July 14, 1906.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
61 
ON THE PORTNEUF, IDAHO. 
on the wing, these flies are always seen moving- 
up stream; no matter where you are, they are 
flying up, yet they must have an ultimate desti¬ 
nation. The first successful imitation of the 
grannom was made by using the crest feathers of 
a kingfisher for the legs. This feather is very 
small 'and several may be used. Some kingfishers 
have black crests. These are useless for the 
purpose; they must be dark blue, or dun colored, 
but these feathers are too soft for a floating fly. 
I am told that rain enough has fallen to insure 
good crops, so we shall not lack for fruit and 
vegetables. I trust that we shall have no drouth 
this year. When I was here last, many of the 
small tributary brooks dried up entirely and 
thousands of little trout died upon the dry stones 
and gravel. Several men have told me this season 
that all fishing in these small streams-should be 
prohibited. The fry brought from the State 
hatcheries are placed in them, and some men and 
boys ignore the six inch law when fishing in 
such water. I have seen a lad come from one 
of these brooks with a string nearly as long as 
his arm. He had a few decent trout, but the 
majority were fingerlings. These tributaries are 
nurseries for the supply of the large streams with 
good sizable trout, fish that will make the 
angler’s heart beat faster when he hooks them. 
The river is right in front of the house and 
when a new man arrives, you can see that he is 
restless and ill at ease. Soon he disappears for 
a few minutes, his oldest togs are mounted and 
one sees him hurrying to the stream. He is sure 
that a big trout is waiting for him in the first 
large pool. He does not always catch the fish, 
but he is happy nevertheless. Usually he thinks 
that he has hooked it or has seen it rise. If he 
does not kill it to-day, he will to-morrow or the 
next day. The pleasures of anticipation are great. 
Hope never dies in the angler’s breast, and pro¬ 
vided that he can cast his flies upon bright waters, 
he is satisfied. A little luck now and then is 
enough, and he is better pleased with one good 
fish than fifty seven-inchers. 
Beaverkill, July. THEODORE GORDON. 
The Forest and Stream may be obtained from 
any newsdealer on order. Ask your dealer to 
supply you regularly. 
Shipping Live Fish. 
Consul-General Richard Guenther writes from 
Frankfort that experiments made in Germany 
with reference to cheap transportation of live 
fish have demonstrated that all kinds of fish can 
live for days outside of their natural element, 
water, under certain conditions. 
This apparently wonderful fact will be easily 
understood by examining the breathing apparatus 
of fish. The gills of fish are an organ similar to 
the human lungs; the blood in them comes up 
close to the surface. The lungs exchange for the 
outside air, rich in oxygen, carbonic acid which 
has been formed in the lungs. On the other hand, 
the gills of fish are constantly washed by water 
containing oxygen. The thin membrane of the 
gills separates the blood in them, vitiated with 
carbonic acid, from the water containing oxygen, 
and the practical result is the same as with the 
human lungs. Carbonic acid is exchanged for 
oxygen. 
It had been noticed long ago that many kinds of 
fish could live out of water for some time, pro¬ 
vided that the gills remain wet. The experiments 
made aimed at keeping the gills wet and to see to 
it that this moisture be well charged with oxygen. 
In order to keep the gills wet the evaporation of 
the moisture of the gills had to be prevented; for 
this purpose the fish were placed in an atmos¬ 
phere thoroughly saturated with water vapor. 
An hermetically closed wooden box was filled with 
water to the depth of about one-third of an inch, 
or the bottom was covered with wet rags, which 
through evaporation kept the air in the box 
always saturated with water vapor. The fish 
were placed in a box which was then shut her- 
meticall by the lid. 
Through a"tube, reaching to the bottom, oxygen 
was introduced and allowed to escape through a 
tube in the lid. This oxygen before entering the 
box passed through several water bottles which 
thoroughly saturated it with water vapor. In 
this way the fish are always in a pure oxygen 
atmosphere and a drying up of the gills is not to 
be feared. The result of the experiments was 
surprising. Carp, tench, bleak and other fish re¬ 
mained in the box for from three to four days 
perfectly well. When they were then placed into 
water to be fed, they swam about in a lively man¬ 
ner and appeared perfectly fresh. 
It is expected that this mode of transportation 
for fish will become popular, as it is much more eco¬ 
nomical than shipping live fish in water tanks. 
By the latter method the weight of every shipment 
was 93 to 96 per cent, water. 
The Calais Salmon Pool. 
A case has finally been made against a salmon 
spearer in the Calais, Me., municipal court, and 
the defendant has been held for trial. The pros¬ 
ecution was brought through the detective work 
of Sea and Shore Fisheries Warden Nathaniel 
J. Hanna, of New Harbor. A correspondent 
writes: 
“It seems that all it was necessary to do was 
to send down a general warden who was not 
influenced by local conditions. The offender in 
drifting and in dynamiting the pool was also 
arrested, as I am informed, and has now left 
Calais and gone to Bangor. This seems to 
show that the agitation by a private citizen who 
is interested in the preservation of our fisheries 
may accomplish some good. Now, if, without 
neglecting the poachers, the authorities will at¬ 
tend to the sawdust and driftwood, the Calais 
pool will again become a great pool, and the 
salmon in the river will multiply; and by most 
epicures they are considered better than the 
St. John’s River salmon, the- Restigouche sal¬ 
mon and the Penobscot salmon, and quite equal, 
if not superior, to the salmon of the Kennebec, 
the Miramichi and those of the rivers of the 
north shore of the St. Lawrence.” 
Four or five years ago a party of us were 
woodcock shooting. Among the number was 
Mack, who that day shot his first bird; he wrung 
the cock’s iieck and pocketed it. A couple of 
hours later we all stood together, when Mack 
felt .something move in his pocket. He put his 
hand in and out again with a frightened motion, 
when the woodcock popped out and sailed over 
the tree tops. About the time he was out of 
range we began to wake up, and six or eight 
shots were fired at him, but he went on. 
No-Name. 
