FOREST AND STREAM, 
69 
a salmon be seized as it descends, and be confined in a 
fresh, water pond or lake, and what is its fate? Before 
preparing to qnit, the river it had suffered severely in 
strength, bulk, and general health, and, imprisoned in an 
atmosphere which had become unwholesome, it soon 
begins to languish, and in the course of the season expires. 
The experiment has been tried and the result is well known. 
This being an ascertained and unquestionable fact, is it a 
violent or unfair inference that a similar result obtains in 
the case of those salmon that are forced back, from what¬ 
ever cause, to the sea, that the salt water element is as 
fatal to the gravid fish of the autumn as the fresh water 
element is to the spent fish in spring?” If there is any 
truth in the assertions of this advocate of double journeys 
to the sea, they suggest the strongest possible reasons for 
the removal of all obstructions of rivers that the salmon 
may have free course in the fulfillment of its powerful 
and uueoutrolahle instincts. 
The JSalmoniclai are not exempt from troublesome para¬ 
sites, diseases, or sweeping epidemics. Indeed, such is the 
common lot of all animated nature from monad to man. 
Besides minute creatures, quite microscopic in character, 
which make a lodgment in their viscera, various parasites 
fix themselves beneath their scales, in the mouth, iu the in¬ 
testinal canal, and upon the gills. Salmon and trout, 
as well as other fresli water fish, are preyed upon by differ¬ 
ent species of pediculi, and as some of these parasites can¬ 
not live in salt water, it lias beeu supposed that to lid them¬ 
selves of these annoying pests, impel salmon to migrate to 
the sea as a means of relief, more especially from the an¬ 
noyance of the tour nos salmonea, which always locates upon 
the branehia, or gills. The trout lODge, toarnm truths, is 
also not unknown to trout fislies. The abrasion of the 
scales to any extent usually ends fatally, hence, great cau¬ 
tion should be had in handling spawnersand milters during 
the breeding season. All fislies are avacorous, or egg de- 
vourers, aud hence, naturally hinder with thousands of 
other enemies their multiplication. Aquatic fowls, ducks 
aud geese, delight in the roe of fishes, and their repeated 
divings in shallow places, or marshes, indicate too plainly 
the industrious application of their instincts iu feeding 
upon the newly deposited ova of different kinds of fishes. 
The so-called “water lizard,” (menobrmchus lateralis, Say), 
is a great devourer of trout aud whitefish spawn. 
It is estimated, on good authority, that these lizards con¬ 
sume the entire spawn ot a tish iu a day or two; and as an 
evidence of their numbers, aud their destructive work, 
hundreds during the spawning of ttie whitefish are caught, 
full to repletion of newly deposited ova. The whitefish 
has other destructive enemies, a Leama, and an annelid, t he 
Ichthyobdella punctata. The former is armed with a weli- 
sliaped sucker, which it buries in the epedermal sheath of 
the scales. The latter is a leech, three-fourths of an inch 
long, of a grayish while color, with tesselated markings- 
These leeches, during the month of April, cover the fislies 
of all species, and the nets; they were found gorged with 
blood attached to the gills of fish, as well as their bodies; 
the latter region would seem difficult to bleed, but their 
power ot' suction seemed adequate to fill them full of 
blood. In further consideration of the Salmonidm, iu con¬ 
nection with their natural history, they belong to the order 
of Abdominal malacopteri, soft-Tayed fishes, in which the 
vertical fins are attached to ttie parietes or walls of the ab¬ 
domen. In tltis species, tbe upper arcade of the mouth 
(upper jaw) is formed anteriorly by the prc-maxillar (inter 
maxillarids) and laterally by the maxillaries, the number 
and arrangement ot the teeth vary according to the genera. 
The head is covered with a scaleless integument, while the 
body is always covered with scales. There is always pre¬ 
sent a rudimentary, or an adipose fin, between the dorsal 
and caudal fins, which constitutes a diagnostic mark of 
every species, down the scale of consanguinity to Hie re¬ 
motest of the blood relation, These are present in all 
pseudo-bracliia, or accessory gills. The intestinal canal is 
short, with numerous canal appendages, running all the 
way from fort}’ to seventy, a stiange disparagement which 
has some significance in relation to ingesta, of a developed 
form. The air-bladder is large and simple in its anatomi¬ 
cal construction. In the following descriptions, onlv the 
typical species will be taken into account, viz., the 8almo 
ealar and Sabno quinnat of the Atlantic and Pacific Slopes; 
the Bahru, namuyamh of the Great Northern Lakes; the 
Sulmo fontinalis of tbe mountain streams; the thymalli of 
North America and Europe, aud the corregoni of our 
country and the Dominion. 
Hybrid Sai.monid.e -—On February 22d I took a run do wn 
to Caledonia, to see what my old friend Monroe Green was 
about, and found many changes since my visit of last year. 
The troughs and interior arrangements have all been turn¬ 
ed around, the filter box put out doors, which gives much 
more room. A settling reservoir has been buit in the creek 
above the dam whore only what water is needed for the 
h6uBe flows through, I saw those hybrids that Seth spoke 
of at the meeting of the Fish Cullurista’ Association, only 
four were hatched aud the remaining eggs looked well. 
What appeared singular, was the shape of the sac. Every 
one that has hatched salmon and trout can tell the differ¬ 
ence between them by the appearance of the umbilicus, 
and for the benefit of those interested who have not had 
the pleasure of observing this, I will say, the sac of the 
trout approaches the globular form more nearly than that 
of the salmon. The former might be described as ovate- 
Oblong,, and tbe latter as ovate-cylindraceous, or to make 
it clearer, the sac of the salmon has a projection on the 
end, perhaps one-third its length. Now, these hybrids are 
from the eggs of brook trout impregnated by milt from 
the quinnat salmon, and as the yolk of the egg forms the 
Bac it strikes one as very remarkable that these fish have a 
salmon sac. As there were but four hatched out of many 
thousand eggs, it is possible that when the whole lot come 
out there "may he differences in this respect. Mr. Green 
will probably watch the growth of these fish with interest, 
and when mature we will all want to take a look at them 
. to observe the exact size and location of the bar sinister, 
which, if we cannot find, we will appeal to Prof. Gill. 
The work at this house increases every year, and if the 
filters had not been put out.doors thet e would;not be nearly 
room enough. They have from one million to twelve hun¬ 
dred thousand brook trout, and three million lake trout, 
many of the latter have been put in shad boxes in the 
Stream for want of room, Of white-fish, they have hatch¬ 
ed about 100,000 at the house and sent 100,000 to Geneva 
Lake, and 140,000 to Seneca Lake. I have been in many 
fancier and better looking hatching-houses, but for good 
work, and plenty of it, the New York house is ahead. 
Fred. Mather. 
■ - < i» 
THE CULTURE OF CARP. 
It is known to many of our readers that the United 
States Fish Commission has commenced measures on a 
large scale for the introduction of caTp into appropriate 
waters, find that over a hundred of these fish, in good con¬ 
dition are now in charge of the Maryland Fish Commis¬ 
sion at Druid Hill Park iu Baltimore. We have reason to 
hope that this experiment will he a success, and that be¬ 
fore many years the carp will occupy the same position as 
a domesticated fish in the United States that it now does 
iu Germany and elsewhere in Europe. To give an illustra¬ 
tion of the success of an experiment made in 1872 in this 
same direction by Mr. Poppe, we print a circular recently 
issued by that gentleman:— 
SoBOMA, Cal., Feb. 13 th, 1876. 
Deab Sin:— 
I would respectfully- call your attention to a possible, bnt, ae yet, un¬ 
developed source of profit to farmers in the United States, Viz: carp rais¬ 
ing. In Germany thousands of pounds of this favorite fish arc raised 
and sold every year. The farmers there who are engaged in pisciculture 
have from five to seveu ponds. The smallest is the breeding pond, from 
which the others are stocked. Tko contents of one pond are sold every 
year, Numbers of ttie fish are floated down the rivers and canals in- 
large boxes pierced with holes, through which the water passes in and 
out, thus delivering the carp to the consnmcr Blive and fresh. They are 
a fish that need hut little attention, are hardy, prolific, and do excellent¬ 
ly well on this continent. Their food may consist of wheat, barley, 
com, peas, bran, blood, sonr milk, or In fact almost anything. When 
well red they will grow one inch per week for the first two at three 
mouths, after which they will grow slower in length, but increase rap¬ 
idly in weight. It will not do to breed them in ponds where any game 
fish are kept, as they will eat the young carp. 
In speaking of the growth and increase of these fish, I probably can 
not do belter than to give my individual experience. I arrived here di¬ 
rect from Reinreldt, Holstein, in August, 1873, with five small carp, six 
inches long. The fish were in a very precarious condition, one dying as 
I placed it in the water, In the following May the original carp bad 
grown to sixteen inches iu length, and the young fish numbered over 
three thousand. Every fish that I can possibly send to market here sells 
readily at one dollar per pound. Farmers who have natural facilities 
ou their places for making ponds, and who have access to canals or riv¬ 
ers communicating with large cities, can greatly increase their income 
with but small trouble and expense. There ought to be one person in 
every county who would raise choice carp as stock fish to sell to others 
to fatten for their own tables. It would be a cheap but sumptuous food, 
and at the same time vory convenient, as they are ready to be eaten at 
all times of the year. 
Being desirous of thoroughly acclimatizing the carp to this conntry, 
and thereby adding a new channel of gain to fanners, I will Block the 
ponds of any peraou who has a suitable place. Tor raising and selling 
these fish, on shares. Or, ir enough are ordered to pay the expenses of 
chartering a fish-car, I will deliver the carp along the linb of the railroad 
from Sau Francisco to New York. My price in California is five dollars 
per fish to pisciculturists, aud one dollar per pound to consomers. 
J. A. Poi-ra, 
Sonoma, Sonoma county, Cal. 
SETH GREEN ON TROUT RAISING. 
# Rochester, N. Y„ Feb. 38th, 1876. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
Many articlesliuvo been written on trout culture. They tell you that 
all that is necessary to raise trout is to have plenty of pure water. That 
is true, if you do not wish to raise but a few dsh—just a9 many as there 
is natural food for in your pond. But if yon have many breeding trout 
it is necessary to get the food very near the pond and cheap. They ore 
great feeders, and no man can make a success in raising many tront, un¬ 
less he has tbeir food near at hand, and can get it nearly free of cost. 
Many people have written me on the subject, who live several miles from 
villages and railroads, and many that live many miles in the wilderness. 
My answer has always been to them that they would fail if they under¬ 
took it. Several States have State hatching-houses, and many more will 
be built, and some of the commissioners ask my advice, and the answer 
I give them is, to locate their house wlrere they can get pure water, and 
at tho nearest point to get the breeding fish, and where they can get 
plenty of cheap food for the fish. Seth Green. 
l^oodUmd, stfinrm and (garden. 
Transporting Grapes. —The experiment of transport¬ 
ing grapes from California by a refrigerated can, on the 
Union Pacific Railroad, was completely successful, A fan- 
blower attached to the wheels forces a current of air 
through a mass of broken ice reducing the temperature to 
3!5o to 45°, preserving the fruit perfectly. We have scon 
grapes preserved in this way in a fruit preserving house 
iu this city for an entire year, and apples three years, but 
peaches could not be preserved. 
Oranges. —The oiauge lias beeu found to be a tonic and 
remedy for many diseases, rheumatism, dyspepsia, com¬ 
plaints of the liver, and hundreds of other disorders, it 
vies with all the mineral waters and famous springs fre¬ 
quented in different parts of the world. 
The Eucalyptus Globulus. —The experiment of plant¬ 
ing this tree in the unhealthy Campagna of Rome with the 
object of destroying the influence of the miasmatic exha¬ 
lations from the ground has been tried for several years, 
particularly in the locality of the Monastery of St. Paul 
Trois Fontaines, where a priest named Gildas has had the 
plants nnder cultivation, In some communications ad¬ 
dressed to the Societe d’Acclimatation de Paris, M. Giidas 
stales that the trees have tliriven; and that he believes they 
have given indications of their power in arresting disease, 
though as yet they are not sufficiently numerous to produce 
much effect. The most important statement made by him, 
however, is that a decoction made from the leaves of the 
tree possesses valuable properties in cases of fever, and 
that many persons have been cured of that disease by 
drinking the “elixir," which is also a preventive of fever. 
The value of the tree has not been unknown in England, 
as several medical men have for some years used prepara¬ 
tions of Eucalyptys in various forms .—The Colonies 
Special Prises at tiie Centennial .—The only prizes 
offered by the Centennial authorities consist of medals and 
diplomas. In a recent letter to the President of the Penn¬ 
sylvania Agricultural Society, Mr. Lnndreth, Chief of the 
Agricultural Bureau, makes some excellent suggestions as 
to the offering a series of special prizes by agricultural so¬ 
cieties, poultry associations, etc., whereby a more active 
competition could he stimulated. The following, wo 
learn, have been already offered:— 
“The Jersey Cattle Club will pay to the exhibitor of 
the best herd of cattle of that breed, one thousand dol¬ 
lars. 
The Produce Exchange, of Philadelphia, will pay to the 
exhibitor of the best cheese, one hundred and fifty dollars. 
Messrs. B. K. Bliss & Boris will pay two hundred dollars 
for the best display of potatoes iu pecks. 
Messrs. D. Lan Jreth <fc Sons will pay one hundred dol¬ 
lars for the best display of vegetables at a stated period. 
Messrs. Henderson & Sons will pay one hundred dollars 
for the best display of tomatoes at a slated period, also 
fifty dollars for the best essay on the cultivation of tho 
cauliflower. 
Mr. Laodreth will pay seventy-five dollars for the best 
essay on the subject of “Foresty.” 
The Pennsylvania Agricultural Society proposes to dis¬ 
tribute one thousand dollars iu special prizes." 
-- 
—It has become quite well established that sunflowers 
are disinfectants, and that they are n preventive of mias¬ 
matic fevers. A gentleman living on the banks of the 
Scheldt 1ms cultivated the sunflower extensively on his 
property adjoining the river, and there has not been n 
single case of miasmatic fever among bis tenants for years, 
although tbe disease prevails to a large extent in the neigh¬ 
borhood. The sunflower in its growth absorbs a large 
quantity of impure gases, feeding principally by its leaves. 
It absorbs nitrogen more rapidly than any other plant, aud 
evaporates as much as a quart of water a day. 
-- 
—The following gentlemen have been elected officers of 
the Queens County Agricultural Society for the present 
year: President, Horatio S. Parke, Bay Side, L. I.; Vice- 
President, Oliver L. Jones, Cold Spring Harbor; Secretary, 
Samuel Willets, Little Neck; Treasurer, Roswell Eldrtdge, 
Hempstead; Directors, Ghas. D. Levericli, Newtown; 
Richard Ingraham, Hempstead; Samuel M. Titus, Glcu 
Cove, George P. Titus, Old Weslbury, Samuel Sayman, 
Jamaica, David L- Van Nostraud, Little Neck. The so¬ 
ciety has now entered its thirty-fifth year, and entirely free 
from any indebedness. Expenditures during the last yeav 
exceeded fifteen thousand dollars. 
Truffle Culture. —Large tracts of land in the south 
of France, not hitherto planted, are being cultivated with 
the kind of oak trees beneath which truflles are generally 
found, and it Is expected lhat each acre of this land, lately 
sold as low as £5, will yield a crop of truffles worth £20 
a year. The experiment has been tried in the department 
of the Vaucluse, and in the course of tire last twenty 
years 150,000 acres, were absolutely unproductive, have 
bet n planted and are yielding a rich return. The cost of 
plantation, which is borne by the commune, does not ex¬ 
ceed 17s. per acre on hilly ground, and though rather 
greater in the lowlands the crops are propertionately heav¬ 
ier. Acorns only are planted on tire hilly ground, but 
saplings of five or six year’s growth, placed iu rows about 
forty feet apart, are found to answer best in the lowlands. 
The ground between llie rows is planted with vines, which, 
after five or six years, repay the cost of plantation aud its 
culture .—The Carden- 
The Sea Lions. —Seth Green thus expresses himself in 
his own quaint way, in a letter to a friend regarding the 
proposed slaughter of the sea-lions now infesting the 
vicinity of San Francisco harbor: “I see by the papers 
that your legislators have or are about to pass an act for 
tbe destruction of all the sea lions that inhabit the rocks 
at the mouth of Snn Francisco Bay. My opinion is, it 
would be a shame to kill them. The whole of them do 
not destroy as many fish as one Chinaman, and if they are 
all killed you will never see any mere on those rocks. If 
there are too manj r employ some honest- citizen to kill a 
certain number; but do not destroy the whom of that 
interesting family of sea-lions. IE you do you will never 
be sorry but once, and that will be the remainder of your 
lives.” . 
Washing Flannels and Linens.—To whitcu flannel, 
made yellow by age, dissolve one aud a half pounds white 
soap in fifty pounds soft water, and also I wo-third ounces 
spirits aramouia. Immerse the flannel, stir well around for 
a short time, and wash in pure water. When black or navy 
blue linens are Washed, soap should not be used. Take in¬ 
stead two potatoes grated into tepid soft water (after hav¬ 
ing them washed and peeled), into which a tenspoonful of 
ammonia has been put. Wash the linens with this, and 
rinse them in cold bine water. They will need no starch, 
and should be dried and ironed od the wrong side. An in¬ 
fusion of hay will keep the natural color in buff linens, and 
an infusion of bran will do the same for brown linens find 
prints .—Scientific American. 
Cattle Killed by Rifle Bullets.— A singular case 
of lead poisoninghasoccurred on afield in Scotland, which 
adjoins a rifle range. Four cows which pastured in the 
field died, and on searching for the cause a quantity of 
spent bullets from the rifle range were tound in their 
stomachs. As rifle shooting is now becoming popular and 
frequent in this country, those farmers whose cattlo graze 
upon or near tbe ranges should exercise caution.—JSn. 
—A now industry— that of drying eggs—lias been set. on 
foot at Passau, on the Danube, and the Prussian military 
authorities are about to give the product a trial for soldiers’ 
rations. The London hews says several German chemists 
are very sanguineus lo the success of the experiment, unci 
they pronounce dried eggs to have lost none of their valu¬ 
able properties by the gradual evaporation of the water 
contained by them in the original state. 
—A Flat Rock milkman found a pickerel in his milk can 
the other morning. His only wonder is that the cow that 
swallowed it did not ohoko to death. 
