FOREST AND STREAM. 



531 



bird or fourth class is to be a recruit in the awkward 

 There were many men m thisreuiiueut— do less than 

 who did not go to Greed <>■ ce last year. Un- 



doubtedly the weather was disagreeable, yet many, perhaps 

 most of them, were men who make it a point of honor to be 

 in. the rank* whenever their regiment ia called upon to per- 

 form any duty by which its reputation would be affected. 

 Yet if these men had b*en present, and had shot even though 

 poorly, the Seventh to-day would Btand the first in order of 

 merit, instead of the third. 



ha and 



}tvet[ 



FISH IN SEASON IN JANUARY. 



ajOtM WATKKK. 



Pompano, ', ''. inve Grouper,/., 



Drum (two species). Family Srfic- Trow QtUek base), ■■ 



ii'.! i ' ■■,.■.. > ... Si ■ I i-s, or Kockflsli, lioceiu 



— See Bogardus' advertisement. 



Fish in Mahket— RjJTAiii pKiciis.— Baas, 25 cents; amolts, 10; 

 blnefiah,12t 3 '; salmon, 35; mackerel, 21); ahad, iO; weaMafi, 10; 

 whito porch, 15; Spanish makers!, 50 ; green turtle, li; terrapin, 

 918 per doz.; frost Hah, 6 ; halibut, 18 : haddock, (i ; kmgfish, 15; 

 codfish, 6 ; blacktieh, 12> 2 ' ; flounders, 8 ; sea baas, 15 ; eels, 18 ; 

 lobsters, 10; sheepshead. 20 ; scallops, 35 per quart ; Whitehall, 

 13 ; pickerel, 15 ; salmon trout, 18 ; blaok bass, N. C, 15 ; red- 

 snapper, 12}£; pompano, 50 ; smoked haddock, 10; hard crabs, 

 $2.60 per 100. 



Those Flobida Fish Again.— Who is Professor Enappf 

 We have some curiosity to know because it seems that Pro- 

 feasor Kuapp once made an awful prediction. The juvta- 

 posilii .nets to the earth is such, says the Pro- 



fessor, thai one- halt of the population of the world, includ- 

 ing mau, animals, fishes and vegetables, must perish before 

 All this desolation is to begin with the dying of the 

 fish iu the sea, and pestilence and famine ; and a Florida paper 

 calls attention to the fact that the Chinese famine and the 

 yellow fever scourge in the South may be put with the fear- 

 ful fish pestilence in that State, and — yes, the world, or one- 

 half of it at least, is coming to an end. We thought thoso 

 Bali were not to waste their sweetness on the Florida desert 

 air for nothing. They are filling their place in Professor 

 Knapp's prophecy. But who is Professor Knapp, anyhow ? 

 Because this is 137IJ, and next year is 1980, and if Professor 

 ;i is anybody, it's high time for us to move to the other 

 side of the world. 



First SaIiMOH oe THE Season.— Mr. E. W. Messenger, of 

 the Bromfitsld House, Boston, informs us that the first 

 salmon of the year was exhibited at, Shattuck & Jones', 128 

 Faneuil Hall Market, in th;it city. It came from the Penob- 

 scot River, a short distance below Bangor, Me, ; weighed 

 twenty pounds, and was a perfect beauty. See article in 

 Natural History department on winter salmon. 



A. Babe Fish.— Professor Spencer F. Baird has written to 

 Mr. E. G. Blackford, of this city, regarding the large pom- 

 p-i in ■ aught i IT the Florida coast and mentioned by us last 

 week . "Dr. Bean reports that the pompano is a Trachinoius 



■ ■■ . a species of wide range and originally described, I 

 believe, from South Africa, and but very little known 

 in. northern waters. It is a second specimen only that I 

 have ever heard of as being taken in the latitude of the 

 United States." Excellent casts of the fish have been pre- 

 pared, one of which Mr. Blackford is to receive. 



— The " angling catch " of salmon in the Bcstigouche di- 

 vision during the past .year, 1878, were over 1,000 fish, aud 

 the "commercial catch" during the same period 500,000 

 pounds, fully 100 per cent, over that of the former year, 1877. 



Canada— J'tra; JiUtrict, of Oaspe, Jan. 7. — We have had 

 a remarkably open season ; not sufficient snow for traveling ; 

 no ice along the beaches ; navigation still open ; codfish 

 caught here up to the 23d ultimo. PhJlh? Vibeet. 



Movements of the FismKG Fleet. — The number of fish- 

 ing arrivals reported at this port the past week has been 11, 

 viz.: four from the Banks, with 102,000 lbs. halibut ; four 

 froin Georges, with 128,000 lbs. codfish and about -5,000 lbs. 

 halibut, and three from the Bay of Fundy and Grand Meuau 

 with fresh herring. Three of the Georges men landed good 

 fares, showing the presence of fish on the Bank, and the stock 

 being reduced and prospect favorable, the early Georges fleet 

 will soon fit away in considerable numbers. The weather has 

 been unfavorable for Shore fishing and but few have, been 

 landed of late* — Cape Ann Advertiser ; Jan. 24. 



Flokida— Orange, Park, Jan. 20.— Plenty of quail, squir- 

 rels, larks, a few snipe, etc. ; deer and turkey scarce ; ducks 

 not very plenty. Last week the thermometer for two morn- 

 ings stood at, 23 and 23 dfig., which made orange growers look 

 blue. The past season has been very unhealthy. Almost 

 everybody has had fever; rnany have it yet. The river is 

 very low for the season. Nautilus. 



Wisconsin— Bamboo, Jan. 23.— Fishing through the ice 

 has commenced. Gibson's slough seems to be the best I 

 ground. Walt. Palmer caught, last Monday, twenty-eight 

 perch, and Will Harris caught a fine pickerel the same day 

 that weighed fourteen pounds. E. H. 



T A Good Wokd fop. the Edgae Babbless Hook. — An in- 

 telligent correspondent at Twin Lakes, Florida, writes : 



1 have seen in the Fobest and Stream some commont on 

 th eEdgar barbless fish-hook, and have used them bass fish- 

 ing. They are a Mo 1 hook when once you have hooked 

 your fish. I have lost none that were hooked, but there is one 

 objection to them I think, and that is the difficulty of putting 

 on the live hail (if you hook through the back; without tear- 

 ing it. Nevertheless I had rather suffer delay in doing this 

 than have a fish spit the hook out at me as he comes up to 



say, "Howdy," or run into the bonnets and take a double 

 hitch round a stalk with the line, while be repairs to other 

 feeding grounds, leaving me to spoil Hint ground in d 

 ling my line. Tried the bass with the fly last year With good 

 Ut iu these waters one has best success near grass or 

 bonnets in fly-fishing, aud with a 12-oz. rod it is not always 

 possible to keep the fish in clear water, so that many fish are 

 lost. 8. 

 « m » 



EFFECTS OF MOONLIGHT ON FISH. 



Washixotok, D. V., Jan, 23, 1ST!). 

 Kditob Fobest and .stream : 



While you are awaiting the results of testa proposed by I'rofeBsor 

 Goody, t will give you a bit of my experience ia regard to the actlou 

 or rnoonDgnt on iisii. I have comnmnicatea It iu pereou to frof. 

 Gooae, and lie thinks the evidence bo strong that It suould be con- 

 tributed to your columns, ue reserving bis judgment until be becomes 

 thoroughly convinced that the pbeuomenon I described was unmis- 

 takably due to the actioa of the moon's rays, and nothing else. After 

 a day ou a trout lirook 1 obtained lodging at a farmer's house, and his 

 wife selected from my basket enough trout for our breakfast, placed 

 them In a pan, and the pan on t lie roof of a little portico to be safe 

 from the cat; the remainder of my flsh, four or five poundB, were 

 restored to tho basket which was htmg up ou a naU in a post la the 

 wood-house. 



The flsh selected were simply the small ones, with a couple of larger 

 for myself. In the morning the trout in the pan (which bad not been 

 covered) were spoiled ; those in my baskets were sound, and remained 

 so until eaten, after a twelve-miles' wagon ride and twenty-four hours' 

 longer keeping. The farmer attributed the spoiling of the flsn to the 

 moon's effect, and eluded His wile for not covering them. I Imbibed 

 the belief that the effect was produced as lie asserted, and believe so 

 yet. I confirm the views ol yonr correspondent, " VY. K," as to the 

 effect of the moon's rays upon men sleeping unprotected by awnings, 

 for I have known two instances where sailors have been most singu- 

 larly affected under such circumstances. In one case a boy, sleeping 

 apon his back in the full glare of the moon, was s'.upeHed to rack an 

 extent that vigorous medical treatment was uecessary, Ids face being 

 twisted and distorted as Uioueli tie had been stricken with paralysis of 

 every nmecle In it. Our doctors differed; some attributed It to the 

 moon, others to epilepsy. Oa the other hand, men frequently sleep 

 exposed to the moon's rays mil aw aol so affected, Nor areilsk 

 msvLiys spoiled. Hence, Prof. Ooode's test, while It might prove the 

 positive side of the question should the effects take place, would fur- 

 nlt'h but negative evidence should it not. II is probable that there 

 may be other causes or atmospheric influences which, when combined 

 with the moon's rays, produce the described effects, which the rays 

 alone are powerless to produce, L. A. B. 



Tho foregoing testimony is from a source which makes it 

 most valuable. Perhaps we may be permitted to say that the 

 writer is a prominent naval officer. Hitherto the question ot 

 the lnnar effects seems to have been confined to salt water— to 

 fish exposed, or sailors sleeping, on decks of vessels. Now let 

 us hear something of its effects on land. Has not one of the 

 many thousands of emigrants, traders, soldiers, surveyors, 

 meteorologists, and travelers, who have crossed the great 

 plains and the bare exposed prairies no evidence to bring? 

 What of those who have been stampeded and put afoot, with- 

 out wagon-cover or saddle cloth for a shelter V What of the 

 hardy trapper who scorns any covering but a blanket— he who 

 lies out for weeks at a time on prairies so level that not even 

 a sage bush or iron weed breaks the monotony, or offers pro- 

 tection to the upturned faces of the sleepers ? It ia true the 

 old hard cases roll themselves in their blankets, Indian fash- 

 ion, aud drawing the corner flap over their heads, sleep well. 

 But do they never kick out with the nightmare ? never turn 

 over on t heir backs for a change '.' never toss iu the restless- 

 ness of a fever or the torture of an arrow or bullet wound ? 

 Have the gentlemen no word of testimony to utter? And if 

 they do allow the pernicious effects of the moon's rays, what 

 scientist will account for it? Our paper circulates at thirty 

 army posts ; will not some of the intelligent officers who read 

 it, render us their service r 



The Si BMABnra Volcano off the Coast of Floeida,— 

 The following letter from a most intelligent contributor seems 

 to confirm our theory of a submarine volcano off the coast of 

 Florida, by whose recent eruptions countless numbers of fish 

 have not only been killed but the business of market fishing, 

 upon which so many of the coast dwellers depend for a liveli- 

 hood, put a stop to altogether. The drift of pumice stone along 

 the shore of the gulf would seem to be almost conclusive evi- 

 dence in itself. That these eruptions are intermittent, as in 

 other known volcanoes is proven by the data pertaining to 

 similar occurrences twenty-five years ago in the same locality. 

 Inversely, that there have been intermittent phenomena of 

 precisely the same character, proves the absolute fact of vol- 

 canic eruptions. 



If we were to be allowed to speculate, we might inquire 

 what relation or connection these oceanic disturbances may 

 have with the mysterious smoke inland, near St. Mary's, 

 which has been visible for the past three years, and whose lo- 

 cality and source so many persons have made futile efforts to 

 discover. The evidences of extreme volcanic action, not very 

 remote, are visible all over the western part of Texas, While 

 volcanoes are still burning in Mexico, localities not so far re- 

 moved as to make the disturbances in the Gulf of Mexico un- 

 reliable for conclusive data. 



U-.A, Fla., Jan. 21, 187'J. 

 Editob Fobest and StBEMi : 



Noticing that, there is at present considerable inquiry being made as 

 to the cause of the discolored waters along the south coast, I herewith 

 give my mite of evidence, hoping that it may assist those who are able 

 Judges. Although not so welt acquainted along ilie southern coast as 

 about this section, 1 know the " lay of the land" well enough to believe 

 that it ia hardly possible, and not at al probable, that fresh waler 

 from the interior com i ■ i teh distances, and not inundate 



ttte land in the vicinity before n- In 



In April, 1869, there appeared along this coast Just such a baud of 

 discolored irati ug the southern coast. It was first seen 



fifteen or tv. endlng<all along tin b] ■ n 



Gape San iCni- tth|n ... 100 miles of the "Mississippi Passes. In 

 about a week it had spread inshore, and llually entered tho bays 



Within its range, which up to that time had been clear and pure 

 Tho appearance or this so-called poisoned water wus as I 



with brick dust, After about two month-; from i i I inshore 



it gradually disappeared ; whether it drilled off or BetUi d Ik! i 



Fishing with fuiacks en the banks outside was unpos .:-. and tho 



markets of New Orleans pud Mobile wera nqmil ■. : such ish aa 



could be caught in the bays and bayous where the waters were, brack- 

 ish. The common kinds of liili caught were channel bass, sheepsliead 

 and salt-water trout. Captain Destln, my Informer, is sure Ihere was 

 no unusual rhse of the. Mlsilsaippi or Alabama fivers, as at thai time he. 

 caught fish all along Hie coast for the Sew Ories i 

 and would have known of any heavy freshets while iu those pons. 



Auy time after a heavy wind on shore a person in • , 



sea beach pieces of pumice stone, varying In size from a squa i 

 to a square foot, and almost all colors from blaok to white. 1 scud you 

 specimens bymall. Can you tell me where it conies from? 



Yours respectfully, sh.as BtbabhS, 



Since writing the above we have received the following 

 letter corroborative of the other testimony : 



Twin Lakes, Okanok CouNTr, Florida, Jan, [8, istd. 



On Sunday night, Jan. 12, wo were given cur lirst dose of earthquake 

 at 11:35 o'clock. It was preoeded and succeeded by a hoarse rear, an 

 angry rumbling, and T thins came from the southeast, vanishing in 

 the northwest ; but every person has a different idea of this, owiti " 

 their soundness of sleep and amount of* scire. The shock was sever 

 enough to rock houses to quite an alarming degree, and lasted about 

 half minute. Does not this Bhock prove correct the theory that the 

 mortality among flsh on the gulf coast, arises from sulphurous gases 

 liberated by volcanic aotton? I think undoubtedly so. The fresh 

 water theory I think laughable. s. 



<H$mn$ §## mid (§wu 



GAME IN SEASON IN JANUARY. 

 Hares, brown and gray. Wild duck, geese, brant, etc, 



FOtt FI.ORIBA. 



Deer, Wild Turkey, Woodcock, Quail. Snipe, Ducks and Wild Fowl. 

 "Hay birds" generally, including various .species of plover, sand 

 piper, suien. curlew, o.vaier-eaicher, surf birds, nh ; 

 etc., coming under the group Limacoke or Shore Birds. 



Movements of SroBTSMisN.— Dr. Carver has gone to 

 Europe, and Oapt. Bogardus has gone to his home in Illinois 

 for a two month's rest. Hanlan, the oarsman, sailed for 

 Europe yesterday. 



Tue Oo.ming Quail Sbason.— Our suggestions that the 

 suffering game birds be cared for having been so generally 

 and heartily received and acted upon by our readers, a word 

 for the future may not be amiss. A Pennsylvania corres- 

 pondent very pertinently recalls the great cold season twenty 

 years ago when the birds were all frozen and the sport de- 

 stroyed. Not only were new birds introduced, but with a 

 far-sighted forbearance and denial of immediate pleasure, the 

 sportsmen refrained from shooting the following seasons utitil 

 the stock had become again replenished. This course should 

 be imitated the coming season in those parts of tho country 

 where the birds have been destroyed this winter. Nature 

 must be allowed an opportunity to recuperate. Let the gun 

 hang idle for a time. When the season comes again it will 

 bring with it the reward. 



I/stnxes in Massachusetts— Framing/iam, Mass. , Jan. 20. 

 —A wildcat ("probably Lyncus canadensis) was shot a few 

 miles to the westward of this (Boylston, Mass.). He was 

 treed by the hounds in a fox hunt. The last individual of the 

 that I have heard of in this vicinity was killed iu Con- 

 cord, fifteen miles north of us, about 1855. F. O. I!. 



New Yon.-s.~Lou.viUe, Jan. 80.— A fine bald-headed eagle 

 has been seen around here for some time. During the f renin- 1 

 in December, two of our sportsmen, B. 8. Kaine and It J 

 Richardson, shot 101 muskrats in one day on the Black River 

 Marsh, near here. Parker guns and chilled shot did the 

 business. jj, -yy_ j} 



ijTielter Island, Jan. 22.— The bays in this region are all 

 solid with ice, and the ice-gatherers anil eelersare out in full 

 force. The wild fowl are not plenty, yet numbers of whistlers 

 coot, and old squaws have been killed in battery, but the 

 birds are shy and will not come well to stool, though the boat 

 is concealed with ice. 'Mch. 



Bwpaio Gun Glob.— At tho annual meeting at the club 

 rooms, January 13, the following officers were elected for the 

 ensuing year : President, Captain B. Hammond ; Vice-Presi- 

 dent, Richard Edge ; Secretary, R. P. Tipton ,■ Treasurer J 

 G. Gibbous. Board of Managers— K. Edge, Charles Rogers. 

 C. G. Strong, W. W. Rancom, W. H. Price. J. G. G. 



Tim Flight ok Gekse.— Good Ground, L. /,. Jan. 30.— 

 [•Alitor Forest and Stream : I see by your paper of last week 

 that' your correspondent, from Shelter Island, under the head- 

 ing of " Flights of Wild Geese," has made some gross mis- 

 takes, as, for iustauce, he says "we have had no Ilig'ht of wild 

 geese." Now, I have made a business of shooting in Bhinne- 

 cock Bay for market for thirty-six years, and I never have 

 seen such a flight of wild geese before as I have seen this fall ■ 

 but your worthy correspondent is twenty miles away. Again ' 

 he says we have no inlet. We have a good inlet, and it has 

 been running for five weeks, and he has not found it out yet 

 Again, he says we have no shootiug at ducks. Now. 1 have 

 never seen so many ducks in Shinnecoek Bay as there was dur- 

 ing the past fall. They did not make as good shooting as they 

 do at times when tho feed makes more on shoal water but 

 we had some very fair shooting. Again, he remarks that the 

 inlet being closed the feed for the ducks is all killed. Now 

 I will say a small inlet is just what we want for c-ood feed for 

 ducks. Brackish water, as every man knows, is just what 

 wo want, to make good feed for broad-bills, red-head's, canyas- 

 backs, black ducks and geese, 1 will admit that coots, old 

 squaws, shelldrakes and loons want plenty of tide, and that is 

 what your correspondent from Shelter Island goes for. We 

 can dispense with these birds without much effort, 

 correspondent also says that the inlet eli i .d all 



the fish, clams and oysters to die. Now, we never had iu this 

 bay better fish than we had all last summer. 1 am on the buy 

 every day, aud I have not seen the first dead fish yet Per- 

 haps they went over to Shelter Islandlo die. 7L ii 

 miles, clams aud oysters never were beth ni For stag- 

 nated water, the water never was purer, and it never was 

 healthier than last summer. The inlet closed up in djirjl 

 we have got a good one now, and it looks like a perns: ,. 

 out '- W. K Xaaa, 



