72 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Jan. 28, 1899. 
and vegetables, under judicious and enlightened culture, 
have undergone astonishing improvements during the past 
fifty years, and the promise of the future is far greater 
than in the past. Having moulded animal and vegetable 
forms to nearly our taste, the same can be done with our 
fishes. The great advantage in propagating fish is that 
their eggs are isolated from their enemies until they are 
born' fish. The fact of the matter is, when an egg is de- 
posited on a natural spawning bed that egg is absolutely 
helpless- — it is unprotected. The storms come and stir up 
dirt, leaves and other debris from the bottom, and a large 
proportion of the eggs are covered, which means death 
to the embryo. In addition to that, if there is a choice 
morsel for any fish, it is the eggs of its own or the eggs 
of some other -variety of fish. By artificial propagation 
the eggs are free from their enemies and a greater per- 
centage is saved by artificial means. 
We will briefly describe the shad retaining ponds, as it 
may interest many readers remote from tlie State's shad 
presei've. These ponds are situated in Joshuatown, in 
the town of Lyme. There are four ponds in a chain, of 
about twenty acres, fed by a cold mountain stream, 
which has its source many miles back in East Haddam. 
The ponds are within one mile of the Connecticut River. 
iN'o better place covild have been selected. In 1897 we car- 
ried over 6,000,000 of shad fry into the ponds, from May 
until Oct. 20, that year, when they were liberated fish 
from 3 to sin. in length. In 1898 we carried 9,600,000 
shad fry, from Maj^ to Oct. 20. We adopted the plan of 
feeding the young shad this year, and fed many barrels of 
pulverized crackers to them, with good results. The 
drawing off of these ponds is easilj^ done, as the sides of 
the ponds slope toward the center, and the process is made 
very easy, and as their dripping banks slowly come in Adew 
it is intensely interesting to see countless numbers of 
young shad pass out in silvery masses on their migratory 
journey of life. 
That hundreds of thousands of these shad turned out 
of the retaining ponds will return to our waters in three 
and four years is beyond dispute. It is just as sure as the 
planting of corn; if the conditions are right the corn can 
be plucked in a certain time. It has been thoroughly 
demonstrated on the Pacific Coast that rivers that had 
never before contained a shad, after having been stocked, 
in three years the shad returned, and have yearly ever 
since their first appearance. 
We maintain that the grand old State of Connecticut, 
with its lofty hills, with its beautiful valleys, with its pic- 
turesque mountains, with its sparkling lakes, with its 
health-giving breezes, needs but plenty of fish and game 
to make it still more attractive to summer and fall vis- 
itors of other States. These people spend their money 
freely, and for every pound of fish taken they will prob- 
ably leave $2, and" for every game bird shot the same 
amount. 
When to these sotirces of revenue we add the yearly 
value of fish caught from our waters and served as food 
on the tables of the households within the State, the 
importance of our fish products are impressed upon the 
attention. 
Canadian Salmon Rivers. 
Following are letters of suggestions relative to salmon 
rivers, recently sent to the Canadian authorities: 
Sept. 8.— L. Z. Joncas. Esq., Superintendent, etc., Que- 
bec, Canada. Dear Sir: I greatly appreciate the friendly 
spirit in which you and the department have _ conducted 
our correspondence concerning the preservation of sal- 
mon, and feel that the point of view (in your report to 
the Commissioner, of 1897) from which you regard these 
matters of the protection of game and fish is a correct 
one, I venture to say that it is fortunate for the Province 
that at a critical period you should have been placed i.i 
charge of these interests. 
One suggestion I desire to call to your attention. A.; 
to your estimated figures of $60,000 or $70,000 annual rev- 
enue under thorough protection from the salmon rivers. 
I do not mean that the figures which I am about to men- 
tion can be attained this year, or for five or six years, 
perhaps, but I venture to say that^if you had said $300,- 
000 or $400,000 per annum you would not have overstated 
the true rental value of the salmon fisheries to the Prov- 
ince, nor the figures to which they may readily be made 
to attain. The Scotch, English and Irish figures amply 
justify this conclusion. I do not, of course, refer merely 
to leasing the rivers to anglers, but to the leasmg under 
we'l-en forced rules as to the times and methods of takmg 
fisli and as to netting privileges. 
The great trouble has been that the latter have been 
granted and exercised recklessly, so that the supply has 
so diminished that no one can ai?ord to pay large sums 
as rental for the taking of a few fish by angling. The 
Esquimaux, for instance, could again yield its 50,000 
salmon per annum, and continue to yield that number in- 
definitely, and the other rivers in like proportion if the 
nets were allowed to be set only one-half of the time. It 
would be no hardship to netters to be compelled to use 
nets which could be lifted to the tops of the stakes once 
in each week, and if the Province should adopt three days 
(preferably Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) m each 
week, and let all the fish on the other days proceed up the 
rivers, the netters would find in a few years that on then- 
three 'days a week they were taking two fish for every 
tish which they had formerly been able to take with 
nets set nominally six, actually seven, days a week, as 
•they -are at present. Also, those holding netting priv- 
ileges near the mouth of an unleased river should be re- 
quired to guard the pools and spawning beds in the river, 
and this guardianship should not be permitted to be per- 
functory but should be an actual and efficient guardian- 
ship Salmon, except that they find their food m the 
water scarcely difTer in relation to the methods appro- 
priate to ' farming" them from sheep or cattle._ A far- 
mer who killed all his milch cows or all his bearing ewes 
in any one year would be regarded as having lost his 
mind, and that the holder of a permanent netting license 
near the mouth of a river should similariy conduct him- 
self as to salmon is only possible through the gross ig- 
norance that prevails in relation to the simplest matters, 
f-oncerning the natural history of the fish. 
There is, I think, no doubt in your mind but that there 
^re to-day within the Province of Quebec 100 salmoil 
riv&rs which are now wholly depleted, and which could 
be restored in five years at small expense, if the west- 
ward stream of salmon was allowed to reach them; nor 
is there reason to doubt but that failure along the coast 
further to the eastward to properly protect necessarily 
involves the destruction of the westward rivers. 
There are four distinct elements in the proper protec- 
tion of a river: 
1. The coasts from the mouth of the river eastward to 
the ocean must be protected. 
2. The river itself must be guarded. 
3. There should be no nets in the estuary itself. 
4. There should be regulation of the sale and purchase 
of salmon. 
The lack of any of these elements militates gravely 
against a given river's productive capacity. I remain, 
Yours very truly, ■ 
(Signed) Chas. Stewart Davison. 
Sept. 8. — Hon. S. N. Parent, Commissioner of Lands, 
Forests and Fisheries, Government Buildings, Quebec, 
Canada. Dear Sir: In pursuing investigations in rela- 
tion to your salmon rivers, I have been much struck by 
the absence of all statistics from your hatcheries. The re- 
ports of the Commissioner of Crown Lands lor the 
Province of Quebec for the years ending June 30, 1894, 
189s and 1896, and your report as Commissioner of 
Lands, Forests and Fisheries of the Province of Quebec 
for the year ending June 30, 1897, do not appear to con- 
tain either a list of what hatcheries are supported by the 
Province, nor any statement of the expense of conducting 
the various hatcheries, nor any details of the number of 
fry and parr raised at each hatchery or in the aggregate, 
nor what disposition was made of them. These are all 
matters of great interest, not alone to anglers, but also 
to those who have to deal with salmon commercially, 
and the absence of all information on the subject, with 
the consequent impossibility of deciding on the utility 
of the hatcheries, either at large or in any particular lo- 
cality, is naturally a source of regret. 
There'are certain statistics as to hatcheries which could 
be readily furnished by those in charge, and which would 
be of great value. Indeed, it would appear almost essen- 
tial that every hatchery should furnish the department 
annually with an official return covering primarily the 
following points: 
T. The total number of fish taken by the hatchery's 
nets during the entire season. 
2. The character, location and dimensions of the net. 
3. The dates on which the net was set. 
4. The number of fish taken on each date on which the 
net was set. 
5. The heaviest and lightest fish taken on each day 
(hen and male respectively). 
6. The number, weight and sex of fish taken on each 
date from the net either dead or so injured that they were 
killed and sold. 
7. The same particulars as to those returned alive to the 
water as being unnecessary for the hatchery's purposes. 
8. The number and gross weight (with roe) of eacli 
hen fish retained. 
9. The net weight of each hen fish (after spawning). 
10. The number of hen and male fish respectively which 
were on each date returned to the water after spawning 
and milting. 
TT. The number of eggs taken on each date. 
The number of fry produced from them. 
13. The number of fry raised to the age of three months 
and one year respectively. . 
14. The number of fry and parr respectively placed in 
different streams, with full, appropriate data in relation 
thereto (dates, localities, etc.). 
Such particulars as these should be supplied by every 
hatchery and could be made readily accessible to those 
interested by their publication in your annual reports. 
SuppHed with these details, one could institute a series 
of comparisons with the figures attained at other hatcher- 
ies and also with the particular results attained at any 
given hatchery. Yours respectfully, 
(Signed) Chas. Stewart Davison. 
Wtntct Fishing. 
English Centre, Pa., Jan. 20.— It is reported by eye- 
witnesses that the law-abiding citizens of English Centre 
and vicinity who are lovers of sport of one kind or an- 
other, since all game fish, except the common black 
sucker, is now protected by law, are having consider- 
able sport, and are securing some fish also. It is not 
an uncommon sight to see from ten to twenty men and 
boys on the ice at one time after suckers, which here in 
the pure spring water of our streams grow large and lose 
all that muddy taste for which they are noted in warmer 
river water, where there is mud in plenty. They are a 
palatable fish, leaving the bones out of the question. 
The fishermen cut holes in the ice, and with hooks made 
out of 3-i6in. wire jerk the unsuspecting fish out of the 
water on to the ice. The man who, when advertising 
his fishing grounds here," said, "Some of the trout have 
spots on them as big as a silver dollar, they're so large," 
says of the sucker fishermen: "They are carrying these 
suckers from the creek by the arm load, these cold 
days. They just pile them up on their arms like stove- 
wood, and away they go with them." Nemo. 
A Pickerel Party. 
Dr. Geo. McAleer, of Worcester, sent out last week 
to the elect an unique card of invitation, which read: 
"To ye Anciente and Honourable Guild ^f Fishermen of 
ye Town of Boston, on ye Massachusetts Bay: Ye fel- 
lowcrafte member, Dr. George McAleer, of ye Quinsiga- 
mond Plantation, now called ye Hearte of ye Common- 
wealthe, sends Greetinge, and warns ye brotherhood to 
meete in his goodlie citie January 28th, Anno Domini 
1899 to make ye day naerrie fyshinge through the ice for 
ye Pickerel. 
"For ye dispofte he will furnish all ye tilts and bait, 
but ye Brotherhood will bring emptie stummicks and 
chunks of fun to make diA^ertisement in plentie. 
"Nota Bene.—To ye best storie goes ye biggest fyshe." 
The Forest and Stream is put to press each week on Tuesday,. 
Correspondence intended for publication should reach us at the 
latest by Monday and as much earlier as practicable. 
A Minnesota Ice Raid. 
Wabasha, Minn., Jan. 17. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
During the winter season I occasionally drive over Lake 
Pepin. A few days ago, while driving across the lake, I 
counted about forty fishing shanties. Yesterday" I had oc- 
casion to go over again, and as I drove onto the lake no 
fish shanties were to be seen, and I could not imagine 
wdiat had become of them. It was soon explained to me by 
two fishermen, who were stumbling hy the charred re- 
- mains of one of the shanties. The redoubtable Sam Ful- 
lerton, Minnesota's famous game warden, had been mak- 
ing a raid, and as these fellows said, "cleaned 'em out." 
He swooped down on the whole outfit and began to burn 
the shanties, burning and destroying a large number, also 
many nets, which he hauled up from under the ice. No 
such raid had ever been made on Lake Pe^n before. The 
fishermen were paralyzed, and made no resistance at all; 
but there was a fisherwoman in one of the shanties who 
did. She defied Sam to touch her or the shanty, and 
she wouldn't budge; said she was a poor woman and de- 
pended on the fish she caught for a living, Sam said he 
was not after fisherwomen, and did not molest her; but 
she moved her shanty off the lake a short time after. 
Mr. Fullerton was very careful to remove all property 
out of the houses, or to have it removed, even to the 
stove wood, before destroying them ; and acted as I under- 
stood very gentlemanly to all; but the fishermen swear 
vengeance, and I am told will have Mr. Fullerton ar- 
rested. This, I am told, he expects them to do. But net- 
ting and spearing fish in Lake Pepin has ceased for a 
time at least. _^ Wapahasa. 
Atigfer Botmg through Ice. 
1 
Editor Forest and Stream:. 
I have been experimenting lately, in boring through 
the ice with an auger. I succeeded after a little 
in boring through where the ice was i2in. No doubt 
there is something more to be learned about the modus 
operandi than my experience has taught me. If this 
interests any others I -will be glad to tdl what I know 
from experience, and hope others will tell us the proper 
way to file an ordinary auger bit to make it chip the 
A Lake George man told me the fishermen there bored 
through the Iceland fished through the holes. He gave 
me a few pointers, which enabled me to go through the 
I ft. of ice here. 
A returned Yukon man was telling me of a miner 
in- that country who got water by boring by hand with 
an auger. His plan was this: To cut a "cup" or small 
reservoir in the ice as deep as was convenient to go, and 
then bore the rest of the distance to the water, which 
would boil up and completely fill the reservoir. This 
would freeze over every night, but by cutting away what 
had frozen last the water continued to come up through 
the hole (of course only enough to fill the hole) as it 
was bailed out for use. 
Of course an ordinary auger bit not filed for the pur- 
pose will not bore. 
I hope to hear from others about llicir methods, and 
to learn whether or not it is practiced to -'"v extent in 
fishing. Heathcote. 
§^me mid ^istf §roieti(ian. 
New York Legislature. 
^ Sjiecial correspondence of Forest and Stream. 
Albany, N. Y., Jan. 23. — The following meas;ufes have 
been introduced to the New Yorit Legislature to amend 
the game law: 
Iq the Senate. 
No. 4, by Mr. Coggeshall. — ^A bill authorizing the 
Com.missioners to erect a fish hatching establishment on 
the Beaver Brook, in the town of Trenton, Oneida 
county; appropriation of $6,000. 
No. 47, by Mr. Chahoon. — To amend the deer, law so 
as to change the present season, Aug. 15-Nov. 15, to Sept. 
20-Oct. 20, and providing that deer shall not be killed at 
any time when in the water; limiting the number of deer 
taken by one person to two in a season. Season for pos- 
session and sale of venison, Sept. 20 to Oct. 31; venison 
not to be sold at any time within this State, unless proved 
by the seller lliat'it was killed outside of the State. 
Hounding permitted from Sept. 20 to Oct. 20. Trans- 
portation of deer limited to one carcass (instead of two) 
accompanied by owner. 
No. 53, by Mr. Humphrey. — Providing a close season 
for the counties of Allegheny, Livingston and Wyoming 
on hares and rabbits from Dec 15 to Sept. i, and forbid- 
ding the use of ferrets. 
No. 92, by Mr. Chahoon.— To correct the blunder in 
section 74, which now reads, "No person or persons 
shall kill more than thirty-six of the above-named birds," 
namely, woodcock and ruffed grouse, to read, "No person 
shall kill more than thirty-six of each of the above- 
named birds." AJ.so amending section 76 so as to forbid 
entirely the transportation of woodcock and ruffed grouse 
or quail, whether or not killed in the State. 
No. 106, by Mr. Coggeshall. — Amending section 74 so 
as to shorten the open season for woodcock and ruffed 
grouse to Nov. IS, making the season Sept. i to Nov. 15, 
and omitting the restriction of thirty-six birds to an in- 
dividual. Further amending section 75 so as to make 
the season for possession of woodcock and ruffed grou-^e 
Sept. I to Nov. 30, and providing that birds shall not be 
possessed or sold during the last fifteen days of Novem- 
ber unless it can be proved by the possessor or seller that 
the birds were caught or killed within the lawful period 
for killing the same, "or from out of [sic] the State when 
not in violation of the laws of the State or the county 
from which they were brought." 
In the Assembly. 
No. 44, by Mr. Mason.— Appropriating $6,000 for a 
hatchery on Beaver Brook, in Trenton, Oneida county. 
No. 73, by Mr. Gould.— To reneal the net bounty law. 
No ii'o, by Mr. Pickett,— To make the deer season 
