so 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[July 13, 1895. 



NOTES FROM THE RESTIGOUCHE. 



Campbellton, N. B., July 1.— It fa now the close of 

 June and so far the month has been most unfavorable for 

 the angler. The spring opened early in May and the hot 

 days we had took the little snow away quickly, and the 

 total absence of rain until last week reduced the water in 

 June to summer level, the intense heat raised the tem- 

 perature over 60$. The salmon took hold — when they 

 would rise at all— so gingerly that the hook would soon 

 come home. 



I went up to Kedgwick, some seventy miles above tide 

 water, and my first fish was taken on the8tb, proving the 

 fish did not run up as quickly as supposed, as a few good 

 fish were caught in tidal nets the last week of May. I only 

 killed six fish there, as Mr. Ayer, of Bangor, arrived on the 

 12th. My largest was 281bs. Mr. Rodgers, whose property 

 joins this pool, has four fine pools, two of them high 

 water and two of them for low, consequently he has made 

 his usual score, some eighty salmon, and has now left for 

 New York. Some fair scores have been made by others. 

 About eight fish in one day is the highest I have heard of. 

 1 think the Montreal party had some twenty-five, how- 

 ever. We are going to have better fishing in July, and 

 as the dry spell has broken up we stand a better chance 

 for a rise of water. 



Some fine fish have been taken on the Metapedia, giv- 

 ing grand sport. The river being in better trim did not 

 feel the drought owing to its lake supply of water. The 

 river is very rapid, banks are steeper, the angler works 

 under difficulties, which much enhances the sport when 

 he lands his fish. So far as the numbers of fish in the 

 river go I believe they are fully equal to last year. Many 

 of the netters in the estuary have taken their nets out of 

 the water, it being impossible to keep them clean between 

 the green growth in the water and the refuse from the 

 timber booms and saw mills this season. So the netting 

 has not been profitable. The catch has also been poor all 

 along the south side of. Baie de Chaleur, but better on the 

 north. I hear the Labrador rivers are turning out well, 

 and probably will turn out a good July score, and as many 

 of our July run will have no nets to contend with, I hope 

 to be able to maintain the credit of the old Restigouche as 

 the king of rivers in the Dominion when the season 

 . closes, Jno. Mowat. 



chartered to take members of the League, branch clubs 

 and their guests to the island and return. The boat will 

 stop at Fisk's dock, and the meeting and dinner will 

 be served on Mr. Fisk's lawn. An opportunity will be 

 given to ramble about the island, boat or fish, during the 

 afternoon. A Lake Champlain fish chowder will be part 

 of the dinner. After dinner speeches will be dispensed 

 with except of distinguished guests or at the request of 

 those present. John W. Titcomb, Sec'y. 



NOTES FROM FISHING WATERS. 



Newport, Vt., June 29. — I saw your sign up in the 

 hotel here to report one's luck either with rod or gun. I 

 have had some very fine trout fishing last week in the 

 Soco River. Four of us went from Bartlet, N. H. , last 

 Monday from the Mountain Cave House, and drove eight 

 miles up the Soco River. The four of us took 170 trout, 

 the largest of them weighing 4£lb8. ; they ran from fib. 

 to l^lbs. I think the Soco River the best fishing in the 

 White Mountains. Griswold A. Thompson. 



Point Clear, Ala., July 2.— Chas. Zundel at 8 P. M. 

 yesterday caught a 301bs. redfish off the wharf of the 

 Grand Hotel. As a winter resort we claim advantages 

 surpassing Florida. Elliott Toxey. 



Lake Memphremagog, Newport, Vt,, July 3.— Bass and 

 lunge fishing is good at Lake Memphremagog, Vt. Mr. 

 Young, of New Hampshire, who will pilot fishing parties 

 from Owl's Head Hotel during the season, caught on July 

 3, five 'lunge weighing from 10 to 171bs. each. Dr. Roe, 

 of Dartmouth College, who is a guest at the hotel, and 

 who is also a very ardent fisherman, has made some very 

 fine catches of bass and 'lunge. John Ladjing. 



Cape Vincent, N. Y., July 4 and 5.— Guests of the 

 Union House here had great fishing these two days, R. 

 J. Sloan, W. J. Gillett, W. C. Bradley and George S. San- 

 ford, of Syracuse, N. Y., captured 240 black baes; the 

 majority would average lflbs. each. Messrs. Sloan and 

 Gillttt caught seventy-nine of the 240 in four hours; all 

 weighed l^lbs. each. J. A. Frisbie. 



Covington, Va.— July 1 was opening day for the black 

 bass season in this part of the Jackson River, which is 

 protected by law. The river was fairly alive with rod 

 fishermen, much after the fashion on Long Island on 

 April 1, when the trout law goes off, and several hundred 

 fish were caught, for the most part small. In the Green- 

 briar,, over the ridge, they are larger. C. Hallook. 



The Platte Lakes. 



Cincinnati, O., July 8. — I was thinking of writing up 

 this winter our camping and fishing trip on Platte Lakes, 

 Benzie county, Michigan (Lower Peninsula), but upon 

 second thought, concluded some "Rodster" might like 

 to know now of a good place to go to catch big bass, 

 also enough trout. If so, wend your way to Benzonia 

 Mich., on the T. A. A. & N. M. R. R. You can stop there 

 over night at the Van Winkle Hotel, on the shores of 

 beautiful Crystal Lake, and the next morning drive a 

 distance of five miles to Wm. Thompson's (a farmer who 

 keeps boarders and has good boats for hire), who lives on 

 the shore of Platte Lake; or if you prefer to camp, you 

 can pitch your tents there, and he will board you, or 

 supply you with milk, butter, etc, and at this writing 

 has some ice left. There are lots of 3^ to 51bs. bass there 

 (large and small mouths about equally "divided and gamy 

 fellows) and in Platte River we have caught a good many 

 trout, from fingerlings to a pound and over. Reduced 

 rates on the G. R. & I. R. R., also the C. H. & D in con- 

 nection with the T. A. A. & N. M. R. R, You can catch 

 some bass in Crystal Lake, but the Platte Lakes are much 

 the best. This has been our second season there. I 

 will cheerfully answer any brother angler, and remain 

 H. W. Voss! 



, Vermont League's Midsummer. 



St. Johnsbury, Vt.— The Midsummer Meeting of the 

 Vermont Fish and Game League will be held at Isle La 

 Motte, Vermont, Thursday, August 1. Members of the 

 League are urged to extend a cordial invitation to their 

 sportsman friends, to accompany them on this excursion 

 through a portion of the most beautiful scenery on Lake 

 Champlain. All members of branch clubs are cordially 

 invited to join in making this the most successful of a 

 series of meetings which have brought pleasure to those 

 who have participated and have helped further the in- 

 terests of the League. The steamer Reindeer has been 



tgishcttUuve. 



Influence of Railroads on Fishculture. 



[ V paper read before the American Fisheries Society.] 

 BY FRED MATHER. 



The continual extension of railroads has been an import- 

 ant factor in stimulating fishculture, and has had a most 

 important bearing on it that is worth considering. When I 

 am asked why shad are not cheaper, now that so many mil- 

 lions of eggs are taken from fish caught for market and are 

 hatched and added to the natural product of the river, I an- 

 swer, "Railroads." If the question refers to the price of oys- 

 ters, lobsters or the fresh-water fishes of the Great Lakes, the 

 same answer is returned. 



Forty years ago the Hudson River furnished all the shad 

 for New York city and for a district included in two strips 

 thirty miles back from each bank of the river as far north as 

 Troy. Farmers drove in to the fishing grounds and bought 

 shad to salt for winter use, and in the height of t he season 

 they could be bought at the nets for from $3 to 15 per hun- 

 dred. In Albany they retailed at two for a quarter of a dol- 

 lar, and sometimes for less. Lobsters were retailed at about 

 5 cents per pound, and were seldom seen under 41bs. weight, 

 oftener 6 to 81bs. Before the building of the Boston & Al- 

 bany Railroad, teams came through to Albany from Boston, 

 when sleighing was good, loaded with boxes of fresh codfish, 

 haddock, pollock, and kegs of opened oysters. The latter 

 were in quart, two-quart and gallon sizes. The Hudson 

 River Railroad was not built and the only source of supply 

 of sea food in winter was from Boston. In summer the 

 steamboats brought some shell oysters to Albany, but the 

 demand was light and the shipments were not as prompt as 

 now, and I often heard it said that we never got good oysters 

 in Albany! To-day they can be had in Omaha, owing to fast 

 trains, prompt express service and the use of ice, for it must 

 be remembered that there were no express companies in 

 those days, and the great New York Central Railroad did not 

 exist as a continuous line. From Albany to Rochester there 

 were three railways— the Albany & Schenectady, the Schen- 

 ectady & Syracuse, and the Syracuse & Rochester via Au- 

 burn and Canandaigua. These railroads did not sell tickets 

 nor check baggage beyond their own lines, and if passengers 

 were delayed by stops to transfer and recheck baggage, 

 freight was sure of long delays. No wonder, then, that the 

 inland towns of the State of New York in those days never 

 saw an oyster in the shell nor a sh«d. Ice was then a lux- 

 ury, and we only got a few lobsters because they spoiled so 

 quickly that it did not pay to risk large shipments. Under 

 these circumstances it is plain that shad, lobsters and sea 

 fish did not get far beyond Albany and Troy, the head of 

 navigation on the Hudson. 



In boyhood days, forty-five to fifty years ago, I did not see 

 either hard or soft crabs in Albany, but my father was part 

 owner in and agent for the Eckford line of barges engaged 

 in freighting between Albany and New York, before canal- 

 boats were towed down the river, and my main desire for a 

 trip to the great city was to buy hard crabs along the dock 

 for a cent apiece and go down the pier and eat them, regard- 

 less of smeared face and fingers. Now soft oralis are com- 

 mon in Chicago; packed in seaweed and kept cool, they are 

 whirled through in good shape. 



In the early < ays of which I have spoken and up to twenty 

 years ago no shad came to New York from Florida, nor even 

 from North Carolina, where some of the finest come from 

 to-day, and the citizens of the great metropolis waited for 

 the first shad to be taken in New York Bay. This was an 

 event in the year that was heralded far and wide, and hotels 

 bid high for the first fish, as much as $25 having frequently 

 been paid for the honor of serving the first shad of the sea- 

 son by the Astor House and other hotels. Now that Florida 

 begins to send shad in midwinter, the strife for the first 

 "North River" shad is ended. 



Having glanced at the different conditions of railroading 

 some decades ago and noted the effect upon the fish markets 

 of inland towns, let us see how the changed conditions affect 

 fishculture, which only began operations on a large scale 

 well within twenty years. The pioneers in fishculture 

 fondly expected to make fish cheaper for the masses. We 

 expected to multiply certain species to such an extent that 

 the market prices would be perceptibly lowered, and it is on 

 record that the shad fishermen of Holyoke and South Hadley 

 Falls, Mass., rebelled at the first efforts at shad hatching 

 there by the late Seth Green because he said that he could 

 "make shad cheap." He meant that they would be made 

 plenty, and merely used the wrong word to the fishermen. 

 We have increased the yield of shad in the Hudson, the 

 Delaware and in other rivers farther south, but this increase 

 of supply has been met by an increased demand that has 

 kept prices up to, and even beyond, the old standards, and 

 the extension of railways and the improved express facilities 

 have made increased demands upon the shad fisheries that 

 have kept, and will keep, the prices up, and perhaps increase 

 them notwithstanding the increased production. 



In this paper I have chosen to take shad as an illustration 

 of the effect that the railroads have had on fishculture in 

 America, but the same line of argument is applicable to the 

 whitefish of the Great Lakes, which now reaches a h undred 

 tables where it only fed one a quarter of a century ago. The 

 oyster is more subject to an increased consumption by the 

 extension of railroads than either the shad or the whitefish, 

 for it not only has a longer "season," but is not as perishable 

 as the fish, and by the use of ice is now found on the "half 

 shell" in most small towns, while in tins, both raw and 

 cooked, it is a visitor to many mining camps. 



But to return to the shad. The increase of population and 

 of fishermen with improved appliances along the Hudson 

 Kiver would have exhausted the supply of shad without the 

 help of railroads twenty years ago hut for the aid of the fish- 

 culturist. The annual catch had been falling off for some 

 years before the work of shad hatching was begun, and con- 

 tinued to fall off for several years after, for the first work 

 was done on a small scale. We know this in a general way 

 by reports of the fishermen, for there had been no attempt to 

 gather the fishing statistics until 1880; but both fishermen 

 and marketmen from Troy to New York city agreed that the 

 supply had gradually fallen off, until many fishermen de- 

 clared that it did not pay to wet their nets. 



The work of shad hatching on the Hudson River was be- 

 gun in a small way by the State Fish Commissioner in 1868, 

 near Coeymans. 



The next year work was not begun until the first day of 

 June [second report, page 4], about a month late, and con- 

 tinued until July 13. The report says: "Only 15,000,000 of 

 shad were hatched in place of 300,000,000, as could doubtless 

 have been done had proper legislation been had." In 1870 

 there were 2,004,000 shad fry planted [see report for that year, 

 page 4]. 



This, judging by the plants afterward made, was an aver- 



age year, and it is possible that there was a typographical 

 error in the figures for 1869. But whatever may have been 

 the number planted each year since the good work began, it 

 is certain that each young shad artificially hatched would 

 never have seen daylight but, for the aid of the fishcnlturist, 

 for the eggs obtained were from fish caught for market, and 

 would have been wasted entirely, as they were too ripe to be 

 eaten as "roe," for when within a week of maturity the 

 ovarian sac is almost purple with the distended veins and 

 not at all tempting as food, besides being very tender to 

 handle, for the eggs are ready to drop apart. 



This extra supply of young shad, preserved from danger 

 during the egg and embryo stage, and let loose at the time 

 when ready to take food, supplements and reinforces the 

 natural hatch in the river, which has gradually grown less 

 each year, because of the increase of fishermen with improved 

 appliances of capture to supply the increased demand occa- 

 sioned by the extension of railroads. 



Looked at in this light it* will he seen that the natural 

 hatch in the river mhst decrease in proportion to the num- 

 ber of fish caught, and only artificial propagation has kept 

 the shad fisheries of the Northern States up to their former 

 standard, and now that the southern rivers are beginning to 

 feel the drain, they will soon have to look to shad culture to 

 keep up their stock or see it dwindle into next to nothing, as 

 the shad catch has done in the Connecticut River. This 

 river furnishes a case in point. Its shad fisheries, once so 

 famous, have fallen off until they are hardly sufficient for 

 homeconsumption since hatching was discontinued at South 

 Hadley Falls. In 1880 the catch of shad in the Connecticut 

 was 268,608, or about equal to l,0T4,4321bs., with a value of 

 $53,721. In 1889 the catch of the whole State of Connecticut, 

 including the Housatonic, Connecticut and Thames Rivers, 

 was less than one-third of the catch of 1880, the official figures 

 for the three rivers being 48,963 shad, weighing 195,8521bs., 

 and worth $16,580. 



These figures for two different years would mean little did 

 we not know that the falling off had been gradual and that 

 the catch has fluctuated with a downward tendency for the 

 past six seasons^ 



The shad in the Hudson have been enabled to stand the 

 drain caused by an increased local population and the ship- 

 ments by rail by two factors: artificial fishculture and the 

 newly worked southern rivers. I say "newly worked" he- 

 cause it is only a few years since the northern markets have 

 taken great quantities of shad from the South. Ten years 

 ago New York city was forced to look beyond the Carolinas 

 for early shad, and Florida began to get her fish to the great 

 market even as early as January, and how long these rivers 

 will stand the increased fishing without crying for aid from 

 the fishculturist remains to be seen. At present the hatch- 

 ing of shad is mainly done on the Hudson, the Delaware, 

 Che°apeake Bay and the Potomac. Some work has been 

 done on Virginia rivers and in North Carolina, but the work 

 of the TJ. S. F. C. near Havre de Grace, where the Susque- 

 hanna loses itself in Chesapeake Bay, has been one of the 

 most important stations. Last year the State of New York 

 received over 7,000,000 of shad fry from that place for plant- 

 ing in the Hudson, in addition to what hatching was done on 

 that river. 



According to the census of 1880 the catch of shad in the 

 Hudson was 683,400 fish, which at an average of four pounds 

 each would be 2,733,6001bs., valued at $136,680 at wholesale. 

 While I have not the figures at hand for any of the succeed- 

 ing years I am informed by the fishermen that the river has 

 more than held its own in the past fifteen years. 



From the above statements it seems plain that while the 

 fishculturist has been striving to increase the food supply, 

 and possibly cheapen it, he has merely been successful in 

 keeping the supply up to the increased demand, and the rail- 

 roads have prevented any decrease in prices by taking all 

 surplus above the local demand far inland and thereby 

 bringing to people distant from the fisheries delicious and 

 wholesome food which has been produced by the fishculturist. 



Last year Mr. Charles Hallock read a very interesting paper 

 before this society, entitled "When shad were a penny apiece," 

 in which he stated that "Connecticut shad in barrels were 

 first advertised in Boston in 1736, though they were current 

 in river towns for at least, three years previous at one penny 

 apiece. By 1773 prices had advanced to two or three pence " 

 This was caused by lack of transportation to inland towns, 

 and no matter how many shad we may produce, those prices 

 will not be heard again, nor will the markets be glutted to 

 the extent of lowering present prices unless for an occasional 

 day or two when the catch has been much larger than usual. 



The extension of railroads will always drain the fisheries, 

 which are limited in production, especially in the. fresh 

 waters. The shad only teed in fresh water during their first 

 year of life and after waid get their growth at sea, but the 

 pasturage for young shad, to borrow a word from the herds- 

 man, is limited by the amount of food such as cyclops, cope- 

 poda, daphnia, etc., which are in turn limited by other 

 causes. Therefore there is a natural limit to the capacity of 

 every stream to produce fish, hut that limit in our shad 

 rivers and in our lakes has not even been approached by our 

 labors in fishculture. 



"he funnel 



FIXTURES. 



BENCH 8H0W8. 

 Sept. 3 to 6.— Kingston Kennel Club, Kingston, Out. H. C. Bates 

 Sec'y. 



Sept. 9 to 13.— Industrial Exhibition Association's annual bench 

 show, Toronto, Oat. C. A. Stone, Sec'y and Sup't. 



Sept. 17-20.— Orange county Fair Bench Show, Newburgh, N. Y. 

 Robert Johnson, Sec'y. 



Sept. 24 to 27.— New England Kennel Club's second annual terrier 

 show, Boston, Mass. D. E. Loveland, Sec'y. 



Oct. 8-11.— Danbury, Conn.— Danbury Agricultural Society. G. L. 

 Rundle, Sec'y. 



FIELD TRIALS. 



Sept. 2.— Continental Field Trials Club's chicken trials at Morris 

 Man. P. T. Madison, Sec'y, Indianapolis, Ind. 



Sept. 10.— Morris, Man.— Manitoba F. T. C. John Wootton, Sec'y,. 

 Manltou. 



Nov. 5.— Chatham, Ont. — International F. T. Club. W. B.Wei's, Sec'y. 



Nov. 7.— Newton, N. C— U, S. Field Trial Club's Trials A. W. B.. 

 Stafford, Sec'y, Trenton, Tenn. 



Nov. 11.— Hempstead, L. I. — National Beagle Club of America, fifth 

 annual trials. Geo. W. Rogers, Sec'y, New York. 



Nov. 18.— Eastern F. T. Club, at Newton, N. C. W. A. Coster 

 Sec'y, Saratoga Springs, N. Y. 



Nov. 25.— Continental Field Trials Club's quail trials at Newton.. 

 P. T. Madison, Sec'y, Indianapolis, Ind. 



Oct. 29.— New England Field Trial Club, at Assonet, Mass. S. R. 

 harp, Sec'y. 



S 



Railroad Rates and Field Trials, 



Lock Box 4, Indianapolis, Ind., June SO.— Editor Forest 

 and Stream: I am sorry to be compelled to say that 

 special railroad rates could not be secured to the Conti- 

 nental Field Trials Club's chicken trials, at Morris, Man. 

 However, tourists' tickets can be purchased at nearly all 

 points in the South and West for St. Paul or Winnipeg. 

 These tickets are on sale now, and will be good returning 

 up to and including Oct. 81. Parties going who intend 

 taking dogs with them had better apply to me for a per- 

 mit or pasa for their dogs, otherwise they will have to 

 pay for having their dogs carried. 



P. T. Madison, Sec'y-Treas. 



