Jan. 1, 1891.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



479 



ANGLING NOTES. 



ONE of the weekly sporting papers, referring to an 

 article published in Forest and Stream last week, 

 asks for information regarding the American imitations 

 of trout flies, particularly as to the originals of the Gen- 

 eral-Hooker and royal-coachman. Unfortunately the 

 writer is ignorant of the big latin names by which scien- 

 tific gentlemen designate the various flies and bugs used 

 by anglers, but has seen the flies many a time along the 

 brooks and in the fields and woods. 



Miss Sarah McBride, daughter of the late famous fly- 

 dresser, wrote an article on this subject some years ago 

 for this paper. She had made a scientific study of the 

 matter; this article was widely copied, and it can now be 

 found on page (308 of "Hallock's Sportsmen's Gazetteer." 



One early spring day some twenty years ago the writer 

 of these notes happened to be fly-fishing on a little pond 

 in the western part of Ontario county, N. Y. My com- 

 panion, A. L. Williams, a famous sportsman and exc 1- 

 - lent fly -fisherman, had given up casting in disgust and 

 taken to his pipe for consolation, for though the trout 

 were rising in a provoking manner, we could not coax 

 them to look at our tiies._ We had tried the usual assort- 

 ment of hackles and wing flies in vain and it certainly 

 looked as if we were goiug to be badly left. I had about 

 come to the same conclusion as my friend, when 1 hap- 

 pened to capture a little fly that was fluttering past me, 

 and to which they seemed to be rising. It bad light 

 brown wings, a greenish body and no tail. Looking over 

 the leaves of my fly-book I found an old General-Hooker 

 of McBride's make, which was almost an exact copy of 

 the fly I had caught. 



As soon as I commenced casting with it the fish began 

 to take, and in less than an hour I had fourteen fine fish 

 in my creel. I lost it on the fifteenth, and as it was the 

 only one and they would not take anything else, we had 

 to give it up. So much for the General-Hooker. 



The royal-coehman resembles a moth with white wings 

 and black and red body, often seen about the fields late 

 iuthe season. This fly also resembles the clay or soldier-fly. 



It is to be regretted that some of the manufacturers of 

 trout flies will change the old patterns. If they wish to 

 stick a tail on to the coachman or in any way alter the 

 accepted standard flies, they ought to give them some 

 other names. None of the flies that imitate the moth, 

 for instance, should have tails, and the wings should be 

 dressed rather flat. The gnats and the cowdung also lack 

 tails, and to tie them with them is absurd. 



Scarlet-Ibis. 



The Quannapowitt Angling Club, at its last annual 

 dinner, chose a committee consisting of Messrs. J. P. 

 Hartshorn, A. H. Bindeu and John McQuinn, to cooper- 

 ate with the fish committee of Wakefield, Mass., in their 

 appeal to the Legislature for authority to regulate Ashing 

 in Crystal Lake. The lease of the lake expires next spring. 

 The season for bass fishing opeus by law July 1 of each 

 year, when a grand onslaught will surely be made on the 

 fish, it being generally understood throughout the State 

 that the lake is well stocked and the fish abundant. Dur- 

 ing the past summer camping parties from other towns 

 were quietly ensconsed on the island, having been told 

 that the lease was off. It is not hoped nor desired to pro- 

 hibit fishing by the public at large, but simply to restrict 

 it to two or possibly three days in the week, and to pro- 

 hibit fishing on Sundays. The bearing of the whole mat- 

 ter on the continued purity of our domestic, water supply 

 was the chief subject of debate, and it is one which ought 

 to interest all the people. — B. 



RESULTS OF FISHCULTURE. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



It is probable that to those of the readers of Forest and 

 Stream who are not particularly interested in fishculture. 

 aud are therefore not acquainted with the facts, the state- 

 ments of Mr. Milton Pence, which have recently 'been made 

 concerning the present aspects of trout culture will appear 

 to be quite frank and plausible. Therefore, in view of the 

 attitude he holds toward present methods of fishculture in 

 general a little further dissection of them, as evidence of 

 his competency as a critic, may be advisable. And first, 

 what does he offer to sustain his statements? Simmered 

 down it might he formulated into the following declaration, 

 viz.: "I, Milton P. Peirce, an eminent authority on fish- 

 culture on my own showing, say that is so, and therefore it 

 is so." Mr. Peirce's egotism is apparently unconscious, to 

 do him justice. The gist of the controversy between Mr. 

 Peirce and myself is well set forth in the following from the 

 American A nqler of Oct. 4: 



"A MAD FiSHCCLTURlST— We print the annexed com- 

 munication in full at the request of Mr. Peirce, whose main 

 trouble seems to be restlessness under opposite opinions to 

 his own. His dictatorial style is offensive, and discussion 

 of any subject with him appears to lead to personalities 

 that are always avoided and condemned when gentlemen 

 exchange views on public questions, Our editorial, 'A Mad 

 Fishculturist,' published some weeks ago, was suggested 

 solely by the humorous element contained in two public as- 

 sertions by Mr. Peirce, that Byers (an old veteran) was a 

 callow youth and that he (Peirce) 'knew it all.' We had no 

 special design to belittle Mr. Peirce's abilities or ridicule 

 his pretensions, and cheerfully accede to his somewhat 

 modest request that we should allow him to blackguard us 

 in our own columns. — Ed." 



I very respectfully decliue to accept controversy upon Mr. 

 Peirce's terms. Trout culture is not being abandoned, but 

 is keeping step with other branches of fishculture and needs 

 no very urgent defense. Mr. Peirce states that trout culture 

 has been discontinued in France. Now the papers by C 

 Raveret-Wattel, F. Muntadas and Frank H. Mason, Consul 

 at Marseilles, in the Bulletin of the IT. S. Fish Commission 

 for 1887, are direct evidence to the contrary. Mr. Peirce's 

 observation appears to be of the period when very young fry 

 were deposited as food for the cottoids which inhabit trout 

 brooks, instead of the past four or -five years during which 

 the output has been yearlings, which are not ouiv able at 

 once to defend themselves against their enemies but also to 

 devour the smaller of them, aud Which policy is producing 

 such marked results in this country and in Europe. 



Mr. Peirce is willing to admit that if his methods are fol- 

 lowed there is still some hope for fishculture. (This appears 

 to be the main trouble with him.) In trout culture it con- 

 sists iu increasing the meander-Lugs of the streams. Even if 

 there were anything in this, those who are at all familiar 

 with trout streams are aware that they will insist upon lay- 

 ing out their own courses. 



There is a vague hint of some experiment in shad culture 

 by "Peirce's methods" now being made. This is certainly 



interesting news aud the result will be awaited with great 

 expectations. But let us take up the shad and whitefish 

 culture as tests of Mr. Peirce's fairness and reliability as an 

 observer, since these are commercial fisheries, the statistics 

 of which arc regularly and accurately collected, and cannot 

 he controverted by vague and unsupported assertions. Any 

 reasonable person would be convinced by their growing 

 abundance and cheapness that there is a constant increase 

 in the numbers of shad. In spite of the fact, that by reason 

 of the wonderful improvements in methods of refrigeration 

 by means of which they not ouly can be shipped to any dis- 

 tance, but are kept in fresh conditiou for any length of time, 

 and also not withstanding the rapidly-increasing population, 

 tine roe-shad were sold in the cities of the Atlantic coast 

 States during the spring of 1800 for twenty-five cents each. 

 Further, so great was the glut that for the first time in 

 twenty-five years the salting of shad was begun on a com- 

 mercial basis on Chesapeake Bay. Still further, as many as 

 one hundred barrels of shad have been caught at sea recently 

 at one haul of a purse net by mackerel fishermen. These 

 evidences would be explained by Mr, Peirce by the assertion 

 of "a year of plenty." To this I will refer further on. 



Mr. Peirce's qualified admission as to the value of artifi- 

 cial stocking as shown by the population of Pacific waters 

 with shad may be supplemented by some statistics of 

 interest. The shad catch of California in 1888 was 151,8711bs., 

 or about 45,000 fish. In many places where the largest runs 

 occurred, notably in Mon terey Bay, there, is no special appa- 

 ratus used for shad and more are taken by accident than 

 otherwise. The catch, therefore, while large for a new 

 fishery, probably gives no real idea of the abundauce^f the 

 species. During 1S87 as many as one or twq tons #rshad 

 were shipped from Santa Cruz, Cal., in one day. They are 

 found as far north as British Columbia aud' Alaska, and 

 certainly furnish, to a reasonable mind, sufficient evidence 

 as to the beneficial results of artificial stocking. If the one 

 or two hundred thousand delicate little fry carried iu cans 

 from the Atlantic coast to California, and deposited in 

 wafers to which they were until then unknown, would live 

 and multiply at such a rate, what must be the result of 

 work so much more extensive and constant. 



Now to return to the Atlantic coast. If Mr. Peirce were to 

 ask shad fishermen at Gloucester, N. J., Alexandria, Va., 

 or on the Susquehanna above Havre de Grace, whether the 

 shad fishing is improving or declining, he would probably 

 be told with a mournful shake of the head that shad fishing 

 is "played out." It is very evident that it is from such 

 sources that Mr. Peirce draws his inspiration. What art; 

 the facts in the case as shown by the carefully collected 

 statistics of the Fisheries Division' of the U. S. Fish Com- 

 mission? Why, that at present the shad catch of the Atlan- 

 tic coast is increasing at the rate of about one million per 

 annum, that since 1884 this increase has finally resulted in 

 an addition of $1,200,000 a year to the food supply of the 

 country (at the moderate estimate of twenty cents each) in 

 this one species. And to show that this is not mere vogue, 

 guesss work or speculation let us take what statistics are 

 available for the purpose. The first statistics which were 

 taken after the commencement of the artificial propagation of 

 shad, which were those of the census of 1880, which showed 

 the catch of that year to have been 4,140,9(18. It was not 

 uatil 1885 that a systematic collection of statistics of the 

 Atlantic coast fisheries was begun. Iu that year, although 

 at that time as compared with the present the output of fry 

 was but meager, the catch had increased! to 5,173,931, an in- 

 crease of 1,032.983, representing an increase of value of 

 §206,593 over 1880. In 1886 the catch was 5,584,368, an increase 

 in number of 1,443,400 and in money value of 8288,680 over 

 1880. In 1887 the catch was 6,715,405, an increase in number 

 of 2,574,437, and of money value $514,887 over 1880. In 1SS0 

 the catch was 7,680,474, an increase in number of 3,519,506, 

 and of money value $703,901 over 1880, The statistics for 

 1889 and 1890 are not yet complete, but a coservative estimate 

 places them in the neighborhood of 9,000,000 and 10,000,000 

 respectively. The money value is based on a rate of five 

 shad to the dollar. It will be seen by the above statistics 

 that in the four years of 18S5-SS the aggregate money value 

 of the increased production was $1,714,061, and the average 

 annual increase in value $428,515. Now itis well known that 

 it was due to the rapid decline of the shad fisheries and the 

 threatened extinction of that fish, more than to any other 

 cause, that the U. S. Fish Commission came into existence, 

 and to the work of that great organization, supplemented 

 to a small extent by some of the States, alone can be traced 

 this gradual and regular increase in the shad fisheries. 

 How, then, are we to account for the impressions which pre- 

 vail in some localities that the river shad fisheries are on the 

 decline and which are undoubtedly the basis of Mr, Peirce's 

 erroneous conclusions. Here comes in the value of statis- 

 tics over the conjectures of disappointed fishermen and the 

 local "Veritas" or "Pro bono publico," The explanation 

 of it all will be found in the development of the pound-net 

 or gill-net fisheries of the Atlantic coast. Let us take Chesa- 

 peake Bay for example. The number of pound-nets in these 

 waters in 1887 was 973; in 1888 it was 1,414. The statistics 

 for 1889 and 1890 are not yet available, but it is estimated 

 that there are now at least 2,000 of them. By reason of these 

 great pound-nets, some of them stretching two and three 

 miles out from the shore, the bulk of the shad catch is now 

 taken in salt water and finds its way to market to a great 

 extent through new channels. As four men operate as 

 many as ten pound-nets, there is great economy in this 

 method of fishing. The gill-nets also requiriug but little 

 capital, have greatly increased in number, and so the fish 

 which find their way into the rivers are apparently less abund- 

 ant because the catch is divided among a greater number of 

 fishermen. 



coast. "Does any one suppose that one in fifteen of the plant; 

 of young shad made in the waters of the Delaware last sea- 

 son will ever be seen again by mortal eye?" asks Mr. Peirce 

 in the late Journal Qf Corp Culture and- Rural Hydraulics. 

 Well, judging by the results on the Pacific, some of them 

 do live in spite of the wails and lamentations of the 

 "prophets." And would the survival of seven out of one 

 hundred of these fry be an unreasonable expectation? 



And now, concerning the "years of scarcity and abund- 

 dance" which prevailed generally before the statistics were 

 regularly and systematically collected, aud which are still 

 used as an argument by those who view the question from 

 a purely local standpoint, or are not well iu formed. Re- 

 garding seasons of plenty and scarcity of shad it has become 

 recognized as a law of the species that years of plenty in 

 certain rivers are superinduced by a high temperature of 

 the water in the early season. Thus while the ruu of shad 

 in southern rivers and coastal waters south of Virginia may 

 be exceptionally large, the passage of these migratory 

 hordes into the Chesapeake and Delaware basins, as well as 

 into the Hudson and Connecticut, is controlled entirely try 

 the temperature of those waters, while as often is the case, 

 the waters of the Chesapeake may be of suitable tempera- 

 ture, a reverse condition may exist in the Delaware, in 

 which case the run in the Chesapeake and tributary streams 

 is usually greater than in the Delaware. Reverse the order 

 and like results are obtained. The movement of these mi- 

 gratory species in spring along the coast from the time of 

 their appearance in Florida rivers is wholly a matter of con 

 ditiou of environment. If the waters are not suitable the 

 migration continues until proper conditions present them- 

 selves. A perusal of the reports of the Canadian fishery 

 officials for the years in which the shad were least abund- 

 ant in our waters shows that they were the most prosperous 

 years in these regions. 



Regarding the abundance of whitefish, it is acknowledged 

 by all the leading dealers and fishermen of the largest ship- 

 ping center on the lakes (Sandusky) that artificial propaga- 

 tion is the only means of maintaining a supply of that 

 species. Again, the facts adduced from the shad hypotheses 

 are applicable to the whitefish. There are seasons of bounte- 

 ousness in the United States, while the opposite extreme 

 applies to Canada; yet an evenly distributed supply is more 

 generally the rule. With this fish partial returns for 1888 

 indicate a marked increase in the abundance in localities 

 where artificial propagation has been systematically carried 

 on on a large scale. This is especially noticeable iu the 

 fisheries of the western end of Lake Erie.' In the region em- 

 braced between Toledo and Vermillion, aud including those 

 towns, together with Port Clinton, Sandusky, Bass Islands 

 and Huron, the increase in the quantity of fish in 1888 as 

 compared with 1885 amounts to about 12,000,0001 bs,, having 

 a market value of over $300,000. The catch in 1888 in the 

 region named was nearly as large as that of the entire lake 

 in 1885. Now let us see how the increase of fishing appli- 

 ances would be likely to affect the individual catches of the 

 fishermen and create the impression among them that the 

 fishery is declining. It is hardly likely that declining 

 fisheries would offer i uducements for a rapid increase of fish 

 ing appliances. In Lake Erie there were in 1880. 758 pound 

 nets; in 1885. 928. Of gill nets there were in 1880, 5,775; iu 

 1885, 22,664. Of haul seines there were in 1880, 18; in 1885, 71. 

 Persons employed in 1880, 1,620; in 1885, 4.298. Steam vessels 

 in 1880, 9; iu 1885, 53. Other vessels and boats in 1880, 593; 



' Total of pri mary products of the fisheries in 



The proportion of fish taken in the bays and lower por- 

 tions of rivers is becoming greater each year, and thus the 

 great and expensive shore seines in fresh water are becoming 

 less and less profitable. As a matter of fact, however, there 

 is a constant increase in the number of shad caught in the 

 rivers, as the statistics show. During the season of 1890, 

 which was regarded by the fishermen of the Potomac River 

 as a poor one, 100,000 more shad were caught in that stream 

 than in 1889, as shown by the statistics of Health Officer 

 Addicks, of Washington, D. C. 



It is well known that certain of the salt fish industries of 

 New England are declining, simply because, by reason of 

 improved refrigeration, more fish are finding their way to 

 the markets of the country in a fresh condition, and this, to 

 some, has the appearance of a decline iu the fisheries them- 

 selves. During 188S, '89 and '90 the output of shad fry was 

 many millions greater than during the entire previous his- 

 tory of the work, and this great output will probably be 

 heard from 1891 to '94, showing, it can be safely predicted, a 

 still greater ratio of increase. 



Mr. Peirce complains of the meagre shad catches of the 

 New England waters. This can be traced to the meagreness 

 of the output in those waters. The total output of 1886 was 

 34,659,000. Of these but 5,500,000 were deposited in the Hud- 

 son and New England waters. In 1887 the output was 10S,- 

 425,000, and 5,250,000 of these were placed in the Hudson and 

 New England waters. In addition 6,644,000 eggs were sent 

 to Cold Spring Harbor for hatching and depositln the Hud- 

 son and its tributaries. Here we can trace out cause and 

 effect very clearly. Perhaps in this connection the follow- 

 ing concerning the shad fishery of Florida will prove inter- 

 esting: Compared with 1880, the catch in Florida in 1889 

 was 1,000 per cent, greater, while the number of fishermen 

 employed was only 200 per cent, greater. 



The output of shad fry by the U. S. Fish Commission is 

 now nearly 150,000,000 per annum. The survival of 7 per 

 cent, of these would equal the shad catch of the Atlantic 



1880, $29,087,000; in 1SS5, 857,556,517. This shows the increase 

 for five years, and the succeeding five years, when the statis- 

 tics are completed, will show still greater increase. If Mr. 

 Peirce is wrong in these matters of shad and whitefish cul- 

 ture, where is he likely to be right? 



My purpose in taking the trouble to produce these statis- 

 tics is not with an expectation of convincing Mr. Peirce of 

 the fallacy of his position, I am well aware that that is 

 impossible. But they will enable the readers of Forest 

 and Stream to form an intelligent opinion on the subject, 

 as they represent not only the carefully collected statistics 

 of a great government bureau, but also reflect the opinions 

 of the great fishculturists of the country, not one of whom 

 will be found to agree with Mr. Peirce. His charge is that 

 they are all self-interested, and in fact no better'than rob- 

 bers. I leave that element of the discussion to vour readers. 

 I will stop only to correct one of Mr. Peirce's misstatements. 

 He attempts to make it appear that the publisher of the 

 "Journal of Carp Culture, and Rural Hydraulics" was in 

 some way attacked by me. This is not so. That gentleman 

 has my sympathy. The case still remains the same, Milton 

 P. Peirce vs. the world of fishculture. If he was right Prof. 

 Bau-d was wrong, and all the living lights of modern fish- 

 culture are frauds or victims of delusion. And further, if. 

 he is right the sooner we know it the better. The country 

 is going to destruction rapidly enough now, according to 

 the "prophets." 



Mr. Peirce has some special personal grievances against 

 me 



First, he thinks I am not a fishculturist— as he is. I 

 hasten to say that I am not, and never pretended to be. 



Second, because some months ago I said that I had recently 

 had an application to lease certain premises for a trout 

 hatchery, he has since persistently advertised me as the 

 malevolent owner of a trout stream with which I wanted to 

 victimize some poor deluded fishculturist, who had not con- 

 sulted Mr. Peirce. I am not so fortunate. The fact is, I 

 own a little tract of land on which there is a group of 

 springs, such as are used in this neighborhood for hatching 

 and rearing trout. The State Hatchery has a similar group 

 and its enterprise is a wonderful success. I know of five 

 such plants near this city. 1 spoke of the application simply 

 to show that another enterprising citizen wanted to embark 

 in the business. The land was alreadv leased and used for 

 another purpose. 



Third, I said early in this controversy that trout planting 

 had greatly improved the fishing in many streams of this 

 State, I think using the number "a hundred." Ever since 

 Mr. Peirce has been in mortal distress because I would not 

 give him the names of those hundred streams. I desire now 

 to amend by saying "hundreds." I think the Platte alone 

 has a hundred tributaries above where it leaves the 

 mountains, aud all its waters, accessible to trout, have been 

 improved by planting, in the main stream and its larger 

 branches, trout fry from the State hatchery. But only a few 

 of these streams have been named as yet, and hence it is im- 

 possible to satisfy the consuming curiosity of Mr. Peirce 

 upon that score. Besides the Platte, plantings have been 

 made in a dozen other great river systems, or water sheds 

 viz.: The Arkansas, Rio Grande, Las Animas, San Juan 

 Gunnison, Blue River, Eagle River, the Boulders, St Vrain 

 Big and Little Thompson, Cache-a-la-Poudre, North Platte' 

 and others. I may as well amend again and change 

 hundreds" to "thousands." And, bear in mind, the Eastern 

 brook trout is not a creature of accident— vide Mr. Peirce's 

 theory of "years of plenty and years of scarcity"— in this 

 region. It is an exotic, introduced here but a few years ago 

 through the State hatchery— the best investment the State 

 ever made. 



In order that Mr. Peirce may not stumble over any more 

 imaginary obstacles on my account I wish to repeat that ! 

 am not a fishculturist; that I have no trout brook to lease, 

 and am not a competitor in his line of business; that I never 

 caught a fish for the purpose of selling it; that I never sold 

 a fish first or second hand; that I know what I see, believe 

 many things I hear and a goodly portion of that which I 

 read. I know that trout hatching and trout planting iu the 

 waters of Colorado have been a marvelous success; I am 

 convinced that fishculture in other lines in many parts of 



