FOREST AND STREAM. 



3i9 



With the right hand lake the arrow by the middle and pass 

 if, under the s'Ting and over the bow ; when tho pila reaches 

 the left hat; J, the forefinger of that hand must be clasped 

 tigatly over it ; the rij I ;lir_'co back to the nock, 



with the thumb and finger, the cock feather is 

 Hooked for and the arrow slid down the bow and arranged 

 with the cock-feather upward and in a line with the handle of 

 BhebDw; during this niuno'iiver Hie how may be held hori- 

 zontally : it is brought by a semi-circular sweep of the arms 

 into an almost perpendicular position, tho forefinger of the 

 left hand entirely detached from the arrow, and the whole of 

 that hand grasping the how at the handle, while with the 

 right the arrow is adjusted to the string. By the time the 

 bow is raised to the proper position and the arrow brought to 

 a level with the car, it should be nearly three-quarters drawn- 

 The position of the 'body should be facing at right angles to 

 the tarsal the icebeii .■_ . directly to it, the eye look- 

 ing si might at the gold. Aim should now lie taken, and the 

 bow kept fuliy drawn for more lhan a second, or it will be 

 injured, but the arrow loosed at once. 



A celebrated premier till list-use once affirmed that of alt the 

 attitudes she ever studied not one was so graceful or dis- 

 played the form to better advantage than that which the body 

 assumed at the moment of drawing the bow. As almost 

 every archery club has its own special rules for the practice 

 at tho pastime, it is not necessary to enter on those points 

 •which are me besides, there are now several 



■works published which contain everything of value and im- 

 portance in this direction. A few suggestions as regards 

 •dress, however, may bo pardonable. In a variable climate 

 like our own all out-door amusements must be pursued with 

 some caution, it one would preserve tho health. Hence it is 

 evident (hat some costume should be chosen that will not only 

 be graceful and effective, but which will preserve the body 

 from chilly winds, dampness of the atmosphere, etc. The 

 shade of. green called Lincoln-green, or a haudsome shade of 

 the now popular myrtle-green in cashmere or camel's hair, or 

 for late autumn an ail-wool light ladies' cloth or heavier 

 camel's hair cloth of some kind. The walking dresses of to- 

 day are, many Of them, quite as pretty, tasteful and appro- 

 priate for archery costumes as anything that could be devised, 

 The shoes should be strong, double-soled French calf, or kid. 

 hat most appropriate for this costume is a jaunty felt 

 Derby, in color to correspond with the dress, if possible ; this, 

 however, is unimportant, as indeed may be said of the cos- 

 tume in general, provided rules of comfort and good taste are 

 followed.— Detroit Free, Pvat, 



Four years ago, when archery had not become as popular 

 in the United States as it now is, we published in Fobest and 

 Stbham, very tut] information relating to the -whole subject 

 contained in She series of articles on pages 153, 3-18, 203, Vol. 

 II. [wMchitse].— Eds. j' 



SEASONABLE FISH CULTURE. 



AT this season of the year owners of water are be. 

 ginning to think, if they have not been wise enough to 

 think of it before, of the. improvement of their subaqueous 

 territory, or of its maintenance in a thoroughly satisfactory 

 State. If a farmer does not sow seed, he dots, surely, not 

 expect to receive a crop from his land ; but people seem to 

 expect, fish or even net how they may, that an inexhaustiblo 

 natural supply will just be good enough to make up the 

 AHjcunt deducted from the strength of the river or lake. 



■ (the question which a proprietor of 



veatei . inaself. Snail 1 order eggs or fry? Of 



course, Under some rare circumstances, it becomes a matter 

 of impossibility to hatch on the spot, and then fry hatched 

 elsewhere, and brought, it may be from a long distance, must 

 be turned in and left, as if naturally hatched in the stream, 

 to light the battle of life. Generally, however, it could be 

 iso arranged that a box or two can be rigged up somewhere 

 •oe an esta e ; but people are afraid of losing some of the eggs, 

 ■and so forth. Well, one cannot go to an insurance office 

 and eifeetan insurance, or even have an open policy, on fish- 

 eggs ; but it must be remembered that the difference in price 

 between eggs and fry will cover some loss, and the pleasure 

 and interest with which the progress of development is 

 watched would in most casts quite repay any slight loss. The 

 cost of an apparatus, whether the old-fashioned trough or 

 'iheuei, metal I ,■. y very slight, and when once fixed it is 

 there for a long time, always ready, and wanting very slight 

 Qliofh to keep it in good working order. It must 

 be remembered, however, while giving fud credit to the 

 M - Capability of the new California box, that ample 

 provision must be ruade for the transfer of the fry when 

 ■hatched to a place where they may spread about, or over- 

 crowding will bring its sure result ; for young fish require, 

 roportion to their size, just as much freedom for develop- 

 ment and oxygen as any other animal, 'ibid is of course a 

 matter for settlement by each individual according to his 

 own circumstances, anu needs no more attention lroui the 

 writer; but tli rinclpie must be restated that, 



wherever conditions and circumstances will permit, the egg 

 should invi.iiubi, burst in the water which it is atterward 

 to inhibit as a hsh. Long and extensive personal experience 

 has taught tha writer that, in spire of all care, parcels of fry 

 get lett at railway Stations, having to change trains, etc.— ail 

 against theiu, especially if left on an opeu platform, with a 

 bright April sua alibiing down upon them. Again, people 

 cannot perhaps send to meet them on arrival for two or three 

 hours, or won't, and think they have Justifiable cause of corn- 

 plaint in thus losing their fry. All this is avoided by pur- 

 chasing ova, and more, for ova in large establishments are 

 often overcrowded ; whereas in the smaller apparatus, where 

 the needs of one stream or part of a stream are concerned, 

 there is no excuse for such a stale of things. 



Having said so much, it will be well at once to proceed to 

 a review of the various species. Too much care in the selec- 

 tion cannot well be taken, us a bad strain is not so easily 

 eradicated when once introduced. Monetary considerations 

 should never be allowed to stand in the way of the owner of 

 ag Lrau n* - dear, a bad one never cheap. 



A man wants but a fe t s of ova to start with, eveu 



in a perfectly BDerile ' i I a yearly supply of ope or 



two thousand will keep the place well slocked, so long as tho 

 tod only is used. v'v here poaching exists, of course things 

 are different ; but in almost ad cases where artificial culture 

 is adopted, the poacher will have been carefully looked after 

 beforehand. — London Fkld. 



SCREENS FOR OUTLETS TO TROUT 

 PONDS. 



NEW Yens, Nov. 1-2, 1&7S. 

 Editor Forest and Stream: 



I desire to call the attention ot fish cultonsts and those Interested in 

 the Eame to tho importance of erecting proper soreena at the outlet of 

 all lakes which have been stocteu the last few years. The young fry 

 of the shad especially, lu searching for running water, will more or lers 

 escape. The expense is trifling. Put down a post on each siile of the 

 flume, a cross bar at top and bottom ; nail on cleats one Inch wide, one 

 inch thick] and half an inch apart. This will prevent thtiu from escap- 

 ing if the cleats are Iwofeetor two and a half above high water. Le;>.ves 

 will also work through. T. K. Porter. 



The remarks of our correspondent are well-timed and well 

 worlh considering. No doubt many breeders, especially 

 farmers and amateurs, lose many fish in this way, and attrib- 

 ute their losses to any other cause but this.— Ed. 



American Fisu m Enoms h Waters. — We copy the fol- 

 lowing statements from the London Field regarding the suc- 

 cess which has attended the transplanting and culture of 

 American fishes in English waters. The recital must prove 

 most interesting and encouraging to every person whoso at- 

 tention has been directed to the subject : 



The American brook trout, (Salmo fontinalW), perhaps the 

 handsomest of the Salmonidce, has been extensively imported 

 and widely spread throughout English waters. Without any 

 doubt or exaggeration, it must be admitted to be one of the 

 best fishes to grow in lakes well supplied with Bprings, wht re 

 it can have a wide range and abundance of natural food. It 

 cannot bear being cooped up in a small f pace ; and that, it 

 seems to us, is the only fault about it. Some friends of ours, 

 however, never cease railing at it, declaring it to be as savage 

 as a pike or 8. ferox, and that, when let out of a grated con- 

 fined space, it went down pretty near to the sea. Now, of 

 course, these things did happen ; but why ? The tish, in 

 our humble judgment, pined for liberty and a diet congenial 

 to their nature ; not finding either suitable range or food, 

 they became irritable with their companions, devoured them, 

 and, when they once had a chance of liberty oE action, had 

 " a good fling," as the saying has it. We almost daily pass 

 along a little stream in which 8. fontinalix and £>'. fario have 

 co-existed for some time ; it is perfectly open for escape, but 

 they seem perfectly happy together, and increase in numbers, 

 lying cheerfully and happily side by side, growing at a very 

 fair pace, though not artificially fed, simply because the nat 

 ural food is round about them and sufficient for their needs. 

 They can go into the main stream whenever they like, and 

 do so j but they usually return after a short excursion. 



This is certainly a proof that, under certain circumstances, 

 the H. fontinalis is a stay-at-home, pesceable, well-disposed 

 creature ; but it must have range. If kept in boxes for any 

 length of time alter feeding, irritability and cannibalism set 

 in ; and one will certainly be observed with the tail of another 

 protruding from its mouth, and spinning round and round, 

 suffering from the effects of its rash meal. 



S. wUmotii and /juinnat are but little known from experi- 

 ence in this country ; they are reported to be true salmon, 

 which can, and do, exist without entry into salt water. It 

 would seem that they are well suited to our larger waters. 

 Cwegonus albus (white fish of the American con.ineut). — 

 This is admitted on all sides to be a fish of great interest, 

 more especially to our Scotch friends. The lochs of Scotland 

 are declared by competent authorities to be the places best 

 adapted to its requirements, and it is very much to be hoped 

 that the attempts to be made this season to acclimatize it in 

 them will meet with great Buccess. In its Canadian and 

 American homes, it ranks high in the estimation of all who 

 know it, and it must be remembered that they know what 

 fishes are about there quite as much as we do. It must be 

 borne in mind, however, that only certain waters would nat- 

 urally suit for its introduction. It is therefore unlikely that 

 this fish will ever attain the same wide-spread popularity as 

 its compatriot the £>. fontinalis. 



SalmothymallM (grayling.)— This fish possesses one great 

 advautage.'name.ly, that it affords sport to the fly fisher at a 

 time when, but for it, the rod would have to be laid aside. 

 On the other hand, some persous assert that grayling tend to 

 drive away trout ; so that, where the trout are of a quite sat- 

 isfactory character, it may be good policy to exclude this 

 fish. However, we see the two co-existing and flourishing 

 in Derbyshire and many other places. 



^-©^^. 



Ambhioak Fish Eggs Abroad.— Salmon eggs sent by Prof. 

 Baird in charge of Fred. Mather to England, France, Germany 

 and Netherlands, arrived in most perfect condition ; no 

 fungus. Hcrr Haack, Director Imperial Establishment at 

 Huningen, reports them the finest that he ever saw. Re- 

 ports from England men! ion American black bass received by 

 tho Marquis of Exeter, who has also given a large order for 

 eggs of brook trout to Mr. James Annin, Jr., of Caledonia, 



N. Y. _^_ 



f Fish Hatching in Canada.— Mr. Sam'l. Wilmot, of the 

 Dominion Hatching Establishment, at Newcastle, Ontario, 

 writes, Nov, 10th : 



" I am wonderfully busy just now filling up the several 

 fish breeding establishments under my supervision ; returns 

 from my assistants already show upward of eight millions of 

 salmon ova laid down. The season for gathering salmon, 

 trout and whitefish eggs is now at its height, and I anticipate 

 the pleasure of shortly heralding the quantity of ova taken 

 from them at fully tour fold over the salmon." 

 — *♦— • 



Miohigas— Detroit, Nod. 11.— Mr. Editor : Mr. E. E. 

 Miller, the President of cur State Fish Commission, is now 

 taking the whitefish ova at Mr. Gray's, at Gros Isle, and in- 

 tends to hatch from fifteen to eighteen millions of while fish, 

 two hundred and fifty thousand brook trout and three to five 

 millions lake trout this year. Mr. Jerome is naw at Mil- 

 waukee superintending the getting of the lake trout. The 

 whitefish will be hatched as usual at Detroit. The other 

 va rieties will be batched at Pokagon. Ebb Tabu. 



Whitefish is Michigan.— Ni-Us, JVov. 18.— V.'e are just 

 ■ j ing down upon the trays of our Detroit Hatchery 

 between fourteen and fifteen millions of whitefish egg, and a 

 belter lot we have never secured. They were obtained at (lie 

 fishery of Horace Gray at Grosse Me, fourteen miles from 

 Detroit. The outlook for a successful hatch was never more 

 promising. Geo, H. Jerome. 



ABOUT OUR GROUSE— No. 4. 



BE8IDES those grouse, of which we have already spoken, 

 there remains to be considered Ihe genus Lagopua, 

 which includes only the various species of ptarmigan. Of this 

 genus we have in North America only three representatives, 

 and about them, for reasons which are obvious when we 

 consider the region which they inhabit, but little is known. 



The ptarmigan differs from all the other grouse in having 

 the feet heavily feathered quite to the claws, in turning whito 

 in winter, and in having but fourteen tail feathers. In many 

 of their habits, too, they are strikingly different from their 

 nearest relatives. While most, if not all, grouse are polyg- 

 amous, the ptarmigans mate in spring, and the pairs remain 

 together throughout the summer, the males manifesting scarcely 

 less affection for the young than the female, and being 

 equally courageous in defending them on the approach of 

 danger. They are Arctic in habitat, and the only species 

 which is found in more moderate climes is our white-tailed 

 ptarmigan. 



This bird is the only one of the genus found regularly 

 within oufborders, and is confined to the loftiest peaks of 

 the Rocky Mountains, where, amid the eternal snows that lie 

 deep on the sterile and storm-swept summits, it finds a climate 

 well suited to the necessities of its existence. In the depth of 

 winter, when the ground is deeply covered with snow, even 

 these birds find it impossible to remain on the mountain tops, 

 and at this season descend to the Limber line, where they feed 

 on the buds of the willow, quaking aspen, and other shrubs and 

 trees. At this season many of them are killed, for, being 

 rarely disturbed by man, they are very tame, and are easily 

 approached. 



The white-tailed ptarmigan was first described by Mr. 

 Swainson, in the "Fauna Boreali-Americana," from specimens 

 procured in the Kocky Mountains by Mr. Douglass, but it is 

 said to occur as well among the high mountains of the Sierra 

 Nevada Range. It is found sparingly on the highest mount- 

 ains of the former chain, but is nowhere sufficiently abundant 

 to make it worth the sportsman's while to procure it. How 

 far to the southward its range extends is not definitely known, 

 but there is little doubt that it exists in New Mexico and, 

 perhaps, even further south. Northward it probably occurs 

 as far as Alaska, although wc know of no record of it having 

 been taken in this latitude. 



During tho summer these birds are found in pairs on the 

 tops of the high mountains, and here their nests are prepared 

 and the young carefully tended until they are old enough to 

 look out for themselves. The nest is usually placed in a little 

 hollow at the base of a rock, and is scantily lined with dried 

 grass. Here the female deposits her eggs— how many is not 

 yet certainly known, but, judging from analogy, they should 

 number from eight to twelve. They are covered with dirk 

 blots and scratches of wine color and purple, and so numerous 

 are these markings that the ground tint is quite obscured by 

 them. The young chicks leave the nest as soon as hatched, 

 and follow the parent birds over the great gray rocks to the 

 spots where the choicest food is to be found. Should an enemy 

 approach tho little brood, one of the old birds at once attacks 

 him while the other attempts to lead away the young to a 

 place of safety, or, if this is impracticable, signals them to 

 hide. When in company with the young, both male and 

 female are very bold, and are said to fly into danger without 

 the least hesitation. A writer tells us, too, that on discover- 

 ing a nest of eggs which a female of this species was brooding, 

 the bird refused to leave her position, and when he lifted her 

 up to see what was under her she pecked at his fingers like a 

 common hen under similar circumstances. The young in a 

 few weeks are able to fly, but the family remains together until 

 the succeeding pairing season. 



When started from the ground the white-tailed ptarmigan 

 flies swiflly, and for a considerable distance, but it is usually 

 very lame, and usually prefers to walk a few steps from one's 

 path, and there conceal itself. 



In summer the white-tailed ptarmigan is varied with dark 

 brown and tawny bars, but the tail is white at all seasons. The 

 superciliary membrane is bright red in the breeding season, 

 paler at other times. The bill is more slender than in our 

 other two species of this genus. 



This bird is the smallest, as well as one of the most beauti- 

 ful, of all our grouse, and it is also one of the rarest. Com- 

 paratively few sportsmen know it, and the specimens which 

 are obtained go almost altogether to enrich the naturalist's 

 cabinet. It can never be confounded with any other species, 

 for it is the only one in which the tail is alwayB white. 



The rock grouse (Lngapus rupestris) is the most boreal in 

 its habitat of all our grouse, and on this account less is known 

 of it than of any other species. It occurs very sparingly in 

 Newfoundland, where it is called the mountain partridge, but 

 occurs more abundantly in Labrador aud in tho barren grounds 

 of the interior north to Melville Peninsula. From the highest 

 latitudes they perform a partial migration southward in 

 winter to the timber lands, where they feed on the buds of the 

 stunted trees which grow in this dcsolato region. In Labra- 

 dor Ihey collect during the wiuter on the highest ground, 

 where the wind has swept the snow from the earth, and there 

 feed on the Ecanly vegetation which grows on the rocks. 



They breed in the open country of the interior, and are in 

 many places extraordinarily numerous, having large broods. 

 The flesh is said to be dark, and much interior in taste to that 



