2r, 1903.] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
40B 
but is a bold and defiant trespasser, a destroyer of 
ty and a menace to stock and human life,"* "who 
under the trees at daj^break and 'pot-hunts' without 
who kills simply for their meat the bluebird, the 
and even the beautiful oriole," ■ instead of exploit- 
lemselves by insultingly stopping gentlemen in a 
ferry-house and insolently cross-questioning them 
.it the least justification and in the sight of gaping 
s, they would serve much better the interests of the 
and of sportsmen. Walter H. Mead. 
EST AND Stream, Oct. 3, 1903. 
standard authority of fish and game laws of the United 
and Canada. It tells everything and gives it correctly.' 
advertising pages list of some of the dealers who handle 
fief. 
ommunications intended for Forest and Stream should 
be addressed to the Forest and Stream Publishing Co., 
brk, and not to any individual connected with the paper- 
The Game Laws in Brief, 
Fish and Fishing. 
The Ravages of the Atlantic Dogfish. 
[E attention of the Dominion Parliament was 
the other day to the fact that the fisheries of 
Scotia are threatened with destruction by the 
ion Atlantic dogfish. Mr. Kaulbach, one of the 
sentatives of that Province, asked that a bounty 
per ton be oft'ered for the killing of the dogfish, 
r members from the provinces down by the sea 
:ated the adoption of a similar measure. This de- 
tive fish is largely on the increase at present, and 
ding to the fishermen, the number of salmon, 
alewives, cod and pollock which it destroys ex- 
the total catch of these fish for domestic and 
nercial use. It is reported that they have been 
during the present year for the first time on the 
d Banks of Newfoundland, and that if they begin 
zing that region they will utterly destroy the valu- 
cod fisheries. Unless a sufficient bounty is speed- 
[fered and proves to be effectual in prosecuting a 
uctive crusade against the dogfish, it is believed 
the time is near at hand when the Government it- 
will have to fit out an expedition fo endeavor to 
■minate it. 
e publicitv attending these complaints has attracted 
od deal of attention, and I have been repeatedly 
d within the last few weeks as to the identity of 
ish complained of. Considering the widely differ- 
\rarieties of fish to which the name "dogfish" has 
applied, this is not to be wondered at. This par- 
u dogfish is not to be confounded with the dog 
<s, which have a more southerly range, according 
jrdan and Evermann, though it is a member of the 
hii, to which subclass all the sharks belong. Gun- 
ranges it with the family Spinacidje, and gives 
e sepcific name Acanthicis vulgaris. Jordan and 
mann, following the nomenclature of Linnjeus, call_ it 
'Jus acanthias. Storer described it as Acanthias 
icanus. It is commonly known upon various parts 
■le Atlantic coast of North America as the dogfish, 
:d dogfish, bonedog and skittle dog. Each of its 
dorsal fins has a spine; that of the first dorsal be- 
about two-fifths the height of the fin, the second 
al spine being about three-fifths the height of the 
The adult fish is from t\vo to three long, and at- 
. a weight of 15 pounds and even more. The body 
ender and the snout pointed. Though a compara- 
y small shark, it is extremely voracious, being very 
p-toothed, and having a wide range off the coasts 
le Middle and Northern States. It is only m vtry 
nt years that it has been known to be so rapidly 
lasing, and to be so largely extending its range m 
idian waters. It has happened at times in mcred- 
numbers oft' portions of the British coast, no less 
20,000 having been taken in one season on the 
lish coast. Gunther reports that they do much in- 
to the fishermen by cutting their lines and carry- 
off their hooks. It was generally supposed until 
; recently that they fed principally opon herrings, 
it is no\v ascertained that few fish of commercial 
are proof against their ravages. They are slate 
. above and pale below, the back marked with 
ng whitish spots, somewhat resembling those seen 
the sides of the common pike, Esox lucius.^ These 
0 are most pronounced upon the young fish, but 
om entirely disappear from the adults, m this re- 
diftering from its near congener, the California 
Bsh. Dogfish oil is extracted from the livers of 
varieties. 
New Brunswick paper recently reported that one 
lese fish attempted to seize by the leg a boy who 
bathing. Notwithstanding the voracious charac- 
Df these fish, it is scarcely credible that one of them 
lid have attacked even a very small specimen of the 
.an species, though the monster pike of Lake St. 
1. not very much larger, after all, tlian the Atlantic 
fish, has to withstand quite a number of similar 
ges. 
Destfwctiveness of Seals, 
had occasion, some weeks ago, writing from a sal- 
1 fishing camp on the banks of the Moisie. to speak 
fie havoc made in the upper part of the river among 
salmon, by seals. It is not to be supposed that 
invasion of the river by seals is any new thing. 
und the other day that the destructiveness of these 
nals in the same river was complained of by Pro- 
or Hind, who ascended the stream for many miles 
ve the present fishing grounds, in the middle of 
last century. 
ilmon are not. by any means, the only fish to sut- 
by the depredations of seals. Repeated accounts 
appearing of the enormous destruction wrought by 
a in Norwegian seas, and of the terror occasioned 
among the inhabitants of the northern portion of the 
country by the huge herds which have come down 
from the Arctic regions. Off some parts of the coast 
the sea is said to be literally covered by them. These 
seals denude the sea of fish wherever they travel, and 
in some towns and hamlets of Finmarken, the fisher- 
men have not been able to catch a fish for weeks, the 
poor being thus caused the greatest distress and misery. 
The coast in these latitudes has occasionally been in- 
fested before with these ravagers among fish, but it 
has never been previously known that they have mi- 
grated so far south as the Lofoten Islands in any great 
n umber. 
Various suggestions for ridding the sea of these 
pests are offered, viz., that a premium be given for 
shooting them, catching them in nets, or killing them 
by any other means, while others advocate the pouring 
of petroleum on the sea where they travel, and, lastly, 
a strong petition is made to the Norwegian Govern- 
ment to send men-of-war to lay explosives out in the 
sea and frighten the herds away. It is said that the 
most effectual remedy would be to give all nations per- 
mission to shoot the seals at that time of the year when 
they congregate in vast numbers on the coast of Rus- 
sia. At present the Russians prohibit seal hunting, ex- 
cept to their own population. 
Nothing has yet been done by the Government of 
Canada for the destruction of the seal life which threat- 
ens so seriously the salmon of some of the best rivers, 
but it is satisfactory to know that some of the own- 
ers of the fisheries have themselves offered rewards 
for the killing off of the animals. 
"Where Silver Salmon Come From. 
The Canadian Indians, who fish the Red River, be- 
tween Winnipeg and a point some miles above St. 
Andrews, Manitoba, have had a busy season of it this 
year, thanks to the growing demand in Minneapolis. 
St. Paul, and other western cities for "silver salmon." 
Not many of the consumers of this fish so far away 
from the scene of its capture, know anything ^ of its 
antecedents. In Manitoba it is known, and rightly so, 
as catfish. As the renaming of it by the title of silver 
salmon adds nothing to either its flavor or the firmness 
of its flesh, so the fact that the much sought-for "sil- 
ver salmon" is in reality nothing but a catfish, de- 
tracts in no degree from the qualities claimed for it by 
its admirers as an article of food. Well may we say 
with Shakespears: 
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose 
By any other name would smell as sweet." , 
Half a hundred camps of Indians are engaged along 
the Red River during the season fishing for this catfish. 
The fisherman and his whole family are in the business, 
for the catfish is the one staple product of the Red 
River, and the one point about the catching of it 
which appeals most strongly to the Indian nature, is 
the ease with which it is accomplished. If it be an art 
at all it is essentially a contemplative one. It calls for 
the exercise of neither energy nor skill. Stakes are 
driven in the bed of the river near to each bank, arid 
between the two is stretched a stout line which rests 
upon the bottom of the river bed. hi intervals of 
eight or ten feet long the line, smaller unes with sto..t 
hooks are attached. When the hooks have all been 
baited the line has only to be overhauled once a day 
to secure the fish. The halfbreed or Indian; in his 
boat or canoe, starts at one end and slowly pulls him- 
self acros sthe river. As the line passes through his 
hands it is easy for him to see whether or not his bait 
remains intact, and if a fish is hooked, it is a simple 
matter to Hft it over the gunwale. It is not unusual 
to take specimens of this fish weighing 50 to 60 pounds 
when dressed, though the average is smaller. It is by 
no means extraordinary for one man to make a catch 
of -700 to 800 pounds of catfish in the twenty-four 
hours. The fishermen get from 4 to 5 cents a pound 
for the ugly-looking fish, and the city dealers will buy 
all they can catch. The dealers ship them nearly all 
to the United States, for very few are eaten m Wmni- 
peg. notwithstanding that this particrlar catfish com- 
ing as it does from the cold water of the north, has an 
excellent flavor, despite its hideous exterior, and the 
flesh is said to be very nutritious. It can be bought, 
too for about half the price in Winnipeg that is 
charged for it in the United .States, but then, as one of 
the Winnipeg exporters says, "The American dealer 
o-ives the fish another name, and this adds a hundred 
per cent to its value." That particular Winnipeg man 
dissents from Shakespeare's estimate of the value oi a 
name. 
More about Prizes for Biggest Fish. 
Not long ago there was a notice in this column 
of a prize competition inaugurated by a Montreal 
newspaper, which offered rewards for the biggest trout, 
the biggest dore, and the biggest bass, captiired dur- 
ino- the season, in the Province of Quebec The bass 
which took the prize weighed only 4Vi pounds and was 
cau-ht by Dr. S. Lachapelle. ex-M. P., at Isle Bizard. 
near Ste \nne. The biegest dore, or pike-perch, was 
a much more worthy representative ot his class, having 
weicrhed 9 pounds 15 ounces, and measured 2 feet 8 
inches in length, and i foot 4 inches m the circumfer- 
ence It was caught by Mr. W. F. McKenzie in the 
North River at St. Canut. In the competition for the 
bi'^'^est trout, a curious thing happened, dlustrative 
of The prevailing ignorance in many quarters concern- 
ine the distinction between the different varieties ot 
the sa-called American trouts. The judges ot the com- 
netition admitted, indiscriminately, to it, specimeris oE 
the so-called brook trout of American waters. Salve- 
linusfontmalis, and also of the great gray lake trout or 
nmnavcush. and awarded the prize to a specimen of the 
alter variety weighing 22% pounds. It vN'as taken on 
p hand line by Mr. Damase Gagnon. of Denholm, in 
what is known as Little Black Lake, of Denholm. In 
the published announcement of the award, the extra- 
ordinarv statement is made that this is probably the 
bi-£rest' trout which has ever been taken on- a line m 
thf. Province." Of course this statement is absurd on 
its\-erv face. Not only is it a very well-known fact 
that very much bigger trout of the same variety have 
been taken in this Province, but it is also true that 
22j^ pounds is by no means an extraordinary weight 
for one of these big gray trout. Lake St. Joseph, on 
the line of the Quebec and Lake St. John Railwa3% 
and many other waters of the Province of Quebec 
have jnelded larger namaycush than the one which re- 
ceived the price in the recent competition. Of course 
this fact does not affect the award, but it does show 
the absurdity of the statement that the prize fish in the 
trout competition was the largest of its kind taken 
upon a hand line in the Province of Quebec. The ab- 
surdity of the competition lay in the fact that brook 
trout were accepted in it and weighed against their 
enormous rival the namaycush. Had they been ruled 
out, as not being strictly within the scientific classifica- 
tion of trout at all, but held to be simply char, it might 
be easy to comprehend the award. But to pit a beauti- 
ful brook trout ( fonfinalis) , weighing g]/2 pounds, as 
the iudges actually did, against a 22^4 pound namay- 
cush, in a contest for a prize for the biggest trout, is 
exactly as if the prize oft'ered for the biggest deer was 
to be awarded to a very ordinary moose, because it 
chanced to be heavier than a superb specimen of the 
magnificent little animal which is popularly known as 
the common deer. The 9>4 pound specimen of the 
brook trout sent in by Mr. Laliberte, and which was 
captured some months ago in the big like, Jacques 
Cartier, was really a very magnificent and vei-y ex- 
ceptional specimen of the variety, while the prize win- 
ner won with a very ordinary specimen of an entirely 
different fish. The very best of good faith was doubt- 
less exercised by the judges, but they apparently rea- 
lized no difference at all in the variet- of the different 
trout sent in or reported in the competition. Most 
absurd mistakes of a similar nature are constantly 
being made by confusing the different varieties of the 
trouts in Canada and the United States. Thus in many 
portions of the very interior of the country, the namay- 
cush already referred to, is known to the common 
people as "truite saumonee," and, in fact, the prize 
fish of 22^ pounds was so described, ahhough this 
name is that which has for a long time past been identi- 
fied with certain sea-run specimens of the ordinary 
American brook trout by those who are most accus- 
tomed to them. 
A Codfish as a Letter Carrier. 
A Liverpool young lady named Wilson has in her 
possession a letter which was cut out of a captured 
codfish and forwarded to her. Her sweetheart was 
first mate on board a large sailing vessel, which, on its 
homeward voyage, encountered terrible weather, and 
was in imminent danger of going down. Fearing that 
he would never see land again, the chief mate hastily 
scribbled a few farewell lines on a scrap of paper, which 
he addressed to her. The message was then inclosed in 
a bottle and thrown overboard, but the ship managed 
to weather the storm and reached port safe and sound. 
After drifting for some time the bottle must have 
tempted the appetite of a cod, for it was found in the 
stomach of one caught off the New England coast, 
and the contents were at once forwarded to the in- 
tended recipient, together with a letter explaining how 
the letter was found. 
Smelt Fishing. 
There is an unusual run of smelt at present in the St. 
Lawrence, and the small boys who can steal a few hours 
from school or books to fish with rod and line from the 
wharves on either side of the harbor of Quebec are enjoy- 
ing the fun of making big scores so far as numbers are 
concerned, even if none of the contents of their basket 
are very large. What the smelt lack in size they make up 
in beauty, however. Some of the young fishermen string 
as many as a dozen hooks on their smelt lines, and it is 
by no means unusual to see them haul out three and four 
fish at a time when the conditions are favorable. The 
fish seem to take worms, beef, and pork equally well. 
There has been very little observation of the habits of 
the smelt in the St. Lawrence. It is presumed that they 
spown here in the spring, as they do elsewhere, but it is 
rather remarkable that they run up the river both at the 
commencement and at the end of the winter, and that 
many of them are found to contain spawn in the autumn 
as well as in the spring. 
E. T. D. Chambers. 
Susquehanna Bass, 
Sayre, Pa., Nov. 14.— Some of the best fishing of the 
season has been enjoyed this month on the Susquehanna 
above Owego. Black bass ranging in weight from 4 
pounds to 5;^ pounds have been taken almost daily, and 
the average catch has been large, and the bass of good 
weight. As a matter of fact, the lovely bit of water reach- 
ing out for several miles above the sequestered Southern 
Tier village has come to be known as one of the finest 
bass grounds in the Susquehanna, barring, of course, 
Wyalusing, and the big bass are usually taken during late 
October and November. Should the weather continue- 
during the month as calm and sunshiny as at present, the 
bass fishing may be expected to remain at its best. A 
good many large pike— 8 and g-pound fellows— are also 
beine taken from the waters above mentioned: 
M. Chill. 
Mf. Bracfcett^s Salmon Record. 
Let it be recorded that Walter M. Brackett, the fish 
painter, who is eighty years of age at the present time, 
caught 72 salmon in his six weeks' outing on the river St. 
Marguerite last summer. He has seldom missed a season 
on this Canadian stream for a third of a century. To 
handle and land so many big fish shows a remarkab'y 
vigorous old age. Walter's brother. E. A. Brackett, of 
Winchester. Mass., is 85. 
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