Nov. ii, 1899.] 
FOREST AND STREAM,, 
89i 
the bottom by placing stones on the top of them, and put 
the yearling trout, not over 2,000, in in the spring, It may 
be necessary to plant water grasses along the border of 
the pond to harbor the crustacean food, but this should be 
undertaken with great care that the grasses do not spread 
and choke the pond. Water starwort, water thyme, craw- 
foot, great \\fater moss, are some of the water plants, but 
there ale dozens of others that might be planted if they 
are under control, but unless they are the owner of the 
pond may rue the planting. 
I think it was Francis Francis who said trout should 
be entomologists, but whoever said it declared a truth, 
for insect food not only improves the condition of the 
fish, but causes them to more certainly rise to the artificial 
fly, and insect food should be provided artificially if it is 
ncft already in the water, and this can be done by secur- 
ing the larvae form of some insects, and if more con- 
venient the wnnged form of others. Trout must have 
water to live in, and they must have food in abundance 
if they are to thrive and be in the best condition. 
Fish Matters in New Zealand. 
When Mr. L. F, Ayson, Fish Commissioner of New 
Zealand, was in this country, he told me, among other 
things, that he would take home with him 2,000,000 im- 
pregnated eggs' of our common whiLefish, and he has just 
sent me his report, made to the General Assembly after 
his return home, and from it I find that about 65 per cent, 
of the eggs were hatched and liberated as fiy. He says 
that what he considers a serious mistake was made, in 
the light of more recent development, in the early days of 
fi.sh acclimatization in New Zealand, by planting trout of 
the same species (he refers to the fish we call the brown 
trout) in nearly all the New Zealand waters. That now 
the waters are swarming with the European brown trout, 
while it would have been wiser to have confined them to 
certain waters and planted in others the American brook 
trout, the Loch Leven trout and the common whitefish 
of this country. So far as the whitefish are concerned, it 
is not too late to plant them, for the trout will not inter- 
fere with them, but I am satisfied that the brown trout 
and the fontinalis will not thrive together in the same 
water. Only last week in Sullivan county, N. Y,, I heard 
bitter complaints that the browm trout was driving the 
native trout to the wall in some of the streams in that 
region. • , ,• r 
Commissioner Ayson alleges further that it is his belief 
that the early importations of brown trout ova were 
crossed with the bull trout (5. eriox), resulting in a strain 
of coarser fish, in many w^aters over which he has juris- 
diction. While we in this country may not have suffered 
in like manner, there is to me a mystery about our im- 
portations of Loch Leven trout. Certainly all that I 
have seen of Loch Leven eggs have, when hatched here, 
turned out to be brown trout. Dr. Quackenbos, who pro- 
cured Loch Leven eggs from Sir James Maitland at 
Howietown, while he was on a visit to that establish- 
ment, and brought them to this country and planted the 
fry after they w-ere hatched in New Hampshire, is sure 
that he secured the real thing, a fish quite unlike the 
brown trout. T fear the people of this country are too 
prone to try experiments with new species of fish by plant- 
ing them in waters already inhabited by native species, 
when it would be wiser to adhere to the old species, and 
by introducing new blood improve the race and add to the 
numbers. . 
The "State of New York is exercismg considerable care 
in planting species of foreign trout in new waters, for it 
is difficult to get fish out of a stream or lake after they are 
found to be undesirable or unfitted to the water. 
Of the steelhead trout, Mr. Ayson says: "The steel- 
head (Salmo gairdneri) is a very fair variety of sea 
trout, inhabiting a wnde range of the Pacific Ocean. There 
is a controversy going on in America as to whether this 
fish is not a rainbow trout wnth sea-going proclivities, and 
as rainbow^ trout have been successfully introduced mto 
some of our rivers I think we should try to solve this 
problem with the fish we already have in this country be- 
fore attempting to import ova of the sea-run fish of 
America. If we can solve this problem here, where there 
are no steelhead, it will be of great interest to the scientific 
world." , , , 
The problem has already been solved, and the_ steel- 
head is not a sea-run variety of the rainbow. It is true 
that at one time the rainbow was said to be the young 
of the steelhead, but that belief no longer exists, and 
both fish are put down as distinct species. The steelhead 
since Mr. Ayson's visit to this country has been found 
to breed in fresh-water ponds, in confinement, and the 
rainbow is caught in salt water, where it probably finds 
its way through the river, so both fish resort to sah water 
on occasions. 
Whatever young salmon may do m the smolt stage m 
New Zealand, Europe or elsewhere, I know beyond ques- 
tion that in the State of New York when young salmon 
go down to sea as smolts they are two years old, and I 
know for the reason that Mr. Ayson refers to determine 
the species of steelhead and their relation to rainbow trout 
by planting the salmon fry where they were previously 
unlaiown, and observing that they did not go down to sea 
until they were two years old, although in November of 
the second year I saw some putting on the smolt livery of 
silver. 
In "his report ]\Ir. Ayson refers to the whitefish work of 
the Fisheries. Game and Forest Commission of New 
York in Canandaigua and Hemlock lakes, but for the 
moment I did not recognize the lakes as Canadaqne and 
Herman. A. N. Cheney. 
College Point, and then they began to drift back, getting 
to Hell Gate again at about midnight. 
Just at that time the tug Olympia was passing down 
the river, and when off Ward's Island, near 112th street, 
the captain, Charles McLaren, heard faint cries. He 
turned in the direction of the sound, and finallj^ reached 
the upiuriu.'d boat. Ropes were thrown to the two men 
on the keel, but their arms were so stiff they could not 
help themselves. Then the tug drew nearer, and, the men 
were lifted off, with their arms nearly frozen stiff. .They 
were taken into the cabin of the tug and landed at East 
Twenty-ninth street, whence they were taken to Bellevue 
Hospital, where Talbot is sick with pneumonia. — New 
York Evening Post, Nov. 3. 
Cornelius W. Smith. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
The announcement of the sudden death of Cornelius W. 
Smith, of Syracuse, President of the New York State 
Fish, Game and Forest League, which occurred on Oct. 
28, was read with profound regret by his many friends 
throughout the State. Mr. Smith was born in Trumans- 
burg, N. Y., May 19, 1845. He was a son of N. B. Smith, 
a noted patent attorney in the early days of Syracuse. 
Personally, Mr. Smith was genial and whole-souled, arid 
his kindly manner won for him a host of friends. He 
possessed a most evenly balanced temperament, and the 
petty worries and cares of professional life did not appear 
to disturb in the least the harmonious makeup of his 
nature. He was rarely, if ever, known to lose patience, no 
matter what the provocation was. He stood well to the 
fore in his profession. He was well posted in legal mat- 
ters, and carefully prepared his cases before arguing them. 
His judgment and opinions on contract law especially 
were frequently sought. Since the new bankruptcy law 
was placed on the statute books he had devised, after 
careful study, a system of blanks which greatly facilitate 
work in bankruptcy cases. 
Mr. Smith was an enthusiastic sportsman. He was 
active in the New York Fish, 'Game and Forest League, 
and for a long time served efhciently as chairman of its 
Legislative and Law Committee. Tliis position is one of 
the most important in the gift of the League, as it de- 
volves upon this committee to present to the Legislature 
the recommendations of the organization for new protec- 
tive legislation and to secure the enactment of desired 
game laws. It is largely owing to Mr. Smith's efficient 
work in this position that the fish and game laws of the 
State are so satisfactory to sportsmen to-day. At the 
last meeting of the League in December, 1898, Mr. Smith 
was elected President of the organization, an office which 
he was admirably qualified to fill. He was President of 
the Carpenter Brook Fishing Club and a member of the 
Onondaga County Anglers' Association. 
His genial presence, keen perception, sound judgment 
and warm friendship will be greatly missed in the councils 
of the New York State sportsmen. 
W. E. WOLCOTT. 
Utica, n. y., Oct. 80. 
''Fishing'' in Hell Gate, 
CiTARtES FL.^NA&AIv and Felix Talbot, of Astoria, were 
out fishing last night in Hell Gate, and anchored their 
rowboat about a mile off Bowery Bay beach. At a little 
after 7 o'clock the men got up their anchor and were 
about to seek another location when the boat was upset 
and the men thrown into the water. Tliey managed to 
i^et hold of the upturned keel of the boat and. clung there 
as they were driven along by the wind and tide. They 
passed several boats in their enforced trip up into the 
Sound and while thev called loudly, no one seemed to 
hear ^hem. When the tide turned they had drifted to 
Fishing in Minnesota. 
Few if ■d.ny waters have I visited with greater pleasure 
when looking for excellent fishing, grandness of scenery 
and eveiwthing combined, than Prior and Spring lakes, 
Minnesota, lying in a belt of timber land about thirty-five 
miles southwest of St. Paul. It is only a few steps from 
one lake to the other, so if the angler does not find the 
fish biting well in one he may try the other, sometimes 
vv'ith surprising results, as I have found many times. 
Some days a good catch is made in one lake, while 
scarcely a fish is taken from the other, and so it is in 
this way changed around. 
It is claimed by some fishermen that the bass, which 
are the principal fish angled for in these waters, run 
larger and more gamy in Spring than in Prior Lake, but 
having taken big fish from both waters, I don't see why 
one should deserve the title as the better of the two. 
If a strike is made by a big bass in Prior Lake I think 
it will be found equally as interesting to land as if hooked 
in the former one, and of course the angler can't tell just 
where the big ones are wating to grab the lure. 
I Aasited the above waters in August, 1899, in company 
with an old angler companion, and for a week we shared 
the pleasure of camp Hie there. Besides the'grand sport 
of fishing, we occasionally went frogging, and on the still 
evenings took long moonlight paddles across the glass- 
like water, Indian-fashion, in a little canoe, and it was 
surprising the swiftness that we could put the little 
skiff to. 
We fished only on the proper days, when bass were 
biting, which were "dark and cloudy," and were never 
disappointed, always returning with two or three nice 
ones not less than 3 pounds apiece. We didn't make a 
business of pulling all the fish out of the w-ater we could 
get hold of, or fishing from sunrise till the close of day, 
iDut when we wanted two or three we went and got them 
and didn't have any to let rot or throw aw^ay. 
Frequently, while casting off the shore, we hooked 
small pounders, which were returned to- the water as 
soon as possible, as my companion said, "to let grow a 
little," and onl.v those that knew how to shake their 
heads, pull hard and make the water foam about them 
were saved. 
About these lakes is one of those beautiful woodlands 
that have no attraction for gay summer people, the kind 
Avho like to hear a brass band or orchestra play in the 
evening, and wear gay clothes in the day, and the 
angler going to camp- about them may wear clothes as 
ragged as they make them and no one will criticise him 
or think that he ought to do otherwise for their sake or 
his own. 
Henry McKennett. or Mr. McKennett, as I may more 
respectfully refer to him, owner of a large; neatly kept 
farmhouse, situated between the two waters, accommo- 
dates huntert; and fishermen, furnishing them with boats, 
rods and tackle.. Besides the hotel, as folks call it. the 
proprietor has erected near the shore of each lake several 
cozy little cottages, each containing two rather spacious 
rooms, the windows and porches of which are properly 
screened to keep away the mosquitoes and other insects 
which are most always quite numerous in summer time. 
The proprietor is one of those Izaak Walton sort of fel- 
lows who like to have a rod in hand and be a-fishing 
most all the time, and he takes special pleasure in show- 
ing visiting anglers where to cast for the big bass, and 
he knows where to find them, too. 
Most all the big fish taken out of these waters are with 
a frog as a lure, which is used in preference to artificial 
flies. Croppies, sunfish, pickerel, bullheads, etc., are 
numerous about both lakes, but few people, unless it be 
women, care to angle for them after becoming acquainted 
with the gameness of the black bass, Henry and I never 
care to fish for anything less gamj^, and both think, as he 
put it one day, "I would sooner fish a week and at the end 
of that time only catch one big bass than a day and get 
all the smaller fish ever seen." 
Croppies are excellent eating, and although I'm not fond 
of their capture, I don't despise them for a morning or even 
a noontime or evening meal. Occasionally when the sun 
had either disappeared or was setting, throwing a mild 
heavenly light over earth and sky, my companion used 
to get me to paddle him out on the water, while he 
handled the trolling line. We never went very far be- 
fore hearing a Jioppering a few feet behind the canoe, and 
would in this way pull in another and another until we 
had reached the number we had gone out to secure. 
They always seemer to bite quite freely on such evenings, 
and those were the only times we cared to go after 
them. Martin, as my companion is called, knows how to 
turn them loose from the frying pan, and when a couple 
of nicely cooked croppies were set before us at the break- 
fast table, together with some cream potatoes, a few slices 
of buttered toast and a good cup of Mocha and Java 
coffee, what more could a fisherman ask for, or a king- 
cither, as an angler once said? 
Spring Lake is two and one-half miles from the Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul station of Prior Lake, to 
Mr. McKennett's, the ride through the meadows and 
fields being a most welcome one after leaving the train. 
He meets his parties at the above station upon short 
notice. , 
A few years ago quail used to be quite numerous about 
this neighborhood, but now it is very seldom that a covey 
is found. Ducks, snipe, partridge, etc., are still quite 
plentiful in season, but the main thing is the fishing, and 
as before stated some big ones are taken there. 
Shee-roo-kee. 
Farewell to the Rod. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
On and after Oct. 15 the rainbow trout of British 
Columbia are supposed to be protected from the fisher, yet 
I fear the close season is more honored in the breech than 
in the observance, and no doubt many a spawning fish is 
filched from the beds by hungry prospectors and vagrant 
Indians. This, however, would be no excuse for decent 
sportsmen to ignore the law, and so the man who, pre- 
ferring quality of sport to quantity of fish, casts his fly on 
the face of the waters, shelves his rod by mid-October, no 
more to take it down, except for an occasional loving 
overhaul, until next spring. Happily, spring comes earlier 
with us than with our fellow-fishermen of eastern Can- 
ada ; on Vancouver Island trout fishing is in full swing by 
March, and even up here in the mountains it begins early 
in April, so that for more than half the ytat the rod may 
wave over the clear, green streams of British Columbia, 
as good waters as any trout fisher need desire. 
But all this is merely introductory. The fact is, I am 
about to do a very unusual thing, perhaps even a very 
unwise thing, and confess to a blank day — and may a kind 
and considerate providence grant me many another. Last 
Saturday afternoon was one of those still, mellow^ glorious 
opportunities a man cannot afford to miss. It was neither 
Indian summer nor brown October — for in British Co- 
lumbia we have neither the one nor the other — but just 
simply a fine autumn day in th'e mountains, something you 
may hardly equal and certainly not excel anywhere. 
So I took my rod and went for a stroll down the Kettle 
River, a fair stream with an abominably unpoetic name. 
The big cottonwoods were liveried in gold and russet, con- 
trasting most effectively with the deep blue-green of the 
bull pines ; leaves drifted down as each wind from the 
hills passed across the valley, but in the rank matted 
undergrowth of the river bottom the purple asters nodded 
as yet untouched by the frost. On such a day it is not 
necessary to catch fish to enjoy fishing. The mere wan- 
dering through scenes of amazing beauty should be 
sufficient enjoyment; in fact, an artist or a poet would 
no doubt extract far more enjoyment from such a day 
than would the best fisherman of us all, provided such a 
one thought only of flies and fish. At this point the Kettle 
River is less than two miles from the international 
boundary line, which follows its never-varying course up 
the side of a steep range southward to the river, climbing 
to the line of almost perpeutal snow, on the summit of the 
divide between the Kettle and Columbia rivers. This 
hillside on Saturday was green and gray with pine and 
granite ; to-day it is w^hite from crest to foot with the 
first of the winter's snows, and ere long the dun mule 
deer will be forced into the bottoms, and we shall get a 
few. 
Putting my rod together and looping on a cast of flies, 
Palmer, Seth Green and Montreal in the first instance, I 
followed the river, casting over all the likely looking pools 
and runs, but it was useless; not a fin stirred, and a 
stranger would have pronounced the stream an empty 
one. But I knew better. Fish are there by the thou- 
sand, and next spring they will leap at the fly as gallantly 
as ever, though for the present their appetites have failed, 
and other things seem more important than chasing moths 
and ephemera. 
Of fish I got none, not even a rise rewarding a four- 
mile tramp, yet I am glad I went fishing on that last 
day of the season. I found coverts well stocked with 
ruffed grouse, and on the way back a .short cut over a spur 
discovered a draw in which a pack of Columbian sharp- 
tails are living, so that the chances are that before long 
the breechloader will aft'ord as much delight as lias the 
fly-rod. I was almost going to write "more," but that 
would be inipossible. 
In a couple of \veeks the rifie will be in greater demand 
