FOREST AND STREAM 
the dam is altered, there will be a noticeable 
scarcity of fish. 
“The dam is so constructed that no fish can 
come up the river beyond that point. Thousands 
of fish are killed there every day. The fish 
reach the dam and swarm there in an effort to 
get through. Then, when the spillways send the 
water upon them they perish because of the 
tremendous force. Around the base of the dam 
I saw great numbers of these dead fish. 
“With a common minnow seine below the 
dam scores of men under the pretense of catch¬ 
ing minnows, gather all sorts of fish, including 
those of game and rough species. It is an easy 
matter to take the best fish from the river 
there, almost without an effort. 
“The Des Moines river will note improved 
fishing. Three miles below the dam it flows 
into the Mississippi. Many of the fish, blocked 
on their passage up the Mississippi, return to 
that point and go into the Des Moines.” 
WORK OF NEW YORK STATE CONSERVA¬ 
TION COMMISSION. 
The new state game farm near Brownville, 
Jefferson County, is rapidly nearing completion, 
the Conservation Commission announces, and 
will begin operation within a few weeks. The 
land finally selected after the examination of 
numerous sites is ideally adapted to the propaga¬ 
tion of game birds desired by the sportsmen. 
The commission is taking particular pains to 
make this a model game farm in every respect 
and has every confidence that next season it 
can furnish 30,000 pheasant eggs and 5,000 young 
pheasants, besides a large number of black ducks 
and mallard ducks and eggs, for distribution 
the coming year. 
On the new game farm the commission is 
building 215 breeding pens and yards, a barn, 
chicken house and superintendent’s house. The 
breeding stock which is to be installed at once 
consists of 800 hens and 250 cock pheasants, 150 
black ducks and 150 mallard ducks. 
Tiie Brownville game farm is one of two game 
farms authorized by acts of the legislature this 
year and signed by Governor Glynn. The con¬ 
servation commission has had difficulty in select¬ 
ing a suitable site for the Long Island game 
farm, authorized by chapter 372, Laws of 1914, 
owing to the high prices asked for land in that 
section but will reach a satisfactory solution of 
the problem this month it is expected. The Long 
Island game farm will also be in operation in 
time to provide game birds for restocking cov¬ 
ers next season. 
The organized sportsmen of the state asked 
the legislature for at least four new game farms. 
In response to this popular demand, no less 
than eleven game farm bills were introduced 
in the Legislature. Of these two were passed 
and signed by Governor Glynn; four were killed 
in the Assembly Ways and Means Committee; 
five of a local nature were vetoed by Governor 
Glynn. The conservation commission is not in 
favor of attempting to establish more than two 
new game farms in one year. The selection f 
proper sites and the installation of approved 
plants for game breeding requires time, but a 
still more serious obstacle to providing a larger 
number of game farms within a twelvemonth 
is the question of securing breeding stock in 
sufficient quantity and satisfactory quality. The 
commission is determined to give the sportsmen 
the best obtainable in the game bird line. 
With the two new game farms to be estab¬ 
lished this year there will be three in all—one 
in Central, one in Northern New York and one 
in Long Island. Governor Glynn and the con¬ 
servation commission are pledged to the policy 
of establishing as rapidly as possible a sufficient 
number of game farms to amply stock all the 
suitable cover in the state. Western and East¬ 
ern New York are to have game farms next 
year, so that all sections will be recognized, al¬ 
though transportation facilities now enjoyed 
minimize the importance of location of the dis¬ 
tributing farms, because shipment of birds or 
eggs from any game farm in the state can be 
made over night. 
The state fish hatcheries are in operation in 
full force and the state fish culturist reports a 
favorable prospect for a larger output of food 
and game fish for distribution next year than 
any preceding year. Governor Glynn took this 
particular matter up with the commission and 
expressed gratification over the good prospects 
of restocking the lakes and streams of the state 
next season with the largest supply of young 
fish ever put out by any state in the Union. 
591 
BIRD GREW SUBSTITUTE CLAWS. 
Something Nearly as Good on Stumps of 
Amputated Legs. 
Seattle, Wash., Oct. 28.—This story comes from 
Cathcart, Snohomish county, and is vouched for 
by Robert D. Jones of that place. While mow¬ 
ing hay last June Abe Bruger, a Cathcart ranch¬ 
er, surprised a mother pheasant and her brood 
in the tall grass. One of the flock was over¬ 
taken by the mower, which amputated both of 
its legs. It escaped to an alder thicket. 
While hunting recently Bruger winged a 
pheasant. When he recovered the bird both of 
its legs were missing, a fact which recalled the 
accident of the early summer. The bird had 
become full grown, was in perfect condition, 
plump, and in fact larger than the average of 
this year’s birds taken in the locality. 
The wounds had completely healed and na¬ 
ture, in the process of healing, had developed a 
substitute for claws in the form of hard scales 
at the extremities. 
NEW DECOY DUCK. 
Fargo, N. D., can now boast of another in¬ 
ventor in the person of Augustus Tuor, the 
local nimrod, who has patented a new decoy duck 
that is ready to be placed on the market. Many 
of the decoys have beeen sold to Fargo sports- 
The Duck Shooter’s Dream. 
