m 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



S*k §nltmte. 



This Journal Is the Official Organ of the Fish Ciiltnr- 

 lats' Association. 



FLASHES FROM THE "BLUELIGHT." 



\j EIGHTH WEEK. 



AS the snmrner left, us, the " Bluelight "extinguished 

 her lights at the wharf and rested from her summer's 

 work. A little time borrowed from the autumn this last 

 week and a few more days in the one coming, and we will 

 have finished. This will" be my last letter from Noank, and 

 il is wilh sincere regret that I say it. To most of us the 

 little nlaco, with its glorious climate, its kindly people ami 

 pretty scenery, has endeared itself. We have not been fat 

 birds" for them to pluck, nor strangers to be taken in, meta- 

 phorically, for literally they have taken us in and made for 

 us pleasant homes, when we from previous experience but 

 expected what we coidd get for money, not love. AVc all 

 regret somewhat, the thoroughness of our work, that has 

 so completely explored the adjacent waters, that there is 

 nothing left— no new world to conquer, cor worm to clas- 

 sify; so next year we must seek a new field, and may we 

 be as lucky. 



The last day of summer fouDd us busy with a new trawl 

 that Prof. Bai'rd had just imported from England. Our old 

 one consists of a big bag net hung to a twelve foot beam, 

 which keeps its mouth extended; this beam is fastened to 

 iron runners, and a row of leads in the foot rope to keep 

 the mouth open, and drugs the bottom as we give her " three 

 Delia, with a close throttle." The uew one, used exten- 

 sively in England in the sole and turbot fishery, is called 

 the '" otter "trawl," because the net is suspended from 

 Wooden runners, iron shod, called "otters" — why, 1 don't 

 know. It has a spread of forty -two feet, and being with- 

 out, the heavy beam, forwhich arow of corks is substituted, 

 lows much lighter than the old one. The "otters" are 

 slung like a kite, and although close together when the net 

 iB lowered overboard, shoot out to the right and left as the 

 wiiter opposes resistance, and soon spread the mouth to its 

 utmost extent, and il ought to give big results. It will, 

 win u we grow skillEul in its use, and learn just bow fast to 

 drag it, so as to keep it open, and not off the bottom. Our 

 tries so f >.i r on the Watch Hill pecten bed have not been 

 very successful; not so much as with the old trawl, as to 

 quantity, but we captured a few fish that ordinarily are too 

 fleet to "be taken— hakes and sea robbins. 



On this trip we were favored with the company of Mr. 

 Blackford of New York, and family. He is a good friend 

 of Forest and Stream, and of the Fish Commission, 

 and places both in his debt; you for items, and us for rare, 

 and curious fish which he frequently sends us. One he 

 brought this time— a beautiful silver-sided fish that I have 

 Been in Barbados, never elsewhere, and 1 thought it pecu- 

 liar to the Weal Indies. I applied at once to my friend 

 Goode, who is " up " in fish, to tell me something about this 

 mramrer, and he kindly gave me this information: — 



Thb""Lsather Jacket.— The fish taken at Graveeend and brought to 



Noun!: by Mtr. Blackford, is one of the most interesting or late additions 



[MUM of our coast. It iB known in the British West Indies as the 



"Leather Jacket" and toe "Skipjack," and the former name being the 



in >si applicable, dascrlbtag, as it does, the peculiar textnre of the fish's 



: i _._ , r King applied to several other species, it seems prop- 



,i i ■■ \-e sh uli call it by that name. The species was first described 

 by L : .,vi i lus in tlid ' "-:■ sfeDJ i Xatura" as Qasterosteu<> occidentatU, sub- 

 seouemly by Lttccpede as Lichia quicbra and by Curvier and Valen- 

 ciennes as C'/yrt'WWflMM sal/aw. Of course the name of Linnaeus has 

 priority, and Professor Gill having founded for the fish the new genus 

 Otigoplitss, Its prop-ir designation is Oligoplite-s occtdetitalU (Linnaeus) 

 Gill. The "Leather Jacket" attains the length of two feet or more. 

 Notbiuais known of its habits, but it is probable that, they resemble 

 those of thebluefiah, and that the " Leather Jackets" roam the tropical 

 ■Aim is iu schools, feeding upon smaller fishes, and sporting and leaping 

 »l the surface. The species has been seen on the South American coast 

 at liaiiii. i" the West Indies, at Triuadad, Santo Domingo, Puerto Cab- 

 ello Jnniaiefl and Cuba. In the United States National Muse nm are 

 some taken at KttJ West by Dr. Stimpson. So Mr. Blackford has the 

 honoi or having added another new species to the fauna of thu north- 

 east coiHl of North America. 



We tried our new trawl, and began to learn it, for we 

 diil better and better each lime, but the evening came and 

 we ran back to Stonington and saw our guests safely on 

 board the New York steamer, and then an hour later started 

 i.n a new experiment. We had never tried night work, and 

 it might be that among the odd fish at the bottom there were 

 some more apt to be caught out late than early; so lighting 

 our green, red and white lights, the "Bluelight." started 

 iii o sue what we could turn up. An hours' steaming 

 oTOjight us to the grounds where we knew that unless wo 

 cnuiiht on the wreck of the ill-fated Metis we could trawl 

 in Safety. We brought her head to the tide and lowered 

 away iutn the darkness. All of our lanterns and all we 

 had borrowed, hung around the ridge rope, and I had no 

 doubt bin .that from a distance we resembled Fourth of 

 July. But we dreaded approaching vessels, and from our 

 ten-knot reputation feared they might try to cross our 

 stei'D, ftrtd hat was the way we were going. Nothing 

 troubled US. We hauled in our trawl iu due time, and we 

 got skates, flounders, pectens and sponges— just our day- 

 Ught results, and two more tries produced the same. Then 

 we went home. 



I'ho : stormy woather of the preceding week had paved 

 the way tor calms and smooth seas in this, and we made 

 She most of it. Two thirty-six hour trips to the south- 

 ward and eastward of Block Island gave us a good kuow- 

 legc at Hie reefs and banks in that vicinity. We scraped 

 acquaintance with Cox ledge, Sharp ledge, Crab ledge and 

 others, and while the professors dug up and bottled up 

 their specimen,-, of fish food forward, we aft did as much 



, the i'ood hah, and nearly a barrel full cd fine fifteen- 

 pound ,pcciiiious of the cod family are now "making" on 

 our wharf, destined for future balls. 



block Island is quite a place. There is a village, New 

 rihorehan, of sixteen hundred inhabitants, and on the bluff 

 a. handsome commodious hotel, the "Ocean View House," 

 ivhieli 1 should judge must be a pleasant resort in summer. 

 It is well kept and clean. We found there two gentlemen 

 fishermen, who had come blue fishing, but a dead calm in 

 the morning was not conducive to that sport. So we took 

 i.hem out in the Bluelight, aud saved their time, besides 

 •saving one of them an expensive course of medical treat- 

 ment to get clear of a large quantity of bile— the Bluelight 



did it. One of them, from New York, whose name 1 will not 

 mention after the above remark, captured the day wc ar- 

 rived, a twelve pound blusjkh, and on a squid of his own in- 

 vention. It was nothing more nor less limn a long shanked 

 hook, with a doll's flannel petticoat, on it. I send you one 

 he lefl willi mc, font want it next year. 



We troll oil from the Bluelight, going ten knots. I had 

 one of Andrew Clerk's best, and it was better than any- 

 thing else to be got around here; but the petticoat beat it; 

 and he had two strikes to my one from bonito; which, by 

 the way, we find one of the best tablo fish we get, It is 

 better than blue fish, when fresh, and I wonder at its cheap 

 price in New York markets. 



The laboratory is a dismal place this week, and 1 don't 

 care to write of 'it— all who haven't gone are packing up, 

 aud instead of a pleasant microscopic view of a dissected 

 worm, or a lively glimpse of a squirming animal in picric 

 acid, we see only bottles 'in brown paper wrappers, and 

 learned professors bending all of their energies in the 

 direction of gelling another package in an already full box. 



From the first I have intended in this, my last letter, to 

 make a summary of our summer's work (no pun intended), 

 but I find this Saturday evening that I am not, in the 

 humor, and I would make Ibis letter a bore to myself. If 

 it is to your readers, they have the advantage of me— they 

 can skip it. A long obituary is in bad taste, so I will close. 



PlSECO. 



Oyster Cur.TirrtE.— A correspondent of the Montreal 

 Witness called on Mr. Wilmott to urge the introduction of 

 oyster culture in the Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova 

 Scotia and Prince Edwards Island. The wiiter says — 

 "Could the proprietors of oyster beds in New Brunswick, 

 Nova Scotia, etc., be induced to study the question of lay- 

 ing down beds and breeding the bivalve in a proper man- 

 ner, and take practical lessons from our neighbors in New 

 York and Baltimore, it would, doubtless, in three or four 

 years, prove greatly to their advantage and to the provinces 

 "in general. 



THE GRA YLING I N MAINE. 

 X ' Mew Yokk, September 1st. 1874. 



Editor. Forest and Stream:— 



I am confident that this summer, in the west branch of the Penobscot 

 River, below the Ripogenue Carry, the Thymmu tricolor (grayling) is 

 found, intermingled with the speckled trout (salmofontmali.i). A fish 

 like your engraving, with the apparent distinguishing dorsal fln and 

 characteristics, rose to the fly. A considerable number, perhaps a 

 dozen, were caught, averaging a half pound. Tile writer is familiar wilh 

 the ealmon in all its stages of growth, but being ignorant, at the time, of 

 the shape.form and markings of the grayling and its habitat, regarded the 

 fish as sui generis to those waters. I have by this mail forwarded to 

 Sam Cole, ray guide, of Mousehead Lake, a copy of the Forest and 

 Stream, aud will write him for further details, and if possible will pro- 

 cure a specimen. T. B. V'B. 



-**♦- 



—We see and hear allusions made from time to time to 

 the project of restocking the Connecticut river with 

 salmon and shad, and intend to keep these columns 

 open to all reliable information upon the subject. This 

 matter, as well as the general one of the preservation of 

 fish and game iu the State, is one in which we take a lively 

 interest. We should be glad, if possible, to get at the 

 facts in regard to the fish way at Holyoke, and to keep 

 posted in regard to the fish that have been deposited in the 

 waters above. The success of this undertaking depends 

 upon careful observation of facts. The theory that shad 

 remain at sea until full grown, which has been held, must 

 now be given up. The hook and line with which young 

 shad (one, two and three years old), have been caught at 

 Holyoke this season by fly fishermen tells the story. When 

 shad were taken only in a 4| to f>4 inch seine, of course the 

 young shad would pass through and their presence in the 

 rivers be unnoticed. The experience of fishermen this 

 season has been that more youug shad are taken than old. 

 We are told that Fred Mather has placed about 2,000,000 in 

 the river at Bellows Falls, above the dam, mostly taken 

 within the last few weeks. We hope that the Fish Commis- 

 sioners are doing their work properly, and that the young 

 salmon, especially, have been placed where they will live; 

 for, some day, we want to catch a 15 pound salmon in Ver- 

 mont with a fly rod. But, as we said before, the whole 

 business requires a careful watching, as its success depends 

 upon the patient observation of facts. — Rutland Herald. 



Jjfcittt wl jjji storg. 



POSSIBLY A NEW BIRD FROM OREGON. 



On August 1st a parly of gentlemen ascended Mount 

 Hood, and after a hard struggle, scaled the summit. 

 When arriving, however, at just that point where vegeta- 

 tion almost ceases, and there is nothing to be found in the 

 rocks and saud but some bunch grass and a few stunted 

 bushes, Mr. D. E. Warner, of Portland, Oregon, shot and 

 captured a very remarkable and rare bird. This new orni- 

 thological specimen is said to be only found in the moun- 

 tainous regions of Oregon. Mr. C. Roop, the taxidermist 

 and naturalist of Portland, has very kindly sent us a full 

 description of the bird:— 



length of bill, lfr inches. 



Length of head, H inches. 



Length of neck, 1J Inches. 



Length of back, 3 inches. 



Length of tail, 4i inches. 



From tip of bill to tip of tail, lit Inches. 



Winga, outstretched, 18 inches. 



Around head and across eyes, 3J inches. 



Around neck, it inches. 



Around tarsus tip, H inches . 



Three frontal and one lateral toe, large nails, wings shorter than tail, 

 fourth primaries longeat. 



Fourth primaries, 7 inches; third primaries, H inches; second prima- 

 ries. 1 inch; ilrst primaries, 2| inches. 



The Dird has an ash-colored head, neck and breast; wings 

 very dark blue; coverts white lipped; tail white, except 

 the two centre, and the one-half of the adjoining feathers, 

 which arc a dark indigo-blue; bill and feet black; head 

 large; eyes prominent; iris yellowish; green cross bill; 

 under bill turns to the right. Six years ago Mr. Roop in- 

 forms us that he obtained three specimens of this bird far 

 up on the extreme heights of the cascade. Mr Roop is 

 desirous of having the bird if novel, given a name. 



A FIELD DAY IN THE INSECT WORLD. 



SEVERAL .members of the "Sandwich Naturalists' As- 

 sociation, " a recently organized society for popular- 

 izing the study of the natural sciences, spent half day re- 

 creating, and "in searching for entomological specimens for 

 a, museum of natural history, which it is proposed to organ- 

 neclion with the association, The valley of Little 

 \ was selected as the theatre 

 cam, fed by numerous cool 

 t hand will be stocked with 

 •. I Armed with the proper 

 he outfit of a naturalist, 



i.ili. 



ute 



Rock Creek, in Kendall Co 



of operations; a bright littl 



springs, which some day m 



speckled trout, (salmo fimti 



paraphernalia — which cons 



not omiting chloroform— the party was divided into groups 



and at once set upon the task of collecting. Let me say at 



this points never capture even a bug aild thrust it iuto a 



vial alive, but humanely use chloroform and thus put an 



end to its ephemeral existence. Remember what the poet 



says;— 



"The man who needlessly sets foot upon a worm," etc. 



The true naturalist, like the true sportsman, prompted 

 by humanity, will not inflict unnecessary pain even upon 

 the smallest insect— the minutest of the tiny objects of this 

 division of the animal kingdom. 



A more general diffusion of the natural sciences— more 

 especially those which relate to organized beings, far down 

 in the scale of animated nature — will tend to'enlarge and 

 exalt our views regarding those tiny creatures, the import- 

 ant place they occupy in the scale of being— their relation- 

 ship to man" — vital and psychological — and of all the vast 

 chain of being which from God began — beast, fish, bird 

 and insect, which no eye can see, or glass can fully com- 

 prehend — a microcosm of strange groupings — enough for 

 the grandest intellect to study and ponder over in the little 

 brief period called human life. 



Pardon this digression, and 1 will proceed to say that our 

 rambles and communion with nature were iu all respects 

 such as tended to unbend, for the time at least, our minds 

 and thoughts from business pursuits, and the carking cares 

 of life. 



Our half day's doings were amply remunerative. We 

 were enriched by the capture of a large number of arch- 

 nidsc, one species of which closely resemble Her Majesty's 

 Raft Spider of England, {Dolomedes fimbriates,) which, if 

 not identical, is, at least, a near relative. It is an inch 

 long, of chocolate-brown and orange color. It is a remark- 

 ably handsome spider, and was largly engaged in the laud- 

 able employment of catching grass-hoppers, which avoca- 

 tion it seemed to enjoy, without the outlay of much labor. 

 Its habitat is marshy land or hogs, which were overgrown 

 witli Eapatorium perfolectum, or the Hoosier's puke-weed, 

 to which the weeds were attached. We also obtained sev- 

 eral of the Bufo Americanus, specimens of Ranoids, frogs; 

 and Ili/hids, tree toads. There were several species of 

 Lepedo'ptcrc Colcoptera, and Vospa, both wasps and hornets, 

 captured. Of reptiles, three specimens were captured; one 

 Ei'ttiin/,1 c'l/r//,/., water garter snake, and two of the Eutanw, 

 Sirtalis, striped snakes, "and a singular but beautiful spider, 

 which we can find no name for. The spider is three-eighth 

 of an inch in length, in shape is hastate, the abdomen ter- 

 minating in two ' long spines, while near the union of the 

 iiead with the body.'there are two more short spines, the 

 two forward or anterior ones point upward from the back, 

 and the lateral ones are equidistant from those of the head 

 and the posterior spines first described. The spinaret is 

 below centrally located and extends downward different 

 from those of any other species, and is one-sixteenth of an 

 inch in length. One of the same variety caught has eight 

 spines, and this feature is very likely a mark"of distinction 

 of sex. The back is yellow, dotted with red spots, while 

 the under part is variegated in color fulvous mixed with 

 chocolate color — a very curious arachnid, indeed ! Who 

 can tell its name? Tela Akenaktjm. 



Sandwich, III., August 24, 1874. 



^»e» 



CENTRAL PARK MENAGERIE. 



Department of Public Parks, i 

 New York, Sept. 6, 1874. [ 



Animals received at Central Park Menagerie for the week ending 

 September 7th, 1874: 



Two Hooper Swans, Cygnusferux. Bab. Europe. 



Two Snow Geese, Anser hyperboreus. Bab. N. America. 



Three Wood Ducks, Ah: sponsa. Hah. Southern United StateB, 



Two Mandarine Duclcs. Alx qateric.dala. Ilab. China. 



Four Passerine Parrakeets. Pnttacula passerina. ffab.S. America. 



Three Turquoisuie Parrakects. Kuphnna pidckella. Hob. New South 

 Wales. 



One black Spider Monkey, Atelesaltr. Hob. Bolivar. 



W. A. CONKLIN. 



A BIRD NOT TO BE IMPOSED UPON. 



Key West, Fla.. August 82d, 1874- 

 Editor Forest and Stream:— 



In your number of August 18th reference Is made to the habit of the 

 "cow bunting" ot depositing her eggs in the nests of other birds, t can 

 corroborate the statements of "Fred Beverly" aud "E. S. W\," as some 

 years ago I spent much of my time in the collection of bird's eggs, and 

 frequently noticed this trait. The cow bunting does not confine herself 

 to the nest of any particular variety, but seems quite indifferent as to 

 the foster mother of her yonng. This deposit 01 the eggs la not the 

 worst feature of the case, however, as 1 have seen cases, and indeed 

 think them usual, where the young of the cow bunting, being as a usual 

 thing larger than the legitimate young, have thrown the latter rrom the 

 neet, usurping the whole, and leaving the proper young to perish on the 

 ground. Sometimes, however, and it is of this that I intended to write, 

 a bird is found that is not so to be imposed upon. At one time while 

 pursuing my search for nests, I waB struck by the extreme height of a 

 nest belonging to what is known -In New York Slate at least, aa it waa 

 in that State the discovery was made— as the "summer yellow bird." On 

 examination I discovered that the nest proper had but the usual depth, 

 while the bottom was at least two and a half inches thick, On removing 

 that Which proved to be the upper bottom of the uest, I discovered an 

 egg of Hie cow bunting, nicely enclosed and covered; again removing a 

 second bottom, u second egg was discovered, and still again under this a 

 Mirrf egg. T'ie conclusion waa obvious. The yellow bird, having built 

 its nest iu the usual way, an egg of the cow bunting was deposited, Th.- 

 plucky yellow bird, not to be imposed upon, rather than to baild an eu- 

 tiruly'ncw nest, built, a fresh bottom over this, only to have a second egg 

 deposited, by the same or second cow bunting. Again was the operation 

 repeated, and a third egg was deposited by the despoiler, when, for the 

 third time, was the egg enclosed and the walls of the nest limit highsr. 

 only, also, lo be sacrificed to the curiOBity of tbo lumo. Whether or not 

 the banting had in each case visited the nest before the proprietor had 

 deposited her own eggs, I do not know, but none of the eggs of the lat- 

 ter were walled in. 



I think the above case will be admitted as something remarkable 



Sjoju I'Ht 



