,Ti i IA, 1383.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



389 



hiTii soma twining dh woodcock. At the first tire of a gun 

 the dog "i !.;..• for another pari of the country, and we never 

 saw 0)' beard of him again When we packet! up our things, 

 wc couldn'1 I i 1 1 « 1 ( ■ i - • ! I < > : ■ " - chain or the collar it wae last em d 

 to, and we started on willioi.it it I was walking out oi' the 

 woods behind the wagon. We hadh'1 gone more than a 

 hundred v. ml.- away from camp, wheu I heard a noise 

 behind me; I looked back, There was thai mink, 

 limping al my heels, lie bad the dog collar around 

 his neck, Mini whan I turned around, he caised up on 

 fa(s hind Feel and held the chain up to me with his 

 t\,n- paws That mink was so blame grateful to me that 

 be wanted mi' to take liini homo will) inc. It touched me 

 to the heart I look him in. hut, poor fellow, the imp bad 

 injured him so badlj thai lie died of lockjaw." 



PHILADELPHIA FISH NOTES. 



I>1.1 KFISH appeared simultaneously ou the different 

 > pointsuf Lite N>. w Jersey coasl ihi- week. livery 

 inlet or any importance was thronged with thpm, but, as 6 

 gonenil)} ilii case, liamegal showed larger tish than Little 

 Egg Harbor Irlet. The bluefish a1 the former placer&n 

 from-tiuce to uve pounds in weight, and at the latterlam 

 told they wera smaller, The writer last weefe (June 3), 

 anxious, to learn the exact condition of the buss fishing in 

 the Bcliuslfeill, and at the same time wlaliing to give a 

 heginuer his first lesson tn By-cssting, took a boat at Flal 

 lto'i i, D I up the river as far as Couabohooken, 



agrjon tho route passed a unnibor of anglers and found 

 eg 1 1 ; ; , ■ ;. t , • 1 1 1 1 1 >. - 1 of fish had been taken during the day. 

 Those a uiili or so above Shawmonl were quite la*ge. 



While casting along the- shore tor ijunflshfpr practice, I 

 sau a Hr, Scllieze, oi Philadelphia, take a boss, weighing 

 three and a half pounds, and having left his landing net ou 

 shore, manage hi- boat with one hand, rowing in for the 

 net, While with the other lie played the tish. and finally 

 boated him, a very m.i-ii rlv teat to witness, 1 assure you. 

 Mr; Sellie/.- had several other base he had taken during the 

 day, and tells meitll ihe ugh he secures in tin- Schuylkill are 

 from the river above i he i la in at Ma nay link, about the locality 

 J saw hint, above Shawinoiii . and that the residents about the 

 place do nd know how to take the large ones, and nonce 

 report no Bah. 



The last "haul" of the season with the big seine-was made 

 ai <;|. day ; and it was tfated hv the captain of 



the um . icihi the final catch of ninety-five shad 



and a quantity of herring to Docfe Street wharf fish market, 

 that the .Gloucester shad iishing had been "cut oil" for the 

 season, although it doesnot end by law untilJune 10. 



Tliu take ba*bi en sopoot tuiayenr, aapectally recently, that 

 it was determined to Wind Up on the 6th, Thehigheat 

 cateh wae on Ehel4th of May, when l,(JO0shad weresecurcd, 

 ou the t) Ml of May 1,300 were taken, and on the 15th of 

 May, 950 were brought in. The lowest number caught any 

 One day was 51. The season has beeu a very poor one both 

 in Quantity and quality 



Two -mall wh&let (black fish) were stranded last week on 

 Peek's Beach, N. J., aud the natives me trying out the 

 blnhher. ( V..-.1 nil will he at a discount in that locality for a 

 time. Could this havi affected the late move in petroleum? 



The rock bass Should by all means, be planted in the East- 

 ern Pennsvlvani:, streams, near Philadelphia, by the Anglers' 

 Association .it Philadelphia. It is not so palatable a fish for 

 (he tabic Ms | In.- black has-, hnl lie will take the lly more 

 r< ;nli!\ thin his larger COusin, and is a gamy little feilow to 

 amuse oneself \s itii. He will rise where Ihe black bass will 

 not make a good ti^lir for his weight, and no doubt many 

 Streams Could he found where he would thrive. Are they 

 no1 • aslly procured? Homo 



,f urns' 



l[\nn to Catch in Texas,— The larpuin are never eaten 



here, thev are so active that one is soldem Caught; are made 

 of fiddle strings, we iliink. As Soon. 96 they Strike the. bait 

 and get fast they commence. leaping high in the air. shaking 

 their beads as a terrioi dues a rat until entirely free from the 

 hook and line. Although fishing in this bay during the 

 summer months for many years, mid having had them take 

 my tackle almost every tune out, I have never yet caught 

 one. — I'Aiio.Mi.uv.iv (Galveston. Tex.). 



Land Looked Salmon in Nt-.w Hampshire.— On May 

 18. Mr. 15. P. Tappan. son of Altorncv-tlencriil Tappin, of 

 New Hampshire, took, on Sun.-.pee Lake, N. 11.. a land- 



tool salmon weighing fii Ihs. This was one fish of Mr. 



Samuel Webhcr's plant of 1877; 



IU.ack I!.\ss in Lake Erie.— Erie. Pa., May 28.— The 

 black bass season has been at its height here for the past 

 WCt k, and is still excellent. One man has caught from ten 

 to forty nearly every morning for the past week or two. — C. 



Black Hash.— In the. lulv C.mtnni will he an illustrated 

 article on -Black Bass Fishing." by Dr. .1. A. Benshall. 

 The name of this writer is fl sullieient guarantee that the 

 sketch will be of a high character. 



Nkw .Tkrsky— Oceanic, June 8.-2 P. M, The first 

 small bluefish of this Season arc coming np the channel, too 

 full lid. only caught one. 5 P. M. — Just caught first bass 

 (striped) trolling. — Wild. 



PWKSI 



ni.No.— 



We 1 



re inform 



id by 



Mi 



. 8. V. 



:, one of t 



le Nov 



• V( 



rk Slate 





pro 



eelors. 



that on th 



by he 



look 



from tin 



Mol 



awl 



! River 



two pike nets belong 



rrc to i 



Mr 



Wolf, a , 



ep„U 



51) 



•rilf of 



"Waterfbrri As one net \ 



as i 



i Albany 





V, a 



nd the 



OthCT in Saratoga eolintv, Mr. 



Irnvlon 1 



egan 



an 



action 



against Mr. 1\ oJi in 



each county 



He say 



i that 



M 



-. Wolf 



bus delicti the law 



or thr 



-,. \, 



are, and h 



IS IHU 



bi 



gun an 



aotion against him 



iliravt, 



mi i 



»r destrov 



ng h 



s nets, and 



the latter has been s 



III! 



id to 



appwu at 



Sarati 



)ga 



on the 



loth instant. Mr. B 



avion 



0|||| 



lains Chat 



is Mr 



U 



df is a 



deputy sheriff it cos! 



s him u 





g for con 



nsel. 



ind 



there- 



fore Ihe I: ■ ha- :o 



o.lvoti 



age i 



ver him. 1 



ehav 



ing 



to give 



bail, which would 



lr., ul ili 



him There 



is no 



protective 



association in either 



county 



and 



he therefore asks 



for as- 



sialjHicc. 















Tin: RpcnresTJ r. Wi.s-r Siok (li n— The West Side 

 Pishing Club, of Rochester, N Y., held a meeting at. the 

 Baj \ i.-n Elousoon Thursday, June 7. Much successful 

 fishing u as done by some of the members during the day, 

 and al (he elnh dinner there was a lull allendance. After 

 the banquet the following officers were elected: President— 

 ErilzZi.-e.-ler: Vice-Presidents— J. Bauer, Joseph Fleckcn- 

 Mi-i.,. .lai-oi.Cerlim; .1.11. MhcGregor, John Slape. Philo 

 Baker, P. Shiirldau, James Casshjay, V. Pleckenstejn, s. s. 

 Dov.-.i. Recording IJeoretajy— Oharles Berbhard; Corres- 

 ponding secretary — Prank It. Swain: Treasurer — John A. 

 Eelsinuvr-. Master of Ceremonies- Charles I; Pinnegan; 

 (oiiiiiotf,- of Arrangemonte— Joseph Haungs, L. Stealer, 

 L. P. Sleiin.-s. 11. Bordel, 0. Mackley. J. .sehivin-r. A. 

 Haungs. W. Bishop, (leorge Mumback." 



Wi.i i,! isii \ND Si uii'Kt) Bass.— Oceanic, North Sbrcws- 

 buiy River, June 5.— The weakitsh arc just commencfnH to 

 l.iie. I took the riisi two this afternoon with crab bait, 

 The New i - ateted that only two ripe 



striped has- hm ever been taken. Thirteen years agol 

 purchased a thirty-pound up.- female. This was in March. 

 I am ipiiit< posiiiv, ih.ii this fishspawns In the spring. I 

 think 'In habits of this species of lish could be studied by 

 the Maryland Pish Commissioners; as the hauls of rock are 

 at. limes' very large at the. mouth of the Bush River, Mary- 

 land. — Wti.n. 



MASSA) im -;- LTS < 



and (iame Protects 

 compaei form, a co 

 the State for the pi 

 sneiii thai ii can alii 



mi. (,\ws.— The Massachusetts Fish 

 Association have issued in neat and 



lilalinn of the lish I game laws ol 



Mil year. The little pamphlet is so 

 I in the vest pocket, and 



its general distribution through the State will do much to 

 help oil ihe objects of the Association 



- -in---'-.- Tin- iii.,l.i-i..-ii.-il l,as. siiiue salmon fishing- upon 

 Iwiief llie ln-sf rivii-s 111 Clinuil.'l al lliH ilisi'i.s.il. A, Mr-.— ,it oncfl 



,'SuilKla," this offitx-,— Miu, 



4fislicuUnn. 



THE AMERICAN FISHCULTURAL ASSOCIATION, 



SYNOPSIS OP PROCEEDINGS 



THE 



il meeting of the Association was held in the 

 A. Farmer's Club rooms of the Cooper Institute, on Wednes- 

 day and Thursday, .tune r, «nd 7, President Pago in the chair. 

 Ou opening the President said: 



"A year has rolled round since our last meeting, and there 

 are evidences on every hand that the good work is progress- 

 ing. It can be said with truth that, since, the beginning of 

 uslnuliiiie in the t'nih'd States, there is no other Tmmch of 

 industry that has made such progress. It has spread from 

 Maine to California, and from Minnesota to Texas, \intil 

 nearh every Stale :iml Territory lias its PiSh Commission, 

 and most of them have an appropriation to work with. 

 These funds have been put in the hands of Commissioners, 

 who give their time and energies to the work, and but few 

 receive any compensation for it other than the knowledge 

 thai they are doing good to their fellow men. It will be need- 

 lessfor uie to go into detail in iliis matter, tor I see before me 

 men who have for years carried on the work in its broadest 

 form for the National Government, and who are familiar not 

 onlv with the work which they have been enguged in. but 

 are also familiar with the whole, literature Of the subject, 

 and know what lisheulturists in other lands have done. I 

 might, however, he permitted to refer to t he efforts iu stocking 

 waters heretofore unknown to the black bass which has come 

 to lm known as the American game fish. In the W.-M and 

 in the South it is found in the creels of the angler and 

 on the slabs in the Markets. They are now so abundant 

 iu Maine and the New England States, whore they 

 were uni-cnown a few years" ago, that they can be 

 bought in tho markets at a price within the reach of the 

 poor man. Coining recently from the interior, I had an 

 opportunity of examining the markets in St. Joseph, 

 Jlo., and found among the market-men frequent acknowl- 

 edgments of the work of fishculturists, and of tho teachings 

 of this Association, and a thorough knowledge of the fact 

 that, if the bass are protected in the spawning season, they 

 become, like the commoner fishes, plentiful everywhere, and 

 tend to lower the price of other fishes. We who live on the 

 shad rivers, mark the manner in which tho supply is kept up, 

 in spite of the increasing demands of a growing population. 

 Col. McDonald now has one hundred thousand shad eggs in 

 process „f hatching at Mr. Blackford's in Fulton Market, 

 which lie brought on from Washington to show the process. 

 After they are hatched, they will be taken charge of by Mr. 

 Mather, of the New York Pish Coimtiisiou, and deposited in 

 the Hudson., near Troy, where Prof. Baird sent a car load of 

 one million a fortnight ago. Pardon me for relating a bit of 

 my personal experience .abroad: Happening in London at the 

 iuception of the plans of the Fisheries Exhibition, now in pro- 

 gress there, I met many of the officials connected with it. At 

 that time it was not known that our Government would make 

 a display, and by request, as there was only three davs before 

 the passage of the yearly appropriation bill, 1 cabled to 

 Senator Frye, of Maine, on the subject, and also sent a dupli- 

 cate message to Prof. Baird. At- this time there were many 

 bills trembling in the balance, yet iu two days an appropria- 

 tion was introduced into both Houses, and was signed by the 

 President. Our exhibit at London is a most creditable one, 

 and it is generally acknowledged that no nation shows so 

 Another fact: Making tho acquaintance of Sii 



rithi 



Maitlond, of Sterling, near Edinburgh, I found that 

 ■s ho had achieved great results in flshculti 



He had hatched V.fi trout out of 1,000 eggs, all alone, without 

 assistance from any of his men. His extensive ponds have 

 cost sixty thousand dollars, and he has made fishculture a 

 success in Scotland. Up to April, of this year, he has sold ten 

 thousand dollurs' worth of young trout and salmon, and his 

 example has been largely followed in England, Ireland and 

 Scotland." 



The Secretary then read the report of last meeting, and the 

 following new members were proposed: W. H. Sehieffeliu, 

 Frank U. Butler, and Col. M. A. Bryson. 



Mr. Blackford road a valuable paper, entitled "Facts Re- 

 garding Food of Fishes, and their Spawning Seasons on the 

 Atlantic Coast," of which the following Is a summary: 

 The season of the spawning of striped bass, sheepshead, and 

 bluefish had for several years been the subject of investiga- 

 tion by the association. During the past summer the Senate 

 Sub-Committee on Foreign Relations visited several fishing 

 points on the coast to obtain evidence from fishermen, dealers, 

 and others, as to the food and habits of the. menhaden, end 

 also as to the fact that this lish formed one of the principal 

 articles of food for the bass, bluefish, and other valuable food 

 tishes. No accurate information, however, could be obtained 

 upon which to base any national legislation for the protection 

 of salt water fishes. Mr. Blackford, at the suggestion of Prof. 

 S. F. Baird, sometime ago undertook the task of examining 

 the viscera of all the important lishes that passed through his 

 market. He secured the assistance of Prof. H. J. Rice, who 

 prepared a report on the subject, Most of the striped bass 

 examined had m their stomachs from one to seven tishes in 

 various stages of digestion: they were alewivee. eels, flound- 

 ers, menhaden, and in one instance one of its own species. In 

 a small bass the. Professor found a quantity of shrimps In tin: 



acea, copepods, small shrimps, and small shells. In the 

 stomachs of shad from the North River tliere were found 

 Small shrimps and afewlish scales. In sea bass remains of 

 small fish were found, aud in one instance a crab. Bluefish 

 were found orammed with small bluefish, weakflsh, buiter- 



fish, kingrish, menhaden, and othc 

 Mr. Blackford stated that they " 

 conclusions from theSe examine 

 which thev had been conducted w 

 I'r.n. Hice' will have more data . -is 

 Mr. Fred Mather read a pane 



ihci 



l>e..i 



He 



ad ■ 



a I 



pest to lisheulturists. __ 



duced nothing. It was not even of use as food tor tishes, as 



its numerous spines made it a thorny mouthful. !i atfc worms, 



flies and insects, and thus became, a furmidal-i ■■■'.., 



voung, valuable lish, and it also devoured wiime- -Mn The 



simlish made its nest ivar the sln.i -.-. ,-iud .hm.- v.-.- its -,,:, w,i- 

 iug season. Dynamite was first -; be-t snb- 



c«;u!,\''ben!ore'!Ld'' S ,le-t'l-,,v'-,i I ,\ ', | ,-, ,,!, ,„| ," '-!„'.,' | ! h,',,,,',,",,', 



quiok-lime into their nests. 



Mr. Phillips then read a paper by S. M. Johnson, of .Boston, 

 on "Legislation for the Protection of Lobster-.' It was briefly 

 as follows: 



The tine sportsman angler, when he carefully releases the 

 fingerling trout and returns it. to the stream, intuitive! . recog- 

 nizes the true economv of risliciihurc. With an application 



of this same law to lobsters great •_■ I ioi„'l,t be done. By 



returning to the grounds all that are immature, and placing 



the limit so as t.o allow time for reproduction, ac -tun ami 



sufficient supply would be insured, which result, Mr. Johnson 

 thinks, can be accomplished in no other Way, The e„ , Its of 

 this plan seem to be very een.:i-.ilK uudei,,t,,.,d. hm 



difficulty in determining what, good has I n or may be 



accomplished arisesfrom the fact that i be law- of the differ- 

 ont States are not uniform, and that, moreover, they are 

 often disregarded altogether, so that no satisfactory knowl- 

 edge of the benefit derived is possible mil il fhi-c dillh-ultie.S 



It was suggested that all traps or pots be 

 that the laths or sticks shall be siilllcionflv fa: 

 all small lobsters to escape, and thai a tuim 

 used of not less than five and a hall or sisrincl 



ed 



torn 



ide foi 



-edi. 



-itii 



close time is freqwenlh .... 



Tho. essay closed with a regret that lobster- are becoming 

 every year scarcer and scarcer, and the Hope that legislation 

 would soon end this difficulty. 



The Association passed a resolution .-n the conclusion of the 

 reading of the paper that State legislation be urged to make 

 provision for the preservation of lobsl 6ted in Mr. 



A recess was then taken audio the afternoon a vary care* 

 fuilv prepared paper on -The Distribution oi ths Black Bass," 

 by Dr. J. A. Hcn-hnll. was road, and elicited mu'-h discussion, 

 T'he original habitat of (his lish ranged li-om Virginia to Flo- 

 rida, and from Cam, da and the Red K ; vr of the North to 



Louisiana and [Cast. Mexico: it embra I the whoteaf North 



America south of the British pos.s»-sions and east of the Rocky 

 Mountain? except the witters Sowing into the Atlantic in 

 New England and the Middle State-. Of the two species, the 

 large-mouthed bass had the widest distribution. The small- 

 mouthed bass had a somewhat limited range in comparison, 

 not extending east or south of the Alleghanv mountains. The 

 habitat of the black bass had boon extended by I ranspoi ration 

 and by means of artificial canals. It hud also been success- 

 fully introduced into England, Scotland, and (i.'rm.iny. thus 

 occupying a wider range than any other hsh in the world. 

 The black bass was in a manner omnivorous. Crawfish and 

 miimows were the principal food of bheadnH Ssh, and in ul 

 dition to this they fed upon insects, larva-. i'n. ■_-:-. ,-t.- -. .Mr. Kn- 

 dicott strongly protested against the introduction of black 

 bass into trout streams, where it would be sure to devour that 

 game fisli. 



An interesting paper entitled "Food Fish aud hish h'ood," 

 by Mr, A. N. Cheney, was then read, in which he advocated 

 planting food for the lish when they were placed in ponds or 

 streams. 



SECOND DAY. 



Col. McDonald read a paper on "The History of the Experi- 

 ments Leading to the Development of the Automatic Hatch- 

 ing Jar." He traced the work of practical pisciculture from 

 its inception to the present time, and showed the various forms 

 through which the hatching of n ■:• -,•,!. He 



demonstrated on the blackboard the different experiments 

 that were made by himself and by others in order to prevent. 

 the loss of eggs and to provide for the separation of the dead 

 from the living eggs. The separation of Che dead from live 

 eggs, he said, was formerly done by picking out. tho dead 

 ones with a forceps, but of late years fishculture had at- 

 tained such proportions that hand picking became impracti- 

 cable. The syphon hud been used, but this system did not 

 prove satisfactory. Noticing that the specific Gravity of dead 

 eggs was less than that of live ,,n-s, ( '..|. Mcjionald has in- 

 vented a hatching jar that wilt carry oil' tin- dead • ■: 

 egg-shells and also the yiaing shad When hatched. Tin- jar 

 in shape resembles the glass Husks that, are seen mi t he 

 shelves in apothecaries' stores, but with a rounded bottom: 

 Through the middle of the stopper a long glass tube passes to 

 thebottomof the jar. Another tube passe- about one-third 

 of the way down. The jar is half filled with shad 8ggs. and 

 the water is forced through the long center tube, causing a 

 symmetrical revolution of the ova. The live, healthy eggs 

 immediately fall again to the bottom, while the dead 'lighter 

 ones are thrown up and forced by i in- current through the 

 other tube into another jar. 



Mr. Fred Mather read a paper culled ''The Transportation 

 of Live Fresh "Water Crustaceans," in which lie advocated 

 ending them packed as lish eggs are. 



A paper of great interest, by Dr. T. Uarh'ck, on "The Begin? 

 ning of Fishculture. in the 1'nited Slab -." was then read. 



Col. McDonald read a paper on "Fisltways," which was 

 listened to with great attention. Ho drew diagrams on the 

 blackboard and Uhistrated the principles of the construction 

 of the new tlsliway. Among othor things he said: li is a. 

 well attested fact that the riv, i (ishelie "i the Atlantic Stales 

 have steadily diminished in value ami importance Several 

 causes, probably, have concurred in producing this decrease. 

 First, the capture of the greater portion of ihe run each \ oar 

 may not have left sullieient to maintain production under 

 natural conditions. Second, the erection of dams or other 

 obstructions in the livers has. in sun, ca.-,; entirely cut oil' 

 the run of fish from theirspawmng grounds, ihe remedy tor 

 this condition of things is to be found, first . in juoh 

 as will control excessive and prohibit, destructive modes oi 

 fishing; second, in .•eiiij.eus.iting lor the iusuilielent naliual 

 supply by artificial propagation and planting; third, in extend- 

 ing the area of broedm.e, and feedim; by overcoming natural 

 obstructions by means of fish ways Ki-hw-.-iv- ,,, ■• various de- 

 vices to enable fish to surmount obstruction- which would 

 otherwise be impossible to them. A fiehway to be effeotive 

 must fulfil certain conditions. First.it must be accessible; 

 that is, thefootof a uVhwav ir,u-i bi I the fish 



will readily find it. Second, it must discharge a sufficient 

 volume of water to attract tin- li-h. Third, thi water must 

 be discharged with such velocity that the fish may readily 

 enter and swim up it. In what i- ku ,\- n as 



orpool-and-fall iishw :l \. the wate, is uehi down from ite 



elevation by a -cries oishori fall- and pool-, ih. pools being 

 of such a size in comparison with the volume oi wain- i-nn-i-- 

 ing them as to bring it pnu-tn.-allv 

 in this way to deliver the whole vi 

 no greater acceleration thau it has 

 to the next. 



■np. .ttul 

 in with 

 ne pool 



