Sept. 23, 1S87.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



16 9 



fishculture 



CANADIAN FISHERIES DEPARTMENT. 



THE appendix of the report which we noticed last week 

 contains a report of Mr. Samuel Wilrnot. Superintend- 

 ent of Fishculture for the Dominion of Canada, 1880. 



The kind of fish operated upon at the several fisheries of 

 the Domiuion includes the following, namely: Of the salt 

 water Sal mo nida:, two of the Oncorhynchus family of the 

 Pacific waters, the "quiunat" (Choniea) and the snck-eye 

 (N erica) are utilized at the Frazer liiver hatchery in British 

 Columbia. In the Eastern or Atlantic Provinces the hatch- 

 eries are supplied with eggs of the Salmo salar, which is the 

 only description of sea salmon indigenous to the rivers of the 

 maritime provinces. Of fresh water SalmonidcB, such as 

 the salmon trout of the great lakes (Namayciish), the 

 Bpeckled trout of the streams (Salveli nns fontlnalis); and 

 the white-fish of the lakes (Corcnonus albus); these are culti- 

 vated almost wholly at the Newcastle establishment in On- 

 tario. Of the Pereidse family the Lvcioperea, commonly 

 called pickerel (dore), wall-eyed pike, and pike-perch, large 

 numbers are bred at the Sandwich hatchery in Ontario. 



In former years black bass (Microplcrus dolomici) and 

 carp (Cypriims carpia) were handled in a small way at the 

 Newcastle hatchery, with a view to their artificial propa- 

 gation. The experiments with the former were quite satis- 

 factory; with the later the trials were merely nominal; 

 operations with the bass and carp have been discontinued 

 for the want of properly constructed ponds, which are found 

 to be essentially necessary for the successful breeding and 

 keeping of these fish. Jt is extremely desirable that arrange- 

 ments should be made by which bass and carp should be 



Eropagated in large numbers at such of the nurseries as may 

 e found to possess the greatest convenience for carrying out 

 the work; especially as 1 he demands are becoming very num- 

 erous from persons in various sections of the eouutry where 

 the waters, from high temperature and impurities, are 

 adapted only for these kind of fish, and in which the sal- 

 monoid species, from the same causes, cannot now exist 



In connection with this subject, and in view of the im- 

 pending destruction and evident annihilation of the sea or 

 striped'bass (Roccus lineatus) still frequenting the estuaries 

 of some of the rivers iu the maritime provinces, it is advis- 

 able that efforts should be put forth to maintain, as far as 

 possible iu those waters, this highly valuable fish, bv an 

 application of the artificial methods ot propagation. With 

 the now general use of automatic fish-egg incubators for the 

 hatching of the smaller and lighter descriptions of ova (not 

 dissimilar to those of the striped bass) it might be safely 

 assumed that success would attend the undertaking, more 

 particularly on the Mirauiichi River, where these fish are yet 

 taken in considerable numbers in the immediate vicinity 

 where the Mirauiichi salmon hatchery is now established, 

 and in which experimental trials could be readily and econ- 

 omically made. 



Pursuing this subject still further, in the endeavor to 

 restore to some of the great rivers in the lower provinces, a 

 portion, at least, of the fisheries wealth, which in former 

 years was so fully developed iu them, and witnessing the 

 almost incredible success which has afteuded the work of 

 Prof. Baird, United States Fish Commissioner, in restocking 

 many of the rivers in that country which had become quite 

 depleted of shad (Clupea sap'ulissima) and learning that 

 this valuable commercial fish inhabited the rivers of the Bay 

 of Fundy and other parts of the coast of New Brunswick 

 and Nova Scotia in former years in great abundance, it now 

 becomes a question whether efforts of a like nature as those 

 instituted by the United States to rehabilitate their rivers 

 with this fish wealth, should not be undertaken in Canada. 



The breeding of speckled trout has not been entered into 

 extensively hitherto; only moderate numbers of eggs of this 

 fish have been obtained during the past few years. The 

 demand for trout frv has now become very great indeed, and 

 the numerous applications could not be filled. Hitherto a 

 few thousand trout ova have been collected at Tadoussac 

 hatchery in Quebec; these, when semi-hatched, were for- 

 warded to the Newcastle nursery, and when fully hatched 

 the fry have been distributed ratably among the several 

 applicants; but the proportions allotted have necessarily 

 been so small that expressions of discontent have been freely 

 uttered as to why speckled trout should not be more largely 

 cultivated at the Newcastle hatchery, and in such numbers 

 as would hear a more favorable comparison with the many 

 millions of salmon trout and whitefish fry, which are annu- 

 ally turned out of this hatchery. 



The invariable reply to this question has been, that as the 

 hatchery is a public or governmental establishment, the 

 main object w&s to produce from it such descriptions of fish 

 as would be most suitable for commercial purposes, and 

 from which the general public would derive the greatest 

 amount of good, in foreign and home traffic, and for domestic 

 use. That speckled trout, although highly prized for their 

 edible and gamy qualities, did not come up to this estimate 

 for benefitting the country from a commercial point of view, 

 in like manner as the salmon trout and whitefish, which are 

 undoubtedly the standard for fish wealth in the inland lakes, 

 and other fresh waters of Canada. 



The rearing and general distribution of the salmon trout 

 and whitefish having now reached a satisfactory position by 



Eractical application and systematic arrangements, it should 

 e beld advisable to turn attention to the production of other 

 kinds of fish, especially the speckled trout, in order to meet 

 the generally expressed wishes of numerous applicants who 

 desire to restock streams and other waters with this very 

 desirable fish. 



Strong efforts were made to collect large quantities of the 

 eggs of the speckled trout during the past season, which 

 have not resulted as satisfactorily as wished for. From the 

 Tadoussac hatchery in Quebec, only a moderate supply was 

 obtained; from the Restigouche, where it was confidently 

 expected a million or more would have been secured, only a 

 few thousand were collected; and from an expedition fitted 

 out to collect these eggs in the Muskoka waters, where it 

 was supposed unlimited quantities could be got, failure was 

 the result; but from causes, which the officer who made the 

 attempt reports can be remedied in getting satisfactory 

 numbers ot ova another year. Renewed efforts should be 

 made another season to obtain a satisfactory supply of trout 

 eggs, and in addition to the species, natives of Ontario and 

 the Atlantic Provinces, exertions should be made to procure 

 supplies of eggs of the California and other descriptions of 

 trout inhabiting the streams of the Pacific Slope, as it is 

 now held by many fisheulturists in the United States that 

 these trout are better adapted for the higher temperature of 

 the water in our streams than our own native trout. 



DISTIBUTION OF FRY HATCHED IN 1886. 

 There were planted in the waters of Canada from the 

 several fish hatcheries, in the aggregate 76,734,000 young 

 fish of various kinds during the season of 1886. They con- 

 sisted of the following species, namely: 



Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) 7,857.000 



Pacific salmon (Salmo qulmiat) 2,625,000 



Lake salmon trout (Salmo namayemh) 7,391,000 



Lake whitefish (Coregonus albus) 43,800,000 



Lake pickerel or dore (Lucioperca) 15,000,000 



Speckled trout (Salmo fontinalis) 51 ,000 



Grand total 76,724,000 



Mr. Alex Mowatt. the officer in charge of the Ristigouche 

 hatchery in the Provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick, 

 reports the catch of salmon in the Bay des Chaleurs and 



Ristigoxiche River to be fully as good as in 1885; 1,470.000 

 salmon eggs were deposited in the hatchery in the fall of 

 1885, from which 1,380,000 fry were successfully hatched and 

 planted iu the following streams: 



Ristigouche and Kedgewick Rivers 770,000 



Matapedia River 200.000 



Upsalquitch River 200,000 



Nipissiquit River 200,000 



Twelve Mile Lake, in rear of Campbellton. . 10,000 



1,380,000 



A portion of the fry taken to the Nipissiquit River arrived 

 there in poor condition. I have urged upon the Department 

 several times the fact, gained from long experience, that it 

 is almost useless to transport fry such a long distance with 

 the hope of realizing the anticipated benefits which artificial 

 fishculture is so fully entitled to receive. Should it be the 

 intention of the Department to continue the system of fur- 

 ther stocking the Nipissiquit, River with fry from this hatch- 

 ery, I would suggest that instead of carrying the young fish 

 such a long distance at great risk, as has been evidenced 

 heretofore, that a small inexpensive hatchery be constructed 

 of hewn logs or other material in a suitable place, some 

 fifteen or twenty miles up the Nipissiquit River, and the 

 ova transferred to it in the spring months of April and May. 

 An establishment of this kind would only require to be 

 operated about t hree months in the year, and the try hatched 

 in this way could be distributed throughout the length of 

 the river in a line healthy condition. I am strong in the 

 belief that each salmon river should be restocked from its 

 own fish where found practicable to do so. 



The fry for the Ristigouche River, and its branches, were 

 conveyed as usual in open cribs, supplied with a constant 

 flow of pure water, and towed sixty-five miles above the 

 hatchery up river into both brauches and deposited in fine 

 condition, as the superintendent (Mr, Wilmot) and many 

 other anglers who were on the river at the time can testify 

 to. Some ten thousand fry were planted in a large lake 

 twelve miles from Campbellton. Numbers of these little 

 fish were seen in the lake later in the fall months. I would 

 urge that a continuation of planting fry in this lake be kept 

 up for some years, as the experiment would afford further 

 evidence of the success of artificial fishculture. 



The department's net was set at Tide Head on the 1st ot 

 June last, this date being as early as the freshet in the river 

 would admit. There were 130 fish caught in this net, and 

 277 purchased from neighboring fishermen. Seventy-six of 

 these fish died after being deposited in the reservoir, having 

 been injured in capturing, and conveying them from thenets 

 to the pond; leaving a total of 331 fish, 170 females, and 161 

 males, from which was collected 1,700,000 eggs. Spawning 

 commenced on the 20th of October, and ended on the 5th of 

 November. All the females pave sound ova, and were liber- 

 ated iu good condition. At the present time the eggs in the 

 hatchery are looking very well, the embryos being quite 

 visible. 



In order that the supply of parent fish for the hatchery 

 may be increased in future; or in other words to obtain 600 

 or 700 salmon, it will be necessary that a small flat bottomed 

 steam barge or scow, be purchased for this service, for 

 towing the cribs with the parent fish from the nets to the re- 

 taining pond. Under the present system the cribs are towed 

 by horses some six or seven miles, and this can only be ac- 

 complished at certain times and during favorable weather, 

 while at times of adverse winds, and freshets, it is impossi- 

 ble to reach many of the nets with a horse; whereas a small 

 steam tug could collect these fish at any time, and travel over 

 a much larger field in one-half the time, thereby saving much 

 labor and expense, and preventing the loss of many salmon, 

 wbich unavoidably takes place under the present system. In 

 fact to make a thorough success in collecting fish from the 

 nets, it will necessitate the procuring of some sort of craft of 

 the kind above referred to. A boat or scow for this purpose 

 could be got for some four or five hundred dollars. In this 

 way we could be enabled to obtain a portion of the parent 

 salmon from stations at and below Campbellton if necessary, 

 and from other stations where it is impossible to get them 

 with our present means. 



The new retaining pond at Tide Head was prepared in 

 early spring, and constructed of stakes, the lattice, work 

 with bars some 2in. apart, which allows the water to flow 

 through freely. This plan gave perfect satisfaction. The 

 fish did better than under the former system, and the pond, 

 with its great length and current of water, is quite capable 

 of containing upward of one thousand salmon. Complaint 

 is made by certain individuals who, with hidden policy, pre- 

 tend to be in favor of fishculture, but yet find fault with the 

 whole system as pursued on the Ristigouche. This retain- 

 ing pond, they say, is situated too low down on the river, 

 asserting that the salt water is injurious to the fish, and that 

 it would be much better if the pond were located at Mata- 

 pedia. Now, although the tide regularly ebbs and flows 

 into this pond, the water, nevertheless, is equally fresh as 

 the water far up the stream. It is to be deplored that the 

 water is not quite saline, for then the fish would not be sub- 

 ject to fungoid disease, as has been proved to be the case in 

 the pure salt water ponds at Tadoussac aud other places. I 

 have merely quoted the above to show the ignorance and 

 envy of cert ain parties who visited this pond in October last, 

 and decried it in every possible manner, and circulated many 

 falsehoods in connectien with it, and even went so far as to 

 put forth the wicked idea that lime could be thrown into 

 the pond, which would quickly destroy the fish. Such mali- 

 cious expressions coming from parties holding responsible 

 positions, and from whom better should be looked for, are, I 

 fear, forebodings of evil intent. 



Mr. Philip Vibert, officer in charge, reports of his salmon 

 hatching as follows: 



The ova in this establishment proved very good last win- 

 ter. The loss was only fifty thousand, or a little over eight 

 per cent. The greatest loss was in the month of May while 

 the. fry were hatching. The number of eggs recorded as 

 having been removed or picked out iu that month being 

 15,646. The young fish commenced hatching on the 9th of 

 May. April was remarkably warm aud fine, and no doubt 

 hastened the hatching of the fry. The removal of the young 

 fish was commenced on the 9th of June and finished on the 

 10th of July. The following is the number of fry placed in 

 each river. 



Darrnouth River, above Falls 200,000 



" " below " 106,000 



York " 120,000 



St. John " 150,000 



Total 576,000 



Xlit Mietmel 



F IXT U RES. 



DOG SHOWS. 



Sept. 20 to 33.— Fourth Show of the New Jersey Kennel Club, 

 Waverly, N. J. Percy C. Ohl, Secretary, It Broadway, N. Y, 



Sept. 20 to 23.— Wisconsin Kennel Clnb'B .Annual Show, Mil- 

 waukee. Wis. A. M. Gruu. Secretary, 552 East Water street. 



Sept. 27 to 30.— Annual Show of the Southern Ohio Fair Associ- 

 ation, at Dayton, O. M. A. Nipgen, Secretary. 



Oct. 4 to 7.— Fifth Annual Dog Show of the Danbury Agricultural 

 Society, Danburv, Conn. B. C. Lynes, Secretary. 



Oct. 12 and 13.— Th rd Aunual Show of the Stafford Kennel Club, 

 Stafford Springs, Conn. It. S. Dicks. Secretary. 



Feb. 21(o 24.-TweIf tli Annual Show of the Westminster Ken- 

 nel Club, Madison Squaro Garden, New York. James Mortimer, 

 Superintendent. 



FIELD TRIALS. 



Oct. 17 to 32.— SeGond Annual Meeting of the American Coursing 

 Club, at Great Bond. Kan. G. I. Royce, Secretary, Topeka, Ivan. 



Oct. 31.— First Annual Field Trials of the Indiana Kennel r:]ub 

 at Bickuel, Ind. Open to dogs owned in Indiana. P. T. Madison, 

 Secretary, Lock Box 4, Indianapolis, Ind. 



Nov. 7.— Third Annual Field Trials of the Western Field Trials 

 Association. R. C. Van Horn, Secretary, Kansas City, Mo. 



Nov, 21.— Ninth Annual Field Trials of the Eastern Field Trials 

 Club, at High Poiut N. C. W. A. Coster, Secretary, Flatbush, 

 Kings County, N. Y. 



December.— First Annual Field Trials of the American Field 

 Trials Club, at Florence, Ala. C. W. Paris, Secretary, Cincinnati, 

 O. 



Jan. 10, 1888.— Second Annual Field Trials of the Texas Field 

 Trials Club, at Marshall, Tex. W. L. Thomas, Secretary, Mar- 

 shall, Tex. 



Jan. 16— Fifth Annual Field Trials of the Pacific Coast Field 

 Trial Club, near Kingsburgh, Cat. N. P. Shclden, Secretary, 320 

 Sansome street, San Fraueisco, Cal. 



A. K. R.-SPECIAL NOTICE. 

 HPHE AMERICAN KENNEL REGISTER, for the registration 

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

 published every month. Entries close on the 1st. Should be 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. O. Box 2832, New 

 York. Number of entries already printed 5400. 



SAMUEL PRICE. 



A young lady, whose home is on Grand Isle, La., has been 

 making a collection of the bright-plumaged birds found on 

 the island, whose habitat, beyond question, is somewhere in 

 the tropics. The theory is that these birds have been blown 

 out into the Gulf during the prevalence of gales and wafted 

 upon the Louisiana shore. It is doubtful if so beautiful a 

 collection of birds could be made at any other point in the 

 eouutry than that of which we speak. A box containing 

 fourteen specimens which were trapped and prepared for 

 mounting by this young lady, revealed when opened a most 

 gorgeous spectacle, the colors ranging from the brightest 

 scarlet— a scarlet beside which that of the cardinal or red 

 bird seems quite dull— down to the palest of pinks and blues. 

 Some of the specimens were of the loveliest shade of yellow- 

 one of them plumaged in black and yellow akin to the oriole. 

 Grand Isle presents asplendid field for amateur ornithologists 

 and collectors. 



OF the well-known pointer breeder, Mr. Samuel Price, of 

 Bow, England, who died Aug. 31, the Kennel Gazette 



says: 



Those very pleasant reunions of the past in connection 

 with field trials will be recalled to the memory of many by 

 the announcement of the death of one who has not been 

 missed from those gatherings for nearly twenty years. Sam 

 Price, as we have been accustomed to hear him called, was 

 a worthy Devonshire sportsman, of somewhat the old type, 

 as from a lad he had been, habituated to the rough shooting 

 of Devon, and to sport in those valleys and along those hill- 

 sides for pheasant, woodcock, snipe, or rabbit, or whatever 

 turned up, and the hard work threw a charm into the pas- 

 time. To shoot without a dog, in Sam Price's opinion, 

 would have been an infliction, and no matter what modern 

 ideas had to do with the matter, this fine sportsman shot 

 over pointers, and very high rangers, too, from the first of 

 September until close time. He was a capital shot, liked 

 one companion in his shooting rambles, who had as much 

 appreciation of a dog's work as he had, and he liked to see 

 the work doue without the restraint of whipcord and whistle 

 and to witness all the beautiful qualities of a dog. Those 

 whohave visited his kennels at Bow, near Exeter, have been 

 surprised to see the freedom he allowed his young dogs. 

 They would bound over the first fence and go straight away, 

 and the more pluck or wildness they showed the better their 

 owner liked them. That can all be rectified, he would say, 

 but you cannot put it into them, and when speaking of Mike 

 he always spoke in great pride of his hardness and endur- 

 ance. He would run from Exeter to Land's End, he would 

 declare, and hunt every field iu the way. 



Mr. Price's first public appearance was at Shrewsbury in . 

 1871, when he took two puppies to that meeting called Bang 

 and Beppo. They both ran very well, but did not win, and 

 the general impression from their work was that the last 

 named was the best. However, Mr. Price did not think so, 

 as Bang from the first was his favorite, and as time went on 

 the reputation of the owner and dog grew, as it w T ere, to- 

 gether. In local circles it was talked of that Sam Price had 

 a clinking good pointer, and the Devon pointers were com- 

 ing out just now, as Mr. Francis, of Exeter, had crossed 

 some old Devon blood with up-country strains; and Brock- 

 ton's Bounce, the first field trial pointer of note, was repre- 

 sented by Sancho to uphold the honor of Devonshire. A 

 bitch called Vesta, sister to Sancho, fell into the hands of 

 Mr. Price, through the late Rev. Tom Pearce (Idstone), and 

 he bred her to Mr. Coham's Bang, a son of Hamlet. This 

 breeding produced Bang and Beppo, the puppies above 

 mentioned, and Bang developed into the famous world-wide 

 celebrity. He ran in the Cornish Trials in 1872, being then a 

 second-season dog, and although a lemon and white dog 

 called Rock, of Elias Bishop's, ran him fairly close, and a 

 pointer of Mr. Corytou's ran well too, Bang won in grand 

 style, and was the talk of the meeting by reason 

 of the grand points he made. Mr. Price confined him to 

 the honors of his county the next season by running 

 him at Newton Abbot, first of all iu the braces with a 

 daughter that did not match him, and then in the All-Aged 

 Stake, in which Bang got a terrible beating from Braken- 

 bury's Romp, the dam of Mr. Salter's noted little bitch; and 

 no one acknowledged more heartily than Mr. Price did that 

 Bang on that occasion had found his master. The next year 

 Mr. Price brought out Mike, a son of Bang, and the work of 

 the two at the Cornish trials we shall never forget. Those 

 who saw them declared at once that they were the best brace 

 of pointers in the world, aud from the laudations bestowed 

 upon them Mr. Price was induced to take them to Shrews- 

 bury for the great brace stake. This they won, beating the 

 best pointers and setters in England, and for three successive 

 years no brace was found good enough to dispute their 

 supremacy. In the meantime all the greatest bench honors 

 of the day fell to Bang, who was very soon a champion, and 

 in the smaller sized classes Mike also cleared the boards. 

 Two such successful pointers in the field and on the bench 

 have not been known, but both at home and abroad the fame 

 of Bang has been the most marked at the stud. He was the 

 sire of Bow Bells, Bow, Mike, Young Bang, and a host of 

 others that have made names for themselves; and it is not 

 sayiug too much when we assert that the Price's Bang line 

 of pointers has a greater and more world-wide reputation 

 than any other strain of dog, no matter of what breed. 



In private life there was no man iu Devonshire more re- 

 spected than Mr. Price. He was hail fellow well met with 

 every one, the best of company, as honest as the sun, and 

 perhaps one of the best-natured* men living. As a Devon wor- 

 thy he will rank very high, and the Western couuty has been 

 noted for its sportsmen to include Jack Russell, Charles T re- 

 lawny, Otter DavieSj cum multis aliis. We regret the loss 

 of Sam Price as a friend, as one of the best pointer judges in 

 England, and as a link of the past when we used to look f or- 

 / ward to the field trial meetings in a way difficult perhaps 

 . now to understand. 



