NoTEirBEE3.j, 1880.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



329 



posited in the hatching-house and the trout, vminjured, re- 

 turned to their native eloneut. A large part of the trout 

 taken by these seullemen before the close season (when tlicy 

 had a perfect right to do what they pleased with thcivi) were 

 returned in the siiine way. It is too true tliat iiinny large 

 trout were taken at the Upper Dam this fall (previous to the 

 close time) hy useiug spawu for bait. The best remedy for 

 this, we think, would be to have our much-tinkered tish law 

 "liakcred just once tnore, and after the first of September (if 

 ^'not before) to have trout taken in uo other way than by fair 

 ^Angling witli the artificial fly. F. C. Barker, 



Capt. of Stmr. Onuossoc, on Mooseluckmaguotic Lake. 



fi^f( ^nlinre. 



WHY LOBSTERS ARE SCARCE. 



fllMK Now Haven (Conn.) Re-ghler has been interviewing 

 I Jlr. Fuller, of the Long Wharf Fifth Company, on the 

 subject offish, lobsters, etc., and Mr. Fuller says, iu speak- 

 ing of the latter : 



"Lobsters, which are a favorite article of food in the snin- 



niLi , lire kept alive in cars. They are a peculia.r sort of scsi-bird, 



-lers, und they are a sort of comnninists who live very 



. V tliemsel ves'and in .selected localil ios only. Ten years 



I. Oil;.' WlKirf Fish Company rcriulrvd ;i ball' million 



j„iui,ils <if loiisttrs lo supply then- cu«loiiii-i\-i. Imuiow 350.000 



pounds will lill the biil. Then llic lolisteis were w(,ii li ^2. .50 



to ifiti a hundred pounds, now tin.')- art' ivurlh -i^ii. tliL' rciasou 



for the increase in price being Iho Ljreat demiiinl f jr the ti.sh 



and the limited supply. They formerly rclailcd IV^r rour cenlg 



a pound, anil nov/ the price is from eight to nine nnls, m\~[ 



where a man could once get enough lobster for a gu.jd heart}- 



nioal for a quarter he has to pay a half-dollar. There are two 



reasons for the marked tncreii.se in price, the demand for the 



fisli and their scarcity. Lobsters liavo been hunted very 



,.i,,ci.!v for the past ten m- 1 w.'lve \'<-.,vi Mini i)ie result is that 



",'!■ Tuji li('i-n al:-' ■ ■ -'i-s-Sary age for 



,1 ii^^r. A 1, ,i,„ , ,f age bet'ore it 



,ti_'s'. imii until 111 , !.i ::,(■ they aic not 



. r nmch as an artifle of fuml. X.'util recently the laws 



of the Stales looked out for the preservation of the 



1 . The laws of this State prohibit the catching of lob- 



siei-s on our shores until they are 6^ uichos in length. The 



laws of New York, Slassachuuetts and Maine prohibit no!. 



only the cati.'hing, but the exposing for sale, of lobsters under 



lo "ini h.s ill length, and these laws are expected tohelppre- 



ir as ft food fish. A dozen years ago the lob- 



iie to our market were brought in smacks by 



M ' lionglit thorn from parties owning the pots in 



w iiieli ility -.M re r;!nL!:lii. Tin- li.iHiri,-: ii.-eii lo run then from 



three pouiid.^ u|i i > ■_■.',- Im' :in'l ti!ii-eii ... ",i'i_rlil, and dealers 



refused to lake' l.i, :- ■ mrj'!i:ij ■■•';'•'.■ ••■w jiriundR, on the 



ground llial they were i'' I:'.-- i- i" ■ ■-.'A^'. SiniT'lcnif-ii 



used to buy lobsters in 1 1 1 ; 



each lobster was conn ten i . : , , . . i ; r 



it weiu-htd threeorten. T.' -i v, . ,_ he — ,1. ■ 



were not aeee|)teil, and the l<jljsier.s v.ere ]He,i,:i,, 



n:„eii iier pound and sell! in llie same wuv. !!■ !.• ■ _!.i 



;■,,,,, loiina that vvtieiihecaeietoliepaideaeh ; li -I ' r . , . ,! 



,,:. II' e I ■■, no lefB, liiit lie who lioiulii i.f lie- 



., ' .■ I . i. mill wei^'ht, riu that llie bu^inesa wa.'i. a 



,,. : .; i. r the sinaekiiHii]. Then the lolisfcrs 



,neia-o aie;.ii. l:vc p(juud.4. i\ow it 13 a rarer .sight to 

 ve-poimd lobster than it then was to see a Jitteen- 

 r, and a $10 bill wouldn't buy a tei:-pound lobster 

 allays. The lobsters that find their way to the market 

 now average only from h mi : , ",; to two ami a 



tiuarter pounds. The i in ei/.c is that 



all the large seed lob 31 1 , on the princi- 



pal Hshingg.ounds and omi> ui. i.ariian.v-^rown offspring re- 

 main to lie caught and eaten, so closely have they been hunted 

 for during the past ten or a dozen years. 



" The lobster is a grubber on the bottom of the sea, aud 

 when caught and plu^r^'i'd and brought lo market here some 

 funnv facts are br.iu'ilii, to light about them. One of these is 

 that when a lobster is i;i\. !■ iiis libeity in the waters of oiu- 

 harbor it will always sr: in- east, none going to the 



westward. This is pi i V : occasionally one of 



tlie cars in which they mouth of the harbor 



will be struck aud brok, II le. .- i -sel making or leinTn^- 



the harbor.. The lohst.ers scauiiier aivnj,- froia IIki lit-k.-ii o.ir 

 and with great rapidity crawl m the .r;i-l\\a:!l, wieie iLe>, 

 are frequeluly caught in the h.listei- pot.; siaemi li.nweeii 

 BranfordandKewMkoiifloii. Th.y are kimwii to hare es- 

 caped from the ear liecaune tlieir .laws are ]i!iiL'L:ed and be- 

 canst: they we larger ilian tlie loh.siev.s wuieh irequent our 

 Kever yet have any of these esca])t'd iiri-soners lieen 

 i id west of this city, so far as is known herealiout. The 

 IS don't like New Haven harbor a-s a place nf resirieaee. 

 „.,,,,, el away from it as (piiclr as they can oo .i, The lob- 

 ster lias to crawl away, too, for he is E" ; i ih usiiiuted 

 that he can only swim backwards. Tlri , . . iiiite rap- 

 idly, loo, by Ihe quick-folding under liiia ■! Mh ;iexilile tail. 

 So ilie lobster is an 'Iriphbull' — when he wants to swim 

 ahead he has to Bwim back-ft'ords." 



> Maine Sahdinks. — The Sullivan Biil'<l'ii, iiiibii''he,s an in- 



; teresting account of the work done at tin sanline iaclorj' at 



F.a.sl Lamoine. Tho fish used are the snialleet irerring such 



III to be tlu-own on the ground for fertilizing purposes, 



I IS! labor involved iu theu- preparation for market is thus 



I i led : First, the boatman goes on a visit to the weirs 



ill r leuchman's Bay and if not successful, around Mt. Desert 



and throush Uniuu' River Bay uito the rivers and among the 



small ialaiTrla where weirs are built, aud if possible gets fi.sh 



iiiio rhe dories he has ui tow; then through fog or blow makes 



lickest time possible for the works. Oftentimes he re- 



without any colors being set,- that being the sign of 



'-h :" when successful lie riin.= in to the track laid Qu-wn 



Hater and the il I 'i . 'i ' placed on a car 



...iWii up uiali: I are washed and 



. the ainall oii _ il.lcs, aud the 



: , one.s packed in -..loj.,. iu.- i., ...lilcd tile culling 



:iii! Alongside these tables, having boxes ranged on them, 



I ' oung boys and girls, armed with small sharp knives, 



V .: cuttheflsh iuto just the length for the sardine boxes, 



aud when Ihese boxes are full they arc pas.^ed into another 



I room cjdlcd the Hake room ; they are then taken and 



placed singly on flakes made of W(»d, and after dripping arc 



passed into the diying room — a close room on the second floor 



with racks into which the tlakes of fish are passed, Rclow is n 



Tery large sto^e, burning wood, wjiirh soon dries \he, flakes 



of fish. Thence these dry tlakes are passed into the frying 

 room Tshei-e a large furnace or oven is at fever heat, and the 

 li.sli are placed in large pan.s and with great care arc fried. 

 Agaiu the carriers take them and pass them to the packing 

 room, where the quick fingers of women and girls place them 

 in boxes and pour pure olfve oil and other seasoning prepara- 

 tions over them, aud info another room they go called the 

 heading room, where each bos receive,, the heading or cover. 

 From this place the boxes pa.ss to the sealing lonm, where 

 long tables with portable furnaces and all neresEaiy tools for 

 soldering purposes are found, and Toimg men with soldering 

 irons soon prepare the boxes to be passerf iiita the bath room; 

 ft large tank, holding more than a heiL'.slieiid of water, heated 

 to a boiling pitch, receives them, and after remaining in the 

 bath a certain time, the boxes are ]iiissed into the examining 

 room, where every box is examineri eaiefnily for leaks, and 

 if any am found they ao- nir-vA l jri: ;i. iln; -ein'-iii and bath 



rooms. Those that are I i . ■ i, m.; room, 



where large hos-like i.i! i ' , ' ' leeeive 



and deft little fingers cle;...Be u.eai ... e.ery isatielu ei; njl :.ii.i 

 dirt, and they are then passed to the final examining' 

 every box pressed between fingers aud thumb lo see tin i i i 

 are all perfect. Theflnal packing roomreceivcsthem, am : i ! 

 are packed one hundred hoxes in each case, ^jranded aud 

 ready for shipping. 



The hoxcs in which the snrdines are packed are uniform 

 and bear the same ma;' i i " ■' i i ■ ' ■■ -; --i - flaking 

 the tin boxes is a se]::; I , imouni 



of machinery, ami as i ' il euiii- 



panicswill have a mauiL.*.- ji,, i .-i-.. j .u. 



This company, and iu fact all the companies, pay their 

 work-people every Saturday, by the piece, or, as it may be, 

 b}- the day. 



^nQ md 



mn. 



THE RISKS WE RUN. 



A SHORT lime before the war the -winter, a younglanyer, 

 full of hope aud manly ambition, a resident of the 

 beautiful country towu of Magnolia, in the sraiiliern part of 

 Arkauea.?, fond of his gun and the ivooiis, uml never miss- 

 ing an opportunity to indulge in liis favoiile aiiil healtligivirig 

 pastime, was, onasultry day alioutthe middle of .Septcmlier^ 

 sitting in Ihe coolest part of thcollicc poring over some knot ly 

 law ques.sion, when a little darkey entered, having a pair of 

 saddle bags across hia shoulder. "Fumbling in his pocket he 

 produced a bundle of newspapers, which being unwrapped 

 disclosed a modest little hillet-doux -vvlitch he handed over. T, 

 proved lo he short, pointed, but to me full of meaning; it read 

 thus : 



Protracted meeting at Cln-isty Ohapel next Friday. Saturduy 



■ ' GkoBOIE," 



iiarentU- in tliLs iiol iee ealcifiatcd 



T--ngtoa 



Louie, a 



■ I'll-' irinheart- 



g of tlie poor, am! lit ious young 



of this fact seat the warm blood 



and aunciay. 



Now, thei-e wasnoihin-j- 

 to stir a man up, but s!i 

 church meeting, yetii 

 futiu-e of love and bli.^.- 

 cdgirl who was then thnii; 

 attorney, and the knowieil 

 tingling to my lins-er lii.is. 



I gathered ir I ■! i .i-:. .... i s^;- .- r." ports scattered 



about ray chaii ■ .nsulted the of- 



fice docket, a i Nelson set tor 



Friday. That i j ■ , _^ : : once. S,> next 



day, after heing granted a couLinuauce, I hurried throngli ivyv 

 preparations ordered my bugg}"- for oue o'clock siiarp ; anil 

 dressed in a lightsunmier suit, part of which was white pants 

 .and close fitting cloth gaiters. One o'clock found my rig at 

 my office door. 



It would be supposed that a person dressed as I was would 

 liave no use for a gun ; I thought diltVreut. 1 Ivuew that the 

 father of the young lady who had sent inc notice of the 

 meeting at Christy Ohapel was a great huntsman, a «ijlendid 

 shot., kept a-jiack of homids and wa.g in the faddle half of 

 his time behind them, and I thought it Iie.st lo be prepared 

 for either church or tlie chase. I tooli my gun, n six and a 

 half pound, thirty inch, fourteen gau,L';e, "highly finished 

 double German, with a supply of Elyks wire cartridges. Also 

 pulled out my high watei-pn.iof boots from their corner, but 

 after retieelion iiul them back, for really I had no thought of 

 hunting. 



I s'artcd on my journey of twelve miles to the large, hi,i,'h- 

 ly-caltivated plantation of .1. T. Furlow, E.sq., situatetfon 

 rlie south side of Horsehead Creek, in the southern pan, of 

 the county. My horse was fresh, I marie good time and ia 

 due time reached my destination, and foimd that the gentle- 

 men of the house were ,.mt uii a, fox eliasie. 



That evening when the tired hunismen returned, a now 

 iind extended liunt was planned for the ni.nTow, iu honor of 

 iiiy— to all save om — unex]jeel,eil vi.^it. This did notsuit me, 

 Imt I could say mithing- ilad I not told the old gentleman 

 the object of m}- coming was a himt, aud he knew I loved the 

 sport, so I held my peace. 



Sal'urday morning .saw five of us mount. >rr. F., turning 

 his horse toward me,' slopped suddenly, looked at my linen 

 pants and cloth gaiters and queried. '• Where are your boots, 

 man? You cann.jt go into the bottom with those .shoes. Fur- 

 got your boots ? That is unfortunate. Howa-ver. you can 

 take the stand in the overflo*, there is no underla usU Ifiere." 

 So each one took their way to thc^r allotted ti;ai:es, Mr. F. 

 taking the dus.s down ihe liottoni, intending: to drive up the 



creek - 

 unbro: 



IwU.v , , I . 

 about iwii acres as eie.ni ac- 

 tion of a large hollow log t i 

 The standing trees were 

 hat shut out" the sunlight. 



entre of the bottom in a dense, 



here the last spring ovcjflow 



i all rubbish, leaving a space of 



•. threshing floor, with the excep- 



it had stranded near the centre. 



iile fipart, with spreading tops, 



,ui.vc.i.^vv ......V v.^... ....... .j,.... After securing my horse in the 



edge of the lliicket, I selected the stranded log~for my stand, 

 hut after remaining there a short lime I moved forward and 

 stood behind a large spreading oak, some twenty steps from 

 the log. 



The forenoon had passed in silent watchini and waiting to 

 hear from the dogs, which seemed to be playing from side to 

 side of the bottom, far down the creek, but coming no nearer. 

 Past experience had taught me to stick to my post in silence. 

 When ibesun had reached the meridian I bad intended to eat 

 my lunch ; but 1 deferred it on accomrt of a strange chilly 

 sensation that crept over me. This feeling returned at short 

 intervals for about half au hour. I paid but little attention 

 'o it, but as time passed the feeling grew more intense. 

 '^harp, tremulous thrills would run up my hack, leaving a 

 twitching sensation that made me very unfomfortable. This 

 Coatinucd fnr niiout an hour, nnd settled into a deadly fear. 



I trembled from head to foot. I glanced furtively from side 

 to side, but all was clear and still. I strove to brace up 

 agaiiust it, tried to shake it off, to no purpose. Tlie more I 

 tried to master it, the more intense tho feeling .grew. At 

 length I thought of a panther, for they were no stranjiiera in 

 thebottom. I'erhapa there was ouecronchinL'- iu the branehes 

 overhead ready lo spring on me. J hdd my uun fnmlv, on 

 full cock, searched every limb and brain, h overheail om-arli 

 side and behind. I could see noihing. I hei,l my post , iit;id .ih 

 a statue. It was a perfect cahn ; aii wa.s silent ; the .stillness 

 -was oppressive. Th-at sidTocating sense of danger grew up- 

 on me ; I was afraid to move, yet could hear, coidd see no- 

 thing to cause it. 



Calling up all my fortitude, T determined to shake off the 

 terror that had seized me, an.:i I liad partially succeeded, 

 when a sharp sound, qiiiek as rhe sti-oke of a battery, went 

 through my esn- \ 'i'- - ;> -i- -■ - i,-, niy high-struiig'nmwes. 



f,-om, myeyi risi on my riu'lit, then 



in fivint. TI..M _,_^ _, :j_n:.'I: sn.-- -.,ii.!i when the 



II ' ,-ti-ceziug somiii i— nearer, 



! I i.iefore. Quick i, i my left 



■I ,,r,|, 1^ ii|-i. within three i - T stood, 



a moll- I • ■ :,i nd flattened our ,-,,,1 



side III -,, nreparius for ' ! 



creel, iMii I,,: ■isidingfiM-thtlei 



lime, i.mivvhile'myVyes'^^eie H ."i '1' :',' ' ,, ■,,,,;'' 



jaws were ...peiied to their full L\ ,1. ; , 1 ,: ,1 



myguucaiiK' in line with my si_',ii— Is,' i; ,:iii,;- 1,, ■ , | '/rn^^y 

 net— I bad made noelfort in that direction, but there they were, 

 I pressed the trigger, then a flash, ropoi-t, and a heavy Iilow 

 on the calf of my Ti.ght leg. I had missed aud was ."truck. 

 Miles from a house, no help near; death stared mc in the 

 faci'. ily ftr.st Ihotighl wa.s to spring from tlie tree anri liga- 

 ture my limb. I pulled out my handkerchief and tied it 

 round my limli, using my knife as a twister. The smoke was 

 slowly lifting and I ,?aw the repulsive monster writhing in its 

 death ag.inie.s, headless, at my feet. I then examined my 

 limb. iMy tiri'i winte diuai giants, from the knee down, iu- 

 cludiiiLi- I , I ■ I .- -,i I .-, ■ Ml .1 • M, iih the blood of 



thesrii" , "I'lle.ss. i\[ypow- 



derv.;.- h . 1 ,1 ,,i, , ; .lii- head to atoms 



while ill iiiing tiie 8[iring. I actually ki.ssed my 



faitbf'i It had saved my life. 



I V i iwu, sick and trembling, my lips and 



throat , . : I. --. tr 3 rest I went to the creek, laved my 

 temples and iliank a mouthful of the tepid water, returned 

 to niy si.and, loaded my guu and calmly investigated my now 

 past danger. 



The gnake had itsden in tho : , i ■ It had seen me 



standing motionless by the tr., with tho still- 



ness of death toward me, as ii the bare, dusty 



groui.d showed, aud while my ll.•.NL■,m^ um luen directed in 

 searth of a panther in the tree-tops it Lad escapeil my nt.iicc 

 on tliO ground behmd me. It must have made slo^^■ progress, 

 as the feelina- of dancrer was on mc more than an hour, and 

 when ii- , II , ■ ■'■-iiv.;- di.stanee gave the first note of warn- 

 ing. J, -lie pov,-er told me of my danger? Can 

 any on,. ' , i' 1 cannot ; it is a mysteiy lo me even to 

 thfs dii)'. 



I measured the reptile, which, without the head, was a, 

 fi'aclion shorter tlian two lengths, of my gun bairels. I cut 

 oft' the rattles which were nearly eight inches in length and- 

 eighti'fin in number, with some buttons. This ended my " 

 himt that day. 



When I returned to the plantation with my trophy I found 

 the other hunters there before me and two large bucks hung 

 beneath the stoop of the smoke.-hou.se. After recounting my 

 adventure and exhibiting my pants aud gaiter, the old gen- 

 tleman remarked : "I thonght you ought to have your boots 

 on; 3'ou will bring them next time, I think." 



I was easily persuaded to stay over the next dry. The wide- 

 spreading grove that surrounded the cool porches of the 

 dwelling'of my gencrons host was so inviting that we con- 

 cluded umI to alieiid Christy Chapel after all.' It is but fair 

 to .«<tiitc that the faithful little gun that saved my life was a 

 short time afterwards forcibly taken from mc, while return- 

 ing f reau a squirrel limit, by a squad of Texas troops then on 

 their way t,ij— as they stated — Chicago, CAi-JS Rock. 



We inviie tJie special alte7ition oftlte readers of this column 

 to owi' PropodUffn, to OenUemen Sportsmen, to be found on an- 

 other page. 



■«, . 



NORTH CAROLINA QUAIL SHOOTING. 



L-hlr enjoyable 

 1 III have re- 

 r spe- 



IIIAVE just returned home from 'j ttioro' 

 shooting trip to North Caroliii:., si 

 quested your readers, for the beneh i o 1 1 

 cies, to give the result of such expei.iiri .^i. 1 -id you triiis 

 account in the hope that some forlorn, disheartened hratherof 

 the craft '•seeing, may take hesirt agaiu," and follow iu my 

 footsteps, for I can assiue him that if he will take the point I 

 will mention as a center he can go in any direction and find 

 all the quail shooting he could, would, or should desire. 



For neiirly a year past Fred and I bad talked of a trip 

 South to see if the shooting was really what it was "cracked 

 up to be," and after having consulted guide books and 

 wearied our friends with inquiries, it auddeuly occurred to 

 me that the likeliest person to tell me where to go would be 

 the niau who cultivated my inherent love of tho field, and 

 who taught me the first principles of " holding my pijie 

 straight,"' now a resident of North Carolina, so to him I 

 wrote. His answer came at once— "Come down here," 

 and although we had rather settled on Virginia as a tenqjor- 

 ary aliiding place, we altered our plans. 



Saturday afternoon, October 30, found us on the deck of 

 the steamship Old Dominion, bound for Richmond, for, 

 although we could have gone by rail all the way, we found it 

 easier on the dogs and less fatiirning for u; to travel part 

 way by steamer. Tla r ■,";' inT, , . " siL Cirolina, by 



rail or steamer is the f inakes no 



charge for doga, and I . .:,,...[ them 



and saw thatlhoy wi n ^^^....u ........j.;. ai...l ...li .qjpareutly 



siitisfied -with the gratuity of a. dol'ar for each dog that I 

 gave him. 



J<ow wo are fairly oil and run down the bay in a cold 

 northeaster, with its miserable, penetrating drizzle, until olf 

 Sandy Hook Fred suddenly realizes that all is vanity, and 

 "seeks the seclusion that the cabin grants." 1, after vainly 

 essaying to eat my supper, follow suit, but after l^dng in my 

 berth a while, feel quite chipper, and actunlly Imve the ma- 

 lignity to chaff him on his vmhappy couaiu.a imd rerolDd 



