FOREST AND STEEAM. 



tartis of the Kanawha, Big Sandy, and Tennessee, are 

 u ,i ^ ne waters for figh. The Holston and Clinch have long 

 been stocked with black bass— there called black perch— 

 l it their numbers of late years are reported not very large. 

 Thev are so voracious that they devour every living thing 

 within reach, and then devour themselves, or each other. 

 The tributaries of the Sandy also have black bass, and 

 abound in trout. New River has in its main stream little 

 hut catfish, but there are many fine stretches of deep wa- 

 ter which might be well suited to the land locked salmon 

 and the lake trout. But for anadromous fish, the Great 

 Falls of the Kanahwa constitute an insuperable barrier, 

 and even if they could be circumvented, the rapids of the 

 New River, where it passes through the mountains, pre- 

 sent for ten miles a succession of whirlpools and sharp 

 and jagged rocks, so destructive in character as to be a 

 perpetual and insuperable barrier to the ascent or descent 



of fish. 



Of the fish now existing in the wafers of Virginia, and 

 of others which it is proposed to introduce, the Commis- 

 missioners speak as follows :— 



THE ROCK OB STRIPED BASS 



is next to the herring and the shad, the most abundant 

 and valuable of our waters. The Chesapeake and its trib- 

 utaries are known to be its favorite resorts, but to what ex- 

 tent it ascends the James River appears to be uncertain. 

 It has been ascertained that the eggs of the striped bass 

 can be manipulated just as shad's are, and the discovery 

 will enable pisciculturists to multiply them greatly. No 

 gamer fish swims, if we except perhaps the salmon. 



CALIFORNIA SALMON. 



This anadromous fish, the Commissioners think, will be 

 found well adapkd to Southern streams having their sources 

 iu the mountains, from the fact of its ability to sustain 

 itself in water of a much higher temperature than can the 

 Atlantic coast salmon. The Sacramento fish occupy a 

 river which passes through one of the hottest portions of 

 the United States. These facts seem fully to justify the 

 expectation that this salmon will prove a success in Vir- 

 ginia waters, and be a great accession to the fish supply. 

 Thus persuaded, they have obtained from the United 

 States hatching establishment on the McCIoud, 340,000 

 eggs, which are now being hatched at Lexington and 

 Blackshurg, under the superintendence of the experienced 

 expert, Mr. Fred Mather. 



BLACK BASS. 



Some twelve or thirteen hundred of these fi3h have been 

 distributed in various streams east of the Blue Ridge, 

 enough in each stream to stock it, if not poached out be- 

 fore they have time to propagate. The black bass is very 

 nearly allied to the fish enoneously called the Southern 

 chub, but differs from it organically and in its habits. The 

 chub does not possess the gameness of the black bass, and 

 usually lies near a log or stump, and when struck attempts 

 to break away by aid of the log. 



BROOK TROUT. 



The streams on both sides of the Blue Ridge are admir- 

 ably adapted to trout, and once abounded in them, though 

 now, owing to the many diabolical devices employed for 

 their destruction, the trout are very scarce in most of 

 them. The same may be said of the streams emptying 

 into the Shenandoah from the North Mountain, the head- 

 waters of the James, and throughout the Alleghany range 

 and Southwest Virginia. Artificial culture and protection 

 could readily restore to all these streams an abundance un- 

 known in the earlier days. 



There are some other varieties which may be worthy of 

 a wider circulation. The red-eye, a fish not found north 

 of the tributaries of the Chowan, is said to be a fine pan 

 fish, and game, and grows to the weight of three pounds. 

 It is proposed to distribute these fish In all Virginia rivers 

 next Spring. The red-belly perch of the Nottoway (the 

 redbreast bream of the South) is also represented to be a 

 good fish, and may be found worthy of distribution. The 

 Commissioners also think it probable that the red bass of 

 Florida (red snappers) may be found to succeed in these 

 waters— a gamy fish and capital for the table. 



In some of the mill ponds of Charles City and New 

 Kent, fed by streams that flow through sandy districts and 

 are never roiled, a fish called by some the "bachelor," and 

 by others the "sand perch," was formerly, and may be 

 still found, a cross between the yellow-belly perch and the 

 silver; and the impression that they were a non-fertile hy- 

 brid was suggested by the fact, that even in the few ponds 

 where found, they were not abundant. It is regarded by 

 those who know it, as one of the best fresh water fish. 

 In shape it 13 nearly round. In biting, it nibbles like a 

 sucker, aud its favorite bait is the fresh water shrimp, 

 though it will take worms and small minnows. It is found 

 only in deep water with sandy bottom, and bites near the 

 bottom. If not an unproductive hybrid, it may merit at- 

 tention. The little white perch, which attends the shad 

 in its ascent, is also worthy of mention. Being a delicious 

 pan fish, it is a welcome visitor to every housekeeper, and 

 its advent diffuses general joy among the boyhood of all 

 tidal streams. In the deep waters of the James, the York, 

 Rappahannock and Potomac, they may be caught through- 

 out the Summer and Fall — sometimes quite a pound in 

 weight. During Winter they drop back to sea, though 

 some have continued in fresh/ water, and thereby suggest 

 that they may be content with it as a permanent abode. 



The report contains some suggestions as to fish ladders 

 and legislation which are welf considered, and doubtless 

 will meet with legislative attention. The present laws re- 

 lating to fish and game are severely criticised, aud the Com- 

 missioners state that they were assured wherever they went 

 jn the State by the gentlemen whom they met, that new 

 laws of this character would be welcomed by the people, 

 and clubs or associations would be formed in every neigh- 

 borhood to insure their enforcement. They are aware of 

 the popular aversion to all prohibitory game laws and of 

 die difficulty in enforcing them. There would seem to be 

 a strong propensity with civilized men, amounting almost 

 *o an imperious instinct, to kill everything wild. We have 

 reached that point that both self-interest and reason com- 

 bine to admonish us that if we continue to enjoy the prov- 

 mential bounties of streams and fields, we must restrain 

 that propensity, we must subdue that instinct. We must 

 practice forbearance. We must, during the breeding sea- 

 sons, protect fish and game from all attacks, and at all 

 tunes from wanton and wholesale destruction. This can be 

 effected by the voluntary individual and collective resolve 

 ot the whole community; or, in the absence of unanimous - 

 concurrence, by a stringent law to restrain the vicious and 

 aid those who would save something from the general and 

 impending wreck, it would be useless to enact a law 



which did not meet the approbation of the great mass of 

 the community. But, as already stated, from what they 

 saw and. heard in the country, there is a strong and decid- 

 ed feeling among the people to enforce a law, wisely 

 framed, to attain the ends desired. 



The report contains a voluminous and interesting appen- 

 dix, with statistics concerning the different rivers of the 

 State. Being a first report, there is naturally much con- 

 cerning the origin and progress of fish culture, which, 

 while new and particularly interesting to the people of the 

 State, has already appeared in these columns. We have 

 already alluded to the fact of fish culture having been in- 

 troduced into the State colleges and other institutions of 

 learning, and from the energy displayed by the Commis- 

 sioners in this, the first year of their efforts, it is evident 

 that Virginia intends to take and maintain a leading posi- 

 tion in this most valuable and interesting of State enter- 

 prises. With this slight resume of her Fish Commission- 

 ers' first Report goes forth our most earnest wishes for her 

 success, and an assurance that every movement made in 

 the good work will be most anxiously looked for and care- 

 fully reported. 



-**♦- 



DISTRIBUTION OF CALIFORNIA OVA. 



The following table shows the condition in which the 



California salmon eggs are reported to have arrived at their 



destinations: — 



Name of State. Number of egs,a. Condition. 



Massachusetts 80,001 Good. 



Connecticut 48C,000 Splendid; very few dead eggs. 



Rhode Island 340,000 Not good. 



New York 80.000 Not heard from. 



New Jersey 320,000 Apparently very nice. 



Pennsylvania 480,000. .Remarkable success; one per cent. lost. 



Maryland 560,000. .Beautiful condition; couldn't he better. 



Virginia 320,000 Fine order. 



Michigan 800,000 Very little loss; eggs superior. 



Illinois 80,000... Excellent; not over two per cent, loss, 



Wisconsin 80.00C Splendid order. 



Minnesota 400,000 Excellent; line condition. 



Iowa.... 300,000 Fine condition. 



Colorado 240,000 Good order. 



Utah 160.000 Two per cent. loss. 



Canada 80.000 Very good. 



New Zealand 50,000 Not heard from. 



Northville, Michigan, 



for the United States. 1,000,000 Good; four per cent. loss. 



Kern River, Cal 250,000 First rate. 



Truekee River, Cal . . . 250,000 First rate. 



The thermometer averaged 95° in the shade on the days 

 these eggs were packed. They were loaded into wagons 

 at noon, and were eleven hours on the road before reaching 

 a railway station, after which they were conveyed by rail 

 over three thousand miles. The only lot that arrived in 

 poor condition was the Rhode Island consignment, and 

 this is accounted for by their being three days on their 

 way from New Torii to Providence. The same thing 

 happened last year through the unaccountable and un- 

 pardonable negligence of the express agents between New 

 York city and Providence. After deducting losses for 

 transportation, it will be seen that about five million 

 (5,000,000) living young salmon reached the Atlantic States, 

 besides two million (2,000,000) which were successfully 

 hatched and placed in California waters, making a com- 

 plete total of seven million (7,000,000) salmon added to the 

 stock of salmon in American waters from the McCIoud 



fishery this year. 



-*-*«* 



—The Sag Harbor Express says that sometime ago G-. W. 

 Thompson, a returned Californian, purchased the old mill 

 pond and premises at Noanck and went into the business, 

 or increasing the business already begun, of raising trout. 

 Since then he has been busily at work, clearing up the 

 grove in the rear of the pond, digging out the springs, and 

 doing other work necessary for the purpose, until he has 

 got one of the prettiest little trout preserves to be found on 

 Long Island, and of that attractive nature that persons 

 from Sag Harbor visit it almost daily to look iuto the art 

 and mystery of trout culture. He has already some 20,- 

 000 fish of different sizes, and has thus far this season ta- 

 ken some 20,000 spawn, expecting to have from 150,000 to 

 200,000 daring the season. He now has occupied by fish, 

 or had whpn we were last there, nine boxes, 14 feet long, 

 with 10 inches fall to the 14 feet, and 65 feet of boxes in 

 different sections, for different sizes of fish; also a spawn- 

 ing box 12 feet long. He is also now building a reservoir 

 24 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 2 feet deep; an aqueduct 80 

 feet long, and a filtering tank which will hold 300 gallons. 

 He has also 4 rearing boxes, and is soon to have 16 or 20 

 more. 



2gf"State Fish Commissioners will oblige us by sending 

 their Annual Reports for review as soon as issued. 



[lliis Department is now under the eharge of a competent Naturalist, 

 indorsed by ike Smithsonian Institution, and will henceforth be made a 

 special feature oj this paper. All communications, notes, queries, re- 

 marks, and seasonal observations will receive careful attention.] 



THE NESTING OF AMERICAN BIRDS. 



j— the robin— {Turdus migratorius, Linnseus, Wilson, 

 Audubon, Baird, Coues.) 



THE robin is distributed in the breeding season over 

 the whole of the United States, except the extreme 

 South, and over the most of British America. Everywhere 

 it is one of the earliest birds to nest, and in the southern 

 part of its range raises two broods in a season. In the 

 Middle States the robins have paired by April loth, and 

 have begun to build before May 1st. 



The nest is a clumsy affair and familiar to all, but the 

 pains with which its walls are laid up, may not be- so fa- 

 miliar. My own impression has always been that both 

 birds work at it together, but the weight of evidence seems 

 to be that the female is the real architect. "She probably 

 considers him incapable of so great an undertaking," says 

 Mrs. Mary Treat, "as to assist in the construction of even 



a mud cabin. Nevertheless he is very watchful and solic- 

 itous while she is at work, and during incubation; and 

 when the young are hatched he does as much for their 

 support while in the nest as the female, and as soon as 

 they leave the nest she shirks all the responsibility of pro- 

 tecting and providing for them upon him, while she pro- 

 ceeds to build another domicile, or fit up the old one. By 

 this judicious management upon her part she succeeds in 

 rearing three broods, while most other birds rear but two." 



The situation of the nest is extremely varied, and little 

 concealment seems to be attempted. A fork, or the upper 

 surface of a large iimb in an old orchard tree, is a favorite 

 site, but woodland trees, the protruding end of a fence 

 rail, a stump, a ledge of rocks, or a bush in the midst of a 

 a colony of noisy blackbirds, is also frequently occupied. 

 Ranging through such a wide extent of country, and com- 

 ing under such multifarious conditions, the nests^naturally 

 vary as much in construction as in situation. Eleven dis- 

 tinct varieties have been noticed in New Jersey alone. 

 Sometimes the bird displays a strong lack of sense, as in 

 one case in Ueneva, N. Y., where a robin took possession 

 of a sort of trough which had been nailed up under the 

 eaves of a barn. The bird began building a nest in it, but 

 seeming unable to fix upon any particular spot, deposited 

 the mud and straw along the entire length of the trough, 

 about ten feet. After working several days she abandoned 

 the task. Another similar instance is recorded where a 

 robin attempted to plaster its nest along the cornice of a 

 house for thirty feet. When *a place has been chosen, a 

 little mud is .first brought and patted by the feet into a 

 suitable shape for the foundation. Upon this is laid a plat- 

 form of coarse grasses, and walls of the same materials 

 are gradually erected, intermixed with a plentiful 

 allowance of mud, smoothed >nd compacted by the feet 

 and breast of the bird. This is allowed to fully dry before 

 the wall is further increased, and each addition^is support- 

 ed by an additional plastering of mud, until the proper 

 height of wall is reached, when the whole is given plenty 

 of time to dry before the rim is overcast with grass, so as 

 not to break under the mother's feet while she feeds her 

 young, and then the lining of soft grasses is put in. Some- 

 times one or the other will bring material unsuitable for a 

 certain stage of the construction. This will not be 

 thrown down 'and forgotten, but simply laid one side and 

 used when the proper time comes . A curious deviation 

 from the mud walls was noticed by.one writer near this 

 city. Two robins built nests in the same orchard. One 

 was after the ordinary pattern, the other used for the main 

 body of the structure fine fibrous roots and twine; she 

 then added clean damp moss [sphagnum) instead of mud, 

 which she must have gone at least a mile to obtain. To 

 hold the moss in place she interwove long horse hair and 

 fine dry grass. It took her four or five days to complete 

 the structure, whereas the mud nest was completed the 

 same day it was begun. The robin's nest, when finished, 

 is about four inches in internal diameter and two inches 

 deep, but very rough and bulky externally. Its construc- 

 tion usually occupies the birds for three or four busy days, 

 after which, if the necessities of nature be not too urgent, 

 and especially if the weather be damp, sufficient time is 

 given for the mud to dry; while on the contrary it some- 

 times happens that the first eggs must be laid before the 

 walls are fully done, and the finishing touches are put on 

 afterwards. "They are extremely solicitous for the safety 

 of the nest, and jealous of intrusions, rousing- the whole 

 neighborhood with their fuss and clamor when disturbed; 

 but by keeping a quiet and formal distance and making 

 slow advances, you can easily win their confidence. 



The eggs are four or five in number, of a beautiful blu- 

 ish-green, or sea-green color, and are the largest of all the 

 true thrush's eggs. They will average 1.10 by .80 of an 

 inch in dimensions. The wood thrush's eggs resemble 

 them most closely, but are slightly smaller and more slen- 

 der. The eggs are dropped daily until the nest comple- 

 ment is complete. The female sits eleven days, by which 

 time the young have all come out of the shell, and on the 

 following day their eyes are open; but they remain in the 

 nest from ten to fifteen days longer. For a long time they do 

 not recognize their parents, opening their mouths as widely 

 for food, and crying just as eagerly if a cat approaches the 

 nest, as when they hear the fluttering wings that are really 

 bearing it to them. When the young are able to fly they 

 are piloted about and fed for two or three days by the 

 male, while the female builds another nest and prepares 

 for the second brood, often in close proximity to the first 

 home. The old nest is left in a very dirty state, although 

 it had been kept clean of all offensive matter during its oc- 

 cupancy. But the vermin with which the young are usu- 

 ally at first covered soon leave them. The nest once 

 abandoned seems rarely to be returned to. The robin has 

 numerous enemies which commit cruel depredations on his 

 household, so that it is probably rare that two full broods 

 reach an adult age. The crow, blue jay, crow blackbird, 

 and cuckoo are all accused — probably with good reason— 

 of destroying the eggs. It is said that after she has thus 

 been robbed, the female robin will steal into the nest of 

 one of her own kind, during a temporary absence of the 

 owner, and appropriate it as her own, depositing a remain- 

 ing egg of her clutch, or mayhap more, and, if plucky, 

 will drive off the legal' owner, and, taking bold possession, 

 bestow all her care thereon, but she never disturbs the 

 rights of other birds. Occasionally in cases of extreme ne- 

 cessity, she drops a single egg into a sister's nest and leaves 

 it; but the act is never malicious or voluntary, and is al- 

 ways, due to her own nest having been destroyed. 



The Cape St. Lucas robin [Tardus confmis. Baird) is re- 

 garded as only a variety of the Eastern bird, from which 

 its general habits are not known to differ. 

 . — — =__ — ■« #. »»»■ .. — — . 



Three Curious Discoveries.-— A recent examination of 

 the bottom of an old Roman well, located near the hot 

 springs of Bourbonne les Bains, in France, has resulted in 

 three remarkable discoveries. After the excavation had 

 been thoroughly drained, and a thick layer of refuse pen- 

 etrated, the first discovery was made, in the bringing to 

 light of thousands of metallic ornaments, statuettes and 

 coins, dating baek to the time of Nero and Hadrian . Be- 

 neath the layer of ornaments, etc., a second layer was 

 found, composed entirely of fragments of sandstone, 



