FOREST AND STREAM.' 



357 



titles of [he t'ul. led unicorn. This is a very exceptional 

 c,is.e and allows that nature is sometimes erratic in her efforts 

 to produce variety 01 develop new phases of creation. 



—Of I lie sagacity of tho wolf in pursuit of its prey we 

 read the following anecdote in The Amusement Pa»'ft»0p7rf&W« 



A gentleman on Ids journey through one of the southern 

 provinces Of. FriuiCH perceived a wolf that seemed to he 

 watching a flock Of -slieep, lie informed the shepherd of 

 it, and advised him to set his dogs instantly nl him. "L 

 shall do no such ihing." says the shepherd. "The wolf 

 you -ec is planted then' only to divert my all en lion, and 

 another wolf concealed on 'the other side is watching the 

 opportunity of my setting the dogs on this one to cany off 

 a .-iieep !"' ' Tin: gentleman, curious to ascertain the fact, 

 engaged to make' good the loss, and the event happened as 

 the shepherd had foreseen and predicted. Jtt is singular 

 that, although the wolf at all other times has his senses in 

 perfection, especially smelling, yet if caught in a pitfall or 

 taken hy any oilier device, h.C 19 for some time so astonished 

 ilittt Ira niii'v be destroyed without resistance or much 

 difficulty; 



-+•+- 



For FnreM and /Stream. 

 POM PAN O AND CAVALL1. 



I OBSERVE in a late manlier of your paper that your 

 interesting correspondent "Persse" identities the cav- 

 alli with the pompano. Now, however reluctant I may 

 feel to differ with one of such wide range of experience as 

 your correspondent evinces, I must aver, notwithstanding, 

 that the fishes known by these names on the south coast 01 

 East Florida, where I resided for El year or more, are far 

 from being identical, Some of these differences 1 will pro- 

 ceed to portray as concisely as I can, and as thoroughly as 

 my knowledge and recollection will admit of. 



It is true that a small cavalli and a pompano resemble 

 each other quite closely, both in color and shape— being of 

 a beautiful greenish-golden tint, with bodies much com- 

 pressed laterally, and narrowing very rapidly and singularly 

 between r he dorsal and caudal" fins', liere the character- 

 istics of the two fish— external or otherwise— seem to di- 

 verge. The cavalli attains a weight of fifteen or twenty 

 pounds— (he pompano seldom more than two or three. The 

 cavalli is one of the most insipid of fishes— it is immaterial 

 how you cook or spice him— wheieas the pompano, as a 

 pan fish, is superior in flavor to any fish T wot of, not ex- 

 cepting the brook trout, spot, or tn-hi-hee. As the last 

 named fish is somewhat rare, and may, in consequence, be 

 unknown to some of your readers, I will remark, enpaxsant, 

 that it is a species of white fish inhabiting the lakes of 

 northwestern Minnesota— much smaller than the common 

 white fish of the lakes, [pdregonus aibus.) The cavalli is 

 one of the. most voracious of the scaly inhabitants of 

 the deep— he truly "bites like a steel-trap and pulls 

 like a horse." The pompano, on the contrary, never 

 takes the bait, at least 1 have never captured one 

 with hook and line, and have never known of one's 

 being thus taken. I have often surmised that the cavalli, 

 or perhaps more properly cuvallo, was so-called by the old 

 Spanish inhabitants of that region from the circumstance 

 that when in pursuit of his prey he often makes long and 

 rapid leaps upon the surface of the water not unlike the 

 bounding of a spirited horse. In conclusion, I must state 

 that 1 aiii unable to declare that the fish I here call pom- 

 pano is the genuine fish of that name, having never seen a 

 technical description of the same. However this may be, 

 he Is certainly so-called by the bimanous, iethypophogous 

 inhabitant, of that clime, commonly yclept, "cracker," a 

 name, by the by, in which ye Floridian doth exceedingly 

 rejoice, as auy stranger may readily find out by thus accost- 

 ing him. A. W. 



~m»rM$ter, Va.,Jun., 1875. 



-+**■ - 1 



THE CAVALLI NOT POMPANO. 



New York, January 6, 1875. 

 Editor Fohkst and Stream:— 



t/avalli and Pompano— Hoibiook and Norrie, anil your interesting cor- 

 respondent "Perssc" to the contrary— arc not the same fish. Norrla' cute 

 of flsh in his work I think are nil excellent, and his Pompano and Cavalli 

 very good, for Pompano, tail it is not the pictnre of the Cavalli, which 

 rioi's not. run in such a graceful llue f ronl ,l '° d ol *sal fin to the mouth. 

 Dill, drops quickly oCE from the top of tne head to the mouth, very like a 

 whale. Tin: pure white meat of the Pompano is very nice to hite at, hat 

 the Pompano does not bite either bait or fly, aLd in Indian Kiver can 

 only be notton by calling in the natives to rise the east net. The Cavalli 

 gets to be heavior than the largest Pompano, takes bait or fly, either 

 white miller, brown hackle, or red ibis — anything in your book -tights 

 hard, and after being kilted the meat is very good (of the color of salted 

 mackerel) bait, for sharks. A prominent mark on tho Cavalli is just 

 above the caudal flu, a saw-like protuberance, which feature is not found 

 on the Pompano. Get Fr«l poverty to send you samples of both flsh— 

 one Cavalli- and ho need'nt stop to count, the Pompano. Yours truly, 



B. Hackle. 

 ■•**■ 



THE CANADIAN SEA TROUT-*tao Canaden- 

 «'«— (Hamilton Smith.) 



Editor Forest and Stueaji.:— 



There is much differe-nce in opinion among those who hove written 

 upon Mi 1 subject, most of them taking it to be identical with the brook 

 ri , lhr ,,,,', ,:, n % \oM&) and others pronouncing it to be a distinct spe- 

 cie :, I think it never has been described by a scientific observer, except 

 Hamilton Smith, who gives it the above name, which seems the proper 

 one, as the .peek's in question is apparently confined to Canadian waters. 



Mr. Pirley. of T^ova Scotia, whose account of the fish may ne found in 

 Herbert's book, calls It Stilmo truUa, which is the sea front of Europe. 

 Gllmo're, LBith-, Adams, Colonel Hay and others copy from Herbert, am! 

 give tlie Wtroe name, though Salmo Canadensis is a red spotted fish, and 

 SntmotruUa is not. Moreover Ihe European species grows to the weight 

 of eleven pounds, aa wo learn from Sir H. Davy, while the Canaiian sel- 

 dom reaches half that weight. Tbaddeus Norrls, in his "American An- 

 gler's Book," writing from personal experience, points out the differ- 

 ence between the Canadian and European sea trout, which is well 

 marked, and also that between the former and the brook trout, which is 

 much less so. In fact they are chiefly differences in color and forin, 

 which often arise in the saraespecies from different conditions of food 

 and water. These, are the only differences which I myself have been able 

 pj doteel ; (not being a scientific observer) but they are sufficient to en- 

 able me to distinguish at °ncc batweSU the Iwo, when taken, as they of- 

 , , u :i,:, from the same river. Mr. y orris believes that S. Initio is to. be 

 found iii the Arctic a:?as on this s|g« the Atlantic, having man specimens 

 brorjellt bdfttt by Br B*ye from Ufwiyaob, 



| I 



unit t/utoru. Vol, ii, p. '217, describes a single specimen of a sea trout 

 taken in Labrador, which he names Sulmn immwlatm. Prof. Baird, 

 in his repoftJor 1871-8, mentions this species of T)r. Stoi eras occur- 

 ring from Labrador to Nova Scotia. The "Fishing Tourist." by CthorlOS 

 H.illoek, also men' Ions tie-.- two species as distinct, though Mr. Hallock, 

 like the others, ..-.ill* n:tr sen irout Salmo thttttt. Until the two have 

 been compared and described by competent authority, we. must remain 

 in doubt, as to their identity, 



Ho.vever I his may lie their habits are different. The brook trout makes 

 its permanent home in fresh water, and is rather a stationary flsh. The 

 sea trout is aniidronious; like Ihe salmon. It lives most of the year in the 

 oQeAU, .only ascending the rivers in Summer for spawning purposes. 

 Like tlie salmon also, I have found that the sea trout would only take 

 the fly While in the boots, and it took the fly under water, as tho salmon 

 usually doe*. This win the adult fish. Perlev and otters assort that the 

 sea trout never ascends into purely fresh water; but 1 have taken them 

 with the fly well up the Kesfigouche, at least thirty miles above the tide, 

 in company with brook trout and salmon pan'. Both were of small size 

 — less than a half a pound BnoVJ imagine the sea trout bad not yet. vis- 

 ited the sea. In the Nouvclle, another river of the Bay of Chaleurs, fa- 

 mous for large sea trout, none being taken by me undcr.two ponnds, I 

 found no brook trout, but the sea trout were of remarkable size, vigor, 

 and beauty, and all our party agreed that on the table they were superior 

 to thcircou«ius, the brook trout. In the Tabusintac, another famous 

 trout stream o: New Brunswick, where I killed the sen trout and brook 

 trout ill the same water, in July,] found them of all sizes, from a few- 

 ounces to two pound- in weight, but of less activity and vigor than those 

 of the Nouvelle. though much more, numerous. 



On Prince Edward's Island, in the middle of Jnly, I found the sea 

 trout well up the rivers in company with brook front. They varied in 

 size from two pounds down to two ounces, nnd as elsewhere took a tly 

 at night and morning with eagerness, often two or three being lauded at 

 once. I was told that these trout can be taken in June at the months of 

 most of the rivers In the Dominion, either with fly, bait, spoon, or arti- 

 ficial mininw— that is, when in the humor to feed. As with all trout, 

 there are times when they cannot be tempted. These are adult flsh from 

 two to five pounds III weight. In July aud August: they run up the riv- 

 ers to spawu, as do Ihe saimon, which they more resemble in habits than 

 they do the brook trout. 



I have often wondered why this desirable species should not have been 

 introduced into American waters in these days of pisciculture. From its 

 habit of seeking its native si ream for spawning, it. would seem to be as 

 practicable as the restoration of tho salmon. The reason may be that it 

 is confounded with the brook trout, to which I think it superior in many 

 polnts-in size, in game qiniluieh', and in value for the table. It also 

 possesses the advantage of being less liable to extermination by poach- 

 ers, being absent at sea Tor a large part of the year, and the economic ad- 

 vantage of finding its food there without cost to any mac. Whether or 

 not this is done, the Canadian trout, offers, in its native waters, the very 

 finest of sport, at little -trouble or expense. S. c. Clarke. 



ANOTHER SPECIMEN. 



Sai.eh, Mass., January 5, 1873. 



Editor Forf.st and Str 



eam:— 





A specimen of IhcHolai 





misii', or Bittern, was shot in an or- 



chard in the southern part 





ty last week. Besides the time of 



year, the locality is in the 



midst of a 



thriving neighborhood, over a mile 



Train fresh water. This b 



rdwas sn 



ot by the same person who saw the 



rail, noticed in your last i 



isne. Tot 



rs, Teal. 



BUZZARDS IN MAINE. 



New York, January 11th, 1875. 

 Editor Forest and Stream:— 



In a late issue, your correspondent, Koamer, speaks of a turkey buz- 

 zard having been caught in Cumberland county, Maine, and he also adds, 

 "1 know of no authenticated instance of a vulture being seen so far 

 East and North previous to the one above mentioned, and deem it an in- 

 cident of interest to naturalists." I am unable to give any personal ex- 

 perience in regard to this bird, so wilt state what I find in the appendix 

 to Samuel's liirds of New England :— " Cathartes aura, turkey buzzard — 

 accidental; one taken at, Calais, Maine; George A. Boardman; two in 

 Massachusetts, 1803." It also gives the black vulture (P. atratus) as 

 being found in one case at Calais by that same gentleman. Considering 

 this authentic, I inclose it. C. H. Eagle. 

 «»•♦- 



A QUERY. 



Albany, N, Y., January 9th, 1815. 

 Editor FQKBST and Stream:— 



Has it never been suggested to you that the much talked of blue biu:k 

 trout of Bangely are identical with the "frost fish" of the Adtrondacks? 

 I have never seen either, but have heard a great deal about both, and 

 what I have heard I am of the opinion ttiat they are the samo. Hoping 

 that this note may elicit some definite information about the "frost flsh," 

 1 will not at present further allude to the matter. Yours, 0. D. 



ffocidfond, Jpw/r nnd (gnrdm. 



PLANT TREES IN CITIES. 



ONE of the greatest inducements for tree culture in all 

 our cities, and the planting of forests in all our 

 spare places, will be found in the healthful exhalations of 

 oxygen. A well known chemical fact, that trees absorb 

 carbonic acid gas and give off ox}'gen — the first being in 

 jurious to life, the last an indispensable agent tolho same — 

 should he an inducement for a general planting of trees in 

 and about our towns and cities. It is of little use to ap- 

 ply many of the costly disinfectants that are now sown 

 broadcast so long as we neglect more important measures. 

 Of what use is it to throw here and there a little chloride 

 of lime into a few old cess pools of the purlieus, where the 

 scavenger's cart is almost an unknown vehicle, and the 

 debris of tilth is allowed to accumulate in heaps at the cor- 

 ners of our streets? Is there any healthy element evolved 

 from this state of atmosphere? When we consider the im- 

 mense amount of gas given off in all our closely inhabited 

 places, we must, I think, see the necessity of a reformation 

 of this slate of things if we would live free from sickness— I 

 had almost said if we would live ai all. Yet the advocates 

 for sunlight in cities are so progressive that they would 

 remove every green tree or source of shade that may stand 

 in their way. All this, too, in full knowledge of the fact 

 that it requires more than two acres of forest to purify the 

 air vitiated by every three inhabitants. Upon this startling 

 proposition, a city of some six hundred thousand inhabi- 

 tants would require four hundred thousand acres of trees 

 and vegetation to absorb or take up the carbonic acid and 

 other foul gases generated by the people. 



The wind removes a very large portion of foul-odors from 

 our large cities, and were it not for this great ageut of 

 Providence our cities would soon become uninhabitable. 



With these undeniable facts before us, has not the agri- 

 culturist, the gardener, and the philanthropist a work, a 

 mission, a responsibility) that they should perform? 



A s oar cifit.v, I/ft; ptBBpacMy ftnjf densely fli^ V yii!i four 

 . i .,,.■■', , ;, '..:.,; 



high winds do not purify the atmosphere to a sufficient de- 

 gree to insure perfect health, much more to make sanitary 

 precautions unnecessary, 



Upon tliis ground we say to onr health commissioners, 

 and to all whose duty it may be, to give a careful examina- 

 tion to the uta I necessary precautionary mutters that lay 

 directly within their pa 111 of duty as guardians of the public 

 health. 



First, we would recommend a thorough antl careful re- 

 moval of all kinds of offal from the streets of our cities, 

 and the keeping of the streets clean in the future. Then 

 cause to be planted, under the supervision of the city for- 

 ester, if there is one, or a suitable committee, as many for- 

 est trees in all our streets and parks as is practicable, This 

 will yield a twofold benefit to the dwellers in our cities. 

 Those streets not used as warehouses for commerce, as 

 marts for busy life, should rejoice in a deep and beautiful 

 as well as healthful greenness. Do you say — "What, use 

 up our streets, plant trees in all our thoroughfares, make a 

 grove of our drive ways?" Truly, most truly, and give 

 you cheerfulness and better health in return. One well 

 known principle of the chemistry of agriculture is the ab- 

 sorption by the roots of large trees of obnoxious fermenta- 

 tion. The sun, in its scorching rays, sets free many ele- 

 ments of disease, and the roots of "the wayside trees take 

 up these gases and the offal matter washed about their roots 

 by the rains of our Summer mouths. Were not this the 

 case, a greater degree of sickness would prevail than is 

 generally observed in our cities. 



I have before me a letter from a friend in Paris, who 

 says: — Paris has many parks and green spots covered with 

 trees, and the boulevards are considered the most healthy 

 parts of the city, for the reason that the oxygen given off 

 tends in a great degree to counteract the noxious vapors 

 and gases, otherwise dangerous in the extreme. The death 

 rate, in consequence of these trees and parks, have within 

 a few years been reduced from one in thirty-four, as it for- 

 merly was, to one in thirty-nine, as it is today." 



We are sorry to say that in none of the cities of the Uni- 

 ted States has the true consideration of these facts of such 

 vital importance been given. Thosewho haveheen charged 

 with carrying into effect the best sanitary measures, seem 

 to have overlooked this inexpensive and simple means of 

 giving health and comfort to our citizens. 



In our next we shall endeavor to show something that 

 should be done as a duty, and which will prove remunera- 

 tive us well as highly sanitary. Olltfod Quill. 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



O. B. R. — In all work among the pines, remember this 

 fact: that their leaves are their very life. Nature has 

 established a rule in the case of the pine tree, it would 

 seem, for our guidance aud observation. In the woods 

 Nature does till the pruning necessary in her own time and 

 way. As the trees run up tall, the small, unnecessary 

 limbs are circled by a growth of bark around the twig 

 which girdles it, and kills it by stopping the sap. It is 

 easily broken, and drops off. "Your case is different, as 

 you desire to cut away the lower branches of the tree. 

 The best time to do this is from the 1st to the I9th of 

 .lune. Some sap will exude at almost any time of cutting, 

 but you can favor your trees much by using a keen edged 

 knife and making a smooth cut. If the brandies are an 

 inch or larger use a fine saw and cut smooth, either in De- 

 cember or June, and take a solution of collodion, or col- 

 ored paint, or even melted grafting wax (put the wax on 

 hot) to prevent a too great exudation from the tree. Pine 

 trees can be made into good looking hedges by early clip- 

 pings; but we recommend the tree as God made it, and 

 think man's operations upon the same as no improvement. 



Thomas Fugeksox, Bridgeport, Conn. — The phial of 

 water sent came to hand safely. The plant, or figure, as 

 you term it, is quite common to all our rivers and inland 

 fresh w T ater ponds. It is one of the most simple forms of 

 polvp or hydra. It is quite frequently seen by the naked 

 eye. Some are very distinct, and are beautiful when seen 

 under a good lens. Its body is cup shaped, surmounted 

 with eight long tentacles, which it has the power of re- 

 tracting. The manner of its reproduction is a wonderful 

 illustration of one of the great laws of Nature. It pro- 

 duces young ones by the process of budding, and the buds 

 (as in the specimen sent) may often be seen protruding 

 from the sides of their parents. So tenacious is it of life 

 that it may be cut into several pieces and each part will 

 grow into a perfect hydra, It looks like a little tree grow- 

 ing in the clear, still' water. Also, in the the water sent, 

 came another common object for the microscope, probably 

 too minute to have been noticed by you. A parasite called 

 the fish louse. It is often found creeping over the sides of 

 pickerel and other fish of our ponds. In shape it much 

 resembles a bed bug, and is about the same size. 



"A Long Island Farmer" is informed that large apple 

 trees, such as the ones that trouble him and will not bear, 

 probably will bear if treated as follows: — As your tree is 

 large— you say eighteen inches in diameter— five feet from 

 the body of the tree open a trench one or more feet wide, 

 aud cut oil: smoothly nearly all the roots extending through 

 this trench; saw off" the larger ones smoothly, and take out 

 the root pieces that will extend across your trench . Make 

 your trench as deep as you find any roots extending down- 

 wards, and remove all the soil from the same. Now fill np 

 this trench with good, well rotted manure, to which add 

 half a bushel of pulverized charcoal. This may be done 

 now, or at auy time when the ground is not frozen. With a 

 scraper remove all rough bark, and give a good wash to the 

 trunk and limbs of the tree, made from cow manure, clay, 

 or loam, equal parts, one half part of charcoal dust and 

 lime, and one pound of potash dissolved in warm water. 

 Mix immediately this wash, and apply two or three limes. 

 Your tree will give you a good account if the above is 

 faithfully performed." 



Minerva Morris, Westfield, Mass.— The trouble with 

 your plants is, I think, from your description, wood lice, 

 present in great numbers. I have known them to clear a 

 pot in a single night as soon as the seed leaves appear 

 When wood lice appear, some persons imagine that their 

 seeds have never come up, for it requires the use of the 

 magnifying; microscope to detect the minute stalks when 

 deprived of their leaves. It was after several trials and 

 considerable study that I at last ascertained the cause to 

 be the presence of myriads of these pests in the soil at the 

 bottom of the pots. They sometimes infest hot beds and 

 frames in the same manner. They may be destroyed by 

 iitly-irq? hc-JHno wttiflY jMiif'^1 OtU HW anil. 



