72 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[JUI.Y 22, igps. 
the selection and presentation of the incomplete figures 
furnished by the “Old Angler.” There are available for 
purposes of fair comparison, the official returns of all 
the salmon reported to have been taken in New Bruns- 
wick waters during the last thirty-five years. The total 
of the catch during the whole of this period was 54,372,- 
850 pounds, or an average of 1,553,714 pounds per annum. 
The largest catch on record was in 1874 and amounted 
to 3,214,182 pounds. The smallest was in 1881 and 
amounted to 620,461 pounds. Now, for purposes of com- 
parison, the “Old Angler” persistently bases the condition 
of affairs, so far as the supply of salmon in the New 
Brunswick rivers is concerned, upon the yield of the most 
exceptional year in the whole recorded history of salmon 
fishing in that Province. Could anything be more unfair 
or unreasonable? The excuse for this selection is the 
statement that this was the year in which the hatcheries 
were built. But no explanation whatever is made as to 
the very remarkable exceptional catch of that year, nor 
yet of the facts that neither during that year nor yet for 
some few years afterward could the hatcheries possibly 
have had any influence upon the output of adult salmon; 
and that because of a series of mishaps in connection 
with some of the hatcheries, which prevented them from 
being fullly operated for a few years, it was foretold by 
Mr. Wilmot, in one of his reports, that he did not look 
for any results of consequence from the output of the 
hatcheries until 1882, when he did anticipate quite an in- 
crease in the catch. Mr. Inspector Venning’s report for 
1882 admits the increase in that year from 620,461 pounds 
in 1881 toi,o65,ii8, an increase which the official figures 
show has been more than sustained in every succeeding 
year up to the present time, with the single exception of 
1883, when the catch temporarily fell to 784, ,622 pounds, 
several of the guardians claiming that the low water in 
the rivers accounted for the small run of fish. In any 
case, the take of the next year, which showed an in- 
crease of nearly 50 per cent., proved that the small catch 
of 1883 was not due to a steady gradual decrease in the 
number of fish frequenting the coasts and rivers. And it 
would be quite as feir to take the catch of the year pre- 
ceding that date — 1881 — as the basis of the salmon sup- 
ply in New Brunswick waters, and in fact very much 
fairer, than to utilize for the purpose, the figures of 1874. 
The total catch of 1881 was the smallest on record, name- 
ly 620,461, or less than half what the same rivers pro- 
duced last year. But as my only desire in this discussion 
is to endeavor to arrive at .scientific facts, and, moreover, 
as I have no pet theory to support and no taste whatever 
for juggling with figures, I beg to submit for the con- 
sideration of those who are prepared to take a calm and 
dispassionate view of this whole matter, a yearly state- 
ment of the annual catch of salmon in New Brunswick 
waters, for as far back as the official records go. I wall 
merely premise that I shall be glad to accept any correc- 
tion that any of my readers may be able to make in these 
figures, for though they are as nearly perfect as I can 
make them, it is barely possible that some very slight 
errors may have crept in, for in some instances, calcula- 
tions have had to be made, such as reducing the amount 
of fish in barrels to pounds, while for the year 1869 num- 
bers of fish were in some instances given, and in these 
cases, lest I should appear to have striven to make the 
catch in those pre-hatchery days seem smaller than it 
really was, I may explain that I allowed an average 
weight of 20 pounds to each fish, which will certainly 
be admitted to be sufficiently large. The output was as 
follows : 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
1869 
1,136,160 
1887 
1,366,307 
1870 
1,499,187 
1888 
1,224,340 
187] 
1,608,496 
1889 
1,139,779 
1872 
1,699,977 
1890 
1,093,645 
1873 
2.853,722 
1891 
1,345,170 
1874 
3,214,182 
1892 
1,430,118 
1875 
2,996,551 
1893 
2,484,190 
1876 
1,006,427 
1894 
2,280,462 
1877 
1,593,297 
1895 
2,079,395 
1878 
.......1,763,772 
1896 
2,651,825 
1879 
1,636,342 
1897 
1,383,680 
1880 
856,155 
1898 
1,199,967 
]881 
620,461 
1899 
1882..... 
1,065.118 
1900 
1883 
784,622 
1901 
1,436,230 
1884 
1,110,745 
1902 
1885 
1,407,598 
1903 
1,300,540 
1886 
1,2'68,855 
Total for 
Aiming only at arriving at a correct estimate of the re- 
sult of the fish hatchery operations in New Brunsw'ick, I 
will not ask those who are following the discussion of 
the matter to base their opinions upon the return of the 
catch in 1881— the year prior to that in which the pro- 
moter of the hatcheries, Mr. Wilmot, looked forward to 
the evidence of appreciable results from their operations, 
since he showed that it was only in 1877 that they com- 
menced to work satisfactorily — though it would be much 
more fair to do so than to take the exceptional product 
of 1874 as any indication of what the waters of New 
Brunswick were in the habit of producing prior to the 
operation of the hatcheries, especially as it will be seen 
by the. figures given above that two years prior to that 
exceptional year the output was less than one-half of 
what it was in i874> while two years after it, and long 
before it was possible for any r^esult from the hatcheries 
toi manifest themselves — namely in 1876 — the product 
of New Brunswick’s waters in salmon was less than one- 
third of the output for 1874. • , . 
An examination of the annual returns printed above 
will show that the average product of the New Bruns- 
wick rivers for the last thirty-five years, including the 
period before the wofk of destruction had brought about 
the ruinous results which the . fishculturists sought _ to 
overcome, has been i, 5 S 37 i 4 pounds. For the first period 
of five years, from 1869 to 1873 (both years inclusive), 
the average catch was i,739>5o8 pounds per annum. In 
the decade following, namely, from 1874 to 1^3 (both 
years included), there was an aveiag© catch of ij 5 S 3 ' 59 ^ 
pounds. For the next ten years, namely, from 1884 to 
1893 (both years inclusive), the average catch was i,- 
386,064 pounds, while the last ten years, _ 1894 to 1903 
(both years inclusive), show the gratifying average of 
I 627 873 pounds— quite an increase, as comparison will 
show, from that of the decade in which is included the 
famous exceptional vield of 1874; The “Old AngleF has 
frequently declared ‘himself, and very correctly so, too, 
that it is incorrect to form any hasty conclusion as to the 
=^'iipnlv of salmon from the result of a single year’s oa.tch. 
and as the thirty-five years for which we have the official 
figures before us naturally divide themselves intO’ periods 
of five and ten years, it cannot be fairly denied that 
taking the average yield of these various periods — than 
which no more reasonable method of gauging the fluc- 
tuations in the annual catch of salmon suggests itself — it 
is as unfair as it is incorrect to claim “that as artificial 
culture has increased in New Brunswick, the catch of 
salmon has decreased.” On the contrary, there is a small 
— -but in view of the frightful destruction of this fish 
still unfortunately permitted — a gratifying increase in the 
catch of the decade just ended, over that of the ten years 
in which the first of the hatcheries was built. 
E. T. D. Chambers. 
PicillisylvaD i and Southern New York. 
Sayre, ra., juiy 15. — The fishing in this section has 
scarcely been worth mentioning for the past four weeks. 
As a matter of fact, strictly first-class conditions have 
not prevailed at any time since the season opened. Plen- 
teous rain, and occasional destructive storms have com- 
bined lo keep both trout streams and the rivers here- 
abouts in a high and roily condition ; and as a result the 
catches that usually win a flaring headline in the daily 
papers have been few and far between. 
Some of the local grounds along the Susquehanna have 
yielded a few bass despite adverse fate, and local bass 
anglers are at present anxiously waiting for the water to 
subside in order to really test the supply of bass and pike. 
Several local anglers have enjoyed an occasional day’s 
trout fishing on some of the streams in the vicinity of 
Richford, Speedsville and Slaterville, which were produc- 
live of a few nice trout. But on the whole, and surveyed 
from a locaP point of view, the season has been below the 
aA^erage, What the season may later afford depends very 
largely upon the weather. At Lake Carey, a few hours’ 
ride from Sayre via Lehigh Valley Railroad, good bass, 
pike and perch fishing is now being enjoyed along with 
many of the pleasures incident to ideal surroundings. 
M. Chill. 
^ittnp~^re ^icherings, 
— 
“That reminds me.” 
Prof* MulIer^s Tame Whales* 
Here is a hot weather story from the Bangor Com- 
mercial. It reads like a product of the fertile fancy of 
Virgil Eaton, editor of the Bangor Daily News: 
Port-au-Basques, Newfoundland.' — Not the least of 
the triumphs of modern scientific methods in man’s utili- 
zation of natural resources is forecasted in the brief a_n- 
nouncement just received from the Balena whale fisheries 
to the effect that Professor Muller has succeeded in do- 
mesticating a herd of fifty sulphur bottom cow whales 
and has perfected an apparatus for milking the mammoth 
cetaceans. 
The yield of milk from the full-grown whale is from 
five to seven hogsheads a day. The milk is fresh and 
sweet, and peculiarly rich in nutritive and medicinal 
qualities. It' is much thicker and richer than the best 
Jersey milk, and possesses a peculiarly pleasant and dis- 
tinctive flavor which those who have tasted it pronounce 
superior to any known product of the lacteal variety. 
Chemical analysis has shown that the milk of the sul- 
phur bottom whale is rich in those same fats and proteids 
which give to codliver oil its value as a remedial food. 
Professor Muller’s experiments with whales, which 
have been carried on in comparative secrecy for several 
years, have resulted in many remarkable discoveries in 
the lines of utilizing the different parts of the huge car- 
casses which have hitherto gone to waste. 
He has devised a process for curing and preserving the 
tons of meat which has always been considered worse 
than valueless. This meat, which compares favorably in 
texture and flavor with the average beef, will soon be put 
upon the market. The company has assurances that it 
Avill find ready sale in the West Indian islands and other 
tropical countries which now depend for their meat sup- 
ply on the South American jerked beef. 
Professor Muller has invented and patented a process 
for making leather from the intestines, pleural sacks, 
heart coverings and other internal membranes of the 
whale, which, when tanned and fiiiished, is of greater 
durability and finer texture than any known leather. Be- 
side its superior quality, the whale leather furnishes sin- 
gle pieces of much greater dimensions than it is possible 
to procure from any other animal. It is possible, accord- 
ing to the inventor, to obtain from the intestines of a 
full-grown sulphur bottom a strip of leather nearly 300 
feet in length and 3)4 feet in breadth. From the pleural 
lining a piece of leather twenty-five feet in diameter can 
be obtained. 
Processes for grinding the mammoth skeletons into 
bone meal for fertilizer and of converting the gristle and 
cartilage into glue and like products are among the minor 
inventions of the expert, who has secluded himself for 
the past five years at the little fishing village and turned 
his attention to the study of whales. 
But by far the greatest triumph yet attained by the eru- 
dite Professor lies in the domestication of the cow 
wdiales. Like all scientific men. Professor Muller would 
rather, conserve than destroy. The whales are still abun- 
dant in Newfoundland waters, but under the old system 
of killing them for their oil and casting the carcasses 
adrift, it was a question of only a few years at most when 
they would become so rare as to make their pursuit un- 
profitable. It will now be for the financial interest of 
whalers to capture the young whales and keep them alive 
because of the promise of richer reward frorn the dairy 
products than can be realized in their destruction. _ 
It is impossible to give an adequate idea of the infinite 
care and patience which it has required to tame _ the 
whales. The whale, as every school boy knows, is a 
warm blooded animal of the mammalian group, more 
nearly related to the seaj and walrus than to the fish. 
The whale at times displays’ a high degree of intelligence 
and reasoning from the analogy of the seal Pfofessor 
Muller, several years ago, made up his mind that the diffi- 
culties in ;he rvay of domesticating the largest of all ani- 
ntals were only those which arose from the unwieldy 
size of the subjects. 
The Profes sor looked about' until he found a suitable 
inlet, a salt water lake about an eighth of a mile across, 
giving on the sea a narrow strait about fifty feet across. 
He arranged a gateway of iron bars by which the inlet 
could be completely closed. Late in the fall about two 
years ago a herd of whales was sporting in the offing, and 
it was noticed that there were a number of young heifers 
in the herd. By careful work ten of these heifers were 
separated from the main herd and coaxed and driven 
through the strait into the lake. 
. Then began the work of taming them. Thej’' were 
watched and studied until their favorite kind of food was 
learned. This was a peculiar kind of kelp or rock weed 
vyhich grows in abundance in about twelve fathoms of 
water off the coast. Large quantities of this rock weed 
were gathered and stored near the Professor’s headquar- 
ters at the upper end of the inlet. 
Twice a day this food was put outside, where the 
young whale heifers could get it. 'Within a month they 
had learned tO' come to the feeding place for their meals. 
Within another month the creatures were quite tame and 
a name was given to each one. Gradually the cetaceans 
learned to respond to their names, and after six months 
of training could be summoned from any part of the in- 
closure. 
The problem of teaching them tO' permit the operatives 
to milk them was a more difficult one. An apparatus was 
devised to do the work, but when an effort was made to 
try it there was trouble at once. It was necessary to drive 
the whales up on the flats at low water to do the milking, 
and it has been this part of the work which has absorbed 
the attention of the Professor for more than a year. 
Patience in the face of all discouragements with a de- 
termination to succeed finally conquered. The first cap- 
tives learned gradually to go of their own accord to the 
milking ground. The herd has been increased a few 
whales at a time until it now numbers fifty, and it re- 
quires the services of a staff of sixty men to carry on 
the daily milking. 
Just what the plans of the company are is not generally 
known, and none of the officials will say. It was learned 
on good authority, however, that as soon as the dairy 
experiments in the way of butter and cheese making 
are complete, and the canning plant is ready the herd 
will be driven down to an inlet on the Maine coast, which 
has been fitted for a pasture. There the dairy will be 
established permanently. 
Experiments have been made recently in permitting sev- 
eral of the tamer cows to go outside the inlet. These ex- 
periments have been peculiarly gratifying. In every in- 
stance the cow has returned, indicating clearly her pre- 
ference for domestic life, and on two separate occasions 
cows of the herd have brought back with them strange 
comiranions. The strangers are now thoroughly domes- 
ticated and have become valuable members of the herd. 
If, as is now believed, the whale milk is of rare medi- 
cinal value and proves to be a palatable substitute for the 
nauseous cod liver oil, it is easy to see the possibilities 
which lie in the new industry of whaleculture. The but- 
ter and cheese products are said to be of exceptional 
delicacy. 
July Days in California* 
JoHNsviLLE, Cal., July 8. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
I see another interesting item anent the pompano and 
hasten to apprise you of it. Pompano is not worth its 
weight in gold, but is a whole lot rarer. The item I 
refer to is a despatch from Capitola, California, dated 
July 2, and says that the biggest run of pompano in 
fifteen years had just occurred there; that the Italian 
fishermen sold their catch at the beach at 25 cents a 
pound, realizing $250, and that by the time these deli- , 
cate fish would reach San Francisco they would pos- 
sibly retail at $1.00 a pound. 
I shall, however, for the present content my palate 
and appetite with trout at a cost only of the trouble 
and patience to cast a line in the streams and lakes 
in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Trout fishing in these 
mountains is not all what it is cracked up- to be, as there 
are long stretches of river which are barren of trout, 
but now and then a section is found in. which they are 
plenty. The lakes generally, are fine grounds, but there 
is complaint this year from^many points that the trout 
are unusually afflicted with parasites. 
Lake Tahoe, however, is yielding its usual fine speci- 
mens of its speckled beauties, and the globe-trotter 
whose fortune it is to include Lake Tahoe in his_ itin- 
erary always has a happy surprise in store for him at 
the hotels in the resorts along the lake. It is the serv- ^ 
ing to the guest of a single goodly seized trout, ex- 
pertly cooked' by a chef, the excellence of the fish and 
the perfection of the cooking thereof causing fond 
memories to linger long after the tourist has left Lake 
Tahoe. 
But as soon as I make a “stake” in the mines— I am 
out on a prospecting trip— I shall go down to Moflterey 
or Santa Catalina, and “fill up” once more on pompano-. 
At present writing I am situate in a little old mining 
camp, at one mile’s altitude above sea-level, to which 
I had come for mail and fresh supplies. The inhabitants 
are just getting over the Fourth of July celebration. 
Thjey are mostly of foreign extraction-^Italian, Sla- 
vonian, Greek, etc. — and were quite zealous in the cele- , 
bration, especially the Italians, who always remember ; 
that this country was the discovery of “Christopher 
Columb’.” An American, who was most enthusiastic,: 
ha^ his cause for rejoicing based mostly upon the out-, 
ccTffie of the fight at Reno, on July 3, between Hart and’ 
Root. He had picked the winner. When he returned 
to his placer mine in the gulch on Eureka ridge on Fri-, 
day, he was minus many an ounce of good dust as the 
result of “whooping it up” for his favorite. 
Wm. Fitzmuggins. 
All communications for Forest and Stream must be- 
directed to Forest and Stream Pub. Co., New York, to 
receive attentfon. We hove no other office. 
