MAHoa 3, 1893.1 



FOREST AND STREAM 



188 



CONNECTICUT RIVER PIKE-PERCH. 



Charleston, N. H., Feb. 20. — I inclose a cutting from 

 the Bello vvs Falls paper, which shows that the pike-perch 

 placed in the upper Connecticut about twenty years ago 

 by my old friend, the late A. H. Powers, are gradually 

 working down the river: 



"A gentleman from Saxton's Eiver came down hei-e one 

 day last week on a fishing excursion and captm-ed, in the 

 river below the miUs, 171bs. of wall-eyed pike, one alone 

 weighing T-Jlbs." 



We noticed the capture of one at Mils River, sixty 

 miles above here, last year, and I heard of one or two 

 small ones as having been caught opposite this village, but 

 have not heard of any so large as this. We ought to have 

 good fishing in the Connecticut here. Livingston Stone 

 put in black bass about 1870, and the Lake Champlain 

 pike, which were washed down when Gov. Paine's dam 

 at Bethel gave way in 1840, are pretty plenty. 



I hear of a few, 12 or 151bs. , every summer, but mostly 

 taken on night lines, and also of a few bass, mostly taken 

 in the eddies below the piers of Cheshire Bridge", a mile 

 and a half above here, and the only bridge over the river 

 in eighteen miles. It is ten years since I wet a hue in the 

 river, for such time as I get for fishing I xarefer to devote 

 to the "crimson-starred beauties" of whom Mr. Starbuck 

 writes with such gusto, and I had rather tire my long legs 

 with a foiur-raile tramp along a trout brook than cramp 

 them by curhng them up in a boat in the sun. 



However, certain unerring and xmwelcome symptoms 

 warn me that I shall not stretch my legs over the hills 

 many seasons more, and I think it very possible that next 

 summer may see me droi:)ping a line agaia in the old river 

 as I used to sixty years since, before 1 learned how to 

 catch trout. It will be for different game though, for in 

 those days we had only yellow perch, dace and "redfins," 

 with now and then a stray pickerel who got himself into 

 trouble by a rush among the smaller fiy who were 

 gathered around om* hook. I am glad to see the portraits 

 of Mr. Starbuck and "Ned" in a late mimber of Forest 

 AND Stream, and wish I could be young enough agaia to 

 join them in a trip along the "North Shore." Von W. 



An Adirondack Programme. 



Judge Geokse W. Smth, of Herkimer, one of the clear- 

 est thinkers and most effective writers in this region, has 

 prei>ared a memorial to the Legislature in relation to the 

 preservation of the Adirondack region. Judge Smith 

 urges "a simple, safe, effective and inexpensive policy," 

 based on the following ideas: 



1. Let the State take by right of eminent domain land 

 within the limits of the preserve, adjacent to State lands, 

 as fast as funds can be fji-ovided, and as may be expedient. 

 A reasonable price can thus be fixed. 



2. Collect the f uU amount of taxes from the owners and 

 associations within and about the preserve, and devote the 

 entire amount to enlarging the holding of the State within 

 the preserve. The process of taxation may be made to 

 ascertain the value of the land required for the preserve. 



3. Forbid any expectation that the State will, at its ex- 

 pense, maintain or watch against tii-es, or give the service 

 of fish and game protectors for the benefit of private 

 owners. 



4. Keep off lumber thieves by the combined action of 

 the fire wardens, fish and game jprotectors. 



5. Let there be no co-partnershij) between the State and 

 private ownei's in lumbering or any other business. 



6. Sell no timber; it performs its best office where it 

 is, the profits of sales would be trivial, probably nothing, 

 while the removal of the timber would seriously and at 

 length fatally impair the principal design. Besides, the 

 whole business would be fruitful of corrujjtion and abuses. 



7. Only small lots should be leased and those under re- 

 strictions that would prevent any trenching upon the 

 pubfic right of free resort. 



8. Make the \\4iole preserve a Free Commons for a 

 whole people — an object lesson set against land monoply 

 and the English game preserve system — make this, as 

 easily it may be made, the Excelsior Park of the State and 

 of the World. 



9. Having secured the required land, maintain it in 

 a state of nature, and nature will continue to do all that 

 is necessary to be done, without other expense than the 

 requu'ed jjolice. By keeping in view these principles a 

 great and beneficent design can be accomplished and a 

 legacy of in\;alculable value transmitted to posterity. 



Another Bullhead Upheaval. 



Capac, IMich., Feb. 13. — xlmong the many attractions 

 of this village is a "fish mine." Mud Lake is completely 

 frozen over; there are no air-holes. Fish who desne to 

 continue breathing are compelled to swun about fom 

 miles to the outlet of the lake, whither there are but a few 

 square rods of open water. Naturally, this point has be- 

 come a favorite rendezvous for the finny tribe, who Hter- 

 ally fall over each other in their anxiety to get near the 

 air. Aroxmd this open space sportsmen from far and near 

 have gathered, with spear, pitchforks, shovels and other 

 instruments of war. It is impossible to estimate the 

 amount of the catch since the sport began a week ago. 

 FLsh have been taken away by the string, in bags and even 

 in barrels. Many of them weigh from 8 to ISlbs. There 

 are "bullheads," pickerel and pike. Every one goes fish- 

 ing regai-dless of the weather, and there is no occasion for 

 lying. "Truth is sti-anger than fiction." — Detroit Evening 

 News, 



River Cruises for C. J. L. 



Staunton, Va., Feb. 18. — In my short communication 

 in Forest and Stream of Feb. 16, entitled "River Cruises 

 for C. J. L.," the compositor, by misplacing capitals and 

 punctuation marks, made a mess of that pai-t of the article 

 relating to the Mami. What I intended to convey is as 

 follows: 



"The Great j\fiami Eiver in Ohio will ftu-nish him a de- 

 lightful two weeks' cruise from Sidney to Hamilton, or 

 Lawrenceburg, Ind., on the Ohio just below the mouth of 

 the Miami. The river (IMiami, not the Ohio) is swift and 

 fuU of httle rifts, and the Miami Valley is beautiful." 



By giving space to the above correction you will greatly 

 oblige Commodore 



Peoria, IU., Feh. 23.— In the issue of Feb. 16 "Commo- 

 dore" mentions several fine cruises in response to an in 

 quiry from "C. J. L.," of Detroit, aU of which are good 



particularly the Wabash, St. Joseph and Susquehanna 

 rivers. 



The Kankakee Eiver, in lUinois, Ls another good cruis- 

 ing stream, and as for bass fishing cannot be beat. From 

 Momence down to Morris on the Illinois River, just below 

 the mouth of the Kankakee; would make a two or three 

 weeks' dehghtful cruise just after the "June rise." 



He-chi-Mo. 



Jocko River Trout. 



In the fall of 1898 Major Peter Ronan, Agent of the 

 Flathead Indians in Montana, advised the Commissioner 

 of Fisheries that he had preseiwed a pair of large trout of 

 Jocko Eiver and would forward them to Washington if 

 desired. He wished to know the name of the species. 



The fish arrived last week and proves to be a Dolly Var- 

 den, also kno%vn as sahnon trout and bull trout. The 

 specimen weighs 61bs. and measures 28in. in length. These 

 trout are abundant and form a very important source of 

 supply for food and sjjort. The fish sent is a male with 

 the lower jaw hooked upward at a right angle and the 

 outer edge of the ventral and anal fins milky white as in 

 the Eastern brook trout in the breeding season. The red 

 spots of the sides are large, but much faded by the pre- 

 serving fluid. 



Massachusetts Black Bass Season. 



House Bill No. 852, introduced by Mi-. Blodgett, of 

 Leominster, amends the present statute so as to open the 

 bass season June 15 instead of July 1. The measure has 

 the supiDort of Mr. Henry J. Thayer, of Boston, and other 

 bass fishermen, and Mr. Thayer invites the co-operation 

 of the anglers of the State in urging upon the Legisla- 

 ture the change of date. 



" Forest and Stream." 



Copies of Sept. 35, 1890, are wanted at this office and 

 will be paid for. 



The Automatic Reel 



is an invention wliicli -svlien first put upon tlie market met witli much 

 adverse criticism. To-day its manufacturers, Messrs. Yawman & 

 Erbe, of Rochester, N. Y., can scarcely supply the demand. The in- 

 trinsic merit of this reel has carried it to the front, despite aU obsta- 

 cles, and at present some of the anglers formerly most hostile to the 

 "little finger" wonder are most enthusiastic in its praise. Write the 

 manufacturers for catalogue describing recent improvements.— ^dv. 



"That Reminds Me." 



Four Mile Run, Va.— The publication ui the Forest 

 AHD Stream of Jan. 19, of the "Ode to Pup," by the late 

 John E. Kenna recalls an incident during his life. There 

 are two club houses here occupied by the members of each, 

 or occasionally when accompanied by a member, a visitor 

 is admitted. The late Senator Kenna had a friend staying 

 with him from West Virginia, and as the ducks were fly- 

 ing on the Potomac, the Senator proposed to give his 

 friend and brother sportsman a little duck shooting. To 

 avoid a long and cold pull in the boat in the early morn- 

 ing they were invited by one of the members of the club 

 to pass the night comfortably in the club houses and start 

 from there in the morning for their sport. The friend 

 related his exploits with a torch after ducks at night, and 

 nothing would do but to make a torch and try it in this 

 new field. The tide that night was very late, and at mid- 

 night I retired, but I had hardly fallen asleep when a ter- 

 rible fusilade commenced, and from the continued firing 

 I supposed that they were hterally "slaughtering" the 

 mallards. In the morning I asked mine host Taylor how 

 many ducks they had killed. "Every blessed one I had," 

 he i-eplied. It appears that his own tame ducks were in 

 the habit of feeding at night on the marsh, and these had 

 fallen victims. But they were well paid for and secrecy 

 Avas ordered, and this is the reason it has not before 

 appeared. I will not give the friend's name, but I suppose 

 he wiU recognize the incident. Spotty. 



Eighteen years ago, said a Maine woodsman, I was 

 camping on Pitlock Stream and one night I went out 

 doors. It was about half past eight and pitch dark. I 

 heard somebody a hoUerin' way off in the woods and I 

 thought may be somebody was lost, so I answered. Well, 

 it kejit coming nearer and nearer, and hollerin' onct, till 

 aU at onct it stopped of a sudden. I listened for it quite 

 a while, then I thought I had better sing out onct more. 

 1 did, but that was the last time, for right above me in a 

 big pine something gave the most un'arthly yell, or 

 scream, that I ever heard. I tell you, it jest lifted the 

 cap off my head. Well, the way I rushed into the camp 

 was a caution. I didn't stop to see who the stranger 

 was, I tell you. I couldn't sleep that night, I was too 

 frightened. Afterward, when I told tlie boys they 

 laughed and said, "Well, somebody was lost, maybe, but 

 we guess you heard an Injun devil." Jagare. 



A New-Subscriber Offer. 



A bona fide new subscriber sending us $5 will receive for that sum 

 the Forest axd Streasi one year (price 54) and a set of Zimmerman's 

 famous "Ducking Scenes" (advertised on another page, price $5)— a 

 $9 value for S5. 



This offer is to new subscribers only. It does not apply to renewals 

 For SS a bona fide new subscriber for sis months will receive the 

 Forest Asn Stream dm-ing that time and a copy of Dr. Van Fleet's 

 handsome work, "Bird Portraits for the Young" (the price of which 

 is 83). 



Monday Morning at the Parsonage. 



Rev. MoHaAN Coolet, who has contributed many readable sketches 

 to our columns, writes: 



"There is no paper I enjoy more than Forest amd Stream. Itreaches 

 me every Monday morning and it is the fli'st paper I open, sure that on 

 its clear, fresh pages I'll find something which will be a pleasure for 

 all the week." 



We Deny the Age but Admit the Quality. 



Forest and Stream is forty years old and is the best paper in the 

 world in its particular field. It has put on a new head and is other- 

 wise improved.— iVisw Albany (jMd.) Leader. 



Pennsylvania Fishculture. 



The report of the Pennsylvania Pish Commissioners for 

 1888 to 1892 shows a highly gratifying state of advancement 

 in fishculture in the Keystone State. The number of fish 

 distributed during the period covered by the report exceed s 

 one hundred and fifty-two millions, including brook trout , 

 rainbow trout, whitefish, shad, pike-perch, and a dozen other 

 food and game species. The bulk of the work was devoted 

 to brook trout, whitefish, pike-perch and shad. 



The Delaware has been cleared of pound-nets, fish weirs, 

 fish baskets and unseasonable seines. The dam at Lacka- 

 waxen has been overcome by means of fishways, with the 

 result of extending the fishing grounds and spawning area 

 more than one hundred miles. 



The Susquehanna, owing to its obstruction by fish baskets 

 in Maryland territory and the imperfect working of fishways 

 in the dam at Columbia, Pa., continues to be an indifferent 

 shad river. 



The State now owns a well-equipjied car, which will be 

 used in hatching and transporting shad and in carrying fish 

 throughout the commonwealth. Many of the fine fishes of 

 Lake Erie, such as the pike-perch, white bass, yellow bass, 

 black bass, calico bass and rock bass can now be quickly and 

 safely carried to siutable streams and lakes in all parts of 

 the State. In accomplishing this work the Commission will 

 have the usual liberal aid of the railroads. 



The U. S. Fish Comtnission has continued to co-operate 

 with the Pennsylvania Commission in stocking the waters 

 with shad, pike-perch, and other valuable fishes. The 

 fish-protective associations have also been of the greatest 

 service by creating a healthy public sentiment in favor of 

 fishculture and fish protection. In this effort they have 

 received the hearty and powerful aid of the press. 



The appendix to this report contains a detailed account of 

 the fishes of Pennsylvania, by Dr. T. H. Bean, of the U. S. 

 Fish Commission and National Museum, angling editor of 

 Forest and Stream. We have previously outltued the 

 character of this paper, which has been justly pronounced 

 one of the most valuable issued by a State Commission. The 

 report contains full descriptions of all the fishes known to 

 occur, 157 in number, followed by popular notes on the com- 

 mon [names, distribution, habits, reproduction, growth and 

 mode of captiire. Nearly one-half of the species are illus- 

 trated, fifteen of them by colored plates, which were reduced 

 from original drawings by Mr. S. F. Denton. 



Owing to this reduction, there was some loss of faithful- 

 ness in following the colors in a few instances, but the work 

 as a whole is up to the best standard. Had the reproduction 

 been of the size of the original, we are satisfied that they 

 would have left nothing to be desired in the way of accuracy 

 and artistic beaiTty. The white perch was first copied full 

 size and the work was exquisitely done. 



We understand that the demand for copies of this report of 

 the Commission cannot be supplied, and it is even now diffi 

 cult to secure them, although the work has been off the press 

 scarcely more than a month. 



rishway Construction. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Some time ago you published an illustrated article in re- 

 gard to "fishways" or "chutes" over dams. By a recent act 

 of our Legislature it is made obligatory on the part of 

 county commissioners to construct such fishways when a 

 certain number of freeholders reqiiest it. We have a very 

 good field to work in here and want to find the best thing in 

 the way of a "chute." Can you refer me to the number con- 

 taining the information, or if you can give us anyinforma 

 tion in regard to it in your next number you will confer a 

 great favor. Subscriber, 



[Articles on fishways were published Dec. 31, 1891, Jan. 28, 

 Feb. 4 and April '14, 1892, but these papers were not illus- 

 trated. No recent account of fishways m general has been 

 issued, as far as we know, by the national or State Govern- 

 ment. One of the best short articles upon the subject was 

 prepared by Mr. Charles G. Atkins, now living at Bast Or- 

 land. Me. This was printed in Part II. of the Report of IJ. 

 S. Fish Commission, and issued in 1874. It contains fifteen 

 plates. 



In Part X. of the same report the present Commissioner of 

 Fisheries published a paper on "A New System of Pishway 

 Buildtug." This was sent out in 1884 with seven plates. It 

 relates to the McDonald fishway, which has been greatly 

 modified since that date. 



If you can find these reports in a library accessible to you, 

 they will prove valuable on account of the many suggestions 

 contained in the articles mentioned. The numbers of 

 Forest and Stream above referred to contain more recent 

 discussions of fishway construction. There is urgent need 

 of a full report, bringing the subject up to date. The neces- 

 sity of fishways is becoming more and more evident every 

 year.] 



Trout Culture. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I notice in your last issue the inquiry of "Owahgena" re- 

 garding an inclosure for brook trout, and your reply thereto. 

 I agree with you upon most points in your reply, but, in the 

 light of several years' more experience upon the subject than 

 any other American, I cannot recommned a pond for a trout 

 preserve. Your correspondent does not furnish sufficient 

 data for an intelligent reply. It is somewhat essential to 

 know the region of country, the surroundings, whether cul- 

 tivated or wild, the fall of the stream in the distance named, 

 and the character of the bed, whether rock, loose stone, 

 gravel or othervrise. There is not one chance in twenty-five 

 of any success whatever in the natural stream, unless the 

 main flow can be deflected. Success would be far more 

 probable in artificial channels, led from the head and under 

 entire control, but considerable fall would be required with 

 stone or gravel for bed. With these factors and those named 

 in your replv, success might be attained, and without arti- 

 ficial propagation. MiLTOif P. Peirce. 



After Eighteen Years. 



A 'Wn.LiAMSPORT, Pa., reader says: "We have been subscribers to 

 your paper since 1875, we think, at least since its consohdation with 

 Bod and &un, but must say it is still improving. Your last few num< 

 bers are 'great.' " 



Business. 



Mh. G. C. Walton, Augusta, Ga., writes Feb. 5: "Let me compli- 

 ment you on yoiu- valuable paper; like wine, It improves with age." 



lit Has None. 



B^%t:rhill, Mass.— I have taken your paper for twelve years and I 

 don't know its equal. J. P. U. G. 



Messrs. W. W. Hart & Co. , the taxidermists, have removed their 

 estabhshment from 11 and 13 Jacob street to 5 West Third street, near 

 Broadway. This firm recently received the heads and antlers ready 

 for mounting of twenty-six caribou, besides four complete BpecimenSi 

 There are some very fine heads in the lot. — Adv. 



