The Willamette Valley has some of the greatest hop fields in the world. This is a typical view of a hop field in a good yielding year shortly before picking time.
This picture shows two full grown Chinese Pheasants. They become tame very easily—if for a short time they are protected, they very soon come to be familiar about the farm house and the barnyard. They will even come into the barnyard and feed along with the chicks. It is quite true in some cases that they do considerable harm, by pulling up the seedlings in the garden, and by following the corn row. It must be said for them that they also do considerable good. It has been founding examining the stomachs of these birds, shot because they had been doing harm, that instead of having their stomachs full of corn as might have been supposed, they have their stomachs full of cut worms, beetles, ants, and clover seeds. In only one case was it found that they had been pulling up garden plants. In some parts of the United States where the farmers have been bothered by the game birds destroying their crops, they have been able to divert the attention of the birds by planting around their fields things which they much prefer to the crop seeds. This is more particularly so in the southeastern parts of the country. Here, the farmers have been able to raise large flocks of quail and other birds by just such means as this. They have been able to derive some revenue from the wildlife that is near their place. The sportsman comes down and wants a day’s sport. He naturally goes to the farm where the largest number of birds are. The farmer, by planting around the fence corners and along the fence rails food for the birds has encouraged them to live about the farm. No one has yet been able to calculate the exact amount of revenue which the stated has derived from the China Pheasant, but one year when calculating the amount of money spent by this state on the sports of shooting all kinds of birds, it was found that an expenditure of over one million dollars had been made. How much of this goes to the China Pheasants cannot be said. What can be done in raising China Pheasants can be done in raising a number of other kinds of birds. So while these are beautiful creatures and we enjoy seeing them about the fields, they are also affording us a great source of revenue; more than we sometimes think. A long time ago we used to hear a good deal about private hunting grounds and about private hunting lands. Private owner used to be much disgusted if a man trespassed upon his property. While this was more or less a selfish way to look at things, at the same time what really took place was this: This private owner protected these birds so that they bred very freely, became numerous, and spread out all over the country. Thus, England and other parts of the world have had very few animals had it not been for these private owners. Now, as to the bearing this has on our fish and game work: The state has recognized this very idea, and Oregon was one of the first states to establish these game refuges. In various parts of our state we have land set aside which it is unlawful to hunt at any time. Here, birds and animals grow without fear of molestation. In consequence they not only increase in numbers, but these refuges make centers of distribution, and out from these centers the animals move into other parts of the state. In some localities we have natural refuges, places that are more or less secluded, and here the animals grow unmolested. But, in other parts of the state, those that are becoming rapidly settled, there is no place for the wildlife. It is possible now for any farmer to make of his place a game refuge, provided it has facilities for the protection of the birds. In this way we may gain an intimate knowledge of the bird and animal life abuts by seeing them in their natural haunts. Birds come to know that this is a refuge and so are not afraid while they are here.
The next picture shows a western gull, one of the most graceful birds we have. While this is not a game bird, it is one of the loveliest and one that we all admire. It is a scavenger as well. If any of you have ever been to the coast in the springtime when the beach is covered with dead fish, you know that the gulls are doing a very good piece of work when they start to clean up the beaches. These birds are protected at all times on account of their scavenging ability and on account of their beauty. Our nation has taken this matter in hand, and we have now national migratory bird laws, which protect birds of all kinds. A law based on scientific information was one of the very first attempts to bring about the real law to protect the bird in exactly the right way. Following the example of the states in the formation of game refuges, we find now that the national government has taken up the matter and one of the first acts was to form all the national parks into national game refuges. In recent years a large number of tracts of land in the southern part of the United States have been set aside for this purpose because at these places the birds spend the winter. The United States has taken a particular interest in protection of birds during the winter season, for if they are all killed then there will be none to breed during the following summer. We all have a right to be proud of what our nation and state has done for the preservation of our wildlife. But it must be said that the chief stimulant for this work was the preservation of our game birds. The game birds form only a very small portion of the wildlife in this state. There are many other kinds that are just as important to us as are these. It is right that we should have a certain amount of hunting. It is a pleasure that a great many enjoy. But we should also properly understand their relation to our everyday life. In the field of agriculture they play a very important part. Some are destructive and do a great deal of harm, while others are beneficial in their habits. Were it not for birds, the lot of the farmer would be a hard one.
Besides the Chinese Pheasant, we have in this state a number of others. The Golden Pheasant you see here is a very beautiful bird, but not a very hardy one, and is one that is not very easily raised. Then we have the Reeves Pheasant, which has been planted in various parts of the state; the Silver Pheasant, and the Amherst Pheasant. The Silver Pheasant has done fairly well in several places. Near Eugene we have several of these birds living in the open. As the usual thing, however, these are not to be used as game birds. They are more for fancy purposes. One of the natural refuges in our state is in the southern part, along the shores of the Klamath lakes. Here the birds breed by thousands. In former years the “pot” hunters would go there and bag great numbers, then sell them in the market for a mere pittance. But now this part of the lakes has been declared a national game reserve, through the activity of our state officials together with the department at Washington. And here every year thousands of ducks, thousands of geese, and thousands of pelicans, as well as many other kinds of water birds breed unmolested.
While these are naturally very wild, when they are brought up as here, in constant contact with people, they become fairly tame. They soon eat our of a person’s hand, just as young chicks would do. However, they become wild very quickly. It takes only a few scares to make them as wild as they would be if reared in the open, for rearing them where they have such perfect protection does not alter the instinct with which the young bird is born. The always have a tendency toward this wild life.
