386 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Deoembeb 16, 1880. 



and the flavor fully up to the l.icat specimens of ttie fish at the 

 East. The t:M-ppr!iiijilyia|)id growth, intlicutiu!{ the arlnpt- 

 abililyof Uie vratiTri ul ihis buy lo this development, together 

 viiih the imjueuse iimomit of BhrimpB whieh atjouud in tliia 

 Viay as furnisliing abumlaiit food liave, 1 must acknowledge, 

 int'iisedn>e •with ahnost an enthnsinsiu to have tliis valuable 

 fish hrougld here iu sutticient iniinhers to Lusm-e the liix'cding 

 of lliem. I have heard of some experimouts having been 

 lunde in breeding tlieui artiiieiaJly. If that can be doue we 

 iiiipb;. of coiuie, bring them ont as easily and iu as 

 givjii ininibers as we now do shad, and my object in now 

 wrifintc \ II, i^ to nseertain the probalnlity of sixch an effort 

 beiiiLr,':ur,rHM.il. 



II il (iiniiiit be done our onlf rM)of<;c mu.Mt be to enlarge 

 upon and e.xtcjid thee.\])eriineiii i • ! .- • i: 'I'lie snoUl fry 

 ean be ot)tainedintbe freah-waii. 1 : . , .: N;n.---iiiK. the 



Rariian, the Passaic, tlie IbirlM-n ;,- i, m.; in ..i. I nil ni uioMe 

 small rivers which How fr..iii liii- \r,., .Ii-i —v ronsi, iuio the 

 Atlantic and the bays emjuviiiL' i:it.j ii. Will you be ko Idnd 

 n<i to give the matter some tluMiL'ht anil ).■! us iiave Ibe l)onefit 

 of it?" The phad are a surii't*s, and we teei satislied ihat so 

 ponn as i1k'> shall hii\p leaebed such nuiiibers as to insure 

 conlact we simil hrrial liiciu in abuiidarice. 



With Miueh respect I remain, youia truly, 



S. K. Throokmobtos. 

 Oliaiiinan Oalifornin Fish Commissiou. 



BOJtE SINGUl.AR SALMON. 



DoMrS'ioN ov Canada, ) 



PlsoioTTtTrKAi. Establishment, - 



Skwcastlk, Oet. :iO. ) 



Dear SiK—T desire to acknowledge, wUh many thanks, 

 the receipt of some tifty thnnsami r.'aliforuia salmon egg'S. 

 They arrived here iu lirsi-elass condition and are now all 

 liatehcd out. 1 also notice with much pleasure llie arrival at 

 New York and shipriu-nt t... flurope of a very large lot of these 

 ova, all of which WLav rei.rirled to be in very fine condition. 

 Tins .success in vour eit^jrls ii: .•iiTiueciioM with fish culture, 

 while it nmst be very yrali tying lo yourself, is likewise 

 pleasimr to myself, and no doubt to all others engaged in LUe 

 Industry of ar'tifieial lish culture. 



I have to record n most peculiar circumntanee In relation to 

 oiu- Ontario salmon this autumn. 1 speak more pai licularly 

 ofthose which have come into my stream iiere. The same 

 falling off in numbcrfi is felt here as has been the case iu all 

 the rivers and streams on the Atlantic coast. M}^ i-eporls re- 

 ceived from the sevcial oRicers iu cliaroe sliow a wonderful 

 falling olT. At the Saaueuny. where Ioruierl\- our requisite 

 supply of sonic 300 pareni salmon wvre easily obtained in a 

 few weeks iu Tune and Juh, on!v sume -^ . ;i'v IV,' nniddbe 



captured durimrlliewie-'lc season. Oi. , . - 'le, the 



most famous .sah'iou ri\cr we have. 0!ii\- - . ■' .■ i -.dmon 

 ova could he gathenxl, '.vhercas iu forme: ;, __ . t lu uiliculty 

 wa-s experienced in getting one and a ImU' ;o iwo miilioiis. 

 At the Mu'ftmichi and TTalifa.x nurseries (he lesult is not yet 

 known; no reports have as yet come in, but I fear a sinular 

 falling off will take place liiere as well lu eouueetion with 

 thereduced numbers of saiuion ai ihis hutclieiy. strange to 

 say, mdy three males have yei been bjuiid iu ihc stream : all 

 that have vet licen captured or have eulcred the reception 

 liouse aie hiniieiiselv lar.zc fcmalep. We have euon^h of 

 these on hand at pres,-iit lo nive us -iriUMm cm-lis. but \Vr li.ive 

 nol, nor can we liiul iu the whole .stream, a single male lisii 

 lo inu.ueguale these aags with, should we stri|j ilieuL. \^ lull 

 we slmll'do pu7:',les me very mueh; add to this the iaet that 

 the setison is about over for flsh to enter the stream. To-day 

 I went down the creek with one of my men and caught. soun- 

 eighteen maguiticent fcnude fl.sh on llie beds iu llie o)>cn 

 glream, in broH<l daylight, but could not tiud one male. This 

 has been the case since the first entrance of the salmon this 

 fall. There are anv amount of beds; in fact, on many of 

 the gravel beds thc'hridom of the creek is literally plowed 

 up Vffth the workings of these salmon. Another pociUiarity 

 is that not a sinde grilse ha.s heen seen, with the exception 

 of one Ctalifomia grilse taken last night. In the fall of 1878 

 salffon of both sexes and grilse were veiy numerous— quite 

 equal to tlie oldcu times, some thirty-five or forty years ago. 

 In 1879 they fell olf very largely in numbers, and this setison 

 they are vcrv much rediiced from last year, with the pecu- 

 liarity of aH'beius laree females and no grilse. I mention 

 these" circmnstauces for your information, and they will no 

 doulit appear to you as Ijeing very cxtraorftinary. I can 

 hardly venture toask yon for a cause, or even the theory of 

 a cause, for this peculiarity with my tish. My only hopes 

 are that when Professor Hind hears of it he, ivith Ins love ■- 

 relation to salmon Cparticularly the bieimial aiul smnm 

 spawning ones), will no di aiht incubate some theory wU,y and 

 how these phenonu^na have ocotured. 



I am also getting puzzled in mind about your California 

 salmon; theV are also t\trning a cold shoulder to me. The 

 record, this s'ensnu of 1880, is as follow-s : In April last my 

 son caught a ver^' beautifully formed one in the stream here 

 while fishing for 'some suckers. It was id)Out three poimds 

 inweicht; 1 have him yet. He 1ms been kept in a small 

 tank of spriuK water al'u.g with sitme trout, but we have 

 never seen biin eat anvfhiug yet; he is looking a little thin 

 jml now. Que small" trap net was set out iu the lake this 

 iieason nearly opposite my stream, and during my absence the 

 fishermeu re"ported that about a half a dozen ('tdifonuas were 

 taken, from four to six pounds. jWiout ten days ago a fe- 

 male California was cautrht in this creek f spent), length 

 twenty-eight inches— slie was terribly battered up, and last 

 night 'I caught a siuad atril.se; thev '.vere the most miserable 

 sp"ecimens of fish I ever saw. Judging from what f have 

 read of the guinmt (having never seen a fidl sized adult) 

 these two last mentioned specimens cannot belong to that 

 clasp. I should say the>- must he more like the Sabw> 

 fiisyii'rhri. hooke<i nosed Salmon, or Salmo cmii's, dog-sal- 

 mon, as'eacli of tliem have three sharp hookeddike teeth at 

 the extreme end of both the upper and lower jaws. I have 

 never seen fish with teeth so strangely sh.aped nor so pecu- 

 Uarly placed in their moiitlis as tliese two iish have them. 



I am fearful that 1 may have become tiresome to you witli 

 this long letter, but before closing it, might I ask as a favor 

 whether it would be possible for me to obtain from you a few 

 carp. I have some ponds which were originally made for 

 nurseiT-ponds for young salmon, but finding that the tem- 

 perature of the water rises so high in them in the summer. 

 the salmonoid family all die. I have thought of using them 

 for carp. The water to any extent cAn be supplied from the 

 main creek ; the ponds cover some three acres or more, rang- 

 ing from two to lour feetdee|i. Should 1 succeed in gelling 

 a few carp 1 would siuk wells some citht or ten feci deep in 

 lliem in which the ciu-p could sleep during the extreme cold 

 lu winter. The water gets pretty wai-m in them in summer, 



and a good deal of vegetnlile matter is produced in them, 

 whiciri tlriuk would hi well adapted for tlie growth of these 

 fi.sh. I have raised the gold-lish, or golden i-urp, in one of 

 them somewhat sucee.s.sfnlly. Eemg desirous of trying the 

 German carp I shall feel greatly indebted to you if I could 

 get a lew pairs through your kind iustrumentality. Again 

 apologizing for this loug letter, I am yours, very oliediently. 



Samitel Wiuhot. 

 Professor 8. F. Uaikd, 



V. 13. Coamnaslonei-, Pish and Msheries. 



P. S. -If von WTiuld like aspecimen (A our Ontario salmon 



the gravid slate 1 shall be greatly pleased to forward one 



■ inure to .\ori. I can only promise you two females, from 



the causea mentiom-d herein. Should you also like lo have 



one of the lacerated, emaciated specimens of " Canadian Cali- 



foniiaa," I will send it also. W. W. 



In connection vrith tlie foregoing letter, which we have 

 been kindly permitted to publish, we think it proper to stale 

 that while at Berlin, attt*iidhig the Internationa! Exhibition, 

 we met Mr. Phillipe Oauckler, Jngenieur en Ohsf du Dept. 

 Om Vofiffts, who praetices fish culture at Eplnal, Prance, who 

 said that his experience had proved that dry impregnation 

 produces an excess of females, while wet, or Iheuse of water, 

 alwajfS bronjht a prepouderaiice of males. We jiave no 

 Opinion to express on liiis |.ioint, aud commend it t-o the cou- 

 aiderution of Mr. Wilraot aud other fish breeders. 



, TnK Pennsylvania Co^tHrasioN.— We learn that the fonh- 

 coniina report of the Piah Co:;, mission of Pemisylvauia will 

 be the first ever publisiied in the State. It is pleasant to 

 uofe the progress made not only in fi.sh culture but also in 

 ichtliyologieal lore, which has been taken up by the fish cul- 

 turist as a neoesss.ry adjunci. lo his profession. The new re- 

 port will eoulM.iii a ibseri|.ition of Pennsylvania tlshes by Prof. 

 E. I), t'ope, with forty ilhistrationa. Tlie culture of black 

 tia.ss has been so successful that Commissioner He-\vit is of 

 the opinion that enough have beeu caught this .season alone 

 tou-xceednll 1 lie amouut of all moneys appropriated by the 

 State for fish oultme, even if the tiah w^ere sold at five cents 

 per poimd. They have beeu introduced into many streams 

 whose united len.gth is estimated at 1,500 miles. Commis- 

 sioner Rceder was unable to attend the last meeting by reason 

 of having received a painful stroke from the limb of a tree 

 wlule himting. 



Shad Hatohtno and CAJiP— AqimiJuU Pundu, Wimonalt, 

 N.J., Aw. 4.— Having been ahoeut flo^^ t\ome a lai'ge por- 



tiouoft'!' ■■ : "i. ;1j;,i : -' uulwheuat 



hoiue >■ . 1,1 . 01 sick, T 



bavi' n-. : ; , K rsoflmany 



of mv He ,.,,,. , : :..au^js ..jii ul To-day I 



have been naoini; lc,; ejglitdilfcunt luiuiUtihOI FoiutST and 

 8ri:KAM, as I hat Is a paper which I go tlirough page by page, 

 jnlviMiis.-iii.-nlH and all. Ill the ig.sne for (October 7 I notice 

 ;i I 1 M iigsieai Stone confirming the 



I -III \- to a previous articde of 

 , iig li .slaui atHolyoke. Mr. 



,...,,Ki .ioijMi 11-^,- ,^i ,-, , ^ u.o-i the hist date, my reply loMr. 



Green's inquiiv, .showing how 1 obtained my information. 

 Altliout;ii tliis ceunes lute, I inipi-ove thejirst opportunity to 

 aunoimce my faiih in the statements of Messrs. Green aud 

 8lone. Ret'eiriug to ISlr. tireen's expcricnco I can sympa^ 

 tlrize with him. for iu my own persistent liib(u-of love incou- 

 nccliou witli fisli-culture'l liave cucoumered the same boor- 

 ish oijposiliou, ridicule and uialigiiaut cussodness in the way 

 of pccuiiiarv damage lo my property, aud this by compara- 

 tively intelligent ignoi auuises. 1 have for a mouth or more 

 past been very busy distributiug the Government carp in 

 Souilieru Xew .Jersey and Eastern Peunsylvania. Quite a 

 a number of )iarlits have eugaged to lay out a comprehensive 

 system of carp ponds aud are making aij-augements lo en- 

 g'age exleusively in tlic new iudusl'y. liefoi'O many years 

 the farmers of this region will tliink ;is tiiiieh of their carp as 

 they now do of their chickens or pigs, and well they may, 

 for there is more money to tJie acre iu carp-cidture than in 

 either chickens, pigs or other live stock. 



Milton P. Peikob. 



Hatohtno EGGS^i?/VW<;/''OTri!, },U.. Dtc. S. — In yoiu issue of 

 Kov. 25 I uotice that I'rof. Biiirf! is ready to distribute sal- 

 mon eggs from Bucksjxjrt. If ] knew the mmlii-n o-permAi of 

 treating these eggs I woulrl like to avail myself of the oppor- 

 tunity to place seiiue in the Sago Kivcr this season, as there is 

 little'doiibl tail, that we shall have a lishway coustructc<l at 

 the falls here the coming aumuier. Can you "give me through 

 your valuable jourmil some instructions in the above matter, 

 and say where thev should be placed in tlie river, wiieiher 

 above or below the" falls. PittROTieoN Haines. 



The eggs should be placed iu hatching troughs, imd kept 

 from enemies until they hatch, say from ten to fifty days, ac- 

 cording to their development and the temperature. They 

 should then be kept thirty to fifty days longer until the um- 

 bilicus is absorbed and they begin to take food. If you have 

 no troughs or e.vperience you had better apply to the Fish 

 Commissioners of your State, Mr. E. M. Still well, Bangor 

 and Mr. Everett Smith, Portland, or to Mr. Chas. G. Atkins, 

 Assistant D. 8. Pish Commissioner, Bucksport, who may 

 hatch them for you. 



Protect Spawsino Lobstees — j.Vtw Bedford, Mas-x. — Your 

 article on lobsters in a hde is.sue induces me to give some 

 hints ou the subject, wlulch to me seem more to the point 

 than the catching of small ones. The reason above all others 

 for the .scarciiy of lobst<=^rsis the catching of females during 

 the spawning "season. I have often when looking at a female 

 lobster loaded with eggs wondered how many they would 

 count. Whoever has counted the number of shot (Ko. 8, for 

 instance) in a common charge can form some estimate of the 

 number of eggs in a lobster of three pounds or more during 

 the spawning season — tens and tens of thousands. It .seems 

 as though all the spawn carrying lobsters find their way into 

 the pots^it may be to hide from their enemies. I have seen 

 brought iu by one boat tending pots as many as three hun- 

 drcil females loaded with sijawn— three million of eggs! Many 

 ofliie laieest loiistnis 1 have seen have been females with 

 spawn — these are all Counted aud all go to market. What a 

 wise law! to allow the killing of the mother fish and forbid 



the destruction of those under ten and one half inches. One 

 day's fishing of one boat will under these circurnstauc.es de- 

 stroy more lobsters than all the boats ou the Arlantic ciiasl in 

 a wiiole season catching small lobsters. When tiie catciiing 

 of female lobsters with spax\Ti is prohibited then the nail is 

 hit on ihe liead, and not till then. All the most intelligent 

 lobster fishermen I have met express the same opiinon, and I 

 think every one will see Ibe reason. 1 syiend three mouths 

 Of every simiiKer uMoev' the lohs.'er tishei'inen, where thou- 

 sands are eaugle. e\ci_', u iv. and T Know whereof I speak. 

 Some curious tacts in lel-nion to ise rnoveuienla of lobsters 

 are noticed iit iNianair.-- f.isl 'ila , arc takeu having plugs 

 used only on ilie eep-i i.i \::iKii , oil,, as from other points re- 

 mole. Borne seem lei reiiiaii: ir. eaie loi ulity. and in midsum- 

 mer school lobsters appitar. When Ihe water is clear they 

 have been seen by the thousauda, all coming from the east- 

 ward aud moving with as much order as an army. J3opiug 

 tliis may cull fur atleutiou of all inlerested in the subject, 

 1 that the Feuu;- r .vso Stream may add another lam'el to 

 crown for benetliing the community is the wish of a Sub- 

 scriber from ils hrst number. ' J. E., Ju. 



Caep on toe Table — The Centreville, Md., Ol/tierter says: 

 'Last wcel{ Mr. Eicluird Holliday, desiriug to taste the flavor 

 of earp. drew from his pond two fish, one 15^ inches long 

 and weiLdiing one pomid foiu-teen ounces, u.nd the othea* 15^ 

 jiiehe.s long luid wcigliing one pound eleven ounces, and in- 

 vited Hon; James T. Earle. Dr. John C. Eaile, Hichiu-d T. 

 Earle and Samuel T. Earle to -lake brealcfattt with him. Af- 

 ter giving the new fish a fair "trial they all prouotmccd Iheiu 

 equal to almost any aud superior lo many of our saltwati.T 

 tish, liaying none of the flavor of Ihe tnidlet or sucker flsh, 

 and ecjual to rock or perch Tliese tish wa'e obtained from 

 Pish Coauuissioner Hughleit, Just about one year from the 

 day the breakfast was given. They were then only about 

 tw inches long, aud have made their great gro-vrth since that 

 time." 



Fisu Ciit.njiin in Mioriqan. — A eorrespoiidenl informs us 

 that on account of storms and cold weather there has beoji a 

 short crop of wbiteflsli eggs iu Slichigan, aud Ihal instead of 

 tlie forty millions which the comraissioners were prepared to 

 lake they were ouiv iiiilc to gather soniethiug less than five 

 millious" There were hopes, however, that "if Die weather 



iproved a considerable addition could be made to this 

 number. 



^ed and ^iver fffisMtt^, 



EATING NEGLECTED FISHES. 



KdiUn' Formt and Stream : 



PEsaAOQT.A, Fla.. Nov. 26. 



I have read your 

 issue of the 18th. w 

 matter brought befi 



POBEST AND Stuka 

 . That .so inanv kji 

 table or unwholesoi 

 acquaintance of sev 

 and Malayan ri.slier 

 many of 

 cies that 



'ditoria! o„ "Nei; 

 thsaiisfacliou. an 

 re the public by si 



ecled Fishes," iu Hie 

 1 am glad to See the 

 popular a paper as the 



kjiiiis of fishes are generally deemed impalo- 

 esoine liad long been a wonder lo me, and nn 



several years with the Italian. Spanish, French 

 liermeuof the Gulf coast, uho ,lo not sliure 

 ijudices, led me ti) observe their use of .spe- 

 idcmn. and to make personal itivestiiiatiou. 

 Sinee it is iihout as clicaj) (o catch choice fish us others ou 

 this coast, and tin.' poor eau as well aJi'ord such flsh as bluo- 

 tish, sheepshead. mullet, etc., instead of skftc, Shailcs, etc., 

 il is rather choice than necessity that iullueuces them to eat 

 the latter. 



The Eujopean fishermen, holding to the habits and man- 

 ners of tiieir own country, are doubtless the c<ui8e of this, to 



of Au 



em [111 



of thr- 



By assocl- 

 :: leame'd to add 

 iccomo awaj-e of 



yoitr iutitic, lie ut 

 becoming interestf 

 cmiosity lo not lug 



once did not know i 



I strange that we find kinds of flab in 

 u the Gulf coast that are thrown away on 

 .^oast and which might, as suggested in 

 >.ed as ciieaii food for the poor. Since 

 in this m.Tlter 1 have not confined my 

 ivhat others have done in llie way of dis- 

 covering new forms of flsb-food, hut have myself trie<l still 

 mtae novel rbshes and generally with good results. 



During the winter of '79-'80"l was on a long cruise along 

 the Fkaida coast with partly the oliieet of seciiriuL' as many 

 strautre specimen.s of lisli as possible. Iu eatchint' these many 

 of the common kinds were taken, wliich, as fresh inealswcre 

 not always procm'able, made up many a gt'Od meal. Partly 

 for cfiange and cmiosity and prntly for the value of the 

 knowledge in giving theu- histories^ I had cooked quite a 

 uumlier of fishes that are not often eaten anywhere, as tar ae 

 I know. Shore people were sometimes invited on board our 

 vessel to dine, and it was very amusing to watch their aston- 

 ished faces when catfish or equally despicable fishes were 

 placed before them. 



Ou one occasion, v.liile coins; from Ocklok(Uiy Bay to St. 

 Marks, I laid out to lea.st the pUot On dainties 'of this sort. 

 The cook lirougluin hist a stew or chowder of minnowg, 

 very nicely prepared, which Ihe pilol declined, hut finally 

 followed my example in eating heartily of, Pried bill-fisli 

 and two or three other unusual forms were next presented, 

 r ''•■'--■■'■-■ -'n ■-' r'lPn accepted and -pronouiiced 

 lold to bring on the sturgeon 

 I the poor fellow wilted, and 

 I'.,. ! .1, ' ■ i mi molasses was L'Ood enough 



for his desert. Il, c:m he iaiai:! i' ' ■ - '■ stoiles were 



told about us by the pilot on hi- 



Feailng tbat what I have to sm .-'-cd among the 



fishy of the fish stories, I will piifleavor not to drop off into 

 anecdote, as Silas Wegg is said lo have dropised from prose 

 to poetry, and will briefly mention some of Uie "Neglected 

 Fishes" that I know^ to be imworlhy of such neglect. Promi- 

 nent among these are the rays atjd skates, tbt^ pectorals or 

 wings of which aie the chief parts to be utilized. These 

 when nicely fried or Ivroileil aie leaily superior fish food, re- 

 sembling somewhat the flesh of the" Souiborn flounder. At 

 New Orleans rays appear daily iu the markets dming the 

 spring and summer months wuen they can be caught, and 

 seem to sell quite readily. Youni: individuals of the various 

 species r.{ sliarks r.re also vi-ry paiatabic. cijoked in any way 

 that, other nshes of liieir siz^- ar,-. I Im', ■ l;;-..u unable'so fa"r 

 to discover auythiug rank oj di.stasteful about the small 

 sharks that live near tlic shore. 



Salt water catfish, which are esftessivelj' abundant on this 

 coast, and are the post of net flshemien and anglers, are, I 

 consider, quite as edible as the red-fish or channel baea, al- 



