FOREST AND STREAM. 
addlc-hcadcd old liars of antiquity, as well as muny of 
the jejune, Unimaginative, unffuitful and Useless liars . 
of the Middle Ages, have been cflnoilized as saints in 
&\oYy — aftel- they were dead. Sliall vve then alioW otir 
loving and loVaule fish likl-, the genial benefactor of his 
race, to take any chances of beconling anathema mar- 
anatha forever? ' Forbid It. St, Ananias! rather let us 
witness his apotheosis ourselves and see to it that the jph 
is well done, 
Cfttidbf slloLild Compel tlie t:onfessioh that aflei- all 
it is nothing but sheer enVy, hatred and malice, coupled 
V^fith congenital poverty of imagination on the part of 
hoi polloi who cannot compete, which has caused all 
the unkind criticism of oUr hero, t fondly trust that 
each and all of the readers of Forest and Stream — 
and their name is legiort'— will gladly join with me in 
the lofty aspiration that this victim of jealousy Wfty hvc 
a long and useful life; and when in the fulness of thiie 
he shall be gathered to his fathers, there will be no 
need for the absteraive tear of the pitying -angel to blot 
out frohi his feCord the pleSiant taradiddles of his 
mortal life — that no ticket of admission will be demanded 
by St. Peter, who was, heaven bless hiiil, a fisherman 
and the revered author of some pretty good fish stories 
himself. 
Let us reverently deck his hlltnble totnb Witll otir gtrate- 
ful garlands of tear-moistened lilies, and cfirve IbViiigly 
Upon the mortuary marble the modest but suggestive 
epitaph: 
"He hath done what he could — 
— and more, loo." 
■I Zero. 
Forests and Trout Streams.— L 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
1 send you the substahce of art , drtlele read befofe tlie ailHiial 
meeting of the Mihiiesota State Forestry Associdtibiii by ffailk 
H, Carletoh. of MiHneajJolis.— G60. W. StRAfiD, Se(:y. 
"^hy Forest Preseivation' Should Interest Fisheiineh. 
BY FRANK II. C/VRLETON. 
As an angler it would do my heart good to dwell upon 
angling as a recreation; beneficial and enjoyable to ail, 
from the barefoot boy, with his simple hook and line, 
and pole cut from the neighboring wood, to the disciple 
of Izaak Walton, who, with delicate bamboo rod, deftly 
casts his artificial fly— a sport equally enjoyable to all, 
from the man whose physical labor is hard, and who ac- 
casionally gets a day off to "go a-fishing," up to the great 
Webster, who composed, while angling at Marslipee 
Brook, parts of his famous oration afterwards delivered 
at the laying of the corner-stone of Bunker Hill Monu- 
ment. 
It is ti-ue, as Izaak Walton Wrote iti his "GoUlpleat 
Angler," published nearly thtefe hiindi-ed Snd fifty yfeafs 
ago, "Angling is the contemplative man's recreation. It 
is an art, and an art worthy the knowledge and practice 
of a wise man." Every fisherman knows that to be a 
good angler requires excellent judgment, great practice, 
rare skill, a full degree of endurance, and a lively imagina- 
tion. _ Perhaps the last-named quality of a lively imagina- 
tion is not absolutely necessary, but it helps tremendously 
when "luck" is bad ahd the fish don*t bite, and it devel- 
ops the poetic and Eesthetic features of the art, and gives 
that intense love of nature which every trUe angler should 
have. And vvete a moral argument needed in faS'ot of 
angling. We could cite the good and Wise men of all 
ages, from the fishers of Galilee doWn, or 1 might say 
up, to the venerable episcopal bishops of Minnesota. I 
therefore conclude that fish are now, always have been, 
and always should be of inestimable value to man as a 
food product and source of wealth; and that angling is an 
art which affords the highest degree of outdoor recreation, 
skill and enjoyment for the indoor worker and the busi- 
ness and professional man of overworked brain. 
To have fish and fishing we must have an abundance 
of water suitable for the propagation and growth of fish, 
and an ample supply of food for the fish. Without for- 
ests we cannot have fish or fishing. 
But it may be asked what have the preservation of for- 
ests and reforesting to do with fish, fish food and fish- 
ing? To those who have studied the results of forest de- 
struction these statements need no explanation, but for 
the benefit of others I briefly refer to a few facts, well 
known to those who have given study and attention to the 
subject. 
Well-wooded districts arc subject to more raiu than 
treeless regions; and forests are vast reservoirs of humid- 
ity, lessening the dryness of the surrounding atmosphere, 
aiding the flow of springs and streams, and throwing off 
great volumes of humid air. Not only do they prevent 
freshets and overflowing banks, but the}' hold back the 
melting of the snow and ice in spring, and through the 
warm months of summer they feed the springs, streams 
and lakes slowly with a ccmstant quantity of pure and 
cold water, thereby making the supply of water more 
constant and reducing the temperature of the water in 
the streams and lakes, and giving the clear and cold 
water in which fish delight and thrive. 
Years" ago Humboldt wrote: "In felling trees * * * 
men under all climates prepare for subsequent genera-^ 
tions two calamities at once — a lack of firewood and a 
want of water." And John Crombie Brown, the great 
British authority on forestry, has summed up the sub- 
ject in these few words: "In a well-woded land the rain 
may be found to be diffused in showers over a great part 
of the year; while in a land otherwise under similar con- 
ditions, but devoid of forests and other vegetation, the 
rain falls at distant intervals — months or years apart — and 
falls in torrents. And again, in the former case, the rain- 
fall may be generally diffused over the whole area; in the 
latter it may fall in torrents here and there, leaving ex- 
tensive regions unvisited by rain for long periods." 
There is no substitute for forests as producers of rain, 
either by irrigation or by attempts to blow up the clouds 
and bring down water by fireworks; and where irrigation 
is feasible it cannot continue long on any large scale after 
_the forests are gone. 
That the want of forest protection has produced ter- 
rible results and great disasters, caused by the 'intermit- 
tent and. irregulat^ action of long droughts and great 
floods and inundations is evidenced by the history of 
Spam, Italy, France, . Sicily^ Chili, Peru, Mauritius and 
many other countries; and especially by Western sec- 
tions of the United States. But these questions are a'so 
of the greatest ithpoftance to fishermen, and it is time 
that they fully appreciated- the importance of forest pro- 
tection as a means of yielding A ediistiint sllpply of water, 
food and shelter for fish; and well understood that the 
destruction of the forests, more than any other factor, 
has reduced the supply of fish and fully explains why 
fishing has so rapidly declined in this State within the 
past leW y&'AH] and fishermen must understand that if 
forest desti-uetioh is nbt Stopped the year? of fishing in 
Minnesota are numbered. . ^ 
Twenty vears ago Minnesota was a fishcfirtan s para- 
dise. Uiiti'l the destruction of its forests began Minne- 
sota was famous throughout the country for its number- 
less lakes and streams of clear cold water, teeming with 
the gamiest and most edible of fish. The temperature of 
its lahd and water was stich as to promote the propaga- 
tion, growth and development of the greatest abundance 
of solid and deliciousU- fiflvoted fish, so uttlike the soft, 
flabby and tasteless fish of fel'iofls soiuh df Us. A gen- 
eration ago thfe great systeih of lake's, rrtSfshe's, springs, 
rivers aba giant fpfests, which went to make up and pro- 
tect the sources ot tlte gfeat Mississippi had no parallel in 
the United States east of the Rocky Mountains; while 
the lesser systems of the Minnesota, the Red River of 
thfe Morth, and the St. Croix, and their mafiy tfihtitary 
lakes and stfeains, xyere great sources of water, of which 
many nations would be ptoud and desirous to conserve. 
But whh the destruction of tht: fotests of Minnesota 
the same results in the diminution of watef snpply have 
followed as in the older countries of the world, vt^here 
forest destruction has gone on, and we are but repeating 
history. The lakes and rivers have receded, the springs 
have 'dried up, the rainfall has decreased, and the at- 
mosphere has lo.st much of its humidity. That the water 
shrinl<age has been exceedingly large is a fact known 
to everi- observer. To-day Minnesota' is full of dried up 
lakes and streams. As we ride through the country we 
see from the car windows grass growing in what a few 
years ago were the beds of large bodies of water, where 
fish were once abundant. As I read these sentences, each 
of you can recall lakes and streams which Have seriotlsly 
declined in depth and size, or have dried up altogether. 
Stand on the beach of almost any lake in Minnesota and 
cast your eyes shoreward and you can easily see the shore 
line of a generation ago, when the water stood 6, 8 or 
lOft. higher than it docs to-day. But this is not all, for 
from year to year We can see that the drying up process 
is still very rapidly going on. Many of the lakes have 
become grass plots, and many brooks have Avidened into 
broad eJcpanses of sand or gravel over which in the sum- 
mer season We pass dry-shod. The interesting address of 
Walter C. Brower, vvhich has heen published by the 
Minnesota Forestry Association, describes itt a most 
authenticated manner the extent of water decrease in 
Minnesota, and is worthy our most careful consideration. 
.As agriculturaHsts i^pii know how quickly an unpro- 
tected hill loses "its soil. The rain is not stored in the 
earth to feed perennial springs, but it runs oft' in tor- 
rents, bearing away a portion of the vegetable glebe .and 
rich surface soil, and the freshets of spring soon take the 
rest; and you know that this soil, which is thus washed 
away !s the rich organic mould which the earth most 
needs. And one severe storm may wash away in a week 
the rich fertilizing matter which it has required centuries 
to accumulate. 
it has been estimated that not less than lO per cent, 
of our soil is carried away by rills, streams and floods. 
During the present week, as 1 have seen farmers patiently 
hauling loads of manure from the stables of this city to 
place upon their lands, I have thought seriously of the 
fact that the torrents and floods of the coming spring 
would doubtless strip their lands of more fertilizers than 
they could haul to their lands in manure carts in a month 
of patient labor. 
But this loss of the richest part of the soil is not to the 
land alone. Let me ask you where is this rich soil mostly 
carried by the torrents and floods? Is it not into the beds 
of lakes and streams, where it is not only not needed, but 
where it is a positive injury, choking the channels of 
the rivers and streams, and forming large sandbars in 
the lakes, thereby greatly reducing the depth of water if 
it does not entirely overcome it? And just here saying 
nothing about the serious loss to the land, a great damage 
is done to the fish. The clear, sandy, gravelly or rocky 
bottom of the lake or stream which the fish love, and on 
which they feed and have their, spawning beds, is covered 
with the rich mould from the fields, forming a muddy 
sediment, which the fish do' not like, and the feeding 
grounds and spawning beds are greatly reduced and often 
destroyed. The deep holes where fish resort are filled 
up and the lake or stream is made shallow. Moreover, the 
water vegetation, on which the fish feed at certain sea- 
sons, is covered with the washings from the land, is 
destroyed, and another source of food for fish is anni- 
hilated. This last proposition that the accumulation 
of soil and mud in the bottom of streams is inimical to 
fish is true of all the higher grades of fish, but to it there 
is one exception, and that exception is as to catfish, called 
in common parlance bullheads. Bullheads thrive in muddy 
bottom and increase to an alarming extent. They are 
the gluttons of our waters. But beware of them, for 
when they once get possession of the waters, it will not be 
long before the best varieties of fish disappear. 
[to be concluded.] 
Fish Propensities. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I find the annexed excerpt from the London Field in my 
scrap book; I think Mr. William Senior is the author. It 
touches a subject seldom commented upon, which will 
interest the fishculturists. C. Hallock. 
"I have already made slight reference to some of the 
different species of trout that inhabit our waters, many 
of them magnificent fish, but all off-shoots from the one 
original stock, viz., the brook trout. These different races 
have developed under varied circumstances. We have 
the trout that feed very largely on shell fish {Gillaroo) , 
acquiring a much thicker coating to the stomach, and usu- 
ally growing to a good size and being excellent fish. An- 
orher race having taken up with cannibal propensities (as 
the Ferox) develop a more powerful lower jaw, and, just 
as in the case of any beast or bird of prey, becomes of 
fiercer disposition, and acquires at the expense of their 
smaller brethren a considerable superiority in size, though 
unfortunately the improvement, if it may be said to be 
one, ends here. Artificial cultivation develops the fact 
that the offspring of both these - species revert to their 
original type (Fario). It is possible to get young Gillaroo 
trout, but I have never yet met with^any one who has 
been able to produce a young typical Salmo ferox. The 
reason is obvious. I have hatched the ova of Ferox 
and reared the fry, but they, in no way, that I could see, 
differed from Salma fario. Other fish develop the Ferox 
type as well as trout, for I once had a pond full of S. . 
fontinalis (really char) that likewise exhibited cannibal 
propensities, and they became such brutes that I at once 
proceeded to knock them on the head, as being the best 
way of getting rid of them. On the other hand, I was one 
season very short of pond room, and put into one pond 
about an equal number of i". fario and 5. fontinalis year- 
lings. At the end of two years the pond was emptied, and 
the Faj-io had done very well, but they had bullied the 
FantinaUs horribly and stunted them in growth. I have 
often tried the satne plan, and always found it answer ad- 
mirably before, This, however, is but an illustration 
of one of the many eccentricities which trout develop un- 
der different circumstances. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
spring Bass Spearing on the Fox, 
CHtcAco, 111., March 4.— I have direct and reliable in- 
formation from St, Charles, on the Fox River, just west 
of Chicago, that the spring run of bass, has already begun. 
The ice is very thick over the river at that point, but at 
places along the dam and mill flumes it has broken away 
so that the open water is shown, and in this open water 
can be seen swarms of bass. At night a light flashed 
down into the water shows up the fish distinctly. It is a 
very simple matter to stand on the edge of the ice and 
spear the bass, and very large numbers of them huve been 
taken in that way this week. 
Ice Fishing in Minnesota. 
Mr. H. B. Jewell writes me from Wabasha, Minn., ad- 
vising me that the prosecutions against State Warden 
Fullerton, which have been tried at Wabasha, have ended 
in the triumphant acquittal of Mr. Fullerton. Last Janu- 
ary Warden Fullerton burned twenty fish houses on Lake 
Pepin. He was sued in civil damages by a man named 
Oliver, but the court has held that the warden acted with- 
in the law and was not liable. Commenting on this sort 
of thing. Mr. Jewell has the following words of wisdom : 
"It is said that these fishermen, who run their nets and 
speat through the ice in the winter season do not get any- 
thing but coarse tish, but that's all buncombe. They take 
lots of other fisll. A good tnany wall-eyed pike are 
taken. I know of a man v,'ho speared a wall-eye recently 
that weighed I3lbs.. and was full of spawn. These fel- 
lows claim that they have to fish in the winter to make 
a llvitig, How the deuce do all the other fellows live 
that can't fish, I would like to know? The fact is it's an 
easier, and one might say a lazier way of making a living 
than chopping wood, or a hundred other things a man 
might do in the wdnter." E. Hough. 
1200 BovcE Building, Chicago, III. 
Summer Fishing Near New York, 
Editor Forest mid Stream: 
Noting with interest Mr. Fred. Mather's article in a 
recent issue on winter fishing near New York city, S 
venture to write on the merits of fishing done around 
New York and vicinity in summer and fall. Having 
had a little experience in this locality with hook and line 
myself, I trust the following chapter will find some inter- 
ested readers. 
Taking in the waters around Staten Island to start 
with, I presume every angler knows where Princess Bay 
is; he ought to know, anyhow, as there is no better place 
for obtaining a heavy basket of porgies and weakfish, to say 
nothing of seabass. There, one day last August, I haci 
all I could do to pull up and bait my hook for the hun- 
gry fish. I distributed half my mess among the villagers, 
■ as I could never have got home with the whole bunch.- 
I had a basketful and a string over each shoulder. At 
any season in the fall a goodly supply of sea bass of 
desirable size can be hooked I hope next season I will 
find a lot of envious fishermen at this spot for they will 
get all the sport they want, and all the fish they care to 
carry. The Shrewsbury, near by, is a paradise for crab.-; 
and nice ones at that, and the lovers of crabbing will 
find something in store for them when they visit this 
place. 
I do not need to say anything about the fishing banks. 
They are a common word on every angler's lips around 
here, and I will let them take care of themselves. 
Going away over to New Jersey, we have the Hack- 
ensack, Ramapo and Saddle rivers, the first being a de- 
sirable resort for white perch, which run in great num- 
bers below Little Ferry and under the railroad bridges. 
I already have taken striped bass among the rocks in the 
middle of the river, but not large ones, and few at that. 
Saddle River is out further, and is most easily reached by 
train from Jersey City. It is a favorite spot for pickerel 
and black bass, and many a holiday has found me there 
and many another will. Ramapo River is about the same 
thing over again, and is a good locality for small game, 
and a desirable place for camping out. 
Bound Brook, N. J., is well stocked with black bass, 
which is the favorite fish here, and many a train lands a 
score or more of eager fishermen, after the noble fish. 
Reaching Greenwood, which is the favorite haunt_ of 
the city angles, it is not worth while to say anything 
about it, as doing so is telling what everybody knows. 
I view it as the home of the sunfish. the little creature 
that supplies great sport for fly fishermen. 
I see 1 am not writing under the heading I started 
with, and I think it is about time to stop, as Greenwood 
Lake is not quite so near New York city as l_was_think- 
ing it was. W- G. I. 
