SfiPT. 11, 18&7.] 
PENNSYLVANIA FISH COMMISSION. 
Philadelphia, Aug. 2o.— Editor Forest and Stream: The 
last Legislature adjourDed without making any appropria- 
tion lo enable the Fish Comnaission to carry on its work for 
the next two years. This omission is supposed to have been 
an overs? jht and not intentional. 
In consequence of the omission, Gov. Hastings recom- 
mends that a convention offish protective associations be 
held to assist in raising $35,000 for the Fish Commission's 
work, and that this sum be subscribed in shares of $500, 
payable to the treasurer of the I^ish Commission in semi- 
annual installments $125, on the understanding that the next 
Legislature refund the money. The Governor and a numbe <• 
of the members of the Legislature ex pi ess the opinion that 
there will be no doubt that the money will be to appro 
priated. 
The convention will be held in the Board of Trade rooms, 
Harrisburff, Wednesday afternoon and evening, Sept. 15, at 
a and 8 o'clock. 
The Pennsylvania Fish Protective Association, through its 
executive committee, has subscribed $500 (or one share of 
stock) from its treasury — all its income outside of its neces- 
sary expenses— toward the fund of |35,000; but it is felt that 
much more than this should be done through the Association. 
Therefore the executive committee has determined to 
endeavor to raise at least $1,500 more by subscription 
through its members and friends, or $2,000 in all. 
It is unnecessary to point out the great in jury which would 
result to the cuse of fishculture. if the vpork of the Fish 
Commission should be brought to a standstill for two years, 
for lack of funds. The prominence of the Pennsylvania Fish 
Protective Association in fishcultural and fish protective 
work, renders it desirable that it should take a leading place 
in the contribution of funds. 
The following are the propositions of the executive com- 
mittee : 
First— That if $500 is advanced or subscribed, it shall be 
receipted for on the regular blanks prepared by the State 
Attorney General, on the imderstanding that not more than 
$125 be called for with the subscription; $125 about Jan. 1, 
and $135 every six months thertafter until the whole has 
been paid. The receipt each lime being signed by the Fish 
Commission's treasurer. 
Second— That if $250 be subscribed, it may be under the 
same conditions as above, except that each installment shall 
only be $63 50. 
Third — That any other sum that may be subscribed be 
turned over to Mr. Alfred Hand, the treasurer of the Asso- 
ciation, who will issue a receipt in the name of the Associa- 
tion, keep a record of the same, and when the Legislature 
makes the expected appropriation, refund the same to the 
subscriber. The aggregate amount subscribed will hi turned 
over to the treasurer of the Fish Commission in the propor- 
tion of $125 to the share every six months, in accordance 
■with proposition one. 
Fourth— That subscriptions of less than $50 be paid to Mr. 
Hand in a lump sum. That amounts over $50 be paid in 
such installments and on such dates as may be fixed on by the 
subscriber, with the proviso that the first payment shall be 
within a few days after subscription, and the others before 
Jan. 1 and June 1 in each year. This proviso is made be- 
cause when subscriptions amounting to $500 have been re- 
ceived, a share will be taken by ine tr easurer of the Fish 
Protective Association, and it would be embarrassing to Mr. 
Hand not to be able to make payment thereon when the 
semi-annual installments are due. 
The treasurer is Mr. Alfred Hand, 204 Walnut place, 
Philadelphia. 
Howard A. Chase, 
Chairman of the Executive Committee. 
E. HAfiEBT, 
President Penna Fish Protective Asso. 
W. E. Meehan, 
Chairman Convention Committee. 
FOREST And STIREAM. 
varying in size from 3 to 71bs. Anyone desiring this sport 
can have their fill at this season. The close time begins the 
1st of October. S. J. Raymond. 
^11 
TROUTING ON THE MADAWASKA. 
Edmondstout, N. B., Aug. 36 —Dr. Camber, of Wood- 
stock, being called here on professional services, concluded 
to put in two days after trout with two objects in view, to 
have the fun of catching and to take some iiome to wife and 
friends. 
Hiring a team, we left here at 6 o'clock in the morning. 
A big frost of the night before made our heavy overcoats a 
necessity, as the morning was cold. Perhaps this was the 
reason why Jack, our driver, hurried his horse so much, and 
verified the old saying, less haste more speed. 
The horse dropping into a walk, Jack raised his whip, 
ana the animal gave a quick spring, breaking the whiflletree,' 
clearing itself from the wagon instantly, and running away 
into the woods, leaving us sitting in the wagon alongside the 
road. After a laugh at the ridiculous position we were in, 
we caught the horse, mended the harness with a few strings! 
and tied the tugs to a solid part of the wagon. Then on wo 
went once more, reaching our destination without further 
mishap. Here we engaged a man with his boat, and after 
getting rods rigged and s.ufl: on board, we embarked on the 
smoothly flowing waters of the Madawaska. 
Drifting down with the current, casting as wewent, secur- 
ing one here and another there, we soon had enough for din- 
ner. When we reached a good place in the stream for fish 
and a nice place on shore to cook and take lunch, we landed 
and prepared a good dinner, which we all-enjoyed thoroughly. 
Then we set to fishing again until we had descended the 
river two more miles, where our tent was pitched. A good 
.supply of dry grass was laid down and covered with fir 
boughs, making a bed that was very comfortable. With a 
good Are in front, the river at our side, and having had a 
day's fishing such as the Doctor had never experienced be- 
fore, we felt, very well contented. At 9 we turned into the 
blankets, with three over us I slept like a log. The Doctor 
was disturbed during the night by some small animal, prob- 
ably a rabbit, hopping on his feet and breast; he jumped 
and the animal did the same. 
At daylight (which means '1 o'clock), breakfast over and 
things packed, we went on down, getting irout every few 
casts At 10:30 we stopped at the mouth of a broott, had 
dinner, paid our man and sent him b.ack. We fished the 
mouth of the brook, catching many of lib. Here we re- 
mained till 5, when our team came along, as previously 
ordered. Counting up our catch we found that we had 
sixty three, besides what we had eaten. Eighteen of them 
would average lib. ; the rest were all good pan fish. I call 
it a very poor catch for this liver, but the Doctor was de- 
lighted, as it was the best fishing of his hfe. This river is 
noted for its large trout during the month of September, 
FISHING IN GRAND LAKE. 
Grand Lake Stream, Me., Aug. 2^.— Editor Foreat and 
Stream: The salmon fishing this season has been exceedingly 
good in Grand Lake. This water has not been known lo 
very many, for the reason that it has never been advertised; 
and most do not with to have it known, because it is very 
easy of access and the fishing good, and for this reason they 
think the lake would soon be flooded with men, and the re- 
suit would be no fish after a few years. But this would not 
be the case. Our fish are on the increase, and there are so 
many lakes behind Grand and so many spawning beds, that 
the number of fish will be kept nearly uniform. 
Grand Lake is situated in Washington county, about 
thirty-two miles from Calais, on the West Branch of the St 
Croix River. It is twelve miles long and some seven miles 
broad, dotted with beautiful islands and indented with deep 
coves and beautiful points. The water is exceedingly clear, 
the bottom being easily seen in 18 ft. of water. It is sur- 
rounded by one of the most beautiful forests of nature that 
one could imagine. 
There are no houses except the little village of Grand 
Lake Stream, which is situated at the outlet and a few 
camps situated at different places around the lake. 
Our season began this year on May 4, and each year as 
soon as the ice leaves. The salmon weigh from 3 to 61bs., 
and are very plenty and gamy. The catches for one man 
average from five to thirty-five salmon, and for a canoe to 
come in without any is a thing almost unknown. Mr. J. 
Weeks, of Boston, and his friend, Mr. Frank Austin, took 
750 square-tailed trout in one day, weighing from * to 24r\hs. 
H. G. Pitman. Boston, took lOolbs. in one day this season, 
but as our law is 351bs , he bad to put them back after he 
had weighed them. C. E. Roberts, Boston, took out 24lbs. 
of lake trout, and there were several taken weighing from 10 
to 301bs. each. 
In fishing in Grand Lake everybody uses canoes, and the 
sportsman faces the guide while fishing so he can have a fair 
view of the fish when it comes out of water When the sea- 
son first opens we catch them by trolling; then in June and 
July the fly-fishing is excellent. 
In coming to Grand Lske, you leave Boston in the even- 
ing, come by the Boston &■ Maine and Maine Central R. R. 
to Winn, thence by stage sixteen miles to Luck Lake, w here 
your guide will meet you and convey you to quarters, either 
at some of the camps or the boarding houses in the village, a 
distance of twenty-six miles; which place you will rtach the 
next evening, or in about twenty four hours. 
It is natural for all of us to stretch fish stories, but if you 
do not credit this, come next spring and try for yourself and 
then you will say I have not magnified it enough. 
J. T. Merrill, Registered Guide. 
ON THE FLORIDA SHORE. 
Summer HaA'E.s. Fla , via St. Augustine, Aug. 21 — 
Editor B'orest and Stream: For twenty-five days we have 
had southwesterly winds and frequent showers, with result- 
ant low tides. The anglers, therefore, have noi had the 
fishing looked for in August. JSTo bass at the surf at all, 
and only one moderate catch at the inlet. Mr. William 
Vertien 'landed twenty-two small bass, 2 to 31bs. each, on 
the ebb of Aug. 5, at our oyster boats here. On Aug'. lO 
Judge J. C. Vertien and Messrs. John J,, William and J. 0. 
Verlien, .Ir., made a fine catch of bass up the river; sorhe 
ianupto6, 7 and 8lbs. ; aljout twenty-five in all. These 
are our anglers. They fish for sport, with light jointless 
bamboo rods, with reels, moderate sinker and shrimp bait. 
If you have been to Summer Haven, you know Sam, 
and when Sam can not catch shrimp you and I need 
not cast our nets. Capt George Cable, of Drayton Island, 
is another angler who made several catches of small 
bass, and landed two fi-ood ones at the inlet that were 
said to weigh 10 or 131bs. each. He also caught a bad 
cramp in the surf; it took four pretty girls, a man and a boy 
to land him and rub life into him. He knew when to catch 
a cramp. 
Mr. George R. Morse put twenty-five turtle eggs in a box 
of sand on his veranda; in seventy days they hatched. He 
intends to put them in the ocean in a day or so, and I 
venture to say that they are the only green turtles that 
hatched on five miles of beach. It is a sin; not less than 
thirty nests have been robbed this season. 
Mr. David Spence, is our great sheepshead angler, a 
patient and successful one he is too. He lands some every 
day, and once brought in forty-one last week. 
Aug 16 Mr. Morse. Mr. Harrison and Jack Harrison 
caught 150 sheepshead (some small bass among them) in the 
afternoon ebb tide. 
Aug. 11, there was a flight of brown backs (dowitchers), 
summers and grass birds. Two of us killed fifty-eight by 
8:30 A. M.; our shells gave out and we had all the birds the 
community could use, so we quit; but the birds flew all day 
and 100 would be a low estimate of our bag, if we'd stayed. 
Aug. 14 the writer killed thirty-five, twenty of them wille's! 
Aug. 16 there was another flight— no one out. Aug ai the 
writer killed thirty -five again. 
The shooting is done over decoys stuck in a small flat or 
pond, selected as being near average line of flight, and lasts 
about three hours of flood tide. For the writer it stirs up 
old recollections of days on Scituate Pond and on the flits 
back of Monument Beach, between Nanset Tights and 
Chatham, Cape Cod. Life here has compensations; come 
down and share them a while. Captain. 
Throw Back the Fingerlings. 
Oharlestown, JS". H., Sept. 1 —Editor Forest and Stream: 
I note Columbia's letter in last number of Forest and 
Stream. All we can do is to educate the "rising genera- 
tion," as Well as a good many of those who think they are 
fully risen, to throw back the fingerhngs! One of the (great- 
est causes of the scarcity of trout in our New England brooks 
is the persistent catching and basketing of the yearlino-s, 
from 3 to 4in. long, for the sake of making a record, °or 
bragging on "the count." I ask the boys if they would 'ex- 
pect to raise ".-pring chickens" if they ate ail the eggs; at 
which they simply "grin." 
I tell them that the trout must be allowed to grow, so that 
some of them will have a chance to spawn, if they expect to 
keep the brooks stocked, and I hope 1 am making progress 
with some of them ; but it has got to be pounded in pei'sist- 
ently, and this is one of the cases where "eternal vigilance is 
the price of liberty." W. Von W. 
FLORIDA SUMMER INCIDENTS. 
A negro fisherman at the Lake landing one day this week 
was scaling a fish. After finishing the job he chucked the 
fish in the lake to wash the .scales ofl' wiien a moccasin bit 
one of his fingers. A doctor cut the finger open and the fish 
erman is now waiting for the cut to heal. He didn't suffer 
any from the poison of the anske. —Lee.^lmir/ Commm'ial. 
Raleigh Flowers has quite a curiosity in the shape of a six- 
legged rain frog. The third pair of legs is midway between 
the fore and hind limbs, rather on the side of the stomach 
and quite small and undeveloped, while the natural rear 
limbs are normal. The strange little animal has been pre- 
served in sXcohol. —PalatJca Ad-mrther. 
About eighteen months agr> Albert Reynolds drove in a 
buggy to South End to fish. Taking his* horse out, he left 
the buggy on the beach while he wandered off in search of 
fish. He was gone some time, and upon his return the 
buggy had disappeared, and he never got any trace of it. 
The mystery of its disappearance was solved the other day 
by a crew in a small boat who were dragging the bottom for 
the body of Wallace Maxwell. The grapple caught on to 
one of the wheels of the buggy and pulled oft" the hub. 
It. is supposed the buggy was backed into the surf by the 
wind the day it was lost, and the shifting sands soon em- 
bedded it —Nassau County Star. 
The assertion that the bite of a rattlesnake will not prove 
fatal to a hog, if fat, is untrue, as Mr. A. C. Johnson, a 
farmer of this county, can testify. He tells us lihat a few 
days ago he heard his pigs making a demonstration peculiar 
to their kind when disturbed, and thinking a dog or other 
animal was among the herd, he approached to drive it off. 
As he drew near he saw a large rattler strike one of the hogs 
and then crawl away. He shot the snake, which measured 
6ft. in length, and supporting, as an ornament to his caudal 
appendage, an even dozen rattles. As a result of the row 
between the snake and the hogs, two of the latter, one of 
which was a very fine, fat brood sow, died in an hour after 
being bitten. — Suwannee. Leader . 
A waterspout in all its terrible magnificence and grandeur, 
was seen Monday afternoon by Messrs. R. Don McLeod, Sr , 
Nat R. Walker, Tom Benton and the Breeze editor. The 
party had been flsbing along the edges of Gull Island, and see- 
ing a dark, dangerous-looking cloud rising, had started back to 
the mouth of Spring Creek. When about half-way out in 
the bay they were struck by a small squall, and looking oft' 
to the westward they saw the waterspout whirling around at 
a lively rate about a half mile away. The clouds seemed to 
bend down and catch the water as it was carried around and 
upward by the whirlwind. The phenomena is awfully 
grand, and i« interesting to behold, in spite of its dangerous 
character. The general course of the wind was almost 
directly from the waterspout to our boat, and we were all 
figuring hastily on the best course to pursue in case of a cap- 
size, when the spout veered off southward to the Gulf, pass- 
ing directly over the spot where we had been fishing, and 
left us to pursue our course undisturbed.— (7raw/6>r(?CT7fo East 
Coast Breeze. 
Mr. W. F. Wilson, who lives out on the Middleburgh road, 
brought to the Spring office on Thursday the account of an 
attack made by a tiger on his son, Berrian Wilson, and Mr. 
T. C. Smith, teacher of the New Hope school, on last Tues- 
day night. They were going from the home of Mr. James 
Conway to Mr. Wilson's, and when they reached Bradley's 
Creek the tiger rushed up to the side of the road and growled 
at them. He then left the road, but circled around and 
came back lo it some distance in advance of them, and lay 
down by a log not more than 4ft. from the road, and after- 
ward he made another attack on them, appearing this time 
very near to them and gnashing his teeth at them, as if in 
an effort to get hold of them; but Mr. Smith understood 
something of the nature of the animal, and bravely faced. 
him,_ which is probably all that saved them. They then 
hurried on to the house and aroused several of the neighbors, 
who secured their guns and dogs and went in search of his 
tigership. He was not found, however, as they could not 
get the dogs lo trail him, though his tracks were found very 
clearly imprinted on the sand. Mr. Wilson requests us to 
extend an invitation to any who have dogs to go out and 
take an extended hunt for the animal, and says that it shall 
not cost them anything while out there, as he is very anxious 
to rid the community of this dangerous creature.— (/refl/i 
Cove Spring, 
THE BLACK BASS. 
{From, the C/iicugo Rr-cord.) 
The blacic bass shot from his rooky nook 
In the beech tree's somber shade. 
And he struck at the gayly spangled hook. 
And the bamboo bent and swayed ; 
And its oh! the joy and the heart of it, 
And the throb of the spirits high. 
And the whirling line and the pole's incline 
And the lusty fight ere the prize is mine. 
Who is there can pic.ure a part of it 
When the blacK bass takes the fly? 
The black bass flashed like a meteor 
Straight out where the far depths were, 
And I eagerly watched and waited for 
The check of the reel's wild ' whir-r ."' 
And it's oh! the lust and the life of it, 
And the straining of hand and eye. 
And the frantic fight, and the test of might, 
And the pitiless rapture and keen delight, 
When the black bass takes the fly. 
The black bass, wearied, and worn, and done. 
Came in at the wind of the reel. 
And the fight was won as it must be won 
When a good man feathers the steel ; 
And it's oh ! the satisfied peace of it. 
And the gentle, triumphant sigh, 
And the pipe's sweet smoke by the shading oak- 
My patron saint, thy love I invoke ; 
Preserve my luck— with Increase of it— 
When the black bass takes the f\y. 
Little Bobby— "Ananias was killed, wasn't he, pop?" Little Bobby's 
Father- "Yes, Bobby." Lit le Bobby— -'For lying, wasn't it?" Little 
Bobby'sFacher- ' Yes, Bobby." Little Bobby (aft^r a long pause)- 
"How big did he say the biggest one was he caught?"— {/nArnown Ex- 
change. 
