114 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
IFeb. 10, 1900. 
the trout, but with the first dorsal furnished with sharp 
rays and the mouth and teeth, as well as the scales, 
perch-like. No one here has ever seen the like." 
It is a common error of anglers to consider most 
strange fishes as hybrids. Fish are not known to hy- 
bridize when wild. Mr. Moore has observed the main 
characters of the "trout perch" closer than is customary 
with the average angler. This is a fish found in cold 
lakes and streams, and rarely exceeds the length of this 
specimen. To scientists it is known as Percopsis guttafus, 
from Perca, a perch; opsis, appearance and guttatus, 
spotted, and there you are. I have seen them in 
Monroe county, N. Y., but the books do not give their 
range as covering western New York, unless their being 
credited to the Great Lakes may include that region. 
Jordan and Evermann, "Fishes of North and Middle 
America," give them the popular name of "sand roller," 
and saj--, "Spawns in spring," but "trout perch" seems 
to be more common, as far as I have heard. 
Percopsis is a most interesting fish to the student as 
;it presents characters of extinct fishes of two dif¥erent 
epochs, and Agassiz, who first described it, says: "It 
is what an ichthyologist at present would scarcely think 
possible; a true intermediate type between Percoids and 
Salmonida'." 
An angler may well imagine the fish to be a hybrid, 
but the salmons and the perches spawn at dift'erent sea- 
sons, and are so structurally different that they could 
not be crossed if they did spawn at the same time, not- 
withstanding the fact that many years ago a fishculturist 
thought he had interbred the striped bass and the shad. 
Possibly his shad eggs were fertilized by stray shad 
milt in the water. He never had any hybrids to show for 
his experiment. 
Reels and Rods. 
In a recent haul of the "Pound Net" it was stated that 
it had not been lifted since last April, until a few weeks 
ago, and has been fishing since. Among the catches are 
eleven letters, asking for my objections to automatic 
reels and steel rods, of which I once wrote. 
Now, such subjects are largely matters of individual 
preference. I dislike the articles named, and others 
seem to like them. Perhaps it is well that men do not 
all think alike in this world, for, said the old Indian, 
"If they did they would all want my squaw." On the 
other hand, Bobbie Burns valued the wife of Willie 
Wastle, who "dwelt on Tweed" so lightly that the re- 
frain of one of his poems ran: 
"Sic' a wife as Willie had, 
I would na gi'e a button for her." 
I have used the automatic reels, of different makes, and 
the objections are based on the fundamental principles 
of the reels. The first objection is entirely sentimental; 
there is no click to sing its cheery song in rattling jig 
or hornpipe time when a big 'un runs off with the fly 
or bait, and then slow down to an adagio as he resists at- 
tempts to bring him to creel. This, in itself, would be 
a fatal objection to an old fogy like me, who has always 
associated the taking of a trout with the song of the 
reel, which is not unlike that of our feathered brother of 
the angle, although he does not angle, who dives for his 
fish and chatters away afterward. A younger angler 
might not miss this song; this whirring, which stirs the 
blood of older ones who have grown to regard it as an 
essential part of the sport of fly-fishing. And what are 
all field sports if we exclude the sentiment? Few of us 
would spend a day on lake or stream for the value of 
the prospective catch, and we do not in cold blood 
compare the cost of the fishing with its results, and if 
one chooses to fish with a reel that has no music in its 
soul no mm may say him naj', only this: I don't care 
to do it, because for years the merry song of the reel 
has become interwoven with the ripple of the stream, 
the echo of the kingfisher and the rise, strike and cap- 
ture of the trout. 
So much for sentiment in the matter of the singing 
reel, and now to other objections. The principle of 
these reels is the same as that of the Hartshorn window 
shade rollers, which is all right for shades which have 
but a short distance to roll, and in that distance the 
spring is stronger the further it is drawn out and weaker 
as it is relaxed. In the reel this is a fault that is ex- 
aggerated, and is very evident when the fieh is reeled in 
and the spring is so weak that the angler must help 
it by stripping the line through the rings with his hand, 
an awkward performance at best. A careless grip of the 
rod may release the spring and take the line at the 
wrong time; this has happened to me many times while 
learning to use it. Practice and watchfulness will over- 
come this difficulty. 
Personally, I do not want any machine to bring a 
trout to me; if I did I would have it where I could press 
a button while lying in a hammock and the machine 
would do the rest. The reels in question are labor-sav- 
ing devices, if one cares to save the exquisite labor of 
fighting a trout. Speaking of saving labor in angling, I 
will tell you a story. 
In 1865, after my regiment was mustered out by reason 
of "services no long^er required," my chum and bunkie, 
Capt. Samuel E. Jones, and I found ourselves with 
"occupation gone," like Othello, and nothing in pros- 
pect. So we wore our uniforms to shabbiness in play- 
ing the Wilkins Micawber part. I had never spoken 
of fishing to the Captain until one day I said: "Sammy, 
let's get a boat and go down the river and fish." 
"What for?" 
"Why, to fish; for fun, sport, or whatever you may 
call it." 
He looked at me curiously, as if he thought I had rats 
in my garret, and said: "Hum! If I want any fish I 
can buy them!" 
Here is the labor-saving principle reduced to its 
lowest dimensions. A row down and back, and an 
angling outing w:is a waste of labor when there was a 
market at hand, where just what he needed could be had 
without labor for less than the price of boat hire and bait. 
Now who shall say that Capt. Sammy did not take a 
philosophical view of angling? In these columns I 
once recorded that while fishing in the Black Forest of 
Germany the natives thought that my friend and I 
wasted much time with rod and line, -when a net would- 
bring greater results in less time. This is the reductio ad 
absurdum of angling. 
Deprived of sentiment, all field sports degenerate into 
supplying food for man and may be viewed as Capt. 
Jones looked at fishing. He had no taste for it, and that 
was sufiicient for him. Again, referring to the click of 
the reel, which the automatics lack, I once wrote a mess 
of verses on this subject. I use "mess" deliberately, be- 
cause it seems to fit the verses, but is a word that I dis- 
like when otherwise connected with fish. The whole 
mess is not at hand, but it was some guff about the "song 
of the reel," and one verse said: 
"I dreamed a dream of a tumbling stream, 
And a pool where some great trout lie; 
Where I cast a line, far ofE and fine. 
And the eddies toss'd round the fly. 
A leap and a flash, then off with a dash, 
As the trout felt the sting of the steel. 
And mem'ry to-day oft brings up the fray 
With the sweet whirring song of the reel." 
Of course this is not poetry, but it is as near as I can 
come to it; it may perhaps just get near the inner edge 
of the outer bubble of poetry, which will fill the bill and 
try to express what I formerly failed to say, but now have 
the idea, which is: "Without a click-reel half the charm 
of trout fishing is lost." 
In England they make a split-bamboo rod with a steel 
center. Just why they do it is beyond my knowledge, 
for a first-class American-made split-bamboo rod has no 
equal. There are rods of this kind sold in the depart- 
ment stores as low as 90 cents, but the ferrules on a first- 
class rod are worth as much, and here I must tell an- 
other story. 
Old Unc' Johnson was a man who was highly colored 
in his youth, but time had put much white in his wool 
and a little ashy gray over his face, as he had grown 
old at his little oyster stand near \A/'ashington Market, 
New York. As a merchant of long experience, he kept 
goods to suit all conditions of men and purses. To him 
came a colored "dock rat," who said: "Miss'r Johnson, 
has yo' got any cheap oysters?" 
"Yass'r; I'se got 'isters fo' free cents a dozen. Does 
yo' want some?" 
"Is dat de lowes'?" 
"Ain't got none lower'n dat." 
"Gimme a dozen," laying down the coin. Then, after 
a few that were highly flavored, he struck a real rare- 
ripe one and splutteringly remarked: "Miss'r Johnson, 
I t'ink some o' dese 'isters is a leetle teched!" 
The merchant looked at him over his glasses and re- 
plied: "A leetle teched! A leetle teched! Now, w'at 
you 'spect fo' free cents a dozen?" 
And when I see a split-bamboo rod advertised for 90 
cents I recall the remark of Miss'r Johnson. 
Food fot Maskalunge Fry* 
Seneca Falls, N. Y., Feb. 5. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: I desire to ask your readers some information 
which I hope will be of value to all. Before puttng my 
question, however, I want to make a brief statement. 
In the State of New York, as in other States and 
countries, large sums of money are annually expended 
in the artificial propagation of food and game fish. As 
is well known, this generally is done by planting finger- 
lings and fry. The first method is highly efficient, but the 
point of this communication has reference to the plant- 
ing of fry. 
I believe that every application for fry which is allowed 
and furnished by the State, should be first deposited, not 
in the great body of water desired to be stocked and there 
left a prey to predatory spawn-eaters and numerous other 
dangers, but in a suitable rearing pond. It should there 
be nurtured, until the young and helpless fish attain 
fingerlings, at least, then when planted they are much 
better able to care for themselves. 
Precisely this plan our local fish and game club is going 
to adopt this year, as applied to raaskalonge. We are 
going to build a pond, supply it with water of the same 
nature as that of the lake, where the fish will finally be 
liberated, which we can obtain from the water company, 
and we are going to try to make it as nearly like the lake 
as possible with regard to bottom and aquatic plants. 
The chief difficulty confronting us (and I may say that 
it is the one which prompts me to write this letter) is, 
What are we going to feed the young fish? Mr. James 
Annin, Jr., State Superintendent of Hatcheries in this 
State of New York, states that the great trouble seems 
to be, "To provide them with proper food which is 
natural. Last year our experiments in breeding young 
fish, such as suckers, etc., for them to feed on failed to 
produce the desired result. They will not take food like 
other fish." So the problem is what can we feed young 
maskalonge? 
If, Mr. Editor, you Avill kindly invite your readers to 
suggest anything on this plan of experiment, as to the 
construction of a pond, its dimensions (per thousand fry), 
its plants, equipment or anjr other matter, but more 
especially as to the food for young maskalonge, it will 
be of assistance to us, of information to your readers and 
of possible value to the country; for, I believe, that pro- 
tection and preservation of game and food fish depends 
as much upon the naturalist as the Legislature. 
Ernest G. Gould, 
Sec'y of the New York State Fish, Game and Forest 
League. 
Hotels for Sportsmen. 
Persons who are conducting hotels or camps in regions 
where there is good shooting or fishing should under- 
stand that the best way to make_ their places known to 
persons interested in these sports is by advertising in the 
Forest and Stream. Sportsmen have come to depend 
on the hotels which are advertised in Forest and Stream, 
and registered in its Information Bureau, and the hotel 
keepers who patronize these columns are unanimous in 
declaring that they receive most satisfactory returns for 
the money invested. 
Connecticut Highways to Ponds. 
Stamford, Conn., Feb. 3. — ^The citizens of the town of 
Hartland, Litchfield county, expect to take a holiday next 
Saturday and go to Hartford in a body to urge Judge S. 
Oscar Prentis of the Superior Court to favor the laying 
out of a highway to West Hartland Pond. 
About a year ago a syndicate of Connecticut and New 
York capitalists bought a strip of land around the pond 
for the purpose of establishing a game and fish preserve, 
intending to control the pond. The residents of Hartland 
and the surrounding country, who have shot game in the 
vicinity and fished in the pond from their boyhood, were 
opposed to such exclusiveness, maintaining that it was a 
public pond, and they brought about the passage of an 
act by the Legislature last winter giving the Selectmen 
the right to lay out a highway leading to the pond and 
along the shores, the damage done to the owners to be 
paid by the town. Accordingly the Selectmen laid out the 
road and the plan was accepted by the town at. a meeting 
held Nov. 9 last. ' . - 
Since then the property through which the highway was 
run has been sold to the Colonial Forestry Company, 
which also owns about one-third of the land in the town 
of Tolland, Mass. The company would come to no agree- 
ment as to the damages, so the Superior Court was peti- 
tioned to act in the matter. Andrew F. Brownell, of 
New York, is the president of the Colonial Forestry Com- 
pany, and he has been notified to appear in court and show 
cause why the petition should not be granted. The 
Colonial Forestry Company claims that the town had no 
right to lay out the highway through the land, and that 
the special act of the Legislature granting the right to 
do so is unconstitutional. The company has had similar 
trouble in an attempt to control Norris Pond, in Tolland, 
Mass. — New York Times. 
Fixtures* 
FIELD TRIALS. 
Nov. 18.— Newton, N. C— Eastern Field Trial Club's twenty- 
second annual field trials. S. C. Bradley, Sec'y» Greenfield Hill, 
Conn. 
Big Dogs. 
From the London Field. 
The weights and dimensions o£ big dogs are, from 
some cause or other, subject to great exaggeration, al- 
most as much as is the case with 'the captures of certain 
anglers who desire to obtain the credit ot exceeding what 
has been accomplished by some fellow disciple of the gen- 
tle craft. It IS not easy to understand why the dog 
should be made the victim of such methods, for, not being 
such a perishable commodity as the fisher's prize, the op- 
portunity is always there to arrive at the truth of the state- 
ment. 'A dog as big as a donkey" is quite a usual term 
to use when an owner or admirer of some St. Bernard or 
Great Dane is expatiating upon the merits of his favorites, 
and travelers have repeatedly told us in similar words of 
gigantic dogs they have seen during their peregrinations 
in foreign countries. We need scarcely point out here 
that no dog has yet been produced which is as big as an 
ordinary sized ass, whose measurement at the shoulders 
would be from ten to twelve hands, which means from 40 
inches to 48 inches. 
So far as is known, the dog has not yet been born which 
stands even 36 inches at the shoulders, and many anunals 
whose owners have claimed for them a height of a yard 
have, when put through careful measurement, been proved 
to be nearly half a foot below the standard which had 
been made for them. This was especially marked at the 
first show held by the Great Dane Club in 1885 in the 
grounds of the Ranelagh Club, near London. Sundry 
great dogs exhibited here, which bore the reputation of 
being a yard or more in height, under fair measurement 
dwindled away terribly, even to less than 30 inches, while 
the biggest hounds in the lot were Mr, Reginald Herbert's 
Leal and Mr. M. Riego's Cid Campeador, which were 
33J4 inches and 333^^ inches in height at the shoulders 
respectively. Since that time we have seen a bigger Great 
Dane than either, and possibly the heaviest, too, of his 
race which has appeared in this country. This was a dog 
belonging to Mr. Woodruffe Hill, caUed Morro, his 
height, carefully measured^ being 34 inches, and he 
weighed 190 pounds. 
The Great Dane must not, however, be taken as the tall- 
est and heaviest variety of the canine race, an honor 
Avhich undoubtedly rests with the dog of St. Bernard. 
Some writers in the olden days, about die Irish wolf- 
hound, have claimed for him extraordinary height, but 
hitherto they have failed to produce proof of their state- 
ments, and it is extremely probable that the Irish wolf- 
hound of to-day is a bigger and even more powerful dog 
than the historical creature usually coupled with Ireland 
when she had a king of her own to rule her. There are, 
we believe, at the present time, three or four Irish wolf- 
hounds which in height exceed by a trifle the measure- 
ments given in connection with Great Danes. Mr. An- 
gelo's Goth II. stood 34 inches at the shoulders; Mr.. 
Trainer's Thuggum Thu was of equal height, and we fancy 
that Mrs. Williams' handsome couple of hounds, Dermot 
Asthore and Wargrave, within a trifle approach that fig- 
ure, while Mr. G. E. Crisp's O'Leary, benched at the 
latest Kennel Club's show, went close up to 34^ inches 
at the shoulders. Perhaps the finest, if not actually the 
tallest, Irish wolfhound seen during the present genera- 
tion appeared at Islington in 1888— Col. Garnier's Mer- 
lin — which, though not fully furnished, weighed 150 
pounds and stood 34 inches at the shoulders. The chances 
are he would have grown had he lived, but, like so many 
other good young dogs, he fell a victim to disease devel- 
oped at the exhibition in question. Owing to his some- 
what graceful and slim build, the Irish hound js not a 
heavy dog, .seldom exceeding the weight of Merlin. 
The bloodhound and the Newfoundland are sometimes 
placed under the categon,^ of big dogs, but both fall short 
in height and weight when placed alongside other equallyt 
popular varieties. Then we have repeatedly b^en tol<i 
