FOREST AND STREAM 
122 
of silver (lunar caustic) had been used for the treatment 
of other animals, bitten by the same dog, at the same time, 
these animals had died of the disease. 
Making further enquiry into this matter, trusting that 
any suggestions of ours might be of use, we begged infor¬ 
mation on this subject from Dr. Pancoast, of Philadelphia, 
and have been favored with the following reply:— 
Philadedphia, March 20, 1874. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
In answer to your note which I have had the honor to receive, I would 
say that I coincide entirely in the preference you seem disposed to give 
to the use of the acid Nitrate of Mercury over Lunar Caustic as a prophy¬ 
lactic treatment against the bite of a rabid animal. Lunar caustic de¬ 
composes too quickly to make deep and penetrating impression I have, 
however, a reference in practice to the use of chloride zinc in solution in 
various strengths—weak when I wish to inject into the bottom of a 5 
somewhat deep wound, nid sometimes in full saturation in water in 1 
a more superficial injury, where I can apply it with a camel’s hair pen- I 
cil. Fortunately cases of hydrophobia in man are of rare occurrence, J 
and few, if any, physicians have had sufficient experience in the treat- 4 
ment ol such cases to render their opinions entitled to very strong con- I 
sideration. I remain* yours very respectfully, Jos. Pancoast. } 
--- 
REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF 
FISHERIES OF THE STATE OF OHIO 
FOR 1873. 
F ISH Culture in Ohio will always be a subject of ex¬ 
ceptional interest. From the particular geographical 
position of the State, bordering on an inland fresh water 
sea, and from her numerous rivers, combined with her 
agricultural wealth and intelligence, it is quite probable 
that in Ohio the system of State propagation and preserva¬ 
tion of fresh water fish will be most fully tested. The re¬ 
port ot 1873 gives us quite interesting data, the more so, as 
it presents to us the commencement of the work. Ap¬ 
pointed in June 1873, when the spawning season was too 
far advanced to make the taking of the ova possible, the 
Fish Commissioners of the State may be said to have broken 
soil in virgin ground. The causes of the decrease of the 
fish first occupying their attention, this report commences 
by stating that since Ohio became a State some 17,000,000 
of acres of forest land have been denuded of their timber, 
and that consequently the water in numerous brooks and 
streamlets, which once formed the spawning ground of the 
fish, no longer exist. Water sources, which forty years ago 
afforded motive power for grist and saw mills, are now 
sometimes dry for four months in the year. Such rivers 
then once full of fish, to-day have none in them. The 
erection of dams, making the ascent of the river impossible 
for the gravid fish, have added to deplete the streams. In 
the Scioto River, in days by gone, the buffalo fish 
(Bubalichthys taurus ,) the white perch, ( Pomoxyshexacanthus ,) 
the pond perch, {Micropteris megastoma,) were also abund¬ 
ant, but to-day, save in some few places, have almost dis¬ 
appeared. The Commissioners also note a peculiar fish the 
“spoon fish,” ( Polyodon Spatula ,) once found plentifully in 
some of the rivers of the State, as now entirely extinct. 
Save then the black bass, ( Grystes nigracans,) which has 
done well in the reservoirs, all the rest of the fish have suf¬ 
fered. Besides the causes already given as having destroy¬ 
ed the fish, Ohio being distinguished as a manufacturing 
jState, the offal and wmste from the factories poured into the 
rivers, have also had much to do with bringing about this 
dearth of fish. In studying this particular subject, as it 
has been our province to do lately, w r e cannot help but 
wonder sometimes how fish can live at all. After having 
had, as in Ohio, the w r ater taken from them, or if supplied 
in quantity, poisoned by the refuse of manufactories, now 
the fish have to run tbe gantlet of snares and nets placed in 
their way in and out of season. The Ohio Commissioners 
complain that the laws are constantly violated, they there¬ 
fore suggest that a law forbidding seining ought to be so 
modified as to limit it to the months when no spawning 
takes place. In Lake Erie, from indiscreet fishing, it seems 
that to-day the catch of fish is not one-twentieth of what it 
was twenty-five years ago. As to the rivers,the report affirms: 
“There is no State in the Union abounding in more or 
better streams for all kinds of fresh water fish than Ohio, 
and yet there is net a single State whose streams are so 
nearly destitute of fish. “It is proposed as soon as possible 
to remedy the evils by the erection of fish ladders and 
chutes on the rivers, and their being some very mistaken 
ideas in the State in regard to them, the Commissioners 
show how they may be constructed at very little expense, 
and with no damage to property, but they state that such 
helps would be of little avail as long as the seine and fish 
boxes and traps are in*existence, which render the escape of 
a single fish something wonderful. It is proposed to erect 
a hatching house near Sandusky and another in the interior 
of the State, the former for collecting and maturing white 
fish ova, the latter for stocking the reservoirs, rivers and 
creeks of the interior with fish. It is recommended that 
the propagation of the following fish, to wit, the white fish, 
the black bass, the lake or white bass, and the yellow 
perch should occupy the at tention of the Commissioners. 
Some of the facts given in regard to white fish are wonder¬ 
ful. In 1850 white fish were sold in Cleveland market at 
$6 the barrel of 200 pounds, so abundant were they; since 
then, off Sandusky point, as much as eight tons of these 
fish have been taken at a single drawing; and during the 
last three years, the average tons of fish have been 4,257. 
The Commissioners are doubtful as to the possibility of in. 
troducing shad into the lakes and rivers, and do not deem it 
advisable to make the experiment just yet on account of its 
cost, though they express the desire to try the salmon and 
recommend some tributary of the Cuyahoga, near Akron, 
and other localities, as places where undoubtedly the salmon 
could be raised, There is no reason to suppose, says the 
report, that trout cannot be raised in the State, and Mr. 
Hoyt of Castalia Springs, is mentioned, who has been em- 
minently successful in producing trout. The report, under 
review, though treating rather of the initiatory work of the 
Commissioners, is excellent and practical in character, and 
as it is adorned with cuts of fish and gives a great deal of 
sound information in regard to the whole subject of ob¬ 
taining the eggs of the fish, and of maturing them, we be¬ 
lieve it to be a most useful compilation, which must tend to 
further the interests of the subject confided to the care of 
the Fish Commissioners of Ohio. The Commissioners for 
the State of Ohio are Messrs. John Hussey, John H. Klip- 
part and Dr. E. T. Sterling. 
■--- 
Mpovtitig Jf W8 1 rant ^h[oml 
W E may prate at home about our civil service and 
competitive examination for State appointments, 
but certainly in conservative England they ha* e a summary 
w T ay of doing things. Gladstone out and Disraeli in; Lord 
Cork, former Master of the Hunt, vanishes, and Lord Hard- 
wicke, the new chief, now leads the Royal Staggers. For 
the only time during her long reign the first lady in Chris¬ 
tendom, Queen Victoria, attended one day in the middle of 
last month a stag hunt, accompanied by the Duke and 
Duchess of Edinburg; and the pretty Russian bride was 
introduced to what is certainly the finest assembly of hunt¬ 
ing men, mounted on the most superb horses, to be found 
in the world. The Prince of Wales led gallantly in the 
vau, and, if not in at the death, what is perhaps better saw 
Captain, the boxed up stag, safely landed among a herd of 
other stags, to which brotherhood lie had fled. In honor of 
the event Captain is to be chased no more, and w r e therefore 
congratulate Captain on his good luck. Of course, her 
Majesty sat sedately in her carriage and saw the stag break, 
and heard the first whimper of the hounds. Some ambi¬ 
tious gentlemen came to grief. It frequently happens that 
these accidents occur to foreign gentlemen, wdio, in their 
zeal, describe eccentric parabolas out of their saddles. One 
must know something about the lay of the country when 
following the stag or fox. Considering all things, accidents 
of a fatal character are but very few. In Land and Water 
a correspondent, treating of a particular hunt, noted for its 
bold riding, says “that if the number of falls and injuries 
received by men riding four or five times a week to the 
hunt were reckoned up the average of accidents would be 
found wonderfully small,” which goes to show that a man 
hunting is quite as safe as when walking in London streets 
or travelling in a railroad. It seems that but half the falls 
of hunting men'are had at fences. Riding over rough 
country, and pumping out a horse who has neither stamina 
nor the necessary blood in him, and then urging him to do 
Vimpossible through ignorance of what work a horse can 
stand, ends sometimes fatally. It is not the most reckless 
riders who break their necks; it is the stupid ones. 
—There are some curious figures brought to our notice 
about the licenses to shoot game in England. It seems that 
permissions to shoot have diminished since 1870. In 1870 
60,911 licenses were taken out; in 1873 64,500. One thing 
strange about it is, that one of our English contemporaries 
thinks “that the plan of posting on the church doors lists 
of persons who have renewed their licenses seems to be a 
step in the right direction,” and recommends “that those 
who are in default should be similarly posted.” Different 
countries have different manners. Imagine with us—with 
some peculiar ideas of our own as to the reverence we feel 
for our places of worship—vendues, or sheriff’s notices, or 
tax assessments, stuck up on the village church door. 
—We would particularly call the attention of our nume¬ 
rous French friends to what seems to be a very great cruelty 
exercised in Paris towards the dogs, which we find cited at 
length in the Animal’ World. In the Rue de la Pontain, in 
Paris, there is an establishment where the stray dogs of the 
city are incarcerated. Here animals are classed under two 
categories—those which seem of good breed and the mon¬ 
grels. The former have some six days grace given them, 
and are fed; but the poor curs are only allowed three days’ 
rations. Then, if not called for, all are starved to death. 
This is terribly cruel. The Parisian Society for the Pro¬ 
tection of Animals are exerting themselves to change this 
barbarous method of destroying the dogs, and we feel cer¬ 
tain that M. Chevalier, our mosi able and warm hearted 
confrere of the Ohasse Illusiree, will do his best to aid in 
the suppression of this most iniquitous proceeding. Have 
they no Bergh in France? 
—The accounts of the Trent Fish Board are most satis¬ 
factory in regard to the salmon. As many as 2,000 salmon, 
weighing 24,000 pounds, have already been taken, some 
fish weighing forty-three pounds. “Never in our memory,” 
says Mr. Worthington, the honorable secretary, “has prime 
salmon in the month of February been so cheap.” In 
Derby it has been sold retail at Is. 6d. per pound; at Not¬ 
tingham and other local towns Is. 8d. 
—If the Grace Eleven have lost some of their cricketing 
laurels in Australia, they seem of late to have been garner¬ 
ing no end of crowns. At Ballarat, v hen pitted against 
the Ballarat club of twenty-two, the Grace Eleven, or Ail 
England, made 470, W. J. Grace making 126, and G. F. 
Grace 112, the two chhmpions earning between them rather 
more than one half of the whole score. The Australians 
scored 276, which is very good. Strong as are The Eleven 
in batting, wood having the odds by far against leather, 
critics declare the bowling of the English champions to be 
(not to put too fine a point on it) “poor.” Think of it, yet 
American lovers ot the noblest of games, in far off Aus¬ 
tralia 20,000 people assembled to see the game. 
—Death revolutionizes all things. Wc accumulate our 
books, our pictures, our object d'a.rt, and on comes pallida 
mors , and our possessions are scattered to the winds, to be 
recollected again and again distributed. In the London 
Sporting Gazette we notice the advertisement of the sale cf 
Baron Rothschild’s famous stud, some r fourteen two year 
olds, and some seven three year olds, all to be knocked down 
by the Messrs. Tattersalls under instructions from the ex¬ 
ecutors. If a report we hear is true, which seems to us to 
be.pretty w r ell authenticated, one or more of these flyers 
are to be purchased by a gentleman who leads the turf in 
this city. 
—Mr. W. B. Togetmeicr, of the Field, gives a most clever 
account of the gigantic octopus in Japanese waters, taken 
from a work called “Land and Sea Products,” by Ki-Kone, 
who must be a naturalist of the most distinguished merit. 
The text is illustrated by two amusing wood cuts, which 
have that peculiar matter of fact treatment which render 
Japanese pictures so quaint and yet truthful. Before Mr. 
Harvey’s most accurate description of the octopus, pro¬ 
duced by the Forest and Stream, with a picture of the 
tentacles of the monstrum horrendrum, its existence was al¬ 
most doubted. One of the Japanese pictures shows a boat¬ 
man fighting with an octopus and lopping off liis arms with 
a big knife. Mr. Harvey states boatmen in Newfoundland 
arc pretty sure that the octopus in those waters have more 
than once laid violent'hold of their crafts in the same way. 
In the second picture these material Japs have the octocus 
cut up into bits for sale at a fish stand, with groups of ad¬ 
miring spectators, pretty much the same as t>nc sees at Mr. 
Blackford’s, in Fulton market, when he shows his brook 
trout off in his aquarium to an admiring crowd. We aro 
glad that our assertions in regard to the octopus’ being edi¬ 
ble are substantiated by our learned contemporary Ki-Kone, 
as one of our worthy correspondents, who had resided near 
Puget Sound, had informed us (as published by us) that 
when boiled it was like lobster. When one thinks that an 
octopus can be made into a mayonaise this gastronomic 
fact deprives the ugly creature of all its terrors. 
—Velocipedes are now a regular institution in Paris for 
sending messages between the Bourse and the telegraph 
office/ They run the distance—about three and two-third 
miles and back—in twenty-five minutes. During the Ba- 
zaine trial they used to run between Paris and Versailles, 
some 12^ miles, in forty-five minutes. Of course this is 
very well in its way, and much as we should wish to see all 
sports of this character encouraged, the wonder is why 
don’t they use the telegraph in France. Imagine the New 
York Stock Exchange wanting to communicate with the 
Western Union Telegraph Company by means of a veloci¬ 
pede. 
-- 
“Texas Jack” and tile Earl Dunraven. —A fortnight 
ago we priuted a letter from that redoubtable ranger, Mr. 
Omohundro, better known as “Texas Jack,” accepting 
the challenge and entering the list against the Irish team in 
the coming international rifle match. How many times the 
favorite Springfield rifle which has served to spread his 
fame, has cracked the doom of Redskin or Grizzly, it 
would be difficult to tally, perhaps. But whatever empha¬ 
sis it may have given to liis prowess in days past, certain it 
is, that it will no more hang handy to his hand, or rest 
listlessly across his saddle bow. Some ten days since Jack 
parted with this old “Iujun-killcr,” and not without a 
pang, we trow, for it is hard to give up a tried and trusty 
friend that never fails in time of need. We can only im¬ 
agine the kindly feeling that induced him to confide 
this friend to another, and we altogether envy the recipient 
of the gift, and that recipient is the Earl of Dunraven, to 
whom Jack has presented it. This old tool can now be 
seen at the emporium of Andrew Clerk, Esq., 48 Maiden 
Lane, in good order and ready for an emergency or a long 
campaign; for whatever its mere intrinsic value maybe, 
the execution it has done in days bygone is sufficient guar¬ 
anty of its excellence to any man who knows how to handle 
it. 
That the Earl Dunraven knows how to appreciate this 
testimonial from one of America’s sturdy frontiersmen, 
and that Jack has not mistaken the Earl’s honorable man¬ 
hood, is evidenced in liis very handsome recognition there¬ 
of, for the Earl has graciously seen fit to acknowledge the 
same by authorizing Clerk & Co., to present to Texas Jack 
one of Dougall’s very best ten bore shot guns, valued at 
£100 sterling, and which is now at their store in Maiden 
Lane. The Earl has requested Jack to call at Clerk’s and 
receive the gun. Whatever Jack will find to do with it, is 
a puzzle, for chicken shooting must seem small game com¬ 
pared to knocking an Indian all into a heap at long range. 
Earl Dunrayen in now in England, but will return in 
about two months. During his recent visit to this country, 
he visited nearly all our hunting grounds, from Oregon to 
Florida. 
-„- -- 
A Most Seasonable Book. —Hallock’s “Fishing Tour¬ 
ist,” published by the Harpers’ and advertised in our jour¬ 
nal this week is a book that all anglers should have. It is 
a complete general guide and directory to all the fishing 
localities of United States and Canada, and is the only 
work of its kind in the country. It is endorsed by the 
Canadian and English press as an accurate and serviceable 
work. 
--• 
Close Seasons for Game. —We print this week a re- 
vised table of Close Seasons, several alterations becoming 
necessary by Recent legislative amendments to State laws 
