D© - 87, 1 0S8. 1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



439 



hu and Eiter 



FLORIDA FISHING. 



ON several occasions 1 have referred to the fishing uu the 

 i SI. John's River, near Muyport, aud as evidence 

 thai I did udl exaggerate! will favor your renders with a few 

 recent scores al this point. Last week, James Arno, a pro- 

 mt] fisherman, Willi an ordinary Japan cane pole and 

 line, cuuclit Otl one day 180 strings of channel bass and sea 

 frcuf snd Ihi next day 109 strings A string m this mar- 

 ket consists of one or more fish weighing about five pounds. 



1 noticed in this morning's paper that my friend, Col. 

 Hart, had made a successful catch with an eight-ounce split 

 bamboo trout rod, To insure t&e correctness Of the state- 

 ment, 1 sent him ti note and received the following reply: 



■■I). ,n- ])<>,■!„,■: On Monday last, the 10th inst., near the 

 mouth rf the St. John's River, I look, with an eight-ounce 

 Split battboo trout rod mid Kentucky reel, 321 trout aud 

 channel bass— there (?©re 27? trout, and 44 bass— the la Iter 

 were from S to 9 pounds: 1 of 9 pounds, 2 of 7 pounds, 2 of 

 BJ [JOUUdSj and the balance averaged 3£ pounds. The trout 

 wercexceptionably line: the two iargest weighing 3A pounds 

 eUC-b. Sin trout ."fishing in the lower St. John's cannot be 

 equalled iu the world, [f the above score can be beaten 

 anywhere north of Florida I should like to see it. Tours, 

 fraternally, J. E. IIabt." 



The sea I rout of the lower St. John's are closely allied to 

 l lie wen I; fish of the North, and weigh from one to four 



i Is, The Colonel made his catch with shrimp. These 



fish will lake a minnow, and my impression is that they will 

 furnish a fine field for the fly-fisherman. • Ai. Fresco. 



Jacksonville, Ha., Dee. 15, 1883. 



TROUTING IN NEW BRUNSWICK. 



IT v. as the good fortune of the writer to spend the summer 

 of 'St at Oak Point, situated on that most, picturesque of 

 New Brunswick rivers, the fit, John. 



Fine sport f had with my rod among the many beautiful 

 trout lakes and brooks of that vicinity. I make iio pretense 

 of being a scientific angler, in any sense of the word. When 

 the try don't take, I do not scorn" to use a lively hopper. If 

 the truth were told, 1 believe that a good many men, that I 

 have mot on uiv fishing trips, with all their talk of blue dun 

 and i'i! ant., used worms after all. If not, why was it that 

 sundry urchins dug worms so assiduously for something or 

 somebody, and always a day or two before these men went 

 fishingl ' 



Back Irom Oak Point, some four miles by road, and 

 through the woods two good miles more, situated on the 

 ' "', lies Fish Lake, one 0£ the most beau 



summit of a lofty h: 

 tiful troui ponds I h 

 some thirty acres, i 

 fores! growth, that oi 

 within n J 



eeptiblo, and how the 

 The water is very dee. . 

 its surface one sees on 



ore. Neitl 

 in got there 



•ooi and ele; 

 ilioti 



This pond, covering 

 concealed by a thick 

 f its locality until he is 

 a inlel nor outlet, is per- 

 was a mystery to me. 

 !-, and far down beneath 



giant helmloclcs, that 



nto the lake fe 



some rude [September blast has swept into the lake to water- 

 soak And slot. The first time 1 visited this pond the water 

 -i run d at every oast to boil with fish, and using three flies, 

 I often landed as many fish. The kind of fly seemed to make 

 no difference, for 1 tried several changes with similar success. 



The trout are not large for lake, fish: but run from 4 to 1| 

 , i :. and are remarkably gamy and of fine flavor. 



One trip i hat 1 made to this favored spot, I shall never 

 forgCt, Willi a farmer's sou as companion, I started early 

 one morning for a good day's sport. Arrived at the lake we 

 embarked on our raft (none of the. lakes about Oak Point 

 have boats on them). On the tramp through the woods he 

 had provided himself with a stout birch pole, to this he vied 

 a. stout cord, and to the cord two large tiooks and a three 

 ounce sinker, worms was his bait. By this time horror had 

 seized me. "See me yank them out," said he; but I didn't 

 see them. Plop would go the pole, splash ker chunk would 

 go ihe sinker. Expostulation but served to nerve his arm 



i i-e energetic thrashing of the water. At noon, 1 having 



caught two sm 11 trout and my companion none, we made 

 nur\v;n can lo the road, where' my friend left me to return 

 to hi.s haying. His •folks" had done me many kind offices, 

 or 1 am afraid he would not have come out of those woods 

 alive. Though tired and still more disgusted, f made up my 

 mind to Jisli a stream called Flagler's Brook, that runs close 

 lo the road at this point, and empties the waters of Long 

 Lake into the St. John a short distance below the Point. I 

 had fished over the same ground with a fair amount of suo- 



tvvo weeks before; bill the of 

 the angler's soul, were so abtmda 

 not to do so again. How many l 

 anglers malteand break? i 

 plumped into the brook waisl d 



cold water over as quii 



Fifty yards or more down s 

 afforded' good concealment, a 

 into smooth water beyond, i S 

 How carefully I waded ti 

 prize! How glad 1 was wher 

 as my stand for casting wi 

 touch the water, when. Pre.' 

 hooked. Up stream and down the 



ub, those vexations that try 



rt that i made up my mind 



('solutions of this kind do 



had my rod iu trim, and 



iep (o have the agony of the 



possible. 



Iroam. where the alder bushes 

 id where a gentle riffle glided 

 n \v a large trout jump. 



e space between me and mv 

 the spot 1 had hastily selected 

 B reached! >lv Hies searcly 



cans do not prefer New Brunswick or Nova Scotia to the 

 Adirondacks, since the cost of living is much less and the 

 fishing as a rule much better. 



The expense, loo, ot the pleasant trip up the Maine coast, 

 is not greaterlliau of that into the Adirondacks. 



At a'ny rate ( f). V.) I mean to try it again next summer. 



THE ENGLISH AND AMERICAN TROUT. 



I SUPPOSE, from seeing the article under the heading of 

 "English aud American Trout." in Fokest axd Stream 

 issue of Dec. tj last, that we are at the eve of a somewhat 

 hotly contested warfare upon the relative merits of the trout 

 in England and America. 1 think that the opinions of those 

 who have not had ample opportunity for comparison, 

 would show but little iu favor of cither "cause, and therefore 

 we need the experience of those who have killed aud eaten 

 both kinds. 1 may here mention, as an apology for writing 

 myself, that after a residence of three years in the midst of 

 Scottish lochs and English streams. I have spent three suc- 

 cessive years at the Raugeley Lakes, fishingin the Kangeley. 

 the Kciinebago aud the Seven Ponds lakes, and think 1 have 

 some excuse for intruding my opinion upon your readers. 



Well, what is my opinion? you will ask. Perhaps, my 

 answer may lie disappointing to many, who expect a decision 

 against one or the other tish. but I must truly say, that I 

 think each country can boast of a trout iu noway inferior to 

 that of the other. I have found the English trout a king 

 among the game fish, a splendid fighter, a wily foe, requir- 

 ing a master hand to throw the fly, aud a master hand to 

 bring him to land when once hooked, and if you had told 

 me, when I was whipping English streams, that there 

 existed iu American waters a fish iu any way superior, I 

 would not have contradicted you, as I had then killed no 

 A.mcrian trout, bft* 1 would 'have taken the liberty of in- 

 wardly doubting your statement. On the other hand, no 

 one could have made me believe, when later I was casting 

 the red ibis, the brown hackle, the Montreal and so many 

 other inhabitants of ray fly-book upon the rippling surface of 

 one of the Seven Pond's, paddled about by a splendid sampf 

 of thc.se champion swearers, a Maine guide, that T ever had 

 killed gamier, Stronger, more voracious or better fasting fish 

 in the waters of old' England. Now, there are differences 

 arising from the peculiarities and idyosincracies of "both 

 countries. 



English trout as a rule are pretty scarce even iu the best 

 ■dream.-, when compared to ours; a" basket of a dozen good- 

 sized trout anywhere, in Scotland and England is a very fair 

 one; the. fish "are constantly . during the open season, fished 

 for; they are very easily frightened; they otten think about 

 it several times before taking the alluring fly. or the tempt- 

 ing worm, and make the most strenuous efforts to escape 

 when once, hooked. Therefore, if the average British sports- 

 man was to come to some such waters as those of our Maine 

 and New T Hampshire, and even Massachusetts strea 

 crowded with I lie spotted tigers, and see, as I have often 

 seen, a half a dozen fish leaping at the same fly; if this 

 sportsman found that he could fill his basket in less than 

 half the time here that he took to do the same abroad, he 

 might think our tish was more stupid a great deal, easier to 

 hook and kill, and decidedly a less worthy match for his 

 skill than the English trout. In the same way one of our 

 ••bug-ehiiekers" might go abroad, aud after exercising his 

 skill all day, if he landed a dozen small trout, and was com- 

 plimented "by his friends there upon his SUCCESS, he might 

 think that English trout fishing frequently meant a great 

 deal of hard work, and if such work has been successful, a 

 result of a few small tish, fine lighters for their size, but of 

 much too small a. stature to fight well, There are of course 

 many exceptions to all this, many poor baskets made 

 America, many a glorious haul in old England. 



As to the taste of English aud American trout, I think 

 they are equally perfect. 1 think that our trout are a little 

 richer in taste, but not quite so finely flavored as the Eng- 

 lish. I must say that I have enjoyed American trout better 

 than those abroad, but for a good reason, they have always 

 been associated in this country with the glowing camp-fire, 

 the bed of fir boughs, the maiiy tales narrated at, night, the 

 magnificent scenery, and the 'wilderness of our Northern 

 lakes and streams. 



In conclusion. I would say, Let us, by rigid adherence to 

 our fish laws, protect our American trout. They cannot be 

 improved in our waters. Let. us frown upon those who send 

 in their reports of hundreds of fish killed in a day for count, 

 and let the excellent work of American fishculture goon, 

 aided by the good will of every one of our trout fishermen. 



On the other hand, the English ought, to pay more atten- 

 tion to fishculture, forbid the killing of small-sized fish, 

 make the season shorter, and on their side they would have 

 no need of importing other breeds, but would soon have a 

 fair supply of fish without superiors, but with worthy 

 equals here in America, O. V. S. 



New York. 



Said in your f"k mi Ujs '•Flitkirinys." Bee pope 4o.S. 



Iht Mmnel 



^in}\cttltnn. 



uties 

 . but it i 



>e, and 

 l the same 



i ,m oon flopping in my creel. So I keep on 

 spot for an hour and a quarter, at the expiration of which 

 timi tout have fallen prey to my skill, or blind luck, or 

 M haiever you may call if. Two days later 1 turn up at day- 

 lie iu in the same 'place, and before noon return well laden 

 with forty-two more. 



All these fish weighed from hair to three-quarters of a 

 pound, and three of them lacked but half an ounce of weighing 



ful i id Land were remarkably fat and clean flavored. 



1 thought then and still think, that it was a school making 

 iis way to the lake that i fell in with. 



Morgan Lake, Deer Lake, Island Lake and many others 



, ai to il" Point, atl'ord good sport. McKael Lake, a 



heautiful sheet of water two miles in length and twoorthree 

 hundred yards in width, is alive with small trounhat the old 

 Settlors iu thai region say never grow any Larger. Whether 

 this be line or not I cannot say, But this i know, that among 

 the fourteen dozeu my cousin and I caught in one day's fish- 

 ing, there was scaiee'ly the variation of an ounce. These 

 U'oi'it are vn red of belly and lin. aud will average four to 

 the pound. 1 might mention some other lakes and brooks, 

 tell ol the beaut v of the woods and hills and of the hospi- 

 tality of the inhabitants of this delightful region, but space 

 forbids. 



oUl'Ce ol wonder to me, however, llial mole Amen 



MR. WIH'JVHKR RETIRES. -Mr. \\ r . F. Whitcher, Ui 

 aissioner of Fisheries of Canada, has been obliged, by ill- 

 lealth, to retire from the service. Rheumatic difficulties 

 vill cause him to seek a milder climate than Canada this 

 vinter. where be can still follow these sports with rod and gun 

 vhieii he is de\ oted to, and in pursuit of which he contracted 



his mated y by iaatte 



ntion to those tbmgs which s 



eeru trifling 



at the time. But are 



aid up in the system to wor 



W humanity 



in after years, such f 



s exposure to wet and sleepi 



rig on damp 



ground. We regret 



the retirement of Mr. Win 



tcher at this 



time, for be was val 



autlv fighting abuses in his 



department, 



and he has perl'orn 



ed his duties faithfully' ant 



1 oonscienci- 



ouslv. His pen ha 





and in his 



winter sojouinings we hope to hear trom in i again. 



SCOTCH FISHERIES.— The objects of the Scotch Fisheries 

 Improvement are: I. Amendment of the laws relating to Sai- 

 nton, trout, etc., in the fresh waters: :.'. promoting the forma- 

 tion of district boards in the fishing districts where they do 

 not already exist: 3, the extension of the functions of the 

 Scotch salmon Commissioners; 4. the encouragement of fish- 

 culture; 5. prevention or curing of y„ Mar i -n- i r;\ crs. streams 

 andlakes. The reports .if Mi\ \ouug. oonimisioner of n.-h- 

 eries for Scotland, aud Prof. Huxley, commissioner of fisheries 

 for England and Wales, are. quoted from to show the. necessity 

 of action. The subject of the salmon disease -till attracts 

 great attention. A marine station for biological research has 

 been estublised at Edinburgh, a gentlemen having offered 

 £1,008 for founding it and government assistance is expected. 



uj the M "Ftickerim/a" idtiioh 10 »<-<• benlf See gage 4S3. 



FIXTURES. 



BRNCH SHOWS. 



Jan. «. K, 4.1S8J.— Meriden Poultry Association Bench Show. Meri- 

 den. Conn. .Joshua Sliufe. Secretary. Meriden. i v,nn, 



.Ian IB. IT, IK and 19.— St. John, New Brunswick. H. W. Wd.sn.i 

 St. John, N. B. . 



April— , 1881.— The Cleveland Bench Shuiv Association's Second 

 Bench Show. Charles Lincoln, Superintendent. C. IU. Murilml], Sec- 

 retary, Cleveland, Ohio. 



THE BEAGLE CLUB. 



I READ with pleasure the communication of Mr. Ash- 

 burner, in Forest and Stbeam of Dec. lo, and very 

 heartily indorse his views on the formation of a beagle club, 

 and the creation of a standard for the. too long negiectea little 

 hound. My own communication, in the same issue, seems to 

 be at one with his. But T do not like the name "American- 

 En glish Beagle Club," and hope that it may be changed, as 

 Forest asd STREAM suggests, to the simpler and more, 

 euphonious one, "The Beagle Club." Thiais comprehensive 

 enough and will look far better on our banner than the one 

 already used. Wo wish to start fair in every respect and a, 

 good name is an admirable acquisition and. in the chiles ease, 

 may be "better than great riches." 



At the late bench show, in Lo web. there were some fine 

 dogs of all classes exhibited, arid the. judges evidently did 

 their duty bv alliu a straightforward and unbiased manner, 

 and the same may be said of the superintendent. Bench 

 shows, however, held in conjunction with poultry shows, are 

 far from satisfactory iu mauy respects, though in provincial 

 towns the combination must perforce be suffered a little 

 longer. 



Herewith I send a partial list of lirst aud second prizes 

 awarded, and includes most oi! the sporting dogs. 



Is the Massachusetts Kennel Club to have a bench show in 

 Boston next spring? It is to be hoped so, and that it may be 

 the best one ever gathered in the State. The. interest in 

 thoroughbred dogs is increasing, and the bench shows, if con- 

 ducted aright, may he the means of educating the masses lo a. 

 better understanding and appreciation of the noblest of all 

 animals and the best friend of man— the dog. 



By all means let us have "blue blood" aud a true, standard 

 iu all classes, and let the. "curs" be confined to the bipedai 

 species who take an interest iu our dear, faithful friends. 



O. W. R. 



SALE OF FOX-TERRIERS. 



MESSRS. L. & W. Rutherfurd's second annual sale of fox- 

 terriers took place at the American Horse Exchange, 

 Broadwav and Fiftieth street, on the afternoon of Dec. 20. 

 Twenty-three lots were catalogued, of which Joker, at a re- 

 senc of SI00. was not sold, and one of the young puppies 

 having died the number sold was reduced to twenty-one, and 

 for these a grand total of $580 was obtained. Warren Wake- 

 ful went much above her value at slb'-.a". as did Warren 

 Jack at Si'.ii.at). both being leggy and light of bone. The 

 cheapest dog^old. considering quality, was the Nailer— Diana 

 puppv, who has an excellent head and grand legs and feet : 

 the same him-r al-o secured J auntv. the best of the bitches, 

 for s."0. The Brookenhurst. Joe puppies were not what we ex- 

 peetert to see. being very heavy in muzzle and rather cloddy. 

 The voung puppies sold verv well, the average for the ten 

 being Slo.. 10, three of them bringing S'J-J. s;.V, and Sol each; on 

 the other hand two went for *5 and $0 each. There is evi- 

 dently a market for well-bred dogs at auction, as the bidding 

 throughout, when once started, was brisk, and business was 

 meant by those present. Mr. \Vm. Easton. nuuiager of the 

 exchange, officiated as auctioneer. 



Warren .luck, liv Nailer— Fretful, whelped Sept. 2g8SJ, Mr. 

 Welch ' - 8WS.S0 



:•.:■! I".', ;■ : ,|-- 1 .1. :■■■■,.■;,, ■., Ip, , . - ",, Ci . \ ,.| .,. -I i , i, >■■ , .,,(»> 



lio S 1,1- N-inler-Tjiaoa. ivlielped Mac. 1SS3, T Dawson 38.00 



Dog, hv BroeKeiilun-sr Joe-Swae'sdowu. whelped .July, 18S3, 



J.Davis : 10.00 



Brother lo Hie foregoing. Win. Welting 30.00 



Brother lo Ihe foregom S , Mr. Peploiv.. 18.00 



Warren Wakeful, by Bi ockealnnst Joe-Heedless, whelped 



Sept. 1B93, Mr. Welch 102.W 



Jaunty, liv Joker— Toi-niem, wh-lped Sept. issl, T. Dawson., . 50.00 

 '"arren Blossom, lo Roved Flighty, whelped Aug. !SS:3, ti. 



Belmont '. il. W 



'arren Bessie, hv Bowstring— Viola, whelped slept. lSSg. O. 



Belmont. .. ..." ? 30.1X1 



'arreu Dais', . hv Jokei -Tussle, whelped March. IfKi. W. Wehh 5ti,00 

 Ten Puppies, nil by Joker and out of Wakeful, Blossom, 

 Bessie and Toruiei'u. whelped Sept, ISS.'g Mr. .Leonard $10, 

 Mr, Kinney .sin and .Sic, Mr. Miller J. II, Mr. Keller SIT and 

 $22, Mr, (dikes StU. Mr. Cmiru-ight $ii. Mr. liraml $5. Mr. 

 Dunniugsjat . ....... 1.31.00 



Total 



....$580.00 



SPANIELS AT LOUISVILLE. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Mr. J. Otis Fellows takes exception iu yotu- last issue to my 

 criticism of his two spaniels. Bonanza and Ruby, exhibited by 

 liim at the Louisville show. My remarks auent the dogs ih 

 question were as follows: "Horhell Bonanza is faulty iu head, 

 eve and coat, and is none too straight iu his legs, which are 

 much too long. Hornell Ruby won in the cocker class. Faults 

 —Plain face, bad ears, light in bone, and of poor color." 



Mr. Fellows first complains that I represented his "dogs" as 

 being in bad coat. Such is not the case; but I could not con- 

 sistently overlook the retriever coat of Bonanza. M r. Fellows 

 is in error in supposing that field work made Bonanza's coat 

 faulty, for two or three months' work in the brushes and 

 brier's "of Steuben county after woodcock and grouse'' would 

 have a strong tendency to pull some of the curls Out of Ids 

 coat and give, it a somewhat straighter appearanee. Mr. Fel- 

 lows does not chum that Bonanza is a field spaniel, but a true 

 cocker. In that case Mr. Fellows was not just itiod in receiv- 

 ing the second prize at Louisville in a class for field spaniels, 

 and he should forfeit the prize money. It is something new 

 to me to be told that because a dog is "verv round and cocker 

 like" his legs appear crooked. Many mastiffs, fox-terriers, 

 etc., have a very round appearance and vet are perfectly 

 straight on their' legs. I can assure Mr. Fellows also that a 

 dog seven aud a half inches from the ground can be leggy and 

 frequently is. All depends on what the lees have to support. 

 If Mr. F. "wiff give himself the trouble to look into Bonanza's 

 face he will find that the dog'.s eyes are faulty, which does 

 not necessarily mean that the eyes of a working Bpaniel should 



resemble those of the Kine Charles. 



It does not prove that because we breed for thu market" 

 that Ruby's color is not bad, neither is there any reason Wie- 

 the public should be mislead because the. "market" does uot 

 know- what a typical spaniel ought to be. True it is that Ruby 

 was placed oyer Benedii •. i-hc never beat him) on a certain 

 occasion, bur .Mr .\ : -. ■■..!.- ■-.-,, a- the gentleman who arrived 

 at that decision has refused henceforth and forever to judge 

 spaniels Mr. P. jeems equally blind to the tact that he him- 

 self told me at S.-w York that the decision was absurd. Mr. 

 F. is all at sea when he says that breeding for bone is all rot 

 and nonsense. A sporting dog must have good legs and feet, 

 without which he is "useless." Prizes have for years been 

 awarded to the blind, the lame and the halt, and tiie bandy- 

 legged cripple with his -play feet has been allowed to com- 

 pete successfully with the sportingdog proper. We are now 

 on the road to improvement : let us not turn back! The im- 



