196 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



Jfistf §n1tui[e. 



This .Toarnnl Is the Official Organ of the Fish Cnltur- 

 iats' Association. 



FISH CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



By favor of Livingston Stone, Esq., Deputy United 

 States Fishery Commissioner, who has been for four years 

 past engaged in extensive fish-hatching operations on the 

 McCloud River, California, we are enabled to lay before 

 our readers the following summary of the work accom- 

 plished during the season just now closed. Mr. Stone's 

 letter is dated 



in Camt, October 21, 1874. 

 Editor Forest and Stream .— 



I beg pjrmlsalon to inclose you a summary of (he work done here 

 this season. Very truly, yours, LrvresBTONE Stone. 



Dailu List of Salmon Eoos Taken at the United States Salmon 



BKEEOTKO KfilABLISHME.NT. Mol'LOCD KlVEIi, REDDING, CaLIFOK- 

 »IA, 1871. 



Sale, Sgge taken mch Day . Total. 



AugistSl 8:,200 82,:00 



Btptember 1 25,800 108.000 



2 120.900 228,900 



3 102,600 i3l,40O 



4 , 331.100 



6 2ft.,400 6J9.80O 



6 234,000 864,400 



" 7 8B4.400 



8 , 453,000 1,317.400 



9 252,600 l,5?n,O00 



10 304,000 1374,000 



" 11 -.70/100 2,044.000 



12 ... 234,500 2,278.505 



13 2i8.5C0 2.497,000 



14 322,000 2,819.000 



" 15 457,000 3,276.000 



" J6 31)0,0(1) 3,066,000 



17 384,000 4.OH0.0CO 



18 252,000 ■ 4.282,01.0 



19 - 2U0.000 4,572,000 



20 217,000 4,',89,000 



" 21 126,000 4,915,1X10 



22 172,000 5,087,000 



23 126.-.00 5,213.500 



24.... -,. 129,000 5,339,500 



25 5,339.500 



26 210,000 6.519.F.00 



27 I26,ft.0 5,675,500 



28 5,675,500 



29 1 77,000 5.752.i00 



Total 5,752,500 



D.BTRIBCTIOK OP SALMON Eoo9 FROM THIS UNITED STATES SALMON 

 H"15l£DINO E6TABL1SHMENT ON TnE ,\1 CCl.O C D HlVER, L'ALU-ORNIA, 

 1!174. 



t .-.l. StMlwcll.T-iangOfcHe _. 100,000 



E. A. Brackett, "Winchester, Maps 200,000 



Alfred A. Keed.Jr., Providence, K. 1 100,000 



R. O. Hko,Middletown, conn 300,000 



Betft Green, iCocbKSiar, N. 1 500,eoo 



lira. J. H. Slack, Blonmsbury, N. J 226,000 



James Duffv, Marietta. Penn 300,000 



Alexander Kent, Baltimore, >ld 376. (Kio 



Gexigo H, Jerome, Milts, Mich 750.010 



N. \\ . Clark, Ciarkston, Mkh 150,000 



A. Palm..-,, Uo-cobd. Wis 100,1100 



Da i j Day, St. Panl, Minn 250,000 



B F. Sliuiv. Anamo.-a, Iowa 300,000 



A. P. Kockwond. Sal; Lake City, Utah Territory 150,000 



Sa m-1 wilaiot.Xi-w Castle, Ontario, Can 25.1XX) 



Jamc-B. 'Hampton. >\'» Hope. Bucks Co., Pa 150,000 



WW am II. Cu.-liman, George. own, Col 25,000 



H.U. Thorns*, Randolph, N. V 25,000 



Jos. E. Andrews, 3-'5 w. State street, Rockford. 111.... 60,030 



W. B. RoniUfOti, Lvnchbtir-, Va 50.000 



Dr, Nuwcll, ban i rancisco, cat., for New Zealand.,.,. 25,000 



Gland total.. 6,000,000 



FISH CULTURE IN VIRGINIA. 



Leesbkrg, Va., October 28th, 1874. 

 Bditor FonEST and Stream:— 



A small beginningln fish culture has been started in this town. Abont 

 two dozen or more brook trout have been secured alive from a stream 

 flowing into the Potomac near town, ?nd lodged in a spring in town pre- 

 paratory to making an inexpensive experiment in batching. An ample 

 supply of water for hatching is at hand, but we have doubts whether 

 there U enough water to raise any considerable quantity of fish. If, 

 however, we succeed in hatching out flsh that we cannot raise, wo mean 

 to pat them In the Tuscaroraor Town Branch, close to the spring we 

 ore niw using. Onr object is to demonstrate to the fanners the feasi- 

 bility or the plan. If we succeed, we will let you know, 



A Tew black bass aro caught now and then by onr anglers. Mr. W. B. 

 ,C. and Dr. M. secured ten fine fish of that kind yesterday. Mr. O. 

 caught rifteen of the same sort today. 1 am sorry to hear from good au- 

 thority that Major Ferguson failed to make any anangements with the 

 owners of the Big Spring Branch for his fish farm, so that our county 

 has lost an opportunity, we believe, fora profitable enterprise. T. W. 



<■«« 

 STOCKING PON DS WIT H BLACK BASS. 



GREAT progress has been made in the last, five years 

 in the distribution of the black bass, especially iu 

 New York and in the New England States. Two hunched 

 or more ponds aud lakes have been blocked, and yet we 

 are continually receiving letters of inquiry, which show 

 that people have very imperfect information hi regard to 

 the habits of ihe fish, and the best method of introduc- 

 ing them. Some inquire for the spawn, supposing that 

 they are propagated like the solmotiidae. But all attempts 

 to take spawn iiom ihis fish have been failures, so far as 

 we are iulormed. Some ponds have been stocked with the 

 fry, but it remains to be seen whether ihis will prove suc- 

 (Stesful. 'Ihe fry are very smull, and remain but a few 

 days over the: beds where they arc hatched, so that it re- 

 quires very clo.se watching to capture them. They are re- 

 moved jtibi at the lime wuen they are said to have'lhe pro- 

 tection of the parent fish, and they are all liable to perish 

 in new water among other species of fish. The common 

 and the uioal reliable ineihou of introducing Ihe bass, is to 

 transport adult fish from well-slocked ponds to new locali- 

 ties, liiis, when properly done, has uever been known to 

 fall. In most of me States there is legal protection to the 

 fish for three years, generally granted by special act of the 

 legislature. Kut this is not long enough to secure the ob- 

 ject. It should be ia all cases nve years. The fish do not 

 Uile freely until after the spawning is over in May and 

 June, anU they do not usually reach their new home until 

 July or later, so that there is no fry from them until the 

 second year. The fi=h generally selected for transfer are 

 from one to thtee years old,' measuring from three to 

 twelve iuches in length. Fish of this size are not only 

 rxure numerous, bji they bear transportation better, and 

 nrj more readily ao< limated, than when larger. They are 



moved with a good deal of difficulty in hot weather, espe- 

 cially when the journey requires more than twelve or fif- 

 teen hours. With the most skilful management, there 

 will be a considerable loss. In the Fall mouths there is much 

 less loss. 



There is a great want of information in regard to the 

 character of the water suitable to this fish. Wc have 

 many letters from the owners of horse-pouds, a half acre 

 or less in extent, having neither springs nor water running 

 through them for a portion of the year. The bass wants 

 clear lively waier with rocky or gravelly bottom, and the 

 more of it the better. It wants room for itself and for the 

 poorer kinds of fish upon which it feeds voraciously. It 

 does well in the mill-ponds upon manufacturing streams, 

 and if the head waters and reservoirs are stocked, they 

 will in a few years he found in all the waters below. They 

 flourish also in natural ponds of twenty acres or more. 

 Some decline to stock these ponds or lakes because they are 

 generally free to the public. But this is short sighted 

 policy. A large pond or lake stocked at a cost of one or 

 two hundred dollars, and protected by law for live years, 

 will furnish better sport to the gentlemen or company who 

 undertake the enterprise than they could find in any small 

 pond of their own. In suitable water black bass multiply 

 very fast, and after they once gain possession, their num- 

 beis can never be very seriously reduced by hook fishing. 

 The annual spawning will more than keep up the supply. 

 There are thousands of ponds and lakes in ihe Northern 

 and Middle Slates of from one hundred to a 'thousand acres, 

 producing otily the poorer kinds of fish, that might easily 

 be stocked with bass, and add largely to the food supply 

 of the people.— Amtrimn Ar/i icultunst. 



Trout.— In the latitude of New York brook trout com- 

 mence to run up the streams to spawn in October. Further 

 North they are later, according to the temperature of the 

 water and "the climate. The males go up a week or ten days 

 before the females to prepare the beds, then return and 

 choose their mates, in the doing of which they have many 

 battles. At this time the fins of the males are" very bright, 

 with white and Ted; their abdomen is dark brown, so that 

 they are easily distinguished. As they spawn from 1,000 

 to 2,000 eggs a pair, it is very evident that if some plan is 

 adopted to protect the eggs and young fry they would in- 

 crease very fast. As the largest and oldest "go up and 

 spawn and return before the younger and smaller ones, 

 the tendency is to lose the best eggs by being eaten op by 

 the last run. Trout will not eat their own eggs, but in 

 clearing the bed will eat each others' eggs. 

 ■»«» 



— The success of salmon culture at Newcastle has now 

 become fully demonstrated. A few years ago these fish 

 were almost unknown. The artificial process of breeding 

 has been applied upon about a mile and a quarter of Wil- 

 mot's Creek, with the following results. The numbers of 

 adult salmon which have entered the reception house dur- 

 ing the past few days are as follows:— Previous to Ihe 20tb 

 ultimo ninety-eight had been secured; on the 20th, nine- 

 teen; on the 21st, twenty-one; on the 22d, forty-five; on 

 the 23d, seventy- three; on the 24th, sixty-eight; on the 

 25th, sixty six; on the 26th, 141; on the 27th, 212; total, 

 743. Over and above this score in the fish house, a still 

 greater number have been observed in the open creek en- 

 gaged in spawning. Hundreds can now be seen daily in 

 the ponds and breeding ground of the establishment. — Ca- 

 nadian Monthly. 



«■» 



—A fishway of the most approved pattern has just been 

 built at Baring, Maine. 



— Prof, Baird is endeavoring to obtain permission from 

 the Government to erect a building at Wood's Hole, Mass., 

 for the purpose of making collections of fish and examin- 

 ing spawn. 



— About 50,000 salmon eggs, brought from California, 

 have been placed in the hatching house of Dr. Pratt at 

 Elgin, Illinois. 



—Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, will soon be stocked with 

 25,000 salmon fry. For this most necessary improvement 

 it is iudebled to the Waltonian Club. 



— Mr. Wilmot, of Canada, having decided upon erect- 

 ing a fish house on Soper's Creek, for the propagation 

 and prelection of salmon, a neat and suitable one has been 

 put up. The place is under the supervision of Councilor II. 

 Toper. There are at present nineteen salmon spawning in 

 the house. 



tmnl fistorg. 



For Forest ami stream. 

 THE BIRDS OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 



{Continued from Vol. 3, No. 4.) 



THE THRUSHES. 



The migratory thrush, or American robin, is the com- 

 monest of all the turdidoa in Newfoundland. From its 

 red breast and familiarity, the settlers call it the "robin." 

 It arrives in April, and in May its eggs are found in Ihe 

 nest. These are of an unspotted blue," and resemble those 

 of the fieldfare. 



Mr, Reek enumerates no less than thirteen species of 

 warblers in Newfoundland, all of them being migrants. 

 The most common is the yellow warbler, called by the in- 

 habitants "yellow hammer." It makes a very pretty little 

 nest in low bushes, somewhat resembling, that of the Eng- 

 lish goldfinch. One of the earliest Spring migrants is the 

 yellow, red-poll warbler, and the black aud yellow warbler 

 is also tolerably common. The Canada flycatcher and the 

 American redstart arrive in the cud of May, or beginning 

 of June. The latter is called "goldfinch" by our seltlers. 

 The American tit lark and the Maryland yellow throat are 

 found in considerable numbers. 



THE SWALLOWS. 



The white-bellied swallow is the only species of swallow 

 seen throughout the Summer; while few specimens of the 

 cliff and barn swallow are met with. The sand martin 

 and the purple martin are occasionally met with. 



The American butcher bird visits 'Newfoundland in its 

 periodical migrations, but it is doubtful whether it breeds 

 here. The yellow-throated flycatcher is tolerably common, 

 and arrives in June. The black-cap titmouse and the Hud- 

 sonian titmouse are both non-migratory, and breed in the 

 holes of trees. 



FltlKGlLLIDJS. 



The American pine grosbeak is common thronghmit~the 

 year, but most abundant in Winter, when they get together 

 in small flocks. The American crossbill is common through- 

 out the year, and an early breeder. The pretty little turd 

 called the while-winged crossbill is very abundant in Win- 

 ter, and is called here the "spruce bird," from the fact lhat 

 it feeds on the cones of the white spruce. The snow bunt- 

 ing is very common, but does not breed here, as also is the 

 snow bird, both being Summer migrants. There is a fine 

 species of sparrow, called here the "hedge sparrow," but 

 is really the fox-colored sparrow. It sometimes hreeds-on 

 the ground, aud at others in low bushes. The rusty black- 

 bird and the crow blackbird are both Summer migrants. 



CROWS. 



The Canada jay is very common here, and remains 

 throughout the year. "Whiskey jack," as it is often called, 

 is almost as tame and familiar "in its habits as the English 

 robin redbreast, When in the vicinity of houses il will 

 eat raw meat, fish, potaloes, bread, etc., "and is said to store 

 away cranberries for Winter use. The American crow is 

 a common Summer migrant, frequents the sea coast, breeds 

 in treeB, and lays four or live eggs. The blue jay, or 

 "silken jay," as it is called here, is not common. 



PARTRIDGE. 



Having in a previous paper described the ptarmigan, I 

 shall only now enumerate the different species found herp. 

 These are the Canada grouse, or spruce partridge, a care 

 visitor, and the willow grouse, the only lowland, or sub- 

 alpine species indigenous to Newfoundland. They invari- 

 ably roost on the ground, although they are shot sometimes 

 when feeding on the tops of birch or alder trees, more es- 

 pecially when the ground is covered with deep and light 

 snow. Their food consists chiefly of the buds and tender 

 shoots of birch, alder, black spruce, and juniper; but they 

 are specially fond of the partridge berry and cranberry. 

 Another species called rock ptarmigan, or, as the settlers 

 call it, "mountain partridge," is rarely found below the 

 line of stunted black spruce, except in" the depth of Win- 

 ter, when they descend to the lowlands for food. 



BITTERNS. 



The only species of the heron family met with here is 

 the American bittern, a Summer migrant. Generally a pair 

 of bitterns are found frequenting the margins of wooded 

 lakes and ponds throughout the Summer. They arrive in 

 May, and depart iu September. The American bittern 

 makes a curious thumping noise, very much resembling 

 the noise made by fishermen when driving oakum into the 

 seams of their boats; hence probably arose ils popular 

 name of "stake driver" in the United Stales," and "cork- 

 er" (caulker), in Newfoundland. 



PLOVERS. 



The American golden plover is very abundant in Au- 

 tumn, and Ihe ring plover, the piping plover, and the grey 

 plover are all pretty common in the Fall of the year. They 

 arc not seen in Spring, so thttt they must lake some more 

 direct route than via Newfoundland ito the breeding grounds 

 ia the far north. 



SNIPE, SANDPIPERS, CURLEWS, ETC. 



Wilson's snipe is a Summer migrant, arriving in the end 

 of April, and it soon commences to breed. When the fe- 

 male is sitting on her nest ihe male frequently rises in ihe 

 air, drumming and making a peculiar noise with its tail, 

 which may be heard a considerable distance. The grey 

 snipe and the American jack snipe are also periodical visi- 

 tants. Of sandpipers, we have a large variety. Bona- 

 parte's sandpiper is very common, and may be seen collect- 

 ing in flocks iu the Fall" of Ihe year at the seaside, aud gen- 

 erally so tame that a dozen or' twenty maybe killed at a 

 shot." The yellow-shanked sandpiper arrives in .May and 

 departs in October. From their incessant try of '"■ t w i 1 - 

 lick" they get that name here, and in the south of the isl- 

 and they are sometimes called "nasary." The Esquimaux 

 curlew is by far the most common species, arriving l>v 

 thousands in the Fall, bul rarely in the Spring, They feed 

 on the Whortleberries ("hurlz"), which slain their leathers 

 posteriorly a rich dark purple. They arrive here In the 

 end of August, ana remain a month. They are exceedingly 

 fat at this time, and most delicious eating." 

 (To be Continued.) 

 ■«•«. 



— The British ship Scindia arrived here a few days since 

 from Calcutta, having on board one of ihe most temarkable 

 natural curiosities the world has ever seen. It consists 

 of a short horned, sacred Brahmin bull, born in Nepaul, 

 northern India, in 1871, and imported here by Capt. Wil- 

 liam Denison Folger, formerly of this city, but latlerly 

 a resident of Calcutta. The bull itself is a curiosity, and 

 is one of that description of animals held in great rever- 

 ence by the natives of India on account of its traditional 

 sacred'eharacter. But iu this case a novel bisus nature 

 renders it a most singular creature. The brute purl ion is 

 symmetrically formed with a glossy coat of fawn colored 

 hair and well shaped body and limbs. But protruding, as 

 it were, from Ihe left side of the hump on the back of the 

 neck of the animal is a wonderful and regularly shaped, 

 in nearly all respects, human arm. The deltoid and tri- 

 ceps and biceps muscles are well developed, particularly 

 the latter; the joint at the elbow is flexible, ihe forearm 

 rather attenuated, the wrist as fully flexible as iu the hu- 

 man arm proper, while the hand is composed of four dis- 

 tinctly marked fingers, two of them connected together. 

 This extraordinary appendage to an otherwise well formed 

 body does not appear to give the creature any inconven- 

 ience or pain, generally hanging listlessly by "its side, ex- 

 cept when it is angered or annoyed, when its arm rises as 

 if the possessor felt inclined to ""strike from the shoulder." 

 The animal is quite healthy, enjoys a ravenous appetite, 

 the nice grass of its native clime being its favorite food, and 

 does not seem to have suffered any bodily injury by its 

 long sea voyage. If not disposed of in this country, 'it is 

 the intention of the importer to take the creature to Eng- 

 land, and secure it a place in the London) Zoological Gar- 

 dens, where such novelties are highly prized. It would 

 prove a unique attraction to the natural curiosities in our 

 Central Park. It has already been visited on the Scindia 

 by several scientific gentlemen of this city and Brooklyn, 

 where the ship lies, near the Fulton ferry. — Herald, 

 -«■—■ 



— It is on record that simultaneously with the outbreak 

 of an epidemic, like the cholera, birds desert the fated 

 town. This phenomenon has been observed in St. Peters- 

 burg, Riga, and in cities of Prussia, in Hanover, Galicia, 

 and Southern Germany. Some scientific men suppose the 

 birds are warned by the poison in the atmosphere, and in- 

 stinctively fly from" it. 



