184 



FOREST AND STEEAM. 



S$l H#%f 



SALMON HATCHINC ON THE COLUM- 

 BIA RIVER. 



Columbia. Kitee Salmon Hatching Station, > 

 Oregoii, Sept. 15, 1877. J 

 Editor Forest and Stream: 



Dear Sir — Two years and a half ago I came to Oregon un- 

 der the auspices of the United Stales Fish Commission to 

 cai'ry out Prof. Baird's instructions to select a suitable place 

 for hatching the eggs of the Columbia River salmon. I re- 

 ported in favor of some point on the Clackamas River, a tribu- 

 tary of the Wilhamette. 



.On arriving in Oregon this spring, however, and making 

 known this fact to the Oregon and Washington Fish Propa- 

 gating Co., w r ho had sent forme to conduct operations for 

 them in hatching these salmon, I was met by the objection, 

 that the Clackamas River salmon were " Steel Heads" (Salmo 

 gardneri), and not Chenook salmon (Salmo quinnat), which 

 the Company wanted for their purposes of canning. I was 

 accordingly instructed to find some other suitable place where 

 it was known that the true Chenook salmon ascended to spawn. 

 In pursuance of these instructions I spent the next five weeks 

 on the Columbia and its tributaries, traveling by rail, by 

 steamboat, by stage, on horse-back, or in small boats nearly 

 3,000 miles, going over in my investigations all the available 

 ground between the ocean and the limits beyond which it was 

 unequivocalty dangerous for white men to go, on account of 

 hostile Indians. The result "was decidedly unfavorable. 

 Strange as it seems, not a single place in this famous salmon 

 river basin could be found suitable for erecting a large salmon 

 1ml ohing station. At some points otherwise suitable the stream 

 ■was too large to be controlled, or others too small to answer 

 the purpose. Some places were tco remote, some too inac- 

 cessible, and all possessed some feature which made them un^ 

 fit for our purpose. As a last resort the Company gave their 

 consent to a further investigation of the Clackamas River. The 

 result confirmed in every respect my examinations of 1875. 

 The Clackamas was found to he one of the great natural 

 spawning grounds gf the true Chenook salmon (Salmo quinnat), 

 and on The 18th of July I bought and located for the Oregon 

 and Washington Fish Propagating Co., a station on that river at 

 the mouth of Clear Creek which probably combines more ad- 

 vantages for hitching salmon on a large scale than any other 

 place in America. Work was immediately commenced, and 

 has since progressed so rapidly that in a few days, unless some 

 unforeseen accident happens, we shall have a splendid salmon 

 breeding establishment in perfect running order with a hatch- 

 ing capacity of twenty million (20,000,000) eggs. 



Unfortunately there are now no laws in this State restricting 

 the catching of salmon. Indeed there is at this momenta trap 

 extending entirely across the mouth of the Clackamas River, 

 "which shuts out every silmon from entering it, and this to- 

 gether with the fact that two hundred miles of drift nets 

 were run incessantly this summer at the canneries on the Col- 

 umbia, makes it out of the question to take salmon eggs to 

 amount to anything this season. But. public opinion is strongly 

 and universally in favor of the hatching operations begun 

 here,andassoon as the legislature meets it will enact laws pro- 

 hibiting the destruction of salmon in this river, and when this 

 is done vast quantities of salmon will unquestionably be hatch- 

 ed at this place every year. Very truly yours, 



Livingston Stonk. 



* 



Rapid Growth oir Trout. — Editor Forest and Stream: 

 Early in the month of March last, after having carefully dis- 

 tributed a consignment of 30,000 trout fiy from the State 

 Hatchery at Mumford in several of the streams hereabouts, 

 there were left over about 400 of the fry, which were deliv- 

 ered to a couple of angler friends to place where they might 

 think proper, provided the waters were public. The little 

 fellows were carefully distributed in - small allotments 

 throughout the best looking pools of a wild mountain brook 

 in this locality, as Jar as the small stock would go. The 

 stream in question had once upon a time, as your correspond- 

 ent well remembers, in the days consult, planco, abounded 

 with trout, hut of late years not a trout or in fact any fish of 

 any kind was to be seen in it. It has been surmised that a 

 rascally poacher of this locality, now deceased, once limed 

 the stream throughout its entire length, and thereby com- 

 pletely destroyed every living thing. I think the supposition 

 not unreasonable, for I can conceive of no other method that 

 could have wrought so complete an annihilation. But to my 

 Story : Last Sunday afternoon, in company with one of the 

 gentlemen who assisted in putting the young fry in the stream 

 last spring, I explored carefully several of its pools. We 

 found our trout, and in one large, long, still place, counted 

 over a dozen. But what amazed us, and is the point of this 

 communication, was the size the fish had attained. None of 

 them were less than four inches, and two or more that 

 were very carefully observed as they quietly lay in the still, 

 clear water, were over seven inches long. This growth in so 

 short a time is to me something remarkable. It serves to 

 show, however, the rapid growth of trout under favorable 

 conditions, and may encourage many of your readers to try 

 like experiments, and with your correspondent's hope, that 

 they may meet with like success, 

 Tours very truly, W. H. Hasbrouok. 



P. S-— I should have added that nil of the brook trout re- 

 ceived from the State Hatchery and distributed in this local- 

 ity have thriven. "\\r. n. II . 

 Mlenville, JV. Y., Oct. 4, 1877. 



The fishermen of California are exercised, and justly so, 

 over the systematic violation of the fish laws of that State by 

 the firms engaged in canning salmon upon the Sacramento 

 River. This is one of the most aggravated forms of law- 

 breaking, and should not for one moment be tolerated. It can- 

 not for an instant be pretended that the firms engaged in can- 

 ning are ignorant of the laws in question, or that they have 

 erred through inadvertence. The facts, too, as reported, 



wholly negative any such subterfuge, as they are represented 

 as capturing fish under the cover of night only, thereby show- 

 ing that they know they are feloniously engaged. The general 

 complaint is much the same as in New York — that Fish Com- 

 missioners and District Attorneys seem to have no interest in 

 the enforcement of the laws, exhibiting the utmost apathy 

 toward their violation. One journal boldly asserts that the 

 people of a single " cannery" have so depleted the waters 

 " that not one-tenth the usual number of fish have succeeded 

 in making their way to the spawning ground this season." 

 The result of the neglect of the proper authorities to protect 

 the public interest will be that the fishermen of the Upper 

 Sacramento will follow the example of those of the lower, 

 when the salmon will speedily become a thing of the past. 

 There seems but one way of correcting these abuses and that 

 is by the ballot box, removing the inefficient officers and re- 

 placing by other and more conscientious servants. May the 

 Golden State set a glorious example. 



o — . 



\ Those Dams in the Susquehanna.— We invite the atten- 

 tion of the Pennsylvania Fish Commissioners to the following 

 communication which has been received from an active worker 

 in the cause of game protection, and whoso statements are 

 worthy of their consideration : 

 Editor Forest and Stream : 



This item appeared in the local columns of th; Sunbury 

 (Pa.) Gazette, Sept. 28 : 



Sheriff Strlne lias completed the worfc of removing the fish dams in 

 the Susquehanna that were unlawfully constructed by fishermen who 

 hold the fish law in contempt. There were 69 in the river from this 

 place to the Dauphin oouuty line, and 4 between this and Lycoming. 

 The baskets were torn out and the walls demolished. The Sheriff had 

 seven or eight deputies employed In this worK. They met with no re- 

 sistance at any point. Now, siuoa these destructive nuisances have 

 been removed, ihe B\ah Wardens should see that they are not rebuilt. 



Think of this, sportsmen, anglers and citizens ! Seventy- 

 three dams destroyed within a space of twenty running miles 

 on the broad Susquehanna 1 Think how well this honest 

 sheriff has assisted the Fish Commissioners of Pennsylvania 

 in carrying out the law T , and preserving for the people and for 

 their use the results of the stocking of this noble river with 

 black bass and other fish a few years ago. Ye gods and little 

 fishes I Well might we rejoice with you at this fell blow at 

 the dark damnation of your taking off— if the paragraph 

 above quoted were true. But there is hardly a word in it 

 which is not false. Miles — absolutely miles — of dams exists 

 and only a few stones in any were removed, and those could 

 be easdy replaced. The baskets at the apex of the cone- 

 shaped, artificial channels were mostly only lowered, or a 

 small hole knocked in them, requiring but slight repairs. No 

 wonder that no resistance was met with at any point ! The 

 majesty of the law must be respected, and besides, who would 

 wish to give unnecessary trouble to so considerate a sheriff? 



On Thursday a storm raged in the valley of the Susquehan- 

 na as well as hore. A rise in the river was anticipated, and 

 the industrious residents along the stream immediately set to 

 work to make repairs, with the result that, on Saturday morn- 

 ing last, they were rewarded with an immense catch of fish, 

 one dam alone yielding over a hundred dollars worth at ten 

 cents per pound. It has hitherto been claimed by the oppo- 

 nents of the law that black bass could not he caught iu 

 baskets or nets. The experience referred to conclusively 

 proves the contrary. 



Comment is unnecessary. I call your attention to the facts, 

 however, as one having authority and influence, and in order 

 that, if the Pennsylvania Fish Commissioners wink at those 

 outrages on the law, that the sporting world at least may 

 know of their derelictions. The mountains, fields and valleys 

 of Pennsylvania are grand and fair to look upon, but civiliza- 

 tion, in some parts of the State at least, is far behind the 

 times. Wabeen. 



Pennsylvania.— Bass are to be placed in Chest Creek, 

 Cleartield County. 



The Fish Commissioners, having examined the dam on 

 the Susquehanna, at Columbia, aud found it insufficient, now 

 propose to extend the Tide Water canal to the point opposite 

 Uheekill's rock. 



At the State hatching house, which is under the supervision 

 of Mr. Seth Weeks, there will be hatched, the coming season, 

 3,000,000 salmon. There are 600 salmon in one of the ponds, 

 and several ponds are devoted to brook trout. Black bass 

 are to be introduced into Little Shamokin Creek. 



New Hampshire. — The work at the Livermore Falls State 

 Hatching House is now nearly completed ; 400,000 or 500,000 

 California salmon eggs will arrive about the 5lh of October. 

 In addition to several thousand brook trout, about 20,000 

 land-locked salmon will be hatched this season, and ready for 

 distribution in May next. 



%ainnil Hjjjwtorg. 



INSECT WINGS. 



SPLIT BAMBOO RODS. 



To Our Customers and the Public s In reply to the damaging 

 reports which have been circulated respecting the quality of 

 our split bamboo rods, by "dealers" who are unable to compete 

 with us at our reduced prices, we have issued a circular which 

 we shall be pleased to mail to any address, proving the falsity 

 of their assertions. 



CONROY, BlSSETT & MaI.LESON, 



—[Adv. Manufacturers, 65 Fulton Street, N. Y. 



The mean mid-day temperature at New Smyrna, Fla., for 

 the month of September was 85 deg.; the maximum, 92 deg. ; 



the minimun, 78 deg. 



—-*+. — . 



American Institute. — The American Institute is now 

 holding its forty-sixth annual exhibition on Third Avenue and 

 Sixty-fourth St., and thus far the attendance has been very 

 satisfactory to the. managers. Ellwanger & Barry of Roches- 

 ter, make a flue display of pears and apples, W. S. Carpenter, 

 of apples and F. J. lficketts, of native grapes. The entries 

 included every imaginable invention, and the whirr of the 

 machinery and the crowds of visitors forcibly remind one of 

 Machinery Hall at the Centennial Exhibition. The list of 

 premiums offered is large and liberal, and the managers look 

 forward to great success this season. 



ANIMALS possess the power of feeling, and of effecting 

 certain movements by the exercise of a muscular ap- 

 paratus, with which their bodies are furnished. They are 

 distinguished from the organizations of the vegetable kingdom 

 by the presence of these attributes. Every one is aware that 

 when the child sees some strange and unknown object he is 

 observing, start suddenly into motion, he will exclaim, " It is 

 alive ! " By this exclamation he means to express his convic- 

 tion that the object is endowed with animal life. Power of 

 voluntary and independent motion and animal organization 

 are associated together as inseperable and essentially connected 

 ideas by even the earliest experience in the- economy and ways of 

 nature. The animal faculty of voluntary motion, in almost every 

 case, confers upon the creature the ability to transfer its body 

 from place to place. In some animals the weight of the body 

 is sustained by immersion iu a fluid as dense as itself. It is 

 then carried about wilh very little expenditure of effort, 

 either by the waving action of vibratile cilia scattered over its 

 external surface, or by the oar-like movement of certain por- 

 tions of its frame especially adapted to the purpose. In other 

 animals the weight of the body rests directly upon the ground, 

 and has, therefore, to be lifted from place to place by more 

 powerful mechanical contrivances. 



In the lowest forms of air-living animals, the body rests I 

 upon the ground by numerous points of support : and when it 

 moves is wriggled along piecemeal, one portion being pushed 

 forward while the rest remains stationary. The mode of pro- 

 gression which th.3 little earthworm adopts, is a familiar illus- 

 tration of this style of proceeding. 



In the higher forms of air-living animals a freer and more 

 commodious kind of movement is provided for. The body 

 itself is raised up from the ground upon pointed columns, 

 which are made to act as lovers as w r cll as props. Observe, 

 for instance, the tigro-beetle, as it runs swiftly over the uneven ' 

 surface of the path in search of its dinner, with its eager an- 

 tennas thrust out in advance. Those six long and slender legs 

 that bear up the body of the insect, and keep still advancing 

 in regular alternate order, are steadied and worked by cords >. 

 laid along on the hollows and grooves of their own substance. . 

 While some of them uphold the weight of the superincumbent '< 

 body, the rest are thrown forward as fresh and more advanced 

 points of support on to which they may be pulled. The run- J 

 ning of the insect is a very ingenious and beautiful adaptation « 

 of the principles of mechanism to the purposes of life. But i; 

 in the insect organization a still more surprising display of l! 

 mechanical skill is made. A cornpartively heavy body is not tj 

 only carried rapidly and conveniently along the surface of the 

 ground, it is also raised entirely up from it at pleasure aud 

 transported through lengthened distances, while resting upon 

 nothing but the thin transparent air. 



From the top of the central part technically termed thoracic 

 of the insect's body, from which the legs descend, two or more 

 membraneous tails arise which are able to heat the air by re- I 

 peated strokes, and to make it, consequently, uphold their I 

 own weight as well as that of the burdens connected with them. 

 These lifting and sustaining sails are the insect'p wings. The 

 wings of the insect, however, are of a nature altogether differ- 

 ent from the apparently analogous organs which the bird uses 

 in flight. The wings of the latter are merely feathered fore- 

 legs. Lift up the front extremities of a quadruped, keep them 

 asunder at their origins by bony props, lit them with freer 

 motions and stronger muscles, and cover thorn with feathers, 

 and they become wings in overy essential particulars. In that 

 insect, however, th^case is altogether different. The wings 

 are not altered legs ; they are superadded to the legs. The in- 

 sect has its fore-legs as well as its wings. The legs all descend 

 from the under surface of the thoracic piece, the wiugs arise 

 from its upper surface. As the wings are flapping above dur- 

 ing flight the unchanged legs are dangling below in full compli- 

 ment. The wings are, therefore, independent and additional 

 organs. They have no relation whatever to limbs, property 

 so called; but there are some other portions of the animal 

 economy with which they do connect themselves both by struc- 

 ture and function. The reader will hardly guess what those 

 wing-allied organs are. 



There is a little fly called the May-fly, which usually makes its 

 appearance in July and August. They visit the districts in France 

 watered by the Seine and the Maine in such numbers that the 

 fishermen of these rivers believe they are showered down from 

 heaven, and accordingly call these living clouds manna. Reau- 

 mur once saw these flics so thickly descend iu this region that 

 it resembled a dense snow storm, and the step on which he 

 stood by the river's bank was covered to a depth of four inch- 

 es in a few moments. 



The insect itself is very beautiful ; it has four delicate, yel- 

 lowish, lace-like wings, freckled wilh brown spots, and these 

 singular hair-lika projections hanging :uit beyond its tail It 

 never touches food during its mature life, but leads a short 

 and joyous existence. It dances over the surface of the water 

 for three or four hours dropping its eggs as it flies, and then 

 disappears forever. 



Myriads come forth about the hour of eight in the evening, 

 hut by ten or twelve o'clock not a single straggler can bo 

 found alive. This answers to the description of our commonly 

 called "June-bug." From the p.gg which the parent May- 

 fly drops into the water, a six-legged grub is very soon hal 



