FOREST AND STREAM. 



35 



An intelligent friend, who kept close watch of the ther- 

 mometer, assured me that on but one occasion did the 

 instrument mark 96 Q . The frontage on the lake is about 

 two miles, and it is the intention of the proprietors to make 

 it the home of the intelligent man of means for a winter or 

 permanent residence, where he can enjoy the advantages of 

 good society, schools, churches, frequent mails, well 

 stocked stores, etc. The proprietors will only dispose of 

 lots to respectable parties, who will make satisfactory im- 

 provements, Land has been reserved for three parks, from 

 rive to ten acres each, and a frontage of one entire block on 

 the lake has been set apart for a boat club-house and 

 anchorage for yachts. Whenever a boat club shall be 

 formed, the proprietors will assign the land free of charge 

 for the erection of a boat-house. 



Mr. Leggett, well known to many an old Adirondacker, 

 is erecting a hotel at this point, and I can assure sportsmen 

 that Mrs. L. can handle a rifle, paddle a canoe, land a bass, 

 and properly minister to the wants of the inner man. 

 Without makmg any special reference to the host, we feel 

 assured that the hostess will prove a host within herself, 

 and if any piscator or gunnist should find himself at 

 Crescent City, we have every reason to believe that he will be 

 satisfied with the accommodations at Leggett's Sportsman's 

 Retreat. Independent of purchasers elsewhere, a large 

 tj umber of the residents of Jacksonville and Palatka have 

 purchased lots iu Crescent City; and am one the notabili- 

 ties who have invested, 1 may mention the names of Dr. 

 Baldwin, the scientist and great meterological authority of 

 Florida; Gen. Tom Thumb, the distinguished representa- 

 tive of littleness; and "Al Fresco," the fellow who semi- 

 occasionally manufactures fish stories for the Forest and 

 {Stream. 



Mr. Capwell, of the Capwell House, is unable to meet 

 the demand for meals and lodging accommodations. At 

 times, he is forced to place cots alow and aloft to accomo- 

 date transient visitors . This gentleman deserves the thanks 

 of the community for his enterprise in establishing the first 

 private hotel. Mr. Mattair, the proprietor of the Mattair 

 House, in this city, has purchased two lots, upon which he 

 proposes erecting a first-class boarding house before winter, 

 10 accommodate fifty persons. Mayor Curtis has perfected 

 arrangements for the erection of a nrst-class hotel on Euca- 

 lyptus avenue. 



Convinced of the importance of reaching the Halifax 

 River by the way of Crescent Lake, a company was organ- 

 ized in Jacksonville to establish, a stage and wagon route 

 to the Halifax River. At present an excellent stage is 

 running over the route once each week, but as soon as 

 winter travel commences two trips per week will be made, 

 and wagons will be placed on the route to transport boats 

 and Irei-ht. It is contemplated to build a narrow guage 

 railroad from Horse Landing on Haw Creek to the Halifax, 

 and I believe it will prove a remunerative investment. At 

 7 a. m. we took a seat in an excellent stage, capable of 

 accommodating eight persons. For the first three miles 

 after leaving Crescent City, we passed over a hilly and 

 interesting country, capable of supporting a large popula- 

 tion. From this point to the Tomico River the lana was 

 poor, level, and interspersed with extensive savannahs, and 

 only adapted to pastoral purposes. Along the road floral 

 gems were dispersed in ample profusion, but the beautiful 

 Li'.eum mrolimanum reigned supreme. After crossing the 

 Lemeca the character ot the land changed, and we passed 

 through an extensive hammock of wonderful richness, 

 which in the past was devoted to sugar culture, and at 

 present the remains of sugar works are discernible from 

 ihe road. Here is the home of the cane, and it only re- 

 quires capital and energy to make this section excel Louisi- 

 ana in the production of sugar. After leaving the 

 hammock we passed over one mile of high sandy land, 

 covered with spruce pines, and at 4:20 p. m. came iu sight 

 of the Halifax River, at New Britain. VVe enjoyed the ride 

 as the road was excellent, the coach easy in all its motions, 

 and the driver gentlemanly, communicative and accommo- 

 dating. At points the mosquitoes proved annoying, and 

 the horse flies existed in unpleasant numbers. 



in days of yore, many large plantations existed on the 

 Halifax, but the settlers were driven off by the Indians, 

 and the old fields soon succumbed to the live oak and pine. 

 Ten years have not elapsed since the first settlers (after the 

 war) located on this river; and to-day every available foot 

 of land on each side of the stream has been purchased or 

 pre-empted. Three years since, the present site of JSew 

 Britain was a wilderness, without any inhabitants, and to 

 day, building lots having a frontage of 115 feet on the river, 

 are selling lor $250. 'J 'his locality has been settled by 

 "Nutmegs," anu thrift and progress are manifested in 

 every direction. After some search we secured the services 

 of a ooatman, and in a few minutes we found ourselves at 

 the residence ot Mr. J. A. Bostrum, which is situated on the 

 peninsula, bounded to the west by the Halifax River, and 

 to the east by the Atlantic. Mr. B. is an intelligent and 

 industrious Swede, and his amiable wife is a Massachusetts 

 lady. Mr. B's residence is situated on a shell bluff, twenty- 

 live feet above the river, and is surrounded by a thrifty 

 oiange grove. The house is large and neatly furnished, 

 and the interior presented every indication of cleanliness 

 and comfort. In the past, Mr. B. and lady have aecommo- 

 uated a few boarders during the winter, and it is to be hoped 

 that they will add to their accommodations. To those 

 who like retirement, home comforts, and the best of sea- 

 bathing, we may say, secure rooms if you can. This gentle- 

 man has made an excellent carriage-road from his house to 

 the Atlantic beach, a distance ot half a mile. We visited 

 the "vasty deep" and indulged in a bath. The beach 

 shoals gradually, and is as hard as a turnpike road, with 

 an entire absence of u jaei\ow. We devoted the evening 

 to conversation, and retired to a pleasant room and ex- 

 cellent bed, upon which we slept as only trampers can 

 enjoy the em brace of old Morpheus. 



The next morning we started for Daytona, distant seven 

 miles, in a southerly direction. Four years since, this 

 thriving place was without an inhabitant, and as an evidence 

 that speculation in city lots has reached this locality, we 

 were shown a water front lot, 150 by 300 feet, for which 

 the owner asked the modest sum of $l,5u0. This town has 

 recently obtained municipal honors, and contains a resident 

 population of about 850 persons. It is becoming a winter 

 resort, and possesses a hotel and six boarding houses. We 

 entered and explored the Palmetto Hotel, run by Mrs. 

 Hoag, and everything appeared satisfactory. Fifty guests 

 can be accommodated, at from $12 to $15 per week. 

 Charges in private boarding houses from $6 to $10 per 

 /week; tucker and roosting accommodations varying in ac- 

 cordance with price. During the winter season fishing is 

 fair in the neighborhood, and excellent at the inlet some 



twelve miles to the southward. During the winter season 

 ducks are plentiful, but rather shy.. To our surprise, we 

 found that beach birds are scarce, or this information was 

 gleaned from those we questioned on the subject. On the 

 main land deer are plentiful, but as a general thing, dogs 

 are required to drive them. On the peninsula both deer 

 and bears exist in numbers, and the latter are frequently 

 killed when perambulating the ocean beach in search of 

 turtle eggs. This section is favored during the summer 

 months, for the wind is usually easterly, and is cooled by 

 the ocean. The other day, a gentleman who is a resident 

 of Daytona, called upon me, but I was absent. In conver- 

 sation with my better half, he referred to the range of the 

 thermometer during the month of July, and stated that 

 the highest point reached by the mercury was 92°. I insti- 

 tuted numerous inquiries, and from all I could glean, I 

 was forced to the conclusion that medical men found the 

 region distressingly healthy, and that it was no place for 

 them to experiment upon their fellow beings. 



At Daytona, Briggs & Co. are building a steamboat 120 

 feet in length, to ply on the Halifax River. In hull and 

 upper works she resembles a western river boat. She will 

 be provided with large and airy cabins, and an exten- 

 sive saloon on the upper deck. It is the intention of the 

 proprietors to so arrange their scale of charges, that the 

 boat can be used by itinerant tourists as a hotel. She will 

 leave the inlet in the morning, and proceed northward to 

 the head of the river and return in the afternoon; the 

 ensuing day proceed to the head of the Mosquito Lagoon, 

 and return to the inlet, thereby making three trips to the 

 north and three to the south weekly. This arrangement 

 will suit the numerous restless spirits who like to be 

 eternally moving. As the peninsula is less than a mile in 

 width, passengers can enjoy the sea breeze as well as a 

 pleasant trip on smooth water. To those who have been 

 surfeited with the old beaten track of travel in Florida, we 

 recommend the route via the St. Johns, Deep river, Cres- 

 cent Lake, across lots to New Britain, and then a cruise on 

 the Halifax. 



Arrangements have been perfected for the popular steamer 

 Florence, to be permanently placed on the route between 

 Akronville and Crescent City. The F. is the fastest boat 

 on the river, her accomodations are unsurpassed, and her 

 officers are attentive and gentlemanly. The fact of this boat 

 being placed on the route, will make it a popular one, and 

 will induce many a tourist to visit an interesting section of 

 the State, that has been heretofore hidden in a wilderness. 



Last, though not least, there is something in connection 

 with this route which I wish to bring prominently before 

 your readers, and that is the advantages possessed by this 

 route for a boat journey. There are numerous persons 

 who enjoy the freedom and the devil me care-not sort of a 

 life appertaining to a boat trip. In this connection, I can 

 say that I believe it to be the best mode of enjoying a few 

 weeks in Florida. A boat can be built or hireu here, or one 

 can be forwarded to this point by steamer or sailing 

 vessel. Stores of every description can be obtained in this 

 city. The sail from this point to Crescent City would 

 be enjoyable. The Transit Company will provide wagons 

 to transport a boat from Crescent City to the Halifax 

 River, at New Britain, at a cost of from $12 to $20, ac- 

 cording to size and weight. If the cruisers were so dis- 

 posed, the boat could be launched at the Temoco, and this 

 stream descended to the Halifax. I have been credibly 

 informed, that in the former stream, large bass in immense 

 numbers exist, and the fly-fisher or more primi'ive piscator 

 who uses a bob or spoon can have ample sport. 1 was 

 assured that no stream in the State can equal the lower 

 portion of the Temoco for bass fishing. Leaving the To- 

 moco and turning the boat to the southward, the broad 

 Halifax River will open up, and a pleasant sail can be en- 

 joyed to the inlet, a distance of thirty miles. The inlet 

 reached, channel bass, sheepshead, cavalli, and other sea 

 fish will be found in quantity. Tired of the inlet, the 

 wanderers can steer for the head of Mosquito Lagoon, anil 

 when this point is reached, the boat can oe poled through 

 the canal to Indian River. So much has been written and 

 published about the attractions of Indian River, that I 

 shall add nothing more regarding this stream, but refer 

 inquirers to the interesting letters published in "Camp 

 Lite in Florida." Indian River explored, if the voyageurs 

 are disposed to extend their cruise, they can secure the ser 

 vices of a guide, and by dint of poling and pushing 

 through swamps and lagoons reach Lake Worth, around 

 which deer and bear hunting and turkey shooting can be 

 indulged in ad libitum. Returning to sand Point, on In- 

 dian River, transportation for a boat can be obtained to 

 the St. Johns River, at an expense of from $12 to $20. 

 The St. Johns can be descended to Jacksonville, and the 

 various points of interest visited en route, the whole 

 making a cheap and enjoyable trip of over 750 miles. 

 Here is an opportunity tor the enjoyment of piscatorial 

 and other sports; an extended sail in calm waters; a chance 

 to inhale an invigorating sea bretze, and visit an interest 

 ing section of the State. Owing to the absence of rain 

 during the winter months, and the probability that frost 

 woulu not be experienced, this route would suit an invalid 

 whose disease admitted of a moderate amount of daily ex- 

 ercise. To me, the great attraction surrounding a cruise 

 of this description, would be the opportunity to cut loose 

 from the stiff and starched conventionalities of modern 

 society— a chance to don a blue shirt, a twenty-cent chip 

 hat, a cast off pair of pants, and an old and comfortable 

 pair of shoes. To me, it is perfect and unalloyed happi- 

 ness to lead a sort of vagrant life, cast a line, shoot my 

 game, enjoy a sun bath, tail when the spirit moves me, 

 listen to the ceaseless roll of old mother Ocean, and feel 

 that I am in a position to enjoy the beauties of nature. 

 With a suitable boat, a boon companion, pliant rod, trusty 

 rifle and gun, an ample supply ot tackle, and a well filled 

 food chest, a boat trip in Florida is truly enjoy able; or at 

 least this has been the experience of al Fresco. 



* 



—The effort to develop an export market for American 

 cottons promises to be successiul. The co-operation of 

 mills representing a million and a half of spindles has been 

 secured, and sixty packages of samples will soon be brought 

 to Philadelphia for distribution among the foreign commis- 

 sioners, who are to introduce them in their respective coun- 

 tries. The commissioners of Portugal, Italy, and Austra- 

 lia, have ordered five extra packages. The manufacturers 

 have already addressed a petition to Secretary Fish in refer- 

 ence to the protection of American trademarks.— Ex. 



—Two loons were recently caught in Lake Winnipesau- 

 kee, near the Weirs, on hooks set in forty feet of water, to 

 which depth these strange birds descend in pursuit of food. 

 One magnificent specimen was taken alive. 



faff ($Mltn\t. 



CONVEYANCE OF LIVE FISH. 



We are now beginning to learn that, up to a certain point,' 

 the value of water for non-lung-breathing aquatic animals 

 does not so much depend on its amount as upon its distri- 

 bution in such a manner that it shall absorb the greatest 

 quantity of atmospheric air, or rather of the oxygen which 

 enters into the composition of that air, leaving much of the 

 nitrogen out unabsorbed. The earliest observer known to 

 me of this fact was the late Dr. R. Ball, who, in Bell's Brit- 

 ish Crustacea, records how much better he kept a crayfish 

 (Astacus) in a shallow vessel than in a deep one. In all my 

 aquarium work I keep this law in view, and I regulate the 

 amount of surface of water exposed to air, as well as the 

 actual quantity of water, according to the known require- 

 ments of the animals to be kept; and the result is very sur- 

 prising both on the health - of the creatures, and in the sav- 

 ing of the money cost of constructing and maintaining 

 aquaria, 



I also apply the rule to the conveyance of aquarium ani- 

 mals. To give an actual example, 1 find that the following 

 animals and some others may, at certain temperatures, be 

 safely sent from Southend, in Essex, to the Crystal Palace 

 in boxes (or preferably in baskets) packed in damp, freshly 

 gathered seaweed: 1, nearly all the sea anemones; 2, most 

 of the Echinodermata; 3, a large number of annelids; 4. 

 many crustacea; 5, some of the tunicates; 6, nearly ,all 

 shelled mollusca, both univalves and bivalves, and some of 

 the J\udibranchiata; the following fishes: amphioxus (this 

 once came alive from Naples in a post letter, and four of 

 them so brought are still alive in the Crystal Palace aqua- 

 rium), plaice, soles, brill, rocklings, eels, gobies, blennies, 

 (of three species), sea scorpions. 



The explanation of the reason why they so travel is this: 

 They are surrounded with moisture in a sufficient degree 

 to enable respiration to be carried on. Take, for example, 

 any fish so conveyed. It is not immersed in water, but its 

 gills are kept wet by such very thin films of water that 

 their thinness, otherwise shallowness enables them to be 

 instantly oxygenated by contact with the atmospheric air, 

 which enters the apertures of the containing box or basket, 

 and which permeates the entire mass, and therefore the 

 gill-filaments are kept wet and separate from one another, 

 and the blood uninterruptedly flows through them, and is 

 aerated as it does so, oxygen being absorbed from the per- 

 fectly aerated water, which thus does double duty in a 

 measure. I admit that the balance thus maintained is a 

 delicate one, and is easily disturbed by external causes. 

 Thus, a heated atmosphere would cause the moisture to 

 evaporate and the gills to dry up, and the circulation of 

 the blood would be arrested, and the fish or other creature 

 would soon die. So also great cold would freeze the gills 

 into a temporarily dry mass, and death would likely ensue. 

 But there is one thing which I do not yet understand, and 

 which I should be very grateful to have explained. It is 

 this, that while many of the creatures I have named will 

 bear the four hours' journey from Southend, some of them 

 will not bear the twelve hours' transit from Plymouth, 

 though equal care be apparently taken with the packing in 

 both cases. But when such packing is possible, the gai n is 

 enormous in every thing. We often at the Palace get a 

 couple of thousand of animals, or more, in packages weigh- 

 ing not altogether half a hundred weight, while if the same 

 animals needed to be conveyed in properly aerated vessels 

 of actual water, such creatures, would require a pound 

 weight of water instead of only a fraction of a grain weight 

 to each. The money value of the moist plan is strikingly 

 shown in the instance of shrimps, of which we use about a 

 ton weight every year at the Crystal Palace Aquarium, for 

 feeding purposes; and we require them alive, because many 

 animals refuse to eat them when dead. They cost us in 

 good condition about a shilling a quart; but if it was neces- 

 sary to bring them alive in water, they would cost at least 

 a guinea a quart. — W. A Lloyd, in London Zoologut. 



MBltnd Trout Eggs, — In my experience of ova collecting, 

 I do not find that the percentage of good eggs is at all af- 

 fected by different methods of milting. I take my fish in- 

 discriminately, male or famale, and take eggs or milt, just 

 as the fish happen to come to hand, pouring the milted ova 

 into another vessel as soon as my spawning dish contains 

 eight or ten thousand eggs. If the eggs are mature when 

 they are taken from the parent fish, they will hatch out 

 eighty and ninety per cent., but although many eggs will 

 come with a li'tle pressure, they are not ripe enough to be 

 fertilised. The ova, being deposited in the hatching 

 troughs, will show the "germ" uppermost, and unripe or 

 unfertilised eggs once disturbed will hardly ever fall in the 

 same position again, and in a few minutes will turn white. 

 After six weeks, take an egg (in which the eyes are not 

 visible) and hold it up bet ween the finger and thumb, or 

 with the wire pincers used for removing dead ova, and in a 

 few secouds the germ will leave its position and rise to the 

 top edge of the shell; place -it back iu the water, and it 

 will turn white. 1 think that the "germ," having left its 

 old position, ijaves an unprotected spot, and water enters. 

 If the egg is mature when taken, my opinion is that the 

 entrance to the egg is sealed immediately it is impregnated, 

 as the germ increases in size and alters in appearance a 

 very few moments after it has been milted. In Mr. Fran- 

 cis's "Fish Culture," he says "Dr. Davy states that the 

 reason why a bad egg turns white is owing to the absorp- 

 tion of water, thougu why 'clear' eggs resist water so long, 

 while others absorb it instantaneously, has not yet been 

 discovered."— T. A , in Land and W iter. 



, -».», — _ , 



+ Change of Colou in nsa.—i would wish to supple- 

 ment my recent letter to your paper on the changes of color 

 in fish, with a few extracts from other authors. In the 

 "Treasury of Natural History," page 705, Dr. A. T. Thom- 

 son remarks: "That each species of trout has its peculiari- 

 ties of color, but the common trout is the most beautiful of 

 its class; the variations of its tints and spots, from golden- 

 yellow to crimson and greenish- black, are almost infinite, 

 and depend in a gieai measure on the nature of its food, 

 for the colors are always the most brilliant in those fish 

 that leed ou the water shrimp. It is a curious fact that 

 the brightness of the colors is not diminished when the 

 fish dies, for even after he has been played with for an hour 

 or longer by the practised angler, ana at length is brought 

 floating upon his side t<» the margin of the stream, and 

 thrown upon the bank floundering, till, gasping with dis- 

 i tant and feeble motions, he is either knocked on the head ? 



