rn states, and particularly in the northeastern states, in
importing live quail from Kansas, the Indian Territory, Oklahoma, Texas,
the Carolinas and other southern states, for restocking areas from which
the northern bob white had been exterminated by foolish over-shooting! I
think that fully nine-tenths of these efforts have ended in total
failure. The quail could not survive in their strange environment. I
cannot recall a _single instance_ in which restocking northern covers
with southern quail has been a success.

There is no royal road to the restoration of an exterminated bird
species. Where the native seed still exists, by long labor and travail,
thorough protection and a mighty long close season, it can be encouraged
to _breed back and return_; but it is an evolution that can not be
hurried in the least. Protect Nature, and leave the rest to her.

With mammals, the case is different. It is possible to restock depleted
areas, provided Time is recognized as a dominant factor. I can cite two
interesting cases by way of illustration, but this subject will form
another chapter.

In the transplantation of fishes, conditions are widely different, and
many notable successes have been achieved.

One of the greatest hits ever made by the United States Bureau of
Fisheries in the planting of fish in new localities was the
introduction of the striped bass or rock-fish (_Roccus lineatus_) of
our Atlantic coast, into the coast waters of California. In 1879,
135 live fish were deposited in Karquines Strait, at Martinez, and
in 1882, 300 more were planted in Suisun Bay, near the first
locality chosen.

Twelve years after the first planting in San Francisco Bay, the
markets of San Francisco handled 149,997 pounds of striped bass. At
that time the average weight for a whole year was eleven pounds, and
the average price was ten cents per pound. Fish weighing as high as
forty-nine pounds have been taken, and there are reasons for the
belief that eventually the fish of California will attain as great
weight as those of the Atlantic and the Gulf.

The San Francisco markets now sell, annually, about one and one half
million pounds of striped bass. This fish has taken its place among
anglers as one of the game fishes of the California coast, and
affords fine sport. Strange to say, however, it has not yet spread
beyond the shores of California.

Regarding this species, the records of the Un