July 22, 1905.] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
71 
factured for purposes which have nothing to do with 
fishing^ — possibly for use in surgery, where its transpar- 
ency was found to be a drawback, and so bleaching was 
resorted to. If I could afford the time I would go to 
Spain to see if my theory is not correct — namely, that 
nothing but trade requirements stand in the way of our 
getting gut which is as transparent as colorless crystal, 
which is, of course, the ideal thing.” 
New England Fishing. 
Boston, Mass., July 15. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
For those who like a combination of salt water fishing 
and sea bathing there is no place in Massachusetts, in 
my opinion, that goes ahead of Nantucket. This sum- 
mer there is added interest from improvements making 
in the harbor. The visitors enjoyed what was to most 
of them a novel sight the other day when the fishing 
steamer Waquoit brought in seventeen large swordfish 
averaging from 200 to 300 pounds each. The crew re- 
ported them in great numbers in the vicinity of Block 
Island and Noman’s Land. Large numbers of bluefish 
are being caught. A party that went out in the catboat 
Winona one day took twenty-eight, and a couple of ama- 
teur fishermen in a dory returned with thirty-one, aver- 
aging 10 pounds each. 
At the Cliff bathing beach there are 400 bathhouses, 
and there is an instructor in swimming whose services 
may be obtained. A fine combination for healthful recrea- 
tion is thus afforded by the facilities for both bathing 
and fishing. 
Several cases of fish having been poisoned in ponds 
have been reported this season, and quite recently a re- 
port has come from Wendall, on the railway line to 
Hoosac Tunnel, that some one has been placing lime in 
the trout brooks of that region. Quantities of lime have 
been found and dead trout near by. We have laws 
enough to meet such cases, but the difficulty is in getting 
the evidence needed to convict the offenders. It is im- 
portant that sportsmen in sections where such outrages 
are committed spare no pains to bring the perpetrators 
into court. Spite toward trout fishermen is probably the 
motive that led to the use of lime. 
If reports from Becket are to be credited, our State 
has received a visit within a few days from a genuine 
turkey buzzard, such a bird having been recently shot 
on the Whitney place in that town. It is said that not 
more than half a dozen of the species have ever been 
killed in Massachusetts. 
Among the many ardent devotees of sport with rod 
and reel (and with line and sinker as well) in^Boston is 
our assistant postmaster, Mr. M. C. MilHn. His favorite 
resort is Bear Island, in Lake Winnepesseeogee. He says 
that is the best point for fishing in the whole lake. A 
short time ago he returned from a short trip with a num- 
ber of very fine bass to show to friends who were skep- 
tical. 
The numerous school camps for lads and young men 
in Maine and New Hampshire are now in full swing. 
Many young men are there learning the secrets of wood- 
craft and getting a touch of the life of the woods, in con- 
nection with nature studies. In the country there are 
said to be more than a hundred such camps, and they 
should furnish a host of recruits to the ranks of the 
intelligent sportsmen to v/hom those interested in the 
protection of fish, animals and birds must look for aid in 
the near future. We need the young men in the army, 
ready to step into the places made vacant every year ; yes, 
in fact, every day. Only yesterday the Massachusetts 
Fish and Game Protection Association lost a valued 
member, Mr. Gain Robinson, the well known lumber 
merchant of Springfield. Within a few months life mem- 
bers — J. Montgomery Sears and Charles E. Sanborn — 
have died. 
Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Eaton and their daughter 
■ opened their house at Belgrade, Me., July i to hold a 
house party for the holiday, and remain for a few weeks. 
; In August they will occupy Mr. Eaton’s elegant shore 
place at Clifton. 
Hon. F. W. Dallinger, of Cambridge, with his family 
has taken possession of his cottage in Lovell, Me., where 
he can enjoy his favorite pastime taking salmon from 
Little Kezar Lake, or trout from some of the available 
streams not far away. 
In a letter just received from Col. C. E. Billings, of 
Hartford, referring to my report of his taking a 7-pound 
salmon while at Billy Soule’s camps on the Cupsuptic, he 
says ; “It is all true and more might have been told.” He 
■ reports taking a number of trout — the largest 3^4 pounds 
, — besides the twenty-five he took up at Cupsuptic Falls 
one day, and “we had them for dinner,” he says, and “my 
thoughts went back to the time when you and I were 
there two years ago, and I wished you were with us 
then.” He says he and Mr. Chapman during the ten days 
spent at Tim Pond after leaving Billy’s, averaged a catch 
of some more than 100 trout a day each, 90 per cent, of 
which were “returned to their native waters.” 
While some 'of the guests at the hotels and camps hav- 
ing become for the time being satiated with fishing, are 
taking to the golf links, many of them are keeping their 
guides busy rowing them out to fishing grounds, and the 
ranks of the anglers are recruited every day by new- 
comers. 
As a rule, the fly-fishing slacks off before the middle of 
July somewhat in the big lakes, but still-fishing_ is to be 
had all summer. There is no difficulty in raising trout 
to the fly in Kennebago nor Tim Pond all summer, and 
in sevcnal of the lakes reached from Eustis. and, I have 
no doubt, the same is true of certain waters in every 
section of northern Maine. 
Mr. W. F. Kingsbury, of Randolph, had the remarkable 
luck to land a nb2-pound salmon recently at Upper Dam 
pool, do an angler from Lowell is credited a catch of 
eighty-three trout and four salmon in one week, while 
a Bostonian took' a ?-pound and a 4-pound salmon on 
the afternoon of his arrival. W. W. Coolidge and wife 
of Salem, and Mr. H. C. Denison, of New Bedford, have , 
taken salmon in good numbers. 
Mr. Fred R. Cornell, of the Boston Symphony Orches- 
tra. has joined Mrs. Comee and her friends in their new 
cottage. One of the guests is Mrs. A. W. Robinson. Mr. 
Robinson is an ex-president of the Megantic Club and is, 
an honora^ robber m wdl <is vko-$»iesjderrt of the 
Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective Association. 
Among the sportswomen of the east Mrs. Robinson 
stands very high. Her latest exploit was achieved last 
fall when, on a hunting trip with Mr. Robinson in the 
Megantic preserve, she killed a handsome buck and a 
400-pound bear. Mr. Comee has christened his cabin the 
“Rouge-et-Noir,” and the many friends of the host and 
hostess will find a hearty welcome within its portals. 
Gen. E. C. Farrington, who has been an ardent angler 
as well as hunter from boyhood, remained to enjoy the 
sport for several days after the meeting of the Maine 
Sportsmen’s Association. 
Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Damon, the Fitchburg bridal couple, 
have had excellent luck, Mrs. Damon taking a 6j^-pound 
salmon. They had Bert Herrick as guide. 
A Boston party, consisting of .Mr. J. W. Stewart and 
several friends, had the good fortune to see a big bull 
moose on Kennebago Stream besides taking plenty of 
fish. 
Mr. Clarence W. Fisher with Mrs. Fisher, of North 
Attleboro, is passing his twenty'-eighth season at the 
lakes. Mr. Thomas A. Bassett and several friends from 
New Haven and Bridgeport, Conn., are at Bald Moun- 
tain Camps for the summer. Mr. John S. McLean, 
daughter and maid, of New York, have taken Munyon 
Lodge for the season. For twenty years Mr. McLean has 
had George Thrasher as his guide, and he is with him 
this year. 
In a Fitchburg party several well known families are 
represented by Mrs. Edward C. Crocker and her niece. 
Miss Mildred G. Sears, of Cambridge, and friends from 
Providence. 
Dr. George H. Payne, president, and E. A. Phippen, 
of Boston, secretary of the Megantic Club, with several 
other members have just returned after passing a couple 
of weeks at Big Island Pond and other points on the pre- 
serve. 
Mr. Hugh G. Brown’s camp, the Mayflower, has been 
occupied by him and his brother, J. C. Brown, and wife 
for several days. Mr. Brown is to have a new steamer 
for his personal use. 
Arnold and Crosby ponds have iust received a planting 
of 20,000 landlocked -salmon from the State hatchery at 
Winthrop. A new trail is to be made soon from the foot 
of Big Island Pond to Arnold, thus doing away with 
the one via Massachusetts Bog. Scores of old friends 
will recognize the names of these old-timers now at Upper 
Dam — J. C. Dougherty and wife, of Syracuse ; E. F. Van 
Dusen and wife, of New York city; J. S. Doane and wife, 
Eugene Lynch, of Boston, and R. N. Parish, of Connecti- 
cut. 
At Grand Lake Stream Prof. Wm. Lyman Underwood, 
of Belmont, is engaged in adding pictures to his wonder- 
ful collection of landscape views and snapshots of birds 
and animals. Here also a New York artist, Louis Akin, 
has been dividing his time between the use of brush and 
palette and that of the rod and reel. Central. 
Fish and Fishing, 
New Brunswick; Salmon Rivers and Fish Cult, re. 
Knowing as much as I do of the difficulties attending 
the successful control of fishcultural operations, espe- 
cially when conducted under Government management, 
I am far from admitting such excessive results from 
them — at least as they were carried on in Canada during 
the first years of their history — as were originally claimed 
for the science. But this does not prevent me from cheer- 
fully acknowledging the debt of gratitude which the fish- 
eries of the Dominion of Canada owe to the operations 
of the Government fish hatcheries. It was, perhaps, only 
natural that there should have been serious mistakes in 
connection with the introduction of the practical working 
of the science into Canada, which, after all, was not so 
many years after it had outgrown its experimental stage, 
and the early disappointments, disagreements and fault- 
findings experienced by some of those to whom we are 
indebted for earliest efforts in its behalf, have not appar- 
ently disposed them too favorably toward it. 
It is perhaps of more importance to the future of the 
fisheries than some of us may at first sight imagine, that 
the value of our existing fishcultural operations should 
be publicly discussed with the utmost fairness and frank- 
ness, since, while the amount of money expended upon 
them is far too large to be uselessly thrown away, it 
would be little less than a public disaster to close the 
hatcheries because of reckless criticism and unfounded 
argument, if they are really doing the work which is 
now claimed for them. 
My reference, in Forest and Stream of May 20 last, 
to the official report of one of the New Brunswick in- 
spectors of fisheries, which clearly showed that “the sal- 
mon supply of some at least of the rivers of New Bruns- 
wick” was not decreasing, was, to my sui'prise, taken ex- 
ception to by 3'our very interesting and very versatile 
correspondent, the “Old Angler,” in such a manner as to 
indicate that he is at present as much opposed to the 
continuance of fishcultural operations in Canada as he 
was in favor of them some time ago. 
Now, while there is something to be said upon both 
sides of the question, the “Old Angler” ’jas, now, noth- 
ing that is good to say of the science which he so strong- 
ly urged upon the attention of the authorities some years 
ago. His incomplete figures, as I shall presently show, 
are so selected and presented as to convey impressions 
very wide of the actual facts; while against his authori- 
ties — Messrs. Malmgren and Whitcher — who recom- 
mended a discontinuance of fish breeding operations as a 
Government vvork, I might cite the equally competent 
foreign authorities — Dr. Frank Buckland, of London, and 
the late Prof. Spencer F. Baird, of Washington— besides 
many local authorities, whose practical knowledge of the 
subject and whose good faith he will not venture to ques- 
tion. While upon this matter of local authorities, allow 
me to introduce the “Old Angler” to the following official 
recommendations made to the Government of Canada in 
1869 by Mr. W. H. Venning, then fishery inspector for 
the Provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, an 
officer in whose judgment there is reason to believe that 
the “Old Angler” has every confidence, and whose ad- 
vice to the (joyernment in this iffiportant matter wa§ no 
doubt largely responsible for its adoption of Mr. Wil- 
mot’s system of fish hatching, since he was also ap- 
pointed, in company .. with Mr. Whitcher, to visit and 
inspect Mr. Wilmot’s hatchery at New’castle, Ont, and 
presented a most favorable report upon it. Upon the 
third page of his 1869 report to the Minister of Fisheries, 
Mr. Venning wrote: “The results produced in the 
hatching house at North Esk, described in my last re- 
port, and those in the piscicultural establishment at Wil- 
mot Creek, in Ontario, prove beyond a doubt the perfect 
success with which millions of fish- eggs can be artificially 
hatched, and point to a speedy and cheap mode of in- 
creasing our fisheries to an unlimited extent, by restock- 
ing rivers now deserted, and introducing fish into 
streams and lakes adapted to their habits and susten- 
ance.” 
In 1873 Mr. Venning wrote to the Minister: “Fish- 
culture has been so successful, and has produced such 
beneficial results in other places that I cannot but 
recomniend every facility and encouragement to its in- 
troduction in our Provinces. The complete success of 
Mr. Wilmot’s operations in Ontario, and of Mr. Holli- 
day’s on the Moisie, leads me to hope that similar estab- 
lishments may be conducted in each of the Lower 
Provinces.” 
In 1878 Mr. Venning wrote: “The only remedy I can 
suggest (for the falling off in the salmon supply through 
overnetting, etc.) is the extension of artificial hatching.” 
And later in the same report : “Everywhere, except 
where artificial iMlture has arrested the decrease, the 
salmon fishing is in the same danger.” 
In the same year Mr. Venning warned the authorities 
that the salmon fisheries of the St. John River must be- 
come extinct unless the weirs and seines were done away 
with. 
The same efficient officer pointed out in 1886 that he 
expected to see a steady decrease in the catch of future 
years unless the excssive fishing was curtailed. The fish- 
ing was not to' any appreciable extent curtailed. And 
yet there has been no decrease in the catch, that of the 
two last years reported being in excess of the year in 
which the warning was issued, while in the course of 
the sixteen years which have since elapsed, the average 
catch has been 1,565,727 pounds in the Province of New 
Brunswick, against 1,268,855 in 1886. It is impossible to 
come to any other conclusion than that the “steady de- 
crease” foreshadowed by the inspector of fisheries for 
that Province was only prevented by the beneficial results 
of the fish hatcheries for which he had so eloquently 
pleaded. Without this constant supply of artificial aid 
to the comparatively few spawning salmon which were 
permitted by the poachers, net fishermen and others to 
reach the upper stretches of the rivers, the almost total 
extinction of the salmon anticipated by Mr. Venning 
must have become an accomplished fact. Year after year 
we follow him in his annual reports to the Minister, 
faithfully pleading the cause of the fish. The number 
of the nets, he frequently says, is excessive, and out of 
all proportion to the number of salmon ascending the 
rivers. The effects of this excess had long been seen, 
he says, and were becoming more and more evident. 
Vainly did he urge, time and time again, that since it 
was apparently impossible to limit or reduce the number 
of nets, there should either be a shortening of the sea- 
son, or a lengthening of the weekly period (from Satur- 
day night till Monday morning) during which the nets 
have to be taken up. Again we find him saying: “With 
the excessive fishing that has been done since the open- 
ing of the Intercolonial Railway but few fish reach their 
spawning beds. Of these a large number are killed be- 
fore spawning. The powers of those that remained to 
multiply fall short of the annual drain made on the 
diminishing stock. In former years, before railways 
made it easy to reach our rivers, but little angling was 
done. After the netting season closed those fish that es- 
caped the coast and river nets had only a few poachers 
and adventurous anglers to fear ; these having no market 
for their catch, contented themselves with what they re- 
quired for food on their visits, and the few they could 
carry home unspoilt. But since the advent of railways 
has .made the headwaters of our rivers easy of access, 
angling has been pursued on an extensive scale, and 
poaching on a still larger scale, up to the last of October, 
and sometimes until the fish have finished spawning. The 
facilities offered by railways for the exportation of il- 
legally caught fish are so great that no vigilance on the 
part of officers can do more than make an occasional 
seizure, while large quantities are annually exported.” 
Who will say that in view of all these discouraging 
circumstances the devoted inspector was not fully war- 
ranted in anticipating the very worst possible results, or 
that the total destruction of the salmon fisheries has not 
been averted by the operations of the hatcheries? What 
other beneficent agency could have preserved them? The 
views of numbers of practical men might be cited in sup- 
port of this belief in the good work done by the fishcul- 
turists of the Dominion. Mr. Sheasgreen, writing in^ 
1888 in regard to some of the New Brunswick rivers, 
says : “When the enormous drain upon our salmon fish- 
ery is considered — the almost endless number of nets 
from the mouth of the bay to the rapids — which are year 
by year doing a remunerative work — along with the facts 
that the waters are abounding with parrs, smolts and 
grilse— it points to the conclusion that artificial hatching 
is the feeder that keeps up this supply, and is one of the 
greatest boons and benefits that can be granted to he 
fishermen of any river; certain it is that the natural 
sources could not supply the enormous demand — men of 
all opinions agree in this — and I may here add that the 
uniform good catches of fish for the past five years are 
now convincing the most skeptical of fishermen that the 
artificial breeding is most beneficial as supplementing the 
products of natural-laid ova with millions of healthy, 
artificially-bred fry, which are the surest safeguards 
against the depletion of our waters of these most valu- 
able fish in future years.” 
What Figofes Show. 
I have said that the “Old Angler’s” incomplete figures 
have been so selected and presented as to convey imnres- 
sions very wide of the actual facts. The most deliberate 
determination to prove that fishculture in Canada was a 
failure could not have b«en better aocoMlE^shed than by 
