10 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[.Jan. 24, 1889, 



WHAT'S IN A NAME? 



EVERYTHING. "Sardines in olive oil" sell readily as 

 disguised Eastport herring' in cottonseed oil. "Ocean 

 bruut" and "Alaska mackerel" are considered far superior 

 to the common menhaden from which they spring. 

 ' 'Pickled whitefish" are much more satisfactory to the 

 imagination than the weakfish which represent them in 

 the market. "Cod steaks" sound promising even when 

 cut from the savage wolffish. "Kennebec salmon" are 

 always in demand whether from Maine or in the guise of 

 redtish and steelhead from Oregon. It is, therefore, with 

 little surprise that we hear just at this time of the 

 wonderful dinners provided by' a celebrated restaurateur 

 in Washington with "young "halibut" from Norfolk as 

 the chief attraction transformed and idealized from the 

 homely and humble winter flatfish , which has approached 

 our shores, not to thrill epicures, but to deposit its eggs 

 peacefully. 



We are reminded of a circumstance in a noted coffee 

 house in Melbourne a few years ago which created a 

 great deal of excitement. The proprietor introduced a 

 fish of surpassing sweetness and delicacy of flavor, under 

 the name of "Sweet William." His patrons eagerly de- 

 voured "Sweet William" and the fish had a tremendous 

 run. It was tender, juicy, and entirely free from bones. 

 All went swim m ingly for a time. Inquiries failed to re- 

 veal the name of the new favorite until one luckless day 

 somebody saw a barrelful of young sharks go into the 

 establishment, to be translated into "Sweet William." 

 Then the volume of business suddenly shrunk and the air 

 was black with threats of suits for damages by em-aged 

 customers. And so — what's in a name? 



THE MENHADEN QUESTION AGAIN. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



It was a surprise to me to see one or two well 

 known anglers upholding the policy of the "menhaden 

 pirates," as we call them down East. I am satisfied that 

 they had not investigated the question fully or their opin- 

 ions would have been changed. A few years ago the men- 

 haden men skinned our noble river, and fishing it to the 

 bottom with their purse seines, destroyed all food fishes 

 that came into them. They did the same again this year, 

 on our coast, within a hundred yards of the shore, in 

 open defiance of the law, but we are going for them and 

 they'll probably pay the penalty. The great Mr. Maddox, 

 1 learn, is going to have the law repealed so that the 

 pirates can gobble up all the fish in our rivers, as well as 

 on the coast, and grind them into porgie chum. But. I 

 rather guess not. G. E. NY 



Bath, Maine. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



At a meeting of the Menhaden Association last week 

 it protested against the closing of Raritan Bay to their 

 nets as a discrimination in favor of sportsmen. To again 

 open the bay to menhaden fishers would be a discrimina- 

 tion in favor of the oil men. Do these men want the 

 earth with a shawl strap around it? Is there to be no hit 

 of water closed to their devastating work, where the 

 fishes can find a place to breed and rest from the pur- 

 suing steamers? It is evident that the menhaden men 

 will be satisfied with nothing but the right to pursue 

 their prey in every nook and corner where they may go. 

 They are bold and aggressive, and it is time that "they 

 should learn that the people have some rights in the mat- 

 ter of food fishes, and that the manufacture of an oil 

 which the world can get along very well without, in 

 order to enrich a few who have money invested in the 

 business, is not the first thing to be considered in legisla- 

 ting for our fisheries. The closing of Raritan Bay to 

 menhaden fishermen is one of the best pieces of fishery- 

 legislation we have had. Let us guard against any 

 movement to change this law. Raritan. 



New York, Jan. 15. 



SAIBLING IN STERLING LAKE. 



ON Dec. 28, 1888, Mr. E. G. Blackford, with that pene- 

 tration for which he is famous, discovered in a 

 "mackerel trout" given him by Mr. A. S. Hewitt, Jr., a 

 species unlike the natives of his acquaintance, but as he 

 supposed, similar to a trout which we had together ex- 

 amined in the National Museum. This specimen, there- 

 fore, was sent to Washington, and it proved to be the 

 first return of the imported saibling, as far as we know. 

 It was caught with a worm by Mr. Hewitt in Sterling 

 Lake. Orange county, New York. Mr. Blackford, quot- 

 ing from Mr. Hewitt, says: "They come up only about 

 spawning time in November. The biggest run was about 

 the 15th. The water in the lake is from 500 to 700ft. 

 deep. The bottom is mostly rocky. Mr. Barlow owns 

 part of the lake and set a net to catch some of these fish, 

 but was not successful. Mr. Seth Green tried to catch 

 some of them with bait, but was unsuccessful and caught 

 only two trout." Mr. Blackford says that the workmen 

 Avho were repairing the dams when the water had been 

 drained rather low claim to have seen these saibling all 

 the way up to 301bs. each, but Mr. Hewitt discredits this. 

 The trout struck at a spoon, but Mr. H. could not hook 

 them. 



The length of the specimen is nearly 9i}in. It is a male 

 with the spermaries moderately well developed. In its 

 stomach, besides traces of the bait, were remains appar- 

 ently of some kind of shellfish, and there were two trout 

 eggs of a pale amber color, the largest one about £in. in 

 diameter. The oil globule of the eggs had broken into 

 about ten or more secondary spheres. The appendages 

 at the pyloric end of the stomach are very short and thick 

 and thirty-six in number. 



There are teeth on the root of the tongue, and five pairs 

 on the free portion. The teeth of the lower jaw and the 

 front part of the upper jaw are somewhat enlarged. The 

 Lower jaw projects very slightly, and has an incipient 

 knob which can be received into a faint emargination of 

 the snout. The breast fin is long, and the belly fin when 

 laid back reaches within about Jin. of the vent. The. 

 tail is deeply forked. 



There are eleven parr marks on the sides, with six or 

 seven intermediate dark bands on the back extending 

 only slightly below the top of the parr marks. The belly 

 and sides up to the middle line, and back almost to the 

 tail fin, are rosy. The sides have numerous small ver- 

 milion spots, showing very faintly. The large back tin 

 and the tail fin are dusky without mottling; the latter 



has a broad pink tinge on its lower lobe and around its 

 hind margin. The fins of the breast, telly and behind 

 the vent are vermilion, the two latter with milkv white 

 margins in front. The eye is silvery with brassy reflec- 

 tions. The scales are very small, in about 200 rows from 

 the head to the tail fin. 



It is somewhat significant that this saibling is similar 

 to the Sunapee trout in its habits, making its appearance 

 in November only about spawning time. We shall await 

 with much interest further information about the history 

 of this really beautiful trout. Before leaving it, how- 

 ever, we may state that it looks very different from Suna- 

 pee trout of nearly equal size, and does not closely resem- 

 ble the blue-back. 



"MORE ABOUT THE BLACK BASS." 



IN this supplementary book* Dr. Henshall has added 

 much new material, and many new facts, to his 

 original work, which he has thought best to let stand as 

 it is, and, instead of a new edition with additional mat- 

 ter, has given us the volume now under consideration. It 

 is a valuable addition, containing as manv chapters as the 

 first book, and covering all that is to-day known of this 

 fish, and of the methods of angling for it. 



Many writers have tried their hands at defining the 

 qualities that entitle a fish to rank as game. Dr. Hen- 



its readiness to take a natural bait, and its exhibition bf 

 strength and cunning, persistence and activity, in its 

 efforts to break away after being hooked." In going over 

 the disputed merits of the two species, in the matter of 

 gameness, the author takes the position which we have 

 long held, that the big- mouth is underrated as to its game 

 qualities mainly because of traditional prejudice handed 

 down from some of the early writers, and cites several 

 well-known angling authorities in support of this position. 

 The Doctor valiantly defends the black bass, and he pro- 

 perly includes both species in this name, against the 

 charge of being unduly destructive to other Ashes, but 

 does not approve of placing them in waters where trout 

 live. 



Under the heading of "Material for Rods," after giving 

 all the proper proportions of calibre and length for bait, 

 trolling, and fly-rods, when made of different woods, we 

 again agree with him that "ash and lancewood, green- 

 heart, bethabara, and some other woods, when carefully 

 selected, make excellent rods, but the best are inferior to 

 a good split-bamboo rod. On the other hand, a first-class 

 bethabara, or ash and lancewood flv rod is better than 

 many split-bamboo rods as now made." In the matter of 

 doweled ferrules Dr. Henshall still retains his dislike of 

 them, and here we find ourselves again in line with him; 

 in fact, we are so all through the book, unless in some 

 small matters, such as his broad statement that all pre- 

 daceous fishes feed almost entirely at night. 



There is a marked absence of nonsense about the col- 

 oration of leaders, and a plain way of stating what the 

 author believes to be facts, that make the book not only 

 of value to the young angler, but to the veteran also, 

 whether he agrees with the writer on all points, as he is 

 sure not to dtt, or holds different opinions. It is only 

 within the past dozen years that the black basses have 

 been prominently brought before our anglers as wonder- 

 fully game fish, and to no one are we more indebted for 

 bringing their claims to be ranked next to the salmon and 

 trout, in the list of our angling game, than to the learned 

 and genial writer, whose portrait the publishers have 

 placed in the front of this interesting little book. 



* "More About the Black Bams," beiun a supplement to the 

 '•Bonk of the Blink Bass," hy ,! nines A. Henshall. M. 0.; fill I v il- 

 lustrated: Kobert Clarke & Co., Cincinnati, 1880. 



Maetin Van Buren as an Angler.— Marietta, Ga.— 

 Editor Forest and Stream: Tn an article, apparently 

 editorial, in Forest and Stream of Jan. 10, it is suggested 

 that Martin Van Buren could not have been an angler. 

 It so happens that I can furnish evidence to the contrary. 

 About 1845 I fished at Ottawa, 111., in the Fox River, for 

 black bass and pike, in company with the champion 

 angler of that time, named Delano, hotel keeper and 

 sportsman. We had fine sport in the stream, bringing 

 home 400 black bass in three days, 300 of which were 

 taken by Delano. He was an earnest Democrat, and was 

 fond of telling that he never was outfished by any man 

 except Martin Van Buren, who did it on that river, as I 

 understood him to say. I never was an admirer of Mr. 

 Van Buren, either as politician or President, and I voted 

 for Harrison in 1840, but I am willing to give the former 

 the credit of being a member of the brotherhood of 

 anglers. — S. C. G. 



BiUJNiiSOATE Makket. — Front the second annual re- 

 port of the Inspector of Sea Fisheries (England and 

 Wales) for 1887. we learn that the w eight of fish delivered 

 at Billingsgate Market, Loudon, during the year was 

 308,182,0001bs., of Avhich l,810,0001bs. were seized and 

 condemned. This amount includes shellfish. Nearly 

 two-thirds of the total was carried by land; 8,0001bs. of 

 American lobsters, sent in boracic acid as an experiment, 

 were bad on arrival; 24,0001bs. of skates, sent in July 

 from West of England , were out of season and cotdd not 

 be sold. Herrings and whitings, however, outnumbered 

 all the other species in the percentage of condemned pro- 

 ducts. 



Buck-eye Mackerel and Salt Menhaden in Wash- 

 ington.— We are informed that "thimble-eye" or "chub" 

 mackerel (Scomber colias) are common as a salt fish in the 

 markets and stores of Washington, D. O. By some of the 

 dealers they are called "buck-eye" mackerel. The 

 demand for these fish is constant and the quality usually 

 very good. Salt menhaden, which were packed exten- 

 sively last summer and imposed upon the uninitiated and 

 unsuspecting under various names, such as "Alaska 

 mackerel" and "chub mackerel," found little favor with 

 Washington merchants, and still less with consumers. 



Flexible Ferrules. — Editor Forest and Stream: I 

 notice the claim, in your paper, by Mr. Kirker, of the in- 

 vention of the flexible metal ferrule for rods. I have no 

 doubt that it was new to him, but I invented and made 

 such a ferrule three years ago, but never patented it.— 

 W. Holberton. 



Passaic River. —Commenting on Mr. Geo. Shephard 

 Page's report in our Jast issue of stocking the Passaic 

 River, N. J., with bass and carp the Newark Call says: 

 "Since Mr. Page put the thirty-five bass in the river it 

 has been replenished every year by hundreds of thousands 

 of fish from Greenwood Lake, Hopateong and all the 

 chain of ponds on the Rockaway. Whippany and Pompton 

 rivers. And large accessions of carp have recently been 

 added by the breaking away of several carp ponds in 

 Morris county. The trout he put in have probably been 

 relished by the bass." 



Thos. H. Chubb sends us his catalogue of angling goods, 

 rods, reels, hooks, flies, and all the rest of the parapher- 

 nalia which make up the necessities and the luxuries of 

 the modern fisherman. There are sub jects in these pages 

 for many hours of cogitation and study, and if one cares 

 to go into the rod making business for himself Mr. Chubb 

 will supply all the component parts of a rod. Mr. Chubb 

 claims the title of "The Fishing Rod Manufacture)','' and 

 his address is Post Mills, Vt. 



NOTES ON FISH FUNGUS. 



\7[TE learn from a note on the cause of death of fishes in 

 \ \ the National Park Dam, New South Wales, by J. D. 

 Ogilby, that specimens of black bream, a fish resembling our 

 scud, were picked up dead or dying above the weir in the 

 National Park at Sydney, from the attacks of a species of 

 So i> rijl en nia, the well-known salmon fungus, whose rav- 

 ages in the fresh waters of the British Isles and the United 

 States are only too familiar to fishculturists. While exam- 

 ining into the cause, of the mortality a large eel was found 

 trying to climb up the face of a sloping rock, evidently with 

 the purpose of ridding itself of the fungus by exposing it to 

 the air, in which it cannot long survive. 'The head, and 

 especially the soft parts about the eyes and lips, was cov- 

 ered in many places to the depth of an eighth of an inch 

 with the fungus. The gills were nearly destroyed, and the 

 remnants were thickly covered with a fungoid growth. 

 White patches showed here and there on the body and tail, 

 and the breast fins had in a great part disappeared. 



The prevalence of this disease is ascribed to a drought of 

 several months, during which the water was almost stag- 

 nant. The remedy advised was to let the water escape, and 

 as far as possible dry up the bed of the river and run off the 

 spores of the fungi, while at the same time the surviving 

 fish would escape to the saline estuarv, in which the Sapro- 

 leghtti wotrld quickly die. 



In the report of the Inspectors of Fisheries (England and 

 Wales) for 1888, it is stated that "The disease caused by 

 fungus still prevails, but with less severity, in most rivers of 

 Great Britain in the months between autumn and spring. 

 It is not due to pollutions or overstocking, for it occurs in 

 pure waters and where fish are scarce. Low water is not the 

 cause, since it is often most destructive in a wet season. 

 Sea water appears to kill the fungus, and yet diseased fish 

 have been occasionally taken in brackish water, and even in 

 tideways. Sometimes, but not always, a small freshet in 

 May is followed by the temporary disappearance of the 

 fungus from fresh waters. The disease prevails also in Euro- 

 pean Russia and in Asiatic and American rivers which 

 now into the Pacific/' 



WHITEFISH FOR ENGLAND. 



'TMIK Midland Counties Fishculturo Establishment, at 

 JL Malvern Wells, has gone actively into the work of 

 hatching out eggs free of charge for public bodies. Perch, 

 tench, carp and roach have been artificially reared, and so 

 successfully that Mr. Burgess, the proprietor, will enlarge 

 his establishment to increase its efficiency. Last season's 

 work resulted in the distribution of large quantities of fish 

 into various lakes and other waters in England 



The acclimatization of the American whitefish will be at- 

 tempted with the co-operation of the TJ. S. Fish Commission. 

 Snecial reservoirs of great size and depth will be provided 

 for the experiment. Judging from the success with white- 

 fish in ponds in Michigan, there should be no great diffi- 

 culty in rearing them in England, provided the eggs are not 

 injured in transportation. 



INTRODUCTION OF A SUPPOSED CARP SUCKER 

 INTO NEW SOUTH WALES.- At the meeting of the 

 Linuean Society of New South Wales at Sydney, Oct. 31, 

 1888, Mr. Made ay exhibited four specimens of a species of 

 carp sucker, which had been taken from a nearly dry water- 

 hole close to the Wingecaribee River at Elvo, Burradoo, a 

 few days before. Several hundred of these fishes w 7 ere re- 

 moved from the holes and placed in the river in the imme- 

 diate vicinity. Mr. Macleay finds the sucker to belong to 

 the genus Varpiodcs, which includes several species, all of 

 them presumably limited to fresh waters of the United 

 States, and concludes by saying that "it would be interest- 

 ing to know how and when the fish was introduced into 

 this country, where its acclimatization, as far as Winge- 

 caribee is concerned, seems to have been so perfectly suc- 

 cessful." If the carp sucker has gone to New South Wales 

 from the United States, it may have been carried uninten- 

 tionally along with carp or bass, associated species in some 

 Eastern waters of our country. We hope, however, that 

 this inferior fish, which has nothing to recommend it but 

 its pleasing form and colors, may not eventually be charged 

 against us. We have failed to find any record of a shipment 

 of carp from the U. S. Government ponds to Australia. 



On a recent trip Gov. Routt gave me permission to tell a 

 fish story, which, he says, Gen. Grant enjoyed exceedingly. 

 In the early days of Leadville's boom a group of miners and 

 good fellows were gathered around the tavern stove spinning 

 yarns. One had caught a 10-pound trout, another had har 

 pooned a whale in the Arctic seas, and so on, when up spoke 

 the little Governor: "Well, boys, all that's nothing to my 

 luck; 1 once caught a pickerel that weighed 180 pounds. 5 ' 

 "Oh, Governor.' a pickerel weighing 180 pounds.'" resounded 

 from all sides. No one would believe the tale, but Routt 

 persisted, and, after vainly trying to shake their incredulity, 

 explained: "Pickrell is my wife's name." He says he never 

 spent a cent for cigars or other luxuries during the rest of 

 his visit. One of the hearers gave him a share in the mine 

 that started him on the high road to great wealth.— Chicago 

 America. 



Tuscaloosa, Ala., Sept. 15, l&SS.— UniteU estate* Vnrtrklw Co., 

 LnuvU, Alii-si'.: Gentlemen— The two hundred Climax shells sent 

 me have been tried with Schultze and Black powder. I am very 

 much pleased with same. .Could not get good results with 

 Schultze in any other shell. Will use no other shell so long as 

 you keep this at its present standard. You are at liberty to use 

 this or anv other recommendation I can ccive you. Most respect- 

 fully, (Signed) W. C. Cno&s.-Adv, 



