Forest and Stream. 



A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun, 



Tebms, £4 A Ybab. 10 Cia. A Copy, t 

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NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 5, 1891. 



J VOL. XXXVI.— No. 3. 



I No. 318 Bboadway, New Yobk-. 



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COJNTENTS. 



Editorial. 



Fishcullure in Alaska. 



The New York Game Bill. 



No Kxclnsive Bights. 

 Sportsman Tourist. 



In tne Region Hound Nicato- 

 wis.— IV. 



Througb the Olympics on an 

 Elk Trail.— II. 

 NATURAL History. 



A Pair of Pet Lions. 



An Unseasonable Rail. 



Florida Bird Notes. 



GAME BAG AND GUN. 



A Trip to the Caugilon Moun- 

 tains. 



The New York Game Law. 



Chicago and the West. 



The Persistence of Pests. 



Game Note«. 

 Camp-Firb Flickerings. 

 ■ Sea and River Wishing. 



Black Bass in Deep Water. 



Yermont Fish and Game. 



Spawning of Rainbow Trout. 



Chicago and the West, 

 r Ftshculturb. * 



Sawdust m Trout Streams. 



FlSHCULTURE. 



Fish Uesrroyers in Minnesota. 

 The Kennel. 

 Conker Spaniels of 1890, 

 Maryland Kennel Club Show. 

 The Elmira Show. 

 Dog Uhat. 



Na'ional Greyhound Club 



Show. 

 Kennel Notes. 

 Kenntl Management. 

 Rifle and Trap Shooting. 

 Range and Gallery. 

 The Trap. 



London (Ont.) Tournament. 



Watson's Park. 

 Yachting. 



That Markboat Question. 



A New 46- Footer. 



Knots and Miles. 

 Canoeing. 



Canoeing Not a Dangerous 

 Sport. 



Pfquot Canoe Association. 

 War Canoe Racing. 

 The Bat, General Purpose 

 Canoe. 



Answers to Correspondents. 



FI8H0ULTUBE IN ALASKA. 



THE report recently issued by the Fish Commission 

 on the Salmon Rivers of Alaska, brings into promi- 

 nence the question of preserving the fisheries on these 

 rivers by Government control. This matter is one that 

 can he taken hold of without difficulty at present, and 

 the seizing and holding these streams and permanent con- 

 trol and regulation of the fisheries will interfere with the 

 rights of no one, and need cost nothing. 



The science of fishculture is a modern one, and it is 

 only within a few years that we have learned much 

 about it. One of the chief difficulties encountered in 

 carrying on the work of stocking and preserving streams 

 has been the existence of vested rights, which have made 

 it in many places practically impossible to do work 

 which should be effective and lasting. 



In Alaska no such difficulty exists as yet. There the 

 streams visited by the salmon for spawning run through 

 territory which belongs to the Grovernment. There are 

 practically no settlements, and a law which pronounced 

 the fishing rights in these streams to be the property of 

 the Government would injure no one. Such a law ought 

 to be enacted. It should provide for the leasing for a 

 term of years at public auction, the right to capture fish 

 in these streams, such fishing to be carried on under the 

 eyes of an inspector of the Government, who should see 

 that it was so conducted that fish should be allowed to 

 ascend the rivers in numbers sufficient to keep up the rate 

 of increase. 



The money received from such leases should be turned 

 over to the United States Fish Commission , and by it apj)lied 

 to fishoultural work in Alaska; that is, to the establish- 

 ment of salmon and trout hatcheries on important streams 

 in that Territory. If carefully worked out in detail and 

 properly managed, a plan such as this would insure the 

 permanency of the salmon fisheries of Alaska, and- would 

 pay all its own expenses and provide a 6onstaritly increas- 

 ing revenue for carrying on for all time the work of fish- 



culture in Alaska, and on the northwest coast of the United 

 States. 



As at present conducted, the salmon fisheries of Alaska 

 are often managed in a most wasteful fashion. Tbere is 

 one case for example— in Karluk Bay— where the salmon 

 assemble in vast numbers before ascending the Karluk 

 and numerous rivers of Alaska peninsula and the Cook's 

 Inlet region. Here they are caught so continuously and 

 greedily that comparatively few are left to ascend the 

 streams, and the fishing in these rivers is already seriously 

 affected and will ultimately be ruined. When this has 

 been accomplished, such streams will have to be re- 

 stocked and at a very considerable expense. 



The chief salmon rivers of Cook's Inlet are the Kenai, 

 Kassilov, Ninilchic and Sushitna. The excessive fishing 

 at Karluk, it is thought, afl;ects the supply and the repro- 

 duction of the salmon in these and numerous otlier 

 streams in the route of migration. In 1889 and 1890, 

 fully one-half of the entire pack of Alaska salmon was 

 obtained at Karluk. The effect of continuing such ex- 

 haustive fishing will in all probability be the practical 

 extermination of the fish, at least so far as profitable 

 operation is concerned. 



If any action is to be taken by Congress on the lines 

 here suggested, it should be done with as little delay as 

 possible. The time between this and the assembling of 

 the Fifty-second Congress could be profitably employed 

 in draughting a bill which should cover the points already 

 referred to, and any others which might be suggested by 

 Col. McDonald, and those most familiar with Alaska and 

 its fisheries, and such a bill should be introduced and 

 passed at the earliest moment possible. 



In the event of long delay on the part of the Govern- 

 ment, not only will the expensive process of restoration 

 become necessary, but, in all probability, the natives of 

 Alaska, whose main food resource is being ruthlessly 

 squandered by the present injurious methods of fishing, 

 will have to be fed by the Government or will starve. 

 We cannot lay too much stress on the need of prompt 

 action in this matter, a need which must be evident to 

 any one who will acquaint himself with the magnitude 

 of the salmon industry and its future possibilities. 



We have heard a great deal of late about the import- 

 ance of preserving the Alaska seal fisheries, and the value 

 of this industry has not been over-estimated, yet it can- 

 not be doubted that the salmon fisheries of that Territory 

 are worth more ia money to this country than are its 

 seal fisheries. 



NO EXCLUSIVE BIGHT. 

 WJ E have always contended that if a right of way 



' ' should be granted to one railroad to ran 

 through the National Park, it would be impossible to 

 refuse the same right to others. There would be a wild 

 rush for franchises on the part of a number of corpora- 

 tions; the reservation would be gridironed with tracks; 

 along each track would be a little line of settlements, 

 forests would be burned along each line, and the game 

 frightened away and often destroyed. The view that we 

 have taken is confirmed by a petition forwarded recently 

 by the citizens of Gallatin county, Montana, to Messrs, 

 Power, Sanders and Carter, their representatives in 

 Congress. These petitioners ask among other things that 

 Congress "grant a general right to all railroads through 

 the National Park to the New World Mining District [the 

 Cooke City mines] with such restrictions as may seem 

 proper, and urge that no exclusive franchise be granted 

 to the Montana Mineral Railway Company, so called, or 

 any other company, for the reason that such franchise 

 would in our opinion retard development and become a 

 great burden to the miners who, because of their isolated 

 situation, in order to prosper must have the fullest benefit 

 of cheap transportation, which we believe will be soon 

 realized, if the way is not barred by further legislation, 

 and a liberal general right of way bill is granted through 

 the Park by Congress." 



This is one very good argument against the monopoly 

 endeavored to be created by the amendment tacked on to 

 the Senate bill by the Public Lands Committee. No such 

 exclusive franchise should be granted by Congress to 

 any corporation. 

 But no railroads should be allowed in the Park, We 



repeat what we have so many times said before, that 

 there is a good prospect of a railway being built up 



Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone River to Cooke City; but 

 if such a r©a.d shall not be built, and if it be insisted that 

 the most available route to the New World Mining Dis- 



trict is up the Yellowstone from Gardiner or Cinnabar, 

 then let the northeast corner of the Park be cut off from 

 the National reservation, and let all railways that wish 

 to build to Cooke have the privilege to do so over this 

 portion of the public domain. 



THE NEW YOBK GAME BILL. 



I^HE committee on codification and revision of the 

 New York game and fish laws x>resented the draft 

 of the bill proposed by them to the Legislature last 

 Thursday. We print the full text. The bill will be exam- 

 ined with an interest by no means confined to New York. 

 Other States have laws which are complex, obscure and 

 contradictory; and now that New York has set the ex- 

 ample others may well follow and provide simpler and 

 consequently more effective laws. 



As a whole the work has been well done. The pro- 

 posed measure, it is true, is of great length, but the sev- 

 eral sections are clear, concise and consistent. Specific 

 changes with respect to open seasons are shown by this 

 comparison of the old law and the one proposed : 



Present. Proposed. 



Deer Aug. 15-Nov. 1. Aug. 15-Nov. 1. 



Hounding Sept. 1-Oct. 20. Sept. 1-Oct. 11. 



WUdf owl Sept. 1-May 1. Sept. 15-March 1. 



Quail Nov. 1-Jan. 1. Nov. 1-7 an. 1. 



Hare Nov. 1-Feb. 1. Sep^ 15-Jan. 1. 



Woodcock Sept. 1-Jan. 1. Sept. 15-Jan. 1. 



Squirrel Aug. 1-Feb. 1. Sept. IS-Jan. 1. 



Ruffed grouse Sept 1-Jau. 1. Sept. 15-Jan. 1. 



irook trout April 1-Sept. 1, May 1-Sept. 1. 



Salmon trout April 1-Oct. 1. May 1-Oct. 1. 



Landlocked salmon April 1-Oct. 1, Mayl-Oot. 1. 



Black bass. . May 80-Jan.l. June 15-Jan. 1. 



Muscalonge May 30-Jan. 1. May 20-Jan. 1. 



Salmon March 1-Aug. 15. March 1-Aug. 15. 



The deer season remains the same; but the hounding 

 season is nine days shorter; jacking is forbidden; and 

 does are protected. Spring shooting of wildfowl is pro- 

 hibited, the season closing March 1 instead of May 1. 

 The. season for hares (rabbits), squirrels, ruffed grouse and 

 woodcock are made uniform ; and the quail season remains 

 the same. 



The most important change in the seasons for fishing is 

 that which restores the date of May 1 for the opening of 

 the brook trout season throughout the State, except on 

 Long Island, a change for which, as we have frequently 

 said, there is not good reason, so far as the waters of the 

 State south of the Adirondacks are concerned. Other 

 noticeable changes are those which make the lawful trout 

 size 7in. and the black bass weight three-quarters of a 

 pound. 



The committee has at one fell swoop exterminated the 

 famous race of "galli mules," and restored the gallinule 

 to protection. The use of the name "partridge" for ruffed 

 grouse, however, is a sad blunder, which we are surprised 

 to see. 



It is to be presumed that the Commission had some 

 reason for the proposed change in the Fish Commission, 

 the number now five being reduced to three; but it is a 

 serious question if three men could do the work so well 

 as five. The business of the Commission is growing 

 more burdensome. The members of the board are asked 

 to perform this public service without remuneration ; and 

 the work is at present so divided among the five Com- 

 missioners that each one has his special branch of it to 

 attend to in person. The affairs of the Commission are 

 in this way well administered and we fail to see how the 

 interests of New York fishculture are to be advanced by 

 making the duties of each individual member more on- 

 erous. 



A f urther consideration of some of the details of the 

 proposed measure must be reserved for a later issue. 



We thought we had the best thing out in the tarpon 

 fishing of Florida, but the sailors of Her Britannic 

 Majesty's warships are getting v«ry creditable sport off 

 the coast of Madagascar, a fish being taken there 

 lately whose dimensions were: Length, 6ft. 2in.; girth, 

 4ft. 4in,; weight, SGOlbs. The fish is described as a 

 species of rock-cod, and was hooked by the tindal of one 

 of the ship's boats, who finding he had a big fish on got 

 into a punt, and allowed himself to be towed down the 

 harbor. After half an hour's sport some officers went to 

 his assistance, and an hour later succeeded in getting a 

 line through the monster's gills and towing it back to the 

 ship. 



