862 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



tDEC. 29, 189ii. 



lations. He regretted to say, however, that the laws are 

 violated with impunity, owing to inefficient laws which are 

 yet in a crude state. In many cases charges are dismissed 

 by police justices with the remark that deputies should be 

 engaged in better business, as there is game and flsh for 

 everybouy who has the time to hunt for it, The chief game 

 warden is paid 81,500 per year. 



Other members of the conference gave their views and an 

 adjournment taken for lunch. 



After dinner the delegates went en a tour of inspection to 

 the flsh hatchery on Joseph Campau avenue, and all the vis- 

 itors were favorably impressed with what they saw. There 

 are 180,000,000 whiteflsh in various stages of propagation at 

 the hatchery. Herschel Whitaker says it is the greatest dis- 

 play ever gotten together. 



The conference reconvened at the Cadillac at 4:30 o'clock. 

 The subject discussed was: "Should There Be a Close Sea- 

 son for Whiteflsh r" Hon. Samuel Wilmot, of the Fisheries 

 Department of the Dominion of Canada, argued long for 

 the adoption of a law which would he uniform with the 

 Canadian law making the month of November a close sea- 

 son. He also wanted the size of meshes increased to 43^Ln. 

 This would prevent the capture of small whiteflsh, probably 

 up to the size of IJ^'lbs. 



C. M. Keyes, of Sandusky, opposed both ideas. He repre- 

 sented the interests of six large fishing concerns and claimed 

 that November was the best month for catching whiteflsh. 

 As to decreasing the size of the meshes he believed that the 

 fishermen should be instructed to throw back into the water 

 all fish within a certain limit, but protested that no law 

 should be passed that would in any way hamper the fisher- 

 man's business. 



In the evening the whiteflsh discussion was resumed, the 

 almost unanimous verdict bping that there should be a close 

 season extending over the whole of November if possible to 

 enforce the iRw.^Det/roit Trihune. 



PENNSYLVANIA FISH CULTURE. 



DXJEING the year ending June t, 1893, the fish hatcheries of 

 Pennsylvania produced nearly 78,000,000 of fish, which were 

 planted in the waters of the State. The U. S. Fish Com- 

 mission also deposited 9,500,000 shad in the Susquehanna 

 and Delaware rivers by request of the Pennsylvania Com- 

 mission. 



The flsh deposited included nearly .59,000,000 of pike-perch, 

 15,000,000 of whiteflsh, upward of 3,500,000 of trout, 345,000 

 salmon, besides rock bass, black bass, strawberry bass, yel- 

 low perch and carp. 



In the Delaware, 33 shad nets, set in violation of the law, 

 were captured and destroyed. Upward of 400 baskets were 

 taken out of the Susquehanna, and numerous arrests were 

 made for killing fish illegally. 



Chairman Ford informs us that the State obtained about 

 35,000,000 whiteflsh eggs which are now in the hatcheries at 

 Erie and Corry, besides the following trout eggs: 



Von Behr (or brown) trout 2.50,000 



Lake trout 400,000 



Hybrid trout 400,000 



Brook trout 3,.500,000 



The brook trout are about equally divided between the 

 Corry and Allentown hatcheries. 



The next legislature will be asked to appropriate money 

 for a new hatchery in the central part of the State, to meet 

 the ever increasing demand for trout. The appropriation 

 for tne entire work, including the protection of fish and 

 game by wardens in nearly every county, is only sfS0,000 per 

 annum, a sum which might be doubled with advantage to 

 the State. 



BROOK TROUT DEFORMITIES. 



All persons who have reared fish know that monstrosities 

 are frequent among the young, and especially among trout 

 and salmon. Individuals with two heads or two bodies are 

 common. The spinal column is often bent more or less and 

 occasionally is twisted into a spiral form. These freaks of 

 nature seldom or never live to maturity unless the vertebrae 

 resume, or nearly resume, their normal line of direction. 

 Mr. Stone once marketed a trout aged three years which, 

 from having a dark skin and a crook in his back, had been 

 nicknamed the "Black Crook." 



The accompanying illustrations were made from a series of 

 typical deformed specimens which were presented to Forest 

 AND Stream by Superintendent J. P. Creveling, of Allen- 

 town, Pa. The outlines were made by carefully tracing 

 fi-om the bodies of the fresh fish. The lengths of the trout 

 are the following: Fig. 1, o'm ; Fie. 3, 7Xin.; Fig. 3, GJ^in.; 

 Fig. 4, 8in.; Figs. 5 and 6, 6J<in. Pigs. 1 and 3 show parr 

 marks very plainly; none of the others have these signs of 

 youth. 



Mr. Creveling has found that deformed trout often yield 

 eggs and milt, but we have not yet learned from him what 

 eif ect the abnormality of the parent has upon the develop- 

 ment of young from its eggs. 



Deformities of the kinds here represented are not always 

 congenital; in some cases Mr. Creveling has traced them to 

 injuries of the embyro after it has left the egg. Undue pres- 

 sure on some part of the spinal column may produce several 

 of the types of fish illustrated. The thickened lower jaw of 

 Fig. 2 may have resulted from an accident after birth. The 

 length of the upper jaw in the series of specimens shows 

 that nearly all the trout are males. 



Dr. Francis Day has given, in his "British and Irish Sal- 

 monidas," a very interesting chapter on monstrosities. Ac- 

 cording to this author, "The following divisions of mon- 

 strosities and deformities, as seen among fishes, may be 

 observed; (I) T)ue to constitutioyial causes as from young 

 parents, hybridization, etc.; (3) congenital or hereditary 

 causes as hereditary monstrosities such as the various races 

 of gold carp; (3) acquired causes or accidental circum- 

 stances as arrest of development or accidents to the embryo 

 prior to hatching * * * 



"The types of simple monsters may generally be classed 

 under one cause, arrest of development occurring in the nor- 

 mal course of embryonic life. And these may be shown in 

 the head, wherein the eyes, mouth, upper jaw, lower jaw 

 or opercles may be affected; or the body, as in some portion 

 of the vertebral column, or in the fins which may be short- 

 ened, lengthened, or the rays in an abnormal condition. 



Sometimes the upper jaw is the shorter, sometimes the 

 lower * 'Sand these monstrosities, especially the latter, 

 are common among hybrids and flsh raised from young 

 parents. Although these monstrosities may be occasioned 

 by increased growth, they are more commonly due to the 

 arrest of development in some of the bones of the head 



"The bulldog deformity of the snout * ^ * is by no 

 means rare, more especially in fishes raised by the fishcul- 

 turist. The example figured was sent me from a burn near 

 Perth, but I have also examples of fonti.nalis from Howie- 

 toun with a similar deformity, one of which was a female 

 from it many eggs were obtained, but none of the yount^ 

 were thus malformed, it not being inherited. 



"Theremay he an apparently shortened lower jaw, as is 

 more commonly seen in hybrids or in fish artificially raised 

 than m tnose m their natural condition. Many, however 

 do not seem to he born thus, and at Howietoun it has been 

 observed to be most common in such as are kept in wooden 

 tanks, and supposed to be owing to their using their lower 

 jaws with injurious force against the sides occasioning some 

 deleterious effect. Sometimes the lower jaw is twisted round 

 to one side, and may likewise be lengthened * * * 



In 1747 Mr. Barrington sent a paper to the Roval Society 

 on the^'Hog-backed Trout of Plinlimmon.' He remarked 

 tbat they occurred m watersheds where tbere weregoneider- 



able falls, and theoretically it seemed probable that such 

 might be occasioned by injuries occurring to the embryo, 

 and in 1886 I tried what would be the effects of concussion 

 on eggs and their contents, and while the embryo was still 

 unhatched, and assisted by Mr. S. Wethered, F.G.S., we as- 

 certained that concussion had occasioned spinal injury. In 

 accordance with its extent the young fish has curvature of 

 this portion of the body, and in the slightest cases they re- 

 cover but with shortening of the spinal column, occasioning 

 hog-backed deformity." 



An illustration of the effects of concussion in transporting 

 eggs may be found in the last report of the California Fish 

 Commission, page 25, Referring to operations with the east- 

 ern brook trout {fontinalis) which were brought from Car- 



FlG. 3. 6J4 INCHB.S (PABR MABKS). 



Fig. 6. 61^ INCHES. 



son, Nevada, to the Bear Valley hatcherv, he wrote : "The 

 total amount of spawn received was 363,000. The total loss 

 of transplanting was 18,882. As the spawn neared the period 

 of hatching quite a number of the eggs hatched out and 

 died. The embryo would burst from the shell or membrane 

 and die soon after. These were all organically weak, the re- 

 sult unquestionably'of carrying the green spawn so far over 

 the rough road. After the eggs were hatched there was an 

 unusual number of malformed embryos in the troughs the 

 effect of the jolting the ova received on the way from the 

 lake to Carson. Those embryos that came from the eggs in 

 a healthy condition developed into fine healthy fish." 



Among wild trout in our experience deformities are sel- 

 dom or never seen. They undoubtedly occur, but in the 

 sharp struggle for existence all of them fall victims to their 

 vigilant and persistent enemies. 



The Bristol Steel Fishing Rods. 



The Bristol steel fishing rods, made by the Horton Manufactur- 

 mg Co., of Bristol, Conn-, have stood the test of time and are 

 growing m favor with anglers all over the world. From testi- 

 I^^^i^ 5 ^^®.1°'?PJl'^y ^ ^*?'^some little catalogue just issued 

 U would seem that these rods combine lightnesl and elasticity 

 with an unusual degree of strength. They are made in foiirteen 

 w 'JTilu^ ^l""^ 9^-^°^ \° heavier weights of cast^ 



rod I tri^.i^Jy ■ ^''^S^^ssive anglers would do well to give this 



Challbn's Records save publlsbers, advertisers, business and 

 profeeeiooal meo time, labor and mooey. 10 Spmce st., N, yT^^* 



^he Mmnel 



F I XTU R E S. 



DOG SHOWS. 

 1893. 



Dec. 27 to 30.— Tonawanda. N. Y. H. M. Fales, Sec'y. 

 Dec. 37 to 30.— Pawtucket R. I. T. H. Adams, Sec'y. 



1893. 



Jan, 3 to 6.— Mohawk Valley Poultry and Kennel Club. F. B. 

 Zimmer, Sec'v, Gloversville. N. Y. 



•Ian. 10 to 13.— South Carolina Poultry and Pet Stock Associa- 

 tion, at Charleston, S. C. John B. Gadsden. Sec'y. 



Feb. 31 to 34.— Westminster Kennel Club, New York city. Jas. 

 Mortimer, Supt. 



Feb. 38 to March 3.— Keystone Kennel Club, at Philadelphia, 

 Pa. Jas. Watson, Sec'y. 



March 7 to 10.— Maryland Kennel Club, at Baltimore, Md. W. 

 S. DiffenderflpT, Sec'y, 



March 14 to 17.— Washington. D. C. P. S. Webster, Sec'y. 



March 15 to 18.— Elmira, N. Y. C. A. Bowman, Sec'y. 



April 4 to 7. -New England Kennel Club, at Boston, Mass. J. 

 W. Newman, Sec'y. 



May 3 t o 6 — Pacific Kennel Club, at San Francisco, Cal. Horace 

 W. Orear, Sec'y. 



June 13 to 17.— World's Fair, Chicago. 



Sept. 7 to 10.— Hamilton, Ontario. A. D. Stewart, Sec'y. 



FIELD TRIALS. 

 1893. 



January.— Pacific Coast Field Trials, at Bakersville, Cal. J . M. 

 Ki'garif. Sec'y. 



Feb. 8.— Southern Field Trials, at New Albany, Miss. T. M. 



Brumbv. Sec'v 



Feb. 13.— United States F. T. Club Trials. New Albany, Ind. P. 

 T. Madison, Seo'y-Treas., Indianapolis, Ind. 



THE IRISH SETTER CLUB'S FIELD TRIALS. 



The second annual trials of the Irish Setter Club began 

 at Lexington, N. C, on Dec. 19. They were run on the 

 grounds of the Central Field Trial Club, for which privilege 

 a stipulated sum was paid, the sum it was said being $75 for 

 two days and part of a third. Of course the business ar- 

 rangements of the two clubs are their own private concern ; 

 but it impresses me that the sum mentioned is most un- 

 reasonably large for the privilege aforementioned, the more 

 so when it is considered that the grounds were not in the 

 least protected. It was commonly reported that they were 

 shot over without limit: that birds were netted, which was 

 strongly corroborated by the f»cts that nets were owned by 

 parties on the grounds, and the large number of netted birds 

 in the market. The Central Club did not complete its leases 

 till a few weeks ago, therefore its ground were not a pre- 

 serve in any sense of the word. If my memory serves me 

 correctly, the large grounds of the Southern Field Trial 

 Club only cost the club $130 or $130 per year rental. The 

 Irish Setter Club could easily get grounds of its own, if it 

 makes the effort. Any town should gratuitously and cheer- 

 fully rent grounds for any field trial club which will make 

 the town its headquarters. What with charging full day 

 rates to any dogman who stays a day or a month, the large 

 demand for horses and carriages, the renting of a large num- 

 ber of vacant buildings for kennels, etc., the presence of a 

 field trial club is a small bonanza to a country town and 

 insures bread and butter for a year to a large part of it. 



It ia one of the anomalous features of a doggy man's life, 

 however, that he has to pay full dog rates by the week, 

 whereas a brother who is not a doggy man can get week 

 rates which rarely in the country exceed $1 per day. 



The judges were Messrs. John Davidson, Wm. Tallman 

 and the reporter of Forest and Stream, the latter acting as 

 referee. 



Many good dogs in the stake were improperly prepared 

 both in respect to experience and training. It is a mistake 

 to enter dogs in these trials in such a state. It brings the 

 breed into unmerited adverse criticism. A trainer, who 

 brings dogs improperly conditioned for hard work and im- 

 perfectly broken, is doing himself harm and his employer 

 an injustice. I t-'ust that Mr. Irwin will particularly note 

 these lines, and the real cause of his magnificent kennel be- 

 ing out of the competition may be thus made plain to him. 

 The expenditures of the hundreds of dollars was money 

 wasted, not to mention .the value of lost opportunities. 



There is not, except in a few instances, the willingness 

 that there should be amona; Irish setter owners to further, 

 by personal effort, the interest of the breed. The ma.ny 

 leave too much work and expense to the few. Such a policy 

 can not fully sticceed. United action is necessary. Apa- 

 thetic expectation never accomplished much. If Irish set- 

 ter owners would even give their support by making en- 

 tries or giving some kind of material aid, such earnest and 

 tireless workers as the efficient secretary, Dr. G. G. Davis, 

 would attend to the rest, in all probability, if his ceaseless 

 efforts in the past is any criterion of the future. Without a 

 general shaking up among Irish setter owners, and con- 

 certed effort for the general good, no hope for any rapid 

 progress need be expected. Still, the trials are a success 

 and can be made permanent. I refer to rapid and impor- 

 tant success, Among the admirers of the red dogs were 

 present the secretary, Dr G. G. Davis, Chas, T. Thompson, 

 James Thompson, Dr. Wm. Jarvis, W. H. Beazell, Pitts- 

 burgh; Nelson Mcintosh, William Warner, J. M. Tra^y, 

 Frank Work, New York; Joseph A. Hunter, Washington, 

 and others. 



THE DERBY. 



This stake had ten starters. The work was very inferior. 

 Few birds were found and these with great difficulty. 



The winner of first, Sagas Tearaway, started well, ranged 

 the best of any dog in the stake at the outset, but gradually 

 narrowed down his range to a few yards and his speed to a 

 trot. He carried a high head and had a merry action in his 

 first heat. 



The other winners, Tillie Boru, winner of second, and 

 Rockwood Dandy and Molleen, dividers of third, may be 

 grouped as indifferent performers and winners more from 

 force of circumstance than from force of good work. 



The drawing was as follows: 



Glenmore Kennels' bitch Glenmore Ownie (Elcho, Jr.— 

 Romaine), W. T. Irwin, handler, 



ivith 



W. H. Laird's bitch Tillie Boru II. (Tearaway— Tillie 

 Bom), George E. Gray, handler. 



George E. Gray's dog Sagas Tearaway (Tearaway— Tillie 

 Boru), owner, handler, 



'ivith 



Charles T. Thompson's dog Rockwood Dandy (Desmond 

 II.— Fly), John White, handler. 



Perry & Switzer's bitch Hawkeye Queen (Claremont 

 Patsy— Nora of Claremont), George E. Gray, handler, 

 with 



Dr. Wm. Jarvis's bitch Romayne (DukeElcho— Romaiae), 

 S, C. Bradley, handler. 



F. L. Cheney's bitch Molleen (Henmore Shamrock- 

 Daisy), Horace Smith, handler, 



^vith 



Glenmore Kennels' bitch Glenmore Apple (Desmond II. 

 Nellie), W. T. Irwin, handler. \ - 



