FQttEST AND ■ STREAM. 



67 



Sm § nltnw 



EEL CULTURE. 



IF there is any one spot, for tjje student of the eel question 

 it is the pond of Mr. James N. Wells, of Country Road, 

 Riverkcad, N. Y. The pond covers some five acres, and 

 here in the fall of 1870 were planted 24,000 eels, which were 

 from eight inches to a foot in length, too small to skin for 

 market? In 187? the eels were fed with fifty bushels of 

 clams and 2,000 horsefeet. They were not fed after July. 

 This spring Mr. Wells began to feed them in May, and writes 

 us that the last meal for the present season was given to them 

 Saturday, Aug. 10. Mr. Wells lakes a wagon-load of horse- 

 feet and drives to the pond. He makes a noise by beating on 

 the wagon, and the eels come rushing in swarms from every 

 direction, rising the water black. He will hold a horsefoot 

 in the water and dozens of eels will cling to it, even when 

 lifted out of the water. He says that when he goes to the 

 pond, except to feed them, he seldom sees an eel. Oc- 

 casionally one will put out a head and look around, but 

 seeing it is nut feeding time will quietly disappear. He has 

 fed out about (i. 000 horsefeet this season which he buys of 

 Caot. William Downs. On the 15th of April Capt. Downs 

 set'a horsefoot pound at the mouth of the river— or rather a 

 trap of his own invention. After a storm when the trap 1ms 

 not been visited for two or three days as many as 1,000 have 

 been taken out at a time. Whether the demand created the 

 supply, or the supply the demand, we cannot tell, but at 

 present the supply is rather ahead. Capt. Downs has kept a 

 record of the number caught from the loth of April to the 

 15th of June, and it fool sup about 10,000. This feeding of 

 the eels i* a source of much entertainment to visitors, who 

 come from all parts of, the country to witness the strange 

 proceeding. The number of eels is estimated iu the terms 

 most impressive to each: " wagon loads," "stacks," "thou- 

 sands " and " millions." Mr. Wells writes : 



I do not know about their spawning. There are other fish, 

 pickerel, pumpkin seeds and yellow perch who may eat the 

 spawn. My eels are so tamo that you can hold a horsefoot by 

 the tail just undfar the water and all that can get their beads 

 into it will do so. You may catch them with your hands (if 

 you can hold them)- They have grown this summer some 

 from twelve to a pound to six pounds per dozen, dressed. 

 Toey gain very fast while feeding. Now they are very fat. 

 They will eat 250 horscfect or 15 bushels of soft clams in a 

 night. The next day they will not be seen by any one. 

 I have fed about six or seven thousand horsefeet this summer 

 at fifty cents per hundred. The pond is a clear sand bottom, 

 excepting about two acres in the middle of mud. from one to 

 five feet deep, water, some five or six feet in the middle. 

 Whole pond covers about five to seven acres. The margin is 

 sandy all around. It is a spring bottom pond- I put twenty- 

 three small eels in the pond twelve years ago. In three or 

 four years they weiched from two and a half to four pounds 

 each, which was the cause of ray trying this experiment. 



Rioerliead, N. Y., Aug. 14, 1878. J. N. Wells. 



Tub Fish Suow at the Chicago State Agbioultoral 

 Fair.— This will he one of the most attractive features of the 

 lair next September 3 to 18. Mr. Welcher, Superintendent of 

 the Michigan State Hatching House, is supervising the ar- 

 rangements. The show was primarily designed as an exhibi- 

 tion of artificially raised fish, to indicate what has been accom- 

 plished by fish culturists since their initial efforts in 1S67-8 : 

 but specimens of all fresh water fish are desired for the 

 aquaria, and we have no doubt that some interesting speci- 

 mens will be shown. Dr. Estes is making an effort to obtain 

 some striped bass and other specimens which have attracted 

 much interest of late. The striped bass (B. chrysops), as de- 

 scribed in " tlallock's Gazetteer," very neary restmble the B. 

 Vnealus of the salt water, though somewhat differently marked. 

 Their specific characteristics scarcely dill'er. They arc found 

 in the Mississippi River and many of its tributaries, pene- 

 trating several of the Southwestern Slates. Mr. Hallock has 

 promised specimens, drawings and formula of them, by which 

 he will be enabled to make comparisons with the salt water 

 striped bass and rock-fish of the Atlantic coast. The tanks 

 will occupy a large space of the Chicago Exposition building, 

 and we have no doubt that, with the whole of L'ike Michigan 

 nt their back and beck, they will enjoy a more abundant sup- 

 bly of fresh water than was allowed to them at the Centennial 

 Exposition. The exhibition building stands beside the lake, 

 and the advantages for a first-class show are. very great. This 

 paper regrets that Superintcndeut Welcher had not communi- 

 cated with the Forest and Stukam earlier, for we feel that 

 we could have rendered material service in extending the col- 

 lection of fish. It is a matter of satisfaction that Mi*. Rey- 

 nolds, the general superintendent of the fair, his taken so 

 much personal interest in the fish show, and given all possible 

 effort to make it a success. 



From, a Tadpole to a Frog.— Editor Forest and Stream : 

 I intend to tell your readers in a very simple and childlike 

 manner how I am the possessor « it a " green-headed bull frog," 

 raised from a tadpole. Three years ago, after spending some 

 two days on the Ueaverkill, 1 started IrouiMorrston Station, a 

 driv-j of some 'hirteen nrtfes, in- tif'aw 3 :;rk, having with me a 

 wide-mouthed bottle containing nineteen newts and two tad- 

 poles fthe latter just commencing to change their state to 

 frogs), taken from the pond back of Murdoch's the day be- 

 fore ' Reachiuir Morrston Station, 1 bought a two-quart tin 

 pail,' and had the cover perforated with holes. 1 emptied the 

 bottle and found one tadpole and one newt dead, placed the 

 eighteen newts and one tadpole in the pail and took the train 

 for N Y. On arrival here found all in the best of condition, 

 and transferred them immediately to a small aquarium, 9x10 

 inches filled, of course, with crown and layer of house sand 

 at the 'bottom, with a few shells and piece of coral. Of the 

 newts I have given away fourteen, and have now four newts 

 and a green-headed frog measuring about five inches from the 

 end of the snout to the hinder phalanges, being the result of 



the one tadpole. For the first two ears I fco the frog with 

 crotou bugs (after he had arrived at a frog's estate), with 

 which my house at that time was overrun, but having at last 

 irotten rid of these bugs, for the past year his diet has been 

 flies, (with an occasional stray bug), especially so this sum- 

 mer, During the winter, although in a room heated suficicnt- 

 ly for the genus homo, he had nothing to eat for weeks, as the 

 croton buzs were non est and there were no flies. Then at 

 times I tried him with small pieces of raw meat ; he would 

 take them readily, but invariably as soon as his mouth closed 

 over them one of his front paws (I can call them nothing else) 

 would wipe the meat out before you could say "Jack Robin 

 son." Why is this? Is it because their food in a wild state 

 is wholly insects? Using now one of the new balloon traps, 

 he has plenty of flies, which he takes readily from off 

 my fingers— one to twenty at a time. No matter how many 

 he has the "green-headed monster " is never satisfied, and is 

 always ready for more. The tadpole when put into the 

 Aquarium was about two and one-half inches in Size and 

 taking into consideration the change of the water from 

 that of a trout pond on the fieaverkill to that of croton in u. 

 small aquarium in the month of July, my success was won 

 derful. I intend pushing the experiment to a greater degree 

 when an opportunity offers. 



As regards newts if. seems that the more I starve them the 

 better they like it. I feed them once or twice a week with 

 small pieces of raw meat from the end of a broom straw, and 

 also put live flies on top of the water which they take readily-. 

 but they will not go near a dead one. I was in hopes to have 

 had some offspring from the newts, as I had both male and 

 female, but I presume the frequent changing of water neces- 

 sary iu a small aquarium is fatal to such a rcalizat ion. 



Rana Pir-iEt-s. 



Germany. — The German Society for Catching, Breeding 

 and Preserving Fish, the Deuicshc Fisherie Vcrein, are pre- 

 paring an international exhibition at Berlin for 1880. 



%ntnml ffisfarQ. 



BLACK-TAIL DEER AND MULE-TAIL 

 DEER. 



IN the Forest and Stream of August 8. we look exception 

 to some criticisms which appeared in the Atlantic of July in 

 regard to the Black-tail deer, in which Judge Galon's very 

 thorough book on the " Cervidte " was questioned. We stated 

 that misconceptions arose from the fact that there were two 

 distinct species of deer, each called by the same name. In the 

 September number of Scribnei-'s Monthly, just at hand, will 

 be found a capital article, both as to text and illustration, due 

 to Mr. J. Harrison Mills, which is a valuable contribution to 

 the history of the mule-deer in Colorado. Mr. Mills says : 

 "The mule-deer does not bear an undisputed name. I knew 

 him first as the black-tail, as he is almost universally called 

 hew. A recent issue of the liocky Mountain News contains 

 an indignant protest from one of our hunters against the 

 liberty ' Eastern ' naturalists have taken in rechristening, as 

 he supposes, this animal." Mr. Mills gives a very lucid de- 

 scription of the mule-deer. W r e are indebted to Judge Caton 

 for a letter on the subject of black-tail and the mule-deer, 

 which, from such a leading authority, should, we suppose, for 

 once and at all times settle this somewhat mixed subject : 



i notice in the Forest and Stream and Eod and Gun 

 of the 8th instant your criticism upon the critic who, in the 

 August number of the Atlantic Monthly criticises the review 

 iu that journal of my book, " The Antelope and Deer of 

 America." You have given the true explanation of the man- 

 ner in which the Club contributor has fallen into a great eiror 

 when he supposed he was correcting au error. Had he 

 perused the book, at. least with auy degree of care, he would 

 have observed that in the very first paragraph of " General 

 Remarks" on the mule-deer (ft macvotis), p. 04, he would 

 have lead, "In the Rocky Mountain region, where the tiue 

 black-tailed deer is not foil ad, it is still known among 

 hunters and settlers as the black-tailed deer." On p. 375 he 

 should have noticed the following quotation from a letter 

 written me by Lieut. \V. L. Carpenter, U. S. A., who is a 

 Ciieful observer, with very extensive experience in the Rocky 

 Mountain region from Montana to Aiizona, and an ardent 

 hunter too : " 1 have never heard of any other deer in the 

 RoeUy Mountain region than the elk "(ft canadensis), the 

 black-tailed deer (ft ■macroth), and the white-tailed deer (ft 

 Itwurus)." Here we see Lieut. Carpenter following the com- 

 mon nomenclature in that region, calling the mule-deer 

 " black-iailed deer," but he leaves us no room lo mistake his 

 meaning, for he adds, the true scientific name, V. mocmtis. 

 This club contributor is not alone in error on this subject, for 

 the revenue of the P. O. Department has been considerably 

 augmented by the postage on letters to mo from army officers 

 and others of very extensive hunting experience in the Rocky 

 Mountains, assuring me positively that the true black-tailed 

 deer is (hero found as distinct from the mule-deer, and this is 

 going much further than the Club contributor has gone; but 1 

 have investigated no case where the black-tailed deer did not 

 prove a Macrolis with a white tail, terminating with a black 

 tuft, and naked on the underside, which is not observed with 

 any other species of deer. 



GeneralJ. W. Forsyth, late of G-eueral Sheridan's staff, 

 would not, be convinced by me that the true black-tailed deer 

 Was not abundant, in the Rocky Mountains, butGen. Orookwas 

 more successful when he hastened to inform me of his refor- 

 mation while 1 was yet in tne Sandwich Islands last, winter 

 ft macrotis, or the mule deer, in more or less abundance, 

 occupy the entire habitat of the true black-tailed deer (ft 

 columbianus), but in some parts of it is very scarce, as in the 

 coast-range north of San Francisco, while in Southern Cali- 

 fornia they are the prevailing species. While this is a true 

 Macrotis, it is a very distinct variety (C. macrotia, tiar. C'ali- 

 fornicas), which I first described about two years since in the 

 American -Naturalist. The most distinguishing characterist ic 

 of this variety is a dark hue down the upper side of the tail 

 from its base till it unites with the terminal black tuft, while 

 on the Rocky Mouutain variety the tail is white on the upper 

 side all the way above the black tuft. On both, the tails are 

 shapud alike, aiid are naked on the under side, and both have the 

 enormous metatarsal gland, which is more than four times as 



large as it is on the Columbia black-Mled deer, which is next 

 in size, and more than four times as large as it is on the com- 

 mon deer. 



I have no doubt, it will be a long time before many very in- 

 telligent, gentlemen who have never seen a Columbia deer, 

 will be convinced that it is not found in the Rocky Mountains. 

 Probably General Forsyth, when begets through with the job 

 he now has in hand, leading his regiment of cavalry against 

 the Bannocks, will make himself as familiar with the true blflok- 

 tailed deer as ho has long been with the mule-deer under the 

 name of the black-tailed deer in the Rocky Mountains, and 

 then I think you may safely refer to him as authority on the 

 subject, and I have no fears that he will vindicate my asser- 

 tions m "The Antelope and Deer of America," that the true 

 black-tailed deer, or ft columbianus, is not in the Rocky 

 Mountains. J J), Caton. 



Ottawa-, III., August 17, 1878. 



Australian Bower Bird.— Some little time since we 

 published in Forest and Stream, in an article entitled 

 " Architect and Gardener," a brief account of the wonder- 

 ful Amblyorim, whose habits have recently been brought to 

 the notice of the scientific world by Dr. Beccari. We have 

 now the pleasure of laying before our readers a very concise 

 but complete abridgement of the explorer's paper, which has 

 been furnished us through the kindness of the eminent orni- 

 thologist, Dr. T. M. Brewer. Facts about birds and their 

 habits are interesting to a very large class of our renders, and 

 we have no doubt that the present charming paper will be 

 fully appreciated by them. 



Caribou inQaptititt,— Danville Junction, Me., Aug. 24— 

 Editor Forest, and Stream : I gave you an account last 

 summer of the capture of a cow caribou over on (he north 

 shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the deep snows of March 

 1870, and of her dropping a buck calf while in captivity in 

 Time following, and that I afterward obtained the pair ami 

 transferred them to my miniature park here. They became 

 very tame, the young buck keeping very fat, but the cow 

 thin in flesh. On the 4th of last April I left home, and was 

 about four months returning, the first of the present month. 

 I at once saw that the cow was on her last legs— looking like 

 a walking skeleton— and it proved so, as she died in a "week 

 from that time. It seems she had never weaned the calf, 

 the fat, lazy cub, about as large and heavier than his mother! 

 and my man in charge not thinking to par!, them. I, of 

 course, separated theiii at once ; but too late to save tire cow. 

 The calf was almost frantic with grief at the death of his 

 mother, wandering about the park for several weeks with a 

 quick, nervous gait, making at times a moaning bleat 

 although he had my herd of deer for company, as usual. He 

 eats almost anything offered him in the vegetable or grain line. 

 Of course I don't allow him dry corn. He is very fond of a 

 moss that I procure in the forest, for him, and many kinds of 

 green boughs from the forest trees ; feeds grass pretty well, 

 but not so freely as the deer. They require a damp, muddy 

 spot, in which they eau stand, or walk through daily to moisten 

 their feet, as they cannot be continually dry without be- 

 coming diseased. The. carabou is now partially " halter broke," 

 and I intend having him broken to harness this fall. His 

 horns have got a splendid growth this summer, and are now 

 in velvet. 1 am having a curious experiment with a spruce 

 partridge in captivity, of which I will tell you soon. 



M. W. Clark. 



The Audubon Family.— The following letter from a mem- 

 ber of the family of Hie celebrated ornithologist appears in 

 the New York Times of August 26 : 



Allow the family of the late John James Audubon, the 

 ornithologist, to contradict some of the assertions which lately 

 appeared in an article copied by you from the Henderson 

 ( Ky.) Reporter. Mr. Audubon's wife, whose name was in- 

 correctly stated, was Miss Lucy Bakewell, an English lady, 

 whose family, at the time of her marriage, resided near Phila- 

 delphia ; nor did she see Louisville till years afterward. She 

 was essentially feminine in her pursuits, and could never 

 have attracted the attention of the public by her powers of 

 swimming, as she was wholly unacquainted with the art. Mr. 

 Audubon's proudest boast was that he was an American, hav- 

 ing been born in Louisiana, though of French parentage. He 

 never kept a grocery Btore, though he was part owner of a 

 mill. The statement wo wish most decidedly to contradict is 

 is the cruel charge of jealousy of, and consequent separation 

 from, his wife. With a devotion uncommon even among 

 women, she left her husband, and, taking her children with 

 her, taught, and 1 hereby supported herself and them for 

 years, that he might be free to carry on his life work. More 

 than this : wheu, discouraged and disheartened, he returned 

 to her from his wanderings penniless, she supplied him with 

 the means to continue those researches and studios, which re- 

 sulted in a success, due as much to her wifely devotion as to 

 his genius and endurance. From time to time articles relat- 

 ing to the private life of our sraudparents appear in different 

 periodicals aud papers. While we appreciate and are grate- 

 ful for the interest manifested iu those so justly worthy of re- 

 membrance, wc strongly urge upon the writers of such articles 

 to send forth nothing to the public which will give a false 

 coloring to lives which arc fully able to bear the closest 

 scrutiny throughout their entire career. 

 Washington Jlrfg/tis, Aug. 22, 1878. 



A Sea Lton in Delaware Bay.— We take the following 

 from the Dover Sentinel of August 24: "A sea lion was rap- 

 tured at Iieverin's Beach, about one mile north of Sand Ditch, 

 on Wednesday last, by Mr. Martin Knight. As the tide was 

 out at the lime, it could not make very fast headway. Mr, 

 Knight called to some men who were upon the marsh to as- 

 sist him. They surrounded the monster and immediately it 

 showed fight. Mr. Knight struck it upon the head aud 

 slunned it, and they then pulled it upon the shore. The lion 

 is about oi feet long aud weighs about 300 pounds. Mr. 

 William Haverin has it at his house in a large lank. This is 

 the second one ever taken upon this shore. One was captured 

 several years ago at Bowers' Beach, but. was killed before 

 being taken. 



Death of the White Elephant.— His Animal Highness, 

 He of Siam, who weighed several tons is no morel He 

 flopped his ears,twisted his trunk,and flicked his tail forthe last 

 time on the 28d of June last, and was floated to his grave on 



