250 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Apbil 28,1881. 



summits of our mountains, bordering the banks of our 

 streams, hiding from sight the otherwise miasmatic swamps, 

 and dotting here and there the fertile valleys and plains, like 

 oases on a desert plain. It will be many, yes, very many 

 years before the supply of lumber will be so scant as to create 

 a dearth; and long before that time something else will be 

 invented so that we shall not have to depend upon ii for our 

 building ma' dials. The heaps of sawdust will ere then be 

 manufactured again inlo boards, and all refuse now thrown 

 aside will be made valuable as the original log, without the 

 trouble of resawing. 



Up here, nestled among the summits of the Allegbenies, 

 we residents fear no such famine, and contrive to build and 

 Baw, and clear our land ; «nd fish (I was going to say clear — 

 for the way they are caught would suggest if) our streams ; 

 and while in the spring's enjoyment Of auding, the sum- 

 mer's pleasure of picnics, the autumn's appetizing over the 

 luscious fruit, we are either thinking of the health-invigorat- 

 ing chase of the deer in bis sheltered glen in the coming mid- 

 winter's frosty time, or telling stories of adventures and hair- 

 breadth escapes in the past, when, lost in the '' big woods," 

 ears were frozen and toes nipped, and but for the persever- 

 ance and friendship of companions we would have been sleep- 

 ing the sleep that knows no waiting. J. Hook. 



A VETERAN ON FISHING TACKLE. 



OUR friend and correspondent, Mr. Alex. Mosely, editor 

 of the Richmond (va.) WMq, is an angler of long 

 standing. It has become so much his habit to fish tha' he 

 will probably do it as long as he can lift a rod. This is what 

 he has to say of fishing lackle in the Whig, and its delivery 

 must have been a relief from exasperating politics. He 

 says: " It is a great comfort to an angler to be able to feel that 

 all his tackle is perfect, and can be relied on in all emergen- 

 cies. But we know of no mode of acquiring this desirable 

 conviction except by buying of those who are masters of 

 their business and in "all respects trustworthy. In these re- 

 gards we know of no house superior to that of Abbey & 

 Imbrie, 48 Maiden Lane, New York. They know by actual 

 tests all the requirements — the necessities and luxuries of the 

 fraternity. We do not mean by this that they are the only 

 trustworthy persons engaged in supplying sportsmen's needs. 

 Conroy we hold to be worthy of all confidence, and doubt- 

 less there are many others equally reliable. 



" One has only to examine the advertising columns of 

 Fokkst and Stream to be impressed with the vast amouut 

 of industry, skill, talent, enterprise and genius, and jihilnn- 

 tkrony (emphatically) devoted to this task of supplying the 

 needs and luxuries and augmenting the pleasures of the 

 sporting commuuity. We say philanthropt/, with emphasis 

 — for those who thus toil for the enjoyment and happiness of 

 their fellow-beings cannot be enemies of their kind. But 

 admit that self enters as an element of the motive ; in an en- 

 larged sense it may be truly afbrmed that self — if not a virtue 

 in itself, is ncKl kin to it, and is the basis and prompter of 

 all the virtues. A good man does good deeds because it 

 makes him feel good, and promotes his happiness ; the 

 wicked man, from the same selfish consideration, does evil 

 things, for his heart, as the willow to water, inclines to evil. 

 But whatever the motive, all these successful workers for 

 other people's happiness are entitled to high commendation 

 and hearty thanks. 



" No industrial art, has made greater progress during the last 

 three or four decades than that devoted to the wants and 

 luxuiies of spoilsmen. Forty years ago Conroy was almost 

 alone in New York, and his establishment of that day would, 

 this day, be deemed not above twentieth rate. But whi e he 

 has grown and expanded and kept abreast with the age, a 

 host of other kindred and splendid establishments have 

 burst into existence: and every article for sport on flood or 

 field which genius can devise or inventive want suggest may 

 now be had!" The clothier and the shoemaker have come to 

 supplement the gun and iackie stores, and, by their ingenious 

 fabrics for excluding cold or wet, merit and receive the 

 plaudits and thanks of the same admiring constituency. And 

 to the good repute, profit and pleasure of all— producers and 

 consumers - the taste and appetite of consumption keeps 

 pace with and stimulates the genius of art— thus mutually 

 aidirni anl benefiting all. Onward and upward is the order 

 of the day— Sic Uur ad ant* a /" 



Proteotios of Smelts and Albwivu-s.— The following 

 laws have recently been passed in the State, of Maine and 

 published in the Watervilte Sentinel: 



CBAPTSR 67. 



An Act to amend section eleven, chapter seventy-five of the 

 Public Laws of eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, re- 

 lating to the taking of smelts, entitled, "An Act to regu- 

 late and protect fisheries and the propagation of fish." 

 Be it enacted, etc., as follows: 



Section eleven of chapter seventy-five of the public laws 

 of eitrbteen hundred and seventy-ei ;ht, is hereby amended 

 by -triking out the word "November," in the fourth line, 

 and inserting in plii.ee. thereof, the word "October," so that 

 said section as amended shall read as follows; 



Sho. It. No smells shall he taken or tished for in any of 

 the tidal waters in this State, in any other manner than by 

 hook and line, between the first day of April and the first day 

 of October in eachyear, under a penaly of not less than ten 

 dollars, nor more than thirty dollars for each offense, and a 

 further penalty of twenty cents for each smelt so taken, and 

 all weirs for the cap ure of smelts shall be opened, and so 

 remain, and all nets of any kind used in the smeb and tom- 

 cod fishery shall be taken from the water on or before the 

 said first day of April in each year, under a penalty of not 

 less than twenty, nor m ire than fifty dollars, and a further 

 fine of five dollars per day for each day that any such weir 

 or net remains in violation of law : tut weirs which have 

 catch-pounds, covered with net, the meshes of which are one 

 inch square in the clear, or greater, shall not be subject to 

 the provisions of this section. Provided, however, that dip- 

 nets may be used from the first day of April to the twentieth 

 day of April. 



[Approved vT a rch 15, 1881 ] 

 CnAFi^K 77. 

 An Act for the protection of Alewives. 

 Be it enacted, etc., as follows: 



Seo. 1. No alewives s all be taken, killed or fished for in 

 any waters within the jurisdiction of this >tate, net <v ecu the 

 fifteenth day of July of each year aud the first day of April 

 following, uor at any time in uon-tidal or non-navigahle 

 waters, by means of any net other than the ordinary hand 

 dip-net, under penalty of ten dollars for each offense, and 

 one dollar additional for each fish so taken or killed. 

 Sbo. 2. This act shall take effect when approved. 

 [Approved March 16, 1881. [ 



Protection of Bj^ok Bass. — Manchester, Iowa. — I no- 

 tice in your issue of April 7 a communication from Chatta- 

 nooga, Tenn., by H. H. Sneed, in which he speaks of black 

 bass fishing, and, among other things referred to, says the 

 best time of the year to caich the bass in 'his river is from Ap'il 

 1 to June 1. On thesame pagetl92), from Savannah, Tenn., 

 dated March 21, another says: "Bass bit well last week." 

 And still another on the same page — "They are about to 

 commence the bass fishing in the Potomac " I am not at all 

 surprised that the largest bass are caught and that the black 

 bass bite well in April and May. In pur county and in Iowa 

 these months are the spawning months, and any boy, with 

 his basswood pole and a red piece of flannel on h s hook, can 

 lake them off of their spawning bed. I believe that Iowa is 

 the finest bass fishing State in the West, but it is because 

 April and May are the close mouths and our bass streams are 

 watched. Any man who is found with a black bass in his pos- 

 session during these months (April and May) is fined ten dol- 

 lars and stands committed until the fine is paid. In the 

 Potomac, W, H. R , in his communication, says : " Any one 

 warning to have a good bass fish had better strike the falls." 

 Yes, no dou t of it. They have gone there to produce their 

 young and the falls prohibit their advance. The sportsman 

 is invited to go and take them and destroy millions of the 

 young. Iowa protects her trout, black bass, wall-eyed pike 

 and all the fsh in the 1 kes placed there by the Fish Commis- 

 sioners, and in four years ihe increase has been many mil- 

 lions in the rivers of Iowa. The success of 'he trout in our 

 county, Delaware, to which I called the attention of the 

 readers of the Fokkst and Stream about October, 1880, still 

 continues. The brood planted in our waters in June, 1877, 

 now weigh three pound i, and have twice spawned. The fish 

 hatch of 187!), placed in the stream by Col. f-dtaw, are spawn- 

 ing now, and weigh one and three-quarter pounds. 



The stream is about three miles long and is perfectly alive 

 with trout. It is fed from large springs and is lined with 

 water-cresses, which furnish food in ihe shape of insect life. 

 Bui this is the eleventh day of April, and the snow is two 

 feet on its banks, and is snowing hard, as it has beeu for 

 twenty-four hours. S. G. Van Anda. 



Restigocchb Region, N, B., April 16.— When I tell you 

 that there has beeu horse racing on the ice on the Bay Cha- 

 leur near Campbellton, within a few days, you will know 

 that icy chill winter still clings to us, though further south the 

 Nova Scotia rivers are free from ice, and a few salmon and 

 trout have been taken there. The Miramichi and Ncpisiquit 

 rivers are but partly clear of ice. The Al teniae Indians 

 at the missions near Campbellton are bringing some fur and 

 quite a quantity of small trout. The trout are caught through 

 the ice at the lakes that lie back in the interior. Ihe waters 

 in the streams here are quite low, and will continue so until 

 we have heavy rains, and unless these rains come abundant- 

 ly we may r expect another poor season's fishing. The letters 

 of your correspondents who have been engaged in the late 

 controversy over the salmon and trout fishing in the mari- 

 time provinces were, we should say, written by parties who 

 spend but a few weeks here each season, who make what 

 might be called flying trips through the country, and those 

 letters, by resident sportsmen are regarded in the light that the 

 practical farmer regards II. G.'s book " What I know About 

 Farming" Mr. J. R Hamilton, M. P. P., for Bonaventurc 

 County, Quebec, is about formine a stock company to build 

 a large hotel at New Carlisle, on the Bay Chaleur, and in im- 

 mediate vicinity of good angling waters, which will be kept 

 open for use of guests of the proposed hotel. There is also 

 a fine beach for sea-bathing quite near.— Stanstead. 



'Tub Best Fi,t Rod. — Au "Amateur" writes: "As it ap- 

 pears impossible to get an opinion as io which of the differ- 

 ent trout fly-rods (except split bamboo) is the best, those in 

 charge of tiie Fly-casting Tournament would confer a great 

 favor upou fly-fishers in general by calling upon the different 

 makers to send their best (wooden) rods to be tested 1>\ ap- 

 pointed judges, and their judgment published. In the tnean- 

 iime your judgment upon those you have used will be greatly 

 appreciated." 



"Amateur" asks too much. A rod which just suitB one 

 man's strength and style of work would be pronounced too 

 stiff, long or weak for another. This is something which 

 all men must decide for themselves. We think that rod- 

 makers should allow a trial before purchase. If buyers de- 

 manded it they would do it as readily as gunmakers do. 

 Our correspondent should got some angling friend to select 

 for him at first until he knows just what he wants. We 

 have seen elegant rods which did splendid wo k in other 

 hands which were too limber in the second joint, or had 

 some other fault for us. Write to our advertisers of rods, 

 and get their views. Perhaps some will send several rods 

 to select from. 



Fishing in Gboihha— Deeatur Co., Ga.— The fishing sea- 

 son is in full bloom As our streams abound with succulent 

 catfish of every variety, perch of all species, the hvgest of 

 rock bass, the finest of chub and pickerel in abundance, the 

 disciples of Izaak Walton can enjoy themselves to theii hearts' 

 content. 



The waters of Flint Rive*, flowing at our very doors, swarm 

 wih ihe species of fish above enumerated, and when not too 

 swollen from the heavy rains that are visiting us at this time 

 one need not go elsewhere to enjoy the luxury of good fish- 

 ing. West of us is Spring Creek, through whose limpid 

 waters glide the largest of voracious pike, rock bass, chub, 

 bream, yellow, pea," gold, warmoulh, and speckled perch, 

 suckers and cat fish. It is Ihe bappv fishing ground of the 

 angler where he can choose for himself just the kind of lish 

 he wishes to dine upon, aud catch him too. This stream &mp, 

 liesino Flint River twenty miles below us. At its mouth 

 rock-fish are caught, weighing at this season from feu to fifty 

 pounds. Set hooks are used, baited with suckers or brca.ni. 

 Now and then one is caught by bobbing. Here, too, bream, 

 pike, chub, and the various perch family are caught more 

 abundantly than at any other point on the creek. A catch 

 of one to two hundred pounds a day can be easily made by 

 one man. . 



We are organizing an expedition for that point now. In 

 the sweet by and by I will tell you all about it. 



O. G. Garet. 



The Ranoblbys— Rangeley, Me., April 20.— Editor F>r- 

 ent and Stream: The season for fishing will be late. Two 

 feet of snow still cover the ground, aud the ice inth • lakes is 

 unaffected by warmth. Owners and superintendents of 

 camps are hauling in supplies and malting improvements an- 



ticipating an increase of visitors. The boat builders have 

 turned out double the number of boats the past winter of 

 any previous season. Samuel Farmer, of the Borden House, 

 Phillips, has erec ed a wing to his previously large hotel to 

 accommodate h s friends whose name is legion. At his house 

 all are made to feel at home, and charges are moderate. Mr. 

 Farmer hns had a large experience in the Rangeley region as 

 burner and angler, and cau give sportsmen "points " Be- 

 sides, he possesses literary talent of a high order, which it is 

 hoped he may be induced to exercise for the benefit of readers 

 of Forkst and Stream. — Wai.field. 



Not Fkesh— Chicago, April \T>.—Edityr Fo7-estand Stream: 

 Inclosed herein you will find a remarkable fish story, which 

 appears quite fresh. Perhaps you may consider it worthy of 

 space in your paper.— R. 



Our conespondent will find the. story published in Forest 

 and Stream of September 5, 1878, p. 101. It is "fresh" com- 

 pared to some of the stories which are now traveling about 

 the country, but hardly fresh enough for us. 



Wekdsport, N. Y. —We are about one mile from Seneca 

 River and four from Cross Lake. We used to have good fish- 

 ing, but the fish pirates are. taking them all in nets. 1 count- 

 ed five fykes within a half mile.— Dan. 



Calif rnia— Gilroy. — Fishing commenced on the first, 

 and we have heard of some good crcelsful being taken by the 

 Messrs. Holloway, Paine, Cameron and others ; but, as for 

 ourselves, we have not had much luck as yet. John Hollo- 

 way tells of a terrible fight he bad with a nine-pound salmon 

 trout, which only gave op after fifty minutes of hard struggle 

 over one quarter of a mile of river. He was a beauty to look 

 rt.— H. M. B. 



A Largs South-side Thout. — Mr. G. Chichester, of 

 Fatchogue, L. I., with an eight-ounce rod, caught on the 13th 

 a 2£ lb." trout below the flue at the west pond. 



Da. Henbhall's Book. — In our notice we spoke of this as being 

 a work on the "Fresh-water Bass," omitting the adjective " black" 

 " before the bass." Thin has occasioned the Doctor many letters of 

 explanation to 3how that he did not include all fishes called bass 

 in fresh water. He confines himself to the two epecieB called 

 black bass and which are distinguished as " big mouth " and 

 " small mouth " and other names m other localities. The book is 

 now hi press. 



r i£h &ttltwe. 



THE AMERICAN FIHHCULTTJRAL ASSOCIATION. 



[continued.] 

 The Secbetahy then read the following paper : 

 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE BIOGRAPHY OF THE COMMER- 

 CIAL COD OF ALASKA. 



BY TABLETON H. BEAN, OLD. 



T'HE cod fishery of Alaska has nearly ended its second decade, 

 -I vet we did not know positively until the summer of 1880 what 

 species is the object of that fishery. Mont writers have referred to 

 it under the name of G-aihts muvroKeiikahif, which was created by 

 Tile-'ius for the Ramtehatkan cod, the figure of which suggests 

 that it was based upon a defonned individual. Cope, m 1873, de- 

 scribed the young of the common Alaska cod as Gadus auralus, 

 from specimens collected by Prof G r -o. Davidson at Unalashka. 

 rHeiiidaehner, in the Proceedings (Siliunrjsberichte) of the Vienna 

 Academy, lib, 1. 1870, adopts the name G. macrocephalus for a 

 large cod taken in Deeaatris Bay ; in this example the length of the 

 head is contained exactly three times in the length of the extreme 

 end of the. pointed caudal peduncle. The same proportion may, 

 however, be found in any place where large numbers of Gadus 

 morrhua are taken, and it is only a matter of individual variation. 

 The Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, Prof. S. F. Baird, with a 

 view to investigating the fisheries and the fish of Alaska, sent the 

 writer to that territory to collect specimens and statistics during 

 the summer of 1880. Thus, for the first time, au opportunity was 

 gamed for comparing the Alaskan cod directly with that of New 

 England and of Europe, aud for determining that the commercial 

 cod of both.oceans is the Gadus mwrlwa of Linnteus, I have not 

 seen the specie* from Kamtchatka, but there is no probability that 

 it is different from the Alaskan. It ia a matter of daily experience 

 to find long-headed and short-headed cod in the same school off 

 the New England coast, the length of the head being one of tho 

 most variable characters. A series of cod, showing just such vari- 

 ation, has lately been received from Alaska by the National Mu- . 

 seum. 



Golden ood, red cod and other alga- forms are as well known at 

 the Shumagin Islands as they are around Cape Ood and Cape A n n . 

 Even the beautiful lemoii-yeilow fish, which occasionally are found 

 in the Ipswich Bay schools, are duplicated in Alaskan waters. 



Nor dueB the similarity between the commercial cod of the two 

 oceans end with external characters which are taken into account 

 in determining specific relationship, for we find a wonderful re- 

 semblance in habits and in their food. Thus the shore fish about 

 Kodiak make their- appearance in schools similar to ours— first, the 

 "herring school; 1 next, the "hint school ;" then the " capofin 

 school," followed bv the " squid school " and the " wiuter school " 

 Besides these there'is an abundance of bank fish, which are always 

 larger than tboee previously named. All of the food-fiah of the 

 cod here mentioned are exceedingly abundant. The herring is not 

 identical with the common sea herring of the Atlantic, but it ia 

 wondertullv like it. The laut is closely related to one of our New 

 England species; the capelin is the same as ours. The squid has 

 nut come under my observation. 



The cod come on the rocks in twenty-five to thirty fathoms about 

 Kodiak to spawn in November and December, ju.t as they do in the 

 East, and these spawning Ash will sometimes he perfectly still on 

 the bottom and refuse to take the hook. Youug cod Bwarm near 

 the shores, just as they were observed to do in Gloucester Harbor 

 after the experiments of the U. H. Fish Commission with artificial 

 propagation. On tho l.ltliof July, 18811, our seine took young ood at 

 1st. Paul. Kodiak Island. We dredged numbers of them near our an- 

 chorage at Belkofsskv, on the. peninsula of AliaBlca, July 23, 1880, 

 averagiug one and one-half inches in length. On the following 

 day young cod of the same size were found in the stomach of a 

 large one of the same specie* caught near Oleuy Island in seven 

 fathoms of water. Ou the tiret of October, in the harbor of Chent- 

 ofssky, Unalashka Island, the cod fry were very abundant and had 

 reached a length of inches. Atlliuliuk, on the north end of 



the same island, young cod of the same length were seined at vari- 

 ous times from Oct 6, to Oct. 18 ; they fairly swarmed around the 

 wharves, eagerly biting at anything m the form of bait and readily 

 fastening themselves on hooks intended for much lar r er fish. 



The resemblance between the Atlantic and Pacific cod-fiBhing 

 grounds is strengthened by the presence iu Pacific waters of a 

 genuine pollock — not the fierce, Cod-devouring tyrant of the East, 

 but a prettier, weaker relative, greatly loved and grievously perse- 

 cuted by the cod. We have not yot heard of a haddock, f Mvlano- 



