Dec. 8, 1906.I 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
909 
and lives of the people. There is a hereafter 
where the health and human life destroyer will 
be judged. 
Our Governor has shown his wisdom in re¬ 
appointing Mr. Thomas as Fish and Game 
Commissioner, and he is deserving of an in¬ 
creased salary, and a largely increased appro¬ 
priation to carry on his work, and we trust that 
this will be done before our Legislature ad¬ 
journs. Stanstead. 
Stream Pollution in Vermont. 
Sheldon, Vt., Nov. 24. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: In yo'ir issue of Nov. 24 you make 
mention of a bill before our Legislature, pro¬ 
hibiting the dumping of sawdust into our 
streams. This bill was defeated by a large ma¬ 
jority. It was a great mistake that the Com¬ 
mittee on Fish and Game introduced this bill. 
It should have come from the State Board of 
Health, then it would quite likely have passed, 
But his sunshine soon was clouded; 
Living ceased to be a joke; 
Alas, he had no matches, 
lie couldn't get a smoke! 
The forest echoes thrilled him, 
While the rippling waters sung; 
ITis creel was getting weighty, 
With the deadly fly he flung. 
A Salmon Question Answered by the Cat. 
New York City., Nov. 26.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: The question as to whether or not sal¬ 
mon feed while ascending rivers, can be 
answered by two friends of the salmon, I think. 
The first of these is the smelt, and is classified 
as friend because the salmon loves the Smelt so 
much. In the salt water of the estuary he takes 
the smelt to his bosom. Up the falls go salmon 
and smelts later, and then they rest side by side, 
thousands of smelts sometimes resting along¬ 
side the salmon, and wiggling their tails before 
the very cannon’s mouth with never a fear. In 
the salt estuary the smelts skedaddle on even 
distant approach of the salmon. We may not 
know whether salmon feed while ascending 
rivers or not, but the smelts know. 
Another friend of the salmon is the cat, which 
loves salmon exceedingly. If the salmon is 
secretive about its reasons for rising to the fly, 
we may approach the subject a^ we deal with 
men who will not tell things, by asking their 
friends. So let us appeal to the cat. Draw a 
few feet of line from the salmon rod, put on 
a stout casting line and a No. 2 Jock-Scott fly 
with double hooks. Approach the cat, hold the 
rod aloft for a moment and murmur this in¬ 
cantation : 
“O cat, with wisdom well conoealed; 
I fain would like to prove, 
What stirs the mighty salmon 
When he sees the Jock-Scott move. 
I do not ask you for a word. 
But show me by a deed, 
What would you do if you were he, 
And I gave you this lead?” 
Having repeated this three times, lower the 
tip of the rod, draw the fly across the floor in 
front of the cat, and see what he does to it. 
Robert T. Morris. 
A Large Maine Togue. 
Worcester, Mass., Nov. 26. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: I inclose a photograph of a togue or 
lake trout, which was caught last season at 
Roach Lake, Me., where I spend my summers. 
I think this is the record fish for those waters. 
I know of two being caught that were practi¬ 
cally the same weight, but I think this exceeds 
by a few ounces the largest fish caught there¬ 
about. It was the most beautiful lake trout I 
have ever seen. It was caught in August by a 
young lady stopping at the house, who went 
out and trolled in the lake for an hour or so 
and came back with this magnificent fish. 
Usually the togue caught at Roach Lake in 
August are very dark; they are caught in very 
deep water and are not a particularly attractive 
fish, especially as we usually have good fishing 
for square-tails during July and August, but this 
fish was bright and silvery, and when I first 
saw him lying in the canoe as it came up to the 
wharf, I was for an instant deceived and thought 
it was a square-tail or brook trout. The mark¬ 
ings were very similar to those of a brook trout, 
and were much more beautiful than is usually 
the case with a togue, even when taken in the 
spring. During June we catch both togue and 
square-tails by .trolling, and after the 5th or 6th 
of June, one can generally get plenty of square- 
tails fly-fishing; that is. if he goes to the right 
places in the lake. This fish weighed 14% 
pounds after it had been brought up to the house’, 
perhaps an hour and a half after it was caught. I 
was very fortunate in the photograph in getting 
the markings sufficiently prominent so that they 
can be seen. The length of the fish I have 
forgotten, but you can judge something of its 
length by the foot-rule which is suspended at 
its side, and which shows in the photograph. 
Charles A. Allen. 
and become a law. Our State is never free 
from typhoid fever, and in some localities it 
often becomes a fatal epidemic. Take the Mis- 
sisquoi River, for instance. This river coming 
down from the mountains was formerly a bright, 
clear, sparkling stream of pure water. Now it 
is a sewerage of reeking filth; its banks and 
bottom in the pools are masses of rotten, stink¬ 
ing, decaying sawdust, perfect breeding places 
for the typhoid germs, and the cemeteries in 
that valley are peopled with those who have died 
with that dreaded disease. This is one of the 
things that makes the summer tourist avoid our 
State. The food adulterator and the sawmill 
owner should be classed alike. The almighty 
dollar is of more consequence than the health 
