FOREST AND STREAM, 
161 
BIRDS AND LATE SNOW-STORMS. 
Flathead Agency, Montana, March 27th, 1870. 
Editor Foubst and Stream:— 
In reference to the influence of climate npon animals, lot me relate a 
singular ocourrenco which happened in this Territory nearly sis years 
ago. 1 was then living on the Yellowstone River, and after nearly two 
months of ordinary spring weather, on the 31at of May and let of June, 
1870. we were visited by a fearful snow-storm, the snow falling in the 
Yellowstone Valley to the extraordinary depth of eighteen to twenty 
inches. The result was that nearly all the spring and early summer 
birds perished, and could have been picked np by scores. I strongly 
enspect that many tt spring bird is caught forcing the season in moun¬ 
tainous countries, where extreme changes are so rapid, and snffers for 
his haste. __ Oilibili. 
NOTES FROM THE NORTH RIVER. 
Esopus-on-Hudson, April 6th, 1876, 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
Like many of yonr correspondents 1 had remarked the scarcity of 
birds the past winter, at least about the farm and farm buildings, but 
had concluded that very likely there were as many birds in any given 
region as during other winters, only they wore moro independent and 
more scattered, on account of the open weather, being able to pick up 
their subsistence almost anywhere in the fields, swamps, and woods. 1 
noticed that the few streaks of severe cold wo had, accompanied with 
snow, brought the birds out. They were np and doing at once, and came 
familiarly about the old places. 
1 saw the pine grosbeak in November, and have heard it at different 
times duringthe winter. Snow huntings also have regularly appeared 
when the weather warranted them. Jays, woodpeckers, and titmice I 
have noticed as usual, though not out of the woods. The red-poll ap¬ 
peared once or twice, and flocks of the goldfinch and cedar bird 
several times. Birds come about the house and barn and gar¬ 
den in winter, only when the supply of food is more 
abundant there than elsewhere. The eagles remained along 
the river as long as there were cakes of floating ice for 
them to alight on. 1 saw the first ducks of the season March 7th, a level 
lineor them skimmingthcwaternorthward. The chipmunks and musk¬ 
rats were ont March 6th, the day I saw the first robins, 1 notice that the 
English Bparrows are prospocting through the country, holding brief 
consnltations in bands of twos and threes about solitary farm houses. 
After the villages are all occupied I expect every cluster of farm build¬ 
ing throughout the country will be taken possession of by these pests. I 
shuli never forget bow Carlyle laughed when told tha f we had intio- 
duced the sparrow Into this country. John - Burroughs. 
WINTER NOTES FROM LAKE PEPIN. 
Lake City, Minn., April 7th, 1876. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
The docks in very limited numbers began their flight March 28th. To¬ 
day they arc reported more plenty, and the little open spaces In the 
sloughs afford the gunner a fine chance for a good bag. A few robins 
and meadow larks made their appearance April 1st. This is early for 
these birds in this locality. In many respects oar winter has been re¬ 
markable, certainly one of the mildest ever known; and strange to say, 
affording the fewest birds of any winter here for nineteen years. The 
following birds, however, came in very limited numbers: The cedar- 
bird, the pine grosbeak, and the well-known, storm-loving little snow 
banting. The cedar-bird was unknown to me here until three years ago. 
For the last three winters they have como rcgulnriy, hut all in one flock, 
and every year with increased numbers. Every mountain ash tree is sure 
to receive visits from these birds as long as the little red berries last. 
The pine grosbeak was never known in this locality until the past win¬ 
ter. A single flock of twenty or thirty flitted from garden to garden for 
four or live days, and then left us. Every other winter I have observed 
several spccioB of woodpecker, but not a single one the past Winter. 
The members of oar Sportsmen's Club are all endeavoring to observe 
the first appearance of our migratory birds, with the design of report¬ 
ing to me. In addition 1 have published in the local papers a request 
that the people at large also make Ihesc observations and report to me 
by teller or otherwise, so thatl am in hopes of being able to make a full 
and accurate report to Forest and Stream when our welcome visitors 
have all arrived. Our lakes and some (of the rivers are yet fast bound 
in icy chains, and of course thcro is no fishing news, except that the 
pike-perch are being caught through the ice in large quantities. They 
ought not to be taken now. for they are on their spawning berla. Our 
trouting season opens May 1st. I>. C. Estes, M. D. 
DO INLAND FISH MIGRATE? 
New Haven, Conn., April 9lh, 1876. 
Editor Forest and Stream :— 
In Connection Willi J. IT. Klippart's question "Do Inland Fish Mi¬ 
grate?” in Forest and Stream of April 6th, perhaps the following may 
be of some Interest. In the northeastern part ol this city is a lake of 
considerable size, owned by the Whitney Arms Company. At the outlet 
of this lake the water pours in an unbroken sheet over a dam about 
thirty foot In height, und at the toot of tills dam is a long, shallow pool. 
This pool contains the only fresh water to bo found below the dam, as 
salt water comes within a short distance of It every flood tide. In the 
lake 1 have found eleven species of fish, but iu the pool below it 1 have 
found only Tour species, namolythe black bass {Mir.ropte.rue nlgrleam). 
the yellow perch {Pereaflaveiesns), the pickerel (®fl* reliciilarlt:), and a 
species of dace, the name of which I do not know. The horned suckers 
(MoMetoMa Mimyiim) are continually sporting und basking Ju the sun 
in the shallow water at Die very edge of the dam, but I know of no in¬ 
stance of this species being found below it. That the trout {Salma fan- 
tlnatie) is more or less migratory there is no dooht, but its absence in 
this pool may perbups he accounted for by the fact that very few are 
found In the lake and Btreams emptying into it, and that H is not partic¬ 
ularly averse to salt or brackish water. Speculator. 
Recent Arrivals at the Central Park Menagerie.— One 
gray wolf, Cauls oeeiderUalU. Presented by Mr. J. W. U. Cummings, 
Newark. Oncsparrow hawk, Falcospurmius. Presented by Mr. F. S. 
Webster, Troy. One monkey, Cebus J'atuellus. Presented by Mrs. 
Charles, Jersey City. Two small alligators. Presented by Mr. Frank 
Norton, New York City. One bine and yellow macaw, Aru araraima. 
Presented by Master Woodie Harr, New York City. One Toulouse 
noose. Presented bv Mr. J. Neale Plumb, New York City. 
W. A. Conklin, Director. 
Recent Aiuuvaia at TnE Philadelphia Zoologioal Garden.— 
Tnree red-tailed hawks, {Hutto borealis)! four firing squirrels (P'mmjj 
volvctUa); one English woodcock, (ticolppaas rustieola); one great-horned 
owl, {Hobo rirginianmi)/ one woodchuck, ( Arctomye utonax): one red 
fox, (Vnlpesfulvus); five opossums, (mietp/iis rh-r/mianvr); four adult 
und three young Angola goats; one lishef (MusUla pcnanlu); one black 
iqnanu (iletapare.ros enniatus); two Irish liarcs (Lupus Uvivlus); two 
black-tailed doer (Ceinas wocrotue); four French rabbits (Zepus cimieit' 
his); three prairie wolves {('(tnU) iQlrtmi), horn In the garden; one .Java 
porcupine ( Llyslirx javanku), born in the garden; one pintail duck 
(Z><yfta acuta). __ Muon, 
Arrivals at the Centennial aquarium tor tbs week ending 
April If, tii.—O ne spotted tortoise, J&mys yuttala, liauiiiit New York. 
Presented by W. M, Locke, Houeoye Falls, N. Y. One model ol hatch¬ 
ing trough. Presented by B. B. Porter, Oakland, N. J. Two aquarin, 
one of which belonged to Prof. Agassiz a! his school of natural history 
at Pennikese. Presented by the Pacific Guano Company of Boston, 
Mass. Fred Mather, Superintendent. 
#'4 
THE NATURAL AND ECONOMIC HIS¬ 
TORY OF THE SALMON ID^E—GEO¬ 
GRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION AND 
ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 
NO.' BIGHT, 
BY PHILO ICHTHTOS. 
T HE discovery of the artificial method of multiplying 
food fishes, may be justly accepted as the greatest 
benison ever bestowed upon the human family, for it- most 
opportunely augments the world’s food resources, for its 
increasing millions. Although a decade of years has hardly 
passed since its adoption in our country, yet its conquests 
surprise and astonish even the most sanguine friends of the 
art, on account of the attainment of such grand results. 
The art is as old as civilization itself, and was lost during 
the dark ages, and only revived to bless the struggling 
people of modern times, npon whom the burdens of toil 
bear so heavily. Pisciculture in its modern application 
may be summed up as a method of fecundating and hatch¬ 
ing the eggs of fishes, and of nursing and caring for the 
young fish under protection, until they are capable of shift¬ 
ing for themselves. For the present, efforts to multiply 
fishes by the artificial plan, are chiefly confined to the Sal- 
monida, for the reason that their spawning season, occurs 
at a favorable portion of the year. When the desire of en¬ 
gendering seizes upon them, they at onee, if still in their 
native haunts, or confined to artificial ponds and races, be¬ 
gin to ascend to their spawning beds, and their arrival at 
the shingly bottoms of the stream, where they too were 
born, is seized upou as the fitting time of the piscicultur¬ 
ists for the selection of spawnen and milters, from which 
may be obtained the annual stock of ova for artificial fe- 
cuudttlion and incubation. When this movement begins, 
whether among migratory salmon, or brook trout, the 
females and males are technically considered ripe, aud thus 
move in consonance with the promptings of nature to their 
ancestral spawning beds for the reproduction of their 
species. Anadromous, or migratory salmon, only ascend 
fresh water streams or rivers in obedience to this demand 
of nature, and when the deposition of their ova has taken 
place, they return again to the sea which contains their 
food, upon which they suddenly fatten. While in fresh 
water they cease to feed, lienee grow thin, and in connec¬ 
tion with reproduction, their flesh is insipid and tasteless, 
totaly unfit for human food. These fishes at this time are 
strikingly changed in external appearance. The females 
instead of exhibiting the beautifully mingled and bright 
colors in which they formerly appeared, have become 
sombre in hue, putting on a grave sober attire in keep¬ 
ing with their condition, their beauty almost entirely dis¬ 
appearing until the grand object of their lives has been 
consummated. The males are quite the opposite in their 
external features. At this time they appear far more bril¬ 
liant than at any other period of their lives, but exceeding¬ 
ly poor and thin in flesh. These facts should deter all in¬ 
telligent persons from killing these fishes during the sea¬ 
son of reproduction, for they are as unfit for food as all 
other animals are under like circumstances, All of those 
rich juices which give salmon their peculiarly rich flavor 
are .lost, by absorption during the prolonged period of ges¬ 
tation, and hence their flesh is without flavor. In the cap¬ 
ture of these fish preparatory to manipulation, great care 
should be exercised in handling them. They should be 
cautiously taken by seines or scoop-uets when fully ripe, 
as they are wanted. Dr. Slack in his work on "Trout 
Culture,” says of the management of trout, that "they 
should be touched by the hand as little as possible." He 
further says iu describing the care with which they should 
be held while the spawn is being extracted, “there are hut 
two portions of the body of the trout where pressure even 
of a moderate character can he applied without injury. 
The first is directly behind the gills, on the strong bony 
arches which are there found; the other, the tail, behind 
the vent. In front of the former, pressure is made upon 
the gills, the organs of respiration, the most delicate por¬ 
tion of the fishes structure, while compression anterior to 
the vent, may cause the rupture of the air-bladder or other 
viscera, which would of course result in death.” It is well 
known that the hranchiffi or gills are the lungs of the fish, 
and from their delicate construction are easily fatally in¬ 
jured, and a rupture of the air-bladder from rough hand¬ 
ling is also fatal. It should be borne in mind that a fish 
even should be mercifully treated, especially so, for while 
they arc out of their native element, slight injuries may 
deprive the owner of a good ipavmer or miter. If the col¬ 
lection of salmon is being made for the supply of a State, 
or U. S. hatchery, the salmon as they ascend should be 
carefully seined and orraled, the parent salmon separated 
so that no time shall go to waste iu procuring male or fe¬ 
male, the moment they are wanted. The work of secur¬ 
ing, catching, and manipulating large parent salmon, ami 
the art of properly impregnating the eggs, require an oper¬ 
ator possessed of a good deal of intelligence, as well as a 
great deal of practical ingenuity. These qualifications 
cannot he expected from novices. Time, practice, and ex¬ 
perience, are indispensably necessary to fit men for the 
superintondency of such delicate operations as are neces¬ 
sary in fish culture that losses may not occur. 
The most perfect, establishment, iu all of its appoint¬ 
ments, is the great Huningue establmment de ‘pisciculture of 
France, planned by M. Coumcs, an engineer of the de¬ 
partment. of the Rhine, and Prof. Oosto. The machinery 
necessary to work this vast hatching-house is probably the 
most perfect in use. The course of business at this Na¬ 
tional Fish Breeding House is as follows:—The eggs are 
brought cliiefly from Switzerland aud Germany, aud em¬ 
brace those of the salmon family of the Rhine and Danube, 
and the tender ombre chevalier. People in distant por¬ 
tions of these countries are appointed to capture gravid 
fish of those varieties named, and having obtained numbers 
of parent fish, communicate with the authorities of Hun- 
iugue, who at once send an expert to deprive the fishes of 
their spawn and bring it to the great hatchery, when it is 
placed in breeding or stone boxes, where it is carefully 
watched daily until it is ready to he sent to some district 
of country iu want of it. The mode of artificially spawn¬ 
ing at this French establishment is as follows:—The 
spawner having been caught, and the spawn ascertained to 
be fully ripe, the fish is held in a large tub, well buried in 
the water it contains, while the hand is gently passed along 
the abdomen the eggs are easily extracted, flowing out 
without interruption until they are all deposited. The 
eggs are then carefully rinsed and the water poured oil. 
The milt of the male is then m like manner extracted upou 
the eggs by the hand being passed along the abdomen, 
the contact of the spermatozo of the milt immediately 
and perceptably changing the eggs so that fecundation is 
determined. After being'’again washed, the eggs are care¬ 
fully ladled out into the breeding-boxes, where they come 
to maturity iu due season, if properly watched auu eared 
for. It is a noticable fact that two persons are usually de¬ 
tailed to spawn the fishes, one holding the head of the fish 
in his left hand, while the right is used to press out the 
eggs, an assistant holding the tail securely with a piece of 
coarse crash cloth intervening between the hand and tail 
of the fish. The success of this great national breeding- 
house has become so manifest that it is referred to as the 
model hatchery by nearly all eminent fish culturists. In 
the artificial spawning of trout the fish culturist is guided 
by the same inclination of his parent fish to ascend the 
races to a point where gravel is found, and determines in 
like manner that the period of engendering has arrived. 
The race where thespawnersand milters have been suffered 
to run should have a fall of ten inches in every twenty- 
five feet, and by shutting off the water above, and placing 
a small bag-net at the lower end the fishes may be easily 
captured before needed for manipulation. Or a hole at 
the lower end of the race may be dug two feet or more in 
diameter and fifteen iuches deep, where the fishes will flee 
when the supply is cut off above rather than be left upon dry 
land. Both of these methods are economical, as only fish 
needed for immediate use may be disturbed. From the 
hole iu the lower end of the race they may he removed by 
a scoop-net to shallow tubs, inexpensive in character, two 
of which will be required' to hold males and females, the 
separation of which, when in the scoop-net, greatly facil¬ 
itates the handling of the fishes. It is usually fearfully 
cold where trout are Bpawning, and the manipulator should 
have his arrangement so perfect that spawning can be so 
rapidly accomplished that the exposure may be as brief 
ns possible, and the spawn taken rapidly to avoid loss by 
the natural deposition in the race. All is now ready for 
operation. The pan may be made of polished tin ten 
inches iu diameter and three inches deep, and if it is de¬ 
sired to count accurately the number of eggs spawned or im¬ 
pregnated a depression may be sunk in the bottom of the pan 
eight Inches long and five wide and one-sixth of an inclt 
deep, this willholdone thousand average spawn. It must be 
stated that any vessel, whatever may be its make or material, 
it, must absolutely clean; no grease can be tolerated without a 
fearful forfeit of labor and stook, for a particle of grease 
will prevent the fecundation of a large number of eggs. 
The pan is now filled one-third full of pure water, aud a 
female is taken and held in position over the pan thus: 
The operator grasps the head of the fish with Iris right 
hand, palm downward, the pressure of thumb and finger 
falling just behind the gills. The fish being in a perpen¬ 
dicular position, the eggs for the moment gravitate toward 
the vent; the operator then takes hold of the fish with the 
left hand, palm upward, about two inches below the vent, 
the thumb and forefinger pressing upon those parts (the 
fish changed to a horizontal status), where, as previously 
mentioned, pressure can be made without injury, What 
we have said applies to a right handed person; but with a 
left handed operator the hands are simply reversed. 
While the fish is held by bolli hands it is turned somewhat 
in the form of the letter S, the right and left hands being 
respectively placed on the head and tail. If, upon holding 
the fish in the position described, no eggs appear, 1,be belly 
may be gently stroked from above downward with the 
forefinger of the right hand, and if no eggs flow out tho 
fish should be returned to the water, as her eggs are unripe, 
or she is diseased. If the eggs flow out freely from the 
curve already spoken of, it may be increased until they 
have ceased flowing; then, by an adroit motion of the fore¬ 
finger, soon acquired, the few remaining ones iu the ab¬ 
dominal cavity may be foiced out. According to the 
French method, the spawn should now be thoroughly 
rinsed and milted by the male, the same manipulation be- 
iug had as with the female. When the eggs are thoroughly 
vitalized they at once assume, upon rinsing them, after the 
application of milt, a round, full, plump appearance, with 
a violet tint—evidences of complete impregnation, 
The experiments of M. Vraski, the celebrated Russian 
pisciculturist, are interesting, and may be presented in this 
connection Taking into consideration the fact that both 
eggs and milt are slowly obtained, their entire mass not 
coming at once, he readied the conclusion that when in 
water the greater part of the eggs fill themselves with 
water, and the sperinatozoids ceased to move before it was 
possible for Ihe pisciculturist to mingle the eggs with the 
diluted milt. He therefore adopted the system of dry 
dishes, and turned the milt upon the eggs as soon as he 
had diluted it. His success was complete; the eggs were 
fecundated without a single exception. His system is now 
extensively practiced, and is known among fish culturists 
as the "dry method." 
Mr. H.S, Dousman, of Waterville, Wis,, extensively 
engaged in trout culture, applied the dry method in the 
fall of 1872 in his establishment, in the fecundation of 
eggs, with a slight modification. InsLead of obtaining 
contact of eggs and milt by stirring them together, he 
trusted entirely to the persistent impulses of the sperma¬ 
tozo to move directly forward, and covering the bottom of 
the pan with ripe trout eggs applied the milt iu several 
spots, when, after a few minutes, it could be detected by 
its milky appearance to have diffused itself among all tho 
eggs. In the use of this method Mr. Dousman has become 
a very successful fish farmer. 
Mr. Livingston Stone, in his operations in California as 
United States Deputy Fish Commissioner in 1872, while 
procuring spawn of the Salm quinnat, continued putting 
eggs into the impregnating pans until they were half fillecc 
