302 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



fAFB.iL 1887. 



TO THE MEMORY OF ANGLING WRITERS. 



OUR English angling friends are to be commended for 

 the interest which they manifest in doing honor to 

 those of the craft whose writings have been serviceable 

 and who havo passed away. A short time ago we printed 

 an appeal for subscriptions to place a memorial tablet in 

 "Winchester Cathedral to the memory of Izaak Walton, 

 and now a similar appeal is made to honor the memory 

 of Francis Francis, the subscriptions being limited to one 

 guinea. No similar movement has ever been made in 

 America, although we have had a Norris, a Bethune, a 

 Dawson and a Scott, each of them revered by our literary 

 anglers, and well worthy of being remembered in marble 

 as they are in the hearts of those who knew them, either 

 personally or by their writings. In our bustling Ameri- 

 can life we are too prone to neglect these honors to those 

 who have instructed aud interested us in the gentle art. 

 In England the memories of such men are kept green by 

 the angling clubs, which, by the way, are more social in 

 their nature than our own, but if the proposition to make 

 the Rod and Reel Association something more than a 

 mere organization for holding au annual fly and bait- 

 casting contest is carried out, we hope that in time some 

 Bteps may be taken to do public honor to the famous 

 native anglers who have passed away. 



At the late annual dinner of the London Fly Fishers' 

 Club, Mr. William Senior, well-known under his nom de 

 plume of "Red Spinner" rose to propose the memory of 

 Francis Francis, "and observed that, even upon festive oc- 

 casions like this, it was necessary sometimes to take cog- 

 nizance of the cloud as well as the sunshine. It was the 

 first time in the history of the club that they had been 

 called upon to drink a toast in silence, and he hoped it 

 would be a long time before they were called upon again; 

 but the committee had decided, and he believed rightly, 

 that a tribute ought to be paid to the memory of Mr. 

 Francis Francis. (Hear, hear.) It was unnecessary to 

 say who Francis Francis was. (Hear, hear.) Many 

 present had taken their earliest lessons in the 'gentle 

 craft' from him, and the older members had followed with 

 the greatest interest his name and writings during the 

 past thirty years — first in the sporting newspapers, next 

 in the magazines, then in the more solid literature of the 

 publisher's printing press. The amount of pleasure and 

 instruction which his works imparted, and the influence 

 which they exerted, could hardly be estimated or 

 described. For Mr. Francis was essentially a full man, 

 who had a thorough knowledge of his subject, gained in 

 the best of all schools— experience. He had, too, a vigor- 

 ous style, and was fearless to the backbone; and he always 

 aimed at the very highest standard. (Hear, hear.) There 

 was a desire to perpetuate his memory by a tablet in Win- 

 chester Cathedral, where Izaak Walton' was buried, and 

 Mr. R. B. Marston, who was secretary for the good work, 

 had already received the sanction of the Dean. (Hear, 

 hear.) As Mr. Francis was a Hampshire man, and was a 

 good deal about Winchester — the trout knew that pretty 

 well — and as the name of Izaak Walton was also associated 

 with the place, the committee thought that they could not 

 do better than cany out a representative memorial in that 

 way. (Hoar, hear.) * * * * There was an obvious 

 thought connected with this toast. Sooner or later the 

 day must come when the names of all present would be a 

 memory too; when they would have ceased their pleasant 

 wanderings by lake and stream, among all the sweet sur- 

 roundings of nature, which they loved so dearly, and 

 when they must leave their rods and creels behind them. 

 But whatever cause else they might have for regret, the 

 sport to which they were all so devoted would surely be a 

 subject for nothing but the most pleasant recollections. 

 (Hear, hear.) Their friend, Francis Francis, must have 

 had a good slice of enjoyment during his career, thanks 

 to his rod and line; and it was a comfortable reflection 

 that they could refer to the source of that enjoyment 

 without the shadow of apology, and with clear consciences. 

 And so, believing they were all in full accord as to the 

 great talents and the manly straightforward character of 

 the master whose loss they deplored, he asked them to 

 drink to the memory of Francis Francis." 



The circular from which we have taken the above says 

 that subscriptions to the Francis Francis memorial fund 

 may be sent to F. M. Halford, treasurer of the fund, 35 

 Inverness Terrace, Hyde Park, London. 



KILL FISH WHEN CAUGHT. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The first time Adam went fishing in the brooks of Eden 

 (I assume they were trout brooks), he must have caught a 

 "big lot." and, of course, Eve experimented in cooking 

 them. But I venture to assert that poor Adam ate a 

 barrel-full of half raw fish before she discovered the 

 grand secret— known even now to but few — namely: to 

 cook them, and cook them, and cook them! There's an- 

 other thing I am sure Eve did — and all other old 

 bachelors will join me in the opinion — namely, she gave 

 Adam a terrific curtain lecture on his needless cruelty to 

 the poor fish, in twisting and pulling the hook out of 

 their gills, and then allowing them to smother— to die by 

 slow degrees. And an old maid friend suggests that no 

 doubt the wily Adam arose and smote his breast and 

 swore a big oath, he'd never, never do it again— but went 

 on just the same as before, next day! Be that as it may, 

 the modern Adam needs a lecture badly, and as the self- 

 constituted but humble representative of all the modern 

 Eves, I propose to read him one. 



In Russia and Japan fish are injured as bttle as possi- 

 ble, for they are usually preserved alive in a tank until 

 wanted for the table; then, if it be in a hotel, they are 

 exhibited alive to the gue ts and instantly killed. In 

 some parts of our own country this matter is equally well 

 understood. For instance, m Annapolis, Md., no house- 

 keeper will buy fish that are not alive and active, and 

 hence the market dealers keep them in large tanks until 

 wanted. As for the cooking there, I canr t speak with 

 great certainty, for my experience in several visits has 

 been limited to rockfish and sundry toothsome crabs (for 

 which latter that city is justly famous). 



On a yachting cruise oif the eastern end of Long Island 

 I learned how to treat and cook a fish. Our captain in- 

 stantly killed the first Uuefish ca,ught, dressed it, cut it 

 into broad strips crosswise, salted them and then dropped 

 them into boiling fat; tben he let them boil a la dough- 

 nuts, say half an hour, until the expectant guests howled 

 with impatient longing and stomachic pain. The result 

 was a fish meal that seemed a new revelation, for I never 



ate such fish before. It was brown and crisp .and done 

 all through— that's the secret. Upon ^returning home I 

 reformed the raw-fish-loving sable cook, but somehow 

 the taste of that bluefish didn't materialize. At first, I 

 attributed it all to fresh sea air, etc., but finally, by ex- 

 periment, I found that fish allowed to die slowly deteri- 

 orate more than those killed speedily, and then the blue- 

 fish came again in almost his original toothsomeness. 



Thus much for the case, viewed from a purely selfish 

 standpoint. Is there no other reason for not torturing a 

 fish in extracting the hook, and also for killing him at 

 once? Let us reason together. Has a fish no feeling we 

 are bound to respect? Putting ourselves in the place of a 

 fish, how would we like to have a huge barbed hook 

 turned and twisted in, and finally pulled out of our lungs, 

 throat, eyes, etc.? Fish have not our highly-developed 

 nervous system, but we should remember that wherever 

 red blood is there is sensitiveness, and in general the 

 degree of sensitiveness corresponds with the quantity of 

 blood in a given area or quantity of tissue or flesh. Now, 

 a fish's throat and its surrounding parts are full of red 

 blood, and it ought to be clear to any one, from that fact 

 alone, that the pain following a piercing, rupture, or 

 tearing of these tissues or blood vessels must cause pain 

 or even agony to a fish. 



I lately discovered a work entitled, "The Art of Fish- 

 ing, etc.," by Oliver Raymond, L.L B., printed in London 

 by the Queen's printers^ which tieats of cruelty to fish in 

 this wise: 



"Kill the fish directly you shall have caught him. By 

 killing the fish at once, you not only curtail bis suffering 

 but you secure to yourself a better fish. For, fish killed 

 on the instant they are caught, eat finer than when left to 

 die a lingering death. Should you wish to know why, I 

 will tell you, and may the information work on the feel- 

 ings of those merciless fishermen who leave their fish, 

 when caught, to die by slow degrees, either half smother 

 in their panniers, or strung on a stick, with their torn 

 and bleeding gills hanging down their tormentor's sides. 

 A fish which dies by degrees, wastes itself, and why? 

 From pain and suffering! If you observe them, they 

 seem to sigh, their flesh becomes flabby — so much so that 

 when they are dressed they have lost, in a measure, that 

 firmness which a sudden death like that I have men- 

 tioned, would have spread over the whole fish. Thus 

 there are two reasons why the fish, captured whether 

 by net or hook, should be killed immediately — the more 

 important of the two that he suffers no unnecessary pain ; 

 the other, lesB important, that he will eat the better." To 

 kill fish quickly the author recommends this plan: "Be 

 provided with a staff about a foot long, which you can 

 carry in your side pocket; with this give the fisha smart 

 blow on the back of the head, close to the neck, and he 

 will be dead in an instant. You may then take the hook 

 out of his mouth, but not before if you would follow my 

 merciful directions." 



So much for Mr. Raymond, but whenever his plan is 

 inconvenient I would suggest this substitute, namely, put 

 a forefinger in the fish's mouth and the thumb just be- 

 hind his head, then give a sudden bend backward, which 

 will snap his backbone and instantly end his sufferings. . 



Another noted authority, Col. E. Z. Judson. better 

 known by his nom deplume, "Ned Buntline," wrote from 

 his forest home in the Adirondacks, that "Playing a 

 trout for the mere fun of the thing is unnecessary torture, 

 besides," he added, "you frighten more fish than you 

 secure by the process." 



Many will not eat the flesh of a bullock killed by acci- 

 dent, and few or none will eat that of a bullock which 

 has been smothered. Yet, by a sort of inconsistency, the 

 eating of smothered fish is the universal practice; for a 

 fish taken from his native element, dies fur want of air 

 — from inability to absorb oxygen; and a man plunged 

 into water dies for the same reason — by smothering, as 

 Desdemona did. 



It is needless to carry the argument further. Enough 

 has been said to show that the subject commends itself to 

 us, not only from humane considerations which all fisher- 

 men should gladly, even zealously regard, but from the 

 purely selfish standpoint of improvement in the quality, 

 palatableness and healthf ulness of one of our principal 

 articles of food. Potomac. 



The Click and Deag on Reels.— Vermont. April 22.— 

 In regard to click and drag being placed on the left hand 

 side of reel, we suppose that "Jo" wishes them so placed 

 that he can work the click and drag when the spool is 

 revolving. This is a good idea and one that I have wished 

 for myself and that wish is about to be gratified, as I 

 have one ordered that has these essential points. We 

 were shown a few days ago a new model of the Henshall- 

 Van Antwerp. In this new model the click and drag 

 were worked from the edge or rim of the plate, and are 

 so placed so as not to spoil the beauty of the reel and not 

 to interfere with the free running of the line, and both 

 click and drag can be operated while the handle is turn- 

 ing and the spool is revolving, no matter how rapidly. 

 The old unsightly "knobs," by which the click and drag 

 were formerly operated on handle side, are discarded. 

 We understand that this model has been sent to the Pat- 

 ent Office and as soon as protected by patents the manu- 

 facturer of them in this form will commence and we hope 

 to have one to try the first day of June, which is the 

 opening day for black bass fishing in this State, and is 

 fifteen days earlier than last season. The snow is yet 

 deep on the hills and the streams are full of snow water, 

 and I am afraid that no trout will rise to my flies the first- 

 day of May; but the fishing fever is running pretty high. 

 — Ompompanoosuc. 



The Coming Tournament.— The annual tournament of 

 the National Rod and Reel Association will take place on 

 Harlem Mere, Central Park, New York city, on Wednes- 

 day and Thursday, May 25 and 26. The prize list should 

 soon be made out and the score books issued, so that they 

 can be sent out at least a week before the meeting. This 

 has never been done; in fact, on one or two occasions the 

 score books were delivered by the printer on the grounds 

 on the morning of the opening day. This delay was 

 caused by holding the prize list open too long before 

 arranging the classes and sending the score book to the 

 printer. A goodly number of prizes have been offered, 

 and we look for an interesting tournament. 



Messrs. Abbey & Imbrie send us a new price list of 

 the thousand and one angler's appurtenances, necessities 

 and luxuries, manufactured by them. They also issue a 

 1400-pictured illustrated catalogue of their goods. 



Pickerel Protection.— There may be, and probably 

 are, waters in which it is desirable to protect the pickerel, 

 Esox reticulatus and E. lucius, but there is no good reason 

 for their protection in the Northern and Eastern States, 

 where better fish, such as trout, salmon, etc., abound. In 

 New York they are protected in Lake George from Feb. 

 15 to June 15, and receive protection in some other States 

 wfyere there are better fish for them to destrov. These 

 species are well known to make a diet of fish almost ex- 

 clusively, the few frogs which they swallow being an un- 

 important item in their diet, and their destructiveness is 

 out of all proportion to their value as either food or game. 

 It seems that their protection is being agitated in Maine, 

 and the Augusta •Journal very sensibly protests against 

 it. In a recent article it says: "It was only the other day 

 that Mr. Hiram Robinson, of Sebec village, fishing with 

 a hook and fine near the mouth of Bear Brook, on the 

 north side of the lake, caught a pickerel. Seeing what 

 appeared to be the extremity of a fish's tail in its mouth 

 he drew from its stomach the partially digested body of a 

 landlocked salmon loin, long, which must have weighed 

 quite 1 Jdbs. when taken in. After the removal the pickerel 

 weighed 3|lbs." 



He Does not Hie.— With the coming of the first days 

 in April I found myself oppressed with a yearning after a 

 shadowy something which, as the thermometer expanded 

 his chest in his endeavors to enjoy all the warm fragrance 

 of the sunny days, gradually assumed body and outline; 

 and I thought of the time when I should hie (any other 

 method of locomotion being too prosaic for a fisherman) 

 to the green pastures, pluck a mustard can full of early 

 worms, and with great expectations and expectorations 

 (for I am a fisherman of the old school), wander beside 

 the croaking creeklets in search of my mighty foe — the 

 chub. Alas, my lot! The snow falls, carrying with it 

 my dreams, and changing into waterfalls. My enthusiasm 

 drifts beyond reach. I wander in mind instead of in green 

 fields; I select a dark spot under my desk as a target in- 

 stead of the mustard-canned worm mentioned above; the. 

 steady flowing of my fountain pen is all that reminds me 

 of the creek's croak; no "rise" ripples the surface of my 

 slough of despond, not even in salary, so "striking" is 

 useless.— F'lin. 



"NESSMUK'S" POEMS. 



He writes with ease and often with elegance, and has a keen 

 sense of humor.— New York Sun, April 3. 



Those of our readers who love sport with rod and gun, and there 

 are not a few of them, will he very much pleased with a hand- 

 some volume of poems by "Nsssmuk," the veteran contributor to 

 Forest and Stream, which has been issued under the title of 

 ^Forest Runes." They will bring to mind visions of camps and 

 hunts gone by, and whet the appetite for the next venture, and 

 are altogether .well worthy of purchase.— Dundas (Out.) True 

 Banner. 



Of these verses, now gathered into this book, the best are, of 

 course, those which refer to woodcraft, to fishing, to hunting, and 

 to the description of landscapes. Here and there there are crude 

 lines, but the genuine poetry is there, nevertheless. When he 

 goes to other themes "Nessmuk" becomes less poetic, but some of 

 his fun is very good. Any ono who loves outdoor life, and who 

 has sympathy with the simplicity of nature, will heartily enjoy 

 occasional dippings into these modest pages of "Nessmuk's" 

 "Forest Runes." Iu some moods we have found them soothing 

 balm in Gilead.— Denver Evening, Times, April IS. 



Address aTl communication* to the Forest and Stream Puh, Co. 



A GOLDFISH POND. 



THOUSANDS of people who annually retire from the city 

 to the country during the warmer months of every 

 year, invest and have invested in suburban lots and dwell- 

 ings; large sums of money are lavished by many of them 

 upon objects which really bring them little or no satisfac- 

 tion in the beginning or the end. while the one feature of a 

 handsome country place, which, when well undertaken, 

 affords the most rational enjoyment, is seldom or never 

 thought of. This is a goldfish pond. 



The establishment ot a successful goldfish pond is not dif- 

 ficult, and it is attended with a mere trifling expenditure of 

 money, if sensibly conducted from the start. There is noth- 

 ing difficult or mysterious in its management. If it is prop- 

 erly excavated andplanted with appropriate trees and shrub- 

 bery on its banks, it will never call upon its owner for a 

 single dollar's outlay, further than the first cost of that dig- 

 ging and planting. A small pond involves an expenditure 

 of £sO to $100; a larger reservoir between 150 and 200ft. in 

 length and 40 to 50ft. imwidth soould not cost more than 

 $250, and can be well established even for $150, 



Nothing alone and of itself on a country place begins to 

 afford the entertainment and pleasure with which a hand- 

 some goldfish pond rewards its owners. The older members 

 of the family as well as the children love to chase around its 

 grassed banks and recline beneath its shady points while 

 following the movements and play of brilliant color which 

 a fleet of goldfish always afford when the hot sun of July 

 and August shines upon it. 



After an experience of sixteen years, the writer feels war- 

 ranted in calling the attention of his fellow men, who may, 

 like himself, delight in a well ordered country home, but 

 who very likely have not given the subject of a goldfish 

 pond any serious consideration, simply because it is gener- 

 ally believed to involve a large expenditure of money to 

 establish and to keep up. 



SECTIONAL VIEW OF POND. 



Where to Place the Pond.— Locate your pond as near 

 to your residence as the configuration of the lot and its land- 

 scaping will allow. It should be placed so in order that the 



