CORRESPONDENCE 
Between the Department of State British Foreign Office 
and the Government of New Zealand, in Reference to the 
Transmission of the Eggs of the California Salmon to the 
Latter Country by the United States. 
Dr.rAhTMKNT OF State, Washington, D. C., April 20, IS78. 
AVr-I inoioio her. with tor your loforuutlon, ropy of a note of the 
lfth instant, from tho British Mint, ter at this Capital and of Its enclos- 
ures, relating to tho manner of tho shipment, under your direction, of 
salmon ova to New Zetland. 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, Wm. M. Evakts. 
Spincbr F. Baird, Esq., 
Comm sal nor, etc., itc., etc , 
Enclosure — Sir Edw. Thornton to Mr. Evarts, April 18, 1S78, with ac- 
companiments: Washington, A.ril 18, 1878. 
Sir— In com, llanc© with an Instruction received fr. in tho Earl of 
Derby, I have the honor to Inform you that the Governor of New Zeal- 
and, at the instance of his ministers, has requested that the thanks of 
the Colony mny be conveyed to the Government of the United States 
for ihc vi ry handsome and effective munner In which the ta'mon ova 
have been shipped to N ew Zca'and by the Fishery Commission! r of the 
United Sia'es under the direction of the Chief commissioner, the non- 
orable Spencer F. Baird. 
1 have the honor to iransmlt herewl'h copy of the despatch, and of 
'U euclo.'urc upon tills subject from the Governor of New Zealand to 
the Secretary of State for the Colonies. 
I have, . tc., etc., Thornton. 
TnR Marqci9 op Normanbt to tub Earl op Carnarvon. 
Welli: oton, Feb. I, U78. 
My Lord— l have tho horn r *o enclose a mem' randum which I have 
received from my Government, by which you will see lhat they are 
anxious to convey the thanks of this Colony to the Government of the 
United Stu'cs for the very handtome and effective manner In which 
sslmouova has been shipped to this Colony by the F.slu-ry Commission 
of the United Slates under the direction of the Chief Commissioner, the 
Honorable Spencer F. Baird. 
I venture also to express a hope on my own part that your Lordship 
will see uo objection to adopt ihe course proposed by my Government, 
as I think that the act'on of tho American Government has evinced 
soeh a feeling of friendship and generosity towards New Zealand lu a 
matter In which deep Interest Is taken, as to demand a special mark of 
acknowledgment and thanks on ihe part of this Colony. 
I have, eto., etc , [Signed] Normanbt. 
Memorandum for IIis Excellency. 
Ministers desire respectfully to Inform His Excellency, the Governor, 
that tho h lf-mllllon suimon ova, which arrived by the mall steamer 
from San Francisco in November las', have been successfully hatched 
and distributed to the various rivers In the Colony, and that by Infor- 
mation which has reached the Government fiom various directions, It 
has been demonstrated that, o« lDg to the extreme care with which the 
ova was | acked tn America, the very satisfactory result of about 96 psr 
cent, of live Ash has been obtained. 
In addition to the half-million sent at the request of the Government 
an equal quantity has been sent to the various acclmattzalton societies 
In the Colony, and this handsome gift of salmon ova has been made to 
tho Colony without charge, except cost of packing and transit, by the 
Fish Commission of the United States under the direolion of the Hon- 
orable Spencer F. Baird ns thief Commissioner. 
Ministers venture to th.nk lhat so generous an action on the part of 
a foreign nation Is worthy of being acknowledged In a special manner. 
They would therefore respectfully ask His Excellency to bring the 
matter under the notice of Her Majesty’s Government through the 
Secetary of S'ate for the Colonies, In the Lope that Her Majesty’s Gor. 
ernmei t will permit a communication to be made to the Government of 
the United Siaus of the thanks of the Colony of New Zealand for the 
generous and valuable gift of a million salmon ova to tho colony. 
[Signed] G. S. Wuitmope, 
ITVWn/jton, February 1, 7878. [In the absence of the Premier], 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
from Ihe fishermen by Mr. Milner, who is at present engaged 
in° hatching 8had D in behalf of the United States in that 
vicinity." 
— 
Arkansas Snin.—IIot Springs, Ark., May 14. )Y^ er ? 
Marooner Club, of Vicksburg, began their efforW. wl.ich have 
since proved successful, to havetne Sunflower and other Irib- 
utaries of the Yazoo stocked with shad, some of the members 
wrote you oS the subject. Just before living Vicksburg a 
week ago I saw a printed letter, written by Dr Lawrence, of 
StoDtoce dated in 1872, and published in a public document 
issued I tbiDk, from the Smithsonian Institution, m which it 
wus slated shad were caught in the Ouachita, some five miles 
from here, one of which had measured 20* inches in length. 
On coming here I called upon .he Doctor, and be assured me 
this was perfectly correct, and that the supply had been in 
creasing annually. The very next day I had the pletmure 
of seeing one in the hands of its captor, which I judged 
would weigh near four pounds. This leads me to feel 
much encouraged over our efforts at Vicksburg, as this point 
is farther from ihe sea than the points at which our little 
fellows were deposited about two weeks ago. I cannot learn 
when or how shad got into the Ouachita, but will endeavor 
yet to do so. Very respectfully, B - tl. Folk. 
[For Alosa sapuiuaima, see “Halloek’s Gazetteer,” page 380. 
The run of shad in the Washita River is usually from April 
5 to May 12. In China shad are known to ascend the Yang-tse- 
Kiang, more than 4,000 miles. — E d.] 
— « — 
Wisconsin -Mculhon, May 14. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
II. W. Welcher, State Superintendent of Haicberies, reports 
that the Fishery Commission have just placed 50,009 la*e 
trout in Boss Luke, St. Croix County, aud in Clam Lake. 
Burnett County. This week will close the season tor distri- 
bution. Large numbers of trout are to be placed in lakes 
along the upper Wisconsin Central Railway within a few 
days. First and Third Lakes at Madison will be abundantly 
supplied with large yearling salmon trout. Rover. 
organs of t be female. The opossum has no afterbirth, and It Is there- 
fore nr cessary, as soon as life is developed In the womb, that the young 
shoul . have sustenance. They are therefore expelled from the womb, 
and attached to tbe teats by the mouth of ihe mother, where they re- 
main until able to move about In tho false belly, which Is the bread- 
basket of the young opossum Yoors very truly, J. R. • 
PRAIRIE CHICKENS IN CALIFORNIA 
AND COLORADO. 
\ntimil %)istorg< 
BREEDING OF THE OPOSSUM. 
Salmon in the Delaware.— Ben j. W. Richards, E?q., of 
Philadelphia, writes us that a salmon, weighing 21) pounds, 
was caught in the Delaware River, off Cooper’s Point, on the 
18lh of May. It was purchased by the Aldine Hotel for the 
dinner of the Piscicultural Society of Cincinnati, on the 28d 
lust. Mr. Richards, who is President of the N. J. Game and 
Fish Probative Association, has kindly sent us the following 
statement of the catch of salmon in the Delaware : 
Editor Forest and Stream : 
The following is a statement of the salmon that I have 
been able to learn of as caught so for in the Delaware : 
April 0.- One at White Island, two miles above Treiton, 
weighing 2.3 jibs., taken by Jacob Boge. 
April 24.— Two near Salem Cove, N. J., one weighing 22 
lbs. and the other 131bs., taken by John Perrine. 
About May 1 — ' Two at Billingsport, Gloucester County, N. 
J., one taken by J 09 . Devault, Jr., weighing 131bs. , the 
other taken by Daniel T. Davis, and weighing 21ibs. 
About May 1.— One taken near Petty’s Island, weighing 
lOlbs. . 
May 7.— One taken three mile9 below Trenton ; weight, 21 
lbs. 
May 10.— One at Iven’s Fishery, at Penn's Manor, weighing 
1711)8. 
May 11.— One at Pennsgrove. but no weight given. 
May 18.— One, of 21)lhs., at Cooper's Point. 
Others have been taken, but I have not been able to learn 
the particulars in regard to them. Some were sent to Profes- 
sor Baird, and he states that “all the salmon that have come 
to me from the Delaware River are of th3 Eastern or Atlantic 
species, and I think it not unlikely that the big ones, especial- 
ly the 23)-pounder, belong to the stock that Thaddeus Norris 
had charge of." 
Any others I learn of it will afford me pleasure to inform 
you of. Yours truly, Benj. W. Richards. 
Philadelphia, May 19, 1878. 
«-«♦•— 
Salmon in the Ches a brake.— Here is another bit of 
gratifying news for tbe fish-culturalists. Under date of May 
14th, Professor Spencer F. Baird writes to us from Washing- 
ton : 
“ I am happy to inform you that a salmon was received 
yesterday at the Smithsonian Institution, caught by Messrs 
Sparr and Hamby in a drift-net on the east side of Spesutia 
Island, in Cheaspeake Bay, near the mouth of the Elk River. 
The fish is of the eastern variety, Salmo salar, in magnificent 
condition and weighing about 20 pounds. It was obtained 
From a very considerable mas9 of material which has accu- 
cumuiaUd on our table since our correspondent “Tonic " first 
brought up this question, we have selected several communi- 
cations which present diverse views on this topic, two of them 
the result of observations, the other setting forth a doctrine 
which seems to us quite worthy of the dark ages. 
Our friend Mr. J. G. Shute, of Jamaica Plains, Boston, with 
commendable brevity, sends us an extract from the proceedings 
of the Essex Institute, vol. IIL, p. 288, from which we quote: 
Meeting held Monday, October 26, 1863. Mr. F. W. Put- 
nam read the following communication from Mr. James G. 
8bute of Woburn, on the manner of birth io the opossum, 
observed by him while in Beaufort, N C. “ Tbe date of 
birth was March 16, 1863. During the delivery of the young 
the parent iay on the right side with the body curved in such 
a manner as to bring the sexual orifice opposite that of the 
pouch • tbe mouth of the pouch was open or drawn down by 
contraction of the muscles, so as to receive the young when 
delivered. The young were seven in number. The time oc- 
cupied in delivery was about four hours. The parent re- 
mained in the same position about thirty-six hours and refused 
all sustenance. , , 
“ Immediately after the transfer of the young to tbe pouch 
I removed one by detatching it from the teat, in order to as- 
certain if the movement of the fetus was instinctive. I found 
that it was at least partly voluntary, as it made an effort to re- 
gain its place in ihe pouch, and the same movement wa9 made 
by tbe parent as at first to receive it. I did not notice any use 
of the limb 9 or lips of the parent during the transfer of the 
young.” 
We would also refer our readers to Waterhouse’s work on the 
Marsupiala, pp. 4 to 7, where the birth of other marsupial mam- 
mals is discussed, to Audubon and Bachman’s Quadrupeds of 
America, article Virginian Opossum, Vol. II., p. 107, and to 
the Popular Science Monthly, No. XL1V-, p. 149, and XLV., 
p. 893. This topic, which is an interesting one, and which 
we should be glad to discuss at length did space permit, is 
quite fully treated in the works above cited, and, supplemented 
by Mr. Bhute’a observations, will give our readers a pretty 
complete history of what is known on the subject. 
The second communication of those selected is a remarkable 
one and contains some (to us) novel ideas. Without wishing 
to ridicule the honest beliefs of any one, we would suggest to 
our correspondent that the days when swallows and rails were 
supposed to hybernate in the mud at the bottom of ponds, and 
when wild geese were believed to be formed from barnacles, is 
long past, and we advise him to give up his present ideas on 
the generation of the opossum and to believe what the late 
Prof. Agassiz told him. Further comment is needless. Let 
our correspondent speak for himself. He believes : 
“ First, that the female has neither vagina nor womb ; that 
her nose is the medium of coition with the male; that by an 
act of her own the semen is transferred to her teats, situated 
; n the pouch or cavity in the abdomen, and impregnated 
[What is impregnated ? the semen, or tbe teats, or both?— Ed.]; 
that the fetus is formed on these, is attacued to them, and 
continues to grow on them until maturity, when they drop off 
like ripened fruit from the branch, the teat, during the process, 
serving as the umbilical cord, growing to the mouth of the 
young.” 
Let our correspondent just quoted read the following note, 
and, reading, believe : 
Wistobkstbr, Pa , April 15, 1878. 
Editor Forest and Stream : 
Having seen In your paper an article In regard to the opossum, I will 
give jou my experience and opinion as to the mystery of their having 
young. 1 have examined three female opossums lately, tome had 
young hanging to the teat no larger than a small bean, others were as 
big as a young mouse. On dissecting the animal I found a double 
uterus, with all the appendages connected, as In any other womb. The 
male opossum has a bifurcated genital organ, which Is adapted to tho 
The following slip is taken from the columns of the Sacramen. 
to Union. We are decidedly of tbe opinion that the views ex- 
pressed by our correspondents, Mr. Hensbaw and Amigo, are 
substantially correct. The point at issue is a very simple one 
and may easily be decided. Every one who has traveled 
much in the West knows that the term “ prairie chicken” is 
applied indiscriminately to both the pinnated and sharp-tailed 
grouse, and that from this loose use of language much con- 
fusion necessarily ensues. If any of our friends about Hum- 
boldt will send us by mail a 9'ingle skin of one of the “ prairie 
chickens ” we will be very glad to settle the matter finally. 
It should be remarked that the light color and short ruff spoken 
of below, point strongly toward the sharp-tail ( Uediacetes 
Columbians phasianeUus) as the bird in question. The Union 
says : . 
“ A statement made some time ago regarding the migration 
of the prairie chicken westward along tbe line of the over- 
land railroad into this State has created considerable specula- 
K ‘Si Srnent both on this coast and in the Eastern States. 
A correspondent of Forest and Stream, writing from this 
citv recently, attempted to throw some doubt on the state- 
ment But the fact remains as stated before in this column, 
and the evidence in favor of it is accumulating The 
foreman of the grading work now being conducted on 
he Tne of the railroacl in Humboldt County Nevada, 
was instructed by some of the railroad offlcia's in this 
citv to take note of the presence or absence of the birds 
on the line of the work. Within the past week he ha^made 
a report from Golconda station, a few miles east of W nne- 
mucca He says that the birds are there in great numbers, 
and residents report that they have been there for two or three 
years past. From this point tbe birds have been traced, fol- 
lowing the latitude due westward through northwestern 
Nevada, southeastern Oregon and into California. They are 
reported numerous in Butte Valley and all the other smal 
valleys of northeastern Californ.a extending north and east 
from Mount Shasta. About the identity of the birds, it is 
claimed by sportsmen who have shot them that there can be 
no question. But there are slight differences noted between 
this bird and that of the prairies of the Great West, supposed 
lo L due to climatic influences. The feather, of the rufl of 
our bird are somewhat shorter, and the color is lighter than 
those of the prairie chicken in the States east of us. 
Much more definite and reliable is the following note, 
•which can speak for itself. We should like to ask if any 
specimens were preserved : 
Grand Rapids, Midi., April 14, 1S78. 
Editor Forest and Stream and Rod and Gun: 
In yonr Issue or April 11 there appears an article entitled, "Prairie 
Chickens in Nevada," by H. W. Henshaw, In which the author rates : 
-Cone- writing as late as 1S74, says : ' I have found no record of the 
prairie chicken (Cupidonia cupido) reaching, as yet, either Colorado or 
Wyoming ’ Without doubt he was correct In thus limiting the west- 
ward raDge of the bird, and a similar statement of Its non-occurrence 
so far west as Colorado will, I think, hold good to-day.” I beg leave to 
correct the above statement. In August, 1874, while on an an- elope 
hunt, we camped on the Kiowa, a “dry creek ” about forty miles east 
of Denver, Colorado. Onr tent was pitched In a small woods situated 
aloDg the creek bottom ; in this timber we found large numbers of 
prairie chicken ( Cupidonia cupido, Baird). While encamped here I shot 
some thirty specimens, and they were Identical with those shot In Iowa 
and Southern Michigan. I observed none on the open prairie during 
the day, but noticed them Jnst alter sunrise flying down to the limber. 
The majority of ihe birds obtained were young birds of that s. ason, 
and were evidently bred there. Three gentlemen, two of tills city and 
one of Denver, who accompanied me on this trip, will bear me out lu 
the above statement. CnAS. W. Gunn, Ed. Naturalist and Fancier. 
THE GRAY PARTRIDGE. 
St. Paul, Minn., May 7, 1878. 
Editor Forest and Stream : 
In your Introductory remarks to my article in your Issue of the - 
Inst entitled “The Gray Partridge," you make It appear as if I had 
been saylntr somewhere that the Enropean qnall was Introduced Into 
England some eighty years ago. This is a mistake. In a letter to you, 
accompanying the above contribution, 1 mentioned that the red par- 
tridge (Perdxx rubra) was Introduced Into England about. the time above 
stated, which Is an historical fact. It was done by the enterprise of an 
English nobleman, whose name I have heard, but forgotten. The re 
partridges were imported from France, and are at present quite common 
In some conntles of England, but not much In favor with the *P ort8 “«“ 
on account of their propensity to tun and skulk when the dogs come 
on their track, a propensity tn which the European quail, to a great ex- 
tent, Ib their equal. . .. 
As regards the European qnall (Cotumix communn) ; being a migra- 
tory bird, and the British Islands within the I oundarles of 119 g ®” ?raph e 
c 0 7extens,on.lt is more than proba.de that tt introduced Itself there 
regularly every spring since before the time of Julius » esar. I r ■ 
member distinctly to have read somewhere In some old Engdsh 
rhymed legend, how the ladles at the court of William the Conqueror 
or William Rufus, among other pastimes, 
Made their msrims strike the game 
On the green field of the new forent. 
This Mr Editor, Is a very small matter, and hardly worth calling 
yonr attention to, were It cot that It looks to me a little “greenish 
to stand before the tens of thousands of keen and enlightened sportsim a 
who every week with avidity scan the columns of the FOREST an 
STREAM, SB responsible for the assertion that the European qnall wa. 
introduced Into England eighty years ago. As well might I have sa ■ 
that the woodcock or skylark were so Introduced. If anybody bdo 
say anything about If, you will please remember these lines put in as 
disclaimer. Very truly yours, John smvainson. 
More Albinoes — Salem, April 4 , 1878.— I wrantly sent to 
the secretary of the Nuttall Club a wing of a bittern with on_ 
clear white primary ; rest of bird as prtr 
forms me of the capture of a large hawk in Ty“g 9b ^ r S’ P 
tial albino. I have a purple grakle in P^ fe ^°[“,o W P base S of 
except two white feathers back of neck just belo . \r 
skull. The freaks of nature are quite droll. ** * 
