


fish Culture. 
—Weare kindly permitted by Seth Green to publish in 
advance his suggestions in regard to Frog Culture as 
furnished the N. Y. State Fish Commissioners by him for 
their fortheomming report :— 
“We havemany stagnant pools about the country that 
are useless in their present state, and believing that 
there is nothing made in vain, I do not know of any other 
use for them than to make them into frog ponds. I also 
believe it would make the man wealthy who could raise a 
million frogs and get them to market. All I would claim 
is giving him two years experience in experimenting. 
How to gather the spawn: Take a large dipper and go to 
the pond where the frog casts its spawn; you will find them 

; 
in a glutinous mass; dip them up and be very 
careful not to break the glutinous matter which 
binds them together; put them in a pail or can 
filed with water; take them to your hatching box, 
which is made after the fashion of my shad hatching 
box. It is a box 2 ft. long, 18 inches wide. The bottomis 
covered with 12 wires to the inch, gas tarred wire seiving; 
_ anchor the box in a gentle current and they will hatch in 
from 7 to 15 days according to the temperature of the water; 
soon after they are hatched they should be turned loose in 
a pond, prepared with great care, as they have numerous 
“enemies, such as fish, snakes, birds, lizards, coons, and 
many other animals. The pond should be made where the 
eround is springy with plenty of soft muck in the bottom. 
Here is where the frog lies during winter. The pond should 
have a tight board fence so that no animals could get in 
and so closed to the water that no bird could stand on the 
_nside and pick up the polliwogs. If you do not heed all 
these precautions, and more, too, your frogs will all disap- 
pear down the throats of some fish or bird, or animal, and 
if you are not an unusual close observer you will be in 
great wouder where they have gone; you will have no 
trouble in feeding the young while they are polliwogs; 
nature has provided for that in all waters; they live on 
' what is called sediment; it collects on every thing lying in 
all? water that is not strongly impregnated with some 
mineral; if you put the sediment under a strong magnifying 
vlass you will see that it contains animal matter or a forma- 
tion between animal and vegetable matter, and is the proper 
food for the young frog fry. They will eat it off the 
sticks, stones and bottom of the pond, and keep them as 
clean as if they had been washed. An old pond is better 
than a new one, because it will have more feed. 
The above isas far as I have gone. I have lost my polli- 
swogs and know what became of them. I hope others will 
profit by it. The rest of my experience is very limited. 
When they become frogs they live on all kinds of insects, 
and the only thing I know of to make a success of it is to 
procure insects in large quantities, enough to support a 
large number of frogs. One plan I had was to put some 
kind of meat, or any thing that would call flies, around the 
edge and on boards, inthe pond. Flies would come and cast 
their eggs and the frog would live on the fly and maggots. 
-I think they could be taught to eat meat, chopped fine; 
they wouid certainly eat it if they once got a taste of it; 
the question is, how to get them to taste of it. Ihave 
many atime tied a small piece of meat on a fine thread, 
and then attached it to a long fish rod; then move it near a 
frog’s nose and he would take it very quickly. But you could 
not afford to learn a million in this way. ut I think there 
could be something contrived that would give it a life-like 
appearance, and not be made so bungling as to frighten the 
frog before he made a snap at it. He takes his food with a 
srap. 
Frogs are in some countries an article of food, anda 
great luxury to many people in this country; they used to 
be plenty, but they are very scarce now, owing to their 
being taken during the spawning season, which is about the 
only time they are taken, except by some few that take 
them out of the muck in the springs, where they all gather 
during the winter.” : 
ERAN WS 
WEstTon, Vr., Jan. 3d, 1874. 
Eprror Forest AND STREAM:-— 
—In 1867 and 1868 there was built in the town of Wes- 
ton, Vermont, a reservoir to give increased supply of water 
-power for manufacturing purposes. Jt was built upon 
what is known as ‘‘Cold Spring Brook,” a small stream 
some two or three miles in length, and almost entirely 
made up of springs, one of which is very large. The res- 
ervoir was built on the upper third of the brook, and flood- 
ed with water a boggy meadow and other water lands coy- 
ered with small shrubby timber to an extent of perhaps 
sixty acres, which had heretofore only afforded a poor qual- 
_ity of hay and pasturage for cattle. The stream, prior to 
the erection of the dam for the reservoir, had been some- 
“what noted asa trout brook, but was fast coming into 
- disuse by reason of its having been ‘‘fished to death,” ang- 
lers getting small luck and smaller fish every year. Upon 
the completion of the reservoir the citizens of the town 
thought it best to have the fish protected by law, so peti- 
tions were gotten up and the Legislature evoked, who 
passed an act protecting fish in Cold Spring Brook and res- 
ervoir for three years. This act expired May, 1871, and 
up to that time no fishing had been done, though many a 
_ poacher had carried away his big string of trout, and many 
_-asly angler had taken a peep into the reservoir, and told 
his story about the abundance of fish there. The first day 
‘of May being fhe commencement of our ‘‘open” season, 
and the law having expired protecting these fish, of course 
- many an angler resorted thither, and wonderful was. his 
eatch of fish through the season, and yet no abatement of 
the fish in the reservoir, as the ‘‘open”’ season of 1873 at- 
tests. There has been yearly since 1871 a steady increase 
in the catch of fish, although as steadily increased the 
number of anglers going there. So constantly was the res- 
ervoir frequented through last season by professional and 
amateur anglers that there was no day throughout the en- 
tire season, whether foul or fair, but what you could find 
from one to twenty anglers in boats or upon the shore fish- 
ing. Twenty-five pounds of trout have been caught there 
in a day very frequently the past summer, and I kiowa 
professional angler who estimates his catch at three hun- 
drek pounds the past season, while his friends say it far 
exceeded five hundred pounds, The wonderful increase of 
trout in this reservoir is only to be accounted for upon the 
~ pasis of augmented food, which a boggy meadow will af- 
ford’ when flowed with water. 
: In the whole history of our State I find but one instance 

FOREST AND STREAM. 
where the increase of fish has exceeded the account given 
above, and that occurred under quite similar circumstances. 
Williams, in his history of Vermont, page 149, says:—‘‘The 
poy with which this (trout) and other species of fishes 
multiply under favorable circumstances was exemplified in 
an astonishing manner at an ‘early day in Tinmouth, A 
stream, which was about twenty feet wide, and which, like 
other streams, contained trout and suckers of the ordinary 
size and numbers, had a dam built across it for the purpose 
of supplying water for a saw mill. This dam formed a 
pond, which covered, by estimation, about one thousand 
acres, where the trees were thick and the soil had never 
been cultivated. In two or three years the fish were mul- 
tipled in this pond to an incredible number. At the upper 
end, where the brook fell in, the fish were to be seen in the 
spring running over one another, so embarrassed by their 
own numbers as to be unable to escape from any attempt 
made to take them. They were taken with the hands at 
pleasure, and seines caught them without difficulty. With 
a small net the fishermen would take half a bushel ata 
draught, and repeat their labors with the same success. 
Carts were loaded with them in as short a time as people 
could gather them up when thrown upon the banks, and it 
was customary to sell them in the fishing season for a shil 
ling a bushel. While they thus increased in numbers, they 
also became more than double their former size. This great 
increase of fishes is supposed to have been occasioned by 
the increased means of subsistence, in consequence of car- 
rying the water over a large tract of rich and uncultivated 
land.’ 
The flavor of the fish caught in the reservoir at Weston 
is not near so delicious asin the stream prior to its erec- 
tion, yet I notice that it far exceeds the flavor of our do- 
mesticated and liver fed fishes sold in the markets. I think 
there is many a small stream in this State, now but sparse- 
ly inhabited by trout, bordered by wild, boggy lands, across 
which a small dam might be erected, flowing a large area 
of entirely worthless land, which, being protected fora 
few years, would produce an annual amount of food be- 
yond the capabilities of the richest arable land. Thus 
might New England and the Middle States increase their 
trout considerably, and convert barren wastes into wealth 
producing tracts. E. C. M. 
The foregoing extraordinary statements emanate from 
sources so authentic as to leave no doubt of their complete 
accuracy. The fecundity of fish under certain favorable 
conditions borders on the marvellous. The pisciculturist 
needs no greater encouragement than is afforded by the 
data herewith given, or more positive assurances of the 
profits that may be derived from -his investment and pur- 
suit. That the character and quality of the food upon 
which fish feed materially aflects their delicacy of flavor, is 
exemplified in no species more strikingly than in the trout; 
and while by flooding swamps and marshes, an immense 
supply of organic and insect matter is provided, the flavor 
of the trout becomes so impaired as to be hardly recognized 
by the epicure who has been wont to draw his supplies from 
the cold and limpid mountain streams that dash over peb- 
bly bottoms. The water itself becomes impregnated and 
discolored with the juice of roots and decayed vegetable 
matter, and the trout acquire a flavor of the muddy deposit 
that overlies the bottom of the pond or reservoir, Even 
their colors change radically; they become dull and sodden, 
and the ‘‘trout in speckled pride” degenerates into a coarse 
and logy fish that affords little amusement to the angler, 
and might better be sold at ‘‘a shilling a bushel” than per- 
mitted to offend the high-toned perfection of a gentleman’s 
table. Fishermen who are only intent upon heavy baskets 
alone, or who labor for pecuniary gains, may throng the 
Vermont reservoirs named in the letter appended; but for 
those who seek a higher and more ecstatic reward, we be- 
lieve they would derive greater satisfaction from capturing 
one dozen of the shapely, lithe, clean, firm-meated trout of 
the dashing stream than a ton of the yielding, sodden and 
fllaccid fish that crowd each other on the muddy bottoms 
where swarm the most fSrovelling orders of insect life. 
Trout like these, when they,rise to a fly, break the surface 
with a ‘‘bulge” like the eructation of an over-fed stomach, 
and if the hook fastens, they settle to the bottom slowly, 
like a mud turtle, and wiggle languidly. Then, if the per- 
ception of pain excite their nervous system to make an ef- 
fort for relief, they scull themselves slowly around the 
are which the tautened line subtencs, and after a 
double or two and a dive come heavily to the net, sliding in 
sideways ‘‘on thtir ear.” Very different is the springy, 
active play of the trout of the gushing fountain-head— 
fontmalis, truly. The experienced angler knows that. 

GRaFTon, VT., Jan. 12th, 1874. 
Epiror Forrest AND STREAM :— 
DEAR Srr.—I read with pleasure. in your last number 
the letter from the Commissioner of Fisheries in relation to 
suitable waters for salmon. 
For several years I have had in my mind, as a very de- 
sirable place for this purpose, the Boreas River, in Essex 
County. It flows into the Hudson, I think in the town of 
Minerva. It can be reached from Pottersville, which if I 
mistake not, is about sixteen miles fromit. I fished it 
several years, since for trout with good success, and it ap- 
ears to me to be peculiarly adapted for breeding salmon. 
t runs its whole length through the wilderness, abounds 
in rapids and pools, is good water, gravely and rocky bot- 
tom, and I should think as easy of access as any secluded 
stream can be. <A few miles further up the Hudson the 
Indian River enters it, which is another good stream, but I 
should think it would be difficult to reach it with the young 
fish. Still further up there are several small streams, 
which would be good if accessible. 
I learn that salmon have been placed in Williams and 
West Rivers in this State. The former would be a good 
stream were it not for falls and a dam at Brockway’s Mills, 
a few miles from the mouth. These will, I fear, prove an 
obstacle against which the fish cannot contend. The 
Salmon Fisheries of West River are traditional with us in 
this section. It has undoubtedly in former days been 
a favorite resort of the salmon. At this time I am told 
their are no obstructions to prevent their return toit. With 
379 
one of its tributaries, I am somewhat acquainted, and 
think that it will have its part to fill in restocking the Con- 
necticut. It is called the Winhall River, and takes its rise 
(one branch at least) in Stratton Pond, near the top of the 
Green Mountains,and flows into the West River at Jamaica, 
in this county, (Windham.) It can be reached in about 
five miles from this place. I consider it the most valuable 
stream for this purpose with which I am acquainted. Ar- 
rangements can be made here with competent parties to 
take the young fry from Bellows Falls Depot and place them 
in these waters, if desirable. 
Yours, 


Be Wie Gs 
: —+—— 
8. H. Jerome, Esq., Fish Commissioner of Michigan, 
sends us his report on the introduction of the Cailfornia 
salmon into the waters of that State, as follows: 
“On the 14th of August last the State Commission re- 
ceived from the United States Commission a shipment of 
the Sacramento river salmon ova, reported 80,000. The 
day following their arrival at Niles they were placed in the 
hatchery of Jackson Crouch, some seven miles from the 
city of Jackson. Fully nine-tenths of the eggs proved to 
be good. This will be reckoned a wonderful success, con- 
sidering their long journey of nearly 3,000 miles. Some 
hatched in 10, some in 20, and a few were from 30 to 40 
days in hatching. The ‘‘Alevens” (the fry while they 
carry the yolk sac) were as a general thing well-formed 
active and healthy, and while taking the-rations that na- 
ture in her wisdom and benificence had supplied them 
they developed very rapidly. Since the absorption of the 
yolk sac, which lasted from 89 to 40 days, Mr. Crouch has 
fed them two or three times a day on beef liver reduced to 
a fine pulp, and inwhich was mixed a small quantity of 
cream. A small dessert spoonful of this, well distribu- 
ted in the troughs, was a good square meal for the multi- 
tude. By direction o* the United States Commission, as 
well as the Michigan Fish Comimssion, they were placed 
in the head waters of the St. Joseph, the Kalamazoo, and 
the Grand rivers—about 15,000 in each river and all in ab- 
solutely perfect condition. None were lost. We sought 
to plant them in such streams as are the natural and pre- 
ferred habitat of trout; and we succeeded beyond our ex- 
pectations in find just such localities. The activity and 
strength of this scion of the fin family are simply marvel 
ous. Nor is their growth scarcely less wonderful, Mr. 
Crouch thinks, and my observation accords with his opin- 
ion, that they about double their size every two weeks 
Itis stated that under favorable conditions they will grow 
in three years to weigh from ten to fifteen pounds. They 
were planted in the more southern rivers of the State by 
the advice of the United States Fish Commission. Should 
they thrive in those waters it is the hope and purpose of 
both Commissions, State and general, to introduce ‘them 
into the central and even northern rivers of the State. 
Some 3,000 or more were placed in Gull Lake, Kalamazoo 
county, as an experiment of their culture in our inland 
lakes. The waters of this lake are deep, cold, and very 
pure, and in all respects a good location for the experi- 
ment. Should the experiment succeed, a thousand other 
lakes all through and over the State await the creetines 
and labors of the Commission. From 500 to 1,000 were 
placed in the large springs of the State hatchery, near Po- 
kagon, Cass county, put there that we may more closely 
mark their growth and note their habits. 
NiIves, Jan. 2d, 1874. G. H Jerome. 

ANGLERS’ AssociaTion.—A meeting of the Anglers’ As- 
sociation was held Friday evening, January 16th, at New 
Era Hall, Tremont street, Boston, the President, Dr. John 
P. Ordway, inthe chair. The attendance was large, and 
the membership was increased by the addition of forty- 
four new members. 
The committee to consider the subject of the preserva- 
tion of lobsters, through their chairman, Mr. Chas. Stan- 
wood, submitted an interesting report, in which they rec- 
ommended the appointment of a commitiee to appear be- 
fore the Legislative Committee on Fisheries and urge the 
passage of a law forbidding any person from taking, é&x- 
posing for sale or selling any lobsters less than eleven 
inches in length, uuder severe penalties, which report was 
adopted and an efficient committee appointed to present 
the matter to the Legislature. The report was accompa- 
nied by a letter from Mr. 8. M. Johnson, lobsterman at 
Charles River bridge, in which the writer fully sustains the 
Association in the position taken in regard to the destruc- 
tion of young lobsters and lobsters with spawn. 
The committee on spawning beds reported having called 
the attention of the State constable to the fact that the 
smelt law was being violated, who promised to instruct his 
subordinates, in localities where said law is violated. to ar- 
rest the offenders. They found that most of the smelt in 
the market came from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and 
Maine. ; 
On motion, a committee was appointed to petition the 
Legislature to pass a law making it unlawful “to kill, ex- 
pose, or have for sale, smelts during the spawning season 
Mr. John H. C. Campbell, from the committee on trout. 
read a highly interesting and spicy report, embodying the 
experience of the committee in the market, where “they 
found lake and brook trout, but waited half an hour for a 
man sufficiently courageous to buy one. The Jaw probib- 
iting the catching of trout not applying in all States at the 
same time, the fishermen take advantage of the fact, and 
move from one State to another all through the spawning 
season. Complaints made to the Fish Commissioners of 
Vermont have not been acted upon. The committee con- 
sider it just as important that the law should be enforced in 
Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine as in Massachusetts, 
The report was laid on the table, to be acted upon at the 
next meeting, which will be held in Boston Hall on the 
28th instant, to which time, after a brief discussion upon a 
change of name, the Association adjourned. 

—A commission named by the Minister of War in France 
to inquire into the subject of employing carrier-pigeons in 
war has recommended the establishment of two pigeon- 
houses in the Garden of Acclimation, each to contain 2000 
birds. The Russian and Italian governments have already 
commenced such establishments, and some extensive ones 
have been commenced in Prussia. The English are con- 
templating a similar enterprise. 
