8 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[July 7, 1893. 



and occasionally a whole skin, from which the identity 

 of its former possessor may be secured. Tw^o nearly com- 

 plete skins have been taken, and I have found sections of 

 three skins. It is said that these nests are occasionally 

 found without the customary skin, but I have never found 

 them so. To what deep law this peculiar feature is sub- 

 servient would be difficult to demonstrate, but that there 

 is a reason for this as in aU other selected cases is plain to 

 the thinker, and as a peculiar relation to our subject, it 

 may be an excuse to my readers for this digression.* 



In tropical countries serpents are known to shed their 

 skins at least twice a year, and I have heard that some 

 exfoliate four times. In the United States the further 

 south we go the earlier we find the period , and in Florida 

 I found some species shedding in March; at a time when 

 Michigan snakes had not left their winter retreats. North 

 of the forty-second parallel the innocuous snakes gener- 

 ally shed in June, but some individuals get rid of their 

 old overcoat and come forth in spring style in the month 

 of May. All of the non -poisonous species change before 

 the breeding season, and I presume the massasauga does 

 also, but cannot assert positively, as I have yet to find an 

 old one accompanied by young. As near as I can ascertain, 

 our massasauga always exfoliates in July, at least during 

 the heated term. 



Kalamazoo, Mich. Dr. Mokris Gibbs. 



[to be contintjed.] 



* The ancients invested the serpent with marvelous powers both 

 «■? to wisdom and as a possessor of ability in divination, and 

 oignmed the medical profession by ascribing it 1o ^Escnlapius, 

 A bird which habitually makes u«e of a serpent^s masK. would un- 

 doubtedly have ranked high as a promotor of human weal or woe, 

 and they would have assigned it special powers and attempted an 

 explaa§,tion of the peculiar habit. 



Rat and Weasel. 



The boldness of a rat mentioned by R. J. T. in a June 

 number of the Forest and Stream suggests an ac- 

 count of the experience of T. J. Tuuma, of this city, 

 with one of these animals, which, being cornered, leaped 

 upon the arm of Mr. Thuma and sank its teeth into the 

 wrist. And what is most remarkable, it kept its hold 

 with the tenacity of a thoroughbred bulldog, and could 

 not be shaken or pulled off. An assistant was called, 

 who had to pierce the rat's brain with a knife, giving it 

 its death wound, before it would release its hold. Mr, 

 T. came very near losing his life as a result of the bite. 



The weasel often exhibits extraordinary boldness. A 

 lady of Highland, N. Y., had her attention an-ested by 

 the cry of a hen with chickens, one of which a weasel 

 was dragging into a stone wall. She thrust her hand 

 into the hole and succeeded in taking the chick from the 

 weasel. But the saucy little thing came partly out of the 

 wall as if to say, "Give me back my supper." Several 

 attempts were made to strike the weasel, but with his 

 proverbial vigilance he avoided the blows. The woman 

 then held a stone just above the hole, and when he poked 

 his bead out she quickly pushed the stone down upon his 

 leng neck and pinned him to the ground. N. D. E, 



BUNTfNGTON, W. Va. 



'm^j^ Httd 0mi 



New Editions: The Gun and its Development, $2,50. 

 Tlie Modern Shotgun, #1. For sale at this office. 



THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



No instance of Indians dealing in wildfowl eggs has 

 come to my notice. Perhaps they find sale for them in 

 some of the larger towns, and from my knowledge of his 

 character he would not hesitate to supply such a demand, 

 if it brought him money from the white man — provided 

 the proceeding was not laborious. He has no solicitude 

 for the hereafter in this world or the next — judged by any 

 civilized standard. Ii is too bad that dealing in illegiti- 

 mate game, fish, hides and furs, etc. , cannot be prevented. 

 The almighty dollar of unprincipled traders has been, 

 and, it seems, will continue to be the main incentive to 

 the destruction of wild fin, fur, flesh and feather of the 

 country. 



As long as it is profitable to evade them, our game laws, 

 in localities where game chiefly is, will be evaded. Es- 

 pecially do these facts apply to the destruction of deer 

 and elk. After fifteen years of observation on this coast 

 I am certain that more deer are killed in California and 

 Nevada for hides alone than for any other purpose. 

 Wagon loads of deer skins, representing in their colors 

 every month of the year, especially summer months, come 

 from all parts of the mountains. Any one familiar with 

 the subject can tell by a deer skin when the animal was 

 killed. Why should it not be as illegal for a trader to 

 have in his possession these as well as other stolen goods? 



If there were no sale for the hides of deer kUled in the 

 spring, at least does with fawn and sucklings would 

 escape. It is illegal to kill spotted fawn, but the traffic 

 in spotted skins is not affected by this circumstance. In 

 Nevada beaver are protected except that .Indians are 

 allowed to take them. The Indians bring in the pelts in 

 large numbers and always seem to have captured entire 

 colonies, from quarter-grown kittens up. The Indian 

 gets 10 per cent, for the furs and the trader 90 per cent. 

 The State or the government would make a good invest- 

 ment by by buying the beavers of the Indians before they 

 are taken. But I have gone ofi' at a tangent on this worn 

 subject. A good many ducks nest hereabouts (at the 

 head of Humboldt Valley), but I have learned of no traffic 

 in the eggs. EsAXJ. 



Nevada. 



Adirondack Notes. 



NOBTHWOOD, N. Y., July 4.— The prospects for good 

 sport with the gun about here are very encouraging, for 

 numerous broods of young partridges are seen about 

 the clearings and several deer are running about the 

 fields in this vicinity. One was seen less than 200yds. 

 from the post-office one day last week, while a very large 

 buck crosses the creek above Northwood several times a 

 week, 



A guide remarked to me not long ago that if the hun- 

 ters of this place were prevented from going into the 

 woods of the Adirondack League this fall a party of 

 them will go crusting on the league's land during the 

 winter. 



Mr. Wm. Lee Fowler, of Holland Patent, N. Y., has 

 three albino squirrels mounted. One is of the gray 

 squirrel family and the other two are of the red squirrel 

 family. Two of them, a "red" and a "gray," are snow 

 white; the other chickeree is of a pinkish hue. 



Raymond S. Spsars. 



"IS THIS GOOD TO EAT?" 



The picture of that blue heron is above criticism, It 

 brings to me, however, just a little twinge of conscience, 

 just such a little twinge as all should have who wantonly 

 destroy life. In confessing I may perchance "lay the 

 ghost." 



It was my first evening in the "houseboat blind" on 

 Lake Champlain, last October, at the witching hour of 

 twilight, and Elmer and myself were waiting for the last 

 shot before taking in our decoys. No pen can adequately 

 describe the beauty of those twilights on the lake, one 

 has to live them in order properly to appreciate their 

 charm. 



'Twas absolutely still, the skimming swallows had long 

 since disappeared, and even the live decoy on its little 

 platform seemed lost in contemplation. The Adirondacks, 

 silent and sphinx-like, flanked the western shore, and 

 while the shadows gathered about their sides, the summits 

 were fringed with gold, that shone like a "halo" through 

 the purple haze of sunset. It was lovely! so tranquil! so 

 restful ! Like spirits the herons were winging their way 

 toward their night camps near the march. Elmer used 

 to say "that sometimes he felt too much to speak," and 

 evidently the spell held him on this occasion, for though 

 the gun stood ready to his hand, he heeded not. 

 Suddenly a heron, unperceived till now, loomed close at 

 hand in the dusk. 



To fire at the ungainly silhouette was the work of an 

 instant with me. A spurt of flame— the souse of the 

 awkward bird in the calm water— and the foul deed was 

 done; while rolling echoes from the hills seemed to taunt 

 me a moment later. 



The after glow in the sky was still sufficient for me to 

 catch the look of disgust which overspread the counte- 

 nance of Elmer, as with extended hand he congratulated 

 me, in an ironical stage whisper, "Well b'gosh! 'tain' t 

 everyone can hit a barn a flyin'." All this I live again at 

 sight of your faithful reproduction of the heron in your 

 issue of to- day. 



One word more. Kindly caution that sweet lady who 

 holds the bird in regard to the danger of standing with 

 her gun in the position shown. Accidents will occur, 

 and "a gun is dangerous without lock, stock or barrel." 

 For instance: I shudder to think of the tragedy a frisk- 

 ing dog might possibly precipitate under the circumstances 

 as depicted in the photograph. Of covirse there are no 

 cartridges in that gun? But it is the unexpected that 

 always happens. Wilmot Townsend. 



Bay KroGE, N. J., July 1. 



UNCLE AIK'S WOODCOCK. 



Mr. Aiken Gadsby, of Washington, D. C, although 

 an expert shot, does not always kill his bird, as will ap- 

 pear from the following remarkable capture. About the 

 middle of June Uncle Aik, as we style him, was exer- 

 cising his young dog on Georgetown Heights and saw 

 him making a beautiful point about twenty or thirty 

 yards away in the brush. Approaching the dog carefully 

 he stepped into a little clearing when suddenly a flushed 

 bird came into the opening so close to Uncle Aik that he 

 made a spasmodic grab for it and caught in his hands a 

 young but vigorous woodcock. The result was a double 

 surprise— it astonished the captor as thoroughly as it did 

 the bird. Mr. Gadsby took his prize home and placed it 

 in a box covered with wire cloth. In the bottom of this 

 simple cage he bored a number of holes. In feeding the 

 bird he puts a lot of worms in a moist spot where the 

 ground is soft and sets the box on top of them. It did 

 not take the woodcock long to solve the puzzle, and it 

 was soon taking worms through the holes as naturally as 

 if it had always got them in that way. When Uncle 

 A.ik is making preparations to feed his pet the bird 

 watches him intently, with his head turned first to one 

 sid and then to the other, as if to catch on to the proceed- 

 ings from all sides. It is a question now which gets 

 more enjoyment out of the feeding, for Uncle Aik 

 watches the boring as eagerly as the woodcock studies 

 the details of preparation. The bird is contented and 

 thriving. Its owner always takes it along when prac- 

 ticing the dog and says the dog makes most beautiful 

 points on the hidden game. 



LTncle Aik was the hero of the Virginia deer hunt de- 

 sciibed in Forest and Stream Feb. 27, 1890, and brought 

 home a whole shirt as a testimony of his prowess in es- 

 caping buck fever and the jokes of his mountain com- 

 panions by killing his first deer. He is well known in 

 Washington as a remarkable fancy shot with the rifle, 

 and while the boys like to speak of him as Uncle Aik, 

 few of them care to venture a trial of skill with him. 



Washxnoton, D. C. 



Ontario Game and Fish Commission. 



As a result of the recommendations made to the Ontario 

 .Legislature by the Commissioners appointed in Novem- 

 ber, 1890, to report upon the game and fish of the Prov- 

 ince with a view of protecting, preserving and propa- 

 gating the same, a permanent Board of Game and Fish 

 Commissioners has just been established. The Commis- 

 sioners appointed are as follows: .Dr. G. A. MacOallum, 

 Danville, Chairman; W. B. Wells, Chatham; Harvey P. 

 Dwight, Toronto; John H.Willmott, Beaumaris, Muskoka; 

 W. G. Parrish, Athens, Leeds county: A. D. Stewart, 

 Hamilton, Secretary. As the above-named gentlemen 

 are all practical sportsmen and inveterate haters of the 

 poacher, pot-hunter and law breaker, some good results 

 are confidently expected. 



The four f uD-page pictures, Young Mountain Sheep, American 

 Elk, Group of Elk, and Forest and Stream's Grizzly, from tlie 

 "Fo^'esi and Stream Animal Series,'" handsomely printed on heavy 

 paper suitable for framing. The set of four (In tube) will be sent 

 for ten cents (stamps will do).— Adv, 



SALMON FEEDING IN FRESH WATER. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Probably no other living man has more earnestly, 

 thoroughly and methodically studied the salmon and 

 trout of the Pacific Coast than Dr. David Starr Jordan, i 

 President of the Leland Stanford, Junior, University. 

 Luckily for us, too. he has been able to consider the sub-' 

 ject from the standpoint of the thoroughly educated and 

 equipped ichthyologist, supported by the power of the' 

 United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries and 

 supplied with such essential if not indispensable facilities 

 for the proper consideration of the subject as only the' 

 Commission can furnish. Luckily too. Prof. Jordan 

 seems to be blessed with the happy faculty (so unusual 

 with scientific men) of putting the results of his studies, 

 observations and experience in plain English, as is 

 evidenced by "Salmon and Trout of the Pacific Coast," 

 being Bulletin No. 4 issued by the Board of Fish Com- 

 missioners of the State of California. I have just finished 

 the third reading of this Bulletin, and would respect- 

 fully suggest to my brother anglers that we might all 

 advantageously study the same until we know it by 

 heart. It is certainly the plainest, most thorough exposi- 

 tion of the subject ever published. 



But there is one thing that has not yet been made i 

 plain to me; and that is the claim, assertion or assump-j 

 tion that none of our salmon feed after entering fresh | 

 water. Dr, Jordan, on page 12 of Bulletin No. 4 says: ] 

 "When the salmon enter the river they refuse to take^ 

 bait, and their stomachs are always found empty and 

 contracted. In the river they do not feed, and when 

 they reach the spawning grounds their stomachs, pyloric 

 cceca and all, are said to be no larger than one's finger. 1 



They will sometimes take the fly, or a hook baited ,' 

 with salmon roe, in the clear waters of the upper tri-' 

 butaries, but there is no evidence known to us that they 

 feed when there." Livingston Stone (another eminent 

 authority) at page 479 of "The Fisheries and Fishery In-< 

 dustries of the United States," published in 1884, expresses-^ 

 a like opinion. He says: "After entering fresh water they ■ 

 do not feed, and they continue their ascent until the 

 season for spawning actually overtakes them." 



Again on page 480 he says: "The salmon take no food j 

 in fresh water. In the headwaters of the rivers, in ther 

 clear water, they (at least the males) will take an artificial ] 

 fly. Even at the time of first entering the rivers in 

 spring the stomach is found empty and contracted." Iti 

 is known that the salmon ascend the Columbia river atv 

 least 800 miles, and it seems that their maximum rate of :i 

 travel per day is about four miles. I quote from pagei 

 14 of the Bulletin: "On first entering a stream that 

 salmon swim about as if playing. They always head 

 toward the ciu-rent, and their apj)earance of playing' 

 may be simply due to facing the moving tide. After- il 

 ward they enter the deepest parts of the stream and t 

 swim straight up, with few interruptions. Their rate 

 of travel at Sacramento is estimated by Stone at about two 

 miles per day; on the Columbia at about three miles per' 

 day. Those that enter the Columbia in the spring and ' 

 ascend to the mountain rivers of Idaho, must go at a ! 

 more rapid rate than this, as they must make an average ! 

 of nearly four miles per day." Taking fom- miles as the i 

 maximum rate of travel per day, and 800 miles as the 

 limit of their pilgrimage, we find that the salmon has ' 

 been battling against the currents, leaping falls and put- 1 

 ting in full time for two hundred days without a mouth- 1 

 ful to eat. 



Doubtless it is true that they do not spend much time 

 feeding after entering fresh water, for they are on, to 

 them, an important mission. 



While in the ocean they have nothing to do but feed ■ 

 and grow fat and i^repare for the great, and to many of > 

 them, last journey of their lives. 



But the apparent truth of the assumption that they do ( 

 not feed at all while in fresh water is such a strain upon i 

 our credulity that we may be excused for resorting to 

 what may appear to be unreasonable methods of supply- 

 ing, the salmon with the necessary food to sustain them > 

 in their long pilg rimage. At W^illamette Falls, some- 

 thing morn than a hundred miles from the ocean, thous- 

 ands of salmon weighing from 4 to 501 bs. have been \ 

 taken with the hook. The lure is generally either spoon 

 or salmon roe, although the fly is sometimes taken, par- 

 ticularly in the Clackamas river, which empties into the 

 Willamette but a short distance below the Falls. It 

 seems that Mr- R. L. Ogden has caught many in the 

 Navara river, California, with the fly. In this country 

 they strike hard, almost viciously, and fight to the last, 

 The great majority of those we catch are doubtless males, 

 and it is possible that they are prompted to attack by the 

 masculine combative proclivity so observable in the male 

 of nearly every species of life during the period of pro- 

 creation. It has been demonstrated by Dr. Jordan, Liv- 

 ingston Stone and other eminent ichthyologists that no 

 solid food is ever found in their stomachs while in fresh 

 water. But this ought not to estop us from claiming that 

 the salmon may feed while in fresh water upon food as 

 nutritious and strengthening, although not of so substan- 

 tial an appearance as that of their fattening yards in the 

 ocean; and the fact that the calls of nature demand food 

 for all living things should warrant us in claiming the 

 benefit of the doubt. We know that a human being can 

 live for months if not years on liquid food, and that life 

 can be sustained by even external absorption of nourish- 

 ment for a considerable time. The first run of salmon, 

 those that are bound for the headwaters, undertake their 

 pilgrimages at a season of the year when they are likely 

 to find a good supply of larvge and other soft or gelatin- 

 ous substances that would be very nutritious, while leav- 

 ing little if any excrementitious substance. Those who 

 follow would have the advantage of the spawn of their 

 jDredecessors, and we know that they would not be at all 

 backward about appropriating it, which itself , I presume, 

 is very nutritious, for all the various kinds of salmon and 

 trout are very fond of it. They cannot afford to expend 

 the energy necessary to secure active, living food, for 

 they need all that nature has supplied them with and 

 often more to reach their spawning beds, and therefore, 

 under the circumstances, they may be excused for resort- 

 ing to the food of suckers and other plebian fish, with 

 now and then a royal-coachman, silver-doctor or Jock- 



