ii2 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



^iisfl £ttttt$qe. 



ABSTRACT OF THE ANNUAL REPORT 

 OF THE FiSH COMMISSIONERS OF 

 THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



TL< Commissioners report that the Inland Fisheries Res- 

 toration movement continues in Pennsylvania to he at least 

 abreast of what it is in the other Stales - of the Union, in 

 which it has been inaugurated, and that the appropriation 

 has been expended judiciously. 



lii.Ai £ BASS. 



The waters of the State being admirably adapted for the 

 growth and increase of this tine fish, particular attention has 

 been paid to it. The Susquehanna, from its month to the 

 head waters of both the Juniatas, may now be said to be full 

 of black bass. The same may also be said of both the West 

 and North Branch for considerable distances above their 

 confluences at Northumberland. The Delaware, from the 

 head of title water, along tho whole State border, is equally 

 supplied. Several of the Pennsylvania branches of the Dela- 

 ware are filling by degrees, and soon both those great rivers 

 may be said to have had one most admirable tribe of edible 

 fishes added to their product. The black bass has also been 

 introduced into the upper waters of the Coneinaugh, west 

 of the Allegheny Mountains, and is there increasing and 

 multiplying in the same satisfactory manner which has been 

 observed in tho eastern stroams. The present abundance of 

 this fish more than repays all the expense the Stale has 

 been at 



0TJHEB SPECIES. 



The different species of fish to which the Commissioners 

 have given attention comprise black bass salmon, brook 

 trout, salmon trout, land-locked salmon, shad, and Cali- 

 fornia salmon. While tho fishermen have not shown 

 alacrity in obeying tho laws, which were made absolutely ne- 

 cessary by the deterioration of the fisheries, they will soon 

 learn that they are for their own benefit, and even now 

 decided improvement is seen in the shad fisheries of the 

 Susquehanna. Large numbers of shad have been artificially 

 hatched, tnd turned into the waters of that river and the 

 Delaware. As yet, the Commissioners are unable to judgo 

 •whether their artificial hatching is a success or not. Thi 

 fish turned out in 1873, should have reappeared in 1876, but 

 that year the run was meagre, beyond precedent. Still, 

 they are hopeful of success. The say, "the shad artificially 

 hatched may have been destroyed by some sub-marine 

 cause undiscoverable by us, or from some similar cause the 

 reinforcoment which we sent to the sea may have been pre- 

 vented from returning in three years. But, if that be so, 

 may they not return in the fourth year, in the fifth, the 

 seventh, 'nay, later — judging from the heavy specimens which 

 it was not at all uncommon to take yearly as the fishing sea- 

 sons returned." The number of shad hatched by the Com- 

 missioners of New Jersey (Pennsylvania bearing half the 

 expense), and deposited in the Delaware, at Block's Eddy, 

 amounted to 1,400,000. 



CAETPORNIA SALMON. 



The California salmon placed in the streams by the Co m- 

 i. ! Tii-: cannot be said to have yet returned . But here 

 they are even more in the dark than they are in respect to 

 the shad, The first placed in the Susquehanna were the 

 first deposited in any of the Atlantic waters, having been 

 presented to Pennsylvania by the United States Commis- 

 sioner, Prof. Baird, being all that he had as yet received 

 from the Pacific. Pennsylvania received the. preference, be- 

 cause her streams seem to be more like those of the Pacific 

 slope, in general characteristics of temperature, etc., and so 

 the number on hand (but little exceeding six thousand) were 

 placed in the Susquehanna, at Harrisburg, by Col. Worrall, 

 in the early spring of 1873. The fourth season now ap- 

 proaches, and they hope to find them take their places 

 among the migratory fishes of tho Atlantic coast. Re- 

 peatedly since the deposits have been made, and year after 

 year, strange, individual fishes, have been caught, suffici- 

 ently resembling what the fish ought to be, to show that these 

 strangers must be stragglers of the deposits, which have 

 made their way to the sea. Fishermen who have caught 

 them, anil who, in almost all instances, have returned them 

 alive to the water, have said that they resembled brook trout 

 more than anything else, and this is an extremely favorable 

 evidence that the strange fishes are half grown GaUfornians. 



LAKD-LOCKED TBTBES. 



The Commissioners have endeavored to find some mode of 

 hatching, artificially, the pike-perch, sometimes called the 

 Susquehanna salmon, but without success. Special protec- 

 tion will lur. e .. ib) i.l irdecl these fish. Considerable nurn- 

 burs of salmon trout have been deposited in both the lakes 

 mill rivers of the State, from which most favorable accounts 

 have been received. Attention has also been paid to the 

 land-locked salmon, some thousands having been deposited 

 in Harvey's Lake, Lucerne County, where, it is hoped they 

 will succeed. Tho Commissioners are negotiating for an 

 invoice of grass bass [CentorqeliMS Hexaeanthwi), a fish which 

 has, as yet, received but little attention at the hands of fish 

 culturists. It is said to be an excellent pan fish, possessed 

 of great endurance and strength, and, above all, a fish which 

 lives harmoniously with all other species; not predatory 

 i and protected from attack by its formidable dorsal and. 

 abdominal fins. 



PENNSYLVANIA WATEB-SHED. 



The Commissioners devote considerable space to a descrip- 

 tion of the water system of the State, the whole drainage 

 Beaching the sea by but four outlets; namely: Hampton 

 Roads, Delaware Bay, Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Gulf of 

 Mexico, and these are, therefore, essentially but four differ- 

 ent streams, let the branches of those streams number what 

 they may. This shows, that the physical geography of Penn- 

 sylvania is admirably arranged for the ultimate dissetuina- 

 ■™ of fish throughout, her borders. At a comparatively 



Bma 1 ! expense, the process of filling the streams may be ma- 

 terially hastened. 



HATOJHNO BOUSES. 



The !ii' Itate has amply provided for those. 



shed now, lor nearly three years, a 



hjvtehing house at Donegal Springs, near Marietta, in Lan- 



1 1. -nee many millions of young fry 



D sent forward to every part of the State.'aud since 



the present Legislature has commenced its sessions, hundreds 

 of thousands of California salmon, salmon trout, and brook 

 trout have been sent out or delivered to parties calling for 

 them. The appropriation of last year was increased, so that 

 a Western hatching-house should'be established, on a suit- 

 thle site, located west of the Allegheny Mountains, where 

 abere would be a sufficient quantity of never failing water. 

 The Commissioners finally came to the conclusion to pur- 

 chase the establishment of Seth Weeks, near Cony, in Erie 

 County. Mr. Weeks had, for several years, out of the brook 

 leading from his springs, propagated many thousands of 

 brook trout in a somewhat primitive manner, but success- 

 fully. The place place consists of nine and one-half acres 

 of land, having thereon erected a good dwelling house, and 

 every appurtenance and facility for prosecuting the under- 

 taking. Add to its advantage's, abundance of water, regu- 

 larity of temperature, the appurtenances of dwelling-house, 

 hatehing-house ready stocked, the close vicinity of one of 

 our most interesting piscatory regions, tho waters of Lake 

 Erie, and the choice cannot but be approved. The State has 

 now two such establishments, and its operations will com- 

 pare favorably with those of any State in the Union. 



All Legislative enactments, the Commissioners complain, 

 so far seem to have been successfully disregarded. Gill- 

 netting, with all its injurious tendencies, ought to be regu- 

 lated, if possible, both upon the Delaware and the SuBque- 

 hanna. But, if it must still be allowed, let there be some 

 restrictions short of absolute license; or, let the twenty-four 

 hours of the Sabbath be made a close time, and thus, inci- 

 dentally, protect the interest of tho upper riparian inhabi- 

 tants. On this and kindred subjects there must be concur- 

 rent legislation between sister riparian States — say New 

 York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland — and should 

 any anadromous fish succeed in the Ohio, then with West 

 Virginia, Ohio, and other of the Western States. 



The pollution of streams is fully discussed in the Report, 

 and it IB claimed that the deposition of deleterious liquidB 

 and substances of various natures, in streams from mining 

 and manufacturing establishments of many kinds, must also 

 be regulated. The purity of the water can be preserved 

 without unduly restricting parties pursuing legitimate occu- 

 pations, but carelessness should be punished. With regard 

 to fish-ways, the Commissioners say, "The plan we have 

 adopted is a gentle, inclined plane, sixty feet wide, through 

 which, when the water is just flowing over the dam, a stream 

 passes three feet wide, at a rate not exceeding eight miles per 

 hour — against such a current a boat can be polled ; indeed, 

 that has actually been done through our fish-way, and yet 

 the fisheries above the dam are not resuscitated. True, we 

 catch fish (shad) above the dam yearly; even last year (1876), 

 when the run of shad in the Susquehanna was very much 

 below the average, some five or six hundred shad were 

 caught many miles above our fish-way. But this is not a 

 satisfactory result; we want the old fishing grounds brought 

 back to the old activeness; we want thousands caught at 

 every old battery. Our fish-way does more for shad than 

 any or all other fish-ways, but the status quo existing before 

 the dams were built, is notyetreturned." The crooked fish- 

 way which salmon will ascend, they claim,. is but suitable for 

 shad, as, instead of going by platoons, or in single file, the 

 latter fish move gregariously, like sheep, and, if the leader 

 takes a sluice or a rapid, he is followed by the sohool, and 

 they all make a simultaneous rush and pass through. But 

 the leader will hesitate at the slightest obstacle — will stop 

 and tremble at a shadow; for instance, the shadow of a 

 bridge span. It has been sometimes thought that they got 

 their name (shadow-fish) from that circumstance, and if the 

 shadow scares the leader away, they dart again to the rear of 

 the whole flock or school, and nets which the} - escaped be- 

 fore are extremely likely to take the panic-stricken crowd on 

 the rebound, as 'it were. The plan, therefore, is recom- 

 mended as being the simplest. But now, they say, comes in 

 the difficulty ; no law which has yet been passed seems to be 

 efficient to "keep the fishermen about the dani from fishing 

 immediately in front of and around our fish-way continu- 

 ously, during the whole fishing season. And, instead of 

 wondering why the fish do not ascend our fish-way, it seems 

 difficult to imagine how a single shad can pass it, beset, as it 

 is, by these defiers of the law, uninterruptedly and continu- 

 ously, day in and day out, night in and night out, from the 

 very first to the very last run of shad in the season. But 

 Pennsylvania has -always been supposed, at any rate, to be a 

 community observant of the law, and however the laws 

 have been got around, however they may been evaded, the 

 time must come at which we shall reach a mode of expression 

 which will preclude all chance of evasion — a mode of exe- 

 cution which will terrorize the marauders. 



"Tho restoration movement, then, may be said to be fairly 

 progressive. The States around'us are all engaged with us 

 in trying to forward it. We must co-operate with them; ws 

 must have concurrent legislation with the co-riparians, and 

 when that is offered, let it not-be opposed by men, who, mis- 

 taking their own interests, oppose the movements intended 

 for the benefit of all." 



The Report closes with further suggestions regarding legis- 

 lation, and a copious appendix, detailing the operations of 

 the Commission in depositing th6 various' kinds of fish, and 

 giving the numbers placed in each body of water. 



WHO FIRST INTRODUCED BASS INTO 

 THE POTOMAC. 



LETTEB EBOM W. W, SHBTVBB, OE WHEELING. 



AS many of our readers are aware, the question as to how 

 and by whom our Ohio river bass were first introduced 

 into the Potoiuac is not a new one, and the enterprise has been 

 at various times credited various persons. It seems that in the 

 Valley of VirKinia, and at the other points east, considerable 

 interest is still felt on the subject, as the bass fishery in that 

 river is a matter of no small moment to many persona, not 

 only to amateur fishermen, but also^to many persons who 

 get their supplies of fish from the Potomac. And, therefore, 

 it is an item of curiosity to all such persons to know for a fact 

 just how the bass were first introduced. This feeling on the 

 subject accounts for a letter lately written by Dr. Wall, of the 

 Valley of Virginia, to General Sbriver, of this city, making 

 inquiries of the latter as to what he knew upon the subject. 

 The following is the General's reply : 



Wheeling, West Virginia, I 

 SeptemberHth, 1867. j 

 Dn. A. Walt-— Dear Sir: Your official communication of the 

 Istiusi., on the subject of transferring the;biack bass of the 

 Ohio to the Potomac liter, CftJiM duly to hand, and I herewith 

 s*nd you a printed slip] ttract of a letter I wrote to 



Philip T. Tyson, of Baltimore, tAgricnltuiul Chemist of Mary- 

 land, in reply to his letter to me of Sept, 4th, 1860, upon this 



same subject, which I hope will give the desired information, 

 Tho number of these black bass taken to the Potomac by me, as 

 well as I can now recollect, was about thirty. The writer of 

 this is undoubtedly the individual and the only person who 

 adh ever anything to do with the transfer of thos'e fish to the 

 Potomac. Very respectfully, 



Yv. W. Shbtveb. 



The following is the extract referred to: 



" I have received to-day your very interesting cummunica- 

 tion of the 10th iust , upon the subject of tin experiment made 

 by me some six years since of transferring some of the several 

 varieties of our finest game fish of the Ohio River to the head 

 waters of the Potomac at the town of- Cumberland, in Al- 

 leghany County, Marylaud. 



" The enterprise or experiment was contemplated by me long 

 before the completion of the Baltimore .t Ohio Railroad to the 

 Ohio Riv.r at Wheeling, but no satisfactory mode of trans- 

 portation presented itself to my mind until the completion of 

 that great work (iu I believe the year 1853), and in the following 

 year 1 made my first trip (although I made several afterwards 

 in the saine year), carrying with mo my first lot of fish in a 

 large tin bucket, perforated, and which t made to fit the open- 

 ing in the water tank attached to the locomotive, which was 

 supplied with freHh water at the regular water stations along 

 the line of the road, and thereby succeeded well in keeping the 

 fish (which were young and small, having been selected for 

 the purposo) alive, fresh, and Bound. 



"This lot of fish, as well as every subsequent one, on rny ar- 

 rival at Cumberland, were put in tho basin of the Chesapeake 

 &. Ohio Canal, from which thoy had free egress and ingress to 

 the Potomac River and its tributaries, both abore and below 

 the dam; and although somewhat ridiculed at the time bv 

 some of the intelligent citizens of Cumberland, I am gratified 

 to learn from others as Jwell as yourself, that in this, my 

 first piscatorial experiment, the object of which was to supply 

 the waters of the Potomac' with some au fine varieties of game 

 fish, both in size and quality, as ever inhabited the fresh water 

 streams of any country, has been crowned with complete suc- 

 cess, and I feel that I am fully compensated in this lor all the 

 time, trouble, and expense I have bestowed on the subject. 



"I will add one singular fact in this connection, which is that 

 theru is not known to exist in any streams (as lar as I have 

 been able to learn) oast of the Alleghany Mountains, from the 

 Falls of Niagara in the north, to the Gulf of Mexico in the 

 south, these varieties of game fish, while they exist in every 

 stream west of tho Alleghauv, and in every lake and stream 

 west of the Falls of Niagara/and as far south as the Gulf of 

 Mexico."— Wheeling (la.) TntMitjmcer, Oct. 6(4,1871. 



Fxood-Gaie eob Hatcbtnq Teotjgh. — Appended is a sketch 

 of a flood-gate to be used on a fish-hatching trough. The 

 design of the gate is to raise or lower the depth of the water 

 in the trough at pleasure. It saves a good deal of labor in 

 the way of dams. The gate, has been in operation in the 

 Virginia Fish Hatchery during the present season, and has 

 given a great deal of .satisfaction. 



'Tkiplets.— The Portland JSWerwIsesayH, tnttt J - c - Kitchen, 

 of Columbia, brought to that office, recently, a curiosity in 

 the form of three young trout joined together by one umbilical 

 sack, and evidently triplets. They were hatched at the ponds 

 of George Young, and wora alive and frisky, although it is not 

 probable that they would live many days. "Fred Mathers' twins 

 will have to take a back seat. 



Nevada has just taken through its Legislature, initiatory 

 steps toward a system of fish culture in that State, and ap- 

 pointed Mr. Parker State Fish Commissioner. 



" The Fish Commission of Vermont, with Dr. Goldsmith at 

 their head, are proviug successful with some most interesting 

 experiments. Among the rest they have transplanted the 

 smelt from tlie salt water to the fresh waters of the State with- 

 out diminishing their fecundity, and with improvement in 

 their quality. The fresh-* ater smelt, indeed, as raised by Dr. 

 Goldstnith, is the aristocrat »f his race. Herring have also 

 been tiansplauted into some of the larger and deeper Vermont 

 lakes, mainly to serve as food to the lake trout and pickerel." 



J^Htnral ^tstarg. 



OUR MOCKING-BIRD. 



BY MBS. MABY TREAT. 



OUR Mocking-bird owns a home and a tract of land. 

 Like any other land-holder, he is supremo ruler over 

 his own dominions, and no other bird is allowed here except 

 such as he permits. Several mocking-birds of my acquain- 

 tance are real-estate owners; but, I think, all do not have 

 the ambition to own landed property. 



The hero of my sketch lives in a small cypress, just in 

 front of the cottage where I reside. This cypress iB covered 

 by a native grape-vine, forming a complete dom 

 pretty bower beneath. His territory embraces a hedge of 

 Spanish bayonets, which extends along the front of the 

 the cottage ; he also includes the piazza and its immediate 

 vicinity as his property. 



The Spanish bayonet bears a large, sweet .fruit, about the 

 size of a banana, which grow in a great cluster at Q 

 the plant, of which the mocking-bird is very fond ; and this 

 hedge bears fruit enough for all tbe birds of the neighbor- 

 hood, yet this wealthy proprietor will not allow any bird, 

 whether large or small, to p, i. !:. i m and Buch a 



time as he has, guarding it ! He can hardly find lame to 

 bathe and dress his feathers. But I suppose that he could 

 not be convinced that ho would be happier and more free 

 with loss property to look after. 



