82 THE REPOKT UPOX No. 13 



Wentworth County. 



Overseer C. J. Kerr, of Hamilton, reports that langling in Burlington Bay 

 during the past year has been fair, some good catches of hass at the piers in the 

 Oanial at the Beach having been reported. He had two seine licenses issued for carp 

 in the bay this season, but the fishermen could not make it pay. 



He got the usual complaints that the drawing of nets was destroying the bass 

 and other spawn, but these men declared they never could see any spawn. However, 

 he has oome to the conclusion, as these nets never will pay in Burlington Bay, that 

 no more nets should be issued for any purpose whatever, and that the bay should 

 be kept for angling alone. He believes that the nets destroy more spawn and fish 

 than the carp will if leit alone. 



Transportation inspection. — ^This is a trade by itself, and no one would believe 

 the traffic that is going on if they did not see for themselves. He finds that the 

 traffic in fish of every description is increasing greatly every year. The trout and 

 whitefish that were shipped this year from the upper lakes through Hamilton and 

 to Hamilton were of a lar,ger class than in former years, but the shippers run their 

 fish sometimes close on the 2-lb. limit, and nearly every box contained one or two 

 fish undersized — not sufficient to make a seizure of the box. However, he was 

 forced to seize several boxes in the early part of the summer, labout 30 small fish 

 being in each box. Last November there was a glut in the fish market. The London 

 freezer was completely filled up, and one sMpment of trout (40 boxes) came to 

 Hamilton from Wiarton, and it was re-shipped back to Collingwood in an effort 

 to save the fish from going bad. And alsio during the same month, whitefish from 

 Lake Erie were going through Hamilton by the hundred boxes every day — all spawn- 

 ers, and taken in the act of spawning. And, furthermore, the herring fishermen 

 from Selkirk, Dunnville, and along the lower part of Lake Erie, shipped herring 

 all over the country, and to Hamilton, and he found some of the boxes contained 

 one-third whitefish, herring size. He seized a great many boxes of these fish, and 

 had some of the shippers running to Toronto to see the Department about at. There 

 was something strange about these small whitefish ; while the fishermen were catch- 

 ing them at the lower end of Lake Erie with the ^herring, none were caught at Port 

 Stanley, and the upper end of the lake. 



Fur-bearers. — Muskrats, mink, skunk and ooon are holding their own in Went- 

 worth County, but outside of there he is in a position to see a great deal of this fur 

 being sihipped on the trains during the hours of transportation inspection to the 

 United States and to England and Europe, but tons of furs reach these coun- 

 tries by other outlets. 



It is an everyday occurrence during November to see bags of coon and skunk of 

 100 pelts going through to the States by express through Hamilton. 



The taxidermists and dealers in moose and deer heads, he finde in various 

 parts of the Province. There are men engaged in this business, and they are fur 

 dealers and tanners as well. There are no dealers in moose and deer heads in Ham- 

 ilton, but there are two taxidermists who will mount moose and deer 'heads, etc. 



Fur Farming. — He finds this is a business that is drawing the attention of 

 many persons in the United States, and a good many persons are engaged in the 

 business, and it is said with fair profit. He has had several applications for per- 

 mits to catcli mink out of season to supply a f^rm of this kind, but he passed the 

 applications on to the Department. He says this business will have to be looked 

 straigiht in the face, as it is bound to come before long, and it must be controlled by 

 the Department licensing the farms. 



