Schooner Eva Miry arrived at Lanesville, Friday, from 
Block Island grounds, with 40 barrels bloater mackerel. 
The Bay St. Lawrence mackerel fishery offers no in¬ 
ducements to make a second trip, and the vessels would 
have done much better off our own coast. But few ves¬ 
sels will remain in the Bay, and these with the hope of 
finding large mackerel later in the season,—C'ape Ann 
Advertiser , Aug. 24th. 
Maryland — Baltimore, Aug. SOtfi.—I have just re¬ 
turned from Hancock on the Potomac, about 40 miles 
west of Harper’s Fern-. I spent two days fishing for 
black bass : the water was rather too “ cloudy” for fly, 
but I had some luck, catching about 33, varying from 1 
to 3 lbs. Quite a number were taken with small live 
toads in the still, deep water. The river below Hancock 
has been muddy for a long time, entirely preclud ing any 
attempt at fishing. Hancock is a quiet little town of 
about 900 people, situated on the slope of the Blue Ridge 
in Washington County, Md. The scenery in the neigh¬ 
borhood is very grand, and the people are very obliging. 
Mr. Willis keeps the “ Light House, Hotel.” His table is 
all that one could desire, and his rates to sportsmen very 
low, $1 per day. September is the best month for bass 
in tire Potomac, G. T. B, 
Tennessee— Nashville, Aug. 25tli—Editor Forest and 
Stream: —There has never been as dull a season among our 
anglers as the present. During themonths when ordinarily, 
good sport can be had in any of our streams the weather 
was so hot and dry that the'fish would not bite. Now the 
season is nearly over, Reelfoot Lake, and the Cumberland 
being seined and fished with trot lineB, furnish a fair 
supply for the markets, but our people do not eat fish 
much at this season, A friend of mine and a person 
whom I know to be perfectly reliable, told me the follow¬ 
ing fish story,which if it proves nothing, is quite interest- 
ting :— 
He had been fishing in Bayou Mason, Arkansas, a 
stream noted for its immense quantitiesof bassandperch, 
and where the takes of them occasionally are really mar¬ 
velous. On this occasion, however, the water was not in 
condition, or for some unknown cause the fish would 
scarcely notice the tempting baits offered them ; the earth 
worm, which ordinarily is their favorite food, failed to 
attract a single one, then a grasshopper was substituted 
with no better result, at last he improvised a fly from a 
bright plumaged bird winch he shot. After fish i ng as¬ 
siduously for some time he succeeded in catching a small 
perch; this he used for bait with a hope of better luck ; 
he allowed his line to drift gently down the stream, pay¬ 
ing but little attention to it, when all of a sudden, his reel 
began revolving at a terrific rate, and the line was fast 
approaching its end by the time he had gained his feet 
to manipulate to best advantage. He could see nothing 
at first, but in a few seconds he heard a tremenduous 
splashing in the water, and he felt certain he had hooked 
an alligator gar, so common in these waters. He was 
mistaken however, for instead of that he had on his hook 
a full-grown king fisher. He worked hard, and the job 
proved' a very difficult one. As the bayou passes through a 
forest of tall gum and cypress trees, it was almost im¬ 
possible to keep his tackle clear ; at one moment the bird 
would dart straight up in the air, then being checked 
would turn, dive down, and skim along the surface of 
the water making the line fairly whiz. It took nearly 
ouo hour to tire down the game. J. D., H. 
THE WHALE FISHERIES. 
Apropos of the expected arrival at San Francisco of the 
Arctic trader General Harney, despatched from the Golden 
Gate in May last with stores to the twenty whalers cruis¬ 
ing in the northern waters and to bring back their season’s 
catch of oil and bone, the Boston Daily Advertiser has 
some statistical information regarding the American 
whale fisheries. It says:— 
Seventeen of the fleet are New Bedford vessels; the 
other three are from San Francisco ; so that the General 
Harney’s arrival has something of a local interest. Just 
now there are fifteen whalers at the wharves in New Bed¬ 
ford, and should the news from the Arctic be that a small 
catch had been taken, these idle whalers will probably all 
bo dismantled and be laid up until early next spring, 
when, if the markets improve, they will be fitted for the 
usual three years’ cruise. There are at present 186 vessels 
all told engaged in whale fishery against 668 in 1854 New 
Bedford continues to lead in the business. Counting tho 
ten Scotch steam whalers now at work in Baffin’s bay, not 
more than twenty-five are from seaports outside of New 
Bedford. It may be interesting to recall that when the 
business was at its height in 1854, New Bedford fitted out 
419, Nantucket, 47, Provincetown, 27, Fairhaven, 49 and 
New London. 55. The previous year the receipts of bone 
were 5,652,300 pounds, against 207,259 in 1878, the prices 
ranging in 1853 from 34 to 40 cents, against $2 50 to $3 
the present season. The receipts of oil were in 1854 208,- 
000 barrels, against 40,000 in 1878. In this year of heavy 
receipts there were 552 vessels in the Arctic fisheries. 
There is very little change in the whaling grounds outside 
of the Artie seas. The whales run down early in the sum¬ 
mer into the southern latitudes to “ calve,” but in return¬ 
ing they keep very much closer to the ice, and in the 
Arcti c, run under and alongside the fields and bergs. For 
twenty years the whalers had not followed the fish west 
of Point Barrows, but in 1875 the fleet went as far as Cam¬ 
den Bay, and four of the vessels were abandoned, since 
which time not a vestige of these vessels has been met 
with. The fleet has never been so far west since, Harri¬ 
son's Bay being considered well to the westward. But as 
New Bedford parties are building a steam Arctic whaler 
at Bath,;Me., the first of this class ever sent from the Uni¬ 
ted States, there may be a great change in the Arctic fish¬ 
ing grounds, and a more economic method of following 
the schools discovered. This steamer will fit away in 
September. It will go direct to and cruise along both 
coasts of Patagonia, where the whaling this season has 
teen unusually fine; thence it will run up along the off 
shore and the line grounds, touching in at San Francisco, 
alter cruising through the Society and Sandwich Islands, 
discharging the catch; and by June next it will steam 
directly into the Arctic seas. 
Tho Indian Ocean fleet and the two vessels of the New 
Zealand coast have been fairly successful, but the sperm 
FOREST AND STREAM 
season of the west coast of New Holland, in Australia, and 
the catch in the vicinity of the Desolation Islands, south¬ 
east of Africa, at last accounts were poor. It is in the 
last named locality, and also in the Indian Ocean, that 
the whalers look in each catch for that knot of diseased 
intestines known as ambergris, which weighs from forty 
to two hundred pounds, and is usually more valuable than 
the whole cargo of oil and bone. The last lot brought 
into New Bedford was on the Caroline Gibbs, 125 pounds. 
The whale was taken off the Tristan Islands, in the South 
Atlantic, and the lot was sold for $35,000 to a Boston 
druggist. It may be interesting to know that this most 
disagreeable stuff is used in the manufacture of perfumes, 
New Bedford outfitters claim that unless a vessel can take 
2,500 barrels of sperm oil in three years oil fishing will not 
pay. As few have reached this quantitity in the voyages 
ending the past year, more attention is being given to 
catching the right whale in the Arctic, in which the bone 
is more valuable. The consumption of sperm oil has been 
abridged principally by the introduction of lard oil. 
Nothing would so rejoice the sordid heart of a whaleman 
as a hog cholera at the West. The failure of the menha¬ 
den season this summer is a bit of encouragement to hold¬ 
ers of humpback and similar classes of whale oil. This is 
a thick oil that does not strain clear, and is largely- used 
by tanners and curriers. The oils taken in the South seas 
are somewhat similar, but the Arctic oils are clear and 
limpid, and are used both for burning and lubricating 
purposes. Sperm oil is used almost exclusively as a spin¬ 
dle lubricant, the English spinners taking from us about 
20,000 ban-els a year. Last fall, when the batch was large 
and the market dull, prices fell off to eighty-five cents. 
This seemed so very low that Englishmen came over and 
bought on speculation out of New Bedford about 15,000, 
barrels at eighty-two cents. But the market has since 
receded to seventy-five cents, with a stock of about 50,000! 
barrels on band, and the spinners at Oldham and other 
large English manufacturing centres idle on account of a 
strike. The sale of whalebone is very large in Paris and 
Berlin, where the leading modistes make women’s cos¬ 
tumes an art. Since the long trains have been fashion¬ 
able the sales of bone that will cut ten feet lengths have 
commanded extra prices. Whalebone runs from four to 
ten feet long and is now worth $2 50 per pound. A sub¬ 
stitute has been attempted in the horn from Australian 
oxen. The greatest length of these run to seventeen in¬ 
ches and they sell at $1 a pound, but this horn, notwith-’ 
standing the care in its preparation, on being used gives 
out a disagreeable odor. 
The results of this season's whaling will be known be-' 
tween the 1st and loth of November, but whether there 
will be anything to favor an advance or a further decline 
is not even speculated upon by New Bedford outfitters. 
One of the last voyages settled up at New Bedford did not 
yield a dollar of cash to the crew, and their advance and! 
modest purchases during the cruiBe actually brought tnem 
in debt to the owners. It seems very hard that over three 1 
years’ severe work should not yield eleven men more than 
a modest fare and cheap wearing apparel. Whaling is 
done on the co-operative plan. The owners furnish the 
vessel, fit out and food for two-thirds; and the officers and 
crew do the work for one-third, and settlement is made 
on the return at the current market price for oil and bone 
when landed at the wharf. Among the ship’s officers and 
men the division is on the value of the whole cargo, as 
follows :—The captain has one-sixteenth ; first mate, a 
twenty-fourth; second mate, thh-ty-fifth; third mate, 
one fiftieth ; boat steerers, one eightieth to one ninetieth ; 
ordinary seamen, one one-hundred and sixtieth to one 
one-hundred and seventieth, and green bands, one one- 
hundred and ninetieth to one two hundred and tenth. 
The advance at the outset of the voyages areFirst 
mate, $200 ; second mate, $175 ; third mate, $150 ; sea¬ 
men, $125, and green hands, $100. A chest containing 
clothing and tobacco, &c., is put on board, ont of which 
the men replace their worn out or lost clotliing at an ad¬ 
vance of about fifty per cent on the cost. For instance, a 
coat costing $6 is sold out of the chest for $9. Notwith¬ 
standing the dangers of the business and its vory poor re¬ 
turns, there are large numbers of men now liangingubout 
New Bedford waiting for the expected Arctic news, in the 
hope of a chance to ship on the cruises that may possibly 
be made into the South Atlantic and Pacific. 
gmew to ffiomjsputlentjs. 
II. S., Rosendale, N. Y.—C. G. Gunther & Co., Union Square, 
Now York, deal in furs. 
W. P.. Travel's City, Midi.—For wild rice send to H. Valentine, 
Janesville, Wis. 
F. M. B„ Boston.—Wc make no charge for inserting numes 
claimed in our Kennel columns. 
A. J. W., Boston, Mass.—Ts there anything 1 can give my setter 
hitch to hurry her period of heat? Ans. No. 
Roland Dewing.— Where can I get a Von Gulin spike dog col¬ 
lar? Ans. Address M. Von Gulin, Delaware City, Bol. 
W. E. A., Hardington.—Will you he kind enough to lot me know 
where I can get a thoroughbred greyhound? Ans. From Et II, 
Van Velzer, Oneida, N. Y. 
S.N., Norwalk, Conn.—Are there any works published in Eng¬ 
lish or French language treating on frog oulture ? if so, where 
can X get the hooks V Ans. Address Seth Green, Rochester, N. Y. 
Randolph, Mass—The address of Jonathan Darling is East 
Lowell, Me. You will find deer shooting in the forests about St, 
George, Charlotte county, New Brunswick. Go by steamer from 
St, John. 
R, T. 0. 8., Cardwell, Pa.—Please inform me where to go for 
bear and deer hunting in Pennsylvania? Ans. Pike county is 
probably the best ground in the State. Your best headquarters 
would probably be Dingmon’s Ferry. 
C. H. S., Chelsea, Mass—Where in Virginia can Iflndgaodquail, 
snipe and duck shooting? Also the name of some person 1 can 
communicate with to accommodate sportsmen ? ‘Ans. Address .1. 
R. Baylor, Greenwood Depot, A ibemarle county Va. 
Inquirer, Buffalo, N. Y.—Will a hound that has been put out 
after Bmoll game a good deal be spoiled for (leer, or be apt to leave 
deer scant for such game? Ans. Nut if lie 1s a woll-bred dog and 
the deer scent is a fresh one. He might leave an old scent. 
W. II. H,, Brattleboro.—I have a Newfoundland pup 4 months 
0 ) 4 ; be is nil covered with n whito scurf or scabs, and his hair is 
609 
corning out and he has no appetite. Ans. Rub his sltin lightly 
with crude petroleum and give him a tablespoonful of codllver oil 
twice a day. 
J. B. it., Dalton, Mass—Will you please send me the address or 
parties who make birch bark canoes? Ans. Address David Dres¬ 
ser, Prineetown, Maine; films. Lirvott,Chester, Nova Scotia; Fritz 
Cochran, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Chas. Stevenson, Quebec, Canada. 
Either will refer you to some Indian who will soil or make you a 
biroli. 
S. F, Hollidaysburg, Pa.—My dog has a wart on one of his ears- 
The same is on the edge ol’ the ear, the size of a bean, aud very 
fleshy, of rapid growth, has attained its present size within three 
weeks. Ans. Tho wart must bo removed by excision and after- 
wards apply a thin layer of oxide of mercury mixed with sul¬ 
phuric acid. 
G. H., Pulton, Stark County, O.—Please let me know what a 
ohnke-bore and modified choke-bore are, and which is the best, 
choke or modified choke, for my use. Our game is duck, pheas¬ 
ant, quail, woodcock, snipe, etc. Ans. A choke-bore gun is one 
so bored at or near the muzzle us to cause it to Bhoot closer. A 
modified oboke would be the best for you. 
Keystone, Harrisburg, Pa—1 had a setter hitch lined Aug. 17 t.li 
and on Aug. 21st was apparently over her heat; hut to-day, Aug. 
29th, she is bleeding and looks as if She was going into heat again. 
Could she bleed from any other cause than the above ? Ans. The 
case is peculiar, as tho bleeding should have ceased. The best 
thing you can do is to keep her carefully shut up and watch her. 
I. N. B„ Stanford, N.V.—Where canlobtain Green & Roosevelt's 
work on “ Fish Hatching and Fish Catching," aud what will be the 
cost by mail post paid? Do you know of any better work on 
tlsb culture ? Ans. Address Hon. R. B. Roosevelt, 74 Chambers 
street, New York. We know of no better work on general fish 
culture, excepting the Goverment Reports of the United States 
Fishery Commission. Green’s book, $1.50. 
R, C. S., Bloomfield, N. J.—1. The hair on my red setter is falling 
ont rapidly, can take a handful at a time; there seems to ho an ir¬ 
ritation on the rump. Please tell me how to cure him ? Has a 
good appetite, plenty of exercise, 2. Is distember among dogs 
malignant ? Ans. Twolcnpsules of tar u day for two or three days. 
Wash the dog with Spratt's soap, to ho had from H. C. Squires, 
No. 1 Cortlandt street, this city. 2. Yes, at times very. 
A. W. S., Lang’s Prairie, Minn.—J. Is there a breed of setters 
known as Prussian setters? 2. My setter has something which I 
nave pronounced distemper, though tbo symptoms are different 
from those I have noticed in other cases of distemper. She will 
throw up everything she eats and sometimes there is hair mixed 
with it. Her appetite is good some days and very poor others ? 
Ans. 1. No. 2. Distemper appears in many forms, but your dog 
has probably eaten something that docs not agree with her. A 
good dose of oastor oil would relieve her. 
J. , Baltimore—My bitch has puppies (pug) ten days old. One of 
them sneezes and has a running at the nose. What shall I do for 
it? The mother has a patch of mange on each foreleg. Can she 
bo washed? Also are the puppies likely to take it from her? Will 
it hurt pups to apply petroleum for rntluge on mother? Ans. At 
present agB of puppies it would be unsafe to administer any medi¬ 
cines or apply petroleum. When they area little older the bitch 
can he taken away for a tew days, washed with Spratt's dog soap 
aud returned after being thoroughly dried. At present keep the 
kennel clean and dry. 
J. K. M., Bethlehem, Fa.—There are in Froemansbnrg, Pa., a oat 
and three kittons that are entirely devoid of tails, not so much as 
the smallest stump being visible. This, to me, curious condition. 
Is not the result of a vicious boy's surgery, for both mother and 
little ones came into the world with no more tail than they now 
possess. I have never before seen a cat of this sort, nor have I 
ever heard or read of any such. Have you or any of your readers? 
Ts tins kiud of oat so great a curiosity as it seems to me, or is it 
well known? A ns. probably a Manx cat. All the cuts on the 
Isle of Man are stump-tailed. 
E. J. H., Saule Centre, Ind—My pointer dog two montlis ago ' 
jumped into a glass show-case and cut off about a Bquare inch of 
the heel pad of his hind foot. Since the accident the wound has 
been raw and In a bleeding condition. How shall I cure it? Ans. 
Touch the edges lightly with a stick of caustic (nitrate of silver) 
every other day for a week or ton days. If this fails to make f lie 
sore contract you can then try painting the surface with collo¬ 
dion. Considering the seat of the injury, it is probable the foot 
when healed will always he. tender, and liable to crack, ami thus 
be a sonroe of constant annoyance both to the dog and its owner. 
Write us to the result. 
G. H. C., Albany.—1st. At what prints along Opr coast from 
Nantucket to Barnegat Inlet, eau’one get the best, fishing during 
the last two weeks of September. Ans. Any of the outlying is¬ 
lands on Buzzards Bay, Block Island orBarnegatBay. Fish move, 
southerly in the fall. 2d. Give addresses of landlords at points 
you recommend, Ans. Smith at. Forked River, New Jersey; Par¬ 
ker House, New Bedford, Massachusetts. 3d. Whattackio and bait 
are considered the heat for sea bass. Ans. Sea bass are a bottom 
fish, and will take most any bait. Use either hand line or rod. 
4th. Can suitable tackle always be found at these places, or is it 
desirable, to take along an outfit? Ans. Boatmen will supply 
tackle. 
Senex, Fairfield, Conn.—I wish you would diagnose the case of 
my dog, a pointer, Wo and a half years old, naturally stout, 
hearty and a large feeder. Four days ago beseemed, l’or the first 
time, to be ailing, with loss of appetite, constipation, stools scant 
arid very dark, urinating frequently, naturally. In the morning of 
each day lie seems to be bright and well enough, hut.at noon he 
droops, and as evening advancos he is uneasy ; fever comes on, 
nose dry, aud eyes dull and lacking expression (no catarrhul 
symptoms). I have given him cathartics—castor oil last night; 
operated well this morning: butwith the ndvanceof day tho un¬ 
pleasant symptoms intervene. Can he bo suffering from surfeit. ? 
Please prescribe, and oblige. Ans. Wo should try a change of 
diet and give quinine andiron—say five- grains a day. 
ANTrDOTE, New Haven.—For information on antidotes read 
“ Horsely on Poisons." A useful reoelpe lis given in tho Medical 
Brief ns follows:—If ft person swallow any poison Whatever, or 
lias fallen into convulsions from having overloaded the stomach, 
an instaneous remedy, most efficient and applicable in a large 
number ol eases, is a heaping tenspoonful of common salt, und ns 
much ground mustard, stirred rapidly in a teaoupful Of water, 
warm or cold, and swallowed instantly. It is scarcely down be¬ 
fore it begins to come up, bringing with it the remaining contents 
of thu stomach; and lest thoro be any remnant of the poison, how¬ 
ever small, lot tho white of an egg or a teaspoonful of strong cof¬ 
fee he swallowed ns soon os tho stomach in quiet, because these 
very common articles nullify a large number of virulent poisons. 
