April 29, 1899.] 
fish, is^ perhaps a novelty, but the l"una Club, by en^ 
couragihg the itse of light rods and lines, has accotn- 
plished its purpose. No fish are wasted, the catch is re- 
duced and the sport vastly increased. Five years ago 
there was no demand in this section for line rods for sea 
angling. To-day there is hardly a fine rod or reel maker 
in the country who is not represented at Santa Catalina, 
and the tackle of professional fishermen whose stands 
hne the beach of Avalon Bay and those of their patrons 
represents hundreds of dollars. Senor X. 
^^Flodda^s Fishing Interests,*^^ 
The Florida Fish Commission, John Y. Detwiler. 
chairman, and John G. Ruger, secretary, have made their 
annual report to the Governor. We quote in part: 
The fisheries of the State of Florida are among the 
most important industries, by reason of the enormous 
quantity of food products already provided by nature 
with a lavish hand, and which will be amply sufficient for 
all time, if properly protected from wanton destruction 
and vandalism. For this purpose has the present Com- 
mission of Fisheries been appointed; and as such Com- 
missioners the responsibilities resting upon the mem- 
bers are of no small magnitude, when it is realized that 
from Fernandina, on the Atlantic seaboard, thence 
around to Pensacola, on the Gulf Coast, together with 
the various lagoons, bays, inlets and rivers, our waters 
abound with marine life sufficient for all time, if propei- 
measures are employed to restrict and govern the meth- 
ods of taking it. A due recognition of this fact, and a 
dissemination of this knowledge to the public, would be 
of great importance and add to our population. 
In the prospective work of the Commission of Fish- 
eries, the essential features to impress upon the public 
mind is the extent and area of the waters comprising the 
public domain of the State, and its relation to the entire 
population. The next is to convince the thoughtless and 
law-breaking element among oUr citizens that their rights 
exist only in their imagination, atid are but an unreasona- 
ble privilege which they exercise, and that an antagonism 
to the State law will result in punishment. He who ac- 
knowledges the law and conforms to its provisions in all 
things is in harmony with it, which results in both public 
and private welfare. A citizen who usurps a privilege 
belonging to another or to the public, and uses it for 
selfish motives, should be restricted by force, if necessary. 
With no precedents established for this Commission to 
follow, it remains with theni to execute as best they can 
that which is for the public good. 
As it is presumed the Commissioners of Fisheries are 
to be the head of that department. It of necessity requires 
the assistance of wardens to enforce the. laws made and 
provided for the preservatioil, proteetion aud propagation 
of the various fish and shell flsh industries of the State, 
which the necessities of the case require. As statistics .tfe 
of the greatest vital importance in any industry, the con- 
trol of the entire commercial fisheries of the State should 
be subject to the Commissioners of Fisheries by author- 
ity of the Legislature, and blanks should be provided for 
information relative to the capital invested, the boats, 
nets and persons employed, the varieties of fish taken, 
and the disposition of the same — whether marketed in a 
fresh or cured condition— and other data as to the habits, 
nature and desired protectioh, all of which should be .pre- 
served for future reference. 
Of the fresh water lakes, rivers and ponds which are 
within the State, it is suggested that due attention be 
given to their feasibility for food production, and that 
provision be made for personal examination as to the 
adaptability of further stocking them with fish suitable 
for self-preservation and reproduction, whereby the pub- 
lic may be benefited, and, as soon as practicable, the more 
important be stocked with such species of fish deemed 
most suitable to the conditions that exist. The prac- 
tice of catching perch and other fresh water fish during 
the spawning season-and wantonly throwing them away 
is a serious offense. While it is sport in a sense, it is 
carried too far in this wanton waste and should be pre- 
vented. 
It is lecommended that provision be made to introduce 
shad^into the fresh water rivers, by procuring them from 
the U. S. Fish Commission, until our waters have the 
benefit of and maintenance of a suitable fish hatchery. 
The Commission, from the position they at present oc- 
cupy, see no valid reason why this important matter 
should be further deferred, and would recommend that 
the Legislature memorialize the United States Govern- 
ment to establish such fish hatchery as may be suitable. 
Intelligent immigrants usually investigate the resources 
ot the section of the State they wish to make their future 
home. This important fact should not be lost sight of 
by those who are empowered to enact the laws, for it 
stands to reason that the food resources of a locality are 
of as great importance as those of an educational or 
social nature, and it behooves our representatives not to 
tlisparage the advantages of the State to the detriment of 
her future financial prosperity, by the allowance of an 
inadequate appropriation for all ; purposes whereby the 
fisheries may be encouraged, policed and protected. 
Of the turtle fisheries, stringent laws shotild be en- 
acted, and vigorously enforced by heavy penalties, for the 
wanton destruction of the loggerhead and green turtle 
while depositing their eggs on the sand beaches of the 
ocean, and suitable restrictions also made as to their cap- 
ture for commercial purposes. 
On the sponge industry, it is presumed under the fos- 
tering care of the General Government, which demon- 
strated the practical and successful cultivation by means 
of sets of clippings in the extreme southern waters of 
the State, it will receive the proper protection and en- 
couragement it so richly deserves. 
In this connection, though not strictly within the prov- 
ince of the Commissioners of Fisheries, we call your at- 
tention to the fact that some legislation should be taken 
in regard to the preservation of the manatee, whose 
presence is occasionally observed in the waters of the 
Halifax and Indian rivers. These animals, if not pro- 
tected by stringent laws, will soon become extinct. 
The wanton destruction of cur egret rookeries has re- 
sulted in the depletion of our streams and marshes of 
these beautiful biTds 01 plumage, and we would recom- 
mend that all birds of the heron family bs. protected by 
FORh-ST AND STREAM. 
law against destruction in any manner for a period of 
years. 
Of our game of various kinds, the laws protecting them 
now in force are no doubt satisfactory, if properly en- 
forced, which could be done with economy by consoli- 
dating the Commissioners of Fisheries to act as Gams 
Commissioners also, as is done in Other States, where 
both departments are consolidated in the same com- 
mission. 
Florida contains 59,268 square miles of land, and over 
I, .200 miles of seacoast, which is greater than any other 
State east of the Mississippi River; and by virtue of he- 
position between latitude 24 degrees 30 minutes north and 
longitude 80 degrees and 87 degrees 45 minutes west, 
possesses varied advantages second to no other State in 
the Union in their amoimt and variety. The food prod- 
ucts of both land and water are so vast and include such 
an area in which both the salinity and temperature of the 
water are so entirely different, that the conditions are not 
equal at the same season of the year. Therefore your 
Commission call special attention to the fact that legi?- 
lation to apply to one locality is inappropriate to an- 
other. 
With Rainbow Trout in Southern 
California, 
To see the early amethystian sun tints on the moun- 
tains to the west is the first requisite to a day of trout 
fishing from Redlands, Cal. 
Mount San Bernardino has, perhaps, translucent clouds 
hanging like attendants about his iron and alabaster 
crown; his breathing thus tempered with spruce and snow 
reaches us as \ye emerge on the Santa Ana plain; 
the prairie is odorous with white sage and lupine in 
purple racemes, and the golden chalices of California 
poppies dash the dry, coarse foliage. The Western 
meadow lark tilts rollickingly from the top of a mesquite 
bush and his gurgling attempt at a song sounds like the 
errant notes of a drunken pianist; the Calif ornlan tow- 
hee darts slyly in and out of a rose hedge, and the mock- 
ing bh'd, which has just closed his night song, now be- 
gins with an additional glad note or two that of the 
day. His song is not so full-throated and versatile as that 
of his brother in the Southern States. The greater num- 
ber of singing birds there, on whose notes he so suc- 
cessfully speculates, is the natural explanation of this. 
But the reader could not be more anxious for the 
point of this article to be reached than we were to get to 
fishing — Mr. Oliver and I. Alder Creek, a tiny and lisp- 
ing tributary to Santa Ana River, up the canon of which 
we were winding, at last invited us to try its waters. The 
alders grow lustily and to the height and diameter of syc- 
amores i flowers, grass and ferns soften the footfall, and 
the stream purls as gently as could be wished. My com- 
panion carried' his seventy-five years with agile leaps 
from stone to stone, and in great enthusiastic strides, his 
kind face beaming expectantly. 
Within- a mile, one feeble catch, but of lawful meas- 
ure, brought out the impression, before slightly sug- 
gested, that we were no longer men, but boys, and that 
this stream, so weak, shallow and empty of fish, was 
really the one of our youth, where we had gone so often, 
the fagged enthusiasm of each closing day patched up and 
inflated by the night's golden dreams. My friend had 
evidently had these lovely visions of the coming day all 
his life, for his face, as he proudly drew out his prize 
for my comment, made Time, I am sure, turn away from 
his reaping in sheer astonishment. 
Further on is another stream, which was scarcely al- 
lowed to speak for the water cress — it had doubtless en- 
tertained too many gossiping water nymphs. Here I 
was charm-ed at the prompt response of a large trout to 
my offer of courtesies. In water Of 3in. and clear as 
glass he discussed the point with much deliberation, but 
his eyes were fascinated, and his wavy body shaken with 
delicious uncertainty. My rod trembled, and the alders 
against which I leaned gave forth uneven pulsations to 
my breathing. But at last my worm wriggled at the right 
moment and he died more gracefully than a king in pur- 
ple robes. Mr. Oliver was as pleased as I, and went at 
once and put in his hook at the same place. 
We went on and on up the rocky defile, past the great 
power house, which furnishes electricit}- for the Los 
Angeles car lines (and where thousands of fish are said to 
be electrocuted), and soon had reached the end of the 
wagon road. Here we stopped naturally, boiled coflfee 
on a rail and spread lunch (not under the trembling cot- 
tunwoods by the river's bank, as I should have liked, but 
by reason of contiguity — to Mr. Oliver — under the roof 
oi' dingy workmen's camp). 
During the three hours of the afternoon left- we had fair 
luck on Bear Creek, and a number of fine specimens 
flashed their gold and saflron sides from foaming pools. 
At this considerable elevation from the valley the air on 
such an April day has a tonic and buoyant effect, and 
one feels like wandering on forever down and down, re- 
sponding with a cast to every brawling and hearty call 
from the stream. 
In returning to camp I started a pair of the American 
dipper {Cinclus mexicanus) , which fidgeted and pattered 
about before me for some distance. 
The five hours of home-coming was not the least of 
the pleasm-es of the day. The stars, evidently jealous in 
this latitude of twilight's veil — for they appear so quickly 
after sunset— were from the start our quiet pilots, and 
then, the following of Mr. Oliver's stream of talk was as 
good as any of one's luckiest piscatorial days. He is a 
forty-niner and a miner, had lived in a canon and of- 
ficiated in every other capacity except as father to "Clem- 
entine." But this I forgave him, as he talked so de- 
lightfully of the early camps and fine Indian raids. 
At Mentone. a rustic dance, seen through open win- 
dows, gave some reflection of its happiness, and at the 
Casa Loma, in the city itself, other revelers in the danc- 
ing parlor sat at their midnight luncheon. Here one 
queenly guest was evidently in content with the world. 
An acknowledged dispenser of good things, no doubt 
she had gathered around her a brilliant little court, but I 
regretted to note that the blood-red carnations shining in 
her dark hair wei-e evidently taken by her vieing rivals 
more as svmbols of Mars than of Psyche. . 
Edgar Magness. 
S31 
The Pennsylvania Fish Protective 
Association. 
Philadelphia, .April 22. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
The annual reunion and banquet of the Pennsylvania Fish 
Protective Association was held at Dooners Hotel, Tenth 
and Chestnut streets, Philadelphia, on Friday evening, 
April 7, and proved to be one of the most enjoyable for 
years. The large banquet room was handsomely deco- 
rated with the national emblem, and patriotic music was 
discoursed by an orchestra during the evening. 
The fishing interests of Pennsylvania, New York, New 
Jersey, Maryland and Delaware were represented, mak- 
ing the occasion a notable gathering, and the central point 
of all the addresses was the importance of these interests, 
representing millions of dollars, which were involved in 
the harmonious and effective methods now being intro- 
duced to preserve the edible fish in these five Middle At- 
lantic States. After grace by the Rev. H. O. Gibbons, an 
excellent menu was discussed. Dr. Bushrod W. James, 
president of the Association, then welcomed the guests 
and delivered the following address: 
Annual Address by Dr. Boshrod W. James, Presideot. 
In presenting an annual address before this Association 
it appears only fitting to make reference to the history 
of the organization of the Pennsylvania Fish Protective 
Association, to those who have favored us with their 
presence this evening. 
In the fishing season anglers are fond of wandering 
away in the direction of the pure mountain streams and 
smaller rivers for the sake of the sport afforded by ang- 
ling for the game food fishes, that naturafly abound in 
the waters which run in various directions among the 
lovely hills and valleys of this beautiful State. But year 
after year these sportsmen found their pleasure tours be- 
coming less attractive and enjoyable, through a scarcity 
of trout and other finny denizens of the water, due to 
the fact that a system of protection for such fishing 
streams had not been legislated consistenly. Few of the 
counties, they found, had no local protection laws at all, 
while others adjoining either had feeble protection laws 
and customs, or those they had were not co-operative 
or in harmony with their neighboring counties, and by 
this means at last streams that once abounded with 
choice fish were discovered to be entirely sterile of the 
beautiful swimmers. 
Investigation and exploration explained the fact that 
residents of the contiguous counties had depleted the 
trout, bass, pike and pickerel streams and creeks by the 
indiscriminate use of fishing nets, fish baskets and other 
exhausting devices, thus taking any and all kinds of fiih 
from their haunts, and even their spawning places, it 
was also found that detrimental and injurious inateriaS 
had been turned into some of the streams, poisoning the 
fish and rendering them unfit for food. By such means 
anglers were eventually prevented from obtaining their 
favorite sport during their tours for pleasure or recupera- 
tion. 
A. number of merchants and retired gentlemen, to 
whom the fascinating pleasure was thus denied, called 
a meeting for the purpose of forming an association or 
organization, whose chief object was the formation of 
/aws for the restoration and protection of edible fishes 
in all the streams throughout the commonwealth of Penn- 
sylvania, as well as aiding and encouraging the enforce- 
ment of the laws then existing for the same purpose. 
They also aimed at pointing out the defects in the law of 
the State and of the different counties; and they made 
propositions for their adjustment, thus creating a new 
interest in the sport that was quietly waning for the need 
of those protective measures. 
Through the activity of the late Andrew M. Spangler 
and his friends this society was organized on Nov. 15, 
1882, at the southeast corner of Broad and Fairmount 
avenue, in a building then called "Lincoln Hall," it hav- 
ing since become the site of the Lorraine Hotel. The 
name selected for the organization was the "Angler's 
Association" and subsequently called the "Angler's Asso- 
ciation of Eastern Pennsylvania," and it immediately 
started out fervently and did considerable valuable work 
in the way of improving the laws relating to the fishing 
streams. After about three years the members thought 
it essential to future success, as weh as for the good of 
their own interests, to obtain a charter. This they ac- 
complished on April 10, 1886, when a constitution and 
by-laws were formulated and adopted, and the society 
started upon a broader basis of operation. The orig- 
inal name was retained until Feb, 8, 1890, when it wa.s 
given Its present suggestive title, the Fish Protective 
Association of Pennsylvania, the object being to extend 
its benefits of propagation and protection of valuable 
food fishes to every part of the State. A first great ob- 
jection to this organization was that it appeared to the 
rural citizen that it was instituted for the sole benefit of 
wealthy sportsmen, having a purely selfish and ungener- 
ous motive in preventing the old usages resorted to by lo- 
cal individual sportsmen, as well as the more wholesale 
catching carried on by companies in the larger streams 
and rivers. But as time wore on, many who had thus 
objected discovered their misjudgment and yielded to 
the wise arrangements that would eventually accrue to 
their personal advantage, as well as to that of the whole 
commonwealth. 
Gradually protection by law. v^^as universally acknowl- 
edged to be beneficial, for during the necessary investi- 
gations the true state of affairs became more apparent, 
when it was discovered that in many streams, once swarm- 
ing with desirable fi.sh, there were not left a sufficient 
number of any kind for natural procreation, and the so- 
ciety was compelled to avail itself of the provision offered 
by the United States hatcheries to restock with the young 
fry of the most valuable edible varieties. 
"In the meantime there were hatcheries erected and 
operated advantageously at Erie, Allentown, Corry and 
Bristol, from which the fry were transported to the more 
distant streams and rivers in the interior and western 
part of Pennsylvania with peculiar success. 
The society'has taken great pleasure and interest in the 
formation of local societies and in the progress made by 
those more recently established. There is a fine pros 
pect of stil! greater numbers of such societies being 
