FOREST AND STREAM, 
885 
are dark-colored, with blotches of white—the fungus— 
hero and there. This one was almost covered, and quite 
three-fourths of the poor salmon was of that hideous 
whiteness which denotes where the Saprolegnia ft’rcun 
has been at work. I left the poor flsh, and iu an hour 
repassed the spot where it had been. It was not there. 
Twenty yardslower down the stream it lay dead, hut being 
some distance from the side, I was not able to take it from 
the river. Later the same clay I wandered still lower 
down the Kent towhere the noble hall and park of Levetis 
are striking objects in the scenery. There were one or 
two trout with slight white marks upon them in the 
higher streams, Then I found a salmon of about thir¬ 
teen pounds lying partly'in and partly out of the water. 
I drew it to the side, and, aithough comparatively fresh, 
it might have been dead thirty-six hours ; rats or herons, 
or both, had been making their meals upon it. A portion 
of one side lay open, and from it, with a slight pressure, 
oozed the spawn, for it was a female fish. On turning 
the flsh over there was no difficulty in seeing what had 
caused death. The tail and body up to the ventral fin 
were covered with the disease (when out of the water Hie 
fungoid is the color of light dull brown paper, whilst in 
the water it appeal's white). The head also was attacked, 
as were the pectoral Jins and the body for some distance 
round about them. The fish otherwise was fairly bright, 
and the disease must have made great progress, if it haa 
not already been present when tile subject left the sea. 
for this salmon had not been very long from the salt 
water. In other parts of the river I got threo or four 
trout, which were lying dead at the side, all badly af¬ 
fected. I notieed several others still alive, but badly 
marked, and at least two of .them, in darting from the 
side, took refuge in the weeds. Now, here again have you 
acauseastotlie spreading of the disease, for is it not likely 
that some of the fungoid may become detached from the 
fish and attach itself to the weed? Being of a Vegetable 
nature itself, probably the weed may take the infection, 
and then in turn communicate it to other fish, or perhaps 
to other matter with which itmay come in contact. How¬ 
ever, there can be no doubt that Sttp rolegnia fercu; is very 
easily spread, aud just now in the river Kent it is worse 
than it ha3 ever been at so early a period in the year. In 
other seasous it was more noticed in the very early spring, 
or after the fish had spawned; and now that unspawned 
iisli are at tacked I consider it a very bad sign indeed, and 
the fact of fish spawning whilst in that unsound state is 
likely to be very deterimental to both trout and salmon. 
Shad in Tennessee.— The shad which were deposited 
in the Cumberland several years ago, have never made 
their appearance in sufficient numbers to call the ex¬ 
periment a success. It is the opinion of a good many out 
here, that the long trip from the mouth of the Ohio to 
the Gulf, through the muddy and turbulent waters of 
the Mississippi, makes the attempt a necessary failure. 
German Carp in Tennessee.— Nashville, A T ov. 30 th.— 
The test of propagating the German carp in our State is 
now being put in practice. Professor Baird shipped some 
500 to this place, and they arrived safely and in fine con¬ 
dition about ten days ago. They were handed over to 
Col. Geo. F. Aken, our State Fish Commissioner, for dis¬ 
tribution. There is no doubt but what they will succeed 
admirably in this ch'mate. The growth of aquatic plants, 
and the immense quantity of insects and worms which 
throng around our ponds aud water courses, will furnish 
them an abundance of their favorite food, while the tem¬ 
perature of the water must suit them exactly. There 
were any number of demands for the finny strangers; 
but, as Col, Alien would not give them to any persons 
who were not willing to draw off the water from their 
ponds, and take out every other species of fish that might 
be in them, the process of distributing was a little slow. 
Where the experiment will he most thoroughly made, is 
at the Asylum, a few miles from Nashville. Here them 
is a pond covering a space of several acres : from this all 
tile water was drawn, and every vestige of living mat¬ 
ter removed from it, when the pond was refilled, and the 
“ carp ” placed in it. Dr. Callender, who is the Superin¬ 
tendent, is a gentleman of rare culture, and his treat¬ 
ment of the precious charge will be purely scientific: 
and, if they are to be a success, it will be under his care. 
The others were sent to different places, where the appli¬ 
cants had the proper means of doing justice by them. 
A rather amusing incident occurred, a few days after 
the “carp” arrived. The local press noticed the fact, 
and stated they wore to be given away to persons having 
suitable places to put them. An old fanner drove up to 
the office of the Fish Commissioner, having in His wagon 
a whiskey barrel filled with water. Said lie: “ Wall, 
Kernel, I have cum to get a few of them new kind ’el¬ 
fish.” 
‘‘ How many do you expect to get ? ” replied the Colonel, 
“ and what have you to take them away in ? ” 
“ Reeken I don’t want mure ’n three or four hundred ; 
and that barrel in the wagon is full o’ water, which 
’ll do to take ’em to the pond in.” 
“But,” said the astonished Commissioner, “ only five 
hundred fish were sent me for the whole State, aud, of 
course, I can give no such number to any one person : 
besides, do you know that they cost, at least, $10 each ? ” 
“ Wall, that settles it,” said the farmer, as lie drove off. 
“ Got no use for sich high-toned minnow as them; so 
good-bye. ^ J. o. H. 
^ SETH Green’s Hybru) Trout.— Rochester, Not'. 89th— m your 
issue of Nov. 30th I notice In Dr. Gurltck’s address lie says: “ It is 
not very long since a prominent fish eulturist announced in a 
sporting- journal that lie hacl bred hybrids from/th eSiUmo fonLi- 
nallit and another species or trout (l forget Its name) round la 
California or among the;Roeky .Mountains; I do not remember 
which (place. Now the Satmo fonUnalis spawns in the fall of the 
year, October and November, and this California trout spawns in 
the mouth of March, so,said this person who aecumpllshcd this 
astonishing feat in fish culture, there being five or six months dif¬ 
ference in the time of spawning. How he accomplished this 
feftt I do not know, unless he adopted the Rev. Dr. John Baolt- 
man’s plan, thatol' drying the eggs of thejperoh for ten day-, front 
which he obtained a considerable .'number ot young perch. 1 
have not the lest doubt that eggs that have dried for ten days, 
would be as sure to hatch in five or six mont hs or Uve or six years. 
Such statements ’.are pernicious, and tend yto lead beginners 
astray." 
As I made the above announcement In regard to crossing the 
California mountain trout with our native broolt trout, to wliieh 
1 still adhere,t will say in my defence that ns n rule the Eastern 
brook trout do spawn in Ootnbur and November, but the trout of 
Caledonia Spring Croak, on. which the Now fork State Hutching 
Works oro established, eommcuco to spawn about the middle of 
November aud continue until about. thO middle of March. Last 
season the last spawn we took were S,Odilon the 13th day of March. 
I have taken them as late as March 311th, and could undoubtedly 
have taken a few up to April 1st, but as there are so many flsh to 
bundle it does not pay. 
The California mountain trout commence to spawn March 1st, 
aud continue until about the middle of April. There is no trou¬ 
ble in crossing these two kinds. X have never published the 
results of any experiments except those I have made myself 
personally, or which have been made under my immediate super¬ 
vision, and therefore know what X am talkiug about. I am very 
sorry to see that Dr. Gariick, or any one else, should doubt mo in 
this matter, and feel sure hod he heen better posted he would not 
have made the above remarks. gifi’u G reen. 
j §m and j? wcr L <0ishwQ. 
FISH IN SEASON IN DECEMBER. 
FRES1T WATER. 
Black Bass, Microptmis salvia- I Pike or Pickerel, Exoxhl-clux. 
ides; M. nigricans. Yellow Pcrcb, Perea flaveseens . 
Sea Bass, Sciamops oce-llalus. 1 White Perch,Atomic amcricana. 
THE REDFISH OF IDAHO. 
In some of Lite large lakes of Idaho and Washington 
Territories is found a peculiar fish called the “redfish,” 
which has no place in the catalogues of science, and no 
specimen has been placed in the Smithsonian Institute. 
It is probably a distinct species of the salmon family, 
which includes every variety of trout and salmon, From 
what is said of it, we believe, says the Chicago Field, the 
redfish must be ono of the most valuable of food fishes. — 
[Geriiiautoum Telegraph, 
The above paragraph illustrates one of the vory pleasant 
and encouraging (?) modes in wliioli one’s assiduous labor 
is performed. Here has the editor of Forest and Stream 
been engaged for four years in the investigation of the 
haunts, habits and identity of this particular fish, pub¬ 
lishing our progress from time to time, as we gathered 
new information, chiefly through the instrumentality of 
that persistent naturalist, Capt. Chas, Bendire, of the 1st 
U. S. Cavalry ; and when at last specimens of male and 
female had actually heen procured and sent to the Smith¬ 
sonian Institution, aud portraits of the same printed in 
Forest and Stream (issue of Nov. 13th), with full de¬ 
scription of colors, habitat and characteristics — lo ! we 
have the above comprehensive paragraph concocted by 
the combined labors of two astute journals, who con¬ 
stantly beg recognition for their enterprise, honor and 
thoroughness in all matters especially pertaining to fish; 
while at the same time their reluctance to give credit to 
an industrious contemporary permits them to summarize 
so important a subject in a brief paragraph, in every line 
as erroneous as error itself! 
Now let the mantle of Elijah fall upon these two wor¬ 
thies, for none others so deserving can he found in all 
the land. 
LAKE REGION OF FLORIDA. 
T HE time is approaching when the disciples of the 
rod and gun and paddle will lie directing their 
flight southward to escape the chilling attentions of Old 
Boreas. As canoeing lias become a popular source of 
amusement, and as it is a pleasant as well as a healthy 
source of enjoyment, I am disposed to direct the atten¬ 
tion cf canoeists, and even boatists, to a section of Flor¬ 
ida that has hitherto escaped extended notice. I refer 
to the lake region of Florida, par excellence, To those 
who can enjoy life on salt water, with consequent adven¬ 
tures, I would say, try Indian River, or the southwest 
coast, as they offer all" that can be desired: hut to those 
who prefer quiet and retirement among attractive lakes, 
I will say, spend a holiday in the section about to he de¬ 
scribed. 
Black Creek empties into the St. Johns River, twenty- 
miles south of Jacksonville, and some weeks since I wan¬ 
dered across lots from Middleburgh, situated at the junc¬ 
tion of the north and south forks of this stream, to a 
pond on the Suwannee River, twenty-five miles from the 
Gulf. To my surprise I ’found en route one of the most 
interesting sections of the State. To the east, and within 
fifteen miles of Waldo, a thriving town on the Cedar 
Keys and Fernandina Railroad, will be found at least 
forty beautiful lakes, varying from 300 yards to seven 
miles in length. 
These lakes are generally deep, with pure water, and 
here and there will be found clear sand beaches. As a 
general rule, they are surrounded by high land, covered 
with large pines. In the neighborhood of Sand Hill and 
Five Mile Lakes and Number Eleven Fond the country 
is high ami rolling. The altitude of Santa Fe Lake is 
one hundred and twenty-one feet above tide-water, 
aud the remainder of the lakes range from sixty to one 
hundred feet. Owing to the elevation of the lakes, and 
the hilly nature of the adjoining country, the wanderer 
and the invalid can have a guarantee of pure air and 
health, 
These lakes are stocked with bream, bass and perch,and 
furnish admirable sport for the bait fishers, the troller, or 
caster of the fly, with light tackle, small hooks and 
worms (known its sawyers) from $aad wood, or shiners 
(small minnows). During the winter months ducks in 
variety are plentiful. "Where marshes or savannahs ex¬ 
ist snipe can be found. Herons, gannets and cranes are 
plentiful. About fouv miles north of Sand l-lill Lake I 
passed a pond covering probably ten acres. Growing in 
the pond were numerous large cypress trees, and they 
were literally covered with gannets aud white herons. 
Never having been disturbed, they were very tame, and 
allowed me to approach within thirty yards. In the 
woods and fields quail are tame ancl in quantity, awaiting 
a visit from sportsmen. The hammocks, which are tim¬ 
bered with live and white oak. hickory and magnolia, 
will at all times furnish the material for a squirrel stew. 
It has been my lot to see a great deal of Florida, but for 
beautiful lakes, fine views, good roads, and sporting at¬ 
tractions. this section, taken as a whole, certainly excels. 
To reach the lake a canoe or boat can be transported to 
Waldo by rail, and from thence, a distance of four miles, 
to Santa TV- Lake. From the westerly end of the lake to 
Melrose, a new and growing town at the easterly end of 
the lake, is a row or sail of seven miles. There are sev¬ 
eral hotels on the bank of the lake, and an excellent 
boarding-house at Melrose where tourists can obtain good 
accommodations and a square meal, 
Another route is to ascend the St. Johns River to Glen 
Cove Spring, and from there, to the lakes by wagon, a 
distance of twenty miles. The Bellamy road passes 
through the Jake region, and it Is an excellent one, and 
boats and impedimenta can be easily transported. Eto- 
niah Creek empties into the St. Johns River, twelve 
miles below Palatka, and we have been assured that this 
stream can be ascended to the lakes. This statement we 
give as information received, and not as the result of 
personal observation. 
Settlera reside here and there among the lakes, and a 
Florida contraption, denominated “ keerts,” can be ob¬ 
tained to transport a light boat from lake to lake,-when¬ 
ever a change of base becomes desirable. At Melrose, 
they have doctors, a drug store, and three general stores, 
where numerous doses of groceries can be obtained ; and, 
in addition, a post office, and„ I believe, a daily mail, 
where letters can be received and answered. H it should 
be deemed necessary to visit the post office, or recruit 
your stock of eatables, a marsh tacky (pony) and keert 
can be chartered on very reasonable terms, and the end 
attained by a slow, but sure and primitive process. Or, 
if the party is supplied with a gentlemen of the colored 
persuasion, whose services can be secured for about 
twelve dollars per month, he can be utilized as mail car¬ 
rier and provision toter, if he is not addicted to imbibing 
corn juice. 
I found the residents of this section hospitable in the 
extreme, and I recived a hearty welcome everywhere. In 
tins section the sportsman will find much to interest and 
amuse him, and the invalid would secure fresh air, retire¬ 
ment, and numerous sources of enjoyment; the taxider¬ 
mist could secure specimens of numerous birds, and even 
the artist could find many beautiful spots worthy of his 
pencil, To me, the navigation of creeks and small lakes 
is too tame, but if I had a weakness for quiet sailing I 
would select the region referred to, 
Having referred to canoes and boats, I may remark that 
they can be cheaply forwarded to Jacksonville by sailing 
vessels leaving New York weekly, If they are consigned 
to Peter Jones, Jacksonville, Fla,, lie will pay freight ami 
take care of them until owners arrive—and I may remark 
that Ms charges will be reasonable. If desired, new and 
second hand boats can be purchased in this city at about 
New York prices. Everything in the way of fishing 
tackle (flies and fly rods excepted,) and ammunition, can 
be obtained on as reasonable terms as in the North, 
To those who intend visiting this State, and who enjoy 
fly fishing, 1 will say, bring rods with you. Fly fishing 
in many portions of the State is all the most enthusiastic 
fisherman can desire — more especially on the southwest 
coast. Al Fresco. 
FISH SWALLOWING FISH. 
Watertown, N. Y., Due. '2nd. 
Edit nr Forest and Stream 
Twenty years ago my wife stood on the shore of Lake Ontario, 
at a point, where Heald’s farm borders the lake, about six miles 
west of Oswego. Soma fishermen wore cleaning flsh that had 
been taken in a seine, and among' them was a twelve-pound cat¬ 
fish. After taking off the head they proceeded to disembowel it, 
and fouud in its stomach to their horror, n baby’s hand In a parti¬ 
ally decomposed state. It was off at the wrist. It is perhaps 
needless to add that there is at least one lady in the world who 
for twenty years has had no especial hankering for catfish. 
I believe in your edition of Nov. 13th ult., something is said 
about a leviathan fish-hook. Well, the nccounL above is a horri¬ 
ble faet—beat It who can. J onah. 
VWashington, D. C., Dec.Gth.—While fishing in bayou Tacheiu 
Louisiana, during the war, Ibaited my hookwitk a minnow nbout 
three inches long, aud fastened the end of the line to an over¬ 
hanging branch of it tree. I then went after mud hens for an hou r 
or so; whon I returned to my line, I saw the branch bending and 
moving from side to side in quiet a violcn t manner. On attempt¬ 
ing to pull in the line I found that some largo fish was hooked, that 
would probably break hook and line i f I persisted in my efforts to 
land him. I went to the residence of a gentleman near by to 
borrow a fish spear, stated my case, and he accompanied me back 
to the stream with a three-pronged hay fork, in lieu of spear, 
which was mislaid. After considerable trouble I succeeded in 
pullingwithin striking distance my supposed fish, which proved to 
bo a young alligator, thirty-eight inches long. The fork was 
111 rust into him and we landed him. As hooks were scarce at Hint 
time I concluded to recover mine, and after dispatching the 
saurian cut him open and iound that he had swallowed a five and 
a half pound trout. In the trout was a “ cotton mouthed ” moc 
casin snake, twenty aud a half inches long; in the [snake was a 
soft shelled turtle two and a third indies in diameter; and In the 
mouth of the turtle was the hook. The minnow we (lid notfind. 
Now, Mr. Editor, this sounds rather steep, but if necessary, aud 
If Gen. Motiton is still livingat Centreville, La., I can prove what 
I have written by his affidavit. If Mouton is not available, Ool. 
Tom Ochiltree of Texas, who will soou be here, will certify to it. 
LL.E. 
We should be pleased to see the affidavit, properly at¬ 
tested before a notary public. “I. L. R.” is just a few 
inches ahead, so far. But next week we shall hear from 
Professor Gill again, aud then perhaps that affidavit 
may not be necessary after all. Competitors for the prize 
fish-hook (it is a Mg one) are admonished to send M their 
little Stories at once, as the contest was originally an¬ 
nounced to Close Jan. 1st, 1880. There is a man in Indi¬ 
anapolis, Ind., whom we want to hear from ; one in 
Albany, N. Y.; two or three down in Kentucky, and a 
score of tried and true contributors who are just now 
displaying a modesty most unusual, 
