324 
FOREST AND STREAM. 


For Forest and Stream. 
TROUT FISHING. 
pe a 
BY MRS. EUNICE B. LAMBERTON. 
IVE me arod of the split bamboo, 
A rainy day and a fly or two, 
A mountain stream where the eddies play, 
And mists hang low o’er the winding way. 
Give me a haunt by the purling brook, 
A hidden spot in a mossy nook, 
No sound save hum of'the drowsy bee, 
Or lone bird’s tap on the hollow tree. 
The world may roll with its busy throng 
And phantom scenes, on its way along; 
It’s stocks may rise, or it’s stocks may fall— 
Ah! what care I for its baubles all? 
I cast my fly o’er the troubled rill, 
Luring the beauties by magic skill, 
With mind at rest and a heart at ease, 
And drink delight from the balmy breeze. 
As lusty trout to my glad surprise, 
Speckled and bright, on the crest arise, 
Then plash and plunge in a dazzling whirl, 
Hope springs anew as the wavelets curl. 
Gracefully swinging from left to right, 
Action so gentle, motion so slight, 
Tempting, enticing, on craft intent, 
Till yielding tip by the game is bent. 
Drawing in slowly, then letting go 
Under the ripples where mosses grow, 
Doubting my fortune, lost ina dream, 
Blessing the land of Forest and Stream. 
Rochester. N. Y., Dec. 15, 1873. 
From the Evening Post, 1872. 
NEW YEAR’S CALLS. 
ents eee 
AFTER MARCO BOZARRIS.—A long time. 
el ee New Year’s, near the hour of noon 
As through Fifth avenue there passed 
Two youths, with hearts in sweet atune, 
Through snow-wreaths trudging fast; 
And all along the street they glanced, 
With eager eyes that fairly danced, 
Atrevery door-plate’s gleam; 
Then up the mansion’s steep ascent, 
A nervous knock, and in they went, 
With hat in hand and body bent, 
To maidens’ dazzling beam. 
Anhour passed on—yet stillintent, 
These gallant youths on conquests rare! 
From house to house they madly went, 
To seek the treasures hidden there. 
But now no more with blithesome tread, 
No more, alas! with steady head, 
As inthe early morn; 
For many cups they’d fully drained, 
Not once from brandy punch refrained, 
And now with stomachs overstrained, 
Their wits were nearly gone. 
With reckless gait and hats awry, 
Another house they soon essayed, 
Yet paused to ask a passer by 
If here was where Miss (iic)——son staid. 
Then up the steps they wildly reeled, 
Jerked off the bell and in they wheeled— 
Wheeled and gave the maid a hug, 
Tripped their toes against the rug; 
Sat on their hats, and with a smile, 
Drank to their hostess’ health the while,” 
In muddled undertone: 
“Drink, ye beauteous (hic) lasses all; 
Drink, to our mer (Aic) New Year’s call; 
Drink, until we stand or fall, 
Or else we drink alone.” 
They drank like topers, long and well, 
,, They drained their goblets to the brim, 
They drank, until at length they fell, 
Trembling in every limb— 
Yet once again upon their pins,’ 
They shuffled on their toilsome way, ! 
While brandy punches, wines and gins 
Poured down their throats till close of day. 
Long scrambled they from door to door, 
By helping hand or friendly push, — 
And when their strength could do no more, 
Sat down among the slush! 
Their few surviving comrades saw 
Their plight, when rang their last hurrah 
At midnight’s silent hour; 
Then saw their heavy eyelids close, 
Then helpless sink in calm repose, 
Safe in policeman’s Dower. 
ASPIRATION. 
CHARLES HaLLock. 

‘VE seen 4 bird, while its way upward making, 
jie by the hunter in some vital part, 
Gather and spreadits wings, still higher dart 
With last fond breath, 
Asif the slender thread of life in breaking, 
But gave fresh impetus to strong desire, 
Impelling it toward where it would aspire, 
*Mad throes of death. 
Thus to a worthy goal may I be tending, 
With single purpose and unerring aim, 
Toiling and striving upward to the same 
With all my might. 
And when Death’s, the great archer’s, shaft ascending, 
Pierces my vitals, and my task is o’er, 
With powers increased, may I still higher soar, 
As fades my sight. 
"~New Orleans. ' 
. i 
—The collie dog, which in the control of flocks and herds 
displays an instinct more efficacious than human reason, is 
admirably described by Burns: 
a a gash an’ faithful tyke, 
As ever lap a sheugh or dyke 
His honest, sonie, baws’nt face, 
Aye gat him friends in like place. 
His breast was white, his towzie back 
We'el clad wi’ coat of glossy: black; 
His gawcie tail, wi’ upward curl, 
Hung o’er his hurdies wi’ a swurl!”’ 
Jamus RUNNEGA. 



HADDOCK FISHERIES OF NORDERNEY. 

Eprtor Forrest AND STREAM:— 
What the cod is to the inhabitants of North America and 
the dorsch to the Scandinavian populations, the haddock is 
to the nations bordering on the northern waters of Europe, 
and is, next to the herring, the most important and valu- 
able seafish. Itis true the haddock has not yet reached 
an equal point of importance in national economy, Qwing 
to the fact that it never appears in as large schools as the 
cod or herring. The Scotch, however, some years since, 
hsve introduced the haddock as a permanent article of 
food by bringing into the market their ‘“‘smoked haddock,” 
and the day is not distant when in that form the haddock 
will become a permanent and welcome addition to the food 
of northern Europe. 
The most prolific region for this sea-fish on the north 
German coast is off the Island of Norderney, one of those 
islands extending in a long chain on that coast. These 
islands fori a land-locked channel with the main, safe for 
the smallest craft, and allow that local traffic along the 
borders which has given rise-to the developement of a 
great many industries, the principal one of which is the 
haddock fishery of Norderney. In this sketch we shall 
frequently make use of the important material found in 
Dr. Kohl’s ‘‘Nordwest Deutche Skizzen,” published in 
Bremen in 1873. 
The haddock is ever seeking the cold water; hence we 
find it on the coasts of Norway throughout the entire year. 
In the German sea, neat Helgoland and Norderney, as well 
as on the Scottish coasts, the haddock generally appear as 
late as the end of September, and off the German coast, 
from that time to Christmas the fishermen go out; about 
this time it ceases, owing to the cold, ice and storms, and 
begins again at the end of February or the beginning of 
March. Onthe Scotch coast, where the ice cannot heap 
up, as on the north German sand banks and fiats, the fish- 
eries are prosecuted throughout the entire winter. In May 
and June the haddock leave the German coast for the colder 
regions to the north. 
Norderney being, with the exception or Helgoland, the 
most populous of this series of islands, possesses the strong- 
est fishing squadron; but its preéminence is mainly due to 
the presence of a peculiar worm, abundantly found in the 
sand banks; and which has proved the most enticing bait 
to the haddock. This worm is called the ‘‘pierer,” and is 
as long and thick as the little finger. It lives and delves 
unceasingly in the sands, from one half to one foot below 
the surface. It swallows the sand grains, and its stomach 
is always filled with them; but after having by this means 
assimilated the digestible vegetable and animal substances, 
the sand grains are discharged. This worm is too perish- 
able to be transported to other islands. In Helgoland, the 
fishermen use the intestines of the seal brought from Green- 
land by the whale fishers; also certain parts of the intes- 
tines of the whale itself. In default of either, oz-liver is 
used, but only of necessity. The ‘‘pierer,” however, is 
unsurpassed asa bait, as has been proven by numerous 
trials. 
It isa clear day in September, and the sun’s disc is 
slowly rising from the eastern waters, gradually dissipating 
the mist which hangs along the horizon. The evening be- 
fore the last touch has been put to the fishing tackle. The 
boats are bright and smart, ready for work; every one in 
the coast village is eager in the expectation. In the minds 
of all, men, women and children, a certain restlessncss Is 
mingled with the sense of there being nothing to do just 
then but to wait. A few fine fellows as an advance guard 
are pushing with their craft out to sea, ready for the work 
which is to provide the islanders with food and raiment 
for one whole year. They drift out to sea; cast their lines; 
bait for a couple of hours. Nota line stirs; the shoal of ex- 
pected fish has not come yet. On shore everybody eagerly 
watches their return. A week may have gone by, when 
suddenly the cry will resound on shore throughout the 
the fisher-huts, ‘‘the haddock have come!” 
The scene now changes to immediate and stirring bustle. 
It is the province of the women to procure the now 
necessary bait, the ‘‘pierer;” while the men and older boys 
are getting the boats ready for sea. Armed with a fork 
not unlike the American forked spade, and very like Nep 
tune’s trident, and provided with shallow vessels, the 
women and girls scatter along the flats and begin digging 
for worms. This work must be done quickly; must be 
accomplished during the shortest period of the lowest ebb. 
when the flat is clear of water. And since, oftentimes, a 
flotilla of from forty to fifty sail is waiting to be thus sup- 
plied, and each boat will need about three thousand worms 
for one trip, one hundred and fifty thousand worms have 
to be procured in all. 
The fishing tackle of the Norderneyers is, in their local 
idiom, termed ‘-want.” It consists of, first and principal- 
ly, astrong and thick rope, to which are fastened at cer- 
tain distances thin lines, on which are attached their fish- 
ing hooks, plated with tin. The principal rope is called 
the ‘‘lienne,” the line; and the smaller lines the “echnor.” 
These attached lines are each about six fathoms long, this 
being the depth at which the haddock will bite, namely, 
close to the bottom of the sea. The divisions on the prin- 
cipal line are marked by the fishermen with great exactness; 
they are one fathom apart from each other; the principal 
lines being eighty fathoms in length; hence, provided with 
eighty hooks each, four lines with three hundred and 
twenty hooks, make a ‘‘back,” or a pack of lines. Every 
vessel will take ten ‘“‘backs” on board. During their sum- 
mer and winter rests, the fishermen-carefully mend, renew 










nd make additional fishing tackle. The most delicate part 
of the operation is the fastening of the hooks. Each hook 
is tied with a tarred thread to the lines. To keep each piece 
from being entangled in the numerous hooks, the hooks 
are strung upon a piece of wood until the line is to be 
used. Finally, buoys are fastened to each principal line to 
indicate the spot where the lesser lines have entered the 
water, 
The German ocean’s bottom being everywhere level, 
sandy and without natural ‘obstructions, the fishing tackle 
is less exposed to destruction than on the rocky coasts of 
Norderney or of Scotland. Still, they are exposed fto 
various accidents, such as of sunken vessels, and the fishing 
tackle is not unfrequently seriously injured. Sometimes 
an enormous ray will have to be hauled up; and a few years 
ago, whatrarely happens in these waters, a shark measur- 
ing seventeen feet in length was thus captured. 
The same kind of fishing tackle is used on the north Ger- 
man coast, but the Dutch fishermen throw out nets to take 
the haddock. This fish is, however, taken in but very 
small numbers in Dutch waters. The Scotch declare that 
they would be unable to catch a single haddock with the 
German fishing tackle. Thus every nation concerned has 
its peculiar customs, and it isa curious question whether 
the haddock, having been taken in a manner peculiar to a 
coast from time immemorial, might not refuse to be taken 
in any other manner. It is evident that the German 
method is the better one. In the German way the fish 
dies rapidly; in the other the death is made slower and not 
conducive to the preservation of its flavor. 
Great care is required even after the fish is killed to pre- 
serve this desirable quality. The fish must be handled as 
little as possible. The German fishermen maintain that 
the haddock must be brought to market with its natural 
slimy coat on. Hence they do not clean the fishes on 
board of the vessels, but leave* this manipulation to the 
Bremen or Hamburg cooks. 
In stormy weather the haddocks appear in greatest num- 
ber on the Norderney and Helgoland coasts. The best 
time for work is, therefore, shortly after a storm, when the 
fish will bite most eagerly. Then a little sloop will bring 
in probably two thousand fish, valued in market at two 
hundred dollars. Sometimes, if wind and weather are ex- 
traordinarily favorable, the sloop will sail out twice in 
twenty-four hours, bringing in two harvest in a single day. 
The trip does not usually extend farther than eight or ten 
miles out to sea; sometimes: the boats venture out to fifty 
or sixty miles distance. The fishermen when questioned 
will laugh at any supposed danger at first, but after closer 
inquiry admit that now and thena mishap befalls them, 
and some catastrophes are on record. Thus, some fifteen 
years ago, the flotilla went merrily out to sea from Nor- 
derney. It wasa most delightful day; but a terrifle storm 
overtook the frail smacks on the high seas, and out of six- 
ty, seventeen of these smali vessels were swallowed up by 
waves, making at one blow widows and orphans in thirty 
familes. It is remarkable that although these islanders 
live on the sea, but few of them know how to swim, and 
have a very low opinion of the efficacy of that art, consid- 
ering it perfectly useless.- They believe that if God wills 
that a fisherman must die by drowning no amount of swim- 
ming could possibly avert this fate. : ‘ 
When the sloops are filled with haddock they hasten 
back to the village, in order to expedite the sloop’s return 
for another trip. Women and girls await the arrival of the 
vessel to receive the tackle. Each sloop being the prop- 
erty of one family, and n» family counting more than four 
grown women in the household at the utmost. Every 
woman will be presently seen loaded with three ‘‘backs,” 
returning through the slippery flats to the village, carrying 
some one hundred and eighty to two hundred pounds 
weight, which gives us no mean idea of their power and. 
endurance. 
Sometimes the fish are sold to the Scotch buyers coming 
to Norderney during the season, but generally the sloops 
run into the mouths of the Ems, Ebbe, Werer, Jade, and 
the Holstein rivers, to the market, the cities being at the 
head of steam navigation. The precise harbor to be select- 
ed is scarcely ever known beforehand, and is determined 
on the trip, as it must depend upon various circumstances. 
If many competitors turn into the Weser, one patroon will 
go to Hamburg or somewhere else. Since the completion 
of the Ems railway the harbor of Emden has become the 
great haddock distributing mart for northwestern Germany. 
The Ems river during adverse winds can be entered readi- 
ly, and ere the fishing neighbor from Norderney has reach- 
Hamburg or Bremen, he who has put his eye on Emden 
first has often the satisfaction to be already’on his home- 
ward trip with the bright dollars in his pocket, the finest 
of his cargo being on its way, well packed in ice, going to 
Berlin or to Vienna to grace some patrician’s dinner table. 
Railways have brought about a very great revolution in the 
haddock fisheries of the north German Islands. Every- 
thing- must be done promptly and quickly, owing to the 
greatly increased consumption and consequent competition. 
The great question at the opening of the season with the 
haddock fishermen is who shall first get his cargo into Em- 
den, Hamburg, Bremen or Husum, as it is with us here 
who shall ship to the great markets of the North the first 
strawberries or peaches. The native shrewdness in trade: 
of these fishermen of Norderney is thus put to the highest. 
test, and the most remarkable examples of statecraft and 
duplicity will then occur. ’ 
The perishable nature of the fish requiring prompt action, 
as soon-as the sloops heave to at Bremen or Emden, officials 
especially appointed will cry out through the streets again,, 

