Forest and stream

June

23, 1887.J

FOREST AND STREAM. 479

AMERICAN SILKWORM GUT.

ABOUT

^{the first of this}

^month

^I received a request

from

the noted

German

fishculturistCountvon

dem

Borne,forcocoonsofthe

American

silkworm (Attacus cecroina),

and

Avrote

him

thatifpossible they

would

be sent,but that the season

was

lateandit

was

doubtfulif they could be obtained. Letters ofinquiryweresentto Mr. C. F. Orvis,Manchester, Vt.,whose experiments in producinggutfromthe

American worm

have beenlately recordedin

Forest and

Stream,

and

alsoa correspond- ence

was

opened withDr. E.Sterling, ofCleveland, Ohio.

On

June15Mr. Orvis sent

me

aboxof cocoons,butthey seemedtobe so livelythat thereisdangerof theirhatch- ing before reaching

Germany,

althoughthey were im- mediatelydispatched

by

asteamer sailing lastSaturday.

Mr.Orvis sentboththe cecropia

and

polypheinus cocoons, andsays thatliehasfoundthelatter toproducenearlyas largea

worm

asthe cecropia,

and

very kindlyoffers to giveCount

von dem

Bornethebenefitof

any

experience hehas had. Mr. Orvis lias notfound

any

difficulty in rearingworrnsthisseason, ashehas raised great quanti- tiesofthem.

A

letterfromDr. Sterlingrefers totheexperimentsof thelate Dr.Garlick,

which

have alreadybeenpublished in

Forest and

Stream,andalsobyMr.Wellsin

Ms

book onfishingrodsandtackle.

He

saysthathe

saw

Dr.Gar- lick

draw

agutover30in. inlengthfromthe

worm,

andit

was

as perfect in everyrespect as themostfastidious anglercould desire. Dr. Sterling

was

unable tosecure

any

specimensso late thisseason;yearsagothe wild rose

swamps and

^thewatersycamore bayous"nearCleveland abounded withthe cocoonsofthececropia,

and

a bushel couldbegathered in a short time. Allofthese placesare

now

converted into iron ore andcoal docks, orfilled

up

withwarehouses andrailroad buildings,

and

theinsects havenaturally abandonedthe place.

The

besttime to gather thesecocoonsforshippingwould be February

and

March,sothat theycould reach

Germany

infavorable Weather fordevelopment. Near Cleveland theydo not hatchuntilthefirstormiddleofJune

and

sometimesnot untilthelastofthemonth.

They

willdevourthe leaves of the ailanthus,

common

plum, currant,and, in fact, almost

any

ofthesoftandtenderleaves. Dr.Garlick fed

them

almostentirelyon

plum

leaves.

Shouldthese

worms

reach

Germany

safelythere are enoughof

them

togive Mr.von

dem

Bornequite astart inexperimenting with gut

made

fromtheAmericansilk-

worm;

butshouldtheyfail, Iwill tryto obtain alotfor

him

nextwinter;whichwill no doubt reach

him

incon- dition tohatchafter arrival.

Fred Mather.

ColdSpbinoHarbor,N. Y.

CANADIAN ANGLING.

THE

^{wilderness north of Quebecis just}

^{now an}

^at-

tractiveregiontoanglers,becausetheQuebec

& Lake

St.

John

Railroad

makes

it of very easy access,

and

because the regionisstill aAvildeiness inthe truesense.

Caribou,moose andbear

maybe

hadthere; at thisseason

itistrout fishing that occupies the mind.

The

entire countryis filled withbeautiful lakes,andalmost every lakehasan abundanceofbrooktrout;,in

some

are also pikeandthefork-tailed trout.

Such

advantagesof acces- sibility and an abundance of sport have already attracted

many

local anglers;

some

of the watershave been taken

up by

Quebec clubs,but therestillremaina great

many

lakes,

and

even systemsof lakeswithcon- necting streams, unleased

and

readyto afford pleasure toahostofvisitors.

The

railroad people, counting on sportsmen for a part of their revenues,findit totheir interestaswellas to theirundoubtedpleasuretoextend every facility

and

courtesyto brethren ofthe rod

and

gun.

The

countryis still too

new

to-offer luxurious accommodations,butallisdonethatcanbedoneto

make

onecomfortable.

The summer

climateisdelightful,with

an

elevationof 1,000 to1,200ft.,anorthern latitude,

and

unbrokenforestsallaround, the airis extremelywhole-

some

andthe nights are cool.

The

other day two

men

leftthestation of

Lake Edward

at 3A. M.,and returned at 6:45 A. M., after 24 hours of fishing,with271bs. of trout;the smallest weighed 1+lbs.,thelargest 2flbs.

As

thewateris stilltoohighfor fly-fishing,

minnows

are the bait. Plentyof theseare caught inthelake. Another day

two

men,inaboutfivehours,took651bs. of finetrout, the largest of

which

weighed 41bs. 2oz.

The

famous SaguenayRiver,withitsremarkablescenery,itssalmon rivers

and

itslandlockedsalmonwaters,liesat theend of the railroad. Altogether the region offers

many

attractionswithineasy reach. C.H.F.

Comparative Weight

of

Maine and Canadian

Salmon.

— Camp

onSt.Mary's River, Sherbrooke, N.S.,

June^15.

—

Editor Fores

and

Stream: Inoticeinedition ofJune9communication of Dr. R.. under dateof

May

29. Not wishing^to enter into a controversywiththe Doctor,butfeelingthatheis mistaken,Iwishtosayin regard to his

remark

(speakingof thePenobscot River salmon),

"The

averagerunof fish islargerthanthatof

any

riverin the Eastern^{States or} Canada,excepting the Cascapedia. Mostofthesalmon takenhere are over151bs.

inweight,''that

my

experiencewillcontradicthim. In 1884T killed 11salmon ontheSt. Mary's River that aver- agedSOjlbs. In 188GIkillid42salmon ontbeRestigouche thataveraged23-J-lbs. This seasonIhavekilled 8salmon

on

the St. Mary's Riverweighing28, 27, 32,47|, 39i,^28, 24Jand281bs.;total, 2541bs., and average31flbs. I

was

late

upon

the ground,

and

mostof the largefish

had

passed along before^Iarrived.

—

Lawson

B.Bell.

Taking Carp on Fly-Rods.—

For

some

timepastithas beenevident that therewere somegood-sizedcarp inthe lakesofProspect Park, Brooklyn, theresult of plantings

made

therebyMr.E.G. Blackford,asagentoftheU.S.

FishCommission. 0_i Friday last

Park

Commissioner Somers, Mr. O'ReillyandMr. Blackfordtriedthe fishing in

Long

Pond,inthe Park,with fly-rods,using crustsof breadinsteadof flies,

and

they took thirty-one carp in lessthan an horn^-.

The

^fish were all scale carp

and

weighed

from

l^lbs. to 61bs.

The

carp wereallsaved alive

and

plantedinthe

pond by

themusicstand. Bread crustis

now

in order as a carp lure,and at the next tournamentofthe

Rod

and Reel Association

we may

see aclass

made

for"casting the bread-crust."

The Northern New York

Association.

— The

Northern

New York

Fish

and Game

Protective Asso- ciation,

which was

incorporatedon

Monday

,helda meet- ing for organization last

week

atTroy.

The

following officerswere elected: President,

W.

E. Hagan; Vice- President,Joseph DeGolyer; Secretary, Dr.C. C.Shuyler;

Treasurer,

Samual

S. Bullions.

The

honorary

members

chosenfollow: Marshall McDonald, United States Fish Commission, Washington;

Eugene

G. Blackford,

New York

State Fish Commissioner; the Hon,

James

Shana- han, Superintendent of Public Works, Albany; Fred Mather,Cold Spring Harbor, andN. A. Cheney, Glens Falls.

The

associationhas a

membership

ofabout100.

^jfi&hmttme.

AddresssallcovummictitionstotheForestand StreamPub.Co.

FISH PRESERVATION BY ACIDS.

BY

A.

HOWARD

CLARK.

[Readbefore theAmericanFisheriesSociety.]

AN

^{important method of} preventing decomposition of animalfleshisthe application ofantiseptic salts ina powderedformtothe surfaceofthesubstanceor toimpreg- nate, itwith a solution eitherbyatmosphericorhydraulic pressure.

Among

thecommonest and mosteffective,anti- septics,exclusive of chloride ofsodium (commonsalt) are acetic,ascontainedinvinegar,andboracicacid. Thelatter preservativeisfastcomingintofavorin the preparationof nsheryproducts,becauseofitsverysatisfactory properties.

As

compoundedwithsaltintheformofapowderor

m

solu- tionwithtartaric acid, boracic acidisfound to effectually preserve eitherdry orpickled fish in good conditionfora longtime.

At

theFisheriesExhibition,atLondon,in188S, some Pa-

cificsalmonwereshown which hadbeen packedinasolution ofboracicacidandother ingredients forseveralweeks,and after theirlong landandwater journey they wereremoved fromthesolutionandexposedtothe atmosphereat thefish

marketforseveral days,stillretainingmostof theiroriginal flavorandfreshness.

Itis

my

purposein this papertoenumerate some of the more important methods ofpreserving fish by chemical treatment. Onlyafewofthenumerouscompounds which have been broughttothenotice offishcurershavecomeinto commercialuse,thoughitisprobable that

many

ofthem wouldupon^trialbefoundeffectualandprofitable.

At

the Centennial ExpositionatPhiladelphia,in1876,there weresomeexhibits of fresh oystersandclams preservedin chemicalliquids,and whichthe jurieson awardspronounced ofgoodquality. Boracicacid

was

reportedtopreserve ani- malmatterfor severalmonthswithoutchangingthetexture as

common

salt does. Citric andacetic acids alsoproved goodpreservatives,andfishcured in theseacidswere, aftera Bttlesoakingin freshwater,foundfreefromallunpleasant flavor.

In Portugal,fisharekeptfresh fora considerabletime,by removingtheviscera andsprinklingtheabdominalcavity withsugar,

when

theyare

hung

untoallowthesugartoim- pregnate thefleshas

much

as possible.

Ishall notice the several methodsin the order of their commercial importance, beginningwith acetic acid,which, nextto

common

^salt,isperhaps theprincipal antiseptic in usein_thiscountry.

1.

V

inegar, Spices, etc.

—

Lobsters, oysters, oyster crabs, mussels, scallopsandsomeother marine productsare pre- servedinvinegaralone,and,packedin glassjars,arecom-

mon

inthe

New York

markets underthe

name

of•'pickled"

products. Herring,mackerel,andotherfishare largely pre- paredwithcompounds of vinegarand spicesand sold as Russiansardines,marinatedfish,soused fish,and byother tradenames.

The

preparationofRussiansardinesfromthe

common

seaherringwasintroduced into this country by someenterprising

New York

merchantsduring the Franco- Prussian war. Theprincipal seat of operations wasEast- port,Me.,andthemethods employed aspatentedin 1875by Messrs.Sellman, Reessing,andWolff,have beenas follows:

Thefishwhilealivearethrownintostrong brinecontained insuitablecaskson board thefishingvessels. This partof the processisimportant,as itnot only killsthe fish but preventsthem fromspoilingwhile being cleanedandcured.

Afterbeingkeptinthebrine for at least tendays theyare beheaded,gutted, scaled,andarethoroughly cleanedin clear coldwaterandplacedinlargewillow basketsor in sieves to drainoffthe superfluouswater. In^fiveor sixhours theyare spreaduponpackingtablesandassorted as tosize,eachsize beingpackedbythemselves.

The fish are preservedandatthesametimeflavoredby being packedwith the followingingredients,thequantities givenbeingfor1201bs.offish:

Two

gallons vinegar,l><lbs.

allspice, 2oz.pepper,41bs. sliced onions. 21bs. sliced horse raddish,lib.bayleaves, J^lb.cloves,3^lb.ginger,y,Vo. cori- anderseed,;'^lb.Chilipepper,and^{23^oz.}capers.

In packing thefisha small quantityofvinegarandathin layer oftheother ingredients are placedinthebottom of the vesselanda layer offish,placedback upward,areputin andgentlypresseddown.Anothersmallquantityofvinegar andthinlayer of the other ingredientsare putinand an- otherlayer of fish,and.so onuntilthevesselisfull. The

fishare readyfor market and consumption inabout four daysin

summer

andfromthree tofourweeksin winter.

M

^ethodofSousing.— Soused mackerel andotherfish

may

be prepared as follows:The fish arecut into piecesabout 2in.longandcleaned.

A

souse is

made

of cidervinegar and cloves,

nutmeg

orother spices,with parsley,bayleaf and onions, and the fish areimmersed in this sousefor twelvehours,

when

theyareputinasecondsouse,

made

the same as the first with the addition of capers, olive oil,

Worcestershiresauce, andextract of anchovyand lemons Afterremaininginthesecond sousefortenhours,theyare heatedinthe souseforfour toeighthoursatabout140deg.

Fahr.andarethen packed withthe sousein air-tightpots orjars.

t.Acetic

Acid and

CarbonateofSoda.

—

Thefishtobe preservedareputin barrels, orotherpackages,with aliquid composedof acetic acid andcarbonateofsodain sufficient quantities to

make

aslightly acidsolution of acetate of soda, towhichisaddedenoughwaterto give theliquid a density of three tofivedegrees.

A

fewgrainsof salt

may

beadded togiveanagreeabletaste,and aboutfivedropsofnitrate of sodaforeachpoundoftheliquid topreservethecolor ofthe substance. Prepared chalk

may

be usedinstead ofcarbon- ate of soda. Thefish

may

bekeptin this solution, or after being saturated withadenserliquid

may

bedried.

S. BoracicAcid

and Com mon

Salt.

—

In theUnitedStates, untilwithinaveryfewyears,littleadvantage has been taken inthefishtradeofthe effective preservativepowerofboracic acid incombinationwith

common

salt. In1883the writer foundthat atGloucester, Mass., theheadquarters in this countryforthe curing ofdry-saltedfish,the useofboracic acidwasjustbegun,andthen onlybya fewcurers. Since thatdate,however, "Preservaline"andotherchemicalpow- dershaving the above substancesas theirbasehavecome into quite general use, particularly in thewarmermonths,

when

withoutthis preservativeitisoftenfoundimpossible tokeep dryfishingoodconditionfor

many

weeksoreven

days. This powder checks thepeculiarreddeningbocom- monlyseenondry-saltedfishinsummer.

Thechemicalpowderusedbythe Norwegiansin preserv- ingfreshherringforexportisamixtureofboracic acidand

salt,using abouttwo poundsof salt toeachpoundof boracic acid. Herringarepackedinbarrelsinthe ordinarymethods withalternate layers offishandpowder,andafterthebarrel isheaded theyare"pickled"witha

weak

solution of pure boracicacid. Fish preservedin this

way

willkeepperfectly freshandoftheirnaturalflavorfora

week

or evenlonger.

The Norwegians havealreadysucceededin profitablycom- EetingwithScotlandinsupplying theLondon marketwith

"eshherringthusprepared.

A

morecomplete preservation ofherring,sothattheywill keepingood order fora long time,isobtainedbytheSahlstrom processandby theRoosen method by which a solution of boracic acid and salt is thoroughlyimpregnatedintothefleshundera pressureof60 tolOOlbs.tothesquareinch. Successful experiments have been

made

in Scotland iD treating fresh salmon by the Roosenprocess. Threehundredpoundsoffishwerepacked in a strong ^steel ban-el and with a pressure

pump

the solution¹ was ^forced into the salmon until they were thoroughly impregnated. Afterthree weekssubjection to thisprocessthe fish were cooked and found of excellent flavor. Strongly

made

woodenbarrels

may

be substituted forsteelbarrels,or,afterbeingtreated underpressure,the fish

may

be repacked with the solution in

common

fish barrels.

4. Eckhart's

Method.—By

this process, devised byJohn Eckhart,ofMunich, and patented in1880-'82, fishare pre- paredina preservingsalt consisting ofamixture of 50per cent,

common

salt,47}4 per cent, chemically pureboracic acid,2percent, tartaric acid,and

K

^percent, salicylic acid.

The

fisharefirststripped ofskinandbones,andtheflesh is

mixedwith thepreservative inthe proportionof 20gramsof themixture to 1 kilogram of fish flesh. Theyare then packedin cases ofparchmentorother materialandputinto caskswhichare filledwithagelatinesolution

made

inthe proportionof 50gramsof gelatine, 20gramsofthepreserva- tive,and 1,000 gramsof water. Thecasksarethenheaded and connectedwith aforce

pump

andmoreofthesolution isforced in untilthe contentsarewell saturated. Thesacks or cases offish arethenremoved fromthecaskand

may

be strewn over with moreof the salt in dry condition and packedforshipment,orthey

may

beshippedincaskswith theliquid.

5. Boracic

and

AceticAcids.—

By

^the

Am Ende

process boracic acid either in aliquid orpulverousstate, iscom- poundedwithaceticacid intheproportionofabout one drop of acetictoeveryounceof boracic acid,andthe

compound

is applied intheusual manner.

The

acetic acidissaid to pre- vent the formationoffungi,while theboracic acidprevents putrefactionbyhindering theformationof bacteria.

6. Borac ic

A

cid,ChlorideofPotassium, etc.—Theprocess devisedby

Hugo

Jannashconsists insubjectingfishtoacom- poundprepared ofchloride ofpotassium,nitrate of soda, andchemically-pureboracic acid,whichingredientsare dis- solved in water,thenmixed underexposure of heat, thus forming an antiseptic saltcomposedofhyponitrateofpot- ash,hypochlorateof soda,borateofsoda, borate ofpotash, andfree boracic acid. The

compound

isappliedeither asa saltorinamoreorlessstrongsolutionaccordingtothetime forwhichthefishare tobepreserved.

7. Borax,Saltpeter,etc.—-BytheHerzenpreserving process meatissoakedfor24 to 36hoursinasolution of threeparts borax,twoboracic acid, three saltpeter,andonesalt,inone hundredparts ofwater,andthenpackedinsomeofthesolu- tion. Beforeuse themeat

must

besoaked24hoursinfresh water.

8. Glycerine

and

Antiseptic Salts.—Oysters, fish, meats, etc..

may

be preservedbythe useof amixture ofglycerine with phosphateofsodaorotherantiseptic salt inconnection with aldehyde, formicether or acid ina solution of carbonic acid, water, glycerine,etc., andthe preserved substanceis then covered withparaffineor stearine.

9. Miscellaneous Compounds.

— Among

^the

many

other chemicalcompoundsthathave been experimented with,and someofwhich havebeen successfullyused inthecommer-

cialpreservationoffish,

may

be mentioned:

a.

A

solution of gelatine and bisulphite of lime forced underpressure.

b. Fishfleshground into finepieces,pressed,moistened withglycerine,and wrappedintinfoil.

C.

A

solution of saltpeterand

alum

inproportion of51bs.

of saltpeterand4oz.of

alum

to 60gallonsofseawater.

d.

A

solution ofthymol, thymic acid,oranyofthethy- matesaltsandwater, alcohol or glycerine.

e. Acetateoflimesolution inwaterata densityofsixde greeBbytheaerometer, towhichisaddedaceticacid ofeight degrees',sothat theliquid willproducesensibleacidreaction uponbluereaction paper.

f. Sulphiteofsodaandcarbolicacid insolution inpropor- tion of 5gal.water,21bs.sulphite of soda and2oz.carbolic acid.

g.Hydrocarbonsubstitutedfortheair,whichoccupies the spaceinand aroundthesubstancetobe preservedandsub- jectingthesametoatemperatureof about30deg. Fahr.,the gas enteringbyaholeatthe topandtheairescapingthrough a holeinthebottomof thepackage.

h.

A

solution of salicylic acid dissolved in water, with whichthefish isimpregnatedunderhydraulicpressure.

i. Salicylic acid dissolved inhotglycerineandmixed with hotwater. Preserving cans arecoated on theinsidewith theabove solution, then thefisharehermeticallysealedin the ordinarymanner.

j.

A

brine or compositionforpreservingfish,meat,etc., consisting ofasolution of starch,sugarorglucoseand com-

mon

salt.

k Fisharepackedina drypowderof

gypsum

andcarbon andthen enveloped withplastic shell,composedofgypsum, carbon,silicateofsodaandwater.

Washington,D.C.

AddressallcommunicationstotheForestand StreamPub. Co

FIXTURES.

DOG SHOWS.

Sept.1to3.—Inaugural

DogShow

oftbePacificKennelClub, at San Francisco, Cal. J. E.Watson,Secretary, 516Sacramento street.SanFrancisco,Cal.

Sept. 12 to17.—First.ShowSt.Pauland Minnesota KennelClub, St.Paul,Minn.

W.

G.Whitehead,Secretary.

Sept. 20 to23.—Wisconsin KennelClub's Annual Show,Mil- waukee,Wis. R. D.Whitehead,Manager.

Oct. 12and13.—StaffordKennel Club Show,Stafford Springs, Conn. R.S.Hicks, Secretary.

FIELD

TRIALS.

Sept.6.—ManitobaField TrialsClubFieldTrials. Derbyentries will closeJuly1;all-agedentriesAug.1. Secretary,HubertGait, Winnipeg,Manitoba.

Nov. 7.—ThirdAnnualField TrialsoftheWesternField Trials Association. R.C.VanHorn, Secretary,KansasCity,Mo.

Nov,21.—Ninth AnnualFieldTrials oftheEastern Field Trials Club, atHigh Point,N. C.

W.

A.Coster,Secretary, Flatbush, KingsCounty,N. Y.

December.—FirstAnnual FieldTrials oftheAmericanField TrialsClub, at Florence, Ala. C.

W.

Paris,Secretary, Cincinnati,