FOREST AND STREAM, 



413 



the quality is inferior, being short and rough, A few years 

 ago that rare fur, the Russian sable, was extensively im- 

 ported to this country. Of this the annual product of the 

 Russian territory is only about twenty-five thousand skins, 

 about one-half of which are retained in that country. In 

 the sable line, the Hudson Bay ranks next to the Russian 

 animal, which is equal in quality; its inferiority is only in 

 the color, which is two or three shades lighter. To the 

 sable family belongs the pine marten, which produces a fine 

 fur, and is found in the gloomy depths of pine forests. An- 

 other animal of the same species, called the stone-marten, 

 makes his home among the rocks. 



A fur much used in the past was the ermine, a native of 

 northern Europe and Siberia. It is about the size of our 

 weasel, and is always hunted in winter when its coat is 

 perfectly white; at other seasons the color is brown. An- 

 other fur, which is still much used here, is the down of 

 the grebe, taken from the breast of a duck which inhabits 

 the Swiss lakes. It ranges in color from white to grey, and 

 is much admired for its beauty, and esteemed for its en- 

 during qualities. That popular fur five or six years ago, 

 the chincilla, is brought from South America, the best 

 specimens being received from BeunosAyres. The fox 

 family produces some very valuable furs, the rarest being 

 the black and silver fox, which are natives of the Arctic re- 

 gions. Beaver is now in but limited demand, and the 

 animal is consequently multiplying in our extreme western 

 States and in Canada. 



So far as the dictates of fashion are concerned, it is im- 

 possible to determine what fur will lead in the popular taste 

 when seal has had its day. One thing is certain, and that 

 is, there are no new races of fur-bearing animals, and when 

 the skin of one species ceases to be a favorite, another 

 which claimed that distinction a quarter of a century or so 

 before, will again be re-established in its lost position. — 

 Qermantovm 1 'elegrap7i. 



, •*•«- 



Trapping Notes from Arkansas .— Our correspondent 

 writes from West Point, White Co., Arkansas, under date 

 of Jan. 26lh, as follows : — 



Such a prolonged spell of cold weather in Mississippi has 

 been rather bad for trappers. With snow 17 inches deep 

 and ice 6 inches thick, lasting almost three weeks, we took 

 a favorable opportunity to make a short visit to White Co., 

 Arkansas. Leaving Seuatobia Jan. 17th, we arrived in 

 Memphis just too late for the White river packet "Hard 

 Cash ; " so, after disposing of our lot of furs to Ashbrook 

 & White, we took the train at 5 P. M., for Little Rock, and 

 after some delay were again on the rail for Kansett, White 

 Co. We were shown over much of the bottom by our 

 friend Jas. E. Valentine, from the railroad to White River 

 Crossing, from Little Red over Negro Hill, Jones' Island 

 and Raft Creek. We succeeded in collecting together forty 

 dollars worth of furs in two days, which we shipped by 

 the "Ruth" to Memphis. Coons are very plenty and the 

 fur fine; also abundance of mink and some sign of otter, 

 but no beaver in this section of the State, ©oons are very 

 destructive here on the corn crops, and of course they are 

 all fat and generally large. We hope to be able to give 

 your readers some detailed accounts of our success in a few 

 weeks. Shethah boznai. 

 <-♦♦► 



A Trapping Incident. — A correspondent at Atlantic 

 City writes: — 



"Dear Sir:— I saw sometime ago in Forest and Stream 

 an article pertaining to habits or the mink and muskrat. 

 They of course occupy old streams and sunken meadows. 

 Muskrats are very clean in their habit*, perhaps the cleanest 

 of all animal kind, their food undergoing two or three 

 washings before eating it. They are very quick in their 

 movements, of times dodging the flash of the gun. They 

 have a great many enemies, the mink being one of its most 

 persistent. They often engage in fierce battles, the mink 

 always coming off victorious. A few years ago, while fish- 

 ing on the Great Egg Harbor river, I cast my eyes east- 

 ward, and lo! I saw upon the mud flats a streak of mud 

 going up, not a hundred feet high! As I gazed upon it I 

 began to be more anxious to know the cause, and behold, 

 a mink and muskrat were having a fearful struggle. 1 

 hastened to the spot, and while on my way picked up a 

 stone. They were so busily engaged in fighting they did 

 not notice me until I was right over them, and with one 

 throw, with all my strength, I ended the struggle. 1 struck 

 them on their heads and drove them into the mud. Then i 

 grasped the tails of the dying victims and with one swing 

 apart and one together I ended their career. It was not 

 only an exciting occurrence, but one that netted me $5 80, 

 quite a sum for a boy. Hunter. 



^»» ■- 



Mansfield Island, in Lake Erie, has been bought by a 

 man who intends to stock it with black cats, and kill 

 their progeny for their fur. He will feed them at first on 

 fish caught off the shore by men who will live on the 

 island; but after the enterprise is well staited he will util- 

 ize the meat of the slaughtered cats as food for the living 

 cats. We also read that a Georgian is making an extensive 

 business of raising dogs, tanning their hides, and selling 

 the leather lor glove making and other purposes. 



fa* md Mivtt 



FISH IN SEASON IN FEBRUARY. 



SOUTHERN WATERS 



Pompano, Traehynotus carolinus. Grouper. Epinephelpus nlgrilw. 



^ m ~ lW0 *P ecies - -Famiiy Scion- Trout (black bu 3 s) Centropisiris at- 

 Ki- w' i „ rarius. 



^nigtisu, Mentichrus nebulosus. Striped bass or Rockfish, Roccus 

 »ea tfass, Sciamops ocellatus. lineaius. 



onetpshead, Aichotargus probato- Tailornsh, Pomatmnus saltalrix. 

 sS™ 4 V ,• Black Ba88 < Microptems salmoides; 



anappei, Lutjanus caxxs. M. nigricans. 



Fish in Market.— Since our last report was written ou 

 fish market has been without material change. Our quota- 

 tions for the week are as follows:— Striped bass 25 cents 

 per pound; smelts, 15 to 20 cents; bluefish, 15 cents; salmon 

 (frozen), 40 cents; California, 30 cents; shad (southern), 

 50 cents each; white perch, 15 cents; Spanish mackerel, 



) cents per pound; white perch, 18 cents; green turtle, 20 

 cents; terrapin, $12 to $24 per dozen; frostfish, Scents per 

 Pound; halibut, 20 cents; haddock, 8 cents; codfish, 10 

 cejits; blackfish, 15 cents; flounders, 15 cents; eels, 18 cents; 

 lobsters, 10 cents; sheepshead, 25 cents; scollops, $1.75 



per gallon; whitefish, 20 cents per pound; pickerel, 18 cents; 

 salmon trout, 18 cents; ciscoea, 12^ cents; hard shell crabs, 

 $6.50 per 100. 



Miramichi Fish Shipments.— We are in receipt of a 

 copy of the Miramichi Advance, published at Chatham, 

 New Brunswick, of which nearly an entire page is devo- 

 ted to valuable statistics regarding the shipment of fish 

 from this very important point. From it we learn that the 

 shipments by rail alone reached the following figures: Ale- 

 wives, 9,100 lbs.; bass, 157,023 lbs.; eels, 7,841 lbs.; sal- 

 mon, 556,389 lbs.; smelts, 196,072 lbs.; trout, 678 lbs.; 

 codfish, 1,800 lbs.; frost fish, 1,110 lbs.; mackerel, 2,930 

 lbs.; unenumerated, 94,366 lbs. In the aggregate the to- 

 tals foot up to 1,027,369 lbs. of fish, 1,239 bbls. of oysters, 

 and 5,000 lbs. of game, the latter comprising wild geese, 

 brant and partridges. The value of the fish and oysters is 

 set down at $54,507, figures which strike us as being as- 

 tonishingly low, and even less than we should have placed 

 the wholesale value of the salmon alone. The heaviest 

 shipments were for the New York markets, aggregating 

 87,361 lbs. bass, 126,386, lbs. salmon, and 109 r 283 lbs. 

 smelts. Boston comes next with 20,956 lbs bass, 102,195 

 lbs. salmon,"and 41,770 lbs. smelts. The rest is scattered 

 over the United States and the Dominion. To those inter- 

 ested in the fish trade the statistics given in the Advance 

 are most valuable, and it is a little surprising that the Gov- 

 ernment which is equally interested, should have left so 

 important a portion of its labors to be performed by a sin- 

 gle individual. It is not too late, however, to take advan- 

 tage of Mr. Smith's enterprise and example, as there is no 

 good reason why, similar statistics should not be officially 

 compiled at every station. 



Moreover, we are aware that few statistics of the kind 

 are published in the United States. Some months ago we 

 were waited upon by a scientific deputation from Germany 

 in search of commercial statistics relating to the sea and 

 inland fisheries of the United States. Only meagre fig- 

 ures sould be obtained. The matter of collection and pub- 

 lication ought to be placed in charge of the U. S. Fish Com- 

 mission, with an appropriation sufficient to defray expen- 

 ses. And each State Fish Commission should be required 

 to collect such information within its own jurisdiction, to 

 be published in connection with the annual reports. In 

 some States— Connecticut, for instance — the fishermen are 

 furnished with blank forms which they are required to fill 

 up, but we have not heard whether the attempt has been 

 productive of tangible results. 



Movements op the Fishing Fleet.— The early Georges 

 fleet are making active preparations for their first trip, and 

 some forty vessels will be ready to sail in a few days, and 

 wiH be upon the Banks in season to improve the occasion 

 of the early arrival of the codfish schools upon these fish- 

 ing grounds. The number of fishing arrivals reported at 

 this port the past week has been fourteen— ten from the 

 Banks and LaHave, and four from Grand Menan. The 

 New Brunswick herring fleet bring good cargoes, and the 

 supply, being greater than will be needed to bait the fishing 

 fleets, will be marketed in part in other markets. The fish 

 receipts for the week have been about 400,000 lbs. codfish, 

 130,000 lbs. halibut, and 800,000 frozen herring in number. 

 — Cape Ann Advertiser, Jan. 26t/i. 



COMBINATION TROUT RODS. 



\ 



Montpelier, Vt., Jan. 15th, 1877. 



Seeing a number of enquiries in Forest and Stream 

 about Greenheart trout rods I will give you my experience 

 in manufacturing a " General Rod " last season. 



I procured the wood of J. B. Crook & Co., and made the 

 rod in four joints, each three feet long, with hollow butt, 

 holding two tips. 1 also made a tip twelve inches long, 

 of whalebone, and extra butt fifteen inches long. By using 

 the short tip and butt I have a short, rather stiff rod, just 

 the thing for brooks where the bushes are so thick 

 there is not much chance for throwing any amount of line. 

 In using short butt and long tip I have one of the finest lly 

 rods for ordinary brook fishing I ever used, the natural 

 spring and toughness of the wood being just right for fly 

 casting, and by using the long butt 1 have a rod just the 

 thing for fishing in lakes and large streams. 



The only objection to having the entire rod made of 

 Greenheart is the heaviness of the wood ; it requires a 

 strong arm for a day's fly fishing. The wood will bear a 

 beautiful polish by rubbing down in coach varnish, and as 

 far as looks are concerned makes as handsome an article as 

 one could ask for, besides being very tough and durable. 



W. A. Briggs. 



The Trout op Washington Territory.— A valued 

 correspondent sends the following from Olympia, for 

 which our readers will feel thankful. It is gratifying to 

 the editors of Forest and Stream to recognize nearly 

 all the gentlemen named in the letter as subscribers of this 

 journal. " Success to their fishing !" 



•'Our territory is truly ' a sportsman's paradise,' but 

 owing to its remoteness from the great centres of civiliza- 

 tion, and the great expense incurred in reaching it, but 

 little has been said by those of us who are fortunate 

 enough to be almost surfeited with such luxuries. 



" The waters that are tributary to Puget Sound are all 

 full of speckled trout, more especially the Snohomish, 

 Skagit and Nisqually. The latter stream is fed by Mc- 

 Allister lake, where the average Olympian goes to procure 

 his mess of the finny game. Gen. Wm. McMicken, James 

 B. Pray, Thomas Whiting, A. G. Harker and J. M. Ryer- 

 son are among the favored sons of lzaak Walton in that 

 locality, and can always take a visitor to some place where 

 a full basket will be his recompense. The Snoqualmie 

 Falls will be the great summer resort of the anglers when 

 we are gone over to the majority. There in the water- 

 drip of snows that are eternal, fed by the springs that 

 pour from mountains crowned with the tempests of untold 

 centuries, are streams that will teem with the silver trout 

 when our arms are nerveless to ply the rod. That will be 

 the Niagara of the Norths 



u Gravelly Lake, near Steilacoom, will be another tem- 

 porary abode of wealth and luxury. In all the famed 

 summer resorts of the Eastern States, we have seen noth- 

 ing half so beautiful. Here is one lovely cottage, owned 

 by Gen. Sprague, of the Northern Pacific Railroad, while 

 near him is Ocklahoma Lodge, the abode of that sterling 

 gentleman, Capt. J. C. Ainsworth, President of the 

 Oregon Steam Navigation Company. The waters of this 

 lake are clear as crystal, and as the tiny yachts sail across 

 its pellucid waters, the vo^ agers can see far below them 

 the silver-sided trout darting like falling stars through the 

 silvery sheen of water. If a good breeze springs up, this 

 lake is the finest place extant for a troll with a spinni ng 

 bait, behind a good sail boat. 



" Utsalady Lake is another favorite resort of Waltonians 

 in the summer months. Back of Pert Ludlow is another 

 lake, about five miles off, where trout can be caught as 

 fast as we can wet a line. The trail is steep and narrow, 

 however, and he must be a thorough sportsman who will 

 essay the trip." 



^Hchting mdj§o%ting. 





HIGH WATER. 



FOR THE WEEK. 





Date. 



Boston. 



New York. 



Charleston 



Feb. 1 



H. M. 



1 28 



2 20 



3 11 



4 3 



4 56 



5 53 



6 55 



B. M. 



10 48 



11 38 

 7 



53 



1 40 



2 23 



3 23 



h. » 



9 58 



Feb. 2 



10 41 



Feb. 3..„„ 



11 27 



Feb. 4 



mid 



Feb. 5 



42 



Feb. 6 



1 41 



Feb. 7 



2 44 



ICE Y ACHTING. 



Two regattas were sailed on the Hudson last week, and 

 notwithstanding the fact that the ice was by no means in 

 condition to please the fastidious ice-yachtsmen, both 

 events were productive of much interest. The first was 

 sailed at ISew Hamburg on the 26th ult., between yachts 

 of the New Hamburg Club. The race as intended was not 

 sailed, owing to lack of wind, but in the afternoon a scrub 

 race was organized, the boats going three limes around a 

 course making twelve miles in a straight line. Mr. Philip 

 Schuyler of the Regatta Committee, dispatched the boats 

 shortly after two o'clock and a lively race ensued, particu- 

 larly between Commodore Grinnell's Flying Cloud and the 

 Zepbyr and Phantom. The following table shows the re- 

 sult :— 



Start. Home. Elapsed, time. 



Yacht. II. M. H. M. ». M. S. 



Flying Cloud 2 10 3 03 10 53 10 



Zephyr 2 10 3 03 12 53 12 



Phaniom 2 10 8 03 15 53 15 



Zero 2 10 3 04 33 54 33 



(Jtrickatep 2 10 3 05 — 55 — 



Whiff 2 10 3 06 40 5tf 40 



Thus the Flying Cloud won the race, beating the Zephyr 

 two seconds only, and the latter crossing the line but three 

 seconds ahead of the Phantom. The fiuish of these three 

 boats was very pretty. Commodore Grinnell sailed the 

 winner. 



On the following day the Poughkeepsie Association had 

 their Regatta and were rather more fortunate as regards 

 wind. A number of new yachts were entered, among 

 them Mi. Aaron Innis' Haze, ex-Commodore O. H. Booth's 

 Restless, Mr. John A. Roosevelt's Icicle, Mr. Theodore V. 

 Johnston's Ella, Mr. Jacob Buckhout's Gracie and Mr. 

 Aaron Innis' Hail. The course was four miles south, turn 

 flag off Roe's Glen wood House at Milton dock and return, 

 or eight miles in all. The judges or Regatta Committee 

 were Messrs. Hudson Taylor, Henry Frost and William C. 

 Arnold. The judge at the Milton flag was Mr. Theodore 

 Van Kleeck, of the ice yacht Flying Dutchman. The timer 

 was Mr. Peter Hulme. The word to go was given shortly 

 after half- past eleven, and the little Ella was the first to get 

 off, and holding her lead was the first to turn the Milton 

 flag, followed at intervals of only a few seconds by the 

 Gracie and Restless, a position which she held to the finish 

 although she lost the race on time allowance. The follow- 

 ing table gives the result :— 



Time of 

 „ . n Start. Finish. Kace. 



Boat. Owner. H. M. S. H. M. S. H. M. S. 



Restless— O. H. Booth... li 53 30 12 51 15 57 45 



Hail— Aaron Innis 11 53 15 12 51 10 57 55 



Haze— Aaron Innis 11 51 15 12 53 40 59 31 



Icicle-J. A. Roosevelt... 11 53 45 12 53 20 59 3-5 

 Gracie— J. Buckhout ... 11 54 00 12 57 35 * O'-J 31 



Ulla— T. V. Johnson 11 53 00 12 58 45 1 05 45 



By the above it will be seen that ex-Commodore Booth's 

 yacht, the Restless, bore off the honors, beatiug the Hail 

 10 seconds, the Haze lm. 40s., the Icicle lm. 50s the 

 Gracie 5m. 50s. and the Ella 8 minutes. 



1ST. Y. Yacht Club.— The annual election of officers of 

 the New York Yacht Club will take place at the rooms 

 Madison avenue and Twenty-seventh street this evening-' 

 The following ticket has been agreed uoon, and the several 

 candidates will undoubtedly be selected: Commodore 8 

 Nicholson Kane; Vice-Commodore, James Stillman; Rear 

 Commodore J. J. Alexandre; Secretary, Charles A. Minton- 

 Treasurer, Sheppard Homans; Measurer, A. Carv Smith' 

 Fleet Surgeon GS Winston, M. D. ; Regatta Commute^ 

 Philip Schuyler, William Krebs, G. L. Haight. House 

 Committee, Fletcher Westray, N. D. White D T 

 Worden, J. O. Proudfit, Geoige L. Jordon and H N 

 Alderi. Committee on Admissions, A. S. Hatch, William 

 H. Ihomas, R. Center, John H. Draper and Charles H 

 Stebbms. 



Alcyone Boat Club.— The reports of the various officers 

 made at a recent meeting of this club show a prosperous 

 condition of affairs. The club now numbers 72 active and 

 °i honorary members. Of these 63 enjoyed the privileges 

 of the club during the season. 



The report of the coxswain, Mr. A. H. Tupper, was ex- 

 ceedingly interesting, as it gave the number of miles rowed 

 Lhe ten leading scores are as follows : C. E. Wilmott 611 

 ^ eS i H - Hewitt, 458; W. C. Howard, 435; L. Saulnier 



t°^ L oo? W i tZe T r T ' £ r " 408 5 W - V ' Tu PP er > 8W; J. J. Aal'- 

 holm, 339; AH. Tupper, 270; T. G. Wells, 260, and N. C 

 Heidenheim, 254. The club has one eight-oared bar^e two 

 six-oared gigs, one four-oared barge, two four-oared Ws 

 two pair-oared shells, one double-scull gig, one double! 

 scull wherry, and one Whitehall. "uuuie 



The Finance Committee reported that the club entered 



wt Q ne V e i rwith $l0 ' 000 assets tested in clubhouse, 

 boats and other property, ' 



