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 216 THE CONDOR Vol. XV of sick birds, which were carefully examined. Later, experimental work was carried on at Tulare Lake, the results of which xvill be described toward the close of this paper. The State Fish and Game Commission, besides directly financing this inves- tigation, gave every possible assistance toward the furtherance of the work. Deputy Fish and (ame Commissioners Tipton Mathews and E. W. Sinalley, both under orders, were in the field continuously for over three weeks, gathering material' and transporting the necessary equipment from place to place. The machine of Mr. Mathews greatly facilitated tile undertaking. The preliminary examination of ducks and other birds was made in the laboratory of Dr. Frank Griffiths of Hanford, who kindly furnished headquarters for this work. Pro- fessor J. G. Davidson, of th4 I21anford Union .High School, deserves mention for the valuable analyses which he made of water, gases, and blood. Tulare Lake, situated in the southern portion of Kiugs County, on the w-estern side of tile southern San Joaquin Valley, is not the large body of water that one would expect to find from looking at the ordinary travelers' map of California. At present the lake is lower than for the past seven years, and at the present rate of evaporation it will most probably be entirely dry in another year. unless tile coming winter proves a wet one. Prior to 19o6 Fig. 67. DUCKS RISING FROM A LEVEE IN TULARE LAKE, OCTOBER 3, 1913; NOTE DEAD BIRDS IN FOREGROUND this lake had almcst completely dried up. and nearly all of the bottom lands were farmed. It was during this period that the lake bed was dyked off on the section lines, and this was tile origin of the levees of which I shall speak later on. These levees, in the central portions of the lake region, were built only a few feet high. At present they are over a large area. snbmerged, while around the borders of the lake they gradually rise out of tile water and thus afford rest- ing places for water birds. As soon as dry enough these levees are used as roads for travel, since most of them are from o to 40 feet wide, and are dry long before the land between them. The winters of I9O5-6 and 19o6- 7 were years of heavy rain fall, and the lake, together with the adjoining sloughs, filled to a mark higher than for many years. The sloughs connecting this Lake with Buena Vista and the San Joaquin River are now very low or dried up. Gocse Lake is entirely dry, and Buena Vista Lake, situated in the southwestern part of Kern County, is also very low. As our investigations were carried on mainly at Tulare Lake, we shall confine our discussion principally to that region. Following the intermittent recession of the waters of Tulare Lake during each of the past tvo or three years, the land, as soon as dr.v enough to work,