266 
FOREST AND STREAM 
FTSH IN NEBRASKA- PRODUCTS OF 
THE “ELK HO BN WRECK.” 
Jackson Station, Nebraska, May 19th, 1876. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
April 20th I visited Elklioru, but owing to wind blowing 
a gale was unable to “wet a hook” with any success. On 
my return I dropped a note to Hon. GeoTge N. Crawford, 
of Elkhorn, an enthusiastic angler as well as sportsman, 
to which I received the following reply 
Elkhorn, Nek., April 23d, 1876. 
B. G. C:— 
Ct Replying to yours of 21st I have no positive knowledge as to whether 
or not "any fish known to be from the Elkhorn wreck” have been 
canght, but I believe there have been, and that I have caught them. I 
took with spoon mat fall from the “Horse Shoe" (a lake you are familiar 
with) several (five or six) black bass, differing from the “willow” bass, 
the only variety 1 have ever berore taken in any of our lakes here. 
Where ih; black bass came from, unless from the “wreck," I cannot 
even ,-ntmise. I also took in the same lake, and on the Barac day, a 
“green pike" weighing about 2} pounds, similar to several of the same 
species or class which I obtained at the wreck, and the only ones of 
the kind I ever saw in this conntry. From this I base the belief I have 
caught them. As to those that Collins transplanted, I have beard noth¬ 
ing. No care was ever taken of them; but 1 contemplate a trip to the 
lako this spring for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not they are 
there. After ray trial I will give you results, if you so wiBh. 
Geo. M, Crawford. 
Mr. Crawford knows what be is writing of; still I think 
he is in error in regard to the black bass, as I have taken 
from the “Horse Shoe” fish identical with those I have 
caught in Lake Erie, and streams tributary thereto in 
northwest Ohio, and always called them black bass. 
1 saw large numbers of fish in both the Elkhorn Kiver 
and Horse Shoe LaKc—varieties unknown to me, some 
light yellow in color and others spotted. I supposed them 
to be varieties of bass. The “Collins” fish were taken to 
a lake (or rather pond) ten miles east of Elkhorn. I don’t 
think it possible that they will be found, as the pond is 
shallow and in the open prairie. I have requested Mr. 
Crawford to give me a report of his investigation, as I find 
it. impossible for me to go there again, and if of interest 
will give it to you. 
Hon. A. J. Arnold, of Columbus, this State and county, 
also took a large number of fish f’ om “the wreck” and put 
them into ponds near Oolumbu*, r.a his farm. Last July 
he called to lake me for a ride, an., we went to one of the 
ponds; saw a great many fish “in nests” that I called black 
bass, but Arnold claimed they were “straw bass;” would 
not allow any caught that year; said he had taken some 
from another pond, ami was certain what they were. Ar¬ 
nold is now on the Upper Elkhorn, or in the Black Hills. 
On his return we shall sample his ponds. R. G. C. 
—Nearly 30,000 salmon fry {Salmo salar) were deposited 
in the Pemigewassett River on May 22d by Messrs. Holmes 
and Si ark, under the direction of the Massachusetts Fish 
Commissioners. They were the first installment of 300,(.00 
that are to be placed in the Pemigewassett and Baker riv¬ 
ers. They were hatched at the Massachusetts hatching 
works at Winchester, Mass. Close attention must have 
been paid to them during the transportation, for on their 
arrival there were only ten dead fish in the six cans, con¬ 
taining 5,000 each. Last year the loss out of the same 
number was 25,000. 
—The Minnesota Fish Commissioners are now stocking 
the lakes of the State with young salmon. 
The First Aquarium in New York.— Mr. Henry C. 
Coup, for a long time business manager of P. T. Barnum’s 
enterprises, has begun the erection of an aquarium at 
Thirty-fifth street and Broadway. The ground is 100x200 
feet in extent, and the building is to be one story above a 
low brick wall surrounding the whole plot. Mr. Coup 
says be will have a greater average tankage than the Lon¬ 
don Crystal Palace Aquarium. He has received promises of 
fish enough to fill several aquaria. Agents are among Ihe 
West India isles, and along the Florida coast, and in Baf- 
fins Bay, seeking strange fish of every species. A while 
whale is to be one of the capital attrac ions. Mr. David 
Thomas, auother of Barnaul's old corps of managers, is in 
Europe studying the management of aquaria. 
The Shad Fishery of the Potomac.— The shad fisher¬ 
ies have not beeu profitable this season in any of the south¬ 
ern rivers. This is true of the Potomac especially. A cor¬ 
respondent of ihe Rutland Herald, writing from Knight’s 
Ferry, Va,, says:— 
“Unless the measures now being adopted for restocking 
the s> reams and protecting the fish ate continued, ediblb 
fish will become, like tiie great hauls of which the fishermen 
ofi en speak, things of the past. 1 came here with the hope 
of aiding the United States Fish Commissioner and other 
friends of fish culture in the work of saving from the rem¬ 
nant of edible fish enough ova and young fry to not only 
restock this river, but also to plant out shad in other streams 
•where none are now found. The ‘spawners’ and ‘milters 
are colled out from the fish obtained at the several fisheries 
on this stream and ‘stripped.’ The impregnated ova are 
then taken and placed in hatching boxes, anchored out in 
the stream, where they remain from three to five dayB be¬ 
fore the embryo shad breaks the shell and comes out a tiny, 
transparent, active fry about half an inch in length. 
“In a few days’ time the ‘umbilical sac,’ from which the 
young fish get their nourishment, is absorbed, and it is at 
ibis stage of their existence that they are turned loose into 
the stream to take care of themselves. Up to this time no 
one has been able to discover a kind of food suitable for 
shad fry, and consequently no shad axe ever raised artifi¬ 
cially and but little is known with certainty of the rapid 
ity of’ their growth or the transitions through which they 
pass, from the time they are hatched till they are large 
enough lor the table. 
“Lip to this time all the young fry at this place have been 
turned loose into the Potomac, but with the last run we 
hope to get ova enough to be able to send oil several hun¬ 
dred thousand young fish to other streams, and the United 
States Commission have already taken active measures to 
do so at an early day.” 
turn l Jjistorg. 
('this Department Is under the charge of a competent Naturalist, 
Indorsed by the Smithsonian Institution, ana will henceforth be made a 
special feature of this paper. All communications, notes, queries, re¬ 
marks, and seasonal observations will receive cartful attention . ] 
BIRDS OF LOWER MICHIGAN. 
BY A. B. COVERT, OF ANN ARBOR. 
(Continued from Page 214.) 
FAMILY ICTKRID/E. 
Dolichonyx oryzworos. Bobolink or reed-bird. This well- 
known songster is a very common summer visitor, arriving 
by May 20th. The males come about ten days before the 
females. About June 10th the eggs are laid, and by the 
1st of July the young are turned away to shift for them¬ 
selves. The nuptial dress is now changed for one of more 
sombre color, and by September 10th they depart for the 
south. 
Molothrus pecoris. Cow-bird; very abundant after the 
middle of March. It builds no nest of its own, but de¬ 
posits its eggs in the nests of other birds from April 1st to 
July 1st, and leaves us about the middle of September. 
AgeJuus pfuBniceus. Red-winged blackbird. Very com¬ 
mon, arriving about March 15th The nest is built May 
20lh It remains until the last of September. 
Sturnella, magna. Field lark or meadow lark. Common 
aftei March 15th, and sometimes is resident. The nest is 
built about May 10th. This lark departs the last of Octo¬ 
ber. 
/ Icterus spurius. Orchard oriole. Common; arrives 
about May 1st and lays its eggs by the 5th of June. 
Icterus Baltimore. Baltimore oriole. Very common from 
the 25th o’ April. The nest is built about June 1st, 
and both orioles depart by the middle of September. 
Scoleeophngm ferruginous. Rusty grackle. Common in 
the migrations, arriving about March 25th, and passing in 
the fall in October. 
Quisealus purpureus. Purple grackle. Very abundant; 
arrives about the middle of March, and the eggs are laid 
by April 20th, two broods being reared in a season. It 
goes souLh by the middle of October. 
.' Corpus cyptoleutm. Raven. Very rare; one specimen 
taken Mm ck 27th, 1873. 
Cortrus americanus. Common crow.- Common and resi¬ 
dent, breed'ng about the 1st of May. Eight years ago this 
bird was very rare in this locality. 
Cyanurus cristatus. Blue jay. This handsome bird is 
a very abundant resident, breeding about May 10th. 
/ Perisoreus canadensis. Canada jay. Resident but rare. 
One nest was taken May 27th, 1872. 
—It has been found that the small river lamprey eels at¬ 
tach themselves by means of their powerful sucker mouths 
to the muskalonge [Esox nobilior) and suck its blood. But 
on ihe other hand, the muskalonge devours the lampreys 
whenever it can. 
—It would be a very important accommodation to us if 
correspondents would write on one side of the sheet only, 
would use no abbreviations, and would allow us to use 
their full name in publication, instead of a pseudonym. 
—Fish culturist8 should not hasten to go to the Centen¬ 
nial Exhibition, as the aquaria are not yet in proper shape 
in spite of Fred Mather’s earnest efforts. 
—The New York Academy of Sciences will organize 
field parlies in geology, botany, and natural history, and 
make excursions to the suburbs as soon as the weather be¬ 
comes favorable. 
-■*•-*■- 
—Augite and graphic granite—new minerals on the list 
for Manhattan Island—were recently exhibited to the New 
York Academy hv B. B. Chamberlain. 
—For some weeks past three beautiful pigeons have 
made their home in the framework above the roadway in 
the New York tower of the Bridge. They have been pets 
with the laborers on the tower, and have become quite 
tame. _ 
Maximum Length of the Black Snake.—How long 
does the black snake (Bascanien constiictor) continue to 
grow? What length have they been known positively to 
attain? Can some of the many readers of the Forest 
.and Stream furnish accurate figures from careful meas¬ 
urements, personally made? Every summer I find my 
longest specimens exceeded by one inch or more—». e., if 
the statements of my neighbors are correct; but 1 never 
hear of the “monsters” they have killed in time to see and 
measure them. One that I killed in 1860 measured exact¬ 
ly 6 feet 11 inches, and I have met with no other that 
equalled it in length. That still larger ones have been seen 
I have, however, no doubt. A snake when iu rapid mo¬ 
tion appears nearly twice his actual length, aud no estimate 
of his dimensions can possibly approach correctness. 
Statements have been made to the writer very frequently 
of the occurrence in various localities in tins Slate, of 
snakes that appeared to be ten and twelve feel long. No 
such specimens have been secured for our museums, and 
the maximum length is apparently undetermined.— Chas. 
C. Abuott, M. D., Trenton, N. J. 
A WHALEMAN’S OPINION OF SQUID 
« SnUOOBE, N. Y., May 25th, 1376. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
Tour article on the cuttle-fish, tn your issue of May 4th, recalls some 
Incidents within my own experience. When cruising on sperm whale 
ground 1 have frequently seen fragments of "squid" float by—remnants-B 
of a whale's repast—an Infallible sign that “Old-Blowhard" was some¬ 
where in the vicinity. A small species I have seen among the South- _ <| 
Sea Islands, near the rocks, but the larger kind are seldom or never 
found away from blue water. Old salts have a tradition something sim¬ 
ilar to that of the Bishop of Bergen, concerning the existence or the 
“great white sqnid,” and solemnly say that “no ship that has seen It wp 1 
ever return to port.” 1 think them peculiar to no sea or zone, as I have 
sighted their floating fragments in various parts of the three great 
oceans. In 185? my boat was fast to a large "Dull” on the "off-sholfafl 
ground," in the Pacific. WhUo in his flurry the whale disgorged a hug® 1 
section of squid, which passed within an oar’s length of us, bo there was 
a good view of the thing as it drifted by. I judged it to be fully four¬ 
teen feet long. It was bitten or torn at both ends, and the taper was 
gradual, so that when a living member it was doubtless longer, Itg 
width was about eighteen Inches at the base. The suckers appeared to 
he all on one side, without much uniformity in position or size, and al¬ 
most as numerous in proportion as the spots on a peacock’s mil. Us 
color was creamy white, and there seemed to he no particular odor. On 
the under or sucker side it was somewhat flattened. We killed the 
whale, which furnished 110 barrels of oil, E. It. Wilson. J 
LETTERS FROM ORNITHOLOGISTS. 
West Medway, JlasB., May 22d, 1876. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
Early on the morning of May 19th, in a little more than an bour,^B 
obtained in a small pioce of heavy woodland, in this town, one black- 
throated green warbler, two black throated blue, two hlack-aod-yelioty.* 
two bay-breasted, one Blackburnian, and one Cape May warbler. 1 also 
saw several chestnut-sided-and yellow-ramped warblers, and beard the 
summer warbler. This makes nine oat of the thirteen species or 
JDendrteca that are observed in eastern Massachusetts, found in one place., 
at one time. Have any of yonr correspondents outdone mo? 1 also 
obtained on May 17th, a prairie warbler, which is very rare in this vicin¬ 
ity; aud on May 10ih I saw a Wilson’s black-cap (Myiodioctes pusiltuQ% 
for tho first time at this place. Crus. A. Hodohton. 
Newport, R. I., May 20th, 1876, 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
I have read yonr natural history notes with Croat interest, and fl| 
enclose you herewith memoranda of the dates of arrival of some of the 
birds common to this locality:— 
April 12th.— Song-sparrow; robbin about same dale. 
April 16th.— Red-winged black-bird. 
May 6th-8tii. -White-bellied, swallow, purple Martin, Baltimore oridlw 
chimney swallow, aud cat-bird. 
May 14th-19th.—Brown thrasher, orchard oriole, bohlink, and warbling i 
vireo. 
The Savannah sparrow was nesting on May 15th. Robins, white-,' 
bellied swallows, song-sparrows, bine birds, aud crows arc nesting at 
this date. All che birds were very late this year in their arrival and tu • 
their nesting. J. S. Con i. and. | 
Gainesville, Cooke Co., Texas, May 16th, 1878. ] 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
If the following notes are of any service to yon please use them:— 9 
February 15iU.—collected a male arctic bine bird (Sialla arcticu) and fl 
female of Harris’s finch (Zonolrichia querula). Tho arctic blue-birdS| 
have been hete In great abundance since December 1st. 
March 17th—First flock of curlews (Numeniue borealis). Killed »J 
male red-shouldered buzzard (liuteo lineatus) on the nest; It was on at It 
A. M., and also at 4 P. Mi, and perhaps was incubuting. Robins and 
arctic bine-birds still here. 
March 2ht.-Black-bellied longspnrs ( PlectrophanesomalUB) abundant; 
Maccown's bunting (P. Maccoumii ) appears to have been gone for A' 
month. 
March 27th.—Fox-sparrows still here. Soissor-tailed flycatchers (.1/if— 
vulus forfleatus), white-eyed vlreos (Vireo noveboraceneis) and bine gray 
flycatchers ( PotioptUa ) observed. Wild gecBe and cranes are migrating.- 
northward. 
April 1st.—More scissor-talled flycatchers; arctic biue-hirdB not seen. I 
Canvas-backed duck killed; rare here. 
April Sd.—Prairies appear to be covered with black bellied longtpfd 
April 10th.—First swallow-tailed kite (Nauclerue furcutus) of the sea¬ 
son. Robins yet plentiful. 
April tlth.—One swallow-tailed kite and one Mississippi kite (Icllnid 
mltsmippiensls) seen; also yonng crows. 
April 12th.—The quails (Ortyx virgianiunus ) are pairing for the breed¬ 
ing season. G. H. Rams HALS. J 
Lake City, Minn., May 10th, 1870.9 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
Please accept the following as notes from this locality for April: — 1 
March 25th —Crows; not winter residents here. 
March 26th.—Raining, with some snow; ice in Lake Pepin solid. A 
very few dneks reported. 
April 1st.—Robins and meadow-larks; very early for robins, but not 
for the lark. 
April 3d.—Ducks more plenty. 
April 5.—Sharp-skinned hawk (Accipiler fuScus) earlier and more 
abundant than for many years; purple martins, blue-birds, aod a nest 
of the chipping sparrow with two eugs. Within four feet of rallroU 
tracks; never knew before of their nesting much before May 1st. ButchefiJ 
birds plenty. * 
April ?th.—Red-poll warbler, early and uncommon; Maryland yellowy 
throat, which la very pleasant in summer; the evening grosbeaks and 
cedar birds are ail gene. 
April t-tb.—Weather ulittle warmer. Blackbirdsin limited numbers, 
golden-winged woodpeckers, and a few Canada geese: oanvas-bnckB and 
many other ducks abundant; flocks of wild pigeons; a powee, aud blue* 
jays, which are resident. 3 
Apiil9ih,—Screech owl (Scops asld) brought in; itisrosident. Wilson*® 
snipe are present in limited numbers. One pairs of doves Were seen? 
do not usually appear before the last of the month. 
April 10th.—Weather threatening snow, and colder. Snow-birds seen 
again, after having been absent a week. 
April lull —Weather colder. Yellow birds seen, 
April 12.—Storm ahead, ice still firm; and too cold for more birds. No 
wild geese seen since the 8th. 1 
April 18th.—Cold; rain and snow hb foretold by the appearance of the 
enow-birda on the 10th, 
April 14th.—Warm to-day. Wild geese flying north; red-tafled liawki 
killdeer, titlark, and wood thrash noted. 
April 15th.—Hawks, gulls and geese more numerous. 
April 18.—Strong northwest wind for three days, froze hard last nigbfl 
Not a peep from any bird this morning. 
April disc.—Blew hard yesterday, and the ice went out of tho river 
warmer to-day. Downy woodpecker unusually plenty has been scarct 
this spring; red-boliled nuthatch as-nsnai. 
April 22d.—Phcebe-bicd and red-headed woodpecker. 
April 23d .—Blackbirds in plenty, and more ducks. I 
April 24ih.—Weather fine. Saw two immense flocks of brant flyinj 
low over Lake Sepin, where it never has beeu abundant. 
April drill. -Warm aud beauliful weather. Birds all noisy and musical, 
nu wild pigeons since the Btb, when they stayed two days; ducks an* 
geese about all gone north. 
April 28th.—Fine femaie offish hawk (Pandlon htdialus) shot; tin 
eggs were about tho size of a marrow-rat pea; blue-birds building rhei f 
nests, There are more birds yet to come. D. C. Estes, M, D. I 
