— ee | eo. 
Gor. 9, 1884.] 
' 
season without any apparent diminishing of their numbers, 
bome weighing as hioh ag 14 pounds. 
During the past season thousands of trout have been taken 
| of ail sizes and up to 24 pounds in weight. The success which 
the yenture of these few gentlemen has met las done more 
_ fo encourage the propagation of trout by the Michigan Fish 
' Commission than-all other things combined, and during the 
coming season they will plant one million and a half of fry 
tm Kalamazoo county alone; while on the other hand, if a 
_ person lives near a suitable stream and wishes to stock it, to 
Reet the fry needs but the uskine. ' 
_ Now, bother sportsmen, let the success of the Kalamazoo 
ee be an example; and instead of always secking to 
destroy, try and restock your depleted waters and game 
‘coverts, and in a few years you will have the satisfaction in 
reaping the harvest you have sown. Ban, 
SEPT, 25, 1884, : 
NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF THE 
FISH-HOOK. 
BY Rk, CHRISTENSEN.* 
a 
1 ee fact that prehistoric hooks are but seldom noticed in 
_ + museums is not owine'to their rare occurrence or rare 
“discovery, but to their small size and to their appearance, 
which is not apt te strike the cye; possibly, also, because 
they closely resimble other implemenis and are ther:-fore 
€asily confounded with them, The number of undoubted 
fith-liooks, however, is large enough to show that angling is 
‘one of the most ancient occupations. 
The oldest fishing implements, however, correspond very 
little to the newer idea which we connect with the word 
“fish-hook.” As long as no metal was employed there was 
no matcrial from which a real hook, answering to our ideas 
of the same, could have been made; there was moreover no 
type of such animplement. On the other hand, the idea 
Was readily suggested that, if fish could be caught by means 
of a harpoon fastened to a line, without inflicting a mortal 
wound, the same olject might be reached in a still more 
Satisfactory manner if the fish could be caused to swallow a 
harpoon or arrowhead fastened io a line. Angling is there- 
fore of more ancient origin than net fishing. ° The oldest 
hooks which have been found are shaped like an arrow- 
head, having one and sometimes two, three, or more smaller 
or larger well-pointed beards. The museum of ihe Anti- 
quariin Society of Prussia, in Kénigsberg, possesses a num 
ber of such hooks. AU of these looks show very careful 
workmanship, and are of such slender form, so well adapted 
to the nature of the material (bone or hom) as to favor the} 
| supposition that this article has been in general use for some 
time, and has gradually undergone various improvements. 
These implemnts date from the Nevlithic Age (second 
period of the Stone Age), and their enormous size will con- 
vey an idea of the size of fish cauzht in those times. A 
similar implement from the same period is preserved in the 
Royal Museum at Dresden, but its shape so closelv resem- 
bles that of au arrow-head that it is impossible to distinguish 
it from this. 
Hooks made of flint are very rare Two which have been 
found in the Swedish province of Skane furnixh ample proof 
that the Scandinavians were likewise acquainted with anp- 
ling at a very early period. Frequently small flint splinters 
having «4 bent point are found, showing evidences of work- 
ianship which in some cases were evidently meant to be 
tied to & handle at their thick end, and which probably in 
this way Laye served as hooks. An implemeut made of 
‘horn and preserved in the Konigsberg Museum, above re- 
ferred to, also favors this explanation. It will not seem 
strange that implements of so unassuming a character but 
rarely find their way into our must-ums. The fact, however, 
that avgling bas, till within a comparatively recent period, 
been the favorite mode of fishing, much more so than net- 
fishing, finds further proof in the circumstance that in the 
houses of the lake-dwellirs at Schusscnried numerous rem- 
nants of pike and of Sdurus glants have been fuund, but 
none of any other fish. 
A second and entirely different form of hooks, shaped like 
@ weaver’s shuttle, was kuown in very ancient times: the 
central portion was connected with the line, and thereupon 
entirely enveloped in the bait, so the fish might swallow it 
whole. This method has still buen preserved in some parts 
where eels are caught by means ot a darning-needle fastened 
to the Jine and almost hid in the bait, 
There has been a steady d-velopmeni from the arrow- 
head tothe real bent hook, as is shown by an implement 
Which is preseryed in the museum of the Sucicty for Pomera- 
fan History snd Antiquity, at Stettin, This rare piece was 
found imbedded 14 f et deepin marl near Reddies, district of 
Rummelsburg, in Pomerania, Its material is bone, and at 
ifs itiner bend the marrow side of the bone is Jiid pare, 
showing that the Lone was not suwed lengthwise but crogs- 
wise This gave to the implement a much greater degree of 
durability, und produccd the outlines of its form ai the yery 
bvginoipg of the work. 
Even the double hook was employed before metals came 
into use. Such a double hook was made from the antlirs of 
a stay, and foundin oneof the habitations of the lake- 
dwellers in Switzerland. At first sight it presents the ap- 
pearance of grotesque clumsiness, but on closvr observation 
tis seen that the hollows (especially the one on the right 
side) are a pretty facsimile of a modern hook, It will, 
thereiore, not seem improbable that the eccentric position of 
the center of gravity was uot accidental but intentional. 
Only the night hook is poiuted, its torm being better adapted 
to its purpose, and having a tendency to turn upward; that 
1s, itis better calculated for catching fish, while the Jett 
Phook was probably intended for fastening the bait. 
§ We have more hooks from the Brenze Age, which in 
Eastern Germany extended to the fourth and fith centuries, 
Pheir materis] being more pliable, they assume lighter and 
§more slender forms; they have as yet no beard; but artificial 
Pbuit, though in its simplest form, seems to have been em- 
Pployed at thatearly time. The Historical Museum at Litibeck 
PO-sis-es some hooks which are wade of thin brenze leaves 
ith very sharp points. They have probably served as small 
metal fish. 1 am in doubt, however, as to the use of the 
holes found in pairs in some of them, It seems all the more 
probable that these implements are artificial bait shaped like 
fish, as some of the South Sea Islinders were in the habit of 
emyloying artificial bait even before they knew the use of 
metal, 1n the collection above referred to there is an imple- 
meut of this kind co_sisting of along and narrow piece of 
mother-of-pearl, to which a hook made of horn ig tied firmly. 
} 
}) * "Zur Geschichte des Angeihakens,”* in Deutsc' ¢ Fischeret-Zeitung, 
frans'ated by Herman Jacobson, Vol, 1V., Nos. 12 and 15, Stettin 
PMaich 2 and April 12, 
United States Fish Commission_ 
« 
\ 
i 
' 
1881, and reproduced in the Bulletin of the 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
The oldest iron hooks known are those found in the ram- 
part of Old Libeek As Old Litheck was surprised and en- 
tirely destroyed by Rove, Prince of Riven, in 1188, and as 
the new city was not built in the same place, the period 
from which these hooks date is well defined. Tue smaller 
of the two is evidently much oldtr than the larger, and the 
properties of the metal have been so litte utilized us to justify 
the supposition that this hock dates from the beginning of 
the Iron Age, while thelarger is clearly of much more re- 
cent date. Here we find well-known forms reminding us of 
the hooks which we used in our boyhood’s days. There is, 
of course, as yet, a great difference between these hooks and 
those found in the ramparts of Old Liibeck, for even the 
most inexperienced boy wouid hurdly use such gigantic 
hooks, and even in those days so clumsy a beard would have 
been Jaughed at; but as to its general plan this hood does 
not differ much from the well-known hooks formerly used 
in Germany. 
I will mention an old darre which was found near Alt- 
Bliesdorf, district of Ober-Barnim, aud now in the collection 
of Mr. Walbaum in Sucow. It has the size and shape of a 
tablespoon without a handle, but is quite flat and made of 
copper. At the broad end there is a hole for the line, while 
the pointed end is closed by a shuttle-shaped double copper 
cover (resembiing a shell), from which protudes a medium- 
sized iron hook of good shape. Sporn and hook are there- 
fore firmly connected by this cover by means of three pegs. 
This implement yery closely resembles the spoon-shaped 
darres which are still in common use, t 
The merit of having fashioned hooks from steel, according 
to rational principles, and answering manifold purposes, 
belongs undou'tedly to the Enghsh. Max von dem Borne 
has described these hooks in his well-known work ‘‘Angel- 
fischvrei” (Line fishing) in the most exhaustive manner, Dur- 
ing the year 1880 many different forms of hooks have been 
brought to our notice through the B rlin Exposition. Some 
of these hooks have been developed in evrtain Jocslities in- 
dependent of other forms, while some are the artificial pro- 
ducis of industry, and have been thrown into the market to 
await the verdict of the fishing public. 
Among the hooks peculiar to certain localities I first men- 
tion the Japanese hooks. These have very smull beards, and 
are made of thin wire, which is wore pliable than elastic; 
ilis is all the more surprising, as the Japanese are unexcelled 
in the manufacture of steel. If, ther: fore, they give their 
hooks a certain degree of pliability, this is probably inten- 
tional, and may perhaps be explained by the circumstunce 
that their entire fishing apparatus is exceedingly fine. In 
Berlin they exhibited rods measwing six meters in Icnsth, 
with a very thin point, and a line which throughout its 
entire length has only the thickness cf a thin horsehair. At 
the first glance itwill be seen that these hooks are entirely 
original, and considering the very bigh degree of develop- 
ment to whicli line-fishiug has attained in Japan, it cannot 
be doubted that these various forms are carefully adapted to 
cerlain definite purposes. If we only knew these purposes 
we would undoubtedly learn much from the Japanese. 
Many of these forms have been adopted by English manu- 
facturers. 
The artificial fly also has gone throuch a course of devyel- 
opment in Japan entirely peculiar to that country. Those 
which were on exhibition in Berlin consisted of hooks of the 
smallest kind; the hcad is of brass, perfectly round, with a 
diameter half that of the width of the book, the body is 
either red, black, cr gold-colored, or has all three colors. 
From the head six or eight brown hairs run along the body, 
extending twice its length, and surrounding it on all sides; 
everything about it displays an el-gance and accuracy of 
workmanship which need not fear comparison with the finest 
Hnelist flies 
In Switzerland, in the canton of Tessin, a peculiar form 
of hooks has been employed from time immemorial. They 
have no beard, and an exceedingly fine and long poiut, 
and are used for catching Sulmo thymatlus, trout, and ‘*may- 
fish.” 
The Chinese produce clumsy imitations of English hooks, 
but their own hooks are peculiar, having exceptionally smi] 
beards, not on the back of the puint, but on the side, This 
is of great importance, for the beard which is commoniy 
used, and which is on the inner side or back of the point, has 
two disadvantages; in the first place, it is as untavorably 
located as poxsible for the rapid entering of the hook, which 
therefore frcquently does not catch; and in the second place, 
it is inclined to come out of itselr, for when it enters, a hol- 
low space is created between the beard and the lower bend 
of the hook, which is prevented from clusing up by the por- 
tions of the hook which surround it on three sides. When- 
ever the person holding the line momentarily ceases to pull, 
the hook gi ts a chauce to slip back, und the beard but too 
readily finds the necessary space to glide outof the wound 
without carching anywhere, especially when the parts where 
the Look has entered ure lean and possess but little elasticity, 
as is the case with the pike. But if the beard is placed more 
or less on the side of the point, this offers the important ad- 
vantage that the beard does not hinder the entering of the 
point; the hoilow space referred ‘o above will al-o be created, 
but it is not, as in the common hooks, between the beard and 
the bend of the hook, but on the side of the latter, and is 
consequently less inclined to elose ap immediately. The 
point of the bend, moreover, does not lie right over the 
ecnter of the hollow space, but.close toitsedze. Even if the 
hook shculd slip back, the beard will always keep close to 
the edge of the wound, and will, in most cases, farten itself 
somewhere, thus preventing the hook from slipping out en- 
tirely. Placing te beard at the side of the pwint, therefore, 
offers two decided advantages, without having a single dis- 
advantage; and it is really surprising thal manufacturers 
have not given more atlention to this matter. 
Of new forms which have recently been brought into the 
mai ket, the following deserve special mention: 
1. Jiongshanks or hooks whose handle 1s twice as long as 
is commonly the case. ‘his secures a steadier aim, the in- 
juriuus angie is decreased, and makes a mucn longer extent 
of gut line possible. The place where the gut line touches 
the point of the shank is much less exposed 10 any motion, 
and the frequent breaking of the gut at this point is avoided. 
These hooks, however, are as a general rule only suited to 
such bait as will cover the entire shank. It certainly speaks 
well tor these liooks that they were almost simultaneously 
adopted both in England and America, 
2, Warner’s needle-eye hooks. The new catulozne of J. 
Warner & Sons, Redditch, shows a whole series of diffcrently 
constructed spring double books (eightin number). Other 
hooks of this king have been known in Germany for some 
time; a hook of a particularly practical construction was ex- 
hibited at Berlin by the firm of Bradiord & Anthony, of 
Boston, Mass, ~ 
187 
The same firm has introduced a hook which substitutes an 
entirely new principle for thy beard, As the tongue which 
takes the place of the heard acts like a spring, the mouth of 
the fish will, in biting, slip past the point of the tongne, 
almost without meeting wih any resistance, and from that 
moment any loosening of the hook by accident becomes im- 
possible, Unless something tears or breaks, the fish is hope- 
lessly caught. The considerable angle of this hook will give 
no trouble, considering the ease with which the slender pcint 
enters; in fact, it proves an advantage, because the catching 
capacity of the hook is thereby considerably increased. The 
principle underlying this hook is doubtless very ingenious, 
and unless unforeseen difficulties hinder its practical applica- 
tion, we probably stand at the threshold of a new epoch in 
the history of the fish-hook. 
MINNOW CASTING FOR BLACK BASS. 
Hiditor Forest and Stream: 
lt appears as if the rules for minnow casting at the com- 
in tournament are needlessly rigid in prescribing that the 
mode of casting shall be undvrhand, for many persons never 
cast In that manner. It is true that longer casts may be 
made by the uoderhand mode, but at a sacrifice of accuracy. 
The weight of the minnow (half an ounce sinker) seems to 
be greater than nccessary, but what in the world does Dr. 
Henshall mean by ‘‘delicacy” in plumping half an ounce of 
lead into ihe water? Surely this is an oversight or it needs 
explanation, If the scale of points for the light (striy ed) 
bass casting had been followed, then accuracy and distance 
would be determined at each cast, and delicacy would be 
Jeft out. The style of casting is so much like that for 
striped bass, savé in the use of one hand, that it seems as if 
the method of scoring should be the same. R. B. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
In Fores? AND STREAM of Sept. 18 I find Dr. Henshall’s 
Tulvs to govern the minnow casting contest at the coming 
tournament. 
Oue rule limits the weight of rods to 10 ounces. Now, 
when Dr. Henshall’s “Book of the Black Bass” first came 
out I purchased a copy, and after reading it, thought [ 
would like to try minnow casting for actual fixhing, so I 
had a rod made as uear Dr. Henshall’s own specifications as 
deserived‘in his book as possible. The tip and middle are of 
greenheart, the butt and handle ash, It weighs just 12 
ounces. 
According to the rales this rod will not be allowed in the 
contest, yet it isa Henshall rod. Should I return to town 
in time, | had intended entering this cuntest, but now will 
probably be unable to enter oa account of this rule. 
C, G. Lervison,. 
Soute Woopsury, Vi., Sept. 22, 
HOW TO CATCH CARP. 
SEVERAL OPINIons DPon How To Catcu Carp, 
COMPILED BY CHAS, W. SMILEY. 
[From the Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission.] 
j A response to numerous requests for information as to the 
best way to catch a few carp at a time, and without 
draining a pond, | have examined the principal English 
sporting books, and have extracted what they have to say on 
this subject. The first item, however, is by an American 
who understands fishing for carp. 
Wirn Lint anp Hoox.—‘‘When I fith for carp I have a 
fifty-foot line done up on a reel with six or seven small hooks 
on the line, and without any pole. I bait the hooks with 
stale light bread, which floats on the surface of the water, 
and the carp come to the top to suck it down, As soon ag 
they feel the hook they start to run und 1 reel up the line 
an play with them until I worry them out and land them 
without further trouble. After catching one in tlis way they 
become very wild and timid, acd it is a long time before I 
can get them to show themselves again. I caught only one 
with an angle worm,”—Oscak Rerp (St. Louis, Mu., Aug. 
21, 1883), 
Barrs.—'‘Carp are esteemed among the richest fresh- 
water fish we lave in the kingdom, and are as cunning as 
foxes. The angler, therefore, must be ‘wide awake’ to 
catch him, and also as patient as a saint. He may, however, 
fish for him at any timein the day during warm weather. 
The bait may be either worms or paste. Of worms the 
bluish mar-h or meadow is the best, but a red worm, not too 
big, will do, or a large gentle; of paste the best is made from 
bread and honey, and the spot intended should be well 
baited beiorchand. In a large pond, to draw them together, 
throw in & ther grains, or blood mixed with cow-dung, or 
bran, or any kind of garbage; follow this with some of the 
small baits jou intend to angle with. If you fish for carp 
with gentles, put on your hook asmall piece of scarlet cloth, 
about the bigness of a pea, soaked with oil of peter (by some 
called oi] of the rovk) and keep your gentles for two or three 
days in a box smeared with honey; and while you are 
fishing, chew a little bread and ibrow it ia about the place 
where your float swims. In this way, with due patience, 
you will prove a match for these crafty tish.’—[From Rout- 
ledge’s Hand-book of Fishing, London, p, 39.] 
Barrs,—‘‘Carp are very uncertain. After a shower on a 
warm, daisp evening, is the best time for fishing. A boiled 
gTeen pea is a capital bait; also ground-bait with boiled 
potutoes, and ait with half-boiled pieces. You shauld 
ground-bait overnight. Anything will do for ground bait, 
chickens’ guts, bloud, cow-dung, mixed grains, and ereaves, 
mixed with clay. As baits, use paste of ali kinds, especially 
sweel paste, geutles, and red wornis. 
“A very zood way of killing carp is to let the bait sink 
between the leaves of the water plants, aud gently draw it 
up and down till you feel a slight nibble, when the line 
must be loused until the fish 1uns away withit. A paste 
mude of common flour and anchovy sauce, with a little water 
mixed with it to prevent sticking, has been found good. 
THE OLD-Boar MErnop.—‘'Carp may also be thus taken: 
Take an old boat, and fill it with brusliwoad or other loose 
stuff, taking care to keep it down with large stones, Tie 
two ropes to the ends ot the boats so as to be able to draw it 
up again when wanted, and then sink it, leaving it there for 
a mouth or two, so that the carp may have time to get 
accustomed to it, when they will take up their abode in the 
bout. After you have left it in a sufficient time draw it out 
again by the ropes tied to it for the purpose, and you will 
find the fish in their hiding places in the brushwood. It igs 
best to put some food in the boat before you lower it,”— 
[From “Pacts und useful hints relating to fishing and shoot- 
ing,” by L. E. B. C., London, 1872, page 26.] 
EXPERIENCE.—"‘Late in July, 1858, on 2 hot summer's 
afternoon, I was barhel-fishing in the eddy off Ham Point, 
