=< tt 
aa . 
Ocr, 16, 1884.] FOREST AND STREAM. 
228 
the second link I attach link No. 1, and the second gang of 
hooks, The gangs are so arranged that the central hooks 
are in line, and the loops secured by lapping and soldering. 
Ilengthen the snood by adding three more six-inch links. 
By this arrangement I secure two gangs of hooks, anda wire 
pounds, will take an artificial fly and the fly-fisher can be sur- 
feited with sport For successful bass fishing hooks are an 
important consideration. My triend P., who isa noted bass 
fisher with a hand line, uses Abbey & Imbrie’s cod hook 
No, 4,001; 10-0 Limerick, or 10-0 O’Shaughnessy will 
blame for it all? Surely not the poor fellows who bear the 
burdens altogether.” 
At this juncture the Judge spied a hemlock sapling and at 
ouce landed the boat, when he and Brother Scott went ashore 
and supplied themselves each with an armful of boughs for 
the night's bed. Returning to the boat they pursued their 
way, keeping a sharp lookout for a suitable camping ground, 
Everywhere, however,the low, level, farn-covered, tree-shaded 
bottom land extended, and while it was evident they could 
camp at any place, no place presented a desirable spot. 
The approach of night, however, putean end to their further 
searching, and going ashore at a point no more nor legs invit- 
ing than any other they had passed, they erected their tent 
among the tall ferns and soon had a blazing camp-fire before 
its open door. 
To some the mere mention of these ferns might convey an 
altogether erroneous impression of the camping site and its 
surroundings, A camp ina fern garden suggests the roman- 
tic. The fern belongs to an ancient and aristocratic family 
in the vegetable kingdom. The blucst of blue blood runs in 
its veins. During those grand old carboniferous days, when 
the saurian stood at the head of the animal kingdom, the 
fern grew into a sizable tree. In this cooler age of ours, 
however, it has fallen from its high estate so far that scien- 
tists speak of it as a survival, as if that meant something. 
But the fern maintains its claims to aristocratic distinction 
in spite of the scientific men and their name. It represents 
the most delicate and beautiful of the non-flowering plants 
of the world, and, what is more to the purpose, with a lofty 
and untamable spirit, it is a true child of nature and refuses 
to flourish in civilized gardens but waves its modest fronds 
only in the twilight shadows of the woods. 
Yet the ferns that challenge admiration for their beauty 
do not riot on the dank bottoms of the Fox. Those are 
coarse of stem and Jeaf and mount upward asif they fain 
would become trees, They are the ‘‘ragged Reubens” of the 
great fern family, and in the evenings exhale an odor which 
reminds oné of the smell from an overheated plow horse, 
which, of all other smells save one, Brother Scott eould 
least endure. His quick nostrils soon caught the scent and 
his gastric department, true to its traditions, at once raised 
the standard of rebellion, A preternatural paleness over- 
ay his countenance and a dropping of the lower jaw fol- 
owed. 
“Ts there anything that would neutralize the smell of these 
ferns?” feebly and dolefuliy asked he. 
“Yes,” said the Judge, “I think a good whiff from a pole 
cat would do it.” 
“Oh! A.h-h! U-g-h-h,” was Brother Scott’s only response.as 
he slowly shook his head. 
The heat engendered by the maplewood fire soon drove 
the offensive odors away, and by the time the tea was steeped 
and a rasher of bacon broiled, Brother Scott was ready for 
his share. 
That night was the coldest of the summer, Ere the camp- 
ers had turned into bed, the clouds had disappeared and a 
full moon was sending its long and silvery shafts of light 
through the rifts in the trees. On the potato fields and on 
the vine and corn patches of the region between the lakes, 
the hoar frost hung in heayy rime when the light dawned the 
next morning. 
During that night, the lowering temperature drove the 
Judge from his bed, and outinto the forest he went sith ax, 
and by the light of the-moon he cut and carried in wood with 
which to feed the fire till morning; and warmed by the 
genial heat of their after-midnight fire, the campers slept 
their sweetest, soundest and most refreshing sleep. 
FLORIDA AGAIN--II. 
[* my last I spun a long yarn about sheepshead, and I am 
of the opinion that I shall repeat the method as regards 
other fish. Adepts at fishing in the North are at sea when 
they reach Florida, hence I refer to little things that may 
appear unnecessary; but I have found that success in fishing 
offitimes depends on little things. 
CHANNEL Bass, Rep Drum (Seiene ocillata).—This noble 
- game fish can be captured on any of the rivers, bays, passes 
and lagoons of the castern or western coast, aud range from 
five to thirty pounds. They enter many of the inlets on the 
young flood, and with cut fish baitand a hand line they can 
be captured until the arms ache, They are good biters and 
will fight with a vim that will astonish the uninitiated. I 
well remember the first large channel bass I captured with a 
rod and reel. Ihad two large reels, one containing a good 
line and the other a poor one, and since that time I have not 
used a rotten line. In my haste I picked up the wrong reel. 
I made a cast, hooked a heavy fish, and realized the fact 
that the defective line had to be treated gingerly, For- 
tunately, the negro boy in my boat was a good rower, and I 
was forced to follow that fish hither and thither for a time 
that appeared tome a week. During the summer months 
bass in immense numbers and of large size enter the St. 
Johns River, but leaye in October. In this stream they are 
bottom feeders and confine themselves to deep water. On 
the southwest coast they feed in shallow water. On many 
occasions I have seen very Jarge ones swimming over sand 
bars in which the depth of water would scarcely hide their 
back fins. On the Indian River and on the southwest coast 
they greedily appropriate a spinner, and excellent sport can 
be obtained at any of the passes by trolling with rod and 
reel near the beach on the flood time. For large bass I use 
Hill’s spoon bait, No. 8. Spinners as usually made are 
too light and weak for the capture of these fighters. The 
treble hooks attached are soon broken or straightened, In 
compliance with my instructions L. L. Hill & Co., of Grand 
Rapids, Mich,, made for me some baits of extra length to 
which they attached yery strong and large-sized, double 
hooks, and I can only say that they have supplied a want, 
H. & Co, make two styles—ordinary and others suited to our 
fishing. Several years since James, of Brooklyn, manufac- 
tured a spoon bait that for strength and quality of hooks 
could not be excelled, but they lacked revolving properties 
aud were uselesss. I suggested an improvement which was 
not adopied. Cut millet bait is excellent for these fish, but 
itis frequently appropriated by sharks and stingarees and loss 
of temper and tackle is the result. Hard backed crabs make an 
attractive bait, and by using them sharks will seldom take 
it. iremoye back shell and nippers: cut the crab in two or 
four pieces. In baiting I pass the hook from the inside and 
allow the point to emerge at the junction of a leg with the 
body. For years I removed the legs but of late I allow 
them to remain, and I fancy that the bait is rendered more 
attractive. With minnows for bait and a Henshall rod, 
grand sport can be enjoyed by casting along the edge of 
Mangrove islands, weeds and grass, for small bass varying 
Tom two to six pounds. Small channel bass, say under five 
answer an excellent purpose. 
hooks,” No.3, sold by Shipley & Son, No, 5 Commerce street, 
Philadelphia, 
fore they can be brought to gaff, needle-eyed hooks with a 
few inches of piano wire should be used. In some instances 
bass swallow the hook and the continued friction will fray 
and weaken the snood unless wire is used. For hand-line 
fishing for large bass in a strong’ tideway I use seventy-one 
thread laid cottoA line, costing about forty cents per pound. 
I prepare snoods about two feet long, and soak 
them in shellac varnish for twenty-four hours. At 
the end of thistime I stretch them and with a rag remove 
the extra varnish, After they have dried J attach the hooks. 
The yarnish will prevent the snoods from twisting, and 
impart a brownish tint, thereby lulling the suspicions of the 
fish. JI attach the snood to the line about four inches above 
the sinker, and in consequence can feel the least nibble. At 
times bass seize the bait with a rush, and at others they 
nibble like a small catfish. When they adopt the nibbling 
process the bait must be kept in motion by raising and low- 
ering the sinker. For successful bass fishing with a rod the 
fisherman should be provided with a reel carrying 200 yards 
of 18 or 21 thread Cuttyhunk line. I have used with satis- 
factory results lines supplied me by Kreider, Conroy and 
Abbey & Imbrie, Recently I have received from the latter 
an 18-thread undyed line, and in use found it Al. TFisher- 
men are ofttimes annoyed by the kinking of twisted lines, 
but this difficulty is easily removed. Before using I soak 
the line for twelve hours in cold water and dry it. I pass 
one end around a post or tree and wind it ona stick. This 
is repeated several times, and the extra twist is removed and 
kinking prevented. To save thumbs and fingers and to 
avoid the use of thumb-stalls, | have attached to the first 
pillar of the reel, aboye reel-plate, a piece of harness leather 
nearly as wide as the spool and about two inches in length. 
With this appendage pressure can be applied by the thumb 
and regulated according to the size and movements of the 
fish, A powerful rod is a necessity for large bass fishing, 
for independent of the fighting and staying qualities of the 
fish the fisherman will occasionally hook a shark or large 
stingaree, requiring strength inarod, Chubb, of Post Mills, 
Vt., made a bass rod for me which pleased me much. It 
was nine feet long, first joint ash and second and third 
lancewood. B. F. Nichols, of Boston, constructed a tarpon 
rod for me in accordance with my suggestions. The first 
joint is lancewood, two feet eight inches‘long. The second 
joint is made of six strips of bamboo and measures six feet 
two inches. I have tested it in bass fishing, and haye found 
nothing to equal it for controlling the rushes of a Jarge bass 
inastrong tideway. Although powerful, it is sufficiently 
elastic for the capture of eyen medium-sized fish, 
CavVALLU, CREVALLE (Caranz pisquetas).—This gamy fish 
is very plentiful on the eastern and western coasts, and fur- 
nishes excellent sport for those who fish with the fly or 
spoon, Their average size is from two to six pounds, but at 
some points they will be captured turning the scale at twenty 
pounds. They can be found in salt and fresh water, and 
make a noble fight for liberty. They will not reject a cut 
fish bait or minnow, but seem to prefer a gaudy ily ora 
small glittering spoon bait. A noted place for these fish is 
the Caloosahatchie River, above the islands. On one occa- 
sion I was descending this stream and commenced trolling 
with a No. 1 Buell spizner, and I hooked there fish Wweigh- 
ing from six to twelye pounds as rapidly as I could throw 
my bait astern. To the fly-fisher, cavallii offer a source of 
amusement perhaps unequalled; and to the minnow-fisher 
with a Henshall rod, a free fight can be enjoyed at almost 
any point. 
TARPON, SILVER Kina (Megallops trissoides).—Until re- 
cently the tarpon has not attracted attention as a game fish, 
The habitat of this ‘noblest Roman of them all’ is from 
Texas to the St. Johns River. Annually, in May and June, 
thousands of them visit the St. Johns River and depart for 
the southern portion of the State in October. During the 
past summer a number of these aqueous acrobats have been 
hooked in this section, but none landed. I had made all 
preparations for their capture during the summer, but sick- 
ness in family preyented me from engaging in the under- 
taking. In the Si. Johns River these fish, as a rule, come in 
with the tide and leave with the ebb. On the southwest 
coast they remain in the streams, and are frequently found 
in fresh water. In the streams of the southern portion of 
the State broad, shallow flats will be found covered with 
grass and marine or fresh-water alge at least one foot high, 
The tarpon make their way in these grassy flats to a point 
where the water is barely deep enough to cover their bodies. 
If disturbed by a passing boat they will rush with lightning- 
like speed for deep water. When fishing for bass with cut 
mullet bait it is a common thing for our fishermen to obtain 
tarpon bites, but by one means or another they escape. To 
my knowledge three of them have been hooked on spinners, 
and two small ones under forty-pound weight landed. Hill 
& Co, made me a spinner for tarpon fishing, but I haye not 
had an opportunity of testing it, Last winter the Rey. Mr. 
Prime hooked two on artificial flies at Tampa, but his eight- 
ounce split bamboo rod was too frail an implement for their 
capture. On the Homosassa River my friend, Dr. Fisher, 
hooked two on minnows, but he was very soon minus 
leaders. During the summer of *88, Mr. H. M. Preer, of 
this city, captured two with whole mullet for bait: one 
weighed 125 and the other 198 pounds. Asa general rule, 
these fish range from 100 to 200 pounds, and from six 
to seven feet in length, Their mouths are large and as 
firm and tough as guttapercha, hence a_ single 
hook is nowhere inside of their capacious jaws, 
Such being the character of their open countenances, 
a fisherman is justified in using any description of tackle for 
their capture. After numerous experiments, I have con- 
structed a tackle that will hook and lund them, I take three 
codfish hooks, No. 2-0 of Abbey & Imbrie’s catalogue. Ifile 
the rings off two of the hooks and solder them to the shank 
of the third, and place the two so that the points will be at 
aright angle with the ringed hook. I take a piece of brass 
wire the size of the wire of No. 4,000 cod hook, and form a 
loop at each end so that the link will be five inches in length. 
One loop is passed through the ring of the hook, and the 
ends of the wire lapped with copper wire and soldered. I 
prepare three other hooks in a similar manner, and make 
another link of brass wire six incheslong. To one end of 
For years I have used 
“extra fine cast steel, filed, taper-pointed, Virginia fish 
For temper and metal these hooks cannot be 
excelled, and I recommend them in the highest terms. For 
rod and reel fishing, where large fish must be exhausted be- 
snood about two feet jong, To bait the tackle, I take a 
mullet about fourteen inches long and split it from head to 
tail. The two central hooks are passed through the bait 
from the cut side, and with a sail needle and strong linen 
thread I securely fasten the bait to the gangs as well as the 
wire. By this arrangement the hooks which pass through 
the bait are to a great extent hidden, and the other four 
hooks are in close contact with the cut surface of the bait, 
their points merely projecting oneach side, Hooks arranged 
in this way are dangerous if meddled with, and will hook a 
tarpon. Fora float I take a tomatoe can, solder a piece of 
tin on its top to keep it air-tight, and to one end attach a 
loop of brass wire, to which I fasten the line. For a line I 
use nine hundred feet of seventy-one thread cotton line, The 
tackle I have constructed for rod fishing is similarly arranged, 
ee use the strongest piano wire and 10-0 O’Shaughnessy 
ooks. 
To those who are disposed to engage in gigantic fishing; 
capture an aqueous acrobat, control a streak of greased light- 
ning and experience a new revelation, let them engage in 
tarpon fishing. This description of sport is new, but we are 
convinced that the time is not far distant when it will be in- 
dulged in by the many. As the supply of these fish is inex- 
haustible, and as they cannot be captured in nets, the sport 
will last for an indefinite period. If each person who en- 
gages in it will publish his experience, the bait, and tackle 
used, coupled with successes and failures, something definite 
will be arrived at, and the capture of the silyer king rendered 
a success. If afisherman is so lucky as to lance a tarpon, 
he will cease to discuss the capture of the bronze-backers, the 
speckled beauties, the striped bass or the lordly salmon. In 
my Opinion, no fish on this continent can equal the tarpon 
for Peat, acrobatic performances and lightning-like rushes. 
Last February a friend spent six days at Tarpon Spring, and 
he informed me that daily gentlemen would proceed to the 
spring, make a cast, secure a bite followed by the appearance 
of five or six lineal feet of silver sheen in the air; a lightning- 
like rush and the departure of tackle for parts where the sea- 
weed twineth, The tarpon is destined to be the game fish of 
the U. S., and all that is necessary to insure his capture is 
for each fisherman to publish his successes as well as failures. 
At p. 178 of his recent work on Florida, Dr. Henshall states 
that in “‘sailing down Biscayne Bay, I took a number of 
tarpon;” but he neglects to refer to bait and tackle used. 
This is to be regretted, forhis experience would prove of 
benefit to others. I trust the Doctor will speak out in meet- 
ing and tell all how he ‘‘took a number of tarpon.” 
JACKSONVILLE, Fla, Oct. 3. At E’REsco, 
glatuyal History. 
AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ 
[CONTINUED FROM LAST ISSUE, | 
a RSS report of the Committee on Bird Migration was pre- 
sented by the chairman, Dr. C, Hart Merriam. Dr, 
Merriam stated that a circular had been issued, setting forth 
the objects and methods of the committee, specifying the 
division of the territory of the United States and British 
North America into thirteen districts (each of which had 
been placed in charge of a competent superintendent), and 
supplying instructions to observers concerning the data 
desired—which were classed under the heads of Ornitholo- _ 
gical, Meteorological, and Contemporary and Correlative 
Phenomena, 
In order to secure a large number of observers, the chair- 
man had written to the editors of eight hundred newspapers, 
asking themsto call attention to the work of the committee, 
and to state that more observers were desired, The several 
superintendents had also written toa larze number of papers, 
—just how many, the chairman was not aware, The press 
very kindly gave the matter the prominence its importance 
deserved, and abstracts of the circulars, amounting in some 
cases to an actual reprint, and usually coupled with editorial 
comment, were published in several hundred newspapers. 
This resulted in the receipt, by the committee, of upward of 
three thousand applications for circulars of information and 
instruction, In all, nearly six thousand eirculars were dis- 
tributed. By this means the committee finally secured 
nearly seven hundred observers in addition to the keepers of 
lights. The observers are distributed as follows: Missis- 
sippi Valley district, Prof. W. W. Cooke, Superintendent, 170; 
New England district, John H. Sage, Superintendent, 142; 
Atlantic district, Dr. A. K. Fisher, Superintendent, 121; 
Middle-Eastern district, Dr. J. M, Wheaton, Superintendent, 
90; Quebec and the Maritime Provinces, Montague Cham- 
berlain, Superintendent, 56; District of Ontario, Thomas 
Mcllwraith, Superintendent, 38; Pacific district, L. Belding, 
Superintendent, 80; Rocky Mountain district, Dr. Edgar A. 
Mearns, Superintendent, 14; Manitoba, Prof. W. W. Cooke, 
Superintendent, 10; British Columbia, John Fannin, Super- 
intendent, 5; Northwest Territories, Hrnest E. T. Seton, 
Superintendent, 5; Newfoundland, James P. Howley, 
Superintendent (returns not yetreceived). Migration stations 
now exist in every State and Territory of the Union except- 
ing Delaware and Nevada. 
The committee was fortunate in obtaining the co-operation 
of the Department of Marine and Fisheries of Oanada and 
of the Lighthouse Board of the United States. By this 
means it secured the free distribution of upward of twelve 
hundred sets of schedules and circulars to the keepers of 
lighthouses, lightships and beacons in the United States and 
British North America. 
The returns thus far received from observers were exceed- 
ingly voluminous and of great yalue. They were so exten- 
sive, indeed, that it was utterly impossible for the committee 
to elaborate them without considerable pecuniary aid. 
In order to shew the Union the character and extent of 
the labors of the committee, the chairman had requested the 
superintendents of all districts east of the Rocky Mountains 
to prepare reports upon five common, well-known and widely 
distributed birds, to wit: The robin (Merula migratoria), 
catbird (Mimus carolinensis), Baltimore oriole (Jcterws gal 
bula), purple martin (Progne subis) and uighthawk (Chor- 
detles popetue). This had been done, and the reports received 
were presented for examination. The chairman directed 
special attention to those prepared by Dr, J. M. Wheaton 
and Dr. A. K. Fisher as examples of tabulated returns, and 
to that received from Prof. W, W, Cooke as an example of 
the generalization of results. 
UNION. 
