260 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



For Forest and Stream . 

 CASABIANCA. 



TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL CHINESE INTO "PIGEON ENGLISH." 



ONE boy he stop topside that night; 

 All man hab chop-chop inakee whilo; 

 He see that Aire, he shine so blite, 

 On muchee man hab makee spoilo. 



He No. 1 handsome; alio same Joss— 



Spose he wanchee, he can talkee. 

 That piecee typhoon velly close, 



That typhoon quick, he makee walkee. 



By'niby that boy he wanchee go; 



That fire he blnn he litty hand. 

 He fader no hab talkee so— 



He makee die down side, how can? 



He sing out stlong, "Hi! fader, hi!" 



This pidgin maskee, wanchee whilo. 

 He no saby, he hab makee die, 



And no can hear he piecee chilo. 



"Hi, fader!" one more teem he cly, 



"My wanchee go; what for no can?" — 

 That gun just now he bobbly high, 

 * That fire he come, he no hear man. 



He facee now he catchee hot; 



He tailee^oo commencee blun. 

 He look all side; no man hab got; 



He no got fear — but wanchee lun , 



And one more teem he cly so stlong, 



"What fashion! My no likey he! 

 Too mutchee nonsense!" Yet all along 



That Aire blun junk; he burney he. 



All side that, junk, he got that Aire. 



He go that mast, chow-chow that sail; 

 Chop, chop, he walkee high and higher, 

 That boy he lookee allosame pale. 

 i 

 Hi yah! What ting! He makee bust! 



That boy galah my no can see . 

 What side hab walkee? Allosame dust ; 

 Look, see that wind, he catchee he. 



Piseco. 

 Glossary of Terms. — Top-side, on deck, upstairs; chop-chop, quick- 

 ly; whilo, get away, clear out; allosame, the same as, like: joss, deity; 

 typhoon, hurricane, storm; downside, below; pidgin, business, affair; 

 no saby, nosavez; bobbery, row, noise; blun, burn; (r is generally pro- 

 nounced 1); what ting, what fashion, what do you mean; hi yah, exclama- 

 tion; galah, exclamation; chow chow, verb to eat or devour; maskee, 

 enough said, finished; he, his, her, it, his, hers, she, he, &c; my, me, I, 



my. 



«».»» 



PRACTICAL FISH CULTURE, 



NUMBER TWO. 



t 



[Taking Trout 8pa%cn.\ 



' AVING- shown how the fish deposit their ova when in 

 a state of nature, we will now explain how the fish- 

 culturist manages to secure all the eggs and impregnate a 

 much greater percentage than the fish can possibly do. 

 We will therefore leave the building of ponds and such 

 other work as may be done only in the spring and summer 

 months, until a more favorable time, and take up the artifi- 

 cial manner of taking spawn by hand, or stripping, as it is 

 sometimes called. 



The implements necessary for this operation are: a couple 

 of tubs, a small hand net, or a large dipper, some impreg- 

 nating pans, a few feathers, and a large net to catch the 

 rish with. This net should be six or eight feet long and 

 fastened to a square frame at the mouth, which should 

 either slide in a groove at the lower end of the spawning 

 place or fit so closely at the sides and on the bottom that 

 the fish cannot dodge past. It is astonishing how quickly 

 a trout's eye can take in the situation and take advantage 

 of the smallest aperture that may be left, even when he is 

 frightened and rushing down a raceway, which has always 

 been open, but is now found to be closed with some large 

 unfamiliar object. The small end of the net is closed with 

 a string, which, when untied, will allow the fish to swim 

 out into the tub and so avoid pouring them out at the large 

 end. When all is ready the net is quickly slipped over the 

 mouth of the raceway, the board covering removed and the 

 fish driven down into the net; water is then put into a tub, 

 placed as near the net as possible, which is lifted from the 

 raceway into it. For this operation a net made of coarse 

 bagging or coffee sacks, is preferable to one that is knit, as 

 it is so fine that in the transit through the air from the pond 

 to the tub, it will hold water, while a knit one will leave 

 the fish dry and floundering, which may cause the death of 

 every ripe fish in the lot. 



And here I would remind the beginner that he cannot 

 handle a gravid fish too carefully if he expects it to live 

 after the operation. 



Having untied the lower end of the net and emptied the 

 fish carefully into the tub, it will be found most convenient 

 to sort them and put the males in the other tub; take them 

 out with the small hand net or large short-handled dipper, 

 and dip the edge of it in the water, that they may not be 

 injured by being poured in. The object of separating the 

 sexes is that it often happens that their numbers are un- 

 equal, or if nearly so, then there may be a scarcity of ripe 

 males, even though this sex should be in excess, and some- 

 times a male fish will have but a small quantity of milt as 

 a consequence of a former mating, but as one good ripe 

 male will serve to impregnate the eggs of several females, it 

 ordinarily happens that there is enough; still, it is well to 

 be prepared for a scarcity, as there are few things more 

 provoking than to take a fine batch of eggs and have ho 



milt to impregnate them with; therefore, while it is a good 

 thing to use it freely if plenty, and so make assurance 

 doubly sure, it is better to spin it out and make it go as far 

 as possible if the supply is limited. 



As for the manner of holding and manipulating a fish, 

 there are almost as many ways as there are operators. A 

 person will soon find a way in which it is the most conven- 

 ient for him to do it, and this will soon become his fixed 

 manner from which he will find it hard to deviate ; there 

 are certain rules however that must be observed and on 

 which all agree. Force must not be used; if the eggs or 

 milt will not flow freely at a light touch, the fish must be 

 put back in the pcnd to ripen. Do not grasp a fish any- 

 where on the abdomen or gills, but take it up with one 

 hand on the strong bony arch behind the gills, and the 

 other grasping the tail between the vent and candal fin; 

 hero the fish is solid and is not easily injured by pressure. 

 Never handle a fish with a dry hand; if one should jump 

 from the tub or be dropped to the ground by any mis- 

 chance, always wet your hands before touching it, then the 

 slime will not rub off from the fish ; it will stick to a dry 

 hand, and it is that which causes finger marks to show so 

 plainly on a fish that has been handled; these marks often 

 become sores covered with a fungoid growth which gen- 

 erally kill the fish. The slime on a trout is necessary to its 

 existence, and they never have as much of it at any other 

 season as they do during the spawning period. The loss of 

 this slime or of a few scales is much more serious to them 

 than a clean cut. If a trout should be taken carefully 

 from the witer and laid in a dry towel, dried off gently and 

 quickly and then let go in the water, he would swim off ap- 

 parently all right, but in the course of a w r eek or ten days 

 would look woolly, and in a few days more would die. 



Wherever this woolly fungus grows, the flesh beneath it 

 appears ulcerated and the edges highly inflamed. I will 

 refer to this again under the head of diseases of adult trout, 

 and in the mean time make some microscopical examinations 

 of it, provided I get abetter instrument than the one I have; 

 and now will try and get back to the subject of taking 

 spawn. How easy it is to digress on such a subject ! 



If the day is cold, as it generally is, the tubs can be taken 

 to tie hatching house in order to work comfortably, as a 

 lively fish in numb fingers may make sad work if it slips 

 into a pan of eggs. 



My manner of handling a fish is to put both hands in the 

 water with the backs up and take the head in the right 

 hand with the thumb and second finger grasping the fish 

 behind the gills, leaving the forefinger free, the other 

 fingers will keep the fish from going through the hand 

 without pressing too much on the gills^ the left hand 

 grasps the fish by the tail below the vent. A male is usu- 

 ally taken first, and if ripe, will yield a few drops of clear 

 white milt; if it is of any other color, or has a streak of 

 blood in it, it is not good. Bloody milt will come if too 

 much pressure is used, but will be so sometimes without it. 

 It requires but a few drops of milt to fertilize a pan of eggs, 

 yet we take all we can get; if the water is slightly tinged 

 with good milt it is sufficient. It was formerly the custom 

 to put a little water in the pan and then strip a male fish so 

 that the egg as soon as taken could absorb milt, but now I 

 think it is the custom of most operators to take the spawn 

 by what is known as the Russian or dry method, in which 

 it makes little or no difference, which is taken first. 



The fish is stripped by a slight pressure of the forefinger 

 of the right hand. Other operators hold a fish so that they 

 use the thumb instead of the forefinger and some use two 

 or three fingers. 



More care must be used in handling the female. If the 

 eggs feel hard, like shot, put her back, for if ripe the eggs 

 will generally flow if she is held in position over the pan. 

 Holding in position is, with the head and tail thrown back 

 as she bends herself when depositing her own eggs. If 

 ripe, the belly will feel soft and the eggs, by changing their 

 positions at the touch, will show that the tissue that en- 

 veloped them is ruptured. This is the condition in which 

 the shad and herring are when called "shotters" by the 

 fishermen, and I would advise opening a fish to see how the 

 spawn lays before attempting to take it. A trout has the 

 spawn in two layers, each enveloped in a thin membrane, 

 and in the last stage of its development it reaches from 

 the vent to the pectoral fins, almost behind the gills. 



The female must be pressed more slowly and carefully 

 than the male, as w T ell as oftener. Commence the pressure 

 at the pectoral fins and do not allow the finger to move 

 faster than the eggs; hold the vent under water, if you use 

 any, and after moving the finger an inch or two, repeat the 

 stroke, but do not press near the vent or the fish may be 

 permanently injured. 



If the fish struggles do not squeeze it, and if, as is some- 

 times the case, one proves obstinate, put it back in the tub 

 and try again. The male is stripped from the ventral fins 

 to the vent. 



Spawn and milt are taken according to your judgment. 

 After the first pair are stripped, that is, if the water is 

 "thick" enough, you can handle several females in succes- 

 sion ; if not, use more milt, give the pan an occasional light 

 shake, or stir the water with a feather, or tail of a fish so 

 as to bring the contents in more immediate contact, and 

 after the bottom of the pan is well covered, take another; 

 a common milk pan will take four or five thousand to com- 

 pletely cover the bottom. After the operation is finished 

 the pan should be left undisturbed for half an hour; it re- 

 quires about this time for the eggs to "free." 



It has been said that the eggs when first taken were 

 1 furnished with " a glutinous " matter which caused them to 



adhere to the pan and to each other, but we now know 

 that this is caused by the absence of water between the 

 coverings which causes them to stick to what they touch 

 by the pressure of the water, and as they fill, the pressure 

 on the inside causes them to "free." As soon as this hap- 

 pens the eggs are washed from all superflous milt— for they 

 will take no more— by being placed under a small stream 

 and the water changed repeatedly. 



Taking spawm may appear to be a very formidable oper- 

 ation as described, and there really is a great deal of skill 

 required to perform it neatly and quickly without injury to 

 the fish, yet I am confident that I could show a person how- 

 to do it in a great deal less time than he could ever learn it 

 from written instructions. There is a great difference on 

 these points even among operators of considerable exper- 

 ience, and a beginner must expect not only to be awkward 

 at it, but also to kill many fish. The greatest danger is in 

 using too much force. If the fish are ripe you will know it, 

 if not you may have doubts, and I beg of you to give the 

 poor fish the benefit of them, for if your entertain a doubt 

 of it after you have her in position and have touched 

 her abdomen, then she is not ripe. 



There are signs of ripeness that will enable one to form 

 a near guess. There are in the female a fullness of the 

 abdomen, which however looks the same if the fish is 

 gorged with food, and a protruding purple vent which a 

 novice at first sight might think was injured or diseased. 



Did you ever see a ripe male? If not, then, you that 

 have caught thousands of trout in season might possibly 

 ask, as many visitors do, " What fish is that?" For in 

 addition to his brilliant fins and deep orange belly, which 

 gets brighter as the spawning season approaches, he appears 

 to be of a rich drab color on his back when fully ripe, and 

 his sides appear darker than usual as you stand near the 

 edge of the pond and look down upon him. The female, if 

 not of a more sober hue appears so by contrast with her 

 gaudy mate. At other seasons the sexes are not so easily 

 distinguished, but as a general rule it may be said that the 

 female's nose is the roundest, and she presents a more cor 

 pulent appearance. These signs however are not infallible, 

 and a person of experience will rightly pronounce the sex 

 nine times out of ten without being able to explain just how 

 he does it. If a doubt is raised in my mind as to the sex 

 of a trout, as it is, if I cannot pronounce from the first 

 look, then I would not care to hazard a guess, so subtile is 

 the difference of expression, if that word may be used in 

 this connection. It is as if one were to pronounce on the 

 sex of human faces; the majority are unmistakable, but oc- 

 casionally one would puzzle him. At the spawning season 

 there is not the slightest difficulty. 



I have not taken spawm from trout in this manner for 

 several years, as I use the invention known as the Ainsworth 

 screens, where the fish deposit their own eggs, and I gather 

 them once or twice a week, or when convenient ; but this is 

 matter enough for another chapter. 



Fred. Mather. 

 . -*•-*- - 



SKETCHES IN FLORIDA. 



FISHING AT ST. AUGUSTINE. 



T. AUGUSTINE is a quaint old Spanish city, for a 

 long time dull and quiet, but now waking up with 

 the influx of Northern people, many of whom have built 

 stately and beautiful residences for their winter sojourn. 



For real enjoyment, St. Augustine far surpasses any 

 other part of Florida. You avoid the bustle of business in 

 Jacksonville, as w r ell as its sharp frosts and hot days; you 

 are not "out of the world," as at Enterprise, nor is it so 

 warm. 



The climate is charming; a happy medium; nor is it so 

 variable as at most other places in Florida. Frost is almost 

 unknown; also, extreme heat. You have good hotels, your 

 daily mail, and, though the "morning papers" do not reach 

 you until the afternoon, still, you are "in the world;" 

 while the facilities for boating, hunting and fishing are un- 

 surpassed. 



The bay is beautiful, and affords a fine opportunity for 

 sailing. Whether your party tries the "Osceola," or "Belle 

 of the Bay" of Mr. Ivanowski (Nee Sweeney), the "Water 

 Witch" of Captain Walton, or any of the smaller craft in 

 the harbor, you can enjoy a pleasant and comfortable sail 

 under safe pilotage. 



While for fishing, one has but to go to the sea-wall, or 

 the long wharf, or take a skiff or canoe, and push out in 

 the bay, and there will be no want of sport. 



The only drawback is the universal prevalence of the cat- 

 fish, which is of all sizes, from the tiny youngster of three 

 inches to the full-grown paterfamilias of two feet or more. 

 These are of a grey color and shaped like their Northern 

 brethren, but covered with a thick tough slime, just as the 

 eels of the north are, and the result is, your hook, line and 

 fingers— and often clothes get covered with this sticky sub- 

 stance. Your hook and line must be thoroughly cleansed, 

 or no other fish will touch it— your hands and clothes are 

 at your option. 



Another favorite fishing place is from the bridge over the 

 San Sebastian, just at the back of the town. 



At any or all of these places you can catch bass, trout, 

 sheepshead, mullet, flounders, sharks, and many other 

 varieties. 



One of the pleasantest amusements is fishing in the surf 

 for bass. The "modus operandi" of this sport is somewhat 

 as follows : — 



Remember that I am giving tHe custom of the country, 

 and shall not he surprised if scientific bass-fishers, who re- 



