250 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



Holiday Presents. — As Winter and the Holidays ap- 

 proach, dealers should see to it that they lose no opportu- 

 nity to call tlic attention of the public to their wares 

 through the best advertising mediums. The Forest and 

 Steeam has been found to bo, by long.odds, the very best 

 medium for communicating with the sportsmen of the 

 country, and money invested in its advertising columns 

 always brings the most, profitable "returns. Of this we 

 have been assured repeatedly by the heaviest dealers in the 

 country, whose written testimony we have already printed 

 and have now on tile. Between this anil 1st January is the 

 best time to advertise. Kot only does a change of sports 

 and everyday necessities bring a demand for new descrip- 

 tions of wares, but people are constantly in quest of articles, 

 with money in their pockets especially appropriated for 

 purchasing Holiday Presents, It would greatly facilitate 

 their purchases if shopkeepers would freely advertise their 

 goods and thus inform intending purchases where they can 

 be obtained. 



Amaranth Dramatic Society.— This society, which is 

 Brooklyn's especial favorite, and successful beyond all 

 precedent, introduced its fourth season at the Academy 

 of Music on Wednesday evening of last week with Massin- 

 ger's popular comedy of "A New Way to Pay Old Debts." 

 The play was well presented, although not fully up to the 

 standard of merit which has so long characterized the en- 

 tertainments of the Amaranth. Nevertheless, for the first 

 night, it was sufficiently acceptable and fully appreciated 

 by the throngs of attending friends who art ahvays pleased 

 because they go with the purpose to he pleased. Criticism 

 is hardly within our province, and we could hardly criticise 

 severely if we would. That the Society possesses dramatic 

 material superlatively good, and that its personnel is held 

 deservedly high is evidenced not only by the crowds that 

 fill the Academy to repletion at each monthly representa- 

 tion, but by the craving demand there is for entrance 

 tickets. These are wholly complimentary, and wherever 

 bestowed are received as tokens of especial favor by their 

 fortunate possessors. Certainly in no audiences that gather 

 in Brooklyn, no matter on what occasion, is there a greater 

 display of gentility, refinement and good taste, or more 

 substantial evidence of pleasure derived from" social com- 

 munion. The receptions that take place after the dramatic 

 performances are most enjoyable, and admission thereto 

 is eagerly sought by the most aristocratic circles of Brook- 

 lyn. We trust that the organization may have a long con- 

 tinuance. Its success is an earnest of its vitality and 

 vigor. 



Tho officers of the Amaranth this year are: Jas. B. Vail, 

 Jr., President; Milo A. Parsons, Vice President; A. Rosc- 

 velt Thompson, Secretary; M. F. James, Treasurer. Trus- 

 Lets, Geo. F. Gregory, (Jims. A. Hoyt, G. W. Lane, Jr., 

 Alex. Isaacs, and John M. Burt. Dramatic Committee, 

 John Oakey, Xenophon Stoutenborough, and L. D. St. 

 George. The next reception will take place Dec. 16th, 

 when Robertson's comedy of "Ours" will be presented, with 

 Messrs. Walker, Williams, Farley, Luske, Jones, the 

 Misses Clark and Percy, and Mrs. Ferguson in the cast. 



Howard Mission. — We are pleased to print the follow- 

 ing card in aid of the praiseworthy object indicated: — 



Howard MXwtm aud Il'inc for Little Wanderers, 40 New 

 -Thanksgiving Day is looked forward to by the 

 hundreds of poor children and needy parents connected 

 with our mission as the greatest feast day of I he year. 

 Wiil not our friends help us makeii a "feast of fat things," 

 a day of good cheer? We are confidently depending 00 

 the generous public which has never failed us to furnish us 

 the means of providing for them the solitary, good, sub- 



, i square meal of the whole year. Supplies of all 



kinds of food and cloibing will be gratefully received at 

 the office, 40 New Bowery, and donations of money by our 

 Treasurer, U'm. Phelps, P. O. Box, 4,512. Visitors— always 

 welcome— arc cordially invited to come and see the chil- 

 dren eat and bear them sing on Thanksgiving Day. Din- 

 ner, 11 to 1; singing and addresses, 1 to 3 o'clock. 



W)l. X). (Ji.kug, Supt. 

 _ -»«<•»- 



Readings.— Miss Margaretta B. Moore, a young lady ac- 

 credited with the possession of beauty, culture, and talent, 

 will give, dramatic readings at Association Hall ou the first 

 of December. 



-*••- 



—If Advertisers would but take the trouble every 

 week to examine our correspondents' column, they could 

 readily ascertain very nearly what our readers require, and 

 thus obtain material aid in determining how to cater for 

 I hem to the mutual advantage. The object of the adver- 

 tiser is to first ascertain what the public wants, and then 

 Offer his. goods. The purchaser desires to know what can 

 i and just where to buy it. He is constantly ap- 

 plying to our reading columns for information that should 

 be found among the advertisements. 



-•.*- — '- 



—Advices from the Red Cloud Agency of the 12th and 

 13th instant, confirm the reports that Prof. Marsh, of Yale 

 College, was detained there because the Indians objected 

 to his visiting the newly discovered fossil region near tho 

 Black Hills. 



|«f and Stiver ^iuhinQ. 



FISH IN SEASON IN NOVEMBER. 



—Thanks are hereby tendered to numerous readers of 

 , i i i and Stream for copies of the date of February 

 VI j i s ; ! . We are still short of that issue, and shall be glad 

 to receive copies for binding. 



♦»*■ 



—The best shot ever heard of has been made in Calais, 

 Maine, where a gentleman fired, in midnight darkness, at 

 the bark of a dog, and the next morning found the animal 

 dead, the bullet having hit hitu iu the throat. 



Stripcil Buss, SoCCUi linealus. 



Pompano. 

 Snapper. 

 Grouper. 



Rocklisli. 



Trout (black ba«d). 



Drum (two r-pecUv). 



!' ill 



Stripcil Bass. 



SheepsheiKl, 

 Tailorflsh. 

 Sea Bass. 



Fish tn Market. — Blueflsh from the South coming in 

 rather slowly— 15 cents per pound. Very little codfish at 

 high figures. Whiletish from the Lakes quite abundant at 

 20 cents. Bass rather scarce, 15 to 20 cents. As soon as 

 the Fall catch comes in it will fall to m cents. Fresh 

 mackerel in much demand, but owing to the mildness of 

 the weather but little can be procured, 20 cents per pound. 

 Eels quite abundant at 18 cents; smelts, 25 cents. Salmon 

 trout, very scarce. The frost fish of Maine are now very' 

 profuse, and sell at 10 cents per pound. 



Of marine fish there are exposed for sale in the New 

 York markets during the year some sixty-seven kinds, and 

 of fresh water fish some forty-one, making a total of 108, 

 to which are to be added sixteen varieties of shell fish and 

 crustaceans, presenting a handsome total of 124 different 

 varieties of food. That this list may be expanded is quite 

 probable, as fish other than the California salmon may be 

 expected before long, and iu time the grayling will come 

 from Michigan waters, or from private fish-ponds. Com- 

 paring our own list, extensive though it may be, with the 

 catalogue of fish eaten in England, we find that it only ex- 

 ceeds it by some twenty-four. The comparison is, how- 

 ever, not, made between London and New York, but between 

 New York and all England. 



— The red snapper, a very fine fish from Southern waters 

 which within a few years used to be a rarity here., is now 

 brought regularly to the markets. 



— Last Spring we received a bass rod from Dr. T. J. Curie, 

 M. D., of Lexington, Kentucky, which he wished us to 

 examine, as its material was a new kind of wood, and it 

 had some improvements of his own as respects ferules 

 and joints. Looking at it from the standpoint of a trout 

 and salmon angler, and with less experience in Western 

 fishing then than we can boast at present, we passed an ad- 

 verse criticism upon the implement, much to the doctor's 

 diseust, we dare say; but we have since made the honor- 

 able amend for our too hasty judgment, and given our un- 

 reserved assurance that in its essential qualities it meets 

 all requirements. There is something iu knowing just 

 what a good bass rod is— just as there is in knowing 

 "beans;" and having recently bad opportunities to examine 

 the tackle of some of the leading experts of the West, we 

 are prepared to assert that a bass rod and trout fly rod are 

 altogether different implements— just as different as are the 

 two kinds of fish and their modes of fighting. A bass rod 

 such as we would select for our private use should be about 

 ten feet long, with just enough elasticity to yield gracefully 

 when tho fish makes its mightiest rushes, thereby holding 

 him without tearing the hook from its precarious fasten- 

 ing. It is what trout anglers would call a stiff rod, yet 

 somewhat suffer and shorter in proportion than a "bait 

 rod" for trout. A very pliable or flexible rod, such as we 

 use for fly fishing for trout, cannot withstand the wear and 

 strain that is demanded from a bass rod. The best bass 

 rods that we have seen are owned by W. C. Egan, Esq., of 

 Chicago, whose experience with M. Kigricnns in all waters 

 is large. They are made of Japanese bamboo (natural), 

 with metal ferules and fixed rings. One has a lancewood 

 lip, and another a bamboo tip. The tips are short, and 

 appear stubby, yet are in good taper and fair proportion to 

 the enti-e rod. 



We of the East need some coaching in bass fishing as 

 practiced at the West. We might even receive some in- 

 struction with profit from the fishers on the Potomac and 

 Susquehanna. The speckled trout is our piece de resistance; 

 the black bass theirs. Each section unquestionably under 

 stands its own game. Anglers for bass here chiefly use the 

 trolling spoon or spinner, with short, stout, stiff rod; and 

 having hooked their fish, they drop tho rod and haul in 

 on the line hand over hand, the sole apparent utility of the 

 rod being, by its yielding resistance, to fix the hook more 

 securely in the fish than a hand line could do. We are 

 speaking more particularly of lake and smooth wafer fish- 

 ing from boat or raft. In swift water a rod is indispen- 

 sable, and the "correct mode" of landing a fish is to walk 

 him ashore, provided it be not too rocky, or there be clear 

 elbow room. But in this latter and best, approved mode of 

 fishing, we find that the rods in vogue iu this section are so 

 stiff as to prevent that sport which arises from testing the 

 game qualities of a fish through a long sustained struggle; 

 or else, they are so limber and fragile as to become ineffi- 

 cient by their weakness, while at the same time their ex- 

 pense renders their use extravagant by reason of the strain 

 which soon knocks them up. We need a happy medium, 

 such as those who fish the rapid Western rivers seem to 

 have discovered and employed. With just such a rod, an 

 improved Meek reel (to be obtained in Louisville, Chicago, 

 etc.), and a fine grass or oiled silk line, we have no doubt 

 our anglers here would find their sport very much en- 

 hanced, while the game qualities of the bass would rise 

 very much in their estimation. 



Id fishing for bass out West, either with natural or arti- 

 ficial bait, the cast is made by giving the end of the line 

 a sUny over the shoulder aud letting it run out from a freely 

 rendering reel, just as our own. experts cast for striped bass 



or weakfish. The fly is but little used, and the use of it 

 involves an entirely different mode of casting — the same 

 that is employed when fishing for speckled trout, namely, 

 the reeling off a few feet of slack, the taking it up aud the 

 succeeding trajectory, with the frequent repetition there- 

 of, until sufficient line is out. No doubt that bass will take 

 the fly freely iu many localities, both in still and running 

 water. There is testimony enough to this effect. And 

 where this device is employed the nicest discrimination is 

 required in selecting a rod of requisite stiffness, and yet 

 with sufficient length and elasticity to cast the fly properly 

 and satisfactorily. If hlack bass grew to the size of sal- 

 mon, a Balmon rod would be just what is wanted; as they 

 do not, we must be content to find some otlier substitute. 



— The biggest smelt catch yet in the vicinity of Marble- 

 head, Mass., is 38 dozen in two hours and a half, This 

 feat was performed by two Salem gentlemen at Spike 

 bridge last week. Most of the smelters at City Point, South 

 Boston, seem to have laid aside their poles and lines for the 

 season, or until the ice makes, through which they can 

 have an opportunity to fish. Some of them have taken lo 

 eel spearing, as an excellent mess received from the "Com- 

 modore" recently testifies. 



— The mud, left bare by the retreating tide about Well- 

 fleet, Mass., has been literally covered with dead bill fish 

 during last week. This is a small fish, eight or ten inches 

 long, "excellent eating wheu fresh taken, and is driven 

 ashore in much the same manner as the bl ackfish It 

 takes its name from the projecting head, shaped like the 

 beak of a bird. Many barrels were sent to New York last 

 week from this place. 



— Nine million whiletish have been received this season 

 at one fish factory in Guilford, Conn. 



jgnchfing nntl^oalitiQ. 



HIGH WATER. FOR THE WEEK. 



Boston, New York- Charleston. 



Nov ii> 

 Not. 38. 

 Dec. 1.. 

 Dec. 2.. 



CANOE VOYAGE. 



MR. BISHOP'S trip from Albany to the Gulf of Mexico, 

 in a paper canoe, is now in progress of accomplish- 

 ment, and the inferences are that it will be a success-. A 

 correspondent writing about his efforts, says that the ob- 

 ject of the undertaking is not to gain notoriety or win ihe 

 applause of sporting circles, but to afford an opportunity 

 for a careful scientific observation of the system of inlets, 

 rivers, and bays that lie along the Atlantic coast, and form 

 almost a continuous laud-locked water course from Sandy 

 Hook to the southern part of Florida, broken in some 

 places by long reaches of the sea inland, like the Chesa- 

 peake, aud in others by jutting headlands. Mr. Bishop 

 seasoned himself for his fatiguing ta>k by a pull in an open 

 boat last Summer from Quebec to Philadelphia, He left 

 Quebec in June in a cedar boat large enough to hold two 

 men. He had with him a Barnegat boatman as assistant. 

 The two rowed up the St. Lawrence 145 miles to the mouth 

 of the Richelieu or Lord Kiver, up that stream to Lake 

 Champlain, aud from the lake reached Albany by way of 

 the canal, traveling in all 421 miles. Mr. Bishop concluded 

 that the help of his assistant did not compensate for his 

 weight and that of his blankets and provisions, and that 

 more rapid progress could be made without- him li was 

 then August, and he decided not to continue the voyage 

 until the frost had killed the malaria along the coast. In 

 the mean time he had a paper canoe constructed by E. 

 Waters & Son of Troy, N. Y., in which to prosecute the 

 more adventurous part of his novel undertaking. This 

 canoe is of what is known as the Nautilus model, designed 

 by the Rev. Baden Powell, of England, and is an improve- 

 ment on the well known Rob Boy type. The body is 

 made of linen paper about one-sixth of an inch l hick, 

 molded while soft upon a solid wood form, and afterward 

 highly polished and varnished. This material islight, lough, 

 and water-tight. Inside of the shell is a light framework 

 to which the scat is attached. The dimensions of the 

 canoe are: length, 14 feet, width, 28 inches; depth amid- 

 ships, 8} inches; height at stern from a horizontal line, 20 

 inches; at bow, 23 inches. It is not decked over like an 

 ordinary canoe, but is fitted with a canvas cover buttoned 

 to the sides, which keeps the water out when a rough sea 

 is running and serves as a shelter lo the sleeping occupant 

 at night. The weight of the craft and its equipments is as 

 follows: canoe, 5G pounds; one pair of oars lor use in still 

 water, seven feet eight inches long, 6i pounds; one paddle 

 with double blade, 2£ pounds; mast, sprit and boom, six 

 pounds; total, 73 pounds. For cooking, Mr. Bishop carries 

 a stove that can be packed in about the space occupied by 

 a pack of cards, a small coffee pot and a tin pan. lhs lar- 

 der consists of condensed provisions; his bed is his boat, aud 

 his bedding a pair of blankets. 



Mr. Bishop's plan for his long voyage is carefully made, 

 and he has studied his course iu advance by the aid of the 

 Coast Survey maps. He will first go down the Delaware 

 River and Bay to Lewes, where ho will haul his canoe five 

 miles over laud to Kehoboth Sound. At the end of this 

 Sound he will haul over four miles to the Indian River, 

 which will lake him into the Cbincoteague system of water 

 courses, which ho will follow to Cape Charles. Crossing 

 the mouth of the Chesapeake he will enter Hampton 

 Roads, paddle up to Norfolk, and by way of the Albemarle 

 and Currituck Canal, reach in succession Currituck, Albe- 

 marle, Pamlico, Core, Stump, and Boguc. Sounds, which 

 will bring him to Topsail inlet, near Cape Fear, N. C. 

 Here according to the Coast Survey maps, he must take to 

 the open sea for forty miles to reach Smithville, at the 

 mouth of the Cape Fear River. He hop. 9, however, to be 

 able to work his cauoe through ditches part of the way 



