FOREST AND STREAM 



45 



We tell very discouraged, not having besn wttli'ra four miles 01 them 

 the night before, us we went cine north. We gave up duck linming as 

 a bad Job, and at once left (or home to make uinnlry for rhe owner to 

 inform hiin of the. fuel., tic has ... i Blveu any compen- 

 sation for ilia loss as yet, ns Itils (anions shot, 

 too <Ushnnnsl to come up like a inun or a true »n<l rig h i 

 sportsman and settle Hie matter. All (he Burleson County ran pel 

 bitterly opposed to our future visits, as a matter of course. 

 Yours truly. O. C. Q. 



mn f «%f 



Third Biennial Report of the Superintend- 

 ent of the Michigan State Fisheries for 

 1S77-'7S. 



THE report of Superintendent Geo. H. Jerome now be- 

 fore us is a voluminous document, and makes a very- 

 creditable allowing of tlic efforts of the Michigan fishcullur- 

 ists, who are among the most energetic and intelligent of the 

 Slate boards. The report is made up largely Of figures— very 

 large figures too— and unless recent bank defalcations and 

 crooked election returns have demonstrated the mistake of 

 the once accepted proposition that figures cannot lie, the sta- 

 tistics here presented indicate two busy seasons in the Michi- 

 gan hatchiug-houses. The whitefish being the most import- 

 ant, and its supply of the most importance, has received a 

 large share of attention. As the results of some very valu- 

 able experiments instituted to determine the most favorable 

 conditions for whitefish culture, it has been found that the 

 temperature of the water exerts a marked influence upon the 

 work. A high temperature hastens development ; a lower 

 degree retards it, Whitefish ova from the same mother and 

 fertilized with the saute milt will, if placed in water at 60 



; or 70 dog. , become living fish in thirty days or less_; in 

 water at aa deg. or 34 deg. five or six months are required 

 beir development, if the alewive be placed in water of 

 g. to 00 deg. , the food in the umbilical sac is consumed 

 in five or six day's ; in water at 34 deg., from fifteen to twenty 

 days are required. The total number of whitefish deposited 

 in rivers, the inland lakes and the Great Lakes aggregated 

 8,000,000 for the season of 1876-'7 and 13,000,000 for the sea- 

 1377-'8. These uumbers are far in excess of those of 

 any previous years." These fish were all hatched at the De- 

 troit hatchery, which in its workings has been a brilliant suc- 

 cess. Prior to its establishment, the cost of hatching white- 

 ;isk was one dollar per thousand. Now it does not exceed 

 ten cents per thousand, and the commissioners expect to re- 

 duce even this cost one- half. 



More than usual difficulty has been found in the hatching 

 of the lake trout, but a very fair work has been accomplished, 

 the number deposited in 1877 being 150,000, and in 1S78 more 

 than double that number. 



Of the 100,000 California salmon eggs shipped from the 

 McLoud River in October, 1877, all but about five per cent. 

 were successfully hatched out at the Pokagon hatchery and 

 deposited in the lakes of fourteen counties. These fish are 

 found to change very materially when confined to limited 

 supplies of water, being stunted or dwarfed. For their full 

 development they require the strong currents and rushing 

 waters. Experiments in hybridization have been made by im- 

 pregnating the ova of the brook trout with the milt of the 

 salmon, the result being apparently healthy fry. 



Bui limited attention has been devoted to the land-locked 

 salmon, owing to the difficulty of procuring eggs from Maine. 

 It ia hoped, however, to obtain a much larger supply from the 

 hatchery at Grand Lake stream ; and it is also believed that 

 the hog Lake fish planted in 1876 have spawned there and 

 that thus Michigan will be independent of other States. The 

 number of deposits for 1878 was 25,000. In their efforts to 

 secure spawn of the grayling, the Commissioners have been 

 twice unsuccessful. .No one has yet discovered with accuracy 

 the season of their spawning. An expedilion wa3 organized 

 in 1877 which reached the Manistee River on the 14th of 

 April, but they were loo late. The following year the men 

 were on the ground by the b'Oth of March, but even this was 

 found to be behind time, and the disappointed fish-culturisls 

 went to work to catch what adult grayling they could for 

 transplanting to the State hatching house and various waters, 

 the total number thus caught and distributed being 1,500- A 

 fact of interest was developed iu the course of their transpor- 

 tation : A fully ripe s pawner being discovered was stripped 

 and the number of eggs found to bs 3,555, a yield which, in 

 proportion to the weight of the fish, 9oz., was much greater 

 than what should have been expected from former knowledge 

 of its fecundity. The eel has now taken its place as a fixture, 

 several hundred thousand having been distributed during 1877 

 and 1878. 



The fish shute problem, as the leaders of the Foiiest and 

 Stkbajh already know, was solved by the Michigan Commis- 

 sioners by the adoption of " Shaw's fishway," the invention of 

 Hon. B. F. Shaw, of the Iowa Fish Commission. Two 

 thousand lithographed diagrams of this way were prepared 

 and scattered broadcast over the State, and as the cost of con- 

 st ruction is slight, it is confidently believed that no more 

 trouble will be experienced from this cause. 



Altogether the report is one of much encouragement, and 

 Michigan fish culture may be set down an assured success. 



Mortality of Young Tbout.— Mr. Seth Green, very con- 

 siderately for the interests of fish culturists, sends the follow- 

 ing hints for publication : 



i Roohksteh, Feb. 11, is; 9. 



", Ma. Editor : 1 have a great many inquiries from parties 

 Wishing me to tell them the cau.se ot their young trout dyin". 

 rhe causes are so numerous that it would be almost impossi- 

 ble to hit the right one in -any one case merely from what can 

 E>o told in a letter. What would prove a perfect preventive 

 in one case might fail in another. Brook trout spawn lakeu 

 from fish wind i inhalm, a .. il't water stream are much more 

 delieal.o than those taken from fish that live in a hard water 

 stream. The shell ol the eggis much thinner and 

 quire very careful handling. But I recommend careful band, 



ling with all lundsoi spawn. Thrce-d ol the spawn 



that dies are killed by rough handling. 1 also recommend 

 running as much water over spawn as they will stall 



ash them from their places, and when "they are hatched, 

 raise the water three or four inches, Ah soon' as the 

 fish commence to swim a little they will cluster together". 



Then great pains must be taken to prevent them from smoth- 

 ering. When the yolk sac is absorbed I begin to feed them. 

 They should be fed a little at a time, and eight or ten limes 

 during the day, hiking great care not to feed more than they 

 will eat. The troughs should be cleaned every day without 

 fail, as cleanliness ia as essential to the welfare of young 

 trout as it is to everything else. A. foul trough breeds disease 

 very fast. A plan which has been adopted at our works with 

 success in the rearing or young trout, is by the use of salt in 

 the following way :'" As soon" as the yolk sac is absorbed I 

 make a weak brine, and shutting off the water, pour it in 

 the trough. As soon as the fry commence coming to the top 

 I turn on the fresh water and let it. run pretty strong until the 

 salt water is washed out thoroughly, After they have been 

 foeding for a couple of weeks, I make the brine bo strong 

 that it will bear up a potato. I use about four quarts of water 

 in making the brine and distribute it the whole length of the 

 trough before pouring in the brine. I draw the water down 

 so that but little more than an inch remains. This is done 

 twice a week. Fresh earth is used with great success in some 

 localities. The way it is used is by placing it in a sieve and 

 shaking it over the trough until tlic bottom is covered. It 

 should be dime two or three tunes a week. The way I learned 

 all 1 know about fish hatching was by experiments and ob- 

 servation. I try all the plans I can Ihink of and all 1 hear of 

 any one else trying. I have been experimenting ever since I 

 have been in the business. 

 Tours, Seth Ghees. 



Fbesh Newfoundland Salmon fob England. — Mr. A. O. 

 MacDougall, of St. John's, Newfoundland, has entered into 

 contracts for delivering in London four hundred thousand 

 pounds of salmon, or about thirty thousand fish, the coming 

 season. He has also engaged to deliver alive two hundred 

 thousand lobsters. It appears that in Newfoundland salmon 

 arc naturally very plentiful and excellent in flavor, but un- 

 fortunately the markets are not numerous or near at hand to 

 take them when in a fresh state. The salmon will be caught 

 in the season, stored in refrigerating stores, and will be sent 

 over to that country in a fresh condition as wanted, where 

 they willbe sold at a reasonable price. 



The Potomac Fishway. — Virginians are pushing the ap- 

 propriation for a fishway over the great falls of the Potomac. 

 before Congress with reasonable prospect of success. It is 

 believed that the McDonald fishway will be adopted, as it is 

 necessarily a shadway, and none of the ways heretofore built 

 even claim to be shad ways. 



— We were in error when wo stated, last week, that an 

 initiation fee of $5 was required to become a member of the 

 American Fish Cultural Association. There are annual dues 

 of $3 ; nothing move. The doors of admission are open wide, 

 without fee or charge. The annual proceedings of this asso- 

 ciation are most interesting. The next meeting will be held 

 at Fulton Market Feb. 25 and 26. 



iural ]§i$torts< 



THfi ENGLISH SPARROW. 



BY JULIAS. HOA&. 



THE sparrow was probably first seen by Adam. What im- 

 pression this special creation made upon him has never 

 been recorded, but it is not improbable, with the interest and 

 excitement attendant upon his own awakening, that the 

 twillerer quite escaped his attention. At that time, too, there 

 being but a single pair of these birds yet created, it is only 

 just to presume that, the honeymoon not yet being over, they 

 were dwelling together in peace and harmony, and that all 

 their songs were of love, and all their attitudes beatitudes. 



The early writers are comparatively reticent on the subject 

 of this bird, although it is referred to iuboth the Old and New 

 Testament : but the quality of the reference is so strained as 

 to have lost any complimentary titbits which may originally 

 have been intended. When two sparrows were sold for one 

 farthing and five sparrows for two farthings, as in the days 

 of the Apostles, we may safely conclude they were not ranked 

 as treasures in the market. 



The first large importation of the English sparrow to this 

 country appears to have taken place in 1862, when two hun- 

 dred were set free in New York. The Park (Jomrnissioners 

 of that city first took them in special charge in 1804. Soon 

 after forty pairs were imported for New Haven. The pur- 

 pose of this importation was to suppress the increase of a 

 measuring worm or caterpillar, which was then, ami is now, 

 despoiling the shade trees of the streets and public parks. 



The value set upon S.:arrows in 1870 can be judged by soma 

 s'aternents made by a gentleman of Newburih who advertise d 

 them tor sate, lie communicated the fact tnrough the public 



journals thai he Boon expected a fresh supply":;, ste 



from Southampton. The penalty imposed in Mew York for 

 catching tkeui being from five tc ten dollars for each bird 

 caught, in that or in adjacent corporations rendered importar 

 lion a necessity in order to supply the market outside of that 

 city. In Europe, lie further staled, wlierc they ,- . ' . 

 by millions and were caught in naps, they were bought for a 

 nominal price. But their freight and attention, with ihe 

 mortality which would ensue dome . ;: .j across the 



Atlantic, together with the their qi dii 



posiliu us, "rendered a cage for each bird important ;— these 

 combined necessitated a price of §4 a pair for healthy spar- 

 rows. It, seems almost impossible to believe that this gentle- 

 man was not trying itea practical joke, so great a 

 oUange in the value ol . ows has been effected in eigbj 

 years. 



The sparrow increase is very rapid. Under favor able OiS- 

 ciinistanees nm: bird will produce about thirty eggs in a 

 season. Mr. Gentry relates au instance of a pail which 

 reared three families during the season of 1874, and were pre- 

 vented from raisin . | ihe branch 

 which held the nest, in order to add it to Ids cabinet. This 



very same pair, he states, compelled Ihe robins and all other 

 birds to yield them undisputed sway. Close Observers state 

 that thepnlrrf n, '■'!'. jk peinbis no feathered intruder to ap- 

 proach within ten paces of the nest during the season of nidi- 

 ftcation and incubation, and that in all encounters with other 

 birds the sparrow is the aggressor. 



Inasmuch as nearly all ihe reliable statements with regard 

 to the sparrow are decidedly to his discredit, it is only loo 

 pleasant to relate one or two incidents which indicate some 

 desirable and bird-like characteristics. One which appeared 

 to mo very striking was related by a British lady whose 

 favorite canary was accustomed to be hung in a tree outside 

 the window. One morning a sparrow was observed to fly 

 familiarly about the cage, perch upon the top, and apparently 

 engage in earnest conversation with, the canary, and then fly- 

 away. The result of this sweet converse was a worm brought 

 and dropped into the cage. This was continued dally during 

 the summer. To test the thoughtful generosity of ibis bird 

 other canarips were hung near, but, while they were not ut- 

 ignored in the feast, the earliest friend was the firBt 

 provided for. An Ul-disposed person could conjecture the 

 possible logic in the mind of this apparently kind 'little spar- 

 row, and conceive of a syllogism somewhat like this. This 

 little canary iB completely cut off by means of these wires 

 from ail interference with me or my kind; by showing it 

 some attention I will perhaps gain favor with my increasing 

 enemy — man. Therefore I will, by slight exertion, add a 

 worm more than I need to my daily store, and therefore make 

 an exhibition of exceeding generosity. 



An incident connected with one of our large cities, and al- 

 ready made public, is interesting in demonstrating what an 

 aggregation of small forces can accomplish. The owner of a 

 public building caused a sparrow's nest, which was found 

 under the eaves, to be thrown to the street. An indignation 

 meeting was immediately called, and after a presumably very 

 bitter denunciation of the act the sparrows for once (let it be 

 recorded to their credit), agreed, and with remarkable speed 

 and concert of , action they soon returned the nest to its origi- 

 nal stronghold. 



Dr. Pickering quotes from a French author as early as 1791 

 to the effect that in order to diminish the ravages of the spar- 

 rows a price was fixed upon their heads and the peasants 

 were compelled by law to bring in a certain number yearly. 

 Another French writer of about the same period estimated 

 that the sparrows of France consumed annually about ten 

 million bushels of wheat. In 1817 still another French 

 author called this bird an impudent parasite, and stated that 

 he found eighty-two grains of wheat in the craw of a sparrow 

 shot by himself. 



The testimony of a gentleman now resident in Vermont, 

 whose verdict was rendered in 1870, is also adverse to our 

 guest. He lived in England untLl twenty-one years of age, in 

 a town where the sparrows were pronounced so great a 

 nuisance that his own pocket money was the result of a 

 bounty offered for killing them and taking their nests. The 

 town gave one half-penny for three eggs, one half-penny 

 for one old bird, and one penny for three young ones. He 

 feared America would be sadly disappointed in the usefulness 

 of the sparrow. In 1872 aa English gentlemen, then resident 

 in this country, stated that, although he knew the English 

 sparrow in his own country to be an " unmitigated nuisance," 

 yet, having a "special liking" for birds, he determined to 

 watch them in this country without prejudice. After close 

 watching for years, he fully believed they were not insect- 

 ivorous in any sense. In New York they feed upon such grain 

 as they can find scattered in the streets, and, on killing and 

 dissecting great numbers of them, he could find only vegeta- 

 ble matter. Ue says, "We need not grudge them a little 

 grain, but their pugnacity is insufferable." The same writer 

 states that only a few years siuce, Paterson, N. J., abounded 

 in bluebirds, orioles and wrens ; but in an evil hour a citizen 

 imported some sparrows, providing them with comfortable 

 quarters, and now not another kind of bird can he seen ; and 

 he adds, " The worst of it is they are not rid of their insects, 

 and for the loss of their song birds they have nothing to show, 

 only a lot of soreeching, pert, mischief-making sparrows." In 

 187-1 a gentleman wrote thus: "The balance of power has 

 been badly upset iu Melbourne, Australia, by the introduction 

 of Ihe English sparrow. The native birds are driven away, 

 and the small fruits are being devoured in a manner never be- 

 fore witnessed. In 1875 a gentleman from Germantown, 

 Penn_, stated that since the sparrows were introduced into 

 the public squares of Philadelphia and found their way into 

 the gardens the pear trees yield no fruit, ibis bird being ihe 

 destroyer of the hitter buds. In the same year the same fear 

 was reiterated by a gentleman residing at Irviuglon, on Ihe 

 Hudson, who watched the sparrows with a glass while they 

 despoiled the peat trees. An Englishman by birth, now resi- 

 dent in Tennessee, ••knows" thai, the sparrow is a great de- 

 stroyer of wheat and other small grains, and of fruit "buds as 

 well, and hopes the bird fanciers will be satisfied before they 

 allow them to reach Tennessee. 



But the editor of the Gardener's Monthly attacked the an- 

 tagonists on this point, quite discrediting the stories of the 

 sparrows being essentially fruit or grain destroyers. Iu 1874, 

 Dr. Thomas M. Brewer recorded himself in favor of the Eng- 

 lish sparrow, and, 1 believe, still maintains that attitude to- 

 ward them, He wrote thus: "We have the sparrows in 

 B. iston in great abundance, and for six years I have, day after 

 -imer and winter, closely watched them. They never 

 molest, attack or try to drive away any birds except their own 

 species, and that only from amatory influences, " lie asserted 

 that, the native sparrows and their European cousins were the 

 warmest friends, and that the bine birds ,,-. I. . , ■ spar- 

 rows. The wise md revered William Oulleu Bryant gave Ms 

 testimony in favor of the sparrow, recording it in verse, thus: 

 " The Insect legions tbuL at. ngimr irn.it. 



And strip I lie leaves from ihe growing shoot, 



A swat i -, raveUooE tribe 



WluuU Hams an,l Fliur, an well ileiicrlbe 

 ..i . sanot destroy, may quail with tear, 



Fur i lie ukt world sparrow, t a.ar bane, ia here." 

 \Vbc' her or nut his scientific observations or opinions were 

 i am Hot positive, but all bis sentiments ate now and 

 ever will be dear lo the American heart. 



And thus in the research fur testimony, I have often been 

 forced to exclaim, '* Who shall decide when doctors die- 

 agree:" yet this conviction has been forced upon me, though 

 it may now seem a reiteration i if Dr. Ooues to those whi 



. i him, teat scientific testimony is strongly adverse to 

 ...ii sentimenl only is his warmaTly. N..i 



mony is needed except that Of individual eyes and ears to 



convince us tli.it these birds arc over in n spirit, of fierce an- 

 twilhi .. . v are even ungracious wooers, 



and thi in of courts! i Ij the time £oj best be- 



.,!.... . ,v contributor 



in a recent number of s their uncourtly at- 



tentions during that interesting period of even a bird's life 



