508 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jahttabt 37, 1881. 



engine wliich frequently raised it to a temperature as high as 

 100 rleg. Palir., nnd the carp in it grew with surprising rapid- 

 ity, astonishing tlie caip breeders who had ponds in that 

 neiglihnrliond. 



the cvidoiiPL- na-ilim-e siren, tnkcu Avitli Ilio fact that at 

 the luil.iorikl fiirp pr.ii.ls i/i WasliiimUiyi, D. C. a carp was 

 taken wei-liiii^ tw.lve ihuiikIk, wliicli w.is one of the original 

 lot put in by Mr. Uudoljih Hessel, the superintendent, only 

 three years betMre when it x\ :is oidy four inches long, I think 

 shows tlial Mie ti^ii in its new hoiiic has exceeded its rate of 

 growth in its native l»ind at least four limes, for T have no 

 donht that in tlie cooler waters of its former home it wordd 

 have taken twelve or feiurteen years to reaeli that \vei-lit. 



Prom the report of Mr. J. H. Dinldns, the Fish Commis- 

 sioner of Texas for 1880, I tM.ke the following: " Last Feb- 

 ruary out of a shipment of 1-50 carp from Washington J gave 

 Mr. J. B. Rogers, living about twelve miles north of Austen, 

 ten, avitragina not more than four inches in lengh. While 

 Mr. Ellis was here we rode out to Mr. Rogers for the pur- 

 pose of getting a specimen to take back to Washington to 

 show the e.xicnt of their growth. We enn :-l-^ n^c r: of the 

 pond in wtucU they had fieen ].>liiced iIjl ' ■ vions, 



and they varied from nineteen lo [.','■■' is in 



length, and tmd increased from al)Ou! ihi; i: ■•■•- i i aliout 



four pounds in weight. The one taken by j\Ir. Ellis to Prof. 

 Baird at Washington was tweuty-lwo inches long, and 1 

 doubt if an example of more rapid growth can be found any- 

 where." 



I am also informed by Mr. E. R. Miller, of the M ichigan 

 Pish Commission, that lhe_y received some young carp last 

 year, none ot which were over an inch and a half'ui length, 

 and that wlien lliey lnil oeeasinu to movethem this year they 

 found that t lii-y hti.i grown up to <.)etober to a Ifength of sev- 

 enteen inches :ind a weight of th;ee pounds. 



[The remaining papers and discussions will follow as fast 

 as we can publish them.] 



SHiPJrBNTB OF AVhitefish Eg8S.— Ffom the U. S. Hatching 

 Station, at Northville, Mich., in charge of Mr. N. Clark, the 

 following shipnieiii: . r " . , ; ./,//,5 cffgs have been made. 

 350,000 to the D-n ' , i : : i Yerau, which, according 

 to a telegram rcC'i ! > New "i crk agent, Mr. Fred. 



Mather, arrived s;i..lJv, OU,u::i) lo Mr. E. M^ Stillwell, Ban- 

 gor. Me. : 350,000 lo ilr. Wni. Griffith, Louisville, Ky. ; 

 (500,000 to B. P. Shaw, Auamosa, Iowa; S50,000 to R. O. 

 Sweney, St. Paul, Minn., aud 250,000 to B. B. Redding, San 

 Francisco, Cid. 



1^^ nnd Stiver ^ij^hitw. 



The sca.son th' 

 have not had a wi 

 have is light and I' 

 (he snow is deep enough I 

 any effect and .so light'that 



that it is no worse for them lo "crust" deer for meat for 

 their -\vinler use than for these sportsmen (?) to kill them out 

 of ,sea.sou for their iKse. 



been quite favorable for deer. We 

 fall of .snow as yet and what we 



eer cnn roam at will, and yet 



ent a dog from running with 



-shoes are wor.se than noth- 

 ing for any one disposed to try a " little still-hunting out of 

 season," and until ^ve have a thaw to make a crust the deer j many of these fish 

 are coin])iii'alively s;ife from the poachers. There arc some .slenderer than the 

 other sections of "the game hiwa that I wished to speak of, but 

 as I have already drawn this letter out to considerable length 

 1 will make them the subjeet of anotiier conunmiica ion. 



Since writing the abrive we hiive had a terrible fall of 

 snow, but it is so liirhl (hat ilie elmnees for the deer are still 

 in their fnvor, for a dog can't run at all and snow-shoeing is 

 almost impossible, and until there is a crust they are compar- 

 atively safe. Wm. P. Dodge. 



THE TROUT LAW. 



THE following letter from one of the game protectors of 

 the State of New York seems to us so sensible and to 

 the point that we commend it to those having its revision 



under consideration : 



Editor Fc?rest and mream : 



I notice in jour edition of this week an article on "The 

 Game Law bevisiou," and I would say that it is a matter 

 that now needs the closest attention. I am. living in one of 

 the best "speckled trout" regions in this State, and the 

 present law reads, Sec. 19, Laws of 18711, Chap. 534: "No 

 person shall kill or expose for .sale, or have in his or her pos- 

 session after the same has been lulled, any speckled trout, 

 save only from the first day of April tc) the iirst day of Sep- 

 tember, " and then follows the penalty, etc. Kow, you see 

 from that section that uuless the trout" are killed, the parly 

 taking tliem is not liable. And we have two men near here 

 that have private trout ponds and flsh the year around, and 

 put the trout into their ponds, where they "^sell them out in 

 season for one dollar per pound. .Uid dming the past suni- 

 mtr I know of one family thai eaught and snld to one of 

 these men six thousand brook trout, and they were mo-tly 

 caught from a single brook that runs into the West Canada 

 Creek. Those six thoussmd small trout were sold for $3 50 

 per liundred, and by being fed up in a private pond, another 

 season many of tliemwill be large enough lo be eiiiight out 

 at fsl per pound, wbieh looks to nie all wrung, a.-s this par- 

 ticnJar brook, with several others that are tvibular.es lo the 

 West Canada Creek, were stocked with trout from the State 

 Hatchery two j'ears ago, aud if left alone would soon make 

 fine fishing in the' creek. And this is only one family and 

 one brook" out of a dozen tiiat I might quote. You can 

 readily see that it is a large drain on V.-a nuun stream. Aud 

 besides these fish ponds men can go aud catch them off from 

 tile spawning beds, preivided they catch them witli hook 

 and hne, and do not kill them, all" of which serves to keep 

 the people living in those localities and who owoi the land 

 through which the streams run imeasy and discontenti d, be- 

 cause these men aretdl iwcd the privilege of cleaning out the 

 Stream in or out e)f season. 



I would suggest that that section be amended so as to read : 

 "No person shall catch oj' kid," etc. That one word will 

 stop the stocking of lish ponds out of season. And I believe 

 it would be well to amend it still further by prohibiting en- 

 tirely the catching of trout out of public waters for the pm-- 

 posc of stocking private pond.s, for in eveiy numlter of your 

 paper I find psirties advi.ntising trout iuid" trout spawn for 

 sale, so that these parties wlio make a living out of a fish 

 pond might either hatch their owm trout or buy them of ptir- 

 tics who make raising thoni to sell a business, and leave the 

 public waters, wltich are stocked by tlie State, for the sports- 

 men. 



This particular flaw in the law has been more trouble to nie 

 than any other. I have taken pains to supply most of the 

 guides and resident hunters living on the edge of the great 

 North Woods with copies of the game laws and, with few ex- 

 ceptions, they li;i : : ; i- 1 a willingness to stoj) depreda- 

 tions themseivei '• I I enforcing tiie laws if it was go- 

 ing to become L,ei' • ' ■'■' ^le gtime lavs had tieen a dead 

 letter so long that it has taken some time to convince them 

 that the laws are going to be enforced, and that though par- 

 ties may sometimes get through without being caught they 

 are liable sooner or later to come to grief. 



There is quite a iidstakeu jiotion among men palling them- 

 selves Sfinrlsmen, and who belong to sp'jrt.smen'? elulis and 

 are members in good standing, that if tliey :a-e in the woods 

 during the months of June and July on a fishing excursion 

 and want a " little venison to eat while in camp " they have 

 a right to kill it, but it will not do. It works harm to the 

 general enforcement of the law to allow it, as guidos and par- 

 ties living back in these looalilies claim, with good grounds, 



PICKEREL PISHING THROUGH THE ICE. 



THE law has been changed in Chatauqua County, N. Y., 

 and the " snake- eaters " can nnw be taken in winter. 

 The Oount/ryjfide conjpUuns of it and savi; that there are 500 

 tishennen's huts now upon the ice and that the crop is in dan- 

 ger of being over-harvested. Well, there are better fish, and 

 aU who are interested in fi.shcultiu-e can well spare the long- 

 anouts, for they Idll tons of better fish than themselves. Our 

 private opinion is that they are not eatnble, although we of- 

 ten hear of localities where they are " excellent." This point 

 we wiU admit, for other palates than our own ; but, as for 

 us, we admire not the flavor of mud and weeds combined in 

 a soft paste. 



A Canq.)beir.s, Mass., correspondent writes : " Nippenickett 

 Pond, .some fe'ur nnles from this place, has become noted for 

 its pickerel fishing through the ice, ami last month Large 

 quantities of them were taken. .>v party of three from 5 his 

 place caught some eighty or iiiiieiy in an afternoon, weighing 

 from one-hdf piaind to three ntii'l a half pounds—not great 

 fishin.g, sin-ely, but it shows wliat our ponds might do if pro- 

 tected." 



And "Webb" write.s from Nashau, N. H.: "Pickerel 

 fisluiig has not been as good this winter as usual, though 

 some good strings have lieen taken. The outlook for trout 

 fishing in tl 

 if not most, 

 of course 



stroyed . , . 



inies, the kingfisher, the heron and mink ; others were left to 

 decay in the dry beds of the streams. The Commissioners 

 would, periiaps, furnish young fry lo rc-stoclc the streams, as 

 far as they coidd, if parlies iutere'sted should apply." 



Poet Omaha— iW;.'). Jan. 3.— The ]Missi:iuri River is full of 

 catfish, to uiy knowledge, as far west as Fort Buford and the 

 Yellowstone west to Tongue Ki ver. 



W, L. Oaju'entkr, U. S. A. 



WisOHBSl'KB— Fa., Jan. 4.— In reply to the inquiry of 



Dr. Sterling in your last is.sue T have tn slale lliat more than 



a score of years ago while stationed at Ftirt Abercrnmbic on 



the Red River o7 the North 1 was aoitn.'tonuel ki ciqHure 



Thov were of a golden color, rather 



nmou catfish. Then- tlesh was white, 



firm and of most delicious llavor. As the R. River comiccts 



ith Lake Winnipeg I think it probable that they may be 



foimd as far north as the latter point. Lieot. Aba Wai.i.. 



A New Fish Makkkt pok Nbw Yokk.— The Timex gives 

 overacolmnn to the history of the efforts to abolish the 

 rickety old Fulton l\Iarket nnd build a respectable one on its 

 site. It has at last been accomplished nnd .TtiSO.OOO granted 

 by the city for this purpose, news winch all fi-sh cultwists 

 who flock there on April Isl to sec the trout -show wiU ap- 

 preciate, although it will not be begun nnlil after the next 

 one. The old building has been condemned by the Health 

 Department several times, but the opposition of the politicians 

 and smtdl stand holders lias, until now, proved too strong for 

 them. The new builditig is thus described by the Tinws: 



"The cellars, grcig-shtips, etc., arc all to be filled up. New 

 wulis 31 feet high and 34 feet apart are to bo erected. The 

 central portion is to be made perfectly secure, hut for the 

 prresent the internal arrangement will n"ot be distm-bed. As 

 the market exists to-day, you have lo mount a series of dirty 

 wooden stairs to approach the centre of the irihu-ket, whicll 

 you have to descend again. With the new plan there will 

 be a continous ground floor aud no stairs. Tiio greatest care 

 will be taken as to drainage, and every iiossibie convenience 

 will be presented for the "washing or finshinij: of the floor. 

 There will be plugs of water at" [iroijer distances. There 

 will be a truss roof over the new portion. The floor will be 

 two-ineh-thick yellow pine, laid in tar and calked. Tlierc 

 will be three entrances on Front street, with oneonBeekman 

 and one on Fulton, The South street front, between the two 

 wings of the market, will remain as it: is now, open. On each 

 com'er of Front street the building will rise above the level of 

 the roof. For ventilation there will be ample provision by 

 means of spacious windows. It is proposed tiiat the demo- 

 lition will begin some time from the 1st to the loth of April, 



THE NORTHERN RANGE OF THE CATFISH. 



St. Pmjl. Jan. 1. 



YOUR correspondent, Dr. E. Steriing, of Cleveland, 

 O., is "in search of the most Northern range of our 

 catfish " He suggests "perhaps the waters of the Mississip- 

 pi will be fomid to cany this flsh furthest in that direc- 

 tion." Recalls for hifonnation as follows: "In case it is 

 found in wat-rs north of the divide, that flow into the Arctic 

 seas, ple.ase let us hear from the captor," etC- 



The Red River of the north flows itito the Arct'C seas. In 

 the month of August, in the \ear ISOO, the writer was one of 

 a partv of eight or iiin.- [i > - !,i: made a trip from St. 

 Paul to the month of K i ^ :;: ' :■, a place on the Red 

 River, now the site ot n ii ■: :.^ .i-y called Grand Forks, 

 some sixty miles south ..: .:n- b.anuiary line between the 

 United Slates ami :\Ianitob:t. I'he whole country was then a 

 «ildernes.-. The, uljjeci of the expedition wa- to make a 

 irentywith the .1 led Lake Chi|ipewas, and the Commandi 



nw of tin 

 . J. Cnlle 



in-C!uef ^ 

 soon afterw: 

 with certain 



longing to s,, 

 Jlajor \Vn 

 NorthWi St iv 

 world, then Superintem 

 ment, was '-liigli joint 



The treaty failed Imt th^ 

 At one of om- Ciunps, 

 present crossing of th<' 

 set out a hook tmd lir 

 in the nioriu 

 the weight r 

 no scales i, 

 enough for 

 veiuent piai 

 ■hai 



Geiddard liailey, Special coiuinissioner, who 

 d liecaiue somewhat notorieras in comicction 

 Heeurilies mifappropria'cd at Washington be- 

 Indian tribes 



1, well known to idl old settlers in the 



genial tjaveler and coiiqjanion in the 



den I ol Indian Affairs in this dcpart- 



' with 3Ir, Bailej' and accompanied 



rite'r was secreiary to the commission, 



iitfisli eiue.slion" was settled. 



a point on the Red River near the 



rtbeni Rac^tie Railroad, tnir cook 



iperly baited wdlh a pork rind, and 



c;dfl.«h' was fianul on the hook and secured, 



f'^whieh, in the judameni of the party (we had 

 was at least forty"pounds. After slicing off 

 hrcakfiisi for the p;a't^^ our cook, having no con- 

 X'. in his wagon for such a monster, hung him 

 der the wagon reach and toted him tdong. 



and wa> fed on cat fish fen- several duvs and found it delicious. 



God doubtless could make a bet Icr fish food than the Red 

 River calfiph, but He doubtless never did, at least that is 

 about, thewavit struck the p:rrty who consumed this one. 

 The Red Elver catfish, if tins w:is a fair specimen, is vastly 

 superior in flavor to those found in the water.s ol the SIissis- 

 sippi. The writer is not verv familiar with the habits of the 

 Red River half-ln-eeds whose lot; cabins adorn the banks of 

 this river between P.mbiua aud ^Vumipeg, but he undi 

 stands the fact lo be that the eatfislr of this river are Ihoir 

 main Slav for food, and eoutrilmte in good part to make them 

 so fat an''' '7.-' '!':'l:e :i trip down that stream by steamboat 

 ,„i aiiv Ol I, I ami vijii will see their lines bobbing 

 froii'i e'v: I 111 I irliaugir.i; the water, all the way down. 

 In this .^ei li 1. I I ;:!' e urn try ihese facts are notorious. The 

 Doctor evidently has not traveled this way. Ltsx. 



Ci.isvELAsn, O.— The inclosed postal cardgivesyou another 



dem on the range of the catfish (Piiiidodvs). Ilmve infoim- 

 ation fi-om a reliables source that this fi.'^h is taken in the Bay 

 of Superior City, aud also near the mt)uth of .the St Louis 

 River at the he"ad of Lake Superior; the fish often weigh- 

 iwi t^venty pounds or more. Taken in such cold, clear water 

 it must prove a verv superior flsh for l he table, especiaUy 

 when cooked acco'rdintr to Dr. Ivirtland's way. This 

 fish from Lake Erie when salted brings two dollars more per 

 ban-el in the Southern market than our much valued white- 



pre-ient premises 

 tieing situated on the site of the proposed improvements — tire 

 ready to spend a great deal of money in euibellisliing and 

 fltting up the interior of the market in a nnuiner appropriate 

 to their business. Certainly the trout exhibitions made here- 

 tofore liy Mr. Black-ford, the New York State Pish Commis- 

 sioner, -will be doubly attraclive when they have these newer 

 surroundings in 1883. In re.gard lo llie central portions, 

 they -will in time, perhaps not later than 188-3, be reconstrucl.- 

 ed in harmony "with the rest of the building. 



New York is to be cougratnlat<td at last in havmg this 

 offensive nuisance torn down and an appropriate structure 

 erected in its place. The commiltee are to be lauded for 

 their energy and determination in having the f>ld eye-sore 

 removed, and most especially the thanks of Ncv- Yorkers are 

 due to Mr. E. G. Blackford, who htis for the last yeai- devoted 

 his whole time aud efforts in this direction." 



(Special to FouKsT jnd Strk.v.m ] 

 MICHIGAN SPORTSMJIITS ASSOCIATION. 



Lansing, Mich., Tuesday, Jan. 25. 



THE Michigan Sportsmen's Association met in this city 

 this afternoon. The purport of the e.rganiiiation is the 

 protection of flsh, game and birds. It comprehends a large 

 number of local societies and lias individual members in all 

 parts of the State. 



The present meeting is very largely attended, exceeding in 

 that respect any previously held by the Associtition. Large 

 delegations are present from Kahimazoo, Saginaw, Battle 

 Criek, Hart, .lackson, Bay City, Grand Rapids, Detroit, 

 Monroe, Hastings, Grand Haven and oilier points. Dr. B. 

 S. Holmes, of Grand Rapids, is President ; Prof. H. B. Ro- 

 uey, of Saginaw, Secretary. Many individuals were elected 

 members, and four new clubs wore adndtted — the Ha'-tings, 

 Grand Haven, Bay Point and Hart Clubs. 



Letters were read from gentlemen fi-om Georgia, Wiseotj- 

 sin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and New York, interested in the 

 preservation of the game of the country, and hopeful of the 

 passage of such laws in all the Stales as will fully protect 

 migratorj' birds and fishes. At the evening session a paper 

 Wiis read from Seth Green, the noted tislieuUurist. He re- 

 gretted that the New York State Association was chiefly 

 given to shooting rather than to conserving of game. He 

 gave as his opinion that the game of the country would .soon 

 become e.xtinct. He urged bolter legislation and spoke of 

 the good effects of having a game constable in the vicinity of 

 Rucbcsler, and hoped that angliriL: with rod and line W01ll4 

 be made lawful in streams inhabited by game fish. 



A report was read by the (jommitlee on Laws for the pro- 

 tection of game animals and birds and insectivorous birds. 

 It was accompanied by the draft of a bUl. The Committee 

 on Fish Laws, Including propagation as well as protection, 

 made a report confining it chiefly to the waters Of the great 

 lakes. 



A letter was received from Professor Spencer P, Baird, of 

 Washington, who doubted the jurisciction of Congress over 

 the waters of the lakes for the purpose of regulating the flsh- 

 eries therein. He thought that the object might best be at- 



fish (C'oregomx). The catlish can be en.sUy propagated arti- ^ g legislation. Chairmftu Clark advocated laws 



^ffi-fis^r'' ""^' "' ''"^ "'^'"^ ^'^^'Sl'&Tir ' making irtificial propagation of fish obUgatory. 



