1888 
THE SPORTSMAN’S JOURNAL. 
81 
ster up to and into tlie boat, the gaff getting in its deadly 
hook just in time. 
“I reckon he’ll weigh twenty-five pounds,” said Hiram, as 
he stowed it away in the stern locker. 
“What’s become of Jug,” Joe queried. 
“Oh, Jug’s all right, I’ll bet,” replied Hiram, at the same 
time scanning the west bank of the river. “There he is, 
stanch as any setter on a point.”. 
We both looked in the direction indicated and espied 
Jug below a clump of scrub trees, looking betimes in our 
direction and then toward the remaining j ugs, patiently wait- 
ing our return. We pulled toward him, which movement he 
no sooner discovered than out he jumped into the stream, 
swimming toward jug Ho. 1, which was bobbing around in 
a most animated manner. 
“There,” said Hiram, “talk about your trained bird dogs, 
why, Jug’ll knock the spots off any one of them. You see 
that jug on land ? Well, Jug’d no more leave that jug alone 
before he knew we were after it than he would to eat it. 
His eye has all this time been on the jug he’s after now, but 
he knew a jug in his paw was worth a dozen in the water.” 
By this time we had the jug on land in hand and pulled 
up a ten or twelve-pound catfish, which was stowed away 
with its congener in the stern locker, 
Jug was having a big chase after jug Ho. 1, and as the 
prospects seemed in favor of the jug we pulled out again 
and made all possible speed to overtake it. 
“By the great hornspoons but there’s a whopper on that 
jug,” exclaimed Hiram between pulls, and so it proved to 
be for the dog could not catch it and we had a good fifteen 
minutes’ row to overtake the eccentric bobber. When we 
did get a good hold of the line it took the three of us to haul 
it in and steady the boat at the same time. 
“Sixty pounds will be a small weight for this slicker,” 
said Hiram, as he struck it a terrific blow with the heavy 
gaff handle, effectually quieting its frantic struggles and 
lashings. 
We had now been out about three hours, having acquired 
ferocious appetites in the meantime, and when Hiram sug- 
gested we had better pull home for breakfast no razor ever 
acquired a keener edge by honing than did our appetites at 
this intimation. As Jug came alongside the boat Joe re- 
marked, “Well, I swan, this is the first time I ever saw a 
dog fish catfish.” 
“But I have seen cat fish dogfish,” I ventured to say, well 
remembering a pond in a certain Chicago park where the 
keeper’s cat was wont to go a fishing every other morning, 
occasionally landing a six to ten-inch dogfish. 
Before taking Jug in he was sent after the jugs still float- 
ing, which, together with himself, were hauled into the boat 
and our catfishing in the Mississippi was brought to an end. 
Chicago, 111. 
NOTES. 
Whitefish Hatchery at Chicago. — At a meeting of 
the West Chicago Park Board of Commissioners this week, 
Mr. S. P. Bartlett, secretary of the Illinois State Pish Com- 
mission, also representing the Pish Commission at Wash- 
ington, made a proposition to the Board to establish a white- 
fish hatchery in connection with well laid out fish ponds at 
one of the West Chicago parks. Mr. Bartlett said that 
although the details as to the size and cost of the buildings, 
ponds, etc., had not been completed, it had been fully de- 
cided by both the Washington and State Pish Commissions 
to establish a hatchery at Chicago. Mr. Bartlett’s proposi- 
tion was favorably received, and a committee was appointed 
to meet him and go over the ground and select a site for the 
buildings and ponds for the fish. The commissioners are 
inclined to make Mr. Bartlett a liberal offer in order to pre- 
vent any of the other Chicago parks securing the hatchery, 
which, if at all similar to the one at St. Louis, according to 
Mr. Bartlett, will be one of the chief objects of interest at 
the West Side parks. Mr. Bartlett said that a whitefish 
hatchery would be a useful thing for Chicago, inasmuch as 
Lake Michigan has been disastrously depleted of whitefish 
in the last dozen years. 
Hew York, January 5. — The Hew York State Pish Com- 
mission have sent a report to the legislature at Albany in 
which it claims that commercially speaking no such return 
is had from any investment as from the $26,000 appropria- 
tion for the propagation of fish. The commissioners claim 
that several varieties of fish would suffer great depletion 
except for the work done. Several kinds of fresh water 
fish, they say, would become extinct except for such efforts. 
Over 200,000 more shad were caught last year than the pre- 
ceding year. The hatchery stations through the state have 
done good work, and brook trout and frost fish have in- 
creased in quality and number to an astonishing degree. 
The appointment of a board of game protectors is recom- 
mended. The repeal of the so-called lobster law is con- 
demned. By it young lobsters could not be placed in the 
market ; now they can. W. A. 
Philadelphia, Pa., January 7. — At a largely attended 
meeting January 3, called by the Hational Fishery Associa- 
tion, vigorous speeches were made and resolutions of sym- 
pathy with the fishermen of Hew England adopted, de- 
claring that the existing fishery troubles could have been 
avoided by a proper administration of governmental power ; 
that Canadian fishing vessels should be denied in our 
ports any rights which Canada denies to our fishermen ; 
calling upon the president to exercise the retaliatory powers 
vested in him by the Forty-ninth Congress; protesting 
against “any re-establishment of the one-sided reciprocity 
with Canada, such as existed in the years 1854 and 1867, 
and against the proposal to admit Canadian fish or other 
products free of duty and that the import duty on Cana- 
dian fish should be raised. Justice. 
We will esteem it a favor if some of our correspondents 
will send us the dates of the opening of the trout season in 
Colorado, Hevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona and 
Hew Mexico. 
The mechanical operation of these nets is shown in Figs. 
I and II. Fig. I shows nets open — lying flat upon the 
ground. By pulling pull-line ( d ) each net is caused to move 
upward and inward to the completion of a half circle, one 
net slightly overlapping the other when closed, as shown in 
Pig. II. The four points of each net formed by the two 
cheeks (f) and two heel-pins (e) are on a straight line. The 
nets are stretched tight over top3 of staffs (b) which have 
socket attachment and work on wire in cheek as a pivot or 
hinge. The tension on pull-line will keep the nets straight 
and even, except when a strong wind blows across them, in 
which case the arm of pull-line is shortened or a pulley ( j ) 
attached. 
A DESCRIPTION OF THE PARTS. 
Mural 3U«lorj\ 
ENGLISH SPARROW CATCHING. 
— 
A A/ . , . BY W. T. HILL. 
XX IX., .Vo. 2.. ^.31,3^ 
If we wish to catch a bird we must first acquaint ourselves 
with its nature and habits that we may intelligently bring 
to bear upon it the proper means to insure success. Many 
birds, at certain seasons of the year, are readily caught with 
simple devices carelessly applied, but the English sparrow, 
at all times, is the same cunning, wary little fellow, not to 
be caught with chaff alone, and great care is necessary in 
any approach upon it. Considering, however, that we have 
a vantage ground in its gregarious, nomadic habits, and fol- 
lowing in this direction we produce something that appeals 
directly to its extreme greediness and curiosity, which 
shall be life-like and real, and realizing that it is quick to 
take alarm, we so apply it as to cause the bird to act impul- 
sively, and to enable us to take it by surprise as much, as 
possible. 
The method used so successfully and almost exclusively 
by me is nets, decoy and braced birds, placed in the line of 
flight of the birds to and from their sleeping and feeding 
places. The wild birds are influenced by the decoy birds 
and then directed into the nets by means of the braced 
birds, and are invariably caught while on the wing or in the 
act of settling. The nets can also be used to great advan- 
tage in places where the birds are known to harbor, in 
which case decoy birds are not necessary ; but there should 
be no building, tree, or other object for the bird to alight 
upon inside of fifty yards from the nets, it being best to 
attract its attention while it is on the wing, as well as to 
prevent it from discerning anything unusual. The skillful 
operation of the nets, in the main, consists in properly 
judging the flight of the bird in connection with the move- 
ments of the nets, and to so pull and control the force of 
pulling in closing them as to cause the net to strike the bird 
when the radius of the semi-circle of either wing is at a 
vertical point. The irregularity of the flight of the sparrow 
makes it difficult to catch many at one time. 
The Nets should be made of linen material, about the size 
of No. 35 gilling thread, of a dark, dirty green color, the 
size of mesh being 13-16 of an inch from knot to knot or 
fifteen knots to foot. A convenient and serviceable size 
of net would be thirty feet long by seven feet deep, to use 
with four-foot staffs. They should be provided with an 
arming of heavier cord at the top and bottom edges, which 
the top-line (e, Pig. 1) should be threadled through at top, 
and to form a stout edging to permit of pegging to the 
ground at bottom. 
The Top-line of net should be a fine linen cord, about 
%-inch thick, provided at ends with a small wooden clamp 
(*, Pig- 1) similar to those used upon tents, and at the place 
where the net ends on the top-line one or more loops or 
eyes should be spliced there, to admit the button on top of 
staff, and also to fasten the arms of pull-line into. 
The Pull-line should be of same material as top-line, with 
diverging arms at end next the net. It should be about 
forty yards long, which is the average distance to stand 
from the middle of net while operating it. A round piece 
of wood, about four inches long is temporarily fastened to 
permit of taking of good grip in pulling. 
The Staffs should be about four feet long, and three- 
quarter-inch in diameter of some light, strong wood, with 
brass socket and eye ( a , Fig. Ill) at bottom, and button and 
ridge (6, Fig. Ill), also of brass, at top. 
The Cheeks (a, Pig. IV) are wedge-shaped stakes averag- 
ing nine inches long, with wire (Ho. 10) driven in about an 
inch from top, which at a projection of an inch is bent up- 
ward for about an inch. They should be made of hickory 
or other hardwood, and the wire should fit in the wood so 
snugly as to barely permit of being moved with the fingers. 
The Heel-pins (b, Fig. IY) should also be made of hard- 
wood, about eighteen inches long, and one inch in diameter 
at thickest part, tapering to a point, with projection at top 
to prevent cord from slipping off. 
