324 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
For Forest and Stream. 
A WORDJROM THE SHAD. 
ELL, in spite of all your writing 
Tales of how the shad are biting. 
Spite of all your angler’s lies, 
Of Norris rods and yellow flies, 
Spite of Chalmers, spite of Prime, 
Spite of prose and spite of rhyme, 
Still we shad, no new way taking, 
Nor our fathers’ ways forsaking, 
With the hard-worked fishers siding, 
Still into their nets are gliding. 
At your graceful casts still smiling. 
Scorning all your arts beguiling, 
Spurning with a curling lip 
Each light rod and slender tip; 
Be your flies what e’er they may, 
Blue or lemon, white or-gray, 
Still we cry with fishy glee, 
Still, “shoo fly, don’t bodder me!” 
Think! your time for work is short, 
Where is all your promised sport? 
Where your baskets running o’er 
With your captured silver store? 
Ah! we hear your baffled cry, 
That the rivers are too high; 
That too backward is the season; 
That, in short, with many a reason 
Now you strive to hide defeat, 
Not too frankly own you’re beat. 
Poor humanity! From you 
We have learned a lesson true, 
And to all the finny race— 
As we speak of your disgrace— 
We add for all who understand it, 
“ Don't count your fish befow you land it . ” At.oba. 
S ^tiUut[e. 
This Journal is the Official Organ of the Fish Cultur- 
ists’ Association. 
THE ARRIVAL OF THE AQUARIUM CAR 
IN CALIFORNIA. 
W E are indebted to B. B. Redding, Esq , State Fish 
Commissioner of California, for interesting facts 
in regard to the arrival of Mr. Stone and his car, contain¬ 
ing the fish, at the Pacific State. Very unfortunately, all 
the young shad were lost at Laramie. There had been 
heavy rains on the plains, and the surface water was im¬ 
pregnated with the alkali which had run into the rivers, 
and so changed their charactqr that the shad were killed. 
However, as 5,000 shad had previously been turned into 
the Sacramento River, and as the fish have been known to 
have returned and spawned, the loss is not a serious one. 
Out of three lots of shad two have been recovered, and 
the fact that both Messrs. Green and Stone have each suc- 
ceede i in getting through a large quantity of this excellent 
fish, shows how careful must have been the precautions 
taken by these gentlemen to insure success. All the other 
fish—salmon, perch, black bass, eels, etc.—came through 
safely. The lobsters, however, suffered. Of eighty shipped, 
all died save a dozen, and these were not very lively when 
consigned to the Pacific. At Ogden, Mr. Stone having 
telegraphed for salt water, some 550 gallons were quickly 
sent him by Mr. Redding, who joined Mr. Stone at Winne- 
mucca, just in time to save the salt water fish. At Sacra¬ 
mento, a point having been selected in the river, the horn 
pouts and eels were introduced into the stream. On the 
13th of June the surviving lobsters were launched into the 
ocean. The Penobscot salmon went to the head waters of 
the Sacramento River, both Messrs. Redding and Thock- 
morton acting as convoys. Let us not forget some catfish— 
humble companions of this long overland trip—which were 
introduced into the San Joaquin. Mr. Stone’s contrivance 
for aerating the water was a complete success, and by it 
the transportation of live fish in cans is greatly facilitated. 
The axle of the cars has a band running over it which 
works air pumps by means of a simple mechanism. Mr. 
Stone was accompanied by Mr. W. Green, M. A. Perrin, 
W. and R. D. Hubbard, young gentlemen from Cambridge, 
who offered their aid to him. It is not to be sup¬ 
posed that the task Mr. Stone imposed on himself, of trans¬ 
porting fish such a long distance, is an easy one. To be 
successful the utmost vigilance and no end of hard labor 
is necessary. We congratulate Mr. Stone, then, and the 
California commissioners on the fortunate termination of 
their enterprise. _^ ^_ 
The Government Appropriation. —The United States 
Fish Commission have got to work in earnest, now that the 
appropriation has passed. The news of its passage was 
promptly conveyed to the Commissioner, Prof. Baird, who 
soon had the wires summoning a corps of experts to carry 
on the good work. The season for shad having closed on 
the Potomac, the Commissioner made arrangements to ob¬ 
tain fish from the New York shad grounds, near Castleton. 
Several lots have been transported to other States already, 
and we hope to give a detailed account of the work when 
completed. 
As soon as the season closes the United States Commis¬ 
sion will go to Holyoke for stock. 
—It was not quite practicable at first, one day last week, 
to get near our favorite fish stand, where we pick up many 
a bit of practical fish lore. First, the rather narrow walk 
before the stall was crowded by the curious; and secondly, 
the passage itself was pretty well blocked up by a huge 
fish fully fourteen feet long from the tip of his nose to the 
end of his tail. We expatiate on the nose and the tail be¬ 
cause the elongation of the snout was over three feet long* 
and the tail had a flare of about the same. The fi-h in 
question was a fine specimen of the sword fish {Xiphias 
gladius ), whoih, having been harpooned off the coast, was 
drawing a distinguished audience in Fulton Market. We 
say an audience of elite , for Professor Baird, happening to 
be in Fulton Market, was attracted by the fish, and we 
were fortunate enough to receive from him an excellent 
idea of the sword fish. Professor Baird showed us how 
the fish was closely allied to the mackerel, having many of 
the same characteristics. “Cut off the sword,” said Pro¬ 
fessor Baird, “and you will immediately see the likeness.” 
Having then, in an imaginative way, disarmed the fish of 
his weapon, the resemblance to a mackerel was indeed 
quite striking. The dorsal fin, Mr. Baird explained to us, 
or the continuation of it, when the fish is young, extends 
down to the tail, but in time this is worn off, leaving only 
a huge fin in prominence. To capture this fish is a favorite 
amusement down East, where the sport is appreciated and 
where the fish for food is highly prized. The fish is fol¬ 
lowed in a boat, harpooned, and the iron of the weapon 
being attached by a rope to a barrel, renders the capture of 
the fish possible. Sometimes the fish charges with great 
violence, and as his weapon is sharp and the fish strong, he 
can run it through the sides of a boat. In the Mediterra¬ 
nean this fish is much sought after, and Sicilian sailors be¬ 
lieve him to be fascinated by a peculiar song, which they 
chant when approaching him. In Boston and to the east¬ 
ward the sword fish is very much thought of as an article 
of food, which shows that Bostonians are much moie ap¬ 
preciative of what is good to eat than New Yorkers. We 
must assert that, having .by the advice of Professor Baird 
secured some slices of the sword fish, we declare it to be 
most excellent, far better than halibut or any large fish we 
ever ate. The meat was light in color, delicate in flavor, 
short in gram, tender and juicy, and better than cod or 
ba s. It is wonderful how T much good food we turnup 
our noses at. 
The United States Chief Commissioner of Fisheries, in 
addressing the Fish Mongers’ Association last week, men¬ 
tioned the fact of our fastidiousness, or how we very 
stupidly followed gustatory fashions, asking “why we de¬ 
spised sturgeon ?” (New Yorkers, with cruel irony, call it 
Albany beef) the Professor informing the astonished fish 
dealers “that about the .best fish he knew of as an eating 
fish (we suppose we express ourselves unintelligibly here, 
and mean to say, a fish for us to eat, and not a fish to eat 
us) was a nice blue shark, about eight feet long.” All we 
can say is, that we would advise our fish-eating commu¬ 
nity next time a sword fish comes to market to try' some of 
it, and they will find it admirable eating. The sword fish 
feeds on fish, and his long sword is used by him to dash 
into a shoal of fish and to cut up and sabre his food before 
swallowing it. Mr. Baird explained to us the many wea¬ 
pons fish possessed which are often overlooked, especially 
two sharp razor-like fins, setting at right angles with the 
body of the fish, just before the tail, by means of which 
some fish can slash and rip open other fishes. The rapier 
of the sword fish, severed from the head, w T e have now be¬ 
fore us; unfortunately about afoot of it he lost in some 
•lunge of his, but it measures now thirty-six inches, and 
was certainly, when perfect, over four feet in length. His 
gills were beautiful to a degree, looking when fresh like 
the most delicate slices of watermelon, only closer grained 
and more beautiful in their structure. A great error is 
made in coupling together the sword fish and the saw fish. 
The latter is a shark. 
Jf istorg. 
PINNATED GROUS E {Prairie Hens). 
Peterboro, N. Y., June 22d, 1874. 
Editor Forest and Stream :— 
As the question of stocking some localities of our Eastern 
States with pinnated grouse is being agitated, the following 
may be of service to your readers:— 
In February, 1845, I purchased three dozen of prairie 
hens, which had been caught in Missouri, and brought on 
in coops. Two pairs, an old and young I kept, the ethers 
were given to persons in the neighborhood, and all, by the 
way, died. Mine soon became quite tame, as they'were 
suffered to run at large in a grass yard where persons were 
constantly passing. About the last of March the males 
commenced tooting. The old hen dropped her first egg on 
the 8th of May, on the open ground, which I removed. 
The next two days she spent in the greatest agitation, rest¬ 
less, cackling, and examining every part of the enclosure to 
select a place for her nest. At last she fixed on a spot at 
the root of a bush, on the very margin of some high grass, 
where she scooped out a hollow, and deposited an egg every 
other day till she laid eight. From the first she was care¬ 
ful to bend the grass over the nest on leaving, and after 
two or three - days she plucked some long blades of grass 
which she placed on the margin of the nest most exposed. 
The eggs were of a dirty yellow brown, like a guinea 
fowl’s, thickly splashed with purple spots, and about the 
size of a pullet’s egg. She began to sit on the 25tli of May, 
and six^oung were hatched on the 20th of June, making 
twenty-six days. 
The male tooted at all hours of the day, from early dawn 
till latefin the evening. While tooting they were the most 
ridiculous figures possible, less like birds than beasts. 
They stamped on the ground like men endeavoring to keep 
themselves warm; rustled with their wings like a turkey 
cock; raised their tail, expanding it like a fan; lowered 
their head with the long feathers on the neck standing out 
from right angles with the neck to perpendicular; and infla¬ 
ted the bare skin of the neck till it was the size of a hulled 
walnut. Wilson’s figure of them in the act of tooting is totally 
unlike. The head is lowered and pushed forward, as I 
have stated, and the inflated membrane is of a flesh color 
not orange as he has figured it. He also states that one 
kept in confinement did not drink, though a cup of water 
was kept in the cage, but one day water being accidently 
spilled on the bars of the cage, it eagerly picked off the drops 
as they trickled down the bars. Hence he infers that in 
their natural state this is the only manner they obtain 
water. Now the fact is they drink frequently, and precisely 
like the common hen, as I have seen hundreds of times. 
Indeed, in all their habits they very closely lesemble the 
common fowl. 
They feed on all kinds of grain, but I observed when 
oats, wheat and corn were thrown down together, they first 
selected the corn. They ate the green blades of grass the 
grass seed before fully ripe, and they totally devoured the 
whole of a small patch of parsley, to the cook’s great indig¬ 
nation. 
They eagerly picked the buds off all the shrubs in the 
yard. It was very amusing to witness their attempts to 
reach the buds on the tall shoots of the rose bushes, which 
as they were pinioned they could not readily spring up to! 
They threw their whole weight on the shoot near the 
ground, bending it down, when they carefully, foot after 
foot, walked along it till they reached the extremity. 
Wilson describes the tooting pretty accurately. It seems 
performed by one.inspiration, and two expirations ou-trov- 
trou , the two last sylables long drawn out, and the head 
pushed forward. 
Audubon professed to have raised them, and from him 
of course, we would expect much more accuracy. He 
describes them as not only excessively pugnacious with 
each other, but even as standing several passes with a turkey 
cock. This may be true, but I never witnessed any thing 
like this amongst mine. One pair of mine were old birds 
while the other were birds of the previous summer. 
Whether it was owing to this fact or not I do not know, 
but certainly the older bird chased the younger one, who 
never offered any resistance. The tame pigeons that came 
to eat their food were never directly attacked by them, but 
tuey threw themselves into the most ridiculous attitudes,, 
which had the effect, whether intended or not, to frighten 
off the pigeons for awhile. I gave a gentleman a pair,.and; 
the female died. He then placed a bantam hen with the 
male, but she beat him till he was compelled to separate' 
them. He states the period of incubation at eighteen or 
nineteen days, and mine, as I have stated, sat twenty-six. 
The young would readily be taken at first sight for young- 
chickens. They were much more active, however, and! 
seemed quite independent of the parent, seeking their own 
food very industriously. I never observed the female cal! 
them together when she had found food, as the domestic 
hen does. They seem to seek for insects amongst the grass,, 
and I have often observed them, when but two or three 
days old springing up to pick off something from the tall 
blades of grass. 
THE SPECIES Megalops thrissoides., 
■ Springfield, Mass., May 29, 1874. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
I notice an interesting letter in No. 16 from S. C. Clarke, of New Smyr¬ 
na, Fla., in which he speaks of tarpuni, jewfish, &c, Last winter I made 
a cruise down Indian River, out Jupiter Inlet, and outside to Biscayne 
Bay, spending about a week there and going up into the Everglades with 
young Tiger Tail, (son of old Tiger Tail,whom I also saw) then on in the 
same boat, among the Florida Keys and to Key West. The boat was 
the “Wig Way,” Captain Saunders, of Miami, 18 feet long, 9 feet beam, 
schooner rigged, all decked over, and a most excellent sea boat she was, 
as we proved in running out of Jupiter, through three lines of breakers 
some ten or twelve feet high. One morning while at Sand Key, Saund¬ 
ers and I took the dinky, a little keel boat, very light, and he taking his 
grainse and pole, we started for tarpon as I alwaj s heard them called 
there. He poled along in about six or eight feet water, and we saw sev¬ 
eral but did not get near enough to Strike. At length throwing his pole 
at least thirty feet he fastened to one. The pole, of course, came loose;, 
he handed the line to me, and I had about ten minutes of very exciting 
sport. The fish towed us in all directions, but at last became exhausted 
and we lifted him in. He was 5 feet 6 inches long, 13 inches deep, back 
dark green and blue, sides and belly perfect silvery white. I send you a 
tracing of a rough pencil sketch I made on the spot, and one of his scales. 
Not being a scientific ichthyologist I did not make a detailed descrip¬ 
tion, and have tried in vain to find the true name. Can you give it? The 
last ray of the back fin is very much prolonged, as you see by the sketch, 
I have it in my possession. The flesh was dark, raw, but white when 
boiled and most excellent eating. Two years ago I spent some time at 
Jupiter Inlet and caught a great many bluefish and cavalli. Is the ques 
tion definitely settled whether the cavalli and the pompano are the same 
or not? In trolling outside the Florida Reef we caught what are called 
kingfish; these are very game fish, shaped like a Spanish mackerel, blue 
and silver colored, weight about 10 to 15 pounds; but I was told often 
caught weighing 50 pounds or more. Is this the kingfish of New York 
Harbor? Several of the Indians at Miami had bones and flesh of the 
manatee, And I saw one alive in the water at Jupiter, but only for an in¬ 
stant. Among the Keys we caught a good many crawfish, almost exact¬ 
ly similar to a lobster, but without claws and with very long antennae as 
large as medium sized lobsters and very fine eating. Truly yours, 
W. H. Burrall. 
TRAITS OF SOUTHERN FISH. 
Jamaica Plains, June 10,1874. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
I send you a table of the time and place of spawning of some fishes of 
the southern coast, procured from an intelligent observer at New Smyr¬ 
na, E. Florida. S. C. Clarke. 
NAME OF SPECIES. 
TIME OF SPAWNING. 
LOCALITY. 
Redfish, or channel bass! 
Uorvina ocellala, Cuv¬ 
ier. 
Sheepshfcad.&cm/w*- ovis. 
Cuvier. 
Mullet, Mugil lineatus. 
DeKay. 
Salt water trout, Otoli- 
tus Carolinensis. Cuv. 
Drum, Pogonius cromis , 
Cuv. “ fasciatus. 
Holbrook. 
Whiting, or kingfish, 
TJmbnna Nebulosa. 
Storer. Umbnna al¬ 
ba . 
Brown snapper, Serran- 
its erythogaster. Cuv. 
Grouper, Serranus nig- 
ritus. Holbrook. 
Sailor’s choice, scup, 
Hemulon julvomacula 
tits. DeKay. 
Pigfish, or grunt, Mici'O- 
pogonundalatus. Cuv. 
Pampano, Botkrolaimvs 
pampanus. Holbrook. 
Cavalli, or crevalle, Ca- 
raux ds/eneor. DeKay. 
Bezuga, or spot........ 
August and September. 
March and April. 
January and February. 
July and August. 
March. 
May. 
May and June. 
May and Juno .. 
May. . 
November and Dec.... 
Shallow bays & inlets. 
Mouths rivers & inlets 
jin strong currents, on 
the surfaces. 
In rivers, in salt water. 
In the bays and inlets. 
In the ocean. 
In bays and inlets. 
In bays and inlets. 
In deep water salt nv T s 
In bays and inlets. 
In the ocean. 
In the ocean. 
In bays and inlet#. 
Omitted 
April .. 
March.. 
