June 12, 1884.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



389 



Pound Jfjs-fa SSSTZED in the Hudson.— On Friday last, 

 Mr. Matthew Kennedy, Game Protector, assisted by Deputy 

 Sheriff Ilallenbeck, of Hudson, and a representative of 

 FoBEST AND STREAM", took a steamer from Hudson 1 and 

 went down to Rhineheck, They captured eight pound nets 

 and Cook them hack. The nets were all new and cost from 

 $800 to $400 each. Lust year there was one pound net put 

 in the river and its success encouraged others. It is safe lo 

 Bay that the offense will not he repealed, as the men are 

 DlOUTfling their loss and the prospect Of being fined an 

 amount equal to the cost of their nets. These nets were all 

 between Rhineheck. and Claverack, and the meshes were 2.V 

 inch, just right, to take small fish, We saw white perch in 

 the nets which would not weigh two ounces. The driftnet 

 and seiue fishermen are rejoicing. 



Baknegat Bay.— Forked River. N. J., June 9.-— "Weak- 

 fish are now coming into Barnegat Bay, and a. number have 

 already been taken with hook and line. Sheepshead are now 

 here and biting well, and in the course of a few days we 

 shall have some fine sport. This place is about three hours 

 from New- York via Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. 

 There are one or two good hotels and, unlike most of the 

 places on Barnegat Bay, we are situated directly on the 

 water, thus avoiding long rides to the bay. Parties intend- 

 ing to (Mime here would do well to write a few days in ad- 

 vance either to Capt. Thomas Potter or Capt. Forman 

 MatheWS, so as to have bait, etc., ready, as the hotels are 

 quite full and the boats well patronized most of the time— A. 



Tkoit m Connecticut.— An official of the Hartford and 

 Connecticut Western Railroad, writes under date of June 4: 

 I wonder if trout fishing is as good everywhere as it is on 

 our road this season; we are having parties from both ends 

 daily. They go from Hartford and come from Rhinebeck 

 on the Hudson, where we conned with the New York Cen- 

 tral railroad, and they all report more trout than there have 

 been before for years, very plenty and good size. Two 

 anglers came in to Hartford the other night after one day's 

 fishing with 200 trout. Another the next night with sixty, 

 and the next night two with each a large string, and they all 

 report the spoil, so fine it's giving us quite a travel among 

 fishermen.— A. J. J. 



NEWS Fkom the Btjcktail. — In camp on the Tiadatton 

 (Big Pine Creek). Have had one glorious week anyhow. 

 Shall go on down stream next week. Have a chance to send 

 this out to-day, so I write. Will write up the log and for- 

 ward it, if my paper has stood the pack -basket. The cruise 

 has been a ratter on the Bucktail. Her keel and garboards 

 look as though she had been used as a stone boat. But, as 

 the river broadens and deepens she jumps fewer stones, and 

 the cruise becomes more tame. So far, about the only use 

 for the double blade has been to keep her off the rocks. I 

 am full fed of fish, well slept on browse, and on the whole, 

 content. It cannot last forever — more's the pity. — Unkssmcjk. 



Gotta Pekciia Cement fob Rods.— I wish to express 

 my thanks to Mr. Wells for the articles he has written on 

 rod making. I can add that a gutta percha cement which 

 does not have the horrid smell that he speaks of as so un- 

 pleasant in that used by shoemakers, etc., can be made by 

 dissolving gutta percha in chloroform, which is a better dis- 

 solvunt than the bi-sulphide of carbon, the latter being used 

 in the commou article because of cheapness. The strongest 

 and best gutta percha is found at rubber stores in thin 

 whitish sheets, looking somewhat like birch bark (thin). It 

 will dissolve in the chloroform (if left a few hours) perfectly. 

 -C. W. E. 



Rock Bass in the Mohawk.— Albany, May 31.— The bass 

 (rock) are being caught now m the Mohawk in great quan- 

 tities. Two of us on Decoration Day caugbt about one 

 hundred, some being about nine inches in length and quite 

 fat. We did not see any black bass, nor did we want lo. — 

 J. K. T. 



Weakfish are biting and the Staten Island fishing resorts 

 are crowded with fishers. At Prince's Bay, where is the 

 New York Fishing Club House, August Collins, of New 

 York, this week caught a weakfisb weighing seven pounds 

 three ounces, said to be the largest taken there for many 

 years. 



Adirondack Pine Planting. — William Pickhardt, for- 

 ester and general superintendent of the Adirondack Club's 

 tract in the southwest part of Essex county, last week sowed 

 seven bushels of white pine seeds upon their lands. The 

 seeds came from Maine, where they were threshed from the 

 cones. 



tgizJfcnltnre. 



DESTRUCTION OF OYSTERS BY NATURAL 

 MEANS. 



BY far the greater damage done to oyster beds, in certain 

 regions at least, result from the ravages of two natural 

 enemies, the common starfish [Asterias vulgaris and A. for- 

 besii) and the oyster drill (Urosalpiiix cinerea). The natural 

 history of the former and the mode of operation of both are 

 so pecuhar as well as destructive and so little known that a 

 description of each would not be out of place, 



Asterias vulgaris is the common starfish noz'th of Cape Cod, 

 while Asterias forbesii is common south of that point, but 

 both overlapping and running into each other, while their 

 differences are so slight that it requires an expert eye to dis- 

 tinguish between them. As is common in most starfishes, the 

 number of rays or arms are five, radiating from a central 

 disk. The aspect of the starfish above is such that the com- 

 mon name, starfish, can be easily accounted for. All of the 

 rays as well as the disk, upon its upper surface, are covered 

 with spines placed near together, upon a frame work or skele- 

 ton of calcareous matter not visible naturally and exposed 

 only when dried and examined closely, or better by placing in 

 weak caustic potash. A little to one side of the center of the 

 disk and near the angle found by two of the arms, is a small 

 plate called the ''madreporic body" on account of its resem- 

 blance to madrepore coral, which, if examined with a pocket 

 lens, will show this resemblance very well. 



The object and use of this body will be explained presently. 

 The under side of each arm contains several rows of suckers, 

 placed in the middle and extending from the tip to the center 

 of the under side of the disc, to which all the. rows converge. 

 Just at the center is a circular opening which serves as a 

 mouth, and is protected by live sets of teeth, each set being 

 composed of six spicules. Just outside of each row of suckers 

 is a row of spines on each side, which can be and are closed 



over the suckers when they are not in use, meeting in Che ccn 

 ter so as to form a complete protection. Outside of these are 

 other rows which merge gradually into the spines upon the 

 dorsal surface. At the ti p Of each a rra is an eye. which is very 

 primitive, but probably of some use. If one of the suckers be 

 examined it will be found to be composed of a blind i,i die, 

 opening into the interior of the animal, but presenting the 

 Closed end outward. If followed the sucker will be found to 

 pass inside of the animal through an opening in the Irani" 

 work of the under surface, each sucker passing through a sepa- 

 rate opening, All of the. suckers iu each arm connect with a tube 

 which passes through the arm, all of the five tubes meeting 

 near the gullet and forming a tube which connects with the 

 "madreporic body." Water enters this body, which serves 

 the purpose of a sieve, straining the water, and thus prevent- 

 ing the entrance Of foreign particles; then passing through the 

 circular tube into each of the fj ve branches, and from there 

 into the suckers. By contraction of any sucker the water is 

 forced out into a secondary vesicle, there being one to each 

 sucker, and when it is needed that the sucker should be filled 

 again, this vesicle contracts, thus driving the water back again 

 into the sucker. By applying the end of a sucker to a rod or 

 other object and then contracting the muscles and 'hiving 

 the water out, the sucker sucks, acting just like a boy's leather 

 sucker, and it is by this means that the animal moves around 

 from place to place, frequently with a rapidity which would 

 not be expected from such an inanimate looking creature. 



Upon all the spines of the starfish are h'ttle pincher-like 

 objects called pedicellarise, which serve the purpose of remov- 

 ing foreign particles which may happen to tall upon the back. 

 By placing the hand near a live starfish iu water, the pedicel- 

 la'rise will grasp the hams upon the hand and hold on with 

 such power that the starfish can be taken out of water by this 

 means. The apparently independent action of these bodies 

 led to the former belief that they were not a part of the star- 

 fish, but parasites upon it. Other species of starfishes may 

 have as many as thirty-six rays. In basket stars {Astrophuton), 

 the primary five rays divide and subdivide toward the end, 

 until several thousand are the result. 



In regard to its habit of eating, the starfish presents its 

 greatest peculiarity. Its mouth being small, the first sup- 

 position would be that it lived upon small animals, which is 

 not the case, but on the contrary, oysters and mussels form its 

 chief food. Approaching an oyster it crawls upon it and 

 bends its arms down over, partly enameling it. The starfish 

 then protrudes its stomach from its mouth, surrounding the 

 oyster with it, and remaining in this position actually digests 

 and absorbs the oyster with its stomach completely outside of 

 the mouth. This operation can be watched at any time by 

 placing a mussel or oyster in a dish of salt water containing a 

 starfish. The maimer in which the soft parts of a shellfish are 

 thus digested without injuring or breaking the shell is a 

 mystery, unless we suppose that some fluid is secreted which 

 paralyzes the oyster. Certain we are that it does digest it 

 without leaving any mark upon the shell, and it must have 

 some means of opening the tightly closed shell in order that 

 the digestive fluid may act. A species of deep sea starfish con- 

 tained a large sea urchin within the mouth, and it seems from 

 this, that certain species do eat in a normal way. 



It may not be out of place to mention here the proper way 

 to keep starfishes so that their natural shape shall be pre- 

 served, this not being well known to marine collectors gener- 

 ally. By simply allowing them to dry naturally they entirely 

 lose them shape and flatten down to a shapeless mass. Kill 

 them in fresh water and then dry in an oven, or, still better, 

 kill in alcohol and dry in the sim or in an oven, and the natural 

 shape will be well preserved. Upon the southern coast of 

 New England starfishes advance in immense "schools,'' devas- 

 tating large fields in a short time. As these animals form val- 

 uable manure, it would be worth the trouble of the oyster- 

 men to obtain them for this^ purpose. It was formerly the 

 stupid habit of the oystermen to cut the starfish into' two, 

 three or four pieces, not knowing that each piece would in 

 time reproduce itself, and form two, three or four perfect 

 animals instead of the one started with and supposed to be 

 destroyed. 



The other pest, Urosalpinx, is a univalve shell, not differing 

 in any marked respect from the ordinary marine gasteropods. 

 It is very small amd inoffensive-looking, but is capable of most 

 disastrous work. All gasteropods possess what is called an 

 "odontophore," or tongue. This consists of an elastic strap, 

 upou which are arranged transverse rows of teeth. Each end 

 of the strap is worked by muscles, which, alternately con- 

 tracting, cause the toothed strap to work backward and for- 

 ward over the end of a pulley. The strap consequently acts 

 after the fashion of a chain saw upon any substance to which 

 it is applied, and the resulting wear and tear of its anterior 

 teeth are made good by the incessant development of new 

 teeth in the secreting sac, in which the hinder end of the strap 

 is lodged. As the anterior teeth are worn down they are ab- 

 sorbed, and others formed in the sac take their place. The 

 "oyster diill" approaches the oyster, and, placing the end of 

 its pulley upon the shell, begins working his apparatus, and 

 continues until a perfectly round hole is the result, for the 

 soft carbonate of lime resists but poorly the continuous action 

 of these siliceous teeth. The hole is always round and prettily 

 made. Holes made by other similar species may frequently 

 be seen in dead valves of shells washed ashore on beaches. 

 Once getting the hole made, the rest is easy, for by applying 

 its strap in a similar manner to the flesh, the oyster may be 

 literally rasped up and eaten, Of course a whole oyster can- 

 not be eaten by one little oyster drill, but it is probable that 

 after eating his fill he moves off and attacks another. The 

 oyster partly killed probably allows its shell to open, and then 

 it is devoured by crabs (Panopeus) and the like. The "drill" 

 is the oyster's worst enemy, for it will flourish in brackish 

 water, while starfish need salt. Oyster beds upon the south- 

 ern coast of New England suffer much more from starfish 

 than do those in the Chesapeake, for this very reason. 



Ralph S. Take. 



DISTRIBUTION OF CATFISH. -The Potomac River cat- 

 fish has at last found a place jn the heart of the U. S. Fish 

 Commissioner, and 300 of these fish are now en route to Wis- 

 consin in the care of one of the Commission. They will be 

 distributed among the lakes and rivers of the Badger State 

 and allowed to grow up with the country. For many years 

 catfish were considered poor food by Washingtonians unless it 

 was the negroes, and they preferred any other variety, but 

 of late they have come into the market and are extensively- 

 used for making chowder. Some residents of the capital declare 

 they are better food fishes than the German carp, which is 

 being so extensively propagated by the Government. The 

 same car that carried catfish to Wisconsin also earned 

 the last shipment of Potomac shad for this season. The ship- 

 ment consisted of 950,000 young fish. They will be distributed 

 in the waters of Colorado. The station oh Sixth street and 

 the cars will soon be arranged for the fall distribution of 

 young German carp. — Homo. 



MOSS FOR CRAYFISH.— The Vicksburg (Miss.) Herald 

 says that Capt. M. Hughes has discovered that the use of a 

 layer of Spanish moss in a dike or darn prevents the damag- 

 ing work of crayfish in boring holes through them. 



There is a Controversy as to whether an eagle will sit on a 

 limb and let himself become encased in ice. Edward P. Roe 

 related an instance of that kind, and his accuracy was ques- 

 tioned. John Holder now tells how, at Bloomington, IU. , he 

 had an eagle brought to him covered by ice so completely that 

 it could not move legs or wings, fell from the tree on which it 

 had perched, and was captured by a boy. 



%t Mmml 



FIXTURES. 



BF.NCH SHOWS. 



June 10. II, 18 and 13. The Second Annual International Bench 

 Show Ulueago. III. Mr. Charles Lincoln, Superintendent. 



Sept. -.Bench Show of the Philadelphia Kennel Club. Mr. P. C. 

 De Saque, Secretary, 



Oct. 8, 9, 10 and 11,— Third Annual Bench Show of the Banbury 

 Agricultural Society, Banbury, Conn. E. S. Bavis, Superintendent, 

 Banbury, Conn. 



Oct. 1-1— Non-sporting- Bench Show of the Westminster Kennel 

 Club, Madison Square Garden, New York. Mr. Charles laneoll 

 Superintendent. 



AMERICAN KENNEL REGISTER. 



/~\UR little monthly contemporary, the America it- Kennel Register, 

 ^ continues to meet with great favor on all hands. The best evi- 

 dence that it was needed is seen iu l lie anxiety of breeders and own- 

 ers to register their stock. The June number runs up the entries to 

 between 1300 and 1400, and the pressure for entries is so great that 

 this mouth's Register is again enlarged to twenty pages. The Register 

 started fifteen months ago, as a twelve page paper, but for several 

 months now it has been regularly priuting sixteen and twenty pages, 

 which is certainly a good deal for the merely nominal subscription 

 price— one dollar. It is a complete record of all events interesting 

 to dog-owners an d breeders. 



THE CHICAGO DOG SHOW. 



[Special to Forest and Stream.] 



Chicago, June 10, 1884. 



THE opening day of the second grand international bench 

 show at D Battery Armory was all that could be desired 

 in point of exhibits and attendance. The lion. Carter H. Har- 

 rison, Mayor of the city, formally opened the show at 8:30 in 

 the evening with a happy speech. The judges are Messrs. 

 Mortimer and Taylor, and awards were made Tuesday in the 

 English, Irish and Gordon setter classes. The champion Eng- 

 lish setter prize went to W. B, Gates's Paul Gladstone ; extra 

 champion prize English setter bitches, W. B. Shattuck's 

 Dido 1L 



POINTERS AT NEW YORK. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I visited the last New Y ork dog show with the avowed 

 intention of examining criticahy and thoroughly both the 

 large and small size champion pointers, having in view chiefly 

 Beaufort, Meteor and Bang Bang. The attendants of the two 

 first named dogs allowed me to see them out of their stalls, 

 and after a most thorough examination I could arrive at but 

 one opinion, viz., that Beaufort is by far the grandest pointer 

 I have ever seen, barring none. I did not arrive at this con- 

 viction hastily, but studied them well from head to foot. My 

 conviction was strengthened by corroboration on the part of 

 several of the oldest and best pointer men, who not only have 

 bred pointers, but won with them after they had bred them 

 against all comers. Imagine, therefore, my surprise after 

 the show to read Mr. Cornell's remarks) wherein he states 

 that Beaufort's "legs are extremely bad, being crooked fore 

 and alt." I was dumbfounded at such words, and still believe 

 my original criticism of the dog was correct. I again ex- 

 amined him more critically than before, only to be convinced 

 he has the most magnificent sot of legs and feet that ever a 

 pointer stood upon, and not only that, but his hindlegs are 

 most beautifully crooked as they should be. Mr. Cornell is 

 evidently much at fault here, and when speaking of Beaufort's 

 legs must have had Bang Bang's. in his mind, which are 

 wofully straight at the stifles, a most glaring fault. It seems 

 strange that Mr. Mason, with his extended knowledge of 

 pointers, would pay - l.ouO in good money for a dog with bad 

 legs fore and aft. 



The articles in your paper after the Washington show of 

 1883, both by your editor and Mr. Mason before he owned 

 Beaufort, spoke only a part of his beauty. Mr - . Cornell further 

 adds that Bang Bang is the most strikingly handsome pointer 

 dog in America. How Mr. Cornell, the Secretary of the West- 

 minster Kennel Club, can make such a statement, I am at a loss 

 to understand. He must either be sadly deficient in knowledge 

 of the points of the dog, or is carried away with the fancied 

 superiority of his dog as Viewed by his partial eyes. The first 

 thing that struck me as I was examining him in his stall was 

 his "black eyes and black nose," Is this a charming attribute 

 of a lemon and white pointer? Stonehenge says it is not ad- 

 missible. Vero Shaw, in his article on pointers says, that in a 

 lemon and white pointer tins blemish is "sufficient for dis- 

 qualification." How in the face of such authority as Stone- 

 henge and Vero Shaw can Mr. Cornell still claim that "Bang 

 Bang is the most strikingly handsome dog in America." Per- 

 haps the first-named gentlemen are incompetent to state the 

 points of a lemon and white pointer. Will he throw lemon 

 and white pups? Will some black and white ones creep in 

 mysteriously? In that unfortunate event, they should be 

 drowned. 



Heretofore Sensation has been held up as the typical pointer. 

 If such is the case, what shall we do with Meteor? for they 

 are opposite types. If Meteor is a good dog, how about Sen- 

 sation? The first is long on the legs and short in the back, the 

 latter short in the legs and long iu the back. Which is the 

 typical dog? Which shall I breed from? Both cannot be cor- 

 rect types. Who is at fault? The result is that the West- 

 minster Kennel Club, instead of enlightening us as to correct 

 type, has so confounded us that we are all at sea. Were I 

 dependent upon the foregoing I shordd be. equally at a loss 

 how to act; but, relying upon my own judgment, I shall breed 

 to Beaufort, as he comprehends my highest ideas of what a 

 large pointer should be. As a stock getter Beaufort has no 

 superior in this country, and is getting veiy fine stock. Bang- 

 Bang, on the other hand, I understand, gets black and white 

 puppies froni every bitch put to him. If so, why is this? lb 

 was reported at our last show that the Westminster Kennel 

 Club offered $500 for Beaufort at the Washington show. 

 Would they buy a dog with such glaring faults as they at- 

 tribute to Beaufort? If the offer had been accepted ' they 

 would have had at least one pointer to which they could have 

 bred theh- bitches without being obliged to go outside their 

 own kennel, 



Mr. Cornell claims Beaufort is throaty. All large dogs are 

 throaty, but there is no excuse for a small dog bke Bang Bang 

 being so. Let us try to improve rather than lead breeders 

 astray by statements" which are not verified, when lemon and 

 white pointer bitches bred to lemon and white stud dogs throw 

 black and white pups. A Breeder of Sporting Dogs. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Mr. Cornell displays such lack of knowledge in treating his 

 subject that it would seem as if his real motive were only to 

 belittle Knickerbocker and Beaufort, and to try to support 

 Mr. E. C. Sterling's most erroneous judging. To say the least, 

 his letter displays very bad taste and is altogether uncalled 

 for.' His statement that Knickerbocker is "cowhocked," needs 

 no further comment than that it woidd be well for Mr. Cor- 

 nell to post himself on subjects of which he is ignorant, before 

 passing public opinion. 



Mr. Cornell says "Meteor was the best of the lot." Can he 

 conscientiously say so, when Sensation was considered by him 

 atypical pointer? Verily, I think them the extremes of one 

 another. He further states, "His (Meteor's) one important 

 fault is that his head is not handsome. There is almost no 

 stop below the eyes and little depth of skull." So in head he 

 has an important fault ; is dish-faced and has no brain. His 

 snipy muzzle, and at times badly carried ears, ho forgets to 

 mention, And a dog with a head that has not a redeeming 



