Aug. 9, 1888.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



49 



with a summary accouut of the food of twelve hundred and 

 fifteen fishes, obtained from the waters of the State of Illi- 

 nois at intervals from ] 876 to 1887, and in various months 

 from April to November. These fishes belonged to eighty- 

 seven species of sixty-three genera and twenty-live families. 

 They were taken from waters of every description, ranging 

 from Lake Michigan to weedy stagnant ponds and tempo- 

 rary pools, and from the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to the 

 muddy prairie creeks, and the rocky rivulets of the hilly 

 portions of the State. Nine hundred and fourteen of the 

 examples studied were practically adult, so far as the pur- 

 poses of this investigation are concerned, the remaining 

 three hundred and one being young, in the first stage of 

 their food and feeding habits. More than half these young 

 belonged to a single species— the common lake whitefish— 

 but the remainder were Well distributed. 



I have arranged the matter under the following general 

 heads: (1) a general account of the food of the most impor- 

 tant species and families of our uative adult fishes; (3) a 

 brief account of the food of the young; aud (3) a summary 

 statement of the food, so made m to exhibit (Cfc) the. kind and 

 relative importance of the principal competitions among 

 fishes, and (b) the relative value to the principal species of 

 fishes of the major elements of their food. 



First, then, I will attempt to give you very briefly, and in 

 the most general way, the facts relating to the food of the 

 most important fishes, those which I think most likely to 

 interest you as fishculturists, taking the species in their 

 zoological order rather than in the order of their economic 

 importance. 



FOOD OF ADULTS. 



The abundant white perch or sheepshead of the larger 

 rivers and lakes, now commonly marketed, I find feeding, 

 when full grown, almost exclusively upon the bivalve mol- 

 lusks known in the West as clams, whose heavy shells the 

 fish is enabled to crush and grind by a special apparatus in 

 the throat. The shells are swallowed with the bodies and 

 pass, in part at least, through the intestine. Half-grown 

 sneci mens feed in much larger ratio upon aquatic insects, 

 especially the larva 1 of May flies, but take likewise the 

 smaller mollusks with spiral shells, commonly known as 

 Water snails, the food in my examples being about equally 

 divided between these, two elements. The youngest speci- 

 men feeds, like the young of fishes in general, upon the 

 Smallest of the Crustacea. 



The common perch or ring perch, excessively abundant 

 throughout the northern part of the country, varies in food 

 according to the waters it inhabits, those in the great lakes 

 feeding almost wholly upon small fishes— especially of the 

 minnow family and upon crayfishes— five or six times as 

 many of the former as of the latter. River specimens, how- 

 ever, eat few fishes, but find nearly all their food among the 

 Crustacea, partly crayfishes, but chiefly the smaller kinds, 

 known to z.oologists as auiphipods and isopods, and iu com- 

 mon speech as water wood-lice and brook shrimps. Aquatic 

 insect larvat. especially those of day-flies, and small spiral- 

 shelled mollusks are eaten in about equal ratio. 



The two pike-perch or wall-eyed pike are exclusively pisciv- 

 orous, if we may judge of twenty-six specimens whose food 

 I studied. More than a fourth of the fishes taken consisted 

 of the spiny-finned species, tncludiug eight per cent, of cat- 

 flshes, but nearly half were the common gizzard shad. 



We shall find accumulating evidence that this shad, not 

 used with us for food, is, notwithstanding, one of the most 

 valuable fishes in our streams. Nevertheless, not the slight- 

 est attention is paid to its preservation, much less to its 

 encouragement. The fishermen commonly regard these 

 fishes as a mere nuisance, and leave them to die on the bank 

 by hundreds, rather than take the trouble to return them to 

 the water. They are. a very delicate species, and are easily 

 killed by rough handling in the seine, but the majority of 

 those captured might be saved with a little care. 



Their abundance as compared with some other species in 

 our rivers might seem to indicate that they are common 

 enough as it is. Few realize, however, the number of fishes 

 needed to feed a pike-perch to maturity. Two or three items 

 from my notes will furnish the basis for an intelligent esti- 

 mate. 



From the stomach of a pike-perch caught in Peoria Lake, 

 October 27, 1878, I took ten well-preserved specimens of giz- 

 zard shad, each from three to four inches long; and from 

 another I took seven of the same species, none under four 

 inches in length. As the gizzard shad is a very thin, high 

 fish, with a serrate belly, these were as large as a pike-perch 

 can well swallow; and we may safely suppose that not less 

 than five of this shad would make a full meal for that fish. 

 The pike-perch is a very active hunter, and it is not at all 

 probable t hat one can live and thrive on less than three such 

 meals a week. The specimens above mentioned were taken 

 in cold autumn weather, when most other fishes were eating 

 but little; but since fishes generally take relatively little 

 food in winter, we will suppose that the pike-perch eats, 

 during the year, on an average, at this rate, per week for 

 forty weeks, giving us a total per annum of six hundred 

 gizzard sh ad destroyed by one pike-perch. We cannot reckon 

 the average life of a pike-perch at less than three years, 

 and it is probably nearer five. The smallest estimate we 

 can reasonably make of the food of each pike-perch would 

 therefore be somewhere between 1,800 and 3,000 fishes like 

 the gizzard shad. A hundred pike-perch, such as should be 

 taken each year along a few miles of river like the Illinois, 

 would therefore require from 180,000 to 300,000 fishes for their 

 food. Finally, when we take into account the fact that a 

 num ber of other species also prey upon the gizzard shad, and 

 that the whole number destroyed in all ways must not ex- 

 ceed the mere surplus reproduced— otherwise the species 

 would soon be extinguished — we can form some approximate 

 idea of the multitudes in which the food species must 

 abound if we would support any great number of preda- 

 ceous fishes. The gizzard shad being a mud eater ancf vege- 

 tarian, taking little animal food except when very young, 

 can probably be more readily maintained in large numbers 

 in our muddy streams than any other fish. 



[TO BE CONTINUED.] 



Bogs; Their Management and Trea tment in Disease. By 

 Ashmont. Price $2. Kennel Record and Account Book. 

 Price S-3. Training vs. Breaking. By S. T. Hammond. 

 .Price $1. First Lessons in Dog Training, with Points of 

 all Breeds. Price So cents. 



F IXTU RES. 



DOG SHOWS. 



Aug. 33 to 24.— Third Annual Show of the American Fox- 

 Terrier Club, at Saratoga Springs, N. Y. (Including all terriers. 

 Entries close Aug. 15. H. P. Frothingham, Secretary, 3 Wal 

 street, New York. 



Aug. 27 to 31.— Toledo Dog Show, Toledo, O. II. E. Cook, Super- 

 intendent. 



Sept. 11 to 14.— First Dog Show of the Buffalo International Fail- 

 Association, at Buffalo, N. Y. C. W. Robinson, Secretary- 

 Sept. 18 to 21.— First Annual Dog Show of the Syracuse Kennel 

 Club, at Syiaeuse, N. Y. Howard B. Ratlibone, Secretarv. 



Sept. 24 to 27— Filth Dog Show at London, Ont. O.A.Stone 

 Superintendent. 



Sept. 23 to 28.— Second Annual Dog Show of the Bristol Park 

 Agricultural Society, Bristol, Conn. Entries close Sept. 22. C. 

 F. Barnes, Secretary. 



Oct. 9 to 12.-First Dog Show of the Virginia Field Sports Asso- 

 ciation, at Richmond, Va. B. H. Grundy, Secretary, Room 26, 

 Shafer Building. Entries close Oct. 1. 



Oct. 23 to 2fi.— Second Annual Show of the St,. Paul aud Minne- 

 sota Kennel Club, at St. Paul, Minn. J. E. Strykcr, Secretarv. 

 Room 98 Globe Building. 



Nov. 6 to 10.— Dog Show of the Richmond County Poultry and 

 Pet Stock Association, in connection with Augusta National Ex- 

 position at Augusta, Ca. H. Madden, Superintendent. 



Feb. 12 to 15, 1889. -Fifth Dog Show of the New Jersey Kennel 

 Club, at Jersey City, N. J. Geo. L. Wilms, Secretarv, 143 Monti- 

 cello avenue, Jersey City, N. J. 



Feb. 19 to 23, 1889.— Thirteenth Annua] Show of the Westminster 

 Kennel Club, New York. .Tames Mortimer, Superintendent. 



Feb. 20 to March 1, 1889.— Second Animal Show of the Kenssalacr 

 Kennel Club, Troy, N. Y. Alba M. lde. Secretary. 



March 5 to 8, 1889.— Second Annual Dog Show of the Albany 

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



March 13 to 15, 1889.— Second Annual Show of the Fort Schuvler 

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



March 19 to 22, 1889. — First Annual Dog Show of the Maryland 

 Komi"] Club, at Baltimore, Md. VV. S. Diffenderffcr, Secretarv. 



March 20 to 39, 1889. -First Annual Dog Show of the Massachu- 

 setts Kennel Club, at Lynn, Mass. D. A. "Williams. Secretary. 



April 3 to 5, 1889.— First Annual Show of the Rochester Konnel 

 Oluh, at Rochester, N. V. Ilarrv Yates, Secretary. 



April 9 to 13, 1889.— First Annual Dog Show of the Masr.outah 

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



FIELD TRIALS. 



Sept. 11— Third Annual Field Trials of the Manitoba Field 

 Trials Club. Derby entries close July 1. All-Aged entries Aug. 1. 

 Thus. Johnson, Secretary, Winnipeg, Manitoba. 



Nov. 1.— Secoud Annual Field Trials of the Indiana Kennel 

 Club, at Bicknell, Ind. P. T. Madison, Secretary, Indianapolis, 

 Ind. 



Nov. 19.— Tenth Annual Field Trials of the Eastern Field Trials 

 Club, at High Point, M. C. (Members' Stake, Nov. 15.) W. A. 

 Coster, Secretary, Saratoga Springs, N. Y. 



Dec. 3.— First Annual Field Trials of the Southern Field Trial 

 Club, at Amory, Miss. T. M. Brumby, Secretary, Chattanooga, 

 Tenn. 



Dee. 10— Second Annual Field Trials of the American Field 

 Trials Club, at West Point, Miss. C. W. Paris, Secretary, Cincin- 

 nati. O. 



Jan. 14, 1889.-Sixth Annual Field Trials of the Pacific Coast 

 Field Trial Club, at Bakersfield, Cal. N. P. Sheldon, Secretary, 

 330 Sansome street, San Francisco, Cal. 



COURSING. 



Oct. 15.— Third Annual Meeting of the American Coursing Club 

 at Great Bend, Kan. F. K. Loan, Secretarv, 1310 Olive Street, St 

 Louis, Mo. 



A. K. R.-SPECIAL NOTICE. 

 ^TVHE 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 hlanks 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 

 61.50. Address "American Fennel Register," F. O. Box 2833, New 

 York. Number of entries already printed 6435. 



THE TWO DOG CLUBS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Mr. August Belmont, Jr., president American Kennel 

 Club, has been making some remarkable deliverances of late, 

 and honestly I stand aghast at the utter ignorance of the 

 temper of the American doggy public that he displays. He 

 says that the only really bad feature of the National Dog 

 Club is "antagonism to the A. K. C." Good Lord deliver 

 me! Antagonism to the A. K. C. a crime! What does Mr. 

 Belmont know of doggy affairs!' What experience has he 

 had with dogs, cloggy men and dog show clubs, to warrant 

 his posturing as a judge on the rights of any man to be 

 "antagonistic to the A. K. O"? 



Dr. Perry put himself far in the van of mastiff breeders 

 and exhibitors before Mr. Belmont was heard of in connec- 

 tion with dogs. Dr Cryer was the preeminent authority on 

 pugs, and known as a very fair all-round judge before Mr. 

 Belmont (as I verily believe) knew the difference between a 

 fox-terrier and a short-tailed toy bull-terrier. Messrs. Os- 

 borne, Nickerson, Porter, Hemingway, Barnard, the two 

 Moores, etc., are all in the same category, with infinitely 

 more experience than Mr. Belmont has had. So I fail to see 

 t he justification for such an ex cathedra deliverence. 



It is said that the A. K. C. is so highly respected, so ex- 

 alted a body, that it is above criticism (the only remaining 

 ground that I can see for Mr. Belmont's autocracy). Well, 

 I' should smile! Does he know of "construction," that 

 drama by which the president and one other member, at a 

 meetiug called in Cincinnati at three days' notice, deliber- 

 ately negatived the express enactment of the club:-' the sub- 

 sequent "proxy" re-election of the "constructor" aspresident? 

 the shameful refusal of the club to take any action, even ever 

 so mild a censure on the "Chicago special" and "bogus med- 

 als," after thorough investigation and unanswerable proof 

 of the truth of both offenses? and its shameful rascality in 

 reversing itself as a "court of appeal and last resort" (Mr. 

 Belmont is authority for this) in the Beauf ort-Patti M. busi- 

 ness, made still worse by a reconsideration of a previous 

 vote being allowed on motion of the secretary, who abso- 

 lutely represented nobody? After these disgraces the sub- 

 limity of the assurance that puts the A. K. C. up as some- 

 thing too holy for irreverent criticism is— well, it just simply 

 is, that's all. 



Of course the present managers of the A. K. C. will say 

 "all this happened before my taking office," as though that 

 rehabilitated the damaged character of the club. To do 

 this it must first punish iu some way at least one of these 

 disgraces, yet the "constructor," the "proxy-bearer," etc., 

 are, or have been , active members, and in the disgraces of 

 the Chicago special and bogus medal condonations, their 

 most highly aud universally respected member, Mr. Peshall, 

 was an actor. Nobody can ever attach the slime of discred- 

 itable conduct to Mr. Peshall, but when such a man allows 

 his club to be disgraced, what will tag, rag aud bobtail do? 



Then that wonderful conception of an official gazette, 

 maintained by Mr. Belmont's private purse. Has pluto- 

 cracy entirely swallowed the dog men of America? Is it not 

 perfectly evident that such a journal would be recognized as 

 simply "Mr. Belmont's private organ?" Imagine such a 

 journal permitting full and free expression of matter adverse 

 to Mr. Belmont's wishes! I do not mean for one moment 

 that Mr. Belmont makes the proposal with any such end in 

 view, nor that he would expect any such favoritism, doubt- 

 less his intention is simply to benefit the A. K. C, but the 

 practical point is, would it not be felt that Mr. Belmont had 

 an unfair advantage by his private support of the journal? 

 And how much respect would the journal gain? 



Then that idea of "associate members of the A. K. C." 

 Just imagine Messrs. Perry. Moore, Sears, Barnard, Thayer, 

 Cryer, Wiiley, Mercer, Porter, Hemingway, Craig, etc., be- 

 longing to a "club" that was allowed one vote in the A. K.C. 

 Their combined power negatived by the vote of Pitts- 

 burgh, an incorporated company wherein a controlling in- 

 terest in the stock is held by two out of one hundred' mem- 

 bers; or Hartford, which is practically Messrs. Collins & 

 Cugle (no disrespect to them), or Baltimore. Great snakes! 

 wouldn't they write themselves down as asses? 



The simple truth is, that those who own, breed and ex- 

 hibit dogs are the ones to control doggy matters, and do it 

 they finally will. No amount of cuttle-fish clouding of the 

 real facts in Mr. Belmont's latest style will stave oft the in- 

 evitable. That doggy interests are to be dominated by any 

 such ragged body as the A. K. C. is impossible. The veriest 

 "Mrs. Harrises" can and do gain admission to it. Two or 

 three men conclude to get up a dog show elub, they get the 

 consent of a few more to allow their names to be used as 

 members of the elub, and the result is a full-fledged member 

 of the A. K. C. The boss bugler makes himself the delegate 



to the A, K. C, it don't suit him to attend and he sends a 

 proxy to Tom Collins, and the Beaufort-Patti M. disgrace is 

 the result. Then what a regular business the A. K. C. 

 makes of stealing others' brains? The stud book was not 

 thought of until the success of the American Kennel 

 Register suggested a tempting bait. The official gazette 

 arises from the necessity of haviug something more than a 

 mere dry register, and the associate member business is hit 

 on after the National Dog Club shows as a cloud in the 

 horizon, fraught with dauiagi ug consequences to the A. K. C. 



In what instance did any present member of the A. K. C. 

 ever do one good piece of work ? Who did do the work that 

 reflected some credit on it ? Let Messrs. Porter, Osborne, 

 Nickerson, Child, Morgan, Grosvenor and Watson answer. 

 The inherent and ever-present bane of the A. K. C. has been 

 the crudities of new hands at the bellows, afresh hand comes 

 in, aud without informing himself of what the past has 

 been, without studying the chart that indicates the rocks it 

 has struck on before, he goes off at half-cock with his 

 freshly conceived conceptions, and the flock follow, and great 

 is the asininity thereof. Not one of the early laborers of the 

 A. K. O, those who honestly and intelligently worked for it, 

 now remalus connected with it, while some of its worst dis- 

 gracers have lately flourished as delegates at its meetings. 



What the intentions of Dr. Perry and his associates were 

 in founding the N. D. C. I don't know and don't care. They 

 did not consult me, I am glad to say, but one thing I do 

 know, the A. K. C. is, and always has been, a laughing stock 

 in doggy circles, it has always been despised, and has never 

 done anything to remove the. bad opinion dog men have of it, 

 and there certainly will be some other governing body here. 

 Whether this is to be the. National Dog Club, I don't pretend 

 to say, and I am sure nobody will be quicker to whaok the 

 head of the National Dog Club than I as soon as it deserves 

 it. W. Wade. 



Hulton, Pa., Aug. 4. 



DOG TALK. 



WE learn from the Stock-Keeper that Mr. E. H. Moore 

 has purchased the rough-coated St. Bernard dog Den 

 Lomond and the mastiff bitch Lady Phyllis, the latter for 

 200 guineas. The price of Ben Lomond is stated to have 

 been "a long way in excess of £200." Fanciers' Gazette com- 

 pliments Mr. Moore as "being one of the very best lodges of 

 St. Bernards aud mastiffs with whom we have ever inspected 

 kennels of these breeds," and rejoices that he did not suc- 

 ceed m his negotiation for Plinlimmon. 



Henry Goetz, of Phillipsburg, N. J., gave Jas. K. Mosser, 

 of Hanover, a large farm dog, which was immediately shipped 

 by rail to William sport, 140'miles away. A fortnight after- 

 ward the dog walked into his former master's house in a. 

 starved aud worn out condition. It was learned that he had 

 left Williamsport a week before and had walked the entire 

 distance. This is only one of innumerable cases where dogs 

 have found their way home in an equally wonderful way. 



The superintendent of the Buffalo dog show writes that 

 entries are coming iu finely, and that from present appear- 

 ances this show will receive the hearty support of a large 

 number of the most prominent breeders. He also says that 

 valuable specials, in addition to those already announced, 

 have been promised, and that probably there will lie one or 

 more offered for each class. 



It is one of the orthodox tenets of fox hunting that the fox 

 enjoys being chased by the hounds. Pkilosoohers who are 

 not hunters are disposed to question the truth of this; aud 

 many newspaper columns have been filled with heated dis- 

 cussions on the subject. But both sides agree on Newport 

 "fox huntiug;" there is perfect unanimity of opinion that 

 no cruelty is involved, because there is no fox. 



Newark, N. J., exacts a deg tax of -?i. The dogs on which 

 taxes are paid number 1,931. The Newark Call thinks that 

 the total figures do not represent one-third of the number 

 of dogs in the city. It can safely be said that they represent 

 rather the number of citizens who have conscientious scruples 

 against perjuring themselves for the sake of §1. 



Chestnut Hill Kennels have purchased from Mr. Home, 

 Pittsburgh, Pa., the well-known Irish terriers Dennis and 

 Eileen. They have also purchased from Mr. S. T. Mercier, 

 Gilford, Ireland, the collie bitch Cora n., a sister to their 

 champion Dublin Scot. We understand it is their intention 

 to breed her to their Scotilla. 



An English clergyman perpetrates the following advertise- 

 ment: "Two fine, strong, handsome Dandie Dimont pups, 

 lady and gentleman, first-class pedigree, by Ettrick; mine 

 weeks; 42s. each; also very handsome lady dog, same pedi- 

 gree, nine months, etc." 



Owing to the removal to Chicago of Mr. R. A. Craigi, the 

 Wacouta Kennels, of St. Paul, Minn., will soon be situateu 

 at or near Chicago, and all letoers in future to reach the 

 Wacouta Kennels should be addressed to P. O. Box 635, 

 Chicago, 111. 



Mr. H. T. Drake, St. Paul, Minn., writes as follows: "I 

 wish to find Dr. Chas. Neil, formerly of Detroit, Mich. Will 

 you do me the favor to insert an inquiry for him in your 

 next issue." 



The well-known basset hound Nemours is dead. 



INDIANA FIELD TRIALS. 



INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. , Aug. i.— Editor Forest and Stream 

 Please mention the following additional entries to our 

 Derby. These entries were delayed through no fault of the 

 owners of the dogs, and our board decided that they were 

 justly entitled to recognition : 



J. H. Craft's liver and white point* dog Robin Adair, 

 Jr. (Robin Adair— Nellie K.), whelped July 1, 1887. 



John E. Link's lemon and white pointer bitch Dixie Bang 

 (Ware's Bang— Carr's Fredia), whelped Jan. 13, 1S87. 

 This makes a total of seventy nominations. 



P. T. Madison, Secretary Indiana Kennel Club. 



THE COLUMBUS FANCIERS' CLUB. — The Columbus 

 Fanciers' Club of Columbus, Ohio, a stock company, with a 

 capital stock of $2,000, has been organized for the purpose 

 of encouraging the breeding and improvement of thorough- 

 bred poultry, pigeons, dogs and pet stock generally. The 

 officers for the ensuing year are as follows: A. E*. Pitts, 

 President; Frank Tallmadge, Vice-President; Thos. R. 

 Sparrow, Secretary; Samuel Stevens. Treasurer; Homer Hen- 

 derson, R. J. Fanning, G. F. Gast, fl. A. Bridge and P. B. 

 Hayes, Executive Committee. 



DETROIT DOG SHOW. — Editor Forest and Stream: 

 Owing to the multiplicy of entertainments advertised for 

 Detroit during the hrst week of September, our committee 

 has concluded, that it would be injudicious to give a bench- 

 show at a time when the patronage of the public will be 

 so badly divided, and therefore withdraw our dates of Sept. 

 4, 5, Gaud 7. We hope soon to be able to reannounce dates 

 and to offer exhibitors the largest and most complete list of 

 prizes ever given at a Western show.— H. E. Cook. 



