THIRTIETH BIENNIAL REPORT 



89 



REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF GAME FARMS 



By August Bade, In Charge 



About June 15, 1926, the game farm at Youutville became a reality. 

 The Department of Public Works had completed a 472-pen rearing 

 field covering 7-J acres, and also a section of 48 breeding pens. In 

 addition to this construction work, five buildings of various types were 

 erected — a superintendent's cottage, a mess hall, bunk house, poultry 

 house, and a combination feed and cooking room. 



Three other buildings have been added to the equipment since then, 

 including an eight-car garage, a bantam poultry house 12x100 feet, 

 and an egg and incubator room 16 x 18 feet, Additional breeding pens 



Fig. 26. Yountville Game Farm, showing cooking room, employees and pheasant 



pens in the background. 



for pheasants, partridges, and turkeys have also been constructed. 

 The present pen capacity of the plant is 624. 



Early in 1926, 200 ring-necked pheasant hens and 30 male birds 

 were purchased from a private breeder in Oregon and a number of 

 valley quail were trapped in Napa County, and these birds formed 

 the foundation breeding stock of the farm. A few pairs of fancy 

 pheasants were purchased and public spirited individuals donated or 

 loaned birds to the farm so that a cross-section of the weekly report 

 as of July 1, 1926. showed a bird population as follows : Ring-necked 

 pheasants 2800, silver pheasants 13, golden pheasants 4, Reeves pheas- 

 ants 2, Lady Amherst pheasants 2, Hungarian partridges 4, valley 

 quail 149, wild geese 6, and peafowl 3, • 



