FONTAINEBLEAU PLANTATION HISTORY RELATED

A chronology of principal events concerning the Marigny family, once the owner of Fontainebleau Plantation which now is included in the new Tchefuncte State Park, near Mandeville, forms an interesting part of an article by N. E. Simoneaux, Secretary of the Louisiana State Parks Commission. The materials are being published serially by Louisiana Conservation Review.

A great deal of misinformation relating to the Marigny family has gained currency in recent years, Mr. Simoneaux points out, and, in view of the widespread interest in the subject which has been stimulated by the development of Tchefuncte proceeds to offer an abundance of carefully verified details concerning the establishment of the household in Louisiana. Francois Philippe de Mandeville, Sieur de Marigny, a Norman, reached the Colony in 1700, and his descendants are traced, in the writer's first installment, to the end of the century. A later installment will continue the family chronology and there also will be a discussion of the work already accomplished at Tchefuncte State Park and of the development contemplated there.

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MUSKRAT RECIPE

James Nelson Gowanloch, state biologist, also writing in the current Louisiana Conservation Review, presents a recipe for muskrats which, he promises, will make your guests "demand second and third helpings." His culinary instructions, which include a bit of post mortem surgery, are:

"Muskrats are cleaned, the [two musk] glands removed and the carcasses disjointed. A pot is half filled with cold water to which is added as seasoning, one tablespoonful of salt, one pinch of soda, one teaspoonful of sugar, pepper to taste, and the water is brought to a boil. The prepared muskrats are then added and left in this seasoned fluid until the whole mixture again begins to boil. They are then strained in a collendar, rolled in seasoned flour and fried brown. A brown gravy may be prepared since it adds excellently to the taste of the whole dish. Many people also enjoy the substitution of a typical Italian tomato gravy for the brown gravy, but this, in the writer's opinion, tends to mask too much the special flavor of the game."

Dr. Gowanloch deplores the manner in which the "marsh hare" has been slandered because of its unfortunate name and consequent association with house rats. Muskrats, he point out, are far more closely related to rabbits and squirrels.

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FORESTRY BOOKLET FOR STUDENT READERS

Our Nation's Forests, by Rosalie Edge; introduction by Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior. New York Emergency Conservation Committee Publication No. 73, Conservation Unit VI. 1938.

Reviewed by Fred H. Arnold, Regional Forester

The keynote of this 25-page pamphlet perhaps is best expressed in the statement quoted in Secretary Ickes' introduction: "I planted the seed." Viable seeds of constructive conservation thought are stored in its pages, awaiting reception and abundant germination in the fertile mind medium of America's youth -- conservation's hope for tomorrow. Says Mr. Ickes further, "The surest way to save what is left of our forests, and restore, through replanting, what we need for the future, is to let the young people of America know about the problem. If they know how the United States has mistreated its forests, and what the forests mean to the country in the welfare and happiness of the people, they will do their part to remedy this evil when they grow up and take part in public affairs."

The pamphlet is an introduction to forest conservation. In it are reviewed briefly: the past history of America's forests; our dependence upon their tangible and intangible products and influences; some of the more destructive enemies of the forests; and some of the policies principles and practices that the author believes desirable in a national forestry program. A few illustrations are used to supplement the text. The closing pages are devoted to a series of lesson questions for both younger and more advanced students, and to a list of general references.

In dealing with the menace of forest fires, the publication points out that "Four-fifths of the forest fires might have been prevented." This true statement stands as a challenge to a nation which is proud of its progress in conservation. Until this challenge is successfully met and the evil permanently overcome no substantial advancement in conservation can be made. Our Nation's Forests is a constructive contribution to the cause of conservation. We hope that the youth of America will not only read but study it.

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A MILESTONE IN HISTORICAL CONSERVATION

Report to the Secretary of the Interior on the Preservation of Historic Sites and Buildings, United States Department of the Interior, Washington, 1935. (Published in 1938).

Reviewed by Roy Edgar Appleman

This publication, with a preface by Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior, and an appendix comprising a series of charts illustrating the administrative organization in European countries charged with caring for government-owned historic sites, archeologic sites, buildings and various antiquities, is the first and only thing of its kind published in the United States covering the legislative and administrative basis for a national policy of historical conservation.

Mr. Schneider's report is the result of a study made during 1934 of activities, private and governmental, in this country and in Belgium, England, France, Sweden, Germany and Italy on the subject of historical conservation. It is divided into three parts; Part I reviews federal, state, local and private activities in the United States; Part II discusses the legislative history and administrative organization for the preservation of historic sites in European countries; Part III is concerned with the historic sites legislation of 1935, which was drafted as a result of Mr. Schneider's study and with recommendations for a national program of historical conservation in the United States.

This publication, although in a limited edition, marks a milestone in the movement for the preservation of antiquities in this country and discloses the vast amount of study and consideration of precedents, here and abroad, on which the Historic Sites Act of August, 1935, is based, and a national long-range program inaugurated in this field.

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"OCCASIONAL FORESTRY NOTES"

The first issue of Occasional Forestry Notes is being distributed in Region One this month by the Branch of Forestry, launching a series of nonadminstrative, technical papers designed for use by "key men in forestry and protection work" within the Service. Note No. 1, of eight multilithed pages, is a report on the advanced fire control section of the Feather River Training School of the United States Forest Service, last October 31-November 12.

"All Occasional Forestry Notes," said Forester J. F. Shanklin, in a letter to the Regional Office, "Will be predicated on the assumption that the material will serve a useful purpose in forwarding the policies and objectives in forest protection and forest use within the national parks and monuments and is applicable to the country as a whole or should be known by the key protection men within the Service."

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PARTNER REQUESTED FOR 'MISS LIBERTY'

The President recently transmitted to the Service a letter received at the White House from a woman resident of the Pacific Coast who suggests the establishment of an additional National Monument for administration by federal park forces. It reads:

"My dear Sir:

"An idea has come to me regarding the statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, on the Atlantic Coast. Since we have this Goddess of Liberty, why should we not have a God of Liberty on the Pacific Coast - and preferably on the San Francisco Bay? It would be complete then for our country would have both a God and Goddess of Liberty! As it is now the Goddess must be very lonely for it takes the qualities of woman, representing love, and man, representing intelligence, to make a complete idea - although both man and woman have love and intelligence in each individual idea. If you think well of this idea would you kindly advise me, even though no country has offered to furnish the statue?

"Yours for real liberty,
"- - - - - - - - - - - - -"

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122,123 VISIT MAMMOTH CAVE NATIONAL PARK IN 1938

A total of 122,123 persons were checked by rangers at Mammoth Cave National Park during the calendar year just ended. More than 83,000 entered the cave. All states and 29 foreign countries were represented among the visitors. The order of leading states was Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

EARL HOOVER, formerly an assistant wildlife technician assigned to the Springfield office of the Service, died January 8. He entered the Service in the spring of 1935 but resigned the next year to accept appointment by the State of New Hampshire as biologist charged with conducting far reaching fish and game studies.

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CORRECTION: In its December issue The Review probably conveyed the impression, on page 26, that the National Camping Advisory Committee, headed by Fay Welch, lecturer at the New York State College of Forestry, is an organization outside the Service. It now is pointed out that the advisory Committees on camping, hiking and skiing were formed by the Service and their members designated by Secretary Ickes. Their work is concerned with all of the activities of the Service and is not confined to Recreational Demonstration Areas.

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REGION ONE TO RECEIVE FIRST OF NEW UNIFORMS

The 12 states embraced by the First, Second and Third Corps Areas, all of them within Region One, will receive the first issues of the new spruce green uniform approved this month by Robert Fechner, CCC director. The supply will become available October 1 for camps in the six New England states and in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Enrollees of all other Corps Areas will continue to wear the present olive drab until current clothing stocks are exhausted.

The new regulation uniform will include a coat, trousers, mackinaw, overseas cap, woolen olive drab shirts, black neckties and black shoes. Coat and mackinaw will be of patch-pocket, back belted style bearing, on the left shoulder, the CCC insignia---green on a yellow ground. The insignia also will be worn on the Caps.

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TYPICAL ENROLLEE IS 5 FEET 8, WEIGHS 142

A recent study of the total of nearly 60,000 youths who enrolled in the Corps during the fall replacement period shows that the typical member was 18-1/2 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 142. "He had completed eight years of public school," said the report, "and had had little or no previous employment since leaving school. He had five dependents and made a monthly allotment of about $23.50 out of his $30 cash allowance to aid in the support of these five dependents.....Of the 58,954 youths accepted . . . nearly half had never previously had any regular job . . . "

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AMERICAN ATHLETIC UNION LIFTS RESTRICTION

The American Athletic Union has amended its by-laws to permit CCC enrollees to participate without registration in the events conducted under its auspices. The provision is similar to that made for members of the Army. It is expected to be helpful in the promotion of CCC athletic activities.