430 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Dec. 22, 1887. 



■while he made but a limited number of rods every year, 

 they secured good prices, and were eagerly sought for by 

 the most prominent anglers in this country and Europe. 



A more honest man and a true friend never lived. In. 

 temperament he was nervous, excitable and self-willed. 

 Mr. Murphy was unquestionably an original. He was 

 fond of any kind of fun and was possessed of a quaint, 

 dry wit. In speaking of him the other day his friend, 

 the Hon. Amos J. Cummines, of Few York, remarked, "It 

 takes all kinds to make a world, but Mr. Murphy's death 

 has completely broken up the set." 



During his long lifetime in the field he was the 

 associate of many noted sportsmen, among whom were 

 Henry William Herbert (Frank Forester) when he lived 

 in Newark; Henry Toler, Mike Sanford and Bill Darrah, 

 who under other names are the leading characters in 

 the "Warwick Woodlands." With either fly or bait rod 

 Mr. Mm-phy was an expert, and a hard man to beat. He 

 was a great lover of nature and a close observer. When 

 fish and game began to grow scarce he became very bitter 

 in his denunciation of the "march of improvement." He 

 said he "could no longer go shooting on the Newark 

 meadows without some locomotive or other coming along 

 and knocking the gun out of his hands." Mr. Murphy 

 throughout his shooting career held to the muzzleloader. 

 A better snipe shot never lived. He once killed 94 with- 

 out a miss. Two years ago he was appointed game and 

 fish warden for Essex county. 



As a living treasure of local history, as a genial and 

 ever fresh source of stories that were better than history, 

 Mr. Murphy will be best remembered. His personal 

 activity, his quick motions, his short, lithe, well propor- 

 tioned body, his bright eye, his long soft hair, all seemed 

 to be and to make part of his story; and his won- 

 derful memory was the treasure house of his jewels, 

 and his perfect art in drawing out his incidents was the 

 setting that gave them double worth and interest. 



Address all communications to the Forest and Stream Pub. Co. 



REARING SHAD IN CONFINEMENT. 



THIS is the last new thing in fishculture, and the follow- 

 ing official correspondence, which we are permitted to 

 publish, is self-explanatory: 



U. S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries.— Cold Spring 

 Harbor, N. Y., Oct. 1— Prof. G. Brown Goode, Commissioner 

 of Fisheries, AVashington, D. C: Dear Sir— I have had an 

 unusual experience with shad during the past season, which 

 I deem worthy of reporting. On May last I received from 

 Central Station, in Washington, several consignments of 

 shad eggs, to be hatched at this station and distributed. 

 Adjoining the hatchery was a little pool, fed by a spring 

 and inclosed by a lath fence, where I kept several domesti- 

 cated wild fowl, such as wood-ducks, teal, etc., but no mal- 

 lard nor black ducks. In the water were a pair of large 

 carp, weighing perhaps six or seven pounds each, which 

 bred during the summer, as did also some goldfish — the 

 ducks not appearing to trouble them at all. It was a con- 

 venient place for us to throw dead fish eggs, which were 

 devoured by the small fish, and in the course, of our hatch- 

 ing we made several deposits here of shad eggs which 

 were in bad condition. In handling these and running off 

 the bad ones there always are, as you are aware, a few 

 good ones adhering in the masses of bad ones. About the 

 middle of August I had occasion to drain this pond, which, 

 by the way, was only about 20ft. in diameter and was pro- 

 vided with a coarse outlet screen merely sufficient to confine 

 the ducks and large carp, and to our astonishment we found 

 three young shad 'among the other fishes. At the first haul 

 we caught t wo, which were dead by the time we took them 

 from the other hardy fish, and placed them in alcohol. The 

 next haul we were on the lookout for shad, and caught a 

 live one, which we carefully dipped up and placed in one of 

 our rearing ponds with some trout about its own size, but 

 it was found dead the next morning. There is no way that 

 young shad could have got into this pond except from the 

 eggs placed therein, .as the fish do not run up to spawn in 

 this harbor, nor is there any doubt in my mind as to the 

 species, the saw-belly, which marks the family, being dis- 

 tinctly visible, as is also the prolonged sub-orbital bone 

 which distinguishes the species. This is the first instance 

 within my knowledge of shad being grown to any size in 

 confinement. Should you wish one or all of these fish they 

 will be forwarded at once. Very truly yours, Feed Mathek. 



TJ. S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries.— Washington, 

 D. C, Oct, 4— Fred. Mather, Esq.: Dear Sir— In reply to 

 your interesting letter in regard to the rearing of shad to 

 considerable size at the Cold Spring Harbor Station, I am 

 requested by Professor Goode, Commissioner, to let you know 

 what we ourselves have done in the matter. For several 

 years past we have obtained in the fall of the year, when we 

 have drawn our pools in the yard, a number of young shad 

 from 3 to 3in. long which were introduced there during the 

 hatching season as fry, the pool having been used to wash 

 out the cans and pans used in handling fry. In 1885 I made 

 the experiment' of stocking one of the carp ponds in Wash- 

 ington with about 30,000 shad fry, -which were hatched out 

 and sent down from Central Station. The ponds were drawn 

 the following autumn to collect the carp, and from them 

 were obtained and counted upward of 7,000 shad ranging in 

 length from 2% to 5in. Since some shad were obtained from 

 the pond in seasons when no fry were introduced, the experi- 

 ment although suggestive was not conclusive. To repeat it 

 under conditions which absolutely excluded all chance of 

 error or possibility of introduction of the fry accidentally or 

 by design, we sent 30,000 fry by messenger, a distance of three 

 hundred miles to Wytheville, Va., which were placed in 

 a freshly dug pond about one- tenth of an acre in area, 

 and which was fed by surface water from a running 

 stream. In September of this year, in presence of Pro- 

 fessor Goode, I had the pond drawn and And by actual count 

 nearly 2,500 young shad from 1)4 to 4>^in. in length, 

 Although the percentage attaining this age was large I am 

 satisfied that more than half the shad that were in the pond 

 escaped during the time it was being drawn, since when the 

 pond was nearly empty we discovered an opening around 

 the screen which permitted the shad and carp, which were 

 also in the pond, to pass through in the several hours during 

 which the pond was being emptied. Doubtless double as 

 many shad escaped from the pond as were recovered and 

 counted from it. Acting upon the suggestion offered by 

 this experiment I propose, during the ensuing year, to re- 

 serve the large pond at the carp ponds for the purpose of 

 making the experiment of holding and rearing the shad for 

 several months. This pond lias an area of about six acres 

 and will be stocked with several million fry. Care will be 

 taken to exclude all other fish from the pond and as far as 

 practicable to do so, to secure an abundant growth of vege- 

 tation in the pond to serve as nurseries for the food upon 

 which the young fry feed. In the light of experiments 

 already made we would have reason to expect from this ex- 



periment to be able to turn out in the Potomac in October, 

 at least 20 per cent, of the fry placed in it in the spring, 

 which would then be fish from 3 to 5in. in length. We will 

 certainly be able to give back to the Potomac each year sev- 

 eral times as many mature shad as are taken from it by the 

 fishermen, and these will be of such a size and vigor of 

 movement as to be comparatively safe from capture by the 

 other fish. The results of the experiment made in 1885 will 

 be found in the Bulletin of the U. S. Fish Commission for 

 1886, page 441. Very truly yours, M. McDonald, Chief of 

 Division of Distribution. 



Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y., Oct. 11, 1887.— Col. M. 

 McDonald: Dear Sir—! have your letter of Oct. 4. I would 

 like permission to publish what you say about rearing shad 

 in confinement in FOREST AND Stream and in the next State 

 report It is very interesting to know that shad can be 

 reared in ponds. I thought I had made an original discovery. 

 One trouble with breeding them will be their disposition to 

 die when handled. * * * Very truly yours, Fred 

 Mather. 



Washington, D. C. Oct. 12, 1887.— Fred Mather, Esq.: 

 Dear Sir— I will be glad to have you publish what I have 

 written you in regard to our experiments in rearing shad in 

 confinement. What you say in regard to their delicacy in 

 handling is a very important matter. The experiments we 

 propose to conduct next year will be in a pond of six acres, 

 communicating directly with the Potomac Biver, and when 

 we find it desirable to turn out the fish, say some time in 

 October, the gates communicating with the river will he 

 opened at high tide so as to permit the fish to pass out with 

 the ebb of the water. We will in this way transfer them 

 without any possibility of risk in handling. I look for most 

 important results in our shad work from the extension of 

 this method of rearing in large ponds in connection with 

 our shad streams. Work already done has certainly been 

 very effective, but I believe that returns from work of this 

 character will be much larger in proportion to the expendi- 

 ture. Very truly yours, M. McDonald. 



THE CONNECTICUT COMMISSION. 



WE have the twenty-second report of the Fish Commis- 

 sioners of Connecticut to the Governor, January 1888. 

 It opens with a tribute to the late Prof. Spencer F. Baird, 

 and says: "As the present Fish Commissioners of this State 

 were all in office when the United States Fish Commission 

 was established by Congress in 1871, they can, perhaps more 

 thoroughly than most men, appreciate the great work that 

 Prof. Baird has accomplished during his administration of 

 the office. The New England commissioners had at that 

 time just solved a serious problem in salmon breeding. They 

 had demonstrated that the adult fish taken in the spring and 

 early summer, and confined until the breeding season in 

 October and November, could be successfully used for pro- 

 curing eggs, which in due time hatched and produced strong, 

 healthy young fry. With the limited means at the disposal 

 of these State Commissioners, the operations were necessarily 

 conducted on a small scale. Prof. Baird, soon after his ap- 

 pointment, became interested in this work, and has since 

 contributed the greatest part of the money for its continu- 

 ance. Prof. Baird was singularly fitted for the position of 

 United States Fish Commissioner. His training as a scien- 

 tist had taught him to examine all sides of any matter sub- 

 mitted to him, and he realized as well the importance of a 

 comprehensive plan for the Commission, as he recognized the 

 necessity of thorough attention to the smallest minutiae of 

 the work, His operations became more and more, extensive 

 as Congress continued to increase the appropriations, and 

 eventually he was as well known in Europe as at home, and 

 secured for the United States the reputation of having the 

 best equipped and most progressive fish commission in the 

 world.' 



In speaking of salmon which were introduced into the 

 Connecticut River which proved that this fish could be re- 

 stored to that stream which once bore them plentifully, and 

 might yet but for the greed of fishermen, they say: "The 

 State of New York now finds itself in a position similar to 

 that of Connecticut in 1878. A large number of salmon were 

 at that time coming into the Connecticut River, and nearly 

 every one of them was captured before it had traveled 15 

 miles up.the river. The Commissioners were powerless to 

 prevent it. They had begged the previous Legislature to 

 protect the salmon which they were sure would appear, but 

 were laughed to scorn as crazy fanatics. The 500 Connecti- 

 cut River salmon of 1878 caused quite a temporary excite- 

 ment, sold for about $1 per pound, and became a thing of the 

 past. Four States had co-operated to produce those salmon, 

 and one State — Connecticut — received the whole benefit. It 

 may be readily conceived that the other States do not desire 

 to assist Connecticut in any further operations upon the 

 Connecticut River. In New York State, as a result of salmon 

 planting several years since, about 30 salmon were reported 

 to have been taken in the Hudson River duriug the past 

 season. The Fish Commissioners of that State are now 

 striving to prevent the capture of salmon, which are intended 

 to stock the river, and unhesitatingly refer to the result in 

 Connecticut as a warning. Time will show what will be ac- 

 complished, but fishermen are much alike, and a fifteen or 

 twenty pound salmon proves too great a temptation to nearly 

 all of them." 



An article from the New York Times is quoted which con- 

 tains the following truism: "Mankind, at least a large por- 

 tion of it, is singularly ignorant of what are its true interests, 

 and in gaining a livelihood it gleans all it can to-day, quite 

 indifferent of the morrow. It is exaggerating a natural im- 

 pulse to call the wholesale capture of fish something act- 

 uated by greed alone. The fisherman is no more greedy than 

 the farmer or the man of general business; but the farmer 

 knows what are the limits of production and something 

 about the laws which regulate it. The fisherman does not." 



All parties who applied for trout on or before March 1st, 

 were supplied, and 4,000 of the young fry were allotted to 

 each. Favorable, reports of the good results of the trout dis- 

 tribution continue to reach the Commissioners, and many of 

 the former applicants are enthusiastic over the improved 

 condition of streams a few years since nearly exhausted, but 

 now once more teeming with trout. Others mention brooks 

 in which no trout had been seen for years, now fairly alive 

 with them as the result of two or three years' planting. 



The catch of shad was- small in 1887, being 37,600 less than 

 on the previous year when the catch was 117,950, while in 18S5 

 it was 190,300, according to the statistics gathered by Mr. R. 

 B. Chalker, a practical fisherman at Saybrook. Mr. Feuton 

 reports that in the Housatonic and Farmington Rivers there 

 was a decrease in 1887, as compared with 1886, of about 40 per 

 cent. 



The season has been a remarkable one, from the. fact that, 

 with the exception of the Delaware and Connecticut Rivers, 

 the catch of shad has been unusually large. A curious fact 

 is, that while the catch in the Delaware is reported as "the 

 poorest ever known," the catch in the two rivers above and 

 below, the Potomac and Hudson, has been almost pheno- 

 menal. 



Superintendent Fenton hatched and planted in the Con- 

 necticnt and Housatonic Rivers and their tributaries 9,167,000 

 shad, and the number of salmon taken in the former river is 

 given as thirty. The Rogers fishway at Birmingham, on 

 the Housatonic, was in full operation and proved successful 

 for all kinds of river fish except shad. It will be re-modeled 

 next year by the patentee who thinks he can make it suc- 

 cessful. 



THE NEW HAMPSHIRE COMMISSION. 



THE work of taking eggs at Snnapee Lake is finished for 

 the season, and 225,000 eggs, from both the brook trout 

 and the newly found Oquassa trout, have been taken, and 

 also 15,000 eggs of the landlocked salmon. Commissioner 

 Hodge is of the opinion that the lake is now thoroughly 

 stocked, and if the protective laws are enforced the lake will 

 afford good fishing. Col. Hodge has noticed this season a 

 large increase in the number of small black bass, which are 

 evidently on the increase, and perch are being gradually 

 driven out. 



A local paper says: "The work of the Commission at 

 Sunapee Lake has been a brilliant success, its results afford- 

 ing sport for fishermen without number, who come from all 

 over New England and even from more distant States. For 

 this work we are indebted to Col, Hodge more than to any 

 other person. It has always been his belief that the chief 

 usefulness of the Commission lay in restocking our ponds 

 and streams with native trout, and he has made a personal 

 matter of Sunapee Lake. Indeed, he never received from 

 the State a penny in compensation for the first four years of 

 his work here. The first season his only shelter was a little 

 lodge built of boughs, open at one end, with a fire in front 

 of it. Then he had a little board shanty, which sufficed 

 until Dr. Quackenbos gave him the little house on the 

 beach. Going before the Legislature of 1887 for a special 

 appropriation for the lake, he had only to name the sum 

 desired. Six hundred dollars a year was appropriated for 

 two years. 



"A comfortable house has been erected, at a cost of about 

 $225, containing three rooms and a cheery fire place. The 

 capacity of thehatching house has also been increased and a 

 new supply of water put in, 900ft. of Sin. pipe having been 

 laid. 



"Col. Hodge showed us a beautiful oil painting by Bick- 

 ford, a Massachusetts artist, we believe, who has been with 

 him this fall making a special study of the trout peculiar to 

 the lake, sometimes called oquassa., Mr. Bickford has had 

 exceptional opportunities at the hatching house, is indeed 

 an artist, and has succeeded in getting a 41b. oquassa on |to 

 canvas in fine shape, with all its characteristics of form and 

 coloring. 



"Of this variety Col. Hodge is still of the opinion that the 

 ichthyologists will eventually have to give it a distinctive 

 name, as it has characteristics belonging to no trout found 

 anywhere else in the world. It is already famous wherever 

 the English lauguage prevails. It must be native and 

 peculiar to Sunapee Lake, and some of them have probably 

 been caught before now without any notice having been 

 taken by fishermen of the characteristics that distinguish it 

 from the common brook trout which attain such proportions 

 here." 



POLLUTION OF STREAMS IN OHIO.— Columbus, O., 

 Dec. 8. — On Monday night the City Council adopted a reso- 

 lution, offered by Mr. Fleck, which provided that a confer- 

 ence should be held by certain Councilmen with the State 

 University Trustees, the object beHng to consider the plan, 

 or rather to propose it in a new shape, of obtainigg some 

 sewerage through the University Farm with the design in 

 view of having the State authorities authorize and equip a 

 system for experimenting on sewage infiltration on a small 

 scale. The extreme north end has been deprived of sewer- 

 age for years on account of State and municipal laws in re- 

 gard to the Olentangy River. The proposed main sewer 

 through the University Farm would greatly relieve a bad 

 condition of affairs and also prevent the surface drainage 

 from going into the Olentangy. So it is with a double force 

 that this argument in favor of the infiltration experiment is 

 advanced. The northern district of the city could furnish 

 the sewerage and the State could try the experiment of get- 

 ting rid of it. All needed is the ways and means to make 

 the experiment, which would cost but little and will go a 

 long way toward determining a point which is of as much 

 interest to the State at large as any problem that yearly 

 presents itself and receives attention. The State sustains a 

 fine university, iu which science and learning is striven for 

 as much by the instructors as the collegiates. It pays its 

 learned men to delve deep into the mysteries of nature and 

 so bring forth the results which ultimately benefit mankind. 

 Why is it not proper then that financial co-operation should 

 be given in a work which aims at acquiring knowledge of 

 the greatest human ills — that of the effects of sewage mat- 

 ter? Professor Orton, of the University, a most able scien- 

 tist, has pronounced the location afforded for a, system of 

 artificial infiltration on the bottom lands of the farm as 

 suitable as nature could have planned and made. The 

 problem presented to the city of Columbus does not interest 

 her citizens alone. The eyes of the populace of other cities, 

 suffering equally and worse from the curse of improper 

 methods of disposing of sewerage, would be turned upon an 

 experiment that is of vital moment. Assistance to this plan 

 should come from every city in the State, since it will 

 demonstrate something for all. The matter should be 

 urged, and it seems reasonable to hope that the Logislatui-e 

 would authorize the expenditure of money for the purpose. 

 It is not a Columbus matter, it belongs to Ohio, and no 

 measure instituted for the relief of her cities would meet 

 with more general approbation. It is to be hoped that the 

 University trustees will appreciate the value of the idea and 

 will authorize the city, in connection with the State, to 

 make the experiment 'on a small scale. It will be an in- 

 structor in itself, if such a design is carried out. 



THE NEW YORK COMMISSION. — Geo. Roberts brought 

 to the Adirondack station at Lake Brandon 1,119,000 lake 

 trout eggs, being the best catch of eggs of this fish ever 

 made by any of the New York men. Supt. Marks has now 

 on the trays at this station nearly two million eggs of lake, 

 and brook trout, the figures being 1,900,000, all secured from 

 wild fish. The yearly report of the Commissioners is now 

 in the hands of the printer, and it is proposed to have it 

 before the Legislature before its adjournment this year. 



Vim Mwnel 



FIXTURES. 



DOG SHOWS. 



.Tan. 10, 11, 13 and 13, 1888.— Bench Show of the Ohio Pom try, Pigeon, 

 Kcnuel and Pet Stock Association, Columbus, O. II. O. Bridge, 

 Secretary. Columbus, O. 



Jan. 38 to 27, 1888.— First Dog Show of the Agusta Poultry anil 

 Poultry Association, at Agusta, Ga. 



Jan. 34. to 20.— Augusta, Ga., Richmond County Poultry and Pel 

 Stock. 



Fob. 13 to 17.— First show Fort Schuyler Kennel Club, Utica, N. 

 Y. 13. J. Spencer, Sec. 



Feb. 31 t u "-'i. 1888.— Twelfth Annual Show of the Westminster Ken- 

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

 Superintendent. 



Feb. 28 to March 2.— Show of Philadelphia Kennel Club. W. H. 

 Child, Sec. 



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

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

 FIELD TRIALS. 



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

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

 shall, Tex. 



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

 Trial Club, near Kiog.sburgh, CaL N, P, Shelden, Secretary, 320 

 Sansome street, San Francisco, Cal. 



