Oct 28, 1899,1 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
351 
onn. and sent to Prof. Garman, of Museum Compara- 
Zoology, Cambridge, for identification, has been 
•onounced by Garman as follows: ^'Your trout agrees 
!st with that described by Sir John Richardson under 
e name J>a/wjo {Salvehnus) nitidus, from Prince 
egent s Inlet of the far North. It is somewhat closely 
lied to S. rosstt hnt differs in the sinuous outlines of the 
nder margin of the tail, according to the figure given 
r Richardson, and to some extent in coloration. As 
5u say, the color approaches to that of the imported 
mapee saibhng; but these beautiful colors are present 
most of the chan-s at or near the breeding season, 
som& extent at least. ' 
Prof Garman uses the term "imported Sunapee saib- 
ig because, I presume, he discovered no difference 
itween the saibling from Germany and those found in 
mapee Lake, and certainly the first lot of saibling eggs 
3m Germany were sent to New Hampshire, hatched and 
anted in the waters of that State. If the same fish had 
>t subsequently been found in Flood's Pond in Maine 
ith no suspicion' that German saibling eggs had ever 
en taken to that State, the question of have we a native 
iblmg would still be clouded. Dr. Quackenbos, who 
first contended that the Sunapee fish was introduced 
.8 become convinced, since the discovery at Flood's 
Dnd, and also of the same species of fish in still an- 
her body ot water in New Hampshire, that the Sunapee 
ibhng is native to this country. Jordan contends that 
e saibhng found its way from Europe to America 
rough the arctic seas ages ago, and thus accounts for 
e structural similarity; but I do not propose to open 
I this subject again. 
The trout skin (one-half) sent to me by Mr Fairchild 
as given to him by Mr. Ranet, of St. Raymond, Quebec, 
lio says: "The trout was caught by one of our guides 
one of the lakes of the North Branch TouriUi Club 
irth of Quebec." To me it appeared to be the skin of 
ilvehnus alpinus stagnalis, and Prof. Garman, to whom 
sent it, says of it practically what he says of Hart's 
DUt, ^ that they are evidently one and the same. 5". 
ignalis and S. rossii are two specific names for the 
me fish. Jordan and Evermann call the fish Stagnalis 
cause it was so described by Fabricius in 1780, while 
r John Richardson did not call it S. rossii until 1835. 
j common name is Greenland char. Sea run specimens 
the-fish are plain silvery, like all other trout that go 
to salt water. The Northern charrs have had more 
ecific names attached to them than would fill a page of 
r manuscript. One has been described and named twen- 
times, another seventeen times and Stagnalis seven 
aes— One less than our common brook trout. An 
dinary explorer would get lost wandering around in 
'e multiplicity of specific names, species, sub-species and 
rieties, but as I said in a previous note, what is now 
sired is specimens in good order, not one but several 
om each locality where forked tail red trout are found 
the Canadian lakes and ponds. 
Influence of Food. 
Mr. LeGrand C. Cramer, of Troy and Lake George, 
et me on the train a few days ago and told me that 
Ain" Wood, of Lake George, had brought him the day 
fore four black bass weighing 7, sVa-, SVz and slbs., and 
■-■aid "That is what food does for fish." If I refer often 
Lake George it is because it is under my observation, 
d I know more about its fish and how it got them and 
e food they have, etc., than I do of other waters not 
closely observed, and this must be my excuse for 
agging this lake into FoiiEST and Stream so often. It 
not many years ago that the record black bass from this 
:e stood at 6j4Ibs., and I say this knowing that larger 
li were claimed at that time, but there was nothing to 
Dve that 6>^lbs. had been exceeded on the scales. The 
ate introduced crawfish ; shrimps and whitefish were 
o introduced by the United States. Now the record is 
jibs, (this of my own knowledge, though larger fish 
; claimed), and this season alone I think something like 
iozen 7lb. bass have been taken from the lake, and the 
)d did it. A. N. Cheney. 
'he Massachusetts Commission. 
3osTON^ Oct. 21.— Editor Forest and Stream^: At last 
are to have a change in the Massachusetts Fish and 
me Commission. It is something the sportsmen of the 
mmonwealth have endeavored to bring about for a 
g time. The terms of Messrs. E. A. Brackett and 
iah C. Young expired on the first of the present month. 
Young was not a candidate for another term, and 
re were a number of gentlemen who were ready and 
ling to fill his place, and considerable work was done 
their friends in their behalf, and some really excellent 
terial was brought to the attention of the appointing 
ver. This week Governor Wolcott settled the matter 
reappointing Mr. Brackett and nominating Captain 
eph W. Collins, of tliis city, to the other place. The 
er appointment appears to be an ideal one, in that Cap- 
Collins has all the justifications for the position. He 
native of Maine, and for many years he was a fishing 
)per from Gloucester. Many years ago he attracted the 
ntion of Prof. Baird of the Smithsonian Institution and 
1879 he became a member of the United States Com- 
sion, and made a very elaborate inquiry and report of 
fisheries of New England for the tenth census, under 
direction of Prof. Goode. In 1880 he was on the 
F of the United States Fish Commissioner to the in- 
lational fisheries exposition at Berlin, and later he 
resented the LTnited States Fish Commission at the 
rld's Exposition at Chicago. His last scientific work 
to prepare and represent the exhibit of the United 
tes at the international exhibition in Bergen, Norway, 
898. In all these positions he showed a knowledge of 
subjects intrusted to him and an executive ability of 
igh ordei", and it seems plain that the people of this 
nmonwealth are to be congratulated that such a man 
been secured for the Commission. That there is a 
e field open to him, no one who knows how the Com- 
sion has been conducted in recent years, can have the 
t doubt. It is understood that Captain Collins will 
nade chairman of the Commission, and it is to be hoped 
his first official act will be to establish headquarters 
\\\f. State House, where those who wish may con- 
sult him when they desire to do so. The laws relating 
to the protection of fish and game, as they stand on our 
statute books, are fairly good, and we trust and believe 
that under the administration of Captain Collins new life 
and vigor will be put into their execution. 
William B. Smart. 
Fishing in Porto Rico. 
Mr. W. a. Wilcox, agent of the United States Fish 
Commission to investigate the fishes of Porto Rico, has 
made a report which contains an account of fishing 
methods and fishery statistics at the several ports. It is 
issued as an advance report from the Commission's 
Report for 1899. Fishing for sport, says Mr. Wilcox, 
may possibly receive more attention in the future than 
in the past, as a large number of mountain streams and 
lakes are more or less supplied with fresh-water fish, 
while numerous species are available in salt water. Many 
of the species are brightly colored and curiously marked, 
and make a very attractive appearance when first caught. 
Many of them have fine edible qualities. The fishing for 
a livelihood is not carried on to a large extent anywhere 
in Porto Rico, and scarcely at all for sport. A few 
fishermen at the several ports make a living by fishing, 
plantation work, and labor at tlie docks on vessel 
cargoes. The professional and semi-professional fisher- 
men number nearly 800, and employ about 350 sail and 
row boats. The local fisheries yield numerous species 
of fine edible fishes. In view of the large amount of dry' 
and pickled fish imported, it is at first surprising that 
so little attention is given to this business. As a rule the 
local demand is indifferently supplied with fresh fish, 
usually at high prices. Ice is never used, and only the 
few fish taken of large size are dressed. None are canned, 
and the only attention given to curing is when an extra 
large catch is made, a few being then poorly cured for 
the home use of the fishermen. 
In past years the best of the business was monopolized 
by the few persons interested who had means to buy 
the exclusive right to fish at the most favorable localities, 
such as near the outlets of streams and and at other 
desirable places along the coast. Rights were advertised 
and sold at auction by the authorities. At some po'-ts 
the local authorities imposed a special tax on all fresh 
fish landed. 
Under Spanish rule all fisheries were in charge of an 
officer known as the captain of the port. Any person 
wishing to engage in the business was obliged to pro- 
A PORTO RICO FISH POT. 
cure from him a license and be enrolled in the reserve 
naval force, licenses being granted only to subjects of 
Spain. Boats were numbered and a record kept of 
licenses, men, apparatus, and to some extent of the 
products. Unfortunately for our knowledge of the 
former extent of the local fishing industry, the records 
of the captains of the ports were either destroyed or 
carried away by those officials at nearly every port when 
the change in government took place. 
With the change of government, the granting of ex- 
clusive fishing privileges in the waters of Porto Rico 
and its adjacent lands was abolished by an official order. 
The apparatus consists of a limited number of nets, 
trawls and trolling lines, and many wicker-made pots or 
traps. It is of the most primitive character, and is made 
by the fishermen. 
Hoop nets are of funnel shape, the large end being 
oblong, 6 by 4 ft., and 6ft. in depth, of lin. stretch mesh. 
The netting is fastened at the large end to a piece of 
poma rosa wood, such as is used for hoops on hogsheads. 
These nets are used at holes or indentations in the banks, 
against which they are placed; the ground in the vicinity 
is pounded or punched with feet and pole and the fish 
frightened into the net. 
Cast nets, with the local name of nasa de arco, are also 
used in small streams and along the sea beaches. They 
are funnel-shaped, the large end being 6 to 10 ft. wide, 
tapering off through its 6 to 8ft. of depth to a point to 
which a line is attached; the netting is lin. stretch mesh, 
with the bottom leaded. In its use the net is gathered 
up on the arm of the fisherman, the narrow or pointed 
end being held in one hand, while the net is partially 
opened by holding the lead line between the teeth and 
grasping it with the other hand at a point conveniently_ 
distant from that where it is so held, as with a dexterous 
whirl he casts the net from him over the water. If prop- 
erly thrown, it spreads wide open before striking the 
water, and in this position sinks to the bottom, after 
which it is immediately drawn in and the catch removed. 
Cast nets have a value of $S, and yield a variety of small 
fishes and shrimp. 
At Palo Seco fish pots are set in the river and bay and 
outside of the harbor. When used in the river they are 
attached to the shore by a line; when used outside they 
are weighted with stones and anchored to a buoy, al- 
though Avhen well water-soaked they need no weights. 
This is one of the few localities in Avhich pots are baited; 
the fishermen report using in them burned bones, hoofs 
of cattle, and sour or decayed oran,ges. These pots are 
similar to the New England lobster pot, and differ in 
general construction from those in common use else- 
where around the island. They are 4 to loft. long by 
ij^ to 5ft. in diameter, with funnel entrance at one end 
only and a trap door on the top, by which the catch 
IS removed. They are made of bamboo splints. Pots 
are left anchored over night, and the catch is removed ijx 
the morning. 
Gill nets are about 600 ft. in length by 12 ft. in depth, 
with mesh of 2in. bar. They are drifted with the tide 
in the bay. Often the water ne^r the nets is pounded 
with poles to drive fish into the meshes. ' Hemp twine 
from Spain is used. For haul seines No. S twine is used 
in the wings and No. 5 in the bunt. The fishermen pay 
75 cents a pound for this twine, buying a few balls at a 
time. 
Trolling hooks are used outside of the harbor of San 
Juan as far as ten or twelve miles, but fishing with 
them is not followed with any regularity. In troll fishing 
large fish are caught, the largest being the arbujo, which 
is taken in deep water at all seasons and is said to weigh 
as much as 50 or loolbs. ' 
Fish weirs or traps are used in the Bayamon River 
by building a hedge of canes across the stream with a 
gateway for passing boats. The hedge is made with in- 
dentations or pockets at various places on each side. 
Fish in their movements up or down stream enter these 
pockets and are taken out with dip nets. In some 
.streams hedges have no pockets, but instead, funnel- 
shaped cones of bamboo or cane splints are inserted at' 
various places. Fish seeking a passage through the 
hedge enter these cones and become wedged, few es- 
caping. 
Fishing is carried on at all seasons, fish being most 
plentiful during July. Dynamite has sometimes been 
illegally used to kill fish in some streams and in the bay. 
Turtles are found at all seasons at Arroyo, being most 
plentiful from September to the last of Deceniber, during 
which time they deposit their eggs in the sand of the 
beach. The catch is small, and made only when turtles 
are found on shore. The value of the fishery hes chiefly 
in the shell of the hawksbill, for which the fishermen re- 
ceive $.3 a pound, Spanish money. The largest shells 
weigh from 5 to 61bs.; the meat is sold to the natives at 
4 to 6 cents a pound. 
In the latter part of November, 1898, this section was 
fished for turtles by the crews of two small cat-rigged 
vessels from the English island of Tortugas, who used 
large-mesh nets, to which wooden decoy turtles were 
attached, the nets being set near the coral reefs off the 
harbor of Arroyo. The vessels remained two weeks, and. 
is was reported that a fair catch was made. 
Between April and September trolling lines are ifsed, 
chiefly for kingfish, which are said to weigh from 20 ttf 
3olbs. on the average, some being much heavier. Amongthe 
other fish_ taken in trolling are the capitan and barracuda. 
Trolling is done between sunrise and 8 or 9 in the morn- 
ing. 
Fish pots are used in from twenty to twenty-five fath- 
oms of water. They are lifted once a day in removing 
the fish. The pots are of larger size than at most places, 
being 6ft. long,. 3ft. wide and i8in. deep. The frame is 
of mangrove wood, and the body of split wild cane, 
woven in 2in., six-sided meshes. "The body and frame 
are fastened togethed with calabash roots that are very 
strong, and after being water-soaked, pliable. A small 
door in the back of the pot permits the removal of the 
catch. No bait is used in the pots, as its presence at- 
tracts the numerous sharks, which often destroy pots 
containing fish. These pots have a wide mouth, the 
entrance narrowing as it passes with a curve into the pot. 
Fish entrapped do not often escape, and serve as decoys 
to other fish. From six to twelve pots are used by each 
boat. 
Eastern Fish m Pacific Waters. 
The following tables give an interesting and instructive 
exhibit of the success which has rewarded the enterprise 
of stocking the streams of the Pacific Coast with species 
transferred from Eastern waters. The stocking was done 
by tlie United States Fish Commission . 
Statement of the pounds of striped bass and of shad 
caught in the waters of California and handled by San 
Francisco dealers, 1890-98: 
Striped Bass. Shad. 
Year. Pounds. Year. Pounds. 
1890 *5,ooo 1893 . , 929,136 
1891 *2S,ooo 1894 270,807 
1892 *so,ooo 189s 146,399 
1893 80,793 1896 306,24s 
1894 149,997 1897 *375,ooo 
1895 252,177 1898 435,718 
1896 3,(>2„747 
1897 *393,ooo 
1898 421,663 
*Estimated. 
1,741,377 
1,963,305 ' 
Mr. Chenej', the State Fishculturist, whose contributions 
for so many years to Forest and Stream are well known, 
has no equal as an authority on fish and fishing. The an- 
nual State reports of the Forest, Game and Fisheries Com- 
mission, which are prepared by Mr. Cheney, are the most 
elaborate and handsomely illustrated works of that char- 
acter ever attempted. — Town Topics. 
If you have the Game Laws fn Brief you have the 
authority on fish and game laws of the United States and 
Canada. It will tell what you want to know ; and what it 
tells you may depend on. Time, money and pains are 
expended to make tha Brief an accurate and safe guide, 
NOTICE. 
The New York Clearing: House has adopted new regulations 
governing the collection of checks and drafts on banks outside of 
the city. This entails a collection expense on those who receive 
such check-s. Our patrons are requested, therefore, in makingr 
their remittances to send postal or express money order, postage 
stamps, or check or draft on a N'*'* York City batnN or other New 
•York Gurrcnt fnadi. -. ^ iiL i - 
