FOREST AND STREAM. 
765 
suggested -will do for successive eovies, and I will pass to 
the consideration of the dog, If the sportsman has dili¬ 
gently applied himself to the lessons given, experience 
must finish his education. I can bat remark ia conclu¬ 
sion on this point, thattheold Latin adage, Poc.ta nasaUur 
non Jit, applies with equal force to sportsmen. 
Oairo, Oa., Oct. m, 1879, 
P. S.—In what I have said of the Dittmav powder, 1 
do not wish to be misunderstood. I am not actuated by 
a, spirit of captious opposition ; on the contrary. I would 
be more than pleased, if my last experience had been as 
pleasant as my first, If the white, or paper powder, could 
he depended on in the matter of penetration, I would re¬ 
gal'd it as the greatest boon to the sportsmen of the past 
quarter of a century, What sportsman has not been an¬ 
noyed by the abominable smoke from the black powder ? 
And further, I am bound to confess that the Dittmar 
Powder Manufacturing Co. seem to desire honestly to 
benefit the sportsmen of the country; they listen very 
attentively to all complaints, or at least they did so in 
my case ; and I can but indulge tire hope, that they may 
speedily overcome the defects of their powder, and he 
able to furnish an article that will give general satis¬ 
faction. 
PROTECTING THE MISSISSIPPI FISH. 
T HE following “Plea For Protecting The Missis¬ 
sippi River System," was read by Dr. R. O. Sweney, 
of St. Paul, before the Central Fish Cultural Association 
at Chicago, Oct. 2nd:— 
He desired to call attention, ho said, to the particular and 
marked omission of legislation in the commonwealths bor¬ 
dering upon the Mississippi River and its navigable. State- 
dividing tributaries, either regulating, restricting or pro¬ 
hibiting wanton, abusive and exhaustive fishing. He 
thought that the remedy, to be effective, must emanate 
from the national legislature. There were, besides the 
resident despoiler of the waters, those who use arks or 
fishery-boats, which are anchored at various points along 
the rivers wherever fish abound. These arks are inhabi¬ 
ted by amphibious people, citizens of nowhere in particu¬ 
lar, and yet voters everywhere in general. Sometimes as 
many as fifteen men to an ark are employed, slaughtering 
fish with trap and set-nets of such destructive character 
as literally to let nothing [esoape. Their mode of pro¬ 
cedure is thorough and systematic. The secrecy with 
which their nets are placed, and usually attended, gives no 
evidence against them to the majority of the world. Oc¬ 
casionally an early or belated sportsman witnesses the 
haul they make when the nets are emptied, and sees the 
wanton and wasteful destruction of small fish, too small 
for market, left dead to rot and taint both air and water 
on the beach. They dispose of the selected spoil in sup¬ 
plying the daily wants of the nearer villages and towns, 
selling to hotels and dealers tire less marketable, while 
thousands of pounds of the largest and finest fish are sent 
to the greater cities by the daily trains. They often 
actually depopulate a stream, or come so near to it that 
an outraged neighborhood drives them off by threats. 
The author thought that netting and trapping should be 
interdicted, and only fishing with hooks and lines permit¬ 
ted ; and in case of set lines, only a certain number of 
hooks to a line, and no one person allowed to set, own or 
control more than a limited number of lines within a cer¬ 
tain limited distance. The streams within the jurisdic¬ 
tion and control of local legislation can he, and usually 
are, protected by such laws, but the generous laws of the 
United States allow too much liberty in this matter of 
fishing in the great highway rivers. One man, if he so 
de.ermines, may selfishly deprive whole communities of 
their rights to catch and enjoy fish simply beoausa lie can 
derive profit thereby. 
Another good and sufficient reason for prohibiting nets in 
the Mississippi is that the attempts being made to introduce 
shad and salmon into the great valley system by both the 
United States and state commissions should have a fair 
and unobstructed field for the experiment of the final suc¬ 
cess of which the author had most sanguine hopes. 
He thought that an efficient remedy would be congres¬ 
sional legislation, in-effiect that all persons who catch fish 
as a business and to sell from any public waters what¬ 
ever, should pay a certain sum of money as a license 
for such privilege, the sum to be regulated in amount ac¬ 
cording to the mode of catching and appliances used, and 
quantity of fish captured ; the money paid for the said 
licenses to be expended for the continuous propagation and 
restocking of such waters ; or, in lieu of such money, they 
might deliver a certain quanity of fertilized spawn to the 
United States or State Fish Commissioners, as national or 
State laws would indicate, for the restocking of the same 
waters. The sum necessary would be but trifling, and the 
expenditure a good investment, even a benefit, and an in¬ 
creasing income to the fishermen, and not only to them 
but to the community at large. 
He asked the cooperation of every gentleman present 
in urging firmly and persistently the necessity of system¬ 
atically stocking the Mississippi and its affluents with shad 
and salmon. If they united, the United States Commis¬ 
sioners would give a respectful attention to the request. 
MORE OYSTER STATISTICS. 
T HE mathematical man of the Philadelphia Times 
has been computing the magnitude of the American 
oyster trade. This is what he makes them 
Oysters arc planted and grown in the hays, deltas, and 
river inlets of more than three thousand miles of our At¬ 
lantic coast. Three thousand acres are so occupied in the 
Chesapeake bay and its tributaries. These Chesapeake 
beds yield to our commerce over 25,000,000 bushels an¬ 
nually. 
In the one city of Philadelphia, I estimate, there are 
over four thousand places where oysters are sold for con¬ 
sumption on the premises. One Philadelphia oyster cellar, 
three years ago, sold 7,000 oysters, on the first day of 
September. Twenty dollars would he a moderate average 
for the sales of all these 4,000 oyster restaurants, saloons, 
and cellars. This would bring the total daily sales up to 
$120,000 a day. Multiply the daily sales by 240 days 
would swell the yearly aggregate to $80,000,000 a year for 
oysters in Philadelphia, And yet this estimate is proba¬ 
bly considerably below the actual fact. 
New York city probably sells twice as many as Phil¬ 
adelphia ; and Boston and Baltimore together more than 
New York again. Aside from the home consumption, 
the shipments to our inland. Western and even Pacific 
States are enormous. The appetite of all inland and 
mountain men for all sorts of shell fish is something 
huge, Baltimore employs more than $15,000,000 in the 
canning of oysters. More than 20,000,000 bushels of oys¬ 
ters are canned a year iu that city. 
On account of their superior excellence American oys¬ 
ters are now exported in vast quantities to England, 
France, Germany, and other European countries. These 
exportations are’ mostly in cans, but immense quantities 
are now shipped abroad in the shell. After to-morrow 
you will not see an ocean steamer go out of Philadelphia, 
Baltimore, or New York which does not contain a hund¬ 
red barrels or more of American oysters still in the shell, 
The total of our oyster trade approaches much nearer our 
annual crop of cotton and wheat than any one who does 
not make these tilings a special study would be willing 
at first to credit. I am satisfied in my own mind that our 
total oyster trade, domestic and foreign, exceeds $800,000;- 
000 a year, while the total annual consumption in this 
country, and our shipments abroad would exceed the 
amazing total of 50,000,000,000 oysters. 
Prof. Brooks, of John Hopkins University, has beau ex¬ 
perimenting upon the artificial propagation of oysters. 
The process of making embryonic bivalves is as follows : — 
Half a dozen served on the half shell served on a plate, 
a few watch crystals, a small glass jar, a little water, and 
the microscope constituted the laboratory. The oysters 
had been taken fresh from their beds and opened careful¬ 
ly. In this way they will live for a day or two if kept in 
a cool place, and all the while the heart may be seen to 
pulsate in its cleft next to the muscles. Close to the heart 
lay what is usually called the “ fat,"’ but which is really 
the reproductive organs. These are wrapped all around 
the stomach, livex’, and digestive oi'gans, the latter being 
the “belly - ' or dark parts of the oyster. The flaps ex¬ 
tending around the whole of one side of the shell are its 
gills, through Which it breathes and separates its food. 
The mouth is at the butt end of the shells, where the hinge 
connects them. Male and female oysters on the hal f shell 
cannot be told apart, and indeed one in fifty is believed to 
be hermaphrodite. It is claimed that oysters are female 
when young, and males when they become old and larger. 
But the facts have not been established with certainty, nor 
ifl it of importance. To produce free swimming ciliated 
embryos, the operator pinched away with tweezers a par¬ 
ticle of the generative part, put it into a watch crystal, 
and stirred it until the eggs were well shaken out. Tho 
water was now milky from the great number of eggs. The 
microscope determined the sex, which in the present ex¬ 
periment proved to be male. Under the microscopy these 
male cells appeared to be dots, perpetually in active mo¬ 
tion, and each one of them being sufficient for impregna¬ 
tion when properly lodged. The female eggs are 100,000 
larger than the male cells, but are invisible to the naked 
eye. Having been washed out into separate watch crys¬ 
tals, the eggs are mixed with the male cells. Then viewed 
under the microscope, the male cells are seen to attach 
themselves vigorously to the egg in eager crowds, but only 
one of the many is supposed to impregnate. The first 
change apparent is the disappearance of the germinal ve¬ 
sicle and this is accomplished in a very few minutes. The 
egg then becomes spherical and remains quiet for one or 
two hours, when a kneading process becomes visible. A 
globule appears on the surface, and this is the beginning 
of segmentation. Then by degrees the egg becomes divi¬ 
ded into smaller and smaller granules. This process of 
subdivision occupies two hours, and at the end of this 
time a small, transparent swimming embryo is found, 
which is the oyster in its infantile state. The whole pro¬ 
cess occupies from four to six hours, according to the 
temperature, although in the present instance it was 
brought to a successful issue in four hours. Professor 
Brooks, in his previous experimenss, had raised oysters 
till they possessed the cilia, which served to propel the 
microscopic animal ; tout they died without further reve¬ 
lation of the mystery of life. In the present experiment 
he had the satisfaction of developing the embryos until 
he could clearly trace their digestive organs, and he is in¬ 
spired with the hope that continued watchfulness will 
enable him soon to see the infants begin to assume their 
ai'inor of shells. It is believed that thei'e is no specific 
time for the spawning season of the oyster, and that it 
continues throughout the summer months, though this 
is a point not yet definitely settled. 
Fish Commissioners. —Tho following list of the Fish 
Commissioners of the various States will be found use 
ful :- — 
United States—Prof. Spencer F. Baird, Washington 
Alabama—Charles S. G. Dos ter, Prattville, Autauga 
country. 
California — S. R. Throckmorton, B. B. Redding, San 
Francisco; J. D.Farwell, Alameda. 
Colorado — W. E. Sisty, Brookvale. 
Connecticut—W. M. Hudson, Hartford; Robert G Pike, 
Middletown ; James A. Bill, Lyme. 
Georgia—Thomas P. Janes (commissioner of agricul¬ 
ture and ex-officio commissioner of fisheries), Atlanta. 
Illinois— N. K. Fail-bank, Chicago; S. P. Bartlett, 
Quincy ; J. Smith Briggs, Kankakee. 
Iowa—B. F. Shaw, Anamosa, Jones county. 
Kansas — D. B. Long, Ellsworth. 
Kentucky—Wm. Griffith, pi-esident, 166 West Main 
st., Louisville ; John B. Walker, MadisonviUe ; Hon. C. J. 
Walton, Munfordville; Hon. John A. Steele, Versailles : 
Hon. J. H. Bruce, Lancaster ; P. H. Darby, Princeton; 
Dr. S. W. Coombs, Bowling Green ; Hon. James B. 
Casey,Covington; Gen. T. T, Garrard, Manchester; Hon. 
W. C. Allen, Owingsville. 
Maine—E. M. Stilwell, Bangor; Everett Smith, Port¬ 
land. 
Maryland—T. B. FergUBon, of Baltimore, (Address No. 
132 M. street, Washington, D, C.); Thomas Huglilett, 
Easton. 
Massachusetts—Theodore Lyman, Brookline; E. A. 
Brackett, Winchester ; Asa French, Boston. 
Michigan—Eli R. Miller, Richland ; A. J. Kellogg, De¬ 
troit; Dr. J. C. Parker, Grand Rapids. 
Minnesota—First district, Daniel Cameron, La Cres¬ 
cent: Second district, Wm. W. Sweney, M. D.. Red, 
Wing; Third district, R. Omsby Swe’nuv, chairman 
St. Paul. 
Missouri— 1. G. W, Steedman, chairman. No. 2,803 
Pine street, St. Louis; John Reid, Lexington; Silas 
Woodson, St. Joseph. 
Nevada — H. G. Parker,Carson City, 
New Hampshire—Samuel Weber,’ Manchester ; Luther 
Hayes, South Milton; Albina H. Powers, Plymouth. 
New Jersey—Dr. B. P, Howell, Woodbury : Col. E. J. 
Anderson, Trenton ; Theodore Morford, Newton. 
New York —R. Barnwell Roosevelt, 76 Chambers street. 
New York ; Edwai-d M. Smith, Rochester ; Richard U. 
Sherman, New Hartford, Oneida county; Eugene G. 
Blackford, 809 Bedford avenue, Brooklyn. 
North Carolina—L. L. Polk (commissioner of agricul¬ 
ture), Raleigh ; S. W. Worth (superintendent ot fisheries), 
Morgantown, Burke county. 
Nebraska—Rt. R. Livingston,Plattsmoitth ;H,S. Kaley 
Red Cloud ; W. L. May, Fremont. 
Ohio—J. C. Fisher, president, Coshocton : R. Cum¬ 
mings, treasurer, Toledo ; L. A. Harris, secretary, Cincin¬ 
nati. 
Pennsylvania — H. J. Reeder, Easton ; Benjamin L. 
Hewit, Hollidaysburg; Janies Duffy, Marietta; John 
Hummel, Selinsgi-ove ; Robert Dalzel, Pittsburg ; G, M. 
Miller, Wilkesbarre. 
Rhode Island—Albert A. Reed, Providence; John H. 
Barden, Rockland ; Newton Dexter, Providence, 
South Carolina —A. P. Butler, Hamburg. 
Tennessee— W. W, McDowell, Memphis : Geo.F. Akers, 
Nashville : W. T. Turley, Knokville. 
Utah— A. P. Rookwood, Salt Lake City : (absent; infor¬ 
mation. from Prof. J. L. Barfoot, curator Desert museum). 
Vermont—M. Goldsmith, Rutland ; Charles Barret, 
Grafton. 
Virginia—Col. Marshall McDonald, Lexington. 
West Virginia—Henry B. Miller, Wheeling ; Christian 
S. White, Romney : N. M. Lowry. Hinton. 
Wisconsin.—Gov. William E. Smith, ex-officio, Madison; 
Philo Dunning, president, Madison ; J. V. Jones, Oshkosh; 
O. Valentine, secetary and treasurer, Janesville; Mark 
Douglas, Melrose, Jackson county ; John F. Antisclel, 
Milwaukee: Christopher Hutchison, Beetown, Grant 
county ; H. W. Welsher, superintendent, Madison. 
California Trout in New York State— WdUmlU, 
Oct. 18 th. — Last summer we placed in one of our streams 
—a tributary of tho Genesee — 15,000 young California 
trout given us by Seth Green. Although the water has 
been and yet is very low, the little fellows are thriving, 
and are as lively as crickets. They are now about twice 
as large as the brook trout fry of the same age. I think 
they will grow up to “manhood” with us. If so, will 
then write you whether or not “they bite with their 
tails." Clarence A. Farnuii. 
J$ntur<il IQhiortL 
ST. CLAIR ON THE ROBIN. 
D URING last May I wrote you a little sketch, a con¬ 
tinuation of “Southern Wood Notes,"’in which I 
mentioned in rather a playful maimer the habits of some 
birds. No attempt was made at a scientific description, 
but some notes were inserted concerning tho habits of 
our migratory birds, which I trusted might prove inter¬ 
esting to Northern naturalists. Among other birds men¬ 
tioned were the Crowand robin. About the robin, especi¬ 
ally, several of your correspondents have been much ex¬ 
ercised in their vast and powerful minds. A storm of 
righteous indignation is poured upon me for my sins, in 
that 1 have made Cock Robin a cool, deliberate, unmiti¬ 
gated iuehriate! One gentleman from Texas, whom to 
know I would ride many miles, does not dispute the truth 
of my position, but savs that he will believe that robins 
do get drunk, if I (St. Clair), will say t hat they do. Now 
tills gentleman is of a good mind. He appreciates the 
difficulties under which any one labors who tries to es¬ 
tablish facts of the most trivial character in natural his¬ 
tory. Do those, other writers who have rushed so madly 
into print, think of the ceaseless toil and watching that 
are necessary to find out so very small a matter as robins 
getting drunk? No; they nevar think of it. Does any 
of them think that 1 would attempt to mislead honest 
gentlemen? No, they care nothing for the accuracy of 
my researches. They simply think that they have found 
me in a literary trap, and that they can gibe at me. They 
will find that I, too, can give blows. But they shall be 
struck, as a gentleman strikes, fairly and squarely; so, 
with the black flag flying on the robin question, have at 
you, Messieurs! 
Years ago, in the time when all men were brave and 
magnanimous and chivalrous, and all women had beauty, 
and none were there, but were intellectual and strong- 
minded ; in the halcyon days before the “wall,” in short, 
I noticed that robins were in the habit of falling stupefied 
to the ground, after a long-continued feast upon the ber¬ 
ries of the China tree. 
Again ; some were not stupefied at all. but were as so¬ 
ber as judges—ought to he—and they looked with ill- 
concealed contempt upon their more convivially inclined 
associates. Some, in the frolicsome stage, would buffet 
their companions with their wings ; and, altogether, 
would preseut a most rakish and dissipated appearance. 
Now here was a seeming contradiction. All ate of tho 
berries. Ergo, if one got drunk, all should got drunk; or 
there must be seasoned “ bummers " among them, who, 
being drunk, carried it off as some men do, with an 
owl-like gravity, and a wisdom most edifying to behold. 
To satisfy myself that these birds were drunk, and, 
like honest Cassio, had “ put an enemy into their mouths 
to steal away their brains,” I took several one evening to 
my room ; which room was the chosen resting place of 
myself and an incipient sawbones. He knew enough of 
medicine to know the most powerful antidotes to aleho- 
liolic poisoning, and we applied them ia a diluted and 
cautious way to the gay and festive robins, our patients, 
I am sorry to record that not one thanked ns for our 
efforts, but they flew out of the window, nor paused to 
pay any medical fee, 
