Aug. 24, 1895. J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



1 c £ 



of, perhaps, in pond culture. It has been long claimed for 

 the mussel that its young, amounting to countless myriads, 

 afford valuable nutrition to small, growing fishes. The 

 young mussels have been regarded as being especially valu- 

 able as a nutrient article on account of supplying calcareous 

 matter, required in considerable quantity, for building up 

 the bone structure of fish fry. But now it seems that another 

 equally or more important use can be made of the mussel, in 

 this case the adult, in the role of a sanitary functionary, 

 i._e., as a scavenger. There is a conspicuous want in this 

 direction, and practical pond culturists will appreciate the 

 prospective bearing of the suggestion. 



The mussels first known by me to have been dragged from 

 their watery homes on the hook found the common angle 

 worm the source of attraction; the next catch, about 200 on 

 one line, were tempted by a cooked paste composed of stale 

 cheese and wheat flour; the third catch, mentioned in the 

 early part of this letter, were victims to bits of raw side 

 bacon and slices of salted river herring. The varied menu 

 suggests a wide range of diet, and may include plants. The 

 fres]i-water;mussels have a wide distribution. Apparently 

 mussels require running water, or, what is an equivalent, a 

 considerable water area. S. G, Worth. 



};tmc and Jfbtj $rotntwn. 



Maine Protection. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In the article in your issue of Aug. 17, entitled "Maine 

 Protection," Mr. Stanley gives a second affidavit from 

 Messrs. Conant and Tyler. The first was given and printed 

 in good faith, as the date was believed to be 1891. Further 

 investigation showed that it was in 1890, and that being the 

 case, there was no law forbidding Mr. Harriman from tak- 

 ing money if offered. But this fact, while it relieves the 

 warden, only shifts the responsibility to the Commissioner. 

 Mr. Stanley well knows that prior to 1891 there were numer- 

 ous cases where deer were seized and held for alleged illegal 

 shipment, when, as I am to-day informed by as good counsel 

 as there is in the State on such matters, there was no law 

 which forbid any man from shipping deer; and it was not 

 till the Commissioners were beaten in the Bennett and Mc- 

 Phetres cases that the law in 1891 was changed; such being 

 the case, there was no need of services of a warden or any 

 one else in shipping deer in 1890. 



If Mr. Stanley wishes to know certainly about this thing 

 and will notify me of any time he will be in Bangor I will 

 show him that the money paid was paid on the belief that 

 the deer could be seized as others had been and that the 

 owners had good grounds for believing so. The fact is the 

 Commissioners allowed deer to be taken under form of law 

 when the test cases proved what they knew before that there 

 was no law and this was the cause of money being paid. 



In regard to the affidavit of E. L. Morse that.I never offered 

 to go to Mr. Conant's with him, I have simply to say that I 

 did so offer, and he told me, "If you have any proof you had 

 better have him indicted.'' My only object in speaking to 

 him on the subject was to get him to investigate it, and when 

 I offered to go and show proof he squarely refused. 



In regard to the guide's telling him that I had written and 

 warned him of Mr. Morse's coming, I cannot say that a 

 guide may not have told him so, but I will say there was no 

 truth in it, and if Mr. Morse has an average memory he will 

 remember that he once told me this same story on the street, 

 and I told him there was no truth in it. I only know of one 

 reason for Mr. Morse's seeming hostility to me, and that is 

 that once, when I had good reason for believing that he would 

 be shot on account of the belief that he put poison in various 

 places, I warned him of his danger. He believed my word 

 then, and at his request I wrote letters to two parties giving 



in future. 



The principal point to which I wish to call Mr. Stanley's 

 attention, and except for which I should have let his article 

 pass without a reply, is regarding what he states about 

 togue, or as he still persists in calling them lake trout. To 

 quote him exactly, he says: "Notwithstanding Mr. Hardy's 

 assertion to the contrary, I here state that the fish I saw 

 were not togue, and were unlike anything we have in Maine. 

 I went with Mr. Thayer, of the Augusta House, who had 

 these fish on his table, to the market where he bought them. 

 The dealer took us to his refrigerator and showed them to 

 us, and said they came from Lake Ontario and were lake 

 trout, which I have no doubt they were, for which there is 

 no close time in Maine or need of any." 



Does Mr. Stanley wish it to go on record that he, a Pish 

 Commissioner and a life-long fisherman, does not know that 

 a lake trout, a laker and a togue are one and the same fish? 

 He says that there is no close time on lake trout in Maine 

 On page 27 of Revision of Fish and Game Laws for 1895 he 

 will find: "There shall be an annual close time on land- 

 locked salmon, commonly so called, trout and togue." Now 

 the only question in dispute is, are togue and lake trout one 

 and the same? In 18S-4 a book was written on the "Fishery 

 Industries of the United States," by George Brown Goode, 

 with (as the title tells us) the co-operation of Spencer F. 

 Baird, Commissioner. On page 486, under the head of "Lake 

 Trout," we are told: "Naturalists have been sadly misled by 

 these protean modifications. The 'namaycush' of the north 

 the 'togue' or 'tuladi' of the Maine and New Brunswick In- 

 dians and lumbermen, the siscowit or siskawitz of Lake 

 Superior, the trout of Winnipeseogee and that of the Adiron- 

 dack lakes, have each been honored with a distinct binomial. 

 * * * A careful study of the dead fish is sufficient, how- 

 ever, to convince a trained observer that there are no struc- 

 tural differences by which these different forms may be sep- 

 arated into species." Leaving out a great deal which space 

 forbids quoting, it is said on page 487: "This fish," writes 

 Lanman, "is found in all the great lakes of New Brunswick 

 and in very many of those in Maine, but is believed not to 

 exist in the lakes of Nova Scotia. It is called by the lumber- 

 men 'togue.' " 



From what has been quoted above from the most eminent 

 authorities in the United States, it seems clear that lake 

 trout and togue are one and the same fish, and that a close 

 time on one is a close time on the other, and also on all the 

 other twelve different names which in the article quoted 

 from are applied to it. It also seems clear that, while there 

 may be minor points of difference, the fish taken in Ontario 

 and Maine are one and the same. If Mr. Stanley will care- 

 fully read the whole of the article from which I have only 

 quoted detached portions, I think he will be fair-minded 

 enough to admit that he is in error, and that there really is a 

 close time in Maine on lake trout, and also that I was correct 

 in claiming the Ontario fish, as he calls them, as being the 

 same as our Maine fish. 



To quote Mr. Stanley again and lastly: "I will say in re- 

 ply Mr. Hardy did tell the truth. The man he speaks of did 

 sit before him, but he was not a warden, and had not been 

 for some time from the very reason Mr. Hardy speaks of, as 

 we refused to recommend his reappointment or to employ 

 him. I have no doubt the man had pocketed fines, but Mr 

 Hardy produced no proof, nor offered to, that the man had 

 done so, although I presume he may have thought so by tell- 

 ing of the seized hides, which he had a perfect right to if 

 they were legally seized. They were his. " 



I wish to thank Mr. Stanley for in this case quoting me so 

 fairly with the evident intention of doing me justice in this 



case. Had he taken the pains when we met after the meet- 

 ing closed to have asked me for proof in this or any of the 

 cases I referred to, I would certainly have met him half way, 

 and I believe he would not have written some of the things 

 he has or inserted such a scurrilous affidavit as that of Mr. 

 Morse. The facts in the above case are these: I paid the 

 warden at one time $101 for hides legally seized, Mr. Still- 

 well himself sending over for me to come over and see the 

 warden. The warden did not pretend that they were his, 

 for when after I had paid for and taken a bill of them I 

 asked him to pay something on a large debt he owed me, he 

 said that half belonged to the State. I afterward sent him 

 a check for $27 for another lot of three hides. Wishing to 

 know whether the State ever received its share, I carried the 

 receipt and the stub of the check to Mr. Stillwell, who told 

 me that he had never paid in a cent of that or any other 

 fines. I cannot see where I failed to do all I was called upon 

 to do, or what more proof I could show. Mr. S. kept the 



?apers and I have never seen them since. A long time after 

 asked Mr. S. if the warden was still in office, and he re- 

 plied that he was, and on my expressing surprise he said: 

 ' I hare one consolation, the poachers do not get off easily." 

 Till I read Mr. Stanley's article I was not aware of his dis- 

 charge. 



I stand ready to second any effort the Commissioners will 

 make to get rid of poor wardens, if it takes the last one, and 

 am happy to give them full credit for all they have done or 

 will do in this line. Whatever opinion the Commissioners 

 may have, I believe I have done my full share to try and 

 have the laws administered so that people will respect them 

 and those appointed to enforce them. For years I have been 

 calling attention to the fact that wardens should give bonds, 

 as numerous letters to Representatives and Senators will 

 testify, and also that Commissioners should give statements 

 of all funds received, whether from fines or otherwise, and 

 an itemized account of how all such funds were expended, 

 the same to be audited as other accounts are. The first part 

 has been accomplished, and wardens now give bonds, as they 

 should have done years ago. 



Should I ever meet the Commissioners or any of their 

 wardens in the woods, and they are hungry, they shall have 

 half the provisions I have. If I ever know of their doing an 

 unfair thing I shall tell them of it when I meet them. 



Manly Hardy. 



Brewer, Me., Aug. 17. 



Dixfield, Me., Aug. 17.— Editor Forest and Stream: In 

 my article in Forest and Stream this week in answer to 

 Manly Hardy, entitled "Maine Protection," an omission of 

 the word "not" makes me accuse Mr. Hardy of dishonesty, 

 which I did not, nor intend to do. It reads, I am not going 



not," etc. 



Henry O. Stanley. 



"That reminds me." 

 He has a Horn Snake. 



Chicago, 111., Aug. 16.— In an earlier issue of Forest 

 and Stream I have ventured the assertion that some day 

 I should see a specimen of the horn snake sent in to the 

 Forest and Stream office. To-day I can announce that 

 the horn snake has arrived. I have got him. He is in a 

 bottle, and can be seen without any price of admission. 

 The only regret I have about the matter is that, unfortu- 

 nately, the snake being dead, I cannot try it on a wagon 

 tongue or hoe handle. I also regret that the horn is not 

 so long as it might be, the snake having been killed before 

 the horn had a chance to show what it could do. Still, 

 the horn is there, and I can say I have a horn snake. I 

 suppose Science will say this snake could not split a wagon 

 tongue, but how does Science know? In short, did Science 

 or anybody else ever see a horn snake, or any other 

 kind of a snake, trying its tail on a wagon tongue? 

 What does Science know about it then? 



The smallness of the horn in my specimen leaves 

 something to be desired, but I know Dr. Taylor and Mr. 

 Miles, of Brownsville, Tenn., have seen snakes with 

 longer horns than this. Moreover, the color of this snake 

 does not all tally with the description of the Florida and 

 other horn snakes. Therefore I must say I am not yet 

 satisfied. Will some gentleman please send me a snake 

 with a bigger horn? 



None the less I thank Mr. E. A. Mcllhenny, of Avery's 

 Island, New Iberia Parish, La., very much for this 

 snake, and for the very interesting letter which he writes 

 in regard to it. Mr. Mcllhenny is the first to materialize 

 a horn snake, and his words have weight. He writes 

 me thus: 



"I have followed with much interest, through the col- 

 umns of Forest and Stream, your search for information 

 about the horn snake. Being fond of natural history, 

 whenever a report of a horned snake has reached me I 

 have followed it up, offered rewards and searched myself, 

 and have always (if I met with any) met with the same 

 snake. I sent you one of these snakes in alcohol by ex- 

 press yesterday. 



"This snake is known throughout Louisiana as the 'bas- 

 tard horn snake.' It is generally conceded that it has a 

 horn at the end of its tail, and that the horn has a sting in 

 it, and whatever it touches dies from the effect. 



"It is obvious there is no horn, and by examination you 

 will find there is no sting. You will notice, however, the 

 peculiar formation of the last scale on the end of the tail 

 and the abruptness with which the tail terminates, and in 

 this scale formation is where the idea of the horn comes 

 from. 



"The snake I sent you is a small one (they often attain 

 a length of Gi to 7ft.), and the horn is not well developed. 

 As the snake grows larger the terminating scale enlarges, 

 so that on a 6ft. snake I have seen the last scale from £■ to 

 lin. long. These snakes are found around damp places, 

 among old logs and fallen timber, which they are sup- 

 posed to have killed. Their principal food is insects of 

 various sorts and their larvge. In procuring their food 

 the unusual formation of the tail comes into use. By 

 working it point first under small objects on the ground 

 which would shelter insectB, they are enabled to turn 

 them over and find the food more readily. They in this 

 manner strip the bark from old logs in search of food. 

 They may be handled with perfect impunity, for they 

 never attempt to strike with head or tail. 



"The colors of the specimen I sent are much faded by 

 the alcohol. In life they are a shiny blue-black, with the 

 belly markings a brilliant red, 



"To be sure I was sending the right snake I showed it 

 yesterday to several of the negroes about the place, asking 



them what it was; they all gave about the same 

 answer: 'Bastard horned snake, sure destruction to 

 everything it stings,' etc., etc. 



"I trust these facts will be of interest to you." 



The facts are of interest. I have never read of any 

 snake using its tail as above described, nor do I believe 

 such habit is generally known. A snake with a soft tail 

 would be no good in that business. In time, nature 

 would harden the tail with a scale-like, horny protection. 

 That is evolution, and on that I ask Science to agree with 

 me. If she does that, Science admits about ail I claim — 

 that there is a snake with a horn on its tail, and that the 

 horn has some purpose, or it would not be there. Science 

 has never established that the actual purpose of it was to 

 split wagon tongues, so it may be called a success after 

 all. And I've got the snake to prove it. 



More Snake Legs. 



Mr. Frank M. Buckland, of West Hartford, Conn., sends 

 the following cutting from the Hartford Times: 



"Snakes with rudimentary legs and feet have been told 

 of, but few, we guess, ever saw one. Such a snake has 

 been killed (as we understand it) in or near the southwest 

 part of Hartford, and left, in alcohol, at the Times office 

 by Mr. George V. Brickley, of 120 Wethersfield avenue. 

 It seems to be an undoubted snake, though a queer one. 

 The head has been cut off and left with the body in the 

 bottle; a large part of the other end also has been cut off, 

 for the purpose, as Mr. Brickley is reported to have said, 

 of getting it all into the bottle— a 6oz. vial. The snake 

 was said to be 2ft. long; it has a half fuzzy look, and is of 

 a very dark, almost black hue, relieved by many encir- 

 cling yellow ochre stripes or bands. It looks, head and 

 all, much like a viper or an adder; but the queer thing is a 

 pair of little feet, with toes and claws, growing out of the 

 body near the vent. It is not easy to study the creature 

 through the media of glass and alcohol, and we do not 

 guarantee the genuineness of the apparent phenomenon, 

 but it certainly does look to be a real snake, sure enough. 

 The person who brought the creature in seems not to have 

 indicated very clearly the locality where it was killed." 



The Times is puzzling over snake "legs" just as a lot of 

 us were until the arrival of Mr. Boardman's letter, pub- 

 lished in last week's Forest and Stream. These legs 

 are not legs, as reference to that number will show. 



The "Smoking Revolver." 



My friend the daily reporter has a great fondness for 

 the "smoking revolver." The murderer shoots his "vic- 

 tim" seven times mortally, and then flings away his 

 smoking revolver, or rushes upstairs with his smoking 

 revolver, or turns his smoking revolver on the pursuing 

 crowd, or upon himself, or upon the policeman — anyhow, 

 it smokes always. And if my friend the daily newspaper 

 artist did not draw the picture with a chunk of smoke 

 coming solidly out of the revolver he would lose his job. 

 In the daily press the weapon is always a "smoking re- 

 volver," and will be, even after nitros alone are used. 

 But really, did the gentlemen ever fire a revolver, or see 

 one fired, which had contracted this pernicious habit. 



Another bad habit (after the "crashing through his 

 brain" item) is the extremely free use made of buckshot 

 by the daily reporter. In the mining riots now before 

 the public, as in all earlier riots, the leader of the riot 

 falls because "forty buckshot pierced his heart." He 

 ought to fall then, to be sure; but why always the mystic 

 number of forty buckshot? At Spring Valley coal riots 

 this week one gentleman was shot in the back with the 

 same forty buckshot, and they "pierced his heart," or 

 "lodged in his heart," though a subsequent statement 

 shows that he was still alive two days later. 



Frog' Industry. 

 "Growers and dealers in live frogs for bait" is what the 

 card of Messrs. Utter & Johnson reads. There is quite a 

 call among the Chicago bait casters for the useful frog, 

 and it seems another firm is in the industry. For years 

 Grossman, out Seventy-first street way, was the acknowl- 

 edged frog man of Chicago, and I believe still continues 

 in the business. It is an odd calling, but it bought a house 

 and lot and raised a big family of nice boys and girls. I 

 hope the new firm will do as well. E. Hough. 



PUBLISHERS' DEPARTMENT. 



The Buzzacott Outfit. 



Buffalo, N. Y., Aug. 14.— That part of the sporting fraternity that 

 finds its chief delight in camping out in the woods, on the banks of a 

 trout Btream or near the feeding ground of the deer, may be interested 

 in the experience of the 65th Regiment, of this city, Col. Samuel L. 

 Welch, commander, with the Buzzacott cooking outfit on its recent 

 field tour. The regiment was gone a week, making marches through 

 Erie county, it having been the only regiment of the State National 

 Guard with pluck enough to undertake this field service this year. 



Forest and Stream not being a military paper, I will skip over the 

 marching and get down to the part the Buzzacott ovens played in the 

 tour. When the regiment was laying plans for the tour the old ovens, 

 part of the equipment of the command, were looked over, and it was 

 voted that they would not do, it being impossible to cook a meal upon 

 them. The officers of the company and the privates then went in and 

 contributed money to equip the regiment with the Buzzacott outfit. 

 They bought the style made for military purposes. The regiment is 

 the only one in the State that has these ovens. The ovens worked to 

 perfection during the week that the regiment was out, and since his 

 return Col. Welcn aDd the other officers of the regiment have spoken 

 of the Buzzacott outfit in the highest terms. This experiment of the 

 regiment ought to interest hunters who have not yet formed the ac- 

 quaintance of the Buzzacott cooking outfit. 



John Nolan, Assistant City Editor, Buffalo Express. 



The "Badminton Magazine." 



The first number of the new English Badminton Magazine of Sports 

 and Pastimes makes an extremely favorable impression. It covers a 

 wide field, ranging from Alpine climbing to tarpon fishing and golf • 

 and is handsomely printed and illustrated. The American agents are 

 Messrs. Longmans, Green & Co., New York. The subscription price 

 is $3.50 a year. * 



The Marlin Fire Arms Company announce that they are dow pre- 

 pared to furnish their .30cal. ride in the model 1893. The cartridge is 

 loaded with 30grs. of smokeless powder and a 160grs. full metal 

 patched bullet. The velocity of this bullet is a little over 1 800ft per 

 second; the penetration is nearly four times as great as that of the 

 ordinary lead bullets shot out of the regular hunting rifles The steel 

 used for barrel, as well as that used in the receiver and breech- bolt is 

 manufactured and guaranteed to the regulation specifications of the 

 United States Government. 



"Hunting and Fishing along the Northwestern lane" 



is the title of a booklet recently issued by the Chicago & Northwestern 

 Railway It in profusely illustrated, and gives information in detail 

 concerning the best hunting and fishing grounds in the W«rt T and 

 ?°^ W w% Copies will be ma led free to any address upon appuck- 

 to ^' B - ^kern, General Passenger and Ticket Agent, Chicago 

 & Northwestern Railway, Chicago, 111.— Adv. v,mcago 



