60 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 7, 1889. 



SAIBL1NG IN STERLING LAKE.Y 



C1ALED0NIA, N. Y., Jan. 30.— ■Editor Forest and 

 i Stream: In your last week's paper (Jan. 24) I notice 

 an article on "Sainling in Sterling Lake." I saw one of 

 the fish mentioned and took it to be a hybrid trout, one of 

 tbe many crosses made at the New York State hatchery 

 at Caledonia, a cross between the salmon trout (namay- 

 cush) and our native brook trout. I still have some 

 doubts about its being a saibling. and wish to ask if saib- 

 ling were imported before 1887, and if the importation of 

 that year did not all die? They have a few at the New 

 York State hatchery, Caledonia, of importation of 1888, 

 and they are doing nicely. J. ANNIN, Jr. 



[In order that the readers of Forest and Stream may 

 contribute additional information about the acclimatiza- 

 tion of the saibling in the United States, the Com- 

 missioner of Fisheries has enabled us to present the 



accompanying illustration, made -from the specimen 

 obtained in Sterling Lake and described in this paper 

 Jan 24. It is a very difficult matter to robtain accurate 

 knowledge of the success or failure of fishcultural 

 experiments, and the codperation of the people in- 

 terested in such measures is earnestly requested. Fish- 

 culturists and anglers familiar with the trout will see at 

 a glance that the fish herewith shown is not a hybrid be- 

 tween lake and brook trout. That cross was described 

 in these columns Jan. 17, and it is very different indeed 

 from the saibling. The latter species seems to have made 

 its appearance in the United States Jan. 22. 1881. 60,- 

 000 eggs were forwarded from German v and received 

 for the U. S. Fish Commission by Mi'. Fred Mather, who 

 sent them next day to Mr. A. H. Powers, at Plymouth. 

 N. H. The eggs hatched Feb. 28. Mr. Powers deposited 

 30,00 fry in Newfound Lake on May 18. Some were 

 retained at Plymouth, we believe, for Col. Hodge took 

 about 600 eggs Dec. 3, 1883. There has been some dis- 

 tribution of saibling evident^, and we want to find out, 

 if possible, where they were liberated. In this our 

 readers can help us and we hope they will. In the mean- 

 time the saibling from Sterling Lake is in the National 

 Museum, where it can be examined bv any one who 

 wishes to see it. 



THE OPEN WINTER AND FISHING. 



seotion 12, article 1, of the constitution of Ohio: "No conviction 

 ah & 1 f or , k corr uption of Wood or forfeiture of estate." 



With all due deference to the opinions of our learned state 

 official, I must bog leave to differ with him. Lawyers sometimes 

 do differ in their construction of the law. I would not appear 

 in this case m opposition to the at tornev-generaPs opinion, hut as 

 hsli and same commissioner, I have in my possession some sixty 

 fishing nets confiscated under the law; in several cases BUits are 

 pending in the courts for their recovery by the owners, and since 

 the promulgation of the attorney-general's opinion, I am beset 

 with claimants, through their attorneys, threatening suits unless 

 1 surrender the nets. These people look upon tho opinion given 

 by the attorney-general as the end of the law, and say to me, 

 that ' as the law has been decided against me, it is only wilful- 

 ness in me to withhold restitution, as if the affix of attorney- 

 general to an opinion added weight to its logic. 



"No conviction shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture of 

 estate." 



Tlie English statutes declared an estate to be the entire holding 

 of the subject real and personal within the realm, and on convic- 

 tion for state and other offenses the estate of the accused was 

 forfeited to the crown. This system in the old world led to unjust 

 a ad groundless prosecutions. A subject becoming inimical to the 



sovereign could be seized, tried, convicted and his estate forfeited 

 whether right, or wrong, by a court whose tenure was the will of 

 the sovereign, and who were willing tools in the hands of a mas- 

 ter who was to be enriched by their act. To strengthen the arm 

 of power these forfeited estates were given to favorites, who 

 became the titled lords of the land, and who, in many instances, 

 thus received the benefits of their own corrupt conspiracies and a 

 no less corrupt court. English history is full of these examples. 

 The best Irish estates to-day are held by favorites of English sov- 

 ereigns, forfeited for no other reason than that their owners were 

 loyal to the land that gave them birth. It is no wonder that our 

 republican constitution should declare that convictions should 

 not work corruption of blood or forfeiture of estates. It is a blow 

 at the corrupt systems of monarchy. 



But it does not mean that offenders shall go unpunished or 

 allowed to bold an estate in the implements with which they 

 have committed offenses against society, and against laws de- 

 signed for the public good. It does not mean that the counter- 

 feiter shall hold an estate in his moulds and presses, by means 

 of which he has preyed upon the public, nor the highwayman in 

 his slungshot, his stiletto and his revolver. These under our 

 laws are forfeited in the courts every day. The implements with 

 which an offense is committed become part, and parcel of the 

 offense, without which there would be no offense. The offender 

 may have an estate outside of the implements by which he com- 

 mitted the offense— of course that estate could not be affected by 

 forfeiture. Does his entire estate consist in counterfeiting imple- 

 ments, slungshot, revolvers, and burglar's tools, by which he 

 carries on his unlawful business, shall these be held inviolate 

 under our organic law, which declares that "no conviction shall 

 work corruption of blood or forfeiture of estate?" 



The English definition of an estate was evidently the one under- 

 stood and acted upon by the framers of our Constitution. 



I shall not surrender the nets applied for in the absence of any 

 higher authority than tbe attorney general's opinion. Verv truly, 

 Emery D. Potter, Commissioner of Fish and Game. 



Mr. Fraine has been both conscientious and well informed 

 in his efforts to preserve the fish in the hues of life. Mr. 

 Fraine enjoys a high reputation among our leading 

 sportsmen for his care in securing the data necessary to 

 make his preparations faithful representations of the 

 living specimens. 



INTER-STATE FISHERY BILL. 



INTER-STATE fishery laws for the portection of the fishes 

 of the Delaware River are now under consideration by 

 the Legislatures of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey 

 and Delaware, at the earnest request of the Fish Commis- 

 sioners of those States. In Pennsylvania the fishery bill 

 was to be considered by the Committee on Agriculture of 

 the House of Representatives, Jan. 31. 



The bill as it now stands is the outgrowth of conferences 

 between the Fish Commissioners of the States named and is 

 unanimously reccomuiended by them for passage. Uniform 

 fishery laws for the Delaware River are urgently needed, to 

 prevent the destruction of valuable fishes native to that 

 stream, and to secure good results from the layout of money 

 by the States bordering on that river for the introduction of 

 valuable species from other waters. During the summer of 

 1888 the Pennsylvania Commission, in conjunction with the 

 U. S. Fish Commission, planted 34,000,000 young shad in the 

 Delaware between New York State line and Trenton. Until 

 two years ago such efforts to stock the river would have 

 been rendered practically useless on account of the innumer- 

 able fish baskets and weirs which completely obstructed 

 the descent of the young shad on their way to the sea in the 

 fall, We have seen the injurious effect of such engines of 

 destruction in the Susquehanna, above the Columbia dam, 

 when hundreds of thousands of little shad could be found 

 lying dead on the wings and apex of the V-shaped traps that 

 occupied the entire width of the river and extended over 

 many miles of its length. These obstructions have been re- 

 moved along the borders of Pennsylvania in the last two 

 years and good results are already evident. The catch of 

 shad in the upper Delaware iu 1888 was largely increased 

 over previous years and rockfish have been more plentiful. 

 The bill provides for a close season for shad in the Delaware 

 from June 1 to Jan. 1; also fer the prohibition of net fishing 

 from sunset on Saturday until midnight on Sunday, giving 

 the gravid fish a chance to reach their spawning grounds. 

 The size of the mesh of nets is to be fixed at three inches, or 

 \}4 inches between knots, in order to prevent the waste of 

 small fishes which are not of marketable size. The Penn- 

 sylvania Commission has introduced mature rock bass 

 \Amhloi>YitcH rttpeMrls) from Lake Erie, and pike perch 

 (SUsostedion vitrcum) from the Susquehanna. Black bass 

 have become abundant in the Delaware. Continued arti- 

 ficial propagation united with wise protection will secure to 

 this river an ample supply of choice food fishes. 



FISHCULTURE IN WYOMING. 



\\l YOMING TERRITORY has a fish hatchery about four 

 V ? miles southeast of Laramie in which Com ruissi oner 

 Louis Miller recently had 382,000 eggs, with the promise of 

 200,000 additional from the United States establishment at 

 Northville, Michigan. The hatchery produced about 375.000 

 fry last year which were planted in various streams through- 

 out the Territory. Five of the ten counties into which 

 Wyoming is divided have fish commissioners, and the dis- 

 tribution is effected through their suggestions. The trans- 

 portation is accomplished at the expense of the Territory. 

 As soon as a title can be secured to the land ou which the 

 hatchery is located an appropriation will be made for en- 

 larging the establishment and the work will be greatly in- 

 creased. The following fisb are now on the grounds: 



California rainbow trout, yearlings, . . ... 25.000 



California rainbow trout, breeders 2,000 



Eastern brook trout, breeders. 40,000 



Colorado trout 1,000 



California salmon 200 



Lake trout, four years old 500 



Last year Commissioner Miller stocked all the streams 

 east of the Black Hills as far down as Sybille; 14,000 breed- 

 ing brook trout and 5,000 yearlings were deposited in the 

 Big Laramie. The north fork of the Little Laramie was 

 stocked also. The good results of this work are seen already: 

 in the Big Laramie these trout have been seen spawning. 

 The advantages of putting in yearlings and breeding fish 

 are appreciated, and this policy will he continued. Mr. 

 Miller has engaged some black bass and "striped bass" 

 (probably not the anadromous species) for Hutton's and 

 lone lakes. 



RESULTS OF HATCHING WH1TEFISH. 



WHITEFISH were reported to be so plentiful in Lake 

 Erie last year that the fishermen scarcely knew what 

 to do with them. Seven hundred and fifty tons were .frozen 

 for shipment by a single firm in Huron, Ohio. Sandusky is 

 fast becoming one of the great fresh fish markets of the 

 world. Mr. E. D. Carter, one of the most prominent fish 

 dealers of Erie, attributes the present prosperity of the 

 whitefish industry to artificial propagation. Three seasons 

 ago the fishery for whitefish had become so unprofitable that 

 he, with others, concluded to abandon it entirely. In 1S86 a 

 slight improvement was noticed, but now the catch is double 

 what it was in 1886. This result, Mr. Carter states, is due to 

 the work of the hatcheries, for the fish are almost without 

 exception young, weighing about two pounds. The in- 

 creased catch and the unmistakable character of the fish is 

 admitted also by many experienced fishermen, and the es- 

 tablishments at Erie, as well as others in Michigan and Ohio, 

 now receive the credit which fairly belongs to them. The 

 prices of fish now are about two-thirds of what they were 

 m 1885. The catch of whitefish at Erie in 1888 was 2,200- 

 OOOlbs., an increase of a third over that of 1887. 



MARKET FISHES.— We have the following information 

 about fishes in the markets of Washington, D. C: Jan. 29. 

 —A few North Carolina shad are selling at 40 to 75 cents 

 each. The eggs are immature. Young striped bass are 

 caught in large numbers, weighing from }£ to %lbs., but 

 larger fish of this species are scarce. Yellow perch are in 

 considerable quantities, from a very small size to about one 

 pound; they are full of eggs, which are sometimes sold 

 separately. Young red snappers, Lutjanus blackfordl, 

 weighing about one pound or less, are occasionally met 

 with. The steelhead, or Gairdner's trout, has commenced 

 to pose as Kennebec salmon, but some dealers do not prac- 

 tice on the credulity of their customers by selling this cheap 

 fish at high prices. Feb. 1.— A small lot of so-called white- 

 bait upon examination proved to consist entirely of small 

 silversides, Menidia notata, a fish no more to be compared 

 with the whitebait than the sturgeon to a shad. 



LAKE TROUT FOR LAKE GEORGE. -The Albany 

 Journal reports: "Through the efforts chiefly of Gen, R. 

 L. Banks, of Albany, arrangements have been made for the 



£lanting of half a million of lake or salmon-trout fry iu 

 lake George during this winter. As the red or square-tailed 



WEBSTER, Mass., Feb. 4.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 A black bass weighing 5Jlbs. was caught to-day 

 in the lake here through the ice on a tilt-hook set for 

 pickerel. It is not unusual here to catch large bass 

 through the ice in late winter when fishing for pickerel, 

 but it never happened as early as this. I know- of no 

 instance where one was caught earlier than March, which 

 makes the present catch the more remarkable. Would it 

 indicate an early spring, or was it caused by tbe late fre- 

 quent rains? The lake has been twice already free from 

 ice since it first froze over, in December, which is another 

 very remarkable occurrence. The ice now is only four 

 or five inches thick. Worcester County. 



[The mild temperature affords sufficient explanation 

 of the activity of the bass. We see it reported that Con- 

 necticut anglers "expect that trout will be plen tier than 

 usual this spring because the brooks have remained free 

 from ice, under which the muskrats easily catch trout, to 

 them a dainty feed." The effects of an open winter on 

 the supply of game fishes cannot be safely anticipated. 

 Ice will not destroy the eggs, it is true, but abundance 

 of rain will cause high waters charged with a superabun- 

 dance of mud, which may cover spawning beds and 

 suffocate young fish. If we could have clear water with 

 our mild winter the beneficial effect upon the trout 

 especially would doubtless be very marked. The spring, 

 however, is the critical period for many of our finest 

 species not belonging to the salmon family. One result 

 of the open winter is the disappointment of the pickerel 

 fishermen, who are almost as down-hearted as the ice 

 barons over the etherial mildneES ] 



THE SEIZURE OF NETS. 



IT will be remembered that the question of the legality 

 of seizing nets used illegally, before they have been 

 condemned by "due process of law," was discussed by a 

 New York judge, who gave an opinion that the seizure 

 was illegal. The same principle is involved in an Ohio 

 case, and Judge Emery D. Potter, the Commissioner, has 

 made the following reply to a demand for the restitution 

 of confiscated nets: 



Toledo, O., Jan. 29, 18R9.— S. F. Foote, Esq., Attorney-at-Law: 

 Dear Sir — Yoars of the lt5r.ii inst., demanding the return of cer- 

 tain fish nets belonging to Andrew Oatstons and R. C. Morgan, 

 taken by W. W. Ward, warden for Ottawa county, while the 

 claimants were unlawfully fishing in the Portage River, in said 

 county, is received. You, as their attorney, base their claim for 

 a return of the nets on an opinion recently promulgated by the 

 Attorney-General as to the constitutionality of the law under 

 which the nets were seized. My reply below will give my reasons 

 for not complying with your demand. As there ace Other caSea 

 of alike character with yours, for their guidance, you will excuse 

 me for making this communication public. 



Section 6968, Revised Statutes of Ohio, amended April 14, 1888, 

 p. 271, after defining what shall be illegal fishing, says: "No person 

 shall draw, set or locate any trap, pound-not , seine or any device 

 for catching fish as in this section forbidden; and any nets, seines, 

 pounds or t other devices for catching Ash, set or placed in viola- 

 tion of the provisions of this section, shall be confiscated where- 

 ever found, and the same shall be sold to the. highest bidder at 

 public outcry, at a place to be selected by the Fish Commissioners; 

 and the proceeds of such sale shall be placed to the credit of the 

 fish and game fund, subject to the warrant of such commission- 

 ers." 



I am told, but I have not seen the text of the decision, that this 

 clause of the law has been declared unconstitutional by the at- 

 torney-general of the State. In support of his opinion, he quotes 



Greenwood Lake.— The Passaic County Fish and 

 Game Protective Association, of Paterson, N. J., willtake 

 steps to improve fishing in Greenwood Lake. There is 

 little doubt that if tbe bass there were crossed with bass 

 from some other water the result would be better sport. 

 The Association has made arrangements for the procur- 

 ing of a considerable quantity of ba6s at a nominal cost, 

 and these will be netted as soon as practicable in time to 

 be deposited in Greenwood Lake before the spawning 

 season this year. Some time ago the Association ac- 

 cepted the offer of a hotel proprietor at the lake to furnish 

 the screen if he would put it in position at the outlet of 

 the lake. The screen was bought but nothing further 

 has been done. The Association resolved to have the 

 screen put in, the cost of which work will be about $45. 

 The funds of the Association are very limited, having 

 been expended in the interest of sport as they accumu- 

 lated. The Association will depend on voluntary contri- 

 butions from its members and from all interested in the 

 preservation of sport and the propagation of game to 

 defray the expenses of the several projects undertaken. 

 The benefits which will accrue from each one of the 

 several projects are apparent and need no elucidation, 

 and the Association has no doubt that sportsmen will 

 give such assistance as will enable the Association to 

 carry out every one of these projects. Persons willing to 

 contribute are requested to inform the secretary of the 

 amount they will subscribe, so that the work may be pro- 

 ceeded with at once. Contributors are requested to 

 designate in their letter to what purpose they wish the 

 sum contributed expended. — Chas. A. Shriner, Secretary 

 (Paterson, N. J.). 



Frogs in January.— To wanda, Pa., Jan. 26,— It is not 

 often that a mess of frogs can be obtained at this season 

 of the year in a country where for days the thermometer 

 registers zero. One day the past week I passed a farmer 

 acquaintance, who knowing my weakness for the sports 

 with rod and gun called out: "Say, Will, I brought down 

 a mess of frogs, and went to show them to you, but, not 

 finding you in, left them at Jim Nestor's restaurant." 

 Jim's head waiter produced his miniature frog pond, it 

 consisting of a second-hand tobacco pail containing about 

 four inches of water alive with the movement of large 

 and small frogs. There were twenty-one, running from 

 half-grown to old residenters, found while torpid in 

 mother earth about six inches under ground while ditch- 

 ing through rmrsh an^l meadow. Poking out a big fellow 

 and phicing him on the floor he seemed as lively and 

 hopped as far as he could in his native bog in tbe month 

 of July. Lovers of frog legs have no doubt caused their 

 destruction before this time.— W. F. Dittrioh. 



A Nepigon Trout.— Mr. T. W. Fraine, the Rochester 

 taxidermist, called at this office on Monday, and showed 

 us a Nepigon trout of about 3 pounds weight, which he 

 bad mounted. The attitude of the fisb, plunging down- 

 ward with the middle fly of the cast in his mouth, is very 

 artistic and lifelike; the coloring may appear exaggerated 

 to people who have never seen a Nepigon trout at the 

 moment of leaving his native stream, but we believe 



SAIBLING Yot'Nu Male, 9V.jix. Long. Sterunu Lake, N. Y. 



(The line represents one inch of length of fish.) 



