FOREST AND STREAM. 



363 



Hamburg, in regard to their naturalistic studies and re- 

 searches. Emulating the Medici, who were not only the 

 greatest of merchant princes, hut learned in all things, and 

 judicious collectors, the Messrs. Godeffroy, an extensive 

 mercantile and shipping house, divide their attention be- 

 tween business and natural history. These merchants 

 have for some years employed scientific men in various 

 parts of the Pacific who have collected and prepared for 

 them many unique specimens for their well known scien- 

 tific institution, the "Museum Godeffroy." In this museum 

 may be found that wonderful collection of birds which fur- 

 nished the material for Doctors Finsch's and Hartlauh's 

 "Birds of Central Polynesia," published some years ago. 

 A work on the Polynesian fishes has just been issued, due 

 to the same Godeffroy collection. The work is described 

 to be one of the most perfect ichth3 T ological monographs 

 ever issued. 



Obituary. — Died at Long Lake, Hamilton county, New 

 York, on Wednesday, 17th alt., John D. Sabattis, for many 

 years one of the most favorably known of the Adirondack 

 guides. A correspon lent, who knew Sabattis better than 

 we, although we knew him well, writes: — 



"Sabattis had many friends among your subscribers and 

 men who may have expected to secure his services as a 

 guide in the future. He was a young man for whom I had 

 great esteem, and with whom I have loitered many happy 

 days among the mountains and on the lakes of the North 

 AVoods. Among the guides of my acquaintance he was 

 the chief, and I cannot express too highly my appreciation 

 of his qualities as a sportsman and guide, or the Iosp to his 

 friends. He was a true sportsman, a conservator of the 

 fish and game, and I fear that his influence and example 

 will be greatly needed among the men who are killing off 

 the game and fish along the Racquette for the markets." 



• — Future Australian travel will undoubtedly be under- 

 taken with camels. The native Australian seems to have 

 an instinctive dread of the camel, and supposes him to be 

 a kangaroo of gigantic size, who is only too ready to make 

 a leap of a hundred yards and to devour him. Indifferent 

 as the Bushmen are to horses and cattle, they take to their 

 heels on seeing a camel. Major Warburton, who has just 

 started on an extended exploration into the interior of the 

 Australian continent, has abandoned horses and taken with 

 him sixteen of the vessels of Sahara. The camel would 

 seem pecnliarily adapted for travel in Australia, where 

 water is scarce, and in many places the only things edible 

 for stock are thorns and prickly shrubs. 



— — ■*■ — ~ 



—The extraordinary mild weather of the winter, Ave fear, 

 will Ifave caused the ova of trout and salmon to hatch pre- 

 maturely, and the freshets to sweep off the eggs or cover 

 them with silt to an extent that will destroy them. Even 

 the minnows and "wrigglers," and all small fry generally, 

 that cannot find refuge in lateral harbors and places of 

 refuge, will be carried down stream and leave the larders 

 of the grown fish empty. So that pisciculturists who, per- 

 chance, may not find their anticipations realized this sea- 

 son must not predicate their want of success upon the sup- 

 position of misapplied theories. In view of the efforts now 

 being made by the United States Fish Commission to plant 

 and acclimate Pacific salmon and other varieties of food 

 and game fish in our Eastern waters, we regard the present 

 meteorological conditions of earth, air, and water as ex- 

 tremely unfortunate. 



By the way, and not exactly in this connection, observant 

 anglers will notice how ravenously great trout rise to feed, 

 just upon the subsidence of a freshet. It is of no use to 

 waste time while the flood is rising, but try their voracity 

 just upon the turn. 



Anglers' Association. — The Anglers' Association held 

 a meeting in Boston Thursday evening, January 8th, in 

 Codman Hall, at which the President, Dr. John P. Ord- 

 way, occupied the chair. 



The committee on the preservation of lobsters asked, and 

 were granted, further time for their investigations. 



The committee on spawning beds reported that smelts 

 were in the market, and that they Avere of an inferior and 

 sickly quality, and, as supposed, were received from NeAv- 

 buryport. The report of the committee also stated that it 

 was suspected that the spaAvning beds had been seriously 

 damaged by persons from Weymouth, and that fish had 

 been sent here from Canada which Averc of an impure and 

 unhealthy quality. 



Messrs. Charles Stanwood, S. W. Hathaway, S. W. Ho- 

 vey, and J. H. C. Campbell were appointed a committee to 

 look after the interests of the trout fisheries, it having been 

 reported that some of our fish markets Avere offering for 

 sale speckled trout Avhich were unfit to eat. and should not 

 have been taken. 



After the election of several hcav members, the meeting 

 went into executive session, which Avould probably result 

 to the sorroAv of the violators of the provisions of the 

 smelt law, which reads: — "Whoever takes any smelts with 

 a net of any kind, or in any other manner than by naturally 

 or artificially baited hooks and hand lines, shall forfeit for 

 each smelt so taken the sum of twenty -five cents," excep- 

 tion being provided for in the act. in case these fish happen 

 to be caught in instances When seining for herring, ale- 

 wives, Ac., is lawfully allowed. 



The x\merican Fish Culturists Association. — The 

 Third Annual Meeting of this Association will be held in 

 New York, on Tuesday, February 10th, 1874, at the office 

 of Mr. George Shepard Page, No. 10 Warrren street. 



Hon. Spencer F. Baird, IT. S. Commissioner of Fisheries, 

 has been invited to read a paper on his recent examination 

 into the condition of the Coast Fisheries of New England; 

 Charles G. Atkins, Esq., of Bucksport, Maine, special 

 commissioner for the associated States, to read a paper on 

 the collection of salmon ova and salmon hatching at Bucks- 

 port; Rev. Livingston Stone, of CharlestoAvn, N. II., a pa- 

 per on his recent experiments in the collection of salmon 

 ova in California and the food fishes of the Pacific coast; 

 Seth Green, of Rochester, N. Y., Fish Commissioner for 

 the State of NeAV York, on his recent experiments in the 

 collection of the ova and hatching of the useful fishes; E. 

 A. Brackett, Fish Commissioner for the State of Massachu- 

 setts, on fishways and to give an account of the fisliAvay re- 

 cently erected on the Connecticut river, at Holyoke, Mass. ; 

 Chan Laisun, of Springfield, Mass, commissioner on educa- 

 tion from the Chinese gOA r ernment to the United States, to 

 read a paper on fish culture in China; Rev. William Clift* 

 president of the Association, a paper on the "transmission of 

 qualities in species," as related to fish. Hon. Horatio Sey- 

 mour, Fish Commissioner for the State of Ncav York; R. 

 J. Pike, Fish Commissioner for the State of Connecticut; 

 J. II. Slack, Fish Commissioner for the State of New 

 Jersey, and James Worrall, Fish Commissioner for the 

 State of Pennsylvania, have been invited to read 

 papers on subjects of their own choosing. The read- 

 ing of papers Avill be followed by a discussion of 

 topics relating to Fish Culture. A full attendance of mem- 

 bers is desired, and all others interested in the object of the 

 meeting are cordially invited to attend. We shall print 



special reports and abstracts of the papers read. 

 ♦-— — - 



Ciiarlestown, N. II., Jan. 0, 1874. 



Editor Forest and Stream: — 



I beg permission to enclose the accompanying letter to 

 you for publication in your journal. 



Livingston Stone. 

 Ciiarlestown, N. II., Jan. 6th, 1874. 

 Hon. Si'encer F. Baird. 



Dear Str. — The California salmon in my possession to 

 the number of 35,000 were shipped from here by the 7 

 P. M. train on Friday, December 26th, 1873, in charge of 

 Mr. Myron Green. I am now in receipt of a letter from Mr. 

 Green saying that he arrived at Swauton, Vermont, the 

 next morning at eight o'clock with the salmon in first-rate 

 order. He then took the fish up the river in a wagon and 

 placed them as follows: — The first lot Was placed in the 

 Missisquoi River,two miles above S\vanton,Avhere there was 

 a coarse, gravely bottom, with plenty of large boulders, the 

 current running about two miles an hour. The second lot 

 was placed in the Kelly Brook, which empties into the 

 Missisquoi, two and a half miles from Highgate. The 

 third lot was deposited in the main river near Highgate. 

 The fourth lot w.as put into Hunkeford Brook, about a mile 

 and a half from its mouth, above a cascade, w hich cuts off 

 the ascent of pike and pickerel. This brook enters the Mis- 

 sisquoi River near Highgate. 



The young salmon received were very lively and quite at 



home Avhen placed In the water. The temperature of the 



river was about 38" F. Mr. Green writes that a good deal 



of interest Avas manifested in this movement of the salmon 



by people on the route, and I judge from his report that the 



expenditure Avas an entire success. 



Yours, very truly, 



Livingston Stone. 

 ♦ 



i/ Oswego, January 5th, 1874. 



Editor Forest and Stream:— 



In your paper of January 1st, "Fern Fly" takes excep- 

 tion to the proposed stocking the OsAvego River with sal- 

 mon by Seth Green, and adds, "It is a dull, muddy stream, 

 as little like a salmon river as a Jersey creek." Of course, 

 "Fern Fly" Avrites at random, either knoAving or caring 

 not for the truthfulness of his statement. 



If you will look upon the map of our State you will see 

 that the Oswego is the outlet of the wafers of Cauandaigua, 

 Crooked, Cayuga, Seneca, Owasco, Skanneateles, and Oneida 

 lakes, nearly all of the purest water, and Avere, until the 

 OsAvego was dammed for canal purposes, over forty years 

 since, with their tributaries, the resort of shoals of the 

 lordly salmon. With the clearing up of the forests about 

 these lakes, in the mean time, these waters have become 

 clearer, and are iioav more fit than then for the habitation 

 of that fastidious fish, that loves not "dull, muddy 

 streams." It is not for the fish that I take up the cudgel, 

 as angling Avith fly or bait for salmon so far run from 

 salt water Avould be out of the question, but I Avould not 

 have the clear, rapid waters of our river doubly damned 

 to no purpose by a random shot. 



The Oswego River falls one hundred and twenty feet in 

 its course Avitliin twenty-four miles of its mouth, and is 

 finely stocked with black bass, and its rapids furnish fine 

 fly fishing for that gamesome fish all through the summer 

 months. " The black bass of which I Avrite are the black 

 bass of the great north lakes— the Grystes nigricans, as 

 classified by Agassiz— and are a very different fish from the 

 so-called black bass of the St. Johns River, which your 

 Florida correspondents write of. 



The bass of the St., Johns River are the Git/stes hugasloiita, 

 as described in his book on fish culture and fishing by Dr. 

 Theodatus Garlick, of Cleveland, Ohio, one of the truest 

 and worthiest disciples of Isaac Walton. I, too, have 

 ca*t my lines in the St. Johns and taken these fish, and 



heard them called trout by the ra'/ves. They exceed 

 double the size of the black 1 ass, the head is much larger 

 in proportion, and the mouth is enormous. This fish is 

 found in many of the small lakes and ponds of the north- 

 ern States, and it is no impediment to his thrift that the 

 waters are warm and muddy, and his flavor, of course, is 

 marred by his bad habits. 



To return for a moment to the river stocking question. 

 "Fern Fly" asks, "Would not the Oswegntchie make a 

 noble salmon river?" If "Fern Fly" would visit that river 

 he Avould find it, from Governeur to the St. Lawrence, a, 

 black, dirty stream, its banks studded with tanneries and 

 saAv mills, and its Avaters fully stocked with pickerel and 

 yellow pike. J. E. L. 



Mm xnd 



FISH IN SEASON IN JANUARY. 



Pouipanu. 

 Snapper. 

 Grouper. 

 Rocktish. 



SOUTHERN WATERS. 



Trout, (Black Bass. ) 

 Drum, (two species.) 

 Kingrtsh . 

 Striped Bass, Rockfish. 



Sheepshead . 

 Tailorfish . 

 Sea Bass. 



ST. LAWRENCE SALMON FISHING. 

 , « 



Jersey City, January 9th, 1874. 

 Editor Forest a no Stream:— 



Dear Sir— Enclosed please And the score of the fishing at river God- 

 bout during the years 1865. 1866, 1867, 3868, 1869, 1870, and 1871. 



Yon will notice that the largest "catch" was made hy Mr. Allan Gil- 

 monr in 1865, July 5th and July luth, and I believe that this is the largest 

 score ever made in the same number of hours. His heaviest day was 

 July 10th, when he took 16 salmon weighing 426 pounds. He was at the 

 pool a little after 6 o'clock in the morning and left a little after 7 o'clock 

 in the evening. He told me he rested about an hour at noon for his 

 lunch. This would make about twelve hours of fishing and give an av- 

 erage of a salmon every fifteen minutes. Mr. G. is a splendid fisherman, 

 and is one of the few salmon fishermen that I have met that 1 thought 

 could perform the work and endure the physical strain of killing such a 

 great number of fish. The Godbont is one of the finest rivers on the 

 "north shore," and for scenery is just all you could imagine on a mag- 

 nificent salmon river. 



Wishing that every reader of your paper may enjoy it as much as 1 do. 

 I am yours respectfully, T. B. Meigs. 



We print a recapitulation of these scores; sorry Ave hav'nt 

 space to print them in detail. We cannot question the ac- 

 curacy of this statement, this catching of a salmon every 

 fifteen minutes for twelve consecutive hours. Indeed, avc 

 have seen time averages just as extraordinary vouched for. 

 But accepting the fact, Ave must deferentially acknoAvledge 

 our own experience at fault and ourself Avilling to take odd* 

 against all comers. 



Statement of Fishing on the River (iodbovt. Lower St. Lawrence, for 

 Seven years. '„;;; 



1805— June and Julj, 24 days, four rods. 

 Bod 1. Capt. Noble. 49 fish. weight 488 lbs. 



RodS. Mr. Cross. 109 " " 1059 lbs. 



RodS. a. Gilmour. 165 - ; " 1567 lbs. 



Rod 4. James Law. 155 " " 1551 lbs. 



478 

 Average weight of fish over 9| lbs. 

 1867— June and July, 33 days, four rods. 

 Rod 1. A. GMlmour, Jr. 50 fish. 



Rod 2. A. Gilmour. 165 " 



Rod 3. .James Law. 123 " 



Rod 4. Rev.Dr. Adamson. 89 " 



4665 



weight. 517 »H, 

 '• 17P81bs. 

 " i; 23 lbs. 

 " 10£91bs. 



427 4669 



Average weight offish 11 lb*. 

 In addition to the above were C u;ht a number of kelt, and about 5C0 



1868 -June and July, 18 days, three rods. 

 Rod 1. A. Gilmour. 113 fish. 



Rod 2. A.Cross. 93 '* 



Rod 3. AV. M. Ramsay. 67 " 



273 



Average weight of lish 1U lbs. 



1869— June and July, 31 days, four rods. 

 Rodl. . A. Gilmour. 139 fish. 



Rod 2. John Gilmour. 164 " 



Rod3. John Gilmour, Jr. 125 " 



Rod 4. D. L. 87 " 



weight 1297 lb?. 



" 1084 lbs. 



735 lbs. 



weight 14671 >?. 

 " 1806 lb <. 

 " 1338 lbs. 

 •' 882 lbs. 



515 5493 



3 1 addition to the above, about 35 Kelts (an unusual number) were 

 caught during the first few days fishing— most of which (and when cir- 

 cumstances permitted) were returned to the Avater. Also, about 250 Sea 

 Trout were taken while fishing for Salmon, of an average weight of 2f to 

 3 lbs; and 7 Grilse. 



In consequence of frequent and unusual heavy rains, the river, during 

 the whole time, continued too high for good fishing, and in consequence 

 a number of the best pools were so flooded as to prevent the fish from ly- 

 ingtherein, or at least taking the fly as freely as in former seasons. 

 1870— June and July, 29 days, four rods. 

 Rod 1. Dr. Campbell. Ill fish. weight 1214 lbs. 



AlexUrquart. 81 " " 894 lbs. 



Rod: 

 Rod 3. 

 Bod 4. 



A. Gilmour. 

 D. Law. 



81 

 106 

 101 



399 4313 



Average about 11 lb?. 



On arriving at the river it was found to be unusually low and in con- 

 sequence there was no fishing in the lower poois, which in ordinary sea- 

 sons give the best sport at the beginning. During the whole timos of fish- 

 ing only a few light showers fell, so that the water continued to fall 

 steadily, and by the middle of July it had become lower than ever before 

 known to those now acquainted with the river. No kelt were caught 

 this season. 



1871— June and July, 30 days, five rods. 



Rod 1. 



A. Gilmour. 



102 fish. 



weight 1165 lbs. 



Rod 2. 



D . Law. 



140 " 



" 1602 lbs. 



Rod 3. 



A.Cross. 



54 " 



" 620 lbs. 



Rod 4. 



D. Gilmour. 



120 " 



" 1338 lbs. 



Rod 5. 



A. T. Paterson 



93 " 



" 996 lbs. 



509 5721 



Average weight of fish Hi lbs. 

 Water very high all the time of fishing. 



Now, if Ave investigate carefully, Ave mid that these fish 

 Avere taken in two principal pools; that the pools afforded 

 ample sweep of rod and play of line; that the fish, on the 

 year in cpiestion, Avhen the largest average was made, (1865,) 

 were small and easily handled; and that very feAV strikes 

 got into quick water. This will justify the statement and 

 make the feat practicable. We are very nice on those 

 points; avc don't theoiize, or conjecture, hut always give 



