72 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



relspnss through that place daily "for a period of at least 

 five weeks in the months of March nnti April." Inthespriug 

 of 1878 twenty thousand pike died in a small pond in which 



, they were placed to await -a raise" in the market price. 

 The inevitable result of this scandalous depletion of the 

 spawning beds has already made itself felt, and fishing with 

 the hook and line is no longer practiced in places where it 

 used to prove very remunerative. 



1 feel confident that the above facts, however appalling, 

 constitute but a half-told story tint the enormity of the 

 crime will never be fully known — and it is sincerely to be 

 hoped that tlie proper authorities will spare neither pains 

 nor cost in Infusing this outrageous slaughter to a speedy 

 termination, the food fishes of this magnificent lake are 

 of too grflat value to the inhabitants of its shorBsto be BHCri- 

 fliced for the benefit of a handful of worthless outlaws. The 

 time for fiction is now at hand. 



. C. Hart Mf.kui.vm, M. D. 



I Wens? rinr,y E , n. v.. Feb. 15; 1888. 



MAINE NOTES. 



Editor ForiM rn>d Slmnn: 



A short visit at Augusta a few day- ago, satisfied uie 

 that tb.2 present Legislature is alive to the demand- of the 

 public for laws which will be more protective in regard to 

 fish and game. 



The. Chairman of the Committee on Fisheries and Game, 

 Hon. J. H. Kimball, of Bath, is himseir a lover of field 

 sports and the angle, is deeply interested in all of these mat- 

 ters, and is a gentleman of ability and culture. Also Hon. 

 G. W. McAllaster, of Bucksporl', of same committee, Hon. 

 A. G. Lebroke, of Foxcroft, and many other prominent 

 members of the Legislature are anxious to do all in their 

 power to further these important interests and enhance the 

 rapidly increasing business of the people of Maine, which 

 is the result of the ••summer travel. " 



This committee have reported several bills which will 

 doubtless receive a favorable passage in both houses, and 

 which will make a new era in the protection of fish and 

 game in this State. 



Among them is the repeal of that terrible nuisance called 

 the " Tank Pond act," amending the law relating to the 

 disposition of the fines and penalties recovered for all vio- 

 lations of the wni) and fish laws so that one-half will go to 

 societies which will use the funds for the propagation of 

 trout and salmon instead of to the county as now. thus 

 making the poacher contribute toward replVting the lakes 

 and ponds which he lawlessly depletes; restricting the 

 transportation of trout and salmon beyond the limits of the 

 State at any time of the year, conferring upon all sheriffs, 

 deputies and constables the powers, and duties of game and 

 fish wardens, etc. 



The friends of protection to the Maine game and fish may 

 hope for a new order of things here if the bills reported by 

 this committee become law. .1. F S 



Monsok, Me., Feb. 10, 1883. 



POSITION OF REEL-WEIGHT OF RODS. 



I "WILL make a reply to Dr. Ilenshall's letter in Fokest 

 akd Stream of February 8. Imt have no desire to enter 

 into a word}' war with him, nor with any other person. My 

 remarks to Mr. .Ionian, which roused the Doctor's wrath, 

 wile intended to instruct one who claimed to be a novice. 

 If any one cares enough about it to look over Mr. .Ionian's 

 letters, as published, they will find that he was praising ; , 

 rod as "unsurpassed on earth," and at the same time ac- 

 knowledging that it was the first bass rod he had ever used. 

 His lack of skill is managing a iccl placed behind his hand, 

 the only lit place for it on a light rod, led me into writing 

 for his "enlightenment." 



If Dr. Henshall has not been an advocate of heavy rods 

 then the inferences were wrong wiiieh I and others have 

 drawn from the very acrimonious correspondence between 

 himself ana Mr. Van Siclen, when both those gentlemen 

 seemed to forget what was due to those who honestly differ 

 with them. The tone of his last letter wherein he belabors 

 me and hurls epithets at my "ignorant" head, led me to de- 

 cline to auswer it at first, but that course might Lad him to 

 think that he has effectually squelched me. 



In our striped bass fishing we use the reel in front of the 

 hand and cast a bait weighing from an ounce to an ounce 

 and a. half, with a stiff eight-foot rod. All who have cast 

 in this manner know that when Mr. Jordan casts "a half- 

 grown bream," or Dr. Henshall tells in his hook of casting 

 an ounce-nnd a-half minnow, that it takes a stout rod to 

 do it. When I answered Mr. Jordan that "for the style of fish- 

 ing that he aims at he is right in placing the reel in front of 

 his hand," and again when he asked "how one can casta 

 minnow "if If Henshall" in any other way, and I replied 

 that he could not, I then saw that this style was the height 

 of his ambition and that he looked up to the Doctor as the 

 father of all bass fishers. My reply was intended to mean 

 "enough said, if that is what 'you want it will suit you." It 

 does not suit me to throw an ounce-and-a-half minnow at a 

 black bass, with any soit of tackle. H it pleases Mr. Jor- 

 dan anil Doctor Henshall I have no objection, only they 

 should not attempt to enlighten the world on bass fishing in 

 a delicate manner. The splash of a "half-grown bream" 

 may bo music to some anglers while to others it might savor 

 of coarse fishing. 



I ant not ignorant, as far as reading goes, of the style in 

 which Dr Henshall fishes, and, begging his pardon, I do 

 not like it. I claim the right to have opinions and to express 

 them. I have enjoyed some of the Doctor's writings, 

 especially his "Around the Coast of Florida," but 1 cannot 

 say that 1 admire the style with which he treats those who 

 dare to differ with him. His book may be of value to an 

 ichthyologist — of tliat I do not pretend to judge — but it is 

 badly defaced with advertisements in the reading portion, 

 and will never rank high as an authority on bass fishing. 

 He makes long scientific 'distinction between the two species 

 of black bass, but when he comes to write of taking them 

 they are all one. The stupid big-mouth appears to furnish 

 him as much sport as the quick-fighting small-mouth. 



I did not intend to go into such a criticism of the worthy 

 Doctor. and will not again reply to what he may have to 

 say. In his last he charged me with "false hypotheses, 

 wilful assumptions and cross misrepresentations." A week 

 has passed and he has not forwarded anv apologv for the 

 language, so l will ask tin- readers of Forest akd Stream 

 to please excuse him, he will feel better some day. 1 cer- 

 tainly hope that he will find none of those terrible things in 

 this answer, and will settle down to the belief, however 

 much it may hurt his self love, that at least one man who 

 claims to he a fair bass angler does not think that the high- 

 est style of the art is "<< la Henshall." Flouidan. 



BAIT-CASTING IN NOTTINGHAM STYLE. 



WE have received a book entitled "The Nottingham 

 Styteof Float Fishing and Spinning," by J. W. Mar- 

 tin, (the "Trent Otter"), published bv Sampson Low. Mars- 

 ton, Searle and Rivington, IS8 Fleet street, London, E. C. 

 This is something which we have been desirous of seeing 

 because we have heard so much on the "Nottingham 

 Style" "f i Rating at the English tournaments, and had an idea 

 that as the east was made from the reel it. was similar to our 

 sea coast or ' 'Cutty hunk" style. A picture on the cover shows 

 a man casting wilhthe reefon the underside of the rod, and 

 with his right hand below the reel, checking it from over- 

 running with the forefinger. Other cuts show that some line 

 is pulled off before the cast , as in fly-fishing, and oue figure- 

 shows two such loops "in order to make an extra long cast," 

 This would point to the use of a much poorer reel than bur 

 const fishers use, which run like a fine watch, without fric- 

 tion. 



Tlie book is devoted to what in England are termed 

 "coarse fish," a term which includes chub, barbel, roach, 

 perch, bream, carp, tench, dace, gudgeon, etc.. and has 

 a chapter en pike fishing. In reading of the "Notting- 

 ham" style of fishing we learn that the rod is as light as pos- 

 sible with a spring in it that will hook a roach by :i single 

 turn of the wrist, and it is nicely balanced. It is made in 

 three joints, the butt is red deal, the middle piece of the 

 same wood and lancewood spliced together about one-third 

 of the distance from the fop ferule', and the tip is made 

 entirely of lancewood. It is a little over twelve feet long. 

 They are sometime made in as many as six pieces, but the 

 author wisely prefers three. The reels are usually of wood 

 and are in two pieces; the barrel of the reel turns upon a 

 spindle in the center and spins freely. Fine silk lines are 

 used, floats of quills or cork, and a gut casting line com- 

 pletes tlie equipment. After casting iu ground bait and 

 having baited his hook the author says: "We will now sup- 

 pose the swim the angler has selected is from twenty to 

 thirty feet from the hank, and he is fishing with very light 

 tackle, too light to be cast from the reel (lor the reef would 

 not revolve sufficiently for easting with such a light weight) 

 and that he cannot coil it upon the grass at his feet, nor 

 allow it to hang loose from the reel; the fine 

 line he is using would twist and tangle it 

 up. He eauuot reach the swim with the rod. and 

 what line there is is hanging from the point. What is to be 

 done? A Nottingham angler holds the rod in his right 

 hand, and with his left takes hold of the line as high up the 

 rod betweeu the rings as he can reach, and draws down as 

 much line as he requires. He then has some four or five 

 yards of line in his left hand, and with what is hanging from 

 the point of the rod he can throw the distance he requires, 

 which he does by bringing the rod away from the river at 

 about an angle of '15 "'. He then sends the point of the rod 

 smartly over the river, at the same time letting go of the 

 line he' held in his left hand, the line will now go fair and 

 neatly to its destination without tangle or catch." 



Again we are told "if the Nottingham bottom fisher uses 

 a cork float and a heavier tackle, he mostly throws his bait 

 from the reel, that is in a manner somewhat similar to jack 

 spinning. He winds up the line until the float nearly touches 

 the top ring of his rod, and then gives it the desired swing 

 over the river." 



Illustrations of the several fishes are given, but they are 

 not very good, being much like those in Walton. Directions 

 are given for taking them, and the floats and hooks are 

 shown also. The price is two shillings. 



McCLOUD RIVER TROUT. 



IN answer to the very interesting article on McCloud River 

 trout, bv Mr. Livingston Stone, in Fokest and Stream 

 for Feb. 1, permit me to offer the following: 



So far as the collections sent to the National Museum per- 

 mit us to form an opinion, there is. in the Upp:-r Sacra- 

 mento, but one species of black-spotted trout, ami this species 

 is Sttlmo iridmis. There is also a red-spotted trout or charr, the 

 so-called "Dolly Yardeu," fhtMinus maima. 



The small or*' 'fine-sealed" trout of the mountain brooks, 

 is, we think, the same species as the river trout, and Mr. 

 Stone seems to he quite right in supposing that the "younger 

 and smaller trout affect the brooks and the larger and older 

 trout prefer the river." In many streams, where food is 

 scarce, or conditions unfavorable, this species reaches, when 

 full grown, only a very small size. I obtained specimens in 

 Rio San Luis Rey in San Diego county, California, and the 

 largest of them will not weigh three ounces. We suppose 

 that if these little trout were transplanted to the McCloud, 

 their progenv, at least after a generation or two, would be 

 large like the McCloud River trout, while the latter would 

 certainly be dwarfed if removed to the San Luis Rey. 



As in the scaling of the two forms. I find no real differ- 

 ence and doubt if any exists. The fineness of the scales in 

 the brook fishes is evident to the eye. but there is no differ- 

 ence in the numbers, either lengthwise or crosswise, w hen we 

 come to count them. Mr. Roosevelt is quoted as saying 

 "that the distinctions between the McCloud River and the 

 mountain trout are quite apparent to the eye." and "that 

 them is some difference in their habits." Roth these propo- 

 sitions, I graut. The first is dependent on the second, and 

 tlie second is due to the. necessities of the. case. Change the 

 surroundings and the apparent differences will disappear, 

 and these differences are apparent only, not affecting any 

 of the specific characters of the species. These remarks are 

 based on the supposition that the National Museum has a 

 full series of McCloud River trout. If this supposition is 

 erroneous, we stand open to correction and conviction. 



The Snliiio jiufpitnitHK or "Clarke's trout," the common 

 trout of Washington Territory and of the lakes of Utah, 

 Nevada, Montana, etc., is quite different from the rainbow 

 trout. It grows much larger, has a much larger mouth, and 

 is, in my opinion, altogether a superior animal and better 

 worthy tin- attention of fishcullurists It can be readily distin- 

 guished from the rainbow trout by its more numerous [i. <i. 

 smaller) scales, there being abmit 180 in a lengthwise series 

 instead of 130. When fresh, there are two crimson blotches 

 on the under side of the lower jaw. This is an excellent, 

 mark for distinction for one who does not like to take the 

 trouble to count the scales. The famous trout of Lake Tiihoe 

 is a variety of this species. A few specimens have been 

 l^ken iu the Lower Sacramenio, but the species has never 

 been traced up to the McCloud. Da wd S. Jordan. 



Inw.ina UNrvSHsm-, Feb. ta, 188?, 



Island, and shipped by the lighthouse keeper at that station . 

 ThiB is an early response to a request bv the U. S. FEU 

 Commissioner addressed to those in charge of life-saving 

 stations, to report to him at once at Washington thepresence 

 of marine animals on the coast— such as whales, porpoises, 

 blackfish, grampuses— as may be stranded on shoals: also, 

 to inform him of schools of mackerel, menhaden, bluefish, 

 porpoises, or blackfish making their appearance after toler- 

 ably long intervals along the coast. This letter- has been in- 

 dorsed by S. L Kimball, the General Superintendent of the 

 United .States Life-saving Service, and keepers and crews :il 

 the various life-saving stations have been notified to comply 

 with the wishes of the Eish Commisioner. The fish arrived 

 at Mr. Blackford's and attracted much attention. It was not 

 the basking shark, as supposed, but a Grange one, and 

 proved to be an entirely new species of shark, iuasmueh as 

 il is tlie first specimen caught on our coast. It has been 

 found, SO far, only in deep water off the Portuguese coast, 

 and is known as the I't.-iidrttwh'.s mirrorf.;,,, The shark was 

 ft feet (J inches long and weighed 180 pounds. The mouth 

 was without teeth, and placed underneath quite distant from 

 the snout, ft had the ordinarily shaped tail of the shark, 

 but its dorsal fin is not more than five inches high from the 

 dorsal line. This shark had been heretofore known from a 

 single specimen described by Capello, in 1867. Dr. Bean 

 states that the teeth are no longer than those of the common 

 skate, and have three points, "The taking of this rare speci- 

 men is the result of the request that the Life saving Service 

 should communicate with the United States Fish Commis- 

 sion in regard to fish of strange appearance which might 

 come under their notice. 



Ohto. — Windsor, O., Feb. 14. — We have been catching 

 quite a number of muscallouge in a stream known as Grand 

 River; it runs through Ashtabula county and empties into 

 Lake Erie, at Fail-port, in Lake county.' We commenced 

 trolling for them about two years since' They arc not plenty 

 as we scarcely ever get more than three or 'four in a dav, 



-s. s. ; 



LORENZO PROUTY. 



A T tlie last meeting of the Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective 

 **- Association, the following resolutions were adopted ; 



REKOLl-TtONS. 



B.v tin- death of Lorenzo Prouty the Massachusetts 1-T-di and Game 

 Protective Association has lost one of its earliest and most belaved 

 members; and it is fitting that it should pause iu its work and ex- 

 press its appreciation of the worth of his character, and extend t.o 

 his family in this, their hour of affliction, the sympathy and reverent 

 sorrow felt for one whose presence at its meetings and at his place 

 of business was a joy and sunshiue to all who knew the simple 

 beauty of his life, his truthfulness, his helpfulness and his kindne -s 

 of heart. Therefore he it 



licsnh'ri), That this Association, admiring his noble qualities, lite 

 fondness and enthusiasm for those tnnoccnl and healthful pastimes, 

 which we his companions and friends prised 111 union «ith him, bo* 

 in humble submission, while we deeply deplore tlie sad and sudden 

 ending of a life, that. Plough about to assume greater eares and re- 

 sponsibilities, wonld, if it hud been prolonged, have fdled a larger 

 sphere and developed into greater usefulness and happiness. 



To her, who has shared with uur departed friend the duties and 

 pleasures of life, who haR been his fond companion iu his journey- 



IngS 10 lake and stream, rea.-ly.it alt I -'me., to iv]..i.ie |a !ii*o i»is 



and sorrow at defeat, to her and to the one whose pride and joy it 

 w-as to call him father, to these whose happy home has by this be 

 reavement been desolated pausing upon that waiting threshold 

 with bowed and reverent heads, unwilling to intrude upon such 

 sacred grief— we bear our consolation in the sweet and hopeful 

 lines of our own beloved Mew England poet: 



■'We see but dimly through these mists and vapors 



Ami I these earthly damps 

 What seem to us but. sad funeral tuners 

 May be Heaven's distant lamps, 



"There, is no Death 1 what seems so is transition ] 



This life of mortal breath 

 is but a suburb of the life elysian 

 Whose portal we call Death." 

 RetotveA, That a copy of this tribute be spread upon the records of 

 the' Association, and a copy sent to the family of our deceased asso- 



date. 



Boston, Feb. ?, 1S83. 



I '. W. STEVENS, 



W. M. Hn.ArKKTT, 



C. E. PlEKCE, 



Daniel Neediiam, 



Oommlttefl on Resolutio: 



D 



A New Sn.vrtK.— Last week Mr. Blackford received a 

 telegram from Prof. Baird asking him to attend to forward- 

 ing a large busking shark caught at Amagansett, Long 



tffjisll culture. 



CARP AND MOSQUITOES. 

 OES the food carp feed on the mosquito irr its larval form 

 "wiggler" and "tumbler:" From a tact that came 

 iy observation last summer t am decidedly of the 

 opinion that they do. My earn ponds, four in number, are 

 located in Ocean eountv, N. .1.. in the cranberry region. 

 Where, as is well known, mosquitoes do abound. Three vears 

 since i constructed a pond of about five-eighths of an acre but. 

 a short distance from the house, and was not mistaken in my 

 supposition that this would not tend to dimmish tire supply of 

 mosquitoes. Last May 1 placed iu this pond a few carp, re- 

 ceived from the Grojrernment the preceding autumn. In 

 August last, when bitter complaints were uttered all over 

 the country at the abundance of mosquitoes, we bad very 

 few. so few indeed that mv attention was arrested by it. 

 Beside, some carpenters irr my employ at tiro time reported 

 that while on their way to my place they were "nearly oaten 

 up" by these pests; but when they got there they ceased to 

 be annoyed bv them. So t am inclined to place carp among 

 1 ii - benefactors of our race. The female mosquito, as is well 

 kuowu, deposits her ~'oU to ootl eg_;s on rite surface of quiet 

 water. These hatch out iu a few days, and are known to 

 many country people as the "wriggler. In tentonfteendays 

 these are changetl into "tumblers."' in which form they re- 

 main from Ave to ten days, thus .-pending from fifteen to 

 twenty-five days in the water be fur- i '. -- :, seer- denizens 

 of the air and acquire their musical and phlebotomizing 

 capacities. The carp doubtless find their larvae most palat- 

 able tidbits, that are greedily sought after, in one particular 

 the chosen habitat of carp and mosquitoes are alike., both 

 delighting in quiet warm waters. 



Bv the way. my carp did reasonably well last season. not- 

 Withstanding the circumstances under which they were 

 placed were anything but favorable. Mere minnows Oi an 

 lnehortwoinleugtlr when received from the Government, 

 last autumn a year, -when changed to a larger pond iu Octo- 

 ber last I found them to vary from twelve to fourteen and a 

 half inches in length, and to average about one. uudahal 



