

742 
FOREST AND STREAM. 



; _ [Nov. 9, 1907 


There was never such a gladiator before nor 
since, he told me. A hundred times he believed 
the great fish had escaped; a hundred times he 
had believed the steady strain of rod, reel and 
barb had conquered the champion of the inland 
waters. But the hours sped and the contest was 
not yet at an end. 
“My blood was up,” Macleod said; “a fair 
field and no favor.” When the States fisherman, 
who came by from the upper waters, offered to 
have his boatman help with the gaff, I shuddered 
to think how near to swearing was Macleod, if, 
indeed, he ever so far lost control of himself. 
But the States angler stayed it out—‘“he was a 
fine chap, after all,’ said the priest, “and I had 
him with me for a week afterward.” 
The housekeeper on the hill came down with 
something to eat about twelve, but “hoot, mon.” 
said my informant, “I wanted nothing then, no, 
nor coffee that she fetched later.” 
Such a racing and chasing o’er Cannoble lee 
as that salmon gave. And then the runs to the 
end of the line, the sulkine at a deep pool above, 
and a wading out further by the priest and throw- 
ing stones in the pool to stir his majesty up once 
more. All the artifices of salmon subtlety were 
brought to bear by the fish to break away from 
the tantalizing steel, and as steadily as fate, and 
with a coaxing pressure and remorseless. skill 
the arm of Macleod met every leap and curve, 
every twist and rush. and the afternoon wore 
away until almost 2 o’clock. Nine times he had 
guided the salmon into the shallower water, and 
nine times, as the fish caught sight of his foe. 
had he summoned streneth and courage to battle 
his way back to the enveloping currents of the 
meeting waters. 
His dazzling leaps had at last been robbed of 
their lofty curves, and even his tumbling swirls 
on the surface had dwindled in strength and 
frequency. But he was a “braw, stubborn cus- 
tomer,’ as Macleod put it,.and the line had been 
tested to its limit, and as for the hook, it was 
a marvel that so slender a shank had withstood 
all the wild rushes and the long drawn out 
struggle of the day. 
“There was a bit of tobacco in my pocket,” 
remarked Macleod, “and my hand brtshed it 
as I eased a bit on the rod,” he went on. “Tt 
was just a wee bit of a chip, and I stiffened the 
rod to give him a taste of the butt, while IT dived 
into the pocket for the tobacco, Man, that was 
the sweetest morsel I ever put in my mouth. 
Don’t it seem sacrilegious to say it! I crunched 

it in my jaws, and I give just the least more 
edee o’ the butt. I felt amaist I had him, then. 
“There was not an inch o’ me that wasn’t 
dripping.” he continued. “I was as wet as if 

I had slipped into the reever. You see. I could 
get him up to the shoal, but I daurn’t try to drag 
him over the sand for fear the line would break, 
and one last fling might send him back to deep 
water, and mavbe he would die there and I lose 
him after all that grand battle.” 
But he weakened suddenly at the last. did 
this noble fish of that wild land, and finally 
Macleod fetched him softly along the water’s 
edge, and guided him close to the gravelly reach 
that fringed the bank. 
He was willing to lie alone the sand then, for 
us fighting snirit had been exhausted. Macleod 
tested him a little with the hook and approached 
1m cautiously at first, and confidently later, as 
1e saw the fish’s list movement. With one 
thrust of his hand into the salmon’s gills Mac- 
eod lifted him to the bank. and, as the fish left 
us element forever, the priest sat down to fests 
for the moment almost as exhausted ‘as his cap- 
tvre. He drank a cup of coffee than and took 
1is.dinner late 
“Ye don’t ask how 
eod, suddenly 
me 
ess 

>) 
jig he was queried Mac- 
, bristling his shagey eyebrows at 

“LT don’t care.’ was my reply. “He must have 
been a splendid fish. and you both foncht fair.” 
"Ye're rivht,” said the father. “I didn’t weigh 
him nor measure him.” 
“Would rather have caught him or had 
him get away, after a good, lone ficht2” T asked 
The rriest shot a keen glance at me and 
reached for his nipe. He cut the plue and cram- 
med the pieces into the pipe. His Enelish stub- 
bornness refused to answer the question imme- 
vou 
diately, and his Scotch caution was considering a 
reply. But at the last the Irish blend came out 
triumphant. 
“I'd rather have caught him,” he answered. 
‘But if it had been impossible to have caught 
him, I'd rather he’d broke away. He was a braw 
saumon,” went on Macleod, scratching a match 
preparatory to lighting his pipe; “man, it’d have 
broken my heart to lose him.” 

New Publications. 
“SALMON FisHInG,” by John James Hardy, 
Was originally published in Country Life’s (Lon- 
don) “Library of Sport,” but has been revised 
and added to, particularly with regard to the 
dressing and use of salmon flies. 
“Why do salmon take a fly?” asks Mr, Hardy, 
and adds, “Scientists tell us that ‘salmon do not 
feed in fresh water,’ a statement, however, which 
cannot be accepted my most anglers. * * * QOne 
may fairly ask scientists, when one sees salmon 
caught with worm, prawn or minnow—which they 
often take into their gullets as a trout will do— 
what the salmon are doing with them there.” He 
thinks this prima facie evidence that they are 
feeding on them, and that while it is true salmon 
are rarely caught with anything in their stomachs, 
it may be that it is only the hungry fish that 
takes fly or bait, and whose stomach is empty; 
or that he disgorges everything in his efforts 
to free himself from the hook. 
It was Hewett Wheatley, who in 1849 wrote 
that “fish will often strike at anything, apparently 
in mere wantonness, that is floating along the 
surface of the water. And when a salmon is 
thus sporting, it is not unlikely that, on present- 
ing a fly, he will, unless alarmed, rise at it: and 
perhaps the more eagerly, if it be an unaccus- 
tomed object.” Mr. Wheatley cites a case of a 
trout taken on a daisy after it had ejected several 
artificial flies, and reasons that salmon may act 
similarly. But Mr. Wheatley accepted the scien- 
tific conclusion, whereas many modern anglers 
do not. Mr, Hardy believes they do feed in 
fresh water, to a certain extent at least, but 
admits that curiosity may prompt the salmon 
to take the fly. 
Mr. Hardy gives a chapter on salmon fly tying 
that is of value, and follows it with chapters on 
the selection of rods, reels, lines, etc., and their 
use. In his references to lines he gives the cus- 
tomary arbitrary numbers, but supplements these 
with the calibers of lines in the terms used by 
wire makers, making it plain that a No. 2 tapered 
line 42 yards in length and weighing 3 ounces 
8 drachms, is the size of a No. 15 wire. In view 
of the fact that some makers use numbers and 
others letters, and a No. 2 of one maker being 
equal in size to another’s No 10, we hope some 
time to see the sizes of both lines and silkworm 
gut given in thousandths of an inch, so that the 
angler who orders his line by mail can have 
something more definite to guide him than mean- 
ingless letters or numbers. 
The various methods of casting and manipulat- 
ing the salmon fly are illustrated with splendid 
half-tone reproductions from photographs, and 
other methods of salmon fishing described. Then 
follows in tabular form the dressings of 345 
salmon flies, alphabetically arranged and num- 
bered. The volume is an exceedingly valuable 
one for salmon fishermen, English and American. 
Published by Country Life and by George New- 
ness, London. 
“TENANTS OF ‘THE TREES” is another one of 
Clarence Hawkes’ books of nature stories for 
little folks, and this one will appeal to young 
readers because of its handsome illustrations, 
which are by Louis Rhead, as well as through 
the stories of birds and squirrels and raccoons. 
Without attempting to preach, Mr. Hawkes ap- 
peals to his young readers in a way calculated 
to induce them to forego bird-nesting and hunt- 
ing with sling shots and other youthful weapons. 
Published by L. C. Page & Co., Boston, Mass. 

THE Forest AND STREAM may be obtained from 
any newsdealer on order. Ask your dealer to 
supply you regularly. . 



Fishculture in New York. 
[From the Twelfth Annual Report of the Forest, Fish 
Game Commission.] 








Tue output of the hatcheries was greatly 
creased over the yield of former years al 
everything points to still further gains. 
whitefish culture much difficulty was found } 
collecting a sufficient number of eggs, notwi 
standing the active and long-continued pla}, 
ing of fry. The causes of this falling off <| 
not known, but will be carefully investigated 
General conditions are more favorable thp 
ever before, and the outlook for the future | 
bright. 5 
A gill parasite, commonly known as the fipy 
louse, one of the degraded forms of the corhi 
pods, is very injurious in its effects upon tre 
and especially yearlings, two-year olds at 
older fish. Unfortunately this is one of t} 
parasites which abound in all wild trout a i 
salmon waters, and which appear to be one } 
nature’s checks on over production. The cot 
mon Adirondack species was introduced inf 
hatchery waters at Caledonia, and before if 
nature was discovered it caused heavy ‘lossty 
among the two-year old brook trout as Whi 
as fish of greater age. ; 
The only means of checking this parasitir 
available at most of our stations, is the intr hy 
duction of a surface feeding fish which will co W 
sume, the swimming larve of this crustacea 
For this purpose it is believed that the fres | 
water killy will be more suitable for troy 
waters, as it is a lover of cold, pure strean 
such as trout inhabit. Doubtless there ah 
other native fishes which may become availabl}| 
but this one is suggested because its distributicy) 
in the State is rather extended, its size is sma i 
and it would not, therefore, interfere with th 
natural or artificial reproduction of trou 
Furthermore, it would furnish suitable live foc 
for the large fish. It is a prolific species anf 
when once established at a station it is reif 
sonable to expect that its introduction woul 
prove wholly beneficial. B 
Fungus is another fish pest much dreaded kD 
fishculturists everywhere. This can be cor) 
trolled at the stations, and has been controlle 
at the Adirondack Hatchery, by means of sa 
freely used in the troughs and races. Hig 
summer temperature and scant flow of wate 
have caused difficulty at this station and els« 
where. The only remedy for this situation at 
pears to be the pumping of spring water sug) 
gested above. This natural drawback to trot 
propagation is a very serious matter often re 
sulting in the loss of tens of thousands of fr| 
and fingerling fish. One of the essentials of 
successful trout station is the presence of 
bountiful supply of pure spring water obtain 
able by. gravity, if possible. 
The Chautauqua Hatchery station now depend) 
for its water supply chiefly upon an artesia 
well which furnishes sufficient water of suitabl/ 
quality for the hatching of maskalonge, and i| 
could be used for various species of trout am 
whitefish within its rather limited capacity. I) 
can now hatch about 8,000,000 to 10,000,000 0 
maskalonge eggs in a season. In 1906 thi! 
number of fry furnished by the station wa 
above 5,000,000 out of a total of 8,000,000 eggs 
A little stream runs ‘through the hatchery 
grounds, and it is well known that ponds locate< 
in this small creek are well suited for rearing 
maskalonge up to the stage at which the fisl 
must be distributed in order to prevent whole. 
sale losses through cannibalism. The maska-/> 
longe thrives better in the creek than it does} 
in the cement ponds and in the wooden troughs). 
of the hatchery. 
Foreman Brown holds the fry until they are| 
able to swim up, then he plants them, and he}, 
does so because it is imperative to prevent 
them from devouring one another. The Penn-|? 
sylvania Commissioner’ had about 1,000 of the 
young maskalonge at Corry station, and in a 
short time only one fish was left to represent 
the experiment. All the others had become 
victims of the process of “addition, ° di 
and silence.” 
Cold Spring Harbor is more than a trout 
(Continued on page 755.) 

































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