Aug. 29, 1889. J 



FORfiST ANiD STREAM. 



Boiitelle, who personally showed the Commissioner through 

 the Park aud introduced him to its waters, and tbus a large 

 share of the credit for whatever may be done will belong to 

 the Superintendent of the Park. 



BEAM-TRAWL FISHING. * 



IN his introductory note Capt. Collins states that, "This 

 report has been prepared for the purpose of placing 

 before those directly interested in the fisheries of the United 

 States such information as seems necessary to convey a 

 moderately comprehensive idea of the British beam-trawl 

 Fishery," ' , - ■ 



The history, development aud the importance of this fish- 

 ery is dwelt "upon at length. The apparatus used in con- 

 junction with the trawl, the methods of fishing aud the 

 manner of marketing the fish are fully described. The 

 fishes captured in the trawl net are, principally, turbot, sole, 

 brill, plaice dabs and h libut (flatfishes), and cod, haddock, 

 hake, ling and whiting (Gadtdtej. 



The captain's observations were made principally at 

 Grimsby aud at Hull, and in a cruise in the North Sea made 

 in 1880; he also studied the apparatus and methods shown 

 at the International Fisheries Exposition, London, 1883. 



This is the most comprehensive treatise on the subject 

 dealt with that has been published, and taken in connection 

 w!ih ens iectut attempt of the tT. S. Fish Commirtsion tp 

 introduce into American waters that highly-esteemed deli- 

 cacy, the European sole, and the growing demand for flat 

 fishes in our markets, its appearance seems timely. 



This pamphlet will be issued as a ''public document free," 

 as all of the Fish Commission publications are. Tu this 

 connection it may be added thai: the possibilities of bringing 

 fish alive from Kurope are greater now than heretofore, for 

 the reason that the Commission may some time find it prac- 

 ticable to send the Grampus across the Atlantic, for that 

 purpose. This vessel is provided with a well for transport- 

 ing fishes alive) and it is believed that many of the most 

 valuable of the fiat-fishes of Europe can be successfully 

 transported to this side of the Atlantic: 



, The .Hfefj.pi-Ti-awi FlsJierv of Great Britain, wjtii notes on 

 bram-trawliriR iri other European countries: etc, ui By Captain J. 

 W. Collinc, Assistanr in Caajsre of Divis'on of lush^riea of the 

 U 8. Fish Commission. Bul'etin of the U. S. Fish Commission, 

 1887, pn. 289-407. To be issued also in a i\n pamphlet of 119 pp., 

 With 23 full-page illu-trauons and Si figure- 1 in the text, showing 

 in detail the apparatus, aud giving lines showing the construction 

 of vessels used in tne beam-trawl fishery. 



tern 



YfOUNG CODFISH ON THE MASSACHUSETTS 

 COAST.— A statement has recently been going the rOfinds 

 of the press concerning the occurrence of young codfish off 

 Plymouth, Mass., where no young of that species have been 

 seen for many years, the oldest fishermen having no recol- 

 lection of seeing any there before. So great was the sur- 

 prise that the fishermen could scarce believe their own eyes 

 and dared uotcall them "sure enough" cod, though the re- 

 wemblancf? placed the matter almost beyond question. To 

 do away with all doubt, however, a well-known gentleman 

 ijf Plymouth sent a specimen of the fish to the TJ. S. Fish 

 Commission at Wood's' Holt, where, it Was at once identified 

 as a young codfish [Gad us inorrhuct), aud judged to be about 

 one and one-ball to two years old. it. measures I3in. in 

 length, and is evidently the yoUng of the ocean gray cod. 

 f. variety quite distinct from the reddish brown "rock cod" 

 that feed, among the alga: near the shore. We learn from 

 ( 'apt. .1. W> Collin's that, while in command of the Grampus 

 in the winter of 1886-87. he planted 3,000,000 young cod on 

 ;1an.- 38, 1887, between Race Point and Plymouth, Jt seems 

 more tnan probable that the present unusual abundance of 

 |onng cod off Plymouth may be traced to this plant, though 

 it is by uo means impossible that fish of this species hatched 

 put at Gloucester may have found their way across Massa- 

 chusetts Bay to Plymouth. The results of the cod hatching 

 at Gloucester for the past two years have been apparent 

 during the past spring and this srimmer. Young cod, vary- 

 mg in age from a few months to a year or more, have 

 thronged the outer harbor of Gloucester, and have been so 

 plentiful on the inshore grounds off Eastern Point as to 

 prove a source of annoyance to the boat fishermen, who have 

 frequently been obliged to change their position because 

 these fish "nibbled the bait off their hooks as fast as they 

 were put out. When these fish have attained maturity and 

 swarm in similar abundance upo'j the shore grounds, the 

 effect will be apparent both in the increased earnings of the 

 fishermen and in the superior quality of the fish put upon 

 the market, 



NORTH CAROLINA FISHCULTTJRE.— We have been 

 looking for a long time for the Agricultural Department of 

 North Carolina to resume its interest and work in the pro- 

 pagation of fish. We hardly think the people of tbe eastern 

 third of the State, and comprising more than one-third the 

 population, will consent to have this important scientific 

 industry longer neglected, in the face of the manifest fact 

 that the former work of the department in that line h«'s 

 shown itself to have been of such immense value in restc< k- 

 ing our waters with food fishes in superabundance. Th 

 hatching of shad was the very first work of the Agricultural 

 Department on its establishment, in 1877, and so far as one 

 can see, by actual results, it was the most successful and 

 the mo^t valuable of all the work of that department in the 

 State. Why it was abandoned, just as its good effects were 

 beginning to be realized, has never been satisfactorily ex- 

 plained, and the people of eastern Carolina have just cause 

 to feel that they were outraged in the matter. As a result 

 of the artificial propagation of shad they are more numerous 

 in our eastern waters than were ever known within the 

 memory of men, but unless the system is restored and the 

 work permanently kept up, the supply will be speedily ex- 

 hausted, and our 'water as barren of them as before the pro- 

 cess of artificial propagation was resorted to. — WUmingtoiv 

 (N. C.) Messenger. [It is to be hoped that the Legislature 

 of North Carolina will be alive to the issue at its next 

 session, and make a liberal appropriation so as to enable 

 the Department to resume the work of restocking the waters 

 of the State with valuable fishes.] 



FISHERY STATISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES.— 

 Dr. Hugh M Smith and Mr. W. H. Abbott, of theU. S. 

 Fish Commission, have gone to Eastport, Maine, to collect 

 statistics of the fisheries of that State. Mr. Ansley Hall 

 will soon be ordered to Belfast, and Mr. C. H. Stevenson to 

 Boothbay, Me., for the same purpose. There is a district 

 assigned to each one of these to canvass. The Maine coast 

 is a speci dly difficult region for such work, owing to the 

 many outlxing islands and the almost numberless indenta- 

 tions of the shore line, from all of which fishing is carried 

 on to a greater or less extent, and where in many cases the 

 places can be reached only by water in boats. It is quite 

 impracticable to accomplish anything there except wheu 

 tbe weather is mild, and for this reason a special effort is 

 now being made to complete the investigation before the 

 close of the warm season. A complete canvass will be 

 made of the entire New England coast; indeed, it is already 

 well advanced Mr. F. F. Dimmick is at work for the Com- 

 'mission at Boston, aud i apt. S. J Martin and Mr. E. F 

 Locke at Gloucester. Mr. W. A. Wilcox has nearly com 

 pleted his inquiries on t he Pacific coast from San Diego to 

 Puget Sound. He is now at Port. Townsend. and soon will 

 l t i- ordered Ea<--1 to h - 1st in the work in New England 



FIXTURES. 



DOG 8HOWS. 



.Sept. ii to 12.— First Annual Dog Show of the Brooklyn Kennel 

 Dim?, at Brroklyn; N. Y. Charles Dickleman, Secretary. Entries 

 close Aug. 28: 



Sept. 'J to 33;— Dog show of the Farmers 1 Lancaster Count y Fair 

 Association, at Lancaster. Pa. A, A; Herr, Secretary. Entries 

 clo*e 11 A. M., Sept.. 9. 



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

 Club: at London, Onfc. C. A. Stone. Manager. Entries close Sept . S 



Seiit. 10 to L3L— Dog Show of the Central Canada. Exhibition As- 

 sociation, at Ottawd, Cap, Capt. R. C. W. MacCuaig, Secretary. 

 Entries close Aug. 31, 



Sept. 11 to 13. —First Annual Doe Show of the Toledo Kennel 

 Company, Toledo, O. Chas. E. Rowland, Secretary Box 423: En- 

 tries close Aug. 20, m 



Swt. lti to 19.— Dog Show of the. Dominion of Canada Kennel 

 Club, in c-onHoct'on with tho Industrial Exposition at Toronto, 

 Canada. Capt. C. tireville llarston, Seet'y. Entries close Sept. 4. 



Sept.. 17 to 20. —Dug Show of the Pet Slock Afsociatiou at El- 

 mira, N. Y. J. Otis Fellows. Superintendent, Komellsville, N.Y. 

 Entries close Sept. 7. 



Oct. 8 to 12.— Eighth Annual Dog Show of the Danbury Agri- 

 cultural Society. »t Danbury, Conn. B. C. Lynes. Secretary. En- 

 tries close Sept. 2s. 



Not. 11 'o.P'.-Fi.rst Dog Show of the Continental Kennel Club, 

 at Denver, Col. Claude Ring: Secretary. 



Jan. 27 to Feb. 1, 1890.— Dog Show of the Colorado Poultry and 

 Pet Stock Assoeintion, at Don ver,.Co'. 



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

 Kennel flub. New York. James Mortim r. Superintendent 



March 11 to 14, 1S90.— Second Annual Dog Show of the Rochester 

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



March 25 to 28, 1890— Second Annual Dog Show of the Mass. 

 Kennel Club, Lvnn, Mass. D. A. Williams, Secretary. 



April 1 to 4, 1890.— Sixth Annual Dok Show of [.lie New England 

 Kennel Club, at Boston, Mass. 3. W. Newman, Secretary. 



FIELD TRIALS. 



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

 P. T. Madisotu Secretary, Indianapolis, fnd. 



Nov. II.— Inaugural Field Trials of the Canadian Kennel Club, 

 at Cha' ham, Ont. C. A. StoPe, Secretary, London, Ont. 



Nov. ! 8.— Eleventh Annual Field Trials of the Eastern Field 

 Trials Cltib* at Hb?h Point,- N. C. W. A. Coster, Secretary, Sara- 



°Deci ^-luaugural Field (Prists of the Central Field Trial Club, 

 at Lexington, N. C. C. H. Odell, Secretary* Mill's Building. New 

 York, N. Y. 



Dec. IB.-Second Annual F-'eld Trials of the Southern Field 

 Trial Club, at Amory, Mihs. T. M. Brumby, Secretary, Marietta, 

 Ga. 



Jam 20, .189(1.— Seveuth Auuual ^ield Trials of r.he Pacific Coast 

 Field Trial Club ?.t ^akersrleld, Ca.l. H. H. Briggs, Secretary. 313 

 Bush street. San Francisco. Cab 



Feb. 11,1890.- Fourth Annual Field Trials of the Texas Field 

 Trial Ctub, at Marshall, Tex. W. L. Thomas, Sec retary. 



COURSING. 



Ofifc 9 ro 12.— Fall jHfHl of the National Coursing Club at Ilutch- 

 iDson, Kan. M. Fj. Allison, Manager, 



Oft. 24.— Annual M'-et of the American Coursing Chili, at Great 

 Bend, Kan. F, K. Doan, Secretary, St. Louis, Mo. 



COURSING. 



^ pHE following article on coursing is from the pen of Dr. 

 X G, Irwin Roycein the CUppc, published at Hutchin- 

 son, Kansas: 



As a pastime there is nothing that so thorougb.lv 

 adapts itself to all classes of people as coursing. It 

 meets the popular demand for harmless competition 

 without uniting with it any of the offensive elements of 

 other contests. It i3 peculiarly American in its methods, 

 quick and fiery, and with that peculiar reckless dash, with 

 the competitors thoroughly in earnest racing for blood, and 

 ending with a kill that is sudden and painless to the rabbits. 

 Although the competition is wholly with the two dogs, 

 there is almost a nervous interest to see if they will secure 

 the rabbit before he reaches a place of safety. The only 

 animal that will bring out all of the speed and quickness of 

 the greyhound is the fleet-footed jack rabbit of the Western 

 plains, "and for this reason he is employed to test the speed 

 of the swift and silent pursuers. The speed of the jack 

 raboit is something phenomenal, and at certain seasons of 

 the year and when m condition from being pursued by 

 ordinary cur dogs successively for weeks, there are no two 

 greyhounds in toe world that can catch them, but take them 

 as usually found and even in the best season, March, a good 

 pair of dogs will secure three out of live. To thoroughly 

 appreciate him he should be seen in his native element. 



As far as history goes back you will find accounts of the 

 chase with fleet dogs, but the larger kind of animals were 

 more generally pursued, and it remained for the English to 

 introduce competition with the greyhound aud to originate 

 the peculiar type of greyhounds for their special purpose, 

 and the scientific contest with greyhounds has hecorae one 

 of the most important pastimes in England, and the services 

 of the successful greyhound at the coursing meetings will 

 command almost fabulous prices. 



The greyhound was brought to this country at a very early 

 day, and they have been used on tbe W> stern plaias for cours- 

 ing antelope, deer and other large game, but more especially 

 tor pursuing tbe jack rabbit. The brave Custer took great 

 pains to gather up a choice pack, and it became the chief 

 source of amusement for the officers while on duty on the 

 oorders. Many enthusiastic owners of smaller packs scat- 

 tered over the West have derived great plea-ure from pur- 

 suing the swift prairie hare, but there was little thought of 

 uniting the iuterests and formally contesting the speed of 

 their favorites until the year 1885, when a request was made 

 by the writer for correspondence iu regard to the formation 

 of a coursing club. No response was made, although several 

 gentlemen had signilied a desire personally to unite with 

 us in advancing the interest; and seeing that the only 

 method left was to make a date and invite all who were 

 interested to be present, we made such a call in April, stat- 

 ing that a meeting would be held on the Cheyenne Plains, 

 near Great Bend, Kan., March I, 1880, aud that an organiza- 

 tion would be formed at that time. This w*s responded to 

 by Mr. M. E. Allison, of Hutchinson, Kan.; V. R. Bartlett, 

 of Winfield, Kan.; Dr. Van Hummel, of Deuver, Col., and 

 others, advising an organization at once, and iu response to 

 this a meeting was called for July 9, at Topeka, Kan., and 

 the result was the formation of the American Club, and 

 the date fixed for Oct. 15 for the first grand meeting. 

 The meeting was successful beyond the most sanguine ex- 

 pectation oi the projectors, and it suddenly sprang into 

 popularity, and its future was assured Three annual 

 meetings have been held, and slumbering interest in this 

 most delightful pastime is now thoroughly aroused through- 

 out the United States. The original design of coursing was 

 to visit an open field where the nimble hare was known to 

 abound and to frighten him from his hiding place in the 

 grass, and as he appeared, loose the greyhound from the 

 slips and pursue him to death. This is called open field 

 coursing, but in order to bring it within the reach of those 

 who are unable to go long distances to witness the sport, 

 local or inclosed parks are being arranged where the rabbits 

 are confined to a limited space of, perhaps, a few hundred 

 acres, and a narrow race track filled up and the rabbits se- 

 cured and the contest confined to this space, with an escape 

 for the rabbits at the end of a half or quarter mile. 



This method is equally scientific and probably more 

 humane, because it affords the rabbit, a greater chance for 



life and prevents the dog from running one of those pump- 

 ing races of two miles or more. Often the dog and rabbit 

 have been found dead within a few feet of each other, liter- 

 ally run to death iu one of those long three or four mile 

 races on the open prairie. After the second meeting of the 

 American Coursing Club, at Great Bend, Kan., Mr. M. E. 

 Allison^ of Hutchiuson, Kan., filled with enthusiasm at the 

 success of cotfrsirjg, conceived the idea of farming a local 

 organization in Hutchinson, Kan., and building a park, 

 which he has carried to a successful termination, and to-day 

 the National Coursing Association Park, at Hutchinson, 

 Km., is the only complete and thoroughly equipped cours- 

 ing and breeding park in the United States? it comprises at 

 full half section of ground, made rabbit-tight by a wire 

 fence surrounding the whole, and now in the inclosure there 

 are no less than 500 strong, healthy jack rabbits, uutamed 

 and fairly in their native element. When required for the 

 contest they are frightened to a narrow inclosure and secured! 

 a day previous to the running, but in no sense are they 

 tamed or domesticated, and to disabuse the mind of the 

 fact of their being Unable to protect themselves from 

 the dogs one has only to see au old residenter leave 

 the chtfte for the escape at the lower end of the course and 

 he will declare that truly motion is quicker than sight. 



A grand meeting will be held at this park Oct. 8 to 11, 

 with purses aggregating $i80ff. After much thought and 

 consultation with a few enthusiastic practical coursing 

 men it was decided to more thoroughly popularize tbe 

 sport by bringing it directly to the dooirs- of those residing 

 in the Eastern cities where even a jackrabbit is a novelty, 

 and by arranging a corfrsiug ground on a rua track, invite 

 the public to an entertainment that is cnaste, grand and 

 most highly entertaining. Dates have been arranged fov 

 several cities east of the, Mississippi, arid the following, are 

 the cities to be visited this fall and winter: Louisville- 

 Sept, 1 to 7, inclusive^ Lexington, Cincinnati. St. Louis, 

 Memphis. Chattanooga, Birmingham, New Orleans, and 

 most of the larger cities of the South. 



The knowledge of coursing is so limited that we deem it 

 only proper to give a description of tbe method of testing: 

 the speed of the greyhound. X stake is made of, perhaps, 

 thirty-two dogs, and in order to bring perfect 1 fairness to 

 the test the dogs are chosen by lot to run together, two at a. 

 time, There would necessarily be sixteen pairs in the first 

 round, and there would be left sixteen winners. These six- 

 teen would again be paired off, and when the eight pairs 

 had been run off there would be left four pairs to contend 

 with each other, then two pairs, and the last two un- 

 beaten dogs try conclusions for the first honors, and the one 

 last running with winner is called the "runner up" because 

 he ran a successful race up to the last round. Io order to 

 judge of the comparative merits of the greyhound, the 

 value of the work done is credited to each dog by points. 

 The points of the course are, first; 



Speed, which is counted one, two. three, according to the 

 superiority shown. 



The turn is where the rabbit is forced to jump to one side 

 to avoid the dog, and counts one point for the dog making 

 the turn. 



The third is the go-bye, which counts two or three points 

 conditioned on whether the dog r»ns by the other dog on a 

 straight course or whether they are running on a circle. It" 

 one greyhound starts a length behind the other anywfiere 

 in the race and runs by him and gets a length in the lead it 

 is a go-bye. 



The trip is where the dog touches the rabbit and throws, 

 him over, but fails to hold him, and counts a point. 



The wrench gives a dog a half point. This is when the 

 ribbit is forced from running a straight line, but does not 

 turn at a direct angle. 



The kill is the most difficult to judge, as the dog may score 

 two points or nothing. If by his own dash and great speed 

 he picks up a swift rabbit on a straight run it may count 

 two points, but should the hind dog simply grab the rabbit 

 as he is turned to him by the otner he may get no credit at 

 all. 



These probably are repeated several times in a race, aud 

 often it is difficult to keep near enough to the dogs to judge 

 the true merits of the course, and should the poiuts be equal 

 at the kill, the race will have to be repeated til I one clog ha- 

 shown superiority over the other, 



The rules have 'been carefully amended from time to time, 

 and to-day they are as near perfection as one could ask, bar 

 ring the difference between our fields and rabbits and those 

 of the English. In time these little differences will be 

 adjusted and we will be more consistent. In arranging the 

 rules for the American Coursing Club, several superfluous 

 words iu the English rules were left out, as for instance, it 

 speaks of a dou sticking iu a muse, but there Is more or less- 

 of a tendency to ape the English, and it will require time to 

 thoroughly Americanize coursing; now and then a mulish 

 Englishman arrives in this country filled with bombast, 

 seasoned with conceit, aud contempt for the illiteracy of 

 the blasted American, and for a time works mischief, but 

 their selrish methods are soon exposed and they are relegated 

 to more than obscurity. It is well to be a little wary of 

 absorbing too much of their superior knowledge, for it don't, 

 mix weil with our limited stock of information, as several 

 have found to their cost. 



The great popularity which coursing is destined to have 

 in this country demands that it shall be kept free from 

 objectionable features as far as possible, so that our wives, 

 mothers and sisters shall be able to attend a coursing meet- 

 ing with safety and pleasure. 



Thus far in this country no criticism has fallen on us, and 

 no occasion should be given whereby the most fastidious 

 can carp. 



The dogs are loosened au«l are at their best. The jockey 

 is not there to restrain them, and the raboit is quite sure to 

 hold out splendid inducements for them to extend them- 

 selves. 



In tbe open meetings on the W r esteru prairies they flee for 

 safety and frequently distance the dogs aud are safe. Even 

 when they are killed, it is so sudden that cruelty can scarcely 

 be mentioned in connection with coursiug, and in inclosed 

 park coursing, the dogs can even be muzzled and in this way 

 Xirevent their doing the rabbit any injury whatever. Unfor- 

 tunately for courting, a few gentlemen in the East, commend- 

 ably eager to see the contest, substituted the fox-terrier for 

 the greyhound, and the little cotton tail for the jack rabbit, 

 and they were loosened in an inclosure, without an escape, 

 aud pursued to the death. This brought on them the 

 stormy indignation of the Society for the Prevention of 

 Cruelty to Auimals, and this kind of rabbit baiting was 

 abolished, but no just cause for interference can be found 

 in connection with the true methods of coursing with the 

 greyhound and jack rabbit, for even those having the most 

 delicate sensibilities can scarcely find one objectionable 

 feature connected with the pastime. When once seen a 

 thirst is created for more, ever after there is an unabated 

 interest, and in time coursing will have a toremost position 

 in the world of amusements, and the beautiful and affec- 

 tionate greyhound will take his position as the king and 

 aristocrat among dogs. 



DANBURY DOG SHOW.— Bridgeport, Aug. 20.— Editor 

 Forest and Stream: The Danbury Agricultural Society 

 will hold their annual bench show Oct. 8 to 12, under the 

 auspices of the Connecticut State Kennel Club. Tney will 

 give premiums of -$5 and S3 in all classes and will charge no 

 entrance fee, Premium lists will be out in a few days, en- 

 tries will close ten days before the show. The address of 

 the secretary is B, C. Lvries, lla/uburv, Co • n. - 1 )i:, .J.\s. F,. 

 XIA1K. 



