FOREST AND STREAM. 



S3 



freezing hard at nights. We had our sheep under shelter, a 

 long pen with a sloping roof, thatched with straw, hut the 

 weather was so severe that when the early lambs came they 

 froze to death as soon as they were dropped. In throwing 

 out the first dead lamb it happened by accident to fall upon 

 the sloping roof ; but it didn't stay there long I can tell you. 

 Those eagles were about every day and were mighty hun- 

 gry. I had hardly got away from the sjock yard, when 

 one of them came out of the sky like a flash of lightning, 

 and picked up that dead lamb before you could say ' Jack 

 Robinson.' I was rather glad she (for it was the female, 

 you can tell that by the greater size), took off the lamb, for 

 it would save me the trouble of burying it when the warm 

 weather came. As the other lambs died, and there were a 

 good many of them, we threw them on the roof, knowing 

 the eagles would soon carry them away. At last the 

 weather grew warmer, and no more lambs died. Still the 

 eagles paid us daily visits as usual, for they seemed to like 

 ' spring lamb ' as well as city folks, even if it was a little off. 

 I had just come out of the door one sun-shiney morning, and 

 saw the eagle sweep out of the woods, then suddenly turn in 

 her flight, directing her course towards the sheep pen, as 

 she had often done before. Aha, I said to myself, no 

 ' lamb chops ' for you ; but swifter than my thought, she 

 dashed down, and before I had even time to wonder, the 

 whole thing was out. Our old white torn cat had gone on 

 the sloping roof to rest himself, after a night's mousing or 

 courting, and lay there all unconscious of danger, stretched 

 out in the sun. Of course the eagle had gone for another 

 lamb. She only woke up a small lion. I tell you there 

 were fur and feathers at once. With a terrific scream, the 

 eagle struggled to rise in the air, her claws planted deep in 

 old tom's stomach. With a horrible squall the surprised 

 and infuriated cat clawed and scratched, and drove her 

 fangs in the eagle's neck. The screams of the one and the 

 squalls of the other, were something frightful. The feath- 

 ers drifted one way and the fur floated another, as the eagle 

 bore the cat higher and higher in the air. But it didn't 

 last long, that fight. Like a rough and tumble fight, some- 

 thing is bound to happen soon, and it did happen sooner 

 than it has taken me to tell it. A hundred yards in the air, 

 the cat had given the eagle a fatal bite. In a moment her 

 head drooped, her wings collapsed, and swifter than they 

 had ascended they fell together on the frozen ground. 

 When I reached the spot they both lay dead in a sort of 

 fatal embrace; the force of the fall had killed the cat and 

 he had killed the eagle. And that you see is how that eagle 

 lost his mate, and how we lost our old white torn cat. 



Canvas Back. 



-«^*- 



BASS IN TROUT WATERS. 



V' Honeoye Falls, September 10th, 1873. 



Editor op Forest and Stream: — 



Since the publication of my article in which I placed the 

 plebian bull-head next to the lordly trout as a profitable 

 fresh water table fish, I have been expecting some one to 

 take up the gauntlet thus thrown down, in order that we 

 might have this subject well ventilated, but as no one has 

 seemingly cared to break a lance in any such tournament 

 as that, I have concluded to try again. First, to correctly 

 define my position, I will say, in all that I have ever written 

 upon fish, the question of profit is the one ever uppermost, 

 for, as is well known, fish breeding is my business, and 

 although I love it, it is not my pleasure. With the sport 

 of angling, which has so many enthusiastic votaries, and 

 whose able pens so well recount and describe its pleasures 

 in the pages of Forest and Stream, I do not propose to 

 interfere; but having paid some attention to the increase 

 and profitableness of many of our fresh- water fish, I will 

 give my opinions always as a fish culturist and not as a 

 sportsman. 



In your issue of September 4th, "Piscator " enters his 

 protest against the indiscriminate introduction of all kinds 

 of predatory fish into the waters of the State, and especially 

 the introduction of bass in trout waters. 



No doubt but what the Commissioners believe they were 

 right in putting bass in the Racquette, but with all deference 

 to those gentlemen, to whom the State of New York owes 

 much for their invaluable services, I am among those who 

 rhink that they made a serious blunder in this matter, and 

 will be glad to hear from the other side of the questionand be 

 set right, if wrong, as the truth in these matters is of far 

 more value that any man's l4 ideas." 



One of the reasons given at the time that the bass were 

 put in, was that the trout were being exterminated, and 

 consequently but little fishing was done there compared 

 with former years, and that the bass would be more valu- 

 able to the inhabitants of that region than the trout (?), that 

 there would be ten pounds of bass to one of trout, and so 

 the people could have plenty of fish all the year round; 

 also, that the pleasure of a few sportsmen who visited that 

 region for a few months in the year was not to be put in 

 comparison with this ; all of which would be very good if 

 it were not for the fact that those transient sportsmen whom 

 the few trout lured farther into the wilderness than any 

 amount of black bass could ever do, employed the people 

 as guides, boarded with them, were transported by them, 

 and left money enough there in those few months to sup- 

 port them the rest of the year, and in this way more than 

 compensated them for any difference in the number of 

 pounds of fish. The Commissioners refer to this matter in 

 their report for 1872. They say : 



"Some species live on the product of vegetable matter, 

 being the harvesters of the fields of the sea, in which there 

 is a yearly growth of this nutritious food of an amount 

 rarely estimated. 



1 ' Of these species a f ew, such as the whitefish and suckers, 

 are themselves fit for human food, but they are principally 

 useful as furnishing the support of more desirable varieties. 

 On the land grain and grass are grown to feed cattle, which 

 are again converted into butcher's meat for the human 

 race. In the water the same course may be pursued, or it 

 may be carried one step further. Analagous to the system 

 of tillage by plowing in clover for manure, the product of 

 water vegetables may be consumed by crustaceous and in- 

 ferior fish, which again may be left as prey to larger and 

 more marketable kinds. While on this analogy, it may be 

 suggested that rotation of crops may be as advantageously 

 introduced in pisciculture as in agriculture. In a portion 

 of France where the land is low, and can be overflowed at 

 pleasure by a system of dyking, crops of grain and eels are 

 alternated, the latter being the more profitable; but this is 

 only the germ of the true principle. When one sort of root 

 or grain or vegetable is repeated on the same land it is found 

 that the soil is exhausted of its food, while its enemies are 

 augmented in number. Identically the same thing occurs 

 with fish that are kept in one locality. They use up their 

 food and increase the list of their foes. 



' ' So soon as this happens they suffer, and should be sup- 

 planted by a different species, living on different food, and 

 having a totally different class of enemies. Wherever this 

 has been done the effect has been surprising, the new species 

 increasing enormously for the first few years, and then 

 meeting the same fate' as their predecessors. 



' ' It was on this theory that your Commissioners acted in 

 introducing black bass into some of the lakes in the wilder- 

 ness of this State which were once inhabited by speckled 

 trout, but which have long since been practically depopu- 

 lated, and a similar benefit is confidently predicted." 



This theory is very plausible, but let us see how it is sup- 

 ported'by fact. In the first place, it is hardy fair to com- 

 pare the culture of fish to that of grain, or reason from 

 analogy when the objects are not analagous; but to dig 

 right into the case, what are the enemies of trout? Loons, 

 kingfishers, wading birds, mink, otters, man, parasites, &c. 

 And are they not all the enemies of bass as well? And con 

 cerning the question of food, are not both fish pisciverous 

 and insectivorous in about an equal degreee? What article 

 of food does the trout consume that the bass will refuse? 

 And where has this been tried with such surprising effect? 



If the Commissioners, acting on this "theory," had 

 stocked these waters with whitefish, siscoes, smelts, or eren 

 carp, they would have conferred all the benefits alluded to 

 above without injury to the trout. 



It would be as well before closing this article, to look at 

 this " theory " a little. 



The waters of the Adirondacks have been the home of 

 trout perhaps hundreds or even thousands of years, and 

 when the white man first came they were swarming with 

 them; they have been decreasing perhaps twenty years, 

 certainly not more; and is this attributable to the failure or 

 exhaustion of their food supply? If so, it is singular, as 

 the insect breeding woods still remain, and the waters are 

 undiminished. The fact is that there is more fishing out 

 of season than there should be ; the demand in the cities 

 has stimulated those inhabitants for whose benefit the bass 

 were put in to catch trout in the winter, when the weather 

 will permit them to be transported, and a false taste among 

 monied parvenus who will buy them out of season encour- 

 ages it. 



The last two winters I have seen the fish stands in Albany 

 filled with them in January and February, and two ye&BS 

 ago, while there, I called on several sportsmen and tried to 

 stir them up about it. They, however, did not take any 

 action in the matter, and so Albany is well supplied with 

 brook trout all winter. 



This is the real reason why the trout are decreasing; and 

 while I disagree with the Commissioners about their using 

 up their food, I fully concur with them that one enemy 

 at least has increased, and that one is uia/i. 



Fred. Mather. 



PRAIRIE CHICKEN SHOOTING. 



Trempelati Co., Wis., September 13, 1873. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : — 



Bemarkable are the powers of locomotion. I have been 

 shooting chickens for the last two days in Trempelau Co., 

 Wisconsin, with an enthusiastic English friend, who, dis- 

 gusted with the opening of the season in Argylshire, ab- 

 solutely packed up guns, sporting rig, and all, and with a 

 dog, took steamer from Liverpool on the 14th of August, 

 and on the 8th of this month telegraphed me in La Crosse 

 from Chicago, something to this effect: "A dog, a gun, and 

 a man lost in Chicago. Please provide for me." An hour 

 later I should have missed his telegram. Two da} r s ago my 

 friend made his appearance, and we have been hard at 

 work ever since. Last year I had left a brace of dogs with 

 a farmer friend of mine in the neighborhood, and was de- 

 lighted with the excellent training they had gone through. 

 Nothing could have been more amusing than their conduct, 

 towards their green English cousin, a fine specimen of the 

 English pointer. I prefer very much open prairie shooting, 

 and rarely follow the birds into the corn ridges, and both 

 my dogs had been taught to jump occasionally clear up out 

 of the high grass to show themselves. The English dog 

 seemed at first fairly amazed at this performance, but 

 whether from force of example or not, yesterday, having 

 got over his astonishment, we were both surprised to see 

 him make one or two futile attempts of the same character. 

 Yesterday evening, however, we withdrew him from action. 

 His long travel must have made him footsore, and not un- 

 derstanding how to manage the tough resinous grass, he 

 cut himself a great deal. His performances were, how- 

 ever, in the highest degree creditable,' and the methodical 

 way in which he worked up every foot of ground, showed 

 his admirable training. I am pleased to say that Lioa is to 



end his days in this country, and some day I trust to in- 

 form you of the good deeds of his offspring. 



My English friend used a gun I have never yet seen in 

 the United States, Mercott's breech-loader, which has no 

 hammers. Its shooting was admirable, and its mechanism 

 simplicity itself. I had a Purdy C. F., 12 bore, bought for 

 me by my friend, and I have been delighted with its per- 

 formance. I somewhat surprised my companion by the 

 weight of shot and charge of powder I used. Chicken 

 shooting and the characteristics of the bird, I need not de- 

 scribe, as I suppose most of your readers are familiar with 

 it. I think birds are getting more shy, and less plenty 

 every year, even in this neighborhood. Our bag has been 

 however, remarkably fair. Yesterday was our best day, 

 my English friend taking to it naturally, and dropping his 

 birds in splendid style. To day birds have not been quite 

 as plenty. Our total for the two days has been thirty : seven 

 and a half brace. Birds in tip-top order, with a fair pro- 

 portion of old birds. Grass thicker and tougher than I 

 have seen for some years. My English friend says that he 

 is very certain that the condition of the game in the old 

 country must bring over here a number of English sports- 

 men. Perhaps I may induce him to drop you a line giving 

 you an Englishman's experience in the field. He is in- 

 clined to think that English shooting theory is all very fair, 

 but that in some respects American practice is quite as 

 good. Strange to say, he is enthusiastic over my dogs, and 

 well he may be. What higher compliment could he pay 

 them than by wanting to take a six months puppy of mine, 

 born and bred within six miles of where I am writing this, 

 back with him to old England. He says our dogs have a 

 toughness and rapidity of gait which might be useful in 

 England. This is rather a letter about dogs than birds. 



T. S, 

 — -«"»«• 



AMERICA'S GAME AND FISH SUPERIOR 

 TO THOSE OF EUROPE. 



f * 



A PARTRIDGE, fat and tender, is as good as a mush- 

 room. Truffles do not improve woodcock. The 

 birds can afford to go it on their own hook without any as- 

 sistance whatever. So with such fish as the pompano, the 

 mountain trout, the Jack salmon and the shad. They arc; 

 able to stand alone. Over here they don't stand at all. 

 Their best fish is the crawfish and the snail, for the lobster 

 is indigenous everywhere, and is not to be counted in the 

 list at all. They know nothing of the soft-shell crab, of 

 the terrapin, or of the oyster as a cookable viand. Their 

 turbot will not compare with our halibut, nor their sole 

 with our shad. The English white-bait is simply a min- 

 now, and only a trifle better than a smelt. In soups, which 

 is a thing of condiments, they do. excel us. As a general 

 rule their service is neater than ours. But you can give, on 

 a few hours' notice, a better dinner at the St. Nicholas-, in 

 Cincinnati, or at Rufer's, in Louisville, wines included, than 

 you can give in Paris, at the Cafe Anglais, or in London at 

 the Burlington. The American prices will range some- 

 what higher, certainly. But we pay high duties on wine, 

 and it is there that the figures will chiefly tell in the bill.' 

 Not much difference will be found as to tlie dishes. 



A word or two about these prices. To be sure, there is 

 considerable art -in ordering a dinner, involving both a 

 knowledge of the French language and a knowledge of the 

 particular restaurant where you are dining. The Ameri- 

 ican who understands neither may expect to pay thirty per 

 cent, more than other people who do. Ignorance of every 

 sort, and all over the world, has to be paid for. But, at 

 the best, he who expects to dine like a swell must also ex- 

 pect to settle like a swell. I have never heard of a good, 

 first-class cheap dinner in Paris. At the Diner de Paris' 

 where they charge you six francs ($1 50 in greenbacks)' 

 the food is all messed, and the wine is sour. There is ao 

 thoroughly good table d'hote at a fixed price in Paris. When 

 you order d la carte, you will have to take the consequences, 

 and $3 or $4 a head wil secure a square, well-served meal- 

 not gorgeous or elaborate — and that is all. It is sheer non- 

 sense to talk about cheapness. If one is to live like a nabob 

 he must, fetch plenty of money with him and spend it 

 freely. — H. W. to Louisville Courier- Journal 



— What is the difference between an angler and a dunce? 

 One baits his hook; the other hates his book. 



—A good many people have expressed the belief that 

 Professor Wise is half crazy, but according to last accounts 

 he isn't by any means as flighty as he was. % 



—They are building snow sheds, Rocky Mountain 

 fashion, at the Cobequid Mountains, in Nova Scotia, on the 

 line of the Intercolonial Railroad. 



—Prolific copper mines have lately been discovered at 

 Antigouish, Nova Scotia, and new coal veins about four 

 miles from Port Hood, Cape. Breton. 



—The Blooming Grove Park Association has been pre- 

 sented with four deer, six English pheasants, and two geese, 

 from the estate of John Magee, Watkins, New York." 



—In Smileytown, Kentucky, a watermelon has been 

 found without any vine. It grew directly from the roots 

 within one inch of the ground. The seed was brought from 

 Nicaragua. 



— It is stated that in all the country between the valley 

 of Truckee and that of Salt Lake, a distance of nearly 600 

 miles, there lived, when the Central Pacific Railroad was 

 commenced, but one white man. Its civilized population 

 is now nearly 100,000. 



— San Francisco institutions are especially flourishing. 

 The population is estimated by Mr. Langley to be 188 000 

 of whom 12,000 are Chinese, leaving 176,000 liable to make 

 deposits, which now aggregate $43,731,223. This gives a 

 depositary representation of $248.50 to every individual in 

 the community, and is far in excess of any other portion of 

 the globe. The number of actual depositors being 49,305, 

 the average to each is $886.95 gold, equal to $1,020 

 currency. 



