March 25, iggg.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
its provisions than the existing laws, because additional 
devices for catching fish, both game and food, are pet*- 
fflitted, ahd because in several instances penalties haye 
been reduced where befote they Were oppressive, 111 
granting additional devices, for commercial fishermen, 
the Fish Commissioti has conceded as jnuch as it is pos- 
sibie to do without working serious injury to the future of 
the fishel-ies interests. Many commercial fishermen on 
the chief streams of the State freely concede this, and are 
satisfied to have the bill become a law as it is drawn. As 
long as the present minimum limit of 6in, bass and sin. 
trout is retained, it will be impossible to markedly in- 
crease the supply of same in the waters of this common- 
wealth, as every fish should be permitted to spawn at 
least once before being caught and killed. Section 17 is 
inserted with great reluctance by the Fish Commission, 
for the members believe the fish basket to be a device of 
greater destructiveness to fish life than any other, except 
explosives and poisonous substances. It was inserted as a 
compromise and aftef repeated cotiferetices with residents 
on the Susquehanna, who demand the privilege of using 
it. These have all agreed to the provisions as set forth, in- 
cluding the amount of license named. Should there be 
any modifications to the section it would be a great 
misfortune to the State, for the provisions named are as 
much as can be granted with the least danger to the Ash- 
ing intei'ests. 
House bill No. 220 is a measure designed to retain to 
the public for angling purposes, such private waters of 
the State as have not as yet come within the drag-net of 
control by private corporations for fishing" purposes to 
the total exclusiveness of the public, and tends to break up 
an unpopular practice, which has closed most all of the 
"best" waters of the State. This measure appeals to the 
support of sportsmen and others in that it enlarges the 
water area for free angling recreation, deals fairly with 
the land owner, adjusts the annoying and constant re- 
curring differences arising over trespass, permits the State 
to liberally stock such waters and by prohibiting fishing in 
the small rivulets or tributaries creates a nursery for an- 
nually rearing a supply of mature fish which in turn ad- 
mits of a reasonaMe possibility of bringing the main 
waters up to a standard afl^ording good fishing to all 
thereby keeping within the borders of the State a vast 
sum of money which from the constant increasing 
tendency to lease by private corporations is driven away. 
House Bill No. 26, if passed, would cfeate an effective, 
warden service for the enforcement of all statutes govern- 
ing the fish, game and forestry interests. 
The unfortunate loss of trout fry at the Allentown Sta- 
tion was discussed at length, and the Executive Com- 
mittee instructed to communicate with all applicants ac- 
cordingly. 
Attention is also called to a bill introduced in the House 
to repeal the act of March 24, 1868, which declared Hjmers 
Run, a tributary of the West Branch of the Susquehanna, 
in the county of Clinton, a navigable stream for the dis- 
tance of eight miles tip from its rnouth. The object of 
this bill is the first step toward closing this stream to the 
public and prompt steps should be taken to defeat its 
passage. Being a pubHc stream, the Fish Commission 
have not hesitated to furnish fry for the same, and it 
should be maintained as a public stream for all time. 
M. G. Sellers^ Sec'y. 
HatborOj Pa. — A targe number of sportsmen of this 
place assembled at the town hall on Friday evening, 
March 17, at 8 o'clock, in response to a call issued by Mr. 
R. G. Fretz, to discuss the subject of fish and game, and 
take such action as will improve the existing conditions of 
these several intercuts in this section. , Messrs. M. G. 
Sellers, J. R. Sypher and Wm. H. Burkhardt, represent- 
ing the Pennsylvania Fish Protective iVssociation. were 
present, each addressing the meeting at length upon the 
benefits to be derived from such action, and the value 
of organization to bring about the results desired. Ad- 
dresses were also made by E. E. Shelly, R. G. Fretz and 
R. Hockman. The discussion was of great practical value 
to all and evinced a strong desire to more thoroughly pro- 
tect fish and game in this vicinity. Organization was then 
effected under the title of The Hatboro Fish and Game 
Protective Association, and the following officers elected : 
President, E. E. Shelly; Vice-President, R. G. Fretz; 
Treasurer, R. Hockman; Secretary, H. Watson. A com- 
mittee was appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws, 
and it is the purpose of the organization to procure a 
charter and the appointment of a warden. Application 
will be made for membership in the State Fish Protective 
Association, the delegates from which were accorded a 
^rote of thanks for their instructions and assistance. 
M. G. S. 
The Pennsylvania Fish Protective Association, 
Philadelphia, March 20. — We respectfully call attention to 
the following bills now pending in the Legislature, and 
would ask that your association take prompt action con- 
cerning the same, urging your Senator and Representa- 
tive to work and vote for their passage. 
1. House Bill No. 22. — An act to prevent the pollution 
of the water supply of municipalities. 
2. House Bill No. 26. — An act making constables of 
townships and boroughs ex-oificio fish, game and fire 
wardens, etc. 
3. House Bill No. 220.— An act for the encouragement 
of fishculture. This bill has the endorsement of the Fish 
Commissioners. 
4. House Bill No. 227.'— An act to declare the fish that 
are game fish and fish commercially valuable for food, to 
regulate the catching, encourage the propagation of the 
same, etc. This bill has been prepared under the auspices 
of the Fish Commissioners, and it should be passed with- 
out material amendment. 
The following bills should be defeated; please take 
action accordingly: 
1. House Bill No. 99.— An act making it lawful to use 
fish baskets or fish pots, set nets or outlines. This act, if 
passed, would work incalculable injury to the fishery 'in- 
terests of this State, both as regards game and food fish. 
2. Senate Bill No, 61. — An act amending the game law 
of 1897. The game law of 1897 is, we believe, entirely 
satisfactory and should stand as it is. 
By order of the Association. 
Howard A. Chan, 
Chairman of Executive and Legislative Committees. 
— M. Q. Sellers, Sec'y, 
A Vermont Fish Lecture. 
Commissioner John W. Titcomb, of Vermont, ga\-e a 
lectute on fishculture before the farmefs of Wheel ock and 
West Waterford the other day. 
After reviewing briefly the early history of the fishes 
of Vermont b}' illustrating that a little over 100 years ago 
the shad were abundant in the Connecticut as far as Bel- 
lows Falls, and the "salmon ascended the Connecticut and 
its tributaries to their sources, the cause of the depletion 
in these waters and of other waters of the State Were 
briefly mentioned and then the work of propagation of 
the trout and salmon was illustrated by the use of the 
stereopticon, views being thrown upon a large canvas. 
These views illustrated the collection of the wild trout 
on their spawning beds, the actual work of stripping the 
fi_sh and fertilizing the eg,gs, the various stages of the 
eggs laid down in the hatching troughs and the stages 
of development of the little fish after the eggs had 
hatched. 
After briefly illustrating the work of trout propagation 
as carried on in Vermont, views of hatcheries and prac- 
tical work of collecting fish and eggs of other fresh 
waters of the United States and also of various marine 
species was illustrated by views thrown on the canvas, 
it seems a stupendous task, for instance, to attempt to 
stock the coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean with cod- 
fish by artificial propagation, but this work is being 
carried oh to-day by the United States Fish Commission. 
With the improved methods of fishing and the increased 
number of fishermen, the cod had been practically ex- 
terminated from the waters along the Massachusetts coast 
and fishermen had been penetrating further and further to 
the Grand Banks every year, W^ith the work of artificial 
propagation, the cod arc reappearing in the bays along the 
Massachusetts coast. 
Some very interesting views of the work of taking the" 
Columbia River salmon of the Pacific Coast were also 
given. 
It appears that there was once a time in Vermont and 
Connecticut when "shad were a penny apiece," and the 
hirSd man stipulated in his contract that he should not 
be fed salmon more than a certain number of times per 
week. 
Nearly all the ponds of Vermont were originally in- 
habited bj"- trout. These fish have been exterminated by 
the introduction of bass and pickerel. In many instances 
tbe waters were entirely unsuited to the introduction of 
the coarser varieties of fis1i, and. after the introduced bass 
or pickerel had exterminated the trout, they were un- 
able to obtain sufficient food to sustain themselves, and, as 
a result, we have in some waters a long, sHm and almost 
useless pickerel, and in some ponds bass which should 
grow to weigh 4 or slbs., but which do not attain a weight 
of lib. 
The work of the State hatchery -was reviewed, in which 
Mr. Titcomb stated .that the coinmissioners had hoped to 
be able to begin the di.stribution of fingerlinga instead of 
fry, and make plants of fish in the public waters of the 
State in the fall of the year, instead .of in- .the spring. 
With the curtailed appropriation made by the^ast Legisla- 
ture, this work will be practically impossible. 
The talk was illustrated by about sixty-five views, most 
of them on the practical subject of fishculture in its 
various branches, but some of them contained some very 
fine natural scenery. 
The enemies to the propagation of fish were described 
showing how eggs naturally deposited by the parent fish 
are not only eaten by other fish, but by insect larvne, and, 
as a result, a very small percentage of the eggs naturally 
deposited ever come to maturity, while by artificial propa- 
gation from 90 per cent, to 95 per cent, of the eggs are 
fertilized and hatched for distribution. A trout weighing 
lib., for instance, yields about 1,000 eggs. If she deposits 
these eggs naturally, only a small percentage will be 
fertilized, and of that small percentage many will be eaten 
by insect larvae and by other fishes. Perhaps four or five 
fish, or even a larger number may mature from spawn 
thus naturally deposited. By artificial propafration these 
same eggs are taken from the parent fish, and out of 
1,000 eggs 900 little fishes can be distributed after they 
have arrived at an age- when they can feed and take care 
of themselves. 
The importance of the fjsheries of the United States 
was illustrated by the fact that about 1,000,000 men, 
women and children are employed in connection with 
the fisheries or products of the fisheries, and the annual 
product of the fisheries is valued at $50,000,000. 
Mr. Titcomb advocated protective laws well enforced 
and stated that protective laws could not be well enforced 
unless pubhc sentiment is back of them. In addition to 
protecting the fish during their spawning seasons, the only 
method of restoring our waters to their primitive condi- 
tion or to even approach this condition is by artificial 
propagation extensively carried on. Vermont is appro- 
priating less than any other New England State for this 
kind of work. New Hampshire maintains eleven hatch- 
eries and Maine also suoports a large number of hatch- 
eries and appropriates liberally for the work of fish and 
game propogation and protection. As a result of this 
work, the State of Maine estimates her receipts from that 
portion of the summer visitors who come purely for hunt- 
ing and fishing as something like $4,000,000, and New 
Hampshire estimates her income from the same sources 
at about $1,000,000. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Chicago, March. 16. — A correspondent of this city 
writes of the edible qualities of some fish as follows : 
Last week Mr. Fred Mather wrote about coot and the 
eating of them. I have eaten coot or mud hens over in 
Michigan in the fall of the year. If they are first skinned 
and then cooked, the same as a duck, they are not bad 
eating. 
I have never tried to eat the sheepshead (fresh-water 
drum) of the Great Lakes, but I am told by those who 
have tried them that they are tough and flavorless. I 
think it is this fish that is called in the Ohio Valley the 
white perch, which is used as a food fish by some o'f the 
people in that part of the country, ,who do not find the 
same objection to it that is found to the sheepshead of 
the Gre^t Lalces. Difference in tlie coiiditions under whicl^ 
fish live and the character of the water sometimes make 
quite a difference in the flavor of them. At certain sea- 
sens of the year there are caught at the falls of the Ohio 
River at Louisville, Ky., wall-eyed pike (pike perch) of 
say 6 to isin. in length. These fish are locally designated 
as jack salmon, ana are poptilarly supposed to be a dis' 
tinct kind of fish that are only found at or near these 
falls. As a matter of fact, they are found in nearly all of 
the tributary stfeatns of the Ohio. I have caught them 
in the Rockcastle (which is a tributary of the Cumber- 
land River"), where they seem to have a golden sheen on 
their .'^cales when they come out of the Water, and are 
called, locally, "golden salmon." However, the Ohio 
Falls jack salmon, of length named above, are mighty 
good eating when freshly caught and fried, with the addi- 
tion of a little lemon juice or tartar sauce when served. 
They are of delicate flavor, and better than the same fish 
in the North. The large "wall-eyes" of the Ohio Valley 
are u.si.ially called white salmon, and are supposed by many 
to be a different fish from the jack salmon. Wall-eyes 
from the Maumee are desi.gnated as Maumee salmon, at 
Louisville, and are not considered, by the local epicures, 
as good as the genuine jack salmon. Probably black bass 
are better eating if they are skinned before cooking, 
especially in the spring of the year. For some reason the 
skin of the bass, frequently in the spring, has a rank 
flavor, which is imparted to the fish when cooked with the 
skin on. Dogfish' or Johnny Grindles are eaten by many 
of the negroes of the South. 
A party of my acquaintance tried to cat garfish once 
when out on a fishing trip, but told me he did not 
"hanker" after any more of it. In the interior of Ken- 
tucky many of the country people prefer the mud cat- 
fish to any other fish found in their waters, for the reason 
that it tastes sweeter. I don't know that the "mud- 
cat" is any greater scavenger than the lobster or than 
chickens, still I would prefer cither of the last two. 
I notice in the Forest and Stream of this week an 
inquir}"- about fresh-Avatcr turtles. There are large num- 
bers of turtles in all of the streams of southern Michigan 
that I have any knowledge of, but I have never seen any 
of them in the trout streams in the northern part of the 
State. I do not know the proper name for these turtles. 
They are clean looking, and are caught for the market 
during the summer months by men who make a business 
of it. They are shipped alive, in stout sacks, to New 
York and Chicago, where ^ suspect they appear under the 
guise of "Terrapin a la Maryland" and "Green Turtle 
Soup" at various hotels and restaurants. I have seen 
these turtles on sale in Chicago. If you float any great 
distance on some of the streams of southern Michigan 
in the summertime you will see many turtles out on logs 
and on trees that overhang the water, They vary in size 
from quite small up to some old settlers that look as if 
they would weigh 15 to 2olbs. The large ones, when dis- 
turbed, will slip off of a log into the water so quietly and 
easily as hardly to leave a ripple on the surface. 
Then turtles are usually caught by the market-hunters 
in traps and in nets. The nets are short and seem to be 
made of coarse cotton cord. I do not know just how 
they use them. The traps look something like short 
fyke nets with a piece of meat fixed inside for bait. I 
have seen many of these traps set in rather shallow 
water in rivers, but never made any special examination 
of them. I have been told that a turtle was caught in 
the Kalamazoo River near Galesburg. Mich., some years 
ago that weighed Solbs. 
Last August, while fly-fishing for trout on the Middle 
Branch of the Pere Marquette in Michigan, I caught sev- 
eral speckled trout during a thunderstorm; and I have 
been told that this is .something unusual. Kit Clark, in 
one of his books, says something like this (quoting from 
memorv), "When a shower comes up you may as well 
quit fishing (i. e., fly-fishing) for trout." F 
§lte gennel. 
Postponed. 
Charles B. Baer^ in Philadetfhia Press. 
Come along, old chap, yer time's 'bout up. 
We got another brindle pup; 
I 'lo"w's it's toue-h nn' mighfy hard. 
But a toothless doR's no good Oil gwara, 
So trot along right after me, 
An' I'll put yeh out o' yah miser}'. 
Now, quit yer wasgin' that stumpy tail— 
We ain't a-goin' fer rabbit er quail; 
'Sides, you couldn't p'int a bird na more, 
Yer old an' blind an' stiff an' sore. 
An' that's why I loaded the gun to-day— 
Yer a-gittin' cross an' in the way. 
I been thinkin' it over; 'tain't no fun, 
I don't like to do it, but it's got to be done; 
Got sort of a notion, you know, too, 
The kind of a job we're goin' to do; 
Else why would yeh hang back that-a-wav? 
Yeh ain't ez young ez yeh once wtiz, hey? 
Frisky dog in them days, I note. 
When veh nailed the sneak thief by the throat; 
Can't do that now, an' tliere ain't no need 
A-keepin' a dog that don't earn his feed. 
So yeh get to make way fer the brindle pup; 
Come along, old chap, your time's 'bout up. 
We'll travel along at an easy jog— _ 
Course, you don't know, bein' only a dog; 
But I can mind when you wuz sprier, 
'Wakin' us up when the barn caught fire- 
It don't seem possible, yet I know 
That wuz close onto fifteen year ago. 
My! but yer hair wuz long an' thick. 
When yeh pulled little Sally out o' the crick; 
An' it came in handv that night in the storm. 
We coddled to keep each other warm. 
Purty good dog, I'll admit— but say. 
What's the use o' talkin', yeh had yer day. 
I'm liopin' the children won't hear the crack, 
Er what'll I say when I git back? _ 
Thev'd be askin' questions. I know their talk. 
An' 'I'd have to He 'bout a chicken hawk; 
But the sound won't cirry beyond this hill; 
All done in a minute— don't bark, stand still. 
There, that'll do; steady, quit lickin' my hand. 
What's wrong with this gun, I can't understand; 
I'm jest as shaky ez I can be— 
Must be the agey's the matter with me. 
An' that stitch in the back— what! gittin' old, too? 
The— dinner— beU'^^ingin'-rief—fii^—snt'-^yPUi 
