800 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jan- 17, 1884. 



hen scuttered screaming across the pool 1 was just about to 

 fish, and then from the rushes emerged my landing net, fol- 

 lowed by tbe head and shoulders of my 1'aithh-ss squire. 

 "Oi guessed O knowed where her was." triumph autly. 

 The young rascal had left my bag somewhere behind on 

 the bank, and had gone up to the, weir bridge above, and 

 then crept quietly down among the rushes on the other side, 

 .so that atthpugh actually only SOtna twenty yard., away, to 

 all intents ami purposes for which I had engaged him, he was 

 a mile off! 



"You small vagabond! What do you mean by carrying 

 my net off like that .' Bowam I to laud a fish?" 

 "You won't git no more, Oi'ni thinkin'." 

 "And you Won't git no lunch, my young friend, if you 

 don't come back as fast as your legs will cam' you!" 



This had the desired effect, •'ind the curly-headed young- 

 ster, with the ends of his torn corduroy breeches and his rag- 

 ged little jacket flapping in the wind, was scattering off like 

 the bird he had Hushed" with such trice. 



"Stop! Now you ore there you had better go dowu to the 

 inn and fetch •some air, and bread and butter, and hard -boiled 

 eggs, and cheese, and don't forget the salt, or you'll have to 

 go"haok for it." 



With a vision of good things before hiiu I knew he would 

 be no longer absent than he could help: but even now he 

 had not got fur away before a quackingiu the rushes caught 

 his attention, and tin ning round tome hesbouted: "Them's 

 dab-chicks, them be!" But seeing 1 apparently did not heed 

 him he started off in good earnest, as it proved, -whistling 

 and Shouting at the colony of rooks liusyiu a ploughed field 

 above him. Laughing to myself at the happy young field 

 lark, I lit a pipe anil determined to try n dry fly, as the wind 

 bad dropped. 1 got a dace or two, and then,' in a bend of 

 the stream above me, but hidden from view by some bushes, 

 1 heard a most tremendous splash. "By George! that mast 

 lie that eight-pounder A. told me of chasing the small 

 fry; Til give hiui lime to settle down again and then bave a 

 go at him. 1 crawled through the long grass and nettles and 

 fished evert inch of the water— a deep, quiet, swirling pool, 

 just the haunt for the "lug one." For ten minutes t thrashed 

 away: never did I fish more carefully in my life. But it Was 

 of no avail, so 1 decided to give up 'fishing until after lunch, 

 and rest on the hank till my hoy came back. 



It is wonderful what inquisitive animals cows are. I had 

 several tunes during the moraine tried to frighten three or four 

 fine Aklerneys out of catehiug distance of my flies when they 

 came looking solemnly at my fishing, and now, as f recline 

 on the grass, 1 have them all* around me; gradually getting 

 courage, they came closer, until one— the most intelligent 

 cow 1 ever saw— came and rubbed her nose against my fish- 

 ing stockings and peered iuto my creel. Presently, my boy 

 appeared on thescene, paotihg beneath bis load. 



"She's a knowiu' un, she is," pointing to the cow which 

 had been taking slock of me so closely; "she knows where 

 the best grass is, and they can't keep her out on it neither." 

 And. while! spread out the lunch, he gave me some inter- 

 esting sundry details about her history— how she was partial 

 onh to one particular milkmaid — how she led the other cows 

 into scrapes and got off herself, and sundry other tricks she 

 had. There she stood, watching us all the" time, sleek, and 

 fat, and pleasant smelling, but with a wicked look in her 

 eye. which plainly showed mischief. 

 ' How we did enjoy that lunch ! Crisp, crusty bread ; sweet, 

 rich butler: neiv-iaid eggs— washed down with a draught of 

 i-li -ir ale. which had cooled in the stream v, bile we waited for it. 

 "I wonder what I hey will take." I -aid to myself, aloud. 

 "Oi'd troy a worm, if Oi wer you." innocently suggested 

 my boy, with his mouth full. 



'"I've a good mind to try one of MaNec's pike-scale flies 

 lor a change. Where is my bagv" 



"Bag? whoy, Oi left if there by that auld stump afore 1 

 went to look for that moorhen," 



'Well, you had heller go and find it. then." 

 fir looked everywhere in vain, and 1 helped him. 

 "Oi shouldn't wonder if that auld cow hadn't pushed un 

 in the river!" 



The remembrance of the big splash J had heard flashed 

 across my mind, and, going to the spot, sure enough, under 

 two feet of water was my black leather bag! To fish it out 

 with the landing-net was the work of a second or two. 



"Oi thought as much. She's a cunniu' un, she is. Oi 

 though! she'd pay yet out for runuin' at her this morning." 



"And don't you think 1 ought to pay you out lor running 

 away and getting all my tackle and fly-book soaked through 

 in this way','" I asked, more in sorrow than in anger. 



"Who'd a thought that auldcow'da rolled un in the river V 

 Who, indeed? Why, nobody but that "old cow" herself, 

 Standing here, coolly 'looking on, Hicking the flies off with 

 her tail, and say iug'as plainly as possible — 



"Perhaps, that will teach you manners, young man." 

 I never look on that black bag without" thinking what a 

 rise that "auld cow" took out of me!— it. B. Miirstun, in 

 Ji'i.y/iini/ Ometlii. 



PISCATAQUIS SOCIETY. 



VT the third annual meeting of the Piscataquis Game and 

 Fish Protective Society, which was adjourned from 

 June last, was held at J, F.' Sprague's office in Monson, on 

 Thursday, Dec. 36, when the following officers were elected: 

 President, Dr. C. 0. flail, Monson. Vice-Presidents— Dana 

 Crockett, Monson; J. B. Mathews, Portland. Secretary — 

 E R. Haynes, Mouson. Treasurer— F. J. Wilkins, Monson. 

 Counsel — J. F. Sprague, Monson, Executive Committee — 

 J. F. Sprague, A. W. Chapin, E. R. Haynes, Monson. Di- 

 rectors— S. S. Cole, C. M. Coombs, A. J, Cushman, J. C. 

 Tripp, Dr. W". L. Sampson, Monson; O. A. Denncn. Ml. 

 Kiueo; A. P. Buck, Foxcroi'f ; G. A. Mathews, G. S. Gush- 

 ing, F, B. Shedd, Lowell, Mass. ; Bon. W. H, Osborne, 

 Bridgewjier, Mass. Honorary member for 1883, George F. 

 Godfrey, Esq. , of Bangor. 



Tie- executive committee reported that during the year 

 they bad purchased 50,000 trout fry (Milmofoitii>7idis) of the 

 Mi.Kineo Hatching Works, and planted them in Lake He- 

 bron, in Mouson, the expenses of which are hereunto an- 

 nexed. 



By the report of J. F. Sprague, Esq., counsel for the so- 

 ciety, it appeared that three cases against poachers had 

 been prosecuted by the society dining the past year. n ' 

 of them were successful, but us they Weiv tried prior 

 law of 188a relating to the disposal of 



whole stands in the attitude of a public prosecutor, and in 

 the performance of our duties we should exercise wisdom, 

 discretion and courage. No man should he prosecuted 

 simply because he is unpopular in a community, neither 

 should a person who is morally and legally guilty oi a vio- 

 lation of the fish and game laws escape, because he at the 

 moment chances to he the favorite of a fickle populace, or 

 because he may possess the wealth of a C 



the propaga 

 by Mr. Fran 



experience in this work, ar 

 of white-fish and then- egg: 

 to spawn-takers Mr. Clark 

 Bah., i >\. those yielding th 

 hand on the anterior of 

 those from which the eggs 

 of any female when moi 

 e spotted or milk 



■ wding 



folio 



the t 



in conclusion alhsw me to congratulate all who are co-labor- 

 ers in this important work upon the fact that a change in 

 public sentiment is apparent which is as wonderful as if is 

 welcome. Many of our citizens who a few ye I rs ftg i 

 in the slide but well-known chorus thai, these laws 'were 

 only for the benefit of the city sportsmen and detrimental to 

 the interests of thepoor moil, are now among our stauuehest 

 friends and supporters; for all who give the subject an in- 

 telligent and unprejudiced consideration perceive at once 

 that among the great multitude iu our eouutry, ami especi- 

 ally in Western Piscataquis who annually derive profit 

 from the various kinds of business' that, depend 

 upon the 'visiting sportsmen,' none are more 



directly benefitted than are the 'hewers of , Anion. The "mampufat- 

 wood, the drawers of water' and the tillers of the soil. As a ping process, but the fi 

 love for the 'gentle art' increases among the people the law stripped, the pro 

 lessuess and the disposition to poach upon our waters neces- 

 sarily decreases in the same ratio. In this immediate vicin- 

 ity and also around M. H. Lake 1 believe that now the reck- 

 less and determined poacher of either our fish or game is a 

 rare exception, whereas only a short time ago he repre- 

 sented the majority. All these are encouraging signs of the 

 times, and should stimulate us to renewed activity in the 

 cause in which we are engaged. And yet there is much work 

 to do in the future. We . must labor to bold the advantage 

 that we have gained. We must not lie idle, or for auy im- 

 aginary grievance 'sulk in our tents,' but press onward until 

 We have secured a public sentiment favorable to our cause 

 which shall be as invincible and as unwavering as n wall of 

 adamantine." 



Sebaoo Lake.— Portland, Me.— A recent note in the 

 Forest and Stream spoke of Sebago Lake as having 

 "again been stocked." The lake is a splendid sheet of water 

 some sixteen miles northwest from this city, of which it is 

 the source of water supply. Its waters are very pure, cold 

 and deep, and from them in years past many fine salmon 

 trout have been taken, some of them weighing from fifteen 

 to twenty pounds each. The spawning beds for these fish 

 are in Crooked River, which discharges its water into the 

 lake from the north. Until recently these beds have been 

 the resort of poachers from the surrounding country, who, 

 by the light of the torch, have speared and carried away 

 large numbers of them. Of late, however, the Fish Com- 

 missioners have turned their attention more particularly to 

 this locality, and have made it difficult for such fellows to 

 exercise their "hoggish" proclivities without detection. The 

 lake has not "again been slocked," nor has it ever been, ex- 

 cept in the natural way, to my knowledge. During the last 

 spring but few if any fish were taken from the lake, but as 

 a natural consequence, if the spawning beds can be pro- 

 tected, in a few years this will be excellent fishing ground. — 

 G. L. B. 



Hid continues throughout the summer. -An aiti- 

 artilicial propagation of fish, by J. P. J. Koltr, 

 irthe report, is Very Crude and reads like the pro- 

 ne who has not had much experience, but has been 



works on the subject. 



aluable report ou the operations connected with 



tion of whitetish at North ville., Michigan, is made 



k M. dork, Jri .■•:..: ■■!.. ..n bis had au extensive 



i tnipulator 



la his directions 



from ripe 



--ure of the 



ii' n. including, of course, 



. . . _ n; ire yield 



re then three or rive per cent, of her 



bite when taken; likewise throw 



ie all females bsaririg broken eggs. Do not try to force 



an the eggs from each female manipulated, but only those 



which can be extruded bv a gentle pressure or stroking of flic 



abdomen, each stroke ooinrneiieing just, forward of the p™ 1 - 



toral fins and extending toward the Ventricle, releasing the 



grasp about midway between these two points. Tina will, 



however, expel nearly all the eggs if the fish is in proper con- 



bv dropping 

 the eggs wit 

 quire less pi 

 not ba held 



it stri 

 dowi 



-water before rtropp 

 sometimes, as man; 

 not find their way' 

 atedto a certain 

 position, when tin 



dri 



Oir 



m of 



iide." 



hit fron 



if the 



uiale is a pinching or strip- 



ale si 



ould be neither pinched or 



OCr-iVi 



ion consisting of a slow. 



iV'-rn. 



nt upward and forward 



.idaol 



i. - resell to the natural 



■ 



t of the female as near the 





ssel as possible, as the eggs 





t taken and may t 





n angle of about -fa degrees; 





e toward the orifaee and re- 





The males, however, should 





nany instances the vital thud 





em. but cling to the fish and 





til. mixing with slime and 





te entire yield of the male 





drops, which tnav 





if all This loss can be. obvi- 





iing the male in a horizontal 





•h titillation will tisuallv be 





f the first or any subsequent 





is streaked with blood, east 



per gi 



ves carefully prepared tallies 



Htotes Sf 



Imon-hatch 





nia, and 



also on the 



1 r, 



of the distribution 



if 



capture 



-if fish, etc.. 



di- 



trout, 8. 



iridea, are 



al 



there is < 



a-eat vaiiat 



,-,r 



."i-l degre 



-sthev hat 



•n 



arcprob 



■blv upwai 



d o 



eat five t 



imes their ' 





Bepor 



s on the pr 



>pa 



salmon s 



re made by 



M 



Suits of I 



ome expert 



D( 



proof packing for the 



Michigan. — Cedar Springs. — One thing we do have here 

 fully up to the average, and that is good fishing. Within 

 ten miles of here there are more than twenty-five lakes, most 

 of them affording bass fishing, and quite a number are well 

 stocked with pickerel. If the man that is fond of sunlish 

 fishing will come and see me, I will take him to a lake where 

 I will warant him as long a string as he cares to catch; if he 

 don't cry enough, he will be the first one that has tried it. 

 Several of our small streams near here were stocked with 

 brook trout three years ago and we expect next spring to 

 "drop them a line;"'if they receive it all right will let, you 

 know. German carp have also been pul in two small hikes, 

 Pine and Streeter, but do not know with what success. Dr. 

 Ford, an enthusiastic fisherman here, deserves the thanks of 

 us all for his zeal and interest in restocking our streams and 

 lakes.— W. 



BnoME Lake.— Knowlton. Quebec— A club lias been 

 formed to secure the protection of the fishing in this beauti- 

 ful sheet of water. The lake is only sixty miles from Mon- 

 treal, and has some big bass. Last summer three bass were 

 caught, in its waters which weighed respectively fi, 6} and 

 7} pounds.— Fair Frs. 



translated from i b semi 

 languages, and illustrated witl 

 both oyster and mussel culture, 

 of patents issued in the Un 



lsp.i-sli, relating to fish and the 

 eations'of the fisheries. 



Twi 



<$isJfcuUum 



REPORT OF THE FISH COMMISSIONER. 



PART VIII., Report of the Commissioner of Fish and 

 Fisheries of the United States for 1880 has lately beer - 

 sued. It is a bulky volume, like most, of its predecessors, < 

 taming 1.080 octavo pages. Among many noteworthy fea- 

 - moment ; The produ, 



3 of OieMcCloud River 



six days. In the pond there 

 of live trout and they will 



the Penobscot and Schuodie 

 14. Atkins, who gives the re- 

 determine the best frost- 



d distribution of shad is fol- 

 ,-on dem Borne's pamphlet, 



!s;ni.-u lis lor m.';lin, : ponds 



flie volume closes with a list 

 athods, products and appli- 



THE AMERICAN FISHCULTURAL ASSOCIATION. 



MEETING of the executive committee of the Association 

 was held at Blackford's Biological Lahroloiy, Fulton 

 Market, ou Mondav, the 

 Pliilbps and Mather were 

 - ide the time and plan 

 ■ting was called to oi 

 following letter was read 



1-lth. Messrs. rienkard, Blackford, 

 •etmg was held to 

 tal meeting. The 



-Beuka.i d, and the 



of tire 



Thei 



Was 



Dear Mb. Mather— Doi 

 time and place of the next 1 

 Society; I bave been talkiti 

 Baird "and Goode, and I a 

 everything will be done to i 

 able "meeting- I will tie ah 



I). 



, Dei 



, is 



'trie the 



lnual meeting of the KsheultUTal 



>-the matter over with Professors 

 u sure if Washington is fixed on 

 ,,',- ii i !..-■ ,'■■,' , ■ -hi niemui-- 

 e to command the. Fish Hawk for 

 fishing shores on the Potomac. Hatching 

 operations on a vast scale will be in operation atCei ■ al Btjs 

 tion. and in every direction there will !>,-■, i-l - ,.: 

 andinstruet. Congress being in session. Stale, i ■•i.u.i.^-e >uri = 

 will be brought in contact with representatives from their 

 own States. Considering everything. 1 believe we ca.n gather 

 here a larger representative body than can be drawn together 

 anywhere else. So I vote for Washington some rime in May, 

 anil f think von will too. Yours, truly. M. McDoxald. 



The president asked the opinion of those present regarding 

 holding the next meeting hi Waahmgt 

 that it be held there. Before putting t 



nothing inured to this society , Tlieolici c« 



a taxidermist, who was acquitted in ihe Supreme 



gh the 



presented in 



, Col. Peaks. 



Court al 



able nian- 



, altli 



icj bv the County Attoi _ 

 In i'n's report, Mr, Sprague said: 

 •And here permit me to suggest, that our society as a 



tures of the year the following 



tion and distribution of Germai 



bers; the construction of the hatching steamer Fish Hawk; 

 the introduction to the notice of American fishermen of the 

 gill net with glass ball floats for taking codfish on their winter 

 spawning ground; the obtaining of fishery statistics for the 

 Census Bureau ; the participation in the International Fisheries 

 Exhibition at Berlin; the use of the Fish Hawk in exploring 

 the Gulf Stream and its fauna, especially in connection with 

 the distribution of the. tile fish; the exploration of the fish- 

 eries of the Atlantic coast of the United States, of the great 

 lakes, of the Gulf of California and of the entire coast of 

 Western America from San Diego to Point Barrow in the 

 Arctic Ocean; the collecting of complete series of fishes of 

 file sea coast and lakes, especially of the Pacific, with dupli- 

 cates for distribution to museums and educational establish- 

 ments. These subjects are treated of at length. 



In Prof. Atw-ater's article on the chemical composition and 

 value of fish for food, he continues his account of the investi- 

 gations in which he has been engaged for some years past, and 

 in closing, he says, that the percentages of phosphorus in fish 

 are not larger than in the flesh of other animals used for Boon, 

 and even if more of it was contained in fish there is no evi- 

 dence that it would be better brain food. Prof. Goode has 

 added much to his materials for a history of the swordfish, us 

 he modestly calls the valuable contribution to the fife-history 

 of this fish; since a portion of it appeared hi our oolumns, and 

 several pat- he article. Mr. K- E, Earle has an 



, r irtiele on the natural history and artificial propa- 

 gation of the Spanish mackerel, which he was the first to I be 

 hatch The temperature of the v. at,.-r seems to have a decided | sb 

 effect upon the spawning time of this fish, and the ovaries do , lake l„ 

 uot develop very rapid!}' until the water i caches upward of Nets J ._ 

 72 degrees. While in the Carohnas this fish spawns m April, sizes ol 

 the season on Long Island begins by the 80th of August and It was 

 continues through September. In the Chesapeake a few ripe I hshmg 



asked if the offii 

 this question woidd come u 

 notified them and that son 

 mail. On a vote it was to 

 ford. Goode, Hudson, Mall 

 ingtoti. Mr. -Aniim voted 

 hacl expressed no opinion. 



In regard to the date, M 

 Prof. Baird, Col. McDonald, 



Phillips moved 

 otion the president 



U-, .'ia-ion had been notified that 

 \i,- ii„»:.t re plied that he had 

 ,:.;,,-,,! ; heir opinions by 

 .:,,, ,:,.,-'?.; ,.--iv. Denkard, Black- 

 er and McDonald voted tor Wash- 

 tor Fulton Market, and the others 

 ft was declared earned. 



Mather moved that it be left to 

 dProf, Goode. Mr. Blackford 



amended this by suggesting that the meeting be held on Tues- 

 day and Wednesday of some week to be fixed by the gentle- 

 men named. Carried. Messrs. Phillips and Mather were ap- 

 pointed a committee to request papers to be read at the meet- 

 ing. Adjourned. 



MEETING OF FISH COMMISSIONERS. 



IT.TE have a report entitled "Proceedings ol the Inter-State 

 VV Fish Commission, at Detroit, Mich.. Oct. Ii and is, 

 18US." This meeting had been called by the Michigan Co m- 



. B.F 



mission, and was attended by Messrs. D 

 Nevin. of Wisconsin; Messrs. Bond, Ii 

 Ohio; Mr. F. N. Clark, of the 

 of Minnesota, and Messrs. Part 

 Whifaker, of Michigan. Hon. 

 president, and Mr. H. Wli' 



fMk 



,g, Autisdel and 

 well and Douglass, "f 

 C. ; Dr. Ti. O, Sweeny, 

 ogg, Bisscll. Chase and 

 Dunning was elected 

 :y. Mr. Otto Kirehner, 



ligan had d'-'iVled'that 

 iid iurisdicli.in on the 



of de- 



otions 



Th 



;ed betV 



13 



were adopted: No seines should 



o'clock Saturday night and 1 o.iock Monday morning, 



and all seine fishing under the ice should he prohibited. 



Trap and pound oetSshOBld not I 'C over eighty rods of lead, nor 



, ourcribs in a string. No nets to -extend 



out from headland to headland, nor 



,.-.,, ; i, a v oust points or headlands in the 



,-,,. other oof, than nets set oil' headlands. 



he =ei , o iwtiing grounds The 



n and trill nets was left witl 



"Sirable that a lieeuse be laid on nets used in 



ifferenl lakes, and this license shall be i' 



