448 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jaittjaxt 6, 1881. 



■wheel animalcules wore reckoned nt 37 per ceni:.. mid ilie re- 

 mainder of the food eoiiFisied of Etiloniostraea. These 

 specimens were lalicn from the Illinois Kivr-r in (;;u]y June. 



Fonr riirp suekerK (Crirpiod.is'i. soven-eiL'bths of an'inrh to 

 twoinrhcs Irni!;, t^iken fioii, ilni IlUnoi? and from GlenrLnkc 

 in Kfnfu.-ky, liad fed like ilie prceedius' a'pnns. (.-xccpl Hinf 

 .tJie Eiilonio=tr!ica were in lamer ,|nitntiiv r4S per cent.), 

 ■wliilc the rolifers were relatively few. 



Rcrie-wins the food of these lliirtv voinjir suekers, we see 

 that they differ from the other fnm dies .studied in the larger 

 food resourees open to them: foi-. while liie Btruclnre of 

 their nioulhs does tml [jruliibit their taking Entumoslraea. it 

 enables I herii to draw upon the multitudes of miiuue orij^an- 

 isms found upon the botloni. Kvideutlv they have no means 

 of Pelreiina; sneli inicro.scopic slruettu-e.s from liie mud in 

 whieh Ihes.v niofl frequently re.st, ar;d eonsidcralile ([uautities 

 of dirt :ire roiK^J^'quentlv often found in the inleBiine.'^ ; hut 

 from the "riehm;3s" of Uie conteutB 1 infer Ihat they doulit- 

 less have the power of distingiiishinix mud coulaininir a h.irt.'e 

 percentage of organic matter from relatively barren portions. 



CATFISH PAMILY. 



Numerous specimens of the yomig of this family show 

 that, nolwitlwtDndiug its many peculiarities of structure and 



habit, it is no exception to the general rule respecting the 

 fond of the young. The smallest of (hcFC Spceimens'were 

 from a little school of minute fry, talven iu Jmu' from tlio 

 friendly iirotcction of an old oyster can in the Illinois 

 ■River. These little creatin-es were colorless aud seem- 

 ingly almost helple.s.s. and oidy (hrce-eigliths of an inch in 

 length. They had already tii:-im M lai, however, and their 

 Btomaelis were filled will. a and Chironomus 



larvfE. These were certaiii I m it was, of course, 



impossilile to tell the spcci' 



Other specimens of this i^rm.r., ,r,,ii.jng thirteen in all, 

 none longer than an inch and five-eighths, were obtained 

 from various places in the Illinois, and from mud-holes in 

 the Mississippi bottoms, in Union Comity. These thirteen 

 individuals were feeding almost wholly 'on Eutromostraca 

 and larva? of Chironomns, the latter composing seventy-four 

 percent, and the former eighteen per cent, of their food. 

 A fevr young Anijihipoda and a few unknown inserts' eggs 

 accoimt for the remainder of the food. 



Six .specimens of jVivr?/;-;/.? ,9m/(>, varying in length from 

 seven-eighths of an inch to an inch and a qtiarter"^ differed 

 from the foregoing in the naieh lai-ger proportion of Chi- 

 ronomns larvse (foriy-one per cent.) and in the twenty-six 

 per cent, of young AUordiiMr.i dfnlata (a very abundant 

 sraftll .imphipod). eaten by the larger specimens. These had 

 also taken seven per cent, larva? of May-flies. Those under 

 an inch in length were peculiar only in the large ratio of 

 Chironomus larvae (sixty -five per cent.'), a fact peobably in- 

 dicating that this species seeks it.'; food chiefly on the muddy 

 bottoms. 



No specimens of the other genera of catfl.shes were taken 

 small enough lo show their earliest food, Init as far as can be 

 judged from the food of fonr specimens of Ictalurus, from 

 two and a half to three aud a halt inches long, the other 

 genera will not be found to differ especially fi'o'in the fore- 

 going. 



rOOriSH TAMILT. 



A single dogfish (Amia), one andthree-fonrths inches long, 

 taken in June, had eaten seventy per cent, of Entomostraca 

 and two per cent, of larvjc and pupoB of Chiroaonuis. A few 

 young Allorchcstes and some water bugs (Corixas) complete 

 the brief list. 



Several specimens of Amia under one inch in length, whose 

 anatomy I st\idied three years ago, I remember to Iiave had 

 -their intestines packed with Entomostraca. 



GAK FAMTLT 



Here also I shall have to content myself with such hints of 

 the food of the young as are given by two or three specimens, 

 B8 the youngest are not yet common enough in our collec- 

 tions to supply more mrderial for a study of their food. One 

 of the two sniallest, gars examined, an "inch and a foOTth in 

 length, taken in .June, near Peoria, had filled itself with 

 Smpliohhiri-i mvcrmmia (a minute Entomostracan) and the 

 other had taken only a minute flsh. A Sjiecimen two inches 

 long and only an eighth of an inch in depth f tu'iiished a strik- 

 ing illustration of the voracity of this terror of our streams, 

 as its stomach contained sixteen minute minnows. 



The general conclusion from these observations is the su- 

 preme importtmce of Entomostraca and the minute aquatic 

 larviB of a single genu,s of gnat a.s food for nearly or quite all 

 of our fresh-water fishes - a conclusion that gives these I ri vial 

 and neglected creaturcB, oi whose very existence the majori- 

 ty of the people are scarcely aware, a prominent place aoiong 

 the most valuable animals of the State, for without them all 

 our waters would be virtually depopulated. Other facta of 

 eminent interest thus brought to view are the magnitude and 

 intensity o' the competition for food among the young of all 

 orders of fishes, where a stream is fully stocked, and the in- 

 jurious character of .such a spet'irs as tiie shovel-fish, which 

 feeds on Entotnostrni-n i hr.iUL'hont its life. It is pi'obable 



that all fishc'^ -"'■'■■'' ■?■■ * ■ r:-- i^dlx- adapted to the foodre- 



quirernei]!.-: i .' ''■ -iveies are hurtful to tlmm, 



because til' ' -.liable for the young. The 



Bun-fiflhes, -.>:i ■ . '''i' ll^em from many enemies, 



and the cal-fishe?, willi their armor of poisoned spines, are 

 instances in i)oint. While their young eomiiete with the 

 young bass and wall-eyed pike for food, they do not furnish 

 the latter any important food resource in later years. On the 

 other hand, sueli species as the lierliivorous minnow's aud the 

 cylindrical suckers, which depend upon Entomostraca to a 

 less extent wdien young, or take up other food at a relatively 

 early period, arf "thosii which soeni to promise best as food 

 for the higher fishes. 



It is worth while to notice that the food especially taken 

 by young suckers is of the same land as that upon which 

 many Entomostraca are dependent, and that lh!.'.se fi.slies llms 

 actually come into competition with the mimite eriistaeca- 

 It might seem at a glance that the suckers compete with the 

 ordinary fishes by this appropriation of the food of Entonio.s- 

 traca not less Iha'u if the}' ate the Entomostraca themselves. 

 We must remember, however, that every animal (■Entomos- 

 traca include.! 1 rats dnriiia: its life many times its ..wn l^ulk 

 of food, and that consequently if ihe young sucker can reach 

 down a slepbelowthe Entonio':' rar.i, an, J appropriate riirecllv 

 aparlof their food-s.ippiv itwill reallv limit I heir increase 

 much less effectually rhau if it de|.ended upoh them .strict l\'. 

 The case is precisely eriuivalcrd. to that of a manimal partly 

 carnivorous and partly herbivorous. By its lierbivoroi',.i luihit 

 it would of course o'iimpele with, and limit the strictly hcr- 

 bjvoroua animals, but ivo'idd chnpk their multiplication "much 

 loss stringently than if it were purely carnivorous. 

 I |It is ,a curious corollary from part of the above reasouiug 

 that ft prolific species having aii sbundaut food supply, aad 



itself the most important food of pre.daeeous fishes, may, by 

 extraordinary multiplication, bo diminish the food of tlfe 

 young of the latter as to cause, through its o^\m abundance, 

 11 serious diminution of thenumhersof the veryBpecjcs wiiich 

 prey upon it. To ]iut this statemont into more correct form, 

 it is not certain that the excessive increase of the gizzard 

 .shad, for instance, would lie a liimefit to the liUick bass ami 

 pike-perch which feed sn largely upon it. In fact, it is clear 

 that Ihe great ovrr.sLoiddng of a stream with giz/ard .shad 

 would, by eventually rerincing the tur-iily r.f EiitnmoBtracii, 

 cause a corresiiondiug reduction m i . is of all the 



species of that stream" l)y starvatiui' : luid this 



decimation, applying to "ail iii the s:.. iild take ef- 



fect upon the oi-dinary number of th'- "nii-, spi-m/s, Imt upon 

 the extraordinary number of the gizzard shad, wonid reduce 

 the ni.hei- spieeies below the usual linnt, ImjI might no! eyeu 

 cm, oil the excess of tlie shad above that limit. Cousequent- 

 Iv, inqiortant as is l,he supply of food fishes for the predaec- 

 ons species, it isnot less inqiortant that the predaceous fislies 

 should be supplied to eat up the fnod. Here, as elsewhere, 

 only harm can comefroni an imperfect balance of the forces 

 of organic nature, whether the excess be upon one side or the 

 other. 



In the efforts to increase the valuable fishes of a lake or 

 .stream, it is not sufficient that t!ie food of these species 

 should he increased alone, but at the same time special 

 measures must be taken to secure a corresponding multiplica- 

 tion of the predaceous fishes themselves, otherwise precisely 

 the reverse result may lie produced from that intended. 



As a further illustration of some of the practical bearings 

 of these facts, it may lie noticed that the free access of fislies 

 to the ponds, lakes aud mar.sbes connected with ■■i stream is a 

 matter of the liiLdiest imiiortance. Runninsr water is relalively 

 destitute of EnOmioKiraea, and hence fishes denied access 

 While breeding to slow or stagnant water in which Ento- 

 mostraca abound, have little chance to multiply. 



Ton little attention has been paid to the breeding 

 migra ii I, ,r ,:iiT resident fi.shes. How many of our 

 riv' I ,,i i.hejihstruction of dams improvided with 



prr.: I ys? Is not the relative scarcity of tish in 



sticii ilrLiiL:,: ,.:: jhjck and Pox rivers largely due to the fact 

 that a lisli which enters the river from above cannot get back 

 to the immense ;md swarming hrecding grounds afforded by 

 the lakes connected with its trpper waters ? 



AnBiTAl. OF EoRBTOTK FlSKEs.— Jlr. E. G. Blackford, of 

 the New York Eish Commission, has just received from 

 Erance six roach and si.x golden tench brought by Mr. 

 August Briand, a retired Captain of the French line of 

 steamers, known as the Trans-Atlantic Steam.ship Co,, and 

 running between New^ York and Havre. The roach hs held 

 in esteem by European anglers, but Americans like larger 

 fish. The tench, is, like the former, a cyprinoid, Init grows 

 to a pound or more in weight. The cotiimon tench, Tinm 

 vifffarf.i. is esteemed for the table as well as for ansrling, 

 and will thrive in waters adapted to the carp. Those now at 

 Mr. Mlackford's, in Fidton lilarkct, are a golden variety, 

 suitable for both food aud ornament. They were sent by the 

 -A.quarimn at Havre, in exchange for small terrapins' and 

 catfish. On the 5th of this month, yesterday, Mr. Black- 

 ford sent a dozen leather carp to Erance, the grand-children 

 of German fishes brought over by Dr. Hesselafewyearsago. 



1^^ md Miver 



Fismr iiy season ik decembek. 



FKKBH WATER. 



I Wlilte Pass, nornvs rhrmojis. 

 Hock Bass, AmblnpUtes. (Two 



species). 

 I War-moutU, Channtiryaica iiu'.nms. 

 I Grapple, J^omoxija nirfroma'ciflatVii. 

 iviotilis. Bactielor, Poynox^s anmdantf, 



nr.aUts. \ Chub, Semolilttt corporali^, 



SALT WATER. 



atrarim. I Spot, Hefl flsh. or Channel Bass, 



Stnpi-i J,,!--:. 



WTiJicie.eii, 



Smelly Ot/m^rua nwrdax. 



, Scicerwps ocelhuw.. 



I Tauto":, Tatitaga onitis. 



I Pollock, Pollachiu/i carbflnaTitcs. 



FISHING IN THE GULF STREA3I. 



BY THE T. &. 0. DEAOON. (A, 



, E.) 



DID you ever fi.sh in the Gulf Stream ? I can guess your 

 reply. It would be tlie same as thai; of thetaptain of 

 the trim httlc brig Olivia, aboard of which I had the good 

 fortune to sail from Bagdad, at the motith of theRioGralido, 

 to New York in April, fStili. He was a Conueoticuter, an 

 American citizen, like j'ourself, named Town ley, and a good 

 follov,' withal, ihouL'h a little strange at times : '"Nobody but 

 a blamed fool of a Britisher would ever think of trolling in 

 the Gidf Stream!" Before proceeding with my story pro- 

 per, however, allow me to give you a bit of ray personal his- 

 tory, which I am sm-e yon will find particularly interesting, 

 and to -'.siiow cause" why I happened to be on" the Olivia at 

 that time. 



1 was born among tlie fishermen on the northern coast of 

 Scotland in 1819, the month and date maybe sru-mised from 

 what is about tofollow^ TVliencver I could previul upon the 

 herring or ling fishers to let me accompany them the trips 

 proved unlucky and on several oera.sion.s disastrous. These su- 

 perstitious people at last refused me permission to M) out in 

 their cobles fboats), notwithstanding I was always willing to 

 take my share in the toils without reward. They had made 

 iiirpiirios as to the day and dale of my birth, "and having 

 le.anied that that event had occurred on a murky Friday im- 

 mediately following the 31st of >rarch, had concluded t;hat I 

 was a donsie de'il fimlucky devil) among the fishers. Lo\'- 

 ing the excitement of thei'r rough life, and feeling more at 

 home in a coble oir the dancing waves of the wild Atlantic 

 than in the dull and monotonous parish school, I carefully 

 hoarded every " liawdjie" and ''bit o' siller" that ever cam'e 

 lawfully into my possession (and some that didn't), d.-ter- 

 mincd to have a coble that should know- no car tain hut nis'- 

 self. 



By the time I had grown to be a good-sized callant 1 had 

 garnered a pound or two. One day, while watching the boats 

 ■ome in with heavy loads offish, T canm across a battered old 



ible which the owner 

 wood. The rich freight 

 coupled with my yeai nii 

 ble, made me ejacui 

 tiling etiuivalent tr, 

 rather louder tone ih 

 Hon, and the upraised 



in the act of In-eakii 

 at tlial very time bein 



u,. for fir 

 " JL'ht 1 



' la- 



ioj of a 



:: boatman, some- 

 [iiat coble," iu a 

 ! I racted his atten- 

 mt to fall and shiver 



asked if the boat was for sale. He a.nswered i 

 tive. The price, a stiff one, was named. It v 

 rotten, half-broten-up coble; but I wanted 

 cunugh saved to buy that one, and felt pretty 

 could never acquire sufficient funds to purchase 

 I paid mv money and look my chnice. That w 

 day of April, J.8— . But I was like the 



n the afflrmftr 

 as high for a 

 a boat, liad 

 certain that I 



abetter. So 

 as on the first 



if Ihe wdiite 



■phant. 1 didn't know what to do with it. It could not 

 Lie canied on one of the chim.sy carts of the place, because 

 the joltiugs along the strand wo'uld have shaken its internals 

 and externals into inconveniently small pieces of pimk, the 

 supply of which article was far "beyond the deammd in that 

 quarter, and to irauaport it bv water was impossible, as there 

 was no float in it. 



When it became known by my neighbor callauts tliat the 

 coof (foolj aa they had nicknamed me, liad bought a coble, 

 they found their way to its resting-place (would that I had 

 let it rest there to this day!) after school hours. .Well, I'll 

 not trouble you with the eucouunms they pa.-sed upon my 

 purchase, for all the Forest and S'j iiL^JlIs in America 

 couldn't contain them. At length, as wdlh one voice, they 

 asked, " 'Whal d'ye intend to do with it, eoofhe V" 

 " You'll see," I replied, "necessity'stiie molhcr of invention." 

 Taking a few of my yoimg friends who were esteemed nearly 

 as dafty-like as myself into my confidence they were iu- 

 duced to aid me in repairing the coble upon the imdersland- 

 ing that they were to share in the proceeds of oiu' fishing e.\'- 

 peditions, Fortmiately, or otherwise, for iis tlia fiBhermen 

 were very honorable among themselves. They lett their 

 pitch imd tar and oakum all exposetl without tlie"fe3r of any 

 of their fellows wrongftdly appropriating them. Fortunate- 

 ly, or otherwise, too, they were as hard ilindters as tliey were 

 workers and consequently slejot smuRlly o' nights. A little 

 oakum from one's bundle ; a pail of tar from luiother's liarrel; 

 a chunk of pitch from a third ; a few nails aud boards found 

 here and there, and the coble was launched about a month 



f aud amid 



III I,.:,' of 



ard to 

 •I been 

 ifiict be,' 



after it had come into my possession by tlj 



the cheers of my schoolmates. A disused ■■■■!- r 



odd oars, a clothes pole for a mast, and an :i . 



pane for a sail, found their way on boani , li 



sma' 'ours, aud off we went a fishing ! W, > ,_ 



enough till tlie ivintry weather set in,' as we had 



pay and woidd have been happy at all times i f it J 



for the birchings old spectacled pedagogues used 



cs,u.se we never had our lessons. The old goose I how could 



we fish and study too ? 



In the spring we tarred and pitched the craft again, and 

 committed ourselves to the deep. For a while ''all wont 

 merry aa a marriage hell." One day we got into the inidBt of 

 a fine shoal of herring, and half "filled the coble in a short 

 time. We started for land with our load, siniriug a.s boys 

 who think their fortunes made at one haul can siug,lmtpres- 

 ently a stifier breeze than we had contracted for arose. The 

 coble moaned, aud suddenly and silently the herring con- 

 spired l:o return to their native element, and in dohuj; so took 

 the entu-e bottom of the coble with them ! My companions 

 held on to the upper part of the bout, which "the villamous 

 herring in their hurry had forgotten lo carry off, wdiile I 

 grasped an oar and floated off to leeward. Before long I had 

 the plea.sm-e of seeing my friends picked up by a coiiple of 

 crews who had witnesfied the catastrophe. 1 wasnot fur off, 

 and could see ray boatmates pointing rue out to their res- 

 cuers. But these inhuman, .superstitions fishers, recognizing 

 me as the donsie de'il, reasoned that I had been the eaii.se of 

 the mishap, aud fearing that if they took me on hoard the 

 bottom of their craft might fall out by the way left me to 

 my fate. Several cobles passed me on their way to the har- 

 bor, and my appeals for help brought some of them quite 



■s of 



iVOB, 

 ■old, 

 tiing 

 •acb, 



near. But when they saw who it was that w 

 perishing they shrugged their shoulders, shook thei 

 me and bid mo go to Davy Jones' locker with the i_ 

 the fishers of Peterhead upo' me ! Baffled by th 

 blinded and sutfocated by the briny sea, uumhe'd w 

 I clung to thai oar with" the despair that mal-iea a d 

 boy .seize hold of anything thai, conies within h 

 Darkness was approaching, and all hope had disappeajed! 

 Oh! how I wished that I were on shore agaua eveft at the 

 pai ish school on a stalwart fellow's back with the Old podar 

 gogue applying his "universal remedy " 



1 fell myself gradually becoming uiie 

 of the oar relaxing, and presently liecji 

 though I was dead! I knew no more till I 

 self being carried by four men on a bo,'ird 

 to the nearest tavern — the imprecations of i 

 fishers' wives be'mg vociferously poured 

 my delivers as thoy bore me along. The us 

 the fishers of those days were applied, 

 barrel, and rum by the gill was poured di 

 was too weak to resist, and could not lie tnk . 

 following day. It came to my Ivnowled^e sut 

 a coble, manned by a crew of colile .Samaritans 

 Jonah, had, while making harbor, observed ^ 

 to be the body of a dead boy and picked it up 

 themselves and entailing upon their poster! 



its timbers 'Into a.toina, was stayed and is staying yet. I 



i, and my hold 

 insensible — m 

 >herr, findmy- 

 iir. U ■ -,. -.. i.nk 

 111. I .-M. , ■ lUe 

 np.,.1 i.iM II,.. M of 

 sual restoratives of 

 I w as rolled on a 

 wn my throat. I 

 ' home till the 

 ;e(|u.-iiih' that 

 bat knew not 

 lial they rook 

 thus Cuming 

 „ . . ytheeicriial 



curses of the fishers aud tlieir wives who kne\v how Oj eurse 

 in reality ! That event Itiok place on Uie first of April 18 — , 

 being the first anniversary of the buying of the cob;e by met 

 I learned a moral from that fishing ventm-e that lias rieeply 

 impressed me throughout a somewhat eventfid life, and which 

 has been profitably employed on several convenient occasions 

 since. I hope you and readers will pouder over and profit by 

 its lessons as it becomes you. If I hadn't stolen that oar 

 where would I be now? 



Methiuks I hear you exclaiming, "The Deacon's person- 

 al is Ijccoming too long." 'Well, never mind ; if it takes Up 

 the whole of your paper, I can assure you that you'll have 

 one reader at any rate. Bet me tell yiiu how to make room 

 for it. Leave out the advertisements, drop your editorials, 

 squelch (Jreedmoor aud everj'body else, even bm'king ihe 

 Ditlmar powder pufl'.s, that Old y b'ursts gmi barrels that are 

 not Biroiia: enough to resist them and blow off the fingers of 

 theise who can't keej) their hands tint of the way. There! 



In answer to yom appeal, I'll lie brief witlj "the remainder 

 of my personal. On the first of ,'Vpril, some forty i.dd years 

 ago, I left kicotland for Jhis wooden country, to tlic great joy 

 , of the tisliers and their wives. They would have prevailed 

 upon the captain not to permit me to board the vessel, as 

 I they felt sure it would be wrecked, if they had not been too 

 glad to get rid nf me. Tncidentaily I heard, a short l|(riO 

 since, that a- " ■ 1 ;' t ' ,, .. off never reti.U'ued again 



and i^s I !>._ I for any of them 10 wrii'/ 



(o thran. t! , p had foundered inmn 



ocean, aud ,l,-. — _ ...c Deil and his shipm.-!!! • 



molder "at the bot;Ujm oi the seas." 

 I The day I sailed from the Scottish ahores TrasJhe flrst luckly 

 first of April I had ever known. 



After residing nuiny years in Canada, experieiiciug oi 

 eTery annuftl treturn of my natal day somcihing like lUe usual 



