FOREST AND STREAM. 



147 



related that for 20 years he had annually visited the head- 

 waters of the Connecticut on angling trips. Three years 

 ago the State commissioners put in young salmon. At the 

 time he was about introducing black bass for the sake of 

 his own future pleasure, .but knowing their destroying 

 propensities had refrained. He wished to know whether 

 he could not now put in his bass without injury to the sal- 

 mon. 



Seth Green answered the question affirmatively by say- 

 ins: that none of those salmon would ever find their way 

 back to northern New Hampshire to propagate, and gave 

 an amusing account of the gauntlet of nets, dams, fish- 

 ways, and incessant, unscrupulous fishermen, which not 

 one salmon in a thousand could hope to safely run. "But," 

 he said, "the black bass will, and I do not hesitate to say 

 that the bass are best." 



Fred Mather then found his feet again, and, alluding to 

 Mr. Reeder's earlier remarks, asked where the young black 

 bass "disappeared" to when they so silently stole away 

 from their parents, stating it as his conviction that they 

 vanished down the parents' throats. He denied that a 

 bass fishery could be found that would compete with the 

 catches made of migratory fishes. 



Mr. Reeder retorted that he had never said black bass 

 did not, eat shad; but he maintained that, with our present 

 appliances for restocking streams, there was no reason why 

 the introduction of black bass should diminish the shad. 

 As to their prolificness, six years ago GOO bass had been 

 put in the Delaware, and now "there's millions in it," so 

 that one rod can get 50 or 60 pounds in a day's boat-fishing 

 in the upper Delaware. It was not a fish that would yield 

 profit to netting, because every bass would jump the cork- 

 line, but the poor people could pull out a breakfast of it 

 anywhere along the shore the year through. 



Mr. Edmunds had long thought the Penobscot salmon 

 would soon die out, owing to the increasing Warmness of 

 its native waters. He thought attention should be turned 

 more towards the California salmon, and called attention 

 to the followfng resolution, prepared at the last meeting by 

 Mr. Eugene Blackford, as very important and practical: — 



Whereas, The Fi?b. Cnlturists' Association believe that data in 

 regard to ihe catch of staple fish, such as are sold iu the markets of the 

 country, would be of great importance, a lowing the positive determina- 

 tions of questions of vast commercial and scientific importance, be it 



Resolved, That the Fi*h Cnlturists' Association request the Fish Com- 

 mis.-ioners to urye on the State Governments, of which they are repre- 

 sentatives, the necessity of the State appointing certain officers whose 

 duties shall be to collect such data, so that reliable information may be 

 obtained in regard to the catch of staple fish in the various States. 



Mr. Livingston Stone, of the McCloud river establish- 

 ment, in California, was called upon as to the probable 

 success cf the West Coast salmon on the Atlantic slope, 

 but was unable to state from experience. It would certainly 

 survive a higher temperature than the eastern species. 

 California was able to supply all the young wanted, and 

 had been sending them to New Zealand, the Sandwich 

 Islands, and elsewhere. The California salmon laid about 

 4,000 eggs to tbe fish, and became ripe at full moon toward 

 the latter part of the season. Mr. Stone also gave a brief 

 sketch of his recent operations. 



The adjournment this afternoon at 5 o'clock was in time 

 to attend, at the Lafayette Restaurant, one of the most ex- 

 traordinary dinners ever sat down to, where, excepting 

 bread, cheese, and wines, the whole menu was made up of 

 fish. There were turtle a la Blackford and bisque of lob- 

 ster Seth Green style; crawfish, oysters, and scollops a la 

 Remy and Ferguson and Edmunds; mackerel, halibut, sal- 

 mon, anchovies, and pluk from Norway and Sweden; eels 

 and sardines from Portugal and Spain in all sorts of styles; 

 mullet roes from Turkey — little turkey eggs some called 

 them; crayfish from South Africa; dried salmon from Ja- 

 pan; black shark fins and white, dried octopus eggs and 

 dried fish maws from China; oolachans from Alaska, and 

 other fishes or preparations thereof from every State in 

 Europe. The relevees, entrees, and all the rest were got 

 up after the style of some member of the association— 

 "devilled crabs, Gill's style," for example— but the whole 

 dinner, from its inception to its digestion, was a la Eugene 

 G. Blackford, of Fulton Market. His active mind sug- 

 gested the curious idea, and his great business facilities 

 and well known energy carried it through to its happy con- 

 clusion. Many of the fishes ariived fresh from Europe 

 that very day, and the English turbotand soles were spoken 

 of by everyone as especially fine. Everyone tried to taste 

 everything, but, not strangely, perhaps, most of the for- 

 eign pieparations were distateful to American palates; the 

 Oriental cookery especially must be culti rated to be de- 

 lighted in. The dinner was greatly enjoyed, and. washed 

 down with an abundance of beverages, but no one went 

 under the table, and the speeches were more than usually 

 coherent. That of the Spanish commissioner, who was a 

 guest, was made in French, and, for those who were fortu- 

 nate enough to understand it, sparkled with wit. 



The session on Saturday was not begun at all promptly, 

 and there was a diminished attendance. John A. Warder', 

 a gentleman from Ohio, who narrowly escaped becoming 

 a fish commissioner through receiving an appointment to 

 represent that State at the Vienna exhibition, told what 

 was being done in Ohio in pisciculture, and the profit ac- 

 cruing to the public. Western salmon had been put into 

 land-locked waters with j,reat success, showing that that 

 fish will propagate out of salt water. The whitefish {Core- 

 gonus cUbux), however, is Ohio's greatest reliance. The 

 habit of these fish in autumn is to course in large bodies 

 along the shores of Lake Erie, and nets are set out all along 

 as far as the depth of the water will allow— four or five 

 miles often— so that prodigious quantities are captured. 

 Experiments iu artificially breeding them have met with 

 great success. They spawn late in the fall, close to the 

 shore where the ice first forms, and the eggs hatch beneath 

 the ice; the treatment, consequently, has been to keep the 

 roe very cold until hatched. Entomostraca, microscopic 

 animals allied to the crabs, form the whitefish's food. The 

 muscalonge, the speaker said, were becoming scarce in 

 lake Erie, although they used to be caught up to 100 pounds 

 weight. 



In reply to an interrogation from the chairman, Mr. 

 James Milner explained the nomenclature of the pike fam- 

 ily, as follows:— The Esox reticulatus is the "pickerel," of 

 small size, and both its cheeks and gill-covers are scaled; 

 Esox litems {=estor) is the "lake pike," of about 10 

 pounds weight, with the cheek scaled and gill-cover smooth; 

 the Esox nobikor is the "muscalonge," distinguished by 

 great size, and having both cheek and gill-cover smooth. 



Fred Mather had something to say about grayling, to the 

 effect that he had found them much easier to raise than 

 trout, but perhaps not so good a fish to eat. He thought 

 no fresh-water species compared with the sea fishes, and 

 suggested that a large part of the delight of trout fishing 



arose from the charming surroundings into which the ang- 

 ler was lead, The grayling seemed to be very desirable 

 for trout brooks. 



Col. Worral was called out on the subject of fishways. 

 He considered that every brave fish with individuality — 

 not gregarious like a sheep or a shad — had been satisfied 

 for years with the old-established arrangements, but the 

 shad remained delicate about ascending fishways. The 

 one at Columbia, Pa., is 105x60 feet, and the water runs 

 down at the rate of only eight miles an hour. The fish 

 must be a weak one that could not get through that, and 

 many shad did go through, but only stragglers. "I am 

 nonplussed," said the speaker, "as to how to better it. 

 Shad are afraid of their shadows— perhaps they derive 

 their names from this fact. Even the shadow of a breeze 

 will scare them. It may be that in the course of years 

 they will get accustomed to fishways; the young of those 

 that do go through and spawn above will inherit a tendency 

 to return through the next season, and so transmit the 

 habit until all the shad are accustomed to go above. But 

 now it is impossible to accommodate them. Otherwise the 

 question of fishways is settled." Col. Warrol reported for 

 -Pennsylvania everything going on well and the Legislature 

 friendly. Salmon trout were doing well in Chester county, 

 where it was not certain they would be satisfied with 

 streams, because they are a lake fish. The California sal- 

 mon are not due until next year, "and if they come back 

 then," said the speaker, "we will be a hundred times re- 

 paid." 



Seth Green argued that the main reason why the shad 

 did not run up the fishways was because the stream was 

 overfished. A close time of 48 hours every week is need- 

 ed. Then the fish will go above if the young have been 

 planted there. Another reason was because they had been 

 scooped out from below. Mr. Green recommended Brew- 

 er's fishway, on exhibition at the Government building, as 

 meeting his entire approval. 



Mr. Webber explained the arrangement of the fishway 

 at Lawrence, Mass., which is built in a curved form, with 

 the lower end under the dam, so that the fish can enter 

 from the deep holes where they hide. Fred Mather had 

 tried various fishways with little satisfaction; he thought 

 every fishway should not run below the dam, but be set 

 back into it. He advised the testing of models in hatch- 

 ing troughs. 



The last speaker was Mr. Robinson, of Virginia, who 

 reported that fish culture was a new thing there, but that 

 they had operated on California and land locked salmon 

 with good success. They proposed to work on trout, their 

 mountain streams affording fine water — just as good as the 

 Adirondacks and without the black fiies; and with the 

 southern black bass in their tide- water streams. 



The association then adjourned, but groups of members 

 stood about the room dialling for a long time, thus bring- 

 ing out more facts from the stores of each other's memories 

 about fishes and their artificial propagation than all the 

 machinery of the convention had been able to evoke. This 

 informal chatting is the most pleasant, and not the least 

 noteworthy (if it were possible to report it) of the associa- 

 tion's business. 



Fish Commissioners in Council.— The annual Conven- 

 tion of the Amcican Fish Commissioners was held at the 

 Maryland State Building, on the Centennial Grounds, Phil- 

 adelphia, on Thursday, Oct. 5. Col. Theodore Lyman, of 

 Massachusetts, presided. Among the gentlemen present 

 prominent in fish culture throughout the country, were 

 Prof. Baird, United States Fish Commissioner; James W. 

 Milner, his Assistant, in special charge of the field work for 

 shad hatching; Charles G. Atkins, Commissioner for the 

 Penobscot Salmon Fishery. Also the following State Com- 

 missioners: Col. Theodore Lyman, E. A. Brackett, and Asa 

 French, Massachusetts; Messrs. Powers, Webber, and 

 Wahl, of New Hampshire; John H. Braden, Rhode Island; 

 Dr. Hudson, and Messrs. Bill and Pike, Connecticut; Hon. 

 R. B. Roosevelt, New York; Messrs. Howell, Shotwell, and 

 Anderson, New Jersey; T. B. Ferguson, Maryland; Dr. 

 Robertson and Col. McDonald, Virginia; Mr. Miller, Mich- 

 igan; Livingston Stone, California Salmon Establishment; 

 Drs. Edmunds and Goldsmith, Vermont; Seth Green, of 

 New Yoik. Prof. Baird made an address giving an account 

 of the work performed by him during the past year, which 

 comprised the hatching and distributing of 8,000,000 young 

 shad in the rivers of all the States, including Alabama, 

 Kentucky, Tennessee, and California; the setting and hatch- 

 ing of some 8,000,000 California salmon eggs, and the dis- 

 tribution of them to the Fish Commissioners of the differ- 

 ent States. Half a million of the eggs were sent to Naw 

 Zealand, and a hundred thousand to the Sandwich Islands. 

 Addresses were made by Mr, Milner and Mr. Atkins, the 

 latter speaking of the landlocked salmon fishery and its 

 success. A discussion was had in regard to the extent of 

 the aid which the National Government could, would, 

 and should give to the protection of the fishery interests, 

 and the interterence which should be exercised by the Gov 

 ernment where the interests of two States conflict like those 

 of Connecticut and New York on the Connecticut river. 

 Messrs. Dr. Hudson, of Connecticut, Dr. Edmunds, of Ver- 

 mont, and Anderson, of New Jersey, were appointed a com- 

 mittee to consider what legislation and rulings had been 

 had by Congress, and to report at the next meeting of the 

 Convention. Mr. Miller, of Michigan, made a short ad- 

 dress on behalf of his State, and spoke of the profitableness 

 of trout raising and the propriety of introducing black bass 

 into the rivers. Mr. Livingston Stone, who has just ar- 

 rived from California, brought with him 4,000,00b of sal- 

 mon eggs, the larger portion of which were distributed to 

 the various State Commissioners at Chicago. A number 

 were placed in the Maryland State Buikling, where the 

 process of hatching is in operation. 



The Minnesota Fish Commissioners. — Dr. R. O. 

 Swteny and Wm. Golcher, of St. Paul, and G. O. Burt, of 

 Mankato, have been distributing 120,000 young land locked 

 salmon among the lakes of Minnesota, some sixty-two 

 localities in all being supplied. 



"Pompey, what am dat what goes when de wagon goes, 

 stops when de wagon stops; it am no use to de wagon, and 

 de wagon can't go without it?" "I gib it up Clem," "Why 

 de noise, ob course." 



18 i org. 



BIRDS OF LOWER MICHIGAN. 



{Continued from Vol. VI, page 4.02.] 



Ardea herodias. Great blue heron. A common summer 

 visitor, arriving here by April 10th. Incubation begins 

 about the middle of May. There is a large heronry 20 

 miles east of Ann Arbor, where thousands breed; I have 

 counted seven nests on one black-ash tree, some containing 

 eggs freshly laid, others eggs in an advanced stage of incu- 

 bation, while still others contained young nearly half 

 grown. The eggs are usually four, and of a light bluish- 

 green color, I think the feeding grounds of these birds 

 must have been some distance away, as I have stood at 

 the edge of the swamp at early twilight and seen them re- 

 turn in pairs and trios from a northerly direction. About 

 October 1st this heron leaves for the south. 



Ardea candidissima. Snowy heron. Accidental from the 

 south; one specimen taken April 9th, 1872. 



Ardea virescens. Green heron. Summer visitor, not 

 common, arriving from the 1st to the 10th of April. By 

 May 5th the nest is built and the work of reproduction is 

 begun. I have never found this bird building in compa- 

 nies, generally not more than two or three pairs being in 

 one locality. The eggs are from two to four, pale light- 

 blue. The young remain in the nest until able to fly. 

 From the 1st to the middle of October these birds depart 

 for their winter homes. 



Nyetiardea gnsea, var. nmvia. Night heron. Not rare, 

 arriving here by the middle of April. It soon selects its 

 home lor the summer, and by May 15th the eggs are laid. 

 They are usually four, and of a bluish-green or greenish- 

 yellow color. The young are fed by their parents till 

 nearly full-grown. In the last days of September these 

 birds leave for the south. 



Botavrus minor. Bittern or stake driver. Very com- 

 mon, arriving here from April 1st to 10th, making its home 

 in bogs and swamps. It is shy and solitary, living alone 

 except in the breeding season, when two or three pairs are 

 often found in the same locality. The eggs are laid from 

 June 1st to 10th. I have always found the nest placed on 

 low bushes never more than four feet from the ground, 

 composed of flag stems, grass and leaves; the eggs are 

 from four to eight in number, of a rich drab and light-ash 

 color. By the last of July the young are turned off to 

 provide for themselves, and about September 1st all begin 

 moving southward, so that by the last of October none are 

 to be found. 



Ardetta exilis. Least bittern. This beautiful lit'le bird, 

 the smallest of the family Ardeidce, is a very rare summer 

 visitor in this locality, reaching here from its winter quar- 

 ters about the middle of April. It is very solitary in its 

 habits. About June 5th the nest is built, but in ali my 

 wanderings I have never met with but two nests of this 

 bird. One was at Portage lake on the 8th of June, 1874. 

 It was built in a large clump of bushes growing on the 

 edge of the lake. With a vigorous thrust I had run my 

 boat into the bushes, when I startled the male bird, which 

 was quickly brought to a stop by a charge of No. 10 shot. 

 At the report of the gun the female started from the other 

 end of the bushes. 1 let her go unmolested, feeling confi- 

 dent that their nest was concealed somewhere about the 

 bush, but after a diligent search of some time I gave it up 

 as a bad job in not securing the female. During the after- 

 noon I had occasion to pass the place again. This time I 

 ran my boat iu where 1 had startled the female, and sat 

 diligently searching with my eyes, when, much to my sur- 

 prise, I observed her sitting on her nest about two feet 

 from the boat, so quietly that I removed the ramrod from 

 my gun and struck her on the back of the neck, killing 

 her instantly. The nest was composed entirely of coarse 

 rotten weeds, slightly hollowed, so as to be little more than 

 a platform, and contained four freshly-laid eggs, about the 

 size and form of the eggs of the yellow-billed cuckoo; they 

 were light-blue, with a faint greenish tint. In the latter 

 part of September these birds depart singly for their win- 

 ter home. 



Orus americanus. White or whooping crane. Avery 

 irregular visitor; two or three specimens are taken nearly 

 every season. 



Orus canadensis. Brown or sand-hill crane. A very rare 

 summer visitor; in seven years collecting 1 have met wiih 

 this bird and its eggs only once, on June 2d, 1870. 



Bailus elegans. King rail or fresh- water marsh hen. A 

 rare summer visitor, arriving about April 10th and depart- 

 ing about the last of October. Its nest is simply a plat- 

 form of grass and weeds; the six to eight eggs are laid 

 about the middle of May, and zxq of a dirty-buff color, 

 marked thickly with spots of different shades of blown. 



llallus virginianus. Virginia rail. Very common after 

 April 15th. The eggs are laid by May 10th, and by the 

 middle of October tney have departed south. 



Porzana Carolina. Carolina rail. Common with the 

 preceding. 



Fulica amerieana, Coot or mud-hen. A ver} r common 

 summer visitor, arriving here early in April, laying its eggs 

 from June 15th to July 10th. By November 1st tney have 

 all left for the south. A. B. Covert. 



— •+••*■ 



The Surveys.— Advices from Dr. Hayden state that hia 

 parties are all in the field with orders to finish the work in 

 Colorado by November 1st. Dr. Ooues^has charge of the 

 zoological division. Prof. Hayden has been verifying 

 geological observations about the Raton Mountains and in 

 San Louis Park. 



Mr. Heushaw of Wheeler's Survey, writes to Dr. Yarrow 

 that his zoological party are working in the neighborhood 

 of Lake Taho, with headquarters at Carson City. He 

 finds it a productive field, is well provided, and expects to 



make a good season of it, although necessarily a short one. 



. -♦»».. " — — _ 



Pine Finch.— The accounts of Leith Adams and others 

 of the pine finch {Ohrysomitris pinus) in New Brunswick, 

 differ so much from our own observations upon the bird 

 as it appears here, as to suggest the inquiry whether an 

 arctic form of the European pine finch {O. spinus) does not 

 regularly inyadQ New Brunswick during the coldest. 



