Sbptembke 80, 1880.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



167 



^^ed and ^iveti ^inUn^, 



THE ALEWIFE IN FRESH WATER. 



KocitESTER N.T., Sept., \Uh. 

 Editor Furesl and Stream : — 



During recent visits to .several of our inland lakes. I 



iave niailedi.scoveries which mfty be of interest as well 



^ beupficial. I have discovered that the alewife, coni- 



monly called " saw-bellies," breed in our inland lakes. 



t made this difii;overy while drawing a small niianow 



for Imit, and drew in the yuiing fry of this and 



spring's hatch. This discovery I consider ver\ valu- 



as there is no better food for all kmds of fis'h, and 



lially the salmon trout. 1 would advise all parties in- 



?sted in any inland lake to procure tliem and stock 



leir waters. They are a more valualile food lish than 



lifi fresh -svater lieri-ing or youna; whitefish, becau.se they 



ipring spawning fish, and breed much faster. 



spawn is not mora than three or fouc days in 



'r^. whereas the fresh water herring and white- 



le fall spawning fish, and their spawn is all win- 



ltt:r in hatching, and the fact of their being so much 



Jlonger exposed makes the percentage wliioh hatch verj- 



l=nmll. As all kinds of flsh feed on them, and unless they 



' n to be cast in a spot where they will receive the 



uiroulation and keep free from sediments, they 



H hatch. The alewife batches at least one thous- 



iintr for everv one of the fresh water herrinff or 



■ ■ 111. ii- . il-!.- rt? a food fish is iiiPKlimahle. 



- ■.v-LeUies'' were pnt in eight 



-r . > :: liii-r.-. is si, ;tl-iundanee of them, and h.'is 



for the pa.st few years. 



i> show that all kinds of fish feed on them, I have 



^'■xt, with them for bait, salmon trout, black bass, rook 



perch, pickerel and bullheads, 



lave also learned in what depth of water salmon 

 ittt are found at the different seasons of the year, and 

 '" the time of day they feed. During the months of 

 May and June they are found out in deep water at 

 ihs ; in April and May mostly at the toii ; through 

 id August, and first of September thev are liardly 

 tught, except within a few feet of tlie ■bottom, and 

 hen tlie atmos|,liere and water begin to cool off in the 

 latter part ot Septeinlier tliey conmienee to rise to the 

 surface again, and in October and November are on the 

 shoals and reel's, casting their spawn. During the spring 

 Ijhey can be taken from sunrise to sunset; during June 

 ' nn sunrise until about noon, and during July, August 

 let of Jseplemljer, from sunrise until about 10 o'clock, 

 one ho\n- before Minsel. On a recent trip to one of 

 inland lakes, '-saw-bellios" being veiy hard to procure, 

 obliged to open every trout canglit in order to ob- 

 tain bdit. The trout— as, in fact, do most all fish— swal- 

 low their food whole, and the "saw-bellies" were not so 

 badly mangled but what I could put them on my hooks. 

 It w.is through this means that I learned when the trout 

 fed during Jiily, August and 1st of September. In their 

 Stomach was found the food which had been taken for 

 three days, in tliree different stages of decomposition. 

 The trout wJiieh were caiiglit from daylight until To'clock 

 bid no fresh f.jod in them, while those caught after that 

 time aud until they stopped biting at about 10 o'clock 

 contined from one to four fj-esh '-saw-bellies." I found 

 in hut few, food which liad been taken before sunset the 

 Bvening pre\icnis. which shows they do most all of their 

 feeding in the morning, and do not feed at night. 



I foun(i no young trout in any of them, which shows 

 that they do iiot feed on the young of their own kind, 

 ., " Seth Green. 



'BLAfiK Bass in Florida.— Bix/ord, Fla.. Aug. nth.— 

 Tell St. Clair if he will visit me I will allow him to take 

 bass from ponds that I ha\'e stocked, that I do not think he 

 will call anything else but the ■" large-month black bass" 

 and if iipi, satisfied with that, he can capture in the Old 

 Suvvanee River, the small mouth species. Now that 

 tdver does not empty into tlie Atlantic, Init the St. Mary's 

 does and there he can cap>tTire as line ones as were ever 

 hooked. If still he doubts he can go to Jake Sante Fe 

 anil take them there till he is tired of the sport. In the 

 JTeiiSB river. North Carolina, they are plenty, and the fish- 

 ermen call them Welshmen. In every other place South 

 where T have taken ihem, they are called '-trout," and 

 they bear to a oHsual observer a striking resemblance 

 to the speckled beauties in our Northern streams, as they 

 lie motionles in the water. Of course the illusion is at 

 once dispelled when, they are landed, 



rtEO C. RlXFOHD. 



Don't Cake Arr;oH Aboot Fishing.— Last Sunday one 

 Of our Sunday school superintendents, on Ids \va"v to 

 _i:hurch met, a buy with a llshiiig-poie, "Where are you go- 

 ing with that pole T' asked the superintendent. lie had not 

 fieen the boy .since the last time he filled up at a Sunday 

 Bchool picnic. "Please, sir, I've got a wicked father, who 

 seiiilsme out to fish every .Sunday morning ; but as soon 

 asl get out of sight of the house I am a going to play 

 hookey, and come to Sunday school," 



Vkiciont Fxsuma.— PoM//j7.ei/, Vf., Sept. lath, — I 



promised to write when I left Ulster ami Delaware 



ooini ties last May. 1 started in fisliing at this place for 



tioui. ,ind found them small and hard to get, not catch- 



I e tlian 100 in five different times I went a fishing, 



in- so weU in Ne%v York State, I concluded that 



III or fishing would not suit me, so I gave it up in 



I ^ and pickerel fishing is good, and has been all sum- 

 I'erch can be caught from sunrise to sunset. I 



I aught 200 in five hours' fishing — others have done 

 : deal better. This is a very pretty lake, and is fed 



- lier with springs, and a desirable place for lake 

 s . This could be made one of the finest fishmg lakes 

 Ji6 Umted States. All that is necesaarv is to stock it, 

 Kmake a heavier penalty than there is for netting or 

 ■'"■ng them, which I have no doubt is carried on ex- 

 ely ac certain times. Mr. B., of Philadelphia, 

 J) a 5-pound pickerel that had the marks of where 

 fl'been speared. Let the authorities look into this 

 fr. and stop it before it is too late, I hope also to 

 'e Fish Commissioners of Vermont take an interest 

 iting this beautiful lake, and making it second to 



II the northern county. Squin-el sliootmg ia excel- 

 ■artridges and woodcock quite plenty, and we are 

 i plenty of sport, Anyone desirous of coming here 



can leave Grand Central Depot at 11 A.M., ticket to Poult- 

 ney, drive three miles to lake, and stop at Lake View 

 House, Mr. P. J. Griffith proprieter, and I will guarantee 

 a cheap trip, good time and plenty of sport. 



R. C. West. 



y — * — 



''i Maine Notes.— ^m.s^/.s, Maine, Sept. 20t7i..— Here I am 

 again at mine host Hutchins', where I can en.joy myself 

 much and at less expense than at any place in Maine I 

 have ever visited. Have returned to-day from a two 

 weeks' sojourn at Alder Stream Pond, and such nice, 

 deep-red fleshed trout, and in such abundance, 1 never 

 before saw. A good, nice camp and boats, a beautiful 

 lake .set in the valley of the "Five Eomid Mountains," 

 like a " jewel set in the bosom of Hebe." 



Mine host Hutchins has just completed a road frtjm 

 his place to the famous Spencer Lake, a region entirely 

 new to sportsmen, and the route embraces twelve lakes 

 and ponds, all full of the nicest salmon trout, while 

 moose, oarriboo, ducks, deer and jiartridge nliound all 

 along the route. Should any of your pafi-ons wish for 

 rax-e sport, a letter of inquiry to friend Ilntoliins will tell 

 them all the particulars and" just as they wiU find them. 

 Address O. A. HutchinH, Eustis, Frankliti County, Mame. 

 More when I arrive at Boston. J. M. FlTCH. 



^'s " BucKTiUiiNO " FOR BLACK Bass.— H^arstttt, Ind., 

 Sept. 'Zath.— In reply to " G. F. W.,"' in Forest and 

 Stream of Sept. 16th, I would suggest "bucktaifing" 

 for the larger species of black bass in Webster Pond. I 



have foumi this allure effectual when all else has failed, 

 at tlie same time offering the most pleasurable and sci- 

 entific niorie of modern angling. The (•onstriiction of 

 the bucktail or bncklly is as folJow-s : Tie three bass 

 hooks at right angles from another. Tie the hair of a 

 deer tail around and completely covering tlie hooks, al- 

 lowing the hair to extend an inch below the hooks. Use 

 by casting same as with any other bass fly. This in the 

 hands of an expenenced and persevering follower of 

 " Old Ike," success is certain, H. A, Z, 



— Bass fishing at the St. Clair Flats has been uncom- 

 monly fruitful this season, and from this time until 

 the middle of October the punter natives of the region 

 will be in high feather. The bass are extra large, 

 many that I liave seen scoring from four to isix 

 pounds. Two that were shown me to-day weighed 

 each six and a half pounds. They were caught by J, V. 

 D. KIdredge, of this city, whose aehievements with both 

 rod and gun in former years are matters with wliicli 

 many of your readers are wellaciiuainted. All IMiermen 

 here"wlio have observed the Flats' yield say that no such 

 season as this has been known since 1.870. ' Paities from 

 LouisvOle, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Cleveland and elsewhere 

 have been enjoying the glorious sport for a week past, and 

 Detroit has turned out every fisherman who could spare 

 a day or two,ibent on the same fascinating sport. Col. Val- 

 entine C. Hanna returned yesterday from a three days' 

 excursion to the Flats, during which time he caught over 

 two hundred pounds of the finest bass seen in one lump 

 in a generation. Seventy-five to one hundred pounds a 

 day is not an unusual catch for industrious workers. A. 

 C. McGraw, a well kuown Detroiter, who carries his 

 seventy-six years as lightly as a boy, went up for a half 

 holiday on Thursday last, and caught twenty large bass, 

 every one of which was a legitimate capture. We hope 

 to see an invasion by New Yorkers before the middle of 

 October, 



♦ 



A Big Bass for a Snake to Eat. — A correspondent 

 writing from South Vernon, Ind., tells us that while 

 fishing he killed a large water moccasin which had a 

 suspiciously large bunch inside it, which on opening 

 proved to be caused by a bass of fully half a pound in 

 weight, certainly a large fish to swallow, and a prickly 

 one, too, which ought to cause a fit of indigestion, but it 

 is more than doubtful if it did. 



Weakfishing on the Coast of New Jersey. — River- 

 side House, Forked River, Sept. %ith. — Weakfishing still 

 contiues good, a dally catch of fifty per boat for the past 

 week, A party from the lighthouse caught yesterday, 

 fishing outside, 203 weakfish, some of which would weigh 

 nearly 4 lbs. Several gentlemen still linger here enjoy- 

 ing the sport, among whom are Wm, H. Hewitt, Wm. 

 Henry Brown and Jas. R. Townsend, of New York. No 

 bluefish yet. A. 



■1 An Eight and a Quarter Pound Trout,— The fol- 

 lowing letter from Messrs. A. B. Shipley & Son, fishing- 

 tackle dealers, Philadelphia, explains itself. The flsh is 

 to be mounted by a taxidermist, but would be so much 

 better preserved by the Wickersheimer jiroce.ss that we 

 always regret to hear of a line fish being stuflfed : — 



SouLE's Camp, Maine, Sept. SOift, 

 Messrs. A. B. Shiplei/ & Son :— 



1 suppose by thas time you think I have forgotten yon, 

 but to-day I have the pleasure of sending you a trout 

 (SatiiiO fontinali,?) that weighed eight and a quarter 

 pounds when cauglit. I took him on a flj^-rod and played 

 him an hour and a quarter. As you wanted a good sized 

 one for mounting I send the flsh at once. 



John A. Schulze, Ba.ngeley, Maine. 



The "Redding" Trout Flt.— A new species of fly 

 has been found to inhabit the fly books of anglers in Cal- 

 ifornia and is occasionaUy found disporting itself at or 

 near the ends of their lines. Of this new fly the Oh/m- 

 pian says : " This fly has been made by a fishing tackle 

 dealer in this city, and named by him" after B. B. Eed- 

 dmg, one of our State Fish Commissioners. The Redding 

 deer fly has the hair of the deer wart reversed on the 

 upper part of the hook so as to open when drawn through 

 the water. The lower part, or body, is made of green 

 peacock herl." 



Five Million Fish Hooks,— The Germanto-n-n Tele- 

 graph says : "The only firm in the world that is said to 

 make fish-hooks by machinery is located at New Haven, 

 Conn, They received an order the other day for five mil- 

 lion hooks from New York. The order is reported to 

 have been sent by the editor of Forp^st ami Streaji. who 

 is anxious to take a tilt at the St. Lawrence bass ! " 



All right, neighbor ; when they come we'll ask you to 

 go along, if you'll dig the wxjrms. 



lawfu §ag difd §ttij. 



GAUB IN SEASON TN SEPTKMBER.* 



Moose, Alee amci-icana. 

 Ciiribon, Rmujifrr mrlhn 

 FAk or wKpm.iJciTiix can, 

 Kedoi- Virginia deer, f. 



Rfjuirrelq -red, blank nnd gray. 

 Hivrea-brown and frray. 

 Reed or rice bird, Diilithnnji} 



'Wm~tui±riy,'Mf.lea{irh(ianniiaKi 

 Pinnated Krou.se or prairie 



ehicitens, Ctipklnnia eupidn. 

 Ruffed frrouse or pheasant. B.v 



nana limbetbi.i. 

 Quail or partridKe, Orfyj- Diruin- 



Woodcock. PMIoh£ja tninw. 

 Black-bellied plover, oi-eye, 



r:i?.<-i.5i. I Squatarol/i helveMca. 

 ami- Long-billed curlew, Numeniiiii 

 I lonffiroatAis. 

 Turnstone, or caUcn biiclc, Strcp- 



gilaarnl.crtjrcx. 

 tted-breasted .snipe, dowitcher, 



.Vaernrliniiiphiix (/ciAats. 

 Red-haeked siuKlpipor, or ox- 

 bird, Tringa amt.rhntim. 



d ^'odivit, or nriBr- 



lin, Lm _ 

 Willet, TnUinmi'niiipnhnat.uit. 

 I Tattler, TolamiK mUanoleuellir. 

 I TelJow-shauks, Totanm flarivJt. 



Sora, rail, Piyrzatlaearolina, 



*ThiB enumeration Is general, and is In confliut with many of 

 tlie St.it'3 lawR- 



"Bay |.ird.=" g-enentlly, includjnjx various species of ptover, 

 amdpiper, snipe, curlew, o.vster-eatcber, surf Iiird. phalaropes, 

 avocets, etc., comlngr under the group I^imaoltc, or shore birds. 

 Mhuy States permit prairie lowl {pinnated grouse)' shooting alter 

 Aug. 15th. 



A CONTRAST. 



CAHL DITTMAE .SAYS. 



ntxincn. I 



■'i pledge my woi 

 lU 'send' " 



lt\at 



d of honor | 

 sent, and 



vdei 



for 



sporting- pur])0.se5 wliioh slionld 

 have the sltg-hrest trace of n itro- 

 glycerine in its ooui position."— 

 Lett(u- in Rod and Gns, Aug. 

 Utb , tSVu, T.-01. VI . , page 3S!i. 



"It .soijio Kcntlemen have 

 damaged tlicir guns it would 

 only l>e by nefflig'ence. and by 

 not fol lowing my directions. It 

 is alisolutely impossible to datn- 

 afte a f?un, weak or stronfi", 

 breech or muzzle-loadinff. If mj- 

 liowder ie used acoordine- to my 

 instriiftion.s."— Letter in R.OD 

 AND Gij>', Aujf. nth, 1875, Vol. 

 VI.. No. l.B. 



'■ Whei 



Sting lir.it duly »mni. 

 '•MyiS-unpowder, when I first 

 made it, had the same teiideacy 

 as nitro-srlyoerine powder. It 

 burst moat all the guns at first, 

 when I bepan to introduooit. 

 ft wa.'T .lust the same as If I 

 would usenitro-H-Iycerinc pow- 

 der." 



I first commenced 

 inakiuff this now powder 1 had 

 no more experience than your 

 correspondent, but I have not 

 tiad a single accident, altbonj^h 

 [ have flred more than twenty 

 thousand times in a variet.y of 

 eruns."— Lettersameas below. 

 "In conclusion I would se 

 that sportsmen and riliemc 

 are and iiavebeen e.vperimen 

 ing with my new powder a 

 over the country, and the tesi 

 menials thus far received are i 

 the highest degree satisfac- 

 tory."— Letter in Forest and i 

 Stream, June 3!th, 187.5, Vol, I 

 IV., page 315. | 



We add, for comparison with the sworn statement 

 quoted above, only one quotation. It is from a let- 

 ter of Carl Dittmar, in the Forest A2JD Stbkam, March 

 16th, 1875, the italics our own :— 



" Since Ist of September, last year, I make an entirely ditfei'eat 

 powder, much harder grain, not ao compressible aa the Brat. But 

 even with the softest kind I made in the first time I have not heon. 

 able to injure my guns." 



RCIIOES OF THE "DITTMAR SP0RT1N(4 

 POWDER," 



Elmira, N. Y., Sept. 2Qth. 

 Editor Forext awl Stream : — 



I have just finished reading youi- exhaustive article on 

 the " Dittmar Powder," for which many thanks. I was 

 indebted to your subscriber and correspondent. Dr. T. S. 

 TJp de Graff (" Bodines ") for the privilege. J. B. C, 



Editor Fonst and Strca „i :— 



I have read your '■ Dittmar .Sporting Powder" article, 

 and take pleasure in saying that T like it very much. The 

 general plan you have adopted, viz., to Ijegin at the bot- 

 tom and build up in a solid and gradual manuer, so a-i to 

 make your reader.^; see clenrly the reason *y/t// Dittmar 

 powder miif:f be dangeron,?, ia just the way and the only 

 way. Ton have done nobly. I look with much interest 

 lor the balMuoe ><( your article. X. 



New York, Sept. 25Wf, 

 Editor Forest and Stream ;— 



I must thank yoti very he.artily for your excellent ar- 

 ticle published in this week's Fo'rest ani> Stream on the 

 " Dittmar Sportiug Powder." If every lover of the gun 

 would consider what lie is using and" the danger he is 

 placing- himself in by using this expIo.sive. there would 

 be fewer sluittei'ed guns, hands and heads. Fact is fact ; 

 (.null is truth, every time. Warn the sportsmen and 

 you are doing your duty. Yours truly, B. H. R. 



JSTfiW T0B«^ S^,25tk. 

 Editor Forest and StrSafn. ;— 



I have read the article on '' Dittmar Sporting Powder." 

 in your issue of the 2od iust., and take great pleasure in 

 thanking you for exposing the qualities of said powder. 

 I have itsed the powder to some extent, fortunately witiv 

 no accident : but it is needless to say that I shall never dare 

 to use it again, I believe that 1 never saw any account 

 of the explosion tliat occurred at tlie office of the "Ditt- 

 mar Powder Manufacturing Compaav " (No. 3. Aiu I 

 right?!, some lime since, in your iiaper. Would it not 

 be well to refer to same in your future article on the 

 powder? . Again congratulating :rtiu upon exposing the 

 dangerous compound to the public, and especially to the 

 sporting fraternity, I remain, vours very truly. 



" S. A, 



[Extracts from a letter dated eept. 13th.] 

 Ml-. Nash gave us very little information about the 

 loading of the exploded shell, beyond the charge, and on 

 the other hand the Dittmar Company gave us about as 

 little about the powder In the can ; for it is impossible 

 not to agree with you. Mr. Editor, that their experiments 

 proved nothing. The danger of powder depends mostly, 

 perhaps entirely, upon the speed with lehicli the pressure 



