March 4. 1899,] 
FORJiST AND STREAM. 
171 
What r hope for some time is to see a consolidation 
of the hatcheries, and the sooner the better. If we have 
been unwise enough in the past to locate on unsuitable 
grounds, then let us abandon them; let us close the 
stations that with ample opportunities have proved them- 
selves to be worthless, and let us erect somewhere within 
our::5tate one hatchery that is the best, the largest and 
most pr^aductive for the rearing of trout and salmon 
of any in New England, public or otherwise. And it 
will not take an immense amount of money to accom- 
plish this, no large appropriation would be necessary, 
and when once established on a proper basis and run 
in a businesslike manner, the annual expenditure would 
be trifling compared with the number and size of fish 
put out each season. It is a sure thing, this rearing of 
trout, as sure as. the raising of corn, provided you plant 
your seed in the first instance as intelligently as the 
farmer wiU drop his kernel of grain. 
And we go on building new stations, to be conducted 
in tlie same old way! Why do we do this? There must 
be reason, and no doubt many of you present can answer 
better than myself. 
But the time is coming, unless something is . done, 
when we will perhaps wake up too late; the people will 
learn the facts, will protest against this farce of artificial 
propagation of trout, and the fish hatcheries of Massa- 
chusetts will be a thing of the past (for a time at least), 
and a disgusted pubhc may not again be easily led into 
the spending of money in what the3' have a right at 
present to condemn and class as an extravagant and fool- 
ish outlay. Suppose in any business enterprise the man- 
ager should go on year in and year out without making 
It a success, when other men of like calling were flour- 
ishing about him, would the owners let him continue as 
he saw fit with continual failure? Surely such would not 
be the case; the business would at once be stopped and 
a new manager installed without delay. 
There are men in plenty who understand the rearing 
of trout, men who are responsible and conscientious in 
the discharge of their duties, and successfull withal; and 
some such person should have full control of the hatchery 
and be allowed to conduct the same as he sees fit; for, 
in the rearing of fish, as in many other cases, too many 
bosses are apt to make a bad mess of it. A man left 
to hmiself, knowing that he will receive the credit of 
success, will have something to try for, and a man will 
do more when you set his ambition and pride at work 
than perhaps he would do were his salary doubled. 
- Then in brief let us consolidate the hatcheries; let .us 
give some one who has proven himself successful in 
the rearing of trout full control of the same ; let us have 
a commission who is open to conviction, capable of ijn- 
derstanding and appreciating the value of new and better 
methods, and one who is thinking most of the success of 
the undertaking, with the thought of their reappointment 
taking second place; then, with the right man at the 
wheel, the hatcheries of Massachusetts will give an abun- 
dant supply of strong, health3\ handsome fish, enough 
to satisfy the reasonable demands which may be made 
by the sportsmen or fishermen upon the beautiful streams 
which God has been pleased to place so near our homes. 
The other method which I have to offer and which 
I styled the selfish one (because at present I would be 
interested in securing a part of the appropriation) 'is 
that the State purchase what she desires from the pri- 
vate hatcheries, and that she would be well -served I feel 
sure. There is no one here in the State who has a 
monopoly of the business ; competition is such that there 
is' no danger of the prices rising to an unreasonable 
figure, and the fact that the State might at any time es- 
tablish a hatchery if dissatisfied that would keep tlie 
prices down to a low level. 
To show you the condition that competition among 
us commercial dealers has brought prices, I would say 
that trout spawn can now be purchased at 30 cents per 
1,000, trout fry at $2 per 1,000 in April, and fingerlings 
at -from $15 to $20 per 1,000 in November and Decem- 
ber — which is about one-quarter of the price obtained for 
this product less than five years ago. The trout hatch- 
ery at Plymouth, which at present is under my care, is 
capable of turning out a considerable quantity of fry and 
yearlings, and we should be pleased to give a money 
guarantee to furnish the State with 2,000,000 fry and 
500,000 fingerlings and j^earlings, provided the order 
was given in advance each season, and probablj'' at a 
figure somewhat less than the prices already quoted. In 
purchasing what fish she wants the State runs no risk; 
she is sure to get what she wishes, which is not the case 
where a hatchery is maintained, for accidents may hap- 
pen which will result in the total loss of the season's 
hatch. New Jersey follows this method of purchasing 
what she requires, and is well satisfied with the experi- 
ment. 
Quoting from, the last report of the Fish and Game 
Commissioners of the State just mentioned, they say, 
"If the former price of trout, from $50 to $75 a thou- 
sand, had continued, there can be no doubt that it would 
- have been more economical to establish a State hatcher}', 
but competition has been so keen among the owners of 
. private hatcheries that less than $1,000 was sufficient last 
year to pay not only for the stock, but for the distri- 
bution as well." "Without allowing any margin what- 
ever for interest on investment in real estate and build- 
ings, it would cost more than $1,000 a year to maintain 
a hatchery." "New Jersey can buy its trout more eco- 
nomically than it could rear them." 
In any event, in my opinion it is sheer foolishness to 
go on as we are now doing, and I sincerely hope that 
something may be done for the better immediately, and 
that we may be able in a short time to boast of a hatch- 
ery, if we have any, that \ye may be proud of, and that will 
give to us that which we should have from maintaining 
such an establishment — good fishing throughout our 
public streams. , 
A German professor, in giving his experience as an 
explorer in the wilds of Africa, says that the best protec- 
tion against lions is an umbrella, as the beasts are espe- 
cially afraid of one when opened suddenly upon. them,. 
Two biograph pictures of the late Felix Faure starting 
. on a hunting trip and shooting birds were shown at a. 
New York theatre the week of the French President's 
death. 
Salmon of I. Lakes Champlain and 
Ontario. 
New York, Feb. 23. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
During my recent visit to Quebec in relation to their 
new fisheries bill, and while in conversation with the 
Hon. Mr. vMarchand, the Provincial Premier, I men- 
tioned that here in New York State we had a direct 
interest in the proper protection in Canada of salmon, 
and that it was solely because Catiada would not guard 
the salmon from the mouth of the St. Lawrence westward 
that they no longer appeared in Lake Ontario, in our 
Northern rivers, and in Lake Champlain, where they 
had once been so abundant, 
Mr. Marchand was much interested in the statement, 
and said^ that though he had lived in St. John's, P. Q., 
all his. hfe he had never known that salmon had once 
been abundant in the vicinity. T told him that it was 
so much a matter of public record that I thought I 
would have no difficulty on my return to New York 
in furnishing him with more detailed information on 
the subject 
As it may be of interest to your readers and aid in that 
necessary public attention to the subject which is the 
prerequisite of progress. T enclose you a copy of the 
extracts which I sent him, taken from the report made 
to the United States Fish Commission by Mr. W. C. 
Watson, on "The Salmon of Lake Champlain and its 
Tribvitaries," which was printed as Section XXIV.,. of 
appendix B, of the United States Fish Commissioners' 
report for 1873-75. 
Mr._ Watson not having had any great critical or 
scientific, knowledge of salmon, much of those portions 
of his report which deal with possible reasons for the 
disappearance of the fish, etc., as well as his description 
of their traits are not, in the light of later .experience, of 
sufficient importance to reproduce at the moment, in 
view of their length— but the facts which are given in 
relation to their former abundance in the locality are of 
distinct interest, and I think might advantageously be 
given the wider publicity of your columns, as matters 
hidden, in old reports so seldom reach the eye of the 
general public. 
It is a pleasure to note that Mr. Marchand. writing 
to acknowledge the receipt of the paper, refers to the 
great importance to his section of the Province of the 
matter, and promises for the subject his particular at- 
tention. 
Let me add that the general and intelligent considera- 
tion which the protection and preservation of salmon 
is receiving from the Government and officials of the 
Province of Quebec is a gratifying augury of better con- 
ditions in the future for this best and most also per- 
secuted fish of the Atlantic Coast. 
Chas. Stewart Davison. 
Salmon of Lake Champlain and its Tfibutaries. 
BY W. C. WATSON. 
, Sir— I take great pleasure in complving with your request 
to prepare a paper on the salmon of I.ake Champlain and its 
tributaries. I fear, however, that I shall not succeed in furnish- 
ing anything novel or interesting, or add essentially to the views 
1 have already published. 
Abundance of the Salmon in Early Times. 
SiNCE' the. receipt of your favor, I have sedulously tried 
to tracg' old residents from whom T might derive some 
new facts or incidents illustrating the prevalence of the 
salmon at the early stages of the settlement of the region, 
or for observations disclosing fresh or unfamiliar traits in 
their habits. My efforts have been attended with only 
trifling success. When I first engaged in the investigation 
of this interesting subject, nearly a quarter of a centurjf 
ago, I secured information from many persons, whose 
recollections extended almost to the period when the 
fisheries of the country were in their normal condition, or 
of those who had received traditions of the salmon from 
their immediate ancestors, which imparted much valuable 
intelligence. I garnered up from such sources many im- 
portant facts, but now, when I attempt to renew these in- 
quiries, I find that few of that class of persons remain, and 
that the field of research is very limited. 
One fact, which is fully established in the traditions of 
^ the salmon fisheries, has, I conceive, important bearing 
Ort the scheme in which you are so deeply and' efficiently 
, interested, and presents most favorable auguries of the 
success of the undertaking. I refer to the wonderful ex- 
.uberance of this fish when the country was first occupied. 
■ I base the opinion upon the idea that this exuberance in- 
dicates that the locality was congenial to their habits, and 
that they were attracted to these haunts by peculiar causes. 
I will venture to suggest a few speculations on the sub- 
ject, although they may appear crude and unphilosophical 
to your great experience and attainments. 
^I believe that no other waters, not even the tributaries 
of the Onion (now called Winooske River), ever exhibited 
so_ extraordinary a copiousness of these fish — and cer- 
taiilly they cotild not have exceeded it — as they appear 
to the occupants of the Champlain Valley in the latter 
part of the' last century, and early in the nineteenth. The 
natural causes are very obvious which produced this re- 
sult, and ^among them a few circumstances may be indi- 
cated. Lake Champlain was readily accessible to the 
salmon from the ocean by the way of the St. Lawrence 
and Sorelle or Richelieu rivers, and' was also comparative- 
ly contiguous to the cold northern seas. The streams 
emptying into the lake have generally a short course, and 
usually with long reaches of gravelly bottoms are rapid in 
their currents and start from cool lakes and ponds, and in 
their passages at that time were largely fed by cold springs 
and shielded in their whole progress by the canopying 
of heavy umbrageous trees and bushes, which effectually 
shielded them from the influence of the sun's rays and the 
warm air, A coolness of the water not exceeding prob- 
ably 45 degrees, a temperature so delightful to the salmon, 
'was thus maintained. Each of these qualities of the 
streams, impetuosity of the current, a gravelly bottom, a 
low temperature, to which may be added great purity, is a 
condition of nature eminently attractive to the salmon. 
They enjoyed repose and impunity amid the utter silence 
and seclusion they loved. They were not hunted by the 
ruthless sportsman, or even disturbed by the spears and 
nets of the Indians, They had easy and safe access to 
their favorite breeding grounds. When Champlain en- 
tered the lake in 1609 he found its shores unpeopled and 
silent. The -smoke of not a single Avigwam arose in the 
atmosphere on either shore. The bloody and perpetual 
incursions along the common highway it afforded, of the 
Mohawks and Algonquins in their reciprocal attacks, had 
driven the savages that once inhabited the beautiful terri- 
tory into the recesses of the interior for security. The 
region bordering on the lake was a scene of total desola- 
tion, and continued in that condition to the middle of the 
succeeding century, and was but sparsely occupied until 
near its close. In the view I have embraced this aspect 
of nature rendered the lake and its affluents singularly 
adapted to the habits of the salmon, and attracted them 
in the remarkable abundance which we shall see did 
exist. -I 
The fact of the exuberance of the salmon in these 
waters when the environs were first occupied by civilized 
man is established by the most ample and satisfactory 
testimony, and appears to me worthy of perpetuation, as 
interesting in its relation to natural history, and as cal- 
culated to aid and illustrate the future researches of the 
student of nature. 
The first historic notice of the prevalence of salmon 
in the region, I think, appears in the correspondence be- 
tween William Gilliland, the pioneer of the Champlain 
Valley, and Arnold, who was cruising on the lake with 
the American flotilla in the summer of 1776. His letter 
states that on a single occasion Gilliland had presented 
seventy-five salmon to a petty officer of Arnold, and asked 
the service of the ship's carpenters to repair his "salmon 
crib and apparatus, which had been carried away by a 
great flood." He also affirms in a memorial to Congress 
in 1777 that he "had complimented the American army 
with 1,500 salmon in one year." When the writer first 
became a resident of the district in 1824. many of the 
original settlers of the country were yet living who were 
men of respectability and position,' and of undoubted 
veracity. Their tales of the abundance of the salmon 
which prevailed at that time demanded for their accept- 
ance an exercise of the strongest faith in the truthfulness 
of the narrators. Coming from the unimpeachable sources 
they did and corroborated by uniform traditions and the 
current of universal testimony by actual observers or 
participants of the incidents, there was no hesitation in 
receiving the statements as authentic and true. I have 
heard the account from several of these individuals that 
when they immigrated many streams were so thronged 
by the salmon that it was unsafe at particular seasons 
to ride a spirited horse into them, for the reason that the 
- fish were so abundant and bold that they would fearlessly 
approach the horse and strike him with great force by 
the powerful muscular action of their bodies. It was 
often represented that it was a common pastime, as well 
as well as a most desirable means of obtaining food at 
-that time, to drive a team into some of the shallow 
tributaries of the river, and frOm the wagon' spear the 
; salmon with pitchforks and tlU3§5;6btain in a few minutes 
all the fish needed for consumption. Many of. the sal- 
mon taken in this primitive method would reach 2olbs. in 
weight. 
.A.mong the various persons from whom I have received 
interesting information in aid of my inquiries, I am 
particularly indebted to Silas Arnold. Esq., of Reeseville, 
for several facts, which were communicated to him by 
his father, Hon. Elisha Arnold. This gentleman was one 
of the earliest prominent settlers and subsequently at- 
tained high social and political standing in the district. 
Among these incidents, Mr. Arnold recalls the following 
circumstances, which, coming from so intelligent and re- 
liable an authority, amply corroborates the almost incredi- 
ble traditions of the former copious .prevalence of the 
salmon in these waters. About the year 1800, or possibly 
a year or two previous, at any rate it was at so early 'a 
period in the occupation of the country that the path- 
way through the woods leading from "the residence of 
Judge Arnold, situated near the center of the present 
town of Peru, to Plattsburg, was marked by a series of 
blazed trees. As he was proceeding to the latter place 
in fording the Little Au Sable, a small shallow stream 
near its mouth, the passage of his wagon was largely im- 
peded by the throng of salmon which was in the stream, 
and he readily caught and threw upon the bank all he 
wished to take. 
Mr. Arnold has called my attention to a familiar fact, 
which is observed among all gregarious fishes, and is 
peculiarly characteristic of the salmon family, and tends 
to relieve the marvelous tales of the early exuberance in 
the Champlain region of the salmon from' their incredible 
aspect. He says that they ascended the streams in shoals 
or schools _ which intermitted in their progress, and that 
the flow of the fishes was not constant or continuous as 
might be inferred by the language of the traditions; that 
when encountered in the vast masses so often described 
they were passing a particular locality, consolidated in 
one of these shoals or schools. 
Mr. Oscar F. Sheldon, formerly of Willsborough, Es- 
sex countj^ comrnunicated to me a record which he deems 
perfectly authentic, of 500 salmon being taken in a single 
afternoon early in the present century from the River 
Bouquet. The Bouquet is a tributary of Lake Champlain, 
and may be regarded almost as an estuary up to the falls, a 
distance of about three miles, and is navigable to that 
point by vessels of light draft. It was therefore peculiar- 
ly adapted to the habits of the salmon, and beyond the 
falls, I think, they could not penetrate. 
The record of the circumstances of .capturing i.5oolbs. 
x>i salmon in the year 1823 at a single haul of the seine 
near Port Kendall, in the town of Chesterfield, in the 
county of Essex, was said to have been among the papers 
of Levi Highby, Esq., in 1852. He was a man of high 
character, and was, I understood, an actor in the achieve- 
ment 
This fact is not only memorable for the extraordi- 
nary quantity of the fish taken, but it also illustrates ,the 
singularly erratic and inscrutable habits of the salmon. 
In all my investigations on the subject, this is the only 
instance that I have learned of the salmon being taken 
in any great quantities, except from the rivers and their 
branches. The facts connected with this incident seem 
to claim some attention, as calculated to throw a little 
light on the history of the fish. Between the Bouquet and 
-Au Sable rivers, no stream ®f any magnitude enters the 
lake, except the brook that debouches at Port Kendall, 
