30 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 2, 1888. 



Oxford Rod and Gun Club.— At the annual meeting 

 of the Oxford Rod and Gun Club, of Brooklyn, held Jan. 

 10, the following members were elected to serve as board 

 of directors for the ensuing year: Dr. Henry G. Preston, 

 President; Charles A. Gilberg, Vice-President; Theodore 

 Baldwin. Treasurer; Spencer S. Baldwin. Secretary; 

 George F. Barlow, Edward A. Gilley, John D. Adams, 

 Charles R. Porterheld, O. Carlton Sundies, Percy Pyne 

 Lewis, Reginald G. Barclay. 



REPORT OF THE U. S. FISH COMMISSION. 



[Continued from page 10J 



rpHE reports of fishcultural work, made by persons in 

 JL charge of stations, is interesting although not volum- 

 inous. Col. M. McDonald reports on operations at the trout- 

 breeding station at Wytheville, Va., from its occupation in 

 January, 1882, to the close of 1884. The grounds, ponds, 

 buildings, and other permanent improvements at this station 

 are the property of the State of Virginia, it is rented to 

 the U. S. Fish Commission, which defrays the cost of main- 

 tenance. The Wytheville station is centrally situated in the 

 Appalachian Mountains, which abound in trout streams, 

 and the hatching is in the geographical center of the region 

 to he stocked, and is in easy c ommunication by rail with all 

 parts of it. The supply of water is very great , and the ferisj li- 

 tres for breeding the Salmonida} so exceptional that this 

 station was selected for the prolonged, extensive and syste- 

 matic work necessary to re-establish the trout fishing in the 

 Piedmont and mountain regions of Pennsylvania, Mary- 

 land, Virginia, West Virginia. North Carolina, South Caro- 

 lina, Tennessee, a .id the northern parts of Alabama and 

 Georgia. Colonel McDonald says experience has shown 

 that it is not well, in general, to attempt the stocking of 

 streams with fish less than one year old. and that the assur- 

 ance of success afforded by planting fish of sach size and 

 vigor of movement as will "give immunity from capture by 

 the small native predaeeous fish will more than counterbal- 

 ance the cost of the work of rearing ihem until a year old. 

 A notable feature of the work of 1884 was the stocking of a 

 number of streams in Georgia, Tennessee and northern 

 Alabama with two-year-old rain bow trout. 



Mr. Fred Mather reports the operations at Cold Spring 

 Harbor, X. Y., during the season of 1885. Whiten sh were 

 planted in the deep lakes of Long Island, and brook, brown 

 and ordinary trout were hatched and distributed. Accounts 

 of salmon taken in the Hudson are given and are mainly 

 credited to the columns of Forkst and Steeam, the plant- 

 ings having been made from the Cold Spring Harbor station. 

 Tables of the distribution of fresh and salt-water fishes are 

 given. In the next paper Mr. Mather gives a report of eggs 

 shipped to and received from foreign countries during the 

 season of 1885-86, and the distribution in the spring of 1886. 

 To Germany he sent, in his capacity of general assistant to 

 the Commission, lake trout, brook trout, rainbow trout, J 

 landlocked salmon and wbitefish eggs. To England, lake 

 trout, brook trout, landlocked salmon and whitefish eggs. 

 To Switzerland; lake trout, brook trout and whitefish eggs. 

 To France, the eggs of rainbow trout. The total number of 

 eggs of all kinds "sent abroad was 3,260,000. Eggs of the fol- 

 lowing species were received and distributed to different 

 stations: Marama (a small Corcijoa from Germany, were 

 sent to Bucksport, Me., and to Northville. Mich. Brown 

 trout were received from Germany an ri sent to Northville, 

 Mich., Wytheville, Va., Lake Brandon, N. Y,, Clendon 

 Brook, Warren county, N. Y.. Madison. Wis., and kept at 

 the station. In all 279,000 eggs of the different species were 

 received from Germanv. 



Mr. Frank N. Clark reports on the operations at theNorth- 

 ville and Alpena, Mich., stations for the season of 1885-Sri. 

 There was, on the whole, a satisfactory increase iu the re- 

 sults over the preceding' year, although there was a slight 

 falling off in the brook and rainbow trout branches. The 

 receipts of whit efish eggs at both stations amounted to 168,- 

 000,001), an increase of 13,000,000 over last year. Most of this 

 supply was drawn from the usual sources, the island region 

 of Lake Erie, the penning station at Monroe, and the west 

 shore of Lake Huron. There was an increase of 4,000.000 

 whitefish planted in the Great Lakes, the total being 92.000,- 

 000. The whitefish eggs were carried forward in creek water, 

 which was several degrees colder than spring water, until 

 about six weeks prior to hatching, from that time forward 

 nearly one-half the «ggs were transferred, at intervals, to 

 spring water, thus preventing ; to a certain extent, a precipi- 

 tation of the entire hatch, which would over-tax the storage 

 and shipping facilities of the stations. The work with lake 

 trout was three times greater than in any former season, 

 the eggs received numbering 1,475,000, some of which were 

 shipped to other stations, some were hatched and distrib- 

 uted, and the remainder was retained. 



Mr. Livingston Stone makes a report of operations at the 

 U. S. salmon and trout stations on the McCloud River Cali- 

 fornia, for the year 18S5. There was a small rnn of salmon 

 this year, probably caused by the illegal small-mesh Ashing 

 of the Chinese and Portugese in the Sacramento River, partly 

 by the great number of sealions at the mouth of that river, 

 and partly by the draft upon the supply made by the num- 

 erous canneries on the Sacramento. Records of the temper- 

 atures of air and water are given, 



Mr. Charles G. Atkins reports upon the propagation of 

 Penobscot salmon iu 18S5-86. There was no change of im- 

 portance in either methods or apparatus, but a new spawn- 

 house was built at Dead Brook and the stream and banks 

 were improved. The purchase of breeding salmon was 

 made between June 1 and 20, during which time 691 fish 

 •were bought, 81 of them died in transit because of the heat 

 of the river water, and the remainder were placed in the iu- 

 closure at Dead Brook, where 93 more died during the sum- 

 mer. The size of Penobscot salmon that year was small, 

 the estimated average of those purchased was 12.95! bs. At 

 the spawning season 283 females and 196 males were weighed 

 and measured. The females averaged 12.751bs. before spawn- 

 ing and 31.06in. in length. The males averaged lOlbs. in 

 weight and 31-Sin. in length. The females yielded an aver- 

 age of 3.191bs. of eggs; equal to 8,667 in number. The. spawn- 

 ing season covered the period between Oct. 27 and .Nov. 5. 

 and the fish were liberated in the river after spawning, 

 2,454,058 eggs are computed to have been taken, of these 113,- 

 371 failed to impregnate, being 4.6 per cent, of the original 

 number. The eggs were divided among the contributors to 

 the fund for obtaining them as follows: The U. S. Com- 

 mission, 1,251,500: Maine, 663,500; Massachusetts, 400,000. 

 Mr. Atkins also reports on the propagation of Schoodic 

 salmon in 1885-86. This is the fish more commonly (but 

 erroneously, according to Mr. Atkins) called "landlocked 

 salmon." In the middle of September 190 bushels of moss 

 were gathered, of which 175 bushels were dried in the sun, the 

 green moss being reserved to place next the eggs in packing 

 for shipment. The salmon began making nests in the gravel 

 as earlv as Oct. 22, and from that date forward in increased 

 num hers. On Oct. 24 the fish iug ponds were completed, and 

 for the first five nights the catch was small, the. aggregate 

 being 121 fish. On the night of the 29th there were 56 sal- 

 mon taken and the next night 107, the highest number for 

 the season. In all 811 fish were taken, of which 611 were 

 females, the average number of eggs from each gravid fish 

 being 1,720, The salmon were quite free from external sores, 

 but, out of 578 females there were 97 afflicted, with the ordin- 



ary ovarian disease, which displays itself in the presence of 

 white, or otherwise discolored and plainly defective eggs. 

 The total number of eggs taken was 994,355, of which 90 per 

 cent, were impregnated? This is an unusually low ratio, 

 even for Schoodic salmon, and may be attributed to the 

 scarcity of males, which led, on several occasions, to an in- 

 sufficient milting of the eggs. The record shows, for in- 

 stance, that the eggs taken Nov. 9, uu inhering 110,967. on 

 which there was a loss of 22 per cent., through lack of im- 

 pregnation, were, milted bynsingthe milt repeatedly, strain- 

 ing it off from one lot of eggs, much diluted with mucus and 

 water, and applying it in that condition to the next lot. Ex 

 perimentally, Mr. Atkins has sometimes obtained excellent 

 results in this way, but great care must be exercised, and it 

 should only be done when the live fish fail. The eggs were 

 divided as follows: The United States. 222,000: Maiue,T89,000; 

 Massachusetts, 115,000; New Hampshire, 115,000. 



[TO BE CONTINUED ] 



THE PRESERVATION OF FISHES. 



FISH is an important item in the food of man, and what- 

 ever increases or diminshes the supply concerns the 

 public. We have written about the great decrease of food 

 fishes on the coast, of New Jersey and what we have said upon 

 the subject will apply elsewhere, In 187S Mr. Haywood 

 gathered statistics of the food fish marketed in the town of 

 West Creek, 700 inhabitants, and the sales amounted to 

 $30.0001 What was sold in the other towns about here we 

 have no information, but there must have been many pounds, 

 but uow a very small amount of fish is sold there because 

 they are not to be had. 



What is the cause of this decrease? We know of no physical 

 change iu the formation of the coast that has materially les- 

 sened the sustenance of fish, nor has there been an eruption 

 to destroy them, as is the case sometimes on the west coast 

 of Florida. We know that the coast is continually changing, 

 but not so rapidly as to cause the great decrease of food tishes. 

 To our mind there appears to be but one cause and that is t he 

 indiscriminate net fishing outside the beach and in the bays. 

 When the fish come to spa wn the great portion of them are 

 petted before they have spawned, consequently there are few 

 young reproduced. This is not only the case along the coast 

 of New Jersey hut on most parts of our coast, and in fact all 

 over the world where indiscriminate netting is done. This 

 netting is certainly destroying whole races of fish for tem- 

 porary gain and is killing the goose that lays the golden egg. 

 As well might a farmer kill his hens before they lay and ex- 

 pect to raise a brood; but fortunately he takes care that 

 sufficient stock is left for reproduction. So it should be with 

 our fishes, if the race is worth preserving, not alone for the 

 sportsmen but for the public where fish forms an important 

 item of food. In some waters where fish have been extermin- 

 ated, artificial means are being used to replenish with new 

 stock, but if the same course of destruction is to continue the 

 new stock will not last long. 



When I was in England, some years since, I met a gentle- 

 man who said he was one of the fish authorities, and speaking 

 of fish food, he said that many years ago indiscriminate net- 

 ting had almost destroyed the fish on that coast, but laws 

 were passed regulating all kinds of fishing and were rigidly 

 enforced. Since then there has been a good run of fish, and 

 the last year there had been marketed, of home catch, over 

 sixteen million dollars' worth of fish in England, Ireland and 

 Scotland. 1 afterward saw his statements confirmed in the 

 English papers, 



If we would preserve our races of fish some action like the 

 above will have to be taken by Government, but I do not be- 

 lieve anything will be done until necessity prompts action. 

 Fish iu public waters are public property, and men have an 

 equal right to fish in such Waters with net or hook, but it is. 

 or should be, the place of the Government to so regulate all 

 such fishing that the races of fish shall not be destroyed. It 

 is very different in killing off the wild game of the wilder- 

 ness, for that is generally followed by the plough aud 

 domestic animals, but when the fishes are killed off there is 

 nothing to take their places for the use of man. Hunting 

 and fishing appear to be the natural proclivity of man, but as 

 such pursuits will not sustain a great population other 

 means will have to be resorted to. There are no more inter- 

 esting, health-giving, and manly sports than hunting or 

 fishing. One who has energy aud skill to do either well and 

 successfully, can do other "things well and successfully. 

 There are thousands of men who by close application to 

 business make, slaves of themselves' to make money, who, 

 if they would take reasonable relaxation in the sports of 

 hunting and fishing or other out-door recreations, would 

 relieve themselves for a time of the cares of business and pre- 

 serve their health and vivacity of mind, add much to the 

 pleasure of life and save them from premature old age, and 

 perhaps early death. P. 



THE MASSACHUSETTS COMMISSION. 



TN the report of the Commissioners of Inland Fisheries 

 J_ and Game, of the State of Massachusetts, for the year 

 ending Dec. 31, 1887, we learn that an investigation of all 

 the fishways on the Merrimac River was made in Juue, and 

 they were in good working condition. There has been no 

 complaint in regard to any of the fishways in the State, ex- 

 cept the one at Middleborough, which is dilapidated and 

 out of repair, and in its present condition is a serious obsta- 

 cle to the fisheries of the Taunton River. Prompt action 

 will be taken in regard to this next spring. Observations on 

 fish seen in the Lawrence fishway, between May 14 and Sept. 

 9, show 69 salmon, 2 shad. 4 black bass, suckers, eels, lam- 

 preys, etc. 



An attempt to hatch shad in the Taunton River failed be- 

 cause they spawn earlier than in the Merrimac, a fact not 

 previously known. At North Andover 1,200,000 shad were 

 hatched. Favorable accounts of previous plantings of trout 

 have been received, showing an increase over former years. 

 From the hatchery at Plymouth. N. H, 387,000 trout eggs 

 were received aud hatched. There are no ponds at the Mas- 

 sachusetts hatchery aud no fish are kept. The amount of 

 spawn of landlocked salmon was about half that obtained 

 in recent years, and a still further reduction will be made in 

 1888 It had been expected that there would be an increased 

 run of sea salmon in the Merrimac in 1886. This did not 

 take place, and it was claimed by some that the young fish 

 were killed bypassing through the turbine wheels at Man- 

 chester. Lowell, and especially at Lawrence. An examina- 

 tion info the construction of the turbine wheel showed that 

 probably not one fish in a thousand would be likely to be 

 destroyed in passing through it. A close watch at several 

 places'below the mftls did not result in finding any dead or 

 injured fish. As the vouug salmon in the Merrimac run to 

 the sea on the spring freshets, it is proble that most of them 

 "tail" over the dams. Very few are seen in the canals lead- 

 ing to the mills. 



Forty adult salmon were taken at the hatchery at Ply- 

 mouth, N. H., and kept in the ponds to be stripped of their 

 eggs in the spawning season, and then returned to the water 

 alive. Many more would have been taken had it not been 

 for a heavv rise in the river during the best part of theruu, 

 which prevented the use of the net at that time. Those 

 that escaped passed up to their spawning beds at the head- 

 water. 



Salmon in the Merrimac spawn in the fall and return to 

 the sea on the spring freshets. As they spawn every other 

 year, the run of this year will not, therefore, return till 1889. 



There is no reason to conclude, however, that there will be 

 any decrease next year, as the continuous planting at the 

 headwaters will more than make up for the absence of these 



fish, while the run for 1889 should be more than double that 

 of this year. 



If the run of salmon this year could have been taken from 

 the fishway at Lawrence, and kept in a suitable place till 

 their spawn was ripe, more than a million young salmon 

 would have been obtained for next spring's planting. 



The association with the United States Commission for 

 the procuring of salmon spawn for the different States, 

 which was suspended this year, for reasons above stated, 

 should be continued until the supply in the river is sufficient 

 to enable the Commissioners of the two States to take the 

 necesary amount of spawn. 



The river is now open for taking salmon with hook and 

 line, and the indications are that it will soon become an 

 attractive resort for anglers. 



Col. E. B. Hodge, superintendent of the hatchery at 

 Plymouth, N. H, reports that there has been a larger num- 

 ber of salmon in the river this season than any year since 

 Lawrence dam was built. Forty salmon were taken in the 

 ponds, from which a large number of eggs will be secured. 

 The number would have" been largely increased had not the 

 heavy July rains kept the river very high for two weeks 

 during the heaviest part of the ran. The largest fish taken 

 was a female. 40in. in length, weight 241 bs. The smallest, a 

 grilse, weight 4 1 <flbs. This was the first grilse taken in the 

 nets since the station was established. 



Young shad in the Merrimac have been killed by the 

 thousands in the small-meshed seines at Newburyport. and 

 used for bait in the eel-pots, or left on the shore, to decay. 

 In 18S4 the mesh was restricted to not less than 2} ;j in., yet a 

 compromise was made by the State with the fishermen, 

 based on the fact that there had been in years past and 

 might be again, schools of menhaden entering the river, 

 svhich were valuable at certain seasons of the year for bait, 

 and that there was still a considerable run of bluebacks 

 that could be used for that purpose. Otherwise there was 

 no reason why the fishermen at Newburyport should have 

 privileges not asked for nor granted to the fishermen above. 



Soon after this act was passed, a consultation was held with 

 the fishermen on the lower part of the river, in which there 

 was a frank and free discussion of both sides of the question, 

 aud the assurance given to the fishermen, that the law was 

 for the public good and that there was no disposition ro de- 

 prive them of any reasonable amount of fishing. The fisher- 

 men expressed themselves satisfied and agreed that if further 

 legislation was to be asked for they would consult with the 

 Commissioners before going to the Legislature. In violation 

 of this understanding they appeared before the Legislature 

 last winter, asking for a law, which, had it passed, would 

 have led to the complete destruction of all migratory fisb iu 

 the river. 



Then menhaden have, for years, been driven from the har- 

 bor and mouth of the rivers by steamers using purse-aet3. 

 The blue-backs have been so scarce that they have become of 

 little or no value. The use of the two aud one-quarter inch 

 mesh in the lower part of the river, which was a compromise, 

 to enable the fishermen to take these fish, necessarily destroys 

 a large number of one and two ybar old shad which are 

 found there during a greater part of the summer. 



There can be no reasonable complaint from the fishermen 

 of the lower Merrimac, nor any that should for a moment 

 command the attention of the Legislature, aud if they are 

 not willing to abide by the present law. the Commissioners 

 recommend that the laws controlling the fisheries at New- 

 buryport be made uniform with those on the upper part of 

 the river. 



RAINBOW TROUT. — We learn from the last report ol 

 the U. S. Fish Comnrssion (Rep. for 1885. p. 122) tbar Mr. 

 Frank N. Clark, superintend* nt of the U. S. Fish Commis- 

 sion station at Northville, Mich., recommends thnt -on 

 account of the continued partial failure in the returns from 

 this species, 1 would recommend that the stock on hand be 

 distributed and their propagation at Northville be discon- 

 tinued. At present about one-half of the water Supply and 

 pond facilities is devoted to rainbow trout, the returns from 

 which are meagre and unsatisfactory. By supplanting 

 them with brook trout and German [brown] trout, or by 

 concentrating the divided forces on one line, the aggregate 

 results would be greatly increased." We learn that the 

 South Side Sportsmen's Club, of Long Island, have discon- 

 tinued the culture of this fish, and, while spawners are 

 plenty in their ponds, they do not think it worth while to 

 take their eggs. They have about 800,000 eggs of brook trout 

 on their trays, but no* eggs of the rainbow trout. The rea- 

 son for this, our informant says, is the fish do not take the 

 fly well, nor do they take bait as freely as brook trout, and 

 the members of the club do not care for them. All the lakes 

 of the club have screens, which prevent this fish from going 

 to salt water. Mr. Mather pointed out some years ago that 

 the rainbow trout was identical with the ''steel head" salmon 

 of the Pacific coast, and Br. Bean agreed with him, and that 

 if it could get to sea on the Atlantic coast it would not re- 

 turn, as was the case with the "California" salmon (Oncur- 

 hynchus qnirmat), introduced into Eastern waters some years 

 ago. i 



THE NEW FISH COMMISSIONER.— Col. McDonald, 

 the newly appointed Commissioner of Fisheries for the 

 United States, is reported as having said to an Evening 

 Post correspondent: "As to the future of the Commission, 

 I consider it my duty to bring it back to its moorings, from 

 which it has to a certain exteut drifted. I think it is the 

 desire of Congress and the President that the Commission 

 should be an economic rather than a scientific institution. 

 Science should be the handmaid of the Commission, and not 

 the Commission the servant of science. To put the matter 

 in a nutshell, the naturalist cares as much for a sculpiu as 

 for a codfish, but the Commission cares more for the codfish. 

 Hereafter the Commission will point cat the path for scien- 

 tific investigation, and science will be subordinate to econo- 

 mic development. As an instance of the practical results 

 of the Commission's work, in 1880 the shad catch from Cape 

 Cod to Cape Fear was 4,800,000. and it was declining. In 

 1881 we commenced our work of distribution, and in 1885 it 

 began to show its effects. In that year the catch was 5,125,- 

 000, in 1886 5.750,000. and in 1?87 6,700,000. In round numbers 

 the increase in the value of the catch was $400,000"— and at 

 a cost of less than §20,000 yearly. 



MORE SALMON HATCHING FOR THE COLUMBIA.— 

 Under a law passed by Congress, providing an appropriation 

 of ten thousand dollars, to be used by the U. S. Fish Com- 

 mission, for the establishment of a salmon breeding station 

 on the Columbia River, Prof. Goode has directed Mr, Liv- 

 ington Stone to proceed to the Pacific coast and select a suit- 

 able site for a salmon breeding station on the Columbia, and 

 to build one or more stations, as may be thought best in 

 compliance with tfce provisions of the law. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Talks to Young Men. (With asides to young women). By 

 Robert Collyer. Boston: Lee & Shepard; 188b. Price. $1.35. 



Morals V3KSUS Anr. By Anthony Comstock. New York: J. 

 S. Ogilvie & Co.; 1883. Price, 10 cents. 



First Lessons in Zoology, adapted for use in schools. By 

 A. S. Packard. Mew York: Henry Holt & Co.; 1888. 



The Standaru Hoyle. A complete guide and reliable au- 

 thority upon ail games of chance or skill now played in the 

 United States, whether of native origin or foreign introduction. 

 Full explanations how the various games are to be played, with 

 diagrams and illustrations. New York: Excelsior Publishing; 

 House; 1888. 



