US 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Aug. 6, 1904. 
were not, as a rule, with the exception of the otter and the 
red man, very destructive ones, but the white man came 
with nets, weirs, and other engines of destruction, and the 
five per cent, fertilization of the ova proved insufficient 
to keep up the stock. Now it would seem that a process 
of propagating the fish by which 95 per cent, of the ova 
become fry and only five per cent, are lost, is preferable to 
one which saves but five per cent, and wastes 95, the 
health and general conditions of the artificially hatched 
young being as good as those of the fry hatched in the 
natural way. 
When Doctors Dis gree Who Shall Decide. 
My rejoinder has already become too lengthy, and I 
must draw it to a close. That I am not alone in my belief , 
that the hatcheries should be maintained and that artificial 
propagation of the salmon shall continue, I have had 
abundant proof by interviews and correspondence with 
some very intelligent observers. Recently, in a conversa- 
tion with Mr. L. S. Ford, the overseer of fisheries for the 
counties of Lunenburg, Queens, Shelbourne, Yarmouth, 
Annapolis, and Digby, N. S., who has had many years' 
experience, and whose father was also connected with the 
Department of Fisheries, he having been the first of all 
the officials to hatch and plant fry in the Liverpool River, 
declared emphatically that in his opinion the hatcheries 
and artificial culture of the fish should not be discon- 
tinued; that his experience had been that all the rivers 
that had thus been restocked, which came under his 
supervision, had been very greatly benefited. _ He said 
further that there was no difficulty in distinguishing the 
progeny of fry which had been thus planted, as, for ex- 
ample, at least 50 per cent, of the salmon now taken in 
the Liverpool River are either fish which were put into 
the river years ago as fry or their descendants ; that they 
could readily be identified by their peculiar form, which 
was quite different from that of the original Liverpool 
salmon, which were slim fish with no great depth of body, 
while the others which were hatched from ova which 
c?me from the Bedford hatchery were very deep bodied, 
compact fish; he further stated that the stock from the 
planted fry has increased to such an extent that a single 
angler obtained in a half day's fly-fishing in June last at 
Milton, two miles from the town of Liverpool, and on 
that river, thirteen grilse which averaged in weight about 
three pounds. As an evidence of the success that is at- 
tained in planting salmon fry, he stated that a few weeks 
ago sixty thousand fry were placed in the Nictaux River, 
of which number only three were lost during the entire 
process of handling, transportation, and planting. 
In conclusion I will say that if any evidence is neecied 
to prove that the artificial culture of salmon is feasible 
and desirable, it may be seen in the magnificent results 
which have followed the introduction of landlocked sal- 
mon fry in the Rangeley and other Maine lakes, ma- 
tured fish now weighing from eight to twelve pounds 
being fairly abundant. Those fry were properly planted . 
in waters suited to their requirements, and I have no 
reason to doubt that if salmon fry are taken from the 
. hatcheries and deposited in waters such as are natural to 
them, they would thrive equally as well as if they were 
hatched therein, and the rivers would be proportionately 
benefited. Edward A. Samuels. 
Am rican Fisheries Society. 
Nearly one hundred active members of the American 
Fisheries Society attended the thirty-third annual meet- 
ing at Atlantic City last week, and nearly as many appli- 
cations for active membership were received. The Penn- 
sylvania and Michigan Commissions joined in a body. 
Altogether it was a most useful and aggressive gather- 
ing of men and women interested in all things connected 
with fish life, as the programme promised it would be. 
President Frank N. Clark, who is in charge of the 
United States station in Michigan, in his opening address, 
sketched briefly the steady progress made by the Society, 
and urged both State and National Associations to take 
up work on the problems presented by the pollution of 
waters and by the feeding of fry. He said that at least 
two billions of fish fry are now produced annually. The 
effect of water pollution was discussed offhand, and un- 
doubtedly will be presented further at later meetings. It 
was apparent that the general impression prevails among 
both scientific and lay members of the Society that much 
of the water pollution can be prevented without any great 
hardship either to manufacturers or to municipalities. 
At the afternoon session of the first day, the Society 
voted to make the annual dues $2 instead of $1, and to 
fix the price of the volume of annual proceedings at 50 
cents. The programme committee, of which Mr. J. D. 
Whish was chairman, reported a very full list of papers 
for each morning and afternoon session, which moved 
United States Commissioner Bowers to remark that evi- 
dently one of the best meetings yet held was at hand. By 
request, Secretary George F. Peabody opened the session 
with a tribute to General E. E. Bryant, whose death de- 
prived the Society of one ©f its most genial and popular 
members. Instructive papers were then read by Dr. Tarle- 
ton H. Bean on "The Fish and Game Department of the 
St. Louis Exposition ;" by Mr. E. N. Carter, of Vermont, 
on "Methods of Collecting Sturgeon Eggs ;" by Dr. James 
A Henshall, of Montana, pn "Further Experiments m 
Feeding Fry," and by Mr. W. E. Meehan, President of 
the Pennsylvania Commission, on "A Year's Work of the 
Fisheries Interests in Pennsylvania." , 
Dr Bean gave a highly instructive account of the im- 
portant work at the Exposition in his charge, and pre- 
sented the difficult problems he had met and overcome. 
Mr. Carter's paper led to a general discussion of the sub- 
ject of sturgeon culture, which was led by such veterans 
as Livingston Stone, of the United States station at Cape 
Vincent, and President Clarke, of the Society. Dr. 
Henshall's paper rounded out his report of his studies 
made at the last session, and led up to the exhibition of 
a simple automatic feeding machine for fry, which was 
the invention of Mr. Seymour Bower. Commissioner 
Meehan in his resume of the work of the Pennsylvania 
Commission, described the benefits resulting from the or- 
ganization of his board 011 a business basis. He also re- 
ferred to the problem presented by water pollution, and 
said that the investigations of his Commission had shown 
beyond a doubt that this evil could be abolished. Effo^ 
to accomplish this desirable result have heretofore been 
defeated by industrial establishments, but these_have now. 
been shown that no destruction of industries is intended- 
only that they must not destroy the fisheries. He said 
that he believed that the matter had been so arranged that 
mill owners are now ready to help the Commission to 
remedy existing evils, and that a bill had been prepared 
to carry Out the ideas of the Comission, which he be- 
lieved would be enacted into a law. Mr. Meehan was 
especially severe on the carp, which he said had been de- 
clared to be an outlaw by the Pennsylvania Legislature. 
He was convinced that the leading causes of the dimin- 
ished fish supply were careless fishing and the carp. He " 
held that the value of the carp as a food? did not begin 
to balance the harm it does, and he cited one instance 
where the dissection of a carp had shown nearly three 
quarts of fish spawn in its stomach. 
These various statements led to an equally vigorous dis- 
cussion which showed that the carp has many advocates, 
but the consensus of opinion favored the idea that the 
carp is at best a cheap food for a cheap class of people 
who need to be taught the merits of better eating as an 
important element of better citizenship. Concededly, the 
troubles which have followed the careless planting of 
carp have taught the fishculturists a lesson, and foreign 
fishes will be handled much more carefully when they are 
presented for future introduction in American waters. 
Dr. H. M. Smith, of the United States Bureau of 
Fisheries, opened the second day's session with a lecture 
on "Japan, the Paramount Fisheries Nation," which was 
illustrated by lantern slides made from photographs and 
drawings collected during his long visit to that country, 
to which he was sent by United States Commissioner 
Bowers. Dr. Smith had the honor to be the first Ameri- 
can to receive such a detail, and was warmly welcomed by 
the officials of the highly organized bureau_ of fisheries 
there. By an unanimous vote, the Society decided to print 
his lecture in full in its proceedings, including the lllus- . 
trations, of which those connected with the gold fishcul- 
ture are the beautifully colored works of native artists.; 
One of the most important features of the lecture was; 
that calling attention to the manner in which almost all 
forms of marine products are utilized by the Japanese, 
while in this country so very many forms of fish life are 
either neglected or wasted. A fitting supplement to the 
lecture was a paper by Dr. Chas. G. Atkins, of East Cort- 
land, Me., on "The Utilization of Neglected Food Fishes." 
In the course of Dr. Atkins' remarks, many species of 
fishes now ignored in our markets were discussed. 
Among these were the dogfish of our coasts and the ling 
of Lake Erie. Dr. Bean and other experts advocated the 
merits of a large number of others, and the discussion de- 
veloped much that was of interest and value, in view of 
the rapid growth of the demand made on our native 
waters for food supplies. 
A paper on "The Whitefish, Its Propagation and Pro- 
tection," by S. W. Downing, of Put-in-Bay, Ohio, 
rounded out the morning session. He stated that while 
•not more than 1 per cent, of the spawn naturally deposited 
was hatched and lived, fully 80 per cent, of the fry were 
saved in artificial propagation. He advocated a close 
season for the whitefish in July and August, and the adop- ... ; 
tion of a size limit, so that every fish caught shall have ; 
had a chance to spawn at least once. . 
The afternoon session was devoted chiefly to a discus- 
sion of the bass, led by such experts as Seymour Bower, 
Dwight Lydell, Dr. Henshall, and President Clark. The 
papers read included one on "Bass Propagation" by Mr. 
Lvdell; one on "A Plan for Bass Ponds," by E. N. Lam- 
bert; one on "Ponds and Pond Culture for Black Bass, 
by John L. Leary, of San Marcos, Texas, and one by 
Samuel Lovejoy, of Georgia (a colored student of fish 
life), on "What I Have Seen of the Black Bass." Dur- 
ing the discussion, Mr. Bower spoke in favor of distribut- 
ing the bass as fry, beginning when they are ten days old, 
as they are then easier to handle. Mr. Lydell said that 
a male bass would care for two broods, in one season. 
President Clark said that he had secured the best results 
by distributing the bass when thirty to forty days old, 
when they are about one and one-half inches long, and 
250 can be carried in a ten-gallon can on trips ranging 
from ten to twenty-nine hours. Mr. Lovejoy argued that 
the best results in feeding bass can be secured by throw- 
ing the food forcibly into the waters, and thought that 
careful feeding would avert cannibalism. This view was 
indorsed by Mr. Stranahan, who said he believed that the 
bass would not eat each other to any great extent if 
heavily fed. . . 
After a short talk on the proper sizes at which fish are 
called fry and fingerlings, the committee having this sub- 
ject in hand was given further time. It developed that 
thus far their plan is, so far as bass culturists are con- 
cerned, to call this species "fry" when it first rises, to call 
it "baby fingerlings" when it is from one and one-quarter 
to two inches long, and to speak of it as "fingerlings 
when the fish are two inches long and upward. _ 
At the Thursday morning session, the Society was 
treated to an illustrated lecture on "A Western Charr 111 
an Eastern Home," by Dr. F. M. Johnson, of Boston. In 
his remarks he gave an account of some interesting per- 
sonal studies of the rainbow trout as an associate of the 
native brook trout. He advised the use of vermicelli 
cooked with meat bones as an occasional food when the 
regulation liver spoils or fails to arrive. His description 
ofnis dissection of a diseased brook trout which he found 
had died of gastro duodenitis led to a most interesting 
discussion of fish diseases, which was led by Mr. J. D. 
Whish, secretary of the New York State Commission, 
and Commissioner Meehan, of Pennsylvania. Dr. Smith 
was advised that there is a great need of educated men, 
having the means and inclination to study diseases of fish, 
and that in no other way can a man achieve more speedily 
distinction at home and abroad among fishculturists. He 
offered to examine and study any diseased fish sent to 
him by a member of the Society. After the meeting he 
displayed the original drawings and painting from which 
the illustrations were made for his sumptuous book en- 
titled "Forest, Lake and Stream." Mr. Slade, president 
of the famous South Side Fisherman's Club, of Long 
Island, took part in this discussion, and incidentally stated 
that he did not like the rainbow trout because it does not 
readily rise to the fly. He also said that he disliked the 
brown trout which grows so rapidly and devours the 
brook trout, and mentioned one brown trout caught in his 
preserve which weighed fifteen pounds. He figured that 
this fish was at least ten years oW s and had eaten at least 
five brook trout daily. "This will readily account for a 
considerable loss of fingerlings," he added. 
A very valuable and suggestive paper for fishculturists 
was read by Mr. S. G. Worth, of Edenton, N. C, entitled, 
"Comments on the Recent Hatching of Striped Bass, and 
References to the Possible Hatching of Other Commercial 
Fishes." He said that he had collected twenty-three gal- 
lons of: eggs from one fifty-pound fish, and that the eggs 
averaged 35,000 to the quart. Of these, 69 per cent, were 
hatched successfully. It was his j udgment that the thing 
to do is to find where such fish naturally spawn, and that 
then the eggs can be taken and hatched artificially with 
the greatest success. ... 
Dr. H. F. Moore's paper on "The Progress of Experi- 
ments in Sponge Culture," which followed, gave an ac- 
count of the work that is being done under the direction 
of the United States Commission, and which has been 
so successful that one merchant now has planted over 
80,000 sponge clippings. These will, in about _two years' 
time, produce sponges ready for market, and it has been 
found that the artificial growth is cleaner and better in 
many ways than sponges from natural beds. Mr. John 
W. Titcomb, of Washington, next gave the Society an 
account of his recent travels in a paper entitled "Fishery 
Reminiscences of South America." He was sent to that 
country by the United States Commission, examined the 
waters, established a hatchery, and introduced several 
valuable species of fish in this country. 
Mr. A. H. Dinsmore, of East Orland, Me., spoke briefly 
of "A National Fish Preserve," referring to his expe- 
rience: while collecting the eggs of the black spotted trout 
in the Yellowstone Park. He agreed to take up this sub- 
ject at length at the next session. A paper on "The Value 
of Aquatic Plants in Pond Culture," by C. K. Greene, 
was^ favorably discussed by the bass experts. There was 
also a paper on "Dangers in Shipping Cans," in which 
Dr. M. C. Marsh, of Washington, detailed the results of 
experiments made at the Cold Spring Harbor hatchery of 
the New York State Commission with galvanized iron 
cans. ■ . 
Hon, Geo. M. Bowers, U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries, 
made the closing address congratulating the Society on its 
progress and referring to the present meeting as one ot 
the most important yet held. The value which he places 
on these meetings is showui practically by thefact that he 
arranges for the attendance of all the men in charge of 
the hatchery system of his bureau, and of the leading 
scientists in its employ, and encourages them to take part 
in the programme each year. The Society, as a compliment 
to Commissioner Bowers, selected as its next meeting 
place White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. Officers were 
elected as follows: President, Henry T. Root, of Rhode 
Island; Vice-President, C D. Joslin, of Michigan; 
Recording Secretary, Geo. F. Peabody, of Wisconsin; 
Corresponding Secretary, Chas. G. Atkins, of Maine; 
Treasurer, C. W. Willard, of Rhode- Island. The execu- 
tive committee, which is the managing body of the So- 
ciety, is made up thus: Chairman, W. E. Meehan, of 
Pennsylvania; John D. Whish, of New York; E. Hart 
Geef, of Connecticut; Dr. James A. Henshall, of Mon- 
tana/ G. H. Lambson, of California; J. J. Stranahan, of 
Georgia, and Dr. H. M. Smith, District of Columbia. A 
committee on foreign relations was appointed with Mr. 
Atkins as chairman, and J. W. Titcomb, Dr. H. M. Smith, 
Dr. J: W. Henshall, and Dr. F. N. Johnson as members. 
This committee is to report annually on the progress of 
fishcultural work in foreign countries and allied matters. 
The Society elected a number of honorary members, in- 
cluding Hon. Victor H. Metcalf, of Washington; Dr. 
Bruno Hofer, of Munich ; Mr. Chas. E. Fryer (Chief In- 
spector of Fisheries), of London; Dr. J. Lawrence Ham- 
ilton, of Brighten, Eng. ; the Rt. Hon. Earl of Denbigh, 
of London; Prof. Matsubura (President of the Imperial 
Fisheries Institute), of Tokio ; Dr. Kishinouyer (Chief . 
of the Imperial Fisheries Bureau), of Tokio, and Capt. 
Jno. L. Young, of Atlantic City. During the days of the 
meeting the members of the Society enjoyed several trips 
out to sea to watch the raising of the great nets used in 
collecting specimens for the St. Louis Exposition. 
J. D. W. 
The Scarcity of Salmon. 
Saginaw, Mich., July 30— Editor Forest and Stream: 
' The salmon fishing on the Grand Cascapedia this year was 
a failure. I fished all through the month of June and 
saved but two salmon, and my friend with me did no bet- 
ter, and it was so all along the river. Some were for- 
tunate enough to get half a dozen fish, but others did not 
get any. It was the same story, I understand, with all 
of the rivers that put into the Bay Chaleur, not excepting 
the Restigouche. The unusual scarcity of fish was the 
general complaint. Up to my last advices, they did not 
come in late to any extent. 
I believe in 1885 or 1886 the salmon run was a good 
deal the same as this year, but I am told by Mr. C. B. 
Barnes, of Boston, that about the 21st of July that year 
the salmon began coming in in great numbers; and I 
know that my friend, Robert C. Lowry, fished the fore 
part of'August either that year or the year after, and had 
the good fortune to take five salmon on the Grand 
Cascapedia. . . . 
Now, what I am getting at is this : I wish every salmon 
fisherman would give his experience, and I think it would 
be interesting to have them give their ideas as to the 
cause of this unusual absence of fish at the time they 
usually are entering this river. It is rumored that ®n 
the south shore of the Bay Chaleur, the fish were plenti- 
ful, and I also have heard that fish were very plentiful 
in the rivers puting into the north shore of the river and 
Gulf of St. Lawrence _ . . 
One theory advanced is that the fish missed their bear- 
ings and went into the mouth of the St. Lawrence instead 
of the Bay Chaleur. But I have seen very little in 
Forest and Stream this year commenting upon this 
scarcity of salmon, which is my rea^n for bringing the 
- subject to your attention. W. B. Mershon. 
A novel effect of stage realism will shortly be in- 
troduced at the London Pavilion. It is intended to 
introduce a "fox" hunt on the stage with a vvhippet in 
full cry, an Irish terrier covered with a fox's skin, the 
effect of a chase being produced by the rolling track 
and the scenery moving in opposite directions. 
