976 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Dec. i7, 1910. 
New York Fish, Game and Forest 
League. 
The forty-sixth annual meeting of the New 
York State Fish, Game and Forest League was 
held in the Court Flouse in Syracuse, N. Y., 
Dec. 8 and 9, with a large attendance of dele¬ 
gates from affiliated sportsmen’s clubs, and in¬ 
dividual members. 
Two changes marked the results attained: the 
choice of new officers from among those mem¬ 
bers who are known as progressives, and the de¬ 
cision to hold the next annual meeting in Sche¬ 
nectady instead of Syracuse, where these meet¬ 
ings have been held for a number of years. This 
was attempted at the meeting last year, but as 
no other city was at that time prepared to com¬ 
pete with Syracuse for the honor, the latter city 
was chosen, with the apparent understanding that 
a change would be made at the'next convention. 
Another invitation for 1911 was tendered by 
Niagara Falls, but Schenectady was finally 
chosen, the time to be decided on later. Sche¬ 
nectady is centrally situated for the majority 
of the clubs affiliated with the league, and is the 
home of a large number of enthusiastic sports¬ 
men of the Mohawk Valley. 
Forest, Fish and Game Commissioner Austin 
in his address said that he came to the conven¬ 
tion for the purpose of obtaining the ideas of 
the sportsmen in regard to existing laws and 
proposed changes before making his report to 
the Legislature. Lie did not think radical changes 
necessary, but believed in greater uniformity in 
the game and fish laws, and better enforcement, 
which of course called for larger appropriations. 
Even with the great efficiency of the present 
force of protectors, it cannot be reasonably ex¬ 
pected that ninety men can cover, as it should 
be covered, the great territory assigned to them. 
Governor-elect Dix, he said, had impressed him 
as sincere in his policy of economy in his com¬ 
ing administration, and whether or not increased 
appropriations for his department can be se¬ 
cured is doubtful. 
The commissioner was in agreement with what 
Forest and Stream has so often said concern¬ 
ing the Slate game and fish laws; namely, that 
they are too complicated and overburdened with 
local provisions and exceptions which are neither 
desirable nor necessary. He deprecated the 
tinkering of the Legislature with these laws, and 
urged the desirability of sensible and efficient 
revision only, with a view to making the laws 
comprehensive and as nearly uniform as possible. 
The present form of his commission, Mr. 
Austin said, was not suited to the State’s needs, 
but he was opposed to the movement in favor 
of dividing it into three commissions, one for 
forestry, one for fish, and the third division for 
game. He favored instead one commissioner, 
with a deputy in charge of each one of the three 
divisions. He also spoke in favor of private 
game farms, and praised the sportsmen’s clubs, 
which he declared were in many cases doing as 
good work as the protectors, particularly in the 
creation of public sentiment in favor of the great 
end toward which all sportsmen were working. 
Deputy Commissioner John B. Burnham in his 
address spoke against the proposed amendment 
favoring the hounding of deer. He reviewed 
the work of the protective body of which he 
was the head until the recent change in the per¬ 
sonnel of the commission, and explained the 
difficulties and complications arising from the 
frequent amendments to the game laws. 
In the evening T. Gilbert Pearson, secretary 
of the National Association of Audubon Socie¬ 
ties, delivered a lecture on “The Birds of 
America” which was i.lustrated with beautiful 
lantern slides. 
The veteran Charles LI. Mowry was the dele¬ 
gate in the convention of the Onondaga County 
Sportsmen’s Association, which was organized 
in Syracuse during the week, and which will 
elect permanent officers at a meeting to be held 
during the present week. 
Robert B. Lawrence, of New York city, read 
a paper embodying a number of common sense 
changes in the game and fish laws which, he 
urged, should be made. 
Dr. Arthur W. Booth, of Elmira, addressed 
the convention on “Reforesting” in which he de¬ 
tailed many of the results attained by interesting 
school children and landowners in the reforest¬ 
ing of cut-over lands, whether the lots be large 
or small. 
There was plenty of excitement for a time 
when the nominations for the new board of 
officers of the League were under consideration, 
but this eventually subsided. The officers elected 
follow: 
President, Andrew D. Meloy, New York; 
Vice-President, Dr. F. S. ILonsinger, Syracuse; 
Treasurer, E. LI. Stowell, Oswego; Secretary, 
L. C. Andrews, Elmira (re-elected) ; Board of 
Directors, John M. Ross, Auburn ; A. C. Corn¬ 
wall, Alexandria Bay; George A. Sawyer, Water- 
town ; F. D. Petrie, Oneida; George M. Red¬ 
ding, Whitesboro; A. R. Sawyer, Binghamton; 
Dr. O. T. Sitterly, Schenectady, and James 
Annin, Jr., Caledonia. 
A Morning’s ShooL 
Lewisburg, Pa., Dec. 10 .— Editor Forest and' 
Stream: Yesterday morning Sweet and I took 
a little trip for ducks down the river. We bor¬ 
rowed a duck boat, one of these flat affairs, with 
a grass blind in the bow and a small seat in 
the stern on which a man sits and paddles— 
one of the clumsiest boats I ever had any ex¬ 
perience with. We got up at 5 o’clock and went 
down to the river to the boat. The boat was 
above the dam so we had to take it over, which 
was quite a job in the dark. 
By that time it was beginning to get light so 
I took the position in the bow' behind the screen 
and Sweet paddled. We had just about reached 
the middle of the river when I heard the hum 
of wings and saw just in front of me two ducks 
coming directly over. 1 shot at the leader, threw 
in another shell and leaning far back, shot at 
the other as he passed over. The first one hit 
water a few feet ahead of the boat and the 
second fell just a few feet behind. We gathered 
them in and proceeded. In a few minutes we 
saw three ducks coming up the river to our 
right, but these we missed clean, having a right 
quartering shot which from a boat is a very 
hard one. 
Next we saw a bunch of ducks in the w'ater 
which we tried to approach, but before we got 
in range someone shot at them from the bank. 
They were out of range for him, but apparently 
he did not w r ant 11s to get them. Just as they flew 
away we saw a duck come up the river and light 
below us. This we collected with little difficulty 
as it was so tame that it did not jump until we 
were nearly touching it. 
Sweet and I then changed places. We went 
on about a quarter of a mile when we saw three 
ducks in the middle of the river. We got above 
them and floating down Sweet shot at the nearest 
which he dowmed. We collected this one and 
had gone not more than ten feet when I saw 
Sweet making violent motions with his gun. I 
grabbed the single barrel gun which lay near 
me and just then a nice little duck came by, fly¬ 
ing so close and so low that Sweet had been 
unable to get a shot at it .over the blind. I 
dropped it just opposite and we gathered it in. 
Sweet got a shot at a flock of three and made 
a very pretty double. Then I got another. 
After that for a long while we saw nothing 
until I spied a bunch of six birds in the water 
which turned out to be geese, but before we got 
in range a rabbit hunter tried a long shot at 
them and missed. Presently we saw T another 
duck which I shot as it flew up. From then 
on we saw but three other ducks, all of which 
were shy and wild, so we got no more. Tod. 
Winter Food for Game Birds. 
The practice of cultivating a piece of ground 
in the center of a wood, or within a private 
park, where pheasants are turned down, is one 
that might be more widely adopted with good 
advantage. If the work be properly under¬ 
taken, its success is assured, and the expense 
is a very small item in the shooting account. 
In large places, says the Shooting Times, it is 
advisable to have several of these patches of 
cultivated ground, and there are many estates 
where the cost of labor and material is easily 
saved each season by the greater number of 
birds kept at home. There is also a reduction 
in the food bill, for, with such centers of at¬ 
traction at home, the birds do not require so 
much feeding to prevent them from straying, 
and if they wander but little the extra .cost of 
“driving -in” two or three times a day is saved. 
The cultivation of these patches need be only 
of the roughest description, the ground being 
turned up by a plow if practicable, or by spade 
labor. It is not even necessary to remove the 
stumps from the ground in the wood, and often 
one may find patches of an acre or so where, if 
there is no growth of underwood to interfere 
the site requires very little preparation; but the 
spots selected must be sunny, and if rabbits 
are plentiful the seed-patches must be wired in. 
The soil may be turned up at any convenient 
time, and any rough corn or farm seeds thrown 
down. A harrow is then run over it, and the 
seed is buried. This is the important part, for 
it is this hidden seed that will keep the birds 
occupied. It does not much matter when the 
seed is thrown down, since the object of sowing 
is not to obtain a crop, but successive sowings 
may be made at intervals from September to 
April in seasonable weather. There is no more 
effective “draw” for pheasants than this. 
A reader whose initials are C. E. B.. who buys 
Forest and Stream, and who recently called at 
this office to inquire about North Carolina quail 
shooting, is notified that his address has been 
lost, and that if he will send it we will forward 
him some desired information. 
