FOREST AND STREAM, 
865 
had grasped. The roots Of the -weed had formed a kind 
of bower, and in this bower was a collection of herrings’ 
eggs, suspended here and there not unlike the bunches 
of grapes as one sees them portrayed in pictures of Ital¬ 
ian vineyards. 
Herrings 1 eggs are about tbe size of and loot very 
much like sago. Eaoh egg has, like the salmon egg, 
its own oil vesicle. 
A. long time ago, when staying at Folkenstone, I arti¬ 
ficially impregnated some herrings! eggs, and so far de¬ 
veloped them as to get the eye in perfection in the 
egg. In no aquarium I know of have, as yet, herrings’ 
eggs been hatched out, but I hopo in the course of this 
next autumn to be able to -do so at some of the aqua¬ 
ria, especially.at Yarmouth. 
Ballantrae'is the most remarkable piaco in the United 
Kingdom for the spawning of herrings, Whereas herrings 
spawn on the east coast of England and Scotland (taking 
the extreme dates) from the latter end of May to Decem¬ 
ber, that is, measuring from the Shetlands to" the North 
Foreland, these Ballantrae herrings never spawn in 
August, but, on the contrary, begin about the 1st of Feb¬ 
ruary, and the spawning goes on till the 1st of April. 
Tliis spawning bank is ten miles long and two miles 
broad. The average depth is ten fathoms at low water, 
The mode of catching the herrings is to sink fine cotton 
nets, by means of heavy stones, to the bottom of the sea. 
These long nets sit upright in the water, and the her¬ 
rings are meshed by the head in the net, This mode of 
fishing at Ballantrae has been going on (according to 
Mr. Tlios. Gullies, surgeon, of Ballantrae) for nearly two 
hundred years. Having in my official report, 1878, gone 
into tho natural history of the herring, I have come 
to the conclusion that soil and climate very much influ¬ 
ence the size and external appearance of the herring. 
Tlie Ballantrae herring are not the same kind as those 
found in the North Sea—say from Berwick down to 
Lowestoft. They are a veiy much larger kind of herring; 
they are, I believe, Atlantic herring that live in the deep 
submarine valleys of that ocean, and that come in to 
spawn in February and March. When the herring are 
spawning the water at Ballantrae is warmer than the air, 
and this is as far as I can get with my Ballantrae temper¬ 
ature. With the egg-covered weeds, I received some 
specimens of the spawning herring themselves. They 
were quite full of the milt or eggs, and the eggs were 
quite ripe and running out like shot. 
I find that each female herring on an average contains 
20,000 to 30,000 eggs. What a vast number of eggs there 
must he deposited in this large spawning ground at Ballan¬ 
trae. A new fact came under my notice. It is that her¬ 
rings eat their own eggs. In several cases I found that 
the herrings full of milt or roe, as the case may be, had 
their stomachs completely gorged with herring eggs. 
When at Peterhead I made the discovery that herrings’ 
eggs on being extracted from the parent fish instantly 
become adhesive. The. same thing happened to the eggs 
of the Ballantrae herring, even although the parent fish 
were dead. I treated them in the same manner as I do 
the eggs of salmon and trout, and ascertained that the 
moment the milt touched them, they became firmly ad¬ 
herent, not only to one another, but to the vessel in 
which they were operated on, Is not this a proof that 
there is beauty, order, and design, even in herrings’ 
eggs? and I should like much to ask philosophers how 
they can explain, except by the direct laws of an All¬ 
wise Providence, that herrings’ eggs should become in¬ 
stantly adherent the moment they are deposited. If it 
were not so, these frail and delicate organisms would be 
destroyed by the merciless waves of the sea, and thus the 
race of herrings would be imperilled, to the great detri¬ 
ment of the h uman race. 
The Summer Resort of Seth Green-. —The summer 
resort of Seth Green, or one of his, at least, is situated in 
the famous Irondequoit Bay of Lake Ontario, quite near 
Rochester. The nearest approach to it by rail is via the 
Rome, Watertown, and Ogdensburg railway. In other 
days it was an important harbor, but the weeds long since 
closed up its mouth, and the sand filled into the channel 
leading into it from the lake, and made it useless for com¬ 
mercial purposes. Not so for pleasure, however, as it re¬ 
ceives the annual outpourings of people from Rochester 
and all northern New York. Famous in history, sur¬ 
rounded by lofty hills, prolific with evergreens and beau¬ 
tiful vineyards, it has quite an aspect of an Alpine lake. 
On the east side a long line of rugged sand hills covered 
with young cedars and hemlock, interests the eye, while 
on the west Bide may he seen the carefully cultivated grape¬ 
vines ready to catch the first sunshine of tho day. It 
is a romantic spot. No St. Lawrence glides by in sublime 
march to the sea, as among the islands, but stretching 
away at tire feet the Irondequoit presents as pleasant 
waters as ever charmed the sportsman. Centrally situ¬ 
ated in the bay, at the foot of the bluffs, a point of land 
projects into the water, on the highest part of which is 
situated the club rooms of Seth Green. 
In 1870, during the progress of some government engi¬ 
neering operations, tho writer spent some four weeks 
here. We met the veteran fisherman often and found 
him as genial and liberal as the greatness of good nature 
can make one. Running out from his club rooms was a 
long dock for his boats. Strange as it may seem, the hy¬ 
drographical operations as noted at that time indicate a 
depth of eighty feet directly in front of his dock—the 
deepest place in the bay. The olub house was a commo¬ 
dious wooden frame, managed by an old cook who could 
tickle the inside of a hollow log with his viands, The 
fishe rm a n him self spent much time with his favorite 
sailboat, which was painted green and so named. I never 
heard him spin a yam, though I never had a doubt of 
his capacity to do so, The following tale is said to have 
originated with him, though I cannot vouch for it, as on 
the day it was purported to have been told to my brother 
p the corps, I was in Rochester. I am not certain but 
that I related it once in the Oswego Times, but am posi¬ 
tive it was never copied by the pvess : “ You see," said 
Mr, Green, “ I have known days when I could hook a 
pretty large fish." As there was'nt a doubt in any eye, 
he proceeded. “ One day I happened out on a dock at 
Chicago and a man wanted me to hold his pole and bait 
the monsters of the deep, while he went up town for a 
chew of tobacco." Green stopped to'adjust a mosquito 
and declared : 
“ I had'nt been there fifteen minutes before-" 
“ You had. a twenty pound pike," observed the chief 
engineer. 
“ Or an immense pickerel," said an assistant. 
“ Or a huge Michigan trout," added the recorder. 
<( No boys, hold your gib—yo’ve out. I had been there 
about fifteen minutes when the fellow came back and I 
had’nt hooked a dumb thing.” 
I am sorry I was’nt there, as I should like to have seen 
what it was in the club house they were all so anxious to 
get on receipt of this. The engineers do assert, however, 
that he is a generous joker. Wi. Hosea Ballou. 
An Aquarium for Baltimore. —Mr. John W. Garrett, 
of Baltimore, has offered the Park Commission of that 
city $10,000 with which to construct an aquarium at 
Druid Hill Park. The commissioners are now consider¬ 
ing the feasibility of the project, and if it is deemed prac¬ 
ticable, Baltimore will have a most useful adjunct to her 
present facilities for scientific study. 
H Transporting Live Fish by Freezing.— Wm. C, Prime, 
Esq., says in one of his autumn letters :— 
All experienced anglers know that codfish, striped bass 
and many other salt water fish may be frozen while alive, 
and kept frozen for a long time, and when thawed out will 
be as lively as ever. I have been trying for some years to 
ascertain whether salmon and trout can be thus frozen 
and transported alive, but the difficulty in summer has 
beeu that they cannot be kept alive long enough to freeze 
by any process available to me. Mr. Lang told me 
that he once took a large lot of trout through ice in the 
early spring, on a bitter cold day, and kept his fish in a 
hole hollowed out in the ice and filled with water, when 
at evening he found them frozen solid. He gathered 
them out, carried them some miles in the bottom of his 
sleigh, and when they were thawed out in cold water 
every fish was lively. This is important as affording 
a method of transporting trout alive, to or from places 
difficult of access. The experiment ought to be tried 
thoroughly, and if it he found practicable it would prove 
oftentimes useful to fish breeders, in sending fish for 
stocking ponds, and in transferring varieties of fish across 
continents and oceans. 
The fact that some of the cold-blooded animals thus 
live in a frozen condition strikes many persons with sur¬ 
prise and even doubt. As to fish, I know the fact by re¬ 
peated personal experience with salt water fish. I have 
no doubt that it is true of pickerel, though I never tried 
it. A moment’s reflection will remind any one that large 
numbers of animals, especially the larva} of moths, and 
worms of all kinds, are frozen solid every winter, but are 
lively enough in the spring. 
" Successful Cultivation of Hybrids.— Rochester, Nov, 
nth— It is claimed by scientific, men and theorists that 
it ib impossible to hybridize fishes of different genus. The 
question has been discussed to a considerable extent. The 
ground on which, they base their claim is that a dog and 
sheep cannot he crossed, or any other animals bearing 
the same relation to each other. I have no proof that 
they can, hut I do know that 1 have on several different 
occasions crossed the striped bass with the North River 
and Potomac River shad, and also have crossed;t.he sal¬ 
mon trout with the white fish, and batched the hybrids. 
The fish crossed are of different genus, but the kinds op¬ 
erated with spawn at the same season of the year. 
Seth Green. 
Age and Weight of Carp.— The carp was introduced 
into Europe from Central Asia centuries ago, and into 
England in 1504, since which time they have so increased 
that carp-ponds are now a feature of many estates. Won¬ 
derful storieB are related of the longevity of the carp, 
of the size attained by certain specimens. In Austria 
they are said to have reached the age of 140 years, and 
single specimens have beeu taken weighing 40, 50 and 
even 90 pounds. They thrive best in stagnant or slowly 
running water, and they lead a healthy existence in bog 
pools where other fish cannot live. During the winter 
they remain in a state of semi-torpidity, and eat nothing 
from November to March ; though during this time there 
is no sensible dimunition in their weight, 
—The Manchester, N. H., Mirror and Farmer 1ms been 
seeking truth at the bottom of the well, and has suc¬ 
ceeded only in finding “the profundity of ignorance” in 
a fish. pond. When one agricultural paper tries to give 
fish-cultural instruction to its readers, said advice being 
just ridiculous enough to make a mud-turtle crow, it 
affords the thoroughly informed aud practical editor of 
the other sheet an opportunity to crow too. Having 
found to opportunity, the Mirror proceeds to read its 
constituents some very sensible advice. We are glad to 
sec intelligent discussions of.all such questions. The ag¬ 
ricultural editor of the future must be well up on matters 
piscatorial. If he flounders about in the mud liis sub¬ 
scriptions will be swamped there too, 
New England.—T he Massachusetts Ploughman esti¬ 
mates that one farm in every four in New England has a 
stream which is fed by living springs, and if properly 
dammed could be made productive by the propagation of 
Jish. The agricultural papers arc giving attention to 
farm fish culture. This means that before very long no 
farm will be thought complete without its fish stock. 
Jlfishmg. 
FISH IN SEASON IN DECEMBER. 
Black Bass, Miwopicrus mlmo- 
idesi M. nioHcans. 
Sea Bass, Sciomvps oc-ellatw. 
I Pike or Pickerel, fDsax Indus. 
r^H?^ Pcrch ' p crca Jtav 
1 White Perch ,Mororm amwicttiia. 
Jf -♦- 
Pickerel Fishing.— We have put in a plea more than 
ouce in behalf of pickerel fishing, which is not to he des¬ 
pised as a sport, however it may be decried by most an¬ 
glers, Taken from clear, bright water the pickerel is an 
estimable fish for the table, those of the largest size not 
being troublesome for their bones. In one of his recent 
letters to the New York Journal of Commerce, the vet¬ 
eran angler, Wm, C. Prime, Esq., who is the author of 
that engaging book called. “ I Go a-Fishing,” relates some 
pleasant personal experience of his in last September at a 
pond in Vermont, situated some sixteen miles from Mont¬ 
pelier. The pond is near what is known as “WiUianis- 
town Gulf," a rugged defile, with a quaint little hotel at 
the bottom. Mr. Prime writes :— 
It was not yet sunset, and the pond we had passed on 
the loft was worth investigating. 1 took a rod aud fly hook, 
and walking back to it found a boat. The sun was set¬ 
ting, and the smoky air made the light a deep red. Tho 
hills were covered with autumn foliage, coining down 
close to the pond at one side, while around its other shores 
was a grass meadow in which cattle were standing, not 
feeding, gazing at me and at the red sun. Not a breath 
of wind moved. 
I had learned that only pickerel and perch inhabited 
the pond, and accordingly, using an eight-ounce rod, I 
put on a very small spoon or spmuev, of a sort which 1 
have made for casting with a light rod. The spinner is 
no larger than your little finger-nail, and I use it without 
any feathers or body. If you have any fancy for piok- 
erel-fisliing, go to this little pond. I never found such a 
crowd of the miserable wretches in so small a space. The 
water was clear but full of weeds around an open central 
spot of less than an acre. When I cost the spinner, the 
instant it struck the water, before I had drawn it ah inch, 
there were three, four or five rushes from as many direc¬ 
tions, the water rolled up around the spinner, and one 
fish had seized it while the others whirled around it aud 
retired. Of course it was a pickerel. But 1 was puzzled, 
for his behavior was that of a bass. lie rushed fiercely! 
struggled hard, and I began to doubt what he was, tili 
he went into the air precisely like a blaok bass. And he. 
did it twice more before I landed him. I never saw pick¬ 
erel show such game. Tho next cast produced the same 
result. The fish rushed fiercely from all sides, evidently 
seeing the spoon in the air before it struck the water, and 
tailing it as if they were accustomed to taking flics. On 
the whole the game character of the fish elevated this 
pickerel-fishing into true sport, and I kept at it till it 
would have been dark but for the rising moon. Then 
came the moment, which 1 have often noticed in pick¬ 
erel-fishing, when by common consent, as if a curfew hell 
had sounded, they suddenly ceased to move, and 1 could 
not tempt another one. Iliad thirteen, averaging about 
a-pound apiece, and was afterwards told that an occa¬ 
sional seven or even eight pound fish has been taken out 
of this pond. 
The brook which runs out of the pond is a good trout 
stream in the spring, notwithstanding this reservoir of 
trout enemies at its source. I saw plenty of young trout- 
in it as it flows by the tavern. 
The closing sentence of this pleasing sketch will sub¬ 
stantiate, and will recall to many of our readers what, our 
correspondent “Penobscot” has written at length in the 
11th volume of Forest and Stream on the matter of pick¬ 
erel destroying trout. He wholly controverts and 
disproves the prevalent idea that pickerel are the es¬ 
pecial enemies of trout, and that the two species of fish 
cannot exist in the same water. It will be interesting lo 
the. reader to revert to what is there stated. "When pick¬ 
erel and trout have been kept confined together in the same 
tank the trout have shown themselves to be the most ag¬ 
gressive of the two. In the tank of Mr. Messenger at the 
Bromfield House in Boston, where trout, black-bass and 
pickerel of varying size were originally placed—the 
A argest of each being nearly equal—five trout and one 
solitary bass are the sole survivors! In a pond where 
these fish are found together, especially the trout and 
pickerel, the habits of the two species are so radically 
different as to keep them widely apart, the trout seeking 
the deep, cold water, aud the pickerel the warm shallows 
and the weeds. Only when the pickerel extends his for¬ 
aging expeditions are the trout likely to suffer. As to 
the spawn, the pickerel never eat it. Like tigers and 
cats, they usually lie in wait for their prey, hut some¬ 
times hunt, pursue and seize it while trying to escape, 
They do not live on dead matter when they can get the 
living. 
Oysters for Europe.—T he oystermen of Fulton Mar¬ 
ket and Long Island are shipping great quantities of oys¬ 
ters to Europe, one shipper, Mr. Slmffer, alone sending 
off about 1,000 barrels per week. It is said that ovsters 
which are sold for shipment at 90 emits a tub could not 
be sold in this city for 50 cents. 
North Carolina Fisheries.— The fishing industry of 
Beaufort, N. C., is now of important proportions aud 
growing in extent. The largest wholesale dealer is Mr. 
G. N. Ives, tormerly of New Haven, Conn., who ships fresh 
fish to Richmond, Danville. Lynchburg and Petersburg, 
and large quantities to New York. The varieties' caught 
are sheepshead, Spanish mackerel, hog-fish, spots, trout 
and mullet 
