FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Marcu 24, 1906. 

they paid $1,536. County Treasurers issued 208 
licenses for the catching of eels by means of the 
ee baskets, for which the department received 
1,035. 
A biological study of the streams of the State 
was made for the department by trained students 
of State College. Fish wardens made 530 
arrests of persons charged with illegal fishing; 
430 were convicted by Justices of the Peace, &9 
cases were appealed and five cases were dis- 
charged by magistrates. The amount of money 
collected for illegal fishing was $8,560. Two 
men were brought from New York State on 
requisition papers, charged with illegal fishing, 
and were convicted. 
The Commissioner makes a number of recom- 
mendations, among them the following: 
That the Legislature pass a measure imposing 
a small license on all devices used in catching 
fish for the markets, and in return to make fish 
caught in such devices the subject of larceny. 
The enactment of stringent legislation pro- 
hibiting the pollution of streams to an extent 
that destroys food fish and injures public health. 
That the act prohibiting Sunday fishing be 
modified or changed, so that the department 
may exercise some discretion in the enforce- 
ment thereof. 
That the Department of Fisheries be given 
the right of eminent domain in cases where an 
understanding cannot be reached between land- 
owners for property which the department needs 
eae when such hatcheries are authorized by 
aw. 
That the Legislature authorize the establish- 
ment of a division of scientific investigation with 
a scientist in charge appointed by the Com- 
mission. 
The Commissioner uses very vigorous 
language concerning the habit of American 
fishermen of poaching in Canadian waters, re- 
ferring to the frequent pursuit of the American 
fishermen and the capture of some. He says, 
“There is scarcely a doubt that all the boats 
would have been captured had the Vigilant 
pursued them far beyond the line, and it must 
candidly be said, that they were not captured 
and their boats confiscated. Their captains were 
violating the fish regulations of Canada. Regu- 
lations which Canada had a perfect right to 
make. Consequently, any sympathy which 
might be expressed for any damage that was 
done would be wasted. Some of the American 
fishermen with effrontery which is astonishing 
appealed to the United States Government when 
chased, or captured or interfered with by tne 
Canadian authorities, and the United States 
Government heard their cry and did interfere, 
but in a manner which was neither expected or 
desired. It appears when American fishermen 
go over the line into Canadian waters, catch fish 
and bring them back into ports of the United 
States, they violate the traffic laws. The Gov- 
ernment sent the revenue cutter Morrell to the 
scene, with the intention of prosecuting the 
fishermen for violating the traffic laws.” 

The Anglers’ Club. 
At the last meeting of the Anglers’ Club of 
New York, held March 13, President Lawrence 
appointed the following named members a tour- 
nament committee: Chancellor G. Levison, G. 
M. L. LaBranche and Charles A. Bryan (with 
President Lawrence, Vice-President Milton A. 
Smith, Secretary Perry D. Frazer and Treasurer 
Gonzalo Poey ex-officio members). The com- 
mittee will formulate rules and make arrange- 
ments for the club’s first public tournament, 
which will be held some time during the coming 
summer. 
_ The request of the club for permission to prac- 
tice fly and bait-casting on one of the small lakes 
in Central Park in Manhattan and Prospect Park 
in Brooklyn is still in the hands of the park 
boards of both boroughs. 
The following gentlemen were elected mem- 
bers:, Louis G, Meurer, M. E. Towne, W. J. 
Cassard, Wolfgang Walter, King Smith and Fred 
L. Smith, all active; and William T. Morrison 
associate. These give the club a membership of 
more than forty. 
Fish and Fishing. 
Fishing and Hunting License Fees. 

CONSIDERABLE anxiety having been experi- 
enced as to the probable effect of recent legisla- 
tion’ in Quebec, during the session of the 
Legislature that terminated on the oth instant, 
a deputation of sportsmen, representing Amer- 
ican, as well as Canadian interests, waited a few 
days ago upon the Hon. Jean Prevost, Minister 
of Fisheries for the province and asked for de- 
tails as to his intentions in the matter of licenses. 
This was because the acts to amend the fish and 
game laws, recently sanctioned, left it to the 
Minister to fix the amount of the license fees, 
mentioning only that they were not to exceed 
$25 per annum for either fishing or hunting. 
The Minister informed the deputation at once 
that he had no intention at all to impose the 
full limit except for non-residents, who are not 
either personal losses of hunting or fishing 
privileges, or are members of clubs owning 
similar leases, except in the case of salmon 
fishing. The deputation urged as strongly as 
possible the advantage of doing all that it is 
possible to do in order to encourage the visits 
of non-resident sportsmen, and also dwelt upon 
the amount of money annually left in the coun- 
try by sportsmen from the United States. The 
Minister freely admitted all that was urged in 
this connection, and dwelt upon all that he was 
doing to improve the sport for which the visitors 
come to the province. He only wanted visit- 
ing fishermen to contribute to the government 
to make up what it was losing by his action in 
reducing the number of nets in order to give 
them better sport, and what it would cost to 
improve the fish and game protective service. 
He then agreed to the table of fees submitted 
by members of the deputation. This means that 
non-resident sportsmen, who are not interested 
in leases of hunting territories from the prov- 
ince, will be subject to the payment of an annual 
license fee of $25 for hunting in this province, 
while for those who are interested in such a 
lease, whether as club members or otherwise, 
the annual license fee will be $10. To both resi- 
dents and non-residents of the province, a 
license of $25 will be charged for salmon fishing, 
while for trout and other fishing, those non- 
residents, who are not lessees of fishing rights 
in the province or members of clubs _ holding 
such from the government, the fee will be $10. 
Lessees, on the other hand, will only have to 
pay an annual fee of $5. In the case of fisher- 
men going to Lake St. John, Lake Edward and 
other waters, where costly improvements have 
been made for the accommodation of sports- 
men by others than clubs, that is to say, by 
hotel men, chiefly, special arrangements will be 
made by the Minister. In all probability these 
arrangements will be made by the hotel men 
with the government direct, so as to save visit- 
ing sportsmen any difficulty in regard to licenses. 
Netting in Missisquoi Bay. 
I regret to say, that since the date of my last 
letter to FOREST AND STREAM, all the hopes that 
had been indulged in respecting the prevention 
of netting in Missisquoi Bay have been swept 
away, so far, at least, as the present season is 
concerned. In fact, the order to issue the 
licenses went out only a couple of days after 
the Superintendent of the Fish and Game De- 
partment here had expressed the confident hope 
that it would be found possible to avoid issuing 
them this year. To the Canadian members of 
the North American Fish and Game Protective 
Association this is a most grievous’ disappoint- 
ment, for the time and effort which they have 
devoted to this matter have been very con- 
siderable. The Minister was most strenuously 
opposed to the policy of issuing the licenses, 
but has been completely overruled by the ma- 
jority of the members of the government, and 
by the authorities at Ottawa, who have refused 
to close the waters of the lake to commercial 
fishing. Both politics and finance have un- 
doubtedly played their unworthy part in this 
matter. There is money in the netting, and a 
number of Vermonters know this so well that 
- 
they not only pay large sums for a transfer of 
the licenses from the Canadians to whom they 
are issued, but also put up dollars to keep 
lawyers employed in urging the case of the 
supposed poor Canadian fishermen upon the 
politicians, who in turn being afraid of losing 
votes, are compelling the government to action. 
The result is disappointing enough in all con- 
science, but the Canadian sportsmen who have 
managed the agitation on the subject in the 
past will maintain the fight and look to the . 
Vermont and New York officials to do the same. 
It seems to me that these latter might at 
once endeavor to close up all the remaining 
American markets that are open to the netters. 
I understand that the importation of pike-perch 
from Canada into New York has been pro- 
hibited, but learn that the fish are now being 
shipped into Massachusetts, where they find 
a ready market in Boston. Surely the sports- 
men of this latter mentioned place would lend 
a helping hand in the matter. For the present, 
it would seem that the best that can be done is 
to make it as unprofitable as possible for the 
Canadian netters and for those to whom some 
of them have transferred their licenses, to per- 
sist in their present industry. It is no idle 
boast to say that Canadian sportsmen will make 
it their duty to exert every effort to make things 
as hot as possible during the next parliamentary 
elections for the local politicians who are utiliz- 
ing this nefarious business for trafficking in 
votes. Despite the influence of these people. 
however, may it not be arranged that this Mis- 
siquoi Bay affair shall enter into the proposed 
settlement of international boundary matters 
soon to be arranged between the authorities of 
Washington and Ottawa? 
E. T. D. CHAMBERS, 
New Jersey Coast Fishing. 
Assury Park, N. J., March 17.—Club room 
predictions have been plentiful the past winter, 
all that fish would be on hand much earlier this 
spring than ordinary. And it seems that fish, like 
man’s better seven-eighths, sometimes do what is 
expected. Herring are now running and have 
been taken at the outlet of Deal Lake. This is 
the earliest ever recorded. While they are 
usually found in the stretches of water in the 
lower part of the State about March 15, it is re- 
garded as unprecedented here. Striped bass, too, 
are moving; quite a number of school bass have 
been taken from a pool in the headwaters of the 
South Shrewsbury more than a week ago. Dur- 
ing one of the cyclonic days they were discovered 
at low water in a depression or basin, and were 
unable to get out, so met their fate ignominiously 
at the hands of men and boys with clubs. It is 
very rare that such a thing occurs, for the bass. is 
a most cautious fish and well able to take care of 
itself under ordinary conditions, but it seems they 
are not able to at all times figure out the weather 
man’s chart. 
The usual broil has been on at Trenton the past 
few weeks in relation to pound nets and men- 
haden steamers, and the committee appointed by 
Governor Stokes has been able to get a prelimi- 
nary report to the Legislature looking to restric- 
tions of the present destructive methods of both 
systems, but it would be difficult to predict at this 
date what, if any, relief will be had. 
LronarD HUuLIT. 
New York Smelt Hatching. 
Dr. TarLeton H. BEAN, State Fishculturist of 
New York, writes: ‘We are now beginning to 
hatch smelt eggs—one of the most interesting 
forms in our waters.. Cold Spring Harbor station 
has several millions, and we are expecting a good 
yield at Port Henry, on Lake Champlain.” 
August Hirth. 
Mr Avucust HrirtH, of Chicago, has severed 
his connection with the firm of Roach, Hirth & 
Co., and is now with Von Lengerke & Antoine, 
corner Wabash avenue and Van Buren street. 
