April 18, 1889.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



269 



Trout Colors m theAlleghenies.— Calling the other 

 Jay on a friend in town, 1 found him repairing his fish- 

 ing rod and tackle, when he reminded me that the trout 

 season was at hand. We have on the Laurelhill and 

 the Allegheny Mountains, within a few hours ride of 

 this place, some very good trout streams. The streams, 

 is also the fish , are for the most part small. I have taken 

 great numbers of trout, but never caught one better than 

 I6in. long, although I saw one taken that measured 22in. 

 have been much interested in your salmon and trout 

 lUpplement, and see by your description of the brook 

 trout that "the color variations in the brook trout are 

 astonishing." This seems to be especially true of the 

 trout of the Allegheny Mountains. Ou the very top of 

 these mountains, at Deider's Gap, in Somerset county, 

 there are two springs that give rise to two small streams 

 flowing in exactly opposite directions; the one Deider's 

 Run and the other Ware's Run. I have cast a stone from 

 Dne spring to the other, and have caught large numbers 

 5f trout in both streams and know that there is quite a 

 iifference in the color of the fish of the two streams; so 

 much so that any one who was conversant with the mat- 

 ter could tell from which stream the particular fish had 

 been taken. Jn Sandy Run in the Laurelhill Mountains, 

 in the same county, we have the lightest-colored trout I 

 have ever seen— almost a golden color. My trout fishing 

 has all been done with a worm. I know nothing about 

 casting a fly, and do not know whether it would be prac- 

 ticable here, as the streams arc so narrow and the sides 

 10 grown with bush and laurel.— E. E. C. (Mt. Pleasant, 

 Pa., April 6). 



Fish Protection in Minnesota.— We are indebted to 

 Colonel John Gay, Inspector of United States Fish Corn- 

 ni^sion stations, for permission to publish the following 

 letter received by bim from Mr. W. D. Tomlin, of Duluth: 

 'If you ever go fishing again up to Baptism River club 

 aouse no more nets will oe found across the rivers like 

 ihe one we found at Split Rock. In a bill which I drew 

 Up during the winter for the protection of fish fry de- 

 oosited by the United States fish hatchery at Lester Park, 

 introduced a clause making it a misdemeanor punish- 

 able by fines and imprisonment for any one to set or 

 locate any nets, seines, trap or device, for catching fish 

 m the mouth of, or in any stream, or within 300ft. of 

 any stream on the north shores of Lake Superior. This 

 >assed both House and Senate, Another bill has passed 

 ;he House providing for the protection of young white- 

 fish for foltr years at points where the fry are being de- 

 posited. Col. Graves is Speaker of the House, and fish- 

 ing interests all over the State are being well provided 

 •for. All net fishing in interior lakes is made a misde- 

 meanor and the nets are confiscated. ' The only fishing 

 Slewed is with hook and line. The net fishermen have 

 supported me in both these bills and have promised to 

 seize every net they find set for brook trout." We con- 

 gratulate Mr. Tomlin and his supporters on their signal 

 victory over the agents and emissaries of destructive 

 fishing. 



Address to Pennsylvania Anglers. — With a view of 

 correcting a veiy general misconception of what is really 

 the aim and work of the Anglers' Association of Eastern 

 Pennsylvania, President Mr. A. M. Spangler, of that 

 association, will, by special request, deliver an address 

 on "The Inception," Growth and Work of the Anglers' 

 Association of Eastern Pennsylvania," at the association 

 rooms, No. 1030 Arch street, on Saturday evening, April 

 13, at 8 o'clock. The attendance of all members, with 

 any friends they may be disposed to bring with them, is 

 earnestly desired. The American Fisheries Society, com- 

 posed mainly of gentlemen prominent as scientists in the 

 interests of pisciculture, will hold its annual convention 

 in Philadelphia during the month of May, and will be 

 the guests of the association. A feature of the conven- 

 tion will be a trip on the United States Steamer Fish 

 Hawk, (which has been placed at our service for the 

 occasion) affording an opportunity for observing the 

 process of artificial propagation of shad , to be followed 

 by a planked shad entertainment to our guests and 

 members, at Gloucester. 



Trout in Guatemala.— Editor Forest and Stream: 1 

 am surprised to hear that there are no trout in Guatemala. 

 I have" seen too many trout in the mountains of North 

 Carolina and California to be mistaken. I will send on 

 one in a week or so for you to identify. — Guatemala. 

 [We will await "Guatemala's" trout with much interest, 

 and in the meantime suspend judgment as to its identifi- 

 cation. The most southerly species of the salmon fatnily 

 in North America known at present is found in Chihua- 

 hua, Mexico, near the boundaries of Durango and Cinaloa. 

 It is said by Prof. Cope to resemble the red-throated 

 trout shown in figure 12 of the Forest and Stream 

 supplement of April 4. We should be glad, to have some 

 information about a mountain mullet which is found in 

 Guatemala— a species resembling the marine mullet of 

 North Carolina, but usually banded on the sides. The 

 spawning habits and the modes of catching it will be par- 

 ticularly interesting.] 



Black Bass Caught Through the Ice.— Rockland, 

 R. I. —We had an unusual catch of black bass through 

 the ice on March 2 at the Barden Reservoir, at Ponagan- 

 sett. Several parties were fishing for pickerel through 

 the ice. One party of two persons from 10 A. M. to 5 

 P. M. caught forty-eight bass that weighed 701bs. An- 

 other party caught twenty weighing SOlbs., and several 

 parties got none. The 2d of March was the most spring- 

 like day of the season. The wind was southerly and the 

 first party got the right place. I have never known of 

 - more than two or three being taken through the ice at 

 any one time before. We have had a very warm winter, 

 and this may account for the bass taking the bait so well. 

 The water was from 28 to 30ft. deep.— John H. Barden. 



Trout near Noank, Connecticut. — A correspondent 

 writes to ask whether or not trout can be caught around 

 Groton, or in the vicinity of Noank, Conn. Trout Btreams 

 yielding fair creels are reported within ten or twelve 

 miles of Norwich, and a few localities are mentioned in 

 New Haven county, but the northern tier of counties — 

 Windham, Tolland, Hartford and Litchfield— contain 

 numerous trout streams, as would naturally be expected 

 from the hilly and mountainous nature of their surface. 

 A correspondent living in Noank has just written us that 

 the trout fishing in that vicinity amounts to very little. 

 A few trout are caught, besides pickerel and other fish. 

 The sea fishing is good; last June, July, August and 

 September bluefish were abundant in the Race. 



Slaughter of Maine Trout.— "An Auburn (Me.) dele- 

 gation of fishermen recently returned from a pilgrim- 

 age to the • lakes above Katahdin Iron Works, loaded 

 down with trout. The party had rare sport, getting more 

 fish than they wanted. In one day fourteen of them 

 caught 700 fine lake trout, and it was about that way all 

 through the trip.' 1 How is this for trout preservation in 

 Maine? How long can this last? It looks like pot fishing 

 and leaves not much of a chance for the summer visitors. 

 What a fat thing it would be for such fellows if they 

 coidd drain off the lakes and pick the fish up from the 

 bottom! Neither nature nor fish commissioners can 

 furnish the supply for Auburn fishermen at this rate.— 

 Trout. 



Trout Season at Bethel, Connecticut.— The open- 

 ing of the trout season here was nearly a failure. I 

 know of only one trout caught on the first day; it was 

 lfi|iu. long and weighed over 41b. For two weeks the 

 weather had been fine and the brooks were running low 

 and free from snow water; then the storms of March 29 

 and 31 and April 1 roiled the water so that the fishing 

 has not been first-class, and only a few trout, averaging 

 four and five to the pound, have been taken.— E. T. J. 



Fly-Fishing for Whitefish.— Mr. OttoGramm, Lara- 

 mie, Wyoming, is authority for the statement that Wil- 

 liamson's whitefish (Coregonus williamsoni) rises to a fly 

 in the Snake River of Wyoming and Colorado. He says 

 it rises nicely during the evening, but not through the 

 day. The residents know this species under the name of 

 grayling. Mr. Geo. Bird Grinnell has frequently taken 

 this whitefish on a fly in northern Montana. In three suc- 

 cessive casts he has caught trout, grayling and whitefish. 



PROPOSED NEW YORK LEGISLATION. 



THE Senate has passed Senator Collins's bill appropriating 

 $2,000 for the fish dam at Lackawaxen. 

 The supply hill contains appropriations of $5,C0U f or the Com- 

 missioners of Fisheries to map shell fish tracts and $2,000 for the 

 Forest Commission to develop the Cat-skill deer park. 



In the Assembly Mr. Cronin has int roduced a bill making it 

 unlawful to catch menhaden or other fish by any means except 

 with hook and line in the waters of Jamaica Bay. Any offender 

 against the act shall be liable to $100 fine or thirty days' imprison- 

 ment, or both. 



The Assembly has killed Mr. Little's bill restricting the fishing 

 in Niagara River and Lake Ontario along the boundaries of 

 Niagara county to the hook and line. It seems that certain 

 parties have arrangements for Ashing which do very well for 

 themselves, but, they are enabled to muddy the stream in case any 

 body else fishes near them. The hill was iu the interests of fair 

 play and it should have passed, but for some personal reasons the 

 members banded together and defeated it. 



North Sea Trawl Fishing.— Capt. J. W. Collins has 

 received from Mr. Edward Jex, a prominent dealer in 

 Billingsgate market, and owner of a fleet of smacks sail- 

 ing from Yarmouth, a letter dated London, England, 

 March 29, 1889, in which is made the following allusion 

 to the British beam trawl fishery: "The trawl fishing in 

 the North Sea is and has been bad. I have just sent six 

 of my trawlers round to the Bristol Channel. They have 

 been getting some large catches of soles there; some of 

 the largest fish I ever saw have been taken from the 

 Land's End to M-ilford in about forty fathoms of water, 



ome of them weighing 81bs. per pair!" 



LANDLOCKED SMELT.— From Cape Cod, Mass,, we 

 have received some specimens of a fish known there as a 

 fresh-water smelt. The examples are about Sin, long, and 

 represent the average size of the adult fish. The species is 

 found in two or three large, perfectly landlocked ponds, 

 which have no visible outlet and are remote from saltwater. 

 We are informed that no stream ever has connected these 

 nds with the ocean. The fish are never seen except for a 

 few nights during the first week in April, when they come 

 to the shore to spawn. They can then readily be taken with 

 dip nets or lauding nets. Under proper conditions bushels 

 of them can be taken in a single night. Few persons know 

 of their existence; unless the ponds- are visited at just the 



ight time and with a light the fish cannot be seen. This 

 smelt is a, very delicate and toothsome little species having 



he flavor of a'salt- water fish. The ponds contain perch and 

 rickerel. Wbataparadisethe.se waters would he for the 

 black bass. Landlocked smelt ar» now pretty widely dis- 

 tributed, being recorded from numerous lakes and ponds in 

 Maine and New Hampshire, and forming one of the best of 

 the natural foods introduced by fishculturists into waters 

 stocked with the larger Salmon iden. The only changes that 

 we can observe as the result of landlocking are a reduction 

 in size and in the strength of the teeth. The specimens ob- 

 tained were caught on the night of April 3, and appeared to 

 be spent females. Sea smelt spawn in March and April. 



RHODE ISLAND FISH COMMISSION. 



THE annual report of the Commissioners of Inland Fish- 

 eries of Rhode Island for 1888 shows a very credit- 

 able amount of work done for the trifling sum of $114.98, 

 appropriated by the General Assembly of the State. Fifty 

 thousand salmon eggs received from the U. S. Fish Com- 

 mission were hatched with the loss of two per cent., and the 

 fry, with a small additional loss in transportation, were 

 placed in the headwaters of the Pawcatuck River and War- 

 wick Brook in Warwick. 



Ten thousand landlocked salmon eggs obtained from the 

 U. S. Fish Commission in 1887 were hatched at Carolina by 

 Mr. C. A. Hoxie. 



"The experiment of raising the fry artificially until they 

 were more than a year old proved decidedly successful. All 

 previous efforts to stock our ponds with this valuable fish 

 proving failures, we believe that our experience with this 

 lot justifies us in the belief that we can succeed in stocking 

 our largest and deepest ponds. They were put in Long and 

 White Ponds in South Kingston, and Carr's Pond in West 

 Greenwich, these waters being, iu the opinion of the Com- 

 missioners, best adapted to their habits." 



Thirty-seven thousand trout fry, purchased from Mr. 

 Hoxie, were distributed by the Commissioners and by par- 

 ties who applied for them ia streams at Westerly, Wick- 

 ford, Newport, Pascoag and North, South and West Kings- 

 ton. Black bass have been very successfully introduced into 

 ponds, and are gradually growing in favor. "The many 

 objections advanced against the bass as a food fish and as 

 being destructive to our ordinary pond fish are being fast 

 dissipated." 



Increased catches of shad are reported, and application 

 has been made to the IT. S. Fish Commission for another 

 consignment of shad fry for distribution in Rhode Island 

 waters. 



Salt-water fishing was very fair during a portion of the 

 season. "Small bluefish and squeteague weighing from 1 to 

 41bs. have been taken in the rivers between the Wilksbarre 

 Pier and Field's Point, as well as below these points, show 

 that it is not the sewage that drives fish out of the bay.' 

 _'he Commissioners modestly, and with eminent reason, 

 suggest that a more liberal appropriation would increase 

 their usefulness. 



THE MENHADEN QUESTION. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Practical fishermen believe that man is not an agency to 

 be taken into account in explaining the great fluctuation 

 in the supply of sea fish, which is constantly coming 

 to the notice of all who are familiar with the subject. 

 The menhaden during 1888 came into line, and proved 

 that Mr. Martin and others of his way of thinking were 

 wrong when they argued that we were 'destroying them by 

 ovex-fishing. How could we catch during 1888 more than 

 twice as many menhaden as we did the year before by fish- 

 ing one-half the time with one-half as many men if Mr. 

 Martin and the rest of our adversaries were right ? We are 

 prepared to prove that one of the largest bodies of men- 

 haden even known was present on our coast last season. 

 Since 18S0 the striped bass, sea bass, porgies and menhaden 

 have given direct testimony that they can look out for them- 

 selves by coming back in great numbers after long periods 

 of scarcity. D. T. Church. 



RESTOCKING VERMONT TROUT STREAMS.— Editor 

 Forest and Stream: It remains to be seen how our new 

 game law will work; hut our present Commissioners seem 

 to mean business, and we hope to see some old-tim° trout 

 fishing in Vermont yet. Restocking the streams and mak- 

 ing the close season one month earlier, together with the 

 fiiu. law, are certainly moves in the right direction. — F. E« 

 ATKINS (Waterlrury, Vt.). [The Fish Commissioners will 

 distribute 300,000 trout this year, consisting of lake trout 

 from Plymouth, N. H.. and bronk trout from the Fairhaven 

 hatcheries. Commissioner Brainerd has delivered a large 

 consignment to the Rutland Fish and Game Club. Com- 

 missioner Frank Athorton took 60,000 brook trout from 

 Fairhaven to stock streams in Windham county. The small 

 tributaries of tVe Battenkill River at Manchester are soon 

 to receive 35,000 trout furnished by the State and 5.000 by 

 C. F. Orvis. Thirty ponds in Rutland county were stocked 

 with bass last vear,' and twenty more will be stocked this 

 year.] 



HATCHING EGGS OF CHEEPS HE AD. — Reference was 

 made in Forest and Stream, April 4, to the successful 

 hatching of sheepshead by Capt. Robert. Piatt, commmding 

 the U. S. Fish Commission steamer Fish Hawk. Capt. 

 Piatt made every effort until March 19 to procure eggs of 

 mullet and other fish that could be found, but failed to find 

 any in proper condition. On the 19th of March be found 

 sheepshead in the height of their spawning season. We 

 have already related the fact of his having planted several 

 millions of fry from the first hatching. Up to April 1 he 

 collected 19,500,000 eggs and deposited 9,775,000 young fish, 

 besides 4,000,000 good eggs that could not he accommodated 

 in the jars. 



OYSTERS IN ALASKA. — Col. Marshall McDonald, U.S. 

 Commissioner of Fisheries, has received the following com- 

 munication from Mr. W. H. Woodcock, of Fort Wrangel, 

 Alaska: "Last summer a party fishing off the wharf at this 

 place hauled up a piece of bark on which were several small 

 oysters. There are no oysters in this portion of Alaska; 

 they were undoubtedly propagated here. The California 

 and Oregon steamers must have thrown overboard the shells 

 and a few small oysters. The bark to which they were 

 attached was from a pile, and had been abraded by some 

 steamer." 



lennel 



FIXTURES. 



DOG SHOWS. 



April 16 to 19, 1889.— The Seventh Dog Show of the Philadelphia 

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



Mav 32 to 25.— Pacific Kennel Club Show, San Francisco, Oal. 



Sept. 10 to 13.— Sixth Annual Dog Show of the London Kennel 

 Olub, at London, Ont. C. A. Stone, Manager. 



Feb. 18 to 21, 1890.— Fourteenth Annual Show of the Westminster 

 Kennel Club, New York. James Mortimer, Superintendent. 

 FIELD TRIALS. 



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

 P. T. Madison, Secretary, Indianapolis, lnd. 



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

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

 toga Springs, N. Y. 



Dec. 2.— Inaugural Field Trials of the Central Field Trial Club, 

 at Lexington, N. C. C. H. Odell, Secretary pro tern., Mill's Build- 

 ing, New York, N. Y. 



INDIANA F*IELD TRIALS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The Indiana Kennel Club will hold its third annual field 

 trials at Bicknell, lnd., beginning Monday, Nov. 4, when 

 the following programme will he carried out: 



1. A Derby for setters. 



2. A Derby for pointers. 



3. An All-Aged Stake for setters. 



4. An All-Aged Stake for pointers. 



5. A Champion Stake for setters and pointers. 



The grounds at Bicknell are the finest in America for 

 field trial purposes. There are birds in abundance— twenty- 

 five coveys were found in one day while running our Derby 

 last year. The accommodations at Bicknell this year will 

 be ample, the citizens promising a cordial welcome to all. 

 These trials are conducted on the sweepstakes plan, only 

 the actual expenses being deducted from the stakes. As the 

 officers and judges work gratuitously, the expenses will be 

 merely nominal. Our Derby netted $538 last year, aud we 

 expect it will be more than double that amount this year. 



The judges selected are Mr. D. C. Bergundthal, Mr. Royal 

 Robinson and Col. A. G. Sloo. The mere mention of these 

 names is a sufficient guarantee to the patrons of the trials 

 that they will receive fair and honorable treatment. 



This club is the first in the circuit to hold its trials, and 

 it is hoped that all the, leading kennels of the country will 

 make entries, aud thereby assist us in maintaining a first- 

 class field trial club iu the West. The revised running 

 rules are now ready and should be read by every dog man 

 in the country. I will be pleased to send running rules and 

 entry blanks 'to all who dtsire them. The entries for the 

 Derbies close June 1. P. T. MADISON, Sec'y. 



iNUiANAPOms, lnd. 



WHY DOGS TURN AROUND.— Brooklyn, N.Y., March 

 IS.— Editor Forest and Stream: Some time since there was 

 a discussion as to the cause of a dog's turning around before 

 lying down to sleep. I do not remember having read a true 

 explanation of the fact. The following will, I think, ex- 

 plain it in a physiological way: The dog turns around to 

 discover the direction of the wind, aud lies down with his 

 back toward it. His feet are doubled up over his abdomen, 

 keeping it warm and so drawing the blood from his brain, 

 which, becoming anaemic, loses control over the body and 

 the dog sleeps, and sleeps soundly, with the coldest and 

 1 strongest wind blowing on his back. — B. L. L. 



