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FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 14, 1889. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE FISH COMMISSION. 



THE report of the Fish and Game Commissioners for the 

 year ending June 1, 1888, shows the following distribu- 

 tion of young fish from the Plymouth hatchery: Brook 

 trout, 452.000; saiblinsr, 3.000; Penobscot salmon, 500,000; 

 landlocked salmon, 145,000; brown trout. 5,000; Loch Leven 

 trout, 30,000; from Sunapee Lake station, 335,000. Total 

 1,470,000. 



From Sunapee Lake station were plauted in Sunapee 

 Lake: Brook trout, 150,000; golden trout. 100,000; landlocked 

 salmon, 45,000; Loch Leven trout, 30,000; rainbow trout, 

 10,000. Total 335,000. 



The Penobscot salmon eggs were hatched with a loss of 

 less than two per cent, and the fry were placed in the 

 Pemigewasset River. Young salmon have been unusually 

 plenty in this river. There were more large salmon in the 

 river in 1S87 than any year siuce the Lawrence Dam was 

 built. Forty salmon were taken in the fish ponds, and from 

 these about 100,000 eggs were obtained. The heavy July 

 rains prevented the usVof the nets during the height of the 

 run, or many more salmon would have boon caught. The 

 salmon that went over the falls at that time passed up to 

 their old spawning grounds near the headwaters of the 

 river. The largest fish was a female 40 inches long, weigh- 

 ing 24 pounds; the smallest . a grilse of £14 pounds, this be- 

 ing the first grilse taken in the nets since the station was 

 established. 



As the water was uuusually high most of the brook trout 

 were taken in pound nets set in the mouths of the brooks. 

 The eggs were obtained from large wild trout weighing from 

 one to seven pounds and produced very large and healthy 

 fry. 



Col. Hodge pays the following tribute to the black bass: 

 "Previous to the introduction of the black bass into Sunapee 

 Lake it was not known as a trout lake except to a few, and 

 the catch of trout, with the exception of those netted and 

 speared during the spawniug season, was very small. The 

 lake at that time was infested with small yellow perch, 

 which destroyed the young trout as soon as hatched. Espe- 

 cially is this tine of the uvreolvs, they being lake spawners. 

 The black bass have destroyed the perch and in their place 

 are now taken hundreds of the finest trout in the world. 

 Here we have a lake noted for its excellent bass fishing and 

 at the same time one of the finest trout and salmon lakes 

 in New England; and no fisherman on the lake has ever 

 made complaint that the bass interfered with the trout in 

 any way." 



The destruction of Plymouth hatchery by fire. Feb. 29, 

 1888, involved the loss of over 1,500,000 eggs" and fry, all of 

 which would have bee'- distributed in the next two months. 

 The building was ownea jointly by the States of Massachu- 

 setts and New Hampshire. At a meeting of the Commis- 

 sioners in Boston soon after it was decided to rebuild and 

 enlarge the hatchery at once. 



BOSTON FISH BUREAU. 



THE 14th annual report of this Bureau for 1S8S contains a 

 list of 36 American vessels that obtained licenses to 

 carry on fishing from Canadian ports, at a cost of £3,831. 

 The losses during the year were 27 vessels, valued at SW5.500, 

 and 83 lives; 19 additional lives were lost in dory fishing. 

 There has been a continued scarcity of cod and mackerel, as 

 in 1886 and 1887, and higher prices have resulted. Boston's 

 trade with Hayti has been greatly interfered -with by the 

 unsettled condition of affairs in that island. The value of 

 the fish importations into Boston was $1,263,741. For the 

 eleven months ended Nov. 30. 1888, the total value of fish 

 imported into the United States, as determined by the Chief 

 of the Bureau of Statistics, was 84,539.275. 



The entire catch of mackerel by New Englaud vessels was 

 48,205 bbls., the smallest for 71 years. This scarcity has led to 

 importation from England of mackerel caught on the Irish 

 coast; 10,245 bbls. were received. This species schools on 

 the coast of Ireland from March to Juue, after which there 

 is no schooling until autumn, when there are some large 

 catches of smaller mackerel. As a substitute for mackerel a 

 Boston firm introduced bonito from Turkey under the name 

 of Bosphorus mackerel; 69 casks arrived in April from Con- 

 stantinople. The same species occurs in vast schools at cer- 

 tain seasons in Vineyard Sound and Buzzard's Bay and it is 

 a very fine food fish. The only source of wonder is that 

 dealers have made so little of it. A great many people have 

 tried pickled bonito and consider it equal to mackerel. The 

 catch of mackerel at the Magdalen Islands was 4.(100 bbls., 

 the largest for fifteen years. The fishing is doue entirely 

 by boats. Early in June at Block Island and south of Long 

 Island there were almost nothing but small, mackerel and 

 these generally in small schools. Vessels saved about 30 

 bbls. at a time out of a catch of 100 bbls., and it took from 

 1,200 to 1,500 fish to make a sea packed barrel. There was, 

 consequently, an enormous waste of fish. The first arrival 

 of salt mackerel from the fleet was the steamer Novelty, 

 June 11, with 160 bbls. caught off Canso; she had about 100 

 bbls. fresh also. The high line of the mackerel fleet was the 

 schooner Edith Rowe. of Gloucester, with a stock of §14,000. 



The total catch of cod for New England was 585,581 

 quintals, a decrease of 91.142 quintals from 1887. The 

 schooner Nellie M. Davis, of Gloucester, landed about 4,400 

 quintals valued at*18,125. Two Provincetown vessels fished 

 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 



Menhaden were very abundant in 1888 north of Cape Cod. 

 From June to October they were more plentiful from Fire 

 Island to the Penobscot than ever before. After Oct. 1 they 

 were found in abundance from Sandy Hook to Cape Hat- 

 teras, disappearing about the middle of November. 



Shad made their appearance in Chatham Bay in June, 

 and about 400 bbls. were split and salted and landed at 

 Boston. The southern Cape Cod ports received about 1,000 

 bbls. additional. The total catch of shad from Connecticut 

 to North Carolina, contrary to what is implied in this re- 

 port, was much greater than in 1887, the excess amounting 

 to nearly one million fish. 



SALMON AND TROUT IN ECUADOR. 



DECEMBER, 1, 1888, Mr. E. G. Blackford furnished to 

 Mr. Victor G. Gangotena, of Quito, Ecuador, 5,000 

 salmon eggs and 5,000 brook trout eggs, with two com- 

 pletely equipped hatching troughs. The eggs were packed 

 in boxes made by Mr. James Annin, Jr., of Caledonia, N. Y. 

 Mr. Gangotena left New York by steamer City of Para. The 

 eggs were placed in the refrigerating room and ice was re- 

 newed daily; they reached Aspiuwall Dec. 9; three hours 

 took them to Panama, where they remained 3 days. The 

 voyage to Guayaguil ended Dec. 15; here they were stored 

 in an ice house 2 days. From Guayaquil to the last railroad 

 station up to the Andes the run was '614 hours; thence the 

 journey was continued by 7uules six days up and down the 

 mountains, with great variations of pressure and tempera- 

 ture. During all the time, of course, ice was constantly 

 supplied in the packing boxes. Dec. 24 they arrived in 

 Quito and were kept there two days while a suitable loca- 

 tion was sought. Dec. 26 the esgs were placed in water of 

 57 degrees Fahrenheit. From 200 to 400 trout etrgs showed 

 signs of spoiling when deposited, but there was no loss of 

 salmon eggs. The trout eggs were put under a pressure of 

 2in. of water and began to hatch Jan. 1. On the next day 

 they continued to develop in small numbers and some of 

 them were coated with fungus. Jan. 4, there were already 

 400 or 500 trout. The salmon eggs wore under a pressure of 

 Sin. of running wateratoO degrees Fahrenheit. Tiiey began 

 to hatch Jan. 4 and on the 10th 3,000 to 4,000 were hatched. 



A good many of the salmon died daily without any discover- 

 able cause. 



Mr. Gangotena will perhaps order.froiu Mr. Blackford 

 500.000 or 1,000,000 eggs. He wants to introduce into the 

 Ashless rivers and lakes of the interior of Ecuador salmon, 

 trout, carp, tench, goldfish and crayfish. Quito is 2,850 

 meters (9,348ft ) above the sea level and the country has 

 elevations ranging from to 4,075 meters. 



A SUCCESSFUL FROG POND. 



WE are not aware that artific;:! frog culture has boon 

 successful any where, but if so FOREST AND Stream 

 would be glad to know it. 



There is a pond in Massachusetts which deserves to be 

 famous for (he number and size of its frogs, but no attempt 

 is made to aid nature in the care aud multiplication of the 

 species. The natural conditions, merely aided by excavat- 

 ing the pond and introducing a system of lateral ditches to 

 drain a piece of marshy ground, have accomplished what 

 perhaps no amount of skill could have brought to pass 

 under less favorable circumstances. 



The accompanying diagram will almost explain itself. 

 The pond is an artificial one and receives spring water from 

 the source indicated. Surface water drains into it also 

 through the ditches made in marshy ground near at hand. 

 A slight dam near the spring obstructs the movements of 



PLAN OE EROG POND. 



the frogs in that directiou. The sides of the main ditch 

 leading from the spriug are lined with stones, in the crevices 

 of which frogs conceal themselves. Trees at intervals 

 around the trout pond furnish ample shade and the greatest 

 depth of water in this pond is about 8ft. On the right of 

 this deep pond the ground rises gradually to form a hill; 

 the remaining ground is low. 



The main ditch carries clear water and has water weeds 

 in it. The bottom of the trout pond is light, sandy; the 

 water is clear and excellent lor drinking. 



The tadpole pond is very shallow, scarcely a foot deep in 

 some parts; the bottom is very muddy and full of aquatic 

 plants. 



The wate r escapes in a small brook after passing through 

 a small hatching house, iu which eggs of trout are developed. 

 Trout, suckers and some other fish live in the deep pond. 

 The distance from the spring to the hatching house is about 

 500ft. 



The owner of this pond supplies his table with all the 

 frogs desired. As many as two dozen, each weighing a half 

 pound or upward, have been caught in a few minutes. Tad- 

 polos by thousands may be seen around the leaves of the 

 water plants. Three hundred and twenty were caught at 

 one scoop of a butterfly net. One thousand two hundred 

 tadpoles without legs and 1,200 with two legs were caught 

 in one day, and many more could have been captured. 

 Only 100 with four legs were taken during the same day. 

 The tadpoles are all uniform in size and very big and fat. 

 There would be no limit to the frogs if the big ones did not 

 eat up the little ones and the tadpoles. 



PENNSYLVANIA FISH COMMISSION. — Two import- 

 ant measures are now pending in the State Legislature at 

 Harrisburg. One of these provides for the appointment of 

 two commissioners annually, thereby securing the presence 

 of four experienced members of the board at all times The 

 second relates to the preparation of a new code of fish laws 

 for the State. The Allentown hatchery has recently shipped 

 over 300,000 brook trout fry, 10,000 of which were deposited 

 near the establishment in the Little Lehigh. Mr. J. P. 

 Creveling, the superintendent, sees hundreds of these fish 

 every few days, and says they are about twice as large as 

 those in the house. He believes iu early planting. The 

 establishment is crowded, and needs twice its present 

 capacity. Orders for trout are coming in rapidly, aud sup- 

 plying them will make room for eggs not yet developed. 



PREPARING PONDS FOR TROUT.-Brattleboro, Vt., 

 Jan. 31. — Editor Forest and Stream: I have a pond in which 

 are black bass, trout, eels and chub. I want to stock it 

 with trout, build a hatchery, etc. Can you tell me of any- 

 way in which I can get rid of all the fish now in the pond? 

 It is a natural pond of 250 acres, fed entirely by springs, 

 with no way to draw off the water; some parts are very deep. 

 Can it be fired with any explosive? And if so, how near 

 together would the cartridges need to be in order to make a 

 clean sweep; or can it bo done in any other way ? What 

 work have you on fisbculUitv, describing hatchery const ruc- 

 tion and operation, etc.. and what is the cost! — E. S. B. 

 [The fiist thing to be done 1 secure freedom from eels is to 

 see that they do not have access to the pond by means of its 

 outlet. The young will enter if there is the slightest oppor- 

 tunity to do so. It is pretty firmly believed by naturalists 

 that eels reproduce in the sea and will not breed in fresh 

 waters; if this be true there is nothing to be done but to kill 

 those that s\\i now iu the pond and to keep out the ascend- 

 ing army. Eels have been killed in immense numbers by 

 the following method: Bait the killing place for a few days I 

 or a week with beef bones having a little meat upon them, j 

 The eels will soon collect around the bait from every quar- j 

 ter. Then some night, when it is thought that a sufficient ' 

 number has collected, put in several dynamite cartridges, 



and their effect upon the eels will be startling. It is not 

 probable that the other fishes will suffer much from the 

 explosion, because they are not scavengers like the eels. 

 The chubs, bass and trout can rem du in the pond together, 

 for it is well known to many prominent fishculturists that 

 they will thrive and harmonize in the same iuclosure. Use- 

 ful works on fishculture are the following: Stone, "Do- 

 mesticated Trout; How to Breed and Grow Them;" Green 

 & Roosevelt, "Fish Hatching and Fish Catching." A pam- 

 phlet on pond culture, by Carl Nicklas, is distributed free 

 by the U. S. Fish Commission. The best German treatise is 

 von dem Borne's "Fischzucht."] 



SHAD AND STURGEON IN ALASKA.— The U. S. Com- 

 missioner of Fish and Fisheries has received information 

 dated Jan. 25. 1889. from Mr. W. H. Woodcock, of Fort 

 Wrangel, Alaska, to the effect that three shad were caught 

 in the Stikine River by fishermen netting for salmon. The 

 Columbia River is the nearest stream in which shad were 

 planted. One sturgeon was also caught, which is the first 

 taken in the river so far as known. In 1880 we had a sturgeon 

 which was supposed to have come from Alaska, but this was 

 afterward discovered to be a mistake, and vve erased it from 

 the catalogue of Alaskan species. Now we shall probably 

 be able to add it definitely, for the Commissioner has asked 

 Mr. Woodcock to secure specimens of both fishes if possible 

 during the coming season. 



he Mmml 



F I XT U R ES, 



DOG SHOWS. 



Feb. 19 to 22, 1889.— Thirteenth Annual Show of the V.'estoainster 

 Kennel Club, New York. James Mortimer, Superintendent. 



Feb. 26 to March 1, 1889. — Second Annual Show of the Renssalaer 

 Kennel Club, Troy, X. Y. Alba M. Ide. Secretary. 



March 5 to 8, 18)59.— Second Annual Dog Show of the Albanv 

 Kennel Club, at Albany, N. Y. Geo. B. Gallup, Secretary. 



March 12 to 15, 1889.— Second Annual Show of the Fort Schuyler 

 Kenuol Club Utica, N. Y. James W. Dunlop, President. 



March 26 to 29, 1889.— First Annual Dog Show of the Massachu- 

 setts Koimel Club, at Lynn, Mass. D. A. Williams, Secretary. 



March 19 to 22, 1889.— First Annual Show of the Rochester Kennel 

 Club, at Rochester, N. Y. Harry Yates, Secretary. 



April 2 to 5, 1889.— Annual Show of the New England Kennel 

 Club, Boston, Mass. .1. W. Newman, Secretary, No. 6 Hamilton 

 Place. 



April 9 to 12.— First Dog Show of the Worcester Kennel Club, at 

 Worcester, Mass. Edward W. Doyle, Secretary. 



April 9 to 12, 1889— First Annual Dog Show of the Masooutau 

 Kennel Club, at Chicago. 111. John L. Lincoln, Jr., Secretary. 



April 10 to 19, 1889.— The Seventh Dog Show of the Philadelphia 

 Kennel Club, at Philadelpnia, Pa. Francis S. Brown, Secretary. 



May 22 to 25.— Pacific Kennel Club Show, San Francisco, Cal. 



FIELD TRIALS. 

 Nov. 4.— Third Annual Field Trials of the Indiana Kennel Club. 

 { P. T. Madison, Secretary, Indianapolis, Ind. 



Nov. 18.— Eleventh Annual Field Trials of the Eastern Field 

 Trials Club, at High Point, N. C. W. A. Coster, Secretary, Sara- 

 toga Springs, N. Y. 



A. K. R.-SPECIAL NOTICE. 



npHE 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 

 11.50. Address "American Kennel Register," P. O. Box 2e32, New 

 Vork. Number of entries already printed 6933 



DOG ARTISTS. 



C1H1CAGO, Feb. U.— Mr. L. C. Earle, Chicago's favorite 

 I painter of animal and outdoor life, has just finished a 

 heautiful water color of jack snipe, there being three birds 

 shown in the foreground, life-sizo. In coloring, action and 

 pose the birds are— well, they are snipe. Mr. Earle is one of 

 the very, very few artists who have any light at all to handle 

 sporting subjects. He is a sportsman himself, as well as a 

 painter. That is Why his field pictures have the spirit in 

 them which appeals to the sportsman, while their artistic 

 qualities disarm criticism of the non sporting sort. As a 

 painter of the setter, I do not believe. Mr. Earle has an equal. 

 He shows some delightful studies of the red Irish— although 

 I believe his own favorite is a Gordon. Mr. Earle has read 

 Forest and Stream from the start of the paper, and showed 

 me bound volumes beginning at Vol. I., No. 1. back m the 

 days when Forest and Stream had poetry on the lirst page. 

 He keeps them up in his studio along with the rest of the 

 furniture. 



Speaking of drawing does reminds me of a little exper- 

 ience in which Mr. J. M. Tracy, the New York artist and 

 well-known delineator of the pointer dog, figured to some 

 extent. At the time of the first meet of the American 

 Coursing Club at Great Bond, Kansas, Mr. J. A. Richer, an 

 artist friend, and myself thought we would win a little 

 glory by sending a report and sketch to Harper's Weekly, 

 Mr. Richer did the sketch, and I did the rest of the trouble. 

 The editor wrote us that Mr. Tracy would make a painting 

 of the sketch, and Mr. somebody else would make an 

 engraving of the painting. There were two greyhounds in 

 the foreground of the sketch, and these greyhounds wore in 

 the act of swallowing a pretty good likeness of a plains jack 

 rabbit. The greyhounds were just plain, unvarnished grey- 

 hounds, without very much style about them, but the jack 

 rabbit was all right. Well, when the article finally came 

 out, there were two big pointers chasing an abnormally fat 

 and chunky cottontail, and instead of buffalo grass there 

 were pretty flowers. I presume the engraver who copied 

 the painting had monkeyed with Mr. Tracy's dogs. Mr. 

 Richer on seeing this at once retired to private life. I wrote 

 the editor, and told him that to chase so singularly large 

 and fat a rabbit in that way was neither humane nor decent, 

 and I thought he ought to be ashamed of himself; but he 

 replied only by a large and clammy silence that fell like a 

 pall on all of western Kansas. I don't believe Mr. Tracy 

 will mind my mentioning this, since it happened so long 

 ago, and since, after all, it is only a tribute to his acknowl- 

 edged skill in his chosen line. E. HouaH. 



A FISHING PARALLEL.— Grand Rapids, Michigan.— 

 Editor Forest and, Stream: I was up in the northern part 

 of this State last January, and while in a friend's store 

 something was said about fishing. The proprietor asked 

 me if I liked to go fishing. The reply was most emphati 

 cally in the affirmative. '' Well, if you have time, I will go 

 out with you this morning," was the rejoinder. "What 

 kind of fish can you catch at this season?" "Pickerel, all 

 you want." "Fish through the ice?" "Oh, no. There is 

 an old fellow out here a way who nets lots of them and 

 keeps them in a large box made for the purpose, and you 

 can spear all you want at so much per pound." "Tin horns 

 and horn spoons! Call you this fishiug? The idea of jab- 

 bing a piece of cold steel into a fish in a box! Why the 

 thought of it is enough to give one the blind staggers." 

 And yet this was of the same spirit that would confine a 

 puny rabbit in a small box until half starved, then let it out 

 aud sot two strong, healthy clogs on it. Dear old Forest 

 and Stream, there are degrees which are not conferred iu 

 your lodge nor mentioned in your geometry. — A. W, 



