2U 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



tApEiL W, 1881 



and a very fair allowance of good luck to keep abreast of a 

 Southern dyer tooled by a native skipper and worked by a 

 crew used to their waters. The dates for the races have been 

 considerately left open to be filled iu accord with the wishes 

 of the Strangers expected. The prizes exceed anything of 

 the sort evt ]• offered in the Korth, and apart from the credit 

 attached to winning a well-fought match, arc inducement 

 enough to travel a long distance, and will cover the expenses 

 of the undertaking. In the modeling of fast shifting ballast 

 boats Now Yurie thinks she has taken the lead, and in our 

 waters there is little ornothing to dispute her well-established 

 fame. But it was a Southern-built crack that first "took 

 down" our vanity, at least on Lake Ponchartrain last year, 

 When OyQttUS mljs'i unmistakably beat the smartest of the 

 Northern importations, and wo have a little score to wipe 

 out iu that direction. Unlikely to succeed in raising attract- 

 ive purses for a public " Bay rcgat'a" at home, will not some 

 of I hose devoted to racing open boats show hitherto unseen 

 colors ttmollg the fleet of the Crescent City this summer ? They 

 will have no cause to regret the trip from any point of view, 

 and may briug home with them lOule conceptions of what a 

 live and wide-awake yacht club owning open boats may be 

 When animated by a sportsmanlike spirit and controlled by 

 men of broad views and intelligence. We quote with pleas- 

 ore a letter from Vice-Commodore Harris, S, V. C, and com- 

 mend a consideration of the matter to all interested : 

 'Che Southern Yacht Club uociaod April Ja ta offer iu i in- "Jutsr- 

 ■■-.i" under lis auspices, 10 tir.-t-cla-s Boats (oyer 85 ft and 

 iwt over as ft) i piaza of tl,ooo, u suoyaeui from your oily wnieoia- 

 peie; rbciiui hvo yachts win enter and v. '•■'■■>. U ttreanr mora will 



irancageous raws, and ytrti ran guarantee" a hearty welcome and 

 evo attention irom our people. 1 1 ■ ■- ■ >- luiuus, 



Vlce-(uiuiu,.doreN. V. l\ 



THE NEW YORK FISH COMMISSIONS 



GOVERNOR CORNELL vetoed the appropriation for 

 fiskculture last year, but; fortunately the Commission 

 has surplus funds enough on band to bridge over by a se- 

 vere economy the time when a new appropriation may he 

 available. If it were not for this the restdts of former 

 years' labor might have been entirely lost. Now that the 

 season approaches when the subject is again brought before 

 the Legislature, the New York 2'imes, the Bitri and Ihe 

 Brooklyn Bogle have taken up the question, and beseech 

 the Governor not to repeat the veto. On this point the 

 Thiii's said: 



The Governor tool) the ground that it was contrary to public 



policy bo allow an appropriation for such a purpose to become a 



I annual charge on the State, and that us he conceived thepur- 



poe i the appropriation in restocking onr depleted streams with 



nab. to have been fully accomplished, there was no need for further 

 prosecution of the work. In point of fact, the propagation of 

 food lislics in the waters of thin State, us of other States, is still 

 in its infancy. There is not a State in the Union possessing any 

 extensive habitat for tish which does not make an animal appro- 

 priation for UBhoiUture, and New Y'ork is the first iu which any ob- 

 jection-has been m'aeifl On the score that the money cannot be 

 profitably espeudbd. Private enterprise will certainly not provide 

 for keeping up the supply of shad in the Hudson River or for car- 

 rying on the propofcd breeding Of Spanish mackerel tor the Long 

 Island shun any mere Uiauit will do the work of the United Stat. * 

 fish Commission in distributing German carp by the thousand 

 throughout the entire country. There are, it is true, private pes- 

 RQnswliO breed their own trout, hut the streams of the State will 

 not be replenished by that agency. The entire business properly 



bj I _■!. to * ic Slate and national Governments, and wo have yet 



to hear of any public protest iu regard to the non-productiveness 

 of the small amonnt of money which it requires. 



If is not that the Governor had doubts as to the benefits 

 which fisheullurc has already accomplished, but he seems 

 to think that after a stream is ouce stocked that should be 

 enough, lie should remember that our increased popula- 

 tion requires an increase of nets, and that shad cannot be 

 Kept in the Hudson without artificial cul'ure. The I'iuu.i 

 further sa>s : 



If au appropriation i„ L. be made this year, it would be wise if a 

 certain amount of the sum granted by the State should be used for 

 EsncultUre on Long Island- Long Island possesses curtain natural 

 advantages which no other portion of the .State enjoys. The arti- 

 ficial propagation and rearing of trout has always been very suc- 

 cessful here. Trout seem to find their natural food in the Long 

 Island streams, and grow with Wonderful rapidity. But it ia not 

 for trout alone that Long Island would serve as a nursery. Since 

 the United States 1'ish Commission has found that Spanish mack- 

 erel can be reproduced without any trouble, the waters of the 

 Sound could be made to abound with this excellent fish. Last 

 year Spanish mackerel were almost entirely wanting iu the waters 

 adjacent to New York, their absence being attributed to the dunip- 

 fclg-of refuse iu the Bay. Ijl the Sound they were exceedingly 

 scarce, tbe whole number of pounds of Spanish mackerel received 

 last year in the wholesale markets of New 1'ork being only 235,130, 

 jfnereau it fliould have been four or five times as much. ErOffl 



hn 



-idu 



prota 



ad i 



•rtai 



actvanta 



nd 



i,i 'i imi mt»l bat beries for Spanish mackerel, and there are the best 

 r, :i,..:i- tu suppose I Jut just as cod can be reproduced so can Span- 

 ish maiker.'l and striped bass be. largely increased in numbers 

 -from Long Island all the southern and southeastern counties in 

 . ,. II -mid be supplied. With the appointment of a fourth 

 Commissioner, 3Ir. E. ft. Blackford, it was distinctly understood 

 thai, some efforts should he made toward fisheultnre near New 

 York City. For all these reasons, the principal ones being that 



iius given by the Slate serves a useful purpose— that of 



giving food to the people— and because lor every dollar expended 



the return is a thousand-fold, it is hoped that Gov. Cornell will 

 not withhold his consent to an appropriation to be employed in 

 such a legitimate way. 



There are so many things to be said in favor of the good 

 work done in the past by the able Fish Commission of New 

 York, and so little against it, that wo do not at all despair 

 of seeing the Governor convinced that an appropriation for 

 the purpose of increasing the food supply of the people, is 

 money well invested. 



It is an ENooiXBAOisa Sign of the Tjmes that a Western 

 newspaper, long notorious for its scurrilous and abusive at- 

 tacks upon gentlomen of unblemished character and reputa- 

 tion, hasannounced thatit will no longer permit its columns 1o 

 be made the vehicle of "personalities." The lame attempts at 

 explanation and excuse by which this announcement is accom- 

 plished are so feeble that they might excite feelings of amuse- 

 ment were it not so pitiful a spectacle to sec a person compelled 

 to struggle and squirm in such a humiliating fashion as does the 

 writer of the paragraphs in question. He assures his readers 

 that he has "endeavored to publish a gentleman's paper,'' 

 and tacitly asks their sympathy for him in his struggles to 

 this cud, and iu his notable failures. It is certainly to be 

 hoped that his efforts hereafter may be more successful than 

 they have been. We cannot but feel a certain pity for one 

 whose course has been such that he is now obliged to go 

 about to the different Individuals whom he has vilified and, 

 humbling himself with cap iu hand, to abjectly apologize for 

 his unwarrantable conduct in the past. Though, to be sure, in 

 such a case the humiliation is not so deeply felt as might be 

 supposed, since long before such shameful attacks as those 

 referred lo could have been made or permitted, all sglf-respeet 

 and pride must have been lost ; and it is a Buggestive circum- 

 stance in this connection Uiat the sudden determination to 

 wash and be clean was not a voluntary resolution of the in- 

 dividual himself, but was, ou the contrary, a tardy concession 

 to the emphatic demands of numerous outraged subscribers. 



We are glad, for the credit of American journalism, that 

 the torrent of reckless abuse which has so long poured from 

 this source is to cease, and we shall watch with some little 

 curiosity the continuance of the endeavors to publish a gen- 

 tleman's paper. That these efforts will be attended with any 

 very marked degree of success is, under the circumstances, 

 scarcely to be hoped for ; but there is such abundant room 

 for improvement that we may, perhaps, look for some 

 change for the belter. 



Fisnonr.TtiKB and Evolution. — At a recent meeting of 



the Illinois State Natural History Society, Prof. S. A. Forbes 

 made the statement that the time was past for urguing the 

 truths of the doctrine of evolution ; that scientific men sub- 

 stantially agreed that, if it was not in all cases proved to be 

 truth, it in most of them approximated so closely that 

 its entire truth could be safely assumed ; and that they agreed 

 that it was easier to believe than the Iheory of special crea- 

 tion. Ou every baud the naturalist found evidences point- 

 ing in this direction, and be instanced some of his own ob- 

 servations upon the development aud anatomy of fishes. 



In speaking of the development of fishes he referred to 

 the work of the fishcullurists, and objected to the theories of 

 some that all or any fishes could be indefinitely increased 

 without regard to the numbers captured or to their competi- 

 tion for food will other fishes. He claimed that this was 

 a contradiction of the accepted theory of nalura! selection, 

 ami that ihe protection of fishes was as important as their 

 culture. He explained bow the food supply of the fishes was 

 diminished by the drainage of swamps, ihe restriction of the 

 overflow" of. streams by dykes or levees and other works of 

 man, and doubted if the supply could ever be made to equal 

 that of the country before its subjection to civilization. 



Hon. W. B. Wells, of Ontario, died April 8, in Toronto, 

 of paralysis. Judge AVells was born at Maitlami, iu the 

 County of Grenville, October 8, 1809, and commenced the 

 practice of law in Prescott in 1S32. lie was actively inter- 

 ested in politics, and was three times elected to represent 

 Grenville in the Canadian Parliament. Iu the year 1853 h e 

 was appointed Judge of Kent, and filled this position with 

 ability and honor for twenty-seven years, resigning it two 

 years ago, when he went to Toronto, where he has since re- 

 sided. Up to within a short time he has enjoyed excellent 

 health, and his death was sudden. He was struck down by 

 paralysis on Monday aad died the following Friday. 



To the sporlsmen of the last generation Judge Wells was 

 known as a brilliant and versatile writer on subjects treating 

 of the rod and gun. He was a frequent contributor lo the old 

 Potter's Spirit, aud under the pseudonym Oinna contributed 

 to Ihe BiiLinh Whig a series of interesting "Sporting 

 Sketches." He was also the authorof a book on field sports, 

 which was highly thought of in England. 



As if the Game of New Jersey had not suffered enough 

 from forest fires last spring and bitter cold and snows last 

 winter, fresh reports of destruction now reach us. Extensive 

 forest fires are raging in Sussex county, New Jersey, among 

 (he pines, and it is feared that unless they are promptly 

 checked by rains much game may be destroyed. 



Nor are the fires confined to New Jersey, for in the moun- 

 tains of Pennsylvania, near Port Jervis, the forests are on 

 lire. There has as yet been no loss of life so far as reported, 

 but much property has been destroyed and probably a largo 

 amount of game has perished, 



yortenwn Eoumt 



THE FRANKLIN CLUB AT KEELFOOT. 



IT has long been the custom of .the "Franklin Hunting and 

 Fishing Club" to spend a couple of weeks of every fall in 

 shooting and fishing at Reelfoot Lake, situated in the ex- 

 treme northwest corner of this. State, and within a short dis- 

 tance of the Mississippi River, This lake is twenty-five or 

 thirty miles long and from four to eight miles in width, with 

 numerous arms or inlets extending in every direction, many 

 of them to a distance, of three or four miles. These anus 

 are favorite resorts for ducks and geese, the water being Shal- 

 low and their appropriate food abundant. Patches of lulo 

 and bonnets impede somewhat the headway of the sports- 

 man's watereraft— generally a dug-out— but give many good 

 stands for shooting the game in its flight, and here Ihe "best 

 bags are generally made. The lake is studded wilb the re- 

 mains of gigantic cypress trees, still standing straight as 

 arrows, but limbless, and all showing more or less the effects 

 of fire on their charred and blackened bodies. This feature 

 is so constant and gives such a sameness of appearance as to 

 make it necessary for the uninitiated to have guides. The 

 depth of water does not generally exceed ten feet, and where 

 it is only three or four feet in depth the bottom is covered 

 with moss, furnishing vast amounts of food for waterfowl 

 and such fish as live on vegetable diet, besides giving shelter 

 and protection to the small and growing fish against their 

 large and rapacious brethren. Sportsmen from St. Louis, 

 Cincinnati, Louisville, Nashville and all portions of Tenuos- 

 see and Northern Mississippi meet here, some camping out, 

 others finding accommodations at Carpenter's Hotel, kept 

 especially for sportsmen, and furnishing comfortable quar- 

 ters, good, substantial fare and kind attention, with guides 

 and boats for all comers at a rate -sufficiently moderal 6 to 

 within the reach of men of modest means. On the opposite 

 side of the lake from Carpenter's stands a beautiful and well- 

 built club-house, the property of some Nashville gentlemen 

 who, with their friends, make annual pilgrimages to this 

 Mecca of Tennessee, sportsmen. 



We left Nashvide at five o'clock i>. nr. Nov. 11 by rail, and 

 the trip from Nashville over the Northwestern Railroad is 

 always made pleasant by the courtesy and attention of the 

 officers and employes, who extend every desired and proper 

 privilege to spoilsmen in the way of transporting and caring 

 for baggage, dogs, minnows, aud the hundred and one im- 

 pedimenta belonging to a company ou a camp-hunl. The 

 road may be left either at Union City or Hickman, both of 

 which places are provided with excellent liveries. We 

 stopped at the former place, and, after a drive of twenty 

 miles, reached the lake at II r. M., near Carpenter's Hotel", 

 and immediately crossed in boats to a narrow strip of land 

 known as "Long Point." Here we made camp, and before 

 night had our tenls up and our quarters made as comfortable 

 as a house. Our camp was about thirty yards from the mar- 

 gin of the lake, looking southward, while toward the north 

 and east wc were sheltered by a dense, canebrake protecting 

 us against Ihe Idling winds whose visits were in store lor us. 



Every duck known to Western waters may be found here, 

 and, iii some seasons, in numbers almost incredible. It, 

 seeuis to be a favorite stopping place between their Northern 

 habi'at and their southern points to which they migrate. 

 Their stay is s .metimes a question of food, and sometimes of 

 weather." Geese were very plentiful last fall, and large 

 numbers remain hero during the entire year, inuring 

 broods of young. The native goose is much heavier than 

 his migratory brother from Canada, and p asessed of 

 au amount of tolid sense which, in the human being, 

 would lead to fame and fortune. Swans are ftlso found here, 

 although not in great numbers, but here, as elsewhere, ex- 

 tremely shy and diffl3ult to shoot. The water turkey (cor- 

 morant) is here in force, and is a fearful destroyer of fish. 

 They work in concert, and with system and sagacity. Form- 

 ing a long line, beating on the water with tbrir wings, A 



and making hideous noises, they drive the schools of lish to- 

 ward the shallow arms of the lake, devouring such numbers 

 as to make their name a synonym for gluttony. The bird of 

 freedom, loo, seems to like this spot as a home, aud during 

 the hunting season the great numbers of wounded ducks and 

 geese lighten his labors in procuring food. Iu the woods 

 wild turkey and deer abound sufficiently to repay those pre- 

 pared to hunt them. Fur-bearing animals— the heaver, otter, 

 mink, raccoon and inuskrat — are taken in great numbers by 

 trappers, who lead lives of exposure aud hardship during 

 the winter months. 



The weather on the day following our arrival .gave promise 

 of good fishing, and after breakfast we set out for the "drift," 

 some half a mile from camp. This is a portion of the lake 

 in which there is an occasional live cypress growing, among 

 which numbers of fallen trees and logs have drifted and lie- 

 come so wedged and woven in as to defy removal by winds 

 and currents." They are sufficiently scattered lo allow Canoes 

 to penetrate in almost any direction, aud afford the fish se- 

 curity against every device except hook and line. There 

 were four of us, and from 10 a. m. until 4 v. jl we caught 

 thirty-seven black bass, many of them going over four and 

 none under two pounds. Although the next morning was 

 much colder, we determined to fish again, and from 9 a. m. 

 uutil 1 P, ji. caught twenty-five— Capt. P. taking the largest, 

 five andaquarter pounds. The weather was now getting colder 

 every moment, our lines standing up from the corks like wire, 

 and not a man with fingers enough to put a minnow on a 

 hook. As we started for camp, Col. W. had a bite, and did 

 not get off in company with the rest of us. The fish carried 

 his line about the roots of a large cypress stump, aud the 

 Colonel, intent on the capture of his fish, stepped on lo the 

 stump, but after a short struggle his hook was released aud 

 the fish gone. On turning to enter his boat, imagine his feel- 

 ings to find that the wind had blown the boat thirty or forty 

 feet away, and it was still going. His first thought was to 

 make a east with his hook aud sinker, and he landed them in 

 the canoe and drew oat his lauding net. His next cast was 

 more fortunate, the line lodging in a split on the edge of the 

 boat and holding where the "sinker had reached, enabling bun 

 to reel it in. The situation was suggestive to a man of a 

 contemplative turn of mind— water ten feet deep, Wind blow- 

 ing half a ealo, thermometer far below freezing point, and 

 camp half a mile away. 



The weather continuing to grow colder, our party gave 

 their attention to hunting, with fair success. On Ihe 17lh of 

 November Capt. P. and Jno. 0. went up one of the amis a 

 distance of two or three miles, lo what is known as the 

 "Hackles," a famous stand for ducks and geese. But few 

 birds were seen, and by 13 o'clock they found the ice making 

 bo rapidly between themselves and camp as to render their 



