Disc. 4, 1890.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



899 



D 



bears witness to the beneficial results of artificial propaga- 

 tion of this delicious fish, and indicates a future plentiful 

 supply that will cheapen its price to all. 



*Nov must we forget the wonderful increase in the catch 

 of whitefish in Lake Erie, where, as late as the year 1885, 

 the supply was so nearly exhausted that the fishermen most 

 largely engaged hesitated to embark in an enterprise that 

 promised but scant and profitless returns. This result is 

 directly traceable to the great, plants of fry in that lake by 

 the hatcheries of Pennsylvania and those of the neighboring 

 States bordering on the lake. 



"The yield of whitefish in Lake Erie during the past sea- 

 son has been greater than the yield of any season for the 

 past twenty years, and larger than the combined catch of 

 all the other great lakes, and brought to our city of Erie 

 alone a return of over three hundred thousand dollars. 



"So well convinced are the fishermen of that city of the 

 benefits accruing to them from the work of the Commission 

 that they give the Commission their tugs free of expense to 

 plant the youug fry in the portioas of the lake best adapted 

 to their maturing. When practical benefits like these are 

 the outcome of the Commission's work, it is not surprising 

 that the citizens of the Commonwealth are quick to appre- 

 ciate the importance of the Commission's efforts and show 

 an avidity to avail themselves of its aid that would hardly 

 have been deemed possible a few years since." 



The Pennsylvania Commissioners believe that fish protec- 

 tion should supplement fish propagation. Illegal devices 

 for capturing fish have been destroyed by them in great 

 numbers. The Delaware River was rid of baskets and weirs 

 from the New York State line to tidewater. This was not 

 accomplished without difficulty and danger. Mr. Moses W, 

 Van Gordon, the warden of the Delaware from Port Jervis 

 to the Water Gap, was fired upon while in the discharge of 

 his duties, but the offender was promptly arrested, his weirs 

 destroyed and intended violators of the law deterred from 

 accomplishing their object. From the Water Gap to Tren- 

 ton Mr. John J. Bruce, of Easton, has patrolled the river 

 and kept it free from unlawful apparatus. From the nature 

 of the Susquehanna its fish baskets have been more difficult 

 to handle than those of the Delaware, but Commissioners 

 Stillwell, Powell and Demuth have destroyed hundreds of 

 them, and the fish weir will probably soon be unknown in 

 that river. Six additional fish ways of the Rogers pattern 

 have been constructed in the dam at Columbia, by which 

 means sbad have free access to the river as far as Clark's 

 Ferry dam, above the mouth of the Juniata. 



Species which have been planted by the Commission in- 

 clude black bass, rock bass, wall-eyed pike, brook trout and 

 carp. Tn the Susquehanna the work of the Commission is 

 greatly interfered with by the existence of illegal devices in 

 Maryland waters, in the lower fourteen miles of its course. 

 Attempts have been made to secure the cooperative action 

 of the Maryland Commission against these destructive 

 appliances, but so far without avail, 



The Commissioners ask for larger appropriations, and for 

 a car for the transportation of fish and eggs. 



The following is a brief statement of the chief fisheultural 

 work accomplished by the Commission: The Erie whitefish 

 statiou planted 14.600,000 fry in Lake Erie. Of brook trout 

 1,268,000 were distributed, of rainbow trout 491,500, of lake; 

 trout 385,500, besides 5,500 yearlings. Through the help of 

 the U. S. Fish Commission '17,186,000 shad fry were planted 

 in the Susquehanna, Delaware and Juniata rivers. 



TROPICAL FISH AS A FOOD SUPPLY, 



URING the past month many of our city newspapers 

 have noticed a subject that carries with it considerable 

 interest, inasmuch as it refers to the possibility of an in- 

 crease, from a new source, of the fish food supply of the 

 future, which of itself demands greater consideration and 

 publicity than a passing notice in the news columns of our 

 contemporaries. 



For the last century, perhaps longer, what are known to 

 the trade as fish stuffs— that is, fish preserved by salt for 

 food in a dry and wet state— have been cured in the colder 

 climates and shipped in large quantities to. those within 

 the equatorial zones, thus providing the principal animal 

 food of the inhabitants of some countries situated within 

 the tropical belt. This trade has been carried on, year by 

 year, to the value of millions of dollars, and consequently a 

 few of the fish of the northe.ru hemisphere are to be found, 

 in a more or less preserved state, in the markets of every 

 tropical country of the world. - 



This trade, which up to the present time seemed destined 

 to preserve its monopoly, has been maintained not because 

 the waters of the importing countries lacked in the quantity 

 and quality of their fish, but by reason of the difficulty 

 —hitherto thought insurmountable in warm climates— of 

 curing fish for commercial purposes. We are not aware 

 that any careful and extended trial has ever been made, 

 outside the section we shall x^resently refer to, to prove the 

 practicability of preserving fish for food in low latitudes; 

 and it would seem that the impossibility of curing has 

 always been accepted eommuni consensu. 



"Coming events cast their shadows before them," and the 

 aphorism speaks truly. There are. in this city samples of 

 fish, late denizens of the Caribbean Sea, caught and cured 

 eleven months ago that are, to-day, as sound as at the time 

 of capture. That they are thoroughly preserved and in a 

 position to contend, a's wholesome and nutritious food, for 

 commercial honors with those of colder regions there can be 

 no denying, and in the fish food supply of the world's future 

 we are prepared to see a very considerable stir at no distant 

 day. The pioneer in this great enterprise is a gentleman 

 who has resided in the island of Jamaica for the last twenty 

 years, during the last half of which he has spared neither 

 time, energy, nor money in bringing to a successful issue the 

 question of fish curing there. Being, to use the words of the 

 leading local newspaper, "a practical naturalist of great 

 ability, and with no lack of common sense or sound knowl- 

 edge of the subject," he undertook the self-imposed task to 

 ameliorate the incongruities of the fish food supply of the 

 island. This, he felt convinced, could only be done after the 

 enigma, the thorough curing of the local fish, had been 

 solved, and that he has carried his object in this respect 

 there can be no doubt. 



The island of Jamaica presents an anomaly in its fish food 

 supply not altogether singular to that country. With a 

 population of 620,000 the yearly consumption of each person 

 aggregates 37%lbs. of fish, of which 35>^lb8. are imported at 

 a cost, to the consumers, of $1,695,000 or thereabouts. This 

 abnormal and phenomenal import is not caused by a prefer- 

 ence for imported over native fish, nor by any paucity of fish 

 life in the surrounding waters, but by the non-existence of 

 local fisheries and an apathetic indifference to the vast 

 marine wealth living to waste in the encircling sea. In ad- 

 dition to the reality that Jamaicans are peculiarily a fish- 

 consuming people it is positively asserted that the individ- 

 ual yearly consumption would 'run into extended figures 

 were the native fish placed within the reach of the people; 

 and these facts, coupled with the no longer uncertainty as 

 to the possibility of curing on the spot, go to prove that a 

 great and remunerative industry is open to capital in that 

 section. Accepting not only as possible, but as an accom- 

 plished fact, the curing of tropical fish, it needs no argument 

 to show the great and valuable industry that is rising on 

 the horizon. 



The Legislature of the island of Jamaica, alive "to the 

 great importance of feeding the people with food procured 

 locally in place of spending annually large sums in its pur- 

 chase abroad, and the island chemist being of opinion that 

 Mr. Earle's process of fish curing is free from any ingredi- 

 ent injurious to-health," has strengthened that- gentleman's 



efforts to form a fishery and fish-curing station by granting 

 him. a subsidy of $2,000 yearly for five years; an example 

 that will soon, we fancy, be followed by many other tropical 

 countries. 



Mr. Earle, who is now in this city, brought with him a rem- 

 nant of cured fish, eleven months old, and these, together 

 with his plans for the working of a fishery and fish-curing 

 business in that section, he has submitted to State Fish 

 Commissioner Blackford; and Mr. Blackford has stated that 

 he was "quite unprepared to witness such results from the 

 tropical curing of fish," and furthermore that "Mr. Earle 

 has a great enterprise in hand that will lead to great results;" 

 an opinion that must carry confidence and conviction coming 

 as it does from one of so great a commercial and practical ex- 

 perience. 



The utilization of the life to be found in the waters of the 

 tropic zones, as food and manufactured commercial products, 

 must lead to valuable and interesting results, and it is 

 within reason to assert that the future benefits can hardly 

 at the present time be estimated, or adequately realized. 

 Putting on one side the increase in the supply of a nutri- 

 tious and universal food there are other considerations that 

 commend themselves to the support and hearty cooperation 

 of capitalists, scientists, sportsmen and labor. Science will 

 have added to her wonderful storehouse numerous new and 

 interesting forms, facts and habits of marine life; capi- 

 tal will realize a rich harvest; the lover of sport find new 

 waters over which to roam; while labor will engage tens of 

 thousands of her votaries in a healthful and invigorating 

 employment that will seldom be subject to tempestuous 

 blasts and stormy seas, and never to the freezing tempera- 

 tures of the northern fisheries. 



Mr. Earle, with the enthusiasm of an angler and keen 

 energy of a naturalist, has accumulated during his lengthy 

 sojourn in the West Indies, a large store of valuable 

 knowledge bearing on the fish, fishing, and marine life in 

 the Caribbean Sea section, all of which he has brought to 

 bear upon his projected enterprise; and seeing that he has 

 cleared the path, by his successful method of curing, the 

 barrier that blocked the way at the commencement of his 

 labors, the road over which he has now to travel appears 

 straight and easy. 



Denied the support of the people of Jamaica he has paid 

 us a visit to find men with capital capable of grasping his 

 ideas and supporting his efforts in bringing into existence 

 an enterprise that will benefit mankind, and at the same 

 time return a remunerative and handsome profit. A total 

 stranger, unknown personally to or by any one here, he has 

 approached his object in a way that must secure confidence, 

 and proves his appreciation of the difficulties under which 

 he had had to labor, by at once engaging the attention of a 

 thoroughly practical man, and in the person of Mr. Black- 

 ford he has round not only a commercial and extended ex- 

 perience of high value, but sympathy and cooperation in 

 his enterprise which he offers to the energy and capital of 

 the American people. 



The facts surrounding Mr. Earle's project, supported by 

 his knowledge and experience, must bring about returns of 

 a decided character from all parts of the tropical world, and 

 in the effort he is making here it is not difficult to predict 

 the result. 



RESTORING THE WHITEFISH. 



FISHERMEN have been having good success in catching 

 whitefish on what is known as the north reef, which 

 extends from Thunder Bay Island to Middle Island. Many 

 years ago that was one of the best fall fishing grounds on 

 the lakes. Thousands of barrels of whitefish were caught 

 there. It was a favorite spawning ground for whitefish. To 

 catch a barrel of fish to a gill-net in one night was not con- 

 sidered very extraordinary fishing. The destructive plan of 

 fishing that was then pursued nearly exterminated the fish. 

 The fish were caught at spawning time and thus the greater 

 part of their spawn was destroyed. Then came many years 

 of very poor fishing, and fishermen met with small reward 

 for their labor. The Fish Commission then began planting 

 whitefish. For several years many millions of young white- 

 fish have been planted in the waters adjoining Alpena. The 

 work of the Fish Commission is now bearing fruit, and white- 

 fish are again becoming numerous in the Alpena waters. 

 The improvement in fishing was very noticeable last year, 

 and the present season fishermen have caught large amounts 

 of the fish. One tug recently brought in'4,0001bs. of white- 

 fish. 



The hatchery officials at Alpena have also had less difficulty 

 in obtaining a stock of eggs. In former years they had to de- 

 pend to a great extent on the Lake Michigan fisheries for 

 whitefish spawn. This year they have gathered and have now 

 in the Alpena hatchery over 200 jars of whitefish eggs, 

 most of which were gathered in Alpena waters, or along the 

 shore between Ausable and Alpena. It is probable that the 

 hatchery will be able to obtain its full supply of 300 jars from 

 the fisheries adjacent and those gathered in Lake Michigan 

 will be sent to Northville for hatching. These facts speak 

 very highly for the success that the Fish Commission has 

 had in restocking Lake Huron with whitefish. 



About 2,000,000 trout eggs have been sent to the Northville 

 hatchery from Alpena, about half of which were obtained in 

 Lake Michigan. — Detroit Free Press, Nov. 20. 



CALIFORNIA SALMON PROPAGATION. — The egg 

 taking season at the Clackamas station of the United States 

 Fish Commission has just closed and the number of eggs 

 secured is 5,859,800. With a view of interfering as little as 

 possible with the supply of salmon in the upper part of the 

 river the Commissioner of Fisheries deferred putting in the 

 rack to prevent the ascent of the spawning fish as late as 

 possible. The rack was not put in place this vear until in 

 July. Last year it was put down on April 12, and the station 

 obtained 2,766,000 fry, besides 1,000,000 eggs. In 1888, when 

 there was an unusually large run of salmon in the river, the 

 rack was put down in March, yet the yield of fry from eggs 

 taken that year was only 4,500.000. In all probability, there- 

 fore, this season's work will be fully equal to that of 1888, 

 and the inhabitants along the upper portion of the stream 

 have had the benefit of an open river for several months 

 longer than formerly. This plan was adpoted by the Com- 

 missioner notwithstanding prophecies of many persons that 

 eggs could not be secured in sufficient number if the penning 

 of the salmon did not begin soon after their first appearance 

 in the river. The result justifies the course taken and at 

 the same time assures the hearty approbation of those who 

 depend on the salmon for food or profit. 



CALIFORNIA SALMON FOR MEXICO. — In October, 

 1890, fifty thousand eggs of the California salmon were sent 

 from the Baird Station of the TJ. S. Fish Commission in 

 Calif ornia to Mr. E. Chazari, Superintendent of Fishculture 

 of Mexico. Mr. Chazari is greatly encouraged with Ms 

 success in rearing rainbow trout and is desirous of adding 

 the California salmon to the list of Mexican fishes if it can 

 be accomplished. 



Forest and Stream, Box 3,883, N. Y. city, has desarlptive Illus- 

 trated circulars of W. B. LefflngwelTs book, "Wild Fowl Shoot- 

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

 nounced by "Nanifc." "G-loan," "Dick Swlveller," "Sybillene" and 

 other competent authorities to be the best treatise on the subject 



Names and Portraits of Birds, by Gurdon Trumbull. A 

 book particularly interesting to gunners, for by its use they can 

 Identify without question all the American game birds which 

 they may kill. Cloth, 330 pages, price $3.50. For sale by Forest 



All communications must reach us by Tuesday 

 of the week they are to be published; and should 

 be sent as much earlier as may be convenient. 



FIXTURES. 



DOG SHOWS. 



Dec. 80 to Jan. 3, 1891— First, Dog Show of the Buckeye Poultry 

 and Pet Stock Association, at Canton, O. James Sterling, Sec'y, 

 39 North Market street. 



1891. . 



Jan. 6 to 9.— Delaware and Susquehanna Poultry and Pet Stock 

 Association, at Binghamton. N. Y. 



Jan. 18 to 17.— Third Annual Dog Show of the South Carolina 

 Poultry and Pet Stock Association, at Charleston, S. C. Benj. 

 Mclnness, Jr., Secretary. 



Jan. 20 to 25.— First Annual Dog Show of the Louisiana. Poultry 

 and Pet Stock Association, at New Orleans, La. A. E. Shaw, Sec- 

 retary, Box 1658. 



Jan. 20 to 25— Dog Show of the Georgia Poultry and Pet Stock 

 Association, at Augusta, Ga. A. H. Vonderleith, Secretary. 



Jan. 21 to 26— Dog Show of the Efmira Poultry and Pet Stock 

 Association, at Elrnira, N. Y. Carl Hart, Secretary. 



Jan. 27 to 30.— Inaugural Dog Show of the South Carolina Ken- 

 nel Association, at Greenville, S. C. F. F. Capers. Secretary. 



Feb. 24 to 27.-Fifteeuth Annual Dos: Show of the Westminster 

 Kennel Club, at New York. James Mortimer, Superintendent. 



March 3 to 6. — Second Annual Dog Show of the Maryland Kennel 

 Club, at Baltimore. Md. W. Stewart Diffenderffer, Secretary. 



March 10 to 13. — First Annual Dog Shmv of the Duouesne Kennel 

 Club, at Pittsburg, Pa. W. E. Littell, Secretary. 



March 16 to 19.— Inaugural Dog Show of the Washington City 

 Kennel Club, at Washington, D. C. 



March 24 to 37.— Second Annual Dog- Show of the Massachusetts 

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



March 31 to April 3.— Seventh Annual Dog Show of the New 

 England Kennel Club, at Boston, Mass. E. H. Moore. S> cretary. 



April 8 to 11.— Third Annual Dog Show of the Mascoutan Ken- 

 nel Club, at Chicago, 111. Johu L. Lincoln. Jr., Secretary. 



April 14 to 17.— Fourth Dog Show of the Cleveland Kennel Club, 

 at Cleveland, O. C. M. Mnnhall, Secretary. 



Sept. 1 to 4.— Dog Show of the Youngstown Kennel Club, at 

 Youngstown, O. 



FIELD TRIALS. 



Jan. 19.— Eighth Annual Field Trials of the Pacific Kennel Club, 

 at Bakersfield, Cal. H. H. Briggs, Secretary. 



Feb. 2.— Third Annual Field Trials ot the Southern Field Trials 

 Club. T. M. Brunby, Secretary. Marietta. Ga. 



DOGS OF THE DAY. 



THE Collie Club medals which have just been distributed 

 are particularly handsome. In fact they are far ahead 

 of anything I have yet seen, and completely throw into the 

 shade any club medial I have seen. The medal is about 2}£in. 

 diameter, and one side is embellished with thistle leaves, a 

 shepherd's crook and the words "Collie Club of America, 

 awarded to," the letters C being rams' horns. This side, is 

 oxidized silver, while the reverse is polished and bears the 

 inscription of what it was for and where won. 



I won two of these medals with champion Clipper, and I 

 might as well record the sale of this dog to Mr. Geo. H. Sher- 

 man of -Poughkeepsie. Clipper's home is now at Meadow 

 Brook Farm, Verbank, N. Y., and letters regarding him can 

 be sent either to Mr. Sherman or to Mr. Eugene Ham. Ver- 

 bank. Clipper is one of the nicest and cleverest dogs I ever 

 owned, and it was with a feeline of regret I had to part with 

 him. He has been in the hands of a good many persons 

 during his show career, Ben Lewis, W. Silvey, Frank Smith 

 and Fred Kirby all having at one time or another had 

 the care of him, and I seldom hear men speak of a dog 

 as they always do of Clipper. He never forgot a man or a 

 place, and is in every sense of the word a gentleman's dog. 

 In writing to me of bis whereabouts Mr. Sherman said after 

 he had had him two or three days, "Clipper and I have be- 

 come very well acquainted, and I regretted very much to 

 have him go to the country, but it is the best place." It was 

 so with every one. Mr. Hinckley writes: I never felt so 

 sorry about a dog going as Clipper," and that is just my 

 case. I know he is in good hands and will be well cared for, 

 otherwise nothing would have tempted me to let him go'. 

 Clipper is one of the few sons of Mr. KrehPs Eclipse and out 

 of that wonderful brood bitch Nesta. With his limited 

 opportunities at the stud he yet made an excellent record, 

 siring something fit to show and win out of almost every 

 litter. This sale practically put me out of collies, for there 

 are only a few brood bitches and puppies left at Mr. Hinck- 

 ley's in which I have an interest. 



1 was glad to see Mr. Mason's letter regarding the attack 

 on Mr. Krehl. My opinion regarding my best friend abroad 

 is too well known, and being such a partisan of his, known 

 to be such, I may say I rather felt that an espousal of his 

 cause at my hands would not have the same effect than one 

 from an independent pen. I thank Mr. Mason very much 

 for what he has done. I once heard Mr. Winslow say of a 

 friend "He is one of the best men God ever allowed to live." 

 That just fits George Krehl, and to think that one who 

 knows bim and knows his reputation in England should 

 have made such an attack on him is most discreditable to 

 the man who penned this statement. 



Mr. J. P. Willey advises me that he has a nice litter of 

 black and tan cockers, bred from the dog whose death I 

 spoke of a few weeks ago and which broke up the project of 

 a team of black and tans for New York next February. The 

 whole litter is colored with tan. 



And now for another fact to add to several I have given 

 regarding the difference in effect of a voyage to England 

 from one to America on bitches. Dr. Foote doesn't quite 

 agree with me, but this seems to be something of a clincher. 

 The Swiss Mountain Kennels, of Germantown, recently im- 

 ported two St. Bernard bitches, both of which were'bred 

 about the middle of August. One was Donna Silva, from 

 Mr. A. J. Goslin's kennel, and she was bred to his Scout on 

 Aug. 20. She failed to have a litter and last week she was 

 bred to champion Hesper. That is an interval of but three 

 months between the breeding dates. The other bitch Dart 

 was bred to Lord Bute before coming over and she also had 

 no puppies. I believe it is thought that she is coming in, 

 but it is too early yet to speak with any confidence. 



As the service to Dart was paid for, with the stipulation 

 of the right to one to another bitch in case of no result with 

 Dart, the Eoglish agent of the Swiss Mountain Kennels has 

 purchased the brood bitch Veda for that purpose. I look 

 for something good from this union from the fact that that 

 astute judge Mr. S. W. Smith purchased a puppy out of 

 each of Veda's last two litters, both by Lord Bute. ' I would 

 not have thought so much of his buying two of one litter, 

 but to buy one and then be so well satisfied with that as to 

 come back for another from the next litter speaks volumes 

 for Veda as a brood bitch. She weighs loSlhs,, and it may 

 well be understood that her body is"massive and her bone 

 great. Out of her last litter there is one bitch which at 

 four months weighed over 701bs. J, W. 



GREENVILLE SHOW.— South Carolina Kennel Asso- 

 ciation.— Greenville, S. C, Nov. 24— H. A. Bridge of Colum- 

 bus, Ohio, will superintend the show and John Davidson 

 will judge all classes. Our premium lists will be ready for 

 mailing about Dec. 1. For all information address the 

 undersigned.— F. F. Capers, Sec'y-Treas, 



