810 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[April i8, 1903. 
The Blooming Grove Dinner. 
One must reckon back to a very respectable age to re- 
call how many annuals have been enjoyed by some of our 
game and fish preserve associations. The recurrence of 
such reunions is peculiarly gratifying because they indi- 
cate that the organization is fulfilling its purpose ; long life 
and a large membership mean that there are game to hunt 
and fish to take. These conditions are characteristic of 
the Blooming Grove Park Association, whose extensive 
preserve in Pike county, Penn., is one of the pioneer in- 
stitutions of the character in this country. The member- 
ship is made up for the most part of business and pro- 
fessional men of New York city, and the annual dinner 
held here gives occasion for a. reunion which the members 
are wont to regard as one of the pleasantest social 
gatherings of the j'ear. 
The banquet of 1903 was held at Delmonico's on Tues- 
day evening of last week. On the right of President 
Nathaniel S. Smith sat Mr. Charles R. Miller, editor of 
the New York Times and vice-president of the Blooming 
Grove Association; Chief Justice Wm. S. Gummere, of 
New Jersey, and Adjutant-General R. Heber Brientnall, 
of New Jersey. On the l^ft of President Smith were 
Messrs. A. A. Anderson, Superintendent of the Govern- 
ment Teton Forest Reserve ; Robt. B. Lawrence, formerly 
secretary of the Association ; and T. Elmer Batten, of 
Forest and Stre.a.m. The members present were: 
H. Powell Ramsdell, 
Frank L. Froinent, 
Thomas G. Barry, 
Charles Edison, 
Dr. William R. Pryor, 
Milton G. Starrett, 
D. D. Allerton, 
H. A. Caesar, 
Edwin A. Richard, 
Henry F. De Puy, 
Eugene McK. Froment, 
L. Victor Froment, 
Frank M. Lockwood. 
Charles K. Hedden, 
William M. Copp, 
Fred Engle, 
Lawrence E. Sexton. 
James L. Livingston, 
Frederick K. Gaston, 
Luther Loomis, 
R. Keber Brientnall, 
Charles R. Miller, 
Tames Wills, 
William W. Cook, 
Henry E. Passavant, 
Dwight C. Dorflinger, 
Louis J. Dorflinger, 
Dr. Spencer M. Nast, 
Edwin A. Criiikshank, 
Pell W. Foster, 
E. M. Youmans, 
James S. Taylor, 
George R. Rebmann, 
William H. White, Jr., 
James M. Seymour, Jr., 
Hosea Webster, 
Bette E. J. Eils, 
Tames D. Foot, 
Robert C. Post, 
William C. Post. 
After the elaborate menu had been discussed, and the 
banqueters had come to that stage where the mind is in 
its most receptive mood for the appreciation of flashing 
wit and good counsel. President Smith read his annual 
report and in a felicitous address congratulated the Asso- 
ciation upon the happy condition of its varied interests, 
and the promise of the future. 
Mr. Charles R. Miller found his text in that portion of 
Exodus XX. 17, which enjoins, "Thou shalt not covet thy 
neighbor's ox." The application was to the conflicts the 
Blooming Grove Association has had from time to time 
with the people of the neighborhood who have failed to 
recognize the Association's rights in the fish and game of 
its preserve. 
Chief Justice Gummere told an entertaining storj' in 
humorous vein, and Mr. Robert B. Lawrence, in reminis- 
cent mood, recalled an occasion when he had been guilty 
of what had afterward been credited to the Association 
as one of the sins for which it was guilty, when eighteen 
years ago he mistook a highholder for a woodcock and 
killed it. This fortunately occurred before heavy fines 
were instituted for bad memories and nearsightedness. 
Mr. Anderson gave a most interesting review of the 
changed feeling prevailing throughout the United States 
toward the protection of game and fish and the enforce- 
ment of the laws; especially , in the remote West, they not 
only make arrests for ofi^enses against these laws, but 
secure convictions where a few years ago arrest would 
have been dangerous and conviction impossible. Other 
speakers were Mr. Passavant, of Philadelphia ; Dr. Pryor, 
Mr. James T. Foot, and Mr. T. Elmer Batten. 
The incident of the evening was a presentation to Otto, 
the head gamekeeper, whose service has been continuous 
for a term of twenty-five years. To his faithful study 
and care the club is largely indebted for the splendid con- 
ditions that prevail, as betokened by the whirr of the 
partridge, whistle of woodcock and leap of trout. The 
Blooming Grove members are in a high degree apprecia- 
tive of Otto's worth, and in their behalf President Smith 
presented to him a check for $250. Otto's response was 
sincere and heartfelt and given in original style; and 
all those who heard it could recognize in it the whole 
heart of a whole man. "This is the supreme moment of 
my life," he declared ; and it was. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Trout ia "Wisconsin. 
Chicago, April 11. — would suggest the beautiful little 
Prairie River as the best open stream for the Chicago 
man who wishes to go out April 15. This is the earliest 
river I know. After that I believe the Ontanogan would 
be a good one to have in mind. I hear the Paint and the 
Fence mentioned, but have had no recent reports from 
these streams. 
Mr. B. K. Miller, of Milwaukee, will open the season on 
his preserved stream, the Pine, with several friends on 
the 17th. 
The first of May will be early enough for the average 
Wisconsin river, the first two weeks in May affording the 
best fly-fishing of the year in any usual condition of 
weather. I should regard the first week in May as safer 
even on the Prairie than the first legal week in April. 
The Pere Marquette River and other streams near 
Baldwin, Mich., should hardly be visited before the loth 
of May, in the opinion of some Chicago anglers who 
frequent that locality. 
The Saginaw anglers are getting ready for one or two 
good trips this spring and summer, but they have not yet 
determined upon their streams. Wherever these gentle- 
men land is apt to be pretty near delectable. 
Chicago Fly-Casting Club. 
Mr. I. H. Bellows, Secretary of the Chicago Fly-Casting 
Club, issues the table of handicaps as below, with the fol- 
lowing advice : 
The handicap committees have been working overtime, 
and the result of their labors is enclosed. When handi- 
cap is not given, the committee had not sufficient informa- 
tion to base their figures, and handicap will be based on 
the first half of the season's work. Prizes this year will 
consist of medals, rods, or reels, as winners elect. A new 
casting w'eight and target have been adopted and higher 
scores in bait are certain. Members in arrears for 
dues on day of last contest are not eligible for prizes. 
All rules governing contests of last year, not in conflict 
with above, are in force this year. It is hoped that mem- 
ber.s will bear in mind our event days in arranging their 
fishing trips. Come out to the park as often as you can. 
A full company looks better than a corporal's guard. 
Club tackle always on the ground. 
Long Dis- Distance & Acc'y Bait Delicacy, 
tance, Fly, Acc'y.Fly, & Del'cy, Casting, Bait, 
Feet. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. 
H. H. Ainsworth S 3 1-2 6 1-4 1 1-2 1 
I. D. Belasco.... 10 7 .. 2 
L H. Bellows 12-3 41-3 1 11-4 
L. I. Blackman.. .. .. .. 5 5 
C. F. Brown 7 1-2 7 3 3-4 2 1-2 
W. T. Church -, .. 2 1-2 2 
G. A. Davis .. .. 3 1-2 
F. G. Fuller .. .. 2 1-2 
B. W. Goodsell.. 4 12-3 
H. Greenwood.... 10 4 1-2 .. 2 
H. G. Hascall... 3 12-3 5 1-2 1 1 
N. C. Heston 5 6 2-3 1 1 
G. Hinterleitner. . .. 6 1-2 .. 2 3-4 11-2 
J. Hohmann .. .. 2 3-4 2 
E. R. Letlerman 5 . . 2 1-2 
E. L. Mason .. .. 2 3-4 2 
F. N. Peet 12-3 4 1-3 1 1 
H. W. Perce 12 2 1-3 7 1 1-2 1 
C. B. Robinson.. .. 9 .. 3 1-4 3 
G. W. Salter .. ... 2 3-4 3 
A. C. Smith 6 4 5 1-2 1 0 3-4 
F. S. Smith .. .. 11-2 11-2 
J. L. Woods .. .. .. 2 
Pickerel in Wisconsin, 
The biggest pickerel, or rather pike, of which I have 
heard this spring was taken by Bill Leidtke in Fox Lake, 
Wis., last Wednesday. The fish weighed twenty-eight 
pounds and was a fine specimen. 
By the way, it seems to be mighty fishy around Fox 
Lake this spring. A dog belonging to Frank Griffin saw 
a pickerel in the water near the boat dock on last Sunday, 
made a plunge and succeeded in retrieving the fish, which 
weighed about a pound. The temperance and moderation 
shown by the narrator in establishing the weight of the 
fish robs this story of all possible features of doubtful- 
ness. E. Hough. 
Hartford Building, Chicago, 111. 
Ouananiche of Gfand Lake Stream. 
Gr.\nd Lake Stream, Me., April 6. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: With your permission I would like to notify the 
readers of Forest and Stream about the "ouananiche" 
(land-locked salmon) fishing in Grand Lake Stream, 
Washington county, Maine; also of the special law gov- 
erning it. In past years people have been allowed to fish 
in the river here from the first of May until the 15th of 
September with any device except with nets and spear. 
Under the new law the open season is from June i to 
October i, from one hundred yards above the dam at the 
outlet of Grand Lake to Big Lake — about 2^ miles. This 
river is open to fly-fishing only, and since the bait-fishing 
has been prohibited, the fly-fishing has not only doubled 
in number taken, but anyone can catch ouananiche at 
any time up to October i. A great many people think 
3'ou cannot catch ouananiche during July, August and 
September with the fly; but such as have that notion are 
mistaken, for here catches of from ten to twenty-five are 
common during August and September. 
Last season there were more than 12,000 ouananiche 
taken in Grand Lake and the river below; and the year 
before there were 8,209 taken during May and June. This 
is the home of the ouananiche, and we have the best fish- 
ing in the world for them ; the nearest approach to us 
is Lake St. John in Canada. Our fish are about a quarter 
pound larger on an average, and you can catch more in 
the same length of time. Usually the land-locked salmon 
are dry when broiled, but these salmon caught in the lake 
and river are very juicy, and have a beautiful flavor 
which cannot be excelled. Anyone wishing to try their 
luck at ouananiche fishing would do well to visit Grand 
Lake Stream. The salmon come down from the lake 
and go on the run during May and June and do not re- 
turn; and as any fish that lives in quick water will take 
bait at any time, and as the law used to allow bait-fish- 
ing, they were nearly all caught before the last of July, 
and, as everyone knows, where there are no fish you can- 
not catch any. But since we have put a stop to all fish- 
ing except with the fly, there are plenty of fish at any 
time during the summer. J. T. Merrill. 
A New Jersey Devil Fish, 
It is not generally known that a large specimen of the 
devil fish (Manta manatia) was taken last fall in New 
Jersey at Stone Harbor, about a mile from the shore. 
It was harpooned in a pound net by some fishermen, and 
was then towed to the beach behind a boat. When in the 
net it was quiet until it was harpooned. Then it became 
very violent, but was unable to escape. When brought 
to the beach it soon died. The only portions of the great 
ray preserved were one of the eyes and a small piece of 
the skin. The eye, which at present is at the Academy 
of Sciences of Philadelphia, measures about 2% inches in 
diameter. Mr. Henry W. Fowler, who records this in- 
teresting capture, calls attention to the fact that the 
scientific name in current use — Mania hirostris — should 
be changed to the name given above. 
Sportsmen who visit Florida, and generally the south 
Atlantic coast, are more or less familiar with the appear- 
ance of this species, and with the excitement which some- 
times attends its capture. These captures have often 
been described, notably in Elliott's "Sports of the Caro- 
linas," and in various articles in Forest and Stream, 
one of them printed only a few weeks ago. The species 
belongs in tropical or subtropical waters, and is extremely 
rare, if not unexampled as far north as the locality where 
this one was taken, although reported as far back as 1824 
by Mitchell "off Capes May and Henlopen during the 
warm season." 
The Sea Trowt Again. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Referring to the dispute over the "question" whether 
a sea trout is merely a brook trout who lives in salt 
water: Is not this "question" immaterial to the sports- 
man? Is there not often a rather amusing eagerness, 
even among naturalists, for Latin names and hair-split- 
ting? Of what practical moment is it to anglers whether 
wiseacres brand either or both of these beautiful fishes 
Salmo or Salvelimis? We already know that one is a 
trout that lives in a brook, that the other lives very 
largely in salt water, and that both are splendid fish, and 
have much in common. 
Many old anglers are disposed to demur that these 
kings of the jeweled coat are not more appreciated for 
them.selves alone. Some cataloguers seem to joy in them 
principally because they furnish places for pedantic Latin 
labels that will sound learned in books. Both fish are 
well known, and can be adequately named and per- 
petuated in English; and their relationship or ancestry 
is of very little practical use to "science," and none to 
sport. In other words, in this matter, nearly all anglers 
care nothing whether "sciolism rushes blindly in," or 
"knowledge creeps with cautious steps." 
L. F. Brown. 
Brilliant Trowt. 
Two 9-10 inch trout, astonishingly brilliant in their 
color, have been shown us by Mr. Robert B. Lawrence 
as taken near Flushing, L. I., within a few days. The 
fins, lower sides and tail are brilliant carmine, while a 
narrow strip, varying from to J4 inch in width, run- 
ning from chin to vent in the median line of the belly 
is pure white. The line of demarcation between the red 
and the white is sharp, and there is no shading of one 
color into the other, but in one case the white is bordered 
by a very narrow thread of dusky. 
These fish come from a pond owned by Mr. A. L. 
Thorne, situated on the edge of the salt meadows near 
Flushing. The pond was made about five years ago, and is 
only about seventy feet in diameter. It has no inlet, 
but it is fed from beneath by a strong spring of fresh 
water, and also by a small iron-colored spring. The fish 
were put in as fingerlings four years ago, and have not 
greatly increased in size. Where the fish came from is 
not known. Anglers who have seen them call them Salve- 
limis marstoni 
Florida Black Bass. 
Washington, D. C, April 11. — Willard Nye, Jr., of 
New Bedford, Mass., has set his heart on catching a 
twenty-pound large-mouthed black bass, so that each year, 
along in February, our genial Nye is to be found some- 
where in Florida looking for Micropterus salmoides. This 
season he stopped in long enough to say that he had 
succeeded in catching a bass of pounds' weight; a 
beauty; female, 26}^ inches long, 21 inches around the 
girth. 
Nye says the fish of inedium size were plentiful. 
Twenty-six were taken one day. A bass of sixteen 
pounds' weight was once taken in the neighborhood 
fished by him. 
Nye says the fish are excellent eating; the big ones 
especially, simply boiled without seasoning, served with 
potatoes and seasoned to taste when on one's plate. The 
phantom minnow was a successful lure. Bon, 
Legislation at Albany, 
Albany, April 11. — Now that the end of the legislative session 
is drawing so close at hand, game bills are being rushed forward 
with all possible dispatch. Two have lately been signed by Gov. 
Odell, as follows: 
Senator Bailey's, P. No. (Ass. Print.) 1485, providing that the 
board of supervisors of the counties of Queens, Nassau and Suf- 
folk may respectively pass laws regulating and controlling the 
taking of fish and shell fish in arms of the sea, and fish bait 
from public lands of such counties, and may also prescribe what 
violations thereof shall be punishable as misdemeanors, and may 
impose penalties, the same to be enforced under the provisions of 
Article X. of this act. 
.Senator Fancher's, P. No. 785, providing that pickerel and wall- 
eyed and yellow pike shall not be taken or possessed from March 
1 to April 30, both inclusive, in Lake Erie, and allowing the 
taking of sturgeon, mullet, suckers and carp with nets in parts of 
Lake Erie. 
The Senate has amended Senator Townsend's wild deer bill, 
P. No. 780, so as to make the close season from Nov. 10 to Aug. 
31, both inclusive. 
The following bills have passed the Senate: 
Assemblyman Bedell's, P. No. 453, relative to the close season 
for trout in Orange county. 
Assemblyman Whitney's, P. No. 1243, relative to fishing in Sara- 
toga Lake and Lake Lonely. 
Senator Armstrong's, P. No. 697, relating to the sale of venison 
in certain parts of the State. 
The Senate Committee on Fisheries and Game has reported the 
following bills: 
Assemblyman Palmer's, P. No. 612, fixing the close season for quail 
in Schoharie countj'. 
Senator Gates', P. No. 1068, relative to information concerning 
leases and franchises for the cultivation of shell fish. The bill was 
restored to its place on third reading. 
Assemblyman Reynolds', P. No. 1060, relative to the close season 
for grouse, woodcock and quail in Rensselaer county. 
Assemblyman J. T. Smith's, P. No. 443, relative to the taking of 
fish from the waters of Waley's Pond, Dutchess county. 
Assemblyman Nichols', P. No. 813, relative to the taking of 
woodcock. 
Senator Townsend's, P. No. 776, relative to privileges of wit- 
nesses. 
Senator W. L. Brown's, P. No. 9.35, relative to fire wardens. 
Assemblyman Burnett's, P. No. 1696, relative to taking fish in 
Canandaigua Lake. 
The Assembly has advanced to third reading these bills: 
Assemblyman AUston's, P. No. 1721, relative to fire wardens. 
Assemblyman Moran's, P. No. 1324, relative to fishing for non- 
game fish in Cayuga Lake and its tributary streams. 
Senator Townsend's, P. No. 392 (S. Print.) for the protection of 
wild black bear. 
Assemblyman C. W. Smith's, P. No. 1873, giving the chief game 
protector an annual salary of $2,000, with $1,000 a year for ex- 
penses. 
The Assembly has passed the following bills: 
Assemblyman McCormack's, P. No. 1715, relative to game in 
Richmond county. 
Senator Malby's, P. No. 183, relative to fishing in" Black Lake, 
St. Lawrence county. 
Senator Armstrong's, P. No. 805, relative to the close season 
for grouse in the counties of Ulster, Sullivan, Greene and Orange. 
Assemblyman Simpson's, P. No. 1100, to prohibit hunting and 
fishing on Sunday in the county of Sullivan. 
Assemblyman Nichols', P. 1722, relative to spearing fish in 
Greene county. 
Assemblyman Cowan's, P. No. 1727, relative to the close sea- 
son for mink, skunk, muskrat and foxes in Delaware county. 
