Feb. 24, 1894.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



161 



A Georgia Quail Country. 



Thomasville, Ga.— Editor Forest and Stream: Count 

 me one against the market-hunter, and when you get 

 through with him, then there is another man who is just 

 as bad, and I sometimes think worse, who wants looking 

 after badly, He does not go around with an "muzzle- 

 loader and yaller dog." On the contrary, he generally has 

 the finest of outfits, and is a good shot. He is the man 

 who kills 100 ducks in a day and boasts about it. But per- 

 haps we can educate him to better things without resort- 

 ing to the lawmakers, for I see you are calling attention 

 to the fact, and perhaps they can be shamed out of it. 



There is a limit here on quail, but no one ever thinks of 

 stopping at twenty-five quail when they can kill that 

 number in half a day. Quail are so plenty here (and I 

 suppose all through the South) that it does not seem to 

 make much difference; but up North, where they are so 

 much more rare, it does make quite a difference. The 

 negroes here trap quail by the thousands; and everybody 

 hunts them, both natives and Yankees. Sometimes one 

 will see a dozen wagons full of men and dogs starting out 

 every morning from the hotel and other places; and yet it 

 does not seem to make any difference with the numbers, 

 for I often go out on the edge of town and find full, large 

 coveys of birds that seem to have never seen a dog or 

 man. By the way, fresh coveys never seem to hold to the 

 dog so well as they do after they have been shot into sev- 

 eral times, at least that is my experience. I have been in 

 places twelve or fourteen miles from town, where quail 

 were so plenty that one hardly needed a dog; in fact, they 

 would wait for the dogs, but would flush wild, and we 

 would have to put the dogs in the wagons and flush 

 them out of the broom sage the same as you do meadow 

 larks. Now, this may seem a little fishy, but I have got 

 the papers to show for it. I have no interests here, no axe 

 to grind, but as far as I know, this is one of the best quail 

 sections in the country, North or South; and the strangest 

 thing about it is (to me) that we generally find the birds 

 in the pine woods, feeding on the pine masts; and it is not 

 a bad place to shoot them, for the trees are so wide apart 

 here that one can get plenty of opportunity. 



You can shoot in this locality as late as the 1st of April. 

 Another strange thing is, that birds of all kinds do not go 

 to breeding any sooner than they do in Illinois, in spite of 

 the fact that there is practically no winter at all, and it 

 would be warm enough for them any time of the year. 



H. C. S. 



Game in Iowa. 



Matlock, Iowa, Feb. 11.— Considerable interest is being 

 manifested in the Legislature in regard to game protection, 

 and no doubt it will result in better laws. A bill by 

 Senator Baldwin makes the fish commissioner game war- 

 den and gives him authority to appoint a deputy in each 

 county of the State. The deputies are to receive no salary 

 but are given one-half of fines, the other half to go for the 

 support of the commission. 



A bill by Senator Harper changes the open date on 

 ducks from Aug. 15 to Sept. 1. 



Senator Funk has a bill extending the closed season on 

 fish (except salmon and trout) from April 1 to May 15. 

 These bills' have all been referred to the committee on fish 

 and game, and no doubt will be recommended for passage. 

 The only objection to Senator Baldwin's bill is that it 

 places a considerable burden upon the fish commissioner. 

 A deputy game warden in each county is the very thing 

 that is needed; all will receive the support of all true 

 sportsmen. 



Rabbits have been very plentiful this winter, perhaps 

 more so than ever before. The country is full of chickens', 

 most of which have migrated hither from Minnesota and 

 Dakota. Thousands of chickens and quail have been 

 trapped along the Missouri and Big Sioux rivers in this 

 State and South Dakota this winter, most of them shipped 

 to Sioux City, Chicago, and some to Minneapolis. An 

 effort is being made to stop it at this time; the gun clubs 

 of Iowa and South Dakota are the prime factors in this 

 movement. Quail" are increasing largely every year. I 

 know of eight large coveys that are wintering within a 

 mile of here, and according to reports they are as thick in 

 other parts of the State. If they are protected we will 

 have fine quail shooting here in a couple more years. The 

 winter has been very severe here, but game of all kinds is 

 doing well. P. C, Bishop. 



Notes from a Washington Ranch. 



Silverdale, Wash., Feb. 6. — I brought a pair of quail 

 here from Nebraska, and have made a large pen for them 

 and keep them confined. I am going to try to raise a 

 covey for stocking this vicinity. The change of climate 

 does not seem to affect them in the least, and they seem 

 to be in first-class condition after a month in this State. 

 I also brought a pair of opossums from Washington, 

 D. C., and have liberated them on the ranch. I have 

 seen nothing of them since. 



Ducks and other aquatic birds are very plentiful, and 

 there is comparatively little shooting done on this bay — 

 Port Washington— so they are not very hard to get 

 within range of. Pheasants and grouse are numerous 

 and. are beginning to leave the thickets and mate, I have 

 started fourteen deer since I have been here, just in walk- 

 ing through the timber from one place to another. These 

 were from a quarter mile to two miles from my house. A 

 large cougar has been seen in the neighborhood several 

 times within the last two weeks, but no one has had a 

 shot at him yet. 



There are three trout streams emptying into the bay, 

 and all are full of fish from 16in. down. The Indians get 

 them at all times and pay no attention to game laws. 



The Olympic Mountains are only about twenty miles 

 away, and there are plenty of elk and deer all through 

 them. 



Forest and Stream comes as regular as clock work, 

 and is the most welcome visitor that calls at our ranch. 



El Cojiajstcho. 



Wild Turkeys on Dutch Mountain. 



Towanda, Pa. — Dove Brown, a noted deer and bear 

 hunter, reports seeing wild turkey tracks on Dutch 

 Mountain, 30 miles from. here. These are the first signs 

 of turkeys in this vicinity for many years. Other parties 

 report seeing the tracks, but none have seen the turkeys 

 as far as I can learn. It seems too good to be true. 

 There is plenty of territory for them and lots of food, 

 and if they could be let alone for a few years we might 

 have good turkey hunting. Ritt. 



Information About Quail Stocking. 



Saginaw, Mich., Feb. 14.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 We are talking about getting a lot of live quail for stock- 

 ing purposes and distributing them in good localities 

 around Saginaw. Will some of your correspondents 

 kindly give us the benefit of their experience in this direc- 

 tion? What localities would furnish quail best adapted to 

 this region, when should they be ordered and at what time 

 should they be liberated? And in putting them out, how 

 should they be distributed— in pairs or several in one 

 place? I am anxious to have the experience of my brother 

 sportsmen in this matter as a guide, and have no doubt 

 tba.t some of them will let me know about this without 

 delay. W. B. Mershon. 



Geese Flying North. 



Nebraska, Feb. 10.— We have been having regular 

 spring weather, and everything bids fair for a good game 

 crop. Geese have been passing north for the past week. 



Diamond Walt. 



Central Lake, Mich., Feb. 15— It is credibly reported 

 that on Monday and Tuesday of last week flocks of wild 

 geese were seen passing over Kalkaska and Mancelona, 

 on the G. R. & I. R. R. They were going north, probably 

 to the Straits of Mackinaw. Kelpie. 



Attractions of the "Land of the Sky" and 

 Florida Beautifully Shown. 



"The Land of the Sky," as the Piedmont region of western North 

 Carolina has been fittingly named, is the title given to an exceedingly 

 well- written handbook, and presented with the compliments of the 

 Richmond & Danville Railroad, the only railroad which reaches this 

 enchanted country, where nature has bestowed with lavish hand her 

 choicest gems, where health and climate are in accord, and the eye 

 turns from one ravishing scene to another still more attractive. 



There is but one way to reach this "Land of the Sky," and that is by 

 the Richmond & Danville Railroad on the Washington & Southwestern 

 Vestibuled Limited train, operated by this road in connection with the 

 Pennsylvania R. R.. between New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, 

 Washington, Atlanta, Montgomery, Birmingham, Memphis and New 

 Orleans, conveys its passengers there in comfort and safety. This 

 train, composed entirely of Pullmans, including buffet and dining cars, 

 is one of the masterpieces of railroad construction and operation. It 

 leaves New York daily at 4 P. M., arriving at Asheville in time for 

 dinner for next day, just twenty-four hours out, and New Orleans in 

 thirty-nine hours. 



New Florida Short Line. 



Another beautiful illustrated book entitled "Snowball and Oranges," 

 written by Helen K. Ingram, describing the New Short Line to Florida, 

 attractions en route, facilities of the 28-hour flyer between New York 

 and Jacksonville. Copies of this handsome illustrated handbook, 

 giving full particulars of the Southern resorts, can be had upon 

 personal application or by letter addressed to Alex. S. Thweatt, 

 Eastern Passenger Agent of the Richmond & Danville System, 229 

 Broadway, New York, or to Mr. W. A. Turk, General Passenger 

 Agent, Washington, D. C— Adv. 



m &t[d ^ivqr fishing. 



ANGLING NOTES. 



Tell It Not in Albion. 



Last November a London editor wrote me that he was 

 coming to this country in January to remain until the first 

 of April, and wished to know if during his stay he could 

 find fishing of any kind. He was willing to go from 

 Maine to California for the fishing if it was to be obtained. 

 I suggested tarpon fishing in Florida, and told him about 

 the fish and the fishing, and he then asked about the 

 tackle and if he should bring it with him or get it in this 

 country. I advised that he get it here, where a specialty 

 is made of tackle for the big silver herring. When the 

 gentleman arrived early in January, I directed him to a 

 tackle dealer in New York city, one of the advertisers in 

 Forest and Stream, where he procured an outfit. Of 

 this he said: 



"I am, I think, now fairly fixed for Florida. Mr. Blank 

 has supplied me with tackle, all of which will be useful 

 again. The tarpon rod for Mahseer fishing in India. His 

 reels are splendid, and his tackle cheap by comparison 

 with a similar house on our side." 



This was rather surprising, in view of statements that 

 we read in the newspapers made by our statesmen — or 

 should I say politicians? — and I wished to know more 

 about the matter, and more specific information came to 

 me when the gentleman reached Quebec, where he went 

 to attend the carnival before he turned his face to Tampa 

 and Charlotte Harbor. He wrote: 



"I shall certainly come over to America in trout fishing 

 season. There is a fine show of them here from a neigh- 

 boring lake. I thought our Kentish Stour trout, which 

 run up to 8-Jr and 91bs. , were large, but those here scale 

 lOlbs. Much of the tackle I got of our friend in New York 

 will be useful at home. Many of his goods are much 

 cheaper than ours. For $115 I got from him what would 

 most certainly have cost $150 at Blank's in London." 



Smelt Eggs. 



A correspondent asks: "Can you give me the address 

 of any one of whom I can get the eggs of the fresh- water 

 smelt, and the probable cost per thousand; eggs to be 

 fertile, of course, and to be packed in good condition?" 



I cannot give the address asked for, and if I could give 

 the address of a person who would furnish the eggs the 

 correspondent would not thank me after he had seen the 

 eggs, for however well they might be packed he could go 

 into court and swear they were not in good condition, as 

 they are the most difficult of all fish eggs to handle. 



Mr. Charles G. Atkins has taken the eggs of the fresh- 

 water smelt and hatched them, but I believe it was only 

 in an experimental way. The late Prof. H. J. Rice hatched 

 the salt-water smelt in New Jersey, and Mr. Geo. Ricardo 

 also, but Mr. Fred Mather, Superintendent of the New 

 York Fish Commission, has hatched more smelt artificially 

 than any of our fishculturists, as he turns out millions 

 annually at the Cold Spring Harbor station on Long 

 Island, but they, too, are smelt that run up the streams 

 from salt water. Mr. Mather says that he hatches only 

 from forty to fifty per cent, of the eggs taken, although 

 in one instance he hatched as high as sixty per cent. The 

 eggs develop fungus very rapidly, and as they form in 

 bunches they soon seem to be a rotten, utterly worthless 

 mass, but from these bunches of f ungused eggs come such 

 smelt as are hatched. The only shipment of smelt eggs- 

 that I have noticed is one that Mi. Mather made to Mr. 

 Fred Clark, Superintendent of the IT. S. Fish Commission 

 Station at Northville, Mich. Mr. Clark said before the 

 American Fisheries Society that he found the eggs just as 



bad as Mr. Mather said they would be, but by digging into 

 them he got fifteen or twenty per cent of good eggs. I am 

 inerror, Mr. Mather did make another shipment of eggs 

 to Saranac Lake, N. Y., but I do not know how they 

 turned out. I have noticed also in the last report of the 

 U. S. Fish Commission, 1889-91, that some smelt fry, 10,- 

 000, were planted in the Potomac River. 



On Long Island the smelt "run" the last of February. 

 In New Hampshire the fresh-water smelt run about the 

 first of May, and if it is desired to stock new waters with 

 smelt the better way would be to stock with the adult 

 fish rather than attempt to procure the eggs and hatch 

 them. I presume that Charles Dayis, New London, New 

 Hampshire, would undertake to catch smelt for stocking. 

 The cans containing the fish would require an attendant 

 during transportation, as the water must be kept cold to 

 insure success. 



Dry Fly-Fishing. 



The Edinburgh Review for January contains an excellent 

 article of twenty pages upon "The Progress of Angling." 

 One portion-of the article is prophetic and abounds in so 

 much that must appeal to every high-class angler in this 

 country that I quote it: "In the south of England dry 

 fly-fishing has been within the last fifteen or twenty years, 

 in some senses, almost created; at any rate, has vastly 

 increased, and its followers have reduced fly-fishing to a 

 fine art. * * * It is only a question of time when it 

 will be more extensively practiced in the North, and it 

 is equally certain that it will eventually spread to America 

 and New Zealand, where trout fishing is now becoming a 

 recognized pastime. 



"When trout become shy in clear and comparatively 

 smooth water, dry fly-fishing is the only means of taking 

 them with a fly. With the increase of anglers it is im- 

 possible to prevent an increase in the waxiness of the fish. 

 There is nothing, indeed, which is more clearly estab- 

 lished than the ease with which trout may be taken when 

 unaccustomed to artificial hues as compared with the 

 difficulties of their capture in a stream along which the 

 angler, week by week, day by day, wends his way. 

 Hence the very popularity of fly-fishing renders it every 

 year a more skillful pastime, if success is to attend the 

 efforts of the angler. 



"It is certain that no more delicate and skillful method 

 of capturing a created thing, no more difficult exercise, 

 if we regard it in comparison with other physical pur- 

 suits, has ever existed than that of dry fly fishing. It is 

 not only the nicety of the operation at the time of casting 

 a single fly so that it alights— whatever may be the diffi- 

 culties of place or wind — in a particular spot with com- 

 plete certainty, and proceeds to float down over a rising 

 trout absolutely imitative of the living insect, with wings 

 erect and natural motion, but there is also the beautiful 

 perfection with which the insect is imitated by the fly- 

 dresser, and the slightness of the tackle to which it is 

 attached. Lastly, there is the skill which is required to 

 land a fish of some size on such slight tackle." 



Canadian Salmon. 



My friend John Mowat, the veteran salmon fisherman, 

 writes me from Campbellton, N. B., under date of Feb. 5, 

 about various matters pertaining to salmon and salmon 

 fishing in Canada : ' 'We were very successful at the St. 

 John and Restigouche hatcheries last fall, obtaining nearly 

 3,000,000 of ova, all Atlantic salmon and now all eyed. 

 We proved last fall that Atlantic salmon will thrive in 

 fresh water entirely debarred from the sea, having caught 

 them of l^lbs. the second year. They take the fly beauti- 

 fully, never ceasing their leaps until exhausted. They 

 have handsome red meat and shine like silver in Septem- 

 ber. Whether or not they will breed in the lake has yet 

 to be determined, but a couple of years will solve that 

 problem. Years ago in a lake at Tadousac, near the 

 hatcheries, I caught six salmon that had not been to salt 

 water. I found that the care taken in cleaning up the 

 hatchery would have a few salmon fry left, and it was 

 his habit to carry them up into the lake. What I got 

 came over the dam in a fresh, and made their way down 

 to the pond among the confined parent fish. They had 

 been seen on their voyage down and one had been killed 

 in a small stream. Those that I got weighed, some 6, 

 some 81bs. , and were in first-class condition and fine eat- 

 ing, but not so fat as a spring salmon. I opened them, 

 but could not detect signs of milt or ova, and it was pure 

 guess work to determine the sex, the best guide being 

 length of head. I judged them to be four or five years 

 old, but the man at the hatchery had put fry into the 

 lake for eight years previous. 



"Lotsofsnowhereand very cold; the lack of it last year 

 hurt our lower angling pools on the salmon rivers, but it 

 will give plenty of water the coming summer." 



Salmon in the Second Year. 

 It will be observed that Mr. Mowat speaks of salmon of 

 "one and one-half pounds in the second year." This is 

 not the first time that I have had my attention called to 

 what I consider the remarkable growth of young salmon 

 in Canadian waters, compared with the same fish of same 

 age in the waters of New York. For instance, I planted 

 some salmon fry on May 31 in a stream that never before 

 under any circumstances contained this species of fish. 

 Say that they were three months old at the time, which 

 would make the date of their birth the latter part of Feb- 

 ruary. In October of the next year, at which time the 

 salmon were eighteen months old, I caught, at the request 

 of the late Prof. Baird, half a dozen or such a matter of 

 the fish, and they were sent to Washington and are now 

 catalogued in the Smithsonian Institution and can be pro- 

 duced. I think none of them were over eight inches long, 

 and the largest one may have weighed a little over two 

 ounces. The brook was fairly swarming with the baby 

 salmon and so far as I could observe none had left the 

 stream to go to sea. I caught these with a fly, and at 

 every catch half a dozen or more salmon would rise to the 

 lure. Some showed the parr marks plainly, but one 

 bright-colored smolt with sea livery on gave milt into my 

 hand as I was taking him from the hook. I concluded 

 that some would go to sea that winter and that others 

 would not go down to sea until the folio wing spring, when 

 they were fully two years old. In fact, all the smolt that 

 have been caught in the river on their way to sea, so far 

 as reported, have been caught in the spring. I observed 

 the same thing in another brook, that is, that the young 

 salmon had not left the stream in the fall of the second 

 year after planting the fry, and this brook, too, had no 

 salmon in or near it until I planted it. This is quite 

 | different from the habits of the salmon in Europe. 



