Settejiheb 6, 1880.]" 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



107 



AdlitTAI^S AT THR ZoOt-OQICiD GARDEN, ClNCtSNAW, UP TO 



Skpi. 1ST.— One clK (C. canadengls), oue llama \Lnma pemaiia), 

 one aobu (Ba» indkus), One yuk (mmii [irunnirni^) ; iiU boru 

 fo gard«u. Oae passenger pie-eon (b. ini:jruinriv>'} , Hatched 

 In grurdon. Two egrets (Herodios eurel'ut, one military ma- 

 caw (Ara nillititrlH), one bald eu^rln i ff . u, ,i, . ...m'./m ■ all pre- 

 sented. Three ^reen monki_-.VM (Ciri , "--'lus!, one 

 vervet monkey iiJ. InlainUi!, two uouhi :ikey5 (.if. 



OU'ioiiUiliJUs), one lirown fiapuohin {d ' . ue black 



handed spidur niotikijy (AtdnK mclan(n-^Hrl , one Indian elephant, 

 (E. indlviiyi, unc brown 1 brush (Harijorhj/wcjiusru/ue), three Haiti- 

 more orioles ilcle/rm hallimon), aeveu orchard orioles 1.1. xriurlm), 

 one eowbird (Mn'nrhnt? pecfMia), Six bobolinks [Di'lichoiiux oiifzi- 

 wrus), three yellow headed blackbirds (XdnthocKijahi.'. Wtrotcji/i 

 nftui), four pink bretisted g-roabealts (O(»i7ni:o lv']<Hnciann>,six in- 

 digo birds (Oynnodjrfia cynjicdl. 7 nonpareila (C. cimVI, three \ ir- 

 ginla cardinals iC. vU-gi'iin^i'it'l, one red-headed woodpeokur 

 iMEla>t6rpeii erjjthriKcpnlu-^'), faur cut-throat fine-he? lAmiTlina 

 fasciata), B\x Java sparrows tpadiln impAxnva) , four zebra wax- 

 bWlB {BsircWii sii.hftava), lour auiaduvade ttnehea ( Bsti'cMa aman- 

 dJiia), four red-fdced weavers {Tnniiia crutliriips), four orange 

 WBaveretfiiiplt-c/t'W franci^canw); all purchased. 



Fbank J. Thompson, Sup't. 



SOLES AGAIN BROUaHT TO AMERICA. 



Vy^APTAIN J. H. MORTIMER, of the ship HamUton 

 V-/ Fish, a gentleman well known to tlie natiiralista of 

 Europe and America by his viilualjle contributitms to 

 science in many of its departments, has succeeded in 

 bringing over some live soles ;uhI depositing them in our 

 waters. Our readers' may remeuiber that the attempt 

 was made in the winter of 1877-'«, and only two .speci- 

 mens survived the change of air from tlte gulf stream to 

 the " banks," and were deposited in Massachusetts Bay. 

 (See Eep. U. S. Fish Commission, 1877, p. S67.) 



In both these cases valuable assistance was rendered by 

 Mr. Moore, of the Liverpool Museum, and Mr. C. L. 

 Jackson, naturalist of the Southport Aquarium, in pro- 

 curing the fish. The following is the report made by 

 C-aptain Mortimer to Prof. Bau-d of his methods and the 

 incidents of the transportation of this most valuable Ut- 

 ile ftsli, which is deservedly a favorite in Europe ; — 



When at Liverpool last March it occurred to me that 

 my return passage to the United States would afford a 

 favorable opportunity for the transportation of live soles 

 aiiross the Atlantic at tliat early period of the present 

 year. Ttie existence of ice abounding on the ordinary 

 track would induce me to take a more .southerly course, 

 which, in connection with the more equable temperature 

 of a middle passage, would afford a better prospect of 

 success in my undertaking. 



Cdirtinunicating my intention to Mr. T. J. Moore, 

 curator of the Derby Jluseum, who for years has been 

 ever ready to asai.st in my attempts to transport tish, 

 moUuaks, anemones, etc., aud which have been ordina- 

 rily succfssl'ul, very much owing to his kindness in fur- 

 nisliiag me material and data (all important), referring to 

 the hiiijitH and habitat ot intended companions for the 

 voyage. Considering the habits of various fish, especially 

 the solo, in litis case I suggested to Mr. Moore that very 

 young sole should be procured from the Mersey River 

 lisheriiien and placed in the tanks of the aquarium for 

 the purpose of acchmatizing them, as it were, to the cou- 

 tinentauC to my small glolios or tanks on shipboard. 

 Wnile the ship reniaiiied at Liverpool this was accom- 

 pli:ihed, and on tiie eve of my departure for Kew York 

 the number of sole obtained was only nine, the largest 

 not being more than five inoiies in length. The season 

 not being favorable for olJtaiuing the smaller fish (whicii 

 I much preferred, on account of the lesser amotmt of 

 aeration required for their well doing), I was supplied 

 witit fine gravel, coarse river sand, earth worms in sod, 

 mussels and cockles, which I had hoped to have preserved 

 ahve for dsh food. 



My method of transporting these soles was in ordinary 

 glass globes of about four gallons capacity, which, resting 

 Oil a disk of wood equal to tlieir diameters, were sus- 

 pended by six cords to hooks in the carlines of my cabin 

 where they would swing freely and in accordance to the 

 ship's motion, and with but very little disturbance to the 

 water contained in them, tinivel to the depth of two 

 inobe.s was placed in the bottom of the globes, which 

 were three parts liUed with water from tUe.aquarium.and 

 three sole were placed in each taidc, which were tlieiisus- 

 p!inde<l where lUey would bwmgclear uf eacLr other. Uur- 

 iag the first tbree days ot our passage, and through the 

 Ii-isli CUaunel, my ship duties preventei me from giving 

 much attention to the fish, other than that the water wat, 

 weJl aerated. This was etfected by the use of a large 

 syringe, the use of wliieh was subsequently abandoned in 

 favor of a small dippiug-net of coarse crash, about four 

 inches in diameter. Tiiis would etfectively aerate tlie 

 water by briskly distuibiug the surface, which could be 

 accomplished in a few minutes and without disturbing 

 the lotver part of the water or the sediment. 



On the fourth day out — being then at sea with an 

 of&Qg — I observed a turbid, milky ajipearance in a globe 

 coutaiuiiig throe of the largest fish, one of whicli was 

 dead. Without loss of time I prepared a fourth globe, 

 which I filled with ocean water brought to a density com- 

 parative with the original Mersey water by an improvised 

 hydrometer and admbcture of fresh water from the ship's 

 tanks, and which was allowed to remain six hours until 

 it had acquired a temperature equal to the water in the 

 other globes ; nieaawhde, the fish liad been removed trom 

 the unpure water, and were subsequently removed to 

 the fourth globe and new water. This acoomphshed, I 

 attempted to feed them for the first time by susi>ending 

 pieces of mussels and a living worm attached to a piece 

 ot fine thread. Tliis for the purpose of withdrawing trom 

 the water the food, if not accepted by the fish, and 

 Bo preventing ihc iiu|iurily Us remaining in the j^loheo 

 would cau-e, the «alir m all uf wlocli was kept aeiatetl 

 at le.tat t\ery four hours, uiglit aud day, Uuimg the pas- 

 siiige ol Ihili^-ill.t 1-i.ys. 

 The foUowuig uioiiuii^ the fish which had enjoyed a 



change of water were both dead, and were afterward 

 preserved in methylated spirits. Presuming from this 

 fatality that the reduced seawater was not co.".genial to 

 sustaining the sole, I had recourse to the original sup- 

 ply of Mersey .River water, which, every tliree days, 

 when slightly contaminated by the fish, was decanted 

 by a siphon from one globe to another, allowing the 

 stream from the siphon to fall some four feet through 

 the air, carefully avoiding the sediment. This method, 

 by decanting three times, would thoroughly re-aerate and 

 sweeteji the water, and this process was inaiutained for 

 the remainder of the time the fish were on shipboard, 

 making up the loss by wastage and evaporation by add- 

 ing sea and fresh waters of as near a density as could 

 be detertuined. It was observed that the solo were 

 inclined to bunow. The gravel being rather dense for 

 that accomplishment, I added sand that had been well 

 washed until it would settle in a short time without 

 clouding the water. The sole took immediate advantage 

 of this addition, and wotdd remain under the sand, ex- 

 cepting a small portion of the head, and were only dis- 

 tinguished by their brilliant eyes peering out of their 

 comfortable bed, except when ciistmbed by the aerating 

 process, or absen<.'e of air, when they would come to the 

 surface and, by their splashing, advise their keeper that 

 it was time to use his surface net or disturber, For the 

 first few <lays the fish were easily alarmed by the ap- 

 proach of any strange object, but afterward seemed 

 reconciled to their new habitat, and, like Dr. Tanner, 

 lived upon air and water i for, during the wliole voyage, 

 they declined the food offered to them. Upon arriving at 

 New York harbor I took on shore, iu two globes, five of 

 the nine soles which I had embarked, all seemingly iu 

 good condition after their long fast and the changes of 

 temperature they had been subjected to, and which, at 

 one time, while passing the flow of the Arctic current, in 

 longitude 4M'-"' west, tlie water temperature was as low as 

 ;W Fahrenheit, while the mean temperatiu-o for the pas- 

 sage was about .^.IW, ,Mr. E. ti. Blackford, at New York, 

 took charge of the sole, which, within twenty-four hours 

 were planted in New York bay, just outside of Sandy 

 Hook, care having been taken that the temperature of the 

 water they were m was gradually brought to an equality 

 with that of the bay water, which was much coltler. 



At this writing, the time of my departure is near 

 for a voyage to the North Sea, which will prevent a repe- 

 tition of my experiment, at least with the sole. But 

 from the recent experience with them I feel satisfied 

 that their introduction is ijracticablo. I would suggest 

 that they cotdd be brought by steamers in the swinging 

 globes, and during a passage of twelve daysS would need 

 no change of water, nor food. The only labor connected 

 with their transportation would be a simple aeration of 

 the water, say every eight hours, and protection from 

 the very severe and sudden changes of temperature 

 which must occur about midway the transatlantic pas- 

 sage. There might also be taken into coaBideratioc the 

 propriety, perhaps necessity, of a preserved habitat, 

 which inight be arranged for their reception, the sole 

 being doubtless quite able to take care of himself, 

 through his acquaintanoe with the habits and offensive 

 means of his British enemies. Knowing of their exten- 

 sive colonies in native waters, we may assume that they 

 are well up in the philosopliy of the survival of the fittest. 

 But do they know our bluetish, that will swallow any 

 moving object within the capacity of their swallowing? 

 Does he know of the facility with which the sheep.sliead 

 may cru.sh a clam, or of the affectionate embrace of tlie 

 starfish V If not. he must be protected untU a knowl- 

 edge of the defensive means to be used are act^uired by 

 the sole. Then they will adapt themselves to the most 

 favorable surroundings within their reach, 'colonize and 

 increase,' and following such a happy result, our ichthy- 

 ophagists may enjoy a fillet of sole that may not have 

 been sliced from a fishy flounder. 



CODFISH HATCHING HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL. 



«y Gloucestek, llass., Aug. 2ith. 



Editor Forest wid Stream :— 



Intiuiries among the boat-fishermen, who fish off this 

 harbor, liave brought to light some interesting facts con- 

 nected with the hatching of cod (Oadus vtoirhiia) at this 

 place winter before last by the United .States Fish Com- 

 mission. Itappears that last summer, a few months after 

 the young fish had been "set adrift' off the harbor's .mouth, 

 to seek for themselves, many were found in the harbor 

 from an inch and a half to two inches long, presumably 

 some of those that were hatched at the station. 



This summer none have been seen in the harbor, but 

 the fishermen report having frequently caught, just out- 

 side the harbor, a mile or so from ttio entrance, small 

 cod measuring from fiveto seven inches in length. Some- 

 times as many ;is six or tieveii have been tfikeii at one 

 time by a sinirle person, and this is fill the mi .re rciiiaik- 

 ahle as the li.'-hermen say they have never known the like 

 to occur before. I_ nfortimately no specimens have been 

 obtained, as the fishermen have thrown them away, they 

 having no market value, Alllnjugh there can be no ab- 

 solute certauity that these are the fish that were hatched 

 by the Commission, there not yet being any authentic ac- 

 count of any being caught labelled U. S. I . C. still, tak- 

 ing into consideration their size, and the fact that codfish 

 of such a size have never been foimd plenty before, it 

 seemed no more than reasonable to suppose that these 

 are some of the lot sent out by Uncle Sam, and that the 

 little fellows are still hanging around home. J. W. C, 



CALIFORNIA SALMON EGGS. 



The following circular has been issued to the diffexent 

 State Fifih Commissions ; — 



United States Fish Commission, ) 

 Fish and Fishekies, 

 Washington, Sept. 1st, 1880. ) 



As the CaUfomia salmon eggs collected by Mr. Livings- 

 ton Stone at McCloud River, Cal., during the present 

 season will before long be ready for distributian, 1 write 

 to ask you what number you are desirous of receiving in 

 behalf of your State, to be hatched out and planted in 

 public waters 



It shoul I be understood that the freight from the hatch- 

 ing station is to be paid by yourself, and possibly an ad- 

 ditional charge not to exceed $1 per thousand lor tho ex- 

 pense of packing and shipping. 



Please advise me of the address to which the eggs are 

 to be shipped. Due notice will be given you by telegraph, 

 or otherwise, of the time when the es-gs may be expected. 

 They will be ready to forward about, or not long after 

 Oct. 1st. Spexckr F, Baikd, Commissioner. 



"' Lake Trout Eggs to be Had in Quantity.— The fol- 

 lowing letter is self-explanatory : — 



Wolfe Island, Aua. 28th. 

 Prof. S. F.Baird:— 



Sir :— I beg to inform you that the fishing grounds in 

 Lake Ontario, situated about ten miles from Cape Vin- 

 cent, where tho New York Fish Commission have ob- 

 tained all their salmon-trout eggs, is still in operation. 

 The proprietor has been notified that the New York Com- 

 mission will not requu-e any this season, and so far no 

 other person has made arrangements for the spnwn. If 

 you know of any fish breeding establishment which is 

 deau'ous of obtaining two or threemilllon of .salmon-trout 

 eggs please advise them to apply at once to Patrick Troy, 

 Wolfe Island, Ontario. The salmon-trout fishing com- 

 mences immediately, and ends on the 30th of October. 

 Communications will receive strict attention. 

 Very truly yours, 



Peter Kiel, Fishery Overseer. 



We understand that eggs will be furnished already im- 

 pregnated if desired. 



TROUT MURDER. 



THE mill pond at the head of Caledonia Creek, in- 

 cluding the springs, was suddenly emptied on' the 

 la,st day of August and the whole sli-eam poisoned by the 

 disturbance of the sediment and the consequent liberation 

 of sulphuretted hydrogen. Mr. James Annin. Jr.. whose 

 ponds are the first below the spring, is the main sufferer, 

 as he owns the stream for some distance, and depends 

 largely upon it for hissupply of eggs to meet thedemandsof 

 his customers, and not so much upon the fish in his ponds, 

 which are fed by other springs, the State hatchery also 

 suffers in the loss of salmon, native and Western trout, 

 which were beyond price as breeding fish. 



It is claimed tliat this lowering of the water in the miU 

 pond is necessary for the purpose of removing the weeds 

 which fill it, but the owners know by experience in for- 

 mer years the terrible consequences attending its sudden 

 lowering, and should be held responsible by law for all 

 damage done to those below them. It will take at least 

 three years to replace the trout killed, but the market 

 value of the trout lost does not represent one-tenth of 

 the injury to either the State or Mr. Annin. to both of 

 whom each fish represented a definite number of ejjgs, 

 which are not only lost tliis year but for succeeding ones 

 also. If there is no law which covers this case, and pro- 

 tects fish culturists from the acts, careless or otherwise, 

 of people who may have property above them, then we 

 suggest that one be framed and passed at the earliest 

 opportunity. 



gm mid giveii ^iHlmq. 

 — ♦ 



— Address all commimicatioTis to"Iorest and Stream 

 Publishing Company, New York." 



FISH IN SEASON IN SEPrEMBEB. 



I WATEK. 



GrayllDK, TliumalllUi tric'ihir. 

 Laud-locked Salmon,* Sal mo 



i<aUi r. 

 Lake Trout, Salnui nainayewsh. 

 l\laskalol,^'t■, tls^.r n.,hut,ii: 

 Pickers;!, t's".i; ixdmilalus. 

 Pike or Piekerel, t:»,x lucius. 

 Pike-perch (wall-eyed pike) 



SliziiieUiiiun iimeriiMiivm. s. 



yrUieuiii, etc. 

 Yellow Perob. Perca fltwlalilU. 

 Striped Jiass, RocciU! Uiieaixu). 



While Buss. I-triccw* chrysopx. 

 B.ack Ba&-;.Uicr<ipUrU!i. (Two 



ppecie.s.) 

 •Rock Ba'<s, AmblopHles. (Two' 



speeit-e.) 

 War-mouth, Chcenobrjjttm guJo- 



Crappie, fomoxjjs in'flromaoulo- 



Sca Bass, Venlirtitriatisatri 



SALT WATER. 



tea "Trout," Cynmcyon caroH- 



Spot, or Lutui 



<Mhiuu.-<. 

 Spot, Kodlish. o 



Channel Bass, ] 



Tiiuioif. Taatii\iaiinUv<. 

 Pollock, Pollachitis iMrbnnariu, 

 * In jMaine uatll Sept. Ifiih. 



iker, Miciiipiignn wiclulntus. 



^Ilsll. /-■o;».|!.„„u.< ^aiiMrU. 



lieh Mackerel, Ciiljimn mac- 



Ituin. 

 I Cero, Cijhtum regale. 

 I lionito. Sayda pclainys. 

 I KlngHsh, Munlicirrus nebulosm 



ALASKAN ICHTHYOLOGY. 



^ Sitka, Jnne Ut. 



SPRING is gone, but not with it the great deposit of 

 ■■now, which still covers the mountains to such ex- 

 tent that prospecting and quartz mining are stiU imprac- 

 ticable. "\Ve have passed through the must severe winter 

 recorded in the annals of Alaska, bat the spring has been 

 almost continually pleasant. I doubt if there is a spot 

 in the temperate zone av here the "precipitation'' has 

 been less than that at Sitka, >vhose climate has been so 

 much heUed. During March, April and May there has 

 been rain or snow on 468 hoiu-s, or on less thaui 31 per 

 cent, of the time, and there has been blue sky and sun- 

 shiny weather on 1,H09 hours, or nearly 60 per cent. ; 

 and during the intermediate 19 per cent, of the time 

 there has not been altogether as much fog as I have 

 Feen on our eastern coast in half a day. By months: 

 March, 81 days. 744 hours. rain4S hours, snowHS hours, 

 blue sky 438 hours ; -April, 3u days, 720 hours, rain 117 

 hours, snow 8 hours, blue sky 401 hours ; May, 31 days, 

 744 hours, rain 148 hours, snow hours, blue sky 470 

 hours. Can such a climate be justly termed "suniess" 

 and made up of " gloom and fog?" 



Had we had more rain we would have been better off 

 in many ways ; the snow would have washed off the 

 mountains, and the citizens would not have been troubled 

 witli a scarcity of water. It may turn out Ijiat this 

 (emporarysioppa'fo of mining d. v, lopmeiits in Ibis vi- 

 irinliy win pr.ne a blessing m di.<gui.se. a large iiumber 

 of mill IS who have been winlfriig here Iihv.- lost their 

 hopofulius.. as their '-slakes'' diniiiiisliHl and lia\e t.-k.u 

 advantage of the iuviUltion brought by the iudiuns, wh^ 



