June 4, 1891.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



897 



THE BUSTARD FEATHER FOR FLIES. 



Uditor Forest and Stream: 



Will some of your readers explain through your 

 columns why tropical birds, particularly the pheasant 

 family, have such warm downlike under-plumage? I 

 have at times pulled to pieces many species of tropical 

 birds to use the feathers for tying flies, and have always 

 wondered why nature endowed these birds with plumage 

 fit for the coldest of climates, when they wei'e destined 

 to live in the tropica. About the only exception to this 

 rule that I have noticed is that of the bustard. This bird 

 has a ttdck skin composed almost entirely of fat, which 

 takes the place of down in regard to warmth. 



It has probably been a mystery to many why the 

 original designers of the different salmon flies always 

 seemed to pick out the rarest and most expensive feathers, 

 I think I have discovered the "why"' as to at least 

 one feather, and lam satisfied that there was "method 

 in their madness." The bustard feather is exceedingly 

 hard to obtain, and yet nearly every salmon fly with a 

 mixed wing calls for that feather. I have lately been 

 making some experiments with these feathers which give 

 the following result: The feather is almost absolutely 

 waterproof and very buoyant. I placed a lot of these 

 feathers under a powerful glass, and found they were 

 covered with minute globules of oil that had exuded 

 from the bird's fatty skin. It is almost impossible to 

 make the feather sink. I weighted a feather, and placed 

 it in a basin of water to soak, after two hours I detached 

 the weight and the feather immediately jjopped uj) to 

 the surface. A few shakes threw olJ all the water and 

 the feather to all appearances was dry. When tied with 

 other feathers into the wing of the salmon fly, part of 

 this oil is undoubtedly taken up by the others, thus mak- 

 ing the whole wing waterproof to a certain extent. 



The old designers certainly knew what they were about 

 when they selected the bustard feather, and they surely 

 had good reasons for choosing other rare and expensive 

 feathers. Can any one throw anymore Kght on this sub- 

 ject. Espy-Kay. 



ODD ANGLING INCIDENTS. 



AN angler who was fishing for trout one day last week 

 not far from this city, was annoyed by chubs which 

 persistently took his fly. He kept hooking cliubs and 

 throwing them olT until at last without uuhooking it he 

 cast a chub back into the water. Instantly it was taken 

 by a fish, which proved to be a brovA'-n trout weighing 

 S-jlbs. , one of a plant of three years ago. 



The London Fishing Gazette records the exploit of a 

 IMi-. Turle: "Although he had fished the neighborhood 

 of Taunton for the past forty years, this veteran angler 

 never before caught a fish in such a peculiar manner. 

 He cast the fly in his usual form, and a moderate-sized 

 trout rose to it. He struck, and as he thought, hooked it. 

 For its size it gave an unusually strong and strange pull, 

 and when landed Mr. Tuile found that the fish was not 

 hooked at all, but his gut had formed a loop with the 

 hook, which held the fish in the middle of the body, 

 Ha,ving on, of course, more than one fly, the fish had 

 evidently risen to the foremost, and in striking the end 

 hook must have become entangled with the cast of gut 

 80 as to form a noose, whicli fastened round the body of 

 the fish." 



The Angler in Nioar \gua.— The student of natural 

 history will find a rare field for exercise in the wonderful 

 flora and fauna, while to the sportsman the country is a 

 veritable paradise. In a previous letter I spoke of the 

 various kinds of game to be found in the forest on the 

 Atlantic slope. To those may be added deer, which are 

 abundant on the Pacific slope, particularly in the vicinity 

 of Rivas. But it is the angler who will find greatest cause 

 to rejoice. To say nothing of the barracouta, snapper, and 

 other fine sea fish to be had ofl: Greytown, let me confine 

 myself to the fish of the lake and" the San Juan. The 

 most highly-esteemed fish is the juapoti (pronounced 

 wah-po-ti), which somewhat resembles the black bass in 

 appearance, but is much more savory. The saballetta, a 

 silvery fish, shaped like the striped bass, is a gamy fellow, 

 who when hooked will leap out of the water and endeavor, 

 often with success, to shake the hook out of his mouth. 

 He is, however, rather bony and not highly thought of as 

 a food fish. But the great game fish of the fresh water is 

 the savalo-real, or tarpon, which fairly swarms in the 

 river and lake. Wherever there is a shoal place in the 

 river they are to be seen breaking in hundreds, and at the 

 Toro Rap"ids, above Castillo, they are so numerous that 

 they frequently jump into the boats ascending or de- 

 scending. When ex-United States Minister Hall, who is 

 the agent of the canal company at Managua, was descend- 

 ing the river to meet Senator Miller, five large tarpon 

 jumped into the little steamer which carried him down 

 the Toro Rapids. Lake Nicaragua is, so far as I know, 

 the only body of fresh water in the world that can boast 

 of the shark. It is full of genuine man-eaters, similar in 

 appearance to those of the ocean, and quite as savage. It 

 is said that at least 25 persons annually fall victims in the 

 lake to these monsters. Of course they also travel up and 

 down the river. A large alligator or 'crocodile— T should 

 say the latter from the shape of his snout — also inhabits 

 the river. At the Toro Rapids we saw a huge one swim- 

 ming. Hisheadalone was about oft. long. These "gaters" 

 have a queer way of fishing. They select a shoal place in 

 the rapids and lie head to the current, with mouths wide 

 open. They have been a good deal shot at since work 

 was begun on the canal, and consequently are now ex- 

 tremely shy of man. The natives, however, do not seem 

 to have ever dreaded them half as much as the sharks. — 

 W. E. S. in The Sun. 



De. Willett KlDD, the Game and Fish Protector for 

 the Second District of New York, has brought suit in the 

 Supreme Court of Orange county against John Q. A. 

 Ward, the weU-knovvn sculptor of this city, and against 

 Josiah Wentworth for having caught trout in Ulster 

 county in April. We know nothing of the circumstances 

 of these cases, but their moral probably i^ that when fish 

 laws are as badly confused as they are in this State even 

 well-meaning fishermen may find themselves entangled 

 in the meshes. 



An 11 LB. Brown Trout.— Caledonia, N. Y., June 2.— 

 Editor Forest and Stream: There was a orown trout 

 Salnio fario) taken in our stream yesterday by Mr. F. P. 

 Brownell that weighed lllbs. This I think is the largest 



of this variety ever taken in this country. The very first 

 plant was made 8 yeai's ago this spring, and consisted of 

 a very few of the fry which were hatched from eggs sent 

 by Mr. Blackford or Fred Mather to the New York State 

 hatchery at Caledonia. I saw the fish this morning and 

 it was as pei-fect a specimen as I ever saw.— J. Annin, Jr. 



FFSHING IN EXCELSIS. 



IN (his truly superb volume, ["'With Fly-Rod and Camera"] a 

 model of choicest typographical beauty, perfect as to "toucn," 

 and (luality of paper, solidity and excellence of biudiuK, the fly- 

 flsher will at once recognize the hand of a consummate master of 

 his craft. It is not iu tliis or that. here or there, but in a com- 

 pleteness, not less massive than finished, that it is to he seen. 

 "Thorough" from first page to last is everywhere writ large, and 

 as modestly as delightfully. We shall not commit the hluiider of 

 exaggerated praise if we say that Mr. Samuels's worlriis worthy to 

 take classic rank, and should be styled "America's Walton," for, 

 like the gentle Izaak, Mr. Samuels, without attempting or labor- 

 ing a style, achieves one; there is the simplicity, strength, and di- 

 rectness of the old master, and not a little of his fanciful turns of 

 thought. Men totally indiffcrcTit to angling turn to Walton's 

 pages as to an unfailing calraati' c for workaday worries, for the 

 simple reason that the tranquil lieart of sunny content beats 

 therein, and for the same reas m "Fly-Rod and Oamera" will give 

 similar unbounded delight. There is a vast deal more than coa- 

 cei iis fly-fishingiu this fascinating volume: nootlier word conveys 

 its unique charm. There is a world of lore con- erning the fish 

 themselves, lore only to be found in Nature's library, and written 

 in characters requiring a lifetime to decipher, and difficult to im- 

 part when deciphered. What, for instance, more difficult to 

 describe than the color of a fish, one thing when seen through the 

 refracting medium of water, itself reflecting i he color of the .'^ky, 

 and another when the fish is takf-n out of that element, but such 

 things as these are trifles Mr. Samuels surmounts with the ease 

 that comes of profound knowledge of his sut>jrct, and praci ice that 

 has embraced every detail of the sport he describes. The form in 

 which the book is judiciously cast Inrgely contributf s to this min- 

 ute elucidat ion. It is the narrad ve ol' t be doings of a fishing party of 

 four, on and in Canadian waters, thrown into dialogue form. The 

 interlocutory treatment is so deftly searching that not a point is 

 overlooked; and so naturally is each man's metier brought into 

 play, that we seem to be on the spot questioning for oursfR-es and 

 listening to the experiences of these wort-wise specialists, eiich 

 onesupreme in his way. These discussior.s, diversio-is, and gossips 

 by the camp-fire— the camp sometimes pitched at the forest edge, 

 sometimes by river or lake— the sport, the glowing descriptions! of 

 scenery, the solitude that is not loneliness, the inexpressible out o' 

 door delights of that country, almost persuade us that civilization 

 must be criminal, and fly-fishiiig ordained bv providence aa the 

 natural occupation of man. * * * With this extract we 

 must close our notice of this remarkably flue aud unique work, a 

 work in which ihere is noihiug weab, Flnrrcd, or defective, 

 whethei;_ in literary exeeuiioQ or exposKion of the flv-nsber's 

 craft. We have refrained irom making comment on the statistical 

 and scientific sect ions— lislimg figures, v eighr, size, ntid Tuunber of 

 fi-h taken, etc.— al til migh tbf templat i-in to do si-' lias iicen almo^it 

 irresistible. The ciilliculty nf dee tling wliat to presi'ut ivltere the 

 information is so varied, luinute, \^-ine am) wise has lai'gely oper- 

 atPd as a limitant in selecting. The lover of "the gentle art" 

 will find in the book an inexhausiihle fund of enjoyment, and no 

 fisherman bent on an expedition lo tlie glorious rivers and lakes 

 Mr. Samuels so eloquently and graphicsUv (b scriln's wUl bp in 

 possession of a complete outfit unless supplied with a, coov of 

 "Fly-Rod and Camera." He will find in it e ver-i tbintx uecessary 

 for his guidance, from dressing a fly to building a bark tent, or in 

 seeking comfortable quarters. Somewhere near 150 btaut fully 

 executed illustraiions adorn and enrich this sumptuuis volume, 

 and many of them are good enough to rank as "perfect pictures," 

 —Land and Water. 



THE AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY. 



THE twentieth annual meetins: of the American Fisheries 

 Society was held at Washington, D. C, iu the lecture 

 room of the U. S. National Museum. The Society was called 

 to order at 2 P.M., Wednesday, May 27, by the president, 

 Mr. E. G. Blackford. The attendance was "not so large as 

 had been expected, but quite a number of interesting papers 

 were presented and the meeting was altogether successful. 

 The papers as announced were as follows: "Transplanting 

 Pish," by .J. .J. Stranahan; "Breeding Habits of the Yellow 

 Perch," Fred Mather; "The Rearing of Salmonidce in 

 Troughs and Tanks," C. 6. Atkins; "Fish Protection and 

 the Fisheries Society," A. N. Cheney: "Transportation of 

 Living Fishes." Wm, P. Seal; "The Fisheries at the World's 

 Fair," G. Brown Goode and J. W. Collins; "The Fish and 

 Fisheries of Florida," H, H. Gary; "On the Teeth of Pishes 

 as a Guide to their Food Habits," J. A, Henshall; "The 

 Rearing of Yearling Trout," Frank N. Clark, and "Keit- 

 nerly's Salmon," by T. H. Bean. 



U. S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, Col. Marshall 

 McDonald, being unwell, his address of welcome \yas read 

 from manuscript. Members present at the opeuiut? session 

 w-ere: President E. G. Blackford, Secretary E. P. Doyle 

 Treasurer Henry C. Ford. Dr. J. A. Henshall, Dr. H. H. 

 Gary, Fred Mather, A. N. Cheny. Frank N. Clark. W. L. 

 Powell, L. D. Huntingdon, F. J, Amsden, Dr. J. C Parker 

 William A. Butler, Jr., W, L, May, G. Brown Goode, r' 

 Rathbtm, Capt. J. W. Collins, Wm, P. Seal, J. ,T. O'Connor, 

 B. B. Porter and S. H. Kauff inann. 



The following new members were elected at this meeting: 

 Bashford Dean, T. D. Huntingdon, Peter W, Lynch, Fran'k 

 J. Amsden, Chas. H. Babcock and Wm. S. Kimball, all of 

 New York; H, H. Sherwin and Wm. R. Htintinston, of 

 Ohio; B. B. Porter, of California, and Hugh M. Smith and 

 Wm. Brown, of the U. S. Pish Commission. 



Messrs. W. L. May, A. N. Cheney and R. Bathbun were 

 appointed a committee to nominate officers for the cominK 

 year. The following gentlemen were nominated aud unan- 

 imously elected by the Society: President, James A. Hen- 

 shall, Cincinnati: Vice-President, J. C. Parker, Grand 

 Rapids; Treasurer, Henry C. Ford, Philadelphia; Recording 

 Secretary, Edward P. Doyle, New York; Corresponding Sec- 

 retary, Tarleton H. Bean, Washington. D. C. Executive 

 Committee, S, H. Kauffmann, Washington, D. C. (chair- 

 man), and W. A. Butler, Detroit; L. D. Huntington, New 

 York; H. H. Gary, Atlanta, Ga.; William Hudson, Hart- 

 ford; B. B. Porter, San Francisco, and W, L. May, Fremont, 

 Neb. 



An important measure acted upon was the passage of a 

 resolution urging upon Congress the imnortance of enacting 

 such laws as will protect ana propagate the fish of the Great 

 Lakes, and asking Congress to take such speedy action a.s 

 possible to secure uniformity in the laws o^' the United 

 States and Canada, regulating the fisheries in the Great 

 Lakes. Allied to this is the matter cf enforcing salutary 

 laws after they are parsed, and the Society asks that after 

 such uniformity shall have been secured Congress will ap- 

 propriate an amount amply sufficient to enforce the laws 

 and give the necessary protection. The resolution also asks 

 for the passage of meastrres looking to the propagation of 

 food fish in these waters. 



The committee appointed to consider the fea.sibility of en- 

 larging the membership of the Society and widening the 

 .scope oC its work, reported favorably upon the sugsesrion of 

 United Slates Fish Commissioner McDonald, "Hereafter, 

 then, all members of angliijg clubs and tisb and game soci- 

 eties in sympathy with the American Fisheries Society v/ill 

 be admitted into membership, and it is thought that this 

 will increase the usefulness of the organization aud awaken 

 an interest in the study of fishculture and fish protection. 



Two interesting papers were read, one by Mr. Fred iNIather 

 upon the "Breeding Habits of the Perch." and the other on 

 the "Transportation of Living Fish." The latter paper, by 

 Mr. Steal, created a great deal of discussion, and the mem- 



bers were evidently divided in their views as to whether it 

 was best to carry young fish in open vessels or in those her- 

 metically sealed. One gentleman created much amusement 

 by stating that he had always been successful in carrying 

 his small fish and bait in a .iug with an ordinary stopper. 

 He meant to convey the idea that it did not injure the fish 

 to shut out the air, but the reference to the jug and "bait" 

 drowned the force of the argument in the laughter that fol- 

 lowed. 



Another discussion arose over the attempt to find a solu- 

 tion for the disappearance of brook trout from certain 

 sti-eams. Some were inclined to believe the trouble was 

 owing to the temperatui-e of the water, but the majority 

 were disposed to believe it was due entirely to the absence 

 in the streams of the proper kind of food. Mr. Frank N. 

 Clark spoke strongly in favor of the planting of yearlings, 

 claiming that a thousand yearlings are worth more than a 

 million fry. 



Mr. S, H. Kauffmann, of the local committee on entertain- 

 ment, extended a very cordial invitation in behalf of the 

 Woodmont Rod and Gun Club, of Washington, to the mem- 

 ber! of the Fisheries Society to attend a banquet given in 

 their honor at Harvey's, on Wednesday evening, the 37th. 

 This invitation was gratefully accepted and proved a very 

 successful affair. The large public dining room at Harvey's 

 was set apart for the exclusive use of the guests and was 

 beautifully decorated with plants and flowers. The menu 

 was one to suit the occasion and read as follows: 



Little Neck Clams. 

 Deep Sea Cultm-e Oysters. 

 Soup. 



Clear Green Turtle, Clam Broth, Clam Chowder. 

 Pish. 



Sheepshead k la Cubelain. 

 Potatoes Hollandaise, Cucumber Salad. 

 Entrees. 

 Sof t-shoU Crabs au naturel. 

 Tomatoes en Mayonnaise. 

 Saddle of Frogs en Fricassee. 

 Asparagus Tips. 

 Roman Puncn. 

 Salads. 

 Lobster, Buds of Lettuce. 

 Cheese. 



Roquefort, De Brie, Bent's Crackers. 

 Coffee, Cigars. 



At the conclusion of this most excellent repast speeches 

 were called for and were responded to by Judge Wilson, Dr. 

 J, A, Henshall, President E. G. Blackford, Mr. Fred Mather 

 aud others. A number of short impromptu speeches were 

 made and a most enjoyable evening was spent. 



The following mernber.s of the" Woodmont Club were 

 present at the banquet: R. B. Donaldson, J. Maury Dove, 

 W. S. Harban, R. O. Holtzman, S, H, Kauffmann, J. W. 

 McCartney, F, B. McGnire, Wm. C. Mclntire, W, H. 

 McKnew, Albert Ordway, J. W. Pilling, B. K. Plain, P. G, 

 Russell, W, Kelsey Schbepf, F.. .1. Stellwageu, B. H. Warner, 

 James P. Willet, Jere M. Y'ilson and Levi Woodbmy. 



At the last session, held on Thursday, Dr. Gary moved that 

 the AVoodmont Rod and Gun Club be made an honorary 

 member of the Society and heartily thanked for its kindness 

 and hospitality. This was unanimously agreed to. New 

 York city was agreed upon as the next place of meeting, and 

 the time fixed is the last Wednesday in May, 1893. Messrs. 

 Blackford, Mather and Doyle were appointed a committee 

 to arrange for the entertainment of the members in New 

 York. The Society was then adjourned and the members 

 conveyed to the U. S. Fish Commission carp ponds, where 

 Dr. Hessel explained the methods of his work, and then to 

 the IT. S. Fish Commission headquarters to inspect the 

 aquaria and fishcultural apparatus. 



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. 



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

 Youiigstown, O. 



Sept. 9 to 11.— First Annual Dog Show of the Hamilton Kennel 

 Club, at Hamilton, Ont. 



Sept. l-l to 18.— Toronto Industrial Exhibition Association Third 

 Internanonal Dog Show, at Toronto. C. A, Stone, Sec'y and Sunt. 



Sept, to 3n.— Inaugural Dog Show of the Montreal "Exposition 

 Companv, at Montreal, Canada. 



Sept. L'9 to Oct. 1.— Third Annual Dog Show, in connection with 

 the Central Canada Pair, at Ottawa, Ont. Alfred Geddes, Supt. 

 189^'. 



Jan. 13 to 14.— Second Annual Dog Show of the South Carolina 

 Kennel Association, at Columbia, S. C F. F. Capers, Secretary 

 Greenville, S. C. 



FIELD TRIALS. 

 Nov. 3.— Inaugural Trials of the United States Field Trial Club, 

 t Bicknell, Ind. P. T. Madison. Secret;iry. 



Nov. 16.— Eastern Field Trials Club's Thirteenth Annual Trials, 

 at High Point, N. C. Members' Stake Nov. 13. W. A. Coster, 

 Serretary. 



Nov. 30.— Central lleld Trial Club's Third Annual Trials, at 

 Lnxington, N. O. C. EL Odell, Sec'y, U and i6 Wall street, New 

 York city. 



Dec. 14.— Philadelphia Kennel Club's Field Trials. Charles E. 

 Connell, Secretary^ 



GREYHOUNDS AT CHICAGO. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



By your comtesy I will write a few lines about the criti- 

 cism of greyhounds at the Chicago show (Forest and 

 Streaji, April 16). 



Healthy criticism tends to improvement. Erroneous 

 statements, uncorrected, lead to confusion, mix the begin- 

 ner, retard progress, and even make enemies of men who, 

 but for such expressed opinions, might be on good terms. 



My esteemed friend Lacy knows that I do not take up my 

 pen for the purpose of unnecessarily finding fault with his 

 work, very much of which redotmds to his "credit and to the 

 paper's. I write to keep things straight, prevent the spread- 

 ing of wrong ideas aud attendant bad restdts. At the same 

 time I realize the delicacy of my position. However, just as 

 all feelings of friendship, or the reverse, must not be con- 

 sidered or be permitted to influence a man's judgments or 

 criticisms so must his opinions and comments on a question 

 of this sort be uninflnenced by his friendship and regard for 

 the author of the work criticised. It is the report that we 

 must consider, not Mr, Lacy, and as it is his aim, just as it 

 is mine, to improve dogs and leave the owners to take care 

 of themselves, I feel cpnte sure he is not going to feel 

 offended at what I am about to write. 



Here in America if you criticise a man's dog, in nine cases 

 out of ten you are supposed to be criticising the owner, his 

 wife or a distant relative, but as Mr. Lacy does not look at 

 things that way, I guess I am on safe ground. Why, Mr. 

 Editor, only the other d.ay I got a note from a man, sajnng: 

 "You go for Tracy hammer and tongs in your New York re- 

 port. I didn't know you and he were not on speaking 

 terms." Now, as a matter of fact, and although I am but 

 slightly acquainted with Mr. Tracy, I hold him iu high 

 esteem and oelieve him incapable of intentionally doing 

 wrong by anybody c-" anything. I went for the awards 

 "hammer and tongs" simply because I believed them to be 

 wrong. But what has that got to do with any opinion I 



