498 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jan. 10. 1889. 



Massachusetts Fish and Game Association.— At a 

 recent meeting. President Samuels in the chair, the 

 Treasurer. Mr. Frederick R. Sbattuck, presented a par- 

 tial report showing an excellent financial condition and 

 an improvement over any other year. The Nominating 

 Committee reported the' following nominations for offi- 

 cers, to be balloted for at the annual meeting held last night 

 Jan. 9: President, Edward A. Samuels; Vice-Presidents, 

 Charles Levi Woodbury. Walter M, Brackett, B. H. Hun- 

 newell, John T. Stetson, Henry H. Kimball, W. Hap- 

 good, B. C. Clark; Treasurer, Fredrick E. Shattuck; Sec- 

 retary, Arthur W. Robinson; librarian, John Fottler, 

 Jr.; Executive Committee, J. N. Keith, D. F. Eddy, J. 

 N. Roberts. John P. Woodbury, Ivers W. Adams, John 

 Fottler. Jr.. A. B. Bradstrect, Henry C. Litchfield, Geo. 

 W. Wiggin, J. R. Reed, Samuel Hanson, E. E. Hardy- 

 Membership Committee, Henry J. Thayer, Geo. Mixter, 

 Waldron Bates; Fund Committee, B. C. Clark, Daniel T. 

 Curtis, Samuel Hanson. 



Caribou Weights.— Editor Forest and Stream : The 

 article in Dec. 13 number stated that those caribou I 

 killed on Moose River last fall averaged l,2001bs. each. 

 "Ebemee" is correct, as a caribou weighing 7001bs. 

 would be a monster. In fact I never heard of any 

 weighing that amount. I wrote that they weighed 

 SOOlbs. each. But the types made me say l,2001bs,— Cap 

 Lock. 



Pheasants in Market.— Newark, N. J., Dec. 30.— 

 Dec. 21, as I was passing through Centre Market. Newark, 

 I saw six English pheasants hung up for sale. I think 

 any man who will kill them at the present time for 

 market would not be too good to go in the farmyard and 

 shoot turkeys. We should have a law to protect them, if 

 there is none. — E. W. H. 



New York Game Laws.— The Supervisors of Suffolk 

 county, N. Y., at their last meeting adopted the follow- 

 ing: Resolved, That the Board of Supervisors of the 

 county of Suffolk hereby respectfully request the Legis- 

 lature of this State to allow the game and fishing laws to 

 remain as thev are now. 



Fohest and Stkeam. Box 3,832, N. Y. city, has descriptive illus- 

 trated circulars of VV. B. Lefiingwell's book. "Wild Fowl Shoot- 

 ing." which will be mailed free on request. This book is pro- 

 nounced by ".Nanny "Gloan," "Dick. Swiveller," "Sybillene" and 

 other competent authorities to be the best treatise on the subject 

 extant. 



"That reminds me." 

 353. 



LAST fall W. L. Hallett, W. H. Ferguson (proprietors 

 of a large stock ranch near Lone Tree Lake in this 

 vicinity), F. L. McFarland and Finley, of Denver, met at 

 the hospitable ranch house of the first-named gentlemen 

 for a duck hunt. In the middle of the afternoon the 

 party might have been seen slowly filing across field to 

 the shooting ground, loaded down with 4s and mud. 

 When near the Welch Lake the leader suddenly ducked 

 his head, motioning to his followers to stand. There, 

 close to the shore, just over a little hillock, sat thirty as 

 nice mallards as the eye could wish to see. A detour 

 was made, a line formed, and then the strategy began . 

 With guns all ready they made for the little' mound, 

 stooping lower and lower' as they neared the top, until 

 the stoop became a crawl, each showing his f everish anx- 

 iety not to be left in the rear. Then as they reached the 

 crest they all rose, and with one grand rush the destruc- 

 tive fire went forth . So successful was the maneuver and 

 so sure the aim not a duck escaped. There they still sat 

 quietly bobbing up and down with the rise and fall of 

 the troubled water, utterly oblivious of the terrible 

 fusilade. You should have seen the suppressed look those 

 four men gave each other. Then commenced the exami- 

 nation of guns to see who had put up the job. But the 

 guns were all empty ; eac.h man had tried to get in the 

 first shot. Well, they fell down, rolled over a few times, 

 and swore they must never give it away. That kind of a 

 cat is hard to keep bagged, but I would not give it this 

 publicity had they not tried to work those same thirty 

 wooden decoys on your correspondent; and they would 

 have succeeded had not old man Gove (the owner) taken 

 them in out of the wet. All of these gentlemen are model 

 sportsmen, not pot-hunters, as their action would indicate. 

 Long mont. Colorado H. 



254. 



A few weeks ago, on return from a walk on the Wool- 

 wich side of the Kennebec, the ladies of my establish- 

 ment informed me that they had started up a pair of 

 partridges (ruffed grouse) near the summer cottages on 

 Sasanoa Bluffs. The next day it was the work of but a 

 few moments to take my gun and skiff and sail across 

 the river to interview them if possible. • Walking up a 

 soft and velvety path through a clump of trees, out 

 jumped one from a tree just ahead of me, and before I 

 had time to bring my gun to bear, out went another, as 

 though he had an important errand abroad. I rushed 

 forward to clear the trees for a shot, when I. heard a low 

 thud as of some partially soft substance striking the 

 shingles of a house. 1 went up to the nearest cottage to 

 examine, and there beside a small woodshed lay my 

 partridge, dead, but still slightly kicking. He weighed 

 twenty ounces, and I saved my cartridge. G. E. N. 



Bath, Me. 



IhrL. S. Cartridge Co., Lowell, Mass., have received the 

 following letter from Mr. L. S. Carter, winner by gg out of 25 live 

 birds at Cincinnati, Sept. 8, and who won 18 out'of 20 at the shoot 

 bept. 9, winning lhe American Field Championship Cup- 

 , irr „ . ., _ „ "Hammond, 111., Oct. 8, 1888. 



Li. . is. Lartnage Co., LoweU, Mass.: Gentlemen— I have found no 

 shells that can come up to yours, and think your strong primer 

 Climax paper shells superior to Eley's. I used your shells at all 

 the shoots this season, and had no trouble with any of them. Thev 

 are more durable, crimp better, and for wood and fecJniltze powder 

 they are superior to any I have yet found. (Signed) L. S. Carter, 

 Now Champion Live Bird Shot of the World."— Adv. 



CHARIOT RACE FROM BEN-HUB. 

 ^■ i T^m^S' :re, 5'* isf ^j*?^S^ beautifully engraved upon a hand- 

 SSM 89 cal ?? ldar .- b >' John A - Lowell & Co., Boston; can be pro- 

 cured by sending six cents m stamps to P. S. Eustis, General Pas- 

 senger and Ticket Agent, C, B. & R. R., Chicago, KL-ldv™ 



ha and Mivw 



Angling Talks. By George Dawson. Price 50 cents. Fly- 

 Rods and Fly-Tackle. By H. P. Wells. Price $2.50. Fly- 

 Fishing and Fly-Making for Trout. By J. JET. Keene. 

 Price $1.50. American Angler's Book. By Thad. Norn's. 

 Price $5.50. 



OUR ANGLING PRESIDENTS. 



THE United States has had several anglers among 

 those who have filled the Presidential chair, and 

 their angling abilities were as varied as their individuali- 

 ties or their political views. It has lately been proved 

 that George Washington was an entered apprentice at 

 angling, if not entitled to be called a fellow craftsman. 

 Mr. Geo. H. Moore found that our first President actually 

 recorded two or three fishing trips in his diary, and has 

 reproduced the notes in his little book which he had 

 printed for private distribution, in which he proved con- 

 clusively that Washington was an angler. It is worthy 

 of note, in these degenerate days, when the funny man 

 of the daily press delights in picturing an angler as an 

 eligible member of the Ananias Club, that the father of 

 his country usually recorded the fact that he fished on a 

 certain date, but never mentioned the catch, except on 

 one occasion, the only time we have any record of his 

 fishing in salt water. The place was outside the harbor 

 of Portsmouth, N. H., where the party — he modestly 

 withholds the names — caught two codfish, whose weights 

 are not given, a fact which that class of humorists to 

 whom George and his hatchet are a well-spring of infor- 

 mation will regret. 



Thomas Jefferson is said to have fished in his youth, 

 but we have no record of him as an angler in mature 

 years, nor while he occupied the Presidential chair. The 

 same might be said of many others who have received 

 the first honors of the nation, especially those who were 

 country boys, for the latter all fish; but it is only those 

 who have a real love for the sport who keep it up through 

 life and are entitled to be called anglers. Perhaps stern 

 Andrew Jackson fished, but we can hardly imagine the 

 dapper Martin Van Buren soiling his hands with either 

 worm or shedder crab. If he fished at all it would have 

 been with a fly, and fly-fisliing was almost unknown in 

 America in his day." 



It is a fact that fishing for sport was not looked upon 

 with a favorable eye by our grandfathers, and the man 

 who did it was apt to be considered a waster of time at 

 least, for in our new eountry the need of hustling about 

 for dollars was painfully evident from the maxims 

 handed down to us by Franklin, and therefore if some of 

 our earlier presidents did fish they carefully abstained 

 from referring to it. 



Not until we come down to Chester A. Arthur do we 

 find any record of presidential angling during a term of 

 office, and here we find a perfect angler, as finished a 

 fly-caster and as elegant a fisherman as might be expected 

 of such a gentleman. We have personal friends who 

 have fished with Arthur who Bay that as an angler he 

 would compare favorably with any. The fact that he 

 killed a 501b. salmon merely proves that he was fortunate 

 hi getting such a strike, for there are plenty of men who 

 could land such a fish if they had the chance, but the 

 fact that he was generally successful in landing the 

 salmon which he hooked,' and that his favorite game 

 was salmon and trout, which he always fished for with 

 the fly, place him in the front rank of angling Presidents. 



The present occupant of the White House is an angler, 

 but looks more to results than to means, and being an 

 indifferent fly-caster he does not disdain the humble 

 worm, nor to troll the glittering spoon. The fact that he 

 loves to fish gives him a chance to leave the mud flats of 

 the Potomac and breathe the better air of the St. Law- 

 rence or that of the balsam-laden Adirondack^. Mr. 

 Cleveland is not as finished an angler as his predecessor, 

 and but few men are. 



Of the President elect as an angler we know but little. 

 That he went bass fishing last summer is on record, but 

 whether he went for the love of it, or to escape from 

 politicians and reporters, we do not know. Neither do 

 we know what lines he used, nor what his catch was, but 

 if he reads Forest and Stream regularly, as we are 

 informed that he does, no doubt Mr. Harrison will develop 

 any angling instinct that may be lying dormant. 



As a means of escaping the importunities of office 

 seekers and politicians in general there is no refuge for 

 the head of the nation like angling. It enables him to 

 take a vacation in the wilderness away from the cares of 

 state and find temporary solace in the company of more 

 primitive people than surround him in Washington, and 

 to change the struggle for office in which he is the victim 

 to a different contest in which he has a chance to be the 

 victor, and to return refreshed in mind and body. By 

 all means let our Presidents go a-fishing. 



Striped Bass at Montauk Point.— A goodly number 

 of fan-sized striped bass have been taken with rod and 

 reel at Montauk Point during the past season. Within 

 easy reach of New York city these bassing grounds should 

 be better known than they are. For years past a few 

 anglers cast their lines there with more or less success, 

 and we personally know two who have fished there every 

 season for years and have fair sport. As a rule the fish 

 are larger than those taken further west, about the New 

 Jersey coast and off Staten Island, and the. angler can 

 take the Long Island railroad to Sag Harbor, and then he 

 is within about eighteen of Montauk, and can have a 

 conveyance meet him to take him to his destination, 

 where accommodations may be found. About this east- 

 ern end of Long Island the bass seem to linger and feed 

 in the varying currents which center there, and the fish- 

 ing, for bass at least, is better than at Orient, the other 

 eastern point of the island. Bait is not easily procured 

 there, and the angler should provide himself with the 

 necessary menhaden, or lobster, before starting, although 

 the former might be obtained at the oil factories at 

 Promised Land, yet they might not always be fresh. 

 Those of our readers who wish to try new bassing 

 grounds next season may do well on the boulders at 

 Montauk Point. 



"Outing on the Big Horn."— The author of the sketch 

 with this title, page 438, wrote that the Huron Islands 

 were 260ft. above the level of the lake, not 3,000ft, 



THE VERMONT COMMISSION. 



THE biennial report of the Fish Commissioners of Ver- 

 mont for 1887-88 is at hand. They report with pleasure 

 that experience has demonstrated the wisdom of the existing 

 laws for the. protection of fish in the waters of Vermont, and 

 that these laws have been generally respected. In numerous 

 instances farmers have so protected and replenished trout 

 brooks and ponds, which had become so depleted as to be of 

 no account, that they have actually realized more revenue 

 from these than from many acres or cultivated land. 



The Commissioners have received from all parts of the 

 State encouraging reports from the fish planted in the differ- 

 ent waters. Of the landlocked salmon planted in some of 

 the smaller lakes, a year ago, there are reports of many hav- 

 ing been caught, some weighing from seven to nine pounds. 

 The trout planted in the small rivers and brooks show 

 a large increase, the general report being that the trout 

 streams are far better stocked than for many years past. 

 Reports from Lake Champlain show that since the protec- 

 tive law has been enforced there has been a large increase of 

 both the species of black bass, pike, shad, and in fact all the 

 fishes native to these waters. 



A grating has been placed across the outlet of Lake Bo- 

 moscen, extending across between the abutments of the 

 railroad bridge, and good results to the stock of that lake 

 are looked for. The unfortunate loss of 50,000 fry of differ- 

 ent species, in the tire which destroyed the hatchery at 

 Plymouth, N. H., interfered with the plans of stocking 

 several waters. The necessity for attention to violations of 

 the law having become so much less than formerly, the, 

 Commissioners propose turning their attention to stocking 

 the smaller waters with suitable fish. 



After making general inquiries in regard to the most 

 economical way of procuring fry, the Commissioners do not 

 recommend the establishing of a State hatchery. They 

 think that they can buy what they want from private 

 parties cheaper than they can raise them, and quote Col. 

 McDonald in support of the view. The laws of the State 

 require private persons who receive fry from the Commis- 

 sioners to post notices on the banks of the waters stocked 

 that all fishing therein is prohibited for three years, and as 

 some persons are not willing to do this the Commissioners 

 will decline to furnish them with ft 30. The yellow perch is 

 recommended for stocking some waters. 



The appendix contains a list of the ponds in the State, 

 their locality, kinds of fish in them, their area and other 

 information. The streams are also given in the same way, 

 and the laws for the preservation and propagation of fish, 

 game and birds concludes the report. 



THE SAWDUST QUESTION. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I have read with interest the various communications upon 

 the above-named subject, and with special interest that of 

 Charles Hallock in this week's issue, because he refers to 

 streams and conditions with which I am perfectly familiar; 

 and 1 write from an invalid's room to briefly corroborate the 

 facts stated by him. The adjoining township west of Plain- 

 field is Windsor, a much larger township and containing 

 many more streams, and trout streams, too. Adjoining 

 Windsor on the south is the township of Peru, where I first 

 saw daylight. This township also abounds in trout streams. 

 These townships embrace the summits of what are now 

 known as the Hoosac Tunnel Range, or spur of the Green 

 Mountains, which cross the western end of the State of 

 Massachusetts. A largeportion of their streams have driven 

 sawmills for a century past, and several of them had tan- 

 neries on their banks; and the same state of things, practi- 

 cally, as enumerated by Mr. Hallock, has existed there for one- 

 third to one-half a century past to my personal knowledge. 



Milton P. Peirce. 



CoT.iTMBrs, Ohio. 



THE MENHADEN SEASON. — The fishing season which 

 has just closed has been a very satisfactory one to the men- 

 haden men, judging from the newspaper accounts of the 

 work. There are now about ninety steamers engaged in the 

 work, and about as many oil factories are in operation from 

 Maine to North Carolina. Very few sailing vessels are now 

 engaged in this trade, the steamers being quicker and there- 

 fore more profitable. Maine factories have not done as well 

 as those further south, and the greatest amount of capital 

 invested in the business is now in the .State of New York, 

 Connecticut and Rhode Island coniingnext. The menhaden 

 fisheries and oil works probably represent $5,000,000 invested, 

 and they employ four or five thousand men. The steamers 

 cost from 430,000 to $40,000 each. The past season has been 

 the best for several years and the profits have been large, 

 though the price of the oil has fallen. 



THE GRAMPUS. — The U. S. Fish Commission schooner 

 Grampus will soon start for the Gulf of Mexico on a cruise 

 of investigation and research among the marine life of that 

 region. She will be in command of Capt. A. C. Adams, a 

 seaman of much experience. Her former captain, D. E. 

 Collins, is now in Florida investigating the coast fisheries 

 and gathering statistics for the Fish Commission. 



Immh 



Dogs: Uieir Managemen t an d Treatment In Disease. By 

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

 Price $S. Training vs. Breaking. By 8, T. Hammond. 

 Price ft First Lessons in Dog Training, until Points of 

 all Breeds. Price 50 cents. 



FIXTURES. 



DOG SHOWS. 



Jan. 15 to 19, 1889.— Seventh Annual Dog Snow of the Southern 

 Massachusetts Poultry Association, at New Bedford, Mass. F, 

 W. Dean, Secretary. 



January, last week.— Western Pennsylvania Poultry Society's 

 Fourteenth Annual Show, Pittsburgh, Pa. 0. B. Elhen, Sec'y. 



Feb. 6 to 8, 1889— First Annual Dog Show of the Columbu9 

 Fanciers 1 Club at Columbus O. Ttios. R. Sparrow, Secretary. 



Feb. 7 to IS.— First Annual Show of the Hudson River Poultry, 

 Dog and Pet Stock Association, at Newhurgh, N.Y. J. H. Dreven- 

 stedt, Secretary, WashingtonviUe, N. V. 



Feh. 19 to 22, 1889.— Thirteenth Annual Show of the Westminsl er 

 Kennel Club, New York. James Mortimer, Superintendent. 



Fe"h. 26 to March 1, 1889.— Second Annual Show of the Renssalaer 

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



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

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



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

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



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

 Kennel Club, at Baltimore, Md. W. S. Diffenderffer, Secretary. 



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

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



April 2 to 5, 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, J. W. Newman, Secretary, No, 6 Hamilton 

 Place, 



