ITEMS OF INTEREST July 5, 1913 Issue

ITEMS OF INTEREST

The regulations of the United States department of agriculture, bureau of biological survey-fixing the seasons in which the shooting of migratory birds is allowed, authorized under the recently enacted Weeks-McLean migratory bird law, have just been made public by the department. They become effective Oct. 1, 1913. A bill to protect such birds was passed March 4. A closed season of almost five years, until Sept. 1, 1918, has been established on certain game birds "which have been hunted beyond the margin of safety." Along the routes of the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri rivers Jan. 1 to Oct. 1 is a closed season. Breeding and wintering zones are established, but the regulations make few changes in existing hunting seasons as provided by state laws, except in the elimination of spring shooting. No migratory game or insectivorous birds may be killed anywhere between sunset and sunrise. Migratory insectivorous birds, including the robin, lark, reed birds, and rice birds, already protected in many states, may not be killed, except reed and rice birds in Delaware, Mary-land, Virginia, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia, from Sept. 1 to Nov. 1.

Cabinet officers, congressmen, economists, and others, gathered before the House public lands committee last week for final hearings on pending legislation to enable San Francisco to carry out its seventy-five million-dollar Hetch Hetchy reservoir project, under which the city proposes to get water from the Sierra Nevadas, one hundred and forty miles away. Secretary Lane, Secretary Houston, and other departmental chiefs, with Gifford Pinchot, former chief forester, endorsed the Hetch Hetchy plan. Secretary Lane gave notice that he would present an amendment to have the government receive a rental, graduated according to the water rate charged by the city, with a view to making Yosemite park self-supporting within a few years.

Secretary Houston may send four or five experts from the bureau of animal industry to Argentina, Australia, Uruguay, Brazil, and other countries which may be possible sources of meat supply to the United States. The department of agriculture believes that other countries may soon be shipping beef here. His purpose in studying the situation at first hand is to find out exactly what provisions other countries make for inspection of their meat, and whether any conditions prevail which might conflict with the meat laws in operation here.

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