Dec. 1, 1894. J 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
471 
Mr. Barton tells me that he could not be mistaken 
about the species of the little fish, they were black bass; 
and the parent fish had eaten most of its own brood after 
carefully caring for them for ten days or more. Many 
charges have been made against the character of the 
black bass, but this is by far the most serious indictment 
yet presented; and I cannot yet think it is the habit of 
the black bass to eat their own young if other food 
abounds. 
I know of one instance where a black bass brooded its 
young for six weeks after they were hatched. Mr. Barton 
tells me, further, that after he found the young bass in 
the stomach of its parent, he made inquiries among the 
fishermen about the lake and watched other bass with 
their young, and from what he learned came to the con- 
clusion that it is quite common for the black bass in Brant 
Lake to eat their young. I would be very glad to hear 
from any one who has made observations upon this sub- 
ject of cannibalism among black bass. It will be a diffi- 
cult matter to investigate thoroughly because of the law 
in some States that forbids the capture of bass during and 
directly after the spawning season, but it can be investi- 
gated in New York State, where there is no law to protect 
bass during their actual spawning season except as the 
supervisors have furnished it. 
From the _ Hatcheries. 
This is the season in which the work is done upon 
which the fishing of succeeding seasons depends. Nature 
and the fish hatcheries of the land are both employed in 
developing fish for the years to come, and as the result is 
large or small, so the promise of fishing in the immediate 
future may be good or bad. Fish Commissioner Griffin 
of New Hampshire writes me from Manchester; "This 
year our catch of breeding lake trout at Newfound Lake 
beats any previous record, both in the number of fish 
taken and in the size of the females. We took in all 
about 900 trout, but used only 830 for spawning, the bal- 
ance being males, and were not required. I estimate that 
we have taken 3,500,000 eggs, but cannot tell accurately 
until they are figured on the trays at the hatcheries where 
they are laid down. 
"The weight of the fish would average at least lOlbs. 
We weighed several that brought the scales down to 
181bs. 
"We took a few male trout weighing from li to 31bs., 
which proves to our satisfaction that the fry planted in 
the past are doing well, as for the first three years that 
trout were taken from this lake for breeding purposes no 
small trout were caught. Taking into consideration the 
fact that all of the trout taken this year were taken off of 
one spawning bed with a common dip net, it leads me to 
think that we have as good, if not the best, lake in the 
country for this species of fish. 
"Col. Wentworth says that the very rough weather at 
Sunapee Lake this fall on the saibling spawning beds has 
interfered with the work of taking the parent fish. Still, 
they have met with fair success, and at last reports they 
were still taking saibling. 
' 'The catch of breeding landlocked salmon at New Found 
this year is larger than ever before, being 89 fish, as com- 
pared with 67 for the largest number in any previous 
year. 
"As few have been stripped, I cannot say how many 
eggs we will get; but judging from the number of females 
taken this season, as compared with last, we will certainly 
have three times as many." 
Stocking Virgin Waters. 
Fish Commissioner George F. Peabody, of Wisconsin, 
nends me a description of the result of the work done in 
his State in the way of stocking certain streams with 
brook trout. The waters are streams in Waushara county, 
which eight years ago were barren of fish life, except 
perhaps suckers and. chubs. About a dozen of these 
Btreams, made up of springs and flowing through a 
charming wooded country, although they contained no 
trout, seemed to invite them, and as all conditions of 
purity and temperature of water and food were offered 
the Commissioners began to stock them with brook trout 
fry, and the result has been such as to border on the 
marvelous. During the past season a catch of forty trout 
was made in one day in these streams, and after being 
dressed the fish weighed 631bs., the largest fish weighing 
3ibs. lOoz. On the same date two other gentlemen 
caught fifty trout, of a total weight of 621bs. The Commis- 
sioners visited the streams in July, and in spite of an 
extremely hot day they caught 135 trout in three streams 
in a few hours fishing. 
Waupaca county has also been benefited in a like man- 
ner, and one stream that sixteen years ago contained no 
trout, now, as the result of stocking by the Commis- 
sioners, yields strings of from 500 to 1,500 trout in from 
one to two weeks' ilshing. I have an idea, however, that 
encouraging as such results must be to the Commissioners 
who have exercised such excellent judgment in the selec- 
tion and stocking of these streams, that tne waters will 
not stand such a tax upon their resources. When two 
fishing parties in three days' time take 1,200 and 1,500 
trout respectively, from waters artificially stocked, they 
do not exercise the same good judgment displayed by the 
Commissioners in stocking them, and such merciless fish- 
ing must cease or the hatcheries of the State increased to 
keep up the supply of fish. This is but one of the many 
things which tend to confirm my view that we must soon 
have the catch of so-called game fish taken for sport 
limited by law. 
Mr. Peabody urges very strongly that the Fish Com- 
mission of his State should be removed entirely from 
political influences as the only means to make it thor- 
oughly efficient. 
A New Sinker. 
Mr. Alfred Jardine has a reputation as an angler which 
extends from his home in Great Britain to the rest of the 
habitable world where angling is practiced as a fine art. 
and a Jardine this or a Jardine that is quite sure to relate 
in some way to fishing; and the name is enough to insure 
that the article, whatever it may be, is good. I have just 
received from Redditch, England, samples of perhaps Mr. 
Jardine's latest invention, in the shape of a sinker, called 
the "Archer" Jardine detachable lead, and after due delib- 
eration I have arrived at the conclusion that it is the best 
sinker I ever saw. I have seen many forms of detachable 
sinkers, but they are as nothing compared to this one, 
which has the very unusual merit that it may be attached 
or detached from a leader or line without the least injury 
to either, and it is so simple that I wonder that 4,000 ang- 
lers have not thought of it before. The sinker is of soft 
lead, round, and of various thicknesses and lengths to 
produce different weights. Around the lead is a spiral 
groove, and the ends of the lead terminate in a bit of 
coiled brass wire. The line or leader, when soft from 
wetting, may be wound around the grooves and con- 
ducted inside the spiral terminating wires, and then it is 
impossible for the sinker to slip on the line or leader. It 
is the only sinker that I know of that can be attached to 
a gut leader without injury to it. 
The sinkers are painted a dark green, without gloss, and 
the lead is soft enough to be bent into the form commonly 
used on a casting or trolling line to prevent the line from 
twisting as a spinning bait revolves. 
Yearling Trout. 
Among those who have been converted to the use of 
yearling trout for stocking or restocking streams, instead 
of fry, is Mr. A. C. Collins, president of the State Sports- 
men's and Farmers' Association of Connecticut, and I 
understand that the belief is growing throughout that 
State that yearling trout are not only better for stocking 
purposes, but that they are cheaper in the end than fry. 
And this reminds me that I have just read that "the 
average number of fry taken, from a salmon is about 
6,000." A. N. Cheney. 
AUTUMNAL MUSINGS. 
Now the withered leaves come whirling down, and 
caught by the eddying gusts are scattered to the hollows 
and fence corners, there to lie packed in damp sodden 
masses, awaiting the action of time and their final disin- 
tegration. The intense yellow of the last golden rods 
gleams out in bold contrast against the brown carpet of 
the fields and roadsides. Here and there the grayish 
white and purple stars of the belated asters attract the 
eye, and across the pastures bright patches of color be- 
token the presence of the scarlet leaved sumac. Along 
the edge of the forest bordering the meadow is displayed 
an unrivalled combination of colors — the deep green, the 
bright yellow, the vivid scarlet and intermediate shades 
marking the fading away of the emerald foliage of the 
summer months. Already has the hum of insect life 
ceased and the bark of the gray squirrel taken the place 
of the bird song now hushed by the approach of icy 
winter. 
Ah, how these familiar signs all give warning of one of 
the inevitable changes bo consistent with the laws of 
nature; and with this change comes a subtle undefinable 
feeling of melancholy inspired by this universal decay of 
all things bright and beautiful. This feeling most 
strongly appeals to the angler's heart, and why not? As is 
the ship to the marines or the studio to the artist, such 
are the forests and streams to the naturalist-angler. 
Grand music- to his ear is the dash and roar of the moup 
tain stream, and in the proper season he is ubiquitous in 
the mountains. You will hear the ring of his cheery 
laugh as he shouts to his. comrade across the pool or where 
the stream leaves the hills and widens out into the calm 
reaches of the meadow, you will hear the splash of his 
wading boots and the swish of his leader as he sends the 
feathered cheat out to the chosen spot. But now the 
summer wanes and these are things of the past, and a 
feeling of rebellious discontent steals over him, as he 
lays the rod away and ponders on the cheerless idle days 
that must surely intervene till the return of the open sea- 
son again. 
But hold. Not altogether are the days profitless. 
These are the sportsmen's golden days, replete with 
pleasures made possible by these gloomy later months so 
distasteful to the brother of the angle. In our northern 
clime there are pleasures peculiar to the season. There is 
the start in the early hours of the glistening frosty morn, 
the long tramp over the breezy hills, the invigorating 
walk as we follow the erratic movements of the well 
trained canine friend through the fields, the point, the 
flush, the whirr of brown wings, the thunderous roar of 
the gun, followed by the abrupt downward plunge into 
the brown stubble, and then the retrieve. But this is 
active, boisterous sport, not to be compared with the 
quiet joys of the gentle art. The gun does not and can- 
not take the place of the rod, for we do not measure the 
pleasures of the day by the weight of the creel. It is 
enough to wander of a lovely June day, rod in hand, on 
the fern-covered banks of a pleasant stream, now stopping 
at some swirling eddy or inviting pool to capture a drip- 
ping prize, or again pausing to listen to the trill and 
twitter of the feathered companions of the wood. Ah! 
is not this the acme of happiness? 
But we must yield to the stern decrees of nature and 
wait till springtime clothes the earth with richest garb, 
and brings again those days replete with pleasures that, as 
good old Izaak Walton saith, are without offence to either 
God or man. E. M. Brown. 
" Red Trout," Kennerley's Salmon. 
Lockport, Nov. 23. — I dislike very much to disturb the 
conclusions of so enthusiastic and entertaining a corres- 
pondent and angler as "El Comancho," of Seattle, on the 
subject of "red trout," but that industry and perseverance 
which led him to undertake a quarter mile portage and a 
twenty mile voyage in a Siwash canoe ought to be able 
to stand a little contradictory evidence. 
In an article published in the last number of Forest 
and Stream "El Comancho," is positive that the "red 
trout" is identical with the common lake trout of the 
Puget Sound country. "El Comancho" is mistaken in 
his conclusions. The fish he writes about was identified, 
illustrated and described in Forest and Stream a few 
years ago as Kennerley's salmon. This little "red fish," 
as it is called around the lakes of Whatcom county has 
puzzled many an angler, including the writer, and I was 
greatly pleased to learn its identity. It was my privilege 
to visit Lake Whatcom, Wash., less that five weeks ago, 
when I found these fish assembled at the mouth of a 
creek neai the head of the lake, ready to ascend and per- 
form their family duties, when the water in the creek 
was sufficiently high to permit it. I caught some of 
them by letting a gang of three hooks down among them 
and suddenly raising it. 
The fish then presented a healthful appearance, the 
males being of a reddish hue, which I do not think is 
due to disease as "411 Comancho" says. The files of For- 
est and Stream will furnish him with a great deal of in- 
formation about this fish. c. s. Rice, 
I Pleasant Pond Landlocked Salmon. 
Charlestown, N. H.,Nov. 23.— Editor Forest and Stream: 
I am perfectly contented to "sit corrected" as to the land- 
locked salmon in Pleasant Pond, New London. As I said I 
wrote solely from memory, all my records being burned, 
and was deceived, by the name of the pond, as to its loca- 
tion, having forgotten that there was a Pleasant Pond in 
Springfield, it not being so named in my map of the State. 
I prepared the list of the lakes in the report of 1879, myself, 
with no small labor, and made it as correct as possible up to 
that date. I should be the last person to accuse my old 
friend and colleague, Powers, of any underhand proceedings, 
for the Commissioners themselves were fully informed of 
the doings of each other, but for obvious reasons we did not 
care to make all our experiments public until we knew 
something of the results. 
I am very glad to have the rapid growth of the "wininish" 
in the New London pond verified, for Mr. Powers and my- 
self made up our minds in 1876 that it was the "coming fish" 
for New Hampshire waters, and that it was better for us to 
introduce them than to devote all our energies to the 
original object of the Commission, I. e., that of restoring the 
Salmo salar to our rivers. 
The Dext step I want to see taken is to stock our small 
rivers, which are too large for the S. fontinalis, with the 
European or brown trout, and I have so written Commis- 
sioner Shurtleff. Von W. 
The Proposed Minnesota Association. 
St. Paul, Minn., Nov. 23.— Editor Forest and Stream: A 
movement is being started with the intention of organizing 
a voluntary Minnesota Game and Fish Protective Associa- 
tion as an auxiliary to the constituted State Bonrd. A plan 
has been outlined in several recent issues of the St. Paul 
Pioneer Press, and has received favorable editorial com- 
ment as also the indorsement of our State Board of Game 
and Fish Commissioners, and the promised active support of 
some well known gentlemen and enthusiasts on the game 
question. 
A short explanation and a brief outline of the proposed 
work is in order. During late years the game and fish re- 
serves of Minnesota are fast becoming depleted through the 
indiscriminate hunting and fishing both in and out of sea- 
son. Naturally there are cases which the State Board does 
not become acquainted with, though where they do, they 
vigorously prosecute. They are doing a noble work. There 
is a feeling of antagonism among many people of the rural 
districts against game legislation, since they have an idea 
that game laws are made only for the benefit of a favored 
few. The State Board is necessarily composed of but a few 
members, but if there was a voluntary State organization 
that any might join as members, it would afford an excel- 
lent opportunity for a dissemination of views on the subject 
and a hearty co-operation. We would be in direct touch 
with the entire State, and. the conduct of each member 
would do much to win a kinder feeling at large for those 
who do enjoy the pleasures of the rod and gun. 
What we need is an organization to give support to the 
game laws, and encouragement and assistance to the State 
board. It is certainly most possible that such a body might 
be formed and incorporated during our present session of 
Legislature. 
We will be perfectly voluntary in character, no one of us 
wishing to enrich himself by a dollar; and with a member- 
ship fee of not more than a dollar yearly, we should enlist 
the support of a very large number of gentlemen of like 
tastes. The game resources of Minnesota are worthy of the 
effort. We can be of such service in effecting additional 
legislation. There is a growing sentiment among sportsmen 
of the whole country that laws should be passed everywhere 
prohibiting the sale of game. Another fact is, that rich as 
Minnesota game reserves are, we cannot forever furnish 
game to citizens of other commonwealths gratuitously; and 
would see enacted a law exacting a license fee from all non- 
resident gunners. We should" not be expected to give un- 
limited advantages to strangers to our own detriment. 
Wm. L. Tucker, Sec. Com. on Organization, 
New York Association. 
New York State Association for the Protection of 
Fish, Game and Forest.— Syracuse, N. Y., November 20.— 
The next annual meeting of the New York State Associ- 
tion for the Protection of Fish, Game and Forest, will be 
held in the Assembly Hall of the Hotel Yates, in the city of 
Syracuse, beginning at 10 A. M. on Thurday, Jan, 10, 1895. 
This meeting will be of unusual importance. The associ- 
ation has become influential in the shaping of legislation in 
relation to the interests it assumes to protect, and at this 
meeting new subjects of vital interest will be presented for 
serious consideration, and numerous amendments to the 
Code are likely to be proposed. With full and zealous repre- 
sentations from the various auxiliary associations and clubs, 
the proceedings of the meeting can be made most influential. 
The work necessary to be done ought to be well distributed 
for all are alike interested. We urge that the attendance 
should be full, with a view to making the declarations of the 
meeting felt in the Legislature. 
It would seem that the importance of this meeting, which 
must consider questions relating to fish, game and forest 
alike, should appeal to all of the tournament organizations 
as well as to the present membership of the association. 
Their earnest assistance and support is greatly to be desired. 
When the constitution of the association was revised and 
made to provide for winter and summer meetings, it was 
done with the expectation that all associations throughout 
the State, even such as preferred the gun to the rod, or the 
rod to the gun, would come into full membership, and by 
force of wise counsels and large numbers give to the associ- 
ation such power and influence as to give great weight to its 
recommendations to the Legislature. This circular is sent 
to all clubs and associations throughout the State, hoping 
that all earnest friends of the protection so much needed, 
will give to the next meeting of the association their hearty 
support. 
Under a resolution adopted at the last meeting, proposed 
amendments to the code must be filed with the chairman of 
the law committee, W. S. McGregor, Syracuse, on or before 
Dec. 10. Particular attention is called to this requirement, 
that this part of the business programme for the meeting 
may be arranged in advance. It is hoped, however, that pro- 
posed amendments, so filed, will be general in their character 
and operation, except in cases were special legislation seems 
to be absolutely necessary. 
A very important subject which will be introduced for 
special consideration will be the suggestion of the Senate 
committee to divide the State into three districts with a 
special code for each district. 
It is hoped that delegates to the meeting will be appointed 
at least two weeks previously, and their names sent to .the 
secretary at Buffalo, that a full and authentic roll may be 
jjrepared. A general programme of business will be prepared 
with a design to dispatch business, for it is manifest that the 
proceedings will be of unusual length and interest. 
Unless active and efficient efforts shall be put forth, it 
must be that the cause of protection will fail, and game, fish 
and forest perish. Never was there more to encourage 
workers in this cause than now exists, and with all its 
friends at work there must be grand success. 
John B. Sage, Sec'y. Dwight H. Bruce, Pres. 
