492 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



rJANUAP-T 10, 1882. 



From my experience oC about fourteen years, during which 

 1 have never Used l.ifiil for trout or black bass fishing, I aui 

 satisfied that color of gut lias nothing to do with success or 

 failure. The right kind of flies for the day and the requisite 

 skill is alt that is necessary, together with good tackle, to 

 insure good sport, iu trout or hass fishing. 



Some years ago 1 leased a beautiful pond supplied by a 

 spring creek of Iho purest water, about half a day's drive 

 from home, which 1 often frequented. This pond covered 

 twenty acres of ground, and I could uearly at all times catch 

 tvout in it, having carefully observed their habits' and haunts. 

 On arrivimr there one afternoon, I was told by my care-taker 

 that a "colonel" from Buffalo had, without leave or license, 

 gone to fish up the creek. From the description my man gave 

 of his "fittings," I did not think he could commit great 

 havoc among my pe's, so I let him alone, and did not rebuke 

 his impertinence. He made his appearance on the banks of 

 the pond soma two or three hours later, in company with a 

 companion of languid appearance, complaining of doleful 

 luck— "ntrry trout." They were equipped in high boots, and 

 had grand rods, immense fish-baskets and lovely "kinky" 

 Jiucs. 1 examined the ends of their lines, and found each 

 bad a nondescript fly perfectly useless, tied on to the ends of 

 their lines by a piece of gut three inches long. I sympathized 

 with their misfortunes, pointed out the very best places, and 

 bade them go and enjoy themselves. By this time I had 

 about sixty fine trout. On leaving the pond at dusk, 1 heard 

 that tlie two had departed for their "ancestral halls" dis- 

 gusted. 



Whether "color" had anything to do with their want of 

 success, I leave your readers to judge. They were decidedly 

 "gieen." C. O. D. 



A PERFECT DAY. 



I TAKE my rod this fair June morning, and go forth to be 

 alone with nature. No business cares, no roar of the 

 city, ao recital* of other's troubles and woos which make the 

 lawyer a human hygrometer, no doubts nor fears disturb me, 

 as drinking in the clear sweet air with blissful anticipations, 

 I saunter through the woodpath toward tlie mountain lake. 

 As I brush the dew from the bushes around me, I spy in a 

 glade, golden flowers glowing on a carpet of pure green, 

 mingled with snowy stars of wliite blossoms; with their 

 fragrance conies the liquid bell-like voice of the swamp-robin, 

 hidden from ciirii us eyes. Sooo, seated in my bnat, I paddle 

 to the shade of a tall, dirk hemlock and rest there, lulled by 

 the intense quiet. Ever and anon as I dreamily cast my 

 ethereal lly, a thrill of pleasure electrifies me, as it is seized 

 by a vigorous trout. 



1 have loag classed trout with flowers and birds, and bright 

 sunsets, aud charming scenery, and beautiful women, as 

 given for the rational enjoyment and deliglit of thoughtful 

 men of aesthetic tastes. And if 



then a perfect life has been lived by mauy a noble lrou 

 Whose years have been few, but who, caught by the fisher's 

 lure (to which he wa-i predestined as aforesaid,) has leaped 

 into the air, and shaken the sparkling drops from bis purple, 

 golden, crimson, graceful form and struggled to be free, to 

 the intense pleasure of the artist Who has brought him to 

 basket, where be. belonged. 



Thus resting, and floating ap-arently between the trans- 

 lucent crystal' and the blue eth-r, silent, I have felt the 

 presence of a spirit who inspires me with pure thoughts of 

 matters far above the affairs of daily life aud toil of the 

 universe, ami what lies beyond the blue sky, aud of the mind 

 aud soul of man, and his future after death. 



1 lobe the mountains, and the meadows, and the woods. 



Later, satisfied but not s dialed with fair provision of corn 

 and wine, and oil, and my creel well filled, the shadows 

 lengthen, and the day begins to die. 



Someday I shall bear no more forever the birds sing in 

 the sylvan shade, My eyes will no more behold the woods 

 I love so well. For the last time my feet will slowly tread 

 this woodland road, and I shad watch for the last time the 

 changing shadows made by the clouds upon the hillsides. 

 Then will come a time when the setting sun will paint the 

 West as the DTidBgroom colors the cheek of the bride, but I 

 shall not know it, and 1 Shall never again share such hours 

 of peaea with the leafy trees. Then, with folded hands upon 

 my quiet breast, rny friends will Briefly gaze up an my face 

 and 1 shall be gone. In that last day, so full of deepest 

 interest to me, may my soul be pure. 



Filled with such thought?, 1 regret that I cannot express 

 them like the p >el, whase name I know not, bat whose 

 words I well recall : 



" Goo l-bve. sweel flay, cood bye ! 



love i tliee, but 1 oanoot hold thee; 

 Departing like a dream, the shsiaows ioki thee. 

 Slowl 7 1 iiv p a u-ci beauty Jades away ; 

 Good-bye, sweet d ty : 



Good-bye. Hweet day, good-bye ! 



1 "' ■■'■> '■•■ i ! i.-u inn - hi' inuiKHll *i.ileintor. 



Hadly Ueni \ leidi'si, id me eveuirc,' leader, 

 Wlio wart s'l fair from thy first morning ray. 

 Good-bye, sweet day! 



Good-bye, sweet day. good bye ! 



•lliygieev are! eharm, riiy smiles and 1 ones aud glances 

 vauisii al ii-i. .tad solemn atgiit advances. 



Ah : rauld'st tu< u vet a Little longer stay. 



Goud-b.ve, sweet diy I 



Good-bye, sweet. '!:)'/. good-bye ! 



j\a tbv in'ii »)] s in,' ene-iiil ttearl remembers, 



Tii.- will:.- I '.v.-e-a i .-, ;vju-i'i , sut.'iiiki.'i'jii- .ariisaa; 

 Pletai.Uu Weil beneath ilia twilight gray. 

 Good-bye, sweet day." 



As the balsam breathing night wind begins to blow, I turn 

 my back upna tin silver glancing of the maulighton the 

 rippling waves of the fairy lake, ami step bravely into the 

 darkness ot the woods, where 1 cannot see the places where 

 my foot shall fall, but, I know that "titers have safely passed 

 it before, and that I shall find comfort and home at the end. 

 Geo. W. Van Siulbx. 



FioRin.y Frai Arm Gams— Gainesville, Fla. , Jan. 7.— 

 Have been here at. the Arlington, kept by J. B. Wist a--, 

 where I have gained more comfort than at. any other point 

 outside of Jacksonville. Have good bass (wide mouth) fish- 

 ing at Big Sink, two and a half miles out.' Quail abundant 

 a few miles in the country. Was out fishing yesterday aud 

 took with reel and live bait some beauties, none under three 

 and a half pounds, some six and one thirteen pounds. This 

 is not guess work, but verified by that which is often a delu- 

 sion and a sham — the pocket scales, — J. S. 



Ill H I- ACTIONS FOR COLLECTING AND PRESERVING 

 FISH. 



nr TAKLliTON H. BEAN. . 



1. Wash the fish thoroughly in water to remove the slime 

 and din that are almost invariably present upon them, not 

 omitting the in-ide of the tuoutb and the gills. In cleansing 

 fish that, have a tough, scale.less skin, or such as have the 

 scales firmly fixed, use a stiff paint brush or a scrubbing 

 brush ; for thin-skinned fish, and such as have deciduous 

 scales, a softer brush must be taken. Some fish are covered 

 plentifully with tenacious mucus that is with great difficulty 

 removed by water alone ; in such cases a solution of two 

 tablespoonfuls of alum in a pint of lukewarm water will be 

 found efficacious. 



3, It is often necessary to preserve fish that are stale, or 

 partially digested and offensive to the smell. Such examples 

 may be thoroughly disinfected by the use of the disinfecting 

 solution of chloride of soda. Use a tablespoon ful of the so- 

 lution in one pint of water. With this wash the gills, and 

 pour it into the mouth and stomach, allowing it to return by 

 the mouth. 



3. Inject alcohol iu the mouth and the vent to preserve 

 the viscera. Make small incisions in the belly and in thick 

 parts of the body, to allow the alcohol to penetrate the tis- 

 sues. It is nearly always desirable to remove the liver, 

 stomach and intestines from large fish, and to preserve these 

 separately, numbering them so as to correspond with the fish 

 from which they are taken. 



4. It is a good plan to ko<~p freshly collected fishes in weak 

 alcohol for a day or two ; a mixture of two parts of 03 per 

 cent, alcohol to one of water will answer for this temporary 

 immersion. Some species are exceedingly soft and flabby, 

 falling In the bottom of a glass jar or other receptacle, be 

 coming partly imbedded in their own mucus, and rapidly dis- 

 integrating in consequence. Such specimens shouid either 

 be suspended in the aid hoi by a thread or siring from the 

 neck of the jar or the hook sometimes found ou the inside of 

 the stopple, or a bed of excelsior or muslin should raise them 

 from the bottom. These are necessary precautions which 

 will prevent many losses. After the fish have been kept 

 for not more than two days in the weak alcohol, transfer 

 them to a mixture of three parts of 05 per cent, a'cohol to 

 one of water. Ordinarily this latter will preserve specimens 

 that are not, crowded too much at least three months. Some, 

 ot course, will remain in good condition still longer: but, 

 generally, three months will reduce the preservative power 

 of the liquid so far as to make a renewal of alcohol necea- 

 sary. The tendency with many collectors is to overcrowd 

 sp> cimens, and, as a result, museums frequently receive a lot 

 of half-rotten material which is too valuable to be thrown 

 away and is yet always a source of trouble aud disappoint- 

 ment. Ajar, tank, or case of any kind should never be ex- 

 pected to accommodate more than half its own bulk of fish, 

 and even this proportion will require watchfulness to avoid 

 loss. If a collection freshly caught is to be shipped to a dis- 

 tant museum or private collection, observe the direc- 

 tions about cleansing the fish and preserving the viscera 

 separately if needful, and then use nothing weaker than a 

 mixture containing three parts of 05 per cent, alcohol and 

 one part of water. A good mixture which will carry fish in 

 very nice condition is the following: 05 percent, (or abso- 

 lute) alcohol, 3 quarts ; water. 1 quart ; glycerine, 1 pint ; 

 borax, 1 ounce. There is nothing hotter, however, than the 

 mixture of three parts of alcohol and one of water. 



5. The extensive collections of the United States Fish 

 Com mission are usually packed in copper tanks, which are tin- 

 lined within. The lid of the tank is made to screw in the top, 

 and its diameter is always as great as the dimensions of the 

 top will allow. The tanks (called Agassiz tanks) are made 

 to contain 4, 8, or 16 gallons. Strong chests, of a size large 

 enough to accommodate a 10 gallon tank, are used for ship- 

 ping j the hinges and hasps of these chests are riveted on ; 

 bandies are screwed on at the sides, and each chest is fur- 

 nished with a strong lock. The chest may contain one 16- 

 gallon tank, or two of 8 gallons, or four of 4 gallons, or oue 

 of 8 gallons and two of 4 gallons, as may best suit the con- 

 venience of the collector. When several taaks make Jip the 

 complement it i3 usual to separate them by thin wooden par- 

 titions. 



Cases made of ordinary tinned sheet-iron are much more 

 generally used than the expensive copper cans, aud they will 

 answer well enough if the joints are perfectly tight and the 

 top is securely soldered on. 



Oak kegs, holding about 10 gallons each and provided with 

 iron hoops, are capital containers for large fishes, and they 

 will stand the wear aud tear of railway travel better than 

 most other receptacles. 



Gla's prestrviui-jars may be shipped long distances with 

 comparative safety, but they must be tested, by inverting 

 them, to insure tigntness; the top of the jar and the rubber 

 baud should be wiped dry ; wrap the jars in strong paper 

 and pack them in some material that will prevent bre ikage. 



When corked bottles are used, tie a piece of bladder 

 securely over the cork. Where seals aud sea lions occur, the 

 throat, as prepared by the Aleuts for example, will be found 

 uu excellent covering. It is necessary to wet the membrane 

 to make it pliable. Whenever jars, bottles, or any other 

 small containers are filled with fish which are not provided 

 with tin lags wrile plainly with a lead-pencil ou heavy 

 manila or writing paper the name of the place where the fish 

 were taken, the date of capture, and the name of the collect- 

 or. Put a label of this kind inside of each bottle ; it will 

 remain legible for years. 



0. E ;cb specimen should be provided with a numbered tin 

 tag, which is to bo fastened, whenever possible, by means of 

 a String passed through the right gill-opening and out at the 

 moutb. When the string must be tied around the body or 

 tail of the fish it should be fixed securely and yet without 

 injuring any of the fins. A catalogue is to be kept by the 

 collector, in which tho numbers corresponding with those on 

 the taas must be entered, with notes as to place, time, aud 

 mode of captuie, and other particulars which will be more 

 fully mentioned further on. Wrap each fish separately in 

 common coarse muslin (the coarser the better), and tie the 

 ends securely. Do not lie the string so tightly around the 

 body of the fish as to make furrows and wrinkles in the skin. 

 If tin tags are not at baud, a label written firmly on stout 

 paper witha lead-pencil should be wrapped inside the cover- 

 ing of the fish. It, is necessary always to fill the receptacle 

 in which specimens are packed— a bottle or jar may be either 

 filled with alcohol or the specimens may be wrapped in mus- 

 lin, it is not a good plan to put tow, excelsior, or -cotton- 

 wool on top of fish, as it presses them close together and pre- 

 vents the free circulation of alcohol between them. For long 

 journeys it is desirable to secure better protection than the 



muslin wrapper alone affords. This may be gaiued by piec- 

 ing beds of excelsior or thin wood shavings betweentbelaye g 

 of fish and at the bottom and lop of the case. 



A plainly-written card placed at the top of the box, so as 

 to be seen when the lid is removed, telling its contents at d 

 by whom it was sent, will save much trouble when the collec- 

 tion is unpacked. 



7. Notes of color, taken from fresh specimens, should he 

 sent with them if the fish are to be described in the museun . 

 The collector should also preserve in his own books a record 

 of life-colors under the catalogue numbers corresponding with 

 the tin taas fastened on his fish. He can then obtain the 

 identification ot bis species by their numbers and publish his 

 studies upon them at his own plea ure. 



8. Local names of fish should always accompany the speci- 

 mens when obtainable. 



9. It is desirable to know whether or not the spee'es is 

 abundant : whether different sizes of the same fish are found ; 

 whether they associate iu schools or not; whether they aie 

 permanent residents or migratory ; if migratory, by what 

 routes they come and go; whether they torm an important 

 article of food ; what they feed upon and what species pri y 

 upon them ; the depth and character of the bottom on whir h 

 they occur; the mode of capturing them: the uses made of 

 them, and the various products which they go to form — in 

 short, everything bearing upon thelife history or the economic 

 applications of the species should be noted in detail. 



10. Before washing the fish look them over for external 

 parasites; examine the gills and the inside of the mouth 

 carefully, as these are favorite situations ; these parasite s 

 often furnish a clue to the migrations of the fish. Remove 

 them if they can be taken off entire, if not, lcl them remain, 

 and call attention to their presence in your shipping note?. 

 Preserve the parasites in vials or bottles, and provide them 

 with labels stating from what fish they came and in what 

 situation they were found. 



To preserve fish indefinitely in glass jars, observe the fol- 

 lowing directions : First, select a jar of the proper size to ac- 

 commodate the specimen amply, Without bending or distor'- 

 ing it in any way ; put in the fish with the tail down io nearly 

 all cases ,- the tail may often rest upon the bottom of the j r, 

 or the fish may be suspended from tho hook which is now 

 found in the stopple nf the modern museum jars; cover I lie 

 fish completely with the alcoholic mixture ret erred to in the 

 closing sentence of paragraph 4; discoloration of the alcohc 1 

 is a sign that its preservative power is weakened and calls 

 for a renewal ; fishes in alcohol will never make a goodshow 

 unless the liquid is kept clear and clean. A label giving the 

 namo of the fish, place of its capture and name of its eapttr 

 should be tied on the neck of the jar by means of a piece of 

 narrow tape passed through holes punched in the ends of the 

 paper. The jars must have accurately ground glass stopples. 

 It is best to use no kind of sealing wax to coat the joint of 

 the stopple ; simply wipe the glass perfectly dry, close the 

 jar properly, and there will be little danger of evaporation. 

 Do not let the direct sunlight sirike your jurs, and keep them 

 well removed from stoves, registers and the like. — Proceed- 

 ings C. 8. JS r at. Museum. 



NEW ENGLAND FISHERIES. 



OF the numerous industries of New England that of the 

 fisheries is no doubt the oldest, and possesses much of 

 historic aud present interest to others than those particularly 

 engaged in it. At numerous time's much has been written 

 of it, yet its history, particularly the statistical portion, is 

 much broken, many of the old records having been destroyed 

 with no copies in existence. As earl v as IBJ8 we find the 

 abundance of fish in the waters of Massachusetts Bay had 

 attracted attention iu Europe. The Pilgrims going from 

 Leyden to England in that year to solicit consent of King 

 James to their going to America, the King inquired, 

 "What profit might arise ?" The brief rep ly w us simply, 

 "Fishing." To which King .Tames responded, "So God 

 have my soul, 'tis an honest trade: 'twas the Apostles' own 

 calling." The request was granted. To the fi-heries the 

 credit is given of saviog the infant colony from starvation, 

 that the first free schools were supported with an income 

 from the fisheries, that the government has always recog- 

 nized the patriotism, bravery aud important services ren- 

 dered the navy in time of need by the fishermen, are all 

 matters well known. With the growth of the country nearly 

 all the seaport towns bad quite large Beets engaged in fishing, 

 with numerous vessels engaged iu foreign trade, of which 

 fish products formed a large proportion. For many genera- 

 tions the business was carried on in its primitive way with no 

 marked change until quite recently. 



Of late years many new industries have Sprung up that in 

 size far surpass that of the fisheries. A large number of 

 ports have given up the business, others have but, few vessels. 

 The business is gradually being concentrated to a few poris, 

 the export business (with the exception of an occasional 

 cargo) confined to Boston. 



Alihongh fewer ports and smaller fleets are engaged at 

 present, the business continues of importance, with probably 

 as many fish caught at present as at any previous time. 



The mauy new ways of preparing the eiteh for the mar- 

 ket gives employment ashore to a large number of psraons, 

 the increased facilities for a catch making good any de- 

 crease in the number of vessels, with fully as many persons 

 employed afloat and ashore as at any previous time with 

 twice as many sail. 



Before turning to the present it may be of interest to note 

 a few of the changes and contrast the past witli the 

 present. 



In the past, as at the present time, Boston was known as 

 the chief port of distribution for all the varieties of salt water 

 fish found in New England or Provincial waters. Here in 

 olden time the fishermen came with Pieir products, selling- 

 the same to the grocers or from the vessel and taken inland 

 by teams that came from Vermont, New Hampshire, and 

 other parts of the country loaded with grain, pork aud other 

 provisions. Dry fish was handled loose or tied up in bundles, 

 while mackerel and other pickled fish were shipped in bar- 

 rels, halves nr quarters. For many yens the catch was made 

 in the most primitive manner, for eo I and other ground fish 

 the hook and hand lino only being used ; the mackerel catch 

 was taken by the gaff, or by "drailing," the latter mode by 

 having p iles suspended from the side of the vessel, with 

 hook and line attached, the vessel being uuder sail or no 

 catch was made : later the hook and hand line, or "jigging." 

 With these few appliances a large amount of business was 

 annually carried on. the catch, with the exception of the 

 Grand Bank cod fleet, being confined chiefly to the New 

 England coast. 



Although Boston was the great point for a market aud the 

 distribution pf the catch, there was not a single exclusive 



