so 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 15, 188a. 



THE NEW "SCREED." 



ALTHOUGH "Neasmuk" isperliBjpa the first Lo publish 

 tlie law in such a tody original and emphatic way, I 

 trust that he will believe that there are many others who in 

 this reapeot have long been a law unto themselves, ami 

 through their example have perhaps been the menus of re- 

 straining others from ruthlessly destroying the already fast 

 diminishing- frame. 



That game must go is not only an inevitable conclusion, 

 but in many localities has become a fact. Trout streams 

 whose waters were ouee teeming with the speckled fellows 

 now yield only an occasional straggler fit to basket. Were 

 it not for the beautiful scenes which surround these crystal 

 streams and for the pleasant memories which hangover 

 each rift and pool I think I should soon forget n,;,wi:,l 

 trips to their solihules. Even the solitude is aboul gi il 



It is onlya short time ago that I remember of nieeiing one 

 of those chaps "Tfessmnk" tells of, "T. H.," in large capitals, 

 was marked on his face. He stood on a half-submerged 

 rock just below a pretty country bridge fishing one of the 

 beat pools on the stream — a pool J 'had just walked five 

 miles to make a cast in. I have not forgotten that man. He 

 was of medium size, clothed in n suit, of dark gray lifting 

 him almost without a wrinkle; legs and feet were 'encased 

 in the proverbial Jong rubber boots, and a high crown, soft 

 felt hat covered his head. A "lightish" colored beard, 

 trimmed neatly to a point, grew on his chin close up to a 

 pair of thin lips, over which bung or protruded a somewhat 

 long and pointed nose. Eyes, an indescribable gray, small 

 and restless. This was the man; ".sleek." 1 think, would 

 be a good word to sum up with. 



"Good morning, sir," 1 said. 



"Good morning." 



"What luck?'! asked. 



'1 have about seventy in here," he answered, tapping an 

 ordinary sized creel as he spoke. 



1 slaved no longer, but, turning to mv partner, we hurried 

 away. As we passed out of sight Charles opened our creel, 

 wherein, upon u bed of bright green moss, lay tw, Ive hand- 

 some trout. As he gazed upon their wholesome propoi I ions 

 he seemed lost iu a Cteep study; finally he asked; "Hid he 

 say he had .seventy trout in that basket';" "Yes, Charles, 

 and as he raised the lid I saw it was not nearly full." 



| " 1'lTOUY. 



Mi>calonoe Our op Season.— Buffalo, N. Y., Feb. r>. 

 —One of our Sun. lay pipers reports: "Two of the promi- 

 nent residents of ' over Grand Island caught twenty-six 

 musralonge, ranging in weight from fifteen to thirty 

 pounds, oil Sunken Island, Ou Jan, 38. The information i's 

 volunteered that they fished with a night line baited with 

 cats." Muscalonge were openlv exposed for sale here last 

 week and yet we hear of no arrests. Soma time ago District 

 Attorney Hitch, atler considerable trouble, succeeded in 

 getting some "seiners" convicted, but they were let oil' with 

 a fine of ,?3. as l hey were "poor men with families." It is 

 to such unlawful practices as the above that we owe the 

 scarcity of good fish in the Niagara River. Perhaps if 

 measures were taken to enforce our present laws instead of 

 making new on >B the time would come whun the people 

 who can not afford to go to Florida, the North Woods or 

 i 9 Lore could enjoy one or two days' sport near home. 

 — C.\n.vLi.Bno. " 



Dhb Tbout ox Two FniEs. —Seattle, W. T., Jan. BT.— 

 Queer fishing and hunting adventures seem to be the order 

 of I he day in Forest and Stujoam. and I wish to add my 

 mite to the general fund. Some four or live years ago the 

 writer and a. companion were fishing for trout, and 1 regret 

 to say were using salmon roc, the weather being cold aud 

 the water high. While standing about twenty feet apart, 

 fishing in the same. "hole," we simultaneously felt a "bite" 

 aud truck, and upon bringing our hooks to the surface, were 

 surprised to find that a ten-inch trout had attempted to 

 appropriate both baits, and that each of us had him hard 

 and fast, Let .some one now raise m<- with a story 0f a 

 trout aud !h ice anglers. The capabilities of this style of 

 story are only limited by the number of hooks a trout's 

 mouth will contain, but this was a fact. — Alki. 



Canadian Fishes.— A paper on "The Fishes of the Ot- 

 tawa District" was read before The Field Naturalists' 

 Society, by Mr. It. Beaumont Small, of Ottawa. The 

 lecturer said that probably not more than one-half of the 

 species really existiug had 'been made known. The. fishes of 

 Canada, and especially of the Ottawa district, presented a 

 field of observation as yet partially traversed, and one that 

 will repay minute investigation, as'there are very few works 

 of reference on this subject. Valuable statistics are fur- 

 nished by the Fisheries Etepartment of Canada; but this is 

 oi little use to the naturalist Mr. Small urged the project 

 of having a Lug'- public aquarium, accessible to visitors, 

 vvitlin working model of a fish hatchery, which could be 

 attached to the museum. — W. 



ANr:w Angling. Book. — We have just seen the proof 

 sheets of some colored plates of flies which are to appear in 

 a book to be issued by Mr. C. F. Orvis next spring. They 

 Were finely done, and il' the entire work is iu harmony with 

 the beautiful plates of flies it will be a good one* Mr. 

 Orvis assures us that he intends it to be a standard work 

 aud in no sense an advertisement. Articles on various 

 topics will be contributed by a corps of writers whose 

 names we are not at liberty to publish at present, but who 

 are all well-known anglers and writers. Mr, A. K. 

 Cheney is assisting in the preparation of the work. When 

 il is issued we will anounce the fact. 



$jimy <g'm tgluhviinQS. 



"That reminds me." 



LAST fall a gentleman from Auburn, N. Y., was visiting 

 a brother here. They went out for a night hunt. Eyes 

 were seen. Urn; of Hie shooters "let go" at them. Then 

 there was a good deal ofa racket in the brush. Venturiagupa 

 little nearer, they saw a huge black object, which suggestefl" 

 bear. But whoever saw a bear have horns? The farmer 

 has an odd ox now, and forty dollars for the other one. 



One more. A young Nnm'od went about, three miles along 

 tin- railroad track, when he saw an eye, at which he made a 

 fine double shot, but failed to dim it in the least. It proved to 

 be a headlight on an engine — some five miles u way. 



" Blank. 

 Bsoakada, Mioh.; 



tgfislfcttltitrc. 



MEMORANDA ON LAND-LOCKED SALMON. 



HY CHAHI.ES 0. ATKINS. 



s eommonlv vcr 



' great, land-locked 



g but one-fourth < 



r one-fifth the size of 



n. Same differei 



ices in color. Laud- 



in breeding seas 



in assume so bright 



sea salmon. As 



ide from these unim- 



ly be mentioned a. 



imore important the 



ind-loeked salinot 



ly that it someti 



nes has occurred to 



seend the St. Cro 



x or Presumnseot to 



aw species and have called them Saijno 

 to. Within a few years Bean, and othe 



portanr 



iiiferei 



stray iudividua 



the sea. They find their normi 

 be noted that though iu ma 

 stages tin* land-looked salmon 

 haps ten per cent, greater in di 



Another interesting point of 

 the embryonic markings to t 

 locked salmon than river sal 

 salmon thirteen inches long wi 

 still very distinct,, and in rem 

 locked salmon, I have found tl 

 Under side of the skin, and out, 

 the flesh, as though thp r . 

 salmon to fresh water had stop 

 him still in a somewhat embrv 



B.— Range.— Four Districts is Maine, viz 



1. Basin of Fresmnpscot River (Lake Seha. 



'i. Basin of Sebec River, a branch of I-'cnohl 

 to be found in other parts of Penobscot Basin 

 they have not sprcarlall through the Penobsc 

 lakes seemingly w,-U fitted. ' 



S. Basin ql Onion River, Hancock county. 



l thought to he 

 ralists finding 

 thought them 



aW.-tshrngtou,' 

 adhndnospe- 



te retention of 

 • age bv land- 

 een a Sebago 



of the land-locked 

 it elopmenl. keeping 



Bumpaeol and St. Croix haded 

 ers, and in both rivers were . 

 to tide-water. Within twelve < 

 taken at Cumberland Mills 



The fish of th 

 range than the 

 taken almost d 

 seen two that v 

 scot,. 



C— Size op Adcxts.— This varies mn 

 reach eight and ten pounds, and some 

 (or Sehoodic, as we commonly call 

 pounds and average two and a* half, 

 parts of Sehoodic lakes th an others, ti 

 le it i •' )DSl -..tut . For instance, in 1ST. 1 "). 



the latter hi 



they 



are'large, at. 

 the Sehoodic 

 There are I 

 with the diff 

 interesting p 

 fish is this; ! 

 Sehoodic,— a. 

 large ones, 

 spots and d. 

 tne way fro 

 Sehoodic si 



tie as the Dobsis fish. The Oniou R i ver Hsh 

 Ke the Sebago. The Sebec fish about like 



He I 



-a ken 



Lai 



than twelve UlCi 

 er one that had 

 1 these small fish, 



r lake 



;h the larger fish, 

 aartersof the vane' \ 

 r stream do so many 

 loso many find their 

 ig backwoods system 

 vsout of Grand' Lake 



r. Brand Lake 



hies long, quick 

 ning grounds. 



iv less than fifteen, and 

 ;1 spots less than eleven. 

 lalierfornjawithbarsS; 



are rarely found on the sa 



D.— Grand Late Stream 

 of Sehoodic lanes. That 

 resort to spa wu; and in 

 home as in C.j aud Lake. . 

 of nomenclature, the strt 

 is called Grand Lake Stream. Here. ( 

 stances that 1 know of, the salmon move 

 into its out let at the spawning season, il 

 tributaries. It follows that the you 

 dropping down with the current as youn; 

 in the habit, of ascending their native sir 

 deep water above. 



Grand Lake is one of the finest sheets 

 clean, wooded shores, and very clear m 

 Stream is a bright, dancing stream, thre 

 water almost every rod, and abundant sf 



E.— The Breeding Operations.— Eor I u 

 been conducting almost the entire business of spawning for 

 the fish. Our traps span the stream at the outlet of the lake. 

 No fish now get past us except by accident— very tew actu- 

 ally, With tine-meshed nets we build a series Of inolosnres. 

 Those which the fish first enter are on the principle of a weir 

 or pound, and few fish ever get, out, against our will. They come 

 in mostly by night. Every morning wo count our catch and 

 assort them, taking spawn from all that are ready. The 

 earliest fish begin to spawn in the stream before the end of 

 October; we begin to take eggs a few days later, 1th to sth 

 of November. Many of the females have to be kept some 

 days before they are ripe. (Not so with Penobscot fish— sea 

 salmon— wine! i are generally all ripe together, and some days 

 earlier than Sehoodic.) Yield, 1,000 eggs per female. Com- 

 monly catch four females to three males. Males come in 

 earlier in the season. First run nearly all males; last nearly 

 all females. Full fish continue to come in until November 30; 

 sometimes not all manipulated till December. Often there is 

 severe cold weather during the spawning season. We opi 

 under cover of a roof. Sometimes ice ' 

 munication with the lake; but if not 

 have manipulated in cars and low the 

 the lake, where they are- set free. Oi 

 taken is hatched here and the fry let li 

 avoid exhausting the supply. There h 

 so far. Young are planted along tl 

 where there are loose, rough rocks for 



We have threespawn houses, or rat hi 

 (exclusively so) and two hatching he 

 house is fed with lake water. itelocati 

 it in March, but the long stay of the 

 water keeps development back so that .__ 

 grown enough for planting till Juno, when their natural food 

 is become abundant. 



Our best, hatching house stands on the lake shore and is a 

 very substantial .structure, partly under ground with massive 

 stonewalls ; capacity for developing four million eggs or hatch- 

 ing one million. Troughs arranged On six floors and watei runs 

 through the series, so that it can be used at least three times, 

 with ample, facilities for aeration. We pass water from one 

 trough to another by letting it fall in a broad, thin sheet over 

 the side of the trough. It is very effective, and young hatched 

 in this house are exceedingly vigorous. The above hatching 

 house covers 1,600 sq. ft. of ground. Have also a neat little 

 cottage for the superintendent, and lodge for foreman, ice 

 house, wood-house, all in convenient proximity. 



Our method of manipulating fish is, perhaps, common. Use 

 "dry methods," wholly. Ten quart tin milk pans receive, 

 spawn and milt. Fish 'are used just, as the "dipper" hands 

 them up, male or female first, as may chance. After eggs of 

 four or five fish are taken and well milted, another hand takes 



shuts 



ts off from eom- 



, we t 



tke the flSh we 



m one 



or two miles up 





th of th.-. spawn 



lose in 



Li rand Late, to 



as bet 



n no falling off 



ie sle 



re seatleringlv 



them 



o hide under. 





evelopiug house 





The developing 





pels us to vacate 





u the cold lake 



none 



ire hatched and 



them, agitates them diligently for a few minutes, and then 

 washes them off at once, after which they stand iu pans OB 

 shelves till convenient to carry to hatching house. Careful 

 observation has shown that impregnation "is instantaneous 

 upon contact of milt, and all agitation and waiting is n.erely 

 to secure contact. Milt in pure water loses spawn in few- 

 seconds, retaining scarce any power after one minute. Eggs 



-U-" iVlf-'-' M.lll lose e; p^-p-,- ,'>1 I ill pre ■. ■ i a I'm . if plli III , , v.-il . 



But a little water does no appreciable hern, within a fow 

 minutes. Either eggs or milt can be exposed to ail I >r le uj 



without losing power. The mucus tiiar Conies 1'ioni the lis] i 

 with eggs does not act on milt or eggs like pure v. , 

 power for 



stain out th 

 In a, can sta 

 and then as 

 Three-mis 

 Maine. Hat 



ulfcd liquid ft 



Hit 



n pa i 



IV, 



par 



round them. Burr) 



sled on a morning 



__ro, twenty-eight _ 



the frost x>enef rating. 



■■■■■■ iseil ''gain. 



pt it forty-eight hours 

 -— and'milti. 



". Owners a,,' 



United States. 



gs. dry to Ul 



d .,',,, i below 



■•. ithout 



■ as tnnn as the 



'lee' I 



eyes become black. We send all off from January t> 

 Those we keep hatch in May and are turned out in .1 



WHITEFTSH CULTURE. 



IN Mich igan whitefish culture has been carried on by both 

 the Stale and the Tinted States Fish commissions. A 

 former superintendent of the state (vorfc has been circulating 

 petitions through the State to iniluene,- the Legislature >n 

 discontinue the work, claiming that it is pr,.p,-,lv the pro\ - 



Prof. Baird to Mr. A." J." Kellogg;.' of the Michigan" Commis- 

 sion, gives la's views on the subject and plainly si eo'. f 



considers that the State should by no means abandon the 



Washington, D. G, Jan. 38, [88$. 

 .4. ./. Kellnr/fj. ICxj., Fish OViHim /.yjtioiier. Del run , Mich.: 



DEA.K 8lE— I am in receipt of your letter of January at, 

 inclosing a copy ofa remonstrance against further expendi- 

 tures by the Alhhigan commissioners in hatching whitefish 

 in the great lakes, addressed to 1 he I legislatura of that State, 



■ V '• erne, to tne several paragraph- ,,,' the memorial or re 

 >nsi i '-I •■■■ in question, in th> ir ordl r. I beg leave lO make 

 the following remarks ;w ,v - --i, ;J , . -,,i,, ; il | , ; , Q 



policy of the United Stat, - i'i ! -, a in such case.,. 



',-," waters of the grea i.,;:>, ■■ .■ i i-iv- o , ; i , , (ho States, 

 are me l.'-rt he jurisdiction either of the State or of the genei 

 government, The latter controls matters relative lo ua\ iea- 



1 i. ni. l,ii t winthei-it hits an\ tiling to do with the OUI - 



the li>heri,-s has yet to >„■ ieeided. At any rate (lie Legisla- 

 tures i-espe -iiY.-iy have assumed that their States cm i the 



'■■-'.- , „. ei,".l- ,ee ei i ' - in I I . .,, I I ' p.. ,,,,,. , „ 



', , "„"i'i',,i the fishing iiud other points, which are ill force 



eral government, then th" aetion l,a- i •[ P., , ,1, , : ,d lishei- 



meu and others are not bound to assent to i£ Hi - b 



government has not as yei in le- 1. : .,i.. ei ii, roglll b 



orcontrol the fisheries even m navigable w „l is oi on the 

 high sea-s. and the case, for the pre.-ent, is iu the hands of the 

 authorities ot the States. 



In farther reference to the first paragraph; so far from the 

 appropriations by Congress having been spent; in largo pel I. 

 in the propagation df sea fishes, no expenditure of this kind 

 be- i,e,-i ne, d, ■ Pe< oud a few experiments designed to e - 



tain the best method of proseeataag the work when under- 

 taken The outlay under the head of propagation has been 

 for the hatching of shad, salmon, whitefish and ea.rp, oi which 

 the lake States received a largo proportion 



3. It is a mistake to assume that the fish produced by 

 :■:. 'I Igan money and pla, erl in ibe Uetjoit Kiver and the 

 great lakes, are lost to the inhabitants of the State. The 

 whitefish are- luipratorv to some extent , and although they 

 So into Lake Krie and elsewhere to remain (or a en- e , ; 

 pun , mi]-,, a small portion are taken while there. The main 

 catch is on the approach of the period of their reproduction. 

 It is a well-known fact that, fish always return to spawn to 



the place where they are born; and that, with tile . ., , 



ei a eeei.iin class of migratory fish m the ocean, their moi e- 

 meuts are troni the mshores to the deep water and back again. 

 rather than in an extensive, lateral migration. '1 lie latter 

 view, as .applied to the salmon, the. shad and the herring, has 



1 think 1 am not mistaken in assuming that the great catch 



of whitefish is in the autumn; and ihat tie ne I : I 



taken in the summer is of comparatively little magnitude, 

 OI course they may lie taken by the ton", but that, does not 

 necessarily express a, veiv large figure. Thus, voung fish 

 planted at Alpena would, accordine; to our present, light on 

 the subject, return to the same neighborhood when (nature, 

 and of course b„ taken there. Thev would not go to I he 

 Canadian side, nor would they go dowu or into the De roil 

 River. The young fish planted in Detroit Kiver would in nil 

 probability go down the stream into Lake Erie, i, M i ,„ 

 would return to the Detroit River at the spawhUUi Rgi and 

 time. I do not believe that iisli planted at Sandusky would 

 go up the Detroit River and be taken there. They would 

 rather go into the deep water and come hack again, There 

 is an entire fallacy, therefore, in the assumptions of t he second 

 paragraph. 



Another misstatement is that ^Ncw York and other sea- 

 boai'd States lin v ■ abandoned their .'•,,nst work. ;,n,l are dy- 

 ing tbci, funds and labor to the inlau h, 



never prosecuted any coast fish hatching, inn litis within a 



year established a station at CoidSj.rme Harbor, Lone Isl I 



Sound, tor the express purpose of giving particular • I ■ ,, . , 

 to this subject. 'The same is likely to Occur within other sea 

 coast States. 



The Lnited States Fish Commission does not desire to 

 monopolize the whitefish work along the great lakes, Indeed, 

 forseveral years it refused to enter upon ii, on the ground 

 that the law authorizes expenditures for the introduction of 

 fooet fishes into new localities, and not for their multiplica- 

 tion in particular .-pots. It was only lor th.- purpose Ot get- 

 ting the eggs of the whtorish for pUBtiibntion to California, 

 Nevada, and other places where it was thought tliey would 

 be desirable, that arrangements were made with Mr. Clark 

 at Noithville to do this" work on a small scale. Gradually 

 findinga decrease in the whitefish fisheries oi the laki 

 a possible inability to obtain the supplies nee,--,np\ to stock 

 distant waters, arrangement-' were mad-: ii Par, 1, ,,,p a 

 larger number than was necessary for the. last mentioned 

 purpose, and to plant a considerable Quantity fb b ,:. 

 waters. 



The United States Fish Commission now ha; two hat* Ixerifii 

 in Michigan, one at Noithville and the other at Alpena, hav- 

 ing about 60 ,0 '" 'eggs The fish when hatched wdl for tne 

 most part be distributed between Lakes Michigan. Huron, 

 Erie and Ontario. 



' I consider it of the utmost possible importance, that all the 

 lake States should do their part in increasing the supply of 

 whitefish, and to the extent of their ability. It is only by in- 

 troducing hundreds of millions of whitefish fry in each lake. 

 tint The'depjetieii can be arrested and the increase brought 

 about. The expense will be v-vy trifling in proport i, ,j 



As to the. third point, the question of rebuilding the old 

 hatchery in Detroit, and the other steps necessary fur eun- 

 tintung work, if it is to be prosecuted at all, lam unable to say 

 anything. But I should consider it extremely unwise for the 



