208 
ford moved that the words ‘have won" in Rule 11, be 
changed to ‘‘win,” and the words ‘‘or whe has ever taken 
a first prize in any tournament” be stricken out. Carried. 
Prof, Mayer then proposed to strike from this rule the words: 
“Nor will any person having won the first prize in Class D 
be permitted to competefor the prizes in Class H.” Carried, 
This forbids experts who cast in a class where delicacy and 
accuracy were considered from casting in the long distance 
class, D and E being the only classes where the champions, 
or experts, can enter, 
A communication from the Park Commissioners to Mr. 
Martin B, Brown, chairman of the sub-committee on grounds, 
was received saying that when the Association fixed the date 
of the tournament they could have the use of the Harlem 
Mere in Central Park, was received, and the Secretary was 
ordered to notify the Board that the tournament would take 
place on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct, 22 and 238. 
REVISED RULES ror 1884. 
Rule 1. AJl persons competing for prizes shall pay an en- 
tranee fee in each contest as follows: Members, two dollars; 
non-members, five dollars, 
Rule 2, No oneshall be permitted to enter an amateur 
contest who has ever fished for a living; who has ever been 
a fuide, or has been engaged in either the manufacture or 
sale of fishing tackle. The judges in the different classes 
shall appoint a member to see that the tackle is at all times 
in accordance with the rules and requirements of the Asso- 
ciation during the contests. The judges im any particular 
class, on appeal, shall have power to decide in all matters re- 
lating to entries, and their decision shall be final. 
Rule 3. No rod shall exceed eleyen feet six inches in 
length, and it shall be used with a single hand. 
Rule 4. Any style of reel or line will be allowed, but a 
leader or casting line of single gut, of not lessthan cight feet 
in length, to which three flies, one stretcher and two droppers 
shall be attached. 
Rule 5. Wo allowance of distance shall be made for dif- 
ference in length of rods. 
Rule 6. Persons entering these contests shall draw lots to 
determine the order in which they will cast und will be ready 
to cast when called by the judges. 
Rule 7. Hach contestant will be allowed five minutes to 
cast for distance and will then stand aside until called in his 
turn to cast for delicacy and accuracy, wher he will be 
allowed five minutes for this purpose. 
Rule 8. The distance shall be measured by a line with 
marked buoys stretched on the water; said line to be meas- 
ured and verified by the judges at least once each day of the 
easting, A mark shail be made from the stand from which 
the buoy line shall be measured, and the caster may stand 
with his toes touching this mark, but may not adyance be- 
yond it, Should he step back of it, nnless directed so to do 
by the judges, the loss in distance shall be his 
Rule 9. The stretcher fly must remain at the end of the 
casting line in all casts. The others are not deemed so im- 
portant. A contestant may claim time for repairs, which 
shal] be allowed by the judges, or the judges may order the 
next on the list to cast while repairs are made, in their dis- 
cretion. 
Rule 10. In the absence of an appointed judge the com- 
mittee will fill the vacancy. 
Rule 11. Amy person who shall win the first prize in 
Class A will not be permitted to compete for prizes in either 
Classes B or GC; or, having won the first prize in Class B, to 
compete in Class C. 
Rule 12. Salmon Fly-Casting.—The foregoing rules 
shall govern, except that the rods shall not exceed 18 feet in 
length, and may be used with both hands, and that only one 
fly will be required. 
Rule 13. Black Bass Casting.—All general rules which do 
not conflict with the following special rules shall govern. 
No rod shall be less than 8 nor more than 10 feet, nor less 
than 7 nor more than 10 ounces. Any black bass multiply- 
ing reel may be used; but clicks, drags, or any device to con- 
trol the rendering of the line, except the thumb. will not be 
allowed. lines shall not be of less caliber than No. 6 (letter 
W) braided silk, or No 1 sea-grass, or corresponding sizes of 
other material. The weight of the sinker shall be one-half 
ounce, the same to be furnished by the committee. Casting 
shall be underhand, and but asingle hand shall be used. 
Each contestant shall be allowed five casts, the longest to 
eount, and then will be allowed five minutes to cast for style 
and accuracy, ‘The scale shall be the same as in fiy-casting, 
viz: Distance, the longest cast iu feet; style and accuracy, 
25 points each, 
Hesvy Bass Castine.—Rods shall not execed 9 feet in 
length; any reel may be used, but the line shall be of linen 
not less than No. 9. The casts shall be made with sinkers 
weighing 24 ounces. (These will be furnished by the com- 
mittee.) The casts shall be made in Jane, formed by the 
buoy line and a line parallel to it and distant 35 feet. Hach 
contestant will be allowed five casts. His casts within the 
lines only shall be measured, added and divided by five, and 
the resnlt shall constitute the score, 
Light Bass Casting.—The above rules shall govern, except 
that the sinker shall be 14 ounces, and there shall be no 
restriction as to lines. 
THE ICHTHYOPHAGOUS CLUB, 
MEETING of the committee was held at Blackford’s, 
in Fulton Market, on Friday last. 1t was unanimously 
decided that the club should dine, and then the question 
arose 1s to the place where they should have their dinner. 
Mr, Blackford stated that Messrs. Hunting and Hammond 
would open the Murray Hill Hotel about the 10th of Octo- 
ber, and as one of the firm had fed the Ichtlyophagoi at the 
Palisade House, he thought his experience was valuable, 
therefore the committee decided to dine there, The time 
was fixed—after some opposition to Friday, by President 
Foord, because il was ‘‘fish day” andthe eclob should not 
be bound by tradition—for Friday, October 17, at 6.30 P. M. 
Then the momentous question as to what strange and hor- 
rible forms of aquatic life should be served or were available, 
Mr, Blackford stated that he had a shark on ice, hellbenders 
in aquaria, and had telegraphed to Hume & Oo., at Puget 
Sound, for a geoduck, a gigantic form of soft clam which 
fills 2 flour barrel, if the clam is Jarge enough, He could 
also procure wolftish, sea-robins, and knew where a sting 
ray of 800 pounds could be obtained. Mr. Mather promise 
a lot of the curious mantis shrimp, horsefeet, winkles, razor- 
clams, starfish; and shocked the whole committee by sug- 
vesting dobsons, or helgramites, Myr. Phillips moved that 
Mr, Mather be expelled from the club for offering them such 
beastly things, but the Jatter explained that there might be 
vast possibilities of epicurean delicacy hidden in the hel- 
‘| digestibility of unicorn’s liver and walrus hoofs, 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
gtamite if properly boiled or roasted, and the motion was 
withdrawn, It was voted that he might procurea quantity, 
have them served to suit his ideas, and then be allowed to 
eat the entire lot, 7 . 
A form of invitation was adopted which assured guests 
that a proper number of coroners and undertakers would be 
in attendance, and Mr. Blackford stated that Gillam, of Puck, 
would illustrate the menus with appropriate sketches. A 
proposition to have the club make an annual pilgrimage to 
the tombs of the members who had passed away during, or 
immediately after, previous feasts, was voted down as being 
too much of the nature of a holiday such as Decoration day, 
and might be construed into making light of serious matters, 
No further business coming before the meeting it adjourned, 
and then followed an informal questioning by the members 
as to the consequences of the last feast and the amount of 
distress felt after it, with their opinion as to the relative 
Doubtless 
Prof. Atwater could find new material for investigation such 
as are to be found in our fishcultural column if he should 
analyze the food prepared for the coming dinner. 
THE RED SNAPPER. 
HIS magnificent fish is one of the most common in the 
Gulf of Mexico. It is gorgeously colored, very graceful 
in all its movements and unusually wary and capricious. 
In weight it ranges from two to thirty-five pounds, averaging 
seyen pounds. IJts home is in the strictly salt waters of the 
Gulf, a short distance from the coast. There it lives on the 
bottom ata depth of 60 to 240 feet. The ocean floor of 
Florida declines greatly at first, for a distance of from thirty 
to fifty miles from the shore, to a depth of 800 feet, then 
very abruptly decends toa depth of 600 feet, beyond which 
the slope is more gradual to a depth of about 12,000 feet. 
The first slope is a sandy one; the second is sandy, rocky, 
and muddy, while the third is wholly muddy. The surface 
of the second with its uneven rocks afford homes and 
comparative seeurity for all kinds of small marine animals, 
such as crabs, barnacles, corals, etc. ‘These attract: myriads 
of small fish which are preyed upon in turn by larger, and so 
on upward we find them illustrating the common saying of 
“big: fish eat the little ones.” 
The red snapper is most prominent in these communities. 
li is one of the largest, most active, and handsomest species, 
Its life is spent about the patches of rocks, swimming about 
six feet from the bottom among tall branching corals and 
waving grasses in a luzy, graceful manner, forever on the 
alert to dash upon some reckless smalicr fish. Its whole 
appearance suggests craftiness, smartness, and conceited- 
ness. 
Ordinarily it has about fifty species of beautifully delicate 
fishes to select its food from, and it seems to shuw consider- 
able judgement in the selection. Among these are rare 
fishes that live only about the coral recis of warm seas. 
Even that most celebrated little fish of the Romans—the red 
mullet, that was so highly esteemed by the epicure emperors, 
furnishes an occasional mea] for the red snapper, Jn con- 
sequence of living upon food of this-character, the flesh of 
the red snapper is peculiarly firm and sweet, being disposed 
in regular layers that make it especially desirable for serying 
at the table. 
The red snapper is altogether caught with hook and line. 
Vessels carrying six or eight men go to sea prepared with all 
appliances for capture and preservation, and are about one 
week in securing what is termed a load. ‘They go from 
home as far as 250 miles, being then about fifty miles from 
land. The places where the fish live are tound by sounding- 
lines that indicate the depth known to the fishermen, and 
that have baited hooks attached which are quite sure to get 
a victim if there are fish near by and they are disposed to 
bite. The vessels are anchored over the spot or allowed to 
drift across it, while the fishermen ply their lines as rapidly 
as possible. Each man handles a single line, which has two 
large hooks and several pounds of lead atlached. When the 
fish are hungry they bite as fast as the lines are lowered to 
them and eyen rise near to the surface of the sea in their 
eagerness, biting at bare hooks or anything that is offered. 
From this habit they have gained the name of snappers, 
Very often two large fish are hooked at once, and then the 
fisherman has a hard pull, for the snapper is gamy, While 
it is so easily captured at times, there are spells when it 
cannot be lured by any kind of bait or snare. It is truly a 
capricious fish. 
Storms, adyerse winds and currents, affect the business of 
the fishermen yery much, and at best theirs is a hard, dis- 
agreeable life. 
The principal red snapper fishing grounds of the Gulf lie 
between Mobile Bay and Cedar Key. ‘This places Pensacola 
nearer to them than any other shipping point, and besides 
there is no other city so conveniently located for receiving 
and shipping the catch of the large fleet of vessels that are 
now engaged in the business. 
HOW TO COOK IT, 
Boiled.—Take a fish of five to eight pounds, cut off head, 
wash clean in cold water, tie up tight in a clean cloth so 
that-it will not break to pieces in the water. Put it in 
enough hot water to cover well, with half a cup of vinegar 
and a handful of salt; boil steadily for three-quarters of an 
hour, or until the flesh cleaves readily from the bone. Serye 
with this sauce: 
Take one pint of water, make a flour thickening, stir in 
the water and let it boil till clear. Add salt to season, a 
little pepper, a tablespoonful of butter, and two hard boiled 
eges, sliced. 
Baked with dressing.—Take a fish of five to eight pounds, 
wash it clean in cold water, leave on the head, and in 
removing the entrails, see that no longer cut is made in the 
belly of the fish than is absolutely necessary to clean the 
cavity. Prepare a dressing as follows: Have ready enough 
stale bread to fill the cavity in the head and belly, soften it 
with cold water, take two tablespoonsful of lard in a sauce 
pan, cut finely a medium sized union, put it in the lard and 
cook thoroughly but not too brown, add to this the softened 
bread, mix well together and season to the taste with pepper, 
salt, and herbs; stuff the fish with this dressing and cook in 
a hot oven, having a little hot water in the boltom of the 
pan, dredging the fish with a very little flour, Cook until 
done and serve hot. ; . 
Baked with iomato dressing.—Prepare the dish as before. 
Make a dressing by soaking twice as much bread as above 
directed with the contents of a two-pound can of tomatoes 
or an equivalent quantity of fresh tomatoes, heat if 
thoroughly in a saucepan, season with salf and pepper, 
adding # teaspoonful ef butter, Stuff the fish with this 
dressing; spread the remainder of the dressing over the 
An 
|Ocr. 9, 1884, 
outside of the fish, as it lies in the pan. 
as before directed. 
Broiled in the oven.—Take a fish of three to five pounds, 
split the flesh through the back bone; pul in a dripping pan 
two heaping tablespoonsful of butter, set on the top of the 
Bake in a hot oven 
stove and let the butter get hot; lay in the fish, spread open, 
skin side down, put salt and pepper on it and bake ina very 
hot oven, basting frequently with the butter. After placing 
the fish on a platter for the table, squeeze over it the juice 
of « lemon and serve without delay, : 
Hried,—Cut the fish in pieces off the back bone, wash 
clean and dry with a towel, sprinkle on salt and roll in corn 
meal, Fry in a pan half full of lard as hof as possible, and 
yet not hot enough to burn the fish. 
Court boutllon.—Use «& fish of from five to eight pounds 
weight. Take two teaspoonsful coloring pepper, one half 
teaspoonful black pepper, quarter teaspoonful cayenne 
bepper, two garlic cut in thin slices, put all in a tea cup and 
pour cold water over them, Put in a kettle on the fire half 
a cup of lard, let it get very hit, slice into this a medium 
sized union and let it cook, stirring constantly. Add a half 
a can of tomatoes, or three ripe tomatoes, let it cook well 
together, then put in the fish and the mixture of pepper and 
garlic, sufficient salt to season and a half cup of flour. Stir 
well, then cover with boiling water, and let it boil ten 
minutes. Serve at once. WARREN, 
PENSACOLA, Florida. 
MAINE NOTES. 
HE trouting season in the Maine waters closed rather 
unsatisfactorily to the sportsmen. Sept. 80 was the 
last day—clear and bright—but scarcely a trout was taken, 
from the Androscoggin headwaters at least. At Moosehead 
the fall fishing is reported to haye been poor, as it generally 
is. At the Upper Dam, Androscoggin Lakes, the home of 
the big trout—pure Salmo fontinalis—the last week of the 
season amounted to nothing, though a single Jarge fish was 
taken weighing nine and a half pounds. At one time some 
thirty-five sportsmen were quartered in the now commodious 
Upper Dam camps, but many of them went away in disgust 
with no trout. 
The Union Waterpower Company is rebuilding tbe dam 
and Lake Mooselucmaguntic is drawn down to the old low 
water mark, while below the dam there is yery little running 
water. Such was a very poor outlook for trout fishing, and 
it is likely to continue some months longer. The superinten- 
dent estimates that it will take till May to rebuild the dam, 
all things being favorable, and any disaster or the usual 
petty hindrances of such jobs is likely to prolong the work 
till into June or July, in which case the spring fishing is 
likely to be interfered with at the dam and in the lake above. 
Should the winter prove a dry one, with little rain, Rich- 
ardson Lake, below, will be heavily drawn upon by the 
Waterpower Company,.and since it is now six feet below 
high-water mark the chances are for poor fishing there also. 
But those who took the ponds about the Maine lakes for 
their fall fishing had a tast of trout; but, alas, for the pro- 
clivilies of the sportsmen as well as all the rest of human 
nature! Some of them caught trout to waste—only to brag 
about. How long before every lover of the rod and line will 
begin to see that, at the best, the trout In such ponds and 
streams can last but a short time, and when will each learn 
to he satisfied with trout enough for the table? Sentiment 
in that direction is growing, but ig not the growth so siow as 
to be too late to be effectual? 
- Your correspondent, dear Forms, an» STRmAM, has just 
had a few hours of excellent fly-fishing, Ina smali pond, off 
from Richardson Lake, every day for seyen days just trout 
enough for the table were taken, ‘There were five of us in 
camp, two fishermen and their wives and a lad of thirteen 
years; and four or five trout—such as those were from one to 
two pounds’ weight—were sufficient. One day the trout 
rose grandly. Two were hooked to one leader and the third 
one made a dash for the tail fly—once, twice! In the 
attempt io strike him the leader—a poor one, as it proved— 
parted aboye the first fish, and away went the two yoked 
together, and the third one following that tail fly. Did he 
hook himself upon it? Have those poor trout got apart yet? 
Questions not yet answered, but trout do get clear of hooks. 
ln the same pond on the same day a two-pound trout rose 
and was hooked to the upper fly of three on the cast, He 
was within ten feet of some lily pads, Playing a moment 
against the pliant rod, he made for the lily pads, and soon, 
either accidentally or purposely on the trout’s part, he was 
fast to the lily stocks with a cluster of them in his mouth, 
The boat was worked up to him, when, with a vigorous 
thrust of the landing net, the lily stocks were broken, and 
with irout and all brought into the boat. The lily stocks 
had completely dislodged the hook from the trout’s mouth, 
and he was held only by being entangled in the lower flies 
with the lily stocks drawn through his mouth, Do trout 
disgorge hooks by swimming against obstructions in the 
water? 
There was another incident connected with that day’s 
fishing, There was another boat on the pond with three 
men in it. They fished all day long. Their movements 
showed that they were taking trout very fast. Their con- 
versation showed that they had taken a bushel box full, and 
some were in the bottom of the boat at 8 o’clock, but still 
they fished till almost dark. How many such hauls are 
there left in that pond? How long before trout will have 
disappeared from its waters if such indiscriminate fishing is 
to be indulged in? In that one box there was reasonable 
sport enough for a whole season for eyery sportsman who 
will visit that pond next year. It was just as unreasonable 
for those men to take them all that day as it would be fora 
farmer io kill all of his sheepin one hour when he only 
wanted one for food. Four or five of those trout would 
have been all those men could have caten at one meal. The 
rest went where? SPECIAL, 
A Drapwoop ExcHAnce repsrts: “The fishing party 
composed of Mr. afd Mrs. Capt. Austin, Mr, and Mrs. J, 
W. Hill, Mrs. La Rue, Miss Emmett, Miss Marie Dold, John 
Dold, 0. L. Houghton, John Friedsam and James Stoueroad 
got home from Mora last night. Houghton came very near 
killing several of the party by cutting down a tree for wood 
and felling it across the tent, Friedsam was considered the 
best fisherman, as he furnished the most money. Jim Stone- 
road was the laziest man, and was fatally wounded by run- 
ning a splinter the sixteenth part of an ineh into his finger. 
The ladies dressed it, and if is barely possible that he will 
recover. An old genleman named Fruchas and a young 
fellow called Garcia, caught the fish at 65 and 35 cents per 
day. The ladics express themselves as having had a good 
time, and every ove of theimen fabricated about the fish they 
bought. They were gone four days.” 
