Ato- ay, 1885. 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



89 



liuc through the holes in each end, and putting on the cover 

 nicked it so that the shot could not escape; and after tying 

 a knot in the hue at the required distance from the hook, 

 the "thumper" was pronounced complete, By this time we 

 had drifted iuto deep water, and after a few strokes of the 

 oars the "thumper" waa dropped overboard. Down it went 

 to the depth of ahout fifty feet, aud immediately we started 

 on a direct line down the middle of the lake with a slow 

 but steady usti-oke. Yet oar jinrty was doomed to disappoint- 

 ment, the "tliumper" soon begaii to thump the bottom when 

 at the other end of the lake, so we gave orders to "about 

 ship" and try it once again. 



We had nearly arrived at our starting point once more, 

 feeling rather disappointed, when the man at the line 

 shouted out to hold up a bit, as we had fastened to a rock or 

 something on bottom. A moment afterward he exclaimed, 

 "What a whopper!" and sure enough we had hooked a fish, 

 and a game one at that, for he began to sink slowly although 

 we tried to induce him to rise. After his Lord.sliip had taken 

 down about tifty feet of line he thought it best to move on, 

 and then the fun began in dead earnest. Pirst it was down, 

 then up, and in all kind of ways did that fish "try to get 

 away, but it was of no use, for our lines would have held a 

 shark. Presently he made a dart at the boat and then there 

 ensued a scramble to pull iu the slack, when, suddenly making 

 a dive, he sent the line whirling out again; then up he came 

 almost to the surface on the other side of the boat. The 

 water being as clear as glass, we could see him as he lay 

 perfectly motionless, excepting a .slight quivering of the fins 

 and tail". It Avas a sight to make the heart of any sp<n'tsman 

 thump against his rius to behold that muscalonge as he lay 

 there, looking as lartce as a good-sized shark, and if anything 

 a bit more savage. Taking hold of the line anew to give him 

 another pull he darted oil in a circle around the boat, a 

 fatal mistake, for a good steady pull now brought him 

 directly under the stern with his head just breaking the 

 water, while the captain taking advantage of position, 

 drove the gafE hook (in a most unsportsmanlike manner) 

 through his back about amidships. 2sovv began the 

 tug of war between the captain and the fish ; but as yours 

 truly held the captaiu fast by the legs, it was evident that 

 the fish must give up, which he presently did from pure ex- 

 haustion, and was triumphantly pulled iuto the boat. No 

 doubt, our prize would have toi'n himself loose had not the 

 gaff hook gone in under the backbone, thus makingit impos- 

 sible for him to tear it out. It was a sight, that fresh-water 

 shark lying helpless in the bottom of the boat, and after all 

 hands had recovered from the excitement, we made for 

 shore, feeling very proud of our game. 



On reaching terra flrma our prize fish was weighed first, 

 and found to tip the beam at nineteen and one-half pounds. 

 The smaller fish weighed together one hundred and three 

 pounds, which, with the big fellow, made the grand total of 

 122-^ pounds to show for one day's fishing, not to mention 

 the smaller fish thrown overboard, of which we kept no 

 count. Then hitching up the team, repacking our traps, we 

 started on the return trip, reaching home in time for a late 

 supper, and all hands very tired, but willing to sit up all 

 night to swear that Dakota cannot^ be beaten'for the size and 

 quantity of her fish. 



In closing, let me state to parties who contemplate a trip 

 to the waters of that countrjs that good tackle can be had in 

 all country stores at Eastern prices, and to those who have 

 not fished there, let me say that a good, stout bluefish line 

 about one hundred yards long with the largest size Skinner 

 spoon is the thing. A large spoon prevents the small fish 

 from getting caught to any great extent. Scrpio. 



AGASSIZ AND ANGLING. 



ON the 28th of last May, the seventy. eighth anniversary 

 of the birth of Louis Agassiz, the Cincinnati Society 

 of Natural History held a memorial service. The paper, 

 "In Memoriam — ^Louis Agassiz," read on that occasion by 

 Dr. James A. Henshall, has been printed in the Journal of 

 the Society. It is a review of the life and work of the great 

 naturalist, written by one whose veneration for the subject 

 of his paper is manifest on every page. Speaking of the 

 young Agassi z's taste for angling and studying the habits of 

 fishes. Dr. Henshall says: 



"Another writer says : 'Before he left school (at Bienne), 

 he began to collect aud study into tlie habits of fishes.' Now, 

 the love of angling once firmly implanted in a boy's heart, 

 it follows him through life, never to be wholly eradicated, 

 but oftener to grow stronger with the accumulation of years! 

 and not seldom influencing the whole course of his life. I 

 know many men whose interest in natural history, and 

 especially in biology, dates from the days of earliest child- 

 hood, when, with pin-hook and willow wand, they fir.st 

 essayed the gentle art, and produced consternation dire 

 among the cliubs and .shiners of the brook. We, of the 

 gentle craft, can readily imagine how eagerly young Agassiz 

 turned from the wearisome school-room to the bright rippling 

 waters of Lake Bienne, or to the foaming trout brook of the 

 Jura, and can fully appreciate the happy transition from the 

 musty books of classic authors to the fair, bright pages of 

 Nature's book. It .seems to me that these early impressions, 

 and this first love, mxist have had the greatest influence 

 in shaping his subsequent career, as we may presently see. 

 * ■» » * * 



"When the boy Agassiz began collecting and studying the 

 habits of fishes, the cell theory was unknown, but tliere was. 

 no minnow too small to escape his observation, and no part 

 of that minnow too insignificant for his closest scrutiny and 

 study. In this way he was the first to separate and properly 

 define the most difficult group of fishes, the Gyprinida, as a 

 familj'-, by the form, number and arrangement of their 

 pharyngeal teeth ; and any one who has ever examined the 

 minute teeth in the throat of a minnow, can appreciate, 

 isomewhat, the amount of careful study and observation in- 

 volved in his investigations. 



"In his study of the salmon, trout and grayling species, 

 he exhibited the same careful and characteristic mode of 

 inquiry. Of this family Giinther says : 'As much time and 

 patience are required for the investigation of a single species 

 as in other fishes for that of a whofc familJ^ * * * The 

 almost infinite variations of the.se fishes are dependent on 

 age, sex and sexual development, food and the properties of 

 the water.' In consequence of these variations and pecuhar- 

 ities, many species had been predicated upon coloration alone. 

 Agassiz showed the fahacy of this, for he found that fish in 

 clear, sunny waters, with gravelly bottoms, were highly and 

 brightly colored; wiiile those in shady streams, or where the 

 bottom was darli or muddy, and the water not so clear, were 

 correspondingly dusky in hue; and that bright fish taken 

 from waters of the former character and placed in those of 

 the latter would begin to fade in a few hours, and in a few 



days or weeks wonld become entirely chaaged in hue. He 

 found that the color of brook trout of neighboring streams 

 was influenced by the color and quantity of the water, and 

 that even trout of the same stream differed in color as they 

 frequented the shady or sunny side. 



"Now, while most persons are capable of admiring the 

 general result of a long series of obseiwations or experiments, 

 many can not appreciate, or may even be disposed to make 

 light of, some of the seemingly trivial preliminary steps lead- 

 ing to that result. And a person of this character coming 

 upon Agassiz beside a trout stream, studying the changes in 

 coloration of the brook trout— than which there is no lovelier 

 object on God's footstool — might have thought it a sad waste 

 of time, or at least, a subject unworthy the notice of so wise 

 a man." 



Rod Dimensions. — Oasseltou, D. T. — Ediior Forest and 

 Blream: In reply to the request of "Hollow Rib,'' in your 

 issue of the 13th, I gladly give the dimensions of my beth- 

 abara rod: The butt, of ash, is 18in. in length; butt-cap, 

 fin. ; then swell for i*-^in. in length to a diameter of lin. ; 

 then taper S^in. to|io.; making hand-grasp 7in. in length 

 and liu. greatest diameter. Reel-seat, 4in. ; uniform diame- 

 ter, |in. ; straight taper for 4in. to liin., then sudden con- 

 cave taper for the ferrule. Joint, 42in; bethabara tip, 38in. ; 

 lancewood tip, 40in. Ferrules — A-in. and -^s — Nos. and 7 

 of Ohubb's ca,talogue. Exti'emity of tip, -/^in. Total length 

 of rod with bethabara tip, 8ft. 3in. ; with lancewood tip, 

 8ft, 4in. Weight, with either tip, 6+oz. If "Hollow Rib" 

 intends to make a bethabara rod, he will save time, trouble 

 and temptation to profanity by sending his wood to Thos. 

 H. Ohubb (see advertisement in Forest anb Stream) and 

 have it turned to suit him. By the way, I am glad to add 

 my mite of commendation to this firm for the fair dealing 

 and prompt attention to orders which has characterized theli' 

 transactions. I have during the. past four years ordered 

 material from them for over a dozen rods, and in every case 

 have received just what I wanted, with but one exception, 

 when I probably did not make my wants clear, but when I 

 called their attention to it the mistake was promptly and 

 cheerfully rectified. In marked contrast was the treatment 

 I received from a celebrated Chicago and New York firm, to 

 whom I sent, some three months ago, for a liin. screw, flat- 

 bottom butt cap, inclosing money for same. In reply 1 re- 

 ceived a fin. round-bottom solid cap, which I returned, 

 repeating my previous order. I havn't heard a word from 

 them since then, although I have written them three times, 

 asking them either to send what I want or refund my money. 

 The amount of the latter is so small that I am glad to charge 

 it to profit and less, as the price paid for the knowledge that 

 I had better have nothing to do with such a house in the 

 future. "Mirofer," as my friend Sandy Graeme says, I 

 would advise "Hollow Rib" to use the "patent anti-friction 

 tie-guides," as they save a world of vexation, caused by the 

 wet fine sticking to the rod, as it is sure to do with the 

 ordinary guides. If I can be of the slightest help to him 

 or any other amateur rod makers, I shall be glad to partially 

 pay the debt of gratitude Avhich I owe to those brothers of 

 the gentle craft who have so generously imparted to me their 

 stores of information on many and sundry points. — H. P. 

 Uffokd. 



Eels. — Editor Forest and Stream: I want reliable inform- 

 ation how to catch and dress eels for market with informa- 

 tion how to make and use the different wire traps, etc., for 

 tide-water brooks and ponds, and where the most likely 

 places to look for them to spear after they have bedded for 

 the winter. In short, I want to knoAV all about them, their 

 habits, usual time of ascending the brooks to bed, whicli 

 they are supposed to do here on the island of Grand Manan, 

 but I can find no one that knows anything for certain about 

 them. — Phllip Newton. [There is no book which gives 

 the information required. Beside accidental captures with 

 hook and line, eels are taken in winter by spearing them 

 through holes in the ice, and this requires a local knowledge 

 of theu' bed.s, which can only be obtained by examination 

 and trial. In the spring they are taken in eel-pots, which 

 are usually made of elm splints or willow. These are for 

 sale in New York and other cities, and are about three feet 

 long and a foot or more in diameter, with a movable cap at 

 one end and a funnel in the other, like some rat traps. Pots 

 are baited with minnows or fish offal, and anchored and 

 marked by a buoy. In summer eels are speared at night 

 from a boat with a bright light in the bow, which shows 

 them plainly in two to six feet of water. They are also 

 fished for at night with "bobs" made by sti'inging Very large 

 angle worms their entire length on three yards of linen 

 thread until the thread is full, 'when it is wound round the 

 hand and tied through the middle. The bob is used over the 

 side of a boat, and if in a tideway or current, a sinker is 

 needed. It is kept a few inches from the bottom and when 

 a bite is felt is slowly raised to the surface and the eel quickly 

 thrown into the boat, when it drops off, the only hold being 

 that of the eel's teeth in the thread. Eels move from fresh 

 to salt water in October in the State of New York, some, 

 however, remaining in the mill ponds all winter. A. fair 

 size for salt-water eels is from half a pound to two pounds, 

 but they seldom exceed four pounds except in fresh waters, 

 where they grow to six or more pounds. Of their breeding 

 habits but little is known except that they are found to con- 

 tain eggs in the winter and the young are seen in gxeatnum- 

 bere in the spring. Our correspondent will hav'e to make 

 himseK familiar with theu' feeding grounds aud the locali- 

 ties where they bed.] 



Barnegat, Aug. 21. — The fishing, all things taken into 

 consideration, is very poor. Occasionally a good string of 

 weakflsh is caught, "but only in exceptional cases is this so, 

 and then it is all laid to the credit of a "streak of good 

 luck." The menhaden boats on this coast are blamed for the 

 scarcity of fish, and a good many objurgations are indulged 

 in by the people along shore at the mere mention of the men- 

 haden folks. At Beach Haven, it is reported, the fishermen 

 on the beach recently indulged in a little rifle practice, using 

 the crew of the menhaden boat for targets. It resulted in 

 some lively dodging behind masts, smoke-stacks, rigging, 

 etc., by the members of the crew of that particular boatT The 

 latest returns fail to report the number of killed, w' ounded or 

 missing in this engagement, and the last seen of the craft 

 she was putting out to sea under a full head of steam. This 

 rifle practice is reported as having accomplished one desir- 

 able object, in driving the menhaden boats off that coast for 

 a while. The writer counted eleven of the black piratical 

 craft off Harvey Cedars in one day last week, engaged in 

 their calling, and was informed that it was not much of a 

 day for mennaden boats either. — Woodchuce:. 



New .Tehsey Coast Ftshtng.— Philadelphia, Aug. 23.— 

 Weakfish arc still extremely scarce at Baj-negat and Tucker- 

 ton bays, and few arc being brought in. Sniall sea bass are, 

 however, plentiful, and sheepshead have been taken throngh- 

 o\it the entire season in numbers great enough to amply sup- 

 ply all the liotels on FjOtig Beachrwhich have been continu- 

 al1y_ crowded witli guests. Duinng the past week good 

 sqinddiug fur blueflsli av;is enjoyeil l^ij sailing parties near 

 both Barnegat aud Little Eg^ Flarljoi' iidets. None upward 

 of one to two pounds were boated.— TTomo. 



Bluefish nsr SotiTn Bay.— Up to last week the fishing 

 has been poor on Great South Bay, Long Island. The 

 schools have lately struck in, and there has been good fish- 

 ing. Last week one boat took 173 fish, and another took 

 toO, while the lowest catclies were fronr twenty to thirty to 

 each boat. The fish avei aged from three to three and a half 

 pounds each, and from twenty to thirty boats have been fish- 

 ing daily. The best points are Suyville, Bay Sh.pi;;e autcl 

 Babylon. 



Newpokt Bass. — Newport, Aug. 17. — Bass are unusually 

 plenty. They struck here about two weeks ago, I took tAventy 

 last AVeek, weight from 2f to 16|. I should be pleased to 

 answer any inquiries in regard to stripeil bass fishing in this 

 neighborhood. — W. M. Hughes (P. O. Box 50). 



Thousand IsL,\NDs. — Cape Viucent, N. Y., Aug. 18. — 

 The fishing is first-class at this point now; plenty of bass 

 and pickerel, The sportsmen from down the river and 

 Alexandria Bay are all tiu-ning this way. — W. P. 



Address all comm.xmications to the Forest and Stream Publish- 

 ing Co. 



PROTECTIVE CONTRIVANCES FOR EGGS. 



[Read before tlie American Fisheries Society. 1 

 BY PROF. JOHN A. KYDEB, 



MR. PKESIDEJTT AND GENTLEMEN: A discussion of 

 the appai'atuses by means of which the ova of fishes are 

 protected will, I think, be of interest to tiie membei's of this 

 Society. I will roughly classify the eggs of tishes into four 

 divisions, and call one of thc'so group-, ■ 'buoyant egRs," another 

 ^'adhesive egg's," another '■suspemlecl eg-gs." and the fourth 

 "transported eggs," the latter class embi'acing sucii. as are. 

 hatched in the mouth or in receptacles espeeitilly deA^elopecl on 

 the outside, of the abdomen or under the tail of the parent 

 fish— usually the male; in nests l:)uilb by the males, or vixi- 

 parously developed iu tlie ovars- oi- the ovidiict of the mother. 



The egg of the cod will serve as the type of the first gTonp. 

 It is without an oil-drop, but is buoyant notmthstanding. 

 There is another type of buoyant egg si miltir to that of the- 

 cod, l^ut with an oil-drop opposite tlie germinal pole, where the 

 embryo develops, consequently the egg is rendered l^uoyant. 

 That type is represented by the eggs of the Spanish mackerel, 

 of the' bonito in the Chesapeake Bay, and of the cusk and a 

 number of other marine tishes. 



The second group, which I have called adhesive, is repre- 

 sented very welt by the eggs of the goldfish, which adhere 

 singly to plants and weeds. Other species whose eggs are 

 similar to those of the goldfisli, are the blenuios, Avhieli tay 

 eggs in radiating adherent groups. The gobies have a curiously 

 shaped oval egg, almost conical at either end, with tufts at 

 one of their tips. These tufts seem to be made up of small fila- 

 ments. In other species, too, the eggs are adherent, as is the 

 case with those of the cunning hiTtle Grobicsox, In other cases 

 the eggs are held together in enormously extended bands or 

 membranes which float, as in the case of the gooseflsh or fish- 

 ing frog. Yet other eggs are held together in narrow strips, 

 and adhere together by means of an exterior mucous or sticky 

 envelope, just Avithin which again is a very thiclr, elastic, per- 

 forated membrane, as the eggs of the yelloy perch. This 

 sticky substance glues the round eggs tog'ether"^ at their points 

 of contact, leaving spaces betAA^eenthe ova, enabling the Avater 

 to pass directly through the openings which are thus left ia 

 the bands of eggs. This form of band of adlierent eggs is 

 found in the yellow percli, in conti'ast to which may be cited 

 the Avhite jjorch, whose eggs aclliere hj a imicoos" secretion 

 which seems to ghde down on one side to the point where tlie 

 attachment takes place, and Avhere this mucous substance 

 hardens under Avacer, firmly fixing the egg to the foreign 

 bodies. 



The eggs of the slime-eels or hags, which are parasitic upon 

 tlie cod and on sharks, are also peculiar. Tlaose eggs are sup- 

 plied with a bundle of hooks at each end. I am not sure of 

 the special function of these hooks, but it is pi-obably for sus- 

 pending the eggs in some way. There are other cases in Avhich 

 adherent eggs are held together in large masses as tliick as a 

 man's hand, or they may be spread out over a flat surface. 

 This is the case AAdtli the eggs of the catfish; in these, how- 

 ever, Ave find a contrivance which is peculiarly adapted for 

 protecting the eggs against the violent motions made by the 

 male who aerates, attends and incubates the eggs. In these 

 eggs there is an inner true egg membrane, and an ex±erior 

 mucous adhesive layer, separated from the inner one by elas- 

 tic jiiUars placed at tnterA^als, so that the i-esulting arrange- 

 ment is an extremely elastic one, and yields readily to the 

 motions made by the male with his fins. In this case the eggs 

 adhere together in masses very much in the same way as in 

 the eggs of the frogs. 



There is yet another singular contrivance Avhich was first 

 described by Professor Jeffries Wyman, of Boston. This is 

 foimd in a species of the armored catfish of South America. 

 In this case {Aspredo) the male fish is provided with a 

 numerous series of little stalks formed on the under surface of 

 the abdomen, and the cup-like extremities of the stalks into 

 which the eggs are received are supplied Avith capillary vessels, 

 an arrangement being thus developed which constitutes not 

 only a supporting stalk but also a kind of placenta, it is said 

 — although I am not sure that the evidence is a'ci a' tiTistAvorthy 

 — that one species of the gar lays its eggs iu strings iu a single 

 roAv, like the common toad. There ai'e other cases in Avhich 

 the ova are uncoA^ered and directly adherent to the abdomen 

 or under side of the tail, as in the case of some of the pipe 

 fishes of Europe. In some of our American species of pipe 

 fishes the eggs adhere beneath the tail in a couple of rows, but 

 are covered by expanded folds of the skin. There are other 

 cases in which the eggs are carried into a pouch formed by the 

 ventral fins. In other species there exists an abdominal or 

 rather caudal pouch which opens just behind the vent of the 

 male, and into which the eggs are received and incubated. In 

 one instance a fisU of this class {Hippocampus) hatched out 

 under my observation about 1.50 ova; the drove of embryo sea 

 horses whicli were finally set free in the aquarium were an in- 

 teresting study. 



Then the number of species Avhich suspend their eggs is quite 

 considerable. The black, leathery case of the common ovipa- 

 rous ray has four filamentous horns, one at each corner, Avhich , 

 AA'ind aroimd plants and suspend the eggs to weeds, so that as 

 the tide sweeps by these horns, which have openings in them, 

 fresh water is carried into the case to aerate the embi-yo and 

 favor its incubation. This peculiar egg case is formed iu the 

 end of the oviduct, which is different from the egg membrane 



