280 



FOREST 'AND T STREAM. 



GENUINE WHITE SHAD IN THE OHIO. 



Washkgtos, May 15, 1877. 

 Bdepgh Fobbbjt and Stbbam and Kod and Gin : 



1 have now very great, pleasure in informing you that I re- 

 ceived to-day a line specimen of a four-pound genuine ■nAiti: 

 s/uitJ, taken at Louisville, Ky., a few days before, and for- 

 warded to me by Pack. Thomas, Esq., and Mr. Griffith, 

 • >f the Kentucky Fish Commission— a direct result from the 

 elf oils made by the U. S. Fish Commission, in accordance with 

 a law of Congress, to stock the western rivers with shad. 



You will observe, by referring to the Report of the U. S. 

 Commission, that in Jane. 1S72, Seth Green, by order of. and 

 at the expense of, the U. S. Commission, planted 90,000 

 young shad in the Alleghany River at Salamanca, N. Y., and 



> in the Mississippi Hiver near St. Paul; and that in 



Julv Rev. Mr. Clift, of Poquonnoc, Conn., also in behalf of 

 the" I. S. Fish Commission, placed what he estimated at 200,- 



000 young shad in the Alleghany at Salamanca, and a small 

 number in the Cuyahoga, as well as a supply in the While 

 River at Indianapolis, 2,000 being carried asfar west as lilts 

 Platte, at Denver. 



In the following year, 1873, about 100,000 shad were 

 placed in Greenbrier and New rivers, in West Virginia, and 

 aliout 5".,000 in the Monongaliela fn Pennsylvania, and the 

 Wabash in liidiana; and these may or may not have con- 

 tributed toward the supply met with at Louisville. The lat- 

 ter is possible, if the assumption of a four year period be 

 correct. If five vears lie required, then we must look to the 

 stock of about '-.'lib. 000 in 1872, exclusively. 



In view of what is now believed to be an anxiom, that fish 

 always return for the purposa of spawning to the places 

 whence they started as young fish, it is to the Salamanca and 

 White River supply of 1872,.and perhaps to that of tributaries 



01 the Ohio, just, mentioned, or between four and five hundred 

 thousand in number that we must look for the Louisville 

 fish. According to the reports of Messrs. Thomas & Griffiths, 

 for some considerable time forty to fifty shad have been taken 

 daily at Louisville by a drag seine, said not to exceed thirty 

 or forty yards long, and that, in the shoaler water of only 

 three or four feet, while the regular steamboat channel is ten 

 or twelve yards deep and two hundred and fifty yards wide. 



I do not overlook the fact that the Tailor shad. Pouwnlbus 

 ■uudincris, is a native of the waters of the Mississippi valley, 

 us it is to those of the Atlantic coast ; and have more than 

 oneo been disappointed in the receipt of specimens from dif- 

 ferent parts of the West, believed to be the genuine white 

 snarl, but which proved, on examination, to be nothing but 

 the miserable Tailor ; and when the announcement of the 

 present transmission was made from Louisville, 1 hardly dared 

 expect to see, as I did, the genuine Alow zapidissima. 



It is extremely probable that this stock of shad may be de- 

 tected higher up the river, and it is to be hoped that special 

 inquiry will bs made for them toward Salamauca and in the 

 W hilO River. Very truly yours, 



Spencer F. Baikd, 



Commissioner. 



[The capture of these shad by seines, and the destruction 

 and annihilation of such bountiful promises, cannot be too 

 highly deprecated ; and those who have been guilty of the 

 act should not only suffer the legal penalty for the crime and 

 folly, but be made to eat every one of the fish taken, bones 

 and all. — Ed.] 



SHAD VERSUS BLACK BASS. 



FLEA : NOT GUILTST. 



MlDDtETowN. Conn., May 18, 1877. 

 ErnTOB Fouest and Stream and Eod ash liis: 



Permit me to say a word in your columns in reply to the ar- 

 1 iele on page 223 of Fouest axd Stream copied from the 



Hartford Time*. 



In the fiTSt place, it is not true that the Fish Commissioners 

 have introduced black bass into the Connecticut River. _ Their 

 work was confined entirely to ponds hi different sections of 

 tlie Slate, as appears from their reports, made annually to the 



latum How they got into the Connecticut, no one can 

 tell One thing is certain, the Commissioners did not place 

 them there. 



1 n the second place, there is not a particle of evidence that 

 the black bass has had any effect to diminish the shad this 

 year, 01 any other year. 'It is sheer guess-work to charge 

 ilu-ni with a'uy such results; the observations of the United 

 States Fish Commissioners and the experiences of the Connec- 

 ticut commissioners have led them to no such conclusions. In- 

 deed, not a single reason assigned in the Times' letter is prob- 

 ably 1 1 1 1 • 1 1 tie cause ot the apparent scarcity of shad. We say 

 •'apparent" because we have reason to believe that if the cap- 

 tured shad could be fairly counted this year, the number 

 would be quite up to the average of the past seven years. The 

 river fishermen have not caught as many perhaps as usual ; 

 but tin- pounds have caught more. It is not generally known 

 that during the past two'or three sessions of the Connecticut 

 Legislature, the owners of three pounds have made special ef- 

 fort's and incurred meat expense to be ably represented in the 

 House and in the Senate-, and thev have succeeded in get- 

 ling the law so altered that they are now virtually without re- 

 straint or regulation. Formerly they kept close time, and the 



had tree access into and up the river from Saturday night 

 until Mon day morning. The season of fishing has also beenpro- 

 li pjvjerl, and now the" pound men have it all their own way ; 

 with pounds larger, more efficient and more numerous, and 

 with :>om: ..rue UetJBS is it any wander, that river fishermen 

 are drawing light drafts? Is it not a wonder that any fish es- 

 eape to get into the river at all? The Fish Conuuissiuneis 

 have si niggled against this condition of things, and they have 

 been seconded by intelligent men throughout the State, but the 

 hard work and money of the pound men effected their object, 

 and the result is beginning to appear. The river fishermen 

 were fairly warned of this ; but they did not. believe it, and so 

 [ailed to co-operate with the Commissioners. No nation, even 

 in the earliest times, ever 'allowed continuous fishing. Search 

 the oldest law books, and you will find close time provided for 

 under heavy penalties. And yet never in Connecticut lias 

 there been so little protection to the fish as 10-day. The ulti- 

 mate result can easily lie foretold. The river fishermen suffer 

 l his -, ear— the pound fishermen next year, and ultimately the 

 spawiiers will be so scarce at Ilolyoke that artificial hatching 

 will be abandoned, and the shad of the Connecticut lie among 

 the fish that were. This is no fancy picture ; it will come as 

 sure us the season returns, and we tell the river fishermen if 

 they will not look out for themselves, no one can look out for 

 Iheiu. R- G. P- 



LAKE TROUT AND WHITEFISH 

 HATCHING IN WISCONSIN. 



Wisconsin Fi.-u IIatcuekv. Mit.wi.TJKBB,} 

 V May 111, 1877. / 



I wish to explain to your many readers my experience in 

 hatching the lake trout and whitefish of our lakes. 



It has been the practice of a large portion of the States en- 

 gaged in fish culture to locate their hatching establishments 

 contiguous to some springs, using the water from the same 

 for the purpose of hatching the different varieties of fiesh 

 water fish, and especially those above mentioned. You are 

 probably aware of the fact that the temperature of spring 

 w r ater is usually from 44 to 48 degrees, Falir. The ova of the 

 lake trout or whitefish placed or kept in water of that tem- 

 perature would invariably hatch at from 80 to loo days' time, 

 and, after the absorption of the sac, the young tish would be 

 planted in the waters of the lakes intended to lie stocked. 



Now, Mr. Editor, let us suppose that the spawn of the lake 

 trout or white-fish is taken in the early days of November, 

 brought to the hatching house and placed in a Holloa trough 

 or box, the water turned on, at a temperature of Mdegrees, and 

 that under such a temperature until the fish are hatched, say 

 in 100 days, would we not have them on our hands as early 

 as February ? And if hatched in 80 days would we not have 

 them to dispose of in the month of January'/ Would it then 

 be practicable to plant them in the lakes still frozen over with 

 ice? 



jNow lam satisfied with my experience in hatching lake fish, 

 that in hatching them in 80, 00 or even loo days we make a 

 very grave and serious mistake, and also that it is not in con- 

 formity with nature, which, I contend, we must follow as 

 closely as possible to insure a genuine success. The young 

 fish, especially whitefish, feed for a time wholly upon the 

 animalcuke contained in the water, and, as it does not exist 

 to any extent in water while frozen over, I have but little 

 faith that young fish deposited at such a season of the year 

 would be able to find sufficient food to sustain life. 



I will give you my experience in hatching the two varieties 

 spoken of in the natural water (namely lake-water) during 

 the season now drawing to a close, so that you will be able to 

 judge of the truth of my remarks and the virtue of using lake 

 water in hatching the different varieties of fish of our lakes, 

 especially the trout, and whitefish. 



I was employed by the tish commissioners of the State of 

 Wisconsin as Superintendent of the State Hatching House. 

 The rooms are located in the basemen! of the engine house, 

 or, as it is called here, the Pumping Works of the City of 

 Milwaukee, which supplies the city with water from Lake 

 Michigan, and which also furnishes the water for the iish- 

 hatching department direct from the lake. 



The first lake trout eggs of the season were placed in the 

 house on the 20th of October, and nearly every day from that 

 date until the 10th of Koveniber eggs were each day placed in 

 the house. They are now all hatched out, the last of them 

 batching to-day. Now supposing those eggs that were hatched 

 to.day were the ones taken on the loth of November, Unit 

 being the last dav that trout eggs were placed in the house, we 

 find that the period of incubation has been 182 days. There 

 was also a large quantity of the ova of the whitelish placed in 

 the house between the Island 36th of November, the incuba- 

 tion period ranging from 140 to 100 days, and that it requires 

 at least the same length of time to hatch the same species de- 

 posited naturally by the parent tish in the lakes there can be 

 no doubt. Therefore, we find by our experience in using 

 water of the same temperature that the tish live, breed and 

 prosper in, that, it takes from 145 to 170 days to hatch the bike 

 trout, and from 135 to 105 days for the. whitefish or there- 

 abouts. 



Now, what I claim is this, that lake waters are the only 

 proper waters for hatching lake fish, and that a long period of 

 incubatiouis most essential and necessary to prodtti »oo l 

 healthy fish. Also, by hatching the ova in water at a low 

 temperature, and the consequent duration of incubation, it 

 brings out the young fish in the spring months, when the 

 bright, warm days of April and May have removed the icy 

 coal from the lakes and streams and the waters every day 

 increase in warmth, and when the waters abound in sufficient 

 food for the maintenance of the schools after they have ab- 

 sorbed the supply nature has provided them with. Under 



such conditions their survival i r (o ' ' syond a douht. This 

 is my experience of two successive seasons in hatching lake 

 fishin lake water. The average h I ipt rature of the water 

 from November 1, 1H70, to May 1, 1S77, was ;;fi 1-20 degrees. 

 II. W. Welshi-u, Stipt. 

 Milwaukee 8c u Unci. 



htiu'itl Wisfom. 



rJun.uTox of Life of Animals. — The following tabic, of 

 the duration of life in certain auimals is translated from an 

 old German work : The elephant, loll to 200 years ; camel, 

 50 to 60 ; ass, 30 to 50 1 horse, 20 to 80 ; deer, 20; bull, 30; 

 ox (draught), 10; cow, 20; lion, 00; bear, 20; wolf, 30; 

 dog, 20 to 2S ; fox, 15 ; sheep, 10; hog, 20 ; cat, 18 ; squir- 

 rel, 7; hare, 7 to S ; goat, 10. Of birds -parrot, 110 ; eagle, 

 100; swan, 100; goose, 50 ; sparrow hawk, 40; canary (if it 

 breeds annually), 10; do. if it does not couple, 24; nightin- 

 gale and lark, t0 to 18; peacock. 84; turkey, 14: hen, 10; 

 quail, to 7; duck, 25; the alligator and crocodile, 100; tor- 

 toise, 100 ; carp, 100 to 150 ; pike, 40 ; cricket, 10 ; spider, 1. 

 A similar statement, made upon a basis of more recent obser- 

 vation by American naturalists, would be interesting iu con- 

 nection with the above. •'• M, 15. 



A SBKAHOB Fish. -The following was clipped from a copy 

 of J'ortiTs .Spirit, of Nov. 13, 1858, ami as it describes a fish 

 we never have heard of, piscalors arc requested to give us 

 what information they may be able to, in relation to it. — 



KlCI/k'A. 



A singular looking monster oT the deep was captured the 

 other day by Hiram Tweedy, a boatman at. the foot of Chris- 

 topher street, North Hiver. Mr. T. was in Ids boat a short 

 distance from the pier; when his attention was attracted by a 

 monstrous bead protruding from Hie water. In an instant he 

 seized his boat-hook and succeeded in capturing ihe tish 

 which was found to be about four feet iu length and weighed 



twenty-five pounds. The head was similar in griapi 

 rim of a man's hat, the body resembling the body of a codfish. 

 On the top of the head, about sis inches from the snout, were 

 two eyes as large as a cent, while just beyond were two small 

 horns", surrounded at the base by long hair. The mouth of the 

 monster, set around with shai: i t© ;j. was of sufficient capacity 

 to take in the head of a child six of eight years old, and its 

 great tongue seemed to be covered with little prickles. It had 

 no gills, ami the only breathing apertures were two holes in 

 the snout. On each side were two great tins, while protruding 

 from its belly were two hands with five fingers, and almost as 

 perfect as a" human band, In its mouth were found sis or 

 eight small fish, and the probability is that the monster was 

 taking his dinner when Mr. Tweedy hooked htm from his 

 native element. 



Tame Wild Gef.sk. — More information on a subject which 

 has interested many of the readers of the Forest aSd Sire ot 

 is given in the following clipping from the St. Loui 

 lien n : 



Dr. Lankford, who returned a day or two since from the 

 southeastern part, of the State, mentions the following curious 

 fact in history. He gives the statement on the authority of Mr. 

 W. K. Smith, a leading farmer and miller living near Morley, 

 in Scott county, Missouri. About a year ago Mr. Smith Cap- 

 tured two young wild geese, and raised them with his domes- 

 tic goslings. The wild ones became L quite tame and took 

 kindly to the changes of civilized life." They adapted their 

 habits to the ordinary delights of the barnyard, and swam in 

 the pond with the tame geese, without showing a disposition 

 to go on a v\ ild goose chase. At length, about the 4th of 

 November, the weather began to change, and after being do- 

 mesticated some eight mouths, the wild fellows, prompted by 

 an instiuct to seek a more sunny elime on the approach of 

 winter, spread their wings to the breeze and started on a mi- 

 gratory tour, flying southward. Their departure was natural 

 and to" be expected. After an absence of two months, early 

 in January, great was Mr. Smith's surprise ta find, on gi 1 1 ins 

 up one morning, that the two wild geese had returned to 

 their old haunts on his farm. They not only returned, but 

 eleven wild geese came with them as visitors, whom they pi- 

 loted safely from some southern bayou. The newcomers made 

 themselves at home, and were fed and fondled by the child- 

 ren. They come to the mill at feeding time to get their ra- 

 tions, and gabble, all together, and put on all the airs of civi- 

 lized geese who have had a good moral training. 



tV 



A Fisit that REARS its Young in the Mouth. — The 

 Chromis paterfamilias has the gills disposed in simple lamina- ; 



it is unprovided w 



eggs or the young 

 dred voung in tin 

 that performs thest 

 has deposited thee 

 the tufts of ihe ree 

 inhalation into tin 

 movement, the mei 

 observe, sends them In 

 pressure exerted on the 

 to keep th 



I apparatus for retaining the 

 id yet it brings up about two bun- 

 aud gills. It is always the male 

 us of incubation. After the female 



depression of the sand or between 



ualc approaches and takes them by 



of the mouth. From there, soma 



of which we have not been able to 



ween the leaflets of the gills. The 



'ggs by the branchial lamiiue suffices 



There, in midst of the organs ot res- 



'I he 



nty 



titration, the eggs undergo all their mctan 

 young ones grow rapidly, and soon appear much Inconveni- 

 enced in their narrow prison. They leave it— not by the 

 gills, but through the opening by which the branchial cavity 

 eoiuinunieaf.es with the mouth. Here, they remain iu great 

 number, pressed against oue another like the seed in a pome- 

 granate. The animal's mouth becomes so distended by the 

 presence of this numerous progeny that actually the jaws' can- 

 not meet. The cheeks are swollen, and the animal presents 

 the strangest aspect. Some of the young, arrived at the per- 

 fect state, continue to live in the gills. All have the head 

 directed toward the buccal opening of the father; the prod cl- 

 ue: cai ifcy of which we have not seen them leave even for a 

 moment." Though so numerous, they hold their ground very 

 firmly, but how they do so we have not discovered. Neither 

 can we understand how the nursing father avoids swallowing 

 his progeny ; we are also ignorant at what period of their life 



the young" ones leave the paternal mouth to Jive in i ; 



ently. — Popular Science Monthly. 



A QUESTION FOR ZOOLOGISTS. 



Leesbdbgj Va., May 0, 1377. 

 Enrrort Forest axd Stream: 



Dr. Morse, in his first book of Zoology says, speaking of 

 snail-shells: " Left-handed shells {aperture on" left when spire 

 points up) are not so common." Now, my little boys col- 

 lected some shells for me. and all tire left-handed. Can it be 

 that latitude has any effect on the way the snail puts mi his 

 coat, in Massachusetts twisting to the right, in Virginia to 

 the left? T. W. 



[Will some of our conchologists give us their views on this 

 point. — Ed.] 



THE RUBY-THROATED 

 BIRD. 



(Troe/iiiua colubris. ) 



HUMMING 



Pnii.jDKi.ruii. April, 1S77. 

 Editok Fukest anh Stub ah: 



Tills sprlghflj lull.- bird 



tribe, and is a summer iiih&hipull -a ffevt England. II arrives lure 

 about the tenth of May, and u seems to un- thai they come ou in pairs, 



a.s I have often watched tl irtiae im tan si m i tu h other about 



the second week in May, us t rambled through tl"- Bi 



leoting specimens fur my caiinu-i. AS Boon as they trtsli our gardens 



ile-y commence building. The nest is composed uf a down 



Hteinsi.r ferns, and |b covered entirety wit-h lichens which are clued un 



with the saliva el the liu.v lard. The a- rue 



Its ttoat is about an inch ami a halt in diameter, and nearly tin? same in 



ilcjrjtfi i lined cit.1 oi lowny Biiuatances from dying seeds. The 



eggs aru two in rmmber, pure white ami nearly elliptical in shape. 



toigtl ;ga sboul , it. Inch, ana breadth abohl .:u iliuli. Thej raise 



tmt one brood in the season, The rood of ttic tuuuniiuti nir-li .1 



entirety composed of. Insects, although urban keptln conflnemom t hi ■-, 

 will subsist oa sweetened water for a few 



On the sill of June, 18T3, while ou a visit, to my brothers, in )laif- 

 liiml, it being very warm on the above day, I strolled down I •■. . tream 

 Hi the una uf the field to recline heath tie- shatlaflof a gigj 

 bull tree, and after I doffed my coat, ami liat. listening to the rippling of 

 tn ' i ii ii'. - i.i different feathered minstrels, ami as 

 ul.l Bol was smiling down with his males! 

 When suddenly I heard abuzziujjaoumi lite that of a bee. In an instm^ 



