86 
FOREST AND STREAM. 

| dlatural History. 
THE GURNARD AS AN EDIBLE FISH. 
Be as 
MONG the fish that may be classed as edible, but 
A which are entirely neglected here, is the Sea Rodin, 
grunter, or gurnard. This curious, but rather forbidding 
creature, is, in reality, one of the most delicate morsels 
that can be laid before an epicure, the flesh being snow- 
white, firm, and fully as good as that of the sing-fish or 
whiting. In fact, it would be hard to distinguish them 
when placed on the table. ‘ 
In Europe every one of the various kinds of Trigla, or 
gurnard family, is sought after eagerly, and finds a ready 
sale on the fish-stalls. _They have eight or ten kinds of the 
group there, and we have but six here, all but one differ- 
ent from the European kinds, though belonging to the 
same family. 
color. They all have large heads, sheathed with rough, 
bony plates, and armed with many acute points, and their 
dorsal fin has algo several sharp, thorny rays. These 
prickles are all erected by the fish when taken alive, and 
they inflict painful, though not, as many say, a poisonous 
wound. The broad mouth is furnished with rough, but 
not sharp teeth, the pectoral fins in most of the species are 
very long, and can be expanded like a fan, whence they 
It is 
doubtful, however, whether they can actually fly like a fly- 
ing-fish ; but they have been said to skip from wave to 
are sometimes called flying-fish and butterfly jish. 
wave, a peculiarity often alluded to by habientic poets. 
They also emit a grunting sound, which can be distinctly 
heard in still weather while lymg at anchor on 4 shal- 
At such atime the sound re- 
When freshly taken 
low, which they frequent. 
sembles the distant lowing of kine. 
from the water they grunt quite loudly, whence their popu- 
lar name of grunter or cuckoo fish. 
The gurnards live on crabs and delicate fresh food, tak- 
ing all such baits readily,on a clean bottom, and they some- 
times annoy fishermen hugely by their voracity. They play 
well on the hook, and a large one tugging at a rod is often 
supposed to be a game fish and a prize, till the ugly sea 
robin, with his spiky helmet, shows himself at the sur- 
face. 
The gurnards of our coasts do not reach a large size, at 
least we have but rarely seen any that weighed over a 
pound, while in Europe some of the species, such as the 
Tub fish (Trigla hirundo) has been found, weighing eleven 
pounds, and those of seven or eight are common. The 
red gurnard or rotchet (7. eveulus) and the piper (7. lyra) 
reach three or four pounds, averaging about two, while the 
other European kinds resemble ours as to size. 
Small as our species are, they are not the less delicate 
when cooked, and we have often verified this fact. 
They are sold in England by the number, and not by 
weight, for their large heads are inedible, while they add, 
perhaps, one-quarter to their weight. 
The English fishermen take them almost everywhere 
along the coast in large trawl nets, constructed for their 
capture, though other bottom fish may find their way into 
the net. These trawls are generally twelve or sixteen feet 
wide at the mouth, with a bag proportioned to their beam, 
which has one or two labyrinths like a fyke net inside, 
The trawl is managed from a large sail-boat with a block 
and tackle, and is hauled in water as deep as eight or ten 
fathoms. 
We do not recommend this special fishery to our coast 
fishermen,,as our gurnards are small ; but wish only to call 
attention to the edible qualities of this generally despised 
fish. 
Piscator (the anonymous author of the Practical Angler), 
in his excellent little treatise, entitied ‘‘ Fish; How to 
Choose and How to Dress,” published in 1843, says of the 
gurnard, that their flesh is ‘‘ white, exceedingly firm, and 
shells out into snowy flakes, and isof a remarkably agree- 
able flavor, and that they keep well.” He recommends 
them to be boiled—that is, the large ones—while the small 
ones may be split and frled. 
We have no popular names for each of the species that 
are found in our waters. All are called sea robins, Slying-fish, 
grunters, &e. 
The Trigla cuculus is the only one of the genus enumer- 
ated by Professor Theodore Gill, in his catalogue of the 
‘Fishes of the Eastern Coast of North America, &c.” This 
one may be the same as the European species, but a closer 
comparison of them is needed before this can be affirmed. 
This is the true sea robin, being the only one that is red like 
its feathery and distant relative. The other species of 
Trigla named in the above catalogue belong to the genus 
Prionotus, but the distinction is.a slight one. Of these 
Gill names five species, which it would be useless to quote 
here. , 
Having drawn attention to this first as one that deserves a 
place on our tables, we leave his fate hereafter to the ten- 
der care of a good cook and a discerning palate. 
J. C. BrEvoorrt. 
—<4- + 
THE SHAL A Gourmanp.—If the sense of smell is ex- 
ceedingly acute in the seal his taste for food may be judged 
by the keeness with which he relishes his food. ‘The 
mouth of the greatest gourmand,” says Cuvier, “never 
waters more at the_prospect of a rich repast than of 
the seal when in expectation of its common sustenance. 
A copious saliva fills and flows from its mouth during deg- 
lutition, and not less.so. the moment the seal perceives its 
prey.” 

We shall not attempt to describe all these 
fish, which resemble each other very much in all but the 













Fish PRoTEecTION 19 CurnA.—What a good people the 
Chinese are. If they do roast a missionary occasionally, 
they preserve the fish laws. Let us have some mandarins 
at the head of our Fish Commissions. Listen to the worthy 
actions of the Chinese in regard to fish:— 
Some 1222 years before the christian era, an Em- 
peror of China had expressed a desire to go a-fish- 
ing with his consort. It was then the fourth moon—the 
spawning season. One of his chief ministers, rejoicing in 
the name of Tchangsype, threw himself on his knees before 
his majesty, and showed him that by carrying out his pro- 
posal he would violate one of the most important laws of 
the kingdom, and would have heavy accounts to render to 
history for setting the example which might cause the ruin 
of the public resources of food in the shape of fish. ‘‘ You 
are right,” answered the emperor; ‘he to whom heaven 
has confided the Government of a people must conform to 
the laws of the country and watch over the interests of his 
subjects, otherwise he is not fit to reign.” Another emperor 
had set out fishing once during the close time in one of the 
ponds belonging to the place, when one of his councillors, 
named Lyke, came quietly up and cut the net in pieces be- 
fore his astonished sovereign’s eyes, explaining, in answer 
to the imperial threats and angry demands for his reason 
for so acting, that he was merely fulfilling the duties impos- 
ed on him by the law. This brave minister, we need hardly 
add, was, of course, richly rewarded by the erring but 
repentant emperor. 
ey 
Snakes SWALLOWING THEIR Younc.—A correspondent 
of the New York Tribune, writes as follows: 
When about twelve years of age, I met a small snake 
about two feet long, on a dusty road in Central New York, 
whose singular motions at my approach attracted my atten- 
tion. When within a few feet of it, I discovered four little 
ones, five or six inches long, hurrying towards the large one, 
and one by one disappearing in its widely opened jaws. 
The old snake then attempted escape, running toward the 
side of the road, by which ran a small brook. “My curiosity 
being excited, I killed the reptile, and cutting it open found 
the little ones coiled up in some kind of cavity, (I cannot 
say what, for at that age few boys have much idea of anat- 
omy.) The little fellows being thus rudely turned out at- 
tempted to effect a hasty escape. I am not, certain whether 
it was an ordinary striped or a water snake. 
Se ee 
—‘The Hon. Thomas James Bernard, member of the 
Council, has related to me a very curious fact of the yellow 
snake. Lately his laborers in the Pedro mountain district, 
St. Ann’s, killed a yellow snake containing some ten or 
twelve grown young ones varying trom eight to ten inches 
in length. The negroes expressed their surprise at this cir- 
cumstance, because they knew that this boa produced its 
young from eggs. A phenomenon like this was well calcu- 
lated to call forth from negroes their usual ‘golly’ of 
surprise, but it should have excited in intelligent observers 
and professional naturalists some other idea than that 
snakes have a ‘local option’ in bringing forth their young, 
by eggs hatched in the ground, or by incubation, or by 
‘bearing them alive.’ Mr. Hill timidly ventures ‘the re- 
mark, ‘Is this to be received as a case of snakes that retire 
upon alarm into the mouth and stomach of the parent ?’ It 
is stated of the rattlesnake in ‘‘ Hunter’s Memoirs of a 
Captivity among the North American Indians,” that, when 
alarmed, the young ones, which are generally eight or ten 
in number, retreat into the mouth of the parent, and re- 
appear on its giving a contractile muscular token that the 
danger is past. Credible eye-witnesses say the same of the 
European viper. (Sce Charlesworth’s Mag. Nat. His., Vol. 
L, new series, 1837, p. 441.)” 
—+>—— 
KATONAH, WesTcHESTER Co., September 11, 1873. 
EpiTor ForEst AND STREAM :— 
Yesterday,-when walking through my fields, I was attracted by the 
vigorous barking of my dog, and noticed that a huge frog was exciting 
his ire. Calling the dog off I secured the frog, and taking it by the leg, 
was about carrying it to a pond in the place, when I observed something 
hanging from his mouth. Taking what seemed to me to be the tail of 
some creature, between my fingers, from out of his mouth, I extracted a 
very large field mouse, fully three inches long. I was not before aware 
that frogs would prey on mice. 
Seeing Professor Goode Brown’s inquiries in regard to snakes swallow- 
ing their young, I beg to add that, two years ago, while picking berries, 
I observed a black snake, fully four feet long, near me, which on my ap- 
proach made for the -bushes. With a stick in one hand, the other en- 
gaged in picking berries, I kept on at my occupation, when suddenly the 
snake made adashat me. Expecting an attack, I struck at her as she 
sprung, and with a blow of my stick, almost cut her in two. Imagine my 
surprise when I saw five or six small snakes, about as large as rye straws, 
inside of her. They presently emerged from the body of the snake, and 
took tothe grass. I killed two, but the rest being quitelively, escaped. 
Yours very truly, J. W. A, 
cgaisee. 
—A new and important fact in silk culture has been de- 
veloped by the Acclimation Society of France, namely : 
That silk of varied color can be produced by feeding the 
silkworm on different leaves. Worms fed on vine leaves 
produce a silk of magnificent red color. Lettuce has been 
found to produce an emerald-green colored silk. Of course, 


then, if fed on the leaves of the indigo plant the product 
would be indigo blue. 


—A farmer in Washington county, Ky., has found a 
practical use fora snake. For two years he has had one 
shut up in his corn-crib, and during all that time not a live 
mouse has been seen there. 
—A man in Fayette county, Pa., while gathering black- 
berries, heard a rattlesnake’s peculiar note of warning, and 
looked around on all sides before discovering that he was 
standing with both feet on the reptile, but so close to its 
head that it could not bite him. 
—In Ireland, with less than 5,400,000 inhabitants, the 
two shillings licence duty was paid in 1872 on 290,796 dogs. 
The British government will not object to the continuance 
of this grievous tale so long as the Treasury is benefitted 
by this tax on a nation of wags. : 
—Lester B. Platt, a Yale divinity student, who has been 
spending his vacation on the western plains, accepted an 
invitation to hunt with the Pawnees, and was with them 
when they were attacked: by the: Sioux recently on the 
plains and so many of-them slaughtered.- Platt fought 
bravely, but was captured. He wore -the Pawnee- dress, 
and would-have been sealped, but the Sioux clref: forbade 
it, and, pointing to :the Republican: river, bade him run for 
his life. He did, and saved it. 
The Hennel. 
THE Fox-HounD.—The fox-hound, of all dogs used in 
the field, is by far the most numerous. It is generally sup- 
posed that the modern fox-hound derives its origin from 
the old English hound, and its various points of perfection 
from judicious crosses with other breeds. There are various 
breeds of dogs which are remarkable for the great develop- 
ment of some peculiar faculty—such as speed in the grey- 
hound, courage in the bull-dog, delicacy of scent in the 
bloodhound, sagacity in the poodle, &., so when a breed 
of dogs begins to fail in any of these points the fault is 
amended by the introduction of a dog belonging to the 
breed which exhibits the needful quality in greatest perfec- 
tion. The fox-hound has not only the greatest sagacity 
and the most refined powers of scrutiny, but is far superior 
in bottom and stoutness to any other breed of the hound 
race. Only consider the immense distance a hound travels 
over during the many hours that he is frequently absent 
from home. The country he travels over is generally of 
the very roughest description, such as sharp rocks, scrub- 
oak, brambles, &c., and he frequently takes to the water. 
For the authenticity of the following anecdote we think we 
may safely vouch:—‘‘Mr. Phillips, of Bergen Point, has a 
singularly fine old dog. He had been hunting with a friend 
of his in New Jersey, and the hound had been running a 
dog-fox nearly all day, when at last the hound turned him 
toward water; the varmint, instead of taking to water, 
however, ran up a branch of an old dead tree that was 
overhanging the stream, the hound waiting a second or two 
as if undetermined what todo. In an instant he jumped 
on the but of the tree, and, walking up carefully, the limb 
snapped, and both fox and dog fell into the water. Now 
came the struggle for life. The hound rose to the surface 
first, and immediately espied the fox, who was swimming 
for dear life to the other side; the hound turned on the fox, 
both going down together. The hound again rose first to 
the surface, and once more, making a kind of leap in the 
water, seized the fox by the back of the neck, and held 
him there until he had absolutely drowned him, and then 
swam ashore, bringing the dead fox with him, to the utter 
astonishment of Mr. Phillips and his friend, who witnessed 
this curious scene from the shore.” The best breed for fox- 
shooting is the English fox-hound, crossed with the Amer- 
icanhound. The English-bred hound is too delicate. The 
ground you ride over and the ground you shoot over are 
totally different. The English dog is too finely bred to suit 
our rocky ground; its pace is too fast, as, unless it runs in 
the open, it is apt to overrun the scent. A dog running at 
thirty miles an hour cannot be expected to hold the scent 
as strongly as one running at fifteen miles’ an hour. The 
speed which can be a attained by fox-hounds may be esti- 
mated from the well-known match which took place upon 
the Beacon course at Newmarket, England. The length 
of the course is four miles and 352 yards, and this distance 
was run by the winning dog, Bluecap, in eight minutes and 
a few seconds. The famous racehorse Flying Childers, in 
running over the same ground, was little mere than half a 
minute ahead of the hound. Now, if we compare the di- 
mensions of the horse and the hound we shall form a toler- 
ably accurate idea of the extraordinary speed to which the 
latter animal can attain. In the match no less than sixty 
horses started, together with the competitors, but of the 
sixty only twelve were with the dogs at the end of this short 
run. The English hound is of the utmost importance to our 
fox-shooting friends,as what they require in a hound is a good 
nose, hard feet, padded with a thick sole, strong propelling 
powers behind, and more endurance than excessive speed, 


not forgetting a musical tongue, which can only be attained 
by the cross of the American hound with the English. As 
there has been so much breeding “‘in-and-in,” and very lit- 
tle fresh stock imported, the fox-hound is sadly deteriorat- 
ing, as we only hear of a few instances of fresh blood. In 
the South they have some splendid new blood, which they 
have crossed with the southern fox-hound, and have pro- 
duced the perfection of a hound for their purposes. The 
best breeds of fox-hounds in the North are owned in Buf- 
falo; Guernsey county, Ohio; Mr. Taylor’s Connecticut 
farm; the Leatherstocking Club, of Oswego; and the Bloom- 
ing Grove Park Association. The latter have two bitches, 
crossed by a Connecticut dog, and the whelps, if properly 
trained, will undoubtedly come as near perfection as pos- 
sible. 
aE ees 
—There is a knowing dog (and a “‘yaller” one at that) in 
Washington who complies with the letter, but not exactly 
with the spirit, of the law in relation to muzzling canines 
during the dog days. Heis never without a muzzle, but 
instead of wearing it strapped over his nose, as other dogs 
do, he carries it in his mouth, and is never seen on the 
street without it. When he halts to rest he drops it be- 
tween his fore legs, but whenever he starts he picks it up 
and jogs along quietly, looking as if he would say to all 
policemen, ‘“‘Jam a law-abiding Tray; as you see, I have 
a muzzle; so please don’t molest me.” When he is at home 
he deposits his muzzle in his kennel, but whenever he is 
going out walking with his master or any of the family he 
goes regularly and gets his muzzle, and it is never neces- 
sary to remind him of it. Smart dog that. He is a good- 
natured old fellow, too, and doesn’t bark like Kelly’s now 
famous cur. He don’t belong to that breed of dogs.— 
Washington Star. 
Res UT res Es 
—We weighed a day or so ago a puppy, twelve weeks 
old, a cross between a mastiff ‘and a Pomeranian dog, and 
he turned the scales at fifty-two pounds. 
weight is hard to beat, 
We think this 


