May 8 , 1909 ] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
737 
Empire State Game Farm. 
Forest, Fish and Game Commissioner James 
S. Whipple has been instrumental in getting an 
appropriation to establish a farm for game bird 
propagation. After considering various desir¬ 
able places in the State, it has been decided to 
locate the farm in Chenango county, southeast 
of Utica. That is the most central point and 
shipping facilities in every direction are most 
excellent. 
About 148 acres of land are required to begin 
with, the larger portion to be fenced. Five or 
six coops will be constructed for breeding places 
and sections of the farm divided into separate 
compartments. Hungarian partridge, English 
pheasants and quail principally will be propa¬ 
gated. The English pheasants are great egg pro¬ 
ducers, laying from 90 to 100 eggs each season. 
Eggs will be hatched under common hens. 
Birds will be distributed when about three 
weeks old, or when they are believed to be able 
to take care of themselves. Custard is the prin¬ 
cipal food of the young birds when first hatched, 
hence several cows will be kept on the farm. 
The commissioner expects to have the farm es¬ 
tablished and stocked this season and be able 
to distribute next year. 
The farm will open with about 500 pairs of 
birds and several hundred dozen eggs. Eggs 
will be furnished those who will hatch them on 
their own premises and distribute the birds 
locally. Game bird breeding is not experi¬ 
mental; it is now being carried on successfully 
in Illinois, by other States and individuals. A 
manager has been engaged by Commissioner 
Whipple who was connected four or five years 
with the Illinois game bird farm and demon¬ 
strated his ability to successfully conduct the 
work. 
The Albany Argus says that Comissioner 
Whipple, after his speech in Utica the night of 
April 29 on forest preservation, went to Saranac 
Inn, where he is to be joined by Assistant 
Superintendent of Forests Johnson, Attorney 
Gulf Coast Fishing. 
New Orleans, La., April 30. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: The game commission has brought 
a test case into the courts by the filing of an affi¬ 
davit by President Miller against a citizen of New 
Orleans charged with having caught ten green 
trout contrary to the law. For some time quite 
a controversy has been in progress between 
fishermen and the State game commission and 
incidentally Attorney-General Guion in regard 
to what is known as the Marston amendment 
of an act of the last Legislature of Louisiana. 
Attorney Ponder, of the game commission, con¬ 
tends that Mr. Marston attempted to amend the 
fishing act so as to allow the public to fish with 
rod, hook and line for green trout or black 
Ward, of the commission, and prominent men 
interested in the Adirondacks, for a conference 
on methods to be pursued by his department 
in the future. The selection of the new fire 
fighting force will be a most important part of 
the matters to be considered. 
The new legislation will give the department 
four fire superintendents with salaries of $1,500 
each and expenses and will provide for the es¬ 
tablishment of stations in the woods from which 
to keep close watch over the valuable timber 
lands that no fires shall hereafter get a start 
on the fire fighting force. The latter is to be a 
largely organized body hereafter which will 
avoid the difficulties heretofore experienced in 
the Adirondack counties in getting together the 
volunteer companies of men under the fire 
wardens who received no pay except at such 
time as they were called for special duty in fire 
fighting. 
Adirondack territory under the new arrange¬ 
ments will be laid out in fire districts and each 
of the superintendents appointed will have 
charge of a definitely defined area, the boun¬ 
daries of which will be tentatively arranged by 
Commissioner Whipple at the conference which 
is to extend over into next week. 
There are some interesting statements in the 
commissioner’s report. Adirondack hotels in 
Clinton county accommodate 3,153 persons; 
Essex, 7,719: Franklin, 4,626; Fulton, 410; 
Hamilton, 2,395; Herkimer, 2,415; Lewis, 510: 
Oneida, 150; St. Lawrence, 1,223; Warren, 3,060 
—or a total of 28,502 persons. This does not 
include private camps and sanitariums. The 
average length of time spent in the Adirondacks 
by each visitor is about two weeks; hence it is 
figured that in those days about 200,000 people 
sought recreation and health in that region. 
The reports of the Central and the Delaware 
and Hudson railroads show that 225,000 passen¬ 
gers were carried during the last summer season. 
It was estimated that more than $7,000,000 
was invested in hotels and boarding houses and 
about $4,000,000 in private camps and cottages. 
bass, but that the said amendment is null and 
void. He says the amendment refers to an act 
of one year when another year is meant, and 
also that it contains several subject matters in 
the body not mentioned in the caption and for 
various other technical reasons. Mr. Ponder 
advised the game commission that it was its 
duty to ignore the Marston act and enforce the 
old law, which forbids fishing for green trout 
with rod, hook and line except during the regu¬ 
lar fishing season. Attorney-General Guion ren¬ 
dered an opinion some time ago to the effect 
that the Marston act is valid and binding and 
that the spirit and intention of the Legislature 
are to be considered rather than the mere verbi¬ 
age. The case will be tried within the next two 
weeks and doubtless will be taken to the su¬ 
The total wages paid to 18,307 guides, clerks, 
servants, cooks, etc., were $991,550; cash paid 
for board, carriages, boats, etc., amounted to 
$5,213,210; for railroad fares, $875,000. Thus 
more than seven millions Were spent by sum¬ 
mer resorters. This business is largely de¬ 
pendent upon standing forests. The water 
power, developed and undeveloped, of much 
greater value, also depends upon the forest. 
Present lumbering methods are the great power 
which works toward the ruin of these two 
great industries. 
New Game Preserve. 
Raleigh, N. C., May i.—Editor Forest and 
Stream: The chief event in local sporting 
circles during the past few days has been the 
formation of a club of 105 members, mainly 
Western men, to take over the hunting privi¬ 
leges on the vast Pisgah forest estate of George 
Vanderbilt, near Asheville. The affair was ar¬ 
ranged through Theodore F. Davidson and A. 
T. Addickes, of Asheville. Some months ago 
Mr. Addickes organized a club of about a dozen 
North Carolinians to take up the hunting privi¬ 
leges on this estate of 140,000 acres, which has 
been stocked with game fifteen years, there 
being 150 miles of streams stocked with brook 
and rainbow trout. A club or company was 
formed, the hunting privilege lease secured for 
ten years, and Mr. Addickes was pressed to 
allow others to join. He disposed of the lease 
at a profit, at the same time reserving for him¬ 
self and the dozen North Carolinians who had 
the lease the privilege of fishing and shooting 
on the estate. The game wardens are to be 
continued and there will be the strictest sort 
of conservation of fish and game. 
Persons who have been in the forest recently 
say the amount of game is remarkable. In April 
there were destructive forest fires in Pisgah 
forest. The worst loss was in the part of the 
forest devoted to planted yellow poplar. 
Fred. A. Olds. 
preme court before it is finally decided. 
The fishermen during the last few days have 
been very successful on Lake Pontchartrain, at 
Milneburg, West End and Seabrook, landing a 
number of redfish, some sheepshead and large 
numbers of croakers. A good many perch were 
caught at Bayou Barataria. Fishing has been 
poor at Lake Catherine, Chef Menteur and the 
Rigolets. At Lookout, on Mississippi Sound, the 
fishing has been the best of the entire coast this 
spring. Large parties will go over to the various 
places each Sunday from now until late fall. 
One of the railways sells special rate tickets 
good from Saturday afternoon until Monday, 
morning. Extra coaches are needed to accom¬ 
modate the scores of fishermen who leave New 
Orleans on Saturday afternoons. F. G. G. 
