JoNB 13, 1897.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
469 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Flshingr Season Ooen. 
CHiCAao, May 29.— May 25 removed the limit on all sorts 
of game fishing in Wisconsin, From this date on we shall 
see greater a,nd greater crowds upon the Saturday afternoon 
trains of the Wisconsin Central, the Northwestern, and the 
Milwaukee & St. Paul railroads. Thus far the season has 
heen very cold and backward, and fishing has not heen 
attended with the comfort usually associated with green 
fields, sunny skies and waters which lilt and purl. One of 
our choice Chicago days, with the thermometer at a trace 
above freezing, and a raw wind blowing, is calculated to 
knock the lilt and purl out of things to an extent distressing 
to the tackle trade. 
An Old-TIme Fishing Reel. 
Mr. Isaac Hitt, of Chicago, recently brought to this office 
something of a curiosity in the form of an old-time brass 
fishing reel. This reel he bought in Baltimore, Md., in the 
year 1851, and he used it in the waters of that vicinity and 
later on in his fishing near La Salle, III., where he resided 
for some years. This old reel is made of brass and multi- 
plies one time. It has no balance handle and no reel-seat 
attachment, the rtel being confined on the rod by means of 
a circular clamp operated by a thumb screw, as many reels 
were made until within twenty years ago. The maker of 
the old reel is not known, and it is in no way connected with 
the early Kentucky reels. Most curious of all in regard to 
this ancient bit of sporting gear is the fact that it still con- 
tains a good part of the fishing line which Mr. Hitt put in it 
in the year 1851, and which he pays he is sure has never been 
changed. This line is a braided silk, and it would indeed be 
a matter of curio- ity if it had lasted all these years, even with 
less use than that given it by Mr, Hitt. It is possible that 
this line has been changed without Mr. Hitt's knowledge, 
though he feels quite sure that it is the old line that he 
bought with the reel forty-six years ago. 
Fishing on the ThornapDie. 
Lexden, of Michigan Citv, Ind., writes, giving further in- 
formation which he has collected for the benefit of Fouest 
AND Stream readers in regard to the angling on the Thorn- 
apple River of Michigan south peninsula. He says that Mr. 
Holt, who writes from Cascade, has a trout hatchery at that 
point. He adds that a favorite way of fishing this stream 
is to go to Cascade and go up stream with one's boat by 
wagon for a distance of nine miles, then putting the boat in 
and floating down stream to the town, thus getting a nice 
day's fishing. Mr. C. F. Holt, above referred to, says, 
under date of May 24: 
"The bass fishing in Tbornapple was as good last season 
as in many years. The first week in last September, In col- 
lecting fish for exhibit at the State fair, 1 caught thirty- 
seven in one day, ten of them weighing over 3lbs. These 
were caught with minnows. 
"Bass are now spawning, and seem to be plenty, but there 
has been very little fishing yet. 
Mr. A. L. French, of Fort Wayne, also writes encourag- 
ingly below, as does Mr. W. E. Powers, of Hastings, Mich., 
and it would appear that a stream where one can take thirty- 
five fish, and may possibly get trout mixed in with his bass, 
all on a stream with as tempting a name as that of the 
"Thoruapple," ought to be good enough to risk. Mr. 
French says: "I think the fishing was never better there 
than it was last year on ihe Thornapple. I did not come 
down the river once when we got less than thirty-five fish." 
Mr. Powers writes: "1 presume you cculd get fly-fishing 
in the Thornapple River. We do not fish the river for bass, 
as we think them grubby in warm weather. The river will 
be too high for wading until July, then a person would need 
a boat in places. Some very nice trout have been caught in 
late years in the river. I can see no reason why two persons 
with a boat that could be handled around the dams could 
not have a great time going down the river. 
"I don't think any fly fishing is done on the river, and, as 
1 have said, we do not fish the river, Gum Lake being my 
place for fishing. There we use live bait mostly." 
AmonsT the Fishermen. 
Chicago, 111., June 5 —Mr. E C, Carter, of the North- 
western Railroad, had the pleasure of being caught in a se- 
vere snowstorm while trout fishing in the Escanaba River, 
in Michigan, on May 31. None the less, Mr. Carter managed 
to take twenty-four very fine trout during the day. Out 
here we call a trout a fine one which runs 8 or lOin. in length. 
Mr. John Shcarson, of the Northwestern dining car depart- 
ment, took quite a little party up to Manitowish last Friday 
a week ago. They were fortunate enough to take several 
mascallonge, though none were very large. 
No word is yet received from Messrs. Stanton and Willard, 
who are absent at Squirrel Lake fishing for 'lunge. "The sea- 
son is so cold and backward that it is likely they have met 
with little success, although they are skillful fisherman. So 
far I have known of only one good 'lunge coming down 
from Wisconsin this season, this being seen at the shop of a 
local taxidermist. 
On Sunday evening the following gentlemen will leave 
Chicago for a three weeks' fishing trip for mascallonge and 
bass at flabbekona Camp, on Woman Lake, in Upper Min- 
nesota: Messrs. Joseph Downey, H. Leech, W. P. Mussey, 
0. S. Wilcox, C. B. Dicks, S. M. Sutherland and J. W. C. 
Haskell, These gentlemen should have very good sport 
from all accounts, and 1 look upon their trip with some curi- 
osity, considering them in a manmr, the advance guard of 
the army of sportsmen who I predict will soon invade Min- 
nesota as a new hunting and fishing territory. 
About a dozen members of the Eagle River Hunting and 
Fishing Club left this week for their place on Big Sand Lake, 
Wis. This club owns about 4,500 acres of land, and is near 
to good fishing. 
"The white bass are running now near Holland, Mich., and 
there should be good black and white bass fishing near there 
this month. 
Mr. Wm. F. Schmidt, of Chicago, writes me thus in re- 
gard to bass waters not far distant: 
"On Saturday last three of us caught forty-two bass in 
Eagle Lake, Wisconsin, Kansasville Station,. on C, M. & St. 
P. R. R., seventy miles from Chicago. This lake has not 
been fished much and has not been advertised extensively. 
The season opens in Wisconsin May 25, which gives the bass 
in the southern Wisconsin lakes a better chance to increase. 
The only fishermen we found there were the same fishermen 
who have been going there for years. 
"This lake, when the water is high in spring, is connected 
with Fox River, and both large-mouth and smaU-mouth bass 
come up into it to spawn, being left there when the water 
recedes. In this manner it is continually re-stocked. I 
know of no better lake near Chicago for bass, and none more 
convenient, trains arriving there in the afternoon in time 1o 
fish a couple of hours. Returning train reaches Chicago 
about 10 P. M. next night or 9 ;30 tae following morning. 
"The bait we used was pork-rind, cut to somewhat resem- 
ble the shape of a frog. 
"You speak of the Prairie River, near Merrill, Wis. Some 
of my friends have been up there this season. A party of 
them in two days caught ab lut 100 each, and they are very 
enthusiastic over it; so you can set it down that the fly-fish- 
ing for trout is as good there as ever." E. Houqh. 
1-JC6 BoYCK Building, Chicago. 
"he Mmmt 
Catskill Mountain Trout.' 
Near Phoenicia, N Y"., on the southern edge of the Cats- 
kills, three Kingston sportsmen, Messrs. Arthur Benjamin, 
Ira 0 Lowe and Gilbert Barley, took 241 bs. of trout May 
31. The party camped over night in Snyder Hollow on the 
stream, about five miles from Phoenicia, and began fishing 
at daybreak. Their largest fish weighed IJibs , but the 
entire catch ran well, and there were few small ones. The 
water was low, but this did not affect the fishing un- 
favorably. 
As a result of intelligent stocking, the fishing in the Cats- 
kills brooks is steadily improving, and the average size of 
fish taken seems to be increasing. 
In Esopus Creek and tributary streams a large proportion 
of the fish taken now are California trout; but these seem to 
be equally esteemed with the native trout. 
The Kingston anglers have a method of fishing which is 
sa-d to be very successful. 
It is a combination of bait and fly-fishing. The cast ia 
rigged as follows :• 
First comes a bait hook, then, about 8ln. above that, a 
very light sinker; then in order black Spanish fly, brown- 
hackle and white-miller. The cast is made to the lower ecd 
of the pool and drawn up against the current. If nothing 
results, the line is allowed to sink and float back with the 
current. Trout are either taken or attracted by the flies, 
and afterward the bait has a chance to get in its fine work. 
Our reports from Sullivan county show that the fishing at 
present is very poor. The streams were skinned by the 
early fishermen, and little or nothing remains for later 
arrivals. This, of course, is a common story. While the 
trout are plentiful, big catches are made, and fishing for 
count is the order of the day. 
The local hotel proprietors are too apt to encourage this 
destructive tendency, as it gives them a chance to boast of 
big catches made in their neighboring streams. 
'The logical remedy is to enact a law limiting the number 
of fish to be taken by one rod in a day. Such a law would 
not only lengthen the season when fishing is good, but 
would also tend to protect the small trout, as these would be 
returned to the water when there was a chance of catching 
larger fish. J. B. Burnham. 
Florida "SmaU Fish." 
Mr. Vom Hofe has returned to New York after a two 
months' fishing trip in Florida. His visit to the Texas tar- 
pon country was given up at the last moment, but some of 
his friends have gone there to try conclusions with the 
Aransas Pass article. 
Mr. Vom Hofe brought to gaff in all ten tarpon. He de- 
voted much of his time to angling for what in contradis- 
tinction to their more lordly brethren are called "small fish," 
fi?h ranging in weight from 3 up to 25lbs. These fish bite 
so freely that there is always plenty of fun angling for 
them. Included in the classification are snook, jackfish, 
lady or bonefish, sea trout, Spanish mackerel, etc. Two 
weeks at Punta Rassa were given up to such fishing, and 
from 50 to 100 fish taken at a time. 
Among other trophies of his trip Mr. Vom Hofe shows the 
whip taken from an 801b. whip ray, which measures 5ift. in 
length. Whiprays and stingrays are speared in shallow 
water. The guide paddles along very quietly, and the rays, 
which are dark fish, are easily seen by contrast with the 
white sand bottom. 
The large sawfish taken by Mr. Vom Hofe at Port Myers 
was illustrated in our last issue. J. B. B. 
American Fisheries Society. 
Glens Falls, N. Y. — The twenty-sixth annual meeting of 
the American Fisheries Society wiU be held at the Russell 
House, Detroit, Mich., June 17. 18 and 19. 
There wUl be a business meeldng the morning of the 17th, 
and in the afternoon a trip will be made across Lake St. 
Clair by private steam yacht to Lake St. Clair Shooting and 
Fishing Club, where dinner will be served. 'The 18th will 
be devoted to business. The evening of the 18th the mem- 
bers of the Society will become the guests of the oflicers of 
the Michigan Central R. R,, and entertained in their private 
car on a journey to the State hatchery, at Paris, returning 
to Detroit the next day. 
A. Nelson Cheney, Recording Secretary. 
Maine Trout and Deer. 
Dead River, Me., May 29.— Fishing has begun in earnest 
in this section. Sportsmen are arriving in good numbers 
and some very good strings of trout are being taken. 
Miss Ethel A. Harlow, of Ledge House, caught twelve 
nice brook trout one day this week. 
A large black bear was seen by a party of fishermen at 
Poplar Brook Falls last week. 
Deer can be seen every day from the Ledge House and 
Cabins in large numbers. Over forty were seen last week 
from the piazza of the house. This is a fine opportunity for 
one wishing to get photographs of deer. 
Dead Rtver GtTiide. 
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FOREST AND STREAM OFFICE 
346 Broadway 
^ NEW YORK LIFE BUILDINQ 
FIXTURES. 
FIELD TRIALS. 
Sept. 1.— Continental Field Trials Club's cbicken trials, Morris, Man 
Sept. 6. Manitoba Field Trials Club, Storris, Man. 
Oct. 25.— Brunswicli Fur Clnb's ninth annual trials. 
Nov. 1.— Dixie Red Fox Club's third annual meet, Waverly, Miss. 
Nov. 2 — Monongahels Valley Game and Fish Pj'otective Associ- 
ation's trials, Greene county. Pa. 
Nov. 8.— Union Field Trials Club's trial?, Carlisle, Ind. 
Nov. 15.— E F. T. Club's trials, Newton, N. C. 
Nov, 36.— International Field Trials Club's eighth annual trialSf 
Chatham, Ont. 
Nov. S2.— U. S F. T. Club's autumn trials. 
1898. 
Jan. 10.— U. S. F. T Club's winter trials. West Point, Mia.s. 
Jan 17. — Continental F. T. Club's trials, New Albany, Miss. 
Present Entrance on Leonard Street 
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SCHOOLING THE DOG.-III. 
To the beginner, the matter of selecting a setter or pointer 
puppy is one of great moment, one to be thought over care- 
fully and seriously duilng a number of days, with such ad- 
ditional data as can be gathered from the advice of sym- 
pathetic friends. He will probably be told that the puppy, 
which outstrips its fellows in the scramble to the feeding 
dish, is infallibly the best; or that the one wbich bullies the 
others and is master of the litter is the best; or any one of 
a dozen whimsical notions may serve for advice, for how- 
ever incapable or ignorant a man may be himself concern- 
ing dog matters, it is rare indeed when he does not feel 
competent to give expert advice concerning Ihem. There 
is no way to determine the puppy which will make the best 
field dog other than by the way of actual test. And this 
cannot be applied till the puppy has mental and physical 
powers developed sufficiently to work afield. All other so- 
called signs of determining the best puppy are trashy non- 
sense. The strongest puppy, scrambling tirst to the dish, 
may be the most gluttonous, and nothing more. He may 
be the first to dinner, with no inclination to work. The 
greatest bully may be a loafer. Nothing definite can be 
determined by matters of mere whim or fancy. Of course 
the trained eye of the breeder can detect extreme coarse- 
ness or weediness even in young puppies, but even the 
average physical qualities cannot be predetermined by the 
appearance of puppies when they are only a few weeks old. 
A handsome puppy may shape up into a homely dog, and 
a homely one may mature into symmetrical form. The 
main points to consider are that the puppy is bright, 
healthy and vigorous, and that it comes from well-bred 
parents of good qualities. These attributes do not insure 
that the puppy will be a good one, but if possessed of these 
there are then more chances that it will be good. There are 
well bred loafers, imbeciles and incapables among puppies, 
and the really good ones are in a minority. 
It is much better to purchase the puppy when it is eight or 
more months old, for the reason that the death rate among 
nursing puppies is much greater than is commonly known. 
The puppy, at eight or more months of age, has far greater 
chances of life than when its age is only a few weeks, and 
furthermore, the purchaser can have some reasonably definite 
knowledge of its qualities and capabilitic s 
Still, one must not be too hasty in forming either favorable 
or unfavorable opinions of young puppies' field qualities, for 
some puppies are very precocious and show a puppyish en- 
thusiasm for work which ends or lessens with matur- 
ity, while others mature slowly, and develop into good or 
superior dogs notwithstanding a lack of earlier promise. In 
short, the same tact and good sense, so useful in every-day 
matters, are equally useful in matters pertaining to the 
dog. 
Good health is essential to the puppy, both to him as a 
useful organic being, which has certain functions of life to 
perform properly, but in his capacity as a pupil it is indis- 
pensable. When the puppy is in ill health there then should 
be no attempt train him ; he is then as unfit to be taught as 
the teacher, if ill, would bg unfit to teach. 
Both that he may have the comforts be deserves and that 
his health may be good, give him a comfortable place to 
sleep in, one which is dry, well ventilated and sufficiently 
warm. His food should be sufficient in quantity and good 
in quality. If he is a few weeks old, teed him liberally 
three or four times a day on milk and beef or mutton made 
into a stew, with cabbage, onions, potatoes, bread. Puppies 
when growing have a ravenous appetite and require frequent 
feeding in order to avoid the gorging they practice when 
there is too long a time between meals. 
When he is in age from ten to fifteen months, a light 
breakfast and a generous dinner at night will be sufficient, 
and when the dog is fully matured, say from twenty to 
twenty-four months of age, one meal at night will be ample. 
He may then be fed on table scraps if they are scraps worth, 
considering as food, for while the fragments left at any table 
are scraps, there is a wide difference in the food values of 
those same fragments. Scraps made up of fish bones, 
potato skins and corncobs would not be of much value, 
while scraps of good beef, bread and vegetables would be 
the best of dog food. If there is not a sufficient quantity 
or quality of scraps, then have the dog's food specially pre- 
pared. If he is working regularly every day to the gun a 
straight beef diet will be the best. Avoid the mistake of 
cooking the meat too well for the dog. If it is cut into 
pieces in size about right for a mouthful, then placed in a 
baking pan in the oven till the pieces are thoroughly hot, it 
is sufficient. Let it cool and the dog will eat the meat 
greedily. He will thrive on it. His coat will be in good 
condition, his spirits high, and he will have the greatest 
stamina of which he is capable. He will not be fcfflicted. 
with the annoying and serious bowel disorders which so 
frequently result from a vegetable diet, and his skin will be 
free from the diseases which are so offensive to the owner 
and so harmful to the dog. By some strange fallacy it is 
commonly believed that meat is harmful to the dog. Many 
disorders are attributed to its use. Notwithstanding that dogs 
fed on acorn meal or grain diet are lacking in powers of en- 
durance and are commonly afflicted with mange, the fallacy 
concerning a meat diet lives on and on. The dog is car- 
nivorous, and therefore when he can choose his diet he will 
select meat every time. If accustomed to a meat diet it is 
sometimes neces.sary to starve him into a vegetable diet before 
he will accept it, and when he does accept he does so reluc- 
tantly, and only at all from the impulse of hunger. He 
rarely needs any vegetable food with his meat, and when he 
does need it nature has so ordered it that the dog feels the 
need and knows instinctively how to satisfy it, for he goes 
forth and eats grass. In cities, where grass is not obtainable 
