The Sunapee Trout

6 FOREST AND STREAM.

[Jan. 33, 1891.

The

Mysterious

Tenant

op

a

Tree.

—

Within the limitsofthecityof

New York

isa great

swamp

dense and treachei-oTia the year round. It Jiesin a tract of countrylately set asidebythe cityand called

Van

Cort- landt Park.

One

afternoon in the early springof 1887, I

was

pokingabout

among

thetreesandbusheson theout- skirts of this

swamp

watching a

wary hawk

and

some

restlessnoisycrowsthatwereperhaps beginningtobuild theirnestsin the tops of the

swamp

oaks. Several old crows'nestswerefound:alsoone composedoflargesticks high

among

theupper

hmbs

ofa

swamp

oak. Icarefully scrutinizedthe latterthrough

my

field glass,andI

saw

thatitwas not a

new

one,yet itwasoccupied,and the occupant's feathers orfur seemedto

wave

in thelight breeze, I threwsticks at it,but could notsee signs of life.

A

^birdwould surelyhave left.

Then

I pounded thetrunkofthetree,thrasheda,boutthe topsofsaplings and boat the bushes,butstill there

was

nomovement.

Then

Icut astout stick,ayard long,and determined to climb thetree andfindoutitstenant. Thetree

was

one ofa bunch of four orfive thatsprungfroma

common

base,

and

the group was surrounded by water. Small limbs

had

gi-own pretty thicklyfrombuttto top, sothat climbing could not be difficult.

The

platform of sticks, evidently a deserted crows' nest,

was

supportedcloseto the

main

stem byseverallimbsand

many

others

grew

aboveand aroundit.

My

fir^timpulse

was

tostrikethe

bunch

of red furwith

my

stick,butthe limbsprevented that. Allthe while ithad notstirred. IfIcould only

make

it move, perhaps Icould dealaneffectiveblowat it. So,reaching outatarm's length,Igavea strongpoke intothemassof fur. Itinstantlyaroseuponitsforelegs, stared a

moment

inbewildmen't and surprise, and the very nextinstant,with a wildleap,

went

tumblingover thesideofthe nestintoa poolofwaterfully40ft.Ijelow.

Then,slowlydraggingits tail,itcrawledaway,

wet

and forlorn,into a dense growth of bramblesoutof sight.

The

mysterious creature

was

a redfox. Not40yds.from thisvery tree

was

a railroad track

upon

which

many

ti-ains aday had beenpassing. The

home

hadnotbeen hard for

him

toreachon accountofthenumerouslimbs

which

served asroimds to his ladder. Here, he had, doubtless, sleptdayafterdayinthemidstof civilization, witha feelingof such securitythathewouldnotdeign to

move

untila stick

was

thrust rudely againsthisribs.

It is

commonly

believed thatfoxesresortonlytoburrows in thegroundorholes

among

rocks. Butthis individual, with danger on so

many

sides,was,nodoubt, drivenby

some

great necessity to attempt the almost incredible featofsleeping ina tree-top.

—

S. T.

Adney

in Indepen- dent.

KENTtJCKy.—

SpencerCo.,Ky., Jan.12.—

The

shooting season,iu8tpast has been a verygood one. Quailhave abounded,and a pheasant has been picked

up

in the easternportionofthecounty,in thehillsof Beech and CrookedCreeks,wherethereisstillvast,almostunbroken, forest. Hares have been plentiful,but the sportisso littleappreciated thatonlymarket huntershave enjoyed

it. Thereisnot a beagle in thecounty. Iftheirmerits were

known

it would be but a shorttimebefore hare- huntingwouldbe themostpopularof sports. There can be

few amusements more

interestingthanthatofhaving thelittletrailersdrive the hares outofcoverwhereagood shot could pick

them

off

ad

libitum. The big fish-pond

and

game-preserveschemehas not materialized. Senator Grilberthasgone huntinga Stateoffice,and no one seems

now

tobepushingtheenterprise. I

am

certain the plan

was

practieable,and would paystockholders biginterest ontheirmoney.

—

^J.S.M.

Forest and Stream Powder

Tests.—

New

York, Jan. 19.

—

Editor Forest

and

Stream: In replyto the letterofMessrs.

Von

Lengerke

&

Detmoldinlastweek's issue,andalso to the complaint ofthe

manager

of the

American Wood Powder

Co.,that

my

Colt gun,which

was

usedin the

powder

tests atClaremont under your

management, was

a large 13-gauge,I begto state that the

gun

wastestedbyMr.J.Dannefelser,No.9

Chambers

street,andmyself,andit

was

foundaverysmall13-bore.

A

No.12

wad

required considerable pressure togo from

chamber

tochoke. Ihope this will satisfythoseinter- estedinthattestasbeing fairtoallconcerned,asIdid the shootingwith

my gun

onthatday without anyinter- estotherthan arecordfor

my

gun.

—

Edwin

A.Susimers.

Snow and

Rifle Sights.

—

EditorForest

and

Stream:

A

coupleofitems,one by "Hunter" andthe otherbyMr.

Lyman,

remind

me

thatIhavealso been troubled

when

huntingdeerinthe timber,

when

the

snow

adherestothe branches and underbrush, by having the sightsof

my

rifle,bothfront,openand the

Lyman,

choked withfall- ingsnow,or the view of the front sightobstructedby

snow

lodging on thebarrel,especially soif the

snow

be damp. Iovercome thedifficulty byreversingtheusual

method

ofcarrying thegun;thatistosay,

by

carryingit

bottomsideupward,

—

^H.L.

A

Sight

Attachment,—

Let

"Ahmeek"

(issueJan. 8)

takeasmall rubberball,suchas isusedbychildrenasa plaything, cutitin half,orallow two-thirds inoneposi- tion. In the partused

make

asmall hole to tightly fit

over projectionin sight. Placein position,

and

the larger portion beingtowardfacewillservetoobviate the trouble complainedof.

The mode

ofapplication,etc.,will sug- gestitselfapplicabletoallpeej) sights.

At

Hagen,in Prussian Westphalia, the attention ofan officialwasaroused by the barkingofadogon the railway.

Thinkingtherewas somethingamiss the

man

followed the animal, and found that its master, a sportsman, while walking

homeward

onalowrailwayembankment, badbeen seizedwith a giddinessand hadfallen inastate ofinsensi- bility onto the metals. Guided bythedogthe

man

soon reached the spotwhere itsmaster layandsucceededinre-

movinghim.

A

few minuteslateratrain passed.

—

London

Daily News.

A Book

AbouiIndians.—TheForestand Streamwillmail freeonapplicationa descriptive circularofMr. Grinnell's book,

"PawaeeHeroStoriesandFolk-Tales,"givlns?atableofcontent?

and Bpeclmenillnstratloniafromthevoinme.—.4dB.

ForestandStream,Box3,832,N. Y.city,has desoriptlveIllus- trated circularsof

W.

B.LefflngweU'sl>ook,"Wild FowlShoot- ing,"

wMch

^willbemailed free on request. The bookIspro- nounced by"Naixit.""Q-loan.""DickSwiveller,"'*Sybillene"and othercompetentauthoritiestobethe beettreaileeonthe BBbJeot extaat.

'^m mid ^{^iv^f fishing.}

The

full texts ofthe

game

flshlawsofalltheStates, TerritoriesandBritishProvincesaregiven inthe

Booh

of tJic(Jame Laws,

THE SUNAPEE TROUT.

Salvelinus alpimisOAireolus,

FOR ^some

^{time past} ichthyologists andanglers alike have beendeeplyinterested in the questionofthe

name

andorigin of the splendid troutofSunapeeLake.

Isitadistinctandpeculiarspecieswhichhasalwaysbeen withus,or isit simply the Em-opeati charror saibling

which

hasbeen latelybrought over from Em'ope?

Two

ofom- highest ichthyological authorities haveexpressed themselveswithsomej)03itiveness inregardto thismatter.

Dr. TarletonH, Bean,of theU.S.FihhCommission,has described thefishin questionasadistinct species,under the

name

of Salvelinus aureolus, while Mr.SamuelGar- man,ofthe

Museum

of Comparative Zoology, has de- claredittobefullyidenticalwiththeEuropean SaZyeZmws alpinus,thecharr, saibling, ealbling orombrechevalier o{

theriversandlakesofnorthern Europe.

On

the supposi- tion of the identity of the Sunapee trout with the Europeanform,itsoccurrenceinthelakes of Mainehas been attributedtoa recentplfintofsaiblingeggs brought from

Germany

bytheU.S.Fish Commission. Thepos- sibility thatthistrout is ahybrid betweenthe saibling andtheEuropeantrout or

"brown

trout"(Salmo fario), has beenalsosuggested.

Thestudyofthespeciesofcharrisaverydifficultone.

The specific differences are slight and the individual variations surprisingly great. The presenceofa large

amount

ofmaterial is necessaryin order to reachany conclusion. Those conclusions which

now

seem to

me

probableIwish to' presentin the most modest

manner

possible,fortheyareliable tobewhollyoverturned

when

thewatersbetween Maineand Greenlandare

more

fully explored.

Forthepurposes of the present study. Dr.

Bean

has verykindlylent

me

aconsiderable

amount

of material, from the National

Museum,

byconsent of Dr. Goode.

Thisconsistsofthefollowing specimens;

Salvelinus alpinus

—

10.249. from Europe; 17,456 (two speciinens), Bergen; 39,924, Sterling Lake, N.J.(intro- duced).

Salvelimis atireohis—Yrom Sunapee Lake, 37,408, 37,409,37,410, 39,334, 39,335, 39,900.

Salvelinus—

A

hybridofSalvelinus alpinus, male,with

Salmo

fario,female,2yearsold,receivedfrom Norway, 17,451.

Salvelinus{nitidus)—M,QSi,Disco,Greenland.

Salvelimis(arc^wrus)—36,097,

mouth

of St, Lawrence River;37,670,lakenear Quebec.

Besides thesespecimensIhave received several speci-

mens

of Salvelinus atireolus from Sunapee

Lake

and

Dan

Hole

Pond

through the kindness of Mr. A. N.

Cheney and

others.

From

^Dr.

Bean

I havealso speci-

mens

of S.oquassa fromRangeleyLake,andat S.fon- tinalis agassizii

from Monadnock

Lake. Thereis,how- ever,nopresent questionof thedistinctness oftheSuna-

l^ee trout

from

either fontinalisor oqtiassa,though its relations tothe latterareveryclose.

From

the materialin

hand

the following conclusions seem justifiable, and I

am

pleased to findthat these resultsagreeinthe

main

with the observations bothof Dr.

Bean

andofMr.

Garman.

1.Incomparingthespecimens of aureoluswith,those ofalpinusIfindaveryclose agreement in all external respects,

some

of the specimens in

hand

coinciding,as Mr.

Garman

hasnoticed,inalmost everydetailwith one of Dr.F.A. Smitt's colored figures of alpinus from Sweden. I find,however,thefollowingdistinctionscon- stant in these specimens, these differences being sub- stantiallythosealreadypointed outbyDr.Bean.

In aureolus the gillrakers, 6-^11or

6+13

innumber, are quiteshort,less than one-third diameterof eye,and angularly bent outward, the oldest specimens "having

them

shortestini)roportionand mostcurved.

Inalpinus the^gillrakers are

7+15

or

7+14

innumber, longerandstraighterthanin aureolus,two-fifths length of eye in specimens of the

same

length as thoseof aureolus measured. In form ofgillrakers

and

inall other respects the specimen from Sterling

Lake

intro- duced(from

Germany)

agrees fully with the Norwe- giansaiblings.

In aureohis the pectorals are shorter(Ifin head)and the dorsallower than in alpinus. In thelatterthe pec- toralisli to li inhead.

Otherapparent differences,

which may

depend wholly or in part onthe conditionofthespecimensarethese:

The

hyoid(hypobranchial) teethin aureolus are smaller and in a broader series thanin alpinus, thestomach a

littlethickerandthe pyloric coaca smaller. Idoubtthe constancyofthese characters.

The

specimensofaureo- lusare al.?o a little

more

robustinform, a characterof triflingvalue

among

trout.

Dr.

Day

has recently maintained, and he has

shown

goodcausefor hisopinion, that thesixor eightnominal species ofcharr ascribedto the waters of Great Britain are^allformsof one

—

Salvelimis alpinus. Recentconti- nental writersseemtosharethisview, longago advanced byAgassiz,

who

placedallthe charrs ofEurope, includ- ing Iceland,in a single species,alpinus. Dr.

Day

has

shown

that thespeciesissubjecttogreat variationinthe development of the pectorals.

None

of the European writershavepaid

much

attentiontothegillrakers. Dr.

Gihither has countedin Englishspecimens9

and

11gill rakers on the lower limb. If thesecounts arecorrect, the

number

would vary from

6+9

to9+15. But this count

may

be questioned,asit is not unlikely that

some

of the smallerones have been omittedinDr.Giinther's enumeration.

When

^allthese facts aretakenintocon- sideration,theonly characterlefttodistinguishtheSun- apee charrfromthesaiblingisthecurvedform

and

per- hapslesser

number

ofitsgillrakers.

Thisproblem is complicated bythe existence of other saibling-like charrsin lakes of

Canada

andGreenland.

It isevident,too,that

some

of these are even

more

like thesaibling than theSunapee troutis,afactwhichDr.

Bean

has already pointed outinalettertome.

The

specimen above mentioned fromDisco,Greenland, is afinetrout, 15in. long,whollysilveryincolor,afact which showsthatit

was

takeninthesea. Thisspecimen

has thegillrakers slenderandstraightish,9+15in

num-

ber,the longest 2^in eye. Inthis respectitagrees per- fectlywiththe saibling,butintheformofthebody

and

theshortishfins(thepectoral If inhead)it

more

resembles the Sunapee trout. ThisGreenlandflsh represents the species calledSalvelimis nitidus (Richardson). This has been thought to besimplyth^-femaleof a long-hnned Greenland trout called Salvelinus staqnalis(Fabricius).

Perhaps_nitidusisthefemale and stagnalis themale, or perhapsstagnalisisbasedonriverandnitidusoneea-run specimens. Apparentlythe

two

arenotdistinct fpecies and^Idonotsee

how

eithercanbe separatedfromalpinus.

Apparently,also,nitidus only differsfrom aureolus in havingthegillrakers of the alpinus.

An

unpublished engraving of anotherGreenland trout (nitidtis) agrees perfectlyin form and colorwithaureolus,butthegill rakers are notshown.

Inviewofall these fact?, Ihave no hesitationin re- garding theseGreenland charrsasformsofthesaibling.

Thatthesaiblingshouldextenditsrangeafross toGreen- landneednotsurprise us. Itisfoundinallthemountain lakes of Europe fromAustriatoSpitzbergen. Itenters thenorthernseasand

swarms

inthepondsofIceland. In lateautumn, inthe North Pacific, black-spotted trout (SalmoinyMss) and theDollyVardencliarr [Salvelinus

maZma)

freelyenter the ocean,andthey inhabitaUkeboth sidesof Behring'sSea. Thesaibhng couldas easilyreach Greenlandfrom Icelandas to cross to Icelandfromthe Scottishcoasts.

Two

other specimens before us arealsoof interestin.

thisconnection.

One

of these,a

young

trout, lOiHn.in length,withparrmarks and withoutredpputs,isfrom a lakenearQuebec. The other, 9fin. long,was takenin theGulfof St.Lawrence. Thisspecimenisverydarkin color,almostlikea blueback. Ithasnoredspotsandits scaleshavethesilvery lustrewhichisacquiredonenter- ing thesea.

Thesetwo specimens seemtoagree witheachotherin- essentials. They have straightish gill rakers like the saibling, but their

number

ofthese appendages (7+12 and 7+14)isintermediate between the saiblingandthe Sunapeetrout. Thepectoralfinsarealsointermtdiatein length,1| inheadinone specimen.If intheother.

The

opercular bones seem

more

straight thaninanyother specimens examined,butthis appearance

may

bedueto thefact of thepartialdryingof the skin over the bones before thefishwasputinto alcohol. These specimensare apparently intermediate between the saiblingand the Sunapeetrout,andagain intermediatebetweentheGreen- land nitidus andthe Sunapeefish. The specimen from Quebecagreesinallrespects,waivingnon-essentials,with Dr.Giinther's figure ofSalvelinus arciurus, the":iorthern- most Salmonoid known," fromthenorthernlimit of British America. Dr.

Bean

has suggestedto

me

thatthis speci-

men may

be theunrecognizedSalvelinus rossi ofRich- ardson, This view

may

be correct, but Richardson's descriptionissovaguethat

we

can only be sure thathis fish

was some

oneofthe alpimisset.with redspotsanda redbelly,perhaps a nitidusor stagnalis.

The Sunapeecharris certainly not a hybrid between, the saiblingand any otherspecies,EuropeanorAmeri- ^' can. The hybrid alpinusfario, examined by me, has thescales adherent as in 'alpimis, but almost aslarge (135 series) as in

Salmo

fario. Itsgillrakers,6+11or18, arestiffishandnearly straight;there are afewteeth on the shaft ofthe

vomer

[fanohas m.any,the species of Salvelinusnone at all) andthe coloris very eccentric.

The bodyis dark and isclouded all over withsharply defined yellowishreticulations,which extend onthehead and fins. Itscoloration

somewhat

resembles that ofa pike. It has neither the redspots of alpinus nor the

blackspots offario.

Inthis connection

we may

briefly notice the other nominalspecies ofcharr describedfromBritishAmerica andGreenland. Salvelinus arcturusseemstobe aform orvariety of alpinus as already noticed. The

same

is trueofSalvelimis nitidusandofSalvelinusstagnalis.

Salvelimisalipesisthesame asstagnalisandrossiprob- ablyidentical withnitidus, asisalsoSalvelinus hearnii.

Salvelinushoodi

was

basedon amixedlotofSalvelimis fontinalis and S. namaycush. Salvelinus hudsonicus, canadensisand immaculatusare fontinalis, the latter

name

giventosea-run specimens. Butfor all

we know

thealpinu'i

may

run out toseaas welland

become

im- maculatus too. Salvelinus naresi, from the Arctic re- gions,seemstobe the

same

asoquassa.

If these views becorrect

we

have in

America

five species of charr,eachhighly variable and runninginto

many

local varieties.

1. Salvelimis

namaycush.—

The Great

Lake

trout,

from

Maine to "Wisconsin, and Idaho, northwestward to Alaska.

f. Salvelinus

malma.—The

Dolly

Varden

trout,frotn the Sacramento Basin to Siberia, west of the Cascade Mountains.

S. Salvelinus alpinus.

—

Thecharror saiblingoromhre chevalier ofEurope,from MainetoBoothiaandacrossto Greenland, IcelandandallEurope;a well

marked

variety being theSunapee charr (Salvelinus alpinus aureolus).

Othervarieties of doubtful standing arealipes,nitidus and^arcturus.

4. Salvelinus oquassa.

— The

blueback,Rangeley Lakes toBoothia.

o. Salvelinusfontinalis—The brook trout orspeckled trout,from the SaskatchawancountrytoLabrador,and southinthemountainstoGeorgia;itsrange

more

south- erlythanthatofthe othersandnot crossing the

Rocky

Mountains.

As

for the Sunapee charr itself

we may

say thatit

seemstobe distinguished from all the other forms of charr

by

its gill rakers. It isprobably not adistinct species,andit isprobably nativetothewaters in which

it is

now

found,andnot animportation from Europe.

Shoulditappear,however,thatthesaiblingin that part of

Germany

from which specimens havebeenbroughtto America havegillrakersliketheseoftheSunapeetrotit, this opinion would be reconsidered. Other lakes of Maine,Quebec,LabradorandBoothia must beexplored.' before these questionscanbedefinitely settled.

It isinteresting tonoticethatjust as the rightofthe saibling tobe regarded asanative

American

hasbeen questionedin thiscormtry,sohasits citizenship inEng- landbeenalsodenied,

Dr,

Day

tellsus thatin olden times the people were

"taughtthat three sons of the churchintroduced these fishesintoWales from

Rome,

andplacedtwo ineachof th« lakes of Llanberriee,

Llynumber

and Trevennyn,"

Jaj}. 23, 1891.]

FOREST AND STREAM. 7

Perhaps

we

arejustified in auppositig that

by

the

same

personsandat the

same

time twowereplacedinSunapee Lake,

two

in

Dan

Hole Pond,

and two

in the sea at

Disco.

David Stabr

Jordan.

TheTJjsriVBBSiTTOfflNnrANA,Bloommgton,lad,,Jau.7.

FOX RIVER FISH AND GAME ASSOC'N.

(~MJICAGO,

111.,Jan.15.—

As many

readers of

Forest J AND Stream

know,the large and small lakes of

what

is

known

as the

Fox

Lakesystem,lieaboutfifty miles to the north of Chicago. The

Fox

River drains these lakesforthemostpart,

and

alsosuppliesthem with

fish.

The Fox

RiverrunsintotheIllinoisRiver,

and

the Illinois again into the Mississippi. Theselakes,if Jeft unsuppliedwithotherthantheirnatural increaseoffish,

wouldin time probably

become

quite exhausted.

The

keepingopenofthe great

waterway

fromtheMississippi

up

tothe lakesisthereforeagreat desideratum forthe Chicagoanglers,andforthose anglers

who

liveyetcloser tothesewaters. TostocktJtielakes and streams,andto Firevent illegalandwasteful methodsof taking thefish

rom

them,isa question of equalorgreaterimportance.

Briefly,todothese very things^isthemissionof the

Fox

River Fish

and

Gajne Association.

Time and

again attentionhas been called to thisorganization in these columns. Itistheoneandonly protectivesociety inthe StateofIllmoiswhich amountstoa

row

ofbluebeansin actual protectionof fishorgame. Itdeservescredit. It works. It performs. It does something besides talk.

Singular, unique,peculiar,almost startlingit is in this regard.

What

it hasdone by

way

ofopening

up

the

dams

ontheFox,ofbreaking

up

nettingon the Illinois,

andotherwise heljjing the

Fox

River chain of watersj hasalreadybeen recounteddulyin thisjournal.

The Fox

River Association helditsthird annual meet- ingThursday,Jan.14,at 3 P.M.,atthe

Sherman

House of this city. There

was

agoodattendance. The associ- ationisnot com])Osed ofaunionofclubs,but ofa union

•)findividuals. Its success isthe success largelyof pri- '^ateeifort,thoughit isgrowingconstantlybyaccessions fromsportsman's clubslower

down

therivers'.

Ah

might beexpected,therefore,theproceedingswere

marked

by heirinformal simplicityanddirectness.

The Fox

River issociationhasnostyle aboutit tospeak of,nopomp, )rideandcircumstanceofgloriouswar, butasacertain jsteemedfriend

would

say,itis"with 'em at every sta- ionofthe road."

The

brevityandbusinesslikecharacter

!!thismeetingwasdelicious."

The

auditingofaccounts vasshort,thereadingoftheminutesofthelastmeeting

vVdsshort,andtheaddressofPresident Cole

was

short, ikewisetothepoint. Mr. Colesaid:

CotheMeniberenf theFoxBiverFishandGameAssociation:

GKMTLEIU13N—ican ihiukofnobetterintroductionofourannual reiiorcthanDy iiGOMat;from theHyleafofourbookofby-laws:

r'Tlie objrii-if111 thisAssociation aretohelpiothe enforoeinentof Ishaudgaiflelaws, to pressfor the enactmentofdpwstatutes (orthepreservtitiutioffishandgatae,andto seethatproperfish-

waysareputiat!.llthedamsini*'oxRiver."

DitrivjgiliKtirsttwo yewsour effortsweredirectedmainlyto theflest and Recoudoi»jectsmentionedabove;ofthe successof sauioi'ji^ct.-youwere informed ayearaao.

ThefeiiuatioLithatconfronted your directorsat theirfirstmeet- ingofthe past ^Vfar wasadepleted treasury, and anapparent indifferenceorluglfc'".on the partofthemembersgenerally that wasveiyliiscouragintr tosay the least.

How

thatdifficultywas overeoiueyouwlJlearnfromthetreasurer's report.

Mottohore you too muchwith detailswehavetoreport that allthe (iainsinFoxRiver are provided with efUcient fishways, buili.a(-[;ordiug toplansaud apeciflcationsfurnishedbytheFisli Commias'oners,exceptone small

dam

atSouthElgin,wherethere

isan unusedcanalorsluiceway that has been fit'edupexperi- mentally with theunderstandingthatif itdoes notworksatis- factorily aregularfishwaywillbe substituted.

OnMarch x'llastweemployed F.L, Buck, ofElgin,andob- ained for himau appoiu'mentaswarden. Hecoveredallthe groundfromi^'oxLaketothemouthofFoxRiver at Ottawa,andas aresult ofJiisworkwecan repDrt seventeen convictionsforthe violationofthefishlawsandseven convictions for the violation of gamelaws. He also distributed copies ofthe laws, posted notices, etc., etc.,and warned persons allalong theline.

Aud

best of allhe seized anddestroyed thirtj-four netswhich he foundsetin ditferentpartsoftheriver. Mr.BuckresignedKov.

1toacceptanotherposition,afterasummer'sAvork thataccom- plished morefor the advancementof fishandgameprotection thanwecouldhaveanticipatedatthebeginningofthe season.

We

have been told repeatedly bythe Secretaryofour State FishCommission.Dr.Barilett,thatourwork onthe FoxRiver hasbeen ofgreat help tohimallover theState,inthatIthas aroused asentimentforthecause thatisresultingintheforma- tion o[ clubs that are givingtheirattentionmore and moreto thismatterof protecti(vn.

Before closing wewi?h once more toreverttothematterof finance.

We

can do\'ery littlewithout fitnds. Ifallpersonsin- terestedi)tour crganiZHtionwouldmakeevenaslight effort this fundeouideasilybe obtained. Our annualdues are butSIarda litemembership costs but$10. All thatisnecessaryistosend the caeliwtth nameandaddresstothetreasurer,asallareelig- gibleaud(hereisnoinitialion fee. If each memberoftheAs- fiociatiouwillmakeithisspecialeffort toprocure one ormore memb'U's, tliecotaparativ© smallamount of cashneededwill soon be forthcoming. Respectfullysubmitted forthe hoardof

directors, Geo.E. Cot.e,President.

ThereportofthemeetingoftheBoardofDirectorswas thenmade,brieflydetailingthecommitteesandthe

work

theyhaddone. Mr.JohnWilkinson, ministerofthe ex- chequer,then

made

his report,in

many ways

themost importantofany. Mr.Wilkinson

showed

thebudgetto beasfollows:

CBEUITS.

Cash onhand, beginningofyear |158 35

Aitnualdues 5700

Lifememberships 250 00

Contributions 239 70

Total 695 05

EXPENLlTtTBES-

Prosecuting cases 25 00

PaidwardenF. L.Buck., 47657

Printingaud pistage 54 95

Examiuingdams 38 67

Haulingfishfor planting 800

Total 603 19

Balance onhand 91 86

Thereport offersquiteagood showing. The"contri- butions"

named among

the som-ces ofincome contain

among them

the following:

James W,

Nye,$5;

White

&

Wills,sportinggoodsdealers, $5;

James

H.Fisk, sport- ing goods dealer, |5; H. N. May,$5; A. G.Spalding

&

Bros.,sportinggoodsdealers,$25;"Hibbard, Spencer, Bart- lett

&

Co,, $25; theJenney

& Graham Gun

Co.,sporting goods dealers, |3o; the

John

Wilkinson Co., sporting goods dealers, $25;E. J.

Lehman,

$2o;the

Fox

Lake Pishing Club, $101 (which showstheprominenceof this club inthe work); C. F. Hills, $10;throughC.F. Hills and Gfeo. E. Cule, $30; Geo. E. Cole|34.70,andothers.

In.returnforabove,membershipsin theassociationwere issuedtothe extentof $95,but the total available cash from this source

amounted

to $239.70. Thusit

may

be

»eenthat in

some

instancesatleast,both firms

and

indi-

viduals have given cashashelpinaworthyprojectto help preservefish

and

game.

The Fox

River Association,however,does not claimto do

much

inthe

way

ofprotectinggame.

The

lessitdoes thebetter. It is doing

some work

on fish. Itoughtto stick to this,especially inits

own

youngerand weaker days. All conservative businessthoughtshowsthefolly of branching out into

many

lines of business.

One

business well jjushed is better. In a beautifully worded resolution the Illinois State Sportsmen's As- sociationresolvedto"conjoin"withthe

Fox

River Asso- ciation,incourtesytoitscommittee present.

The

"con- join" business ceased

when

themeeting of theIllinois Sta.teSportsmen's Association adjourned,just as every- body

knew

itwouldcease. The State association is an admirablebodyinits

own way

andforits

own

^purposes, butit does not genuinelyand honestlyclass

game

pro- tection

among

those purposes. Sinceitdoes notandcan- notck

im

suchpiu-poses,

what

has the

Fox

RiverAssocia- tiontogainbyactingwithit,sinceits

own

purposes are thoseofprotection and nothingelse? The union would be onlyone of courtesy,and not one of practicaland mutualinterest. Let the

Fox

River Association saddle itselfwithnocomplicating responsibilities,but runfree inits

own

fieldof practical results.

Beyond

its

own

feel- ingofcom-tesy in the matter,nonewill seethe forceof this quicker than the State Sportsmen's Association.

Indeed,itwouldbebetterifthe

Fox

River Fishand

Game

Associationshould strike the

word "game"

quite outof its

name

aswell as outofits purposes. Letotherspay forwardenstowatchforillegalducks,and letthisasso- ciationattendtothefish. Thesenseof thisis apparent.

The

onlywish behinditis to see this association goon andnotgoback,andpresent at least one decentchance toanewspaper wantingto chronicle

an

occasionalbitof successin practical protection.

Directly bearingonallthis

was

the reportofthecom- mitteeongame,Messrs. Baird,Burket and

Hamburger.

Mention

was made some

time ago ofthe casesbrought byMessrs. Baird and Bartree against the South

Water

streetmen,

Henry

SloanandJ.B.Brousseau, forselling illegal game. In his report Mr, Bairdtold

how

he and his assistant didn'tdo anythinginthesecases.

He

scored thefat-wittedBrusewitz, theChicago warden, roundly, asdid othersalso.

Mr, Hills,reporting for the committee onfish,tersely announced "There wasprettygoodfishing last seasonin the

Fox

Lakecountry."

The

committee onlegal andpoliticalactionhadlittle to report, Mr,Hertzspoke at

some

lengthuponthe ad- visability of having a bill introduced prohibiting the abominable practice of fishing through the ice. Mr.

Hertztold of one Elgin party

who

inthreedayscaught 3,800lbs. of fishin Pistakee

Lake

last December. T.Se extent ofthe outrageswas not generally

known,

butif

known

the Legislature might pass a prohibitorylaw.

Mention

was

however called to the fact thatprevious effortsin thisdirectionhad beenunavailing.

Messrs.Prussing,Burkett and Glenn, appointed com- mittee on election of the board ofdirectors,retired to confer,andin their absence the prpsident called xrpan State CommissionerBartlett. Dr. Bartlettwasreceived withenthusiasm.

He

stated that the

Fox

River Associ- ationwasthefirstorganization that ever gave

him

any helpin hiswork,and its help had been notable.

He

complimented the association highly. Dr.Bartletthad foundthatusually the

men who

complained the most about

game

violations werethe most readyto object

when

he

came

toenforcing thelaw in their neighbor- hood. Therehad,however,been some

work

done,and thanksto thisconjoint

work we

could

now

look

upon

a

waterway

open to fish from the Mississippi

up

to the lakes,no

dam

inthe whole distance being

now

an ob- stacle tothefish.

On

the IllinoisRiver nothing could ever be done till the last year. In thattime over 500 netshad beendestroyedandseventy convictions secured.

It

was

deplorable that the Legislature

had

given anap- propriationofonly$2,000.

The

fishwardens hadto de- pendsolelyonfinesforrevenue.

One

warden,failing to

make

hiscaseinjustice court,had beenarrestedhimself and nearly thrown into jail. Proceedings in justice courts had been found useless, and the Commissioner

had

adopted the plan of seizing the nets and letting the other fellow do the suing, which broitght the cases into the Circuit Coxirts. Thanks to the aid of the president of the association, the Commission had been enabled to buy a little steamer of iU own, and it

now

patrolled the Illinois River very thoroughly. In the

work

of propagation, 40carloadsof matiu-edfishhad beendistributed,besidesfry. Dr. Bart- lett deplored the putting in powerofsuch'idiotsasthe Chicago warden, Brusewitz, but

had

no doubt thata petition toGov. Fiferwouldleadtohispromiitdismissal.

The

systemof districtfishwardens was working verywell, theQuincy

warden

doingespecially well. Replyingtoa questionfrom Mr.Hills in regard"tothe cuttingoff"and netting of fishthat had run out inhigh waterintothe IllinoisRiver sloughs. Dr.Bartlettreplied thatthiswasfor- merlypracticedlargely. The Commission had taken up one net so employed whose wings were 1,200ft.long.

Another net

was

1,000ft.long.

"You

mttst getholdof thenet." said he,

"and

confiscate that,

by

'holdingit.for storage'pendingcuit.

He

hadseen four acres coveredas adryingground

by

the hoop-nets ofonefirm. Market- tishingiscarriedoninthe Illinoistoa terrible extent."

Dr.Bartlett alsofavored alawagainstice fishing.

Dr. N.

Rowe,

president of the Illinois State Sports- men'sAssociation,

was

called on,andcontrasted thehis- toryof

game

protectionwith thatoffishprotection.

The way

of the

game

protector hehad foundathornyone.

He

wouldfavor abilltoput the matterof

game

protec- tion

m

thehandsoftheFishCommissioner.

He

favored acondensation andconcentration inthework. Instead of

many

bills

and

measures

we

shouldunite,bothassoci- ationsstandingon

some

plainandsimple measures.

Mr. Cole pointed out the obviotxsly unwise andim-.

practicalfeaturesofaneffortsuggestingany suchdouble

work

for theFishCommission underthat or anyother name. Cooperationmightdo,butamalgamation would be highly unwise,

and

woulddefeat thepurposesof both

fish and

game

protection.

The

suggestion

met

with no favor.

The

FoRBST

AND

STEEAjyi representative detailed the extentoftheice fishing in

Lake

Maria, LakeCatharine

and

Channel

Lake

aswitnessedona recenttripand

men-

tioned theoutrageousfishpensof

Lake

Senachwine, on the Illinois River,

where

masses of diseased

and

half

deadfishare crowded togetherforweeks atatime

and

ladled out for shipment asthemarketdictates. Itwas suggested that the association

make members

ofthesum-

mer

resort

men

along the upper lakes and then induce

them

tostoptheir ice fishing.

The

committee onelectionreported and

recommended

thefollowingtoconstitutetheboardof directorsforthe ensuing year:

From

Pistaqua

Lake

region. Coroner

Henry

L.HertzandClarenceA.Knight;fromtheNorth- western Pleasure Club,

John

Stephens;

from Fox Lake

Fishing Club, Chas, F, Hills and Geo. E. Cole; from CrabappleIsland region,

John

Wilkinson; from Mineola Club, L. M.

Hamburger; from

the East Shoreregion, Geo. R.Davis andO.J.Weidner; fromtheNorth Shore region,Jas.Gardner.

The

board of directors will earlymeet and electthe officersofthe association for theensuingyear.

E.

Hough,

FISH AND GAME ^IN WEST ^VIRGINIA.

Editor Forest

and

Stream:

Hunting

this season

was

prettygoodhere.

Some

^of

my

friends

who

joined

me

were verysuccessful.

The

greatestdrawback onthosefroma distance

was

themild weather;

when

theykilleda deer ortwotheyhadtocut shorttheirhunttosave the game. Turkey were unusu- ally plentiful. I attributeittothe favorable winter of '89-90.

We

had

some

bearthisfall,butnoneof

my

party hadtheluck to bring

down

any. I hg,ve

had

thegood fortune to killthree nice bears sinceyou were withus;

one weighed 3361bs.

My

eleven-year-old boy killed a very large wildcat near

my

deer park duringthe

month

of December,

My

brother

John

also

came

acrossa wild- cat killingasmall deer this last huntingseason.

We

have

some

good trout streams, or at leastthey are con- sideredso

by

allthe anglers

who

have triedthem. Mr.

A.F.ReesandMr. RipleyHitchcock, of

New York

city, have tested our streams to their satisfaction.

One

is

known

asWate'sRun.

The

largestfishareneverlonger that15or16in.

A

stream calledTrout Run,abotitthree miles westofme,isnotedfor its goodtroutfishing, I don't

know what

the best specimens takenoutweighed, buta friend and myself on one occasiontook outofa pond, or hole as

we

callit,23 nice troutinoneday,the largest IGJin.long. Therearetwo moretroutstreamsonly a

few

milesfrom

my

place.

One

isstyledStony Creek and theotheris

known

as

Pond

Run; both arebeautiful,cold andclearstreams.

Capon

River,four milesdistant,isa splendid black bassstream;itcontains a vast

number

of fine bass,the largest weighing5|to61bs. Ihopeitwill lieour lucktohave youvisitusanother huntingseason.

Should you have anyfriend

who

wishestocatch troutsend

him

hereandIwillgive

him

goodattention, Ihavebuilt a

new

andcomfortable dwelling since

you

werewithtis,

and

am

betterpreparedtoentertain

my

friends, T. B, Wilson.

CaponIronWorks, WestVa.

[The

home

oftheWilsonbrothers, inHardiecounty,has longbeen notedasahuntinglocality,and

we

cantestify, frompersonal experience,tothehospitality ofthepeople andtheabundanceof deer,turkeys

and

pheasants. Gaj>on Iron

Works

is best reached by the B.

&

O.Railroadto

Woodstock

andthence13milesbyhorse over easy

moun-

taintrails.

The

costofboardingismerelynominal. Deer aredriventogunspostedontheirrunways.]

A CARP'S DINNER.

MIRABILE ^DICTU!

^Strangethings

happen

infar-off places. It is not

uncommon

in openingfish to findvariousanddiverssundrieswithintheir

maws. On

LakeSuperior the great laketrout,the

namayemli

ofthe Ojibbewas,seemtoalwaysbeready

and

wilUngtoaccept anyofsuchthingsasarethrown fromthe cook's galley ofthesteamersandsailing vessels

which

plow itspellu- cidwaters. It isnot

uncommon

to finda forkorspoon, beef bones,potatoes,brokenwineglasses,corncobs,

and

evena

bunch

ofkeysare

among

the treasure trove

from

theiromnivorouscollectionbags. But

now

a carpcomes to the front as a containerof the neatestoutfitofany- thing yet seenonthe great unsalted sea.

On

Christmas morning Capt.McCormick, an old salt and fish

man, saw

two fine large

German

carp on sale in Duluth.

Struck withtheirappearance,audthinkingtopleasehis friend,theDoctor,he purchased one and ^.sentitto

him

withthecomplimentsofthe season. Ofcourse theDoc- tor

was

pleasedwiththegiftandorderedittabled.

You

canimaginetheastonishmentofall

when

it

was

opened tofindwithin asilk-linedcase containing alargemeer-

schaum

pipeandcigar holder,allin good order, too. It

wasagenuinecarp,importedfrom

Germany,

ofthevari- etycalledpawnermdche. The Doctorhasityet carefully preserved, and the smoker's apparatus, too,which he showsto hisfriendswithvery greatpleasure,

R. O.

Sweeney,

Sr.

DuLtTTH,Minn.

SUSQUEHANNA RIVER FISHING.

EditorForest

and

Stream:

InSeptember,1888,the Messrs, Hanlon,Prof.Siler,of Harrisburg, and Mr, C. H. Sangrey, of Washington Boroughjin eight hours' fishing caught93"salmon,"or pike perch,

and

10 bass.

One

of thesalmon weighed S^lbs.,another61bs.,andanurhberrangedfrom. § to 51bs.

The

largest ofthe basstippedthe

beam

at4^^1bs.

InSeptember,1889,near CreswellStation,Messrs.

John

Yeley and

W.

B. Charlestookfrom asmall areaofwater (not

more

than300x40ft.),68"salmon"inafewhours, the largest weighing 51bs.,

and

the entirecatchaveraging fibs.

Duringthe season of1889,a royal specimenofthe Sus- quehanna "salmon" was taken with rodandlinenear

Mud

Island,byMr.John Keech. Thisfinefish

was

oneofthe largest of its species evertaken

from

theriver,in this locality,and weighedlllbs.3oz.

In July, 1889, Messrs.Sangrey and Brushcaught, in two and a half hours,32"salmon,"the laxgestranging from3 toSlbs.inweight,

June 15, 1890, Mr.

Harvey

Brush took ina.boutthree hoursfishing,16 bass,oneindividualweighing31b8.

In the

month

ofJuly,1890,afterbeing outonedayfor about eight houas, Messrs.

W.

B. Charles

and

Jolm

My

skincaught30"salmon,"thelargest 21b8.in weight.

Stehkan, StatbJJOBM4.LSCHOOL, MiLLEBBViuja,Pa.,Jan.13.