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Great progress has been made in the past six years in gen- 

 eral fish culture in UiiS country, and probably no student 

 has bad better opportunities to iiv habits of 



the SalrnolMs and contribute more to the igeneral informal 

 tion than Mr. Stone has done. Much of that however which 

 was accepted as fact in 1873, has been controverted under the 

 new light since obtained ; and it is more than probable that 

 the information which Mr. Stone has gained in the meantime 

 10 impressed itself upon his mind as to drive from his 

 ry the recollection of having, in Mb rudimentary re- 

 Bearcb.es, made: statements which results have proved to have 

 becu wholly erroneous. We are sorry if Mr. Stone com- 

 mitted himself to such positive assertions as were conveyed to 

 us in his note of May loth, to whicli Mr. Brackett indignantly 

 refers in the following letter, Mr. Brackett is one of the most 

 efficient of the whole body of Fish Commissioners ; and hav- 

 ing taken up the matter in hand seriously in his Massachu- 

 setts Fish Keports, feels impelled to support his statements 

 therein made ; which he seems to have done effectually. We 

 were not aware of the exact attitude of the case when we com- 

 mented upon Mr. Stone's note, or we would not have written 

 what Mr. Brackett has chosen to apply to himself as "uncom- 

 plimentary." We certainly did not intend to include him 

 among the class of men who " talk much and do nothing :" 

 Winchester, Mass. , May 19, 1879. 

 V, Editor Forest and Stream : 



In jour paper of May 15 is a disclaimer by Livingston 

 Stone, accompanied by some editorial remarks not very com- 

 plimentary to some of the Stair: Commissioners on Fisheries. 

 Mr. Stone says that "in several newspaper articles and State 

 reports he has been quoted as saying that all California salmon 

 die after spawning," etc. 1 have italicized the word all, as 

 possibly Mr. Stone may take issue on this word ; and yet I 

 presume that no one knows better than he that the California 

 salmon or the Sacramento and its tributaries are the fish that 

 have interested the Sta':e Commissioners as well as the public, 

 and whatever criticisms or remarks have been made in the 

 reports have reference to these salmon and to no other. 

 It is hardly to be supposed that any of the State Commission- 

 ers would intentionally misrepresent Mr. Stone. As one of 

 the commissioners 1 plead guilty to having quoted him, and to 

 have taken exceptions to some of his statements. I did it not 

 from personal feeling, but from a sincere desire to get at the 

 truth. I have taken a warm interest in the distribution of 

 these salmon, and felt, in common with many others, that if 

 Mr. Stone's views were correct it was a serious objection to 

 their introduction into our rivers. My authority for the 

 statements made in the Massachusetts Report is the United 

 States Commissioner's lieport, 1872-3, where in reply to a 

 question by Prof. Baird Mr. Stone says-. " Their eyes get 

 more or less injured; they of ten become blind; swarms of 

 parasites gather in their gills and stick to their fins; their 

 bodies reach the extreme point of attenuation, and as soon as 

 the spawning is accomplished they die." Page 191, question 

 44; Ans. "It is certain, however, that the salmon of the 

 MeUloud and Little Sacramento do not spawn but once in 

 those rivers, for they all die after spawning." Ques. 45: 

 Ans. " Whatever the" effect of the spawning may be, it is cer- 

 tain, however, that the salmon of the McCloud and Little 

 Sacramento do not spawn but once in those rivers, for they 

 all die after spawning." Ques. 45; Ans. " Whatever the 

 effect of the spawning may be it is certain that the spawning 

 fish die as soon as it is over." Again, 192, Ques. (51, Prof. 

 Baird asks, " 1)0 the parent fish, either or both, watch over 

 the young after they are hatched?" Ans. by Stone, "The 

 parents are dead long before the young are hatched." Some 

 doubts having been expressed as to the correctness of these 

 statements iu Prof. Baird's Report for 1873-4-5, page 446, Mr. 

 Stone dovotesmore than half the page to prove that he was 

 right. 



In the spring of 1878 you published in your paper a very 

 able and exhaustive article written by B. B. Redding, Com- 

 missioner for California, furnished to you by Prof. Baird, the 

 aim of which was to prove that Mr. Stone was mistaken iu 

 making these statements. He says, "I am certain that Mr. 

 Stone is in error in reporting that California salmon die after 

 having spawned." 



And now, Mr. Editor, iu view of the above facts the edi- 

 torial remarks accompanying Mr. Stone's card must be a sur- 

 prise to your readers. E. A. Brack ett. 



Commissioner of Inland Fisheries. 



Ah Excellent Appointment.— It affords us much grati- 

 m to record the appointment of Mr. Eugene G. Black- 

 ford, of this city, as a fourth member of the New York State 

 Fish Commission. Mr. Blackford's active interest in fish 

 culture has made him well known to our readers, and they 

 will join us in the opinion that his selection for the position 

 to which he has been appointed is in many ways most happy. 

 His Btand in Fulton Market has long been recognized by fish- 

 ermen as the depot for all marine discoveries j and from here 

 the Smithsonian Institution has been enriched with numerous 

 valuable icbthyological specimens. While Mr. Blackford's 

 location on the sea shore affords a rare opportunity for work 

 in both salt and fr.sh waters, the counties of Kings. Queen 

 and Suffolk, or those comprising Long Island, will lie under 

 his immediate supervision, and here it is proposed to erect 

 a State hatching-house. We shall look for a new impetus to 

 fish culture, and presage valuable results to the fishing in- 

 dustry from this addition to the State fish cultural corps. 



al 



New York.— Delaware Cminty Notes.— Mi. John Griffin, 



ias " Ancient California," of Hobart, in this county, a man 



of wealth, taste and a genuine sportsman, has put 30,000 



young trout into the streams in his vicinity I hia spring. 



John Bennett, Esb.., has put 30.000 young fry, also from'Seth 

 Green's hatchery, into the streams near Stamford, all falling 

 into the west branch of the Delaware. The latter 

 has the finest private trout ponds in this section, with 4,000 

 or 6,000 trout in them, averaging from three-fourths of a 

 pound downward to one-fourth. .Mr. Bennett, before here- 



' business, ki pt the besl drug store eve 

 this vicinity. On- 



nally hailed from the Emerald Isle, and whose pi 

 whisky was noted and brought, her into many a row, came 

 into the store. She had a most forlorn look, a pair of black 



eyes, a swollen nose and other proofs that she and her " Old 

 Man " had been having a set-to. " Mister Bennett, surrl" 

 she cried, "have you ever a cure for the headache. Sure 

 I've one that's jist killin' me entirely." John looked wise— a 

 way he has — took down a two-gallon jar of double concen- 

 trated spirits of ammonia, fie shook it up well, uncorked it, 

 and told the old beldame to " smell of that I" She took one 

 fearful sniff, it choked her all up, and with one horrible gasp- 

 ing yell she fell flat on her back on the floor. There she lay 

 a' few seconds, then she scrambled to her feet and rushed for 

 the door. She never crossed Bennett's threshold again. The 

 Doctor is the best man we have in this town in all good works, 

 and there is no humbug about him. He takes the Forest 

 and Stream too, and I expect an overhauling for saying as 



much as I have, but I'm tough and cau stand it A fishing 



party of tight is making up for the Beaverkill next week, and 

 you shall hear from them — offwhatfy. N. B. 



vi Tennessee— Nashville, May 22.— We have bad rain in the 

 last two weeks, which has put the different streams about 

 here in excellent condition, and some good takes have been 

 made. It is refreshing to know that the partial protection 

 laws passed by the last Legislature are going to be enforced. 

 A number of persons will be indicted to-day for seining Mill 

 Creek within the last two days, and it is thought they will be 

 made examples of by fining them $100 each — the full extent 

 of the law. This is as it should be. Men who are selfish 

 enough to destroy the pleasure of hundreds to gratify their 

 own greed should be made suffer. Professor Spencer F. 

 Baird wrote to Col. Akens, the Fish Commissioner here, that 

 it was too late this season, but the coming one he would see 

 to the establishment of the proposed hatching-houses in Mid- 

 dle Tennessee or North Alabama. Shad have not made their 

 appearance this season in any numbers, although I was told 

 by a gentleman the other day that while fishing in the Cum- 

 berland River with hook and line he took a fine one. Judge 

 Ferriss has a pond near this city, in which he has a large num- 

 ber of bass and perch raised from fry taken in some of the 

 streams about here. He say3 they are increasing, and is 

 hopeful that his venture will prove a success. J. D. H. 



Wisconsin — Madison, May 17 — Editor Forest and Stream : 

 the following report will show that there has been consider- 

 able work done at the State Fish Hatchery near this city ; in 

 fact, more fish have been hatched and distributed since the 

 first hatch in 1876-77 than by any other State Commission. 

 Cheering reports are frequently received of the successful 

 planting and good results attained by the distribution from 

 this hatchery. Mackinaw and speckled trout of the first dis- 

 tribution have been especially successful. The whitefish 

 planted on the shores of Lake "Michigan have done remarka- 

 bly well, millions appearing upon the spawning-beds of these 

 shores. A large breeding-pond lias been finished at the 

 hatchery, capable of keeping 300,000 trout. There has been 

 hatched and distributed the past spring 10,000,000 Bake 

 Michigan whitefish. In the inland lakes there have been 

 planted some 4.000,000 Mackinaw trout. Nearly 500,000 

 Lake Mendota whitefish have been distributed in the larger 

 lakes of Eastern Wisconsin. The demand for this fish is 

 very large. There are now 50,000 Mackinaw trout at the 

 hatchery for distribution to private parties for breeders. 



Rovbr. 



A LIST OF BIRDS TAKEN IN SOUTHERN 



WYOMING. 



By S. W. Wim-iston. 



[Witt Supplementary Notes by the Natural History Editor.] 



(Continued.) 



[17. Pyranga ludovociana, Louisiana Tanager. — Quite abun- 

 dant in the Freeze Out Mountains, where it was often seen 

 feeding on the red raspberries with the robins, woodpeckers 

 and various finches. — G. B. G. j 



18. Birundo horreorum, Barn Swallow. — A very few were 

 seen May 0-8, but in a few days they had arrived in numbers, 

 together with the cliff swallows flying over the- marsh and 

 lake. In the progress of these birds westward over the Kan- 

 sas plains, I have frequently during May been surprised by 

 their appearance on the open unsettled prairies, many miles 

 from any human habitation, and continuing to follow the 

 team for hours, darting about in their graceful flights, seldom 

 a hundred yards from the wagon. In one instance a pair fol- 

 lowed me thus closely for twenty-five miles, but finally left 

 me at a cattle ranche, where several other pairs had already 

 taken up their residence. 



[19. Taoliycinela tkalamna, Violet-Green Swallow. — Very 

 abundant in the mountains, but rarely seen at Como, but one 

 specimen haviog been taken there. This specimen was shot 

 while hawking over the lake in company with M. horreorum 

 and P. lunifrom.—G. B. G. | 



20. Petrochelidan lunifrons, Cliff Swallow. — Abundant. 

 They made their appearance at about the same time as the 

 barn swallows, and for several weeks thousands were con- 

 stantly flying about the marsh. Among the chalk cliffs of 

 Kansas 1 have often been amazed at the assiduity these birds 

 show in building their nests. Always apparently choosing 

 their nesting sites near water, they would sometimes, before 

 their dwellings were completed, find the source from which 

 they drew their building material dried up, when they would 

 bravely seek more distant places, sometimes a mile or more 

 farther off. Many of the uests had little if any neck, so that 

 the young might often be seen from without. They would 

 rarely build within reach of hands, although the cliffs were 

 very low. I watched, near the middle of July, 1877, for 

 several hours with the greatest amusement, a colony of young 

 to fly. Perceiving an unwonted 

 among the older birds near a Canon of perhaps 

 twenty-five feci in depth, and suspecting the cause, I went 

 cautiously to the ba I down, and there beheld a 



perfect babel of bird commotion. Along the sandy bottom 



were hundreds of the young, chirping aud attempting their 

 feeble flights, while the restless parent birds overhead were 

 loudly twittering their encouragement. On the opposite bank 

 numerous timid fledglings sat chirping at the doors of their 

 homes, afraid to venture out, till at last, responding to the 

 eager tones of the encircling parents, some one would be en- 

 couraged to try his feeble wings, descending in safety to the 

 bottom of some neighboring crevice ; others, with more ten- 

 der pinions, would be injured in the fall. Each year the 

 birds, old and young, had wended their way southward 

 before the last week in July, and none were ever seen later. 



[21. Gotyle riparia, Bank Swallow. — Several times seen oyer 

 lake.— ©. B. G.J 



22. Myiade&tes townsendi, Townsend's Flycatching Thrush. 

 — Two specimens taken near Rock Creek, April 30 and May 3. 



[23. Vireo bellii, Bell's Vireo.— Quite abundant late in 

 August among the timber and low brush on streams flowing 

 out of the Freeze Out Mountains, where the writer took 

 specimens.— G. B. G.j 



24, Collurio ludovocianvs excubitoroides, White-Rumped 

 Shrike. — Abundant. First seen April 22. Almost any ob- 

 server is struck, both upon the plains and in the mountains, 

 by the fondness which this bird shows for the vicinity of the 

 railroad and telegraph wires, where so many perch in watch 

 for insects and small birds. A nest was found May 5, with 

 four fresh eggs, in thick brush. It was well made, and deeply 

 lined with hair, A week later I quietly watched within a 

 few feet of a nest while a female was sitting without much 

 fear at my proximity. A male, perched new by, would occa- 

 sionally burst forth in his not unpleasing notes, and as often, 

 another, also keeping watch over his sitting mate, would 

 pounce upon him, and a most vigorous battle would be the 

 result. These nests contained but two or three eggs, freshly 

 laid. June 13 another nest was seen with seven eggs, slightly 

 incubated. 



[25. Garpodacw cassinii, Cassin's Purple Finch. — Quite 

 abundant in the Medicine Bow Mountains, twenty miles 

 southwest of Como, where a number of specimens were taken. 

 — G. B. G.] 



[26. Chrywmitris pinus, Pine Linnet.— Abundant while 

 migrating, late in August in the Medicine Bow Mountains. — 

 G. B. G.] 



27. Passerculus savanna, Savanna Sparrow. — Quite abun- 

 dant about Como, and generally in the open country. 



28. Pooecetes gramineus confinu, Bay- Winged Sparrow. — 

 Abundant. Nests seen near foot of Como Ridge. 



29. Melospka melodia (var. jallaai), Not uncommon about 

 Como. 



30. Junco Jiyemalis, Snow Bird. — A single one taken Apri 

 32. 



81. J. oregonm, Oregon Snow Bird. — Somewhat abundant 

 as late as May 1. [A single nest of this species was found 

 August 16, high up on the Freeze Out Range. The writer's 

 attention was attracted by seeing one of these birds with an 

 insect in its mouth uttering cries of uneasiness at his presence. 

 After withdrawing to a little distance, the bird was seen to 

 disappear between two old logs, and then to 'come out again 

 witnout the food. A brief search showed the nest at the foot 

 of a little spruce not more than two feet high. The nest was 

 deeply sunk in the ground, and was quite a bulky structure. 

 Externally it was formed of coarse grass and weed stems, 

 and its lining, neatly arranged, was of finer grass. It con- 

 tained four young, about a week old. Both parents exhibited 

 great distress during the examination of the nest. — G. B. G.] 



32. J. cinereus caniceps. — One specimen from above snow 

 line on Elk Mountain, June 15. 



33. Spiaella pallida, Clay-colored Sparrow. — First seen May 

 12, and afterward constantly observed sitting upon the sage 

 bushes trilling their monotonous notes. 



34. Zonotricliia leucophrys Gambelli, Gambell's Sparrow. — 

 A pair were taken May 2 flying about the brush on Rock 

 Creek. During the following week three or four more were 

 seen, and by the middle of the month they had become very 

 abundant among the sage brush on the sides of the hill, rarely 

 going on to the lower ground. [Abundant in August in the 

 neighboring mountains.] 



35. Ca.lomos.piza bicolor. Lark Bunting.— A single pair were 

 observed near the station May 5, and a week afterward large 

 flocks were common. [Not a single individual in the many 

 large flocks seen in the early part of September wore the dark 

 dress of the spring male.] 



[36. Pvpilo cklorunu, Green-Tailed Finch.— This species 

 was not very common about Como, although a few speeimens 

 were taken on the Ridge back of the station in September. 

 In the mountains, however, as well as along the wooded 

 streams which flow from them, these birds were extremely 

 numerous in August, and no doubt had bred there. Several 

 specimens among those taken by the writer had apparently 

 but just left the nest.— G. B G.] 



37. Dolichonyx oryzivorus, Bobolink. — A single specimen 

 seen near the marsh May 20. 



38. Moloikrua peeofia, Cow Bird. — A pair first seen among 

 the numerous Brewer's black birds, May 12, but I did not 

 find them at all common afterwards. 



Notwithstanding the bad repute which these birds have for 

 thrusting their parental duties off upon others, I have always 

 held them in the highest favor, as indeed any one must who 

 has spent much time upon the dreary plains. Often in the 

 summer when the scorched and withered prairies pre 

 not a single object to relieve the weary monotony, their pro- 

 found stillness unbroken by the Faintest sound, one of these 

 birds would quietly make its appearance, flying about the. 



