Channel Catfish, <I>Ictalurus punctatus</I>. Rafinesque

JuLT

30. 1885.

FOREST AND STREAM. 9

The

ChastnelCatfish(Ictahmispunctatiis, Rafinesque).

^The

^{channel cat reaches} a length of3 to 3 feetanda weia;htof15to20poundsor more.

As

usually seenin the marketsit rangesfrom 1 to 5pounds inweight,andthose exceeding5poundsare notcommon. ^Itishandsomer,more graceful,and more active than anyother ofourcatlishes.

Itislightolivaceousandsilveryincolor,covered with small

brown

spots

when

young. Theskinisthinandtranslucent,

much

lessthickanilleatherythanin our

common

catflshes (Amiurus).

The

head is small, the

mouth

small, and the bodyslender. There is

much

lesHwasteinthebodyofthe channelcatthanin otherfishes,asthelatter losemorethan halftheirweightbytheremovalof thehead,the entrailsand the skin.

The

^flesh of the channel cat,

when

fresh, is

verysuperior;itiswhite, crispandjuicy,of excellent flavor andnot tough. It is

much

moredelicateb(ithinfibreandin flavor than thatofourother catlishes.

When

well cooked, I con.sider^itsuperiorto that of theblack bass, the wall eye, the yellow perch,oranyotherofourpercoidfishes. x\mong our fresh-waterfishes,it isinferioronlytothewbitefisli,tne trout,andother Salmonidcp.

The

channel cataboundsinall

flowing streamsfromWestern ISiew

York

westwardtoMon- tana and southwardto Florida and Texas. Itis,perhaps, most

common

in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri. It seems^topreferrunningwaters, andbothyoung and^oldare most abundant in gravelly shoals andripples.

The

other catflshes prefer rathersluggishwaters and

mud

bottoms. I have occasionallytaken channel catsin ponds andbayous, but suchlocalitiesareapparently nottheir preference.

They

rarely entersmall brooksunlessthese are clearandgravelly.

Whether theywill thrive in artificial ponds

we

can only

know

from experiment.

The

channel cat is

much

^less tenaciousof life thanthe "bull-head" {Andurus nebulosits)

ana other Amiuri, It is a cai-nivorotis fish,although less greedythailitslarger-mouthedrt^latives. Itfeedsoninsects, crawfishes,

worms

andsmall fishes,and readily takes the hook. Itspawnsinspring,butitsbreedinghabits have not been studied.

As

a foodflsh,the channel cat is certainly betterworthyof attention thananyotherAmerican catfi.«h.

If once introduced,it ought to thrive in the rivers of the MiddleStates,ofSouthern

New

England,andofOaUfornia.

Itisalsotobe

commended

tothe attention ofEuropean^fish-

culturists. In the streams of WesternEurope,which are not cold enoughnorclearenough for the trout,thechannel catoughtto thrive,andthereisnofishnative tothosewaters whichisasvaluableforfood.

—

David fl.Jordan in BuUetifi ofthe U,b'. Fish Commission.

BassFishing.

—

^Putnam,

Conn

,July17.—Fishingin this partof thecountry has beeugoodthis spring, and

now

the fraternitjf arc after black bass, and are bringingingood

strings. ^'Speaking of bass tempts

me

togive

Forest

'and Stkeam:readers

my

firstandonlyd.ay's bass tisJung as yet thisseason.

A

friend ofmine

who

neversawa basscaught wantedtogowith me.

We

wenttoWebster

Pond

one day this week. After taking .some fifteen or twenty bass of smalland

medium

size, tiielargeronesbeganto foolaround, and at this .stageoftheproceedingsIthoughtIwouldtry the old 9ounce fly-rod, just to

show my

friend

how

the thingwasdone,

A

bigswirl,alightyank,a rush, and the old click reel s?punouttheusual music, until forty or flfty feetof linewasplayedout. "Where's your bass goneto?'"

"Look

out yonder,"saidI.

At

that instant asmall-mouth, 3-pound bass broke water, and shookhimselftwoor three feet in the air. "Say, is that fishtheoneyouare after?"

"Well,yes, Ishould smileandsayhewas."

The

fish

now

makesa divefortheboat,butswingingheraround in time thebassmakesanotherleap forty feet on the other side of the boat.

"Look

out,he'llbreakyour rod; he will break your rod." "Don't be alarmed,

my

friend; this rod has killeda 9-poundtrout inrapid water,andIguess it's good for this."

And

inaboutthreeminutesthatbasstook ascoot intothelandingnet.

My

friend looked admiringly at the bass, and then at the rod, quietly remarking, "Well,it's

worththewholetripupheretoseethat fellow taken with that

whip

ofyours." Idothink thereismore fight to the square inch in a small-mouth blackbassthaninanyother fishthatswims.

And

asIintend to spendafewdaysfool- ingwiththemabout thefirstofAugust, and if any of the

"oldsettlers"undertaketo"telegraph"to

me

fromtheirend oftheline,Iwilltell the readers of

Fokest and Stkeam

whatluckIhadin"telegraphing"backtothem.

— ^W.

Trout

Fishingin

Oregon. —

Editor ForestandStream:

Ihavenoticed an occasional itemin thecolumnsof j'^our paper giving specimens of "good catches"in Oregon. I

wish to contribute another item that will not compare unfavorfble with those that have happened before. In

company

withCaptain Fowler, of theSecond Cavalry.IJ.

S.A,,stationed at Fort Klamath, Bishop Morris, of Port- land,andmyself spent severaldays lastmonthon William- son Riverin Klamath county, Oregon, testing ourfishing tackleandthe quality of the trout that aboundthere. Un- fortunately

we

^didnot keep a recordof allthe fish taken andsocannot givethe total

number

orweight. Therewere caughtatthat time,however, several who.seweightwasnot forgotten.

The

Bishop landed withoutgaffornetandwith an eight-ouncerod, one thatweighed 6 pounds 10ounces.

Ihadthegoodluckto landthreethat togetherweighed18 pounds 5ounces. Captain Fowleralsolandedseveral that weighedover5pounds.

The

fishweretakenwitheight-ounce rodsand large flies.

The

coachman was the favorite. I haveneverseenfishmore

gamy

or

make

a betterfight.

They

wereineveryrespect similar to the

Rocky

Mountaintrout thataboundinthestreams onthis coast. Captain Fowler, whoseenthu-siasm for fishingisonly equalledbyhisgenerous hospitality, states that troutweretakenfrom the river this

^spring thatweighedovereightpounds andIcan wellbelieve it. Havingcastfliesin

many

streams in the State Ihave

come

totheconclusion that there is but one place tofish

and

thatisinWilliamson River.

— W.

E.PoTwaNE.

The Brack Prince.—

Chicago, July 2^.—Editor Forest

and

Stream:

Some

time ago in yourvaluablepaperunder theheading

"The

Most KilbngFly," Idescribed afly of whichI did not

know

thename, and the descriptionagrees exactly with that of "Cyrtonyx"in your issueofthe 23d inst.,savethatmine hadalong redtailinstead of shoots as he describes it. I never

knew

the

name

of the fly until

"Cyrtonyx"

named

it,and itis certainly oneof the most killing flies forColoradoand

New

Mexican streams. This flyhaving provedsotemptingtotheSalrno drginalistribe. I set to

work

(though no fly-maker)and

made

myself some

fliesexactlylikeitsavethat Iu.sedsilvertinseltwist inplace ofthegilt; this proved,if anything,more killingthan the

black prince, so I

named

it the black killer. IfMr.Hart willsend

mo

his address,Iwillbe mosthappytosend him ablackprince,black^killerandseveralotherflies tliatIhave found remarkably goodinColoradowaters,andifIcangive himoranyof

my

fellowsportsmenanyinformation regard- ingthe trout streams,ponds andlakesofColoradoor

New

Mexico,I shallbemosthappytodo so.

"Next!"—

Sport.

Maryland

NBTTreo.

—

Fau-lee Creek, KentCounty,Md.

,

July16.

—

^{While the oyster lawof Maryland isstrictlyen-}

forced,the seinefishermenarehaulingday andniaht, takina:

great quantitiesof rock, pike,etc.,anddestroyingthousands ofsmallfish. Thisisagrand

game

and fishcountry; but thisconstant seine-haulingwill tell in thecourse of time.

Fishing withhook andlineforprivateusecould never

make

anyperceptible difference,butwillnottheguardiansof the lawlookafterthe wholesale destroyers? Mostof thembe- long in other States,where theycannot haul seineatthis timeoftheyear.

—

E\^rett Von

Culin.

^islfculture.

Addressallcotnmunioationstothe Forestand Stream Publish- ingCo.

A GLANCE AT BILLINGSGATE.

BY WILLIAM

VAN

ZANDTOCX, [Apaperreadbefore cbeAmericanFisheriesSociety.|

TH.E ^Thames

^{being thehighwayto London and originally}

the sourceof itsfish supply,itwas very natural that somepointuponitshouldbecomethe centerofthefi.shtrade.

Billing-sgatehasforcenturies been thatpoint. Astotheori- gin otthe

name

thereare

many

traditions. One^isthatBelin, anancient Britain ruler,

who

livedthreeorfourcenturies B.

C.and

was

held in great reverence bythefisherfolk,con- structeda gate intheimmediate proximity to the present marketandg.iveithisname,

Stow, a very practical writer, after considerable research, comesto the' conclusion that a Mr. Belingor BiHiug, in the timeof Ehzabeth.hadawharfthere. Thiscommencement, though less flavored with romance and moreof fishthan

otlier's, Ave thinkmorethan likelywasthe beginningofthis unpoetical tish mart. The market hasbeenthepropertyof thecity ofLoudon for centuries, and therevenues derived fromit,though nostati.sticsseemto haveeverbeencompiled onthe subject,mustintheaggregate beenormous.

Originally themarket wasveryprimitivebothin structure and equipments, indeed, untilwithin the

memory

of those stni living,itconsisted of "a batchofuncleanlyoldshedsreek- ing -with tishy smellsandmoreorlessbesetbyruffianlycom- pany."

Thelanguage used

by

ttiose

who

frequentedithas, asiswell known, become^{proverbial for its}coai'seness. Atone time

women

wereengaged in sellingtish inthemarket,andit is said were largely instrumentalin giving the place the bad

name

itbore,and thoughat thistimeithaseutu-ely changed fi-om

what

itonce was,it stillbeai'Sthe stigmaof coai'seness inthemindsof many,illustrating,says aclever writer, that

"asinthe case of men,the evil that

women

dolives after them."

Theoldsheds disappeared someyearsago, tlieh places be- ijigoccupied

by

a buildingwhich tn turn has given

way

to the present market. This .structure extends northandsouth fromthe

Thames

Riverto

Thames

.street andwasbuiltwith ttieidea ofhaving not only groimd space,but alsospacein thebasement below andthegalleryoverhead. The basement part

was

intended for shellfish dealers. Butitwasnotoc- cupied by them long, torbeing twenty-six feet belowthe leveloftheriver,itwassodark,

damp

anddisagreeable that fewbuyers caredtogothere. Several deathsalsooccurred

among

itsoccupants,andthoseremaining being unwillingto stay longerinthe"black hole,"it

was

abandoned, exceptas aplace of storageandfor lobster boiling purposes. Theover- headspace

was

for dealers indriedfishandisconnectedwith thegroundfloorbothbyspaciousstairsandelevatoi-s. Being .sought,however,by fewpatrons,it

was

alsoabandoned and

itsoccupantswent below andsqueezedin,asdid theshellfish dealers from the basement; sothat atthistime theentue

trad"} is concentrated on the ground floor. Withoutgoing into detailsconcerning thearchitecture ofthebuilding,it issuf- ficienttosay thatitisgeneraUyadmitted thatthecorporation didnotactwiselyinenlarging themarketata greatexpense andina

way

that isof nopractical use,instead ofwidenurg the approachestoiton the

Thames

streetside. Thefloorsof the building areofpoUshedgranite,concealed beneath wiiich aredrainsofiron forcarrying off the du't andrefuse

when

themarketisflushed,which^{is^}done daily atthecloseofthe markethours.

At

the present time thereare 156stallsand14shops on the groimdfloor. Theformerarelocatediuthecenter,whilethe latterare on thesides ofthebuilding. Thereisalsoa tavern whereflshareservedastheleadingarticleofdiet. Formerly therewore three taverns, Simpson's, Bowler's and Bacon's, whereinother days the salesmen congregatedbeforedayhght, dranktheii'blackcoiieeand"affandatf,"atefishandtalked over theprices, salesandsupplyoffishforthecomingday, In ordertohave morespace, howevex-,the

number

oftavernshas been reduced to one,which

now

^bi-ings inarental of |4,0U0 annually. Thestallsvaryin size,averaging82sq.ft.,accord- ingtothe Clerkof the Market, Mr.John Little, to

whom

I

am

indebted for

many

courtesies. Thestalls,accordingto location,bringfrom10to18centspersquarefootperweek,or anannualrentalfrom§166 to |300 each. Theshops bringfrom

$1,700 to13,000.

Avenuescrossthe marketat regular intervals, and from necessity arevery liarrow. Great effortisrequiredtokeep themopen,andthe rules of themarketarevery explicit in regardto placingobstructions in them. Porters carry the fishintoand fromthe marketin baskets,boxes, crates, bar- rels,in fact inallkindsofways.

No

oneis permittedtoper- form the duties ofporterwithout alicense,forwUich he has topay2s.6d.

When

onduty, in ordertoreadily distinguish him,theporteris obliged towearonhis leftarmametalhc badgehavtug onitthearmorial bearingsof thecity of Ijon- don. If aport.er misbehaves, uses any abusive or obscene language,gets intoxicated,steals,commits assaultorviolates anyoftherides of themarket,his hcense is at once taken fromhim. I

was

told thatthe presentconductofemployes in Billingsgateso happflyin contrastwith"yeoldentimes,"

isduetorigidenforcement of rulessimilar intenortothose justmentioned.

Theporter's dress consists ofcottonoveralls,acoarsecotton sMi-t,

worn

onthe outside ofthetrousers,whichfromthebe- grimed and bespattered appearance arevery appropriately called "slops." The headisprotected

by

a "porter'sknot," a hatwhichhas a cushioninthe crown,very necessary padding,

itmightbe remarked,as the roiigh and heavy "ti'unks"ai'e eitherbornedirectlyonthetop ofthehead, or resting onthe shoulders,back and neck.

Wooden

sandals are generally wornonthe feet to keepthebottomsofthe shoesfromcon- tactwiththe sloppysurface. Theporterreceivesonanaver- age about^apenny fai-thing forcarrying eachboxoffishto thesalesman. Thetakingofitfromthesalesmentothecon- veyanceof thebuyerisanoptional charge,dependingupon thekindsoffishanddistance tobe carried.

Land-borne fish enter the buildingon the

Thames

street

side, while river-borne fish are brought into the market throughthesouth doorfacingtheriver. Theboats bringing them to London are not permitted to

come

alongsidethe building tn unload, but, forsomereason

unknown

tome, are reqtui-ed to

make

fast to fasteningsprovidedforthemadjacent to floating pontoons and barges that iirtervene. Planks, mostly unprotectedbysiderails,extendfi-om boat tomarkec about ahundredfeet distant.

Up

and

down

andacrossthese plankstheporterstramp withtheirheavybm-dens,foreach titmkweighsabout100pounds.

Nine .steam carriers run to andfromBillingsgateandthe fleetsintheNorthtSea,andbring thebulkofthewater-borne fish. Theunloadingof th eseboats—indeedallkindsof craft

—

is an interesting sight. But let Sala tellthestory: "This wharfis covered with fish,andthescalythingsthemselves are being landed

wth

prodigiouscelerityand in quantities almostasprodigiousfromvesselsmooredintriple tierbefore themarket. HereareDutcliboats thatbiingeels,andboats fi-omtheNorth Seathatbring lobsters,andboatsfrom Har-

tlepool,Whitstable,Harwich,GreatGrimsby,andotherEng-

lishseaportsandflshiug stations. TheyareallcaUed boats, though

many

areof asizethatwotddrendei-thetermship,or at leastvessel,farmore applicable, Theyaremostly square andrsquatin rigging,and somewhat tubbyinbuild,and nave anrmmistakablyfishyappearance. Nauticaltermsaremin- gledwithLondonstreetvernacular;freshmackerelcompetes inodorwithpitchandtar; thetigbt-straincd riggingcuts in dark indigo relief against the pale bluesk>'; thi?wholeisa confusion, slightlv'dirtybut eminentlyxjictm-esque,of ropes, spars, baskets,oakum,'tar]);:iuliii, Ush,canvas trousers, osier baskets,loudvoices,tramplingfeet;uid'perfumedgales,'not exactlyfrom'Arabytheblest,'butfromtheholdsofthefish- ingcraft."

The methodofhandling and eanyingthefish

may

sti-ike theauthor of "Twice AroimdtheClock"asoneof "prodigi- ouscelerity,"buttoanAmerican familiarwithsteamappli- ancesandlabor-savingmachinei'y,itappearsto beverytedi- ous, costly, old-fashioaedandingreatcontrast tosysternsseen withus,where avesselputsin,unloads,packs up,andleaves thewharfintwo hours.

Steam ^appliances havenotbeenadoptedat Billingsgate, I

am

informed, becausethefishwouldbemorerapidlybrought tothesalesmen than they could be haudlod,and sothe old systemis clung to,and porterswith trunksontheirheads approachthe salesman, standinwaiting,then depositthem onlyasrapidlyasthey can besoldandagainboraeaway.

Thesalesman or auctioneergetsfivepercent,on thesales made.

Many

flsh were formerly sold at "Dutch auction,"

wherethe salesmannamesahigh^figure,thou dropstoa lower one,andso onuntilabidis

made

wliichisaccepted,andthe procedm'eisgone through with denovo.

No

licenseisi-eqiured to seUfishby Dutchauction,and thismethodis stillingreat favorin

many

ofthe fishing ports.

The Bumm'areeappearstobeanindividual essentialtoBil- lingsgate.

Jonathan Bee, in his slangdictionaiy ("LexiconBalatroni.-- cum"), published182:;,defines the

bummaree

tobe the

man who

atBiUingsgatetakesthe placeofthe salesman,andgen- eraUyafter y o'clockA.M.,buysthelastlotoffish.

Theauthoi" ot"London Labor and London^Poor,"18.53,says thatatthattimeBillingsgatewasopenedat ^-1A. M.,but for

two

hom-sitwasotUy attended by theregularfishmongerand thebummaree. Atthepresentt'hne,Ivowever,not onlyisthe

bummaree

thefirstto arrive, but, as in182^,he isthelastto leave.

He now

purchasesfromthe salesmanaudseU*tiOsmall dealers,eostermougersandconsum«Ji'i<. Beforemaking asale the

bummaree

breaks the packages and assortsthefish,sup- phdngtheljuyerswiththe kinds,sizes and cjuahty de*s>3"edl.

A

veryusefulfunctionit might be remarked when

w«

re-

member

that a"ped"often contains various kinds of fish,

smtableandunsuitable fortheusesforwdiichthey arewanted byditferent classes of purchasers. But how'ever useful the

bummaree may

be,thatsuchanindividual exists at^all,only goestoprove the inadequateaccommodationsofBDlingsgate forthetrade,and whetherthereisioundationornotforsuch accusationasare heard concerning him;the

bummaree

will exist solongasthefishsupplyofpopulousLondonhastopass throughthislimited inaccessiblemarketin a limitedtime.

The marketisopened at .5 o'clock in the morning and is

practicaUy overat 10 o'clock. Beforethe opening,however, the auctioneersai"e intheir places,behind what are called-

"bidks" or "forms,"upon which the fish are depositedin

"trunks,""doubles,"etc. Littleif anyopportunity isgiven buyersto ascertainthe condition of the tish,for no sooneris theboxdepositedon the "bulks" thanit is knocked

down

as sold,andagainboi'neaway. Ifthebuyeris not infoimied in some

way

inregardtothe condition ofthe fish,topurchase theunopenedboxesso rapidly,and withsuch apparentindis- criminaterecklessness,seemstoanoutside observer, toputit mildly,great confidenceinthecomhtionofthefish,andinthe honestyofthe salesman.

Duringthe whirlofbusinessallseems confusionandchaos.

Porters areseen rushinghitherandthitherwith reekingbar- rels,basketsand boxes. Auctioneerswith long narrowae- coxmt booksin theirhandsare

bawhng

toljuyers,who, with hands

by

the side of theirmouths,direct backtheirshouting answers, while theuninitiatedexplorerstands bewilderedin their midst, until he is caUedto his sensesbythe exclama- tion,"Houttheway." "The onlycomparison leanfindfor theaspect, the sights andsoimdsof the place,"sa.ysawell-,

known

writer,"isarush,a rushhitherandthither atahelter skelter speed,apparently bUndly, apparentlywithout motive, butreallywithabusiness-likeandengrossingpre-occupa,tion forfishandallthingsfishy. Baskets f idlof turbot borneon theshoulders ofthefacchini of theplace, skimthi'ough the airwithsuchrapiditythatyou might take

them

tobeflying fish."

"Atthat piscatorialhouse,"saysBertram, ("Haiwestofthe Sea,"p. 59)

"we

cansee intheieaiiymorningtheproduceof ourmostdistant seas brought toourgreatest seat of popula- tion, sure of finding a ready and profitable market. The aldermanicturbot,thetemptingsole,thegigantic codfish,the valuable salmon, the cheapsprat,and the universal herring, arealltobe found dm-ing their diflierent seasons in great plentyat Billingsgate,andinthelower depthsofthemarket buildings, countless quantitiesof shellfish ofall

kmds

stored intubs

may

beseen,andalloverissprinkledthe drippingsea water,and allaround

we

feel that 'ancient and fish-like smell'whichistheconcomitantofsucha place."

CommerciaUy spea,king fishare dividedbytheLondoner into

two

classes:1. Prime. 2. Oft'al. The former compre bonds thechoicevarieties,suchassole,btill,turbot,etc. The latter includesthe

commoner

coarse kinds, suchas place, roher,haddock, etc. The quantitiesthat

come

intoBillings- gateareverydisproportionate. Mr.Littlesays thatthirteen boxesofoffalreachesthemarkettoone

box

ofprime. That gentleman has verykindly furnished

me

atablesho\vingthe quantityoffish arx-ivingat Billingsgatepermouthduring the year1883,whichI shall

make

a partof thispaper,as alsoa i

seriesof tablesshowingtheamountoffishcomingtoLondon since1875. ItwillbeseenfromMv.Little'sstatement that the quantitycoming

by

wateris

much

lossthanbyland. Special trainsbearing ^flshalone rundaily toLondon from Grimsby, Hull,Yarmouth and other places. As these trains donot comeinthevicinity of Billingsgate, thefishhave tobe carted through the narrow-streetsandtortuouslanes,acrossthecity tothe market inordertobesold,and

when

soldtobe again carted over the same streets through whichit hasaheady withdiflicultypassed.

Speaking ofthe approachesto Billingsgate,the Quarterly Review, October,1882,says: "Their badness

was

of compara- tively slight importancesolongas thebulkof thefishw^as broughtthitherbywater. "RHien, however,itbecameneces- sarytodealeachyearwithsome90,000tons of railway-borne