162 



FOREST AND STREAM 



[March 15, 1888. 



good a reason. Many a one would be willing to sacrifice the 

 whole feathered tribe to disfigure what she calls a love of a 

 hat, that would outshine the lofty structure which topped 

 out a more fortunate neighbor. 



It is for the Legislature to act upon other grounds and for 

 higher ends. It behooves the State to deal with this matter 

 i d accordance with the, laws -which regulate the increase and 

 decrease of the fishes and the needs of the people, and not 

 solely for the interests of any private individual whosoever. 



The State is the custodian of its own wealth, and watches 

 over it for the good of the many and not for the_ interests of 

 a few. Massachusetts has ever been proud of its fisheries, 

 and can ill afford to permit them to be destroyed. Besides, 

 many of these, alleged disastrous consequences are by no 

 means sure to follow; and, that it may not be charged upon 

 us that we are indifferent 'to the interests of others, we will 

 pass them briefly iu review: 



1. That the original rost of the several devices of the fish- 

 ermen is undoubtedly considerable, we admit, but their 

 present value is not very great, and unless the owner has 

 been unusually unfortunate, they have paid for themselves 

 more tbau once, so that the only actual loss which will be 

 sustained is the remote one of a prospective catch. The 

 assessed value of the twenty-four traps on Sconticut Neck, 

 taxed in Kairhaveu, is only about $3,000, and the amount of 

 taxes paid on them into the town treasury was ouly $28. 

 Besides, when men invest money in any business which may 

 be controlled by law, they know' what risks they take; and 

 when they come, as now, and ask you to protect them in 

 their property, they forget what little regard they had for 

 the capital of others when they set up their traps. Before 

 the fishing with hook and line had been interfered with, a 

 large capital was invested in smacks, boats and their equip- 

 ments. The business was ruined and loss sustained, slowly, 

 it is true, but not the less sure. 



2. That some people will be thrown out of employment is 

 probable, but renewed fishiug grounds will employ ten men 

 where only one now is needed. 



3. I ha ve already alluded to the probable effect upon the 

 markets. It is of no advantage to the consumer that the 

 markets are glutted early in the season with a great supply 

 of fish, while for the greater portion of the time they cannot 

 supply their customers. They may make more money by 

 handling large quantities of fish at a time, but they wall 

 have better fish and a more steady supply from those who 

 catch only a limited number at a time. 



4. That the railroads will carry more freight is true, but 

 the Commonwealth cannot be expected to overlook all other 

 cousi derations in order to make freight for them. 



5. That the lands will suffer for want of fertilizers is not 

 probable. There would be a gain in this respect on the sea- 

 shore if the seaweed is allowed to collect. But whether so or 

 not we cannot see. how our valuable food fishes can be afforded 

 for such use. Fish guano is not so much better or cheaper 

 than other concentrated manures that our fisheries should 

 he sacrificed to produce it. 



6. The only compensation we can see for the twine men is 

 that they should work up their stock into hand lines, but 

 we fail to see why tint business of making seine twine should 

 he protected at ' the sacrifice of a business worth a million 

 times more than that is. 



7. There is certainly no disposition on our part to prevent 

 the cod and mackerel fishermen from having all the bait they 

 need. We would do anything within reason which would 

 aid them, so that they might supply us with cod and 

 mackerel at a reasonable price. We think that it will ap- 

 pear that their bait can be furnished to them even if some 

 restriction is put upon the pounds and seines. It will pro- 

 bably be in evidence before you that they are supplied -with 

 herring at the pounds from about the twenty-fifth of March 

 to the tenth of May, and it is to be hoped that this invest- 

 igation will bring out some valuable, information on this im- 

 portant branch of the subject. 



That the differences between the mackerel men and the 

 anti-trappers are reconcilable we have no doubt, and that a 

 provision cau be made which will benefit the one without 

 injury to the other. The dealers in mackerel undoubtedly 

 make as much money with mackerel at 835 per barrel, as they 

 did when they sold them for ¥10, and with much less trouble, 

 but the more abundantly they are caught and the cheaper 

 they are, so much the. better for the people who consume 

 them. We could afford to sacrifice something to supply them 

 with bait if the effect should be to cause thetti to come down 

 a little on the price of their fish, but it is rather hard to make 

 its suffer the loss of our other food fishes and be obliged to 

 pay an advanced price for mackerel and cod. 



We have thus endeavored to place before you a view of 

 the, condition of the fisheries as they were in 1873, and have 

 referred to such investigations as had at that time been 

 made, together with the several theories which had been set 

 up to account for the changes which up to that time had 

 taken place with our criticisms thereupon. It remains 

 for us now to offer you evidence as to what has taken place 

 since. 



Since 1872 little has been done and little written to advance 

 our knowledge of the question. For nearly hall a century 

 the food fishes of our sea coast, so rich in flavor as to tempt 

 the appetite of the rich, so essential to the poor, so whole- 

 some and nutritious to all, the only food which a poor man 

 or woman can get without money, are seen to grow scarcer 

 year by year. Meantime injurious methods have been re- 

 sorted to to capture them in vast numbers without reference 

 to the laws of their origin, their increase, or their growth. 

 We are confident that such a relationship has been seen to 

 exist between these two concurrent data as to show that the 

 one is the effect and necessary consequence of the other. 

 Little or nothing has hitherto been done to prevent the 

 former by any limitation or regulation of the latter. Is it 

 too much for us to ask that some decisive step be taken, 

 having for its chief object the restoration of the fisheries. 



Let me ask, sir, in conclusion, what other matter of so 

 great concern to so many people of this Commonwealth has 

 been neglected like this? Around the. stately deer, the timid 

 fawn, the swift and eager hare, and the little rodent, with 

 the shady tail, you throw the protection of the law. The 

 partridge and the quail gather their broods under their 

 wings, which they would not but for you. The birds in 

 you find their kind protector, and come to thank you with 

 their early and their later song. Shall the fishes alone, 

 whose enemies are without number, be left without a 

 friend? 



THE MISSION OF THE MENHADEN. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Mr. 'Martin says the sophistries and subterfuges resorted 

 to by the m enhaden oil men should not be allowed to over- 

 shadow the fact that food fishes are decreasing. It would 

 seem to us that Mr. Martin and his friends should produce 

 evidence and be sure they were right before they undertook 

 the passage of a law, which, if enacted, will injure thous- 

 ands of people and render almost valueless a large amount 

 of invested capital. 



We deny the allegation, and produce the sea bass, striped 

 bass, tautog, weakfish, porgy and bluefish; and will prove 

 to Mr. Macon, or any one else that cares to know the facts 

 that since 1870 they have been as plenty at times (the quan- 

 tity varying with the different years) as they have ever been 

 before during this century. An Eastern fisherman hired 

 out to us this week at ten dollars per month and board, not- 

 withstanding t he fact that lie was one of the crew of a vessel 

 that took last week 16,0Q01bs. of cod and haddock between 

 Gay Head and Montauk which were sold in Newport at 

 1 3-10 cents per pound, leaving a pittance so small after ex- 

 penses were paid, that he left and engaged with us until 



something better turned up than helping catch eight tons 

 of fish and selling them at cost. 



Mr. Martin and his friends ask for a law which is broad 

 and sweeping and if passed will affect, all the menhaden fish- 

 ing grounds from Florida to the Bay of Fundy, and their 

 claim is that the menhaden is the food of food fish, which 

 we deny by saying there is not a single food fish on our 

 whole coast that depends on the menhaden for their daily 

 food. This statement is based on years of observation hy- 

 men who have watched them from their lookouts at mast- 

 heads of the menhaden steamers, and they say there is not 

 a .single food fish ever seen feeding and keeping company 

 with the large bodies of menhaden which were present on 

 our coast. The fact that as a rule we catch no food fish 

 wort h mentioning in taking menhaden is proof positive that 

 our assertion is correct, and we have plenty disinterested 

 witnesses who have stated under oath that in taking men- 

 hadeu with purse seines we don't catch food fish enough to 

 supply our crews. The menhaden is rarely found in the 

 stomach of a food fish. 



The menhaden that Mr. Martin's law is to reach, audi 

 had in mind when I made the above statement, is the men- 

 haden of commerce, 300 to the barrel, twenty-eight gallons, 

 not the small fry 1,000 to the. gallon, or £8,000 to the barrel, 

 which came here in July and left in October and have not 

 been seen since. They are not the menhaden that is under 

 consideration, and as they have been present only three 

 months iu six years they could not have been the daily food of 

 the bluefish and squeateague which have lived in the same 

 waters since they left. From calculations made at that time 

 it was demonstrated that the daily destruction of the small 

 menhaden in numbers by the bluefish and squeateague was 

 enormous, and man's destruction in comparison was best 

 expressed by a cipher. Menhaden are sometimes seen fifty 

 miles from land (not often), but if we were forced by law 

 not to fish inside a one-half mile limit it would ruin our 

 business, as any one can find out by consulting the fisher- 

 men. Mr. Martin says: "A recent editorial in this paper 

 alluded to some wild statements made by the oil men before 

 a committee, of the National Rod and Reel Association last 

 month. I say wild because made in the face of accepted 

 facts, and in contradiction of their own declarations." The 

 above criticism does not seem quite fair to us, for we were 

 invited to meet the committee to make statements to show 

 why no restriction should be placed upon menhaden fishing, 

 which we did, and every statement we made was true and 

 can be made good. The president of the Association, Mr. 

 Wells, said he was surprised, for our statements were so 

 contrary to what he had heard, and wanted to know if there 

 was a chance for him to go out on our steamers and see for 

 himself. We told him there was, and we are in hopes he, 

 Mr. Martin, or any one else that wishes to know the facts of 

 the case, will make it their business to see for themselves. 



The U. S. Fish Commission, which is made up of disinter- 

 ested men who have thoroughly investigated our shore fish- 

 eries, are unanimous in the opinion that no law is called 

 for, and say if food fish are ever scarce it is easy to stock the 

 sea by using the hatching apparatus they have at their com- 

 mand. Daniel T. Church. 



Tiverton, R. I„ March 4. 



THE NEW HAMPSHIRE HATCHERY.— In our last 

 issue we recorded the destruction, by fire, of the hatching 

 house at Plymouth, N. H., in charge of Col. Elliott B, 

 Hodge. The Legislature of the State has adjourned for two 

 years, and unless the Governor's Council authorizes it to be 

 rebuilt, the work is pratically stopped. It has been sug- 

 gested that it might be rebuilt by private subscription if the 

 gentlemen who angle in- Sunapee Lake and other New 

 Hampshire waters take an interest in this matter, It is the 

 duty of the State, and to its interest to have the hatchery re- 

 placed, and we do not doubt but the Governor will author- 

 ize Col. Hodge to go on with the work, if public spirited 

 men interest themselves to place the matter properly before 

 the Council. 



'he Menml 



All readers who are interested in the protection of the 

 Yellowstone National Park are invited to co-operate 

 with this journal in the endeavor to secure needed legisla- 

 tion. Petitions will be sent to all who will undertake to 

 have them signed and forwarded to Washington. 



F I XT U R E S. 



DOG SHOWS. 



March 20 to 23.— Inaugural Show of the Renssalaer Kennel Club 

 Troy, N. Y. Alma M. hie, Secretary. Entries close March 10. 



April 3 to 6.— Fourth Annual Dog Show of the New England 

 Kennel Club, at Boston, Mass. J. W. Newman, Secretary. 



April 17 to 20. — Fourth Annual Show of the New Haven Kennel 

 Club, New Haven, Conn. E. Sheffield Porter, Secretary. 



A. K. R.-SPECIAL NOTICE. 



THE AMERICAN KENNEL REGISTER, for the registration 

 of pedigrees, etc. (with prize fists of all shows and trials), is 

 published every month. Entries close on the 1st. Should he in 

 early. Entry blanks sent on receipt of stamped and addressed 

 envelope. Registration fee (50 cents) must accompany each entry. 

 No entries inserted unless paid in advance. Yearly subscription 

 $1.50. Address "American Kennel Register," P. 0. Box 2832, New 

 York. Number of entries already printed 5 9 8 1 . 



AN EVIL AT DOG SHOWS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I would suggest that all shows insert a regulation in their 

 premium lists and catalogues, that under no circumstances 

 is a haudler to be allowed to use a whip on his dogs in the 

 show. I think that many mastiff men besides myself noticed 

 at the late New York show that the mastiffs were much 

 more excitable than usual, springing up and barking at 

 passers by (especially at boys), and apparently in a state of 

 general disturbance. I thought that Minting was more ex- 

 cited than I ever saw him before; he has always seemed to 

 dislike shows, but accepted them as necessary evils. The 

 same of Ilford Caution and Cromwell, both are amiability 

 itself at shows, and solicitous of notice, Cromwell especially 

 overwhelms one with frantic, attentions, yet while they were 

 still amiable at New York, they seemed to be keeping a 

 weather eye open for something to happen, The, cause of 

 this did not strike me at the time, but 1 have since remem- 

 bered that I once saw a mastiff handler lash one of his dogs 

 for making a noise, and I have no doubt that it was the 

 sound of such lashings and the responsive howls of the 

 victims that disturbed all the dogs in the neighborhood. It 

 seems to me that under K0 circumstances has a handler a 

 right to disturb another party's dogs, by lashing his own. 

 The handler who cannot keep his dogs' under control, in a 

 show without a whip is unfit to be trusted with such a re- 

 sponsibility. If he chooses to risk his own life by using a 

 whip on his dogs at home, he may do so, but he will some, 

 day undertake it, when the victim resists and other dogs are, 

 present and at liberty, and a worse than the -'Camden horror" 

 will be the result, aiid the poo J' mastiff will suffer in reputa- 

 tion as a consequence. W. WADE, 



Huxton, Pa., March 2. 



JOHNNY AND DRAKE. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Mr. A. C. Collins has kindly drawn my attention to the 

 following errors which appear in the catalogues of the 

 Providence, Boston, Philadelphia, Hartford and New York 

 shows of 1887, and this year's New York show, and I trust 

 that you will allow me to set the matter right through the 

 medium of Forest AND Stream to prevent possible com- 

 plications or unpleasantness in the future. 1 only saw one 

 catalogue last year, the Newark, and the entry therein is 

 right, or I would have made the corrections before. As it 

 was 1 had no idea they existed. The entries were made by 

 Mr. W. Tailman, who, besides being a very busy man, has 

 to enter a good many dogs, which would account In a 

 measure for the blunders in question, For the two first 1 

 think the printer is to blame. I quote champion Johnny's 

 entries only as the mistakes in those, of Drake are identical : 



"Providence, R. 1. — Johnny, whelped June 11, 1884. 

 Breeder, Capt. F. H. D. Vietta. (Ben— Joan) direct Clumber 

 House descent." 



"Boston, Mass.— Johnny, Jan. 11, 1884. Breeder, Capt. F. 

 H. D. Vieth. (Ben— Joan)." 



"Philadelphia, Pa.— Johnny, lemon and white, date of 

 birth 3 years. Breeder, Capt. Vieth. Sire, Sam; dam, Joan." 



"Hartford, Conn. — Johnny, whelped 1883. Color, lemon 

 and white. Breeder, Capt. Vieth. Sire, Sam; dam, Joan." 



"New York. N. Y.,1887. — Johnny, liver and white, etc." 



"New York, N. Y., 1888.— Johnny, 5896, born June 11, 

 1884. Breeder, Capt. Vieth. (Ben— Joan). Winnings, first, 

 Newark ; second, Providence; first, Boston; first, Hartford, 

 1887." 



I also notice in your Philadelphia prize list the following: 

 "Champion Clumbers, F. H, Mercer's Johnny." Not having 

 seen the catalogue I do not know who is to blame. Allow 

 me to give the true particulars as the simplest method of 

 correcting the incorrect: Johnny, lemon and white Clumber 

 spaniel, born June 11, 1884. Breeder, Capt. F.H.D. Vieth. Sire, 

 Ben; dam, Joan. Direct Clumber House descent. Owners, 

 F. II. F. Mercer and W. B. Almon Hill (Clumber Kennel). 

 Winnings, first, Newark; second, Providence ; first and 

 special, Boston; first, Philadelphia, 1887. Champion and 

 stud dog cups, New York; champion, Philadelphia, 1888. 

 These, with of course the exception of the record, apply also 

 to Drake. 



Apologizing for occupying your valuable space, for which 

 my desire to have the matter explained must be my excuse, 

 I am very truly yours, F. II. F, MERCER. 



SNOOZER.— London, Ont.— Snoozer was a mongrel with 

 a good deal of terrier blood in him, and his intelligence was 

 remarkable. He became acquainted with me as a bicycle 

 rider soon after I first met him, and he immediately thought 

 that every one who rode a wheel must be myself; but one or 

 two trials convinced him of his error, and he would always 

 recognize me when riding down town, and would run out 

 from the sidewalk wagging his tail and smiling as only he 

 could. The finest display of intelligence I ever saw him 

 make was when I leaned over to him in my office and said, 

 "Snoozer, are yon coming down to the bank with me, old 

 boy?" He jumped up and wagged his tail and we started. 

 On the way I stepped into a store and lost him, or rather he 

 lost me. In a short time I came out and missed him, but 

 felt no anxiety as it was impossible for him to get lost. 

 When I got to the bank, however, I found him lying down 

 in front of the teller's desk waiting for me, and when he 

 saw me he indicated by his actions that he wasn't at all 

 surprised but knew I would come. It was his habit to ac- 

 company me all over town, and the bank was not the place 

 to which I went most frequently, so that he must have 

 plainly understood me. I would not have been surprised 

 had he looked at the bank for me, but I certainly was sur- 

 prised to have him wait for me there. — W. E. S. 



MASTIFFS AT NEW YORK. — Editor Forest and 

 Stream: In your report of the New York dog show in your 

 issue of March 1 , in speaking of the award's of the mastiff 

 class, you say 'that the owner of Homer has admitted that 

 the award of the champion prize to him over Ilford Caution 

 was wrong. As Mr. Stevenson was confined to his home by 

 sickness during the entire period of the show this statement 

 must be intended to refer to me, and I will thank you to 

 contradict it as being an entire mistake.— R. D. Belknap. 

 [It must be admitted that the statement to which Mr. Bel- 

 knap takes exception was incorrect. The reporter doubtless 

 had in mind something that had happened in the past. At 

 the. Fanciers show, held in New York two years ago, Ilford 

 Caution was placed over Homer and Mr. Stevenson admitted 

 that the decision was correct. At the recent New York 

 show Caution was in better form than we have ever seen 

 him, while Homer, to say the least, is hardly as good as he 

 was two years ago, consequently the statement of our re- 

 porter was practically correct.] 



AMERICAN FOX-TERRIER CLUB. — Editor Forest and 

 Stream: At the annual meeting of the American Fox-Ter- 

 rier Club, held Feb. 23, 1888, the following officers were 

 elected: August Belmont, Jr., President; John E. Thayer, 

 Vice-President; H. P. Frothingham, Secretary-Treasurer, 2 

 Wall street, New York. Board of Governors — August Bel- 

 mont, Jr., H. P. Frothingham, J, K. I. Grainger, Fred. Hoey, 

 Edward Kelly, Clarence Rathbone, L. M. Rutherfurd, Jr., 

 W. Rutherfurd. John E. Thayer. The club is in a most 

 promising condition, and that there are a great many addi- 

 tions to the ranks of breeders and exhibitors of the fox- 

 terriers was shown by the unprecedented entry of 121 fox- 

 terriers at the late New York show. The stakes also filled 

 with very much increased entries, Apollo closed with 9, 

 Tomboy with 12, Home-bred Puppy with 69, Produce of 1889 

 with 97, Stud Dog of 1889 with 22 subscriptions.— H. P. 

 Frothingham , Secretary. 



MICHIGAN KENNEL CLUB. — At the annual meeting 

 of the Michigan Kennel Club at Detroit, March 6, the fol- 

 lowing officers were elected: President, Bruce Coodfellow; 

 Vice-President, John N. Bagley; Secretary, Dr. M. V, B. 

 Saunders; Treasurer, Fred C. Whitifey; Fifth Member Exec- 

 utive Committee, F. H. Croul; Delegate. H. E. Cook. 



KENNEL MANAGEMENT. 



fW° No Notice Taken of Anonymous Correspondents. 



R. Q. T., Baltimore.— One of my dog puppies, 9 weeks old, has a 

 small wen about size of a hickory nut on his stomach. It is soft. 

 Is there anything I can do for it, or do yon think it will disappear 

 in time? Ans. Dog is ruptured probably, "umbilical hernia." 

 Consult a vet. 



H. M., Detroit, Mich.— 1. What is the earliest age at which a 

 bitch should be bred? 2. I ha ve a pug bitch, 10 months old, whose 

 hair, has been and is still coming out to such an extent that she is 

 beginning to look mangy. How can this he cured? Ans. 1. Un- 

 less well matured, do not breed until her second season. 2. Fow- 

 ler's solution of arsenic, 5 drops night and morning, and keep 

 bowels open. 



L. W. C, Schenectady, N. Y.— I have an Irish setter dog, 8 years 

 old. His nose has been running for about ten weeks, and swells 

 slightly at times. The discharge is very mucli like water. He 

 has also been sliedding his coat about three months. Will you 

 kindly inform me what I can do to prevent the discharge and 

 hair falling out? Ans. Keep the bowels open with two teaspoons- 

 ful of ' syrup of buckthorn daily. Give 5 drops Fowler's solution 

 of arsenic three times daily in the food, 



