104 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[SEPTEilBBK 9, 1880. 



uses. In fact it may "be had in the New York restaurants 

 anci hotels under this name. Anotliev fish, Platysoniat- 

 ichthys Mppoglossoides, resembling the turbot in flavor, 

 is .sometimes brought to New York in winter. It is 

 found at great depths on the coast of Newfoundland, 

 and is often called the "American" or the •' Newfound- 

 land Turbot." The pole flounder is very similar to the 

 sole in flavor and in the testxu-e of its flesh, but it 

 unfortunately inhabits somewhat inaccessible localities 

 at great depths, and it is hardly to be expected that, 

 with the present supply of excellent food-flsh to be ob- 

 tained at 80 much smaller expense, our flshermen wfll 

 talce the pains to go in search of them. That the popu- 

 lar taste for flat fish is already -well cultivated, is shown 

 by the fact that in 1879 1,796,000 pounds were sold in 

 New York alone. 



It is needless to refer to the efforts of the United 

 States Fish Commission to introduce sole ; they are fa- 

 miliar to all who are interested in the subject. The in- 

 troduction of the trawl-net has been for many years 

 under consideration, but this exj)ensi\e mode of fishing 

 does not seem to be required at jn-eseut, since the supply 

 of fine flavored food-fishes is more than equal to the de- 

 mand. With an eye to the interests of the American 

 fisherman. Prof. Baird has recently detailed an attache 

 of the Fish Commission, one of the most experienced 

 fishermen of Massachusetts, to study the travrl fishery in 

 the German Ocean, and his report will soon be published. 



Finally, it may not be amiss to state that Mr. E. G. 

 Blackford, of Fulton Maiket, New York, has for some 

 time been authorized by the Commissioner of Fisheries 

 to pay twenty-five dollars to any one who should present 

 a true turbot or a true sole caught on this coast. This 

 oflTer is still standing, and our Philadelphia friend may 

 thus obtain fifty dollars of his required capital by cap- 

 turing a spi3cimeu of each and calling upon Mr. Black- 

 ford, which we hope he will do before he addresses the 

 pulilic again upon a question which he does not under- 

 stand, 



FISH IN SEASON. 



« 



SO many inquiries have lately appeared concerning 

 our published list of fishes in season, and our 

 changes in the scientific nomenclature of some of them, 

 that we have given the list a thorough revision, and in- 

 vite ci-iticism upon it. We deem it necessary at this time 

 to go over the list of common names and make some ex- 

 planations, lest anglers who use another name for one 

 of them may think their favorite fish is left out. Be- 

 ginning at the top with those known to have an aUas, we 

 will say of the lake trout that this is also called salmon 

 trout, a name applied to several fishes. Pickerel (a di- 

 minutive of pike)— this fish is known in the Eastern 

 States by this name, and is not found except in the At- 

 lantic streams and the lakes. Pilie— by this is meant the 

 great pUce, so called in Europe and America, except New 

 York, where it is confounded with the smaller one above. 

 Pike perch is the miscalled "salmon" of the Susquehanna, 

 Mississippi, Ohio and other Western and Southern rivers, 

 the Lucioperca of Cuvier and angling authors, the wall- 

 eyed pike of New York. Yellow perch is the barred 

 perch, raccoon ch, etc., of the South, 



Striped baes— the rockfish or rock of Philadelphia 

 and the South White bass is the striped lake bass 

 of the Great Lakes and upper Mississippi, Eock bass is 

 also caUed red-eye and black sunfish in different locali- 

 ties ; there are two species, A. rupestrisimdA. cavifroiis; 

 the common name seems to be applied lo other fishes. 

 They are caUed black bass in some places, because they 

 are really blacker than the fish usually so-called, AVar- 

 mouth— a fish somewhat resembling the above, found in 

 the Southern States. Cvappie— the grass bass, straw- 

 berry bass, chinkapin perch, speckled hen, etc. Batch, 

 elor— so-called in Ohio, the newlight of Kentucky, and 

 crappie or croppie of the lower Mississippi. Chub— only 

 the large cyprinoid, growing to half a pound weight, is 

 meant ; it is also caUed fall fish. 



In the salt water list the porgie is the scup of Massa- 

 chusetts ;a.d the East. Tautog is the blackfish of New 

 York. Sea trout, or salt ^^■ater trout, is the name given 

 to what is kjiown as Southern weakfish in the New York 

 market. Weafish is the squetague of the East and tlie 

 salt water trout of Washington and the South. Bluefish 

 is i-allricl taylor south of New Jersey, and snapping mack- 

 erel when y.img ; called also horse mackerel. Kingfish— 

 called barb in New Jersey and whiting South. 



It will be seen that it is no easy task to know wiiat 

 fishes are meant by writers of different sections, who 

 often use one name for diiferent fishes, or have many 

 names for the same species. Nor is it easy for us, cos- 

 mopofitan as we are, to select a common name for some 

 of them which liave many. In making our list we have 

 been guided by general usage as obtains in the great mar- 

 kets, except in the case of pickerel for the great pike, 

 which we consider a gross blu nder. 



—At the National Fair, to be held at Washington, Oct. 

 5th to ICth, tlu-ee classes will be provided for the exhibi- 

 tion of dogs, guns and food fishes. FuU provision is made 

 for tlie protests of exhibitors, and the best of faculties 

 offered for working up a national dog show cause celehre. 



A DISGRACE TO THE RIFLE WORLD. 



THAT wretched Halford-Hyde match seems destined 

 to keep up its stench in tiie nostrils of riflemen for 

 some time to come. Not content with making him- 

 self ridiculous in the eyes of all America and with 

 a persistent stupidity rushing on to a defeat which 

 was foreseen by all but himself, the gun-agent author 

 of that match has now turned letter writer, ant crop- 

 ping up here and there are explanations, extenuations 

 and lame apologies for his disgraceful defeat. There 

 is not enough sportsman about him to say with a manly 

 frankness: "I am beaten, better luck next time," He 

 will not give the British team the credit for the fair, 

 square set-back which they seem to have given him, but 

 instead a black streak of the raatcli is dragging its slow 

 length along in the daily press, while Mr. Hyde is 

 gradually entangling himself in the web of his own 

 excuses. The fact simply is, that by hook or crook he 

 .succeeded in inveigling a number of good shots into his 

 company, and when pitied against the British team he 

 and they were ignominiously beaten. The why and 

 wherefore is plain to any but the most prejudiced and 

 blinded aiiprehension. The team was woefuUy misman- 

 aged, and as a consequence defeat came upon it. All of 

 this could be endured. It might be explained as the er- 

 ror of overenthusiasm, that the manager of the match, 

 overconfident in the ability of the American riflemen, 

 had inisealcu-lated and had forgotten that even the fleet- 

 est runner may stumble and fall. For the vilene-ss of the 

 letter- writing sequel no such excuse can be offered. The 

 letters thu=i far written are mere spiteful attempts at re- 

 taliation like that of a "whipped cur "who turns and 

 snarls at those who will not stop and caress it. 



To come to particulars, in one of his explanatory let- 

 ters, Hyde says of a member of the genuine American 

 team : — 



Dentist Clark is, in a groat measure, responsible for the defeat. 

 He was one of theorig-itial team, pleOgeil to it long brfore the 

 f rish mateb was thoug-lit of, as 1 tmve bis letters to show, and 

 was, in fact, the only one of all the rifiemen of Amr;rieawha 

 came to me and asked for a chance to shoot in this rauteh. He 

 pledged himself anew at Dublin, after the Irish mateh, and uji to 

 the day before the match we had every expectation he would 

 shoot. Then we learned that he, passing in sight of Wimbledon 

 w.thout visiting it (fancy a genuine riflaman doioR that) had 

 turned tail, like a whipped cur, and fled to America with his 

 master. 



And again, in another letter, he speaks of the same 

 gentleman : — 



It was this opposition, coupled, perhaps, with a si-lowiug pros- 

 pect of being '• received " at New York with Col. nodine. that 

 caused Clark to run away, and it was his noii-appoaranco un- 

 questionably that caused Farrow's dL-feeiion, as rats learinjf a 

 sinking ship ; either that, or the e.vpla nation is to be found in the 

 fact that tho be'ling was two to one on the American team up to 

 the morning of the match. His nominal exctisc was that he liad 

 been unjustly deprived of a barrel of his favurite tipple. It is 

 fair to assume that had t:lark remained, I'arrow would not have 

 sold out or cieserted— whichever it was— and that they would 

 have made tlie average of the other Six (303), and that their help 

 to the others, and the absence of any " squalible," would have 

 added tire points per man all around, and consequently have wou 

 the match. 



Messrs. Fan-ow and Clark were free to act as they 

 chose in the matter, but preferred taking their counsel 

 from the members of the National Eifle Association. It 

 is, indeed, poor logic to say that had the membership 

 been stronger than it was, the team had never been 

 beaten. That goes without saying. The team was strong 

 enough to do better work, and but for its wretched hand- 

 ling it would have made a more creditable showing. 



The hints and slurs in the above quotation are beneath 

 notice, and should have their proper effect in barring 

 their author from every rifle range in America. The 

 gambling explanation of the absence of Mr. Farrow may 

 be a reflex from the mind of the writer. This certainly 

 is a fair view to take of it, when the facts of this match 

 and the utterances of the letters arc brought together. 



TwENTT-THREE JIU^ES AN HOUB.— This is in round 

 numbers the speed attained by a new torpedo launch, of 

 only sixty feet in length, just completed for the Russian 

 government, particulars of which will be found in an- 

 other column. We have all along lield that under the 

 Herreshoff system a higher rate of speed could be ob- 

 tained than from any other practice, and the successful 

 trial of the new launch substantiates the correctness of 

 our views. With their wonderful light but tough hulls, 

 their light and eflicient coil boiler, and the matchless 

 proportions of their engines, it would not be astonishitig 

 to see full twenty-five miles an hour turned out from the 

 famous Bristol yard before another year roUs aromid. 



Peofessor Jordan.- We are pleased to hear that 

 Prof. D. L. Jordan, the able ichthyologist and Assistant 

 of the United Statc-s Fisli Commission, has returned 

 from his labors on the Pacific coast, and is once more at 

 his home engaged in his long protnised synopsis of salt 

 water fishes, which was begun some two years ago, but 

 postponed on account of a pressure of other work. He 

 has added greatly to the knowledge of the fishes of the 

 Pacific coast within the past year, and has sent several 

 tons of new species to the Smithsonian Institution. 



FROM THE WATER TO THE FIRE. 



HE was a famous fellow, as well known to the fre- 

 quenters of the streams as any of tho most promi- 

 nent landmarks upon it, and right merrily had he led 

 the dance for more than one angler. He was no unso- 

 phisticated trout, but a constflStnate master of foraging 

 and skirmishing, and for cunningness and resources a 

 worthy compeer of the heathen Chinee, and although 

 he had had many a narrow escape to recount to 

 his companions he' had so far managed to free himself 

 from the most intricate meshes into which his appetite 

 had lured him. More than one leader with its cast of 

 flies had disappeared in that whirling eddy. He was the 

 hero of many an evening yarn spun by the camp fire, 

 and although never more than a momentary gUmpse 

 had ever been seen of him his weight was known to an 

 ounce. 



Thepool where he made his headquarters waa chosen 

 with the skill of 3 military engineer, inasmuch as it was. 

 a natural fortification. On one side where the water was 

 blackest and portentious of tmknown depths was a pre- 

 cipitous bank, up or down which no one could cb'inli with 

 his fishing tackle in fighting order. Tlte opposite side, a 

 dense mass of fallen trees, the branches of which reached 

 half way across the stream and f tirnished convenient hitch- 

 ing posts, around whicli his troutship could wind a leader 

 and escape at Ms leisure. Tho water whirled to the left 

 and fretted itself into foam-capped disorder and broke its 

 head against some boulders and then quietly went to 

 slumber in the black .pool below. This fish lay on the 

 edge of the swirl and could only be reached from above, 

 and if reached he had invariably unmuzzled himself by 

 managing to effect a junction with the fallen tree tops. 

 His first rush after feeUitg the hook had always been in 

 that direction, and how to prevent it without taking an 

 unfair advantage of him was a puzzle, but there was an 

 avenging Nemesis on his track who was destined to solve 

 the problem. 



A leader of extra strength was rigged with two yellow 

 jn-ofessors and a Montreal fly, and at the third cast the 

 middle fly, a professor, was fast to the old grandee of the 

 pool. A sflvery streak flashed in the sniilig',it, flashed 

 but an instant as lie made his first break, and was away 

 like an arrow toward his old allies, the tree tops, the 

 rapid current adding momentum to his run and making 

 the reel fairly hum. He was an incalescent desperado. 

 The manner of his leave-taking proved it. A fellow less 

 in earnest, with less demoniacal energy, would have 

 given tip and made no flurry about it. Not so this one. 

 His preliminary rush was whiz-z-z — z, and it was merely 

 supplementary to the other maneuvers he disx^layed be- 

 fore wc were on sijeaking terms. Whiz-z-z-z-z ! the most 

 exhilarating music that ever ticlded the tympauimi 

 Tliere was a commotion all arountl that vicinity. Away 

 he went as though he had forgotten something. He's 

 the Old Scratch himself let loose. A nervous man would 

 say better unhitch an African simoon or a North Ameri- 

 can tornado. But tlie el.tstic rod, steady and unrelenting, 

 snubbed hiui smartly as he lieaded for the tree-tops and 

 checked every rusli in the nick of time. 



That particular trout %cas fenced in ; in fact, cornered. 

 He had never before entered into a speculation in 

 which the profit promised so small a return for his in- 

 vestment. He would willingly have settled for ninety- 

 nine cents on the dollar, but his principial creditor was 

 inexorable in his demands, and would accede only to a 

 settlement in full. 



Great Scott ! but he fights just as a man tloes when he 

 is driven into a corner and knows he must strike heavy 

 and quick or take a "licking," and perhaps get it any- 

 how." Inch by inch, foot by foot, he comes. Now the 

 landing net ; so-o-o-o. Oh, Piscator ! by all the powers, 

 well done ! My eyes, what a beauty — purple, silver and 

 gold — resplendent as a tropical sunset ; weight, four 

 pounds fifteen ounces. We might call him an even five 

 pounder, but that would be lying for an ounce, and we 

 are no light-weight liars. 



What a splendid fellow he is, to be sure, considered 

 aesthetically. The .stream, from its source to its de- 

 bouelitiient. contains no finer. The piilsc-tingling ex- 

 citeniciit you have just experienced speaits of his prowess, 

 and to-night's supper wiU tefi of liis succulent obesity, 

 fit for the palate of Sardanapalus, or for the gullet of the 

 most fastidious tramp that ever tapped at the kitchen 

 door. 



What an ignoble end of a happy life ! Brought up in 

 the purest surroundings, with never a care to trouble, aU. 

 wimts iavislily supplied, growing more and more beauti- 

 ful as tlie seasons advance, until he develops, into that 

 prince of swimming things, the per-fect trout, and then 

 in his overweening confidence in his own prowess the 

 bubble of his pride is pricked ; he falls from his high es- 

 tate, and ends by sizzling ou a broiler. Miixahd. 



The Crekdjioor Fall Meeting. — By the date of our 

 next issue the range at Creedmoor will be in active use 

 with the matches of the eighth annual fall meeting. Al- 

 ready there is prospect of a good attendance of maika- 

 men, while by teams a large number of organizations 

 will be represented. The regular army is coming for- 



