July i, iSgg.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
9 
Haw will be held to be a valid exercise of that power. We 
.think the indictment was not defective. The offense was 
■one created by statute, and the indictment described it 
in the words used in the statute. This has repeatedly 
been held by this court to be sufficient," The judgment 
.appealed from will be affirmed, with costs. 
A similar decision was given in the case against Samuel 
A. Rice. He had been indicted for selling partridges, 
\voodcock.s, one flicker and fiv,e rabbits. The facts are 
identical, Judge Schmucker said in his opinion, with those 
appearing in the Stevens case, except that the appellant did 
not offer the game for sale in the original package in 
which it was shipped to him from another State, but 
broke the package and offered its contents for sale in 
separate parcels. 
Wyoming: Timber Depredations. 
Wells P. O., Uinta County, Wyo., June 12.— -Editor 
Forest and Stream: Concerning the timber cutting 
operations of the Rock Springs Lumber Company, the 
present state of affairs is this: 
At their main camp what ties and saw logs they have 
barked are being put in the water. Their sawmill up 
here is idle, I understand, the reason being that they 
have cleaned up all the timber within reach and must 
move the mill to find more. 
The company has pai'ties out surveying timber lands 
along the Green River and tributaries. Tie-choppers 
and timber men are coming into the country, who tell 
me that they are here to cut timber by contract for the 
R. S. L. Co. as soon as the spring is far enough ad- 
vanced to permit work to begin. 
So far as I know, no United States timber inspector 
has ever looked over their work. 
The land on which the company is cutting is timber 
land pure and simple, though I understand that the 
company claims that it is agricultural land, and has 
located it as such with scrip at the Lander land office. 
The cutting is being done on T. 38 and 39, N. R. 
ICQ and 110 W. I cannot tgll the exact subdivisions. 
Wm. Wells. 
P. :S. — Employees of the company claim 500,000 ties 
and s.ooo,oooft. of saw logs for this winter's (1898-09) 
work. 
Proprietors of fishing and hunting resorts will find it profitable 
to advertise tliem in Forest and Stream. 
ANGLING NOTES. 
Eels. 
Dr, QuACKENBOS, who received the following letter, 
sent it to me with some comments of his own, and I copy 
both. The letter is dated Rahway, New Jersey, and reads 
as follows : 
"The papers you sent me make me think of the time 
when we were boys fishing on the Rahway River on 
River street, shaded" by large willows, water beeches, oaks 
and grapevines with plenty of tish and clear sparkling 
water. 
"1 was skating last week from Gibbs' Island up to Bond- 
ley's on River street, and had tots of fun, but the water is 
so black from the dye factories above that we could not 
drink it, and all the tish die off. and the Avillows and other 
large shade trees are gone. Do 3'ou know anything about 
eels? 1 was told by a friend that there is a man 
on Staten Island who raises eels for market and does well 
with them, as he will not dress and sell them until albs, in 
weight, and he sells only when there is a demand for 
them and they command a high price. This is the way 
he came to raise eels: There is a salt water creek on his 
farm, and he thought he could rear ducks at a profit, and 
hatched out a large number and kept them on and in the 
creek, and fed them cracker dust and oatmeal, which he 
threw on the water at feeding time. After a time he 
noticed that eels came -to the surface of the water to eat 
the food thrown for the ducks, and he assumed that they 
must have run up from the river below. He disposed of 
his ducks and made a screen across the creek at the bot- 
tom of his land, arranging an opening by which the eels 
could enter but could not return. In the winter he 
covers the creek with flooring so that the water will not 
freeze, and now at feeding time when the eels hear his 
footsteps they will come to the surface of the water in the 
creek for their meals. I could make an eel pond if I 
knew how long it takes to grow them to 2lbs. weight, so if 
you know- please tell me, for this is no fish story, but an eel 
Story t-hat is true." 
Comments. 
My friend commenting on this letter says : "The writer 
of the inclosed letter lives in Jersey, and describes the de- 
cadence of my earliest hunting and stamping ground. I 
began with him as a small boy with pin hook and for 'sun- 
nies,' and a bow-gun for blackbirds, and rose through the 
successive stages of penny hook and i8-cent pistol, dollar 
jointed pole and $3 i6-bore, purchased at a junk shop 
with carefully saved dimes, to Leonard Soz. and Scott 
hammerless. Alas ! the pellucid stream that heads in the 
Orange Mountains and used to yield the speckled stari'ed ! 
(Oh, how I remember a ^Ib. fontinalis we kept for more 
than a year in the well!) That stream now runs black 
dye stuffs to the kills. But the memory of those, days 
-will never die — and the boy who fished and hunted' with 
me seems to love me still — loves me because I loved 
nature with him. He may be poor, he may be unlearned, 
but, as Emerson says, we have something in common. 
"He has within himself a god (as Pasteur calls it), a 
high ideal. His life is gentle. He cultivates Marie 
Louise violets for a living. Give us something about eels 
in Forest and Stream. Eels, rapid growers, prolific to a 
iault. Centuries ago they got a lot of mone}'^ out of them 
at Coraacchio lagoons near Venice. Your friend Theo- 
datus of patronymic says they are well suited to culture. 
"And would you believe it, old Rondeletius (I have a 
printed copy, Lyons, 15S4) says every eel is born in fresh 
water — Anguilla omnis nascitur in aqua dulci — and adds 
they go to sea or salt water lagoons. His chapter on 
crustacean fish food is a marvel. I don't know whether 
Pinchon, who raised fish artificially in the century of Co- 
lumbus, tried eels on. I am sure the Romans did, for Pliny 
tells how Pollio, the ass who cut his arteries when his for- 
tune w^as reduced to $500,000, to save himself from stai-va- 
tion, used to pitch live negroes to his eels to give them a 
fine flavor. So tell us something about eels," 
Dom Pinchon. 
Before saying anything about eels, a word about Dom 
Pinchon, the French monk that my friend, the doctor, 
refers to. It has been claimed that he hatched fish arti- 
ficially in i4-0j but it is believed from the best evidence 
obtainable that he simply gathered and transplanted fish 
ova naturally fertilized, and that he knew nothing about 
artificial fish propagation as practiced to-day. Vrasski, the 
Russian fishculturist, who discovered the dry method of 
impregnating fish eggs, did try to cultivate the eel arti- 
ficially, but how he succeeded history does not tell us ; but 
we can guess pretty accurately from wliat we now know 
about eels. . . ^ . 
The doctor says tell us something about eels 3n FoKEST 
AND Stream, biit the last time I told about eels at any 
length it was under oath as a watness in the Supreme 
Court in Brooklyn, and other witnesses had l)ccn testifying 
about fresh-water eels, and salt-water eels, and silver 
eels, and when an attorney asked me how many species 
of eels we had, and I said one, the presiding justice turned 
to the witness box and said. "What's that?" in such a 
surprised tone of voice that I did not know but we had 
other species that I did tiot know about, and if I write 
much about the eel in this column t expect_ some Forest 
AND Stream reader may ask, ''What's that?" 
Eels Have Scales* 
'"True eels are characterized by their scaly skin in as- 
sociation with a conical head and a general reseinblance 
to the congers." — Jordan and Evermann. It is true that the 
scales are imbedded, but the eel has them, and we have 
but one species, called American eel, or fresh-water eel, 
though when taken in salt water it is called salt-water eel 
or silver eel, but I have known species of trout to be 
called silver trout when they have been in salt water, or 
for a season on white sand in fresh water, which gives 
a silvery coating both to the brook and lake trout; but that 
is not tlie reason that eels have a silvery appearance. It 
may be as well to say here that the literature of the eel 
would fill .^cN cral issues of Forest and Streaic, as there 
has been much speculation about this fish, its habits, repro- 
duction and even its origin, and the scientists of the Old 
World have written elaborate papers on the subject of 
the eel within the past 100 or more years to show 
what they did or did not know about it, but I shall be as 
brief as possible and boil down what is now known into as 
small space as possible. 
Beliefs as to Origin of the Eels. 
U is not necessary to dwell upon the early beliefs that 
the eel was generated from horsehairs, from de^v. from 
slime, from the females of another fish: that the eel pro- 
duced its young alive; that both turf and mud produced 
them, and'that they w^ere hermaphrodites, for to-day men 
may be found having just as strange ideas concerning the 
generation of the eel. It was not, however, until 1850 that 
Rathke definitely discovered the ovary of a female, and not 
not until 1873 that Dr. Syrski discovered the male organs, 
and Dr. Jacoby completed the discovery in all its details in 
7877; but even this discovery left a big gap in the life 
history of the eel. Adult eels leave the fresh water and go 
down to the sea and rivers. 3 to Sin. long, return in vast 
immbers from the sea to fresh water, the migration being 
called eel-fai rs, from the Saxon term fare, to travel, but where 
thej' were hatched and how old they were and what 
became of the parent eels was unknown until 1894. when 
Prof. Grassi and Prof. Calandruccio, of Rome, cleared 
up some of these points by discovering the larva; of the 
eel in the Mediterranean. To put the matter briefly, it 
is now maintained, in the light of the discoveries men- 
tioned, that female eels only go into fresh water, while 
tlic male eels remain in the sea. Some females do not 
go to salt Avater to breed, because they are barren, and 
they remain permanently, it is assumed, in fresh water 
ponds or lakes. What becomes of the adult eels after 
spawning is not positivelj"- known, but the females do not 
return to fresh w^ater, and it is believed that they die, and 
possibly both sexes die. 
Silver Eels. 
Of the silver eels Prof. Grassi says : *'As a result 
of the observations of Peterson, we know now that the 
common eel develops a bridal coloration or 'mating 
habit,' which is chiefly characterized by the silver pig- 
ment without trace of yellow, and by the more or less 
black color of the pectoral fin, and finally by the large 
eyes:" 
Peterson's inference that this was bridal coloration was 
derived from the largely developed state of the reproduc- 
tive organs and by their ceasing to take nourishment. Dr. 
Bean records five eels from Great South Bay, which are 
described as having "large eyes, short snout, and_ long 
pectoral fins as compared with the common form, silvery 
gray above with a clear satiny white abdomen, separated 
from the color above by the lateral bill." They were 
found "to be males with the generative glands so well 
developed as to leave no doubt concerning the sex." 
Dr. Gfassi Sums Up, 
Dr. Grassi says further : "To sum up, AnguiUa vul- 
garis, the common eel" [Dr. Meek, Bulletin U. S. Fish 
Commission, 1883, after a careTul comparison of Amer- 
ican (Anguilla chrysypa) and European eels, concludes 
'in American specimens the dorsal fin is proportionately 
further from the end of snout, making the distance between 
front of dorsal and front of anal a little shorter than in 
European specimens ; otherwise no permanent difference 
seems to exist. We blioiild not, therefore, in my opinion, 
consider the two as distinct species, but rather as geo- 
graphical varieties of the same species'] "matures in the 
depths of the sea, where it acquires larger eyes than are 
ever observed in individuals which have not yet migrated 
to deep water. * * The abysses of the sea are the 
spawning places of the common eel. * * Its eggs 
float in the sea water. In developing frorn the egg it un- 
dergoes a metamorphosis — that is it passes through a 
larval form. What length of time this development re- 
quires is very difficult to establish. So far we have only 
the following data: 
- "First — ^.1 vulgaris migrate.? to the sea frotn th^ tnonth 
of Ocotber to the month of January; second, the currents, 
.such as those of Messena, throw up from the abysses of 
the sea specimens which, from the commencement of 
November to the end of July, are observed to be more 
advanced in development than at other times, but not yet 
arrived at total maturity; third, eggs, which according to 
every probability belong to the common eel, are found in 
the sea from the month of August to that of January, in- 
clusive ; fourth, the Septocephalus brevimstris" (the spe- 
cific name of the larval form) "abounds froin February to 
September ; as to the other months, we are in some un- 
certainty; fifth, I am inclined to believe thai the elvers 
ascending our rivers are already one year old." 
Elvers* 
The lales that are told about young eels running up 
rivers from the sea are nothing short of marvelous, but 
tlie fact that a single eel prodtices 9,000,000 eggs will help 
us accept the mmiber of elvers that go up a .single 
stream in a body, not that the number is to be given here 
in figures, but rather in a blanket statement, for the only 
estimate I have seen in figures is 1,800 passing a given 
point in one minute, but the proximity of the point to the 
sea is not given, nor the width of the school. For years 
I have been gathering all sorts of information, and mis- 
information, about the common eel, chiefly because I 
think the eel works greater injury to our trout, both lake 
and brook, by eating the fry and spawn than can be esti- 
mated, or than we realize, and I have clipped everything 
my eyes have rested upon regarding the eel. I do not pro- 
pose to give one hundredth part of it here. One clipping, 
which from the type I judge to be from the New York 
Sun, with the date line Milford, Pa., says: "Here is a 
story told me by Wm. Wallace, a man of unquestioned 
veracity: Last spring he was informed by his wife, who 
had gone to the Big Bushkill for a pail of water, that 
there was a mass of eels ascending the creek. Mr. Wal- 
lace went to the creek and for a while watched a procession 
such as he had never seen before, although he had lived 
his lifetime in the same house on the bank of this stream. 
The eels were small, averaging, possibly, 4in. in length, 
and were formed in a dense column about 2f/2 to ,3ft. wide, 
and were rapidly making thei.r way up stream. Mr. Wal- 
lace went about his work, biit returned to the creek nearly 
an hour afterward and found the school still in line and 
still going. How long these eels had been running 
neither he nor an}'one else knew, and it was impossible to 
estimate the immbers, wliich must have been enormotis. 
All who saw this procession said they fully believed that 
eels were largely responsible for the decrease of the trout 
in our streams." The Christian World makes this con- 
tribution on the subject of elvers: "The eels which 
descend to the sea never return, but young eels or elvers 
comfe up from the sea in the spring millions at a time. 
The elvers have been seen to travel along the bank of a 
river in a continuous band, or eel rope, which has been 
known to glide upward for fifteen days together." 
Next to the Christian World clipping I find one alleged 
to be a reprint from a scientific paper, giving what Grassi 
discovered, only it does not give w^hat Grassi said. I 
mention this simply to show that clippings are not always 
reliable. 
It is scarcety necessar}' to say more about the elvers 
running up streams. The sight is not unfamiliar to many 
anglers and others, and what I have quoted describes the 
ascent as accurately as needs be, when there arc no. ob- 
structions in the water to overcome. When they come to 
falls or dams thej'- pass above them or around them if 
there is the least moisture, although thousands, perhaps 
millions, perish in the attempt. 
Eels on Land. 
Giimher says of elvers ascending streams : "In the 
course of the summer j'oung individuals ascend rivers in 
incredible numbers, overcoming all obstacles, ascending 
vertical walls and floodgates, entering every large and 
swollen tributary, and malcing their way even over terra 
firma to waters shut off from all communication with 
rivers." An unknown German writer says: "The small 
size of the gill opening makes it possible for the eel to 
live a long time otit of the water, and it is possible that 
in their wanderings over moist meadows they may find 
places in which there are snails and other desirable food." 
From time to time the newspapers publish items con- 
cerning the finding of eels in the grass a considerable 
dislance from water, and I have called attention to some 
of these in this column. In May I was leaving New York 
for Albany on the fast mail, and going into the smoking 
compartment found Col. W. C. Sanger, of Sangerfield, 
in this State, who said he had a friend with him whom 
he would like me to meet. The friend (Mr. Georges A. 
Glaenzer, a French artist) and I talked fish over our 
cigars until he said: "I will tell you something which I 
never tell until I know that the person I am to tell it to 
understands much about fish, their habits and peculiari- 
ties, for it really seems improbable on the face of it" 
What he told me was that on his family estate, near 
Paris, was a pond containing fish for the family table. 
As the city of Paris began to take up streams and ponds 
in the vicinity for a city water supply, this pond was 
drawn dowri until it was decided to let out all the water 
and cement the bottom and sides. When this was done and 
the pond filled, it was again stocked with fish — "carp, 
pike to keep the carp active and from getting too fat, 
and some thousands of young eels." 
When it was believed that the eels were large enough 
for the table, none could be found, and the pond was 
drawn, and not an eel was left in it. This was strange 
enough, for no one had fished or netted the pond, which 
for years before it was cemented had contained eels, and 
another large supply of young eels was turned in, only 
to disappear as mysteriously as the first lot, and a third 
attempt was made to stock the pond with the elusive fish. 
One morning after a heavy rain the gardener appeared 
at the house with a basket of eels, which he had found in 
the wet grass, al! headed in the direction of the nearest 
