. Go heavy on the humor­ makes me a proponent of the Mis­ ous episodes. He's not forgotten newspapers. These writers are w1dely known for what they write, and we know souri system, and I take my hat you; don't forget him!-Sports­ off to those lads in Missouri. They men's Service Bureau. that you will enjoy these bnefs of what and who they are fought and obtained a constitu­ tional amendment establishing a "C " for Carp conservation commission free By THEO G LORENZEN from political meddling, and it is (Continued from Page 20) Davenport Democrat now functioning wisely and well. and buy two choice specimens. This being attempt number one A system which permits of bien­ He brought back to the club a at my autobiography, any errors nial tmkering on the part of leg­ brace of four-pounders and of omission or commission must islatiVe bodies is no system at all. turned them over to the steward. be laid at the door of one Jim I believe that it is the duty of "How did they look?" we asked, Harlan, proprietor of this month­ the state to acquire within its and he shook his head dubiously: ly journal and the fellow who borders title to sufficient land "Like prehistonc weed-eaters on coaxed me into doing this lit­ bordermg on fishable waters so ice. They cost 65 cents." An out­ erary monstrosity. that no citizen will be shut off sider who had overheard jeered: A little over 46 years ago I from the use of those waters. "I hope the party brings its doc­ Iowa has hundreds of miles of tor." came into being in the city of Davenport, Iowa. That makes streams, some offering splendid The steward prepared himself me a native Iowan, of which fact fishing, which Iowa citizens are for the test by reading the works Theo. {The Nomad) Lorenzen, outdoor col­ not permitted to use. This is a I have always been right proud umnist for the Davenport Democrat, and his of Andre Simon, international and have never apologized, even bad situation and is worthy of president of the Wine and Food son, Theo. Jr., at the close of a successful correction in the future. when trying to teach easterners pheasant hunt. society, and also a carp recipe the correct way to pronounce One of the great jobs facing the from Izaak Walton's "Compleat "Iowa". nation is conservation of soil. Angler." Then he let his imag­ mile north of our home produced This is a task to be undertaken ination soar and threw his soul My hunting and fishing pro- all the fish one small boy could by the state and national govern­ into his work. That is the only clivities go back to my paternal tote home. There were bullheads, ments working in closer harmony way to prepare carp. grandfather as to hunting, and sunfish, carp, catfish, suckers, than any famous barber shop to my maternal grandfather as to redhorse, bluegills, and other spe­ quartet. Our very existence de­ When the dish was set before fishing. My old dad, long smce c1es m this creek, and a good big us, the heretic who had advised pends upon soil conservation. Of gone from time into etermty, can of worms, a willow pole, a course, sound soil conservation medical attendance came to in­ didn't know a f1sh pole from a length of fishing line lifted from spect It, and his eyes gleamed practice also helps fish and game. stack of wheat cakes, and to him Grandpa's tackle box, a few The problem cannot be solved by like a glutton's carbuncles. That a gun was a museum piece. hooks, and it gave fish. brace of carp, garmshed with the states alone. The federal govern­ art of a Japanese flower arranger, I acquired my first shootmg Smce these early experiences, ment must come into the picture looked fit for a baron's table... iron when I was just about knee- Father Time has made many to make soil conservation effec­ Then we fell to with signs of sur­ high to a good grasshopper. When marks upon the calendar, and I tive. There will never be clean prised satisfaction, and presently the first fish pole came into my have fished in streams and lakes waters until we stop the practice clamored for more. hands escapes my memory, but I over a good part of the upper Mis­ of allowing our valuable top soil The fish had been soaked in can truthfully state here and now sissippi watershed; but the most to go down to the sea with every white wine for some hours, then that I have been at one or anolher vivid recollections are of the days freshet and storm. given a stuffing of bread crumbs, or both pastimes for just about a when I could sit on the banks of In a democracy, title to fish and cracker crumbs and chopped cel­ nice round 40 years. the old creek and just fish. game must be in the state. This ery, then baked. The sauce that My first gun was probably the With this sort of background, makes the hunting problem a went with the portions was based type possessed by almost every it was inevitable that I should get tough one. We own the game but on white wine, with flavoring of boy at some time or another, the into conservation work. For the can't shoot it because it's on land mace, rosemary and chives. Aside old reliable .22 rifle. I came by past 20 years I have been what owned by another fellow who from the need to beware of bones, this weapon in rather unorthodox might be termed an "ardent con­ says, "Get the out of here." with which the carp is plentifully fashion. A small trap line in a servationist". Since 1936 I have That brings up the subject of endowed, the dish was beyond re­ farmer's cornfield produced pock- been writing my views on the farmer-sportsman relations and proach. et gophers, upon which the coun- subject through the medium of a the further subject of public So we have decided that if Ma­ ty paid a bounty of ten cents per column called "The Campfire", shooting grounds. Public shoot­ rie Antoinette had said, "Let gopher. A side deal with the published each Sunday morning ing grounds are swell, but I doubt them eat carp," there would have farmer brought another five cents in the Davenport Democrat. very much that this state, or any been no French revolution.-"A per gopher, making a total of 15 In this same span of years some state, will ever be able to provide Line 0' Type Or Two," Chicago cents per each gopher caught. "servmg" has been done. At enough public acres to satisfy the Tribune. Twenty gophers equalled three vanous times I have served as demand How to get the farmer dollars, which paid for one rifle. president vice-president director and the sportsman to see eye to ' ' ' Muskrat houses are used as Since this early firearm acqui-. and trustee of one of Iowa's lar- eye IS the toughest part of the nesting sites by black terns, For­ sition I have owned and shot a gest sportsmen's groups, the Scott shooting problem, but I believe it ester's terns, Canada geese, and good many weapons, but none are County Sportsmen's Association. can be done. We must treat the several species of ducks in Cali­ of more fond memory than that The association has made me its farmer fairly and courteously. We fornia. The nests are constantly first rifle, earned by trapping legislative chairman, and on many must tell him our problems and in danger of being buried by new pocket gophers. occasions I have been delegated share his. material that muskrats add to the Fishing was easy in the days to Des Moines and Ames to fight Migratory waterfowl are the tops of their houses. of my youth. A creek about a the battles of sound conservation.

ably resulted m more community Jackson County Schools Feed Wildlife interest in the school than any other single project. It has brought the school and commun­ Ity very close together, and both have profiled a great deal be­ cause of this closer association. The commumty has received effective help in workmg out a solution to one of its important problems-a problem of econom­ By CHARLES F. MARTIN, Superintendent, Jackson County Schools ic, educational and cultural sig­ nificance This 1s particularly The heart of Jackson County's program is the one-room rural true from an economic standpoint when the project is extended, as school; the area It set ves, a group it was durmg the past three years, of average farm puptls and, most to include the planting of trees tmportant of all, energetic, capa­ and vegetation for cover for wild­ ble rural teachers m sympathy life Or one could say "plantmg with and ready to utilize for ed­ vegetation to prevent soil ero­ ucational and cultural purposes sion." It amounts to one and the the resources of the great out-of­ same thing Patrons feel that doors. such a school is more practical In the fall of the year before and stand ready to co-operate in weather condthons get bad, and more of 1ts activities. after the teacher has stimulated The school, in utiliZmg com­ pupil interest m the program, pu­ mumty resources, has tapped a pils and teacher take a Friday af­ source of material that has no ternoon off and make a survey satisfactory substitute. The m­ of the topography and natural Reports to the Jackson County Supenntendent by the rural schools rnclude such 1tems gemous teacher will transfer the cover of the area adJacent to the as number of shelters and songb1rd feeders ma1ntained by the school and community, amount pupil interest m this project to school This survey or excurswn of feed provided and its source, and numbers and kinds of wildlife fed in each district the recitation and classroom through this program. lS also taken w1th a v1ew to check Many practical applications of the presence of wildlife, prmci­ Enghsh, science, agriculture, pally quail and pheasant, and lo­ birds and animals. These comm1 ttees carry the re­ arithmetic, geography, art, etc., cate a desirable s1te on which to If the teacher needs more as­ sponsibility of servicing the sta­ will be found in this proJect. construct a shelter and feeding Sistance than IS provided m the tlon-replemshmg food supply The child works with a project statwn. This station is used dur­ rather generous reference l.lbrary removmg snow, notmg the pres­ that involves a real problem; and ing the winter months to protect on this subject m the school, the ence of wildlife or evidence that in working with the problem the and feed w1ld game btrds, song- conservation officer, the county 1t uses the feeder, checking for child is dealing with life-like sit­ superintendent, or a committee of the presence of predators, and uatwns mvolving 1deas and ma­ The Nomad the Izaak Walton League go out making occaswnal repairs to the terials that are not imagmary. marshes space to the project, schools man­ mg exercises, at the citizenship or spect for nature, and love of the for breeding areas, states should age pretty well on their own re­ conset vation club meetmgs, or in out-of-doors. not attempt to fix waterfowl sea- sources. Occasionally, because of English or science classes. In the sons, or regulate waterfowl They the lack of natural cover, a school last case the reports may be writ­ FOR FISH AND BIRDS should, however, recommend the does not construct a shelter. ten A summary of the commit­ For fish and birds I make this season which, in the1r opmwn, is In add1t10n to the shelter and tee's observations on each serv­ plea, best fitted to their particular area. feeding station generally main- lcmg v1sit IS made a part of the May they be here long after me; When it comes to conservatwn tained at some distance from the school annual conservation rec­ May those who follow hear the practice, I reserve the nght to school Site, each school maintains ord, which is used in making the call criticize those who would, for a songbird feeder. When the pro­ annual report to the county su­ Of old Bobwhite m sprmg and selfish reasons, tear down all the gram was initiated a few years perintendent. fall; good that has been created dur- ago, the Izaak Walton League, in As soon as weather conditions And may they share the joy that's ing the past two decades. I omit co-operation w1th the NYA, gave make artificial feeding necessary, mine no one from this category, wheth- each rural school a songbird feed­ the Maquoketa Valley chapter of When there's a trout upon the er it be F D. R. in the White er As a rule, these feeders have the Izaak Walton Lea~ue of line. House or a humble game warden been kept in repair by the school, America opens accounts with the I found the world a wondrous in the most remote territory, or and are still in use. several feed m1lls m the county place, any in between. Records are kept each year and for the convenience of any rural A cold wmd blowing in my face In concluswn, I believe that reports made to the county su­ teachers who fmd that the feed Has brought the wild ducks in fish and game are presently safe. perintendent. These reports m­ furnished by patrons of the school from sea; The war effort m ay see some at- elude such Items as number of IS not adequate to meet the needs God grant the day shall never be tempts made to take dow n the shelters and songbird feeders of the wildlife feeding program. When youth upon November's barriers which have kept the maintained by the school and com­ The major portion of feed pro­ shore w olves from the flock. These at- mumty, amount of feed provided vided for this program comes Shall see the mallards come no tempts we must resist. When and its source, also numbers and from the farmers of the district. more! the boys come home from all the kinds of wildlife fed in each dis­ Besides furnishing feed for the Too barren was the earth for far -flung battle fronts, we m ust tnct through th1s program. school, many farmers maintain words be able to say to them that we The entire student body of a their own feeders for game b1rds If gone were all the fish and stay-at-homes permitted no loot- school shares the responsibility of and songbirds and are furnishing birds. ing of their heritage. In the mean- mamtenance of the songbird feed­ plenty of feed for them. Fancy an age that see no more time, let's keep up the fight for er, but in the case of the feeding Th1s farm mterest m the con­ The mallards winging in to shore; more fish and more game, more station located some distance from servation of wildlife is, in most Fancy a youth w1th all 1ts dreams freedom, and a better America. the school house, committees of instances, an extenswn of the That finds no fish withm the And oh yes. my fnends, and I older pup1ls are appointed to school's program and is one of streams. hope I have a lot of them, call me I make regular vis1ts to the station the best examples of school and Our world with life is wondrous "Ted". What my enemies call me 1 at least once a week. Sometimes commumty co-operatwn m solv­ fair; doesn't matter Just so long as I 1 this is done in going to or from ing a common problem. This God grant we do not strip it bare' can fish and hunt. school program of conservation has prob- -Edgar A. Guest. iOWA CONSERVATIONIST PAGE TWENTY-THREE 6as Rationing IS likely to be one of the major "Easy On That: Gas, It:' s Rationed" programs of the Commission. CCont.nued from Page 17) Plans are now being made for cure fish for sale or processing), later development of these areas he w11l be given a maxrmum ot so that the highest game popula­ gasolme as determmed by the fol­ tions possible may be produced lowmg formula: and maintained. This is common If the craft IS an mboard motor sense "game insurance". boat, the manufacturer's rated If Pittman-Robertson projects, horsepower of the engine or en­ game areas, game refuges, public gmes is multiplied by two, which shooting grounds, state parks, w1ll giVe the number of gallons and better lake and stream con­ of gasoline to which the boat ditions make possible greater en­ owner is entitled, but in no event joyment of the return to sanity will he be given more than 12o and peace for ourselves and our gallons. For the owner of an returned soldiers, the State Con­ outboard motor, the rated horse­ servation Commission will enjoy power is multiplied by two and a the fulfillment of a public trust. half, w1th 20 gallons being the When the war has been won and maximum allowed. peace has again come, we know The board will Issue a book of that Iowa will be a better placE:: coupons for a three-month pe­ in which to live, work, and to riod for such non-occupational enjoy all forms of outdoor recre­ purposes contammg enough cou­ ation. pons for the gallons allotted. The following total acreage and Where a motor boat Is to be costs have received the approval used solely for occupational (com­ of the Secretary of the Interior, mercial) purposes, the board will the Federal Fish and Wildlife 1ssue enough gasohne to take care service, and the State Conserva­ ot 1ts needs. tion Commission. Other Pittman­ Special rations w11l be issued to Robertson projects are now in the To obta.n gas for his motor boat, the owner may go to his local war price and rat•on• process of completion and will be permit operation of a motor boat mg board and apply for a " non -highway" ration of gasoline for operat1ng his craft m certam cases such as medical reported when final federal ap­ cases or for the procurement of proval is received. food. etc. ing on its area and the number The acquirement of waste and Other land acquisition projects of hunting licenses sold. For any Boat owners must bend their marginal lands will continue as not included in the Pittman-Rob­ state to participate, certain co­ funds are available under this crtson program have been com­ habits to conform to the new or­ operative state legislation must der of things. It is not necessary program. Many areas will come pleted in Iowa during 1942 in the be passed, and Iowa, having com­ under state control an<:l be ready Commission's land acquisition to be "continually on the go" to plied with all requirements, has enjoy your boat. For fishermen for an intensive game land de­ 9rogram. been receiving its share of the particularly it is not necessary velopment program after the war. The following land acqmre­ funds since 1938. Slowly but Practically all development on to be on the move, and better luck surely a program of game land ments have been made possible may be had more often than not state areas has ceased for the du­ by Pittman-Robertson during the acquisition and development has ration, but when again resumed by anchormg and waiting for the been in progress in Iowa smce the 1942 calendar year: fish to come to the bait. beginning of P1ttman-Robertson Name of Area County Acres Cost activities. It is the plan of the Goose Lake •••••• 0 ••••• ' •• Kossuth 39 s 988.45 Federal Fish and Wildlife Serv­ Warren County ••••••• 0 0 • Warren 323 11,000.00 Pit:t:man-Robertson ice, as well as the State Conser­ Mt Ayr 0 •••••• 0 •• Ringgold 769 17,376 75 vation Commission, to contmue Ventura Marsh ...... Cerro Gordo & Hancock 326 13,459.31 Funds ~eld For the land acquisition program; and Klum Lake 0 ••• 0 •• Louisa 1,051 23, 250.00 although the federal allotments Barringer's Slough (balance of area) .. Clay 510 24,511.8( Game Land Purchase may be reduced during the emer­ Dunbar Slough ...... Greene 240 11,045.00 By M D. LEWIS gency, there is good reason to be­ lieve that some funds will con­ TOTAL • • 0 •••••••• 3,258 $101,631.31 Pittman-Robertson is the com­ tinue to be available for the pur­ mon term used to identify "an chase of new areas. Act to provide that the United States shall aid the states in wild­ Acquisition of game land is not life restoration projects and for made until after careful study of other purposes", and most people the area by the Conservation Com­ know that Pittman - Robertson mission and the Federal Fish and funds are made available to the Wildlife Service. Competent fed­ eral appraisers make a survey federal government by a 10 per­ cent tax on all sporting arms and and appraisal of the area before ammunitions. Allotments from the Commission proceeds with ac­ this fund are made to the states quirement. The matter of loca­ each year by Congress. tion of these areas is very impor­ tant, and naturally the best are There IS at the present time a considered for acquisition first. rather large balance in this fund At the same time, it is the policy in the federal treasury, but with wherever possible to scatter these a marked reduction in returns al­ projects over the state, and It 1s ready noticeable and a much and will continue to be the policy greater reduction m revenue ex­ of the Commission to follow the pected, It IS wise to retain this recommendations of the 25 Year balance to insure the contmuance Conservation Plan for Iowa in the of this program in the future. location of wildlife areas. The Funds received under this act ultimate goal is to have at least cannot be used for purposes other one Pittman-Robertson project in than those stated in the act. For­ each county, a goal when reached ty-six out of the 48 states are re­ that should in a large measure ceiving Pittman-Robertson funds, solve many game problems in the Pittman-Robertson is the common term used to identify "an Act to provide that the the amount each receives depend- state. United States shall aid the states in wild I ife restoration projects." PAGE TWENTY-FOUR IOWA CONSERVATIONIST Lake. Of the estimated 1,030 hunt­ ers, 490 were at the Outlet, 420 Hunters Have Heavy Take at Ruthven at the Round-Trumbull Lake area WILD LIFE and 120 at other places. .t~,-~ RESEARCH In questioning 175 successful hunters five types of hunting were designated· marsh hunting, huntmg w1th the use of decoys; pass shooting; cornfield shooting; and JUmp-shooting and shorc­ walkmg (Table 2) The f1rst two ProJect No. 496, Iowa Co -operative Wild.ife types were most common at the Research Umon, Iowa State Coll ege, Outlet as glVen by 7 percent and Ames, Iowa 68 percent, respectively, of the By WARD E STEVENS, total of hunters tabulated Pass Research Ass1stant, and shooting, employed m the Round GEORGE 0 HENDRICKSON , Lake vicimty, was used by 21 Project Leader pCI cent of those taking to the Fall field stud1es were contin- field. ued in the lake regwn of Clay and The 175 successful hunters shot Palo Alto count1es ncar Ruthven 606 ducks of which 105 were lost untll December 10, 1942. Water- Excluding losses a successful fowl migration and waterfowl hunter averaged 2.86 b1rds a day. utilization by hunters were the Smce about 40 percent of the es­ phases particularly mvestigated. timated 1,030 hunters were sue­ Below are g1ven the migration cessful, probably a total of 412 data for the \\'aterfo\'1. I species in gunners got 1,425 waterfowl of the Ruthven area (Table 1) which 1,178 were p1cked up TABLE l WATERFOWL MIGRATION DATA, RUTHVEN AREA, FALL, 1942 In the Ruthven area 175 successful hunters questioned shot 606 ducks, of wh•ch 105 Species First Seen Peak Last Seen Total Seen were lost. ------~ --~~------~------~~ Canada goose Sept 24 Oct. 8-15 Nov 7 1,000 ------Snow goose .... Oct. 20 Nov. 9-16 Nov. 23 800 were mallards, with some green- G d S t Ah d Blue goose Oct. 25 Nov. 8-15 Nov. 23 600 winged teal, two black ducks and 00 por ea Mallard .. SR " Nov. 15-25 Dec 10 145 000 several coots In all, 140 ducks It 1s mterestmg to note that Pintail ...... SR Oct. 20-25 Nov. 20 5 000 on Round Lake succumbed to revenue from huntmg, f1shing Gadwall ...... Oct. 20 Oct. 20-25 Oct. 31 1,000 lead p01sonmg or crippling. Post and trappmg licenses mcreased Shoveller ...... SR Oct. 15-22 Nov. 24 1,700 mortem examination of 36 birds to new highs m Iowa last year. Black duck Oct. 7 Nov. 15-21 Dec 3 400 revealed lead shot in the gizzards Sportsmen seem fully agreed that n of most of them, accompamed by Wood duel< ...... SR Oct. 8-15 Nov. 14 600 the levy to protect and 1mprove sl Blue-winged teal ...... SR Sept 15-25 No11. 28 1,000 typ1cal diagnostic symptoms of a the1r hunting and fishing is bemg Green-winged teal . Oct 12 Nov. 15-22 Dec 8 2,000 lead-poisoned condition. properly handled and is producing Baldpate ...... Oct. 8 Oct. 20-25 Nov. 4 1,500 Twenty-six hve ducks were desirable results Under the in­ d SR Oct. 21-27 Nov 3 800 p1cked up, confmed and treated telligent superv1s10n now bemg .r Redhead with magnesium sulphate solution Canvas -back ...... Sept. 27 Nov 2-9 Nov 25 2,000 exercised, there is reason to ex­ v; in an effort to render the me­ pect that both hunting and flsh­ Lesser scaup Oct. 8 Nov 6-12 Nov 24 25 000 r tallic lead in the gizzard insoluble. Ring-necked duck ...... Oct. 8 Oct. 23-29 Nov. 10 200 mg will improve and be extended Most of the birds were too far Amencan golden-eye Nov. 20 Nov. 23 Nov. 23 50 far into the future, mstead of end­ ~ gone to show any improvement ing with exhaustion of game and Buffle-head ...... Nov. 4 Nov. 7-14 Nov. 24 300 and d1ed shortly thereafter Sick American eider ...... Oct. 30 Oct. 30 10 fish wh1ch seemed likely not so and crippled ducks were preyed Ruddy duck . . SR Nov 1-10 Nov 24 800 many years ago. - Sioux C1ty Oct. 8-15 Nov. 23 17,000 upon by mink, weasels, and foxes; Tnbune Journal. Coot ...... SR crows and gulls were seen eating SR- Summer Residents. the dead birds. effective waterfowl hunting. The Ruthven area in the hunt- Water levels remained very good Fluctuations in the numbers of About 9 percent of the hunters ing season, 1942, had fewer ducks throughout the autumn and kept mtgratory waterfowl appeared to used retneving dogs and fewer hunters than in 1941, most of the pot-holes and small be closely correlated vnth periods Of the birds shot the mallard according to reports of local sloughs open and available to the of adverse weather. Greatest was the most abundant and made sportsmen and Conservation Offi- b1rds. Round, Lost Island and waterfowl concentratwns an d up 45.5 percent of the bag, the cer Severson. Weather condi- S1lver Lakes were the sites of most accelerated waterfowl move­ lesser scaup 19.4 percent, the gad­ tions were generally too open for large waterfowl concentrations. movements were noted after wall 6 2 percent, and the shoveller storms which swept across the re­ and green-winged teal each 3.1 TABLE 2 HUNTING SUCCESS BY TYPE OF HUNTING gion m late September, late Oc­ percent. The remammg 11.4 per­ Type of Total Birds recovered Birds Lost Percent tober, and early and late Novem­ cent was composed of 11 differ­ Hunting Shot Number Percent Number ber. ent species, notably the baldpate, 60 16 42 Marsh • 0 • • • 38 22 canvas- back and blue- winged 439 85 79 15 The 70-day duck season opened Decoy • 0 • •• 0 •••••••••• 518 teal. Four American eiders were 85 6 15 in Iowa on October 15 and ex­ Pass 0 • •••• ...... 40 34 0 tended until December 23. The taken at Trumbull Lake, one of Cornfield 0 0 0 0 40 total number of cars at the hunt­ which was exammed closely by Jump-shooting .. 10 6 60 4 mg areas was 656 and a sample Stevens and Conservation Officer of more than 100 cars showed 1.57 Severson. Totals ..... 606 501 105 hunters to a car. On this basts it Next to huntmg and crippling ------was estimated that at least 1,030 losses, the important mortality Of the successful hunters 148 were class1fied w1th regard to ex­ hunters visited the area in the encountered was caused by lead perience in hunting (Table 3). season. poisonmg. After the storm of TABLE 3 HUNTING SUCCESS BY EXPERIENCE CLASS OF HUNTER November 25 all of the slough Percent Most of the hunting was done Experience Percent Total Percent of on two parts of the area The areas froze and only Round Lake Number of Hunters Bag Bag of Loss had open water in a small hole Class f1rst was a large state-owned 18 4 9 slough area below Lost Island kept open by a spnng at the mid­ Novoce ...... 13 9 63 242 49 bl Lake, known locally as the Out­ dle of the lake All of the healthy Average 0 • •• • 93 28 233 47 30 let, and the second was a flyway birds left at this time and there­ Veteran • 0 0 •• 42 after only sick ones remained. between Round Lake, which is a <493 wi1dllfe refuge, and Trumbull The majority of the sick birds Total 0 0 •••• 148