FOREST AND STREAM, 



[Am. 13, 1885. 



each side made their yearly pilgrimages to the streams in 

 April and May to secure their fish food for the ensuing sum- 

 mer, where they could piirchase the run or catch at an aver- 

 of $V.i per hundred, orattherate of about three cents apoimd. 

 In those early days thej' would ttock to the riverside waiting 

 for the drawing of the seine, and on the banks of the stream 

 clean and salt down one, two or three barrels, aa mighf be re- 

 quired for the summer supply for their families. 



"That is what is aimed at now, but to accomplish it there 

 must be taken into consideration the increased demand on 

 account of increased population ; must cousidei- t he numerous 

 obstructions plaecd in the streams in the shape of dams, iish- 

 baskets and othor contrivances, must examine tbe conditions 

 of tlie water at that early day, romi)are them with those of 

 this dat^, and see if it i.s not possible to accomphsh the desu'ed 

 object, 



•There were then, comparatively speaking, but few inhabi- 

 tants along the i-ivers, and foi- that reason the demands for 

 shad were limited. Now, being thickly settled, the demand 

 would of t'ora-se be very much gi-eater. Can an increase in 

 numbers be guaranteed? if so, how can it l)e attained? We 

 must look at tlie obstructions, if any, and to the mai'ch of the 

 fish from the sea, and ascertain what trouble confronted those 

 in their migrations from the salt water to the headwatere of 

 the riA-ers, where they deposited their spawn. 



"It can etisily be demonstrated that there was no general in- 

 crease of shad when they spawned and T^heu- eggs were 

 hatched in the general waj . Granting that each female shad 

 deposited her 100,000 eggs, it does seem strange that out of 

 that great number a large i-etum was not made each year. 

 Some years the catch was greater than others; but that could 

 be accVnmted for by the favorable condition of the water at 

 the time of the deposition of the eggs by the female, whilp at 

 others muddy, swollen waters prevented the eggs from matur- 

 ing. This, with the enemies which preyed on the deposit, 

 regulated the numbers to be returned. 



"When it is, said that if the two parent fish — the female with 

 her 100,000 eggs— will not produce more than their original 

 mimber to be returned from salt water, it seems preposterous: 

 but for a moment consider this fact: Suppose that a pair ol 

 fish slTOiild produce and return to the stream of their birth 

 three fishes instead of the original number, two, the increase 

 •would be .50 per cent. Stai-ting with 1,000,000, in ten years 

 the number, iuci-easing in the above ratio, would reach 37,000,- 

 000. Now. by a wise provision of nature, this increase was 

 prevented, as the waters of the streams would not maintain 

 such an iiicrement. In order to bring about a return of those 

 pro.-:peroup fish days, what, then, is needful to be done? How 

 are the desired results to be .accomplished, or, if we cannot 

 restore tlie former bountiful fertility of the rivei-s, what must 

 be done to secure a reasonable approxi niatiou to it? 



"Fii-st— Obstructions must be removed and tishways built, 

 so that the p.assage of the shad from the sea to the spawning 

 grounds will not be inteiTupted or interfered with. Can this 

 be done'. Can a successful fishwav be erected— one that will 

 fully cari-y out this idea? If it caii, the Legislature should not 

 hesitate one moment to appropriate sufficient funds for the 

 purpose. 



"Second — Concun-ent legislation with Maryland to secure 

 for Pennsylvania a chance to liarvest the croi> she sows — mak- 

 ing a close time from sum-ise ou 8aturday moruiug of each 

 week uutU sum-ise of the following Mondaj-^ — prohibiting iish- 

 ing for shad with any device that will in any wiiy prevent the 

 fish from passrug up to oim State Une. ' 



"Third — To plant in the headwatei"s of our principal rivers, 

 young shad by the miUion; they to be permitted to migrate to 

 the sea without having their p.assage interfered with by flsh- 

 baskets or other desti'uctive devices. 



"Artilicial propagation is no longer a matter of experiment. 

 It is an assured success. Full ninety per cent, of the eggs 

 taken from the female shad can be hatched, and the young 

 fry xJlaced in the water in less than four days. Now this 100,- 

 000 of eggs will produce 'dO.mt) young fish, and out of that vast 

 finny army, a very large number may reasonably be expected 

 to i Gtui'n in the spawning grounds. By aitificial propagation, 

 a .-npjjly equal to the demand can be furnished, and thus, as 

 has been .^hovvn, more than make up for the tucrfjase of popu- 

 lation and enlarged consumiition. 



"The result.-; cannot fail to be of great benefit to our people, 

 and to the general ])rosperity. With such rivers as the Dela- 

 ware and Susquelianna, vrhose tributaries peimeate every 

 part of the State east of the Alleghenies, this supply of cheap 

 and wholesome tish food can be brought to the door of every 

 house, 



"Taking anotlier view of it, let us now for a moment con- 

 sider the dollar-and-oent advantage to be derived from a re- 

 storation of the original shad fertility of oiu- rivers. Take, as 

 an Ulustration, the cit.y of Harrisburg, with its 30,000 inhabit- 

 ants, representing saj- .T.OdO families. Suppose beef to be 

 fifteen cents a pound, a plentiful abundance of fish food at the 

 doors would compel a reduction in the price of beef, and the 

 consumption of beef being estimated at only one pound per 

 day foi- each family, there would be a saving of $50 per day, 

 or alnnut §18,000 a year. But sxippose that instead of beef, tlie 

 5,0{)0 families would use li.sh for one-half of the year, .at a cost 

 of five cents a pound, the saving woidd be $90,000 annually to 

 that city. This economy would apply not only to the city of 

 Harrisburg, but to the poiiulation living within a distance of 

 thirty miles on each side ol' tlie Delaware and Susquehanna 

 rivers. A careful estimate of the total saving W' <:)uld, there is 

 eveiw reason to believe, amount to $1,000,000 amiually. In- 

 stead of impoif ing- cattle from the W'est, and sending vast 

 sums of mouey out of tiie iState to pay for them, fish food 

 shoLdd be fiii-riLshod tor the peoiile, and that money be re- 

 tained for other purposes. 



■'The abaodonment of the canals is, in my opinion, only a 

 question of a few years. With their disuse will follow the re- 

 inoval of the other principal obstructions in the Susquehanna. 



"1 suggest that in lieu of the present lishway at Columbia 

 some other he adopted that will lie ceitain t<i bidng about sat- 

 isfactory re.sidts. It i.s, in my opinion, a matter of vital im- 

 portance to adopt such measures as will sei've to I'e-establish 

 the fish productuius of our principal streams, at least as far as 

 shad are coneerned. They ai-e, undoubtedly, the most valu- 

 able indigenous tish we have. To permit theui to become ex- 

 tinct would be almost criminal, l;>nt that such will be the re- 

 sult, unless remedial measures are. speedily adopted, is as in- 

 evitable as that nigiiL will follow day." 



THE OYSTER BEDS OF NEW YORK. 



iRead before the American Fisheries Society.] 



BY BUGENB G. BIjAOKFORD. 



DURING the past year an investigation has been in progress 

 til the State of New Yoj-k, under my chai-ge, for the 

 purpose of ascertaining the aetual condition of the oy.ster 

 "areas of the State, and to gain some general knowledge of the 

 oyster industiy as carried on in oiu' waters. 



This work was begun on the supposition that there was 

 danger of a fadm-e in our oyster supphes in the near future, 

 tmless some steps wei-e taken toward remedying certain prac- 

 tices and evils which were thought to be detiimental to the 

 success and continuance of the industry. Thus far only a_ por- 

 tion of the oy.'^ter toriitory of tfie State has been examined, 

 and that only superiicially, yet the examination has been sat- 

 licient to establisli two points, one of wluch shows (conclusively 

 t.hc need of such an in vestigatiion and the otiier that there is 

 no danger of a failure in the sujiply of these mollusks for our 

 markets. These tw^o points are, first, that the natural oyster 

 areas of the State are in bad couditioii and very much less in 

 extent than they vi'ere a, scoi e or more of years ago, and 

 second, tluit tlie loss in tlie natural areas has been much more 

 ■(iha.a luade up in U>m lonaatioh of ptooted beds, some of 



which occupy the localities of natural areas which have 

 been exhausted of their natural supphes, and have been 

 repopulated by artificial means, and some of which have 

 been formed on teiTitory that never was nattB-al oyster 

 ground, and by reason of this increase in the amount 

 of territoi-y upon which oysters are grown a great 

 many more oysters are now sent into market each year than 

 were thus shipped some few years ago. This is true to 

 a veiy large extent of all the oyster regions of our State, the 

 natural areas have been worked untU, in many instances, they 

 have been entirely depleted, and in aU cases very much les- 

 sened in productiveness; and then the planters have appro- 

 priated the exhausted lands for planting purposes, and ex- 

 tended the planted areas outside of the old bed limits, but 

 some of the oyster regions show much greater changes in this 

 direction than the others. This is perhaps more noted in the 

 neighborhoods of Staten Island and City Island than else- 

 where, since these regions are not only close to om- great met- 

 ropolitan markets and therefore can be drawn upon at short 

 notice, but they have suffered more than the others fi'om the 

 direct action of the refuse materials thrown into the waters 

 from the cities of New York, Brooklyn, Jersey City and their 

 suburbs. This has been a source of great injury, and whei-e 

 formerly many oysters were obtained from along the shores 

 of the Lower Bay, around the northern end of Staten Island 

 and along the East River, now there are none to be got, or if 

 any can be secured they are so contaminated with the acids 

 and filth of the waters that they are of no value as food. This 

 is an evil which can only lie remedied by careful and consist- 

 ent legislation regarding the sewerage of the great cities and 

 the disposal of wafste mattei"s. 



In the neighborhood of City Island there were formerly 

 many large tracts of natural oyster beds, from whence great 

 quantities of fine oysters were obtained ; but as there were no 

 stringent regulations in regard to the working of the beds or 

 the protection of the oystei-s during the breeding season, and 

 no system of guarding the beds, they were gradually despoiled 

 and their places taken by the planted areas ; and the same 

 may be said as regards the lower portions of Staten Island, 

 and in fact, of all portions of our State. To a certain extent, 

 this is an advantage to the oyster industry of the State, and to 

 a certain extent it is a disadvantage. By having these lands 

 brought under the direct influence of individual oystermen. 

 that is, by transforming them from public into private prop- 

 erty, they can be better protected than when open to every 

 one, as each individual planter will feel more of an interest in 



fuarding his own land than in guarding the land of the public 

 omain, and they can accordingly be worked in a manner to 

 promote the welfare and continuance of the bed, rather than 

 in such a manner as to exhaust it as quickly as possible. 



It is on the principle, of course, that business, in order to be 

 successful, must be personal to those engaged in it, and while 

 this may be largely true as regards the oyster property of the 

 State, yet if the beds are permitted to become exhausted in 

 this manner and then to be taken up as thej^ have been in the 

 past, by Jiny one who desires to appropriate this kind of 

 property, it will cut off a great number of people from obtain- 

 ing seed oysters, and furnish private property to a gi'eater or 

 less number of individuals, without any recompense being 

 given even to the State or to those deprived of the privilege of 

 gathering oysters from pubUo beds. It would seem as if it 

 would be better to guard the public beds, and preserve them 

 as seed grounds, and encourage the planters to appropriate 

 land for artificial cultivation that is not suitable for natural 

 growth, enacting suitable laws for the protection and guard- 

 ing of the natural areas, and for the pei-petuity and protection 

 of the plantmg industry. Many of the oystermen feel at the 

 present time that there is no certainty, from the present con- 

 dition of the laws, that they will ever gain anything from any 

 improvements they may make,or for any expense that they may 

 be to in fitting up territory wliich is not now natm-al bottom , but 

 which might be rendered excellent for plants, and so they 

 do not enter into the work as heartily as they otherwise might 

 do. And in view of the chaotic state of the laws in general, 

 and the peculiar way in which many of them are carried out, 

 it is somewhat to be wondered at that so much has lieeu ac- 

 comphshed in the direction of artificial culture as has been 

 done. The po.ssibilities in this direction are well "illustrated 

 in Jamaica and Hempstead bays upon the south shore of Long 

 Island. In the towns bordering upon these bays laws have 

 been enacted, under authority from the State, whereby any 

 resident can appropriate three acres or less of land under 

 water, for the purpose of oyster cultivation, and the occupant 

 is protected in his rights and titles to such land so long as he 

 works the land and pays the rent upon it. The land under 

 water thus becomes practically tlie same as the land above 

 water, a permanent property of the planter, and is worked 

 just as upland is, to preserve it and yet get as much out of it as 

 possible. The consequence is that where a few years agc» only 

 a few oysters were raised for market, to-day the industry 

 represents hundreds of thousands of doUare annually, and can 

 be yet greatly increased by the employment of new methods 

 of getting seed and caring for the growing stock. As it is it 

 represents the most active and progressive oy-ster center in 

 our waters. 



One great difference between this and other oyster regions 

 is, that here they recognize the value of a thorough working 

 of a small amount of territory, while in other localities the 

 oystermen generally try to get and hold all the territory they 

 can, without any particular regard to how well such territoiy 

 is worked. Some of the other regions are following to a cer- 

 tain extent in the footsteps of the planters of Jamaica and 

 Hempstead bays, and just in this proportion are they meeting 

 with success. While the industr^'^ in the State is, as a whole, 

 in fair condition, so far as regards the number of oysters sent 

 to market, the number being, perhaps, three or four times 

 what it was fifteen years or so ago, it is not what it ought to 

 be or may become, and the future supphes will depend largely 

 upon the care with which the oystermen gu.ard the present 

 seed beds and work their planted territory. The possibihties 

 are great, provided advantage is taken of all improved methods 

 of culture and some desu'e is shown to perpetuate rather than 

 destroy the natural areas. 



It is to be hoped that the oystermen will cordially co-operate 

 in the work now in progress, and that by means of judicious 

 legislation the natiu'al beds may be preserved and protected 

 and the industry stimulated and permanency given to it in 

 our waters. 



Fulton Market, New York. 



THE PIgHWAYS ON THE OSWEGO.— This spring, when 

 the distribution of salmon fry was made by the U. S. Fish 

 Commission from Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y., some were placed 

 m the Oswego River, and the Superintendent of the hatchery 

 was requested to have the messenger who took up the fish, 

 make an exammation of the condition of the fishways. He 

 did so, and we are permitted to pubhsh his report, from which 

 it woidd seem that it should be the buf-tuess of some one to 

 attend to their working. It seems that fish go up when 

 there is water enough to permit them, but that the flow has 

 been stopped. We give the report in full: "Fred Mathbb, 

 Esq., Superintendent of Hatchery. Sir: As desired by you, I 

 jjersonally inspected the four fishways in the Oswego River 

 between Fulton and Oswego, and found that they all need 

 more or less attention. They are very dirty, the pockets being 

 full of dirt and drift, while at the head of each there has col- 

 lected a ton or more of sticks of all sizes and shapes, which, 

 with the grass and roots that have been forced among them 

 by the strong current, makes a network that wotdd be very 

 difficult for any fish to pass, let their jom-ney be up or down. 

 The one near Oswego is of no use in its present condition: it 

 htus a bulkhead built across the top that entirely shuts off the 

 water. TJiis was built by the men on the State boat, which 

 repaire the mn%l, Jn regard to working of fishways I could • 



learn but httle. No one appeared to take any interest in them. 

 At Mentto a Mr. Doe caught on May .3, 1885" a 'white mullet' 

 IMoxostoma ri, the first ever taken at that place. The fish 

 would have to pass three fishways to get there. A. H. Leonard, 

 of Gaurdlock, says that he has seen lake shad, pickerel and 

 rockbass go both up and down the fishway at that place; saw 

 in spring of 1884, thirty or forty lake shad go up in one day, 

 and on May 1.'5, 1885, saw three try to get up, taut lack of water 

 prevented. The fishway at Mentto has too great a flow 1 

 think to be successful. The water rushes down it with terrible 

 force, flowing over the side a tremendous stream, in fact there 

 is little difference between fishway and dam. In conclusion 1 

 would say, judging from present condition of the fishways,. 

 that it is necessary that some one shoidd be sent at least twice 

 a year to look after and clean the same. If this is not done 1 

 have doubts of their success.— F. A. Walters." 



Address all comnmnications to the Forest and Stream Fxihlish- 

 ing Co. 



FIXTURES. 



BTlINCH SHOWS. 



Sept. S8, 23, 34 and 35.— Doj? Show of the Milwaukee Exposition As- 

 sociation. John D. Olcott, Superintendent, Milwaukee, Wis. 



Sept. 29, 80 and Oct, 1, 2.— Thu-d Annual T»og Show of the Southern 

 Ohio Fah Association. H. Anderson. Secretai-y, Dayton, O. 



Oct. 5, 6 and 7.— Secoud Annual Dog Show of the PbiladelDhia Ken- 

 nel Club, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania State Agricultural 

 Society. E. Comfort, Secretary, Philadelphia. Pa. 



Oct. 6, 7, 8 and 9,— Fourth Annual Dog Show of the Danbury Agri- 

 cultural Society. S. E. Hawley. Secretary, Danbury, Conn. ' 



Twelfth Dog Show of the Western Pennsylvania Poultry Society, 

 Pittsburgh, Pa. C. B. Elben, Secretary. 



FIELD TRIALS. 



Nov. 9.— Second Annual Field Trials of the Fisher's Island ClUb, for 

 members only. Max Wenzel. Secretary, Hohoken, N. J. 



Nov. 9.— J irst Annual Trials of the Western Field Tria Is Associa-" 

 tion. at Abilene, Kan. Entries close Oct. 15. A. A. WJiipple, Secre- 

 tary, Kansas City, Mo. 



Nov. ] 6. 1885.— Seventh Annual Field Trials of the Eastern Field 

 Trials Club, High Point, N. C. Entries for Derby close May 1. W. 

 A. Coster, Secretary, Flatblish, L. I. 



Dec. 7.— Seventh Annual Field Trials of the National Field Trials 

 Club, Grand Junction, Teun. Entries for Derby close April 1. B. M. 

 Stephenson, La Grange, Tenn., Secretary. 



A. K. R.-SPECIAL NOTICE. 

 rpHE AMERICAN KENNEL REGISTER, for the registration of 

 pedigrees, etc. (with prize lists of all shows and trials), is pub- 

 lished every month. Entries close on the 1st. Should be in early.. 

 Entry blanks sent on receipt of stamped and addressed envelope. 

 Registration fee (50 cents) must accompany each entry. No entries 

 inserted unless paid in advance. Yearly subscription $1..90. Address 

 "American Kennel Register," P. O. Box 3883, New York. Number 

 of entries already printed 2519. 



DO WE WANT A NEW STANDARD? 



WHEN the American Kennel Club -was formed I under- 

 stood it was to be composed of clubs only, and that 

 was the reason why well-knowm individual breeders were ex- 

 cluded from its councils. Article II. of their constitution has, 

 among other things, the following: "To adopt and maintain 

 such measures as shall tend to the mutual benefit and protec- 

 tion of its several members." 



I am much obhgedfor the kind invitation you have given, t$> 

 express through your valuable paper views in regard to a new 

 setter standard xjroposed by the A. K. C. I must, however, de- 

 cline to accept it, as it woidd be in bad taste to offer any opinion 

 of 1 nine — in favor of or against the action of the A. K. C. , aa I am 

 not a member, nor have I been asked foi' my views. As a club 

 they certainly have the right to make then- own standard. If, 

 however, you simply wish me to record my name as for or 

 against a change of the setter standard, I most decidedly say, 

 no change. 



If we must have a changed standard forced upon us I trust 

 breeders will receive with it a recipe for breeding up to the 

 new standard. Those who know how to make the standard, 

 ought to know how to make the dogs come up to it. 



The suggestion of ' 'Justitia" — to cotthne breeding and shows 

 to a few dogs of selected kennels — would accomphsh the ob- 

 ject, to be sm-e, but it would reduce the number of exhibits, 

 and fail to afford the advantages of comparison ; and besides, 

 it does not provide any method for disposing of the old favor- 

 ites. To cairy out such a plan it might become necessary for 

 the club to disqualify the exhibitors of specimens of the old 

 standard in order to get the latter off the benches. If one 

 may judge from the treatment lately given Mr. Pierce, we are 

 fast approaching even this possibility. Dogs are sacrificed, 

 why not theh ownei's? Every one knows that up to the pres- 

 ent time the standard for setters has not been adhered to by 

 the judges. Personal prejudice and preference has decided 

 the case. 



The standai'd will never be of any use, and will never be 

 adhered to tmtil judges are able to give the "score" of the win- 

 ners. Then a perfect standard will be a great help to the dog- 

 loving public, and breeders and exhibitors will quickly learn 

 what a perfect dog is, and whei'ein the standard is at fault, to 

 say nothing about the judges. I have been a regular exhibitor 

 suice 187.5 (that memorable year when we stood by and saw a 

 fraction of a point added to the score of the favorite after 

 judging had been done, in order to make him win), and I have 

 never yet seen my dogs judged by a standard They have 

 been taken as a whole and judged at a glance — the judge 

 ignoring points— but fully satisfied with his OT*n "perspec- 

 tive." I have actually stood by and seen a broken- backed 

 animal from my kennel awarded a figure over her kennel 

 companion, possessing a jjcrfect anatomy. But I must not go 

 into particulars, suffice it to say I have seen enough of the 

 "dog-as-a-whole" judging, and can give the particulars if re- 

 quired. What we want most of all now, for the good of the 

 breeders and the exhibitors, and in return for their hberal 

 patronage of shows, is a sticking to the standard. Let us 

 know what om- exhibits score; where they are weak and 

 where they are strong. 



The "dog-as-a-whole" plan of judging has heen a complete 

 failure, so far as any instruction has come from it, for the bene- 

 fit of exhibitors and the pubhc. It has satisfied the judges and 

 the managers, and has cut off the privilege of protest— but It 

 does not satisfy the public. Let us have one show where the 

 dogs are judged by the old standard and the scores of the 

 winners given, before it is discarded. 



What an opportunity for instruction in the study of the 

 dogs's anatomy woiUd be afforded dog lovers if we could 

 have a bench show rigidly judged under the standard by a, 

 competent judge, who should be paid liberally for his time 

 and services, and who would give the scores of the first, sec- 

 ond and third prize Avinners, and perhaps the fii'st vhc. 



How the owners would compare the anatomy of theh own 

 exhibits with the winners, and what information each visitor, 

 would take home for future use, in breeding or purchasing! 

 I think the time has come for this. 



Of course we aU. know that the score plan of judging has 

 gi-eat difficulties presented in carrying it out, and most ex- 

 perts say it is absurd and even an impossibUity. But both 

 these conditions enter into the present plan of judging, under 

 which the exhibitor learns absolutely nothing, except to mind 

 his own affairs and not to ask questions. 



J believe one cpvild le^rn n>ore from su<?U m exhiWw %hss\, 



